A moment of silence was observed in honor of Bobby Murcer before last night's game against the Oakland A's at Yankee Stadium. Bobby passed away last Saturday, July 12th, after a long battle with brain cancer. He was only 62, and will be greatly missed by all. May he rest in peace.

Then, the second half of the 2008 baseball season started, with Mike Mussina pitching for the New York Yankees against Greg Smith of the Oakland A's.

The A's jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first, on a leadoff double by Mark Ellis, a single by Kurt Suzuki, that only advanced Ellis to third, and, then, a fielders choice with Ryan Sweeney up, that scored Ellis. That was the only run Oakland would score on this night.

The Yankees tied the score in the bottom of the first, on a RBI single by newly acquired, Richie Sexson, that scored Bobby Abreu, who singled with one out, and moved to second on a walk to Alex Rodriguez, which set-up Sexson's first Yankee hit and RBI.

In the bottom of the third, "Don't You Know, Robinson Cano" got the big hit of the game for the Yankees. After a single by A-Rod, and walk to Jorge Posada, Cano blasted a three-run homer, that gave the Yankees the lead, 4-1. As it turned out, those were all the runs the Yankees would need, as the A's batters were totally dominated by the Yankee pitchers throughout the game.

Mike Mussina had another solid start for the Yankees, throwing 93 pitches over 6 innings, allowing only the first inning run, on 9 hits, no walks [for the second game in a row], while striking-out six. This was Mussina's 12th win, which is one more than he had all of last year. He is now 12-6.

Mike Mussina's numbers over his last four starts are awesome. He has pitched 24 innings, and has allowed only 5 runs and 3 walks, while giving up 27 hits, and striking-out 24 batters. Mussina's ERA over these four games is 1.88. But, his record is only, 2-1, mainly because of lack of run support by the Yankees. With any luck, and just a few more runs in a couple of his first half starts, Mussina could have 15 wins, and would have been selected to the American League All-Star team. Even so, his numbers [in my view] were good enough to make the team as the AL starting pitcher. Mike Mussina's path continues on the road to his first 20-win season, though. If the Yankees hit the way they did tonight, 20 wins for Mussina looks like it could happen this season.

The Yankees knocked A's starter, Greg Smith (5-8), out of the game in the bottom of the 4th when they scored two more runs, on a RBI double by Bobby Abreu, and a RBI single by A-Rod that increased the Yanks lead to, 6-1

Smith ended up pitching 3 2/3 innings, and gave up 6 earned runs, on 8 hits, 5 walks, and only one strikeout.

The final Yankees run came on a solo homerun by Alex Rodriguez in the bottom of the 6th inning, which gave the Yankees a 7-1 lead. A-Rod had a big night at the plate, going (3 for 4), with a walk, two RBI's, two runs scored, including his 20th homer of the year.

Cano ended the night with 2 hits in 4 at bats, including his three-run homerun, number 7 for Cano this season. Bobby Abreu was (2 for 5) with two RBI's, and two runs scored; and, Melky Cabrera also had two hits in four times up at the plate.

Once all the scoring was complete, and Mike Mussina finished his 6 innings of work, the Yankees bullpen pitched three perfect innings, to close out this well earned victory by the whole Yankees team.

David Robertson struck-out the side, in his perfect 7th inning of relief; Edwar Ramirez struck-out two in the perfect 8th inning he pitched; and, LaTroy Hawkins closed out the 7-1 Yankees win, by pitching a perfect 9th inning, that included one strikeout.

So, with this win against the A's, the Yankees have gotten off to a great start in the second half of the 2008 baseball season. The season is really more than half over, and with a record of 51-45, the Yankees now have only 66 games remaining to reach first place in the AL EAST. All the Yankees need to do, is win each series they play; and, then, they will be well on their way to the American League Championship, and World Series. 

Bobby Murcer is my all-time favorite "New York Yankees" player, and it was very sad to hear of his passing on Saturady, July 12, 2008. The beloved Yankee legend was 62, and died after a long battle with brain cancer. He passed away peacefully at Oklahoma City Hospital, surrounded by his wife, Kay, his daughter, Tori, and his son, Todd.

Bobby was truly a "Yankee Great", and great Yankee player, who carried on the awesome Yankees tradition with class, grace, and humor, that made it a pleasure to watch him as a player, and listen to him in the broadcast booth.

Also, Bobby Murcer was really a "nice person" who was loved and respected by all -- the Yankees family, by the fans, and throughout baseball.

Bobby, We Will Miss You -- May You Rest In Peace !!!

You will always be [as the title of your book states] "A Yankee For Life".

May Our Lord reserve a special "box seat" for Bobby Murcer in Heaven; and May God always bless him and his family !!!

Bobby, you will always be "number one" in my heart; and, also, "number one" in the hearts of all Yankee fans !!!

The two game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays extended the Yankees winning streak to four games, and moved them to 6.5 games behind the first place Rays in the AL East. Tampa Bay is now 55-35; and, the Yankees, still in third, are 49-42. The Boston Red Sox, after sweeping a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, remain in second place with a record of 55-39.

This four game winning streak by the Yankees is a statement to the rest of the AL East, that this is a long baseball season, there are still plenty of games remaining, and the Yankees will be in the race until the end, when hopefully, they will finish on top of the AL East.

On a day when the Yankees celebrated the great success Jason Giambi has been having since growing his mustache -- by giving out 20,000 fake mustaches to the fans lucky enough to enter the Stadium first -- Giambi gave the Yankee fans a gift back, by singling home Derek Jeter in the first inning, to give the Yanks a quick, 1-0 lead.

From that point on, it was an old-fashioned pitching duel between Yankees starter, Sidney Ponson; and, Rays starting pitcher, Edwin Jackson.

Ponson pitched shutout ball over the first five innings, until giving up a lead-off homerun to Carlos Pena in the top of the 6th, which tied the score at, 1-1. He finished the inning without allowing any more runs, and would be replaced by Veras in the 7th.

Sidney Ponson's solid effort [again] for the Yanks produced a start in which he threw 87 pitches, over the 6 innings he pitched, allowing only the one run, on 5 hits, 2 walks, 2  HBP's, while striking out four. In his four starts, so far, Ponson has given the Yankees way more than they could have ever expected, and are hopeful his excellent pitching will continue into the second half of the season.

Edwin Jackson, for the Rays, also pitched a good game today, throwing 100 pitches in 6 1/3 innings of work, giving up one run, on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts.

Both pitchers left the game with the score tied, 1-1, and would not get a decision in this game.

The bullpens for both teams pitched scoreless baseball through the 9th inning, as the game headed into the 10th for extra innings. Mariano Rivera, [4-3], who entered the game in the 9th, pitched another scoreless inning in the top of the 10th, to keep the scored tied at, 1-1, as the Yankees when to plate in the bottom of this very exciting extra innings game.

The Rays reliever, Grant Balfour, [2-1], walked Derek Jeter, with one-out in the bottom of the 10th. Then, Bobby Abreu, on a 1-2 pitch, hit a line-drive double, in the gap in right-center, that scored Jeter all the way from first, for the winning run, in this, 2-1, Yankees victory.

As hard as it may be to believe, that was Bobby Abreu's "first" walk-off hit as a Yankee. [Wow, that is a very surprising stat] ... Maybe, this is what motivated, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera to sneak out of the dugout after the game, and dump a bucket of water over Abreu's head, as he was being interviewed by YES reporter, Kim Jones. Will this [football type] celebration now be the new trend with the Yankees [and, other baseball teams] ???

So, on a day that started with the Yankees handing-out "fake mustaches", and ending with Bobby Abreu getting a celebratory shower, after driving home, Captain Derek Jeter, [who scored both Yankee runs], in the bottom of the 10th, for the 2-1 Yankee win -- the Yankees now head into Pittsburg, to play a one-game, make-up game, of their rain-out, against the Pirates.  

Mike Mussina, who was not selected to the American League All-Star team, will start for the Yankees, and go for his 12th win of the year. In my view, I think it's a shame that Mussina is not on the All-Star team. And, to take it one step further, I think he should be the starter for the American League. But, he is still on a path for his first 20-win season; and, hopefully, that will also be a path that will lead the Yankees right into the playoffs, and World Series !!!    

Andy Pettitte authored a "masterpiece" yesterday, throwing eight-shutout innings against the AL East leading, Tampa Bay Rays, to lead the Yankees to a 5-0 victory. Pettitte (10-6) threw 114 pitches over his 8 innings of work, allowing only 4 hits, no walks, and striking out five.

The Yankees got all the runs they needed in the third, when Derek Jeter stroked a clutch, two-out, two on, two-run RBI double against Rays starter, Scott Kazmir, to give the Yanks an early 2-0 lead.

Up to that point, Kazmir (7-4) had struck out 5 of the first 6 batters he faced. But, Jeter's big hit broke the ice in this game, and Andy Pettitte put the icing on the cake with his brilliant pitching effort.

The Yankees added three more runs in the eight inning on a solo homer by Melky Cabrera; and, a RBI double by Bobby Abreu, and a RBI single by Robinson Cano, to complete the scoring in this game. The question then was:  Would Joe Girardi let Andy Pettitte pitch the 9th inning for the 5-0 complete game shutout?

Well, in this era of "pitch-counts" and "over-worked bullpens", Girardi felt 114 pithes by Pettitte was enough to remove him from the game. To be very honest, of course, I am happy the Yankees won this game, but, I'm always disappointed when the manager does not let a starting pitcher stay in the game to get the complete game; and, especially, the complete game shutout. If Pettitte was pitching a no-hitter, I think Girardi would have let him stay in the game. [I think?]. So, why not keep him in to complete the, 5-0, four-hit shutout.

Just one of those "things" in this great game of baseball that really annoys me, is all !!!

Anyway, this was an awesome win for the Yankees, as they sent a message to the Rays, and the Red Sox, that they are not going away, and will fight to the end, to win the AL East. Hopefully, this win will be the start of a very long winning streak !!!    

After the Yankees, 18-7, win against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, this loss to the Red Sox has to be the most disappointing loss of the season. The game was basically over in the first inning, as the Yankees looked "flat", and the Red Sox starter, Jon Lester, pitched a gem, a five-hit, 7-0, complete game shutout.

The Yankees starting pitcher, Andy Pettitte, began the game by striking-out Jacoby Ellsbury. He then gave up back-to-back singles to Dustin Pedroia and J.D. Drew, as Manny Ramirez was the next batter up. Manny hit what looked like was an easy, inning ending double play ball to Robinson Cano. Cano quickly flipped the ball to Derek Jeter, who made the force at second, but then threw the ball wide at first for an error, that allowed Ramirez to be safe at first, and Pedroia to score Boston's first run. The next batter, Mike Lowell then singled home Manny to give the Sox a 2-0 lead.

As it turned out, in the bottom of the first inning the Yankees would have their only chance to score any runs in this game. 

Lester walked the first two batters he faced, Damon and Jeter, but got out of any possible trouble by getting Bobby Abreu to hit into a force play, and then struck-out Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi to end the inning.

Boston scored two more runs in the second inning on a lead-off single by Coco Crisp, a walk to Jason Varitek, a beautiful sacrifice bunt by Julio Lugo, that advanced both runners to second and third, which set-up a two RBI double by Ellsbury, to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead.

Boston scored three more times, on a sac-fly by Lugo in the 4th; a sac-fly by Lowell in the 5th; and, a RBI single by Kevin Youkilis in the 8th, to complete the scoring of the Red Sox seven runs.

Meanwhile, Jon Lester (7-3) settled down after the 24 pitches he threw in the first inning. He struck-out eight Yankee batters [all swinging], and gave up 5 hits, and only allowed the two first inning walks in route to his 105 pitch, complete game, 7-0, shutout.

Lester was also helped by the Red Sox defense, as they turned three double plays in the game.

Andy Pettitte (9-6) struggled throughout his 4 2/3 innings of work, giving up 6 runs [5 earned], on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts.

The only good news for the Yankees was the solid relief efforts of Giese and Robertson, who pitched good out of the bullpen. Hawkins was not effective [again] as he gave up one run, on two hits, and a walk, in his one inning of work, in the 8th.

After the game, Manager Joe Girardi had a closed door meeting with the players that lasted for about a half-hour. He would not give any details to the press, as he said it was a private matter between him and the players [which I totally agree with]. But, hopefully, the results of the meeting will produce more consistent play by the whole team. As Yogi Berra once said, "it's getting late, early out there".   

The Yankees put on an early 4th of July fireworks display at the Stadium last night, as they avoided embarrassment of a possible sweep, by smashing the Rangers, 18-7. This "must-win" salvaged the final game of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers, and gave the Bronx Bombers much needed momentum as the Boston Red Sox are their next opponent, starting tonight [Thursday July 3th], in a big four-game Holiday weekend series at Yankee Stadium.

Maybe hearing Hank Steinbrenner's words that the Yankee bats need to start producing some more runs was just the motivation the Yankees needed to break out of their hitting malaise. At any rate, this type of a win, right before an always important Red Sox series, was huge. Especially, even more so, since the Sox were just swept by the AL EAST leading, Tampa Bay Rays.

Jason Giambi was the hitting star for the Yankees, as he belted a grand slam [his 18th homer of the year] in the third inning; and, also, a two-RBI double in the 7th, driving home one-third of the Yankees 18 runs.

Alex Rodriguez also had a big night, going (2 for 3), including his 17th homerun, with two walks, while scoring 4 times, and driving home three runs.

Johnny Damon was (3 for 6), with three runs scored , and two RBI's.

Bobby Abreu went (2 for 5), driving home two, and scoring three.

Robinson Cano, continued his hot hitting, going, (2 for 5), with a run scored, and a RBI, raising his batting average to .248.

Brett Gardner, playing centerfield, got his first major league hit in this game, and also, walked, drove home a run, scored two, and had a stolen base.

Sidney Ponson, released by the Rangers a few weeks ago, was the starting pitcher for the Yanks, and pitched okay for the first five innings. He looked like he was finished after he got the final out of the 5th, and I thought Joe Girardi would go to the bullpen in the next inning. But, with a 6-3 lead, Ponson took the mound to continue his start in the top of the 6th.

It was in this inning that the Rangers would put on a fireworks display of their own, as Ponson allowed two homeruns, both two-run blasts, by Milton Bradley, and Chris Davis, to give the Rangers a 7-6 lead.

The 6th inning disaster finally did end Ponson's night, lighting up his numbers to the tune of 5 innings pitched, 9 hits, 7 earned runs, 3 walks, and only one strikeout.

But, the Yankees "light show" was just about to begin, as the 7th inning rolled around. 

The Yanks sent up 12 batters in the 7th, that produced 9 runs, and a 15-7 lead.

Bobby Abreu led off the inning with a double. Then, A-Rod walked. Both were driven home by an RBI double by Giambi, to move the Yankees back into the lead, 8-7.

Posada doubled home Giambi, plating the Yanks 9th run, and advanced to third on a single by Robinson Cano. Wilson Betemit hit a ground ball for the first out of the inning, which scored Posada to increase the Yankees lead to, 10-7.

Then, Brett Gardner got his first major league hit, driving home Cano; and, Johnny Damon, also, followed, with a RBI single, to bring the Yankees lead to: 12-7.

After Derek Jeter grounded out for the second out of the inning, Bobby Abreu, hitting for the second time in the 7th, walked, which set-up a three-run homer by Alex Rodriguez. Jason Giambi grounded out for the final out of the inning, but the damage was done. The Bronx Bombers unloaded their full arsenal, as they lit up the centerfield scoreboard for 9 runs in the bottom of the 7th, to take a 15-7 lead.

The Yankees put the final icing on this victory with three runs in the bottom of the 8th, highlighted by a two-RBI hit by Bobby Abeu [his team leading 54th and 55th RBI's], and the 18-7 lead.

The bullpen was solid, pitching four scoreless innings. Ramirez, (2-0), the winner, pitched the 6th and the 7th; Farnsworth, the 8th; and, Hawkins closed out the game in the 9th.

So, the Yankees go into the Red Sox series with a record of: 45-40, four games behind the Sox, who, after losing five straight games, are: 50-37.

Tampa Bay is in first place in the AL EAST with a record of: 52-32 [that's 20 games above .500]. Boston is 3.5 games out of first; and, the Yankees, are 7.5 games behind.

July 4th is George Steinbrenner's birthday. A four-game sweep of the Red Sox is the perfect gift for our "Hall of Fame" owner. I think Hank and Hal [and all Yankee fans] would agree !!!   

