The stats for Yankee pitchers are fascinating. If you look at the pitchers with the worst WHIP on the Yankees, they're also the pitchers with the greatest run support. In fact, Joba Chamberlain and Sergio Mitre have the 9th and 16th highest RS for all AL pitchers. What I surmise from this is that the Yankees are like Benny the Jet to their Scotty Smalls pitchers. "Just stick your glove up in the air. I'll take care of it."

Tonight Chad Gaudin didn't get voluminous run support, but he got what he needed. He's not CC, AJ, and Andy. But you don't need to be with this team, because they pick you up.

In his previous 3 games, the Yankees scored 29 runs. Tonight only 3. Gaudin went 6 IP, let up 6 hits, struck out 6, and walked 2 in his 1-run outing. His one mistake came off the bat of the dangerous Evan Longoria.

The second mistake? Came from a highly less likely source.

Phil Hughes gave up a homerun. Read that sentence again. Jason Bartlett took our hurler who probably thinks the game's a bust if he doesn't strike out the side in each opportunity. And to be honest, I think I'm glad this happened. I'd rather his mortality be revealed now than in the playoffs. Shake it off, Hughes. 

 

Other game notes:

• Nick Swisher gets pied. He should get two, though. One for each side of the plate he hit from. I said last week that one particular bomb of his reminded me of Teixeira's swing. And tonight? Looked like Kevin Long is having Swish use Tex Tapes for tutorials. His demeanor is such that when he plays a game like this, he reminds me less of a professional athlete and more of a guy who just hit the last cup in beirut.



• Alex Rodriguez. Clutch. I'm not even going to waste my breath sputtering about how any other description of him right now is more preposterous than cup stacking tournaments.



• Derek Jeter is slumping! 3Ks?? When's the next day game? I dare say he has ARod Syndrome. That many camera flashes popping? My bet is he ties AND breaks the record this weekend. Two bright day games against a team who apparently is giving out hits like they're free cups of jams at Costco.



• Jeter has struck out four times in a game twice. Curt Schilling fanned him four times in 1997 with Philadelphia. I'm gonna go ahead and put the over-under at 17 hours before Schilling decides to use this tibdit as his latest excuse to throw in his 2 cents bank vault of quarters.



• I guess Maddon remembered Carl Crawford's not a bad guy to have in the lineup. I was wondering if this had escaped him yesterday when he sat him for game 2. Since I''m on the better end of a 3-2 W, I feel ok about asserting my love for this guy, who went 3-for-4 today. And also got picked off. By Gaudin. Which possibly may be what Tampa Bay looks back on when they cite their "Signs We Knew Our Season Was All Over But the Cowbells. Which We Wish Would Stop."



• Why did Girardi decide to move Swisher up to the 5 spot today? It seemed like an arbitrary move at the time. But now considering the heart of our offensive productive came squarely from our 3-4-5 spots, the evidence is really starting to mount that our idiot savant of a manager has bigger plans in mind for this team. Lead away, Skip.



• Damaso Marte, Brian Bruney, Phil Coke, and Mariano Rivera worked the innings around Hughes. Besides for the uncharacteristic Hughes mistake, our bullpen was nearly flawless. Almost perfect. 1 walk from Coke. And pfft. They play like they feed off each other's elevated game.



• The Rays pitching is generally nothing to sneeze at. Joba Lite David Price was fantastic in 6 innings, striking out 6 and only giving up 3 hits. Chad Gaudin is not as good as him. The Yankees bullpen may not be as overpowering as others. But this team is winning because of how the cogs in their machine function so seamlessly in tandem.

Tomorrow the Yanks go for the sweep. Strike first, strike hard, show no mercy. I'm still mad at the Devil Rays for the years they spent as our irritating thorn in our side.

There's no mercy in this Stadium. Sweep the leg Rays, boys.

-CYC