“Take the wave to Shea! Take the wave to Shea!” That’s the chant coming out of the right field bleachers as the rest of the fans at Yankee Stadium perform the ultimate time-killer for the disengaged fan. In the RIGHT FIELD bleachers it’s a crime to perform the wave. But, right next door in the LEFT FIELD bleachers, they started this wave. (A lot could be said about the difference in these sub-cultures…).

Think what you will about this ritual from the 80’s. The disappointing thing about the wave right now is that it’s the top of the seventh inning with two on and no one out for the Blue Jays while the Yankees hold a 6-3 lead. The top of the Blue Jays order is batting. This game is not over and it’s getting dangerous.

My message to the fans waving their hands in a frenzy? Take a page from the crowd in right field and watch the game.*

*(Note: this was written and posted during the pitching change…with the Yankees only leading 6-5…I blame the fans NOT in right field for jinxing this…)

You heard the cheers from the Bronx last night in the 8th inning. Sure, the home team had just scored 5 runs to widen their lead over Baltimore to 12-0…but smearing of the O’s was not the only thing that had fans cheering. Yes, the final word had just come down from Toronto that Eric Gagne had blown another game for the Red Sox who fell 4-2 to the Blue Jays.

2.5 back in the East, 2 in the loss column, 11 games to go…

So what are the Yankees playing for?  Well, the playoffs are nice…but so is the right to avoid their nemesis, the Angels, in the first round. Win the Wild Card and open out West where the Yanks have been spanked time and again. Win the East and the Yanks are playing the Indians, most likely opening on the road. Not to say one’s tougher than the other, but Torre’s boys have tried their hand plenty against the Angels and have been run into the ground. At least Cleveland brings an element of the unknown…

A few weeks ago the Yankees and their fans would have been happy with just any old playoff birth…now, with 11 games left and an outside shot at the Eastern Division, it’s time to get greedy.

I’ve taken quite a few breaks this summer and I’m fresh off another. So is the life of a first-year teacher (lucky enough to teach sports journalism)…

But that’s not to say I haven’t been following the Yanks and their red-hot run. So much to cover when you take a couple weeks away, where to start? Joba-Mania, the Flying Squirrel, Moose Returns, Rocket in Boston one last time (again), the Yanks making you live and die with every win and loss. Today, Yankee fans are living big with Detroit and Boston losing making it 3.5 up and 3.5 back, respectively.

As the Yanks fight and claw to get in, so many questions arise: Who are the starting five and who would pitch on a playoff roster? Are Joba’s rules going to apply to the post-season? Will Mike Lupica once again call for Joe Torre’s job if the Yankees don’t win? Will Torre retire anyway (I doubt it)?

A lot to chew on. As for tonight’s game, I think Doug Mien-whatever just took another chunk out of Jason Giambi’s future playing time. Doug’s line: 1-2, 2 BB, 2 RBI. So he can’t leg out a double. Neither can Giambi. We all know what Dougie can do with a glove…and that will shove Jason Giambi a little further down the bench as Torre prefers having Hideki Matsui at DH. Interesting saga on this one…we’ll see what plays out.

Back with more soon, I swear.

It was hard not to notice that Ian Kennedy stooped down low on the mound like Moose when he pitched out of the stretch today.  Seriously, it was eerie.  He wasn’t overpowering, but found a way to keep the D-Rays off balance for one earned run in seven innings…sound like someone we know?

The performance was solid enough to earn the 22-year old another start in five days, but there was one downside.  He was SLOW!  Particularly after he gave up two runs (one unearned) in the second inning.  Now, I took this one in from the stands today and let’s just say the crowd around me was starting to draw comparisons to former Met Steve Trachsel…personally, I’d also point at David Cone in his final year as a point of comparison.  The crowd even tried starting the wave to stay entertained…fortunately, Kennedy picked up the pace once he had a comfortable lead.

Yes, it’s too early to be so hard on the kid who helped keep us in the ballpark for over three-and-a-half hours.  And it’s also too soon praise a kid too much after one day (although check out the papers in Boston tomorrow and see what they’ll do for a kid after TWO starts).  It was his first day in the Bigs…congrats, kid.  Let’s just hope he keeps things moving a little quicker next time.

Five games behind the Sox who had their kid pitch a no-hitter with a pronounced breaking ball.

Two ahead of Seattle who lost in Toronto.

Getting fun, eh?

Of course it was Papi who broke up Roger Clemens’ no-hitter with an upper deck home run in the sixth inning. He’s THE single greatest thorn the Yankees have ever had in their side. Manny Ramirez wasn’t even batting behind him in the line-up tonight. It was all muscle, all Papi.

I watched David Ortiz from the field during batting practice today — you can’t miss the man, listed at 6′ 4″ and a generous 230 lbs. He is a Goliath who waits his turn and slams his bat on home plate like a blacksmith with a hammer before every swing. Of the four or five pitches that came at him during each turn through the BP rotation, he hit at least one into the upper deck. No one else came close to hitting them like that — not even A-Rod. There were hardly even any fans up there hunting loose balls, they all know to wait in the lower deck where balls usually go.

Love or hate the Red Sox, you have to respect Papi. And if you want one of his souvenirs, I recommend sitting in the upper deck of right field during his BP sessions. You’ll get a few hit your way.

He’s been a very serviceable pitcher for the Yankees, but Mike Mussina’s days as a starter are done for now. It’s sad that he had to go down like this (3 IP, 9 hits, 6 ER) in a 16-0 thumping against the Tigers that leaves the Yankees only hoping for the Wild Card. Takes quite a bit of excitement out of the Boston coming to the Bronx, eh? Now it’s just another tough series the Yankees will have to try to win to stay alive in the Wild Card chase.

So what happened? I don’t really care to revisit it. Seriously, the most awkward runner in MLB, Sean Casey, legged out a triple against the Yanks. That’s more unheard of than Jorge Posada doing it. ‘Nuff said.

Eight behind Boston, either two or three behind Seattle for the Wild Card (pending the outcome of their game against LA)…perhaps Ian Kennedy will do better in five days.

With Yankee hats coming in red, baby blue, green and every other color, you figure this sort of thing is happening anyway. Nonetheless, “official” gang symbols have made it onto New Era Yankee hats that are now being recalled…someone’s getting fired for this one.

The Yankee media relations department just released this statement:

STATEMENT FROM NEW YORK YANKEES

RE: CONDEMNING GANG-RELATED NEW ERA APPAREL

The New York Yankees were completely unaware that caps with gang-related logos and colors had been manufactured with the New York Yankees logo on them. These caps were made under a licensing agreement between New Era and Major League Baseball and were not subject to the Yankees’ approval nor shown to the New York Yankees at any point prior to their retail distribution.

The New York Yankees oppose any garment that may be associated with gangs or gang-related activity. Upon learning of the existence of these caps this morning, the New York Yankees contacted Major League Baseball. We were notified by the Commissioner’s Office that steps had already been taken to recall the caps from all points of sale. The league ensured that no such product will be manufactured in the future.

All year long there has been a consistent theme during the Yankees’ times of struggle: the old guard of Jeter, Posada and Pettitte have gotten out and pushed the broken down car. Just imagine where the Yankees would be without the fifth and sixth highest averages in the AL on their team…two guys who had too much pride to watch the season get away as they stayed among the league leaders in hitting all year — even while A-Rod went cold in May.

And Andy Pettitte. Even when Kei Igawa was getting the ball every five days and Joe Torre was watching no-name kids get crucified on the mound (filling the void Carl Pavano left behind), Pettitte went out there and brought some form of sanity to the Yankee starting five.

Then the Yankees began win after the All-Star break…until they reached their old enemies out in L.A. Honestly, I don’t know what’s worse: losing a game in ten innings that you’ve battled back to tie, or getting crushed 18-9. Either way, the Yankees had lost two in a row as well as two games in the Wild Card and Divisional races.

Which is when the old guard stepped in. Andy Pettitte went out at pitched seven innings of one-run ball (he’s now 5-0 in August) while Jorge Posada got three hits and a pair of RBIs. Meanwhile, Derek Jeter only had one hit, but drove in the third run. These guys weren’t the only heroes tonight in the Yankees 8-2 victory, but they produced when the game was on the line.

It’s now back to five in the East and 1.5 in the Wild Card…and perhaps more importantly, the Yankees are done with the Angels for the regular season.

Yeah, I stayed up for the whole thing. Ten innings, West Coast time…it was close to two in the morning when all was said and done and the Yankees had lost 7-6 to the team they cannot beat, the L.A. Angels. Ugh!

And the real thing was that both team’s best players had battled each other to a 6-6 tie through nine…A-Rod had homered, K-Rod had gotten out of trouble against Bobby Abreu in the ninth…and then it was back up catcher Ryan Budde hitting a game-winning shot to the right-center field gap off the Yankees’ last option, Sean Henn. I guess that’s the way extra-inning games are often won and lost — with stars on the bench and second tier guys on the field.

So it’s back to work tonight at 10pm.  Mike Mussina takes on Kelvim Escobar in a game that hopefully ends closer to 1am.

Belatedly, here are some notes about Saturday’s game — that’s what you get for having a girlfriend whose friend was having a house warming on Staten Island, keeping you away from your computer on a Saturday night…anyway, here are some thoughts on yesterday’s 5-2 Yankee win over the Tigers:

*Kyle Farnsworth blew through the heart of the Tigers’ order like a hot knife through butter, striking out Magglio Ordonez and Gary Sheffield with some high heat. He went to Sheff’s strength…and won. After the game Joe Torre verbally lifted Kyle out of the doghouse.

*Roger Clemens’ 2-1-1 double play on a strike out/tag out of Marcus Thames and Brandon Inge was something the Rocket called “Instinct”. Whatever it was, this play in the top of the third was one of many ways that Clemens let batters reach base but kept them from scoring. The Rocket gave up ten hits but just two earned runs in six innings. He struck out eight batters (including several important ones when he needed them) and did not issue a walk. This is why you sign a 45-year old Hall of Famer — he may not have the stuff he had a decade ago, but he hasn’t forgotten how to battle.

*While standing in Joe Torre’s office after the game I noticed a scorecard with Joba Chamberlain’s named crossed out from the “available” players list. So far the Yankee brass are sticking to their guns by not pitching this wonderful talent two days in a row.

Starter or future closer? Let the debates begin.

*Two of Roger’s boys (Kevin or Kyle or Kobe or Karson or Kirk or Kane or Kirby or Kaleb or Keith) were running around the locker room yesterday, hanging out with uncle Andy while the media waited for Dad.

*Friday night I had the pleasure of booing Gary Sheffield from the stands at Yankee Stadium…today I was at work in the locker room and got to ask Sheff first-hand about the crowd’s reaction to him. When asked whether the crowd bothered him he answered, “Did it look like it bothered me?” — referring to his 3-for-5 afternoon. Then I asked if he felt his three years in the Bronx were tarnished and he said that people booed because he was “special”.

“Special?” I asked.

“Only special people can get that kind of reaction from 60,000 people. It just means I am special.”

Hey, whatever helps you sleep, bro.