Mientkiewicz, on the other hand, definitely sounds like a sneeze ...

We play today, we win today.

Compared to today, it almost looks like a minor league game.

:)

It's all coming flooding back.

What a beautiful man.

Very touching.

He really loved the game.

I fear this will be a long night.

One of those changes that's just this side of being a breaking ball.

Just get Tejada out.

God, I HATE watching Cano go get those.

It's amazing to me A) that Abreu never calls him off on those and B) that Robby actually catches them every time, even though I'm sure everything's about to end in fiasco.

Maybe it's something to do with his competitive instinct needing indulging.

No way, that's outside.

He's looking locked in.

He was, but bad pitch to drive.

I honestly believe the Umps are trying to keep the games as short as possible.

It I had my say, I would raise the mound and make the plate 'intelligent' so there were no more wrong inside/outside calls.

I agree. What are the chances that Alex falls into the stands? No to be critical, just not his style.

Calm down boys. Did any of you see the overhead replay? The pitch was really pretty close--certainly it didn't warrant this much commentary.

Here we are, in a tight spot.

Nice bunt, nice play.

Please stay.

Jesus.

They're on to Karstens, though.

Not sure how we're going to get through this one.

Let's go, sticks!

But if he throws strikes, they'll probably hit them.

He's just managing to keep them off-balance with that breaking ball, but that's a pretty transparent ruse.

then it turns out, his previous career was as an Umpire; he'd made it all the way to AA before deciding to call it quits

we started talking about umpiring and i made the mistake of saying i thought the biggest problem was when umps were inconsistent ... you'd have thought i'd pissed on his cat or something, he got all agitated and started ranting about having to be perfect all the time and how i should try doing my job that way

as an aside, for somebody who wanted to be a scout and had obviously spent a lot of time on a baseball diamond, this guy was completely clueless ... he thought our dear own jeff karstens was going to be a good ML pitcher (as in we talked about hughes and joba pitching the night before and then brought up karstens as the next in the line of good young pitching ... 1 of these things is not like the other), that hopefully joba could replace EDSP (he essentially called joba's 2ip 4k performance, "proctor-like") and that the reason he didn't like robbie cano was that cano was "the laziest guy" on the field

interesting instincts for a wanna-be scout ...

The study, by the way, was looking for racial bias in calling balls and strikes. It found some, a very small amount.

Yeesh, good inning for Cabrera.

The perfect 0-2 pitch.

that's what happens when i sit down to type out telling a story

=)

2-0.

Just like that.

Miggy's ready to tee off.

Good defensive swings.

damn, between duncan, karstens and matsui, we've got some real heavy hitters in the major league all-ugly team

Man, he's a dangerous hitter.

More junk low and away.

You have to get him out there, or you won't get him out.

I'll take that.

96 Well, it was a very big sample, so the result is significant.

How we gonna get him out?

Hittable breaking ball right over the dish.

The NBA didn't do a study. You're thinking of one done by a couple of economists (again! they love this stuff). But that one wasn't "hocus pocus".

Why?

Three in a row?

God, make him stop!!!

Oh well!

sigh

err, make that smarter ... i'm afraid nothing is going to make either of them look smart

there is no reason he should be on this team ahead of sean henn ...

His stuff is good enough to be a middling pitcher if he learns to pitch and can work on control.

His problem is that he throws too many meatballs. If he can learn to live on the corners and keep 'em off-balance (as he did a few batters), he might not suck.

In that case, perhaps he's better off just abandoning the breaking ball altogether.

I don't know.

Nice job, Robby.

Thanks for that, Peyton.

Eh, we all expected to lose. Just hope SEA and BOS do too.

It's not over. Even if they are being no-hit.

Bad pitch to swing at, Derek.

Damn.

For months, people were talking about how the Yankees had help coming in the form of Phil Hughes and Jeff Karstens

I was sure I was just missing something. Turns out I wasn't.

For months, people were talking about how the Yankees had help coming in the form of Phil Hughes and Jeff Karstens

I was sure I was just missing something. Turns out I wasn't.

Well, I'm outa here, for about an hour. See youse.

Both Derek and Melky made outs on bad pitches.

No problem, though.

We play today, we win today.

Next inning.

Karstens coming back?

What do you expect him to say? Lets give the guy a few weeks to grieve before we ask him to memorialize Scooter for our own needs.

Ah well, I guess the piper was going to be paid sometime. It's too bad Wang couldn't give more yesterday, so that the BP was set up better.

148 Yeah, whatever. I'm not going to start talking up Jeff Karstens. Just saying that with some effective coaching, he might not suck someday.

That's all.

:)

though maybe you should find a way to incorporate "GONE" into it ... otherwise we might find ourselves stuck with Igawa in exchange

Please, let's not be embarrassed tonight.

Those days are over.

Thank you.

We needed that.

Damn, that was really amazing.

That alone softens this one considerably.

And Karstens is American Igawa.

for the good of the season ...brower needs to take a beating here too ... a nasty, ugly, illusion-exposing beating

I don't know what the team sees in Karstens, if you feature a fastball in the 80s you have to have good control. You see what happens when you don't. It's second guessing, but I would've given Kennedy the shot.

I agree. Karstens and Brower getting crushed will do the team more good than a win would.

I said the same thing about the likes of Bubba Crosby and The Stinkster. And Aaron Small 2006 version, for that matter.

Nice hit, Hideki!

Nice hit.

Just as I'm thinking that we have to hit, whether we win or not.

farnsworth, brower, karstens and villone out

henn, bruney, britton and ramirez in

that's probably far too much upheaval and not enough "experience" to attempt at this point of the season ... but i'd bet my 401k in vegas that that would make a better bullpen than the current one if given a chance

Whatever it is, they really seem to like it. They just keep bringing these people in.

Jorgie just missed driving that one into the gap.

Let's go!

Base hit.

Let's cash this one in.

8/22/06: 5.2 IP, 3 ER
8/27 (beat LAA): 6 IP, 3 ER
9/2: 7 IP, 2 ER
9/14: 5 IP, 4 ER
9/19: 6.1 IP, 3 ER
9/30: 6.1 IP, 2 ER

IIRC, he did well in spring and his rehab starts. Breaking his leg essentially meant he had to go through spring training again. I can definitely understand the FO's thinking that he might be an average pitcher when he gets back to normal.

Nice ab, Jason.

Come on, Robby.

Keep your cool.

That was a good breaking ball.

Ok, good.

He's got the breaking ball down.

Good...

Look breaking ball, Robby.

Nice swing.

Come on, Robby, you can do it!

The worst hack of the ab!

Damn it damn it damn it.

[cano grounds out weakly, making him 0 for his last 6]

then again ... maybe it's just not our night

He looked so good and then he ends up dribbling the ball.

Was he a bit off balance, or did he not hit the ball squarely, or both?

I'm glad it didn't.

your cheating heart ... will tell on you ...

What a fucking monster!

You'd expect some sloppiness on a play like that, where the chances of success are remote.

But he didn't throw it away in a fit of adrenaline.

Nice and easy.

He's a special kid.

UPDATE, 8:31 p.m.: Golly, it appears the Yankees are not going to end the season with a 47-game win streak. Clearly Karstens should be executed, Torre and Cashman fired and Steinbrenner forced to sell the team.

Some of you need to get realistic. The Yankees did not feel one game was worth taking a player off the 25-man and 40-man rosters to bring up Ian Kennedy. Beyond that, they owed Karstens a shot. He threw five pitches with a broken leg on April 28. I'll repeat that, he threw five pitches with a broken leg. He's also not some bum, he had a very good spring training and an 0.92 ERA in six rehab starts in spring training.

Yes, the Yankees might lose and Karstens didn't pitch well. But I suspect they'll show up tomorrow to play.

Also, it is very disappointing that the offense seems as if it quit on the game. Despite facing a notoriously wild pitcher, the Yankees have gone up hacking since falling behind. Jeter's 2-0 pop up set a very bad tone of resignation, a feeling that had been missing. Hopefully a game like this one followed by the challenge of Bedard and Verlander doesn't throw this team back into funk.

Chase Wright and DeSalvo and Igawa and Karstens

I've never seen so many people with absolutely no control that can barely break a pane of glass. And everytime I turn around, there's another one.

I'd prefer to blame it on awful Karstens.

Second poor ab of the night.

Why is he flailing at that pitch?

What's Peyton doing so shallow?

Nicely struck, Bobby.

222 You just cited two minor league pitchers who were only called up because the major league rotation was falling apart and the Yankees didn't want to rush Phil and Joba. Again- who else?

Igawa's in the minor leagues. Karstens, Pete, cult, and I have already covered.

Seriously- who else tonight?

See, this I can't abide.

Just because Karstens is a bad pitcher doesn't mean our defense and hitting get to pack it in.

Peace, guys. I'm going to read while keeping one ear tuned into mlb.tv.

Also, Edwar's best pitch is his changeup. That doesn't mean he sucks.

Maybe I am panicking, but a game like this holds a real danger of carrying over, which, considering the tough stretch of games aheads, could put the Yankees back in the hole from which they just recently emerged.

Indeed, cob.

But here's the thing, because we managed to steal the previous two, something we'd never have done two months ago, at least now we're not staring down the barrel of a three game funk, which could very easily have been the case.

Tomorrow's the Big Test.

Are we having fun yet?

Joe's not, here he comes.

Jesus, William, please. You're freaking me out.

Of course that's the danger, of course I'm praying to God this isn't Colorado Part II.

But man, you're going hex everything with all this anxiety.

It's just one game as far as we know, right?

Just.

One.

Game.

(Please God.)

I am consoling myself by watching my new 1977 World Series DVD set. Thanks for the recommendation, Alex!

Aside from foolishly starting Karstens in this game, the Yankees should have had Clemens appeal his suspension until after his Sunday start. With an off day next Thursday, they could have managed it so that another starter wouldn't have been needed. Anyway you slice it, the Yankees essentially handed this game to the Orioles. If they miss the playoffs by one game, Cashman/Torre will have no one to blame but themselves.

I didn't say that.

If Brower and Karstens are replaced by Edwar and Britton, at least I'll be able to take some consolation.

And yes, I was somewhat tongue in cheek when I said we like this shitty type of pitcher. I'd like to think we don't. Its just frustrating as all hell to me that a) I keep seeing this same pitcher over and over again b) Kei Igawa is inexplicably not in Southern California.

Right now, as of right now, they'll have lost one in a row, barring a miracle.

for that, i'd recommend a beer, a bong hit, a steak and a blow job ...

Let's do bring in Kyle!

He's a vital element of the circus.

For old times' sake.

Frankly, I'm not worried about anyone, the way the sticks have been going, but I will start to worry if we don't put some token runs up on the board.

Like four or five.

He almost bit at that slider there, and then swung way out in front of the next one.

His first ab looked very strong.

He reached base, good enough.

Let's rally here, Team!

why maybe, Krazy's arm would fall off or something awful ... and we could DL his sorry ass

this could be the Night of the Long Knives for shitty Yankee pitching

karstens, brower, villone and farnsworth ... all "disappeared" in the dead of night!

MY GOD, THIS COULD BE THE GAME THAT WINS US THE DIVISION!!!

Come on, Jorgie.

Pretend it's a scoreless game.

These kind of games go better for everyone with a liberal application of alcohol ... just sayin'

Because he didn't seem in his first ab like he'd even think about swinging at that pitch.

I was just comparing ab, honestly wondering.

It seemed poorer than in his first ab and I was wondering why.

The Sox are so much better?

The Yanks couldn't come back from a 1-0 deficit to TB?

Let's recap. Over the last 2 1/2 months the Yanks are something like 10 1/2 games better than the Sawx. That's more than 1/2 the season as thus played. And the Sawx are what 2 or 3 games over .500 during that 10-11 week stretch?

It's just an intuitive kind of thing, not really something I can turn off.

310 Bourbon tonight. And cashews. Mmmm. I wish Chyll Will were here.

Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

I had this chalked up as a loss and was hoping to be surprised, so eh. Like others have said, if we can clear out some dead wood and were going to lose anyway, it's worth it.

Hey, Ken Arneson fixed the Toaster so that you can now click on a bracket-number link to a Hidden comment and it gets unhidden. Ken's a genius.

Just imagine yourself in the batter's box trying to get a hit.

What would you do?

What parts of your body might hurt, forcing you to favor others?

What would you do if the pitcher threw too hard?

I don't know, it's just that having played baseball and playing softball, I imagine myself in those spots.

Just like you can become more aware of your own body, you can become more aware of how an athlete uses his, no?

319 I am very undiscriminating.
Okay, I like Makers' Mark. But right now I'm drinking Evan Williams, which is much cheaper. I have a lot of ice.

And cashews.

to which i texted in return that obviously scooter must have sensed this one coming and decided to check out in the warm afterglow of last night's walk off win ...

; )

The Yankees run difference is just about the same percentage of the total runs scored in their games, as the Red Sox' is of their total runs. That means they've played just about even with each other, counting both offense and defense.
But the Sox win close games -- their pen is much better. That's most or all of the difference in their actual records.

;)

how do you follow the games???

....

From the team, I mean.

Quick Quiz:
Who is the best Rhode Islander baseball player in history?

I have mlb.tv now, but in the past I'd use gameday and watch the few games they show here..

Edwar still isn't capable of throwing strikes consistently enough. Why Britton doesn't get a shot is beyond me. I thought using lefty splits as the only criteria to dump Myers over Villone, given Myers was much more effective on the whole, was a mistake. Brower is also a mistake, but I don't see them promotng Kennedy or Britton. Why, I have no clue. Part of developing into a big league pitcher is taking your lumps. Why not let Edwar and Britton take some lumps, when we can take to the bank the fact that Villone and Brower will give up just as many runs?

But you don't seem to be noticing the cashews.

are there expat sports bars that get them on cable or something???

Wow, nice sarcastic crowd response for Gagne. I think it's sarcastic.

do tell ...

And something a little greener to chase.

306 "Mmmmm, spank-it... ever so gent-ley... spank-it..." >;)

Oh, Quiz Answer:
Nap Lajoie.
But I'm impressed, Mattpat.

I do not.

Speaking of Kay, he's blowing Worthless again.

This is odd. Joe Castiglione keeps saying that Gagne has the old heater back. And I look at Gameday and it says the release speed of the "fastballs" is 80, 88, 88. Is Castiglione partly blind, or is Gameday waaaay off?

I agree. They have some issues with the Summer Ale. And I too am a Saranac fan, although I cannot get it out here on the west coast.

Gameday is way off.

mmm ... bridlewoods estates reserve syrah

So bottom line, 90% of Banter is drinking tonight?

arod??

or

man-ram???

gonna have to have i'll let boston win that one ...

And they want A-Rod why?

I'll take it.

Don't forget, 6 games left with Bahstan. It's still doable.

I had a strong feeling today's game would go as it did, so I steered clear. Plus I had some dog issues to deal with, so be it.

And Torre just can't resist pitching Viz for some inexplicable reason thereby tiring him for tomorrow

So does this, but in a different way.

sigh.

Farnswacker should have insisted on pitching the 9th. It's the only thing a man of character would have done. After 9 pitches...

And is it really that unreasonable to ask your crappiest "last man out of the bullpen" to thrown more than 9 pitches in a blowout? Is his arm really that fragile?

Duh.

Jesus, read the fucking Rules.

Ha.

Wait, unless you've been tippling, too. Hmmmm.

anyways, on with life ... off to get sushi for dinner and then sit down with season 2 of rome

which i highly recommend, btw

out

though i do know a guy who knows a guy ...

Well, the bourbon worked wonders for me, anyway. See youse tomorrow, for a Phil-harmonic symphony.

well, maybe not Billy, he was kind of a prick ... he's prolly not there waiting for Scooter

Minnesota just scored a run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sweet dreams of phil franchise pitching tomorrow for all (in a totally chaste man-crush kinda way)

'night!

http://tinyurl.com/2uwvl2

Thanks Cliff.

Oh well, I'd like to think that the team's success will not rise and fall on the performance of the long man out of the pen.

Everytime you think Kei Igawa is dead, he comes back for no logical reason. That 4.76 ERA and 1.5 WHIP against minor league hitters is just too enticing to pass up.