I am very greatful to everyone who linked to that interview. I've moved from the NY area so I don't get to hear Russo's inane babbling anymore. I remember in the summer of 2003 when Francessa had stepped out for an hour, Russo went on a twenty minute rant about Glavine, saying "he's shot, done" about 400 times. Glavine then won his next three decisions and had a 1.91 ERA in August, followed by his two and a half soild seasons since then. Francessa eventually called him out on it.

That said, I did enjoy listening to them when they talked about baseball. It was a lot like me talking to my friends about baseball: they have some sort of emotional response (Russo) and then I come in with stats to see if the reaction is justified (Francessa). Russo's perspective is needed too, since statistics don't really fuel sports passion. Yet without Francessa, Russo has no yang, and its really unlistenable. But they've been a great team for years and without nearly as much sensationalism as found on Baseball Tonight, for example.

TWO right-handed hitters in a row? This line-up is a disgrace.

Cliff, love that title and the last paragragh (for the last line and Cano's good news). But that Mad Dog dude is probably too busy being a jerk and yelling at people to read this great piece. Nevertheless, you, Alex and Cashman all rock!

1 In that case, maybe we do need Russo's reverse jinxing power.

Wow, no quality starts from #5 in nearly 3 months. The bar isn't set too high for Mr. Lidle.

Looks like he's slightly better in day games, too. 4.27 vs 4.72 at night, and 1.25 WHIP vs 1.37 after dark.

Decent numbers at the Stadium, small sample size: 35 innings 3.09 ERA, 1.35 WHIP.

Hopefully Cash just landed us a #4 starter for the stretch run.

So in the first half, he's a Meatball Sub, while in the second he's American Lidle?

(smacking my own nose with a newspaper; No!)

I started watching Lidle often when he was in OAK and he goes on some great stretches of brilliance. It seems every season he gets en fuego, then regresses back to the mean. Hopefully we get his best stuff for an extended period of time. IIRC, he feeds on the mojo of the team and since that's been pretty good lately I'm looking for some above average outings for him in pinstripes.

Well, if you guys care for some rare rare rare sight before the game, go to the YES network site, Yankees video archive. On 8/2, there was a guy wearing #45 shirt actually practicing throwing baseballs.

Damon
Jeter
Abreu
A-rod
Giambi (DH)
Wilson
Cabrera
Fasano
Green

9 That's one good looking lineup on the day when Posada has to rest. For once, we are not gonna see Cairo AND Bernie in the game.

9 oooh! Torre did it! He put the speedy OBP guy in the #3 slot over the power, obp guy. What a lineup!

And Green gets the gig too!

10 we're not going to see Cairo OR Bernie either!

Looks like a nice lineup to me. Hopefully Wilson gets a hit or two off the righty. I'm smelling sweep.

Lets also hope that someone on the Indians learns to close a game against the BoSox. Memo: 2 HBP, 1 BB is not the way to do it.

Lidle had a nice little run for the Mets back in '97. I've like him ever since. Oddly enough, Lidle was once traded for our old friend (ahem) Kelly Stinnett.

Obi-Shawn starts today in Pittburgh, in a few minutes. Good luck, kid.

I found that interview fascinating, as I hardly ever get to hear Cashman. What an impressive guy! It is extremely reassuring to hear him talk "OPS" with such comfort. Gives me great hope for this organization, even in the post Boss era (which we must expect will be soon).

Chacon starts out with a K

6 "American Lidle"... not bad, Chyll.

17 He doesn't keep up the pace, however.

16 Of course OPS is a wildly overrated stat (I prefer EQA or the easier to figure and non-adjusted, but often very similar GPA), but yes, Cash clearly gets it.

19 All I'm wondering is, Who nominated Arthur Rhodekill to be the Big Jello Sheriff of the Player's Union?

21 well, i hate scabs typically too. That is something many union members share.

21 I meant 18

The Red Sox are reportedly trying to trade for Javy Lopez.

24 was reading that.. we cant block that too.. coz we are ahead of them in the standings..

javy wud b better than doug.. interesting..

We can't block it, but a lot of other teams could. Dunno if they would, though.

Well, Chac didn't have a great first inning, but Hudson had a worse one.

26 the waiver wire passes thru both leagues rite??

first the league in which u play then the other league if u r not picked in ur league.. is that correct??

i don see any team really needing Javy.. Indians?? who is their backup

22 Typically? Does this particular instance differ to you in any way?

20 Cliff, I don't think OPS is a wildly overrated stat at all. You don't see OPS in the on screen graphic when a guy comes up to bat.

The trouble with OPS is that it, like any other stat is just a piece of the puzzle, and that a lot of arm chair sabrmetricians like to think it's the end all be all. No stat is the end all be all, but OPS is so much better than BA or RBI when it comes to comparing players.

Cashman probably gets EQA and VORP too but OPS is a handy tool to use, I'm just glad he isn't talking about Abreu being an "RBI guy" or some other dated nonsense.

24 Friendly neighborhood Phillies fan tells me Sawx are also sniffing around Mike Lieberthal.

Of course he's hoping the Phils will get more for Lieberthal than they got for Abreu & Lidle.

I'd suggest Lieberthal for Papi straight up, you know, Theo, what with the limited value of field goal kickers like Ortiz.

Those stuck with ESPN, I am truly sorry for you. You must deal with Mrs. Phillips, Steven.

Nice first inning, Lidle!

Busy Friday at work + Easy Thursday + New Yankees Pitcher + Day Game on ESPN = Home for lunch to watch beginning of game.

At least when they're babbling about Cory Lidle, they're not talking about A-Rod, even though they've already mentioned his struggles at the mound.

Hey, if every inning is as easy as that one, I love Cory already.

Hi def/Phillips or standard/Kay...Hmmmm... Standard doesn't seem so bad.

All Derek Jeter does is hit.

up to .357

How'd you like to have to face Giambi and Abreu in the same inning? The most frustating two guys in MLB to face.

Red Sox are working out a deal for Javy Lopexz?

37 143 H/399 AB... I get .358

So close, Bobby- but that short porch will be there for you always.

Steve Phillips has already been muted.

39 Sorry, I just saw 24

Good walk.
Marcum at 25 pitches. Abreu did a good job with the pitch count (though five feet further on the drive would have been nice.)

Woot! Giambino!

Nice start, man.

GIAMBINO!!!!

