You never know what you'll see during a ballgame.

This one had a bit of everything.  Chien-Ming Wang carried a no-hitter into the sixth, Robinson Cano drilled two homers over the opposite field gap, the umps reversed a call and ruled Kevin Youkilis out for running out of the baseline, A-Rod scored all the way from first when "Captain" Varitek threw the ball into left trying to nab Bobby Abreu at third and Joba Chamberlain was ejected from the game because two pitches got away from him.

In the end, it was another good day for the Yanks as they blanked the BoSox 5-0 to sweep the three-game set.  The victory moves the Bombers within five games of first in the AL East and one game in front of Seattle in the fight for the wild card.

The Good:

Chien-Ming Wang.  The Wanger was working it on Thursday afternoon. Wang's control was a tad off, but the Yankee ace took a no-hitter into the seventh.  In the end, the Red Sox mustered only one hit against Wang.  For my money, Wang has to be considered one of the top five pitchers in the game.  Sure, he doesn't put up the big strikeout numbers or have a ridiculously low ERA, but he wins ballgames.  And that's all that matters in my book.  Wang improved to 16-6 with this sparkling line: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K.

Robinson Cano.  Cano belted two absolute bombs off of Curt Schilling on Thursday.  Both were solo shots and both traveled about 400 feet the other way.  You don't really think of Cano as a guy who hits tape measure homers, but Robbie flexed his muscles on those two dingers.  Canu also improved on his lowly .256 batting average in day games with the two hits.  Robbie finished the afternoon 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs.

Derek Jeter.  The Captain has been beat up lately, but he really beat up on Boston during this three-game set.  Jeter collected four hits on Thursday and went 7 for 11 in the series.  It's nice to see DJ get back on track, especially for the stretch run.  But really, did you have any doubt that he would?  Jeter finished 4 for 4 with a run scored.

The Bad:

Johnny Damon.  Damon was a force against his former mates during the first two games of the series, but he had a very quiet third game.  There's nothing wrong with that, but I have to keep the Yanks and Damon on their toes.  The Yankees need Johnny D to continue his hot hitting.  I'm just doing my part to keep him focused and motivated.  Damon finished 0 for 4.

The Ugly:

Why am I out?  Joba Chamberlain was tossed in the ninth inning when two pitches sailed over Kevin Youkilis' head.  I'll be honest -- I thought the first one may have been on purpose.  I don't think he wanted to hit Youkilis, but just brush him back.  But when the rookie rocketed the next one in the exact same spot you knew he had lost a bit of the plate.  I mean, if he wanted to hit him, he would have hit him.  Makes sense, don't it?  Right?  Well, home plate ump Angel Hernandez didn't think so and he kicked Joba out.  Weak.  Posada protested, Torre complained and Chamberlain was stunned.  Torre was dead on when he said this after the game:

 "Unfortunately, in a lot of situations, the umpires do not apply common sense. And I've seen it too many times. And something has to change. Either they have to school them or do something that certainly gives them a feel for the game better than they showed today."

The Red Sox are already taking it personally and manager Terry Francona said after the game that the Yanks had gotten their attention.  How bout that three-game sweep, Tito?  Did that get your attention, too?  If Chamberlain receives any disciplinary action from the league, it would be the single greatest injustice in the history of the world. 

Next up for the Yanks -- the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Rookie Phil Hughes will try and bounce back from two subpar outings and will go against the 3-9 Andy Sonnanstine and his 6.38 ERA.  The last three games against the BoSox may have been big, but it's crucial that the Yanks experience no let-down against the D-Rays.

After all, you never know what can happen at the ol' ballyard.

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