Escape from Elba

Will the Yankees continue their division crown dominance?

Will Mr. April be able to sustain his current output ("putout" backwards) of home runs ("runs home", backwards) so as to rightfully claim the title of Mr. May?

We'll just have to let them play the games -- and see.

Probably the more pressing question at the moment is, will the Yankees salvage a win in Boston. And/or beat the Sox new poster boy Fuzzy Dice.

It is very hard to sweep a series, favorable pitching matchup or no. I'm pretty happy with what the Sox have done so far and a win tonight would be gravy.

I will be very disappointed if the Red Sox don't sweep. 

I am amazed at the work you are putting into this, liq. You are owed several beers. I appreciate it.

I don't know why we're all getting so excited about tonight's game. These games don't mean anything. First, they are in April and don't count in the standings. Not really. And second, it is terribly unfair for the league to make the Yankees play when one of their players is hurt.

Sometime, it would be nice for a rival fan to say, "wow, you beat us. Congrats"

(The last time I saw that was when Felix Hernandez had just a fantastic performance against the Sox.)

Felix was filthy against the Red Sox in DiceK's debut.  It reminded me of Kerry Wood against the Astros - I can't remember if it was his rookie year or is 2nd year - it just looked like none of the hitters even had a chance.

Nice job on the newest version. I guess this is what robust means.

kudos again liq

a sweep would be nice, so Y-not us?

any access to the old Exile forum?

If I can figure out how to -- I'll try to export the posts from that other forum but it might not be compatible.  The old forum can be viewed here:

http://www.escapefromelba.com/forums2/

Not exactly the start I was hoping for from Dice-K

Back-to-Back-to-Back-to-Back!!!

cheap hits

WOW.

ok all together now: Booby Sprowl

edit: Booby is in rememberence of the architect, the master handler of the 1978 staff, Don Zimmer

That was awesome.  I hope Dice-k can preserve the lead....

Game....Set......Match = Papelbon

Mr. Clutch comes through! :)

Sweep. I'm a bit embarassed for the Yankees. They scored 5 runs off of each of the Sox starters and lost every game. Just no pitching.

Torre managed that like October again.

What a great thing to see history made in fenway. 4 straight hrs;

I am glad I voted yes.

I also voted yes. I figured a sweep is tough, but the Y's just don't have the pitching.

" I also voted YES"

me too, but it will never be a YES Classic.

Thing is, kid called this. Well done.

Honestly, I thought we might split these past 6 games. 1-2 on the road and 2-1 this series. I think the difference is that BJ Ryan is out for the Jays and Mariano looks like toast early in this season.

Jeez it's nice to have someone like Pap close games.

Congrats, RSG!!!

Those B-2B-2B-2B homeruns were quite impressive!

(and thanks to DiceK, Paps and Tek ~ my fantasy team eeked out a win this week!)

I thought 2 of 3 was the realistic outcome, my hope is that these guys don't suffer the post-Y series fatigue that seems to follow these epics.

edit: impressive is Wright (sic) . JD Drew became an answer to a trivia question tonite.

Well, I guess you have to hand it to the Sox. Sweeping the Yankees in Fenway is a really big deal.

I was really impressed with the Sox regular rotation. That group will be real tough this year.

good morning gents,

yesterday on the "old Exile" forum I asked:


Well those questions all got answered last nite.

Dice-K pitched OK and got hit, but not really blistered

Paps-Arod was pretty intense

and we won't soon forget about the run support Dice-k received.

While my feelings were no doubt colored by the outcomes, those were 3 really good games.

And I for one am more than pleased that it was Paps v Arod and not Pinero v Arod in the 9th.

btw, while we are somewhat used to the "epics" these teams put on for us, I wonder what the reaction was in Japan, where these games probably got heightened exposure.

edit: definitely more robust, had to check-out the bells and whistles.

Chase Wright was appropriately named for that 3rd inning HR barrage last night.

Yankees did seem to measure Dice pretty well. It will be interesting to see who adjusts the best in his next start this Friday. In fact, except for some fine defense by Pedroia and Lowell, the game could have gone as a win for the Yankees.

Still an impressive weekend for the Sox.

Well not the pitching performances I was hoping for but I'll take the outcome regardless.  Who would have thunk the Red Sox bats would outslug the Yanks?

Pretty wild that Torre had Pettitte come out of the bullpen -- felt like a playoff game.

That was actually one of the few smart moves by Torre this weekend. It was his throw day so one inning doesn't hurt.

One thing I'd like to know is when a pitcher pitches an inning or so on his throw day, is that it, or do they go somewhere and throw some more pitches to get in the whole workout. Do you know?

I would imagine that would be it but I couldn't tell you for sure

Well that was fun. We get to strut about until, well, today.

I wouldn't waste a bunch of time trying to get posts from the old site. However, if you can get posts from the NYT...

PS. Who were the two that voted no?

its a tactic that's been used a few times, but if Andy had pulled a hammy covering 1st-NYC talk radio would be calling for Torre's head. M&MD should be fun listening later-on.

Did Dice-K have a press conference after the game?  I'm curious as to what he had to say

In response to PK's post I congratulate the Red Sox but can't say "well you swept us" because I've long viewed the terms "we" and "us" when referring to one's  favorite team (or in some cases favorite TEAMS) as kind of bush league.  The Sox though clearly destroyed the Yankees and anybody who relies on the "well the Yankees' got to the Sox starters" kind of analysis that Joe Morgan was putting out there is, I think, is being a hopeless Polyanna.  The only thing that matters is winning and losing.    Better, I think, to rely upon the "it's only April and things can change quickly" philosophy I've mastered.


I doubt that even a fully healthy Yankee starting staff is going to match up with the Red Sox' starters.  The Yankees will have to grind (to use one of Torre's favorite expressions) all season.   Speaking of Torre, I have no problem with him bringing in Rivera in the 8th inning on Friday.  While it's true that Torre broke his pledge (that's really between Torre and his God) I've long thought that the situation (and his health) should dictate when/if Rivera is brought in.   I'd rather have Rivera blow it than Farnsworth.

BTW, is it too late to vote?

Thanks again for your hard work Liq.  This is clearly more robust.

No problem,  I wish the Times would have given us more warning so I could have tested out the systems a little bit more before choosing one. 

IMO the Ys will grind, eat and spit out almost all teams. The line-up is going to kill most teams. And once Wang, Moose and Pavano return, a sense of normalcy and some quality starts will follow. But that concern is going to dog the Ys this season.

Friday nite was a Mo situation, it was just interesting (and as noted before-it took Francona 3 games to break his ST Paps-pledge, and it took Torre 15 games).  And as long as some Y-reliever blows the lead, I'm indifferent as to whether its Farnsworth or Mo.

When Farnsworth blows a lead, the sense of inevitably is such that you never feel the Yankees really had a chance.  When Rivera blows a lead, it's a mere surprise and at least I can take solace in the "Yankees should have had that one" sentiment.  Though, I never do.

I'm thinking the next question should be where will Clemens end up since after this weekend -- I have to imagine the Yanks will be throwing a treasure chest at him

off-topic

liq how the hell can you only be a "Jr. member"?   

I think the only hold-up for Rajah is the contract stipulation that Korky (whatever his kid's name is) gets to play for the Ys too.

I don't think rajah is after money at this point (although he'll get a ton).

If it's about filling a desperate need on a good team, he can pick Houston as well as NY.

I honestly think he'll choose to end it where it began and make a strong contender even better. He came close to choosing Boston last year. Real close.

I know WP doesn't want to see it but I'd still love to see him pencilled into the Sox rotation

I don't think that Emily Post would be much of an improvement to the rotation.

WP has lost a bit on his fastball. I think if we pencil him in we see 5 home runs in a row.

I think if Rog puts back on the sox uni, even WP will come around. After all, we cheered for david wells.

I'm not sure WP cheered all that heartily for Wells...

Super game last night Boston. I spent the weekend at a convention in Charleston that had several RS Folks in attendance, and I know they were going wild last night. By then I was in DFW with mwfenwick and some friends, the whole Admirals Club went wild over the HRs.

It's a little embarassing to give a link to the old forum because I stated we wouldn't see either Okajima or Pap last night. The latter has closed 4 games in 5 nights and his stuff was still overpowering last night. What a weapon.

I still cannot believe Francona went to the Okajima well again. I mean, he still got Giambi out, but other than that it was clear he had pitched the previous two nights. If that guy is as good as he appeared this series, I am liking our pen. But what is going on with Piniero? The only reliever not used.

I kind of felt the same way, but for 1 or 2 batters it was probably an ok risk.

What surprised me was (forgive me) the "Grady Little" move bringing Dice-k out for the 8th. I thought he was done/spent after 7. Fortunately Francona pulled Dice-k after Arod singled.

I assume that after 50 or maybe 100 posts that will change to something else. I've seen this style of format before.

So am I safe in deducing, since nobody has said otherwise, that Sox fans are perfectly content with Dice's balloonish 7.71 ERA and .286 BA against the Yankees?

Or to put it a different way. Would Sox fans be happy with those numbers if the Sox had lost the game??

If I were a Red Sox fan, I'd be happy for the most part with the way Dice-K has pitched and would remain confident that he'll wind up in 16-18 win, 225 strikeout range.  I wouldn't, however, go on a message board and make predictions that his ERA would be down in Pedro in 2000 and Gibson in 1968 range.

I like the  fact that he seems as unflappable as can be out there. 

I don't think anyone has stated that they were satisfied with Dice-K's performance. 

But Dice-K certainly showed the ability to beat some of the best hitters in the league -- while I would have loved to see a dominant performance, I think there is a lot of positives to take out of that start. 

It sounds like you can think of 103 million reasons to be happy with Dice-K's performance.  And he probalby will win more than he loses and have a bunch of strikeouts. But the reality is, he was fairly average last night.

I don't know about a 103 million reasons but  I will say that it was one of the best performances I have ever seen of a starter that gave up 6 runs in a start.  The Red Sox offense certainly bailed him out but he did show flashes of brilliance and I am definitely looking forward to his next outing against the Evil Empire.

I'd deduce that the Sox "deuce" or maybe a trey, depending on how you count, was ok last night after giving up a deuce in the first.
 
I'm pretty sure that I and others mentioned he pitched "ok" and was hit, but he wasn't really hit hard, particularly on a night where the wind was blowing out at Fenway, against the best offense in baseball.

and I thought there was no reason for him to start the 8th.

all in all a good night.

IMO he's still early on the AL learning curve and he's going to get better.

I think the argument of "well you won the game but your pitcher gave up runs" is pretty self-serving. Based on watching him in 3 other games, I don't think that DiceK had his best stuff yesterday, but he battled throughout and gave the team 7 innings, leaving with the lead. I'll take that any time.

More importantly, he beat the Yankees in a game they were desperate to win. Welcome again to Boston, Matsuzaka-san.

Which all goes to show that a pitcher can put in a mediocre or non-spectacular performance, but if you post innings and win the game, most all shortcomings or deficiencies are forgiven. Human nature.

You don't agree that he was impressive at times during that start?

If as a starting pitcher you go deep in the game and win it, haven't you done your job?

Also, I thought he pitched the best against Arod of the three. Arod didn' t look like the same guy at the end of the series that he did at the beginning.

I didn't say that at all. I was evaluating his total performance. There is no doubt he had flashes of excellence and portends well for improvement.

I'd be curious to know, for the person who voted "other", which team they think Clemens will join. Tampa Bay?

Welp you've just made the point that I've tried to make here (well actually, there, I guess) for years.  This is the main reasons why I believe that seamheads have underrated the concept of a pitchers wins.

I wonder when was the last time Abreu struck out three times in a game

I'm sure it's not the first time.  He's not a low-strikeout guy.

A pleasure. I charge $400/hr. And please don't call me a welp.

and i guess I have no clue how to quote

Nice job by Yanks hiking the Matsuzaka ERA from 2.70 to 4.00

Some handle hits, true, but they battled.

4 starts

3 quality starts

12 earned runs

12 runs of supportt

31 K

25 hits (great ratio)

6 BB

Onward, with pride and optimism.

Cool. I can live with that.

Well we've established that cap can post quotes....

I'd have to say "I" saw some real scary moments out of him.

And I'm not saying that in any kind of couched sarcasm. But I will respond that he didn't impress me in say the same way that Santana or Halladay impresses me.

But it's really the only time I've seen him. Hard to base a lot on seeing the guy one time.

And it's established that Doctor Doom can set up an avatar.  I tried to do it by entering a URL on the "Profile Maintenance" or whatever page, but no dice. 

Barely.

Did you try it recently?  I made some setting changes so that doom's pic would work

I'm sure that the ability to create user pics is going to lead to a new, unhealthy obsession on my part.

Thanks, Liq.  But at the same time, damn you.

PHIL HUGHES on the hill Thursday

Posada and Matsui in there tonight.  No Damon.  Melk leads off

yeah, so much for bringing along Hughes slowly.  panic time in the bronx???

Amazing, Cashman cannot put together a pitching staff with all the gold in China.

Yeah, it is a bit earlier than I would have thought.  If they chose to bring him up as a routine idea because they thought he was ready, he could fit into a rotation and learn.  But now, with all the crap they've been throwing out to the mound, it's a lot more pressure. 

After watching interminable innings, I did some checking to verify that Yankee pitchers have had exactly two innings in the last five games, including tonight, where no one got on.  There have been a couple 3-batter innings due to a DP, but no 1-2-3 inning since Pettitte did it one inning on Friday and Rasner had one on Thursday. 

I know there are injuries, but it is really sickening watching guys throw poorly for under five innings every night.  Then Pettitte does well and Mo blows that one.  They can't hit their way to 95 wins with this slate of pitchers. 

