Bernie to the Rescue

Torre certainly picked a good day to rest Melky, for Bernie had his best game of the year: 4-5, 2 HR, 6 rbi! It was his offense that really sparked the team to a (relatively) easy win. Of course, you can't forget Damon's leadoff 2b followed by Jeter's HR.

The Yanks figured out Joe Saunders this time, nailing him for 8 runs on only 2.1 ip. Saunders beat the Yanks in New York 2 weeks ago, going 6 ip, allowing 2 er.

I hope Jeff Karstens is a sign of things to come from the farm system. Another solid outing from him yesterday. Of his 3 pitches, he actually had the best control with his curve, the worst control with his fastball, and his change was somewhere in the middle. If he had located his fastball better, he may have allowed only 1 run. Karstens threw only 14 pitches in the 5th and 6th innings combined, but with an 8-3 lead, Torre pulled him to insure he got the win. His best pitch is his change, followed by his curve; if he can spot his fastball consistently, he'll be a very good pitcher.

Is Howie Kendrick a great hitter or what? He was 6-10 with 4 bb in the series!

Arod got a hit somehow yesterday. First pitch swinging. I think we're going to see a lot more of that for the time being. He clearly doesn't have enough confidence to swing with 2 strikes because he knows he won't hit it; that's why he took 2 called 3rd strikes yesterday, he knows he can't hit them so he's hoping they're called balls. Until his slump is over, he'll be swinging at the first pitch a lot, and looking at strike 3 a lot.

Maybe Bernie should be the DH everytime there's a lefty pitching because he destroys them, to a .950 ops (vs. .706 against righties).

Isn't Nick Green a defensive replacement? His 2-run error allowed Anaheim to get back in the game. Of course, Farnsworth had perhaps his worst outing of the year and was responsible for loading the bags in the first place.

This team deserves the day off. I hope they all sleep in.

11-8 Yanks

3*: Bernie, 4-5, 2b, 2 HR, 2 r, 6 rbi
2: Jeter, 3-5, 2 HR, 2 r, 3 rbi
1: Cano, 4-5, 2 r, 2 rbi
1: Karstens, 6 ip, 3 er, 1st ML win

PS: props to Brian Bruney on Saturday for sticking up for Jeter. He gets hit way too much without any consequences. Bruney's pitches were a small measure of payback - and he looks like a tough mf-er; he could hold his own in a brawl.