I knew I saw your dad on "Fantasy Island"

I watched “Mr. And Mrs. Smith” on FX HD last night. There’s been discussion at work lately about the most rewatchable sports movies. “Major League” and “The Replacements” are high on that list.

Similarly, I’ll watch “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” every time it’s on, edited or not. It’s a great flick. Brad Pitt can do no wrong - ever, and don’t argue with me about this - and although I resent Angelina Jolie being smashed in my face as THE go-to female action star, it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role.

Vince Vaughn — not the character, the actor — always struck me as unnecessary, an afterthought, as if the producers just thought it would be fun to have him around. Anyone could have played Pitt’s buddy, but who doesn’t like Vince Vaughn? Really, who? No one? Good, then we’re agreed.

Shooting at each other, having sex, then shooting at the bad guys and blowing up your house in the process can be amazingly therapeutic but tough to explain to your insurance company.

In any case, it’s a slick action romp, sexy and smart, and especially welcome when Phil Hughes can’t through a strike, again ... and the Yankees get the bases loaded via the walk in two innings and do nothing to capitalize against an enormously over-rated Tigers team ... the Yankees bullpen, however was rock solid again. Four scoreless in Mussina’s win against Cleveland and 5-plus against the Tigres.

During commercials, I at least had the pleasure of watching Tigers Manager Jim Leyland age five years every time his pitcher threw ball four. And then watching Yankees Manager Joe Girardi age 10 years every time the Yankees trotted back to the dugout with a zero on the scoreboard.

Huh ...

So, the Yankees have crawled above .500, and they seemingly salvaged the 10-day road trip. At least, that's what Michael Kay wants us to believe.

What this last game in Cleveland produced was 5 so-so innings from Mike Mussina and 4 tremendous innings from an overworked Yankees bullpen. My wife wants me specifically mention Kyle Farnsworth. "Say something nice about him," she instructed me. Here goes: He pitched a great inning, staying on the corners and changing speeds. With Brian Bruney down, Farnsworth will have to pitch as if he has a brain in his head if the Yankees are going anywhere. Tonight was step one in that journey.

The 5-2 win wasn't domination, but the Yankees did prove turnabout is fair play. After the Indians pushed two cheapy runs across, and credit Mussina for limiting the damage in the bottom of the 4th, the Yankees turned two infield hits, a solid single, a hit batter and two ground balls into a 4-run swing and a 2-run lead. It's great to see an inning like this from the Yankees. It wasn't loud. It wasn't pretty. Johnny Damon's 8th inning walk and a skidding double up the gap from Hideki Matsui provided a need insurance run.

Mariano Rivera is inhuman. His mechanics never change. His velocity has been 93 mph since Day 1. His cutter still eats up bats and now he's throwing a 2-seamer to lefties. He's gone 11 innings this season. No walks, no runs, four hits, eight saves in eight tries. He's amazing, and every times he steps on the mound, it's a clinic of repetitive motion. It's been 13 years and the only thing that's changed, slightly, is his hairline.

Pitiful

I’m worried.

Wanger’s on pace to win the Cy Young, and Yankees are on pace, and yes, it’s early, to absolutely stink. Injuries and underachievement are rampant on this team, and Joe Girardi just stands there, looking smug and sometimes completely confused.

Jorge Posada’s hurt, Brian Bruney may be gone for the season. Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi are dead weight. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy look like rookies, with the exception of the last two innings Hughes threw against the ChiSox.

The only bright spots thus far are Wang and Mo Rivera, who’s got it backwards. You pitch like this in your walk year, not AFTER you get the big contract most people think is overpaying for a body of work likely never to be seen again.

At 13-13, the Yankees are ahead of only the lowly Blue Jays in the A.L. East. They’re looking up at the Rays, Orioles and Red Sox. It’s never too early to panic.

I hate you Joe Girardi

Joe Girardi is an idiot.

Phil Hughes goes 2 innings. Two and #@$%& rain comes. Our brain dead manager believes a 21 year old can't sit for 15 minutes or 20 minutes, get warm again and go get 'em.

Hughes was having arguably his best start of the season, throwing strikes getting ahead. Gavin Floyd can go back out, Hughes can't. Sense = zero.

The future is now Girardi! Now!! What are you protecting these guys from? Joe Torre was saddled with awful relievers for too long, so he relied on and probably wore out Mo Rivera - although you couldn't tell this year. Girardi, it was suggested, is gun shy from wearing down young arms in Florida. Nonsense. You let these guys throw. Let them build arm strength. Let them succeed when they're on the verge of it.

But no. Two innings.

By the way, Joba isn't unhittable, he's just crazy good most of the time. He had to fail some time, it's just a shame it happened last night, magnifying Girardi's awful decision making. Maybe if Joe relied less on stats and "the book" and went more with his gut ... oh wait, this is modern, progressive baseball.

Puke.

I'm loving Paul O'Neill and David Cone in the booth with Michael Kay. A hitter, and pitcher, a bloviator. Modern Yankees who still have ties to the team and old school sensibilities. Can't beat it.

Back from the dead

The Yanks got 7 strong innings from Mike Mussina tonight en route to what will likely be their 3rd win in a row.

But win or lose, Mussina finally, finally looked like a guy who's come to grips with his stuff and, more importantly, put faith in his catcher. Mussina shook off Jorge Posada once, by my count.

Mussina made two mistakes, and paid for both with home runs. The radar gun looked more like an AARP age range, but his location and speed changes, 83-63 kept the White Sox off balance all night.

Consider too, against the Red Sox, Mussina was throwing his fastball in the mid-80s and getting shelled. By pulling back just a little, he seemed to have a better idea where his pitches were going and the White Sox' bats were just a little too fast..

I've been calling for Mussina's head, but if he's set aside his stubbornness, maybe he can salvage his season and help the Yankees. By winnign games and truly being a mentor to those young guys (Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy) behind him.

We won two nights ago ...

We won yesterday ... if we win tonight, that's called "a winning streak." It has happened.

Wanger was shakey, but he gave the Yankees enough to win. Now, Mussina takes the mound. Argh. So much for the winning streak.

The Yankees showed a little resilience last night against a tough opponent, hopefully that will carry over.

A-Rod's injury is nicely timed with his scheduled absence for the birth of his daughter. Incidentally, research shows having a daughter costs $250,000 from birth to age 18, much more than a boy. At that cost, A-Rod's good for what, a thousand daughters? Get to work buddy.

Is anyone surprised Kyle Farnsworth gave up another junk homer last night? No? I thought not.
Hank Steinbrenner needs to sign more checks and talk less. A lot less.

No excuse for bad pitching, but ...

The Yankees have a day off. At 10-10, the team’s light years ahead of where they were at this time last year, but but they still stink. While their hitting hasn’t been stellar, their pitching has been awful. Mike Mussina’s done. Finished. And the children, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy look terrified to throw the ball near the plate.

Andy Pettitte and Chien-Ming Wang, excepting Wang’s last start, have been what the baseball cards say they are. Pettitte’s 2-0 in his last two starts, going 7 strong in each with 10 strikeouts and 3 earned runs. His ERA is 2.45 with 25 2/3 in 4 starts. Wanger got a no decision his last time out, but he’s still 3-0 with a respectable 3.81 ERA. His 7 walks are troubling, but he has one bad start in four when he’s up and wild. Those guys have vastly different styles, but they throw strikes. Smart strikes. They change speeds. They allow the ball to be put in play and turned into outs.

Mussina, Hughes and Kennedy are 1-8 on the season, and have thrown 50 2/3 innings combined. They’ve walked 26 batters. Contrast that with the 51 2/3 innings from Wang and Pettitte, and their 14 walks. Not hard to figure out why the Yankees are where they are.

Hughes and Kennedy have great stuff. Better than Pettitte at least. But Pettitte gets ahead of batters and doesn’t beat himself. Mussina’s nothing more than a batting practice pitcher at this point and if he throws another pitch to Manny Ramirez, Joe Girardi should be fired immediately.

Finally, Kyle Farnsworth got three games for missing ManRam. Figures. Let it be said, there is rampant anti-Yankees sentiment throughout the league and this is just another example. A-Rod gets drilled by the Red Sox. No biggy. Pete Martin sends Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter to the hospital, no problem (Sox again). Hideki Matsui gets plunked twice in the same game (Sox yet again). That’s fine. Shelley Duncan got suspended because Jonny Gomes (Rays) turned a 200-foot running start into a face plant into the back of Duncan’s legs. The pinstripers give a suggestion of retaliation and off to the naughty box you go. Farnsworth’s appeal will be upheld and he’ll likely get 2 games, instead of three. Still, it’s obvious and it’s garbage