Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Anyone get a look at Ryan Howard's performance last night?

Yanks still won : ok: , but this guy is ridiculous

I've got him in a keeper league and people actually gave me shit for keeping him for this coming season!.......simple minds :confused:

I fuckin hate Baseball

^OK  :confused:

Yes, Ryan Howard is an absolute stud, but I don't think he's eligible for Rookie of the Year because of too many at-bats last year.  He just tied Pujols for the NL lead in HRs with 25 (although Pujols has been out for a month... amazing).

In the AL, Boston's closer, Papelbon, has been unreal.  He could be the new Rivera - if you have a lead in the 8th, game's over.  Easily ROY.

Then, why did you reply?

Just to tell everyone

Papelbon is pretty nasty. Boston also has this kid Hanson who they were planning on having take over for Foulke at some point, but now obviously things have changed.

Larry Bowa was interviewed on WFAN yesterday, and basically said that Abreu needs a change of scenery and he'll thrive, Burrell should be  a DH only cause he can't field, and Rollins is a little to high on himself and his own " J Roll " persona for his liking. The guy's not afraid to say it, that's for sure

Oh I see.

So, what you're telling me is that you don't attention at home. Right.  :peace:

Spot on, my parents are on holiday at the mo...

reyes hit for the cycle yesterday, wright had 3 hits, but the mets lost, fucking wagner... Rooting for the yanks to beat philly :beer:

You feel good going into the Pennant-Race with Wagner closing for you?  That dude is shaky. But hey, there's only one Mariano.

You guys got a good future ahead of you with Reyes/Milledge/Wright/Beltran in the lineup for years to come, but I'm still a little skeptical about your starting pitching ( The Yanks is worse..I know) :-X

The Yanks are worst?

Currently, the yankees have the 4th best ERA in the AL with a 4.30. That's 0.22 runs better than they were last year. So, that would mean that the worst, they're far from it.

Let me tell you who has the worst AL Pitching:

The Kansas City Royals, a 5.95 ERA. Ugh, disgusting. I think that's worse than last year.

Didn't say the Yanks are the worst!  I was saying it's worse than the Mets starting staff right now.  They can't get past the damn 6th inning anymore!

david wright hit another two  two run homers, 60 rbi , 17 hrs 337 BA ,damn he's doing good reyes 9th multi hit game in 10 games.. ;D

Yes, you did, you said the yanks are the worst.

I don't think Ryan Howartds eligible for the Rookie of the Year award because he won it last year :hihi: :hihi:

I wouldn't annoint Papelbon the next Rivera just yet either :hihi:
------> That's been said about Hoffman, Wagner, Lidge, and bunch of other guys that had decent success in the regular season; before you annoint this guy the next Rivera, let's see how he does in the Playoffs via Hoffman and Lidge :hihi: :rofl:

I guess it doesn't matter if you hiyt for the cycle and still lose :hihi:
and the spanking Yankees beat the Philly Fuck-Ups yet again :hihi:

I see how you could think that but I read it as the Yankees have a worse staff than the Mets.....but, Mets fans beware, Pedro is fragile and Glavine's 40 fucking 3; who know how long ElDuque can stay healthy (once he gets to October watch out NL)....but if they can make it thru the season and get to October healthy, those 3 at the top of your rotation look pretty fucking good :rant:

I won't be pleased about it cause I''m a stanky Yankee fan :hihi:

I DID?  FUNNY, THE ENGLISH I LEARNED TELLS ME DIFFERENTLY

mets won yesterday, damn wright hit two homers... Reyes yet again multi hit game... Fucking one two punch is great...

Hiting for the cycle is not like scoring 100 points and losing

You're right, he's no Rivera yet, but given time I'm sure he'll blow a World Series Game 7 at some point. :rofl: :peace:

I'm not going to argue with you anymore.

Ok then. I hate arguing pal.

You see Reyes on St.Louis last night? Liriano ?  There's some real good young pitchers entering the league this year

nope, jose reyes/?? I watched the afternoon game then shut it off after teh final out..

That's only for the starters. The relivers are close to 7!
What a fucking disgrace to baseball.

what can I say david wright is a offensive machine this year 337, 18 hrs 63 rbi obp 405.. The guy is 23 the fucking future, mets are 11 games up.. :beer:

Every time I look that dude is having another big game. He could be the MVP as well

Pujols was back to his old tricks last night

Tigers look like they're for real . The wild-card may actually come from the Central this year

This pitcher James on the Braves looked pretty nasty this afternoon  :yes:


Zach Duke blows this year  :rant:

reyes had another 4 hits, one of the best streaks I've seen upped his BA 50 point in 14 games :o

Hate to say it but I'll be rooting for the Mets the next three days against Boston :o

Let's Go Mets :) :hihi:

well I rooted for the yanks, redsox against the phillies :beer:

I'm hoping Pedro nails Manny and Ortiz in their assess :beer:

Figures when I'm rooting for the Mets the get beat up by the Sox :'(

And the Spankees loose to the Braves.....

and drop another game behind the Sox.....what's with this 10 game winning streak anyway? :o

The thought of Manny/Ortiz in the playoff race with Beckett, Schilling / and now Lester is pretty frightening

The problem with Otiz, Ramirez, Schilling and Beckett is they've all owned the Yankees during the playoffs at some point within the last three years :-\

And all the Yankees have is Jeter.....all the other "big names" play sorta small during the playoffs......except Rivera, and sometimes Mussina

fucking hate the mets picther from last night, he fucking sucks, has one good game out 5.. Mets pitching will be their only donwfall this season

Josh beckett is really NOT having a good year, the man's ERA is close to 5, 4.8 something, that actually sucks Wins n Loses can be decieving

Yeah, Beckett seems to either have a knockout game whereas he' s unhittable or he completely implodes - that being said, I witnessed firsthand what that fucker can do in the playoffs, and he is as nasty as ANYONE when he's on

pedro is getting crushed 8-0.. mets are sucking cock

I thought you clowns got rid of Mike Piazza?

Did we pick up a rod.. :P Sam champion :hihi:

what's the deal with these guys?? :rant:

When I want them to win they lose and when I want them to lose they win :rant:

I hope the trend continues this weekend :hihi:

Yanks are taking 2 of 3 this weekend. It's payback time baby.

Oh yeah the mets n yanks.. Fucking boston is one fire... It should be good

Well shit, the Mets might as well lose today :hihi: If not sweep the Sox, might as well get swept by the SOx :beer: :rofl:

Hey Met Fans, what happened????  I was rooting for them the last three games :rant:

Call it the curse of the Yankee fan :hihi:

Under any other circumstance, I would have been loving them getting swept :rofl:

But selfish self interest prevented me from truly relishing it....oh well.....hopefully the they continue to play that winning brand of ball against the Evil Empire ;D

More proof that this is truly their season.  Get swept, but maintain an 11-game lead and hurt the Yankees in the process.  Good times! :beer:

The only " hurt " coming up is the look on El Dick-a's face when Damon leads off with dinger! : ok:

Haha... would you have ever imagined a couple years ago you'd be slamming El Duque and cheering Damon? 

Never my friend, but this day and age, you just never fucking know

The mets did it on prupose so the yankees couldn't gain ground :hihi:

What happened was they got their ass handed to them, eevryone went fucking cold at once... Either way you have to tip your hat to boston they're playing amazing ball..

I'll be watching tonight :beer:

Yeah how about my TIGERS.  With Detroit & CHicago playing as strong as they are, it could make the Yankees and Boston regular season very important if the Central Division can take the wild card spot.

Holy Crap! A Tiger Fan surfaces!  You guy's are having an impressive season, and you're dead right - Only one team looks like it can come out of the East this year.

Even though he'll be pitching for the mets, i won't slam the guy ;D

I hope Boston sinks in a flame of chaos this year.

1 HIT!? ?1 F*CKING HIT! THE MIGHTY METS? THE NL LEAST CHAMPS! ONE HIT AGAINST ONLY 4 INNINGS OF MUSSINA AND THEN THE FEARSOME COMBO OF Ron Villone, Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnswarth and the Mighty Mo?


Damn that was nice?

-

I guess they were saving themselves for the Big Dick.  Some ace you've got there.

Rubber game tomorrow...

Yeah, The Big Dickhead really blew the dog today ( not surprisingly ) Tomorrow night -  Should be something like 13-12 ( by the 3rd inning)

david wright now has 19 homeruns, batting 223 and has 70 rbis along with 21 doubles, this fucking kid is Amazin,...

Reyes batting 300, 13 triples, and has over 70 runs and 39 steals to lead baseball in most of the last 3...

Those two home bred kids are fucking awesome

Too bad they play for the wrong team, Mike! ;)

I remember when the Twins traded Pierzynski to the Giants for Nathan, and everyone was saying how the Twins got a steal, because Nathan has some nasty shit. Did you guys know that also included in that deal, going to the Twins was Liriano?  I had no idea about that, and I heard one of the announcers the other day point it out.  That trade was a fucking rape

true the yanks need some help ;D

they are exactly where they should be.. I've been watching 86 met's shit, damn they fucking rules that year fights drugs drinking  arrogance kicking ass..

Calm down there Mike....the Met's lose 6 out of 7 games and still have an 11 game lead recently, so i think it's apparant the Mets will win the East.....

Most likely they'll represent the NL in the WS because the other divsion lears all suck donkey cock :hihi:

Too bad the Mets got destroyed by the AL in interleague and most likely, will get destroyed in the WS :-[ ;D

I'd say the Tigers, White Sox, Red Sox, and even the Yankees could take care of the Mets in a best of seven series :o ;D

The Mets better go get another pitcher, because just like I predicted a few weeks back, their starters are showing their age. You better hope Pelfrey is as nasty as they're hyping him to be.

I hope pelfry/maine does good... I want to kill lima, fucking dontrell single handedly destroyed the mets.. What a fucking athlete that guy is.. The grandslam he hit, the guy swung like a clean up hitter.. He was playijg so bad of late, but looked like his 2005 self again.. I'd love the mets to get him, fucking florida gives away eevrything anyways..

The only thing the mets have is their division sucks which means the pitchers can rest up.. I think the reliever Oliver is  a damn good distance pitcher

when you score 10 before the 6th; you can't help but pitch well; Valentin had a hell of a game :o

yeah 7 rbi... Fucking of course floyd hit, it meant nothing :hihi:

Today was almost a horrible ending but david wright saved the day.... 3 run homer in the 8th... damn guy has 74 rbi and 20 hrs at the allstar break.. Hope he continues, mets could haev 3 guys with 40 or more hrs this year, maybe 50 in there

Has anyone ever told you that you have an " Un-healthy Man-Crush " on David Wright?

that gave me quite a laugh this morning :hihi: :hihi:

Though i think he's just excited because his Met's are finally good :rofl:  as it's been a while

of course, it took an ex-Yankee to get them there ;D  and for them to fire Steve Phillips :hihi:

I love watching that guy talk about Scott Kazmir and the mistake the Mets made in trading him.....but he never mentions he's the jackass that traded him :rofl:

Kasmir is nasty. No matter how good the Mets will be for the future, can you imagine if they had Kasmir in that rotation?  This will go down as another Smoltz trade from the Tigers to the Braves for Doyle Alexander, except Alexander actually helped that team for a year. Zambrano has been god-awful since they got him.

Funny, but Jim Duquette was the GM at the time. : ok: 

Phillips made his share of mistakes, but he did field a WS team.......... and his awkward, tense press conferences with Bobby V were great times. :hihi:

Duquettee was a part of Phillips regime though, correct?  Hey, I'm a not a big Met fan...I forgot they hired Duquette before Minayas :-[

Yeah, well I wish I could forget.  That Kazmir trade is #2 on my list of Mets low points (#1 is Sean Estes throwing at Roger Clemens and missing).   :crying:

Watching last night all-star game,  anyone happen to catch he 9th innings :hihi:  I was amused when Buck and McCarver were waxing poetic about Hoffman having the highest save percentage of all time, while he was getting the first two outs; and before you know, single, double, triple and the AL has a 3-2 lead.  :hihi:  Than bottom of the 9th, in comes Rivera and "the other closer" protects a 1 run lead.  Even better, Guillen, passed on the two new "star" closers of the AL (Papplebon and Jenks (his own guy) and goes to Rivera.

Yeah, it was cool. The game was good, but Buck & McCarver almost put me to sleep a few times. My little boy was all pumped up for the game, so it made it much easier to stay focused despite the lousy announcing. Rivera is not human. I always love watching National league hitters who have never faced him, try to hit off him for the first time. It barely happens.  Good Game

Yes, it was a good game for once!  When that one dude stole 3rd and home, I thought I would die.  I don't know who he is cuz quite frankly, he's NL and I don't know many of them.  It didn't seem like they even TRIED to get him out.  Oh well, as they kept saying that the game was over with the next pitch (after every pitch in the 9th), the AL came alive to retain the crown!  ;D  Oh, and they don't call Rivera the sandman for nothing!  ;)

Yeah it was a good game, i just really enjoyed trevor hoffman blowing another save (think 98 WS) in a big spot; especially after mcCarver and Buck were falling all over themselves saying how good he is

Too bad Scotty Ferocious Brosius wasn't there to bury over Centerfield!

That was Carlos Beltran, who used to play for the Royals (and then Astros). The  Royals could not afford to resign him so they traded him away for virtually nothing. Beltran is one of the game's great players, a 40-40 guy. Another huge mistake by baseball's worst run franchise.

I remember when KC traded Beltran, they were very pumped up to be getting back John Buck in that deal. Apparently he was very highly thought of across the league as one of the best catching prospects. Maybe it's the air out there in KC. It makes me sad, because I used to love to hate that team with Brett/Frank White/ Hal Mcrae etc.  People forget a one Mr.Johnny Damon came through that city as well.

Those were the glory days for that franchise......remember the pine tar game :hihi:

Of course, the Evil Empire got the best of that little rivalty in the late 70s :hihi:

At least we got Sidney Ponson!  The division is our now! ;)

I enjoyed the HR contest... Wright was great first round.. Never could have imagined him hitting 16..

happy the season is back on. One game in both teams have wins..

geez yesterday the mets scored 11 runs in an inning, two grand slams and a two run homer as well all in that inning

Wow...what a difference a week or so makes.  Yanks were 4 out of first in the AL East, and everyone pretty much figured the AL East didn't have a shot at a wildcard spot considering what was going on in the AL Central.

The week after the All Star Festivities began...the Yanks are now 1/2 game out of the AL East....and the White Sox only have a 3 game lead on the Yanks for the Wild Card.

Jeesh, how quickly things change when the Yankees rotation are all able to put a couple of good starts together, each.

Yeah, I wonder what all the experts on ESPN will say this week.....at the break, it was Boston will wi the East, the WC will come out of the central; and the Yankeeshad so many need they couldn't possibly address them all......

I'm confused because according to them, there's no chance in the hell the Yankees would be a 1/2 game out after a 3 game series against the all powerful White Sox..... ??? ???......oh wait, the yankees swept the WS and the Red Sox lost 3 of 4 to Oakland letting the Yankees pick up 3.5 games :-\

This is actually where Torre shines. When he has a little less to work with, rather than just filling out a line-up card with Superstars.

Good Job all around by the Yanks this weekend

Don't look now boys & girls, but the Yanks are fucking hot! :yes:

it's still a long season one club gets hot the other gets cold , works it's way back n forth... Was impressive though since they beat chicago...

This is my favorite thing... You go into modells, the wright reyes t shirts are flying of the shelves. As I'm sure are the jeter t shirts.. But there you have women's t shirts and what t shirt is not moving at all. Randy johnson... Like what group of women want that fucking ugly ass fucker and his trailor trash look as t shirts... :hihi:

I wonder who's brilliant idea it was to plaster Randy's mug (or number) on a woman's t?  I mean, c'mon...seriously...that'd be like putting Mel Stottlemeyer's pic on a woman's tshirt...just no market.

 :hihi:  You're so right, Mike!

I'll stick with my #2 jersey. ;)

I thought chicks really dug the old-Ruben Sierra jersey! ;)

Yes, they are. Despite a-rod's 3 errors (dummy), we still won our fourth straight.

And I'll stick with #5 ;)

beltran hit another grand salami, pelfry pitched good ,reyes is back..  :beer:

Melky, Bubba, Andy Phillips & Ponson

Need I say more??? : ok:

Don't forget Damon's glorious inning playing 1st base (and that sac fly!).

Absolutely

my new favorite Yankees thought they lost yesterday
even though the ugl fuck pitched well

mets won last night, bout time delgado hits a homerun.. if he hits they will fly away with wins.. He has not done anything in nearly 2 months..

just goes to show how weak there division is; Delgado not doing shit and a 13 game lead???

technically they don't need delgado to win... How many teams have beltran wright floyd reyes,,, ? Does it mean the yanks division sucks because they are right there with gary and matsui?? Answer is no E-rod, jeter damon and juice box giambi is enough for any team hitting wise..

Delgado has hit two home runs in the past 3 days

Whitesox are bout to pull off a deal to grab Alfonso Soriano.

U add Soriano to what they already have in that lineup and they are gonna be one tough team to beat.

It's pitching that they need, not offense.

BTW, watch out for the twins.

Also, the Yankees have pulled within' 0.5 games of the wildcard lead.

BTW, watch out for the twins.



Thanks for the newsflash!  They're only the hottest team in the game right now - What are you gonna tell us next?  That Clemens is coming back? :confused:

I'm just kidding around ......Yeah, can you imagine having to play Minnesota with Liriano and Santana in a 5 game series now?  Too bad their lineup is in need of another bat...........not a bad place for Soriano to end up actually

Royals have made some nice trades to pick  up pitchers recently. You win with pitching. I think the new GM has a plan (at least I hope). There might be hope after all in KC.

When you're pitchers have an overall era nearing 6, I think pitching is really the only option to go for.

I never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but I hope the Yankees take the Wild Card.  Twins would be my #2 choice.  Anyone but those goddamned White Sox.

The White Sox just lost to the twins meaning that the yankees, white sox and twins are now all tied for the wildcard lead. OF course, the yankees still have to play tonight so the yankees could take a very short lead.

For fuck's sake the met's pitching is awfull... Thank go dthe rookie maine has had 19 scoreless inning straight,... Met's finally won today ending that 3 game skid.. As long as delgado does good and beltran keeps up the hitting.. Excellent pick up getting valentine

Mets will definitely make a trade for a Starting pitcher in the next few days. You cannot realistically expect to go into the playoffs with 2 old men who can barely make their starts or get past the 6th inning when they do. The Mets are going to go for it all this year.

The Yankees now have the wildcard lead by one half game. It's only July but it is still exciting. They're only 1.5 games out from the red sox for the AL East.

Meanwhile, Minnesota is winning at a rapid pace and Chicago is falling at a rapid pace. So, I'd say right now, it's more of a 2 team race for the wildcard, unless New York can catch Boston, then it's more of a three team race with either Boston or New York winning the division and either Minnesota or New York/Boston winning the wildcard.

No question, it's getting to be like 86, anything less then the championship is unacceptable... They definetly need pitching, but I know in true NYM fashion they will trade away some huge talent

Mike, I think you should prepare yourself for the possibilty that Milledge is going to get traded at the cost of a World Series Appearance this year. You don't go to war with Pedro, Glavine, Delgado, LoDuca unless you're going for it in the near future, you know?  I've heard that they are working on a deal with Oakland that would send Milledge & Heilman there for Zito, but that they're going to try to work out an extension agreement with Zito that is contingent to the trade. If they could make the deal and wrap up Zito for a few years, I would do it if I were them. If they trade Milledge for Zito, and then let Zito hit the open market in the winter, that may be a tough one to swallow - even if you go to the Series - especially since he'll be a Yankee shortly after going on the market : ok:

I hope so. I want Zito to pitch for the yankees very badly.

Carlos Lee to Texas -   That lineup is ridiculous for the Rangers. Too bad it's the same formula that brought them to the playoffs in the past, but crapped out in the end

I want dontrell on the mets., yeah Lastings will be gone for him or zito.. It's about this year.

What a weird game last night, p[edro sucked the first inning then the rest the mets no hitted atlanta... Very weird game.. Wright reyes beltran took care of them... :beer:

Bobby Abreu = Yankee!!!

Yankees get Abreu and Lidle
Phillies get CJ Henry, Matt Smith, minor leaguer TBNL.

Here's the link..
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2534459

Despite the salary implications, it's the perfect move for the Yanks -   You get Sheffield's replacement for the next few years, when you don't pick up his option, and you get a damn good hitter now and adds insurance in case Sheff or Matsui don't come back when expected

Lidle can eat a few innings for them as well -

Very Sweet :beer:

Phillies shot themselves in the foot on this one.  They gave up a decent pitcher and their one good piece of trade bait for a prospect (albeit at a position where they need someone) and a no-name stiff.

What do the Yanks have to blackmail teams?  There's gotta be some way they do it.

It's all about financial relief

beltran two hrs and one grand slam, third this month... 32 hrs, 90 something rbi... Hopefully they sweep the braves today

METS SWEEP ATLANTA, 14 games in front ,22 games over 500 :beer:

See, I disagree.? I mean, I think the Lidle pick up is great for the team.?He has the potential to be their #4 starter, and that drops Wright to #5 (a good place for him, IMHO). But...Abreu?? For Gods sake, why?? Isn't the outfield crowded enough?

First off, Matsui has a long term deal in place, as does Damon.? So they must be looking to replace Sheffield, right?? I have two issues with trading for Abreu to do that:

1) Sheffs option for next year is 13 million...Abreu's is 15 million.? In addition to that, you're not going to be able to trade Sheff this year, obviously, and unless he comes back in Sept and puts up monster numbers (and, assuming Matsui is back...where's he gonna play to do that? More on that in a sec...), it's not gonna be an easy trade in the off season either.? His option is too big and his productivity, after the injury, would be questionable.? So that's a mess.

2) M-E-L-K-Y.? If you're looking to replace Sheff...why go off the reservation?? I know, I know...Abreu is a potential all star who is, possibly, the best pure hitter in the NL.? And, in addition, he has been able to hit for power in the past.? But....Melky has shown some amazing potential this year.? I think he's more than played his way into a chance to be an everyday Yank.? But now, with Abreu coming in.....Melky is going to go back to the bench.? Given how crowded the OF is, he's either going to STAY on the bench....or he's going to be trade bait in the off season.? And that would be, IMHO, a travesty.

So, assuming Sheff comes back this year....what do you think the yanks will do?? Pull the slumping Phillips, make Giambi play 1st every day, and plug Sheff at the DH spot?? 'Cause I gotta say...I'm not too keen on that option.? Giambi is getting up there, and becomes less effective at 1st every year.....but you can't afford to lose his bat, either.

From my perspective...this trade is gonna cause a mess.? It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out, I guess, but....it's a mess, none the less.

I actually agree with most of what you said Batman. I probably would not have done this move if I were the Yanks, but I'm not.

Since they did it, I see it as getting Sheff's replacement for next year, Melky sticks around as the 4th outfielder , Lidle eats innings, and as far as a mess, I think the only mess is dealing with Sheff's ego now, and that should never stop you from making a run at the playoffs. Sheff is a great hitter, but quite the bitcher. He'll complain a little, sure, but as a professional he'll realize that his best chance of getting a good contract next year is to shut up and produce when called upon.

Putting Abreu into the mix makes it a little cloudy, but in my opinion does help them for this year.

You never know, maybe there's more up Cashman's sleeve today

I hope so.  If they could add ONE more top of the rotation starter (say a #3 level guy...who would actually fill the #4 spot in the rotation), they'd be in much better shape.  But it seems everyone in the hunt needs pitching this year, so the few available GOOD options (Zito, Maddux, possibly Dontrelle) out there require, literally, giving up the farm.  It wouldn't shock me to see Chacon as part of any trade they might put together today..but I'd bet dollars to donuts that an outfielder (and my money would be on Melky or Crosby) would need to be part of the deal, too.  If Melky goes, it would break my heart.

This is a good move for the yankees. Abreu in Left, Damon in Center, Matsui (once he comes back) goes to left. Sheffield can be the DH for the rest of the season and then we can see goodbye to him after this season.

Cory Lidge can be a legit. #5 starter...

But, now I see 2 problems the yankees have to attack:

1) Is Randy Johnson really an ace with an 11-9 record with a 5.13 era?

2. If Pavano Returns, it would make a top 4 of Mussina, Wang, Johnson and Pavano. But, who's the #5 starter, Cory Lidle or Jaret Wright?

I don't think we need to worry much about Pavano coming back....at least not this year.  And, IF he does, I'd relegate him to the bullpen for now.  Also, in what I've seen, Lidle will actually become their #4 guy, with Wright slipping to 5th.  They may swap that up, depending on Lidle's first couple of outings but...given Wright's inconsistency.  Though, I agree, Randy has been almost as bad.

The Yankees just traded away Shawn Chacon in exchange for Craig Wilson. Craig Wilson will probably split time at 1st with Andy Phillips if not take over 1st for good.

Bottom Line is that the yankees get another steal here.

Yeah, this is gonna add to the confusion, a bit. 

On the flip side, though....they've built a nice little "nest egg" of talent, some of which is really expendable now, for some good off-season moves.  Maybe that's part of Cashman's plan.

the yanks made this trade to help them win now. this deal is for 2006. they are struggling just to make the playoffs, and sheffield's return this season is not a guarantee.

and the yanks have no financial worries. abreu will cost them more next year, but who cares? also, abreu is much younger (about 6 years i think), and much healthier.

but yanks fans beware....abreu stats do not show the true player.  :hihi:

Next year, I dont think the Yanks will pick up Sheff's option. I know he'd be a great help and all with his bat, but I just dont think there is room.

I forsee this lineup:

Damon CF
Jeter SS
Giambi 1B
Arod 3B
Abreu RF
Matsui DH
Posada C
Melky LF
Cano 2B

I HOPE it turns out like that, but you never know in the Yankee Universe.

Matsui as the DH? Maybe in a million years...

Matsui will be our Left Fielder next year.

it's more about a bad investment. IF abreu was actually worth $16M, i think the phils would have kept him.

but he's probably only worth about $8M. and when you have a fixed budget like the phils do, you cannot afford to grossly overpay players.

and ed wade has handicapped the team by doing just that with several players (lieberthal, abreu, burrell, wolf).

Personally I was against the Abreu deal.....I've read some things about his defense where he doesn't lay out for balls and has a fear of crashing into fences....which won't go well with some of his teammates and as far as his numbers go, since the HR Derby in 2005, his power numbers are comparable to melky's this year.....

But we got Lidle out of it,so his 1st win with the Yankees will be their first win from the 5th spot in the rotation since May...

The best thing about this deal is they didn't trade their top prospects to get to mediocre ballplayers :hihi:

I didn't want Bobby Abreu either but we gave up so little in the trade that it doesn't matter to me now.

Also Abreu's On Base Percentage and OPS is still great and he is a very good defender regardless of his fear of walls.

The only thing I could possibly be worried about is his lack of power numbers.

Also, as a left hander in yankee stadium, your power numbers go up cause of the short porch.

I really think it's just one of those situations where Boston was within reach, there were'nt exactly any front-line starters to be had, and the brain-trust did'nt think the current lineup could last or overtake Boston.  Adding Abreu only helps them in their playoff push. Everything else can be sorted out later.

And, the yankees and red sox are now tied for the division with about 59 games left to play...

Here come da pain!

LOL. What do you mean by that?

You know Varitek is injured and Lowell may be injured.

What I mean is, that the NY Yankees are about the unleash a whole mess of pain upon Boston and any other team in the AL looking for a playoff bid
( Carlito's Way line )

According to today's NY Daily News, Torre is considering playing Sheffield at 1st when he comes back.  Sheffield said he'd have no problem with that, adding that if Giambi can play 1st, so can he.

