Bullpen Woes Continue But Yanks Win In Extras

Just when you think things can't possibly get any worse, Mariano blows his 1st save of the season. Ugh. What makes it especially worse is that it happened to my man Mike Mussina, costing him his 16th win of the season. I so couldn't wait to bust out a Moose call with 16 Os in it. Damn. If he ends the year with 19, this will be the one that got away. I hope it doesn't come down to this game. But at least they won, and that's what matters. Too bad the Red Sox and White Sox both won. No ground gained, no ground lost. Let's hope at least the Rays lose. They're currently down a run in the bottom of the 8th.

Moose was again on tonight. He's been the one point of consistency all year. I shudder to think how far out of it we'd be without him. I really hope the Yankees do the sensible thing and bring Moose back for another go around. He's truly reinvented himself and he's definitely the current ace of this staff. A rotation made-up of Moose, Joba, and Chien-Ming Wang isn't a bad 1-2-3. If Phil Hughes can get it together, which I think he will, next year's rotation is going to be one of the Yankees strong points. Oh man. I'm talking about next year. Not a good sign.

I got ahead of myself and thought for sure the game was over when Girardi brought Mariano in. Finally a move of Girardi's I agreed with. And of course, it backfired. Go figure. It was the right call bringing in Mo for 5 outs. Marte, as he's done so often since being acquired from Pittsburgh, couldn't get the job done. He needed to be yanked. He's been a huge bust. Counting tonight, he's thrown 7.1 inning as a Yankee. 9 hits, 9 earned runs, 11.05 ERA. Who knew he'd suck just as bad, if not worse than Kyle Farnsworth? Perhaps Girardi needs to re-evaluate his choice for the 8th inning setup role. Too bad everybody else sucks right now too. Now add Mo to that list. This is the 3rd game in Mo's last 6 outings where he's given up a run. That magical season of his is slowing starting to turn. Don't get me wrong. He's still the man. I'll take him any night in any situation, of anybody else. He could continue to tank and my faith in him wouldn't waver. He's earned that, not just from me, but from all of us.

What the heck is up with A-Rod? Talk about sucking. In his last 10 games, he's 7 for 36 (.194). His average has dropped 12 percentage points in those 10 games. He's horrible with RISP. He's grounding into DPs. Not what we've come to expect from Alex. He did come through and give us what we expect of him in the 12th with his solo shot to dead center. That was clutch. Hopefully that turns him around because they need him to produce if they want to have any kind of shot at making a run.

Xavier Nady is awesome. His 2-run bomb in the 12th out it out of reach. In his 17 games as a Yankee, he's now 21 for 61 (.344) with 6 HR and 17 RBI. No complaints here. It's amazing he was a "throw-in" in the Marte deal.

Johnny Damon is the man. 3 more hits tonight for JD. He's locked in. He's hit safely in his last 12 games, and in 17 of his last 18. It's his 6th straight multi-hit game. He's had 2 or more hits in 7 of his last 8 games, and in 10 of his last 16 games. Like I said, he's the man. You'd think with him setting the table the way he has would lead to more runs and more wins.

I hope everything is OK with Derek Jeter. Getting lifted for a pinch runner in a key agme isn't a good sign. If everything is OK with him than it was a bone-headed move by Girardi. I understand thinking maybe Melky would score on a double, but the odds of that happening were small, so keeping Jeter in would have been the right move. Besides, Bobby Meachem probably would have held the runner anyway. Man he's brutal. If the season continues to go the way it's been going, a few heads are bound to roll, namely Meachem and probably hitting coach Kevin Long. Long should be real worried about his job. This team has been awful all season when it comes to hitting in the clutch. Long has to figure something out.

They all do.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie