The Yankees may remember July 8 as the decisive day in their season if they don’t repeat as World Series champions.
That’s the day they were so close to acquiring Cliff Lee that you could picture him in pinstripes. The deal fell through when the Rangers trumped the Yankees by sending first baseman Justin Smoak to Seattle for the dominant lefty.
Texas showed Tuesday night why they were leading the AL West even before the acquisition of Lee. C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis were heading a decent rotation that has the potential to be much better with Lee. They have a lineup that is loaded with veterans Michael Young, Vladimir Guerrero and Bengie Molina. And it has MVP favorite Josh Hamilton with Ian Kinsler expected to return from a groin injury at the end of August.
But it was David Murphy who played hero Tuesday with a two-run homer off A.J. Burnett that gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Murphy later won it in the 10th with a single off Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees brought a lineup to Texas that didn’t have Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano or Jorge Posada, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this was a fluke.
Back to the point of this post: If the Yankees win the AL East they would play the AL Central winner (Twins/White Sox) in the ALDS. If the Rays win the East, the Yankees will be heading to Texas, where Lee and the Rangers will be waiting for them. Lee will get two starts in the five-game series, which makes the Rangers a team the Yankees should avoid. They saw what Lee was capable of in the World Series and they will see it again when the Rangers and Yankees finish this two-game set.
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The uncomfortable moment of the night was brought to you by SNY.
Jets owner Woody Johnson came to the booth to promote “Hard Knocks,” and was asked by Mets’ play-by-play man Gary Cohen if he was surprised how hard it was to sell the Jets’ PSLs.
After several seconds of awkward silence, Johnson said, “No, I am surprised how easy it was to sell the PSLs given the economy.”
And if you believe that one …
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I have a feeling tonight is the night. Yes, the Mets will make it two wins in a row when they play the Rockies. It would be the first time the team has earned back-to-back wins since June 22-23. Heck, they already won a Mike Pelfrey start in the second half, so anything is possible.
