TGFKCB

Thank God For Kansas City's Bullpen, or the Yanks would be looking at a possible sweep Wednesday.

10 runs in the 8th to take an 11-5 lead. Wang started, and had another average road outing. He pitched well until the 6th, when he allowed 2 runs and left the bases full for Brian Bruney who managed to induce an out. He really loves The Stadium: 2.76 era at home, 4.87 on the road.

Luke Hudson fooled the Yanks for 7 innings, where they scratched across just one run. He k'ed 10, the most by a KC pitcher in 5 years! He had a nice fastball and change-up, and has actually pitched well of late, having only 2 bad starts in his last 10.

The Yanks overcame another poor outing by Villone, who seems tired. The 10-run inning started with an opposite field 2-run shot by Posada, showing off his tremendous power - have you seen the size of his forearms?! Damon followed with a bases loaded single (he's an awesome hitter with the bases full, 1.445 ops!). After Jeter struck out, Abreu lined the first pitch he saw deep to center for a 2-run double. Cano capped the inning with a 3-run shot on a change-up - he hits the ball hard nearly every time.

Proctor came in... again, and pitched a scoreless 8th, even hitting 98 mph on the gun.

12-5 Yanks

3*: Abreu, 2-4, 2b, r, 4 rbi, bb, threw out a runner at home who was called safe
2: Cano, 4-5, 2b, HR, 2 r, 3 rbi, and some fine D
1: Posada, 3-5, HR, 2 r, 3 rbi
1: Damon, 2-5, 2 r, 2 rbi, bb

Shutout by the Royals?!

Kansas City has the highest ERA in the league and a day after scoring 12 runs, the Yankee offense manages exactly 0. How does that happen? They've made Luke Hudson and Jorge De La Rosa look like Koufax and Drysdale. But it's not like they didn't have chances. They did, but they didn't come through, going 1-12 with risp.

And another subpar outing from Mussina. Apparently the 2 weeks off didn't help much, as he went winless for his 5th straight start. Why does the defense seem to sputter this year whenever Mussina takes the hill? Abreu dropped a fly ball (which was really on the transfer), Green short-hopped a throw to Posada which may have cut down a run, and Mussina misplayed a bunt into an infield single. Does anyone else wish Karstens was going instead of Mussina?

Isn't DH-ing supposed to give a player more energy? Well, it didn't work for Jeter tonight. I was actually embarrassed for him. He k'ed 3 times, leaving 5 men on base, including a bases-loaded k to end the game.

This guy, Todd Wellemeyer, throws hard, but the Yanks hit him quite well, barely missing a few key pitches, particularly Cano and Damon's well hit fly-outs. By the way, Giambi is 0 for his last 19. But he did draw a walk.

5-0 KC

2*: Cano, 1-2, 2 bb
1: Melky, 2-4, 2b
1: Bruney, 1 perfect inning, 1 k (only 1 er allowed with the Yanks)

Impressive Rasner

It's a good thing the Yanks are beginning to utilize minor league talent nowadays. It prevents them from using the Tim Reddings and Darrell Mays of the world. Why use a poor starter like Sydney Ponson when you can give a shot to a promising minor leaguer? Answer me this: who's pitched better over the last 2 years, Wang, Proctor, Karstens, and Rasner, or Redding, May, Pavano, Chacon (?) and Ponson? I know it's unfair to lump Redding & May in that group because they only pitched 1 game, but it's just an example of the ineffectiveness provided by some trades and free agent signings, namely the disappointments of Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Randy Johnson, Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras, etc.

Rasner is only 25. He has an 88-89 mph fastball with excellent control, a good curve, and what seems to be an unreliable sinker and change. The only run he allowed was a 3-0 gopher ball to Torii Hunter. Even though it was a better game than any that Karstens has pitched so far, I still like Karstens more, because of his great change and his age (23).

It was great that in the Yanks scored 4 runs with 2 outs, clutch hitting by Posada, Cano and Arod. Perfect timing too by Arod, getting his 30th HR and 100th rbi on the same swing. He's tied for the all-time lead of 9 straight seasons with 30-100.

That Minnesota lineup doesn't scare me. There's only 3 fearsome hitters: Mauer, Morneau and Hunter.

10-1 Yanks

3*: Rasner, 6 ip, 1 er, 4 h, 0 bb, 2 k
2*: Arod, 3-5, 2 HR, 2 r, 5 rbi
1: Posada, 3-4, r, 2 rbi, bb
1: Cano, 3-5, 2b, 2 rbi
1: Abreu, 3-4, 3 2b!, r, rbi

Labor Day Weekend

I went to my wife's family reunion in the-middle-of-nowhere, Pennsylvania, this weekend, so I set my DVR to tape all the Yankee games. But when I got home tonight, Friday and Saturday's games had already been erased, apparently by the 3 college football games I also taped. My DVR is confusing and doesn't tell me in a simple way how much space is left. It's very disappointing. I had only seen highlights and I wanted to see the full games, especially Arod's emergence, the Ernesto Saturday game, and Jeff Karstens' best outing to date. Damn... I'll never see those full games... :(

Seeing as how I hand out grades for every game, it will prove difficult for the two games I missed. I'm not going to just rehash the AP recap to summarize the games, so I'll just refrain from it all together.

My birthday is coming soon, and my in-laws got me some great gifts: the Bill & Ted movie collection, a hoody sweatshirt, and a Mattingly 23 t-shirt.

