Third Win in a Row

Bobby Abreu was the hero in last night's game 2 against the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees won it 7-to-6 in the 12th inning off of Bobby's clutch single RBI that allowed Damon to cross the plate. Both Damon and Abreu led the team with 2 hits over 5 at-bats.

Ohlendorf wound up getting the win and he deserved it. He pitched 2 scoreless innings and kept the Yankees in the game as it played out in extra innings. Mo secured his 15th save of the year.

Wang was once again a little flimsy on the mound and, although he put 5 innings on the board, he made me nervious all the way through. He certainly wasn't pitching like an ace last night. Fortunately, the Yanks were good enough at the plate and ultimately took the game.

"I knew in my heart we were a much better club than what we were playing," Girardi said after the game. "We weren't playing well, and when you have the talent level we have, you should play better. That's exactly what we're doing."

The bombers are now one game over .500 in the standings and 5.5 games behind the fabulous Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays.

Yanks over Minnesota 6-to-5

Well, what do you know? Another win for Mike Mussina. Now if you have been reading my blog you know that I have been a strong advocate for the Moose. No, I don't think that he is an ace for the Bombers. He is not a "sure win" kind of pitcher. He comes with baggage. But, as he has shown so far this season, he has worked hard to work on his delivery, has begun to pitch to different zones, including inside, and is capable of setting the team up for a win. Last night's 6-to-5 victory over the Twins was no exception. The Moose struggled a bit in the first inning but then quickly regained control to go 6 complete innings with a notable 109 pitches (73 of them strikes).

Let's take a quick look at pitching records so far this season:

Mussina.... 8-4
Wang....... 6-2
Pettitte... 5-5
Rasner..... 3-1
Kennedy.... 0-3
Hughes..... 0-4

Rather interesting, I think. Of course a significant factor in the ability for a pitcher to secure a win is whether the team is hitting on any given night. Yesterday, the Yanks were hitting.

Abreu was the most impressive with 3 hits (2 of them triples!) and a walk. Bobby brought in four of the six runs for the team. Matsui and A-Rod continue to be successful at the plate, both of them going 3-for-4 from the box.

As well as some of the Yankees were hitting, some were not... Jeter was 0-for-5, and Duncan and Betemit continue to be a waste of space for the team. Nine runners were left on-base last night and that is unacceptable.

Fartsworth came in as the set-up man in the 8th inning (something that apparently he will supposedly do quite frequently now that Joba has left the bullpen) and it was not surprising to me that he allowed a home run. What Girardi is thinking by considering Fartsworth for this spot is beyond me.

The Yankees got the win and have now leveled themselves in the standings once again at .500 with a record of 27-and-27. Tonight's game two of the four game set will begin with first pitch at 7:10pm.

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.

Out of this world

I personally do not like all the gimmicks that seem to surround baseball these days. I don't really think the ball clubs (especially the Yankees) gain any ticket sales from them and when I go to the games I would rather just go for the games. I don't even like it when stadiums do those light shows and fireworks every time there is a home run. Let the fans generate the hoop-la. After all, whats the big deal- it's only a home run... the Yankees had two last night- no need for fireworks. That being said, last night's first pitch from outer space started us out with a match up against the Red Sox that was out of this world.

The Bombers got off to a good start last night with back-to-back home runs by Bobby and Alex in the first inning. Wang was looking decent and it seemed like the Yankee bats had come to play. By the bottom of the 4th inning they added 4 more runs to the board and now led the Sox 7-3. I thought this would be a good time to take out the trash (literally) and go walk the dog. To my surprise when I came back to the tv, Wang had been yanked, Ohlendorf was on the mound, and Boston had added 3 runs to their score. I must have missed a Wang meltdown of some sort. By the middle of the 5th, the Yankees were down by 2.

They came back in the bottom of the fifth to re-capture their lead with 4 more runs and Hawkins was brought in. Now, I have alluded to this before but in the interest of full disclosure I will say that I do not like LaTroy Hawkins. I think he going to put the Yankees in some tough (negative) situations this year. I hope I am wrong about that prediction... I certainly was wrong last night. Hawkins pitched extremely well for two straight innings and wound up getting the win for the night. Traber came in for one pitch and the Bruney took us home but not before the Yankees added 4 more runs to the lead in the bottom of the 8th. Final Score: Yankees 15 - Boston 9. A helluva game!

I read this morning that Wilson Betemit is now suffering from corneal ulcers (whatever the hell those are) and Harlin Chamberlain is continuing to improve.

Everybody Wang Chung Tonight...

It don't get much better than that! Chien-Ming Wang was firing on all cylinders in last night's 4-1 win over Boston in the first of three series (and first of eighteen regular season) games that Yankees will play against their rival team. Yes, one could argue that certain things could have made the outing a little sweeter for the Yankee's ace. Had Abreu caught that ball at the wall there would have been no home run and if Wang could have also made that out in the ninth on the bunt, then he would have pitched a perfect game. Now although that would have been awesome, it didn't happen; so let's not diminish Wang's stellar performance last night by adding all those footnotes. Wang threw a total of 93 pitches in nine complete innings (61 of those pitches were strikes). In that time, he faced 29 batters (only 2 more than the minimum) to average 3.2 pitches per batter! He finished his night with a 1.23 ERA.

The Yankee offense continues to improve as we saw Giambi hit his first Home Run of the year. It was nice to see him smiling in the post game interview on the field. In fact, many Yankees had much to be proud of last night. Molina seems to be showing a liking for doubles, making two of them last night for a total of six so far this season... not too shabby for a back-up catcher. In fact, signing him this winter for two years of service was an incredibly smart move by Cashman. Alberto Gonzalez is really looking sharp batting .375 in the short three days he has been here.

This was an important win for the Yankees mostly, I believe, because they needed something to put some more spring in their step. If you ask a Yankee on air about how they react when playing against Boston they will more than likely tell you that 'it is just another game- one out of 162'. But the truth is, it matters. It definitely matters. Not even so much because of the past rivalry (I really don't think stories of shirts buried in concrete matter too much to them) but because they are facing a team that plays ball at their level (though slightly below their level, I might correct). Every game matters, but the games played against the Red Sox always matter more. So, off we go this afternoon with the Moose going against Beckett... a good match up. I am feeling positive.

At last... some signs of life

Last night's game against Kansas City almost started to inspire me. We still have a little work to do at the plate but energy seems to be picking up. Homeruns by Cabrera, Rodriguez and Posada put 3 runs on the board (peculiarly, all 3 were 2 out shots with no men on base). The other three runs were the result of plate work from, well, yeah... Cabrera, Rodriguez and Posada, the only RBI-makers for the team. Matsui and Ensberg both left 3 on base. I guess this could be consider a game of threes; including Cano's three at bats that resulted in nothing.



I liked the way Pettitte pitched, especially after the very efficient 28 minute rain delay. A 3.09 ERA for the game, many say he tends to pitch better after the Yankees lose. Joba and Mo, or "Jo-Mo" as I like to call them did exactly what they were supposed to do.



Because of injury and and rest schedules, Jeter, Giambi, and Abreu sat out, Posada was moved to DH. Joe Girardi changed around the line-up a bit and it seemed to work ok. I like change. I want to see Melky more towards the top of the order, A-Rod batting third... why not? In fact, why not make some more changes... why not put A-Rod at short while Jeter is recovering? There are others that can play third base. Don't get me wrong... I am not saying that any of these changes need to be permanent, just a temporary practice to keep our Yankees awake and on their toes. It is all about inspiration and motivation. I think we may be turning things around... slowly.