Yankees Notes
By lefty
John Olerud may not have been out for revenge last night when he hit a two-run eighth inning single to lede the Yankees to a 6-4 win against his former team. But the hit had to hurt Seattle, who released him in July after Olerud declined a trade to the San Francisco Giants. Olerud had been having a poor season, but the trade to the Yankees has lit a spark in this former All Star and he’s been on a streak to lead the Yankees to a couple of victories since his acquisition. "I always felt I would be able to get it turned around," Olerud said in this AP story by Jim Cour. "Fortunately, I've been able to get some big hits here. But I'm just up there today trying to get a hit and score the run.''
Esteban Loaiza, (pronounced Lose-ah) gave up 7 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks in an unimpressive 5.1innings, but was saved by all the wood the Yankees put on the ball. Joe Torre said he is going to go to a six man rotation when Mike Mussina returns, which must have been music to the ears of a few Yankee pitchers.
Also on the Yankee front, our good friend and instigator Alex Rodriguez did not play Saturday because of a viral infection. Since he was going to miss Sunday as well, he dropped his appeal of his four-game suspension, which was awarded to him for his part in the July 24 brawl with the Boston Red Sox. He won't be eligible to play until Thursday at Minnesota. A-Rod was upset with the length of the suspension because Boston’s Jason Varitek received the same penalty. Here’s an inspiring picture for your desktop offered on the site of Boston.com.
