The life of a minor league ballplayer is (literally) filled with emotional and physical ups and downs. When the big club has a need, a player is called up. Unless they excel, they are moved to make another "move".

A week following this game, Justin Christian was called up when Hideki Matsui went down. He appeared in five games for the Yankees including a Subway Series with the Mets. He batted .200 in five games and had two RBI. Fair to say, he's had his "cup of coffee in the big leagues. Follwing Sunday's game at Shea Stadium on June 29th, he was sent back down to Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

His replacement - also from the Scranton was Brett Gardner who was hitting a respectable .287 with a noticiable 34 stolen bases at triple-A. He was immediately put in the starting line-up for the Yankees on June 30 in left field.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kei Igawa was called up for one day of major league service and then immediately sent back down to make way for David Robertson . Robertson appeared in the final game against the Mets on June 29 and yielded four hits and one run in two innings.

The merry-go-round shows the Yankees are deep in minor league talent and they are not afraid to use it. Stay tuned - the season is barely half over.........

Jeff Karstens who pitched a masterpiece on this day would be traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a deal for Zavier Nady. On August 6 2008, he would come withing four outs of pitching a perfect game against the Arizona Diamondbacks & Randy Johnson - see the Box Score here. This might prove to be a trade that benefits both teams. Personally, I think the Yankees gave up on Karstens too soon. But - we'll see.