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It's a Ring Thing
2005-04-11 10:12
by Alex Belth

Today is the Red Sox home opener. Yankee-killer Tim Wakefield goes against Mike Mussina. Red Sox Nation will be loud and proud this afternoon (Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi should get the worst of it). They deserve to feel good about themselves. While there is nothing the Yankees can do to ruin the ring ceremony, hopefully they can spoil the rest of the day and pull out a win.

Comments
2005-04-11 13:26:22
1.   Dan M
The Rally Killer Lives!
2005-04-11 14:04:05
2.   rbj
So what's wrong with the Moose?
2005-04-11 14:11:54
3.   Alex Belth
Yeesh, getting bombed again, eh? Dag.
2005-04-11 14:41:37
4.   Knuckles
blech,
Let's hope we can ruin RedLight's debut on Wednesday, then Randy can make up for his so-so outing on Thursday.

Any chance the Yanks can locate Candiotti or a Neikro to throw BP on days before they face the Wakeman?

Yet another day game loss leading into a day off. I hate these.

On a lighter note- perfect weekend weather in NJ down the shore, made all the sweeter in watching the Saturday comeback win in Hi Def.

Alex- No music talk from you lately...Any new rap flowing thru your headphones?

2005-04-11 15:42:30
5.   AdamD
Two games in a row and the Yanks look flat. Forger Mo Rivera, the Red Sox are in A-Rod's head. Actually, I think Yankee fans are in A-Rod's head. For a player as talented and smooth as he is, he looks uncomfortable at the plate and in the field.

And would it kill us to get an extra base hit every now and again?

2005-04-11 16:30:32
6.   rbj
%*&^$$#)(&^!!!
(Kicks chair)
It's better to start the season flat than end it flat.
2005-04-11 17:27:31
7.   singledd
Man oh man,
As a 40 year Yanks Fan, I gotta tell you... this is like watching 9 strangers play the game... they just don't look or have the feel or a team.

Tino batting 5th? Might putting Giambi there have been a confidence boost? Isn't Giambi a more dangerous batter then Tino?

Poor Bernie. Its hard to watch him come undone, right before our eyes. Right now, I'd swap Johnson for Beltran. Any ideas who will play CF next year (or the 2nd half of this year)? Cameron would have been nice.

Posada looks bummed out.I hope he's not on the fade.

It's seems like these guys either win with one big inning or they lose. But they don't seem aggressive or dangerous throughout the game.

Maybe buying hired help Has finally reared its ugly head.

I'm BUMMED!

2005-04-11 17:35:21
8.   singledd
P.S.
Torre is an easy-going guy. Just waits for the boys to do their thing. Early as it is, these guys need a fire lit under their asses. This is a 200 million club!
Except for the first game, they have looked totally flat!!!!
2005-04-11 18:26:14
9.   Alex Belth
Great day for Sox fans; horrible one for us Yankee fans.

Knuckles, the only new rap record that I've heard in a long time is the latest lp from Sadat X. I loved him ever since the first Brand Nubian record came out back in 1990. His nasal New York voice and pecular delivery always rang true for me. It's funny too, because Grand Puba was a big deal MC for several years there in the early nineties. But it is Sadat who has lastest the test of time a bit better.

I'm not sure the name of the new record, or the title of the tracks for that matter. A friend of mine burned it for me about a month and a half ago. It's not a great record. I'd say there are about two or three really good tracks, then another couple that are decent. There are two that are awful, and everything else is just fine musically. But Sadat X is one of the few rappers who generally wins me over, no matter how mediocre the beat. Sure enough, after a good while of listening to the record, I don't even skip the wack tracks (ok, except maybe one).

I know that Quasimoto, aka Madlib, has a second record coming out, if it hasn't dropped already. The first one, "The Unseen" (Stones Throw) was really good. The helium-pitched voice might drive some people away, but the beats were thick and crunchy. A pal of mine who works at a record shop downtown, as is my man on the inside, loved the first record, but a few months back was expressing dismay about the second album. He wasn't confident that it would be good at all. But a few weeks ago, I saw him. A single had just been released on wax and he had the album at home on cd. He was, not surprised, but pleased that he was wrong. He thinks the new record is dope. I haven't heard it yet, but I'm bound to catch up to it later this spring.

Otherwise, I've been listening to some of the classics lately: "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick," "Long Live the Kane," "Paid in Full." My favorite song of late is "Streets of New York" by Kool G Rap. One of the great rap songs of em all, circa early ninetes.

