ESPN Insider is reporting that the Rangers are willing to part with one of their catchers. Of course, half the league is clamoring at their door. Still...I wonder if we could land Saltalamacchia? Or even Teagarden.

1 of course we can ... we just have to be willing to give them more than their other offers ...

meanwhile, from the chat over at BP:

A-Roth (NY): NY POST has been updated as of 15 minutes ago. Red Sox-Dodger discussions have progressed to the point where they're discussing either Kemp or Either for Manny and Cash. Red Sox will either get, and keep, Kemp or get Either and flip him with a pitching prospect or first base prospect (Lars Anderson?) for Teixeira. So it seems it's either Manny, Kemp or Teixeira for the Red Sox. Seems like a long shot still, but you never know.

Will Carroll: I'm not sure when this came in, but I am hearing very, very similar things, but that the Red Sox are more in the "if A then B" mode than turning this into a three-way deal. It's the second part, especially if it's Anderson, that makes it really tough for me to believe. I have some calls out on this one.

I just discovered that b-r.com has to move Jarrod Saltalamacchia's stat line one space to the right in order to accommodate his name.

this in, too:

kevin (boston): apparently kotchman was pulled off the field during warm-ups and thought to be in a trade for texeira (according to espn)

Will Carroll: This is confirmed, but not sure what it means. Pause as I make calls.

ESPN's Deadline blog is saying that Kotchman has been pulled from warm-ups, ostensibly in a deal for Teixeira.

http://tinyurl.com/6jcndy

4 I be too slow

3 He'd be perfect the Yankees. No names on the jerseys, so no problem fitting it all in!

I can't believe the Sox would trade Manny. They're not the same team without him.

LA Times says it's Stephen Marek and Kotchman for Teixeira.

7 If they did trade him, Teixeira would certainly ease the pain, though. Youk has played LF, too, so they'd be covered.

5 The trade's apparently been confirmed.

Tony Reagins sure is a different sort of GM than Bill Stoneman was.

8 That's what they're saying on MLB's trade blog too.

http://trades.mlblogs.com/

breakdown from kevin goldstein over at BP:

murraygd13 (MN): Casey Kotchman and a pitching prospect for Tex?

Will Carroll: and on that prospect, KG says: "I don't hate him, I kinda like him. They've move him to the bullpen this year, which is where most scouts thought he'd always end up in the first place. He's got that nice combination of being a big guy with above-average velo, but his secondary stuff isn't great, and it's a bit of a max-effort delivery. He's missing bats at Double-A, and I think he could miss bats all the way up.

Not a closer, but a big league bullpen arm, by mid-09 possibly."

10 Wow... nice trade for the Angels, if they can resign Teixeira. If not, it's a good debate. Kotchman's only 25, but hasn't shown nearly the promise of Teixeira.

So are the Dodgers keeping Tex? Are the Sox left out in the cold?

Sounds like a nice deal for the Halos (grrr). Worst case, they get a type-A.

sports radio goons are VERY happy right now in socal ...

15 yeah they are going to be tough - in the upcoming series and in the playoffs

not sure if i get why the braves did this.
seems like they would be better off with the draft picks.
kotchman's ops+ is 105 this year with a high of 122 in 05 and 119 last year and he looks to be arb eligible next year so you are going to have to pay him more than the 1.45M he's making this year.
and this pitcher sounds like a 7th/8th inning guy.

Actually, if the Sox can get a guy who is 85% the offense of Manny, considering defense, running, and attitude, the will dump Manny in a heartbeat. Like Nomar, it would be additional by subtraction.

The Sox are scared to death that if Manny gets a hair across his ass, he won't play or pull some other shit. The Sox have ZERO leverage. Dopey ole Manny has the Sox by the balls, and the Sox don't like it.

Manny wants to be a FA AND he wants to hit HRs. He is looking at 600+. If I were the Sox, I would tell Manny that they WILL pick up his option (which Manny doesn't want) if he does anything other then give 100%.

Normally I root for the player in a situation like this, but I hope the Sox can fuck Manny. He might be a legendary bat, but he doesn't deserve what he has gotten. When Gammo jumps down the throat of a Red Sox, you know it's REALLY bad.

I will guess we weren't even in the Teixeria race? The Angles are now a much better team. They will beat the Sox and maybe us too.

17 i dunno, that's not bad for a 2 month rental. you get a (at worst) above average 1st baseman that's still pretty cheap for several years and a very likely MLB quality LH reliever (who should be ready soon).

considering the 2 draft picks could cost several million dollars and take years (if ever) to make the majors, i'd say the solid certainty of the return was appropriate.

from a Lohud commenter:

ESPN Radio reporting yanks are close to trading for Zach Grienke... apparantly the deal on the table is Coke, Melky + a B level prospect of the royals choice.

Anyone got any news?

19 I don't think Tex makes them the favorites, though I am sure the media will paint that picture now. The Angels were always going to go to the playoffs, so Tex's value to them is in the playoffs. So the question is - does he get them to the Serious?

He helps, but its not guarantee. They go from having 1 high OBP/high SLG hitter to 2. All the other contenders (ChiSox, RedSox, Yanks, TB, DET, even MIN) already had 2 (or more) such guys.

21 I have a hard time believing that the Royals would do that. Greinke is their best starter, young, and still arb-eligible. Even if he gets a raise to say $5M next year, the Royals can afford that. Shoot, they have almost $9M coming off the books in money owed to guys who don't even play for them anymore (Tomko and Angel Berroa mostly).

Still, I wouldn't complain! That kid is awesome.

I hate the Halos.

By Enrique Rojas
ESPNdeportes.com
Left fielder Jose Guillen wants out of Kansas City pronto, according to a source who spoke to ESPNdeportes.com on condition of anonymity.

2008 season Stats GM HR RBI R -OBP AVG
---- ------ ------- 100 14 69 43 .287 .260

Guillen feels the Royals have not kept the promises made when he signed for three years and $36 million during the offseason, said the source. But the main reason he is in "living hell in Kansas City" is a foul relationship with manager Trey Hillman.

"Guillen and Hillman are not on speaking terms, they don't talk," said the source. "Guillen is definitely not happy, he's not comfortable and he would do anything he can in economic terms to ease his way out of Kansas City."

Sound like something Cashman should jump on?

20 i have now flip-flopped to that position. but might flip back in an hour or so.

18 i guess i am sort of rooting for manny over the sox front office and ownership.
but don't forget last year when schilling accused gammons of being the mouthpiece of the sox front office.

21 i don't see anything out there ... and man would that make our outfield a mess defensively, but greinke would immediately become my 2nd favorite yankees pitcher.

21 27 Yeah, I don't see that move unless the Yankees want to role the dice with Damon in CF. But really, he can't even ply LF right now. This sounds like rumor silliness.

Guillen can't play CF, can he?

I suppose there's Gardner. I think he's better than Melky on defense.

21 i have breaking news .....
petey begrudgingly complemented edwar in today's game post.

I guess the Angels can't be criticized for never making a deadline deal anymore...

30 I saw that. He kinda sorta admitted he was wrong about Edwar.

C'MONNNN!!!!

oh my.

I can't wait to watch Rasner pitch this Sunday.

35 Kicking puppies will get you that.

BTW, Mudhens won yesterday, at home, on a walkoff strikeout in the bottom of the twelfth. Man on third and the batter strikes out on a wild pitch, which allowed the batter to reach first. Never seen that before.

36 That's the thing about baseball...ya' just can't predict...

From Peter

"UPDATE, 7:17 p.m.: The Charleston game that Hughes and some other guy - Karl Pagano or something - are supposed to pitch in is being delayed by rain."

The Universe really doesn't want Marl Pragano to pitch.

36 A brief search reveals that a strikeout-passed ball combo led to the game winning run scoring in this game:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200508030.shtml

Cano hot. Giambi not.
Why doesn't Girardi swich 'em up in the lineup?
To late now. : (

I think it's time to send a razor to Jason.

40 I think Cano is a .200 career hitter vs. Cabrera, if you worry about those things.

36 Maybe if I'm really good for the rest of the week, and IPK pitches well tonight in Scranton...

41 Shouldn't he try dyeing it another color first?

Where is Ken Singleton to shut O'Neill up with this playing for 1 run garbage? Sheesh.

44 Maybe electric blue? Or white with blue pinstripes.

42 I like his last 10 days better
19 for 43. .442
I guess we'll see him right now when he leads off.

Did Betemit come to the plate to Pearl Jam's "Better Man", or was I hearing things?

nice to see hacky working the count to 2-0 so he can swing at a shitty 3rd pitch and ground out ...

tex-less angels up 4-0 on the sox in the 4th

49 Always nice to see the Sox losing at home.

If Jose Guillen is unhappy in KC, I could see trading Melky +? (IPK?) for him and Greinke.

25 51 With Nady, I don't see where Guillen would fit. Also, Guillen hasn't been very good two of the last three seasons.

christ, i hate that guy ... fucking millar.

