NYY: Game 4: Yankees def. D-Rays

Wow, it's a little early for football, isn't it? So much for being tired after a high-scoring doubleheader.

Final Score: Yankees 21, Devil Rays 4
WP: Pettitte (6-6, 4.12 ERA)
LP: Shields (8-6, 4.44 ERA)

By the end of the 4th inning, the score was 13-3 Devil Rays. At this point, I said to myself, "Okay, if Andy Pettitte can't get the win in this game? We know there's some kind of voodoo." Luckily, the black magic held off. Pettitte wasn't great, but an offense that has struggled to score him runs all season finally picked him up when he wasn't his best. That isn't to say Pettitte was terrible. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out eight. It's less than expected for an Andy Pettitte outing, but on Sunday afternoon it was more than enough.

What can be said about the offense? Look at the score. 21 runs and 25 hits overall. Everyone sans pitchers who were a part of this game scored at least one run. Yes, that included late substitutions like Johnny Damon and Miguel Cairo. There were six homeruns in the game, two of them off the bat of newest Yankee Shelley Duncan. He received two curtain calls from the Stadium crowd. It's hard to know how long he'll be able to keep it up. Too many people have already jumped onto the "Hey, another Shane Spencer!!" bandwagon. But it's a great story, and the fans love him. Hopefully Shelley carries it out. He's helping the energy of the team, not to mention providing plenty of memorable moments. His reaction to a rookie water-drenching courtesy of Ron Villone and Scott Proctor after the game was priceless.

So what's the Yankee reward for having 20+ hit games two games in a row? Why, another four-game series, of course!

RHP Roger Clemens (2-4, 3.88 ERA) vs. LHP Odalis Perez (5-8, 5.84)

The Yankees begin their next road trip Monday with four games against the Royals. Clemens is coming off of a no decision at the Stadium against Toronto on July 18th, giving up one earned run over six innings of work. Since joining the Yankees on June 9th, Clemens has been noticeably better in New York. He has given up one earned run in each of his last three games at home and averaged 7.1 innings. In his last three road games, however, Clemens has averaged 4 1/3 runs in just over five innings. With the bats alive, it should be interesting to see if Clemens can break from that trend.

Perez is coming off of a rocky outing in Fenway on July 18th. Even though he took the win, Perez allowed 5 earned runs on 7 hits in 5 innings. It will be his first start against the Yankees this season.

A nice time for the Yankee coaching staff, as first base coach Tony Pena will be united with his son Tony Pena Jr. who plays for the Royals. Perhaps not so nice a time for Brian Cashman, who will have to witness first-hand what got away from him last season. Octavio Dotel was unable to provide anything in 2006 for the Yankees due to injury. But he's been a force for the Royals this season and may be traded by the deadline. His numbers would be a welcome addition to the bullpen, that's for sure, but he would probably cost the Yankees too much to make a deal worthwhile..

Trade news: Jose Molina, while not appearing in the Yankee game Sunday afternoon, was present for the start of the game. As soon as he arrived in New York, previous backup catcher Wil Nieves was designated for assignment.

The big rumor heading into the trade deadline on July 31st is Ty Wigginton from the Devil Rays in exchange for Scott Proctor. Nevermind the fact that, to me, picking up another bullpen arm is far more of a priority than picking up a bat. Wouldn't picking up Ty Wigginton be overkill? Does Miguel Cairo get DFA'd if Wiggy is brought in, since Ty would probably be in the backup role with more power in his bat? Does Wiggy become the first baseman?

Let's say, for discussion's sake, that Andy Phillips is pulling another flash-in-the-pan performance and won't be an adequate solution down the stretch. By mid- to late-August, the team should be getting Doug Mientkiewicz and Jason Giambi back. Even without Wiggy, the club is going to find themselves faced with a similar problem to what they had last September: too many bodies for spots. Does Mientkiewicz resume his position at first base? Do he and Phillips form the platoon originally meant for Mientkiewicz and Phelps? When Giambi is ready to go, does he resume his position as DH? Will that put Melky Cabrera back on the bench and Johnny Damon in centerfield? Does Damon attempt to play some first base, thus sitting both Mientkiewicz and Phillips?

Seems to me that most people are in support of this proposed trade because Scott Proctor has struggled lately. I'm not denying that Wigginton is a talent who can help a team. My question is, where do you play him? It's been suggested that he take over for Miguel Cairo, but let's face it: we've seen how often Cairo gets into games. Now that Phillips has entrenched himself at first base, it's not like Cano, Jeter, or A-Rod often need days off. And there's already a rest rotation in place for the outfield, with Damon going into the field while Abreu or Matsui DH.

Besides, other than the consistently inconsistent Kyle Farnsworth, this season has been a rotation of hot hands in the Yankee bullpen. First, it was Proctor. Then, it was Bruney. Then, Myers and Villone. Edwar Ramirez had his day in the sun. Now, it's Vizcaino. Either Cashman has a plan in mind for acquiring a replacement for Proctor or they're going to miss him when Vizcaino shows he's human again. That isn't to say Viz hasn't improved. He has, but he can't keep pitching at the rate he's been used over the last few weeks if he wants to have his right arm attached to his body iny October.

Down on the farm: Speaking of pitching and returning Yankees, some good news out of S/WB for Yankee fans. Jeff Karstens, on the road to recovery, pitched six stellar innings for their AAA-affiliate on Sunday. Karstens went six innings against the Charlotte Knights and allowed one earned run (a solo homer to Bourgeois in the 3rd inning) on three hits while striking out six. Chase Wright picked up his first save of the season with three innings of relief to complete Scranton's 7-2 victory. It was a big day for LF Kevin Reese, who hit a grand slam in the 3rd inning off Knights pitcher Nick Masset. He had 5 RBI in the game.