Isn't Sheffield something like 5'10" or 5'11" or so?  Usually you want someone fairly tall at first to field high throws (especially with tall guys like Jeter and A-Rod across the diamond).  The only sub-6-foot first basemen i can remember are Carlos Baerga, Matt Stairs, and Steve Garvey.

Sheff used to play third and short early in his career, so he can play the infield (although in the last game he played at third, he did make a throw that went about 5 feet over the first baseman's head in his only fielding chance).

Well, the pre-steroids Mark McGwire was only 5'2".  Seriously, Sheff is 6' even, the same height as Keith Hernandez, who was one of the best ever at 1st.  Plus, he's a good athlete, so I think he'll get by and have little doubt that he'd be better than Giambi.

That one had me rolling.  Rimshot please!

We'll see what he can do.  I doubt he'll be any Gold Glover at first, but it can't be worse than Giambi's 10-inch range over there.

LMAO. There is a 5 game series between the red sox and yankees in Boston from August 18th to 21st.

I have it marked on my calendar. I think this is a key series.

That A-Rod slide last night was funny as hell.  Looked like he was doing a magic trick!

And the Red Sox pull another one out in the 9th....If I were Cleveland, I'd start thinking about optioning Carmando back to the minors.  2 chances, 2 blown saves.

That slide was great

Oakland squeaked past Angels again. I heard today that something like 75% of their games in the last couple of years have been decided by 2 runs or less - Pretty good rivalry brewing there - Say what you want about Billy Beane - That team is competitive every year

Yes, they (Oakland) are.

Although the red sox last 3 wins have all been walk-off wins, since the all-star break they are a .500 team at 13-13.

Carmona is a rookie and hasn't been used in the closer role until just now.  All of his major and minor league experience has been as a set-up man and a starter.  Minors-- 89 starts in 95 games; majors-- 3 starts in 26 games.

Give him a season and he'll be fine.  Don't forget, a great closer in Mariano Rivera was a set-up man, and even made a couple starts, in his first season or two.  Trevor Hoffman was a set-up man his first year.  Dennis Eckersley spent years as a starter before becoming a closer.  Rick Aguilera was a starter, then a closer, starter again, then closer again.  Jose Mesa-- starter then set-up, then closer.  Eric Gagne-- starter, then closer.  Rollie Fingers-- set-up man, spot starter, then closer.  I could go on.

He just needs a year to get used to the role.  Better to do it now in a season that's already over for the Tribe than at the start of next year or in the middle of next year's pennant race.

Good point

The Yanks sweep the bluejays. With A Red Sox loss tonight, they will be in sole posession of 1st place.

Hell yeah

And the more I've been seeing of Abreu; I can't help but be impressed with the quality of his AB's, he difinitly gets his money's worth and lidle pitched a nice game ;D

That 5 game series in Boston is going to be brutal :( if they can go 2-3 or 3-2 they should be happy

That's a good point, but....

His confidence is getting crushed.  2 tries at a save, 2 dramatic meltdowns.  The one on Wednesday night was just nerves.  You could see it.  He went from very good for the first 2 outs and 2 straight strikes on, potentially, the last out to not being able to find the plate, pegging 2 guys, walking another...and then the hit.

Mariano started as a setup guy, that's true.  But even then he was almost unflappable.  He just had "it", when he stepped up to the majors.  Carmando looks like a deer in the headlights, and that's why I suggested it might be time to option him down to the minors.  He's just not ready.  I agree he needs seasoning.  The problem is doing it the way they're doing it might shell shock a potential closer for the future, killing his confidence in his "stuff".

Oh and WOOO HOOOOO!!! Yanks are in sole posession of 1st.

And man..who would have thought, at the All Star Break, that Chicago would collapse so quickly.  From 6 up in the WC to 1 down in a month. Yikes.

Who else is loving this sentence about the AL EAST:

The Yankees are in sole possesion of 1st place ;D
->>all the experts on ESPN still insist the Red Sox has more pitching than the yankees and will miss the playoffs :o

Yeah, even though the yankees have pitched to a 4.31 ERA so far this season, which is 5th in the AL and the red sox are about 7th in the AL.

Last 3 years the team era for the yankees has improved each year:
2004: It was about 4.68
2005: It was 4.52
And now in 2006: 4.31

He's been effective as a set-up man and starter this year.  Looks like he's ben sent back to the set-up role, as Jason Davis has been dropped into the closer role.  Davis is a guy cut out to be a closer, and I've said for a while if he's not going to be a starter, he should be a closer.  Power pitcher, relies mostly on fastballs and sliders.  He has literally nothing else but those two pitches.

Carmona should stay up but maybe not put into the closer role for now.  He's gotten a taste of the role, knows how it works, and knows what he has to work on before being put into it next year, unless they keep Davis in the closer spot.  Jose Mesa didn't want to be a closer at first, because he didn't think he could handle the pressure.  He was moved there after getting his feet wet as the Indians' 8th inning guy in 1994 (2 saves in a closer-by-committee bullpen).  In 1995, he had 45 saves, has 320 for his career, and currently has the 13th highest save percentage of all-time (ahead of Lee Smith, K-Rod, John Franco, Bob Wickman, and Rollie Fingers).

Sometimes it just takes a little work in the 8th inning set-up role, then a couple tries at closing to get the feet wet.

And chalk up blown save #3 in a week.

OK, we've seen Carmona needs some work on it and that he should be eased into the role.  Why keep throwing him out there rather than putting Davis in to close?

A sign of mental illness is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result each time.  I think Eric Wedge needs a psychoanalysis.

Any NY Baseball fans noticw which team has the best record?? ;D ;D

4 Losses in 1 week? 3 walk off blown saves, 11 earned runs? In the last 7 games he has a 37.80 ERA, with 11 Runs and 3 Homers.

Ouch.

 I suspect he'll be saying Hello to Buffalo of the International League pretty soon.  You can't put up those kinda numbers and expect your team to keep you around...whether you want to play setup man or not.

Yanks open up a 2 game lead on the Sox, who look lost.  The loss of Veritek is hurting that team big time.....the only thing that may help them is that the Yanks have a brutal 20 games in 21 days, most of them against some very good teams (Chicago, LA Angels x2 series , Boston).  What might help the Red Sox is that they get Kansas City and Baltimore while the Yanks are getting Chicago and LA.  Of course, then things even out quickly...since Boston's going to have to deal with the Buzzsaw that is Detroit.

What's going to be interesting is how both clubs deal with their series against each other.  5 games in 4 days means they're both going to have to "manufacture" a pitcher from somewhere.  The Yanks are probably going to need to start Ponson, which is pretty scary....not sure what the Sox will do.

Yes the yankees have a tough strecth coming up :-X

However, the last time they played the White Sox they swept them, and the Angels aren't quite the same team they've been in yars past, and Boston lost 2 of 3 to everybody's favorite wipping post tampa bay......but they always play the yankees tough.....

I guess they call it the dog days of August for a reason....

but all things considered, the yankees have been getting the best starting pitching of al those teams since the All-Star break and hopefully it continues.....and they still have the best closer in baseball (papplebon blew another :rofl:)

should be fun to see papplebon get called into a game in the playoffs in the 8th inning needing to get 5 outs if the Red Sox make the playoffs :hihi:

Sox are 0.5 games out of the wildcard lead, they are 4-6 in their last 10 while the Twins (who are also 0.5 games out of the wildcard lead) are 6-4 in their last 10 and the White Sox (the wildcard leaders) are 6-4 in their last 10.

Meaning the sox need to step it up.

But, the yankees do have a tough stretch of games coming up. They have 3 in Chicago, and then 3 aganist the angels. Later on they have 5 in Boston which could be a determining factor in the winner of the AL East.

I think they have Wang, Johnson and mussina goin....so they may be OK

You would think. Wang surely wasn't great last night 4 earned runs in 5 innings. Rivera blows the 5-4 lead and Proctor gives up the rbi single to dye. We lose 6-5 in 11 innings. Too bad.

But, the red sox lose 6-4 to the royals, they are doing just horrible.

Got a feeling the RedSox are gonna get real hot in late August / early September

Well they better hurry up and do it, they've lost 3 straight now aganist the devil rays and royals.

They've clearly hit the bottom.

On A SideNote, I don't really trust feelings, when other people say they have them or when I have them. I've realized that they're really just our greatest fears...

So many times, I've heard people (or myself) say I've got a feeling that and it turns out to be false.

He won't do the buffalo shuffle just yet.  They just need to drop him out of the closer role for a bit.

The Yankees turn a blowout to a nailbiter and the Sox turn a "sure thing" into a loss...what a night.

I was pleasantly surprised by Randy last night, who looked great through 6 innings.  When he came out for the 7th, after the long break, I though their might be trouble.  But Villone, while not sharp, managed to clean up the mess.  Farnsworth...well....the guy has been pitching lights out since the All Star break.  Like almost everyone, I figured the game was over.  Then, he came in and sucked pond water.  Even Mariano wasn't exactly sharp in the 9th, even though he managed to stomp on the breaks.  Bad night?  Or was the bullpen just sort of caught unawares after the way the game was looking?  I don't know but the Yank bullpen has been rock solid since the All Star break and the last two nights do NOT give me warm fuzzies, if you know what I mean.

Of course, it coulda been worse.  The Red Sox, and their vaunted "best closer in baseball" (more on that in a sec) blew their 4-3 9th inning lead, which helps the Yanks in the standings, which is sorta nice.  If you're a Sox fan, though, you gotta be feeling some pain this AM.  4 straight losses to the bottom of the barrell.  And, in addition....KC threatened a LOT last night.  Seemed like every inning after the 4th they had guys in scoring position but couldn't come through.  Almost any other team and the Sox would likely have been looking at getting blown off the field.

One other aside: I keep hearing people says Pappelbon in the "best closer in baseball" (sorry, not for my money...Mariano is still the man for me).  With the number of blown saves he has.....I don't know how you can give him that honor.  5 blown saves? Yikes.

It was still ineveitable that Papplebon was gonna hit the wall. He was on too ridiculous a pace there for awhile. He's pretty nasty, but please Rivera is GNR compared to Papplebon who may be Avenged Sevenfold

Yeah about the yankee bullpen:

Last 2 nights, it's mainly been Rivera (both nights) and then Farnsworth (last night) who have gotten themselves in trouble. Rivera has not pitched well aganist the white sox this season. And, also this is Chicago and the the white sox do have the most potent line-up.

Also, you have to remember Farnsworth is the one that gave up 2 homers aganist the Astros which basically ended the Braves Season.

---

But, the yankees held on last night and we go up 3 games on the sox. The more games ahead we are of the red sox when we go into Boston, the better.

Oh and Johnson finally gets his 12th win.

nice mets are 25 over 500 14 in first and their pitching has been good.. This time is all about personal numbers and hopefully some off days for the stars also 100 win season would be nice.. 31 wins out of 50 left..

Do the Yankees still have the best record in NYC or did the latest series against Chicago set them bacK? :hihi:

The prblem with the Mets is the inferior competition they face :rofl:

The Mets record is now better (69-44) than the yanks (67-44) by a game (well, 2 wins, but 2 more games, so really 2 1/2 games, so...one game :)  )

The problem with the entire NL is they're mediocre, at best.  The Mets are a good team in a mediocre league.  You put them in the AL and I'd bet they're "middle of the road"  in just about any of the divisions.

The Mets can hit with any team in the AL, but that staff would concern the shit out me if I were you. You better pray that Houston does not sneak into the Wild Card and come to Shea in the 1st round either.  Clemens , Oswalt and Pettitte lined up against Pedro, Glavine and Traschel??????

FYI, I'm not the Mets fan, obviously. :)

Have you seen their record in interleague play? Not what I would call encouraging.  They're 6-8.  And the ONLY team they've "won" the season series against is the Blue Jays.  They're 3-3 with the Yanks(  2-1 early in the season when the Yanks were in their "funk" and 1-2 later in the season), 1-2 against the Orioles, 0-3 against the Red Sox, and 2-1 against Toronto.  Like I said, throw them in any division in the AL (well, maybe not the West...) and I'd bet the Mets would be a middle of the division team.  They're decent, for sure, but their record is benefitting from playing against mediocrity, too.

If Houston makes the play offs, I think they've got a good shot at doing exactly what they did last year.  Their top 3 on their staff are just unreal.  If their offense could score runs, they'd be eating up the NL.

Listen up Caped Crusader...I think your tights are riding into the unknown!  I'm well aware that you're a fellow Yankee fan - I was speaking to the other guy

Heh heh...wanna pick it?

:)

It was inevitable for a baseball discussion among Yankee fans to become about assholes.  You guys have taken one too many dives into the home plate netting.  :hihi: :peace:

As for the Mets, the 6-8 interleague record would be much better if they didn't run into Boston in the middle of their 12-13 game win streak... I'd love for the Mets to play them now.   :hihi:

And Houston?  No chance.  Pettitte has been awful this year (he's contemplating retirement), Oswalt has been so-so, and I would take Pedro over Satan any day.

Ummm...no......freak

It was inevitable for a baseball discussion among Yankee fans to become about assholes.? You guys have taken one too many dives into the home plate netting.? :hihi: :peace:

As for the Mets, the 6-8 interleague record would be much better if they didn't run into Boston in the middle of their 12-13 game win streak... I'd love for the Mets to play them now.? ?:hihi:

And Houston?? No chance.? Pettitte has been awful this year (he's contemplating retirement), Oswalt has been so-so, and I would take Pedro over Satan any day.



Excuse me?  You've been spending too much time with LoDuca gambling on animals and picking up teenagers, I think!

You would take Pedro over Clemens?  I'm not so sure I would. Pettitte is pretty solid in playoffs, pal. I would'nt discount him so fast. Oswalt is better than any pitcher on either staff. Yes even Pedro, because Oswalt can pitch into the 8th inning if necessary. With Sanchez out, Pedro's lack of durability is gonna kill you guys even more.

