Joe Torre shuffled the lineup before the start of Tuesday night's game against the Texas Rangers and the results were good.

Very, very good.

The Yankees blasted the Rangers 8-2 as the slumping Bobby Abreu was dropped from third to seventh in the order and the offense responded.  The Yanks also received another solid pitching performance from a starter as the win inched the Yanks closer toward the .500 mark for the season.

The Good:

Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte put together his second straight quality start and earned his first regular season victory at Yankee Stadium since September of 2003.  This time the bullpen didn't waste his effort.  His totals: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K. 

Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod busted out of his homer "slump" as he connected for his 15th round-tripper in the fifth.  He finished 2-3 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, a walk and a HBP.

Doug Mientkiewicz.  Mientkiewicz continues to swing a hot bat.  He collected two singles, two runs scored and a run batted in on a sac fly.  He also made some nifty plays in the field in the fifth inning. 

The Bad:

Bobby Abreu.  Abreu was dropped to seventh in the order and although he finished 1-3, he continues to look lost at the plate.  His whiff in the fifth was especially bad.  He also misplayed two fly balls in the outfield.  I don't know if they should have been caught, but they could have been caught.  To be fair, he did start a relay that nailed Sammy Sosa at the plate in the third.  Melky Cabrera came in for Abreu in the seventh.

The Ugly:

Al Leiter in the YES broadcast booth.  Why is he even there?  Michael Kay and Bobby Murcer continually tried to get Leiter involved, but to no avail.  Even when Leiter did speak, he seemed annoyed and disinterested.  Ken Singleton, where are you?

The Yankees will try and even their record at 16-16 on Wednesday night.  Mike Mussina gets the nod and will oppose Robinson Tejeda. 

Let's see if The Moose can keep the positive vibes flowing.