Great summary, Alex. I was at the game last night, and A-Rod's home run was a thing of beauty let me tell you!

Dang, it was friggin' cold. Why does beer still warm you up on cold days? Felt like October baseball (a hint of things to come, perhaps?). Whatever...last night was another feel good game and I left a happy camper!

The amazing thing about A-Rod's homer was that it was not his furthest homer of the season (that would be his first inning homer off of Boof Bonser in Minnesota- 449 feet) nor the highest bat speed of the season (an 8th inning homer against Tampa on the second game of the season- 120.3 mph).

Amazingly- only seven home runs in the majors this season have had bat speeds of greater than 120 mph, and Hideki Matsui has TWO of them (4/24 off Scott Kazmir and 5/28 off Dustin McGowan).

(www.hittrackeronline.com is awesome, by the way)

Yankees win, Red Sox lose, and Schill gets knocked around. Good day all over.

The Yanks keep rolling and a shout out to the Schmenge Bros. SCTV classic stuff!

How could anyone have anything negative to say in the midst of all this winning? Bear with me folks, we all have our issues. Given my screen name, this won't surprise you.

Mike Mussina has 242 career wins, 95 of which are with the Yankees. There have probably been many different catchers for those wins. With the Yankees, Jorge Posada has been the catcher for the overwhelming majority of them. In some of those games, Mussina has pitched really well:
http://yanksfansoxfan.typepad.com/ysfs/2007/06/ten_best_ny_gam.html

Mussina began the year injured and pitched poorly when he returned - poor velocity and location. Recently, he has pitched more in keeping with his 17 year record of excellence. The Yankees manager, who has been in the dugout for everyone of Mussina's Yankee wins, attributes this to Will Nieves (15 games started as a catcher in MLB since 2002) being the starting catcher. Predictably, the Yankees beat writers follow suit, citing miniscule statistical samples comparing Mussina's ERA with the two catchers this season.

Almost every year Torre pulls this nonsense with Posada (usually only for a few games, during which it's proven to be arrant nonsense). Most egregious was 05 when Johnson blamed his poor start on Posada and Joe "Mr. Loyalty" Torre backed him up. Both Johnson and Torre were deserving of Johnson's awful Game 3 start in the Division Series against the Angels with Flaherty catching.

Maybe Mussina, the Stanford Economics graduate, can explain to Torre the difference between coincidence and causation.

5 Baseball has a lot to do with superstition as well, Jorgie - if Mussina keeps winning with Nieves & it gets Posada a much-needed day off once a week, so be it.

Personally, I have no problem with it as long as they get Jorge's bat in the lineup at DH - provided he's hot at the time, that is..

5 Yeah, it's probably silly. But Jorge needs a day off once or twice a week, so Torre convinces himself that Nieves should be Mussina's personal catcher, there really is no harm (well, no more harm than Nieves on a big league roster, but that's another story)--so long as Jorge doesn't get hurt feelings or Nieves doesn't start in a critical play off game.

Well put, 6 and 7. It's sort of a silly thing to do, but no harm (and I don't believe Posada even thinks twice about it) so let them indulge their superstition this time.

8 And Mussina made sure to talk about how important Posada was and that letting him have a game off or DH regularly would help them all at the end of the year.

It seems like he's at least aware of how it looks and wants to make it clear that he doesn't dislike working with Jorge.

2 hittrackeronline.com looks pretty sweet.

thanks.

I'm really liking Cairo at 1st base, again that's not a long term solution but it is a perfectly adequate one for the time being.

Is there a reason the Yanks won't take a stab at a Ben Broussard type? He's a good defensive first basemen and he can play against righties.

Crediting Nieves is SOP in Yankeeland lately. Mussina works hard figuring out what he needs to do differently while at the same time rounding into shape physically, but his improvement is because he's "finicky" and Nieves is "inside his head".
Credit goes to the lousy player who happened to be there.
The Yankees start winning because Arod resumes his assault on MLB pitchers, Abreu starts being lights out at the plate, the starting pitchers have a long string of quality starts, but the reason they're winning is because Cairo is playing 1B.
Again, credit goes to the lousy player who happened to be there.
Arod makes a great play at 3rd, Cairo makes a routine swipe tag that Giambi or Phelps make 99 out of 100 times, and once again the credit goes to the lousy player who happened to be there.

The end result is Nieves, who should obviously be replaced by a real MLB backstop, now has an "important function" on the team. Cairo and his 76 career OPS+ continues to get starts at 1B and nobody calls Torre out for such a ridiculous move and Cashman doesn't try to get a real 1B who Torre will "have confidence in" and nobody calls him on that, either.

1B has been officially Womacked, and a AA player is the BUC for all of 2007 and probably 2008 as well.

12 Jim Dean, is that you? I thought you were on vacation in the Islands!

60 catchers have over 30 ABs so far this year, in all of MLB. Over half of those 60 are sub-catcher-replacement level. In other words, there aren't exactly a lot of good-hitting Cs to go around.

I imagine Cashman will try to make a change, like he did last year (Sal!). Its also very early to make trades. There are barely a handful of teams (outside of the AL East) who are probably out of playoff contention - KC, Texas, ChiSox, DC, maybe the Reds and 'Stros. Give it time.

12 For Christ's sake, mark, why don't you leave the straw men to one side for a minute.

I happen to like Cairo at first base, but I honestly can't recall having claimed that "the reason they're winning is because Cairo is playing 1B."

Is anyone making that analysis? If so, I've not seen it.

And as far as Nieves, you call him a "lousy player" but that seems to me fallacious in this context, which pertains not to his bat, but to how well he works with Mussina.

That's it.

In that context, he could be a stellar player for all you know.

Or maybe he works poorly with Mussina, but at least let's be clear about what we're discussing.

What's your opinion of Nieves as a catcher?

Not as a hitter, but as a catcher?

And more precisely, what's your opinion of how he works with Moose?--that's what's germane here.

12 And one last thing (I'm sorry if I'm overreacting): if you can't enjoy watching Cairo play first base, then I'm sorry for you.

The guy's doing a bang-up job out there and seeing as how he's playing, why not appreciate that? He makes fine plays every night that ought to be enough to make a baseball fan smile.

Sorry to be so touchy, I've just had enough of this bashing of the little guys because they suck so bad they're not worthy of playing on a major league baseball field.

Why not give it a rest and pull for them a little? They're emminently likeable characters and they're doing their best.

And moreover, they're not like Farnsworth, who falls short of expectations and was counted on to be a Big Man. These guys aren't supposed to be Big Men so why evaluate them according to those standards?

Take what they can give you.

15 I can't enjoy watching Cairo play first base, so feel free to feel sorry for me. But just because a guy doesn't look horendous fielding a position doesn't mean its okay to run them out there everyday. Thats the Womack/Stinky Minky argument. They look good, and thier ABs don't really seem THAT bad, hey, they are even kinda sorta hot, so enjoy it while it lasts. Cairo's .512 ops over the alst 7 days or .636 over the last 10 is simply awful. I know it "looks" like he isn't hurting the team b/c he has gotten a few hits and has made some nice plays, but he is. The team's win streak has just masked it.

I prefer the proactive approach and want to see the best lineup thrown out there that we have, and that doesn't include Cairo and his 'situational' hitting in it...

Me, I'm enjoying watching the Yankees, and Cairo's playing isn't ruining that, but it annoys me...so be it...

Wow-I never said I was talking about here or anywhere on the web. I was talking about YES and all the dopes covering the Yankees. But to get to your points:

Having a guy with a 76 career OPS+ at 1B is absurd. I don't care if you "enjoy watching him play" there or not. That has zero to do with the fact that 1B is only below DH as a place that requires a good offensive player.

As for Nieves, there's a reason he couldn't get a job in the majors. His career didn't start in 2007. He's been awful everywhere he's been. Playing most of his AAA career in SLC-a great hitter's park and a lot of the rest of it in A or lower, he's managed a 737 OPS in 11 minor league seasons. That's really bad: using league & park factor for the PCL, it's probably under 700. His MLB OPS is .418.
He doesn't block the plate or throw out runners any better than average.
Giving him credit for Mussina's turnaround is silly. Mike Mussina has been able to fix his own problems and is the first guy a lot of pitchers we trade for go to talk to for advice.

Do you really think I root for these guys to fail? I don't blame them-I blame Cashman for not getting a real 1B or BUC in the off-season, knowing how Torre manages baseball teams (Sojo at 1B, Zeile against RH with Nick Johnson available).

As far as "take what they can give you", why not get players who can give you (a lot) more?

17 So wait, timeout for a moment. You're throwing a lot of numbers at me, which is fine.

But am I to understand that when you actually watch the man make a graceful play, you feel nothing?

You're really unmoved?

I don't mean to be patronizing, so please don't take it that way, but I guess it's just hard to understand not appreciating a good play.

But we all watch baseball in our own way, so I respect that. But I'd like to do more than respect it, I'd like to understand it.

So if you could tell me what about his defense leaves you unmoved, I'd appreciate it.

Is it that you just don't think his defense is as good as I do? Because frankly, I'm really impressed by his glove. Perhaps our standards are different?

Just trying to understand here.

whatever happened to pulling for the underdog?

16 I've been the biggest critic, but I vowed this morning not to rag on Cairo for a few days. That also includes posting no sarcastic praise of the man (one of my favorite and I am sure annoying habits).

16 You got my support. Yankee fans are just spoiled. I can't stand that everyone has to be on the positive side of some SABR stat. That's impossible.

Who the hell is Torre suppose to put at first? If the lineup dynamics change because of Cairo, where more responsibility falls on ARod, Abreu, Jeter, Matsui, Damon, and Posada, and those guys know they have to deliver then that's a good thing. I firmly believe it plays in the psyche of all players - if they know they have a great lineup then they probably think that they'll be picked up by the next guy in the batting order. Not saying they don't try that hard, they just don't feel they need to try that hard because everyone is all so great. I felt that crept in during last year's ALDS. If a team has guys that aren't all-stars, then that puts more attention and responsibility squarely on the guys that should be delivering.

Every now and again Cairo will surprise with the bat, but on defense he's every bit as good as the best first basemen. His presence in the lineup, at least I believe, puts more onus on the players ahead of him to deliver. It might be a reach on my part, but it happened last year with Melky and they played well, and then the team went flat once Sheff and Matsui were in the lineup for the ALDS and Melky was pushed out.

19 Perhaps what Zack 17 is talking about is the awkward reaction that I have when Cairo or Minky or Womack (for that matter) make/made a nice play or got a timely hit. Part of me loves the play from an aesthetic standpoint, and part of of course is happy because it helps the team. But part of me is, frankly, a bit upset but I figure that such plays will be disproportionately praised by the talking heads on YES, or worse yet, will be used as evidence by the front office and manager to keep using a player who (according to basically every statistic) is hurting the team.

18 As for Mussina fixing his own problems, wasn't it just last year when he started hot that Mussina supposedly got some profound insight from Posada--at least that was the story last year.

21 I'm all about the sarcasm, especially today when it will be painful to watch Cairo fling the ball from third base, and then blaming all errors on Phelps.

I agree with Zack, and while I'm glad this winning streak is happening to make me excited about baseball again... I'm saving unrestrained glee for the stretch against Oakland, Minnesota, and LAoA. Beating up on the NL is one thing... facing Haren, Santana, and Lackey is another. The Yankees would have to win at least six of those ten games to really convince me they will contend this year.

19 I never said I can't enjoy a good play. I enjoy watching anyone do anything good, and I always root for Cairo, but that doesn't change the fact that, for example, over the last 7 days Cairo's #s look like this:
.217/.208/.304.

Ouch. We all acknowledged that Minky was not good for just these reasons. A not hit, all glove 1B is, well, a waste.

Its good to see Cairo out there making some nice plays at 1B, but me, I get a heck of a lot more satisfaction from watching a guy hit then watching the occasional niceish play at 1B...

22 "Who the hell is Torre suppose to put at first?"..."Every now and again Cairo will surprise with the bat"..."His presence in the lineup, at least I believe, puts more onus on the players ahead of him to deliver."....

Oooh, try as you might, you won't lure me in with this juicy bait.

Another thought: Johnny Damon better be ready to play 1B next week in all those games in NL parks. If I have to watch Cairo at 1B and Damon in CF while Melky rides the bench, I think I'll cry.

Hey, so, here in RSN signs of panic are detectable. The line is that a month ago, the Sox had an 8 1/2 game lead, and that's what they have now... what, me worry? (Of course, the point is that the May lead was their lead in the Division, not their lead over the Yanks.)

For the Giants series, the plan is to produce and sell foam asterisks in place of those fingers. Cute.

So, no Basak at 3B today?

Moved? It's a freakin baseball game. If anything moves me in baseball, it's a well struck ball, not a guy making a routine swipe tag and hearing Kay et al swooning. A long time ago I played 1B. There's really nothing difficult about moving off the bag, catching a thrown ball that's a bit off-line in that big glove, and tagging the runner going by. Watching Phelps make the same play (which he does routinely) doesn't move me, so why should a guy who doesn't hit enough to start at SS making the same play move me.
I don't want to sound patronizing, but I think you might want to investigate raising your standards a bit.

29 How can you rest the red-hot Cairo? (see numbers for last seven days above, 25) Yesterday YES had a graphic showing Cairo's hitting statistics as a 1st baseman, and the line was significantly higher, because they didn't count the 0-5 game agains the White Sox last week (in which he started at SS and moved to 1B later). Very tricky, YES graphic guy.

30 maybe you missed some of Miggy's line drive snares. Minky had some nice ones two, saving game losing/tying hits. Sourpuss!

The one thing i think MKZ's injury has shown is that Cairo can be the 1B LIDR, so when we go get that real starting 1B, MKZ has no role, Cairo can still be the LIDR.

I don't really want to get involved in the Great Cairo Debate, frankly, but I guess I'll put in two cents worth.
Cairo so far has been just fine, I might even say he's been a godsend. I expect him to be a serious offensive liability in the future, and that puts a crimp in my optimism. I'm hoping Cashman has this year's Abreu-type move on the back burner.

There's talk of the Red Sox getting involved in a 3-way deal with Cincinnati in which Boston would deal Crisp and maybe Tavarez and end up with Teixeira. It seems unlikely -- all 3-ways do, I guess -- but there's a lot of buzz.

33 Aren't there always 3-way deals w/ Boston floating around that would turn Boston's shit into someone else's gold. What was it last year, some fancy 3-ways dumping Lowell and/or Loretta and netting, hell I forget, Santana and Pujols. Whatever.

That trade makes no sense-Youkilis is one of their better players and is a 1B. Lowell is at 3rd, so Youk won't go there.

35 Uh, yeah. They'd deal Lowell. Sorry.

I think Teixeira's injury will scotch any deal, myself.

31 I'm not suggesting benching Cairo. I am surprised that Torre is not starting Cairo at 1B and Basak at 3B.

By the way, did any see Goldman's entry on Pinstriped Blog yesterday?

Cairo!!!!!

hahaha. i didn't see that but i heard that and cairo making a big play is so funny based on this conversation.

