Long day today. I live about 55 miles from the Stadium. So, I left the house at ten this morning to meet my friend John in Fort Lee (NJ) before the game – so that we could drive over together. Once the game was over, and I dropped John off (back at his car), and then drove home, it was seven in the evening (when I walked in the door). Seems like a lot of time – nine hours of your day – to carve out for a 9-inning baseball game. Welcome to the new world of trying to go to a Yankees game by car. It doesn’t seem that bad when they win…but, when they lose, it doesn’t seem right to have burned your whole day for that cause.

Oh, and for the record, the uncivilized and cutthroat manner in which Yankees fans treat each other, exiting parking garages around the Stadium, and while accessing roads to leave the Bronx, is disgusting. Seeing what I saw today, trying to get home from the game, made me embarrassed to know that these were my fellow members of the Yankees Fan Nation. Rude and obnoxious behavior. No wonder why some like to give Yankees fans a bad name.

Speaking of giving Yankees fans a bad name…and I know that I’ve mentioned this before…what’s up with allowing Red Sox fans to take over Yankee Stadium? I know that I’ve mentioned this in the past…but, there’s more and more Red Sox fans showing up at the Stadium for these games than ever before. When Crisp hit his triple today and then again when Cora homered, the ovations from Sox fans in my section where extremely loud. Later in the game, I went to visit a friend on the field level – and mentioned this about the Sox fans. They told me: “Look around here. I’ve got five of them right behind me, two to the right, and three more in front of me to the left. And, they’re screaming like crazy at everything.”

Why are Yankees fans letting Red Sox fans buy so many tickets to these games at the Stadium?

Lastly, to the game. What can I say? If the Yankees pitching situation was not bad enough, now the hitting has gone south as well. Today was a Chinese Homer from Rico Bergman and a Han Solo from Jeter. Dat’s it. Damon, Abreu, Matsui – and to an extent Cano – are ice cold.

On the bright-side, it’s close to being at rock-bottom for the Yankees. And, I’m beginning to think that they have to hit rock-bottom for changes to start happening and for improvements to follow.

I’m just glad that Brian Cashman fessed up to what I said yesterday:

Cashman couldn’t say whether Torre’s job is in jeopardy but understood that any losing streak by the Yankees provokes speculation.

“That’s the nature of the beast. There’s no doubt. We’ve hit a rough spot and when you hit a rough spot, especially here, it’s rougher and louder,” he said. “I take full responsibility for this start, just because that’s my job. This is the team I put together. And so if people are looking for blame, I say blame me.”

Part of any effective solution is finding the core of the problem. The above self-identification is a start.

Karstens switched his uniform number from 17 to 58 before this start. Number 17 got him pounded in Beantown. Number 58 got him the D.L. Maybe it’s time to go back to #17? It seems like that number was better for his health.

I have to confess…I only saw the first inning of this game…and then heard the top of the 9th on the car radio. (The 4 pm start didn’t match up well with our plans for an early dinner out today with family.)

I did see Igawa get out of the first. Sounds like he did a great job today, overall. Six innings…when the team really needed it…4.04 pitchers per batter…15.5 pitches per inning…that’s all good stuff. But, when I see that he threw 42% of his pitches for balls…I have to wonder. Did the Sox help out Igawa in some way today? Sure, 58% of pitches for strikes is not terrible…but, it’s not what you usually expect to see on six shutout innings.

In any event, today was a big win for the Yankees…especially when you factor in what happened on the first pitch of the game. This could have been a 7-pitcher game for New York…when they could least afford it. So, no matter how he did it, you have to give the game ball to Igawa.

Let’s hope this is a step in the right direction for him – and the team.

If there was any bright-side to this evening, it was at the very end of the game, watching the Yankees leave their dugout and heading into the clubhouse…except one person who remained seated on the bench…looking somewhat shocked…Rico Bergman. Once the dugout was clear, Rico stood up, took his bat, and passed it over the roof of the dugout to a fan. I take that as a signal that Mientkiewicz knows his days on this team are soon to be over.

If this is true, sure, it’s just like tossing a deck chair off the sinking Titanic, and, tossing Rico is not going to make the Yankees pitchers any better…but, right now, Yankees fans need to feel good about something – and we’ll take whatever we can get now.

Anyone up for “Project M-11,” aka “Adios Rico”? Com’on Yankees, throw us dogs a bone, huh? It’s not like we’re looking for Cashman or Torre on a platter. This request is small. It’s very small…but, it’s something. And, again, at this stage, seeing the Yankees do anything well/smart/good/positive would be a pleasant sight for sore eyes.

Do it now before Karsten’s start tomorrow. After that one, we may need something bigger, if not granted this one now.

When you factor in his age, and the way he was rushed to the big leagues, and the fact that it was his big league cherry today, I thought Phil Hughes was impressive tonight.

That said, this evening, while watching Hughes, I still see “Andy Benes.”

The key is watching Hughes against proven batters like Vernon Wells and Frank Thomas and then again versus batters like Jason Smith and Adam Lind. Sure, Phil gets the “B” batters out. But, what happened when he faced “A” batters?

Bottom line, I saw Hughes tonight as having excellent stuff – but it’s not electric stuff. When Roger Clemens and Doc Gooden were babies, they had electric stuff. I did not see that from Hughes this evening. Case in point: A.J. Burnett, after throwing 100 pitches, was still hitting 96 MPH on the gun tonight. Phil Hughes, after 80-something pitches was just touching 90 MPH on the gun.

Of course, this was just one night – and it was Hughes first major league start. Things can change in time…and maybe that electric stuff shows in later starts? But, for now, again, I see “Andy Benes” when I watch Phil Hughes pitch. That’s not the worst thing in the world for Hughes. But, it’s probably not in line with the hype and subsequent expectations that are around the kid now.

Moving on to the bigger picture, tonight’s loss puts a ton of pressure on Andy Pettitte tomorrow. With Karstens pitching on Saturday – and, thank goodness that Igawa has been yanked from the rotation – a loss on Friday could mean that the Yankees are looking at an 8-game losing streak heading into Sunday’s game…along with being 7 1/2 games back of Boston on the morning of Wang’s start on Sunday.

The Yankees need a win on Friday. I know it’s only April – and it’s hard to say a game in April is a “must win.” But, if ever there was a “must win” game in April…tomorrow is it for the Yankees.

Personally, I like Mike Myers. I’ve heard him interviewed a few times on X-M Radio. He seems like a stand-up guy. I’ve also heard that he’s someone who is interested in the history of the game. So, there, we’re kindred spirits (of sorts). Reports say that Myers is great in the clubhouse. And, I like the fact that he was willing to work with Ron Guidry, and adapt to pitching from both sides of the rubber, so that he could pitch an inning (or two) in blow-out games (without getting pounded by right-handed batters).

But, the fact of the matter is that Mike Myers’ role on this team is to get lefty batters out in big spots. And, because that’s his main role, he needs to be lock-down solid in those situations…meaning getting the job done 90-95% of the time (against lefties). And, to have value, he must never allow a homerun to a left-handed batter.

If Mike Myers can’t do the above, then he should not be on this team. Again, I like the man. Therefore, this is not easy to say. But, it’s true. When your lefty-specialist is not special, he’s got no value.

On the bright-side, if there was one today, Worm Killer Wang looked good – and he pitched into the 7th inning. I know for some teams that may not seem like much…but, hey, we’re talking about the last place New York Yankees here. You take whatever you can get.

Another brilliant find from our scouting system. Geniuses.

It’s time to start thinking about sending the “Skinny Pussy Iguana” down to Scranton. I would even consider doing it to make room for Worm Killer Wang tomorrow.

On the bright side, watching this game, I finally figured out who Colter Bean reminds me of…and it’s not Dave “The Blade” Rajsich.

I feel for Chase Wright…becoming the first left-handed pitcher in the history of the game to allow four taters in a row…and only the second pitcher ever to do it (joining Paul Foytack). Hopefully, it does not leave a mark on the kid.

Speaking of pitchers…the Sox’ Matsuzaka has some tools, no question. But, I was not overly impressed by him tonight…and it’s not because he allowed 6 runs this evening. What was it? Wil Nieves ripping the cover off the ball the first two times he faced Dice-K (albeit for outs). If you’re that great, there’s no way Wil Nieves should ever touch you.

Getting back to the Yankees, they need three games in a row where their starter goes seven innings…and fast. Proctor has only missed five games this year. Pettitte has come out of the bullpen twice already. The entire pen is about to be burnt for the season and it’s not even May yet. If Igawa is ever going to go deep in a game, tomorrow is the time to do it – even if it means keeping him in there if it kills his ERA. It’s reached that point…where some starter has to take one on the chin, if needed, to help save the pen.

