Happy Arbitration Day

Teams have until midnight tonight to offer their free agents arbitration. The arbitration eligible Yankees are Bobby Abreu, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Ivan Rodriguez, Carl Pavano, and Jason Giambi.

If the player accepts the team's offer, welcome back to the Yankees. If they reject the offer, the Yankees will get compensation picks in this year's amateur draft if the player signs with another team. The # of picks the team receives is based on if the player is a type A or type B free agent. If the team doesn't offer arbitration, then the player remains the free agent that he is.

This is kind of an interesting process. A lot of teams offer arbitration to guys they don't really want back, thinking that the player will sign somewhere else and they'll get the compensation picks. It's kind of like an educated gamble. There has been no official word as to who, if anyone, the Yankees will offer arbitration to. If I'm Brian Cashman, here's what I do:

1. Bobby Abreu - offer arbitration. Bobby is looking for a multi-year deal and the Yanks don't really want to give him one. Odds are says he'll reject the offer, but if he comes back, he's not a bad guy to have. I wouldn't mind him being back in Pinstripes.
2. Mike Mussina - offer arbitration. With Moose retiring a few weeks ago, there's no chance he accepts.
3. Andy Pettitte- offer arbitration and hope he accepts. Yanks could use AP especially if CC, A.J., and Lowe go elsewhere
4. Ivan Rodriguez - don't offer arbitration. The plan is for Posada to catch and he should be ready for Opening Day. Don't risk Pudge accepting and then being stuck with him and his high salary.
5. Jason Giambi - don't offer arbitration. There really is no room for the Big G. A good OBP guy but the time has come to part ways.
6. Carl Pavano - don't offer arbitration. Do I even have to say why?

The deadline to offer arbitration is a little less than 10 hours from now. We should know more about the Yankees plans sooner than later. Any players offered arbitration have until the 7th to accept. Offering to Mussina is a given. Anything after that is up in the air.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Win Crazy Game Thanks To Shoddy Angels D

The Yankees got a gift today from the Angels. In fact, they got 4 of them. 4 huge costly errors led to 9 or 10 unearned runs and ultimately a Yankee victory and a series split. But that's baseball. It a win and the standings and I'll take it. They never gave up. They battled back from a 5-run deficit and this has to be a huge confidence boost to a team that's heading out on a road trip and has been mired in a mini-slump. Big win today boys and girls. Big win.

It certainly didn't start out well. Darrell Rasner was absolutely brutal. Prediction: it won't be long before Rasner makes his final start of the season. He was awful today, and he's been awful more than he's been good. It's to the point where starting him is becoming a huge liability. Including today's game, D-Raz has won 2 of his last 12 starts. Houston, we have a problem. Luckily, it's a problem that's not hard to fix. The Yankees have many options they can go with to start in place of Rasner, and they're names we're all familiar with. Ian Kennedy can easily be called up to take the spot. He's allowed 14 hits and 4 runs in his last 4 outings for Scranton. Since being demoted to the minors, IPK has an ERA of 1.99 in 54.1 IPs. Opposing hitters are hitting .179 off Ian. Phil Hughes is on the med and is currently rehabbing in Charleston. He's had only 2 outings but has been outstanding: 6.2 IPs, 3 H, 0 ER. And then there's our favorite sorry excuse for a Yankee, Carl Pavano. He's pretty much on the same rehab schedule as Hughes, and has done alright in his 2 outings: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER. He could throw 5 consecutive no-nos and I wouldn't care. I hope he never dons the Pinstripes this year. He's been a colossal waste of time and money. Bringing him back to the Bronx would definitely disrupt the clubhouse. It's no secret nobody wants him there. I hope Cashman has the smarts to keep him down. I'd like to think eh does. Getting back to Hughes and Kennedy, I'd much prefer to see them get another chance to pitch than to look outside of the organization. Jarrod Washburn is a bum and they shouldn't even bother. At least give the youngsters another shot. They can't do any worse than Rasner that's for sure.

The offense got a nice kick-start today from one of their newest acquisitions. The X-Man, Xavier Nady, coming through in a big way with 4 hits and 6 RBI. Nady is now batting .385 as a Yankee, with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 8 games. Ken Singleton was right when he remarked that Nady was probably the best offensive acquisition any team acquired at the trade deadline. I like Mark Teixeira and all but he hasn't quite performed to Nady's level this year. That Brian Cashman is one smart cookie.

Bobby Abreu on the other hand? What was he thinking trying to run to 3rd on a routine fly ball to left? That has to be one of the biggest boneheaded moves I've seen in a long, long time. Why would you even attempt that when there are 2 outs? The rule of thumb is never make the 1st or 3rd out at 3rd base. No idea what was going through his mind as it wasn't even a close play. It makes no sense to even try to tag from 2nd to 3rd in that situation. What's worse is he ended up costing the Yankees what could have been an all important run. Stupid. Just stupid. He at least atoned for his mistake by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Bobby's been on a tear lately, hitting .387 (24 for 62) and raising his average 15 points since the All-Star break. He's scored 20 runs and knocked in 17 in those 16 games. Bobby's been awesome lately, so I'll let that horrendous baserunning mistake slide.

It was also nice to see our other deadline acquisition Ivan Rodriguez break out today with 2 hits and a HR. That bat is going to come in handy down the stretch. Unlike Melky Cabrera, who managed to find a way to go oh-for-5, he writes while shaking his head in disgust. Paul O'Neill made a comment during the broadcast that Melky needs to stop trying to murder the ball and concentrate on raising his average. Great observation Mr. O'Neill. Great observation. Melky is playing his way right out of the lineup. Enter Justin Christian. He deserves a chance to start I'd say. He's provided quite the spark to the offense with his blazing speed. Said speed pretty much winning the game today. I loved seeing him take 3rd and scoring on the poor throw. That was heads up right there. I'm inclined to think he has the green light to run whenever he wants to. If it's not the case, it better be. Memo to Joe Girardi: sit Melky, play Justin, win-win. Make it happen. Better yet, let me have a few swings. I can go of-for-5 too.

Dan Giese was today's unsung hero. His 3 scoreless innings were huge. It gave the Yankees offense the opportunity to claw their was back into the game. That was pretty invaluable right there. He was awesome today. It's too bad he didn't get the win. He deserved it. Thanks Edwar. He picked up the win but definitely didn't deserve it. I'll let it slide though because Edwar has been lights out. It's the 1st game since July 2nd he's allowed a hit. 11.1 hitless/scoreless innings in a 10 game span. I'll forgive this bad outing. But only because the Yanks won. While I'm talking about the bullpen, not sure why Mariano wasn't warming up to pitch the 9th inning? I didn't get to see the post game show so I'm not sure if anything was mentioned about an injury. Hope not. Fingers crossed.

And none of this would have been possible if not for the extremely shoddy Angels' defense. Wow. Talk about a bad game. A dropped fly ball in center....4 runs score in the inning. 2 fielding errors and 1 throwing error....6 runs score in the inning. That's bad baseball right there. They always talk about how the Angels play great fundamental baseball. That certainly wasn't the case today. So we here at the Boogie Down, which is just me (why do I refer to myself as we?), say thanks Angels' defense.

The worst part about today is that both the Sox and Rays won their games so this great win gained us nothing in the standings. I thought for sure we'd pick up a game on the Rays but Kyle Farnsworth apparently had other plans. Even when he's not a Yankee he finds ways to hurt us. He pitched an inning today for the Tigers, blowing the save, giving up 3 earned with 2 longballs. Kyle for Pudge? If you had any doubt before about who won that deal, that doubt should be gone. If his outing wasn't bad enough, the Tigers ended up taking the lead in extras only to blow it again. Thanks for the help. Appreciate it.

So now the boys are off on a 10 game roadie. 4 in Texas, 3 in Anaheim, and 3 in Minnesota. These are going to be some big games that could very well define the rest of the season. The Yanks will no doubt be up to the task. They are after all one of 2 AL teams with winning records away from home. The other of course being the Angels. The win today has to be a huge confidence boost. They came from behind and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the best baseball had to offer. And hitting John Lackey is no easy task. Just ask the Red Sox. I can't think of a better way to start this roadie. Take it to 'em fellas.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Make The Look-A-Likes Look-A-Like Chumps

I was worried there for a little while. It was the bottom of the 6th and the Yanks were down 2-1 and only had 2 hits. It had the making of the typical Yankee game. Good pitching, little offense, and headed toward a 1-run win or loss. And then Bobby Abreu stepped to the plate and put the Yanks back on top with a 2-run HR. Next thing I know, the Yanks are sitting on a 6-run lead, the bullpen has the ball, game over.

I'm impressed that the Yankees offense again bounced back after the team fell behind. This is the 4th straight game where the Yankees tied the game or went ahead in the same inning where they lost the lead. Yesterday, the look-alikes knotted the game at 2 in the 2nd and the Yanks scored 4. On Sunday, the A's tied the game in the 6th and the Yanks scored the eventual winning run in the bottom of the inning. On Saturday, the A's scored a run in the 9th to take a 1-run lead and the Yanks tied it up in the bottom of the 9th. Heck, on Friday the A's scored in the 1st inning and the Yanks tied it right up. That's impressive.

Overall it was a pretty good night at the plate, with the exception of the bottom of the order. Melky Melky Melky. Horrible. Just horrible. Melky has really worn out his welcome in my book. I wouldn't mind seeing him dealt but right now his value is in the toilet. I've been suggesting they deal Melky for years now. Every time i bring him up he goes on a tear so maybe I'll have that effect on him again. It's very nice to have Johnny Damon back in the lineup. It makes it so much more formidable. He did a great job tonight of setting the table, picking up 2 walks and a single, scoring twice. Glad to have you back Johnny D. Cano still has the hottest bat in the lineup and it's about time Robbie is consistently stinging the ball. Robbie now has 5 straight multi-hit games and is 12-23 since coming back from the break. I don't think it's a coincidence that the team wins when Robbie hits. His average, up to .263, is now somewhat respectable. It's not quite what we Yankee fans have come to expect from Robbie but if he keeps this up, he'll be at .300 in no time. All in all, a good night at the dish.

Rasner pitched pretty well. Michael Kay called it his best outing of the season. Oh Michael Kay. You're such a tool. He was good, but not that good. He did allow 8 baserunners in 5.2 IPs. He did leave the game on the hook for the loss. His 1st 2 outings of the season were much better than tonight's effort, which again was solid, but not his best. D-Raz did do his job. He only gave up 2 runs, which is right up there with his counterparts in the rotation. Raz has been real shaky lately and his start tonight was encouraging. Let's chalk his success up to Chad Moeller. My research department (Pete Abraham's blog) tells me that opponents have a .675 OPS against D-Raz when Moeller is his battery mate. With Posada it's .933 and with Molina it's 1.014. I think it's safe to say that Chad Moeller needs to be Rasner's personal catcher. If the rotation can keep this going, it'll make Cashman's job a little easier come the trade deadline, and it's going to leave Yankee fans saying Johan who? I think they still need an arm because the roof is eventually going to cave in on Sidney Ponson. He can't keep this up by allowing all these baserunners. A hired gun would be nice, but again, it won't be as necessary if these guys throw like they're throwing.

Again, the bullpen was awesome. 3.1 IPs of 1 hit, 1 walk, 5 K ball. David Robertson picked up a huge out in the 6th, on 1 pitch, and earned his 2nd win of the season, on 1 pitch. Not a bad night's work. Robertson has been extremely impressive since his debut, and who wouldn't be shaky in their major league debut? Since his 1st outing, D-Rob has thrown 9.1 IPs, given up 3 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, and 13 Ks. Coming into tonight, including his 1st outing, opponents are only hitting .184 off him. Joba who? Kyle Farnsworth is no longer Farnsworthless. I'm still in amazement over how well he's thrown lately. K-Farns in his last 10 games, has thrown 9 innings and hasn't given up a hit! K-Farns has technically thrown a no-hitter. Color me dumbfounded. Again, Joba who?

The Rays have lost to the A's and the Yanks are now only 3.5 back of first. They've won 5 straight and they look good. They're pitching extremely well and they're hitting the ball. Imagine how we'd be if Chien-Ming Wang were around? My man Moose is on the hill tomorrow for an afternoon game. Ugh. I have meetings from 1-3 so I'm going to miss 2/3 of the game. I'll get to follow along with the Yahoo gamecast for the first hour but I'll totally miss the 2nd. It's Moose's turn to start this all over again. None of these guys want to be the starter that breaks the streak of solid outings. You can do it Moose. Make me and my fellow Mike Mussina Fan Club members proud.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Pettitte Cruises, Yanks Burn Rays 5-0

Andrew Eugene Pettitte. He was the man tonight baby. 8 stellar shutout innings. He threw strikes, kept runners of base, and pitched his way to his 10th win. Andy has been absolutely outstanding lately. 7-1 in his last 10 starts. He rebounded quite nicely from his last start against the Red Sox. The key today for me was that Andy didn't walk anyone. The Rays are a speedy team and the last thing the Yanks need is to let these guys have at the basepaths. Andy has always been a stronger pitcher in the 2nd half. I've said it before. I'll say it again. Looks like the 2nd half started early.

The Yankees need this from Pettitte. Joba, Moose, and Pettitte are a strong 1-2-3. If the Yanks can get solid outings from these 3, which they have been, we could be looking at a serious run if the offense gets going, and if the bottom 2 in the rotation can squeeze out a win here and there. Rasner and Ponson don't excite me too much. I think we're going to see some other guys get those starts real soon. I hate to say this but Kei Igawa is having a pretty solid year in Scranton. Igawa is currently 8-4 with an ERA of 3.82. Maybe he gets another shot? Igawa right now is too good for AAA but not good enough for MLB. He's been a colossal bust so far. But at the rate Sidney Ponson is going, he probably won't do any worse.

Still feeling a little underwhelmed with the offense, but not as much as I was yesterday. But not too many teams have great offensive explosions against Scott Kazmir, so I guess it's all good. Robbie Cano continues to impress. His 11 pitch at-bat against Jason Hammel was the at-bat of the game. That AB was a great indication that Cano has finally turned the corner. Robbie had another multi-hit game tonight. The 8th in his last 13 games. Robbie hitting is going to be clutch. He's a natural hitter and at the end of the year he'll be hitting about .300. Mark my words. 5 Yanks had 2 hits tonight. Abreu being one and boy did he need those. Bobby has been slumping, 0-15 in his last 4 games, and 4-30 in his last 8. Any night your 2, 3 and 5 hitters rack up 2 hits is a good night I suppose.

When Melky was down 0-2 in the 8th and was 1 strike away from a golden sombrero, I was sitting there thinking, man they got to trade for someone that can hit. I like his range and arm, but he's been horrible at the plate. And sure enough, he goes yard. Build on that Melk. Build on it.

I blogged a few days ago that the Yanks would be in trouble against the Sox and the Rays with Posada behind the plate. Girardi must have heeded my advice because Molina has been behind the dish the last 4 games. He's had an amazing arm all year. I had no idea coming into tonight's game he has gunned down 12 straight runners and how high his caught stealing percentage was. I don't remember the exact % of caught runners but it's a few percentage points under 50%, like 47 point something, one of the tops, if not the top in MLB. Jose Mo has been a blessing for the Yanks this year. His bat has certainly cooled but you can't put a price on valuable his arm has been. Definitely one of Cashman's better signings in my opinion.

Is it me or has Jeter's range improved in the last few days? Granted Dioner Navarro isn't the fastest dude out there but he had to cover some serous ground to nab him at 2nd with his patented jump throw. That was awesome. He's also gotten to a few balls that I thought were surely destined for center field. Regardless, I'm liking what I'm seeing from the Captain. People think he's overrated and I'm inclined to disagree. And I'm not being biased when I say that. Here's what I find funny: Jeter won last year's Gold Glove, which is voted on by managers and coaches. Yet when players are surveyed about who they feel is overrated, Jeter tops the list. Seems odd to me that coaches/managers respect his defense but everybody bags on his defense and thinks he's overrated. I'm sorry, but I respect the opinion of coaches/managers more than pretty much anyone else. People need to stop hating.

Tomorrow is a day game which is good and bad. I can't watch it on TV because of work but I can listen to it on my radio, though I can never devote 100% attention to it. I'd miss it anyway if it were a night game due to softball. So I'll take what I can get. Sidney Ponson gets the ball tomorrow. Ugh. In his 2 starts as a Yankee he's allowed 14 hits and 7 walks in 11 innings. Surprisingly, he's 1-0 in those 2 starts, the beneficiary of some run support as the Yanks scored 27 runs in his 2 starts. I think they'll need all the runs they can tomorrow. It'll be tough because they always struggle with Edwin Jackson. In his 2 starts against them this year, Jackson is 1-0, giving up only 1 run in 13 innings. I'm not excited about their chances but they're definitely capable of running this winning streak to 4 and picking up another game on the first place Rays. Sorry, that's still weird to say.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Yanks Escape With 6-5 Win In Minnesota

The Yankees beat the Twins last night 6-5 and I found myself very frustrated watching the game. How do those guys manage only 6 runs when they rack up 16 hits? That came should have been a blow out. Had they lost, I'd have gone through the roof.

The Shelley Duncan experiment has to end soon. Horrible at the plate. Horrible in the field. The Yanks can easily find better. I've said on many occasion I'm not a big fan of Duncan. He might run into the occasional homer but the negatives far outweigh the positives. He made an absolutely horrible throw to 2nd in the 1st inning, which eventually led to 4 runs. Duncan is going to be a 4-A player. Too good for the minors, not good enough for the majors. I like his enthusiasm, but that doesn't win a lot of ball games.

I thought we were in for another Mike Mussina meltdown after Duncan's 1st inning error. Kind of like what we saw when he only lasted two-thirds of an inning against Baltimore. Moose has to do a better job of picking the team up after the defensive miscues. After Duncan's error, Moose gave up 3 straight singles, all with the bases loaded. Granted, the defensive has to play better behind Moose, but Moose can't be doing that when they tank a play, something they've done 7 times this season. What Moose can do though is battle his way through the inning and then shut the door. Moose was brilliant last night in innings 2 through 5, allowing only 2 hits in those 5 innings. He kept the team in the game and the offense did the rest. Moose picks up win #8 and is again tied for the league lead in wins. Who'd have thunk it? You go Moose!

The offense had an all-around good night at the plate. The lone exception being Derek Jeter. Talk about a slump. The Captain is 3 for his last 37. That's crazy. I still have to think it has something to do with an injured hand maybe, but Jeter is a gamer and he's going to play everyday. If is he by chance hurt and not saying anything, I hope he takes a good look at his recent performance and questions if he's helping the team by playing. Don't be a hero Jeet. I respect your desire to play and win, but if you're hurting the team by playing, consider a day off or two. The Yankees racked up 16 hits last night and 12 came off the bats of Abreu, A-Rod, Matsui, and Melky, each with 3 hits a piece. Abreu had a monster night at the dish, 3 for 4 with 2 triples and 4 runs scored. He's hitting just south of .300. You'd think though that the Yankees would score more than 6 times if they racked up 16 hits? The Twins turned 3 DPs, made some great plays defensively (between the legs no look catch) and the Yankees definitely ran themselves out of some runs. They very easily could have lost that game. The pitching gets a lot of credit for picking them up.

The bullpen held its own in support of Moose. Kyle Farnsworth's season of inconsistency continued. Is he inconsistent or consistently bad? K-Farns has been pretty much the same type of pitcher since he's been in Pinstripes. He's has a few good games and a lot of bad ones. Granted, he bounced back after giving up a leadoff HR to Morneau, but he's till downright awful. Girardi needs to consider other options for the set=up role now that Joba is out of the picture. Right now, Edwar Ramirez is probably the best option. He's pitching lights out. they need to give him a shot. He's definitely earned it. And thank God for Mariano Rivera. How many times have we Yankee fans said that? A ground out to the pitcher and 2 Ks to close it out and save the win. Vintage Mo. He totally got hosed on the walk. That was strike 3 in my book. No biggie though with Mo on the mound. He'll just strike out the next 2 batter. Ball game over.

Chien-Ming Wang goes tonight against Boof Bonser. The Yanks are again sitting at .500 and this is probably their best shot to get above that plateau. The Yankees have hit Boof very well the 2 times they faced him. 15 hits and 11 runs in 2 starts. They're hitting .341 of him. I don't care what the naysayers say. Wang is an ace, a true #1. He can take a step forward in that argument by pitching like he can and putting this team above the .500 mark. That's what aces do. I don't want to jinx anything but I'm liking our chances tonight.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Offense Still Sputtering But Yanks Walk Off With 2-1 Win

That was quite the 9th inning. Joe Girardi comes up and throws a hissy fit after a questionable foul-tip strikeout of Jason Giambi. Abreu works a pinch-hit walk and Robbie Cano (Don't Ya Know) comes through in the clutch with a game-winning walk off single to left. It's real nice to see these guys finally have an on-the-field post game celebration. We're 2 games into the slingshot. Who would have thought that they would have rode Ian Kennedy's arm to victory?

Ian Kennedy. It's about time. We've been waiting patiently all year for you to throw a decent game and you finally delivered. It only took you 8 starts. The turning point of his outing was definitely the 3rd inning K of Nick Markakis with the bases loaded. That was huge. I thought to myself after that whiff that it would be Kennedy's turning point. That had to be a huge confidence boost for IPK. He wasn't exactly on point with his control but pitched well nonetheless. If only the offense could have scratched across another run. Ike deserved the W.

Ah the offense. Still terrible. Is it me or does every opposing starting pitcher seem to last into the 7th or 8th inning every game? Opposing starters have gone at least 7 innings in 7 of the last 9 games. And in 1 of the 2 they didn't, they went 6 innings. I've said it quite a few times this year. The Yankees aren't playing their game. They're being very aggressive at the plate and the approach isn't working. They've gotten away from working counts. They've gotten away from running up pitch counts. Am I the only one noticing this? Cano saw 6 pitches tonight in his 4 at-bats. Robbie has always been a free swinger but he needs to show some plate discipline. Jeter is another prime example. Jeet has walked on average once every 5 games this year. Last year he picked up a walk once every 2.79 games. His OBP is down 40 points. Bobby Abreu is another example. Walks per game this year 2.81, Last year, 1.89. A-Rod? This year, 1 walk every 4.33 games. Last year, 1.66. They're definitely more aggressive and like I said, it doesn't appear to be working. Patience my friends. Patience.

I'm becoming increasingly agitated with Shelley Duncan. I've never been high on Shelley and watching him swing at a pitch over his head just makes me more down on him. Don't get me wrong, he's exciting to watch at times, but he doesn't belong in the majors. He's the quintessential 4-A player. Too good for AAA, not good enough for the bigs. He doesn't look like he has any balance at the plate. He often ends up in the other batter's box after a swing. not a good approach. Sure he'll run into the occasional home run, but more often that not, he's going to come up empty. Shelley is now hitting .182. I'm not sure what the Yanks see in him. I don't get it.

The bullpen did a stellar job tonight. Veras gave up a single to the first batter he faced. After that it was smooth sailing as the trio of Veras, K-Farns and Mo sent the O's down in order. I'll admit I was a little nervous see Farnsworth pitch in the 8th inning of a tie game. I thought for sure the theme of this post would have to do with the move of Joba to the rotation backfiring right out of the gate. I'll bet the Yankees' brass issued a huge sigh of relief after he mowed them down 1-2-3. I was particularly impressed he sent them down on a mere 7 pitches. Way to go K-Farns. And Mo was of course typical Mo. Ball game over. Yankees win. The Yankees win.

I think it's a safe bet that the ball did glance off Giambi's bat in the 9th inning and he was rightfully called out on strikes. I don't think the ump saw it though. It looked to me like he thought was a ball inside. How else can you explain the long delay between the ball hitting the mitt and the actual strike call. It was a little odd that he made the call after Ramon Hernandez tried to sell it as hitting the bat. Joe Girardi was definitely in the right coming out and going berserk. That was pretty fun to watch. Very reminiscent of Sweet Lou. Man Joe looked ticked. It worked out well. I think it was the perfect opportunity to come out and fire up his team. I'm not sure it had an impact on tonight's win but we might see these guys play with a little more intensity and not appear as flat as they've been playing. Way to go skip.

It's sad that we get so excited over a 2 game winning streak but I'll take it. They've played like garbage lately and picking up a series win against a divisional opponent is never a bad thing. We might be catching a break here as the lowly Mariners are coming to town, owners of the worst record in the AL. It may not be as easy as it sounds as they're drawing Erik Bedard and King Felix in the 1st 2 games of the series. The Yanks lit up Hernandez in their last meeting. It would be real nice to see them do it again. I'd feel a little better about things if they had hit the ball tonight. We'll see. Games aren't played on paper so anything is possible.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Back In The Win Column, Yanks Win 8-0, Joba's Headed For The Rotation

I was not impressed with anything I saw tonight. Allow me to explain. Tonight was the start of bar league softball. We usually draw the 7:10pm start which means I don't see much Yankees baseball on Wednesday nights. By the time our game ended tonight, the score in the Yankees game was 6-0 and the 5th inning had just ended. My drive home is about 45 minutes and by the time I get home and take a shower, the game is just about over. I caught the tail end of the game. And since i missed all the action, I can't be impressed with what I didn't see.

If you didn't watch the game on YES then you missed some big news after the game. Joe Girardi was the on-the-field post-game interview. Joe mentioned that tonight marked the beginning of getting Joba ready for the rotation. They let him go 2 innings to stretch him out a little bit. I wonder if this directive is being handed down from above. You know Hank can't be happy with the current state of the Yankees. He's made his feelings about Joba becoming a starter known to everyone. It looks like Big Bank Hank is getting his wish a lot earlier than everyone expected. How cool would it be to be in the Yankees inner circle? I picture Hank chewing out Cashman and Girardi like his dad did with Billy Martin when he wanted Reggie Jackson to bat 4th. I think moving Joba to the rotation this early is a panic move. Personally, I'd rather see the Yankees wait until next season. Keep his innings down. We've all heard time and time again that youngsters who throw over a certain amount of innings are more likely to develop issues. If Joba is as good as everyone thinks he is, don't rush it. Assuming he slides into the rotation next month, I guess that leaves Ian Kennedy on the outs? You'd have to assume with Darrell Rasner pitching the way he is that Ike is the odd man out. I'm fine with that. He's not ready yet.

I think it's safe to say D-Raz has earned a spot in the rotation. I wonder if his intent tonight was to send a message to Girardi: I'll show you to skip my spot in the rotation. I caught some of the game on the radio during my drive home and was impressed with what I heard. Who wouldn't be impressed with 7 shutout innings? He picked up his 3rd win, dropped his ERA to 1.89, and most importantly gave the Yankee bullpen a much needed night off. Last night the pen throws 8+. Tonight, Joba goes 2 after a 3 day layoff. No harm done. Way to go D-Raz. Taking care of business.

The offense finally had a good night. 8 runs on 13 hits. I'd love to be able to declare that the offense is back but it's waaaay to early to even think that they have. I think it's safe to say that A-Rod is back. 3-for-4 with another HR, his 2nd in 2 games. I saw the replay of what should have been his 3rd HR. It looked pretty obvious to me on the replay. Not sure how that was missed. MLB and the owners definitely need to look into instant replay. I'm only in favor of IR in the case of reviewing a HR. That's the only time it should be used. It's such a big play int he game how can it not be? We've now seen 2 blown HR calls in 3 games at the Stadium. i hope they take a hard look at it. It was nice to see Cano chime in with a multi-hit game. It was a good time for me to take him out of my fantasy lineup. I'll take one for the team and leave him out for the time being. Abreu and Damon also came through with 2 hits a-piece. This team definitely fares a lot better when Johnny Damon does well at the plate. He's definitely a catalyst. All in all not a bad night offensively. I can't get too excited because this is what they should be doing on a regular basis. We've seen them put up a good game quite a few times, only to put together a string of horrendous performances. I'll get excited if they can score 5 runs or more for 4 straight games and more importantly, winning.

Not a bad post for someone who didn't see much of the action. Ian Kennedy is on the mound tomorrow. That's always an adventure. Not a bad night for Rasner to go 7. If Kennedy pulls off one of his "typical" outings, we'll need fresh arms in the bullpen. A 2 game winning streak would be nice right about now.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

ps- Joe Girardi is saying in his post-game interview that the plan all along was to get Joba ready for the rotation at this time in the season. Yeah, I'm not buying it. It's a panic move. This wouldn't be happening if the Yankees' fortunes were a little better.

Embarrassing

You think I'd be used to crappy performance after crappy performance by now. It's getting ridiculous to watch. The Yankees right now are flat out boring. It's difficult to watch. I can't be the only one out there that assumes once they give up 4 runs that the game is over, regardless of the inning. It's pitiful to watch such a potent lineup go out and do nothing.

Oliver Perez owns the Yankees. 3 straight wins against them. And he's not that good. Just another case of a marginal pitcher owning the Yanks. Absolutely horrible. I think it's pretty safe to say that the Yankees are not built to beat left-handers. It should get better when A-Rod and Jorge return but I'm starting to have my doubts.

Bobby Abreu is really ticking me off. When he struck out looking with 1 out and a runner on 3rd in the 5th inning I wanted to throw my remote control through the TV. He's just one of the many bats that we need to wake up! He's 3 for his last 18. During the ESPN broadcast, Jon Miller mentioned that Bobby Abreu has the best arm on the team. I'm nor sure Miller watches baseball sometimes. Abreu should have gunned down David Wright on Alou's 7th inning sac fly. As soon as I saw Wright break for home I thought they had him. But there's Bobby making an absolutely horrible throw. He also should have thrown out Ryan Church but the throw was offline. It could have been an entirely different game had he made those throws. Who am I kidding? They still wouldn't have scored. They had 3 measly hits.

There inability to hit when they need to is remarkable. Matsui lined out with 2 out and a runner on 2nd in the 1st. Melky and Alberto failed to get Giambi home from 2nd in the 2nd. Melky and Alberto failed to get Cano home from scoring position in the 4th. Damon, Abreu and Jeter all fail to score Molina from scoring position in the 5th. Cano grounds into a DP in the 6th. No hits from the 5th inning on. The lack of clutch/timely hitting on this team astounds me.

Chien-Ming Wang pulled an Andy Pettitte and melted down in the 4th inning. Wang was perfect through 3 and then the roof caved in. The 4th inning was such a crappy inning to watch. The inning went south when he walked Beltran. Giambi makes a great stop and makes a horrible throw to 2nd pulling Jeter from the bag. You've got to get the out there. The play was to first. You'd think Giambi would know he can't make that throw. Why try? Alou then accidentally hits a 2-run single. Weak. That inning should have never been that bad. If it's not the offense failing Wang, it's the defense. But that's baseball. Wang needed to take care of business and he couldn't quite get it done. The walk to Beltran killed him. I thought Wang pitched alright. not good enough to win, but better than his pitching line indicates. And big thanks to Ross Ohlendorf for totally having Wang's back. Not.

My buddy, who is a Mets fan, sent me a text message calling for the umpire's head for reversing the Delgado HR call. That's baseball. Every team is going to benefit from blown calls. As much as it sucks when it happens to your team, you'll eventually reap the benefits of bad umpiring. It's to be expected when you rely on the human eye to make those calls. If they ever bring in instant replay, it should only be on potential home runs. I wanted to text him back and tell him not to worry because the Yankees weren't going to score 3 runs anyway but I didn't want to drop the dime on the text. Am I the only one who wanted to mute the TV when miller and Morgan went on for what seemed like forever about the fair pole? Shut up already.

I have to think that if Hank Steinbrenner were watching the game he has to be thoroughly pissed and embarrassed that the Mets fans basically ran the Yankees fans out of the building. I now the volume of Mets fans is expected to be high since the two teams play a few miles apart from each other, but you can't have that in Yankee Stadium. You could hear the Mets fans all game. But listening to them roar with 2 outs in the 9th was ridiculous. I'm curious if there will be any Hank quotes on this, assuming he was paying attention.

The Yankees now need my boy Mike Mussina to be the stopper. Even if Moose is totally on I think the Yanks will be in for a battle as they are going up against Daniel Cabrera. Cabrera is no slouch and he's already pitched well against the Yankees this year. I think Moose will do well Tuesday but I don't see much coming from the offense. They really need Alex and Jorge back in the lineup. Thankfully Alex is back.

Sadly, it probably won't do a bit of good. Enjoy the off day.

J-Boogie

Mo Is Human, Chien-Ming Has No Luck, Yanks Lose To The 1st Place Rays

So Mariano Rivera is human after all. The perfect season comes to an end. Oh well. He couldn't be perfect forever. The freakin' Rays are on fire. Their pitching has been excellent. With Boston losing the Rays are now in sole possession of 1st place. What's the world coming to?

You can't pitch much better than Chien-Ming Wang did tonight. For the 2nd straight outing, Wang pitched well enough to win, but ended up getting the no decision. If not for a late Hideki Matsui HR he would have suffered his 2nd straight loss. The Yankees offense failed him terribly. They again had their chances but again, as we've seen quite a bit this year, they came up empty. Back-to-back singles to leadoff the 2nd inning.....ground out followed by a 5-4-3 DP. Jeter hits a 1-out triple in the 6th.....ground out followed by a pop out. Terrible baseball. Just terrible.


Hideki Matsui has been the team MVP so far. He bailed out the team with his 1-out game-tying HR in the 9th. It's hard to believe that the Yankees allegedly tried to deal Godzilla in the off-season. He's sweet with the stick. He has been on all year. I wish I could say the same for everyone else. To be fair, Jeter, Damon, Abreu and Melky have had a decent year so far but they never all seem to be on at the same time. It's hard to believe Robinson Cano has the worst average on the team. That feels weird to say. He's been doing better as of late but his terrible start is inexcusable. It was nice to see Giambi rap a few hits. He had a great night at the dish going 2-2 with 2 walks. I hope this is a sign of things to come. Jose Molina has been a huge disappointment offensively since playing every day. If I didn't look closely I'd think they brought back Wil Nieves. Get well soon Jorgie. We need ya.


Despite Mariano's 1st loss, the Yankees bullpen has been outstanding lately, really all year. Joba looked a little shaky tonight as he struggled with his control but eh got the pitcher's best friend to bail him out of trouble. Coming into tonight the bullpen ERA was 3.38, 6th best in the AL, only .06 points behind the 3rd best Twins. Opponents are only hitting .230 off the Yankee relievers, 3rd best in the AL. They also rank 2nd in bullpen innings pitched, 3 innings behind Texas and 17 innings ahead of the 3rd ranked Tigers. Not bad, not bad. Definitely a high point.


I'd like to give some credit to Edwin Jackson for keeping the Yankee bats at bay, but I don't really think he's all that good a pitcher. I exchanged a few e-mails today with my Uncle and the Yankees came up in the "conversation." He wrote, "The way the Yanks are hitting, you might want to select an alternate team to track. How can you have that much fire power in your line-up and your run production be so poor?" That's a great question and I wish I had an answer. I'd like to think it'd get a little better with the return of A-Rod, and then Posada, but I'm not so sure. We're a-quarter of the way through the season and it's been the same story all year. Coming into today the Yankees ranked 6th in the AL in batting average (.263). They ranked 8th in the AL in runs scored (168). They ranked 6th in OBP (.330) and 3rd in slugging percentage (.417). They're better than that! But there's lots of baseball left to be played. They have by no means dug themselves a hole they can't climb out of. I think it will be a little tougher this year with the improved quality of baseball being played by their fellow AL East counterparts, but they'll heat up. I've just got that feeling. Alex will be back soon. Jorge will hopefully be right behind him. That will be a huge shot in the arm.

Back to 2 games under .500. Ah familiarity. I hate it. Start winning some games!!

J-Boogie

D-Raz Does What The Kids Couldn't Do, Yanks Sweep M's

D-Raz-a-ma-taz. Welcome back to the Bronx. Congrats on getting the job done. I was a little nervous after he gave up the 1st inning dinger to Beltre, but after that it was pretty much smooth sailing. Not bad for a season debut. 6 innings, 5 hits 4 K and NO WALKS and on 76 PITCHES! Phil and Ian: TAKE NOTES! That's how you do it. That's what we need. He looked pretty good from what I saw. I had to leave after the 4th and missed the last half of the game. But after looking at the box score it doesn't look like I missed much. Hopefully Rasner can continue his hot start and give the team solid outings like he did today. I think he will. Kei Igawa? I'm not so sure about. He's rumored to be coming up this weekend. I'm going to Detroit for the Saturday afternoon game and lucky me will probably get to see him pitch. Yay, can't wait. Insert sarcasm here.

The offense, well most of it, was again clicking today. Coincidentally, it stopped clicking once I left the house and had the game off. I'm glad I got to see the whole shebang. They rocked Silva bringing the sinkerballer back down to Earth. I can't get overjoyed because all of the offense came from the same old same old with the exception of a solo shot by Cano. Jeter seems to have broken out of whatever funk he was in. I'm glad I put him back in my fantasy lineup. Matsui remains hot, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Melky hit his team-leading 6th HR. Yeah, that's not a type-o. It's crazy to say that Melky is our best longball threat. Abreu had 3 base hits and the table continues to be set by a hot Johnny Damon. I think JD is the key to this whole thing. When he's on, the team seems to do pretty well. And then of course the same old same old show their struggles, but did find a way to chip on. Giambi knocked in a run on a sac fly the opposite way. I thought for a split second that it might get by Ibanez but he made a great play on it. And Robinson Cano hit a much needed HR, but it was his only hit. I'm hoping he kicks it in to gear soon. He's too great a hitter. He has to break out of this slump. With Jorge and Alex on the shelf, the team needs all engines firing.

Finally we're treated to a much deserved off day. It feels like forever since the boys have had a day off. It's coming at the right time. I only hope the momentum of a series sweep is not going to take a hit by a day of rest. The bats are finally starting to show signs of life. The arms had a great week. I kind of wish we had some Yankees baseball tomorrow. The Tribe are coming to town and the Yanks draw two of their best pitchers in Fausto Carmona and Cliff Lee. It won't be easy but I think they can handle it.

17-16, 3 games back of first. Not a bad place to be. Not a bad place at all.

J-Boogie

Wang Picks Up Win #50 Behind Late-Inning Longballs

I hate games that start later in the evening. West coast games are absolutely brutal. My 8-month old son likes to wake up at 6am and the last thing I need to be doing at midnight is watching baseball and blogging about it. I love to sleep and I can usually function on 6 hours or so but really prefer to sleep as long as possible. But I'm a trooper and I'm always in it for the long haul.

Chien-Ming Wang wasn't his typical self but he pitched well enough to pick up his 50th career win. Wang wasn't anywhere near dominating but he pitched his way into and out of many jams. He threw a lot of pitches and I don't think I've ever seen him get to so many 3 ball counts, or 2 strike counts for that matter. He kept the team in the game and the team rewarded him by picking up the runs at just the right time. He left the game in the hole and a Bobby Abreu grand slam put him in line for the W.

Damon had a heck of a game at the plate. He's now 5 for his last 9 with 5 runs scored, 5 RBI, and 2 longballs. When Johnny succeeds at the plate, the team always seems to fare well. This could be start of good things from JD.

The Captain scuffled tonight. 0-5. Ouch. I thought for sure he'd deliver with the bases juiced in the 7th and the team down a run. If there was ever a Jeter moment it was then. Had there been 2 down I'm sure he would have come through with a hit. Thankfully Bobby Abreu picked Jeter up by hitting a grand salami. That was huge! Timely hits are starting to happen. Good times.

I about threw the remote through the TV when Traber and Bruney issues back-to-back walks to open up the 7th. If there's one thing I can't stand it's relievers that issue walks. Control problems have plagued Bruney his entire career. He started out so well. No walks in his first 3 games and 6 walks in his last 6. The one game he didn't walk someone he gave up 2 HRs to the Rays. It's not a good trend. But I still prefer him to Farnsworth or Hawkins.

The ineffectiveness of Traber and Bruney forced Girardi to bring in Joba in the 7th inning. I know there really are no "Joba Rules" this year but I prefer him in the 1 inning outings, and only pitching in the close ones. I was surprised he came out for the 8th after the Yankees picked up 3 insurance runs on Damon's HR. I would have turned it over to Farnsworth and/or Hawkins and saved Joba for another day, but I'm not the manager for a reason. I wonder if Girardi thinks he might need some mop-up work tomorrow with Moose pitching and that's why he continued with Joba. Maybe he was saving the scrubs just in case moose doesn't go deep into tomorrow's game.

Farnsworth blows. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

With the win the Yankees move to 11-10. I'm very pleased with that record all things considered. It should be worse. A lot worse. With the inconsistent pitching and lack of timely hitting they should probably be, I don't know, 6-15 maybe? Considering they've only played 9 games at home and have pretty much been on the road since the second week of the season I'm real happy with their current slot in the standings. They've weathered the storms so far and they've come out of it pretty well. 11-10. I'll take it.

Congrats again to the Wanger for picking up career win #50. He's the youngest to 50 since Doc Gooden reached it in 1986. It's late. Don't quote me on the year. I think it's right but the brain starts powering down at midnight and the clock just struck 12.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Wang Gets Wocked, Sox Get Socked, Yanks Win 15-9

I'm starting to write this post a little after 10pm in the east. This game is your typical Yankees/Sox affair. A knocked down, dragged out fight with each side landing blow after blow after blow. We're already 3 hours deep and at this rate it's going to end after 11. Dude has to work in the morning. I can't be staying up all night blogging. It's currently 11-9 Yankees. Abreu just flew out to the LF corner to open up the inning. I may sprinkle in some nuggets about the live action as I type this.

This game was the polar opposite of the Wang/Buchholz pitching duel from last week. Neither pitcher had their A game tonight. I think you can argue the point that neither had their B, C, D or E games either. Neither pitcher made it past the 4 inning mark and each got hit pretty hard. This was definitely not your typical Wang outing. The last post I wrote talked about how dominant Wang has been against the Sox in his last 3 or so outings. You can basically crinkle that post up and toss it right in the trash.

If you had told me before the game that the Yankees would have scored 7 runs off Buchholz, I would have thought a Wang win was automatic. I'm a little shocked that he got hit for a 9 spot but it happens. Al Leiter dropped some insight on bad outings during the YES broadcast. In short, they're going to happen. He said that great pitchers typically have about 20 starts a year where there stuff is on. That would mean you'd have about 10-15 starts a year where you were scuffling on the hill. You also mentioned that when he was a Yankee farm hand, Joe Altobelli told him that the expectations for pitchers were to have 2 great starts, 2 good starts, and 1 bad start in every 5 outings. This was Chien-Ming's 4th start of the year. He's had 2 great outings, 1 good one, and now 1 bad one. I'd say he's on track. I'm not at all discouraged by his outing. It's going to happen. He's our ace. He'll bounce back.

Kate Smith just finished singing God Bless America. I've got to give it up to LaTroy Hawkins. His 2 solid innings have closed the flood gates. He now hasn't given up an earned run in his last 5 outings. He seems to be settling in and that's what the Yankees are going to need from him, and that's what they brought him here to do. It's good to see him pitch well. He was definitely one of the main components in tonight's win. He came in and shut the door on the Sox offense. Hawkins picked up his 1st win in Pinstripes.

