Kei Igawa provided a decent start today. Not great, but, not terrible. Actually, in terms of what’s reasonable to expect from most fifth starters, Igawa’s performance was just about there. And, that was the highlight in this game for the Yankees today. How sad is that?

It was the perfect day for a baseball game today in the Bronx – in terms of the weather. It’s a shame that the Yankees hitters and bullpen decided to do something other than play baseball today.

Tomorrow should be fun. Yanks get to face Dan Haren and his ERA of 1.91 (so far this season).

Man, the All-Star break cannot come fast enough this year, can it?

When I got home, my dad (who was watching the kids with my mom) filled me in on the game – including giving me the low-down on Farnsworth’s fit.

Time for Torre to give Kyle the Dallas Green to Stanley Jefferson “Look in the mirror, big boy” speech…if you ask me.

It’s great that the Yankees won. And, it’s great that Mussina went seven. But, let’s face it: New York barely beat an Oakland team tonight (by a score of 2-1) – an Oakland team that had lost 10 of their last 16 games coming into this contest.

The Yankees had 9 hits in this game – off of the likes of Joe Kennedy and Dallas Braden – but one-third of those hits came from Alex Rodriguez.

Like I said, great to win a game…but, it’s not like the Yankees just took the best pitcher on the best team in the league and pounded him for 15 hits and 6 runs. I have to see more before I’m ready to pronounce the Yankees as being out of their current rut.

At this moment, all I can think about is August 13, 1978. On that day, the Yankees were also playing in Baltimore. The Yankees scored five runs in the top of the 7th inning during that game to take a 5-3 lead over the Orioles before heavy rains led to a delay of the game.

O’s manager Earl Weaver stalled the umps during the rain, and, with the help of the Baltimore groundskeepers working in slow-motion, the game was eventually called after the delay.

At that time, in that type of situation, the score reverted back to the last complete inning. So, Baltimore ended up winning that game, 3-0 (and the Yankees’ 7th was wiped off the books).

If I’m correctly reading the baseball rules in place now:

4.12
SUSPENDED GAMES.
(a) A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons:
(1) A curfew imposed by law;
(2) A time limit permissible under league rules;
(3) Light failure or malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club. (Mechanical field device shall include automatic tarpaulin or water removal equipment);
(4) Darkness, when a law prevents the lights from being turned on;
(5) Weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead;

…we should not have a repeat of August 13, 1978 with this contest. Whew. Therefore, I’m going to sleep now. It’s been raining so long in Baltimore that I expect we won’t see this game finished until late July.

“Now look at me.

I’m wet nurse to a last-place, dead-to-the-neck-up ball club…

…and I’m choking to death!”

Those are the words that come to my mind when I watch this team play these days. Lifeless. The Yankees play with about as much energy as a koala on quaaludes.

An electric cattle prod! An electric cattle prod! My kingdom for an electric cattle prod!

Actually, I could use about ten of them – just to try and get this team to show some life.

And, worse, during the ninth, you could see that Proctor gassed. He was red in the face, sweating, etc. Once he allowed the first two batters to reach, he should have been lifted.

Blame this one on Joe Torre – for having Proctor in this game.

And, give some blame to Abreu as well – for playing that Millar fly ball into a hit. Good heavens, he is a terrible outfielder.

So, the Yankees are now 4-13 in one-run games. So many point to that as “bad luck” and use that as a spring board to say New York is due to turn this around as they are overdue to have better luck.

Was this game bad luck? Was the one-run loss against the Giants where Bruney blew it in the 7th bad luck? Was the recent one-run loss against the Rockies where Jeter ran the Yankees out of an inning bad luck? Was the one-run loss in Toronto where Aaron Hill stole home bad luck?

The “bad luck” in these types of losses is really the Cashman/Torre effect. Cashman built a starting rotation with issues (Mussina, Pavano, Igawa) that led to a bullpen being cooked by this point in the season. This is why the Bruneys, Proctors, etc., are losing games. And, it’s Torre who has not rallied the team to be focused – which leads to things like Abreu misplays in the outfield, baserunners killing innings, allowing opponents to run wild on the bases, etc.

If you want to know why the Yankees record is so poor this season, look to Cashman and Torre. The “luck” stops there.

When Bobby Abreu plays in a game that the Yankees have lost, he’s had zero hits in 20 of those 37 games.

