Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Winning Continues

The Yankees managed a 12-4 win over the Minnesota twins last night, continuing the win streak of recently acquired Sidney Ponson. Ponson certainly didn't look all that sharp, but when he pitches, the offense shows up. Sidney lasted 5.2 innings before being relieved by Edwar Ramirez. In the seventh inning, Robertson came in and retired the side in order. Honestly, who saw this guy being on the roster and making a contribution. So far in the appearances he's made, he's been extremely efficient. LaTroy Hawkins came in to pitch the last two innings and held onto the lead.

Alex Rodriguez racked up 3 RBIs, 2 hits and a home run. Robinson Cano continues to show us he's got his swing back, hitting a homer of his own and adding 2 RBIs.

Fellow Yankee Blogger Mark Serio over at the Baseball Hot Corner points out the odd luck of baseball. Beleaguered pitcher Sidney Ponson has a remarkable record with the Yankees despite some not-so-stellar performances. Joba Chamberlain, the Yankee Wunderkind, can't seem to buy a supporting run. I'm still getting over Chien Ming Wang's 1-0 loss much earlier in the season when the Wanger pitched a beauty but the offense couldn't score.

For the most part this season, the key word has been consistency. The team just doesn't have it. The offense is the worse offender, but pitching has fallen prey as well. If the team could figure out how it is doing things when they are playing well and could repeat those performances, they'd be World Series bound but for now with the inconsistent play, even a wild card looks iffy.

The Yanks win is their fourth in a row. With Boston and Tampa winning, they didn't pick up any ground, but they didn't fall any further behind and they kept the momentum going. Maybe, just maybe they'll start to gain a little of that consistency that's been lacking.

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