Game 130 - Tex, Yanks Bullpen Help Yanks Sweep

Joba Chamberlain only pitched 3 innings with his new set of "Joba Rules", but the Yankee bullpen tossed 6 solid innings in their 8-3 victory and 3-game sweep of the White Sox. In an effort to limit Joba's innings but keep him in the 5-man rotation, the Yanks will mete out his unknown innings limit in his starts till the end of the season. The limit is believed to be in the 150-inning range. Joba currently is at 133+. Joba allowed 2 runs in his short stint, but Alfredo Aceves tossed 3 scoreless frames to pick up his 9th win of the season.

The Yanks marched out 4 other relievers after Aceves, using Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Phil Hughes and Phil Coke to finish the final 3 innings. Hughes came on in the 7th with 2-out and 2 men on with the Yanks holding a slim 3-2 lead. He got them out of the jam and pitched a scoreless 8th. In the bottom of the inning, the Yanks offense put 5 runs on the board to put the game out of reach.

Mark Teixeira was the offensive hero, knocking in 4 runs to give him a league-leading 101 RBIs. He hit a 3-run shot in the 8th. Johnny Damon's homer earlier in the game, his career-high tying 24th dinger, put the Yanks up 3-2. The Captain collected 2 more hits in his quest to pass Lou Gehrig for the team's all time hit record and Jorge Posada had 2 hits in his return after injury his ring finger 3 games ago.

Although the new version of "Joba Rules" has riled up some fans and media members, it's essential they protect their young talented arms. The Yanks don't want Joba to fall victim like Dwight Gooden or worse, Mark Prior, both tremendously talented pitchers who were overused (abused) in the early stages of their careers. I assume the plan is to have Joba build up his innings as the season nears its conclusion to gear up for the playoffs.

With the win, the Yanks still have their 6-game cushion over Boston, who once again defeated a dead from the neck down team in Toronto. Even Roy Halladay, who hasn't pitched well since his "near" trade can't save them.

Yankees Record: 82-48

Game 127 - Yanks Done in by RISP Woes

The Yanks faltered to Texas today, 7-2, dropping their first home series since June. They shot themselves in the foot, going 2-12 with RISP. Both hits came courtesy of Mark Teixeira and knocked in the Yanks only runs. Despite having Texas starter, Dustin Nippert, on the ropes with 7 walks, they couldn't manage the big knock. The Rangers bullpen picked up Nippert's slack and tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless ball.

AJ Burnett recovered from his horrendous outing in Boston to strike out 12 Rangers in 6 innings. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before walking Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz on back-to-back full counts. The .245 hitting Ian Kinsler took him deep to put the Rangers up for good. Of course, this all occurred with 2-out, as Yankee pitchers continue to falter in squelching 2-out rallies.

The Yankees 4-7 hitters were the main culprits in leaving men on base. ARod and the RBI-phobic Cano both left 5 on base, while Matsui and Swisher left 4 on. What is Nick Swisher's hitting allergies in Yankee Stadium? He came into the series carrying a 9-game hitting streak and went 1-12 against Texas. He's hitting around the Mendoza line at home, whereas, every other Yankee is putting up career numbers in the hitter-friendly park. And has anyone seen Melky Cabrera? He's 18 for his last 91 - that includes 2 four-hit games! Take those games away and he's 8-80! That is horrendous. Please, Brett Gardner, hurry back.

Jose Molina grounded into a double play today. Message to Joe Girardi - this guy should never be allowed to swing with a man on first. You're so fond of the bunt, as witnessed by your debacle call on Monday night's loss, you should make it mandatory for Molina without even giving him a sign. He's a double play waiting to happen.

Phil Coke was horrendous in his short relief stint. The lefty allowed a double and 3-run bomb to lefties David Murphy and the contact-phobic Chris Davis. T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. At that point, the game was out of reach with the way the Yankee hitters were going down meekly.

