For anyone who has not seen this, check out the Bryan Hoch story at the Yankees' website. It appears that after the game, Proctor lugged some personal belongings down the hall and immediately outside the dugout, where he torched them--yes, actually burned them--creating a thick plume of smoke that wafted up to the press box. After a few minutes, he doused the flames with a water jug. Aside from the obvious fact that this probably violates some city ordinance, Proctor has a screw loose to do such a thing. Not good at all.

The Yankees, amidst this slide, have had Nuke LaFarnsworth berate Melky on the field, break a bat in the clubhouse, and throw a hissy fit last night in front of the dugout. Now they have Proctor playing pyromaniac with his personal belongings, at the field level no less. This is just insane.

Welcome to Bronx Zoo II. At least the original Bronx Zoo could win despite their dysfunctional behavior. This current group can't even manage that, not even close today. Posada was critical of the team, quoted in a Hoch article saying "I just think luck comes when you go after it. It seems like, at times, we just go through the motions. Today is one of those cases. That's the way it is. I think everybody knows what I'm talking about." So members of the old guard believe that the team is playing lackadaisical baseball, while newer players throw tantrums. What next, Nuke getting on his belly and pounding his fists and feet on the ground after giving up a hit or being removed for his inability to retire batters? Proctor's self-immolation on the mound? It's bad enough he's already doing it metaphorically.

What a train wreck.

I won't spend an inordinate amount of time on this crummy game, in which the Yankees lost 7-0 and were held to one hit by Chad Gaudin and Rich Harden, who has been coming out of the bullpen since returning from his injury and with the absences of Justin Duchscherererererererer and Houston Street. What a pitiful performance. Granted Gaudin has been very good, as have the A's starters, but this was woeful.

Igawa wasn't horrible, pitching fairly well at times through 6 1/3 allowing five hits, four runs earned, walking three and striking out four. He got into trouble in the third when he allowed back-to-back homers to Kendall and Stewart, 2-0 A's. According to Sterling and Waldman, a big part of Igawa's problem was his getting rattled. After retiring eight straight, his homer to Kendall seemed to shake Igawa up, and he needed to be coaxed to throw strikes again because he was throwing high and outside a lot. He settled down, but then gave up two more in the sixth on a long two-run home run to Johnson to make it 4-0 A's. On a 1-2 count, Igawa just missed with a fastball, pouted, and hung a change-up to Johnson who creamed it. Damon finally broke up Gaudin's no-hitter in the 6th, but it was academic by then. With two on and two outs, A-Rod struck out swinging, ending the only real threat the Yankees mustered all day. The A's scored three more in the seventh off Proctor, who is quickly becoming kerosene for the Yankees, to blow it wide open, and the A's coasted from there.

Igawa was on the whole OK but folded under pressure, while the offense was again nowhere to be found. After Melky worked a two-out walk in the fifth, Cano yet again swung at the first pitch to make the third out, leaving it at 2-0. Melky seemed to want the seventh, and the game, to end when he also swung at the first pitch with two outs. But the greater concern is the fact that the Yankees have scored 31 runs in the last 11 games, including the suspended game to be completed on July 27. That just doesn't cut it. The starting pitching has been pretty good as has the defense, but the offense, except for A-Rod, has really lacked power. The lefties have lacked plate discipline and productivity and swooned. Given their preponderance in the lineup, that has destroyed the Yankees' offense. Terrible.

Haren faces Pettite in the rubber match tomorrow afternoon. Good luck mustering more run support, since Haren has the lowest ERA in the majors at 1.91. Let's Go, Yankees!

Finally, the Yankees win and do so in a close game, a one-run pitchers duel, besting the struggling A's 2-1. Mussina pitched a gem and got out of trouble well when faced with it. A-Rod was a monster at the plate, and Mariano was his dominant self, relieving the petulant Nuke LaFarnsworth to solidify the win with a four-out save. The victory vaulted Torre to ninth on the all-time wins list with 2,010, passing Leo "The Lip" Durocher all time. Just amazing for Torre, and well earned. Congratulations, Joe!

The Yanks scored their two runs right away in the first. Melky dropped a terrific bunt single to the third-base side of the mound that Joe Kennedy couldn't get and throw cleanly. Jeter popped out to Kendall catching with a poor and inexplicable bunt attempt, again, and Matsui forced Melky at second. But A-Rod blistered an RBI double that one-hopped off the left-center field wall, 1-0 Yankees. Posada then singled to left to plate A-Rod, 2-0 Yankees.

Mussina was very sharp tonight, going seven innings and allowing six hits, one run earned, a walk and fanning three on eighty-four pitches. He got hit a bit in the seventh, when the A's scored their only run. Chavez and Ellis hit back-to-back singles to make it first and third with no outs. But Mussina induced a 1-4-6-3 double play from Johnson, who hit a sharp ball back into the box off Mussina's leg that fortuitously caromed to Cano, who started the double play. Mussina then retired Crosby to minimize the damage and keep it at 2-1. He also got some good defense. Jeter made one of his patented jump throws in the third from the hole in short to get Crosby at first, an outstanding play and key, since Kendall and Stewart subsequently singled back-to-back. Mussina then got Kotsay to pop out and retired Swisher, no harm done thanks to Jeter and Mussina's good pitching. Abreu also made a good but odd catch on a deep fly from Crosby in the fifth. Abreu turned his back on the play--a rookie mistake--but picked up the ball well enough to track it down, but jumped because he thought the wall was closer than it actually was to make the out. Mussina also escaped trouble in the sixth, allowing a lead-off single to Stewart, who went 3-3 and always seems to hit the Yankees, and Kotsay lined one to Matsui, who dove in similar fashion to the play against the Red Sox last year when he broke his wrist on a trapped ball. This time, he trapped the ball but thankfully spared his wrist, and kept it by him close enough to force Stewart at second because Stewart rightly waited to see if Matsui caught it.

Torre pulled Mussina in favor of Nuke, half of which I agreed with. I think Mussina was getting hit a bit in the last couple innings he pitched but escaped worse trouble, and pulling him was fine. But not for Nuke, who was typically up and down. Nuke retired Kendall on a comebacker to the mound, one out. But Stewart nearly impaled Nuke with a liner through the box for a single and Kotsay singled to right. Nuke fanned Swisher, but Torre was impatient enough to pull him for Mariano, prompting a good hissy fit from Nuke, who muttered some profanities coming off the mound and threw his glove into the dugout in a great display of sportsmanship and camaraderie as he was lifted for the greatest relief pitcher of all time. Well done, Nuke, you're a great teammate. Mariano then struck out Cust to end the eighth and rolled through the ninth, getting Chavez to pop out to Cairo, in at first in the eighth. He then got Ellis looking, but skimmed Johnson with an inside fastball to put him on before fanning Crosby to end it.

It was a good win to have, a close game that the Yankees have much more frequently lost this year. A-Rod was huge, going 3-3 with a walk, a run, and RBI, and two doubles, with the third hit belted so hard to left that it hit the middle of the wall and caromed right to Stewart who held a-Rod to a long, blasted single. Cano was 2-4, Melky, Nieves and Posada 1-3, with Posada contributing the big RBI single in the first. Jeter was 0-4 with two strikeouts, but was robbed of a single in the third by Ellis at second, who made a great diving stop to nail Jeter and save two runs. It really also got Kennedy, who had been erratic, back on track and other than A-Rod, Kennedy handled the Yankees for the most part after that.

Good win, and let's start stringing them together again. Gaudin squares off against Igawa tomorrow afternoon, so the Yankees will probably need more runs than they scored tonight. Nine left on base is way too many, especially in such a low-scoring game. Let's Go, Yankees!

Despite the inclination to express frustration that the Yankees' chance to finally win, after finally scoring some runs, has been thwarted by the Baltimore rain, I'm actually feeling a bit positive about the temporary outcome of this game which has been suspended with the Yankees leading 8-6 and it will be completed in Baltimore at a later date. I realize that it isn't saying too much at this point, for it isn't as though the rain spoiled a perfect evening since Wang struggled in the 7th and the Yankees appeared on the verge of giving away another game, of creating another way to lose. What the Yankees did, even with the suspended game and the delayed decision, was to stanch the bleeding and regain some confidence. They actually came back from a deficit in late innings, albeit a deficit they helped create, with some clutch hitting, patience at the plate, and generating runs. They showed some fight for a change. How great was it to see Jeter clapping his hands at second after singling in Melky and Damon for the go-ahead runs?!? I don't know what Torre said during the first rain delay, but my choices are: a.) he said nothing; b.) he said something that challenged their pride as men and baseball players; and c.) he promised them crabcake sandwiches and milkshakes at the Inner Harbor if they came back and won, Little League style.

The Yanks took the lead in the third when Phillips hit a solo homer off Daniel Cabrera, but Baltimore scored two right back in the bottom of the inning. Wang got Gibbons to pop out, then walked Bako on four pitches. Payton sacrificed him to second, then Brian Roberts belted a home run to right, 2-1 Orioles. The Yankees responded right away, scoring two in the fourth to regain the lead. Jeter and Matsui hit back-to-back singles to give the Yankees first and third, no outs. A-Rod hit a sac fly to score Jeter. Posada and Abreu walked to load the bases, and Melky grounded out to score Matsui, 3-2 Yankees. Phillips's out ended the inning, and the Yankees, as has been their wont, should have had more. But beggars can't be choosers, and they at least regained the lead. Heck, scoring 3 runs in a game lately has been a chore.

The Yanks added a run in the seventh to make it 4-2, but again could have had more. Cano doubled, Phillips bunted him to third and Damon singled in Cano. After Jeter reached on a throw in the dirt from Mora and Matsui worked a walk the Yankees again loaded the bases. But A-Rod hit into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to nip what could have been a big inning in the bud. The Orioles scored four in the bottom of the seventh to put the Yankees on the ropes and chase Wang, who had been good and efficient, from the game. Markakis singled to left, and Millar hit a fly to right that Abreu's sliding attempt to catch missed, allowing the ball to roll into the right-field corner. Markakis scored and Millar ended up with a triple, 4-3 Yankees. What got me was that, in the Orioles' MASN replay that had a horrible contrast, Abreu literally appeared to be fishing for the ball in the dark, and it looked as though Abreu was unsure where, or whether, to throw the ball and made a bad throw in. I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head, waiting for the inevitable, which came soon enough. Huff grounded to Cano playing in, one out. Yet Wang walked Mora on four pitches, which Wang seems to do a lot, just throw consecutive balls for walks, and Gibbons nailed one into the left center gap to plate Millar and Mora, 5-4 Orioles. The Orioles sent Patterson in to pinch-run for Gibbons and he stole third. Jorge almost threw it into the Chesapeake and Patterson scored on Posada's throwing error, 6-4 Orioles. Wang then walked Bako, again on four pitches, and Vizcaino came in and fanned Payton. Roberts singled to right, but with an 0-1 count to Fahey, the rain became a deluge and the umpires halted it. When play resumed, Myers was in to face Fahey and retired him on a grounder to A-Rod.

But the Yankees showed some grit, no doubt from the allure of those delicious crabcake sammiches and milkshakes that Torre and the managers promised to pony up. Posada and Abreu worked consecutive walks to start the eighth, and Melky came through with an RBI double to left, 6-5. Cano grounded out to second to plate Abreu and tie the game at 6. Chris Ray came in and retired Phillips, two outs. Damon singled and, with Melky at third, stole second. Jeter came through big, lining a 1-2 pitch to center to score Melky and Damon, 8-6. It was pouring throughout much of the eighth, so while the additional delay was frustrating, it was no surprise. My perusal of the weather channel online before the game revealed as much, that it would rain a lot tonight. So be it. We'll finish 'em off another time. In the meantime, the Yankees can take some confidence that they at long last showed some grit and determination, and some clutch hitting to capitalize on opportunities made and offered. The Yankees got nine hits and worked five walks. Damon and Jeter were each 2-5 and scored a run apiece, with Damon driving in one and Jeter two. Matsui was 1-3 with a walk and a run scored. Posada was 1-2 and Abreu 0-2, but each player drew two big walks and scored. In fact, every player but A-Rod scored a run (a good sign that many got on and, obviously, came around), but A-Rod contributed an RBI, his 78th of the year, with the sac fly. Wang was good for six but fell apart in the seventh, allowing nine hits, six runs earned, walking three (all on four straight balls) and striking out only one. Kudos to Vizcaino and Myers for holding the Orioles in the seventh.

Still Waiting for Godot, but with a smile on my face during a baseball game for the first time in a long time.

[Edit: Mike's good question on the previous post prompted me to look up to see what rules govern this scenario. According to the official rules at mlb.com, here is the explanation for suspended games:
4.12
"SUSPENDED GAMES.
(a) A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons:
...
   (5) Weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead; or
   (6) It is a regulation game that is called with the score tied. National Association Leagues may also adopt the following rules for suspended games. (If adopted by a National Association League, Rule 4.10(e) would not apply to their games.)" Additionally:

"(c) A suspended game shall be resumed at the exact point of suspension of the original game. The completion of a suspended game is a continuation of the original game. The lineup and batting order of both teams shall be exactly the same as the lineup and batting order at the moment of suspension, subject to the rules governing substitution. Any player may be replaced by a player who had not been in the game prior to the suspension. No player removed before the suspension may be returned to the lineup. A player who was not with the club when the game was suspended may be used as a substitute, even if he has taken the place of a player no longer with the club who would not have been eligible because he had been removed from the lineup before the game was suspended."

I am not exactly sure when this rule came into effect--if it's an old rule or a more recent modification of a rule. It may be that I just don't remember rainy games being called mid-pitch, or if they did, that they were treated as suspended. Maybe it's a long-standing rule and that's why umpires strive to complete innings. I also think that the Yankees' just taking the lead in an incomplete inning fell more easily into this 4.12 (5) scenario. Either way, it was an odd game, but far better than what has transpired the last couple weeks. Let's Go, Yankees!]

[Edit PS: According to NY Times Yankees beat writer Tyler Kepner, the rule on suspended games was changed before this season. As Boogie-Down J rightly said on his blog, it used to be that if the game were called during an inning in which a team scored runs, the suspended game would have been resumed at the beginning of the new inning, in this case the eighth, with the runs in the rain not counting. So under the old rule, it would have been 6-4 Orioles starting the eighth. Outstanding call Boogie-Down J.]

During yet another rain delay in tonight's wild game, with the Yankees actually scoring runs and leading 8-6, I'd like to congratulate Frank Thomas for belting his 500th home run today, and Craig Biggio for collecting his 3,000th career hit. Both are terrific, historic milestones, and regardless of the debates trying to minimize the statistical accomplishment of 500 homers during the steroids era, there's no question in my mind that Thomas is a Hall of Fame player. This guy was devastating in his prime with Chicago, an RBI machine with tremendous power, and hit for average to boot. Biggio should get to the Hall as well. He's been an excellent hitter for a long time, and from what I understand he's a great guy, too. Great for both of you and for baseball, guys!

The Yankees are in freefall mode right now, dropping an uninspired game to the Orioles 4-0. The O's scored all four in the 6th off Clemens, who clearly tired but not before gamely shutting down the Orioles through five to match the sterling effort of Eric Bedard, who was lights-out against the Yankees. Gomez singled to center, Markakis walked on four pitches, Hernandez drove in Gomez with a single to center, and Aubrey Huff blasted a 1-1 Rocket offering over the left-center field wall for the 4-0 margin.

The Yankees' offense was again nonexistent, mustering a measly five hits. Jeter, Matsui, A-Rod, Posada and Melky each managed a single, and Cano earned a rare walk, the Yankees' only one. Bedard just shut them down the whole night, mixing in an excellent fastball with a wicked curve and a slider. He's the real deal, and it's no surprise he leads the majors in strikeouts. The Yankees looked feeble, but were put there from the get-go tonight. They looked like they didn't stand a chance. But thankfully, Torre got Mariano in for an inning of make-work in the 8th. Great job! He didn't pitch with the game on the line last night and with him very rested, while Torre opted instead for the erratic Proctor while the Yankees lost, but he sure ought to pitch the meaningless 8th in a game the Yankees didn't stand a chance of winning. You know what I'm going to say now, but I'll say it anyway. Horrible!

Wang faces Cabrera, who nearly no-hit the Yankees last September. Good luck, Yankees, you'll need it. Three games below .500 and sinking. Time is running short, guys. Better start streaking now or else (though I say that with a blood-from-a-stone feeling right now). Ugh.

[Edit: About the only thing I can imagine that would be worse than watching the Yankees lose so badly right now would be to watch Ann Coulter on TV. For anyone who knows me, that's about as bad as it gets.]

[Edit PS: Apologies to Tyler Kepner for the duplication of his post's title a couple days ago. I just bumped over to his blog--4:11 CST--, and saw it. I'm a lot of things, but I'm no Ann Coulter, i.e., plagiarist.]

You just knew it would happen. You just knew the Yankees would blow it when despite having Jeter, Matsui and A-Rod up in the top of the fourth and the eighth, the Yankees went down 1-2-3, even with a Jeter single in the fourth. You just knew the Yankees would blow it when despite having first and third with one out in the seventh, the Yankees didn't score, nor did they in the 9th with first and second with one out, then first and third with two outs. You just knew that the Yankees would blow it when Scott Proctor walked the lead-off batter in the 9th, albeit on a very close pitch to Corey Patterson. You just knew the Yankees would lose when Proctor hung a 2-2 curve ball that Brian Roberts roped into left. You really knew that the Yankees would lose when, on the first pitch Chris Gomez popped up a poor bunt attempt off the third-base side of the mound, Proctor dove and made a great diving catch for the first out. Why was the loss readily evident then? Because Proctor, instead of immediately getting up, looking around and checking the runners to possibly double one of them off, rose up with the glove extended well above his head, looked down, and trotted to the third base line despite the vehement protestations of A-Rod, who was running in from third, urging him to throw to second, where Patterson was more than halfway to third and had to hastily retreat to second. You knew the Yankees would go down when Proctor then walked Markakis on four straight pitches to load the bases with one out. You knew the Yankees would cough it up when Proctor's 1-1 fastball skimmed Hernandez's arm lightly, hit the top of Jorge's glove and went all the way back to the backstop, yet Patterson didn't score from third because he didn't run, and the umpire didn't call the batter hit by a pitch, even though the Baltimore TV replay showed it definitely skimmed Hernandez's arm. You knew the Yankees would go down because Proctor couldn't handle the pressure, and would walk Hernandez on a 3-2 count to force in the winning run, which he did. You knew the Yankees would dump it when Mariano again sat in the bullpen as this unmitigated disaster unfolded while Proctor fiddled. The losses keep getting more embarrassing.

Jeter and Cairo went 2-4, Damon was 1-4 with a home run in the 6th to tie it at 2. Cano was 0-4, Matsui was 0-4, Abreu was 1-4 with a single. Pettite wasn't at his best or sharpest, but provided another unrequited quality start, going 7 innings and allowing 8 hits, 2 runs earned, walking 5 and striking out 2. He should have been out of the fourth, throwing a terrific 2-2 pitch on the inside corner to Patterson that should have been strike three and the third out, yet the next pitch Patterson blooped into center to make it 2-0 Orioles. Nuke LaFarnsworth was good in the 8th for a change, needing only 16 pitches and giving up one hit and striking out one. Proctor was an abomination, allowing a hit and three killer walks in the one-third of the ninth he forced his teammates and Yankees fans to suffer through. In all, the Yankees walked eight Oriole batters, really inexcusable.

Cano strangely tries to pull everything and cannot, or will not, go the other way any more. Why the Yankees ask him to bunt is beyond me, for they wasted Posada's lead-off walk in the 9th with Cano's pathetic effort, which blooped on one hop to Millar playing in to easily get Posada at second. Again the Yankees lacked punch in the clutch, stranding seven, three in scoring position.

You just knew, as the game progressed, that you'd either be writing or reading such a post. I did, anyway.

According to MLB Gameday, here are tonight's lineups:

Yankees
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Matsui LF
A-Rod 3B
Posada C
Cano 2B
Melky CF
Abreu RF
Cairo 1B

Orioles
Roberts 2B
Gomez SS
Markakis RF
Hernandez C
Duff DH
Mora 3B
Millar 1B
Payton LF
Patterson CF

Andy Pettite squares off against righty Jeremy Guthrie, who has had a good year thus far (4-1, 2.42 ERA). Anyone want to criticize Torre for dropping Abreu to 8th? Not me. Lineups should have the best hitters near the top, and except for about three weeks this year, can anyone seriously say that Abreu has been one of the Yankees' best hitters? When he starts to hit again, uses the opposite field, stops lunging and chasing balls in the dirt, he can get back to third or somewhere nearer the middle. Until then, stop the sulking and start hitting, Abreu. If nothing else, he should be playing for a contract. At this rate, it surely won't be with the Yankees next year. In this exceedingly lefty-laden lineup, the inconsistencies of Abreu, Cano, Matsui and Damon (acknowledging the latter's injuries, if somewhat self-inflicted with his off-season lard diet) have really hurt the Yankees. As I've said before, as the lefties go, so go the Yankees.

Let's Go, Yankees! (For Goodness Sake)

Discussion topic #2 for tonight asks a lot from readers willing to post. Imagine for a moment or three that you're the GM for the Yankees. What do you do, and what can you do, to fix the Yankees' abhorrent malaise? I think that most of us can agree that this is well beyond a stage at which we can chalk it up to the Yankees' not heating up yet, not hitting their stride, not getting the breaks, or other factors that somehow absolve the Yankees for playing the poor quality of baseball that they have for much of the year thus far. Thus, what would you propose that the Yankees do to fix their myriad problems? I think moves are difficult for a few reasons--the Yankees' multiple, large salaries on players with no-trade clauses, the various needs they have, the limited number of quality minor-league hitters to deal, the need to build up young talent. The Yankees just might be wedded to the expensive, oft-injured albatrosses they currently have. But it doesn't hurt to try, and some clever proposals would be worth discussing in my opinion.

