So Long Angles

Like I thought, we split the home series with Anaheim. I hope you took the time to read my last post. You'll know why there is no reason to abandon the good ship Yankee. The set-up of the schedule is built to have some good runs, and then some times where you go .500 and drop a series or two. That's just how it goes. If you really want to get a nice perspective on the MLB schedule you should check out a post over at Bleeding Pinstripes. Geoff over at BPS raises a lot of good points and has some interesting questions about the MLB schedule. It's a good read, everyone should check it out. One interesting tidbit: the Yankees play the Angels 10 times and the Mariners 6. The Red Sox play the Mariners 10 times and the Angels 6. Now take into account the Yankees played the Mets 6 times to the Red Sox 3 games against the Braves. Someone tell me how that's fair to these teams? Like Geoff said, the Yankees not only have a better record than the Sox, they've traveled a tougher road to get there. Well said. You can't dispute that. You have to remember that MLB is a business. Businesses are set-up to make as much money as possible. One way that MLB can maximize its profits is to play with the schedule so that potential playoff/division races aren't decided in early July. Think about it. It makes sense.
As for yesterday's series finale with the Angels, it was a pretty good game from a Yankee standpoint. The offense was firing on all cylinders, cranking out 16 hits, with everyone chipping in. The Captain sets the tone with a 2-run big fly to get things started. Jorge snapped out of his slump with 3 hits. His jack of Brendan Donnelly was nice to see. Micheal Kay mentioned before the game started that people say that if John Lackey is fidgety before the game, he hasn't done as well. He was fidgety and he didn't do as well. I'm paraphrasing what Kay said as I can't remember it word for word but it's interesting how observant people are.
A-Rod came through with the game-winning sac-fly, missing the grand salami but a few feet. How huge would that have been for A-Rod? A-Rod's average has risen 10 percentage points, and his OPS has risen 31 percentage points over his last 7 games. He's 11 for his last 25 (.440) with 3 jacks and 7 RBI. It looks like he's turning the corner and becoming "A-Rod" again. August has been his best month numbers-wise of his career. Things are looking up for A-Rod. On a similar note, Giambi has increased his average 10 points and his OPS 24 over the last 7 games. He's 9 for his last 23 (.391) w/3 longballs and 8 RBI of his own. The middle of the lineup is beginning to crush. And why do people think the end is near?
Even Randy Johnson looked pretty good. He is going to be one of the keys to the Yankees success over the next month-and-a-half. His last 2 outings are what we need to see.
Was it me or was Kyle Farnsworth hitting 100-plus on every pitch? In the words of Phil Rizzutto: "Holy Cow!" Now I'm sure the MPH was inflated as most ballpark radar guns are bumped up a few, allegedly. But still, holy cow! Every pitch. 100. 101. 100. 101. Stick with the heat Kyle. Stick with the heat. Stop trying to get cute with the slider and just throw the gas. It gets the job done.
So the Halos are gone and the O's come to town. This is the part of the schedule where we might gain a game before heading to Boston this weekend. The Sox have the Tigers in town. The best road team versus the best home team. The road team won round one. No reason to think they can't win round two. Tonight's matchup of Schilling v. Bonderman should be pretty exciting. It might be tough for Curt to pick up his league leading 15th win. If Moose and the Yanks can get to Erik Bedard, which is no easy task as Bedard has good stuff, then Moose might take another step closer to his first 20-win season. I think he's got another 7 wins in him. Let's hope that the tandem of A-Rod/Giambi keep mashing and that Moose can tame Yankee-killer Miguel Tejada. It should be a good series.
Go Yanks!
J-Boogie