It took some time, but the Yankees finally put together a quality start with some offensive firepower. That recipe gave the Bombers an 8-1 victory over the White Sox on Wednesday night and a split in the day/night doubleheader in the Windy City.

The game was a pitcher's duel in the early going as Chien-Ming Wang and Jose Contreras went tit for tat for the first six with the Yanks clinging to a 2-1 advantage.  Then the Yankee bats caught fire and scored six runs over the final three innings to bury the ChiSox.

The Good:

Chien-Ming Wang.  Wang looked like the ace tonight.  He started strong and finished strong.  He probably could have tried for the complete game, but baseball isn't played that way anymore.  Still, his numbers were stellar: 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Melky Cabrera.  Melky blasted a homer in the ninth, but made the play of the game on defense when he gunned out Pablo Ozuna at third to end the sixth inning.  Maybe Ozuna thought Damon was out there in center.  Cabrera had himself a nice little doubleheader.

Hideki Matsui.  Matsui drove in the first two runs for the Yanks in the third and then drove in the final two in the ninth to finish with 4 RBI.  His 3 for 5 night brought his average up to .287 on the year.

The Bad:

Alex Rodriguez.  A-Rod hit the ball hard a few times, but finished 0 for 4 on the night.  He was 0 for 8 in the doubleheader and looks like he's falling back into some bad habits and the plate.

The Ugly:

Dick Butkus.  YES briefly showed the former Bear throwing out the first pitch for Game 2.  I never saw Butkus play, but I loved watching his career highlights on NFL Films when I was a kid.  It's a shame to see NFL legends like Butkus limp around the field now. I'm sure he doesn't want pity and I don't know his situation with the NFL Player's Association, but older guys like Butkus should be compensated for leaving everything they had on the field.  Do the right thing NFLPA and boost retirement benefits for the guys who made the NFL what it is today.  

After playing about six hours of baseball on Wednesday night, the Yanks and White Sox will be rewarded with a 2:00 p.m. start for Thursday's rubber game.  Rookie Matt DeSalvo will go against Jon Garland.  DeSalvo will try and make it three quality starts in a row and will finally face a team other than the Seattle Mariners.

A win on Thursday will inch the Yanks one game closer to .500 heading into the Subway Series this weekend against the Mets.