I think RJ scares me more than Wright.

At this point they do feel equally reliable. The difference of course being that when Wright is good it's one run over 6 IP with a lot of men stranded, and when RJ is good it's a near no-hitter with 8 Ks over 7+.

WFAN is reporting Bubba is DFA and Veras has been called up from Columbus

Radio reports that Veras has been called up, Bubba DFA'd.

I guess this means the news on Farnsworth isn't good?

4 Who's going to be our pinch runner, Jaret Wright?

6 That's "Wheels" Wright to you. ;-)

I'm more concerned about who's going to be our backup CFer. I have a feeling the answer is GOB. o_O

Girardi likes Bubba, and says he thinks he can be an everyday player. Maybe the Marlins will pick him up.

If not, he could be back in September.

And here's the lineup...

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jason Giambi DH
Jorge Posada C
Craig Wilson 1B
Melky Cabrera LF
Miguel Cairo 2B

Craig Wilson gets the start again.

Veras has put up some nice numbers at Columbus. More than a k an inning.

I love that 1-6, when Canó comes back, it'll be the best 1-8 of the AL, with Canó batting 7th and Melky 8th. Wilson/Phillips (they should be singers) are great 9th hitters.

Last time Veras was called up, he didn't get to throw a single pitch. I think he was sent down the very next day. A real cup of coffee.

11 More like an expresso ;-)

10 I'd bat 'em Wilson-Melky-Cano myself.

Also, I misreported the Lopez trade slightly. The cash went with Lopez to Boston, not with the PTBNL to Ballymo.

13 you mean 7-8-9? Shouldn't Melky or Wilson lead into Damon? I'd think Wilson-Cano-Cabrera

If they eventually replace a reliever (Ponson or Veras, I assume) with Guiel then this Veras for Bubba move is mighty smart. Sorry, Bubba, your time has come.

14 Why? Put the worst OBP in the ninth spot (Cano). Then again, Wilson-Cano-Cabrera works because you split the lefties and clump the speed, so I'd be down with that. Not that consecutive spots in the order make much of a difference.

Newsday reported that the Yanks are not comfortable with only 11 pitchers. They were going back to 12 eventually. Definitely before the Red Sox doubleheader. Veras may not stick, but he'll probably be replaced with another pitcher if he doesn't. (Dotel? Pavano? Beam?)

I cannot believe that Chase Utley's 35 game hit streak is nightly news on SportsCenter. For crying out loud, its 35, not 45! Come talk to me then.

17 Adding an extra pitcher before the five game series makes some sense, but 12 pitchers really limits bench options. I just wish the team didn't carry pitchers with such limited use, like Ponson. The justification seems to be: he's there only in case Lidle/Wright/Johnson falters. So, if they pitch well, the 12th pitcher is never used, leaving essentially a 24 man roster. This seems like backwards logic to me.

Wouldn't it be better either to carry only pitchers than can be used in higher leverage situations than blow outs?

17 I think they are betting on Dotel. Torre probably doesn't want to see Beam again this year after the few stunts he pulled. And randym77, did you just throw in the other name for fun?

I don't know why I have a gut feeling Unit is gonna be big today. Since I had a good guess the time pitched before his last outing, I'm gonna go ahead and say,

Big Unit: 2 runs in 8 innings.

20 Unit needs to go at least 8 innings. MO is the only one who hasn't worked recently. The others can use some rest in this heat.

Orel babbling away on SportsCenter right now about Papelbon for Cy Young Award. Am I crazy, or does not giving the Cy Young to MO either in 1996 or any of the last few seasons preclude giving the award to any closer short of one having a run like Gagne had? With Verlander and Liriano, and Halladay, I just don't see how they can give it to Papelboner.

But then again, even Blue seems to be in love with Boston these days, so they probably will give it to him.

18 The lead in on SportsCenter was "Is Javy Lopez what the Red Sox need to catch the Yankees? Orel Herschiser will have that and more..."

Gag.

Re: Utley — As I write this: Orel says: "I don't think Utley can do it (reach 56) because of the media pressure today."

You mean like when certain networks so spastic about it with 20+ games to go, and air it 15 times a day? Ya think, Orel?

22 After they screwed MO out of the Cy Young Award last year, the voters have NO business giving it to Papelbitch. Though I know they would LOVE to give the MVP and Cy Young to Sawx players.

24 Yes, I'm sure a horrible deffensive catcher with a .726 OPS will lead the Sawx into the playoffs. Way to go ESPN.

20 Pavano seems to be progressing faster than they thought. Maybe he smells a possible World Series, and wants to be part of it.

Yesterday, he pitched a sort of simulated game, with the dearly departed Bubba and the soon to be dearly departed Nick Green as lefty and righty batters. They are talking about rehab games now.

24

I think the media today (which, coincidentially isn't measureably more intense today than it was when Joe D played) is balanced pretty well against the fact that Joe played every game during the day, had less advanced training and diet, and he had to take a fucking train between cities for God's sake. All things considered, iIt is far easier to do it today, far easier. Olney clearly needs to do his research concerning what the media coverage was like in NYC when Joe D was in the midst of that streak, he's just, well, wrong.

I just realized we could have a bench of Cairo, Wilson/Phillips, Williams, Fasano when Cano returns. That's not that bad I guess, but we would still need someone who can play a good (or at least solid) OF there.

To be fair, Paps is very deserving...no matter who he plays for. Of course BJ Ryan has nearly identical numbers and no one is suggesting him for Cy, so maybe 25 is on to something :-) Mo got screwed, but Papelbon has better #s this year, no? I just don't see him beating out the likes of Liriano. I say Paps gets the ROY and Liriano the Cy.

29

Wilson Phillpis on the bench? Please tell me we have the fat one and not the blonde one. I bet she can rake, just "hold on one more day."

30 Verlander gets nothing?

25 It was Santana who got screwed last year, not Mo.

32 Paps' and Liriano's #s are otherworldly. Verlander is merely insanely good. It's a shame there's so many deserving candidates this time. Any other year, Verlander runs away with both of them...he'll place 2nd on both ROY and Cy. But hey, he might get a WS ring...that's nothing to sneeze at, either.

bites tongue

30

If a DH shouldn't win MVP, and I agree that they shouldn't (as they are hitters, not players) it should also follow that closers should not win the CY Young award unless they do what Gange did, pitch so dominantly that you just cannot help but give it to him. Papelbon hasn't done that. As for the DH, the same should be true, unless you break some HR or RBI record, win the triple crown, or hit .400+, you have to give it to a PLAYER that suffers the grinf in the cold and heat on that field for 162 games, not some hitter. I have long believed that simply because the DH is legal within the rules, it doesn't neccessarily follow that they must be considered for any awards. It just comes with playing only half the game.

Well, it appears poor Bubba was blindsided by this. Torre said it was very hard on them both. Joe feels like Bubba's one of his own kids; he said this is the part of the job he hates the most.

Bubba "didn't take it well." He was crushed. He changed from his uniform into street clothes, packed his stuff, and left. A horde of press followed him, but he wouldn't speak to them. He just said, "Write what you want."

Torre said if Bubba clears waivers and accepts an assignment to Columbus, he will be called up again in September.

36 I feel bad for Bubba, but surely he could see it coming? Hopefully he gets picked up by a team that can give him semi-regular playing time...he deserves that.

33

If they give it to Papelbon, it will because of his ERA, which has not ever had anything to do with the CY Young Award. If it did, Clemens wins last year hands down and RJ blows away the competition the year before that. And as you note, Santana wins last year.

If it's not ERA, you have to get through the year with 2 blown saves MAX, otherwise you have to give it to a starter. If pap finishes the year not blowing another save, then maybe you consider him, otherwise his ERA shouldn't even matter, it never has before.

I don't like the move. Veras gives us nothing to justify DFA'ing Bubba, at least not yet. Bubba is right to be pissed.

36 That's rough, ya gotta feel for him. He'll get picked up, I'm sure. It would be sweet however, if he stays with the organization, get's called up in Sept. and gets a ring. He wouldn't make a post-season roster, but I think the players woould vote him a healthy share and some bling...

According to the Orioles broadcast, the Yankees Payroll is now $250,000,000. Do facts even matter anymore in Sports?

41 No, why do you ask?

39 I would have DFA'd Green first, and taken the chance that Cairo would not get hurt until Cano gets back (and even if he did, you suffer through Phillips at 2B for one game). Then again, I wouldn't carry 12 pitchers, but that's just me.

Yeah, go Damon!

41 No. The Yankees are ruining baseball, A-Rod is a choker, "Big Papi" is the best hitter in all of baseball and is Teh Clutch and a Hall of Famer, "Jonathan" Papelbon is the single best closer in all of baseball and the history of baseball, the Red Sawx somehow have a rich and storied tradition of winning (that's what ESPN and FOX say) despite going 86 years between championships, Jeter is overrated, Curt Schilling is one of the greatest pitchers of all time, the Mets own NYC, and whatever other stuff I forgot.

Way to get it started, JD!

Can someone please explain the Lopez deal to me? If he was released then there should not have been a trade, right? He should have been free to sign with anyone. If he wasn't released, then he should have had to cleared waivers, oir cleared to the point where Boston could put in a claim. I'm confused.

What can't any team just release a player and then trade him at any point after the deadline. It seems fishy.

41 LOL. Caught that. Unbelieveable...

When it comes to "a player to be named later," what governs who the Orioles can demand as payment?

I think I'd DFA Andy before Bubba. We have Craig Wilson now, we really don't need Andy.

Though I guess where Torre and I differ on this is that Torre thinks Bernie is still a good CFer.

Damn It.

Jeez, I feel bad for Chen. Just DFA him and let him open up a theme restaurant somewhere.

49 I could see that too. Basically, I would release one of Green/Cairo/Phillips before Bubba, at least right now.

Wow, now Jim Palmer thinks the Yankees get special treatment. Fuck you Jim! What a piece of shit broadcast team this is.

Is it the Yankees fault that the Orioles have gone 10 years without picking up a halfway decent starter and decided to pay Sammy Sosa, Roberts, Chen and Lopez? Give me a break.

A-Rod with the single.

49 52 Agreed. Either Phillips or Green before Bubba...

53 Palmer used to be a rational broadcaster...

46. (how do I link a previous comment?) Here's the dillio on the Lopez thing. The way I interpret that, Lopez cleared waivers until the Red Sox made a claim on him (that is, no one made a claim before the Red Sox did). After this happened, the Orioles had 48 hours to either trade Lopez or withdraw him from waivers. Obviously, the Orioles decided to trade him. . .

48. Well, obviously, it's mentioned somewhere in the terms of the trade. The word from the Boston Globe is that the PTBNL is Adam Stern, but the problem here is that the Devil Rays (either out of revenge for the whole Lugo tapping-up, or because they actually want him) will put a waiver-wire claim on Stern - just as they probably would on Alejandro Machado, who was another possibility for the player the Red Sox were going to give away. Right now, the Orioles will send $1.4 million to the Sawx, but that number could very much change if they don't get Stern. . .

What did Abreu do? I missed his AB...

53 I hate bitter broadcasters like Palmer and the Rangers crew who spew all that bullshit.

Some 'randym' thoughts.
I think a reliever should be able to win CY, but because a starter throws more then twice as many innings, said reliever needs to have SIGNIFICANTLY better numbers then a starter.

I think a DH should be able to win MVP, but because he doesn't play te field, said DH needs to have MUCH (not quite as much as significantly) better numbers then a position player.

If Giambi goes on a tear and ends up with the same numbers as Papi, you would think Giambi should be MVP. However, Giambi does have a NEGATIVE value on defense, so how does this compare to a guy who does not play defense at all?

I think the wear and tear of playing the field gives the position player the edge, but not by too much. So said DH needs to have A LITTLE better numbers then a position player with a NEGATIVE value on defense.

It should be noted that a guy who hits 500+ HRs is usually a shoe-in for the HOF, even if he is a terrible fielder. We place a LOT more importance on 'O' then 'D', so a DH is really playing more then 'only half the game'. Or as Yogi might say "Offense is 90% of the game, the other half is Defense".

Liriano has pitched more then twice as many innings as Papsmear, and as a starter in the AL with an ERA (currently) under 2, he has to get the CY. However, if the best starting ERA is (Justin Verlander) 2.80, I think Papsmear's numbers deserve consideration.

56 Place brackets around the post number [#]

Chen with 2 Ks? Howaaaaaaah?!

I think Comcast and other broadcast owners should be sanctioned by MLB, with threats that they will lose the right to broadcast games. As an Attorney, I cannot take "the Yankees get calls that other teams don't get" as anything other than a borderline slanderous accusation that MLB Umps are cheating. This goes to the integrity of the game, and should be stopped. Criticize the payroll all you like, but you are accusing the Umps of cheating, or in the alternative, that the Yankees and the Umps have colluded to fix games, it's that simple.

53 55 HERE COME THE BIRDS!!!

every single team in MLB must shiver when those words are spoken!

Hey, Bobby's got a 'road gray' glove now...

Duque k's Utley.

Will the Duque shut him down for Joe D?

(Yeah, yeah, I know Utley's weeks away ffrom Dimag.)

62 Considering that the Orioles won a game in Yankee Stadium back in April because the HP Umpire called two balls by Chris Ray strikes to end the game with the bases loaded and tying run on 3B, the Oreoz broadcasters should STFU.

these announcers get excited even with shallow fly balls!!

65 Do it to spite ESPN, Duque! Make 'em STFU!

60 I just wanted to try it.

Some questions for anyone and everyone:

1) Isn't Nick Green more expendable at this point? Cano should return early next week (Tuesday, right?) and Andy Phillips can already cover 2B and 3B. If Jeter gets hurt, Cairo can just slide over and Phillips will take his place. And it's a lot less likely that someone would place a claim on Green, so the Yanks would probably have a better chance of holding onto him for September if need be. Admittedly, I think Guiel is a more significant bench player than Bubba, but the point here is that someone was sacrificed at the expense of a much better choice IMHO.

2) How isn't Verlander the best candidate for AL Cy Young at the moment? He's near the top of the league in wins, he has a sub-3.00 ERA, and he's been pitching all season (unlike Liriano) and has a whole lotta IP (unlike Papelbon). I certainly think Papelbon is in line for ROY (sorry, Francisco), but Verlander's the clear Cy Young right now.

3) MVP-wise, Ortiz also has to be a frontrunner right now - he leads the majors in homers and "clutch hits" should count for SOMETHING. The doesn't-play-defense argument has to be applied liberally to find another candidate who's even close (at the moment, mind you!), and if it's not Jeter or Wells, I won't consider anyone else.

Doesn't look like RJ fooled anyone in the 1st. Is he looking good to you?

66

I understand. However, broadcasters should feel free to spout off about whetever they please, BUT, accusations of cheating should get the attention of the league, if not the Umps, who should file suit.

But then again, if BBTN braodcaters can say "All Asians have the same swing" and no one bats an eye, who knows? I cringed when I heard that clown say that last night. If I cringe, it is at least borderline racist. Especially considering I can name 10-20 Asian born players whose swings look nothing like Matsui's.

Wilson!

71 that's none of your damn business.

72 ESPN can do whatever they want at this point. All of (non-intelligent) America takes their word as gospel, much like San Diego took my words as fact.

74 Yeah, let's keep religion, politics and sexual preferences out of here...

any other mlb-tv watchers getting no video, just audio?

Cy Young candidate Curt Shelling's ERA up to 3.90.

70 I agree to some extent with (3), but you need to look at other stats aside from HR and RBIs. Isn't a RS as important as an RBI? It's hard to compare Jetes to Ortiz, but if you use VORP and some other new-fangled stats, it may be closer between Jetes and Ortiz then it looks. Plus a SS gets a little extra consideration because of the importance of the position.

Anybody got VORP and EQA (and other new-fangled stats) on Jetes, Wells and Papi?

Hey, as long as the 8-9-1 hitters don't go 0-fer-13 again (thanks for showing up today, JD!), all is well.

BTW, here's an Asian whose swing looks nothing like Matsui's. . .but gets the same results:

Shin-Soo Choooooooooo!

77 yes, the stupid, commercial break sign....

81 thanks. i'll stop trying to reload it then. tried that 3 times.

Miggy in the GAPPPPPPPPPPP!

Miggy!

Have I mentioned that "Cairo is clutch" lately?

Jim Palmer is Angostora BITTER!

Cairo?! Yay!

my feed came back just in time for cairo's duble!

It is striking how little Sterling and Waldman describe the game, considering they're on radio and all. They are in rare form tonight. Please, Lord, deliver me from baseball TV hell.

CAIRO....
The best .580 OPS guy in baseball.

Knock 'em in, Cap!

Let's get this run home boys!

i love how beckett and schilling are giving away HR's

Dammit, Jete, what happened to right field...lol.

