Anyone watching last night's game could at least take comfort in the fact that they weren't freezing their asses off in Yankee Stadium. The game was a microcosm (today's $5 word) of everything Yankee fans worry about - poor starting pitching, poor relief pitching, horrible defense, and no timely hitting. 3 wild pitches, a passed ball, and 3 errors later, the Yankees dropped a 7-6 game to the Devil Rays, ruining Andy Pettitte's return to the Bronx.
Some of the problems could be attributed to the freezing cold weather (Luiz Vizcaino could properly grip the baseball), but gold glove shortstop Derek Jeter looks like he has lead legs. Jorge Posada looked like he was frozen in place. I lost count of how many times he appeared to be crossed up.
Pettitte started out all right, but soon fell victim to control problems. On an 80 pitch limit, he threw 83 in a 4 inning, plus 2 batters in the 5th start. Though not eligible for the win, he left with a 4-2 lead that Scott Proctor quickly gave away.
Elijah Dukes smashed a solo shot off Proctor in the 6th to give the Rays a 5-4 lead, and they added another (charged to Proctor) when Carl Crawford (I would kill to see this guy in a Yankees uni) singled in a run off of Mike Myers.
Andy Pettitte tags out B.J. Upton at home plate; the only good defensive play of the night.
Hideki Matsui tied the game again in the 7th with a 2-out 2-run single, but Vizcaino quickly gave it away. Akinori Iwamura doubled (Matsui was playing way too shallow) , moved to third on B.J. Upton's single, and scored on Vizcaino's wild pitch.
The Yankees had one more golden opportunity in the 8th, loading the bases with one out, and Bobby Abreu and A-Rod due up. Abreu bounced into a force out at home and A-Rod popped up in the infield, prompting a chorus of boos (Fans 2 A-Rod 1) from those left in the nearly empty stands. Al Reyes retired the Yankees in order in the 9th and that was that. At least they didn't play Liza Minelli singing New York, New York.
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Johnny Damon says he has trouble getting his left calf loose after waking up in the morning. Damon's 1st career trip to the DL will probably happen today or tomorrow.
Prospect Chase Wright threw a gem for Trenton last night. Wright tossed 7 shut out innings and struck out 9. The Thunder lost 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th on an unearned run. Guess the big guys weren't the only ones playing sloppy.
The 6 errors committed by the Yankees in the 1st 2 games is the most in 81 years. Jeter has 3 of them.
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