Yanks Keep Rolling Rolling Rolling

I wrote in my post yesterday that I wanted to see the Yanks start rolling teams and stop winning the close ones because eventually those games will start to go the other way. I was real excited when they put 6 on the board in the first, thinking they were well on their way to a blowout. Last night was the season finale of 24. Normally, I would have DVR'd it and watched it later but I knew if I didn't watch it, I'd have it spoiled for me. So I didn't see much of the game. I saw the first inning and I saw the last inning. Lucky for me, that was where most of the game took place.

Mark Teixeira is finally looking like Mark Teixeira. He's been on a tear since A-Rod returned to the lineup. In those 10 games, Tex is hitting .342 (13-38) with 5 HR and 13 RBI. His average has jumped 41 points (.198-.239) and his OPS has jumped 138 points (.735-.873). I think it's safe to say that the slump is behind him. Thank God Alex is back.

Speaking of Alex, to quote my friend Tom via a text message, "Wow. A-Rod heating up." A-Rod has now homered in 3 straight games. A by-product of hitting in the new Yankee Stadium? Possibly. But I'll take it. The only thing that's not there right now with Alex is the average. His .395 OBP is ahead of his career average (.389). His .563 SLG percentage is just below his career average (.578). He's only hitting .188. He's definitely heating up, or at least warming up. It won't be long before that batting average is on par with what's on the back of his baseball card. Once that starts happening, it's over. The Teixeira/A-Rod tandem is going to be unstoppable.

Finally, congrats to Phil Coke on picking up his 1st career save. It was scary for sure. Saying I was worried was an understatement. I was fully prepared to see him blow that lead. I thought for sure we'd see another Yankee walkoff. I'm glad though he got it done. Hopefully, that's his one and only save. That job needs to be Mo's and Mo's only. I don't trust anyone else. I'd be OK with Brian Bruney doing it once in a while. Bruney is expected to be activated off the DL today. The million dollar question is who gets shuffled off to Scranton. I'm hoping it's Edwar Ramirez or Jose Veras. As much as I dislike him, I think I'd rather see Veras stick around. To me, he's the lesser of two evils. I think Veras's stuff is better than Edwar's. If Jose could just get the ball over the plate, he'd fare much better. But I could live with either one going down. I'm curious to see who gets the boot.

The Yanks look to continue the winning ways tonight against the lowly Orioles. I'm a little worried that the offense will go missing because they're facing someone they've never faced before, and they often struggle when that happens. Good news is CC Sabathia is on the mound for the Yanks. If there is anyone that can keep a struggling offense in a game it's CC. CC was awesome in his last 2 starts, winning both games, and allowing only 2 ERs in 17 innings. He pitched a CG SHO 2 starts ago against this same Orioles team. I'm expecting him to continue his hot streak.

Sadly, I won't get to watch tonight's (or Thursday's) game because it's on My9 and for some insane reason Verizon FIOS doesn't carry the local affiliate that shows those games. I'll be following along on the gamecast or I'll be listening to Sterling and Waldmyn (ugh) on XM. i hope those of you that get to watch it, enjoy it.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie