Pretzels

It was a cold, damp night at the stadium last night... one of those games when your first beer gives you the shivers but your fourth makes everything feel alright. I saw people eating dippin-dots, and that just blew my mind. It was a relatively short game (2:57) and I was amongst friends, so all was good in my world. (Notice the two Mariner fans in the picture... two great friends of mine who just happen to like to root for the wrong team. I shot this one early in the game, while they were smiling and before the depression had a chance to set in.)

First of all, I would like to officially thank Joe Girardi for benching Cano last night. I was getting angry at just seeing out there and I am glad the Yankees recognized that his simply needs some time out of the game. Wang pitched a decent game last night and is now 6-and-0, the first pitcher to tout this kind of start in the American League. He gave us a little scare last night when the medical staff was called to the mound but it turns out it was just a cramp in his hand. Of course, I have seen him at time when he was more on his game but a win is a win and that's all that really matters.

The Yankees offense looked slightly better last night. The 4 Seattle errors certainly helped us out in that regard. Melky Cabrera's double base, double RBI in the second inning was probably my favorite play of the game. We are really very fortunate to have Cabrera, and I hope that the Yankees finally realize that.

Bobby Murcer got a standing ovation last night when his video feed came on the big screen to the tune of "Welcome Back". He also had the honors of pulling the switch after the fifth inning to change the home game countdown number from 69 to 68. God bless you Bobby, I hope you are with us for a long, long time.

The Yankees received some information yesterday indicting that Posada will not need to have shoulder surgery this season but will likely not be able to pick up a baseball for the next two weeks. I am hoping that we see in back behind the plate in June. Posada did mention that it did not hurt him to hit, only to throw, but I doubt that the Yankees are going to take many chance with him. Posada will explore off-season surgery at the end of the year.

So, overall a good win for the Yankees last night, taking the first game of the Seattle series with a final score of 5-1. My seats acquired from StubHub were decent and the I enjoyed the company of my Seattle seatmates. My one complaint... and this is more of a general gripe about Yankee Stadium and not specifically last night's game... is that it is way too difficult to get a damn pretzel in the house that Ruth built. I mean, unless you get one in the first inning, you are screwed. The geniuses working at the pretzel carts seem to think it is good idea to put only 10 pretzels on the fire at one time (even if they have a line for 30 people) and then will tell you that it takes 10-to-15 minutes for the them to heat up. I am told that in the new Yankee Stadium, this will all be different. I am told that this will be a place where every fan will be able to get a hot, fresh pretzel. Where bathroom paper towel dispensers will be checked and refilled regularly and the employees might actually thank you for handing them a twenty for 2 cups of beer. This is my dream.

Wang and Posada

There wasn't a whole lot of hitting in yesterday afternoon's 3rd match up with the Cleveland Indians. Much of this had to do with who was on the mound. Sabathia, who limited the Yankees to only one run is surprisingly 1-4 this season. But let's talk about Wang... 9 strikeouts over 7 innings is what the Yankees needed to give their bullpen a rest. This win brings Wang to a 5-0 record... not too shabby. JoMo came in to seal the deal and New York was able to return to .500 baseball with a current 13-13 record. Mariano picked up his seventh save and has been looking incredibly on the mark this year.

Sadly, Posada needed to be placed on the DL for the first time in his Yankee career yesterday, suffering from more right shoulder pain. It is a hard break but something that we can't be too surprised by. Posada is getting up there in age and catching is a hard position to play. Jorge puts everything he has into every play, every game. Injury happens and there's not much that can be done about it. The Yankees will be absolutely fine with Molina behind the plate but need to make sure that another backup is in place. Moeller was already designated on Friday and it will be a few days before anything can be done with him. There is speculation about acquiring Chris Stewart from Scranton but we will have to wait until tonight to see what Girardi decides to do.

It is like I said before...

Less than one week ago, the internet was scattered with blog entries about how Mussina is a washed-up pitcher. Hank Steinbrenner was being quoted and misquoted. Last Friday, here is what I had to say:

Although I haven't yet read all the blog feeds this morning, I can almost predict what they are going to say... "The Moose has got to go". Now I don't agree with this statement and I do think that Mike Mussina brings value to the team but not matched up against Josh Beckett.

Now, for those of you who watched the Moose pitch last night, don't you agree that he can bring value to the Yankees this season? Mussina gave his team a quality start by going 7 innings and only giving up 2 runs (both solo HRs). He worked incrediably well with Posada and placed his pitches with precision. I am not trying to "sell" Mussina on anyone. He definately comes with his baggage. But when used correctly, he can be effective to the point of at least giving the team a chance, assuming that the offense is hitting. I still believe that the rotation needs to be tweaked and I was happy to see that Pettitte has been moved up one notch to the 4 spot to seperate the two kids.

As long as I am quoting myself, let's talk about LaTroy Hawkins. I remember it like it was last Thursday when I said, "I think he going to put the Yankees in some tough (negative) situations this year." Fortunately, Girardi stepped in before he gave up all of the lead. Perhaps Joe should have listened to Posada a little more carefully. I am no expert in lip reading but I could have sworn that Jorge said something like "Please Joe, don't even think of bringing that jackass into the game".

Speaking about that little confusion at the mound when Girardi raised his arm to signal for the bullpen and take out Moose but quickly did a double-take after something Posada said... I like it that Girardi listens to his players. They may not always be right (i.e. Mussina's "I can get this guy" comment that convinced Girardi to let him pitch to Manny instead of walking him to the open base) but it shows me that he has an open mind. Sometimes, of course, you need a manager to "step up to the plate", so to speak, and hand down a definitive, inarguable decision. My hope is that when that time comes, Joe won't disappoint us.

P.S. Three doubles from Posada last night... man, it is great to have him back!

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.