It’s incredible that they are also 10-0 in day games this year. Watch out Willy Clark and Al Lewis – there’s a new version of The Sunshine Boys forming in front of our eyes. (By the way, did I call the 13-10 record, or what? Now, let’s hope that I’m right about the hot May and June as well.)

Mussina continues to leave runners stranded – he got out of a 1st and 3rd spot in the 2nd, a runner on 3rd in the 3rd, and the bases loaded in the 5th today. Amazing.

Let’s hope that Wang and Chacon can be as magical in Fenway.

And, was there no way to do something with Sturtze (to get Small on the roster) instead of sending down Smith? That extra LHP out of the pen could be useful against Ortiz and Nixon this week.

With a win tomorrow, and if the Devil Rays can beat a tired Curt Schilling, then the New York Yankees will head into the month of May, and a two game series in Fenway Park, tied for first place with the Boston Red Sox. Sure, there’s a few moving parts to this plan – but, it’s not impossible.

Yankees-Sox on Monday. Damon’s return to Boston. And, first place at stake. Wow, what’s a fan of Prison Break to do? Actually, it’s a no brainer. Really. I did say it was Yankees-Sox, right? There will be a whole week following the Fenway games to watch Prison Break on tape.

And, for those worried about the ol’ “I hate it when they score a ton because that means they’re going to hardly score at all tomorrow” thing, check out (going back a bit) each time that the Yankees scored at least 13 runs in a win. What happened each time on the next day? (Note: We’re only using dates where there was a game the very next day.) The results:

4/3/06 – Won 15-2. Next day, lost 4-3.
9/13/05 – Won 17-3. Next day, won 6-5.
7/4/05 – Won 13-8. Next day, won 12-3.
5/14/05 – Won 15-6. Next day, won 6-4.
4/18/05 – Won 19-8. Next day, lost 6-2.
9/18/04 – Won 14-1. Next day, won 11-1.
8/28/04 – Won 18-6. Next day, lost 6-4.
8/19/04 – Won 13-10. Next day, lost 5-0.
5/27/04 – Won 18-5. Next day, won 7-5.

Just three times (out of 9 times) did they struggle to post some runs. Thus, there’s little reason to sweat about Mussina not getting any run support tomorrow. (And, don’t forget, the Jays’ Gustavo Chacín has an ERA of 5.11 heading into the game. That will help some as well.)

…tonight was a page from the recent Yankees-great-teams text book. Get an early lead, have your starting pitcher maintain that margin, and then tack on runs until the game is far in your favor.

Well, tonight, the Yankees were beat with a page from their own book. Luckily, no one has runaway with the A.L. East, and, despite a record of 11-10, New York is only one game out of first place.

In a way, you can say that it’s now a 141 game season (instead of 162). And, if the Yankees win the remaining games in this series, and then go out and have a big May and June, then no one will care about the 11-10 start.

Really, the sun doesn’t shine on the same dog’s butt everyday. I truly feel that tonight was just one of those nights. You’re going to win at least 60 games each baseball season and you’re going to lose around 60 games each baseball season – and it’s those remaining 40 games that make or break you. This evening was probably just one of those 60 games that you’re going to lose, no matter what.

I expect the Yankees to rub some dirt on it, walk it off, and get ready to keep playing. It also helps to have Johnson and Mussina on the hill for the next two games.

Well, he’s sure off to some start, huh?

OK, when The Farns threw that 0-1 pitch to Ty Wigginton in the 8th, and the YES gun said “100 MPH,” I have to confess that I yelled out “Whoa!” – even though I was watching the game by myself. (And, by the way, did the ump miss that pitch, or what?)

I was happy to see Matsui get the big hit tonight. Of all the Yankees, when they’re not going well, I worry about him the most. Think of who he was (and/or is) in his country and how important it is for his people for him to do well here (at this level). Then, factor in the cultural implications for him with respect to not losing face. It’s got to kill him more so than most Yankees not to do well. That’s why I feel for Matsui the most when he’s struggling.

Speaking of happy, how cool was it to see the Red Sox’ Josh Beckett get batted around this evening like a piñata on Cinco de Mayo?

Lastly, I have to comment on Tanyon Sturtze starting the 9th inning tonight. Clearly, Torre was looking to get lucky there – and it blew up in his face in a hurry.

