Game 94: Orioles at Yankees

YANKEES (56-37, 1st place AL East (that feels so good to write)
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Posada C
Cano 2B
Swisher RF
Gardner CF

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (8-4, 3.81).

ORIOLES (41-52, 5th place AL East)
Roberts 2B
Jone CF
Markakis RF
Huff 1B
Wigginton 3B
Scott DH
Zaun C
Pie LF
Andino SS

Pitching: RHP Jason Berken (1-7, 6.44).

TIME/TV: 1:05, YES.

Going for six in the city:The Yankees are 5-0 during the first homestand after the All-Star break.

Beating up on the O's: The Yanks lead the season series against the Orioles with a record of 8-3.

Captain Milestone: Derek Jeter, with 2,650 hits, is only 4 behind Ted Williams on the All-Time list.

Who?: I've never heard of Jason Berken and he has an ERA over 6. So, if the Yankees decide they are going to go back to not being able hit someone that is horrible, it's going to be a long day.

UPDATE 1:15: So now Jeter's only 3 hits behind Teddy Ballgame. And it looks like the Red Sox traded for Adam LaRoche. From the Yankees perspective, I'd rather face LaRoche than Nick Johnson or Garret Atkins, who were some of the other options the BoSox were looking at.

UPDATE 1:18: Jeter is in the lineup, but it still looks like he's favoring that leg a little.

UPDATE 1:19: Looks like the Yankees already have this guy's number. They've been tattooing the ball.

UPDATE 1:28: That's one of the weakest hits I've ever seen. That's gotta be an error. And they need to score more than 2 runs this inning.

UPDATE 2:48: Let's see if Burnett can get through 7. He's at 89 pitches through 6.

UPDATE 3:08: Well, there goes the shutout.

UPDATE 3:47: This is one of the areas the Yankees need to look to improve: their bench. They need to pick up a right handed or a switch hitting bat to pinch hit in tight situations late in ballgames.

And Michael Kay joked (and no, it wasn't funny. Do you need to even ask?) that YES was putting cameras in his house to see how he prepares for games. I was under the impression that he didn't actually prepare and he was just up there winging it.

UPDATE 3:59: I was literally right in the middle of writing "Bruney is obviously performing much better after meeting Michael Kay's Successors" before he just gave up back-to-back home runs.