Another edition of...

Good News:
Glen Perkins, usually spotty and coming off a total collapse in Seattle, shutout the visting team while holding them to 4 hits over 8 strong innings with 107 pitches. Perkins, a flyball pitcher who only induced 6 double plays over the entire season, got two behind him last night. He also saw unlikely offense from Adam Everett (a 2-run shot) and got the W as the Twins took the series opener 4-0 to jump into first place in the AL Central again.

Misc. notes: Nathan struck out the side in the ninth. ... The 2-pitcher effort saved a taxed bullpen. ... Alexi Casilla may be able to return before the season ends. ... Congrats, Glen! Mrs. Perkins gave birth to their second child just hours before the game began.

And Bad News:
The visiting team was the New York Yankees. As a squad that beat up Perkins pretty badly the previous two times they faced him, they looked completely dead against him this time. Case-in-point: second inning. Robinson Cano singles, gets to third on a miserably errant throw to first by Perkins, and then Richie Sexson draws a walk. That's runners on the corners with no one out. Pudge Rodruguez then proceeds to pop-up to Carlos Gomez on the edge of the infield, and then Melky Cabrera swings at the first pitch into a nice little DP. Leave it to the 2008 Yankees to get zilch out of a gift situation.

Here's the deal. As much as I respect Glen Perkins, his stuff isn't that impressive. He's a lefty with a flat fastball that doesn't move much. Yeah, he has a nice changeup, but he lacks that dominate slider that so many southpaws have. In short, quality hitters should be able to do something to him during the second and third times through the orders. Well, I guess the Yanks were in a rush and decided that they'd rather not. I hope they got their wish: the game was only 2 hours and 14 minutes!

It's one thing to lose. It's another to lose in a lifeless fashion. The Yankees are playing like they're eliminated already. Actually, no--even eliminated teams have a history of playing hard. Then again, they may not be numerically eliminated, but I do think they're very near being probabilistically eliminated; being 9.5 back in the East and even 5.0 back in the wild card is no easy ground to make up, especially when you've been playing like this team.

*sigh* I am beyond frustrated with the 2008 Yankees, but don't expect me to abandon them in the offseason. But you know, this year will be a true test for the Yankee fanbase. 13 years of postseason play is over half my lifetime: we haven't just become comfortable with October--it has become the norm. And I think a lot of people will jump ship when it doesn't happen. This should be interesting to watch...