The only thing I can say about last night is that even though their guy went almost 8, got a good job from the closer, hit 5 HR's, got 8 walks and the Yanks started a AA guy, the game still came down to the last batter. 

Can they outslug the mighty D-Rays tonight?

Man, another one-man show as ARod gets number 14 (478) and scores four runs.  Likely will have 500 by his 32nd B-day.  We can possibly see four players go over 500 this year if Manny rolls up his pants and starts to hit. 

As bad as things are, the Yankees have to hope for stellar outings from Wang, Pettitte and Hughes to rest the pen.  Odds are not good, as Wang may not last many innings in his first start back, and unless Hughes really is the real thing, he'll be out in the fifth as well.  Then another marathon weekend with the Sox, where games last forever and relievers are needed nightly.  After Monday's day off, there are only two off days in May.  If Mussina does not come back strong soon and Igawa doesn't start giving some innings, I can't see the Yankees being close at the end of May.  The bullpen can't take this much work.

I was watching tonight's debacle on ESPN and the crawl across the bottom was listing injuries like it was a war.  Hernandez out with a forearm, Prior has exploratory surgery, three or four other guys I can't remember were put on DL.  And that was just pitchers.  Bad year all around.  If a strong team can stay healthy (read Red Sox), they can walk away from the pack.   

It's been a while since the Yankees have looked this bad, and not much hope in sight for the short run.  One slip on the mound for Pettitte's back and they are toast. 

It's ironic that the Yankees' success seems inversely prportional to Arod's success.  Other year's everyone's griping about ARod as the Yanks land in first.  This year he's a human highlight reel and the team sucks.  Kind of like when he carried the Rangers.   Hmmmmmm......

no, but it was close.

Allright ARod's Awesome April Against Albert's Awesome April

is now tied,

I think it only fair to ask,

I cannot believe that nobody else in the world is wondering if ARod is HGHing?  

boz-just because we call him "Rajah", doesn't mean he wants to play for the Indians.

:^)

Yeah. It looks like you're gonna be eatin those 2.00 ERA words that slopped out a while back.

Oh, that reminds me Kiddo, after last night have you also done another fish flipflop on the Igawa subject again?? LOL

No actually I had a spitload of help from Liq.

Shoot me a private message if you are having difficulty setting up the avatar, ocb

actually, over the past few years the Ys have not gotten off to the great starts

First 18 games

2006 10-8

2005 7-11

2004 8-10

and they still managed to cop the AL East crown.

and they'll get their starters back, and pound most teams in the regular season.

If your first pic is any kind of gauge...

Doctor Doom

I've haven't seen the handle in a while

edit: the ability to customize, could lead to...

I've got no problem with them bringing Hughes up.    As long as it's for regular in-the-rotation starts.  Which it appears it will be.

Calling it "panicking" (is that even how you spell it?) doesn't really get you anywhere.  The fact remains is that after Pettitte they don't appear to have too many ML pitchers.  Mussina and Wang coming back (I think Pavano has thrown his last pitch as a Yankee) gets them to 3 starters.  They at least need a 4th.  Why not Hughes? 

Welcome to the board, bb.

Man, Arod is on fire. I don't buy the theory that the Yankee pen is tired. It's April. Yes, the arms get tired in August after months of heavy usage. Not in April.

Timlin is looking like he's cooked. Wonder if he'll be released and hook on with the Yankees.

I've been really, really disappointed with Luis Vizcaino so far.  At least we have the return of Octavio Dotel to look forward to.

Er...wait a minute.

Henn has been pretty impressive so far

I think desperation captures it better than panic. They're desperate for starters, and no one's trading a week after tax day.

I'm about on board with you on Pavano, do you let him heal or does he just need to get healthy elsewhere?

Have you bailed on Iggy?

Y-rotation

Wang-Moose-Andy-Iggy-Hughes

I assume a huge push for Clemens is going to happen, and he becomes a Y again, and when he does, is it Hughes or Iggy that loses the 5-spot.

edit: If Hughes is good I could seen him in the 5 and Iggy in long-relief, and if Hughes isn't quite ready, Hello Scranton.

It looks to me that Igawa is a 4th/5th starter-type.  I think he falls behind too many hitters.

while its still pretty early, I think a 4 is the ceiling on the guy (and he's got to raise his game/climb the curve to get there).

I think Igawa may be best as a spot starter/reliever

I think Igawa should be in AAA.

As for the Yanks---and I apologize, if anyone else brought this up, but what's with the NON-retaliation for the hit batters in Sunday's game vs. the Sox?

That ain't baseball!!!

That's weak!!!

 

They really wanted to win that game. Couldn't afford to put a  man on for free.

I don't agree, pk. Here's why. There are times in a season, and April is one of those times, when you need to send a message. The Yanks aren't at full strength, and there is no mercy from the Sox. And that's the way it should be.

But the Yankee pitchers, as inexperienced and inept as most of them are at the moment, had a chance to tell the Sox, "Hey, this is a LONG SEASON, and we're not going to let you throw at our two best players without some kind of measured response." It was, to me, an opportunity lost.

But on Friday night, they could dust Ortiz and Ramirez in the first inning and perhaps send the message anyway--albeit a bit later in the week.

(BTW, I AM HAM--HAM I AM...)

I was wondering how long it'd take you to retaliate to my header.

Yep. It was him or Clippard. Or maybe keeping Wright.

ham-did you think you were flying under the radar screen?

FFF was carrying that theme yesterday. He thought the Ys had a free shot on Sunday.
Torre usually doesn't go there.

retaliate? hardly. I saw the header and started to laugh.

Bowa should replace Torre. There'd be no doubt what you'd see then.

I meant retaliate in a totally amiable way. Stay cool.

Yankee pitching is bad enough without putting more guys on base.  The games were close, too.  Hitting guys doesn't make much sense in those situations.  I do think it remarkable, though, that Ortiz HAS NEVER been hit by a Yankee pitch.

Yeah, he'd be kind of a hard target to miss....

given the way Manny has hit the Ys in the past, do you really want to put Ortiz on base?

of course you could also hit Manny too...

 

After being locked out for several days as a result of a combination of Internet woes and my own stupidity, I'm back. Please, hold your applause.

I think congressional Republicans are insisting that the NYT forum be kept on life support--though I confess I'm surprised to find that Yankguy is a congressional Republican.

A few people were kind enough to talk about me while I was away. In response, let me say:

a) I tried to cheer politely for David Wells on those occasions when I thought his performance merited it. And there were a number of such occasions. But I've never liked him, and I don't really think he was very good for the Sox (he had some company in that respect), and I'm not sorry he's gone, and I was never able to warm up to him.

b) Clemens is a different matter for at least a couple of reasons, although there are some similarities in terms of how I view him and Wells--notably, they're both old and questionable in terms of durability. I've never been Roger's biggest fan, as he did a number of things during and after his Red Sox career that I found worthy of disdain; however, I recognize that he's an all-time great, and I appreciate what he did for the Sox. If he should end up finishing his career in Boston (which I think is very unlikely, sorry, PK), I'll certainly cheer for him, but I'll be quite skeptical about his value untiil he proves me wrong. If he ends up with the Yanks, I won't be stricken with fear as to the threat to the Sox, and of course I'll have no trouble rooting against him.

On HBPs: Some fans never saw one that they weren't 100 percent convinced was intentional. It's comical to read posts (and I didn't see this here, so I'm not calling anyone out) that say things like "I was at the game, and X definitely beaned (sic) Y on purpose." I don't think Matsuzaka was throwing at anybody on Wednesday; I do think he was intentionally coming up and in (by no means dangerously) to Rodriguez. But in any case, possibly the Yankees remember, even if some of their fans do not, that Pettitte almost broke Youkilis's hand Friday night.

That bullpen that a lot of opposing fans assert is "just horrible" is just killing the Sox.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?name=simmons

In a column that raised the bar for provincialism and homerism,  The (Boston) Sports Guy wrote a column last week in which he claimed that the Celtics Al Jefferson was better than Dwight Howard.

I'm suspending the Sports Guy from my reading list for a period of one month because of such stupidity and if, I find that such idiocy continues, he will be permanently disqualified from my reading.

I was thinking more of a putting Ortiz on the DL kind of pitch. Reenact Tony C. and all that...

God, I miss the old days, when baseball was called hardball.

Yeah, that purpose pitch to Tony C. was one of the moments we sports fans live for.

dja think (Boston) Sportguy is a wee provincial?

Sportsguy lost his fastball a couple of years ago when he went mass market, I still check in on him from time to time

Who's this guy??

ham-be careful what you wish for, with that line of thinking, someone may purpose pitch Ryan Howard into brain surgery one day .

I'm your worst nightmare, Cappy.

A killer clown?

That reminds me, I logged in over at the Times and put you on ignore.

the NYT Forum reminds me of the saying: If a tree falls in a forest and there is nobody there to here it...

I don't care if a HBP was intentional or unintentional.  Whatever the case may be, the rules set forth the punishment - the batter gets to go to first base.   What else is there to talk about?  Oh yeah, if you're a typical baseball player, you can whine about "protecting your teammates" and all of that crap.

On the A-Rod HP:

Julian Tavarez has claimed responsibility, saying he advised Matsuzaka to buzz Alex.

I like it that it may have been intentional, certainly DON'T like that DM-CY is taking to listening to the team nutjob.

I'm going to the game tonite.  Not terribly thrilled to see Tavarez pitched.  He wasn't too bad last time out against the Jays but when I bought the tixx I sure was hoping to see a member of the three-headed monster.

thanks pk.  I figure a new handle that hopefully will be outdated soon was in order. 

I'm really tiring of the Pavano "it still hurts, but I'm sure it'll be ok in a few days" act.  It'd be comical if he was the only injury, but every time I see the bullpen get called in in the fifth after another rookie starts, I get more angry at that wimp.  I think he can parley this latest injury into a month off, maybe make a start or two and then claim another nagging injury.  By then no one with any brain cells would trade for him and the Yansk will dump him in disgust. 

This Jeter 53 out of 55 streak is really pretty remarkable.  I didn't realize that until a couple days ago when it was brought up on ESPN, I think.  Like him or not, hitting in 53 out of 55 is great and considering he walked or reached on an error in those two games, that means he has at least a 55 game streak of running the bases.  Not too shabby.  However, his 5 rbi for the season is. 

When David Wells and  Randy Johnson oppose each other today, it will be the oldest matchup of left-handed starting pitchers in major league history.

Not exactly crap, oily one.

There are unwritten rules that apply---and when they are ignored there is a real cost.

I think OCB's argument would be that "unwritten rules are stupid" and, for the most part, I agree with him.

Are you intimating that Jack Hamilton was throwing at Tony C.?

My own personal favorite HBP was when Jaret Wright hit Troy O'Leary.  O'Leary charged the mound - despite the fact that he had been hit by a curve ball on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded.  Yeah, those are high indicia of intent, moron.

What is Arod's hit streak? Mid 20's? It'll be interesting to see what the purists think of a streak over 2 seasons when he gets up to the 40's.

Wright was never the same after that. Come to think of it, neither was the Tribe. Hmmm, come to think of it, I think Al Gore invented the internet after that HBP.

FTR, I very much dislike 2 game series

Like the song says I'd like to find Pavano's innerchild and kick his little ass.

FTR, I withhold judgment on 2-game series until I know how they turn out. Just going by current trends and statistical matchups, I think there's a decent chance I'm going to very much dislike this one.

I think the universal standard for "Idiotic Charging of the Mound" is when Reggie Sanders (on the Reds at the time, I think)  charged Pedro (on the Expos at the time) when he was hit by a pitch in the eight inning.  Though Pedro has been known to hit a guy or two, this was different as the HBP spoiled Pedro's try for a perfect game.  Tough to see the mens rea in that HBP.

yup, the Tavarez-Halladay match-up is not favorable, particularly the 2nd time around in ~ week. I think Crazy Man pulls Wang (so to speak) against the Ys. Another less than favorable pairing for the Sox.

We don't often disagree YG. And we don't totally disagree here. But...I would amend that to read, "under certain circumstances unwritten rules are stupid.


Maybe its just the old pitcher part of me that still has a couple of embers banked. But "in this instance" though, hey it's April, so IMHO, Ortiz needed to get plunked. If I really wanted to be nasty I'd throw at his knees. The batter does a much better dance when you do that.

I think the most priceless incident was Izzy Alcantara karate kicking the catcher before charging the mound

IMO the most famous hit by pitcher may be Juan Marichal hitting John Roseboro, and it stemmed from the fact that Koufax wouldn't.

I think my "for the most part" covers your "under certain circumstances".  Stuff like not stealing with an 8-run lead, not bunting to break up a perfect game if you're getting blown out are what I consider to be stupid unwritten rules.  An unwritten rule which might have some merit, but one frequently observed in the breach, I guess, is that a batter shouldn't show up a pitcher after hitting a homerun.   

Lost in all of this hbp talk is that fact that Mariano did get a wee bit frustrated and throw a ball over lugo's head. If he could have had a shot at Ortiz/Manny, I think you'd see the same thing.

BTW, I need help here. What the hell do you call Lugo for short? Loogie doesn't really work.

Similarly, Dave Rozema, a starter for the Tigers in the 80's, once ran into a scrum after an HBP against Cleveland flying feet first, aiming at Pat Corrales.  Whom he missed.  Tore his ACL.

I actually don't think the pitch was that close to Lugo and it wouldn't have hit him if he just stood there.  But, I don't blame for not waiting around to find out.

Rivera went up around Hillenbrand's cranium a few years ago (a much closer pitch than Friday's) the day after Hillenbrand homered off of him and celebrated in what Rivera felt was too exuberant a fashion.

I was just thinking about that pitch to Hillenbrand. It was the very first pitch Rivera threw him after that home run (I was at the game, and Hillenbrand definitely hit that home run on purpose). That was actually one of the scariest pitches I've ever seen. Hillenbrand, for whatever reason, promptly said he didn't believe Rivera threw at him.

Mo is a good guy and no headhunter, but he's not quite the saint some of his fans make him out to be.

So no one is putting their money on Taveras tonight in the rematch?

Blah, blah, blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

As much as I dislike Tavarez, you guys mailing in these games as losses is pitiful.  Had to hear it last week, now tonight is a given L?

Please.

no one's mailing in anything, but Halladay-Tavarez: edge BJs

I don't think they'd accept my mail. I'll watch the game. I'll put money on it, but I'll need some odds.

Halladay career:

97-48

vs Sox he is 8-7

innings pitched/hits

1366-1336 (one of the reasons I feel he is overrated)

vs Sox - 175-191

at Fenway 82-90 (with 3-4 record)

And just to add to the mirth of the Forum:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lHyZhvgkPo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lHyZhvgkPo)

Enjoy!

At this point, there isn't much you can say about the Yankees pitching other than it purely sucks.  Even on the rare occasion they get a good start, like tonight, the bullpen coughs it up, and in spectacular fashion.  Granny tonight, 3-run double last night, 3-run homer Sunday, five run eighth Friday.   The Yankees were either leading or one behind in all those cases and it went out of reach. 

They're so flammable, Joe's using 5-8 pitchers a game, trying to nurse a guy through one or two batters.  I think as a result, he's out-thinking himself.  If you're gonna walk Baldelli intentionally to set up a DP, the best guy you have to induce the DP is ON THE MOUND and only thrown 81 pitches.  Instead he brings in Vizciano (who has 10 walks in 12 innings) to walk Baldelli and load the bases and then try to get out of the inning.  After an out, he goes matchup with the mighty Carl Crawford by bringing in Myers.  That worked nicely.   

Guy's gotta go nine by himself giving up less than 3 to get a win.

Our game wasn't a heck of a lot of fun either. Get well, Coco.

Three losses in row for the Red Sox. It is this kind of pattern that will allow the Yankees to right their ship and stay close in the race. One has to make hay while the sun shines they say.

damn, did the Sox lose against the O's already?

they will if they play like they did last nite. I got in late, and just saw the 6th (?) man that was one f'ugly inning. 6-3 to 10-3 in seconds. Got disgusted, so I turned on the TB/NY battle for the basement, and  BAM same thing, 2-3 to 6-3 in seconds.

I'm hoping that the mouth that roars can deliver a quality game tonite against the 2nd place O's in this early season battle for AL East supremacy.


Fortunately for the sox the Ys have their issues too. But I can't worry too much about last-place clubs.

Oops...my bad about the 3 losses. It sure has seemed like 3 losses watching them the last 2 nights.

I didn't see that much, except for WMP's misadventures in CF. Watching him so far this year has been painful-he's regressed from last year. If Crisp stays hurt, he may get the time to straighten himself out, OR, we may get to see the Ellsbury-CF of the future-a little sooner than originally anticpated.

Mail call.

4.2IP, 7H, 6R

Now that was an ugly game last night.  First time in a very long time that I left a game before its conclusion.

I was thinking as I watched it that it musta sucked being you.

Johnny Damon really ought to stick to commenting on... oh, I don't know, something other than the Yankees:

“It’s the absolute worst road trip we could imagine,” Johnny Damon said. “No one could imagine being 0-5. We’re 0-5 without being outplayed.”

Yeah, I don't remember the last time I witnessed such a defensive debacle.  If Crisp doesn't come back soon, I think they should bring up Murphy.  I don't think I have the stomach for another day of Pena out in CF.  Beyond which, Pena's at bats have left a lot to be desired. 

Damon truly is an  idiot. 

Get a place-holder until Ellsbury is ready.  Call the Rockies about Spilborghs or Sullivan.  Heck, call the Phillies about Michael Bourn.   

LOL

He's a likeable idiot. But I'm pretty sure he and tstan never met up at a Mensa meeting.

He's actually right. The offense is doing ok and keeping up with the misfortunes of the starters. The pen is really bad.

OCB-Ellsbury may be getting very close, after having a good ST,  he's ripping up AA, not sure why he doesn't goes to Pawtux, and maybe Murphy gets a call-up. Test both guys at higher levels.   In any case, WMP need more ABs and playing time, as painful as that may be in the short-term.

whats the problem? Damon only threw 1/2 the team under the bus.

Manny's soft throw reminded me of Damon last night

The Yankees are in last place on merit.  I turned off in disgust after Crawford's homerun-and watched "Borat" which I found to be the most overrated movie of all-time.  As a rule of thumb the long-standing comic staples "wacky foreigners" and "men in drag" have never been amusing to me.  I also found "The Aristocrats" to be horribly, horribly overrated, not because I was offended-Yankguy Sr. has been telling that joke for years-but because it was as dull as dishwater.

But I digress....I'm not sure how a team that professes to be the greatest offensive juggernaut of all-time can have Doug Mincantspellhisname make the final out in a close game.     

The Wily Mo deal continues to haunt.  Can't see Brandon Moss soon enough.

Meanwhile, BONDS praises A-Rod (but sorry, Barry - Alex won't get to your 775-800, whatever):

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-bonds042407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

CoCo loss is telling.  He had just got his short game in gear - and in the process also driven the ball well a  few times.

But I do believe we will deal for a CF by the deadline.  YES - it certainly could be Andruw, though disassembling a contender is not Atlanta's style.  Keep tabs on their status in the NL.

I think we will add a 2B or utility guy as well if Dustin isn't awake by 5/15 (Cora could play second if the addition is not starter quality)

AND.................

tough to say this,. as I like Doug.....

but Yanks will add a first baseman.

Dougie Freash has even disappointed with the glove this year.  Career plunge in sight.  Hope he saved wisely.

I think the first baseman they'll add will be Giambi and then they can peruse DH-types (maybe Bernie)...

If the best thing you can say about a first baseman concerns his defense -- than you don't have much of a first baseman in my opinion

I don't know what it is about Toronto that seems to bring out the worst in the Red Sox.

weren't they the wacky foreigners that yankguy was complaining about?

Well yesterday it was Halladay. Some of his pitches were unhittable.

http://OK, what is this?
And this?
This may be appropriate for a day game

Send Lightfoot Giambi out to play defense. Sign Clemens. Bring back Bernie. Gotta get younger!

Would Bernie really be that bad an option at first?

A player in the mold of Doug Miencavichicosovalowskiieweizc or Dick Stuart? You decide!

you don't like Monty Python?

while there were a couple of laugh out loud moments in Borat,  it was way over-rated-if you've seen the TV show...

   

ahh, the mystery of the 2004 Red Sox lives on, and that last out in STL will always be special.

thanks Eyechart

he's not the problem.

I loved Borat.  It might be a different experience seeing it on the small screen versus at the movie theater.  I went with my wife and my folks --  we couldn't stop laughing.

So Borat is similar to last night's game?

I loved Monty Python but their humor wasn't based on a "look at these nutty foreigners, fracturing the language".  I didn't find their drag stuff amusing in the least.

Minkavich (I've completely surrendered) is not THE problem, but one of them.

"FIRE MRS. NESBITH!"

Mrs. Jean-Paul Sartre? Oh, be fair!

"So, Borat was similar to last night's game?"

Was Wily Mo the villain in Borat?

Get that stinkin turnstile the hell outahere already.

Well, so much for inviting you over to my house.

Men in drag has been funny exactly once.  If you aren't Jack Lemmon or Tony Curtis, put your pants back on.

I used to love "Kids in the Hall"

I just got this e-mail from the train service that I use:

Crowded Camden Line Trains Anticipated

The Bosox are in town to play the O’s at Camden Yards.  The Red Sox Nation will be out in force on Camden Line trains today and tomorrow.  The 439pm and 518pm departures from Washington will feel the brunt of this travel.  While we have shifted a small number of double deck cars to the Camden Line, crowded conditions on all three lines and operating constraints prevent us from adding additional cars.  We know this is an inconvenience for our regular Camden riders and we ask your patience for the next two days.  The next surge in baseball traffic will occur in June when the Bronx Bombers arrive at Camden Yards.

Go away.  Leave us alone.  Don't you sad-sacks have anything better to do than to slavishly attach yourselves to a team and players that don't even care if you exist?  After a long day at work, all I want is a seat on the train.

heh

that reminds me of a line in Fever Pitch,

kid to Jimmy Fallon: "Sure you love the Sox, but have they ever loved you back?"

It's just like Earl Weaver said. All the crabs ain't in the bay.

8-11'll do that to ya

They care. I get emails from the Sox all the time. Apparently they want me to buy all this stuff. But they wouldn't email if they didn't care, right?

That's why Schill has a blog

 www.38pitches.com

Because he doesn't care

Any word on Jeter's status?

He's still leading the league in intangibles.

Replays of Red Sox’ Homer Feat Tell Different Story

In the sequence that ended the broadcast, ESPN shifted Epstein out of his original reality to look like he was reacting to Lowell’s home run, not Drew’s or Varitek’s. He was now unstuck in time, like Billy Pilgrim in “Slaughterhouse-Five.”

In an odd moment, the ESPN analyst Joe Morgan lauded Yankees Manager Joe Torre for removing Wright after the third inning. “That’s what makes him such a good manager,” Morgan said. Using that obvious criterion for lifting a shellshocked pitcher, Angels Manager Bill Rigney was quite the crafty genius in 1963 for taking Foytack out and replacing him with Jack Spring.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/sports/baseball/24sandomir.html?fta=y

Last I heard Jeter wants to play today

http://allstar.rotoworld.com/scb/lm/reports/player.asp?sport=BB&Leaguenum=0041&Mode=&X=5406&Y=0

and at 8-11.............

yeah, I'd expect to see him

Well, at least you didn't say "my" train.

no game in da Bronx-postponed because of "rain"

I'm about 25 miles from Y-Stadium, and unless its "raining" a lot harder there than here, its a BS save Andy/save the pen move.

another sad moment for a once proud franchise.

well im at 53rd and 5th, and it's raining.

Wow.

So, so sad and true

the NYC forecast is for a fast moving front with light rain, otherwise known as a:





         its dry down here
edit: 
there's rain and then there's rain

the rain here was not heavy and was over by about 8:30 and the reports I heard from friends in NYC was that it was light at game time.

there was probably only 1 reason the game was called.

Good news for Yankee fans:
1. They did not lose tonight
2. They are still ahead of KC in the standings

Damn smart move by the Yankees.

cap-I agree, if the Ys can use Mother Nature as a 26th man to extend the bench, Y-not? So they did.

btw, Its partly cloudy today, I hope they can get tonite's game in.

in any case, nice job by Schilling last nite  in Balmer. just 1 bad 2-0 pitch to Miggy

and another impressive display by Okajima.

So I guess Doug Mirrabelli has confessed that it was actually red paint rather than blood on that sock in 04.

This is what Mirabelli said:

I LMAO when I heard that last nite, just idiotic.

the guy gets his ankle stapled by a Dr. before the game, plays the game putting stress on the injury, gets surgery after the season to fix it, missed the better part of the following season, and people nail him?

just idiotic.

I heard Schilling painted it with the blood of a goat that he sacrificed earlier that day to Oden.

Yeah but it might turn to mostly cloudy by gametime. I'll sit back and wait it out.

Damn grueling on the nerves if'n you ask me.

Well, either way, Thorne has no reason to lie and I hate Schilling, so I believe Thorne.

another sad moment for a once proud franchise.

I actually thought Thorne/Palmer did a nice job doing the game. They certainly knew Cabrera, and were expecting him to get wild as he tired. They also pointed out that low outside "strike" was getting called wrong, but consistently, and that both pitchers were exploiting it.

I disagree that the ball Patterson caught would have left the park (although I sure thought it was gone off the bat), but nice catch.

As for the sock, I thought it was odd that Thorne got the game wrong.

(and that I got the pitcher's name wrong)

I think its a little odd that Thorne would come out with it two years after the alleged discussion.  Beyond which, I would imagine that Mirabelli said it in jest or sarcastically following the original trade to the Padres

boz-HEY, I've been using that one for years, develop your own schtick!

this just in:

FFFrancessa -"if there was a cloud in the sky they were calling the game"

HEH

Maybe the Yankees should put a dome over their new stadium. And perhaps they can go to college rules and just play 7 innings. We don't want the millionaires to toil in abject conditions.

I refuse to comment on the bloody/ketchupy sock "controversy" until I check in at http://38pitches.com/.  There wouldn't  be stupid "issues" like this if there wasn't so much damn media, chatrooms, blogs.  So we're to blame for this crap.  Up ours.

i'm not sure what's so bad about getting a first-hand report on anything.
If you want to discount it for "agenda" or PR, or anything else that's fine and your perogative, (and one hopes that's true in any type of close reading of anything). But having read his stuff on his site & SoSH, IMO he adds to the knowledge base.

I'd rather talk about Curt's sock than the anticipated calls, nay demands, for the beanball in the coming few days.

I think you're a little sensitive, bank.  While I recognize that he's a glory-hound, I've got no problem with Schilling or his blog and, in fact, have wasted a lot of cyber-ink on the "late" New York Times forum defending he and his wife this morning.   

Yanksguy calls the bloody sock a "stupid issue", rather than what it is - a symbol of tremendous courage.

Yanksguy is hurting these days.  We understand.

yank-"sensitive" not really-just stoking the fires and chatting.

I'll have to drop by the nut-house and see what Blanche Dubois is ranting about now.

I've never been to his site but with all the players that talk to the media as unnamed sources to assert what they 'really think of each other', at least Schilling doesn't hide behind reporters to share his own views.

I'm still awaiting her cries for an investigation into A-Rod after all of her assertions about Pujols last season

It's a stupid issue because I have no doubt that Schilling was hurting, that the sock really was bloody and that rumors to the contrary got started on messge boards like this.

Clear enough for you, "moke"?

yank-your defense and sensible thoughts re Shonda Schilling were admirable. But I fear sensible and/or balanced thought is totally lost on poor Blanche.

btw, she finally has the forum she has really ever wanted: one where her opinion, no matter how off-the-wall, out of the box, in the box, left-brained, right brained, male-nuanced, female nuanced etc. is the only one that counts.

The thing is I really do have a problem with the expression "the Yankees suck."  It's historically inaccurate (but perhaps correct today) and kind of sophomoric.  At the same time though it's become ubiqtuous and thus people that utter it are simply "me-tooers" rather than any sort of evil philosopher.  My whole objection is that somebody who's done a lot of good things being labelled a "disgrace" merely because her husband (who admittedly talks a lot, maybe too much)  pitches for a team you don't like.  

Believe me, the last guy hurting these days is YG. He's seen his team in their dynasty eras and was also around when they were not. Yankees might have a few flaws this year, but they remain a contender.

I appreciate your post on the Times forum. Hopefully it will stop RK from taking cheap shots at Curt's children.

its totally sophomoric, but so is an adult guy shelling out $200 for a Jeter, Ortiz, Pedro or whomever jersey, (my childishness stops-almost, at the gazillion different iterations of Sox hats I own)

IMO the best thing about "Yankee Suck" chant is that now when you watch the Ys play in KC, you hear it.

in any case seguing from childishness:

what are the expectaions for the Y's newest wunder-kid, Phil Hughes?

I expect him to be a dominant pitcher down the road.  As far as tonight goes, who knows.  I'll take another "rain"-out.

LOL - Yankguy - you act as if Sox fans invented the "------------ suck" chant.

Keep your own brethren in check or let it be, buddy.

Why would you expect Phil Hughes to dominate?

Has every first rounder with his minor league record done so?

Christ - the guy couldn't even beat a supposedly overmatched Sea Dogs squad in his most important outing to date.

EATEN UP tonight.

Have you seen him?  I saw him in ST, 1 inning+, he got roughed up. but obviously all the reports are very positive.
BJs are not the easiest team to lose your MLB cherry to.

I expect him to dominate ("down the road" I guess is the kind of subtle phraseology that reading-challenged individuals can't quite figure out) for the same reason you expected Todd Van Poppel, BH Kim and a host of other "kid-misses" to dominate.  I'm guessing.

If I had the power....

For the same reasons you expected Dice-K and Kim to dominate: 1. he has a track record and the stuff that indicate that potential, and, 2. it's what you want to happen.

Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong.

Right. I remember hearing it at Coors Field. Coors Field. And they chanted it at Arlington Stadium when the Sox visited there this year. The Rangers have a long history of championships...

It clearly means something different than the Yankees have a bad team.

I am excited about tonight's game. I love seeing great, young pitchers. I think the yankee offense will help him out big-time.

It clearly means something different than the Yankees have a bad team.

I'm sure that's the case, but that's why I think it sophomoric.  I guess I can look it at as an expression of envy, but since I don't get excited by "26 World Championships Baby" kind of talk, I can't really understand envious utterances either.

To summarize: My feelings about "The Yankees suck" are thus:

1)  If it's meant literally (or what the expression originally meant), well I guess that's a private matter between consenting adults.

2) If it's meant to be an assertion of historical incompetence-well I guess that's true in a way.  They've lost more World Series than anybody else.

 

BK Kim did dominate

By the way, I currently have a few Met fans upset because I am constantly criticizing Mike Pelfrey.

Keep an open mind on Hughes, who stalled in the Futures Game as well, if I recall.

I will be happy to provide a firsthand account when I see him live tonight for the first time.

Heh.  This is when the WHIPS and the "peripherals" come out.  Seamhead.

"When the Yankees play in KC you hear it (Yankees suck chant)"

I heard it this year when the Yanks weren't even playing.  LOL

yup, me too on all of the above. Burnett still scheduled for the BJs?
The remote's going to get a work-out tonite.

Yeah, it means "I don't like the Yankees."

I'd be delighted if I never heard that phrase again, and even more delighted if I could telepathically deliver non-fatal but painful electric shocks to all the idiots in the world who feel compelled to drag down the species with their antisocial behavior, in ballparks or anywhere else. But the fact that "suck" is a word of fairly vulgar origin, and the fact that the Yankees obviously don't "suck," have both pretty much lost their significance by now. The phrase just means yay for my team, boo for the painful fact that the Yankees are historically better and more successful than my team.

By the way, the bit on "Saturday Night Live" years ago with what's-his-name-Sox-fan from the cast telling guest Derek Jeter that he "sucks" was really funny.

I've heard that chant before, but I believe that the proper quote is "Steelers suck."

I might not watch Hughes tonight as I've a Camden Yards ticket waiting for me.  Getting up there's a pain after work, though, and I might not make it  especially because the train is going to again be filthy with Red Sox fans.

BTW - the 'Yankees Suck' and '--------------- SUCK' - pick a team chants exist for onr reason -

People in general are simply bums, cretins, lower than dirt.

But we muddle through.

That's the best thing you've ever posted.  A tear is rolling down my cheek.

What a sad, bitter man.

Yeah, I'm a bit teary as well.

Just watched "BOBBY".

You're no doubt teary from a recent Yankee rerun

What he said.

Are you finally out of the closet as a Yankee fan?

And another thing. Yesterday you talked as if Red Sox fans were filling up the seats on the train you take home from work. Now we hear that getting to Camden Yard is a pain after work. Do you commute in both directions on your way home? Or do Red Sox fans who come to Maryland travel in the wrong direction, just for the thrill of spotting you on the train and depriving you of a seat? This doesn't add up, YG. There ought to be a full-scale investigation. And I don't think that was really blood on your briefcase.

While I personally don't think much of the "<insert team here> sucks" chant, I have to admit I always did find it amusing how flustered some Yankee fans seem to get when that chant is uttered - especially when the Yanks clearly haven't sucked.  I know it appeals to the lowest common denominator but there is something amusing about seeing someone get upset about something so inane

Frankly some people really take things way too seriously and sometimes its 'too funny' watching them tick-tock-off

Great suggestions PK.

Don't know how you come up with em but you do. Similar to pulling a rabbit out of yer hat really.

The domed stadium idea was really Lisa's. But I came up with the 7 innings. Yes, I amaze myself too.

Me?  I have no real opinion on Hughes, I was just noting that kid sometimes gets infatuated with players for much the same reason everyone does.  Ask me about  Adam "Heat Miser" Miller.

Always a solid base, Steverino.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if I like Hughes.  His numbers are fine except for one - his innings pitched - and yeah - I know - he was coddled - but you don't just go from coddled to solid rotation regular by clicking your heels.

I'll listen if you know someone who did.

Thanks for the laugh.

As an unrealted sidenote: Hopefully its clear enough for the Yanks to play. Heaven knows the Sox never questionably called a game on account of kindasortaraining.

Possibly you had to have at least once been a proud franchise to qualify for outrage??

cap-I think I once heard that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
or was it flatulence?

I'm not sure which.

edit: I'm downwind, its flatulence,

cap lay-off of those Boston baked beans, that's just nasty.

Re:  the rainout

Teams always have that option

AND are always to be scrutinized.

Yanks played their hand beautifully.  I hope Toronto is red hot when the makeup date arrives

I like that we get 2 real nice matchups out of it - Hughes-Burnett and Pettitte-DM/CY

Hell I was convinced Jon Rauch was going to be the second coming of Randy Johnson

He hasn't been groomed any differently than Lester

Speaking of rain outs, I don't think we are going to make our 12:05 start time today.

Actually I think the worst is when the Red Sox  refused to call a game despite every station forecasting torrential downpour

Have I missed something?

Has Lester been annointed by the Nation?

Does the Nation even cover baseball?

The Red Sox were just as careful bringing Lester along as the Yankees have been with Hughes

1 statistically dominant season for Lester.  APPROACHED  6 innings per.

I'm not quite sure what this means, but Lester was projected as a front of the rotation starter in scouting reports

With the exception of a select few, SP prospects are best used in deal.

3 hour window to get Indians game in, as the tarp comes off

Heck going into last season, Baseball America ranked Lester ahead of Papelbon

Off his strong '05, like I said

Ooooooops

Yes, we're all well aware of your continued defense of the Kazmir trade....

Of course Pap's '05 line was just as impressive, if not moreso.  But stats are sometimes behind hype when analysts work.

I defended the Kazmir trade.  WEouldn't have MADE IT........ but much of what I contended has come true.

Future ace?  Let's see it.

Yeah, what's up with that? The Squeakers are playing Sizemore today.

LOFTON (ageless one) SINGLES - GAME ON

DAMN - Teixeira sucks moose this year

At this point it would not surprised me if Marte gets sent down when he comes off the DL and Choo stays up.  Nice arm, and out defense just has sucked this year.

None of which is relevant to the AL East.

(http://images.rei.com/media/726472.jpg)

Oh, very good.

Figures, I drop Trot and then he starts hitting again

Well, here's a familiar bunch.  Hello all.  Glad I found you all.

It wasn't Maribelli who made the remark about the phony blood on the sock two and a half years ago, it was Kevin Millar.  He was being interviewed on "The Best Damn Sports Show" when he said it.  It was in the middle of a very funny interview where he was making outrageous comment after outrageous comment.  He also said the Red Sox were sharing shots of Jack Daniel's before each game.  No one took him seriously about any of it.

Hey, 17, great to see you. But you're mistaken. I remember one person in particular who took Millar's comments about Jack Dniels very seriously indeed.

Ssssssssssaaaaammmy!!!!!!!

Dude can't hit enough homers for me.

Hey 17. Man, if you're serious about the Jack Daniels, that changes everything about the win in 2004. Everything.

Hell, I'm having trouble thinking that the last sweep over the Yankees was any big deal. They didn't have Pavano.

Have they ever had Pavano?

Grin.

What was I thinking? Musta been something clouding my vision.

That too.

Cool another Red Sox fan.

Lol. Always a pleasure to see you too, Cap.

Hey Liq/Administrator:

Could you get rid of that little timer that tells us how much total time we've been logged on to this Board?  Some things are better off not knowing.

9 hours, 27 minutes of my life I will never get back.  I may as well shoot myself.

that's ok, steve.  milhouse levine is @427 hrs. and counting.

Out to dinner and saw none of either game. We're all playing hookie tomorrow and going to play some golf.

Apparently we DON'T want Coco to get well soon. WMP!
And apparently the Yankee offense didn't help Hughes out.

Didn't see the game but heard WMP hit a monster shot. 

And for the record:

Thorne backed off Thursday after talking to Mirabelli before the Red Sox played the Orioles. Thorne said Mirabelli had been joking.

"He said one thing, and I heard something else. I reported what I heard and what I honestly felt was said," Thorne said. "Having talked with him today, there's no doubt in my mind that's not what he said, that's not what he meant. He explained that it was in the context of the sarcasm and the jabbing that goes on in the clubhouse.


http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2849747

Yeah I was thinking about that myself -- I'll see what I can do

How come the Administrator is a junior member?Love these forums but I never did read much of the old baseball forums but looked in from time to time.I love the book forums though and will be wearing my lucky Sox  boxers this weekend.I was wearing em in 2004 and had to wash them a few times!

Possibly others didn't but I came away at least satisfied with Hughes' performance last night. IMO if he stays up he'll be just fine.

The homerun that Willy Mo Pena is enough to re-ignite the Kid/Ham debate over whether a hitter should be credited or a pitcher blamed.  WMP seems like he can't hit anything but a belt-high fastball which he demonstrated with a screaming double in an earlier at bat.  Ray threw him the same exact pitch in the 8th which he hit 750 miles.  I'm not sure why he'd throw that pitch, but at the same time Pena was all over it.

the timer? just a reality check, keep it.

427 hours ? heh

I got a sore thumb from all the channel switching last nite. Hughes was ok+ after a tough first, and he will probably be fine, but he ain't CY Hughes quite yet. Alot of real good pitching between Burnett, Beckett and Loewen. Real nice pitchers duel for awhile in in Balmer.

and WMP killed that pitch.

a fwiw, the weather here/now is "game called" weather, be interested to see if this contnues, if the Ys try to get this one in.

HEH HEH

I say they try to get it in as they're facing a .500 pitcher with a mediocre ERA.

HEH

they better play-Nippon TV is expecting half the nation to watch the battle between Dice-k v Matsui, perhaps the most anticipateded head-to head since Mothra v Godzilla.

enter: boz

re WMP: last night it seemed he was trying to lay-off the slider down and away that he is a wicked sucker for (aka the Soriano out pitch).

Did you make it to the game last night, YG? Catch any viruses from the Sox fans on the trolley?

Hughes looked all right, he'll probably end up somewhere between very good and the unhittable deity that he's projected to be.

Didn't make it.  I was mugged on the train by a Sox fan and spent all night filling out police reports.

I watched at home.  My Extra Innings package didn't have the Yankees game, so I had to watch the Red Sox.

Nice to see Wily Mo contribute

OK, who should I bash next?

Missed Hughes.  You'll have to wait for that analysis.  But the line was of course not at all surprising.

