At last, the Yankees can be called mediocre again.
The Yanks evened their record at 16-16 Wednesday night as they continued their mastery over the Texas Rangers with a 6-2 victory in the Bronx.
The Good:
Mike Mussina. Mussina made his second straight quality start since coming off the DL. The Moose was in total control for most of the game and upped his pitch count to 85. Torre should take the kid gloves off in Mussina's next start. Moose's winning line: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K.
Derek Jeter. Jeter continues to sizzle as he upped his average to a muscular .362 with another multi-hit night. The Captain filled every category in the box score as he went 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs, a walk, a run scored and a stolen base.
Wil Nieves. Nieves finally got his first base hit of the season. He was a little too happy with himself, however, and was gunned out trying to stretch it into a double. Still, it was a feel good moment for Nieves and the laughter that his base running blunder generated in the dugout was good to see. He also gave Jorge Posada the entire night off instead of just filling in for six innings.
The Bad:
Robinson Cano. Cano went 0 for 4 and is batting a disappointing .258 on the season. His power numbers are also down as he sports only one homer. He has just 7 hits in his last 38 at-bats. C'mon Robbie, you're better than this.
The Ugly:
Home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom. In the bottom of the fourth, Johnny Damon walked on a close pitch. Texas starter Robinson Tejeda and catcher Chris Stewart were upset with the call and may have said something. They didn't show up Cederstrom, but Cederstrom walked out toward the mound and made it a point to engage the Rangers. This is a trend that has been going on for years in baseball. Umpires should learn to just call the game and not assert their authority on every little disagreement. The fans are there for the players not the umpires.
Chien-Ming Wang will try and make the Yankees perfect against the Rangers this season on Thursday afternoon. He will oppose the so far disappointing Brandon McCarthy and his bloated 7.96 ERA.
A win on Thursday and the Yanks can then call themselves a winning team.
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Nice find w/ the photo.
That bastard made Mo lose his concentration.
Time to move above .500 for good today.