Melky and Pena Show Why They Don't Play Second Fiddle

The Good

Burnett labored but he finished with a 7 inning 4-run outing. Phil Coke and Mariano Rivera pitched the last two innings flawlessly with Mo striking out 2 for his 5th save of the season. Jeter, Cabrera and Pena all had a pair of hits. Melky drove in the go-ahead run with a bases loaded single, and then Pena followed that up with a 2-run double, the first RBI's of his career. Damon hit a homerun early in the game.

Pena came from Double A to the majors and was largely seen as a great glove with no batting abilities. However, since he's been getting more playing time, he hasn't looked helpless at the plate. He has good at bats, works counts, and isn't up there flailing at everything that comes his way. Don't get me wrong, he's not hitting opposite field homeruns every other at bat, but he's also not as offensively flawed as we thought he was.

The Bad

Marky T's 1-4 night has his average at .200. He is having good at-bats, but the results aren't quite there yet. The good thing is that he's eventually going to turn things around, and that could be quite a boost for this team when it does happen.

The Ugly

I was watching the game at a Buffalo Wild Wings where they were also playing the Red Sox - Rays game. I looked up in the 6th inning of that game, and realized that Matt Garza had a no-hitter going. In fact, it was a perfect game. Then in the 7th, the ever selfish Jacoby Ellsbury hit a ball back to the pitcher that Garza couldn't grab and Bartlett the shortstop couldn't field. The perfect game was turned to a one-hitter, but the ugly has nothing to do with that, it has to do with Buffalo Wild Wings wings. They aren't that good, and sometimes they give you wings from chickens that appear to have been malnourished. I enjoy their Mango Habaneros and the Garlic Parm isn't bad, but that's about what I can stomach. If it wasn't for their 500 big screen TV's and the two dozen "6 free wings" coupons I have, I probably would not be watching games there.

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. Damon made sure the right field wind tunnel would get more media attention with his second deck homerun in the 3rd inning of last nights game.

Jorge Posada 3hr = $3.00
Hideki Matsui 2hr = $2.00
Derek Jeter 4hr = $4.00
Mark Teixeira 3hr = $3.00
Nick Swisher 7hr = $7.00
Robinson Cano 5hr = $5.00
Johnny Damon 4hr = $4.00
Melky Cabrera 4hr = $4.00
Jose Molina 1hr = $1.00
Total = $33.00

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.