Baseball Toaster: Bronx Banter : Can't Buy A Thrill

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W. Betemit BR BP E MLB mi
C. Ransom BR BP E MLB mi
J. Miranda BR BC mi

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B. Abreu BR BP E MLB
J. Damon BR BP E MLB
X. Nady BR BP E MLB
H. Matsui BR BP E MLB mi
B. Gardner BR E MLB mi
M. Cabrera BR BP E MLB mi

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I. Rodriguez BR BP E MLB
J. Molina BR BP E MLB
C. Moeller BR BP E MLB mi
F. Cervelli BR BC mi

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M. Mussina BR BP BC E
A. Pettitte (L) BR BP BC E
P. Hughes BR BP BC E mi
C. Pavano BR BP BC E mi
A. Aceves BR E mi

Relief Pitchers:
M. Rivera BR BP BC E
J. Chamberlain BR BP BC E
D. Marte (L) BR BP BC E
J. Veras BR BP BC E mi
E. Ramirez BR BP BC E mi
B. Bruney BR BP BC E mi
D. Giese BR BP BC E mi
C. Britton BR BP BC E mi
P. Coke (L) BR BC E mi
D. Rasner BR BP BC E mi
S. Ponson BR BP BC E mi
D. Robertson BR BC E mi
H. Sanchez BC mi

15-day DL:
C. Wang BR BP BC E
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J. Posada BR BP E MLB
J. Albaladejo BR BP BC E mi
A. Brackman BC

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J. Girardi (Mgr) BR BP BC
R. Thomson (Bench) BC
Kevin Long (Hit) BR
D. Eiland (Pitch) BR BP BC
B. Meacham (3B) BR BP BC
T. Peña (1B) BR BP BC
M. Harkey (Pen) BR BP BC

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AAA
S. Duncan BR BP E MLB mi
J. Christian BR BP E MLB mi
I. Kennedy BR BP BC E mi
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J. Marquez BR BC mi

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Select Minor Leaguers:

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B. Castro BR mi DL
C. Basak BR BP BC E MLB mi
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N. Green BR mi
B. Broussard BR mi
M. Carson BC mi
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J.B. Cox BC mi
S. Strickland BR BC mi
S. Jackson BC mi
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V. Zambrano BR BC mi DL

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K. Russo BR mi
R. Peña BC mi DL
C. Malec BC mi
M. Vechionacci BC mi DL
A. Jackson BC mi
C. Curtis BC mi
E. Gonzalez BR mi
P.J. Pilittere BC mi
J. Jones BC mi
G. Kontos BC mi
J. Nuñez BC mi
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K. Whelan BC mi
W. Arias (L) BC mi

A Tampa Yankees:
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K. Anson BC mi
J. Gil BC mi
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Z. McAllister BC mi
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C. Garcia BC mi

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J. Snyder BC mi
M. Cusick BC mi
B. Suttle BC mi
A. Romine BC mi
J. Montero BC mi
D. Betances BC mi
J. Heredia BC mi
J. Ortiz BC mi
C. Heyer BC mi

Low-A Staten Island Yankees:
D. Adams mi
P. Venditte mi

Rookie Gulf Coast Yankees:
C. Joseph mi
C. Smith mi
K. Higashioka mi

Key:
BR = Baseball-Reference
BP = Baseball Prospectus
BC = Baseball Cube (past mL stats)
mi = MiLB.com (current mL stats)
E = ESPN (current splits, game logs)
MLB = MLB.com hit charts
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R. Ohlendorf BR BP BC E
D. McCutchen BC mi

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J. Lane BR mi BOS mL
G. Porter BC mi WAS mL
J.D. Closser BR mi SD mL
S. Henn (L) BR BP BC E mi SD
H. Phillips (L) BR BC mi TB mL
S. White BR BC mi

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J. Torre (Mgr) BR BP BC LAD
D. Mientkiewicz BR BP BC E MLB PIT
A. Phillips BR BP BC E MLB mi CIN
J. Phelps BR BP BC E MLB STL
M. Cairo BR BP BC E MLB SEA
K. Thompson BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT
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R. Clemens BR BP BC E mi
T. Clippard BR BP BC E mi WAS
L. Vizcaino BR BP BC E COL $7.5m/2yrs
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R. Villone (L) BR BP BC E mi STL
S. Proctor BR BP BC E LAD
J. Brower BR BP BC E mi CIN mL
C. Bean BR BP BC E mi ATL mL

2007 Campers and mLers:
E. Durazo BR BP BC E MLB mi
A. Cannizaro BR BP BC E MLB mi TB mL
A. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi LAD mL
K. Reese BR BP BC E MLB mi
R. Chavez BR BP BC E MLB mi PIT mL
O. Santos BC mi BAL mL
T. Pratt BR BP BC E MLB
T.J. Beam BR BP BC E mi PIT mL
B. Kozlowski (L) BR BP BC E mi Japan

Molina Trade:
J. Kennard BC mi

Abreu Trade
M. Smith (L) BR BP BC E mi PHI
C. Monasterios BC mi PHI
J. Sanchez mi PHI

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Can't Buy A Thrill

2007-09-15 14:19

by Cliff Corcoran

"It's hard times befallen/The sole survivors"

Josh Beckett wears number 19 on his back and now he's got a matching figure on his ledger as he dropped a gem on the Yankees to earn his major league-leading 19th win of the season. Beckett held the Yankees to three hits and just six base runners while striking out seven in seven innings, the one blemish on his line being a solo homer to dead center by Derek Jeter in the first inning. That would be the only run the Yanks would score all evening as Mike Timlin and Bryan Corey swept up the final two innings.

Chien-Ming Wang, meanwhile, was off his game. Wild up in the zone, Wang gave up singles to three of the first four batters he faced to allow the Red Sox to tie the game in the first. In the third he walked the bases loaded with two outs as David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and J.D. Drew took 16 straight pitches (only four were strikes), but Jason Varitek swung at the first pitch and popped out to preserve the tie. Wang worked a 1-2-3 fifth, but all three outs came on fly balls to center (he'd have more fly ball outs than ground ball outs on the night). Wang got Dustin Pedroia to ground out to start the fifth, but after getting ahead 0-2 on Kevin Youkilis, he lost one up and in which caught Youkilis in the back wrist. The Jewish God of Squawks immediately flew in to his usual cursing and complaining routine and left the game with what was ultimately diagnosed as a bruise. Fleet-footed rookie Jacoby Ellsbury was put in to run and eventually came around to score on singles by Ortiz and Drew, giving the Sox a one-run lead after five.

Things got worse in the sixth. Erik Hinske, who had started in left and moved to first after Youkilis left the game, led off the sixth with a double. Coco Crisp followed with a single to center that pushed Hinske to third. After a Julio Lugo fly out, Crisp took second uncontested. Pedroia then grounded to Robinson Cano who was pulled in to try to cut off the run. He did just that. Despite Jorge Posada gesturing for him to go to first, Cano whipped a throw home which Posada caught as he fell to his knees and got positively flattened by Hinske. Hinske hit Posada high across the chest with a forearm, knocking Jorge's mask and helmet clean off, but Posada held the ball for the second out of the inning. It was all for naught, however, as Crisp took third on the play, Pedroia stole second uncontested, and Ellsbury and Ortiz singled them both home, with Ellsbury scoring from first on Ortiz's single as Jorge Posada, despite perfectly blocking the plate, forgot to actually make the tag. That made it 5-1 and drove Wang from the game.

In the seventh, Edwar Ramirez, who had struck out Mike Lowell to end the sixth, walked J.D. Drew, then struck out Jason Varitek, then was inexplicably pulled so that Ron Villone, who hadn't faced a major league batter since August 21, could pitch to the lefty Hinske. Villone, of course, walked Hinske on five pitches. Torre then called in Brian Bruney, who earned the lineup card the night before with a crucial scoreless inning that set up the big comeback. On this night, however, he gave up a ground rule double down the right field line to Coco Crisp that scored Drew, and walked Lugo on four pitches before striking out Pedroia. Torre then tried another lefty matchup with Sean Henn, whose only major league appearance since being recalled saw him fail to get an out on Friday night, against Ellsbury and Ortiz. Henn gave up a two-RBI single to Ellsbury to officially put the game out of reach at 9-1, then walked Ortiz to load the bases for good measure. That allowed Torre to go to Ross Ohlendorf, who walked Mike Lowell to force in a run on four pitches, but then proceeded to strike out four of the next five batters he faced (though he did also allow a solo homer to Hinske in the eighth).

Somewhat fittingly, Bronson Sardinha made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the eighth, then, in his first major league plate appearance, swung at the first pitch and ground into a game-ending double play in the ninth. Final score 10-1 Sox, who erased any lingering doubts about their winning the division with the victory.

