Tuesday Linkstavaganza

Can you tell what that pile of rubble used to be?

In the news department, as expected, Juan Miranda has been called up from AAA. We should have something a little later when the Yanks announce who is getting sent down.

Mike from the Yankeeist was at the game in Detroit last night. Not only did he make it to Comerica but experienced the city, from the partially-abandoned neighborhoods to the plush suburb of Grosse Pointe. Mike does a great job of describing the state of Motown and even though it's sort of depressing, it's well worth the read.

Joe DeLessio from New York Magazine went up to Boston for a game and compared to Mike when he was in Detroit, was treated quite kindly by the Fenway faithful. Having been to a decent number of games on Landsdowne during my college years, I can tell you that the people there aren't that bad. Like anywhere else, there are the occasional horror stories, but if you're not being obnoxious, you most likely won't have any problems.

If you are planning on heading to a game when the Yankees return to town or during the next homestand after that, check out the special "e-saver" deals listed by NYYSI.

If the Yankees keep signing catching prospects, they are going to have to start adding some more minor league affiliates so they all have a place to play.

Speaking of catchers in the system, Chad Jennings talked to Mark Newman who confirmed that, as was widely speculated, Jesus Montero was benched for not running out a ground ball. Some have made a big deal out of this, but the kid is 20 years old and it probably won't take more than one benching for him to get the message. And it's not like he was dogging it in the Majors. As Matt mentioned last night, Scranton has been without an actual starting pitcher for two out of their last four games. The emphasis just isn't on winning as much as it is in the Bronx and it might be easy to lose focus during a loss like the one the team suffered on Friday.

As Rebecca pointed out over at TYU last night, Randy Winn left seven men on base (I should have noted this in the recap, so I'm atoning for that omission here). Winn came up with runners on the corners in the 2nd and hit a foul pop out to first. The bases were loaded for him in the 6th but he flew out to end the inning. And in the 8th, he had runners on the corners and made the second out of the frame without getting the run home. Of course, the one time he came up when there was no one on, leading off the 5th, he notched a single. Good timing, dude.

On Friday, Larry from The Yankeeist did an excellent, in-depth interview with Moshe from TYU, touching on all sorts of personal and blogging stuff.

And one more from the TYU crew: Stephen R. shares a Kevin Youkilis story from 2008.

Via BBTF, if you've got $25K, you can buy the generator from the Old Yankee Stadium.

Chris Carter, the player the Yankees claimed off waivers to throw a wrench into the Red Sox/Mets Billy Wagner trade, has finally made his way to Flushing. The original move was little more than an inconvenience to the Sox but it screwed over Carter, who would have had a chance to get some playing time for the Mets last year. Hopefully he can make good on his opportunity this time around.

The Detroit Free Press is running Ernie Harwell's final interview in three parts: One, Two, Three.

CitiField has a garbage problem and it's not even Omar Minaya's fault!

Here's an interesting AP story on how teams are scouting umpires.

Congrats to Sky Andrecheck of Sports Illustrated and Baseball Analysts who just accepted a job in the Indians' front office.

The Honorable Morgan Ensberg presides over the case of Evan Longoria and his attempt to break up Dallas Branden's perfect game with a drag bunt. His verdict is basically that doing it when you are trying to help you team win (which he thinks Longoria was) is okay, but doing it when your team is down by a lot and it's late in the game, just to break up the no-no/perfecto is not.

Larry from Wezen-Ball lines up the career of Ken Griffey Jr. side by side with the 20 year run of The Simpsons and finds a lot of parallels. I've never been a huge fan of The Simpsons, but I'm sure some of you will appreciate the level of detail Lar went to in his analysis.

Dave Cameron thinks the fact that two players told reporters about Griffey's mid-game snooze indicates that the he doesn't have the respect of the clubhouse (otherwise they might have woken him up). He argues that you have to actually be a good player to be a leader.

Yesterday was the first day along the road to the U.S. Open for John Smoltz. Unfortunately, it was also the last. Smoltz shot a 76 and missed out on being one of the nine people to qualify for the next level by six shots. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he had a gallery of about 30 people at all times and took time to sign a bunch of autographs after he was done playing.

How could anyone fwah-get when Jason Varitek split the uprights and sent the Patriots to the Supah Bowl? Nawt the fackin' May-uh of Bahston! Manny Ortiz is rolling over in his imaginary grave right now.

This might be more egregious that the "Natinals" disaster. Less visible to be sure, but still completely inexcusable.

Is Adonis Cardona the best name for a baseball player ever? Probably not, but it's awesome as shit and has an awfully nice ring to it.

That's it for now, we should be back with something on the Miranda move in a bit, but if not we'll still have the preview at 5.

Game 13: Get Your Walk On

Tonight, the Yankees begin their first West Coast road trip of the year, meaning that most of us have the choice of A) staying up late to watch the game and getting less sleep than we are accustomed to, B) catching the first few innings before passing out on the couch or C) something in between. Personally, I don't mind staying up late, it's just the stretch from 7-10 when it feels like the Yankees should be on and I don't really know what to do with myself that sucks.

Javier Vazquez gets the ball for the Yanks, about as far away as possible from the taunts in the Bronx. As Mike from RAB pointed out earlier today, there are other reasons that tonight might be a good one for Javy to put together his first solid start of the season aside from being relieved of the pressure of starting in front of the home crowd.

The A's have a free-swinging, flyball-hitting lineup that has relatively little power. The Coliseum also has deep outfield dimensions and a notorious amount of foul territory, both of which favor hurlers. After facing the Rays and Angels in Tropicana Field and Yankee Stadium, trying to navigate the A's lineup in Oakland should be an easier task. It's not a guarantee that Javy puts together a great start, but it's reason to hope at least.

Gio Gonzalez goes tonight for the A's. The 24 year old left hander spent part of the last two seasons with the Big League club, making 24 starts and 6 relief appearances, totaling 133 innings and a 6.24 ERA. Over that span, he was able to induce swings and misses but struggled with his command, striking out 143 while walking 81. Gio was also victimized by the long ball, giving up 23 home runs, or 1.6/9 IP.

After struggling to make the rotation out of Spring Training, Gonzalez has started off the year on the right foot. In two starts against the Angels and Mariners, he's given up 4 runs in 10 2/3 IP and stayed true to his high strikeout, high walk tendencies (11K, 5BB). He faced the Yankees once last year in the Bronx, threw 6 2/3 innings of one run ball and got the win. That night he only gave up two hits but walked three.

Given that the Yankees have worked the third most free passes in the MLB and are averaging around 4 pitches per plate appearance, there's a good chance that Gonzalez is going to have a tough time going deep into this game.

If the Yanks get their walk on and Vazquez gets his head right, this should work staying up for.

Get your walk on, get your head tight,
I know you feelin the shit, shit is dead right.

-Lineups-

Yankees:

After two plus days off to nurse his cold, Derek Jeter returns to the lineup. Even with the lefty Gonzalez on the mound, Joe Girardi wisely keeps Marcus Thames on the bench. The flyball tendencies of both Javy Vazquez and the A's lineup, coupled with the spacious outfield and ample foul territory at Network Associates Coliseum makes Thames' defense too much of a liability tonight. Besides, Brett Gardner has been productive offensively and needs to see a southpaw every once in awhile. With a lefty of the mound, Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson flip-flop in the seven and eight spots.

Jeter SS
Johnson DH
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Cano 2B
Posada C
Swisher RF
Granderson CF
Gardner LF

A's:

Rajai Davis CF
Daric Barton 1B
Ryan Sweeney RF
Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B
Kurt Suzuki C
Eric Chavez DH
Mark Ellis 2B
Travis Buck LF
Cliff Pennington SS

Game 131: Eight Miles High

As the Yankees begin a quick 7 game road trip to Toronto via Baltimore, they hold an 11.5 game cushion for a playoff spot, a 6 game lead in the division, a 4.5 game edge in the race for homefield advantage and trump the best team in the National League by 3.5 games as well. They took off during their last series against Baltimore and haven't touched the ground since.

The last time the Yanks began a series against the Orioles, they were trailing the Red Sox by one game shortly after the All Star break. The Yanks took three close games against the O's while the Sox lost three tight ones to the Rangers and the balance of power the the top of the AL East hasn't shifted since.

Andy Pettitte will be the first of the Yanks' top three starters to get the call for this series in Baltimore. Andy rebounded from his poor start in the blowout against Boston with a solid effort against the Rangers last Wednesday. Over seven innings he allowed two runs and seven hits while striking out seven, more than enough to collect his 11th win of the season.

In his last six starts, dating back to July 30th and including the clunker in Boston, Pettitte has a 2.60 ERA and has struck out more than one batter per inning. It's even better when compared to last August when Pettitte went 1-3 with a 5.84 ERA due mostly to a nagging injury to his shoulder. Having a healthy Andy Pettitte has been crucial to the Yankees ability to pull away from the pack in the second half this year.

Taking the ball for the Orioles tonight will be Jeremy Guthrie, the guy the Orioles thought was going to be their ace at the beginning of the season. Despite the support of his #1 fan, this has not been the case. He's struck out just 87 batters in 154 IP while walking 54. Even after two 7 inning, 1 ER efforts against the White Sox and Twins in his last two starts, Guthrie's ERA sits at 5.26 and his WHIP at 1.40 for the season. He has a chance to pick up three straight wins tonight though, something he hasn't done for over a year.

A-Rod gets the night off all together tonight as Jerry Hairston, Jr. gets the start at third and Hideki Matsui will DH.

The Yanks are 9-3 against both the Jays and the O's on the season and unlike the bird-named teams they'll take on during this road trip, they are certainly soaring at the moment.

Eight miles high and when you touch down,

You’ll find that it’s stranger than known,
Signs in the street that say where you’re going,
Are somewhere just being their own.

Nowhere is there warmth to be found,
Among those afraid of losing their ground,
Rain gray town known for it’s sound,
In places small faces unbound.

Don't Count Your Chickens...

Good morning Fackers. And a good morning it is. The Yanks have just completed their longest road trip of the year, 10 games and 11 days worth of a pretty unfriendly travel schedule, and they have a 7-3 record to show for it. Not a bad trip.

While we usually bemoan off days in these parts, I'm alright with this one. It was a long trip, and as it always is, the three game set with Boston was likely as physically draining for the players as it was emotionally draining for the fans. Despite having had an off day just last Thursday, I'm sure this one is welcomed and well-earned.

I have two rules of thumb that I follow as it pertains to baseball standings. First, I don't pay much attention to the them until about mid-June. This gives the season some time to develop so one can get an idea of who's for real, and who isn't. Second, I don't consider a team to be in trouble until there are fewer weeks left in the season than they are games back in the standings.

The regular season ends six weeks from yesterday. The Red Sox are now 7.5 games back in the AL East (seven in the loss column). Given the history between the two teams and given what we've seen occur in Flushing the last two years, I'm by no means ready to declare the AL East race over. But despite the overall run differential for the series being zero, the Yanks went in and took two of three, accomplishing what they wanted to. While this series wasn't an emphatic sweep like the September 8-10, 2000 series or the August 18-21, 2006 series or even the fabled Boston Massacre of Septmber 1978, it should be enough to ensure that the Red Sox spend September more concerned about the Rangers and Rays than the Yankees. Baseball Prospectus puts the Yankees' chances of winning the division at 95.73%.

That said, the Sox are still a formidable team, as their offensive outputs Friday and Saturday illustrated. So before we go kicking dirt on their grave, let's remember that the weekend series against them in late September may not be the last the Yankees see of them in 2009. Until then though, we can't be anything but happy about how the last two plus weeks have played out.

