Moose Near Perfect As Yanks Roll The Halos

That's my boy right there. Mike Mussina. Moooooooooooooose!!! 1 O for every win. Count 'em up. You'll find 14. Wow, Moose has 14 wins and it's only August 2nd. Never would have predicted that when the year started. But Moose was again masterful today. He gave up back-to-back hits to lead off the 2nd and that was it. He ended up retiring the last 17 hitters he faced. I really wish Girardi had let him finish what he started, or at least pitch the 8th as he was only at 89 pitches. The Angels couldn't touch him today. I'm not sure how many of you watched the game, but I don't even think he should have given up any runs, and I'm not referring to the bad throw Betemit made that would have gotten Moose out of the 2nd. I'm talking about Bobby Abreu. That ball that Kendrick hit near the RF corner in the 2nd was extremely catchable. Bobby should have made that play. No question. but he didn't, and in the end it all worked out for the best. Moose picks up his 14th win, tied again for the AL league. More importantly, he picked up career win #264, which moves him one step closer to 300, one step closer to the Hall Of Fame, where when it's all said and done, he'll be enshrined. He's one of the best. If the Yanks are smart, and I like to think that they are, they'll bring him back next year. What better veteran to have teach the youngsters that are going to make up the foundation of the rotation for years to come? Those youngsters of course being Joba, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Chien-Ming Wang, and the plethora of talented pitching prospects the Yankees have in the minors. Do the smart thing Cash and bring Moose back.

It was nice to see the offense break through in a big way, especially with Moose on the mound. I was completely shocked when Wilson Betemit went yard to tie the game. When he stepped into the box I was thinking to myself how worthless he was and I started thinking about how I'd bash him in this post. And what's he do? Ties up the game of course. I think he's done that to me a few times this year now. I still don't like him. I hope he gets DFA'd sooner than later. I really do. I mentioned yesterday that Jared Weaver was the most hittable of the Angels' starters and I was right. The Yankees knocked him all over the park, taking him deep 4 times. Count it with me folks. 1, 2, 3, 4 longballs. The Bronx Bombers were in full effect. And it was sooo good to see. I thought from the start that the Yankees' fortunes at the plate would be plentiful. Now you may be wondering why I thought that considering Weaver struck out the 1st 4 hitters. But it's not that they struck out, it's how they struck out. Both Jeter and Damon saw a lot of pitches their 1st at-bat and that's typically indicative that the team is going to show some patience at the plate. And when they play their game (working counts, taking pitches, etc.), they typically do well at the plate. Tonight was no different. With the exception of Melky Cabrera. Ugh, he's frustrating to watch. With today's o-fer, Melky has now failed to get a hit in 4 of his last 5 games. Granted, the 1 game he got a hit, he had 3 of them, but that's besides the point. The point is he's hitting .246 and we're over two-thirds done with the season. His average has been consistently under .250 since the end of June. Melky's average has eclipsed .250 exactly 1 time since June 28th. It reached .251 after he went 3 for 4 the other day. He's brutal. I wouldn't complain if they moved Damon to center in place of Melky, and let anybody else serve as DH. He's got to get it going, especially if he wants to stick around.

It was nice to see Brian Bruney back. If only Chein-Ming wasn't far behind.

Splitting this series is not going to be an easy task as the Yanks have to face the perennial powerhouse that is John Lackey. Darrell Rasner throws for the Yanks and he needs to pitch his butt off. He's already teetering on the brink of losing his spot in the rotation and if he wants to stick around he needs to pull a Ponson and pitch a shutout. I've got faith in you D-Raz. Don't let us down.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie