Mariano Rivera, RBI Specialist?

On a day when I had already been punched the gut multiple times, first by Brazil dashing U.S. Soccer hopes, then while watching the Braves do everything they could to try to give the game to the Sox in the 9th, the Yankees game was a great relief for me.

I warned my fiance back on Wednesday that I would be glued to the TV for the Confederations Cup Final and then Sunday Night Baseball. The former was pretty painful, and while I could go on and on about soccer in the States, I think a quote by Landon Donovan sums it up well: "We're at the point where we don't want respect anymore. We want to win." Still, the fact that U.S. made it to their first final in a FIFA tournament is a sign of progress that should not be taken lightly. All major U.S. sports outlets were glued to Johannesburg, and all were scrambling to come up with their best movie analogy where the hero dies at the end.

But when one hero dies we look for another storyline to fill the void that's left in our hearts. For me, that came a few hours later when the Yankees went for the sweep against the Mets. Now, to be honest, for all intents and purposes I had come to terms with a Yankees loss. I mean, the Sox had lost so we wouldn't be giving up any ground sending Wang to the mound. So why not? What I didn't expect was for good old Wanger to put aside his 14+ ERA and 0-6 record as a starter and pitch 5.1 innings, his longest outting of the year.

The Yankees scored 3 runs in the top of the first, and that's all they need when they allow only 2 in 8 innings (or 7.2). If a team waits until their last 3-4 outs to come back against the Yankees, they're met with by the most dominating closer ever.

Mariano Rivera lived up to the spectacle that is to be expected coming into a 3-2 game between the Yankees and Mets going for save number 500. Despite some half-hearted trickery by the Yankees in the top of the 9th, K-Rod ends up intentionally passing Jeter to give Mo the third at-bat of his career. Now after watching tape of Mo cut against the Braves just last week, K-Rod starts pitching around his closing counterpart. Despite taking the count full, the Mets stopper misses one too many times, allowing Rivera to reach base with no where to put him, driving in a run.

The bottom of the 9th went the way we expect it, and the legend that is Mariano Rivera grows; the final pitch from his hand hit off the end of the bat of ex-Red Sox stud Alex Cora, from Cano to Texiera, and back to Mo's glove where it can find its way to his award mantle next to his World Series MVP trophy and his 4 Championship rings.

Ditch Kessel?

Post #2:

This is a close call for me. I know all the bloggers out there with any creditability get it by having strong opinions. They either really like something or they don't. Well, the Kessel situation facing the Bruins this off-season is something I just can't pick a side on.

The story being rumored around today (from TSN) is in regards to trade talks between the Boston and Toronto clubs that would send young standout winger Phil Kessel and a later Bruins draft pick to the Leafs in exchange for defender Tomas Kaberle. Kaberle, who contributed to the Leafs with 27 helpers in 52 games, could substantially improve the Bruins power play. However, how much are they willing to sacrafice? I think Kessel's price is up after his 36 goal season, so this may be the best time to see what the Bruins can get for him, but if he can score 30-40 points every season why not keep him around?

Going into this off-season I knew there might be some hard trades to deal with, and it didn't help that young stars Kessel and David Krejci are in need of more substantial contracts in order to remain on board. Once they signed Krejci, I feared they'd have to make a decision like this with Kessel. Do they want to risk a larger contract on their young gun or go with a slightly more proven defender?

UPDATE: No trade as of yet, but who knows. Now that the Boston GM has floated that type of deal out there, watch out Kessel. It would be kind of a shame to see any talent like Kess go, especially for Kaberle, but if we were going to get someone like Jay Bouwmeester to secure our blue line, maybe I'd be in favor. At any rate, Kessel's free agency goes unrestricted next week. Hopefully the newly imposed cap won't hurt this young gun.

Yankees Outlook

So I haven't posted in more than a week so I decided to let a couple fly today...

After losing a couple inter-league series against the abysmal Nats and Fish squads, the Yankees pulled out a series victory in ATL. The bad news is: the bottom half+ of the N.L. east we should be sweeping. The good news is: A-Rod had 6 RBIs in the Yankees last two wins and is hopefully coming out of his slump just in time for a push to the All-Star break.

The next few weeks are definitely something the Yankees need to take advantage of as they stand four games back of the Sox in the division. After the Mets series, which are more head games than ball games nowadays, the boys have a day off before Seattle, Toronto, Minnesota, and Anaheim to round up the first half. I'd love to see some momentum picked up and even a division lead picked up before the break and then start off distancing ourselves so that by the time the Sox hit their typical August slump we can rest a little and coast into the postseason.

But hey, who's looking ahead?

How the Yanks won't win a regular season game against the Sox and still win the division...

Hurray for nationally televised games! The Yankees have been on television five of the last six days which has given me a good chance to postpone ponying up for MLB.tv. Needless to say, they could have had a better week. They lost three more to Boston which has really excited the pink hats. Apart from probably the most heartbreaking dropped ball so far this year, the Yankees would be fighting off two consecutive series sweeps from both their cross-town and cross-gender rivals. (I don't care if you root for or against the Empire; that drop was pretty gut-wrenching.)

But as I look at the box scores today, I'm not that afraid as a Yankee fan. I'm not doubting them at all actually. The scary thing is that I think this is the best chance in years the Yankees have at adding their 27th title. The Yankees are currently crushing the Mets and Philly has jumped out to a lead over the Sox late in their game. This would put the Yankees back at 2 games back of Boston in the division. Amazing if you consider that they haven't beaten Boston at all this year. Even more amazing if you've paid attention to their schedule lately.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they started the season in a slump; unsure of what kind of outfield rotation to use, unaware of how ineffective Wang would be, and unable to play one of the most feared number four hitters in the majors. This made them look atrocious against teams like Baltimore and Cleveland, teams that are rounding out their respective divisions in last place.

