Oliver Perez is who we thought he was

And we let him off the hook.

Oliver Perez gave Yankee hitters five (by my count; I probably missed something) three-ball counts that didn't amount to a walk or a hit.

The best (or worst) example was a Robinson Cano at-bat in the seventh inning. Cano had a 3-1 count and swung at a pitch that was obviously a ball. He popped this pitch up to second. A leadoff walk could have started the rally that, at the very least, could have tied the game.

The Yankees actually led off the bottom of the fourth with two walks by Hideki Matsui and Cano. Josh Phelps then came up and flied out on a full count. A bunt maybe would've helped? They ended up going quietly in this inning.

In the first inning, Derek Jeter was on second base with one out. Both Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez struck out. The Yankees then loaded the bases in the second inning with two outs, but Melky Cabrera struck out to end the threat.

The point is that if the Yankees were much more patient, they could have won this game. Perez could have been on the ropes during his whole outing, but the Yankees' impatience bailed him out. They were chasing pitches out of the strike zone all night.