Eight walks, and nothing to show for it

Well, look at that. The Yankees were held in check by a shitty pitcher. What a surprise. I should be more outraged right now — I sure was last night. But the truth is, the Yankees did not deserve to win that game. Not after Mussina’s first inning, Not after they failed to register a hit the first time through the order.

When they needed a big hit, they got a groundball. Sure, a run may have scored, but that’s not always a huge consolation. It was okay when they were down 4-1 and needed a boost in the fifth. It wasn’t okay when they were down 7-2 and needed a big inning in the eighth.

And then there was the ninth. Yeah, you can’t expect that they’ll score four to tie it, but dammit, when Papelbon walks the first two guys, you gotta get something started. But Melky swung through ball four. Damon grounded out. And then Cap’n Clutch went down looking at three straight pitches. Yeah, Derek, we get it. You didn’t think those balls caught the plate. You were wrong. But you’re an asshole for not swinging.

(Yeah, the overhead replay showed that the last pitch could have easily caught the black. It was by no means a bad call. I’m sure Derek arguing with the ump about his strikezone all night didn’t help that call.)

So what, are the Yankees just going to turn the bats back on like a light switch tonight? Or are they going to come out lifeless again?

Pettitte vs. Schilling. It’s tough to say “must win,” but, uh, the Yanks kind of have too many losses for this point of the season. Every game that goes by (and they lose) is another game they can’t make up later in the year.

Last 7 Days
Posada: 393/469/786
Phelps: 308/308/615
Cano: 300/323/600
Matsui: 294/333/471
Jeter: 290/405/516
Damon: 280/379/320
Abreu: 250/344/393
Alex: 207/361/517
Giambi: 167/474/417
Melky: 154/214/462
Minky: 071/235/143