PAPELBUM

I was fully prepared to write a blog completely ripping the Yankees' bullpen, Joe Girardi, and their offense. Instead, Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Thames turned the night into a magical one as Jonathan Papelbon walked off the mound at Yankee with his head between his legs. The Yankees finally got a walk off victory, had their pie, and the Red Sox continue to look like a disaster.

The original blog posting was not going to rip Phil Hughes apart- he still left after five innings with the lead, despite his struggles. Phil is certainly allowed a shaky start or two. The original posting would have ripped apart Boone Logan, Chan Ho Park, and the Yankee offense for hitting nothing after the fifth inning. But our buddy Jonathan Papelbon changed everything. Girardi has a fascination with Logan, who continues to give up runs, and Chan Ho Park does not look like too much of a sinker ball pitcher, giving up bomb after bomb against Boston.

But now, we can talk about how gritty the Yankees are. They still managed to put up 11 runs against Boston despite not having four Opening Day starting players in their lineup: Granderson, Johnson, Posada, and Swisher. They absolutely embarrassed Matsuzaka, but took the next couple of innings off. Alex has certainly found his stroke, and Thames' defense has been brutal, but he still manages to put up an outstanding batting average. Tonight was certainly his second of two great Yankees moments: his debut homer off of Randy Johnson in '02, and a walk off against Papelbum.

Tonight's game was one that will be shown on the YES Network for years to come. Not just because it was the first walkoff win of the season, and not just because they beat the Red Sox. It's classic because it happened to Papelbon. As you can tell by the above photograph, the guy is really the epitome of class. This is the guy who questioned if Mariano Rivera should have been the AL All Star team's closer in 2008, and the same guy who does a rain dance when he actually manages to save a game. On Sunday, the Yankees lost a game because their closer faltered, and you feel bad for a guy like Mariano Rivera. But when a guy like Papelbon completely melts down and blows a tremendous victory for his team, it makes you feel great inside.

Finally, we must discuss the biggest point of the night: JAVIER VAZQUEZ BEAT THE RED SOX! GET OFF HIS BACK! OK, maybe he didn't do much to earn a victory, but he did pick up a big strikeout of Kevin Youkilis with runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the ninth inning. My only question is why he didn't come in until the ninth if he's out there to be the "long man." Chan Ho Park has offically spit the bit, but unfortunately, Alfredo Aceves is doing his best Randy Johnson impersonation and getting an epidural injection.

All in all, it was another classic Yankees-Red Sox game. Four hours, bad pitching, and some big time home runs. C.C. Sabathia goes for the mini two game sweep tomorrow night (weather permitting). The Yankees could really use some innings out of Sabathia, but they did manage to pick up a victory tonight without using Chamberlain or Rivera.