Matsui Birthday Slam Propels Yanks To 4-1 Win

I stayed up until up midnight last night. I went to bed right after the top half of the 7th. Yanks were winning 4-1 and that's the way it stayed. It was a nice surprise to wake up and see a victory when I checked online. It was also nice to see that I really didn't miss any action. I think the only thing that happened was a walk issued by Mariano. Last night's game was a great pitcher's duel. If not for the Matsui slam, we'd be looking at a 1-0 loss.

And Pettitte looked real good last night. That has to be a confidence booster for AP. What a way to bounce back from that shellacking he took last time out. Andy has been an enigma all year. He hasn't really been consistent. When he's good, he's real good. When he's bad, he's real bad. It was nice to see him shut things down. AP pretty much cruised after the 5th inning, retiring the last 12 hitters he faced. He's 5th inning strike out of Bobby Crosby was huge. Runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out...no better time than then for a whiff.

Hideki Matsui's GS was the only offensive highlight. Kenny Singleton kept talking about a slam on his birthday and sho nuff that's exactly what he did. Can't think of a better present to get than a fat meatball crushed for a Grand Salami.

A-Rod is now hitting .316. Is it me or has he done that very quietly this year? I know he hasn't been as locked in as he was last year, but I had no idea he was hitting .316. Nice surprise when you catch that.

Robbie Cano is now hitting .220. His slump has gone on for way too long. He's 2 for 20 over the last 5 games. 0 for 12 in his last 3. Robbie has always been a free swinger. I don't know what to think really. He's not really striking out that much,. which is good. But he's not really getting good wood on the ball, which is bad, real bad. He's having a real bad year. I'd almost like to see the Yankees send him down to AAA, but there really isn't a better option. I'll take a low-hitting Cano over Wilson Betemit every day.

I'm growing more and more tired of this win one lose one funk that this team has been in. It's a typical sign of an average team playing average baseball. The only bright spot is that they're spending more time on the plus side of 500. They used to drop a game or two below 500, and then win their way back to 500, only to go below again. At least now they're going a game above 500 and then falling back. I guess that's a silver lining.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie