I looked at the standings the Twins are only 1/2 game behind the Yankees. Wow have they been on a run (19-7 June, 14-6 July). The AL is a strong as I can ever remember, KC is the only dog of a team. The NL has a 1/2 dozen awful teams. Toronto to me is a mediocre AL team but they'd be leading the NL wild card.

The good news is the Yankees are almost done with the AL Central going 16-7 against the best division in either league while the Red Sox are only 8-7. The bad news is the Red Sox have far more home games remaining. In any case the 9 games between the Yanks/Sox including the rare 5-game August series will likely decide the AL East pennant.

OT: Is Don Wakamatsu the first Japanese-American to ever manage a MLB game?

Melky is hitting like a good corner OF these days... love it.

Wakamatsu sounds like a Japanese name, but he doesn't look all that Japanese. Hapa, maybe?

3 "Don Wakamatsu, the first Yonsei to play in the Major Leagues, played for the Chicago White Sox in 1991 and is today the bench coach for the Texas Rangers. Another Yonsei, Onan Masaoka, was a pitcher from Waiakea, Hawaii who played for the Dodgers in 1999 but is currently out of baseball." - Japanese American National Museum

Yonsei means fourth-generation Japanese American. Wakamatsu's family likely emigrated to the US somewhere between 1885 and 1924 when about 300,000 Japanese emigrants came to the US and Hawaii to work sugar plantations. Wakamatsu was the very last pick in the 1984 June Amateur draft by the Yankees. He could have been the next Juan Espino!

The New York Post is reporting that ESPN fired Harold Reynolds yesterday. Is this report correct? Crazy. He is their best ex-player guy. I wonder what happened if this true.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/espn_fires_reynolds_sports_andrew_marchand.htm

5. "He is their best ex-player guy"

Doesn't say much. ;) Maybe Reynolds wasn't anti-ARod enough for them. I shudder to think who they replace him with.

5 what de? Don't tell me they think Steve Phillips is better off for the program. I actually like HR and his personality on and off the camera. His Little League World Series coverage is the best!

Thanks for the good info as always, Cliff, especially the infirmary update, which, in Sheff's case is discouraging.

Considering the baby steps Matsui has been taking I was starting to lose optimism about Sheff's return. It seems more unlikely now. Dang.

Fortunately, as Yu-Hsing Chen noted above2, Melky is stepping up. He's maturing quickly, as Cano did last season, and emerging as a reliable player.

Melky should be a solid presence in right field, and the bottom of the order down the stretch, after Matsui returns.

The Yankees offense will improve drastically when Cano's back, too.

re: Jeter. I don't think his grimacing and stretching throughout the game was the result of 4 days on the hard Toronto turf. I think he tweaked something lurching backwards to avoid Milwood's pitch toward his helmet last night. Thanks to adrenaline and cosmic justice, Jeter ended that at-bat with a standup triple.

Hopefully, Pavano will get his sore buttock off the massage table so Jeter can receive treatment today.

8 I saw in the replay how Jeter bounced off the dirt after ducking that pitch. Ouch. Baseball may be a no-contact sport, but these guys get pretty banged up during the course of a season. Not that bouncing off the deck is life threatening or anything - but I know if I did that in the back yard playing with the kids, I'd be walking funny the next day for sure. (Then again - I'm no pro athlete - nor do I play one on TV).

Good game last night. Big Unit did not have his best stuff for sure, but the Rangers helped out by not taking advantage. I'm glad this start wasn't against the Jays and their hot bats, or the results likely would have been Ponsonish.

I don't want to sound greedy, but a Texas sweep sure would taste good after that Toronto butt kicking.

Fingers and toes crossed re: SheffSui. Geez. I want to see those guys back before the end of the year. I want to see that fearsome lineup a few more times before the end of the season.

Pavano? Name rings a bell, but I can't seem to place the face. Hmm ....

9 Ponsonish. Heh.

Great win. Good pitching, timely hitting, decent field work.
Fire Harold Reynolds? Now BBTN has clearly jumped the shark. Watching Kruk is barely tolerable, only because Harold was there. If it's essentially Kruk & Philips then forget it, the show is unwatchable.

NY Daily News - Bob Raissman ends his column (rehashing A-Rod's past feud with ESPN's Steve Phillips) reminding readers that "The Merchant of Pennis" Phillips urged the Mets to trade Jose Reyes last season.

'Nuf said about that jilted jerk off.

The Jilted Jerkoff? I think Phillips has a new nickname...

It doesn't make sense to me why so few people mention the history between A-Rod and Phillips. Phillips pointlessly called out A-Rod when the Mets were trying to sign him (yeah, that was smart) and then A-Rod blasted him right back in the press. These guys don't like each other. Phillips took heat for what he did. Who doesn't think this is a little payback?

Phillips' contention that A-Rod won't flourish in New York ignores that he had his BEST offensive season in New York last year. I don't get how people forget that the guy won the MVP last year with unbelievable offensive production.

5 Don't even WYA with the Post. Even if it's true, it would be bent like a fake nickel.

Phillips would be better served if he applied for a job with MSG, that is if the rumor about possibly booting Clyde has, ahem, "merit". He'd get all the tender loving care he needs and would likely be in line to succeed to the top job in two years.

13 and great defense. The comparisons to Knoblauch are also erroneous. From the second Knoblauch got here, he was nervous and his basestealing numbers went way down. He trended down the whole time he was in NY. A-Rod has had a decent season of adjustment, a phenomenal one last year and this year so far has been an off year. Its not the same by a mile.

13 My perception on the A-rod-Mets 2001 courting was that ownership was too tight to part w/ the $$$ necessary to sign A-rod. As a result, they floated the rumor that A-rod demanded too much in amenities so they rejected him.

I also think that Phillips is performing his job as an ESPN analyst/comedian/provocateur by mucking up the trade talk.

Thirdly, as a general rule, I always take the contrarian view of Raissman. I think he's pretty much a twit. Who knows...

(cricket... cricket...)

Wow, I'm shocked that ESPN would fire Renolds, who's been with them for 11 years. He was the only reason I watched Baseball Tonight ( he wasn't all doom-and-gloom like Steve Phillips)... 'Tis a shame.

16 Agreed about Raissman, simply because he mirrors Phillip's MO in on an 8th-grade level, but he does stumble upon an occasional good point. Who knows, indeed...

16 and judging from Phillip's histrionics, too cavalier to work out a creatively economic deal with Texas so as not to strain their purse, as the case might have been.

If Phillips were a Mini-Me, would it be to James Dolan or Isaiah Thomas or _________?

BTW, I've been on A-Rod's side against all the unfair expectations and booing, but there are some habits of his that definitely fuel the flame. I noticed in this morning's story that he compared the press treatment of him to Tiger Woods getting "thrown under the bus" after not making the cut at the U.S. Open. This after he compared himself to Brooks Robinson last week.

Somehow, I don't remember Jeter and other prominent athletes name-dropping other superstars when discussing themselves. A-Rod is certainly a world-class athlete, but I could see his name-dropping as something that is easy for his detractors to poke fun at i.e. "you know, Gandhi was thrown under the bus for just doing what he believed in, so I can't let the criticism get to me"

When A-Rod is modest and self-effacing, he is being disingenuous. When he's not, he's being arrogant and self centered. Every single time he opens his mouth to say something, someone is offended by what come out.

When Randy Johnson said last year that his job was just to keep the Yankees in the game and give the team a chance to win, everone screamed b.s. and said he's a superstar. If he said he is a superstar and expects to win every game, people would say "Well, isn't he full of himself".

It's about time I get the whole media and what not a rest and just watch the games and enjoy the play on the field. This Yankee team is too fun to let this nonsense get in the way of enjoying the games.

The "Boys of the Banter" set a good tone and I enjoy reading the game recaps and the analysis the next day. The rest - the tabloits and the national sites and the radio shows - they seem intent on sucking the fun out of all of it. No thanks.

22 Yes! You beat me to the punch, but I'll say it anyway...

21 That's not exactly foot-in-mouth disease (and believe me, the press has already jumped on it), but it could go a little as to why Jeter and company are perceived as not jumping to defend him. Also, I might also suspect that certain things were said one way and reported another.

[In General] Say Jeter says something that fully satisfies our desire for him to defend A-Rod. Then say A-Rod says something similar to his Tiger reference. The immediate perception is that A-Rod is a crybaby and can't defend himself. The next thing is that it undermines Jeter's defense of him and places him in the press' crosshairs looking for vulnerability in his leadership. Eventually it devolves into a he said this, he said that, why did he say that, whatever, FU, FU2, STFU, trade me, blahblahblah.

IMHO, there are too many media outlets competing with each other, trying to stir something up so they can profit from the resulting disaster. MLB is in bed with ESPN and sees this as publicity for the game; a soap opera with potential emmy nominations and a film option to boot. It all boils down to economics. If A-Rod were making only half the money he's making in general, he'd be treated like Matsui no matter what his production is. That's not to say I feel sorry for A-Rod with the biggest contract on this side of the asteroid belt, but it's really, really stupid what all that money has done to everyone involved; fans, writers, teammates, bosses, etc.

Frankly, as a Yankee fan I'm tired of it altogether. With all due respect, can A-Rod and everyone in the media scrutinizing him play ball and warm up the STFU, please?? (No disrespect to BBers intended, folks, and I do suspect I offend a lot)

(cricket... cricket...)

All ARod, all the time.

I thought Cliff did a great job today. He talked about the game and what was interesting about it. He mentioned what Rodriguez did that was significant, didn't make a big deal out of it, and went on to discuss the rest of the game. That's what we should be doing. The fact is, this team is interesting and kind of fun for a lot of reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the third baseman. When every discussion reverts back to him, we're part of the problem.

I just spent about 30 minutes of my lunch break lurking around the Internet trying to find out why Harold Reynolds was fired, but so far no one at ESPN is squealing. The consensus is that Harold must have done something really bad, but no one in the know is saying anything definitive.

25 Good point. I'll get a ball rolling (maybe). I was very impressed with Melky last night. He had great ABs, ran as hard as he could, excellent baserunning and plus defense. Throw in his cannon for an arm, and I really love the kid. If and when Matsui makes it back what do people think his chances are of playing RF and sending Bernie/Guiel to the bench?

Also, will we now be seeing more of Guiel against righties? I hope so, as that was the stated intention all along.

25 The ARod stuff is just sickening already.

Is it just me or do you all notice Alex and Cliff have stayed away during all the ARod news that's been coming out? I don't blame them for being fed up talking and/or writing about him. It gets old....

26 Harold's mortal sins are:
1) bringing quiet professionalism to his job
2) not being a self promoter
3) exhibiting intelligence above that of a mole.

Clearly, ESPN has no such use for such immoral behavior.

Does anyone have any more details Cano's hamstring? Is he able to run? Is he just sitting and resting it? How many days of DL does he have left? etc. I haven't seen anything on his status other than no ETA.

Raissman is certainly a twist. I can't stand the guy. But he did get this one story right. Because, as they say, the sun shines on a dog's ass some days.

I think something had to go on behind the scenes for Reynolds to be fired. You don't get dropped this abruptly after ten years. I'm guessing either a contract dispute or maybe some sort of indiscretion they just found out about.

30 Last I heard was at least two weeks away. Upper leg muscle injuries are really annoying (I've torn my groin and quad a few times myself). There's very little you can do for them aside from stretching and some strength work and then you just have to hope it heals. If you rush it back, you just retear it. Its not like recovering from some surgeries where you have to keep pushing harder. This requires the patience to let it heal on its own. Its hard to put an ETA on it.

Trust me, guys, I'm as sick of the A-Rod thing as everyone, and I think Cliff and Alex are smart not to touch it. It's a lot of extracurricular hoo-hah over small stuff.

With that said, I'm very fascinated as to what it is in his personality that draws all this attention. All the pat stuff about his contract, being a Yankee, being phony, etc etc really doesn't seem to get at what makes such a vanilla guy (personality-wise) so worthy of attention.

