Chuck Norris's Favorite Team vs Yankees

[BronxBomberz]

The Yankees went through highs and lows during their recent 15-game stretch against National League opponents.

After dancing around the .500 mark through the first third of the season, the Bombers reeled off seven straight wins from June 12-19 and a 10-5 overall record to break through the barrier. The starting rotation seemed to settle down and throw consistent performances.

But playing in an NL ballpark came at a big cost for the Yankees, who lost ace Chien-Ming Wang on June 15, when he injured his right foot running the bases in Houston.

When the Yankees face the Rangers on Monday night, the Bombers will be up against something they haven't seen in 2 1/2 weeks -- an American League team. And they're ready to return to familiar territory.

"You kind of get into your routine of playing the American League," Alex Rodriguez said. "At least for me, I've been doing it for a long time in the American League, so I'm more comfortable."

But comfortable doesn't always translate into easy.

The Yankees won't have much time to rest following a three-day, four-game weekend series with the Mets before they face one of the Major League's best-hitting clubs in the Rangers.

"You look at their top four hitters in that lineup, you're talking about four guys that can make the All-Star team, having All-Star-caliber years," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley.

And the Rangers will only be the first test, as the Yankees' upcoming opponents include the Red Sox and the Rays, the first- and second-place teams in the AL East, respectively.

But Rodriguez said the Yankees place a higher premium on their own performance than that of other division clubs.

"I don't think our team is really concerned about who's in front of us, not who's behind us," Rodriguez said. "We're really trying to win a series at a time, play good baseball, kind of get our bullpen and starting rotation in order.

"Everything's a test. Every game for us is so important. We're playing well out of urgency."

And they'll have some fresh legs. Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano and Jason Giambi all got a day off on Sunday, when the lineup was shuffled to insert more right-handed hitters against Mets lefty Oliver Perez.

Now that the season has reached the halfway point, the Yankees have an opportunity to prove that they can continue the success they've had against NL opponents and carry it through the remainder of the year.

"I think we are going to learn a lot about where we stand," Johnny Damon said. "We had to deal with some horrible travel and the doubleheader, but hopefully, we were able to rest a couple guys today, and hopefully, they'll be ready to go come tomorrow."

Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP Mike Mussina (10-5, 3.93 ERA)
Mussina was cut short in his last start on Thursday in Pittsburgh, and he was not happy about it. The right-hander passed the point of no return with 46 pitches against the Pirates before a lengthy rain delay and lightning storm wiped out his start. Mussina will instead draw the Rangers, as he goes for his 11th victory of the season. Mussina is 4-1 with a 3.69 ERA in his past six starts.

TEX: RHP Scott Feldman (1-3, 4.60 ERA)
Feldman lasted just four innings, his shortest outing as a starter, against the Astros on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. He is 0-2 with a 4.88 ERA in his past eight starts, and he's 0-3 with a 6.91 ERA in five starts on the road this year and 0-7 with a 6.72 ERA in his career away from Arlington. Feldman has made just one relief appearance in his career against the Yankees, pitching one-third of an inning.

Tidbits
Mussina is 17-12 with a 3.76 ERA in 35 career starts against Texas. He is tied with Red Sox righty Bartolo Colon and Giants lefty Barry Zito among active pitchers for the most career victories against the Rangers. His 35 starts and his 234 1/3 innings are also the most by any active pitcher. ... Girardi thinks Wilson Betemit has been seeing the ball better and hitting better since he started wearing glasses. Betemit could see more playing time in upcoming games with Hideki Matsui on the disabled list. ... Catcher Jorge Posada said he feels physically fine to catch three consecutive games.

Tickets
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On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• YES

On radio
• WCBS 880, WNSW 1430 (Español)

Up next
• Tuesday: Rangers (Kevin Millwood, 5-4, 5.08) at Yankees (Joba Chamberlain, 2-2, 2.03), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Rangers (Luis Mendoza, 1-2, 5.40) at Yankees (Sidney Ponson, 5-1, 3.50), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Red Sox (Jon Lester, 6-3, 3.48) at Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 9-5, 3.98), 7:05 p.m. ET

The Official Site of The New York Yankees: News: Yankees to return to AL play

CRUSH THE RANGERS!

[browntown653]

Wow.

[BronxBomberz]

I'm running out of ideas.

2-0 rangers

[nyjunc]

This offense stinks, it's so inconsistent considering all the talented bats we have. There's no way we should be held to 1 run against Feldman.