Yankees Coast to Crazy Eighth in a Row

It took nearly two months, but the Yankees are a winning team again.

The Bombers improved to 32-31 on the year with a 7-2 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.  Mike Mussina was solid, Bobby Abreu extended his hitting streak to 12 games and Alex Rodriguez nearly drilled a hole in the upper deck as the Yanks won their eighth straight.

The Good:

Mike Mussina.  The Moose was outstanding on Wednesday.  It was his second straight quality start and his first victory in nearly a month.  Mussina's curve was nasty and his fastball showed more pep.  His only mistake was hanging a curve to Conor Jackson in the sixth.  Mussina also broke the 100 pitch barrier for the first time this year.  Moose evened his record at 3-3 with this: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 7 K.

Alex Rodriguez.  The word "bomb" is thrown around a lot these days when describing a home run.  I use it constantly.  Hyperbole?  Sometimes.  However, it is no exaggeration to call A-Rod's 25th homer a bomb.  Rodriguez hit the facing of the upper deck in left.  Right-handed hitters just don't hit balls there in Yankee Stadium.  Anyway, A-Rod's two-run "bomb" put the Yanks up 3-1 in the third.  Alexander finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

Hideki Matsui.  Matsui is also catching the vapors.  He belted a three-run blast in the fourth that extended the Yankee lead to 7-1 and put the game on ice.  Matsui is now hitting a Matsui-like .290 on the year.  Godzilla finished 2 for 3 with his 7th dinger, a walk, a run scored and 3 ribbies.

Jorge Posada.  I usually limit my "good" segment to three players, but I just can't bring myself to leave Jorgie out.  He's putting together his finest season in pinstripes.  Posada was at DH tonight and continued to swing a hot stick.  His homer in the second, his 8th of the year, tied the score at 1-1.  Posada finished 1 for 2 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and the 1 run batted in.  He's batting .354.

The Bad:

Wil Nieves.  I don't mean to dump on poor Wil, but a catcher in the Majors has to at least hit his weight.  Nieves had some good at bats, but he finished 0 for 3 and watched his average drop to .122 on the season.  It seems everyone on the Yanks loves Nieves and he may become Mussina's personal catcher and he may be a good receiver and all, but you have to produce something  at the plate.  I think I can hit .122 in the big leagues.  OK, maybe not.

The Ugly:

Selig vs. Giambi revisited.  Looks like Bud is leaning toward suspending Giambi if he doesn't cooperate with MLB's steroid investigation and by "cooperate" Selig probably means naming names.  Seems Giambi has until Tuesday to make his decision.  I'll go out on a limb and say there is NO WAY Giambi cooperates.  It's just not going to happen.  There are two places where Omerta still reigns supreme: the criminal underworld and a sports locker room.  Giambi is no saint, but Bud's tactics may turn the Giambino into a sympathetic figure.

Andy Pettitte will try and dispose of the Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon as the Yanks go for the sweep and their ninth consecutive win.  Arizona will send the lefty Doug Davis to the hill.

Let's see if Pettitte can make it an afternoon delight.