Yankees Sweep Padres

The Good

Another good start by Joba as he went 5.2 innings with 1 run and 9 strikeouts. Just as impressive, the middle relief held it together to get the ball to Mariano who pitched a perfect 3 strikeout 9th for the save. Veras and Farnsworth combined to pitch 2.1 innings with 3 strikeouts. Joba made a nice play at home getting a flip from Molina after a passed ball to tag out Edgar Gonzalez at home. He put his knee down to block home plate which was risky, but that's how Joba rolls.

The offense wasn't as lively as you'd like but both A-Rod and Molina had RBI's while Jeter went 2-3. The Yankees stole another 4 bases on the Padres further showing their disregard for San Diego catchers. Melky was key in today's victory when he drew a walk, stole second and then stole third to later get knocked in on a sac fly by Molina. As Melky was running to third, he was giving the middle finger to Michael Barrett. I thought it was a little unnecessary.

The Bad

Banks was pretty good, but the Yankees just weren't their sharpest either. Giambi went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts. Ouch. 5 Yankees had no hits today. Despite all this the Yankees did win however, and they did so by being smart.

The Ugly

After striking out two batters in the 6th Joba had reached 100 pitches. He was set to throw 105 pitches today and the game was tied 1-1. Instead of letting Joba try to get the last out of the inning, and potentially set him up for the win, Girardi pulled him out for Veras. I know Girardi erred on the side of caution here, but it would have been nice for Joba to record his first win of the season as a starter. Now Girardi owes him some ice cream for what he did.

Respect Jeter's Gangster is for the Children

The "Respect Jeter's Gangster" blog joined Johnny Damon's home run club, which raises money for the Children's Health Fund. We are pledged to donate $1.00 for every homerun the Yankees hit this season. We will keep a running tally of the home runs hit and the money donated throughout the season. A-Rod did not hit a 5th consecutive homerun on account of his lack of commitment to children's health. I hope he thinks about what he did, and hits two tomorrow. Him, and all the Yankees. At least Giambi was swinging for the fences the three times he struck out.

Melky Cabrera 7hr = $7.00
Alex Rodriguez 14hr = $14.00
Hideki Matsui 7 hr = $7.00
Bobby Abreu 8hr = $8.00
Jorge Posada 3hr = $3.00
Jason Giambi 17hr = $17.00
Johnny Damon 6hr = $6.00
Morgan Ensberg 1hr = $1.00
Robinson Cano 4hr = $4.00
Chad Moeller 1hr = $1.00
Wilson Betemit 3hr = $3.00
Derek Jeter 4hr = $4.00
Shelley Duncan 1hr = $1.00
Total = $76.00

If you are interested in Johnny Damon's Homerun Club or the Children's Health Fund you can find links to both at the top right hand corner of our page.