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Mark Teixeira (wrist) hit off a tee and took some soft toss in the cage, Joe Girardi confirmed.

"He said he felt really good," Girardi said. "He will do it again, I'm assuming Friday. We'll try to continue to progress. It is another step in the right direction."

Teixeira is still a long ways off, but he has moved into the next stage of his rehab. The end of the month still seems like the most optimistic return date.

2) D-ROB A-OK: David Robertson said he felt something in his hamstring as he left the mound when Fernando Martinez grounded out to end the eighth. Robertson said he thought he might come in on Thursday for some treatment, but he did not think the injury was serious at all.

3) MO LEADS THE RELIEVERS: After David Phelps struggled in the fourth, he lasted into the sixth before handing the ball to Boone Logan, Robertson and Mariano Rivera. The trio combined for the final 10 outs with Rivera allowing the only hit. Rivera picked up the save, his 11th in as many chances. It is the third longest streak of his career to start a season. He saved his first 28 in 2008 and his initial 12 in 2004.

4) NO-MO: The Yankees gave Phelps a four-run lead, but he gave it right back in the fourth. The worst thing he did, according to Girardi, was hit a couple of guys. Phelps knows he didn't make the most of his first opportunity to claim the fifth starter spot.

"The fourth inning killed all the momentum," Phelps said.

5) EXTRA BASE OVERBAY: Lyle Overbay had a double, which gives him at least one extra base hit in four of his last five games.

The most important move of Wednesday's game was not a swing or a catch, it was a whisper.

In the sixth, the score was tied at four and there was one out and runners were on first and third. With Ichiro Suzuki up, first base coach Mick Kelleher noticed that Astros second baseman Jose Altuve was inching over a few steps toward first. So Kelleher told Lyle Overbay to be careful if the ball is hit to the right side.

With the fast Ichiro at the plate, the only probable way for an inning ending doubleplay that would keep the game tied was if Altuve were to tag Overbay and throw to first.

After Kelleher made his point to Overbay, wouldn't you know it, the ball was hit to Altuve and Overbay stopped in tracks. Instead of running into a possible, quick 4-3 doubleplay that would have prevented Eduardo Nunez from scoring, Overbay paused the action. The Astros eventually got their dobuleplay, but it was a 4-3-6 version.

This allowed Nunez to score the go-ahead run in the 5-4 Yankees. The fact that Overbay had played in 1,348 previous regular season games may have helped.

"Veterans have been through a lot situations through their careers," Joe Girardi said. "Sometimes when you have a lot of veterans you have to manage days off a little bit more, but they make heads up plays, they know how to play the game. They are not going to get frazzled by situations. That is really important because those situations are going to come up time and time again during the season."

With the win, the Yankees are 17-10 overall and 16-7 since April 7th. The second number ties them with the Boston Red Sox for the best record over the last three-plus weeks. They have won six of their last seven, finishing up a 16-straight game span in which they went 11-5 and won four of five series.

"We won a lot of games so I'm pleased," Girardi said.

He had to be happy with his first base coach and his replacement first baseman, who continues to help the Yankees win.

The Yankees have acquired Chris Nelson from the Colorado Rockies for cash or a player to be named later. Nelson, 27, hit .242 for the Rockies this season. He made 19 starts at third base. He will give the Yankees depth there behind Jayson Nix.

Corban Joseph will likely be sent down, but Joe Girardi said no decision has been made. At the moment, the Yankees have moved Francisco Cervelli to the 60-day DL to make room for Nelson on the 40-man.

In 2012, Nelson hit .301. His .344 average (62-for-180) led all NL third baseman after the All-Star Break. He was the ninth pick in the 2004 draft. Here is the press release:

The New York Yankees tonight announced they have acquired infielder Chris Nelson from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.

Nelson, 27, appeared in 21 games with the Colorado Rockies this season before being designated for assignment on April 28, batting .242 (16-for-66) with one double, two triples and four RBI. He made 19 starts, all at third base, committing three errors in 48 total chances. He is a career .279 (172-for-616) hitter with 33 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs and 73 RBI in 212 games over parts of four seasons with the Rockies (2010-13). Selected by Colorado in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, the utility infielder has made appearances at third base, second base, and shortstop, combining for a .947 career fielding percentage.

He spent his first full season in the Majors in 2012, batting .301 (104-for-345) with 21 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 53 RBI in 111 games with the Rockies. His .344 (62-for-180) batting average following the All-Star break led all National League third basemen.

