I'm with Mike on this, optimist that I am.

But Mussina went to Stanford. Mussina went to Stanford. Mussina went to Stanford.

either way have to wait a couple of weeks and see where joba is

Reminded of that, Mussina guessed that Posada aggravated his condition by throwing for so long before giving in to the pain. Girardi said tendinitis was nothing alarming."

From my reading, tendinitis can range from tiny, tiny tears that heal by themselves (with no or little rest), to a minor tear that (we hope) is Joba's situation, to larger tears that need either prolonged rest or surgery.

My question is about Posada. What did his initial MRI show? Did he HIDE his condition?
Did he INITIALLY have a tear that needed 4-6 weeks to heal or arthroscopic surgery?

Did the Yankees blow the diagnosis, or did Posada hide the condition and indeed agravate it until the point surgery was needed (and therefore a lost season)?

Was this somehow a 'blown call'?

"My intent was that it was a significant injury and I mentioned that he shouldn't try," Altchek said.'

So, if Posada was shut down and had surgery immediately (assuming the problem was lesser then then it ultimately became... and might it have been diagnosed in March?), might Posada have been able to play in September (or at least DH)?

He is an older vet, just signed a big money contract, he wanted to earn his money.

Joba is cost controlled, and more future than past. Shut him down for the season if that's the prudent thing to do.

Also, "not out of the question" isn't exactly the most positive outlook. Sounds to me like we should figure on Joba being out for the rest of the season.

Finally, even taking the Yankee statements at face value, everything I've read begs the most important question: why did the inflammation develop in the first place? Is there an impingement, and is there something mechanical that's caused or aggravated that? Anyone else remember this analysis from last spring: http://tinyurl.com/63jvya?

I had an impingement that became rotator-cuff surgery, and that was without a violent pitching delivery. Never mind this season, I'm more worried about Joba for the long term.

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/so-just-how-hurt-is-joba-chamberlain/

"In seven years on the Yankees' beat, I have learned to be skeptical with official information on injuries.

When Brian Bruney hurt his foot in April, we were told he had no structural damage. (He was out more than three months.) When Phil Hughes hurt his rib a week later, we were told there was nothing wrong with him physically. (He's still out.) When Chien-Ming Wang hurt his foot in mid-June, we were told he could be back this season. (He's still on crutches.)

So what Manager Joe Girardi said about Joba Chamberlain after Wednesday's game — "I'm confident he'll be back in the near future" – does not necessarily mean Chamberlain will indeed be back. He has rotator cuff tendonitis, or inflammation of the connective tissue around the shoulder joint. He will rest for a week or so and then begin a throwing program.

This is what I want to know: Will it be an aggressive throwing program aimed at bringing Chamberlain back for the stretch drive? And if it is, would that really be worth the risk?"

9 Look, this is all speculation on everyone's part. If there's a tear they'd see it on the MRI. As for causes of tendinitis, it can be anything. Sometimes it means there's an impingement, sometimes it just means an inflammation. Think tennis elbow, how many people get that without it meaning structural damage to the elbow? I'd wager a lot. We'll see. I trust the Yankees to be conservative as hell with him. If he has to be shut down for the year, I'm fine with that. I'm amazed we're even in contention at this point so I'll take what I can get.

Question: Does Girardi realize that Melky is a 4th outfielder (this year anyway) and go with and outfield of Nady, Damon, and Abreu… like last night?

This is a pretty serious downgrade defensively at 2 OF positions. We also don't know if JD is still hurting and maybe somewhat limited on D. The upside is Betemit's bat instead of Melky's. Betemit and Giambi can rotate some at 1B/DH, with Sexy in for games against LHP.

Is Betemit better then we have seen because his playing time has been so erratic? The guy has serious pop. Even a number of his outs have been crushed. But the defensive downgrade is pretty serious, both in fielding and throwing.

... Is it worth it?
... Would platooning JC and Melky be an improvement?
... AJax is very young. Is it really woth giving him a shot? His MiLB numbers are decent but not outstanding. I don't think their MLB translation would be that much more then Melky (look what happened with Brett)
... Maybe another shot at Brett? He can't hit, but his speed was outstanding and he scored a lot of runs, considering his OBP.

Tennis elbow is different for one extremely important reason: it's in the elbow. If this were Joba's elbow, I wouldn't be nearly as worried. As it stand, I think they have to figure out whether his mechanics put his shoulder at further risk.

Joba's value as a lefty would increase tenfold, but I doubt he's any Pat Venditte :-)

Sounds to me like we should figure on Joba being out for the rest of the season.

Huh?
You mean, that's what you actually predict will happen, or rather, it very well could so we shouldn't count on him coming back?