It was like the guy who needs a hammer to drive in a nail, but, he’s too lazy to go get the hammer. So, instead, he picks up a rock and tries to bang in the nail by whacking it with the stone. And, after one smack, he realizes he’s going to screw up the whole thing if he doesn’t go get the proper tool – the hammer. Thus, in trying to be creative, in the end, he was just wasting time and assuming risk.

That’s not smart.

It’s a shame that Wang’s effort gets wasted today.

Yankees now have lost 9 games this month. And, the sad part is that 5 of those 9 should have been wins:

1. April 4th @ Oakland
2. April 8th @ Los Angeles
3. April 15th @ Minnesota
4. April 21st vs. Baltimore
5. And, now tonight vs. Tampa Bay

Further, now, three of the last four losses for the Yankees are games that they should have won.

So, suppose that they won 3 of these 5 “lost games.” That would make their record 13-6 instead of 10-9.

That’s a fair difference.

Shifting gears, yes, he does look like a young Timothy Busfield, but, boy, that Chad Orvella sure makes big pitches (at least it seems like) every time he pitches against the Yankees, no?

On the other side, Tampa Bay was clearly playing their “B” tonight.

Regardless of the side that you may choose to run with, the Yankees are now two games over .500 for the first time this season. And, since you need to get to two over before you can do three, and then four, and then five, etc., the win tonight has meaning.

Actually, something came to me tonight – watching Scott Proctor close out the game.

You’re a baseball player. You spend your entire life just trying to get to the major leagues. You have some talent and that allows you to get there. But, once at that level, there’s tremendous stress to do well – along with having doubts in your ability – and that hurts your performance (because you’re playing tight, as if every outing is “major league” life or death).

Then, you have a huge life event. Your one-month old daughter has to have surgery to fix a serious heart ailment. Any parent can tell you how such a matter can slap you in the face faster and harder than anything else known to man. It also gives you a very quick lesson in what really matters in life – and what’s not so important in reality (despite what you may have thought in the past).

All of a sudden, that past situation where you would have been stressed is not as dire because you now know, without question, that it’s not the end of your world if it doesn’t work out – because of that slap wake-up call that brought your attention to what really is important.

Ironically, once that stress is removed from the situation, you’re no longer tight and your talent flows instead of being choked off at the source. And, because you actually have talent, you start to succeed. As this is repeated, you build confidence and become more successful.

Now, I’m not saying that I know for sure that this has happened with Proctor. But, it’s possible. All the pieces are there on the timeline. Again, it’s just a thought that passed through my mind tonight as I watched what looked like a new Scott Proctor on the mound (to me). Your mileage may vary.

I thought Giambi’s quote after the game was interesting:

“This is the best I’ve felt in a while, putting on the Yankee uniform. My swing has felt good this year.”

This is the fifth year that Jason’s had that Yankees uniform. Could we be looking at a 120 RBI season from Giambi? That would be nice.

What’s most amazing about all of this is that New York, despite their inconsistent play so far this season, is only 2 games off the lead of the A.L. East at this moment.

Just luck? I’m not so sure. It seems like every team in the A.L. East can hit – but, it seems like they all also have questions about the back end of their starting rotations.

This leads me to believe that, while most years it takes about 95 wins to take the A.L. East, this season the team that manages 90 wins might just take the flag.

And, therefore, winning just 90 games in the east this season might just be a big accomplishment.

Anyway, back when I was in the 5th grade (in 1972), I bought a book at the school Book Fair that was very important to me (at the time). I probably read the thing (at least) 50 times after I bought it. And, I still have it – I guess that I’ve kept it, all these years, just for old-times sake. Here it is:

Maybe I should make a copy of the book and sent it to Joe Torre?

In any event, here’s one takeaway from tonight’s game: When your pitcher has the bases loaded, and there are 2 outs, and there’s a full count on the batter, don’t let your pitcher throw from a full wind-up.

Considering that Schilling goes for the Sox tonight, and how he’s been pitching this year, this is a good win – it prevents the Yankees from falling four back in the loss column.

Do you know that Cano now has 54 PA this season (so far) and has not walked once? Yes, you don’t walk off the Island. But, dude, you’re here now. Take some pitches.

Do you also know that Andy Phillips now has whiffed in 19 of his 57 career big league At Bats (so far)? I think this is why Carlos Pena was signed.

Last concern from today: The Giambi HBP in the 7th. It was enough to drive him out of a 3-1 game with another AB coming. The way he’s been driving the ball, you hate to see something like this happen.

Now it’s nine games in a row at home to close out the month. This is the time to make a move. Keep your fingers crossed.