Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy with the win, but this whole Joba transition doesn't seem to be working according to plan. So far, he's had three outings designed to stretch him out. He's gone 2 innings (35 pitches), 2 innings (40 pitches) and 1.1 innings (28 pitches). How is that any different than what he was doing before. Please don't tell me he's throwing in the pen after he comes out of the game, that is not the same thing. Check after the jump for the breakdown of Joba's night.

Anyway, Joba's transition aside, tonight was a solid win for the Bombers. Pettitte, Joba and Mo were all stellar, the offense found a way to scratch out 4 runs, including a clutch infield single for Damon in the top of the ninth to give Mo a little breathing room. Sorry, I thought I was done harping on the Joba thing, but I guess not. Why was Rivera used in this game? He threw 31 pitches last night in two innings of work. Joba was about 27 pitches short of the mark they set for him, and he was dominating. Why not send him out there for the 9th so he could throw those pitches in anger and give Mo the night off? If Joba got into a jam, Mo could've come in to bail him out.

Melky Cabrera might have suffered the biggest indignity in the history of the game in the 9th inning. The Baltimore Orioles intentionally walked Chad Moeller to get to him with the bases loaded. It doesn't get much lower than that. The Melk Man struck out on the 11th pitch of the at bat, to add insult to injury.

The Yanks have an off day tomorrow, then head to Minnesota to face the upstart (playing over their heads) Twins. The Moose will take on Boof Bonser to open the series.

Player of The Game: Giambi
Team Record: 26-27
Damon's Broken Bats: He didn't break any, but they did talk about his broken bat habit in conjunction with Bud Selig's maple bat investigation. That Selig sure has his priorities in order.
Joba threw 28 pitches, 21 fast balls, 1 curve, 6 sliders. Below is the inning-by-inning breakdown:

7th Inning (1 out)

• 9 fastballs
• 4 sliders

8th Inning

• 12 fastballs
• 1 curve
• 2 sliders

Again, the purpose of this transition was not only to build up Joba's pitch count, but to get him more comfortable using his third and fourth best pitches. He threw 1 curve tonight and zero change-ups. I don't think this transition is working. It's either going to take way too long, or he isn't going to be ready when they ask him to 7 innings.