It was a mixed bag for the Yankees’ farm teams today.   Overall, there was a fair amount of offense (except in Charleston…), but errors in the field hurt the lower level teams.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees drops third straight to Norfolk Tides 7-3:

Scranton leapt out to an early lead when Jesus Montero led off the second inning with a solo homer, followed by a triple by Mike Lamb who scored on a single by Brandon Laird.  Scranton hurler Adam Warren struggled in the bottom of the third, giving up a lead off single before issuing a walk and hitting Jake Fox with a pitch.  A singly by Brandon Snyder was followed by a double by Ryan Adams and Norfolk took a 4-2 lead.  Andrew Brackman’s struggles continued when he relieved Warren in the bottom of the sixth and gave up a two-run homer to Matt Angle.  Lamb hit a solo shot in the top of the seventh, but Norfolk got the run back in the bottom of the inning as the Yankees took a 7-3 loss and will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow.

General Notes:

• Jesus Montero (C), Jorge Vazquez (1B) and Kevin Whelan (CP) were all elected to the International League All-Star team today.
• Moving to the bullpen has done little for Andrew Brackman whose ERA is up to 7.91 now.  He’s given up 49 walks and struck out 51 this season.

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C.C. Sabathia wrote a little love letter to the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon.  He got a little nostalgic.  Remember when I came to Milwaukee in 2008, he said.  Remember when I threw three consecutive complete games and went 4-0 during my first month in a Brewers uniform.  Remember how I posted a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts against NL teams.  Remember how I threw five straight games on three days rest, including a complete-game shutout which clinched your first postseason appearance in nearly two decades.

Yes, I remember, said the white-hot Prince Fielder as he struck out on three consecutive sliders with the bases loaded in the third inning.

Yes, I remember, said Rickie Weeks, the likely All-Star starter, each of the three times he went down swinging.

Yes, I remember, said Corey Hart, as he became The Big Sleep’s eleventh victim at the end of the sixth.

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I get accused of hating Derek Jeter a lot. I don’t really think it’s a fair assessment because, well, I don’t hate Derek Jeter. Sure, I can be pretty critical of decisions pertaining to Jeter that are made, but I think that’s an entirely different matter than whether or not I like Derek Jeter, all else being equal. Anyway, the next time you think I’m being too hard on the ‘ole Captain, remember this Steve Goldman post at Pinstriped Bible:

In any case, it seems to me that Jeter’s impact on the 2011 race, the impact of his chase for 3000 on Joe Girardi’s decisions, and his impact on the future of the franchise given his everlasting gobstopper of a contract is THE story this year, and it’s what I’m interested in more than anything else. Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Jeter, in how the rest of his season plays out, shall nobly save or meanly lose the 2011 pennant. And then 2012 as well. Also, 2013.

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The Yankees took their sixth series in a row as they beat the Brewers 5-2 last night. They’ve won all five interleague series now, and against some pretty good opponents. This one got off to a bit of a slow start, as AJ Burnett walked Nyjer Morgan right before Ryan Braun was due up. Morgan stole second, and Braun promptly hit an RBI single to put the Brewers up 1-0 early. The dangerous Prince Fielder then hit into a double play to end the inning.