Game over, Season over - Yankees choke

  In what is shaping up to be a miserable way to end a season (at home to the Texas Rangers), Yankee fans are looking for someone to blame, someone to point their fingers at.

  AJ Burnett - Everyone in America thought he'd lay an egg.  But you can't tell me that after that dominant first inning you weren't a little geeked up by the possibilities?  Ultimately, Girardi's decision to intentionally walk David Murphy coupled with the fact that Burnett missed his spot by 22" to Yankee-killer Bengie Molina (who has owned the Yankees in past playoffs) cost them the game.  AJ Burnett is not the goat.

  Nick Swisher - Les Carpenter, of Yahoo Sports, was quoted as writing, "Alex Rodriguez, who made $33 million this season, is hitting a robust .133 in the LCS. At least he has two RBIs.  That’s more than Nick Swisher with his .067 average or Derek Jeter with but one RBI."

  Nick Swisher isn't getting paid nearly as much as A-Rod ($33M vs. $6.85M) but is getting named as a goat in this series?  No one expected Nick Swisher to do what he did this year.  Was it a pleasant surprise - yes.  Was he supposed to be the savior?  Never.  Nisk Swisher is not the goat.

  I am getting sick of writing about this team and this game, so I am going to cease immediately.  Ultimately, it is a great team that choked in the 2010 ALCS.  Simple as that. 

  Cano was a beast; Pettitte was dominant (Lee was just more dominant); Teixeira didn't have a hit but his defense saved some runs (that ultimately didn't matter); the starting rotation, outside of Pettitte, was piss poor; the bullpen was even worse.  It just wasn't in the cards. 

  Freddy is probably rolling over in his grave at how bad this team played.  Oh well, there's always 2011.  Chances are the Red Sox will still be in their downward spiral.

 

Freddy "Sez" Passes Away; R.I.P.

  The world of sports lost one of the great unofficial mascots yesterday when Freddy "Sez" Schuman passed away at the ripe age of 82.

  Best known for his enthusiasm for the Yankees, he was never seen without his shamrock pan on a stick with homemade signs for each game.  He'd walk throughout the Stadium letting fans young and old take a whack at the pan with a spoon.  The Yankees should do something to honor Freddy at tonight's game, and adding a 28th World Championship would make Freddy smile in his grave.

  They do need help tonight (& tomorrow night) as Cliff Lee takes the mound tonight and A.J. Burnett toes the rubber for the Yanks in Game 4.  Getting on the board early is a must tonight - Lee tends to get better as the game goes on.  And he certainly isn't going to give away any free passes (185 K : 18 BB) - get in there, and hit the first good one you see.

  Freddy was also a supporter of Manhattan College athletics (namely basketball), showing up at Draddy for many home games throughout the years. 

  A legend was lost yesterday, and here's to hopes that the Yankees will keep the legend alive with another World Series title.  It's now a best of five, so getting the first one tonight is huge.

  Say Hey Freddy!

The Yanks Lost!?; Revis Island back on the NY/NJ Shore; Scrabble Dominates

  For the first time in 8 games, the Yankees found themselves on the losing side.  No surprise who pitched - Phil Hughes.  Almost as inconsistent as AJ Burnett but making much less.  For that reason alone, he's the less criticized of the two. 

  Hughes is 5-5 with a 5.47 ERA in 10 post-All-Star game starts.  Get your game right dipshit.  They got you on an innings limit.  Maybe he thinks pitching like shit will get him out of the game earlier, thus allowing him to prolong the inevitable.  Figure it out.

  Burnett (who starts this afternoon) has seen his ERA steadily creep up in his past seven starts - from a 4.52 to an gaudy 5.15 when he takes the hill today.  TOR, SEA, CWS have been the last three to light him up.  Time to get it together AJ.  Don't let a one game losing streak become a two-game slide.  With TB right behind them (2.5 GB) and Boston (10 GB) and CWS (9.5 GB), the Wild Card isn't a lock either.

  Maybe he needs to get another tattoo to remind him he's getting paid an ass ton of money to win games.  $16.5 million.  $16.5!!  Get it together.  You're leaving too many ???'s in the rotation.  C.C. is the man, that much is the only certainty.  But he ain't God.

  In NFL news, The Jets defense once again became the #1 defense in the league when Derrelle Revis decided to come to his senses and sign a contract.  What a dick.  Way to put yourself out on an island.  I understand you're the "best" cornerback in the NFL, but I still think it was messed up to not play out the current contract before bitching about it.  You need to earn your stripes.  I hope Nnamdi Asomugha has a better year and you get flattened by Anquan Boldin on MNF.  Greedy mo-fo.

  My Raiders travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Week 1.  At least they'll be in first place until the early games end.  I'm expecting at least 7 wins this season.  OK, maybe I should temper my expectations - how's 6?

  And as far as gaming goes, Scrabble is far and away the best game out.

  Time for lunch yo!

Hot, Hazy, Humid, Hell

   Today started with a pounding headache and a swollen throat.  After generously pouring this crap down my throat (OK, 2 cap fulls), I asked LMD when it expired.  I felt like we've had that thing for years - luckily, JAN11 was stamped on the bottle.  Crisis averted.

   Took the fur-kid out at around 5:48 am, basically sleep-walking around the mean streets of the Bronx, he did his business, and we went back in to the AC to cool it down for another two hours before physically removing myself from bed for the day.

   I went outside and it was relatively cool out this morning, probably about 15° cooler that the hell-hole apartment.  Still perplexed as to how in the hell the apartment gets so hot and muggy when it's cooler outside.  Made me angry.  So here I was, sick, sleep-walking, and angry.  A trifecta, all before 6:00 am.  Awesome.

   I guess it could be worse.  That's the way I seem to look at everything nowadays.  It could be worse.  I mean, I have my wife and dog and family and friends, but that's really all.  I still don't think the mantra I'm living by is healthy though.  It really grinds my gears.

   Moving on (quickly before I get agitated again), in MLB news, Brewers pitcher Chris Capuano got his first win since 2007 last night, a string of 13 straight losses with a myriad of ND's sprinkled in there.  In his 13 losing decisions, the Brewers scored only 38 runs (2.92 runs/game) for him.  I mean you gotta feel for the guy, he's had 2 Tommy John surgeries.  Most guys would have called it quits.  He's persistent, to say the least.  This is a guy who went 18-12 with a 3.99 ERA in 2005.  Not to mention he's a DUKE guy.  A real feel good story, similar to Dodgers reliever Hong-Chih Kuo (who still hasn't let up a hit to a LH batter this year) and also had to deal with numerous surgeries.

   The Yankees placed Andy Pettitte on the DL, giving Sergio Mitre a shot in the rotation, so says the NY Daily News.  It shouldn't really be a huge issue, so long as the front four can keep giving quality starts (AJ Burnett needs to have a quality start).  Pettitte has been on a tear all season long, so it's really a tough pill to swallow.  Every fifth day, you knew you had as good a shot at winning as there was, and now you have to hold your breath as you send Mitre out there.  We'll see how long it takes before the Yanks make a move and acquire another aging arm (Oswalt, Westbrook).  I'd rather see Carmona or Haren, but who knows what they're thinking.  Just gotta keep winning two of three, three of five and avoid a prolonged drought or losing streak.  Their offense should be able to carry them for a month or so.  No worries from Yankee-land.

   Health wise, I feel like crap again.  For some reason, my nose continues to run (maybe the humidity melts the mucus) and my head is beginning to ache, and my neck is beginning to get stiff.  I may be coming down with the (sic)ness. 

   I want a Harley Davidson too.  I was just thinking the other day about how bad-ass it would be to ride up to a field to recruit on a Harley with the loud pipes screaming.  Just a though, probably won't come to fruition, but it's good to dream. 

   OK, headed out.  Gotta go to Target, always find some neat stuff over there, not that I really need anything.

   Keep cool and try to keep your cool.  That's what I'm gonna try to do the rest of the day. 

   I'll leave you with this.  Good for the public school education in the Bronx.  They can't even get their 123's and ACB's? right:

   Siyanara suckers!

Break Time

   First of all, LeBron James is a bag of expletives.  Go after a title on a team where you're the man, not one head of a three headed monster.  Way to wimp out.

   Now that the MLB season has reached the All-Star break, I want to take a look at some of the top stories, as far as I'm concerned, in the first half.

   1.  Friar Power.  The San Diego Padres are 14 games over .500 (they were 75-87 last year) and up by two games in the much-improved NL West.  I mean this is a pitchers dominated team - with the best ERA (3.25) and WHIP (1.23) in the MLB.  They're hitting a paltry .250 but are in first place - pitching wins.  Look at the pathetic KC Royals - they lead the majors in hitting (.282) and are 10 games under .500 and 10.5 GB of the 1st place White Sox.  Watch out for the hooded clergy, they're here for real, and I don't think their pitching will go out of style.  They have no pressure to succeed and their best pitcher has only 27 starts under his belt for his career (Mat Latos) and a journeyman John Garland is reverting back to old form (when he won 18 games back-to-back years with the White Sox).  The Padres are good man, but so is everyone else in the West.  It's gonna be exciting.

   2.  Abe Vigoda (aka Jamie Moyer).  How in the hell is this guy 9-8?  I watched him dominate the Yankees (8 IP, 3 H, 2 R) and get shellacked by the Red Sox the very next start (1 IP, 9 H, 9 R).  He's got a 4.51 ERA in over 107 innings pitched - better than A.J. Burnett (4.75), John Lackey (4.78), and Brandon Morrow (4.86) - all guys with far superior stuff.  I watch him pitch and it actually infuriates me.  How can this guy do this at the highest level?  He throws 83 mph!  Are you kidding me?  I have to move on, it's pissing me off even thinking about it.  Good for you Jamie, you old bastard.

   3.  Vuvuzelas at a baseball game?  Really Marlins?  Fire the PR guy instead of letting Fredi Gonzalez get the axe.  This was something that people bitched about at the World Cup 2010, and once the USA was eliminated, everyone bitched about everything related to the World Cup.  And the Marlins decide it's a good idea to hand out half-assed vuvuzelas to fans for a game versus in-state rival Tampa Bay?  Give it a rest.  That goes against everything a traditional baseball fan stands for.  At least give out cowbells or something like that, everyone needs to have more cowbell.  Vuvuzela Night?  Never going to a Marlins game, on principle alone.

   4.  Marco...Polo...Teixeira?  He's hitting an eye-popping .254, but surprisingly has 17 HR and 60 RBI.  He seems to be AL version of Adam Dunn - HR's and right around a .250 BA (Dunn is at 22 HR and .288 in 2010).  He went into the break on fire, hitting .419 in July.  I mean he did virtually nothing in April (.136, 2 HR, 9 RBI) and the Yankees still managed to go 15-7.  They have a two game lead over the Rays and a five game lead over the Red Sox and they haven't even had the best record in the AL East in any given month (TB - Apr., TOR - May, BOS - June, TB - July).  Not to mention the heading to this paragraph - Mark Teixeira is having a mediocre season at best.  If they played the White Sox, Twins, and Mariners every series, he'd be hitting .450 for the year (.545 vs. CWS, .400 vs. MIN, .448 vs. SEA).  If he can stay hot after the break, watch out baseball!  Good time to be a Yankee fan.

   That's all I have time for.  Gotta go work on a few things.  We just got a new GTee in, may go take a few hacks off that, get some frustration out.

   HR Derby tonight at 8 pm Eastern (5 pm Pacific) - Swisher looking to bring the trophy back to the Bronx with him.

   Be well people.

We're talkin' NY baseball

Yankees Win.  The-e-e-e-e-e-e Yankees Win!

OK so it wasn't a huge win, but seeing how Boston and Tampa Bay both lost, it gave the Yankees another day to be alone at the top of the AL Beast.

Andy Pettitte was an absolute monster last night, going seven strong innings while scattering seven hits in the Yanks 9-3 win over Arizona.  The ageless one improved to 9-2 on the season and is looking forward to an impending All-Star nod.  His ERA dropped to 2.48, he struck out seven batters, and threw 73 of 113 pitches for strikes.  Unlike previous nights starter AJ Burnett, Pettitte limited the damage with 2-out - allowing only a fluky 2-run single to P Dan Haren in the second inning. (Haren is hitting .452 this  season with 6 RBI.)

The Mets bounced back from their Subway Series loss, pounding out 18 hits in a demolition of the Tigers, 14-6.  Both starters were equally terrible - Justin Verlander (2 IP, 5 R) and Jonathan Niese (4.2 IP, 6 R). (Niese, for whatever reason, went back out after a 90 minute rain delay.  That's no way to treat a young arm Jerry Manuel.)  Verlander's relief was just as bad as he was - Jay Sborz had an MLB-debut to forget - .2 IP, 3 H, 5 R - and left with 67.50 ERA.  It'll get better Jay.  Angel Pagan was huge for Los Mets (4-6, 3 R, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI) and David Wright had a solid game for the Mets (3-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI).

I don't get to watch many Mets games - but from what I remember, they have some lollygaggers.  Maybe I just think they loaf around, or maybe it's from my disdain for the way Carlos Beltran plays the game.  I am not so sure the Mets miss him - Pagan is hitting .304 with 34 RBI and 41 R to go along with 14 SB.  Pretty good production for a guy with a $1,500,000 salary. (Beltran makes $11,000,000 and hasn't stepped on the field.)

Crap, it's late, gotta get ready for work.  T$H's new album Weight of the World is awesome.  I'll discuss later.

Slim it down

Two pointed topic.

First, I will blabber about my plans to begin a workout regimen, every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I learned in one of the classes I took in college that goals often times do not come to fruition if you do not write them down - well, here it is.  I just typed it down, and that seems to be as close to writing as you're gonna get on a computer. (I wrote down the exercises on a post-it note also.)  I just did a little workout at the apartment, but am going to turn it on when I get into work today.

First stop is the weight room to work out.  Next stop is Dunkin' Donuts for a large iced with milk and sugar.

Second, can the Yankees close out an inning one time?  (Namely A.J. Burnett)  Bad AJ showed up last night in the desert, as the D'Backs pounded the Yankees starter to the tune of 7 runs in 4 innings, including three homers in the first.  Amazing how a guy with such good stuff can be so inconsistent.  Is it a lack of trust? 

I digress.  The reason for this post was to discuss how closing out an inning will severely slim an ERA and keep your team in the game.  The D'Backs scored all 10 of their runs with 2-outs.  That is just a lack of focus and a lack of control of the game.  Frustrating, especially as a pitching guy.

Here's the shake down: 
Bottom 1:  F7, 6-3.  Two quick outs, no one on base, leads to a 5-run inning.  (HR, single, single, HR, HR)
Bottom 2:  3u, 4-3.  Two quick outs, no one on base, leads to a 1-run inning.  (single, double)
Bottom 4:  F7, 4-3.  Two quick outs, no one on base, leads to a 1-run inning.  (2-out BB, SB, single)
Burnett done.  He was done in the first.
Enter Chan Ho Puke.
Bottom 8:  single, K, single, K.  Two out, two on, leads to a 3-run inning. (HR)

Oddly enough, in the 1st, 2nd, and 8th, Justin Upton was the guy to come up with 2-outs.  He did more than enough, going 3-3 with 2 HR, 4 runs, a stolen base, a hit by pitch, and a walk.  He had a hand in 8 of their 10 runs.  Well done young fella.  Maybe the Yankees can figure out this house of horrors and come back to win a series. (they just lost their first game to the Mets and won that series.)

