Mighty Moose (Postgame Notes 18 Sept 07)

I could start by talking about how the Yankees just decided to take the hard road for the division or about how 2007 (right now) beats the hell out of 1978, but I won't talk about that...just yet.

It might get lost in the twelve run offensive outburst, but Mussina's 7 shut-out innings were simply brilliant.

He gave up just three hits, and one walk, and didn't allow a runner to scoring position until the seventh. It deserves to be considered for his best start this season, and, well, he sure picked a good day to have a good start! It's amazing, we have a six man rotation, and the last starting pitcher to lose a game? Chien Ming Wang.

That tells you something.

Offensively, the Yankees did everything right. We did the whole couple-big-innings thing, instead of Torre's patented chip-away thing, but a win is a win is a win, especially when the final score is 12-0.

Jeter, Abreu, Matsui, Posada, Cano and Mient Man had great games; Cabrera had a sac-fly RBI, and when you break slumps, you start small.

Best offensive moment of the night? Mientkiewicz's HUGE home run, both in terms of distance and importance to the game, which was still close at that point. In the course of about one week he's gone from automatic out to hottest player on the team. He wants to be on the postseason roster pretty bad.

A-Rod has been slumping a bit, hasn't hit a Home Run since Kansas City, and it looks like he's pressing. Don't worry; if he slumps now it means he should be fine for October.

Oh, another fact that might escape your notice:
Tonight's win means the Yankees have finally won a series against Baltimore. No reason to not go after the sweep, of course, but winning the games we have to win sure feels good...especially when teams like Boston, err, don't.

This isn't 1978.

It's 2007, and it's so much better. Why?

Right now, what we are seeing is the birth of a dynasty.

Yeah, there are growing pains, but that's necessary. That we can have these growing pains (like Phil's first inning jitters and Cano's swinging at everything) and still be just 2.5 back of Boston in a season in which we were, at one point, 14.5 back, says VOLUMES about our team. Try to think of any other team that managed to rebuild and win in the same year?

You can't, can you?

If you liked the teams of '96, '98, '99 and '00, stay tuned...unless I've missed the mark completely, we're about to surpass that.

This year is where it all starts.

Consider yourself lucky, we’re on to something HUGE.



SCORES AND STUFFS

In a score probably known everywhere starting in Jersey, radiating up north through Maine and then west to Toronto, Boston blew a one-run lead and lost 4-3 to Toronto. Eric Gagne had one of his now-trademarkable collapses, as he walked the bases loaded and the game-tying run in with TWO OUTS in the eighth. Right now, Brian Cashman is a genius...

In a score which is probably more important, Detroit lost to Cleveland, 7-4, to fall five games back in the loss column of the Yankees. Again, it's too soon to know anything for sure, but Detroit is fast running out of games to make up the deficit. That they collapsed after leads of 5-1 and 4-1 is kind of just like holding a giant mirror up to their season...

Kansas City is up on the Chi Sox 3-2 in the ninth, as they try to surprise everyone and finish somewhere other than last place in the AL Central.

Minnesota is up on Texas 4-2. This game doesn't matter much, but both teams play Detroit and/or Boston in the remaining schedule, so any signs of them playing good baseball is a good thing for Yankees' fans.

LA is up on Tampa 1-0 in the third. It sounds weird, but the Yankees might actually want LA to win. If the Yanks win the division, we want Cleveland to have the third seed, not the second.

Seattle is up on Oakland 3-1, but they are all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Talk about a September you'd like to forget...

The Rockies beat the Dodgers 3-1 in game one of their double-header; the Dodgers are up 7-5 in the nightcap, in the 8th.

Washington beat the Mets 9-8, as the Amazins' blow another four run lead. You know, if you think Boston is on the verge of collapse, the Mets lead will be down to 1.5 games if Philadelphia can beat St. Louis.

Speaking of which, Philly and St. Louis are tied at three in the ninth.

Cincinnati beat the Cubs 5-2, a loss that hurts as the Cubs only had a one game lead on Milwaukee, who...

...are up 9-1 on Houston in the ninth.

Atlanta is up 4-3 on Florida in the ninth, as they've decided that the Mets losing = good time to start winning games.

Arizona is up 4-0 on San Francisco in the third, and...

San Diego is up 4-2 in the third against Pittsburgh.


Going to take a breath now...