I'M BACK...

...and I'm bad. ...Or is it a "bad back?"

***YANKS LOSE ROUND ONE***
The score was 6-4, but it wasn't that close. A-Rod still isn't scaring anyone at the plate. He went 0-5 with two strike outs, and left six men on base, two of them in scoring position. The rumor is he went only 1-5 in batting practice. too. I'm no expert, but it looks to me like there is a "loop" in his swing that makes it hard to square up on the ball.
Posada, who took over at first for Teixeira, hit well, so maybe there is some truth in his belief that it's hard to go from an everyday player to a DH. We'll see tonight, because I don't think Teixeira will be in the lineup except maybe as a DH.
There is also some speculation that the Yanks may retaliate for Lester hitting two Yankees last night. Girardi also seems upset at that the way David Ortiz "flipped" his bat after hitting a home run. After watching Reggie Jackson power-flip his bat after homers, I have nothing to say about that.
Then there's Freddie Garcia. If he didn't have a different uniform on, the Red Sox might have thought it was still batting practice. To paraphrase an unknown source, you know your pitcher isn't doing well when the grounds crew drags the infield AND the warning track in the fifth inning. When the Yanks took the field in the 2nd inning, the bat boy came running out to give catcher Russell Martin his catcher's mitt. "I didn't forget it," said Martin. "I didn't think I'd need it."

***FROM MY LATEST HERO, JANICE HOUGH***
"Nationals prospect Bryce Harper, 18, blew a kiss to the opposing pitcher in Single A after hitting a home run. If Harper had done that to Nolan Ryan, we'd be discussing plans for his funeral."

CP-