Well, a week has passed since my last post, as I have been busy with other matters that have limited my blogging time. I have posted a few comments on some other various blogs, but there really hasn't been enough time for me to properly post a new entry over the last 8-10 days. So, please pardon my attempt to offer a quick update of the Yankees last 8 games. Consider this exercise a little house-cleaning on my part, and a way for me to bring my blog up-to-date before the big Holiday weekend series against the Red Sox, at Yankee Stadium.

One thing for sure, though, is that I am happy the "Inter-League" games are finished. I never liked inter-league play, and I never will like these games. I think they are too big of a distraction, and really create an unbalanced schedule, and distort the stats. Also, without the DH in the National League ballparks, the pitchers are being put in great danger of getting injured, [such as the injury to Wang in Houston]; and, the American League teams are also at a great disadvantage regarding the lineups.

So, with that said, the following is a brief description of the Yankees wins and losses over the past week:

My last post detailed the Yankees 4-1 win against the Reds on Sunday, June 22th. With an off-day on Monday, June 23th, the Yanks headed into Pittsburg with a record of 41-35, five games behind the Boston Red Sox, who were in first place at the time, with a record of: 47-31.

To put it mildly, the standings in the AL EAST have certaintly changed over the last week. As "they" say, "that's why the games are played". You can never really predict who will win until after the game is actually over.

Game #77 - Pirates 12, Yankees 5     Tues, 6/24    (41-36) - Yankees Record

Game #78 - Yankees 10, Pirates 0     Wed, 6/25     (42-36)

Game #79 - Yankees / Pittsburg         Thur, 6/26   [Rain-Out]  (42-36)

Start of the weekend series vs. the New York Mets: Friday, June 27, 2008

Day - Night / Two Stadium / Double-Header ...

Game #80 - Mets 15, Yankees 6     [at Yankee Stadium, 2:00 p.m.]   (42-37)

Game #81 - Yankees 9, Mets 0       [at Shea Stadium, 8:00 p.m.]      (43-37)

Game #82 - Yankees 3, Mets 2       Sat. 6/28 - at Shea Stadium        (44-37)

Game #83 -  Mets 3, Yankees 1      Sun. 6/29 - at Shea Stadium       (44-38)

Yankees travel back to the Bronx, for the start of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers ...

Game #84 - Rangers 2, Yankees 1    Mon. 6/30     (44-39)

Game #85 - Rangers 3, Yankees 2    Tues. 7/1      (44-40) 

AL EAST STANDINGS  (as of Wed morning: July 2, 2008)

Tampa Bay     51-32     .614       -

Boston           50-36     .581      2.5 

Yankees         44-40     .524      7.5

Baltimore        42-40     .512      8.5

Toronto           41-43     .488     10.5

The state of the Yankees ???

I welcome all comments, opinions, and observations, regarding the way the Yankees have been playing in recent days; and, also, what do you think the Yankees need to start doing, to put together a winning streak?

An obvious answer is that the Yankees need to score more RUNS !!!

But, it seems like there is more to solving the puzzle than just scoring more runs. Something seems to be missing with this current Yankees team. Maybe someone has that answer. But, more importantly, maybe someone has the solutions, that will help the Yankees start playing "much better" !!!

After the Yankees lost the first two games, 4-2, and, 6-0, of a three-game weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, Andy Pettitte once again pitched a big game when the Yankees really needed one. He threw 97 pitches over 6 scoreless innings, allowing only 4 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4, in route to his eight win this season.

Pettitte (8-5) has not allowed a run over the last 19 innings he has pitched, and has only allowed one run in his last three starts. Andy might have pitched one more inning, but there was a 56 minute rain-delay after the 6th inning, that ended Pettitte's day. Ramirez replaced Andy Pettitte when the game resumed in the 7th, and pitched a scoreless inning to hold the Yankees 4-0 lead at the time.

The shutout was broken when Kyle Farnsworth gave up an eight inning homerun to Ken Griffey, Jr.

The Reds starter, Johnny Cueto (5-8) also pitched a great game, the third great start of the series for Cincinnati. He threw 5 innings, and gave up one earned run, on 4 hits, no walks, and 7 strikeouts. 

The one run the Yankees scored off Cueto came in the 5th inning. Jason Giambi (3 for 3), with 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI's, led off the inning with a single, and advanced to third on a double by Jorge Posada. Giambi then scored the run on a sacrifice fly by Robinson Cano.

