Monday, April 7, 2008

Moose & Bobby

Pick the performance of the night:

Mike Mussina, six innings, one run, two hits, one walk, three strike outs

or

Bobby Abreu, three-for-three with a home run, a triple, a single and a walk.

Tonight was plain old, good fashioned, quality Yankee baseball. There was excellent pitching from Mussina, Bruney and Farnsworth, and good-enough pitching from Hawkins. There was actual offense, including hits with less than two outs and runners in scoring position.

However, it was not a perfect night, as Derek Jeter left in the second inning with a strained left quad, and while Wilson Betemit might be an adequate fielder, hit well, he does not. If Jeter's injury is serious (first reports are day-to-day, though injuries tend to be underreported at first), the Yankees have a dilemma.

Neither Morgan Ensberg, nor Shelley Duncan, who inspire more confidence at the plate, play shortstop. Given that shortstop is one of the most important defensive positions, you can sacrifice the bat for a few games, but eventually, it will come back to hurt.

The Yankees have to hope, then, that Jeter's injury is not serious.

OPTIMIST TAKE: On (yet another) cold night, the Yankees finally mounted something that more than resembles an offense. Bobby Abreu is on fire right now, and while A-Rod might not have a 13-home-run-April, he's had some very nice swings. Same with Matsui.

Over the past two games, the Yankees have given up just one run, earned or otherwise. I wonder if they did that at all--back to back games giving up one run or less--last year...


SCORES AND STUFFS

Pirates 5, Reds 3.

Orioles 5, Mariners 4. Orioles are 5-1.

Cubs 10, Pirates 8. Cubs blew a seven run lead and had to win in 12.

White Sox 7, Twins 4.

Padres 8, Giants 4. Giants are 1-6.

Astros 5, Cardinals 3.


Marlins lead Nationals 8-7 in the 8th, Braves lead Colorado 1-0 in the 8th, Diamondbacks lead Dodgers 4-0 in the third, Indians and Angels scoreless in the first.

3 comments:

  1. A strained quad shouldn't be too serious. Betemit's offensive output is horrendous but his defensive play is a little stronger compared to "pastadiving" Jeter.

    Terrific outing from Moose. Farnsworth looked good too (and I love to bash Farnsworth). While Hawkins didn't give up any runs, he didn't instill any confidence in his abilities to pitch in a tight game.

    Nice job by Bobby Abreu. Good hustle with the stand up triple.

    I give my player of the game nod to Mussina.

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  2. My player of the game vote goes to the Moose... Mussina having a good year will put a lot less stress on the youngsters.

    Let's give Farnsworth a break from the booing, cheering can't hurt..

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  3. I know Hawkins isn't a great pitcher, but the booing can not be helping only because he chose #21. He had a reason for doing so - to honor Clemente, not to dis O'Neill. I think the fans are being ridiculous. Give the guy a chance to pitch. If he is not good, boo him for his performance, not his uniform number. How would the crowd react if Joba took #21?

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