I thought the tide was turning when Hideki Matsui reached first base on a throwing error from Scott Kazmir in the top of the seventh inning. It ignited a Yankee rally and gave the Bombers a 3-2 lead.
I was wrong.
Chien-Ming Wang returned and pitched well, but it wasn't enough as the Devil Rays swept a mini-series from the Yanks, 6-4 in Tampa. The Yankees finished the road trip at 0-5 and now find themselves all alone in the AL East basement at 8-11.
The Good:
Chien-Ming Wang. Wang pitched well in his 2007 debut, but was the hard luck loser. He gave the Yankees innings and pitched better than his final line indicates. I also think the reason Torre pulled him in the seventh was because it was his first outing (even though his pitch count was only at 81) and possibly because he was drilled in the leg the previous inning. Again, Wang was better than this: 6.1, 9 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Good to have you back, Wanger.
Hideki Matsui. Matsui blasted his first homer of the year and added an RBI single. He finished the night 2-4 with the 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Godzilla is back.
The Bad:
Mike Myers. Myers came into the game in the seventh with the Yanks clinging to a 3-2 lead. The situation: bases loaded with two outs. His mission: get Carl Crawford. The result: grand slam. At least he was economical, it only took him 5 pitches to sink the Yanks. His line doesn't reflect how devastatingly bad he was: 0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 HR. Ah, the beauty of baseball.
The Ugly:
Derek Jeter. Jeter was hit right above his left knee in the first inning. He took his base and finished the top of the inning, but couldn't make it for the bottom. So much for getting everyone back from the opening day lineup. He's officially listed as day-to-day, but Jeter is a tough guy and I'd be surprised if he wasn't playing against the Jays on Wednesday.
So, the Yanks are headed home after racking up a goose egg on the road trip. It's frustrating, but I'm not disgusted. It's only April and the Yankees have yet to have all their starters healthy or all their hitters play more than 6 innings. It'll turn around.
Andy Pettitte will try and end the 5-game skid for the Yanks on Wednesday night against the Toronto Blue Jays and A.J. Burnett.
If any Yankee fan wants to bail on this team now, go right ahead. It looks like A-Rod isn't.
For now.
Leave a comment
With the exception of Petite, the bullpen and starting pitching seems to be under the pug fugly category, for now. They're really stinkin' up whatever joint they're playing in. For the Yanks to score all those runs and still lose is ridiculous.