I hate going out west. It’s just different out there. And the Yankees didn’t fair too well on the final leg of their road trip. They dropped the first three to the Angels, only to salvage the last game behind a strong outing by Mike Mussina.
We were actually outhit yesterday, but of course it’s all about putting men across the plate. Hideki Matsui’s big two run shot was the big difference, but Tino Martinez helped out the cause by driving in two runs himself.
Kevin Brown’s performance on Saturday was less then stellar. He gave up seven runs and he couldn’t even make it out of the fourth inning. And now we have the whole K-Rod vs. A-Rod thing going on. Derek Jeter had a solid game (four for four with his twelth homer) and Jason Giambi went yard.
On Friday, the whole “Al Leiter returns” thing doesn’t seem as big of a deal. While he did make it through six innings, he had six runs that he gave up to go along with it. Ten hits, two walks, and only two strikeouts. Seems like his performance last Sunday might have been the high point of his season.
Thursday’s series opener had to be the most disappointing loss of the series. Randy Johnson gave them six good innings, and as soon as he yields to the pen, the game gets out of hand. A four run seventh behind a grand slam by last year’s MVP, Vlad Guerrero put the game away. Oh yeah, and that K-Rod guy.
So, at the end of it all, where do we stand??? Still not too bad. Fortunately the Twins hit a soft patch and lost three of five to the Tigers. The Athletics are back in the mix, but Yanks only trail both teams by a half game (in the win column, so we can make that up easy enough). We’re one and a half back of the Red Sox and two games ahead of the struggling Orioles.
The trading deadline is this weekend. Haven’t heard much about the rumors, but I really hope Cashman is on the phone. A.J. Burnett going to Baltimore won’t help us out too much, so it’d be nice if we could reel someone in. Maybe Jason Johnson, who’s been okay in Detroit. Maybe we can get Aaron Harang from the Reds. I’m not looking for a superstar. Just an arm so we’re not getting shelled every fourth and fifth game.
