A few more games like this and everything is gonna be allllllllright.
Chien-Ming Wang was fabulous, Melky Cabrera drove in two and the trio of Kyle Farnsworth, Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera sealed the deal as the
Yanks vanquished Seattle 5-1 on a raw, blustery night at Yankee Stadium. It was a nip-and-tuck affair through seven and could have been closer if M's starter Erik Bedard received any help from his defense and bullpen. The Bombers scored three runs in the first three innings thanks in large part to four Mariner errors and Morgan Ensberg and Jose Molina touched up the Seattle pen for two runs in the eighth to help move Wang to a perfect 6-0 on the season and 7-0 lifetime against the Mariners.
The Good:Chien-Ming Wang. Ace was called to stop a three-game skid and give the team a lift in the process. Done and done. Wang's pitches were up early in the contest (which is usually a precursor to a poor outing), but he found his rhythm and mixed in all his pitches and became the first six-game winner in the American League. There will be pressure for The Wanger to be "on" in every start and (so far) he's handling the heat just fine. Wang's totals: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K.
The pen. Wang was masterful and the trio of Farnsworth, Chamberlain and Rivera did a great job keeping in step. Don't look now, but Farnsworth has settled down after a rocky beginning of the year. He threw gas in his one inning of work as he struck out two and lowered his ERA to 3.77 on the season. Joba, who hadn't pitched since April 28, came in for the eighth and gave up a measly single before handing the keys over to Rivera. The Sandman (who still hasn't given up a run in 2008) needed 15 pitches to send the fans home happy. Too bad it can't always be this easy. The pen's effort: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
The Bad:Jason Giambi. The Giambino continued his quest to stay under .200 for a second straight month. Giambi "muscled" his average up to .186 after a 2 for 3 night in Cleveland on April 25, but he's gone 1 for his last 16 and now sits at .160 on the year. Jay Jay finished 0 for 2 with a walk.
The Ugly:Near misses. Chien-Ming Wang was cruising until the fifth when he called catcher Jose Molina to the hill. The talked briefly and then Molina waved for the coaching staff. I think I heard the collective groan from every Yankee fan during the mound pow-wow. It looked like Wang was having a problem with his thumb. He finished the fifth and the sixth so I'm going to assume everything is cool, but if The Wanger misses any time it could spell doom for the Yankees. The Yanks also got another scare in the seventh when Kyle Farnsworth took a stroll around the mound after delivering a pitch to Wladimir Balentien. Joe Girardi came out with Gene Monahan, but the meeting was brief and Farnsworth stayed in the game and struck out Balentien on the next pitch. Farnsworth may be a favorite punching bag for the fans (and I'm no exception), but the Yanks need him to stay healthy.
In other health-related Yankee news, it looks like
Jorge Posada won't need season-ending surgery. Jorgie was diagnosed with rotator cuff inflammation and tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. A little R&R is what the doctor(s) ordered. Posada could be back in five weeks if all goes well (fingers crossed). And it looks like
Phil Hughes can't see so good. Turns out the kid is "slightly nearsighted" and will be sporting spectacles when he returns from the disabled list.
It will be the old vs. the new on Saturday -- Mike Mussina (3-3, 4.73 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (2-1, 2.22 ERA). The Moose will try and make it three straight strong starts in a row and, believe it or not, is holding lefty batters to a minuscule .176 average on the year. King Felix pitched in bad luck to begin the season -- his first two starts went down as no decisions despite going 15 innings and giving up no earned runs.
Let's see if age and experience can beat piss and vinegar.
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