Things were going along really well (oddly, the Yankee Stadium Jumbotron didn't relate the news of CC Sabathia going on the DL with a groin strain--imagine that!) until the fifth inning, when Casey Kotchman hit a ball hard up the middle and broke Andy Pettitte's fibula. And the Yankees won the game, although our pal the anti-Mariano made us sweat for it in the ninth inning.
Once again, the home team chose not to broadcast the news of Pettitte's injury to the hometown faithful (although I'm sure John Sterling would have told us about it--his "coverage" of the game (which is sort of like saying Picasso painted naked ladies) is piped into the men's rooms at the Stadium III, so if I'd had a bladder infection, I might have discovered that our first and second most reliable pitchers were both out for stretches with doctors and trainers.
You'd think a team that makes you spend $10 on a magazine just to get the scorecard inside would do a little bit more to keep its "guests" informed.
These injuries are bad, no two ways around it. Sabathia's, at least for the moment, doesn't seem like it will cause a long-term absence. Pettitte's undoubtedly will. And with not much-to-nothing available on the trade market (Matt Garza, anybody?), the Yankees will see if Seattle really DOES want to trade King Felix this time (they won't) and rely on Freddy Garcia, who saved everybody's bacon this afternoon, and one of a dozen kids they have in AA and AAA to fill in.
Factor in that next week, while Sabathia's groin is still healing, the Yankees will play the Rays and the Red Sox both in their home parks, mostly because the scheduling department at Major League Baseball has decided that July 27 is the perfect time for the arch rivals (who let's face it haven't been that arch for a few years) to meet in the Bronx FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL YEAR. What?
You'd better hope that offense really is newly invigorated, because the pitching isn't going to be what it's been for a while.
The good news? David Robertson got through the eighth without making it interesting. I almost didn't recognize him. And the Carvel in the helmet is still good. Not to mention, we got express trains on the subway AND NJ Transit going home.
So the day wasn't a TOTAL loss.
