What happened on Tuesday night in the Bronx is something you call a "throw away game."

The Yanks turned to Jeff Karstens to fill in for the suspended Roger Clemens and well, things went downhill from there.  Karstens was shellacked, the middle relief was even worse and the Yanks managed only two hits as Baltimore blasted the Bombers 12-0 at The Stadium.

How bad was it?  Kyle Farnsworth was one of the bright spots as he pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning.  Does that mean he'll make it into my "good" category?  Negative!  Still, he continues to show how dominant he can be when the Yanks are down by a dozen runs.

The Good:

Hideki Matsui.  Matsui got one of the two Yankee hits on Tuesday.  I'll give Matsui the nod simply because his single made it past the infield.  Godzilla's hit also inched him closer to the .300 mark.  Matsui finished 1 for 2 with 2 walks.

The Bad:

Jeff Karstens.  My brother and I had a nice little conversation about Karstens at one point during the game.  Hell, watching this game turned into torture so we had nothing else to do.  Anyway, we both like Karstens and I really have to give the kid credit for making it back this year after he broke his leg in April.  But, we both agreed he really doesn't belong with the Yanks right now.  He serves no purpose.  Karstens should be in Triple-A making starts every fifth day instead of rotting away as a long reliever or spot starter with the big club.  Nothing personal Jeff, but we would send you down and bring up Edwar Ramirez.  Now, if we could only get Torre to use Ramirez once he's up here.  Karstens fell to 0-3 with this mess: 3 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 1 K, 1 HR.

Jim Brower.  Speaking of serving no purpose.  I'll ask again: why is Brower on this team?  His only job on Tuesday night was to be the garbage man and eat up some innings.  Did he do it?  No!  Not only did he get shelled, but he only gave the Yanks two innings.  Unacceptable!  My bro and I both agreed -- we want him outta here instamatically!!  We don't even want to see him back in pinstripes during the September callups.  When is Brian Bruney eligible to return to the Bronx?  Brower's useless effort: 2 IP, 5 H, 6 R (4 earned), 1 BB, 0 K.

The Ugly:

Five?  Even though the Yanks were embarrassed 12-0, they needed five pitchers to finish the ballgame.  Again -- unacceptable!  Somebody had to step up and take one for the team, but it didn't happen.  The pen will be a bit weary if they're needed to pitch in tomorrow afternoon's rubber game. 

Sad Note:

The Scooter.  Former Yankee shortstop and broadcaster Phil Rizzuto passed away on Monday.  He was 89.  The Yanks honored the Hall of Famer by painting Rizzuto's retired number 10 along the baselines and will wear the same number on their uniform sleeve for the remainder of the season.  I grew up, like countless others, with The Scooter's unique broadcasting style while watching the Yanks.  My brother, cousin and friends would mimic Rizzuto's calls while playing Nintendo baseball or playing whiffle ball in the backyard.  I can honestly say that I learned to love baseball while listening to the team of Phil Rizzuto and Bill White on WPIX.  The Yankees weren't that good for a majority of those years when I was a kid, but Rizzuto still made the games fun.  Thanks for the memories you huckleberry.

Phil Hughes goes for the Yanks in Wednesday afternoon's rubber match and will oppose Oriole ace Erik Bedard.  The O's lefty is 12-4 on the season with a 3.11 ERA and is 2-0 against the Yanks this year. Hughes will be making his third start since coming off the DL and is gunning for his second straight win and first ever victory at Yankee Stadium.

The first one is always the hardest.

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