Bullpen Mismanagement Makes Me Want To Hurl

I'm starting this post before the end of the game. Late games are not my friend. I prefer to blog after the game and not the next day. The rooster crows early at my house and I like to get in my sleep. Johnny Damon just doubled with 2 outs in the 9th. El Capitan is at the plate, down 0-2. Come on Captain Clutch! And he gets robbed by Josh Hamilton!! D'oh. That Hamilton. He good. He good.

Joba wasn't at his best tonight. Lots of factors could have contributed to the poor outing. The temperature was over 100 degrees. The ballpark isn't exactly pitcher friendly. The Rangers are the best offensive team in the league. And then there's the "stiff shoulder." Hopefully, it's not too serious an injury. The last thing we need right now is to lose Joba. That would be a big blow. I wonder if he hurt himself when he "jumped" out of the way of Pudge's throw to 2nd. David Cone and I are on the same page there. Anyway, from my vantage point, that being the comfort of my couch, it looked like he just ran out of gas. I can't speak 1st hand what it's like to pitch in 100 degree heat but I can't imagine it's too comfy. I wonder if he was rocking his Phiten necklace?? I'm not too concerned about the outing. I am though concerned about the shoulder. My fingers are crossed.

Marte just issued a leadoff walk and visions of Dave Roberts are dancing in my head. Leadoff walks are never a good thing. However, striking out Ian Kinsler is a good thing. We might dodge a bullet.

Big up to the bullpen for again doing their thing. They kept it a 5-4 game and that gave the Yanks time to knot things up at 5. I am so glad Kyle Farnsworth was sent packing. It's evident that his services aren't needed. There are plenty of candidates to fill in for the 8th inning setup role. The 3 guys that have pitched so far tonight (Edwar, Bruney, and Marte) are all suited for the role. Bruney looks most like the part to me. Damaso Marte is good, but he's been a little erratic so far. He just walked Gerald Larid to put the winning run on 2nd. Yikes. Bruney on the other hand has been solid all year. I understand he just came back from injury and maybe it's best not to throw him to the wolves right out of the gate, but he can handle it. I'd prefer to see him take over the 8th inning role in the near future.

2 outs and it's Marte vs. Josh Hamilton. This is what Marte is here for, to get out the tough lefties. The Yankees have struggled in recent years with their "lefty specialists." Let's see if Marte can take care of business. He did it in his first Yankee appearance, striking out David Ortiz. And he just walked Hamilton to load 'em up. Nice. Grand slam. Nicer. Way to go Kyle, err, I mean Damaso.

Nice job there Joe. You just blew a perfect chance to gain a game on both Boston and Tampa. Why leave Marte in to face the righty? Especially when he can't find the strike zone? Why? Why? Why? Ugh. I'm disgusted. Thoroughly disgusted. I don't even want to finish this post. I don't think I'm going to. I'll be back sometime tomorrow morning to finish up my post about this disgusting loss.

$#@%#@!!!

J-Boogie