Motown Weekend

The Yankees open a 4 game wrap-around weekend series with the Detroit Tigers tonight. The Yankees took 3 of 4 from the Tigers last weekend and would love to again this weekend. Here's the must - they must win 2 of the first 3, because the Monday finale matches Mike Mussina and Justin Verlander. The odds of winning that one are slim to none.

Gary Sheffield will miss the series and could land back on the DL with shoulder issues. Gee what a shame :-|

Peter Abraham is reporting that Brian Bruney will be returning this weekend with Ron Villone or Sean Henn taking the roster hit.

The Contenders: The Red Sox and White Sox were rained out last night in the 1st of their 4 game series. They'll make it up as part of a day-night doubleheader. The Mariners beat the Rangers last night to drop the Yankees 2 back in the Wild Card race. That series continues tonight. The AL Central leading Indians travel to KC to take on the Royals.

Pitching Probables for this weekend

Friday - Roger Clemens (5-5, 3.92) vs. Andrew Miller (5-4, 4.42)
Miller is coming off the DL and has only pitched 1 inning against the Yankees. And you know how we handle pitchers we haven't seen before. Clemens has to be happy that Sheffield is out of the lineup since the angry one is 11-18 against him.

Saturday - Chien-Ming Wang (14-6, 4.10) vs. Jeremy Bonderman (10-6, 4.65)
A rematch of last Sunday's game. Wang has suddenly become the subject of criticism by some reactionary Yankees fans. "He's not a true ace" and other garbage. He's 41-17 lifetime. That's all I care about. Bonderman has lost his last 5 decisions.

Sunday - Phil Hughes (2-1, 4.96) vs. Jair Jurrjens (1-1, 3.29)
The same crazy fans that are criticizing Wang, are attacking Hughes for not being Joba Chamberlain. Am I the only Yankees fan sick of whiny, spoiled fellow fans? Probably not. Jurrjens is just 21 years old and has not faced the Bombers.

Monday - Mike Mussina (8-9, 5.22) vs. Justin Verlander (13-5, 3.94)
This was the disastrous match up in the 1st game of the series at Yankee Stadium. After Mussina's horrendous start against the Angels the next time out, Joe Torre sat him down for a long talk. Torre has said publicly that Moose could lose his spot in the rotation if the trend continues. The problem is, who do you go to? Ian Kennedy or Steven White and see if the young buck trend continues? Please, not Jeff Karstens.

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The Yankees Double-A affiliate in Trenton is going to new uniforms next season. They will be replacing the "Thor"-like symbol with a cloud holding a thunder bolt.