Take that, small ball... a bloop, a walk, and a blast. Somewhere, Earl Weaver is beaming!

Giambino! Way to keep that OBP above .4

Lidle is sitting there on the bench thinking, "Well, now, that is more like it"

I love when it says:

Pitch 1 - In play, run-scoring play

(for my team)

Giambino!

I wonder what percentage of first pitches swung at result in HRs for Giambi. When i saw the first pitch had been hit in play on GameCast I said to myself "Gone." Because he usually sees so many pitches.

I'm guessing the Yanks are way too far off the pace to get to 1000 runs - but man, I like this lineup! 30 pitches in the first for Marcum, and in the heat too.

47 I'm Gamedaying it, too.
And then you're hoping it isn't a single... and then it's a G'Bomb!

One of the rules of plate discipline is look for your pitch. If it is there swing away.

Looks like Wilson also hit it to the wall. Could be a long day for Marcum.
Or, better yet, a very short one.

52 I know that. So I bet Giambi swings at fewer first pitches than probably any other player. And I'm wondering if when he does, he's more likely than average to hit one out.

53 Wilson's shot was a bit more popped than Abreu's... Rios caught Abreu's on the warning track in right center, Wilson's in front of the warning track in straight away right.

Yeah, I forgive Jason G. for not working the count.

55 Thanks.
I always wondered how accurate/precise those Gameday positions are. Pitched ball I figured was just a guess, not very accurate, but I guess the batted balls are also just rough approximations.

40 I'm just going by what gameday says.

54 When you get a reputation for taking strike one, you have to keep the pitchers from grooving one every time.

Yuck. Corey nearly doubled his pitch count without getting the out.

Glaus "singles on a pop up"? Green lost the ball in the sun, or dropped it?

Fasano running down the line. Awesome. I also love the discussion about how flexible, and what soft quiet hands Fasano has. That guy...flexible?!?!

60 (myself) ... but gets Overbay on one pitch.
Was that hit Nick Green's fault?

57 The pitches are usually okay, but the outfield dots for putouts are too big to be accurate, IIRC. I remember in a game against the Angels seeing a pitch about an inch above the strikezone on Gameday (so about a foot above the real strike zone) with "In Play (runs scored)." It turned out to be true, one of Vlad's ridiculous home runs.

What's the record for pitcher assists in a game? Lidle's on pace for 18...

Uh. What happened? Oh, must have been a run down and Rios with some good base-running.

61 Just a Triangle of Death bloop single, directly between Green, Wilson, and Abreu.

For those not watching, Lidle ran after Glaus after picking up yet another tap back to hte mound.... tossed to A-Rod, who tagged Glaus and threw to second, not in time to get Rios.

61 It was a bloop that dropped in between 1B and RF.

59 Yeah.

I'm aware of that as well. Was just hypothesizing about Giambi's HR rate on first pitch swings.

Lidle asks for time-out, and calls Fasano to the mound:

Lidle: What is this thing they call "run support?"

Fasano (shrugs): Urp. J'a try the hot sausage? Unfugginbelievuhbull.

Lidle: Run support. Go figure.

Fasano: We ain't in Philly no more.

Note that Lidle, in his career as a Yankee, is on pace to record more groundouts than Wang!

Lidle has thrown 17 strikes, 14 balls now. I guess that's acceptable.
I hope he can give us six innings.

66 Thanks, mehmattski! Its always nice to have someone in front of the tube help us Gamedayers out.

Lidle's been missing quite a bit here - any thoughts on the strike zone? (ie, too wide, too generous, etc)

69 Funny stuff, Sliced.

Ah. 33 pitches, I can live with that (esp. with zero runs). So he could go six.

69 :-) :-) I could grow to like Fasano. (No opinion so far.)

72 Well the pitch that walked Zaun was in the dirt at Zaun's feet. I haven't been paying attention to the strike zone though.

Unfortunately, my extended lunch break is over, gotta go back to work (and follow on Gameday like everyone else). Hopefully someone else is watching and can pick up the slack.

Lidle hasn't really given up anything out of the infield besides that bloop. Sweet! I'm really beginning to like this guy.

And I like how Lidle is teamed up with Fasano, a catcher he's familiar with to start off his career as a Yankee. The familiarity will certainly help him out.

69 Sliced, you're incredible. That amazingly thoughtful Munson post this morning, and now back to comedy this afternoon.

Any guesses of the number of Marcum's pitches this inning? I say 22.

69 I got a feeling that our old buddy Fasano could make Babe Ruth look like a vegan before his Yankee career is over...

Obi-Shawn is up to his usual tricks. Walking way too many batters, getting into jams, and somehow getting out of it.

UGH. Right before I leave, they show a sign held up by a cute girl in the stands that reads:

"My (x)boyfriend was drafted by Boston. So I dumped him."

Philips and Sciambi use it as a segue to talk about Ortiz: "The way things have been going recently, I wouldn't be surprised to see in fine print: "and he got a walkoff hit."

UGH again. I will now HAPPILY go to work and follow on Gameday.

Still a great sign though.

At work, just wanted to check in.

How's Lidle looking?

Dear Lord - Fasano's picture on Gameday looks horrific! That's either the worst photoshopping job of a shorter mustache, or the fugliest dude, I've ever seen.

Yeah, so far so good for Lidle.
Shaun, you nailed it, exactly 22 pitches in the second. 11 in the first.

Now I've got Sterling and Waldmann. Great, now I'll get constant updates on the paid attendance.

haven't heard Chris Russo in yrs and now I remember why.
The Yanks are in 1st place, playing good baseball and all Russo did was focus on the negative blowing it way out of proportion. He also tried to make Cashman look like an idiot. And what was with the "did you ask Lidle what he said about Bonds" question? Is this why Russo isn't a fan of Lidle b/c he said something negative about Bonds?
All Cashman was trying to do by getting Lidle is add a 4th or 5th starter to the club.
Nobody is expecting Lidle to go out there and win every game for the next 2 months.
If he can give us some innings and pitch 500. that's more then Chacon and Ponson will do for us.
And for the money the Yanks are paying Wright and Kyle Russo might have a point about they're productivity. But Wright has given the Yanks some good starts and Kyle overall numbers aren't bad.
I wonder if Russo knows anything about baseball or does the WFAN have him on b/c he yells, screams and entertains people. He's certainly not entertaining me.

Urp. Thanks, fellas.

77 That's the mystique of me. Not.

Da** it. Way to kill the rally. And keep the pitch count down.

Take this one in folks, it's probably the last time we'll see Nick Green in a Yankees uni

82 That's what Fasano looks like.

It was pretty funny before they took that pick. Some were using his Phillies pic, with a Yankees hat Photoshopped on. (And the same long hair and facial fur.) Some were using his old Yankees photo, where he looked about 18 years old.

87 I've been wondering about that. I've noticed Joe likes to give players one last look before he cuts them. For example, when Joe gave Thompson that start after leaving him glued to the bench for weeks, I figured he was being sent down. And he was.

Cano will be back soon, so maybe Green's getting one last look.

So is it kinda warm at the Stadium today? The announcers really haven't said much about the temp......

Good work. Chance of Lidle going six are now a lot higher.

"Cano will be back soon", music to my ears.

D'oh, completely forgot this was an afternoon game. What'd I miss?

Hey Sliced, we all know that's not mist in the dugout... that's the smoke from those cheesesteaks, right?

93 A three run Giambi bomb and some decent pitching by the new guy.

89 Yeah, Green's been given Joe's kiss of death.

Before the game he said "It's great to be in the lineup today, and tonight Mr. Torre's friends from New Jersey, Cheech, and Vinnie are going to take me for a car ride to the Meadowlands. They told me don't even bring my wallet!"

93 Lidle looking good, Giambi went yard, Kay's headset has melted to his head...

Yeah cap.
E, too bad.

94 Or they have ESPN on in the dugout, and it's steam blasting out of Sheffield's ears.

Glaus stylin' too much, if that had been A-Rod it would have been the lead story on BBTN...

90 Are you serious? On YES, all they're talking about is how hot it is.

And it is really, really hot. Hotter than the hinges of hell. :-P

That'll teach me to miss the start of the game.

96 LOL!

I think we may see Nick again, in the land of the living. In pinstripes, even. If he clears waivers and goes to Columbus, they could bring him back in September.

Abreu. Pffft. All he does is advance runners and get on base. Booooorrrring. Give us da dingers.

101 Sarcasm (bad attempt, I guess)
I was just thinking that after about 1000 references to the heat: "We get it Kay, it's hot out there, let it go..."

BTW, "hinges of hell" good analogy...

I thought Green still had options...no?

I want a dinger here, Sliced. Or from Giambi, I'm flexible.

59 pitches for Markum already.

Russo knows jack about baseball-he's nothing but a loudmouth. About 15 years ago or so they did an event at my H.S. in Brooklyn (one of those things where there are 50/50's, prizes, crap like that). At one point it turned into an open Q&A, where people would step uo to a podium and ask questions, mostly baseball related. Since most of them leaned towards the trivia side, Russo knew nothing. To his credit, Francesa was on the ball for about 90% of them. All Russo did was try and make everything into a friggin' opinion poll...

92 Cano might not be the only one back soon. From Mr. Abraham over The LoHud blog:

"Hideki Matsui is at the doctor now getting his left wrist checked out. The Yankees hope to give us the results after the game."

(fingers crossed)

Argh, almost.
But Markum's leaving!

ARod with a force-out...BOOOOO!

Shaun, plenty of good news these days. (Except from Fenway in late innings.)

Marcum didn't even make it through three?

Abreu. Pfft. Doggin' it on the slide into 2nd. He didn't really have a chance but A-Rod would have been safe...
because he cheats. ESPN says so.

105 Gotcha. Didn't realize you were getting the YES feed down there in Alabama.

106 I don't think Nick Green has options left. But we picked him up off Tampa's trash heap, so I doubt there will be a lot of teams clamoring for him if he's put on waivers.

Talett, 22 walks in 33 innings. And 30 hits. Let's go get him.

114 If Abreu didn't win the Home Run Derby last year he would have slid under the dirt like Bugs Bunny to elude the ...uh....force out?

Wow, changing pitchers after 2.2 innings?!

116 Seriously, they said that?!

Oh, I get it. Bring in the lefty specialist to walk Giambi on four pitches. Gotta love that.

109 I dunno if Matsui will be back soon. Sounds like Cashman isn't expecting him until September. He basically has to go through spring training all over again.

I don't think Tallet is any kind of specialist, lefty or otherwise. I believe he is what's known as an "innings eater."

119 Y-monkey: asking about my hit + walk report? Yes. And now he has to face Wilson. A lefty to walk Giambi and face Wilson. (Who John S. calls 'Chris'. Oh, or 'Kris'.)

121 Cashman said maybe late Aug., I thought.
Schteeve, good point.

121 Problem for both Matsui & Sheff is that the Clippers' season ends Labor day weekend (they aren't going to the playoffs). If they want some game action, they'll need to do it soon.

Just got here, how is Lidle looking so far?

85 Wowzers, a whole lot to learn from you.

Mm, that's right.
Matsui I think will squeeze in a few Columbus games. Gary, I'm guessing not.

125 But when the rosters expand they can PH a bit with the big club and get a few ABs. Not ideal, but it could help.

126 Acceptable. They aren't hitting him at all, but he isn't throwing as many strikes as you'd like.

128 Which is probably why Sheff has been saying he doesn't need rehab games...

130 Fine by me. Just go six, seven innings and give up 3 or fewer runs. That's all we need from a 5th starter.

126 Yeah, me too - is he 'Wang' 3+ innings or 'Wright' 3+ innings?

126 So far it's American Lidle... 6

Did Kay or Flaherty just say (re: Lidle) there was 'less pressure to win here' - as in less pressure to win for the Yankees?

He's definitely Wright 3+. Well, a little more efficient, I guess.

The Yanks could easily simulate a Clippers game for Matsui and Sheff by having them face Pavano.

Maybe this was mentioned earlier, but what is Russo going to do? I think Cashman should call in every 5 minutes:

Russo: And now we go to Brian on his cell phone.

Brian: Told ya so, told ya so, told ya so.

Russo: Ummm...uh.....didn't I say Lidle was going to be great? I must have, I'm never wrong after all and am full of useful baseball knowledge.

wow! Lidle looks strong!

Big K.
That's four scoreless innings in 54 pitches, so maybe that's (Wang + Wright)/2.
Certainly no complaints from Bomber fans.

I'm sure Cashman is composing his e-mail to Mad Dog right now.

137 LOL, that is hilarious. Of course, then Sheff will hit the ball hard at Pavano. Said ball will strike Pavano in the butt, breaking it again, then bounce back off said butt into Sheff. Its a bad idea.

Still nothing out of the infield except the bloop single. The OFs must be getting bored.

Chacon's day is done:

5.0IP 3 hits 1 run 4BB 3SO

79 pitches (45 strikes)

Not bad. It's 3-1 Pirates, so he's given them a chance to win.

142 Plus,Pavano doesn't like to work after Labor Day. He will because he's a team player, but he'd prefer not.

cashman is on espn now..

Great AB Melky!

Hmm, wonder why Chacon was out after 5 - didn't look like Atlanta made any noise since the first inning...

Just says 'Grabow relieved Chacon' at the top of the 6th...

weird.

Melky has learned The Yankee Way. Nine pitch walk.
Let's get the next reliever warming, please.

Let's go, Porn 'Stache - move Melky over!

146 Saying? Is it live or taped?

148 I think they were just playing it safe because of the extreme heat. Well, that and the way he's always in and out of jams.

152 He was at something like 80 pitches. Probably the heat, but maybe an injury.

Melky's 8 SBs are really making the Blue Jays nervous, all these pickoffs.

152 True, but he retired the side 1-2-3 in the 5th. Perhaps the heat then...

A group of frightened day campers was just escorted from the Stadium.

They shouldn't put Fasano's mug shot up on the board during day games.

142 But then Matsui will glare at them both from the batter's box, saying "Don't be a pu%@y..."

156 Sliced, who has the scarier Gameday pic - unfrozen caveman catcher Fasano, or earnest schoolboy Nick Green?

I say Green. He looks just a little TOO happy.

153 It wasn't an injury, from what people who were watching the game said.

He hasn't started in a long time, so perhaps they didn't want to push him too hard. He's been in our bullpen since July 4, and very rarely used there.

Sal Fasano looks like a catcher. The goofy facial hair, the fact that he looks like a bouncer at some sleaze ball dive bar. He's perfect.

156 Yeah, just noticed Green's picture. And the cockeyed D-Rays hat on top of it. It looks like they just told him he was escaping the Rays for another AAA team, the Clippers.

Has Johnny D been slumping a bit lately?

158 Yeah, Nick looks Broadway musical happy in that shot.

162 Well he did hit 2 HRs in one game a few days ago.

164 Yeah I forgot about those.

162 Seems he's been quiet since the 2 HR game.

I was thinking the same thing about Posada last night before he started raking again.

BTW, in case anyone cares - through 4 full innings, the Jays have thrown 99 pitches. With the Yanks having sent 19 guys to the plate so far, that's 5 pitchers per batter. Unreal.

The last time he hit 2 HRs in one game, did that end the hot streak he was on? It seems he's really streaky at the plate. Not necessarily a bad thing, though, as long as he gets hot when it matters...

/me thinks of 2004 ALCS slump that ...

::shudder::

eep.

167 It would be nice to actually score against their 'pen before Speier and Ryan.

Oh well, there goes the shutout.

Crud. Ryan Roberts' first ML hit.
I guess that's what Lidle does. But now let's see if he settles down.

Uh oh.

Big batter for Lidle.

I can't imagine Lidle isn't wearing down in the heat - good thing Wang went 8 last night...

Anybody up in the bullpen?

What happened? He was cruising along and now he can't find the strikezone.

That was a strike. Who's the ump back there? Mad Dog?

Whew!

Whew.
Gotta go to a meeting. Hang in there.

Let him start the 6th, get up Proctor and Myers.

Way to get out of it! Good job Cory. That's all we needed.

Ah, Lidle survives the 5th surrendering only the solo shot. Mad Dog skulks back into his cage.

176 Catalanotto didn't bite at a couple close ones - he didn't look like he wanted to swing at all. I still think Lidle's fine...

Is Mad Dog following the action on his show?

I'm liking the Cory Lidle era so far.

Well, you have to expect a little trouble here and there. It's hot and he's probably pushing it a little bit being a new club. The recovery is more important than getting out of the inning. Hopefully he can continue to show that he doesn't let things bother him.

184 Not sure. Not listening to it.

Jeter. OBP. MVP.

I just watched the highlight of Jete's homer last night, I love the way he flings the bat after he hits it. What a fun player to watch.

Jeter's OPS: .927. Yes, nine twenty-seven.

189 I can't seem to find video of the HR, can you post the url?

Five innings, one run. Not bad from a number five starter who was basically a throw-in in a trade. Especially in this heat.

188 And Abreu's always right behind him!

Jeter's stealing bases at a 92% rate this year.

Abreu. Pfft. Advances the runner again and gets on base again. Redundant! Bring us the dingers!

And Abreu continues to hit and get on base. C'mon Alex!

That Bobby Abreu sure lacks hustle.

151 ok, i am going to try to summarize this as best as i could remember. Coz he talked about a lot of stuff. First off, I think it's live, he was sitting in the booth with Philips and Sciambi. They basically asked him about the reasonings behind each new acquisition.

On Abreu, basically what you'd expect him to say. Nothing noteworthy that I could remember

On Lidle, he said that the Yankees' 5th stater role has been struggling since the beginning of the season, and Lidle's career era in the 2nd half is about 1.7something lower than in the 1st half.

On Wilson, he said that Wilson's a very versatile player, corner OF/1b/3rd catcher, very valuable to the lineup. He also mash lefties to something like 900+ops, and also righties to something like 720+ops. (He was dropping "ops" left and right).

On Sheffield, he said that Sheff's been handling the situation "like a pro". He understands that the mission is #27. Sheff even ordered a 1b glove before Torre approached him with the idea. Cash believes there's a good chance that Sheff can play a good 1b because he used to play the left side of the infield. Cash also brought up the "If [Giambi] can play there, so can I" quote.

On the booing of Arod, again, he said Arod has been very professional about it.. Then he kind of wandered off and talked about Steinbrenner and the whole "winning tradition" and the expectation that comes with it.

On the trading of Arod, Sciambi said "even one of our espn analysts suggested the idea." Philips went, "I wonder who that might be, hahaha." Cash said that after that whole episode, he received phone calls from a bunch of teams asking if Arod was available, but of course, they never thought about moving him anywhere.

Sorry if I sounded a bit incoherent, I just tried to type down as much as I could.

191 Try here:

http://tinyurl.com/gkjqs

A-Rod!

