On Wednesday night, Good A.J. showed up against our old "friends" the Milwaukee Brewers. Burnett (8-6) threw 7 solid innings, backed by another good 8th by David Robertson and another good 9th by Mariano Rivera (21st save).
Russell Martin (his 10th) and Jorge Posada (his 9th) hit home runs – which means that, once Jorge hits one more, the Yankees will have 7 hitters in double figures for home runs: Mark Teixeira (25), Curtis Granderson (21), Robinson Cano (14), Alex Rodriguez (13), Russell Martin (10), Nick Swisher (10) and Posada (currently 9).
On WCBS, John Sterling did a "Curse of Kay." You know how Michael Kay, on YES, will cite a stat that seems overwhelming, and then the exact opposite happens? Well, Sterling mentioned that Martin was 0-for-7 lifetime against Brewer starter Shaun Marcum (7-3). Next thing you know, it was high, it was far, it was gone: Russell showed muscle. That was the centerpiece of a 4-run 4th inning that sent the Yankees on to victory against the Brew Crew: Yankees 5, Brewers 2.
Yesterday afternoon was special: For the first time, the girls (my nieces turn 4 tomorrow) and I watched a Yankee game on TV together. (They’ve gone with me to minor-league games, but you try telling the New York Yankees that they're little and should get into Yankee Stadium II for free.) And they saw a Yankee Doodle Dandy.
The Yankees got 2 in the 1st and 2 in the 3rd, and coasted from there. The 2 in the 3rd came off the bat of Teixeira, hitting his league-leading 25th home run of the season, and the 300th of his career. (I should do a Hall of Fame analysis of him when I have more time: As in, how close he already is, what more he needs to do.) He hit it off former Philadelphia Phillies ace Randy Wolf (6-5) – which shows you just how bad the Phillies were at the time, if Wolf was the best they could do for an "ace"; that, certainly, is no longer the case.
CC Sabathia (11-4) tied a career high with 13 strikeouts. Boone Logan continued to show that maybe he isn't a waste of a roster spot after all, and struck out Prince Fielder to end the 8th (though Cecil's son did hit a couple of really long foul balls that had me thinking, "Same old Logan, always choking.") Luis Ayala pitched a scoreless 9th.
Yankees 5, Brewers 0. The former AL East foes are now the NL Central leaders, but this week, at Yankee Stadium II, they came, they saw, they got swept. The Yankees have now won 15 of their last 19.
The Phillies took 2 out of 3 against the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park, including a 2-hit shutout from Cliff Lee, but, clearly, the Yankees don’t need him. They are 2½ games ahead of the Sox, 3 in the loss column.
Next up, 3 in Flushing against The Other Team. Tonight at 7, on WPIX-Channel 11, Ivan Nova against Jonathan Niese. Tomorrow afternoon at 4, on Fox (WNYW-Channel 5), Bartolo Colon returns from injury against Dillon Gee. And on Sunday afternoon at 1, on YES and TBS, Freddy Garcia against R.A. Dickey.
No, the R.A. doesn't stand for what the classic baseball term "R.A." stands for, "Red Ass," which is the U.S. version of the U.K. term, "He's got the right hump."
Jeter hits 2994 6
Rivera saves 580 22
A-Rod hits 2754 246
A-Rod homers 626 137
Magic Number 80 (to eliminate Scum, 78 for Rays, 72 for O's, 71 for Jays)
Good news! Lou Lamoriello decided not to be a cheap bastard with Andy Greene. He's been re-signed.
Now, if we can just get Zach Parise inked to a new deal, and find Martin Brodeur's successor before we have to... Johan Hedberg was signed to a new 1-year deal, but at his age, he's hardly the answer. And has anybody noticed that Lou has still not hired a head coach for the 2011-12 season?
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