Yankees Blast Phillies 13-4

"Gonna ride you, gonna ride you out like a witch on a broom."--"Crash Burn," Blues Traveler

After a day in which a substitute-laden Yankees roster was waxed 8-0 by the Pirates, the "A" team returned and responded with a 13-4 drubbing of the Phillies.  RC was 3-4 with 3 runs, 5 RBIs (17 now this Spring), a triple and a homer.  He's batting .442.  The Big G was 2-2 with 2 RBIs and a homer, batting .406.  A-Rod was 2-3 with 2 runs, and is only batting .471.  He should clearly be benched.  Jeter was 3-4 with a double and a run.  Shelley the Speedy, Invincible Marauder was 3-4 with a run and an RBI, his 14th this Spring, to raise his ST average to a crisp .400.  Melky was 2-4 with a run and 2 RBIs, batting .348 now this Spring.  Matsui subbed in and got a hit, run, and RBI with a sac fly, batting .414 now.  19 hits, 13 runs. Ensberg even had a hit, nice to see.  Where's the offense?!?

Hughes came through with a good start, surrendering a two-run homer to Feliz in the 4th, but otherwise looking sharp.  He allowed three runs earned and two walks, but only three hits, in five innings while fanning six.  Great to see the kid bounce back from two consecutive bad starts. Billy Traber coughed up a run on three hits, and got bailed out by a nice throw from Duncan to nail Feliz at second.  But Mariano, Hawkins, and Bruney each worked hitless, scoreless innings, with Mariano striking out the side.  Mariano's walk probably means he'll be sent down to Scranton--or maybe even Trenton--to work out his obvious mechanical problems.  But who knows, the guy might have a future with the Yankees someday.  Hawkins has had a very good ST, and Bruney might have the inside track for the final reliever spot.  He's thrown hard, he came into ST 22 pounds lighter, and has pitched well.

Great stuff tonight, and a great illustration of what the highly potent Yankees offense can do--without Damon (who has the flu) and Matsui (for most of the game, anyway), ahem.  Good luck keeping up with the Yankees' offense in 2008.  The Yankees need health, pitching, and smart, patient at-bats.  If and when they get those, they're the team to beat, no question.  That's not based upon Spring. It's based upon the lineup, some potential waiting to be realized, and reason.  I'll stand by that any day of the week.