August drags on

I've been failing at everything online lately, including this blog. To be honest, I haven't really been paying close attention to the Yankees since the Boston series. Good thing I decided to update my blog right now instead of getting the mail since it just started downpouring. Anyway...it's not like the Yankees have been playing poorly which would clearly indicate my lack of interest, I guess I've just been preoccupied with college coming up so soon...like next week. The Yankees swept the Red Sox (Boston Massacre '09 - 4-game sweep in NY, Boston Massacre '06 - 5-game sweep in NY) which was faaaabulous! The epic 15-inning game and the come-from-behind win that Sunday were my favorite games of the series. Yanks went on to win 2 of 3 from the Jays, 3 of 4 from the Mariners, and 2 of 3 from the A's. In between there was a 2-game losing streak, the first this month. Oh yeah, and forgot to mention the Yankees are ahead by 7 games (6.5 if the Sox win tonight).

Yanks start a 3-game series at Fenway on Fri night. Pettite vs. Penny, Burnett vs. Tazawa, and Sabathia vs. Beckett. The last game should be a really good one, which I hope the Yankees win! I guess this series will have me really interested in baseball again, especially since 2 games are on TV. Expect a better update next time?

On another note, Torrii Hunter commented on his blog about how he thinks the West is better than the East now. I don't think that's necessarily true for the AL West. I mean, maybe the East is better just slightly. The Yankees have the best record in baseball (76-45) and they have good pitching, good offense, and depth. I'll admit I don't really follow the Angels (mostly cuz i really dislike them) but from what I've heard, they really don't have great pitching, it is their offense that wins them games. The Yankees offense wins them games, too, but they've also won a lot of close games. Plus the AL West only has 4 teams, not 5. The A's are the only team who has a below .500 record and even then the Mariners are only 4 games above .500. The Red Sox and Tampa are both above .500. So I think it's pretty even between the AL West and East teams, but I thinkt he Rays are better than the Mariners. That's just my 2 cents. I won't go into the NL West and East because I don't really follow them, but I do know the NL West has some good pitching.

Red Sox - Yankees: Round 3

0-8

8 games where the Red Sox have stripped the Yankees of their pride. It's not acceptable for any team to be 0-8 against a division rival. The Yanks weren't great when they played them in April. They still weren't great in May. But they were better in June and still lost. But now they are one of the hottest teams in baseball (probably besides the Angels & Dodgers) with the 2nd-best record in baseball. There is no excuse now to lose to the Red Sox in the Bronx.

Clearly I jinxed the Yankees in my last post (yes, I'm one of those superstitious sports fans) by gushing over how good they were. Ok, so they took 2 of 3 from the Rays. That's very good. But then they lost 3 in a row to the CHISOX! C'mon! I know they're a good team (and have been beating up on the Angels who the Yanks can't beat to save their lives), but man they played HORRIBLY! Sloppy defense, no offense, bad pitching. Luckily I was out of town without TV or internet (except on my phone to check the final scores) so I didn't have to suffer through that series. Funny thing is, when I was driving back to Minnesota from Pennsylvania, our GPS system took us a different way through Chicago. We went through the city (and AWFUL traffic on a Sunday) and I got to see U.S. Cellular Field where the Yanks were playing. Since then, however, they have won 3 in a row (saving themselves from embarassment by winning 1 game in the 4-game series against the chisox). They've got the momentum and they know how to pitch and hit at Yankee Stadium.

Peter Abraham, the Yankees beatwriter, has a good breakdown of the two teams and who is stronger at what positions (including the managers): Read it Here

I'm predicting (& I usually never predict) that the Yankees will split the series.

Joba vs. Smoltz - Joba. He's been great lately and Smoltz has not, sporting a 7 ERA. And they're in the Bronx.

Sabathia vs. Buchholz - Sabathia. He hasn't been brilliant lately, but he's gotten the job done.

Burnett vs. Beckett -Beckett. Burnett has been good, but he's sucked against the Red Sox. In fact, it was after he turned in a total sucky outing against the Sux that he turned it around. But Beckett's too damn good. Damn him, I really dislike him.

Pettite vs. Lester - Lester. Pettite's pitched well as of late, but once again Lester is too damn good. And he is usually great against the Yankees. This is the one matchup I'm not sure of - the Yanks could potentially win this game if they can get some hits off of Lester and if Pettite pitches like he did last game (outdueling the Doc). It would be wonderful if the Yanks could take 3 of 4.

Let's do this Yanks!