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As our friends round the way have noted, the Ship be Sinkin.  Meanwhile, Steven Goldman, writing in the New York Sun, has more:

This might have been a championship-level lineup a few years ago, when Jeter still had his speed, Abreu and Ivan Rodriguez were still .300 hitters with power, and Sexson could be counted on for 30 to 40 home runs a year. Now it represents only the compromises that injuries and a lack of vital youth can force on a team. Worse, it’s not even the best lineup the Yankees can play.

The lineup represents Girardi’s worst quality. An affable and intelligent manager, Girardi can be headstrong in his choices, sticking to his guns in the face of evidence that his tactics aren’t working. This can be seen clearly in his decision to push Damaso Marte into a second inning of work twice in one week, resulting in losses both times. That’s just two games. His wrongheaded embrace of platooning provides a more protracted example of a decision that hasn’t paid off. For all his machinations, the Yankees remain a game under .500 when a left-hander starts against them.

Feelin’ blue, Yankee fans?  We could be in a rage, but that’s exhausting, and anyway, we can save our Fists of Fury for game time.  For the moment, I’m resigned to what is, and this beautiful song by the Kinks sums up my mood perfectly:

Tyler Kepner has a nice piece on tonight’s starter, Mike Mussina, today in the Times:

The question now is what Mussina will do next season. He said he would wait until November to decide if he wanted to keep pitching, if he had the patience to deal with the struggles that might come up. Not knowing the answer, he said, is one reason he is having more fun than ever.

“Before, there was always some future in front of you,” Mussina said. “At 39, I don’t know what it’s going to be. It’s like being a senior in high school. You enjoy it because you don’t know what the next year’s going to bring.”

Mussina is 22-6 lifetime against the Twins. With the Yanks desperate for a win, they’ll need another strong outing from Moose tonight.

The pressure is on the Yankees and it shows.  Our boys are cracking.  They are flat, they are pressing.  Pick any cliche you like.  Most any one will fit.

Against Glen Perkins, a soft-tossing left-hander (okay, he can throw 92-93, still, he’s not throwing cheese), they were hacktastic, seemingly without an offensive game-plan.  As John Flaherty mentioned time and again on the YES broadcast, the Yankee hitters looked frustrated as they swung early and often, putting themselves in the hole, before Perkins put them away.  The Yankee hitters just missed a host of pitches–Nady, Sexson, Cano…Pudge Rodriguez had at least three good hacks at fat pitches that he couldn’t put in play.  Perkins threw eight shut out innings; while stuff is not overly impressive, he worked quickly and threw strikes.  Joe Nathan struck out the side in the ninth.

The Yankees had four cruddy hits as they lost 4-0.

The closest thing they had to a rally came in the second when Cano singled to start the inning and then advanced to third on a wild throw by Perkins.  Sexson walked but Pudge Rodriguez popped out and couldn’t bring the run home.  Melky Cabrera swung at the first pitch he saw and bounced into a 6-4-3 double play. 

The futile offensive showing stings even more when you consider that Sidney Ponson actually threw a nice game.  He gave up a two-out walk in the second and then a two-run homer to Adam Everett.  The Twins manufactored another run in the sixth (double, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly), and then hustled another one across the plate in the eighth.  Otherwise, Ponson worked quickly and efficiently.

Joe Girardi’s decision to sit Johnny Damon in favor of Justin Christian (0-4), a move that was openly questioned by the Yankee broadcast team of Flaherty and Michael Kay, will be fodder for blogs, tabloids and talk radio tomorrow.  "It’s getting hard to explain what’s going on," said Kay when it was all over.

Honestly, there is plenty to be vexed about if your team is the Yanks.

At least it was brisk.  The game took two hours and fourteen minutes to complete.  I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or just something else to be furious about.

 Soul legend Isaac Hayes passed away on Sunday.  He was 65. 

Hayes is most famous for composing the title theme to "Shaft," but he did far more than that.  

Along with David Porter, Hayes was the major creative force behind Stax Records in the Sixties–their most enduring work is the classic, "Soul Man."  His vocal stylings paved the way for Barry White, and years later, Hayes, a Scientologist, had a successful cameo on "South Park."  

Dag, another meaningful loss.   

I love Hayes’ moody rendition of "Walk on By":

 What do you mean we’re all out of spelt muffins?

I’m sure there are a bunch of Yankee fans that would have loved to unload a couple of rounds after yesterday’s loss.  Hopefully, the Yanks pull out a "w" today so we can digest and enjoy our Sunday. 

Go git ’em boys.

* Several years ago, Em was up at her parent’s place in Vermont with her older sister.  One day, they found a large black snake in the garage.  They took a shovel, beat the crap out of the poor bastard and then Em used the side of the shovel to cut its head off.  I listened in horror on the phone when she told me the story.  My ass would have been firmly planted on top of the piano in the living room until the snake was gone.  I likely would have wet myself.  My tough guy wife, my hero.

Of course, Em also freaks out when she sees a city critter–a roach or water bug.  What a wimp.

Couldn’t hoit, no?

The Yanks have been a terrible hitting team with runners in scoring position–Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi are the primary offenders given their importance and what they earn.  The pitching staff is a mess…the problems go on and on.  I haven’t had a whole lot of faith that they’d reach October this year, and now, things look as bleak as they have all season.

So, the somber Sunday morning question is: Are they done?

It was all going so smoothily.  Dan Giese was throwing a lovely game, matching John Lackey zero-for-zero.  In fact, nobody scored through the first five innings (not entirely surprising in a day game after a night game in the post-greenie age).  Then Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi hit back-to-back solo dingers in the sixth and the Yanks had some hope.  But that promise was soon obliterated by a horrid performance from the bullpen as the Angels wacked, smacked and slapped the Yankees down once again, scoring eight in the eighth and that was that.

Final score: Angels 11, Yanks 4. 

It’s getting late early for our boys.

Let the drinking begin. 

Yanks hoping to avoid another Lost Weekend out in La La Land.  With John Lackey on the mound today they have more than their work cut out for them.  Pardon me if I’m not brimming over with confidence.  If they get smacked around today, Ray Milland’ll have some company and we’ll all be in need of a stiff drink.

Regardless…

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Bernie Mac, a very funny fellow, died early this morning from complications due to pneumonia.  He was just 50-years old.  Mac had a blue act, but also had a great vulnerability that made him a success on TV.  He was never afraid to bust on himself.  I thought the first few seasons of The Bernie Mac Show were especially winning.  More than anything he was authentic, true to himself.  He was the real deal.  He made me laugh a lot, and he made me laugh hard.  

Man, this is just lousy news.  Here is the routine that became the basis for his show:

"Don’t touch my old school, my new school, my slow jams, my party jams, my happy rap, and you bet not touch my James Brown…or somebody is really going to get hurt."

Too much is made about athletes having a game-face, or acting in a specific manner when they lose.  Still, Ian Kennedy’s lack of awareness is troubling.  Remember when Scott Proctor burned his glove after a bad outing?  Maybe he can swing by Anahiem while the Yanks are in town and torch Kennedy’s uniform.

This isn’t the first time Jered Weaver and Ian Kennedy have faced each other.  Rich Lederer saw them during their college days, back in 2004.

The intrepid Pete Abraham has the latest injury reports on Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Godzilla Matsui.

In other news, Brian Giles will not be a Red Sox.

Feel free to schmooze.

Yanks looking to pimp their ride in L.A. tonight.  Never is easy for them against the Angels, but man, wouldn’t it be nice if they go out and actually win this series?

When it comes to individual achievements, there is nothing that would make me happier than to see Mike Mussina win twenty games this season.  I don’t think his Hall of Fame candidacy should rest on whether he wins twenty or not, though I’m sure some of the voters would disagree.  But regardless of how things pan out–and knowing Mussina’s luck, he’ll end up with eighteen or nineteen wins–it’s been a remarkable comeback season for Moose.  So writes Craig Brown over at The Hardball Times.

By Will Weiss

A few quick hits for the week, as the Yankees head to Anaheim for another big series against the “Whatever You Want To Call Them Tonight” Angels, as Paul O’Neill calls them:

* When the media has placed a skilled player on a pedestal, when said player becomes injured and it could affect a team’s playoff chances, the press makes a point to hammer that possibility. The Joba Chamberlain tendinitis coverage was surprisingly matter-of-fact and not panic-ridden. Even more surprising, Mike Lupica provided excellent analysis in his Wednesday column, proving that when he wants to concentrate on a piece, he can still write very well. Buster Olney was solid as usual, also.

* With Joba out and not much hope on the Chien-Ming Wang front, YES is showing a number of graphics tracing the progress of Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano in the minors. Relying on Pavano as providing any kind of support for the rotation this year is laughable. Hughes could be a wild card. I’d expect to see him soon, particularly if Darrell Rasner continues to pitch his way out of a job. Mike Mussina is the team’s only reliable starter, especially given Andy Pettitte’s situation and the perceived lack of confidence in Ian Kennedy.

* It took Brett Fav-ruh to knock the Joba coverage to the deeper pages of the local sports sections. For all you Jets fans reading this, I hope the Favre era Jets are more Joe Montana leading the Chiefs than Joe Namath as a Ram or Emmitt Smith as a Cardinal. I had to choke at the thought of Chad Pennington potentially becoming a Ram. I may relinquish my fandom if that happened.

* I am a fan of Ken Singleton, as a broadcaster and a person. But sometimes, he drops some weird quotes on us unsuspecting YES viewers. Recounting a conversation he had with someone on the Rangers’ staff regarding the strength of the Texas Rangers’ lineup (I apologize for not recalling the exact person), Singleton said, “They’re not guess hitters. They just see the ball and hit it.” … Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that the definition of a guess hitter?

* Speaking of guess hitters, Alex Rodriguez is becoming more and more disappointing to watch. His 0-for-14 performance in Texas was atrocious. He looked out of balance, out of sync, and completely fooled by even mediocre pitchers. Even when he’s on a tear, I get the sense that opposing managers aren’t afraid to let him beat them, because the pitchers can follow this pattern: fastball up and in; changeup, slider down and away. In three of the last six games I’ve watched, A-Rod struck out looking on fastballs down the middle three different times. If A-Rod had the plate coverage of a Vladimir Guerrero, who is another guess hitter but because he can hit the ball out of the park even if you throw it at his head, he’d be scary. I wish the broadcasters would have the gumption to call A-Rod out on his approach, or even go so far as to say he’s guessing up there.

* Although his Civil War reenactment is over, for the balance of this year, I’m referring to Jason Giambi as “Jason Giambi’s Moustache.” It’s too good to pass up.

Until next week …

The latest on Joba…

The Yanks beat the Rangers 5-3 tonight, a game that featured a memorable collison at the plate.  Derek Jeter came up big; Mo looked good in the 9th and got the save.  We’ll have more on the game in the a.m.  And more on the good news from Dr. James Andrews.  Looks like Joba’s injury isn’t dire.  Chamberlain was placed on the 15-day DL.

In the meantime, Brett Favre has been traded to the J-E-T-S, JetsJetsJets.  That’s enough to make you go, Whoa. 

This is so Cool.  My autumn just got a whole lot more entertaining.