Game 99, Back It Up A Bit

 

In the midst of a 10-day, 10-game road trip the Yankees have decided to give everybody in the rotation an extra day of rest and hand the ball of tonight to Chris Capuano for the second game of a 4-game set in Arlington.  Capuano was miserable in three starts in May, going 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA before being sent to the bullpen where he wasn't much better (5.09 ERA in 12 appearances).  He'll square off against the 24-year-old lefty Martin Perez (0-1, 4.91) who's making his third start of the season after having Tommy John last year.  The Yankees have won five straight against lefties and are 17-11 overall after their win last night.
 

Hard to get excited about this start tonight.  Nobody wants to see fringe major leaguers making starts for you when you're trying to secure a division but the key word for this team from here on out is REST.  I hate babying players as much as the next guy but for the sake of a deep playoff run I'm willing to sit guys regularly to ensure that they're all upright come October.  Tanaka and Pineda are the two most important Yankees going forward.  If either one of them isn't right by the playoffs this team is going nowhere.

As for the position players...it cannot be overstated how much better Headley and Didi have looked this last month and how important they've been to the development of this team, not only at the plate but in the field.  The bottom of the lineup was abysmal for about three months this season.  Getting production after the 5-spot in the order makes this a completely different ball club.  They're still a piece or two away but if they can make a couple of moves before Friday, you might be looking at a team that could give the Royals a run for their money come October.

Lineup Tonight

Jacoby - CF
Gardy - LF
A-Rod - DH
Tex - 1B
Chris Young - RF
Headley - 3B
JR - C
Didi - SS
Brendan Ryan - 2B

Chris Capuano - SP