Does AROD get an RBI on that even if it is an error?

A clutch ground-into-an-error by A-Rod!

198 Thanks.

Not pretty but we'll take it.

I love it when Giambi goes 1-1 with 3 BBs. Hopefully that day off was good for him.

201 I think so, unless the throw was to home, because the run would have scored anyway (?)

I may be way off base here, though.

Who said

"I love it when it says, Pitch 1 - In play, run scoring play?"

Not sure what Melky did, but that's music to my ears, or eyes.

Wow, Fasano with the wheels!

And the Melkman delivers again.

199 Thanks

207 Melky's hit was a little looper over and off the glove of the shortstop and into left field.

One run scored, more if the ball had been hit harder.

Fasano, check swing dink to the pitcher, runner's out at home, throw to first...
Sal's safe! and he left a trail of pizza crumbs so he can find his way back.

206 Gameday didn't give him one... so I don't think so.

Melky hit one that just got over Hill's glove. If he was an inch taller, he'd have caught it. He leaped, and did actually put leather on it, but couldn't catch it.

Lidle still looks pretty good, despite Glaus advancing on the K

Hey, SF Yanks that was not an aftershock you just felt, it was Big Sal rumbling down to first last inning...

215 He did that on purpose. He plans on getting 4 Ks this inning. All part of the master plan.

DP! Someone get Russo on the horn...

Well done, Corey. (who'd probably well done himself). A quality start.

By 4 Ks I meant 2 Ks and 1 GIDP. Clearly a typo. I'll leave the fortune telling to Kornheiser.

218 Heheheh- MD just went to break after screaming at a caller, and direct quote: "this is going to continue because I'm getting annoyed, bottom 6, 5-1 Yanks...back after this"

I don't understand these bullpen guys who all decide they have to look like each other, clearly Schoenweis is trying to look like Ryan. It's so goony.

cano went 2-5 today in a rehab start at DH!

216 If that was him running, what happens when he falls down... better run for cover.

223 why was he DHing

Major Bloomberg and other city officials are holding a news conference at this moment urging NYers to conserve energy.

Pavano, who was listening in on his Walkman, almost fell out of his hammock in Monument Park he was laughing so hard.

Easy big fella. Conserve.

225 break him in gradually. couple of games at DH before playing in the field.

226 Pavano needs to get an iPod.

228 oh.. makes sense.. thx

223 Excellent.

I like it when the Indians are winning because Stuart Scott gets to say, "Who got the vibe it's the Tribe ya'll."

229.. meant 227 not 228...

Abreu is what would happen if Jeter and Giambi produced offspring.

On Fyea!

226 iClod

A-Rod getting the I-walk! seemingly for the first time since Sheff went down.

Giambi's already hit one three run homer today, you want to put him in position to do it again?

who are we going to make fun of if iPav finally comes back?

233 Somehow I don't doubt that. He's got the color, the build, the hair, the lefty bat, it just goes on and on...

Giambi drives it to the warning track in dead center.. gr double

233 OMG, that's the comment of the day - he's got Giambi's upper body and Jeter's skin tone!

This is getting ridiculous. Patience doesn't slump much, and it pays off.

Jam-Bee!

HOW MUCH DO I LOVE IT WHEN IT SAYS

Pitch 1 - In play, run scoring play

224 LOL
BTW, we had a magnitude 4.9 earthquake down here in Fort Payne, Alabama 3 years ago. It happened at 4am and scared me to death (all it did was shake pictures off the wall, but it was still scary nonetheless). I don't see how you guys live with that out there in Calif. We get tornados all the time, but at least you know they're coming.

Almost another homer for Giambi.

Man, Wilson is so pale he almost glows in the dark. Did they never let him play day games in Pittsburgh?

Okay going home from work, hold down the fort for me guys.

7-1, Wilson does mash lefties - how about that.

Damn, Mo's going to get rusty if this keeps up.

237 we have Sturtze..

240 Plus his stats are similar to Jeter's in terms of OBP, HR and RBIs and he sees a million pitches per at bat like Giambi. He's like Mini-Jeteambi

Meant 8-1. D'oh.

Wow! I had no idea that the game was on ESPN. Abreu, Lidle and Wilson making contributions. I love it!

Anyone think it is safe for Ponson to pitch the seventh inning?

Anyone?

Hello, is this thing on?

Wilson! Opposite field double. 8-1.

Yup, he mashes lefties.

Giambi scored from 2nd on a single? Hooray Speed!

With the Jeter-Abreu-Arod-Giambi order that 6th man in the order will always hit with men on.

Proctor?! Proctor? Does he need work?

245 Maybe Abreu could give him some color.

244 I got woken up one time in Portland Oregon by a 5.3 earthquake, it went on for about 15-20 seconds. As it was 5:30 in the morning, I turned over and went back to sleep. Unless it's real bad, you just get used to them.

Joe thought Proctor's right arm was starting to look a little too cocky.

Gameday showed Lidle at 80 pitches.. why take him out.. heat exhaustion?? or Joe loves Proc in at this time??

244 A tornado would scare ME to death... a product of where you live I guess. Quakes rarely happen though.

mlbtv is so dense.

Actually according to ESPN.com Proctor has only pitched an inning and a third in the last 8 or 9 days. Is that for real?

mlb.tv went to commercial screen after proctor's 1st pitch. not sure if i'll ever get it back.

Um, up by 6 runs in the 7th inning, about to finish a sweep. If that's not a time to bring in the last guy in the bullpen (Ponson), I don't know what is. Poor Scott Proctor. He needs a hug. And not from Harold Reynolds.

263 That happens to me every so often. I just ctrl-R it and everything comes back okay. I cannot describe how mlb.tv is NOT worth $15/mo. I'm sharing it with a friend, so $7.50/mo makes a little sense. But still, what terrible service.

Yeah since he got knocked around on the 26th at Texas he's only made one appearance (Tuesday night.) I'm fine bringing him in here.

Is Roberts a lowball hitter?

No Ponson in a blow-out tells me he shouldn't be on the staff.

265 came back in time for that last pop up. only thing is, without mlb-tv, i cannot get yankees games.

268 Ponson will be reserved for a throw away game in which the starter gets shelled early. He's also a guy who Joe can start late in the season if we have the luxury of "setting the rotation."

