We've Got A Long Way To Go And A Short Time To Get There

In honor of the recently deceased Jerry Reed , I can't think of a better song for the Yankees to get pumped to than "East Bound And Down" from "Smokey And The Bandit." It pretty much sums up what the Yanks need to do over the last 24 games. Click here for the full lyrics if you want to give it a look. But here's a few lines:

• We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there
• We gonna do what they say can't be done
• Keep your foot hard on the pedal...son, never mind them brakes
• Let it all hang out cause we've got a run to make

Am I right or am I right? Great tune. The Yanks have a tough road ahead of them. Many people, myself included, are saying it's pretty much impossible. Sure it could happen, but the odds are highly unlikely. The Sox are on pace to win 95 games. I'm not planning on them collapsing a la the 2007 Mets, so if the Yankees want to make it to October, they need to take care of it themselves, and win 21 of the last 24. Not going to be easy.

It's too bad the Yankees can't clone Mike Mussina. If they could figure out a way to do that, I'd feel better about their chances to roll off 21 wins in the next 24 games. The Yankees have won each of Moose's last 7 starts, and are now 20-9 in his starts this season. Moose was awesome tonight, picking up his 17th win of the season. You know what's coming. Say it with me. Mooooooooooooooooose! For those new to the blog, the Moose call gets 1 O for every win. Mike wasn't his sharpest tonight, allowing 10 hits. But when you only walk 1 and strike out 8 in 6 innings, you can afford to give up a base hit or two. Moose got the outs he needed to get when he needed to get him. He stranded Hinske on 3rd in the 2nd by inducing a grounder and following it up with a backwards K. With runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the 4th, he got Gross to ground into a DP, and then got Riggans to ground out to end the inning. Moose has totally reinvented himself this season. I don't think anyone predicted this kind of season from Moose. I'm pretty sure everybody wrote him off, thinking his career was done. He had a pretty rough season last year, but I think it's safe to say those days are behind him. Moose is one of the game's best pitchers. No doubt he's going to Cooperstown. He knows that he doesn't have the stuff to overpower hitters. As I've mentioned a few times this year, you don't have to throw hard when you can put up a 20mph difference between your "fastball" and your change. That's enough right there to fool a lot of hitters. And it doesn't hurt to have pinpoint control either. Moose has always had good control, with a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.58 Ks to 1 BB. I'm not surprised he figured out what he needs to do to remain successful. One more time for the Moose fans out there: Mooooooooooooooooose! 3 more wins to 20. 5 starts to go. He can do it.

It was good to see Joba back on the hill. His velocity wasn't quite there but it will be. It won't take long for him to regain that zip.

The offense showed up again. Good to see but we've seen this before. I can't get too excited about it because they've teased us with these outburst way too many times, only to put up a goose egg and some low run totals. Xavier Nady absolutely crushed that ball. Man that was a shot. X continues to be one of the team's most consistent hitters. He's been quite the surprise. Not a bad guy to have around next year.

The Yanks picked up a game on the Twins and White Sox, and kept pace with the wild card leading Red Sox. If I were you, I wouldn't plan on a collapse by any of these teams. The Yankees need to take control of their destiny and just flat out win. So do it to it fellas. Keep your foot hard on the pedal...son, never mind the brakes. Let it all hang out cause you've got a run to make. Rest in peace Mr. Reed. Godspeed.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie