I hate to be a banter buzz kill, but one of the reasons I tend to dodge the game threads (and skim them in the morning) is the doom-saying second-guessing that has come to define the threads in the time since I started reading them towards the end of last season's playoff rush. There's a lot of anger and anxiety management issues at work here, folks. We need Joe Torre to pop in and calm the waters, maybe. (Though having 2 first round HoF guys thrown out while on 2nd base, in a week, is pretty painful.)

Thought Farns was outstanding and seemed very poised. Dorf gets that game ball, by gutting it out. I was unsure about walking a useless ss to face a bunt single risk with Giambi still at first, but, what the hey, maybe Girardi DOES know more than we do? Someone called Dorf a sinkerballer? Is he really? Looked to me like 95 heat and a slider that worked against VERY impatient right handed kid bats ... these guys think they are on K.C. or something? And for all the talk about Mo in a tie game, on the road we STILL need a guy to close it if we get the lead, right? Reading Rivera on Dorf this morning, the stuff he says he has, the confidence boost this SHOULD give him, reminds me again that managing is more than pitch by pitch. (I suspect Hawkins is in rough shape right now and needs some 'safe' innings.)

I am now leaving the Damon's Da Mon group to run itself for a little while and confirming my presence on the
Abreu 'd Line (sorry, sorry!). Mo still has me, but he has all of us.

BUT ...

If one of the other relievers gives up a run Mo is left sitting on the bench. I suppose the question is what's the best percentage use of your best reliever on the road in a tie game. I really don't know the answer to that question, but the sentiment seems to be that he doesn't pitch the 12th if we don't survive the 9th, 10th and 11th.

All that being said -- and here's where I think you and I really agree -- we are never going to win anything until and unless we have an entire bullpen that we trust so that the manager can do exactly what he did do last night.

Maybe Farnsie can be the 8th inning guy, and maybe Ollie can pitch well too. I hope so because if our pen pitches like they did last night, we're going to win the East.

Let me tell a story I often think of when faced with a dilemma like this... when we had field day in elementary school, I was the anchor for my fifth-grade class in tug-o-war. My classmates lined up against the other class along the heavy rope. Bang! We started pulling and pulling, but my classmates and I were steadily losing ground. One by one they each dropped the rope and fell to the ground, until I was the the only one left, pulling against fourteen other fifth graders on the other end of the rope. I dug in my heels and held on for dear life. The rope would not budge. My classmates saw this and started cheering, encouraging me to hold, even as I strained, nearly in tears. Then, each one of them regrouped and grabbed the rope again, pulling and pulling. We won. I've never forgotten that because it describes my whole life.

Without naming names, it's rather easy to define certain personalities here that offend you and perhaps many others, but in defense of some, I have found with genuine interest in the deeper meaning of their comments (or clever repartee) that they have a whole other dimension to them that would otherwise have been left dormant. Bantering about the Yanks is a jump-off point for discoursing a host of other topics related or not to the game. Also, it allows me to shed certain inhibitions and practice communicating with a wide variety of people.

The negativity and overbearing behavior would decrease if people didn't tie into it so much. Acknowledging it only makes it worse, in my opinion. That's not to say that you should pretend it's not there, but address it differently. If that doesn't help you, Take a break and regroup, but don't let it defeat you. I've seen less of many strong commentors here lately because of the negativity you mention, which makes us a poorer community overall, but I hope they don't give up. We need more of you guys to hang on for all of our sakes.

I will tell you that a lot, A LOT, of really good posters that had a regular presence here are no longer. I can't guarantee what their reasons for disappearing were, but I think most people come here for enjoyment, not a proctology exam. I believe the negative tone has chased some nice people away. Some have even announced "I'm fed up, goodbye", so it ain't my imagination.

There isn't a manager around who would handle it any differently, though, and while you'd like the manager to be willing to break with common wisdom once in a while, you can't expect him to turn it upside-down in one fell swoop.

What I like about the Banter is that there are knowlegeable fans on here, and the censorship of ideas is really kept to a minimum. I think Ken, Alex and Cliff get lots of credit for that.

And one thing that I'll mention that often gets lost in the shuffle. We are ALL Yankees fans. So, we are all united on at least one front. We all love our team, we're passionate and we want the team to win.

