I also fear that Tubby will be picked up off waivers mid year. Yankees management loves them some Sidney.

Hmmm . . . Ponson hasn't pitched since September 13th . . . the Yanks' record since September 13th is 9-1 . . . coincidence?

I'll believe he's gone when its a done deal. And then I fully expect us to pick him up off waivers when his new team releases him.

I imagine someone will be dumb enough to guarantee him much more. I just hope that someone isn't Brian Cashman...

The Yanks should try Igawa again before re-acquiring Pavano in any way.

http://tinyurl.com/4llezr

UPDATE, 5:52 p.m.: Mike Mussina threw a bullpen today and said his elbow felt fine. He's set for Sunday. Girardi said he would use all the regulars and everybody in the bullpen to get Moose the win.

So I'm watching on Gameday - were the "singles on a soft ground ball" to Cano and Melky as bad I imagine they were?

3 fer 3!

UPDATE, 5:30 p.m.: Joe Girardi said that Mariano Rivera was sent back to New York for a physical. Girardi claimed it was standard procedure for the end of the season. "Not necessarily," Girardi said when asked if anything specific was bothering Rivera and said he "should" return to the team this weekend. Girardi downplayed the issue, saying Rivera was just feeling sore.

UPDATE, 8:34 p.m.: In a stunning turn of events, it would seem that Girardi was fibbing about an injury. Brian Cashman said that Mariano Rivera has a sore shoulder, which is why he went back to New York to get checked out. He had an MRI and the team is awaiting results.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
seriously, an injury to Mo (especially something wrong with his shoulder) would be just about the perfect finishing touch on this aborted turd of a season ...

Brian Cashman said that Mariano Rivera has a sore shoulder

Ok, so how exactly are the two stories different. Pete Abe may be prolific in his blogging, but he strikes me as a typical whiny media type. It seems to me as if newpaper men can't accept that their relevance has been greatly diminished, and that teams no longer need them to be a conduit to the fans.

32 But I never knew until this day... that it was Tony Peña all along... >;)

Where did the Mets did up Ricardo Rincon from anyway? To think, that guy was once judged to be worth Brian Giles . . .

The funny thing (to me) is that the CW complaint is that Wagner's loss sunk them. I'd argue it was Wagner himself - and his SEVEN blown saves - that did as much damage as Omar's hodgepodge of bullpen mediocrity.

Or maybe it was Heilman's EIGHT losses. I wonder how many of those were due to Wagner (or someone else) allowing the baserunners Heilman put on to score?

more intersting to me now than anything involving either Ponson or Pavano!

39 Hello, Sidney...

(In fact, if you've never been to all five boroughs, that's the most fitting description of all! >;)

45 Seattle would be a great fit for Valentine..but their whole org seems clueless right now..

Hmm, the Mets haven't blown it yet. Meanwhile, down 3 runs in the 6th, in a game they need to win to make the playoffs, with a man on third with one out and the top of the order up, what does Gardenhire have Span (2 for 2 tonight, .382 OBP) do? Why, sacrifice the run in!

I don't think I could be a Twins fan. They would have driven me crazy years ago.

Any of which was likely, given his injury history.

Twins have tied it up!

After all, the Twins (eventually) turned their entire rotation over to young, home grown starters - and look where it got them.

When I say "young", the Twins' youngest starters are Slowey and Liriano, who are both 24 . . . so its not Joba/Phil/IPK young. Perhaps being patient with the kid pitchers is a wise idea?

>> I'm going under the assumption that most Yankees fans are concerned about the status of their closer and would like accurate information. >>

Honestly, there's 3 games left and we're done for the year. Were the fans really that concerned about him? Unless it's career threatening, just let it go ...

Anyway I'm sure that's what Girardi was thinking...

Ok, so I take it back — we're concerned a little.

Meanwhile...Beltran with the walkoff single for the Mets, Braun with the salami for the Brewers. Still tied in the WC race.

But I only read two beat blogs, PeteAbe's, and Bats, and Bats never mentions this stuff. Pete, meanwhile, has been complaining about this, ad nauseum, all season long.

Tonight he finally says: "I'm not going to complain about it [me: you forgot the word "anymore!"]. I'll just ask other people questions when it comes to injuries."

Thanks, Pete! I wish you had done this back in May or June.