Yankees Record: 79-48

Game 121 - Yanks Take Series in Oakland

In a low hit, low scoring affair, the Yanks defeated the Oakland Athletics 3-2. In all the games I've watched at McAfee Coliseum it appeared to be another typical contest, whether it's because of the spacious foul territory or the damp air from the Bay Area fog. Both teams only mustered 6 hits apiece. Mark Teixeira accounted for all the Yankee runs with an RBI groundout to score Derek Jeter in the 1st and a 2-run HR in the 4th, his 31st of the season.

Yankee starter, Chad Gaudin, only allowed 1 hit in 4.1 innings, but his wildness and high pitch count earned him an early shower as he left the game with the bases loaded. Holding on to a 3-0 lead, Alfredo Aceves saved the game on his second pitch. He induced Kurt Suzuki, who's killed the Yanks all season, into a ground ball back to the mound for an inning-ending double play (pitcher-to-catcher-to-1B). Despite those heroics, Aceves nearly blew the game in the next 2 frames.

Aceves allowed a solo shot to Jack Cust in the 6th. It was Cust's first blast in nearly a month. In the 7th, after striking out the first 2 batters, he allowed 3 straight singles as the A's trimmed the Yanks lead to 3-2. Joe Girardi brought in Phil Coke to bail out Aceves. Then Girardi forgot to manage. Instead of having Coke go out for the 8th to face the switch-hitting Landon Powell and lefty masher, Cust, Girardi brought in his "8th inning" guy, Phil Hughes.

According to Girardi, there are no labels on his relievers, because he prefers matchups, but this move appeared otherwise. Hughes, for all his success out of the pen, does not handle lefties well. He walked Powell and Cust followed with a hard single to right, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with none out. In a curious move by the A's, they didn't bunt the runners into scoring position, and they paid for it. Rookie Tommy Everidge grounded into a double play to ARod, who stepped on 3rd and threw a one-hopper to Tex. Hughes retired the next batter to set the stage for Mariano Rivera.

Mo only needed 7 pitches to retire the side in the 9th, barely enough time for me to snap a picture of the great one, as he picked up his 36th save in 37 opportunities. The Yanks maintained their 7-game lead over the Red Sox as they conclude their 10-game road trip in Boston this weekend.

In the past 2 seasons, I've chosen my Yankees-A's games wisely, or more realistically, I've been lucky. I've been to 4 of the 6 games they've played each other in Oakland, and fortunately, the Yankees have won the games I attended and lost the 2 games I have not. My wife, a huge Oakland A's fan, gets pretty chapped, but I think I deserve this good run, especially after watching Marco Scutaro hit a walkoff, 2-run HR off of Rivera in 2007, after Rivera walked the abysmal Jason Kendall and had Scutaro down 0-2 in the count. It was the most painful loss I've ever seen in person.

Yankees Record: 76-45

Game 111 - Yanks Use the Broom on Boston

It began to Look and feel a lot like the Burnett-Beckett game when the Red Sox and Yanks swapped zeroes for 14 innings. Tonight's starters, Andy Pettitte and Jon Lester, matched donuts for the first 6 innings. Lester and Boston blinked first in the 7th, allowing an A-Bomb from ARod to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. The Yanks held the overhyped, overrated, Boston lineup scoreless for 31 innings when Andy Pettitte left the game after 7 shutout innings.

Newly acquired Victor Martinez connected for a 2-run blast off Phil Coke in the 8th, as another brilliant performance by Pettitte resulted in a no decision. Why Joe Girardi went with Coke instead of Phil Hughes is a great mystery. My first guess is that lefty Jacob Ellsbury led off the inning and he didn't want the switch-hitting Martinez to bat lefthanded at the Stadium - obviously, a bad calculation. My second guess is Hughes pitched in back-to-back games. However, he only threw 5 pitches and 4 pitches in those 2 games. Are they really protecting him this much?