The Sunday and Monday game recaps will be arriving tomorrow.

Mario vs. Bush

How ironic is it that Texans RB Domanack Davis is injured and will miss the entire 2006 season, when we consider that they could have picked Reggie Bush with the first overall pick?

From the first shocking moments when I heard that Houston would go with Mario Williams over Reggie Bush, I was lamenting it. Not because I care about Houston or New Orleans, but I see the Saints as the Expos of the NFL. And I didn't want to see Bush waste his awesome talent in a dead football area.

Houston made so many mistakes. Not to mention that Bush was the best player available, but also that they could've had Mario later in the draft while using the #1 pick to trade for additional picks. I know Houston's D was horrible, but trade down and you still get Mario, or AJ Hawk, or Ngata, or Bunkley, or D'Brick to help that horrendous O-line. And then they get another pick to use however they want. Mario is a great athlete with tremendous potential, but a large portion of his sacks last season came (I believe) during a 3 game stretch against sub .500 teams.

There are so many ways to praise Reggie Bush. He's had a few plays this pre-season that were astounding; it seems like he can defy physics, things we haven't seen since Barry Sanders. We all know about his physical talent, but he's also just 21 years old! And he rarely carried the ball more than 15 times a game. I'm aware some skeptics see this as inexperience or lack of durability, but I see it as fresh legs. You don't want your RB to average 25 carries in college through his senior year. He could wear out in 5 seasons. Bush should have energy for at least 10. And don't forget that he's never had a major injury.

Another knock against Bush was that he benefited from a great O-line. This may be true, but while the line at times made Bush look good, Bush at times made the O-line look good in return (a great point I read on some other site, maybe TSN).

Let's not forget the versatility that Bush brings to the table: namely name his pass-catching and kick return abilities. Some analyst said that if Bush entered the draft as a receiver, he'd still be a top 10 pick. He has great hands and runs routes well; what linebacker could cover him? Or even what safety? Bush also returned kick-offs at USC; so Bush could essentially be used at 3 NFL positions! What a weapon he is. When a guy is that versatile, it enables the team to address other areas of need, a major selling point.

Saints season ticket sales shot up when they drafted Bush. He brings instant excitement and prestige to New Orleans and it's fanbase; he was the most famous college athlete of 2005, the Heisman winner, a national champion, and he played in Los Angeles. Mario played for a .500 team in North Carolina, not exactly Hollywood for college football.

to sum up Reggie Bush:
1. ridiculous athletic ability
2. not overused in college; if anything underused
3. extremely versatile
4. instant prestige

Houston made a huge mistake by taking Mario Williams #1. Yes, it's possible he becomes the next Reggie White or Bruce Smith, but they missed out on a sure thing with Bush (and at least could have gained another pick while still taking Mario).

Gints Beat Pats

First the bad news: the Gints first D got owned by what was essentially the Pats second-string offense. No Tom Brady, no Lawrence Maroney and no Deion Branch. That wasn't good to see. QB Matt Cassel looked at times like a Brady clone. He's been learning from some greats; he was the backup to Carson Palmer, then Matt Leinart, and now Tom Brady.

And the good news: RB Brandon Jacobs and DE Mathias Kiwanuka have improved in every pre-season game. Jacobs showed his vast potential in this one, rushing for 2 td and 130 yards on only 15 carries. He ran over defenders, around them, and just plain past them. He showed agility, explosiveness, pass-catching, pure speed and vision; and he broke arm tackles, helmet grabs, and stuffed rushers on pass plays: it was everything the Giants hoped for when they picked him in round 4 last year. He also had 2 catches for 13 yards.

And now to Kiwanuka, who made one of the best defensive plays I've ever seen! He tipped a pass at the line, picked the ball, and hurtled over a tackler to gain an additional few yards. It was the turning point. New England already had a 7-0 lead, and were driving again. Kiwanuka foreced the turnover and then Jacobs scored on a beautiful 57 yard run.

Manning looked better tonight than he did against the Jets, completing several short but efficient passes. The Gints only attempted one pass of more than 20 yards. Is this because they are hiding their long plays until the games matter, or they weren't called tonight to protect the QBs, or the OL didn't give the QBs enough time to get the ball deep? I'll assume Coughlin and Huffnagel are hiding their best deep plays for the regular season.

31-23 Giants

I can't wait for next Sunday...

Arod Comes Alive

And snaps out of his slump. It looked like he was going to yesterday when he smashed a ball to right-center (only for it to be caught). It started with a 2-out, bloop rbi single, and continued with a double (off an inside fastball!) and then a solo HR. He was a triple from the cycle. If Arod starts to hit, be warned opponents, you will be facing the greatest offense in baseball.

Arod's hits meant something today because Randy pitched another solid game. The last two games he's gone 8+ inning with exactly 4 runs. Is that his MO now? He gave up all 4 runs today on HRs: two solo shots, and a 2-run shot. Unfortunately he couldn't close out the game, and Rivera had to be used.

The turning point was Abreu's bases-full single, which gave the Yanks a lead they wouldn't relinquish. It's great to win when our best rbi man (Giambi) gets a rest.

6-4 Yanks

3*: Arod, 3-4, 2b, 2 r, 2 rbi, HR, sb
2*: Randy, 8 ip, 4 er, 4 h, 1 bb, 8 k
1: Abreu, 2-5, 2b, r, 2 rbi
1: Damon, 3-5, r, sb
1: Jeter, 1-2, 3 bb, sb