Chamberlain's father improving

Joba Chamberlain's father's health had significantly improved by Wednesday afternoon, according to Yankees manager Joe Girardi, and Chamberlain could rejoin the Yankees' bullpen by the end of the week.

"There are still some more tests that have to be run, but, obviously, his father is doing much better than he was a couple of days ago," Girardi said.

Chamberlain, 22, left the team after Sunday's game vs. the Red Sox to return home, where his father, Harlan, was listed in critical but stable condition at Saint Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln, Neb. The Yankees placed the right-hander on the Major League bereavement list the following day, making him ineligible to play for a minimum of three games.

The elder Chamberlain, 55, has had a history of medical ailments, including a case of polio that left him partially paralyzed and forced him to rely on a motorized scooter for transportation. After collapsing at his Lincoln home on Sunday, he was admitted to the hospital, where doctors placed him on a ventilator to help him breathe.

Chamberlain and his father are quite close, and speak daily during the season.

"His father is progressing," Girardi said. "He's about 40 to 50 percent on the ventilator. He sat up a couple of times [on Wednesday] for like a half an hour, and Joba said he's getting a little bit antsy, so that's a good sign. He's doing much better."