Reaching up to touch bottom

Maybe this is what we should expect all season ...

Derek Jeter makes a 6-run error in the first inning, grounds into a double play in his first at-bat and then gets his hand crunched. Nice job by the Nike padded batting gloves Jeter has been sporting. No broken bones, but the sound was gruesome. I hadn’t noticed them until recently. Last advancement in this area was that floppy guard Jeff Bagwell used to wear.

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200805202738347

There was an offensive explosion in A-Rod’s first game off the DL, it’s just a shame it happened to the Yankees, not for them. The only bright spot in this horrid loss was A-Rod’s 2-run homer, accounting for the only Yanks runs in a 12-2 drubbing. And he looked pretty good running. The Yanks are always hyper-careful with injuries, and they were probably more so with A-Rod’s enormous leg.

Mike Mussina deserved better last night. He’s been the Yanks’ second best starter, with Andy Pettitte seemingly in a constant battle against himself.

And Daniel Cabrera must hate the Yankees. He looks like the Latin Cy Young out there every time. He’s 2-0 against them in 13 innings, surrendering 11 hits and four runs. Oddly, he’s hit three Yankees’ batters ... two walks and seven strikeouts.

Good for LaTroy Hawkins. He buzzed Luke Scott last night, setting off a baseball fight, which generally involves a lot of finger pointing, F-bombs and posturing. Joba Chamberlain looked like he was ready to get a piece of someone, but Kyle Farnsworth, as I’ve noted previously, is the guy with the track record. He’s the guy you want in the fight. Hopefully, tempers will flare tonight and he’ll break someone in two ...

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200805202738347

Finally, although Jose Molina is the best backup catcher in the history of baseball, but it’s clear why he’s a backup. He looks worn down. He’s getting lazy behind the plate, trying backhand balls he would normally square up to and take off the chest. His bat is dragging - he has 2 hits in his last 11 at-bats and 4 strikeouts and zero walks.

Bonus blogging: The John Flaherty drinking game: Drink every time he says “grind it out” or “he’s not trying to do too much.” You won’t remember your name by the third inning.