Let's go Yanks!

The sweep is mandatory but figuring the Yanks won't have to score a dozen runs today why not start Phillips at DH? Bring Posada and Bernie into the game only if there's trouble.

But Bernie - my man. Gimme something to hang onto here. We're starting to lose the faith.

BP

I can totally see him getting a clutch walk, for instance, the way O'Neill used to do in his last couple of years.

We shall see what we shall see.

Free Andy Phillips!

That said, I'd rather see Phillips playing DH than Bernie the single-hitting walks-taker.

Dig it.

Why didn't he get back?

It looked like he was about to dive back but then just said, "Aw, fuck it, I'm toast."

That was weird.

With Sheff hitting between them, it might not come up often, but still - it's a great way to utilize A-Rod's speed, even when he's hitting clean up.

Considering his more than adequate play in right field yesterday, I think using him there far more often and DH'ing Sheffield would make both Bernie more confident and Sheffield more content.

I seriously think Joe should learn from what he saw yesterday, and at the very least, give it a chance to work by trying it again.

He certainly has no problem repeating mistakes, now let's see if he can repeat a move which bore positive results.

I am Ok with that. They're running this year, I'd rather a pick play here and there than pull out the sit and wait strategy of last year.

:)

Does the old heart good, n'est-ce pas?

I aint throwing you on the trash heap just yet.

The Royals and the Devil Rays are, without a doubt, the worst 2 teams in the AL. Even their RFs can outhit Bernie.

And nice bunt there, Stinnet.

I felt like TMQ for a moment there.

Hmm, top 5 in personal wealth of any MLB owner, makes one wonder, but hey, blame us, that's ok.

Isn't it beautiful? Like a well-oiled machine.

See that's all I want. That's all it takes to impress me. Keep your long-ball, I find it boring.

Execution, however, is a thing of beauty.

I get your argument. So then who at DH, Phillips?

Do you really beleive he'd be better than Bernie?

I could not agree more. When we don't practice the fundamentals, we get dominated by aces, and consequently lose in the playoffs to a team like the Angels, who ake bunting, stealing, and sacrifices a priority!

Get em on get em over get em in. Otherwise The Great Shill Schilling, Blister Boy Beckett, and others will mow us down come October.

Well I'll tell you, Aaron Boone, that's who.

If he'd have been able to find it within himself to but the bat on the ball against Florida in that extra-inning game (I think it was like the twelfth or thirteenth), we'd have won in 2003.

Glad I got that off my chest.

:)

Come on man, our lack of fundamentals and heart cost us that series. We looked like the 2003 Lakers out there.

Otherwise, great game thus far!

Are runs that hard to come by?

I'd also like to point out that KC's bullpen is decimated and whoever comes into today will either suck really bad or be tired and likely to pitch poorly. Why not let Stinnett try to work Bautista some, instead of taking 1 pitch and giving him an out? If you could drive Bautista out of the game in the 3rd or 4th, you can feast on the Steve Stemle's of the world in 7th. That, more than sac bunts and sac flies, is why the dynastic Yanks of the late 90s won so much and scored so much.

I promise I won't rant again today about the stupidity of a sac bunt with 2 on and no out in the 2nd freakin' inning.

:)

And really, that strikeout is the one at-bat I clearly remember from that series. If I recall correctly, he swung through something up and in for strike 3, just looking totally overmatched. But the thing is, his swing just looked so long and ferocious, like he wasn't focused on meeting the ball. He was trying to be a hero which is why he ended up the goat.

Game 7 Red Sox doesn't bail him out?

So whatever I say, bear in mind that strictly speaking, it may be irrational or at least, "unscientific."

I'm intuitive by nature and will never internalize "the new baseball," as it were.

sigh, I say again.

:)

That said, I'm not in favor of him being the everyday DH, or getting more than 300-350 ABs.

Hard to complain about Bernie's RBI single today, but I would have given Phillips the ABs today, with Randy pitching.

I was exuberant, don't get me wrong, but the feat itself was not as impressive to me as performing under the pressure of failure.

I was much more impressed when Jorgie dunked that ball in to chase Pedro in the first place. That took grit. And a little bit of luck. But luck is easier to come by when you don't strike out.

Oops, Matsui has heart too.

bottomline: the Yanks should never have had to count on Boone's bat in any October situation.

But I'm a romantic in that I like winning more than anything else. Needless sac bunts like Stinnett executed just do not lead to winning. That the Yanks seemingly don't know this fact, and thus ignorantly put themselves at a disadvantage, drives me bonkers - because it detracts from the overall goal of winning. Everything the Yanks do ought to advance them towards that goal, not take them away from it.

As to heart, I take your point, but do you really believe there's no such thing as intensity or drive or strength of will? I'm not saying these necessarly translate into productivity, but surely the exist, no?

Maybe I'm paranoid, but its the trend of bunting early in games that disturbs me. If it seems to lead to a run here and there now, Torre might employ the strategy at a really bad time. Like in the third inning of an elimination game in the postseason when the Yanks are down and he wants to 'get the offense going'.

Maybe I'm full of it. But on the same token, we've all seen how Torre's patterns of misuse/poor strategy from the regular season can affect the postseason.

Also, regarding the whole sac bunt trend, Torre as much said in spring training they were going to do the "little things" that you "need to do to win" (paraphrasing), including sac bunt. Maybe this small ball philosophy is why Bernie and Cairo are getting in the lineup (why hit doubles and home runs when you can hit singles to "move the guys over"?).

66 Cliff, of course hustle, heart, determination, whatever won't turn some average player into Manny, but it can elevate his game such that he can maximize what talent he does have. At least, that's what I think.

That's why they play 'em, folks.

It's a whole new ballgame, folks.

A whole new ballgame.

Ok, now I can entertain grievances about giving away outs.

Randy Johnson was removed after allowing one run in five innings Thursday against the Royals.
The YES guys are speculating that something is wrong with him, although there were certainly no obvious problems. Johnson threw 87 pitches, 60 of them strikes. The one run came on three straight two-out singles in the fifth.

Hmm......

They are waiting for an "update" to fill us is.

Lieter thinks he's hurt.

:)

Honestly, I'm not prepared to develop an argument because I really have no argument, just stray thoughts and convictions that may or may not cohere in a rational way. It's just my intuition which may well be wrong (it's often right, on the other hand).

And in any event, it wasn't even my intuition, Stormer's the one who invoked heart, not me. Could well be a chimera, as you say.

Proctor can be used almost every day, and for multiple innings, correct?

Sturtz and Farnsworth cannot be?

I was watching the Dodger postgame yesterday and they were opining what to do about their shotty middle relief getting to Baez with Gange out. Why is is unfathomable to use a closer for 2 innings and rest him the following day? Gossage must be befuddled.

Sure, you won't have 70 appearances, but who'll have more wins, the team that shuts down the game using the closer when you have a lead in the game, or the team that allows themselves to get beat using a bottom tier set up man? I refuse to believe this strategy works the way they think it does.

I guess two or three inning save went the way of the up and in 0-2 pitch. Sad, very very sad. I know when I was 23, I sure got tired quickly, sheesh, its frustrating to watch.

Randy Johnson was removed after allowing one run in five innings Thursday against the Royals. WCBS' John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman were speculating that he had a strained oblique.
Johnson threw 87 pitches, 60 of them strikes. The one run came on three straight two-out singles in the fifth. If Johnson is hurt, the Yankees could bring up Darrell Rasner or put Scott Proctor into the rotation until Carl Pavano is ready to return, something that won't happen before the end of the month. Aaron Small should be back relatively soon, but it would take longer if he's going to be stretched out to start.

Not good, but hopefully this isn't a long term DL thing...

What are they basing this on? You could just as well speculate that he had a blister - if nothing appeared to be wrong from his delivery or motion, that is...

