AAAA (Amazing in Anaheim: Alfredo Aceves) Postgame Notes 9 Septembe 08

You may not believe it, but the Yankees won a game in Anaheim tonight.

Maybe it was because the pitcher on the mound for the Yankees, Alfredo Aceves, was making his first major league start and missed the memo that the Yankees were supposed to roll up and play dead while in Anaheim.

Maybe it was because Alex Rodriguez realized he hasn't homered since Tampa and Johnny Damon was that determined to get out of that slump he had been in.

Or maybe, it was simply that for once this season, the Yankees did the right things at the right time.

Of course, while the Yankees are still technically in the playoff race, they are still 8.5 games out of the Wild Card with not nearly enough left to play, so while tonight's win was perhaps a small moral victory, the outlook on October hasn't changed much.

Derek Jeter passed Babe Ruth for 2nd place on the Yankees all-time hits list, but I don't need to tell you about how valuable Jeter is as a player, even if he is beginning to decline. He is still a first ballot Hall of Famer.

****

The New York Jets did enough to win on Sunday, and I can't remember the last time I'd seen a Jets quarterback throw down field like that, and I think as Favre becomes more familiar with the playbook, that he and the team will improve.

The AFC East is now wide open, but I won't favor the Jets just yet. I'd like to see what they do against the Patriots and the Bills first.