The Sommer Frieze

The lineup. Alex gets a night off.

YANKEES (82-48)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Hairston 3B
Cabrera CF

Pitching: LHP Andy Pettitte (11-6, 4.18).

Brad Penny became a free agent after going unclaimed on waivers. He signed with SF.

From Pete Abraham:

UPDATE, 6:07 p.m.: Good news on IPK via the AP:

Yankees pitcher Ian Kennedy will throw batting practice Wednesday for the first time since surgery May 12 to remove an aneurysm from beneath his right biceps.

Kennedy said he felt great after throwing 45 pitches off a mound Monday. The right-hander will make 30 pitches during Wednesday’s session. He also is scheduled to face hitters Saturday and the following Tuesday. 

Swishalicious! Swisher leads off the top of the 3rd with HR #22. 1-0 Yankees.

After 4, 1-0 Yanks. Andy is P*****T.

Update: The perfection lasted for 20 batters. With two out in the 7th, Hairston made an error to ruin the perfecto, and Pettitte gave up a hit with the next batter to end the no-no. In the 8th, he lost the shutout, giving up a HR to Mora.

But he didn’t lose the game. Andy improves to 12-6, 4.03. Win #190 as a Yankee passes Lefty Gomez for 3rd on the all-time Yankee list. It is #227 of his career, and you have to wonder what if he hadn’t gone to Houston. #1 on the Yankee list is Whitey Ford with 236 and #2 is Red Ruffing, who had 231 of his 273 wins as a Yankee.

Andy went 8, 1 R, 2 H and 8 K. Bruney got one man out in the 9th but put two on. In came Mo for save #37, #519 of his career. The incomparable Rivera lowered his ERA to 1.81 and escaped those August blues which he has frequently had.

Remember what I’ve written about. That Mo has had EIGHT sub-2.00 ERAs in his career and that no other closer has had more than four. 1.81 now. 31 games to go. Could #9 be on its way? For a 39 year old coming off shoulder surgery…just amazing. Next time someone argues about who is the greatest closer, throw that stat their way. What could be NINE sub-2.00 ERA seasons. … and as far as we know, he isn’t done yet.

One last thing about Andy. Last year, as we know, was the only season in his career that Pettitte didn’t have a winning record. He was 14-14. It seems safe to say that he’ll be on the winning side of the ledger this year. Only one man has ever had decisions in ten or more different seasons and had a winning record in each of those seasons—Babe Ruth. Granted some years were 1-0, 2-0 (when he was primarily an outfielder) but put it this way. He may have only pitched in one game that year, but he won that game.

As for the offense, Swisher HR’d (#22) for the 1st run, and doubled for the second. Jeter picked up hit #2711 (ten behind Gehrig) and Damon singled Jeter (who had doubled) home. Cano drove in two. It was only 2-0 when Andy lost his perfecto and no-no. The Yanks got the three insurance runs in the 8th.

Final, 5-1 Yanks. The magic # drops to 26. 6 1/2 up, 31 to go.   

What an August. No dog days for this bunch. 21-7 for the month.

April, 12-10, May 17-11, June 15-11, July 18-9, August 21-7. Cue the Beatles…
It’s getting better all the time …

83-48. After a 15-17 start, 68-31 since.

68-31. Better than two to one. A .687 winning pct. Do you know what that is over the course of a year? 111-51.

The 1998 Yankees were 114-48. Just to compare.

Let’s hope September and October are 1998-like.