Finally hitting when it counts

A win's a win, and last night's 9-5 victory over the White Sox in Chicago was as good as any other.... but it may have been even better, since the Yankees, for the first time this season, came from behind late in a game to win it.

Bobby Abreu's grand slam may signal that the three-week lack of clutch hitting is over, at least for a while, and Yankee fans will take that. During the 10-10 stretch that ended with Monday's off day, Yankee fans were not so much upset at the record as they were pissed off at how the record was attained -- poor clutch hitting and terrible relief pitching (not to mention three-fifths of the starting rotation taking its time getting into gear).

The poor clutch hitting ended last night, at least for one game. Besides Abreu's slam, Johnny Damon rapped a three-run home run. Both himers came with two outs, and Abreu's erased a 3-2 Yankee deficit. Damon's padded a lead, something the Yankees have not been able to do all month.

And while Jason Giambi's solo shot to lead off the second inning may not have been clutch, it gave the big man something to smile about and a chance to take a deep breath. That Robinson Cano came on later with a double means all three struggling Yankees -- Cano, Damon, and Giambi -- had nights to remember.

Their bats were needed to bail out a less-than-stellar Chien-Ming Wang. Wang got the win, but hardly looked like a 4-0 pitcher. He was lucky to get out of last week's Boston game with a no-decision, and Abreu's timely slam last night got Wang off the hook for another potential loss. For more than a few games now, Wang has been abandoned by his signature ground-ball out. With Posada back full-time (hopefully), maybe Wang will re-discover what got him here.

But all's well that ends well, and the Yankees got it done at the plate last night against a decent pitching staff. As for the Yankees' poor relief pitching...... that's another story.

Nothing comes easy

That might be the unofficial motto of the Yankee bullpen this season. Even with a 9-3 lead, how many Yankee fans were resting easy watching this one get wrapped up? Not many.

Bring in Billy Traber to get a lefty out; Traber walks the lefty. Bring in Brian Bruney to get through the seventh, and Bruney walks his first batter. Bruney got a strikeout but gave up an infield hit to A.J. Pierzynski. Bring in Joba Chamberlain... and another walk to force in a run!

Sheesh!

Chamberlain settled down and got through the seventh and the eighth with no further trouble. But in comes Kyle Farnsworth, in a non-save situation, and what happens? A solo home run to Pierzynski. That made it 9-5, and a collective groan must have risen up over New York City.

We're all going to age a decade before the end of this season's stress.

Mussina must be joking

Tyler Kepner doesn't give the exact quote in his piece on the New York Times website, but if Mike Mussina really said something to the effect that he isn't really upset about the way he's pitched this season, then he's either senile, in denial, or just plain careless about letting himself think out loud.

Mussina would be nuts to take any measure of satisfaction from the way he has pitched this season. Saying that he "must have figured something out" to still be in the big leagues after 18 seasons means Mike is looking at his legacy rather than worrying about how to help this team, this season.

Is it any wonder that rumors have never stopped circulating that Mussina is one of the least-popular players in the clubhouse? If Kepner's reporting is accurate, then Mussina's selfishness ought to give fans cause to worry if he has any hope of improving what has been a completely unsatisfactory performance in 2008.

Bad Moose.... Baaaaaaaaaad Moose!