The Baseball Gods giveth and the Baseball Gods taketh away.
What a difference a day makes.
The Yankees dropped a heart-breaker to the Boston Red Sox Friday night 7-6. Alex Rodriguez blasted two more homers, but it wasn't enough as the Red Sox scored five times in the bottom of the eighth for the victory.
The Good:
Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod continues to be hotter than the flames of Hades. He took windbag Curt Schilling deep twice; one was a laser beam over the green monster and the other was a drive to right center just over the somersaulting Coco Crisp. A-Rod added a double in the eighth and finished 3-5 with 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored.
Andy Pettitte. Pettitte gave the Yanks his third straight solid effort of the season. He made only one mistake (the two-run shot off the bat of Jason Varitek) in the fourth inning. His workmanlike totals: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Unfortunately, the bullpen failed him for the second straight time.
The Bad:
The Bullpen. Scott Proctor helped close out the seventh on just six pitches, but it went downhill from there. With the Yanks leading 6-2 in the eighth, Mike Myers came in and immediately gave up a double to David Ortiz. Luis Vizcaino was next and sandwiched an out between a walk and a single. Enter Mariano Rivera with runners on first and third and the Yanks up 6-3. So much for using Rivera only one inning this year. Three straight hits later and the Yanks were down 7-6 as Mo blew his second straight save opportunity. Damn you Baseball Gods!
The Ugly:
Jorge Posada. Jorge Posada left the game in the fourth inning because of a bruised thumb. I guess Pettitte was really dealing. Posada may miss the rest of the series against the Red Sox. Wil Nieves was decent behind the plate and threw out two runners as a fill-in for Posada, but he's a black hole in the lineup. The Yanks have the option of putting Josh Phelps or Miguel Cairo behind the dish in an emergency, but if either one of those guys has to strap on the "tools of ignorance" the team will be in deep trouble. Hopefully, this injury won't keep Posada out for too long.
Boston's Green Jerseys. Ugh! Yeah, I know they were honoring the late Red Auerbach and the championships of the Boston Celtics (why, I don't know), but those puke green things should be outlawed by the league. It ruined the aesthetics of the game. For shame, Red Sox.
The Yanks will be facing an uphill battle Saturday afternoon. Jeff Karstens, fresh off the DL, will make his first start of the year against Josh Beckett.
Let's see what the Baseball Gods have in store for us this time.
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I like the color of the green jerseys, but it bothers me that they never make a "real" jersey in that color. Whenever the guys wear it (mostly in spring training), it's always that hideous mesh thing. I think that could improve the look greatly.