Thursday's first pitch

Leading Off
The Boston Red Sox are heating up. They just swept a double-header from the Twins. That sets up the Sox for a weekend series against the Yankees. Sure, Boston is still tied with Hank's team at 9-6, with both squads sitting a game-and-a-half back of the Blue Jays. And, no, the Beaneaters cannot knock the Yankees out of the race. Yet. And neither can the Yankees do otherwise. The thing is, more things need to go right for the Yankees. Two of their prized off-season acquisitions -Mark Teixiera and A.J Burnett - will experience The Rivalry for the first time. They're youngsters - Cody Ransom and Brett Gardner - will also have to carry a heavy load.
But pitching will be the key.
Friday night will see John Lester face Joba Chamberlain. Saturday has a fantastic match-up when former teammates A.J. Burnett and Josh Beckett square off. The final game pits Justin Masterson against Andy Pettitte. Pitching probably favors the Yankees here. But the games are in The Hub, so anything can happen.

Regional Roundup
Thank God for the Pirates. They were the only Mid-Atlantic team to win Wednesday.

• Somebody break up the Buccos. They're 9-6. And Adam LaRoche loves hitting against the Fish.


• John Danks has had trouble with the Orioles. He didn't Wednesday night. Alfredo Simon is out for at least a year.


• Jesus Flores broke out of his slump. Too bad for the Nationals, because it wasn't enough.


• The Phillies must be ready to make a pitching move. They're hyping up the numbers Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco are putting up at Lehigh Valley. Brad Lidge found a flaw in his delivery. Too bad he couldn't use it Wednesday.

Best of the Rest

• Melky Cabrera walked off the Bombers win Wednesday. But Bill Madden can't figure out why CC Sabathia is so-so.


• Bengie Molina was supposed to be enjoying an off-day. Instead, he was a hero.


• As reported earlier, Kelly Johnson's walk, dropped the Nats.


• Former Oriole Kevin Millar singled home the winning run in the 11th for the Jays.


• That's right, Joel Piniero is tied for the lead league in wins.

Batter's Eye

What's up with Lenny Dykstra's financial woes?

Today in history
1913 -- New York Giants ace Christy Mathewson beat the Phillies 3-1, throwing just 67 pitches.
1952 -- Hoyt Wilhelm of the Giants hit a home run at the Polo Grounds in his first major league at-bat. He was the winner, too, and pitched 1,070 games in the majors -- but never hit another homer.
1954 -- Hank Aaron hit the first home run of his major league career. The drive came against Vic Raschi in the Milwaukee Braves' 7-5 victory over St. Louis.
2008 -- The Chicago Cubs won their 10,000th game, joining the Giants as the only franchise to reach that mark with a 7-6 10-inning victory at Colorado.

The Closer
According to Forbes, it's not a good time to be a baseball team. Who knows? Maybe the government will bail them out.
Seriously, though. Major League Baseball could take a hit real soon. It's the only organization that has worse spending habits than congress.
I'll take the Bridge to Nowhere over Adam Eaton's deal with the Phillies. Seriously. At least the Bridge is usable.
Look at the Yankees, they asked for money so they could build the Homer Heaven. Then they went out and spent $400 mil on three players.
The Yankees might be worth a ton right now, but in 10, 15 and 20 years, they're going to be paying off tons of debt. And, contrary to popular belief, they can't print money. The stadium still has very expensive seats that have not been sold. And when the Yankees struggle, attendance drops. In 1990 and 1991 the Bombers finished seventh, fifth and fourth in the standings. Their attendance during the same years was ninth, eleventh and eleventh in the American League.
Meanwhile, teams like the Dodgers and Cardinals are always contenders, have great facilities, and bring in top talent.
But you never hear about them asking for funding.