Seventh heaven.

Wang was fantastic!!! Sure, he wasn't lights-out dominant. He was getting a lot of flyouts- was it the rain delay? hmmm... whatever, it doesn't matter, bc what's important is that he gave the team a chance to win!
Go Abreu! How great to be him right now, huh?

And Beth- I LOVE that you posted pics of Jeter and Cairo bc defense mattered tonight, esp with the pitcher's duel and sometimes in low scoring games where "not much" happened, the defensive plays get overlooked. so great job with the pics!

And what else? Gotta go to MO!

Go Yankees!

//And Beth- I LOVE that you posted pics of Jeter and Cairo bc defense mattered tonight, esp with the pitcher's duel and sometimes in low scoring games where "not much" happened, the defensive plays get overlooked.//

Yeah, I think both those plays stifled the mini-rallies the D'Backs had going at the time. I especially wanted to highlight Miggy's because he's kind of been the overlooked person in this streak we got going right now. He's been doing better 1B both with the glove and bat than anyone we've put there all season to date.

Wang was indeed very good. Abreu was clutch with his home run to open the game. Defense was huge--Cairo's plays, Jeter's leaping catch to end the 7th and keep it 3-1 (great photo of that, BTW).

This was a good game to have to win--tight, pitchers' duel, few opportunities thus requiring clutch hitting. And Arizona is a pretty good team, too, so critics can't use the Pittsburgh red herring.

Oh yeah, Mariano is still and will always be The Man. Period.

//This was a good game to have to win--tight, pitchers' duel, few opportunities thus requiring clutch hitting. And Arizona is a pretty good team, too, so critics can't use the Pittsburgh red herring.//

We have to be able to win close games. We can't always rely on a blowout to ensure a victory. Sometimes the offense doesn't show up and the pitching has to shoulder the burden....how many times has the pitching crapped out and the offense had to pick up the slack for that? What's fair is fair.

And Webb was and is no slouch, so I felt to set a tone for this series, we had to win this game. We've got Moose going tomorrow (who looked better his last start) and then Andy on Thursday. This series is ours if we just hold on. We played abysmally in Interleague play last season and these are the games we need to win as a cushion in case we drop a game or two down the road to much better AL teams.

//Oh yeah, Mariano is still and will always be The Man. Period.//

The day he hangs 'em up, I'm going to sob like a baby. I just watch him in awe of what he's done all these years. That ERA keeps coming down too.....I like to see that.

Another great game from Wang. You've talked about everything there was to say about tonight's game. Webb pitched well. I would expect the bats to return tomorrow. And Mo is still great. 2 runs in his last 17 appearances. He's back to vintage form.

Jacob

http://yankeesco.mlblogs.com

I'll be joining you in the sobs. Mo truly is one of a kind unique and I don't think there will ever be another closer like him, not just for how good he is but also for how long he was consistent and dominant for...
He was awesome tonight.

*SNIFF!* *SOB!*

it looks like abreu might not only be hitting well, but getting his power back. more tense moments from worthless but 7 in a row and back at .500 ...wow. finally.
i'm hoping to see us go over the top tomorrow as i'll be there for my first trip this year. i'm a bit disappointed that posada won't be catching the game but i'll get to see him friday.

//And Mo is still great. 2 runs in his last 17 appearances. He's back to vintage form.//

I knew he'd self-correct. He just needed to get the work and he's finally getting it. The ERA is under 4 now.....keep that thing going down.

//i'm hoping to see us go over the top tomorrow as i'll be there for my first trip this year. i'm a bit disappointed that posada won't be catching the game but i'll get to see him friday.//

Will Moose to a victory, Mike. You can do it. And not only will you see Posada on Friday, Rocket is pitching that game against the Mets. I'm jealous.

BTW- is moose going to continue to have a personal catcher? Is this a good idea with how superstitious they can get to only have nieves catch him (it will be difficult to stop it if it goes on much longer). what happens later on in the season with crucial games and taking posada's bat out of the lineup?

