Ras(buries)

Darrell Rasner gave up two runs in the first and the Yanks went down to defeat, 5-1. Losing sux, blah blah blah but here's the bottom line: Ras kept us in the game. It's true, being down by two in the first puts pressure on the offense, but our offense should put pressure on opposing pitchers, and last night, they did not do so. [Excepting, of course, that singular pressure to the nose of Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn, provided by a ball batted by Bobby Abreu. Bloody nose, nothing broken. Thank goodness!]

In the Post, one of the resident hacks notes that this will not jeopardize Rasner being in the starting rotation. Why is this even a question? Does anyone question Wang or Pettitte having a bad outing? How about Moose a while back going less than one inning? No, Rasner has earned his spot, and four runs in six is not that bad of an outing, in the context of things.

Jeff Karstens, meanwhile, is hurting again. Maybe it's time to shut down for the season and build toward next. Reckon there will be starting spots to fight for then.