Twin Killing

There's not too much you can complain about when your favorite team wins two games in the same day, especially when it happens in the (denard) span of about three hours. Mariano Rivera picked up two saves, Andy Pettitte turned back the clock again, and the Yankees came through with a couple of clutch home runs in both ends of their game and a half doubleheader.

The second half of game one was over pretty quickly. Derek Jeter did his job as captain. According to several sources, he was keeping the clubhouse loose today, even sneaking into Joe Girardi's media session and asking if Joe was ready to push the panic button. Then, he cranked a solo homer in the sixth for the game's only run. A.J. Burnett got a win, despite pitching about 20 hours earlier, and the shaky bullpen held on for the 1-0 victory. You still get nervous with Robertson and Joba on the hill, but they got it done, and Mariano used every inch of Target Field to get through the ninth.

Finally, the nightcap was really just a fantastic baseball game. Once again, the Yanks relied on the gutty, gritty Kevin Russo to knock in a run, score another, and make a phenomenal catch against the left field wall, sending John and Suzyn into a frenzy. The Yankees missed some opportunities early, but Andy Pettitte kept the team in the game with eight solid innings. Watching him pump his fist and jump around after Joe Mauer's double play made me wonder if he was actually 37 years old, or if he's a 23 year old winning a 1-0 game at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta.

The sequence from Mauer's double play to Nick Swisher's homer in the ninth could be viewed as a turning point in the season. Heck, Mark Teixeira even got two base hits, although he did get thrown out at second base by about 10 feet. But who cares? It's kind of funny how your opinion changes based on the result of the game. Had the bullpen faltered and the Yanks lost a couple of games today, all you'd be reading about was how bad the offense was. Instead, we're talking about great pitching and timely hitting.

Javier Vazquez goes for the sweep tomorrow, but I'm interested in another topic. I'd love to hear from my readers on this one: Is Andy Pettitte a Hall of Famer? My vote is yes. Obviously, as a Yankee fan, I am a bit biased, but you really have to take a look at his numbers and the fact that he has the most playoff victories of all time. I know, I know. He admitted to using performance enhancing drugs, but it was just one time, and he's the one guy who was completely honest to his teammates and Congress about the whole incident. In my opinion, Andy Pettitte belongs in Cooperstown one day.