Let's GO! Yan-Kees!!

And your Emily is a girl after my own heart. ;-)

I am on the road for a couple of weeks, finding out what it's like to be outside the NY market and stuck following most games on the net. Got so desperate last night we ended up imitating Yankee batters with a rolled-up poster for a bat, so we could pretend we were watching the game.

Speaking of Bubba, Torre said yesterday that they were planning to send him to play some minor league rehab games in 3-4 days.

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Gary Sheffield DH
Jason Giambi 1B
Alex Rodríguez 3B
Robinson Canó 2B
Bernie Williams RF
Melky Cabrera LF
Kelly Stinnett C
SP: Chien-Ming Wang

As for replacing Damon, I might prefer to give Melky a shot in CF.

Does anyone know when Ben Davis will be ready?

But I don't think Torre would play him in RF every day, as long as Sheff is available.

12 I'd agree with that. Bubba's cute, which doesn't hurt when it comes to appealing to female fans. ;-) And even Yankee fans like rooting for the underdog.

I am watching the Cubs-Braves game. They were interviewing Smoltz, and the entire time, Hudson was throwing popcorn at his head. If the trade rumors pan out, Hudson will be a great addition to the Yankee pitching staff, if he can throw baseballs half as well as he can throw popcorn.

That's good news. It sounds like he'll get some playing time the question I guess is how long a leash does "it's his job to lose" translate to.

man, david wright is awesome.

let's go yankees!!!

Why is his nickname "Leche?" Did I miss something?

13 No no no. The reason girls like Bubba is two fold, and neither reason has anything to do with his looks. I mean he is better looking than, say, Giambi's greasiness, but that ain't saying much.

No, girls like him because 1. we have a soft spot for, and root for the underdog and 2. Bubba is a fun name to say.

Ok, well, the 2nd reason is one of my own and may not necessarily reflect all women. lol.

I dunno about Bubba's name. As several observers have noted, it sounds more like a football name than a baseball name.

Then there was that long thread at NYYFans, where someone was arguing that he didn't want Bubba on the team because he was dumb and uneducated. I guess if your name is "Bubba," you are presumed dumb and uneducated, even if you have a degree from Rice University...

And the bottom of the order comes through...

Season at Yankee: 2 for 17 for a .118 avg, 1 bb, 7 ks.

Yikes. I bet Jorge's toddler son could match those numbers no problem.

You can email me:
jen AT nosenseworrying DOT com

Jorgew Pipp?

Kind of odd that the top of the order is still hitless, while Stinnett is whaling away. (3 for 3, with a double and a homerun!)

This guy loves to swing. He was very cool about coming back, but this guy loves to play.

Well, you know what 15 runs means?

The Yanks will avg about 2 runs per game this week.

He did get the RBI cycle however, 4, 3, 2 and then he hit a single up the middle for 1 RBI. lol.

58 What about poor Mitch Jones? Called up just in time to arrive at Shea for an evening game, sent back to Columbus the next day when Farnsworth's back went out.

Erickson...I'm kind of surprised they put him in. Maybe there isn't anyone else.

Good to see Melky continue to improve, A-Rod pick up the slack while Giambi is slumping, and the bottom of the order tee off. Keep it up, Yanks!

Too bad Robby missed out on the fun. ;-)

I wonder if anyone on the team consider the only right handed thing.. just try it out for a week or two or something... his splits are still ridiculasly favoring right.. unless he is facing nothing but crap lefties (which he isn't... he did hit against Zito and Glavine etc...) he just seem to hit so much better right handed... and more over watching last night's game saw some horriblly ugly swings .. (like that check swing shot to 3rd... = =b)

Well talk about returning to means, this game the offense just overran KC and the pitching was solid.... too bad Bo Sox won too ack.

And Pittsburghs' Craig Wilson is apparently with disgruntled the Pirates. He's upset at being benched with Casey coming off the DL. He and his agent aren't speaking to the Pirates' management. His contract is up this year, I believe. The Yanks should give him a look. He can catch and play 1B as well as OF, and shouldn't be too expensive.

The Pirates seem to be the kind of club that needs cash more than prospects, so maybe Wilson wouldn't be too pricey.

Even when Melky falls, he's still able to stand tall out there.

I'm definitely liking Melky. He seems to be winning over some of his critics, too, though some still complain about his lack of power.

99 He's 21, give him a break on the lack of power thing.

I'll go further: I don't think the Yanks need any more power. We need contact hitters who don't strike out more than we need more big bats, IMO.

But for now, he's adding value and that's a good deal in my estimation.

Why is Damon stealing up by 6? Sure, maximize your team's score, but poor KC...

Our kids certainly seem to have larger upsides than most expect...perhaps because they aren't being taught the basics in the minors. No one expected Bubba to even make the team. Robby's defense was supposed to be too weak for the big league. Wouldn't be surprised if Melky's defense becomes much better, too.

I hate these games where you get off to a big lead early but don't completely blow it open. Somehow they usually turn out to be nail bitters.

How long is Proctor going to stay in?

And in the game on TV here in Michigan, our old pal Tony Womack started at 2B today, and has a single and a run.

Now, how about some insurance runs? C'mon, Yanks!

4.5 Giambi
4.0 Damon
3.9 Jeter/Cabrera/Posada
3.8 Sheffield/ARod/Matsui/Williams
3.2 Cano/Crosby

obviously that isn't everyone. But I was curious whether or not Damon had returned to his previous P/PA and where Cabrera stood. What is amazing, is Giambi's numbers!

at-bats(hits + walks + times hit by pitch) + total bases(at-bats + sacrifice flies + walks + times hit by pitch) / at-bats(at-bats + sacrifice flies + walks + times hit by pitch)

from about.com.

A player who only walks can't have an OPS of 1 because no one would ever pitch to players who achieve OPSs greater than that - Pujols would get an IBB every time.

Doesn't sound too serious.

Baseball Reference and ESPN confirm:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/about/bat_glossary.shtml
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?page=stats/glossary

Teams pitch to Pujols because while OPS is strongly correlated with offensive value, it's not perfectly correlated. I expect the correlation breaks down in extreme cases like someone who gets walked every plate appearance. IIRC, the raw value of a point of OPB is 2-3 times the raw value of a point of SLG, but the unweighted linear adding of OBP and SLG usually works because patient batters tend to get both more extra base hits as well as more walks.

He is solid in other departments, most notably patience. If he is selective at the plate, that is a good indication that power can develop. He isn't likely to be become the next Gary Sheffield, that does not mean that there is any reason to be down on him based on what he can already do.

I somewhat tend to agree with Goldman about his defensive value. He is unlikely to develop good baseball instincts (like taking better routes to the ball), but if he is a good natural athlete, he can get by like Bernie did on the field. And he has a good arm for a corner OFer.