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AP MFY IGT - 2006

Elster88 Mar 15 2006 01:25 PM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Mar 22 2006 05:06 PM

Setting up 2006. Is Womack still on that team? His eyebrows scare me.

MFS62 Mar 15 2006 01:33 PM

I think he is, but he's been tougher to find than Waldo. EDIT Just checked their 2006 roster. He's not shown. (and now that I was on a Yankee site, I feel dirty). You owe me. Later

sharpie Mar 15 2006 01:35 PM

He's on the Reds, believe he was dealt right after the end of the '05 season.

seawolf17 Mar 20 2006 12:55 PM

Funny story: Yankee fan in my office goes down to Miami Beach for a long weekend with his wife. Driving around, they come across a white Porsche convertible driven by none other than Alex Rodriguez, who was apparently taking his time rejoining the Yanks after the USA got eliminated. They stalked him for a few blocks, then parked near him. He got out with two friends and went into a Hooters; my friend approached him, said hello, and got a nice A-Rod autograph... on a Hooter's menu. Now that's an original autograph.

MFS62 Mar 20 2006 12:56 PM

Chipper Jones got more from Hooters than A-Rod did. Later

sharpie Mar 20 2006 01:12 PM

Hooters: The place for especially hateable third basemen/other position guys who were featured on the losing Team USA.

Elster88 Mar 20 2006 01:15 PM

Did ARod really play third for Team USA? So letting Jeter keep short extends for every baseball team in the entire world? I hope we never have to play a from another world team for the rights to our planet.

sharpie Mar 20 2006 04:27 PM

MFYs lose 15-2 to the Tiggers. Mike Mussina gives up 10 runs in 4 innings including 4 home runs.

Edgy DC Mar 20 2006 04:43 PM

Quote prediction: "The important thing was that I got my work in."

metirish Mar 22 2006 04:44 PM

BREAKING NEWS......... ] Book: Sheff injected steroids BY KEN DAVIDOFF Newsday Staff Writer March 22, 2006, 2:44 PM EST "Game of Shadows," the explosive new book that puts together a damning dossier on Barry Bonds' steroid usage, also offers some new details of Gary Sheffield's relationship with the slugger and performance-enhancing drugs. Specifically, Sheffield -- who reportedly testified to the BALCO grand jury in December 2003 that he unknowingly used steroids -- took injectable testosterone and human growth hormone in January 2002, according to the book, written by San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. And the Yankees' rightfielder tried to maintain a relationship with Bonds' infamous trainer Greg Anderson, even after Bonds and Sheffield had a falling out. Newsday obtained a copy of the book, which will be sold in bookstores beginning tomorrow. In Sheffield's reported testimony, and a subsequent interview with Sports Illustrated, he spoke of using only "The Clear" and "The Cream," the former an oral drug, the latter applied by rubbing on his knees. Those drugs made an "unknowing" defense slightly more feasible, unlike injectable testosterone and HGH, which is also administered through a subcutaneous injection. Sheffield and Bonds worked out together in the offseasons following 2001 and 2002, and Bonds introduced Sheffield to Anderson. It was a drug calendar kept by Anderson, according to the book, that documented Sheffield's use of HGH and testosterone. When Bonds and Sheffield cut off communication that second offseason, due to several arguments, Sheffield attempted to obtain The Cream and The Clear through Anderson, the book reports. But Bonds ordered Anderson not to speak with Sheffield, and he told people in his entourage that he had offered BALCO head Victor Conte $100,000 if he refused to give Sheffield any more drugs. Jason Giambi's picture is on the book's cover, but he gets off relatively easy, as most of the details of his relationship with Bonds and BALCO had been publicized through the previous reporting of his grand jury testimony. The book does report that BALCO shipped its drugs -- via Federal Express -- to Giambi's homes in New York and Las Vegas and even his parents' home in Southern California.

Johnny Dickshot Mar 22 2006 04:46 PM

Now there's a shocker.

silverdsl Mar 22 2006 04:49 PM

I may be influenced by the fact that I think Sheffield is an asshat but I find it hard to believe that Sheffield didn't know what was in The Cream and The Clear, especially if it's true that he was knowingly injecting himself with other performance enhancers previously. Sheffield (and any other player in MLB) could still be using HGH to this day since it can't be detected under MLB's current testing.

Vic Sage Mar 22 2006 05:01 PM

i wonder... if you shoot an asshat with a bullet of cool, what do you get? Just another asshole, i guess.

SwitchHitter Mar 24 2006 10:55 AM

Y'all have probably seen these MFY-hater caps and posted about them in some thread I don't read. If not..... [url]http://www.yankeeshater.com/index.shtml[/url]

Elster88 Mar 24 2006 10:57 AM

I hope no Met fan ever wears that hat.

Edgy DC Mar 24 2006 10:59 AM

I like how Bonds describes how Greg Anderson's signature contribution to Bonds' training was to tell him when he needed to eat more broccoli.

Willets Point Mar 31 2006 11:34 AM

Freakin' hillarious

Edgy DC Mar 31 2006 11:42 AM

The greatest Yankee scapegoat to date remains Ed Whitson.

Willets Point Mar 31 2006 11:45 AM

They left out Chuck Knoblauch as well.

GYC Apr 03 2006 10:29 PM

A-Rod and Giambi already off to a great defensive start.

Rotblatt Apr 03 2006 10:49 PM

GYC wrote: A-Rod and Giambi already off to a great defensive start. Yeah, that was an ugly play all around. I have a hard time listening to the YES douchebags. Chavez at the plate, "Not to say that Chavez isn't a good fielder, but A-Rod had a good year with the glove last year. It's just hard to wrest a gold glove away from a guy who's won it 5 years in a row." The rating for this shit should be R (SC). Yankees up 3-0 as Zito can't locate his pitches at all. 4 walks and 3 singles given up by him, although he has K'ed 3 batters, including a "lucky" K of Sheffield with the bases loaded. A-Rod with another meaningless grand slam.

Johnny Dickshot Apr 03 2006 10:52 PM

Zito suxxxx.

SI Metman Apr 03 2006 10:53 PM

Zito Trade Value -----------

Nymr83 Apr 03 2006 11:01 PM

lets get him for Iriki while his value is at its lowest.

Frayed Knot Apr 03 2006 11:17 PM

A-Rod GS in a NYY blowout = meaningless stat padding Jeter GS on opening day = a flair for the BIG moment and a display of clutch leadership I like how the TV crew makes the Cano bunt out to be the big play of a 7-run inning. Yeah, there were about 11 BBs in that inning and about 3 other hits plus a Salami (all w/no outs) - but it was the bunt (which the A's screwed up) which was the REAL big play. Two reasons for this IMO: - Baseball media types LOVE small-ball and are constantly trumpeting it as a lost art rather than a relic of a bygone era - MFY types are convinced the reason they haven't won in 5 years due to lack of small-ball play so it falls to the YES mouthpieces to sell that idea

metirish Apr 03 2006 11:19 PM

Yeah but you love me...

Edgy DC Apr 03 2006 11:34 PM

Cano is also a homegrowner, and worth selling. They do their job right and he's Jeter 2.0. No matter how much they downplay A-Rod, his numbers will speak for themselves.

MFS62 Apr 04 2006 06:40 AM

Do the Mets need another starting pitcher? - maybe Will the Mets get another starting pitcher? - maybe Do I want the Mets to get Barry Zito - definitely not!! I watched the Yankee game last night. He has lost any "stuff" he may have had. His fastball topped out at 83 MPH!! His curve was a slow as 69 MPH Most of his pitches were in the 70's. That's senior beer league stuff. He made Jamie Moyer look like Sandy Koufax. He looked like he's maybe worth Endy Chavez in a trade. Certainly nothing more. Later

Rotblatt Apr 04 2006 07:24 AM

RJ did look pretty mediocre yesterday. I own him in 2 leagues, but you know what? It STILL makes me happy to see that.

Rotblatt Apr 05 2006 07:26 AM

The Yankees lost, 5-4, as former Met Scutaro singled over Matsui's head to drive in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. A-Rod went 2-5, but he struck out twice in key spots, and got thrown out trying to stretch one of his singles into a double. Mussina pitched well and looked pretty good in the first few innings I saw--7 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 HR .

Johnny Dickshot Apr 05 2006 07:43 AM

Saw the first few innings last nite, and the MFYs are just gonna suck at D this year. The A's got a gift in the 3rd when balls hit to Giambi's right and Cano's left, respectively, couldn't be handled (Cano got the E, Giambi didn't -- and didn;t deserve to -- even though it was just as funny, because he is terrible at first base).

Frayed Knot Apr 05 2006 10:23 AM

"A-Rod went 2-5, but he struck out twice in key spots, and got thrown out trying to stretch one of his singles into a double. " The throw out was more Bowa's fault than ARod's. He started to wave Sheffield home then appeared to change his mind at the last minute. Rodriguez figured he'd go to 2nd on the throw - either getting the free base or, at worst, drawing a throw to assure that the run scores. When Sheff stopped suddenly, Alex was cooked. All of which reminds me why most fans think their own 3rd base coach suxx. He never does anything wrong until he's on YOUR team. Farnsworth blew the A's away in a 10-pitch 8th inning ... then Torre went to Proctor for the 9th?!? A Walk, a Bunt (Yes, the A's sac-ed!), an IW, and Scutaro's single later (actually a one-hopper off the wall beyond Matsui but he never bothered running to 2nd) and the home fans left the park happy.

rpackrat Apr 05 2006 02:27 PM

]Farnsworth blew the A's away in a 10-pitch 8th inning ... then Torre went to Proctor for the 9th?!? A Walk, a Bunt (Yes, the A's sac-ed!), But that's exactly the situation where statheads say you SHOULD bunt. Sacrificing increases the likelihood of scoring ONE run in the ining, but decreases the likelihood of scoring MORE THAN ONE run. In that situation, one run was all that counted. Thus, a sacrifice is called for.

silverdsl Apr 05 2006 02:42 PM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Saw the first few innings last nite, and the MFYs are just gonna suck at D this year. The A's got a gift in the 3rd when balls hit to Giambi's right and Cano's left, respectively, couldn't be handled (Cano got the E, Giambi didn't -- and didn;t deserve to -- even though it was just as funny, because he is terrible at first base). One of my biggest criticisms of the Yankee teams of the past couple of years has been that there seems to be very little emphasis on defense. I guess they figure that the offense will beat up on so many teams that it won't matter but sometime this season I expect the iffy defense to really bite them. (as well as having two fragile as glass pitchers in Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano).

MFS62 Apr 05 2006 02:49 PM

They don't need greatdefensive players atthe other three infield positions because of all the ground Jeter covers. (high SC score) Later

Frayed Knot Apr 05 2006 04:22 PM

]But that's exactly the situation where statheads say you SHOULD bunt. Sacrificing increases the likelihood of scoring ONE run in the ining Actually it doesn't even do that; at best it's pretty much a wash. Yeah the runner's closer to home and you erase the logical GiDP, but now you've only got 2 shots at getting him in rather than 3. [url=http://www.tangotiger.net/RE9902score.html]The results from '99 - '02[/url] show that starting from: Runner on 1st/no outs = scoreless 56.3% of the time Runner on 2nd/1 out = scoreless 59.4% of the time You do increase the 'one-and-only-one' run odds (17.6% jumps to 23.0%) but that increase is at the expense of the '2-or-more' run outcomes (26.1% vs 17.5%) not from the scoreless innings. So it's still best to pick and choose who you're sacrificing with rather than just do it knee-jerk like even when it's a winning run situation (I forget now who was up for Oakland). I was just commenting on the sac because the A's so rarely do it - less than 20 all year last year I think I heard - even though it's certainly justifiable in that case.

Rotblatt Apr 06 2006 07:27 AM

Seeing that the Yankees lost last night turned my frown upside down this morning. Seeing that golden boys Jeter, Cano & Wang imploded got me giggling like a little school girl. 4th inning, NYY up 4-0, 1 out - E. Chavez singled to center - F. Thomas reached on fielder's choice, E. Chavez to second on D. Jeter's fielding error - D. Johnson walked, E. Chavez to third, F. Thomas to second - M. Bradley singled to left, F. Thomas and E. Chavez scored, D. Johnson to second - J. Payton singled to right, D. Johnson to third, M. Bradley to second - J. Kendall grounded into fielder's choice, D. Johnson scored, M. Bradley to third, J. Payton out at second 5th inning, NYY up 4-3 - M. Kotsay singled to right - M. Ellis grounded into fielder's choice, M. Kotsay out at second - E. Chavez singled to right, M. Ellis to third - F. Thomas struck out swinging - D. Johnson walked, E. Chavez to second - M. Bradley walked, M. Ellis scored, E. Chavez to third, D. Johnson to second - T. Sturtze relieved C. Wang 8th inning, OAK, NYY tied at 4's (J. Wright pitching) - M. Bradley tripled to deep center - J. Payton safe at first on second baseman R. Cano's fielding error, M. Bradley scored - J. Kendall singled to right, J. Payton to third - M. Scutaro singled to center, J. Payton scored, J. Kendall to second - M. Myers relieved J. Wright - M. Kotsay struck out swinging - K. Farnsworth relieved M. Myers - J. Kendall to third on wild pitch - M. Ellis walked, M. Scutaro to second - E. Chavez popped out to first - F. Thomas doubled to deep left center, M. Scutaro, M. Ellis and J. Kendall scored - N. Swisher ran for F. Thomas - R. Villone relieved K. Farnsworth Jeter went only 1-4 with a K A-Rod went 0-3 with 2 K and a HBP Bernie went 0-4 with 3 K Good times.

Johnny Dickshot Apr 06 2006 07:28 AM

MFYs by the way also coughed up a 4-0 lead and were humiliated last nite. I stayed up only long enough to see it tied (3 runs coming as a result of Jeter & Cano f-ing up an EZ DP ball). The rest came in the 8th thanks in part to Cano booting a Jay Payton grounder.

Edgy DC Apr 06 2006 08:07 AM

Milton Bradley, American hero.

Frayed Knot Apr 06 2006 09:42 AM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Apr 06 2006 10:06 AM

Several more cases of shaky defense. * The Jeter/Cano non-DP was mentioned: Jeter bobbled a sure DP ball, then picked it up in time to still get the force but Cano dropped the flip (I think only Jeter got an error). * Bradley's triple to lead off the 8th would have been a great play if Damon came up with it but he didn't look real smooth chasing it (kinda like Matsui chasing Scutaro's the night before). Since the middle of last year Johnny Angel hasn't looked like the great ball hawk from previous seasons. * So then the infield's in and Payton hits a chopper to Cano, Bradley holds ... until Cano mis-plays it and MB trots home. Then the roof fell in on Wright & Farnsworth; kinda like Julio.

metirish Apr 06 2006 09:46 AM

Torre should hold a team meeting to remind them that they are Yankees.

Edgy DC Apr 06 2006 09:53 AM

It's because Jaret Wright had the gall to come out of the bullpen to "Edgy's Heart." Which is amazing considering he got to pick his entrance music on the road.

Johnny Dickshot Apr 08 2006 01:05 AM

Thuh-uhhhhh Yankees lose! Shawn Cahcon surrenders a double & homer to the first 2 batters he faces and it was all over. Anggels 4. MFYs 1 MFYs 1-3 Mets 3-1

Willets Point Apr 08 2006 01:28 AM

San Francisco needs to rally and give us H3.

Johnny Dickshot Apr 09 2006 01:18 AM

MFY's muster all of 5 hits and lose again, this time 3-2. They're 1-4 and in last place.

Yancy Street Gang Apr 09 2006 07:33 AM

Very nice, but I remember their slow start last year, and getting excited at the thought that they'd finally miss the playoffs. Maybe this will be the year.

Elster88 Apr 09 2006 10:09 AM

That lineup has to wake up at some point.

Bret Sabermetric Apr 09 2006 10:19 AM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: MFY's muster all of 5 hits and lose again, this time 3-2. They're 1-4 and in last place. Could you include Big Stein's BP reading with those current stats, please?

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 01:29 PM

Yankee game on in a radio in my office today. I hate Suzyn's voice. Whoever first put her on the radio should be shot and hanged. 3-0 Yanx.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 01:33 PM

Giambi loves that short porch.

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 01:34 PM

Minetkiewicz singles raising his batting average to .200.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 01:39 PM

Oh, Dougie . . . I can't believe I thought you'd have a good 2005 for us. Teahen doubles in Mientkiewicz to make it 3-1.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 02:23 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Apr 11 2006 02:27 PM

Matsui walks with the bases drunk to make it 4-1. Wang imploding in the 4th: - M. Sweeney grounded out to shortstop - R. Sanders homered to deep left - D. Mientkiewicz grounded out to first - E. Brown doubled to deep center - E. Brown to third on wild pitch - M. Teahen walked - A. Berroa singled to center, E. Brown scored, M. Teahen to third - J. Buck singled to deep right, M. Teahen scored, A. Berroa to third - S. Costa lined out to center - End of Inning (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) 4-4 edited for update

sharpie Apr 11 2006 02:27 PM

4-4 now.

Yancy Street Gang Apr 11 2006 02:36 PM

Nice.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 02:41 PM

Unpossible! - R. Cano singled to pitcher - B. Williams singled to right, R. Cano to second - J. Damon sacrificed to third, R. Cano to third, B. Williams to second - D. Jeter walked - G. Sheffield popped into double play shortstop to second, B. Williams out at second - End of Inning (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) Still 4-4

Yancy Street Gang Apr 11 2006 02:43 PM

Popped into a double play? Did Bernie screw up somehow?

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 03:04 PM

I'm not sure--I'm operating off of Yahoo! Sports. What I AM sure of, however, is that Torre left Wang in there too long. - D. Mientkiewicz walked - E. Brown singled to third, D. Mientkiewicz to second - M. Teahen reached on bunt single to pitcher, D. Mientkiewicz to third, E. Brown to second - A. Berroa grounded into double play shortstop to first, D. Mientkiewicz scored, E. Brown to third, M. Teahen out at second

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 03:07 PM

I'm cool with that.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 03:13 PM

Wang STILL pitching in the seventh. Maybe Torre thinks he's managing the Mets game.

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 03:14 PM

Shane Costa (???) with a home run. 6-4 KC.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 03:16 PM

Oops. And I was wrong. Sturtze came in to relieve Wang.

sharpie Apr 11 2006 03:17 PM

Tanyon Sturtze comes in and promptly gives up a homer to Costa (whoever that is).

Willets Point Apr 11 2006 03:19 PM

Rotblatt wrote: Oops. And I was wrong. Sturtze came in to relieve Wang. A sentence with the words "came" "relieve" and "Wang" is open to so many naughty interpretations.

OlerudOwned Apr 11 2006 03:22 PM

Willets Point wrote: ="Rotblatt"]Oops. And I was wrong. Sturtze came in to relieve Wang. A sentence with the words "came" "relieve" and "Wang" is open to so many naughty interpretations. Well someone had to relieve Wang after he'd gotten beaten around so much.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 03:23 PM

And "Sturtze" just SOUNDS like a VD, doesn't it? "Yeah, I hooked up with this chick last week and I got a bad case of sturtze."

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 03:24 PM

Bill Simmons wrote: Tanyon Sturtze sounds like a national park. "I took my girlfriend to Tanyon Sturtze last week. It's lovely this time of year. 7-4 KC.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 03:54 PM

The Mighty Yankees have the tying run at the plate in the form of Pusada in the bottom of the 8th.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 03:56 PM

Posada walks, and now it's Cano with the bases drunk and no outs. Cano represents the go-ahead run.

Johnny Dickshot Apr 11 2006 04:03 PM

MFYs have 9 walks in this freaking game. If the other guys are gonna give it to ya...

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 04:04 PM

Jeter homers and immediately receives an on-the-air blow job from Suzyn.

Rotblatt Apr 11 2006 04:04 PM

Well, shit. - A. Sisco relieved E. Dessens - J. Giambi walked - H. Matsui singled to right, J. Giambi to second - J. Posada walked, J. Giambi to third, H. Matsui to second - R. Cano grounded into fielder's choice, J. Giambi scored, H. Matsui to third, J. Posada out at second - B. Williams singled to left center, H. Matsui scored, R. Cano to second - A. Burgos relieved A. Sisco - J. Damon struck out swinging - D. Jeter homered to deep left, B. Williams and R. Cano scored 9-7 MFY

Elster88 Apr 11 2006 04:13 PM

You know what? The Yankees beating the Royals at home 9-7 on a 5-run eighth doesn't bother me in the least.

Willets Point Apr 11 2006 04:13 PM

I'm achin' for a triple happiness, but it looks like it will be defered. OE: Atlanta's not playing today anyway so it would only be double happiness. O2E: But it's not going to happen anyway. Oh and the Yankees are going to win the World Series this year.

seawolf17 Apr 11 2006 04:15 PM

WP = Michael Kay ?!?!

Willets Point Apr 11 2006 04:16 PM

Bite your tongue!

metirish Apr 11 2006 04:25 PM

] Jeter homers and immediately receives an on-the-air blow job from Suzyn. Brilliant quote Elster....I might have to steal that line...

soupcan Apr 11 2006 04:37 PM

metirish wrote: ] Jeter homers and immediately receives an on-the-air blow job from Suzyn. Brilliant quote Elster....I might have to steal that line... I liked it too.

Edgy DC Apr 11 2006 07:25 PM

Willets is a great believer in playing reverse psychology on the aseballbay odsgay. It's worked for him since 2001. I'm not going to argue with him.

metirish Apr 14 2006 03:14 PM

Steinbrenner not impressed. ] Boss ready for run at Mets BY JIM BAUMBACH Newsday Staff Writer April 14, 2006 The Mets may have the best record in baseball at 7-1, but George Steinbrenner isn't impressed. Asked after yesterday's 9-3 Yankees win what he thought of the crosstown rivals, The Boss said, "They're all right. We'll be ready for them." The Yankees and Mets play their first three-game interleague series at Shea Stadium May 19-21 and another three in the Bronx June 30-July 2. When asked a follow-up question about the Mets -- who beat the Nationals, 13-4, yesterday -- Steinbrenner nodded and replied, "We'll be ready to play them." They usually are. The Yankees are 29-19 against the Mets since interleague play was introduced in 1997 and they won the 2000 Subway Series in five games. Still, with talk like this so early in the season, it figures to be a heated baseball summer.

Johnny Dickshot Apr 14 2006 03:23 PM

]"They're all right. We'll be ready for them." ... ... Still, with talk like this so early in the season, it figures to be a heated baseball summer. Boy, Jim, you're right! Them are fightin' words! One time a guy said I was all right, so I punched him in the neck and kneed him right in the balls.

metirish Apr 14 2006 03:28 PM

The Daily News has an extra quote from George...quite funny . Asked to be more specific, Steinbrenner momentarily struggled to hear reporters over the enthusiastic cheers of fans waiting to catch a glimpse of him outside the Yankee offices.

The Mets or the Nets?" asked Steinbrenner, whose YES Network airs Nets games. Finally realizing he was being asked about the baseball team, Steinbrenner said, "We'll be ready for 'em when we play them."

]

Elster88 Apr 14 2006 03:33 PM

Those poor reporters. With no Steinbrenner soundbites they might have to find actual news to report.

metirish Apr 14 2006 03:36 PM

If you read Bob Raissman today you'll see that these reporters wait on Stenbrenner like little puppies.... http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/408699p-345949c.html

Nymr83 Apr 14 2006 04:47 PM

well why wouldnt they? he's been opening his big mouth giving them fodder for 20+ years.

Rotblatt Apr 15 2006 12:05 AM

Youngster Baker shuts down the MFY for 7. Twins win, 5-1. Sweet.

metirish Apr 15 2006 10:56 PM

Great game tonight for the Twins, after being up 4 to zip the MFY went ahead 5 to 4, then the great Rivera blew it....Twins win....

Johnny Dickshot Apr 15 2006 11:06 PM

Just walking home, passed the corner bar, looked in the window just in time to see the Twins celebrating at home plate. Awesome.

Iubitul Apr 16 2006 07:22 AM

[url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/409313p-346439c.html]And the excuses continue...[/url] ]MINNEAPOLIS - Mariano Rivera struck out two batters last night, but it was the one he didn't that really bothered the Yankees. The Bombers were certain that their closer had whiffed Luis Castillo leading off the ninth inning and were furious when third base ump Ed Montague ruled on an appeal that Castillo had checked his swing on a 1-2 pitch. Given another chance, Castillo beat out a squibber just in front of home plate and ultimately came around to score on Justin Morneau's two-run, game-winning single with two outs. Joe Torre clearly was hot about the call. When asked if he had a bad feeling about the inning once Castillo reached on his dribbler, Torre frowned and said, "Once he got the extra strike." Did he think Castillo had swung? "You tell me," the manager said. Alex Rodriguez didn't hesitate when asked about the call. Standing at third base, he essentially had the same view as Montague and didn't think there was even a question. "I thought he did," A-Rod said. "From any angle, he clearly went (around)." Joe Mauer followed Castillo with a single to left that put runners on second and third (Mauer took second on the throw to third by left fielder Hideki Matsui). Rivera came back to strike out Rondell White and Torii Hunter, but then surrendered Morneau's broken-bat hit that ended the game. "The whole complexion of that inning changed when that (pitch) is not called a strike," Rodriguez said. Rivera did not want to sound as though he were making excuses, but said Castillo "definitely swung" at his 1-2 pitch and thought he might have struck out the following hitter, Mauer, on a pitch that was called a ball, too. He did not say anything to Montague or plate ump Jerry Layne, however, because he felt there was no point. "What can you do about it?" Rivera said. "That was how (Montague) evaluated it. He is calling the game. There is nothing you can do about it." This was the second straight night the Yanks had a problem with one of Montague's decisions. On Friday, he called Jorge Posada out at home in the fifth after the catcher tried to tag up and score on a fly ball to right field. Replays clearly showed that Mauer swiped at Posada but did not come close to tagging him as the Yanks catcher slapped the plate with his hand. If he had been safe, the Yanks would have tied the game at 2 and might have been able to do more off 24-year-old pitcher Scott Baker. Last night, they would have liked to have seen what Rivera could have done if Castillo had been rung up. "It sure looked like he had the first two guys struck out," Johnny Damon said. "They really got some breaks right there."

Rotblatt Apr 16 2006 08:18 AM

Would coulda shoulda. If swings and misses weren't called strikes, Cliff probably would have hit 3 home runs yesterday and we would've won.

Edgy DC Apr 16 2006 08:23 AM

And that guy wants to use Billy Wagner's song.

Frayed Knot Apr 16 2006 11:55 AM

I think it's time to declare that Mariano is no longer 'Sandman Worthy' ... or at least he should be according to the logic of some. I didn't see the end of last night's game so I can't comment on the swing issue (Posada WAS safe the night before). I did see the first coupla innings and the Twins should have been up by more than 4-Zip early. Jaret Wright had diddly but the Twinkies left a ton of runners on. Skimmed over in that article is that the throw to 3rd by Matsui was the real mistake. He had no chance to get the runner there (it was Castillo who was running on the pitch) and making the throw allowed the batter/runner (and eventual game-winning run) to waltz into 2nd. If he throws behind the runner the game-winning single merely ties the game.

mlbaseballtalk Apr 16 2006 05:46 PM

Madon! Are we ever going to have a "Triple..." thread for 2006?

mlbaseballtalk Apr 16 2006 06:07 PM

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Elster88 Apr 16 2006 07:52 PM

mlbaseballtalk wrote: Madon! The phrase is actually Madonna, and is a plea to the Holy Mother for help. No one says Madon, except in the Sopranos.

mlbaseballtalk Apr 16 2006 07:59 PM

Elster88 wrote: ="mlbaseballtalk"]Madon! The phrase is actually Madonna, and is a plea to the Holy Mother for help. No one says Madon, except in the Sopranos. Sonny Corleone said it in the Godfather. Then again Cann is Irish right? Ah Yankees win anyway, avoid the sweep and are still stuck in the mud

Elster88 Apr 16 2006 08:01 PM

Eh, I dunno. It's possible and probable that some peeps use the bastardized form. But most of the time they say the full word but the emphasis is so great on the middle syllable that you don't hear the last syllable. But yes, it's much more common in the movies/TV.

ScarletKnight41 Apr 19 2006 09:38 PM

I see that the MFY's motto this year is Pride, Power, Pinstripes. Puke!

Centerfield Apr 22 2006 02:03 AM

Benson picks up the win tonight against the MFY's. Larger story is this, bases loaded, 2 outs, Wang induces a ground ball that Jeter has to range about two steps to his right to field. He gets it, throws high, 2 runs score. The scoring: Base Hit. Here's the amazing part, announcers don't even question the call. In fact, they call it a great play on both ends (Jeter, and Phillips who went high to catch Jeter's awful throw). Amazing.

Nymr83 Apr 22 2006 02:04 AM

the yankee "anouncers" are amongst the biggest cheerleaders in pro-sports. As team captain, jeter gets his fair share of blow jobs, mostly from Waldman.

Edgy DC Apr 26 2006 08:47 AM

I tuned into the Tampa feed. Goofy how every reference of "Devil" has been removed. They'll likely have a new name by opening day next year, I guess.

ScarletKnight41 Apr 26 2006 10:32 PM

What is the derivation of our term "The Bedpan"? I referred to the MFY's home by that name tonight. D-Dad didn't know what I was talking about, and I didn't know how to explain the term to him.

Elster88 Apr 27 2006 12:24 PM

14 Yankees walked in the game yesterday. 0 of those Yankees scored.

Frayed Knot Apr 27 2006 01:56 PM

I only caught an inning or two of it last night but that was a very strange game. And, as usual, only the Yanx can turn a 2-2 game into a 4+ hour affair. At one point the Yanx turned a few of those walks into a groundball DP even though they started from a 2nd & 3rd/1-out situation following a Damon sac bunt. - Cano on 3rd, Bubba Crosby (I think) on 2nd; - Jeter chops a bouncer to Wiggy @ 3rd - Cano has no business going but does anyway and is caught in a rundown before he's even halfway home - The D-Rays quickly tag him out after he tries almost no evasive action - Crosby was then caught miles off 2nd, possibly because he wasn't prepared for how quickly Cano was snagged ... DP. inning over despite 2 leadoff walks. Cano's turned out to be a much better hitter than a lot of people thought at this time last year but he can be a real dunderhead at times.

Elster88 Apr 28 2006 02:09 PM

Have anyone seen this before? [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SXZRUmlWdk&search=alex%20rodriguez]ARod clip[/url]

Willets Point Apr 28 2006 02:52 PM

Elster88 wrote: Have anyone seen this before? [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SXZRUmlWdk&search=alex%20rodriguez]ARod clip[/url] TV Producer to cameramen: "Look, A-Rod's jacking off with his bat. Quick, get me a close-up frontal view!!"

Elster88 May 08 2006 09:22 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 08 2006 03:13 PM

Jose Contreras (1.41) and Javier Vazquez (2.88) are 1st and 5th in the AL in ERA. Edit: AL.

Iubitul May 08 2006 02:32 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: What is the derivation of our term "The Bedpan"? I referred to the MFY's home by that name tonight. D-Dad didn't know what I was talking about, and I didn't know how to explain the term to him. Actually, that term wasn't started here ;-) Look at Yankee Stadium from a bird's-eye view - it looks like a bedpan.

Willets Point May 09 2006 01:58 PM

Plunk Papi? So suggests The New York Post.

Frayed Knot May 09 2006 02:23 PM

Yanqui fan callers to talk radio have been suggesting plunking Papi for about 3 years now. If ya can't beat 'im, bean 'im. btw, Sheffield to the DL, Melky Cabrera up. Cabrera was the one who came up briefly to play CF last year and bombed both offensively & (more importantly since it was the reason he was called in the first place) defensively. He's been hitting real well in AAA and will probably play RF full time until Sheff's drugs kick in ... I mean wrist heals.

Frayed Knot May 09 2006 11:33 PM

Well one game tonight was fun to watch. * G-I-am-Big stakes the Yanx to a 2-0 lead * But then the Big Eunuch falls apart with walks, wild-pitches, 2 ARod errors, a few hits here and there, and suddenly it's 7-2 BoSox and RJ doesn't get out of the 4th inning * Then later on Melky Cabrera drops a 2-out pop-up to let in 2 more runs

metirish May 09 2006 11:35 PM

You just know A-Rod will take the blame for this with his two errors, he is such a yankee warrior...

Johnny Dickshot May 09 2006 11:38 PM

The Cabrera popup was high comedy. Johnson and Gayrod are going to get so butchered tomorrow it'll almost make me sorry I take so little pity on the MFYs.

metirish May 09 2006 11:43 PM

Dickshot take it easy now.....tomorrow when you get the paper you know you will turn first to the MFY coverage and take delight in it....do not feel bad for that.......

Frayed Knot May 09 2006 11:57 PM

I almost feel sorry for ARod. Not really, but sorta sometimes. He's such a good player (even though having a bit of an off-year so far) but the Yanx fans are so convinced that he's "un-clutch" that they're blaming him for everything short of high gas prices and hurricane Katrina. At this point it's just a matter of finding the examples tht fit the pre-determined label and I don't think there's much he can do to turn the image around.

Edgy DC May 10 2006 12:08 AM

Then you remember he used all the leverage he could muster to get himself to the Yankees.

Johnny Dickshot May 10 2006 07:06 AM

silverdsl May 10 2006 09:42 AM

The biggest goat of the game was RJ. He's supposed to be the Ace of the pitching staff and he's been extremely inconsistant. But that is to be expected as his age catches up with him. I'd guess his back is also bothering him. Errors are going to happen, especially when one of the players in question is a rookie with limited experience in the majors. Though Cabrera did make another bad error the last time he was called up, also against the Red Sox.

Centerfield May 10 2006 09:51 AM

It's almost a given, that after any big Yankee loss, the rags will put a picture of A-Rod.

Rotblatt May 10 2006 04:09 PM

From [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/sports/baseball/10yanks.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=login&adxnnlx=1147291379-mmO6GlmXhw0lrqu4pEH4IQ]the Times[/url]: ]Johnson threw 92 pitches, and the Red Sox swung and missed only three times. Whoa.

metirish May 11 2006 04:09 PM

This just makes me laugh...

Edgy DC May 11 2006 04:14 PM

I love that. His winning perfomance, by implicaiton, is a result in part of him getting ripped. I call you a bum. You go out and do something bumly, I'm justified because I'm right. You go out and do something noble, I'm justified, because I motivated you to prove me wrong. Either way I can justify myself. In actuality, I'm just an abusive creep.

Rotblatt May 11 2006 04:49 PM

tee-hee! The best part is that Steinbrenner's comment was hardly a rip. I mean, "We all played bad. Especially our third baseman" hardly qualifies as rousing invective. Sal and Norrin (off the top of my head) dish out better in their sleep.

Frayed Knot May 11 2006 11:19 PM

Yeah, but it's like reading code with George. Notice that whenever he's OK with someone he calls them by their name: 'I think Joe and his coaches are doing a wonderful job' But when he's mad at someone he starts inventing titles: I'm not pleased with the manager' ... or 'the 3rd baseman isn't getting it done' So the press corps then has to interpret these signals and transform them into major news because if they don't they know their competitors will. In the meantime the Sox take the condom (rubber) game 5-3 - and who but the Yanx can turn a 5-3 game into a 4+ hour affair? - Loretta's 8th inning 2-RBI single erased a 3-2 MFY lead and then they tacked on another off Mariano in the 9th. Rivera was the Yanx' 7th pitcher of the night. - Boston really should have killed them; they left about eleventeen runners on in every inning and the Yanqui OFers stole two HRs (Crosby & Damon). Funny part was that after all that good defense it was 2 errors by Captain Clutch which contributed to a couple of the runs (wonder if he'll be on the back pages tomorrow? ... no I don't). - Chacon only gave up 1 run thru 4.2 but had thrown over 100 pitches so Torre pulled him 1 out short of a possible win and brought in Proctor to get the final out of the 5th. - And Hidecki Matsui's consect game streak is over. He twisted (or maybe worse) his wrist trying for a sliding catch against the 2nd batter of the game - and apparently there are specific rules as to what qualifies for a game appearence. And so because he neither batter nor completed a full inning in the field it doesn't count as an appearance. He had a streak of some 1,700+ games dating back to Japan and about 1994 which was a big deal to him and to the ever-present Nippon press corps. The way he left the field it looks like he'll miss tomorrow anyway and maybe more than a few tomorrows. Looks like Melky Cabrera is up for a while.

Elster88 May 12 2006 08:59 AM

="metirish"]This just makes me laugh... This picture is going to change every day.

silverdsl May 12 2006 09:31 AM

Matsui broke his wrist. He will have surgery today and be out a minimum of three months. I wouldn't be surprised if he was out almost the entire season. Additionally, Gary Sheffield's wrist injury might be worse than originally thought. He's going for another MRI and he may need surgery as well.

Elster88 May 12 2006 09:31 AM

That's too bad. I like Godzilla. (SC = 0)

metirish May 12 2006 09:34 AM

What a shitty OF they have now....

Edgy DC May 12 2006 10:00 AM

Irish and I look awfully insensitive at the top of the page here.

metirish May 12 2006 10:07 AM

Very true Edgy, just for the record I wish Matsui a speedy recovery.

Frayed Knot May 12 2006 10:23 AM

]This picture is going to change every day. Yeah that's the danger of posting newspaper images. One of these days someone's going to write something along the lines of; 'this headline cracks me up', and a day or two later that same front/back page is suddenly going to read; 'THOUSANDS DEAD IN EARTHQUAKE'

Edgy DC May 12 2006 02:19 PM

Does non-IG Yankee content go here? Texarkana Gazette hearts Jeter.

metirish May 12 2006 02:28 PM

WOW....we had this argument weeks ago ... ]I’m no Yankee fan; never have been. But anyone who’s followed Jeter over his career and considers him the most overrated player in the game is either smoking something illegal or just plain stupid. The article started out ok but quickly turned into a puff piece on Jeter.

GYC May 16 2006 09:40 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 16 2006 09:45 PM

This is just stupid. They were down 9-0 and now lead 11-10. I hate Texas.

ScarletKnight41 May 16 2006 09:43 PM

I know what you're trying to express, but I'd prefer it if you used a different term.

GYC May 16 2006 09:45 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: I know what you're trying to express, but I'd prefer it if you used a different term. Sorry. 12-11 now on a 2-run shot by Wilkerson. So much for bullpens. Edit: Why does the Sid Fernandez under your name link to Alfonzo?

ScarletKnight41 May 16 2006 09:49 PM

Thanks for the edit GYC :) As for the linking, I don't know - I'm not an administrator.

metirish May 16 2006 10:42 PM

Texas take the lead again 13 to 12, Rivera pitching.

Willets Point May 16 2006 10:46 PM

Cap'n Clutch up in the bottom of the 9th.

metirish May 16 2006 10:47 PM

Fuck not Jeter, Klapisch and the boys must be getting hard at the thought of this.....

Willets Point May 16 2006 10:49 PM

I'm watching the Yankees game but listening to Velvet Underground's "Heroin". Kind of a fun mix.

Edgy DC May 16 2006 10:49 PM

Captain Clutch needs a triple to become Señor Cycle.

Willets Point May 16 2006 10:53 PM

Showing his bold leadership and all the intangibles he brings to the table, Jeter grounds out, but moves the runner up. What an amazing productive out for the Captain!

Willets Point May 16 2006 10:57 PM

SHIT! I didn't need to see that. Last time I tune in to watch the Yankees lose.

Gwreck May 16 2006 10:58 PM

metirish wrote: Fuck not Jeter, Klapisch and the boys must be getting hard at the thought of this..... Nope, it was Posada with the walk-off. Akinori Otsuka, FUCK! Don't groove a 3-1 pitch when you've got 2 out and first base open!

GYC May 16 2006 10:58 PM

They still won. Unbelievable.

metirish May 16 2006 11:00 PM

Klapisch will just change the name form Jeter to Posoda and still write his puff piece.

Frayed Knot May 16 2006 11:01 PM

The Rangers can't beat the Yanx no matter how hard they try (or don't). Texas used about 7 different pitchers tonight and I don't think I had heard of any of them until Otsuka came in for the 9th ... and promptly blew it.

Zvon May 16 2006 11:06 PM

wow. I saw that collision at the plate earlier with Posada. I figured he was dun for the night after that. He ties it and hits the walk off. Just wow.

Johnny Dickshot May 17 2006 12:13 AM

can we kill Buck Showalter?

metirish May 17 2006 11:35 AM

More Jeter worship.... [url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/ny-sbyside174744801may17,0,1801792.story?coll=ny-baseball-headlines]This explains it all[/url]

Centerfield May 17 2006 01:41 PM

] "Jeter was in every rally," Johnny Damon said. Well, I guess if you call grounding out to the pitcher being in the rally. That Newsday article was exactly the type of crap I was spoofing in my WBC "Jeter Fails to do all the Little Things that Constitute the Difference Between Winning and Losing" article.

Willets Point May 17 2006 02:17 PM

This weeks Dustinland takes on the Yankee fan.

metirish May 18 2006 09:17 PM

Aaron Small with start on Sunday and not Chacon.

cooby May 19 2006 08:17 PM

2 questions: When did Tona Pena become a Yankee? When did Lee Mazzilli rebecome a Yankee?

seawolf17 May 19 2006 08:24 PM

cooby wrote: 2 questions: When did Tona Pena become a Yankee? When did Lee Mazzilli rebecome a Yankee? (1) Don't know. (2) Right after the O's dumped him.

SteveJRogers May 19 2006 08:26 PM

seawolf17 wrote: ="cooby"]2 questions: When did Tona Pena become a Yankee? When did Lee Mazzilli rebecome a Yankee? (1) Don't know. (2) Right after the O's dumped him. 1) When Joe Girardi moved to Miami

Gwreck May 19 2006 08:38 PM

The Yankees have *four* former managers as coaches. Is that a record?

metirish May 19 2006 08:39 PM

Probably a record held by many teams.

cooby May 19 2006 09:45 PM

Cripes, looking in their dugout, how many coaches do they have period? I've been sitting here trying to remember who the Mets pitching coach was when we were kids; does anybody remember? I know that's totally non Yankee related, sorry...

DocTee May 19 2006 09:47 PM

Joe Pignataro?

cooby May 19 2006 09:49 PM

I was trying to think of all the Mets coaches from say, early 1970's, Eddie Yost, Sherriff Robinson, Piggy (thanks!). I mean, did they truly have a mere THREE?

Edgy DC May 19 2006 10:42 PM

Rube Walker, man. Pitching coach from Hodges' first day to Torre's last.

cooby May 19 2006 11:20 PM

Rube Walker, right. Still, the coaching staffs of yesteryear were quaintly small.

SteveJRogers May 19 2006 11:30 PM

cooby wrote: Rube Walker, right. Still, the coaching staffs of yesteryear were quaintly small. Size of the staff didn't really start growing untill the late 70's, early 80's when the hitting, pitching and bullpen coach became regular positions rather than a doubled up job. Then in the 80's you started seeing strenth & conditioning guys getting unis and the Bullpen Catchers and Batting Practice Pitchers began being considered "official" coaches and such Now it seems all teams go 5 deep with regular guys, (Bench, Hit, Pitch, BP, 1B, 3B) with a mess of extraneous coaches

cooby May 19 2006 11:32 PM

Don't forget your obligatory 'girl in cammo giving high fives'

Gwreck May 19 2006 11:42 PM

Jeff DaVannon just hit a 3-run HR for the DBacks to put them ahead of the Braves, 7-5 in the bottom of the 6th.

Willets Point May 20 2006 12:14 AM

Ok I'm really confused. This is supposed to be the all purpose in game thread for Yankees games, but they're playing the Mets so we're doubling up now. And then Arizona-Atlanta update comes totally out of leftfield.

metirish May 20 2006 01:25 PM

Just read in the Times that Pavano now needs surgery on his elbow.

Johnny Dickshot May 20 2006 03:12 PM

MFYs eploying Tony Pena could provide an edge in the pursuit of his teenage son, Fransisco. His other kid is still with the Braves org. Linky

cooby May 20 2006 03:32 PM

Speaking of sons and Tony Pena, my son is named after him

cleonjones11 May 21 2006 12:23 AM

Tony Payson?

Frayed Knot May 22 2006 12:44 AM

Shawn Chacon DL'd and one-time Met Terrance Long called up to roam the OF (I didn't know he was even in their system)

Methead May 22 2006 09:43 PM

Yeah... I didn't hear about Long either, so I checked Rotoworld. I love this sequence of posts. First: May. 19, 2006 - 9:33 pm Yankees signed outfielder Terrence Long to a minor league contract. Long was hitting .229/.260/.292 in 48 at-bats for Triple-A Louisville before the Reds released him earlier this month. It would be bad news if the Yankees need him at any point. Followed almost immediately by this gem: May. 22, 2006 - 1:08 am Yankees purchased the contract of outfielder Terrence Long from Triple-A Columbus. It'd be good news for the rest of the American League if the Yankees fooled around with Long for any length of time.

Willets Point May 22 2006 09:51 PM

The Yankees were down 9-1 but Foulke fresh off the Looper-Wagner Seminar for How to Pitch Like Crap in Non-Save Situations has allowed back to back homers and a long double. Score 9-5 with the Yankees still batting.

Willets Point May 22 2006 09:54 PM

9-5 your final, Mystique & Aura cannot compete with an 8-run deficit.

OlerudOwned May 22 2006 10:01 PM

Willets Point wrote: The Yankees were down 9-1 but Foulke fresh off the Looper-Wagner Seminar for How to Pitch Like Crap in Non-Save Situations has allowed back to back homers and a long double. Score 9-5 with the Yankees still batting. Foulke has nothing left in the tank (or knee). Papelbon is the closer, Foulke is just there.

soupcan May 22 2006 10:09 PM

'Double Play-Rod' hits a 2-run jack in the top of the ninth with the Yankees down 9-1. Yankee fans get more fodder. (can't take credit for 'Double Play-Rod' heard it on the radio today. Cracked me up)

Willets Point May 22 2006 10:15 PM

soupcan wrote: 'Double Play-Rod' hits a 2-run jack in the top of the ninth with the Yankees down 9-1. Yankee fans get more fodder. That was my first thought after the home run: Yankee fans are just going to say A-Rod pads his stats when the game isn't on the line.

Willets Point May 22 2006 10:16 PM

OlerudOwned wrote: ="Willets Point"]The Yankees were down 9-1 but Foulke fresh off the Looper-Wagner Seminar for How to Pitch Like Crap in Non-Save Situations has allowed back to back homers and a long double. Score 9-5 with the Yankees still batting. Foulke has nothing left in the tank (or knee). Papelbon is the closer, Foulke is just there. Still pitched like crap in a blowout.

Frayed Knot May 23 2006 12:14 AM

Man he was awful - just another example of relievers who look great one year but burn you in long-term deals. He ws indespensible during their WS year but has been injured, lousy, or both ever since. He's signed thru next season still. -- After getting the 2nd out of the 9th (on a 400' fly) with an 8-run lead - Foulke suddenly served up: 2R-HR, HR, 2B, 2B, before finally getting the last out as Papelbon was warming in the pen. And as if the Saturday loss didn't suck enough - holding on to that lead would have meant a 5-game losing streak for the Yanx including 4 straight to NYM & Boston. Shirley that could have set off a panic somewhere.

metirish May 23 2006 10:12 AM

Ken Davidoff from Newsday feeds the A-Rod haters...the headline alone says it all... ] If it doesn't count, count on A-Rod BOSTON -- Oh, A-Rod. Even when you do something right, it seems so wrong. Of course, Alex Rodriguez smoked the first pitch he saw from Keith Foulke last night well over the Green Monster, the embodiment of a garbage-time home run. His two-run blast pulled the Yankees from down eight to down six in the ninth inning, and things grew mildly intriguing before the Red Sox's former closer settled down to conclude a 9-5 Yankees' loss. Joe Torre, of course, saw the positive in that ninth inning. "These guys are playing their tails off," the Yankees' manager said afterward. But experience dictates that if Rodriguez's 439th homer will be recalled at all by the fan base, it will be done so derisively. More definitive, in the minds of the many A-Rod Haters, will be his four-pitch strikeout against nemesis Curt Schilling to lead off the fourth inning -- right after the Red Sox knocked around Chien-Ming Wang for four runs in the bottom of the third. And with Gary Sheffield likely to be back in the Yankees' lineup tonight, this period will go down as one more blown opportunity for Rodriguez to win some more hearts among his own team's fans. Sure, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon could have done more, too, since Hideki Matsui joined Sheffield on the disabled list. But A-Rod always takes the biggest hit, because he's A-Rod. "I wish I could say something was wrong with me," Rodriguez said after the game. "I've never been more healthy in my career. When I stink, I just stink." We've seen him stink worse, like in last year's American League Division Series loss to the Angels, and really, the Yankees could have done worse in this stretch without their corner outfielders. They went 5-7, including the May 11 game in which Matsui broke his left wrist. Yet right now, having lost four of five and closer to third place (a half-game ahead of Toronto) than first (2 1/2 games behind the Red Sox), the Yankees seem mired in a funk. Perhaps Sheffield, and his violent swing, can add some life. Sheffield doesn't seem to drown in thought the way Rodriguez does. The game doesn't seem to find Sheffield, the way it's always bumping into A-Rod. "What we do here is, every single day, the measuring stick is different here," Torre said, prior to the game, of Rodriguez. "His individual achievement [takes on importance], even though we think in terms of winning a game, and I know he takes on a great deal of responsibility and takes on a great deal of disappointment when he doesn't produce." Since May 11, Rodriguez is 13-for-47, with three homers and seven RBIs. That's not terrible, but what stands out most, probably, is his 0-for-4 outing in Sunday night's 4-3 loss to the Mets. He left the bases loaded in the fourth inning with a line drive that Cliff Floyd reached to catch, and in the eighth, with runners on first and second and one out, he hit into a 6-4-3 double play. "He's got to let go of what happened yesterday, or two minutes ago," Torre said. "That's the most important thing, is being able to move on from right now and not trying to make up for it. And I have a sense that some of it's there, even though he's not going to volunteer that. And I wouldn't expect him to." The money is great, but being A-Rod has its downside. You have people trying to glom onto your success; yesterday's Boston Globe featured a long story on Jim Fannin, a mental performance coach, who essentially took credit for turning A-Rod from a .220 hitter to a Hall of Famer. And, for whatever reason -- maybe it's his aura, maybe it's the $252-million contract -- his big-moment failures seem to carry far more weight than his achievements. "Definitely the contract has been more of a focus," Rodriguez said yesterday. "In the first six years, I couldn't do anything wrong. Anything. I would screw up, and it would be celebrated." Well, at least that's not an issue anymore.

MFS62 May 23 2006 10:16 AM

]When I stink, I just stink You'd never hear Jeter admit that. And that's why I like A-Rod. Later

Johnny Dickshot May 23 2006 10:20 AM

The "Arod isn't clutch" bashing is probably the most ridiculous, unfair criticism I can recall in the last 10 years of my MFY-hating, but as long as it continues to eat away at the confidence of the team and their fans, I count it as a net positive.

Elster88 May 23 2006 10:28 AM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: The "Arod isn't clutch" bashing is probably the most ridiculous, unfair criticism I can recall in the last 10 years of my MFY-hating I agree. And there has been a LOT of dumbass bashing by Yankee-fans and Yankee-haters in that time.

Frayed Knot May 23 2006 10:41 AM

In a way it's knid of fascinating to watch -- when I saw him HR last night down by 8 I just started laughing. He's the only guy in the league who would have been better off grounding out in that situation. Of course it's almost totally based on pre-conceived notions. I mean how many times did all three sets of announcers (SNY, FOX, ESPN) say things like; 'here's the type of situation Jeter thrives on' over the weekend? Virtually every time he was up basically - and if/when he came through they had a 'we told ya so' moment and if he didn't they just ignore it and dust the same line off the next time. Jeter had 6 hits over the weekend for instance (although 1 was that mis-played Sac Bunt and another should have been a 'E' on Wright) but also GiDP'd with 2-on/1-out down by 2; K'd w/a runner on 3rd and 2 outs; and ended Wagner's disaster inning by grounding out with go-ahead runs all over the place. His 2-RBIs "single" past Wright was a great example. If Wright gloves that it's an inning-ending GiDP. One batter later, ARod hits an absolute bullet w/the bases juiced ... but right at Cliff in LF. But in this example, Jeter's clutch and Alex is a choking dog. btw, if Jeter HRs while down by 8 runs it's not stat-padding, it's an example of his 'never say die' attitude.

Rotblatt May 23 2006 11:12 AM

A-Rod is to Yankee fans what Benitez was to Mets fans. Love. It. Keep up the good work, MFY fans!

Centerfield May 23 2006 12:43 PM

Email from my buddy who is an MFY Fan: did u see the yanks game last night.... of course arod hits a focking 2 run hr when they are down by 8 it's like automatic

Edgy DC May 23 2006 12:45 PM

I'd love to have something automatic lke that on my team.

Frayed Knot May 24 2006 10:49 PM

The only guy who suxx worse than Randy Johnson is Matt Clement -- Good Lord he was awful. Unit tried real hard to lose this game but Clement would have no of it. Staked to a lead with another several Manny HRs + one from Youkilis, he proceeded to start walking the likes of Terrance Long, hitting Kelly Stinnett w/the bags loaded, and throwing wild pitches every batter or so just to keep everyone from getting bored. At one point they showed the career active leaders in WPs; all old guys (not surprisingly: Johnson, Wells, etc) plus Matt Frickin Clement who has about 1/3 the # of innings pitched as those other guys. He didn't survive the 5th. Also doesn't help that the Sox ran themselves out of at least 2 runs and ... lost by 2 runs! Papi 0-5 w/4 Ks.

Elster88 May 25 2006 09:33 AM

Centerfield wrote: Email from my buddy who is an MFY Fan: You spelled the word "moron" wrong.

metirish May 25 2006 10:21 AM

Ok it happened again to me...yesterday I am in line at the A&P checking out, this huge fucking wanker in front who had just paid for his stuff looks at me and says..."a Boston cap huh?..I looked at him and says " looks like it right?"...what a fucking obnoxious bollox he was, even the checkout girl could not believe it...I assume he was a MFY fan..as he is wakling out he shouts back.." good luck to you".....FU wanker...

Bret Sabermetric May 25 2006 10:24 AM

The story changes once you realize that the Boston cap was ALL Irish was wearing in the checkout line.

MFS62 May 25 2006 10:39 AM

Elster88 wrote: ="Centerfield"]Email from my buddy who is an MFY Fan: You spelled the word "moron" wrong. 88, you owe me a new keyboard, and a cup of the coffee that is now all over my current keyboard. Later

Elster88 May 25 2006 02:16 PM

="Frayed Knot"]The only guy who suxx worse than Randy Johnson is Matt Clement -- Good Lord he was awful. Unit tried real hard to lose this game but Clement would have no of it. Staked to a lead with another several Manny HRs + one from Youkilis, he proceeded to start walking the likes of Terrance Long, hitting Kelly Stinnett w/the bags loaded, and throwing wild pitches every batter or so just to keep everyone from getting bored. At one point they showed the career active leaders in WPs; all old guys (not surprisingly: Johnson, Wells, etc) plus Matt Frickin Clement who has about 1/3 the # of innings pitched as those other guys. He didn't survive the 5th. Also doesn't help that the Sox ran themselves out of at least 2 runs and ... lost by 2 runs! Papi 0-5 w/4 Ks. I wonder if the Yanx have the pitching to get into the playoffs. And Pavano doesn't appear to be helping them any time soon.

Johnny Dickshot May 26 2006 10:18 PM

The MFY's loss to Kansas City (Basement Bertha should be on the cover of DN tommorrow) has been interrupted by massive thunderstorms. They lead 7-5 going to the bottom 9th, but in a Delay. I can seee the lightning but no downpour here in civilization yet.

Frayed Knot May 26 2006 11:29 PM

I can't believe the rain they were playing through in the top of the 9th. Not only drenching rain coming down but also standing water all over the field. Royals didn't score in the top of the inning so the score's the same whether they resume the game or not.

Frayed Knot May 27 2006 12:06 PM

Turns out that they waited 2+ hours in order to play the bottom of the 9th. The Yanx promptly got 2 on w/1 out before Sheffield knocked in 1 with a (slightly) mis-played single. So w/1st & 3rd and only 1 out in a one-run game it looked like the Royals were going to find a way to go down to defeat number 14 consecutive ... and then Giambi GiDP'd. So the night wasn't a total loss.

SteveJRogers May 27 2006 12:43 PM

Went to the game, saw Captain Intanglibles get hit #2,000. Snapped some pics as well Fourth "milestone" game I can recall being at Saw Don Baylor break the record for most career AL HBPs at Yankee Stadium and they STOPPED THE GAME and had a brief ceromony! And Baylor was a Sawk at the time! That was a real WTF moment Caught Gooden's 100 win as a Met at Shea as well as Clemens 300th win/4,000th K game at Yankee Stadium Speaking of Captain Intangibles, granted he's now the 8th Yankee all time to get 2,000 hits (behind the usual suspects) and it's actually is a noteworthy accomplishment, but I couldn't believe the attention he got for it on Michael Kay's radio show. Basically Kay opened the show with a "Do Yankee fans still appreciate Jeter's greatness" topic with phone calls! Geez, GET A ROOM!

ScarletKnight41 May 27 2006 12:52 PM

WB11 described the hit as the biggtest of Jeter's career. I'm sure that Captain Intangibles would choose a more meaningful hit for that honor.

SteveJRogers May 27 2006 12:54 PM

Granted it has more to do with the severe lack of players playing past 6-7 years with the franchise, but we are still waiting on our first guy to break the 15 hundred barrier! Our 1,000 Hit Club 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. Cleon Jones 1,188 3. Edgardo Alfonzo 1,136 4. Mookie Wilson 1,112 5. Bud Harrelson 1,029 6. Mike Piazza 1,028 7. Darryl Strawberry 1,025

Elster88 May 29 2006 03:37 PM

The Yankees are about to shut out your Major League Leading Detroit Tigers (6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB , 4 K by Randy?!?!).

Frayed Knot May 29 2006 04:21 PM

The Tiggers are staying ahead mostly by pitching so far - which is good because that lineup isn't all that impressive looking. Even with a rejuvenated Magglio Ordonez and Chris Shelton playing out of his head for a month, the Placido Polancos and Marcus Thames's aren't too scary. The Ugly Unit had a no-hitter going until a Pudge single w/2 outs in the 6th. He was then pulled after hit #2 led off the 7th. Bonderman was pretty decent for Detroit: the Yanx weren't hitting much hard but their grounders were finding holes and two should-have-been DPs weren't turned which allowed runs and lengthened innings thus allowing more runs.

Centerfield May 30 2006 01:15 PM

A-Fraud: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/060530

seawolf17 May 30 2006 02:05 PM

="Centerfield"]A-Fraud: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/060530 From Bill Simmons' mailbag today: Q: What was [Terry] Francona thinking on Monday night? How can you pitch to Mr. March in an eight-run game? Doesn't he know that A-Job bats like .900 in six-to-10 run games? You HAVE to walk him in that situation. -- Chris, Cincinnati SG: (Giggling.) Q: I'm at work right now and my buddy and I were just talking on the phone about fantasy baseball and going back and forth checking stats online and my buddy was saying A-Rod is the "opposite of clutch" which led to a discussion of what the word for that is. I tried doing the research on my own and can't find it. So I come to you. What's the word for someone who is "the opposite of clutch"? -- Tony, Boston To figure this out, you have to look at the real definition of the word "clutch" -- it's a verb that means to "grab, clasp or seize." ... So what's the opposite of "grab, clasp or seize?" Probably "fumble," which has synonyms that include "grope," "scuffle," "botch" and "mishandle." "Fumble" doesn't work because we're already using it for football. "Grope" makes me think of some lecherous uncle at a Fourth of July party; that doesn't sound right. "Mishandle" is too awkward, and we already use the double meaning of "scuffle" for fights. But "botch" could work -- it has the same "tch" ending as clutch, it sounds like a noun, and it's one of those underrated words that we don't use nearly enough in sports (right up there with "boner" and "fracas"). A-Rod is the premiere botch hitter in baseball. Peyton Manning always seems to come through in the botch. Karl Malone may have scored 35,000 points, but everyone remembers how botch he was in the playoffs. (Actually, screw this ... it's not working. Sounds too weird. Let's just stick with "he's not clutch," unless you want to go with "arodian" or "arodish.")

Johnny Dickshot May 30 2006 02:19 PM

Botch. I love it.

Frayed Knot May 30 2006 10:19 PM

The good news: The Tiggers have erased a 6-0 defecit (or maybe it was 5-0, then 6-1) and have tied the game heading for the 9th The Bad News: Twice they've loaded the bases w/0 outs and have scored a grand total of 1 run out of them innings. They should be kicking Yanqui butt at this point.

metirish May 30 2006 10:47 PM

MFY take the lead 7 to 6 on a Giambalco homer in the 11th.

Frayed Knot May 30 2006 11:20 PM

The Tigers then seemed to enter a contest in which some sort of prize were being awarded to the team who can screw up the most plays in one inning ... and so one botched grounder, one botched fly, one botched DP, several PBs & WPs, plus a few walks later and the Yanx win it 11-6. Small sample obviously, but I've been quite underwhelmed by this best-record-in-baseball Detroit team. Tons of Ks w/o the usual power that goes with it; spotty starting pitching (tons of walks); and the next clean infield DP they turn will be their first. I watched pieces of two games and have seen them screw up at least 3 or 4.

Frayed Knot May 31 2006 11:26 PM

Yesterday I said that the Tigers didn't look too impressive. Well I've changed my mind ... they REALLY SUCK!!!! Somehow they had the best RS/RA coming in to this week - which is surprising considering how inept they look at the plate and how the next accurate throw I see them make will be the first.

Centerfield Jun 01 2006 12:03 PM

Did you guys see what Mussina did last night? With his team up 6-0, Torre let Mussina try to get the shutout. Mussina lost it with 2 outs and Torre moved to come out of the dugout. Mussina yells at his manager to "Stay right there!" Torre backs off, and puts up 2 hands as if to say "no offense intended". I'm all for gamers and all that, but I think I draw the line at showing up your manager. Here's to hoping one day Mussina tries that with Bobby Cox or Frank Robinson. Also, although I missed this, I guess the Tigers intentionally walked A-Rod with the Yanks up by 6. My MFY-fan friend: "so funny last night the yanks were up 6 and they intentionally walked arod. they know arod will hit one out in that spot."

seawolf17 Jun 01 2006 12:12 PM

Centerfield wrote: Did you guys see what Mussina did last night? With his team up 6-0, Torre let Mussina try to get the shutout. Mussina lost it with 2 outs and Torre moved to come out of the dugout. Mussina yells at his manager to "Stay right there!" Torre backs off, and puts up 2 hands as if to say "no offense intended". I'm all for gamers and all that, but I think I draw the line at showing up your manager. Here's to hoping one day Mussina tries that with Bobby Cox or Frank Robinson. He definitely made Torre his bitch right there. Our token MFY fan at our office loved it.

Edgy DC Jun 01 2006 12:29 PM

Jeter should have kicked him in the butt. Oh, well. Heat of the moment. I'm sure the Yankees settled it like a family.

Elster88 Jun 01 2006 12:44 PM

seawolf17 wrote: ="Centerfield"]Did you guys see what Mussina did last night? With his team up 6-0, Torre let Mussina try to get the shutout. Mussina lost it with 2 outs and Torre moved to come out of the dugout. Mussina yells at his manager to "Stay right there!" Torre backs off, and puts up 2 hands as if to say "no offense intended". I'm all for gamers and all that, but I think I draw the line at showing up your manager. Here's to hoping one day Mussina tries that with Bobby Cox or Frank Robinson. He definitely made Torre his bitch right there. Our token MFY fan at our office loved it. Where's Mad Dog? "I mean you can't do that Mike!!!! You just can't do that to your manager!!!"

Centerfield Jun 01 2006 08:15 PM

Sheffield to DL with torn wrist ligament. According to ESPN, he will attempt to rehab through physical therapy rather than surgery. Article: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2466987

Methead Jun 01 2006 10:03 PM

I can't wait until a month from now when he finally decides to go ahead with the surgery.

Elster88 Jun 05 2006 08:45 PM Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Jun 05 2006 08:50 PM

Waiting for the Met game to start. I turn on YESHD. The two best starters on both teams, unless you want to put Schilling over Beckett, on...dare I say....an absolutely exquisite television. And it's going.....so.....fucking....SLOWLY!!!! 8-2 in the bottom of the second and they pull Beckett. I look at the clock and realize an hour has already gone by. I cannot watch American League baseball. I just can't do it. The American League makes me sad. It saps my will to live. I waste countless hours on a baseball web site and yet this game between the two AL East powers can't hold my attention.

metirish Jun 05 2006 08:48 PM

] I cannot watch American League baseball. I just can't do it. The American League makes me sad. It saps my will to live. I waste countless hours on a baseball web site and yet this game between the two AL East powers can't hold my attention. I couldn't agree more, I can just about watch any NL baseball on Sunday Night Baseball but no way could I watch if it's AL like it was last night, I just tuned into the YES game, just in time to see the MFY's put it out of reach.

MFS62 Jun 05 2006 09:11 PM

Bend Over Like Beckett? Later

Frayed Knot Jun 05 2006 09:28 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jun 05 2006 09:45 PM

I'd be willing to bet that the Met game ends before the MFY/Box game except that the Sawx have already given up tonight. And from the file of: 'you knew those NYY togs are mostly status': I was at the gym for the hour and change it took these two squads to play the 2nd & 3rd innings - and there were the usual assortment of characters there who I regularly see in their NYY caps/shirts/sweats whatever. Now keep in mind that this is in the middle of a Yanx/Sox fighting-for-1st-place game and NOT ONE OF THEM was making any attempt to find out a score. I know this because none of the gym's TVs were tuned to the game for some reason and none of the supposed fans ever asked that the game be turned on. Hell, *I* was going to ask just so I could follow along (it was 2-1 Boston when I left). But such a request apparently never occured to Mr. Brand-New Looking Sheffield shirt; or to either the two guys who I always see in NYY regalia; or to the guy I didn't recognize who was in his NYY 19XX Championship Shirt. Heck, I even hear one of them turn to his buddy and say; they're playing Boston tonight right?'. Jeez, how da fuck can you not know that? Nice to know they're real fans though, huh?!?

MFS62 Jun 05 2006 09:31 PM

I hope they're following their workout regimens, so when they jump off the Yankee bandwagon they won't injure themselves. Later

Johnny Dickshot Jun 05 2006 10:04 PM

If friggin Varitek could avoid hitting into a double-play this might have really been a game (IIRC, twice in the first 3 innings, 1st/3rd, 0 outs each time?)

Elster88 Jun 06 2006 09:18 AM

Those guys will probably be wearing Met stuff in a couple of years. Those types tend to switch back and forth.

GYC Jun 06 2006 09:41 PM

Milky Cabrera just robbed Manny of a game-tying HR; leaped up and over the wall, snowcone catch that almost fell out of his glove.

metirish Jun 06 2006 09:42 PM

That was a fine catch, Damon led the cheeerleading,Kay sounded like he wet himself calling the play...good catch though.

SteveJRogers Jun 06 2006 09:52 PM

="Frayed Knot"]I'd be willing to bet that the Met game ends before the MFY/Box game except that the Sawx have already given up tonight. And from the file of: 'you knew those NYY togs are mostly status': I was at the gym for the hour and change it took these two squads to play the 2nd & 3rd innings - and there were the usual assortment of characters there who I regularly see in their NYY caps/shirts/sweats whatever. Now keep in mind that this is in the middle of a Yanx/Sox fighting-for-1st-place game and NOT ONE OF THEM was making any attempt to find out a score. I know this because none of the gym's TVs were tuned to the game for some reason and none of the supposed fans ever asked that the game be turned on. Hell, *I* was going to ask just so I could follow along (it was 2-1 Boston when I left). But such a request apparently never occured to Mr. Brand-New Looking Sheffield shirt; or to either the two guys who I always see in NYY regalia; or to the guy I didn't recognize who was in his NYY 19XX Championship Shirt. Heck, I even hear one of them turn to his buddy and say; they're playing Boston tonight right?'. Jeez, how da fuck can you not know that? Nice to know they're real fans though, huh?!? My All-Time favorite one of these moments is still from some Man-On-The-Street vingette that FOX did as promotion for the first Yankee-Met interleague series in 1997. Keep in mind that Jeter has one ring, a famous ALCS homer, an AL Rookie of the Year and tons of publicity and media attention allready by this point in the summer of 1997, in other words it really would be hard to NOT know who Derek Jeter played for by the summer of 1997. So the reporter asks some chick in a bar with Yankee gear on who their favorite player is and she says emphatically Derek Jeter. No biggie, next question is "What team does he play for?" Yup, her response was "Uh...the Mets?" Heh, I've heard Magglio and Rey Ordonez get confused but never Rey Ordonez and Derek Jeter! HA!

Elster88 Jun 06 2006 11:21 PM

metirish wrote: That was a fine catch, Damon led the cheeerleading,Kay sounded like he wet himself calling the play...good catch though. Agreed. That's a pretty cool moment with the game situation and all. Kay's call wasn't even that bad. Kay sometimes wets himself over pop flys to second, but I wouldn't blame himself for wetting himself over this one.

Frayed Knot Jun 06 2006 11:44 PM

Helluva catch - especially for a guy who couldn't snag a pop-up last year. The disgusting part about that game was the way the Yanx scored the winning run: 2 out/nobody on in the 7th and an easy comebacker dribbling about 1/2 mile/hour gets by both the pitcher and then the 2nd baseman. The Sox then serve up - consecutively - a single, then walk & walk to "drive" in a run.

silverdsl Jun 07 2006 10:47 AM

Melky's catch was really incredible. I absolutely love seeing outstanding defensive plays like that. We expect that games will be decided by the hitters coming up big at the plate or by great pitching, but sometimes a play like this makes all the difference.

Elster88 Jun 07 2006 10:49 AM

I was also wondering if Matsui makes that play. I don't watch the Yanks enough to be a good judge, but my guess would be no.

silverdsl Jun 07 2006 10:56 AM

Some might disagree, but I don't think Matsui would have made that play.

seawolf17 Jun 07 2006 10:57 AM

I'm stunned that Jeter didn't run out there and make that play.

Frayed Knot Jun 07 2006 11:19 AM

I'm just so shocked to see that they're actually winning games w/o Jeter. I had been led to believe that that was impossible. * And while this is obviously just a small sample, the funny part is that the Yanx have been without Jeter's bat for two somewhat lengthy periods. - One was the time he busted up his shoulder on opening day and missed about 5 weeks or so as the immortal Erick Almonte subbed. - The other was the following year I believe when he went into a ridiculous month-long slump: hitting .150 or so w/o power for 100+ ABs. And during both stints, the team thrived.

Centerfield Jun 07 2006 12:12 PM

Cabrera made a nice catch, no question about that, but you have to wonder what Damon was doing in this picture.

metirish Jun 07 2006 07:08 PM

Game tonight is rained out.

Frayed Knot Jun 08 2006 04:56 PM

Sheffield ... Surgery ... September

Methead Jun 08 2006 05:38 PM

Wow, I figured he'd try to rehab it for another couple weeks, at least.

Centerfield Jun 08 2006 06:39 PM

Methead wrote: I can't wait until a month from now when he finally decides to go ahead with the surgery. Nice call Methead.

ScarletKnight41 Jun 11 2006 02:07 PM

Here's one for the highlight reels tonight. Nick Swisher hits a ball into the outfield. Damon is lined up to make the catch but, at the last minute, Mekly Cabrera comes up, gloves extended, and smashes into Damon's face. Damon goes down, the ball drops, and Swisher winds up with an inside the park home run.

Elster88 Jun 11 2006 02:44 PM

Kids.

OlerudOwned Jun 11 2006 02:47 PM

Barry Zito may want to go to the Yankees just so he doesn't have to face them. MFYs own his ass.

Frayed Knot Jun 11 2006 03:04 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Nick Swisher hits a ball into the outfield. Damon is lined up to make the catch but, at the last minute, Mekly Cabrera comes up, gloves extended, and smashes into Damon's face. Damon goes down, the ball drops, and Swisher winds up with an inside the park home run. And then an inning later Damon took a Swisher drive off the top of the CF fence. IOW, Swisher winds up with a HR which should have been an out and an out which should have been an HR. 5-5 headed for the 7th. Chacon not so good in his return from the DL - but (as mentioned) Zito seems to pitch well against everyone except the MFY. Still in there though - at least partially because half the Oakland bullpen is on the DL.

Edgy DC Jun 11 2006 03:35 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: Nick Swisher hits a ball into the outfield. Damon is lined up to make the catch but, at the last minute, Mekly Cabrera comes up, gloves extended, and smashes into Damon's face. Damon goes down, the ball drops, and Swisher winds up with an inside the park home run. It's the Melky Way!

ScarletKnight41 Jun 11 2006 04:16 PM

A month ago I went to Yankee Stadium to see Zito pitch. He gave up one run in six innings and took the loss. Today he gives up 5 runs in seven innings, and walks away with a win. Baseball is an odd sport. Oh, and BTW, The Yankees Lose! The YankeesLOSE!!!

Frayed Knot Jun 11 2006 10:02 PM

I need to get my eyes checked because I thought I saw Jeter make the last out in two consecutive 1-run losses (plus a tying & go-ahead on/2-out/7th inning K) and I KNOW that can't be true since I've been told that he ALWAYS comes through when you need him. On a related note: Yanqui fans are getting to be an interesting bunch these days. With the success of Cano & Wang last year and the (kinda) success to date of Phillips & Melky (it's short-term & limited so far ... but, hey, it's something) they - along with a whole bunch of columnists - have gotten it into their heads that they're actually a whole lot better with these 'home-grown' fill-ins than they were when they still had the high-priced imports like Matsui and (particularly) Sheffield. It's all about hustle and "heart" don't you know and, for the first time in a long while, a significant number are NOT clamoring for the superstar-at-each-position-plus-a-backup' stereotype that's defined MFY fans for so long now. They're quite content to stick with what they've got - at least on the offensive end. Now I happen to think they're wrong, but it is somewhat interesting to listen to. The problem is that, between the '90s crop of homegrown stuff all turning out so well and last year's call-ups doing OK, they're deep into assuming that it's destiny that all future call-ups will simply follow suit and the reports of a thin farm system was just so much anti-Yankee propaganda. But Phillips is a 29 y/o journeyman and Melky - while only 21 w/time to improve - is a singles-hitting corner OFer and, while you can get away w/o the 60 HRs & 200 RBIs that the missing corners provide for brief spells, in the long term you're going to feel the difference.

OlerudOwned Jun 11 2006 10:04 PM

The type of hustle that sends Cabrera barreling into Damon on a should-be flyout. God Bless the MFY.

Elster88 Jun 14 2006 02:04 PM

Apparently, the Yankee fans are being quite demonstrative in booing Mr. Rodriguez these days.

holychicken Jun 14 2006 02:07 PM

Elster88 wrote: Apparently, the Yankee fans are being quite demonstrative in booing Mr. Rodriguez these days. They look cross town and say, "hey! It looks like it worked for Beltran, let's see what we can do!"

Edgy DC Jun 14 2006 02:07 PM

Trade Floyd for Rodriguez. I'll even go so far as to suggest we take on part of Rodriguez's contract.

Elster88 Jun 14 2006 02:09 PM

Play Rodriguez in left? How much of a beat-down would I receive for suggesting that ARod is a better shortstop than Mr. Excitement? Reyes to second?

Elster88 Jun 14 2006 02:11 PM

holychicken wrote: ="Elster88"]Apparently, the Yankee fans are being quite demonstrative in booing Mr. Rodriguez these days. They look cross town and say, "hey! It looks like it worked for Beltran, let's see what we can do!" Yankee fans were booing Alex long before Beltran got here.

soupcan Jun 14 2006 02:25 PM

holychicken wrote: ="Elster88"]Apparently, the Yankee fans are being quite demonstrative in booing Mr. Rodriguez these days. They look cross town and say, "hey! It looks like it worked for Beltran, let's see what we can do!" By the way - you're all welcome for that.

sharpie Jun 14 2006 02:25 PM

They boo Rodriguez after he wins an MVP for them.

Elster88 Jun 14 2006 02:28 PM

soupcan wrote: ="holychicken"] ="Elster88"]Apparently, the Yankee fans are being quite demonstrative in booing Mr. Rodriguez these days. They look cross town and say, "hey! It looks like it worked for Beltran, let's see what we can do!" By the way - you're all welcome for that. Not something to be proud of. ;-)

Centerfield Jun 14 2006 02:46 PM

Stupid soupcan. I knew he wasn't booing Matsui enough.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 14 2006 09:02 PM

Unit, Torre ejected for their part in beanbrawl.

metirish Jun 14 2006 09:14 PM

Dickshot what happened, I turned over after reading your post but all I heard was Paul O' Neill jawing about how Johnson was a stand up guy.

Zvon Jun 14 2006 09:23 PM

]Pitcher Randy Johnson of the Yankees was ejected from the game in the top of the 7th inning by home plate umpire Paul Schrieber for throwing at batters. Batters? Yanks up 6-1? This should be an interesting story. What pissed off the Unit?

Frayed Knot Jun 14 2006 09:32 PM

Posada was plunked and then jawed about it enough on the way down to 1st to get the umps to issue warnings all around. Jeter had also been buzzed earlier but that was mostly him diving into pitches that were only semi-inside. So an inning or so later Unit throes one under the chin of Eduardo Perez (who smacks Johnson around like a rented mule) triggering the automatic ejections of both himself and his skipper.

metirish Jun 14 2006 09:35 PM

So FK in your opionin was Johnson giving payback for Posada or was he throwing at Perez because he hits him good?

Johnny Dickshot Jun 14 2006 09:36 PM

Completely on purpose.

Frayed Knot Jun 14 2006 09:44 PM

metirish wrote: So FK in your opionin was Johnson giving payback for Posada or was he throwing at Perez because he hits him good? Prolly a bit of both. - It was already the 7th inning so it's not like he was going to pitch much longer anyway & the Yanx had a decent lead - So if you're going to "protect" your catcher and try and show some sack (even tho your teammates aren't going to love you anyway) you might as well buzz the guy who's taken you deep a few times

Elster88 Jun 15 2006 09:01 AM

Did you know that the Yanqs owe the Small Unit $17 million smackers next year? That makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.

silverdsl Jun 15 2006 12:05 PM

Randy Johnson in the fan's eyes: Zero to Hero. He can pitch like garbage the rest of the season and he'll get a pass from a lot of fans because he threw at Perez. Next season when he's earning that $17 mill for pitching like a $2 mill pitcher, he'll probably still be excused because of that magical moment when he threw at a hitter, something the rest of the Yankees pitching staff isn't inclined to do.

Elster88 Jun 15 2006 12:58 PM

Regarding that, I read somewhere that the seeds for the brawl were first planted because two pitches in a row "almost" hit Jeter. Shocking really, that so many brawls are instigated by Jeter's at-bats. Who'd a-thunk a guy who dives over the outside corner when he's already standing on home plate would be "almost hit" so often???

Frayed Knot Jun 15 2006 02:49 PM

I mentioned the Jeter connection in my post on the bottom of the previous page. I'm not as posivitve as Silver that the Big Eunuch bought himself a free pass through next year with yesterday's buzzing. A brief reprieve maybe.

Rotblatt Jun 15 2006 04:08 PM

Trailing Indians 6-3 in bottom of the eighth, with the bases loaded and no outs, Carmona got Giambi to ground out, scoring a run, then he struck out A-Rod (who had homered in his previous at bat), then struck out Posada. Cleveland up, 6-4 in the top of the ninth.

Elster88 Jun 15 2006 04:09 PM

I missed that post. Not thieving, just unoriginal. Yanquis down 6-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Edit: Now top 9th.

Rotblatt Jun 15 2006 04:25 PM

Indians get it right back and are now leading 7-4 in the top of the ninth. Runners at the corner with two out for them.

Elster88 Jun 15 2006 04:26 PM

8

Frayed Knot Jun 15 2006 06:07 PM

Unit (5 games) & Torre (1) suspended for the throwing thingie. Not that it really means much; 5 games for a starter means you time it to start the day after he pitches and just push him back 1 day and Torre can manage by remote control anyway ... but I'm still surprised. It's not like it was some big, huge incident.

Centerfield Jun 15 2006 06:32 PM

It was ridiculous how badly Posada was crowding the plate. I have always thought, if it were possible, that there should be some imaginary line extending six inches or so off the plate, and if you were dumb enough to get hit by a pitch while in that zone, you shouldn't get a base.

MFS62 Jun 15 2006 07:43 PM

You mean, like the inside line of the batter's box? That should be easy enough for the ump to notice, since he's supposedly looking at it anyhow. If he can't see the line, it would seem that the only thing blocking his view would be part of the batter. But that's just me. Later

Elster88 Jun 15 2006 10:24 PM

Centerfield wrote: It was ridiculous how badly Posada was crowding the plate. I have always thought, if it were possible, that there should be some imaginary line extending six inches or so off the plate, and if you were dumb enough to get hit by a pitch while in that zone, you shouldn't get a base. I think, technically, that the rule is if the player doesn't attempt to move that the umpire has discretionary powers to call it a simple ball. If he's in the strike zone it can be called a strike I don't think I've ever seen either rule enforced though. Probably the "did he try to get out of the way rule" is a little tough to judge. If the hitter thinks the ball is going to break, he may stay in there waiting for it to break, and appear to be trying to get hit on purpose.

Frayed Knot Jun 15 2006 11:10 PM

]You mean, like the inside line of the batter's box? Y'know they oddly seemed to do away with the inside of the batter's box a few years back. The box is now a 3-sided rectangle. ]the rule is if the player doesn't attempt to move that the umpire has discretionary powers to call it a simple ball. If he's in the strike zone it can be called a strike ... I don't think I've ever seen either rule enforced though. The most famous example of an ump actually enforcing that rule was the one that extended Don Drysdale's consecutive inning scoreless streak (later broken by Hershiser). Drysdale plunked someone with the bases loaded but the ump refused to award the batter 1st base on account of his lack of mobility and he was eventually retired allowing the streak to continue. I haven't seen it called in years - but it would be the best medicine to combat those with combat armour from sticking their wing into the ball's path (yes, I'm looking at you Craig Biggio).

Edgy DC Jun 18 2006 03:58 PM

The Yankees tried to take Chinny Wang all the way for a 2-1 complete-game victory today. He got the complete game, but walked off a loser as Ryan Zimmerman knocked a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win in Washington.

Elster88 Jun 18 2006 10:47 PM

ARod with the RBI double putting his team up by one in the eighth. He is so unclutch. Edit: I'm Fonzie, baby!!!!!

Frayed Knot Jun 18 2006 10:50 PM

Must have been a fun weekend for the Washingtonians. Full houses, Yanx in town for the first time in 30+ years (all games are more exciting when the Yanx are involved don't you know) and they take 2 of 3 while coming from behind in late innings twice in a row. Beat Rivera once, and then beat them the next day because Rivera wasn't available because they had to go to him the previous day after blowing a 7-run lead.

Nymr83 Jun 18 2006 10:52 PM

]the rule is if the player doesn't attempt to move that the umpire has discretionary powers to call it a simple ball. If he's in the strike zone it can be called a strike ... I don't think I've ever seen either rule enforced though. i don't think its supposed to be "optional" if the guy is over the plate. if the ball is in the zone its a strike no matter what.