269 Me either, other than the occasional game on TV, though I remember you said you don't have cable. What REALLY chaps my ass about it is that Durham, NC is somehow in the Orioles' "sphere of influence." So on top of the Fox blackouts, that's another 18 games a year I can't get, because only about a quarter of O's games are on here on FoxSouth. Plus I have a Mac and so I can't get mlb.tv to show bigger than their default size. Ugh.

260 Yeah, tornados are pretty scary. But they usually give you enough warning to take cover. I never thought I would ever have to experience an earthquake in Alabama (most people did not even know what it was when it happened).
257 Man there was no going back to sleep for me that morning... I thought the house was coming down (it lasted for about 30 seconds). I hope I never have to go throught that again.

Thow strikes Scotty.

Could Proctor possibly throw any more pitches there? Trying to get a few days' worth of work crammed into one inning, Scotty?

271 yeah, i'm also on Mac. the black out stuff is annoying.

Lidle was starting to struggle, so I'm all right with pulling in, especially in this heat.

Proctor's stuff was pretty good. He really is a different pitcher when he's not used every day.

Jeez, Catalonotto is punishing Scotty in the heat...

Throwing almost 30 pitches without giving up a run or even a hit? Not so good.

That was a lot of pitches for ESP

271 What browser are you using? Safari?

280 you didn't ask me but i'm using safari. i found it works better withmlb-tv for me than firefox or IE (even though safari isn't "supported").

281 Just wondering if Firefox would let you change the size?

271 you can get a full screen view, but you have to use safari and have windows media player installed and set to play as a stand-alone player, instead of embedded in the browser.

280 Yeah, though I've tried it with Firefox and a (very old) version of IE. None of them give me the buttons below the video like on Windows, where I can pause, change it into a spreadsheet, or expand the video to full screen. Since Microsoft doesn't make Windows Explorer for Mac anymore, I've been using a third party program (Flip4Mac) to deal with .wmv files and streams. It works pretty well except with mlb.tv. And it didn't work real well before I got the third party program. Last year, mlb.tv had the option of choosing WMP or RealPlayer, and I chose the latter, which worked much better. I don't know why its only WMP this year. Any suggestions?

284 By "windows explorer" i meant media player

Yeek. Ponson warming.

271284 you can still download WMP from microsoft, althought they do not support it anymore. It works fine for full screen view. I would not say it works great (lots of buffering, freezing frames, but, better than gameday!)

283 Hmm, I'll try that. Flip4Mac, the WMP portal I've been using, has the option to open .wmv files in Quicktime, where I'd imagine they'd be resizable. The problem is it would have to do it for EVERY video, which gets kind of annoying.

Anyone else have the problem when you first load the video, it blinks too much to see, but if you click another window and then back its fine?

Hey Kyle, strike zone, up a little.

This just in from ESPN: MLB officials urge the Cleveland Indians to surrender tonight's game versus the Boston Red Sox. The Indians are said to be "seriously considering" this proposal due to the team's inability to, you know, win a damn game.

Damn, the 8,9, & 1 slots are having a horrible day today.

They're just embarassing themselves out there.

Wait, Farnsworth to Jeter to Green for one out. Huh?!

290 Yanks and Sox winning would lead to the third straight morning of Neil Everret and Scott Van Pelt saying "percentage points," followed by me stabbing my own eardrums.

Oh no, who is hurt?!

Farnsy tried to field a ball with his bare hand, and hurt it. He's been pulled.

Ponson to the rescue?

295 How bad? He bruised it and available tomorrow? or he broke it and out for the season?

288 I also have flip4mac installed and tried the quicktime option but it really screws up the feed. I guess because it adds another processing step of the feed, it gets even more blurry and full screen stinks far worse than it dead iwth Realplayer last year. I think this is all a result of microsoft trying to corner the market.

The ball deflected off Farnsy's hand. Jeter got it, and threw it to Green. No time to get the runner at 1B.

Sir Sidney is in.

Farnsy didn't seem seriously hurt. They could have pulled him just to be safe.

Owning both Macs and PCs, I find it annoying that I can't use mlb.com "gameday audio" on the mac. I can't get the flip4mac program to work on mhy intel mac, at least couldn't a few weeks ago.

299 did the new flip come out this week or something?

Seems like a good time to bring Ryan in. Huh?

Earthquakes and Macs, nothing like an 8 to 1 lead...

301 Since they've lost 7 of 9 (about to be 8 of 10) I would imagine he's been pretty rested. Who cares the Jays are out of this race unless they go on a tremendous winning streak.

300 I just installed an update a couple days ago. At first I couldn't get it to work with mlb.tv, but then I realized I had to restart Safari. Now it works just as well as before (which is a shade above Womackian).

303 just hope that they put their usual dent on the boston f**way park..

305 Hey they're due. Boston has to be quaking in their sux right now. We have exploded out of the gate since the all-star break and with these trades we're strong. Throw in that Cano, Sheffsui and Dotel will be coming up and we are looking to be very, very good.

Anyone who's watching the YES feed think that Ponson and Lidle will go out for ice cream after the game?

307 What about Fasano?

308 Yeah, he'll be there too...

Yank-ees pitch-ing!

4 runs for the Jays this series.

Reed Johnson sure is pesky. He worked a walk after ten pitches against Proctor last time. Then he hits a double against Ponson.

All for naught, though. Yankees win.

Any word on Farnsy?

Yankees Win, Ice Cream for everybody...

309 Sal wants an Italian ice.

Give Sal a canoli and he'll be straight.

Nice day for Lidle, Abreu and Wilson.

And Chacon got the win for Pittsburgh, so they can't complain, either.

Nice sweep. Taking the kids to Carvel to celebrate. Fudgie The Ponson's for everybody.

Appropriate game title.. as Chris Russo will be biting his tongue after the Lidle performance today

Good win! Lots of ice cream, but no beer for Sir Sidney.

Chacon will be solid in the NL.

They think Farnsy will be available tomorrow. Torre said he wanted to stay in, but given the score, they saw no reason to let him.

320 Phew! Thanks. Great news. Fortunately, I predict we won't need him tomorrow as we'll be up by a ton of runs come the 8th.

Gotta share this from Peter Abraham in his comments:

"Scouts get fired and rehired someplace else all the time. Since Cashman got more juice last October there have been a number of changes in the organization.

If the Yankees go deep in the playoffs, you can bet there will be more firings because Cashman will have even more power.

As Steinbrenner concedes more duties to his son-in-law, you'll see a lot of the glad-handers in Tampa (or "boot-licking toadies" as the Post called them earlier this season) run out of the organization.

At this point, Cashman is Michael Corleone. You're either with him or you're Moe Green on the massage table."

Cash as Michael Corleone, Big Stein as the Godfadda, that works pretty darn well.

Cliff do I sense that your man crush on Andy Phillips is waning and being tranferred to the dreamy Mr. Cashman? ;)

I can't blame you if it is, the guy is the MVnP this year.

FWIW, They're saying in Boston that they got Javy Lopez for sure.

http://tinyurl.com/mq87e

Jeez, they have to go out and get Javy Lopez when 'Tek' goes on the 15-day DL...?

Pussies. ;-)

317 Fudgie the Ponson, LOL. Haven't had Carvel in years. I used to get one of their ice cream cakes every year for my birthday.

And I think Chris did not embarrass himself.

Now, off to Va. Beach for a week.

Unless I missed the bad news in any earlier post, Peter Abramham is reporting in his blog,

"Matsui was not cleared to start batting practice, which comes as a surprise given how confident he was last night. The Yankees still believe he could return by September but playing in August is now pretty much out of the question."

http://www.lohud.com/blogs/lohudyankees.html

Lucky thing Cash got Abreu.

325 All I'm sayin' is if you're gonna trade WITHIN THE DIVISION, you better be getting some nice piece(s) back. Unless they're just following the regular M.O. (screw the Yankees, whatever the cost). Plus, how desperate are the Sox for catching? Now, I'm no doctor, but I think there is no way Tek is back in 3 weeks. Try 5-6...if that. The short recovery time was BS to limit the jumpers in Beantown. BTW, is there any team is baseball that religiously hands out more misinformation than the Sox?

Sawx are most welcome to Lopez.

The dude has a .726 ops this season.

Oh wait, the Sawx actually want him to catch?!? Giggle snort.

BP Rate behind the plate this season -- 85! in only 21 games. (After last season's 92 RATE in 75 games looks the Orioles realized the guy was a dh and a poor one at that.)

The Orioles brass must be laughing their asses off. They just dumped what? 4 million in salary for the rest of the season on a below avg hitter who can't catch.

Home Run Josh Beckett up to his old trix. Two homers in one inning, one a granny.

That;s 31 on the season for ya'lkl counting at home.

Wonder how the idiot Indians will blow this one.

Tribe drops six on Beckett in the sixth and he's lucky to get out that easy. With a man on first Aaron Boone just lined into an unassisted DP.
Probably nobody but you and me reading this, Y. F. in Chi.

I'm loving Beckett continuing to give up the long balls, but it's sad when even a six run inning is no guarantee that the game is Carmona-proof.

You know that Cleveland would need a 12 run lead to win this game. LOL! So nobody get your hopes up.

On a more positive note, the Red Sox pitching is just dreadful.

Becket is definitely in the running for the cy young...

Beckett is getting some competition from Westbrook, who loads the bases with nobody out. Huckaby gidp, then Youk singles, the Loretta out. Two run lead now.

Nice to see ESPN's April pick for Cy Young getting clown-fucked into a 5.00 ERA. I wonder how the Baby Chiefs will blow this game. Oh my God, these idiots should be going for a 4-game sweep right now. We should be 4 games up by the end of this night! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! I hate the Indians.

Kyle Snyder replaces Josh Beckett. Last time Snyder was good for... three shutout innings? Four?

He just loaded the bases for that other young Sawx "phenom" with an astronomical ERA. All these phenoms the Sawx have...while we have a dried up farm with loser scrubs (some of which have graduated to the ML) like Cano, Melky, Hughes, Gardner, Tabata, Duncan, and Clippard.

So, naturally, Craig Hansen comes in and Casey Blake gidp to end the inning with no runs.

Can't believe they haven't blown the game open.

Newsday blog today says Wang is the Yanks' ace, and "if he continues, it won't be long before you start hearing his name in Cy Young talks."

Anyone notice Jeter is leading MLB in VORP?

Here come the Sox...uhg!

Yea, remember the Sox couldn't make a trade and thwart their "long term plan" for all these youngsters. Theo Thero Theo, thank you for being a pussy, thank you so much.

Bah I don't see Rick Vaugh in their bullpen so I assume the Indians will be screwed again.

Looks like they will win it in the 8th tonight, not the 9th.

"strategical?"

This would be funny if it weren't so infuriating.

But no problem, Jason Davis is warming up.

344 Ricky Vaughn is on the 60-Day DL with a severely strained dorsal ego.

Bah, they're within one...
Third time in 4 games Indians would've had a lead in the 8th inning and blown it.

343 even as Theo the Great was feeding the minions that line he was floating Lester, Hansen, et al for any overpriced vet he could think of.

Dirty little secret is that anyone of any talent, possible exception of the 2b kid at Pawtucket, in the Sawx organization is already in the bigs. Who else do they have?

To have a youth movement, you actually have to have youth.

Meanwhile they traded most of their young talent last offseason for Josh "5.00 era, 31 homers" Beckett and Coco Crisp.

Think they'd rather have Hanley Ramirez, Sanchez, and Shoppach now then those 2?

Come on, folks, the Indians still have a one run lead. I'm pretty sure they can hold it.

What exactly does an Indian pitching coach do? Why do they bother even having one?

Eventually, the finger pointing for the Indians constant failures is going to be directed at Shapiro where it rightly belongs.

And he is going to walk Ortiz to the plate, Jesus Christ!

Wow, he got out of it. I feel for Westbrook.

There, see?
The bottom of the ninth will be interesting.

Interesting, Tito calls for Timlin. Yesterday he called on Papelbon in the same situation.

So, do you walk Ortiz to lead off the ninth?

I have to say that this Sox series has been incredibly amusing...they've been outplayed and their pitching battered, but the Tribe relief turns everything upside down. Seeing Wedge pull an Al Leiter with Westbrook because he has no options is so sad it's funny.

Boone still gets booed, that's too funny.

356 No, you can't do that. Not really. God, it's tempting.

what color toenail polish are you ladies using tonight?

Ortiz doesn't even lead the sox in Avg WRISP. Objects in Fenway are less "clutch" than they appear on ESPN.

359

Your Mom's.

356 I'd walk him. Set up the DP. Better than him exercising his clutchness with a tie HR.

Randy Johnson is now the Yanks' #5 starter.

