His ABs are preety weak. It looked like he needed all his strength to get a LD over the 2nd basemans head.

I've accepted that we just don't know what we will get out of hot'n'cold Melky and Cano, but we need both Abreu and JD if we still have a chance at the PS.

Well, at least Nieves is catching today, so we have that going for us...

"The Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow night, the first meeting between the teams since the celebrated incident on May 30 when Alex Rodriguez yelled, "Mine!" to distract their infielders from catching a pop-up."

Good ol' Moose, eh?

Seriously? Is it THAT bad?

And yup - trying to start something - all cause he doesn't like A-Rod.

It's hard to trust a writer when even on the little things they're loose and goose with the facts.

And good thing the Yanks let Pena get away! You know cause they had a great plan for last off-season. Shocking that last year the Yanks had Durazo and Pena and Stinnett and Fasano - and any of those would have been improvements for this year's team.

Fucking Moose... that extra day of rest b/c of the all star game must be sucking the life out of him...

I can't stomach an Igawa game after this.

What's weird is I think it's a commercial that only people watching Extra Innings can see. So, they're advertising something I've already purchased.

And Crawford running at will on Nieves.

But I think this team needs to earn reinforcement first...

Maybe if you punish these assholes it will get through their thick skulls that THEY ARE NOT PART OF THE SHOW.

NOTHING infuriates me like an umpire that wants to be part of the show.

They need:
1) A good young lineup
2) At least one good young pitcher
3) A decent front office not afraid to make interesting moves.
4) A manager that doesn't spin the BFoG wheel.
5) A good blog.

I'm thinking the Brewers or the Padres. But the D-Rays could maybe work too.

You know your catcher sucks when...

Here I'll start:

the other catcher is stealing bases off of him.

2. The team congratulates him when he hits the ball in the air.

That said, it's a bit different when I torture myself from November on and still have to look at Mghdfkg, Cairo, and Nieves to say nothing of Torre and Cashman.

But the Brewers and Padres at least allow me to have a NL team without the bigamy getting too bad.

There's a guy at Dodger Thoughts who thinks that Dioner Navarro should still be the Dodgers backup catcher and considers his trade to be one of the Dodgers worst mistakes.

On any decent team, Cano would be a great #9 hitter.

I could never just ditch this team.

And who said anything about jumping ship?

I'm just going to enjoy the company of a mistress.

....in an independent league.

I'll take it.

Andy, I was wrong.

The TB defense giveth, and taketh away...

I'm glad he got a hit, but that would be an example of a non-quality ab that happened to end well.

Now Mussina will give it might back.

Once again, bad result (swing and miss) is turned into moralizing and dubious analysis of process.

Damn offense, scoring too much at once.

You're all right, though, that swinging and missing on a pitch that clearly fooled him does reveal poor fundamentals and probably moral failing on Phillip's part.

Fun sharing these games with all these brilliant and optimistic guys, eh?

; )

He's just very nonchalant out there

But I'm happy to be corrected and told how the ball should have been played.

As for the situation, I personally would rather Phillips swing more freely there, then try to work a walk for Nieves (who would have proven me wrong anayway).

As for the moralizing, I misread the tone of the various criticisms. But sometimes the sheer incredulity expressed in some posts registers as a sort of moralizing ("How could X even think to do Y in Z situation?").

It's frustating, but it seems to me to happen a lot. Sometimes against the Yankees. Sometime even against Mo. And when that happens, we believe it's because Mo is a great pitcher.

Andy swung at a ball. Big fucking deal.
Ooops! He just forgot to swing at a strike!
What an amazing game!

The Rays TV announcers were trying to defend Upton and claimed the ball did something strange (using the TV replay to make their "case"), but obviously no one's going to be able to trace the arc of a ball on MLB.TV. A shaky fielder over-running the ball sounds more plausible.

That might be stretching the boundaries of the term, but it fits.

And for the record, there is nothing more important the prospects of an Igawa (7+ era) vs. Towers (5+ era) matchup... Yipppeee!

Oh, and by the way, Villone, you and your hanging sliders suck ass.

Upton would be a phenomenal leadoff guy, especially if the alternative is batting him 6th.

Meanwhile, Pena with 3 RBI's today. At least Mhgjkd is almost back.

Remember when Torre said he wasn't even checking to see how Pena was doing in Columbus?

Of course he wasn't. He's not over 30!

I say pop up and double play.

239 But why? They have Villone, Proctor, Myers, Farnsworth, and Vizcaino.

You mean the master Joe Torre won't have him bunting in the 6th, with a one run lead and the bottom of the order on deck?

Don't count on it.

Listen to the AFLAC ads (they just played the one with Yogi). I'm pretty sure they've redubbed them, and that's no longer Gilbert Gottfried's voice as the duck.

I think Joe would rather sign Feller and have him pitch the ninth.

It's like basketball in that way. The Umps and refs get into the game, and the more aggressive you are, the more calls you get.

If only I could believe its only injuries. I wish I did.

Beckett is going deep into the game looking for his 12th win...I hope he wakes up with a hand full of blisters tomorrow.

But he has that really cool 1985 tribal arm band tattoo. Between him and Bruney, some woman should really accompany them to the tattoo parlor to stop them from doing something stupid.

The single best broadcast of the last few years was the game in Baltimore that Singleton had to do solo. It was superb.

How long must we suffer this man?

Joe had round peg sqaure hole syndome. The 8th inning is the hole, and Farny is the peg.

Hey, I live in LA now. Just be happy you don't have to suffer with Vin Scully and his anecdotes about every little stupid fucking detail of every player's life, and continual shots of little girls. I do often wonder why so many shots of the tots. Maybe Vin, umm......

I know OldYanksFan thinks Joe's shit has more baseball knowledeg that I do, but Kyle Farnsworth is not the 8th inning guy. Does he need a road map to tell him that?

Andy just saved Farnsworth's useless ass.

Now it's Phillips.

Cut this man.

Now.

Cut him from the baseball team.

I don't want to see him cast another pitch.

Ever.

Not for us, not against us, I just want to forget he ever existed.

What a play... wow...

If you're willing to use him in the 8th, be willing to use him in the 8th, before the game's lost, not after.

For Christ's sake.

Can we just give him away?

I don't hate him. I mean, I guess he is in many ways a function of the fans out here. It is the only stadium I have ever been in where I was screamed at for standing up and cheering for the home team down by 1 with runners at third and second with one out in the ninth. I was obstructing some poor fat Dodger fan's view.

Dunno about the shots of little girls, but I seriously doubt that's Scully's doing. He's not a cameraman, and he doesn't run the video board.

2) Why does Chris Britton toil in the minors while guys like Myers serve no use?

3) Why isn't Nieves released and replaced with anyone?

These are three simple questions that shouldn't exist for this team. The solutions are simple, but nothing gets done. Why?

Did you know that Reuter has a barn/wood shed where he hangs out with his buddies and teammates? Sheesh. Scully is awful. But like I said, the fans know less about baseball than an old shoe, so he has to play to his audience.

That being said. Would I take Scully over McCarver, umm, oh hell yes!

XX
Isn't that damning with aint praise? Is Abe saying that when Jeter gets up with the baseloaded in a close game, he usually hits a weak ground ball?

Roung peg......square hole. Joe should name his book about managing that.

Alex!

That was (if you'll pardon the expression) Jeterian.

What amazing instincts.

I'd also take Scully over Kay.

Thanks, that what I thought. Strange that the team would take that position with the best closer of all time, and then show weakness with Alex mid-season. Hmm. But at least Mo said he wouldn't go to the Sox.

I wonder why Jorge doesnt want to talk. Does he want to feel out the market? Or has the atmosphere changed, and he might not want to stay around?

380 Exactly.

2-1.

Thats not good news, on so many levels.

And the Cubbies have made up 5 1/2 on the Bewers in three weeks. Oh wait, they have a manager. My bad.

Ha!

"There's nothing to talk about; I'm going to wait until the offseason, anyway," Posada said. "There's no sense for me to negotiate something now when I can wait and see what happens. I want to wait."

"This is the only team I've ever known and the only team I'd like to play for," Posada said. "But if they don't want me here, I'm not going to come back here."

But he's still maybe the best in the game offensively. Why wouldnt they want him back? "Now batting, your catcher, Michael Barrett?"

Problem is: Would Torre ever give Hughes a Game 4 ahead of Moose?

Dude! Will you come and please clean my carpet? I just spit my juice all over the place.

Joe Torre, give the pitcher who gives you the best chance to win a start late in a series? Have you gone mad? Mad I tell you.

The rotation is what it is and He'll stick with it.

It is pretty sad when you get out-managed by Bob Brenly. Terry Francona I can see, he is better than Joe even with the flu, a concussion, and taking Vicodin, but Brenly?

I know I've beat this dead horse before, but Game 7, in 2004, was the last day I had any faith that Joe Torre had or has the slightest clue how to manage a playoff series. I was even willing to give him Game 7 against the D'Backs. I mean Mo never breaks any bats, best to call the infield in. Square peg-round hole. Because quite frankly, he doesn't have the slightest clue.

...and...

I agree. But it speaks to a methodology. Moose on 3 days rest. A healthy Duque at 90%, or Vasquez. And he starts Brown? The guy who no one could get through to over 162 games? It speaks to his way of doing things, and its horriblt horribly flawed.

Is there anyone in the game, now that McKeon is gone, that doesnt use the silly pitch count, innings role garbage?

I agree with that theory. What I dont get, is that if I beleieve, as many should, that most middle relievers are interchangeable, why do the Yankees refuse to use guys like Ramirez, or give Henn and Britton aother chance? They do apear willing to give Karstens a chance. But one bad outing, and he goes back to the pine for Villone and Farny, and that is the problem.

The Dodgers really want Proctor. Why? Who knows? But do they have something we can use? Kent is in a contract year. He would make a fine fine DH, moving JD to 1B. As it appears no deal will be made for Dunn or Texiera.

I dont buy that Duque was burned. He was on the roster, and had expressed verbally that he was ready to go, and I believed him. What was the worst that could happen? You already knew what Brown was going to give you. And at second best, he could have at least sent Mussina out there on three days rest. I guess there is no use in dragging this out, I just dont think Joe has a clue what to do in the platoffs.

I would have started Duque and hoped for the best, with Moose and Brown available. He hadn't ever done a great job in the PS for us had he?

418 Friends don't let friends watch ESPN period.

But none of the top managers would have trotted out Kevin Brown. I guess that's my point.

And going into that game, we didn't have the game seven stats. What we did was Vazquez coming off a second half where he gave up 61 runs (all earned, funny enough. Rare to see that) in 79.1 IP, combined with a playoff run where gave up nine runs in 9.1 IP.

The Yanks blew it but that they were ever in a position to win it was even more surprising. Even looking back - the Sox had a top three of Pedro, Schilling and Lowe, plus Wakefield.

I agree. We have to shoot for the Division. Minnesota is very very good, and I dont see us leapfrogging 4 teams, but what do I know?

Wait, I know that Posh spice looks pretty nasty in HD. What was Beckham thinking?

They were two horrific options. Both guys would have lost the game, and as it turns out, both did everything they could to lose that game.

This is why they play 'em, and why we watch...

Assuming we take care of biz on this end ;-)

Trade deadline moves may be real interesting this year...

That's for sure. I thought Duque was a no brainer. He still had Brown and Mussina to go to. Even Vasquez. Would have been the Cuban pitching version of Kirk Gibson. He still contends to this day that he was good to go, and I believe him. But Joe will always take the known quantity over the unknown, even if its the worst possible option. I still wonder why they didn't just sign him for a song. We could have locked him up for 10 freakin' years for what we spent on Pavano that very same off-season. Talk about injury concerns! He was so bad for Chicago in the PS after all. I'd take him in a game seven tomorrow, even 3 years later.

I know that records are records and nothing can be done to change that, but given the lowered mound some 30 years ago and much smaller ballparks, that the Babe and Mays cant really be compared to today's players, or Hank Aaron for that matter.

Has anyone ever done a workup as to how Ruth's HR numbers stack up against Bonds or Aaron, given the distance that the ball actually had to travel? I wouldn't think anyone would have reached even 600 HR if the dimensions had stayed constant. I mean the Japanese record is what, like 850? I got to thinking after ESPN made a huge deal out of a HR that travelled 460 Ft. today, which didn't strike me as all that far, well, not far enough to make a big deal out of it.

Am I crazy?

Zach,

My prediction is that so long as the team continues to win series, Edwar won't see much if any work. It doesn't matter how badly middle relief performs, so long as the team wins, Joe won't give him a chance. I am still happy for him though, at least he is earning league minimum to ride the pine. However, you are correct, we aren't helping him by not getting him any work. Maybe the dinger off Villone, Proctor reverting to the guy who just throws fastballs and won't throw anything else for a strike, and two days of Farns being Farns will get Edwar some work, but only if things get so bad he has no choice. Overreact when things are bad, and keep status quo so long as W's keep coming, the Torre way.

There is no reason to think that if he learns not to overuse the change-up, he cant be nore effective three days a week than anyone in our bullpen. Joe was the same guy who was more than reluctant to use Mariano Rivera. And if Rivera lobbying Joe to get Edwar some work doesn't get it done, I don't know what will. Oh yes I do, losing 5 of 7 will do it.

Anyone catch Strawberry's and Lofton's comments? It is amazing that refusing to play LOfton because well, he was rotten at the time, will lead a grown man to accuse someone of racism. That is no better or worse than using the N word to describe someone. Lofton and Sheffield should be treated as if they were white players who had done just that, but there is about as much a chance of that as there is of the NY Times running a caricature of Mohammed.

Meanwhile, look at what Lofton continues to do. He would have been a better, and much cheaper option, than Damon as he's a better player - not just this year but for each of the last three years. But for whatever reason, Joe never gave him a solid chance (IMO because he couldn't let go of Bernie). Who knows why?