Weekend Wrap-Up

Apologies to my faithful readers for my lack of postings this weekend, so here's your wrap up from this weekend's series in Toronto, which was saved by today's come from behind 4-3 victory. Javier Vazquez looks like a new man, Robinson Cano is by far the 2010 Yankees' MVP, and Mark Teixeira looks like a bad minor league player at the plate.

On Friday night, I had hoped it was just an off-night for the Yankees. Burnett simply cannot pitch in Toronto. I kind of have the feeling that he gets the Roger Clemens syndrome of being "too pumped up" and overthrowing constantly. He gave up two home runs to Babe Ruth Bautista, and the Yankees could not hit Brett Cecil. I figured it wasn't much of a big deal coming off of a five game winning streak. The Yankees hit some balls hard, and Burnett kept serving up meatballs.

Saturday was the dagger game of the series. Andy Pettitte was again fantastic, and Derek Jeter provided the early power. As usual, the power hitting Alex Gonzalez (yes, Gonzalez, not Rodriguez) cranked his 12th bomb of the year off of Pettitte, which would eventually send the game into bonus cantos. However, the Yankees squandered a golden opportunity earlier in the game to score a run, which would have given the Yanks a 3-2 win in nine innigs. Again, the Yankees couldn't catch a break, as Derek Jeter lined into a double play with runners on second and third. Other than Chad Gaudin, who thinks it's a good idea to walk the first batter he faces on four pitches, the Yankee bullpen was excellent. But, guys like Tex, A-Rod, and Cano did nothing at the plate, and the Yanks lost in 14.

Today, I was unhappy for seven innings, but the Yanks salvaged a win north of the border before a well-deserved off day Monday. Javier Vazquez was brilliant against a potent offense, making one bad pitch all day to Yankee-killer Vernon Wells. Once again, the Yankees were leaving runners on third with less than two outs. And once again, Derek Jeter was the culprit. However, the gutty, gritty Yankees started an eighth inning rally when Francisco Cervelli and Brett Gardner each "took one for the team." Despite more brutal at bats from the meat of the order, a wild pitch, a Joe Girardi ejection, and a two run hit from Robbie Cano propelled the Yanks to victory.

All in all, it was not a miserable weekend. The Rays lost 2 of 3, and the Red Sox somehow lost a game to Baltimore today. It's on to Baltimore for three, so as a Yankee fan you have to be VERY happy that the Orioles were overdue for a victory, and picked one up against Boston today.