Yanks should just move some guys for prospects.  Writing's clearly on the wall.  STAGGERING what they could get right now for Alex, though I guess he has a no trade of some sort.

yank-you probably should just given her your seat,

I hear the train a comin'; it's filled with BoSox fans,
they're acting all excited, and making play-off plans
I'm stuck in Yankee limbo and we're 5 games out.
If Andy doesn't pitch well, my head will Phil with doubt

When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "yank,
Always be a good boy; stay away from skanks
But I saw Willy crush one- and that ain't no lie                            
When I hear Bosox fans a'crowin-I hang my head and cry.

I bet there's f'ing sox fans eatin' in a dining car.
They're prob'ly drinkin' JD and smokin' big cigars,
But I know I had it comin', I know I can't be free,
But that skank in Dice-K's shirt, that's what tortures me.

Nice work, rml.

And what's even funnier and kind of scary is that I was listening to Folsom Prison Blues on "Rhapsody" about 5 minutes ago.

Hello, I'm Johnny Bankshot

just having a little fun at lunchtime

fwiw, its just moderately crappy outside now-they should play

edit: Cash's Folsom Prison is a helluva album

I've gotta admit BS, that was pretty friggin good.

 Curt “Red Light” Schilling  says that “ignorance has its privileges”, but the fact is that Curt set the table of doubt through all his other media-attention seeking behaviors.

Now, Curt get to play victim:

http://38pitches.com/2007/04/27/ignorance-has-its-privileges/#more-76

As an observer I just went over to the "Bush Administration" forum on these threads.  Man that place is brutal.

Did you expect otherwise YG?? Political schlit talk is always just exactly that.

Schlit talk.

I should go over there and ask if Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame.

Tell them he's runnin as an Independant. That always confuses em.

The Giambino with another "shot", off of Matsuzaka.  lol

Dice-K wins round one with Matsui.

SEE YA!!

Youks!

Matsuzaka finally gets an early lead.

Heh

Looks like Andy appreciated that extra rest.

Another stellar performance from Mo.

Don't think Mo has a no trade

Back up the truck!

Truly enjoyed the Damon/Matsusaka ab in the 4th. Matsuzaka had thrown a ton of pitches in the inning and was facing a guy who was determined to walk. Dice threw a change on 3-2, and Damon was just trying to get the bat on it for a foul. Instead, he got an excuse-me single to right and just couldn't believe it.

Two great players, great moment. So proud of DiceK for doing so well in his two starts against the Yankee offense.

Once Pettitte melted down, the remainder of the game was a forgone conclusion.

Looking back over 53 years of being a Red Sox fan, I think there are only two years where I have felt such confidence in the Red Sox in April that I thought they were going to win the World Series  That would be in 1978, when the Sox had aquired Eckersley and Torrez, and 2004 when they had acquired Schilling and Foulke.  Both those seasons took amazing twists and turns.  In April of both of those seasons I was convinced the Sox would go all the way because they had the best team in baseball.  I still believe that had Yaz put the ball in play in the final at bat of the Dent game the Sox would have gone on to win the World Series.  And of course in 2004 they did just that.

So here I am again, for the third time in my life, thinking in April that the Red Sox are the best team in baseball.  They have the best rotation, which will be augmented by Jon Lester. 

They have a nifty setup bullpen crew in Timlin, Donnelly, and Okajima, which will be fortified when Tavarez gets back to where he should be. 

Jon Papelbon is the new Mariano. And with their setup team they have become the proverbial six inning team like the Yanks in 96.  And the great rotation will answer to the first six innings.

They have a significant lineup. Although its not what the Yankees have, they have tremendous power in the middle, and for the first time in a long time they can play small ball, bunting and stealing.

Barring injuries, if this team doesn't go all the way I will be as surprised as I was in 1978.

nice to see you again 17ks-hope you've been well.

I had the same vibes in '78 & '04 and the hopes for '07 seem as they can be realized. One big difference is that in those years, there was really only 1 team to derail the chances, and this year there could be several.

Now, about last nite-its a Japanese custom to bring gifts when visiting, and so Dice-k not wishing to depart from tradition, even as he assimilates to a new culture, brought gifts to the Bronx. As some may recall he also delivered such gifts in Toronto. I'm not sure why tradition says he has to deliver them in the 4th.

Maybe he loses some concentration the 2nd time through the order, or tries to be get more careful, or...  
In anycase, he dug his own grave, jumped in and was lucky the Ys didn't bury him.

He should thank the Ys and Andy for their return gifts.

The Mo thing is starting to look like it might turn into a potential problem for the Ys. How's that for qualifiers?
I expect him to regain his stuff/command and be "Mo" again but he really looked lost last night.

That was a weird inning, between the tight zone and the cheap hits

Getting through it is the mark of a champ.  Twice now he has done so, nicely recovering from some turbulence.

5 starts

3 quality starts (would like tis to be 70% by years end)

33 frames

38 K vs 30 hits (very very nice)

Walk rate and K/BB just fine.

When he catches a wave, Matsuzaka's numbers will begin to look AWESOME rather than just sterling.

The thing about the Sox is that they've done this start with pitching. The offense really hasn't heated up.

It would be quite nice to win today's game. It would win the series, which is the goal. And then I could forget about the Yankees until they next meet sometime in May. There are better teams to worry about in the AL. For example, Minnesota and I'll be at that series next weekend.

kid-I won't go to "awesome" (at least not yet-gotta get over those "4th inning meltdowns"-btw not too much different from the one trouble inning that Wang usually experiences),  but I generally agree, with a little more seasoning/climbing the learning curve, and some starts outside the AL East, his game-to-game performance and #s should improve.  

yup-

it has to be said, "when is Manny going to be Manny?"

I think you misread my statement.

But that's OK.

Dude looked great last night.  Hard not to be extremely optimistic.  Folks like Yahoo's Jeff Passan need to get over the fact that the Sox made a tremendous investment.

Looking back over 39 years of being a Red Sox hater, I think there was only one year where I thought, in April, that they were the best team in baseball and I thought they were going to win the World Series.  That was 2004.  Not this year.  And my 1.000 winning percentage easily tops your .500 percentage.  So there.

By the way, apparently the sock in the H o F is not "the" sock and Schilling claims "the" sock was either laundered or retained by the clubhouse guys.  How conveeeenient.  If I was the clubhouse guy, I'd splash some red paint on a sanitary sock and make the guy pony up the 1 mil.

boz-let's stop right there.

It was 40 years ago "today"
Capt. Yazzers put the Tigers away.

They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years
Captain Yazzer's Broken Hearts Club Band



and this year boz's April choice is, "The Indians"

and fwiw boz is almost always surprised by October events.


boz-unfortunately the convenient truth is the Y-clubhouse guy is on record as saying:

1-the sock was "tossed'

2-and the sock was stained with blood.

so there

The 1978 team went 11-9 in April and the 1986 team went 11-8.  I was excited by both teams because each added a dominating starter. Did I think either was going to win the WS in April? No.

I like this RS team. Great pitching. Do I think they'll win the WS? I can't even fathom the question. All I can do is compare them to 2004 and say I still like the 2004 team more. Do I think they'll be a strong contender? Yep. Do I think they'll be a strong contender for the next 5 years? Yep.

BTW, 17's post wasn't about a team winning the WS in April. Whisk took it there. 17 simply said that he's as excited about this team as he was in 1978 and 2004. I agree.

(I would even surmise that whisk is a bit excited about his team's start.)

no one's saying that any team is going to win a WS in April, unless they changed the rules the WS is an October event, and there's still a ton of stuff that could happen.

What I beleive 17k, you and I are saying, I think, is that this is a team (right now) could have long legs. IMO the pitching on this team may be stronger 1-5/bp-closer than the '04 team. While Pedro Schill (and Foulke) were very good, Lowe sucked for most of the year (but showed up huge in October. But still way too early to go overboard. The reliance on HR, the lack of run creation and the D still have to be concerns. But so far so good.

and Taunto has every right in the world to be excited about the Tribe, as we have that right to be excited about the sox.   

I'm saying the Red Sox will take it all. This year

OK ?

Got it?

Screw the Indians.

Got it.

And the Indians do a good job of that themselves.

I don't want to jink the Sox but I'm really hoping they put it to NY this weekend and get GS worked up to do something stupid just to try and shake up his team.

Steiny is propped up in front of a TV permanently tuned to YES, with a continuous loop of the '98 season. He's drooling and happy. Cashman he might do something stupid, but not Steiny, not anymore.

Suprised?  No.  No one who has lived in the Cleveland area at any time over the last 43 years is in the least bit surprised by ultimate athletic failure.  Disappointed, yes.  Surprised, no.

Go Crunch!

Lugo has made my shit list. Imagine knocking out Karstens before thry had a chance to light him up. unacceptable.

nice win by the yanks.  another quality start by sox pitching staff.  igawa just pitched himself back into a spot on the major league roster. 

From what I read in the NY paper I thought the sock Schilling was referring to was the bloodied sock from  game 6 of the Yankee series not the one Thorne was talking about the other night from the World Series.My nephew who moved from the beaches of L.A. to Miami of Ohio for his freshman year raves about The Dropkick Murphys.I have never heard the band though.

LOL

Better that Yanks win one so Torre stays on.  I want him in pain all season.

Well-pitched game yesterday.  I was very disappointed in Manny's last AB though, what was he doing taking on three pitches in the middle of the plate? 

gotta give a ton of credit to Iggy he pitched the game the Ys needed.

Baseball is a funny game. Sox beat Pettitte and Wang, and can't do anything against Igawa. But they won both April series, which was the goal.

I think we have to conclude that the Sox have a decent team.

EDIT: I read on another forum that 11 of the Sox games in April have been against last place clubs (KC, Seattle, NY), so I guess we should watch them play the good teams before making any conclusions!

never heard "tessie", by dropkick murphys bosox18d?

here you go, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYAijiz7nZM

GO RED SOX!

Great win today. Tavarez pitched well.  Still, I'm looking forward to Lester's return.  Manny looks like he could be turning the corner.

Well at the moment it certainly sucks to be us. Lots of opporunities as the Yanks let the Sox pitchers off the hook a bazilion times yesterday.

Bad April.

May will be better.

Taveras pitched surprising well in a game most conceded to the Yankees before it was played.

Even though there are many who have anointed the World Championship to the Red Sox after one month, there is still a lot of ball to be played. I found it interesting that the starters all gave up leads in these games and required the bats to pull out the wins. Not exactly quality starts regardless of the definition of it.

catching-up

didn't see the game yesterday, (travel soccer had priority) so I'll defer to:


IMO cap has succinctly nailed the current state of affairs of the Ys.

things will get better as the walking wounded return, but it MAY not matter, IF the sox SP holds up

speaking of MAY, kudos to yank on his prescient call on the Sox capturing the April '07 crown.

and to dmac if you're out there, "jock itch"

HEH

Since Clemens is believed to be looking to join the team that has the best chance of winning a WS, I wonder if the last place Yanks are as high in his sights as they may have been in prior to Opening Day.

Clemens: the Ys current state of affairs may be act as a deterrent, as could the much-speculated upon departure of Torre, BUT assuming Lester comes back, would the Sox move Wakes into the pen and re-jigger the rotation and add a pro-rata $20MM+ for Rog?

At this point, I don't think money would be much of a hurdle for the Red Sox.  I'd still love to see his return. I would imagine Lester would be bumped as he still has options.

Its kind of interesting that two of his three favorites are in last place in their division

Honestly, it has to be.


This is the current Yankee mantra: We had the lead early! I can't wait until the next series where I think Yankee fans plan to claim "we were tied but then the game started!"

And by the way, yesterday's game was tainted because Wang cracked a nail, darn it. There is also some speculation that he had a bit of a yeast infection.

I bet that fact gave you a rise. LOL.

I don't want to see Clemens come back.  Bad Karma.  Although he would be a great help in pitching the Sox into October, I don't like his reliability during October.

And nothing, abso-friggin-lutely nothing, would suck more than seeing Clemens, in a Sox uni, get rocked in a game 7.  I just don't want to see that.  So don't even take the chance.

Geez, I like to try to look on the bright side myself, but this little nugget from columnist-in-residence Dan McCourt over at NYYFans.com gives even the Mad Queen herself a run for her money:


http://www.nyyfans.com/article/8627/

Is there any way Theo can manage to fleece Cashman and get Igawa for Matsuzaka?

The Red Sox pitching is so bad that they can't even get Mienkeviezciekwie out in a big situation.

I'd file that one. But under where should I stick it?

Yeah, well, I hope that bomb secured his position with the Yanks for the rest of the season....

or as john kerry would say:[/size] "We wuz ahead before we wuz behind."[/b]

Hmm

Nice weekend (again)

Maybe they can get us midweek - lol

12-7, 13-6 would be nice for the season, with NY in the second division (non playoff) by 2 games or so.

Of course it could me more like 15-4, a total annihilation leading to a Bronxsweep(ing) of another kind, as in back up the truck.

Has Francessa started playing the Patton theme song in the background yet?

The Boss has spoken:

"The season is still very young, but up to now the results are clearly not acceptable to me or to Yankee fans," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "However, Brian Cashman, our general manager, Joe Torre, our manager, and our players all believe that they will turn this around quickly.

"I believe in them. I am here to support them in any way to help them accomplish this turnaround. It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of.

"Let's get going. Let's go out and win and bring a world championship back to New York. That's what I want."

http://sports.myway.com/news/04302007/v9390.html

Translation: Who is this nice young man standing in front of me with a pen and something to sign? I want a cookie.

Or even better, a calzone. Costanza!

Those words, and their tone, do not resemble the words of the George Steinbrenner who has won the WS 6 times.  No wonder the Yankees are floundering.  The boss has turned into a jellyfish. 

They sound like the words somebody would write FOR somebody with a fading mind-that has a reputation for toughness.   

Hope you're well, 17.  Glad that you found us.

That's more accurate. My post was not meant to poke fun at someone's health, but solely to report the anticipated missive. Those who have parents or loved ones with deteriorating health know better.

I have parents or loved ones with deteriorating health. None have tried to provide leadership to a competitive sports club. If GS's health is bad, give the reins to another. If it's not, stand up in front of the media when things aren't going so good. In other words, provide leadership.

As long as GS says his health is "just fine", I'll reserve the right to criticize him for bad decisions. If he's lying, and I'm criticizing an Alzheimer's patient, I'll be happy to redirect my criticism to whoever thought it was a good idea for an Alzheimer patient to run a ball club.

I just got to become a junior member.

Please send my pay increase or other such benefits to YG. He deserves every penny he will get.

What a kind and sensitive human being you appear to be. How many years was it before your parents fed you real food, unchained you from the closet and let you out to become a baseball fan?

We don't provide responses to newbies.

this has the makings of the "dead parents" debate on the Times forum.

good times

Spoken like a true Junior Leaguer.

I'll tell you who's providing leadership for the Yankees:

1. Cashman - who said, hey if you want to blame someone, blame me. That's my job.

2. Torre - who said, well I'm sure I'll be fired someday so I can't worry about it. The important thing is that the team starts playing better.

Two stand-up guys that I admire. Unfortunately (or fortunately, you decide) one can't evaluate pitching talent to save his life and the other can't manage a pitching staff over the course of the season without everyones' arms falling off.

Oddly enough, I've always thought of you as a member.

We don't provide responses to ____.

Fill in the blank.

Gene Rayburn

Couldn't this be a criticism of Francona?

If Francona's body of work was 2006, ok. However, I thought the job that Tito did in 2004 and 2005 with the pen was pretty good.

No, Francona has never managed the Yankees....

it seems that Torre picks a releiver of the month that he trusts: Gordon, Quantril, Sturtze, Proctor uses frequently & burns them out. Its probably a hard habit to break. it will be interesting to see if Francona can avoid doing the same thing to Okajima & Paps.

Francona in 2006 (and 2005, for that matter) was dealing with the same thing Torre is dealing with now: an inadequate pitching staff. I know Torre has been criticized for years for his handling of pitchers, and maybe deservedly so. As far as this season is concerned, though, I don't really know what he should have been doing differently, given the performances the staff has produced.



The climate that Steinbrenner created around this team from the beginning of his tenure is a ridiculous joke. On the one hand, I'm tempted to call out the press for hounding him to issue "statements"; on the other hand, that's what the press does. In any case, Steinbrenner or his handlers or whoever is pulling the strings there should just refuse to play along, and shut the hell up. Of course, if they did, it would deprive us of the pleasure of reading gems like these from Howard Rubenstein (who is going to have some 'splainin' to do when it comes time to tell St. Peter how he spent his time on earth):


(Both snippets taken from today's NY Times.)

What a novel concept, that it's up to the players to play.

As many Yankee fans have been telling us, it's still very early, and the team hasn't been close to whole. It's really not that surprising that their record is lousy, nor is it a death sentence. If the top brass think firing people is the best thing to do, that's understandable, let them go ahead and do it. If not, that's even more understandable, just say "No comment."

Of course, it is more entertaining this way.


EDIT: Maybe Howard Rubenstein doesn't figure to be chatting up St. Peter. Whatever.

I agree that there were extenuating circumstances last year, but that's the only year I could think of that YG was questioning. Maybe he thinks Foulke pitched a bit much in the 2004 playoffs. All I can say is, yes he did, thank god and thank you Keith.

If it were the owner of the Royals or Tampa Bay or even the Tigers of three years ago nobody would give a flyin fluck what the owner said WP.

When EF Hutton talks...

Elitest.

Its wild the number of appearances that some of the Yankee relievers are on target for. The Yanks could have some serious issues this time around even if they get Clemens into the fold.  I wonder if their pitching woes continue if Cashman will pull the plug a la Epstein, or try to make some deals by the deadline.

Whew. For a second there I thought you might be calling me an elitist.

OK, I have to issue an apology here. A guy on SoSH with a Yankee connection says that GS does indeed have alzheimers but the press won't report it without an official announcement. Sort of the decent thing to do. So, I indeed back off any criticism of GS.

Another story related there is that after the Sox won game 7, GS ordered the the stadium lights be kept on as late as the Sox and their fans wanted. "They deserve it," he said. Very classy thing to do, as classy as all of the money he donated to various charities.

Alzheimers is a pretty cruel disease. I hope GS can remember his many Yankee championships for as long as he wants. He was part of a pretty special thing.

Elitest spellar.

Dammit, I need an intervention ASAP.  I've posted on the Bush Administration board and I can't stop myself.

Somebody slap YG upside the head.

YG, would you liked to be slapped from the right or the left??

Jews don't figure to be chatting with any saints, because we believe "Hashem Echod," God is One, as your own Bible--the true part anyway--teaches you.  Howard Rubinstein is a Jew.  

Thanks for the theology lesson. That was why I added my edit.

Classy post

Sox fans showing to be classy frontrunners

From 1996 to 2006, 62 teams played worse than .400 baseball in April. Only three of those 62 teams made the playoffs.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/05/01/yankees.april/

Just for grins, I think you should post that on Times Yankee forum.

 

FTR, I think they will be one of those teams that makes it but I still like the odds against

Your wish is my command

I bet you guys poked fun at the kids in the "sunshine room" too

I don't think that even a fully healthy Yankee staff is good enough.  At the same time, there are so many possibilities that it would be foolish to say that anything is foreclosed.

If Hughes emerges as an ace and the Yanks get Clemens I think they have a viable shot because then they will only have to patch holes in the pen.  But if the rotation doesn't shake out, I'm not sure they have enough bandages to hold down the bleeding.

If the fully healthy staff is: Hughes Wang, Moose, Andy & Rocket its not too early to write them off. But they all got to pitch pretty well.

But IMO a: 1-healthy & good Sox rotation, 2-spotting the sox a 6-game lead and 3-a lot of good AL teams battling for the Wc work against the Ys.

BTW, what the heck is up with Abreu?

Cue Hamilton....

A six game lead going into May isn't all that much.  My concern if I was a Yankee fan would be that by the time they get the rotation back, they'll be carrying their relievers away on their shields.  There might literally be no one left with an arm attached to their bodies but Mo.

its way too early to declare anyone dead, but a 6-game lead ain't bad after 24 games though. if the Sox rotation stays healthy and it appears they're about to upgrade the 5 slot, I like their chances. 

Yes, it is far better to be six games ahead.  But Boston does not have a lock on the East any more than the Indians have a lock on the Central.

By the way, Fausto Carmona has given up five runs in his last 23 innings - against the Yankees, Twinks and Os - and we are sending him down.  It's nice to have an excess of starting pitching.

Having said that, watch CC pull a goin tonight.

Yankees got to get Clemens and hope Hughes steps up. Otherwise, the rotation they get back is Wang, Mussina, Pettitte and Dreck.  Big drop off from Wang to Mussina.

Yankees better beat up on Texas and Seattle these next two weeks, or Clemens will go elsewhere. Unfortunately I think they will pound these poorer teams. (I think I'm one of the few people here that want Clemens to return to the Sox.)

I've always thought that if you're going to overuse your pen a bit, then early in the year is the time to do it. Trying to do it at the end of the year is where you run into real problems.

I certainly hope the April division championship carries through the rest of the season but there is a lot of games left to be played and we could get hit with our own rash of injuries as well

Cleveland lawyers- always changing arguments. What is it with you guys?

lock, who mentioned lock? I mentioned a 6-game hole that the Ys have dug, and that there was a bunch of good teams in the AL that could contend for a WC could make it tough on the Ys.

but lock? Nope.



here's the key, right now the sox have 5 reasonably good starting pitchers, and the Ys don't. Right now it seems that Ys fans have to hope that Hughes an untested rookie will be lights out in the AL, and that Clemens can be enticed out of Texas by June 1, and that Moose, and Wang stay healthy and with all that their still 6 games out.

I got no problem with any of that.  Much rather be in Boston's cleats than the Yankees'

before you jump into anyone's cleats, a word of advice: desenex

re: Clemens-I hope he stays out of the AL, but if he decides to jump into anyone's cleats I hopes its with his red sox on.

Painted?

if its with the Ys it will be ketch-up.

FTR The Yankees are going to win the AL East.

Nobody but.

cap-they probably would except that there's this Achilles heel hanging over their head, or was it the sword of Damocles?

Yeah? Willing to put a nickel on it?

I just figured if you guys didn't get too high now , it wouldn't hurt quite so fluckin much when the fall comes. You know, kinda like last year.

Just looking out for you Menelauses.

If you think I'm stupid enough to bet with you again bro then you really are a Red Sox fan.

Interesting analysis here on Hughes for the other Yankee fan on this board if you feel like reading it YG. FTR I don't agree with a couple of his premises but he has a good point on the curve.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/if-it-aint-brokea-video-review-of-phil-hughes-mechanical-changes/

Last year I read a quote from Clemens after Houston missed the post season saying that he felt that playing for any team, even for half a season, and not making the playoffs, is simply a complete waste of his time.  But Yankee pundits and fans are talking about how Clemens should come in and save the season. 

I really don't think Clemens would be interested in joining another team in an attempt to bail them out.  He wants to join a rotation where the guy he bumps out will become deadly in the bullpen, not be sent back to double-A.  He wants a guarenteed ticket to the playoffs, and a World Series victory, so he can then be the one to ride the white horse.  If he doesn't think there's an odds-heavy chance of that happening, he'll watch it all on his widescreen HDTV with 7.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

Are you comparing last year's Sox team to the '07 squad?

Tread carefully, lad.

That is some technical stuff, Cap'n.  Thanks for posting.

I do disagree with Bank that Yanks don't have 5 pitchers they can rely on.

You can include Clemens or a similar pickup in your crystal ball results, you know I see promise in Kei and who knows about Hughes and the rest of the possible upstarts.

Moose could go either way, ditto Wang.  But who says that way is down?

:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/washington/01cnd-lidle.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/washington/01cnd-lidle.html?_r=2&ref=sports&oref=slogin&oref=slogin)

Well cap, you may turn out to be right and the Yankees will win the division.

But they are going to have to play a hell of a lot better in every phase of the game than they did the past two weeks.

what is kinda like last year's Sox, is this year's Ys-with both struggling under the weight of injuries. The Sox eventually collapsed under the weight of their year long DL listed team, yet finished 10 games over .500 and in 3rd.  As opposed to this year's Y's, that is currently playing .400 ball in the cellar.

and I'm only being partly TIC.

theres' still a ton of time left for the Ys staff to get healthy or Clemens and for the AS line-up they field, to play like ASs. But I'll stick to my pre-season prediction.

I am a Red Sox fan and for heavens sake, try to show a little courage. It's May 1.

kid-I used the qualifier "right now". As in right now Y-fans are groaning about the loss of Karstens and its impact on the staff.



IMO until Clemens is signed, he doesn't count as a "right now" pitcher-if he does sign, he's probaby a June 1st good to go.

Hughes and Iggy? maybe they both pan out (this year's small and Chacon?) but IMO its too early to call either of these guys really dependable.

You're not still in touch with the clueless hack, are you?

I don't know of any others that would seriously rue losing Karstens.

As for Rocket - I said "or similar", meaning it matters not if he is a Yank - they will get a 1/2 somewhere.

What Yankees should do is just run the season through and develop some talent, take a MISS on the playoffs for a season if need be (in other words - "we're in third - so f--kin what?"), then get back into the free agent market more wisely next (this) winter. 

Blown save by Papelbon last night goes to show that the good ones all come down to earth occasionally.

Does anyone remember if Papelbon wound up leading the league in blown saves last year? I remember he was leading the pack with 5 at one point.

tough nite for the AL East wunder-kids and my remote

that game was all but won-Schill pitchs very well, Oki-pitches very well- Paps enters for the kill-damn

Tata-IIRC Timlin had more blown saves than Paps last year.

and Hughes? from what I saw he was consistently ahead of the hitters and had them off-balance all nite, a very nice performance

brutal luck on the hammy- out ~4-6 weeks:

price for Rocket notchs up again.

think Cash dropped a dime last nite?

I was tryin to be nice PK. I didn't want to say that I wasn't stupid enough to bet with an affirmed welcher a second time.

Uhhh...did I just say that? Oops.

Thanks Bankshot. I think you may be right on Timlin.

Agreed that's a tough break for Hughes. He had quite the no no going there and it didn't look like things would change. You have to start wondering whether the Yankees strength coach is limited to what my 2nd grade teacher used to say "Reach, now stretch, now do your very best".

Great outing by Hughes. And as I said earlier when he got beat by the Jays you could once again see why this guy is going to be an Ace.

Yep it's finally out of my mouth. I said it, an Ace. Been wanting to say that since I saw him pitch down in the minors.

That is one nasty 6-12 he's got goin on there. The change is definitely a plus pitch too. His control is what impresses me the most though when you take into consideration the quality of the pitches he throws. Some guys have great action on their pitches but don't really control that action. Sometimes the saying is overused but this kid really does have pinpoint control. Plus he mixes his pitches up well and has what I like to call a pitchers mind. El Duque and Moose are an example of guys with a pitchers mind along with Glavine. But I'm not sure any of them ever had a 94 mph FB to back it up.

The official line has him out for 4-6 weeks. But I wouldn't be surprised if it was only two or three weeks because you just never know about a hammy. On the flipside he could be out for 8 weeks.

Tough loss last night.  Papelbon looked very mortal last night.


He finished last season with 6 blown saves, tying him with 7 other relievers at #19th in most blown saves category in the majors. Ambiorix Burgos finished 'first' with 12 blown saves.

Didn't see any of the Yankee game but sounds like Hughes was impressive.  Tough way to leave a no-hitter.

Last time a Yanks rookie went that many innings of no-hit ball was DePaula in '03

I wouldn't worry about Paps Liq. It happens.

What I did like, if I were a Sox fan, was the way he reacted. Tough kid.

Its got to be tough to be a Ranger fan these days, they aren't getting much in the pitching department as per usual, but their offense is really stumbling too

Yeah, I'd love for him to be invincible but even Rivera blows a save from time to time.....

I just hope that he was off last night and it wasn't something else.  His fastball really wasn't lighting up the gun and his command was nothing special.

You know, I'm starting to get the feeling this may not be the Yankees' year.

STREET blew 11

Not sure if anyone else had more than Papelbon and Todd Jones' 6.

The 3 top guys in saves blew 4 each (Jenks, KRod, Ryan).  Mo of course had just 3

Maybe you ought to take that over to the Times' board.

Hughes was unbelievably impressive last night and there really is nothing more to say other than it's better the hamstring than the arm.  They now have to COUNT on another Aaron Small or Shawn Chacon coming out of the woodwork.

While I've become loath to go after older pitchers with injury histories, at this point I think the Yankees might have to go after somebody like Jon Lieber (who I've always liked) just to fill out a rotation.

Further..........

Rivera has had 6 or more blown saves 3 times - and of course is working on a 4th (2 already).  His high is 9 back in his very mediocre '97 season.

We have already gone over how Mo never had a statistically dominant season (hits allowed, K rate, etc) like BonBon's 2006.

Jonathan now at 5 hits allowed with 15 K (3.0 rate among if not THE best in history), which startlingly trails Okajima's 5 hits and 18 K (3.6)

Chan Ho might be available

Ouch.  Maybe Kevin Brown is, too. 

Goal for today:  Stay off of any board having to do, even remotely, with politics.

I had read the the Ys scouts are high on a kid, Steve Nebraska who pitchs in the Mexican League

Saw none of either game. Must have been a bit of a shock to see Pap give up the hr. I remember last year we sat around for a while to see how he'd face adversity. this year, not so much.

Cap, the only reason that you don't have your nickel is that you never gave me either your address or your email. The only reason you won't make a similar bet this year is that you think you'll lose.

Terrible movie, but why not take a flyer?

I didn't realize people can still post in the NYTimes baseball forum. How do you do that?

Not sure that I want to though. Yankguy appears to have taken exception to being called Red -faced by some poster there. I suppose that I might be bothered about comments about my fandom  too. It can really strike a nerve.

I'm sure they could dredge up Jaime Navarro.

You should have learned by now there are simply some places where reason and logic is not in fashion.  It is the essence of fandom, whether the object is a sports team or a president or a media personality.

as its only May 2, and most teams still have dreams of making the post-season, it may by near-impossible to trade for a half-decent starter now. And if a team choses to trade with the Ys, they would have max-leverage.

edit: fwiw, (very little) I always thought very highly of elyankee on the NYT board. His elegant use of prose together with his unsurpassed knowledge of the game made him (it) a truly superlative poster.

Silver lining Steve.

The Yanks were looking to limit this guys innings this year.

Well, this'll do it.

I'm just reminded a little bit of the Tribe's 2000 season, although the injuries that year to the staff were fewer but more severe.  By midyear, we were using people like Kane Davis and Paul (Hey, he had a great game against the Yankees) Rigdon and Jaime "Lousy Pitcher" Navarro.  By the time we righted the ship, pitching-wise, it was too late to make a run at the White Sox.

What's The Yankees' five man rotation now?  Are Moose and Wang back?

Pettitte, Moose, Wang, Igawa next 4

If I had known this beforehand, I would have gone a little easier on him.

the better question is: Why would you want to?

Right now its the forum of choice for the lame and feeble to voice their opinions and scream at those who offer a different thought.

Betcha can't

Anyone post there besides you?

Yankguy is having a bad day. Why are you referring to him as lame and feeble?

the guy is a f'ing moron.

boz-that's very clever. Now its trish's paradise, where her voice and opinion is about the only one heard.

btw, you should be ashamed of yourself for enabling and encouraging that emotionally disturbed person.

I heard he pullled his hammy on the Bush board.

i've the highest regard (well next to elyankee) for yank.

I thought that the two of you had made nice.

As with everyone I run across, I find that if you make allowances you can focus on her virtues.

Nah, you've already allowed yourself through the doorway of that black hole. Your toast.

Political forums are like black holes as intelligent thought, like light in an ordinary black hole, "may" go in. Only to never be seen again.

A word of advice YG buddy.

I remember an old John Wayne movie, Hatari or something like that I think. Well if anyone else remembers that movie there was a scene when Pockets(Red Buttons) shot a net over this huge friggin tree full of monkeys. When I picture political forums in my mind I always see "and hear" that scene of that tree full of monkeys. And when on the odd chance that I'm actually tempted to go in there and say something I remember all the improvised "armor" the actors of that movie had to put on so they could catch those monkeys. That has always managed to bring me back from the brink of the insanity of considering to participate in said type forums.

Okay okay, stop yer whinin already. I'll let you go double or nothin on the nickel you owe me. Aight?

 But when I win this time you had better cough up or I'm coming over there with a few of my boys see.

Schlit!!

I gotta go.

I think I said something uncomplimentary about some Y-elements, maybe that I didn't like their new ST uniforms and she went nuts. And I became public enigma #1.

And she even docked me my QOTD points!!!

And while she may have a ton of very endearing personal traits, after 10 years of her nuttiness and intolerance for other opinions, I got tired of making allowances for her.

Damn it. There goes the division. I thought for sure cap would hold the line on this.

bank -

Well, I suppose that being a Red Sox fan makes the allowances harder, while sharing her disdain for those crimsonhosed jackasses makes it easier.

boz-you're free to rationalize and put up with her childish behavior in a forum, in any manner you'd like. I no longer will.

Even if if does cost me my Elbian QOTD points!!!!!!

steve has more than he knows what to do with, so he can spare some.

Jeff Weaver definitely is ;-)

What is QOTD?

Offhand I would guess Question Of The Day Liq.

I'm going with Queen of the Damned.

Isn't it "Quote of the Day"?

Quit Or Try Dying

Great pic, YG

I'm looking out for you, Liq.  Always remember that.

I'm laughing so hard my iced tea is coming out of my nose.

Thanks, and always remember, feminism was established so as to allow unattractive
women easier access to the mainstream of society.

That's funny. I always thought feminism was established so we could vote, own property, and make our own choices as to health care.

You need a Phyllis Schlafly avatar.

MAUDE

I's a male myth about feminists that we hate sex.  It can be a natural, zesty enterprise. However there are some people - it is called satyriasis in men, nymphomania in women - who engage in it compulsively and without joy.          
                         

                                                 
                       

Here's some surprising news:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/sports/baseball/03miller.html?8br (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/sports/baseball/03miller.html?8br)

Are you sure?  All the feminists I tried to get to sleep with me a second time when I was single said that they hated sex.  Although, to be fair, they also added the words, "with you."

Director of performance enhancement?

LMAO

It's obvious that you guys don't get it.

If by it, you mean IT, you're right.

My sympathies.

Forget the sympathies, man. Fedex it to us.

So that's how you usually get it?

Always.

It must get awfully lonely making IT with a Fed Ex Ground envelope.

Do you think I'm talking about sex?

If you are smart, you won't be talking about IT anymore. I think we've heard enough.

Disappointing end to the conversation. Typical of a newbie.

Why waste my time with someone who is probably hung like half used #2 pencil

Significant Other forum ----->

EDIT: And this is a clue. Makes me think ST is somewhat feminine. Seems to know a bit about baseball. That rules out Trish. (It was a joke). Had to have come somewhere from the NYT. Has to be from the Northeast  because she likes the AL East. Doesn't like me, so not a Sox fan.

And I think we've seen enough o' that azz as well

A real woman wouldn't put a picture of someone else's butt in her profile. Nor would she put a pic of her own butt. And she wouldn't be obsessed with "hung-ness".

So this is a guy pretending to be a woman?

That would be my guess. Look for the Adam's apple, it's a dead giveaway. You can sometimes tell from the hands also.

I could have used this tip when I was living in NYC. And the first time I saw The Crying Game.

Reminds me of that cartoon from the New Yorker.

"On the internet no one knows you're a dog" was the caption.

Crisp with the web gem.  Beckett 6-0

Cora should be the regular at second this season he is pure clutch.  His numbers in limited action are sick. 

Coco can't play D? Key hit as well. KEEP COCO.

I'd like to feel good about this game but you have to realize that the A's led for a half inning.

PK,"So this is a guy pretending to be a woman",Whiskey what was the name of our "Japanese Friend" in the book forums all those years? She/He's tag escapes me at the moment.Her/Him and that Brit twit that tag teamed with her/him.Wasn't his Wilsonsnook something.

Saw it on SC Liq. Nice catch.

Coco gets great jumps on the ball.  I think he plays too deep, though.

There's a lot of fire in Crisp's game right now. He's been a bit lucky in this hitting streak, but he's playing like he's on a mission. It's great to see if you're a Sox fan (and it's time I admitted it, I am).

You know what's great about the "I'm Not Dead Yet" NYT forum? You can still log in there and read a re-posting of the Times sports page. What would we do without it?

The faux giesha was kiyoko6, later ouioui.  Or more likely, Brian, a Canadian rugby player.  The hyperintelligent and pandemensional genius deadloss (aka... way too many names) let us know that "her" Japanese was written by a man, from the word choices, grammar and form.

While last night was not Beckett at his best, he is becoming the guy we were waiting for. Godot (had to) is mixing is pitchs pretty well, and when he drops that hook, fuhhhhhhgedaboutit. That is one nasty curve.

on the Y-front, a double-header in Texas today. Not what that staff needs right now.

on the Tribe front, nice win last night over the BJs on Hafner's, shifty-whatshoulda been a ground ball out-game winning double.


edit: was it scored a double?

Tampa Bay was playing Hafner with three outfielders on the right side of the infield and four outfielders.  I guess they've pulled that on Ortiz also.

yup, the Madden shift is used with Ortiz too. He usually grounds out to the bullpen scored as 9-3.

The thing is, Hafner will hit the ball to left if it is pitched there; he's not a dead pull hitter.  That's the third or fourth time this year he has beaten the shift that way.  The pitch he hit last night was low and away - ball four, actually.  If you are going to play that shift, you have to pitch him so that he hits into the shift, or else he will do what he did last night.

Yeah, YG, I agree that Crisp plays too deep.  I guess he figures it gets him on Sportscenter more often.

No, he plays deep for a very simple reason: he comes in much better on balls than he goes back.  Watch him closely and you'll see that.

Who have thunk going into the season that the Red Sox player  named AL Rookie of the Month for April --  would be Okajima?

And who would have thunk that Okajima would have a month like that after watching his first-ever MLB pitch hit over the fence in right field?

I agree that Coco moves forward better than he moves back. I'd have to say that most players do as well. I have seen Coco make some breathtaking plays going back, and have also seen him miss some  in that regard (the Arod hr off Schilling for one, still a hell of an effort).

Brutal first inning by DiceK. All those walks and then a couple of errors. 5 runs on one hit.

Nice to see the Sox come right back and manny to go deep late.

I picked up the game in the 2nd, so I mised stumbling Dice.

Good win in an ugly game.

IMo it ws key that Oki + Paps both got some downtime. I was getting a little concerned about Tito's yen for Oki in the 8th.

On to the hefty bag.

Did anyone read The New Yorker article on Manny a few weeks back.I just read it today and its pretty good.One thing though early in the article the author talks about Manny standing in the box after a ball four call several times and when asked about it states that when he is in the batters box he zones all that out and waits for the umpire to tell him it is ball four.Francona even talks about how he was wondering what was going on the first few times he saw it.But later in the article the author talks about a spring training game tis year and how he watched Manny trot to first on what he thought was ball four only to be summoned back.It was the April 23rd issue.Also where was John on the 9th toniight? A one run lead about to go on the road for 3? and no closer.I hope his wildness the other night does not mean something is wrong just that they are regulating his innings.

My mistake,They are on the road for 6 Minn and Toronto then 10 at home including the Braves and 4 with Detroit then back to Yankee Stadium so maybe they are just resting the closer.

Manny's second shot was a thing to admire.

But what is with Yo-Yo Matsusaka. Second straight game where he walked the bases loaded only to retire a bunch of guys in row afterwards. Here he trails 5-0 after 1, ultimately allowing 7 runs, 5 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings. Now he is sporting a 5.45 ERA and walked 15 in 38 innings.  Is it time to bring out Hideki Irabu's magnets?

Dice-k's 1-inning implosions/bouts with wildness are a lttle troubling, but no reason (yet) for real concern. IMO he's still climbing the AL learning curve, so the results may be spotty from time to time. But, from what we know and have seen his stuff is too good for him to pitch crappy on a consistent basis. I figure he''ll get it figured out.

Dice-K really seems to have trouble finding the plate at Fenway.  There is quite a gap in his home vs. road splits.

I think it was inevitable that he would struggle a bit transitioning from Japan to the AL.  Look at Beckett's struggles last season when he moved over from the NL - and he was at least pitching in the majors. 