93 But they're Cy Young Award candidates don't ya know...

85 Well, according to Sterling, he's the 'best .230 hitter you'll ever see' and just now, 'he has tremendous speed.' Good baserunner too, apparently!

Damn It. Jeter 0-2 with two bad at-bats against a junk-baller. Reaches base though.

Jete down to .352 =(

There goes Palmer with the payroll again. Put a sock in it, Jim.

What happened with that Cairo thrown out at the plate thing?

OBP

Oops, Mirabelli just got injured tagging a runner out at home.

Wow! It's a NYY hate-fest in the booth!

72 ".... it is at least borderline racist"
Not to get political here but....
While I agree the comment is maybe sterotyping and maybe distasteful, shouldn't calling someone racist be when the comment is meant to have negative intent?

I mean I'm a bald guy. If chicks say bald guys are sexy (stereotyping), how insulted should I be?

100 He left third on contact, got caught in a run down, but Jetes advanced to second, then swiped third...

Way to disappoint me Abreu... a 4-pitch walk? What happened to tiring out the pitcher?

102 Seriously?

Oh boy, ESPN has their highlight of A-Rod for the night...

Shoulda had at least one more that inning. Now, Randy. Listen to me. Don't give it right back.

103 when they started babbling again about the payroll, I muted the game.

If Miramichelin is hurt, I think it would be good for them... hope he's OK

HUH? "The Birds are 2-4 over the first six games, but could just as easily be 6-0".

Not a only a hate-fest, but a booze-fest apparently. Or maybe they are just that stupid.

104, 72 For that matter, wouldn't it be racist only if untrue? What did they mean by 'have the same swing'? And is it possible that players coming from the same cultural milieu share certain playing techniques or tendencies? Is the old saw about 'not walking off the island' racist, or reflective of a style of play embodied by the likes of Soriano?

Thsis not to say the BBTN team aren't morons.

IMHO, O's announcers, Tejada not nearly as hot as Jeter. Not even close.

104

Well, first, any time you say "All" of any ethnic group exhibit a certain trait, it's racist, whether you have a negative intent or not. You can never get into a person's head to ascertain intent, that is why you have to watch what you say. I am pretty sure that in 2006, anyone with a brain cell knows that you don't say "All _____ are such and such." It's common sense. What if Orel had said "All Latin players love playing in hot weather?"

Being bald isn't the same as being a member of an ethnic minority, you know that.

I guess Abreu is OK with the 'sitting slide' as opposed to the 'forward motion dive'.

Wow... I didn't know Kevin Milar was still alive.

112

It doesn't matter whether it's true or not. But in this case, it was clearly untrue, so you agree with me then?

115 Jeez, I thought Millar retired already.

Tampa Bay up 1-0 on the Sox.

Perez better rape the Sawx like he did to us.

Unit has been in the low to mid 80s so far...

Only thing that irritates me more than failing to get a runner in from 3rd with less than 2 out is a pitcher who gets a lead and then goes out and gives some/all of it right back. Please don't do that, RJ.

Come ON Big Useless

The only thing comforting me is that this Randy Johnson is that he is better Javy Vazquez.

Oh boy...

Doesn't sound like Unit has anything tonight. Great.

not that I want it otherwise, but its amazing that Francona is still messing around with Crisp leading off and Youkilis batting 5th.

youkilis is an on-base machine and crisp sucks. It resembles torre with womack last year but at least that experiment was over by may.

114 What if you say "All Japanese people can be traced back to Japan"?

Not pretty, but he got out of it.

Lopez is in the game for Boston now.

125 My mother-in-law accidentally called him "the Big Eunuch"

125 wasn't such a bad inning, just two hits and one of them was a broken bat single....

114 "Being bald isn't the same as being a member of an ethnic minority, you know that."
Hey.. If chicks say "Bald Jews" are sexy, I feel even better!!
(only kidding here.. no response necessary)

Miribelly is still in the game.

J-Lo Strikes Out. The Sawx could've kept Mirabelli for that...

127

Do't be ridiculous.

132

Wait, what if I say it after getting pulled over in Malibu?

134 I never agreed to that.

Lopez, K, in his first AB.

Even Giambi could steal third on Lopez.

Aside from JD, looks like 6 thru 9 is gonna do the dirtywork tonight.

There goes Palmer on the money again...

Damn It.

138 hey now, Giambi is 2 for 2 in SB

Oh, for shit's sake...

Can't...stand...O's....Announcers

Chen has 4 Ks in 3 IP. You have got to be kidding me.

139

Yea, I was at the Stadium to pick up the money delivery today in the Bronx. They arrive every other Friday. George just calls B of A and tells them how much he'll need and they send it. Don't you know that the Yankees just are delivered money.

It has nothing to do with everything that Baltimore doesn't do; putting a winning product on the field, not selling your soul to FOX or Comcast, and having fans that are willing to spend their money on team merchandise. It couldn't be that, could it?

We have left 6 men on base in 3 innings. Next time around, I think Chen gets knocked out of the game.

145 Of couse not. The Yankees get their money from Satan.

Randy has nothing on these pitches...

The Duke gets Utley to fly out to center.

143 The trick, once again, is to mute it. It's only the third inning, we've got a long way to go.

144 He switched roles with the Unit.

ok, when did baltimore become a small market?

And I am WRONG again.
Miribelly out of the game.
Talk of MRI happening.

Anybody notice that Chris Gomez pwns Randy? I swear, he always gets a hit off him.

Crawford HR.
2-0 TB over Sux.

another HR served up by schilling...

151

The same day that Oakland and the Bay Area did. You know, like Miami and Phoenix.

114, 116 I don't exactly agree with you. I think that the term 'racist' is overused, often imprecisely, to the point that it loses its meaning. To stereotype about an ethnic group strikes me is 'stereotyping' or 'ethnocentri' or 'ethnist,' but not necessarily racist (though there may be overlap).

And there are times when cultural stereotypes are, frankly, reflective of a reality. Americans are by and large overweight. Now, if someone said 'all Amricans are overweight,' I would think they were being imprecise, not racist.

Would you have ok with the comment if the announcers said 'most' instead of 'all', or is the problem with any attempt to make observations based on cultural/geographic groupings?

Another HR given up by Cy Young Schilling.

155 The long ball is contagious...

146 together with RJ, he sucks

Randy, stop eating male genetalia.

Sigh, here comes the anti-RJ.

Uh Oh, is RJ imploding?

Can't...stand...Randy...Johnson...

Well, our sudden inabilty to score off Bruce Chen might end up biting us in the ass.

152 As much as I dislike the Red Sox, I feel bad that they almost seem to be experiencing what we went through (but that doesn't mean I don't feel happy to see Schilling serving meat).

163 Yes.

Ok, who's warming?

ortiz gone. ugh.

164 It's getting closer and closer to the day when his feet get made into glue.

Randy blowing it. And we know Tampa can't hold it.

Decisions, decisions.

should I continue watching the game or should I work on my time reports??

172 Time sheets. Not as much frustration.

I think that it isn't just old age with RJ. I also think that it is pitching in NL with deeper line ups and stronger offensives.

174 AL

157

I agree in most part. Perhaps BBTN was stereotyping an entire region of the World, that's fair. It is however, still worng. It was only 50 years ago that we locked up every Japanese American we could find.

However, just like the bald thing, "Americans" are not an ethnic group. And more importantly, Americans have never been discriminated against, at least not to the degree that Asians or Latinos have, that's for sure. Fat also cuts across all ethic boundaries. That is a tough one for me, as a lefty lawyer, I am ofetn in conflict with myself, because I readily admit I carry a bias against fat people, not those with physiological or economic causes, but just plain fat people. I have no problem treating them the same way we treat smokers.

174 I meant to say "...pitching in the AL..."

I flat out can't wait 'till Hughes is Major-League Ready...

I'm takin off for bout and hour... Let the fort be held!

Johnson has nothing tonight.

173 you're probably right, but right know watching RJ pitch is as enjoyable as doing the time sheets...

Anyone feel more unbearable to watch Unit than Wright? For the least, we know what's coming with Wright, and on the good days, it always feels like a pleasant surprise. Expectations is what ruins it.

If RJ gives up a hit to that scab Kevin Millar, I'll be pissed off.

180 except a steadily climbing ERA.

182

Nope, I've never expected anything but garbage from Johnson.

182 Completely agree.

I hate Randy Johnson.

Shields is a strikeout machine 7 K's in 4 innings v. the sux!! WTF

Let's score 10 runs in this inning.

Yanks need to hang 8 or so on the board tonight I think.