Actually, think of it this way: Karstens was pretty much throwing BP speed and location. The Yankees did not have Posada, Matsui or Damon in the line-up. And, yet, Boston only beat New York by two runs in this game. Further, the Yankees had the winning run at the plate in the 7th (Giambi) and the tying run up at the plate in the 9th (Abreu).

Give me just two of three from the group of Posada, Matsui and Damon. And, let Mussina or Wang start this game instead of Karstens. You think the outcome would be the same?

It feels like the Red Sox whipped the Yankees fannies today. But, what the Red Sox really did was that they barely beat a Yankees team that was playing at 60% strength.

Boston will probably win again tomorrow – and sweep the series. But, if this three game set tells me anything, it tells me that the Yankees should be fine against Boston this season…when New York has a chance to get their tank full again.

The race doesn’t always go to the swift, but, sometimes to those who keep running. As long as the Yankees can hang close until everyone is back in the line-up, they should be fine.

And, yes, this is really me and not someone just pretending to be me. And, no, I’m not smoking anything funny nor have I had one drink too many today.

At my new job, they have a deal in the Spring and Summer where you can leave work at 1:30 pm on Fridays, if you’re willing to put some extra time on Monday through Thursday. Well, this was a week for me where things were blowing up, left and right, and I was really looking forward to getting the week over at one-thirty today.

Not so fast. Another issue came up today that kept me in the office until 4 pm – and ruined some plans that I had with the family this afternoon.

Strike one.

Then, on the commute home, I had another problem. The 45-mile drive usually takes about 75 minutes – when there are no issues.

Not so fast. There was an over-turned truck on 287/440 that backed up traffic – very badly. By the time I managed to find a way home, it took me three hours and fifteen minutes make the drive. There’s nothing worse than spending three plus hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic to drive 45 miles, at the end of a long week at work.

Strike two.

Next, there was this game tonight. Where do I start?

Not so fast. First, let’s go back to last February. According to news reports at that time, Joe Torre said “that he plans to limit Rivera to the ninth inning this season.”

Boy, that lasted a long time, huh? Mr. Green Tea brings in Mo, in the 8th inning of this contest, and again this season, Rivera kills some nice work by Pettitte. The Yankees lose. The Red Sox win. And, it’s a stunner.

Strike three.

In this Yankees game, Torre was one thing tonight. And, Rivera was another. There will be lots of talk about both of them. (The whole Kevin Thompson/Josh Phelps thing in the 9th with Torre was maddening.)

However, there was another play in this loss that I have to question – and I wonder if any others will key on it? With the score 6-4, in favor the Yankees, during the bottom of the 8th, with one out and Boston runners on first and second and Coco Crisp at the plate, why was Rico Bergman playing so far off the line? Late in the game, with the score close, are not the guys on the corners supposed to be positioned right on the line to prevent an extra base hit? As it was, Crisp hit a grounder between Rico and the line that went for a triple and tied the score. That’s a bad play, in my book – especially by a guy who is supposed to provide defense.

It was just a shame to waste what should have been a win tonight – and a great game, again, from A-Rod (and Pettitte). With the pitching match-ups the next two days, it could be a long series for the Yankees.

Well, at the least, I don’t have to go to work for the next two days – or sit in killer traffic tie-ups for hours upon hours. Of course, if we find out tomorrow that Posada has a broken left thumb or something, I’ll probably wish I was stuck at work and/or traffic instead of hearing that news.

For now, it’s time to say good-night, and good riddance, to a long and pain-in-the-ass kind of day. I’ll dust myself off in the morning and get back in the box. Maybe the Yankees can do the same?

“El Diario Vizcaino,” he, he not so good today, amigo.

But, on the flip side, it was not as if the Yankees bats were exactly “En fuego!” either today. One Han Solo by Giambi, another late by “The ESB” – with an Abreu RBI-single on top. Dat’s it.

Now, the seven-and-seven Yanks head to Beantown for three at the Fens. I’ll be happy with one win this weekend – and thrilled if they can get two….

Then, Posada singled. And, Damon walked. That was followed by singles from Jeter and Abreu…leading to…Alex Rodriguez.

Oh, my, god, what a finish!

I said it four days ago, and, I’ll say it again. Alex Rodriguez has turned into Roy Hobbs. It’s incredible. What a story this has become…it’s hard for me to even type this, as my hands are shaking. Really, they’re shaking.

What a moment. I’m pretty speechless at this point. If I can get my composure, I’ll add more to this in the comments section later. I gotta go find someone to high-five now and get this out of my system.