Time to focus up and get ready for work(out).  I'm gonna be jacked!

It' 6:17, do you know why I'm up?

Nathan needed to go out, that's why.  Yesterday he slept in, which allowed me to sleep in for the first time since like 2003.  I felt like crap yesterday for the most part, so sleeping until 7:25am was nice, although it didn't help how I felt.  Today, 5:57am and he was walking on the wooden floor, my alarm clock.  Might as well be productive for five minutes.

R.I.P. John Wooden - UCLA legend John Wooden passed away at the ripe old age of 99 yesterday.  He was considered a teacher and an innovator.  He led his Bruins squad to 88 consecutive wins between January 1971 and January 1974, including two undefeated National Championships.  No small order.  He was and always will be considered the greatest of all time.

AJ Burnett looked like crap, and the Yankees lost to the Blue Jays 6-1 last night at Rogers Centre.  They didn't even have an RBI - Swisher had a nice GIDP in the 6th to score their only run.  Completely uninspired effort last night, but it was against one of the hottest pitchers in the league, LHP Brett Cecil.  He's improved to 6-2 on the year, winning his last four starts with a 1.21 ERA over that span.  Today, Andy Pettitte will take on another Toronto lefty, Ricky Romero, who actually has better numbers than Cecil this year.  Tall order, Yankees win, Yankeeeeeeeees win!

Back to the A/C - I'm done for now.  And I'm ready to eat brunch at Jesse and Julia's engagement brunch today.  Checked out the menu last night, looks good.  Will give you the rundown when we get back.

Tens-Day

Ten points of emphasis that are running through my mind this morning:

1. MAAC Tournament.  Game one at 3pm vs. Canisius.  Game one is ever important in a double elimination format, and I think we'll come out loose and ready to play.  We're the #4 seed after all, and we have nothing to lose.  Everyone else is supposed to be better than us, all we gotta do is play the game hard, have a little fun, play some defense, pitch well enough to keep us in the game, and score more runs.  That formula translates to wins.  That's pretty evident.
2. A Mosque at Ground Zero?  I don't think this is something that NYers should have to deal with.  I was watching Channel 5 and there was a debate on it and all three on the panel said it wasn't a good idea.  The money ($100 million) is being funded by Islamic countries, and how the hell do we know who this money is coming from?  It also serves as a reminder of that grim day on September 11, 2001.  "I don't deny anyone a church or a mosque, but if I were to walk by that mosque, I would think of my son's plane," Hanson, of Easton, Conn.  (NY Daily News).  I am not against it either, but the fact remains that almost 3,000 Americans perished in the 9/11 attacks.  NYers did a great job of coming together and bouncing back, but they don't need any more reminders.  Not 100' from where Tower 1 once stood.
3. DWTS winner announced.  I'll be honest, I watch this show but generally don't pay much attention.  The Bruno guy is hilarious though, and I look forward to hearing his comments.  Nicole Scherzinger beat out figure-skater Evan Lysacek and ESPN's Erin Andrews.  Not sure if this was a shocker or not, but either way, I'm looking forward to seeing this Bruno Tonioli guy again.
4. Phoenix Suns tie series with Lakers 2-2.  I hate the Lakers, as I've stated before.  What won them the game?  Simple, their bench, which was non-existent in the first three games of the series.  The Suns bench scored 54 points last night (76 previous three games).  Good for you Phoenix, take the series.  I don't need another Celtics-Lakers finals.
5. 2014 Super Bowl at Meadowlands Stadium.  Good to see a Super Bowl being played in a cold weather state.  Bloomberg said it, this region is a great place to come to.  NYC is an awesome place and I know people from all over the country attend the Super Bowl every year, and many probably have never been to the NYC area.  Bob Golic is saying that weather shouldn't be an issue in the biggest game of the year, but in 2007, Super Bowl XLI was played in the rain down in Miami.  It's cold in February, sure, but why not.  Why the hell not?  Good for you NFL, now let's hope the Giants or Jets are playing.
6. Yankees woes!  A.J. Burnett finally settled down and was throwing a good game - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K and 75 pitches before the rains came and washed out the game against the Twins.  His last three starts before last night were a mixed bag.  He got rocked vs. Tampa on the 19th, pitched well vs. the Twins on the 14th, and was tattooed by the Red Sox on the 9th.  I hope he uses it as something to build off, because his stuff is way better than he's showed the past few.  The Yankees, however, are 6-3 in games he starts.  Still waiting for a 10+ strikeout game.
7. King beds.  At home, me and Lindsay and Nathan share a double bed.  After sleeping in this king bed in the hotel last night, it brings me back to my thoughts whenever I stay in a hotel - king beds should be mandatory.  It's like sleeping in an in-ground pool.  The thing is huge.  Maybe it's the hotel bed idea, that they are always so comfortable (except at a Days Inn).  
8. "Future gay terrorists."  This is stuff that shouldn't happen.  A soldier is under investigation after a video was posted on Facebook.  The video showed two children who were asked, "Are you going to grow up to be a terrorist?", to which the children gave thumbs up.  Chances are they didn't understand English, but seriously, are you that stupid that you'd:  1. say something so ignorant to two kids, and 2. post it on Facebook?  Stupid ass.
9. Flying anytime soon?  Here's a few tips to securing some cheaper airfare.  1. Very few seats are ever on sale - when you see a low price deal, book it.  2. Tuesday is the best day to shop for airfare, at around 3:00pm.  3. Friday and Sunday are the most expensive days to fly, so plan accordingly.  4. Book at least two weeks in advance, maybe even three weeks.  Here's a test I just did on Southwest Airlines - if I wanted to fly from NY to Denver: in 5 days, $311; in 12 days, $219; in 20 days, $189.  5. Pack a carry on bag.  Baggage fees suck.  6. Fly midweek.  Have a good flight.
10. Back to the Bronx.  Some local news from the Bronx.  This morning, two parents are under arrest after leaving their baby in a parking lot near 161st St.  Both parents say they thought the other had the child.  Maybe they thought there was a Yankee game that the kid wanted to see. 

OK, time to get ready for a late breakfast.  It's nice not having to wake up at 7:30am and get to the park at 9:15am to start batting practice.  Let's hope we can dust the sand out of our eyes and play a great game today.  Lindsay is coming up today, Nathan is staying in Long Island.  We'll miss that pup.  He's become the unofficial mascot of the Jaspers.

Misc.

TV:  Lindsay is watching "Real Housewives of NY" on DVR and this "Countess" is singing this song, and this boob who's playing the piano is convincing her she sounds good - this is total trash, I want to throw the remote through the television, but I'll hold back.  Here's the link for those of you who love torturing yourself:  LuAnn's Craptastic Song.

Music:  The first random song of the day today was "1901" by Phoenix.  Makes you want to nod your head a little bit.  I'm not a huge fan of it, but I might let it play all the way through - here's a link to this one:  "1901".

Local News:  According to NY1, more than 40% of streetlights are out on our local highways here in the Bronx.  Here's the breakdown:  Major Deegan (I-87):  38%; Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95):  46%; Henry Hudson Parkway (US-9):  43%.  Not only are we dealing with pot-hole filled roads, but the damn light aren't working either.  The Alexander Hamilton Bridge, however, is in complete darkness.

Sports:  The Yankees blew another game last night, to the Red Sox - Mariano got the loss because Marcus Thames went from hero to goat in the course of 24 hours.  Dropped a pop-up in short right field - bad baseball play.  Tonight they open up a two-game set with the best team in baseball, the Rays.  Tonight's pitching matchup is: Wade Davis (TB) 3-3, 3.38 ERA vs. A.J. Burnett (NY) 4-1, 3.31 ERA.  Fixing to be a pretty tight one, unless Davis pitches like he generally does against the Yankees - 5.73 ERA in two home starts vs. NY in his career.  This is his first time taking the bump in the Bronx.  I just hope Carlos Peña decides not to get hot - he's only hitting .191 with 5 HR this year.  Friday, the Yankees head to Queens to open up their weekend series with Los Mets. 

