GRAND Return

Believe it or not, there's not much to complain about in Yankeeland after tonight's 8-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians. These are the games they have to win, and Phil Hughes made sure that they got it done. Hughes was outstanding, Curtis Granderson made his return with a double and a walk, Mark Teixeira showed more signs of coming out of his slump, and Robbie Cano capped off the night with a grand slam to right field. Not to mention Nick Swisher continued his hot hitting, drilling one off the foul pole.

Before the game, I questioned Joe Girardi's selection of the lineup. He decided to give Alex Rodriguez a day off, which is fine, but he did it on a day when Chad Moeller started behind the plate. The bottom three hitters in the order were Brett Gardner, Ramiro Pena, and Moeller. Gardner contributed a sac fly, and Moeller cracked a late double.

Tonight's game was overshadowed by tragedy. As Curtis Granderson was recalled off of the disabled list, the Yankees said goodbye to the legendary Randy Winn, designating him for assignment. I'll miss his slow swings, his poor play in the outfield, and that sickening feeling I got when he struck out against Jonathan Papelbon to end a game last week. Fortunately, the Yankees found Kevin Russo at Scranton, so Winn can hit the road.

In other good news, Jorge Posada was seen today walking around the dugout without the boot on his foot, so his fractured bone is obviously healing very well. According to sources, he took some swings off of a tee and did some running. I think Granderson's return provided a lift, and you can imagine what Posada's return in a few weeks will do to this team. All in all, a great night for the Yankees, and a night on which the Red Sox and Rays both lost at home. The success must continue the remainder of this homestand, with six games left against the Tribe and the Orioles.