Boland: You've got to be dogged to get through dog days

Addressing reporters Thursday morning about the Yankees' decision to put Lance Berkman on the disabled list and call up infielder Eduardo Nuñez, general manager Brian Cashman said the move will enable Joe Girardi to give some of his players an occasional rest.

"We've got some everyday guys that are going to need a break,'' he said.

But even if the Yankees were younger and completely healthy - which is certainly not the case with Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada and Berkman, among those recently hit with various ailments - this is the time of year generally toughest on players.

"These are the dog days," Swisher said earlier this week.

The Yankees are in their most demanding stretch of the season, in the midst of playing 20 straight days and 36 out of 37 - games played much of the time in hot, sticky, energy-sapping weather.

For players who have been at it in some form since mid-February, hitting the proverbial "wall" is very real - even if they are quick to point out that every team faces the same issue.

"Your body's a little tired," Swisher said. "The thing about it is you have to stay mentally tough through that time. In a stretch like that, if the mind goes, the body follows, so you want to make sure everything's good upstairs so you can go out and continue doing what you need to do on the field."

Reliever Joba Chamberlain said the most important part of dealing with this time of year is not overextending the body.

"I think the hardest thing is listening to your body in the dog days of summer because you want to push through and continue to get your work in," Chamberlain said. "But during these days, it's important to take your rest when you need it."

Chamberlain, who has allowed one run and four hits in eight innings and nine appearances this month, said "rest" doesn't entail lying around in the players' lounge reading or watching television.

"You may not need to play catch as much," he said. "Instead of going outside and running, maybe you just stay on the bike for 20 minutes. Take a day off from lifting here and there because you've been doing it every day, pretty much, since February."

Curtis Granderson, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI Thursday and is 10-for-29 with three home runs since he and hitting coach Kevin Long tweaked his swing, said the sheer number of games adds up. "It's just the natural amount of use and wear and tear on the body, you hit a little bit of wall," he said. "But that's pretty much it. Everybody on every team feels it."

Granderson and Swisher, who have played with other organizations, said being in a race and playing meaningful games helps. "Knowing that every game you play, home and road, [the stadium] for the most part is going to be pretty full because you're either the team to beat or trying to catch the team definitely makes a difference," said Granderson, whose Tigers reached the postseason in only one of his six seasons in Detroit, going to the World Series in 2006.

Before joining the Yankees last season, Swisher made the playoffs two previous times - with the A's in 2006 and the White Sox in 2008.

"You have to love being here because every time you strap on the uniform, you have a chance to win the ballgame," he said. "I think that's one thing that helps us get through these times more than anything is, hey, we're in a fight, we're in a battle, and we're up for that challenge. We're ready for whatever."

Farm report: Ivan Nova

While discussing Andy Pettitte's most recent setback Wednesday along with how Phil Hughes' innings limits will impact the rotation, general manager Brian Cashman mentioned 6-4, 210-pound righthander Ivan Nova as a possible option to spot-start.

Nova, 23, has shined in his first full season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, entering last night 12-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 23 starts. He has 115 strikeouts and 48 walks in 145 innings and has been particularly good his last 10 starts, going 7-1 with a 2.53 ERA.

Nova, whom the Yankees protected from last year's Rule 5 draft by adding him to their 40-man roster, came up briefly in May when the bullpen was taxed. He appeared in two games and allowed four hits and no runs in three innings.

Nova, signed as a non-drafted free agent in July 2004, is all but certain to get his first big-league start before the season is over.