Last Sunday was Andy Pettitte's return, but yesterday was his welcome back party. Over eight shutout innings against the Reds, the Yankees' lefty turned back the clock to record his first victory since July 8, 2010. According to Pettitte, who became the fourth oldest Yankee to strike out at least nine batters (behind Phil Niekro, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens), "everything was working".

Mark Teixeira, who has been battling a month-long illness, was absent from last night's lineup, and Joe Girardi indicated that the slumping first baseman could be in line for a period of extended rest.

Although the Yankees' lineup "broke through" for four runs, the offense still failed to record a hit with runners in scoring position. As a result, the Yankees are now 3 for their last 48 in such situations.

Because of Robinson Cano's and Raul Ibanez' eighth inning homers, the Yankees are still 0-9 when the team fails to hit a long ball. That stat is the headliner for ESPN's weekly Yankeemetrics, but the Bronx Bombers' biggest concern shouldn't be the number of home runs hit by its lineup, but instead the amount allowed by its starters.

Despite the struggles of the Yankees' rotation, the team is still not interested in Roy Oswalt, who has auditioned for the Cardinals and Red Sox over the past two weeks.

Does Francisco Cervelli have any trade value? According to a recent report in a Venezuelan newspaper, a couple of teams are interested in acquiring the catcher (my guess is the Nationals are probably one of them), but the Yankees has been unwilling to move him.

During his testimony in the Roger Clemens' perjury trial, Brian McNamee admitted to lying on several occasions and mishandling key evidence.