Yankees Put On Pitching Clinic

It was a textbook game. Mussina pitched brilliantly for six innings and then the rest of the game ran perfectly scripted. Ohlendorf in the seventh, Farnsworth in the eighth and Rivera to close out the ninth. Only one earned run the entire night.

Johnny Damon had three hits and brought his average up over .300 while Matsui continues to produce.

Derek Jeter passed the Mick on the all time hits list and Mussina is tied for the leads in AL wins.

It doesn't get much better than that for Yankee fans. Great pitching, solid offense and good play calling by the manager. The Yanks moved out of last place and are 6.5 games behind Boston right now.

Dan Geise's nice outing on Tuesday was rewarded with being sent down yesterday to make room for Jorge Posada. Girardi likes to use up as many options on a player as he can. He did have a legitimate point in the pregame interview when he said "We wouldn't have been able to use Geise for another three days at least, so we sent him down" and went on to say that Dan could very well be back soon.

A-Rod In, Jeter Out

The Yankees managed to lose again last night in humiliating fashion by a final score of  "way too many runs" to "pitiful number of runs".

Alex Rodriguez made his first start after coming off the DL and hit a home run. With his powerful bat back in the lineup the baseball fates found it necessary for Derek Jeter to get hit in the hand with a pitch, forcing him out of the game.

Yankees pitching slid back into familiar territory with Mussina not making it out of the first inning and Ohlendorf giving up quite a few in relief. Mussina is just cooked. There is no way he can contribute to a team that doesn't have a decent long reliever ready to come in at any time and finish out the game for him. The Yankees don't have that for him. On a related note, Ohlendorf isn't a long reliever. I think he could turn out to be a decent one inning guy, but he is not a long reliever. Three innings is too much for Ross. He's done it before this year with satisfactory results at times, but he's also gotten shelled in some of those extended appearances on the mound.

In minor league action, Jeff Karstens was roughed up a bit in his first appearance of the DL. Don't look for him to fill in as a long reliever anytime soon. Also, Girardi and Cashman seem to believe a long reliever isn't necessary. I have no idea why they think this, but they do. The evidence for this notion is the fact that Rasner was sent to the minors after spring training. Most of the media had assumed that after Karstens was injured that Rasner was a lock to make the team but Joe and Brian decided otherwise. Despite that fact that Pettitte, Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy all frequently got knocked out of games early, Rasner was never called up for long relief.

Mark over at the Baseball Hot Corner has a good look at the current Yankee situation. He points out that there is no short term cure and that the market for over the hill veterans is nill. I'd like to argue a small point that over the hill veterans can always find a home in a Steinbrenner led team like the Yankees, but his point that the Yankees won't find a trade partner for it's current over the hill veterans is spot on. Another good point, to quote Mark, "The payroll drops as Giambi, Mussina, Farnsworth, Abreu, Hawkins and Ensberg go away." This is as close to good news and optimism as you'll see. None of these guys will be around next year. The one possible exception is Farnsworth, who Girardi seems to love.

Earlier this week Hank Steinbrenner said there is a chance that Brian Cashman could be back. I don't see it happening. Personally, I don't think Cash is the end all be all GM. I don't see a whole lot of his labors paying off at the moment. The only success story that seems to have come out of his revamped scouting and farm system is Joba and the Yankees can't even seem to handle him. My prediction is that Cashman is done in New York. I don't envy whoever fills his shoes, but I can only hope they can do a more sensible job while still dealing with the likes of the Steinbrenner family.

Another Win for Rasner

Six innings pitched and two earned runs for Darrel Rasner in his second major league appearance of 2008 and his second straight win. Darrel threw 87 pitches - 61 for strikes. He only walked one batter and generally looked sharp all afternoon.

The Farns had a slightly rocky outing, giving up 2 quick hits and allowing one inherited runner to score. Although the stats don't look that bad for him, Farnsworth had us all holding our breath. Chamberlain and Rivera did their job although Rivera did give up a hit. Pete Abraham over at the LoHud Yankees Blog summed Farnsworth up nicely by saying "If he pitches and you still have the lead, that’s a plus." I'm trying to stay positive about the up and down Farnsworth, but he sure can keep a game interesting.

Most of the offense was provided by Derek Jeter, who went 2 for 5 and hit a home run. Jeter scored twice and drove in a run. Jason Giambi hit a nice double but later was thrown out after he completely missed the signal to stop at third. That most likely cost the Yankees a run.

Wilson Betemit left the game after hitting a double and straining his hamstring. I can't say I'll miss him if he goes on the DL.

Jeff Karstens threw today and continues to make progress in his rehab. He'll be a useful tool to have either as a long reliever or a spot starter. For some reason the Yankees are insisting that Igawa is still scheduled to make the start next Wednesday. I don't see how they could let him take the mound again unless they had a fully rested bullpen ready to pitch 7 innings of relief.

Quality Start For Pettitte

Andy Pettitte used 100 pitches to face 32 batters over 7.0 innings in a winning effort as the Yankees beat the Rays 5-3. Andy gave up 9 hits and 3 runs and got the run support he needed. This is exactly the kind of outing you like to see from Pettitte. Even without his best stuff, he managed to keep it together and get through the innings he needed. If you can consistently get through 7 innings with your starter, your in a lot better shape to win a game than if you have to bring relievers in early.

The Rays' Edwin Jackson came back down to reality today, giving up 5 runs in 5 innings. His early numbers this season have been a bit deceptive and things are slowly starting to level out.

Yankee batters hit well in the clutch with some big 2 out RBIs from Jeter and Abreu. Derek Jeter went 3 for 4 and drew a walk. More importanly, he was able to hustle home from second base on a deep line drive to center, a good sign that he is recovering from his injury. Matsui was sharp at the plate with 2 RBIs on 2 hits including a solo home run to center.

Giambi and Cano struggled at the plate but Robby had some nice plays at 2nd base. Earlier in the year he seemed a little off his fielding game but tonight he made a few tough plays and saved a hit or two.

10 men were left on base tonight, a stat that continues to be a bit too high for my liking.

Kyle Farnsworth is doing his best to prove me wrong about his talent (or lack thereof). I was getting nervous when he came in with only a 2 run lead, but he got all 3 batters out in short order, needing 10 pitches. Farnsworth is perfectly capable of pitching an inning in relief and holding a lead. Good outings like this are deceptive however, because despite his strong arm, Kyle's stuff is extremely hitable and he frequently gets abused by opposing hitters.

Chad Moeller was  0 for 2, but drew a walk. No one attempted a steal off of his arm. All in all the cagey veteran is holding his own.

Ensberg's Mysterious Injury

The Yankees no longer have to worry about how to make room for Alberto Gonzalez on the roster. With Jeter being out a few games, Alberto was called up to fill in at short stop. Fortunately for the Yankees, Morgan Ensberg suddenly developed a problem with his left ankle and will have to go on the 15 day DL. This conveniently makes room for Gonzalez without having to option Shelley Duncan back down to the minors.

Molina is scheduled to catch tonight. Posada has not been placed on the DL with his sore shoulder and will be available as a back up catcher if the need arises.

This scoop was reported by Peter Abraham over at the LoHud Yankees Blog.

Edit: It turns out that this rumor was completely false. I feel like I've been Rick Rolled. Abraham is relaying that Shelley Duncan did indeed get optioned down to AAA.

Brian Bruney is getting the start in place of Ian Kennedy.