Moose Throws Old Time Gem

Mike Mussina may be considered an old-timer by baseball standards, but yesterday he pitched a youthful masterpiece as the Yankees snapped their two game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Mussina retired the last 17 men he faced, to earn his 14th win of the season, before a packed Yankee Stadium crowd, there to watch not only the game, but also the final Old-Timer's day festivities in the grand old park.

After a magnificent two hour show, featuring Hall of Fame members, Stadium favorites, surprises (Willie Randolph), and 72 old-timers in all, the Yankees sent the crowd home even happier after winning for just the second time in seven games.

On the 29th anniversary of the passing of Thurman Munson, it was appropriate that the Yankees catcher had a big day at the plate, and no- it was not Ivan Rodriguez. Jose Molina went 3-3 and hit his first home run of the season. He also scored three times and was in perfect sync all day with Mussina.

The Angels scored a pair of runs in the second inning when the Yankees failed to turn an inning-ending double play. With the bases loaded and one out, catcher Jeff Mathis bounced to Alex Rodriguez, who fired to second base to start a potential double play. But with Robinson Cano sitting out with a sore hand, Wilson Betemit, a stranger to the position, made a weak throw as Gary Matthews Jr. bore down on him. Jason Giambi not only couldn't scoop the one-hopper, but he batted it far enough away to allow a second run to cross home plate.

Betemit, who has been criticized right here often, quickly made up for his defensive lapse in the bottom of the second, hitting a 2-run home run off Jered Weaver to tie the game. The Yankees went ahead for good an inning later when Molina and Johnny Damon laced back to back singles. The Angels played back for the double play and that's exactly what they got when Jeter bounced into (yet another) twin-killing, with Molina scoring on the play. The red-hot Bobby Abreu then crushed his 15th home run of the season and his fourth in the last four games.

The story in this game, though, was Mussina. The 39-year-old baffled the Angels' hitters with his mix of speed and guile. He retired the side in order from the third through the seventh innings to earn his 264th career win. He now stands tied with Gus Weyhing for 38th on the all-time wins list. He needs two more wins to tie Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey, two Hall of Fame members.

The Yankees offense, so desperate for a run the night before, tacked on insurance runs in the fifth through seventh innings. In addition to Molina, Alex Rodriguez also went deep for the 24th time this season. Home run number 542 puts him six behind Mike Schmidt for 12th place on the career home run list.


News and Notes

It looked like it might be a long day for Mussina when home plate ump Joe West appeared to be squeezing him on tight pitches early in the game. We still wonder how West ever got re-hired after the umpire's strike. He's one of the worst in the game and is disliked by the players.

Molina has caught 21 of Mussina's 23 starts and there's no reason to think that Joe Girardi will change that combination.

Torii Hunter was placed on the bereavement list due to the death of his grandmother and will miss today's game as well.

Brian Bruney pitched the ninth inning, his first appearance since April 22.

August 2, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
LA Angels	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	3	0
NY Yankees	0	2	2	0	1	1	2	0	X		8	11	1

LA Angels	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Figgins, 3B	3	0	0	0	1	2	1	.278
Aybar, SS	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	.280
Teixeira, 1B	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.282
Guerrero, DH	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	.282
Anderson, LF	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	.284
Kendrick, 2B	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	.333
Rivera, RF	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	.233
Matthews, CF	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	.228
Mathis, C	3	0	0	1	0	2	1	.218
Totals	30	2	3	1	4	8	9
BATTING 2B: Kendrick (24, Mussina). TB: Anderson; Kendrick 3. RBI: Mathis (37). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Rivera. Team LOB: 5. FIELDING DP: 2 (Aybar-Kendrick-Teixeira 2).

LA Angels	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Weaver (L, 9-9)	5.0	8	6	6	1	5	4	4.37
Speier	1.1	3	2	2	1	1	0	4.89
O'Day	1.2	0	0	0	0	2	0	4.34

