Yanks Take 2 of 3 from Rangers, Burnett Suspended for Protecting Teammates

With one swing of the bat, Melky Cabrera once again proved his worth to the Yankees as his two-run blast lifted the Bombers over the Texas Rangers 8-6 in the Thursday matinee finale. Chien Ming Wang looked good for about 15 minutes during Thursday's start, then once again looked mortal as his sinkers were either too high or too low to fool batters into swining...and when they did, the new Boogie Down once again had trouble holding baseballs in the yard.

Girardi has stated that Phil Hughes' move to the bullpen doesn't necessarily mean that he won't start again in 2009, as Girardi has labeled Hughes his "6th Starter". I would give Wang a couple of more starts to get his feet under him, and if he continues to stink, then back to long man mop up duty for Mr. Wang in 2009. Mo Rivera came on and recorded yet another save as he approaches 500 for his brilliant Hall of Fame career.

MLB handed down a six game suspension to Yankees hurler A.J. Burnett for whizzing a high and hard one past the melon of Nelson Cruz during Tuesday night's series opener. Typical Bob Watson...Padilla (who by the way has since been released by the Rangers) gets fined, Burnett (protecting his teammate after getting belted twice in the same game) gets fined AND suspended. Bob Gibson must be puking in his mouth a little seeing how MLB handles things today. Burnett has just as much right to pitch in, and warn hitters as retaliation as Padilla does to flat out bean hitters that own him statistically (Teixeira).

Of course leave it to the former Yankees' GM to punish the Yankee big money contract rather than punish the player and/or team that started the whole mess. Burnett has already appealed the suspension, meaning he probably will make his next scheduled start on Sunday against Tampa in the Bronx.

The Yankees finish the day tied for 1st place in the AL East with the Red Sox, who are beginning to show signs of life again after a tough month of May. The Yankees can put the proverbial bullet in the heads of the Tampa Rays this weekend with a sweep at home, as Sabathia faces off against Price, Joba gets Garza, and Burnett gets Sonnanstine. It should be a well pitched series, but we now are all fully aware of what can happen when good hitters get their pitches in the new Cathedral.

As always, be good, take care of yourself, and take care of your buddy next to ya!