With Alex Rodriguez on the D.L. and Javier Vazquez pitching like crap the Yankees have turned to infielder Eduardo Nunez and starting pitcher Ivan Nova with impressive results. 23-year old righty swinging infielder Eduardo Nunez has played in 10 games since he was called up by the Yankees and he is 8 of 27 (.296 avg, .789 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Ivan Nova has bumped Javier Vazquez to the pen. Nova has pitched in 4 games (2 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has whiffed 11 batters while only walking 2 in 14 innings as he is attacking the strike zone early and often in games. It’s odd to see the Yankees giving their prospects a chance instead of dealing them for proven players so maybe the Yankees are trying something new.

28-year old righty starting pitcher Dustin Moseley is doing a fine job as the #5 starter for the Yankees. He beat Josh Beckett and the Red Sox last night as he outpitched Beckett pretty badly giving the Yankees a easy win. Moseley has pitched in 7 games (3 starts) for the Yankees this year and he is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. His success is likely tied to the fact that he is pounding the strike zone as he has only walked 9 batters in 30 1/3 innings pitched for the Yanks. The #5 starter job is his at least until Andy Pettitte comes back if he keeps throwing the ball so well.

The Yankees have recalled 27-year old righty reliever Jonathan Albaladejo to replace Andy Pettitte on the pitching staff as he was placed on the D.L. Albaladejo has been outstanding in the minors this year for the Yankees. He has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 2-1 with 31 saves, a 0.96 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. He only gave up 25 hits while whiffing 61 batters in 46 2/3 innings in the minors. He has pitched in 39 games (0 starts) in two years with the Yankees and he is 5-2 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. With no set up man stepping up for the Yankees, they might give Albaladejo a chance to pitch late in games if he gets off to a good start.

The Yankees are sending six players to the All-Star game in Los Angeles. Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter will be the starting double play combo for the American League as they were voted in. Cano will be making his first appearance in the All-Star game which is kind of shocking based on his play to this point in his career. Cano has played in 80 games for the Yankees this season and he is 109 of 315 (.346 avg, .971 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 16 homers and 55 RBIs. If Cano has a strong second half he could make a run for the MVP Award in the A.L. Derek Jeter got this start basically on reputation. He will be making his 11th appearance in the mid-summer classic. Jeter has played in 78 games so far this season for the Yankees and he is 94 of 334 (.281 avg, .756 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 39 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Alex Rodriguez will be making his 13th appearance in the All-Star game but he will be coming off the bench. A-Rod has played in 74 games for the Yankees so far this season and he is 78 of 281 (.278 avg, .842 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 12 homers and 61 RBIs. Starting pitchers Phil Hughes and C.C. Sabathia have made the All-Star pitching staff. Hughes will be making his first appearance while Sabathia will be in his 4th All-Star game. Hughes has started 14 games for the Yankees this season and he is 10-2 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Sabathia started a tad slow this season but he’s on fire right now. The big lefty has started 17 games for the Yankees this season and he is 10-3 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Mariano “The Sandman” Rivera will be making his 11th appearance in the All-Star Game. He has pitched in 31 games this season and he is 2-1 with 18 saves, a 0.86 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP. The Yankees will be well represented in Anaheim.

UPDATE: (7/5/2010) - Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi has added Andy Pettitte to the American League All-Star team due to Clay Buchholz’ injury. Pettitte has started 16 games for the Yankees this year and he is 10-2 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has only given up 90 hits in 105 1/3 innings this season. This will be his third All-Star appearance and he deserves this honor.

UPDATE II: (7/8/2010) - 29-year old switch hitting RF Nick Swisher has won the “Final Vote” and he will be on the All-Star Team. Swisher has played in 79 games so far this season and he is 89 of 299 (.298 avg, .895 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 14 homers and 48 RBIs.

40-year old closer Mariano Rivera is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down. He has pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this year and he is 1-1 with 17 saves, a 0.99 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP. Rivera has only allowed 11 hits in 27 1/3 innings this season while whiffing 26 showing he still has his late game chops. Rivera will likely be major league baseball’s all-time leader in saves in a couple of years as he now has 543 which has him 53 behind Trevor Hoffman who has lost his job as the Brewers’ closer. Rivera is #13 all-time in ERA (2.22) and #3 in WHIP (1.00) in major league history right now. The Sandman is remarkable to watch as he is still an awesome pitcher at 40 years old.