Pettitte Pitches Well In Return But Yanks Fall To Angels 5-2

Thanks to the Red Sox blowing 2 6-run leads, the Yankees magic # dropped to 8. The Yankees failed again to clinch a playoff spot. It's still not a big deal. The team is fine. I don't think there is anything to worry about in terms of them playing in October, or in terms of them having home field advantage. They will win the AL East. Take it to the bank.

I stayed up last night thru the 1st 6 innings. I really wanted to watch Andy Pettitte pitch to see how he did after missing his last start. I don't do well with the west coast games. It's tough to stay up that late when the real world comes calling at 6 in the morning. I'm usually good for the 1st half of the game. I was up a little later than normal as I was watching the end of the Colts/Dolphins game as I had some money riding on it. Color me a winner! Another winner? Andy Pettitte. I thought his return was very positive and just what the Yankees needed. They may not have won the game, but they did come out ahead last night since Andy pitched well and experienced no issues with his wing. AP had a rough 1st inning, which I thought might happen as he was probably shaking off the cobwebs. The back-to-back-to-back hits knocked in the 2 runs. After that, Andy was pretty much on cruise control, retiring 11 straight and then allowing a run in the 5th. His final line: 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 Ks, 3 ER. Not bad, especially after missing some time. I'll take it, especially against the Angels. Too bad he didn't get any run support.

I don't really have a comment on the offense as there wasn't really any. They let the Angels off the hook in the 1st. A-Rod whiffed with 2 on and 1 out. Nick "The Rally Killer" Swisher popped out to end the inning. the last person I want to see up with runners on base is Swisher. Swish is hitting .237 w/RISP and .174 w/RISP w/2 outs. I like him much better at the front end of a rally than at the back end. He can get on base but he can also kill you with his strikeouts. Swish strikes out about 25% of the time. He's not the guy I want up when runs are needed. I'm not sure what sense it makes to bat him 5th in the order. I like him at the bottom myself. If he gets on base, which he does fairly well via walk, the top of the order can move him around the bases and knock him in. I know it's a one-off as they sat Matsui and he usually gets the 5-spot but still, Swisher sucks with runners on. The problem is that the bottom of the order doesn't really knock 'em in with runners on. Cano is hitting around .200 w/RISP. Melky is too streaky and is currently slumping (1 for 19 in last 6 games). The lineup needs Matsui in it.

Why can't these guys beat the Angels? It's mind-blowing how poorly they play against these guys, especially when they play in Anaheim. I know I said yesterday that it doesn't really matter if they win the East or not. Making the playoffs is good enough. While I still subscribe to that line of thinking, I really don't want to face the Angels, in Anaheim, in the ALDS. These guys really need to win the East and finish with the best record. HFA will be huge.

I'm not going to see any of tonight's game as it's on My9. I probably won't even follow along with it since it's a late game. I hope to wake up in the morning and see that the Yanks came out on top. So it shall be. So it shall come to pass. Enjoy the game.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie