Randy's Rolling

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEREK JETER!

Nice solid victory for the boys last night. Randys stuff looked pretty nasty, it really seems he's got "it" again. I'm going to the game tonight - upper deck in right. I hope Giambi cranks a few more up there! And personally, I will be cheering loudly for A-Rod, no matter how many double-plays he grounds into. It's nonsense to get on the best player on the team for going through a rough spot...

Interestingly the Yankee starters have been quite decent recently. Starting from Wang's walk off blast game...

Wang : 8 1/3IP 3 ER

RJ : 7IP 3 ER

Moose : 5IP 5 ER <--

Wright: 5IP 0 ER

Wang : 7IP 4 ER

Moose : 7IP 1 ER

Chacon: 5IP 2 ER

RJ : 7IP 0 ER

Ofcourse, they still lost 3 of those 8 starts, but overall the rotation have definately been turning into a steady normal form again. the only poor outting was really Moose's 5IP 5ER game against Ryan Howard. everyone have at least gone 5 or more.

As a average over the last 8 game. the starters average over 6+ innings and have a ERA around 3.18, if we take out Moose's bad outting then the ERA is 2.54, pretty good ....

it's the three starts of 5IP that hurt the team. they need to get either wright or chacon out of the rotation. but there's nobody available to fill those slots.

chris,

thing is, a-rod seems to go through "a rough spot" every other week.

A couple of 5 IP outtings don't hurt, it's the minimal, that's why they give u win when u go 5 or more. what really hurted (before Wang was forced to go the distance) was Moose + Wright + Chacon combined for less than 15 in 3 strait start, that's just terrible.

Chacon is more than capable of going 6 or more, he average more than 6 last year as a Yankee and was 6 or more 4 out of 5 time before being struck in the leg.

Wright is the main culprit..(6 inning in 3 out of 11 outtings, and no more than 6 ever) that and Small... let's see if Wright can turn it around.

As for A-rod, he and Giambi have so far scored 103 runs and driven in 113, While the supposed never slumping alway clutch Ortiz and Manny combo have driven in 119 and scored 94, that ***** right?

Well, not a bad game by the Yankees last night. After Giambi blasted his two homeruns, I didn't really care to see the Yanks bat, I was more interested in watching Randy pitch.

Sam shouldn't be posting today since she agreed that if Randy pitched well last night, she would take a day long vacation from the board. Seven shut out innings I think qualifies.

Kasey - true, but this is A-Rod, not T Long or Tony Wo. The upside is too great to seriously consider benching him or demoting him. Did any of us really think that watching Giambi early last year we'd ever see again the Giambi we're seeing this year? And his slump was a million times worse than A-Rods.
Speaking of Giambi, nice to see he's getting good at DH-ing! Hopefully that translates to more playing time for Andy. Is it my imagination or has Andy been terrifying the center field walls from coast to coast? It seems he hits the top of that wall more than anyone else, and yet he only has two triples on the year.

So... will the Mets sweep the Sox, or merely take 2 of 3? My money is on 2 of 3, with some high scoring games and blown saves all around.

Chris, I think 2 of 3, and I'm looking forward to a Papelbon vs. Wagner game at some point.

On another note, anyone read this article about Jeter and the Red Sox? It makes me really dislike the Red Sox.

Jeter Being Jeter

Monday afternoon as Derek Jeter was eating lunch with some teammates, the New York Yankees short stop decided that he was going to put an end to world hunger. He planned a benefit concert where Bernie Williams played awesome riffs on his guitar, and Jeter raised $20 Billion dollars, but Jeter did not believe it was enough. Jeter decided that the only way to end world hunger was to improve the world economy and make sure everyone has a job. So Jeter started the Jeter to Job Foundation which teaches people job skills. But on the other side, the darker side, of the American League East, was a group of Red Sox players who decided they were going to end world hunger, by ending the worlds hungry...permanently. So Varitek, Schilling, Youkilis, and Nixon took off on a rampage killing hungry people that Jeter was teaching how to work. Jeter got so ticked that he caught up to them in some third world country, put all four of them in a headlock until they passed out, glued fake mustaches on them, put them in a banana boat heading for the states, but before they reached land the coast guard intercepted them and sent them back to Cuba where Fidel had them arrested for treason. Now they're serving life sentences in a Cuban prison and are now married to Cuban prisoners. Pretty gangster.

Kasey - I just want to be clear that I think everyone who reads this blog thinks that A-Rod is having a sub-par season so far. And believe me, I've noticed...he was my first-round pick in my fantasy league, and all I've got is 4th place to show for it. But you better believe that when I go out to Yankees stadium today, I'm going to be rooting for him when he does well, and telling everyone to shut up when he gets out (there's a difference between K-ing with the bases loaded when down by 2 late in the game than grounding out in the first inning...but both tend to warrant the same response). However, the A-Rod discussion is already quite stale, so I'm going to stop already.

Also, I just wanted to apologize for constantly questioning your fandom. I know you're a Yankees fan, I just hate seeing their lifelong rival getting so much credit. Surely they deserve it...but I just don't think I could admit it!

I know I wasn't the only one who thought Philips had a legitimate shot at going for the cycle last night. If only the Yanks hadn't wasted more at-bats late in the game, he might have gotten it!

But seriously, it's good too see him stepping it up, especially now that Cano is out too, albeit for a shorter time. Hopefully A-Rod will realize just how important his bat is to this team and wiggle out of that funk he's been in most of the year. Damon, Jeter, Posada, Giambi, and Cano have really stepped up to the challenge, and it's time for A-Rod to do the same. I just wish he would stop being such a headcase and realize that all he has to do is hit the ball like he has his whole career! Extra effort isn't needed...the talent is already there! If only HE would realize that...

I dont know why people are worrying so much about ARod. doesnt he have the highest average with runners in scoring position this year? even with his slump. Look, he'll snap out of it soon. Its so funny people are talking about trading this guy. Look, you are "stuck" with him till 2010. Deal with it! I personally love ARod, so chris, i'll be cheering right along with you =).

And yeah, Gooooo Mets! :-D ha ha

Hi Lola. We missed you during the game yesterday. So, you liked my "THAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YANKEEEEEEEEEES WIN!!!!!!!!!", right?
By the way, I watched your pictures at your blog. Están FORMIDABLES!!!

Hi Jorge!!! :-D
Yeah, i was in class last night, but thanks for saying it for me :-D. thaaaaaaaaaaaaaa yankeeeeeeesss win!!!! :-D. I love saying that! especially in person. Ha ha.

I should be on hand for the game tonight though :-D.

And thx =) (re: pics)

Mark and my Yankee family:
I am really concerned about Canó's injury. Hope he will not be at the DL. But I read something that I do not like. In the NYY site they're saying that if Robbie goes to DL, then they will call up Nick Green. I disagree with this. Let me tell you why:

Loosing Robbie for 2-3 weeks, we are loosing a respectable bat. And Nick Green is far away to fit that role. I would make these moves. Andy to 2nd. And would call up Erubiel Durazo. He would alternate with Giambi at 1st and DH. Let's look at the stats.

Games played-At bats: Green 14-48. Durazo 16-53. Same.

Hits-K: Green 10-14. Durazo 17-8. Adv. Durazo.

RBI-TB: Green 4-14. Durazo 10-25. Adv. Durazo.

AVG: Green .208. Durazo .321. Adv. Durazo.

See? And if we add experience, the difference would increase. Durazo has WS experience. Remember how he batted against us at Yankee Stadium during the WS against D'Backs?. I think he would contribute much better than Green. With Sheff and Matsui out, if Canó misses many games, that is ONE THIRD of our line up. I think that is too much advantage when we're trailing by 2 1/2 games. What do you think?

And this way, Andy Phillips would play every day, something many of all would like to see

"many of all" = many of us. Sorry :-(

I'd like to see what Durazo can do. They should definetely give him a shot as long as we can keep Andy hitting.

I don't think the plan was for Nick Green to become the everyday starter...not even the Devil Rays tried to pull that when Jorge Cantu was injured. Cairo will take over as the everyday second baseman, and Nick Green will become the utility man/backup at 2B, SS, and 3B.

We have enough pop in this lineup to risk having a good fielder play at second, as opposed to a first-baseman with limited second-base experience. If Philips went down it'd be one thing, but I don't think Durazo will be seeing action with Cano injured.

This is all, of course, IF Cano makes a DL trip. He didn't pull his hamstring, and he is young, so he should be able to heal pretty fast. He just might be benched for a little while, just as Posada was when he had his hamstring issues earlier in the season.

But what about when we're playing in those national league ball parks? I think you sacrifice defense for offense, and play Phillips over Cairo, but I don't know.

By the way, did anyone know that Farnsworth's middle name was Lynn? I would taunt him for it, but he looks like he can kick the crud out of me.

Can anyone hear explain why Jason Varitek is the leading vote getter among A.L. catchers? He's hitting .251 with 34 RBI's. It's not a stretch at all to say there are 7-10 catchers in the A.L. having better years than he is. I hate Red Sox nation.

Swolansky:
Remember Andy began his career at 2nd base. I disagree about he is a first baseman with limited experience at second base.

I agree that Nick Green would be the backup infielder, and Cairo would be the everyday second baseman. What I tried to say is that it would be a better lineup having Andy at second and Durazo at 1st with Giami in the DH role. Durazo is a better bat than Cairo. Far away

Again a mistake. Giami = Giambi. Sorry

Varitek is leading the votes because he eats babies.

I want as much Andy Phillips as we can get. If he can be consistant, he has the power to back up the injured players in the lineup.

djedwards, I can tell you why Varitek is leading the voting, it's a popularity contest. All voting is like that. From you blog, none of you think A-Rod is an All-Star, yet he leads in 3rd base voting. If Tek wasn't leading the voting, he wouldn't even make the team. Hernandez from Baltimore has lit both our teams up this year yet he isn't even sniffing at the vote lead.
It happens every year and even as a Sox fan I think it's kind of ridiculous that 6 out of the 8 position players leading the vote getting are Sox or Yankees. A lot of people that vote only know who has done well in the past few years and base their votes on that. Cal Ripken made his last 5 all star appearances on his reputation alone.

If Kelly Stinnett were on a hot streak instead of Andy Philips, do you think the Yankees would move Jorge Posada to second base? Because apparently since he began his career as a second baseman that means he can still pick up where he left off...

Clearly you get more offense with Philips playing second, but when was the last time he played second base? That's not exactly a position you can just pick up after years of playing another position. The style is completely different than that of first base.

You need a solid defensive player at the middle infield positions. And I think that, both ideally and realistically, having Cairo start at second would be better for the team if Cano landed on the DL. What good is a slightly better offense if you're giving away runs with a rusty second baseman?

i hate to always be the guy who rains on the parade, but...

if you think the mets are going to take two of three from boston IN FENWAY, you're going to be sorely disappointed when that series ends. all i want is for the mets to take A game and slow boston down a little bit. expecting two out of three is asking too much, and expecting a sweep is downright ludicrous.

maybe i misunderstood what you posted, falejandro, but i'll just say we disagree on andy phillips. torre himself said phillips has the potential to be a .270 hitter with a little bit of pop. when you hear the words "potential" and ".270" in the same sentence, from joe torre no less, we're not talking about a guy who's going to come anywhere near filling the offensive void left by sheffield, matsui, cano, or anyone else. he's a decent role player, and i'm glad to see him finding his niche, but that's it. and just because andy HAS played second and third base, doesn't mean he SHOULD play second and third base.

just to re-state my position on a-rod, and then i'll give it a rest: i don't really care for the guy. he just seems phony to me off the field, and on the field, he's a basket of nerves. he's not a player i especially enjoy watching. he makes me anxious, and part of it is because he's so anxious. that doesn't mean i hate him. i think he'll be remembered as one of the best to ever play the game, and i think a lot of yankee fans are going to look back with that keen hindsight we're known for and finally appreciate that we got to watch him play for our favorite team. i think booing him every at-bat is ridiculous and classless and stupid. however, any time he strikes out in a big spot, any time he commits an error that most little leaguers wouldn't, any time he comes up short when the team needs him, he's just adding fuel to the fire. the boos would disappear if alex was stepping up on a consistent basis and pulling his weight. yankee fans have every right to be frustrated. his performance this season has been sub-par. you can throw any comparative numbers at me that you want to, it's not going to change the fact that he's not pulling his weight when it matters most.

finally, i know it's terribly blasphemous to give credit to boston, and i understand why that burns other yankee fans up so much. i understand how important this "rivalry" is to fans, and that's fine. but i've got to give credit where it's due. right now, boston's red hot, they seem to have figured out their rotation and bullpen problems, and their offense is looking stellar. i see absolutely no reason not to call them the better team. everybody says, "but you don't give the yankees the same credit," well, when they win nine in a row, i will. when they're 2.5 games up on the rest of the AL east, i will. but those scenarios don't seem terribly likely at this point.

I agree that All star voting is more about popularity than it is about production. But Varitek come on. I laugh my A out when the redsox made him their C. Its ridiculous that they were not able to find a better guy on the team. He is a catcher who cant catch (Wakefield). A hitter that hits a ******** .250. Runs like he has a blister in between his thighs. Was never clutch (like Ortiz). Not even the ninth reason for Boston winning the world series.

He doesn't hit for average. Doesn't slug. Doesn't have a great OBP. Can't catch everybody. Isn't clutch like Ortiz. What can he do?

Pudge, Posada, Mauer, and Hernandez all deserve to start in front of Jason Varitek. But I can't think of any third basemen that are better than A-Rod, stat-wise. Glaus, Lowell, and Crede have a shot, but even a sub-par A-Rod is better than the best.

Varitek is easily the most over rated player in all of sports. Not just baseball. Period.

basket of nerves = bundle of nerves. or basket case. i combined the two. which, come to think of it, is pretty apt.

Kasey, I read Torre's quote about Phillips being a .270 hitter, and he might be right, but Phillips is looking like a .294 hitter right now, and has definetely shown power. Could it be, could it possibly be, that Torre was wrong about Phillips? You can disagree about Phillips being a good hitter, but you can't deny that he's shown promise, and when your only argument against him is a quote from Torre saying he can't hit, then I really don't see a problem. Torre's also the same guy who said Phillips could prove to be a major league hitter if he could get some at bats. Based on results, I think Phillips could contribute to the offense on this team.

Falejandro, the Yankees dont have any more games in NL parks.

Kasey, I know they haven't won 9 in a row, but winning 5 of their last 6 is a pretty good start, no?

I'm surprised you are buying into the Boston pitching. Lester has four starts. They just swept in Atlanta (which is a TERRIBLE team), and I know the Yankees just went 3-3 vs Philly and Washington, but the Sox got both teams at home, where they play great ball. I'm not saying the Sox aren't a very good team, but I don't buy into the whole "they've figured it out and their pitching is in great shape" argument just yet. They'll have a bad streak soon and their fans will look just like you folks ... panicked.

Kasey ... before the Sox won this 9 straight, they lost 5 of 6, including a sweep by the Twins, who aren't exactly world-beaters. How come this never affected your view of things? You only seem to stress when they play well, yet you love to stress when the Yankees play poorly. I don't get it. And no, I'm not questioning your fandom, I'm just curious.

you mean the twins who have won 15 of their last 17 games? those twins? i'd say they're doing alright.

and, like you said, new york went 3-3 against washington and philly. boston went 6-0.

falejandro,

when a guy has spent the majority of his career in the minors, and he's getting his first taste of consistent big league play at the age of 30, there's a reason for that. sure, first base has been occupied in new york for a long, long time, but if the yankees thought phillips was going to be a serious offensive contributor, they would have found a way to bring him up before now. being a major league hitter and filling the void left by matsui and sheffield are two entirely different things. your post said he could fill that void. i find that to be...um...a stretch.

Kasey, if the Yanks had Philly-DC in the Bronx and Boston had them on the road, do you still think it would have been 3-3 and 6-0?

also, when the red sox weren't playing well, i was saying, "i guess i was wrong, they don't seem to be putting it together," but that isn't the case any longer. i don't think lester's going to have many more games this season where he strikes out 10, but he's a capable fourth starter, and i'm guessing he can probably give them more than jaret wright's five (albeit decent) innings. i don't think jason johnson's going to save the sox rotation, but he's a groudball pitcher, and they have the best infield defense in baseball, so he'll be more successful than he was in cleveland. and if he's not, they have a few other guys they can plug in to that spot until something works out, the way the yankees did next year. look at it from this standpoint: what does boston need right now in order to be a serious contender? another arm in the rotation and maybe one in the bullpen. what do the yanks need? a starter, somebody in the bullpen, and a bat. who's in better shape?

mark,

probably not. and, like i said before, you can blame the bullpen entirely for two of those losses in washington. that SHOULD have been a series where the yanks took two of three. you can probably blame the washington series for the loss to philly, too, as the yankees seemed to carry that baggage with them. but, the thing is, we can't really play the "if" game, because that's not how it works. if sheff or matsui wasn't hurt, the yankees would be in much better shape. if pavano had stopped counting his money long enough to grow a pair, the rotation would be in better shape. if the schedule were different, the outcome might be different. but it's not. is it fair that the yanks get six games against the mets, while the sox see philly for six games? no. is it fair that detroit gets to play kansas city nineteen times while the yanks, sox, and blue jays rough each other up? no. but that's how it works. all of the ifs in the world don't add up to more wins or losses.

Has anyone heard about moves our Yankees may be making by the trade deadline? It seems to me that we may need a decent hitting outfielder (backup or everyday), or maybe another young arm for the bullpen. Any information would be great. Thanks.

aaron small was never expected to do anything for the yankees, or any other team for that matter, but look what he ended up doing last season, and how much time has he spent in the minors? andy phillips won't fill the void left by matsui and sheffield because that's downright impossible for any one player to do, but can he contribute? you bet your ***. never underestimate the potential of a player, i don't care about his age or minor league track record, andy phillips deserves a chance to show what he can do.

as posted over at Kasey's blog:

Kasey,

you act like the yankees have been playing terribly. come on give them a break! They have won 6 of their last 10, and 5 of their last 6. Sure they didnt win 9 in a row, but they arent terrible either.

When the Sox had a 4 game loosing streak, did you have the same opinion?

I mean, i definitely give props where its due, and props for them for sweeping 3 NL teams, when we couldnt, but its way too early to be assessing what the seasons going to pan out to be cause of this streak they have going.

You say they have figured their rotation out. Cool. But if you are judging that based on their winning streak, that will imply they hadnt figured it out in the beginning of this month when they had a losing streak? If thats the case, then we still have plenty of time to figure ours out too.

I am not one of those fans who is so strung up on the rivalry to insist the yankees MUST win every year cause its the way it is. Sure, i'd like them to win every year, but thats not natural.

However, till the very end, as a fan, i will hold on to hope that they absolutely can win every year.

Even if its the last 5 games, and Boston's leading the division by 4, there's no reason for me not to hope they loose the next 5 games, and we win those games and win the division. I know its far fetched, but nothing is far fetched in baseball, as we have seen in the past few years.

And hope, is exactly what being a fan is. Watching baseball will be no fun to me if i didnt have hope that my favorite team will prevail in the end.

Daniel, anything you might hear at this point is just speculation. None of us know for sure who the Yankees will decide to get at the trade deadline. But you can be sure that once something happens, it'll be all over this blog.

That's where we differ, I guess. I don't think the Yankees really need a bat, and I don't think they need another arm in the bullpen.

They could certainly use a starter, that's for sure.

I'm sitting here wondering where this "bat" that the Yankees are going to magically acquire is going to end up once Sheffield and Matsui come back. If Sheffield is eyeing a mid-August return, something tells me the Yanks aren't going to need a power boost for the two or three weeks following the trade deadline.

But yes, I'd like to see another starter. And I pray daily that the front office doesn't decide it's time for a Weaver Redux. I think I will throw my computer out the window if we got Jeff Weaver again. I say either Scott Elarton or Kelvim Escobar, seeing as the Royals and Angels are likely sellers at the trade dealine. And though the Angels will try to dump Weaver on us......I'm sure Cashman knows better than to fall for that again.

I'm off to the Yankees game! Wish our boys luck! And if the camera pans to the nosebleed section, look for me! :-P

Kasey, I disagree with you on multiple points.

1. Phillips was not brought up because the Yankees had others at 1st base. The team philosophy was established players only, no youth. It did not matter if the player was unable to field his position [see Giambi, Jason]. As long as he was once a star he had the job. So we had Tino, Tony Clark, Travis Lee, and others with no long-term plan, no succession in mind, and no thought to developing a player who could actually field his position competently. They were stopgaps, one year or shorter solutions.

How could Andy Phillips possibly fit into that plan? He was a good fielding good hitting player but was not a known name. And there was no plan. It was not because he was not any good. It was because there was no plan other than to use the minor league players to shop for known names.

2. Joe Torre is a terrific coach. No question in my mind about it. I like him and I admire him. However, I am going to still disagree with him about many things. One will be his lowball assessment of young players and the overvaluation of veterans [see Long, Terrence, or Erickson, Scott].

Joe is simply wrong about Andy Phillips. He had to be pushed into giving him a chance. It does not take much to realize that Giambi is a serious liability at 1st base. I believe that Andy should have been at 1st in all 6 games in Washington and Philly and had he been we would have seen a better than 3-3 record.

3. Not Kasey’s point, but I think Vik made this point. (Please correct me if I got your name wrong, Vik.) Jason Varitek is actually a terrific catcher and leader of the Red Sox. Living in Boston I get to see a lot more of him. He is a fierce competitor, generally a dangerous hitter, has an excellent arm, and works well with the pitchers. He is a career .271 hitter, not bad for a catcher.

I still prefer Jorge Posada, but I would not say Varitek is a bad player by any stretch of the imagination.

I simply forgot to put in starter in my previous remarks. I would love for the Yankees to get Kelvim Escobar, and maybe even Vlad to go into the Yankees outfield (wishful thinking I know). But as far as Sheffield is concerned, it may be very wishful thinking about him making an early return, or even resigning with the Yanks, he may be the trade player that they need to get a couple young stars for. The same goes for Pavano (the new Kevin Brown)they really need to do something with him, in order for trades of any kind can happen.

Frist time here on the board. Have been talking to Mark via e-mail past couple of monhts. Said I should join the Blog...been Yankee fan for almost 30 years!!! Love the Yankees. All these posts have been great (well except for one person) anyways...thanks for letting me blog and talk to you guys in a bit...Go Yankees!!!

2 things:

1. There were some comments about how great Torre is and I would support that. I only have one major beef with the choices he has made in the past -- in 1997 he shold have seen after one at bat that Cecil Fielder was going to wave at anything in the local area code. Funny when he finally put Mike Stanley in instead, he responded, but too little too late. So, Joe Torre tends to fall for his veterans a bit too much.

2. There is at least one if not two starters at Columbus (e.g., Wilson) who should get a shot, especially now that we are having some more injury problems. But, everyone wants to see that Chacon is more of who he was last year than who he is now.

Loyalty is one thing, but even the Dodgers traded away Jackie Robinson.

Been super busy @ work, but I thought I'd chime in once. I'm GLAD Yankees won last nite! Unit pitched very well. Hope they keep winning. Mark, since you wrote off Beckett's performances vs NL teams, should you be consistent and write off Unit's vs a NL cellar dweller? Can't have it both ways. The Yankees really only have Hughes for legitimate trade bait, and he's not going anywhere. Melky & Bubba are not the answer at corner OF spots. I don't see any major trade forthcoming. I'll close with 2 words "BIG PAPI" See "y'all" tomorrow.

swolansky,

matsui will be back in mid-august. i firmly believe that. sheffield, i'm not so sure of. he says september but, given that he injured his wrist, and the ferocity with which he swings the bat, i think counting on sheffield to contribute anything more this season is a stretch. which means the bat the yankees pick up could easily fill the void in right, add more depth to the lineup, allow bernie the rest he needs, etc. i also don't expect sheffield back next year, so somebody's going to have to play right for the yankees and, i hate to say it bubba crosby fans, be he's not going to cut it.

i just think expecting phillips to be a .290 hitter with power is expecting too much. but that's me. everyone was glowing over melky, saying he was the future, and we didn't need anyone in the outfield (and i'd still be disappointed if they traded him), but now he's hitting below .150 in june. are the expectations the same for him? i like phillips but, again, he's a 30-year-old getting his first taste of consistent major league playing time. i'd say he's near, or at, his ceiling.

re: varitek - paul's right. he's the captain of that team for a reason. should he be the starting all-star catcher? no. i'd go with mauer, pudge, posada and hernandez over varitek at this point, but he's a very good catcher.

from pete abraham's blog:

"The Yankees are 7-6 in interleague games. The Red Sox are 11-1, the Tigers 11-2 and the White Sox 10-2."

now, you can discount the white sox and tigers if you want, as the NL central isn't exactly a powerhouse division (though cincy, houston and st. louis are all decent teams), but the red sox are 11-1 while the yankees are 7-6. that says something.

the red sox swept the nats. the yankees could not.

the red sox swept the phillies. the yankees could not.

the red sox swept the braves. we'll see what the yankees do, but i think the braves will take at least a game.

they're playing the same teams, and the red sox are winning more games. i don't know how much more clear it could be.

What it says is the easy games are over for the Red Sox/White Sox/Tigers. No more NL games. Now they have to face tough opponents....the Yankees!

Paul:
I am not saying Varitek is not a good. He is not a great one. All I am saying is, he is no where close to being a team captain. He is not an all star. He is not even a good hitter. He is just an above average hitter for a catcher. Thats it.

You got my name right and I wouldn't mind even if you don't. A lot of people cant say countries names right, let alone a person.

Kasey:

I dont have a problem if Varitek was an All star. I dont think he deserves it but I just dont care. Because all star game is just show off. But I feel sorry for good boston players like Ortiz and Ramirez to actually call an average player at best their captain. And people talk about Varitek's leadership. I am sure he is not even the second best leader in his locker room Ortiz and Damon (when he was there) are the two best.

good = good catcher

just wanted to add .. if he deserved to be the captain, he would have worked on catching wakefield. They wouldn't have had to bring Mirabelli back. If yankees had a pitcher like wakefield and Jeter was our catcher, he would have worked with wakefield and would have caught wakefield. Somebody who admits his ineptitude and doesn't work on it is always a loser in my mind. Not a captain.

Kasey, the stats are interesting about the Interleague play but here is what it also tells you about the standings if you remove the Interleague play.

Blue Jays . 37-26

Yankees . 36-25

Red Sox . 34-29

Tigers . 41-23

White Sox . 39-24

Twins . 29-33

Indians . 29-33

These are very different standings without the NL games. That may tell you where the tough competition lies: the American League.

The only conclusion you can draw from this is that you cannot draw any conclusion yet.

Vik, we are going to disagree.

Varitek was a good choice to lead that team. I would rather they picked Manny Moonbeam and maybe the Yankees would not have lost 4 in a row in the 2004 playoffs.

My view is he is far above average, and while not deserving of an All Star slot this year, certainly in other years.

Varitek is on the enemy team but I do have a lot of respect for him.

I have a lot of respect for Ortiz, Manny and even Youkilis and Loretta. But Varitek .. no way

to be honest with you .. I dont even have Varitek's numbers. But I can never accept a guy who cant work on his game to help a pitcher as unique as Wakefield as my captain.

Vik: Varitek doesn't catch Wakefield due to management. There is no convievable way a catcher can go 162 games a year and it was determined that because they actually have a knuckler that Tek would get a day off every time Wakefield catches. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Posada and RJ didn't quite see eye to eye last year, so Flaherty caught him. Does that mean Posada is a loser because he can't handle RJ?? No, it just means RJ didn't feel comfortable, which if you look into it might say something about the way Jorge calls a game. To call him a loser because he doesn't catch Wakefield isn't fair.
He is NOT an all star this year. No question. HOwever, every pitcher you talk to (not that I've talked to any) whether it's on the Sox or on Team USA for the baseball classic raves about this guy as being one of the smartest players in the game. He spends his day studying the hitters the Sox are playing that night and what their habits are.

He is a captain because of his clubhouse leadership and knowledge on the field.

I've never come on here to bash back and forth and that is not my intention here. I just don't think you can call someone a loser because they can't catch a knuckler. Are Ortiz and Giambi losers because they can't play the field?

gosoxred:
1) Posada is not our captain

2) Posada is catching RJ now which means he worked on it

3) Ortiz and Giambi do what they are supposed to do and that is hit. Its not like they dont ever play when they face a pitcher that they cant hit

So you have to be able to catch a knucker to be a captain?? Come on, think about it.

if you are a catcher and you have a knuckleballer (and a very good one) on your staff, you should be able to. Yes. Otherwise your are not even a good catcher forget captain

I think we're going to agree to disagree on this one. I've seen posts on here questioning when Posada is out of the lineup. Why is Stinnett catching, etc. Varitek knows he has every 5th day off and builds a solid repitoir(spelling?) with his other 4 starters.
Do you have to catch all 162 games to be captain worthy?

what will he do if the sox get one more knukler. tkae that day off too. its not that he is taking a day off. It is why he is taking it off. Would he be taking every 5th day off if wakefield was not a knuckler. He is taking a day off because he cant do what he is supposed to do. If he can, they wouldn't have to fly Mirabelli from San Diego in such a hurry to catch the game.

I read on 2 other blogs that Cano was put on the DL and Green called up. I am not sure this info is reliable at all.

I heard they were making a move to bring Charlie Hough, Tom Candiotti and both Neikro brothers out of retirement so I guess he'll be out of a job.
Obviously you're hung up on the whole not being able to catch a knuckler aspect and not able to see the benefit of a catcher having days off and not having to go through 162 game season without a break. If that makes him uncaptain worthy, then you're right. Every captain should play every inning/period/quarter of his team's games.

Now Faux (Fox) Sports is reporting that Cano is on the DL retroactive to yesterday.

Cano on the DL, Green up, Melky and Cario batting back to back.....that is 0-8....A Rod will go 0-4.....there is 0-12 before we even start tonight...........and Wright on the mound...........10-2 Braves

Thats it. I am not going to talk about it anymore.

Cant people understand 'not doing it' and 'not being able to do it'

*difference between

When a catcher tales a day off he is usually not out sailing. He tracks hitters and batters getting ready for future games.

Next to the manager, the catcher is strategically the most involved person in the game. It is also why many of the best managers were once catchers.

Varitek is known for his extensive preparation for every game, for himself and for his pitchers.

Paul:

Do you think Varitek is not catching Wakefield as an option. He is not doing it because he can't.

Cano goes on the DL and all you guys are arguing about is Varitek? I would think that Cairo (.230 ave, 0 HR) and the guy hitting .222 in Columbus that you called up would be a bigger concern?

Nope, Vik. I bet he could if he had to.

Most teams with any foresight don't want their starting catcher to play every game. You will burn out your player way too soon. That job puts a lot of wear and tear on the knees especially.

So many of them pick a pitcher and assign the back up to him. Others rotate it. The Red Sox chose the first plan. It worked for them and gave their backup catcher some consistency.

I see no point obsessing that Varitek cannot catch a knuckler. I bet he could regularly, and I know he has from time to time.

As a Yankee fan I am more disturbed that Kelly Stinnett, whom I thought was a decent catcher, let the Marlins steal home on Sunday night. All he had to do was glance at 3rd base and scare the guy back. Instead he fell for a decoy and allowed another run. This was sandwiched between the 2 Giambi throwing adventures. I am still having nightmares that Giambi will ever play 1st base again.

I am not worried about Cairo. He is a better than average defensive player and comes through as a batter when you count on him. He is a sparkplug on the bases also.

He has a great attitude and works hard all the time.

He provides good defense, adequate hitting. Miguel Cairo will be fine.

You were expecting Jeff Kent to step in for 2 weeks?

Paul:

I won't argue abt what you believe. But what I believe is different. And I understand we are allowed to have different opinions.

I am not too worried abt Stinnett. It was a mistake but just one. Such things wont happen every day. Also every thing was going wrong for the yankees that day. And I think we deserved it because it was a total no show on our (yankees) part that day.

A totally agree with you abt Cairo. Hope, Cano's injury isn't anything serious.

A = I

Yes, Vik, we can agree to disagree.

And you are right about the bad game on Sunday night. They seemed so disengaged.

But Shawn Chacon did not pitch a bad game giving up 2 runs in 5 innings. The errors cost him 3 more runs.

What I am about to say, I have not said in many years:

Lets Go Mets!!! (**shudder**)

Paul:
I agree that Miguel Cairo is one of the best back up infielders. Yes. Back up. I don't know why, but I still have the feeling that we should have called up Durazo instead of Green. He would be a much better contribution to our team. I still think that our line up would be better with Andy at second, Durazo at first and Giambi as the DH instead of Cairo/Green at second, Giambi/Andy at first and Andy/Giambi as the DH

If it is true that Canó was landed to the DL, what a shame. NYY site doesn't say a word about this

Cano's injury should keep him out for 15 days, which puts him back right after the All-Star break.

Andy has not played 2nd base in a while, so I am not sure that would be a good move.

Jorge, I know you have mentioned Erubiel Durazo a lot. What kind of numbers does he have in Columbus?

In his last year with Oakland (2005) he hit .237 in 41 games and 152 at bats with 4 HR and 16 RBI. He only played 1 game at 1st, the rest at DH.

In 2004 he played 4 games at 1st and 131 at DH, with 2 errors.

Unless he is smacking the cover off the ball in Columbus, I am not sure how he could help here at all.

I just looked at the pregame notes on PressPass and Cano is not listed on the DL yet. Don't know if that's because its not official yet or maybe he wasn't placed on the DL by the time the notes were being put together.

How serious is the injury, Mark, relative to Bubba's?

It doesn't seem to be as serious as Bubba's. Cano will be eligible to come back the first day after the break, and that's what they're expecting.

As for Durazo, he's not an option. They had to bring up Green to be a backup utility infielder, and Durazo barely plays first base. He's a DH, which is not helpful in this scenario.

i'll echo paul's question, mark. bubba's injury took four weeks to heal. so, cano being out only two weeks seems unlikely if the injuries are the same.

on a really sad note, peter gammons is in surgery right now after suffering a brain aneurysm.

OK, it took some doing to find, though I am not sure why, but I got some Columbus stats on Durazo.

E Durazo .321 16 G, 53AB,

5 R, 17 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR,

10 RBI, 25 total bases

8 walks 8 strike outs

Good hitting average.

Kasey, I'm curious about something ....

You make a point of the Yankees' record vs the NL as opposed to Boston's record against the NL .....

Doesn't that have the same impact as the fact that the Yanks are 5-2 vs Texas, while the Sox are 2-5? Or that the Yanks are 3-2 vs Toronto while the Sox are 4-7? If the discrepancy in the Interleague games are so high, doesn't it have to even out somewhere if the race is only 2 1/2 games apart right now?

All of it is irrelevant, if you ask me. They're 5-5 against each other, and those last nine meetings will tell a lot of the final story.

Kasey, what's the url for your blog?

Yikes, Kasey. I lost a friend last year to that. There were no symptoms. He was driving to church and died in surgery.

Here is hoping the best for Peter Gammons.

If RJ has a quality start which is 6 innings 3ER or 7 innings and 3ER or 8 innings and 4 ER I will not post tomorrow. And we have to win. Both have to happen for me not to post. Us winning and RJ stinking doesn't count. With this line up...we won't score 3 runs

Posted by: sam13281328@aol.com | June 26, 2006 06:16 PM

=========================

It's too bad some people don't live up to their own words.

Thats kind of shocking about Peter Gammons, things like that are so sudden and unexpected. Hope the surgery is successful. Wish the best for him and his family.

I never really thought it would. Its got some kind of disease where it can't help itself.

What happened to Gammon's family?

Wright gives it up already, 1-0

At least Jaret is out there pitching. I bet it couldn't even hit a ball off a tee-ball stand.

Just read about Gammon's on ESPN. Thoughts and prayer's to him and his family...that is horrible

If I can only get more than 100 comments on my blog in a week I will send each of you a pizza from NY each week.

Posted by: Mark | April 26, 2006 03:56 AM

====================

waiting for the payoff

Single, Walk, no control.....another 4/5 inning performance from Wrong, I mean Wright

How does Wrong walke Strom Thurmond? He is dead!

Paul, I like you. A sense of humor is important in life.

So is pizza.

Pay up.

I'll have a margarita and I want it hot!!!! Remember I'm in Aust!!

for a pizza a week i migth just have to start posting comments, especially when i'm at school. the pizza in LA has nothing on NY or CT pizza

A margarita is a beverage I thought. You like them hot?

mark,

certainly the marks against the other teams are as telling as interleague play. and i agree that those last nine games will make a huge difference. however, anyone expecting one team to take the lion's share of those games hasn't been watching the two clubs go at it for the last decade. it'll be 5-4, one way or the other. so the yankees have to do their damage against the other teams.

paul,

i also lost a friend to an aneurysm last year. gammons is my favorite sports writer ever. there are a lot of people who are uttering those same words right now. he's the best.

wright is laboring out there already. what happens, mark, if the yankees can't sweep the braves at home, when boston swept them in atlanta? what does that say?

I dont even remember margaritas being big in Australia, lol. But then, I haven't been home for a while.

the season is over and they should quit right now?

One thing about Gammons is that when he's reporting about trade rumors and stuff like that he suggests some possible trades that you would think are off the wall but a lot of them actually end up happening. I don't know how the guy does it.

Angel,

Do you like cricket?

Carlos Delgado just homered at Fenway. But Boston is still ahead 2-1. Top of the 2nd

He's been around a long time and knows a lot of the right people, I guess.

but, the mets were going to expose boston's many weaknesses. what happened?

Well Vik, I understand cricket which I suppose is half the battle. I prefer baseball, but I dont mind cricket - I'd take one day games over test matches. The two games have more in common than people think.

Sorry Paul, I think I spelt it wrong, but it is a cheese pizza and extremely moorish!!!

future hall of famer andy phillips, first pitch swinging at a ball that was at his feet. good stuff.

to be fair they have played less than 2 innings

Like I've been saying, Kasey, it means nothing. Stats are wonderful because you can manipulate them to tell virtually any side of any story.

And Paul, had I truly posted that remark about pizza, I'd pay up. But I didn't, so that's just not going to happen :-)

Its the second inning, Kasey, lol.

Delgado homered off future Hall of Famer Jon Lester? How did he do that?

Peter Gammons always had credibility I think to the players, to the management, to the fans.

He told the truth, as he saw it. He is an engaging writer. I have always enjoyed his work even though I think he secretly always wanted the Red Sox to beat the Yankees.

Aww. :( I want some NY pizza. The stuff they pass off as pizza here is nasty.

"but, the mets were going to expose boston's many weaknesses. what happened?"

Varitek batted two points home. Oh, he still can't catch Wake so I guess he's still bad :p

and another great at bat by a rod..........gees

Vik, crickets are crunchy on a pizza, and not very tasty. Wait, am I mixing up multiple posts again?

I dont think Varitek is a bad player, I just dont think he deserves to be an All-Star this year. But then, I think that about at least one player each year.

yeah, gammons' sox bias was always pretty evident but, that's fine. he's a good enough writer that it never becomes obnoxious.

whoah, whoah, whoah. folks here were saying that phillips could fill the offensive void left by sheff and matsui. all i said about lester was that he would do fine as boston's number four guy. nice try, mark.

and Bernie swings at 3-1 w/runner on 2nd and 1 out.......gees

I guess being Indian you are into cricket, Vik?

also, mark, if you want to play dirty, i'm guessing delgado's homer had something to do with the fact that "he's made a habit of bringing pitchers down to earth."

if those words sound familiar, it's because they're yours. spoken about mike mussina after ryan howard embarrassed him. twice.

Yes, Kasey, I said Andy would not only play left field and right field, as well as first base, but would make us all pizzas and drive the crickets out of Ireland.

Is it me, or does Wrong throw about 20 pitches every inning?

Just having some fun with you, Kasey.

Angel,

I like both versions. Sursprising that an australian likes baseball better than cricket. Australia is to cricket like Brazil is to soccer. Atleast the last ten years.

Couldn't agree more. There's no shame in giving up a homer to Delgado. He's a beast.

Kasey and Mark why don't you just give each other a break haha

i was just having fun back. no harm intended.

i tell you, all this pizza talk is infuriating me. there's not a single decent pizza place in all of bellingham. and it's a college town. A COLLEGE TOWN!!! what else do you feed drunken, 21-year-old jackasses?! PIZZA! THAT'S ALL THEY WANT!!

there are about 60 "healthy" mexican places, though. and roughly 6,000 coffee joints. and three juice bars. but not a single decent pizza joint.

i'm moving back to portland.

3-1 boston in the second. man, the mets are taking them to the woodshed! this is brutal!

Baseball isn't as much of a niche sport in Australia as it used to be. Not as popular as cricket though.

I know its surprising, I guess I'm different. My husband is a huge Yankee baseball fan and although i've always liked baseball - it was a case of "if you can't beat them, join them" Australia has been pretty successful, the rest of the world seems like its catching up though.

3-1 BOSTON......GEES.......

Where is Bellingham? Is Cano going to play at the All Star game now that he is injured? Is anyone listening to Michael Kay discuss how the Yanks might make a trade for an outfielder?

No decent pizza here either, Kasey.

and Cario swings at 3-1, bernie swings at 3-1.......gees guys...little league, take a pitch for a walk

West Indies were the world beaters for a long time. Then the Australians took over. In the last couple of years the countries are more evenly matched.

I miss NY pizza. I can get decent pizza here in Boston but almost anywhere in NY it is great.

Worst pizza I ever had was in Knoxville, TN. This is not a joke; this is the truth:

1 slice of wonder bread, ketchup, slice of Velveeta cheese, toasted.

That is what they called Eye-talyun pizza.

Yecccch!

That sounds like pure mockery of real pizza paul

i've gotta say, sam's making a decent point about those 3-1 counts. bernie and cairo have been in the majors for a combined 75 years. they should know better. but, whatever. hitter's count, if you see a pitch you think you can get, go after it.

Did you actually eat it?

runners on 2nd and 3rd w/1 out.........can we score? no a rod please no arod please

well most people try to pass off greasy floppy greek style pizza off as decent pizza, it must be easier or cheaper to make

I dont know how they can call the stuff Pizza Hut and Dominos produce pizza.

nice at bat Jeter........can't get a run in....this team is horrid,.........gees

3-1 is the perfect hitter's count. Swinging at a 3-1 pitch is expected if it's a good pitch.

two terrible at-bats from jeter so far. wonder if his birthday party has anything to do with that.

torre: jete, what was that? that was ball four!

jeter: i know, i know...

torre: everything all right?

jeter: everything's great! i woke up in bed with three models! i may still be drunk.

torre: fair enough.

They should bench Jeter. He's awful.

So the franchise player isn't allowed have 2 bad at bats out of 550-600?

men on 2nd and 3rd, one out. nobody touches home plate. another fantastic yankee inning!

still 3-1 boston.

You people wonder why we are so inferior to the Red Sox. 2nd and 3rd, 1 out, 0 runs. That is awful. Yes. BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Jeter...........and Giambi.....these innings kill us every game.........game is over......can't score against Hector Camacho Macho Ramierez.....

I agree with Mark, I think Torre should whack Jeter in the knee with a bat so they can put him on the DL and get Nick Green in there.

yes, I ate the TN pizza...it was all there was at the moment. I was afraid what the salad might involve.

ramirez is a lot like chacon in that he seems to find his way into a lot of jams, and out of most of them.

This is typical Yankees.....Atlanta 8 plus games under .500, crappy pitcher and we can't score......and Wrong is still pitching....3.5 back boys..........and girls and mark

Mark and Kasey have you two been getting together and working on a comdey routine???
You guys crack me up!! LOL ;-)

A Rod wouuld have done the same thing, except he would have K'd. Give dumb Jeter a lecture.....that was horrible......he doesn't get a pass

Abaillargeon, careful not to say whack in NJ. It means something else entirely.

comdey = comedy

Yeah good point paul...Torre should take a swing at Jeter's knees then

Really sad about what's happening with Peter Gammons. Any recent news?

The most I know is that he's in surgery

a rod, another worthless at bat

booooooooooo a rod........boooooooooooo

stellar inning by the 200 million dollar guys

beltran just fell behind 0-2 and worked a twelve-pitch walk.

Maybe they should strip Jeter of the captain's title.

Good idea Mark. There is no "I" in team. Wrong can't even get Stom Thurmond out.......what a joke........

Watch how Atlanta doesn't swing at 3-1 like every Yankee does

and then give him lashes, at least 20, dousing the wounds in salt water shouldn't be neglected either

Hey Mark, great blog. Must say it's probably my favorite blog on MLBlogs.

Anyway, right now, Yanks are down 1-0 to ATL. There have been some pretty pathetic at-bats so far for New York, unfortunately some of them coming from A-Rod. I sure hope the Yankees feel that just one win isn't enough. They need to come back and win it. The Mets that I hate (but am momentarily rooting for since they're against Boston) are currently rallying, so if both the Yankees and Mets come back to win their respective games, that division deficit is down to 1.5 games. Don't sing the "We Won the Division" song just yet, Boston.

JJC....Yanks lost tonight. People in this room worrying about pizza, instead of getting a run or 2 home w/runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out. So far, game lost due to JeterHead

i'll have to admit, the strom thurmond comment made me laugh. even if it was spelled incorrectly.

i was just kidding about jeter. jeees. i mean, he probably had a late night last night. i'm going to guess he probably wasn't the designated driver...

that's all i'm sayin'.

strange enough we can't actually effect the game, and pizza is very very important

I would agree whole-heartedly with you, Sam, except for the fact that the Yankees are playing the Braves. Or, like I call them, the Cowards. We all know how completely atrocious their bullpen is.

*affect, i'd liketo say my hand slipped but basically i'm stupid

This team couldn't hit a ball in play if it was on a tee. This pitcher stinks, can't hit him. Face a rookie for 3 innings last night, can't touch him....AA pitcher on Florida on Sunday, can't touch him............horrible

On a better tone, Mets are scoring. A single and they're up 4-3.

1 ER on 75 pitches through 5 innings. wright is so weird in that, you can't kill the guy because, when he's out there, he's doing a fine job. he's just not giving them enough innings. this game is the yankees' game to win or lose. the offense needs to wake up.

3-2 boston. my dawg lester just walked in a run.

Lester just walked in a run.

JJC, we won't get to their bullpen

speaking of last night a vaguely, well actually clearly recall, you claiming that if RJ had a decent outing you would cease posting for 24 hours, they aren't up yet

Quite pitiful....worrying about the Mets winning and we can't beat the Braves. Remember, Sox swept them. Putrid Yankees........."we will win the East by 6-8 games"..."wait, I change my mind, 1-3 games"........DER

Sam, that's highly debatable. The way things are going for the Braves, getting to the Braves bullpen is not impossible.

whats going on here..mets load the bases on 1 out and only score 1 run..grrrrrrrrrrr!

What you do not know, Kasey is Lester is only about 4 feet tall and 11 years old. They build up the mound another 2 feet for him when he pitches.

Yuck, Damon struck out.

Well, at least we have the meat of the order coming up in the next inning.

Not that it's anything to brag about, considering how badly we're batting today.

LOL, we haven't scored off those Mighty Braves in 11 innings..........unbelievable.......Boston still winning......not loosing 4-3

GO TEAM!!!

i know, lola! the mets were going to expose all of boston's glaring weaknesses! what's happening?

the braves are going to avoid that bullpen at all costs and, given that ramirez has thrown 60 pitches through 5 innings, he'll probably get through at least the 7th.

a loss to the braves will illustrate pretty much every point i've been making. swolansky, you mentioned wanting to give me an "i told you so" if philly beat boston (which, if i recall, they didn't). well, i'll throw one back your way when we see the yankees drop one, possibly two games to one of the worst teams in baseball, and a team boston just swept.

and if they lose tonight, don't think a loss tomorrow's out of the question. smoltz is on the mound.

youkilis is hitting .315 and loretta .320. who was saying boston was a better team last year?

Yankees even trying tonight? Gees......

You guys live to be pessimistic don't you?

5-2 red sox. man oh man, the mets are taking. it. to. them.

and paul, that lester crack killed me. well played.

"You guys live to be pessimistic don't you?"

I think they do. =/

Kasey, if the Yanks lose tonight, and that is a big IF since they will come back and win, that only counts as one and you extrapolate it into 2 losses, as you project a Boston win into 15.

Don't worry about Boston. They will collapse. Just wait. The clock is ticking.

tick tick tick tick

Wait, Abaillar...they are doing OUTSTANDING tonight...swing 3-1 three times, Capt JeterHead costs us a run, can't get job done...Strom Thurmond, we can't get him out...Braves way under .500, other than that THIS IS A GREAT GAME

JJC, welcome to the blog.

Rule No. 1. ... never agree with Sam. She is ignorant, and as of today, a liar who can't be trusted to stand by her words.

The rest of the group here, they're good folks.

Has anybody else here ever heard of a rule where swinging at a 3-1 pitch is a bad thing? A 3-0 pitch, yes, but 3-1? It's called a HITTER'S COUNT for a reason.

they're collapsing all over the mets right now.

point taken, though.

that doesn't mean i'll change my tune.

also, the word extrapolate is made-up. nice try, pal. nice try.

like i said above, if you're swinging at ball four on a 3-1 count, that's not a great thing. but if you see a pitch to hit, it's generally expected that you swing at it.

Boston 5........Mets 2........only 3.5 back, only June...."Yanks will win the division by 7-8 games this year"......ah "wait, I mean 1-3".........a "maybe I ought to change my mind again, another player is injured"..."a maybe we will win by one quarter to one half game" UH DUH UH

Thank you muchly, Mark. =D I'll try to come as soon as often and give my insight.

Anyway, here's Jeter-Giambi-A-Rod. Hopefully they'll get something started this inning.

Apparently Sam has such a rule. But that speaks for itself.

Not win runners on and pitching struggling Mark.....bad baseball......A ROD another WORTHLESS AT BAT......

It is a good blog.

Just don't expect to get a free pizza out of it.

To put things in perspective, heres the standings from a year ago, the top 3 teams in the AL East:
Boston

44 31 .587 -

8-2 L1

Baltimore

42 34 .553 2.5

3-7 L6

New York

39 37 .513 5.5

5-5 W2

you can't win a divison by a fraction of a game. they play the same amount of games.

anyone else think lastings milledge is just going to turn out to be an average major leaguer?

heh heh, seeing mark getting really worked up is funny, i don't see the red sox collapsing, but expecting them to continue to play like this for the rest of the season is just plain stupid. They aren't a bad team, but they also aren't as good as they are playing now, They are over achieving, kind of like Kasey thinks Phillips is

Jeter, A Rod, Giambi...what great hitting against Hector Macho Camacho Ramierez...you all ought to be proud of yourself guys.........3.5 out, idiots...have some heart please

All words are made up, Kasey. None are organic.

Well you might not be able to win the division by a fraction of game, but you can win it by being 0 games up.

Kasey, I hear you. They are making WAY too big a deal of Lastings Milledge.

Anyway, now we're down to two outs and here's A-Rod. Anything -- please -- even a single. Just get a single. Please. A-Rod.

down to final 9 outs........no heart in this team at all...so pathetic..........Kasey, mark changes his prediction weekly on how many the Yanks will win the East,,,it is funny

Well, never mind A-Rod getting a single. Meh, three innings left and we're only down one run.

@ Sam: Are you quite sure you're a Yankee fan?

12 innings, can't score against Atlanta............LOL....Boston is laughing at us so hard

Despite all the negativity you really gotta hand it to Wright what a game he's pitched so far.

paul,

by the way, a loss tonight leading to a loss tomorrow isn't a huge stretch. keep in mind that tomorrow's a day game, which means we'll see stinnett, cabrera and cairo in the same lineup.

"Hector Macho Camacho Ramierez" ... so in addition to being an idiot, Sam is a racist, too? Excellent.

JJC .. .Sam is not a fan. She likes to just say dumb things to irritate people.

Tomorrow is a DEFINATE loss. Your right Kasey, Stinnett, Melky, Cario....can't get any worse....200 million...think that can buy us a run? Racist? LOL......he is punking our 200 million payroll...........real funny

Kasey, I have faith in all of them.

thought that jaret was doing a pretty good job - why was he taken out after only 90 pitches?

so, we're all still convinced the yankees don't need a bat, right? no need. not with this lineup. the offense is fine.

i don't know, zlotte. i bet he could have given up that home run as easily as villone did.

His name is Horacio, not Hector. I forgot, you don't do facts.

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. I mean, not even the most pessimistic fan in the world can act so idiotically and expect to be agreed with.

And anyway, Boston was laughing much harder at us last year when we were much more than 2.5 games back ... and who won that AL East, exactly?

I dont think they need another bat. A starting pitcher I think is more important.

Why was Wright yanked? He only had 90 pitches and looked strong.

oh noooo, reyes is hurt :(

then again, getting six innings and ninety pitches from wright is a gift.

and a 2-0 hole in this game is a loss, folks. the way the offense is going tonight, it might as well be 6-0.

2-0 LOL.....thanks Wrong

but you're right, kasey - the offense need to do better. jaret did his part, the offense needs to step up.

Be careful Kasey, unless you're hungry. They've made you eat your words before, lol.

Mark, stick to the game. We are getting punked by one of the worst teams in baseball, next to KC, Pittsburgh. We need a change

and now we are down 2-0 =(

Mark, do you think the Yankees could get a player like Aubrey Huff for a relatively low price, if any in terms of prospects? I think he would be a good fit.

Sam, please just go away. Wright didn't give up that homer, Villone did. If you're not even going to watch, why do you post here?

the nice thing about baseball is that a 2-0 lead isn't that big, that's probably why a 2 run lead is still a save situation

This reminds me of the Sunday night game when Chacon kept them in the game but the defense gave it away and the batters were asleep.

We DO need a change. It's called you not being here anymore. Let people who like to speak intelligently have their time.

mark, and the rest, if you can't see this team needs a bat, your blind....please....villone, wrong.....whoever........pizza. Rest Jeter tomorrow.......pathetic jerk

mark - since you're the owner of this blog - i know on some blogs they can block certain people ... wonder if u can do that for sam?

man, whats up with our offense today??? we need some runs dammit!

if sam angers you so much don't you have the admin powers to block her?

the change is getting rid of Torre and Mattingly......get Lou in here and get a fire under these little leaguers

I'll look into it.

For those who remember, I predicted 2 out of 3 from the Braves, not a sweep.

Lou ... yes, he did wonders in Seattle and Tampa Bay.

lol, sam, did u just call jeter a pathetic jerk??? rofltmfaoo!

they have indeed, angel. but not tonight. they're just sleepwalking out there. for the second time in three days.

I don't even have a blog and I have blocked her.

And you predicted "yanks will win the east by 7-8, then 1-3" what is it this week?

Sam, the Yankees' need of a bat is really not that much of a necessity. What they need is some more pitching, even though they have given up less runs than Boston.

GAME OVER. TORRE, REST TOMORROW. REST EVERYONE. 4.5 BACK, 3.5 BACK, DOESN'T MATTER, IT IS JUNE. BOSTON WILL GO NO WORSE THAN 7-2 AGAINST US. WE WILL LOOSE 3 OUT OF 4 NEXT WEEK TO CLEVELAND AND 2 OUT OF 3 TO THE METS WITHOUT THEIR TOP GUNS IN.....THIS RACE WILL BE OVER BY END OF JULY, just about the same time Mark will make "another prediction"...

Oh, would you look at that? A base hit for Posada.

Dang, Jose Reyes was hit pretty hard. Much as I hate the Mets, I can't help but feel bad for him. He's been on a tear.

GOOD NIGHT.....BLESS MR GAMMONS............

Yeah, I know they haven't looked very threatening so far, but this is the Braves we're talking about - so anything possible. They won last nights game not scoring anything after the second inning. Its not out of the realm of possibility they could do it in reverse tonight.

I am about to snap, lol. Its getting to the point where its tough to even breeze past her asshattedness.

How about a walk by Bernie, a sac by Philly, and a 2 run single by Melky?

asshat is a sweet pseudo-word

ok scratch that

if the braves take 2 of 3 from the yankees, after being swept by the red sox, can we put that yanks/sox talk to bed for a bit? it's painfully obvious right now which team's better, but if it takes something that concrete to prove it, that's fine.

for those of you not watching the yes network, jose reyes is fine

Take Manny and Ortiz out of Boston's lineup and we can talk about which team is better then

cough6-2redsoxcough.

Sweet! 2-1, Chipper booted it. An error is the perfect thing to rally on.

Nice scoring on an error by the Chipper one :-D yah!!!

a pretty good at-bat for andy. we need more of that.

Yankees, so worthless it is comical

Never mind, no error apparently. Ah well, a single works just as well.

Base hit for Cairo. Look at that. First and second now.

But Manny and Ortiz ARE in the lineup, so that doesn't work, either.

Kasey, I'm done with the NYY-BOS arguments, anyway. It's boring. We'll let the standings tell the story in the end. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it. But I don't think I will be.

jeter, giambi, a-rod: 0-9 tonight.

and playing the, "okay, take X guy away from boston" game doesn't work. ifs don't get a team games.

Thats a pretty big IF there, Kasey. I'm still not convinced by Boston. I guess either you are, or you aren't when it comes to that. Its just too early in the season for that, for me. I respect them, but I just dont think there is that much of a huge difference overall. Both teams have their strengths and weaknesses.

I know Mark I was just saying for arguments sake

hmm kasey and mark wer all over that, i dont think you could remove both ortiz and manny to make it a fair comparison anyways, maybe loretta or nixon and also manny

guys, shouldn't we save this argument for septermber? there are still over 80 games left- who knows what can happen.

Damon and Jeter can't even get the ball past the pitcher LOL LOL.......want a tee? PUTRID

Lester threw 116 pitches in 5 innings. Even Wright had a better pace than that! :-)

Gurk, inning over. Ah well, a run is a run, no matter how small.

Jeter, Giambi, A-Rod coming up in the bottom of the eighth. I sure hope they score a run this inning, or else they'll be getting a lot of flak after the game.

buck foston. grrrrrrrrrr, ok we definitely gotta win this one.

Amen, Ashley.

How can someone post stuff like that and still have the audacity to call themselves a fan? Mindboggling.

Hey Mark I don't know if you know but you just complimented Jaret Wright....that's a big no-no in this blog haha

@ Nyyangel: I think everyone's about ready to ignore Sam's pointless comments anyway.

8-2 BOSTON.........Yanks lost......3.5 games out.......nice job Jeter.....you don't deserve any C........

Paging Chicken Little.

Chicken Little. Chicken Little.

Please pick up the nearest white courtesy phone.

Paging Chicken Little.

i dont know what they gotta do in the 8th and 9th, but whatever it is they do, they'd better do it because we HAVE to win this one!

8-2 boston. the mets have 'em right where they want 'em.

i'll consider the sox/yanks conversation over, too as, after tonight, the standings will show that boston's 3.5 games better than the yankees and this game against the braves will have illustrated every point i've been making for the last week.

excellent point about lester though, mark. francona is letting his starters throw a ton of pitches. schilling has thrown 133 and 117 this season, with a few other big numbers in there, and lester just threw 116. either he trusts that they're 100% healthy or he doesn't have any faith in his middle relief.

I think Chipper Jones is a KGB spy.

Mark, call Security.

Anyone else notice how the Kansas City Royals and Florida Marlins are suddenly playing the best baseball in the majors? Pinch me, I must be dreaming.

This game isn't exactly a must-win. Essentially, it's just as important as yesterday's game. (In fact, yesterday's game probably even more so, seeing how Randy Johnson was on the rubber.)

lola, they're not winning this game.

torre has gone from not trusting ron villone to letting him throw 2 innings in a 2-1 game? can somebody explain that to me?

well his middle relief seems to be Julian Tavarez, so...

geeez kasey, we still have 2 more innings u know! it aint ovah till its ovah!

He's starting to remind me of Dusty Baker. Letting a rookie get his pitch count up in that area can get dangerous if you do it often enough.

And just for the record, the Yankees were SIX games out on July 2 last year. A 3 1/2 game deficit isn't the end of the world.

I'd be scared of a middle relief that consists of Julian Tavarez too.

and, last year, they had matsui and sheffield. and boston was a much weaker ballclub.

it's not last year.

And let's remember that the Yankees used 10 starting pitchers last July, including Darrel May, Tim Redding and Tanyon Sturtze. Wow.

lol, we both had the same thought, Veritaspatria.

the picture of tj on the gameday is a little scary. where does gameday get their photos? half of 'em doesn't look good.

Making pitchers throw in excess of 125 pitches in a game before the all star break is asking for an injury. Just ask Mussina (131) and Pavano (133) from last year.

That's right they did. That seems like that was much longer ago than just last year. Whatever happened to May and Redding?

Mark post that great stat of how great the Yankees of winning games when trailing after 7 innings.........well, Tampa beat Atlanta once...we are in the same company.....TJ Beam, Bean, Beans, Bum, Beamer is in....LOL stick a fork in those 200 million babies...and a rod w/ANOTHER WORTHLESS AB in the 8th......0-4

lol, zlotte, someone had pointed out tj looks like a rodent in that gameday pic. LOL...thats a terrible pic of him! geez, he does not look like that in real life! ha ha

Nice pitch there, TJ. He really doesn't show much fear at all.

hmm my email is a little clunky, try clay

Over and under if the Yankees can hit a ball past the pitcher in the bottom of the 8th?

Most of their pics in gameday look bad, especially the newer ones Chacon looks like he just whacked someone.

again, last year's yankee team was better than this one, and last year's boston team was worse than this one. it's a completely different story.

this is what it looks like when one team starts to pull away from another, guys. we've seen it from the other side for long enough to recognize it.

and mark, can you dig out those "when trailing after seven innings" stats again?

Hey Chacon's my boy NY Angel haha

He really doesnt look all that much like his picture on gameday at all.

Not really. I still think Chacon was the best trade the Yankees made since 2003 (Aaron Boone)

haha.. i like Chacon a lot. I just wish they'd taken a better picture. Maybe the got him after he'd just come off the Red Eye.. or maybe thats his Rockies picture and they photoshopped the hat on, lol.

Why would you intentionally walk a batter with 22 RBI to get to one with 55 RBI?