But it's pretty impossible to discuss rationally because as others have said, it's like religion or politics...the polar opinions overwhelm any nuanced discussion.

I brought up the my previous point in 21 because I think there is something to being media-savvy in ravenous markets like Boston or New York, even when you're as bland as Jeter or Bernie...it's not as simple as giving cliched answers and avoiding any sign of controversy. Pretty amazing that someone with so much money has so much trouble playing the media game.

Not that I really expect it to happen, but what does everyone else feel about the proposed Soriano to Chicago deal that would send McCarthy at least to Wash? IMHO, it ain't offense that has the Sox slumping, and trading away a top M.L. ready pitching prospect for a rental is always a tough call. Even if the Chisox extend Soriano, shouldn't they be a bit more concerned with their staff? Vazsquez is who he is, Buehrle has been brutal lately, and has always been on and off, Garland is obviously not the same pitcher he was last season, which is starting to look like a fluke, and Garcia just ain't that good. That leaves our man Jose, and who knows with him. Their pitchign may recover, but it may not, but in either case, isn't it their pitching that will get them to the postseason and beyond, not another power bat? And trading the possible solution to your pitching problems, well...

I've got no problem w/ Soriano going to Chicago, his bat's got too big a hole in it.

31 Baileywick, Harold was on the 6 o'clock show, he must have done something real bad.

34 Latest is that Kenny Williams won't include McCarthy or their top hitting prospect, third baseman Josh Fields, but it still might get done.

30 He's working out in Tampa, but not running the bases. He's been eligible to come off the DL since play resumed after the break.

in re ESPN vs. Arod:
When Arod went to Texas in 2001, every time he struck out was gleefully announced by Berman or whoever else was doing Sportscenter at the time. After about 50 games, they showed a stat that had Texas with a better winning percentage in games he failed to HR as opposed to those he went long. It's continued to the present.
The people in sports media are, by and large, very jealous of the money athletes make. As far back as the 50s, when Mantle struck out, they mentioned his salary. This is why they take ownership's part in every labor dispute, even when they're obviously in the wrong. What a player makes in a sport without a cap has zero to do with what happens on the field, but it's all most of the media can see.

30 So far, Cano still can't do any baserunnung. Unfortunately, not even a return date has been set up for Cano yet. Somehow, Cano's injury seems to have ended up to be more serious than Crosby's.

27 Cano's absence might have helped with Melky's maturing day by day.

Will Torre start experimenting with Melky in the RF again? How is Guiel or Crosby in the LF?

Maybe Harold used his Verizon phone and refused to use an ESPN mobile phone because he felt it was the cause of Peter Gammons aneurism. He was just looking out for his health, but the bigwigs at ESPN weren't having it. ESPN mobile phone is the number one cause of making people act like drones and believe in every word that comes out of Bristol. ESPN mobile phone is the modern day Kool Aid, it's our version of Jonestown. ESPN must be stopped before they take over everyone in this country….Harold was just fighting the establishment and protecting all of us from the evil doers at Bristol. For this….Harold Reynolds has probably saved mankind and he knows with his departure that ESPN's ratings will go down, because there are no more talented acts left.

Maybe they'll get another needle dick drone to take his place…..to go along with the other needle dick drones (Kruk, Phillips, Ravich). I suspect we'll be seeing some serious Rob Neyer face time. Ugh! It might just be the end of ESPN as we know it. When do we celebrate?

I just can't help but wonder how A-Rod would have been treated had he performed like Teixera yesterday. HR, Error and and baserunning mistake that took them out of an inning.
NY papers: A-Rod Hurts the Yanks AGAIN!
Reality: He provided their only offense of the day and is one of the better fielders in the game at his position.

39 Tonight, when our 3rd baseman hits that multi-run HR.

Crap...I forgot that Brantley and Dibble are on BBTN too.

39 The Griddle seems to have the wild Harold Reynolds theories covered. Check it out.

I love how when the Shea Hillenbrand thing took place ESPN had microphones in everyone's face about it, yet when they can HR we get a terse 'no comment.' Hypocritical douchebags.

Mebbe we should all follow Alex and Cliff's lead and let