Here Come the Yankees (And Other Stuff)

I was all set to make some joke about Devil Rays starting pitcher Seth McClung after he gave up two moon shots in the first inning. You know, something clever like, "McClung should change his name to 'McHung' after his performance last night against the Red Sox. He McHung two curveballs to Johnny Damon and David Ortiz and they McSent them into the right field seats." Well, my comedic talent was wasted on this gem because the game was delayed after an inning and a half with Boston leading 2-0. An hour and forty-three minutes later, Tim Corcoran trots out to the mound as the new Tampa Bay pitcher. I can't think of anything funny about the name "Corcoran."

It didn't much matter who was pitching for the Devil Rays because the Red Sox did something they haven't had much success with this season. Namely, beating the other teams in the AL East. In fact, heading into this game 22-26 against the likes of Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Toronto and New York. Other than the Yankees, I have no idea why the Sox have so much trouble with these teams that are a combined 28 games under .500 (with none having a winning record). Another one of life's mysteries, right up there with how Kevin Millar managed to keep a job in professional baseball that didn't require him to wash jock straps or rake dirt.

Anyway, the Yankees won again last night on a Jason Giambi-led comeback and remain 1.5 games back of the Red Sox. I guess there are a couple of lessons we can take away from the last week or so. First, if you're the Red Sox, don't count on the Royals to do anything but get swept by the Yankees if the game's in New York. And on a related note, Boston might want to think about not losing two of three to Kansas City during the last road trip, either.

Second, Jason Giambi is still pretty good. I mentioned a few weeks ago that I thought it was pretty funny that Giambi was once again hitting bombs, but now without the benefit of steroids. It was funny because that means that he probably never needed to get "Palmeiroed" in order to still be a great hitter. But now I'm having second thoughts about my second thoughts. I'm starting to think that Giambi's still on the juice and he's basically decided to say "Screw it. If I'm going down, I'm going down in a blaze of glory." How else do you explain the guy averaging two home runs a game since the All-Star break? Of course I have no proof of any of this and I'm a Red Sox fan who can now devote a lot of my time to making fun of the Yankees now that the Orioles are in real danger of finishing last in the AL East, so take that for what it's worth.