22 Not saying they don't try that hard, they just don't feel they need to try that hard because everyone is all so great.

I think my head just exploded.

Damn, it won't be long before the NY Post runs sneaky pix of Cairo on the town with A-Rod's mystery blonde... AND his wife.

headline: MIGGY'S DOUBLE STEAL!

I'd just like to see Pettitte get a win today.

Good enough, Andy. 12 pitches. Let's eliminate the whole walk thing and have a really good game...

I'll check back in a couple of hours (my son is graduating... from fifth grade).

25 Fair enough, Zack. It's a matter of perspective, I guess, because to me, the plays are more than occasional.

44 Mazal tov, RI!

24 "I'm all about the sarcasm, especially today when it will be painful to watch Cairo fling the ball from third base, and then blaming all errors on Phelps."

Do you remember Trak-Ball? Is that what you meant by Cairo's fling? >;)

But I like Cairo at first purely as a short-term stopgap. As long as his throws are kept at a minimum, he can do no worse than Phelps and Scrabble combined. But I suspect the only reason most people don't notice his presense in the lineup per se (as in, not costing the team potential winning runs) is because everyone else has stepped up. Let's see how that plays against the AL West.

I like Cairo, and to the degree that I post sarcastically about him, it is more to make fun of the way some of the media pump him up, in particular Sterling and his "Cairo-gasms". I wish someone would collect all the things he says in support of Cairo -- "situational hitting", "the best .239 hitter a team could ever hope to have in its lineup" that sort of stuff.

Just a way to amuse myself cheaply, and it's fun to play on the Banter once in a while as well. I'd like to see a real first baseman show up at some point, but I prefer Cairo to existing alternatives certainly (which I realize is damning with faint praise). I root for the underdog as much as anyone, and I have a soft spot for a decent utility player like him.

This has the makings of a beautiful day at the Stadium.

47 Word, Chyll. Word. Miggy in the short-term = OK, I guess. Miggy in the long-term = cover your eyes!

47 I'm a little young for Trak-Ball. I came in around NES, but no serious gaming until SNES.

i wonder how much it would cost to trade for scott hatteberg and relegate our good luck gnome back to bench he belongs upon

he'd come cheaper than dunn, he's sporting a .828 ops and he's a good fielder (by past metrics and reputation, anyway, i haven't looked at this year)

he's sort of an actually useful version of what Stinky actually is ...

bag-o-donuts.

If there's a better way to start than 3 on for A-Rod, I don't know what it is.

Are they trying to set up a GS for A-Rod? I am flummoxed as to how 3 singles in a row by Melky/Jete/Bobby fails to plate a run?

great selective AB by A-Rod. Last year he might have chased the Ball 3 pitch.

54 Bobby's single traveled about 57 feet.

51 Not a bad idea.... nice under the radar type of move. I wasn't aware he was thought of as a good fielder, that helps his case. Maybe they'd take Viz & Villone for Scotty... hah. err, i mean, HAH!

Way to pad your walks stat, Alex.

Anyone watching the game on tv? Is Davis really this bad? (Not that I'm complaining.)

50 You know I was talking about the lawn game, right? Right?? RIGHT???

42 (pssst... notice how everyone's so seriousness and statistically these past few weeks? Really hard to get a fundamental joke in edgewise nowadays. My throat's getting awful dry from the wind, closing in on my wit I suppose...)

We need Cairo up in this big spot. He'll get it done.

57 well, given their fixation with acquiring relievers, they'd certainly take farnswacker, pity bowden already fleeced them for austin kearns and felipe lopez

58 None of the hits have been hard, and he wasn't missing by a lot against A-Rod.

52 Who the hell wants a stinky bag of donuts??

61 Exactly... though I'd rather be rid of the absolute drecks (Viz) than just the huge drecks (Farns...). Anyway, Kearns is only doing so-so, and Lopez has disappeared, so it's not looking quite as bad for Wayne....

51, 57 The problem with Hatteburg is that his career OPS+ is only 100, and his last season in Oakland (2005) was a real stinker. His decent hitting this year may be much the product of Cincy's dinky new hitters' park. Can't comment on his defense.

62 Thanks, Schteeve.

Tight strikezone today?

59 Nope, now I have no idea what you're talking about. I did have a PitchBack when i was little, but this TrakBall I'm lost on.

Only two runs? Meh.

57 well, chris dial has him ranked 1st amongst NL firstbasemen for 2006, estimating 11 runs saved over average per 150 games, mgl had him ranked 2nd (at mid-year), estimating 9 runs saved per 150

67 Better than zero runs. I'll take it.

66 Not really, it looks to be a pretty fair strike zone. Alex just watched some near misses, and didn't chase them trying to be the hero.

None of the Yankees in that inning had a good swing, except for Melky maybe. Jeter was trying to reach out and hit the curve before it broke, and just missed it.

Abreu, Matsui and Cano all hacked the ball into the ground.

Davis' curve is pretty nasty.

65 And away from the hitters' paradise of the GAP, Cairo is out-hitting Hatteburg. If he could still catch, that would be another thing altogether. But he can't, so I say pass.

64 Krivsky would take Farnsworth + a pitching "prospect" + Viz for Dunn. If only the Reds will fight back into contention . . .

55 Agreed, wholeheartedly.

I watched the first inning on TV and Davis was scared to throw strikes. (He does have a fun, loopy and very slow curve ball.) He's taking FOR-EVER between pitches and nimbling like you can't believe. That said, the Yankees didn't really hit the ball hard off of him. Connor Jackson made a nifty scoop for the third out, saving two extra runs.

65 meh, you're right, i shoulda checked first ... awful splits, not that home/road should be considered an absolute predictor, but he's most likely about what we're already (not) getting from Stinky in a neutral environment ... bah

Let's see how Pettitte does after the long half-inning.

On the lighter side, has anyone seen this list of the worst names in baseball? Kind of funny:

http://blogzarro.com/?p=71

71 re: Dunn, I seriously doubt it, they're going to get better offers than that. I'd rather have the draft picks than that package (see the Soriano non-trade).

Pettitte looks ok. He's given up two hits. One a double that Melky mighta coulda caught, but played into a double.

59 (psst... general managers generally have no time for silliness. There are trades to be made, and divisions to be won, my good man. 42 was admittedly a check swing at humor anyway )

76 any list of such baseball names is not complete without pujols.

Plays like that one, make it easy to pretend that Jetes is a good defensive SS.

77 maybe, maybe not ... it's not exactly clear who's in play for him ... he's got a couple of strikes against him

he's an awful defender (dial has him at -12 and 3rd from the bottom in LF for last year), which really limits his appeal to an NL club

he becomes a free agent at the end of the year if he's traded, which limits what teams are going to want to give up for him

the reds don't seem to really value him very highly

i think that if he is traded, he's going to come cheaper than most would guess

73 i haven't seen davis throw anything above 83 mph. is that his fastball? if he has a big league fastball, he hasn't thrown one yet.

i smell a productive out coming

79 I think 42 is great, somehow I overlooked that post the first time. Cairo as tabloid fodder is awesome.

67 That's because I'm older than I tend to think I am:

http://tinyurl.com/2nh7q7

I know it's Cairo, but playing for one run in the second inning really ticks me off.

79 (Pssst... oh, sorry. I'll be good) >;)

i said hello to miguel cairo when the yankees were in boston a couple of weeks ago.

"hi, friend!"

his response?

"i'm not your friend."

i like that guy. not as an everyday 1B... or any position on a daily basis really, but as a person.

87 2 words: double play.

90 yes, but at least he wouldn't strike out, good things can happen when you put the ball in play ... just like jetes just did

89 Is that for real?

85 Hey, thanks. I might be emerging from my slump afterall.

I miss Miggy at 1st (sign)

86 Wow, that is pretty old school, there. I was more of a Scatch person myself (can't find that online either- its the velcro ball thing). I agree, Cairo and Damon should carry those when they're in the field, it would help.

92 100% true story.

i hurt myself i was laughing so hard.

it was cold and i was wearing a sweatshirt over my yankees shirt... he might have thought i was trying to mess with him... i guess... i don't know...

i do know that it was funny.

Nice D by Andy.

96 Cairo has no time for small talk with his fans. He's too busy racking up MVP votes....

and banging A-Rod's wife.

91 Good things happen when good hitters put the ball in play. Well, more often than not anyway ...

86 awesome! that's what i was thinking when you first mentioned the track ball, but i got all confused with the video game stuff. And i always thought of that as a beach game, as opposed to a lawn game ;) that thing was fun though, you could really hook a ball. nowadays they have the 'chuck-it', which is for a tennis ball - lots of fun for playing fetch with Fido.

76 Simply too funny. Great stuff.
RUSTY KUNTZ.
How do you live with that name?
But I love the editorial:
"DICK FOWLER. The most disturbing name ever?"

Btw, I didn't have a solid opinion about Miggy bunting last inning, but now that it's clear this guy has control issues, no more sacrificing.

Nice hit, Alex.

Ha!

101 There's also Dick Groat, 1951 NL MVP (and Duke Basketball star). Which goes along with Duke's current president: Dick Broadhead. Seriously.

101 Dick Klutch, my 8th grade math teacher. He even wrote a textbook!

101 eddie stanky, heinie manush... there are plenty more out there....

Ha!deki!

poor jorgie...

Boo, a double?! Alex, c'mon, anything but a HR is just crappy

95 You wouldn't believe the curve you could throw with that ball. Best Wiffle Ball Ever...

Bobby could use a pitch-back in right instead of the warning track.

arizona's defense is inpenetrable.

Ha!

Is there any doubt that A-Rod's headed for another MVP award if this keeps up?

Cripes!

101 No list would be complete without Stubby Clapp.

While I appreciate the effort, watching a guy dive and miss the ball by 3 feet is pretty funny stuff.

113 ooooh... good one.

103 Not a baseball player, but my father-in-law used to work by a guy with the last name of Liss. The guy freely chose to go by the shortened version of his first name, which of course, was Richard.

Yes, his name was (I kid you not) Dick Liss.

HA! A-Rod!

High one got Robbie again, but at least he saw 7 pitches in that AB.

101 ""DICK FOWLER. The most disturbing name ever?"

not Dick Trickle?

Who was it that mentioned Cano's absolute weakness for the high heat?

He's gotta learn to lay off that pitch next.

Hang in there, Robby.

i work at a library at school, and there's an older guy who comes in that goes by dick payne.

with all the comments about dirty names, now the Yes guys are talking about 'landing strips'... come on guys, do we really care about pussy hair?

120 not sure what that had to do with the library... oh well...

116 You would have to ask the ladies, but that might be a preferable condition to "Rusty Kuntz".

70 pitches in 3 innings. ouch.

So can anyone tell me why the NL has such worse hitting?

From what people say, it seems like it's not just the DH, but that AL lineups simply have better hitters at each position on average than NL ones.

Anyone know why this should be?

114 It is pretty funny stuff, but I agree, the effort is appreciated. The guy sure does love to play baseball.

123 The remedy for "Rusty Kuntz" is lubrication and use.

127 What about Ruud Lubbers?

123 I have to mention that Bama showed us that one a couple of months ago. Glad to see it in circulation again(?)

No baseball name conjures better non-baseball images than Chick Lathers.

127 should have teamed up with 130 in a business venture. What could they lose?

125 I have thought about this some--I think that the DH compels teams in the AL to carry even deaper hitting benches. You never make double switches, and you don't need to PH for the pitcher (when even a crummy position player will usually be an offensive upgrade), so you end up with (I suspect) far fewer defensive replacements in the course of an AL season. As a result, you can build your roster with more attention to offensive--even on the bench, where you can try to exploit offensive platoon options more effectively. That's my theory anyway.

Of course, the Yankees contradict my thesis the last few years, by building a bench dedicated exclusively to defense, with little attention to offense.

125 I'm not sure that the NL has worse hitting. I just think the pitching is better in the AL. Lots of pitchers parks in the NL too, which might be depressing the hitting numbers some.

125 What's the average payroll for NL versus AL teams? There used to be this theory that the Sox and Yankees spent so much that the rest of the AL had to to keep up, hence on average the AL has better lineups, and the AL East has the toughest. That's just anecdotal though.

101 honorary mention should go to the baseball writer in baltimore (balltumor) --
Peter Schmuck !!!

Shoot, nice ride, Melk.

Maybe in a couple of years after he fills out a bit that ball's gone.

Miggy-mania! Catch it!

133 Are there still so many pitchers parks in the NL? Not arguing with you, I just haven't checked. It strikes me that a number of newer NL parks are among the most hitter friendly (Colorado, Cincy, Houston, Philly, Pittsburgh [I think]), and also Arizona.

135 Definitely - a double whammy.

135 Nah, he's just begging for attention >;)

(Thanks for the responses, guys.)

All right, starting next inning, it's tack-on time. We have to put this puppy away.

138 So far this season, of the top 10 hitters' parks, six (GAB, Coors, Dolphins Stadium, Dodgers Stadium, Shea, and Wrigley) are NL parks. Surprising to see Dodgers Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, and Shea up there.

139 yeah, my top 3 names have always been, (in no particular order):

Rusty Kuntz
Peter Schmuck
Dick Pole

i mean, c'mon, go Under "Russell" or "Richard" or "Pete" - something, anything

Nice play, Phelps!

137 No thanks... I heard that prolonged exposure/infection may lead to 118 and 123, and maybe even 135, though moderation and 130 could help...

Wow, nice job, Andy.

God, it's so good to have him back.

I don't think he was ever this good the first time around. I mean, he was pretty great then, but he seems to have kicked it up a notch.

He just looks so smooth and confident out there day in and day out, like an ace.

What a fine pitcher.

nice, andy! pettitte's K rate seems to be pretty low this season. i hope that isn't a portend of things to come as far as regressing to the means is concerned...

How about:

Dick Hurtz
Red Ruffansore
Mike Hunt

All right, Alex, launch one here.

Hit that big-ass hook out of sight.

143 Its dangerous to trust park factors in season though, because there may be quirks due to weather, who's been in town, etc - and its a small sample size. For example, in last June, IIRC, Coors was playing as a slight pitchers park! That changed by years' end. =)

138 Yes, but just about every other stadium in the NL is a pitchers park. And some of them - RFK, Petco, PacBell, Dodger Stadium and Dolphins Stadium (143 notwithstanding) - are severe pitchers parks.

Safeco is the only severe pitchers park in the AL, traditionally, though I'll bet Oakland looks like one this year given how the pitchers are pitching.

What was that, Jorgie?

Did you see him reaching, there?

Oh well, he's on first, so I'll take it.

147 yeah. i made an effort to keep my expectations in check when pettitte signed this winter, but he's been exceeding them thus far... i hope i didn't just jinx this...

149 those aren't real names... are they?

Arizona News Bears

the arizona defense is impenetrable.

143 I did a quick check on MLB.com's stats for Park Factor in 2006. The average PF for the 16 NL team's was 1.01 (slightly favoring hitters), and for the 14 AL teams' was .993 (slightly favoring pitchers).

