So Close But Yet So Far

Was it me or was tonight's game pretty boring until the bottom of the 9th? I had high hopes when the Jeter and Abreu reached base with no outs and Alex at the dish. I was getting giddy with excitement anticipating another 9th inning clutch A-Bomb from A-Rod. He was so clutch last year in the 9th. He looked like he was swinging for the fences and that was his downfall. Just keep the line moving. I'll give him a pass on this one as it's only the 2nd game of the year. He spoiled me with his April performance from last year. You can't win 'em all.

I thought Moose pitched pretty well. Not great but not bad. It could have been a lot worse if not for a couple of "pitcher's best friends." Giambi's 1st inning error set his outing off on the wrong foot. I think Moose should have had the bag though. I thought for sure that was going to end up being out. Moose must not have been paying much attention during PFP. I was pleased though with Moose's overall performance. He got out of some tough spots and was just missing the corners. I think as the days pass and the weather improves, we'll see more of the old Moose that we all know and love.

The offense didn't do much to help Moose out. Credit that to AJ Burnett. He pitched a damn good ballgame. His only real mistake was giving up the A-Bomb. Alex's HR was pretty much the only offensive highlight. Throw out A-Rod's dinger and I don't think anyone reached second until the 9th inning when Jeter reached second on Abreu's bloop single.

Farnsworth didn't look too bad in his first appearance. The MelkMan should have pulled in that shot off the bat of Overbay. I thought for sure it was gone though. It wouldn't have surprised me in the least to see Kyle give up a dinger in his first regular season outing. That was a tough play but I thought Melky should have made the grab. It didn't look like he had his eye on the ball. Hawkins debut in Pinstripes was less than impressive. There's promise there and he's better than a lot of the other options. I think he'll do alright. It was good to get a look at the bullpen. Somebody needs to tell Ross Ohlendorf you don't hit the 8-hitter. Especially when said hitter is Marco Scutaro. It's not like it was Alex Rios, who by the way totally owns the Yankees. It's unreal how well he's done against them. Ross did well. Another pitcher hooked up by the double play. This game could have been a blow out if not for 5 double plays. Yankees pitchers allowed 17 baserunners. Considering only 5 scored I'd say they did pretty well. Props to Molina for gunning down Scutaro and Rios. I'm not used to seeing Yankee catchers throw out would be base stealers.

Michael Kay announced the attendance as being over 48000. Yeah right.

I'm excited for Phil Hughes tomorrow. I'm a big Hughes guy. I'm expecting big things.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie