Moose and the Pen Stifle the Tribe

So Mike Mussina pitched 5 strong innings against the Indians and the Yankee bullpen didn’t let the victory slip after Albaladejo, Farnsworth, Joba and Mo contained the lead. The offense looked pretty terrible for most of the game, however, they did come alive at the right moments and with a little bit of luck, they were able to overcome Cleveland and split the series.

Posada News: Torn Labrum?

From Tyler Kepner:

The Yankees fear that Posada could have damaged his labrum by trying to play through a muscle tear in his shoulder this month.

Let’s hope that’s not the case. The article also states that the Yanks were feeding Jorge painkillers and that he did in fact receive a cortisone shot. I really don’t understand why the Yankees felt the need to rush him back. They waited with Jeter, so why not Posada, who is more valuable to the club?

Game 4: Yanks VS. Indians

Finally, this series comes to an end. Here’s the lineup (via PA):

YANKEES
Cabrera CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez DH
Giambi 1B
Matsui LF
Ensberg 3B
Cano 2B
Molina C
Mussina RHP

I understand Girardi’s desire to give our guys enough opportunities to rest so that they don’t get worn down later on, but wasn’t all that endurance training during the spring meant to hold them over for the season (well, for most of it anyway)? Stability and routine are obviously important things to ballplayers and it would be nice to see the same lineup in there, especially when Damon is raking.

Mike Mussina is on the mound and I’m sure the Indians are happy to see anyone other than Chien-Ming Wang toeing the rubber. For those of you wondering about Jorge Posada, there’s nothing new on that front right now. However, Jorge did leave to see a specialist, Dr. James Andrews, this morning in order to find out what’s going on as soon as possible.

UPDATE (9:02) —  This guy no-hit the Yankees through 5 innings. Good god.

Wang Evolving

During the offseason, and even now, Hank Steinbrenner, Jorge Posada, Robinson Cano, sportswriters, columnists, everyone kept saying that we needed a Beckett-type or a Santana-type. You know, a big strikeout guy. Wang was dogged for being an effective pitcher and not a strikeout pitcher, although it seemed likely that K’s were on the horizon. The Yanks even extended Robinson Cano and left Chien-Ming Wang out in the cold. These are just a few of the things that have motivated Chien-Ming Wang this year and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do as the season progresses.

Currently, he has 39 IP and 27 K’s (6.23 K/9). Wang has more K’s than Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, Roy Halladay, Oliver Perez, Ben Sheets and John Maine, while he’s tied with guys like Chris Young and Roy Oswalt. His 27 K’s are the most he’s ever had in a month. While Wang won’t collect 200, 180, or 160 K’s anytime soon, he could definitely get up there this year (130?) and maybe earn himself that Cy Young award that has eluded him these past few years. Guys can’t sit on his sinker anymore and that’s going to be a problem for everyone.

When It Rains, It Pours

Roger Clemens reportedly had a 10-year affair with country singer, Mindy McCready. I wonder if she did HGH too? Okay, just kidding…

Food for Thought

I was thinking about the Jorge Posada situation and was wondering about some of the possible outcomes that could develop depending on Dr. Andrews’ (his doctor) analysis of Posada’s shoulder. What if Posada is told that he’ll need surgery but that he can bat for an extended period of time and be fine? Would that allow Jorge Posada to become our regular 1B and hold off on the surgery until the end of the season? Would the Yanks place Jason Giambi on the bench while Posada plays 1B and Jose Molina does the catching?

That would make for an interesting conversation. In the end, it’s probably best for Jorge to rest up and do whatever it is that he has to do in order to regain strength in that shoulder. However, if Jason Giambi is still in the gutter come mid-May (even if he hits a few more homers) would you think about starting Posada at first, full time? It’s definitely something to think about.