(Hola. I’m trying to get back to doing these regularly, I promise)

I know games started by Sergio Mitre are not generally considered winnable, but tonight’s game was.

In the eighth inning, especially, when the Yankees had the bases loaded with no one out, they looked poised to at least tie the game, if not [...]

[I wrote this post on my site, but feel that it deserves a forum where it can be discussed, whether you agree or disagree]

Today’s inevitable Joba/Hughes debate, and the resulting arguments, one might come to realize, beg a question that’s much larger than who is the Yankees’ fifth starter in 2010.

The question:

Can [...]

Tonight’s nerve-wracking and heart-attack-inducing game can be summed up by a description of the ninth inning, shamelessly stolen from my other blog:

After blowing a one-run lead in the eighth, the Yankees came to bat in the ninth inning against the Phillies’ enigmatic Brad Lidge. It went something like this:

Matsui: out
Jeter: out

To have beaten Cliff Lee tonight, the Yankees would have had to pitch perfectly.

Sabathia didn’t even pitch poorly–he’s been so dominant lately that a little bit of rust looked akin to a collapse–but he wasn’t a match for Lee tonight.

Lee’s performance tonight sparked memories of Koufax and Ford–that’s how good it was.

Until [...]

It is only fitting that Andy Pettitte was on the mound tonight.

He was there in 1996, he should be there again this season, when comparisons to the late nineties Yankees have been so apparent.

It was fitting, and Pettitte was vintage.

He only pitched into the seventh inning, but he kept the Angels to [...]

It’s tempting to blame.

You can attach blame wherever you’d like, though only assigning blame does not do much. As my father has told me, some are in love with assigning blame and others prefer to fix problems.

So, here we go:

Some will blame AJ Burnett, some Joe Girardi, and some Phil Hughes.

I [...]

For mere humans, starting a Major League baseball game on three days’ rest is asking for disaster.

For one Carsten Charles Sabathia, starting on three days’ rest is just another way to earn his paycheck.

We, lesser men and women, can only marvel as Sabathia is pictured in the dugout, yawning during the Yankees’ at-bats.

[...]

The breakdown:

1) The Yankees’ biggest issue in this game–and, it’s looking like their biggest issue this series–is a lack of hitting with runners on base. Every Yankee run today was via a solo home run, and while the Yankees have had decent enough pitching to win when they score four runs much of the [...]

Fundamentals. Fun-duh-MEN-tuls. Noun. 1) Something that is part of the foundation of another thing. 2) In sports, the key concepts that must be mastered before attempting advanced work.

Example: A fundamental concept of baseball is the ability to correctly catch and throw a baseball.

Example 2: Another fundamental concept of baseball is that when one’s [...]