182 I'll take constantly mediocre over randomly horrendous/great any day.

As far as I am concerned the rotation is Moose, Wang, Lidle, Johnson ,Wright. Johnson given the edge only because of the larger number of innings piched.

185 The last time he was even a shadow of his old self was when we needed him most, down the stretch in '04. The ALCS would not have went 7 games with him in the rotation, and Kevin Brown sure as hell wouldn't be starting game 7 if it did...

192 How the hell can you have Johnson ahead of Wright? ;-)

185 But then, there are those good old times flashing days from Unit, whereas, all Wright has brought for us was Wang (and for that, he deserves a big big thanks).

Jeter 0-3. Damn It. And against one of the worst pitchers in the MLB. Damn that hurts like a kick in the crotch.

This is probably just me - but do you any of you quietly root for the Devil Rays sometimes? Just because they're so hapless? Even when they play the Rays or Orioles I somehow find myself quietly rooting for them.

Go Damon Hollins?

196 Wow, you're really into this.

LOL! Somehow our little debate is about out #4 and 5 starters, RJ and Wright. Way to go, Lidle!

Checking back later since I don't think I can sit back and enjoy the game.

Send Abreu, Joe!

193

That 2004 ALCS is why I am so conflicted about Joe. I love him, but there is just no way anyone could think that Brown gave us the best chance to win that game. I throw Moose on 3 days, or Duque (who was on the roster and off the DL--no one knew how he would perform because fucking Joe never allowed him to pitch leading up to that series, but had him on the roster anyway!), before I throw Brown out there. And this is based on 2004 numbers, not hindsight. I remember it like it was yesterday, I opened the Sports Section, looked at my girlfriend and told her the series was over. Joe has no clue how to handle his rotation in the PS. He just treats the games as if we were playing them in April, with a 5 man rotation.

198 Yeah, I want him to win the Batting Title and shut up the haters just a bit more, because apparently being Mr. October 2.0, Mr. November, and 4 World Series rings aren't enough.

199 I know it was like 150 degrees yesterday, but taking out Lidle at 80 pitches looks worse no, with it looking like a bad Randy day. At this point in the season, maybe Torre need to start pushing starters when they are in control/big lead.

Not to mention calling the infield in in 2001 against MO, MO I tell you, he never broke a bat and caused a bloop to second, naaaa!

That infield looked like the Keystone Cops on that popup!

201 If he would've just started Moose on regular rest (due to the rain cancelled game) in game 4 instead of El Duque I don't think the series even goes 5 games. He had his foot on their throat but he saved Moose "just in case." He should've went for the kill.

Oh, Damn It already. How many baserunners are we gonna strand against one of the worst pitchers in baseball? This is getting annoying.

Damn it. Drives me crazy they can't get a runner in from 3rd with 1 out.

206

Agreed! My point made, Joe has no clue how to handle a pitching staff, it is simply more pronounced in the PS. Brenly's use of Schilling and Johnson won him the WS. Joe never would have handled any of our pitchers that way. He has to keep them rested for the December series against Boston!

We're stranding 2 baserunners per game so far against a pitcher with an ERA over 7.00, and he also has 4 Ks so far.

BUT, he's thrown 82 pitches, so maybe they're just confused with that 80 MPH fastball. He'll be out next inning and they can rape the O's 'pen.

201 Man, you could acutally write a book about that post-season, with 4/5 of it on the WS. There was some off the charts bad thinking going on there.

208 Especially when ARod is the guy who does it. That pop up will be on BBTN for sure.

You guys see that Catfish Hunter stat? It really is amazing how easy today's starters have it, and yet they still get hurt, go figure. God forbid you let a pitcher pitch until he's tired. Much better to use the same subjective pitch count standard for every pitcher, regardless of who it might be. The only benefit to this is to the mediocre pitchers who make the big leagues as bull pen bums.

Who do we have who can go long that is better then 'shitty RJ'?

J-Lo dp for Sawx.

214 umm. . .sidney ponson?

215 wow. the sawx get j-lo and we get wilson/phillips.....

Anyone watching the YES broadcast, is Ken Singleton really calling the game by himself?

215 Keep it clean, brah...

stupid pop-ups

"It really is amazing how easy today's starters have it, and yet they still get hurt". Catfish rakes. I agree totally. Probably due to be sober too often.

211

I'm just hoping Mazzili, Bowa and Pena are able to save Joe from himself if we make the PS. Fans seem to forget that we won 1996-2000 despite Joe, not because of him. He serves his purpose, in making players feel comfortable and handling them well, and shielding them from the press when he can. It is however the on field decision making and roster moves, that should be left to someone else, that's for sure.

anybody notice that there hasn't been any progress reports on Sturtze? is it just cause nobody cares or is there just no news?

let's just say zobrist, upton, and cantu have the d-rays set at 2nd/SS/3rd for the long-term future. if baldelli, crawford, hollins, and gomes can take care out the outfield and DH - and with dioner navarro destined to be the forever underachieving catcher - the rays just need a 1B and four Kazmir clones and they're in business. . .

That inning sucked.

224 Dukes and Young are also in their AAA club, do they have that.

Cy Chen is rolling...

We have to pull for the D-Rays, Boston gets KC next!

Oh My God, WTF with the offense tonight? That's Bruce Chen!

201

I don't mind the start by Brown. not what i would have done, but semi-defensible. what really pissed me off about that game is how Joe butchered it after 1st pitch. I mean, it was obvious to everyone in the stadium that Brown had nothing. Hell, we were lucky to escape the 1st with as little damage done as there was. You have,Have,HAVE to look at that situation and say, "Brownie, yer doing a heck of a job" ... and then pickup the bullpen phone. And at the 1st hint of trouble in the next inning, you're on the mound, making the change, and if the situation looks nasty, you're not calling for Javier frickin' Vasquez. Joe managing like he had tomorrow when Brown imploded is what pisses me off about that game, far more than starting Brown.

El Duque TRIPLED for the Mets!

Is the game paused or is my gameday?

Nice play miggy, we need to score some runs now. Enough of this crap, we should be pounding these guys.

232 It's GameDay...

anybody know how many pitches Randy has thrown??

Tribe is pounding Detroit, 5-0, top 6. If that holds and we can figure out Sandy Fn Koufax here, Yanks'll be 4 back of the Tigers in the loss column...

230

We agree for the most part. Even with starting Brown, he has to go to Moose or Duque in the second. Like I said, Joe was preparing for the December series, he always believes there is a game tomorrow.

234 It's doing worse than RJ.

235 73

234 One too many...

ouch. tatis gone.

tied up, this is aggravating the sh_t out of me, fellas turn it on NOW!!!!

Fernando Tatis? He was sorta good...in 1996 or so...sorta...

There goes that. Thanks RJ, thanks. Well, to be fair, if he gets through the next two innings, blame the Offense for this one.

Sorry, 240 was for 235

Fernando Tatis?! Unbelieveable! Yep, it is all Mel and Jorge's fault that RJ sucks.

238 And the offense is confuzzled even worse. I do understand though how an 80 MPH fastball and 80 MPH changeup can be confuzing.

And Fernando Tatis hits his 1st HR since 2003.

and now he is bat shy. get him out of there before it gets worse. wait, it just got worse.

I'd bet anything the Yanks have a better record than the Tigers by the end of the season. Anybody want to take that bet? Randy is at how many pitches?

rj just really stinks!

244 You're right. This is still within the realm of a 'quality start' if you can believe that...

urge.
to.
kill.
rising.

Thank God we got Lidle. I have serious doubts as to whether Johnson will be even mildy effective come PS time.

I've heard alot of guys say junk throwers are harder to hit than hard throwers. It screws up your timing so much.

251

Agreed. However, I cant help but believe that if we are playing Chicago, it is 8-3 right now.

252 Urge. To. Kill. Slowly Fading. Fading. Rising! Fading...

Sigh

I know I'm an adult and I need to take responsibilities for my own actions... but I'm about to go outside and have a cigarette for the first time in a week, and I'm going to go ahead and blame this one on Randy Johnson.

oh, mr. francona. now that you've DFAed huckaby to allow javy strikeout-doubleplay-what-comes-next lopez an esteemed spot on the roster, what to do when belli misses some time?

i hear kelly stinnett is available. so is john flaherty (who was in red sox spring camp!) - but you might have to wrest that mike away from him.

258 Oh! Never mind. Nicorette it is.

Have faith fellas, the Yanks just woke up after that inning.

DIAF Randy.

can't we just have Ronnie point up at the scoreboard and say ... "look Randy, rabbits!"

i mean, wouldn't that be better for everyone involved?

comecast is having a blast!!

