The Captain may not be having a spectacular season, but he still knows how to get the big hits.
Joba Chamberlain turned in six solid yet turbulent innings, Derek Jeter broke the stalemate with a solo jack in the eighth and Kyle Farnsworth picked up his first save of the season (yep, you read right) as the
Yanks squeaked past the Astros 2-1 in Houston. So far, so good for the Bombers on this six-game trip as they've taken three of the first four and moved two games over .500. The Yanks also remained entrenched in third place in the AL East, six games behind the Boston Red Sox.
It's been a while and I'm not sure if I remember how to do this, but I'm going to jump right into the pool and round this bad boy up.
The Good:Jose Veras. Chamberlain held the Astros to just one run through six, but Veras had the more impressive outing. For me, at least. Veras entered the game in the seventh with the score knotted at 1-1 and just blew past the Houston lineup. His most dominant inning came in the eighth when he retired Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee in order without breaking a sweat. Veras definitely has the stuff to be the eighth inning bridge to Mariano Rivera and a few more outings like this may make that a reality. Veras was rewarded for his effort as he picked up his first of the season with this: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.
Derek Jeter. The Cap'n hasn't been hitting at his usual .300 clip yet this season, but there's still no one on the Yanks I'd rather have up with the game on the line. Oh sure, this wasn't a "do or die" type situation or game, but it would have been a bit of a letdown if the Yanks didn't pull this one out. The team has been seesawing with the .500 mark for most of the season and Jeter's jolt in the eighth ensured that it will take at least two games to drop them back to mediocrity. DJ finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and the game-winning RBI.
Kyle Farnsworth. Mariano Rivera was unavailable after pitching in five of the past six
games so Joe Girardi turned the closing duties over to Kyle. This had disaster written all over it and it certainly didn't start well. Farnsworth drilled Ty Wigginton to lead off the Astro ninth after getting ahead in the count. I could almost hear the acid begin to boil in the stomachs of Yankee fans across this great land. But Kyle got Micheal Bourn to pop up his bunt attempt (Ken Singleton made a great point on this play by the way. Bourn was so frustrated at not doing the job that he stood in the batter's box. Farnsworth could have allowed the ball to drop and then turned a double play. Honestly, that smart idea didn't even cross my mind. I was just so relieved that Kyle forced the pop up) and later Jose Molina gunned out Wigginton trying to take second. Then Farnsworth sent everyone home by striking out pinch-hitter extraordinaire Geoff Blum. It wasn't pretty, but it'll do. Farnsworth notched his first save since 2006 with this: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 hit batsman.
The Bad:Melky Cabrera. The Melk-Man has been slumping and he turned in another 0'fer Friday night. Cabrera hit .299 for the month of April, but it's been all downhill from there. Melky hit just .234 in May with only six extra-base hits and so far he's limping through June. During the thirteen days of June, Melky is batting an anemic .229 with one extra-base hit. On the plus side, Melky made some nice running catches in center Friday night and he worked out a walk, but the Yanks are going to need more production from him at the dish. Cabrera finished 0 for 3 with a walk.
The Ugly:You're short how much?! Turns out the Yanks need just a tiny bit more cash for the new Yankee Stadium -- about
$350 million more. Math and business aren't my strongest suit so I don't know exactly how this all works, but here are some interesting quotes from the story:
"These sports teams are private companies that appear addicted to keeping
their hands in the government cookie jar," said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries of
Brooklyn.
"I don't see why they should be allowed to use more tax-exempt bonds," said Neil
deMause, co-author of "Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns
Public Money Into Private Profit." "There's no benefit to the city for this."
The Yanks are looking to change IRS regulations that would allow them to receive the cash in additional tax-exempt bonds. About $941 million in tax-exempt public bonds have already been issued for the $1.3 billion project. So what's a measly $350 million more, right? This latest news will not affect the completion of the new stadium, according to Yankee team president Randy Levine.
The Yanks also made a roster move before Friday's game against the Astros. The man, the myth, the legend, Shelley "Frankenstein" Duncan was sent down to Scranton and Alberto Gonzalez was called back up. Duncan's at-bats have dwindled and he wasn't exactly tearing it up when he was out there -- he's batting .175 with one homer and six RBIs in 57 ABs this season. Gonzalez isn't the fastest guy in the world, but he gives the Yanks a pinch-running option since the team is carrying three catchers and more flexibility when they play in National League parks this weekend and next week.
Mike Mussina (9-4, 3.82 ERA) will go against Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 1.99 ERA) on Saturday. Rodriguez spent some time on the disabled list with a strained left groin, but he's pitched well this season and hasn't given up an earned run in his past two starts (12 2/3 innings). This will be his first look at the Yanks. The Moose picked up a tough-luck no-decision in his last start against the Kansas City Royals, but he's turned in three super starts in a row. He's also holding left-handed batters to a .233 average this season. Mussina is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in one career start against Houston.
I'll be at a wedding for this one (congrats Jason and Rachel!) so no Saturday roundup. But, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Brian will have the game covered so check out his recap.
Hopefully, the Yanks will be three games over .500 come Sunday.
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