If someone wants to do ths for the last few years, have at it. Of course, PF is rather flaky (last year Yankee Stadium played as an extreme pitcher's park, #27 out of 30 in PF), so far this year it has played as an extreme hitter's park.

156 rodriguez's performance probably accounts for the skew in the stadium this year.

(i'm only half joking.)

Nice job, Hideki.

Ok, boys, we have to plate Jorgie.

Big run here.

Doesn't Cano have some insane Day/Night split. Like he hits .400 points higher at night?

If I were Robby, I'd just look for that hook and drive it somewhere.

arizona's defense is impenetrable.

there's an AP article out now stating the dodgers just fired eddie murray and bill mueller is replacing him as interim hitting coach.

it states that murray is one of THREE players to amass 500 homers & 3,000 hits. wow, they've really blackballed Raffy from the game. that was fast...

last i checked, that list was Aaron, Mays, Murray and Palmeiro

Did Robby really just check his swing on a pitch that started over his head??

159 Yeah, something like a buck and a half under the sun.

arizona's defense... eh... yo get the point...

There's the pitch he should have hit.

Big hook, right over the middle.

165 It's like a brick wall, that is made of rubber bricks.

jeff weaver just gave up 3 runs in the 1st. M's have to come back to earth soon. halos are steamrolling right now...

No way Davis comes out for the 6th, right? Especially if Phelps gets on here.

It's very reassuring to know that even if Phelps doesn't drive anyone in, Miggy is up next.

Damn.

That's a good breaking ball.

Still, I wonder if it would be easier to hit if they went up there looking for it.

159 This season, yeah:

Day: 84 PA .163/.179/.263
Night: 173 PA .329/.376/.503

In his career, its similar, although still marginally better at night.

129 Hey Chyll, I'm not sure which is worse: to be known around here as the Karim Garcia guy or as the Rusty Kuntz guy... (wait, that just doesn't sound right)
;-)

170 Well I'm glad you're seeing the light, Schteeve.

I knew you'd come around.

Ok, I'm getting a bit worried here.

Can Andy make it through the 8th?

Because we're not scratching out any more runs, which is a bit dismaying.

174 I'm just glad Phelps didn't do something stupid like hit a home run there. I HATE when we win because we hit homeruns. It's so how do you say...."efficient?"

:) I know that wasn't you in the thread last night that made me commit suicide. I just think it's funny.

167 bricks of swiss cheese

156 Same story for 2005--NL average Park Factor was 1.01, AL average Park Factor was .992.

I feel like when Andy does start to get hit around, it's usually when guys start to look for his curveball and start hitting it hard.

Anyone else notice that?

179 My impression and this is just limited memory at work, but my impression, is that Andy gets hit hard when one of 2 things happen:

1) He doesn't start the curve out high enough and it flattens out.

2) He doesn't get the 2 seamer in enough to righties.

173 I should've realized you were staying quiet for a good reason >;)

167 bricks without straw

I love Orlando Hudson, I hope he's ok.

178 Wow. It wouldn't explain this year, but is it possible that Coors was so much of an outlier in '05, that it inflates the numbers?

In other words, take Coors out of the '05 calculation, and what do you get?

184 .990!!

183 i liked that hudson was giving byrnes a hard time about the poor diving attempt at the catch earlier.

Good job, Andy.

Old Reliable.

173 Just don't be the Rusty Kuntz gal.

186 Yeah, me too.

We need one more run, and I'll start feeling really happy. I am a dogmatic believer in the 5 run theory.

Juan Cruz looks like Kif from Futurama :

http://www.gotfuturama.com/Information/CharacterBios/kif.dhtml

190 well here comes cairo... your prayers have been answered.

Miggy is going yard, right here.

Blech...base-clogging walk.

When I say "yard" I mean "to first base."

194 He didn't even foul off any pitches!

Nice job, team!

Come on boys, bring him home!

194 Hey just be glad it wasn't Giambi. We'd be 65-0 if it weren't for all the runs that should have scored but couldn't because Giambi was standing in the way of all the other guys.

Happened all the time until he went down.

Cairo is like a base stealing savant.

185 Can I call 'em or what? ;)

I think the most interesting, and least utilized, aspect of park factors is something that Dayn Perry pointed out at BP a couple years ago. We ignore their components too much. Dodger Stadium depresses runs, for example, but not because it depresses all offense. It depresses singles, doubles and triples - but actually increases home runs.

Anyway, that sounds right. NL with slightly more depressed run scoring than the AL. I'm guessing that the .003 difference isn't all that significant, though.

194 Eh?

185 Can I call 'em or what? ;)

I think the most interesting, and least utilized, aspect of park factors is something that Dayn Perry pointed out at BP a couple years ago. We ignore their components too much. Dodger Stadium depresses runs, for example, but not because it depresses all offense. It depresses singles, doubles and triples - but actually increases home runs.

Anyway, that sounds right. NL with slightly more depressed run scoring than the AL. I'm guessing that the .003 difference isn't all that significant, though.

don't you hit my Melky!

Sorry for the doublepost.

Is there a game going on? monkeypants, mehmattski and I are having a great discussion about park factors. =)

From a technical standpoint, I am not sure Melky shouldn't have been charged a strike.

I'm going to strangle Jeter, brb.

205 Right??

DJ with some winning baseball. Hmmm...I wonder who he learned it from?

All right.

The one problem now is that Abreu and Jorgie have both swung the bat poorly today.

But maybe they'll get some better hacks off this new guy.

208 Ozzie Guillen and David Eckstein.

208 dick fowler?

202 It would make a helluva difference if it was .007

Why is Jeter bunting? Does he not realize he's got the second highest BA on the team?

Oh, bull-fucking-shit!

He was in there.

Fuck.

Man, I missed all the discussion today, oh well, thats what work will do to you I guess. Sooo., how's it all going? Seems quite calm and polite in the banter right now, should I fire everyone up with some more Cairo comments? :)

Karim Garcia?

210 Sittin' in a tree.

Cairo was safe.

bologna

Damn it damn it damn it damn it.

Miggy Mantle wuz robbed!

at least i have company. cairo is not the home plate ump's friend, either.

%#)#$)#$)#$)* Jeter. WTF?!?!?!

Was the play at home close? Gameday doesn't say. =(

207 I didn't think he pulled the bat back; the bat was not over the plate when he was hit because he was trying to fall away from the pitch.

Meanwhile, more winning baseball.

218 Clearly. This blows. The D-Backs are hanging around far too long...

Too bad Phelps wasn't baserunning there. That catcher should've been flatenend...

Clearly Miggy is not a situational runner...

223 he might have missed the plate... he definitely beat the throw.

213 Maybe he doesn't like the way he's been swinging the bat today.

Sigh

When was the last time EDSP pitched? Anyone remember?

Ok, someone please convey to us non-TV watching folks what exactly happened...

Too bad Phelps wasn't baserunning there. That catcher shouldve been flattened...

219 ?? What does Carl Pavano have to do with anything?

You can see the drag mark of Cairo's foot in the dirt on Home Plate. Safe. Another blown call.

204 Indeed, and your doublepost made a point I was thinking of- for example, Dolphins Stadium this year is ranked so high because there are 100% more triples in that park than average. Three Marlins (Willingham, Olivo, Amezega) have three triples each, and the Marlins are fourth in the marjos with 19 triples on the season. I guess the opponents have racked up a bunch as well.

Nice play, Derek.

That was a big play.

231 Who's he?

Monkey, I agree with you. Melky had the bat out, it should have been a strike.

222 Ha ha ahah!

Andy has EXCEEDED my expectations.

234 everything.

235 fair enough.

223 The play was close. Miggy beat the throw, but his front foot didn't hit the plate. The catcher blocked the plate, but Cairo dragged his bag leg across the plate as he was tagged. On slo-mo he looked safe,probably, but it was pretty close.

Proctor for the 8th, Mo for the 9th? Assuming Andy finishes the 7th?

Does that sound like a good plan?

Can we just play NL teams from here on out?

One of the problems with fucking around with the defense is that you compromise communication.

The play with Phelps and Andy, that little dribbler, may have been made with guys used to working together.

So I hope Melky just stays out there and learns to work with his corner guys.

It was terrible watching Sheff collide with Bubba.

Nice work, Andy.

Old Reliable.

Do the umps have it in for the Yanks this year? I wish someone tracked bad calls against each team, because it sure seems like the Yanks have had some awful calls against them in '07. Many more so than in the past.

can't andy go one more?

241 Dude, blown them out of the water.

243 "back leg." Though "bag leg" is kind funny. Ah carp!

We were talking about aesthetics yesterday, Andy Pettitte glaring in at Posada is one of my favorite aesthetic things about the Yankees.

242 Fair enough. Six degrees of balogna, got it.

244 How about Andy for the 8th. Weren't they just saying he just hit 90 pitches?

People mockingly refer to Clemens as the Yankees' "savior" for 2007.

I say they've all got it wrong - it's the other guy from Texas who seems to have pulled this team up on his back & carried us to this point.

228 243 Thanks everyone!

244 Better EDSP than Farnsworth.

254 Here Here

232 Abreu lined it fairly hard (a bit looping) to pretty shallow left.

The guy made a nice strong and accurate throw, reaching the catcher on a hop or two.

Miggy slid in just as the ball arrived and seemed to get a limb in there under the catcher, but was called out.

It was bang-bang.

251 Scarier than KISS pinball...

246 spot on ... i blame a good part of the collision on torre's inability to keep bernie out of the outfield ... bernie wouldn't have gotten near that ball with a half-innings head start, if sheff had more experience playing alongside crosby, he'd have been a lot more alert to the possibility crosby at least had a good shot to covering the ground and making the catch

248 Yeah, why not?

How many is he at, does anyone know?

I say definitely trot him back out, he's looking really strong.

And just get Mo up.

No fucking around.

253 92 pitches to be exact. Pettitte for the eighth, Mo the ninth. Just like the good old days.

251 Oh, hell yes.

I love that glare of his.

I also love his delivery. It's about as pretty as Mo's.

Why is Henn on this team instead of Britton, again?

And for that matter, why is Villone on this team isntead of Henn?

Designated HA!'er

264 Ipso facto, why is Villone on this team instead of Britton?

263 Because the organization has determined that they need a "long man" in the BP.

impenetrable

I will be rooting the rest of the season for the DiamondBacks to make the playoffs.

Alex needs to run here.

Jorgie's not swinging too well today.

262 To think of how we'd have done if we'd kept Andy and not signed people like Kevin Brown, sigh.

Hey, who's this Alex kid? He seems pretty good. Anyone heard of him before?

I like how Flaherty is explaining hitting. Like he was any good at it.

268 ruud lubbers

I'm back.
Nice going on the defensive side! I wish you guys had slightly better concentration at bat, though -- we could have six or seven runs if you'd stop talking about "park factors".

272 He's Cairo's wing man at the clubs... buys Miggy's drinks, gets dibs on his scraps.

273 Jesus, Schteeve, cynical much?

267 Which is hilarious. At the beginning of the season, with Pavano and Igawa in the rotation we didn't need a long man because we'd only need the fifth starter every so often. Now, when we actually have a decent starting rotation we put in a long man and never use him. This is primarily because Joe doesn't know how to use one. Once you put him in, you just leave them there, no matter how bad he's pitching.

Joe brings him in, sees the guy walk two guys and goes to get Myers to pitch to a lefty in the 4th inning.

Nice, Jorgie!

Ha!

Well, that's why he's such a great hitter this year. He looked poor earlier and managed to adjust in the space of one ab.

That was very impressive.

Excellent, I love two singles to begin an inning.

NO BUNTING.

277 Am I supposed to pretend that Flaherty was a good hitter?

I have no broadcast at all, not even the radio. :-( Pure Gameday. It's much less fun. But better than nothing.

278 "Hilarious" wasn't exactly the word I thought of, but agree with you on all points.

Ok, time to step on this snake's head & toss it over the back fence with a shovel...

280 Come now, that's winning baseball.

272 He looks like he has some grit. Great role player, knows how to lay down a bunt, steal a few bases. Does he hit for any gap power?

It would be like, if Kyle Farnsworth ever becomes an analyst and he's like :

"You have to attack the strike zone, and trust your fastball, and above all else, throw strikes."

274 - But, surely, that's not an anagram - that's a spoonerism.
- If you are going to split hairs, I am going to piss off.

283 Reflex from a few weeks ago, when I had to start laughing to keep my sanity.

Excellent!

Excellent!

Just a blooper, but it got the job done.

Put it in play, boys, put it in play!

Yay! NO BUNTS!!! Ha!

287 I cannot stop laughing. Best comment of the day.

287 Ironically, his analysis in that case would be correct. Physician (relief pitcher, back up catcher), heal thyself!

Wow, the "D"-backs do play atrocious D.

there it is, just for your Weeping

Way to go Godzilla, now no save opportunity for Mo.

impenetrable

284 What?? You're supposed to beat the living crap out of it with a heavy bat and toss it with your bare hands in the middle of the street as a warning to the neighbors...

...well, that's what my oldest sister told me all the time.

back-to-back-to-back singles, JACK

Hit the ball to a Diamondback, and good things can happen.

289 When the grotesque becomes the absurd?

275 We can't all be you and seamus, RIYank. =)

Godzilla Matsui!

Woah what happened, foxsports.com when crazy.

HoHum... another Win. How boring....

281 Not at all, but that doesn't mean it's funny that he has the audacity to talk about hitting.

The guy was a major league baseball player, you know.

295 Mets are next, Clemens tomorrow - save the Sandman...

What the hell's happening now? Obviously Foxsports is not quite accurate at the moment..

287 Ok, fair enough, that would be funny, in an ironic sense, but it doesn't mean he's wrong in his analysis.

But yeah, to hear Farns go on like that would be funny.

I guess I just think Flaherty's a stand-up guy and deserves some respect.

actually, i think i'd tuneup henn here for an inning ... since after clemens it's clippard and i'd love to have my long man sharp, just in case

not that torre could ever think that far ahead, or that strategically

Is this Tony Pena any relation to the Yanks' 1B coach? I thought his son was the Royals SS? Or was it the Braves BUC Branyon Pena?

306 Yes, A-Rod and Posada advanec on throw, then A-Rod scores on error. Throw where? and Matsui is still batting. Someone explain?

Because Flaherty's always being modest. He has no illusions about his abilities.

It's not like he's talking himself up or anything.

301 Oh, you remember that! I'm so proud.

310 Matsui has been 0-2 for about 10 minutes now. Has he just been fouling off pitch after pitch or should I switch to another web site?

Phelps didn't run out of the box.

impenetrable

308 Good call.
I would have had Andy continue, but it's been a loooong half inning.

313 Switch to Gameday. There, Matsui is on 3rd, and we're waiting for Josh Phelps to hit, or whoever the new pitcher is to take the mound.

312 You guys rocked those first 50 or 60 comments. I will not forget it for a long time.

314 Bench him. For that, and also for not hitting a sac fly.

311 Speaking of Flaherty didn't anyone else catch the other day when Kay asked him about whether he'd consider RJ to be a friend since he was his personal catcher and Flash replied, "We had an interesting relationship."?