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, DH	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	.316
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	1	0	1	1	.282
Abreu, RF	4	1	1	2	0	1	1	.286
Rodriguez, A, 3B	4	1	2	1	0	2	1	.325
Giambi, 1B	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	.252
1-Sexson, PR-1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.224
Nady, LF	3	1	1	0	0	0	1	.328
a-Christian, PH-LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.269
Betemit, 2B	4	1	2	2	0	2	0	.258
Cabrera, CF	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.246
Molina, C	3	3	3	1	0	0	0	.237
Totals	33	8	11	7	2	8	7
a-Popped out for Nady in the 8th. 1-Ran for Giambi in the 6th.
BATTING HR: Betemit (5, 2nd inning off Weaver, 1 on, 2 out), Abreu (15, 3rd inning off Weaver, 0 on, 2 out), Molina (1, 5th inning off Weaver, 0 on, 0 out), Rodriguez, A (24, 6th inning off Weaver, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Damon; Jeter; Abreu 4; Rodriguez, A 5; Nady; Betemit 5; Molina 6. RBI: Betemit 2 (17), Abreu 2 (75), Molina (12), Rodriguez, A (66), Jeter (50). 2-out RBI: Betemit 2; Abreu. GIDP: Jeter; Nady. Team LOB: 3. FIELDING E: Betemit (3, throw).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (W, 14-7)	7.0	2	2	1	2	5	0	3.44
Veras	1.0	0	0	0	1	3	0	2.70
Bruney	1.0	1	0	0	1	0	0	1.46

Weaver pitched to 2 batters in the 6th.

Pitches-strikes: Weaver 99-70, Speier 28-18, O'Day 19-15,
Mussina 89-58, Veras 17-11, Bruney 20-11.
Ground outs-fly outs: Weaver 5-5, Speier 3-0, O'Day 1-2,
Mussina 11-5, Veras 0-0, Bruney 0-3.
Batters faced: Weaver 23, Speier 7, O'Day 5,
Mussina 25, Veras 4, Bruney 5.
Inherited runners-scored: Speier 1-0, O'Day 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Joe West. 1B: Ed Rapuano.
2B: Scott Barry. 3B: CB Bucknor.
Weather: 76 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 6 mph, R to L.
T: 2:42.
Att: 54,170.

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Why is Wilson Betemit Still a Yankee?

Anyone?

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Perez Leaves Yankees Left Out

Oliver Perez has always had the ability to be a successful pitcher in the major leagues. But whether it be his head, his arm, his heart, who knows what else, he has always had trouble keeping it together. Sandy Koufax one minute, Steve Trout the next. But not when Perez pitches against the Yankees. He dominated them once again yesterday at Shea Stadium as the Mets salvaged the finale of the three games played at home.

In an attempt to offset the left-handed throwing Perez, Joe Girardi stacked the lineup with right-handers. What that meant was Jorge Posada at 1st base, .225 hitting Jose Molina behind the plate, rookie Justin Christian in right field, and Wilson Betemit (.259 against lefties) at 2nd base. Throw in a pitcher who can't hit and you can see it wasn't a strong lineup.

You would assume that the Yankees lefties struggled against Perez, but that was not true with the exception of Johnny Damon, who started in left field and was 1-8, and Bobby Abreu who sat on the bench with an o-10. However, Robinson Cano, who has been hot lately, was 4-10 against Perez, while Jason Giambi had a hit in just 2 at-bats. No matter how you slice it, things didn't work out.

Perez limited the Yankees to just 3 hits over 7 innings, while striking out 8. His lone mistake was a solo home run hit by Betemit in his final inning of work. Darrell Rasner, meanwhile, continued to struggle.

He worked out of a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 1st inning, but the Mets broke through in the 2nd. Endy Chavez and Brian Schneider put together back to back 1-out singles, and Perez sacrificed them up a base. Luis Castillo hit a slow chopper up the middle and just beat Derek Jeter's throw to 1st for a 1-0 lead. Rasner retired David Wright on a chopper to Alex Rodriguez to escape further trouble.

In the 3rd, Carlos Delgado hit a tremendous solo home run off of the scoreboard in center field for a 2-0 lead. It was Delgado's first hit since his 9 RBI outburst in the first game on Friday.

The Yankees had a chance in the 4th, when Derek Jeter single with one out and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch. But Perez struck out A-Rod swinging and retired Posada on a ground out to Castillo at 2nd.

Rasner was gone after 5 and Dave Robertson came on for his major league debut. He became the 3rd Yankee, along with Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy, to reach the majors after being drafted in 2006. He struck out his first batter, Perez, but gave up back to back singles to Reyes and Castillo and wild pitched them into scoring position. Wright delivered Reyes with a sac fly before Robertson retired Beltran on an inning ending fly out.

Pedro Feliciano retired the Yankees in order in the 8th and then it was up to Billy Wagner to close things out. Jeter lead off with a single and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch, but he would be left there. A-Rod just missed one, hitting a deep fly that Chavez caught at the edge of the warning track in left-center, well short of the 358-ft sign. Posada then grounded out and Betemit struck out looking to seal the deal.


News and Notes

Oliver Perez is now 5-1, 2.61 in 6 career starts against the Yankees. He's struck out 31 batters in 41.1 innings pitched.

