Today's Matchup: Jarrod Washburn (0-0, 4.07) vs. Mike Mussina (1-1, 4.50)

I decided on no further updates to last night's game (Richard said what needed to be said), but I figure I can get some final analysis in before today's preview. First of all, don't necessarliy expect the Yankees to repeat that perfomance. A player hitting 3 home runs in a game is essentially a fluke and A-Rod was essentially the only Yankee actually producing. And even then, A-Rod was only really producing against Colon. Another point to be made is why the hell was Colon in the ballgame for A-Rod's third home run? A-Rod had already hit 2 in 2 tries, the game was within reach at 6-2, Colon was nearing 100 pitches thrown already (he would not have pitched the next inning anyways) and the bases were loaded. It seems obvious to me that Scioscia should have taken him out at that point. Or hell, switch Colon and Erstad for a batter...Erstad probably had a better chance of keeping the ball in the park.

Anyways, the Yankees are probably out of runs for the series, so Wash should perform adequately tonight. Speaking of which, every one of Wash's starts this year have gone to extra innings (hence all the no decisions), with both Angel victories coming in come from 4+ runs down. The game is on ESPN tonight, so I get to watch another, but there is also a Lost thing on, so I will miss a lot of the middle section of the game.

RICHARD (4:04 PDT): I'm actually around to see this one today, so I'm up for some good ol' fashioned liveblogging. I know that thrills you all.

RICHARD (4:05 PDT): By the by, Maicer Izturis has been placed on the DL with a "sprained medial collateral ligament of the left knee." No word on who's up in his place.

JOSH (6:35 CDT): After the delay, Figgins gets to 3rd with 1 out and the meat up, and Vlad strikes out and GA grounds out to Mussina. Then Wash walks Jeter and Williams hit a shot down the 3rd base line (Dallas just missed it) and GA fired a strike to the plate to get Jeter at the plate. Jeter was limping at the play, no word on him yet.

RICHARD (5:05 PDT): That's the third time Darin Erstad has been the victim of catcher interference. How strange. I don't recall seeing three instances of catcher interference all last season.

RICHARD (5:16 PDT): Beautiful turn from Chone Figgins with Tony Womack practically in his jersey. Figgins remains a defensive enigma: he has such trouble with the mundane, but he always provides hope with the spectacular.

RICHARD (5:23 PDT): The middle of the order comes through: double from Vlad, followed by an RBI single from Garret and a blast by Finley makes it 3-0 Angels in the third.

RICHARD (5:23 PDT): The official scorer has erased JoMo's (JoMo? Oh, that's just not right...) second inning error, ruling his wild throw a sacrifice and a fielders choice. So we're just supposed to ignore the fact that no one made an out on the play.

RICHARD (5:52 PDT): I'm sure this is what Bill Stoneman envisioned when he was constructing this lineup - Vlad, Garret, and Finley doing all the heavy lifting.

JOSH (7:52 CDT): Flipped back to the game right at a commercial and the first pitch I see is ball that GA just blasted, knocking in him and Vlad.

JOSH (8:07 CDT): Wash is doing a great job keeping his head in the game and getting out of jams. Of course that means he is getting into jams in the first place.

RICHARD (618 PDT): Yes, far too many double plays from a guy who generally doesn't induce a lot of ground balls. Don't count on those extra outs coming in bundles like this in the future.

JOSH (8:24 PM): Great diving play by McPherson. The team defense is really good today (even taking into account Molina's throwing error).

JOSH (8:35 PM): A quick comment on Chris Berman as a play-by-play announcer...he is terrible. He needs to stick to what he is good at, which is fast-paced highlight reels. And for that matter, most national announcers for all sports suck any more. I hate how they always say complimentary things and certainly nothing negative (or at least they put the best spin on the negative things).

JOSH (8:43 PM): And out goes Wash, 7.2 innings, 9 hits, 2 walks, 4 Ks, and 1 ER on a solo HR. Shields is taking over, probably with the hopes he will finish it.

RICHARD (6:56 PDT): JoMo steals second. Worst. Slide. Ever. That might not have looked so bad had he been breaking up a double play, but on a a straight steal it was just embarrassing.

RICHARD (7:04 PDT): re: Chris Berman. Would you rather be stuck with Steve and Rex (like I am)? Or, God forbid, Joe Morgan?

JOSH 9:08 CDT): Yes, I would. I actually find Rex and Steve to be decent as long as I don't hear them multiple times in the same series (they tend to repeat the exact same anecdotes every game). Besides, I like pandering to the Angels more than I like pandering to the Yankees (which is about 75% of what Berman talked about). As far as the game, very solid, good to see last night's clubbing didn't stick. Wash needs to keep pitching like this.

RICHARD (8:00 PDT): Here's the box, by the way.