Yankees Blow into Chi-town

It's Earth Day, Mr. and Mrs. MM's anniversary, and Chien-Ming Wang gets the start tonight when the Yankees begin a three game series with the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Hopefully that means all of the stars are aligned for a win tonight and a series win when the three games conclude on Thursday. If Hawk Harrelson gets laryngitis, we're golden!

The Yankees got a much needed day off yesterday; time for A-Rod to get treatment on his quad, Hank Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman to play ping-pong about Joba Chamberlain, and for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen some time to think up some new outrageous statements.

The Yankees have lost 3 of 4 and are scuffling at the moment. The White Sox meanwhile are trying to rebound from a poor 2007 season. Their 11-7, atop the AL Central, where favorites Cleveland and Detroit are both well under .500.

2008 White Sox
The White Sox have gotten a boost from their pitching staff despite the subtraction of John Garland, who was dealt to the Angels for new shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Veteran Mark Buehrle anchors a staff that has gotten good contributions from youngsters Gavin Floyd and John Danks, and fellow veterans Javier Vazquez and Jose Contreras. Bobby Jenks is coming off a stellar season as closer and the White Sox added free agent Scott Linebrink to be the 8th inning set up man.

The man holding the pitching staff together is off course, the king of all jerks, A.J. Pierzysnki. He's off to a great start, hitting .339.

The biggest off-season acquisition may have been outfielder/1st Baseman Nick Swisher, who has taken over the lead off role in the lineup. Though he has big power capability, he hit 35 home runs in 2006, Swisher also draws around 100 walks a season. Jerry Owens started out as the lead off man and centerfielder, but when he was injured, Swisher moved to center and to the top spot in the order. He leads the team in runs scored.

Owens' injury also opened an opportunity for Carlos Quentin to grab a regular spot in left field. The 25-yr old is hitting just .241, but has 4 home run, 15 RBI, 15 runs scored, and .897 OPS. He's done well enough for now to keep Owens in the minors after his rehab stint was over.

Joe Crede may already be the comeback player of the year. The oft-back injured 3rd Baseman leads the team with 18 RBI and 2 of his 5 home runs have been grand slams.

DH Jim Thome has been slumping, but is coming off a 4-5 game and has 5 HR and 16 RBI. Shortstop Cabrera has struggled through his first 18 games, hitting just .239. The man he replaced at the position, Juan Uribe, has moved to 2nd Base and is hitting just .153 in place of the injured Danny Richar. Uribe was nearly released in spring training and still could be when Richar returns from a stress fracture in his rib cage.

Probable Pitchers
Chien-Ming Wang (3-0) faces former Yankee, Jose Contreras (1-1, 4.34) in the series opener tonight at 8:11 EDT. Mike Mussina (1-3, 5.75) goes against another former teammate, Javier Vazquez (3-1, 3.20) on Wednesday, and Phil Hughes (0-3, 8.82) looks for his first win when he faces former Phillies phenom Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.40) in the series finale.

Injury Update
Jorge Posada is closer to returning to his normal spot behind the dish, but Alex Rodriguez is likely to sit out tonight with his strained quad.

News and Notes
A-Rod's health may dictate if Jason Giambi sits in one of the three games. Though the Yankees are facing three right-handed starters, Giambi's bat has yet to come alive, and he might have sat a game or two in favor of Morgan Ensberg if not for A-Rod's injury. But Ensberg will be manning the hot corner while A-Rod is out.

Giambi would be hitting even worse if not for the Red Sox Mike Timlin. The Giambino is 3-3 with 2 home runs against him. As a matter of fact Giambi gave Timlin a big hug when the two teams met at Yankee Stadium last week, and thanked him.