After the rain-delay the Yankees scored three runs in the bottom of the 6th, on a two-run double by Giambi, who was then driven home by another double by Posada, scoring the Yanks fourth and final run of the game. 

Mariano Rivera, gave up two hits in the scoreless 9th, and closed out the game to record his 21th save. The "Great Mariano" now has a 0.76 ERA.

Reds startrer, Edinson Volquez (10-2), out-pitched, Mike Mussina (10-5), in the 4-2 win by Cincinnati in game one of this series.

In the second game against the Reds, the Yankees 31-year old rookie, Dan Giese was pitching a gem throughout the first 6 innings, but made a costly throwing error in the top of the 7th, that opened the flood-gates for the Reds, as they scored 4 unearned runs that turned out to be the winning runs in the Reds 6-0 victory.

Ken Griffey, Jr. led off the 7th with a single. Then, the next batter, Brandon Phillips, hit an easy grounder back to Giese, that was a perfect double play ball; but, Giese made a bad throw to second base that pulled Cano off the base. This error by Dan Giese opened the door for the Reds to keep the inning going.

Now first and second, with no outs, the Reds first baseman, Joey Votto hit another easy infield grounder, this time to Alex Rodriguez at third. A-Rod tried to tag Griffey, but was too far back to make the tag, so he made the throw to first for the first out. Giese got a big strikeout of Adam Dunn, for out number two. Then, Edwin Encarnacion got a big, two-strike, two-run, single, to give the Reds a 3-1 lead.

Dan Giese was replaced by Jose Veras, who gave up a homerun to the first batter he faced, Corey Patterson, that upped the Reds lead to, 4-1. Cincinnati scored two more runs off Billy Traber in the top of the 8th, but the game was really over in the 7th.

The Yankees are now, 41-35, still five games behind the Red Sox, who also lost 2 out of 3 over the weekend - to the St. Louis Cardinals. Boston leads the AL East with a record of, 47-31.     

It was a beautiful afternoon to play a baseball game yesterday, as the New York Yankees beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1, at Yankee Stadium, to complete a three-game sweep of the Padres. It was the Yankees second sweep in a row, as they just returned home from sweeping the Astros in a three-game series this past weekend, in Houston.

This victory was the Yankees seventh straight, and 12th win in their past 15 games. The Yankees are now, 40-33, and are on a roll, as they continue to move up in the standings in the AL East, five games behind the first place Boston Red Sox, who are, 46-29, this season.

I watched this game with a friend, Don, in the Empire City Casino, at Yonkers Raceway, in Yonkers New York. It was a fun day viewing the game on a "Big-Screen-TV", over-looking the beautiful race track at Yonkers. But, the Yankees had a much better day then Don and myself. The Yankees won their game; and, after all our betting was complete, we did have a losing day; but, really, we all won because the Yankees beat the Padres, 2-1.

Joba Chamberlain was awesome in this game, his 4th start since moving into the starting rotation. He threw an even 100 pitches, over 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing only one run, on 4 hits, 3 walks, and a season high, 9 strikeouts.

Joe Girardi removed Joba after he recorded the second out of the 5th inning, with the score tied, 1-1. The Stadium crowd, as well as, myself, my friend, and others watching with us, at the casino, were not happy with Girardi's decision to take Joba out, without a chance for the win in this game. But, Joba received a very warm "cheering of approval" from the crowd, as he left the mound, and walked into the Yankee dugout. 

In his four starts, Joba has not received a decision yet, but the Yankees have won three of those four games. Chamberlain has pitched 18 innings, giving up 17 hits, 12 walks, while allowing 4 earned runs, for a 2.00 ERA, in his starts. Clearly, the decision to move Joba into the rotation is a success. Joba's performance, so far, proves that Hank Steinbrenner, and all of us Yankees fans [including myself] that knew from the beginning that Joba could be an ace of the staff, were right.

Hank has to be given much credit for starting the process of moving Joba Chamberlain into the starting rotation - this early in the season. I think it is very clear, Hank Steinbrenner was the driving force that made this move happen.

Chamberlain pitched a scoreless first inning, striking out two. Then he had some trouble in the top of the second innng.

Joba gave up a lead off single to Adrian Gonzalez, and Chase Headley hit a grounds rule double down the left field line. Then, Joba walked Tony Clark, to load the bases.

Chamberlain struckout Hairston for the first out of the inning. With the bases still loaded, and the shortstop Greene up at the plate, Joba threw a pitch in the dirt that got past catcher, Jose Molina. Gonzalez tried to score on the bad pitch, but Molina quickly retrieved the ball, and fired a perfect throw to Joba, who blocked the plate with his right leg as he placed the tag on the runner, for the second out of the inning. Chamberlain then struckout Greene on a 3-2 slider to end the inning.

Chamberlain gave a pump of his fist into the air, and strided off the mound as the Stadium crowd cheered Joba's great performance. The bases were left loaded, and the game remained scoreless.

After a quick, 10-pitch, 1-2-3, top of the third, the Padres scored their only run of the game in the 4th on a RBI double by Tony Clark.

Joba Chamberlain's day was over, after he threw his 100th pitch of the game, which recorded the second out of the 5th. Jose Veras replaced him, and got the final out in the inning on a strikeout.

The Yankees scored their first run in the bottom of the 5th, fueled by the great base-running of Melky Cabrera. A lead off walk to Melky by Padres starter, Josh Banks, set the stage for the Yankees centerfielder to show off his speed, and great base running skills. Melky stole second, then stole third, with Jose Molina up at bat. Molina hit a long shot to center for a sacrifice fly, scoring Cabrera to tie the game, 1-1.

In the bottom of the 6th, speed again would plate another run. Derek Jeter led off the inning with a single and quikly stole second base. Alex Rodriguez then singled home Jeter with what turned out to be the winning run of the game. 

Kyle Farnsworth pitched a scoreless 8th inning, giving up a hit, and striking out two.

Mariano Rivera closed out the game in the 9th, striking out the side, for his 20th save of the year.

Yankee pitchers had 15 strikeouts in this 2-1 win, but it was Joba Chamberlain who ruled the game today.

Jose Veras (2-0) was the winning pitcher as Joba left without a decision again. But, Joba Chamberlain did get a big win yesterday. The decision to move Joba into the starting rotation was once again shown to be a victorious move by Yankee Management. And this is a victory for the future, when Yankee fans will be cheering many Joba Chamberlain wins.

With Joba, the Yankees hit the jackpot !!!

Recap of the first two games in the Padres series ...

Tuesday, June 17, 2008  -  Yankees 8, Padres 0

Andy Pettitte (7-5) pitched a gem, throwing 103 pitches over 7 shutout innings, giving up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts. Andy was the winning pitcher. The bullpen also pitched great: Veras, got 2 outs in the 8th; Traber, the final out of the 8th, and Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless 9th, to close out the victory.

Jason Giambi hit his 16th and 17th homeruns; Alex Rodriguez was (2 for 5), including is 13th homer; Robinson Cano, went (2 for 3), with 2 runs scored; and Derek Jeter had 2 RBI's.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008  -  Yankees 8, Padres 5

The winning pitcher was Darrell Rasner, who is now, 4-4. He pitched 5 solid innings, throwing 96 pitches, while giving up 2 earned runs, on 3 hits, 5 walks, and 4 strikeouts. The middle relievers almost blew this game, as Edwar Ramirez gave up back-to-back homeruns to Brian Giles and Adrian Gonzalez in the 7th inning, cutting he Yankees lead to, 5-4, at the time. The Yanks scored twice in the bottom of the 7th, to up their lead to, 7-4. But, Kyle Farnsworth kept the game interesting by giving up a lead off homerun to Chase Headley, in the top of the 8th; then, with one out, allowed the tying run to come to the plate after giving up a one out double to, Khalil Greene. Farnsworth did retire the next two batters to get out of the inning with the Yankees still leading, 7-5; but, once again, Kyle showed how shaky he can be, and really is not a very dependable eight-inning "bridge to Mariano". In this game though, the bridge was solid enough. After the Yankees scored their final run in the bottom of he 8th, Mariano closed out the, 8-5, win, by pitching a scoreless 9th inning, for his 19th save.

Johnny Damon was (3 for 5), with one run, and 2 RBI's, raising his batting average to .332.