A couple conditions. First, propose something specific, or at least try to, regarding potential trades. That is, if you propose to trade a Yankee or Yankees to a team or teams, try to propose something realistic, and something that reasonably estimates as much as possible the trade value that the players involved might have. This is difficult, for we as outsiders don't exactly know, but given that certain teams such as the White Sox and Rangers are already rumored to be considering selling/trading off good players, thinking about an approximate trade value is constructive for discussion and, of some deals come to fruition, to see how accurate people's prognostications were.

The second condition is that in any move, try to assess the short and long-term value of the move, regarding salaries, position needs, age, the trajectory of the Yankees the past few years--factors that help explain what benefit now and later the proposed moves would have. This can also include managerial and management moves. But try to be as constructive as possible.

I propose this: that the Yankees consider getting Mark Buehrle and/or Jermaine Dye from the White Sox. According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, each player is in the option year of his respective contract and would be a free agent after this year. Buehrle is 28 and Dye is 33. Buehrle is a smart pitcher who has a 3.39 ERA, has thrown a no-hitter this year, has good off-speed stuff, and his rockiest game this year came against the Yankees. Depending on whom the Yankees traded, perhaps Mussina, the Yankees would also get younger. Dye is older at 33, but would provide good right-handed power that the Yankees sorely need (both from a righty and from someone other than A-Rod), is a good right-fielder but can DH and therefore would strengthen the bench, and is a good character person in the clubhouse from what I understand from White Sox broadcasters. He isn't hitting for average, but then again practically no one is on the White Sox, and his average would likely pick up in a lineup like the Yanks. Willing to exchange: Mussina (though the Yanks might have to eat part of his salary), a young arm such as Clippard, Eric Duncan. N.B. I am not saying all these players for Buehrle or Dye or both, but rather that one or more might be necessary. Potential downside: Buehrle isn't overpowering, and the Yankees need someone who throws harder than mid-to-high 80s, and he'll be a free agent, so they'll trade to spend at some point or rent him. Same with Dye, whose best years might have passed. These proposals might help, but short term. They aren't  the kind of long-term solutions this club needs, which is to get younger and to get young talented players who can step in now. With Buehrle, would younger equal better?

[I am also working on some way to get more than a box of balls for Nuke LaFarnsworth, but am currently stuck on that. My understanding is that some NL teams are interested in him for bullpen help, maybe the Braves given Gonzales's injury, and Nuke has been a bust for the Yanks. His most recent tirade yesterday should be the last call for this talented but wildly erratic, inconsistent louse. I'd be interested in bullpen, back-up catcher, and bench help. Also, check the waiver wire or exploring a minor trade to get a decent back-up catcher. Nieves cannot hit and, though he works well with pitchers, is not Posada's equal defensively, either. For such modest returns as the Yankees have had this year, I honestly don't know why the Yankees didn't keep Sal Fasano. I know he hit .143 for the Yankees, but he was pretty good defensively, and pitchers in Toronto as well as with the Yanks last year (Wright especially) raved about how well he set up hitters. Frankly, the Yankees have suffered at back-up catcher since parting with Joe Girardi.]

Do people have any ingenious blockbuster trades they would propose? Regarding the rumors that the Yankees and Rangers have discussed a trade possibly involving Texeira, Otsuka, and/or Gagne, what do you think it would take to get any or all of them? Mussina, Abreu, some minor-league prospects? With Abreu a free agent after this year, should the Yankees consider dealing him? Are Hughes, Tabata, and Chamberlain off limits at all costs? Do the Yankees consider dealing Melky and/or Cano, or is there potential upside too valuable to trade away?

Have fun, be creative, and roll with it.

Since it's a night off for the Yankees, I figured I'd check up on people with two different discussion threads. The first concerns books. I finished Steven Goldman's ( who writes the Pinstriped Bible over at the YES Network) sterling biography of Casey Stengel, Forging Genius, and I'm nearly finished with Robert Creamer's excellent biography of Babe Ruth, Babe. Very well written, highly insightful for people seeking to learn more about Stengel, his formative years as a player and manager in the minors and major leagues, and packed with great vignettes about Stengel, the eras in which he played and coached and other figures like John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson, Forging Genius carves out an important place in the historiography of Stengel by focusing almost exclusively on Stengel's pre-Yankees tenure. Spending considerable time delving into Stengel's formative but frustrating experiences with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the hapless Boston Braves ("Bees" at that time) punctuated by periods of success as a minor-league manager with the Toledo Mudhens, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Oaks, Goldman skillfully weaves together often-hilarious anecdotes with considerably deep analysis of how Stengel 's baseball smarts co-existed with his clownish side. Goldman also engages the reader by offering useful comparative statistical and historical analysis to illustrate players' effectiveness or ineffectiveness comparatively and in their own times, the changes in managerial styles, the demands of the game on pitchers, the development of platooning, labor relations, the relatively free-form, free-market relationship between the minors and majors, and the priorities of poorly run clubs. Yankees fans looking for an exegesis of Stengel's years with the Yankees will be disappointed, for Goldman only takes his biography up to the end of the 1949 season with any detail, and the footnote style (none in the text, with citations given by passages cited and not enumerated) is terrible.  But it is nonetheless an excellent and important book about one of the legendary titans of the game, who reshaped it in enormous yet vastly overlooked ways. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

What have you read lately--related or not to baseball, sports, politics, fiction--that you enjoyed? Why did you pick up the book in the first place, and why should I, or should I not, read what you just did? I'd really like to hear what people have read.

Yesterday served as my first foray into the world of home brewing, and it will be a few weeks before I know for certain whether or not this was a success. Though I was concerned how everything would go as I brewed and cooled the wort, it all seemed to work fine. Nothing boiled over, no ingredients were lost or spilled, and my pantry is serving as the cool, dry place for the yeast to work on the beer in the next several days. After this, I'll add the sugar and bottle the beer, then wait 2-3 weeks before determining how the English brown ale actually tastes. I have my fingers crossed that it will be good. My next attempt will probably be a robust porter, of which I am a huge fan, and perhaps an Oktoberfest sometime thereafter.

I had a typically great confab with Frank the Sage last night about all things pertinent--beer, the Yankees, **** Cheney's attempts at quasi-regal unaccountability, and potential vacation ideas. He told me that a pizza joint near him, which has an unusually excellent beer selection, had a couple of my faves on tap--Okocim, a porter from Poland, and The Czar, a marvelous concoction from Avery Brewing Company in Colorado. I first tried Okocim a year ago because I love porter, the price was right ($2 for a pint-size bottle), and because I've had some outstanding porters from Eastern Europe, such as Utenos (from Lithuania) and Baltika from Russia. Utenos does not disappoint. When we were in Watkins Glen for some wine tasting last Fall, I brought Okocim and some other selections, including a couple bottles of The Reverend (another Avery product) and, since the temperatures were in the high 20s and dropped into the mid-teens at night, we left the coolers of beer out on the cabin porch--The Sage's idea. It was perfect, for the beers were quite cold and the Okocim poured more like syrup than beer, and was universally praised. The Sage also gave The Czar high marks, thanking me for turning him on to those delicious beers and brand names ahead of time so he would order them on sight. Yet that was merely payback for The Sage's introducing me to various Ommegang products a couple years ago, a brewery in Cooperstown that is in my mind the best domestic purveyor of Belgian-style beer.

We covered a few other areas, both of us agreeing that the Giants fans' embrace of Bonds was bizarre and foolish. We also discussed the comparative greatness of Don Mattingly, someone who should be in the Hall of Fame especially when compared with some of the greats of the past. Bobby Doerr and Joe Cronin are in the Hall of Fame, and rightly so, but Mattingly isn't? Please. I'll set aside our discussion about the current Yankee malaise for another time, but I'll just say this: I'm extremely happy that I listened to only a couple innings of the game yesterday while brewing, and not by accident. I read about the Yanks' poor defense, Nuke LaFarnsworth's poor outing and tirade, the Giants' ability to run all over Mussina (some of which I heard on the radio broadcast via the Internet or, as our so-called president says, "the Internets"), and the utter inability of the Yankees to generate runs. Terrible, just a lousy, down-up-down season thus far.

My little guy is battling a fever and sore throat, so I'm off for now to dote on him for the day. Keep smiling, everyone, and enjoy the off day.

[Edit: My little guy's fever has finally abated. This morning, it was 103.5--pretty high and seemingly coming out of nowhere. He sometimes runs a fever when he has teeth coming in, but this wasn't the case today. He's complained of a sore throat, which we treated, but the fever was mainly at or just above 102 for much of the day. After some rest, it got below 101, and is just above normal now. There's nothing more disconcerting as a parent than when your kids aren't feeling right. What I really appreciate about our kids is how their demeanor while sick. Except for not feeling themselves and being understandably listless, they're almost always in a good mood--willing to laugh and smile, not grumpy. It really amazes me.]

I'm going ahead and calling it--this was the worst loss of the Yankees' season thus far, as the Yankees drop a 6-5 game in 13 innings to the Giants, despite getting 17 hits and five walks. The Yankees were their own worst enemy, leaving an atrocious sixteen men on base, eight in scoring position with two outs, and the bullpen imploded in the 7th. In a season with nothing but ups and downs, this one was the worst, the bottom of the barrel full of crud that the Yankees skimmed out today. Inexcusable.

The Yankees started out hot, with Jeter banging a double off the wall in the first and everyone pounding the ball hard to no avail. Abreu hit a sharp liner that Durham snagged at second. In the second. Posada led off with a sharp single to right that he tried in vain to stretch into a double, only to get pegged out by Winn. It probably cost the Yanks a run when Cano doubled to deep left center. The Yankees finally broke through in the third for three. Melky tripled to the right center alley. Jeter's ground out to short brought him in, 1-0 Yanks. Abreu doubled to left and A-Rod's single made it first and third, Posada singled to left, 2-0 Yankees, Matsui's deep fly out to right sent A-Rod to third, and the Yanks got a break to make it 3-0, when Cano's liner went off Durham's glove, but according to Sterling and Waldman, the replay showed Cano was just out. The Giants got one back in the third, with Dave Roberts doubling in Feliz, 3-1.

In the fifth, A-Rod hit an infield single, Posada singled, and Matsui singled to left, 4-1 Yankees. But Cano hit into a double play to end the threat, letting the tiring and battered Morris off the hook. With Melky on third and Jeter on first with two outs in the sixth, Abreu grounded out to second to end that threat. According to Sterling, the Yanks got another break in the bottom of the sixth when Durham was ruled out at first, even though the replay showed Cairo's foot was off the bag, and the ensuing argument got Bochy tossed. It was a big play, for Bonds singled to make it 4-2, and the extra runner would have added pressure to Wang. In the 7th, A-Rod walked and Matsui got beaned to make it first and second, Cano promptly struck out, and Cairo lined out to right to spoil that particular rally.

The wheels came off for the Yankees in the 7th. Wang, working efficiently to this point, allowing few hits and looking good, allowed a homer to Feliz to deep left with one out, 4-3 Yankees. Vizquel singled to center, Sweeney bunted him to second against Myers for the second out. Myers indefensibly walked the light-hitting Roberts, and Bruney entered to perfect the collapse, allowing a single to Winn to tie it, then walked Durham to load the bases for Bonds and, despite having Bonds down 1-2, walked him to surrender the lead, 5-4 Giants. Though the game would continue for another six innings, the game was lost here. Bruney was woeful, Myers's walk of Roberts was pathetic.  Melky singled in the eighth and stole second on Jeter's strikeout, taking third on the Molina's throwing error, but Abreu struck out. In the 9th, A-Rod did his best to carry the Yanks, as he did all day and the season for that matter, homering to deep center to tie the game off closer Brad Hennessey, 5-5. It was a monster shot from Sterling's call, but the Yankees mustered nothing to follow it up. Vizcaino held the door shut in the 9th and 10th, allowing no one on. In the 11th against journeyman Steve Kline, Thompson pinch-hit for a single and, after Abreu's poor excuse for a bunt forced Thompson at second, A-Rod doubled. The Giants intentionally walked Posada to load the bases, but Matsui struck out on three pitches and Cano was again useless in the clutch, stranding the runners to leave the game tied. Proctor was by and large good for his 2 2/3 innings but lost it in the 13th. Klesko singled and was bunted to second. With two outs, Vizquel narrowly missed winning the game twice on foul liners down the left field line, but managed an infield single to make it 1st and 3rd. Schierholtz blooped a single to shallow center to score Klesko, and the Yankees collapse was complete.

What a terrible giveaway, blowing a game they had well in hand offensively and with good starting pitching. A-Rod was 4-6, Posada 3-5, Melky 3-7, Jeter 2-5 before leaving with a hip strain, but despite all the hits and walks, the Yankees pushed too few across after pummeling Morris.

Worst loss of the year, back to .500.

It was the best of Igawa, it was the worst of Igawa. It was the epoch of relief, it was the epoch of base-running insanity. The Yankees bounced back well after their miserable series in Colorado, scoring early off talented Giants starter Matt Cain and getting pretty good pitching to beat San Francisco, 7-3. A-Rod had a monster night, going 4-4 and playing very well at third again. The bats awoke and scored enough to prevent their shoddy base running from costing them the game. Igawa started very well but lost the strike zone by the fifth and got into some trouble, but the bullpen was good, and Mariano was again The Man in saving the game, recording five outs to shut it down.

The Yankees scored three in the second, with A-Rod leading off by ripping a middle-in fastball for a double into the left field corner. Posada's ground out to second moved A-Rod to third, and the equally selfless Matsui brought him home with a sac fly to right, 1-0 Yankees. The Yankees began a two-out rally, with Cano blooping a 1-2 pitch into no man's land in shallow left. Cairo worked a very good walk again after being behind 0-2, assisted by a Giants fan in right field who went, rightly, for a ball that he dropped, and that Wynn probably could have had had the clumsy fan not tried in vain to catch it. The ball was in the seats, so it wasn't interfering with the play; the fan just looked terrible and, given Wynn's foiled chance at the ball, incited some fans in right to cruelly start chanting "Bartman." Igawa, yes Igawa, then worked a walk himself, with Cain looking erratic and it cost him when Melky drove a single to left to bring Cano and Cairo home, 3-0 Yankees.

The Yanks added two more in the 5th when Jeter worked a lead-off walk. Abreu then crushed a 2-2 pitch to deep right center to bring in Jeter, 4-0. The ball bounced once very close to the wall, thus caroming high when it did skim the wall, skipping off the beige Diamond Nuts sign and appearing to hit either high off the wall on the fly or, to Torre who wrongly but understandably argued that the ball was a home run, actually over it and back into play. Abreu ended up with a double, but failed to hustle out of the box and really should have had a triple easily. A-Rod made it moot with an RBI single to right to score Abreu, 5-0 Yankees, but unfortunately Abreu's gaffe was not the last one the Yankees would make tonight running the bases. Thankfully, unlike in Colorado, these weren't nearly so costly.

Igawa started very sharp, requiring only 12 pitches in the first and 13 in the second to retire the Giants, allowing only a single up the middle to Molina with one out in the second during the first two innings. He got Bonds on a ground out to second in the second and was effectively off target against Bonds in the fourth, missing Posada's low-and-away location with a fastball up and in which Bonds chased to strike out for the second out. Though allowing a drag bunt by Roberts past the mound in the third, Igawa struck out the side in the third on 16 pitches, and despite allowing a lead-off walk to Durham in the fourth, Igawa retired the rest including Bonds on only 12 pitches. But Igawa struggled badly in the fifth. Third baseman Frandsen doubled to center on a ball that, had Melky taken a better line to it, might have been held to a single. Vizquel chopped the ball hard at the plate and it sailed clear over A-Rod's head into shallow left to score Frandsen, 5-1 Yankees. [The area in front of home must be as hard as concrete, for Cano singled in the fourth up the middle into center on a ball whose initial bounce was right in front of home.] Figueroa, pinch-hitting for the ineffective Cain, flew out to Abreu on the first pitch; scripted irony for that would have been a liner to his impatient soul mate, Cano. Roberts flew out to Melky, 2 outs. Wynn made Igawa pay for being behind 3-1 in the count by doubling to left, and Igawa then walked Durham to load the bases for Bonds, who must have been salivating the clear in the on-deck circle. Igawa walked him to score Vizquel, 5-2, which wasn't the worst thing he could have done, but he was clearly losing focus and the strike zone. Torre removed him, depriving him of the chance to win the game he was decreasingly worthy of earning, in favor of the improving Vizcaino, but Molina the Yankee killer would make it dramatic, sending a 1-2 pitch deep to left. Matsui tracked it well and made a terrific leaping catch on the track, hitting the wall on the way down to keep it 5-2. It was a big defensive play, and thankfully preserved the lead in a game the Yankees desperately needed to win.

The Yankees responded with guts and gaffes in the 6th. With two outs, Melky fouled a 2-2 pitch off his lower right shin and was clearly in pain as he hobbled around home plate to try to shake off the effects of what will no doubt be a good bone bruise. He then cracked the ball to deep right center and legged out a stand-up triple, just outstanding. [He was getting it wrapped in the dugout before the bottom of the sixth, and gamely played the rest of the night. Henrich would have been proud, as would O'Neill.] Jeter then singled through the hole into left to score Melky, 6-2 Yankees, but continued his strangely absent-minded base running by getting picked off by Messenger, a right-hander, to end the inning. I could understand if Messenger were a lefty, but his move is far easier to discern as a right-handed pitcher. Jeter could have waited the split-second longer for Messenger to actually begin his move to the plate before starting for second. Just lousy, but not the end of the base running screw-ups, either. In the top of the eighth, Cairo laced a double to the center field wall and, with one out, Melky grounded slowly out to second, whereupon Cairo misread the slow play and rounded way too far around third, getting himself caught in a rundown and committing one of the cardinal sins of baseball--never, ever make the first or the third outs of an inning at third base. Horrible! F*&%ing Horrible!!!

Bonds then led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to center off Proctor, sweating out accidentally applied clear all the way around the bases to make it 6-3 Yankees. After getting Molina to ground out to Jeter, Proctor allowed a single to Feliz, and Torre summarily yanked him for the daisy-fresh Mariano to get the final five outs, which he did. Frandsen flew out to Abreu for the second out and, after Vizquel blooped a broken-bat single over Cano into right, pinch-hitter Klesko, reportedly still calling out "Graeme Lloyd!!" in his sleep, hit a weak chopper to Jeter to end the 8th. The Yankees earned the run back in the 9th without any more base-running flubs. Jeter cranked a 3-2 pitch to the deepest part of the park in right center, with the ball caroming off the wall just under the 421' sign, for the Yankees' second stand-up triple of the night, and what should have been their third had Abreu hustled in the fifth. Abreu lined out to short, but A-Rod, who was clutch throughout the night, crisply singled to right to score Jeter, 7-3 Yankees. Mariano dusted the Giants 1-2-3 in the 9th, needing only 20 pitches to get the five outs that Torre requested and the Yanks needed, and the Yankees washed out some of the eastern Rockies' dirt from their mouths with a 7-3 win.

A-Rod was the player of the game, going 4-4 with a walk, a run and 2 RBIs to raise his average to .326, and to me cinching AL Player of the Month for June. He also made a few terrific plays at third, and is really putting together a potential Gold-Glove year at the hot corner. He's been incredible all around. Jeter, outside of yet another base-running gaffe, was 2-4 with 2 runs and an RBI, hitting a still-hot .345. Melky showed guts, going 2-5 with a run, 2 RBIs and displaying some good work tracking down balls in center. Cano was 2-4 and Cairo 2-3, each with a run. Cano is batting .277 and Cairo .258, really holding it steady at first with a good bat, some sharp hits and being excellent in the field, sparing A-Rod of a throwing error. The Yankees banged out 13 hits and earned five walks, a terrific amount of base runners, scoring three with two outs and stranding five in scoring position, eight stranded in all, not too bad. Igawa was really sharp for four and erratic for 2/3 of an inning, throwing 79 pitches and allowing five hits, two runs earned, walking three (including his last two batters faced) but striking out five, including Bonds. Other than Proctor's mistake to The Clear, the bullpen was good for 4 1/3. Vizcaino has been better, getting some tutelage from Mariano and some much-needed rest to pitch very well lately, allowing only a walk in an inning of work. Myers was good for 2/3 and Mariano is The Man, allowing only Vizquel's broken-bat bloop in the eighth and throwing only 20 pitches, looking sharp though not having thrown for several days. I believe that his low pitch count tonight would make him available tomorrow if needed. In all, the bullpen allowed three hits and a run (the homer), with one walk. Very well done, relievers.

Tomorrow afternoon Wang faces Matt Morris in a good pitching match-up, though my money is on Wang. Let's put together a winning streak, boys.

The Yankees got swept today, losing 4-3 to the Rockies. The story remains similar to the previous two games, with a couple unfortunate wrinkles. Clemens was not at his best, laboring through 4 1/3 innings and allowing seven hits, four runs earned, a walk and striking out six on 90 pitches. He allowed two homers in the second to Garrett Atkins and Troy Tulowitzki, immediately surrendering the 2-0 lead the Yankees earned in the top half of the inning on Matsui's two-run shot to center. In the fifth with one out, Kaz Matsui singled and stole second, Holliday singled him in, Helton singled against non-lefty specialist Mike Myers, and Atkins drove in Holliday on a sac fly to deep right, 4-2 Rockies.

The Yankees blew chances to chip away in the top of the fifth and the sixth. In the fifth, Cano led off with a single. Cairo flew out deep to center for the first out. Clemens, with the count 1-2, faked a bunt, pulled the bat back and singled cleanly up the middle into center, 1st and 2nd with one out. But Damon, bothered by his abdominal strain that has hampered his swing, his ability to pull the ball and any lateral motion for that matter, lined a 1-2 pitch to 3rd that also got Cano doubled off second to end the rally. In the sixth, Jeter led off by smoking a double to left and, after Abreu struck out, A-Rod grounded to short, and Jeter--who has bagged runners doing exactly this in the past couple years--inexplicably ran to third on a ball hit in front of him, getting himself out in a rundown. I typically don't say this, but Jeter made a stupid play on the base paths--very rare, but very costly, for Posada immediately singled to right. Perhaps he would not have if Jeter were still aboard, perhaps Hawpe who has a great arm would have nailed him at the plate, who knows, but all things being equal, Jeter's terrible base running probably cost them a run and a shot to get it to 4-3. Cano doubled in the seventh and scored on a bunt from Cairo and a sac fly from Melky to in fact make it 4-3, but that was it as far as quality chances to tie it. Again, the Rockies' bullpen shut the door on the Yankees, and again, the Yankees succumbed to a subpar pitcher, this time the puff-pitching Rodrigo Lopez. Terrible.

On to Frisco, where the Yankees better shake this series off as fast as possible and get back to winning. They're back at .500, 35-35. Time to get cracking, boys.

Edit: Despite today's loss, the day was quite good here overall at the Heartland. My daughter GLG had a softball game that ended in a 3-3 tie against the undefeated, first-place team (ties occur when the umpire calls last inning and no team scores. With the older girls following, there are no extra-inning games at their level.). GLG again shone in the field, as she has all season. In the top of the 5th and final inning and two outs, the other team's clean-up hitter lined a shot into the hole at short. Thankfully, GLG was on the prowl and snagged the liner, going to her right, for the final out. Though they failed to score, her team was sharp in the field and with the pitching, a terrific game in hot, humid conditions. In the 4th, with GLG at first, she helped record the final out by going to her right on a ground ball, and underhand tossing the ball to the pitcher covering, just textbook. Mattingly would have been proud. We'll enjoy some ice cream as a dessert and cool off. While the Yankees' being swept was a disappointment, there's no better way to buoy yourself than to watch your kids play ball and do well. Tomorrow is another day.

Today is our anniversary, and my wife and I exchanged gifts very early. I got her a nice hand-held digital organizer and some CDs, and she got me the gift that keeps on giving--a home brewing kit, complete with the ingredients to brew a brown ale! Sweet inebriation! I'm very excited about what potential concoctions I can brew and, through the local store as well as online, the range of selections for flavors and styles is wide open. I'm already considering an Oktoberfest in the Fall, perhaps a winter ale, maybe a Belgian style somewhere down the road when my hand becomes skilled. I'm already wringing my hands in anticipation of what mad-scientist work awaits me. Lab assistants required--please fill out the application attached in triplicate, and Marty Feldman types are strongly preferred.

Seriously, if there are any home brewers out there, I would love to hear your ideas, stories, experiences and suggestions. It should be a fun summer and beyond, and I probably needed another hobby other than baseball, sports and reading anyway. My wife, she's a keeper for sure.

The Yankees looked weak tonight, again mustering little against the Rockies as they dropped a 6-1 decision to the streaking Rockies and ensuring the first series loss for the Yankees in the last six. The offense only managed five hits and two walks against the Rockies tonight. Pettite was terrific through the first five innings, then promptly gave away the one-run lead that the Yankees had just earned in the top of the 6th. Pettite lost the strike zone starting in the bottom of the 6th, inexcusably walking the pitcher on a full count. Though the Yankees retired Francis at second on a Taveras bunt attempt and Matsui on a pop up to Jeter, Pettite wasn't locating the whole inning and grooved a first-pitch fastball belt-high and over the plate to Matt Holliday, who creamed it to very deep left, 2-1 Rockies. Helton then doubled and Atkins singled to left. Matsui came up throwing and made a good throw to the plate, and Helton was called out. Yet the Yankees got a break on the base paths for a change, for Helton tapped home just before Posada tagged him, but was called out anyway on a close play. Yet the Yankees couldn't capitalize on the call. The Yankees went meekly in the 7th, allowing Francis (who had thrown 92 pitches through six and 21 pitches in the sixth inning alone), to escape the seventh having thrown just eight pitches. As usual, Cano was a culprit, returning to his bad habits by swinging weakly at the first pitch to ground out to second. Horrible.

The Rockies blew it open in the 7th. After Matsui made a nice sliding catch on Hawpe, Tulowitzki singled to left, Torrealba singled to center on a ball Melky trapped, Spilborghs forced Torrealba at second for the second out, but Taveras singled to left to make it 3-1. Pettite began to miss badly this inning and was probably left in too long but, with his spot coming up to lead off the 8th, Torre might not have wanted to use another pitcher for one out only to be summarily removed. Yet Pettite surrendered a two-run triple to left with the count full, 5-1 Rockies. Matsui misplayed the ball in left to turn a double into a triple, and Holliday singled Matsui in off Vizcaino, 6-1 Rockies. The Yanks made no real threat in the last two innings, fading meekly in the 6-1 loss.

Pettite started well but ended badly, giving up nine hits, six runs earned, two walks and struck out four in 6 2/3 innings. He was probably left in too long, with a rested Proctor waiting to throw to Matsui. But the bats again let the Yanks down. Abreu fanned three times, looking clueless against lefties Francis and Affeldt. Matsui was 0-4 with 2 K's, Posada was 1-4 with 2 K's, and Jeter was the lone offensive bright spot, going 2-4 with a double and the lone RBI, though getting caught in a run-down on Abreu's ground ball with one out in the 6th, after Jeter had driven in Melky.

This is not winning baseball, and the Yankees dropped to ten behind Boston with tonight's weak loss. The Yanks better come to play tomorrow against a Rockies team that has won six straight series, and is 19-7 in their last 26, or risk getting swept. The Yankees' poor start has put them in a position where losing consecutive games means even more than it normally would, since they need to gain ground on Boston and wild-card contenders Detroit, Oakland, and Seattle, with Minnesota getting hot now that they're healthier. No time to feel sorry for yourselves, Yankees. Tighten the belt and get after it tomorrow afternoon. Clemens faces the Rockies tomorrow, and hopefully gets more than the one-run ration the Yankees have thus far tallied. Time to wake up, boys.

Edit: After checking the stats on Matsui, my guess is that Torre stayed with Pettite against him because Matsui is batting .325 as a lefty, and Torre didn't want to turn him around against Proctor. Understandable, but unfortunate that the Yankees needed to keep the game so tight in the titan of all hitters' parks. What follows are my views of certain Yankees' batters, especially the lefties, which I'll quote verbatim from my comment over at the BPS: "Abreu was more a spectator than a batter tonight, more confused than he's been in a month, unfortunately. His strikeout in his last at-bat was iffy, but to me, the strikeout pitch was better than the 2-1 pitch. He must be ready for that, especially with two strikes and since he's been steering pitches very well to the opposite field in June. Though I love Matsui as a player, he pulls off the ball with his swing, leaving himself very vulnerable to pitches away, especially breaking balls down. He swung well over a couple sliders away tonight, and his body during the swing, more bowed than straight, makes it almost impossible to stay in there and steer those pitches to left. His swing practically makes him a pull hitter unless the ball is up because he usually just can't reach good breaking balls low and away. When he flails, as with Posada, his head is all over the place, instead of still as it should be. Cano, though I love the kid especially in the field, just kills me at times. Francis labored through the sixth, needing to throw 21 pitches in the only inning he allowed a run and getting up to 92 pitches at the start of the 7th, as you wrote. Yet after Matsui grounded out, Cano didn't even try to work the count, swinging meekly at the first pitch for the second out. He seems to have no concept of working over a pitcher or thinking about game situations, and after he and Phillips got out, they allowed Francis to cruise in the 7th having thrown only 8 pitches. That's inexcusable."

From the great Pete Abraham, here are tonight's starting lineups:

YANKEES
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Matsui LF
Cano 2B
Phillips 1B
Pettitte LHP (4-4, 2.93)

ROCKIES
Tavares CF
Matsui 2B
Holliday LF
Helton 1B
Atkins 3B
Hawpe RF
Tulowitzki SS
Torrealba C
Francis LHP (6-5, 3.61)

Apparently Damon's abdominal strain is more serious than either he or the Yankees previously believed, and there is discussion that he might go on the DL. Phillips is getting his first starting crack, and hopefully can hit lefties. Some power from Yankees' first basemen wouldn't be bad, either, though Cairo has hit admirably since playing first regularly. Posada is back catching, giving the caddie Nieves a breather.

The Yankees struggled to muster much offense tonight and squandered opportunities when they got them, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Rockies. Josh Fogg shut down the Yankees for seven innings, allowing only four hits and one run earned with a walk and three strikeouts (2 of A-Rod on sliders) on 101 pitches. Mussina pitched well, keeping the Yankees in the game with a quality start, allowing seven hits, three runs earned, walking two and fanning six in six innings on 95 pitches. The Yankees bullpen was effective, with Vizcaino and Bruney doing pretty good work over two innings (I'm intentionally setting aside Myers's walk of Helton in the seventh, which honestly should have been a strikeout, because he didn't record an out against his one batter).

But the Yankees' bats mustered nothing tonight, and could have. In the second in a scoreless game, A-Rod singled and Posada doubled to center, giving the Yankees second and third with no outs. Matsui grounded out to short to bring in A-Rod and advance Posada to third with one out. Yet Cano, who had a bad game at the plate going 0-4 and being unproductive with runners on, grounded to short with the infield in, keeping Posada at third. Nieves, Mussina's caddy then whiffed to end the inning with the Yankees scoring their only run. Melky doubled with two outs in the fifth, but Jeter grounded out to second to strand him. The Yankees' best chance to get back in the game was in the 8th. With one out Melky chopped an infield single over the mound. Jeter flew out to right for the second out, but Abreu steered a single through the hole into left and A-Rod walked on four straight to load the bases, bringing LaTroy Hawkins to face Posada, who had been 5-13 with a homer against Hawkins. With the count 2-2, Posada hit a hard, one-hop grounder to short that Tulowitzki fielded nicely to force A-Rod at second to end the Yankees last serious threat. Matsui doubled off the right-center wall to lead off the 9th (after narrowly missing a homer foul to right the pitch before), but the Yankees mustered nothing else against Rockies' closer Brian Fuentes. In all, the Yankees left 8 on base, 6 in scoring position, a remarkable total given that they only managed 7 hits and 2 walks. Basically, they stranded everyone who reached except A-Rod in the second, a recipe for failure.

Mussina was good tonight, but surrendered the lead for good in the 5th. Kaz Matsui reached down and blooped a good low Mussina pitch to left with one out, then stole second.  Hot-hitting Matt Holliday then drove in Matsui with a single to right. Abreu made a good throw, but it looked like the ball died as it came into the infield, I believe because it skimmed Mussina's glove, ensuring that Matsui scored, 2-1 Rockies. In the 6th, Torrealba drove a Mussina pitch to deep left for a homer, 3-1 Rockies. 

The Yankees have Pettite facing lefty Jeff Francis (6-5, 3.61 ERA), whose last nine starts have been pretty good or better. They really need to get more than a run, especially here in a cavernous ball park where the ball typically flies. Some balls were hard hit but chased down, others were right at people, others were just plain weak at all the wrong times. With Boston's win, the Yankees have dropped to 35-33 and 9 games back. Tomorrow's another day, thankfully. Let's Go, Yankees!

Edit: From what I saw, Posada did a good job in his stint at first. He easily snagged a pop-up to end the fifth, and made a terrific play on a high throw from Jeter on a Tulowitzki grounder in the sixth. Posada jumped and came down on the bag just in time to get Tulowitzki, though he was somewhat in the center of the bag and appeared to turn his ankle slightly, neither his fault. All in all, a good day for him at first, though I am unsure if he'll see more time there outside of the National League parks, especially now that Andy Phillips was called up and Phelps designated for assignment. So long, Josh, we hardly knew you, but what we knew of your glove wasn't good.

After Atlanta beat Boston 9-4, the Yankees, with two games in hand, are now eight games back in the AL East. If the Yankees can win at least seven of the next nine against Colorado, Frisco and Baltimore, it is likely that they'll continue to gain ground. Even if not, playing better ball and winning series should be their focus. Given the number of under-.500 teams they have coming up on their schedule, it would not be unreasonable for the Yankees to keep winning games and hopefully moving up. Yet as the Yankees' season series in 2005 against Tampa Bay showed, nothing can be taken for granted against middle-of-the-road teams.

Not bad, gaining ground when not playing. Let's Go, Yankees!

The Yankees took another series, their fifth straight, dominating the Mets 8-2 in the finale. Again, the bats were hot and so was the starting pitching. Wang was positively dominating, throwing more change-ups and sliders to complement his hard, heavy sinker. Wang struck out a career-high ten batters, and his line was excellent: 8 2/3 (more on that later), 6 hits, 2 runs earned, 1 walk and 10 K's on 113 pitches. Torre lifted him, after A-Rod started a very smooth 5-4-3 double play to record the first and second outs in the 9th, in favor of Myers to pitch to Delgado. Though Myers fanned him on three pitches, I'm a bit confused about why he brought Myers in. If the pitch count were such a concern, then why did Wang throw eight pitches in the 9th? Again, the result makes it moot, and I think that since Myers was up a couple innings beforehand, Torre wanted him to get some work without getting him up and sitting him down. It may well have been Delgado's sharply-hit double off Wang in the 7th. But the decision was an odd one, and if Wang was going to pitch in the 9th, he should have had the chance to finish the game. But if that's the most serious bone of contention I have about tonight, then the night was indeed a good one.

The Yankees' bats were hot from the get-go, carrying over from yesterday afternoon by scoring two in the first and second each, and adding another in the third to sink the Mets in a big hole. With one out in the 1st Jeter singled to right, and after Abreu flew out to center, A-Rod crushed an El Duque offering to very deep left-center, into the back corner of the Visitor's bullpen, to make it 2-0 Yankees with his 491st career home run. In the bottom of the second, Matsui led off with a single roped to right. After Cano forced Matsui to second and Melky struck out looking, Cairo had a terrific at-bat, avoiding close pitches to work the count full, then smacking a double off the left-field wall to drive in Matsui, 3-0 Yankees. Damon then drove in Cairo with a single to right, and the normally sure right-fielder Green made a terrible throw home that was a good 20 feet off line. Damon, never stopping, took second easily on the throw, 4-0 Yankees. In the third, Abreu led off with a triple to left. Continuing to move hits to left field, Abreu stroked an El Duque pitch to the left field corner. Gomez got way too close to the ball that caromed off the cement base and skipped well past him, turning a double into a triple. A-Rod then reached down and drove a good pitch away to deep center that Beltran had to chase down, driving in Abreu with a sac fly, 5-0 Yankees. The Yankees added on well, with Damon lining a home run to right in the 6th, 6-0 Yankees. In the bottom of the 8th, A-Rod led off with a sharply lined double to left-center, and Posada lined a home run to the short porch in right off Aaron Heilman, 8-1 Yankees.

Wang was just magnificent tonight, really dealing all the way through. With one out in the first, he hit LoDuca on the first pitch just above the elbow, eventually driving LoDuca from the game a few innings later with a deep contusion. Yet he immediately induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the first on just five pitches. He was masterful, and Jorge called a great game, by mixing up his pitches. Relying a lot on his trademark sinker, Wang also threw a lot more sliders and change-ups that seemed to throw off the Mets. After three innings, Wang had thrown just 28 pitches. After Cairo made a great 3-6-3 double play happen, Wang had thrown just 65 pitches. He was in control the whole night, surrendering runs in the 7th when, as he struck out Wright on a pitch in the dirt, the wild pitch got away from Wang, allowing Wright to take first. Delgado then reached down and got a good pitch on the outside part of the plate to rope a double to right, driving in Wright for the Mets' first run of the game. In the 9th, he allowed a lead-off ground-rule double to Castro to left-center, and Beltran drove him in with a single to right. But Wang was really terrific, and has re-established himself as the Yankees best starter, giving the Yankees a great 1-2 punch with Pettite.

The bats were hot. A-Rod is heating up again, going 2-2 with 2 runs, 3 RBIs to raise his average to .315 with 27 home runs and 73 RBIs, just ridiculous. Everyone had a hit tonight. Damon showed some flashes of power with his home run for the first time in some time, a good sign he's getting healthy again, and is now hitting .257. Jorge went 1-4 but his home run, his 9th this year, brought in two to give him a total of 43 RBIs. Cairo has been very sharp since playing first on a regular basis, and his RBI was important in tacking on runs and putting El Duque in a sizable early hole. Were it not for some stellar plays in the field for the Mets--some running catches from Beltran and Gomez, a diving catch from Green and a diving 5-3 ground out from Wright robbing Jeter of a double--it may have been more lopsided.

This was a very good win all around, and the Yankees have an off-day before heading out to Colorado and San Francisco. They are now three games above .500 at 35-32, though still 8 1/2 games behind Boston. Yet winning 14 of their last 17, and their last five series, is a tremendous step forward from the doldrums of May, and continuing to get good starting pitching and hot bats will continue to elevate this team. Wang gave the bullpen a good rest, and they'll get another day off tomorrow, just what the doctor ordered. Great all around.

Edit: For the first time the whole series, the Yankees didn't let Reyes kill them. He only went 1-4, and a well-timed pitch-out in the 4th after he broke up Wang's three perfect innings dashed his only chance to wreak havoc on the base paths. Tonight was also the 29th anniversary of Gator Guidry's 18-strikeout performance against the Angels. Fitting that Wang was almost as dominant tonight, and achieved his career-high in strikeouts on this night.

Courtesy of the terrific Pete Abraham, here are tonight's lineups:

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

METS
Reyes SS
Lo Duca C
Beltran CF
Wright 3B
Delgado 1B
Valentin DH
Green RF
Gotay 2B
Gomez LF

LoDuca is batting second instead of Beltran, and Delgado is now fifth. The Yankees' lineup has been pretty standard since they've been winning these past couple weeks. I'm going to sit and watch the game with a couple cold coldies.  Enjoy, everyone.

To all the fathers out there, a very happy and hearty Father's Day! As a father myself, there is no greater honor than rearing one's children, and today is as good a day as any to reflect on the joys of fatherhood. I've been very lucky to have had the father I do, and after years of screwing up and screwing around, I finally got hip to the various things my father had said long ago that have helped me immeasurably as an adult. My father was always wiser than I had given him credit for, until I myself became a father and worked (no one worked harder than my Dad) 9-5 as my father always did. Thanks for everything Dad. I love you very much, and I've been fortunate and proud you're my father.

I'll post late after the game, but I'll be out and about today. I got some nice gifts and very touching cards, and we'll probably eat out and see a movie. Enjoy, everyone.

At long last, the Yankees finished off the Mets, winning 11-8. Clippard was terrible, yielding five hits, five runs earned, three walks (two lead-off ones that scored) and striking out two in 3 1/3 innings on 77 pitches. As per the previous post, the details of which I won't rehash, he was atrocious, and only threw first-pitch strikes to nine of eighteen batters--awful. Thankfully, Glavine was also, and the Yankees scored seven off him in four innings. The offense scored two runs in each inning from the second through the sixth. A-Rod hit a bomb, his 490th career home run, to deep left-center to make it 4-3 in the third. Jeter cranked a homer to left to make it 6-5 after Clippard gave the lead back by allowing a homer to Castro. Matsui hit an RBI single to add two more in the sixth to make it 10-5, very important insurance runs as it turned out.

Vizcaino held the Mets well through 1 2/3 to earn the win. Proctor wasn't very sharp, but didn't allow any runs to score. Nuke allowed a run, yet Cano's RBI ground-rule double in the 8th got it back. Yet Mariano allowed five ground-ball singles to create a tense jam and allow two runs back, but with the bases loaded, Beltran popped up to Posada to end it, 11-8 at last. Mariano had to throw 33 pitches in the top of the ninth, and I wouldn't be surprised if he were unavailable tomorrow night.

Jeter was The Man today, going 4-5 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs to up his average to .343. A-Rod was 2-4 with 3 runs and 2 RBIs, with his average at .309. Matsui was 2-5 with a run, 2 RBIs to bring his average to .298, Cano was 2-4 with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, hitting .274 now, Cairo was 2-5 with two key RBIs, and Damon was 1-4 with a run and a big RBI in the second to tie it.

This win was far from pretty, but it was good after being shut down last night. The Yankees responded when the Mets scored, and consistently added runs, all of which they needed today. They also held the Mets 2-5 hitters to 6-21, with Beltran hitless in six at-bats. Everyone for the Yankees had a hit except Melky, and they had 15 hits and earned six bases-on-balls, very impressive. For the first time in a couple weeks, the bullpen was sub-par, but no worse than Clippard, and the bats picked them up big time. The Yankees are back to two games above .500, but are still 8 1/2 behind Boston after they beat the Giants 1-0.

Let's get the series win tomorrow night, with Wang facing El Duque in the rubber game. Let's Go, Yankees!

Edit: I wanted to write this earlier, but I spent so much time in front of the computer today listening to the game that I was somewhat eager to get away after the game. Yet of course, here I am back in the cyber-saddle. Before the game, I went out into the heat (93 degrees today) and washed up some wooden cabinets I grabbed that someone cast off for free. They're very nice, clearly old wooden shelves with brewery labels on the front, and we're deciding what to do with them--use them as book shelves or just for storage. So as I stepped out onto the sun-filled patio, I had a mental vision of A-Rod pasting a home run to left field off Glavine, just sensing that Glavine would pay for anything he left up in the zone. That it came true was very gratifying, but was far better for the team for they needed every bit of that and the other nine RBIs that the team mustered.

Those occurrences always feel good, when you get a sense about something and it actually transpires. I'll relish this win well into Father's Day.

Edit PS: I read on Bryan Hoch's blog that Jorge Posada may play first base when Mussina pitches in Colorado, with his caddie Nieves catching for him. According to Flaherty a couple days ago, Posada has been taking grounders at first for some time, and can easily handle the position according to Tony Pena. If that keeps his bat in the lineup and gives his body a rest, that would clearly be a good thing. If he can really field the position, unlike Gary ("Who's playing first now?") Sheffield, that's even better, though it would certainly call into question Phelps's place on the team.

Tyler Clippard probably couldn't get me out this afternoon. He'd probably walk me, then balk me around to score. He was just terrible, and thankfully just got pulled. His utter inability to throw strikes, his abject cowardice around the strike zone, reminds me of Matt DeSalvo. He has a soft fastball and couldn't even locate that. Clippard has allowed runs in every inning thus far, coughing up the 4-3 lead that A-Rod's blast just gave them by allowing a blast to Ramon Castro. Honestly, Torre should have had the bullpen warming up as soon as Clippard walked Green. It isn't as though Clippard's control problems today were somehow a mystery before then.

Horrible. Again, the Yankees need to come back, though I believe they will.

Edit: The mid-game rain delay gave me time for a mid-game recap. Clippard couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with an oar, as my boy Frank the Sage would say. Thankfully, the Yankees positively abused Glavine in response, scoring 2 runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth each to give the Yankees an 8-5 lead with one on and no outs in the top of the 6th. Jeter cranked a big blast off Glavine with Cairo on and two outs to give the Yankees a 6-5 lead in the 4th, and Vizcaino pitched a good fourth and fifth to hold the Mets scoreless. In the 5th, Posada doubled to left, Matsui flew out to shallow right, with Green making a diving catch to hold Posada at second. and Cano singled through the hole between first and second to drive in Posada, 7-5 Yankees, with Cano taking second on the throw. Melky grounded out to short to hold Cano, but the juggernaut Cairo blooped a single to shallow right to score Cano, 8-5 Yankees. Yet Proctor came in and immediately walked Gotay on five pitches, and is now 2-1 to Gomez when the sun shower came. See you in a little while...

Posted on Pete Abraham's blog, here is today's Yankees lineup:

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

METS
Reyes SS
Beltran CF
Wright 3B
Delgado 1B
LoDuca DH
Green RF
Castro C
Gotay 2B
Gomez LF

It's good to see Damon's abdominal strain isn't too severe. Given that Glavine has become light-throwing, I hope that Yankees hitters are patient, wait back in the box, and do not chase balls as they did against Perez. Clippard also needs to give them a good six. Enjoy, everyone.

In a yawner, the Yankees mustered little against the effectively wild Perez, dropping their first in a week and a half, 2-0 to the Mets. Though Clemens pitched pretty well, the Yankees only managed five hits and three walks off the erratic starter. Clemens threw 108 pitches in 6 1/3, allowing seven hits, two runs earned, a walk while striking out eight. Yet he had difficulty all night with Reyes, who clubbed a home run off the facade of the right-field upper deck in the top of the fifth to make it 2-0, and Gomez on the base paths. The two combined for four stolen bases (Reyes had three) and Wright added a fifth, though Reyes should have been called out in the 7th on a close play. Clemens had to pitch out of trouble in the first three innings, but did a good job of minimizing the damage.

Yet the feeble Yankees offense got nothing off Perez for the second time this year. They did him a favor by chasing some bad pitches outside the zone and running badly on base. The Yankees had their best chance in the fourth. After Perez walked Matsui and Cano, Phelps flew out to right for the first out, and a good throw from Green on the money to third prevented Matsui from advancing. Cairo then hit a long drive to the wall in left, and Gomez's leaping catch may have saved a home run, and he then doubled off Matsui, who was about six feet from third, off second. It was terrible base running, and seemed to take some starch out of the Yankees and give Perez some life. He was consistently erratic and throwing a lot of pitches to that point, then settled down after that. In the 7th, Cano did Perez a favor by swinging at ball four on a 3-1 count, chasing a high and inside pitch to pop up to second for the first out. Terrible. The Yankees mounted a brief rally in the 8th, with Jeter doubling with one out. Abreu then flew out to deep center and A-Rod sharply grounded out to third to end the inning. They mustered nothing off Wagner in the 9th, with Cano looking especially helpless with a weak wave at strike three, and the Yankees dropped the game to end their 9-game winning streak. Since Boston was up 10-2 last I checked, the Yankees will drop to 8 1/2 games back tonight.

It's hard to blame Clemens for this game, and he must have felt like he was back in Houston with the lack of run support. Though in trouble early, he was good, striking out batters with splitters and change-ups. He owned Delgado, striking him out 3 times. The pitch on which Reyes drove in the run in the third was pretty good, a good low pitch that Reyes stuck out his bat and drove into center. Clemens was good tonight, but Reyes was the difference, the best player on the field who changed the course of the game offensively--at the plate and on the base paths, stealing three bases, hitting a home run, and driving in both Mets runs. Pretty amazing stuff.

Clippard faces Glavine tomorrow, and the Yankees need to get back to winning against a pitcher and team who have been struggling. I knew it wouldn't be a picnic, struggles or no, against the Mets. It never is.

Edit: Despite the loss, I wouldn't say that the night was a waste. I worked up a pretty decent barbecue before the game, if I may say so myself, smoking some pork chops nicely and slathering them amply with barbecue sauce. My wife had a hankering for fresh green beans, so I picked up about 3/4 pound worth, washed, trimmed and boiled them, then added two healthy dollops of butter to them. GLG, not a green bean fan, actually gobbled up the leftover beans that my better half left, and my little guy and I did our best to whip the chops. Thankfully, there are three chops left over for lunch tomorrow, though I gravely doubt they'll survive past the start of the game.  I also read with my little guy for about an hour after the game, breezing through some books on sharks and other animals. He has a real aptitude for learning, especially about animals and nature, and it was a lot of fun and really relaxing to hunker down with him after watching the Yankees lose.

Already buzzing about tonight's game and getting ready to light the barbecue, I decided to retrieve the lineups, courtesy of the great Pete Abraham's blog:

YANKEES
Damon DH
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada C
Matsui LF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Cairo 1B
Clemens RHP (1-0, 4.50)

METS
Reyes SS
Beltran CF
Wright 3B
Delgado DH
LoDuca C
Green RF
Valentin 2B
Franco 1B
Gomez LF
Perez LHP (6-5, 3.21)

Though the Mets have struggled lately (1-9 in their last ten), they won't be pushovers. They have a better road record than at home, and the adrenaline alone will get them competing well in this hotly-contested series. I'm very interested to see how Clemens will fare against a top-flight opponent like the Mets. He gave the Yankees a good start last weekend against the Pirates, but the Mets have a much more dangerous lineup. Though Delgado is struggling, he'll threaten with the short porch looming in right. Clemens will serve himself very well by keeping Reyes off the base paths, since he's stolen a remarkable 32 bases thus far.  The Yankee hitters themselves would do well by laying off the high fastballs that so many of them chased when they last faced Perez and the Mets in May, during the depths of their swoon. They need to maintain the patience they've thankfully reacquired, take pitches to the opposite field when necessary, and hopefully keep scoring runs early in games as they often have during this streak.

This will be a lot of fun, and I hope the BPS gang attending tonight's game in Section 24 brings one back from The Bronx. Enjoy, everyone.

Not only did the Yankees win today, but Boston just lost to Colorado 7-1, with Beckett reverting to his 2006 form and getting slapped around. That the Yankees have made up 7 games in just over two weeks is phenomenal. It's still a long way back, but a lot less daunting than it was at the end of May. Outstanding play from the Yankees, and a good hot stretch has made this a tighter race. Just outstanding.

In a much more positive refrain than I've previously needed to describe Yankees games, the Yankees won their ninth in a row, and twelfth of their last fourteen, shutting down the Snakes, 7-1, and making the sweep look easy.  Pettite dominated the punchless D'Backs, pitching eight excellent innings and allowing four hits, one run earned, a walk and striking out four on 101 pitches, including a couple looking with a terrific change-up today. Proctor mopped up the ninth, looking fresh and fanning Byrnes and Reynolds with ease with an outstanding fastball to strand Jackson, who reached with a bloop single to right to open the ninth. What a difference good starting pitching makes, when all three starters (Wang, Moose, and Pettite) this series pitched at least seven innings, when the bullpen is fresh and most of the bullpen can rest. This team is blistering hot now, 2 games over .500 and primed for the struggling Mets at The Stadium.

Though the Yankees let Punch-and-Judy starter Doug ("My motion is slow and my stuff is slower") Davis off the hook a couple times, they worked him over early, as has been the Yankees m.o. lately--scoring early and responding to the other team's runs with runs of their own. The Yankees forced Davis to throw 36 pitches in the first and 105 through only five innings, scoring four off the soft-tossing Davis. The Yankees loaded the bases in the first with no outs, and should have scored more than two, but the lethargic motion and slow-motion pitches prevented most Yankees from making solid contact. Melky and Jeter singled, and Abreu hit a slow roller to first preventing a clean play, loading the bases. A-Rod walked to bring in Melky. Posada chased a high, so-called fastball for the first out, Matsui hit a slow roller to second for the second out while bringing in Jeter, but Cano offered his own slow roller to end a long but productive first, 2-0 Yankees.

Pettite's only run allowed was in the second, with Arizona again scoring with productive outs rather than base hits. Reynolds doubled to left-center, a ball that a lunging Melky should have had since it hit the heel of his glove; not a gimmie, but one that, if it hits the glove, a pro should have. Tracy's ground out moved Reynolds to third, and a grounder to short scored Arizona's only run, 2-1 Yankees. The Yanks got two more in the third, Abreu walked on four pitches and A-Rod doubled to left. Hairston played hot potato with the ball, twice bobbling it and Abreu scored, with A-Rod taking third on the E-7. Posada's ground out to second with the infield in failed to plate A-Rod, but Matsui smoked a slow curve left up to right field to score A-Rod, 4-1 Yankees. Yet Cano and Phelps chased high, slow fastballs up in the zone to let Davis off the hook, and 4-1 it stayed until the seventh.  A-Rod singled on a ball Drew probably should have had, Posada hit a sharp single to left and Matsui hit a bloop to center that A-Rod, not for the first time this year, showed great running instincts on, taking one look and realizing the ball would drop, ran all the way and scored easily. This allowed Abreu to run to third and center fielder Young's bad overthrow to third allowed Abreu to score, and Matsui took third. Cano struck out, and Phelps drove in a run with a single that Young probably should have caught, 7-1 Yankees.

As good as the Yankees have been, they capitalized on Arizona's terrible defense--three errors, and somewhat generous scoring that made hits out of what might have been errors, and a grotesque error tally as a result. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Arizona could have had 6 errors called today. They were just terrible all around, particularly in the last two games, and the sometimes annoying Michael Kay made a good point about Doug Davis, asking at one point how he could be a winning pitcher in the National League. My answer is that either he has located his slow off-speed stuff far better in NL games, or the team and its soft-throwing starters (except for Webb and Johnson), facing weaker competition, just can't cut it against good AL teams. I think it's both, and their defense was atrocious. Arizona also lacks offensive punch, and the Yankees had their hitters flailing all series. The sweep was equal parts good play from the Yankees, and a run-for-the-bus performance from the Snakes in games 2 and 3.

Jeter was 2-3 with a run and a walk to raise his average to .332, A-Rod as the DH was 3-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs and a walk to bring his average up to .311. My boy Matsui is really heating up, going 3-4 with a run and 3 RBIs to hit the .300 mark, and Abreu's infield single continues his hitting streak, now at 13 games. A-Rod now has a ******** 68 RBIs and 60 runs, Matsui has 39 RBIs in 50 games, and Jeter has scored 47 runs. The offense is becoming that juggernaut it was billed as to start the season, and again scored seven runs.

This run has restored my faith in this team and this season. The boys are playing great baseball all around, getting starts long into the game to rest the pen, good defense, and good hitting that has seen the Yankees hold many early leads. They jumped all over the Pirates and Snakes as they should have--no slouches but not great, either. Now for the Mets, who have had injuries of their own and are struggling. This should be a terrific and hotly contested series, and I can't wait. Clemens faces Perez tomorrow night, and hopefully the Yankees can get at least a good six from The Rocket.

Keep it rolling, Yankees. You've been awesome, just awesome. Many thanks for your great play this past two weeks. It's been a pleasure, and let's hope it lasts a few more months.

Edit: Pettite's ERA is now 2.93, which is just outstanding in the AL. That the Yankees worked six walks with the 12 hits is something I shouldn't have overlooked. They had Davis's tongue hanging out.

The Yankees are really cooking now, winning eight in a row and eleven of the last thirteen by pounding Arizona 7-2 at The Stadium tonight. Mike Mussina was excellent, getting deep into the game. His line--7 2/3 IP, 6 hits, two runs earned, no walks, and seven K's while allowing a home run on only 101 pitches--is tremendous, easily his best outing of the year. I'm not keen on the Nieves-as-personal-catcher role, but as long as Posada can either get a day off or DH, as he did tonight, it's a decent deal, especially if Mussina pitches nearly this well.

The offense again sparkled, doing the damage in the second, third and fourth innings. Posada nailed a solo homer in the second to tie the game after the D'Backs scored off a double, ground out and sac fly to center (which was indirectly a by-product of Nieves's starting, since Torre chose to play Damon in center with Posada DHing, and the sac fly was shallow enough that Melky in center would have more strongly challenged the Hudson tag-up; but no harm in the end). A-Rod put the Yankees ahead to stay in the third, crushing a bomb to deep left that smacked off the facade of the left-field upper deck, 3-1 Yankees. They pulled ahead in the fourth, scoring four runs with two outs. Abreu singled and stole second, A-Rod drove him in with a single through the hole at short, 4-1 Yankees, with A-Rod taking second on the throw home. Posada worked a walk and Matsui absolutely creamed a chest-high so-called fastball on Livan Hernandez's (83 mph) 88th pitch into the right-center bleachers to break it wide open, 7-1 Yankees.

Though Mussina allowed a solo homer to Jackson in the 6th, the game was really never in doubt once the Yankees started scoring. During this 13-game stretch, the Yankees have scored 7.2 runs per game, and have scored four runs twice (one win, one loss), five runs twice (two wins), and six or more in the rest (double-digit runs in three of those, and nine in two others). Just amazing offensive production, fueled by the resurgence of Bobby Abreu, who went 1-5 with 2 runs to extend his hitting streak to twelve games. As a side note, a very hearty congratulations to Abreu for scoring his 1,000th career run on A-Rod's RBI single. A-Rod is again on fire, belting another homer, his league-leading 25th, driving in three for a league-leading total of 66 through 63 games, and going 2-4, with his average at .304. Matsui was great, going 2-3 with a run, 3 RBIs, and a walk to raise his average to .290, with bigger things to come. Jorge went 1-2 with 2 runs scored, an RBI, and a walk with his average at a blistering .354. Cano was 2-4 as he's now batting .274, not bad at all, and Jeter went 1-3 with a walk, still well above .300 with a .328 average. The 3-7 hitters went 8-18, scoring and driving in all seven runs, just fantastic, a rugged gauntlet for opposing pitchers to try to run. Forget it.

Oh yes, and the Yankees are above .500 at 32-31, and gained another game on the Red Sox, who lost 12-2 to the Rockies. 99 games to play, and the Yankees have gained 6 games in two weeks. That's pretty impressive, and the continuation of this hot streak will muffle talk of playing for the Wild Card, as well it should. That's as far from this team's collective mindset as possible, not only because there are 99 games left but also because these Yankees don't play for the Wild Card, period.  Pettite faces lefty Doug Davis tomorrow afternoon in the series finale, with the Yankees looking to sweep, having now won four straight series. Let's keep the hot streak going, boys. Let's Go, Yankees!

Edit: According to the great Pete Abraham, the Yankees' bullpen hasn't allowed a run in the last 13 2/3 innings pitched. That's very impressive in its own right, and also tied to the starters' consistently throwing deep into games to at long last rest the pen. The Yankees have a really good thing going now, lots of Mojo.

The Yankees have now won seven straight, and ten of the last twelve, beating Arizona 4-1 in a pitchers' duel at Yankee Stadium. Wang pitched a beaut to out-duel Brandon Webb, who wasn't too shabby himself. The game settled down quite a bit after the first. Though Wang allowed two singled in the first and needed to throw 22 pitches to get out of the inning, the Yankees jumped on Webb right away. After Damon reached base on an error and Jeter singled, Abreu gave the Yankees a 3-0 lead with a big blast to right that would prove to be insurmountable. Webb himself threw 23 pitches in the opening frame. Yet each pitcher settled in after that. Wang's only run allowed was on a solo homer to Chad Tracy in the fourth. He was sharp throughout, but got into some trouble in the seventh. Tony Clark, a real statesman of the game, a nice guy and former Yankee, singled up the middle. Reynolds and Quentin each flew out to Melky, 2 outs. Wang then missed Posada's outside target badly, hitting Snyder on the left elbow, but Jeter made a great leaping catch on a Young line drive that would likely have made it 3-2, ending the inning instead. Again, the Yankees responded by adding an insurance run of their own in the bottom of the 7th. Matsui walked and Cano doubled to right. With the infield in, and Matsui probably told to stay on a ball kept in the infield, Melky hit a sharp grounder to Hudson who made a terrific play at second, Matsui stayed frozen, Hudson threw out Melky, Clark then wisely threw out Cano at second, and Matsui scored on Clark's throw to second. Since My9 gave no sustained replay of Cano, I'm not sure if he intentionally strayed off the bag to induce a throw for Matsui to score. Either way, it was one of the weirder double plays (4-3-6), that I've seen. Yet it gave the Yankees a big insurance run. Nuke LaFarnsworth worked a tense but effective eighth, throwing entirely too many pitches (29) but throwing very hard gas, hittiing some corner spots and, despite allowing a hit and a walk, getting out of a minor jam. Mariano worked a perfect ninth with a strikeout, lowering his ERA to 3.96 and looking very dominant. 4-1 Yankees.

This was a good type of game for the Yankees to win. They needed Wang's stellar start, for after the first, Webb was just as good. Wang's line--7 IP, 6 hits, one run earned, no walks (which is outstanding), and two K's. Wang was the better sinker-baller today, great since Webb was pretty good himself, and the pitching match-up lived up to the advance billing. Abreu continues to be clutch, with his home run the big difference tonight when the offense mustered only five hits. Great pitching and clutch hitting, with some good defense. Very well done. By the by, is there any doubt that Mariano is still The Man?

Livan Hernandez faces Mussina tomorrow night in The Bronx, as the Yankees look to continue this torrid streak. The Yankees have finally gotten back to .500, and will hopefully continue their ascent. The team is better than .500, and needs to keep proving it.

"Get back, get back,
get back to where you once belonged."
"Get Back," The Beatles

With Arizona's defeat of Boston 5-1 in the desert, the Yankees are now 9.5 games back. Obviously this represents a significant deficit, yet that the Yankees have gained several games in a week is huge. Boston was due for a few losses--it happens to everyone in baseball, and Arizona and the A's aren't slouches--and the Yankees for a hot streak, which was long overdue. It would be a great stretch to say that the Yankees and Red Sox are moving in opposite directions, since it's 3/8 of the way into the season and Boston, at this still early stretch, is 18 games over .500. Yet it is worth saying that the Yankees, playing far better baseball and at last getting consistent offensive production times with pretty good pitching, are finally gaining ground. After being behind 14.5, 9.5 back doesn't seem quite as daunting with 101 games to play.

Let's Go, Yankees!

The Yankees are now nine of their last eleven, and have won six in a row after trouncing the Pirates, 13-6. Though Tyler Clippard struggled mightily and was more inefficient than usual (90 pitches in 3 2/3 innings), the Yankees bullpen helped to turn an early-innings slugfest into a Yankees rout by shutting the door on Pittsburgh. Clippard allowed six hits, six runs, three walks and struck out two in 3 2/3, but the bullpen only allowed three hits and three walks in the next 5 1/3, while striking out five, excellent work from the relievers.

But the offense was again the story, relentlessly pounding the Pirates. Though Clippard coughed up a 5-2 lead by allowing four runs in the fourth, again the Yankees immediately responded in their next turn at bat, as they have all during this hot streak, as A-Rod belted a three-run homer to left to give the Yankees an 8-6 lead they would never relinquish. He added a two-run shot to right to make it 10-6, and the Yankees never looked back. A-Rod went 2-3 with 2 walks, 4 runs and 5 RBI, to increase his major-league lead in home runs to 24 and RBIs to 63, just amazing, and he's batting .304. Bobby Abreu is really cruising now, going 4-4 with a walk, 4 runs and 3 RBIs, including a triple to left-center off former Yankee Shawn Chacon and a double off reliever Jonah Bayliss, to raise his average to .272. Matsui went 2-4 with a walk, a double and 2 RBIs, and Melky also went 2-4 with an RBI and a walk. The juggernauts that are Miguel Cairo and Wil Nieves also drove in a run apiece. Cairo has actually been quite good since inserted in the lineup on a regular basis at first, both at the plate and in the field, though his leather has always been good. Fourteen hits and six walks is an amazing number of base runners.

I'm very proud of Abreu and his resurgence. As I mentioned before, that he's steering the ball to left and left-center so frequently more than makes up for his perceived lack of power, and his not using the short right-field porch. He's using the biggest part of the Stadium for extra-base hits, is driving in runners, and is again teaming with A-Rod to terrorize opposing pitchers. Their numbers combined--6-7, 8 runs, 8 RBIs, 3 walks today--mean the Yankees are practically impossible to beat when those two hit like that. Forget it.

This is a heck of a streak, and the Yankees need to win at least two of three against Arizona to get to .500, and to keep winning series. They've won their l