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

So I'm watching the game and all of a sudden I realize Arod isn't in the lineup. Since he's hurt, we can chalk this up to Girardi giving him some rest. But since I'm nuts, I chalk this up to Girardi conducting a little experiment, both for the media's benefit, and for his own edification.

The Yanks lose the 2nd game in a row to the O's, which mean the Baltimore Orioles who are about 97 games out, just took a series from the Yanks and the Rays.

It also means I have to listen to Michael Kay talk about what a "spoiler" team is, and how it is a unique and interesting position for a club to be in.

He plays it kind of fast and loose with "unique" and "interesting." Sigh.

Tubbo.com got denied his elusive 20th win, and as I mentioned in a previous recap, if he can't get a W sometime in the next 5 starts, well then we have MUCH bigger fish to fry.

Argh. How much longer until magic numbers come into play? I'm chomping at the bit to clinch a playoff spot, because despite my peers' optimistic assurance otherwise, I don't consider a post-season berth a guarantee.

Those 7 TB games are just realllly looming large, and if we can't scrounge up more than 2 runs against a rookie from Baltimore, then how are we gonna fare against a team like the Rays?

CC was less than sharp right from the start. Napoleon once said, "You have to change your tactics every 10 years if you want to be successful." In baseball, this might translate to "once every 10 games."

The O's have always been victimized by our mound on the mound. 4-0 this season, 13-1 overall against Baltimore. Not only that, but he hasn't lost a game at home since like the advent of AOL.

The offense didn't really help the big guy.

It was like I'd look up from painting to see the game, and there'd be 2 men on at any given point. WAHOO! A rally! 'Bout time...

Then I'd turn my head away from tv for half a minute, and by the time I'd return from refilling the ice tray or something, it was the top of the next inning.

My point is that the Yankees were playing like my uncle drives. One foot on the gas, the other foot on the brakes. This makes for verrrry choppy rides.

Rally. Brakes. Rally. Brakes.

2-11 with RISP.

Which is actually better than Arod's career BA as a pinch hitter: 0-11.

So...why put him in to pinch hit? Practice? I think this is a terrible idea on so many levels. Arod's fragile sensitivities don't need something like an empty average to poke at his confidence.

It completely disrupts the flow of the game, etc.

Not a fan of that move, G. Not at all.

Ah, 20-20 hindsight. If he had taken Arrieta deep, I'd be brashly applauding Girardi for his intuition.

So tomorrow we got a day game, again, and God help me if the Yanks get swept by the O's. I don't think Yankee Stadium will allow that. They'll like storm the field or something.

I'm hoping tomorrow the bats calm the f down. The thing with our big bats is that they go insanely white hot for a hile and then when they cool off, they get all pouty and anxious. Which amounts to swinging at ridiculous pitches, not being patient, not working the count, and just trying to get that one. big. hit. That one long ball that will not only convince the fans, but also convince the player himself that he's still got it.

But unfortunately, the only person who can get away with this type of behavior is Kobe Bryant.

And he gets unlimited shots, we don't have the luxury of unlimited swings.

Settle down, Yanks. You still have the title, but you can't rest on your laurels. Especially not now. It's like that speech at the end of Mighty Ducks 3:

It's easy to be confident when you have control of the puck. It's very, very
difficult to keep that confidence when you gotta take whatever strange bounces
life throws your way. Don't be careless, but don't be too careful either. You
cannot be afraid to lose! That's how you gain the confidence to attack the game
when the puck isn't yours. That's how you attack life... even when you think you
don't have any control.