Elster88 Jun 19 2006 09:44 AM

Edgy DC wrote: The Yankees tried to take Chinny Wang all the way for a 2-1 complete-game victory today. He got the complete game, but walked off a loser as Ryan Zimmerman knocked a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to win in Washington. Zimmerman has now defeated two New York teams with late inning home runs. Was his the one that tied the game off Wagner in the ninth?

Johnny Dickshot Jun 19 2006 10:12 PM

Thuh-uhhh MFYs lose!

metirish Jun 19 2006 10:22 PM

Torre will be holding meetings soon to solve this.

Nymr83 Jun 20 2006 10:27 PM

yankees lead the phillies 9-7, Torre is desperate to win this one as he brought Rivera in to face the bottom of the lineup in the 8th and Rivera batted (he struck out swinging) in the top of the 9th.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 20 2006 10:30 PM

Ryan Howard (2 HRs, 3B) has all 7 Philly RBIs. He'll bat 4th in the 9th.

Elster88 Jun 23 2006 12:36 PM

I don't feel like reading the [url=http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/godzillas_rehab_right_on_schedule_yankees_george_king.htm]article[/url], but here's the teaser: ]GODZILLA'S REHAB RIGHT ON SCHEDULE By GEORGE KING Hideki Matsui's goal of returning from a fractured right wrist by the middle of August took a step in the right direction yesterday.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 27 2006 10:13 PM

See this between innings? Farnsworth pitching in the 9th, crosses up Posada on a fastball that nearly kills him and gets by him, allowing a runner to advance. They meet at the mound and appear to get into it -- Farnsworth turns his back on Posada, and Posada shoots this "can you believe this guy? Fuck this!" look and he turns to go back to the plate. Before the next pitch is delivered, Posada stands up and demonstratively goes through the signals. Farnsworth delivers as strike as asked, then a RBI single, and is gone in a 2-run inning. Braves leading 5-1 in the bottom 9th

Frayed Knot Jun 27 2006 10:37 PM

Posada was headed back to the plate from that conference before Guidry even reached the mound. He let the pitching coach and the infielders straighten things out. Farnsworth has been pretty lousy lately (including tonight). Probably not a good idea to start butting heads with your catcher/friend of the captain. Braves win 5-2 after the Skanks got a decent outing from Jaret Wright.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 28 2006 04:47 PM

This afternoon's MFYs/Braves Gay Dame is now in the 12th, tied 2-2.

Elster88 Jun 28 2006 04:55 PM

Top 12th...now 3-2 on a Giles HR. 2 outs, first and second.

Johnny Dickshot Jun 28 2006 05:16 PM

Gayrod ended it on a walkoff. Hoorah for us? No. Bad for us.

Gwreck Jun 28 2006 05:17 PM

FUCK! I guess they can stop whining now about how he "isn't clutch."

ScarletKnight41 Jun 28 2006 05:47 PM

I guess this wasn't a big game.

seawolf17 Jun 28 2006 09:22 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: I guess this wasn't a big game. They beat a last-place team who had lost about 4500 straight games.

SteveJRogers Jun 28 2006 10:44 PM

seawolf17 wrote: ="ScarletKnight41"]I guess this wasn't a big game. They beat a last-place team who had lost about 4500 straight games. Yeah, watch him ground out weakly back to El Duque on Friday night, the boos will be quite loud.

mt8thsw9th Jun 28 2006 11:39 PM

ARod's "clutch" hit was simply the case of a blind squirrel finding a nut. The guy's a dog when it really matters, and 1 time out of a hundred does little to change that. Was this his first walk-off hit of any sort with the Yankees? The funniest clutch moment I've seen with ARod on the Yankees was Game 5 of last year's ALDS. Down by 2, Jeter leads off the ninth with a single, and ARod promptly GIDP's. He's a hell of a talent, but his guts are questionable to say the least.

Zvon Jun 28 2006 11:43 PM

mt8thsw9th wrote: ARod's "clutch" hit was simply the case of a blind squirrel finding a nut. LMAO! This is classic. Made me think of a rickitty yak finding a yam bag.

Elster88 Jun 29 2006 08:44 AM

mt8thsw9th wrote: ARod's "clutch" hit was simply the case of a blind squirrel finding a nut. The guy's a dog when it really matters, and 1 time out of a hundred does little to change that. Was this his first walk-off hit of any sort with the Yankees? Amazing.

Frayed Knot Jun 29 2006 10:46 AM

A ruling has been issued from high atop Mt. MFY that because ARod's game-winning HR came against a bad team it still falls short of qualifying him for "TRUE YANKEE" status. Also, in a related statement, the 'Turning Point of the Game' for yesterday's game was decreed to be a 4th inning groundout to Jeter. He was like so totally in the right spot.

silverdsl Jun 29 2006 10:49 AM

Gwreck wrote: FUCK! I guess they can stop whining now about how he "isn't clutch." Doubtful. A-Rod has become so hated by some Yankee fans that he will need to hit a homerun in every game against the Red Sox for the rest of the time he's in pinstripes to get into their good graces. You'd think he robs small children of their candy and strangles puppies with the way some can't stand him.

Edgy DC Jun 29 2006 10:51 AM

I had no idea Alex Rodriguez was batting .010 in clutch situations. Both squirrel and dog, he must chase himself up trees.

Edgy DC Jun 29 2006 10:52 AM

]You'd think he robs small children of their candy and strangles puppies with the way some can't stand him. Cue Centerfield with a Mariano Rivera sidebar.

Elster88 Jun 29 2006 10:52 AM

silverdsl wrote: You'd think he robs small children of their candy and strangles puppies with the way some can't stand him. That can't be it, because a guy who actually murders small children and puppy dogs is beloved. Yanqui fans are weird. Edit: Edgy just beat me.

Willets Point Jun 29 2006 10:56 AM

Welcome a-bordick mt8thsw9th. I think we need to come up with a nickname for your unpronouncable handle.

Willets Point Jun 29 2006 04:44 PM

Will Yankees fan cheer or boo El Duque on his return to Yankee Stadium?

Elster88 Jun 29 2006 04:45 PM

They'll probably get confused and start booing ARod.

Frayed Knot Jun 30 2006 02:37 PM

I love crap like this: Bob Raissman reports that higher-ups at YES are [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/col/story/431316p-363501c.html]scripting A-Rod rip jobs[/url] for post-game commentator David Justice and possibly others. He also speculates that when Jim Kaat was talking about Questec saying "nobody likes someone over their shoulder judging their every move" he may be talking about himself ... and he retired decades before Questec was ever introduced.

metirish Jun 30 2006 02:55 PM

I was having a good laugh when reading this earlier, Justice was very pointed in his comments, that's all fine if they came form him and not from others.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 04 2006 08:59 PM

Indians 19 MFYs 1 8th inning...

SI Metman Jul 04 2006 10:18 PM

Georgie's B-Day has now been ruined 2 out of the last 3 years (Mets sweeping the series in '04, the blowout tonight). Ain't life great?

MFS62 Jul 06 2006 09:23 AM

In giving the out of town scoreboard yesterday, Suzyn Waldmann said Petit was pitching and said "He was part of the Josh Beckett trade." I wonder, have the announcers been told by Boss George to not mention the Mets unless absolutely necessary? SC=94 Or doesn't she read about anything except the Yankees in the sports pages? SC= 0 Later

seawolf17 Jul 06 2006 01:12 PM

Credit occasional CPF contributor Paul Lukas with a zinger in today's column: ="[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/060706]Uni Watch[/url]"]Bonus points to Robert Eden for noting that pockets play a key role in the TV series "Prison Break"; the character T-Bag turns his pocket inside-out and has the latest object of his affection hold onto it, sort of like a dog on a leash (there's even a fan site called Hold My Pocket). "I'm dying to see just one MLB player holding another's pocket in the same way," Eden says. Uni Watch heartily endorses this idea, which would surely set a fine example of camaraderie and teamwork on the diamond. Now all we need is a pair of players to inaugurate the ritual. These guys appear to be likely candidates for the job, don't you think?

metirish Jul 07 2006 04:14 PM

Just have to post this.....

Willets Point Jul 07 2006 04:31 PM

Undetermined but amusing.

Edgy DC Jul 07 2006 04:48 PM

Most interesting there to me is the acknowledgement that Yankee Stadium was completely rebuilt in 1974 and 1975, despite the bizzarely-accepted party line that the Yankees are playing in a stadium from the 1920s that was merely renovated in the seventies.

Elster88 Jul 07 2006 04:50 PM

Edgy DC wrote: Most interesting there to me is the acknowledgement that Yankee Stadium was completely rebuilt in 1974 and 1975, despite the bizzarely-accepted party line that the Yankees are playing in a stadium from the 1920s that was merely renovated in the seventies. Well I guess as long as the location itself hasn't been moved then all those Yanqs from the past did technically play there at a different point in time. But if your main point here is that Yankee fans are morons, I won't argue.

Willets Point Jul 07 2006 05:05 PM

I think the field's been resodded and reseeded since Babe Ruth's time so even that's not original.

Elster88 Jul 08 2006 02:11 PM

Well, yeah, but I was going for the idea that the ground underneath the grass hasn't changed. But can we just agree that Yankee fans are morons? (SC = 35)

Frayed Knot Jul 08 2006 04:58 PM

Actually the ground has sort of changed. When they re-did the stadium one of the things they did was to do some excavating and "dropped" the ground 3 feet so that the fences weren't as ridiculously low as they had been.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 17 2006 09:57 PM

A-Rod has 3 throwing errors (each worse than the last) and whiffed with the bases loaded & 1 out tonight but the MFY's lead Seattle 4-2 in the 9th, tho the M's have 1st & 3rd, 1 out v. Mariano ... NOW!!!!

Frayed Knot Jul 17 2006 10:31 PM

Although none of ARod's errors mattered - and the Mariners gave back any chances they had with incompetent base-running, tacked onto the incompetent base-running by the ChiSox yesterday. It is interesting that ARod was eventually yanked from the game in late innings - and the Yanx are trying to sell the story about an injured foot. Oh yeah, and Mariano got out of his jam ... again.

metirish Jul 17 2006 11:01 PM

I will say this I have never seen anyone better than Rivera(like I am the first to say that), but I watched the Yankee game yesterday and his 5 or 6 out save was somthing else to watch,Fransworthless did his best to give away the lead but Rivera was brilliant.

Elster88 Jul 18 2006 08:00 PM

Ponson 3 ER through 3. Seattle leads 3-2.

Frayed Knot Jul 18 2006 09:36 PM

Ponson gave up a 3-run jack to Sexson in the 1st - then settled down and pitched pretty well after that - left losing 4-2. The Yanx are sticking to their ARod and his toe story by not starting him tonight. He then came in to PH in the 7th with a runner on and two outs: he promptly popped up and the boos started cascading down before the ball ever did. Same score and they're in the 8th

Frayed Knot Jul 18 2006 10:08 PM

Yanx tie it in the 9th in a pouring rainstorm - in part due to a TERRIBLE call at 1st (Posada beats out an infield hit - nuff said). Now ARod is up with the winning run on base (he stayed in after PH-ing ... guess his toe healed) ... and with a 3-1 count and 2 outs in the 9th [u:1e17bd94b9]the umps call for the tarp[/u:1e17bd94b9]!!!!

Willets Point Jul 18 2006 10:31 PM

ARod never hits in the clutch. Or rain.

Frayed Knot Jul 19 2006 12:17 AM

Well this is fun: - ARod's AB resumed after about an hour and a half delay ... and he promptly struck out, and so they head for the 10th - But Torre had made so many subs in trying to tie the game that they've got an interesting lineup out there, including: 1st base = Johnny Damon; 2nd base = backup 1st baseman Andy Phillips Seattle goes scoreless in the top of the 10th including a Phillips-to-Damon groundout.

OlerudOwned Jul 19 2006 12:42 AM

Yankee fans really love their Melky.

Frayed Knot Jul 19 2006 10:43 AM

I hope the other umps gave the 1st base guy a solid beating after they realized that his reprehensible call was responsible for them each having to work an extra 3 hours last night.

Iubitul Jul 19 2006 10:05 PM

]He battled Joe Torre on Randy Johnson's loss tonight

ScarletKnight41 Jul 19 2006 10:36 PM

Joe Torre is morphing into Art Howe?

Rockin' Doc Jul 19 2006 10:39 PM

I can only hope that the Yankees will respond by playing as well for him as the Mets did for Howe.

Gwreck Jul 20 2006 10:22 PM

Checking the scores online, I see it's 4-4 in the Toronto-NYY game in the 10th so I turn it on...only to see Vernon Wells hit the walkoff against Rivera. Great moment, certainly, but somehow it's the only homer he's allowed all season. Damn.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 20 2006 11:18 PM

Did anyone watching this game notice the skinny longhaired guy sitting in the front row behind home plate? Geddy Lee. Go Jays! This series could make/break their whole season.

Frayed Knot Jul 21 2006 09:56 AM

Prior to the Wells walk-off last night, the Jays' comeback (Yanx led 3-0 at one point) was fueled by another ARod poor decision/throw. He went home (and threw wide) with a runner on 3rd, 1 out, and a 3-run lead. Now it wasn't him who then gave up 3 or 4 hits immediately after that which is what eventually tied it up, but that didn't stop Mussina from commenting on the play afterward. And while I'm not usually one who thinks these kinds of streaks of bad play from good players are dire signs of anything except bad stretches - this one is starting to snowball a bit, complete with fan backlashes and possible estrangements from teamates. It's not yet Knoblauch-ian in proportion, but I'm starting to think that there really is something "in his head" as the pop-psychologists like to say. The other thing I've noticed in the last 3 or 4 Yanqui games I've seen or seen part of, is that the opponents seem to be in a contest to see how many outs they can run into during a game. And it's not just caught stealings but also other versions of boneheaded base-running plays. Even the batter right before Wells last night had singled ... and then was immediately caught stealing by about 5 feet. Didn't matter as it turned out but I woulda been pissed if Vernon's shot had bounced [u:773abf91b2]off[/u:773abf91b2] the wall instead of clearing it.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 21 2006 10:04 AM

Weird game all around. The Jays led 4-3 in the top of the 8th and Halladay still on the mound. He got the first 2 guys out so with 2 out and no on, Gibby brought in BJ Ryan who proceeded to give up a walk and two singles allowing the MFYs to tie it.

metirish Jul 21 2006 10:10 AM

] "All he had to do was throw it on target and the guy was out by 20 feet," Mussina said.

Edgy DC Jul 21 2006 10:35 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 21 2006 03:05 PM

Note to fans... booing a guy blue doensn't help him make good choices.

Centerfield Jul 21 2006 02:48 PM

It's amazing. The minute A-Rod made that error last night, you knew it was going to end up on the cover despite the fact that it did not tie the game or give the Jays the lead. Imagine if that had been a Jeter error with Armando giving up the HR in the 10th...I wonder who would have been labeled "choker".

metirish Jul 21 2006 04:26 PM

Brain Cashman is probably thinking to himself " nothing gets said when David Wright makes an error"..

Frayed Knot Jul 21 2006 11:57 PM

'Nother throwing error by ARod tonight - led to a run. He's suddenly throwing sidearm with a goofy little "flippy" motion ... and his footwork looks awful.

metirish Jul 24 2006 09:32 AM

] Sunday, July 23, 2006 By BOB KLAPISCH It's no secret that Alex Rodriguez has sunk to the bottom of a cesspool filled by self-doubt. There were four more strikeouts Saturday against the Blue Jays, and before that, five errors in five games -- a streak that was effectively halted when Joe Torre limited A-Rod to designated hitter duties for eight innings. Smart manager, freezing his troubled third baseman the way Wall Street temporarily stops trading during a crash. Like the stock market, everyone assumes A-Rod will recover. Or will he? By now, Rodriguez has been so thoroughly crushed by Derek Jeter in the PR referendum, the side-by-side comparison no longer merits debate: Yes, Jeter is hipper, cooler and more dependable in the clutch, even with less talent. So now it's time for Jeter to help the beleaguered Rodriguez. And that means doing more than just mouthing empty platitudes that "Alex will be fine" and that, "I can't tell [booing] fans what to do." Anyone can sense the distance between Jeter and Rodriguez; the much-heralded friendship that flourished when the two were the game's youngest star shortstops is history now. There are a number of reasons Jeter and Rodriguez stopped hanging out. One is married, the other is still single. Jeter has a cold-blooded side to him, both athletically and socially. He is unafraid. Rodriguez, on the other hand, is obsessed with what others think of him. Jeter decided he could no longer put up with what he considered A-Rod's fatal flaw. Still, that doesn't mean Jeter should be watching in silence while Rodriguez comes apart. It's time for him to act as captain and become A-Rod's advocate, the same way he and other Bombers defended Jason Giambi in 2005. No one agreed with what Giambi had been caught doing (taking steroids), but the Yankees' position was nevertheless swift and forward-thinking: He's one of ours, teammates said of Giambi. We stand by him. Jeter has so far avoided making that proclamation on Rodriguez's behalf, and the absence of a public vote of confidence has made A-Rod's misery with the fans that much more pronounced. All it would take is a simple but clearly-worded reminder that the Yankees need a productive A-Rod to catch the Red Sox, and the game-by-game, at-bat by at-bat assault on Rodriguez actually might let up. This isn't to say A-Rod gets a pass for his horrendous play of late. The way he's misplaying grounders, the Yankees are better off with him as the DH. And those four strikeouts on Saturday, each one progressively uglier, tell you Rodriguez needs more than a hitting instructor. He needs a sports psychologist. You see it in how tightly he grips the bat. You see how much slower his swing has become, his muscles overloaded with tension. Even the exaggerated deep breaths before he steps to the plate suggest the pressure has gotten to Rodriguez. But it's also unfair that Rodriguez takes heat for every decision he makes, including sunbathing in Central Park. It was Rodriguez's bad luck that a picture of him and his family ended up in the New York Post earlier in the week. For those who already can't stand the third baseman, the photo of him without a shirt made him look silly and vain, and the fact that his afternoon in the park was followed by three errors that night only further indicted him. But what crime has Rodriguez committed other than to slump while the Yankees are in second place? It says something that only general manager Brian Cashman has taken up A-Rod's cause, reminding critics that the third baseman, on his way someday to 800 homers and 3,000 hits, doesn't take steroids, plays hard and is still the best third baseman the team has ever had. But that line of defense doesn't seem to count for much in the clubhouse. One veteran sarcastically asked a group of reporters on Tuesday, "Hey, did you guys make it to the team party in Central Park?" It was an obvious reference to A-Rod and his self-absorbed ways. This culture of finding fault with Rodriguez is ultimately Jeter's responsibility. It's part of his job description to promote clubhouse unity. He doesn't have to like Rodriguez to make sure the team is going in one direction. Ultimately, it will be up to A-Rod to rescue himself from this personal nightmare. He's so awful right now that even middle-of-the-plate, 88-mph fastballs look overwhelming. His swing is loopy and late. His release point is equally unnatural for a third baseman, throwing sidearm like a shortstop in a hurry. The Yankees need A-Rod to stop panicking and rediscover the talent that's made him the most gifted player in the game. Maybe that's impossible. Maybe Rodriguez really is too soft for New York. That's why a hoax rumor last week that had A-Rod going to the Phillies made it all the way to Rodriguez's locker, where he denied wanting to be traded. Truth is, the Yankees and A-Rod will remain married for the remainder of his contract, just as Jeter will retire in pinstripes. Considering everyone's here to stay, it wouldn't hurt for the left side of the infield to join forces. Or at least pretend. E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com

Centerfield Jul 24 2006 11:52 AM

There are a number of reasons Jeter and Rodriguez stopped hanging out. One is married, the other is still single. Jeter has a cold-blooded side to him, both athletically and socially. He is unafraid. Rodriguez, on the other hand, is obsessed with what others think of him. Jeter decided he could no longer put up with what he considered A-Rod's fatal flaw. What a bunch of garbage. I hate how A-Rod is painted as some sensitive weenie while Jeter is canonized. Jeter bristled at the comparisons as it became more and more obvious that A-Rod's superior power numbers and superior (at the time) defense made him head and shoulders above Jeter. Jeter bristled more when A-Rod basically mirrored that sentiment by saying Jeter doesn't warrant as much money because of the lack of power. Jeter cares what people think about him just as much as A-Rod. Especially when people think A-Rod is better. Still, that doesn't mean Jeter should be watching in silence while Rodriguez comes apart. It's time for him to act as captain and become A-Rod's advocate, the same way he and other Bombers defended Jason Giambi in 2005. Of course he shouldn't, but he is because anyone who is watching can see that little rat is taking some pleasure in watching A-Rod's struggles. He is feeling vindicated (although not rightly so) by A-Rod's errors because there were many who said it should have been Jeter who should have moved. (A-Rod, once upon a time, was a Gold Glover at SS). One veteran sarcastically asked a group of reporters on Tuesday, "Hey, did you guys make it to the team party in Central Park?" It was an obvious reference to A-Rod and his self-absorbed ways. Was it Bob? Or was it a dig on the media for making news out of A-Rod's private time with his family?

