WHY THERE MAY BE GHOSTS... AGAIN

That one's for you George and they're not done yet! Many things clicked last night when the Yankees took Game 1 against the Rays.

Was it perfect? No, but look, you can't put a newbie like Nova out there and expect him to shut down the Rays lineup for nine innings.

So what worked? Grandy's hitting for power and running for starters. 5 RBI night. I've missed that all year and the Yankees did too. Hell, I think Granderson was wondering what took so long. But I'd rather see him doing it now than in April. Keep it going Grandy and you'll see that World Series trophy.

Kerry Wood looked amazing, especially dealing with a strike zone that was so tiny, it looked like you had to toss a golf ball in a PVC pipe. Wood had plenty of strikes but didn't get them called in his favor. But the guy never complained. He went right back to work and got Joyce to just hit it for the out. If you can't strike him out, let them put the ball in play.

Also, to me, Cervelli's playing style is what baseball's all about. The dude's in on every play. He plays like a .300 hitter with 20 homeruns but you forget he's got no homers and a below average bat. Give me a dirty uniform and a fist pump on clutch plays and I give you a champion, every single time. Oh and the Captain's on his way back out of the black hole he was in all summer. Let's hope the playoff feelings are coming back and he'll be in All-Star form.

So what's the goal? Winning championships. True. But the magic numbers 5. We can't get ahead of ourselves yet. We need a playoff spot and then we need to be the division champs... THEN we go to the playoffs. It's still a long road. So, we play for right now. The next 3 games are critical. It's not about the World Series yet, it's about burying the Rays first.

Last night, there was a good, yet eeire feeling in the new Yankee stadium. Familiar faces of Yankees past coming back and dare I say the ghost of George.

That's right, I said it. Jeter always said the ghosts came out in the old Yankee stadium and strange things happened. Could it be that the ghost of The Boss will be lingering around the new house? I get the sense it may be true.

Shields vs. Hughes tonight. Give me 6 innings Phil. Don't aim, throw your stuff. You're better than you think you are. And Yanks, strike early on Shields and get to that Rays bullpen. Recipe for victory. The ghost of George is watching.

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