Yankees @ Red Sox: Series Wrap-Up

First place... you can reach out your hand and poke it. And it feels all hairy and dirty, because the Red Sox are still there. But, we're one victory away from tying them for that position. The Orioles' loss last night dropped them to third place behind us once again, though they are also within poking distance of us. Considering that I'd assumed we would lose three of four following the collapse of Wang, I think this series went pretty well.

I admit it, I was all set to curse out Moose for blowing one of the two games we thought we had a chance of winning after the first inning on Thursday. Watching Nixon's home run sail over the fence would've discouraged me. I guess it's a good thing I'm not on the team then, because Giambi and Bernie went back-to-back to put us on the board against Arroyo, and Sheff drove in Cano and later sent one over himself to bring us back to four. Jeter knocked in Posada to tie the Sox at five, the ogres faced off to score one each after that (Ortiz on a solo shot, and Sierra on a Speedy-scoring double), and I know I'm not the only person who felt absolute glee in watching Alex Rodriguez shut Curt Schilling up to pull the Yankees ahead for the first (and only necessary) time this game. Tan-Go gave up one run on one hit (Sturtze) and one walk (Gordon) with one strikeout (Sturtze) in two innings (Sturtze, Gordon). And then Mo struck out the side.*

Then Friday happened. We all knew Friday would happen, but I don't think we figured it would be quite THAT bad. Tim Redding gave up six runs in one inning plus, despite fanning both David "Ogres have LAYERS" Ortiz and Manny "I legally own a midget" Ramirez. If Torre was looking to do damage control, bringing in Darrell May wasn't the best response, who gave up six more - albeit, he lasted two innings and two outs. Jason Anderson kept the batting practice going, giving up four in two. I could give you game stats on these guys, but you'd probably cry. The bright side: Scott Proctor, who dropped two on strikeouts in a one-hit eighth to more swiftly bring about the demise of that game. And on the other side of the mound, David "I piss beer" Wells once again beat the living HELL out of us. Five hits in seven innings, with only two hits not courtesy of rookies,** and without a single hit recorded by a non-rookie not named Gary Sheffield. In more embarrassing news, the Yanks were perfect-gamed for two innings of relief by the Red Sox bullpen.***

I didn't see Saturday's game. I had the benefit of scrubbing pool furniture and smelling like bleach instead. So let me say, I am disappointed that they didn't encore it. I'm sure Randy Johnson wasn't happy with his performance, giving up four runs in 6.1 innings, despite the fact that he struck out 10 in that time.**** Perhaps it made him feel a bit better that Matt "Substitute All-Star" Clement gave up six runs in one inning before that, successfully knocking himself out of the game. Good game, All-Star!*****

Sunday. Al Leiter. Al freakin' oh my goodness Leiter! We knew going in that if Wakefield was on, we'd need a pitching miracle to win, and Leiter delivered like a pro. 6.1 innings. 1 run. 3 hits. 3 walks. 8 STRIKEOUTS. If this was not the best game of Leiter's season, tell me, my friends, what was?****** Wakefield was on tonight as well, throwing a complete game with only five hits. Unfortunately for him, the five hits consisted of two doubles and three home runs, so yeah. And despite the combined efforts of Tom Gordon and Robinson Cano (each responsible for a last-minute run by the Sox), the Yankees brought Al Leiter his first win in a Yankee uniform in over fifteen years.

In summary:

1) Streaking sluggers! Robinson Cano went 8-18 (.444) in this series with two doubles. Following him in batting order, but definitely not in ability, was Gary Sheffield, who went 8-17 (.471) with four doubles and two home runs. Both hit safely in all four games this series, and both are sporting nice .300+ averages.*******
2) Slump this: Jorge Posada went 3-10 (.300) with a double and a homer. Jason Giambi mirrored these stats to the letter... er, number... uh, just pretend I typed it twice.
3) Red Sox killer Hideki Matsui was on vacation this series, losing his consecutive on-base streak with a dismal 1-15 series. The one hit was a double. And despite his "bleed on THIS, bitch" home run off Curt Schilling, Alex Rodriguez only went 4-17 (.235) in the series.
4) AL LEITER!!!
5) Yankee pitchers had a 7.46 ERA for this series. Minus Friday: an even 4.00 ERA.
6) Despite the fact that we probably would've lost on Friday with Wang, never acquired Leiter, and had Redding lose for us yesterday as well... I still wish he wasn't injured.
7) There's no crying in shipping!!
8) I'm still in shock over Tim Redding fanning both Ortiz and Ramirez, but still giving up six runs before the first out of the next inning.
9) Remember how Mariano Rivera falls apart against the Red Sox? Someone should tell him and his three latest saves.********
10) Al Leiter, man. Al freakin' Leiter. Holy crap.

Don't get TOO comfy, Yanks fans. Division leader Boston takes on the Devil Rays, and unlike us, they can beat them; meanwhile, we get a set against the Texas Rangers (Teixeira, Soriano, and Young, oh boy!), followed by the West-leading California/Los Angeles/Anaheim Angels of Where the Crap Are We Now. But, the Sox take on the Other Sox after TB, so it's all good, provided we can represent well enough for the East Side.


* Mariano Rivera > Curt Schilling. Point: Yankees.
** Two for Cano, who I am fully convinced is secretly a prototype batting machine android in disguise; one for Melky.
*** Although, the embarrassment is somewhat lessened by the fact that four of the six to go down were Womack, Russ Johnson, Ruben, and Tino... and another was Robbie, who already kicked Wells's ass and earned himself a free pass.
**** Stat-heads: 5.68 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 14.21 K/9.
***** And by "good game" I actually mean 20.25 ERA, 3.75 WHIP, and 0.80 K/BB. Good game!
****** The answer to this question is "Probably his April 16 start against the Mets," where he gave up one run in seven innings with only two walks to go with the three hits. Only four strikeouts though, so nyah.
******* Robbie's sitting pretty on .300 even, while Sheff raises him eight points.
******** Or, y'know, let's not.