A-Rod moved down to 5th in the order

You had to figure this was coming eventually.  A-Rod hit his way into the 3 hole after being buried at 7 in the order on Opening Day but the currency he accumulated over the first fourth months of the season has run out.  It makes sense to make this move tonight against the right-hander and there's a possibility he still hits 3 against lefties but for the time being Beltran deserves to hit there.  He's been their best hitter for more than a month and right now is far and away their most dangerous and productive offensive force.  How will this affect A-Rod?  Who knows.  But if he continues to scuffle down the stretch it won't hurt the team as much while he's hitting further down in the order.

With rosters expanding today there are eight new faces in the Yankee clubhouse.  Andrew Bailey has made his long awaited return to a major league roster after missing two years following shoulder surgery.  Caleb Cotham and lefty James Pazos will join him in an effort to bolster the bullpen.  Dustin Ackley is back after going out with a back injury pretty much the instant the Yankees traded for him.  Jose Pirela and Rob Refsnyder will also provide a little infield depth and should get an opportunity to give the Yankees something else at second base when Stephen Drew isn't playing.  Austin Romine and Rico Noel are both up as the obligatory third catcher and pinch-running specialist respectively.  Cashman has caught a little flack for not bringing up Aaron Judge but 1) he doesn't have a spot with Chris Young on the roster and 2) he just hasn't hit much since he was called to Scranton (.229 BA).

Big Mike will toe the rubber tonight to try and even the series after last night's brutal loss.  He always pitches well against the Sox (3-1, 2.18 ERA) but was not received warmly in his return from the DL last week against Houston.  Hopefully he's shaken off enough rust to keep the Yanks in the game tonight and give them a chance to get a win.

Part of me wants to say that tonight is a must win but the Yankees and Blue Jays have 7 head-to-head games left.  The fact of the matter is that as long as the Yankees are in striking distance on September 10th when Toronto comes to the Bronx they'll have a chance to win the pennant.  Until then, these game are important but they aren't as important as they seem.