Yanks Win Michael Kay Special

One of the things I like the least about being a Yankee Fan is broadcaster Michael Kay's definition of a "manageable game." It has to be under 3 hours.

"And the time of the game, a manageable 2 hours and 54 minutes."

"And the time of the game, a barely manageable 3 hours even."

"And the time of the game, an unmanageable 3 hours and 21 minutes."

If the game goes into extra innings and the Yankees win, or if it's a typical Yankee game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway or against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, it could end up as follows: "And the time of the game, a grossly unmanageable but very enjoyable 4 hours and 17 minutes."

My definition of a "manageable game": The Yankees won.

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Last night, Kay must've concluded his broadcast by smoking a cigarette and saying, "Oh, God, that was great!" The game lasted just 2 hours and 22 minutes... and it was against the Orioles! Of course, it was at Yankee Stadium II, not at the Baltimore bandbox.

Jason Hammel (3-1) pitched well for the O's, but not quite well enough. His one mistake was giving up a home run to Eric Chavez (his 3rd of the season) in the 2nd inning. That homer held up, as Hiroki Kuroda (2-3) had his best performance in his so-far brief Pinstriped career, going 7 strong innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk. This included covering home plate on a bad pitch that Russell Martin got back to him to prevent the tying run from scoring. David Robertson struck out the side in the 8th, and Mariano Rivera shut the O's down in the 9th (5th save).

Yankees 2, Orioles 1 in the opener of a 3-game series. Very manageable.

Tonight's starting pitchers will be Phil Hughes -- pitching for his starting life? -- against Brian Matusz.

The Yankees remain a game and a half behind the Tampa Bay Rays, 1 in the loss column. The O’s are a game behind, the Toronto Blue Jays 3, and the Red Sox 3½ (3).