Jason Giambi blasted a grand slam home run (his first since late August), Posada homered, and Phil Hughes pitched six solid innings as the Yankees won their sixth in a row beating Toronto 9-2. This is the first time all season that the Yankees have been 20 games over .500 which has Torre breathing a sigh of relief...at least for the time being.
I'm happy for Giambi who if he plays at all next year will be playing for a small market team like Kansas City or Tampa Bay. I've written about my thoughts on him before. He is a nice guy and he bought me a beer when I met him. But he's breaking down, and his quasi confession to steroid use doesn't strengthen his case either. He can still produce from time to time, so for at least the rest of this season I'm glad to have him. Honestly though, even if he does go down again we have so many strong hitters to take his place it really isn't that big of a loss. The only thing the Yankees are really missing is the money we pay his salary with.
A big question is what do we do with Posada next year? I believe that we should resign him, but there are certainly plenty of arguments going in the other direction. He is having the best season of his career this year batting .338, with 81 runs, and 85 RBI's. But on August 17th he turned 36 years old. Granted he hasn't been an everyday catcher for his entire career so his knees might have some life left in them, but it would be hard to justify a bloated salary for him at his age and position. I put that question out to the commenters. I say we re-sign, but I can easily be swayed. *
I'm glad to see that Hughes is coming around. His era over the past two games is only 2.25. Not bad, but I'll be interested to see how he does under post season pressure. I think of all the new kids he will probably be the one who is most susceptible to the post season spot light.
This Weekend
This weekend might be an important series after all. With The Yankees down only 5 games there is a chance that we could put some hurt on the Sox lead. I know that it is still a few days away, but for me preparing for a Yankees / Red Sox series is like preparing for war. I don't think that we will sweep again, but I do think that there is a better than 50 / 50 chance that we take the series.
Manny Ramierz started swinging a bat again yesterday, but I doubt he will be back for this weekend which helps. Despite the fact that they scored 16 runs last night without him, I refuse to use their score over Tampa Bay as any indication that he isn't missed. Tampa hasn't won a series in Boston since 1999.
Here is what we are looking at for starting pitchers:
Friday - Pettitte v. Dice K - this should be a tough one. Pettitte has been pitching well and Dice K lost his last decision but is still strong. I unfortunately have to admit that he adjusted to the majors much better than I thought he would at the beginning of the season. But he does seem to have some trouble against the Yankees. He's 2-1 with a 6.98 ERA against us so far, so I have to give the advantage in this game to New York.
Saturday - Wang v. Beckett - Talk about a battle royal! Two 18 game winners on the top of their game chasing the Cy Young award. Beckett's ERA and strike outs are a bit higher than Wang's, but he has also pitched in more innings. This one will be very close unless the Yankees are somehow able to get to Beckett early since this one will be all about offense. Slight advantage goes to the Sox.
Sunday - Hughes v. Schilling - I hate Curt Schilling. I would rather get kicked in the nuts by John Rocker than so much as shake Schilling's hand. But given his last few starts versus Hughes past couple I have to put the advantage to the Yankees on this one. Of course it is also to our advantage that Schilling is older than dirt.
* I had originally put "resign" thanks to That Girl Who Can't Play Pool for pointing that out.
5 comments:
1) Who would we replace Jorge with? We have to resign him and we will.
2) I called the sweep last time and I'm saying 2/3 this time. The Sox look poised for a fold. Did you see them give up 9 to the Devil Rays last night?
3) Has there ever been a quieter 18 game winner in baseball history than Wang this year?
4) I will be playing the "I Hate You Too" Red Sox Yankees Drinking game Friday.
I agree with you on Posada, I'm just throwing that out there. The sox gave up an absurd amount of runs last night, but they also came back from a 7 run deficit. They can hit no doubt about that.
I would love to see Wang get the Cy Young, but right now there is a lot of competition. I see it going to Beckett, although if Santana didn't play for such a crapy team he would probably get it again.
ESPN has been all over Sabathia's n-t s-ck for the ALCY.
"This weekend might be an important series after all. With The Yankees down only 5 games there is a chance that we could put some hurt on the Sox lead. I know that it is still a few days away, but for me preparing for a Yankees / Red Sox series is like preparing for war. I don't think that we will sweep again, but I do think that there is a better than 50 / 50 chance that we take the series."
I will seriously flip out if we sweep this year. Remember last years 5 game Sweep at the end of the season... God Seriously living up here makes you go crazy sometimes :)
I hear you on both accounts. The second Boston Massacre is a bedtime story I'll tell my kids someday. When I lived in Boston people actually spit on me when I wore my Yankees hat.
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