Yanks Take First Game of Series from Rays

The Good

Where to start. Ivan Nova gave us five scoreless innings, and allowed 3 runs over 5.2.

Is Kevin Long a wizard? He magically turned Granderson into a legitimate hitter with flashes of power in a matter of days. Congress should probably investigate whether having Kevin Long as your hitting coach is an unfair competitive advantage.

Lastly, with the AL East race so close, checking the box score every morning has the same anxious feel that it does during the playoffs. I haven't felt this way since last November, and it's nice to have it back.

The Bad

I guess Nova falling apart a bit in the sixth was bad, but the kid has really shown us something. He'll learn to avoid those sorts of innings with time, but he was one out away from a quality start. Not bad for a late season call-up slotted as our number five guy.

The Ugly

After the loss, Joe Maddon went into the visiting clubhouse and chewed out his players. "You lolligag around the bases," he said.

Immediately a hand went up. No one in the room knew what 'lolligag' meant, seeing as no one on the Rays is old enough to purchase alcohol legally in France. This ignorance of his old-timey sayings frustrated Maddon to no end. He then trashed the visiting clubhouse and made his players clean up the mess. Then he was all, "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."

Immediately another hand went up. "Is that from a movie or something?" came the question. Maddon was pissed.

Just As We Expected

When Brian Cashman traded for Curtis Granderson last winter, we all expected him to hit at least thirty-five home runs. A day. For now, we'll live with two. For now.

Posada 18hr = $36
Granderson 21hr = $42
Cano 28hr = $56
Swisher 26hr = $52
Jeter 10hr = $20
Johnson 2hr = $4
Rodriguez 25hr = $50
Teixeira 30hr = $60
Thames 11hr = $22
Gardner 5hr = $10
Winn 1hr = $2
Miranda 3hr = $6
Curtis 1hr = $2
Kearns 2hr = $4
Nunez 1hr = $2
Total = $368