Baseball instant replay expansion unnecessary

Mets fans have been patient for so long. Tom Seaver came close several times. Dwight Gooden tried, too, but to no avail. On June 1, Johan Santana became the closest Met to nail down a no-no, but a call on Carlos Beltran's liner down the line midway through the game was overturned due to expanded instant replay rules. The Mets and Padres remain as the only two franchises without a no-hitter. 

That's what the story would be if Bud Selig expanded instant replay before June. Instead, the Mets got their wish without interference from a well-placed camera.

Last Friday on "The Mike Lupica Show," Selig said instant replay in baseball will expand to include trapped balls and plays down the foul lines. He didn't give any time reference other than the word "now," but clearly those rules are not in effect -- yet.

Santana shows up CC at Citi in Subway Series showdown

CC Sabathia didn’t have close to his best stuff tonight and Johan Santana was absolutely dealing through seven innings en route to a 6-4 win.

Jason Bay hit two homers off Sabathia, one to left and one to right, tripling his season total in the process.

Francisco Rodriguez and the Mets bullpen made it exciting at the end, allowing the Yankees to send the winning run to the plate, but K-Rod struck out A-Rod to seal the series win.

Best of all: Derek Jeter notched three hits, including a two-run double in the ninth. He lived up to his great history against the cross-town rivals.

Worst of all: Sabathia looked lost on the mound today, rarely hitting Francisco Cervelli’s glove. His final line: L, 5 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Coming up: The Yanks get a much needed day off Monday before heading out to Minnesota for a three-game series and then will return home to close out May against the Indians.

Yanks pummel Mets in series finale

After being shut down last night by a no-name pitcher, the Yankees teed off against Johan Santana – one of the top three pitchers in baseball. By the time it was over, the Yankees (36-27) had embarrassed the Mets (32-29) 15-0.

Quick ‘Cap:
The Yanks first got to Santana in the second inning, when three straight singles from Francisco Cervelli, Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon scored four runs. But the Yanks blew the game open in the fourth.

Santana didn’t record an out in the inning, and was responsible for five of the nine runs scored. Both Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano hit two-run homers, and Melky Cabrera hit two doubles in the frame.

Meanwhile, A.J. Burnett bounced back from an ugly start against the Red Sox, tossing seven shutout innings. David Robertson and Phil Hughes finished the game with no trouble. Full box score here.

Thoughts:
It was completely unexpected, but it was beautiful to see hits coming from top to bottom. You have to feel a little bad for the Mets. Luis Castillo made one of the worst errors the game has seen in a long time in the first game, their best pitcher was demolished in this one, and the team has been decimated by injuries over the past month.

It was also nice to see Josh Beckett blow a four-run lead over the Phillies. Now the Yankees are just two games back in the East.

Noteworthy Performances:
- Jeter had a perfect day with four singles, two runs and two RBI.
- Cano had eight total bases on the day, adding two doubles to his homer.
- Burnett used a nasty slider at the knees all game in a strong outing. He struck out eight, walked four and allowed four hits.

Up Next:
The Yankees have their work cut out for them in their next series starting on Tuesday. They play the Nationals, who hold the worst record in the bigs by far. The Yanks are showing no mercy by sending out CC Sabathia (5-4, 3.68) to face Shairon Martis (5-1, 5.04).

Poll results: Hughes will start more than relieve

Fans voted Phil Hughes to start more games than relieve in 2009 by a wide margin this past week.

Starts:  58%

Relief appearances:  23%

He won't pitch at all for the Yankees in 2009:  17%

I voted last Sunday that Hughes would make more relief appearances than starts.  But because of all of the roster moves that have been made over this past week, I am jumping on the Hughes as a starter bandwagon.

The Yankees have so much depth in their bullpen, and I believe that the heavy competition will keep everyone on their toes.  Hughes will be much more valuable to the Yankees as a starter in the long run.  Just last year, he was almost traded for Johan Santana.  I'm not giving up on this guy yet.