New York just can’t get relief from its relief.

After blowing a save Sunday night, Mariano Rivera was not an option manager Joe Girardi could have gone to, as the Yankees’ closer was nursing a sore right elbow/triceps.

“He’s had issues that he gets worked on before, and he always seems to bounce back,” Girardi told reporters. “If it goes on for a few days, yes, then you get a little bit more concerned. Mo has had to fight through things to stay around this long. That’s what he does.”

But if Mariano’s soreness/injury is just another in a long line of bullpen pitchers this season.

Joba Chamberlain is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June.

The elusive — and expensive — Rafael Soriano, who made 16 appearances this season, is on the 60-day DL with a right elbow injury, and Damaso Marte and Pedro Feliciano, neither of whom pitched this season, are both out with left shoulder injuries.

The Yankees still have some plenty of options in the bullpen — perhaps even moving Dave Robertson to more of an eighth-inning, soon-to-be-closer guy — with the always unpredictable batch of bullpen pitchers that Girardi trots out toward the end of the game, including LOOGY, Luis Ayala and Cory Wade.

I still don’t know why Sergio Mitre is back.

And Lance Pendleton, I’m glad the New York team has brought him back up.

Good news: Phil Hughes returns to the rotation Wednesday.

The AL East Division leading Yankees open a three game set tonight against the NL Central Division leading Milwaukee Brewers. It’s the first time the teams are meeting in the Bronx since 1997. The Brewers are coming off a weekend sweep of the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees just took two of three from the Colorado Rockies and have won twelve out of their last sixteen games overall.

The Brewers are sending starter Zach Greinke (7-2, 4.77 ERA) to the mound tonight. It will be his first time back in the Bronx since 2008 when he was with the Kansas City Royals. He will be matched up against Freddy Garcia (6-6, 3.30 ERA) who is looking to even his record against the National League in 2011. He’s 1-2 but has gone seven innings in each of those starts and his last start resulted in a win in Cincinnati on Wednesday.

It looks like Derek Jeter will not being coming off the disabled list when he’s eligible to do so this Wednesday. Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News writes that GM Brian Cashman said that while Jeter had a great day of rehab on Monday, he won’t be major league ready by the time the DL stint is supposed to end. Cashman even hinted that they’re not sure when Jeter will be ready. “It’s going to take as long as it takes. We just don’t want it to take any longer than it needs to take.” Jeter, of course, didn’t say too much.

“Everything’s good,” Jeter told The AP. “Steps in the right direction.”

More Stories From Rehab

• Eric Chavez took batting practice with Jeter
• Bartolo Colon threw four innings of fifteen pitches each in a simulated game – he struck out three and gave up two hits
• Pedro Feliciano made fifteen soft throws off a bullpen mound
• Mark Prior will be throwing off a mound later today – for the second time in four days

Here’s a funny quote from former Yankee manager Joe Torre on Derek Jeter’s quest for hit number 3,000:

“I thought he was very selfish in getting hurt. I had this whole thing worked out where I was going to be with them on this last road trip. … Hopefully I can be there when he gets this 3,000th.”

Some Fun With Numbers

• Alex Rodriguez is 8-15 with three doubles and seven RBIs – including at least one in each game – since suffering a knee injury in Chicago on June 19.
• CC Sabathia’s run support in his 10 wins: 15, 12, 12, 13, 5, 7, 3, 12, 10 and 8
• The Yankees are 9-3 since Jeter went on the DL and have averaged six runs a game in that span

Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2011-06-26/alex-rodriguez-streaking-despite-sore-knee#ixzz1QXx8UmXL

The Kids Are All Right

Wins for everybody! You get a win and you get a win and you and you and…

Scranton Yankees 4 Durham Bulls 3 in 10 innings

Trenton Thunder 6 New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4

Tampa Yankees 6 Brevard County Manatees 3

Charleston Riverdogs 3 Augusta Greenjackets 0

Staten Island Yankees 7 Hudson Valley Renegades 3

The GCL Yankees had their game suspended due to rain – the same rain that cut Derek Jeter’s rehab assignment short yesterday.

Tonight’s Yankees game will be on YES at 7:05pm and for you ‘out of towners’, it is also scheduled to be shown on MLB Network.

The Yankees ‘bullpen’ DL has another member. Joba Chamberlain has been placed on the 15 day DL with a strained flexor muscle in his right elbow. According to manager Joe Girardi, Chamberlain had been receiving treatment for his elbow the past couple of weeks.

Chamberlain will most likely be out at 3-4 weeks.

The bullpen was supposed to be a strength for the 2011 Yankees but now it has become a triage center. Chamberlain now joins relievers Damarso Marte, Pedro Feliciano, and Rafael Soriano on the disabled list.

Reliever Hector Noesi was sent to Triple-A, Amauri Sanit called up. and Jeff Marquez who was claimed today from White Sox will be joining the Yankees in the Bronx tonight.

Statement from the Yankees:

“LHP Pedro Feliciano was seen today by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, Fla. Dr. Andrews recommended a conservative treatment program for the next six weeks. Feliciano will begin a shoulder strengthening program immediately, and is expected to remain with the team during the rehabilitation process.”

This is an interesting turn of events considering the Yankees thought Andrews was going to recommend surgery for Feliciano.

Hearing the name Dr. James Andrews usually causes Major League Baseball fans to either gasp or cringe. Sometimes, if you’re like me, the automatic response is to do both. Because learning that Pedro Feliciano has an appointment on Monday with Dr. Andrews really drives the point home of just how serious his shoulder injury is. Even more scary, 34 year-old Feliciano has the same injury to the capsule area that ended Chien-Ming Wang’s Yankee tenure.

