The offense awoke last night in a big way: Gardner, Tex, Arod, and Cano all provide 2 hit performances.
However, I try to never let offense overshadow pitching and defense.
It was good AJ into the 7th inning. It was also normal Marte: one out, 2 hits, one IBB, one run charged to him and another inherited runner scored. Normally, I'd be willing to cut Marte some slack since Mauer and Morneau are probably the two best lefties in the same line-up in MLB.
But, aside from one really great post season (thanks again, by the way), Marte has been mediocre since his return to the AL.
To underscore this, last night's official score actually decided that even though Marte was the pitcher of record when the Yanks took the lead, Joba Chamberlain (who struck out the side) deserved to be credited with the win. I would have given it to AJ, but that's just me.
The sale of the Texas Rangers is getting very, very interesting. Legally, Selig probably can't force the Rangers' creditors to accept below market value for the team.
MLB could take control of the Rangers, as they did for the Expos, though baseball would obviously prefer that Nolan Ryan's group place the high bid. Would MLB take a minority stake in the team in order to ensure that the Texas Hall of Famer gets into ownership?
The Blue Jays won and the Rays lost, so the Yanks are now one game back for the division lead, and 5 games ahead of the third place team.