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Very Nice
2007-05-10 04:51
by Alex Belth

Well, so much for my hunches. With the exception of one inning, Mike Mussina handled the Rangers last night for six frames, while Derek Jeter, batting in the three hole, led the offense with two hits and three RBI as the Yanks beat the Rangers, 6-2. Bobby Abreu had a resounding double to the left center field gap in the first, and Robinson Cano had an RBI ground out later in the inning, but both continue to struggle. The Yankee bullpen did not allow a run, and would you believe, the Bombers have reached the .500 mark, with a record of 16-16.

The highlight of the evening came when back-up catcher Will Nieves notched his first base hit of the season. Nieves hit the ball hard his first time up--a rocket ground ball to third; in the sixth, he lined a ball down the left field line and was so excited that he tried to stretch it into a double. He was thrown out easily and there were smiles all around in the Yankee dugout. Nobody seemed to enjoy it more than Derek Jeter, who looks as if he loves to bust chops.

"It's like one of those things in Little League, where you just keep running until you get tagged out," Jeter joked.
(N.Y. Post)

It was easy for the Yanks to laugh last night. The Bombers go for the sweep this afternoon with C.M. Wang on the mound. It's overcast and humid in New York with thundershowers on the way. But hopefully, they'll get the game in without a hitch.

Comments
2007-05-10 05:19:17
1.   OldYanksFan
Randy: REC 0-2 | SV 0 | ERA 6.00 | WHIP 1.38
I will say, watching the video, he looked better then he did with us, although his numbers are pretty bad so far.

I think he will end up with a decent NL season, but he would have been at best, a #4 for us. He's gonna be bustin' to get to 300 Wins.

2007-05-10 05:23:07
2.   OldYanksFan
Moose looked pretty good except he was high in the zone a lot. He is definitely a 'crafty' guy, and I think he can still be very effective this year.

To get 100 Wins, we need to go 84-46, or .650 ball, the rest of the way. While the Sox may falter some, they're looking very good so far, and their offense is still not up to speed (although Manny has been hot of late).

Hell, it might take close to 100 Wins to make the WC this year.

2007-05-10 05:35:08
3.   joejoejoe
I give Torre credit for batting Jeter in the three hole. In the past I've been critical of Torre for doing things by rote and one of those things is batting Jeter second no matter what was going on with the roster. I tip my cap to Torre for doing something fresh with the lineup.
2007-05-10 05:36:33
4.   williamnyy23
2 I'm keeping my eye on Cleveland and Detroit as much as Boston right now. I think the Yankees should end up with a better record than the West runner-up as well as Minnesota and Chicago. Hopefully, once the Central teams start battling it out, that will leave a path for the Yankees to the Wild Card should Boston continue to play well. It might take 100 to win the division, but I don't think the WC will require that much.
2007-05-10 05:42:21
5.   williamnyy23
3 I agree...but should he stay there? I think Abreu and Jeter would make a great #2/3 tandem.
2007-05-10 05:52:59
6.   vockins
I have got two seats in Tier 2 for anyone that wants them, no charge.

Contact me at vockins at yahoo and we'll work something out for the transfer. I'll be at the game.

2007-05-10 05:55:16
7.   Alex Belth
Anyone else notice that Jeter's ripped a couple of balls to left field lately?
2007-05-10 06:11:21
8.   williamnyy23
7 I don't think that should come as too much of a surprise. While Jeter does mostly go the other way, he also frequently turns on high fastballs (especially from Sydney Ponson).
2007-05-10 06:17:24
9.   Jim Dean
1 Keep in mind everyone that Old opened the can this time.

Technically those three runs Unit put on base but the bullpen let him down with that pinch slam by Howard. And last time out he went 7 innings against the Mets lineup.

Me, I think Roger is certainly an upgrade as the number 4 and in the clubhouse. The money's a wash (because of the prorated contract for Rcoket) though they would have had Unit two weeks ago and he would have helped then (in contrast to Igawa). I'm just more disappointed that they got nothing for him that helped the 2007 team than that they shipped him out.

3 I agree. Props to Joe. And now that he's back to bullpen by the numbers, he should be fine.

4 Too early to think about the wild card. Everyone seems to forget that the Yanks are only in this position because of injuries. Really, what are the chances that the Sox make it through the whole season without one or three? Based on the histories of Schilling, Wake, Beckett, Paps, Manny, and even Ortiz, I'd say not good. They'll have a similar stretch.

Meanwhile, the ESPN crew was convinced that the Sox have the better rotation, but objectively, if it comes down to a 7 game series, I'm not so sure.

1. Wang v Beckett
2. Rocket v Schilling
3. Pettitte v Matsuzaka
4. Moose v Wake

No matter how you cut it, I don't see how the Yanks don't have the advantage. I guess if Beckett stays this way all year and Matsuzaka lives up to his hype then - yes. But from what we saw when they faced the Yankee lineup? I didn't come away impressed and they're going to have to prove otherwise.

And of course, Hughes probably should be in there but it would be fun to see him come out of the bullpen for a few innings here and there.

The season is most definitely going to be fun.

7 It was nice to see him turn on that high fast ball yesterday. Great point.

2007-05-10 06:32:18
10.   RIYank
9 Injuries "Based on the histories of Schilling... and even Ortiz..."
And J. D. Drew! How could you forget?
2007-05-10 06:40:48
11.   seamus
9 Sox are overperforming and they will falter.
2007-05-10 06:44:53
12.   Jim Dean
10 Very true, my bad. But he's already sucking. I love the fact that Trot Nixon is performaing better than Drew.
2007-05-10 06:46:03
13.   Jim Rice
Has David Ortiz been on the disabled list since 2002?

Mostly right about the other guys, though.

2007-05-10 06:49:56
14.   Jim Dean
13 He din't get DL'ed for the heart thingy? But would be really be a surprise if the big man starts to break down?
2007-05-10 06:57:59
15.   Mike from Hoboken
With interleague play coming up, I was beginning to think some of the pitchers would get hits before Nieves did.

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