WHY CC IS THE LEADER

Tonight the Yankees win 11-3 over the Orioles and a lot happened. First off, CC gets huge ups for his 20th win of the season this year. It's also the first time he's done it in his career. Secondly, CC didn't have his best stuff tonight. But it didn't matter. Why? Because CC is a leader and when he's pitching, the Yankees are confident. Jeter hit tonight, Cano was on fire hitting his 28th home run and getting his 101st RBI. Gardner had 3 hits. Grandy even cranked out a 3 run home run for insurance. The trust is there. The confidence is there, and on a weekend before the Rays series, it's time to make everything click. So far they have.

If there is something to learn from tonight, it's this. Without CC, the Yankees are 4 games back of the Rays right now, even more and dangerously close to not winning the wild card. Luckily, they have him and he's a battle tested veteran who will give his all even though sometimes he doesn't have it. AJ should learn something from tonight. CC may not have been the REAL CC this evening, but he knew he had enough talent to battle through it and get the win for the team. He changed up his pitches because he realized certain pitches weren't working, he did what he had to do. You have to love that.

Tomorrow a Yankee favorite takes the mound, and while Andy's 11-2, he's been out for 2 months with a groin injury. This can go 2 ways, decent or real bad. I'm betting on decent because we know the kind of work horse he is. Pettitte's honest. If he says he feels great, he does. Let's trust that. Tomorrow, let's predict a 7-4 win. Hopefully Andy gets the win and a sweep for the Yankees and take the momentum into the Bronx so we can bury the Rays. One can only hope.

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