In a corresponding move to make room on the 40-man roster, C Francisco Cervelli was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Yankees took care of business against the terrible Astros. It wasn't pretty, but two-out-of three moves the Yankees to a very solid 17-10 on the young season.

THE ADVENTURES OF EDUARDO: In the bottom of the sixth, with the score tied, Eduardo Nunez started the inning with a double. Of course, his helmet fell off, which it seemingly always does.

He eventually would come home with the go-ahead run. With runners on the corners and one out, Ichiro Suzuki grounded to first for what possibly could have been a conventional double play. But Ichiro is fast. Running from first, Lyle Overbay smartly held up in the middle of the basepaths, making it so there could be no tag out and throw-to-first double play. The Astros were hung up converting an unconventional 4-3-6 double play. Before the final out, Nunez scored to give the Yankees the lead.

Earlier, Nunez slid into first feet-first on a close play. He was out, but he always entertains.

FOUR UP: The Yankees scored in each of the first three innings to take a 4-0 lead. In the first, Ichiro led off with a triple and came around on Jayson Nix's single. In the second, Erik Bedard walked the first three batters, but the Yankees got just one run on a Chris Stewart sac fly. In the third, Robinson Cano nailed his team-leading eighth homer, while the much-maligned Ben Francisco knocked his first as a Yankee. They both were solo shots and it was 4-0 Yankees.

FOUR DOWN: The Yankees gave David Phelps four runs and he gave them back. This was a terrible start for Phelps.

Phelps came in with a chance to really stabilize his spot at the No. 5 man. With Ivan Nova hurt and having not pitched particularly well for a long time, Phelps entered with an opportunity to secure the job.

Instead, he gave up four runs in the fourth on four hits and hit two batters. He ended up going 5 2/3 innings, allowing the four runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked one. Joe Girardi may talk about how Phelps only had one bad inning, but was a Nova-like performance.

For a guy that Hal Steinbrenner constantly references as a pillar pitcher for the $189M dream, Phelps has to eventually show more consistency.

ROBERTSON UPDATE: YES' Jack Curry, the network's dugout reporter Wednesday, reported that David Robertson might have twisted his ankle. Robertson apparently caught his ankle on the mound, moving toward first base during his scoreless eighth. We will follow that in the postgame.

NO KNEE-D TO WORRY: Mariano Rivera's knee is fine. After recording a career-best 10 saves in April, the 43-year-old picked up his first save of May on Wednesday.

PAID ATTENDANCE: 34,117. There were more empty seats I can ever remember at the new stadium.

IN THE HOLE: The Yankees are off Thursday and then have a three-game series with the A's. On Friday, the CC Sabathia V-lo watch will continue. Sabathia (4-2., 3.35 ERA) will be opposed by A.J. Griffin. Game time is 7:05 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, the Yankees play at 1 p.m. It will be Phil Hughes (0-2, 4.67) vs. Bartolo Colon (3-0, 3.38). On Sunday, it is Andy Pettitte (3-2, 3.86) vs. Dan Straily (1-0, 6.35).


QUESTION OF THE DAY: What do you think of Phelps?

The big news from the pregame is that Curtis Granderson batted for the first time since his first at-bat of spring training, while Kevin Youkilis is optimistic about his back. Both Granderson and Youkilis could return by the middle of the month.

1) TEX MESSAGE: We went through the full injury report on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Joe Girardi said that Mark Teixeira still was just dry swinging, which means he is not even making contact with a ball off a tee. However, Teixeira tweeted:

Felt good hitting balls today, I didn't make one out in the cage. #Yankees #OntheMend

— Mark Teixeira (@teixeiramark25) May 1, 2013

So Teixeira may have made some progress. If he did make contact off a tee or in soft toss, he would be moving up a stage in his rehab. He still is a long way from returning, but this could be a good sign for him.

We should have more on this after the game.

2) LINEUP: Even against the lefty Erik Bedard, Joe Girardi had the hot hitting Travis Hafner at DH. Hafner started at DH against a lefty this past weekend as well. Girardi said that since Hafner had only played five straight the manager was fine with sending him out there again.

Girardi had Ichiro Suzuki -- who also is hitting well lately -- leading off and in center, with the cold Ben Francisco batting fifth and in right. This put the healthy Brett Gardner on the bench.

"'Ich' has been hot," Girardi said. "That's the bottom line."

Girardi said that Francisco has "struggled," but he doesn't want him to feel "like every at-bat is the end of the world." Francisco needs to start hitting or he won't be playing at all.

3) NEWCOMERS PRODUCING: Hafner, Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay and Brennan Boesch combined for half of the team's 36 homers in April. Wells, Overbay and Boesch were not on the roster when spring training began.

Here is the Yankees' lineup vs. Erik Bedard. Bedard is 0-2 with a 7.98 ERA.

Ichiro Suzuki, CF
Jayson Nix, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Vernon Wells, LF
Travis Hafner, DH
Ben Francisco, RF
Eduardo Nunez, SS
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Chris Stewart, C

David Phelps, P

With his rehab progressing swimmingly, Mark Teixeira graduated from swinging in water to what baseball people like to call "dry swings." That was two weeks ago today.

Teixeira is in dry swing purgatory at the moment. His next stage in his recovery is hitting off a tee and then soft toss. Neither the Yankees nor Teixeira have said when that will happen.

What they can say is that Teixeira is not close to coming back. May 1 had been the most optimistic goal for Teixeira to return. Today is May 1 and No. 25 isn't coming through the clubhouse door to play in a game. Even he is warning that his wrist is going to take some more time.

Still swinging, working up to full speed. I never realized how hard and violent I swung until I got hurt. Getting better but need patience!

— Mark Teixeira (@teixeiramark25) April 30, 2013

There is a real chance that Teixeira might not return until June 1, if then. My best guess is that Teixeira returns in June.

That would leave the Yankees' first base job in the hands of Lyle Overbay. Overbay has been fine so far. His glove is nearly as good as Teixeira's and, even though his average is .241, he is not that much worse than the modern day Teixeira, who batted .251 in 2012.

On Tuesday, Overbay hit his fourth homer of the season. It took the always slow-starting Teixeira until May 4 of 2012 to reach four home runs.

This is not to suggest Overbay is Teixeira, even if Overbay has held down the position for the first month.

Overbay, 36, has kicked around the majors the last couple of years and is only a Yankee because the Red Sox kicked him to the curb during the spring. The more he plays and Teixeira doesn't, the more the chances are Overbay becomes exposed.

So far, Overbay has been nearly as good or maybe even better than what the Yankees usually receive from Teixeira in April. But can it last?

UP NOW: Kieran Darcy and I were at the stadium on Tuesday. We have all the news from the game. Plus, Kevin Youkilis is on the DL and the rest of the injury report. Curtis Granderson is close to coming back.

ON DECK: I will be out at the stadium. Clubhouse opens at 3:20 p.m. It will be Erik Bedard (0-2, 7.98) vs. David Phelps (1-1, 5.29). The Yankees are off on Thursday before the Oakland A's come to town over the weekend.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Can the Yankees survive with Overbay for another month?

With one month of the season in the books, the Yankees might have a new ace.

It’s not that CC Sabathia pitched badly in April. Hiroki Kuroda has just been that good, and he delivered again in a 7-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday.

It wasn’t easy, though -- far from it. Kuroda needed 67 pitches to get through the first three innings, wiggling out of trouble in each frame.

The Astros had multiple runners on base, including a runner on third, in each of those first three innings. Yet Kuroda was able to escape without a run crossing home plate.

“Today, like my last outing, my balance was off mechanically,” Kuroda said through a translator. “My release point was off, too. It was a tough outing.”

Yet starting in the fourth inning, Kuroda looked like a different pitcher. He needed just six pitches to retire the side. And he ended up throwing seven scoreless innings, giving up just four hits, with a season-high eight strikeouts and four walks -- all of which came in the first three innings.

In innings 4-7, Kuroda allowed just one baserunner, on Jose Altuve's leadoff single in the fifth. And Altuve was erased on the basepaths when he was thrown out trying to steal second.

What made the difference? Well, it turns out pitching coach Larry Rothschild suggested Kuroda start pitching out of the stretch to every batter.

“They thought it might simplify it a little bit and see if he could get his stuff back,” manager Joe Girardi said. “And he started to find his sinker a little bit; he started to find his slider a little bit.”

“In the middle of the game, Larry suggested to me to start throwing from the stretch,” Kuroda said. “That is actually something that I don’t really like to do, but I followed his suggestion.”

It clearly worked.

Kuroda has won his past four decisions and is 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA on the season.

