It was another ugly game last night. The Yankees scored 1 run on 8 hits. Kuroda pitched ok. He went 4.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits. Kuroda was followed by Rapada, Epply, Logan and Garcia (sounds like a law firm). Collectively the relievers gave up only 1 run on 2 hits. The ugly part of this game was the hitting, once again. The Yankees left 9 guys on base. At one point the Yankees had bases loaded with two out and Jeter grounded out of the inning. Jeter is doing some amazing hitting - but he cannot be expected to get a hit at every single at bat. There so many times during these games, the bats look lifeless. I cannot pretend to know what the problem or the answers are.
When you mix the injuries, the poor pitching and lack of hitting together, you get exactly what we have right now - a team that is 4 1/2 games out of first place. I believe in this team. I believe they can turn this around. But it really does have to start right now, today.
On the upside, Andy Pettitte makes his last minor league start against, of all teams, Pawtucket (Red Sox minor league team). If all goes well, Andy should be back home hopefully next week. That day Andy starts his first game at Yankee Stadium, Andy will be reminded by the fans why he is doing this.
The dust has settled on the Mariano Rivera injury. However, if I see one more article on if Mo can come back or why he shouldn't have been shagging fly balls, I will scream. I love how even former players are weighing in on Mo. "It's going to be a long road, he is having major surgery" said one former big leaguer. To which I would like to respond "No Sh*t". I'm not a doctor, nor are most people saying that they doubt he can comeback. What I am is a fan of Mariano and my money is always on him. Faith and determination are two things you can't take away from anyone. Mo has both.
Today is a new day and time to turn the page. Maybe today is the day they turn it around. That's the beauty of both life and baseball. You never know what is coming around the corner.
As always, GO YANKEES!!!
