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Upon capping the win over Toronto last night, my feeling of joy and satisfaction in the Yankee win was quickly offset by an ugly punch to the gut feeling after Rafael Soriano got the last out of the game.

Among the many, many adjectives you could attach to the history of Yankees baseball, and the thousands of great players who have worn the pinstripes, one that is always foremost in my thinking is "class." 

When you think of pitchers who win and lose with class you take current ace CC Sabathia and closer extraordinaire Mariano Rivera. Go back through the last 15 years and you add Andy Pettitte, David Cone, and more.  Turn more history pages and you have Ron Guidry and further back the great Whitey Ford.  We can all add dozens and dozens to this kind of list.

The 162-game grind of a MLB season tests everyone.  That's why even the best teams in the league have to bust their tails to play .600+ ball. Think of the big picture, the best teams average only a hair more than 6 wins out of every 10 games.

NYY finds themselves in the "dog days" of August and the month has not been kind to the Pinstripes.  They started off August dropping the series deciding game to Tampa Bay and followed that with a 1-2 series with Toronto. Up until last night's loss to Detroit, NY has been in "Splitsville"--as they halved a four-game series with Boston in the Bronx, two games in Texas and four in Kansas City.

The Yankee bats have gone into a bit of a slumber.  Sunday in KC a guy named Bryan Bullington earned his first career win, 8 years after being

How long can the Yankees afford to have a pitcher out there with a dead arm?

It's obvious that Javier Vazquez's last two appearances have been miles from his previous half-dozen.  Pitching coach Dave Eiland indicated last week that Vazquez has to work through that and they were going to adjust his work between starts.

It didn't work.

Is it worth running a guy with a dead arm out there, only with the hope that he can somehow be crafty enough for 5-6 innings  of work and your team is not down by more than a grand slam's worth when you yank him?

As great as last night's classic come from behind victory was over Texas, the bigger issue is Vazquez's arm and what the plan is to either get him right, or go to Plan B, and what is Plan B.

Vazquez had no fastball, hardly

Being out of the tri-state area I am forced to catch the Yankees games on the MLB Extra Innings package.  Sometimes we get YES or My 9, other times the opposing team's broadcast.  Last night vs the Angels the Extra Innings package had the feed from the opponents, but the MLB Network featured the Yankees-Angels game with the MY 9 broadcast on their network.

The reason for all of this rambling is to set-up how and what I saw on MLB Network.  When that network takes the feed from the Yankees or anyone else they don't join the broadcast until right before the first pitch--no opening comments and chit-chat, just as the pitcher concludes his warm-ups they join the feed.

As MLBN was leading up to game time last night they had great videotape of Mariano Rivera and Joba Chamberlain

Robbie Cano should absolutely just say "no" to the invitation to compete in the Home Run Derby contest during the All-Star game festivities.

Since being inserted full-time into the Bomber lineup in 2005, the common thought offered by baseball analysts from one network to the next is, "One day this guy will win a batting title."  I agree.  They don't say, "One day this guy will win the home run title." 

Initially, Cano accepted the invitation.  He said he would go, have fun, and not try to do too much--just swing as normal.  A-Rod said he should do it, it's an honor, go have fun.  Manager Joe Girardi and hitting coach Kevin Long were more guarded and less enthusiastic about the idea, citing former derby competitors who burned

Visualize the TV shots of baseball dugouts--at least the older ones--where the clubhouse man would have the benched stocked with big containers of David Sunflowers Seeds, Bubble Gum, and Tums. 

At home, the Yankees have everything they need and more in their plush, one-year old surroundings.  My guess is that they still have all of those necessary game materials, and when AJ Burnett is pitching there is nothing more important than the giant containers of Tums.  How else would Joe Girardi and staff make it through a game without their insides being overcome with intense stomach acid and heartburn?

Would you rather have Mr. Electric/Nasty Stuff out there causing you to ride the emotional roller-coaster of each pitch, just hoping he can string together a few consistent

Even though he has been gone long enough for fans to understand it isn't his team any more, Joe Torre's mark on the Yankees is still evident.  All you have to do is carefully watch today's Yankees' manager and some key players when they are interviewed.

Although you could always read Joe T's mood based upon the positioning of his ball-cap on his head, he was always pretty consistent the way he handled questions from the throng of media members. As has been proven through the many years, to make it in New York you just don't have to win, you also have to work well with the media and Joe T was a master.

For me, Joe T's signature move was when he was wrapping up his answer to a question and throwing it back to the interviewer.  You all know the move.  Joe would speak

Given Francisco Cervelli's offensive break-out the past week or so, this is really just a huge bonus.  What Cervelli provides the Yankees in other ways more than cements his place in the lineup.

Last year we saw that he had excellent defensive skills with his cat-like quickness saving wild pitches in the dirt combined with laser beam throws to nail runners foolishly testing his arm. As a rookie he was not shy dealing with veteran pitchers, but rather a fiery, take-charge guy who helped elevate the intensity in an otherwise rather quiet, business-like Yankee infield.  He appears to have a great relationship with his mound staff and it's evident they like throwing to him.

Cervelli can run, too.  No, not the cliche', "...he runs well for a catcher."  He flat out runs