Groovin' On a Thursday Night

photo courtesy of Washington Post

Yeah yeah, I know that's not the song. But the Yankees, specifically Robinson Cano and A.J. Burnett were groovin' last night in Baltimore.

Cano has been all month. Two more home runs last night, another shot that didn't miss by much that resulted in a double. He's leading the team in practically every offensive category.

Is it because of Melky's departure? Is it because he's matured? Is it that I don't care, I'm just glad that he's hitting? You bet your seated area that's it.

Lost in last night's well deserved Canofest was the job Burnett did. It may very well be the best game he's pitched as a Yankee. When he threw a 2-2 breaking pitch 5 ft outside the strike zone to the O's first batter (Adam Jones), I admit I quickly thought, "here we go".

But Burnett was magnificent. Effortless. Smooth. Very un-Burnett like. The game went by rather quickly - 2:51 - not bad by today's standards (don't choke on your burrito Joe West).

All told, Burnett (who, btw, is no 35-12 vs. AL East) went 8 innings, allowed just three hits, walked a single batter, and struck out four. We all love big strikeout totals, but is there any thing better than watch a pitcher get guys out by having defense make all the routine plays as well as some spectacular ones?

The latter brings me back to Cano. The guy has amazing foot work, arm strength, accuracy, and range (I don't need some UZR rating, or whatever the hell it is called, to tell me that.).

He snared Nolan Reimold's bouncer threw the box as it neared the 2nd base area and, in one motion, fired across his body to Mark Teixeira at first. It was a perfect throw. Cano was already well on to the shortstop side of the bag when he released the ball. You can see the replay here. Even if Derek Jeter was impressed.

Notes

Marcus Thames' at-bats are sporadic, but after a pair of bloops and a frozen rope for three hits last night, he's now a remarkable 10-19 (.588) on the season.

As expected, Jorge Posada sat out with a bruised knee, the result of a Jeremy Guthrie pitch on Wednesday night. Posada will miss Friday's series opener at home with the White Sox.

I was only 6 when this came out..that is all.