I’m beginning to believe, as goes Bobby Abreu, so does the Yankees offense. Either the Yankees have to get Abreu going well again…or, they have to get another “three-hitter” in the line-up who can bat well consistently.

Then again, the Yankees also need to start getting more than 5 innings (or less) from their starting pitchers. And, they need to have guys come out of the pen and be able to hold a game close. And, they need to play better defensive baseball…the list goes on.

The 2007 baseball season is now 45% in the books for the Yankees. And, it’s not been a pretty story – sans a period from May 30th to June 17th. (In those 19 good days, they played 17 games and went 14-3.) If you take out that nice run from May 30th to June 17th, the Yankees record is 22-34.

When the Yankees are hot, they’re red hot. But, when they are not, they’re down right terrible. It will be interesting to see if they’re hot more than they’re not over the remaining 55% of the season.

Totally unrelated to anything…we took the kids to go see the Lakewood BlueClaws play today. Antonella Barba sang God Bless America during the seventh inning. Ronan Tynan has nothing to worry about.

I had a lot more fun watching the BlueClaws today than seeing (the last four innings that I caught of) the Yankees game this afternoon. Why do I have a feeling I’m going to be able to say “I had a lot more fun doing ‘X’ than seeing the Yankees game today” at least a few more times this season?

Bruney, for coming in during the 7th, with two outs and runners on first and second, and then allowing a single, walk, and another walk – pushing in two runs and permitting the Giants to take the lead in the game (5-4).

Cano, for grounding into a DP in the fifth with runners on first and third with one out. And, for whiffing with runners on first and second with one out in the seventh. And, for grounding out with the bases loaded in the eleventh – albeit with two outs.

Abreu, for grounding out in the sixth with runners on first and third – to end the inning. And, for whiffing to end the eighth with a runner on third and the Yankees down by a run. And, for bunting into a FC in the eleventh.

Know what may be the worst part of this series? A-Rod. He’s been awesome – and delivered another clutch ninth inning homer today. He’s been a terror at the plate in these first two games – and making a huge impression on the Giants and their fans.

I’m sure that Alex has been equally impressed with the park in San Fran…everyone is during this series.

If the Giants let Bonds go at the end of the year, they can use that money to go after A-Rod, if he opts out.

This weekend series is starting to shape up like the beginning of a lovefest between Alex, the Giants, and the city of San Francisco. This could all mean that the Giants will be in the A-Rod hunt this off-season…should there be one.

Joe Torre had this to say about Igawa last night:

“He was consistent for four innings and to me that’s darn near half the game,” Torre said. “It may have just been the point where you maybe look up at the scoreboard and you see it’s going to be an official game here in a minute and he may have just rushed himself.”

Yes, Igawa was consistent for four – and, then, just around midnight eastern time, he imploded in the fifth. (Holy Cinderella Batman!)

In fact, if not for that awesome catch by Matsui to end the fifth, we could be looking at a different game outcome here thanks to Igawa.

I’m very anxious to see Igawa’s next start – against an American League team, in a hitter’s ballpark. I think that game will tell us more about whether or not he’s made any improvements to his game.

The Yankees won this contest because of their bullpen and because the Giants’ Matt Cain had a rough night. Kei Igawa really didn’t have that much to do with it, at all.

I caught the last third of this game, on the radio, driving home from work. (Tons of I-287 traffic, rain, and a long drive meant I had lots of time to listen.) I cannot pick up 880 AM by my office – so, I listened to the feed on X-M Radio…which was the Rockies broadcasters. I did this until I got closer to home…where I was able to switch to Waldman and Sterling for the last inning.

I always find it strange to listen to a Yankees game being done by the other team’s broadcasters. It’s like I’m Michael Stivic asking Gloria to put on the black wig.

In any event, I was glad to catch the post-game with Sterling and Waldman. They said that the Yankees played a terrible game in terms of making “mental mistakes” – Jeter getting thrown out on the bases, Cano getting doubled up, and Abreu missing a sign. They said that Jeter, after the game, agreed that the team is pressing.

Not exactly what you would expect to hear from a team that won 11 of 12 before this three game set.

So, the Yankees are now “just” a .500 team again. And, there’s a great chance that they could be around four games under .500 (or worse) by the All-Star break.

Hmmm…less than .500 at the break and making mental mistakes. Well, if Joe Torre can survive that, then he really is the Teflon Torre.

How’s that for a kick in the pants?