First, the good news: The Yankees won again last night, CC Sabathia allowed just one run in eight strong innings, and Randy Winn — Randy Winn! — hit a three-run homer in the fourth, his first home run in more than a calendar year. The Yankees improved to 8–2 at home, and, for what it’s worth, gained a half-game on idle Tampa. These are all very good things.
The following are not good things: Jorge Posada left the game after the fifth inning with tightness in his calf. (An MRI revealed it to be a mild strain, and he’s day-to-day.) Meanwhile, Joba Chamberlain closed the game and earned the save because Mariano Rivera has felt stiffness in his side since Saturday and was unavailable. Rivera — who played catch yesterday and didn’t seem particularly concerned — will throw in the bullpen today in hopes of pitching tonight.
Now, neither of these injuries appears to be particularly serious. But it’s a reminder that quite a few of the key players on this team are, by baseball standards, old. (Alex Rodriguez, who to be fair isn’t quite as old as Posada or Rivera, also got a day off last weekend to rest his right leg.) Last year, the worst of the Yankees’ injury woes were over by the end of May, when Posada returned from the DL to join A-Rod, who’d started the season on the DL, on the active roster. They can only hope to be so lucky this year, too.