Ponson, please.

manny up, 1st and 2nd 1 out

251. miggy T doesn't like your quality start.

251. miggy T doesn't like your quality start.

Is our offense even awake enough to tie this game, let alone give us a big Randy-proof lead?

Man.... Mora spent so much time 'paying tribute to God' BEFORE he crossed the plate, he ALMOST didn't score.

SHIELDS IMPLODING, WILD PITCH 2ND AND 3RD, WALK MANNY PLEASE!!!

264 I hope they DIAF.

268 I knew I should not have typed those words...

Nurse! I need a baserunner!

271 Hey, it's the D-Rays... brace yourself for a Red Sox sweep. Anything else is just a gift.

I'd rather put in Villone than Sir Fatass.

Did u guys see Tejada loafing out of the box??? What a gun by Abreu.

223 oh yeah, kyle, i forgot to mention what little news i've heard about tanyon the man. . .yon:

RHP Tanyon Sturtze (surgery to repair a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder) is out for the season.

(NJ Star-Ledger)

Terrific, the offense has officially signed off for the night.

C'mon, Cap. Snap the team out of it!

jeez, the trop sounds like fenway with the YOUK CALL, 2-2 IN TAMPA 1ST AND 2ND 2 OUTS

YEAH CAP

Thank You. Abreu-Alex-Jason up next. If these three don't result in at least two runs, I'll vomit.

sweet the rays escaped tied at 2, does anybody know how many pitches RJ has thrown???

283 81, 53 for strikes...

282 Hope you have a bucket handy.

Thanks Bklyn

283. are you hoping for lots of pitches, so that torre decides he's done? because i am.

This is torture. Come on guys. We cant give Chen a W, thats unthinkable. 23-9 againgst lefties this season, you cant lose to the worst of them.

285 I really should stop daring them like this, because I know they always dissapoint, and when we're down in the 6th inning, it's an automatic forfeit by our offense.

Rays rallying, 1st and 2nd no outs

sac bunt by rays 2nd and 3rd 1 out

yes randy,exactly what we needed, cmon O-fence. intentional walk by curt, bases loaded 1 out

264 Bet balance has shifted, time sheets more fun than game now.

another night with 0 k's for RJ

another night with 0 k's for RJ

Hit a HR off Tubby, A-Rod!

okay, everyone. it's time for another debate on the usefulness (or completely POINTLESSNESS) of intentional walks.

runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, and schilling (i mean francona) hands the free pass to. . .dioner navarrow?!. . .to get to b.j. upton, who's batting .308.

can't you just take your chances with the poor hitter and try to strike him out? is putting a man on for free that important that you give an IBB to a hitter like navarro?

297 i mean "is getting a DP opportunity so important that. . ."

Like I said, offense is done for the night. Unbelievable. Bruce Chen and his 7.00 ERA will actually get a win against us and give up only 3 runs. That's pathetic.

293 the thing is MLB.TV has shifted to my main man Singleton, so I'm back monitoring the game instead of watching it.

but time sheets are never more fun than anything....

Shrill gets out of it. 2-2 in TB.

297 But of course, it worked out...because Ortiz is so clutch and A-Rod is unclutch.

301 with 2 k's...... dammit

Up Yours Tomas Perez. You little shit. You killed our pitchers and eat testicles against the Sawx. DIAF!

Just got back. WTF?! Only three runs!

15 LOB. Ugly.

305 Well, you have to understand, they were facing Bruce Chen. He's a special pitcher. I mean, a pitcher has to be pretty special to have a 7.00 ERA.

Alright, here we go Yan - kees....

307 LOL!

304 My sentiments exactly.

+YESSSSSSSSSSSSS WILSON!!!!!!

Hell yeah new guy!

Credit Cashman with that RBI...

Wison Wilson Wilson!

Sox also ties it 2-2.

Craig Wilson ALSO mashes righties. ;-)

Thank You Sir Wilson.

and flaherty's evil twin ties it with a double.

Well this Wilson kid can it. Can I say again how much I love Cashman. This lineup is great. They are walking Melky and Bernie being used as a PH.

IBB to Cabrera. He reall has come a long way!

This is where Guiel would come in handy.

If we don't get the go ahead run in here, I'm gonna...

C'mon, Bernie - remember '96?

burn baby bern PHing for Cairo, unless Joe is bluffing

Clutch Hit!
But man is Jorge slow. Do you think he was gonna score on that?

Here comes the dreaded IBB!

I HATE HATE HATE man on 3rd, less then 2 out situations with this team. Is a Sac fly too much to ask for?

good use of bernie here, except he doesn't have a pinch hit all year.

here comes bernie and his magical double plays

Randy is done for the night

Bernie to PH for Cairo. We need a quick DP, right? Bernie can't hit righties Joe.

Grand slam, Bernie. No f*ckin around here...

Just get it to the outfield, Bernie...

Oh wait, that's Posada on third. He probably couldn't score on a single. Hit a homer Bernie!

They intentionally walked Melky to get to Bernie?

This would be a nice time to pass Donnie M.

That's 133 pitches already.

okay, so handing out an IBB to melky to get to miggy (cairo, mind you) makes more sense than a free pass to navarro to get to upton, but my point remains:

is the intentional walk really that great of a risk? i suppose cairo grounds out enough that it's worth taking a risk, but if he strikes out and JD brings a few in, you just put on melky for absolutely no reason at all.

(sighs in disgust)

TAKE THE WALK BERNIE!!!!!!!!!

cmon JD, pick up bernie

or, you get a pinch hitter, and now you REALLY feel stupid for walking melky.

God damm*t.

Holy Fuck! Runner on third and less than 2 out is the Yankees' Kryptonite!

Ufff...

Honestly. We ALL KNEW 100% that was going to happen.

Here we go Yankees here we go

Here we go Yankees here we go

we are the man on 3rd, less than 2 outs, no runs scored kings!

I guess I should be happy. He didn't hit into a DP.

344 That's not something I'm proud of...

PH for Cairo--Good! PH Bernie v. RHP--not so good. Gueil would have been the better choice...oh, yeah.

would have loved to have guiel rather than GOB there

334 A ground ball can end the inning with bases loaded and one out with no one scoring. A force at home is also a better option then a tag play.

340 we need some red krypto!

too much smallville...

i;m with u 3rd gen, positivity, HERE WE GO YANKEES, HERE WE GO. damn it all 1st and 3rd 2 outs for the sux.

Ah c'mon you guys, we're not gonna lose this game...

That was a strike?

HOLY GOD, this guy's ERA IS 15.75

I don't get pinch-hitting Bernie for Miggy. Miggy is batting .313 with RISP.

This just might not be our night

And that's that.

354 But he gets out of it.

That's 12 runners stranded so far tonight.
Though that sucked for Johnny.

Don't worry, Captain VORP leads off the eighth.

Who leads the AL in LOB?

This is where sending out Proctor and Farns yesterday hurts. Thanks Joe.

Man, at this point Yanks can't complain, left way too many on base to expect to win.

355 Bingo! You gotta give Miggy the hacks there.

Seth McClung is an albino.

ooooooooo and back from the minors, it's Well-Hung McClung with the clutch out.

I find it hard to believe that Palmer was ever a "decent announcer."

362 Yep. But many posters yesterday said that 1] Posnon had to be saved if RJ blew up, and 2] they needed the work yesterday. Hmmm.

Villone gonna walk the lefty?

368

There is no way in hell I thought that using Proctor and Farns yesterday was a good idea.

TB gets out of a 2nd and 3rd situation.
Still 2-2, bottom of the 7th.

This Yankee team is really a good team. I know that. This is a really good team.

But once again, as happens SO MANY TIMES, they fail to get the runner in from 3rd with one out. When this happens I can't help but think... THIS TEAM SUCKS!

Thank you for allowing me to vent.

361 I thought it was the Red Sox, actually.

Schilling is pitching very well in the 7th, and at 95 pitches, will probably pitch the 8th.

man Joe gets killed here, Unbelieveable to me. It's sooo fucking easy to sit here behind our keyboards and say do this dont do that. I'll take Joe every time. Ungratefulness abound. Yankee fans are spoiled rotten and it makes me sick. Villone was horrible that inning too. 1-2-3.

368 that would be me. but there is no way that we should have used both proctor and farnsworth. That said, Rivera is rested, as is Villone. Myers should have been used yesterday for an inning.

Wait. Is myers still on this team?

An interesting Deadspin article: http://tinyurl.com/mwem3

A few commenters have speculated on the possibility of Fat Mat Ortiz juicing.

370 Not faultin' you, but read back through the thread.

368 the key is that Ponson is the guy in our pen who we know can go 5 or 6 innings (how well is another issue)

374

Joe deserves it. He yanks Lidle at 80 pitches. He brings Proctor into an 8 run game. He almost brought Mo in. He brings Farns into a 7 run game. What aren't you getting?

Damn. One pitch?

This would be a great time for that Abreu power abyss to end.

367 Ages ago when Palmer was on one of the networks, he actually was a breath of fresh air. I think the hair spray did something to his brain cells over the years...

Oh, for shit's sake...

382

Either that, or he was instructed to give the impression that it is the rest of the league that is responsible for the O's bad play, not a horrible owner and GM.

Hate on BBT's copy editors, A-Rod. Blast one here...

Joe said that's why they DFA'd Bubba. Basically, he said he wanted a bad pitcher. Seriously, he said with only 11 pitchers, they were left to use Proctor and Farnsworth in blowout games (winning or losing). He felt that was a waste. So they decided to call up Veras. I assume it would be Beam if he was eligible, but we just sent him down.

Yanks and Boston both tied in the 8th. Who thinks we have a better chance of winning than they do?

384 LOL! That, too...

386 Wait, they DFA'd Bubba? When did this happen?

SO myers isnt bad enough for Joe?

378 In my opinion, that's totally flawed logic/BP construction. You have starters who you know can go six or more innings, and you have relievers. The idea that you must carry a five or six inning reliever is predicated on the belief that your starters will regularly not go more than three innings. If that's the case, you get a new starter. You don't burn multiple roster spots with one (or more) bad starters AND a long reliever--especially if the long reliever is Ponson!

As Stormer 379 says, if Torre used Lidle for more than 80 pithces, or if he used Ponson with the seven run lead, he would have a full BP tp use if RJ only goes five. Villone or Proctor should be able to go a couple of innnings if they aren't used every day or with seven run leads.

I'm back and I'm not happy. I will be even more unhappy if they lose this VERY WINNABLE GAME AGAINST A SUCKY HORRIBLE DISGUSTING TEAM.

F*CK!!!

that 1-6 is not looking so good right now...

389 Yeah, he stole the red glove from Abreu's locker. Torre canned him on the spot...

Remeber the game when they scored like 7 runs on 4 hits? Well, 12 hits and 4 runs? C'mon, what the hell?

391 The problem is that your predication that our starters can go 6 innings has been consistently proven wrong. It is ideal, that if this happens frequently, to have someone in the pen who can.

Jeter - Abreu - A-Rod. Not one of them even gets on base VS. Latroy Hawkins. That's weak. Now Proctor will come in and do his thing, by which I mean give up the eventual game-winning HR.

Joe deserves it, lmao. Yeah he's an atrocious manager, yup, u got it right. Give me a break. The guy is a fine manager IMO. His use of the BP is questionable at times but it's so easy to sit here and question moves after the fact. 3 days ago he got killed for starting bernie and what did bernie do??? He can't win no matter what he does and I stand by my comment. Yankee fans are spoiled fucking rotten and it sickens me.

And Ortiz goes yard... AGAIN

Ortiz goes yard. Fortunately only a solo shot.

391

Ortiz hits what will be the game winner! LOL. With 2 guys over there at least a player and 1/2 better than anyone we have, this race is far from over.

387 difficult question there. I think the yanks have a better chance v the o's bullpen, but Francona takes more "risks" on the road with tied games. he uses the closer if its tied in the 9th.

torre likes to push the envelope a little too hard with his bullpen in tied games on the road. I know he has used Mo in the past in these situations but he does it very reluctantly...

389 Right before the game. Bubba was crushed. He left without saying good bye to his teammates or speaking to the press.

Joe was also pretty upset, but he just wasn't comfortable with only 11 pitchers.

like the k but the strike zone has stunk all night to be honest.

389 The decision was made for another arm in the pen. Apparently Bubba did not take it too well. Here's a link from YES Network.com:

http://tinyurl.com/k8hyf

Aren't the odds of the home team winning when it is tied in the 9th like a million to one?

403 as I was typing, my comment was wasted with "el mounstro come galletas"

397 Not true. I recognize that Wright will only give five and that RJ is flaky. But Mussina and Wang consistently go deep. Lidle had only thrown 80 pitches and had a big lead. It was Torre who pulled him AND replaced him with high leverage pitchers. If you use Ponson with the eight run leads, then you have more options IF (and when) RJ goes four instead of six or seven.

Torre need to be less ritualized with his BP use--manage to the situation.

399 Wow Phee, no need to get that upset. People on this board point out decisions they disagree with. That's one of the reasons we come here. Its not being spoiled rotten to say you disagree with a decision Joe made. Everyone is fallible.

Come on Joe, Mora has a .712 OPS vs. lefties.

for those of you keeping score, it's Tampa Bay 2, Boston 0.5, and David Ortiz 2.5.

(apart from the two homers, he was intentionally walked, which moved up Loretta - who later scored)

again, Boston would be below Toronto with that guy. without manny, they would be fighting with TB for the cellar.

Is Jack McKeon available? The only manager left who doesn't count pitches.

391

Agreed! All a 5 man rotation with a pitch cound guarantees you is that you will have an inferior pitcher in the game in late situations. A 4 man rotation with one of them designated as the long man worked for 100 years. Now we have a 5 man rotation with an ADDITTIONAL long man. It makes no sense and only serves to allow pitchers who have no business in the Major Leagues a job, that's it and that's all.

Where did that one miss?

412

Yea, but the problem is that Manny and Ortiz together are better than our 1-5 hitters combined, when it comes to influencing and winning games.

we're toast

409 I believe that 397 is very true. Obviously it doesn't apply to Moose and Wang. But Lidle and Wright and Johnson are always question marks. Just because they do ok this turn through the rotation doesn't mean it will happen again.

With HR #39, Ortiz is on pace to hit 59.
If this guy isn't juiced, he's having a pretty amazing year.

415 What? You'd trade our top 5 for Manny and Ortiz?

416 Why do I feel the same way?

Well, I see where this night is going. I'm gonna go and kill something. ESPN will be gushing tonight with the Sawx tying us back for 1st.

419

Less Jeter, absolutely.

proctor is wild tonight.

Wow! That was huge. Good job, Scotty!

Mora and MT have better RHP splits, so what does Joe do? Bring in a RHP who threw 25 pitches yesterday.

Keep your collective chins up - DP gets us out of it.

I was so hoping for a DP there. And got it.

wow, a-rod, green and wilson, great play!!

C'mon guys... lets start thinking positive. Maybe all of our positive will power sent towrds the Yankees way will work wonders.

tommy I'm not saying people can't disagree but Joe gets bashed on a regular basis on most blogs I visit and I get frustrated too but to call him out on a decision on Aug. 4th after what he has done for the Yanks the last 10 years makes me queasy. I'm sorry if I snapped but ask Jete or Posada or Mo what they would do for Joe and they would say they would lay down in front of an oncoming train, I think that tells me all I need to know about the guy and his abilities as a manager. Yessss DP, nice. Lets get some runs boys!!!

I keep going back and forth - is Scott Proctor the real thing, or what? I'm starting to be convinced. But then, I was once pretty high on Tanyon Sturtze too...

TB will tie it v. manny, he sucks

Who pitches the 9th?

Revenge againgst Ray for that Matsui called strike?

I wouldn't trade Giambi, A-Rod, and Damon for Manny and Ortiz. That creates a huge hole at 3rd and center, and the, what, 15 home run upgrade isn't worth the loss in defense.

OK, I just realized how ridiculous it is that I lent this trade idea any credence.

I'm with you SF yanks, positive thinking. Lets beat these mutts.

we're toast

(worked last time)

C'mon, Yanks. One long ball, Enter Sandman and let's go home...

425 and, only because joe torre makes the decision, everything turns up peachy.

you know, i wonder what would have happened if dusty baker were the manager of the yankees and had made the exact same call to the BP.

Lead off single stretched into an out by TB....lol. What a joke.

That should be outlawed, illegal, against the rules all in one.

JORGIE!!!

wow

JORGIE JUICES ONE!!!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, Jorge is SO CLUTCH!!!!!!

JORGE!

Yes, enjoy Javy Lopez, Boston.

JORJEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

438 well, there's your long ball.

It's almost like Cleveland and TB are trying to help the Sox.

Posada! Yes Yes Yes! Someone besides Giambi finally goes deep! Yes, that is a dig at Arod.

buh bye.

POSITIVE THINKING SF, WOO HOO!!!

448 Now Mo just has to be Mo and we're good...

Can someone in Tampa please please please do the same thing to Papelbitch?

See. Some positve thoughts sent that way. Lets keep it going though.

437 Good job there tocho :-)

This HP Umpire should DIAF.

His efforts are thwarted though as Posada does his thang.

GOOD CALL BKLYN

oh hell yes!

Woohoo!!!! Let's hope Mo isn't rusty...

452

And hope Papelboner blows the save and puts the Cy Young talk to rest.

you too tocho

430 I don't think most people here are calling for Joe's head. Most of us appreciate all of the positive things Joe does and realize a lot of them don't show up as easily, but when he pitches Proctor seemingly every single inning or starts a player that is not the best option I see nothing wrong with commenting on it. You can disagree with someone and still like them. I frequently disagree with some in game decisions Joe makes but I still think he's a great manager.

438 Nice job.

417 That's true, but when the do perform well (like Lidle did yesterday) you have to exploit that opportunity. Torre has gotten to the point where he yanks #4 and #5 regarldless of the score in the fifth/sixth inning. And he uses Proctor and Villone no matter what the situation. So, Lidle pitches well and the Yanks have a big lead, and he still uses the high leverage BP guys. Then RJ turns around and gives a strained six inning performance, so you still don't use Ponson and you have to go back to the high leverage guys again.

I guess I am of the philosophy, not very popular these days, that with a 25 man roster every player whould 1] have a role and 2] that role should be relatively frequent. Having don't-use-except-in-case-of-emergency players just burns roster spots. It's like carrying Cairo and Green, but that's another problem.

Palmer has to shut up about the "salaries", peter angelos has TONS of money, he just doesn't have a brain.

Get on base, Melky. Let's give Mo a little margin for error — yes, that a crack on A-Rod ;-0 — just f'n kidding, just kiddin'...

461 yessss!!!!!

I just want two things tonight: MO gets an easy 1-2-3 save and Papelbitch somehow blows the save and loses in Tampa Bay, just to put a sock in ESPN's proverbial mouth.

Melky with 4 times on base tonight!

465 Well said!

Look, even if Liriano doesn't give up another earned run all year, ESPN will still be calling for Papelbon to win the Cy Young.

Ya know, sometimes I really hate the way sterling is so enthusiastic about our opponents!

464 I tend to be more cautious. It is a challenge to keep a specialist like that and it would certainly have been reasinable to use Ponson there. The problem would be if Randy went 3 innings tonight and had to be pulled, Ponson is thereby unavailable if used yesterday. But it does come down to judgement in the end and both approaches make sense to me.

millar, conine, hernandez coming up.

let's get this W one on the books MO!!

oh, BTW, we're toast

PHEWWWWW

473 Fair enough. Let's hope our ninth inning specialist does his job! : )

Tigers, down 5-0 against the Tribe, win 7-6...

475 Don't stop now ;-)

it looks like there is vaseline on the lens on baltimore's feed, yess mo, 2 more

1 Out.

Whew - I've seen one too many balls bang off the front of Damon's glove and bounce away NOT to be nervous when he has to run a long way...

478 Well, I'm glad the idiots don't play favorites, they just flat out spit the bit against everyone.

i'm glad millar is out of the mix, don't like him v mo.....

464

I could not agree more. I have a more fundamental issue with it as I stated above. Having a 5 man rotation AND a long man smacks of little league. I am waiting for a manager and team to have the guts to go with a 4 man rotation with a long man who gets the spot start, battling with the 4th starter, when days off make it necessary to have a 5th starter. It is still one starter too many, but hell, you cannot even get a MLB team to eek near the way it is supposed to be done.

The bullpen is where you put your closer, and the rest of your pitchers not good enough to start, that's the way it is supposed to be. The way teams use the bullpen today only makes Scot Boras more money, and the teams worse. It would be one thing if starting pitchers got hurt more in the past because of higher pitch counts, but they didn't.

481 Hey Ron, BTW- just got your movie from Blockbuster Online - I've been wanting to see it again since I've been seeing your name so much on the site...

Papelbon has 29 Saves in 32 Chances. Mo has 26 in 28. Therefore Mo has been better, ERA means little for a closer, its about conversion. Ok Mo is 4-5 and Pap is 3-1 so it evens out but this Papelbon=Cy Young stuff is crazy.

482 Same exact thought was racing through my mind... whew!

How old is Jeff Conine? Seriously? I feel like he's been playing my entire life.

Conine scares me, not to hit a homer but get a hit

you know, ben zobrist (.077 AVG) is sort of a reverse lock to tie this game up.

Come on, Mo. Iron fist!

damn it all I jinxed us, sorry all, c'mon MO !!!!!!!

Oh, WTF Man.

Mo is playing for a bonus here I believe, for finishing games.

Where the F was that pitch???

WHERE THE HELL WAS THAT PITCH??????

Is the umpire aware of what a strike zone is?

498 the strike zone has been bizarre all night.

Boston wins.

2 outs for Papelbon and the guy he is facing doesn't even have a picture on gameday, always a good sign.

Dude, this Umpire really should die or get hit with something hard.

Hey Palmer, you still think we get special treatment from the umps, you leather queen?

487 How can you say ERA doesn't count. There are save when you are up by one, and saves when you are up by 3. When you are only up by one, ERA certainly counts.

Mo is possibly the best, most consistant reliever in history. Papsmear is having a better year, this year, so far.

zobrist is also a non-reverse lock for a first-pitch out. nice.

499 Bizzare is one thing, but knee high on the outer half (not even corner) that's a strike. So was that last pitch. I mean is anything but the middle of plate being called?

Strike 'em out throw 'em out...

487 I'm not saying he deserves the Cy Young, but you've gotta give him credit -- Papelbon's been absolutely amazing so far this year. I don't like it either, but there it is.

Woo Hoo! Thanks Mo, thanks Jorge.

YES BABY... YES!!!!!

Game over. Thank you Jorgie, Johny, Craig and Mo.

That'll work, too ;-)

YANKEEEEEEEES WIN!

Cha-ching!

YES!

yeahp.

The Yankees win.

And I must say, Craig Wilson looks just as good on defense as Andy.

510 Don't forget Cairo.

This ump deserves to get hit in the crotch with a sledgehammer.

Screw him, we win anyways.

YEAH BABY GOOD JOB ALL, POSITIVE THINKING. The Yanks are at 7-1 to win it all in Vegas and I'm betting $100. Have a good nite all!!!

510 and the player of the game is. . .

whore-hey, right?

Who needs a consistent strike zone anyway?

Utley's hit streak ends

510 Add a nice throw from Abreu to end that inning, too...

For all of us here at the Evening News Team,
I'm Ron Burgundy.
You Stay Classy, Bronx Banter.

really Utley's streak is over? That's a shame. HEE HAW

Unless Gordon blows it in the 9th, the Utley streak is over. He just K'd in the ninth to make him 0-5.

515

The numbers on Andy are just slightly above avaerage on defense. We just see it through rose colored Yankee glasses. Andy cannot hit, and he is barely above average on defense. Cutting a guy loose with potential and keeping a guy with no upside, while making 1B packed with Giambi Phillips and Wilson, made no sense.

515 Maybe Bubba is still at the airport. Call his cel phone, tell him to come back and we'll DFA Phillips!

And Mo's option vests!!!!!!!!!!

527

We sure as hell should have. But hey, even the Yankees need a 30 year old no upside average defender career minor leaguer.

521 Really on Utley? That is good. Now that won't completely dominate gamenight.

526 We see Andy's defense through Giambi colored glasses!

525 Good. This Utley thing was taking too much airtime away from the Red Sox.

530

The funny thing is, by the numbers, Phillips is just barely better than Giambi. But Joe loves him and that is all that matters. If another outfielder goes down, or God forbid we need some D in the OF, it will make keeping three 1B, when one of them is Andy Phillips, look even dumber than it does right now.

LMAO Bklyn, good one.

Andy is actually slightly below average on defense, using Cliff's favored BP "rate."

But I don't think it's fair to say he can't hit. It's really odd, how bad his numbers against lefties are. He's hitting .195 against lefties this year. That's not normal for him. If his left/right splits returned to normal, he'd be a pretty good hitter.

Might just be an adjustment to the majors thing. He has a hole in his swing. He can't hit the high outside fastball from a lefty. If he fixed that, I think he'd be a decent hitter.