On Feliciano’s appointment with Dr. Andrews, GM Brian Cashman said:

“Most likely, that opinion will hold up, unfortunately,” Cashman said. “It’s not like this is a close call. It seems to be a very obvious diagnosis. In all likelihood, we’re looking at a significant surgery.”

Feliciano said:

“I want to be here. I’m a guy wants to pitch every day … not to be shut down for maybe a year, I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. It’s going to be hard.”

The Yankees signed the left hander to a 2 year $8 million dollar contract this winter and were hoping he’d be the lefty specialist out of the pen. Now they’ll probably have to wait at least a year for that to happen. That responsibility will continue to fall solely onto Boone Logan’s shoulders until the Yankees can find someone else to help ‘shoulder the load’ with Logan and fill the void by Feliciano. (Yes, I did that purposely.)

Via Thomas Boorstein at MLB.com, Luis Ayala has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, Joe Girardi announced Tuesday. Reliever Ayala, who has pitched five innings in three appearances this season, suffered an injury to his lat on Saturday.

It has been reported that Hector Noesi, who was slated to start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tomorrow night, will be called up to fill Ayala’s spot.

Says River Ave. Blues:

Noesi will serve as the club’s de facto 25th man right now, pitching in mop-up or emergency long relief, but the Yanks could see him as a potential rotation option depending upon how Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia look over the new few outings.

Also, Pedro Feliciano played catch Tuesday for the first time in 14 days, and will have to have an MRI on his strained rotator cuff.

From Chad Jennings at the LoHud Yankees Blog:

Pedro Feliciano said he never felt pain during [Tuesday's] throwing session, but he did feel a slight “pinch,” and that made him feel like something might not be quite right. Feliciano said his arm is usually very loose, and that pinch made him feel like “it wasn’t my arm.”

When he met with the doctor later — after he initially talked to the media — Feliciano spoke up about the pinch. The doctor then prodded near his shoulder, and Feliciano felt the same problem as before.

“I was so happy, jumping all over to play catch,” he said. “And then I came back, not sad, but I just came back with not the result that I want.”

Boone Logan has been serving as the lone lefty in reserves for the Yankees. Damaso Marte is on the 60-day DL after tearing the labrum in his shoulder.

Happy Wednesday Yankee fans! Mother Nature decided the Yankees didn’t need to play for a second straight day so we have no game to talk about, but fear not! We have links for you to enjoy from the Yankee blogosphere.

The rainout last night means bad news for Freddy Garcia – NJ.com:

Upon learning of the weather forecast Tuesday afternoon, fifth starter Freddy Garcia threw up his arms and leaned back in his chair in the clubhouse. He knew rain would mean bad news.

The bullpen got a double dose of bad news about Pedro Feliciano and Luis Ayala last night – NJ.com:

Feliciano, who signed with the Yankees this winter as a replacement for the injured Marte, will undergo a second MRI exam Wednesday on what is being called a strained rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

Meanwhile, right-handed reliever Luis Ayala is headed to the 15-day disabled list with a strain of his lat muscle, another dose of bad news for a bullpen that has already been leaned on to carry a thin starting rotation.

Kevin Millwood made start number two last night – CBSSports.com:

Millwood gave up four runs, three earned, and seven hits against Philadelphia minor leaguers. He faced two batters who singled and scored in the sixth to reach his scheduled pitch count.

Alex Rodriguez is named Player of the Week…in New York? Um okay. He beat out Ike Davis of the Mets. This is apparently a new feature for the New York Daily News.

A-Rod has an absurd 1.155 OPS (on-base plus slugging) going into Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles and slugged three homers in eight games. His value to the Yankee lineup perhaps was never more in evidence than when he was out of it Sunday with the flu and his teammates flailed their way to only two singles against Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon.

Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate and the Yankees will get their game in tonight against the first place Orioles. Yes, the first place Orioles.

CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia.

Joe Girardi announced this morning that Nova and Garcia would take the last two spots in the rotation. Bartolo Colon will serve as a long man.

Found the article over at the SWB Yankees facebook.

Pedro Feliciano is likely to start the season on the disabled list due to tricep soreness in his pitching arm.

Yankees defeated the Pirates, 4-2, at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. Bartolo Colon’s final line: 4.0IP, 2ER, 4H, 7K & 0BB. The Yankees pitchers, including Manny Banuelos and Pedro Feliciano, struck out 16 Pirates tonight. Banuelos and Feliciano struck out 3 a piece. Luis Ayala had two K’s. Also included in that stat, Rafael Soriano, who made his Spring debut tonight. He pitched an inning and only allowed 1 hit and struck out a batter. Russell Martin homered and also threw out Andrew McCutchen trying to steal second. Andruw Jones hit his first HR of the Spring as well. Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano each had RBI singles in the game.

The Yankees travel to Clearwater tomorrow to face the Philadelphia Phillies. CC Sabathia will get the start. The game is at 1:05p.

The Yankees improved their Spring record to 4-5-1 with a 7-1 victory over one of Philadelphia’s four aces, Roy Oswalt. Curtis Granderson and Eduardo Nunez both went deep against Oswalt. AJ Burnett, Joba Chamberlain and Pedro Feliciano pitched a combined 5 perfect innings. Eric Chavez was 3 for 3 at the plate. Nick Swisher made a great catch over the bullpen fence in right field.

The other half of the team (Sergio Mitre and the starting infielders) is travelling to Sarasota to play the Orioles tonight at 7:05p. The game will be televised on the Orioles network MASN and on mlb.tv as well.