Back In The Win Column

Do my eyes deceive me? The Yankees actually had some offense tonight. I was all set to write about a 4-1 game but then Alex and Jorge go back-to-back in the 9th. Solid game all around. Awesome pitching from Andy, Joba, and Mo. Great defense and a good amount of offense. Yankee baseball. Oh how we've missed you.

Was it me or prior to A-Rod's HR did it seem like even though they had scored 4 runs and had 10 hits that it didn't seem like they were doing that well at the plate? They picked up 1 run on a fielder's choice and the other on a double play. Two of the first 4 runs came off of hits. They still need to improve with RISP. Everyone with the exception of Cano had a hit tonight, and he walked tonight so everyone reached base. That's a good sign. Just about half the lineup had 2 hits. I have to apologize to Morgan Ensberg as I said in my last post I wasn't expecting anything from him. Thanks for proving me wrong. Jose Molina is quickly becoming one of my favorite Yankees. He had 2 hits and raised his average to .318. He's now also tied with Alex for the team lead in doubles with four. Never would have guessed that would be the case. Melky is my offensive star of the game. 2-5 w/a HR and 2 RBI. Not a bad debut hitting 2nd. I like the lineup Girardi put on the field. I'd still prefer Jeter and Giambi to Gonzalez and Ensberg obviously, but it's good to know they've got lots of options for the lineup. We just need Robbie to heat up.

Andy Pettitte owns the Royals. Counting this start he's now undefeated in his last 9 starts against the Royals. He upped the record to 7-0 and lowered his ERA against them to 2.77. His career ERA against the Royals is now 3.06. Like I said, he owns the Royals. And tonight was no different. He was pretty sharp and was especially impressive after the rain delay. Vintage Andy Pettitte. Welcome back. Good to see you.

We were about 90 feet away from learning that Joba Chamberlain is human. Things got a little hairy there in the 8th but he quickly disposed of Jose Guillen, making him look rather foolish. I was a little surprised Joba didn't give us a fist pump after that K. It was a pretty big out considering Guillen was the tying run.

I was kind of hoping after the Yankees tacked on the two insurance runs in the 9th that we wouldn't see Mo. I was thinking that it was best to save his arm for the battles in Boston. Then I took a quick glance at prior games' box scores and saw that Mo hadn't pitched since the 6th. It was probably good that both he and Joba got in some work tonight. I'm inclined to think they were pitching tonight anyway regardless of the score. It's very possible that Joba and Mo are the best back-of-the-bullpen tandem in the game. I'm confident that if Joba gets the ball with a lead....game is over.

I'm not sure why the game was delayed tonight considering they didn't stop yesterday's game when it was raining just as hard. They put the tarp on the field before a drop of rain even fell. It ended up being the right move but I'm still curious as to why they were so quick to stop play when they didn't last night. Conspiracy theory anyone?

It's good to head into Boston on a win and it's better to have won with a little offense. Finally. Was that so hard? It should be an interesting series. Neither team has done particularly well so far. David Ortiz is hitting a whopping .083! He's a Yankee killer so I'd love it if that average drops even further. If I were a betting man I'd bet that Girardi might have our guys move Papi's feet if you know what I'm saying. Manny too. Girardi seems like the type of manager that doesn't want a hitter to be comfortable in the box. It's something Torre should have had them do years ago. I feel pretty confident about our pitching staff. They should be able to keep the Sox bats at bay.

The offense just needs to put up the runs.

J-Boogie