Yankees 6, Blue Jays 4

Well, despite the triple, Mo was Mo and he secured a win for his 14th save of the year.  The Yankees managed to survive another outing by the not-so-great Hong Kong Phooey.  Believe it or not, by giving up 3 runs in 5 innings (not an incredibly BAD outing, I'll admit), Igawa was able to lower his ERA.  He's now floating just under 7 (6.97).  Awesome. I'm not sure HKP is even worth discussing further.  He's gone as soon as Phil Hughes heals up at the end of the month.

On a good note, the Yankee bats are still full of power.  4 of their 6 runs came on homeruns, including A-Rod's 32nd (and his 89th ice cream).  Robbie Cano hit his 7th, another good sign from the young second baseman.  Like I wrote before the break, we keep hearing about his power but he hasn't really shown it to us yet.  He's put it on display in July, hitting 4 homeruns and 2 doubles.  Not exactly a dramatic month, but better than we're used to (he hit 1 in each previous month, including a homerless streak of June 1-July 3).  If he could just learn to take some pitches, he might be everything he's cracked up to be (he's struck out 3 times more than he's walked this month).

On a less good note, Johnny Damon cannot continue to lead off.  I'm not sure who would be a better choice, but Damon is simpy not working out.  His average is at .241 after tonight's 0-for-4.  His OBP is around .340 (lower after tonight, I think).  Johnny Damon is simply not on base enough to be leading off and a lead off man that isn't on base is scarcely a leadoff man at all.  He's already been taken off of centerfield duty because he's not really performing well there either.  I think if the Yankees are going to make a trade, this is where they should focus.  While a decent bullpen arm would be nice, a backup catcher would be great, what about someone that can lead off?  And maybe even play first?  Just throwing that out there.  Rumor has it Dan Johnson in Oakland is a possibility.  He's not on base much more than Damon, though (and less than Andy Philips who is batting over .300 and picked up the game winning RBIs tonight).

This post is feeling kind of negative.  I'm not entirely sure why, it's just what I wanted to talk about.  Unfortunately, the Red Sox won, but the night wasn't a complete wash.  The Indians lost, moving the Yankees within 7 games of the Wild Card.  Minnesota is off and Seattle is losing.  When you're having a season like the Yankees are, gaining any ground is a positive, even if it's in the Wild Card race.

Go Yankees!