Edgy DC Jul 24 2006 12:03 PM

"I really expected something from Sidney today," Torre said, "and he just didn't look like he had any command at all." 'We got our brains beat in here,' said Johnny Damon.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 12:03 PM

]You see it in how tightly he grips the bat. You see how much slower his swing has become, his muscles overloaded with tension. Even the exaggerated deep breaths before he steps to the plate suggest the pressure has gotten to Rodriguez. Crap like this cracks me up. It's amazing how every reporter and mediot can judge body language like a 40-year CIA veteran, and how they always find exactly what they need to support their viewpoint. In fact ARod's been doing the "exaggerated deep breaths" since Seattle. (And I think he hit like .425 in the '99 Seattle-Yank series.)

Edgy DC Jul 24 2006 12:08 PM

I like how a downward tick in batspeed can be measured --- and the source of it isolated --- by an amateur's naked eye.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 24 2006 12:08 PM

All in all, a good weekend for Toronto, who took 3 of 4 from the MFYs while the Sox lost 2 of 3 to Seattle. 4.5 games separate the top 3 in the AL East, coulda been a lot more. I'm behind the Jays here. If thery get a shortstop they could be trouble with a capital T which rhymes with P and that stands for Psomas. What?

Edgy DC Jul 24 2006 12:11 PM

I was just casually entertaining who might be in the market for him, and I realized that A-Rod in Houston --- all specualtion here, I have no idea what they could offer for him ---- would burn through tthe record book in about two years.

Iubitul Jul 24 2006 12:14 PM

"Anyone can sense the distance between Jeter and Rodriguez; the much-heralded friendship that flourished when the two were the game's youngest star shortstops is history now. " Wait a minute - A-Rod was blasted for missing a party that he was supposed to host with David Wright, because he was having dinnder with Jeter. Can't have it both ways here.

Centerfield Jul 24 2006 12:26 PM

By now, Rodriguez has been so thoroughly crushed by Derek Jeter in the PR referendum, the side-by-side comparison no longer merits debate: Yes, Jeter is hipper, cooler and more dependable in the clutch, even with less talent. I can't speak to who is hipper or cooler, I will leave that to experts like Klapisch, but as far as hitting in the clutch, here's what I see. ESPN has close and late stats going back to 2002. From 2002 to present, A-Rod is 97 for 379 in the clutch. Jeter is 90 for 351. That works out to .256 for both players. So much for that. Klapisch is right about one thing...considering the difference in power numbers, it seems obvious that Jeter has less talent. Oh well, at least he's "hipper".

SteveJRogers Jul 24 2006 12:32 PM

Yabut, Yabut, every time Jeter (or Ortiz depending on who is saying this statement) always "does something" in walkoff situations SC=100% (percentage a guy like ARod should get in his first year on the HOF ballot, Jeter and Ortiz not even close)

Edgy DC Jul 24 2006 12:35 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 24 2006 12:43 PM

]No one agreed with what Giambi had been caught doing (taking steroids), but the Yankees' position was nevertheless swift and forward-thinking: He's one of ours, teammates said of Giambi. We stand by him. A convenient stance that they had little alternative in taking. ]The way he's misplaying grounders, the Yankees are better off with him as the DH. A-Rod at DH with Giambi at first and Phillips (or Cairo) at third is a better alignment for the rest of the season than A-Rod at third, Giambi DH-ing, and Phillips at first?

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 12:36 PM

SteveJRogers wrote: SC=100% (percentage a guy like ARod should get in his first year on the HOF ballot, Jeter and Ortiz not even close) Jeter should be a first ballot HOFer too. A lot of basehits over the years. As much as it gets overhyped, he actually does have some key playoff hits in his career.

Johnny Dickshot Jul 24 2006 12:42 PM

Jeter and Arod are both Hall of Famers, Bernie could be, and Mariano is, and Torre is, and Johnson is, and Mussina and Giambi are longshots but have a chance. And they can barely stay out of third place.

Edgy DC Jul 24 2006 12:45 PM

Don't forget HoF candidate Shef on the DL.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 12:47 PM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: Jeter and Arod are both Hall of Famers, Bernie could be, and Mariano is, and Torre is, and Johnson is, and Mussina and Giambi are longshots but have a chance. And they can barely stay out of third place. That's a little misleading.

metirish Jul 24 2006 12:55 PM

Steve Phillips thinks they should trade A-Rod,that it's even being talked about is fascinating. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-060723rogers,1,4103722.column?coll=cs-cubs-utility ]ESPN analyst Steve Phillips, former general manager of the New York Mets, believes the Yankees should deal Rodriguez. "It's become the thing to do in New York to boo Alex Rodriguez," Phillips said Sunday night. "When that happens in New York, it doesn't stop. Now you see it's impacting his performance. Ultimately I don't see how he gets out of this rut. I think they have to trade him."

SteveJRogers Jul 24 2006 12:56 PM

Elster88 wrote: ="SteveJRogers"]SC=100% (percentage a guy like ARod should get in his first year on the HOF ballot, Jeter and Ortiz not even close) Jeter should be a first ballot HOFer too. A lot of basehits over the years. As much as it gets overhyped, he actually does have some key playoff hits in his career. True, my point was more geared towards the percentage of writers who will actually vote for him. Yes I agree thats one of the dumbest thing in the history of dumb things to worry about, (and despite the guy who still holds the highest percentage I really don't) but there are voters who actually will not vote for a player their first year on the ballot, no matter who they are, and ARod is one of those who won't have a whole bunch of dumb writers (either young or old) arguing his worth like Jeter probably will because people who never really saw him play will view him as a "compiller"

Edgy DC Jul 24 2006 01:02 PM

]"Ultimately I don't see how he gets out of this rut. I think they have to trade him." It's a far cry from you not seeing the end of the road to there not being one. Mr. Phillips, don't run my team any more.

Elster88 Jul 24 2006 01:02 PM

metirish wrote: Steve Phillips thinks they should trade A-Rod,that it's even being talked about is fascinating. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-060723rogers,1,4103722.column?coll=cs-cubs-utility ]ESPN analyst Steve Phillips, former general manager of the New York Mets, believes the Yankees should deal Rodriguez. "It's become the thing to do in New York to boo Alex Rodriguez," Phillips said Sunday night. "When that happens in New York, it doesn't stop. Now you see it's impacting his performance. Ultimately I don't see how he gets out of this rut. I think they have to trade him." It's fascinating to me too. We are talking about a guy who at current projections could be one of the best players in history. He sure as hell is a better fielder than Barry, even considering his recent lapses, if you want to give Barry the edge in hitting. Basically, Yankee fans suck. A lot of Met fans do too, though, sadly.

MFS62 Jul 24 2006 01:05 PM

IMO, there's something going on between Jeter and A-Rod. When the steroid stories surfaced, Captain Clutch almost stained his Captian's crotch leading the team's vocal support of Giambi. But he has been silent in any efforts to support his teammate duting the recent slump and subsequent fan and press reaction. There should have been at least one quote saying something like "he is a great player, and his other teammates and I are sure he'll snap out of it soon." But there has been nada, zippo, zilch from him. Later

metirish Jul 24 2006 01:14 PM

Are we to really believe that A-Rod seeks Jeter's approvel or a kind word at the least?, if anything like that is true then A-Rod is pathetic.

MFS62 Jul 24 2006 01:18 PM

metirish wrote: Are we to really believe that A-Rod seeks Jeter's approvel or a kind word at the least?, if anything like that is true then A-Rod is pathetic. I don't think he expects it, but isn't supporting your teammate is rough times part of what a captain is supposed to do? Later

metirish Jul 24 2006 01:23 PM

Jeter's a wanker and a bollox but I just don't see how a public show of support would help poor Alex...hey maybe we should ask Jeter to go to the Middle East to solve that mess.

Frayed Knot Jul 24 2006 01:29 PM

]ESPN has close and late stats going back to 2002. From 2002 to present, A-Rod is 97 for 379 in the clutch. Jeter is 90 for 351. Yeah but much of that production from ARod didn't happen as a Yanqui - and we all know that NYY clutch hits are different than clutch hits in Texas. Geez CF I didn't think you were that stupid! On BB2N (Sun night) both Phillips & Harold Reynolds were backing the 'They Gotta Trade ARod' angle, arguing that he's lost it and it's clear that he'll never get it back!!!! It's like no one else has ever had a slump before - including Jeter if you recall, a slump big enough to land him on the cover of SI. You know it's getting bad when John Kruk becomes the voice of reason on that show.

MFS62 Jul 24 2006 01:30 PM

Squelching the urge to post a Condi Rice comment. Later

Willets Point Jul 24 2006 02:09 PM

MFS62 wrote: Squelching the urge to post a Condi Rice comment. Later Damn Adkins diet. Makes you squelch your urge for rice.

silverdsl Jul 25 2006 09:33 AM

MFS62 wrote: ="metirish"]Are we to really believe that A-Rod seeks Jeter's approvel or a kind word at the least?, if anything like that is true then A-Rod is pathetic. I don't think he expects it, but isn't supporting your teammate is rough times part of what a captain is supposed to do? Later Yes, it is. There are ways that Jeter can show his support for A-Rod, like he has for Chuck Knoblauch, Giambi, Darryl Strawberry, and other players, without making A-Rod seem like a wuss. Mike Mussina and Mariano Rivera haven't hesitated to not only support A-Rod and talk about his value to the team, but address the boo'ing directly as well. If they can do it, then Jeter can too. And, imo, as team captain he should, regardless of what his personal feelings about A-Rod might be. We never really know what the players are like as people behind closed doors, but I believe in Buster Olney's book a few years ago he indicated that Jeter holds grudges big-time and once someone is on the outs with him, he's cold as ice towards them. It's things like this that makes me think there is some truth to that.

metirish Jul 25 2006 09:37 AM

] but I believe in Buster Olney's book a few years ago he indicated that Jeter holds grudges big-time and once someone is on the outs with him, he's cold as ice towards them. It's things like this that makes me think there is some truth to that. That's one of the many intangibles that makes Jeter a total wanker.

Edgy DC Jul 25 2006 09:58 AM

A perfectly good model comes from Cliff Floyd back in the Mets 2006 opening series: "I want people to know that when they boo Carlos, they're booing David Wright, they're booing me," said Cliff Floyd. "We're in this together. No one is thinking, 'Damn, I'm glad it's him and not me.' We all wear the same uniform in here." A little mathematical guesswork coming up. Derek Jeter has twice the moral authority with Yankee fans and Cliff had at the time with Met fans. Probably more than that. In sticking his neck out a little bit for his teammate --- a teammate who they're going to need the best from to win --- he would be risking about 1/20th of what Floyd had to lose. DJ should stop hoarding all that moral authority and lend a little to his teammate.

Frayed Knot Jul 26 2006 11:29 PM

Yanx DFA backup catcher Kelly Stinnett and trade some minor league scrub to Philly for their recently DFA'd backup Sal Fasano. So the "Sal's Pals" group in Philly loses their hero and Sal loses the longer parts of his 'stache. Meanwhile they're in the 9th in Texas as the Rangers are doing the usual by finding new and interesting ways to lose to the Yanx. - They led 4-2 much of the game until giving up 4 in the 8th - They then beat on MFY relievers Bean & Proctor to not only score 3 times but also have the bags loaded and still just 1 out - In comes Chacon who promptly snares a comebacker into a DP. It really didn't matter where he threw it since all 3 runners were about 25 feet off their respective bases. - So with only a 1-run lead into the 9th, Osutka immediately gives up a single & HR (Jeter, Giambi) in the first 3 or 4 pitches of the 9th - And Mariano closes it out, the Rangers truly suck, and the Yanx are now in the Wild Card lead by 1/2 game over the [u:d5efe51e17]now tied[/u:d5efe51e17] ChiSox & Twinkies

Elster88 Jul 31 2006 02:28 PM

Damon Jeter Rodriguez Giambi (1B) Abreu (RF) Sheffield (DH) Matsui Posada Cano Un-fricken-believable. At least their pitching sucks, so they won't win a playoff series. Assuming they play one.

Elster88 Jul 31 2006 04:45 PM

Cashman is making Mad Dog look like a fool right now. It's highly enjoyable.

Yancy Street Gang Jul 31 2006 04:46 PM

="Elster88"]Cashman is making Mad Dog look like a fool right now. It's highly enjoyable. Wow! How'd he manage that?

metirish Jul 31 2006 09:01 PM

Ok IO have been hearing all day how Abreu is not that great in the outfield, all these callers to the FAN and a reporter from Philly claim he's afraid of the wall as soon as he hits the warning track..they point to a few Mets games...I don't remember anything like that.

Edgy DC Jul 31 2006 09:35 PM

I do. It doesn't make it any more than anecdotal, but I do. My eyeball scouting report also lists him as a pretty reckless thrower. All of which, even if I could establish that they were real traits and not merely my impressions, would only diminish his sex appeal to me by about 2.9%.

metirish Jul 31 2006 10:43 PM

David Ortiz with a 3 run homer in the 9th to beat the Indians...he's fuckin sick.

Willets Point Aug 01 2006 07:33 AM

Smell like Derek Jeter!

ScarletKnight41 Aug 01 2006 07:40 AM

Ewwwww!!!!!!!!!!!

Edgy DC Aug 01 2006 09:14 AM

How can they not call it "Intangibles"? I'm so disappointed.

SteveJRogers Aug 02 2006 12:51 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 02 2006 01:57 PM

Anniversary of Thurman Munson's passing OE: Removed rather tasteless and unfunny joke I made

Edgy DC Aug 02 2006 01:53 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 02 2006 02:33 PM

Steve, nobody is going to flame you for acknowledging a dead guy. Please stop playing the martyr.

SteveJRogers Aug 02 2006 01:57 PM

I know Edgy, I was going for the funny. And I'm just realizing the rather tasteless nature of the thing I said I was ducking (hangs head in own stupidity)

Willets Point Aug 02 2006 02:14 PM

Steve you may wish to try the Preview feature. Make your post. Take a look at it. Read it and see if it's really what you want to say. Think of the possible consequences of your words. Edit if necessary, delete if the post is just not right. Just a suggestion since you've had a lot of posts lately you've regretted after the fact.

Edgy DC Aug 02 2006 02:39 PM

Two cool things about Munson 1) He made only one error in 1971. Supposedly it happened when the ball was dislodged from his mitt after a runner knocked him unconscious. 2) Despite that, he was supposedly the last catcher to play without a helmet. I'm actually not sure if this is true because I remember Jerry Grote claiming he never wore a helmet and he came out of retirement and played until 1981.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 02 2006 02:46 PM

I got Munson's autograph when I was ten he was appearing at the baseball camp run by the town of Smithtown. I handed him an index card and he started to write on the lined side instead of the blank side. I asked him to sign the blank side and he sneered at me and signed the lined side. Jerk.

seawolf17 Aug 02 2006 02:50 PM

Yancy- you went to the Smithtown baseball camp?!? Me too, in the mid-80s. Met Craig Biggio when he was a coach there (pre-major league days).

Yancy Street Gang Aug 02 2006 02:55 PM

I was there once. I think I was ten, which would have made it 1973. (But maybe I was a little bit older. I'm really not sure.) As I remember it it was two weeks, took place at Smithtown East, and was run by the school district's gym teachers. Thurman Munson was our one celebrity guest. Most of the kids were Mets fans. (Yankee fans were few and far between on Long Island back then.) It would have been so much cooler if they had been able to get a Met. I guess the Yankees were probably the team that had the homestand during the days the camp was running.

Willets Point Aug 02 2006 02:58 PM

Munson always reminds me of the W.P. Kinsella story "The Night Manny Mota Tied the Record" about how certain people can trade their lives in to let famous people live. Cool story, creepy idea.

seawolf17 Aug 02 2006 03:02 PM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I was there once. I think I was ten, which would have made it 1973. (But maybe I was a little bit older. I'm really not sure.) As I remember it it was two weeks, took place at Smithtown East, and was run by the school district's gym teachers. Thurman Munson was our one celebrity guest. Most of the kids were Mets fans. (Yankee fans were few and far between on Long Island back then.) It would have been so much cooler if they had been able to get a Met. I guess the Yankees were probably the team that had the homestand during the days the camp was running. That's the one. They had Tony Bernazard one year (!?!), Terry Leach and Vern Hoscheit another year. Biggio coached there, although he never coached me directly.

metirish Aug 05 2006 07:48 PM

Rookie pitcher Adam Loewen and two relief pitchers one hit the MFY's at Camden yards, O's beat then 5 to zip.

Willets Point Aug 06 2006 11:22 PM

The Yankees continue to be hot while the Red Sox continue to collapse. You can expect the Yanks to extend their lead (yes, they have a better record than the Mets too) in the AL East and win the division en route to ring #27.

Johnny Dickshot Aug 06 2006 11:24 PM

The MFYs can lick my love pump.

metirish Aug 06 2006 11:29 PM

Booby fucking Boo won't hit shit for them....good.

Zvon Aug 06 2006 11:30 PM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I got Munson's autograph when I was ten he was appearing at the baseball camp run by the town of Smithtown. ="seawolf17"]Yancy- you went to the Smithtown baseball camp?!? Me too, ..... This is kindof a trip-- I lived in Smithtown in the mid sixties, the years the Worlds Fair was in town, 64/65. Carnagie Drive, right off 25a. Loved it out there.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 07 2006 07:36 AM

I grew up nearby, and my dad worked in Commack and Smithtown.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 07 2006 09:34 AM

Where in Smithtown did he work?

seawolf17 Aug 07 2006 09:53 AM

Willets Point wrote: The Yankees continue to be hot while the Red Sox continue to collapse. You can expect the Yanks to extend their lead (yes, they have a better record than the Mets too) in the AL East and win the division en route to ring #27. cleon? mlbaseballtalk?

ScarletKnight41 Aug 07 2006 09:58 AM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Where in Smithtown did he work? St. John's hospital. Right by the Bull. He had an office in Commack as well.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 07 2006 09:59 AM

I suspect they will end up winning the division, but I don't think they should be getting their fingers measured yet. I think they lose to the White Sox in the first round. And even if they don't, I don't think they'll get past Detroit.

Willets Point Aug 07 2006 09:59 AM

No, Willets Point. I just grumpy hearing that the Yankees pitching sucks, hearing that they have several catastrophic injuries, hearing they're old and broken down former steroid users and then looking and seeing them 2 games up in the standings with a better winning percentage than the Mets. It pisses me off that the Devil Rays and Royals et al will roll over for the Yankees but play hard against the Red Sox. It annoys me that the Tigers are having a miracle season but could just end up falling to the damn Yankees in the playoffs. It frustrates me that no matter what goes wrong for the Yankees they just keep winning.

Elster88 Aug 07 2006 10:03 AM

]It pisses me off that the Devil Rays and Royals et al will roll over for the Yankees but play hard against the Red Sox. I think you're just being grumpy, but I'll note in this space that the D-Rays beat the hell out of the Yankees last year.

seawolf17 Aug 07 2006 10:35 AM

Willets Point wrote: I just grumpy hearing that the Yankees pitching sucks, hearing that they have several catastrophic injuries The injury thing is the one that bothers the ever-living fuck out of me this season. (And I think I've mentioned it here before.) Hey MFY Fan... SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT THE INJURIES. EVERY team has injuries, and just because you lost two outfielders -- and replaced one of them with a former All-Star for basically nothing -- doesn't make you any fucking worse off than any other team. Has Jeter been hurt? Giambi? Unit? A-Rod? Mussina? Damon? Wang? Rivera? Torre been sick and missed a bunch of games? I didn't fucking think so. So STFU.

Elster88 Aug 07 2006 10:38 AM

I'm willing to bet a grand that Joe Torre cries if/when the Yankees clinch a playoff spot.

SteveJRogers Aug 07 2006 10:57 AM

seawolf17 wrote: ="Willets Point"]I just grumpy hearing that the Yankees pitching sucks, hearing that they have several catastrophic injuries The injury thing is the one that bothers the ever-living fuck out of me this season. (And I think I've mentioned it here before.) Hey MFY Fan... SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT THE INJURIES. EVERY team has injuries, and just because you lost two outfielders -- and replaced one of them with a former All-Star for basically nothing -- doesn't make you any fucking worse off than any other team. Has Jeter been hurt? Giambi? Unit? A-Rod? Mussina? Damon? Wang? Rivera? Torre been sick and missed a bunch of games? I didn't fucking think so. So STFU. Excellent point. If the Sox weren't the Sox, or if they've been trailing the whole year, you'd be hearing the same stuff that you hear about the Mets. Pretty much, yeah we got the division locked up, but how are are we going to go in the playoffs with our pitching in the state its in?

seawolf17 Aug 07 2006 12:10 PM

Interesting stat from Elias: • Mariano Rivera made the 696th relief appearance of his career Sunday, a new high for pitchers on New York City teams. The previous record-holder was John Franco, the only non-Yankees pitcher to hold the mark since Johnny Murphy passed Jack Quinn (Brooklyn Dodgers) in 1939. Murphy held the record until 1977. Other record-holders since then were Sparky Lyle (1977-1990), Dave Righetti (1990-1999), and Franco since then.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 07 2006 01:31 PM

Elster88 wrote: I'm willing to bet a grand that Joe Torre cries if/when the Yankees clinch a playoff spot. Good call. And I'm sure it will be as moving as always.

Elster88 Aug 07 2006 01:46 PM

Which is, of course, not moving at all, but funny.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 07 2006 01:48 PM

If I ever get Joe Torre in the song parody contest, maybe I'll use Tears of a Clown.

SteveJRogers Aug 07 2006 01:50 PM

Elster88 wrote: Which is, of course, not moving at all, but funny. Heh, has there been ANY Yankee championship accomplished since clinching the 1996 AL East Division that hasn't been treated as a great "Human Interest Story" especially with a Torre connection?

metirish Aug 07 2006 01:50 PM

I think Joe's crying here..

Willets Point Aug 07 2006 02:32 PM

Onion short on Jeter.

Frayed Knot Aug 08 2006 10:24 PM

Ozzie's ChiSox are doing the same thing that they did last time they played the MFYs; they seem to be in a contest to see how many outs they can make on the bases. C-M Wang couldn't get anyone out early on but got away with it for the most part cuz the Sox hit into DPs w/the bases loaded, got caught stealing several times, got thrown out trying to advance, etc. It's 4-4 in the 8th but geez the Sox should have more.

Johnny Dickshot Aug 08 2006 11:06 PM

WOW. MFYs go ahead in the 9th, Konerko ties it with a CF bomb off Mariano.

Frayed Knot Aug 08 2006 11:20 PM

Yeah, but then what did they do after the tying HR? - they get the winning run on still with no outs - then they fuck up a sac bunt with Piersynski (got the force at 2nd) - then the pinch-runner gets himself thrown out stealing by at least 9 feet (I think it's the 3rd CS of the night) Remind my team never to hire Ozzie

Rockin' Doc Aug 08 2006 11:24 PM

As I said earlier during the tonight's IGT, I don't like any reliever with a one run lead. JD - "MFYs go ahead in the 9th, Konerko ties it with a CF bomb off Mariano." Ha! Ha! Ha! I feel both vindicated and deliriously happy.

silverdsl Aug 09 2006 09:13 AM

The funny thing is that I heard a replay of John Sterling's call when Konerko tied it, and he had just finished saying that any of the next few hitters in the White Sox order are capable of hitting one out, and a second later that's exactly what happened. Sometimes you just have a feeling about these things I guess.

Carnac the Metnificent Aug 09 2006 08:17 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 09 2006 10:06 PM

A: Unusally high levels of testosterone Q: What has been ruled out as the cause of A-Rod's problems this season? A: Kelly Clarkson and Carl Pavano Q: Name an American Idol and an idle American

Elster88 Aug 09 2006 08:57 PM

Great stuff Carnac.

Frayed Knot Aug 09 2006 10:03 PM

Big Unit tossing a no-hitter against the ChiSox - thru 6 so far. He was also the last guy to toss a no-no, his perfect game against the Braves 3? years ago. I wonder if that's ever happened before where one guy has the last 2 consecutive no-hitters... aside from that Van derMeer guy of course.

metirish Aug 09 2006 10:17 PM

Iguchi just got a single.....yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

Frayed Knot Aug 09 2006 10:21 PM

Well we can save tyring to look up that fact cuz Tad Iguchi just singled leading off the 7th ... and now a Thome walk. ... which reminds me, I was listening to a (live) Bobby V interview last night and the subject of Iguchi & KazMat came up and Bobby quoted Sadahura Oh who managed Iguchi and against Matsui. Oh's comment was that every year, every game, and in every way, Matsui was the better player in Japan. Sigh

Frayed Knot Aug 09 2006 11:13 PM

So the Sox are down 7-0 when they break up the no-hitter in the 7th - they bust the shut-out and put two on the board in the 7th chasing Johnson ... and still have the bases loaded with no outs - at which point they proceed to pop-up 3 times in a row against Ron (pro) Villone and don't get any more - then they throw up a 4-spot in the 8th to make it 7-6 (capped by a Crede 3R HR) meaning ... THAT IF THEY HAD JUST PUSHED EVEN ONE MORE FREAKIN RUN ACROSS WHILE THEY HAD ALL THOSE BASERUNNERS THEY WOULDN'T BE LOSING THOSE FAT SCHMUCKS!!!! Going to bottom 9 down by 1, trying to get to Rivera for the 2nd night in a row. He came in for the final out in the 8th.

Elster88 Aug 10 2006 12:29 AM

They didn't get it. Oh and remember that Boston team that beat the shit out of the entire National League and the best team in the National League? Well, that team doesn't exist anymore. The team that currently plays in Boston lost again to Kansas City.

Edgy DC Aug 10 2006 09:09 AM

Banned for Life: Scott Harper, 19, of Armonk, N.Y., who jumped from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium onto the netting behind home plate during a game last year, has been banned for life from the ballpark and could be sent to jail, a judge said. His criminal sentence, to be handed down Sept. 19, will depend on the outcome of another case in Westchester County for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Johnny Dickshot Aug 10 2006 09:20 AM

I hope the judge bans him from Shea too, just for being a MFY fan.

soupcan Aug 10 2006 09:22 AM

="Edgy DC"]Banned for Life: Scott Harper, 19, of Armonk, N.Y., who jumped from the upper deck at Yankee Stadium onto the netting behind home plate during a game last year, has been banned for life from the ballpark and could be sent to jail, a judge said. His criminal sentence, to be handed down Sept. 19, will depend on the outcome of another case in Westchester County for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. I read that he rejected a plea bargain of probation and restitution to the Yankees. Smart move dumbass.

Edgy DC Aug 10 2006 09:27 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Aug 10 2006 10:38 AM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: I hope the judge bans him from Shea too, just for being a MFY fan. I'm sort of a little surprised that the ban didn't extend to all MLB parks. ="soupcan"]I read that he rejected a plea bargain of probation and restitution to the Yankees. I imagine the standard directive for all fan nusance/reckless endangerment incidents is for the director to never show the incident on TV, but to nonetheless train two cameras on it for evidence purposes. Bet he countersues the Yankees for continuing to serve him while he was drunk.

silverdsl Aug 10 2006 09:52 AM

soupcan wrote: Smart move dumbass. He's just continuing the dumbass theme he started when he got liquored up, jumped onto the net and disrupted the game, and then couldn't keep himself out of trouble after that and got arrested for DUI. I wonder though how enforceable a ban from the stadium is though. They could prevent him from buying tickets in his name, but someone else could buy tickets for him, and while they could distribute his photo to ticket takers and security, with how many people are at the stadium for each game, I'd guess he could probably still slip in.

Edgy DC Aug 10 2006 10:41 AM

If anybody can keep somebody out, it's the Yankees.

soupcan Aug 10 2006 10:58 AM

On 'Rescue Me' (best show on TV right now by the way) this week there was this exchange of dialogue: Franco: Maybe I'll take him to the ballgame, I have a friend who has box seats at Yankee Stadium. Girlfriend: That's no good, he's been banned from Yankee Stadium. Franco: Oh? Girlfriend: Apparently he's the only person who's ever shouted a racial epithet at Derek Jeter.

Edgy DC Aug 10 2006 11:18 AM

Julio Franco?

soupcan Aug 10 2006 11:19 AM

John.

Elster88 Aug 10 2006 11:40 AM

F'real?

soupcan Aug 10 2006 11:46 AM

Who are you, irish?

metirish Aug 10 2006 11:50 AM

What did I do?

soupcan Aug 10 2006 11:53 AM

metirish wrote: What did I do? There's no Kevin Maas plaque at Yankee Stadium.

Elster88 Aug 14 2006 09:05 AM

I guess ARod sells papers. He's on the back cover of the Daily News, and the main Yankee article has his name leading the headline. Yet he's not mentioned in the article until about 2/3 of the way down, and that's for the ninth inning home run he hit (1-4, 2K). He didn't really have a huge part in the game.

MFS62 Aug 14 2006 09:12 AM

It reminds me of a few years ago when each night on the shows like "Entertainment Tonight" there was a seemingly obligatory Julia Roberts reference- whether she was in a current movie or not. Public relations machinery at its finest. Another example I found curious was for many years seeing Marlo Thomas on the cover of magazines that catered to "homemakers". It was strange because she was neither married nor a mother. Some names boost circulation as well as viewership. Later

metirish Aug 14 2006 01:55 PM

Travis Hafner has tied Don Mattingly's grand slam record with his sixth slam yesterday,I hope he breaks it.

Elster88 Aug 14 2006 02:12 PM

I never had a problem with Mattingly. He was on all those shitty Yankee teams back when the Yankee fan-base was made up mostly of genuine Yankee/baseball fans and not grossly overpopulated with bandwagoner jerks. And maybe I'm just too young to remember it correctly, but without the Internet and before the influx of the 8 billion TV/radio shows I'm guessing he wasn't constantly smashed down the America's throat the way Jeter is. I guess I don't much care that he holds this record, I've never been into breaking records just so a Yankee won't hold them. And I like his moustache.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 14 2006 02:36 PM

Mattingly is actually my litmus test. When someone tells me that he/she is a MFY fan, I ask, "What position did Don Mattingly play?" Those who hem and haw and can't venture a guess are bandwagoners.

Elster88 Aug 14 2006 02:43 PM

It still shocks me that anyone from the area wouldn't know that. Even before I got into stats and baseball cards, and before I knew anything about the Yankees (beyond that they also played in New York), and was only into the Mets, I knew who Mattingly was. I think that's a good litmus test to prove someone is a bandwagoner. For me a correct answer wouldn't be enough to prove someone isn't a bandwagoner. If that makes sense. Not that I often go around testing Yankee fans. These days I don't care if they are a bandwagoner or an old-timer. They all tend to get on my nerves.

Centerfield Aug 14 2006 02:45 PM

I usually ask them to name a Yankee shortstop not named Jeter.

Frayed Knot Aug 14 2006 03:17 PM

The weird thing about Mattingly's 6 GS season is that they came in the middle of his career and that they were the only 6 he ever hit. Never hit even one before that season, never hit any after. The other 'odd' record Mattingly holds part of is the consecutive HR streak - 8 games, since tied by several others. And the funny part about that is when YES shows the (then) record 8th on their between-innings highlights ... and the ball is bouncing around in a sea of empty RF bleacher seats. There are probably a bushel full of recent Yanqui fans who don't know there was a time when empty seats was a regular occurance.

SteveJRogers Aug 14 2006 08:05 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: The weird thing about Mattingly's 6 GS season is that they came in the middle of his career and that they were the only 6 he ever hit. Never hit even one before that season, never hit any after. The other 'odd' record Mattingly holds part of is the consecutive HR streak - 8 games, since tied by several others. And the funny part about that is when YES shows the (then) record 8th on their between-innings highlights ... and the ball is bouncing around in a sea of empty RF bleacher seats. There are probably a bushel full of recent Yanqui fans who don't know there was a time when empty seats was a regular occurance. And that seques nicely into this lovely piece by Bob Raisman the other day in the Daily News: ]Building blockheads On Wednesday, at 9:30 a.m., YES will offer live coverage of the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Yankee Stadium. Will Kay and John Sterling be part of the festivities? Remember the days when they, during the season on a nightly basis, bashed the Bronx on Yankee radiocasts? Remember when they said it was impossible for the Yankees to draw fans because of the neighborhood and traffic conditions? And will Yankee mascot Rudy Giuliani be in attendance? He would join Kay and Sterling in the radio booth to trash the Bronx while pushing George Steinbrenner's plan to build a new Stadium in Manhattan. Now, they all have changed their tune. How convenient. Amen to that! Anyone listening to WFAN during these years could hear an endless stream of "I'm never going back there!" and the usual sob stories about horrible incidents witnessed at Yankee Stadium. One particular one I remember because it was grossely untrue was a caller who said he knew the guy that designed the "Bat" outside the stadium, and pointed out to the caller when there was a crowd around doing what the person thought was gawking, turns out a very dead person was chained to it! Untrue because its a simple smokestack that eventually got the Louisville Slugger company to furnish it to look like Babe Ruth's old personal model, and you would need a lot of material to effecitivly chain someone to it. Not to mention it would be a noted bit of grisly triva in any book about crime in NYC Well, the point is that I'll bet dollars to donuts that many of those who made those passioned, "NEVER AGAIN" calls to WFAN and letters to the sports editiors wound up back in the Stadium, dancing to the Macarena/YMCA/Cotton Eye Joe/or whatever, prasing the good name of Kate Smith or Ronan Tynan, and screaming Derek Jeter's name during the course of the last 12 seasons, when it became the "thing to do" again Never mind of course that not a THING has changed in the neighboorhood outside Yankee Stadium. Little cosmetic things outside the actual Stadium have appeared, Sidewalk Cafe and Team Store, but nothing about the neighboorhood around River and 161st has changed. So tell me again how unsafe it is to be in Yankee Stadium? Gee, I'd figure it be less safe when there is 50,000 people than there was when it was only 20,000 =;)

ScarletKnight41 Aug 15 2006 05:35 PM

[url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/443487p-373515c.html]Tom Cruise Stalked DiMaggio[/url] ]'Stalking' Joe: Tom's mission improbable? While people have been spooked by Tom Cruise of late, Joe DiMaggio was one of the first. The actor, who seems weirdlier and weirdlier to fans as he continues to refuse to show his and Katie Holmes' baby, Suri, scared the Yankee legend by following him, our source reports. This was in the mid-'90s, after Cruise had already starred in "Top Gun" and "Born on the Fourth of July," but the baseball great, once married to Marilyn Monroe, didn't realize - or didn't care - what a big star Cruise was. "He'd show up at baseball-signing shows and wait for Joe to come out," says the source. "One time, he waited outside a restaurant for him for three hours. [DiMaggio] called him 'a short little guy.' He didn't like it. He felt like he was stalking him." Cruise's spokesman didn't respond by deadline. And in fairness to Cruise, who J.J. Abrams said would come to his house alone on his motorcycle at midnight to convince him to direct "Mission: Impossible III," the actor could have been pursuing DiMaggio to try getting the rights to his story. But Joltin' Joe, who died in 1999 at 84, felt there was madness in his method. "Joe said to me, 'This guy is following me around everywhere I go,'" says our spy. "'Next time, I'm going to call the cops.'"

Elster88 Aug 15 2006 06:08 PM

I don't believe a single word in that article.

Frayed Knot Aug 15 2006 07:14 PM

Maybe he followed him into a 'Dinky Donuts'? No, that was a tall guy.

Frayed Knot Aug 15 2006 09:26 PM

ARod soap opera update of the night. - he botched another ground ball, good chance it was a DP ball, and allowed a Bal'mer run to score - he then came up with the bases loaded and no outs ... and singled in a run 3-1 Orioles after 6

metirish Aug 15 2006 09:27 PM

You think he regrets getting traded to NY?

cooby Aug 15 2006 09:31 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: and singled in a run A run? Who was on second, Yogi?

SteveJRogers Aug 15 2006 10:20 PM

metirish wrote: You think he regrets getting traded to NY? I think who ever said that ARod in Arlington was like the Mona Lisa in your garage should re-think that statement. ARod in New York is looking more and more like the Mona Lisa hanging in the Olive Garden!

Elster88 Aug 16 2006 08:35 AM

I'm sure I'll regret asking this, but what on earth does that mean?

MFS62 Aug 16 2006 08:39 AM

cooby wrote: [ Who was on second, Yogi? No. Who's on second. Later

seawolf17 Aug 16 2006 11:45 AM

MFS62 wrote: ="cooby"] [ Who was on second, Yogi? No. Who's on second. Later That's what he asked!

ScarletKnight41 Aug 16 2006 02:42 PM

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/offbase/060816&campaign=rsssrch&source=jim_caple]Caple's Thoughts on Yankee Stadium[/url]

SteveJRogers Aug 16 2006 05:19 PM

Elster88 wrote: I'm sure I'll regret asking this, but what on earth does that mean? The first part was a mediot's describing how a great star on a really crappy team, in a "small market" is like an expensive piece of art being shoved in your garage, buried behind all sorts of junk The second part is my implication that ARod is now in NY but is treated as if instead of hanging the Mona Lisa in a real trendy Italian restaurant he is being treated as if he is in a laughable wannabe trendy Italian restaurant chain, like The Olive Garden. Weak I know, but its the best I could try to come up with to mock the original comparsion.

metirish Aug 16 2006 06:30 PM

Octavio Dotel was activated Wednesday by the yankees.

MFS62 Aug 16 2006 06:34 PM

seawolf17 wrote: ="MFS62"] ="cooby"] [ Who was on second, Yogi? No. Who's on second. Later That's what he asked! Actually, I should have typed "Who's on first". It was a slow time on the board, and I was trying to get into the Abbott and Costello routine. But I had a brain cramp. Later

MFS62 Aug 17 2006 11:16 AM

Was driving home last evening and between innings of the Mets game, I tuned in the Yanks game. Jeter made a backhanded stop of a grounder in the hole, got to a kneeling position and threw the runner out at first. John Sterling yelled (I'll spare you the caps) "Another great stop by Jeter!!! He makes one of those every game". Georgy's Girl inserted some fawning comments and then a few pitches later, Sterling added, "Whether in the field, at bat or on the bases, Jeter does something every game to help the Yankees win". My thought is, "What does he do in games the Yankees lose, like last night? That play didn't help them win, John." UGH! That'll teach me to keep it on WFAN. EDIT: Scarlett, I just noticed your post about Mattingly. Last week, once caller to one of the sports talk station mentioned that Mattingly came up as an infielder, playing thrid and first. Even after the host pointed out that Mattingly was a lefty thrower, makin that highly unlikely, the caller persisted that he was right. I guess that's an example of what you said. Later

ScarletKnight41 Aug 17 2006 11:39 AM

No 62 - that's an example of someone who at least knew that Mattingly was a corner infielder. The number of people from whom I get the Deer in the Headlight stare when asked that question is astounding.

MFS62 Aug 17 2006 11:42 AM

Then I guess it would be too much to ask them if they knew Babe Ruth was also a pitcher. LOL! Later

ScarletKnight41 Aug 17 2006 11:44 AM

There's a whole group of MFY "fans" who know nothing prior to 1996. They'd be hard pressed to tell you who the Iron Horse was.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 17 2006 11:51 AM

And there are a lot of Mets fans who don't know who Tom Seaver was. At the one game I attended this year, there was a trivia question on the scoreboard asking who was known as the Franchise. I don't remember who the choices were. I think it was Seaver, Koosman, Staub, and one other. Maybe Keith Hernandez. And somehow they tallied people's guesses (I don't know how they did that. Web voting?) Less than 40 per cent got the correct answer. Ignorance of stuff from before you were born doesn't make you a bandwagoner; it just makes you someone ignorant of history. Mattingly is a better litmus test than Gehrig, but only for fans who are 25 or older, I'd say.

ScarletKnight41 Aug 17 2006 11:54 AM

It just means that we're dealing with our own bandwagoners this season. Real fans know The Franchise, no matter when they were born.

Frayed Knot Aug 17 2006 12:28 PM

Mattingly did play a game or 3 at 3rd base (left-handedness be damned) during a short stretch when the Yanx were really strapped with injuries - but he certainly didn't "come up as" a 3rd baseman.

Elster88 Aug 17 2006 02:58 PM

7-2 Baltimore in the fifth.

Centerfield Aug 17 2006 03:31 PM

Make it 12-2. Toepick.

seawolf17 Aug 17 2006 03:48 PM

="Frayed Knot"]Mattingly did play a game or 3 at 3rd base (left-handedness be damned) during a short stretch when the Yanx were really strapped with injuries - but he certainly didn't "come up as" a 3rd baseman. Actually, he came up as a "OF-1B". Plus he played a third of an inning at second in 1983.

Frayed Knot Aug 17 2006 04:18 PM

I knew he played some outfield early on - although, looking it up, he played there more than I remember: 76 games - he played 3 games at 3rd as it turns out. Had 11 assists including being part of 2 GiDPs - I wonder if that 1/3 inning at 2nd base was in the resumption of the "Pine Tar" game when Billy put out an ass-backwards lineup because he was pouting over the decision?

SteveJRogers Aug 17 2006 04:21 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: I knew he played some outfield early on - although, looking it up, he played there more than I remember: 76 games - he played 3 games at 3rd as it turns out. Had 11 assists including being part of 2 GiDPs - I wonder if that 1/3 inning at 2nd base was in the resumption of the "Pine Tar" game when Billy put out an ass-backwards lineup because he was pouting over the decision? And Gator in the OF, yeah I believe that is correct

seawolf17 Aug 17 2006 04:23 PM

SteveJRogers wrote: ="Frayed Knot"]I knew he played some outfield early on - although, looking it up, he played there more than I remember: 76 games - he played 3 games at 3rd as it turns out. Had 11 assists including being part of 2 GiDPs - I wonder if that 1/3 inning at 2nd base was in the resumption of the "Pine Tar" game when Billy put out an ass-backwards lineup because he was pouting over the decision? And Gator in the OF, yeah I believe that is correct Nice call, Steve. [url]http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/07241983.shtml[/url]

MFS62 Aug 18 2006 09:13 AM

In case you missed it, there was a Kodak moment in yesterday's Yankee game. Late in the game there were 2 outs, and one of the O's hit a popup to the Yankee infield. Jeter and Arod both settled under it, they bumped and the ball hit the ground. Jeter just looked down, with an expression like "WTF, man" and walked away. Neither of them immediately picked up the ball and the runner on base scored from second. (And I think Jeter was given an error on the play.) A-Rod - $25 million Jeter - $17 million That moment - priceless. Later

Johnny Dickshot Aug 18 2006 09:22 AM

(John Sterling)And that, is a Yankee Classic®

metsmarathon Aug 18 2006 10:35 AM

y'know, i understand jeter calling for it and all, but arod was camped RIGHT UNDER the ball the entire time. what, did he even have to move a step?

