Mariano Rivera is sore, according to the New York Post. Nothing that requires an MRI, understand, and Rivera is “not concerned,” but it’s something to be be aware of.
I’m still grumbling over Burnett’s performance in the seventh last night. Didn’t buy the papers on my way to work, just looked at them on-line now. C’mon, Meat, you’ve got to be better than that.
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AJ pitched good enough. Shelly hit a ball 6" out of the Strike Zone. Some unfortunate happenings. But I'll take last night's AJ anytime.
1) that's where I'm at with AJ. You temper your expectations, and readily accept the bad with the good. I still like watching him deal, and the meltdowns are familiar enough that you can brace for them as they happen, even if they sometimes happen very quickly.
Four runs in 7 is not horrible. He almost had no runs through seven if A-Rod or Gardner caught that pop-up. He put up a good string of zeroes. Austin Kearns was a tough out for AJ last night - go figure - so his home run didn't come as much of a surprise to be honest. The deflating blow was not the Duncan single or the Kearns home run but the home run off Wade that seemed to ice the game. That one hurt.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Yankees regress a bit after scorching their NL opponents. They ain't gonna play .800 ball the rest of the way. I just hope they can put this Jeter 3000 hit business behind them before the All Star Break. Yes indeed it is a great thing and a wonderful accomplishment, but it is also a big distraction. The sooner it happens, the better.
The Big Man will come in and halt this little 2-game slide tonight.
I gotta adjust my attitude toward AJ I guess. I like the way you guys look at it, sounds a lot less painful. And yet I don't see myself getting over the frustration of a guy who can dominate for long stretches of a game but is so easily unnerved that that dominance often ends up meaningless.
1) Excellent point.