Yanks Make A Sweeping Statement

I know...that was really, really bad.

Sorry for the delay in posts. But an illness Tuesday night laid me out. So now I'm playing catch up.

YES has a lot of 'splainin' to do.

I had a feeling that Farnsworth absence had something to do with back spams. He's suffered from them earlier in the season and with the sweltering Texas heat, I'm not shocked that his back locked up on him.

But why did it take YES nearly an hour to get the viewers the information? Everyone in the world knew that something's was wrong when TJ Beam cme into the game in the eighth. We just didn't know what happened to Kyle.

Hello, you own the friggin team! How long does it take Rick Cerrone or whoever the traveling secretary is to tell the producers of the broadcast that Kyle Farnsworth back locked up on him? This isn't Darryl Kile being found dead in his hotel room before a Cubs-Cards game or theCal Ripken-Kevin Costner conspiracy. This was an injury that almost costs the Yankees a very important game. An injury the fans shouldn't have had to find out about after the game was over.

Tonight's win is the main reason why it's stupid to make playoff pronouncements in June. I've been hearing about how the wildcard is probably coming out of the AL Central. Oh really? Take a look at the standings.

Now it could end up that Chicago or Minnesota could end up taking it. Minnesota has the sickest 1-2 southpaw punch and they've finally discovered how to hit. Chicago, despite their pitching problems is the still the defending champs and will probably find a way to stay in the race.

But if tonight showed us anything, it showed that the Yankees are going to be a very, very tough out. Their first season sweep in Texas in 35 years couldn't have come at a better time.

This is why I don't buy it when players say that they don't scoreboard watch. They knew that Boston lost earlier today and they had to know that the Chi-Sox lost to the Twinkies....which means that they could gain ground in the division as well as the wildcard. They saw an opportunity and pounced on it.

I don't have to go through all the cliches because you know them all. Hell, Singleton and Murcer went through them all by the fifth inning.

I just hope that this back thing with Farnsworth is something minor. He's actually been pitching well lately and we can't afford to lose him for any extended amount of time.

Chacon was amazing in the eighth. Does this mean more bullpen time for him or does he get another start if Ponson struggles again? I don't know but what is clear is that he has to get himself in the mindset to be ready whenever he's called. He's sulked a bit because of the inconsistent way he's been used. But look at Ron Villone. He had the same challenge earlier in the year. But he was always ready to pitch when needed. Now his role is much more prominent. The same thing can happen for Chacon. But he's going to get there by posting zeros not poutie-faces.

As if Philly don't have enough reason to hate New York, Now Sal's Pals have to come to the Bronx to see their hero.

When I heard that the Phillies designated him earlier this week, I was hoping that Cashman made a play for him. I've always liked the way he's conducted his business. And he has a decent bat for a backup catcher as well. Anything was better than watching Stinnett try to hit a curveball. He was so bad that I was wishing Flaherty came out of retirement. That's bad. Great move in picking him up tonight. The Yankees can't afford to carry an automatic out in the nine hole anymore.

It also forces Johnson and Posada to continue to work through whatever was ailing them earlier in the year. They seem to be on the same page now, but now that Johnson's old crutch is gone, there's no turning back.