THE ACE COMES THRU AGAIN

***YANKS WIN 4-1***
CC Sabathia provided the overpowering pitching and the Yankee offense chipped in with enough runs to cement the victory. Mariano Rivera got thru the 9th but he doesn't look as overpowering as he has in years past. Bret Gardner continues to impress after a very bad start to the season. Yesterday, he turned a bloop single to center into a hustling double, aided somewhat by an artificial turf bounce. His speed can actually be a game-changer.
Home plate umpire Todd Tichenor and Nick Swisher had a conversation after Tichenor rung him up on a third strike. The conversation was brief and looked harmless enough, but after Nick got back to the dugout, Joe Girardi came storming out and gave Todd a piece of his mind (Hopefully, a small piece). Nothing came of it, but it seems that it's another example of the contentious relationship umpires and managers have this year. This supposed to be Joe Torre's bailiwick, but every time he's asked about it, he says he's "looking into it." Joe, you've been in the league since 1960 in one capacity or another. What's left to study? I suspect nothing at all will happen this year.
Since any punishment that is doled out to the umpires is kept secret while player suspensions & fines become public knowledge, I think that contributes to the umpires aggressive stance on any problem. They appear to act like nothing every happens to them and that MLB is taking their side on every problem - they are never wrong. Publicize their punishments and the players and managers will feel like decisions made regarding as situation is fair and just. Never happen.

***AROUND THE LEAGUE***
John Lackey is making no friends in Boston. He continually gestures wildly out of frustration when anything goes against him, especially when his defense commits errors behind him. He also becomes visibly upset when manager Terry Francona comes out to replace him. This is a disgrace, especially when your record is 7-8 with a 6.70 ERA. If he doesn't quit this childish reaction, I doubt he will like the backlash that will occur.

Joe Girardi has been hinting that the Blue Jays are stealing signs from outside the field of play, considered a no-no in baseball circles. Joe thinks there are some parks where this is a possibility and Roger's Center in Toronto is one of them. Are they doing this? The Jays home record is 21-23, so it they are, they aren't very good at it.

The Seattle Mariners have scored exactly ONE run in their last three games. They are making the San Francisco Giants look like the '27 Yanks.

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Bleacher Report says the Pittsburgh Pirates were in 'unfamiliar territory' by being above .500 at the all-star break. That's right, unfamiliar territory. Like Paris Hilton being lost in thought." -- RJ Currie

Talking about the USA Women's Soccer Team: "Sometimes a team comes along like this out of nowhere and makes you watch and care, and it reminds you why you watched sports and cared about them in the first place. This is one of those days and one of those teams." -- Mike Lupica

I am becoming more and more annoyed with all the baloney and hype you have to watch on ESPN in order to get to the sports reporting. Apparently, so has Phil Mushnick, NY Post. Here is an excerpt from his column:
"ESPN again drove home the can’t-miss feeling that owning the TV rights to a major event, hyping the telecast of the event, listening to talk about the event, reading graphics about the event and otherwise proving that ESPN is, in fact, at the event, is more important than actually showing it."

The rest of the column was even funnier. Here's the link, if you're interested:
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/live_golf_hard_to_find_in_espn_open_xEPIDBZJrndA5J1MdpwHHO/0

CP-