It's About Time
I left yesterday's live-blogging post with the Yankees winning. I really wasn't sure if they would hold on, but they did.
Pettitte got the win, Chamberlain the hold. Rivera pitched the 9th.
Melky, A-Rod, and Jorgie each had homers. The Melkman and the A-Rod each drove in 2 runs as well.
Overall it was a good game. On to the Red Sox tonight!
Probable pitchers this series:
Today: CM Wang (2-0, 1.38 ERA) vs Clay Buchholz (0-1, 5.40 ERA)
Saturday: Mike Mussina (1-1, 3.09 ERA) vs Josh Beckett (0-1, 9.64 ERA)
Sunday: Phil Hughes (0-1, 5.00 ERA) vs Matsuzaka (2-0, 1.47 ERA)
Interesting how Wang and D-Mat have the most wins and lowest ERA for their respected teams.
Early Litmus Tests
After a crystalline performance on Friday night by the Yankees in Boston, the latter two games of this series will provide the benchmark against which the Yankees can measure how strong, or weak, they are in this embryonic stage of the season.
With Mussina and Hughes going against the Red Sox top two starters, one win will be impressive and important. The Yankees primary achilles heal this year, and no secret here, is their starting pitching. Their bullpen will be anywhere between excellent and dominant, anchored by Joba and Mariano at the back-end. The hitting will come, the defense is good, and in fact very good up the middle.
One refreshing note - there are tinges of creativity in Girardi's intra-game tactics, that quite frankly we didn't see with Torre the last few years. Sticking with Wang, even though his pitch count was low, might not have happened last year, especially after the flurry of fly ball outs in the 6th inning. Starting Bruney in KC, while not leading to a win, was a good move, allowing Kennedy to possibly come in during the 3rd or 4th inning. Didn't quite work out, but it was insightful, and certainly logical. Playing Gonzalez at short-stop, when Betemit is the easier choice, is more than refreshing.
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