Yankees Sweep Atlanta And Head To Boston

When you score 38 runs in 3 games there is really nothing bad you can say about that. Yeah, the Braves are terrible this year and yeah these are games we were supposed to win, but we still should be happy about that level of dominance. Any time Stephen Drew is hitting home runs and getting intentionally walked, someone is getting taken to the woodshed and this time it was the Braves.

The most important thing about this series is that the bats were alive and the pitching looked strong, headed into an important series in Boston. The Red Sox are a last place team but at this point in the season, they have guys playing for jobs who would like nothing more than to spoil the Yankees season and push us further back from the Blue Jays. Regardless of the standings, there is always still a little juice left in this rivalry so we are going to have to play at our best because I don’t expect Boston to just lay down and play dead.

A big part of our success is going to be based on how well Ivan Nova pitches tonight. Having missed a little over a year with Tommy John surgery we expected an adjustment period, but so far the results from Nova have been pedestrian at best. With talk going around about a possible trip to the bullpen for CC when he returns and the team looking to figure out a post season rotation, it’s time for Ivan to step up in a big game if he wants to be part of that rotation and part of this team. It’s early to speculate on off-season moves, but Nova was mentioned in trade talks around the deadline, and a good way to keep a spot in New York is to show you can pitch in Fenway. Right along with that the bats need to stay hot because we are clearly in a race with Toronto, and it doesn’t look like their fantasy lineup is going to hit a big slump any time soon.

PS: I’m going to Fenway for the first time tonight and really hoping I don’t get a bottle bounced off my head.