An interesting game..

I was a little concerned going into last night's game, especially since Chicago has been dominating the standings (in both leagues) as of late. I suppose my concern was more appropriately an anxiety of not knowing what to expect. A-Rod took my advice and had his second child during an appropriate off-day while he was still recovering from a muscle strain, but of course that made him unavailable for the Chicago series. I would be watching Posada during his first return behind the plate since April 8th, hoping that there were no lingering issues. The Yankees had 19 different lineups in their last 20 games, and this lack of stability can have an underlying effect. Contreras would be facing Wang at the mound.

Let's start with Wang... he ultimately got the win (now 4-0). Part of me doesn't think he deserved it because his throw was just plain off. I am not sure what happened to his ground ball pitches, as I am seeing more and more pops. Wang struggled last night, his pitch count rose early in the game, leaving after 6 innings with 105 pitches which is high for him. But still, he pitched himself out of trouble several times and entered the dugout with a trail of only one run.

Then came Bobby Abreu to save the night (say thank you, Chin) with a 2-out grand slam off of Dotel. Hehe, Octavio Dotel didn't do anything for us as a Yankee and I am so glad he is up to his same stuff. Oh, and by the way, did you see the shot of that fan trying to catch Abreu's grand slam? Not only did he drop it from both hands but it knocked him on his ass. Very funny.

Traber and Bruney were a little frustrating to me with their untimely walks. Joba too for that matter but he ultimately got the job done. Fartsworth of course needed to come in to give out another of his infamous home run pitches.

But let's talk hitting... the Yankees looked good at the plate last night (let's home it lasts for more than one game). Giambi surely took some confidence from his early smack to the stands. Damon had a three run shot with two out in the 8th (and also had some nice stuff defensively last night, by the way). Cano made out with a double and anything from him lately is a flash of bright hope. In fact, Jeter was the only Yankee last night without a hit (except for late comer Gonzalez).

So this game was interesting in that it showed some promise. We saw some potential short-comings and we saw some great ball being played too. It showed the team working better together... batting to help pitching. Let's hope for the same tonight when the Moose takes the mound in game 2 of the series.