OH YEAH, IT'S THE YANKS & THE SOX

***ROUND ONE TO NEW YORK***
Going into Tuesday night's game, the fire seemed to be lacking in this rivalry so far. It came back big time last night. Lackey hit Granderson (one of the many pitches umpire Rapuana missed), CC hit Ellsbury, Lackey hit Posada, CC hit Saltalamacchia (that's the last time I write that out fully) and Lackey hit Cervelli. Everybody claimed, of course, they were just trying "to pitch inside," except Sabathia, who was quite open about what he thought was going on. But then he had his own demons to worry about. After the game, he quipped to reporters that he had to win so they wouldn't keep bringing up the fact that he was 0-4 against the Sox this year.

But back to the game, won by CC and NY 5-2. The Sox left men on base all night, in fact, I think there are still men on 2nd and 3rd this morning. Cervelli hit a homer which prompted a lot of emotion from both clubs, including Lackey, who pitches every game as though the opposing club was holding his mother hostage.

There were failures by both clubs, too. Posada hit into two double plays and would have hit into more but the last two times he batted, there were already two outs. Ortiz failed to score from 2nd on a single to left by Crawford, but let's face it, in a race with Posada, it's even money that neither guy would reach the finish line.

It's good that the Yanks won this one because the Yanks are throwing Hughes and Burnett the last two games. The Sox are pitching two guys named Beckett and Lester. Not good for NY.

Keegan Bradley, a Vermont native who won the PGA Championship this month, threw out the ceremonial first pitch and gave a big fist pump afterward. CC promptly hit him with his first warm-up toss.

***AROUND THE LEAGUE***
The SF Giants are now six games out and falling. The defending champs are 30th in the majors in runs scored. They're averaging less than 3 and a half runs a game and the "big" hitter they acquired, Carlos Beltran, has driven in just four since coming West. The Giants are looking like the biggest flash-in-the-pan since the 1959 White Sox.

Speaking of the White Sox, Ozzie Guillen, who is under contract with the Sox through next season is asking for an extension. Ozzie's record in 8 years is a whopping 667-600, not really all that impressive. It seems to be that way for Ozzie, though. "I am a good manager," Guillen said. "Very cocky and arrogant. There's a lot of worse guys out there than me. I have (a lot) of confidence in myself. I know what I can do. People can think what they want. If they don't think I'm a good manager, be careful what you wish for." A little peace and quiet would be nice.

Milwaukee is still surging and the Cardinals are still falling and there are rumors that this is LaRusso's last season as the St. Louis manager. There are probably a lot of Cardinal players who wouldn't be unhappy to see baseball's most infamous micro-manager let go of the reins (and maybe unclench his teeth).

***THEY SAID IT***
"The New York State Fair is going to feature 1,500 calorie "Donut Burger" — a quarter pound hamburger between two slices of glazed donut, covered with cheese and bacon." -- Brad Dickson (no punch line here, I just want one)
"UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub, via Twitter, on fighting in his opponent's hometown of Rio de Janeiro: "Besides the Brazilian chants of 'your gonna die' I thought the weigh-ins went really well." -- Dwight Perry
"First reports on Hurricane Irene in New York. An expensive mess, but underwhelming considering its original potential. Sort of like the 2011 Mets." -- Janice Hough
"Vin Scully announced he will return in 2012 for a 63rd season as the play-by-play voice of the Dodgers. That is, health willing and the divorce judge doesn't award him to Jamie." -- Dwight Perry
"London isn’t fit after the rioting to host the 2012 Olympics. However, they did say that they could host the 2012 Stanley Cup." -- Bill Littlejohn
"An L.A. judge has ordered Hollywood actress and former Canadian synchronized swimming champ Estella Warren to four months in rehab after she pled to a DUI charge. Word is Warren's blood alcohol score was .12 - even higher if you exclude the .06 from the Russian judge." -- RJ Currie

CP-