On Deck (Game 44): Sox/Yanks (Part Ocho)

I’m not sure if I’m more shocked that Julian Tavarez is still in a major league rotation, or that his ERA is lower than Mike Mussina’s this deep into the season. Mussina has been much more effective recently, so I expect his numbers to return to form. Tavarez, well maybe he’s still in the rotation to keep Manny happy in Boston (see video above).

The Yankees will look to secure the series tonight, and hopefully, they’ll continue their solid play, especially at the plate.

In a nutshell: Tavarez will probably hit someone tonight. He’s a punk, that’s what he does. The Yankees will probably not retaliate, Mussina especially won’t. He’s said in the past he doesn’t get involved in bean ball battles. He was injured in a fight back in his Baltimore days. If there’s going to be retaliation it’s going to come from either Bruney or Proctor.

Keys to the game: Score, score, score and score some more. The Yanks need to jump all over Tavarez early in the game. They run into problems when they let sub-par pitchers get a couple of clean innings under their belts.

Sox blog-of-the-day: Extra Bases

Yankee News from around the Internets:

• Giambi to Los Angeles/Anaheim? (Pinstripe Alley)
• Phil Hughes updates (River Ave. Blues)
• Do the Yanks have A-Rod’s replacement down on the farm? (Was Watching)
• The Blame Game (Yankees Chick)
• Tyler Clippard’s MySpace page (Deadspin)
• A-Rod’s, uhh, adjustment issues (Seatown Rags via Deadspin)