Yanks Win Is A Little Undeserved, But I'll Take It

I have mixed emotions right now. I am totally stoked that the Yankees pulled off a great come from behind victory tonight, battering the Angels bullpen for 6 runs on 7 hits over the final 2 innings. It was great to see them win that game, but had they played any other team, they probably would have lost. The Angels have the worst bullpen in all of baseball, entering tonight's game with a league worst bullpen ERA of 7.07. After tonight's debacle, it's up to 7.70. The Yanks definitely should have lost this game tonight. But they didn't, and that's all that matters. The winning streak is now at 4 games, which coincidentally is the exact # of days my newborn son Griffin has been home.

The offense came through again tonight. As a team they went 6-10 with RISP. That's 4 straight games where they've come through when they needed to. I love the fact that they're not doing it with the longball. The 8th inning saw a double, a walk, and 3 singles. The 9th inning saw a walk and 3 singles. I hope they're seeing what's happening out there. Keep the line moving with singles and doubles and the runs will pile up. I like what I'm seeing. I hope they keep it up.

The game tonight was definitely won by the bottom of the order. Hitters 1-4 went 2-for-16. Hitters 5-9 went 10-19 w/ 8 RBI. Robbie Cano is on absolute fire, going 3-5 tonight and raising that average to .378. Cano has really surprised me this year. He's locked in. I wish I could say the same for Mark Teixeira. Sorry Tex, but it's now May, the .189 average doesn't cut it. The game tonight was definitely won by the bottom of the order. Ramiro Pena has been a pleasant surprise. Since becoming the everyday third baseman, he's gone 8-for-17 with 4 RBI, 4 clutch RBI if you will. Suck on that Cody Ransom. Your days in pinstripes may be done.

I thought the Yankees' pitching staff was supposed to be leaps and bounds better than it has been in previous years. I thought the Yankees' pitching staff was supposed to be the team's biggest strength. They've shown brilliance at times but for the most part, they've been awful, especially the bullpen. It's absolutely atrocious. Unless your name is Brian Bruney, Mariano Rivera, and maybe Phil Coke, I don't trust you and I expect that you're going to tank more often than you won't. The pitching staff needs to be better. A lot better.

Andy Pettitte did not have it today. He pretty much struggled from the get go. I'm kind of surprised he only allowed runs in one inning. He allowed 2 baserunners to reach in the 1st, getting out of the inning on a classic Andy Pettitte pickoff. He allowed a baserunner in the 2nd and got out of the inning on a DP. He allowed 2 baserunners in the 3rd, another in the 4th, and another in the 5th. He pretty much grinded his way through the first 5 innings. He wasn't good but he got the job done. Then the wheels fell off and he imploded in the 6th. Overall, it wasn't a good day for AP. He struggled with his control, walking 4 and throwing only 61 of his 108 pitches for strikes. It was his first poor outing of the season and I'll let it slide. A pitcher isn't going to be lights out every time he starts. As long as it doesn't become a habit, I'm cool with it.

Today's relievers that crapped the bed were Jose Veras and Mark Melancon. Melancon came on in a big spot in the 6th. It was his 1st real test at the big league level and he failed miserably, allowing a 3-run triple. I like what I've seen from Melancon, but then again, every other reliever has looked good at one point. Jose Veras sucked tonight, but has looked good about half the time. This was his 10th appearance and for my money he's done alright in 5 of them. Thankfully for the Yanks, Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo didn't suck tonight. Albie pitched well, but is coming off 2 really bad outings. Same goes for Edwar. My point is you never know what you're going to get with these guys. The bullpen ERA is now 6.66, which is the 29th worst bullpen ERA in all of MLB. Like I said above, unless your last name is Rivera or Bruney, and maybe Coke, I don't trust you. I'm scared every time I see everyone else warming up, and that's not good.

The Yanks look to keep things rolling tomorrow afternoon when CC Sabathia makes start #6. CC, like the rest of the pitching staff, has been inconsistent this year as well. I really don't have any idea what to expect. Good things I hope. I'll make sure Griffin is around to try and keep the streak going.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie