Kevin Brown was more likeable than this guy. Geez.

BP

BP

Due to his recent struggles, and everybody wondering whether he's washed up, I feel somewhat sympathetic toward the guy.

Being a 6 foot 10 inch future Hall of Famer who's as unapproachable as a 7 foot rattle snake, Johnson could never be mistaken for an underdog, but yesterday he pitched like he had something to prove (even to himself).

Sure, the hot weather and big ballpark helped his old bones, but Johnson came up big against a hot team. The Yanks and us fans have to feel very good about that.

I would like to add that Randy Johnson, at his best, does not need anyone to root for him. People root for underdogs. Randy Johnson over his career has defined the word dominance, the exact opposite of it. People wait for such characters to fail, and that is why they are impossible to root for.

As for Johnson's demeanor, if I had achieved as much as he has achieved over his career, and sucked like he did for the last few starts, I would be grumpy as hell. If you are that good, you certainly have a degree of professional pride. He is hard enough on himself, and can't perhaps be happy about a whole bunch of people questioning his creentials. In other words, I would be worried if he were not grumpy.

"Since Bubba Crosby is less than a week away from coming off the DL, the Yankees have to clear a roster spot. Crosby is eligible to be activated Sunday in Baltimore.

While Terrence Long is a candidate to be dumped for Crosby, Torre likes having Long around.

'He's a pro and easy to like in the clubhouse," Torre said of Long, who started yesterday against Jeremy Bonderman as the DH because of a .333 (6-for-18) average against the right-hander. "He has been in the fires before with Oakland when they were winning pennants,' Torre said. 'You can never discount that experience in my mind.'"

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=nyy

if anything the Orioles are missing someone..

15 good news.. if he is on schedule, he shud have pitched today

We've won World Series with jerks on the roster before, and hopefully we will win #27 with the tallest of them all. I hope he goes undefeated the rest of the way and leads the team to a smashing post season.

Secondly, 16 I humbly disagree. Mariano Rivera is every bit the "first ballot hall of famer" that RJ is, and certainly has dominated his profession, but I know people root for him not simply because of the uniform he wears.

Anyway - just jawing like some guys in the stands between innings. Didn't mean to start anything. Go Randy! :-)

BP

As for Mo, he is a naturally polite person. He certainly was surprised when people flocked his lockers last year after second blown save versus Boston. He just calmly said "I was supposed to produce groundballs, and I did. I am human, I blow saves." Manner of speech perhaps makes it less disagreebale, but the content of speech in both cases are the same.

And Mike Mussina, the pitcher I like most, almost always dismisses stupid questions with the contempt they deserve. Doesn't win him many fans among sportswriters (or Michael Kay), but gets the point across emphatically.

Do I want Randy to win every single game, as long as he's wearing a Yankee uniform? Hell yes!!! Do I think he's every bit of as despicable as Schilling and others I don't like? Hell yes!!! Just cause he's a Yankee doesn't make it easier to like him. You root for the uniform, not the player. There are instances like with Mariano, Jeter, Bernie, Posada, etc, where the player AND the uniform make you proud. RJ doesn't inspire that in me. When he sucks I just dislike him that much more, when he does well then I'm glad the Yankees did well. He's a dick, he'll always be a dick, and after we win 27 and 28 with him then I'll be OK with never having to see his ugly f'ing mug again.

http://tinyurl.com/6ed7h

http://tinyurl.com/o62vn

He hates the Yanks, but says Jeter is the best baseball player he's ever seen.

>> I think I said something to my bride the other night that I never thought I'd say about a New York Yankee. As many of you may have divined from this column over the years, that's not my favorite franchise on earth. Anyway, I said to her: I'm not sure about this, but I think when Derek Jeter retires, I will say he's the best baseball player I ever saw.

Living in Jersey, I see the man come to bat maybe 300 times a season, and I watch him in the field maybe 40 percent of his innings. But Jeter personifies effort every time he puts on the uniform; there is never anything but 100 percent effort. Every at-bat is quality. Every ball hit to him, and some only close to him, are gobbled up with certainty. And the way he carries himself ... He is baseball's Tiger Woods. He is this Yankee generation's DiMaggio. And I think he'll go down as better than Mantle, because though Mantle was truly great, he also squandered much of his ability through wild living. <<

Just as well. I don't really want him in pinstripes again. The last thing we need is another geriatric pitcher.

But I didn't want him in Boston, either...

From NewsDay:

"Clemens, 43, has signed a one-year deal that is believed to be worth about $3.5 million per month, which will probably equate to about $10.5 million for the season, depending on when exactly he returns to action."

The Mets brought Milledge up today. That's two big things in MLB today. If this were 2003 or 2004 I'd say we were about to do something silly just to compete. Now, not so much. It's a nice change.