Nice to see that Dioner Navarro STILL isn't contributing to the Yanks.

now, utley's streak ending is official. gordon just struck out two to end the game!

The streak's over. Long Live The Yankee Clipper!

531 Heheh - funny to watch all the shows & analysts frothing at the mouth & gearing up for Utley to make a run at 40 games & beyond, and it ends just like that.

Wow, this WB Mason commercial is creepy.

This was a huge win. Randy looked awful but he didn't do bad enough to put the game out of reach and we took it in the end. I hope RJ can right himself, but for now we skated through another weak point in our rotation. Tomorrow, one of our two aces goes for win #14.

From Baseball Musings: The Unit hasn't struck anyone out since a start in Texas.

Well, Randy's streaky this year - this much we know.

Now let's just survive until he gets hot again.

Randy did what a 4 million 4th starter should do, he kept us in the game. Now if he would just refund us the other 12 million.

I'm really nervous at the idea of having to depend on Randy Johnson in the post-season.

Well, fortunately Wang and Moose are doing so good that Joe will have no choice but to play them #1 and #2 in the Postseason. Rght? Right? Oh, please tell me joe...

538 Man, even the (O's feed) Comcast/FSN 'in-studio' report during the game was hyperventilating over it. Amazing how little original thinking and perspective there is in the media today. Hell, even the Weather Channel is getting political. There's no place to hide...

543 If that wasn't so true it would be hilarious. It's still very funny, though ;-)

What is Wang's contract status after 2006? Cot's baseball contracts says he is on a 1 year deal. He'll be pricey to resign or is he limited in his options?

someone just posted on nyyfans.com that Cano played 7 innings at 2B and was 3-3 at the plate.

I just heard about Bubba. Apparently, Joe was upset in his post press conference. I don't know how Bubba couldn't have seen it coming. I appreciate all that Bubba did, but I don't want him or Phillips on the Yankees. Hopefully, the Marlins claim him.

543 Good one. Ha.

Yanks win, keep pace with Sox. Sorry, I was just practicing for my ESPN tryout.

Look, Joe can be upset if he likes, but it was a stupid move, and one he could have challenged. Keeping Green with Cano coming back, when Green will have to go, leaves us without a good defensive replacement outfielder for late game situations. Not to mention that we now have 3 1st basemen in keeping the talentless Phillips. You guys can go on and on about "if Phillips just fixed this" or "if Phillips just changed that" but he's no good defensively of offensively, making him of no value to the team now that we have Wilson. All for a garbage pitcher in Veras. Bubba was right to be pissed, it makes no sense from a baseball perspective. It was shortsighted and moronic. This is the kind of crap you have to pull when you carry too many pitchers, simply for numbers sake, and have no loyalty to players. They should have just jettisoned Green or Phillips. Good luck Bubba! Make me right!

552 True. At this point, Phillip really only has value if he becomes the supersub. But since Torre won't play him at 2B unless there is an emergency (and there are serious concenrs about his D), then he might as well go. Certainly no need to have Cairo+Green+Phillips with Cano coming back, or Giambi+Wilson+Phillips.

552 Look at it this way - we only have to last a month with the roster in its current state...

Am I right that a player has to be on the team in August in order to be eligible for post season? If so, then by bringing Veras up now, Joe has made an extra pitcher available for the post-season, and Bubba not available even if he doesn't get taken by another team and returns to the Yanks in September.

This seems odd. A 12th pitcher is useless in the post season, due to all the travel days. A fast pinch runner might win a game.

good win... in the sense that we survived another terrible RJ outting .

SG over at RLYW called it right that this was the "exciting battle of two soft tossing junk-balling lefty"

548, Wang is not eligible for free agency until he has 6 years of major league service (which he probably will after the 2010 season). He's not even eligible for salary arbitration until he has 3 years ML service (after the 2007 season). Contracts are year-to-year for rookies, but Wang's options for next year are to sign with the Yankees for whatever they offer, or retire.

555

Not sure about that rule. However, if true, one more reason why dumping Bubba makes no sense, Especially if you are keeping Green and Phillips.

I have a funny feeling Johnson will turn it up a notch in post season. I also think a lot of what is going on with Johnson is mental. Sure, he doesn't throw 98 MPH anymore, but I don't think he is as unskilled as many, he is no where close to as confident as he should be. He looks frightened and uncomfortable at times, like he's not sure what the plan is. He needs to find his game plan, be confident in it, and execute as best he can. But most importantly, remain certain that it is a good plan, understand that he's capable of implimenting it, and be a little cocky about it.

This may all be wishful thinking.

555 Could be wrong, but I think for a player to be eligible for the post season, he has to be on the active roster anytime during the season prior to September 1. In this case, Bubba would qualify if he ends up in Columbus, and is called up when the roster expands to 40 because he was active prior to the date. Veras, by virtue of being on the roster today, would also qualify.

Anyone called up or signed after September 1st (without spending at least one day on the official roster prior) would not be eligible for the post season.

I'm pretty sure that is the drill, but if I've overlooked something, it will be corrected here ;-)

Having Phillips on the team now makes more sense. Bubba is hitting .207 and has only swiped 3 bags. A late innings replacement? For who? Abreu, Melky and JD dont need to be replaced. When Cano gets back Cairo is the PR, he has swiped 11 bags. Bubba has no Role. Im comfortable with the move. At least Phillips can PH righties or be an option at 1B if Wilson plays OF or Catches late inning.

561 But JD does need a day off now and then, and without Bubba, there is no back-up CF not named Bernie. Phillips is now double redundant, as the third string IF and third string 1B (and probably the third or fourth string DH).I like Phillips as a player better than Bubba, but the team's needs do not include him now.

562 Melky in CF and Wilson in LF.

This team needs a bench. Andy is a better hitter than Bubba. End of story. This team does not need to carry a guy simpl because he is fast and can play the outfield. If we really need a backup OF, which we don't, since Wilson can do it poorly if needed, than Guiel would be better. A bench of Cairo, Wilson, Phillips, Fasano (yeah, Wilson Phillips is just too good to pass on) is better than one of Cairo, Wilson, Crosby, Fasano.

I think the problem is that Joe still thinks Bernie can play CF. In fact, he said so last night. Bernie will be the backup CFer. o_O

Waldman said last night that the Marlins might claim Bubba off waivers. She said they tried to trade for him during spring training, but were turned down. Girardi always liked Bubba, and thinks he can be an everyday player. And the Marlins still need a CFer.

Might be best for Bubba's career if he's claimed. Even if he's called up again in September, I don't see any room on the Yankees roster for him next year. And the Marlins would give him a shot to play every day. He's said that's what he wants.

Bubba can say that he wants a lot of things, but the reality is that he is not a major league caliber player. He shouldn't be playing everyday. He barely belongs on the bench. Bubba is lucky that Torre is sentimental and was so fond of him because that is the only reason he stayed on the Yankees for so long. Bubba will end up just like Enrique Wilson and John Flaherty did once they left the Yankees.

I dunno, we are talking about the Marlins here. They've been using infielder Alfredo Amezaga in the outfield, along with other assorted warm bodies. Bubba's gotta be better than him.

563, 564 Yeah, you're right, I wasn't thinking about Melky in CF. So if we are talking only about a bat for the bench, then Andy > Bubba. Unfortunately, Andy doesn't offer much in the hitting department (too bad too; I lobbbied for him); he is RH like Wilson, although he has reverse splits this year. Really, the best would be to jettison Andy and Bubba and call up Guiel.

Getting rid of Bubba seems to be a tacit statement that Joe now feels Melky's defense has improved to the point where he can spot start in CF. This is a good idea, for one thing if Matsui and Sheff make it back it sets up Melky as the 4th OF perfectly. You can spot him in CF and DH JD on some days (against lefties you then also have the option of giving Giambi a rest and letting Wilson play 1st, or letting JD rest and DHing Giambi).

It also starts grooming Melky to eventually be the everyday CF in a couple of years when JD starts to break down. A large number of people have complained that Melky's power numbers aren't good enough for a corner OFer, but he would be a great CF I think. Much as I loved Bubba, this was a good roster move. If it doesn't work well you always the Kevin who isn't injured down at Columbus, and Guiel.

I only had the game on and off last night; did they ever explain why Singleton was calling it solo?

569 tommyl - from your lips to Joe's ears!

570 Paul O'Neil had flight problems.

570

O'eill got held up at the airport I'm told. I wish I could have heard it. I live in LA now, so I get Vin Scully doing games alone regularly. I'm sure Singleton did fine.