Smoltz Bounces Back, Gets Support

I write this as the Sox lead the Orioles 9-1 in the bottom of the fifth. The game has been delayed by rain. Hopefully it won't take too long. Apparently the same rain made its way through New York and the Yankees game in about 40 minutes.

The good news is that John Smoltz looked great today. The bad news is that he probably won't get his first win in the American League. I doubt that the Sox will let the 42-year-old head back out after sitting around during a rain delay. Answer me this, the starter can't get a win if he doesn't go at least five, but if he leaves with a 9-1 lead, as Smoltz has, who does?

Anyway, Smoltz had all three pitches working. His slider and his curve were biting hard and he was painting with the fast ball. He worked quickly and looked very comfortable. It's a complete 180 from his first start.

Meanwhile, the Boston bats have been relentless in this game making things even more comfortable for Smoltzy (as I'm sure Tito is already calling him). It was very satisfying to see the Sox break things open in the 4th when the Orioles intentionally walked Jason Bay to get to David Ortiz. He took a pitch the opposite way to left field and made them pay. He's smacking hits the other way more and more often, and if he keeps doing that he'll be in good shape the rest of the season.

Yankees Acquire Hinske

It seems the Yankees have done some research on the subject and have figured out that the missing link between them and a pennant is OF/1B Eric Hinske. The Yankees swung a deal for Hinske today giving up assorted crap and getting back Hinske and cash.

Hinske was part of the 2007 World Series champion Red Sox and the 2008 AL pennant winning Tampa Rays. He hasn't done much in limited playing time with the Pirates, slugging only .368 in 106 at bats, but he does strengthen the Yankee bench in the wake of the news that Xavier Nady will be out for the season.

The Yankees only gave up 23 year old right-hander Casey Erickson and 23 year old outfielder Eric Fryer. Erickson has pitched well for the Charleston Sea Dogs, but at 23 he hasn't moved above Low-A ball yet. Same goes for Fryer who was acquired from the Brewers in the off-season for Chase Wright.

It's a low cost, low reward move for the Yankees. Hinske gives them a decent pinch hitter and someone who can spell either Johnny Damon or Nick Swisher in the outfield. It's a move that can only help them and if Hinske flops then the Yanks have enough time before the deadline to try something else.

Mariano gets 500 and 1

Only in baseball could an athlete reach a milestone like 500 career saves while simultaneously getting a first from the opposite side of the ball. What K-Rod was thinking when Mariano Rivera stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth inning I don't know, but you could tell he was afraid to give Mo something to hit. Maybe it was that mighty hack Rivera took on the 2-2 pitch that let Rodriguez know that Mo meant business.

Mariano is obviously a once in a lifetime talent. I doubt he will ever catch Trevor Hoffman for the all-time saves lead, but he is clearly the most dominant reliever in baseball history. Now I know the role has changed quite a bit from the days of Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage and even Bruce Sutter and Dennis Eckersley, but Rivera's consistency coupled with his utter domination of the post season puts him above all others especially with his counter-parts from this generation like Hoffman or K-Rod.

Aside from Rivera's stand out performance last night and for his career, the Yankees played well against the Mets in the finale, but curiously only scored four runs while amassing 11 walks. The problem was one that has plagued the Yankees all season and that is getting hits with runners in scoring position. After Mark Teixeira's two-run double in the top of the first, the Yankees failed to deliever with a runner on for the rest of the game. It's something that the Yankees still need to work on.

The Yankees can also take away a win for Chien-Ming Wang, his first of the season. The numbers don't show it yet, but Wang is getting better with each outing. He pitched into the sixth inning for the first time this season and seems to be gaining more confidence each time out. He is again being efficient with his pitches and looks to be getting stronger with each outing. It will take longer than expected but it looks like Wang is starting to get back into his groove from last season and with him back at full strength the Yankees will finally have the opening day rotation they were expecting.

It will also mean Phil Hughes will be able to go back to the minors. It will be a big hit for the bullpen, but the reality is Hughes needs innings and he isn't getting them at the big league level. Hughes will be back at some other point in the season for a spot start or two and possibly more bullpen work when September rolls around.

After a dark and dreary two weeks it looks like the Yanks are turning this thing back around and can now enjoy an off day.

Burnett One-Ups Sabathia

After watching Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox shut out the Braves, the Yankees and A.J. Burnett decided to show off their pitching prowess and one-hit the Mets in a 5-0 victory. Burnett has utterly dominated the Mets in his two starts, throwing 14 shut out innings while striking out 18 and only allowing five hits.

