The Yankees have lost righty starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang until at least late August and quite possibly the remainder of the season. He was injured running the bases against the Astros over the weekend. Wang had a mid foot sprain of the Lisfranc ligament in his right foot and he also has a ligament tear in his right foot. Wang has started 15 games for the Yankees this season and he is 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. The Yankees will likely have to make a deal to replace Wang as their own prospects appear to be vastly overrated due to the failures of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy this season. This is a huge blow to the Yankees chances of winning the A.L. East this season or even the Wild Card.

The Yankees weren’t expecting much out of 39-year old righty starter Mike Mussina but he has been the best starting pitcher on the Yanks by far. Mussina has started 14 games for the Yankees this season and he is 9-4 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Mussina’s outstanding control has been the main reason for his success this year as he has only walked 11 batters in 75.1 innings this season. But, Mussina has allowed 82 hits and 10 homers this season so he will have to continue to change speeds and hit his location to remain effective. As funny as it sounds, Mike Mussina might be able to win 20 games in a season for the first time in his major league career. Mussina has won 19 games twice in a season but never 20 despite being one of the better pitchers of his generation. He has now pitched in 517 games (516 starts) in his major league career and he is 259-148 with a 3.70 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

The Yankees signed 25-year old lefty swinging 1B Juan Miranda to a 4-year, $4 million dollar contract in 2006. He is the #21 rated player in the Yankees’ minor league system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. Miranda has played in 32 games in AAA this season and he is 29 for 107 (.271 avg, .826 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs. It wouldn’t hurt to give Miranda a chance at playing in the show based on Shelley Duncan’s horrible start to the season in New York.

The Yankees have placed righty reliever Chris Britton on the 15-day disabled list with a pulled right ribcage. He was pitching well for the Yankees this season. He pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Yanks this season and he was 0-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Britton will be replaced on the roster by 31-year old righty Dan Giese. Giese has pitched in 1 game for the Yankees this season and he is 0-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Giese has also pitched in 13 games (10 starts) in AAA ball this season and he is 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He only has allowed 43 hits in 59 AAA innings this season.

28-year old righty Scott Patterson was called up by the Yankees to replace Morgan Ensberg on the roster and he will join the bullpen. Patterson has pitched in 1 game for the Yanks so far and he worked 1.1 innings while allowing 1 earned run and 1 hit. He was 1-0 with 3 saves, a 3.04 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in AAA this season.