The dream of an undefeated season is over.
Mike Mussina was unlucky, A.J. Burnett was firing beebies and a late inning rally fell short as the Blue Jays turned back the
Bombers 5-2 at a chilly Yankee Stadium. The New York offense put up only two runs, but they did get another positive performance from their bullpen. The Yanks got their first look at newly acquired LaTroy Hawkins, who gave up a run in the seventh (welcome aboard!), fan "favorite" Kyle Farnsworth (who wiggled out of trouble in his scoreless inning of work) and youngster Ross Ohlendorf in the ninth.
The Good:Alex Rodriguez. Blue Jays pitcher A.J. Burnett was cruising until A-Rod blasted his first round-tripper of the year in the seventh. Seems like Rodriguez refuses to take my talk of lowered expectations seriously. A-Rod also made some sweet plays defensively and started four double plays. The guy can do it all. Unfortunately, he struck with the tying runs aboard in the ninth. I guess he is human after all. A-Rod finished 1 for 4 with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs.
The Bad:Mike Mussina. I went back and forth on The Moose but ultimately decided to place him in my naughty category. Mussina got off to a rocky start and gave up an unearned run in the first inning on a Giambi error (but Mussina should take part of the blame on that play -- he was late getting to first), but it wasn't like the Blue Jays were lashing line drives all over the field. Most of the hits he gave up weren't crushed. He also couldn't buy a close call from home plate ump Jerry Meals. If you take out the long homer he gave up to Vernon Wells, he actually did a decent job. Problem is, you can't just pull out two-run dingers from a pitcher's line. I would have been more lenient on the Moose if he didn't give up the two out, oh-two, RBI-single to Aaron Hill to make the score 4-0 in the sixth. Still, if this is what Mussina has left in him then I think the Yanks will be happy to give him the ball every fifth day. Moose's night: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 R (3 earned), 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR.
The Ugly:Sitting this one out. Jorge Posada missed this contest with a sore shoulder and was replaced by backup catcher Jose Molina. The Yanks don't consider the injury serious and Posada was available to pinch hit, but it's still a bit disconcerting to see one of your leaders on the bench this early in the season with an ailment.
Thursday night's rubber game will pit the Yanks' Phil Hughes against Toronto's Dustin "Mutten Chop" McGowan. Hughes started three games against the Blue Jays last season (including his
big league debut) and finished 1-1 with a 4.70 ERA. McGowan is 2-2 in his career against the Bombers with a chunky 5.62 ERA.
Let's how the Yanks pass their first mini-test of the season.
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