On the Yankees beat

Joba Chamberlain pronounced himself ready to be activated after his 35 pitches off the mound at the Stadium this morning. But Joe Girardi said, "Players always say they're ready." The manager added that it will be best to wait until tomorrow to see how Chamberlain feels. Still, he did add, "I was excited by what I saw."

Chamberlain was to throw "live" batting practice and he did have teammates Brett Gardner and Cody Ransom standing in the batters box, although they didn't take huge cuts. Mostly, they watched and occasionally bunted and once in a wihle, they hit a weak grounder. The main thing was for Chamberlain to get the feeling of being back on the Stadium mound.

When he does return, almost certainly in relievf, he will not hold back. "You let it go," he said. "When you get hurt is when you don't do that. If I'm going to get beat, I'm going to get beat with my best pitch."

--Mark Herrmann at Yankee Stadium

Today's lineup against Toronto's John Parrish:

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
A. Rodriguez 3B
Giambi 1B
Nady LF
Matsui DH
Cano 2B
I. Rodriguez C
Rasner P