Yanks Strike Early, Pitching Holds Up

In a departure from the tedious script they've been following recently, the Yanks scored early tonight and not only made the runs stand up, but tacked on a couple more for the win.

The Wanger continues to evolve from a sinker-ball pitcher into a complete pitcher. His splits tonight followed the pattern he's been using all season:

• Ground Balls: 8
• Fly Balls: 5
• Line Drives: 2
• K's: 5
• Walks: 2

He gave the Yanks six strong and turned the ball over to what has become a dominant three-man combo at the end of games: Farnsworth for the 7th, Joba for the 8th, Mo for the 9th.

Erik Bedard was a hard-luck loser. The Yanks used a combo of horrible defense by the Mariners and clutch hits by Melky and Matsui for three early runs, and patience to tack on 2 more in the bottom of the 8th.

Girardi trotted out yet another lineup, although I don't blame him for giving Cano the day off against Bedard. The more I see of him, the more convinced I am that Alberto Gonzalez needs to be on this team. He might just be the Yankees best defender at second, third and short. Anything he can gives you with the bat is gravy.

The word on the street is that Jorge Posada is probably going to be out for 6 weeks and Brian Bruney might be back in August. Hughes is expected back in early July, most likely. The Yanks will have some holes to fill, but the news could've been worse.

I'll be at the stadium tomorrow, my brother-in-law came through with tickets, so the recap will be late. It'll be the Moose vs. the King as the Yanks look to get back to .500.

Player of The Game: The Wanger
Team Record: 15-16
Damon's Broken Bats: 0 tonight, DNPCD