Elsewhere in the Cy Young race, Johan Santana gave up four runs in the first inning to the Tigers, who currently hold a 4-2 lead in Minnesota in the bottom of the fifth.

Saying that FOX is terrible at broadcasting baseball games is like saying that puppies are cute. There's no one left to convince, but the first inning of today's game provided a sharp contrast between FOX and the outstanding job that the YES Network does. As Bobby Abreu fought the sun in right field, Tim McCarver made several references to Lou Piniella's stab play in the Bucky Dent game in 1978, but FOX never ran the clip, even after Abreu made a similar (though not nearly as miraculous) stop on a ball he cleary couldn't see. YES would have shown that replay on first mention. What's more, McCarver kept talking about how Abreu was shielding his eyes with his glove prior to each pitch, but it took FOX took several pitches to show a shot of Abreu, finally doing so in a split-screen just as Wang was delivering a pitch, reducing Lowell's game-tying RBI single to a box half the size of the screen. YES would have shown Abreu immediately, doing so between pitches, then cutting back to the full-screen center field camera shot as Wang kicked and delivered.

Pete Abe piles on:

"I see Dane Cook in the Fox booth. What a time to not have a hand grenade. I remember hearing about him last year, wondering what all the fuss was about and then watching his show on HBO. It was brutal.

I used to get comedy albums when I was a kid. Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Rodney Dangerfield. Those guys were funny. Dane Cook is like a drunk guy at a bar at 2 a.m. who thinks he's funny and he's not.

But some marketing whiz at MLB figures he's down with the kids and they hire him to do promos. You know who should do promos? Roberto DeNiro. Everybody likes DeNiro. Or Denzel Washington. Who doesn't like him? Get Jay-Z. But Dane Cook?"

Or Don Cheadle, who did a great job with those NFL promos. What Pete fails to mention is that Dane Cook and MLB on FOX were made for each other, both are loud and completely unqualified to do what they're doing.

Comments (98)

Show/Hide Comments 1-50

2007-09-15 17:46:28

1. yankz

"What Pete fails to mention is that Dane Cook and MLB on FOX were made for each other, both are loud and completely unqualified to do what they're doing."

One of the most perfect sentences ever written.

Denzel doing promos- seriously, how cool would that be?

To wash the taste of this one out, I'm guessing this will please quite a few people (judging by the game thread)- Jessica Alba on Conan:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pampOkNqkdY

2007-09-15 17:52:48

2. ny2ca2dc

This was a brutal game, totally bewildering bullpen moves. Game wouldn't have been won anyway, but just a classic example of why our good friend Joe Torre can not manage a bullpen. Apparently every single guy in the bullpen needed to pitch the 7th. Just totally inexplicable. Cliff's writing, for some reason, helps calm the nerves though. Reading an elegant recap and skewering helps a lot. Watching ESPN with Dusty Baker & Sutcliff last night, it was possibly worse. Though ESPN at least has Erin Andrews.

2007-09-15 17:54:41

3. yankz

As if Game 3 of the 04 ALCS wasn't enough, last night proves there's no such thing as momentum in baseball.

2007-09-15 17:54:44

4. Sliced Bread

Couple other fitting Steely titles for this evening:

The Boston Rag (siddown, and shaddup, Youk)
My Rival (long distance dedication from Wang to Beckett)
Dirty Work (lookin' at you Hinske)
Everyone's Gone To The Movies (including our bullpen)
Pretzel Logic (how many pitchers did we use again?)

oh, and one for McCarver et al:
Only A Fool Would Say That

2007-09-15 18:17:27

5. weeping for brunnhilde

And I been up all night, mama, leaning on the window sill.

2007-09-15 18:24:54

6. BklynBmr

The Cuervo Gold and fine Columbian did not make this afternoon a wonderful thing...

But it helped.

2007-09-15 18:26:20

7. Sliced Bread

5 Steely probably did nick their album title from that Dylan lyric, weeping. Never thought of that.

2007-09-15 18:36:01

8. BklynBmr

Had the good fortune to serve as a 'third engineer' on Babylon Sisters — at least the three tracks they recorded at the studio I was working. 'Hey You' was my official title, but vividly recall many a conversation with Donald Becker about the Yanks. True fan, and a real down to earth guy. Not a bad musician, either...

2007-09-15 18:41:00

9. Cliff Corcoran

8 Hot damn. Small world, I guess. I was just discussing that track with Alex on IM this afternoon (it was he who put the Steely Dan seed in my head with "Hey Nineteen").

BTW, Twins are within one at 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Santana's still in the game and has struck out seven.

2007-09-15 18:43:24

10. yankz

Man, all this Cook-bashing has put me in a comedy mood. YouTube has some great standup clips.

2007-09-15 18:52:02

11. BklynBmr

9 Great job on the headers! Both unassailable! As usual, the writeups weren't bad either ;-)

2007-09-15 19:07:58

12. Max

Tigers win. Things look really bad now with the worst pitching matchup of the weekend coming up tomorrow. I just hope we can beat up on the dregs of our division the rest of the week.

2007-09-15 19:13:50

13. Sliced Bread

8 You gotta have some skills yourself, Brooklyn. They only work with the best, and you worked a couple deep tracks. Top of their game.

2007-09-15 19:39:57

14. Matt B

8 Hmmm...trying to figure out how to work in "Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)."

And here's a choice lyric snippet for the Bostonians:
"I hear you are singing a song of the past
I see no tears
I know that you know it may be the last
For many years"

Dig it.

2007-09-15 19:48:25

15. Sliced Bread

They've got to clog Schilling's blow-hole with base-runners right away. Blood, and panic in the water will quickly arouse what's left of Rocket's kill instinct.
Immediately drag Schilling to shallow water with walks, basehit bunts, and stolen bases. Pierce the blubber with consecutive RBI doubles. Drag him to shore, and go Eskimo on him. But let him suffer at least until the fourth or fifth.

And let's have Shelley Fronkenshteen replace Godzilla at DH for one day, shall we?

2007-09-15 19:56:19

16. BklynBmr

13 Many thanks, Sliced. That was another lifetime, though. And I did it backwards. Music biz in NY, then moved to LA and ended up in advertising.

The Steely sessions were definitely the highlight of my short career. If I could use one word to describe their approach it would be 'meticulous'. You're absolutely correct in them working with the best. The "studio musicians" for those tracks included the Brecker brothers, Mark Knopfler, Hugh McCracken, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd, Tom Scott, Rick Marotta, Larry Carlton and more. Talk about a 'moiderers row'. Holy cow!

For one track, we had to rent a Fender Rhodes (electric piano), had it delivered from SIR (Studio Instrument Rental), and I recall producer Gary Katz rejecting it, citing 'distortion' in a minor key that no one else could hear. Studio tech support was called in, hooked up some signal testing equipment, and sure enough he was right. That was a long night, but illustrative of how buttoned down they were...

Then reality sunk in, as the next sessions I got assigned to were The Village People. I kid you not...

2007-09-15 20:03:45

17. Bama Yankee

With all the Steely Dan talk, I gotta chime in with one of my favorites:

They've got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues.

I certainly was feeling the Deacon Blues after the loss to the Red Sox and it got worse after Bama blew a 21 point lead against Arkansas. But the Tide didn't fold completely and pulled it out for a 41-38 win. At least the day was not a total loss. Play it again, Steely...

2007-09-15 20:07:47

18. Matt B

Oh, and don't get me or Alex started on comedy albums. That's already lead to an epic thread or two.

2007-09-15 20:12:41

19. Sliced Bread

16 Yo, I'm no fan, but The Village People had a great brassy sound. Those recordings held up.

Damn, that is some roster for your Steely sessions.

2007-09-15 20:15:57

20. BklynBmr

17 In yet another example of how Bronx Banter has connected all of us on some level, I immediately thought of you when I flipped over to ESPN after the game and saw 'Bama up, 21-0. "Well, at least I know someone who's gonna be partially happy today"... what a crazy game, though!

2007-09-15 20:29:44

21. BklynBmr

19 One time, the studio front office made me change my 'Disco Sucks' t-shirt, so I'm feelin' ya. ;-)

You're right again. The strings and horns sessions for Village People tracks were incredible. I thought we were recording the f'n London Symphony Orchestra...

12 I dunno. We haven't done too bad vs The Schill this year. 16 earned runs in 25 innings, 35 hits, 8 HRs and a BA of .337. His ERA against us is 5.76. If Rocket is feelin' no pain, and maybe thinkin' this might be his final appearance in Beantown, he just might get us into the 7th in good shape. Here's hopin' for that...

2007-09-15 20:37:39

22. JeremyM

20 Well, my Huskers are getting their doors blasted off. I guess Joba's pre-game speech for the big screen he recorded didn't do any good:)

Yanks need to rock Schilling early and often tomorrow.

2007-09-15 20:47:40

23. Bama Yankee

20 You ain't kiddin'... that was one crazy game, indeed. I thougt we were going to be able to coast once we got that 21 point lead (on two different occasions), but Arkansas just kept coming back.

That Darren McFadden is one tough running back. He should be in the pros right now. Watching him tonight reminded me of watching A-Rod when he is locked in and raking. They seem to play on a higher plane than everyone else.

G'night all, I'm out. We'll get 'em tomorrow...
Roll Tide and Go Yankees!!!!!!

2007-09-15 20:51:37

24. BklynBmr

22 Wow, just saw the score. I'm not a huge college ball fan, but there was some enteraining smack going back and forth on Jim Rome radio this week. "Corn vs Porn", etc. I was pulling for Nebraska, though... Musburger just talking about Joba now, saying dad Harlan was an usher at Memorial Stadium...

14 Nice. Very nice...

2007-09-15 20:55:51

25. yankz

23 That was indeed a great game.

Great day all around for football.

2007-09-15 21:19:06

26. yankz

Oof. Nomaas is way too rough on Wang.

2007-09-15 21:40:14

27. Max

21 I try to be optimistic, but expecting the Rocket to go 7 innings really strikes me as fantasy. Five innings and 3 runs allowed will be just fine with me. Edwar, Joba, Viz, Mo to follow.

We haven't really hit well lately, and the blowhard pitching on the other side does seem to manage to hold us down at the most inopportune times. I don't think he'll meltdown against us, though i'd love to be wrong.

2007-09-15 21:54:21

28. BklynBmr

26 Their web programming skills are even rougher. The site is a mess, at least on any Mac browser. If they had $200 dollars to burn, they should hire a designer...

27 Clarification: Hoping for the best, Roger completes six, keeps us in the game, and then hands it to Joba/Mo for the close. Five innings and a close one? I'll take that, too. We can, have, and should hit Big Mouth...

2007-09-15 22:41:05

29. thelarmis

16 wow, that's highly impressive, brooklyn! of course, as a professional drummer, steve gadd is a hero of mine. i'm also a huge fan of the brecker bros and tom scott, etc.

i hate to admit it, but i am NOT a steely dan fan in the slightest. i actually have a bunch of musician friends that are in my corner, too. i dunno, it's just too 'safe' for me. it's like they oughtta know better. they have like the best musicians in the world with them and some of the tunes are very well written, but it's so...vanilla. and square.

anyway, that's just me. still, an unbelievable work experience. thanks for sharing! if you did similar work on the left coast you probably could've worked with drummers john guerin and jeff porcaro (RIP both)...

2007-09-15 22:54:09

30. thelarmis

1 thanks for the alba link, yankz! : ) i know no one will believe me, but i swear i saw a handful of girls tonite in downtown atlanta that were equally as ridiculously beautiful. too bad they don't go for long-haired jazz drummers. oh well...

can't say i'm too happy about today's happenings in baseball. we're still up on detroit by 3 in the loss column, but they just got to santana and won 4 in a row. i'm definitely sweating it. tomorrow is pretty much a must win and we really need to beat up on the shitty teams the last 2 weeks of the season. go Rocket, go scott baker!!!

2007-09-15 22:57:34

31. yankz

30 You're right dude, I don't believe you ;)

I'm sweating it too. Personally, those "Postseason Odds" things jump around so much that I basically throw them out the window.

I don't know, though. It's been so long that the Yanks haven't been in October that I don't even know what it'd be like. But I think I'd recover. I guess since I've been mentally preparing for it since 05, when things looked extremely bleak. Am I alone? Would anyone pull a Chris Crocker?

2007-09-15 23:06:43

32. thelarmis

that's cool you're up, bro! i never sleep... : ~

yeah, it's probably just me - i've got a MAJOR thing for blondes. so, in reality the ones i saw have nothing on jessica alba, but to me, i lose all sensibility in the presence of a freakin' barbie doll look-a-like...

i hear ya, it's been ages since we haven't played in October. it's not a birthright, but it does almost seem like a given. since '05, folks here at the Banter have mentioned how they'd give up the postseason one year to work in some of the kids. well, it looks like we can possibly have the best of both worlds here in 07 (as long as Joe doesn't call on Henn anymore...). personally, i'd be mortified if we don't make it to the playoffs. it would completely crush me...

2007-09-15 23:12:08

33. yankz

32 Yeah man, I've got about half an hour left in me. I think as long as Boston doesn't win, I'd be ok. And it has nothing to do with their players (though Papelbon, Youk, Pedroia, Beckett...ok, it has a little to do with their players). But mostly, the fans will just get even more obnoxious. I mean, Dane Cook and a million of his followers acting all smug? Yuck.

2007-09-15 23:17:03

34. thelarmis

i don't like anything about the entire boston organization - players, front office, ballpark, colors, logos, fans. any of it. no matter what, october will be easier to take if they don't win. i don't think they will. but i would be completely shattered if we don't earn a postseason berth...

i hear ya, i can't pull an all-nighter tonite. i'm totaled and have another gig tomorrow afternoon, 1.5 hours away in the north georgia mountains. finally, today the southern heat broke. i hope for cooler temperatures the end of sept. when i go visit the fam in NY. it's a shame the Yanks will be in Tampa when i'm home. them the breaks...

2007-09-16 00:42:27

35. nemecizer

Man, we've gone from euphoria to despair in 24 hours.

It's one game, folks, we'll bounce back. If we don't call me a liar, but we'll be in the post-season soon.

Sheesh.

2007-09-16 01:40:05

36. ric

1-1- yet- starters=pinata- 2-0.

2007-09-16 06:18:32

37. Sliced Bread

NY Daily News has a great interview with Bernie this morning about life after baseball.

http://tinyurl.com/2z8s6w

Use the link if you'd prefer to avoid cursory contact with dickweed Lupica's ode to Beckett.

Looks like Posada is OK.

2007-09-16 06:37:50

38. vockins

29 As another professional drummer, I am totally with you on the Steely Dan assessment. I'll go farther and declare that I despise them.

That's why they make chocolate and vanilla.

2007-09-16 06:45:14

39. Sliced Bread

I can see how Steely Dan would do nothing for drummers, but I completely disagree about the vanilla thing.

2007-09-16 08:00:44

40. Matt B

39 Odd, then, when thinking of the great drummers who played on Steely Dan albums...Purdie, Porcaro, Gadd, etc.

And yeah, I don't get the vanilla idea either. I can see how someone would say they sound too clean, or perhaps cold. The lyrics are way too subversive to be vanilla.

2007-09-16 08:14:29

41. yankz

Only a dumbass Sox fan would talk shit after Friday's game.

37 Man, I miss him. I hope he comes back in some capacity soon.

2007-09-16 08:27:43

42. rsmith51

Well, Johan and Wang both took a step back in the Cy race. Looks like it is between Sabathia and Beckett, with Beckett the front runner among the voters. I would choose C.C., but that is just me.

2007-09-16 08:34:45

43. Zack

The Cy Young race at least deserves to be close between Sabathia and Beckett, but I somehow doubt it will be. Their #s are about even, though Sabathia has pitched a LOT more innings. But Beckett pitches in Boston, which is big market for baseball, and mlb has been pushing him ever since 2003 as a superstar...

2007-09-16 08:38:59

44. Bob B

Mea Culpa, I turned off the Yankee game Friday night in the bottom of the 7th and returned to reading Mark Frost's excellent golf story "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Didn't even find out about the comeback until Yesterday morning. So, I watched the entire wretched Fox coverage yesterday. How bad can it get?

2007-09-16 08:40:47

45. yankz

43 I'll never forget it. It was 2003, I had not yet quit ESPN, and Linda Cohn said, "He'll [Beckett] win a Cy Young someday." Oh how I've hoped that prediction never comes true.

2007-09-16 08:43:26

46. mehmattski

44 Tonight's an ESPN game. With Miller and Morgan, it can get much worse. I would say the ratio of "four homers in a row" to "A-Rod's tiebreaking single" will be approximately 100 to 1.

2007-09-16 08:55:52

47. weeping for brunnhilde

7 That's funny, sliced, because I don't know the Steely Dan song!

2007-09-16 08:56:20

48. weeping for brunnhilde

7 Er, album.

2007-09-16 08:57:32

49. Sliced Bread

40 Can't think of too many Steely tunes in which the percussionists are upfront doing the heavy-lifting. Bodhisattva comes to mind, and Kid Charlemagne. That's why I can see a drummer being underwhelmed by their catalog.
To my untrained ear their compositions are complex enough, and, as you say, lyrically they've got plenty going on to keep them out of the vanilla bin.