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The Yankees didn’t make it and neither did the Red Sox. At least there was some good news for the Yanks this postseason. The Rays finally overcame Boston in a 3-1 victory tonight.

It has been quite a road for the Yanks thus far this season, with a plethora of big happenings, both good and bad. The team continues to fight on in the death match with the Red Sox and Rays, but the injury bug just won’t go away. Combine that with the reliance on young guys and you can really see that the Yanks have been through a lot. First it was the struggles of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, as they continue to try and find their place in the bigs. Then it was Chien-Ming Wang getting hurt while base running, and after that Posada and Matsui leaving a void in the lineup after sustaining injuries.

The Yankees, as always, didn’t give up as they continued to stay in it with the likes of Darrell Rasner, Dan Giese, and Sidney Ponson stepping up when needed. Brian Cashman responded with a couple of deadline moves, bringing in good replacements for Posada and Matsui with Ivan Rodriguez and Xavier Nady as well as extra bullpen help in Damaso Marte. Yet, the injury bug still didn’t care. It has bit again and Pudge is now out, again leaving the Yanks without a good-hitting catcher. Joba has also been struck, having been placed on the 15-day deal and putting even more pressure on the iffy rotation.

Yet, the Yankees will continue on. We really have no other choice. Andy Pettitte will likely continue to play consistently and Mike Mussina looks like he can keep this up. But, after that it’s still a mess. Perhaps Sidney Ponson will be able to keep up this run, but it’ll have to be something we hold our breath with. Same goes for Giese and whoever the other starter will end up being (for now its Kennedy, but I don’t know how long that will last; hopefully he can surprise us.) Let’s just hope that this group can keep us in it until Joba comes back, if he does this season.

Darrell Rasner had his first bad game of the year against the Oakland A’s yesterday. He lasted a little under 4 innings in which he gave up sevens runs on nine hits. The bats were really swinging for Oakland, especially during the 6-run third. They eventually cooled off, but the margin was too great for the Yanks to overcome. The final score would be 8-4 as the Yankees see themselves back at .500. I don’t think anyone could have put it better than Joe Girardi did postgame:

“We seem to take a couple steps forward and then take a couple steps back. That’s frustrating because we’re a better team than what we’ve showed. Some days it’s our offense, some days it’s our pitching. It’s a combined effort. “

There really isn’t much more to say about it. The only bright side of the game was probably the good job the relievers did. Ross Ohlendorf, LaTroy Hawkins, Kyle Farnsworth, and Edwar Ramirez all pitched about an inning and Ohlendorf was the only one to give up any hits/runs (he let up one run on two hits.) The ninth inning was good, with three runs by the Yanks, so maybe that momentum will rollover into today’s rematch against the A’s.

The game is at 10:05EST again and Andy Pettitte will start for the Yankees. Joe Blanton will take the mound for the A’s. You can catch the game on YES.

The David Ortiz jersey that was thrown in the cement of New Yankee Stadium in an attempt to curse the Yankees was auctioned off on Ebay in an auction that ended today at 12:30. The jersey fetched an astounding $175,000 and the Yankees have decided to donate the money to the Jimmy Fund, a cancer charity. At least some good came out of Gino Castignolli’s (the construction worker who threw the jersey in the wet cement) action. The winner of the bidding will also get a pair of Red Sox game tickets and a new jersey with the latest artifact from the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry.

Kyle Farnsworth has been fined and suspended for three games for throwing the ball at Manny Ramirez’s back in last Thursday’s game. Now this is just ridiculous, especially considering that it didn’t even hit Manny. Farnsworth and the team was shocked when they heard the news and an appeal request has been placed. Farnworth said it was simply a mistake and that the ball slipped. We all know that he doesn’t have the best control over his pitches, so it certainly might’ve been a mistake. Ramirez believes that it was just retaliation for David Aardsma’s pitch that hit A. Rod. Manny said that he understands if it was intentional and he isn’t angry about it because Farnsworth was backing up his teammate.

The Yankees were unable to pull off the two game sweep of the Red Sox due to a rampant Manny Ramirez and a not so solid Mike Mussina. Moose pitched for three innings and gave up five of the seven runs Boston scored. Most of Mussina’s bad play came against Ramirez, who hit two home runs against him, which added a total of three to the board. He later scored another run, ending the game with three runs, three hits, and three RBIs. Kyle Farnsworth nearly hit him with a 97 mph fastball in the seventh inning, which led to cheers by the fans and warnings for both dugouts. Farnsworth said that it just slipped, but many including Ramirez believe that it was retaliation for the hit A. Rod. took against Boston reliever David Aardsma. Manny seemed to understand and nothing more transpired.

The game ended with Josh Beckett taking the win and Mussina taking the loss. The Yankees five scores came in the fifth and ninth innings thanks to Jeter, who batted in two, and Abreu, Cano, and Cabrera who each drove in one (Melky’s was actually a homer in the bottom of the ninth.)

Next up are the Baltimore Orioles at 7:05EST tomorrow. Phil Hughes starts for the Yanks and Daniel Cabrera for the Orioles. Hopefully this season will be better against the Orioles than last year, when we split the wins evenly with them.

This is what it is all about. Tonight’s game lasted an astounding 4+ hours and really showcased why our rivalry with the Red Sox is the biggest in sports. The game had thrills and excitement from the get go and both offense’s were potent throughout the night. This obviously means that the pitching wasn’t so great, but the Yanks won and that’s what matters. The Yankees pulled through with an unbelievable 15 runs in a regular 9 inning game! The Red Sox managed to scored 9.