52 Put him in CF -- I'm just thinking if the Yankees lose their CF, they'll need a CF. And there would be a down grade on offense but it'd be an upgrade on pitching -- unless you want Ponson waddling out there every five days.

52 and he's a giant pain in the ass ... and he's owed 24+ million over the next 2+ years. pass.

It's time for ARod to SPEAK!

54 I'd rather deal Gardner for Washburn than go that route. I do agree that you can't roll out Ponson and Rasner time through.

According to Kay, 41% of the Yankees runs scored this year have come with 2 outs. That's #1 in the league.
That made me scratch my head.

55 And he's going to be 33, and all the numbers are trending down . . .

But c'mon, there is no way this would ever happen. Right?

This offense is so frustrating. Just when you think they have broken out, it's right back into the tank.

I hate that effing shift. Cripes.

At least they are getting guys on; the hits will come.

36 this team make me want to kick puppies ... FUCK

Fucking shift.

I didn't even know it was on until after he hit the ball, I screamed, "Yes!!" and then saw it wasn't to be.

He couldn't have poked one down the left field line?

The other day he rolled one through a vacant shortstop; why couldn't he do that now? Would have been two runs.

61 they will? we had 10 hits against lester the other night, that didn't turn out so well ...

How many times are Yankee pitchers going to make the same damn mistake to Kevin Millar!

F@#$ing Millar. Cripes!!!

I'm sorry, he should be fined for that. Two big fat runs ripe for the picking.

58 Remember, they are only 14th in ML and 7th in AL in runs scored. They may have a relatively high rate of runs scored with two outs, but that may not equate to a relatively high number of total runs scored total with two outs.

64 Cabrera <<<< Lester

#)#$)$#*)($#)(@#$()#@()()#@ Millar. ARGH!

wow ... fucking millar. advance scouting really paying dividends here.

Ohayo Gozaimasu. Gameday clunky and slow in opening...anyone for a quick recap??

Tex to the Angels...good move for them

Leaving runners on base contributes to global warming, Jason. You must hate the earth.

63 As always, you ignore the obvious: he can't control where he hits the ball, so that balls like the one he hit the other day are accidents.

That, or that he's lazy, selfish, fundamantally unsound, and morally deficient.

73 and kicks puppies.

I can't see any way the Royals would trade Grienke in a deal like that. I would do something like Kennedy, Melky and Coke for him in a second. I can't see the Royals dealing him for that type of package unless they see some type of personal issues creeping up again for him.

the Orioles are a boring and mediocre team, an absolute nothing of a ballclub, and the fact that they regularly beat the crap out of us is so fucking irritating....

Like it or not, Cashman has to overpay for a mediocre starter because Ponson and Rasner are going to sink this team. Thankfully, Ponson has been lucky and Moose/Joba/Pettitte have been near perfect. If anyone from that trio should falter, the Yankees will be susceptible to a stretch of losing.

74 Right, I forgot that one.

75 But the Royals would get a couple of good players who are cost controlled, right? Yankees do need to have a new St. Louis Browns as their AAAA team.

77 You assume that only Cashman is under unusual market pressures. A team like the Mariners have just as much pressure to ditch costly mediocre players like Washburn (for example). Therefore, it is not at all clear that Cashman must overpay for a mediocre pitcher.

Now, if you are arguing that he should overpay for such a player, I would have to think about it. If their situation is as precarious as you describe, and it may well be, then it is probably not worth overpaying for a mediocre pitcher at all. If 60% of the starters have to remain perfect just for the team to have a chance, then the addition of some mediocre talent won't likely make a difference. Rather, in this case they should overpay for an impact player.

Ponson and Rasner would have been perfect fits for the Yankees staff. 20 years ago when just about everyone was terrible. : )

Saying Jason should hit the ball to the hole in right whenever it would be convenient, is like saying, "why doesn't the pitcher just throw the ball, PAST, the hitter instead of into his bat" after a home run. Superficial thinking.

80 According to most rumors, the Yankees could have Washburn for Gardner. If true, I'd do it.

ack ... the RIPPER's gone ROTTEN.

83 In a heartbeat!

I don't get the Yankees approach. In the one inning they take pitches, they build a rally, but then they follow it up with more hacking. Don't they know that Cabrera is wild?

Also, not sure if this has been discussed, but I'd pay $20 a month for access to this site, if it would mean i wouldn't have to see the Google text ads between the content and the comment box. Not mad, just sayin'.

weird, paul o'neill sounds like woody harrelson to me in the booth

Cano: first pitch wing
Betemit: 2-0 swing
Melky: 2-0 swing

The at bats are horrible

87 that ad box sucks. it'd be okay below the comment box, but this way it cuts off half the comments you used to be able to see.

83 I would not. I think Gardner has too much value to give up for a 2 month rental. Even if he's nothing more than a 4th OF, the Yanks control him for his prime, and his speed could be an excellent weapon. I'd rather see them DFA Ponson and call up IPK or Aceves.

Now if its Igawa for Washburn . . .

BTW - Kevin Millar vs the Yanks this year:

.357/.400/.786 - and that was before tonight

90 glad i'm not the only one.

89 Don't they have kangaroo courts in clubhouses anymore, some of these early count hackers need to be fined.

89 I thought 2-0 were hitters' counts. I assume you mean terrible because they swung at bad pitches at 2-0 (like well out of the zone)? Or they are horrible in terms of their outcome (outs)?

91 I guess I just don't see the value in Gardner. Also, 12 starts by Washburn instead of Ponson could mean making the playoffs.

91 But the dude can not get on base to save his life. If we think his speed can be a weapon in some mythical Dave Robertsian way, I think we're putting our eggs in the wrong basket.

91 evidently, the mariners don't want igawa either ... one of the rumors i heard today was that yankees were willing to give the mariners a decent prospect AND take all washburn's salary if the mariners would take igawa in return ... no deal.

90 87 The Ad Block Plus add-on for Firefox eliminates them.

Admittedly I turn it off on the Banter, in the hope that maybe I'll see an ad, click on it, and help out.

91 I thought Washburn was under contract through next season, so he would not be a two month rental. Maybe I'm wrong.

I like Gardner too, but he played himself into trade bait--fair or not. I would rather give him up, if that's the cost, than any of the remaining MiL pitchers.

How come Melvin Mora gets to bat every inning? What the deuce! I know he's got quintuplets and all but, c'mon!

97 That's weird if true. They passed Igawa through waivers and he's not taking up a roster spot. Sure, it's bette to dump his contract. But at only 4 million/year they could just eat the cost until he goes away. Hell, if he's that much of a problem, just friggin' cut him outright.

87 90 If you guys use Firefox, there's an extension that blocks ads: http://adblockplus.org/en/

There's other ways of blocking ads too. google is ur friend...

94 Even if Betemit and Melky are .450 hitters with a 2-0 count, that means they have a better than even chance of making out. When you have no men on, and the pitcher is notoriously wild, it seems to make all the sense in the world to make him throw some strikes. Different pitchers demand different approaches, and I think Cabrera demands that you make him prove he can throw strikes. The Yankees have not done that tonight.

95 96 Gardner sucked, for sure, but with his minor league track record, I'm not going to write him off after 60 ABs.

Looks like I owe Shaun P a root beer...

98 Yep. I like that thinking. Want the Toaster to thrive, and I think the fellas and lady, who write the Banter should be able to make a living doing it. Just don't like the ad placement. I'll look into the firefox thingy.

99 i dunno, kontos is pretty expendable from my perspective ... chase wright, jason jones anybody?

99 91 Washburn's contract status:

Jarrod Washburn lhp
4 years/$37.5M (2006-09)
signed as a free agent 12/05
06:$7.45M, 07:$9.85M, 08:$9.85M, 09:$10.35M
no-trade protection
1 year/$6.5M (2005), avoided arbitration 1/05
1 year/$5.45M (2004), avoided arbitration 1 /04
1 year/$3.875M (2003), avoided arbitration 1/03
1 year/$0.35M (2002) 3/02
agent: Scott Boras
ML service: 8.131

Meanwhile, after our griping, and it hasn't been pretty, Rasner has scratched out a decent #5 start tonight. As frustrating as he is, I would rather see Rasner than Sir Sidney.

104 I am not going off his results, but how awful he looked. I may not be a pro-scout, but I'll be shocked if Gardner is every anything more Jason Tyner. I also don't get too excited about 24 year olds with a career .771 OPS in the minors 9and whose best season is .828).

109 That's were numbers can be deceiving...there have been numerous atom bombs.

99 Washburn is under contract for next year, you are right.

Pavano and Hughes in a race to get back to the Bronx? Can I place a bet on the outcome?

Cabrera is Kryptonite. Bollocks.

103 Everyone not names Ruth, Williams, and Bonds have a better chance of making out than getting on base in any AB. It's a pretty steep standard to demand a player must go into take-at-all-cost mode unless his OBP would be above .500.

And while Cabrera is wild, is he SO wild that standing there with the bat on your shoulder taking strikes would actually improve your chances of getting on base?

wow ... no-hitter for lackey against boston through 6 ... he never pitches well in fenway.

Damn it!

111 Yep. That's called a #5 starter. The real problem is having to carry two or three such starters.

105 Best thing about AdBlock Plus - you can block all the annoying ESPN.com videos.

114 Yes...I think he is that wild. I believe he leads in walks, HBP and wild pitches. I am also not asking them to take pitches down the middle with men in scoring position, but simply to take a strike on 2-0 with the bottom of the lineup trying to ignite a rally.

The most frustrating aspect of this game, is that Cabrera has sucked ass since the all star game, but you just knew that he would stifle the Yanks bats!

Jesus, that's a ridiculous, sick, sick fucking pitch.

Don't look like a strike to me. Where was that guy for Moose?

4 hits..meanwhile the Sox are being no-noed int he 7th...where has all the offense gone??

115 He didn't give up a walk until the 5th, where he had two outs with Pedroia up. Nice to see the Sox get blocked hard at Fenway.

119 Fair enough. I have no problem with Cano (my hottest hitter) swinging at a 2-0 count, so long as it was a good pitch.

Cabrera with 2 outs? Maybe he has the take sign.

WHY DOESN'T THIS TEAM THROW INSIDE ON MILLAR?!?!?!!?

it's nice to see Cano "nonchalance" able to turn two..

123 Lackey is a good excuse for why you stopped hitting. Facing Cabrera is not.

73 I don't think that's so, mp.

I don't believe a hitting coach will tell you a batter has zero control over where the ball goes.

I'm not talking within inches, but within feet or at least tens of feet.

125 I agree about Cano...it was actually the first pitch though. Also, I checked Cano's splits and he is poor this year hitting 2-0 (.727 OPS).

Here we go!

129 Then the only answer can be selfishness or moral deficiency or the like.

129 On certain pitches, you absolutely have control over where you hit the ball.

man, jonesey tried to go all spiderman out there in CF

Tater-rifiic! GO GO A-ROD!!

More from Peter:
"UPDATE, 8:32 p.m.: Carl Pavano threw two innings for Charleston 2 1 0 0 1 4. Cashman made sure to say today that they had no expectations of him pitching in the majors this season. They'll let him rehab and then that will be that."

I don't want that f*cker taking innings away from guys who might help us someday.

132 The real answer is if Giambi looks to slap the ball the other way, he has to get a perfect pitch to do it. In a sense, he is boiling his AB down to a roll of the dice. I can understand why he is reluctant to do it, but it would be nice if he gives it a shot ahead in the count.

It's gotta chap Jeter just a bit if A-Rod is talking about not getting all of it and still hittine it @415 feet. Espcially after his double. : )
Godddam Effing double plays.

That swing by Cano is ok with me....there's a man on base and it was right down the middle.

Hi All,

This is a bit off topic but I was taking a list at the list of attendees for Old Timers Day. There are some great Yankees on the list but no Yogi, Reggie, Whitey, Brosius, O'Neil, Bernie or Gossage. The list is from last week and claims to be a partial list but I am a bit suprised a few of these guys are not planning on coming. Any thoughts? Think the yanks will suprise us with a couple of them?

136 if that fucker takes innings away from the fat fuck, I'm all for it....

132 Why are you baiting me?

Sox down 6-0, middle of the 7th. Sox with ZERO hits.

137 "...but it would be nice if he gives it a shot ahead in the count."

Interesting. That's the exact time I do not want Giambi to turn himself into Miguel Cairo; I'd rather he load up on his pitch ahead in the count.

137 Sure, fair enough, but of course, any ab is in a sense a roll of the dice.

And of course, there's always bunting, which exists to lessen the role of chance in an outcome by maximizing a batter's control over where the ball is put into play.

Here's the problem with this team. They have squandered a few opportunities and now it's the seventh. Three innings more sounds like enough time, but then you see the order: Cabrera and Moeller lead off. Ouch. That really sucks.

141 Quite frankly, I'd rather have Ponson. Heck, I'd rather have Kevin Brown than Pavano.

Leaving Rasner in is playing with fire. Girardi will pay if he gets greedy here. Bring Marte in now...don't wait for Jones to hit a double.

118 I boycott ESPN.com. Never go there.

ooh, Ortiz with a topspin drive caught by Vlad at the wall!

142 I'm not baiting you per se. I'm just pressing you to think through your position. If it is so easy for Giambi to control the way he hits the ball, then in that case (men on base, two outs) what other explanation can there be for him not simply taking the free base hit and RBIs.m

So, if you you believe that he is fundamentally selfish (indeed, my teenage nephew is convinced of this fact), then at least your criticism and analysis are internally consistent.

