According to Eric Boland of Newsday:

“Joba flew in from Tampa today … will throw bullpen Friday & plan is rehab app Sunday, likely in Trenton”

“The other option for Joba Sunday, besides Trenton, which is home, would be Triple-A Scranton, which is at Pawtucket. Id still bet on Trenton”

Is this real life??

Remember the reports of doom and gloom in March when Joba’s freak trampoline accident first happened? And now, barring any unforeseen obstacles, he could be back with the Yankees in August.

Truly amazing and a much needed shot in the arm for the bullpen. Some of those guys need a rest.

It’s Sunday morning and the Yankees aren’t playing until 8:05 p.m. tonight – thanks ESPN and MLB! – so I’m just going to write everything that comes to mind regarding yesterday’s game and other various Yankee thoughts. Lucky you.

So yesterday didn’t go that well for Phil Hughes. While his velocity, which was a problem last year, was up, his location wasn’t great and because of that, he lost his second straight decision.

Let’s look at the positives from his outing:

• He had six strikeouts in 3.1 IP. That’s big for him. That means he was able to finish some guys off.
• He hit 94 m.p.h. on the gun.

Okay, so there aren’t as many positives.

The negatives:

• He only lasted 3.1 innings. It was a combination of nibbling and, well, giving up six runs.
• Going from 0-2 to 3-2 in counts. This bit him in the ass because this particular base runner was on when Howie Kendrick unloaded on a fastball with no bite and took Hughes deep to knock him out of the game.
• His fastball, while higher in velocity than it was last year, was straight and hittable.

Now, do I think we should give up in Phil Hughes? Not yet. It’s not like the Angels are a bad team. They may have been 2-5 coming into yesterday’s game but they’re not as bad as their record would indicate. I do realize that the window of opportunity is closing for Hughes. He’s on the sunset side of 25 and if he wants to have a long career, he needs to step it up. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a guy full of so much potential and not reaching it.

If he’s still having these same issues after say two or three more starts then maybe the Yankees need to think about putting him back into the bullpen.

Speaking of the bullpen, haven’t they been amazing so far? They’re definitely a huge asset and as long as they stay healthy – cross your fingers, toes, legs and eyes – the Yankees are in good shape for 2012.

David Phelps looked good again yesterday. He lasted 5.1 innings, gave up one hit – which happened to be a home run to Vernon Wells – and struck out four. He also only threw 78 pitches compared to Hughes who threw 84 pitches in two fewer innings.

The offense was stymied by CJ Wilson who won his first ever game against the Yankees. I was actually surprised by that, I could have sworn he had won games against them. The offense also seemed to have terrible luck. There were so many line drives and fly outs right to the fielders, it was just one of those days. Hopefully the hard contact will carry over into tonight’s game but the luck will change.

Personally I’d love that since I’m going to my first game of the season tonight. I can’t start the year off with a loss. That wouldn’t be fun. I’d also love to see Ivan Nova repeat his outing from Tuesday night in Baltimore. The Yankees are facing a pitcher they haven’t seen which in the past hasn’t been a good thing for them. We’ll see how they handle it tonight.

In 2011, the New York Yankees were 4-12 in extra inning games. So far in 2012, they’re 2-0.

And I know what you’re going to say, “It’s a small sample size,” and “They’ve been against the Orioles,” which are both true statements but the 2-0 record, so far, is a good sign that the Yankees bullpen will be an asset this season. Also, the Yankees actually lost two extra inning games in a row to the Orioles on September 7 and 8 of last season, both final scores were 5-4 and one game was at home and the other in Baltimore.

When you look at the table, you’ll notice something kind of disturbing. The last extra innings game the Yankees won was on June 16 against the Texas Rangers – 3-2 in 12 innings. They lost their final eight extra inning games – including the now infamous Game 162 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

So yes, while the past two games are a very small sample size, there’s reason to believe that things will be a lot different this season. That reason? A stronger bullpen.

On Tuesday night the bullpen kept the Orioles scoreless for a combined seven and 1/3 innings – only giving up two hits and striking out 12. The stars on that night were David Phelps and Cory Wade.

Last night, they added four more innings to that stat – giving up two hits and striking out four. Boone Logan was the stand out, pitching one and 2/3 innings, not giving up a hit and striking out one. (He also shocked the heck out of a lot of Yankee fans who were worried when he remained in the game longer than an inning.)

In fact, the bullpen has been good in the first six games. It’s the starters – more specifically CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia – who have had issues through the first six games.

So, again, it’s a small sample size but Yankee fans should feel good about their bullpen in 2012.

It’s Wednesday September 21, 2011…

Guess who clinched a playoff berth this afternoon with a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays?

Guess who could clinch the American League East tonight – if they win the second game of the doubleheader and if the Red Sox lose to the Baltimore Orioles again?

THE YANKEES!

The team that so called experts were saying would finish third in the division because of their patchwork starting rotation.

Yeah.

This afternoon’s game was interesting to say the least. Thanks to Phil Hughes’s back spams, Hector Noesi made the start. He only lasted into the third inning, having given up two earned wons on four hits – the big blow being a two run homer by Desmond Jennings.

Then Joe Girardi called on his bullpen to keep the Yankees in the game. Raul Valdes, George Kontos, Aaron Laffey, Cory Wade, Boone Logan, Luis Ayala and Mariano Rivera kept the Rays scoreless. Ayala picked up the win and Rivera picked up his 44th save of the season and 603rd all time.

The hitting star of the game: Eduardo Nunez who homered in the eighth inning to tie the game. The honorable mention goes to Robinson Cano who doubled in Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter to put the Yankees up for good, 4-2.

Tonight CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.01) faces Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.91) in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Sabathia is trying for win number 20. Again.

“Hector Noesi, come on down! You’re the next contestant on Our Bullpen is Taxed!”

The Yankees have sent reliever Buddy Carlyle back down to Triple A and have called up reliever Hector Noesi to replace him.

According to numerous writers via Twitter, Carlyle was just seen cleaning out his locker.

Noesi is 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA so far this year.