"It's great to be young and a Yankee."

When you think about it, it's not the most surprising turn of events.

The Yanks were bound to lose a series at some point. (And this is coming from ME, who claimed they would go through the playoffs undefeated. I'm nothing if not the bearer of lofty claims, and I still know that you can't go through a season not losing a series.)

So they get their first series loss out of the way, and it's against the Halos. And, I mean, it's not like they lost to the ORIOLES or anything. Good God, how embarrassing would THAT have been? To be the team that hands the O's their 3rd win of the year? Yech.

And not only do we lose on the road to one of the best hitting teams in the league, but it's at the hands of our red-headed stepchild pitcher, Javier Vazquez.

Angels. In Anaheim. With Javy. All of these things are tough hurdles to clear. And if we're looking at the glass half full, then the aforementioned elements all make this series loss a slightly easier pill to swallow.

When Javy was getting booed at Yankee Stadium after 2 starts, it was a little bit overreactionary on the part of Bomber fans. I mean, we got give him a little latitude, let's not jump down his throat for one or two bad starts.

But at this point...well, I'm not saying we should boo him. Because as a rule, I don't believe in booing players (in their presence, anyway). But I will apply the same litmus test that I apply to other baseball issues: if I screwed up at work on the first 4 given opportunities I had, I would be--at the very least--made aware of the displeasure of the powers that be. They wouldn't be happy.

And neither am I.

Everyone has a bad day once in a while. But this is a game, and this is your job. And the only thing you have to worry about is getting outs. If you can't do that, you can't blame people if they're frustrated.

Javy lasted little more than 3 innings, giving up 5 hits, 5 runs, and a HR. My buddy Steve said that if I had Javy on my fantasy team, he'd trade for him, because he still has hope. "His stuff is too good to be playing this shitty." Well, I applaud your loyal optimism Steve. And if I had Javy, I'd be sure to slide him your way.

The Yanks bullpen did ok up until Marte, who I happen to like and hence won't crucify him over the 3-run ding he gave up to Morales. And while it truly took the air out of most Yankee fans' tires, it ultimately was immaterial.

We still couldn't get more than 3 hits, and we still couldn't score more than 4 runs. The fact that the Angels padded their lead with 3 runs in the 7th really was irrelevant. The only runs that mattered were the 5 that Javy gave up in 3 innings.

Our offense wasn't offering the guy any help, either. Which is perhaps even more frustrating than the pitching debacle. SCOTT KAZMIR. He's a joke. And we could only squeeze out 3 hits off him? The only reason we made it to the scoreboard at all was because of 2 long balls. The middle of the lineup, Cano/Jorge/Thames, shouldered the offense.

(There needs to be at least one line here discussing the magnitude of the rocket Cano hit in the 6th. Bullets have left guns slower than that. Way to punish them for the bizarro HBP in the 1st. Is there some kind of beef with Kazmir that I don't know about? Because it was more than a little strange how hellbent little Scotty was on drilling Cano to lead off the inning in the 2nd.)

I'd also like to devote a line on the pronunciation of Marcus Thames last name. Since he seems to be playing more than I expected him to, I can't gloss over this issue anymore.

Timms.

That's how it's pronounced. But a lot of times you can't hear the "s" and it just sounds like Tim. It's kind of frustrating because I am merciless when it comes to players like Chone Figgins and Bill Mueller. Now one of the weird spelling people is a Yankee. And hence I can't make fun of him.

These are the big problems my life faces right now.

(Also, please note that while researching the proper pronunciation of Marcus Tim, I learned that his middle name is "Markey." That's right. Marcus Markey. Do what you will with that information.)

Anyways, Boone Logan, Aces, and Mitre combined for one 1 in relief. But as I mentioned already, the damage had already been done. And as impressive as that might be, the Halos pen combined for 0 hits. Kendry and Abreu had sick monster days, and I'm scared to see who has them on his fantasy team, because their numbers on the day are absurd.

Actually, I feel like every time we play the Angels, those 2 just batter us around like half dead rodents.

Yesterday the Yanks knew where every single pitch was coming from with Pineiro. Today, Kazmir somehow managed to stifle us. Trouble from the bottom. Never underestimate the trouble from the bottom.