One MO THAME(S)

No matter what happens to the Yankees this season, Wednesday night's 7-6 victory in Texas can be the next edition of "Yankees Classics." A game that looked lost before and after it started thanks to the unbalanced pitching match-up turned into a dramatic, team win that hopefully leads the Yankees to a winning streak. Javier Vazquez was awful, but Cliff Lee was not his normal brilliant self.

Thanks to clutch hits by Lance Berkman, Brett Gardner, Derek Jeter, and Marcus Thames, Kerry Wood picked up his first Yankee win after another solid outing, and Mariano Rivera showed why there is no one in baseball quite like him. The biggest at bat of the game, in my mind, was Lance Berkman leading off the ninth inning. His Nick Johnson-like at bat and leadoff walk set up the Yankees to tie the game and eventually take the lead.

Marcus Thames has filled in the number three hole beautifully as Mark Teixeira is too busy being a daddy to play baseball this week. He seems to be the one Brian Cashman offseason acquisition that is working out. Javier Vazquez is not. Curtis Granderson doesn't deserve to be in the lineup. No one really knows where Nick Johnson is. But Marcus Thames has been clutch, hitting over .300 and delivering some big RBI's. When most other hitters in the Yankee lineup have trouble getting in runners from third with less than two outs, Marcus Thames showed us how it's done in the ninth inning.

A few negatives from tonight. One was just touched on: leaving runners on base. When Austin Kearns hit into an inning ending double play in the eighth inning, I really started having doubts about this team, especially with the red hot Boston Red Sox, who seem to score 9 runs a game despite a shortened lineup. They have heart. They have an outstanding manager, and a good starting rotation. The Yankees do not have a great starting rotation. Javier Vazquez stinks. He and Burnett are enormous head cases who are afraid to put the ball over the plate in big spots.

We can only hope that Wednesday night's victory leads to a winning streak, something the Yankees really haven't had in quite a while. Although they picked up a big win in the two game series finale, the Yankees haven't won a series since they took 3 out of 4 in Cleveland back in late July. They need to win 3 out of 4 in Kansas City this weekend to make the road trip a success. Wednesday night's game was certainly a potential playoff preview. It has gotten a little bit sickening hearing announcers and reporters talk about what a lock the Yankees are to reach the playoffs. Those sentiments had been dwindling a bit over the last week or so. Wednesday's game is a start in restoring some of that early season confidence.