The curse of Josh Phelps

The Yankees are now 0-1 since designating Josh Phelps for assignment.

How much longer will this losing streak go on?

Phelps DFA'd, Phillips up

As just heard on Mike and the Mad Dog, Josh Phelps has been designated for assignment. Andy Phillips has been called up.

Peter Abraham also has the story.

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.

Good-bye, Josh Phelps

I want to hear that you were designated for assignment in the morning.

Scott Proctor was both right and very wrong

Since I was not around to watch the game, I can't really recap it. The Yankees won 9-5, but the end was rather eventful.

What I did see was what transpired in the ninth inning, involving Scott Proctor and Kevin Youkilis. Three Yankees, Robinson Cano, Josh Phelps, and Alex Rodriguez were all hit by pitches, although Phelps' HBP was by a Tim Wakefield knuckleball. One Red Sox, Mike Lowell, was hit by Chien-Ming Wang.

Now, I don't know the exact numbers, but Yankee hitters always seem to get hit by Red Sox pitchers and the Yankee pitchers never seem to retaliate.

Proctor claims that he was pitching inside and the pitch got away from him (it hit Youkilis' shoulder). With three hitters hit earlier, it obviously seemed as if he was throwing inside on purpose to protect his teammates. I see nothing wrong with retaliating if your hitters were being hit, but no one should ever pitch high and inside like that.

Proctor pitching inside was obvious, and I believe what he said about him not aiming at his head. It still doesn't look good. Proctor will probably be suspended for this, and this would be the second time he has faced a suspension for an on-field incident.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images and Yahoo! Sports