Right from the get-go the offense was on tonight. I was pretty pumped after Bobby and Alex went back-to-back. Alex absolutely crushed that ball. It looks like they're finally turning things around offensively. They racked up double-digit runs on double-digit hits, and no one was left out of the party. They were hitting with runners in scoring position too. It's about freaking time. We saw 2-out run scoring hits from Moeller and Jeter in the 4th. Jeter is picking up right where he left off last year. The moniker of Captain Clutch is very fitting. Last year with 2 outs and RISP Jeter hit .418. He was hitting .333 with 2 out and RISP coming into this game. Melky just got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. The replay showed he was safe but what can you do. I don't mind him trying to pick up the extra base but you have to be aware of the situation. It would have been nice to let Derek do his thing. The 5th inning was a bright spot also. They put 5 consecutive guys on base and took the momentum back from the Sox. That was huge.

Chad Moeller is filling in quite nicely. 3-4 with a walk and an RBI. His 2 out run scoring double in the 4th was a pretty clutch hit. But his 5th inning walk was probably one of the most clutch Yankee plate appearances of the night. He worked that count and eventually picked up the free pass which loaded the bases. His slide into Lugo to break up the DP and cause a throwing error allowing a run score was pretty sweet also. Moeller was named player of the game. Well deserved. It's refreshing to see that we have 2 backup catchers that can fill in for Posada and do such an effective job.

We're headed to the bottom of the 8th now. Traber and Bruney pitched us through the inning. Traber had a long outing, eh? He got Ortiz to foul out to Moeller on 1 pitch. Not bad for a day's work. Bruney bounced back from his rough outing in Tampa. He buckled down after giving up a single to Manny. I love it when someone strikes out Kevin Youkilis. That makes my day. Considering Youkilis went down on strikes 3 times tonight I'm a happy camper. The bullpen did a pretty solid job tonight. It's too bad they didn't have Joba though. I don't mind seeing Bruney and Traber pitch but I don't get that same warm and fuzzy feeling I get with Joba on the mound in the 8th. I think it's safe to say we all feel that way. Come back soon Joba. But not too soon. Make sure your pops is OK first though.

A-Rod just hit an automatic double. That blows because Jeter would have scored no doubt. They're loading the bases by walking Matsui. I really hope they come through with some more insurance runs. I mentioned yesterday that the failures of the offense to score late against Tampa Bay could come back to bite them in the rear if they needed to call on Mariano for a 3rd straight day. That was the last thing I wanted to see happen. Jorge just dunked in a 2-run bloop and Mo has taken a seat. Another hit with RISP. That was huge. Me likely. Hip hip Jorge.

Giambi just blooped a 2-run double to left field. Another hit with RISP. Me really likey. I thought for sure that Giambi took Timlin yard again. I think I would have dropped a deuce on the floor if he had. But going the other way for a 2-run double is just as nice. Mike Timlin is taking it on the chin this year against the Yankees. Timlin has now given up 8 hits and 7 earned runs in 1.1 innings against the Yankees. Giambi's is 3-3 against him. Considering the Big G now has 5 hits on the season that's pretty funny.

Brian Bruney is killing me right now. I want to go to bed dude. Quit messing around and pick up these last 2 outs! And a fly out to Damon ends the game.

That was a crazy game. The offense was definitely on its game tonight. 15 runs on 16 hits. Everybody hits and Matsui is the only one without an RBI. Not too shabby. What could have been an ugly loss turned into a huge win. The Yankees are winners of three in a row and all signs point to that they're turning the corner offensively. This win was definitely a team effort. Nice job boys.

J-Boogie

Despite Leaving The Free World On Base, Yanks Win 5-3

The Yankees may have won the game but this fan isn't too happy with their performance. The lack of hitting with men on base is disgusting. In the last 3 innings, Yankee hitters left 8 runners in base. Abreu went 0-2 and stranded 5. A-Rod went 0-2 and stranded 5. Damon stranded 3 and Giambi left 2 on. With the exception of Damon, that's the heart of the order and the guys that are supposed to knock in runs. I'll give Abreu a pass because he drove in a run with 2 outs in the 5th. The Yankees had 17 baserunners and managed 5 runs. They had a plenty an opportunity to score in the 7th, 8th and 9th innings and failed miserably. Pathetic.

Probably the worst thing to come from the offensive failures is that the Yankees had to use Mariano Rivera on back-to-back nights. This likely makes Mo unavailable for tomorrow night's game against Boston. No Mo and no Joba. Does that make LaTroy Hawkins the closer? Yikes. Mo was his typical self in the 9th. What a difference a year makes? The last thing I wanted to see happen was Carlos Pena get into the box as the tying run but Mo got him to ground out to Cano on the first pitch of the at bat. He picked up his 5th save but he never should have had to pitch.

I was amazed that Andy Pettitte lasted 7 innings and was somehow able to hold the Rays to only 3 runs. He was far from sharp but it was a very effective outing. He improved greatly as the game went on. He allowed 9 baserunners in the 1st 3 innings and only 3 in the last 4. It would have been a shame had the bullpen found a way to blow this. Andy worked for and deserved that win. He's a horse and I'm glad he's on my team.

How about that Kyle Farnsworth? I was praying for anybody but him in the 8th. I honestly thought we'd see Jonathan Albaladejo. I could not believe my eyes when he sent the Rays hitters down in order. I don't remember the exact statistic, and I'm too lazy to look it up, but last year Farnsworth had very few 1-2-3 innings. Ok, I looked it up. I think it was 16 times in 65 games. I think this is now his 2nd time in 6 games. A little better but not what we need. I don't know why Joe has faith in him? I'd never use him in that spot.

Jeter is swinging the bat real well since his hiatus. 3 hits and a walk. A key 2 out RBI single. That's how it's done. He's the captain for a reason. His average last year with 2 outs and RISP was .418. if there's a guy I want up with runners on and 2 outs it's the Captain. Everyone else needs to take note because that's how it's done. Short swings = base hits =runs batted in. It's that simple.

I guess in the end all that matters is that the Yankees won the game. I'm just a little displeased with what I saw. I want to see a finely tuned machine and what I'm seeing is the parts moving but never at the same time. The boys now get to go home for a two-game set with the BoSox, winners of 4 in a row. Thanks a lot Cleveland relievers. Our ace is on the hill. Wang gets the ball in a rematch against Clay Buchholz. Wang's last outing against the Sox can only be referred to as dominant. Chien-Ming pitches better at home so I'm expecting another good game from the Wangster.

We're sitting at 8-7 and a game out of first. All things considered it could be a lot worse.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Shake It Up

Tonight's Yankee lineup is a little abnormal to say the least. Melky in the 2-hole. Matsui in RF. Molina hitting 6th. No Abreu. No Giambi. Definitely not your typical Yankees lineup. But when things are going this bad, sometimes you need to make some adjustments. I can understand sitting Giambi and Abreu because Bale is a lefty. I know what you're going to say. Matsui is a lefty and Abreu is swinging a hot bat. Granted but Bobby hasn't had a day off and there isn't a break in the schedule for a couple of weeks. It makes sense to give him a day to rest.

The curious part of the "new" lineup to me is having Melky batting 2nd. I prefer Cano in the 2-hole but Cano hasn't exactly hit the ball this year. I think the Melk-Man is better suited for that spot at this point in time.

Alex gets moved up a spot to the 3-hole. I prefer him hitting clean-up but without Abreu in the lineup there aren't any better options to put in front of him.

