It is an overused baseball axiom, but its’ truth cannot be denied; pitching wins championships. A week ago, the Yankee pitching staff was a mess, now it has turned in five straight quality starts, the latest coming from rookie, Chien-Ming Wang, who pitched seven and a third innings of solid baseball as the Yankees beat the Mariners 7-4. The victory was a season-high fourth in a row and brought the Yankee record to 15-19.
Tino Martinez continued his torrid May, hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive game and bringing his average up to .346 for the month. Tino’s resurgence has been a big plus for the Yankees because Jason Giambi continues to slump. Giambi is hitless since April 28th and seems afraid to swing the bat. With his average down to .195, Giambi, Joe Torre and GM, Brian Cashman, met to discuss their options before the game. While it is rumored that sending Giambi to the minors was mentioned during the meeting, none of the parties would confirm it. It is clear that something has to change for Giambi and maybe escaping the pressures of New York for Columbus, OH, would allow him to clear his head and get back to baseball. Then again, it is possible that he isn’t a major league caliber player without using steroids and what we have seen so far is the best we will.
The Yankees conclude their homestand Wednesday with a game against the Mariners before heading to Oakland for three games over the weekend. Mike Mussina, Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson are scheduled to face the A’s.
Photo by AP/Kathy Willens via ESPN
