Giambi's Contract Continues to Drag Yanks Down

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Hilligoss Streaks to 37

Charleston River Dog's Mitch Hilligoss didn't wait until his last at-bat to extend his hitting streak to 37 games tonight. Hilligoss lead off the bottom 1st with his 1st HR of the season.

The streak matches the one Joey Cora had back in 1989 for Las Vegas (PCL). Hilligoss' was one of 4 hits he had through the 8th tonight. His season average is now .335.

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The New RonDL

Jason Giambi has landed on the DL yet again. As reported by the Journal News' Peter Abraham, Giambi went to have his bad heel checked out by foot and ankle specialist Dr. William Hamilton. The doc found a tear of the plantar fascia and Giambi is done for 3 weeks. In the meantime he'll have a walking boot.

The way this season has gone, the Yankees should give a career minor leaguer like Shelley Duncan a shot to make something happen.

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Around the Horn (5/31)

It's been a while since we went Around the Horn, but here goes...

Matsuzake gets diced up

Dice-K has been roughed up lately, though its pretty much gone unnoticed because of the Red Sox success. The righty struggled with gastro problems and the Rangers last week, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings, but picked up the win.

Last night the Indians hammered the Diceman to the tune of 6 runs and 12 hits in just 5 2-3 innings. Since his 1st 3 starts, Dice-K has a 5.64 ERA, but has gone 6-1. The Red Sox have averaged more than 8 runs in each of those games.

Does he throw a slowey ball?

The Minnesota Twins are beginning to rival the old LA Dodgers for stud pitching prospects. Here comes another one in the person of Kevin Slowee. The 6'3" righty has been tearing up the International League this year, striking out 57 batters in 64 1-3 innings. And get this, he's only walked 5 batters (his K/BB ratio last season was 151/22). With a 6-2 record and an amazing 1.54 ERA, the Twins realized it was time to kick Ramon Ortiz and Sidney Ponson to the curb.

He still can't make it there

Had a good laugh the other night seeing the Giant's Armando Benitez meltdown at his old home, Shea Stadium. Benitez balked, not once, but twice, with the 2nd allowing Jose Reyes to come home with the tying run. Carlos Delgado then finished off Benitez's night in style with a walk-off HR.

Update - 5/31 9:30 pm - The San Francisco Chronicle learned that Benitez is on the verge of being dealt to the Florida Marlins.

His average won't change much

Matt Bush was the San Diego Padres 1st round pick in 2004 as a shortstop. But he's looked more like a pitcher when it comes to hitting. So the Padres are going to make him one.

Bush hit just .221 through 2006 and was batting just .204 this season when then the Pads front office decided to make the switch. Bush was a dominant pitcher in high school and is said to be "ecstatic" about the switch.

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A-Rod's "HAH"

From ESPN News:

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Yankees Roar Past Jays

Alex Rodriguez started out his day on Wednesday by finding out a picture of him and a mystery busty blond were splashed all over the NY Post. He finished the night off by ticking off the Toronto Blue Jays as his "shout out" helped the Yankees break open a close game in the 9th.

A-Rod had come through in the clutch with a 2-out single to extend the Yankees lead to 7-5. Then he talked with his mouth instead of his bat. The next batter, Jorge Posada, hit a pop up on the left side of the infield. 3rd Baseman Howie Clark camped under, but let the ball drop after A-Rod passed behind him. That's where the controversy begins.

Replays clearly showed A-Rod shouting something as he ran by - it appeared to be 'Hah". Clark claimed he yelled "Mine". Either way, the Yankees got another run as Hideki Matsui scored, and added two more on a Jason Giambi single for a 10-5 lead. Jay's shortstop John McDonald started jawing with A-Rod and had to be pulled away by the umpiring crew. Jay's manager John Gibbons also joined the fray and was still angry after the game.

"The thing about the Yankees, one of the reasons they're so respected, is they do things right. Always have," manager John Gibbons said. "They've got a lot of pride and a lot of class. They play the game hard.

"That's not Yankee pride right there," he said. "That's not the way they play. I thought it was bush league."

A-Rod naturally played down the incident in post-game interviews.

"I don't know what my intention was," Rodriguez said. "I didn't say, 'I got it' or anything like that."

"Honestly, I couldn't care less," he said. "They have their opinions. We're looking not to be swept."

"That play happens to me three or four times a week, except it's not at third base, it's over in foul territory by the dugout," Rodriguez said.

Even A-Rod's teammates were unsure how to answer reporter's queries. "I wasn't sure that was allowed," outfielder Johnny Damon said. "If it is, maybe we'll keep on doing it."

The only thing more amusing on the night was A-Rod deftly handling questions about the NY Post report. When a reporter asked if newspaper's getting personal bother him, A-Rod responded, "you mean about that play?".

Okay back to the game.

The Yankees showed some life last night, kick starting the game with a 5-run first inning. Johnny Damon lead off the ball game with his 3rd HR of the season off of rookie Jessie Litsch (1-2). The Yankees then loaded the bases on a single by Hideki Matsui and walks to A-Rod and Jorge Posada.

A Jason Giambi sac fly brought home one run and a Josh Phelps single brought in two more. Robinson Cano finished off the scoring with the 1st of his 3 doubles.

Yankee's starter Tyler Clippard (2-1) breezed through the first, but struggled through the next 4 innings. He got out of a two-out, two-walk jam in the 2nd, but gave up two runs in the 3rd and another the 4th on home runs by Alex Rios and John McDonald.

With the Yankees leading 6-3 in the 7th, Brian Bruney surrendered a 2-run to a 2-run shot to Matt Stairs. But Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, and Mariano Rivera, who picked up his 4th save, shut down the Jays the rest of the way. And then the Yankees mouthed their way to insurance runs.

~~~

Johnny Damon's 1st inning HR was the 1,999th hit of his career. One inning later, he singled to left to reach the 2,000 hit milestone.

Robinson Cano went 4-4 to snap an 0 for 10 skid.

Jorge Posada set a career high with 2 stolen bases- that is until the official scorer changed the call to fielder's indifference for his 9th inning swipe. Back-to-back nights with Giambi and Posada stealing - must be a full moon - and it is.

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Hilligoss Streak on the Line

Mitch Hilligoss has been unsuccessful thus far in trying to extend his 35 game hitting streak. The Charlotte River Dog's outfielder is 0-3 with a walk. A hit would break the all-time South Atlantic League record that he currently shares with former Yankees' minor leaguer Scott Seabol.

We'll post back here after his next at-bat.


9:40 pm Update

Hilligoss Extends Streak
It'll look like a line drive in the paper, but Mitch Hilligoss opened himself up to criticism by bunting for a base hit in the 7th inning tonight. There's an unwritten, albeit very silly, rule in baseball that you don't bunt to break up a no-hitter. It's less talked about with hitting streaks, but it may pick up steam after tonight.

The bunt single extended Hilligoss' streak to 36 consecutive games, the new all-time record for the South Atlantic League.

Update 5/31 10:50 am

Hilligoss and his manager respond to questions about bunting.

"(Charleston manager Torre) Tyson mentioned it to me in the dugout, but I didn't think (bunting) was a good idea at the time," Hilligoss admitted.

"But when I got up there and saw the third baseman playing back, I thought about it again," he added. "I looked at the third baseman and Tyson gave me a shrug so I thought, 'Why not.' He threw an outside fastball and once I got it down I knew I had it beat."

"They were shifting towards the left-field line," added Tyson. "I told him the bunt was there."

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Hughes out 4-6 More Weeks

The bad news just keeps on coming on for the Yankees this season. Phenom Phil Hughes will not be able to climb back on a mound for another 4-6 weeks. Hughes rolled his left ankle on Friday while rehabbing his injured left hamstring.

An MRI came up negative, but now the Yankees are calling it a Grade 3 sprain, further setting back Hughes' possible return to the Bronx.

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'Cause she's a brick..house

As if the Yankees needed another distraction in this hell-hole of a season, Alex Rodriguez's picture was splashed on the front page of the NY Post this morning. With a buxom blond that wasn't his wife. Heading into a strip club. It's not going to get better if I keep typing.

First off, the NY Post is a piece of garbage I wouldn't line my bird's cage with (if I had a bird). Whether or not you like, love, or hate A-Rod, none of this is any of our business.

There was a good discussion on Mike and Mike this morning on ESPN radio concerning the impact of the press on athlete's lives. The beat writers that cover teams don't mention player's indiscretions and they certainly don't take photographs of them in compromising positions (not including Josh Phelps playing 1st Base). But the world has changed now, and ruthless paparazzi and gold diggers are all around trying to take advantage of celebrity slip ups.

Most athletes are not like soccer star David Beckham who thrive on the attention. And most athletes that are on the gossip pages tend to be coupling with female celebrities (i.e., Tom Brady, Derek Jeter). Mike Greenberg of the Mike&Mike tandem feels that this is a new day. That athletes now have the same cache as actors, rockers, etc., which means that gossip hounds will stalk them in the same rude manner.

I don't care what A-Rod does in his personal life. That's between him and his wife. (That is of course unless it crosses the line such as the behavior of Tampa's Elijah Dukes). As long as its legal, we won't get into moral, and doesn't affect his play, I don't want to hear about it.

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Rocket Ready to Launch

The Yankees made it official this afternoon. Barring any changes, Roger Clemens will makes his 2007 Yankees debut on the road against the Chicago White Sox next Monday. Clemens started one game each at Tampa, Trenton, and Scranton, with his best start being his last one. Now if he could only hit a few home runs.

Kei Igawa is still muddling through. Brian Cashman continues to take a big hit on this one. Igawa threw 5 less than stellar innings for Scranton tonight. He allowed just 1 walks and struck out 6, but allowed 4 runs on 8 hits.

On a brighter note, one time star prospect Eric Duncan hit a pair of home runs.

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Where Have You Gone Joe DiMaggio

While the major league Yankees continue to flop, there are a number of minor leaguers in the Yankees' system that are having outstanding seasons. One of those players is Charleston River Dog's Mitch Hilligoss.

Hilligoss tied the Atlantic League record by hitting in his 35th consecutive game. He didn't accomplish the feat until his final at-bat. The 2-run double pulled him even with another former Yankees prospect Scott Seabol, who hit in 35 games for the 1999 Greensboro Bats.

Hilligoss' streak is the 3rd longest in the last 20 years of minor league baseball. Only Joey Cora (37) and Brent Gates (36) have hit in more consecutive games. Just as any major leaguer, Hilligoss will also be chasing Joe DiMaggio. The Yankee Clipper set the minor league record by hitting in 61 straight games in 1933.

Longest Streaks in Minor League History

61 - Joe DiMaggio (1933)
55 - Roman Mejias (1954)
49 - Jack Ness (1915)

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Objects Are Further Than They Appear

Another night, another loss, another game further back in the stands. 14.5 to be exact. I've run out of adjectives to describe just how badly this team is playing. The series win over Boston was obviously a mirage.

I'll give the Yankees this - they seem to find a different way to lose every day. Tonight's winner was a steal of home by the Jay's Aaron Hill. Hill took a huge lead off of third with lefty Andy Pettitte's back to him. By the time Alex Rodriguez, and anyone else, yelled, and Jorge Posada jumped out from behind home plate, it was too late. Hill slid in ahead of Pettitte's pitch to give the Jays a 2-1 lead after 7 complete.

The Yankees managed to tie it up in the 8th with the help of a couple of Blue Jay errors. Jorge Posada singled in Derek Jeter to knot things up at 2-2, but closer Jeremy Accardo came on to strike out Jason Giambi, who had earlier homered, and get Bobby Abreu on a weak grounder to first (is it just me or does Abreu have 1 or 2 of them a game?).

The tie was short lived though as Adam Lind lead off the bottom of the 8th with a deep double to left and moved to 3rd on a sacrifice bunt by John McDonald. Joe Torre decided to bring in Scott Proctor to face right handed hitting Alex Rios. Proctor nearly had Rios called out on a strikes, but his full count pitch was then driven to deep center for a sacrifice fly and the difference in the ball game. As usual, the Yankees mounted no threat in the 9th.

~~~

Pettitte pitched his guts out again, only to have nothing positive come from it...again. Of the 3 runs he allowed in 7.1 innings, only 1 was earned due to errors by Jeter and A-Rod. The Yankees have scored 9 runs in Pettitte's 4 losses, not to mention the leads the bullpen has blown after he left the game.

Giambi's home run was his 1st in 7 games and just his 3rd of the month. More shocking is the '1' now for his stolen base total. Blue Jay's shortstop Royce Clayton dropped the throw from catcher Jason Phillips and was charged with an error, but Giambi was still credited with a steal.

Another 5-hit night for the "Bombers" as 6 starters took the collar.

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Rockets and Duds

While Roger Clemens was donning a Scranton Yankees uniform and dominating the Triple-A competition, the Yankees were pulling another no-show in Toronto. Joe Torre held a 1 hour meeting prior to the game to try to infuse some life into his listless team. They responded by getting 5 hits off a guy (Dustin McGown) with a 7+ ERA and the Jay's bullpen.

Matt DeSalvo made what will probably be his last start in pinstripes this season, maybe ever, after another poor performance. Whatever caused his control problems last season, seems to have returned with a vengance.

Of course no game would be complete without the bullpen putting the game out of reach. This time it was Ron Villone's turn, with a little help from Mike Myers.

The Yankees offense consisted of a Hideki Matsui 2-run HR in the 8th. The loss moved the Yankees into the basement alongside the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Pathetic.

~~~

Clemens meantime was having a much better time than he did at Trenton last week. He threw 89 pitches, 57 for strikes in 6 dominant innings against the Toledo Mud Hens. The only real question remaining is whether Clemens makes his 1st Yankees start against the Red Sox or White Sox.

~~~

The Yankees may not be hitting, but prospect Mitch Hilligoss is continuing to streak his way through the South Atlantic League. With a 3-6 performance in Charleston's game on Memorial Day, Hilligoss extended his hitting streak to 34 games.

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Heads Will Roll

King George has definitely mellowed. In past years blood would have surely been shed by now. The manager, the general manager, etc. King George has already stated that Brian Cashman wanted full control and is now "on the hook". A firing will take place before the week is over. You can bank on it. Except it won't be Cashman or Joe Torre. Kevin Long will be the victim.

For years now, King George has fired one of the lieutenants to get a the generals. I've lost count of how many pitching coaches have lost their jobs in the wake of one of George's tirades. This time it will be the hitting coach, Long. Ron Guidry is safe for now because the veteran starters have pitched fairly well, and there have been far too many rookies making their debuts. The bullpen is another story all together.

The biggest problem that the Yankees have right now, besides a complete lack of desire or grit, is a total lack of offense. Bobby Abreu hit .330 in his time as a Yankee last season. He's at .233 entering tonight's action. Robinson Cano was in a race for a batting title last year, finishing at .342. A recent 11 game hitting streak helped raise his average to .260. The team batting average is .273, but much of that is due to the superb years Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada are having. So the sacrificial lamb will be Long.

I am certainly not saying its Long's fault. A supposed professional hitter like Abreu should not be hitting .233 at this point of the season. And injuries have effected Johnny Damon's and Jason Giambi's season. But Long is the new kid on the block and will go. Right or wrong, it's King George's world.

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Bedeviled Again

Was there any doubt, albeit with the worst called 3rd strike in history, that the Yankees wouldn't rally for a win on Saturday? Was there any doubt that they wouldn't on Sunday either. You take the combination of the Angels, who the Yankees just can't seem to beat, add in a team that has no grit, no fire, and basically sucks at the moment, and it all adds up to another loss and another game further back in the loss column.

Mike Mussina looked like a man on his last leg, or in his case, his last arm, in his last 2 starts. Yesterday he had what it took against a free swinging Angels that was off-balance all afternoon. In fact he struck out the first four batters of the game for the 2nd time in his career. Everything was great until Mussina was removed from the ball game.

Wil Nieves, who had 1 hit this season entering Sunday's action, had a pair of RBI singles and the Yankees lead 2-1 after 6. After striking out Gary Matthews Jr. to start the 7th, Mussina's 95th pitch was ball four to Casy Kotchman. Joe Torre called on Scott Proctor, who in the grand tradition of the 2007 bullpen, threw grease on the fire.

Howie Kendrick doubled into the left field corner to put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Torre decided to keep the infield back, conceding the tying run to not allow a bigger inning. The only problem is that the ball has to be put in play for that to happen.

Proctor walked Mike Napoli to load the bases. Then pinch-hitter Erick Aybar had a tremendous at-bat, finally walking to force in the tying run. One thinks after giving up a double and back-to-back walks, a call to the bullpen may be in order. But Joe Torre can mismanage as well as anyone and he left Proctor in one batter too many. Chone Figgins drew another walk to force in yet another run and the Yankees were in a 3-2 hole. Torre finally sent for Brian Bruney, who surrendered a sac fly by Reggie Willits before ending the inning.

Trailing 4-2 in the 9th, the Yankees tried to mount a rally against Francisco Rodriguez. Bobby Abreu lead off with a walk and pinch-hitter Jorge Posada followed with a single. Johnny Damon's ground out moved both runners up, giving the Yankees 2 shots to tie the game. Though Nieves had been removed from the game when Damon pinch-hit, Torre HAD to go to a pinch-runner with the incredibly slow footed Posada on 2nd. And of course he didn't.

Melky Cabrera's hard liner to right nearly went over the Tommy Murphy's outstretched glove. Instead Abreu scored and Posada moved up to 3rd. That left it up to the captain. Derek Jeter had a hard fought at-bat against K-Rod, but finally flied out to deep right-center to end the ball game and drop the Yankees to just 1 game from the basement.

~~~

Derek Jeter had his 19 game hitting streak end on Saturday, but came right back with a hit in Sunday's game. He's had a hit in 40 of 42 games.

Robinson Cano doubled to extend his streak to 11 games.

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Sunday Morning Services

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to say good-bye to the American League East title. From its strong beginnings in 1998, to its peak to in the early new millennium, to its declining health in the last couple of seasons, the AL East title has always stood by us.

But as we know, all things must return to the earth and the AL East title is no different. We saw this coming even if we did not want to admit it to ourselves. Our manager's motivation techniques don't work with these players, and his choices have become, shall we say, garbage. Our GM wanted full control and lost control of his senses. And the players, oh the players. There are still some from the glory days who scratch and claw their way through every game. But there are so many that are lackluster, lazy, unmotivated, and just plain suck.

Yes, those miscreants to the north have many warts, but they aren't all exposed at once. Such is the case with our beloved Yankees.

So for the first time since 1997, we lay the AL East to rest. You had a good run. Peace be with you.

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Help Wanted: Relief Pitcher, No Experience Necessary

Just in case you thought the Yankees were going to get on some kind of roll after taking 3 of 4 from the Mets and Red Sox, the Yankees made sure last night that you came back to earth in a hurry. Tyler Clippard, who was outstanding in his debut last Sunday night against the Mets, was just ordinary last night. That being said, he was pulled after 4 innings and 76 pitches. The Yankees trailed 3-2 at the time. A few innings later the deficit was 10-3 and the night was over.

I can somewhat understand Joe Torre's thinking in giving Clippard a quick hook, but he lost me after that. Instead of going with Ron Villone, who is used to coming in and giving the Yankees 2-3 innings, Torre went with rookie Matt DeSalvo. DeSalvo has started 79 of the 83 games he has appeared in. So what made Torre think DeSalvo could suddenly transform himself into a middle innings reliever?

DeSalvo had less control than a 10-year old on a sugar kick. He walked Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera to start the inning. He also squeezed a wild pitch in between. A single by Vlad Guerrero and a double by Gary Matthews Jr. made it a 5-2 lead and sent DeSalvo to the showers.

But Torre signaled for the human torch, Luis Vizcaino. Vizcaino actually managed to get an out before he followed up with an intentional walk to Howie Kendrick by walking Mike Napoli to force in a run.

The Yankees rallied in their half of the 5th against Jered Weaver. Jorge Posada doubled in Derek Jeter, cutting the lead in half, and Jason Giambi followed with a single, but Posada was thrown out at home by leftfielder Tommy Murphy.

But the human torch was back out for the 6th. He quickly gave up a 2-run HR to Chone Figgins, walked Cabrera, and gave up a double to Guerrero. Torre finally went to Villone who allowed both runners to score and the Yankees were in a deep 10-3 hole. And the bullpen, which was so fantastic for much of April, embarrassed themselves again.

Robinson Cano's 3-run double in the 8th cut the lead to 10-6, but the Yankees would get no closer. Ironically, Boston beat Texas by the same 10-6 score, pushing their lead over the Yankees back to 10.5 games.

~~~

Derek Jeter was 1-4, extending his hitting streak to 19 games. He's had a hit in 39 of 40 games.

Jorge Posada had 2 hits and leads the AL with a .371 average.

Jason Giambi entered the game 2-34, but went 2-3 with a walk.

Robinson Cano has a 9 game hitting streak (13-37) that has seen him raise his average by 26 points.

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5 Memorable Games vs. Angels

April 26, 2005 A-Rod vs Angels

Bartolo Colon probably sighed a bit of relief when he saw he wouldn't be facing the Yankees this weekend (May 25-27). That's because Alex Rodriguez owns him. In just 45 official at-bats A-Rod has 8 home runs, 17 RBI, and a .444 average (20-45). A good chunk of that came on April 27, 2005 at Yankee Stadium.

With 2 aboard in the first inning, A-Rod crushed one of the 399 ft. sign in left-centerfield. In the third he one even farther, into the Angels bullpen in left.

The tape measures came out again in the 4th, when he lifted one over the 408 ft. sign in straight away centerfield. 3 swings, 3 home runs. Reminiscent of a certain #44. He also "settled" for an RBI single in the 6th.

Oh, and Carl Pavano was the winning pitcher.

October 2-5, 2002 The Emergence of K-Rod

The Angels won their 1st World Series championship in 2002 and it all began with a 3-1 victory over the Yankees in the ALCS. One of the main reasons they won it all was the emergence of Francisco Rodriguez, aka "K-Rod".

Rodriguez had only appeared in 5 regular season games in his rookie year, but he looked nothing like a rookie in the post-season. He gave up a couple of runs in Game 2 of the ALDS, but emerged the winning pitcher. He won again in Game 3, striking out 4 in 2 innings of work. In the clincher, Game 4, 3 of the 5 outs he recorded were by strikeout.

October 10, 2005 ALDS Disappointment Again

The Yankees and Angels met in the first round of the playoffs again in 2005. The teams split the first 4 games, setting up the clincher in LA. Mike Mussina had been brilliant in winning game 1 and was staked to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning on an RBI single by Bubba Crosby and a sac fly by Derek Jeter.

But the Angels answered right back in their half of the 2nd. Garrett Anderson led the inning off with a home run and Adam Kennedy finished it off with a go-ahead 2-run triple.

The Angels struck again in the 3rd. Anderson followed back-to-back singles by Orlando Cabrera and Vlad Guerrero with a sac fly. Bengie Molina singled and Darin Erstad brought home Guerrero with a fielder's choice. Trailing 5-2 with 2 outs in the 3rd, Joe Torre had seen enough and called on Randy Johnson.

Johnson had been horrible in the Game 2 loss, but was outstanding on this night with 4 1-3 shutout innings. But the Yankees couldn't solve the Angels pitching. Bartolo Colon had to leave the game in the 2nd inning with a sore shoulder, but Ervin Santana had come on and done a fine job once given the lead. In the 7th Jeter homered to lead off the inning, but Santana got A-Rod on a ground out before Mike Scioscia went to the pen.

The Yankees final chance would come against K-Rod in the 9th. Jeter singled to start the inning, but A-Rod bounced into a killer double play. The Yankees weren't giving up though. Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield stroked back-to-back singles to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Hideki Matsui. But K-Rod won the battle, getting Matsui to ground out to 1st to end the game and the series.

July 25, 1993 Hope Begins to Return to the Bronx

The losing teams of the 1980s and early 1990s had begun to take a turn with players like Paul O'Neill, Wade Boggs, and Jimmy Key coming to the Bronx. July 25, 1993 was one of those games that would help build the winning character of the team that would eventually win 4 World Series.

Poor pitching by Melido Perez and Rich Montelone, and a crucial error by Mike Gallego lead to an 8-run second inning for the (California) Angels. Mike Stanley breathed some life into the Yankees offense with a solo HR leading off the bottom of the inning.

In the 3rd, Danny Tartabull and Bernie Williams delivered RBI singles to cut the lead to 8-3. One inning later, Boggs brought home a run with an RBI ground out.

The Yankees really turned up the head in the 7th. Jim Leyritz doubled and came around to score on a pair of ground outs by Don Mattingly and Tartabull. The score was 8-5 with 2 outs, but the Yankees weren't done yet. Stanley singled and Bernie walked to put two aboard. Paul O'Neill drove one to deep center for a 2-run double, and suddenly and dramatically, it was a 1-run game.

Angels reliever Jim Frey walked Tartabull to start the 9th. Then what goes around, comes around. Angels shortstop Gary Disarcina booted Stanley's potential double play grounder. Greg Myers was the starting catcher for the Halos that day, but he had been removed for a pinch-hitter in the top of the 9th. His replacement, Ron Tingley, committed a passed ball to allow the runners to both move into scoring position. Bernie was intentionally walked to set up a force at any base. Then the warrior delivered, albeit in a mild way.

O'Neill's sac fly tied the game at 8-8. After Gallego was retired for the 2nd out, Pat Kelly singled to left, bring home pinch-runner Henlsey Meulens with the winning run.

John Habyan picked up the win. Gene Nelson took the loss for the Angels. Nelson was a former Yankees farmhand who made the jump from 'A' ball to the majors in 1981 and won his 1st major league game as a Yankee.

August 31, 1995 O'Neill Hits the Bulls-eye

Paul O'Neill had quickly become a fan favorite since his acquisition from Cincinnati. The fans in the right field seats had begun holding up signs for Paulie to hit HRs to. The letter "O" looked like a bulls-eye. Unfortunately a number of fans also spelled his name with only 1 'l'. No matter, for on August 31, 1995 the Warrior tried to accomodate his flock.

Wade Boggs and Bernie Williams started off the game with back-to-back singles and O'Neill followed with a 3-run HR. One inning later, with Randy Velarde and Bernie aboard, O'Neill went deep again. Two innings, two at-bats, two 3-run HRs.

No one was on base in the 5th, but that didn't stop O'Neill. He blasted a solo shot, his 3rd HR of the night in as many at-bats. A run producing single in the 6th gave him an 8 RBI night. O'Neill would have one more at-bat in the 8th, but struck out looking against Troy Percival. He had 4 hits, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, and you can bet Paulie was pissed at being called out on strikes!

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Yankees vs. Angels Preview

The Yankees face another test this weekend when the Los Angeles Angels come to The Stadium. It would be nice to get some more momentum going after winning 3 of the last 4 from the Mets and Red Sox. But the Angels have proven to be a pain in the ass in this decade. In addition to the playoff eliminations in 2002 and 2004, the Yankees, with 2003 being the exception have pretty much sucked wind against the Halos since 2000.

2006 4-6
2005 4-6
2004 4-5
2003 6-3
2002 4-3
2001 3-4
2000 5-5

Luckily for the Angels, they play in the weak AL West, where its going to be between them and the A's for the division title. Texas and Seattle pretty much stink and won't be much of a factor.

Outside of Vlad Guerrero, there's not a whole lot going right for the Angels when they're at the plate. On top of that, regulars Garrett Anderson, Chone Figgins, and Howie Kendrick have all spent significant time on the DL. Anderson is still out and Figgins (.133, 3 steals) appears to not be fully recovered from the fractured fingers he injured in spring training.

Bartolo Colon won his first 5 starts before losing yesterday's game. A-Rod will certainly miss him facing him - he's hit .444-8-17 in just 45 at-bats. John Lackey is the ace of the staff with 7 wins and a 2.38 ERA.

Brendan Donnelley, long a mainstay of the Angels pen is now in Boston, but Francisco Rodriguez and Scott Shields still form quite a 1-2 punch (though Shields has struggled at times this season).

Probable Pitchers

Friday - Jered Weaver vs. Tyler Clippard
Saturday - Kelvim Escobar vs. Chien-Ming Wang
Sunday - John Lackey vs. Mike Mussina

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How to Bring Your 'A' Game

Last night's Yankees win over the Red Sox was how the game is supposed to be played. Excellent starting pitching, offense, both early and often, and making the routine and non-routine plays in the field.

Andy Pettitte, as he has often done in his Yankee career, picked up the team when they needed it most. Instead of losing 2 of 3 to both the Mets and Red Sox, the Yankees split the 6 pressure packed games. Pettitte once again showed the difference between he and Mike Mussina. Pettitte is like Larry Bird. Game on the line, clock running down - gimme the ball. Mussina may have been like that once, but has weakened both physically and mentally. Brian Cashman can be criticized for many things this season, but bringing back Andy Pettitte is certainly not one of them.

Extra bonus points are earned too when you humble Schitbag. He was very subdued after last night's game in which the Yankees tattooed his pitches. It started right off the bat, pun intended, when Johnny Damon double and scored on Derek Jeter's single. Hideki Matsui followed with a line drive 2-run HR to jumpstart the Yankees to a 3-0 lead.

Jeter singled in another run in the 3rd and in doing so, passed Joe DiMaggio for 5th all time on the Yankees hit list. A triple later in the game raised his season average to .367.

Jorge Posada singled in a run in the 4th, and then Schitbag's former teammate Doug Mientkiewicz took him deep, off the facing of the upper deck, for a 6-0 lead. In addition to Jeter, Mientkiewicz and Damon had 3 hits each, and Matsui drove in 3.

About the only thing that went wrong last night was Jason Giambi's 0-4 performance in the wake of his meeting with the commissioner's office and the report of a failed drug test.

~~~

Pettitte upped his record to 2-3 with 7 hard-nosed innings. Lack of run support and an imploding bullpen has kept Pettitte from being 6-1, but being the leader he has become, he's unaffected by it.

Jeter has 2,216 hits and is 120 behind Bernie Williams for 4th on the all time Yankees list. Health and Bernie remaining on the sidelines permitting, he should catch him this season. Jeter also extended his hitting streak to 18 games and has a hit in 38 of 39 games.

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Welcome to Distraction City

As if there wasn't enough termoil in Yankeeland, tonight's game will be chock-full of additional distractions. A match up of Curt "Schitbag" Schilling and Andy Pettitte should be enough to entice fans, but there's also more to consider.

The biggest of this is the Daily News' report today that Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test within the last 6 months. A first penalty is just continued testing, whereas an additional "flunk" would lead to a suspension. Every day Giambi proves that his contract was a rip off and that he's not a stand up individual.

Curt Schitbag likes to thrown inside and tonight he may do it a little more, especially to Alex Rodriguez. Red Sox 2nd Baseman Dustin Pedroia took exception to a hard slide by A-Rod to break up a double play in the 8th inning last night. Pedroia felt A-Rod threw an elbow in breaking up the double play. Instead of taking care of it between the white lines, the Red Sox rookie decided to shoot his mouth off to the press.

"He went in late and kind of threw an elbow," Pedroia said. “It was a little cheap but no big deal. I'll remember. I play second base. I've got to turn two with the Yankees 19 times a year, so I know now when he’s coming in, my (arm) slot gets dropped to the floor. That's it."

If Schitbag throws at A-Rod or any other Yankee, the Yankees must retaliate whether it be with payback or fists. Joe Torre cannot continue to let the Red Sox throw at his players at will. The imbalance of hit batters between the two teams is absurd- the Yankees coming out on the short end.

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A Life Lesson

Things that you can count on being small

. A Hobbit
.Mini-Me
.A newborn
.Tax rebates
.Mike Mussina in a big spot

Last night's Yankees 7-3 loss to the Red Sox proved once again that Mike Mussina is nowhere near the pitcher he was from 2001-2004. Over the last 3 years, Mussina has proven to gag in the spotlight. Some of it is physical - he's 38, his fastball can barely break a pane of glass, and some is mental - the slightest change in his routine makes him cantankerous and whiny.

Mussina put the Yankees in an immediate hole, that they would never recover from when, he served up a 1st inning 3-run shot to Manny Ramirez. He's become a master at not holding leads or giving the lead up when the game is tied. It's plagued the Yankees in the regular season (last week's White Sox game for instance), and in the post-season (e.g. the '06 ALDS).

Brian Cashman clearly made a mistake in bringing Mussina back. Mussina's fastball is not reaching 90 and his propensity for getting injured has increased greatly. He looks like a guy who has thrown over 3,200 big league innings. The Yankees should buy Mussina out of the 2nd year of his contract and move on to a younger, more durable, guttier pitcher.

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Oh yes, they call him the streak

Hey, we got to be happy with the Yankees for more than 24 hours - an no rainouts were involved! The Yankees indeed put back to back wins on the books, taking a big first game from the Red Sox, 6-2. Coming on the heels of Sunday night's win over the Mets, the Yankees moved to 9.5 games back of the 1st place Sox with some suddenly hot bats and pitching that was good enough.

A-Rod homered for the 3rd straight game, a tremendous blast off of Tim Wakefield that landed somewhere over in the UK. The first inning HR jump started the offense and set the tone for the night. It was A-Rod's major league leading 18th of the season and number 482 of his career.

Johnny Damon took steps to get out of his season long funk with a 3 hit, 2 stolen base night. In fact the Yankees were very aggressive with Wakefield on the mound, stealing 4 bases in 5 attempts.

Chien-Ming Wang didn't have his best command, but the team's ace pitched like one, limiting the Sox to 2 runs over 6 1-3 innings. The Wanger evened his record at 3-3, lowering his ERA to 4.28 in the process. Mike Myers, Brian Bruney, Scott Proctor, and Kyle Farnsworth finished up the final 2 2-3 innings. Mariano Rivera was warming up in the bullpen just in case.

The Yankees offense came up big for the 2nd straight night to back their starter. Jason Giambi, who has been nothing short of miserable lately, launched a knuckler into the upper deck to start the 2nd, for a 3-0 lead. Later in the inning, Derek Jeter delivered a 2-out RBI single to push the advantage to 4-0. The hit extended Jeter's hitting streak to 16 and raised his average with runners in scoring position and 2 outs to .650 (13-20).

Robinson Cano finished off the scoring with a 2-run triple in the 5th. Then it was down to the pitching. Proctor came on in relief of Bruney with 2 on and 2 out in the 8th, and immediately hit Alex Cora to load the bases. But Julio Lugo bounced into a force out to end the inning. The Manny-Ortiz combo went 2-7 with 2 RBI and 2 walks, but the Sox managed only 7 hits total on the night.

~~~

About the only downside of the game was Jorge Posada going for the collar to end his career high 15 game hitting streak.

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Prospect of the Night (5/21)

The Trenton Thunder's Brett Smith dominated the Portland Sea Dogs, taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning. The Dogs' Bryan Pritz got the team's only hit of the night when his hard comebacker ricocheted Smith for an infield single. Smith left to a huge ovation after his 8 inning performance in which he struck out 10 and issued 2 walks.

Smith, who threw 3 years of college ball at Cal-Irvine, had an unremarkable rookie year in 2004 (split between Charleston and Tampa). He had a decent year at Tampa last season, but its unlikely anyone expected him to have the year he's having this season at Trenton.

With 8 shutout innings tonight, Smith now has a 1.03 ERA (remarkably, it is only 2nd to the Blue Jays Jesse Litsch, who has a 0.96). It was the 2nd time this season that Smith had a no-hitter into the 7th inning.

Smith has credited his success this season in getting ahead in the count. If he keeps this up, he can count on pitching in Yankee Stadium one day.

You can read more on Brett Smith here.

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Here They Come Again

Yankees - Red Sox Preview

Someone find the schedule maker and hit them upside the head. Who's bright idea was it to put the Yankees-Red Sox on the heals of Yankees-Mets? Not that it matters to me, but it must be the same bozo who immediately schedule the Mets in Atlanta.

It's only May 21st, but uh-oh, it's already May 21st. The Yankees find themselves 10.5 games behind the Blow Sox as the two teams get ready to due battle in a 3 game series. This IS make or break time for the Yankees. If they want to get themselves back into any kind of a playoff race, whether it be the division or wild card, a stand has to be made now. The Yankees HAVE to take 2 of 3 in this series to get some confidence, to get on some kind of a roll, to not let the 2007 season slide completely away from them.

Their pitching rotation is set up for the first time this season. Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, and Andy Pettitte are scheduled to take Yankee Stadium mound on consecutive nights. If ever there was a time to make a point, to make a move, this is it.

Probable Pitchers

Monday - Tim Wakefield vs. Chien-Ming Wang
Tuesday - JulianTavarez vs. Mike Mussina
Wednesday - Curt Schilling vs. Andy Pettitte


Here' s some more inspirational thoughts, real or, um, otherwise. Part of this first one is shown on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard during 9th inning



Over? It's not over 'til we say it's over!!!





"It's a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!"

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Is There a Doctor in the House?

He's won batting titles, World Series rings, and plays a mean guitar. Now Bernie Williams can add PHD to his trophy case. Bernie got an honorary doctorate yesterday at Iona College's 2007 commencement at Madison Square Garden.

Afterwards, Bernie spoke briefly with reporters. He's kept in shape and isn't ruling out playing again, though he didn't seem like it was a burning desire.

Bernie also feels for his former teammates.

“Obviously, I feel for those guys,” Williams said of his ex-teammates, who face an unprecedented deficit in the Joe Torre era. “I know they’re not going through a very good moment right now, but I have enough confidence in their abilities that they’re going to pull out of it and I send them my best.”

Bernie wasn't the only former Yankee pick up a degree yesterday. Willie Randolph's pre-game for last night's Yankees-Mets game included an honorary degree from Fordham University. Included in the graduating class was Willie's daughter Ciara.

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Snap, Crackle, Pop

The Snap was Friday night when the Yankees could snap out of their doldrums in losing the to the Mets 3-2. The Crackle was the sound of Darrell Rasner's finger breaking on Saturday. His finger and the Yankees hopes of winning were immediately fractured. The Pop was Sunday night as the offense returned with 3 home runs in a much needed 6-2 victory.

I was driving home Saturday from the LPGA Sybase Classic, when I turned on the car radio to listen to the game. Having had enough of John Sterling's theatrics and his, along with Mrs. Yankee Suzyn Waldman, spinning every bad move into something positive, I turned on WFAN's coverage of the game. Howie Rose was doing the play-by-play. Good guy, good broadcaster. Miss him doing NY Rangers games.

Anyway, 2 batters into the bottom of the 1st, Rasner joined Jeff Karstens in the Jaret Wright "my body is a human target" club when Endy Chavez ricochet a ball of Rasner' pitching hand. 3 warm up pitches in front of Gene Monahan and Joe Torre went okay. Then Rasner tried to throw a split-finger fastball and went running from the mound in excruciating pain.

Mike Myers and Luiz Vizcaino were the first two to replace Rasner, and as usual, it was like throwing buckets of grease on the Towering Inferno. A couple of David Wright homers later and the Yankees were down 8-2. The offense woke up a bit late in the game, but Billy Wagner struck out both Robinson Cano and Josh Phelps with 2 on in the 9th as they each represented the tying run.

Having lost the first 2 games of the series and sending a rookie pitcher, Tyler Clippard, to the mound, the Yankees couldn't have felt too good about things. But thankfully, Clippard hasn't been around the team, so he went out to the mound full of energy and confidence. 6 innings later, he left the mound with a 6-1 lead, having impressed his manager, teammates, and the Yankees fans. He did it not only with his arm, but with his bat as well.

Trailing 1-0 to another Wright HR, the Yankees had 1st and 2nd with one out in the 4th. Up came Clippard who laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Johnny Damon followed with a bloop double in front of a diving Shawn Green in right to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Derek Jeter followed with a 2-run HR to left to give the Bombers a 4-1 lead. The HR extended Jeter's hit streak to 15 games, and he has now had a hit in 35 of his last 36 games.

In the 5th, Jorge Posada extended his hitting streak to 15 games as well with a long solo HR into the right field seats. In the 6th Clippard shocked everyone again with a double in the gap in right-center. Though he was stranded, he energized the Yankees dugout.

Clippard threw 95 pitches in his 6 innings of work, allowing just 3 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 6. He made an immediate impression by striking out lead off man Jose Reyes with 3 straight pitches to start the Mets half of the 1st. The final strike was a wickedly breaking curve ball that bounced in the dirt as Reyes swung and missed.

The only real trouble the Yankee Clippard got into was in the 2nd. After allowing Wright's HR, he faced a bases loaded situation after walking pitcher John Maine with 2 out. But he retired Reyes again, this time on a fly to Hideki Matsui in left.

Scott Proctor pitches a pair of scoreless innings before turning things over to Mariano Rivera, who hadn't worked since Wednesday. Mo couldn't get out of the game unscathed, allowing a solor HR to Damion Easley, but looked pretty good overall.

The Yankee Clippard made all of the Yankees feel pretty good overall.

~~~

A-Rod homered both Saturday and Sunday, giving him a major league leading 17. Hopefully he's starting to get his stroke back.

Bobby Abreu had some positive signs last night with 2 hits and 2 walks.

Robinson Cano bounced back from Saturday's miserable 3 error game, with a smooth game at 2nd.

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Clemens Pitches In

With King George in the house, Roger Clemens made his minor league debut for the Tampa Yankees this evening. Clemens threw 58 pitches in 4 innings, allowing a solo HR to Erik Lis of the visiting Ft. Myers Miracle (Twins affiliate). Clemens was going to do additional work in the bullpen after the work.

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Team Immodium...

...because they don't get the runs.

I would say bad jokes aside, but this team is a very bad joke right now. Another excellent start for Andy Pettitte went to waste as the Yankees managed just 6 hits against Oliver Perez and the Mets' bullpen. Hideki Matsui provided the Yankees only offense with a 2-run HR in the 4th that temporarily gave them a 2-1 lead. Matsui reached on a 2-out infield single in the 9th, but Mets closer Billy Wagner struck out pinch-hitter Jason Giambi to end the game.

Endy Chavez ripped a 2-run shot off of Pettitte in the 5th to put the Mets back ahead for good, 3-2. The Yankees had base runners in the 6th and 7th, but none advanced past 1st base.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the first when Jose Reyes singled and Damon Easley followed with a walk. Carlos Beltran's ground out moved the runners up, and Reyes came home on Carlos Delgado's fly out to center.

~~~

Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter both singled to extend their hitting streaks to 13 games.

With Boston rained out, the Yankees dropped to a full 10 games out of 1st place.

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Tonight's Lineups (5/18)

YANKEES

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Matsui LF
Cabrera RF
Cano 2B
Phelps 1B
Pettitte P

METS

Reyes SS
Easley 2B
Beltran CF
Delgado 1B
Wright 3B
Lo Duca C
Chavez LF
Gomez RF
Perez P

Joe Torre has finally sat down Bobby Abreu against a left-hander.

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An Interleague of Their Own

We're not even out of May and interleague play is already upon us. And no, I am no fan of it. That non-league games should have such an impact on the standings is absurd. Of course, I am talking from a competitive stand point, not from a money making stand point that baseball only cares about.

Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many games and so many natural rival games. It's outrageous that the Yankees and Mets play each other 6 times. Same for the Cubs-White Sox, Braves-Red Sox, etc. Speaking of the Braves-Red Sox, how is that a natural rivalry? Because the Braves played in Boston a million years ago?

The games are also slanted in the National League's favor. The AL pitchers, who swing golf clubs more than they do baseball bats, have to hit in the NL parks. In the AL parks, the NL gets to use the DH, which is to their advantage. But what do you want from a league that uses the outcome of the all-star game to determine who has the home field in the World Series.

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Yankees vs. Mets Preview

For the first time since interleague play began, the Mets are the heavy favorites as the two teams meet out at Shea tonight. The results of Thursday's games against Chicago's teams are a good indication of what the state of both teams are right now. The Mets rallied from 5 down in the 9th to beat the Cubs 6-5. Meanwhile the Yankees had another lackluster showing in a 4-1 loss to the White Sox.

The Mets are 26-14 and lead the Atlanta Braves by 1/5 games in the NL east. The Yankees are a mediocre 18-21 and trail the Boston Red Sox (coincidentally the Braves and Red Sox meet this weekend) by 9.5 games. Former Yankees player and coach Willie Randolph is in his 3rd season as Mets manager, while Joe Torre is in his 12th and possibly last season in the Bronx.

Pitching Probables

Friday - Andy Pettitte vs. Oliver Perez
Saturday - Darrell Rasner vs. Tom Glavine
Sunday - Tyler Clippard vs. John Maine

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We Have Lift Off

About 7 pm this evening, Roger Clemens will deliver his 1st pitch for the Tampa Yankees and his push towards joining the big club will be fully underway. ESPN and ESPN-radio will be carrying the game live and YES will be cutting in with reports during the Yankees-Mets game. YES will show Clemens' game in its entirety on Saturday.

Ironically, Clemens' good buddy Andy Pettitte will be on the hill against the Mets.

Hopefully Kei Igawa, who throws for Tampa on Saturday, will pick up some pointers.

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Giambi wants MLB to Say "We're Sorry"

From the USA Today:

By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY

CHICAGO — New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, saying he's likely tested for illegal performance-enhancing drugs more often than anyone else, believes Major League Baseball should have apologized years ago for its widespread drug problem.

"I was wrong for doing that stuff," Giambi told USA TODAY on Wednesday before playing the Chicago White Sox. "What we should have done a long time ago was stand up — players, ownership, everybody — and said: 'We made a mistake.'

"We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. … Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it."

He said Wednesday he's thankful for MLB's steroid and amphetamine testing program that was revised before last season. MLB does not test for HGH, but Giambi said he does not use the drug, either illegally or with a doctor's prescription.

"Unfortunately, (the rumors) are going to be a part of it. But that's OK. I'm probably tested more than anybody else. I'm not hiding anything," said Giambi, hitting .273 with five homers this season. "That stuff didn't help me hit home runs. I don't care what people say, nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting a baseball."

When asked, "So why did you take steroids?" Giambi said: "Maybe one day I'll talk about it, but not now."

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Prospect of the Night (5/18)

The Yankees made a huge mistake when they signed Jaret Wright to a free agent contract prior to the 2005 season. Between injuries and poor performance, Wright was a bust, second only to Carl Pavano. The Yankees tried to make up for that this past off-season by sending Wright to the Orioles for rookie reliever Chris Britton.

Britton struggled in Spring Training, but has emerged as one of the International League's top relievers. With 2 scoreless innings this afternoon against Norfolk, Britton's ERA is at a staggeringly low 0.57.

Britton has walked more batters (7 in 15.2 innings) than he would have liked to, but has also recorded 18 strikeouts. At 6'3", 280 pounds, Britton looks more like a tackle than a pitcher, but there's no question that he should get a chance with the Yankees shortly. Whether or not Brian Cashman is wise enough to make that move remains to be seen (especially getting rid of Luis Vizcaino).

Britton appeared in 52 games for the Orioles last season, limiting AL hitters to a .228 average. At just 24 years of age, he could have major impact on the Yankees (not just at the post game spread) for years to come.

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The Yankee Clippard

Another rookie pitcher will be making his way to the Bronx this weekend. Actually it will Queens, where the Yankees start a 3 game series with the Mets on Friday night. Triple-A starter Tyler Clippard will start that game against the Mets' John Maine.

Clippard started today's Scranton Yankees game, but was pulled after 1 inning when word came down that Clippard had received "the call". The 22-year old becomes the 4 rookie pitcher (joining Kei Igawa, Matt DeSalvo, and Chase Wright) to start a game for the Bombers this season.

Clippard has fashioned a 3-2 record with a 2.72 ERA in 8 Triple-A starts this season. He's allowed 40 hits in 39.2 innings, while walking 17 and striking out 41. The International League is hitting .268 against him. Clippard had a very good season at Double-A Trenton in '06, where he struck out 175 hitters in 166.1 innings. He also limited hitters to a .200 average.

The right-hander tops out at about 92 mph fastball, and has a wicked curve, taught to him by Yankee's minor league pitching guru Nardi Contreras.

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Watching Paint Dry

That's what the average Yankees game is like these days. The good feelings from a victory don't last very long as another lackluster loss follows. Today it was at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, 4-1. Matt DeSalvo (1-1), who had shined in 2 previous starts against the Mariners, didn't have command and Jermanie Dye drove in all 4 White Sox runs. DeSalvo lasted just 3 1-3 innings before giving way to Luis Vizcaino.

Meanwhile the Yankees offense was nearly non-existent. Again. John Garland (3-2) gave up 8 hits and issued 4 walks in his 7 innings of work, but the Yankees managed to push across just 1 run, an Doug Mientkiewicz RBI double in Garland's final inning.

The last 2 games of the series were literally like night and day. Hideki Matsui drove in 4 runs in Wednesday's night game, but hit into 2 inning ending, rally crushing double plays.

Alex Rodriguez snapped out of a 2-22 slide with a pair of hits, but Bobby Abreu, once again, hit for the collar. Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada both extended their hitting streaks to 12 games.

Ron Villone made his 1st appearance of the season and worked 2 scoreless innings. Scott Proctor made his 1st appearance since his 4 game suspension and worked a scoreless 9th.

The loss dropped the Yankees to 18-21, 9 games back of Boston, which defeated Detroit 2-1 in the 1st of two.

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Farnsworth Rips Clemens

From the Journal News' Peter Abraham

Kyle Farnsworth went on a Chicago radio station this morning and criticized Roger Clemens for his “family plan” agreement with the Yankees.

“It might cause some friction … Granted this is going to be his 23rd or 24th year and he can get the opportunity to do that, but still, I think if you’re going to be part of the team you should be there always,” Farnsworth told The Score.

“You win as a team, you lose as a team…I respect what he’s done and I respect him as a person and a player but to be a part of the team you have to be there with the team.”

Farnsworth didn’t back off his words when we spoke to him, pointing out that he played with Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux and they never had those perks.

I suspect Farnsworth is saying what others players are thinking. It’s a bit strange that an reliever with a 4.41 ERA would take on Clemens, however.

Joe Torre snapped, “next question” when asked about Farnsworth. But he then repeated that he would deal with any objection to Clemens only if the issue came up.

I have been told that the “family plan” agreement with Clemens is a handshake deal and not part of his contract. Based on what Torre has been saying, it seems likely that Clemens will be around the team far more than he was with Houston in recent seasons.

It really comes down to this: If Clemens wins games and pitches well, nobody will care. If he doesn’t and is away often, it will become an issue.

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Today's Lineups (5/17)

Yankees

B. Abreu rf
D. Jeter ss
J. Giambi dh
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
J. Posada c
R. Cano 2b
M. Cabrera cf
D. Mientkiewicz 1b

White Sox

D. Erstad 1b
P. Ozuna 3b
A.J. Pierzynski c
J. Dye rf
P. Konerko dh
R. Mackowiak lf
J. Uribe ss
R. Sweeney cf
T. Iguchi 2b


Tyler Clippard was pulled from his start for Scranton today after 1 inning so that he can face the Mets on Sunday.

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The Magic Wang

Chien-Ming Wang gave the Yankees a bunch needed boost last night as they took the nightcap of the day-night doubleheader with the White Sox. The offense didn't do much off of Sox starter Jose Contreras, but Wang allowed just 1 run over 7 innings. Then the Yankees broke the game open in the 9th against the Sox bullpen.




A rarity of late - Bobby Abreu and Jorge Posada celebrate a run.


This game was all about Wang (2-3) though. After a shaky start by Mike Mussina in the opener, Wang threw 91 pitches in a 7 inning stint in which he scattered 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 3. With the relatively low pitch count, Wang is still an option to face the Mets on Sunday on 3 days rest. Kyle Farnsworth pitched the 8th, and though they were up 8-1 going to the bottom of the 9th, Mariano Rivera, who had been warming up at 4-1, came in for a non-save situation.

One of the Yankees looking to find a consistent stroke is Hideki Matsui and last night he did just that, driving in 4 runs. Granted the first 2 were courtesy of a gift double when centerfielder Darin Erstad got a bad jump on Matsui's fly ball. Melky Cabrera and Jorge Posada jump started the 9th inning with solo home runs.

Posada, who entered the game as pinch-hitter in the 7th, and Derek Jeter both extended their hitting streaks to 11 games. Jeter has had a hit in 31 of the last 32 games he has played.

~~~

The Yankees may call up a minor leaguer to start Sunday's game against the Mets out at Shea. Tyler Clippard, Chase Wright, and Steve Jackson are all being considered.

Reliever Edwar Ramirez who had an amazing strikeout to innings pitched ratio (2:1) at Trenton was promoted to Scranton before yesterday's game. He got a chance to pitch and struck out 4 in 2 innings. In a Thunder game last, Ramirez recorded 8 of 9 outs by strikeout.

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Prospect of the Night (5/16)

The Trenton Thunder's pitching staff has dominated the Double-A Eastern League this season. Only one league pitcher has a better ERA than the Thunder's Brett Smith. Smith allowed just 1 hit (ironically to former Yankee's prospect Erick Almonte) over 8 innings in the Thunder's 2-1, 10 inning loss. It lowered Smith's ERA to a minuscule 1.22.

Smith's numbers were average last year at Single-A Tampa. He posted a 3.89 ERA and the league hit .272 against him. Up a level, the Eastern League is hitting just .153.

Also have good nights on the mound were Tampa's Daniel McCutcheon (7 IP 2 ER 7 K) who raised his record to 3-0, while lowering his ERA to 1.97, and Charleston's Michael Dunn who tossed 6 2-3 scoreless innings.

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Lineups for Game 2 vs. White Sox

The guys impersonating Yankees

B. Abreu rf
D. Jeter ss
J. Giambi dh
A. Rodriguez 3b
H. Matsui lf
R. Cano 2b
M. Cabrera cf
D. Mientkiewicz 1b
W. Nieves c

White Sox

D. Erstad cf
P. Ozuna 2b
J. Dye dh
P. Konerko 1b
R. Mackowiak rf
J. Crede 3b
R. Sweeney lf
J. Uribe ss
G. Molina c

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Yankees Lose.....the Yankeeeeeeeeeees Lose

It's becoming more and more prevalent and it continued this afternoon. Between knowing that I'll have to sit in rain traffic on the way home, losing, and having listened to John "Mr. Showmanship" Sterling for 9 innings, I am ready to get violent.

The offense did nothing again, and just like last year's playoffs, Mike Mussina (2-2) kept spitting up the lead. David Wells pitched to the scoreboard. Mike Mussina pitches to a loss.

Trailing 1-0 in the 5th, Bobby Abreu tied it up with a solo HR off of John Danks (2-4), his 2nd, to left. Sterling, the Butcher of the Bronx, said the ball dropped in. George Bush might say, "nice job Sterly".

Mussina immediately gave the lead back, giving up an RBI single to Darin Erstad in the bottom half of the inning. It would have been worse if left fielder Melky Cabrera hadn't robbed Juan Uribe of a 2-run HR. Sterling of course said that Melky didn't have it.

Melky Cabrera doubled in Jorge Posada in the 6th to tie things up again, but there was Moose blowing it again in the bottom of the inning. A.J. Pierzynski homered to lead off the inning and Joe Crede and Tadahito Iguchi added RBIs for a 5-2 lead.

Josh Phelps hit a solo HR off of David Aardsma in the 8th, but it was too little, too late. Ozzie Guillen opted to go with hard throwing lefty Matt Thornton in the 9th instead of closer Bobby Jenks and it paid off as the Yankees went in order.

~~~

Jorge Posada went 2-3 to raise his average to .373 and pass Derek Jeter (.372) for the AL lead.

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Prospect of the Night (5/15)

The Yankees number one selection in the 2006 amateur draft is starting to live up to expectations. The 22-year old was the 21st selection overall and appeared in just 1 game for the Staten Island Yankees.

This season Kennedy is at the Yankees advanced 'A' ball level, playing for the Tampa Yankees. Tonight he struck out 11 in 6 2-3 innings of work against the Dunedin Blue Jays. The victory gave him a 4-1 record to go with a minuscule 1.43 ERA.

Kennedy has allowed more than 1 earned run in just 1 start, and has a 47/18 strikeout to walk ratio in 44 innings pitched. Florida State League opponents are hitting just .184 against him.

With several Scranton (Triple-A) players moving up to the big club, and Trenton (Double-A) Thunder pitchers, such as Chase Wright moving up to take their place, Kennedy could be promoted shortly.

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Rainout Theater

Yankees rained out tonight - day/night doubleheader for Wednesday.

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Tonight's Lineups (5/15)

Joe Torre switching things up again in search of some runs

Yankees

DH Damon
SS Jeter
3B A-Rod
C Posada
LF Matsui
1B Phelps
RF Abreu
CF Cabrera
2B Cairo


White Sox

CF Erstad
SS Uribe
C Pierzynski
1B Konerko
RF Dye
DH Mackowiak
3B Crede
2B Taguchi
LF Sweeney

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Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

One pitcher took a step closer today to re-joining the Yankees, while another is getting nearer to possibly leaving.

Roger Clemens threw 71 pitches off a mound in Tampa and is on schedule to throw for the Tampa Yankees on Friday night. "He was on the money," said Yankees minor leaguer James LaSala, who did the catching. "Great stuff. Great command."

Ron Villone's days with the organization may be drawing to a close. After not making the team out of Spring Training, Villone signed a minor league deal to play at Scranton. The deal included a clause that allows Villone to become a free agent if not called up by the Yankees by May 15.

Tonight's game is in doubt due to the weather. There's a 60-80% chance of showers between 6 and 8 pm, and then a 30% chance of T-storms the rest of the evening.

Update - Ron Villone was recalled from Scranton for tonight's game. To make room on the roster, Sean Henn was optioned down.

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5 Memorable Games vs White Sox

Actually, 7 games on 4 occasions.

1. July 1, 1990

The No-No that wasn't.

It's a hot, breezy Summer's day at Chicago's Comiskey Park and the Yankee's Andy Hawkins is dealing. The White Sox haven't had a base hit through the first 7 innings, but the Yankees have been held scoreless by Greg Hibbard and the Chisox bullpen. Hawkins retires the first 2 hitters in the 8th, Ron Karkovice and Scott Fletcher, on pop ups to 2nd Baseman Steve Sax. Then the fun begins.

Sammy Sosa, yes the one and the same, reaches on a throwing error by 3rd Baseman Mike Blowers. Hawkins appears to be rattled as he issues back to back walks to OzzieGuillen and Lance Johnson. Robin Ventura hits a fly ball into the wind in left field. The Yankee's Jim Leyritz, clearly shows he playing out of place, as he drops the ball. All 3 base runners score and Ventura pulls into 2nd. The next hitter, Ivan Calderon, skies to right where Jessie Barfield drops the ball for another error and another run. Former Yankee Dan Pasqua finally pops out to shortstop Alvaro Espinoza to end the inning. 4 runs on 0 hits, 2 walks, and 3 errors.

Remarkably, Ventura commits a 1-out error in the top of the 9th, but Barfield hits into a game ending double play. To throw a little salt in the wound, major league baseball later changes the rules so that any game under 9 innings is not considered a no-hitter. Hawkins loses the game, andultimately, his no-hitter.


2. August 2, 1985

6 years after the death of Thurman Munson, odd things occur around home plate. With the game tied 3-3 in the bottom half of the 7th, the Yankees mount a rally. Andre Robertson leads off the inning with a single and is replaced by pinch-runner Bobby Meacham. Dale Berra reaches safely on an error by 3rd Baseman Tim Hullet. The Yankees are set up, 1st and 2nd no one out and the top of the order up in Rickey Henderson.

Henderson gets a base hit to center field. Luis Salazar throws to cut off man Ozzie Guillen who nails Meacham at the plate, Carlton Fisk applying the tag. But the play isn't over yet as Berra is right behind Meacham. Fisk turns and tags out Berra as well for a very odd double play.


3. July 20, 1973

Wilbur Wood gets knuckled under

Wilbur Wood is one of the all-time classic knuckleball pitchers. The Yankees were set to play two on July 20 and Wood would be starting game 1 against Doc Medich. Wood was back in the White Sox clubhouse before the game was barely under way.

Wood struck out Horace Clarke to start the inning, but catcher Ed Herrmann couldn't handle the pitch and Clarke reached safely on the passed ball. After a walk to Matty Alou, Roy White doubled home both runners for a quick 2-0 lead.

Bobby Murcer followed with an RBI single to center and moved to third on a double by Thurman Munson. Graig Nettles singled to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead and advanced to 2nd on the throw. Manager Chuck Tanner was quick with the hook and yanked Wood in favor of Eddie Fisher (no, not that one).

The White Sox bullpen, including a very young Goose Gossage, didn't fare any better than Wood as the Yankees rolled to a 12-2 win.

The start of the 2nd game of the doubleheader was delayed 47 minutes by rain, but when it stopped there was Wilbur Wood ready to go at it again.

The Yankees had taken a 2-0 lead in the 4th with the help of some shoddy defense by the White Sox. Then in the 5th Wood was victimized by Roy White again. The Yankee's left fielder broke the game open with a grand slam. With the Sam McDowell and the Yankees leading 7-0 after 6 complete innings, the umpiring crew called the game due to rain.

It was the last time a major league pitcher would start, and in this case lose, both games of a doubleheader.

4. June 16-18, 1959

The White Sox were known as the "Go-Go Sox" in 1959, because of their propensity to steal a base. Leading the way was their shortstop, Luis Aparicio, who swiped 56 bases. The pitching staff was lead by future Hall of Famer, and 300 game winner, Early Wynn. The Chisox would win the AL pennant by 5 games over the Indians. The Yankees had their worst year of the 1950s, and finished 15.5 back. But during a 3 game series in mid June, the Bronx Bombers owned the team from the south side of Chicago.

The Yankees entered the first game of the series 1 game under .500. Art Ditmar turned in a masterful performance as he pitched a 4-hit complete game. The Yankees won 5-1, lead by Hank Bauer and Bobby Richardson, who had 2 hits, an RBI, and a run scored each.

Only half as many fans turned out for the 2nd game of the series. But the ones who did attend saw a 3-run HR by Mickey Mantle and some fine pitching by Bob Turley and Ryne Duren.

The final game of the series saw the Yankees come from behind in the 8th to tie the game on an RBI double by Yogi Berra and a run producing single by Hector Lopez. Long before the term "walk off home run" came about, Mickey Mantle sent the crowd home happy with a blast into the right field seats.

It was a forgettable season, but for 3 games the Yankees mastered the AL's best.

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America's Most Not Wanted

The television show, America's Most Wanted, has been getting the job done for a number of year's now. We now bring you an alternative for your night time viewing, America's Not Most Wanted. In this 1 hr of gripping TV, well show you who America (well us anyway) doesn't want.

Week 1 - Chris Berman

Have you seen/heard this bloated, arrogant, bad haired, overrated, blowhard? If you have, stay clear. He's mentally unarmed, which makes him quite dangerous. No matter how much you lower the volume with your remote, his voice will still boom out of your speakers. A mute button may temporarily halt his onslaught.

It's Sunday night baseball with John Miller and Joe Morgan. No wait, it's a SF Giants game and it's Berman! He's taken over the broadcast of his favorite team. "Back back back..."

Quick, change to the NFL draft. Yikes, he's there too. Yikes? The mere thought of him affects your manhood. Here comes the bad Cosell impression.

Sportscenter, yes Sportscenter, that's where I can find refuge. Jose "Can you see" Cruz homered in the 3rd inning. Damn, foiled again.

Wait it's Sunday night, it's football season...let me get the highlights.

"He could...go...all...the...way". NOOooooooooooooooooooo.

NFL, College, the All-Star game, the draft, Sportscenter. He's everywhere. He can't be stopped, but you can contain him. Write your congressmen, the execs at Sportscenter, most of all, run..or change the dial.

Insert blood curdling scream here.

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Torre's Days Winding Down?

The Yankees have a 3 game series with the L.A. Angels at "The Stadium", beginning May 25. The question is will Joe Torre still be the Yankees manager when that date arrives. The Yankees sit 17-19, 8 games back of the 1st place Red Sox in the AL East. The team is coming off an 8-5, semi-successful, semi-failure, set of games against the Rangers and Yankees.

9 is the reason Joe Torre has to be worried. That 9 is the number of games straight against the White Sox, Mets, and Red Sox. The first 6 are on the road before a 3 game home series with the enemies to the north. It's conceivable that if the Yankees do poorly in those 9 games, King George may decide to lower the ax on his long tenured manager. King George doesn't like losing, but King George really doesn't like losing to the Mets and Red Sox (probably the Mets even more than the division rival Red Sox).

The White Sox are 2 years removed from a WS title, and outside of Mark Buerhle's no-hitter, are struggling themselves. Jim Thome is on the DL, and Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye are slumping. The team is 18-16, 4 games behind the division leading Tigers, but a game under .500 at home.

The Mets enter today's play a 1/2 game back of the Braves for 1st place in the NL East. They're 23-13 and still a favorite to go to the World Series.

The Red Sox are trying to run away with the AL East, leading the Yankees and Orioles by 8 games. Though their hitting has not been tremendous, their starting pitching has and their bullpen, led by Jon Papelbon, Brendan Donnelley, and the surprising Hideki Okijima has been very solid. With the Sox series coming on the heels of the Mets series, it could be make or break time for Torre.

The Yankee's problems are plentiful. They hit, but get poor pitching. The pitch, and get no run support. And muscle and bones break and pull and cramp (and not just to Jason Giambi).

Since the 7 game losing streak in April, the Yankee's rotation, for the most part, has kept the team in a position to win. But while runs were plentiful in April, they have begun to disappear in May.

Derek Jeter has been a hitting machine all season. So has Jorge Posada. After that its been a roller coaster of inconsistency and slumps.

Here are 3 prime problems with the lineup.

Bobby Abreu was a crucial cog in the Yankee's winning their 9th straight AL East title last season. After a quick start, he's been stuck in quicksand since, his average spiraling downwards. He has just 1 HR this season, and has struck out 32 times in 36 games. In the 13 games of May, he's walked just 1, while hitting just .211

Robinson Cano was hotter than the 4th of July during spring training. It carried over to the regular season, as he hit .333 through the first 10 games. But since hitting .307 on April 24, his average has plummeted 70 points to .237. He's 8-46 (.174) in May, with 4 of those hits coming in 1 game. Like Abreu, he looks completely lost at the plate. And unlike the "normal" Abreu, Cano was never selective at the plate to begin with.

Alex Rodriguez had to come back to earth at some point. Unfortunately, its come at a time when the rest of the team isn't producing much. On April 24, A-Rod had 4 hits, including a pair of HRs, to raise hit batting average to an even .400. In the 18 games since, he just 1 HR and 5 RBI. He's hit a pedestrian .277 to drop his average down to .329.

The bullpen continues to struggle, but the rotation has been much better with Rasner and DeSalvo in and Igawa out. Clemens will strengthen the rotation more, though he will also tax the bullpen more. And of course there is Phil Hughes lurking on the DL. Now the team needs to hit before the pitching slumps again.

May 25, Angels at Yankees. Where will the Yankees be in the standings and who will be the manager? Good question.

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Pardon me, have you seen my swing?

After Friday night's Seattle slumber party, things looked much more promising after the Yankees solid win on Saturday. Then came Sunday, which practically looked like a mirror image of Friday night's loss. The 2007 season is one step forward and two steps back.

Saturday night was a feel good story. Matt DeSalvo, who had a miserable 2006 season, both on and off the field, picked up his 1st major league win with 6 2-3 solid innings. It remains to be seen how he'll handle the rest of the league, but DeSalvo owns the Mariners, having allowed 1 run in 13 2-3 innings over 2 starts. If not for the Yankee's leaky pen, he would be 2-0.

Even better than the game was his on-field interview with Kim Jones of the YES network. After he mentioned that he thought he had to hit in his next start (assumed he was facing the Mets), Jones informed him that in fact he was facing the White Sox on Thursday. His innocent response of "I am?" was the perfect example of a young player's love for the game.

Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, and Jorge Posada had 3 hits each as the Yankees pounded M's starter Miguel Batista en route to a 7-2 win. Then came Sunday.

Jarrod Washburn is a seasoned, World Series champion pitcher. So when he beats ya, it is at least somewhat respectable. But when Horacio Ramirez stomps ya, you need to start re-evaluating your season. Ramirez dominated the Yankees over 8 innings as a member of the Braves in 2006. This time he allowed just a run on 5 hits in 6 1-3 innings. Jeter, who seems to be the only guy hitting consistently with men in scoring position, drove in the only run.

Andy Pettitte allowed 2 runs in 7 plus innings, but must feel like he's got the weak hitting Astros lineup behind him. Pettitte's been a victim of no run support and a shoddy bullpen in most of his starts.

The Yankees had one last chance in the 9th when Hideki Matsui doubled off of M's closer J.J. Putz. But Putz, who had already struck out Jason Giambi to start the inning, K'ed Posada and Doug Mientkiewicz to preserve the win.

~~~

The Yankees finished the season 3-4 against the Mariners, who pulled a game over .500 with the win.

With the Red Sox rallying from a 5-0 deficit to beat Baltimore on Sunday, the Yankees dropped to 8 games back of 1st place.

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In the Pink

An early Happy Mother's Day to all moms and moms-to-be out there. MLB will help celebrate the day by working in cooperation with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to help raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.

200 players from will use special pink bats in Sunday's games. Some of those bats will then be autographed and auctioned off with proceeds going to the Komen Foundation. You can also buy your very own pink bat like those used in the games at mlb.com. $10 of the purchase will also be direction to the Komen Foundation.

This hits close to home as both my sister and mother-in-law are breast cancer survivors. The Yankee's Doug Mientkiewicz will be one of the players using the pink bat tomorrow. His mother and wife have both survived the disease.

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Sleepful in Seattle

Sleepful

sleep·ful

1. Able to easily nod off while watching the Yankees play in Seattle.
2. Going through the motions. Uninspired while playing the Mariners.
3. A condition caused by a manager that no longer inspires his team.

You've probably surmised by now that last night's Yankees-Mariners game was a borefest. The game took just 2:19 to play since the Yankees did absolutely nothing at the plate. Was that Jarrod Washburn or Sandy Koufax on the mound for the Mariners? That's how ridiculous the Yankees looked in getting blanked 3-0 nothing. Consider that 2 of their 6 hits were bloop shots by Jorge Posada that barely made it out of the infield. Josh Phelps and Alex Rodriguez had the only 2 good shots all night and only one of them was a hit.

The key to the Yankee's success is working the count, but time and time again last night they swung at the 1st pitch. Some players you expect to show no selectivity - i.e. Robinson Cano, but when Bobby Abreu hasn't walked in 12 games, you know that things are not going smoothly.

Right now the majority of the team does not have a plan when they go up to the plate. Just look at the individual batting averages other than Jeter, Giambi, Posada, and A-Rod. Whether that falls on Joe Torre, Kevin Long, the individual players themselves, or a combination of all of the above, something has to change soon. This team's pitching staff has proven not to be good on its own to win ball games. That situation gets exacerbated when the team doesn't hit. And let's not forget they're not the greatest fielding team in the world either.

The climb back to .500 continues again tonight with another 10:00 start.

~~~

Darrell Rasner was quite ordinary in his 2 innings of work as he struggled with his command. Kenji Johjima blasted a 2-run HR off of him to completely ruin his evening.

Scott Proctor and Brian Bruney combined for 3 scoreless innings out of the pen.

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Days of Thunder

Nice article in today's Star Ledger on the up and coming pitchers at the Yankee's Double-A level. The Trenton Thunder have been shutting down hitters with ease this season and have the 2nd best ERA of all minor league teams.

For daily coverage of the Thunder, check out Joshua Brett's The Thunder Report.

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Emerald City Preview

Yankees vs. Seattle

The Yankees and Mariners split a 4 game series that ran last weekend into Monday. The M's took the bookends, with the Yankees taking Saturday and Sunday.

Pitching Match Ups

Tonight - Darrell Rasner vs. Jarrod Washburn
A rematch of last Sunday's 5-0 Yankees win. With Lou Piniella no longer at the helm, there is less of a likelihood of last Sunday's blad blood carrying over into this series.

Saturday - Matt DeSalvo vs. Miguel Batista
A rematch of Monday's 3-2 Mariners come from behind win. Hopefully Gerry Davis isn't on the umpiring crew. Who is the idiot that scheduled this for 10:00 EDT on a Saturday?

Sunday - Andy Pettitte vs. Horacia Ramirez
Ramirez came over from the Braves for Rafael Soriano this past winter. He beat the Yankees the only time he faced them (8 IP 1 unearned run) in June, '06.

~~~

Jason Giambi is expected back in the lineup tonight, but Johnny Damon will most likely sit out with his sore right calf.

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Bumbles Bounce!

Yankees bumble their way through

For the 2nd time this week, the Yankees didn't show up for the final game of a series. First there was Monday night's debacle, with the help of ump Gerry Davis, against the M's, and then there was today's flat showing.

Day games after night games are tough, but considering the Texas Rangers lost the first two games of this three game series, you would expect them to be playing back on their heels.

No such luck. The Rangers pounded the Yankees, 14-2.

Chien-Ming Wang was coming off a spectacular performance against the Mariners last Saturday, but looked very ordinary today. A run down in the 5th inning exemplified today's play. Gerald Laird broke off of third on a ground ball in the infield. Jorge Posada threw the ball too quickly to A-Rod, then A-Rod didn't bother throwing the ball to Wang covering home, and lost the foot race to the plate. Instead of the 2nd out, it paved the way to a 3 run inning.

Wang gave up 2 more in the 7th and then Joe Torre turned things over to the bullpen to completely screw things up. Luis Vizcaino and Sean Henn, who is looking very ordinary again, combined to allow 7 more runs before it was all over.

Mike Myers pitched a scoreless 9th and is now, frighteningly, one of the only consistent guys out of the pen.

Brandon McCarthy has struggled all years, but made the Yankees lineup (again without Jason Giambi) look very vanilla. The Yankees fared no better against the pen.

~~~

Melky Cabrera hit his 1st HR of the year. The last one he hit was also against Brandon McCarthy.

Derek Jeter went 2-3 with a walk to raise his league leading average to .368.

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Baseball Daze

Yankees vs. Rangers, 1:00

Though I can't (make that won't since I'm not paying for mlb.tv) watch the game at work, listening to it certainly makes the day go faster.

Here are today's lineups:

Brandon McCarthy vs. Chien-Ming Wang

Texas

Lofton CF
Wilkerson LF
Teixeira 1B
Sosa DH
Blalock 3B
Kinsler 2B
Kata SS
Cruz RF
Laird C


Yankees

Damon CF
Abreu RF
Jeter SS
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Mientkiewicz 1B
Cabrera LF

No Giambi again today. He was going to a specialist this morning to check out the bone spur in his ankle.

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Even Steven

Back to .500

The way this season has progressed, the Yankees have to very thankful for the existence of the Texas Rangers. With one more game set for tomorrow afternoon, the Yankees are 5-0 vs. the Rangers, after tonight's 6-2 win, and 11-16 against the rest of the league. Mike Mussina dominated the Rangers for the 2nd week in a row, and lo' and behold, Will Nieves got off the schneid.

Moose was on an 85 pitch count and hit that number exactly in his 6 innings of work. Despite the quality start, Joe Torre "managed" to overwork the bullpen again. But let's get to the positives first - starting pitching. The Yankee's starting rotation has allowed only 5 runs in 33.2 innings (1.34 ERA) over the last 5 games. They've gone 4-1 in those games.

Derek Jeter had a pair of hits, 3 RBI (5 in the 1st 2 games of the series), and stole a base. Jeter is now hitting .362. He and Alex Rodriguez were the only 2 hitters in the lineup hitting above .263.

One of the guys hitting .000 coming into this one was Wil Nieves, the backup catcher. But after grounding out hard to 3rd, and laying down a successful sacrifice bunt, Nieves finally ripped a base hit into left field in the 6th. The Yankee's dugout burst into laughter when Nieves was promptly gunned by Brad Wilkerson trying to stretch it into a double.

Now back to the negative. As we all know the bullpen has been overworked due to the rash of injuries and ineffective appearances by the Yankee's rotation. Well tonight Torre basically ran the entire pen out there despite a 6-2 lead and 6 very effective innings from his starter. This all with a day game tomorrow!

Brian Bruney was the 1st to enter the fray, giving up a lead off single to Sammy Sosa, and issuing a 1-out walk to Ian Kinsler. As his want, Torre immediately panicked and went to the pen.

Mike Myers came in and retired Wilkerson on a pop up to 3rd and was promptly pulled. Torre then went to Scott Proctor, who struck out Nelson Cruz to end the inning.

Now here's the issue. Why pull Proctor after 1 batter? Why not let him pitch the 8th and then go to Farnsworth or Rivera in the 9th, rather using them both (which what he did in the 8th and 9th). It would be one thing if these guys needed the work, but they don't need to be in every damn game. Proctor threw just 4 pitches. Why get these guys into the game for such a short appearance? Torre will never learn.

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