Since he joined the Yankees last season, this is the eighth time Kuroda has thrown at least seven innings without allowing a run. That ties the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez and the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw -- two former Cy Young Award winners -- for the most such starts in the majors over the past two seasons.

“It’s great,” Girardi said of Kuroda’s performance so far this season. “Anytime you can get distance out of your starters, it allows you to use your bullpen different. It allows you to save your bullpen a little bit more for the next day.”

The Yankees, despite dealing with a rash of injuries, finished the month of April with a record of 16-10 -- just two games behind the red-hot Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

Kuroda and Sabathia have been two of the biggest reasons, accounting for half of the team’s 16 wins. The 32-year-old Sabathia is a very respectable 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA, although some people are concerned about the diminished velocity of his fastball. The 38-year-old Kuroda, on the other hand, seems to be getting better with age. Kuroda was 41-46 in four seasons with the Dodgers after coming over from Japan. But he went 16-11 in his first season in New York and looks even better in 2013.

“There were good outings and there were some tough outings,” Kuroda said when asked to assess his April. “But to be able to make the games for my team and contribute to a win, in that sense, it has been a great month.”

There are five months to go before October. And far tougher opponents to face than the Astros.

But Kuroda had never won four games in April before.

His best could be yet to come.

The Yankees were supposed to hang on until the big boys returned. Instead, Derek Jeter reinjured himself and Ivan Nova and Francisco Cervelli joined Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez, among others, on the DL.

The end result of April was an impressive 16-10 record, which is two games worse than the first place Boston Red Sox. Still, it is plenty satisfying for the Yankees.

"We did a very good job, especially with the 1-4 start we had," manager Joe Girardi said.

There is some significance to being in first place on May 1, as Katie Sharp writes.

Since 1996, there have been 102 division champions and 53 of them were in first place on May 1. That’s only 51 percent -- barely half the teams -- which hardly guarantees a division title at the end of the season.

The Yankees are staying very close, which is about as much as they could have hoped for when they broke camp. The more you think about it, how much better would their record have been even if they had all their guys?

Not Haf bad: With three hits, Travis Hafner had three RBIs to put him in a tie with Robinson Cano for the team lead with 17. Hafner is hitting .318 on the season and has six homers. He barely trails Cano in both categories (.327 and seven homers).

Hafner has solidified the cleanup spot. Girardi loved his at-bats with runners in scoring position on Tuesday.

"They were great," Girardi said. "You didn't get the big home run from him, but you got three hits with runners in scoring position. You just see that his approach is good. He has been great in that four-hole for us with all the people we have out. He really has done a good job in our lineup."

One Mo: Shawn Kelley's job description is basically to save the rest of the bullpen. In the ninth, Kelley was called upon to protect a five-run lead and couldn't finish it out. Mariano Rivera came on for the final out to push his best-career April save total to 10.

"It happens," Girardi said. "It is the game of baseball. It is not always going to be simple when you go out there for the ninth inning, so sometimes you have to bring [Rivera] in."

The most saves Rivera has ever had in a month is 11, which he has accomplished six times.

Stand-up guy: In watching videotape with hitting coach Kevin Long, Eduardo Nunez could not believe he was standing so upright at the plate.

"That's me," he said to Long as they looked at video from this season compared to last.

So, like in the past, Nunez crouched more to utilize his legs and -- what do you know -- he had three hits, the same number he had in his previous six games. He raised his average to .203.

D-Rob's dominance: David Robertson gave up his second homer of the season. It was a long two-run shot to Chris Carter the other way that cut the lead in half in the eighth. Robertson gave up only five homers in 60⅔ innings in 2012. In 2011, Robertson allowed just one homer in 66⅔ innings. This season, it is two homers in 11⅔ innings. It doesn't mean anything yet, but the possibility of Robertson's dominance diminishing is something to watch.

Marky Pipp?: Lyle Overbay hit his fourth home run of the season, a tack-on solo shot in the ninth. Teixeira didn't hit his fourth last season until May 4. Our First Pitch at 6 a.m. on Wednesday delves deeper into this subject.

Ichiro hot: Ichiro Suzuki doesn't often hit the ball out of the infield, it seems, but he keeps getting hits. He went 3-for-5 on Tuesday. In his past seven games, he is batting .407 (11-for-27) to raise his average from .200 to .268.

