Bronx, N.Y., August 13, 2011 – Just when Yankee fans were thinking it was safe to put aside the offense and devote all their attention to the starting rotation, a familiar figure rode into town Saturday and stole the show, driving in six runs in a 9-2 win. The all but gone Jorge Posada took his turn in the lineup as the DH, striding twice to the plate with the bases loaded. All he did was drill a two-run single to give the Yanks the lead in the second on a 1-0 pitch, then lift a grand slam to right to make the game a 7-0 laugher three innings later. He had a single in the fourth as well, but the “underperforming” DH failed to plate a run with that one.

This game was supposed to be all about the rotation. Would Phil Hughes pitch well enough to claim the fifth spot, sending veteran A.J. Burnett to the pen? Or would he fail in his big chance, ceding the back end of the rotation spot to titular No. 2 starter Burnett. Did Phil win out?

Well, yes and no. Surely the six-inning outing allowing two runs on four hits was more than good enough. Consistently throwing 92-mph fastballs mixed intermittently with a slow curve and his work-in-progress change of pace, he struck out six and walked just one. The 65 strikes in 93 throws matched the number on his back, and he threw 14 first-pitch strikes to 23 batters. The six-inning start matched what every starter not named Sabathia has turned in since Freddy Garcia went five one week ago, so I guess it’s fair to say that Hughes would have made a bigger case going one more frame.

The day began with a short ceremony honoring Derek Jeter’s having stroked his 3,000th hit against these same Rays five weeks ago. Derek and his family received gifts from the Hall of Fame and the Yankees, and his teammates unveiled a sculpture honoring the Captain’s achievement, with the incomparable Mariano Rivera giving a short speeech expressing everyone’s appreciation. It’s vital to etch a good memory into August 13 Yankee history, as it has not been a good one. It was this day in 1964 that the disastrous CBS days began, as the network purchased 80 percent of the team. The Yanks were beaten by a Robin Ventura grand slam in a White Sox victory over them on this day in 1996. But worse by far, that was the one-year anniversary of the death of Mickey Mantle on August 13, 1995.

Cory Wade and Hector Noesi finished up the 9-2 win by retiring nine of 10 Rays through the ninth. Curtis Granderson followed up back-to-back strike outs by pulling into a tie for the league lead in home runs with his 33rd, and singling, walking and scoring twice. Mark Teixeira beat Tampa’s overshift to start the two-run third, and doubled to the wall in left in the middle of the two-run sixth. Brett Gardner, Jeter, and Robinson Cano had two hits apiece as well.

Atop the bizarre postgame news was an item about a finger cut that will knock Garcia out of the rotation for a turn. Despite Hughes’s above-average bid for the final spot, Burnett and he remain, with A.J. getting the Sunday start, weather premitting.

And Jorge Posada gets the last word. First, be clear on this: The anger and whining of sports and talk radio and forum and chat posts notwithstanding, the stadium crowd adores the one-time catcher. He was cheered lustily when he strode to the plate before doing anything Saturday. No one is being stupid here. We all know the calendar has taken most of its turns on Posada’s baseball career. But things happen. It was on this day in 1948 that the “immortal” but ancient Satchel Paige turned in his first complete game in the suddenly open major league baseball.

So does Jorge just get a token start at DH here, maybe one at first base every couple of weeks? A few pinch-hitting spots? Perhaps. But this is baseball, and you cannot count him out. If he dominates games like he did today, the Yanks will be hard pressed not to leave him out come October.

Wild West icon Annie Oakley would have been celebrating her 151st birthday this day. But when the tall dark stranger rode into the Bronx on Saturday aftrenoon, the strains of Home, Home on the Range were nowhere to be heard. No sir. Rather, it sounded something like this:

Hip Hip Jorge!

BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!