I wish.


Pettitte's playoff numbers are about the same as his career numbers... good, not great.  Except he's not good this year.  I like Oswalt too, but with the way Brad Lidge has been pitching, he'll need to go 9 innings, not 8.  And, yes, losing Sanchez sucked balls, but having El Duque available out of the pen in the playoffs will more than compensate.  Fuck Clemens, Pedro is God.

  Fuck Clemens, Pedro is God.


Maybe 7 years ago pal.

Alright, so the yankees regain their 3 game division lead with a comeback win over Baltimore. They win 6-3.

The tigers edge the sox by a score of 3-2. The 5 game series in boston starts in 2 days. I'm so pumped for it.

I think the time is right and the Red Sox are reeling, and Boston is ripe for a good ole' fashioned butt-whomping!

Yep. I've looked at the pitching match-ups and we have Randy Johnson going aganist Josh Beckett and Mike Mussina going aganist Curt Schilling this Saturday and Sunday. So far, I have a lot of confidence about this series.

However, on Friday's night game, game 2 of the double-header, it looks like Sidney Ponson will be the starter that day.

Damn, the Dodgers have lost two of their last nineteen.  :crying:

It's gonna be a tough series for the Yanks, I think.  I'm just hoping they come out of it with their lead (2 games, now) intact.  If they could extend it by a game I'd be psyched.

The problem is....the bullpen.  Playing that many games, in that many days, is going to be a strain on them.  They've been excellent, of late, but they've also been getting a lot of work.  And the Red Sox have today off, so their bullpen is going to get a bit of a rest, giving them a slight advantage in that department.

I'm hoping the Yanks can take 3 out of the 5.  I'd be OK with them taking 2 of 5 (which would at least leave them with a 1 game lead coming out of the series).  Anything more than 3 out of 5 and I think you can pretty much call the AL East Race, especially if the Yanks win tonight in Baltimore.  They'd be, with 4 out of 5, 5.5 games in front, with the toughest part of their schedule mostly behind them.  Remember, after the Yanks finish up this tough stretch (21 games in 20 days...against some of the best teams in baseball), they get the "easier" (as far as records go) stretch to end the season, while the Red Sox schedule actually gets a LOT tougher.

It's going to be an interesting few weeks, that's for sure.

the abreu trade was big for the yanks. i've been watching their games this week (i'm staying in NY for work). the top of their order was already smart and patient (they take alot of pitches). and abreu takes more than anybody. that gives them a huge advantage since opposing teams will have to depend on their bullpen (opposing starters will rarely make it past the 6th).

and that advantage becomes even bigger in a long series. i think the yanks win at least 3 vs. boston.

After the way they played yeterday vs Baltimore, I'm hoping they manage to pull out one!  That game was just a debacle in every sense of the word.  And so much for protecting the bullpen for a day so they could get a break before the Boston series.  They blew every bullet they had (with the exception of Proctor, Farnsworth and Mo)...which, for today's game, with Wang's penchant for going deep into games, might be OK.  But for tonight's game?  I'd be telling the position players on the Bench to prep to throw an inning or two tonight, especially with Ponson starting.

You know, everyone has been talking about how Boston has been realing of late.  The Yanks haven't been any prize (granted, against better competition than KC and TB) of late , either.  They're 4 and 6 over thier last 10.  I think the Sox are about the same.

One thing's for sure, it's gonna be a great weekend of baseball.

Yes, the yankees did play poorly aganist Baltimore. But, you have to remember that after the yankees lost 19-1 on July 4th, that that's when they went on a tear winning all these games to get the division lead.

Anything's possible...

I still say the yanks win 3 of 5 in Boston.

Man I hope you're right.

First game in about 30 min.

:)

So far so good. With 2 innings left to go, the yanks lead 8-3. Wang is on line to get his 14th win of the season.

The Yanks make it a blow-out. 12-4 Yanks.

Frankly, these were two of the most disgusting games I have ever watched.

All right now...the Yankees take the 1st 3 of a 5 game series meaning the worst they can finiash is with a 2.5 game lead :hihi:

Watch they get spanked at hoem when they play them in NY

Boston's ERA after 3 games= 13.00 :rofl:

ESPN hasn't got a clue :hihi:

My whole family and I are Yankee fans, have been since day one. We have friends up in Boston that always talk shit and also a neighbor that does. Our neighbor spray-painted "RED SOX #1" on our pavement road infront of our house back in 2004 and it recently just wore away. So we're awaiting the time to get him back, hopefully by spray-painting the NY symbol on his house a couple times  ;D.

If the Yankees do sweep this weekend, don't really want to jinx it but what the hell, we plan on sending a broom to our relations in Boston. Wonder how that'll go over!

Well, Markus....you were sure right on the  3 out of 5...at LEAST. :)

So far, it's almost been the '78 Boston Massacre all over again.  If they win today, the Red Sox are going to have a tough climb to overtake the Yanks for the division AND a pretty tough climb to overtake the Chi Sox or the Twins for the Wild Card.

This series has been so sweet so far!  It's funny how I can't seem to find any Red Sox fans around this weekend.  :hihi:

Hell, I lost sleep Friday night to watch the game and then last night I went out and got home much later...

Hope I can stay awake tonight for the game!

That would be really sweet to have a 5 game series sweep, and in Boston no less....talk about alot of suicidal Bostonians :rofl:

I really hope the Yankees pound Shilling to the point where he chokes on that bloody fucking sock :hihi:

Good lord, the Yankee love-fest in this thread is about as disgusting as the past two days have been.  Does anyone yet understand why I despise that team (especially its owner) and 95% of their fans?

Red Sox fans love their team.  This is why the fans all boo Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens (even as a Blue Jay), and any other players who have left on their own accord.  If Derek Lowe played against the Sox, we would boo the hell out of him.  As my fiancee says, "I wish I could find a man who would love me as blindly as the Red Sox fans love their team."

Yankee fans only love winning.  Every player is just a disposable part to most of them.  They boo their own players more than they boo former players who left.  If you aren't a winner, they don't want you.  It's like someone once said about the 1990 Yankees (when they were 7th in the AL East, 67-95 record, Rick Cerone led the team in batting average among players with 125+ AB's, while Eric Plunk and Lee Guetterman led the team in ERA)-- "Fond reminiscence of the days when the past was a rapidly fading Mattingly, the present was as barren as Steve Balboni, the future was Bam Bam Meulens and Kevin Maas ... and the bandwagon was less crowded."  The team was 9th out of 14 in the AL in attendance, and 11th out of 14 the next two seasons.  Seems the fans at that time forgot the old axiom of "Yankee pinstripes, Yankee pride."

As an aside, Jack Nicholson is both a Yankee fan and a Laker fan.  How is this possible?  Can we paint a mustache on him and call him Hitler already?  You wanna be a Yankee fan?  Fine.  But you'd better be a fan of the Knicks, Rangers/Isles, and Giants/Jets too.  None of this four favorite teams in four different cities kind of crap.

Anyways, enough of this crap.  If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the loser team that my fellow fans and I will continue to support through better and worse.

(*cough)Bullshit(*cough*).

When you lump all Yankee fans together like that....it just makes you look bad.

I've been a Yanks fan since 1980 (well, if you ask my Dad, who was a lifelong Yanks fan...I was BORN a Yankees fan) when I attended my first game at Yankee Stadium.  I got to see Willie Randloph, Rick Cerone, Reggie Jackson, and Bucky Dent play in that game.  I was hooked.

But there have been a LOT of lean years between '80 and '96.  And I've never wavered as a fan.  So trying to paint every Yanks fan as a fairweather friend, or a bandwagon jumper...well, it just doesn't hold water.   As for why we don't boo our "returning heroes" when they come back with a new team......I'd offer up "why give them more motivation".  I mean, look at what the Fenway Faithful's boos have done for Johnny Damon.  Look at what they did for Roger Clemens as a Yankee.  Look what they did for Wade Boggs.  Doesn't seem to work out too well for you guys, does it.

On Yankees fans only loving winning....not true.  Or not entirely true, anyway.  Yes, we like to win...hell, we expect to win right around now.  And that mindset, from the players, is precisely why they have 26 World Championships in the time the Red Sox have taken to win....one?  For Yankees fans, even when we have long stretches of mediocrity, we know the team is one good season away from winning it all again.  I understand that's a foriegn concept to fans of a team who, for 80-something years, had to find solace to support their fandom in NOT winning.  But to paint the Yanks fans as simply fans of winning is not true.

Now, I can't get on board with those who boo A-Rod, or any other Yank who has a bad game.  It's part of baseball.  And it has happened to just about every (current) Yankee who's last name isn't Jeter.  But that's the way Yanks fans are.  Tough love, and all that. It's part of NY, itself, and within the very fabric of the city, it seems. And while they'll boo you on the field after a bad game....they'll cheer like crazy the next very next night when your number is announced over the PA.

For the record, I'm a Yankees fan, a Celtics fan, and a Giants fan.  Because of where I live (Connecticut, right between Boston an NYC), I get a reprieve on geographics with by basketball team.

Hope you enjoyed last night's game.  I know I did. :)

If you're a Red Sox fan, last night's game might have been even more painful than the previous 3 games.

You got your ace giving you a solid start and going deep into the game, your bullpen does better than it has recently, you've got a one run lead going into the 9th with your closer rested and ready to go.  You've got the Yanks who did not pitch particularly well, who's ace left after 4 with an injury, who didn't hit particularly well through the first 8 2/3 innings, who's bullpen was not as effective as it has been, and who had Mariano not exactly pitching his best inning in the 9th (though he pitched out of trouble, the Sox had a good chance to win that game in the bottom of the 9th).

You have all that going for you...and you still lose by 3....to a team that actually had  1 less hit than you did.

Ouch.  That's gotta hurt.

Yes, it may have been. The Yanks are currently playing in the 2nd inning in Game #5 going for an unheard of 5 game sweep of the Boston Red Sox. It's a 0-0 game.

OMG!  :no:

It's 2-1 New York in Boston. And now in the bottom of the 9th, Torre brings in Kyle Farnsworth to get the final three outs.

Farnsworth does fine...gets his 2nd save of the season. Yankees win 2-1.

More importantly, they sweep 5 games in Boston!

Sweeeeep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(http://llamabutchers.mu.nu/broom.jpg)

 :hihi:

How embarrassing for Red Saux fans!!! ;D :hihi:

We have friends up in Boston, big Sox fans. We Fedex OverNight'ed a broom up to them. Hopefully they open the door tomorrow, and it's sitting there waiting for them to open it! :)

Great goddamn googly-eyed jumped up Jesus on a pogo stick.

Like I was saying... worst... series... EVER.

I don't even have kids yet, and yet my kids are already scarred by this series.

I'm sitting here watching football, and all the teams just ooze preparedness like it's some sort of STD.  And all I can think is that these cocksucking dickfurs in the GM chair and managerial seat didn't even try to have a bullpen for this series.  I would rather see the Sox send in a dwarf, to stand at home plate holding the ball on a tee for the opposing hitter, than see Craig Hansen, Rudy Seanez, or Mike Timlin ever pitch in a Sox uni again.  May Allah load all their foreskins (and those of most Yankee fans I know) with Habanero pepper juice.

And pilferk, like I said-- 95%.  You seem to be one of the few I've seen in that limited 5%.

Attention all boston Fans: STAY AWAY FROM THE LEDGE AND FROM SHARP OBJECTS :hihi: :hihi: :hihi:

To all Met fans: As much as i hate them I hope glavine is able to pitch again this year and is able to finish his career on his terms.....though he's pitched for two mof my least favorite teams, he's always been pretty much a class act

I really really feel bad for the Mets and Tommy Glavine. I play baseball for our varsity highschool team, and a kid a couple years ago was amazing, 5-0 with an 0.94 ERA with tons of strikeouts. He was a lefty and was just unhittable. Predicted to be drafted and such.

Day before we went to states he came to practice with a wrap on his arm, heat wrap, saying his arm felt cold and stuff and that he didn't know what to do. Now it was 85+degrees out with a heat wrap, something was wrong. He went to the doc that day, coach told him to leave and go, and found out he had a blodd clot:(. Had it removed and couldn't pitch again  :(.

I hope it's not as serious for Tom!

Looks like he'll be back next week, if the Post reports are true.  "Treated with Medication" were probably the happiest words Glavine (and the Mets, though baseball, in this case, was sort of secondary to the guys health and well being) ever heard.

I think the time is right and the Red Sox are reeling, and Boston is ripe for a good ole' fashioned butt-whomping!


Man did this guy call it right or what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ok:

A master prognosticator, for sure!

:)

I may have been off when I said the yankees would win 3 of 5.

Man, they just unloaded on them.

Also, the yankees have now scored the most runs in the AL by scoring 47 in their last 5, LMAO.

---

BTW, is anybody besides me getting tired of Mal Brossard's posts?

Nope, I like Mal's posts.  It's sorta fun to watch Red Sox fans squirm, ya know?

The Yanks actually managed to beat the Sox, in 5 games, in every possible, imagineable way that I can think of.

Complete blow out? Yup, got that in game one.

Competetive high scoring game? Yup, got that in game two.

Close game which turned into a late inning blowout? Yup, game three.

Come from behind, bottom of the 9th drama? Yup, game four, with "extra innings" thrown in too.

Close pitchers duel (who EVER woulda pegged THAT game as the pitchers duel, eh?)?  Yup, game 5.

They're going to have to invent new ways for the Yanks to beat the Red Sox, just because of that series.

I bet there are thousands of Red Sox fans crying in their corn flakes (wait, don't Bostonions have a penchant for oat meal??) right now. 

Of course, as Yogi said, it ain't over til it's over.  But as a Sox fan, you gotta look at an almost 7 game margin, and realize the Yanks have only lost 48 games all year.  The Yanks lead is almost 14% of their total losses for the year...with only 23% of the year left.  That doesn't leave you much margin for error, statistically speaking, if you're the Sox.

