Got a Wife and Kids in Baltimore Jack...

...I dropped 5 of 6 and I never came back. - Bruce Yanksteen

The Yankees continue their quest for mediocrity (can you tell I'm still angry) in Baltimore this week before returning to the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium. The season is hanging by the narrowest of threads and although the Yankees should probably be sellers at the trade deadline, that doesn't happen in George's kingdom.

Here are the matchups for the 3 game set

Tuesday - Andy Pettitte (4-5, 3.28) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (4-1, 2.42)
Pettitte is coming off an outing in Colorado that looked worse on paper. That's because Joe Torre left Pettitte in way too long and he took a hammering. Pettitte said after the game that he stopped being a pitcher when trouble struck, and was simply a thrower. Too bad your manager didn't recognize that before the game became a blow out.

Guthrie was once a highly touted prospect in the Indians organization, but his minor league success never translated to the majors. He's gotten a fresh start in Baltimore and the chance to work with pitching guru Leo Mazzone. So far it's paid off for the O's. Guthrie has 10 starts in his 16 appearances and he's been nothing short of phenomenal. Over the last 2 months, he's 3-0, 1.79 ERA in 9 starts and has pitched 7 innings or more in all but one of those starts.

Wednesday - Roger Clemens (1-2, 5.09) vs. Erik Bedard (5-4, 3.60)
The world's most expensive relief pitcher moves back into the rotation tonight, hoping to bounce back from a rotten outing in Denver. Clemens has faced the Orioles 44 times in his career, going 19-11. It's the Rocket's first meeting with the O's since 2003.

Bedard is 3-3 lifetime against the Bombers, including 1-0, 2.25 against them last year. The big lefty is the ace of the O's staff, but has still not quite stepped into the stardom the O's have predicted/counted on for him.

Thursday - Chien-Ming Wang (7-4, 3.51) vs. Daniel Cabrera (6-8, 4.98)
The Wanger is coming off a shaky outing against the Giants on Saturday, that may have partially been the result of a torn fingernail. Wang was bothered by it earlier this season and the Yankees keep gluing it back together.

Cabrera is hard thrower with control problems. When he's on, he's on, but when he's not he can walk the ballpark. A patient Yankees team could take advantage of that fact.

33

Believe it or not the Captain is 33 today. Ed Price of the Star-Ledger put together a funny and corny piece on what it means for Jeter to be 33.

It so happens it's also the birthday of the Jeter's teammate, the poster boy for failure. Hopefully the phrase Jeter's teammate won't be used for him much longer.