Yanks 4, Rangers 3; Yanks 5, Rangers 2

It’s a good ol’ fashioned sweep, folks. Here’s the WPA. I’ll quickly recap (bullet points, of course) once I get to work.

• It seems Mike Mussina was gassed after five innings yesterday, which was the cause for his removal. I apologize to Joe Torre for ripping him at the time.
• Better for a pitcher after he beans someone in the skull: leave him in, or take him out? Torre opted for the latter, but I really do wonder the psychological effect of that. While it certainly varies from player to player, I would think taking him out right after said bean ball would sap his confidence a bit. I would have gone out there, but I wouldn’t have taken the ball; let him have a crack at another batter before making that decision.
• The move to not pinch run for Giambi in the first game was a good one. They were tied at the time, and there was a real possibility that Giambi’s spot would have come up again. He was replaced for defensive purposes in the bottom of the inning, so one might think “well, why didn’t you just pinch run for him?” Because in the bottom of the inning, the Yanks had a lead. Not sure I exactly agree with it, seeing as how the bullpen is prone to blowing games. But it’s at least defensible.
• Matsui looks to strengthen the Yanks weak outfield. Two solid games for him. His swing still looks a little off — he’s getting on top of way too many pitches — but I have faith in Hideki. In fact, I’d be batting him fifth right now, all things considered.
• Speaking of looking better at the plate, how about Melky? He had a couple of hits yesterday, and they weren’t of the slappy variety. He looked like he was controlling the bat, rather than the bat controlling him. And he’s stopped swinging at a lot of the shitty pitches that he was missing earlier in the year. If I’m in charge, I give him the start tonight over Abreu.
• Watch Kei Igawa tonight to see if he pitches exclusively from the stretch. He did on Saturday and it worked, so I would expect him to do the same tonight. It’s against the free-swinging Mariners, so that should help (though they lit up Dice-K last night).