The offensive onslaught began in the first with homers by both Bobby Abreu and A Rod. A Rod’s home run now puts him as the lone person at number 15 on the all-time career list. And he is only 32! It is an amazing accomplishment and it is great to see him do it in pinstripes.

Now back to the game review… The Yanks went out of the first inning with a 3-1 lead over the BoSox. Then the offense got quiet for a couple of innings before having two consecutive four-run innings in the fourth and fifth. We had one more 4-run inning in the eighth and the bottom of the ninth wasn’t necessary since we had the lead already. The team combined for a total of 16 hits and really just bashed the Red Sox pitchers, especially Clay Buchholz,  Julian Tavarez, and Mike Timlin.

That’s not to say that the Red Sox didn’t do some damage themselves either. Sadly Chien-Ming Wang didn’t have another complete game, instead allowing eight runs in four innings before being pulled. It happens to everyone sometimes, especially early in the year, so its nothing to worry about. The way Wang has played so far this year (excluding this game) has been just perfect and he should get back to that excellence in his next start. On the bright side of the Yankee pitching tonight was LaTroy Hawkins, who allowed only one hit in two scoreless innings. He left with the win as well and Brian Bruney picked up the save.

The Yankees take on the Red Sox again tomorrow night and a win there would mean we take sole control of the top spot in the AL East. The game is scheduled for 7:05EST and will be aired on YES. The starters are Mike Mussina and Josh Beckett.

Today was the second of a two game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees left with the win as Andy Pettitte has another great game. He pitched for seven innings, allowing three runs and nine hits and accumulating five strikeouts. Kyle Farnsworth pitched a scoreless 8th and Rivera closed for the save. A quote from Pettitte after the game:

“All of my pitches were working for the first time. I’m definitely pleased with where it’s going. Each game has gotten better and better. I’m just real happy that I was able to get to my curveball a lot tonight. My curveball has been non-existent.”

It’s great to hear him confident once more. It looks like the transition from the tough offseason will be no problem at all for Pettitte this year.

The game ended with a score of 5 to 3. Matsui hit the only home run of the game in the top of the second. The team had a total of eight hits, which isn’t too high, but they capitalized on five of them, which is great.

Next up are the Red Sox, who we will start a two game series with. Staff ace, Chien-Ming Wang will take the mound tomorrow against Clay Buchholz. The game starts at 7:05EST and will be broadcasted on both YES and ESPN2.

The Yankees avoided the sweep against the Royals today, in solid performance by several players. Andy Pettitte started and was able to lead the Yanks to victory with only 1 run allowed in over 6 innings of pitching. It is good to see Pettitte finally get some good back into his life. Skipper Girardi later said,

“Andy knows how to win big games, I don’t know if I would call this a big game, but you don’t want to be swept at the start of an eight-game road trip.”

That is definetely true and I think that this game also shows that Pettitte will still be able to concentrate and pitch like he did before this past offseason’s clamor. After Pettitte were Joba and Rivera, both who had a couple more good performances as each didn’t allow a run. Joba and Rivera have been solid this season and I believe that they are the best 1-2 punch in all of baseball for the 8th and 9th innings.

Another bright spot last night was the Yankee offense, which finally scored more than a few runs. It still wasn’t too many, but its a start. I said that the first time the Yanks scored 6 this season and we ended up going back into the offensive slump again, but hopefully this time it will be different. The Bombers ended with 12 hits, including home runs by Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera, and Jorge Posada.

It’d be great if the Yanks can keep this momentum going into the upcoming road games, especially the next three, which are against the BoSox. Game one of the series starts tomorrow at 7:05EST. Clay Buchholz will face the Yanks for the first time. Pitching for the Bombers is Chien-Ming Wang. The game will be aired on YES.

Two World Series wins in three years. Yea, that’s a great achievement, I’ll give them that one. But to say that the Red Sox are a dynasty… no. Just no. The Yankees of the late 30s and the early 50s were both dynasties. Then of course you have the Bombers dynasty of the late 90s, with 4 World Series’ in 5 years were a dynasty. The A’s of the early 1910s and early 70s were both dynasties. Heck, even the Red Sox had one during the early/mid 1910s. But the current Red Sox don’t have one, at least not yet. Winning 2 World Series in a span of three years does not give you that right. Boston didn’t even win the division all of those years. If you counted the current team as a dynasty simply based on winning 2 World Series in 3 years then there would be a cohort of dynasties in baseball history including teams like the 1992-1993 Blue Jays.

I know there is no formula for deciding whether or not a team is a dynasty, but you have to look at the facts. The Red Sox have not dominated the sport compared to what most baseball historians would agree are the real dynasties. They have not been able to win consecutive division titles, let alone pennants and they have not been the “shoe-in” team. They haven’t even been called the team to beat at the beginning of a season until this year. I am sure it is exciting to finally be winning after almost 100 years, but Red Sox fans must think of it practically. Ok, say they win one or two more championships and they continue to win the division (god forbid both), then they may start talking about a dynasty. But after winning two World Series’ and not even being the dominant team throughout all of those seasons, the word shouldn’t even be uttered.

It took some teeth grinding to admit that the last 3 years were a great achievement, but I had to do it to get the point across. Hopefully this will shut up some of those BoSox clowns fans. The bottom line is: the current Red Sox are NOT a dynasty.

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