Andy Pettitte gave a solid effort, giving the Yankee bullpen some relief with 6 innings. He was done in by 2 errors in the 3rd by Angel Berroa, a leadoff walk to weak hitting Varitek in the fifth and an embarrassing steal of home by Jacoby Ellsbury. Pettitte should have learned his lesson when he allowed a steal of home against Toronto 2 years ago that led to a loss. However, the Yankee hitters were not going to provide any support tonight, looking like a gutless, pathetic team going through the motions and hoping to catch the first flight out of Beantown.
Some good did come out of this game though - much anticipated Yankee rookie Mark Melancon made his major league debut, holding the Sox scoreless for 2 innings and quickly establishing himself as the best reliever in the bullpen. He escaped a bases loaded, no out jam in the eighth. He did what Absolute Joke Burnett should have, but could not, yesterday - he struck out Varitek with the bases loaded.
Yankee Bomber Doghouse: Yankee hitters, except for Cano and Matsui. Teixeira, except for some walks, was non-existent this series. Not what the Yankees had in mind when they signed him for $180M this off-season.
Yankees Record: 9-9, and time to stop the bleeding.
It sounds like Teixeira is following the Yankee tradition of overpaid players that under produce (at least with respect to their cost). I'm not saying the Yankees should be come the cheap "underdogs" (i.e. the A's), but it seems like a better balance of younger guys and some big names might really breath some new life into this team.
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