They say speed kills, but three-run homers can be just as deadly.
Andy Pettitte never looked comfortable and Torii Hunter, Juan Rivera and Vladimir Guerrero each mashed three-run bombs as the
Angles squashed the Yanks 12-6 at The Stadium. The Yanks were never in this one (although they flirted with a minor comeback with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to cut the lead to 6-2) and with the loss dropped 4.5 games behind the idle Tampa Rays in the AL East.
Ivan Rodriguez made his pinstriped debut Thursday and had a rough night. I-Rod finished 1 for 3, but allowed three stolen bases (not all his fault), never seemed to get on the same page with Pettitte, absorbed a wild pitch and was thrown out at the plate (See: Ugly). Hang in there, Pudge.
The Good:
Bobby Abreu. The Yankee offense started and ended with The Candy Man. Abreu notched his third home run in the past two days with a solo blast in the fourth inning to give the Yankees their first run of the ballgame. Bobby knocked in his second run of the game with a ground out in the ninth to cap the Bombers' scoring. Abeu has been hot, hot, hot lately. He brought a .524 average over his past seven games into Thursday's action. Abreu finished 1 for 5 with a run scored and 2 RBIs.
The Bad:Andy Pettitte. It looked gloomy from the start. Pettitte tap danced in and out of trouble in the first two innings, but the Angels dropped the hammer on him in the third. Hunter burned Pettitte for a two-out, three-run jack for a 3-0 Angles lead and Rivera eventually followed with a three-run dinger of his own to double the lead to 6-0. The Angels never looked back. Andy managed to pitch into the sixth (a minor miracle considering his rocky third inning), but was pulled after giving up another run and allowing runners on first and second with one out. Pettitte fell to 12-8 on the season and his final numbers look even worse thanks to this next guy: 5.1 IP, 11 H, 9 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HR.
Chris Britton. The Yankees called up Britton from Triple-A (
Chad Moeller was designated for assignment) on Thursday and it didn't take long for the chunky right-hander to see some action. Britton, who's back in New York for the fifth time this season, entered the game in the sixth with the Bombers down 7-2 and gave up another two-out, three-run blast to push the deficit to 10-2. Britton took one for the team and finished out the rout, but not before giving up two more runs. Britton's ugliness: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR.
The Ugly:Bad call. It didn't matter in the final analysis, but the Yanks were robbed of another run in the seventh inning and it came on a pretty kooky play. The Bombers had runners on first and third with nobody out and Johnny Damon at the dish. Darren Oliver was on the hill for the Angels (can you believe he's still around? And that he's having a good year?). Damon laced a line drive back to Oliver, who fumbled it and then turned for the force out at second. Oliver nearly stumbled on the throw and almost launched it into center, but shortstop Erick Aybar made the stop and recorded the out. Then Aybar fired home and nailed I-Rod racing home on the play. Only he didn't nail him. Even in "regular" speed, Pudge looked safe and it was later confirmed on the replay. And it wasn't even close. Umpires are human and home plate ump Ed Hickox proved that on Thursday night. The only saving grace was that his call came in a blowout.
The trading deadline came and went and the Yanks didn't make any major moves. But the Red Sox sure did.
Manny Ramirez was sent packing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal that also included the Pittsburgh Pirates. In essence, the trade was Ramirez for Jason Bay. Bay and Ramirez's numbers are pretty comparable this season, but I think everyone will agree that Man Ram is by far the better hitter. I'll admit that I was a bit surprised by the move. Oh sure, Ramirez was rumored to be on the block, but I didn't think the Sox would pull the trigger. Anyway, Bay is a nice player, but Boston will miss Manny's bat in the lineup. And that's good news for the Yanks.
The Yankees did make a couple of
trades, but they were minor. Alberto Gonzalez was sent to the Washington Nationals for right-hander minor league pitcher Jhonny Nunez and LaTroy Hawkins was shipped to the Houston Astros for infielder Matt Cusick. The Bombers also signed veteran pitcher
Victor Zambrano to a minor league deal. I don't see any of these guys helping the Yanks for the stretch run (or in the future).
The Yanks will try and get back on track Friday night with Sidney Ponson (6-2, 4.59 ERA). The Angels will start Ervin Santana (11-5, 3.57 ERA). Santana is having a great season, but was a bit spotty in July. Santana finished 2-2 with a 4.36 ERA in five starts during the month and has dropped his past two decisions. Ervin (who changed his name from
Johan as to avoid confusion with another pitcher) is 4-1 in five career starts against the Yanks, but sports a bloated 6.15 ERA in those games. Ponson was slapped around in his last start against the Red Sox, giving up seven runs on 10 hits in four innings in a 9-2 Boston victory. The Arubian Knight's time in the rotation may be winding down (it should be, anyway), but the Yanks are 4-1 in his starts this season. Ponson is 7-2 with a 4.67 ERA in 13 career appearances against the Halos.
Time to flip the calendar to August.
Hopefully, Sid won't make it a dog day.
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