Yankees-Phillies musings

Musings on the Yankees’ 6-3 loss to the Phils last night, which unfortunately I saw in person…

--Bad A.J. Burnett. BAD A.J. BURNETT!

--Hate to criticize the good people who actually pony up for Yankees season tickets, but… how do you not show up to this game?? It’s a World Series rematch on a Wednesday night! Yet the stands were only 80 percent full, and the loudest cheers of the game came from Phillies fans. There are midseason tickets to give away and midseason tickets to keep, and this game belonged in the latter category.

--Czechvar beer: surprisingly good. Price tag of $11: not so much.

--I really should stop being surprised by Jamie Moyer. Every time I watch him pitch, I see his first 81-mph fastball of the night and think, “He’s about to get shelled.” And sometimes he does. But more often than not, he infuriates hitters with his Greg Maddux-like accuracy and the sadistic late movement on his pitches. Other than solo home runs by Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada, Moyer didn’t allow a baserunner until two outs in the seventh inning. At 47, the southpaw is the oldest pitcher to get a win against the Bombers in MLB history. There’s a reason he’s still out there pitching for a World Series contender while most of his contemporaries have been on the links for a decade.

--Best celebrity sighting: Simon and Garfunkel (though poor Art is looking more like Bea from “Grandma’s Boy” every day.)

--Worst celebrity sighting: Kathy Griffin. No comment.

--Not only is Cano leading the majors in batting average and hits, he’s seeing a lot more pitches than at any point in his career. After blasting a looooong home run to right field his first time up, the Yanks’ second baseman struck out in his second at-bat. But he worked the count from 1-2 to 3-2, a rarity for the former free swinger. Just another reason that Cano should be hitting third in the lineup and Mark Texeira should be hitting fifth.

--Again: ROBINSON CANO SHOULD BE HITTING THIRD AND MARK TEIXEIRA SHOULD BE HITTING FIFTH

--Heard in the crowd: “Texeira has one of the worst swings in baseball. He uppercuts at the ball every time from the right side.” Disclaimer: This was said by a Mets’ fan.

--I can look past Burnett’s pathetic performance (3 1/3 innings, six hits, four walks, six earned runs). The guy’s a mercurial head case, and you have to expect 4-5 starts a year where his stuff just isn’t there. But his failure to cover first base on a shot down the line that Teixeira stabbed is unforgivable. A.J., I don’t care that you’re pissed off because you’re playing like crap and gave up an RBI single to a guy hitting .143. Cover the damn base.

--Fielding roundup for Posada: Failed to stop a “wild pitch” from Burnett, let 38-year-old Raul Ibanez steal on him, dropped a pitchout when Chase Utley was actually going, and soft tossed a throw intended for Burnett into the ground five feet in front of him. The Jesus Montero era cannot come soon enough. As for Jorge… take the designated hitter role. Please. For all our sakes.

--One more time, with feeling: NO! NO! BAD A.J.!!!!