How to Bring Your 'A' Game

Last night's Yankees win over the Red Sox was how the game is supposed to be played. Excellent starting pitching, offense, both early and often, and making the routine and non-routine plays in the field.

Andy Pettitte, as he has often done in his Yankee career, picked up the team when they needed it most. Instead of losing 2 of 3 to both the Mets and Red Sox, the Yankees split the 6 pressure packed games. Pettitte once again showed the difference between he and Mike Mussina. Pettitte is like Larry Bird. Game on the line, clock running down - gimme the ball. Mussina may have been like that once, but has weakened both physically and mentally. Brian Cashman can be criticized for many things this season, but bringing back Andy Pettitte is certainly not one of them.

Extra bonus points are earned too when you humble Schitbag. He was very subdued after last night's game in which the Yankees tattooed his pitches. It started right off the bat, pun intended, when Johnny Damon double and scored on Derek Jeter's single. Hideki Matsui followed with a line drive 2-run HR to jumpstart the Yankees to a 3-0 lead.

Jeter singled in another run in the 3rd and in doing so, passed Joe DiMaggio for 5th all time on the Yankees hit list. A triple later in the game raised his season average to .367.

Jorge Posada singled in a run in the 4th, and then Schitbag's former teammate Doug Mientkiewicz took him deep, off the facing of the upper deck, for a 6-0 lead. In addition to Jeter, Mientkiewicz and Damon had 3 hits each, and Matsui drove in 3.

About the only thing that went wrong last night was Jason Giambi's 0-4 performance in the wake of his meeting with the commissioner's office and the report of a failed drug test.

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Pettitte upped his record to 2-3 with 7 hard-nosed innings. Lack of run support and an imploding bullpen has kept Pettitte from being 6-1, but being the leader he has become, he's unaffected by it.

Jeter has 2,216 hits and is 120 behind Bernie Williams for 4th on the all time Yankees list. Health and Bernie remaining on the sidelines permitting, he should catch him this season. Jeter also extended his hitting streak to 18 games and has a hit in 38 of 39 games.