Yankees-Diamondbacks series preview

Bad flashbacks, anyone? It’s the Diamondbacks in Arizona this week. Fortunately, I have three tips that should help ease your pain:

1. Mariano Rivera has retired 21 straight hitters and allowed one hit in his last 11 innings pitched. He’s 40 years old and nobody notices.
2. Luis Gonzalez retired two years ago.
3. Repeat after me: Byung-Hyun Kim. Byung-Hyun Kim.

Head to Head:
The Yankees have played the Diamondbacks nine times since the infamous 2001 World Series and the Yankees have won seven of them. The last three came in 2007 with a sweep in the Bronx.

Pitching Matchups:

Date:	Yankees starters	Diamondbacks starters
Mon., 10:10 p.m.	A.J. Burnett (6-5, 4.33)	Rodrigo Lopez (2-6, 4.70)
Tues., 9:40 p.m.	A. Pettitte (8-2, 2.47)	Dan Haren (7-5, 4.71)
Wed., 9:40 p.m.	J. Vazquez (6-6, 5.01)	Dontrelle Willis (2-2, 4.78)

Players to Watch:
Yankees: Mark Teixeira. He has hit two homers in the last two days. Maybe he finally is breaking out of his season-long slump for real this time. 

Diamondbacks: Dan Haren. He’s an elite pitcher having a bad year. Something says he will value a start like Tuesday’s against the Yankees.

Prediction:
Let’s hope the Yankees are riding a five-game winning streak into the weekend series against the Dodgers, because that would mean the Yankees swept this team with ease.

Who is ready to stay up late this week and watch these games?