Yanks Sweep Double-Dip, Add Flying Molina

Game 1 was a lot closer than it should’ve been (7–3) and Joe used Mo, perhaps prematurely, but you need to get wins whenever you can, so no criticism here. I admit it, I had chills when Shelley Duncan hit his first ML home run, and it was great to see him freak out celebrating with his teammates afterward. This is what I mean by youth energizes. Kei Igawa was sloppy, but he gave five innings and left with the Yanks still in the game. That’s pretty much all you can ask for.

The nightcap was a slaughter (17–5). Everyone was in on the fun (with the exception of Matt DeSalvo, who is apparently allergic to the fifth inning.) The run parade was fun to watch, but the outfield defense really stood out to me. Akinori Iwamura was robbed, and I mean absolutely robbed, three times. Twice by Johnny Damon and once by Melky Cabrera on a beautiful diving catch in the bottom of the ninth.

In the middle of game two Michael Kay announced a trade. Jose Molina (the worst of the catching Molina brothers) will be a Yankee and AA reliever Jeff Kennard will be property of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Solid move for Cashman, and at a very cheap price. Molina is a legit backup catcher.

Letter to the Skipper:

Player of The Game (Game 1): Hideki Matsui. He only had one hit, but it was a two-run bomb that brought the Yanks back to life. Things were looking bleak with Igawa giving up taters left and right. Matsui righted the ship.

Player of The Game (Game 2): Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod had a monster game two, but if you have him on your fantasy team, you're going to want to see his total line for the day (both games): 3 for 5, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, 1 stolen base, 2 walks and a HBP.

Oddity of the day: Luis Vizcaino picked up wins in both games of the double header. Vizcaino is the vulture of the year, his record is now 8–2 out of the pen. He’s also second on the team in wins, behind Chien-Ming Wang’s 10.