Jose Reyes had a tantrum when Carlos Delgado couldn't handle his throw on a Melky Cabrera ground out. The ball should have been caught, but Reyes was charged with the error. In a great act of immaturity, Reyes slammed his glove down. Anyone else think Reyes may be elsewhere next year?

It's sounding more and more like Hideki Matsui may need knee surgery.


June 29, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		1	4	0
NY Mets	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	X		3	12	1

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	1	0	0	3	0	.316
Jeter, SS	4	0	2	0	0	0	1	.284
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.322
Posada, 1B	4	0	0	0	0	1	2	.287
Betemit, 2B	4	1	1	1	0	2	1	.266
Cabrera, CF	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	.246
Molina, C	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.225
Christian, RF	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Rasner, P	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000
a-Moeller, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.254
Robertson, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b-Giambi, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.262
Ramirez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	32	1	4	1	0	10	7
a-Flied out for Rasner in the 6th. b-Flied out for Robertson in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Betemit (4, 7th inning off Perez, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon; Jeter 2; Betemit 4. RBI: Betemit (12). 2-out RBI: Betemit. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada; Molina; Betemit. Team LOB: 4. FIELDING PB: Molina (6). DP: (Betemit-Jeter-Posada).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Rasner (L, 4-6)	5.0	8	2	2	3	3	1	4.42
Robertson	2.0	4	1	1	0	1	0	4.50
Ramirez	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.46

NY Mets	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Reyes, SS	4	1	2	0	1	0	0	.296
Castillo, 2B	5	0	3	1	0	1	1	.260
Wright, 3B	3	0	0	1	0	0	5	.285
Beltran, CF	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.270
Delgado, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	0	2	.231
Tatis, 1B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.256
Church, RF	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	.304
Chavez, LF	4	1	3	0	0	0	1	.242
Schneider, C	3	0	1	0	1	0	3	.260
Perez, P	2	0	0	0	0	2	2	.182
Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a-Anderson, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.198
Wagner, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	33	3	12	3	3	4	16
a-Flied out for Feliciano in the 8th.
BATTING HR: Delgado (14, 3rd inning off Rasner, 0 on, 1 out). TB: Reyes 2; Castillo 3; Delgado 4; Church 2; Chavez 3; Schneider. RBI: Castillo (26), Delgado (45), Wright (64). 2-out RBI: Castillo. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Delgado; Wright 2; Perez; Beltran. S: Perez. SF: Wright. GIDP: Schneider. Team LOB: 11. FIELDING E: Reyes (11, throw).

NY Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Perez (W, 6-5) 7.0 3 1 1 0 8 1 4.98 Feliciano (H, 8) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2.78 Wagner (S, 18) 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.91

WP: Robertson, Perez, Wagner. IBB: Schneider (by Rasner). Pitches-strikes: Rasner 102-59, Robertson 33-22, Ramirez 13-9, Perez 106-72, Feliciano 17-13, Wagner 14-9. Ground outs-fly outs: Rasner 5-7, Robertson 2-3, Ramirez 0-3, Perez 4-9, Feliciano 0-2, Wagner 1-1. Batters faced: Rasner 26, Robertson 9, Ramirez 3, Perez 25, Feliciano 3, Wagner 4. Umpires: HP: Mike DiMuro. 1B: Mike Estabrook. 2B: Larry Vanover. 3B: Mike Everitt. Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 11 mph, R to L. T: 3:00. Att: 56,277.

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Stars Align for Moose

Right now we can't imagine how Mike Mussina will not be picked for this year's American League All-Star team. His last selection was in 1999. Mussina (9-4) continued his remarkable season last night by dazzling the Toronto Blue Jays for 6 innings in a 5-1 Yankees victory. The win snapped the Yankees 3-game losing streak and gave Mussina his 9th win of the season, tied with the Angels' Joe Saunders and Indians' Cliff Lee for tops in the American League.

Mussina allowed a pair of harmless singles through the first three innings and then the Yankees got on the board first. Jose Molina lead off the bottom of the 3rd with a single off Jays starter Jesse Litsch, and moved to 3rd Base on Johnny Damon's perfectly execute 1-out hit and run single. Derek Jeter then made history when he inside outed a ball to right field for an RBI single. It was hit number 2,416, moving him past Mickey Mantle into sole possession of 3rd place on the all-time Yankees hit list.

Mussina allowed a lead off double to Alex Rios in the 4th, but retired Scott Rolen on a line out and struck out Matt Stairs and Lyle Overbay. The Yankees then took advantage with 2 outs in their half of the inning. Wilson Betemit took Litsch deep to right for his 2nd home run of the season and a 2-0 lead. Robinson Cano followed with a double and after a walk to Molina, Melky Cabrera singled to right for a 3-0 advantage.