I couldn't stop laughing there. Man, does anyone like Unit?

Cairo didn't run out of the box, either.

316 Right. at this point, let the dregs tune up. Keeping Pettitte in would'a been based on him being the best pitcher to win the game AND a reasonable workload for Andy. But now, hell, this is a Farnsworth situation...

Melky didn't run out of the box.

317 No Gameday for me, Unix at work, no Flash.

Tell ya what, D'backs, we finish batting in the seventh (just need to get a little more practice in) and then the game ends there. You can get a head start on your trip back -- maybe stop at a souvenier store.

322 :)

321 The advantage of Farnsworth here is that you still have a good chance of getting Mo a save.

323 Aww crap. Sorry. I'm not sure what to recommend then.

322 That darn Phelps. He gets to first base but of course he doesn't score a run. What's wrong with him?

Can't complain about Joe's choice (letting Andy continue).

Hey Boston, knock, knock.

Oh, because Drew is a lefty!

327 (PART B) Didn't hustle.

323 How about Java? CBS Sportline is Java-based, I think.

Mmm, coffee.

impenetr-- oh... nevermind.

What a chilling effect on Miggymania.

329 Don't forget to knock on Detroit's door while you're at it.

3.5 back in the WC if Milwaukee holds up their end of the bargain.

332 Usually behind foxsports. I think the delay there was because they weren't sure whether to give an RBI for A-Rod scoring because of the error.

Goddam Phelps costing Cairo an error. Now Flaherty and Kay are rightly riding Phelps.

wow. that was cool. another deep game by another yankee starter.

Miggymania returns!

338 I seem to remember, long long ago, when the weather was cold, something about... starting pitching... using too many relievers... giving up runs... it all seems like a bad dream now.

340 really. I think that was the Mets.

339 in many ways, it never left.

340 It helps when your rotation doesn't involve Crash Pavano and Kei "He's out already? I want to throw some more high pitches to him" Igawa

ahhh... here we go.... scotty p...

343 Now you're just making names up. Those pitchers do not exist.

342 It was hiding.
343 To me, Pavano is still in the rotation. He's resting, missing a start, you know.

I'm beginning to suspect Torre is almost grooming EDSP to be the next closer.

Is it just me?

What did Miggy do for the error?

344 Is Proctor warming? This is clearly a Farnsworth situation.

346 Waiting for another opinion.

346 With some mild forearm tightness? Should be funny to watch him try to get a deal after next year. Somehow I think it'll be for a few less years and a lot less money. Maybe he'll only get a minor league deal, that would be fitting.

342 miggymania is like a case of avian bird flu you don't know you have.

All you igawa bashers, you wait, I bet you by the end of the season he will be a contributing member of this team. An in a good way!

348 I didn't see it, but Sterling said it was a throw that Phelps should have scooped, but didn't.

348 A-Rod yelled "Got it!" from the dugout, causing Cairo to muff his throw.

348 He made a perfect short hop throw to first, that Phelps bobbled. That devil is clearly trying to make Cairo look bad.

349 they showed proctor's name being written onto the lineup card in the dugout.

Joe Torre: OMG you guys, Pettitte's at 101 pitches!

Guidry: But he's pitched really well... just let him finish it.

Torre: We can't let him finish the game! He might get to 120 or 130!And his elbow would immediately implode!

Guidry: But we can save our relievers for the weekend.

Torre: I must use Scott Proctor!

354 Well, of course Sterling wouldn't accept that Miggy could be in the wrond. Its obviously Phelps fault even if it didn't actualyl invovle him...

355 Awesome...

343,345 Cool, an existenssial argument about two bad pitchers!

impenetrable.

355 Welcome back Sliced - slump's over!

A-Rod, don't know how to bunt, huh?

353 it wouldn't surprise me, he has enough stuff if he can find consistent command

Ahhh, wasn't Lyone one of the guys in that Vaunted trade for Schilling? The one where Arizona basically proved the Yankee bias?

359 I have no problem with Sterling saying that Phelps should have made the scoop. But, he can't then go orgasmic the next time Miggy makes the same play. Either it's routine or it isn't.

I still want to see A-Rod hit one out of the stadium. If anyone can do it, its him.

358 Is Torre really a blonde?

I respect Flaherty as a human being and I respect that fact that he is a much better baseball player than I am. But he was one of the worst professional baseball hitters ever.

365 Yeah but I've heard Lyon has a better blog, so well, you know...

If David Chase is writing the end of this series the Yanks don't come out for the 9th. They just crank "Don't Stop Believing" until everybody goes home scratching their heads.

Oakland tied, Seattle up by one. Detroit down three in the eighth.

Not that I'm thinking Wildcard.

355 Yep. I'll hold that "Mantle of Ignored" for you; go gettem, tiger!

371 they're on the field. nertz

371 HA!

372 Nice to have it in the back pocket while we go after the division, tho'...

358 Torre hoc ergo Proctor hoc...

{366] Well, Sterling likes to go orgasmic, what can you do?

But I think his point is that for a backup guy to make a routine play is not something to take for granted, especially when the backup guy is a utility guy and not a career 1B.

"Routine" is obviously relative.

Major league baseball players make "routine" plays all the time, yet a good many of them are actually not "easy."

And as to Phelps not hustling out of the box, all jokes aside, I think he might have had a shot at getting to second there, that's all I was saying. It wasn't a knock, just an observation.

Maybe I don't get the joke, but I think it's fair to call a guy out for not running hard.

371 Deep.
Actually, that reminds me of something I was thinking last night. Our runs/game production has been damped by the fact that we haven't actually batted in the ninth inning during this home stand! We've lost 1/9 of our run chances. I wonder how that figures in fancy sabermetric predictive hoo-has.

369 Where is Singleton when you need him?

Or O'Neill?

Or Murcer?

(Not that I'm even listening to YES, but I understand.)

368 It should be more like:

"Ron, how many pitches has Andy thrown?"
"101, Joe."
"101!? Christ Ron, we can't let him throw that many pitches. He might finish the game! We can't let him finish the game! (and so forth)

371 "Hold on to that feeling!"

378 so, in figuring out team stats they probably don't accommodate for that. I had never considered that before.

369 "I respect Flaherty as a human being and I respect that fact that he is a much better baseball player than I am."

Somehow, whenever someone starts out a thought in that manner, it never ends in a good place...

369 don't tell pedro! :)

Only Wang is allowed a complete game and then only one a year.

377 Except that if there is any play a back-up middle infielder playing first should make, it's a short hop bounce, no?

My 2007 'dream' broadcast team was in the booth in Chicago: Kay, Girardi & O'Neill - decent play-by-play, solid analysis, world series anecdotes, comedy - what else could you possibly ask for?

376 Awesome

384 Wang got two last year. Of course, he lost one, so you're right.

378 I wonder if it affects the sabre-hoo-ha all that much. If they are always winning during their homestand, then presumably they have scored a good number of runs. If they batting in the ninth at home, they are tied or losing, so probably they have not scored that many runs. Overall, it probably balances out mostly.

And EDSP ends the day! Hooray! And go Rockies!!

Hey, Proctor has only pitched in 34 of 66 games, after 83 of 162 last year. He's behind his pace! A travesty, I tell you.

389 Wait, that's not balancing out, it's the opposite!
So it means that teams who aren't scoring many runs actually look better in runs/game than they are, and teams who are scoring a lot of runs look worse than they are.

