Not even Eric “Possessed By The Spirit of a Rookie Kevin Maas” Hinske could save New York in this one.

Man, was that seventh inning brutal, or what? And, it could have been worse if not for Johnny Damon making a “Pete Reiser catch” doing a header into the fence. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 3-4-2 infield RBI single before – like the one Scott Podsednik hit. Is it just me, or, did Alfredo Aceves lose a glass slipper on his way into the dugout when General Joe gave him the hook today? Yikes, between “Ace” and Sergio Mitre it was not a good night for Yankees pitchers of Mexican descent.

Damn, the White Sox just ran circles around the Yankees in that seventh inning. Jorge Posada is going to have some bad dreams after this one.

Back to Mitre, he was given a three-run lead before he took toe to the rubber in this one – and he blew it. But, that wasn’t the worst thing about this game…

…how about A-Rod in the ninth inning? Down by five, with one out, and you get thrown out at second, after not busting it out of the box, trying to stretch a single into a double…when you were dead by six feet? Michael Kay, on YES, suggested that Girardi should fine Rodriguez for that bonehead play. Me? I take it a step further – bench him for a day. Hey, why not, we have Jerry Hairston Jr. to play third now! (He types, tough in cheek.)

The Yankees have now lost four of their last seven – and have looked really, really, bad in those four losses. Don’t look now guys, but, Boston is just one game back in the loss column after today…could it be possible that the Red Sox actually pass the Yankees in the standings before Boston comes to the Bronx next weekend?

Wow. Talk about ugly….

And, then, to lose this one, in the bottom of the ninth…with two outs…on a hit by DeWayne Wise…DeWayne Wise? Wow. This one stings…

Hey, don’t look now, but, the Yankees are now 3-3 in their last six games…

…that’s not terrible. But, it ain’t great either.

The only other time he had a Game Score that high was on July 25, 2008 (which was also 79). The only other times, besides this game and that one against Boston last year, where he had a Game Score of 70+ were on July 24, 2009 (72) and on April 29, 2009 (70).

So, you can say two things here:

1. In this game, Chamberlain pitched one of the two best games that he’s ever thrown as a big league starter. And,
2. With this game, Chamberlain has now thrown his best back-to-back starts as a major league starter.

Oh, and, by the way, he could not have picked a better time, or opponent to do this against, as this was a big game for the Yankees. Now, if Joba keeps this up, will the Yankees still look to limit his innings pitched this season? Ah, that’s a tough one, huh?

Michael Kay, covering the game for YES, described the Yankees play in this one as “flat and sloppy.” As much as many often like to disagree with Kay’s calls, I doubt many who watched this game could beef about this one. Dead, solid, perfect, Michael. Flat and sloppy, indeed.

O.K., how about during the eighth inning, when it was 7-3, Yanks, when the Rays had runners on first and second, albeit with two outs, and Carlos Pena at the plate? Were you nervous then?

Com’on…be honest.

Well, I was nervous in the eighth, for sure. But, New York got out of that one and then blew the game open in the ninth. Good thing, too – since the Rays came out swinging in the ninth as well.

The Yanks had 22 baserunners in 9 innings during this one. But, even with all those great At Bats, I’m going with A.J. Burnett as the star of this game – as he was all you could hope for in a big game like this one. A very impressive win for Brian Cashman’s eighty-two-point-five million dollar man. And, a great game for the Yankees to win – given the opponent, location, standings and calendar.

The two-out RBI by Godzilla and Cano in the first.
And, the first-pitch, one-out, RBI single by Jeter in the sixth.

Without those three hits, and bringing Rivera into the game in the 8th, then New York doesn’t win this game.

But, in any event, the days of just sneaking by the Tigers and feasting off the O’s and A’s are over now. Next, the Yankees hit the road for three in Tampa, four in Chicago, and two in Toronto…before coming back home to face Boston for four and Toronto for another three.

The Yankees next 16 games will be very interesting. And, here’s why:

With today’s results, New York has a 2.5 game lead in the A.L. East.

If they tread water over their next 16 games, and find themselves still just 2.5 games up at the close of business on August 12th, then it could get ugly for the Yankees after that – because they have a west coast trip starting on August 13th (with seven games against the M’s and A’s, combined) and, next, they head into Fenway Park for three tough games. And, you want a little more cushion (than 2.5 games) in the standings before that west coast trip and Fenway set.

Related, you don’t want to lose any games off that 2.5 game lead over these next 16 games, because then you’re on thin ice, or have fallen through the ice, before you head west and then hit the Fens.

Ideally, you’d like to see the Yankees go crazy – well, if you’re a fan of the team, like me – and see New York win 11 of their next 16 games before that west coast trip starting on August 13th. Can they do it? I really don’t know…

To be honest, while I’m wishing for the Yankees to go 11-5 over their next 16 games, it would not shock me to see them go 7-9 during this span as well…

So, maybe I should just split the difference and expect them to go something like 9-7 between now and August 13th? Then again, that would be just about treading water, no?

Two bad moves cost the Yankees this game:

1. Joe Girardi allowing Andy Pettitte to face Rajai Davis in the seventh inning.

2. Alfredo Aceves giving up that hit to Landon Powell in the seventh inning, with 2 outs, on an 0-2 count.

Well, at least Paul O’Neill and Al Leiter had some really good banter going today in the YES booth during the broadcast…

Then again, last season, after they won their 8th straight game following the break, New York went on a slide where they lost 13 of their next 19 games.

Yikes…let’s hope that doesn’t also happen for two years in a row.

The biggest story from this game? For me, it has to be Joba Chamberlain posting a Game Score of 72 – pitching on “normal” (4-days) rest. In the 14 career starts that he’s had before this one, while pitching on “normal” rest, the highest Game Score Joba has ever posted was a “70″ on April 29th of this season. And, that was the only time, in his career to date, before this game, where Chamberlain had a Game Score over 62 when pitching on 4-days rest.

So, was tonight a fluke, or a sign of things to come for Joba? Time will tell…

In any event, I still wish Chamberlain would not act like he just won a free ride on the orgasmatron with Angelina Jolie when he gets a strikeout in a big spot. Really Joba, next time you get someone on strikes, act like you’ve done it before…

Where would the Yankees be this season without CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira?

Brian Cashman’s plan for this season is looking really good, at this point, huh? Maybe the Yankees team T-Shirt slogan this year should be “Best $423.5 million spent…ever!” – because CC, A.J., and Tex are the big difference between last year’s Yankees and this year’s model….

Then again, maybe this one would have been not so close…if not for Carmen Sandiego?

Hey, bottom line, the Yankees won. And, that’s the most important thing.

An item, unrelated to this game, but something I wanted to share: This evening, I found myself at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ, to see Sparky Lyle’s Somerset Patriots host Tim Raines’ Newark Bears. (I was there due to a corporate function.) And, while I was at the park, it was announced that today is Sparky Lyle’s 65th birthday.

As you may know, I have a soft spot in my heart for Lyle. So, of course, I have to offer him a “Happy Birthday!” here – as well as my best wishes for many, many, more great birthdays to come.