April 15 @ Minnesota - L 6-5

Ugh. This game makes me feel like crap.

It seemed like a glorious comeback. The Yankees rally late in the game to grab a lead off two very good pitchers in Santana and Crain. Mariano Rivera is in the game, albeit early. We win, right?

Nope. The umpire squeezes Mo, who had Luis Castillo struck out, and eventually it leads to Morneau's big single. Mo did the best he could, getting two strikeouts. But my question was... Torre, where was the IBB to Morneau? Hitting behind him is Tony Batista, who managed to get cut from his team in Japan. Not to mention a force out at 2nd isn't a bad thing on a turf field.

Oh, and bunting Jeter, who hadn't made an out all game, in the 8th? Stupid move. Plus, the weakness in our batting order was definately exposed tonight. I mentioned recently that some lefties need to be tossed in between the righties. A reader pointed out in a comment that Giambi and Matsui kill lefties, so who cares right? Lefties aren't the only hitters who suffer from a platoon split. For the second night in a row Minnesota brought in their power righties to pitch against Jeter, Sheffield, and Arod in the late innings, while switching to Liriano after the righties go down.

At least there are some positives from the game. Jeter and Damon looked great. Proctor pitched his heart out. Although he eventually tired, Mo looked pretty good. Several Yankees almost hit home runs in the big Metrodome. Giambi got a full day of rest, and both Jose Tabata and Austin Jackson tore it up for Charleston.

Amount remaining on Joe Torre's contract: 12,685,802 dollars