Manny fails to run out a grounder to 3rd and high throw goes unpunished; perhaps he's rooting for the no-hitter?--and there's the 3rd out....

144 In the situation prompting this discussion, I am looking for a hit, not Giambi loading up, especially as it seems most pitchers stay away from Giambi's power early in the count. If the opposition is giving you half the field, sometimes you have to take it.

145 I just don't think Giambi is a good enough hitter to do it consistently, so he is better off focusing on what he can do well.

well, maybe there's something to that Moeller/Rasner thing. Rasner's been living pretty dangerously tonight, but all in all, not bad.

Can you imagine sitting in the bullpen, night after night, and getting to watch games with Mo? Sounds good to me.

Marte better stay in after he gets Markakis.

one batter too many, I agree...

It wasn't how I thought, but Rasner leaving in a whole mess of trouble was pretty predictable. This inning should have been started by Marte, but as some have feared, I guess Girardi views him as a LOOGY. If that practice continues it will hurt the team in situations just like this.

148 What are tomorrow's lottery numbers?

Geez...I can't believe they are going to blow two games to the Orioles again. Unlike last year when the team was torrid all second half, this year's version feels like it could go off the track at any moment.

Oy, I may need to break out the bourbon.

Some LOOGY you are, Marte. Fuckin' a.

Well, at least Girardi didn't use Marte as a LOOGY. Hoo-boy, what a drag tonight...

Not gonna blame Rasner here. He gave the team 6 innings w/ 2 runs. That should have been the end of his night.

6-0 in Boston. Yanks and Sox must have gotten tired out partying with each other all weekend. WTF. Another stinker.

This is exactly how the Yankees played for the first two+ months of the season: hack away all game, squander opportunities and then get blown out late. With the Angels looming, I fear Mattpat's concern that the Yankees would follow up a winning streak with another poor stretch is appearing very likely.

Rays up 3-0 on their way to beating Halladay and the Yankees choke against Cabrera. Not how you go about winning a division.

151 I have no answer for you other than that chicks dig the long ball.

I'm only half joking; seriously, I don't know. I'm often mystified by the apparent incapacities of ballplayers to consistently do the sorts of things most of us are taught in little league.

You know the cliche, of course, to explain hackers like Soriano that you don't walk your way off the island.

I suspect it's a cultural issue; certain skills in baseball are valued more highly than others (rightly or wrongly) and thus those valued less are simply not practiced.

Otherwise, I don't know.

It'd make an interesting research topic.

Sox still No-Hit after EIGHT.

Lackey through 8 with no hits.
Ellsbury
Pedroia
Youkilis
After the Angels' frame.

Marte is supposed to be good, right?

165 All the more reason not to overpay for anybody. If they get a Washburn (or whatever) for cheap...great. Otherwise, this may be a WYSIWYG situation in which the team, excluding a fluky big winning streak, will be consistently inconsistent and fall just short.

And on that note, I'm off for the evening stroll with the wife (and no kidding tonight). See y'all in an hour.

171 Don't forget the ice cream...and you can bring some back.

Lackey still under 100 pitches - he'll face the 9, 1, and 2 hitters in the 9th. Switching over to that game...

I can't believe we've been having the same conversation about not hitting the ball the other way for YEARS.

What's the largest defictit the Yanks came back from this year and when was it?

153 Could be the case, but man, the guy did hit .342 or whatever it was. Hard to hit that well just on the virtue of strength alone; there must have been some actual hitting going on.

Sigh.

I like Jason and all, I'm just saying. It would have been nice to get two easy runs there and give Rasner a little boost.

this game almost made me as sick as the poster for a "curry-egg-dog" at the convience store this morning...

176 I hear you...but Giambi is one of the few batters willing to actually work the count, so I'd focus my angst elsewhere. There are several deserving targets.

174 I know, neither can I!

I wouldn't have said anything had he not done just that a mere few days ago.

Whatever, he is what he is (which is pretty good) and meanwhile, we're about to lose three in a row, just when I was starting to become optimistic.

She's a cruel mistress, the baseball.

179 Take solace in the fact that Boston has lost 2 straight. I think the Yankees will still be in it at the end of the season.

One of those buggers is going to get to Lackey in the 9th.
That's just the way the universe works. : (

180 Yes...but they lost two to the Angels, whom the Yankees now have to face 10 times. Meanwhile, the Yankees have frittered away another game against an inferior team. Advantage Red Sox.

Man...Jeter's never been a power hitter, but it seems like his balls don't travel as far as they used to.

182 I'm sick to my stomach just thinking of it.

They're going to wipe the floor with us, as usual.

