Joba Chamberlain's move to the rotation had been going well with a 2.76 ERA in a dozen starts, but he left Monday's game with shoulder soreness that has since been diagnosed as rotator cuff tendinitis. As of Wednesday night he's avoided the disabled list, but Chamberlain won't make his scheduled start Saturday after being told to rest for a week by Dr. James Andrews. Assuming that the Yankees play it safe with their 22-year-old asset, don't expect to see him before September.
With Chamberlain hurting Ian Kennedy may get another chance in New York after going 5-2 with a 1.99 ERA in the minors. Meanwhile, the Yankees' rotation also received bad news Wednesday on Chien-Ming Wang, who was advised by a foot specialist to keep using a brace and crutches. Wang hasn't been ruled out for the season yet, but there's little indication that he has a legitimate chance of returning after manager Joe Girardi admitted that he's no longer expecting him back.
While the Yankees wonder if they should have added a starting pitcher at the trading deadline, here are some other notes from around baseball .
* With no room for him in the aforementioned Yankees' rotation, Jeff Karstens was traded to the Pirates in last week's Xavier Nady deal. All he's done since is win both of his starts while tossing 15 scoreless frames, including taking a perfect game into the eighth inning Wednesday. He's no doubt secured a spot in the Pirates' rotation for the remainder of the year, but don't expect the Yankees to regret parting with Karstens much over the long haul.
Karstens works with a high-80s fastball that he throws far less often than most pitchers, relying instead of an assortment of breaking stuff that for now at least has the NL fooled. However, as a soon-to-be 26-year-old with a pedestrian 349-to-112 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 422 career innings between Double-A and Triple-A he's likely at best a potential fourth or fifth starter. Don't be afraid to sell high if you can find someone convinced that he's the real deal.
* Acquired from the Cardinals a week before the trading deadline, Anthony Reyes is expected to join the Indians' rotation Friday against the Blue Jays. Reyes fell out of favor in St. Louis by going 10-24 with a 5.38 ERA and reportedly clashing with pitching coach Dave Duncan, but he's still 26 years old and projects as a potential mid-rotation starter long term. Reyes has a 3.15 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 317 career innings at Triple-A. Unlike Karstens, his value will never be lower.
* In a year full of meltdowns from the Indians' bullpen, Wednesday afternoon's implosion against the Rays stands out. Up 6-4 after six innings, manager Eric Wedge turned to the only guy in the bullpen with an ERA below 3.50 and got two scoreless frames from Rafael Perez. Unfortunately that still left the ninth inning, and Edward Mujica and Masa Kobayashi amazingly combined to cough up six runs without recording an out, culminating in Carlos Pena's walk-off three-run blast.
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Wedge has talked recently about the need to add a veteran closer for next season and there's no doubt that the Indians' bullpen needs plenty of help, but Perez's track record suggests that he'd be perfectly capable of handling ninth-inning duties if given an extended chance. He had a 1.78 ERA and 62-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60.2 innings last season and has followed it up with a 2.96 ERA and 52-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 54.2 innings this year. He can do the job.
* One week after moving him back to closer, the Cardinals stripped Jason Isringhausen of ninth-inning duties Wednesday and announced that they'll go with a closer-by-committee approach. He has just one blown save since returning from the disabled list in June, but an ugly outing in a non-save situation Tuesday left him with a 4.79 ERA in 20.2 post-DL innings. Expect Isringhausen and Ryan Franklin to share the job for now, but Adam Wainwright could join the mix once healthy.
AL Quick Hits: With C.J. Wilson (elbow) placed on the disabled list Wednesday, Eddie Guardado is now the Rangers' closer . Vladimir Guerrero's season totals remain disappointing, but after a big afternoon Wednesday he's hitting .330 with 13 homers in 52 games since June 1 . Shaun Marcum hasn't regained his full velocity since coming off the DL, but held the A's to one run on three hits over seven innings Wednesday . Jhonny Peralta went 5-for-5 with a homer and two doubles Wednesday, and has raised his OPS by 150 points in the last 40 games . Not running out a ground ball Tuesday night got B.J. Upton benched Wednesday afternoon . His shoulder clearly bothering him, Scott Rolen went hitless Wednesday for the second straight game is 9-for-54 (.167) since the All-Star break . Ivan Rodriguez and David Murphy suffered knee injuries in a home-plate collision Wednesday, but Murphy took the worst of it with a sprained ligament . Tim Wakefield tossed six innings of two-run ball Wednesday, winning his seventh game and moving into a tie for the AL lead with 16 Quality Starts.
NL Quick Hits:Tim Lincecum improved to 12-3 with eight innings of two-run ball Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 2.68 . Ryan Ludwick went 3-for-5 with a homer Wednesday, going deep in his fifth straight game . Pedro Martinez turned in his third Quality Start of the year Wednesday, but fell to the Padres while allowing his 12th and 13th homers in just 56 innings . Ryan Howard went 2-for-5 with a homer Wednesday and is now hitting .317 with 12 homers and 29 RBIs in 30 games since July 1 . Rickie Weeks collected four hits Wednesday and is 16-for-49 (.327) since the Brewers acquired Ray Durham . Elijah Dukes landed on the disabled list Wednesday and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a strained calf . Tom Glavine (elbow) is scheduled to make a second minor-league rehab start Saturday rather than coming off the DL . Colorado claiming him off waivers Wednesday means that Livan Hernandez's historic quest for 300 hits allowed will now involve Coors Field . Following Dan Haren's extension, Brandon Webb said Tuesday that the Diamondbacks recently rescinded an offer that would've kept him in Arizona through 2013.