Actually, if I'm the Sox right now, my focus isn't even on NY.  It's on Chicago.  That's a more attainable target for the moment...at least until/if the Yankees stumble.

The Yankees Schedule:

Out of 39 remaining games, 20 aganist Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Seattle. I feel very confident we have a 9th straight division title on the way...

Frankly, I prefer cream of wheat.


Seems you're the only one.

No, I'm just the only that says it.

Oh and if you continue to post things like this in this thread, then I will report every post you make that I deem unnecessary.

But if they beat the almighty Red Sox, this should be fine.

Threaten all you want there, big guy.  We'll see how long your crusade of tattling on posts you don't like lasts.

My apologies for disturbing the Yankee lovefest / BoSox bashing, but the Mets had an impressive comeback victory against the Cardinals last night, capped off with Beltran's walk-off 2-run blast.  Great stuff...

Anyway, back to the Yankees - Cashman admitted that the team is losing money.  The Daily News estimated the losses to be $50M to $85M per year.  Do any Yankee fans care?  I think they should.  When Steinbrenner dies (which is soon, if it hasn't happened already), I think the "win at all costs" philosophy goes out the window.  Then you're in a situation where there's a huge deficit and you have to have a Florida Marlins style firesale.  Before you know it, Jeff Suppan is your ace pitcher, Mel Hall is your manager and Andy Hawkins is the pitching coach.  It could happen.
 

Wow, is THAT an old story (from December of last year!!).? And it specifically referred to just last year ('04-'05).? No word on this year, yet.

From what I garner, that's not what Cashman said.? Not exactly.? They lose money simply based on attendance, only.? But the alternate income sources (merchandise cut, TV revenue, the money from the YES network, etc) turn the team (well, turn George, anyway) a tidy profit.?

Keep in mind, the entire reason the Yanks organization was pushing the story (yes, THEY were pushing it) was because they were trying to get a sweetheart deal from the city/state on the new Stadium, as well as some other concessions from the government AND from MLB.

Please don't try to embarrass a fellow poster of your's before doing a 2-second google search.  Cashman's comments were made yesterday and the full interview will be on Bloomberg radio this weekend.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=ainTGEvdz8_Y&refer=home

Exact words:  "We're making a lot, but we're spending more than we're making.''

Anyway, I know last year's losses are old news; my intention was not to become known as George "The Scoop" Steele, but rather to get thoughts on whether this is something to be concerned about.

Wow...persecution complex much?

No one "was trying to embarass you"...nor did there need to be any "2 second Google Search".

It's old news (the Daily News article you referenced in the original post does not say "per year", fyi, it says for the '04-'05 season).  The team pushed the story back in December of '05. I read it (at the time) and laughed because most baseball financialists will tell you that for the Yanks (and consequently Forbes using the Yanks numbers) to arrive at the number they did  there must have been some "creative" accounting. Even MLB, at the time, scoffed at the numbers being thrown around.  They listed their average ticket price at $27 for that season.  $27?  You show me where I can buy a large block of $27 Yankees tickets, box office or otherwise.   They also valued their YES games contract at 60 million per season (that's the charge "on the books" that the Yanks get from YES for their games).  The value is, according to most financialists, easily double to triple that.  And since all the YES revenue goes into the Yankees ownership group anyway.....that helps show a loss on the team side, but "gives back" to the Yanks ownership on the back end.  There were a bunch of citations of stuff like that.

Cashmans comments might be new, but the story's not.  New comments on old story = old news. 

If you read the entire Bloomberg article you just linked too, I bet you can figure out exactly why Cashmans making the comments he is at the time he is.  Just read between the lines.  It's some of the same reasons they pushed the story back in December.

So, you want comments on whether this is something to be concerned about.  There they were and here's some more: The sky is not falling.  The Yanks are not going bankrupt.  And there's not going to be a wholesale firesale of talent any time soon.

Enough already with the 'wows', Potsie Webber.  I only feel persecuted while I'm suffering through watching one of Bobby Abreu's 1/2-hour at-bats; next time I'll use that time to research whether only ticket revenue is included in total revenues (either then or the next time Giambi steps out of the batter's box - have fun watching those 5-hour playoff games!).  Seriously, though, I don't know how either one of us could prove that conclusively one way or the other - the Yankees are not a publicly-traded company, so they have no public financial reporting obligation.  With that said, I can't see how MLB would let any team get away with "creative accounting" given that there's a revenue sharing requirement.  Wouldn't their numbers be subject to an MLB audit?

Also, I doubt that Cashman is whining about losing money in order to get public financing for the stadium (if that's what you were suggesting).  That ship has sailed; the new stadium is being financed through private bonds.  Speaking of which, if you're so confident in the team's finances, why not invest the family nest egg in Uncle George's bonds?

Like I said, the full interview airs this weekend; unless Cashman prescreens all questions a la Axl Rose, I would think he'll be asked about whether he's factoring in all sources of revenue.  Let's see what he has to say.

the phils are looking good these days. two games over .500 and only 1.5 games out of the wild card lead.

they are 17-8 since the abreu trade. perfect example of addition by subtraction. 

Actually, I look more like Ritchie.

The MLB would audit the numbers submitted to them, yes. The numbers concerning specific team revenue. They wouldn't care about the numbers the Yanks submit to the public or the press. They also wouldn't care about ancillary reveue from other sources that are generated through team "relationships" (like the money the Yes network, itself, makes) for the ownership.? It just wouldn't concern them.? There are lots of ways the ownership makes money off the Yanks that isn't related to or part of the MLB revenue sharing.? The only things MLB really audits are local source revenue for the team (tickets, consessions, local radio/tv),national merchandise, and their cut of the national TV money.?

However, MLB executives DID comment that the 60 million dollar figure the Yanks list on the books for YES TV rights was vastly undervalued, that if that was the number the Yanks submitted to them they WOULD audit, and they felt additional revenue sharing payments would be necessary.? Whether all that happened, or the Yanks sent MLB the "real" value...I don't know.? But we never heard another peep out of the MLB execs on the subject, so..... It may very well be that, for book keeping purposes, that's the only thing they "charge" YES...but value the rights differently in their declaration to MLB.  In other words, they pay MLB like they're recieving full compensation from YES, but only charge YES a fraction of that amount.

No, the "public funding" piece of the PR push has ended.? But, again, if you read between the lines of that article, it's obvious why he's doing it.? Notice them talking about luxury boxes and ticket prices?? Do some checking around on some of the things other teams have done when THEIR new stadiums open.? Follow that thread of logic, to start.? Also keep in mind that one of the things the MLB allows is the team to make payments on a new stadium in leiu of some of their revenue sharing money.

And we'll see what questions they ask.? I'll bet dollars to donuts they don't ask the right questions, or, if they do, Cashman's answers are vague, at best.

Yankees win 9-2, Chien Ming Wang wins his 15th game of the season and the yankees remain 6.5 games in front of the Boston Red Sox.

Alex Rodriguez sat out the game and said he had a tummy ache and in other news, Mike Mussina is placed on the 15 day Disabled List but will only miss about one start. He's eligible to come off the list when we play in Kansas City.

Actually, it was a throat infection....with a high grade fever.  He was on antibiotics and Torre said he TOLD Alex he wasn't gonna let him play.

:)

And the Yanks Magic number is, I think, 28.5.

The Red Sox are really starting to piss me off, first they almost get swept by the ROYALS!! and than get swept by the damn Yawkees. I swear they really need to get their shit together, damn JV needs to come back from injury already! Get that damn pitching under control. :smoking:

edit: they did get swept, my mistake, creating a win helps ease the pain  :smoking:

They did get swept by the royals. I guess today really isn't your day.

Ya your right, for some reason I was thinking we had 4 against the royals and won 1 lost 3, i guess i was creating that peice of info in my mind to ease the pain. Though losing to a team once that blows a 9 run lead two weeks or so later is pretty bad  :smoking:

magic number can't be a half game. it has to be a whole number.

the yanks magic number is 31.

- boston has 70 wins and 36 games left to play. so they could end up with 106 wins.
- yanks have 76 wins, so 31 more wins guarantees them the division title.

so everytime the yanks win or boston loses, you subtract 1 from the magic number.

how fucking awesome is carlos beltran this year..? 289 38 hrs 108 rbi+ 102 runs scored.. Lets not forget Jose reyes, the best lead off hitter going who will only become better...Leads in Steals triples runs scored 3 hrs in one game...

NY Mets 79 49 .617 -
Philadelphia 65 64 .504 14.5
Florida 62 66 .484 17.0
Atlanta 60 68 .469 19.0
Washington 55 74 .426 24.5

 :beer:

Reyes could probably be on first and steal second and third on the same pitch against half the Red Sox staff this year, especially with Lopez or Mirabelli catching.

Lord knows Figgins practically did it against the fucking Yanks this past weekend.

:)

But, I suppose you can't complaing too much.  They were 7-4 on the road trip, managed to increase their lead over the sox by 5 games, and are almost through the toughest part of their remaining schedule.  Not too happy with going 2-4 over the last 6 games but...given the Red Sox did the same thing...I suppose it's not too much to get worked up over.

We get a day off today for the first time in what 3 weeks?

The Yankees were tired, plain and simple. The Red Sox, meanwhile have to play a series aganist Oakland. A Team that has played Boston and New York well.

Also, the Boston Red Sox went 0-11 in their last serieses aganist the Mariners, Yankees and Royals. Fascinating isn't it?

You misspelled "disgusting."

LOL.

Also, the red sox are 8-18 the month of August.

80-49 31 games over 500, how sweet it is.. :-*

And it only gets worse... Ortiz was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat and is out indefinitely.  What a nightmare of a season.  Let's just hope he's OK and gets back healthy and all.

In other news, former All-Star closer Jeff Reardon was found not guilty of armed robbery by reason of insanity. 

Regardless of the fact I'm a Yanks fan and regarless of how I feel about the Red Sox....I wish Ortiz a quick and full recovery and a clean bill of health.  Stuff like this is scary, scary shit and you have to feel for him. 

I remember when Reggie Lewis had a similar bout while playing for the Celtics.  A few months later he collapsed on the court and died.  Hopefully Oriz can put aside his concerns for how his team is doing and concentrate on making the best possible decision for him and his family and on getting better.

mets are on fire, nice to see wright reyes delgado beltran all hitting now.. :beer: trachsel is 14-5 after last night, era is high though..

more bad news for bo Sox..


papi out indefinitely with irregular heartbeat!

"nah nah nah nah...nah nah nah nah...hey hey hey...."  :hihi:

Man thats just fucked up, I dont care about the season anymore I just hope Big papi is O.K. He's been great to the City of Boston and loves his fans as much as we love him. I'm hoping he can come back to play, but they say its the same symptons Lewis had when he died while playing with the celtics, so I and I am sure all red sox fans would agree, that we all would not be terribly dissappointed if he had to step down because his health at this point is more important than seeing him out there. :smoking:

On another note, I am not happy with ManRam, he should be out there trying to help our team? :smoking:

I love it, but it's almost like I don't recognize this as a Mets team.  One, they're winning; and two, they're doing it offensively rather than with pitching (though the bullpen has been very good all year). 

By the way, what's going on with Carl Pavano?  He cracks a few ribs in a car accident and doesn't tell the team until weeks later.  At this point, I think Cashman is so disgusted he hopes the guy comes down with gonorrhea. 

phils win again! only 1/2 game out of the wild card. i'm sure they'll fall apart due to the lack of quality starters, but it's nice having meaningful baseball this late in the year. especially considering how far out we were in july.

19-11 since abreu last played for us.

howard is a beast. total clutch. he's got a shot at winning MVP in the NL. and utley is the man.

I'd guess most Yankees fans feel the same way, right now.  The fact he GOT in an accident, and got hurt AGAIN, is annoying.  The guy's making 10 mill per year and has pitched to fewer batters this year than Myers (the Yanks "1 batter specialist) has.  But not telling the team about the injury for 2 weeks is just ludicrous.  For me, it almost borders on fraud...because Pavano knew what the Yanks plans were (to call him up for late August or at least Sept 1st when the rosters expand) for him and didn't say a word.  Man, if I were Cashman I'd have every attorney I have on payroll looking for a way to void his contract.  They won't, because I'm sure they still envision a way for Pavano to pitch for them, eventually (ie: next season) and contribute.  I don't.  Hell, after this fiasco I'm not sure I'd want him on my team anyway.

Tack on another Sox injury.

"According to the Boston Herald, Jon Lester has been undergoing an array of exams in Boston for internal medical issues, including cancer.

Now it's past the point at which even we can joke about Boston's injury situation. The Red Sox can't discuss it, but Lester was diagnosed with enlarged lymph nodes, according to the Herald's sources. Such a symptom can be caused by an array of issues, from infections to cancer. The Red Sox had hoped his upper back issues were a minor problem caused by a recent car accident."

You guys can compare the magnitudes of your teams' injuries all you would like. No one can argue that any other team has lost the best clutch hitter in the game as well as a damn good rookie pitcher ever within days of each other. Not the Yankees, A's, Brewers, Mud Hens, Isotopes, or any other team.

Can we just call the season over, hand the WS trophy to the team with the best record, and move on already?

Great idea.

The Dodgers swept the Reds, and are up 3 games on San Diego.  The schedule looks tough for September.  They're gonna be playing mostly with Western rivals.  Not to mention the NL best Mets.  :nervous:

It's official.

Red Sox rookie left-hander Jon Lester has lymphoma.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AgbCfd7vOgYlZ7rl1FT2LEo5nYcB?slug=ap-redsox-lester&prov=ap&type=lgns

That's very sad news, hopefully he can round the corner and beat this horrible disease.

I mean how fucking awesome is reyes wright beltran (hope he's ok) delgado loduca chavez.. The team is fucking awesome ,maybe even Amazin ;D best team record, 35 over 500.. best team in BB is the mets.. :beer:

A-Rod had 2 Hr and 5 RBI today, his third game in a row with a homerun (if I'm not mistaken?).

Think he's busted outta his slump?

Pa - lease, Mike.  Let's not say baseball - go with NL! ;)

Kevin Kouzmanoff!!!

Indians call him up for an injured Travis Hafner, gets his first AB in the first with the bases loaded, and blasts the first pitch he sees in the major leagues for a grand slam!

How about that?

howard is up to 53 HRs. unbelievable. only 20 players have ever hit more than 50.

he's got a real shot at 62, which would put him 4th all time for most season in a season. and the three players above him are juicers.

he could be the first to LEGITIMATELY break the HR record.

MVP of the NL!!

Yeah, I think Howard has the MVP of the NL wrapped up tight.

I think the AL MVP is going to come down to Jeter and Dye (Sorry, Ortiz is out of it because his team is pretty much out of it).? That race, IMHO, is too close to call at this point.? Too many mitigating factors (White Sox making the playoffs, Batting title, NYY surpassing Detroit for best record in the AL, etc, etc).

I gotta admit, I turned the Yanks game off last night after the 7th inning.? It was late and I had an early morning and, down 5 to 1, I figured the game was pretty much over.? 10 runs in the 8th.? Holy crap.? And with Rivera not available for the KC series, the big lead was awful nice.

I bet the Red Sox were kicking themselves over that one...they thought they had a shot to gain a game on the Yanks and...whammmo....the magic number shrinks some more (to 17, I think?)

Ryan Howard and the Phillies are starting the scare the hell out of me.  Last night, he led off the bottom of the ninth of a tie game - and was intentionally walked (it worked, the Phillies didn't score that inning).  Unreal. 

Also, their starting 5 (Myers, Lieber, Hamels, Moyer and Wolf) is actually not bad.  Hope the Mets won't have to face them in the playoffs... :nervous:

Nice to hear that Ortiz was cleared to play again... hopefully all is now well with him healthwise.  Varitek and Ramirez are back too.  Mark my words, just when Boston fans are making peace with this season being a lost cause, the team will go on another winning streak to come within reach of the division lead.  :hihi:

With the upcoming 4 game stint against the Yanks in NYC, anything is possible.  But with an 8 game lead, and 25 to play, the odds aren't great.  I think the Sox need to set their eye on the Wild Card race, to start, and if they can snag the division lead so much the better.

If the Yanks played just over .500 ball for the rest of the year (say 13 wins, 12 losses), the Sox would have to play .840 ball just to tie.  I mean, it's sure possible that the Yanks will play WORSE than .500 ball, and give the Sox an in, but the Red Sox are fighting against the clock now...and the wild card race is a bit more attainable right now.  We'll see what the next 25 games brings.

I have no doubt the Yankees will win the division, but I do think the Sox will make just enough of a run to torture their fans for one more month.  So forget the Red Sox, just hope that the Angels don't go on a late run to win the Wild Card.   

Something you don't see everyday, days after Ramon Ortiz lost his bid for a no-hitter in the 9th inning, Anibal Sanchez of the Florida Marlins, just tossed a no-hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 22 year old rookie is the first rookie since 2001 (Bud Smith) to toss one.

He's one of only THREE I believe in Marlins history. He was called up earlier this year from AA and pitched a great game against the Yankees earlier this season. Used to be a member of the Red Sox farmsystem if I'm not mistaken.

CONGRATS!!!? :-* :-*

Fourth in Marlins history-- Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, A.J. Burnett, and now Sanchez.

Anyone care to join the Theo Epstein lynch mob with me?  The douche traded Sanchez (7-2, ERA around 3, VORP of 27.3, can't find his WARP1 though) and Hanley Ramirez (.285, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 44 steals, VORP of 41.7, and WARP1 of 5.4 as a rookie) for Josh Beckett (14-10 record and ERA over 5, a VORP of only 14.6, and a WARP1 of only 4.0) and Mike Lowell (decent numbers, .288 with 17 HR, 67 RBI, WARP1 of 4.8, and VORP of 17.8 ).

Smooth move, Ex-lax.

Theo's becoming quite the goat, this season, for the Boston fans.

And now the lead for the Yanks is back up to 9, and the magic number is 15.

The Sox have scored 5 runs in 28 innings.....that's not going to win you many ball games.? It managed to win them 2 out of 3 against the White Sox, though.....but I wouldn't hold out hope that the Sox pitching staff, mangeled as it is, would be able to hold the majority of teams to the kind of power outage they held Chigago to.

Mets are fucking awesome.... Kicked the first place dodger's ass last night.. They;ve given up 1 run in their last 27 innings (mets)

see reyes hit that inside the park homerun,. not even a throw, he can fly.. 87 wins... ;D

You gotta peg the Mets as the team to beat, right now.  The only concern I'd have, if I were a Mets fan, is their interleague record...especially against the top of the AL.  Because, unless they fall apart in the playoffs (and I dont' think they will), that's going to be their only real obstacle for a WS championship.

Damn I hope and pray we get a subway series.  The Yanks are only, I think, a game and a half away (tied in the loss column) from having the best record in the AL.

Complimenting the Mets?  You're obviously going for the reverse jinx.  Seriously, I think the Yanks and Mets are the best teams in their leagues, so a Subway Series should happen - but as you know, the best teams don't always win in the playoffs.  Still, I like the chances of it happening.  The only NL team I'd be concerned about for the Mets are the Phillies, while the Yankees probably don't want to face either the Angels or the White Sox.  Great thing is, probably none of those teams will make the playoffs.

Anyway, Mets-Yankees would be a great matchup. Yankees are great at working pitchers, getting into deep counts, and getting starters out of the game early.  But that might not work against the Mets because they generally don't rely on any of their starters to go deep into games, given the strength of their bullpen.  Plus, Randolph will run circles around Torre. ;)

The Mets are probably my 2nd favorite team, especially since '86.  I mean, what Yankee fan didn't just fall in love with the Mets for what they did to the Red Sox, eh? You can still make Red Sox fans CRY with 2 words (Bill Buckner), even post 2004.

 And with the former Yankee, Willie Randolph, at the helm...what's not to like. They're a stunningly good mix of young talent and veteran leadership. You just gotta love that whole story....Randolph has done a GREAT job (as has their front office, of late).  I think he should be (but isn't, largely) mentioned for NL Manager of the Year. 

As for Willie running rings around Joe...given that Joe basically mentored Willie on coaching and managing while Willie was sitting on the Yankee coaching staff....I (and I'm sure Joe) would take that as a compliment.

I was kidding about that.  Though I have never liked the Yankees, Joe Torre is by far my favorite manager/coach in any sport.  100% class.

As much as I hate the Yankees and often think Clueless Joe lives up to his name at times, I have to agree.  As many know, I'm a big autograph collector and in 2004, I was working on a Yankees team-signed ball (originally to sell when I figured they'd win the WS, then it became for keeps when I got A-Rod on it).  Anyways, just before ALCS game 5, the last game in Boston, there was a huge crowd at the hotel, some autograph seekers, some just slackjawed gawkers from Buttscrew, Montana who had never seen a celebrity before, with ropes out to try to control the crowd.  The scene pretty much resembled the mosh pit at the Dropkick Murphys show I was at a month before.  Anyways, I wasn't having the best luck this time-- missed Sheffield and Giambi, couldn't get to a few other players, but I eventually got to a decent spot near the front.

Last one out was Torre.  People were nearly knocking over the barriers to try to get to him to have him sign.  I just stood off to the side as he didn't sign for a single person pushing toward him.  He stepped back, as I thought he was about to get on the bus.  Calmly (unlike the animals up front), I just asked "Mr. Torre, would you mind signing my ball?"  And goddamn, he took it, stepped back, signed it, handed it back, and got on the bus.  Didn't sign anything for anyone except me, the one guy not pushing everyone out of the way.

If only more collectors acted calm and more players just ignored the crazy ones...

BTW, for anyone who cares, the ball is signed by Torre, Mattingly, Stottlemyer, Flaherty, Clark, Cairo, A-Rod, Sierra, Navarro, Lieber, Sturtze, Gordon, Quantrill, Hernandez, and Loaiza.

I had a Red Sox ball too, but sold it the day after they won the World Series ($300, but it had none of the big names, so I did pretty well-- had Varitek, Millar, Bellhorn, Mueller, Reese, Damon, Kapler, Youkilis, Mirabelli, McCarty, Nixon, Crespo, Burks, Lowe, Foulke, Embree, Mendoza, DiNardo, and coaches Ron Jackson, Lynn Jones, and Brad Mills).

pitching might be the downfall of both the mets and yankees.. At least the mets for me, guys like maine, OH, pedro perez williams, they have moments of greatness then look like batting practice pitchers another night,,, I have zero worries about offense ,then mets lineup is superb.. Wright is smoking hot now, reyes is doing his thing, delgado is jacking homers... Can't all hit at once but there's enough to pick up the slack... FU to floyd, fucking scrub bitch, iof he hit like last year the mets would be unstoppable offensively

You just described MLB pitching in general. :)

I think both the Mets and the Yanks have a solid top 3.  The number 4 spot is questionable on both teams.....but that's less of a factor in the playoffs, so.....

And as of this morning, NYC has the two best teams in baseball...It's hard to believe Detroit has fallen so far.  I know that most of the baseball analysts predicted it after the All Star break but....I didn't think they'd be in an actual pennant race, with the YANKEES having a bigger lead in their division, come September, and the better record (well, by 1/2 game, but still). 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2582790

So, Big Papi obviously doesn't know baseball. Or maybe he just doesn't know when to not comment on baseball.

You know, maybe he has a point about the fact it's not fair that, given the Red Sox slide, he's fallen off the de facto MVP "ballot".? I can see his point on that one.? I don't, necessarily, agree with him, but I see his point.

But to basically say Jeter is undeserving because he's not going to hit 40 HR and knock in 120+ RBI's is just insane.? It demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding on Ortiz part not just of the Yanks, but of baseball in general.? Jeter isn't SUPPOSED to hit 40 HR and knock i 120+ RBI's.? That's not his job.? It's not his place in the lineup (usually 2nd).? Jeter is supposed to get on base and/or move Damon along on the base paths.? That's why he's in the top part of the order.? And he does a damn good job.? It would be like me saying Ortiz doesn't deserve to be considered because he doesn't hit .340 and he doesn't steal 20 bases+ a year.? To arbitrarily say that HR's and RBI's are the most important categories to look is ludicrous.

Not to mention...the FACT of the matter is that Ortiz is only responsible for 6 more runs than Jeter is (182 to 176).  For those wanting to play along at home  (or just wanting to check my math), that number comes from taking Runs Scored, subtracting out the number of HRs so as not to duplicate them, and adding that total to RBI's.  Ortiz: (103-48)+127= 182.  Jeter (98 - 13)+91 = 176.

Also, whether Ortiz likes it or not, playing a position has to be taken into account.? He's a DH.? All he needs to do is hit.? And that's fine...he does it well..he "plays" his position very well and I stand firmly on the side of those that think a DH SHOULD be considered for MVP.? But Ortiz needs to allow for the fact that the opposite is true.? How many runs has Jeter saved with an awesome play at short?? How many hits has he robbed the other team of?

Now, I'm not saying Jeter deserves to win.? Maybe he doesn't.? But to belittle his contributions to the Yanks, and to say, basically, he doesn't derserve consideration....or to somehow use his numbers for Ortiz to say "look, I'm better than this guy"....that's just crazy talk.

I understand Ortiz is a bit burnt up over what's happened with the Sox.? But to make the type of comments he did on the subject....not cool.

I love how Ortiz throws his teamates under the bus with the "come hit in this lineup, see how good you can be" line.  He does have a point though about the unfairness of A-Rod getting MVP with a last-place team.  Overall, though, his comments were lame.  2 words in response to HRs and RBI being everything:  Rickey Henderson.

Yeah, I noticed that, too.  Nothing like dissing your team mates.

Again, like I said, I can see his point about dropping off the "list" because of the Sox woeful 2nd half.  I don't agree (as I didn't agree when A-Rod got it in Texas) but I can see his point.

The rest was, as you said, lame.

Alright, time for my sabermetric analysis of it all.  The big three in the AL MVP race are Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, and Travis Hafner.  Honestly, Justin Morneau should get consideration too, but I really only feel like looking up three players.

Before getting to the numbers, let me just say that as of right now, Jeter has played 136 games, Ortiz 132, and Hafner 127.  Many of these stats are normalized to eliminate factors of the ballpark each plays his home games in, and the stats dealing with a "replacement player" (VORP, RARP, and WARP1) deal with the average numbers of a potential replacement player at that player's position, not necessarily his true backup at that position.  Anyways, on to the numbers.

On-base plus slugging (OPS-- tells a player's ability to gain bases)
Ortiz 1.035, 4th in the AL
Jeter .912, 14th in the AL
Hafner 1.097, best in all of MLB

Runs Created per game (Just like it sounds-- how many runs the player has created, with weighted hits, walks, sacrifices, and steals as positives, and GIDP, caught stealing, and all other outs as negatives; if you want, I can give you the formula to show hos it's calculated)
Ortiz 8.4
Jeter 9.2
Hafner 10.7 (best in MLB)

VORP (Measures value to one's team compared to his replacement-- Value Over Replacement Player)
Ortiz 64.5, 9th in MLB
Jeter 73.4, 4th in MLB
Hafner 80.1, best in MLB

WARP1 (Measures value to one's team compared to his replacement in terms of winning, weighted for a single season-- Wins Above Replacement Player)
Ortiz 6.5
Jeter 8.5
Hafner 7.7

Win Shares (Determines how responsible a player is for his team winning)
Ortiz 23
Jeter 27
Hafner 24

Equivalent Average (EqA, A measure of total offensive value per out)
Ortiz .327
Jeter .320
Hafner .352 (Best in MLB)

Runs Above Replacement Player (RARP, Shows a player's equivalent run total as compared to his replacement, another stat showing value to his team)
Ortiz 55.8
Jeter 63.4
Hafner 67.3 (Best in MLB)

Going by these, it should be no contest.  Forget Jeter, forget Ortiz.  Travis Hafner should be the 2006 AL MVP.  He gets heavily punished for being a DH on a non-playoff team.

I think during the met game they said reyes has the best totals combined ever.. Something that his number equal have never been done before.. I don't know the exact combo between doubles hits hrs rbi triples steals etc.. Said he was the first player ever to achieve this..

I agree, Hafner gets penalized for being a great player on a mediocre (at best), relatively poorly covered, team.? But he's also going to drop out of contention because he's not going to finish the season...that injury pretty much eliminates him from contention, I think (fairly or unfairly).

And, again, I'm not thinking Jeter deserves the AL MVP.? At least not yet. There's still too much baseball left, and the race is too tight, to make that distinction.? I think Dye and Morneau deserve equal cosideration and, depending on how the rest of the season plays out, I'd be pretty content seeing either of those 3 guys win it.

Edit: Oh, and it looks like we're not the only ones who dislike Ortiz's comments:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14791298/

Those who watch Jeter everyday know that this guy is the MVP period

If the season ended today...I'd agree with you (and, obviously, I do watch Jeter every day).

But, for me, he's not a run away choice.

So I'll reserve my "vote" (much value as it has...) til the end of the season.

Oh, and on Jeter....here's just one MORE reason to consider him for MVP, IMHO:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2584168

That's class, right there.  And pretty much the way Ortiz SHOULD have responded.

God Bless America - Mets are division champs!   What a year it's been... let's hope they keep it going in the playoffs.



 

And the Yankee's magic number is down to ONE!  :beer:

INCREDIBLE comeback by the Dodgers last night!  4 consecutive home runs, capped off by Nomar's game winner in the 11th.

That was incredible.  4 straight HRs to tie a game in the 9th has never happened before.

And the last two came off Trevor Hoffman.  He's like the bogeyman in L.A..

Incredible win, but in true Dodger fashion, they drop a game against the Pirates the next day.  :no:

phils are tied for the wild card lead!! they are really playing well right now. if they make the playoffs, they will be a dangerous team to face. should we end up tied with the dodgers, a one game playoff would be played in philly.

i know abreu is doing well with the yanks (since he doesn't have to be a leader), but the phils are 33-19 since he last played for them. we're such a better team without him.

the twins are another fun team to watch. this could be their year. they are 62-27 since mid-june (a .697 winning percentage).   

Revenue sharing has nothing to do with how much money they make but how much there payroll is over a certain $ threshhold.  But obviously the yankees are very generous contributors :hihi:

But seriously, don't throw a pitty bparty for the Yankees and all there $$ losses.  When yo average 50,000+ /game with average ticket prices at about 24/per; plus the TV Network, there not going broke :hihi:

Save the sympathy for the Red Sox :rofl:

Or Tampa Bay!  :hihi:

NL Wild Card and West races are soooo close!

Let's hope Buddy Bell recovers  from throat surgery and the growths on his tonsil do not prove to be cancerous.

Wrong, that's the luxury tax.  Revenue sharing, believe it or not, is based on revenue.

Exactly.? You beat me to it (obviously).

Revenue sharing and luxury tax are two different entities.? Revenue sharing is MLB's "program" to help small market teams, and low earning teams, remain competitive.? The teams at the top of the revenue earning "list" share with those at the bottom.? The Yankees earn the most (close to 300 million) and pay the most (approx 60 - 70 million).? One of the perks for the Yanks building a new ballpark is that MLB allows teams to count the money spent on a new park toward their contribution to revenue sharing.

it looks like the yanks will be playing the wild card winner.

i haven't been following the AL very closely. who would be the better matchup for the yanks - the tigers or the twins? for all the yankee fans in here....who would you rather play?

i'm assuming the answer is the tigers, but i don't know enough about all the matchups.

Actually Sandman, if I was a Yankee fan, I'd be praying to have the Twins make the post-season.  The Yankees have done a number on Minnesota in the playoffs the last couple of years.

good point. beyond santana, the twins SP is questionable. still, facing him 2 out of 5 games seems dangerous to me.

will the yanks go with wang to open the series?

i think yanks - twins would be a high scoring series.

You're assuming (with Santana) that there would be a game 5, or that, faced with elimination, the Twins would pitch him in game 4.....

In addition, Santana, while having an unbelievable year, proved in ione of his last starts he's not untouchable.  And other than Santana, with Liriano out, they're SP is pretty unremarkable. 

Personally, I'd rather face Detroit in the ALDS, but only because they've been slumping in the 2nd half and, quite frankly, in a short series I think they'd match up better and the Yanks would have a better chance of ending it quickly.

I'd also rather face the Twins in the ALCS, with a long series, because the Twins bullpen is not particularly deep, and, unlike most of the rest of the AL, in games the Yanks have played the Twins, they seem to have done a good job at knocking around that pullpen.   Oakland is always the great mystery and anytime you can, as an East Coast team, avoid the trip to the West Coast in the playoffs it's a good thing.

if the twins are down 2-1, there's no doubt they will use santana in game 4. so the assumption i was making is that the twins will win either 1 or 2 of the first 3 games. and santana has shut down the yanks a number of times in his career.

but aside from the matchups, the twins have been the hottest team in the league over the last few months.

and i agree that the tigers are ripe for a first round exit.

What you said you assumed is what I meant I assumed you assumed. :)

The problem with pitching Santana in game 4 of the ALDS is...assuming he's the game 1 starter (and you'd have to), you're talking about pitching him on very short rest.? The last time he did that, in '04 against the Yanks...it was effective...but the bullpen blew it.? And there in lies the problem:? If Santana pitches on short rest, you're probably only going to get 5 innings out of him in game 4.? And then you have to rely on a bullpen that the Yankees haven't had much trouble hitting this year.

It's not a great position, no matter what decision you make as a manager, to be in.? Do you go with a less effective starter, and possibly bring Santana out of the bullpen?? Do you start Santana but have another Starter ready to go to pitch in the late innings to try to hold the Yanks down?

All that, of course, assuming the Yanks are up 2-1.....which, in short series against a hot team, especially with what the Yanks SP has been this past week, is certainly not a sure bet.

noooooooo the Phillies just lost a tough one in Washington, now falling 2 back in the Wild Card with only 3 games left to go. :'(

Looks like another year without playoff baseball in the Philadelphia area. ::sigh::

i can't believe they played that game last night. F bud selig.

another disappointing finish for the phils. but as a philly sports fan, i'm really used to this.

how's that MET starting rotation looking without pedro for the playoffs :rofl: :hihi:

Preeeeeetty shitty.  :hihi:

not good.  :hihi:

AND the yanks may be without the big unit for the playoffs.

can't believe the dodgers won that game last night. philly now need to win 2 and have either the pads or dodgers lose 2. i would have really loved to see howard in the postseason.

Ah and it's over.  I really thought they had a chance this season, but what can ya do when the Dodgers 5 in a row.

For some reason them missing the playoffs this year hurt more than the years past, but I guess there's always next year.

With Howard, Utley, Hamels, Myers, J-Roll, Victerino, and Rowand on this team we could have an awesome team in the future. : ok:

The Yanks and the Mets ended up identical in the standings!  :o : ok:

as a yankee fan i think we caught a big break playing the tigers in the first round they are playing like crap right now and kenny rogers always chokes in the playoffs

No playoffs for the Phillies = no MVP for Howard, that really hurt his changes.
Pujols should win the NL MVP he carried a average ball team on his back for most of the season.

Mets look shaky with their rotation as do the Yankees but that line up  :o yeah postseason is all about pitching as they say but if you make a mistake to these guys they will hurt you one through nine.

Should be an exiting playoffs.

YES!  The Dodgers are back in the post-season, where they belong.  Lowe vs. Glavine, looks like it's gonna be a pitcher's duel at Shea...unless Lowe's sinker isn't sinking.  :nervous:

Twins win twins.

as ayankee fan I'm sure glad the Angels and Red Sox aren't in the playoff :rofl:

should be another loss in the WS :hihi:

well, maybe not....best team in the NL is the Mets and they have little sister syndrome :rofl:

I'm not a Twins fan but I must say they made one hell of a run since June on. Great come back.

Yeah, I know it's probably a long shot for Howard to become MVP, but the way I see it is without Howard this team would have been contending for last place instead of the Wild Card.  He carried the Phillies on his back past 9 teams in the W.C. in the final 2 months.

It's hard to argue against Pujols tho, the best hitter in the game, he's got a good glove - at multiple posisitons, and he's so young!  It's going to be amazing to see what he does in his career!! :beer:

What a year Frank Thomas is having. he should win come back player of the year and even has a shot at MVP. Today he had two home runs to help get a win in game one.

I was surprised that The Big Hurt still has that swing.

The Met's rotation is in the shitter guys.

Jeter 5 for 5!  :beer:

ugh I had nothing to do tonight with the game being cancelled.  Rescheduled for 1:05 thursday.

Go Tigers.

It was also nice to see the A's get another win.  2-0 over the twinkies now. =)

There are some prime idiots in the Dodgers dugout.

That base running snafu cost them the game.

Jeter is the greatest Yankee of all time. Bets leader in baseball too. Sure people will say Dimagio is the greatest yankee but that's becasue he's long retired. Jeter is a legend in his own time and he'll be even more appreciated when he reites himself.

Of course this is only the opinion of  a Blue Jays fan who lives in Western Canada. What the fuck would I know? :hihi: Though I have seen a Yankee playoff game at Yankee Stadium if that counts for anything.

Gotta love Torre and Randolph... Joe gives Wang the hook in the 7th for God knows why and Willie lets a middle reliever hit with 2 outs and the bases loaded in the 6th (and then that pitcher gives up 3 runs int the 7th).  WTF?  Good thing they both won.

Dam the Yankees lost today. St. Louis is playing pretty good so far this post season after having a tought time in aug and sept.

Tom Glavine is my all time favorite baseball player and tonight he proved that he ages like a fine wine.

6 shutout innings, Mets up 2-0!

LET'S GO METS!!!

A's had a nice sweep today over the Twins. Good for them. Hope the Yankees get to play them next. Other news for the A's offer Thomas a two-year deal. Thomas batted .270 with 39 home runs and 114 RBIs in 137 games this season. He had a great year. I'm  sure a lot of teams would like to have after this year.

what the hell happened to the yankees? looks like they choked. tigers were primed to be swept.

Unfortunately, no Subway Series, but was great to see the Mets take the first round.  Hope they go all the way; it won't be easy that's for sure.  I don't know that the bullpen can keep going 4-5 innings a game.

Sad to see rumors about Torre getting fired.  With no pitching and a shitload of injuries, he guides the team to the best record in the league and then gets blamed when the team collectively chokes in the playoffs.

You can blame 3 people and 1 thing for the Yankees collapse (and no, not one of them is named A-Rod).

Mike Mussina, given a 2 run lead by Damons HR in Game 2, blows the lead. ?That, right there, was the turning point of the series. ?It was pretty much a foregone conclusion the Yanks were not going to pick up Mussina's 17 million dollar option for next season. ?Now Mike will be lucky to be in pinstripes at all. ?Once the Tigers came back, and took the 1 Run lead, you saw the Yanks lineup, from top to bottom, completely change at the plate. ?From patient to desperate.

Joe Torre was outmanaged, from game 2 onward, by Leyland. ?Torre bounced A-Rod around in the lineup, fucking with his already screwed up head (hey, thanks Mr. Media for creating a non-story to pursue all season...but that's a different thread, I guess), played Sheff at 1st (his errors were pretty costly...hell, even A-Rod's error in game 4 was actually Sheffs), and did nothing to calm his players down so they could be patient and effective at the plate...the entire thing that made them so successful all year. ?I've been one of Joe's biggest cheerleaders in years past, but this year....I think it might be time for Joe to go. ?If for no other reason than to wake up the rest of the clubhouse (who, as we all know, love him to death) and punish them for thier lack of production.

Randy Johnson was a disaster. ?I know, I know...his aching back. ?Well, if his back left him that ineffective they should have gracefully pulled him from the post season roster. ?His game 3 start was EXACTLY the type of game the Yanks brought Johnson to NYC to win....and he was, as he has been all season, inconsistently terrible. ?If I were Randy, I'd be pretty ashamed of my performance and start seriously considering retirment.

And last, but not least (and I touched on it earlier) is patience. ?They had none at the plate. ?Jimmy Leyland helped out by pushing his team, in games 3 and 4, to score early and bring out the "desperation" factor in the Yanks lineup, but they let themselves be put in that hole. ?They went from patient hitters who worked "hour long at bats" to flailing farmers swinging at shit in the dirt. ?Hell, ?at one point in game 4, the Detroit pitching staff had a 5 to 1 ball/strike ratio...and they weren't throwing nearly 5 to 1..the Yanks were just swinging at terrible pitches. ?I swear, at one point I thought the two teams had switched uniforms...

There are going to be changes in the Yanks organization. ?Mussina will probably be gone. ?Sheff will probably be gone. ?Torre will probably be gone. ?Giambi might find retirement suggested, given his physical issues (or just be a permanent DH..which would suit him fine). ?And Torre will probably not be managing come opening day. ?Other Yanks have long term contracts and will stay put, I'm sure. ?But some of the moves you're going to see are going to be made to shake them up, too. ? ?And I don't buy the A-rod trade talk by the media. ?Sounds like wishful thinking on their part rather than anything substantiated.

I give the Tiger pitching a lot of credit. ?It was very, very good...but it fed off the Yanks ineptitude as much as anything else. ?They handed that pitching staff every ounce of momentum they could.....

Pilferk, I think you're coming down too hard on Mussina.  Bottom line, the guy gave up 4 runs in 7 innings - not great, but more than enough for a lineup where the #9 guy is a .300 hitter.  As a Mets fan, I would take that performance from any of their starters every game.

