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Hey, Cool Breeze
2008-04-25 05:20
by Alex Belth

I'm as plugged-in as the next guy but I still enjoy reading the box scores first thing each morning in the newspaper. If I didn't have a 40 minute train ride maybe I wouldn't get the papers at all, who knows? I love to scan around for the names that mean something to me--did Maddux pitch last night? How did Hanley Ramirez do? While today's boxscores are souped-up compared to how the ones from our youth, they aren't that much different and I like the continuity.

Today is dress-down Friday. I rode to work this morning, caught up with how the game turned out last night (Joba got his first career loss in a soggy 7-6 affair; Farnsworth, Bruney are hurting), and jammed out to a host of tunes, wearing my oversized I-am-a-dork headphones. When I got to my desk at work, I decided I should probably tuck my shirt into my pants, only to find that my fly was wide open. Dag, Joe Cool the Jadrool. And nobody with the decency to say anything!

Oh well. Yo, check this out--it's so utterly badass it makes my teeth hurt.

Comments
2008-04-25 06:02:24
1.   williamnyy23
Something about last night's loss still bothers me. I normally sleep somewhat peacefully on my morning subway ride, but the game kept me awake for the entire ride, even in spite of having only three hours sleep.

Hopefully, they can take care of the Indians tonight to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.

2008-04-25 06:44:15
2.   liam
dude no one told you about your fly cause you were rockin the dj headphones!
2008-04-25 06:46:32
3.   rbj
I went to bed after the Yankees tied it up. Sigh.

Girardi was right to pull Phil after a 51 minute rain delay. Ugly game, bounce back Friday.

2008-04-25 06:51:29
4.   Alex Belth
Good point! Yeah, I couldn't stay up for that...too tired and didn't want to go to sleep on a down note, although they did come back to tie it up.
2008-04-25 06:52:22
5.   wsporter
Fly down is the worst. It's happening to me with increasing and disturbing frequency lately. Every now and then some nice young lady will give me a high sign which I appreciate on a number of levels. I never get help from a dude in that regard. I'm reluctant to help a brother out myself unless he's a friend and I can rag on him. I mean what the hell would I be doing glancing at that area anyway?

Fly down, very touchy business.

2008-04-25 06:53:43
6.   Mattpat11
Last night's loss actually bothered me less than others. Shit happens and shit, ya know?
2008-04-25 07:10:14
7.   dianagramr
Temptations on a Friday morning .... coooool!
2008-04-25 07:11:42
8.   hoppystone
The Temps!!!
Badass, indeed. Nice, Alex.
2008-04-25 07:15:46
9.   Cliff Corcoran
I'm with Mattpat on that 6 . You hate to lose a game you've rallied to tie, but having already taken the series and lost Hughes to the rain delay after just two innings, a win would have been gravy. Girardi went to his big guns out of the pen in a tied game on the road and the Sox beat 'em. Good on 'em. Heck the Sox are playing great baseball in the early going, so taking 2 of 3 is a victory in itself.

Also, good on the Yankee bats for the comeback, and great to see Melky with the home-run swing going. He's hitting .309/.380/.515, which puts him in a group with Alex Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui as the team's best hitters in the early going.

2008-04-25 07:26:51
10.   mehmattski
Hey, the good news is, Hughes has only thrown 18 innings so far this year. From here on, he can still make 25 six-inning starts and still not crack 170 innings.
2008-04-25 07:31:38
11.   Max
Last night's loss was frustrating but not outrageously so -- at least we came back once it looked like the odds were clearly against us with the rain delay. Also, if we had to lose, I'm glad it happened quickly, as opposed to at the bottom of the 15th at 2am.

Interesting that Girardi was lauded for his bullpen usage and losing with the best -- but according to PeteAbe, if Farnsworth hadn't tweaked his elbow, he would have gone out for another inning. I can't imagine anyone would have applauded that...and I'm struggling to find any sort of sound reasoning for doing so (other than rendering him unuseable for this weekend's series, which would have been nice).

2008-04-25 07:37:46
12.   Shaun P
11 Well, the game was tied, and if you figure Mo was a very last resort, and Traber was to be avoided, that leaves just Joba. Girardi might as well have milked Farnsworth if possible. I have no qualms with that.
2008-04-25 07:44:52
13.   Just fair
0 Not as bad ass as "The Pips" in the Geico commercial. : )
Gotta admit, that commercial has made me laugh out loud every time I've seen it. Hope the midges are an October dish, and not spring one at The Jake.
2008-04-25 08:10:59
14.   Schteeve
I was at the game. I went to see Hughes turn it around and instead I saw Joba blow it. Weird.

For those on the Giambi death watch, his OPS is now above .700. And I thought his baserunning last night was really nice.

Also, Melky is cool.

2008-04-25 08:21:49
15.   Schteeve
Also, is the title of this post from "We got the Jazz?"
2008-04-25 08:39:14
16.   JL25and3
Joba's career ERA+ is now down to 546. Kid's in a tailspin.
2008-04-25 08:57:30
17.   JasonO
Another very cool part of that video is the fact that the choreography is good, but not Jackson-5 tight and exact. Somehow more real that way.

I'm with the above that last night's game pissed me off...My neighbors asked me this morning why I yelled "Morgan!!!!" late last night.

2008-04-25 09:17:19
18.   Zack
I was at Petco Park last night and on the plus side got to watch Lincecum duel the giant Chris Young, but on the down side had to watch the putridness that is the SF and SD offenses. Good God, and we think we've been scuffling!!

Lincecum is a really fun pitcher to watch though. Even from the upper deck he looks like a baby, but his mechanics are so funky yet great and then he just pours in the heat. I swear based on his photo the kid can't shave yet...

Young is also really fun because not only does he tower over everyone, but he's seemingly pouring 90 mph fastballs by hitters at will. Must be the fact that his arm is halfway to home on the release!

2008-04-25 09:21:58
19.   tommyl
6 9 Couldn't agree more. Once the rains came I knew we were in trouble. Our pen has been good, but asking them to soak up 7 innings in adverse conditions on the road is asking a lot. Joba had to get beat sometime (even Mo loses a game now and then). As long as he bounces back from it and learns something from it I'm fine. I'd prefer to focus on the positives:

1. Offense came to life. Great comeback to tie it.

2. It was only two innings, but man Hughes looked good. Sitting around 94, touching 95, good command and a sick curve. I loved that strikeout of Thome (lefties, we can handle your stinkin' lefties).

3. Melky! Leading the team in HRs, slugging .515 and taking walks. Not bad for a 4th outfielder.

4. Um, Farnsworth might have to go to the DL. Is it wrong to feel good about this?

5. Praying for the imminent return of Shelly. The kid has been annihilating the ball in AAA since we sent him down. Time to do some of that against the Cleveland lefties.

All in all, I wasn't upset about last night and we've got Andy going tonight (though I won't be able to see it). Hey, we could be the Dodgers looking up at Arizona ;).

2008-04-25 09:36:15
20.   weeping for brunnhilde
Last night was a tough, tantalizing loss. On the one hand, I'm pleased the offense made a game of it. 6-6 in the ninth was a good showing.

On the other hand, the offense had wasted opportunities that just kill me. The first to come to mind is leaving Damon stranded on second after a leadoff walk and an uncontested stolen base.

Chicago was practically begging us to take the run and we couldn't.

That's what drives me to distraction. I want to see an efficient machine that gets that run in.

But losing with Joba on the mound is fine by me. They beat him, hats off.

2008-04-25 09:54:11
21.   Yu-Hsing Chen
18 the Padre actually scored a lot of runs last year... on the road that is... NO ONE scores at PECTO , the Padres putting together a team of mid range sluggers (the kind that Pecto kills the most) doesn't help either.

look at some of their guy's home road splits last year, it's amazing, if they put their road # up a full year they be super stars.

The Giants offense on the other hand....

2008-04-25 10:50:37
22.   Rob Middletown CT
Last night frustrated me, but not because of the loss per se. Hughes looked so damn good. I was thinking "cool, he's finally right" and then the sky opened up and he was done. The kid can't catch a break, apparently.

Ohlendorf... still not seeing what others see in him.

Loving 'lil Melky's work so far. Joba losing... hey, it's gonna happen. I'm not upset at Hawkins either... Jim Thome hits those home run thingies quite a bit.

2008-04-25 11:07:36
23.   skybluestoday
Nice Tempts clip, Alex. Luuuurve that late 60s-early 70s groove they had, from "Ball of Confusion" through maybe "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" or "Just My Imagination."

Here's another serious baaaaaadaaaasssss clip from the Soul King maybe five or six years before that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOXq_vLCjco&feature=related

2008-04-25 12:37:22
24.   pistolpete
Anyone else frustrated as all hell with Jeter's ABs last night? Seems like he was bound and determined to get something past Uribe, but just kept failing...
2008-04-25 13:05:52
25.   cult of basebaal
The Make A Wish Kid and Abaladejo are coming up ... sweet ... more arms!

maybe one of them will Pipp Worthless

2008-04-25 13:31:09
26.   pistolpete
25 Linkage?

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