Happy 4th Of July From AB4AR

There are few things that outrank the Yankees in my world, but today they fall to 2nd on the priority list behind one thing- Murrica!  And what better way to celebrate the freedoms that the forefathers granted us than by stuffing our faces with food and getting drunk, right?!

In all seriousness, if there's one day where I don't want people on here reading my stuff, it's today.  Go out, enjoy the weather if it's good by you, and spend some quality time with your family and friends.  That's what I'll be doing, and if I have a good enough time I might not even make it home in time to write the game recap.

If you need a little help getting into a patriotic mood today, these should get your red, white, and blue juices going.  Happy 4th of July, everbody.





And if Joe needs something to get the boys focused and ready to pull their heads out of their asses tonight, he could always go this route:

Game 80 Wrap-Up: TB 7 NYY 4

(Nice catch, dickfor.  Courtesy of The AP)

Are the Yankees cursed at The Trop?? Seriously, what the hell is going on with this team and that stadium?  It's getting ri-goddamn-diculous and I've had about enough of it.  For the second straight night, things looked like they were all peaches and cream early for the Yankees, and then they very quickly fell apart in what ended up being a series-clinching loss.

Game Notes:

- The offense started rolling quickly in the 1st.  A pair of doubles by Derek Jeter and Curtis Granderson made it 1-0, and a Robinson Cano RBI single made it 2-0.  But Cano brainfarted on how many outs there were and got doubled up on a flyout to end the inning.  It was the first of many gaffes by the Yankees on the night.

- A Dewayne Wise solo shot in the 3rd made it 3-0, and it looked like the Yankees were fixing to cruise to another beatdown of James Shields, but the wheels came off Ivan Nova's wagon in the bottom half.

- Nova just couldn't locate his fastball and he gave up consecutive RBI singles to B.J. Upton and Jeff Keppinger to tie the game at 3.  Give an assist to Russell Martin, who dropped a perfect throw from Wise that would have been an out at the plate.

- Eric Chavez singled in a run in the 4th to give the Yankees the lead back, but Nova promptly gave it up in the bottom half by putting a fastball on a tee for Sean Rodriguez.  Shoulda intentionally walked him.  Nova wasn't awful last night, but he wasn't sharp either and his fastball really betrayed him after the first 2 innings.

- Martin's rough defensive night continued in the 7th when he one-hopped a throw to second into center field, allowing Desmond Jennings to trot home from third and Upton to advance.  The insurance run would score on a 2-out single by Ben Zobrist off of new Yankee Chad Qualls.

- Here's a list of the other bad moves the Yankees made last night. 1) Jeter's sac bunt in the 5th (dumb decision), 2) Rob Thomson sending Cano home on Raul Ibanez's double in the 6th (dumb decision), 3) Bringing Qualls into the game (never a good decision).  Just an all-around slopfest by the Yanks.