Yanks Take Another Series

The Good

Burnett gave us 7 innings, allowing only 2 runs, despite a shaky first inning. Posada and Swisher both had home runs. Granderson continued to hit well and had an amazing defensive play in center that was stolen from him in a way that would make for the perfect set-up for any revenge themed movie.

The Bad

To the extent there was a negative, I suppose it would be that neither Teixeira nor Johnson managed a hit in the game. They did both reach base on walks though (one each).

The Ugly

Randy Choate, a former member of the Yankees organization, came in the sixth and promptly gave up a two-run home run to Jorge Posada. Everybody knows that, but what they don't know, is just how Jorge managed that feat. When he got up to home plate he turned to Dioner Navarro and said, "Hey, remember when you played for us but you sucked and we traded your @$$?" Navarro's eyes instantly welled up, distracting him from his pitch calling duties. Then Posada turned to Choate and yelled the same thing. We all know what happened next. Though I guess this probably should have led off the 'The Good.'

Bottoms Up

The bottom of the line-up continues to put in work, with Posada and Swisher supplying the power in yesterday's game. It will be interesting to see what happens when Teixeira and A-Rod wake up.

Posada 2hr = $2
Granderson 2hr = $2
Cano 2hr = $2
Swisher 1hr = $1
Total = $7

Road Trip Retrospective

Just thought I'd quickly mention two things that were interesting about this road trip for me. First, almost all our home runs have come from the bottom of the order, with only two coming from what would be considered the middle (Cano). The top of the line-up isn't without RBI, but the Yankees line-up seems even more balanced this year than it was last year. Granted, it's a small sample size, but you have to like what you've seen so far.

The other thing is that the Yankees managed to take both series on the road while losing the first game of each. As Curtis Granderson pointed out, that's hard to do. What I find interesting is that you usually get nervous when you lose the first game of any series, but particularly on the road, because it makes it tougher to take the series (you now have to win two in a row versus one of the next two). But I never had that concern with this team. And you get the sense that the Yankees were never worried that they wouldn't walk out of either Boston or Tampa Bay with the series in hand. There is an air of confidence around this team that is impressive, and possibly overwhelming for their opponents. I don't know whether it is the fact that most of these guys are coming off a championship run, or because they're just simply that good a team, but it's there. Hopefully, that's something that carries through to November.