Alex Rodriguez hit another homerun [his fourth straight game in which he homered], as he went (3 for 4), with 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. Also, A-Rod's RBI single in the 7th inning, gave him 29 RBI's in his 28 games since returning from the DL last month.

Wilson Betemit had 3 hits in 4 at-bats, scoring 2 runs, and driving home one.

Overall, other than the injuries, things are looking very good these days in the Bronx. The Yankees continue this home stand, on Friday, June, 20th, as they play the first game of a three-game weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, who are in last place in the NL Central with a, 33-41, record. The Yankees head into this series with a record of, 40-33, in third place in the AL East, five games behind the Boston Red Sox.

The pitching match-up will be a great one in game one against the Reds.

Mike Mussina (10-4)  3.87 ERA  vs. Volquez (9-2)  1.64 ERA 

Hopefully, the Yankees can keep their seven game winning streak going.                    

"Requiring the AL pitchers to be part of the lineup [and hit] is one of the many reasons that I do not like interleague games. The pitchers are being put in situations that they are not familiar with, which can cause injuries; and, presents a major disadvantage to the American League in these games played at the home field of the National League teams. I would much rather see the Yankees play more games against the teams in the AL East, or, at the very least, more games against the other teams in the American League".                                                              ... Jimmy Curran,  "Baseball, The Yankees, and Life"

The above quote is from my mlblog, on June 14, 2008, from the Post: "Joba and Jeter Lead Yankees In 2-1 Win" ...

My concerns about the pitchers hitting and running in these interleague games at the home field of the National League teams, started in the first game of the weekend series against the Houston Astros. Joba Chamberlain was the Yankees starting pitcher, and he did have two at bats in this game. His first time up he struck out. But, in his second at-bat, Joba failed in a sacrifice bunt attempt, which resuled in a force play at second, and Chamberlain standing on first base. Thoughts quickly filled my mind about Joba running the bases: What if he gets injured while on the base paths?

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened to Chien-Ming Wang in Sunday's, 13-0, shutout win against the Houston Astros, which completed a three-game sweep of the Astros by the Yankees.

In the middle of the Yankees eight-run, sixth-inning rally, Wang reached first on a bunt that was turned into a fielders choice at second. Then, with Damon up, Wang was safe at second on a ball dropped by an Astros infieder on an attempted force play. "On this play" it looked like Wang injured himself, as he arrived at second base - standing up - and, he kind of stepped on the bag with a twisting motion. I think this play was more revealing regarding the lack of base running experience that Wang [and probably all American League pitchers] have. It was very clear, on a simple base running play from "first to second", an injury can happen in a variety of ways because the pitchers are [maybe] called upon to engage in these activities once or twice throughout the whole baseball season; and, maybe, even throughout the pitchers whole careers, they will only be on the base paths a handful of times.

Like Mike Mussina said after the game, "We [the pitchers] don't hit, or run the bases. We maybe get four or five at-bats at most, and if you happen to get on base once or twice you never know. We run in straight lines most of the time, but turning corners - we really don't do that".

And, to consider the danger of pitchers running around the bases, Joe Girardi summed it up best when he said, "It's a manager's worst nightmare when a pitcher is on the basepaths".

Well, Wang didn't injure himself on the play at second, but was injured as he rounded third base on a single by Derek Jeter. Somewhere between third and home Wang sprained his foot, and started to limp as he crossed the plate, scoring the run.

Chien-Ming Wang will be on crutches and wear a protective boot for at least 6-8 weeks, and is expected to be out of action until at least September. In my view, though, I would be very surprised if Wang pitches again this year. I hope for the best, and maybe he will be back to help the Yankees down the stretch, and in the playoffs.

Some changes need to take place regarding pitchers hitting in interleague games. One pitcher injured, is one pitcher too many.

This is the reason I totally agree with the statements made by Yankees owner, Hank Steinbrenner.

Mr. Steinbrenner expressed his concern when he said, "It is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases, and they're not used to doing it. And, it's not just us, it's everybody. It should be a concern for all teams from both the American and National Leagues".

Hank Steinbrenner also said he will discuss the matter with Commissioner Bud Selig, and at least try to get the DH in all interleague games. Hopefully, this rule change takes place soon, before any more pitchers are injured.