A FEW NOTES

***A HOOK AND THE ROOK***
Girardi finally seems to be losing confidence in Javier Vasquez, pulling him after 3 innings plus one batter and the score tied 4-4, yesterday. Javier has lost his fastball completely and he's probably going to end up competing with Gaudin & Mitre for the "Mop-Up" role.
On the bright side, the Yanks newest addition to the roster, Eduardo Nunez, came through with his first major league hit, a single to drive in the lead run. The Yankees' farm system doesn't seem as lean as some scouts say.

***SOME THINGS I READ***
From Buster Olney: "When Cliff Lee doesn't hit his spots, he gets lit up." Not exactly a revelation for any pitcher, Buster.
From the NY Post: "To say the Mets are dreadful, is insulting to the word dread." They're right. The Mets, as a team, appear to have bagged the season.
I need help understanding this one: "We all saw him sitting there in front of Congress, and it didn't go away, so you knew it was going somewhere at that point in time. ...I never really interrogated him about it because I didn't want to know. If it was something I didn't want to know, I certainly couldn't say I didn't know it."
It sounds like Casey Stengel, but it's really Joe Torre talking about Roger Clemens.

***GOOD NEWS AND SAD NEWS***
Vin Scully has announced that he will return next year. The consensus is that he is not only the best baseball announcer ever, but he's the best over-all sports announcer ever. I heartily agree.
Today is the last day for Sweet Lou Piniella, who has announced that he retiring after today's game. It has to do with his mother's health and it must have been bothering him for a while, because you could see he had lost his fire for the game and his fire was among the hottest in baseball.

***STRASBURG GETS HURT***
After throwing a pitch yesterday, Stephen Strasburg shook his right arm and winced in pain. Nationals manager, Jim Riggleman, was at the mound before Strasburg's pitch made it to the catcher. I think he brought with him a trainer, a doctor and a priest. He was taking no chances with that golden arm. You can be sure if Strasburg needs any kind of transplant, the Nationals will see to it that it comes out of Riggleman's body. Even if it's a heart. No truth to the rumor that he carried Strasburg all the way to the clubhouse on his back. Unless it's just a hangnail, they'll probably shut him down for the rest of the year.

***TODAY'S GAME***
It's raining, it's pouring (in New York), but Cano is not snoring, he's soaring. Another grand slam for the Yanks. Who do the Yanks opponents think is the most dangerous hitter in the Yankee lineup? It must be Mark Teixeira, because with all the damage the Yanks have done with the bases loaded this year, especially after walking Teixeira intentionally, they are still walking him. ...And still paying the price. It's 5-0 Yanks in a 6th inning rain delay.

CP-