Split-tastic

 Photo: Getty Images

At least the split makes it so that I only have to use one picture (the new Blogger text editor makes it extremely difficult to move multiple pictures around). As it turns out, I was able to see all of game 1 before I went to work. Rick Porcello finally had a breakthrough. I had kept seeing baby steps in his last couple starts, but this was one of his best starts ever, even though he only struck out two. It was very impressive. Let’s hope he can keep that up. It was somewhat disappointing to not score more against a previously struggling pitcher, but it was enough. Brennan Boesch had another big day at the plate. Maggs provided the other RBI. And Jose Valverde can just keep on dancing.

I missed most of game 2, but it was not as pretty, in several senses of the word. However, word is that Jeremy Bonderman pitched some of his best baseball of the season. He got victimized by stolen bases and seeing-eye singles. The bullpen kind of imploded in the ninth and that made no sense, especially while Phil Coke was on the mound, because it didn’t seem like the Yankees were stinging the ball in that inning. Alfredo Figaro came in and initially ran into the same bad luck as Coke, but then just plain unraveled. I’m not too sure he’d be the ideal person to start on Sunday. I can’t tell you anything about the lack of offense against Phil Hughes, because all I saw was a Ramon Santiago pop-up. What I can tell you is that I give the mohawks a big thumbs down. I do not find them attractive at all and I can’t fathom why anyone would. One, mohawks remind me of a bunch of obnoxious kids I knew in middle school (and they’re probably still obnoxious as adults). Two, guys should not have unnatural baldness (technically, neither should girls, but that’s beside the point). Not to mention the fact that it’s completely unoriginal (Start your own unity gimmick guys; don’t go stealing from the Tampa Bay Rays). That said, fauxhawks are okay, though not my first choice (therefore, Fu Te Ni actually doesn’t look that bad). And so far, the only somewhat attractive casualty was Ryan Perry, so as long as it’s just the bullpen (plus Bonderman, Damon, and Avila), I’ll let it slide. Just…no one else, please (Seriously, I don’t think Miguel Cabrera is attractive, but he’d look terrible, and besides, I like the ‘fro).

For the final game in this series, it’s got what you might call the marquee pitching matchup. Justin Verlander (who thankfully so far has not jumped onto the mohawk bandwagon, but now I’m going to spend the rest of the season terrified that he will) has won his last two starts. He wasn’t as good against Cleveland as he had been against the Angels, but hopefully that was just because of the bad conditions on the field that day. He started two games against the Yankees last year and pitched well in both, but won one and lost the other. And it seems like he’s matched up against CC Sabathia a lot in his career, including both his starts against the Yankees last year. I’m not going to look this up, but it seems as though Sabathia usually gets the better of Verlander. Tigers who have hit Sabathia well are Miguel Cabrera (.625 with a home run), Ramon Santiago (.333), and Gerald Laird (.417 with a home run). Brandon Inge has not had nearly as much success (.149 with 14 strikeouts). Amazingly, Magglio has had a whopping 61 at-bats against him. The average is rather pedestrian (.262), but he does have three home runs. And how crazy am I? I missed Verlander’s last start, and I won’t be able to watch a whole game again until Sunday, and yet I’m going to visit my best friend and her baby. Maybe I’ll be home in time for the end. Of course, it’s supposed to rain.