The Os are Back

Seems odd to do another series preview when we just played these guys, but here goes. The Yanks will be facing Guthrie, Matusz and Hernandez while they send CC, AJ, and Pettitte to the mound. Guthrie has a history of hitting our guys and most recently caused Posada to miss time when he hit him in the knee. So the big question before tonight's game is, if he hits someone do you rush the mound? Intentional or not, he can't keep hitting our guys. Alternatively, does the first Orioles hitter, or perhaps Wigginton whenever he first comes up, immediately get one in the ribs just so that it is clear we won't be having anymore of Guthrie's control issues?

The Os are coming off a series sweep of the BoSox, which is symbolically significant but not actually significant since the Sox are about as good as Javy is dominant this year. The Yanks are also coming off a sweep of the White Sox, since Javy's starts no longer count. Both teams are riding winning streaks then, and the next three games will determine nothing since the Os aren't serious contenders anyway. The biggest story of this series, besides Guthrie, will be whether the Yanks will skip Javy on Friday. Expect most coverage to center on that instead of what actually happens in these next three games.