I like having Jose Molina bat higher in the lineup. Since he's donned the Pinstripes he's shown he can bring it at the plate. He's also swinging one of the better bats so why not.

I'm not expecting much production tonight from our 8 and 9 hitters. Gonzalez is a very light hitting shortstop and Ensberg has never returned to the form he was in when he belted 30-plus homers. But hey, he can't do any worse than Wilson Betemit.

Finally the best part of the lineup is the return of Jorge Posada. His MRI showed no structural damage and apparently he feels no discomfort when he swings the bat. His bat is a welcomed additon to the already weakened lineup. He just needs to start hitting like the rest of them.

Enjoy the game.

This Moose Is Not Cooked

A series split with the Rays. Considering how the series started I'll take it. For my money the star of the game was Mike Mussina. I'm glad he got the "player of the game" nod from the fans and crew at YES. Quite simply, Moose was awesome. Shame on those of you Yankees fans who were so quick to write Moose off. He's been one of the most consistent pitchers in the history of the game. Like any pitcher he'll have the occasional bad game. But more often that not, he's going to keep the team in he ballgame. He shut down a pretty good Rays offense giving up only 2 hits through 6 innings. He was definitely on his game. Congrats to Moose on winning #251 and tying the great Bob Gibson on the all-time win list, and on passing David Cone on the all-time strikeout list.

This was definitely the best offensive game to date, albeit it wasn't anywhere near what they're capable of. They put up 6 runs on 11 hits. Not bad, but they can do better. It's still pretty much the same handful of guys coming through. Bobby Abreu is absolutely en fuego. No chance he slumps like he did last season. Matsui had another nice game at the plate chipping in with 2 RBI. He's much better suited to hit 5th in the lineup than down in the 8-hole where Girardi had him hitting the first few games. Memo to Joe: Don't tinker with what works. Leave Cano in the 7 spot and keep Matsui hitting behind Alex.

Brian Bruney again showed he was going to be reliable in big spots. He hasn't shown any signs of the control problems that has plagued him in the past. I almost threw up my dinner when they cut to Farnsworth warming up in the bullpen when it was still a 4-1 game. I am so glad that the Yanks tacked on some insurance because there's no way anyone should have faith in him in close games. I know he and Girardi were teammates once, but come on Joe, he's shown us time and time again that he can't handle it. I'm glad things worked out the way they did. Farsnworth and Hawkins basically mopped up. Hawkins made things a little interesting there in the 9th, and surprisingly, neither he nor Farnsworth gave up a run.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I love Jose Molina. It's been a while since the Yankees had a backup catcher that could swing the stick.

Speaking of backup catchers, I need to make mention of something John Flaherty made to Michael Kay during the broadcast. Kay referred to the shift that the Yankees put on Carlos Pena as the "martini glass defense." As soon as those words came out of his mouth, I was like "ugh." Where does he come up with this drivel? First we get "generation trey," now we get "martini glass defense." For those that missed the broadcast, he called it a "martini glass defense" because the positioning of the right-fielder, first-baseman, second-baseman and shortstop looks like an upside down martini glass. Horrible Kay. Absolutely horrible. After he made the comment, Flaherty interjected saying something like, "I can guarantee you that no one has ever referred to that as a martini glass defense." Thank you John! That comment made my night. In short Kay, you're an idiot.

It sounds like they'll be without Jeter for a few days. Girardi said in the postgame that they were going to take it slow and that he definitely wouldn't be in the lineup tomorrow. Jeter's a gamer. He'll be back in a few days.

It was a pretty successful homestand in my opinion. They took 2 out of 3 from a very tough Toronto team. Halladay, Burnett and McGowan are one of the better 1-2-3 punches in the league. The Rays are a great young team and they're only going to get better. When Kazmir returns they become a much better team. A team like the Rays always gives the Yankees fits. They're quick and they're not afraid to run. That's why the Angels had so much success against them while Torre was the skipper. Bouncing back to take the final 2 games of the series is just what this team needed before embarking on a road trip. The pitching has been great. The offense has been lukewarm but is showing signs of heating up. A reader named Mike left a comment today that the bats will heat up with the weather. I couldn't agree with that more. Hopefully, the pitching stays as hot as they've been.

Tomorrow is a day game. Yuck. I hate day games for the sole reason that I can't watch it. You can bet though I'll have it on my XM radio. At least it's a 4pm start so I should be home for some of it. I'll have to remember to set up the DVR.

Peace, love and Pinstripes,

J-Boogie

Offensive Woes Continue, Yankees Need New Manager

I keep expecting the Yankees to have an offensive breakout and so far my wishes have gone unfulfilled. Just when you think they're standing on the verge of getting it on, they digress. They've had their chances and have shown some signs of life, but by and large they have collectively stunk up the joint. A-Rod and Abreu have been the only real consistent performers and even they have come up short in big spots. Is it me or do they sometimes make mediocre pitchers look like Cy Young? I can understand not racking up a lot of runs against a trio like Halladay, Burnett, and McGowan, but come on, they can't knock around Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson? I know it's early. I know the season is only 5 games old. It's just puzzling to watch. It doesn't seem like they're playing their game. They're not seeing pitches and working counts. It seems like they're being aggressive at the plate and it's not paying off. I've seen a lot of long swings. I have to disagree with a comment John Flaherty made about Shelley Duncan's plate appearance with the bases loaded. He mentioned he was seeing good swings from Shelley. I'm not sure what game he was watching because I couldn't disagree more. Duncan tries way to hard to crush the ball. He seems totally off balance and he never seems to have his feet where they should be when his swing is over. We need base hits in those big spots. Keep the line moving and the runs will come. We don't need 6-run homers.

I thought Pettitte pitched alright all things considered. His only real mistake was the pitch that Gomes hit out. Shelley Duncan didn't do anybody any favors by throwing the ball into left field. The Yankees are going to suffer dearly if they can't get a first baseman that can make the throw to second base. Yesterday, Giambi almost did the same thing but lucky for him Jeter was able to hold the bag while making the catch. It wasn't a great outing by Pettitte but he looked pretty good out there. He kind of burned out there around the end of the 4th. Understandable considering his shortened spring training. The real question is how will Andy feel tomorrow? Fingers are crossed that he feels good.

How about that Brian Bruney? He looked real good, striking out 4 over 2 hitless innings. Brian Bruney's success as major league pitcher will entirely depend on his ability to keep the ball over the plate. If Bruney has good control, he'll dominate. His struggles have always revolved around poor control. He's got great stuff and I think he'll do very well this year. Shedding 20 pounds didn't hurt.

Ohlendorf looked good also. He's got some nasty stuff. I was surprised Aybar took him yard. I'm not even close to lumping Ohlie in the same boat as Farnsworth and Hawkins. If I'm Joe Girardi I'd look to use guys like Bruney and Ohlendorf in close games. The bridge to Mariano should start with Bruney, Traber and Ohlendorf and not with Hawkins and Farnsworth. Maybe Hawkins can work his way up that pecking order, but Farnsworth? Never.

The Yankees are lucky to be 2-3. Their record could very well be 0-5. Tomorrow isn't going to be a walk in the park as James Shields gets the call for the Rays. The Yankees should be able to hit him, but if they don't, Wang better be on his A-game. He's the ace. He's the stopper. He's the guy that's supposed to stop losing streaks.

Oh yeah: Fire Rob Thomson! Get well soon skip.

J-Boogie