Yay, 9 straight.
Ice cream for everyone.

this is just glorious

excellent, excellent ... now off to vegas for the weekend happy, keep up the good work against the mets everybody

Man, nine in a row. Very cool. Oakland's tied up the game again, Seattle still ahead, but Detroit looks headed for another loss.

This would be such a good time to visit Fenway! Can't have everything.

391 Um, isn't 34/66 pretty darn close to 83/162?

What is this "losing" business?

HA!

Detroit down 3 in the top of the ninth, brew crew scored one and theyre still batting.

wow. we just zipped by .500.

397 Fine, points for you: he's appeared in 51.5% of the games this year, as opposed to 51.2% last year.

398 I second that HA!

393 Make mine a Grand Slam in a Red Sox helmut... I'm just gonna let it sit there and watch it melt...

this one was all cairo. he can't carry this team for the remaining 98 games... someone else will have to step up eventually.

401 Nice to know my PhD comes in handy sometimes ;)

Just got this email from MLB:

"Personal Message from Jeter, Ortiz, and Ripken

Too busy to call your dad? Allow us"
Apparently they'll send a "personalized" phone call to your dad.

What an ugly thing.

If you're too busy to call your dad on Father's Day, you need a different life.

401 I'm just a PhD candidate, so that's why I messed up.

405 I got that too. Then I phoned my dad. Seriously.

406 In what?

408 VORP?

I think we should start playing Basak at 1B, b/c by the way this team has been handling it, he should be even BETTER (and by better, of course, I really mean worse) than Minky AND Cairo. Then, we can pick up, oh I don't know, Rey Ordonez and start him. By the end of the season, we can just throw a giant glove out there that catches everythign but obviously strikes out everytime and we will have the greatest 1B ever...

2 on none out for detroit. cordero better not blow this, 3 1/2 out of the wild card sounds really nice.

402 LOL. Good one, Chyll. Although, I didn't know that the former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was a Sox fan... ;-)

402 Chyll, channelling your inner Sliced!

405 Its a promotion thing for MLB on XM. Its actually pretty funny (and cool). I wouldn't use it as a Father's Day substitute though. What a horrible suggestion. MLB ought to know better . . .

Oh wait. We're talking about MLB! Almost forgot. I'm not surprised those brain-dead half-wits approved something that dumb.

410 Tony Clark?

single ties the game after an ordonez double. i geuss not all the luck is in our favor today. still, as good game for pettite and the batting...

413 As a gift, yeah, it would be cool. What rubs me wrong is marketing it as a substitute for calling dad.

408 Evolutionary Biology. And, 409 I'd like to think my VORB is pretty high.

417 I'm sure your "selective fitness +" is like 145 or so.

Milwaukee hangs on for the win!

412 If laderhosen is in style, I'll bet he is...

413 Only because he's here. Apparently it doesn't work any other time >;)

417 Cool. You biologists always were bad at math ;)

417 Well sure, what else could a Ph.D imply?

422 My VORB isn't that high, but that's because I don't inhale...

Who cares about new aged nonsense like VORB? I don't give a crap as long as you turn out to be the Miggy Mantle* of biologists.

*I'm too lazy to find out who originally coined this nickname, but props because it's money.

424 I am known for my abilities in Situational Biology. And I try really hard.

425 You forgot about your belly full of biological guts...

Check out the URL of this BP player card.

http://tinyurl.com/37f5z2

(Not the tinyurl, the actual one.)

Via firejoemorgan.

427 Funny, b-r.com uses the same naming convention, but they skip the first i in Youkilis's last name, so their page is youklke.

I could get used to this winning streak thing.

Few things would please me as much as taking this streak to 12 and continue the Mets' tailspin.

426 I would hate to think of the consequences of having a bellyfull of non-biological guts. I think that roughly equals dead, but i'm not sure. I'll ask Torre...

I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but from a year-to-date perspective, based on Pythagorean expectation, the Yankees should be just about even with the Red Sox.

At 64 games apiece the Yankees have scored 360 and allowed 327 runs. The Red Sox have scored 327 and allowed 256 runs.

With rounding the scoreboard should read:

Red Sox 40 24
Yankees 38 26

If we track to our expected mean we should be closing in rapidly.

432 Sorry, that should be the Yankees have allowed 295 runs.

our starters in the 9 game in streak:

6/3 Clippard: 5 IP, 1 ER
6/4 Wang: 9 IP, 1 ER
6/5 Mussina: 6 IP, 1 ER
6/6 Pettite: 8 IP, 4 ER
6/7 Clemens: 6 IP, 3 ER
6/8 Clippard: 3 2/3 IP, 6 ER (oops)
6/10 Wang: 7 IP, 1 ER
6/11 Mussina: 7 2/3 IP, 2 ER
6/12 Pettitte: 8 IP, 1 ER

Outside of Clippard, Clemens had the worst start. :)

434 They really should split up Clemens and Clippard.

435 we'll see if an opportunity presents itself. Both theoretically should improve.

Delayed gratification HA! Was listening to the game at work. Bring on the Metsies!

The National League is not any good. My two visits to Yankee Stadium to see NL teams has confirmed this.

Is Andy's W-L going to keep him from the AS game?

HA!

grand slam off beckett! wooh!

Beckett getting shelled! WOO!

You beat me to it, seamus.
Almost as much fun as when Schilling gets smacked around.

i'm really enjoying it!

Dang, you both beat me. But it's a joy that I am so happy to share with the two of you!

I was convinced that Beckett was going to walk in a run. I was blown away when he gave up the slammer. 75+ pitches in 3 innings. Unfortunately, the rockies dude is also throwing a lot of pitches. control problems.

Well, he's through three in 61 pitches. Bad, but not horrible. He was very lucky to get out of that loaded-one-out jam. And he was very crappy to get into it, walking Crisp. And Helton's error. Yuck. But, the Sox were unable to play fundamentally sound winning gritty baseball David Eckstein so they scored no runs.

Weather warms up and Bye-Bye Beckett returns.

ok. time for salsa dancing. literally. hopefully beckett continues to implode.

Another homer off Beckett. Now this is the Beckett I remember from last year

447 Wow, timely, as Holliday goes yard!

Is anyone actually watching the Sox game? Tommy Lasorda was a guest in the booth last inning for some or other worthy cause--man, he seems so addled these days. Sorta sad.

Ah, good old Beckett. Watch that ERA grow as Andy's now passes by his.

Here's an interesting thing I noticed in Beckett's starts vs the Yanks this season:

No one is fooled by his split-finger. I think in the 2 games I watched, Cano was the only one who swung at it. Everyone else just watched is dive to the dirt. Which is why he had to start using his curve more, when you'd think a 95 mph fastball and a splitter would be enough.

He must be tipping the splitter, no?

I thought about this watching BPT show how Rogers's release of his fastball and splitter vs Pitts were identical. Guess not for Becks.

451 Was it Tommy Lasorda? I could have swore it was Ted Dannon. Man I have to stop letting my wife control the Netflix, i mseeing this guy everywhere

451 ah it was both of them, ok im not losing my mind

Atkins just missed another homer by about two feet off the monster. Beckett is back!

Is there anything better than watching/listening to the Sox losing big with the Yanks already in the clubhouse with a W?

446 Miggy for Helton straight up?

457 It's an almost perfect summer evening.
However, the next two batters will be huge...

{sigh} Some days everything just goes right.

Anyone watching? Manny has gone to the high socks look, which makes his pants bag even more.

Geez, the guy's a great hitter, but he really looks like a clown.

New thread up top. Emma recaps today's glorious win!

410 I like to liken the Stink to a net.

Wow!!!

Colorado over Boston 6-1 in the 7th!

Yaaayyyyyyy!!!