tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Yanks Draw 1st Blood

In a game filled with plenty of stories, the Yankees came from behind and sent a message to their blood rivals with a 3-2 win at Fenway Park. If you watched the game you know that the turning point of the game was the 3 pitch bases loaded strike out of Adrian Gonzalez by Boone Logan. How many Yankee fans were holding their breath when Logan walked in from the bullpen??? I know I was. Over the first 9 games against these 2 teams, Gonzalez would have definitely drove in some runs but it was not the case last night. While its only one game, it was a big win for the Yankees particularly coming against Boston's young lefty ace, Jon Lester. As we think about October, here are the positives and negatives from last night's game.

Positives

Bullpen: Last night the Yankee bullpen was incredible. Joe Girardi couldn't be happier with the performances of Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Rafael Soriano, David Robertson and Mariano Rivera. Wade may turn out to be one of the better finds that Brian Cashman has come up with this year. The former high draft pick of the LA Dodgers has been a very steady reliever for the Yankees as evidenced by his performance on Wednesday against the White Sox and last night against Boston. At 28 years old, Wade could be an effective part of the Yankee bullpen for years to come. Rafael Soriano certainly looked like the Soriano of last year as he mowed down the Bosox in the 7th in splendid fashion.

Granderson & Swisher: Where would the Yankees be this season without these two guys? Granderson has been doing it all year long and last night his key single off lefty Lester drove in the Yankees first run. Do you remember last year when there was so much angst over his inability to hit against left handed pitchers?? He's hitting .277 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI's this year against lefties. Nick Swisher struggled the first two months of the season. He hit .225 in April and .200 in May with 3 homers and 19 RBI's There was plenty of talk that the Yankees needed to get an outfielder. But since June 1st, Swisher has been on a roll. He hit .326 in June, .323 in July and has had 11 home runs and 43 RBI's, with a big RBI last night which put the Yankees ahead after Robinson Cano hit into a double play.

Negatives

Bartolo Colon: As I have been saying since the passing of the trade deadline, this weekend we will get a reading on Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia against a top AL contender. Well, last night Colon did not pitch bad allowing only 2 runs however he only lasted 4 2/3 innings and left with the bases loaded. If not for Boone Logan, he would have uglier numbers this morning. Colon has already pitched 113 2/3 innings this year. He hasn't pitched that many innings since 2005. Your number 2 has to give you length, otherwise you burn up your bullpen. Girardi was able to cobble together a victory last night but its an incredible amount of pressure to put on your bullpen. In my mind, I'm not so sure Colon is your guy in Game 2 of a divisional series.

Mark Teixeira: Your number 3 hitter needs to be a force. The old adage is that your number 3 hitter is your best hitter. Big Tex has been far from that especially against the Red Sox. While he is second in the AL in homers and RBI's, his batting average is not good for a number 3 hitter and against the Red Sox this year he is hitting .111 with 0 home runs and 3 RBI's. Teixeira was 0 for 3 last night and the Yankees are going to need him to come up with some big hits if they are to win the AL East. I wonder if Big Tex has fallen in love with homer friendly Yankee Stadium and that has contributed in his batting average falling last year and this year. Of his 31 home runs this year, 20 have come at Yankee Stadium.

Jorge Posada: Posada continues to kill the Yankees at the DH spot. He looked lost last night going 0-3. I just don't see how the Yankees can win the AL pennant with a DH hitting .234.

This afternoon its CC Sabathia against John Lackey. This is a big game for CC as he has not pitched well against Boston. In fact 3 of his 5 losses are at the hands of the Red Sox. The Yankees should be able to get to Lackey so CC needs to slam the door. This is a big game as a Yankee win will ensure that they would leave Fenway in first place regardless of what happens Sunday night.