Well That Just Sucked

Tonight's Yankee game was the first one I got to see from start to finish in a long time. And just my luck, it was a stinker. A.J. Burnett was again beyond brutal. A.J.'s inconsistency is really puzzling. He'll go on a roll and then make a total 180. Just look at his ERA for example. It was 3.28 after his start on 5/30. It went up after each of his next 5 starts and was at 5.25 on 6/26. It went down to 4.52, then up to 4.93, then down to 4.66, and it now sits at 5.17. His record on the year now sits at 9-12. He needs to straighten things out. The ups and downs need to stop. It's obvious that A.J. knows how to pitch. He has pretty damn good stuff. Someone needs to figure out how to harness it.

I'm hoping as the calendar turns from August to September, A.J.'s fortunes change with it. A.J. made 5 starts in August and the Yankees lost all 5 of those games. To be fair to A.J. he did pitch fairly well in 2 of those games but the bottom line is that he lost 4 of the 5 starts. The same thing happened last season. He went 0-4 in 6 August starts last year. This can't happen. His performance tonight is unacceptable. Just think, he's signed for another 3 years.

It was just an ugly game. Very sloppy. Francisco Cervelli is quickly playing his way out of everyone's good graces. His average is down to .240. He's made 10 errors. Tonight he was on the receiving end of 3 wild pitches. He's got to be better but it's becoming evident that he's not a major league catcher. I can totally see his playing time decrease significantly once the rosters expand. Jesus Montero anyone?

Only positive from tonight was Nick Swisher hitting his 23rd HR. It kind of made up for the God-awful throw to the plate. anyway, the HR adds more money to Swish's Wishes charity fundraiser. That puts the total up to $922. It's not too late to donate if anyone is interested. Basically what's happening is a bunch of us are pledging to donate money to his charity. Every time he goes deep, it's $ in his charity's pocket. Right now every Swisher HR earns his charity $38. Want more info? Click here.

While I was tweeting tonight I noticed some Yankees fans pulling for the Red Sox to beat the Rays. I'm rooting for the opposite. I'd rather have more distance between the Yankees and the team 2nd in the wild card standings than I would the Yankees and the Rays for the division. All I care about is that the Yankees get a ticket to the show. It doesn't matter to me if it's as the division winner or as the wild card. You can't win it all if you're not playing in October. While winning the division is the goal, I'll be happy if they end up finishing 2nd to Tampa Bay. Red Sox losses equal one step closer to getting their ticket to the postseason punched.

CC, aka the Big Man, goes tomorrow. He's on fire. Pay attention Burnett. He'll show you how it's done.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie