Con Man Loria Deals Away Another Contract

"Don't get too comfortable here."

When it comes to dirty dealings that are baseball related, it's hard to find anyone lower than Jeffrey "pond scum" Loria. The soon-to-be 72-year old was estimated to be worth a half-billion dollars two years ago, but like most owners of teams, it's never enough.

Loria ditched more salary today when he traded closer/free agent flop Heath Bell, who signed a three year, $27MM deal  prior to the '12 season, to Arizona for infielder Yordy Cabrera.  It further showed the Marlins (few) fans and voters that now that he has his stadium, Loria really doesn't care what product he puts out there.

Of course, Loria was counting on the team to succeed which (he thought) would draw fans. The end game would be to sell the team at an exorbitant price to continue the con. But let's see how it all started.

First, Loria was part of the triumvirate con run by Major League Baseball (check with Sawyer from Lost as to whether this qualifies as a short or long con) that had Florida Marlins owner John Henry take over the Boston Red Sox, while Loria, then owner of the Montreal Expos took over the fish. MLB, under the auspices of used car dealer/Milwaukee stadium con artist Bud Selig (I would trust Larry "Bud" Melman more), then took over the Expos.

The league did nothing with the Expos except eventually move them to Washington, D.C. There they still did nothing until finding a buyer in Ted Lerner (who showed some class the other day by putting a big ad in The Washington Post thanking the fans for a great season).

Henry, meanwhile has enjoyed the fruits of his money up in Boston, while Loria conned the citizens of Florida into building a new ball park in Miami. (Thinking of the way Floridians have handled things the last decade or so makes me think that maybe they deserved it...apologies to all relatives and friends). I'm not going to get into the details again, but you can at least get a recap from Wikipedia.

Most teams get a big bump when a ball park opens, but the Marlins were the exception to the rule. They drew 27,401 per game, which landed them 18th out of 30 teams. It was still an improvement from last season's 19494 per game, which was dead last in the National League/ Most of the time it looked like there were 100 people in attendance.

Prior to the season the Marlins fans must have been thinking, finally we're getting a team with some valuable veterans.  Jose Reyes came over from the Mets on a six year, $106MM  free agent deal. There was Bell of course and pitcher Mark Buehrle, who departed the Chicago White Sox for four years and $58MM.

The Marlins were said to be in negotiations with Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson as well before both signed with the LA Angels.

This past season was barely halfway through when Loria started the latest fire sale of Marlins players (Former con man owner of the Marlins, Wayne Huizenga paved the way years before after the Marlins captured the '97 World Series.). Pitcher, and free agent after the season, Anibal Sanchez was the first to go, along with infielder Omar Infante, to the Detroit Tigers. Those two must be doing cartwheels right about now. Next was Hanley Ramirez, owed $31.5MM for 2013-2014, who was sent to the LA Dodgers.

Loria entertained offers for Josh Johnson, but held off. That will likely change before or during the season. Johnson will be in the final year of his deal in 2013 and is owed $13.75MM. Reyes and Buehrle could both be dealt as well, esp. Buehrle since he has the shorter, cheaper deal of the two.

All of this dumping, makes the rumored/gossip/joking deal for Alex Rodriguez seem highly improbable (what? A-Rod will bring in maybe another 500 people per game?). Pretty soon the Marlins will be back to over the hill veterans and young prospects that don't belong in the majors yet. And before you know it Giancarlo Stanton will get shipped out of town too.

That's how the con works.

E-3, Thank You Very Much

Eduardo Nunez, Pinball Wizard

The Yankees-Oakland A's series this weekend has been an exciting (agita) one. Friday night's series opener saw a great pitcher's duel between CC Sabathia and Jarrod Parker that the Yankees won in extras after Rafael Soriano blew the Yankees lead in the 9th.

Saturday went a few steps further; pitching was pretty mediocre, fielding even worse (by the A's), but when it was all over that word "improbable" was being bandied about again. Hey, I even got to use the word "bandied". In the end the Yankees pulled out an "improbable" 10-9 victory in 14 innings.

The Yankees had to go to Freddy Garcia for a 4th inning of relief due to a shortened bullpen (neither Soriano or David Robertson was available). Using Garcia for that length of time is like juggling sticks of dynamite. You know that eventually it's going to go off. Just ask Arzt - "Dude, you've got some Arzt on you".

The 13th inning is when things blew up for the Yankees. Garcia gave up a 2-run home run to Jonny Gomes (who really looks like he should be a professional wrestler) and followed that up by throwing a meatball to Yoenis Cespedes for a solo home run. Back-to-back and belly-to-belly is not so much fun when it's the other team.

Joe Girardi then went to a Red Sox castoff, you notice these guys never pitch well?, Justin Thomas who gave up a solo bomb to Chris Carter for a 9-5 A's lead. With the day game turning into a night game there weren't too many people left watching for an improbable victory. For shame, for what they missed out.

A's skipper Bob Melvin went to his 7th pitcher, Pedro Figueroa, to start the bottom half of the 13th. No relation to Ed Figueroa, as far as I know, the A's reliever surrendered singles to Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano to load the bases with no one out. John Sterling ran another ad for "this call to the bullpen..." and Pat Neshek came on.

The one time highly regarded Minnesota Twins product immediately threw a wild pitch to cut the lead to 9-6. Eduardo Nunez followed with a sac fly that halved the deficit and brought Raul Ibanez to the plate as the tying run. Ibanez had delivered a pinch-hit home run earlier in the game, his first long ball since August 5. It wasn't hist last of the day. The veteran of 17 seasons smashed Neshek's side winder into the right field seats to tie the game at 9 apiece. What was left of the crowd went bananas...or maybe that's because liquor had been cut out six innings earlier.

Corey Wade tossed a perfect 14th to set the stage for a walk off, well more of a stumble off, victory.  Tyson Ross replaced Neshek and gave up a lead off single to Eric Chavez. Derek Jeter sacrificed pinch-runner Melky Mesa (who ever though not one, but two Melky's would play in the Majors.), which led to an intentional walk to Ichiro.

A-Rod ripped a line drive to center that was hit too hard to score Mesa, but the bases were loaded with just one out. That quickly became two outs when Cano weak grounder to the right side was fielded by Ross, who got the force out at home. But the A's, who already had two errors, thrown three wild pitches, balked, and hit a batter, were happy to oblige once more.  Nunez hit a sharp grounder that ricocheted off first baseman Branon Moss for the A's third error of the day and enabled Mesa to score the game winner, the Yankees seventh straight victory.

Notes

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, and thank you to NJ.com's Jeff Bradley, the Yankees came back from a 4-run deficit in extra innings and won for just the second time in franchise history. The firs time was back on September 17, 1980 against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Derek Jeter's 1-7 performance extended his hitting streak to 16 games, but it is now unlike the captain can catch Miguel Cabrera for the batting lead. Jeter dropped to .321 while Cabrera's 1-4 performance left him at .332. Mike Trout is in between at .325.

Steve Pearce did his best Mark Teixeira imitation yesterday, making a pair of diving stabs to save the game.

Texas' Deep Heart Downs Yankees

The majority of Colby Lewis' 12 years of professional baseball have been spent in relative anonymity. A 1st round pick (38th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 1999, Lewis spent parts of five seasons in the majors with three teams and compiled a 12-15 mark. He tore his rotator cuff in 2004 and missed all of the following season. Then there were the last two years playing for the Hiroshima Carp in Japan. But that's where Lewis began to hone his game. And tonight he shone, back with his original ball club, helping to close out the ALCS in six games over the Yankees.

Lewis dominated the Yankees for the second time in the series as the Texas Rangers repeated their knockout of Phil Hughes and topped the Bomberless Bombers 6-1. Lewis limited the Yankees to three hits over eight innings, walked three, and struck out seven to finish the series 2-0, 1.98. And he got plenty of run support to boot.

Hughes was on the ropes all night and Texas finally hit him with a haymaker in the 5th. Tied 1-1, Mitch Moreland singled and moved to third on a pair of ground outs. The Yankees, who mistakenly pitched to Josh Hamilton in his first at-bat, intentionally walked the soon to be AL MVP to face Vladimir Guerrero.

Guerrero didn't have an RBI in the series until a 1st inning ground out gave the Rangers an early 1-0 lead. He quickly added two more when he drove a double to center for a 3-1 advantage. Joe Girardi nearly ran out to the mound to pull Hughes, but it was to no avail. David Robertson came on and was greeted by a Nelson Cruz 2-run home run that was the death knell.

Lewis allowed just a pair of walks to Curtis Granderson through the first four innings before Alex Rodriguez started the 5th with a double. After moving to third on a deep fly out by Lance Berkman, A-Rod scored when Lewis' one hop pitch ricocheted off of Nick Swisher for a wild pitch.

Bengie Molina and manager Ron Washington argued vehemently, and correctly, that it should have been ruled a hit batsman and a dead ball, but home plate Brian Gorman saw it otherwise. Ironically, it was Swisher who was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in game 4, but the play was missed by then home plate ump Angel Hernandez.

Neftali Feliz retired the side in order in the 9th for Texas, setting off a massive celebration as the Rangers sealed their first trip to the World Series. Much will be made that former Ranger Rodriguez was the final strikeout and third out victim.

Notes

Mariano Rivera threw the 8th and final inning for the Yankees in what will hopefully not be his last time in a Yankees uniform.

Red hot Robinson Cano went ice cold for the first time in the series and went hitless.

The Yankees were completely outplayed, outclassed, out pitched, outhit, and out managed in the series. Their lackluster play began in late August and it never stopped, except for their ALDS series with the Minnesota Twins- a team they could beat with their eyes closed.

At times they looked old- stirring up feelings that were felt when they lost in the 2001 ALCS and the 2003 World Series. They also looked flat at times and appeared to have no fight or desire in their hearts or bellies, especially when they fell behind. They basically embarrassed themselves in the series.

There's some symmetry between the Rangers and the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, who beat the Yankees in a wild World Series. Both teams had financial issues. The Dbacks had trouble making payroll, the Rangers couldn't get a sale to go through. But they stole Cliff Lee out from under the Yankees and their season was put into overdrive. Now they'll face the Giants or Phillies for all the marbles.

Won and LOST

I'll admit it right off the bat. If this had been September or October I would have been glued to the Yankees-Red Sox game last night. But last night was Tuesday, which means LOST is on, and with just a handful of episodes remaining there was no way I was going to miss it. Even if Jack Shephard is a Red Sox fan.

The Yankees bullpen certainly made up for their poor night on Sunday, blanking the Sox over the final four innings. No outs were bigger than the two Joba Chamberlain recorded in the 8th inning. Midge-free, Joba was erratic on Sunday night, but last night he hit 97 mph on the gun, and blew away Adrian Beltre and J.D. Drew with a man aboard. And yes, fists were a pumpin'.

A.J. Burnett didn't look much better against the Sox than he did last year, but made his way through five innings with Jorge Posada behind the plate. His three earned runs allowed was better than the job turned in by Boston starter Jon Lester.

Lester struck out 2 of 3 in a dominant first inning. My personal pick for this year's Cy Young award faltered thereafter, allowing 3 runs in his 5th and final inning.

The Yankees took the lead for good in the 8th when Hideki Okajima walked Nick Johnson and Robinson Cano added an insurance tally in the 9th when he homered off Scott Atchison.

Yankees Notes

The finale of the three game series tonight is a rematch of the '09 ALCS - Andy Pettitte against then Angels pitcher John Lackey.

Alfredo Aceves picked up the win and is now 12-1 in his Yankees career.

Mariano Rivera picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless 9th.

Yankees Lost, Then Found

If last night's Yankees-Twins game was an episode of LOST, Mike Mussina would have been Desmond Hume. His mind stuck in 2 places, the present, and a week ago in Baltimore. Just like that game in the crab cake capital, a 1st inning Yankees error lead to a big Twins inning. But this time Desmond Mussina realized that Jose Molina was his "constant" (if you don't watch LOST, then you really are lost right now) and made it out of the 1st inning this time, down 4-1.

Mussina bounced back and the Yankees offense smacked around rookie Glen Perkins en route to a 6-5 escape from the island win. Trailing 4-2 in the 4th, Melky Cabrera's 2-run single tied the game in the 4th and Alex Rodriguez's RBI single put the Yankees ahead for good in the 5th.

The 1st inning showed just how much the Yankees need a defensive minded 1st Baseman. Neither Jason Giambi or Shelley Duncan can provide adequate defense at the position, and just like Giambi, Duncan's inability to make an accurate throw cost the Yankees.

With runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, Justin Morneau hit a potential double play grounder to Duncan. But the big 1st Baseman's throw pulled Derek Jeter off the 2nd Base bag to load the bases. Consecutive singles by Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Delmon Young put the Twins up 3-1 and they added a 4th run on Mike Lamb's ground out. Mussina finally retired Brendan Harris on a comebacker to end the inning.

But Perkins, who entered the game with a 2.77 ERA struggled throughout. Bobb Abreu lead off the 3rd with a triple and came home on A-Rod's single to cut the lead in half. In the 4th, Duncan walked and Robinson Cano singled through the left side. Jose Molina's sacrifice successfully moved the runners up a base and they came home on Cabrera's single to center for a 4-4 game.

Abreu singled to lead off the 5th and scored all the way from 1st on A-Rod's double. It also knocked Perkins out of the game. Abreu tripled again in the 7th and came home two batters later on Hideki Matsui's single for a big insurance run. The red hot Matsui, the AL's leading hitter, was 3-4 to raise his average to .339.

That 6th run was huge, because as usual Kyle Farnsworth gave up a run in the 8th. This time it was Morneau's 10th home run of the season. But just as undependable as Farnsworth is, Mariano Rivera is that dependable. The Yankees closer made it 14-14 in save opportunities with a relatively easy 9th inning. He issued his 2nd walk of the season with 1 out, but struck out Carlos Gomez and Craig Monroe to end the game.

News and Notes

Jorge Posada continued his throwing program and there's an outside chance he could re-join the team as early as next week. More likely it will be the following week.

Though the Yankees don't need another left-handed hitter, they do need to bring Ben Broussard up from Scranton to be a defensive replacement at 1st Base.

May 30, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	1	2	1	0	1	0	0		6	16	1
Minnesota	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		5	7	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	1	3	.272
Abreu, RF	4	4	3	0	1	0	0	.296
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	3	2	0	0	1	.291
Matsui, LF	4	0	3	2	1	0	1	.339
Damon, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.288
Giambi, DH	5	0	1	0	0	1	7	.243
Duncan, S, 1B	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	.161
a-Betemit, PH-1B	3	0	0	0	0	1	6	.265
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	2	.219
Molina, C	3	0	2	0	0	1	0	.219
Cabrera, CF	4	0	3	2	0	0	1	.266
Totals	37	6	16	6	3	4	21
a-Struck out for Duncan, S in the 5th.
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez 2 (11, Perkins, Guerrier). 3B: Abreu 2 (3, Perkins, Bass). TB: Abreu 7; Rodriguez 5; Matsui 3; Giambi; Cano; Molina 2; Cabrera 3. RBI: Matsui 2 (26), Rodriguez 2 (19), Cabrera 2 (23). 2-out RBI: Matsui. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Jeter; Cano; Betemit. S: Molina. GIDP: Matsui. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING SB: Abreu (4, 2nd base off Perkins/Mauer). CS: Cabrera (1, 2nd base by Perkins/Mauer). PO: Cabrera (1st base by Perkins). FIELDING E: Duncan, S (3, throw).

Minnesota	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gomez, CF	5	0	0	0	0	2	2	.286
Casilla, 2B	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.340
a-Monroe, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.235
Mauer, C	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	.318
Morneau, 1B	4	2	2	1	0	0	1	.309
Cuddyer, RF	4	1	1	1	0	1	1	.228
Kubel, DH	4	0	1	1	0	2	0	.250
Young, LF	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	.257
Lamb, 3B	4	0	0	1	0	0	2	.245
Harris, SS	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	.253
Totals	35	5	7	5	3	6	12
a-Struck out for Casilla in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Casilla (3, Mussina). HR: Morneau (10, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Casilla 3; Morneau 5; Cuddyer; Kubel; Young. RBI: Cuddyer (20), Kubel (27), Young (15), Lamb (23), Morneau (41). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Harris; Morneau; Mauer. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING Outfield assists: Cuddyer 2 (Giambi at 2nd base, Rodriguez at 2nd base). DP: 3 (Casilla-Harris-Morneau, Casilla-Morneau, Cuddyer-Harris). Pickoffs: Perkins (Cabrera at 1st base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (W, 8-4)	6.0	6	4	2	1	4	0	4.26
Veras (H, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.35
Ramirez (H, 1)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Farnsworth (H, 5)	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1	4.44
Rivera (S, 14)	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0.38

Minnesota	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Perkins (L, 2-2)	4.0	10	5	5	2	0	0	3.90
Bass	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	0	5.67
Reyes	1.2	2	0	0	0	2	0	2.70
Guerrier	1.1	1	0	0	1	0	0	3.19

Perkins pitched to 2 batters in the 5th.
Bass pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

IBB: Matsui (by Guerrier).
HBP: Rodriguez (by Bass).
Pitches-strikes: Mussina 109-73, Veras 9-3, Ramirez 5-5,
Farnsworth 11-9, Rivera 15-10, Perkins 78-52, Bass 25-19,
Reyes 19-11, Guerrier 18-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 4-10, Veras 1-0, Ramirez 0-2,
Farnsworth 3-0, Rivera 1-0, Perkins 6-4, Bass 2-1, Reyes 0-2, Guerrier 1-3.
Batters faced: Mussina 26, Veras 2, Ramirez 2, Farnsworth 4, Rivera 4,
Perkins 21, Bass 9, Reyes 6, Guerrier 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Ramirez 1-0, Bass 1-0, Reyes 2-1, Guerrier 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Chris Tiller. 3B: Gary Darling.
Weather: 68 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 3:04.
Att: 30,188.

Yankees Lost, Then Found

If last night's Yankees-Twins game was an episode of LOST, Mike Mussina would have been Desmond Hume. His mind stuck in 2 places, the present, and a week ago in Baltimore. Just like that game in the crab cake capital, a 1st inning Yankees error lead to a big Twins inning. But this time Desmond Mussina realized that Jose Molina was his "constant" (if you don't watch LOST, then you really are lost right now) and made it out of the 1st inning this time, down 4-1.

Mussina bounced back and the Yankees offense smacked around rookie Glen Perkins en route to a 6-5 escape from the island win. Trailing 4-2 in the 4th, Melky Cabrera's 2-run single tied the game in the 4th and Alex Rodriguez's RBI single put the Yankees ahead for good in the 5th.

The 1st inning showed just how much the Yankees need a defensive minded 1st Baseman. Neither Jason Giambi or Shelley Duncan can provide adequate defense at the position, and just like Giambi, Duncan's inability to make an accurate throw cost the Yankees.

With runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, Justin Morneau hit a potential double play grounder to Duncan. But the big 1st Baseman's throw pulled Derek Jeter off the 2nd Base bag to load the bases. Consecutive singles by Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, and Delmon Young put the Twins up 3-1 and they added a 4th run on Mike Lamb's ground out. Mussina finally retired Brendan Harris on a comebacker to end the inning.

But Perkins, who entered the game with a 2.77 ERA struggled throughout. Bobb Abreu lead off the 3rd with a triple and came home on A-Rod's single to cut the lead in half. In the 4th, Duncan walked and Robinson Cano singled through the left side. Jose Molina's sacrifice successfully moved the runners up a base and they came home on Cabrera's single to center for a 4-4 game.

Abreu singled to lead off the 5th and scored all the way from 1st on A-Rod's double. It also knocked Perkins out of the game. Abreu tripled again in the 7th and came home two batters later on Hideki Matsui's single for a big insurance run. The red hot Matsui, the AL's leading hitter, was 3-4 to raise his average to .339.

That 6th run was huge, because as usual Kyle Farnsworth gave up a run in the 8th. This time it was Morneau's 10th home run of the season. But just as undependable as Farnsworth is, Mariano Rivera is that dependable. The Yankees closer made it 14-14 in save opportunities with a relatively easy 9th inning. He issued his 2nd walk of the season with 1 out, but struck out Carlos Gomez and Craig Monroe to end the game.

News and Notes

Jorge Posada continued his throwing program and there's an outside chance he could re-join the team as early as next week. More likely it will be the following week.

Though the Yankees don't need another left-handed hitter, they do need to bring Ben Broussard up from Scranton to be a defensive replacement at 1st Base.

May 30, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
NY Yankees	1	0	1	2	1	0	1	0	0		6	16	1
Minnesota	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		5	7	0

NY Yankees	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jeter, SS	5	0	0	0	0	1	3	.272
Abreu, RF	4	4	3	0	1	0	0	.296
Rodriguez, 3B	4	0	3	2	0	0	1	.291
Matsui, LF	4	0	3	2	1	0	1	.339
Damon, LF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.288
Giambi, DH	5	0	1	0	0	1	7	.243
Duncan, S, 1B	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	.161
a-Betemit, PH-1B	3	0	0	0	0	1	6	.265
Cano, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	0	2	.219
Molina, C	3	0	2	0	0	1	0	.219
Cabrera, CF	4	0	3	2	0	0	1	.266
Totals	37	6	16	6	3	4	21
a-Struck out for Duncan, S in the 5th.
BATTING 2B: Rodriguez 2 (11, Perkins, Guerrier). 3B: Abreu 2 (3, Perkins, Bass). TB: Abreu 7; Rodriguez 5; Matsui 3; Giambi; Cano; Molina 2; Cabrera 3. RBI: Matsui 2 (26), Rodriguez 2 (19), Cabrera 2 (23). 2-out RBI: Matsui. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Jeter; Cano; Betemit. S: Molina. GIDP: Matsui. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING SB: Abreu (4, 2nd base off Perkins/Mauer). CS: Cabrera (1, 2nd base by Perkins/Mauer). PO: Cabrera (1st base by Perkins). FIELDING E: Duncan, S (3, throw).

Minnesota	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Gomez, CF	5	0	0	0	0	2	2	.286
Casilla, 2B	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.340
a-Monroe, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.235
Mauer, C	3	1	0	0	1	0	2	.318
Morneau, 1B	4	2	2	1	0	0	1	.309
Cuddyer, RF	4	1	1	1	0	1	1	.228
Kubel, DH	4	0	1	1	0	2	0	.250
Young, LF	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	.257
Lamb, 3B	4	0	0	1	0	0	2	.245
Harris, SS	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	.253
Totals	35	5	7	5	3	6	12
a-Struck out for Casilla in the 9th.
BATTING 2B: Casilla (3, Mussina). HR: Morneau (10, 8th inning off Farnsworth, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Casilla 3; Morneau 5; Cuddyer; Kubel; Young. RBI: Cuddyer (20), Kubel (27), Young (15), Lamb (23), Morneau (41). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Harris; Morneau; Mauer. Team LOB: 6. FIELDING Outfield assists: Cuddyer 2 (Giambi at 2nd base, Rodriguez at 2nd base). DP: 3 (Casilla-Harris-Morneau, Casilla-Morneau, Cuddyer-Harris). Pickoffs: Perkins (Cabrera at 1st base).

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Mussina (W, 8-4)	6.0	6	4	2	1	4	0	4.26
Veras (H, 1)	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	4.35
Ramirez (H, 1)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Farnsworth (H, 5)	1.0	1	1	1	0	0	1	4.44
Rivera (S, 14)	1.0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0.38

Minnesota	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Perkins (L, 2-2)	4.0	10	5	5	2	0	0	3.90
Bass	2.0	3	1	1	0	2	0	5.67
Reyes	1.2	2	0	0	0	2	0	2.70
Guerrier	1.1	1	0	0	1	0	0	3.19

Perkins pitched to 2 batters in the 5th.
Bass pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

IBB: Matsui (by Guerrier).
HBP: Rodriguez (by Bass).
Pitches-strikes: Mussina 109-73, Veras 9-3, Ramirez 5-5,
Farnsworth 11-9, Rivera 15-10, Perkins 78-52, Bass 25-19,
Reyes 19-11, Guerrier 18-8.
Ground outs-fly outs: Mussina 4-10, Veras 1-0, Ramirez 0-2,
Farnsworth 3-0, Rivera 1-0, Perkins 6-4, Bass 2-1, Reyes 0-2, Guerrier 1-3.
Batters faced: Mussina 26, Veras 2, Ramirez 2, Farnsworth 4, Rivera 4,
Perkins 21, Bass 9, Reyes 6, Guerrier 6.
Inherited runners-scored: Ramirez 1-0, Bass 1-0, Reyes 2-1, Guerrier 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Jerry Meals. 1B: Bill Miller. 2B: Chris Tiller. 3B: Gary Darling.
Weather: 68 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 3:04.
Att: 30,188.