FanHouse Ramiro Pena

When the St. Louis Cardinals traded for Mark DeRosa over the weekend, it was basically the unofficial start of teams swapping players before the July 31 trade deadline. Traditionally teams wait for one big domino to fall before they start wheeling and dealing, so it's no surprise that the Yankees and Pirates have now worked out a deal amongst themselves.

In a Tuesday morning deal, the Yankees acquired Eric Hinske from the Pirates for two minor leaguers.

Yankees shortstop/captain extraordinaire Derek Jeter was a late scratch from Tuesday night's starting lineup against the American League-leading Toronto Blue Jays. Ramiro Pena will start in his place. The injury doesn't appear to be serious at this point, but we know oblique injuries -- due to their location and constant use in the sport of baseball -- can linger and hamper performance for an extended period.

For now, though, Jeter is considered day-to-day.

As the New York Yankees struggle with the almighty Cody Ransom-Ramiro Pena-Angel Berroa trio at third base, Alex Rodriguez has been busting his butt to get back on the field. According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, he's going to get on the major league field earlier than his original May 15 target date.

The "target date" is still May 15, but -- according to Heyman's sources -- both A-Rod and the team are very hopeful he'll be back on the field "sometime in the first week of May." This coming Friday is May 1.

Mark Teixeira said he expected a "mixed reaction" from the Baltimore crowd today. He probably also expected to get a couple of hits in his Yankee debut. He expected wrong.

Teixeira and starting pitcher CC Sabathia, who signed free-agent contracts worth a combined $341 million in the offseason, had rough starts to their Yankee careers as the Bronx Bombers fell to the Orioles by a 10-5 score in their season opener.

Sabathia gave up six runs on eight hits and five walks in 4 1/3 innings, striking out no one and exiting after 96 very difficult pitches. And Teixeira, the Maryland native who spurned the Orioles and Nationals to sign the big-money deal with the Yankees, was 0-for-4 and booed lustily every time the home crowd got the chance.

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