An ANGELic Series

The Yankees did exactly what we needed to do - we got two wins in our three games in Anaheim - first Yankees series win in Anaheim since 2004. Boston has lost two of three to KC (they are playing now - no score), allowing the Yankees to get back to a five game lead in the loss column. We've got 9 regular season games left. Our "magic" number is 5 (any combination of 5 Yankees wins and Evils losses gives us the division). Shouldn't be too hard.

Perhaps the biggest thing is that AJ Burnett looked good for the second game in a row. We need him on a roll in the playoffs.

Biggest problem is Joba. The "Joba Rules" have messed him up royally, at least for this year. His start against the Evils tomorrow night is a big deal.

Yanks need to win one of the games against the Sox. Two would be great. Three would be heavenly - and clinch the AL East.

Let's go Yankees.

Three Big Outs

Yankees got a sac fly in the top of the ninth (by A-rod) to take a 6-5 lead. Mariano is coming in to get three outs in the ninth. If we win, we will have a 6 game lead (5 in the loss column) with 10 games left. I think it will all be over.

The bigger thing is two-fold. 1) We really need to beat the Angels in Anaheim - just for confidence.

2) Mariano needs to get back on track after the fiasco in Seattle.

A-rod has a home run, a sac fly and a great play with the bases loaded to stop the Angels from taking the lead. Let's go Yankees - finish it off!

First up - Morales, who is 5 for his last 5 at-bats. Full Count. Morales swung at ball four. Walked him. Tying run on with no outs. We can't get this Morales guy out.

Juan Rivera - ball one. Mariano does not look sharp tonight. WOW! A strike-em-out throw-em-out double play. Two outs and no one on.

Erick Aybar - grounds out on first pitch.

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

A big day for the Yankees! I am going to breath a little easier now.

Baseball is a WEIRD Game

The Red Sox have been almost unbeatable recently, and I was actually starting to be afraid that they might catch the Yankees for the AL East title. Then, they go into KC to play one of the truly bad teams in baseball. Low and behold, the Evils lose two straight to the Royals - my new second favorite team.

The Yankees are stinking it up again tonight in Anaheim. They had runners at first and third in the first, so A-rod struck out and we stranded the runners. Then, Cano led off the second with a double and we stranded him at third.

If we could somehow win tonight in Anaheim, the magic number will be 6. It stands at 7 now.

Another weird thing: I mentioned above how bad the Yankees are doing, and within a minute or two of publishing that, both A-rod and Jorge have hit 2-run home runs. Now, Chad Gaudin has got to keep throwing blanks!

Gotta LOVE the Royals!

I'm now a huge Royals fan. Tonight was looking pretty depressing. The Yankees are down 3-0 in the 6th inning and they just aren't hitting (haven't been since they flew to the West Coast.) The Boston Evils were up 6-0 against the Kansas City Royals, one of the worst teams in baseball. It was looking bleak. The Yankees lead is down to 5 games, 4 in the loss column. Another Yankees lose, Evils win night would suddenly make this thing a race.

Then, KC's bats came alive. They started scoring and just kept on going. They beat Boston 12-9 and took the pressure off a little. The magic number is now 8.

If only the Yankees can come back and win tonight! If only...

I LOVE CC Sabathia!

After a difficult loss yesterday, and another win by the Red Evils today, we really needed a win tonight. We got it. CC was masterful. Texeira brought the bat (2 HR's, a triple and a single). It was a much needed win.

Our magic number is now 9. Any combination of Yankee wins or Evil losses totaling 9 and we win the AL East. We have 13 games left. So, if we go 9-4, we are in. If the Red Evils lose 2 games, then we have to go 7-6.

Let's go, Joba! A win tomorrow in Seattle would be great. And, for Pete's sake, couldn't you Evils lose one tomorrow?

That One Stung a Little

Mariano struck out the first two batters.

Then, in two pitches the game was lost. Sweeney double. Ichiro home run.

That Ichiro is amazing. AAARRRGGGHHH!

Boston picks up a game.

The Irrelevance of ERA

A pitcher's ERA (earned run average) is one of the key statistics used to judge a pitcher's quality. It is probably that CC Sabathia will lose the Cy Young this year to Zach Grienke because of the difference in their ERA's, even though CC has more wins.

But, watching the Yanks in Seattle tonight, I thought about how skewed that statistic can be. The Yankees have only gotten 2 runs so far (lead 2-1 at this point in the seventh). But if this game was being played at Yankee stadium they would have 5 or 6 runs. They have hit several balls that would have been out of the park at New Yankee Stadium , which went for harmless outs in Seattle. Swisher crushed one that was caught at the wall.

It is no wonder, with half his starts at Yankee stadium that CC's ERA is a little higher than pitchers like Felix Hernandez (pitching against us tonight) who pitches half his games in the cavern they call Safeco field.

I am not saying that ERA is insignificant. I'm just saying that since ballparks are so different, it is a statistic that will be skewed, like hitting stats in Colorado.

(One more thing, while I'm at it - the Yankees hit into more double plays than any team in the history of baseball - it is FRUSTRATING!!)