What it means: The Yankees bounced back from an embarrassing 9-1 loss in Monday's series opener to defeat the Houston Astros 7-4 on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

On a day the Yankees put yet another player on the disabled list, Kevin Youkilis, the pitching staff delivered and the lineup was plenty good enough (see below).

The Yankees finish the month of April with a record of 16-10 -- quite good when you consider how many key contributors are on the shelf. They are in second place in the American League East, two games behind the Red Sox. The Astros fall to 8-19, the worst record in the American League.

Houdini act: Hiroki Kuroda did the pitching equivalent of pulling a rabbit out of his hat, wiggling his way out of trouble in each of the first three innings. Kuroda gave up three hits and four walks in his first three frames -- the Astros had multiple runners on base in each inning, including a runner on third base every time. Kuroda needed 67 pitches but stranded all seven Houston runners during that span.

After the third inning, all of a sudden, Kuroda was practically unhittable. He faced the minimum over the next four frames, allowing only one hit -- a single by Jose Altuve to lead off the fifth (Altuve was caught stealing). All told, Kuroda threw seven shutout innings, giving up just four hits, with eight strikeouts and those four early walks. He is now 4-1 on the season, with a 2.25 ERA -- ace-like numbers.

More magic: The Yankees' lineup looks weaker on paper seemingly by the day, thanks to a continuing rash of injuries. Consider: Brennan Boesch was fifth in the batting order on Tuesday and Jayson Nix was sixth -- not exactly meat-of-the-order material. Yet the Yanks scored more than enough runs to win. It helped that they were facing Philip Humber, who entered the game 0-5 -- the worst record in the major leagues -- with a 7.99 ERA.

The Yankees scored single runs in the first and third innings -- both via RBI singles by Travis Hafner. They tacked on two more runs in the fifth, driven in on a grounder by Boesch and an infield single by Nix. And they added three more runs in the eighth off the Houston bullpen, including Lyle Overbay's fourth home run of the season.

Eduardo Nunez, who was hitting just .169 entering the game, had three hits -- two doubles and a single. Hafner and Ichiro Suzuki had three hits as well, and Hafner finished with three RBIs. The Yankees pounded out 15 hits on the night.

Relief trouble: David Robertson came on in the eighth in relief of Kuroda and surrendered two runs, courtesy of a Carlos Pena single followed by a Chris Carter home run.

Shawn Kelley started the ninth inning and gave up a pair of singles followed by a two-run double by Altuve. Joe Girardi was forced to go to Mariano Rivera to get the final out of the game -- Rivera struck out Jason Castro, earning his 10th save of the season.

What's next: The series finale, Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. David Phelps (1-1, 5.29 ERA) makes his first start of the season for the Yankees, replacing the injured Ivan Nova in the rotation. The Astros will go with lefty Erik Bedard (0-2, 7.98 ERA).

Curtis Granderson is expected to be the first of the big-time Yankees to return from the disabled list.

"He's probably pretty close," Joe Girardi said.

With Kevin Youkilis being added to the DL, this seems as good a time as any to provide an update on each of the injured Yankees. From interviews with Girardi and Brian Cashman, we are providing our best guesses for when you could see each of the Yankees on the field.

Note, the Yankees are not setting dates, on or off the record, so these are the best guesses with the information I have available:

1. Curtis Granderson (fractured right wrist)

THE SKINNY: Granderson is in spring training mode, but very soon could be playing in games. He will need 50 rehab at-bats, he has said.

The Yankees could speed up the process by having Granderson play in some extended spring games in which Grandy could receive five at-bats in five innings, but however you slice it, it seems he will need at least seven-to-10 days worth of rehab.

He could be in rehab games by the end of the week or the weekend, Girardi said.

BEST GUESS: May 15

***

2. Mark Teixeira (torn sheath in his wrist)

THE SKINNY: Teixeira is still only taking dry swings, which means he is not even making contact with a ball off a tee. In layman's terms, he is not close.

There is no telling when Teixeira will return, but, best case, it'll probably be late May when you consider he will have to have an extended rehab.

BEST GUESS: June 6

***

3. Michael Pineda (shoulder surgery)

THE SKINNY: Cashman said everything is the same and the Yankees are still forecasting him for a possible June return.

"Unless he has some sort of setback, he should start his rehab assignment in early May," Cashman said.

BEST GUESS: June 15

***

4. Derek Jeter (fractured ankle)

THE SKINNY: Jeter is with the team, but remains in a walking boot. The Yankees aren't revealing any plans about Jeter's rehab because it hasn't been decided yet. At the end of the homestand, the Yankees will decide if Jeter will remain in New York or return to Tampa for the next stage of his rehab.