Davis has a 4.82 ERA. Incredible.

Jason Davis, 1.5 WHIP, zero saves (as we know, nobody on staff has any saves).

359 Hey ric, your team is in another dogfight with the mighty Tribe and you are checking out a Yankees blog???

Boy that's annoying as sh!t the way Ortiz walks off the field appearing as if he thinks he deserved a HR, regardless of where the ball was hit...

Too close for comfort there...

i actually have the unique ability to watch tv and a laptop at the same time. besides the tribe is a run scoring machine..... im just busting your balls anyway.

368 I'll take it.

361 Red Sox trolls don't have mothers. They reproduce by fission, like bacteria.

I'd never walk Ortiz. Plunk him maybe, but not walk him. ;)

YES. Sole possession, baby!

Cleveland holds. It's a miracle...

Doug Mirabelli, the Anti-Papi

Ortiz deserved that HR because it left the infield and the pitcher stinks!

No Phillips!

Holy sh*t. They won.

Oh happy day!!!!!!

enjoy the lead while it lasts.... but don't stay up too late chatting ladies, remember, you have school tomorrow morning.

372 Two game lead in the loss column

Damn. What were the odds that the Indians would win? I'm shocked.

369 I think the point was not whether you can do two things at once, but rather why you are checking in on Yankee fans during a Red Sox game. Obsessed? Jealous?

I posted a little thought on Chris Russo and Bobby Abreu over at Canyon of Heroes just now. I didn't know that Cliffy had also taken on Russo at BB. Seems like the world hates the Mad Dog these days. He deserves the abuse, unlike his job. Actually, he's done WFAN a favor by spouting off his idiotic mouth to get attention for the program. Yankee fans are up in arms, and he's the talk of the town. Whatever.

I'd rather be a small fish with integrity...

Hey look ESPN, we take 1st place. I guess it's time for the funeral march music, eh assholes?

most phenomenal bottom of the 9th I 've ever seen. Nothing happened

Why is the guy "ric" not somehow blocked? What is this? This is (was) one of the few places where I could go and not have trolls masturbate all over a discussion.

374 I guess that's why they're trading for Javy Lopez. Though I'm not sure he's much better, these days.

385 We get plenty of Red Sox trolls here. Though usually after the Sox win, not after they lose.

I realize Beckett is probably nowhere near it, but does anyone know the single-season record for home-runs allowed?

I guess ric has moved on to a Mets blog to see what they are saying about Pedro and he'll probably cry himself to sleep tonight between his Nomar sheets...

Burt Blyleven - 50 in 1986

386 He has a .726 OPS, with a .314 OBP and .412 SLG to be exact. That's pathetc. But at least they go back to the "performance" level they had with Varitek.

Blyleven also allowed 46 in 1987 for 3rd place. 2nd place is Jose Lima at 48 HR allowed in 2000.

Ahh, Lima Time!

385 It's up to our gracious host Ken Arneson to lock anybody out, as I understand it.

Ric isn't so bad as trolls go. I can't believe he's killing your buzz tonight.

Buck up. Yanks win, Sox lose.

388 I think Bert Blyleven gave up 50 in 1986

379 Thanks for keeping first place warm for us, fellas - but have your things out by tomorrow & don't come back.

390 You beat me to it Mike. But, hey, aren't you in the future??? You have an advantage.

A few weeks ago, the Boston Globe had an article saying Beckett was on pace to break all records for homers given up. He was on pace to give up 69, or some such ridiculous number. Dunno if that's still true.

395 Yes, and in the future Josh Beckett gives up 51 HR this year! ;)

Oops. Sorry to spoil the ending for you.

399 Don't tell ric, he might just fall off the Red Sox bandwagon...

398 Here it is:

http://tinyurl.com/zayn9

>>Barring injury, Beckett is on pace to shatter Tim Wakefield's club record of 38 in 1996. The major league record is 50, yielded by Minnesota righty Bert Blyleven in 1986. Blyleven needed 271 2/3 innings to give up the 50 bombs. Beckett's projection over 271 2/3 innings comes to a whopping 64 homers.<<

271 2/3 innings? Was he in Torre's bullpen?

Blyleven had a nasty curveball, but when he would hang it...ouch!

402 When in Rome...

402 Good one, seamus

Andrew Jones has been put on waivers... he gets 10 and 5 rights on Aug 15th.

significant?

406 I don't like Jones. He's an enormous fat-ass. To think he once was an incredibly atheltic CF. He still is, but would've been so much more if he had just stayed off the buritos.

The NESN guys (Eck and Caron) were pretty funny in talking about Westbrook being hung out to dry in the eighth and somehow surviving. Guess it's the first time in 18 years that someone has given up 15 hits in a game and won.

I have to think that someone will take a chance on Jones. The Sox probably should at this point. They did nothing at the deadline and their season is starting to slip away.

He's still better than Coco Crisp.

I would have to think that someone below the Sox will take a chance on him though.

Just because he's on waivers doesn't mean he'll be traded. I bet he stays with the Braves.

410 True, but he'd have an impact if someone tried. Unlikely to be dealt though. You're right. Manny was in a similar situation a few years back. Bet the Sox are glad no one wanted that huge contract.

The White Sox/ Red Sox might be interested, though they are around last in the waiver order for him...

I don't believe the Braves will actually let him be claimed, so it's irrelevant who's where in the order. It would be insane to let Andruw Jones go for nothing. He's the best outfielder in baseball, and they have him under contract next year.
They want him to clear, then they'll trade him to the highest bidder, I figure.

411 Mike, but I would think a player of his caliber and the timing of this trade (And the relative urgency for the two parties) will mean that whoever does try to get Jones will need to throw up a hell of a package.

He would pe perfect for Anaheim or Oakland, although Oakland would never pay those dollars. Anaheim should overpay and take the West.

Derek Jeter, VORP Leader. http://tinyurl.com/h8lat

Courtesy nomaas.

WOW. What a year for the captain.

Also, all people old enough should check out the Torre video on nomaas (rated NC-17 for profanity). Quite different from the calm Torre we see today (or is it?)

That Torre video Nomaas is absolute Gold.

418 That has to be a Major League record for the most "That's Fu@kin' Bullsh*t!s" in a single tirade. Vintage Joe.

416 VORP = Value Over Red Papi. Derek Jeter, 2006 AL MVP, nothing more to discuss here.