Yankeetorial: The best part of last night's game...

We didn't have to pay $51 million for the rights just to negotiate with Hiroki Kuroda. And his final bill won't cost us $110 million. Gotta give Brian Cashman credit there.

When you look at Texas, sometimes you see the Yankees under Steinbrenner in the early 1980s. They have the best lineup in baseball, and they chase every star who comes available - Yu Darvish, Roy Oswalt, Ryan Dempster, et al. The farm system is abundant, a steady flow of talent to be traded in July - but they're not necessarily improving.

The fact that we beat them twice this week means nothing. They have our number in October. Clearly, they are the team to beat. But something is wrong. They go out and get Ryan Dempster, and he turns into Denny Neagle. And of course, there is the disturbing trend of Yu Darvish.

Yu was the AL Pitcher of the Month in April. He was named to the All-Star team in July. But lately, he's gone Irabu.

On July 1, his ERA stood at 3.59. Today, it is 4.54. In his last three starts, he hasn't seen a seventh inning, and he's given up 16 earned runs. He might adjust and turn out fine. Or not. In his first incarnation with the Yankees, I remember Irabu being named AL Pitcher of the Month.

Meanwhile, Hiroki Kuroda keeps rolling. He damn near beat King Felix. With run support, he'd be among the league leaders in wins. Who knew? (Aside from Cash.)