I wonder if Hank thinks he's responsible for this win.
Mike Mussina was stellar through seven, Jorge Posada banged out four hits and drove in two and Mariano Rivera got the final five outs as the
Yanks nipped the White Sox 6-4 on a chilly night in the Second City. Johnny Damon also continued his hot hitting as he collected two hits and two ribbies as the Bombers won their third straight.
The Good:Mike Mussina. The Moose was a force of nature on Wednesday night. OK, that's not true, but he had total command of his stuff, especially his breaking pitches. Mussina went from slow to slower to slowest and it was enough to keep the Chicago hitters off-kilter. The only negative was that Mussina continued to give up the gopher ball (two, in fact), but they both came with the bases empty. Mike is obviously not the pitcher he once was, but he's still pretty darn good -- for a fifth starter. The other guys in the rotation just have to do their part. Mussina improved to 2-3 with this: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.
Jorge Posada. I failed to mention that Jorgie made his triumphant return behind the plate last night and he obviously took it personally. Posada's bloop two-run double stretched the Yankee lead to 3-0 in the fifth -- his first of three doubles on the night. Jorge also tackled manager Joe Girardi when he signaled to the bullpen with two outs in the seventh. That's a lie, but he did make G.I. Joe bring his arm down before he made the switch. I'm not sure what he said, but it worked -- Mussina recored the final out of the inning. Posada finished 4 for 5 with 2 RBI.
Mariano Rivera. The Sandman has been perfect so far this season and when he was summoned with runners on first and third with one out in the eighth and the Yanks up 6-3, he didn't bat an eye. Sure, he gave up a sac fly off the bat of Paul Konerko, but that was as close as the Pale Hose would get. Rivera made it six for six in save situations this season with this: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
The Bad:LaTroy Hawkins/Billy Traber. The Yankees built up a 6-2 lead heading into the eighth and this righty/lefty combo did their best to make things interesting. The Hawk retired the leadoff batter, but then allowed a walk and a base hit before giving way to Traber. The southpaw made a tough first pitch to Jim Thome, but the burly lefty was able to muscle the ball to right for an RBI-single. Exit Traber. The two guys weren't terrible, but they forced Girardi to go to Mo in the eighth. Hawkins' night: .1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K. Traber's outing: 0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.
The Ugly:War of words. Before tonight's game, Mike Mussina responded to Hank Steinbrenner's comments about him on Monday. If you missed Boy George's words of wisdom the other day, he suggested The Moose learn to pitch like soft-tossing lefty Jamie Moyer. Mussina's response? "I don't have a lefty glove." But Mussina also added that Hank "can say whatever he wants. That's fine. It's allowed. He owns
the team." Good for Mussina. Oh sure, he can frustrate sometimes with his overly-cerebral approach and his bland personality, but who's Hammerin' Hank to tell him how to pitch? You go, Mike.
Phil Hughes (0-3) will try and capture his first win of 2008 and give the Yanks the sweep on Thursday night. The ChiSox will counter with Gavin "Pink" Floyd (2-0). Hughes has lasted an average of just over four innings so far this year and will be making his first career appearance against the White Sox. Floyd has been impressive in his three starts this year and owns a microscopic 1.40 ERA.
Time to get one of the Baby Bombers in the win column.
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