Since A-Rod's return in mid-May, the Yankees have looked like a whole different team. No, they're not getting the type of pitching out of Wang that they want and everyone but C.C. seems inconsistent, but they still made it to first place. In the past month they've had to struggle scheduling starters around a red-hot Texas team, the reigning A.L. Champs, and a Mets team that has dominated the last 5 years of inter-league play in the Big Apple (not to mention a surprisingly well hitting Sox team).

So, when Boston celebrates loudly and gets their usual ignorant arrogance about them after beating the Yankees in June, I can just sit back content knowing a two game lead in the division will not last a spotting pitching staff, overrated bullpen (with the exception of Papelbon), and the Dominican Republic's version of Jason Giambi all won't be able to hold up against the Yankees with all their talent just waiting for a post-season run to show off.

Yankees pitching still worries me

Yankees pitching still worries me. Don't get me wrong; they've got stuff. The problem is i don't think the coaches have any idea who to put in as 4th or 5th starter. They've announced Wang (0-3) will go back into the starter's role and throw against the Rangers Thursday afternoon. This means a trip to the pen for Phil Hughes. This comes despite Hughes having apparently gotten some of the kinks out of his game.
To make room for Wang, it was either gonna be Hughes or Joba. Joba, who was originally supposed to be the setup man for Mo, has been pitching too good lately. Monday night against the Indians, Joba fought off the bugs that haunted the Yankees' postseason two years ago to throw 8 strong. When he can hit 97 on the gun in the 7th and 8th, they almost have to let him go in the rotation.
Don't look for this to happen for long. I think this may be what Hughes needs to switch from reasonably good stuff to the incredible stuff we know he's capable of. Maybe the Burnett suspension will give Hughes a chance to come back, throw a gem, and put Joba back in the pen as one of the best 7th/8th inning guys in the majors.
Burnett's suspension for throwing over the head of Rangers' Nelson Cruz after A.J.'s teammate Mark Texiera was plunked twice by Vicente Padilla. However, I'm not exactly sure this will stand after the precedent the MLB set earlier this year with Beckett's suspension. A.J. probably won't even miss a start.

Over the Bruins

As the Yankees bound into a tie for first place tonight with a big win over the AL West's best coupled with a Red Sox loss, I can now say I'm officially over the Bruins for the year. They had a great season, and I'll hold my breath for NESN to show any past season highlights among Sox coverage (however unlikely that is), but I am now fully involved in baseball.

On a night when I'm watching ARod and Tex return to their old stomping grounds in Texas they are surprisingly not the story. Yes, Texiera went yard but so did a couple other Yankees. The rest of the team is putting it together despite being out Posada, Nady, and a recognizable Wang (as I'm writing this, Wang is pitching in the 9th, out of the bullpen, with no problems).

It has all culminated in a well-deserved day off Thursday as they've rolled for the past couple weeks without an ARod steroid headline (thanks, Manny) and without Joba getting pulled over for a DUI. Now tied with the Red Sox for first in the East, they'll face probably one of the toughest weeks of their season after a couple bunny series against last place Cleveland and a Texas team they can apparently handle. The test of Tampa Bay followed by the Sox followed by a subway series. We'll see how the team handles that challenge, as it will probably be a sign of if the Yankees truly have arrived this season.

Yankees

It's tough being a Yankees fan living a Johnny Damon toss away from Boston. I know what you're thinking: "Oh, he must get picked on a lot." No that's not what makes it tough. What's really tough is not being able to get the YES network broadcasts of every Yankees game. I've got to go out of my way to find out if ESPN/Fox/TBS are going to show a Yankees game on Boston Area television and plan my whole schedule around it.

When I do mysteriously stumble across a national broadcast of a Yankees game (i.e. yesterday on Fox), I'm rooting for a win so badly. If this win is capped off by an A-Rod home run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and a walk off single by Melky a couple batters later, then I'm really excited. If the night is capped off by watching the Mets (on one of the three days a year when I root for them as they play Boston) perform their own bit of 9th inning heroics to crush the souls of Papsmear and the rest of Red Sox Nation, I feel bliss.

It's this type of bliss that can help get me over a tragic ending to the Bruins season. A couple Thursdays ago when I got the news via my BlackBerry (I was in San Fran) that the Bruins season had ended, I was crushed, especially considering that Scott Walker (see previous posts) got the season-ending goal in OT. I was so torn up about it that I couldn't enjoy unpacking my clothes at the resort I stayed at in Newport Beach, CA because of all of the Bruins t-shirts I had planned on wearing that were now going to have to stay in the back of a dresser drawer.

This clouded mindset I was in blurred my view of a streaking Yankees team last weekend. Friday - Melky walk-off single. Saturday - A-Rod walk-off homer. Sunday - Damon walk-off homer. These wins would have definitely been more fitting if I was in a good mood waiting for the Bruins second round opponent, but maybe not as appreciated. I needed to get to a point where I hated one sport (Colin Campbell is still a moron) in order to get involved with another. Well, I'm involved now.

As the Yankees pull to a tie with the Red Sox for 2nd int he A.L. East and a half game back of the Jays in 1st, it's now time for me to devote every cheering muscle in my body to the Bronx. I'm predicting a long run this year even into October. Err, well, I'm at least hoping they can hold my attention until the NHL season starts again...