And I've loved Dog Day Afternoon since it came out. The opening sequence - various shots of NY in summer, with the Elton John tune whose name I can't remember - is one of the best New York sequences on film.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/sports/10sandomir.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin

On Bronx Is Burning, Oliver Platt's Steinbrenner is damn good, but I agree that it's a bit of a mess. I'll give a few more weeks to hit stride, but I think 4 nails my impressions of the first episode.

But to them, I'd just say: HA!

Impressions:
--Turturro's Martin is incredible--uncanny.
--It's amazing how feeble George has become in recent years.
--I had forgotton what a trip Mickey Rivers was
--The guy playing Breslin was so spot-on that I expected him to break into a Piel's commercial ("That's why I like Piel's. It's a good drinkin' beeh.").
--Caught Giambi's cameo. Heh.
--And Gawd, Abe Beame--the last time I saw someone who looked that overmatched it was Farnsworth with men on base.

Between the interviews that limited commentary on the first round, and the general lack of homers in the first and third rounds, there weren't nearly as many "back back backs" as usual. Dusty and Joe Morgan were also very entertaining, for a change.

Haven't watched TBIB yet. Its sitting on the TiVo, waiting for me to get a minute of free time. I really need to get that book.

10 i've only been there once, for game 3 of the NLDS Giants v Marlins in 2003, but it's a gorgeous park and well worth the trip

http://www.seatdata.com/html/mlb_giants/section_mlb_giants_310.htm

really, really nice angle and plenty close ... i'm a big fan of good upper deck behind home plate (or close to it) seats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-3wza6rnck

http://www.seatdata.com/html/mlb_giants/section_mlb_giants_211.htm

Nice little site

My favorite seat ever was here...

http://www.seatdata.com/html/mlb_giants/section_mlb_giants_110.htm

(handicap seats, front row)

But the arcade is pretty cool too...

http://www.seatdata.com/html/mlb_giants/section_mlb_giants_147.htm

"This would be a coup that Larry Lucchino would appreciate, taking A-Rod away from the "Evil Empire" and then setting him on the pinstripers 19 times a year. "They love that kind of PR," one competing GM said. Several baseball executives called the Red Sox the likely landing spot - after all, the Sox tried to trade for him before he became a Yankee. Rodriguez might have his pick of positions, too, because third baseman Mike Lowell will be a free agent and the Sox are disenchanted with shortstop Julio Lugo, who's hitting .197. The Sox might have to move Lugo's contract, though, a four-year, $36-million albatross signed before this season. But they could have plenty of A-Rod dollars free if they get rid of Manny Ramirez and don't re-sign Curt Schilling."

This could ruin baseball for me.

I also read a few of SSTN's links. It's interesting stuff, but still does not go into enough detail about the formulas, so it's imposible to analyze.

Also, the guys who come up with these stats are obviously 'selling them'. They are not exactly impartial.

don't me wrong, i love san diego to visit, but it pays to live in paradise.

Would just be interesting to see the 180 flip by the fans up there after basically ridiculing him for going on 4 years now...

I still believe he stays put.

Thanks again...I think the defense of defensive metrics can rest until further work is completed.

And besides, when the ice caps melt, Manhattan is just as under water, being under sea level and all. Not to mention the threat of even a category 3 hurricane, which modelling shows can happen to NYC and would drown the entire island.

As long as its about money, the Yankees should be in good shape. My biggest concern is that Arod will either want to get out of New York or come to the opinion that the Yankees will not be contenders over the next few seasons. Otherwise, the ball is in the Yankees court.

However, 21 there is no way I can live here forever, the East Coast, heat and all, beckons me home...at some point...

26 That's a great point. I don't think the Yanks will let money be an object, either. Let's say A-Rod leaves; the Yanks will need to sign a major talent to (try to) replace his bat. That's going to cost almost as much as just signing A-Rod will, and no one out there comes remotely close to replacing A-Rod's bat. So why not just sign A-Rod, since he's the best? Add in the subsidy from Texas, and its a no-brainer.

But I wonder if Boras would agree to an extension, since that would mean A-Rod does not test the market.

On the open market, I'm not sure what Boras would be trying to accomplish. Normally he's trying to raise the bar for his other clients by putting above average players on high salaries. But will it really accomplish anything if A-Rod is making $10 million more than the next player as opposed to $5 million? Are there any other players that will ever reach $25 million/year?

The 3B free agent pool, meanwhile, is a whole lot of Yuck. If the Red Sox let Lowell go, then a year or two of him wouldn't be terrible.

In the end, I agree with the premise of williamnyy23 that the Yankees will start $21 million higher than any other team and try to convince A-Rod to stay off the open market. I see three years tacked on the end of A-Rod's deal for $25-$27 million each.

My friend from Austin, Texas swears that summer there is by far the most heinous thing imaginable, but I think a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that its in Texas...

Great shot around 1:00 in, the shot with the toll booth and the plane overhead; seems pretty clear the Sopranos opening sequence is a direct imitation.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right?

the idiot booers + the NY papers in his personal life X playing 3rd base and 2nd fiddle to Jeter = 100% opt out

And that's before factoring in other stuff like the dirty sexy money he's probably already sniffing from the likes of the Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, and yes, Red Sox.

Driving home yesterday afternoon I caught the tail-end of an interview A-Rod did with Chris Russo. Mad Dog fished but came up with nothing noteworthy or intriguing from Alex Almighty.

More revealing was an interview with Boras The Spider that followed on Michael Kay's show. I don't speak spider but he seemed to be cooly suggesting if you thought $252 million was big stuff, you ain't seen nothing yet.

I will be stunned if he's not in a new uniform before Thanksgiving Day.

The suck is yet to come, my fellow A-Rod fans.

Given how crappy a year Andruw is having, he might not get a big money long term deal. So Boras could use A-Rod to push Jones's price up.

OTOH, if keeping A-Rod off the market essentially makes Jones the only big bat on the market, that could makes Jones's price skyrocket. Teams in need of a big bat (and with cash to burn) would be falling over themselves to heap money on Andruw, whether he hit .211/.310/.410 or not, because there's no one else.

That the Angels, with no real big bat, would be hurting, would have been the icing on the cake. C'est la vie.

I believe we are heading into a younger, Pitching strong team. Next year is Giambi's last. The 'new' Yankees don't look to have a lot of slugging and I believe ARod is critical to our team.

He wasn't in 2004 when we got him, but he is now. It will be a terrible lesson if ultimately this historically great player and very decent human being was driven out of NY.

I want NY to glory in all the records he breaks and to have a monument in CF.

Muggy as hell today. Had to get off my shaded porch and pull a few weeds from my flower garder. Its so sticky out, I was forced to dunk my feet in the stream. If this torture keeps up, I may have to head for one of 3 pristine lakes here in town.

What a bitch!

The guy who plays Reggie was very good, I thought - Daniel Sunjata. I couldn't place him for the longest time, but I finally realized: I saw him in a really neat, funny play years ago called Take Me Out, about a very Jeter-ish superstar NY shortstop who surprises everyone by coming out of the closet one day. He really nailed it... I bet the Bronx is Burning casting director saw that, too.

I don't think the history of all of baseball outside of the Bronx equals the history of the Yankees. It really doesn't matter who you play for. When it comes to baseball history, you are a Yankee, or you're not.

Visiting players are still in awe of our stadium and its monuments to history. If ARod stays, this will be the reason. To go into Cooperstown as a Yankee, to have a Yankee uniform #13 retired, to be with the Babe, Joe and Mickey for eternity.

Nobody can offer anything even remotely close. It's a question if how well Alex understands this.

However, I think he's gone. Why would he play in New York, on an aging team, where many hate him, when he could be the leader on either of the young, solid teams in sunny California (with outstanding farm systems) that will be willing to throw record money at him? I couldn't blame him if he walked.

Aside from Mo and Po, ARod might be the oldest guy (is ARod older then Jetes? I know its close). Oh... Mats will have one year left. But with our pitching, and Cashmans new attitude, and Andy, Moose and Giambi gone, we will have a new guard.

Damon - DL/Bench

MGL recently released UZR numbers for 2003-2007. http://tinyurl.com/2c3a52

Meanwhile Adam Everett and Neifi Perez were the two best.

Zack - Wasn't C.C. "Rider" Sabathia the first player younger than you to hit the majors?

If so, Cano and Damon are the only Yankees in the plus column.

Sabathia is a "workhorse" (sorry Deadhorse!), a lefty, getting better, and, of course, as you mentioned, rather portly. Throw Joba Chamberlain and maybe Sanchez, plus Britton and Bruney in the pen, and we have quite a hefty pitching staff