Heart is an element, cannot dispute that. It cannot be measured as statistics can be. I'm not sure when MLB teams began to be run like fantasy rosters, but I blame Billy Beane for that. Bloggers and fans alike, desperate to prove their IQ is above 100, spit out their understanding of stats to impress themselves and feed their belief that they could run a MLB team is they were just given the chance. 28 year old acronym slurping, snot nosed punks staring at as many new stats as they can to fill their rosters.

Numbers matter, that is for sure, but a combination of numbers and personality and other factors produce wins. Using the numbers approach, Jeter is being overpaid by about 10 mil.

Paul O'Niel decribed it perfectly yesterday when examining why the '96-'00 Yankees won the way they did. A taped up hammy playing the day your father passes is as important to team chemisty and wins as any silly new stat you can come up with to make Ken Rosenthal and Scott Boras' jobs that much easier.

I do not discount the usefullness of numbers, but the Angels defy it, and the Lakers proved that numbers and talent alone do not.

If numbers are all that matter, why watch the games at all?

92 Maybe. However I'd rather throw my closer out there for 2 innings and almost guarantee a win in hand. Tomorrow is another day, but a win is better than a loss today. It lost the Dodgers a game last night and will continue to do the same to teams, their closers and their baby bottles.

Kay reported he was throwing 93-94.

Two big postgame questions for Joe: what up with Randy? What did you say to Sturtze?

Rivera and Farnsworth warming up...

I dunno. Why don't you check his managerial record before joining the Yankees. That might give you some insight.

Maybe Joe should get up off his fat ass more often then, huh?

-Do you know Andy Phillips? DO you want to get to know him?-

If he can pitch like that (hitters 2 -4) he is very valuable. How do you get it out of him?

Way to steal that save! I'll take it!

Giambi follows with a 2 run blast to straight away center.

These guys are strong.

Rivera still warming up...

Can you fire him while on a winning streak?

Zimmer, come back! Apologize and make nice nice with George, please.

6 for 9, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored this series.

I guess I hope I'm wrong, time will tell.

Yuck.

Before launching today's shot Damon swung at a pitch, and flung his bat into the stands above the dugout.

After the home run, he made sure everybody was ok.

Jeter hit streak continues to 9 straight...

EWWWWWWWW.....Glad I didn't hear that in person, I just ate.

Absolutely puketastic.

Maybe I have to call in tomorrow & have them listen to Damon's...I can only imagine the reaction!

164 Agreed that Chacon & Wang have been shaky, but Moose & Johnson have been better than average - if the Yanks had hit in Mussina's last start, he'd be undefeated.

I just wouldn't call this particular game, 'shaky'. Johnson was pretty much cruising until he came out.

Thank God for Cliff.

I was actually getting nervous about Clement after he started off pitching so well his first two starts (he proceeded to blow his last start as usual), but now I see he's just pitching his some ol' inconsistent self.

Meanwhile it looks like the Blue Jays have an offense this year. But with Halladay having more injury problems, and Burnett not even starting a major league game yet, I think their pitching might not be as much of a strength as it might have been.

"Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriquez, and Jose Canseco are the 3 members of that reknowned fraternity [40/40 club]."

Is A-Rod the only member of that club who did it while not juicing? If so, that's amazing.

Wang have been on and off but never really blown away, Chacon is in the same truck but he have been making a lot of great pitchs for Ks also.

I think for both of these guys it's safe to say "They got the really awsome stuffs, just not finding it consistently enough" so far. That's alot better than Kevin the "nothing left" Brown or the "I suffer sore butts and/or other wild injuries " duo.

What really worries me in the line up now is actually Bernie.. he ain't hitting better than he was last year AND he's eating the DH spot. that's just pointless, might as well put Crosby and Phillips on the field for a defensive upgrade and keep the Matsui/Sheffield/Giambi trio rotating on the DH to keep them fresh.