Elster88 Aug 18 2006 01:32 PM

We got one!

MFS62 Aug 18 2006 01:34 PM

Oops, in the spirit of RMPL, I'll kill the other one. Thanks, Later

KC Aug 18 2006 02:19 PM

When I reincarnate, I'm coming back as Michael Kay.

Willets Point Aug 18 2006 02:22 PM

="KC"]When I reincarnate, I'm coming back as Michael Kay. What crime have you commited in this life to deserve that?

MFS62 Aug 18 2006 02:25 PM

1-0 Yanks after three. Lowell just hit a fly ball to right with the sacks juiced to end the 3rd. Later

seawolf17 Aug 18 2006 02:39 PM

="KC"]When I reincarnate, I'm coming back as Michael Kay. I look forward to the day when I can kick the hell out of you.

Willets Point Aug 18 2006 02:39 PM

]Randy Johnson Asks Chien-Ming Wang For Some Pitching Advice For A Pitcher Friend Of His August 17, 2006 | Onion Sports NEW YORK—Yankees pitcher Randy Johnson asked his teammate and fellow pitcher Chien-Ming Wang Tuesday for some pitching advice that was reportedly not for him, but for a "tall, lanky, inconsistent" southpaw friend of his. "He—my friend—is having trouble because he thinks his release point is erratic," said Johnson, who as the conversation went on had to vehemently deny allegations that the person he was talking about was himself. "So, Chien, what do you think about my, er, his release point?" Wang eventually recommended that Johnson tell his "friend" that when he releases the ball too high, he loses his ability to fool left-handed hitters, and to also mention that he will have to accept that at his friend's age, his slider won't be nearly as effective as it once was.

Elster88 Aug 18 2006 02:54 PM

Let me also add my wishes that you not come back as Michael Kay. I'd hate to kill you.

metirish Aug 27 2006 03:56 PM

Poor A-Rod just struck out in his first AB today,that's eight strikes outs in this series so far,four friday night and three yesterday.

Gwreck Aug 27 2006 04:14 PM

metirish wrote: A-Rod just struck out in his first AB today,that's eight strikes outs in this series so far,four friday night and three yesterday. Fixed it for you.

metirish Aug 28 2006 09:03 PM

From the MFY blog on Newsday...... ] The latest on the $40 million bust named Carl Pavano: The pain he felt under his armpit is actually two fractured ribs suffered in a car wreck two weeks ago, on the morning of August 15, not from his West Palm Beach home. He hide the injury and car wreck from the Yankees until Saturday when he just so happened to be nearing his return to the Yankees. We report, you decide. The Yankees understandably are furious at him and put him on a conference call with reporters just now to defend himself. He said he hates being a distraction. But he didn't sound ready to apologize to his teammates or anything. More on that later. And expect the Yankees to hand him a fine. As for the ribs, Pavano has another doctor's appointment tomorrow and as long as he is cleared he will be pitching for Columbus Wednesday and then will join the Yankees. If you have to see it to believe it, we understand. More to come. What a terrible deal this had turned out to be.

SteveJRogers Aug 28 2006 09:34 PM

Times like this remind me of one of the dumbest radio ads I've heard in a long while. For a Sprint PCS apperance last year by a MFY player, but the ad couldn't use "Yankees" by name, so it became "An apperance by a player on YOUR favorite New York baseball team..." certaintly seems that way with all the Yankee gear being worn, anyway, that didn't bother me really, this part did "Baseball Great, Carl Pavano!" That had me laughing. Not "All Star, Carl Pavano" not "World Champion, Carl Pavano" but "Baseball Great" I mean can you give me a TRUTHFULL come on? Who was the intern that wrote that copy? "Gee, he's a Yankee, he must be GRRRR-EAT!" Hopeless, HOPELESS personel!

metirish Aug 28 2006 09:40 PM

I'm so glad the Mets didn't get that bum.

SteveJRogers Aug 28 2006 09:54 PM

Yeah, how'd you like to be the Yanqui fans who proclaimed that the Pavano signing would turn out better than the Pedro signing! Or that the Yanks should have gone after Pavano, not Pedro

Edgy DC Aug 29 2006 10:53 AM

Pavano hid car accident from Yankees The Associated Press August 29. 2006 6:01AM NEW YORK - Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano has a pair of broken ribs, sustained in a mid-August car accident that the oft-injured right-hander didn't tell the team about until last weekend. Pavano, who hasn't played in the major leagues since June 27, 2005, due to shoulder, back, buttocks and elbow injuries, is scheduled for a medical checkup today and remains on track to make his final rehabilitation start Wednesday for Triple-A Columbus at Durham. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was unusually pointed in his remarks about Pavano, who signed a $39.95 million, four-year contract with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2005 season and went 4-6 with a 4.77 ERA in 17 major league starts before going on the disabled list. "I think it's obviously frustrating, disappointing. There's a lot of words which would come to mind," Cashman said. "Of course I'm angry. ... I've got an army of people here that we provide to put our players in the best position possible to succeed, and I don't want anybody to sabotage that by holding back." Speculation on why he hid it: he's the one who hit Duaner's cab.

Yancy Street Gang Aug 29 2006 10:55 AM

Pavano's not a true Yankee, is he? I'm glad I have no plans to ever create an Ultimate Yankees Database. I'd hate to have to go through all of those Yankee players and decide which ones were True Yankees and which ones were Pretenders.

Centerfield Aug 29 2006 11:56 AM

That database would require constant updating as "True Yankee" status can be fleeting. For instance, when Giambi hit that grand slam in the 13th inning his first year with the Yanks, it was the moment he became a True Yankee. But he lost TY status when he lost 200 lbs and hit .150. But now that he has 36 HR's, he is a TY again. Shit like this can be hard to keep track of. No wonder the MFY fanbase is so sophisticated.

SteveJRogers Aug 29 2006 12:04 PM

Centerfield wrote: That database would require constant updating as "True Yankee" status can be fleeting. For instance, when Giambi hit that grand slam in the 13th inning his first year with the Yanks, it was the moment he became a True Yankee. But he lost TY status when he lost 200 lbs and hit .150. But now that he has 36 HR's, he is a TY again. Shit like this can be hard to keep track of. No wonder the MFY fanbase is so sophisticated. Heh! How about all the times the Yankee PR machines (YES, WCBS and 1050ESPN Radio) declare that "THIS is the moment it turns for ARod and he is now a beloved Yankee in this town" Last done for the walkoff grand slam against the Braves

ScarletKnight41 Aug 31 2006 04:13 PM

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/offbase/060831&campaign=rsssrch&source=jim_caple]Jim Caple Meets Jeffrey Maier[/url]

Willets Point Aug 31 2006 04:29 PM

]"I got some good news earlier today before the show. Thanks to Alex Rodriguez, I am no longer the most overpaid disappointment in New York City." -- David Letterman Heh-heh.

SteveJRogers Sep 03 2006 09:55 PM

BTW, someone refresh my fuzzy memory of September 2000? Specifically the Yankees' free fall to finish at 87 wins, and therefore seemingly a worse team than the Met team they faced in the World Series? Was this accurate? Because I've heard alot of Yankee biased media members use the theory that the MFY of that year had such a large lead in the AL East that they pretty much put the brakes on in September, and thats why they failed to win 90 games. Hmmmm. According to Retro-sheet. The last time the Mets were in First Place at the start of September, 2000, they led with a 79-55 record. The Yanks, 5 games better than the Sox were at 75-56 At the end of the year, the Mets were at 94-68, just a game behind the Braves (7-13 run to start the month can do that) while the Yankees were 87-74, and actually the Sox closed the gap to 2.5 at season's end! Where was this 1998 MFY, or 1986 Mets-esque huge lead? Yup. Another example of Yankee Bias in the media. "Oh the 2000 Yanks weren't THAT BAD! They just were in cruise control to finish the year." Geez, how about they took advantage of their "postseason experience" against two AL squads in the postseason for (essentially in the Mariners case) the first time and a Met team that benifited from no Braves in the NLCS and the clock striking midnight for the Outfield of Timo, Benny and Jay.

Frayed Knot Sep 03 2006 10:22 PM

The NYY 2000 division lead was never really in danger - it was their late free-fall that made it as close as it was. But it absolutely was a free-fall. They weren't just losing, they were losing big and doing it to some lousy teams along the way. Specifically their pitching was falling apart (I remember Pettitte in particular getting his butt kicked all over the place) and Paul O'Neill was looking very old. Met fans can blame Timo & Benitez all they want, but a huge factor in that WS was that O'Neill - waking up in what would be his penultimate season - suddenly started playing like Edgardo Alfonzo [u:5856af435f]had been[/u:5856af435f] playing all along, while Fonzie hit in the WS like O'Neill had been during that September. Fonz was 3-21 (all singles) w/1 RBI. If those two had kept to their form of that season, that WS - where all 5 games were decided by 1 or 2 runs - may have had a very different outcome.

Willets Point Sep 07 2006 12:15 PM

A-Rod on the DL

metirish Sep 07 2006 01:01 PM

] Rodriguez—whose thin skin, remarkable sensitivity, and vulnerable nature have made him susceptible to chronic emotional problems BRILLAINT

Willets Point Sep 07 2006 01:25 PM

It's actually kind of sad, but then veers into the "funny cuz it's true."

Edgy DC Sep 07 2006 01:31 PM

I don't really think it is true. Just about anybody who is mistreated gets the mistreatment subsequently justified by any response he or she subsequently gives.

metirish Sep 20 2006 10:12 AM

A-Rod on getting hammered by the fans and media. ] "(Mike) Mussina doesn't get hammered at all," he is quoted as saying. "He's making a boatload of money. Giambi's making ($20.4 million), which is fine and dandy, but it seems those guys get a pass. When people write (bad things) about me, I don't know if it's (because) I'm good-looking, I'm biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team . . ." good looking?...bleh http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/story/454161p-382201c.html

Edgy DC Sep 20 2006 10:15 AM

Well, that parenthitcal may mollify that somewhat.

cooby Sep 20 2006 10:22 AM

Arod has not been good looking for about 3 years. Maybe if he'd grow his hair back...

Yancy Street Gang Sep 20 2006 10:25 AM

I don't think anybody looks good in a Yankee uniform. Even Jessica Alba would be unappealing in Yankee pinstripes and cap.

cooby Sep 20 2006 10:28 AM

Well now, come on...

Frayed Knot Sep 20 2006 10:46 AM

Jessica Alba would look good in burlap. That ARod article - the full SI/Verducci cover story not just the NYDN excerpts - is going to cause a stir over the next few days. Both M&MD (who had advance copies yesterday) and the MFY broadcast crew last night were discussing it. The main theme doesn't even seem about ARod himself so much as it is about how much his teammates were willing to say about him. Singleton commented that it seemed like Verducci was part of the team he got so many quotes.

Yancy Street Gang Sep 20 2006 10:48 AM

She'd look great in burlap. It's Bronx pinstripes that would mar her appearance.

Willets Point Sep 20 2006 11:02 AM

If George wants to rid himself of his A-Rod problems (at a discount) I'd be happy for the Mets to take him on. He could play 2d base.

metirish Sep 20 2006 11:25 AM

I just read the article over at si.com,some good stuff in it....

Edgy DC Sep 20 2006 12:54 PM

Sports Illustrated wrote: a made Yankee Ugh.

metirish Sep 21 2006 10:48 AM

Interesting that Giamdi is getting hammered in local papers today for jawing about A-Rod......Lupica was especially tough on him. [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/story/454494p-382481c.html]Shut up Jason[/url] [url=http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMDYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5OTQ5ODUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2]Shut up Jason-Bergen Record[/url]

cooby Sep 21 2006 10:50 AM

That first link has a popup that absolutely will not go away

metsmarathon Sep 21 2006 01:08 PM

mike lupica wrote: We find out as much about Giambi the next couple of months as we do about Alex Rodriguez. Giambi couldn't beat the Yankees when he played for the A's. When he came here, he sat out the biggest game of his Yankee career, Game 5 of the 2003 World Series against the Marlins, Series at 2-all, because of a bad knee. Only Giambi knows how bad his knee was that night. Here's what Yankee fans know: Paul O'Neill would have crawled out to play a game like that, and nearly did one time, another Game 5, against the Braves in 1996. this is probably one of the dumber paragraphs i've read in a while...

Yancy Street Gang Sep 21 2006 01:13 PM

I can't stand Mike Lupica. I can't even stand seeing his face in the Daily News, with his phony tough guy expression. I used to think he was great, now he's unbearable. And I think he only has about five or six basic paragraphs that he writes over and over again.

silverdsl Sep 21 2006 01:18 PM

I thought the SI article was very good. The articles that followed that ripped Giambi are silly because it ignores the fact that Giambi has always prodded his teammates in various ways dating back to when he was an A. I think he eased up on that when he was new to the Yankees, and then no playing well, but once he started being a leader of a sort on the field again, I think he was in a position to be a voice in the clubhouse again. Most of the players seem pretty disinterested when it comes to the issue of performance enhancers, so I don't think his being exposed as a Balco Boy had too much effect on how they view him. Actually, given that Giambi's made his share of mistakes and had to weather some pretty rough going, might make him more qualified to counsel some of his teammates, not less.

Edgy DC Sep 23 2006 11:07 PM

Check out this pile-on from a Bay Area columnist: Somebody tell Alex Rodriguez that the more he speaks in public, the more ridiculous he becomes. During the recent clubhouse crisis exposed by Sports Illustrated, he rudely mentioned down-period slumps by Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter and Mike Mussina, among others, wondering why they didn't get slammed by fans and media. As it turns out, Eric Chavez' name turns up in that article, as well. "My agent, Scott Boras, was talking about Chavez, who's a great player," said A-Rod. "He's hitting .235. He's got 16 home runs, 43 ribbies? This guy is getting cheered every time he comes up to the plate." Gee, Alex, do you have any idea why that is? Because Chavez isn't a WIMP. A-Rod is known within the game - not among fans or media, but within clubhouses - as a choker, a complainer and a phony. There isn't one team that would want him batting with a playoff game on the line. Chavez has played the entire season with forearm and hamstring injuries, giving everything he's got when his body tells him to just sit down. As talented as A-Rod? No way. Nobody in the game can say that. But when the sides are chosen for a game that matters, A-Rod stands with his hands on his hips while Scutaro, Chavez and a hundred other guys get picked ahead of him.

Frayed Knot Sep 24 2006 11:20 AM

"But when the sides are chosen for a game that matters, A-Rod stands with his hands on his hips while Scutaro, Chavez and a hundred other guys get picked ahead of him." I don't believe a word of that. Rodriguez may indeed be personally unpopular, but this "chokes when it's on the line" stuff is getting out of hand.

Edgy DC Sep 24 2006 12:02 PM

Wordy wordy. You can take all the Scutaros in the world. Come on, the guy is the defending MVP.

SteveJRogers Sep 24 2006 12:19 PM

Not to mention the little detail the "ARod comes up small in the big games" folks tend to overlook: ARod was part of a systematic failure of the entire MFY offense in both the 2004 ALCS after Game 3 and the 2005 ALDS against the Angels

ScarletKnight41 Sep 27 2006 01:40 PM

This demonstrates why the MFYs are hatable - ]As the celebration slowed, reliever Kyle Farnsworth took note of the fact that the Red Sox would occupy the same sodden room tomorrow. "The best thing is Boston has to come in here next,'' he said. "It's the smell of victory they've got to smell. You can print that.'' After backing into the championship, their reaction is to rub their opponents' noses in it. OTOH, I don't recall any analogous statements from the Mets in the wake of their clincher. That was a night of good will, period.

MFS62 Sep 27 2006 01:43 PM

Speaking of leaving a message - I read in the Daily News this morning that when the Mets got to the visiting clubhouse at the Ted last night, they found that someone had written "Welcome to the 2006 Eastern Division Champs" on the chalk board. Classy move. Later

Methead Sep 27 2006 01:45 PM

That is classy. A Braves fan buddy of mine told me he'd be rooting for the Mets in the playoffs. I told him he was a better man than I.

cooby Sep 27 2006 01:49 PM

I always rooted for the Braves in playoffs because I always figured if they were going to win the division every year, they better do something with it!

Yancy Street Gang Sep 27 2006 01:57 PM

I rooted for the Braves too for the first few years, especially in 1991 and 1992. But after a while I got tired of them. I pretty much stopped watching postseason baseball from the 1994 strike until the Mets got in in 1999. I, of course, rooted for the Braves in the 1999 World Series, but since then I've had Braves fatigue and I've been indifferent to them. I remember being glad they didn't make it to the NLCS in 2000, only because I didn't want the Mets to have to face them.

SteveJRogers Sep 27 2006 06:35 PM

I've stated the reasons in the past that the Braves are my third favorite team (behind the Reds, Giants are 4th) so with the exception of the 1999 NLCS I've rooted for the Braves every single postseason series

MFS62 Sep 28 2006 10:03 AM

I root for any NL team in the World Series, even the Braves. Back to the Yanks. During last night's game, John Sterling said "Robinson Cano is the best ninth place hitter in the history of the game". Georgie's Girl added "He's the second leadoff hitter in this lineup". Later

Yancy Street Gang Sep 28 2006 10:05 AM

MFS62 wrote: I root for any NL team in the World Series, even the Braves. Even the Dodgers?

MFS62 Sep 28 2006 10:09 AM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: ="MFS62"]I root for any NL team in the World Series, even the Braves. Even the Dodgers? You know me too well. :) If they are in the World Series I have two options: 1) Root for the earthquake, then the do-over with a replacement team. 2) Root for the Jets, and get ready for basketball season. wiseass young whippersnappers Later

Yancy Street Gang Sep 28 2006 10:11 AM

Young? I don't get called that very often anymore.

MFS62 Sep 28 2006 10:13 AM

="Yancy Street Gang"]Young? I don't get called that very often anymore. Its a relative term. More on this tomorrow. Stay tuned. Later

Edgy DC Sep 28 2006 09:33 PM

Somebody tune in to the Yankee game and check out what's hap'nin'.

metirish Sep 28 2006 09:43 PM

I tuned in,Baltmore are wining 5 to 1...did something happen ...oh Kay just mentioned no hitters against the yanks.....Cabrera went 8 without giving up a hit.

Gwreck Sep 28 2006 09:47 PM

I recall the Yankees handled the 6-pitcher (including Billy W.) no-hitter thrown against them a couple of years ago very classily. Had a bottle of champagne waiting in each pitcher's locker when the game ended.

cooby Sep 28 2006 10:20 PM

Over, one hitter

soupcan Sep 28 2006 10:22 PM

Cano got a solid single to left with one out in the 9th. I don't like Robinson Cano.

cooby Sep 28 2006 10:24 PM

He used to be on my fantasy team, I liked him then

metirish Sep 29 2006 06:28 PM

BREAKING NEWS.... Randy Johnson has a herniated disc...the report I heard on CBS News had nothing more....doesn't sound good though,

soupcan Sep 30 2006 07:48 AM

Not necessarily out for the postseason though. Supposedly a cortisone shot would reduce the swelling which would reduce the pain and allow him to pitch.

Elster88 Sep 30 2006 12:40 PM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 30 2006 12:46 PM

ScarletKnight41 wrote: This demonstrates why the MFYs are hatable - ]As the celebration slowed, reliever Kyle Farnsworth took note of the fact that the Red Sox would occupy the same sodden room tomorrow. "The best thing is Boston has to come in here next,'' he said. "It's the smell of victory they've got to smell. You can print that.'' After backing into the championship, their reaction is to rub their opponents' noses in it. OTOH, I don't recall any analogous statements from the Mets in the wake of their clincher. That was a night of good will, period. Sorry, but the idea that this shows "Yankee evil" or some such nonsense is ridiculous. Busting balls is part of the game. ____________________ And, of course, the comments of one player shouldn't reflect on the organization as a whole.

ScarletKnight41 Sep 30 2006 12:45 PM

I'll disagree. The Mets didn't bust balls when they clinched. They celebrated their accomplishment with their fans. I'm sure that was the "best part" of their celebration. Leaving a stinky mess for their opponents didn't enter into the Mets' minds that night.

cooby Oct 01 2006 08:41 PM

Weirdness abounds, but someone said this thread was missing, and here it is back

metirish Oct 03 2006 09:25 AM

Oh My God....A-Rod is batting sixth....how will he handle that...