But when are the Belth nuptials? And where will the romantic honeymoon be? Antwerp?

Buono fortuna, and have a great luna di miele!

Looking forward to your Yankees 2006 ALCS posts.

January - football playoffs are starting, Giants are making a run to the Super Bowl, Knicks are starting to heat up (wishful thinking, I know), hot stove, hmm...maybe not this month.

February - NCAA conference championships are starting, Super Bowl has now been moved to this month and Jints are playing the Colts, Knicks are about to show their superiority over the Atlantic division, pitchers and catchers report, hmmm...maybe not this month.

March - Jints won the Super Bowl last month, spring training, prepping for fantasy baseball draft, March Madness, hmmm...maybe not this month either.

April - Start of the baseball season, NCAA championship game, pro football draft, Knicks are locking up the division and the best record in East. Not this month either...

May - Knicks are in full swing, they are playing crisp basketball and look poised to win a championship, Yankees are looking good and there's a 6 game series against Boston. Not this month either.

June - Knicks are playing the Lakers in the championship, nuff said...not a good month to think about a wedding.

July - Knicks have already won it all, but the Yanks have a series against the Mets, Angels, A's and Red Sox before the trading deadline. I don't know if I can be preoccupied with wedding plans....so not a good month either.

August - The Yanks are really taking off, Eli is looking good for the Jints. Not a good month either.

September - The Yanks are battling for the AL East crown against the Blue Jays and Red Sox and there are 6 games remaining against each team. The Giants open up against Philly, Dallas and the Patriots...the wedding will just have to wait.

October - The Yanks are in the Serious. Nuff said....no wedding plans this month.

November - Yanks won the serious. Giants play the Cowboys and Skins at home and if they win those two then they win the NFC East. The Knicks are back on the tube and ready to defend their NBA Championship. My mom won't let me disappear away from the family for Thanksgiving, so the wedding will just have to wait.

December - The Giants lost last month against the Cowboys, they are in a two way tie for the NFC East and they have four tough games in December. The Knicks were 12 - 4 in November and we don't want to disrupt the karma, so wedding plans will just have to wait.....

....wait a second I have no more month's left. I guess I ain't getting married.

Nevertheless, good luck to you Cliff and I wish you all the happiness in the world. How ever did he find time to get married? And still keep us abreast of each upcoming Yankee opponent. Sorry Alex, Cliff is the MVP this year.... :-). Just kidding...you both have done wonderful work.

May or June it is...

Cliff and Becky, congrats!
Enjoy Italy and your life together!

You know, I just remembered that Thomas is their coach this year. Anyhow, those are my excuses and I'm sticking with the script or else I'm afraid as to what I might miss.

He eventually was driven off the field with what appeared to be a leg injury."

Poor Nick. Injuries just seem to find him.

It looked horrible. Does anyone have word or news on his condition? I always liked Nick and thought he was going to be our guy for a long time. Hope he can get over this one.

Randy Johnson P

I've always liked Nick, too. Kinda like "Once an Ag, always an Ag" at Texas A&M; once a Yankee, always a Yankee, at least in my mind. I even keep an eye on the ones who weren't very good, like Tony Womack.

The highest praise he's received since the '01 World Series.

Experience

He may be game 2 because they want Mussina in a possible elimination Game 3, but Johnson will not be the Game 1 starter.

I can see Bernie as the main backup CFer. But what about a LIDR for him? Joe trusted Bubba, but doesn't seem to trust anyone else. Given how fragile Damon is (prone to unexpected weird injuries, just before or during a game), it's something that should be addressed. Now is the time to see if Guiel or Thompson can handle it.

Last year he did start Crosby in centerfield because he needed defense (though that backfired...if Bernie were in center, no one is anywhere near Sheff to collide with him).

He has benched players such as Tino in post season games when he knows someone else is performing better.

And, all season long he has been praising the efforts of Wang. I would be absolutely shocked if Johnson is the Game 1 starter. I would prefer him to be the Game 3 starter, but wouldn't be surprised to see him start Game 2. (Though, I think having him start Game 2 is a defensive move, instead of an offensive move...it says he trusts Mussina over Johnson in an elimination game...which isn't unfounded, but is still defensive as if he is almost EXPECTING an elimination game).

However, given Wang's home/road splits, I think it'd make sense, if we somehow don't get home field in the first rd, to think about starting Rj in game 1, since his record is significantly better on the road this year, and his era is a notch better as well. With Moose in Game 2, where he could come up with a big hold if we lose game 1, and Wang ready to go in game 3 at the Stadium.

And he pinch-hit Sierra for Bubba in that last game. Even though Bubba was 2 for 3 with an RBI and a stolen base that night. And Sierra was batting something like .150 for the past month, while Bubba was batting .320.

Mussina, meanwhile, has pitched 24.2 innings in the Metrodome over the last four seasons (including this one), giving up 15 earned runs, compared to 38 innings and 18 earned runs overall versus the Twins.

If you want to consider that a trend, I'd start Mussina in game 1 at YS, and avoid Wang on the turf for game 2. That leaves RJ in Minnesota for Game 3, but if its 2-0 Twins, the Yanks have worse problems than who starts the game...

But none of that matters as Mr. Creaky Back has handed TB a 3-0 lead.

He's not in post season form yet, he's only given up 3 runs man, not 6, yet!

Buerhle, Silva, and Beckett are at the top. 36, 36, 34 respectively.

my sarcasm is dripping like Niagra Falls tonight...

So, yeah, being down 2-0 in a 3 game series is pretty tough, even if Silva and Radke are the next 2 pitchers. Luckily we won't have to deal with that scenario this season.

Echoing Jim Kaat, it's the Twins and Tigers who have more of a right to worry about who won't have to face the Yankees, rather than vice versa. Regardless of who the opponent is, if the Yankees don't perform to an elite level on offense, defense, and pitching... they're not going to win any playoff series. And if we are to believe that this team can with the whole thing, then we should believe that they are capable of taking out any postseason opponent... and they are capable of that.

Santana's a great pitcher, but he is not the whole team. The Twins' weak hitting lineup will decide more than one starting pitcher.

catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/515295.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260529106

or perhaps this game:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=260831110

where he took a no hitter into the seventh...

I think you'll actually see him start to whip the ball around in about a week, for the record.

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