It was my first game at Shea since maybe the early 90's, I can't remember when. But I went and really enjoyed watching the Shea faithful give Piazza the respect that he's due -- and then watch him blast two HR's off of our old friend Pedro.

After the game I got in my car to the voices of Sterling and Susan talking non-stop about Ranyd's "no-hitter". Sheesh, as soon as I heard that I knew that my ride home would require a little antacid.

As Sterling kept harping on the "no hitter", he repeatedly mentioned that he didn't believe in curses, almost preempting the uproar that he'd most probably receive when Randy would finally give up a hit. Curiiously though, after Randy did indeed give up his first hit, Sterling didn't mention the near no hitter ever again. I almost wanted him to deliver a mea culpa -- but I guess I'm just asking too much from him, aren't I?

The Bernie in CF move was baffling.

I don't get Bernie in CF, either. Does Torre really think that's a defensive upgrade? Is Abreu that bad in CF? What would it take for Joe to try Melky in CF - Bernie being abducted by aliens?

I really hate saying bad things about Bernie, he means so much to me and the memories of the 1995-2003 teams. But I can't support him playing over more able players in the field and at the plate. Was anyone here alive in 1965? What were people saying about Mickey Mantle at the end? If there was a Bronx Banter then, would he and Ralph Houk been as hung out to dry as Torre and Williams are today?

I saw this morning that the Sawx lost. My favorite thing to do when the Sawx lose is to visit numerous Sawx blogs and see Yankee fans infiltrating and giving them hell. Reading the comments are great. It is kind of sadistic on my part, but it makes me feel better about myself so it's alright with me. We get it here too, we get a few Sawx fans getting on here to give us crap. Still, I like being on the other end of the equation....

I'm sorry but I couldn't help myself yesterday (in the game thread) when I mentioned that RJ had a no-hitter. You were all so funny trying to figure out clever ways not to act like Michael Kay. What's the difference in knowing a pitcher is pitching a no-hitter and verbalizing your thoughts to a group that all knows the same thing? Is it that we don't like to point out the obvious? How about when a player needs just a single to hit for the cycle? We have no problem verbalizing that….though I think Kay is a d*ck, what are the rules? People were giving Kay crap but Sterling is always doing that on the radio, I don't see people calling in or writing and being pissed about that. I know much of what Kay was criticized for was because of his Holocaust and the slavery comments, but are we losing our mentals with this entire thing? Or is it just for fun…I'd like to think it's the latter.

Good win by the Yanks….MOOSE!!!! Damn….Damon can't play so he won't be able to hit a grand slam off his old friend.

You know - I wonder if Bernie and Johnny play "long toss" together during warmup. You gotta figure they can chat in a comfortable speaking voice while launching rainbows back and forth all 40 feet apart.

Ah well. I shouldn't get on those guys. They're giving it all they got. It ain't Johnny's fault that he can't reach the pitcher's mount from short center field, and it ain't Bernie's fault that his shoulders checked out a few years ago.

Joe must have reached the "in case of emergency - break glass" point last night. Do the Yankees really have no above average outfield defender on the bench anymore?

Whattyagonnado?

So no other team wanted Bubba? That is not a surprise. I'm not thrilled that he is back.

Joe did say it would probably be Bernie in CF tonight, unless Damon has a spectacular recovery.

Joseph Torre, is an IDIOT!

I caught Piazza's first home run on the radio. I thought this would be his last year, but the way he's going, I bet he comes back for another. As great as he would have looked in pinstripes, I don't think he wanted to put up with the NY media anymore - and who can blame him.

Bernie Williams 2004 (35): .262/.360/.435
Mickey Mantle 1967 (35): .242/.391/.434

Of course, this was Mantle's first season at first base, and was also the season that the league ERA was like 3.30 or something. Adjusted for season, Bernie was 26 Runs Above Replacement, Mantle was 60 RAR. Adjusted for all time, that's 32 and 57, respectively. My point is that by 1967, Mantle's stats had deteriorated considerably, and yet he was still run out to the plate on a daily basis. Mantle was playing for a team that would not make the playoffs for another decade, and was a holdout from championship teams past. Was he booed or cheered? How did the media treat him? Should Ralph Houk played the younger (26) Joe Pepitone more?

He had Abreu in CF for awhile, with Wilson in RF and Andy at 1B. I'd have stuck with that rather than putting Bernie in CF and losing the DH.

Johnny is what Johnny is. That he has a bad arm for an outfielder (for anyone!) is no secret, and it was no secret prior to him signing last winter. He makes up for it in other ways, thank God, and it's silly to expect something from him that he can't deliver. He's done more this year than I ever expected him to, so I am slowing warming to the guy being on the Yankees.

Johnny and Bernie can't throw. Johnny at least can run and catch fly balls.

My mind was racing through the ever-changing 25-man roster. Thompson, Reese, Guiel, Crosby, Vander Wal, Tarasco, Ledee ... who's on the team today?

But he's old and broken down, and clearly, we need a backup CFer who is not Bernie Williams. We've got a wealth of backup first basemen and corner outfielders, but no decent backup CFer...when that's the position where we're most likely to need a regular backup.

The real difference between Mantle in '67 and Bernie in '04/now is the glovework. 1B isn't that demanding a position. CF is, and Bernie clearly isn't suited to play CF anymore (unless Wang is pitching).

That was a great post, mehmattski.

* Moose and R.J. are two pitchers who could use some extra rest for the postseason. I know it's early to be talking about this, but, if the Yanks open up a big lead in the standings, perhaps Pavano could make some starts to ease the workload on those two?

26 That's his nickname. Or close. He's "El Comedulce," the candy-eater. Because he loves sweets.

Hate to admit I was. If you were, you know Mic was not a beloved player... Mic was a God. At the end, he was revered like no player ever was. Mic was moved to first base... I think after '65 (but I'm not sure). He was obviously not a good 1st baseman... but it didn't matter.

I can remember terribly boring games in the late 60's.... we had a terrible team. Mic was often out due to career long injury. However, there was usually that one moment that made the game worth watching... when Mic pinch hit. The simply act of him poking his head out of the dugout and walking to the on-deck circle with a bat, got ovations that many players won't see in their lifetimes.

Mickey was loved in an irrational way. We all sensed he was a tragic figure... robbed of his true potential by an early injury. Here's a man injured his 1st year... who drank heavily almost daily... who (I'm guessing) never worked out... who lived hard everyday, as both his father and grandfather died in their late 40's and Mic was sure he would too. A man who did absolutely everything to sabotage his career, and still ended up one of the 10 greatest players to ever play the game.

By 1965, he was wrapped like a mummy in ace bandages from his ankles to lower chest. Even his HR trots looked painful... Mic struggling just to round the bases.

Have you (guys) ever seen a pic of Mic's shot that cleared the facade in RF but hit a light stanchion? To talk of today's monster HRs comparec to that shot is silly. Next time you are at the stadium, look at home plate, then look where Mics shot hit. Look back to homeplate and again where Mic's shot hit. Then ask yourself... is it POSSIBLE for a human being to hit a baseball that far? The answer would certainly seem like a No.

The ball was estimated to go 640'.... but there are some who think the ball was STILL traveling upward when it hit... and that 640' was an under-estimate.

Think about announcers who literally swoon when a ball is (rarely) hit 500'. Now think 640'.....

While I have only been to the stadium 5 or so times, I was at the game in '67 when Mic hit #500. That was almost 40 years ago, but I remember some of things Mic did like they happened yesterday.... like the error he got when he threw a ball from realtively deep CF OVER the catchers head.... or Rizzuto's calling the famous drag bunt.

Bernie is loved in NY. Jetes in loved in NY. But I don't know if we will ever see again what fans felt about Mickey Mantle.

And better - maybe even much better - than Crisp, heh heh heh.

Go Moose!

Like my niece says, "I can roll the "r" for you if you like..."

Mounds. Chocolate covered coconut. Mmmm .... (insert Homer drooling noises)

Interestng point about Mantle pinch hitting- there is an electric feel at the Stadium today when Bernie comes to bat in a clutch situation, but I'm sure its nothing like watching Mantle. The criticism of Bernie is justified based on the statistics and trying to put the best possible team out there. Through all that critique, that sometimes borders on bashing, I hope that he is remembered at least half as fondly as Mantle is.

And according to Michael Kay, when Damon arrives at Yankee Stadium, he always greets all the vendors by name.

Part of me is anxious to see him, and Tino, and Paulie, and some of the others in their first Old Timer's Game. I hope they can do it all together for the first time. What a thrill that will be someday. I want to go to that one.

Of course Jeter will probably still be playing in the regular game that follows, and probably still dating Maxim models, and still being quizzed about A-Rod on a daily basis.

(sigh)

(1) As soon as I saw Farnsworth warming up with a 7-2 lead, after he'd pitched the day before, I had murderous thoughts about Mr. Torre. I'm still pissed that I had to deal with that 9th inning, surrounded by insane Sox fans b/c of that idiocy. The stadium radar btw had el Fanswacker's fastball topping out at 94, which is about where RJ's was. Not good enough for him. And I could see those sliders hanging up there from the upperdeck.

(2) Craig Wilson looked way overmatched at the plate. Like 10 year old in the batting cage with the pitching machine turned up as far as it can go bad. That first pitch weak grounder to 3rd with Cano on 3rd and 1 out in the 2nd was pathetic. So we now have 2 guys on the roster (Bernie of course is the other--- and he also looked overmatched, tho at least he managed a Womackian slap hit the opposite way) who cannot hit righties. Based on last night, and based on Phillips ineffectiveness I'd say promote Carlos Pena, who's been mashing, and have him platoon with Wilson at 1st. Neither can field the position, but at least they'd hit well in a platoon situation.

(3) Man, Robbie Cano is a player. Privilege to watch him last night.

http://tinyurl.com/qep9j

I don't know enough about hitting mechanics to comment on how valid this is, but it looks good to me! Anyone have Donnie Baseball's e-mail address?

Mickey may have been booed when he was younger, but during those last years he was much beloved. The team was falling apart right before everyone's eyes, and people clung to Mantle as the last remaining hero. Even his decline was spun as heroic, a valiant struggle with his ravaged knees; we didn't know about the alcoholic who had abused his body so badly.

And even in his decline, he was still one of the best players on a miserable team. Remember, those 1967 Yankees hit .224/.294/.317 as a team...Oh man, those were tough years.

Bernie was never as good as Mantle was, which is no knock on Bernie. He hasn't been one of the team's better offensive players for four years. And there's a big difference between an aging hero on a contender and the same aging hero on a rotten team. A better comp for Mantle might be Mattingly ca. 1991-1992

Just heard about the blog and signed up. Huge Yanks fan! Been to a few games this year one in the Bronx and one here in Philly where I live now. Going to see the Yanks-Sox series in September.

Just want to say one thing about last night. Being forced to watch the game on mlb.tv I had to put up with the White Sox analysts. They schill for the White Sox more than any announcer I have ever heard. They were always refering to the White Sox as "we" and when Dye was up said "lets go JD! Keep this inning rolling" I felt like I was listening to two guys sit on their couch with a 12 pack.

Anyways, just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.

Melky should start in CF, and Bernie can start in left. If Melky completely butchers it after 3 innings, switch them. Its not that hard.

47 Welcome. It's an eclectic and respectful group here. Some stat heads, some comics (Sliced Bread), some more elloquent (Alex) than others (me). It's fun.

It's as if, in the days of segregation, a star player had been accused of having black blood and he'd called a conference to deny the vicious rumors rather than doing the courageous thing, which would be to say, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. It's not germane to anything and shame on you all for your racism. That's all I have to say about the matter."

Again, glad to have you aboard enjoy the ride...

I grew up with Mattingly. He's my Mantle. I love Jeter, of course, but Mattingly was the real thing.

It's true that I was an impressionable kid, of course, but it's also true that Mattingly had something of the supernatural about him.

Mick could still turn on the afterburners when needed. I saw him in person leg out a double against the Senators on 4th of July '68 at RFK. He was really something to see rounding first.

Another great memory is attending Mickey Mantle Day in 1969 after he retired. He was driven around the warning track and waved to the SRO crowd as he encircled the Stadium. Chills time.

At every subsequent Old Timers Day, it was always something to hear who would get the most applause from the Stadium crowd -- Mickey or the great Joe D (who always had the requirement that he be introduced last).

To get to the years before 2001, just change the year in the address bar of your browser to that year you want.

32 So Mattingly doesn't compare at all?

Paul and Leiter add so much fucking depth, really enabling us to see the game from a player's perspective. It's really cool to have such entry into their imaginations, especially Leiter's.

And Kay seems to be learning how to learn. He seems to have a bit more humility these days, probably due to all of O'Neill's ribbing.

And I think they're learning to like each other up there.

The chemistry's getting better and I can't gush effusively enough about what Leiter, especially, brings.

And across town, I love to listen to Cohen and Hernandez. They're a truly great team.

Hernandez once likened a scribbled in scorecard to an acid trip.

How cool is that?

Plus, I like his general attitude, he respects the game with a passion, which leads him to rebuke players whose actions suggest they don't.

38 It's not the best book about Mickey, but I still love "The Education of a Baseball Player" which he co-wrote with someone back in like 1967. None of the negative stuff...just fond memories of the game and his childhood. The first sports book I ever read.

As has already been pointed out -- you cannot compare Bernie to Mickey. Mickey was almost mythical in stature. The power, the speed -- no one had that much talent. A-Rod keeps going for another 7-8 years, breaks Aaron's mark and gets 3,500 hits -- he might get close to Mickey status.

firejoemorgan.blogspot.com

Today's entry is particularly good. At one point during Joe's internet "chat" someone asked who he'd rather have pitch a Game 7, Koufax, Gibson or Clemens. Joe replies that he'd have to pick Koufax or Gibson since he's never seen Clemens pitch one. The good people at the site then point out that Joe, true baseball man and professional ESPN analyst has skipped watching:

1) Game 7 of the 2001 World Series (the World Fucking Series)
2) Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS (possibly the most anticipated pitching match-up of all time, Pedro v. Clemens)
3) Game 7 of the 2004 NLCS (last game of a fantastic series)
4) Game 7 of the 1986 ALCS

I guess Joe was busy assessing Coco Crisp's intangibles those days.

The more likely scenario has Morgan in front of his TV with an old Betamax tape of the 1975 All-Star Game, a box of tissues close by.

2) Robinson Cano is a bad-ass. He has that same fearless swagger in the batters box that Jeter has. Neither of those guys look like they can even imagine the pitcher getting them out. I love it. And the hustle on that double to left was awesome.

3) Props to Randy who always takes a beating around here when he flops. He pitched a strong game last night and we needed him to.

4) I can't really believe we are 3 games up.

5) I live in Chicago and am friends with a lot of Sox fans. And as irritating as Hawk is, we've turned his strikeout call "He Gone!" into a catch all phrase that comes in handy when someone passes out drunk, or slips and falls, or gets shot down by a girl. It's loads of fun.

Seriously, how does this man keep his job?

On XM this morning they played a clip of Chip Carey after a call in which the Braves were taking a beating: (paraphrasing) "Well that's Ball 4 and the bases are loaded....(pause of about 4 seconds)..and I wish I was too."

Classic stuff.

Another note on Mantle: I wasn't old enough to remember him when he was young. But my father used to tell me about him before the injuries, when he had massive power and blinding speed. My dad would get this dreamy, faraway look when he talked about the young Mick, said he was the best he ever saw - and my dad went back to Ruth and Gehrig (he was at Lou Gehrig Day).

I was inspired to look up that famous homerun at HitTrackerOnline (a site run by a geeky engineer whose hobby is calculating the "true" distances of major league home runs).

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/historic.php?id=1963_3

He thinks the "true" distance of that Mantle hit was 519 ft. That must have been something to see.

Guys I'm sure that Bernie would be flattered we are even discussing him in the same sentence with Mantle.

Eh, I can think of just as many arguments against that plan as I can for it.

That's the anticipation (and I say this as someone with two Yankee jerseys emblazoned with the 'ole #51) as to whether he'll merely strike out, end the inning with a double play, or perhaps, just possibly, start that triple play you'll tell your kids you were (sadly) there to see...

:)

No wonder baseball players are so good. If I had half the world analyzing my golf swing like that, I'd be able to beat Tiger. I know, they were good before all that... just playin'.

Does anyone know of any RedSux blogs? I'm curious to see what people say on them.