Oh, and if you can find it somewhere, download a copy of Quincy Jones' cover of "Summer in the city." The Pharcyde sampled the intro on "Passin me By." Other parts of it have been sampled by the Roots and other groups. Anyhow, it's a smokin hot record. Really great cover.

What have you heard? Anything good?

2005-04-11 19:26:33
10.   seamus
funny, i thought A-Rod looked a little more comfortable out there today than he had in previous outings. And I thought Bernie swung the bat better as well. I kind of felt they were both moving in the right direction.

But Wakefield just kills us all the time. we gotta do something about that.

2005-04-11 20:22:24
11.   brockdc
...and D.J. Polo.

Not too sure if any of you caught coverage of the game on ESPN; but, just in case you're wondering, the Red Sox won the World Series last year. Very exciting.

The Yanks literally applauded the Sox as they received their rings today...the Sox fans booed the Yankee bat boy. Pure class.

A few other things I learned today:

-The Sox are NOT, in any way, intimidated by the Yankees. Man, how times have changed.

-Save for R.J. (please stay healthy, please stay healthy...), the current Yankees pitching staff is NOT an appreciable upgrade from last year.

-Jason Giambi has all but abandoned his plan this year to hit more balls into center and left-center.

-In a Game 7 scenario, I'd much rather the Yanks face Schilling than Wakefield.

-There are more Yankee killers on the Red Sox than there are Red Sox killers on the Yankees.

-As an announcer, Rick Sutcliffe makes Michael Kay look like Vin Scully.

-The current Yankee pitching staff is deep with relievers who could be trusted with a 7-1 deficit but not a 7-1 lead.

-Love Bernie. He and Donnie B-Ball are easily my all time favorites, and I want the guy to retire in pinstripes. But if the Yankees don't acquire another CF by the trading deadline...

-

2005-04-11 20:47:26
12.   Simone
Could that game be any worse? Moose pitched like crap. What is his excuse this season? I don't get how the Yankes could just stop hitting Wakefield.
2005-04-11 21:09:42
13.   brockdc
I think the fact that Dave Roberts was available as a free-agent this off-season is also worth mentioning.

Solid defensively, scrappy, FAST, and practically bereft of ego. Acquiring a guy like him really would've eased the Bernie-into-retirement transition.

2005-04-12 02:37:32
14.   debris
Sox fans also gave huge ovations to Torre and Mo. Mo took it very well.

Dave Roberts was not available as a free agent this winter. He asked the Sox to trade him to a place where he could play every day and, while not wanting to lose him, Theo obliged. I suppose he'd be the Yankees regular CF if they had him, but the Sox weren't about to send him to the Bronx. Sox got Roberts for squat at the trading deadline and he will be remembered for the biggest play in Red Sox history. Brian Cashman should be taken out back and shot.

2005-04-12 05:38:21
15.   Knuckles
Good lookin' out Alex, I will try and have a listen to some of those- always looking at add tracks to the ol Ipod as summer road trips loom.

Lately I've been wearing out (as much as you can in digital format) the latest G. Love album (The Hustle) and a band out of New Orleans called the Soul Rebels. It's a brass heavy funk band that throws some party-style raps over their music. They remind me a bit of the old Jurassic 5 (who I wish would get in a time machine back to '99 and cut another record there).

2005-04-12 07:04:02
16.   Cliff Corcoran
Dave Roberts would not be the Yankee starter because a) Torre would not unseat Bernie and b) you seem to forget, but he didn't start for the Sox either, that's why he was available as a pinch runner. Roberts may be the fastest man in the game, but he isn't much of a hitter.
2005-04-12 07:09:19
17.   Rob
Dave Roberts isn't the answer, he only gets on base 33% of the time. Not your leadoff hitter.
2005-04-12 12:13:17
18.   debris
Bernie is no longer much of a hitter. Any advantage he might have over Roberts as a hitter is more than given back by Roberts advantage as a fielder and runner.

You're right that Roberts didn't start for the Red Sox. But he would for the Yankees. That's just one of many reasons why they handed out rings in Boston yesterday.

2005-04-12 15:41:38
19.   brockdc
My bad - I was wrong about Roberts being available as a free agent.

Had he been available - and he was, at a meager price - Roberts would've fit in nicely with the Yankees due to his SPEED and VERSATILITY. Point being, Bernie has no right playing CF 5 out of every 6 games. He should be splitting time, and it would seem that Torre would be far more likely to start a veteran like Roberts in his stead than a guy like Bubba.

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