Separating negativity from pessimism though -- I don't really have a problem with people second-guessing managerial decisions. If someone thinks that Girardi made the wrong call for this arm or that late-inning defensive replacement then I want to read that.

What I like about the Banter is that there are knowlegeable fans on here, and the censorship of ideas is really kept to a minimum. I think Ken, Alex and Cliff get lots of credit for that.

And one thing that I'll mention that often gets lost in the shuffle. We are ALL Yankees fans. So, we are all united on at least one front. We all love our team, we're passionate and we want the team to win.

Separating negativity from pessimism though -- I don't really have a problem with people second-guessing managerial decisions. If someone thinks that Girardi made the wrong call for this arm or that late-inning defensive replacement then I want to read that.

Yes, there's negativity, and sometimes I find the overreaction to every pitch, every play, to be wearying. But though I am sometimes frustrated by the arguments, I find the posters consistently intelligent, civil and respectful. Not much more than a year ago, I was the one who announced "I'm fed up, goodbye," because of a poster whom I found not only stubborn and domineering but insulting as well. I don't really find that there's any of that around here anymore.

And after coming off our Shea outing...stop plainin' bout the weather!

I can't stand sloppy play or guys taking plays off, that annoys me. I like to see guys trying, even in losing.

However, when you read the comments during the game here it never seems to translate 100% to what I'm seeing on my flat screen. It's like if things don't go great for every hitter, pitcher and fielder on the Yanks then it's all doom-and-gloom.

Hence why I don't go to some other Yankee blogs any longer, it's so filled with negativity that I question why these people even watch the games.

Fact of the matter is that I love the Yanks, I love their rich history, I love the banter with friends of mine who root for the Sux or Mutts, but it all boils down to one thing - it's just entertainment. It's great to be part of a community like Boogie-Down Banter, but like in all communities (virtual or real) we don't all get along and we have varying opinions. I just try not to socialize to much with the doom-and-gloom crowd and find myself enjoying conversations with people that provide constructive criticism but aren't filled with rage and hate.

Beautiful day today here in NY, great day to go mtn. biking and catch the score of the game after it's over. I'm hoping for positive results. Let's go Yanks!!!!

Nevertheless, it is extremely hard to quantify what that delicate balance should be: Nuttiness ratio to Fun. If all you read in the comments is people being frustrated, then it might just be they feel at ease here too.

I'm not preaching from my soapbox, but I certainly feel I learned a lot from having Torre here. I always loved how calm he was and I always knew things would get better. I actually learned through him, though I never met him, how to watch a game and not get too crazy.

I'm a huge Giant and Knick fan, too, and I always believed in Eli and felt he would turn it around. My brother and friends didn't stop with the insults being directed to Eli, but what I liked about him is that he never changed his style. It reminded me of Mr. Torre, never change who you really are just to please a bunch of people. In contrast to that Zeek never changed his style either, but Zeek was arrogant and entitled. Like the world owed him something and I didn't like that.

Other than that, nice to have ya around, and cheers.

I want to be clear though ... I do not see this as defining the Banter and I don't mind a scrap or disagreement or two (or three) as those who will remember me going at it with my man william over Roger can confirm. I was mainly talking (or typing) about the game threads, actually. The from-the-hip woe and anger that seems to define them. I have not (am not) bailing on banter, obviously, I was just noting I now skip those threads, catch up in the morning by skimming bits of them selectively. The general tone and discussion here is fun and civilized, and seems aware that - as a few above have said - this is just a game, and a sports team we all like/love. The in-game posts seem to get caught up in a no-pause-button savage-the-players thing that makes them sometimes unpleasant. That's about all I was saying.

I am interested in seeing Patterson pitch.

The kinda stuff that happened in last night's thread came close to intervention, but as expected it petered out and everyone was cool with each other again and kept bantering.

Let's also not forget that while we tend to do a good job of staying within the rules of conduct, we are guests and as such can expect to be escorted out by Ken Arneson if HE deems us unworthy. It's a plus that it hasn't happened in a good while, and I don't expect it to happen among our present group >B)

Remember when you first realized the Playboy Playmates were younger than you?

Then, baseball players were younger than you?

Then, baseball coaches were younger than you?

Pretty soon, the President of the USA will be younger than you.

But it's nothing to fret about ... getting older beats the alternative.