I predict he comes back shortly after the 15 days. But I admit the Yanks could be 'managing information' and the injury is actually worse than we're being told.

even odder that the Mets passed on him ...

http://tinyurl.com/5pqqz2

http://tinyurl.com/5znqn7

"Chamberlain had his visit with Jim Andrews and came away with a diagnosis of "rotator cuff tendonitis." If you're a bit disappointed with the non-specificity here, you're hardly alone. It not only doesn't tell us much, it doesn't match up with what we know. Worse, it's the same initial diagnosis that was given to Jorge Posada, who was later found to have a rotator cuff tear. Chamberlain didn't have any muscular weakness in tests after he was pulled from his last start, and this pain should normally be in a different location. For what it's worth, my sources are saying that there are "mild internal issues," but they wouldn't use the word "damage," even with qualifiers or the typical imagery vagueness, and I think that's a pretty good sign. What it does match up with is a factor we saw earlier—the heat in Texas. It seems the biggest issue is that there's a high degree of distrust when the Yankees report injuries, and that's coming up larger with Chamberlain. If he's not back throwing within two weeks, that's going to be the best indication that something's up, though we really have no idea what his healing time might be. It would be better if the Yankees would step forward and give more information, especially from, or through, a trusted source like Jim Andrews, instead of leaving teammates to guess and confuse things."

Emma, Warner Madrigal, is absolutely a wonderful name! esp. the surname. it wouldn't be medieval German chamber musik, however. Madrigals, are Italian vocal chamber pieces from the 14th-16th centuries and were in high-class art form. when i was in Classical Music school, i wrote a paper on the also fabulously named Cipriano de Rore, who was best known for his 16th century Italian madrigals.

English madrigals appeared in the 16th & 17th centuries, but weren't as noted. the high-brow art rock bands Rush & Yes, both had songs called "Madrigal" in the late 70's, but of course, neither one of them were truly madrigals, in form. still, it's a great name/title!

speaking of names, GILES is SELIG backwards. hopefully, that would cause some kinda of bad karma if he ends up in beantown! ; )

Interestingly, the Red Sox won the claim on Giles. Their intent may have been keeping him away from the Rays and/or Angels. Giles can veto a trade to Boston, and he might simply because his playing time could be reduced. Also, I have learned that Giles would still be able to veto a straight salary dump. The Padres can't use this situation to sneak around Giles' no-trade clause.

Warner Madrigal anagrams to such things as:

MARGINAL REWARD

36 Or, he could see this as an opportunity to win a WS and approve the trade. Playing time won't be an issue; I don't see Francona keeping Giles around and not playing him. Ellsbury gets sent down, and Giles plays one of the corner positions.

With apologies to one of my fave bands ...

When the batters grow too mighty
To slay with curve or sword
I grow weary of the battle
And the guy I walk on four
When all around is madness
And there's no empty base in view
I long to throw my pitch homeward
To stop a rally with you

When my arm becomes as useless
And as dead as winter skies
There's a beacon in the darkness
In my coach's pair of eyes
In vain to search for control
My ERA through the roof
But these things can still be given
This game has shown me proof

I thought Keanu Reeves invented Speed.

this thing has a bluto blutarski's GPA chance of happening ...

btw, they recently closed down the Jocks 'n Jills here in Atlanta, so there's no place - at least that i know of - that regularly carries the YES network and Yankee games. it was an Atlanta staple and there were at least 2 or 3 of them around town. not sure why, but they're all gone now...

btw, is your company sending you here again this August? if so, let me know!

The rest of the album goes like:

A Farewell To Farns
Xananady
Closer To The Park
Giambino Man
Sidney X-1, Book One: The Buffet

(better stop now before this gets ugly)

Sidney X-1, Book One: The Buffet - that is frickin' hilarious!

well done sir .... well done!

Of course you must know that Geddy is a HUGE baseball fan.

I finally got to see them live for the 1st time at Radio City on their 30th anniversary tour. Quite a memorable night!

Other songs you may know ...

21.12 Overture / The ERA of Starters
A Passage to Scranton
Spirit of Ramiro
Red Barberchetta
Closer to the Heart (of the plate)
Jacob (Ruppert's) Ladder
Bruney's Bane
Bullpen Early Warming
Joe-Tor and the Wade Boggs

it's too late, bp1 - you started...and i can't stop! ; )

oh yeah, Geddy actually checks the stats on his fantasy team backstage during Neil's drum solos! that is sooo funny to me, for so many reasons!

the latest studio and live cd are both awesome. it's the 1st studio album since Presto i've actually loved...

Nice ...

...and with that, i think i'm done. imho, here are the winners. in no particular order:

A Farewell To Farns
Sidney X-1, Book One: The Buffet
I Think I'm Going Balk
In The Food (for sir sid)
Moosic Rhythms (moose/triple A)
Bruney's Bane
Bullpen Early Warming
Cano Don't Tell
Goose Under Pressure

I did a whole lot better with the Sun Ra thread last year.

hey, i meant to ask you - and the others with big ears - are you familiar with the Mingus record "Let My Children Hear Music"? it's simply astounding!

Alex, couldn't ya distract em with some old-school hip-hop vids or something? Please?

now, when you say Alex - do you mean Belth or Lifeson?! ; )

;-P