The Bombers, though, never blinked, as the game changed on 12 pitches. Not even when the Bosox brought in Peter Gammons love child, Daniel Bard. Gammons, who waxes soliloquies and love poems about the hard-throwing Bard, must be crying in his pillow tonight after watching the rookie soil his pants. Bard allowed back-to-back bombs to Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira with 2 outs. It was the 6th time they've followed each other with a dinger, setting a club record. If you're curious, Mantle and Maris went back-to-back 4 times in their magical 1961 season.

The Yanks weren't done, making sure Boston understood before they left NYC who's the better team and crushing their short-term jubilance after Martinez' jack. Gammons' boy walked ARod and Sox manager, Terry Francona, brought in the freak with the rubber neck, Hideki Okajima to get his whipping. Jorge Posada slapped a double and Nick Swisher followed up with a 2-run single to give the Yanks a 5-2 lead with Mariano Rivera all warmed up in the bullpen.

The Great Mo though, insisted on making things interesting, as he always does against Boston. He allowed the talentless, overpaid bust, JD Drew, to leadoff with a single. He retired the next 2 before walking the fraudulent hack, Big Sloppy. Why he didn't challenge the bum is another mystery. Mo would retire Ellsbury for his 32nd save and give the Yanks a huge sweep of their division foe, increasing their lead to 6.5 games with 51 remaining.

Except for Thursday's 13-6 laugher, this had to be a mentally grueling series for the Yanks. For all of Boston's struggles at the plate, it's not like the Pinstripers were tearing the cover off the ball. They scored 1 run in 15 innings Friday and grinded out 1o runs Saturday and Sunday, going 3-20 with RISP. Josh Beckett was brilliant. Jon Lester was excellent, only allowing 1 run and he left with a lead. This series is a credit to the Yankee starters. Burnett, Sabathia and Pettitte combined to toss 22.1 shutout innings. The relievers weren't nearly as great, but they were pretty damn good - only allowing 4 runs in 14.2 innings of work in the series. For once, with the exception of Thursday's game, the Yankee pitchers challenged the Boston hitters and didn't look like a deer in headlights. Perhaps it helps that they weren't facing a performance enhanced Big Sloppy and all-time Yankee killer, Manny Ramirez.

Yankees Record: 69-42

Game 108 - Beantown 8, Bronx 1

The Bronx Bombers pounded the Beaneaters, 13-6, unleashing 8 games of frustration against their archrivals. After dropping the first 8 games this season, the Yanks finally put 1 in the win column and increased their division lead to 3.5 games. HRs by Johnny Damon, Melky Cabrera, Jorge Posada and Mark Teixeira paced an 18-hit attack as the Yanks smacked around future Hall-of-Famer, John Smoltz. Cabrera's 3-run blast in the 4th led an 8-run inning that put the Yanks a ahead to stay and bailed out a struggling Joba Chamberlain. The Yanks batted for 37 minutes that must have been grueling for the Boston fielders.

Joba was not sharp, giving up 4 runs, 6 hits, and 7 walks in 5 innings of work. Things looked grim early. Yoda Pedroia and Damon swapped fence scraping solo HRs to RF in the 3rd and newly acquired Casey Kotchman gave the Bosox a 3-1 lead with another new Yankee Stadium special to RF. For the game, Yankee pitchers walked an astronomical 12 Red Sox batters. Boston left an astounding 15 men on base, led by Big Fraudy Ortiz, who left 8 by himself. The immortal Anthony Cleggett made his return to the Bronx, after getting shelled in his major league debut in the Yanks embarrassing 22-4 loss to Cleveland earlier in the season. I didn't think I'd ever lay eyes on him again, but there he was in the 9th inning, performing mop-up duty. I'll say it one more time - I'll be surprised if I ever see him grace a Yankee uniform again. 1 inning, 2 walks, 2 hits, 2 runs and he lowered his career ERA by nearly 10 runs!

Damon, Tex and Posada each led the attack with 3 hits. Posada atoned for his hideous non-slide at the plate in the 2nd when he was thrown out for his lackadaisical base running on a Nick Swisher single. If he slid, he would have been clearly safe. His 3-run blast in the 4th put the exclamation point in the big inning. Every Yankee starter had at least one hit. John Smoltz looked every bit the old man who's hung around 1-year too long in what is otherwise a brilliant career. Boston sacrificed ex-Yankee, Billy Traber, in 3.2 innings of relief to save their bullpen. Well played, Terry Francona, well played.

With the win, the Yanks improved to a season-best 24 games over .500 and guarantees a division lead after this series no matter the rest of the outcome. Hopefully, the Yanks saved some runs and hits for AJ Burnett tomorrow, who goes up against Josh Beckett.

Yankees Record: 66-42

Game 106 - Yanks Slay the Halladay Dragon

Prior to tonight, Roy Halladay was 8-0 in his last 10 starts against the Yanks, and 16-5 in his career. Make that 16-6. The Yankees and Andy Pettitte outdueled the notorious Yankee killer in a 5-3 victory. Pettitte defeated the Blue Jays for the 19th time in his career, as he pitched 6.2 solid innings. He limited the Jays to 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 6, finally earning his first win after the All Star break despite pitching well in his previous 3 starts. Luck was on his side, too, as the Jays laced 4 line drives right at his infielders, including 1 for a DP.

The Bombers jumped out quick on the AL All Star starter, putting 2 runs on the board in the first on an ARod RBI double and an error by Halladay allowed ARod to score on a Hideki Matsui grounder. It looked like the Yanks were going to get to Halladay early, collecting 5 hits in the first 3 innings. In the 3rd, with Mark Teixeira on 2nd after a double, ARod hit a shot down the 3B line that appeared destined for another RBI double. Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion dove to keep it in the infield for a single and Halladay was able to escape the jam. Halladay would cruise through the next 15 outs. Only Jorge Posada reached on a single, but he was quickly erased by a DP.

The Yanks finally struck for 2-out lightening in the 8th. Johnny Damon and Teixeira hit back-to-back HRs, providing what would prove to be the winning runs. In the bottom of the 8th, Phil Hughes allowed 2 straight singles before coming back with 2 Ks. Enter Mariano Rivera. He did not look good and perhaps is starting to feel the effects of his 4-out saves this year. He fell behind Vernon Wells before allowing a 2-run double to bring the Jays within 1 run. Matsui provided a little breathing room with the Bombers 3rd solo shot of the night off of Halladay in the top of the 9th. Mo made things interesting again by allowing 2 more singles in the 9th before escaping with a huge victory against Halladay. Especially with Sergio Mitre going on the mound for the Yanks tomorrow.

Yankees Record: 64-42

Game 101 - Joba Pitches Gem Against Rays

After losing a game on bad pitching, bad defense and bad hitting, the Yanks returned to form and captured the rubber match against Tampa Bay, winning 6-2. Joba Chamberlain had his best game as a major leaguer, tossing 8 shutout innings, and limiting the Rays to 3 hits. He walked 2, both in the 5th inning, while striking out 5. Sticking with his faster tempo pace he's employed since the All Star break, he won his 3rd straight start and improved to 7-2. He only needed 101 pitches to match his career high for innings in a game. Joba has only allowed 2 runs and 8 hits in 21.2 innings since the break.

The Captain set the tone early, tripling to leadoff the game. Mark Teixeira singled in Derek Jeter through a drawn-in infield for a quick 1-0 lead. Rays starter, Matt Garza, though, was up for the challenge. In the 4th, the Yanks were in business when ARod singled and Godzilla doubled to lead off the inning. Jorge Posada embarrassed himself with a first pitch foul out to 3rd, failing miserably to knock in a run and moving Matsui to 3rd with the infield playing back. Robinson Cano came through, not with a hit, but with a run scoring groundout. Garza limited the damage by striking out Nick Swisher.

The Yanks touched Garza for one more run with a Cano blast in the 6th. It came 2 pitches after Cano fouled a pitch off his shin. Despite hitting his shin guard, the TV cameras showed a nice looking knot forming on Cano's leg as the trainer worked on him. The Pinstripers were able to tack on insurance runs off the Rays bullpen in the 8th with a Posada RBI single and solo blasts from Melky Cabrera and Tex in the 9th. Tex's blast was his 26th of the season, tying him with Twins' Justin Morneau for the league-lead.

It took the Rays 8 innings to collect 3 hits off of Joba. It took them 4 batters to do the same against reliever Brian Bruney in the 9th. Carl Crawford led off with a triple and Evan Longoria followed up with a 2-run shot. With 1 out, Bruney allowed a double to Carlos Pena and Joe Girardi and Yankee fans everywhere had seen enough. It was time to bring in the great Mariano. Rivera sandwiched 2 Ks around a walk to seal the victory. As for Bruney, his ERA is now an unseemly 6.16 in 19 innings of work.

There was a little showdown earlier in the game, though no fireworks came from it. In the bottom of the 4th, Joba buzzed Longoria's clock tower with a high hard one that sent the overrated slugger sprawling. Garza glanced a high and tight fastball off of Tex's shoulder in the top of the 5th. Garza stupidly admitted to hitting Tex after the game. I smell a 6-game suspension coming. Are things even now? Perhaps something to watch in future series.

Elsewhere: Boston must have still been stunned from Oakland's comeback win last night. The Athletics came out and put up a 5-spot on the board in the 1st inning. They would hold on and beat the Sawx 8-6 as the Yanks now lead them by 3.5 games. The Rays fell behind by 7.5 games. Phillies traded for last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, Cliff Lee, and OF Ben Francisco from Cleveland for a slew of prospects. The Pirates continued their fire sale, dumping SS Craig Wilson and P Ian Snell to the Mariners and then pawning off the other half of their middle infield, Freddy Sanchez to the Giants. When will baseball begin contracting these non-competitive, joke of a franchise teams? I would start by eliminating the Pirates and Nats.

Yankees Record: 62-39

Game 95 - Tex and Posada Lead Yanks Past A's

The Yanks waited out a 2 hour, 43 minute rain delay to start the game. The way they started, it looked like someone forgot to tell them the game wasn't called. Things were looking grim early for the Yanks. After 3.5 innings, they were trailing 3-0 to Oakland. The Athletics starting pitcher, Vin Mazzaro, a local kid from Rutherford, NJ, and pitching in front of friends and family, looked unhittable, striking out 6 of the first 10 batters he faced. He struck out 2 hitters in each inning with only Brett Gardner's walk blemishing his line as the Yanks flailed away at his nasty slider.

Meanwhile, Yankee starter, CC Sabathia, ironically from the Bay Area, was getting slapped around by the Oakland lineup. He allowed 3 runs on 6 hits in the first 4 frames. Kurt Suzuki had a double and single with an RBI and run scored. Earlier this season, he took Crooked Cap deep for a 3-run shot. Fortunately for the Yanks, CC settled down and things were a lot different the 2nd time around facing Mazzaro.

In the bottom of the 4th, Mark Teixeira hit a 2-run bomb, connecting on a 3-0 count, to get the Yanks on the board. Jorge Posada doubled in ARod and Eric Hinske singled him in for a 4-3 lead, as the wheels fell off for Mazzaro. The Bombers tacked on 2 more runs in the 5th on RBI hits from Tex and Posada. The RBI-phobic Robbie Cano killed any chance of a big inning by fouling out with the bases loaded and one out. You can lower Cano in the order, but you can't hide him.