I think Dice-K will be fine in the long run, his stuff is wicked.  But he's definitely having some command issues

I'm thinking that his ERA this season is probably not going to approach Bob Gibson's 1968 level.

How can that be, yankguy?  He was going to be unhittable, move right into the majors without any bumps or adjustments!  I'm sure I read something like that, somewhere.

Right you are! He was touted as the Messiahsaka. Learning curve?

re: Gibsons '68- I still scratch my head that Gibson managed to "lose" 9 games that year.

boz-where did you read that Dice-k was going to be unhittable?

and fwiw he's been more "wild" than hit very hard.

I see Hargrove is putting the blame for yesterday's loss squarely on the ump for not calling Manny's checked his swing on a 2-1 pitch a strike.... 

I believe that was the opinion of one senorswat

senorswat?

ah, so boz takes the opinion of one fan and extrapolates that all sox fans expect a sub-2 era and no-nos on a consistent basis?

got it.

He and I made no such extrapolation.  We are (or at least I am) merely tweaking the Sox fan that claimed it.

I got it as a response pretty much every time I saiid something like, let's see how he does against major league hitters.  I got that not just from kid, too.

For the record, he has impressive stuff and I'm sure he'll have very good end numbers.

Maybe you should calm down a bit with this wild optimism and see how he does after a few months of facing major league hitters.

boz-how many times have you seen Dice-k pitch?

Why should Red Sox fans abandon their wild optimism and deal with a few months of reality?

I've seen a couple innings here and there, against the Yankees and his second game.  I haven't seen anything sustained, but enough to get an impression of his stuff but not his approach to pitching.

just a few innings? that's what I thought.

I was actually impressed with Matsuzaka last night. He threw a ton of pitches in the first inning and wasn't getting some calls he thought were strikes. But he kept his poise even as the runs started coming in, two off of two groundball errors.

He settled down thereafter and should have won the game, again but for another error.

He has great stuff and is unflappable in pressure. 

Bob Ryan makes a good point in his column today. It's great to have DiceK, Papi, Manny, Papelbon and Beckett, but the better than expected 18-9 record is due to Okajima and Cora.

pk -

Yep, bull pen.  Tribe's 17-8 because the pen has been so good (Hernandez aside) that we're winning even though half the team, right now, couldn't hit water from a diving board.

Poppycock,

On scoring:

Anyone have any insight into why all the runs were earned last night.  Seems the 2 Lugo errors would have ended the inning.  4 ER that inning seemed right, though of course with a DP it would hasve been even less than that.

Was Daisuke missing badly early?  Hope to catch the replay this afternoon.

5.45.  Yikes.

The Red Sox are winning because David Ortiz hugs the opposing shortstop when he is retired on the basepaths. This is called "inside baseball."

J.C. Romero is 1-for-1 in save opportunities. This is called "far-out baseball."

These facts, and the fact that Matsuzaka was as bad as he was in the first inning and the Sox still got five innings out of him and won anyway, tell us that the Promised Land is in sight.


P.S. PK, I hope you've been brushing up on your "Fargo" quotes. Prowler needs a jump.

2 days off for BonBon

Nice to see that unlike NY the Sox have solid substitute closers

Hansack promotion good for him, but a mistake.  Let the guy continue to rock as a starter.  Garbage innings from him help noone.

IMO the better than expected start has been a reflection of many contributors, (imcluding the gents mentioned above) but if you stray too far from the fact that starters are going about 7 IP with strong performances, the big picture may have escaped (generic) you.

While I agree that it has been pitching that makes the Sox tick, I think Ryan's point (with which the generic me agrees) is that a successful team needs contributions from 1-25 over the course of a season.

That aside, Okajima has been incredible. He has replaced Timlin, who may never get it back.

Good job by Theo with the pen.  Hope Donnelly can step up given a greater workload.

pk-I just read the Ryan piece and that was his point-HIS SECOND POINT and I agree with it as well, I mean who can forget the huge contributions of wazzhisname, you know the pinch-runner, the last guy off the bench, in game 4 of the '04 ALCS...

heh

but his original point was:



edit: Ryan wants the sox to get Clemens-as in: you can't have enough big pictures 


 

Who would say something like that Steve?? I mean it's not like someone would be crazy enough to say he's going to have an ERA of 2.00 or less right?

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/03/ap3682251.html

Jacoby Ellsbury was promoted to Pawtucket today


http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3464322

Would be moot had Horacio done his job.  Gotta love Chris' attitude though ...
http://www.thenewstribune.com/555/story/54608.html (http://www.thenewstribune.com/555/story/54608.html)


'K RSGs, let's hear a  "Go M's!"  or four ;)

The M's should definitely have some edge on the matchups with Matt DeSalvo and Darrell Rasner pitching for the Yanks

DAISUKE still a clear 3.0 on my 3 point pitcher rating scale

Well I'm relieved....

Glad to hear it.

 

What happens when his ERA drops under 5.00?

probably the same type of exuberant guy who after watching a rookie pitcher throw a good-game against a bad-team, declare said hurler an "ace".

Was Proctor that ace?

Don't know - but we should see real soon.

I don't doubt it.

More transaction bullspit

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-indiansmoves&prov=ap&type=lgns

How th f--- does Cleveland justify sending Choo down?

Outstanding game. Wake was tremendous. I knew he had his good knuckler when Mirabelli had a hard time catching his stuff in the first inning.

Silva also pitched great, but papi just crushed that ball. Plus, the third game in a week that Coco has made a great catch. Too bad he can't go back on a ball.

The most impressive part of the game was seeing Paps come in with good velocity and getting through the ninth without a hitch.

Easy.  Because Westie only went an inning and a third, we used every pitcher in the pen the other day.  We needed to bring up some insurance for the bull pen.  Also, with Marte out, Blake plays third, meaning that as things stand either Delucci or Nixon plays against left handed pitchers, which just simply ought not to be.  They want a right handed hitting outfielder.  Choo is a lefty.

I probably would not have signed Dellucci - I like Choo - but I must admit I like some of the things Dellucci brings to the table.

There was a Trish-type floating around the NYT forums - some kind of hanger-on Yankee 'fan' - and Red Sox hater - has she flown under the radar and gotten on here with a new name? Wonder how she's doing with her last place Bronx Bombers - and with her favorite player - Alex - being the only one keeping them above AA?

only saw the tail-end of the pitcher's duel in the hefty bag and the epic struggle in the Bronx last nite.

pk-it seems you hardly got cheated by the baseball gods

fwiw, I like the sox #4 better than the Ys #4.

fwiw2, the Ys line-up can win just about any ball game

fwiw3 if trish posts here, she will out herself pdq

the Twinkies laid some lumber on Paps in the 9th, no damage, but I wonder if something might be off, hope not...

Hat's Off to Chien-Ming Wang of the Yankees. A masterful performance today. Sat 22 down in a row before giving up a HR.

Do Taiwanese pitchers have to go through the same system as Japan to get over hear?

Wow, Tavarez has been impressive this outing.  Would have never thought he'd have gone longer than Santana

Boooooooooooooooooooo!

Didn't like that move by Terry

Pedroia over the Mendoza line with his 2-2 and a BB tonight - yet he goes to Cora vs Nathan

Did anyone watch the game?I'm wondering why Santana only went 5 innings.

He wasn't very sharp, he completed the 5th with a  pitch count of 98 pitches.  It took him 30 pitches to get out of the 1st.

Thats a lot of pitches  for 5 especially since he hasn't been to sharp of late.Thanks

The Red Sox had every opportunity to win that game.  They left 17 men on base.

That was a lot closer than you'd expect given the sp's. Except for Pedroia, Sox never got a timely hit.

Oh so now it was a bad team?

So what happens when/if the Bosox "lose" to that "bad team" later this month? Do I get to zing one back at you?

The Yanks swept the Rangers. I'll expect the same out of the Sox later on this month.

For that matter, since you obviously know the Times forum, who the fluck are you??

So far young Cervelli seems to be a keeper. Have to keep an eye on that one.

It was years ago (2000?) so irrelevant (in fact I don't even recall the 'pen name' I used) but I looked in a few times at beginning of this season and saw she was still raging and ranting as she had done then. But if her goal was to dominate the forum in just about every way - she succeeded - so do hope she doesn't turn up here.

Gimmie a break.

Je ne comprend pas

Sweeps against any team are difficult even the really bad ones.

I doubt you'd not recall the pen name you used.

You know who you are. How about letting the rest of us in on it.

But that aside, coming here and bitching about Trish the first thing is a great way to talk baseball. Yep.

I'm already hearing enough of that residual stuff from some of the Sox fans who can't let go of their anger. You try and leave that kind of BS behind and it just keeps sucking you back in.

Like I said, gimmie a break.

Yep. But if Dice pitches against them and loses then RM is going to have to eat a bit of crow.(Just a small bite or two)

And FTR when Dice does something "worthy" of being called an Ace I'll call him one. So far he hasn't. He's getting somewhere between a mediocre to decent grade in my book so far.

Wait. You've decided Hughes is an ace, but Matsuzaka isn't?

I doubt you'd not recall the pen name you used.

I sure don't - I had a bookshelf in front of me where I had the computer - and would just make up names from the authors I could see on the bookbindings. If you recall - 2000 (2001?) - was a particularly wild time on the NYT - they permitted all kinds of stuff - colors - huge text - whatever - and people were being thrown off constantly and re-inventing themselves - this Trish-type had a 12345 name and people would make up names that looked like hers etc -

I asked about her here because that was NO fun - and when I looked in at the start of the season she was still controlling everything - so I asked to see if it was going to be the same case here as there is no point investing any time or thought if it is quickly going to devolve into that nonsense

Trish has said she wouldn't post here. So you're "safe".

Now, miracles do happen and I don't know how she'll resist a post or two if the Yankees start heating up. But that's just my opinion.

I'd still rather have Dice-K than not.  The guy has electric stuff.  There were bound to bumps in the road in making the transition from Japan. I have faith that he will put it altogether. 

I kind of hope she and some of the other posters do make the transition if the Times ever gets around to shutting of the spigot.  Sure we had our disagreements and I never quite understood how someone that was banned from the forums would still seek to have others banned, but I think all and all it was a fun time.  It certainly made the work day fly by.

I don't believe I ever said Dice was an ace. Have you seen his last game?? He sucked. "."

And yeah I think Hughes is going to be an Ace. And I think he's going to be better than Dice.

Sue me.

Lets see, you could other things like fonts and Trish had a digit screen name and such but you couldn't remember who you were? Am I getting this right??

Uhh...Arrrgghhh???

My point cap, was not whether Hughes won or lost aganist a good or bad team, or whether he becomes a really good pitcher or even an ace,

BUT that you were just as much a cheerleader for Hughes as kid was for Dice-k.

except maybe you got bigger tits.

I love to play with boobs

"I'd still rather have Dice-K than not.  The guy has electric stuff.  There were bound to bumps in the road in making the transition from Japan. I have faith that he will put it altogether."  

Me too Liq. The guy has pitched like a decent #4 starter. Maybe even a #3. Nothing wrong with that.

I'm just saying he hasn't shown me or anyone else his Ace game yet.

My point is that Hughes has done nothing worthy of being called an ace, yet you call him one.

Yes I did see Matsuzaka's last game. Did you? He had a rough first inning but he certainly didn't suck. And if you think he hasn't had an "ace" game, then you missed his KC and Toronto starts.

"But if Dice pitches against them and loses then RM is going to have to eat a bit of crow.(Just a small bite or two)"

cap-

What crow? I expected and posted that i thought Dice-k would get hit and lose this year as he transitioned to the AL. I also posted I thought he had great stuff and if given run support that RJ received last year he would probably be a 17 game winner. If he loses to Texas, so what, good pitchers even great pitcher lose ballgames. i would have thought you knew that.

Exactly. Mr. "I got religion and you shouldn't engage in any smack talk" has a quiver in his pants for Hughes and does the same thing he accuses other fanboys of doing.

Not a problem. Just a bit amusing.

Napolean

fwiw (very little) I too wondered who you may have been at the NYT forum, as you seemed to have a degree of familairity with the group dynamic.



this from a guy (Doctor Doom/Nomad and others) who when asked if he was "cap" at the NYT forum said  "no".

heh.

We don't sue.  Just put you on the idiot list.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=yankeestorre&prov=st&type=lgns

Way past time for a new MGR

Clemens signs with the Yankees!

Welcome home Rocket!  Does this mean he definitely wears a Yankee cap in the Hall?

Who gives a flying fu*k?

Let the games begin.  Good luck with that wild card.

Phelps is a pu**y

it depends, on whether he retires next year as a red sox.

As expected, Ys get their man, at a pro-rata $28MM.

It seems Cash had the greatest need for Rocket and Rocket had the greatest need for cash, and the quicker the better.

It should make for a fun race.

what happens if he blows a hammy in his haste to bailout the big club?

Getting Desperate, this is the worst Yankee pitching staff in ages. Cashman keeps signing the old and the infirmed for big bucks. The ERA is about 5, last in QSs, last in saves in the majors. Doesn't anyone in that organization know what a good pitcher in his prime looks like?

Did you notice the plug Roger gave to Joe Torre at the press conference after the game?  Does anyone think trying to save Torre's job was any part of this decision?  Or was it all about the benjamins for Roger?

Did I miss something?  How could the Yankees sign Schilling in mid-season?

I guess whisk didn't see today's game.

Put me bummed with the Clemens signing. There may be a silver lining though.

And I'd like to see him in the HoF in a Yankee cap. He's made his choice.

Or, possibly, luee didn't see Rocket pitch last year.

Clemens likely back for a cake home tilt with Pitsburgh before he throws at David Wright's head midmonth at YS.

Bet he gets just 1 start vs Sox this year.