I missed this one today – we took the kids to go see the Staten Island Yankees play the Hudson Valley Renegades.

The starter for the S.I. Yanks, Edgar Soto, got torched today: 7 ER in 3.67 IP. The crowd was really on him. It’s a shame. At this level, it’s all about getting your reps in. Yes, it’s nice to win. But, at the short-season A-ball level, it’s about getting PAs and facing batters. The crowd wanted Soto out of the game in the first inning.

I got to see Colin Curtis play for the Yankees. Despite the fact that he’s batting .342 for Staten Island, it looked like he needs work, still, against off-speed stuff.

Moving to the big team – it was nice to see Damon have a big day after he was one of the few brave enough to face the press after that mess on Saturday. Shame on the big boys who bolted out of the clubhouse as soon as they could yesterday.

You know, I hated Damon with a purple passion when he was on the Red Sox. But, boy, has he impressed me as a Yankee. Now I know why they loved him so much in Boston.

Looks like Moose had his A-game on today. After Unit’s F-game yesterday, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Brian Cashman must hate answering his phone at this moment.

You know what? It’s almost August. A legit playoff contender does not go out there at this stage of the season and gets it’s clock cleaned by a team as lowly as the Devil Rays are at this junction.

This is embarrassing with a capital “E.”

“W” is for the way you WIN with ease.
“A” is for the bullpen ARMS you please.
“N” is NASTY, NASTY mega-ground-ball-master-sassy.
“G” is GREAT that you do, each time out, no-thin’ new.

Thanks to Nat King Cole and “Worm Killer” for the inspiration.

When I woke up, it was right around 11 pm ET – and, the first sight I had upon opening my eyes was seeing Shawn Chacon on the mound for the Yankees, in the 8th inning, with the bases loaded and no outs, with the score 7-6 in favor of the Rangers.

I felt like the guy from The Godfather who woke up to find the horse’s head in his bed.

And, then Chacon struck out DeRosa. That was good, but, I was still thinking “This is going to be bad.” However, Chacon then got the “Look what I found!” DP-liner to end the frame. All of a sudden, I started to chuckle to myself and I thought “You never really know in this game, do you?”

When Jeter singled in the 9th and then Giambi homered to give the Yankees the lead, I was more stunned than anything else. I was still groggy and fuzzy from the unexpected nap. Was I dreaming? Did I really see Chacon work out of bases juiced with no outs and then see this huge homer?

I looked around the room to see if Pam Anderson was near with a serving tray full of chocolate chip cookies or if Ed McMahon was walking towards me with an over-sized check from the Publishers Clearing House. Since I didn’t see either one of them, I knew that I could believe what I just saw.

Not too shabby.

But, when I saw the game recap, and how Texas took the lead in the 8th, I realized that Torre got lucky in this game. Bringing in Beam with a two-run lead is stupid. Asking Proctor to pitch for the 8th time in 12 days is criminal. Unless I missed something today, Farnsworth was well rested today and there’s an off-day following this game. He should be in this game in the 8th inning.

If Farnsworth is hurt, and I missed the report, then I’m sorry to bring up this point. But, if Farnsworth was available, and Torre doesn’t use him tonight, then he has no business making pitching moves.

Then again, if Chacon came into the game, maybe Farnsworth was not available for this game?

The whole thing is strange. Well, at least the Yankees won and now control the wildcard – - until Torre does something stupid to let it go.

Did the Yankees win this one, or, did Texas hand it to them?

There’s something about Aaron Guiel that makes me think of someone else. It’s his body-type, swing, etc. It’s still not coming to me. I want to say Don Mattingly – because he’s a smallish LH-batter, and he’s wearing # 46 (which was young Donnie’s first number). But, the swing, while at times looks Mattingly-ish, also reminds me of Ken Phelps and/or Dan Pasqua. In any event, Guiel has some skills. He’s not a bad part to have on your team. This was a good pick-up by the Yankees.