Also, one of the Fox announcers (forget which one) took a not-so-subtle shot at Jeter's leadership ability when he made a comment about how the Yankees no longer have a clubhouse leader like Paul O'Neill who would get in the face of and confront underachieving teammates.

On Mussina, I humbly disagree.? A 5.14 ERA is beyond not great, especially in a big playoff game, when your team has just give you a 2 run lead while facing a guy like Jason Verlander.?And a 9.00 ERA in the 3 innings AFTER being given the lead is just atrocious.? That's precisely the problem....the Yanks pitching wasn't "playoff caliber".? For sure, the Yanks line up deserves to take it's lumps over it's lack of production.? You can't score 3 runs over, what, 20+ innings and expect to win many ball games.? And Torre deserves some lumps for making some poor managerial choices/decisions (like, for instance, not pulling Moose in the 5th after giving up the run and making it 3-2).? But the #2 guy on your staff needs to be able to protect a 2 run lead through the middle of the ballgame....or not be the #2 guy on your staff anymore.? And Mussina's faltering was, really, the turning point of the entire series.? So, given all that, I don't think I'm being too hard on him.? And I'll take a gander? that the Yankees front office is going to feel pretty much the same way when it comes time to a) pick up his option (they won't) and b) negotiate for his return next year (Yanks will probably offer a 1 year deal, with a 1 year option at drastically reduced money....and depending on pickups in the off season of, say, Zito, Mussina will be relegated to the #3 or #4 spot in the rotation, depending on Randy).

The fact is the failure of the vaunted Yankees lineup will get all the press.? But the blame rests just as equally, if not a bit more, on the pitching staff.? They ranged from bad (Mussina) to terrible (Randy) to abysmal (Wright).  "Power outage" or not, its tough to win games when your pitching staff gives up 14 runs in 2 games, and blows 2 run leads.

On Jeter....he's the captain, yes.? But he's not that type of clubhouse leader.? Never really has been. And never really will be, I don't think.? He's just not confrontational that way.? And I'm not sure he needs to be.? The job of firing up the players should, at least in part, come from the manager.? And, apparently, it didn't.? In the clubhouse itself, Giambi seems to fill the old Paul O'Neil type role, though I'm not sure he's got quite as much respect and "pull" as Pauly did.

i love this detroit team. i hope they win it all. leyland is total class - he's everything that's right with baseball.

Arod - .071 BA; .133 OB
damon - .235 BA; .278 OB
sheffield - .083BA; .083 OB

this is a huge reason they lost. but good pitching is always better than good hitting in the playoffs. this yanks squad is built for the regular season.

and georgie needs to realize you can't buy championships. you need a mix of hungry home grown talent with high priced veterans. but he's too old to be patient.

What does that mean exactly?  How is a team that is the best for 162 games suddenly no longer the best because they played poorly in a 5 games series?  I would think that excellence over 162 games is way more impressive.

I'm not defending the Yankees.  Good riddance to them, I'm a Mets fan.  I just disagree with the whole notion of being regular season good and playoff good.  There's no doubt that there's more excitement in deciding a championship through a playoff format.  That's why it's done, it's better for us fans. 

You want to know the real reason the Yankees lost?  The law of averages.  Yankees and Tigers were almost identical during the regular season (97 to 95 wins), but the Yankees dominated the Tigers during the regular season (Yankees beat them 5 out of 7).  Therefore, the Tigers were bound to win some games, which they did.

You know, in years past, I'd agree. ?But of the big contributors of the regular season, a lot of them WERE hungry, home grown talent (Cano, Cabrera, Wang, Philips, Crosby). ?And, lets face it, for most of the regular season they looked pretty good, even without Sheff and Matsui. ?But their pitching....their pitching was inconsistent all year (with the exception of Wang) and killed them in the playoffs. ?Giving up early runs didn't do the line up any favors, that's for sure.

Here's the difference: 

Over 162 games, you play some good teams, some bad teams, some medicre teams.  You face deeper into the pitching rotation because of the sheer number of games played during a relatively short time span.  Hitting tends to win you more ballgames.

In the playoffs, you're facing good teams, and mostly the top of their rotation.  You play fewer games over a longer time span, giving bullpens more time to rest and be effective.  In this situation, pitching has, historically, won out.

And that's the big difference.  I'm not sure which I'd consider more impressive...they're just different.  There IS "regular season good" and "playoff good".  Yes, some of it certainly has to do with being held to being "great" in a short time span (I HATE 5 game series, FYI), but you can also help to optimize your success by building your team a specific way.  The Yanks have, recently (since Pettit and Clemens left, for sure) been built for the regular season...maybe not intentionally, but that's how it's worked out.

I'll concede there's a difference in the marathon/sprint sense.? For example, if the Mets go all the way, they'll need to ride their bullpen for 4-5 innings a game.? No chance of doing that over the entire regular season.? Point taken.? Overall, though, I think it's still the same sport being played.? And the argument that good hitting wins in the regular season, but pitching wins in the playoffs?? 2 words:? Atlanta Braves.

Numbers show that players' stats in the playoffs tend to be the same as their regular season if they play enough games.? Even "Mr. Clutch" Derek Jeter's playoff numbers are about the same as (actually slightly worse than) his regular season numbers.? ?And A-Rod?? Lifetime regular season avg:? .305.? Playoffs:? .305.

The reality is there's a lot of luck and streakiness (word?) involved in baseball.? To accurately measure who the best really is, you need to play a lot of games.

it is the same sport, but a VERY different game. for several reasons:

1. pressure. way more pressure, and not all players deal with it the same way.

2. pitching. pilferk explained this in another post - you need shit down pitching at the top of your staff.

3. fundamentals. since games are more competitive, all the little things are magnified and take on a greater importance. this is why a wild card team like the marlins won the WS. their fundamentals were superb.

also, players stats are frequently very different in the playoffs. that's part of what makes the post-season so much fun (every october i know arod will choke - ditto manning every january).

and could you provide a link for a-rod's career playoff stats? i'm positive he's below .290 hitter in the post-season.

and what about the braves? they won a WS, went to a couple others. sure, with that talent they should have won more, but they faced other teams with exceptional pitching.

1.? Pressure - again, with enough games played, almost all players' postseason numbers will mirror their regular season numbers.? I hope you're right and Carlos Beltran goes on a homerun hitting tear every time he's in the playoffs (like he did with Houston in 2004).

2.? Pitching - What about the Braves? They had the best pitching in the 90s by far.? They never "ran into exceptional pitching" that was better than theirs because no team had a top 3 that could match up with Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz.? But they only won it once.? Were they "just built for the regular season?"

3.? Fundamentals - yes, I suppose being able to lay down a bunt is more important in the playoffs, but not any more important than being able to hit a 90+ MPH slider into the bleachers.?

And the 2003 Marlins won because they were lucky enough to have their starting pitchers heat up in the playffs.? Do you really think for the rest of their careers Beckett, Penny and Pavano (pitchers with good/mediocre regular season stats) are going to be lights out every time they're in the playoffs?? ?

Here's the link on A-Rod, though you're right on this one; I just noticed the stats don't include this past series with the Tigers, so that will bring the avg down from .305.? ?http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rodrial01.shtml


?

you're missing the point. first of all, the braves won a world series.

and i would have to look up each of series they lost in the post-season to see what kind of pitching they faced, cause i honestly do not remember. but i do know that when the phillies beat them in '93, they got all-star performances (i.e. glavine-like performances) from some of their starters (schilling pitched 2 games with a 1.69 ERA, and danny jackson (the #4 SP) started game 4 and gave up 1 run over 7.2 innings).

that series highlights 2 of my points:

1. some players step up and excel under the playoff pressure and exceed expectations.

2. great pitching wins in the post-season. (the phils outpitched the braves).

I think you're missing my point, but thanks for the perfect example - the '93 Phillies.  Their pitching was not better than the Braves (whose was?), but they outpitched the Braves because their pitchers were on fire at the time.  The fact that they happened to heat up during the playoffs was nothing but pure luck.  So you can't build a team for the playoffs on the hope that your pitchers will suddenly turn into a staff of Cy Youngs during the playoffs.  Whether or not that happens is a total crapshoot.   

I disagree.  Yes, it happens that pitchers "heat up" during the playoffs, and can outpitch established, better pitching.  The fact is, you were still outpitched, not outhit.  And if you look at a team like Arizona in '01 or even the Red Sox in '04.  They were, in fact, built around their rotations, and built to be very effective in the playoffs.  And it worked. It's worked well for other teams, too. Sure, there are times it doesn't work, through luck or through injury or what have you. There's obviously no sure fire forumula to win it all (or else every team would just do it).  But, just like during the regular season where you hedge your bets by stacking 9 murderers in a row in your lineup....in the playoffs you're better off lining up 3 or 4 strong pitchers to win you ballgames or having your rotation put in career defining, herculean efforts.

I agree that you need good pitching to win in the playoffs, but you also need good pitching to win 97 games (it was not the lineup alone).  Wang was solid all year, Mussina carried the staff for over 4 months, and Johnson was good when he was healthy.  In the bullpen, Rivera and Proctor were spectacular.   There's no basis for saying that the team was not built for playoff success because Wang/Mussina/Johnson were as likely as any other team's top 3 to catch fire in the playoffs.  In fact, Wang did pitch well against the Tigers; Mussina, well I know where you stand on his performance, but I still think he gave them a chance to win; and Johnson?  What can you do?  His back failed him and he tried pitching on a cold night after getting a pregnancy epidural. 

   

Again, we disagree.  You need decent pitching to win 97 games, if you can outslug the majority of your opponents.  A 4.0 and 5.0 ERA will win you ballgames when your team averages 6 runs a game, in the long run.  Over a short series, you need good to great pitching to prevent the other teams from scoring runs.  You can't depend on a pitcher with a high ERA to lock down a team through the early and middle innings so the lineup has a chance to sit back and play your game (ie: be patient).  During the regular season, one game is one game.  One loss is one loss. No big deal.  In the playoffs...one loss can mean the difference between being relaxed and being desperate.   And given their age, physical condition, and general inconsistency this year, the 2,3 and 4 spots in this rotation were, IMHO, less likely to "heat up" than anyone else's.  Cashman, I'm sure, must have suspected that.  And, in all this, that's where they need to do some work in the off season.  They need a legitamate #2 (or #1) guy at the top of the rotation.

Wang had a great year, no question.  Mussina was....OK...certainly not what you would want from a #2 guy for the entire year.  Good early season, so-so later in the season.  Randy?  Randy won 17 games and benefited from more run support than any other Yankee pitcher...and he had to because his ERA was deplorable.  Not just for the series, but for the season in general.  Older pitchers (Mussina, Randy) tend to break down later in the season.  Wright is exactly what Wright has been for awhile now....a decent way to get your top 3 a night off, but nothing more than that.  Personally, I would rather have seen Karstens get that #4 spot in the rotation..but I digress.

Offense wins games.  Defense (ie: pitching) wins championships.

I don't really follow baseball all that much anymore, but I have to throw in that I think Jim Leyland is probably the best manager that I've seen. We're talking back to the killer B's pirates days here.

It's tough to argue against the absurdity of a team with a $200 million payroll starting Jaret Wright in an elimination game.  No question they need to improve there.  With that said, there have been worse staffs that strung together stellar postseason pitching performances in years past (2002 Angels?).   Mussina, in particular, has a lower postseason ERA (3.80) for the Yankees than Pettitte had (4.05).  In any case, I must be in some sort of bizarro world defending the Yankees this much.  At least you didn't try convincing me the Yankees were better off with Brosius than A-Rod.

Corey Lidle, whom the Yankees acquired in July from the Phillies, has died in a plane crash.

Confirmed by ESPN and CBS.

Check www.yahoo.com for details.

RIP COREY!!!! :(

Oh no!  So he was the one who crashed into the building in NY.

Rest in peace Cory, your life ended much too soon.

God speed Corey.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife and 6 year old son.

What a tragedy....

Derek Jeter lost out on the MVP to Minnesota's Justin Morneau.  So much for that East Coast sports bias.

I'm a Jeter guy but I don't really have a problem with this - Morneau was a beast for Minnesota - Jeter is going to have a tough time winning something like this for as long as he's in a line-up that's as loaded as it always is - I want him to win one, and I strongly believe that if you watch this guy everyday,
you'd vote for him, but on a numbers basis - it's hard to argue against Morneau

i was really glad to see Howard get the MVP. he deserved it. he's a beast. and a class act.

i don't follow the AL enough, but i thought jeter should have won. i think it's easy to look past all that he does and the leadership he provides because of the lineup around him.

I think Jeter should have won this. He was clearly the MVP of his team. Morneau on the other hand wasn't even the mvp on his own team.

You can say the same thing for A-Rod LAST season.  He won the MVP, but I think most people would agree that Mariano Rivera was MORE valuable to the Yanks than A-Rod.  It all depends on how you define the MVP.  I thought Jeter would've won it, but Morneau had a very solid season.  But you're right, you could argue he was the 2nd or 3rd most valuable on his team behind Santana and Mauer.

You have a good point there you could've made a very strong case for Rivera last year over A-Rod. I actually thought Rivera deserved it over A-Rod.

Barry Zito to the SanFran Giants.

7 years, $126 million dollars.

Richest contract in MLB history for a pitcher.

Not worth it, IMO.

Randy Johnson back to Arizona!

Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2720413

I'm not surprised.  Not in the least.  Well, maybe that Randy's taking the deal, but.....not that the Yanks wanted to unload him.  I think I summarized, in a post just a bit further up the page, why the Yanks would do it.

Bonds finally signed his 2007 contract but has a clause that if he is  indicted the Giants are off  the hook for his salary. What a world  we  live  in--who would  ever imagine  that sports would  come to this?

Pretty sad isn't it?

Bonds' agent is trying to challenge the legality of that clause.

Go figure.  The guy won't be a hall of famer now, but he's going to get completely off the hook otherwise.