Blackburn's Outing

After Blackburn's struggle in New York last year and his walk-walk-hr sequence, I was tempted to blog about my disappointment. Then he goes and pitches several strong innings after that. Don't be mistaken. Pitching around two batters to give up a 3-run homer is a huge pet peeve of mine. But I like graceful recovery from such incidents almost as much as I hate the mistake.

I'd expect many question Gardy's decision to leave Blackburn in the game. I'm not one to second-guess managers. Heading into the 8th, I thought to myself, "Blackburn's going to get rocked. Oh, well. He can't do worse than the 'pen." Blackburn actually handled the inning respectably. I'm willing to risk a double to Matsui rather than walking him. The Yankees gave an out to move him to third, Damon grounded out, and then a two-out Texiera single drove in the run. That sequence is a considerable improvement over the bottom of the 3rd.