Yanks Go Yard, Go Home

Tonight's game was a vintage late summer contest with the gametime temperature sitting at a balmy 80 degrees with the threat of thunderstorms lurking. At one point, the grounds crew was in position to deploy the tarp but it was never necessary. It was far closer to a so-called playoff atmosphere than the either two games before the first pitch was thrown.

However, Derek Jeter quickly quieted the Fenway crowd by ripping said first pitch into the home bullpen in right centerfield. Hideki Matsui did almost the exact same thing to Beckett's first pitch of the second inning.

In the bottom of the 2nd, the Red Sox continued their two out hit barrage that started last night with a double, a single and another double but Mike Lowell, Rocco Baldelli and Jason Varitek to bring the score even at 2-2. The Yanks answered with two of their own in the 3rd on three straight singles by the top third of the order and a RBI ground out by A-Rod. An error by Robinson Cano in the fourth allowed another Sox run, but the Bombers kept their foot on the gas, plating runs each of the first five innings.

Matsui added a dinger in the 8th for his 2nd multi-HR game of the series while A-Rod and Cano each went yard as well. Amazingly, the Yanks only had 3 at bats with runners in scoring position, but didn't need them with all the long balls that were flying.

Sabathia threw 118 pitches and due to the fact that 80 of them were strikes, didn't walk a batter. Nor did Beckett who threw 87 of his 120 pitches over 8 innings for strikes. Beckett gave up all 8 of the Yankees' runs and was tagged with 5 homers for the first time in his career. Allowing 4 runs and 8 hits over 6 2/3, Sabathia picked up his 15th win on the season and fifth in a row. His ERA is now lower than Beckett's, despite being 0.20 higher when the game started.

Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera shut down the Sox for the final 2 1/3 innings and the Yanks pulled out of Boston last night having taken the series, turned a road trip which people were suggesting would test their dominance at 7-3. I'd say they passed that "test".

They boys are rewarded with another day off today, before they begin a 6 game homestand and host the Rangers on Tuesday. Derek Jeter seemed to be nursing some sort of a leg injury he picked up during the third inning and he could probably use a breather anyway. The lead is 7.5 games once again while the Sox edge the Rangers by one and the Rays by 3 in the Wild Card.

Game 107: On The Way Home

Last night's win combined with the Red Sox 12th inning loss assured that the Yankees would be in first place by at least a half of a game when their 4 game set begins tomorrow. It would certainly be nice to win tonight as well, guaranteeing a lead of either 1.5 or 2.5 games, but that doesn't seem like a very likely proposition given who they are sending to the hill.

Tonight marks Stage Four of the Sergio Mitre experiment. His earned run totals have progressively increased (3, 4, 5) while his innings have decreased (5.2, 5, 3). Both of those trends are headed in the wrong direction, and he's got a 7.90 ERA.

His peripheral stats tell a different story, though. He hasn't walked too many batters (3 in 13 2/3 IP), given up only one home run and his .418 BABIP would suggest that he's been unlucky with the distribution of his hits. No one had high expectations for Mitre, but giving up 5 runs in three innings like he did in his last outing against the White Sox is a surefire way to earn a ticket back to the farm. If the Yanks defense has another night like the one they did behind Andy Pettitte, perhaps the Serg can cobble together 5 or 6 innings and keep the Yanks in the ballgame.

The Blue Jays counter with Marc Rzepczynski, a rookie with 6 Major League starts under his belt, none against the Yankees. The man of few vowels has a 3.25 ERA, but only one win partially because he hasn't thrown more than six innings in any of his starts (and partially because he plays for Toronto). He's averaging almost 19 pitches per inning, so the Yanks could be seeing the Jays bullpen fairly early on tonight if they play their cards right.

In roster news, Cody Ransom was mercifully DFA'd , pointing to the beginning of the end for the "#codyransom" party on Twitter. Ransom did muster 10 RBIs in 86 plate appearances this year but was only hitting .190/.256/.329. To take his place, the legendary Anthony Claggett has been summoned from Scranton. As you may or may not recall, Claggett was the young gentleman who came in for Chien Ming Wang in the 22-4 debacle against the Indians and allowed 8 ER in 1 2/3 innings. He is there presumably as an escape hatch if Mitre continues his descent into Chien Ming Wangdom.

With the toughest match up out of the way last night, the Yanks have a chance to head home from this road trip with a winning record despite dropping three straight to the White Sox. Winning their last three would be a hell of a turnaround. Let's go Yanks.

In a strange game,
I saw myself as you knew me,
When the change came,
And you had a chance to see through me,
Though the other side is just the same,
You can tell my dream is real.

Game 99: The Road And The Sky

The Yanks departed last night for Tampa after an incredibly successful homestand, but are now staring down one of the tougher stretches of their season. They embark on a 9 game road trip tonight against the Rays, White Sox and Jays come back for a 7 game homestand (four of which are against the Red Sox) and then are sent on a 10 game swing that takes them through Seattle, Oakland and then back cross-country to Beantown. This means that 19 out of their next 26 will be away from the Bronx and 18 will be against teams with winning records.

They've been solid on the road so far this year, going 25-21, but this stretch comes on the heels of the news that that Brett Gardner is out with a broken thumb and Chien Ming Wang is likely done for the season.

It seems a little early to say this, but the series that kicks off tonight in Tampa is a pretty important one in the context of the season. The Rays are 4 games out of the Wild Card and 6.5 back in the division, and losing 3 straight to the Yanks might turn them from buyers to sellers at the trading deadline. On the other hand, if the Yanks drop three to Tampa, they could relinquish their grip on first place and the Rays would appear much larger in their rearview mirror.

Luckily, the Yanks are summoning their three best starters in terms of ERA for this series (A.J., CC & Joba), while the Rays counter with their three best by reputation, James Sheilds, Scott Kazmir and Matt Garza.

Sheilds' ERA is a touch lower than A.J. Burnett's on the season (3.70 to 3.74), but he's been unlucky with his won-lost record, currently at 6-6. He's made 8 quality starts that haven't resulted in a win, including taking a loss despite holding the Mariners to just 1 run over 7 1/3 IP in April and getting a no-decision after throwing 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball against Oakland back in May. He hasn't faced the Yankees yet this year, but in 3 outings against the Bombers in 2008, he held them to 4 runs over 19 innings and struck out 17 while walking only 3.

A.J. Burnett remained hot in his last start against Baltimore, picking up his 9th win on the strength of 7 innings of two run ball. He's nailed down 7 quality starts in a row and watched his record go from 5-3 to 9-4 in the process.

The lineup returns to full strength with A-Rod back at 3rd and Matsui DH'ing as the Yanks look to start this 9 game, 10 day adventure off on the right foot despite some ominous signs above.

Now can you see those dark clouds gathering up ahead?
They're going to wash this planet clean like the Bible said,
Now you can hold on steady and try to be ready,
But everybody's gonna get wet,
Don't think it wont happen just because it hasn't happened yet.

You Know What They Say About All Good Things...

Sorry guys. My first night back in town and the Yanks snap their longest winning streak since the one that ended on June 15th, 2007. That loss same during an interleague game as well (against the Mets) with Roger Clemens on the hill. I know the Rocket's playing career is aging in dog years at the moment, but doesn't that see like forever ago? The last time they won 10 straight was in 2005, after starting 11-19. The winner of the 10th game? Carl Pavano.

When the streak began, Roy Halladay had just beaten the Yankees into submission and A.J. Burnett had left the mound to a Rogers Centre with a sneer on his face, to a distinctly Canadian chant. It ended when Burnett gave up 3HR and 5ER against the Phillies last night. He didn't collect a win in his start during the streak, either, although he pitched pretty well against the Twins. Despite the fact that Burnett snipped the streak on both ends, he will be most remembered for delivering three consecutive pies in the face after the Twins games walk-offs, which is fine by me. 

It was the best of times, friends. I wish I could have followed the games more closely from the road, considering I have the MLB.tv package, but I was basically never in the hotel room from 7-10 (which one really shouldn't be when they are on vacation). But I'm back now, and the streak is at zero. 

I also want to take a second to thank Matt, Boston Bren and Joe for keeping the site afloat while I was away. They put up more content that I would have during the course of a typical week and I'm guessing that you didn't really miss me too much. As you've probably gathered by now, Matt is going to be a big part of the site going forward, which I'm sincerely looking forward to. 

Now get out and enjoy the weather before the game starts. 

Time Turns Elastic

As Matt mentioned last night, the penultimate destination of my road trip was a stop in Baltimore to see Trey Anastiasio (the frontman of Phish), play with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. If you aren't familiar with Phish's music, you might think this would be an unlikely match. That's probably because you didn't know that all four members of Phish are classically trained musicians and that many of their longer songs are tightly composed and would be well suited to an orchestral backing.

I've seen symphony performances before at SPAC, but never at a concert hall specifically designed for acoustics. We lucked into some pretty good seats - first row of the lower balcony - which certainly enhanced the experience as well. Above the stage at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall there were bowed wood panels, and on the ceiling there were giant half spheres with a slot down the middle that looked like flat head screws. The doors where you entered your section were closed and soundproof, each balcony was it's own little pod, the ledges of which were gently sloped and aimed (not surprisingly) right towards ear level. Each one of these design features were put in place solely for acoustical purposes, and last night, they were put to their full use.

There was a stringed band playing in the entry way across from a cocktail bar and the crowd was an interesting mix of dreadlocks and blazers, summer dresses and t-shirts. Trey walked on stage with conductor Marin Alsop, wearing a black suit and blue dress shirt, a pretty drastic departure from his normal stage attire, and was met with a rousing applause.

Standing in front of the orchestra and off to

Alsop's left, Trey then picked up his spruce-topped Languedoc, which was plugged in to a modestly-sized Fender amp, and delved into Divided Sky. The tone was clean and and carefully balanced with the mostly stringed arrangement. The crowd sat quietly through the roughly 10 minute version of the song but erupted with what I'm guessing was the loudest applause in the history of the venue when Alsop halted the strings. These being mostly Phish fans, the typical clapping was backed by plenty of "Wooohooo!!!"s and "Yeah, Trey!!!"s. It was a breathtaking moment, and one that made it impossible for me to suppress a smile.

Next came the mellow Brian and Robert (which I simulcasted via iPhone to Sampson), followed by the short, acoustic The Inlaw Josie Wales. Trey then took a moment to thank the crowd and said how honored he was to be able to do something like this.

The most emotional moment of the night came when he dedicated the next song to his eight year old nephew. Three weeks ago his mother, Trey's sister, Kristy Manning lost a long battle with cancer and they played a beautiful rendition of Water In The Sky in her honor. As I listened, I couldn't help but think back to the heartfelt post that Matt wrote earlier in the day and appreciate one of those times when life comes together - when for a short while it all seems to make sense. Last night was one of those fleeting moments.

The title song of the show was called Time Turns Elastic and was a 13 minute opus consisting of 9 shorter, interwoven songs that they played at the beginning of the second set. Next came what they call "Guyute" the orchestral composition of what is from Trey's album Seis De Mayo, and starts and ends with the intro from My Friend, My Friend. I recorded all 12 minutes of it on my phone, but haven't figured out how to get it off. The encore, If I Could, hadn't been played live in almost nine years.

Here is a link to the full setlist.

By the time I get back to New York this afternoon I will have logged over 2,000 miles on my Grandma's Mercury Sable and slept in 5 different states in 6 days. We ran into all sorts of pitfalls and obstacles and very little went according to plan, save for the show last night. I was lucky to have a traveling companion who in addition to being easy going, was a top notch iPhone navigator and text-retary who rolled with the punches at every juncture. We've been friends since Semester At Sea, so that last part came as no surprise. She's not a Phish fan, but I prepped her a little bit while we were sitting in traffic on the Baltimore-Washington Expressway and unless she was bullshitting me (unlikely), she came away almost as impressed and satisfied as I was.

Game 37: Keep It Movin'

As A.J. Burnett looks to move the Yankees winning streak to 5, I'll be looking to keeping it movin' through some Sunday traffic on I-95. 

I am embarking on a bit of a road trip this morning to the homeland of Brett Gardner that should span most of this week. That means content is going to be scaled back a bit, but I'm hoping our other contributors will be able to fill in the gaps. The journey should include a minor league Yankees game, a concert and some other fun stuff, so I'll put up some posts if the experiences are sufficently interesting. 

Keep it movin', (do the K.I.M),
Keep it movin', (do the K.I.M),
Ain't got no time for shuckin' and jivin' (do the K.I.M.).

By A Thread

Is it possible for a one run game to have been closer than the score indicated? Neither team scored more than one run in an inning, nor did they lead by more than one. It wasn't a protracted, tense affair but there were close breaks in either direction and this one could have easily gone either way. The starting pitchers both turned in solid performances, the difference was that by going eight innings, Sabathia only had to turn the ball over to Mariano Rivera, while Brian Tallet was pulled after allowing a walk and a single in the 7th.

The Jays' starter had only thrown 91 pitches and was in line for the win, but Jason Frasor blew the save and Jesse Carlson was tagged with the "L". Tallet gets an A for effort and a M+ for an excellent 'stashe piece. It looked like someone travelled back into 1986, plucked him out of a truck stop in Decatur and said, "Hey pal, can you throw a fastball?" 

Come on, if someone told you that Brain Tallet had driven some truck is his day, would you be that surprised?

Our own formerly mustachioed lefty ran into a scary moment in the first when Aaron Hill ripped a line drive right back up the middle towards him. Maybe it's just because he is such a large individual, but it seems as though this has happened to Sabathia more than his fair share of times this year. Helped out by an instinctual reaction, CC's glove ended up right in the path of the ball, narrowly missing his pitching hand and elbow.
 

He had it for a second, dropped it, but still made the throw to first in time.  

Sabathia wasn't exactly sharp, issuing 4 walks, but did a good job of limiting the damage. He allowed a HR to Yankee-killer Alex Rios in the fourth inning, and then ran into some trouble in the fifth. With one out, Sabathia had already walked Scott Rolen, who was doubled home by Rod Barajas. The next batter, John McDonald, hit a bouncing single up the middle, which figured to score a run. Gardner fielded and fired to the plate where Francisco Cervelli made a lunging ass-tag (pictured up top) on the slow-footed Barajas for the second out of the inning.

The play at the plate is one of the most exciting events in baseball. Only if an outfielder robs a hitter of a multi-run homer is there more at directly stake. There was both a run and an out on the line which would have been more than enough to alter the outcome of this game. Sabathia got Marco Scutaro to ground out an end the inning, diffusing the threat and keeping the score at 2-1. 

The Yankees tied it up in the 7th inning on a little squib to right field by Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui hit a home run over a giant picture of Brain Tallet in right center, which would prove the be the game-deciding run. 

Coming into the series, if the Yankees were offered a deal that would have allowed them to take two out of three, I think they would have gladly accepted. It was a respectable (if predictable) showing. They got undressed by Roy Halladay, then rocked Scott Richmond and finally got a solid performance from their ace. They return home tonight to begin a ten game homestand. Their mini-Divisional road trip ended up at 4-2, so I guess that all is well that ends well.