One Step Closer

The Yankees mauled the Orioles tonight. The final was 12-0, but the game really wasn't that close. The Moose turned in his best performance of the year, and he's making it hard for Torre to look to one of the young-ins should a fourth starter be needed in the playoffs. He's also making Torre look like a genius for going to a six-man rotation. The extra day of rest for every starter could help keep them fresh for October, and if they keep getting games like this from Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy, it won't hurt them in their chase.

For the second night in a row, the Yanks put another game between themselves and the Tigers (Wild Card magic number: 7), and narrowed the gap between themselves and Boston (A.L. East magic number: 13). I won't go into detail, but if you're wondering how the Sox blew a 2-1 lead to the Blue Jays, you could take a look at the Gagne graphic in the right column of my site. Yep, that's another loss, 3 more earned runs, 2 more hits and 3 more walks. For a complete run-down, check out Blue Thoughts. It looks like Francona's abuse of Okajima early in the year is coming back to haunt him down the stretch. Oh, Dice-K's spot in the rotation is being skipped as well. Notice a trend?

The Bombers go for the sweep tomorrow night with Pettitte on the hill. Here's a sobering thought: If the Yankees had won the middle game of the Boston series, they'd be tied in the loss column right now. Damnit!

Player of The Game: Mooooooooooose. I didn't think ya had it in ya, you proved me wrong tonight. 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K,