Sabathia rebounded from his early struggles to toss 7 innings, giving up 9 hits and 3 runs while striking out 4. He became the Yanks first 10-game winner this season, improving to 10-6. Phil Hughes earned his first career save, pitching the final 2 innings, retiring all 6 batters he faced and giving Mariano Rivera a rest.

Notes: Chicago White Sox' Mark Buehrle pitched a perfect game against Tampa Bay. Defensive replacement, CF Dewayne Wise, made a miraculous catch in the 9th inning off the bat of Gabe Kapler. Wise robbed Kapler of a HR as he crashed into the wall. He had to barehand a juggling ball as he fell to the ground. It was the 18th perfect game in MLB history. The Yankees have 3 of them - Don Larsen in the 1956 World Series, David Wells and David Cone. For Buehrle, it was his 2nd career no-hitter.

The Sawx were idle and now trail the Pinstripers by 2.5 games.

Yankees Record: 58-37

Game 91 - Joba Leads Yanks to Sweep Over Tigers

Perhaps the All Star break gave Joba Chamberlain time to reflect on his mixed first half performance. In his first start after the respite, Joba held Detroit to 1 run in 6.2 innings and struck out 8, demonstrating the ability and potential he has as a future ace. He wasn't exactly sharp, but unlike recent starts, he was able to dance in and out of trouble by inducing pop outs and striking out hitters at key moments. Joba did finish with a flourish though, retiring the final 7 batters he faced, 5 on strikeouts. Joba's only blemish of the day came on a Clete Thomas HR when he hung a fat, hanging slider.

ARod and Mark Texeira provided all the offense for the Yanks, respectively hitting solo shots in the 4th and 6th innings. Tigers All Star starter, Edwin Jackson, limited the Yanks to 5 hits, although he did walk 5 hitters, too.

The Philtys, Coke and Hughes built the bridge to Mariano Rivera. Coke retired the dangerous Curtis Granderson for the last out in the 7th, and Hughes pitched a scoreless 8th with 2 more strikeouts against the Tigers after striking out 6 on Friday.

The Yankees received good news when the fraudulent Red Sox finally faced Roy Halladay after ducking him twice in 2 previous series vs. the Blue Jays. Halladay led the Jays to a 3-1 victory in a complete game effort. The Sox loss left the Yanks one game behind the division lead.

Yankees Record: 54-37

Game 89 - Yankee All Stars Lead Team in Win

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th, Yankees All Star shortstop, Derek Jeter, led off with a single, Johnny Damon doubled and All Star first baseman, Mark Teixeira, homered deep to right to erase the one-run deficit and give the Yanks a 5-3 lead over Detroit. The lead held up with the other All Star, Mariano Rivera, closing the door in the 9th in the Yanks first game since the All Star break.

AJ Burnett kept the Yankees in the game, limiting the Tigers to 3 runs in 6 innings, but he was far from stellar. He walked 5 while only striking out 1 and fell behind most of the hitters all night. He had a similar start prior to the All Star game when he walked 4 and struck out 2 batters in a win against the Twins. Hopefully, these 2 starts are just a blip and not a trend.

Mark Teixeira, historically a much better hitter after the mid-season break, led the Pinstripers with 3 hits. Hideki Matsui had 2 hits and knocked in the Yankees first run of the game. Phil Hughes relieved Burnett and struck out the side in the 7th and 8th innings sandwiched around 3 hits, topping the radar gun at 97 mph. Unlike his predecessor, Burnett, Hughes pumped strike after strike, getting the ball over the plate 30 times in 41 pitches.

I found Joe Girardi's decision to use Hughes for 2 innings interesting, as that deviates from the way the Yanks have been using him out of the pen. Girardi and the Yanks have intimated that Hughes has worked his way into the 8th inning role, but this 2-inning appearance virtually takes Hughes out for the rest of the Detroit series.

Hughes also recorded the win to improve his record to 4-2 and snapped the Yanks 3-game losing streak.

Yankees Record: 52-37

Game 52 - Yanks Take Texas Behind the Woodshed

The score was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 4th, when Texas pitcher, Vincente Padilla, plunked Mark Teixeira in the buttocks.  It was the second time in the game he hit Tex, and you could see Tex shout at him "(Bleeping) throw the ball over the plate".  Unfortunately for Padilla, he woke the sleeping giant and he was very angry.  

With ARod at the plate and the bases loaded with one out, Padilla still had a shot to get out of the inning.  All he needed was a double play ball and it looked like ARod would oblige Padilla when he hit a grounder to second.  But Tex went in hard to the base with a vengeance, upending SS Elvis Andrus and allowing ARod to just beat the throw, avoiding the DP.  Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada would follow with run scoring singles and Hideki Matsui hit a 3-run blast, completing a 7-run outburst for a 9-3 lead.  Tex loved every minute of it, as he shed his usually calm and stoic persona and showing, dare I say, true emotion and fire.  I can only hope the Yankees will continue to show any kind of emotion and passion, which seemed to have disappeared with O'Neill, Brosius, Knoblauch and others of the 90's dynasty as they took on the boring, business-like persona in the latter years of Joe Torre's regime.  

AJ Burnett pitched well, despite nearly collapsing in the 3rd inning.  For the first 2.2 innings, he was in cruise control, until he walked a batter.  That was followed up by a double and 3-run jack by Nelson Cruz that gave Texas a brief 3-2 lead.  Burnett gave up 2 more hard singles and a long drive to deep center that finally getting him out of the inning, but he looked very shaky.  However, he would settle down again and pitch 7 strong innings with 8 Ks and one walk.  He even defended his teammate, Tex, nearly decapitating Nelson Cruz with a high inside fastball.  Both teams received warnings from the ump and it will be interesting to see if this bad blood will carry over tomorrow night. 

The Captain, Derek Jeter, banged out another 3 hits tonight and scored his 15ooth run of his career.  He collected his 2600th hit of his career yesterday, and with the 3 more tonight, has an excellent shot at passing Lou Gehrig for the all-time Yankee hit record later this season.  Gehrig had 2,721 hits in his career.  Posada also had 3 hits, including a 3-run blast and 4 RBIs, although his throwing error brought an end to the Yankees consecutive errorless streak at 18 games.  

But other things went well for the Yankees tonight, so well that even Brett Tomko and Jose Veras pitched a scoreless frame each, as the final score was 12-3.  They also didn't issue any free passes.  To Veras' credit, he won a tough battle against Ian Kinsler for the last out of the game, repeatedly challenging him on a full count after Kinsler fouled off numerous fastballs, instead of walking him.  Hopefully, Veras can build on this performance.  The Yanks need him till Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte return from their injuries.  

Yankees Record:  31-21 - best record in AL

CC, Joba and Tex

Oof. Rough outing for C(rooked) C(ap) today. Let's hope he was just throwing fastballs and working on location. I haven't seen him in a Yankee uniform yet, but I hope the team makes him wear his cap the proper way instead of like a $2 thug. If I were the Yanks, I'd start collecting some of that $161M back in fines if he wears it crooked. Then again, if the guy goes out and wins 20 and brings a World Series championship, I guess I could live with it.

Speaking of wearing the cap weird, good to see Joba having a solid start yesterday. I still don't understand Yank fans who insist he stay in the bullpen. Those guys are dime a dozen - Billy Beane has proved that for years in Oakland. The guy has potential to be an ace. I'd rather have 150-175 innings out of Joba instead of 60-75 innings. During a season, there is roughly 1500 innings - why not have Joba pitch 10% or more instead of 5% or less of that total? Besides, I don't think I can stomach watching a $200M team trot out the Scranton-Wilkes Barre shuttle bus again. Please, let spring training be the only time I see Kei "Deer in Headlights" Igawa.

Hey Tex - save some of those hits for the real thing. We don't need a repeat of your slow start to the season with Arod gone for the first month+.