Miscellaneous:  Lindsay has been asking me what I want for my birthday for the past few weeks and I honestly have no idea what I want.  I am a very good gift giver, but when it comes to telling people (Lindsay) what I want, I struggle.  Nathan is here, next to me, chewing his rawhide - he loves the stuff, but only the ones with a bacon flavored treat in the middle - gives him something to work for.  He snagged a piece of Lindsay's steak tonight - I made steaks with an avocado/jalapeño/mango/salsa mixture - pretty good.  Dessert is Ben & Jerry's Key Lime Pie flavor - it's a limited batch. 

Hands Off!  Let's go Yankees!!

Yankees looking to extend domination of Twins

Today's 1:05pm tilt between the Twins and Yankees will feature two lesser known arms for both side - Nick Blackburn (MIN) vs. Sergio Mitre (NYY).  Game 1 had AJ Burnett taking on Scott Baker.  Game 2 was two lefties, Andy Pettitte vs. Francisco Liriano.  Advantage:  NYY.

The Yankees took the first two games of this series and are looking for their third series sweep of the season (vs. TEX, vs. BAL).  The first game was tight until A-Rod decided to show up, belting a grand slam in the 7th with the Yankees down a run - IBB to Teixeira to pitch to Alex Rodriguez?  Then bring in a guy who A-Rod is 4-6 with 3HR against?  Gardy, bad  idea!!  The second game was won behind with pitching - Andy Pettitte gave them 6.1 innings of 2-hit ball in his first start in 10 days.  A-Rod had another good game at the plate - in his last 10, he's hitting .378 (14-37) with 3 2B, 2 HR, and 11 RBI.  Looks like he is starting to get hot.  Teixeira hit an absolute bomb in the 7th inning, and he is starting to pick it up a little too - in his last 10, he's hitting .317 (13-41) with 2 2B, 5 HR, and 16 RBI.  He's raised his average from .136 to .217 since we flipped the calendar to May.  That's two big names stepping up for the Yankees, who are surprisingly only 6-4 in the past 10 games.

Blackburn has pitched against the Yankees before - most recently in last years playoffs.  He pitched well enough to win (5.2 IP, 3H, 1R) but didn't.  Overall, in 4 career starts vs. the Yankees, his numbers look like this:  16.1 IP, 21 H, 12 R (9 ER), good for a 4.96 ERA, almost a full run above his career ERA of 4.20.  He seems to be struggling with his command a little this year - through 39.2 IP he's walked eleven batters and struck out only nine.  He has never been a strikeout pitcher, but the most walks he's allowed was 41 last season (in 205.2 IP).  Four starts vs. NYY?  Seems like I hear his name every time they play one another.  Weird.

Mitre has been throwing the ball fairly well this year - I mean he has HOF numbers compared to his career stats:  2010 - 3.86 ERA; Career - 5.50 ERA.  The trick with him may be the bullpen.  He can fool a few hitters at a time, but starting hasn't panned out for him.  I think it's a good idea once the rotation gets back in order, but in the long run, he'll be a bullpen guy.  And for some reason, I like Sergio Mitre, I hope he does well.  Don't ask why, I don't have any ties to Mexico or any of the other teams he's played for.

Game's on at 1:05pm, I will more than likely not watch, gonna be in the city for brunch.  May be able to catch the tail end of what will hopefully be the 14th straight win over the Twins.  The Twins are up a game and a half on the Tigers, who are hosting the Red Sox.  They pulled it out last night on the always exciting two out, walk-off walk to Ramón Santiago, a career .245 hitter.  Poor Red Sox, can't close games out with their bullpen.  What a shame.

Time to take Nathan out - he's slept all night, woke up at 5:45am, and is sleeping again.  The life of a dog is one I'll never understand.