Another "must-win" for Yankees

The Yankees got back on their feet yesterday at Rogers Centre, bouncing back from Tuesday's brutal Johnny Damon-led loss with a workmanlike 5-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Fitting that it was the old guard that came through in a big game, as Andy Pettitte tossed seven excellent innings for his 13th win while the resurgent Derek Jeter had three hits including a game-breaking two-run homer. The Captain has 16 hits in his last 28 at-bats, raising his average to .298. He's also having sex with the hot brunette from Friday Night Lights. There may or may not be a correlation there.

With the series knotted at a game a piece, the Yankees face a huge uphill challenge tonight with Yankee Destroyah Roy Halladay squaring up against the man who loves crabs, Mr. Sidney Ponson. Though hardly a promising matchup for the Yanks, Ponson has been a good pickup by Brian Cashman, giving the Yankees a chance to win in almost every start he's made for the team. New York has won six of Ponson's nine starts since the big drinker was signed off the street in June.

You've probably heard the term "must-win" thrown around a lot of late. This was widely considered to be the case in the third game of the Texas series, the finale of the Angels series, all three games of the Royals series as well as yesterday against Toronto. "Must-win" is a flawed term, of course, seeing as its mathematically incorrect. But I will say this ... it is a very important game for a team desperately in need of momentum.

The Yankees have been very consistent this season in losing games they're supposed to lose. It seems whenever they have an unfavorable pitching matchup, the game is basically decided prior to first pitch. This team needs to buck that trend in the worst way tonight. Take it to Halladay. Put up some crooked numbers early. You are still the Yankees, right? It's not impossible to think you can get the better of a star pitcher ... is it?

Actually, I don't even need you to knock around Halladay. This offense has shown me this year that I can no longer ask for things I got as recently as a year ago. Give me four runs in seven innings. Take some freaking pitches. Get the dude out of the game. If Ponson can hold down an inept Toronto offense (not a sure thing at all, but it could happen) then they have a shot. Give me a tie game in eighth inning. Then get the job done. Figure out a way. This isn't a must-win, but it's sure as hell important for a team running out of days in August.

The Yankees must understand that fact and play accordingly. Not sure what kind of heart this team possesses yet? We could have a much better idea by 10:15 tonight.