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Hey, yo. Our apologies for not getting a post up earlier. We may not be the Iron Horse, but we’re steady enough. Every once in a while, life gets in the way. As you all know, with the Yankees on the west coast last week, Cliff held things down lovely. Meanwhile, I was up in Vermont at Emilys’ folks’ place for a long weekend and had little to no Internet access. Spotted to an early 8-0 lead, the Yanks had to fend off those unbelievably pesky Halos all the same. Final Score: Yanks 11, Angels 8. The two signature everyday players of the Joe Torre Era, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, led the way. Robbie Cano had a nice afternoon as well, and the slumping Alex Rodriguez got a hit as well (though he whiffed three more times). After the Sox fell to the Mariners again, New York’s lead in the AL East is back to six-and-a-half games, exactly where it was when the Bombers left for the west coast a week ago. 2-4, just like BP’s Joe Sheehan predicted.

Boston plays Oakland tonight while the Yanks return home for what promises to be two exciting match-ups this week in the BX: the Tigers followed by the Twinkies.

Meanwhile, can Carl Pavano be anymore snakebit than he’s already been? I can’t tell if he’s legtimately brittle or if he’s a chump. (Could be a little bit of both, no?) Maybe his latest injury won’t prevent him from rejoining the team, but this has developed a life of its own, man. I mean, dag.

Yo, lemme tell you something. Vermont is dope. Mad beautiful and all. But it’s good to be home. Missed you guys.

Man, oh man, do the Halos have the Yankees number or what? Every team has a nemesis, for Pete’s sake. I shifted back-and-forth from resignation to frustration yesterday afternoon, as the Angels beat the Yankees again, this time 12-7, in a contentious game out in California. About the only redeeming thing that occured was that last night, Boston dropped their second straight game to the Mariners. The Yanks’ lead in the AL East holds at five-and-a-half. However, the Red Sox now trail the Twins by five-and-a-half in the wildcard race (the White Sox are a game-and-a-half behind Minnie).

Actually, the Ray Milland Achievement Award goes to Alex Rodriguez who went 0-5 again yesterday, whiffing three more times, after having struck out four times on Friday night. He looks completely lost at the plate, as if he’s mentally gotten himself out before he even steps into the batter’s box. It has been nothing short of painful to watch. The same can be said for the entire game as well.

According to the Times:

“What can you do?” Torre said. “You don’t remake Alex Rodriguez. With the history of what he’s done, certainly there’s not a need for that. Human beings play this game, and certain things you can’t explain, other than to say he’s human.

“It’s just changing the furniture around. It may give him a little feel of, ‘Let’s start something here,’ because that’s what we need. We need him not only in the lineup. We need him to produce.”

Torre said he did not know where Rodriguez would hit Sunday, although he doubted he would give him the day off. Still, Rodriguez’s frustration has become obvious — he flung his bat after a strikeout on a check swing in the sixth — and his struggles have made an impact.

“They’re hurting him and they’re hurting us,” Torre said. “But we know what’s there and we know he needs to break out, just basically for his own confidence. And if he gets that back, we benefit from it.”

Ah nertz, no use moaning about it. Today is another day, and you’ve got to believe that this is the day the Yanks will come out and find a way to beat the Angels.

Man, if there is ever a random guy who is easy for me to root against, it’s Jared Washburn. He’s got a kind of casual, west coast cockiness that I just find completely irritating. I don’t hate the guy or anything, but I do enjoy seeing that stupid grin get knocked off his mug.

Yanks need two-out-of-three, each time out, and things will be more than copasetic, right?

You just don’t expect these kinds of things to happen. Yes, even if you are a Yankee fan, spoiled by winning and success, you don’t necessarily plan for your wildest dreams to come true. But that is what happened late Monday afternoon as the Bombers’ B-Squad, featuring a starting line-up which included the likes of Nick Green at short, Bernie Williams in center, and Sal Fasano behind the mask, edged by a flat Red Sox team, 2-1. It was the only briskly played game of the turgid, five-game sweep, which will go down as the sequel to the famous 1978 Boston Massacre. David Wells pitched well for Boston but his teammates were lifeless with the bats and were shut-down by Corey Lidle, Octavio Dotel, Mike Myers, Scott Proctor and Kyle Farnsworth. With a runner on second, Alex Rodriguez made two fine defensive plays in the fifth inning; a wild-pitch Keith Foulke (or a passed ball by Javey Lopez–but does it really matter?) in the eighth inning allowed the go-ahead run to score.

The Yankees have to be downright giddy about the win, which puts them six-and-a-half games in front of the Sox. New York beat Boston every which way over the weekend–blowing them out on Friday and then again against Beckett and company on Saturday, before coming-from-behind against Schilling and Paplebon Sundaya night, then finally finally winning a low-scoring affair yesterday. It may not exactly have been a massacre–other than Lidle, the Yankees’ starting pitching was not sharp, while their bullpen was taxed considerably–but it was a thorough beat down.

Right on time like the IRT, Joe Sheehan has fine analysis of the series over at Baseball Prospectus. To Sheehan, it comes down to this:

The Red Sox used seven pitchers over the weekend who they’d planned to have reasonably significant roles for the 2006 team: Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, David Wells, Jonathan Papelbon, Keith Foulke, Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez. Those pitchers threw 28 2/3 innings, allowed 20 runs, all earned (6.28 ERA), struck out 23 men, walked 16 and allowed just two home runs. It’s not a good series by any means, but when you consider how much of that is Beckett’s man-with-blindfold act Saturday (nine walks in 5 2/3 innings), it’s passable.

The Red Sox also used seven other pitchers, including both starters last Friday. Those pitchers threw 17 1/3 innings, allowed 29 runs, 28 earned (14.54 ERA), walked 15, struck out 17 and allowed five homers.

Let me boil that down for you: The Red Sox are the 2005 Yankees, but without Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small. At the time they were acquired, there was basically no difference between Chacon and Jason Johnson, between Small and Kyle Snyder. The Yankees hit the lottery last year, and the Sox didn’t this year. Where the Yankees got 160 or so innings of above-average pitching from two guys who were useless before that and useless after, the Red Sox got…well, you can read the numbers.

Add that to the fact that the Yankees are a ridiculously patient and opportunistic offensive team, and there’s your story.

I’ve written a lot about how Yankee fans have adopted a sense of entitlement when it comes to winning over the past decade. Of course, it is a sentiment that has been reinforced by the team’s owner for a generation now, so it’s only natural for the fans to pick it up too. (It fits so well with our instant gratification culture.) The most distubring part of this attitude is that often prevented fans from appreciating just how difficult it is to win, no matter what kind of wild competetive advantages the Yankees have. One of the most memorable qualities of the 1996-01 Yanks was that from Joe Torre on down to the players, this was a team that understood and appreciated how just hard it is to play the game well, and just how difficult it is to win. How hard it was to stay healthy, and play well enough to create your own luck, your own good fortune. To miss out on that basic fact is to miss what made that team truly great. (Do you think Joe Torre appreciates how hard his team played this weekend? He was virtually reduced to tears by the end of it, bless his heart.)

But while I always felt grateful for all of the winning during the late nineties, I too found myself caught up in the greediness of “win or else.” When Derek Jeter made that improbable flip to Jorge Posada in Game Three of the ALDS in 2001, I didn’t allow myself to really enjoy the moment. It won’t mean dick if they don’t come back and win the game, if they don’t come back and win the series, I said, arms-folded, reduced to the ultimate kind of baseball snobbery. Yo, I sat there, rattled, okay, but not able to truly savor those two crazy World Series wins that year because what would they mean if the Yanks didn’t win it all? (To this day, I have a hard time watching them when they are on TV.) When your team has won three straight titles, all you can live for is four-in-a-row. What else is there?

But if the 2001 post season taught us anything it is that you can’t always have everything you want, but, as the song goes, you can get what you need. The city–yes, even non-baseball fans followed the Yankees in the months following 9.11–needed a distraction, some theatrics and entertainment and the Yanks delivered just that. They gave the city everything it could have asked for save another victory parade down the canyon of heroes. Though it ended badly for the Yanks, the 2001 team will likely be remembered as fondly as any of the championship editions. We were reminded that baseball is just entertainment–and at times we desperately need that entertainment–and pales in comparison with the larger troubles of the world. The 2001 World Series also made for a kind of beautiful baseball justice. In the end, the Yankees, with all the karma and mystique and all that, were simply out-Yankee’d.

