Wang was just ridiculasly good in the first 6 inning....

with Moose now going on the DL, it seems all but inevitable that Wang will end up leading the team in wins.

Indeed, Wang looked like Cy Ming Young for a while there. That was encouraging.

Cliff, I read here yesterday that you're getting married next month. Congrats, and good luck. Here's hoping you, and your bride enjoy an October honeymoon in the Canyon of Heroes.

Seems Cashman wrote the prescription for Mussina's 15 days of Pavano time.

Quoted in Daily News:

"There is no such thing as a tweak. I don't think having him pitch in a week, tightly-wrapped like a mummy, and just hoping he gets through is the right idea. I personally just wasn't comfortable with missing one start and seeing what happens. I think we've learned this year that these kinds of injuries can take longer than just a few days."

I think we've also learned this year what a prudent, and proactive General Manager Cashman is.

Why push Moose at this point? Why tempt Joe to turn to him perhaps before he's ready? Why not use a pitcher not named Ponson?

Good move, Cash.

I kind of bristled last year when I heard that Felix Hernandez was being dubbed "The King." Whoa, isn't that a bit too soon, I thought. This year, "The Once and Future King" may fit better. His stuff is nasty though, I'll give him that. He's got the right kind of cockiness on the mound too. Yanks did a really nice job against him.

Did you guys notice how his countryman Abreu hit two shots right back through the box?

Man, Chien-Ming looked like his old self last night.

I've never been, but man, Safeco looks just about like the greatest ballpark in the country.

the m's were on the road for my entire stay, so i never got to see the inside of safeco, but is is STRANGE looking to say the least. - borderline ugly. it's gigantic and grey (almost black), and its convertible roof (retractable implies something much more slick than this looks) casts an eerie shadow on the south side of town. it looks as though it was designed to blend in to the architecture of sea port it sits at the top of, but even the cranes and barges are more colorful than the stadium. but from what i hear, the inside is fan-f'ing-tastic.

4 True re: Felix's sinister stuff. Wowee. Ump squeezed him here and there, too, maybe to knock him down a notch on the cocky meter. But the Yanks lineup last night kinda reminded me of that classic "I Love Lucy" episode when the conveyer belt of candy speeds up, and doesn't stop.

And yeah, Safeco really looks like the one to see, but for some reason the rumbling trains you hear in the background drive me nuts. Usually, a train in the distance is a soothing sound, but the Safeco express, which disturbs the serenity of the game, reminds me of that Woody Allen scene where he's a kid living directly under the Coney Island Cyclone, and his bowl of soup is rattling.

I'm at the point right now where if I don't see the words "double" and "Cano" in the same sentence of a Yanks wrap-up, I'm surprised.

Cliff, congrats and good luck with the wedding. I myself am tying the knot in a week. Leaving the country tomorrow night for 3 weeks (one in the UK and 2 in Croatia), the latter two-thirds of which will see me blissfully/fretfully without much access to US sports scores.

Congrats, Knuckles

Cliff, congrats on the upcoming nuptuals, enjoy second coming of life >;)

4 You're right, when you google King Felix, the first several pages are about Felix Hernandez; to say Seattle has high hopes is like saying the sun will catch fire...

I see the key to the Yankees going the distance from here thru the playoffs as being to continue what they've been doing recently; wearing down the starting pitcher and feasting on weaker bullpens.

I'm not so certain as of now that a regular return to the lineup during the rest of the season for either Sheff or Matsui would be beneficial, but their ability to make contact would be crucial in a short series. If they manage to take on the approach the others are using, it would be killer for anyone without pinpoint control.

And congrats to you too, Knuckles, have a safe trip; as they're still not letting anyone fly with liquids, make sure you use the lavatory before you go through the security gate >;)

Cliff, as much as I respect your baseball IQ, it's really hard to take credit for Sidney Ponson being released. I don't remember anyone challenging you on Ponson being bad. I guess you needed your ego massaged and saw a perfect opprutunity.....hahahaha...j/k.

Good write-up. Man, these west coast games suck.

Congrats Cliff.

As for Safeco being borderline ugly, you haven't seen ugly until you've been in the Kingdome. Now that was an ugly place to watch a ballgame. All the charm of a warehouse, but without the amenities. The only good thing about it was (aside from a really cool demolition explosion) watching Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. play. IIRC, I think way back then they also had a hot shot young shortstop name of Alex Rodriguez. Wonder what ever happened to him.

For a couple of summers in college I worked for my dad, doing the overnight shift in his plastic bottle making plant. That was about the only time I looked forward to west coast games; I actually had something to listen to besides WNEW (back when it played rock).

Congrats Cliff, Knuckles!

Are you waiting until after the season, Cliff? Or are we going to miss some of your insight for a period of time?

Either way, best of luck!

4 Alex, Safeco is awesome. I was there in 1999 for a Yanks game against the Mariners, when Griffey was still there. My seat was pretty high up, but I had a view of Mount Rainier and could still see the action just fine. The Yanks won the game I watched 9-3 (Cone defeated Halama) and Brosius had 5 RBIs.

I remember arriving at the park and everyone was still buzzing about the game the previous night (Pettite had outdueled Freddy Garcia 1-0), but the energy level was a bit lower given the rout. I didn't mind seeing the Yanks win a laugher, and I just loved everything about the park, even the trains. I know people here were making fun of the trains, but I thought they were pretty cool, actually.

Re: Safeco Field. The place does look impressive but I'd have to agree with Sliced Bread that the train is a huge nuisance and has got to go. It may have been cute for the first 1/2 of the first season at Safeco, but by now the novelty is gone and it actually serves as a distraction, breaking up the flow of a game with the frequent rumblings and whistles. It makes the planes flying over Shea sound like the morning songs of sparrows.

Oh, and Congrats to you too, Knuckles.

"Back On Track"? Man, that one-game losing streak must've been brutal to endure...

it's wedding fever on the toaster! i'm getting married on october 7th.

Kunckles,

Fear not. You have two ways of keeping track of the scores.
1. Go to an internet cafe. Croatia has them and they are cheap. Bring a travel guide which will list them. Lonely Planet or Let's Go will have them listed for all the major cities.

2. If you are not going to a major city, then you will still be in a place that has cellular signal. When I was in Eastern Europe two weeks ago, i found the signal coverage to be great -- even in the subways. I had activated international roaming before I left. So I could still get the Yankee scores through the web on my cell phone. Most days, I woke up and immediately checked in on the scores. The games usually start at 1 or 2 am so it is too late to stay up and follow.

But my time in Berlin was so crazy that I was actually still in clubs at 8 am. Then I was able to follow the Yanks/Sox throughout the night/morning.

Enjoy the trip.

Safeco is great. The food and beer is incredible. It seems like all the seats have good views, but I can't say for sure.

In regards to the trains, there's another major league stadium that has trains going by once every six minutes that I have spent a decent amount of time at, so I guess I'm OK with it. And if I'm given a choice between a freight train whistle and "Cotton Eyed Joe" at 140db, I'm going with the whistle every time.

Congrats, unmoderated. Oct. 7th, might have to have a TV tuned to the Yanks at the altar.

We join the wedding in progress. They're doing the vows:

"I, unmoderated, take thee... (re: the TV at the altar) Giambi goes deep! 3 run homer! (settles down) Sorry, where were we?"

Congratulations on your impending nuptials Cliff and Knuckles.

As for the game, Craig Wilson is struggling (3 K's last night). After almost a month, has he really given us more than Andy at first?

19 For some reason the Yankee Stadium trains do not disturb.

The Mariners express seems to run through my living room when I'm watching these Seattle games. Sorry, can't explain it.

17 Wow. congrats unmoderated.
Alex better hope Emily doesn't see this thread.

Congratulations to everyone getting married! I photograph weddings on the weekends, and I sure wish I had more Yankee fans among my clients.

With that said, one of my favorite memories from last year was a local reception party (couple got married in Vegas) where the bride was waiting for all her guests upstairs in the reception hall...and she had to wait a while. The majority of guests showed up half an hour to 45 minutes late because they were watching the end of Game 3 of the Red Sox-White Sox playoff game in the bar downstairs. I watched with the guests as El Duque pulled out his last great playoff escape, and everyone in the bar audibly groaned after Damon struck out and started filing upstairs gloomily.

Safeco is a great place to watch a game, I was lucky enough to be in Seattle towards the end of the 2004 season, bought tix for 5 bucks each outside the park and saw the M's beat up on the Sox, all the time trying to get a Yankees chant going.

Congrats to you too unmoderated. BTW, after re-reading 21 I probably should have worded that a different way. My wording makes it look like Cliff is marrying Knuckles... I gotta start using that preview ;-)

6 Hilarious (and apt) Annie Hall analogy, Sliced.

:)

21 Bama:

Andy in 228 ab's(OBP SLG AVG.) .277 .404 .241 27 runs 27 rbi

Wilson 64 ab's (OBP SLG AVG.) 273 .391 .250 10 runs 5 rbi

I would say no. But Wilson's career lefty splits are impressive and ultimately that's why he's here I guess.

It's always good to see another Andy booster around here. I think the writing may be on the wall for next year as far as his spot goes on the roster. It's too bad really because I think he's one of those guys that need a good 500 ab's under his belt to get really comfortable. I think Robbie as well as Melky have set the bar awfully high as far as how long a leash the new guys are going to get. I'm not complaining about it mind you but I think at this point from the Yankees POV Andy is what he appears to be: a below replacement level right handed first baseman who they can move around the infield who therefore has some value.

It's to bad from our POV because he became a family favorite while playing for the Clips.

Congrats Cliff, Knuckles, and unmoderated, and your respective spouses-to-be! Many years of happiness to you all. (And any one else who jumps in with news of wedding bells after this point.)

13 Max, that's crazy, I was at that Pettitte-Garcia game the night before.

Congrats Knuckles and unmoderated, and thanks to all for your good wishes. Wedding fever, indeed.

Yeah, congrats from me too on the pending weddings, that's awesome. And don't worry about Em reading this, I'm not far behind these guys in the popping the question dept myself.

28 Nice analysis there, MFD. I would much rather see Andy as the backup IF next year than Cairo, as I think his bat would be more valuable than Cairo's supposed good glove work - even taking Andy's numbers this year into account.

But since Andy can't play SS I'm sure we'll have another year of Cairo or Green or someone like them. Sigh.

4 Hey Alex, you should come out to SF and take in a game here too, I haven't been to Safeco, but Pacbell (SBC now) is a gem.

31 Word! But now I'd think you really have to hope Em isn't reading this.

33 Having seen one game at each, I'll take Safeco over Pacbell/SBC. I'm not even sure it's all that close.

64 ABs (or even 164 ABs) is far too small of a sample to judge a player. Wilson has a career 120 OPS+. I was a big supporter of Phillips at 1B instead of Cairo, but it's highly unlikely Phillips is ever going to bring his OPS+ over 100.

Amateurs - all of you. I've been hitched since 1998, and I'm only in my mid 30's. ;-)

Speaking of which, any stories about games being played during one's own (or a friend/relative's) wedding?

Mine was at the end of May in 1998, and Irabu was starting against the BoSox. We actually lost that day, and there was pretty much no opportunity to check any kind of score (no TVs at bar). So I actually found out in the newspaper on the first morning of my honeymoon in Newport, RI - Sox country. Ugh.

30 Wow Cliff, that is crazy. You clearly got to attend the better game, it sounds like, though Griffey made a couple of highlight caliber catches during my game (an indication, though, of how hard Halama was getting rocked).

I do have to agree re Safeco vs Pacbell. I love San Francisco and the park was cool, but for some reason I just didn't find it as engaging as Safeco.

Alex, can't wait to get the news when it happens. Banter wedding at the new Yankee Stadium?

Yo, Alex. Maybe you could propose to her here on the Banter.

Wouldn't be a dry eye in the house!

Good luck!

Wang struck out 5 on the night... and that one bad inning was entirely the firstbase umpire's fault.

With a runner at third and two outs- Lopez grounded up the middle, Cano made a spectacular grab, and threw to first base. He was called safe ( and the run scored), but replays showed that Lopez was out by several steps. If the umpire had made that ONE call correctly, Wang's final line would have been-

7IP, 0R, 4H, 5K

Congrats to everybody. I'm getting hitched next May too. Could there be a correlation between the Yanks success and...nah.
I'm not sure who the Bombers will be playing, but I'm sure it won't be as critical a slice of the season as in October. You brave souls tying the knot then are really throwing the dice...or are you?

Is Bronx Banter to soon become Wedding Banter? ;)

Alex HAS to propose at the Stadium - no?

39 Oops. You're right, MVB, I totally confused Lopez's "hit" to Cano with, I believe, Posada's hit that tipped off Lopez's glove. He wasn't out by several steps, but he was very obviously out on the replay. If the umpire had made that call corectly, Wang might have come out to pitch the eighth, though how he would have faired we'll never know.

41 I'll change my silly screen name to Sliced Cake if need be.

36 I got married back in August of 1995 and woke up the first morning of my honeymoon to find out that Mickey Mantle had died. My wife has come a long way since then. She didn't know who Mickey Mantle was and couldn't understand why I was watching a Sportcenter report about his death (especially on our honeymoon). Now, she is hooked on the Yankees and even watches the games when I'm at work.

40 The Yanks are playing the D-Rays on my wedding day, so no worries about that day's game. If they still have their 6.5 game lead (at least) at that point I won't have to fret about missing the last week of the season due to my honeymoon either, though I will regret not being able to contribute here during that span. Sounds like I'll get a chance to pay Alex back for picking up my slack, however.

Safeco is indeed a great place to watch a game. I was at Tuesday's game (visiting the in-laws in Seattle), way up high in the uppder deck on the third base side. They were still fantastic seats with a great view of the whole game -- the only impeded view was the third base foul territory (can't expect to see that from high up in the upper deck). I've also sat deep in Right field, and loved those seats, too.

The train is loud, but you get used to it at the game.

I watched last night's game, too (on TV), and have to reference Cano's near get in the 7th. Cliff described it as a hard single off his glove, but that is far from accurate. It was a softly hit ground ball that just got past Wang. Robbie ranged far to his right and gloved the ball cleanly right in front of second base. He then made a quick, strong off-balance throw to first that looked to me like it beat Lopez to the bag, but he was called safe. Incredible play by Cano that would likely have been a Web Gem had the ump not blown the call. (The Seattle announcers, after looking at the replay, felt like the M's caught a break on the call and I agree. Bang-bang play, though, so you can't really fault the umpire too much.)

Congrats to all the happy couples.

Maybe we should organize a mass wedding (or mass reception) at Safeco, eh?

Congrats Cliff, Knuckles, unmoderated, and standuptriple. Great to hear all the happy life-changing news this morning.

44 Sliced, that would be awesome. Our BB house comedian: Sliced Bread/Cake.

43 only if he has to attend Anger Management...

36 There is a famous story down here in Alabama about a couple who missed their daughter's wedding to attend the Bama-Tennessee football game. Their famous line was "we did make it to the reception, right after the game was over".

45 I actually forgot two items of note:

My bachelor party was at the stadium (still have the VHS of my Budweiser 'play by play' booth call - the most fun you can have at the Stadium, btw) the day before David Wells' perfect game.

My friend's wedding in July of 1999 was the day before - you guessed it- David Cone's perfect game. We had the opportunity to go, but it was so darned hot that day and we passed on it. Wusses that we are.

50 Sorry, that was meant for 42 (though you never know it may well apply anyway) >;)

51 The unspoken, and oft-overlooked aspect of stories like that is that they somehow, for reasons circumstancial and just a tad ironic, involve "college"...

51 For another example of how seriously some people take their sports vis a vis weddings, here's a topical article:

http://blogs.tuscaloosanews.com/default.asp?item=175311

In 1996, my cousin got married during game 6 of the W.S. I missed almost the entire game. We went to Applebees during the reception to see the final outs(9th inning).

My wife's cousin got married in Minnesota the night of the Giambi grand slam. We saw them for breakfast the next morning and he said to me "Did you see the highlights of the Yankee game?". I did, but I was surprised he did since he wasn't a Twins or a Yankees fan. (He is a Cubs fan.) I didn't see any sports(tv) on my wedding night or morning after. Though we did go to the Packer Hall of Fame on the honeymoon.

My girlfriend's friend got married during Game 3 of the 2003 ALCS. I was able to watch the beginning of the game at home, but once Pedro threw Zimmer to the ground my girlfriend was all, "We're late, we're late, we have to go!"
On the ride over, we had the cab driver put the game on the radio. At the reception, the wait staff seemed to spend more time giving updates than serving food.

51 Who in Alabama schedules a wedding during a college football game? I'm surprised there was a minister/judge there to officiate.

52 Pistolpete, are there any more bachelor parties/weddings in the near future?

With all this talk about weddings, I've got a question for you guys: Would you marry a Red Sox (or Mets) fan?

Not just a casual fan, but someone who would give you a hard time if the Yankees lost? I saw a couple at one of the Boston games (guy wearing Boston cap and girl wearing NY cap IIRC) and it got me thinking...

4 I was thinking the same thing about Hernandez, Alex. I guess they might have to put off that Hall of Fame induction for a few years yet.

52 How much does it cost to do that "play-by-play" thing at the Stadium? I did that once out in San Diego and also in Arlington back in college. It was a lot of fun and I would love to try it for a Yankee game sometime.

19, 22 The old Yankee Stadium had one scoreboard in center field, but didn't have the rest of the billboards and crap. So the view of the subway, and of the buildings along River Avenue, was mostly unobstructed. A little intrusive, I guess, but I really liked that feeling of being right in the city.

check out this column today by boston's own Shaughnessy

http://tinyurl.com/ndb5n

65 "I, for one, am already fired up about the 2007 Red Sox opener at the Metrodome. I'm expecting Curt Schilling to get the ball and he should be able to dominate the Twins. He'll have Jason Varitek back behind the plate and the pitch-calling will be just swell again."

Oh, the hilarity.

My daughter was due in late October, 2003 around the time of the scheduled ALCS. Of course, the Yanks ended up playing the Sawx and I prayed to every god that I could think of for either an early delivery prior to the ALCS or for her to come a week late after the end of the series. With every passing day of the series, I expected to be in a delivery room missing the theatrics of that now famous battle.

On the night of Game 7, I sat in my living room with my wife, who by then was unhappy, uncomfortable, pissed off, but still following every pitch along with me. By the time Boone came up in extra innings against Wakefield, I was on my hands and knees praying once again...for a) the Yanks to finally finish the Sox off, and b) for my baby girl to wait just a few more hours before she joined us.

Needless to say, we all know how that game turned out (Babe, Buck, BOOOONE!!!).

The moment after Boone touched home, I forgot about baseball -- both my prayers had been answered. My beautiful daughter was born the very next day.

I don't remember the World Serious that year. Who did we play? :)

67 the season was suspended the next day.

Why exactly is he so excited about '07? Schilling, Timlin, Lowell, A-Gon, Fat Papi, Manny, and Varitek entering their primes? Cereal Boy and Beckett not sucking? I know they have good young arms, but sheesh.

65 Great. Some heavy-duty (if heavy-handed) sarcasm from the CHB.

69 Um, I don't think he was entirely serious about all of that.

69 y'know...for all of Epstein's excitement about the future Sawx that he's constructing, he still has to field a team that will play the '07 Yanks -- Jeter, Arod, Abreu, Matsui, Proctor, Mo, Posada, Giambi, Damon, Pavano (stop laughing!), Myers, Farnsworth, and let's not forget the youngsters -- Cano, Melky, and Wang.

2008? Oh, we'bve got guys like Clippard and Hughes waiting in the wings.

What's Theo (and Shaunaughsy) got to be exited about?

60 Unfortunately, no. Last August I was best man in my brother-in-law's wedding, but nothing unusual in Yankeeland that day. They won, Giambi and Flaherty hit homers. Dassit.

63 To be honest, I don't recall seeing that booth the last few years - can anyone confirm? At the time, I believe it was $30-$40 for a inning. I didn't pay so I couldn't say for sure anyway.

It was me as the play by play man, and my friends rotated in for color commentary every half inning (had 2 full innings I believe). We were pretty awful, but it was the most fun evah. It's hysterical to watch grown men butcher Sterling's already cheesy home run calls.

69 Don't forget the return of Matt Clement!

71 Are you sure? It is Shaughnessy we're talking about.

If not, whoops.

63 Bama, no idea how much it costs but I won a write-in contect run by 770 where I got 2 tix to a Yanks game, and one inning in the fantasy play by play booth. June 18, 1989 against Texas. It was also Father's Day and Bat Day, so me and my dad had a great time. I was 11 at the time, all buck teeth and huge glasses. The booth was pretty spartan with just one monitor, two folding chairs, and reams and reams of stats. I did play by play and my dad did color (he had to do a lot, because I was giving him plenty of dead air to work with.) The video is hilarious to watch 17 years after the fact.

Sammy Sosa played that day- he was fast and skinny and very Soriano-like. 2 hits for Donnie Baseball, and a dinger from Phelps, in a 5-2 Yankee loss.
http://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B06180NYA1989.htm

65 its sarcasm at its best

75 "There you have it. Let's not win now. This should help you enjoy the remaining 36 games of 2006. Just relax and check out Dustin Pedroia's footwork around second base."

"Trust me when I tell you that someday soon you're going to be glad to have Manny Delcarmen instead of Roy Oswalt.

"...they rely on a flock of fans who are willing to pay $12 just to walk into an empty ballpark and look at the ancient poles.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic.

72 I'm pretty sure he's being sarcastic in that article. Its what he does...

The Sox have to be a little worried about 'rebuilding' mode, mostly because of their moves this past offseason, trading away a lot of the guys they would be rebuilding around: Marte, Shoppach, Sanchez, Ramirez. The biggest blow has to be Shoppach, they have placed themselves in a Yankee-like situation of no backup catcher for the future. Now for the future, they have: Papelbon, Lester, Hansen, Pedroia, Beckett, Coco, and of course Ortiz, Youk, WilyMo. Not bad, but if you take Beckett and Coco out of there and replace them with Marte, Shoppach, Ramirez, and Sanchez, well you really have a solid young core.

The Sox can cry money issues all they want, but the truth is that they are stuck in the same boat that the Yankees are: there can never be a "rebuilding" phase. The MO is win now, always will be. So while you can rebuild the farm system some, you will always have to be sacrificing it as well. So for the Sox to try to write off the season as "looking to the future" is jsut another case of them trying to play the PR game...

76 I was there a couple of days earlier for Sosa's ML debut. Skinny, fast kid, looked like he might have some potential.

I also saw Manny's Yankee Stadium debut, his second ML game. The left field stands were full of screaming friends and relations from Washington Heights. He didn't disappoint them - he had a double and two homers.

I think A-Rod missed last night's game because he was helping Shaughnnessy write that beautiful Boston bitch-slap piece. Bravo, sirs, bravo! Good times!

57 That SHOCKS me. I live in Chicago and most of my friends are Cubs fans, and they are the WORST. When the Cubs win two in a row all the want to talk about is "Hey the Cubs are on a roll." When the Cubs are losing which is, ya know, always, they don't even aknowledge baseball as a sport. And forget about talking about other baseball teams with them, they have no idea what's going on for the most part, and have no interest in talking about any other teams. With a few exceptions I think Cubs fans are the most disinterested, aloof sports fans in the world.

61 That kind of relationship is just never gonna work. I would never even date a Red Sox fan. I'd either be pitying him all the time or wondering about his IQ.

79 I understand that Danny-Boy S. was being sarcastic in his article, but I'm also referring to Theo's contention that the Sox have a brighter future than present.

Unless the Yanks are suddenly moved into another division, the Sox have a ferocious Yankee team to contend with in the next 2+ years. This is buoyed by the success of some of our youngsters (Melky, cano, Wang, Proctor) and the prospect of minor leaguers like Hughes and Clippard to help in the near future.

I just think that had Theo made some significant improvements by July 31st, like he did in 2004, then the Sox would have had a better chance at the Wild Card and we all know anything can happen in the post season, especially in a 5-game ALDS.

I think what upsets Boston fans the most is that they are paying the highest prices in MLB for seats in 2006, not just 2007 and beyond.

79 84 Dirty Diaper Dan can be a real prick when he sets his mind to the task at hand, can't he? Loosing the curse must really torture him.

61 Sorry to get into this late, but I DID marry a Red Sox fan . . . hey nobody's perfect! My wife was on a trip last weekend with her sister and when we talked on the phone, I couldn't even mention the massacre. Still can't . . .

. . . I'd NEVER marry a Mets fan . . .

84 I think Theo's probably trying to put the best spin on a bad situation. "Ummm, yeah, I meant to do that. It's all part of a plan." He certainly wasn't being sarcastic, but I hope for his sake that he doesn't altogether believe what he's saying, either.

Zack makes a good point about the Yankees' future. Posada's getting pretty damn close to his expiration date, and they don't have a plan B, no catching prospects in their system. (David Parrish, anyone?) It's also the toughest position to fill through free agency. And as Casey Stengel said, if you don't have a catcher you're going to have a lot of passed balls.

61 I don't know which goes more against nature: a Yankee - Red Sox marriage, or a dog person - cat person marriage.

89 In my family, the biggest no-no would be marrying a Republican.

88 David Parrish was quietly released earlier this year, he's with the Pirates now. They have Jesus Montero, who's a top catching prospect, but he's only 16, so they'll need to fill the gap between Jorge and Jesus if the latter even pans out.

89 Imagine my alarm when my dog-person girlfriend became a cat person in college. Thankfully she's able to be both and we're now the proud adoptive parents of the world's greatest puppy.

I know the discussion is on a larger context bet you're right about Jorge and his tank running down. The Yankees do have plan B but he's not close yet. Jesus Montero will begin play next spring in the GCL as a catcher. Carlos Rios the Yankees Latin American Coordinator seems fairly sanguine about his chances of remaining a catcher. A number of scouting reports had him as a good draft year first round talent (although how the hell they know that about a 16 year old non-English speaking kid is beyond me). There is a plan B but I think it's predicated on Jorge giving them at least 2 – 4 more years and that could be tough. This kid Montero is supposed to be the real deal though and they spent a boat load to get him.

91, 93 There's no way Posada lasts until a 16-year-old is ready; we don't even know if 2-4 years is realistic.

Besides, my two-word comment on expensive 16-year-old can't-miss prospects: Jackson Melian.

94 JL I think both comments are in agreement with you that it will be difficult to squeeze the needed production out of Jorge over that time. As to Jackson Melian, well we'll have to see but with the new sheriff in town (Ca$hman) my sense is they are going to get more of these right than they had been. I think you're right though there does need to be a plan C, D, E, and F in place.

Maybe Craig Wilson could work with Tony Pena over the winter. That also opens up a spot at 1B for Sheff.

96 Wilson's a free agent, but I agree, it would be nice to find out if he'd be viable behind the plate.

Maybe they can make a deal for Dioner . . .

Didn't something tragic happen to Melian's family? I might be mistaken on this one.

99 Melian's parents used to travel with him. They were both killed in a car accident while Jacson was in the team bus, immediately behind them.

96 Good idea, Peter.

re: the forbidden Yanks-Red Sox love.

I dated a Sox fan back in the early 90's. We lived in DC, neutral territory.

The rivalry between the teams was simmering at that time, and, well, we enjoyed each other's company a lot.

She'd nevah, evah, bring me and my Yankee hat home to her Sox loving family in Mass. which, of course was fine with me, but I think the baseball tension added some spark to the romance. It was a bit of a turn on for both of us.

Having said that, a good friend of mine, a bigtime Yankees fan lives in CT, in a town that is firmly on the wrong side of the Munson-Nixon line. He met his wife in a bar in Boston, so you know who she pledges her baseball love to.

He says the AL East standings definitely impacted their relationship early on.

Every marriage has its ups and downs, and he says the downest his marriage ever got was during the autumn and winter that followed the Aaron Boone blast. Not a lot of love for Mr. Yankee that winter.

Conversely, they had their first baby in the spring of '05.

Other than jokingly fighting over which team's gear their daughter will wear,
he says wifey-poo has completely chilled out about the Sox since they won it in '04, and the rivalry no longer has any impact on their relationship.

End of happy story.

I imagine kinkier Yanks-Sox fans dress up like Varitek and A-Rod to spice things up, and the really twisted ones play Zim v Pedro. Eeew.

97 Someone (Will Carroll maybe?) wrote earlier this year that Wilson wanted to catch every once in a while. I think its a great idea. My concern is, would Torre actually use him as a catcher? Or would Wilson end up in an "Andy Phillips vs Scott Kazmir" situation - say be started at catcher vs the Angels, and have a Matt LeCroy-type outing - and be exiled from catching in Torre's mind?

Though he's been injured much of this year, I'd like to see Ca$hmoney take a look at the Pirates' Ryan Doumit, who's 27 next year. With Paulino, Cota, and Neil Walker in the minors, the Pirates don't need Doumit to catch. With Nady and Eldred, they don't need Doumit at 1B. Not sure who the Pirates would want, but this has worked once already . . .

101 Those are images in can never scrub from my brain. That post should be deleted before it does more damage.

The A's have two very good prospects in the minors to catch. Kurt Suzuki and Landon Powell. Powell just came off an injury. He is a switch hitter with a lot of power and decent strike zone judgement. Suzuki is a contact + walks guy. I wonder what it would take to get Powell. He went to the Univ. of South Carolina, and I would love to have him on a team I root for again. Maybe the Yanks could pick up Sheffields option pay 1/2 his salary and ship him for Powell. The yanks would probably have to include another prospect, but it would be sweet.

101 You really didn't need that last sentence. Really. You should've stopped at the Munson-Nixon line. That was good.

I suppose I could date a RS girl; just not a cat girl, as I'm allergic to cats.

101 Remember the scene in "Anger Management" where Heather Graham is wearing the Red Sox-logo bikini?

After watching that movie, my wife, a casual Yankee fan, asked me if such a woman wearing such an outfit could ever make a real Yankees fan, say me, cheer for the Red Sox - even for a second. I calmly (and wisely) replied, not a chance, unless it was my wife wearing said bikini.

In all honesty, if it was during my bachelor days, I think I might have answered differently.

BTW, I brought up that scene to help forget forget Sliced's last line in 101 - which I myself am desparately trying to forget.

106 I've been meaning to see Anger Management.

Sorry about the last line in 101. if I could take it back I would. Really I would.

Caught this while tooling around on ESPN...

2003 is the only full season where Derek Jeter did not score 100 runs. In '03, DJ played 119 games, came to bat 482 times, scored 87 runs, on 156 hits, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 10 dingers and 52 RBI. He walked 43 times and whiffed 88. 11 steals, 5 caught stealing.
.324/.393/.450

This year, through 120 games, Jeter has come to bat 485 times (3 more than he did in all of '03), and has scored 89 runs, and collected 162 hits, 28 doubles, 3 triples, 10 dingers and 76 RBI. He's walked 57 times and whiffed 79, while stealing 26 bases and only getting nabbed 3 times. .334/.410/.466.

Pretty good stuff, Mr. Jeter.

101 Interesting, they discussed the same subject on WFAN with Joe B. and Evan Roberts - in for M&MD - earlier this afternoon.

109 Maybe they got the idea from Bama 61?

Folks, Jorge has been excellent behind the plate this year...and we can probably thank Pena for that. But even with Jorge's defensive and offensive renaisance (look at his stats!), he is getting older.

It must be the new agreement Ca$hman has with The Boss because I think we can all agree that we've seen a different type of FO this year as opposed to previous years. In recent years I would not have had much faith in our FO to make a prudent and smart acquisition in order to fill a glaring need -- such as an heir-apparent to Posada.

Having said that, I have a boatload of faith that come this offseason we'll be seeing a trade that would fill that need. Ca$hman is accutely aware of Posada's age and the position he plays.

I am very confident that Jorge will have a serious apprentice coming out of Spring Trainning '07. Ca$hman is just THAT smart.

109 What did they say about it?

From Heyman's SI column today:

Yankees prospect Eric Duncan is back on the shelf with back trouble. What a shame. "I don't think he'll be a third baseman, but this kid can hit. I just hope he stays healthy," one AL scout said.

Detroit lost again to the ChiSox, this time getting pummelled 10-0. If we win tonight we're only 3 back (2 in the loss column)

114 Garland on the fantasy team - double 'woohoo'.

101 Sliced that was a great story. Mine didn't have such a happy ending with a Sux chick. I couldn't take it when she'd scream and holler.

I think the breaking point came when we were in two different rooms watching last year's Sux - Yanks game where ARod hit his two-run jack off of Schilling. I was in heaven and she hated me for being so happy.

Now, I'm just better off....I still have Mary Jane and she's all I ever need to watch a Yankee game.

OK.... TO GET 101 out of OUR heads... Here is what 106 was talking about... As soon as I saw it I forget about 101...
http://images.celebritymoviearchive.com/members/thumbs/b/bM1830-HeatherGraham@AngerManagement.jpg

108 Jeter is one of the most consistant players I can think of. Always around his career averages. That's why that early season slump in 2004 was such a shocker. 2003, of course, was the season in which he missed April with that shoulder injury, then came back and had one of his better seasons, which is why it compares so well to this season, which is his best since 1999.

117 My Amish web server here at work gave me the following:

Request Blocked by URL Filter Database

117 Oh hell yeah - Sandler's line in that scene was classic too

119 let me save it and host it on my webserver...
Here you go., anyone should be able to see it now..
http://www.rpimentel.com/graham.jpg

121 My girl didn't look like that.

You're a good man, rmd0311

Man, that Heather Graham just couldn't look smart if her career depended on it...oh wait, I think it did...

Too add to the dating a Sox fan conversation. The first birthday present I gave to my current and now long-time Mass. girlfriend was a Roger Clemens Yankee#22 blue shirt. Her father promptly outlawed its wearing in the house, but I thought it was one of the most brilliant presents I have ever given: See, she HAD to wear it, I could always pull the "why aren't you wearing my first present to you bit."

118 Of course, Jeter's fielding RATE in 2003 was an unbelievably bad 83.

(He's at 100 now)

121 That's one heck of an "oop" to my "alley" 106. I don't even remember what I was trying to forget. Thanks, rmd0311.

Is anyone else have problems getting MLB.com to load right now?

101 Slice .... You Ok?

Anyone check out the run support Hughes is getting tonight? Jes-o-flip.

Now that Hughes is out I feel I can safely say this much without jinxing anything - He's way too good for AA.