I spent most of the night clicking back and forth between this game and “Work Out” (on Bravo). And, I have to confess, I was more interested in Work Out.

Why?

I’m not sure. Maybe it was the lack of hits by the Yankees? Maybe it was just the pace of the game in general? Or, maybe it’s because I’m on sorta-Yankees-overload? Or, maybe it’s because this Yankees team, at this stage of the season, is not very interesting to watch?

Or, it’s some combination of these reasons.

Right now, I’m not too concerned about it – I’d rather worry more about who Aaron Guiel reminds me of when he’s hitting. It’s a more pleasant problem to tackle.

“Worm Killer” Wang was not at his all-time best today – but, he was plenty good enough (with 15 grounders in 6 IP) to keep the Yankees in this game – until “ProcFarnMo” ™ slammed the door on the last three innings.

And, tonight, I can now write:

Randy Johnson was not at his all-time best today – but, he was plenty good enough (with 7 whiffs in 6 IP) to keep the Yankees in this game – until “ProcFarnMo” ™ slammed the door on the last three innings.

By the way, tonight and this past Saturday were the only two wins for the Yankees in their last six games.

I believe we have found the formula for a victory in 2006: A solid six from the starter and then go to “ProcFarnMo” ™ to close.

But, perhaps the biggest news today is the injury to Damon before the game and the injury to Jeter during the game. Without these two players, the Yankees are done. Cross your fingers for the both of them, if you’re a Yankees fan.

Lastly – maybe I’m imagining this – or perhaps I’m just noticing it – but, has Jorge Posada switched to a new style of catching mask? Looking at him tonight, it appeared like he was wearing something that looked like Hannibal Lecter Meets Spiderman. In the past, I recall him wearing a mask that had two big handles on the side – something like what a Ferengi would wear during a masochistic escapade. Anyone else see this tonight?

Update, 7-25-06: Thanks to Jen for setting the record straight. Below, on the left, is Posada’s mask this past Thursday. And, on the right was one that he wore on Saturday. Looks like it’s just a matter of two different colored masks.

I missed this game today. We took the kids to go see the N.J. Jackals play. It’s not the greatest level of play, nor the most fun minor league park. But, the building where I work sits right behind CF – and, for $9 you can get a seat four rows behind the dugout as a walk-up. If you like watching live baseball, up close, and cheap – then the Jackals are your ticket.

So, now I’m three-for-three in terms of going to a minor league game this season and having the Yankees lose bad while I’m having fun at another park.

Looks like that object in the rear-view is getting closer still, huh?

You know, coming into this series, I mentioned that Damon, Melky, Jeter and A-Rod were the Yankees hot hitters in the month of July. And, I said that it would be helpful for them to keep it up in Toronto. So, how did they do? See below:

Damon: 5 for 16 (.313)
Jeter: 6 for 14 (.429)
Melky: 6 for 14 (.429)
A-Rod: 2 for 16 (.125)

Joe batting Alex Rodriguez in the clean-up spot during this entire big series did not help the team. Then again, I said a month ago that A-Rod, in New York, has never been at his best when batting fourth in the line-up.

It’s just another piece in the Alex Rodriguez puzzle.

Lastly, Ponson’s AL ERA this season is now 10.00. Think any G.M.’s of teams other than the Yankees will be quoting that number to Brian Cashman in phone calls this week?

It sure looks like the All-Star break was a good thing for Everyday Scottie Proctor, huh?

Just two days ago, I wrote about “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,”’s increasing K-rate (since he joined New York). And, what does he do today? He goes down on strikes four times – the first time he’s done this in a game since June 22, 1995. For those scoring at home, that’s a span of 4,048 days. (Really, I counted.)

Right now, Alex Rodriguez is playing so tight, that, if you stuck a Tyrannosaurus up his fanny, you would get gasoline.

And, at the current rate, that fuel would be worth about $1,400. (Really, I counted.)