That would be all Mussina would need. He retired 8 men in a row before allowing a 2-out walk to Rios in the 6th. Home ump C.B. Bucknor seemed to tighten the strike zone in the at-bat. Moose was clearly frustrated on some 2-strike calls to Rolen as well and surrendered an RBI double before finally retiring Stairs on a ground out to Cano. The long pitch sequences to Rios and Rolen cost Mussina another inning as he left to a big ovation after 103 pitches.

The Yankees tacked on single runs in the 6th and 7th on RBI singles by Damon and Hideki Matsui. Ross Ohlendorf, Kyle Farnsworth, and Mariano Rivera finished up with 1 inning each. Rivera, in a non-save situation, struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.

News and Notes

Johnny Damon extended his hitting streak to 13 games.

Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a broken wrist and could be back in 10 days. He's begun taking batting practice.


June 4, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Toronto	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		1	6	0
NY Yankees	0	0	1	2	0	1	1	0	X		5	12	0

Toronto	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Stewart, LF	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.253
Scutaro, 2B	4	0	1	0	0	2	0	.269
Rios, CF	3	1	2	0	1	1	0	.266
Rolen, 3B	4	0	1	1	0	1	3	.304
Stairs, DH	4	0	0	0	0	2	2	.261
Overbay, 1B	4	0	2	0	0	1	1	.280
Barajas, C	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.297
Thigpen, C	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Wilkerson, RF	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.237
Eckstein, SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.268
Totals	32	1	6	1	1	9	11
BATTING 2B: Rios (13, Mussina), Rolen (13, Mussina). TB: Scutaro; Rios 3; Rolen 2; Overbay 2. RBI: Rolen (15). 2-out RBI: Rolen. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Overbay; Stairs; Eckstein. GIDP: Rolen. Team LOB: 5. FIELDING DP: 3 (Overbay-Eckstein-Litsch, Eckstein-Scutaro-Overbay, Rolen-Scutaro-Overbay).

Toronto IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA Litsch (L, 7-2) 5.1 10 4 4 2 1 1 3.45 Camp 1.0 1 1 1 1 0 0 4.11 Downs 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1.88 Benitez 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.18

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Damon, LF	4	0	3	1	0	0	2	.310
Jeter, SS	4	0	1	1	0	1	2	.282
Abreu, RF	3	1	0	0	1	0	3	.281
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	0	2	.293
Matsui, DH	3	0	2	1	1	0	0	.337
Betemit, 1B	4	1	1	1	0	0	4	.238
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	1	.217
Molina, C	3	2	2	0	1	0	0	.222
Cabrera, CF	4	0	1	1	0	1	2	.265
Totals	33	5	12	5	3	2	16
BATTING 2B: Cano (11, Litsch), Rodriguez (13, Litsch), Molina (12, Litsch). HR: Betemit (2, 4th inning off Litsch, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Damon 3; Jeter; Rodriguez 2; Matsui 2; Betemit 4; Cano 2; Molina 3; Cabrera. RBI: Jeter (27), Betemit (4), Cabrera (26), Damon (27), Matsui (28). 2-out RBI: Betemit; Cabrera; Damon. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon 2; Betemit. GIDP: Cano; Abreu; Betemit. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING DP: (Cano-Jeter-Betemit).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (W, 9-4)	6.0	5	1	1	1	6	0	4.01
Ohlendorf (H, 3)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5.79
Farnsworth	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4.28
Rivera	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.35

WP: Ohlendorf.
IBB: Matsui (by Litsch).
Pitches-strikes: Litsch 99-59, Camp 16-8, Downs 8-6,
Benitez 10-7, Mussina 103-67, Ohlendorf 18-10,
Farnsworth 13-9, Rivera 14-10.
Ground outs-fly outs: Litsch 10-5, Camp 3-0, Downs 2-0,
Benitez 1-1, Mussina 6-6, Ohlendorf 2-1, Farnsworth 1-1, Rivera 1-0.
Batters faced: Litsch 26, Camp 5, Downs 2, Benitez 3,
Mussina 23, Ohlendorf 4, Farnsworth 3, Rivera 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Camp 1-1, Downs 1-1.
Umpires: HP: CB Bucknor. 1B: Joe West. 2B: Ed Rapuano.
3B: Ed Hickox.
Weather: 70 degrees, rain.
Wind: 6 mph, Out to LF.
T: 2:46.
Att: 51,151.

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