BEST GUESS: After the All-Star break

***

5. Alex Rodriguez (hip surgery)

THE SKINNY: Cashman said A-Rod is right on course. Girardi added, though, that he is not yet doing any baseball activity.

"He's getting stronger," Girardi said.

BEST GUESS: After the All-Star break

***

6. Francisco Cervelli (fractured right hand)

THE SKINNY: Cervelli should be about six weeks and then he will need a rehab.

BEST GUESS: June 20

***

7. Ivan Nova (triceps)

THE SKINNY: When Nova is better he is going to have to be stretched out in the minors.

BEST GUESS: If everything goes right, maybe May 20, but his injury is tough to predict.

Programming note for you:

On "E:60" tonight (8 p.m., ESPN), Tom Rinaldi accompanies Mariano Rivera to the small fishing village in Panama where he grew up. The future Hall of Famer opens up about his decision to make this his final season, last year's injury that almost ended his career, and his place in baseball history.

I haven't seen it yet, but it sounds pretty cool.

In case you haven't heard, the Yankees have lost yet another regular -- Kevin Youkilis landed on the disabled list Tuesday afternoon.

Here's the lineup for Tuesday night's game against the Astros -- Joe Girardi's options seemingly become more limited by the day:

Brett Gardner, CF
Ichiro Suzuki, LF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Travis Hafner, DH
Brennan Boesch, RF
Jayson Nix, 3B
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Eduardo Nunez, SS
Chris Stewart, C

Hiroki Kuroda, P

Vernon Wells is off to a terrific start. Can he keep it up? What are the fantasy implications? Eric Karabell has all the answers.

Click here for the full story (Insider)

For the past three years, among Yankees fans the name David Adams has lived only in infamy.

After all, he is the player who, fairly or unfairly, is often blamed for the Yankees' failure to acquire Cliff Lee at the 2010 trade deadline. According to reports, Adams was to be included in a package with Jesus Montero and Zach McAllister that would be shipped off to Seattle in exchange for Lee, the 2008 Cy Young Award winner.

But Seattle balked after getting a look at the medical reports on Adams' ankle, and Lee was shipped off to Texas instead.

Ever since, Yankees fans have wondered how the team's history might have been affected if the deal had gone through.

But now, with Alex Rodriguez out until the All-Star break at least, and Kevin Youkilis perhaps headed for the disabled list as early as this morning, Yankees fans may yet have the opportunity to celebrate the Trade That Never Happened.

Because if Youkilis is down for any length of time, even the 15-day minimum for a DL stay, David Adams is probably not only the best alternative they have right now, he is essentially the only alternative. With Ronnier Mustelier still playing his way back into shape in extended spring-training games, the Yankees have no one else who can step in and take some of the load off Jayson Nix, who has been forced into everyday service at third base.

And if nothing else, the Yankees would be striking while the iron is hot; right now, Adams is batting .327 for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and his on-base percentage is an eye-popping .417. His OPS of .878 is the highest among the SWB regulars. He doesn't have a whole lot of power, just one home run and four RBIs, but beggars can't be choosers and right now, the Yankees are beggars.

Incredibly enough, as late as March 26, it appeared that Adams' Yankees career had come to an end; the team released him to clear space on the 40-man roster for Vernon Wells.

But they re-signed him three days later and now, he and Wells may be teammates in the Bronx this week, a scenario that would have seemed ridiculous little more than a month ago.

Now, it is not only conceivable, it may be unavoidable. And who knows? A month from now, we all might be thanking the Seattle Mariners for rejecting the guy who became the Yankees' starting third baseman.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Would you like to see David Adams in pinstripes this week? Let us know in the comments section below.

UP NOW: My blog on last night's 9-1 loss to the Astros, and the affect it had on Andy Pettitte's digestive system. Also, some postgame notes from what was a rather quiet clubhouse.

ON DECK: Game 2 of this three-game series with the Astros, Hiroki Kuroda (3-1, 2.79) facing RHP Philip Humber (0-5, 7.99), first pitch at 7:05 p.m. Andrew Marchand will be on the scene when the clubhouse opens at 3:20 p.m. He'll have the lineup and whatever news there is about Youkilis, et al., soon afterward, so check in often. And as always, thank you for choosing ESPNNewYork.com for all your Yankees news.