Liveblog 27: I Don't Really Like Joe Torre

I was surprised to learn that last night was the first time former Yankee manager Joe Torre had ever competed against the team in any capacity, whether as a player or coach. It made more sense though when I remembered that there was no interleague play back when he was on the field, and he was always a National League guy before joining the Yanks. Ah, interleague play, something we all love so much, right? Um. Anyway, the Yankees won the first game against Torre's Dodgers last night on the strength of a great start from CC Sabathia and a tie breaking home run by Alex Rodriguez, which had to feel good after some of the stuff that was said about him in Torre's book. Tonight A.J. Burnett, who's been pretty awful lately, changing his season from good to sub-average in nearly the blink of an eye, faces off against Hiroki Kuroda. I'm not actually sure if I'll be here when the game's happening though... huh. I'll try to talk about it if I can. I know how much you love my comments on sports! Go USA!

Top 1 - Darn that soccer game. I feel like the US should have won, but Ghana just played better in the first half and held them off well in extra time. Maybe in four years. Anyway, Derek Jeter leads off with a walk. Curtis Granderson swings through strike two, but Jeter steals second and reaches third after the ball skips away. The next pitch is ball four, and the Yankees are in a great position to score here. Mark Teixeira might finally be turning things around, and he continues that idea with a three run home run to right field on a high fastball. A-Rod lines a pitch to center, but right to Matt Kemp who makes the catch. Robinson Cano strikes out swinging. He's currently leading the league in hitting like many a broadcaster has predicted he one day might. Probably the best hitter on the team right now. Nick Swisher grounds out to first for the third out.

Bottom 1 - Did you see Edwin Jackson's no-hitter last night? Eight walks and a hit by pitch. The Diamondbacks actually got a force out at home at one point. That will go down as the least impressive career-defining feat of all time. Rafael Furcal leads off A.J. with a single to left. Tim McCarver's already pounding on Burnett for pitching like "they're tied", rather than with a lead. It's the second at bat, Tim. Calm down. Kemp strikes out on a couple breaking balls. They're talking about the game a couple days ago where the Dodgers lost partly because of mental mistakes, but also partly because the umpires totally jobbed them. I always enjoy seeing whenever a team (besides the Yankees) manages to lose in a crazy and depressing way. Andre Ethier singles, runners on the corners for Manny Ramirez. He belts a ground rule double, Yankees lead 3-1 with runners on second and third. I do think A.J. was good for the Yankees in the playoffs last year, but the five year deal really was probably a mistake. Javy Vazquez couldn't get an out to save his life in April and now their numbers look almost identical. Brett Gardner makes a nice effort to shag a James Loney fly ball, but a run scores on the sacrifice. Casey Blake watches strike one get called ball two. Francisco Cervelli throws on ball three and almost catches Manny off second. Full count to Blake. A third straight fastball gets him swinging, and A.J. keeps his ERA under 5 for the time being.

Top 2 - While I was eating, the Yankees failed to score.

Bottom 2 - So did the Dodgers.

Top 3 - Okay, I gotta go! Bye!

Wrap-Up - The Yankees lost, which makes me less happy than I was before they lost. They still have a two game lead in the AL East though, which is nice.