In any event, this was a pretty big win for the Yankees – with them mounting a losing streak and with Boston losing today. The balk play that Jeter and Damon caused in the 6th just may have been the key to this one.

If you’re taping the game tomorrow, set your VCRs and DVDRs for at least 5 hours. This is just a hunch, but, I think it’s going to be a long one – given the pitchers starting on both sides and the hitting of these two teams.

But, the heart of the loss tonight centers on the Yankees bats doing nothing, on the whole, against A.J. Burnett- sans Rodriguez’ 2,000th career hit (which was also his 450th career HR).

Even the poor pitching of Jaret Wright is meaningless, to some extent, today, because the meat of the Yankees order went 2 for 12 this evening (and the bottom of the Bombers order went 1 for 10).

OK, so, the Yankees have now faced the Blue Jays best two starters (in terms of stuff) and have lost two games – allowing Toronto to get back into the race in the A.L. East.

The games on Saturday and Sunday will be the test now for New York. The starters that Toronto will run out there are not over-powering. It’s time for the Yankees bats to wake up and savage this series.

Back to A-Rod’s yips in the field, I do not believe that this situation has reached the Steve Sax/Chuck Knoblauch level – yet. But, it is concerning.

Looking at The Fielding Bible tonight, I’ve noticed something.

According to the stats in the book, A-Rod was the best fielding 3B in the AL during 2004 – with Eric Chavez close behind him. But, in 2005, Alex Rodriguez, overall for the season, was just about league average at 3B, defensively – with about a half-dozen guys in the AL doing a better job than him (at 3B).

Perhaps 2006 is just the continuation of the decline in Alex’s ability to play 3B? Personally, I would have guessed, at the start of this season, that A-Rod had, at least, another 4 seasons after this one before he would have to be moved off 3B. But, sometimes things happen quicker than you expect.

I’m not saying this decline, and need for a move, is a “sure-thing.” But, it’s something to keep on the radar this season – rather than ignore it completely – until A-Rod starts to show that he can be a good fielding 3B again.

At one point in the story, the character of Archie Bunker orders Edith to not say the words “cling peaches” again. So, later in the episode, when Edith has to again describe how she dented the car with the can, instead of saying “cling peaches,” she refers to the can as “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm – in heavy syrup!”

Based on the harsh feedback that I have received lately from many readers of WasWatching.com, any time that I mention the recent play Alex Rodriguez, over the last 6 or 7 weeks, I’m at the point now where I feel as if I’ve been ordered, albeit more implied than clearly expressed, to never say the words “Alex Rodriguez” here again.

Therefore, herein, I’m pulling an Edith – just to be safe.

Kim Jones, in the YES post-game tonight, was asking everyone about the error that “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,” made in the bottom of the 6th tonight (and the impact that it had on the game) – including Torre, Mike Mussina, and “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,” himself.

Torre and “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,” had the responses to Jones’ questioning that you would expect. But, Mike Mussina, when reflecting on the play of “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,” had the following to say:

“We need him back the way he’s supposed to be.”

I think that comment speaks for itself – in volumes.

It’s sad that, in a game like tonight, coming off a bad loss in New York where a win today on the road against a tough pitcher would have been a lift (and needed as Boston has won four-in-a-row), the main talking point is “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,” again – when it should be anything ranging from the fine outing by Mussina to the funny shot YES had of Ron “Gator” Guidry drinking a cup of “Gator”-Ade in the Yankees dugout.

Sure, some may want to talk about Mariano Rivera. But, when you listen to the Yankees players in the post-game, they say that Wells just hit a good pitch. Tip your hat, and stuff like that. And, some might want to talk about Giambi and Phillips having somewhat rough nights at the plate today. And, maybe we should talk about that. But, after that comment by Mussina, well, expect another day where the focus is on “Mmmmmmmm, Mmmmmmmm,” – whether it’s fair or not, or, if you like it or not.