Three things...

Three things became clear to me after last night's game 4 against Cleveland that the Yankees won by a score of 5-to-3, splitting the series 2-2 with the Indians. First is that everything that I have said about Mike Mussina still stands. While every other blogger was all but begging for his dismissal after the two Boston games, I kept saying... "He has value.." If you take Boston out of the picture, he is 3-and-1; and consider that the Boston loses were mainly a result of mistakes in dealing with Manny. Keep watching Yankee fans, the Moose might surprise you this season. He has been working on his delivery, throwing first-pitch strikes, and starting to dabble with "inside". In the 32.1 innings he has pitched so far this season, he has only walked 5 batters. No too bad, I say.

The second thing has to do with hitting... this team is capable of maneuvering some crafty hits and anyone who watched last night's game should agree. The sixth inning brought us infield singles by Cabrera, Jeter, and (my favorite of the night) Ensberg. Throw in an A-Rod hit-by-pitch and a few sacrifice plays and you have 5 runs on the board. Yankees baseball is not all about driving balls out of the park. Home runs are nice but I would much rather watch some crafty ball. These were not manufactured runs last night, they were the result of legitimate hits.

Finally, the bull pen can be effective. Not to keep repeating myself but keep an eye on Albaladejo. I think you may find him going places this year. With Bruney out and plans to move Joba, there are some seats open in the pen. I say Albaladejo gets one of them on a more permanent basis.

The Yankees are going to be just fine. Last night was a big win for them, even if only in a psychological way. It put the team 5-5 for this last road trip and one game over .500 for the season. They now have a 9-game home stand to look forward to and should be in a good position to face Detroit, Seattle, and Cleveland once again in a week on their own turf.

Comments and Concerns

Yes, I am a little cranky from staying up late last night, hanging on through the rain delays, and ultimately losing the third game to Chicago by only one run. It would have been nice to sweep the series before heading over to Cleveland, but overall, I have been pleased by the way that the Yankees have performed this week. The team is starting to show momentum at the plate and seem to be re-focusing their abilities. To me, that is what is important... not the fact that Joba let us down. Because, you know what, he didn't let us down. I really enjoyed reading Wolf Williams' blog this morning. I won't recap it all here. Just go and read it for yourself.

There are some concerns that I have looking out to this weekend... our bullpen. Ohlendorf threw 49 pitches last night. I wish those pitches would have led to more outs than runs but I also recognize the factors faced (replacing Hughes, rain delay, etc). Fartsworth suffered an elbow injury last night. Bruney is wearing a protective boot for his sprained foot and will likely go on the DL. The Yankees are running low on options and if their starters get into trouble early in the game, we could be in for some disappointment. Girardi has said that their will likely be some shifts and transactions today. Hopefully we can get a decent plan put together.

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.

Mixed Emotions

Wow. Last night's game against Tampa Bay was certainly an unusual one. Firstly, something must have been pumped into that dome air to cause all those home runs! Damon, Rodriguez, Ensberg and Cano (finally) all knocked one out of the park for the Yankees. Unfortunately, Yankee pitchers also let three go for the Rays.

We got to see some variety of talent on the field last night and I was pleasantly surprised by what they brought to the table. Moeller did fine catching for Bombers, and that is a good considering he is third-string. The Gonzalez at 2nd and Ensberg at 1st duo worked well and I think it made sense to sit Cano out for most of the game (more on that in a minute). Kennedy certainly pitched a whole lot better than his last outing and more importantly, it seemed that he made corrections and targeted improvements from his last start against Tampa.

I would have liked to have seen Albaladejo come in to the game for some relief. I think at one point he was in the pen but Joe opted for Traber and Bruney. Both were a disappointment but I think (hope) it was just a case of them having a bad night. I do like Bruney alot and think he will help in those middle innings but Joe needs to be sure not to over use him like Torre did with Proctor. Traber also has a targeted purpose and the Yankees need to be mindful of that. Clearly Joba was missed last night.

Back to Cano... I think Girardi took a risk by bringing him in the pinch hit and I think that risk paid off. Joe got lucky. Nothing more... nothing less. I was at my chiropractor last night and he asked me what I thought of Joe's decision to have Mussina pitch to Manny in last Saturday's game against Boston as opposed to walking him to an open first base. I told him that I think Girardi made a decision (took a risk) and it turned out to be a bad one. No, not really a bad one... just one that didn't work in his favor. Had Cano struck out last night, every paper in the city would be chanting "Clueless Joe".

So why mixed emotions? I am elated that the Yankees hit well last night, putting a season-high 15 hits on the board. I am especially pleased with ARod's 4-fo-5 performance at the plate. But I am concerned about bringing a 7-2 lead in the seventh to such a close game. If the hitting we saw last night continues throughout the entire season (and it should) then there really is no concern I guess. I just want to know that we didn't just get lucky last night (and I am not just referring to Cano).

Some back-dated comments...

Saturday Afternoon - April 5 (Tampa Bay)
It was nice to be back at our Saturday season ticket seats today. The weather cleared up and it turned out to be a nice day (though perhaps a little chilly). We arrived at the stadium early to purchase some additional tickets at the advanced sales window. Season ticket holders get a handful of discount coupons and we generally have no problems getting decent seats for some mid-week night games. Well, not this year. Practically nothing was available!I had all the best of expectations for a Yankee win today but like Friday night, it just wasn’t meant to be. I don’t really blame Pettitte (who received a warm welcome from the fans). True, he gave up 5 runs on 8 hits but I continue to see offense as the major downfall in these games. We left 21 players on base today including a bases-loaded situation. Unacceptable! What is it going to take to start hitting like a championship team? Today’s loss of 6-3 puts the Yankees on the bottom of the AL-East. Something needs to be done to turn around these slumps.

Friday Night - April 4 (Tampa Bay)
There are some games that you just don’t deserve to win. Friday night’s 4-game series opener against Tampa Bay was one of those games for the Yankees. Pitching can set the tone for a game. Good, quality pitching can be a true motivator just as poor performance on the mound can drain some of the strongest inspiration. Ian Kennedy was horrible and he knew it. He may have gotten squeezed on a few pitches but, for the most part the strike zone seemed invisible to him. Last year when Kennedy and Hughes made their debut, I heard many compare the talent of these two noticeably young starters. I didn’t agree those comparisons then and as most would have to agree now, there was nothing even remotely comparable between Hughes’ quality start last night and Kennedy’s weak pitching tonight.This being said, if Kennedy could be described as weak, than Hawkins was just plain pathetic. Six runs off of six hits in two-thirds of an inning. An ERA of 31.50 for the game. Why is LaTroy Hawkins even here? Is it to keep Fartsworth company? In complete contrast, Albaladejo, Ohlendorf and Traber pitched incredibly well. In fact, I am not sure why Ohlendorf and Traber didn’t get more than an inning each.Now let’s discuss hitting. Aside from the third, which seemed to be something of a passing dream of what should be instead of reality, the Yankees had nothing. I know it is only game four but aren’t we supposed be in our best form after Spring Training, rested from the off season and eager to perform. I am just not seeing that. Why did we not see Shelley Duncan until the ninth inning? Or how about Ensberg? Yes, Giambi has definitely impressed me at first base but if he is cold at the plate, bring someone else in. I suppose that I believe in stirring the pot.I will be at Saturday’s game in my usual seat in Section 627 hoping that a Friday night loss will lead to a Saturday afternoon win. Tonight’s score of 13 to 4 needs to be vindicated.

Thursday Night - April 3 (Toronto)
I had a late meeting at work last night and was only able to hear the first 6 innings of the rubber match between the Yanks and Jays on XM radio as I drove home. That was really no big deal since not much happened before the sixth inning anyway.
Let me take that back… Phil Hughes did what I thought was an excellent job allowing only 2 runs on 4 hits over 6 frames. In fact, the entire pitching staff performed exactly the way they should have. Limiting a club like Toronto to only a few runs opens the door for a qualified Yankee offense to do their work and bring in the win. Hughes performed like, as Damon said in the post game, an ace in the making. Traber completed his task with lefty Overbay. Bruney, whom amongst a handful of other Yanks that dropped some pounds this past winter, was sharp. The Joba (who registered a 99 mph pitch) got the win after pitching the 8th and the Sandman led us to Frank. A very respectable night on the mound.
As far as hitting is concerned, I thought I was going to have to continue my rant from yesterday. But, thanks to Abreu, my rant can now just be a warning: Cano, Giambi, and Matsui… you really need to be doing better at the plate. I know it will happen and I am not really worried but I think in recent years we have lacked some consistency and predictability at the plate. I want my Yankees to make me proud. I am not going to mention A-Rod here because A-Rod is A-Rod. When he is on, we love him but, like every single other person in this world, he has the ability to disappoint us too.
So the Yankees win the game 3-2 and take the first series of the season 2 games to 1. I am looking forward to Tampa coming to town for the next 4 games, secretly hoping that we see some residual drama left over from Spring Training (the Elliot Johnson slide into Francisco Cervelli at the plate, the Shelly Duncan slide into Akinori Iwamura at 2nd, the Melk-man’s involvement). It is probable that Duncan will get his first start of the season tonight.