When A.J. Burnett got bounced by the Red Sox in the third inning of his June 9 start he spoke candidly about his performance and promised better days saying, according to Pete Abraham, “Glimpses of greatness but I’m not very consistent right now. I’m not a negative guy, so I’m not going to beat myself up over it. But when I do get on that run, it’s going to be impressive. I promise you that.”

Well I suppose this is the type of run Burnett was speaking of. Over his past three starts since his disastrous outing in Burnett is 2-1 with a 0.44 ERA and 26 strike outs. His one loss was to Josh Johnson in a pitchers duel in Florida when a Johnny Damon dropped fly ball cost him the deciding run. Now granted the two victories have come against a very depleted Mets team, but the fact of the matter is Burnett is dominating who he should dominate.

There will be other valleys for him during the season I'm sure, but this is what the Yankees sort of expected when they brought in the flame-thrower and now he is showing us the good side of A.J.

The Best Things in Life are Free

Much like the first game of Part I of the Subway Series, the Mets gift wrapped last night's game with three errors in the second inning that lead to four Yankee runs and a seemingly insurmountable lead with CC Sabathia on the mound.

Speaking of the big guy, CC was great last night, dispelling any notion that his $160 million arm was in trouble. If Brett Gardner and A-Rod hadn't padded the Yankee lead with homers in the top of the eighth Sabathia was probably going to come out for an eighth time. CC was touching 98 on the gun and consistently threw strikes with all of his pitches. Ever since Sabathia lost to the Angels on May 2nd he has been every bit the pitcher the Yankees were expecting to get, going 6-1 with a 2.83 ERA while holding opponents to a .195 batting average.

With Yankee fans minds finally at ease we turned our full attention back to A-Rod where it belongs. He continued his rejuvenation and, after taking three walks in his first four plate appearances, smacked an opposite field blast out of cavernous Citi Field. As long as he keeps hitting balls hard to center/right center all will be well with A-Rod.

In the shadow of those big stars was little Brett Gardner. Gardner seemed to toy with the Mets, first flaring hits to left and center field before ripping a homer and a triple to right. Gardner elevated his OBP to a very respectable .374. If he can keep getting on at that rate he will be a very dangerous weapon for the Yankees. Gardner may never be more than a fourth outfielder, but he can be very dangerous in that regard. He can steal bases and play a solid center, which is more than can be said about Melky Cabrera. For the time being Gardner has won his job back from the Melk Man and with Xavier Nady out for the rest of the season he will be on the field for the foreseeable future.

Tonight matches A.J. Burnett against Tim Redding. Like the other pitching match ups, this one heavily favors the Yankees. Burnett shut the Mets down back on June 14 against Johan Santana and then had a solid start against the Marlins, allowing one earned run over 6.1 against Josh Johnson. I've only seen Tim Redding pitch once aand it was four years ago in a Yankee uniform. It was only one inning but it obviously left an impression. He gave up six runs to the Red Sox in just one inning of work.

I would expect nothing less out of Redding this time around.

The Red Sox Road Ahead

Josh Beckett had another standout performance last night in a 4-1 against the Braves. He is grooving and looking comfortable in start after start. He threw his curve ball for strikes in 20 of 28 attempts for the game, and when he has control of that pitch, he's as good as anyone in baseball.

After this three game set at Atlanta, the Red Sox upcoming schedule appears to be as favorable as it gets. Three games in Baltimore are followed by a ten game home stand featuring the likes of the Mariners, A's, and Royals. This is a golden opportunity to do some damage and create some distance in the AL East. Of course this probably means that the Sox will go 7-6 over these 13 games.

Jonathan Papelbon continues to look shaky in closing situations. He gave up a solo home run last night in addition to allowing a couple of base runners. Statistically he's getting it done, but I'm wondering how long he can walk the razor's edge.

A-Rod Returns

It looks like the reports of A-Rod's demise were a tad premature. The beleaguered third base man managed to put together his first multi-hit game since May 25. That was his 5-5 performance against the Rangers that was suppose to signal his triumphant return to pre-surgery level. Things sorta went down hill after that.

Anyway it seems that the Mets are welcoming the Yankees to Citifield at the worst possible time. Carlos Beltran has joined the masses on the DL, Mike Pelfrey is the best pitcher throwing for the Mets all series and it seems the Yankees have finally found their swing again after it disappeared for two weeks.

Really the Yankees should sweep, but after watching the Yankees the past two weeks, the last two games haven't completely erasesd visions of unexpected shut outs against inferior pitching.

The big question for game one is, of course, CC Sabathia. Guess we'll find out how well that arm is feeling.