1 out in Boston.

Half of Fenway might go home tonight and buy an Angels hat.

Pedroia with a hit.

Hit for Dusty

And thus endeth the no-no

181 Of COURSE it was Slappy McGritty who broke it up. Argh!

Youk with a long HR. 6-2.

And Youkilis homers to left. WTF?

And thus endeth the shutout.

191 OYF, I owe you a root beer.

181 How right you were.

Here's is where you can start to wonder about the Marte pick up. Before his arrival, it would have been Veras in the 7th facing Roberts. Now, Veras might have also given it up, but the formula seemed to work so well. Sometimes, if it aint broke, don't fix it.

190 You know who I really hate? Offerman, wasn't it? (Maybe O'Leary, but I think it was Offerman.) Broke up Mike's perfect game.

Man, that was almost as demoralizing as when Womack ripped that double down the leftfield line.

What a miserable baseball night, all around.

If anyone deserves to break up a no-hitter, it's the best 2nd basemen in all of baseball.

197 Everett.

197 Carl Everett?

That's flat out stupid baseball and the Yankees have been playing it for two days now.

WTF?!

Wow...that's just stupid. No way he meant to do that.

Fuck it. Didn't Cabrera hit Jeter on the wrist during a blow-out a few months ago?

Holy guacamole.

196 I couldn't agree more. I was adamant that they get bats not arms, but they don't listen. They just don't listen.

what happened? hit Alex, where?

There you go, weeping!

182 No, I don't think it's to their advantage really. Yes we lost some opportunity. But I'm not too worried about it. What I'm worried about is:

1) They fucked with the bullpen and I don't know why.

2) The offense is back to being WOEful.

C'mon Robbie!!!! Those bases loaded #'s gotta start getting better eventually.

Cano!!!

Hey look, Giambi went the other way! Let's throw a parade.

Boom boom, Betemit. Boom boom!

The orioles own us. They are going to sweep and we'll hear whatever the excuse of the week is. We'll never beat them again this year.

Damn, that had LCF gapper written all over it.

199 Right, the other guy.

Cheers.

You can BET he'll be striking out in a big spot.

Well at least that wasn't a DP

208 See, and of course I missed it.

After that four-spot I ceded control of the television in disgust.

That's a brutal AB by Betemit...he had a fastball and a curve to hit and missed them both. Having dregs at the bottom of the lineup is a real killer.

OK, Nady pinch hits, right? Right?

Nady now, or for Moeller?

Dang, nice hit by Melky, just a bit unlucky.

C'mon, X-man!

Bases Loaded and no outs. If not for Jones only 1 run scores. sigh. Swing the bat, Xavier.

What a tease...the Betemit AB was just awful.

gotta swing to hit...

OK, that was my fault. I left to take the dog outside at the start of the inning, came back with two in, two on and no outs. Thus I have to change the channel.

Good night all.

betemit should never ever ever ever start again.

The two new guys are looking awesome today.

229 I thought the same thing. Hate to see Nady guessing in that situation. The curve was right over the plate.

This is just not the Yanks' night.

Pete Abe will be all over this one - Mo in a non-save situation.

Great...now even Mo can't execute. Now the whole team can say they contributed to giving away two games to an Oriole team that couldn't buy a win coming in. In a season of pathetic stretches, these last three games rank right up there with any.

Mariano just hit the 1000 IP mark, but I don't think anyone's in the mood to celebrate.

Freakin' ladybug. Some good luck that was.

What do you call a mediocre team at the All-Star break that follows an eight game streak with a seven game losing streak? Still a mediocre team.

OK, lame and a bit overdramatic. But tomorrow is no guarantee, and we have a pretty good chance of getting swept by the Halos.

235 I shudder to think what they'll do to us.

When's Joba, Thursday?

We should have won tonight.

Inexcusable.

Hey, the game's not over yet.

George Sherrill looks like he should be gunning with Wyatt Earp and the gang.
Hey, the Angels could sweep the Sox. We could sweep the Angels. My inner Sterling says, "You just cannot predict baseball."
Hey, that Mo homer might turn out to be a real bitch.

I'd be curious to know who he got most of his 30 saves against.

KC? ;-)

Yowza, that was some swing on that foul.

DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!

Just a single, 'Stache, c'mon.

They build a rally with good approaches and then when it gets close, they start swinging for the fences!!

STOP TRYING TO HIT HOMERUNS, DAMMIT!

Put in Christian.

That works!!!

Oh Mo, if only you hadn't given up that home run!

C'mon ON Cano!

O'Neill just summed up why the 90's Yanks were so successful with his summation of A-Rod's AB. Too many guys with the same mentality.

Yankees... please don't dash my hopes. Today has sucked; the cell cultures contaminated and the secondary applications are coming in faster than I can handle. Don't hurt me.

that'll do, 'stache, that'll do!

Don't fall down, Justin. : )

RUN!!!

Nice.

Double down the 1B line please, Robbie.

Those weren't strikes!

YES! JC doing what he's here for.

No Sexson?

wheels!

Betemit. Truly the hope of all Yankees fans.

That was a damn bullsh1t AB by Cano. Damn.

Great...up to Betemit from the right side. F$%&!

Robby, Robby, He's our man....

Ack, Betemit can't hit lefties! Can he?

nooooo...not Wilson here....

o shit, betemit?

Why no Sexton???

Geez Betemit sucks.

No pinch-hitter?

In AAA news: IPK 6.0 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K, a funny balk, and some visible disgust with the ump's strikezone. He looked good when he had to be, dropped in a dandy of curveball for a called strike 3 on Miello, but was missing low most of the night. He was called for balk, but it was either that or throw the ball away. He had a wild pitch, but it was really a foul tip. Kennedy threw up and in on Lydon, who squared to bunt and then pulled back. The ball audibly hit something that sounded like wood. The ump didn't rule anything and even Lopez who advanced to 2nd, didn't know if he was supposed to still be there when the AB resumed. In the 2nd, AG made a nice diving grab, Miranda dropped the throw, Carson was being lazy and not backing up 1B. Because of that, Luna decided to try for 3B and was out easily.

Easy night for IPK. Fastball was at 88-91, change was at 81, and the curveball, he only threw maybe 8 of them, was at 75-76. The run he gave up was a scratched out after the foul-tipped wild pitch, a sac bunt, and a sac fly. Bruney replaced him in the 7th and, on the positive side, was hitting 95 consistently. On the negative, he was all over the place after the first two hitters and eventually loaded the bases, but K'd Diaz looking on a slider and escaped with no runs allowed.

What a kick in the nuts.
Blas!.

RUFKM

What a tease.

what an awful, awful loss...

238 Psychic.

Pathetic...they sleep walk for seven innings and then refuse the Orioles attempts to give the game away at the end.

Why Girardi left Betemit in is beyond me, but if Cano and Arod would have swung at strikes, it probably wouldn't have mattered. Once again, this team has shown its significant flaws.

what a steaming bowl of suck ... thanks offense, thanks marte, thanks mo.

lovely.

I also hope Girardi isn't going to talk about how the team battled and gloss off the countless ABs that were given away.

Sexson has got to go up in those situations. Even if it means the bench is empty, and you lose the DH. Betemit is as bad against LHP as Sexson is vs RHP.

Crud.

273 My magic eight ball says "Better luck next time."

Maybe he was saving Sexson to pinch-hit for Melky. Leche's even worse than Betemit against lefties.

It's funny how there are multiple optimistic scenarios being spun where Wang, Hughes or Washburn could become available come September. I don't mean to keep harping on the schedule, but we have 13 of 16 games on the road after we play the Angels four straight this weekend, ten straight against potential playoff teams.

We could very well be out of it by Labor Day weekend...especially if those players we supposedly "fleeced" the Pirates out of keep performing the way they do. Not to put it all on them...everyone's sucking right now.

Here's all you need to know about this team: 5 of the 6 outs in the 8th and 8th were via the strike out. For a team that doesn't K alot, they sure seem to whiff in crucial situations.

281
Exactly. Pressing in big spots, rather than realizing that stringing hits together and working the count is an effective tactic.

I didn't see the ninth and I'm not trying to berate Alex, but I have to say, for such a great, great hitter, he never inspires as much confidence in me as Manny does dread.

I always have the feeling that Alex, as great as he is, can be pitched to, that if a pitcher knows what he's doing, he can get Alex out.

I never feel like there's any good plan of attack against Manny. I know, I don't see Manny everyday, but with the game on the line, I'd take Manny over Alex any day, no questions asked.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day.

When is California coming to town? Or are we going there?

Maybe we can get lucky...

We're not out of this thing.

I'm back...glad I missed the big tease. That the decisive run ended up being Rivera's is sad...realy glad I tuned out.

172 Sorry, no ice cream for you!

177 Giambi hit .340 when he was a good bit younger and far more chemically enhanced. You overlook the obvious: that he is physically no longer capable of hitting like that.

BTW, Ted Williams hit against some pretty extreme shifts, and as far as I know he refused to modify his batting approach or bunt or slap the ball the other way.