Crazy Eights

Jay is sick, literally. I'm tired. And I think all of us (the Yankee fans at least) are sick and tired of the way things have played out between the Yankees and Red Sox in 2009. Tonight marks eight losses in eight games this year. That's crazy. Three of the losses have been by one run. In five of the losses the Yankees held the lead at some point. And the Yankees were in every game with the exception of Tuesday's series opening clunker.

There's an inordinate amount of attention placed on these games, so the losses end up seeming worse than they are, as if they count extra in the standings. We could break it down. We could complain about Melky trying to bunt again. In the second inning. Again. We could debate the merits of leaving CC in for the eighth. Or bemoan the performance of the bullpen. Or wonder what role the weather played. Or contemplate just what the hell Swisher was thinking getting doubled off again. Or make fun of Johnny Damon for dropping a fly a ball. Or wonder if Brett Gardner was doing his Johnny Damon impersonation on his eighth inning throw. Or discuss the merits of A-Rod getting plunked and the subsequent warning. Or wonder how much Brad Penny's trade value increased tonight. Or ponder if David Ortiz will be given a curtain call for every home run he hits this year.

But I'm just not in the mood for it tonight. The Yanks took a beating the past three nights. On the field and in the psyche. Or at least the psyche of the fan base. But last I checked, you couldn't win the World Series or the division in June. These things will happen over the course of a season. The Yanks are still only two games back, and hold a six game edge in non head-to-head records. Maybe that's me just looking for a silver lining, but I'll remain hopeful that things will be different come August when they meet again. Let's not dwell on this. We'll just move on.

2009's first Subway Series starts tomorrow night. I hate interleague play. It's such a contrived gimmick. Games against the Mets mean nothing extra to me, and they really shouldn't mean anything at all. But perhaps this once, the tabloid hoopla surrounding this series will be a welcome distraction for both teams. The Yanks just got swept by the Sox and the Mets lost two of three to the Phightins to fall four games back. Come Sunday, one of these teams will leave the Stadium with a series win and feeling better about themselves than they do right now. Let's hope that team is the Yanks.

Game 60: Start All Over Again

If there's one person who bears no blame for the Yankees' inepitutde against the Red Sox this year, it's C.C. Sabathia. Joba and Burnett have made two starts against the Sox, along with one each for Hughes, Wang and Pettitte and all have been unsucessful.

Sabathia's numbers against the Red Sox are pretty good, but at Fenway, they are excellent. He has a 3.92ERA in 48.1IP against Boston, but on his 3 vists to Landsdowne St., he's gone 23IP with a 2.35 mark. These are certainly small sample sizes, and Burnett's fine numbers against the Sox didn't do a whole lot for him on Tuesday night, so take them for what they are worth. Which would be a Yankees blogger trying to find ways to cope with the fact that his team has gawtten fackin' dawnimated by the Sawx so fahh this yee-ah. His new career stats against Boston start accumulating tonight.

Frankie Cervelli makes his sixth start behind the plate with CC on the mound tonight. The first one was the complete game shut-out the big fella threw down in Baltimore on May 8th. The only game since then Sabathia hasn't been caught by Cervelli was against the Indians on May 30th.

If you were only judging by won-lost records, CC Sabathia (5-3) wouldn't seem to be having as good of a season as Brad Penny (5-3). But upon further inspection you would find that Penny's ERA is 2.2 runs higher, and despite pitching 26 more innings, CC has allowed 7 fewer hits, just to scratch the surface. The Yankees haven't faced Penny this year, and in fact, the starting line-up only has a grand total of 15 career plate appearances against him. Who knows what that will mean.

As anyone who is familiar with the basic principles of economics could tell you that you shouldn't make decisions based on sunk costs. The seven games in the loss column against the Sox are long gone. There is virtually no chance the Yanks will even tie the season series, but that doesn't really matter. A win tonight and the Yankees walk out of Fenway with a share of the lead in the AL East, and we are back to square one.

The video below was shot at a concert at the new House of Blues in Boston, which happens to occupy the space where Avalon used to be on Landsdowne Street. What are the karmic implications of using a song by a Boston band performed in the shadow of Fenway Park for a game post on an interwebstation devoted to the Yankees? Only time will tell, Fackers.

I've had some good times,
Good times before,
You're love hung me up once baby,
It can't happen, anymore,
I'm gonna start, all over, over again.

I've been through these times before,
I'll go through these time some more,

Gonna start, all over, over again.