//BTW- is moose going to continue to have a personal catcher? Is this a good idea with how superstitious they can get to only have nieves catch him (it will be difficult to stop it if it goes on much longer). what happens later on in the season with crucial games and taking posada's bat out of the lineup?//

The Sox have this same problem with Mirabelli catching Wakefield. When Wake pitches, that means Varitek's bat is out of their lineup and he's a better hitter than Doug is. What they would probably end up doing is starting Nieves and then after Moose leaves the game, putting Posada in for him.

you know, they did this with Randy (bc he wasn't getting along with Posada). I know with Moose, it's just the matter with numbers (his ERA and win-loss is SO much better with Will than Posada) and not personal problems. But the longer this continues, the more mental and superstitious it will become. At least with the Sox, they kinda have no other choice- there's actually no one else who can catch Wakefield's pitches!

hey, you know i'll do my best. even though i've been critical of moose this year, he has been improving a lot , so i'm confident. i'm SO psyched to see the rocket on friday. what luck! that and the fact that the mets seem to be riding a sinking ship lately

you have a good point poohh. i'm afraid that we'll be stuck with nieves every time. on the other hand posada does need rest days. who knows, in the end it might make sure jorge stays healthy

//At least with the Sox, they kinda have no other choice- there's actually no one else who can catch Wakefield's pitches!//

Mirabelli can't even catch them sometimes. They should just put a cardboard cut-out of a catcher there with a hole in it and if he can throw it in the hole, it's a strike. If not, it's a ball. As for Moose and Wil.....whatever works right now. Should we be able to get back into this with a little more certainty, they might try futzing around with it to see if Moose and Jorge can work decently enough for bigger games. Right now, we need to stick with what works.

//i'm SO psyched to see the rocket on friday. what luck! //

So. Ridiculously. Jealous. I almost got to see him one time when the Astros came here to play the Braves, but something came up and I couldn't go.

I think that Beth is right about not messing with what is working right now, and I also think that part of what has transpired has coincided with Posada's needing a day off at times. Given that Nieves caught Sunday, and that unlike other "rests" Posada actually rested the whole game, I'd imagine that Posada will catch tomorrow night. Another option is to slot Posada as DH and to rest Damon.

TS Mike, I hope the weather is great and that you help bring home some wins. I hope you have a happy and safe trip, a real blast, and that you post some of your experiences to share with us.

Oh Beth you made me so sad when you used the word "retire." My Dad just asked me the other day how old Mo is now. I dont even want to think about life after Mo.
If Posada could play every game that would me awesome. Not only because he is a great player but also he is my starting catcher in my fantasy league. He is another guy that I am going to miss when he decides to leave the game.

The defense of Jeter and Cano had a lot to do with this W. I don't get how people call Jeter a bad defensive SS. Sure he's not the best, but he's pretty darn good.

Everything is moving in the right direction. The pitching, the hitting, the D and best of all Mo! If only Farnsworth could get 3 outs without allowing a baserunner.

I love Wang. I really hope he goes through life as a career Yankee. Let's lock him up.

J

http://www.boogiedownbaseball.mlblogs.com

I just read on the Yankees web site that Nieves will in fact start tonight. I can't stand the personal catcher/caddie concept, especially when our back-ups have been so light-hitting for the past several years. Though Nieves is hitting better lately, he's a huge drop-off from Posada.

Hopefully its not fools gold!

Moose has been nearly awful and will Arod erode when if the race tightens

Yep Nieves is starting as Catcher but Posada is DH tonight. Looks like Melky is on the bench and guess what? Jeter walks, Abreu grounds into a force out and Arod...What a F$%^ing BEAST!...drills it over the left field wall for a 2fer.

BTW amber's post ("Posada is my starting catcher in my fantasy league") made me think of something: funny story- my husband plays the fantasy league and he started out with david ortiz and being a die-hard yankee fan, I refused to have a husband with a red sox player in my house! He had to trade him! =)

8 is GREAT

9 would be fine! =)