Bull($#!^)pen

After taking the first two games against the Sox with impressive hitting, pitching, and defense the Yankees proceeded to abandon their recent success by turning to the tandem of Proctor and Erickson to piss Game 3 away.

I was on the Proctor bandwagon to start the season, so I'm not going to pretend that I knew it all along, but he has no real track record of prolonged success, and it appears his status as a flash-in-the-pan hurler is being confirmed nightly before the eyes of incredulous Yankee fans everywhere. Erickson on the other hand is as big a has-been (or rather "never-really-was") as there in the the entire Major Leagues. Why he's pitching in Yanks vs. Sox games is stunning to say the least. The way I look at it, the Yankees bullpen minus Mariano has done nothing to instill confidence from Day One. Some of the guys we have on the team have shown flashes of ability, but more often than not they have coughed up the game late. Farnsworth's mistake to Manny was erased by a highlight reel play by Melky Cabrera or else we'd be including him in this latest tongue-lashing as well.

This is about Proctor and Erickson. If you're going to waste the late innings of ballgames on these two clowns, why not bring up Colter Bean, or even T.J. Beam for goodness sake. They couldn't possibly be worse than Proctor and Tom Selleck. In fact, I'd rather see T.C. get a shot at a relief appearance before either Rick or Magnum. I know Beam is just up to Columbus from AA Trenton, but he has been dominant and may stick at the Major League level given a chance. The Yanks probably want to save him from a confidence shaking experience in the Bigs if he gets rocked, so I can understand it if he stays at AAA. Both Proctor and Erickson have had their chances and have shown that their careers are generally a wash, so it's better to make some kind of move.

The rest of the game was interesting. Schilling was dominant. He kept the Yanks off balance, and there were more oh-fers on the night for talented guys than can be expected if the Yanks hope to win. With Schilling that good, the Yanks pen has to be even better. By the time Schilling had cruised into the later innings, our guys were playing Red Sox Merry Go Round on the bases. Matt Smith made an appearance, but it was a little late to read anything into his 1 inning of work.

The A's come to town with one of the worst offenses in the Majors, ranking in the bottom 25% in virtually every category. Their pitching is middle of the road, and the Yanks should take at least 2 of 3. The X-Factor is whether we see a regular lineup that features Damon, Jeter, Giambi, A-Rod, Cano, Posada, Phillips, Bernie and Cabrera. Jeter should be back soon. Any day now. With that team on the field and sensible bullpen choices (Free Ron Villone) winning this series should be easy. Go get 'em fellas. See you tomorrow.