Yankees Diaries

On a night when A.J. Burnett struggled, his teammates certainly had his back. The Yankees hit five home runs last night including two by Jorge Posada in a 9-6 win over the Orioles. It seems that the extra rest Joe Girardi gave Posada last week is really paying off as he continues to swing a hot bat. Aside from the mental blemishes Posada had, he was able to hit the two home runs and drive in three as well. Posada thought he was down on strikes as he headed to the dugout only to realize that was just two strikes as he belted his second home run of the game. In the second inning he worked a walk although hadn’t been paying attention to the count and had to be told by the home plate umpire that he had in fact earned first base. The Yankees continue to hit on all cylinders. The bats are hot, rotation looks good, and bullpen continues to do great work, there is just one facet that needs to be examined -- Burnett's continued struggles.

Burnett lasted just five and a third giving up eleven hits and being charged with six earned runs. Over the last week the Yankees have learned a few things about their starting rotation make up for the playoffs. It seemed as though Andy Pettitte will start game three of the playoffs with Joba odometer getting up there, but is it at all possible that the Yankees would give the ball to the ageless veteran left hander over Burnett. Burnett was 0-4 with a 6.03 earned run average in August, and last night provided no hope for a turn around as the calendar flipped. With Burnett going in one direction, Pettitte seems to be going in the other direction bringing a perfect game into the seventh and pitching amazing just two nights ago.

A potentially intriguing playoff matchup would be against the Angels who added young stud Scott Kazmir to their rotation. He has given fits to both the Yankees and the Red Sox in the past. CC Sabathia goes for his 16th win tonight as his recent good pitching has put his name in Cy Young talk. --- Andrew Cohen.