All of which I bring up because over the past several seasons, I’ve tried to appreciate things moment-by-moment, game-by-game, even more. I don’t want to say that any given season is been horrible simply because the Yanks don’t win a title. That’s just too limiting, the easy way out. This five-game sweep does not guarentee a playoff spot for the Yanks, it does not necessarily spell curtains for the Sox. It doesn’t look good for Boston, but stranger things have happened and there is plenty of time left. It might not portend to anything at all, and for the moment, that’s just fine. It doesn’t have to be anything more than it is–a rare, perfectly-contained success. Forget about Boston’s misfortunes, think about what the Bombers have done. Still no Matsui or Sheff and for the time being, they aren’t being missed. The Yankees really proved something to themselves, and I’m sure the rest of the leagaue is taking notice. This is the best that Yankee fans have felt about themselves vis a vis the rivalry with the Sox since Boston’s historic playoff run in 2004. Lots more to come, but for today, there is a lot to be thankful for. Don’t let it give you a swell head, but don’t discount it entirely and let it pass you by, either.

And that’s word, to Big Bird.

In what was perhaps the most important game of the year for the Red Sox, the Yankees found a way to win, coming-from-behind against Curt Schilling, and then beating Boston 8-5, in 10 innings. It should come as no surprise that the game last well over four hours. Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada led the way with the sticks (oh, and Bobby Abreu had two more hits and another walk, too), while Scott Proctor and Mariano Rivera performed well enough out of the pen. The Yankees have won the first four games of this five-game set with the Red Sox, and now lead the AL East by five-and-a-half games. There is still another game to play, the Yankees have not secured a playoff spot yet, nor have the Red Sox been illiminated from contention. That said, you’d be hard-pressed not to be thrilled and delighted if you are a Yankee fan this morning.

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I got on the Metro North train yesterday and went upstate to visit my uncle Donny in New Paltz. We had a relaxing evening, made a delicious dinner and shared terrific, easy-going conversation. Sometimes, it is so revitalizing to be out of the city even for a short time, to feel a slower pace, admire all of the green grass and tall trees, and take in all the space. The night was made even sweeter of course by the results of yesterday’s game at Fenway Park, believe that.

I’m interested to see what kind of killer-instinct this Yankee team has. So far, I’m not convinced. Again, 2004 is still too fresh for me to feel too confident about anything with this much time left in the season. But if the Yankees can manage to win one of these last two games, tonight is the game you gotta want. Beating Schilling would extra hard on Boston. Josh Beckett had his biggest start of the year on Saturday and was horrendous. You have to figure that Schilling will rise to the occasion. He ain’t going to suck to the tune of nine runs and 47 walks. The game is on National TV, the Sox season is hanging in the balance. This is the kind of game that Schilling has lived for and thrived in during his whole career. Three runs over six innings, a quality start, is not going to be enough for Mike Mussina tonight. Mussina is due for a gem of a start. I figure he’s got to give the Yanks two runs over seven, eight innings, in order to beat Schilling.

Both Moose and Schilling are boderline Hall of Famers. I say Schilling gets there but I’m not so sure about Moose, steady as he’s been. Hopefully, they are both on the top of their games. Just about the only thing Sox fans and Yankee fans might agree on tonight is a modest desire for these guys to play the game in something less than four hours.

Two games don’t exactly make for a massacre, but it’s a start….

After pounding the Red Sox in the opener (a game in which the Sox went 0-16 with runners in scoring position), the Yanks out-slugged Boston in turned out to be the longest nine-inning game in baseball history, 14-11. While it is too early to tell how Friday’s sweep will play-out this weekend–the Sox, after all, can still win the series–the day could not have turned out any better for New York. Oh sure, Sidney Ponson could have sucked less than he did, but his performance will remain largely a footnote, in light of the nights put together by Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, Brian Bruney and Scott Proctor.

Johnny Damon picked-up where he left off in the first game and continued to give Red Sox Nation something to gripe about. But it was Derek Jeter’s critical three-run double in the seventh that proved to be the biggest at bat of the game. Jeter was 0-4 when he came to the plate with the bases loaded, two men out and the Yankees trailing by 10-8. Earlier in the game, a foul ball off Jeter’s bat injured a fan–the fan would be OK, and Jeter fanned to end the at bat. Now, Mike Timlin fell behind Jeter 1-0 and you could hear a pin drop in Fenway. The silence, the tension, was palpable. And this with the Sox leading by two runs. It was like what Yankee fans would feel if Manny or Ortiz came up in the spot, having gone 0-4 to that point, only more so.

The crowd did not come to life until there were two strikes on Jeter. Bt the Yankee captain worked the count full, fouling off three pitches in the process. Jeter lined the eighth pitch of the at bat into the right field corner, clearing the bases. After Abreu was walked intentionally, Rodriguez doubled sharply past Mike Lowell. The Yanks had a 14-10 lead when all was said and done.

Kyle Farnsworth got beaned with a line drive and had to leave the game, but Proctor prevented any further trouble. Hey, when Mariano Rivera gives up a home run to Ortiz in the bottom of the ninth, and it is essentially meaningless, you know it’s been a good night for the Yankees. When Alex Rodriguez makes another routine error in the ninth–in Boston no less–and it is essentially meaningless, it’s really been a special night.

New York fans will likely not get too far ahead of themselves–the memories of 2004 still being fresh–but if the Yanks can win one, let alone two of the next three games, the weekend will be considered a success. Biggest game of the year for Josh Beckett. I say he actually shows up today. The question is, what’ll the Yanks get from The Big Unit?

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

The Orioles clobbered the Yankees, 12-2 on Thursday afternoon. The beating was highlighted by a miscommunication between Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, where Rodriguez let a routine pop up pop-out of his glove. The O’s took advantage of the error with a two run homer and that’s the way it went today for the Yanks, who now limp into Boston just a game-and-a-half ahead of Boston, two in the loss column. The Bombers have lost six of their last ten. It’s going to be nuts at Fenway Park this weekend but unless one team wins 4 out of 5 or sweeps, the effect of the series on the race will be a wash. Yanks need to split tomorrow, though.. I wonder if Rodriguez can respond with a big weekend or if he’ll melt in the Fenway Park pressure cooker. Manny, Cookie, Jeter, Cano, Paplebon, Mo. Lots to be excited about.

Go Baseball.

Yanks lost a close one, 3-2 to the O’s last night in the Bronx. I missed most of the game but got home in time for the last three innings. The Yanks had their chance. They even got a lucky call in the ninth. The Stadium was packed and the place was electric in the late innings. In the eighth, Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez singled to open the inning. After Baltimore’s closer Chris Ray whiffed Robinson Cano, Bernie Williams–who passed Don Mattingly for second place with the most doubles in team history earlier in the game–lined sharply into a double play. Bad luck and a tough loss. Coupled with a Boston victory, the Bombers’ lead in the East is down to two games.

Regardless, it was a wonderful moment for Williams when he passed Mattingly. Bernie had lined a double against the left field wall. He ran hard out of the box and didn’t let up until he was close to second. When he reached the bag, he turned his head quickly towards the right field line, in that inimitable, deadpan manner of his, where you don’t know exactly what he’s doing, if he is just random or if he’s doing something on purpose, exposing a private joke. The crowd gave him a sustain round of applause. Eventually, Bernie tipped his cap. The best part of it all was seeing the pride that Williams displayed. He just looked genuinely humbled and grateful for the moment and the accomplishment. It reminded me that Bernie is one of my very favorite Yankees ever because the game hasn’t ever come naturally or easily to him. I’m probably as proud of Bernie’s career–a borderline Hall of Fame career, when all will be said and done–as I am of any Yankee I’ve ever rooted for. Even though Williams’ good vibes would be stifled by his hard-luck at bat in the eighth, Williams standing on second, acknowledging to himself, his fellow players, and the fans, what a good job he’s done all these years, was special.

Octavio Dotel made his Yankee debut and the Yankee bullpen was sharp once again. Melky Cabrera collected his 11th outfield assist of the season and had a good game as well. And there is encouraging news about the injured Gary Sheffield.

Nothing to do but let it slide, come back and pound the O’s the rubber match this afternoon. And that’s word to Big Bird.

The Yankees broke ground on their new Stadium this morning on a bright, sunny day in the Bronx. Politicians, The Boss, Yogi, and Billy Crystal were just some of those in attendence. In an unrelated piece of sad news, veteran New York character actor Bruno Kirby lost his fight against leukemia yesterday. Kirby, who played the young Clemenza in “The Godfather II,” and was featured in “This Is Spinal Tap,” and “Modern Romance,” as well as other notable flicks, was just 57. His raspy New York voice will be missed.

Tomorrow night at 7 p.m., I’m going to be part of a three-man panel, including Will Leitch and Matt Cerrone, discussing Baseball and Blogging at the 92nd Street Y. Actually, the program–moderated by Allen Barra–will be held on the West Side, in the Steinhardt Building, which is at 35 West 67th street. The admission is $12 if you pick up the tickets ahead of time, $15 at the door. For anyone who is in town and interested, we’d love to see you.

“We need to clean up some of the stuff that we do,” [Yankee manager, Joe] Torre said. “We’ve played better than this. And tonight we started to get into it at the end of the game, and I thought we played with a little more confidence. But I think we’ve been a little hesitant over the last few days.”
(Michael Morrissey, N.Y. Post)

“They have a great offense and you’re not going to go through a game without getting into a situation or two,” [Angels’ starter, John] Lackey said. “I was able to minimize the damage and give us a chance to win. If you want to be a playoff team you have to figure out how to win games like that.”
(Doug Padilla, L.A. Daily News)

The Yankees beat the Angels 7-2 on Monday night, led by their slumping stars, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. The Bombers pounded out 16 hits in all. The two most maligned Yankees, Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez, contributed as well, and the victory, combined with a Red Sox loss, puts New York two games ahead of Boston in the AL East (three ahead in the loss column).

After Jason Giambi ran through a stop-sign and was thrown out at the plate in the second inning, Jeter launched a two-run homer to dead center in the third. The score remained the same until the top of the seventh inning. Randy Johnson, who recorded the 4,500th strike out of his career in the fourth when he K’d Tim Salmon, was pitching well for the second-straight game. He allowed a one-out double to Jose Molina and then with two outs, the ever-pesky Chone Figgins slapped a slider that was low and out of the strike zone into center for an RBI single. Not a bad pitch by Johnson, who then left a fastball over the plate (it too was out-of-the-strike zone) to Howie Kendrick. The Angels’ impressive young second baseman lofted a fly ball to deep right center. It hit off the wall, missing a home run by a few feet, good for an RBI double and the game was tied. Orlando Cabrera followed and hit a ground ball to Robinson Cano’s backhand. The Yankee second basemen almost tripped over his feet on the lip of the outfield grass, but maintained his balanced and made the throw to first for the third out.

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According to Joel Sherman in today’s Post:

After a 5-3 loss that diminished the Yanks’ AL East lead to one game over Boston and diminished Rodriguez even further in the eyes of the fan base, A-Rod vowed the best of his 2006 season is coming.

For the first time, he revealed that during the first four months he was coping with injuries that, perhaps, should have sent him to the DL, but that he could not go due to the DL devastation already ensnaring the Yanks. He would not disclose what the injuries were. However, he said, that the problems caused both terrible throwing mechanics and a change in his swing that led him to constantly get beat with even tepid fastballs. He admits that on defense he still needs to regain his aggression, but that his swing is back and “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

He added, “This is the best I have felt all year” and explained that, because of that, it feels as if he “just finished spring training” and is ready to tackle the season.

Now, this being Alex Rodriguez, such statements will be dissected. Is this reality? An excuse? Both? With Rodriguez there are never easy answers. But for the purposes of this exercise, let’s take him at his words and, therefore, say a season within a season begins now and see if Rodriguez is a man of these words: “I think it is going to be a good ending.”

If Rodriguez has been hurt, it would behoove him not to be coy about it. In spite of another poor weekend with the leather, he looked good offensively until Sunday.

Tonight gives a match-up of two of the fugliest pitchers around: The Big Unit and John Lackey. Unfortunately, for the Yanks, Lackey is the ace of the Angels’ staff, while it is hard to know what to expect from Johnson on any given outing. But after a poor week, now is as good a time as any for the Yanks to get on the good foot and start playing up to their capabilities again.

In the dugout before Sunday’s game, Kim Jones, the beat reporter for the YES network, asked Yankee manager Joe Torre if Jared Weaver made him of think of Weaver’s older brother and former-Yankee, Jeff Weaver. “It’s hard not to,” said Torre. “He’s got the same look, the same willowy body. He looks like a clone [of his brother].” Torre said that he had not seen the young Weaver pitch—except for a few highlights on TV—but admitted, “He seems like the real thing.”

Weaver was the real thing on Sunday afternoon, mixing a nasty curve ball with a strong fastball. The Yankees made him work but Weaver showed resolve and poise. He was not afraid to pitch inside and even when he was behind in the count, he didn’t lose his cool. The only mistake he made in six innings of work was when he dipped-down and tried to sneak a fastball past Craig Wilson in the fifth. He had previously made Wilson look foolish with a breaking pitch away, and the drop-down was the kind of cutesy move that his brother has specialized in. Otherwise, there wasn’t any resemblance to Jeff, other than physically.

Like his brother, Jered is long and lean. But his motion is slightly different. Jered twists his back, with his number facing the batter, in a manner than is reminiscent of Hideo Nomo. He made Alex Rodriguez—who had another less than stellar day in the field—look bad in three at bats. For his part, Chien-Ming Wang was flat for the second-straight outing, giving up six hits and three runs in the first inning alone.

The Angels bullpen was its usual stellar self and they set the Yankees down like lambs until Rodriguez blasted his 25th dinger of the year with two men out in the bottom of the ninth. Jason Giambi followed with a solo shot of his own, just to the right of the 399 ft sign in left center, but that was it as the Angels bounced the Bombers, 5-3 in front of a sellout crowd in the Big House.

Man, that was a heck of a way to sperl a wonderful day in New York, particularly with Boston, Minnie and Chicago all leading their games as the Yankee game ended. The Yanks will likely be just a game ahead of Boston in a few hours (and here I thought, just listening to the noise coming out of Boston this past week, that the Red Sox were dead). But then again, the Yankees are accustomed to hellish games against the Halos. And tomorrow night they get to face L.A.’s ace, John Lackey.

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It is another absolutely gorgeous day here in New York as Chien-Ming Wang squares off against rookie sensation Jered Weaver this afternoon in the Bronx. Tyler Kepner has a profile on Wang this morning in the Times, while Rich Lederer has Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know About J. Weaver (but were afraid to ask*). While it appears increasingly unlikely that Hideki Matsui or Gary Sheffield will return this season, today promises to give us an exciting pitching match-up. Both Cliff and I will be there.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

The Yankees continued their week of self-destructive play on Friday night as they fell to the Angels, 7-4. L.A.’s rookie southpaw, Joe Saunders pitched very well, mixing fastballs, changeups, and breaking pitches with poise and confidence. No rookie jitters for him, and why should there be? He plays for the Angels, who seemingly have no fear of the Bronx or the Bombers. (The Yanks are now 48-50 in the regular season against the Halos since 1996, never mind the playoffs.)

Still, the Yankees had their chances and, as DeNiro told Stallone in “Copland:” “You blewwwwwwwwwww it.” Battling a stomach bug, Corey Lidle didn’t have much and threw so many pitches that he was gone after four innings, having allowed three runs. Sidney Ponson’s adventures with the leather put two men on in the fifth and then Orlando Cabrera grounded a double past Alex Rodriguez–the ball took a tough hop to Rodriguez’s back hand but it looked as if the Yankee third baseman should have at least knocked it down. Two runs scored, 5-1, and once again the Angels were handling the Yanks. More than 54,000 were sitting on their hands.

The Bombers mounted a threat in the sixth. Derek Jeter reached on an infield hit and then Bobby Abreu lined a two-strike pitch into right for a single. Saunders got ahead of Rodriguez too but then left a pitch over the heart of the plate. Rodriguez lined it to center and it appeared as if it would drop in for another hit. But Chone Figgins raced in and made a lovely catch, robbing Rodriguez of a sure RBI and the Yankees of a big inning.

“He’s unbelievable,” Rodriguez said. “He’s always making some type of heroic play against us.”

[Yankee manager, Joe] Torre called that catch the play of the game, saying, “Who knows what that inning turns into? He stopped it right there.”
(N.Y. Daily News)

Jason Giambi–whose dirty-blong mustache continues to fill out–followed and hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. O.K., the double play was a drag but what can you do if the other team makes a great play?

The next inning was far more troubling. Craig Wilson reached on an error and Melky Cabrera walked, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Sal Fasano’s foul ball dropped safely between the catcher and first baseman near the Yankee dugout and then Sal lined a double to right center. Ah-ha, just the kind of break the Yanks had been looking for. Nobody out, runner on second and the score was now 6-3. Nick Green, who started in place of Robinson Cano, looked at three pitches from the new pitcher, Scot Shields, and offered to bunt at two of them. “Vas dis?!” cried many a Yankee fan watching along. When Green finally got the bunt down, it wasn’t down at all, it was popped up. Shields sprung off the mound and caught the ball. Yet Fasano was practically at third, the dope, and he was doubled off second with ease. End of rally, and end of game, so to speak.

Each team would add another run–Vlad and Alex both hit solo dingers–and Fransico Rodriguez got the last four outs (including three strikeouts) to secure the win for the Angels. It was the third time in four days that the Yankees have lost with less than their A-game. The Red Sox–prematurely given for dead by too many members of Red Sox Nation this week–finally won and now trail New York by just two games. It’s a long way from over, folks. The Yanks picked a heck of a time to start playing this sloppily. Time for them to get their heads out of their asses today. With Jaret Wright on the hill today, all I can say is Heaven Help Us (and that famous temper of ours).

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking, but all kidding aside, I feel confident that the Yanks can turn this around.

Go git ’em, boys.

There are many impartial observers who consider Shea Stadium to be the worst park in the major leagues, but for a lot of New Yorkers, there is something endearing about the dumpiness of the place. It may feel like a municipal recreation center, but there is openness—not only to the structure of the place, but to the atmosphere too—that you won’t find at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. It is loose. From the Olay “Jose, Jose, Jose” chants for Jose Reyes, to the organist playing the opening riff from the Violent Femmes classic, “Blister in the Sun,” to the post-“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” segue right into “Tarantella,” Shea offers a completely different, but equally genuine, slice of New York. I was in Queens last night with my brother, my pal Alan, and Jay Jaffe, for Game Two of Mike Piazza’s homecoming. Head on over to Baseball Prospectus (reg. req) where I’ve got a piece on what went down.

For everyone who is positively sick of analyzing Alex Rodriguez’s head, Jeff Albert has a terrifc and informative analysis of Rodriguez’s swing over at The Baseball Analysts. This one is a home run.

I missed the entire game last night as I was fortunate enough to be out at Shea to witness Mike Piazza’s big two-dinger performance against the Mets. Wow, what a nail-biter in Chi-town, though, as the Yanks held-on to beat the White Sox, 7-6. Randy Johnson pitched well, Kyle Farnsworth did not, and Mariano Rivera bounced back to earn the save. Johnny Damon was pulled from the game with what is being called a tweak of in his groin, while Bobby Abreu led the offense, hitting his first home run as a Yankee. The Bombers added another game to their lead in the AL East as Jonathan Paplebon improbably blew a one-run lead to the Royals in the bottom of the ninth. New York’s lead is now three games.

Randy Johnson has not struck out a batter in either of his last two starts. Go figure that. Dude is third on the all-time strikeout list and yet he just hasn’t been able to get hitters to swing and miss of late. Johnson has practically become a hold-your-breath-and-pray pitcher, a far cry from his former self. It would be huge for the Bombers if he can come through with a strong performance tonight. But I figure that we could be in for some real offensive fireworks. The White Sox and Yankees have played some tense games this year. No reason to believe tonight will be any different.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!