Because TORRE is a *****...3-1........nice going beam, bean, beans.....and torre for intentional walk..........george fire him

Okay how many times has Mike Myers come in to pitch this year and I just now noticed that he comes in to the Halloween theme music?

Because ones hitting almost 100 points higher than the other

3-1. game over. i'll catch you guys tomorrow. tonight's games have illustrated every single point i've been making for the past week. if you still honestly think the yankees can catch boston, i've got a bridge to sell you.

i'm going to cry :'(

Wow, Francoeur should try golf.

We need to pull through here in the eighth and ninth innings. We've done it before. Let's stick it to 'em!

{{ Then again, it's highly unlikely. Meh, I'm an optimist when it comes to the Yankees. Anyone remember that 14-13 win over Texas? }}

I still do not get the intentional walk strategy with 2 out.

Hope A Rod and Jeter head feel horrible losing to this little league team on w/this pathetic pitcher going 3.5 games down in the standings.........BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

see you all tomorrow. enjoy the rest of the game.

and, mark my words, they'll lose tomorrow, too. bet on it.

it's been fun.

Ask and you shall receive:

Yankees 4-18 when trailing after seven innings ... 1-25 when trailing after eight.

Braves 24-4 when leading after seven innings ... 27-1 when leading after eight.

Well okay, I'll take the Harbour Bridge. Seeing as you're selling them, better make it a big impressive one, lol.

Torre, walk the whole team you idiot.............

this game is over.........horrible, pathetic, horrific night....loose another game to the Sox...........see ya

*ok lola, snap out of it*
THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!

The catcher was hitting 100 points higher but has very few at bats.

Kasey, one of your points has been that the pitching stinks. How was that proven tonight?

Yanks gotta think small ball here in the 8th and 9th if they have to hit

Small ball wins games.

"*ok lola, snap out of it*
THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!"

Except in Boston. ;)

OK OK, come on giambi! come on Arod!!!!!

AL East Update: Blue Jays just defeated Washington, 6 to 0.

Meh, they're not Boston at least.

And A-Rod is out ... again.

Why can't he just hit it? >_<

I think Alex just needs a game off to collect himself and recharge the batteries

Jorge's hit well today. Maybe he'll get something done here with two outs.

there is no crying in baseball. no no i will not cry :'( I WILL NOT CRY!

Gragh. Another ball hit well, but just not quite.

Pray to whatever deity you worship that the Yankees will get something done in the bottom of the ninth. The odds are against them, though.

Maybe the pitcher has just worked out how to pitch to Arod and Giambi today? It took Jeter till his 4th AB to break through with a hit.

Just off the end of the bat a little too much for Jorge

Yikes, it is Farnsy and I did not buy more Pepto!

i have turned off my tv...i am so upset guys...the combination of the sox winnign 10th straight and us losing is making me go against the baseball mantra. no crying in baseball, yeah right! they havent met me :'(

Don't sleep on those mets either

the pitching was great tonight. or, good enough. should have been good enough, anyway.

a-rod's average is back down to .276. can we drop all of that **** about how he's going to pull out of it and go on a tear? he's been in and out of slumps for 2/3 of the season so far. let's put that one to bed until he does something - other than strike out - on a consistent basis. i'm sure he'll get his numbers, but he's not getting them now, so enough of that.

and all of my other points have been validated tonight. the pitching was fine. everything else was awful. again.

i can say the word mediocre again and again or you guys can just watch what's on the field. either way, it's the same result.

now, my steak's ready and the mariners are on tv. i'm off for the night, folks. i'll catch you all tomorrow.

Here comes Farnsworth to put the game out of reach.

Seattle up 2-0 over the Dead-mondbacks.

My second favorite team just started playing against the Angels. At least I'll get to watch them for now.

Kasey, since you've probably seen Felix Hernandez more than I have, what's your take on him?

I heard that Kenji Johjima is the reason why Hernandez stuggled this season...I don't know if there's any truth to that though

Nice job by Farnsy though...instead of stopping the bleeding he ripped off the scab

Felix Hernandez looks as though he's going to be a great pitcher. He's definitely hitting his stride now after falling into that slump earlier in the season. I'm not quite sure what to think of him, though. Abaillargeon, I heard that same story and I find it a bit unlikely.

Abaillargeon, do you have a first name? That's a long name to type every time.

Yeah its Alex

I hate to see the Yanks trading young players away but I would not blink if they traded Farnsworth. I have been so underwhelmed by his quality.

Who replaces him? Dunno. Maybe Beam, maybe Smith, not Proctor. I read today Proctor's ERA is over 7 in the last 17 games. I feel it is overuse.

Farnsworth is not a rookie. I expect more.

I must be blind and need glasses or missing an awful lot thats staring me in the face. I really dont see half the things that Kasey does about this team.

Mark do you think Matt Smith has what it takes to be an effective reliever instead of just a mop-up guy?

I am watching Game Day. Does Farnsworth get boos?

Could they get him from the upper deck with hot boiling oil?

Well, folks, I tried to email Sam to ask her to be more considerate of everyone here, but the email got bounced back to me, as it is apparently not a real address.

Therefore, I will address it here.

Sam ... this request is a courtesy. Your presence on my blog has become a nuisance, and has become very bothersome to many people, myself included.

If you continue to post as you have, I will have your registration to MLBlogs terminated and you will no longer be able to post comments.

Please try to respect the people on the blog. I don't think that is asking too much.

We could really use Tommy G right about now

Farmsworth got booed.

I like Matt Smith. Could be a good pitcher, but we'll have to see him in a real situation to get a better feel for that.

Yaaaay Mark

And thanks.

Thank you, Mark.

That was a painfully long inning.

Thank You Mark

nice, but if sam can enter a fake e-mail address in the first place can't she just make a new id?

Well said Mark

Mark, do you think that Chacon has still not got his groove back after that leg injury? I imagine an injury like that would still affect him to some point. I just dont recall him going through so many pitches by the 5th inning previously.

Tenkyoo, Mark. =D

Anyway, this game is a lost opportunity. Wright pitched well, but we couldn't get it done.

* flips to Rockies game *

Jorge Sosa looks a tad like Pedro on gameday

Sure Mark, whatever you say, your the boss. Tell us how good the Farnsy pick up is? Tell us how good the Yankees are, maybe you'd get more respect if you would ever tell it like it is.

We'd probably realize it was her pretty quickly wouldn't we? She seems to be unable to post in any manner, but the way she does.

Well Matt did not look so hot here, but he did not allow a score, so that is something. Also one of the walks was intentional.

Overall the rookie was better than the veteran former closer, Farnsworth.

He seems to have the pitching tools, but he just cannot harness them.

not to put a damper on it or anything, i applaud the action you're taking

Sam, he just told you how it was. Are YOU going to respect it or not?

Sam, I tell it like it is all the time.

You, on the other hand, don't even come close to that.

I have no problem with people being negative or pessimistic here ... after all, I love Kasey's posts and the back and forth that come with it ... but you are not a thoughtful poster. You just shout drivel all the time.

true, i'm not worried about being able to tell its her just that she will still be able to post

"maybe you'd get more respect if you would ever tell it like it is."

Can you get any more obnoxious?

yaay Melky!

well she obviously has something to hide if she has to use a fake email address. *shrugs*

Hey Mark I had a random question...I hear all the time that Sam Borden is a beat writer but what exactly is a "beat" writer

he plays the drums while interviewing players

Sorry, very sorry for that. Could not help myself.

I thought it was the bongo's. Darn

THANK YOU MARK for finally saying something about Sam. At this point it is just ridiculous. What kind of fan predicts the Yanks to lose every game they play and bash every player INCLUDING Jeter. It's just ridiculous.

Like I tell all the Red Sox fans at my summer job, I will worry about the Yankees if they are more than 5 games back at the beginning until September. Until then, take it game by game and win more than you lose...it's that simple.

Actually bongos were funnier.

Actually bongos were funnier.

*beginning of September

someone please shoot me :'(

even though i find comparisons to last year annoying weren't the yankees being written off last year when they were like 5 back in mid/late august? i vaguely remember watching espn during work and having several different programs tell me that the yanks couldn't come back this late, they also said the indians were defintely going to the post season

Sounds like a pretty good philosophy, Adam.

No, Adam, you can still be a fan and think your team does not have the tools to prevail.

The problem is the continuous, repetitive, insulting, ignorant rants that often do not follow the game, insult other bloggers, players on the team and staff, question the integrity of players and bloggers, and Mark.

It is illogical, barely stream of consciousness, drunken stupor blather.

Based on the attacks on Mark's credibility, which are totally uncalled for, she should be removed.

It is OK to disagree with people on issues. Yankee fans come in all shapes and sizes and opinions and we learn from each other that way. But the unmitigated attacks are unacceptable. Mark and no one here should have to endure such rubbish.

Period.

Now back to baseball. Why did Wright get the loss?

Wright gave up 1 run and the Yanks scored 2. He should not be on the hook for the loss.

Wright left when he was losing 1-0, therefore he took the loss.

Nevertheless, he deserved much better than a loss. A no-decision, maybe, but not a loss. Bad time for the offense to freeze up.

Absent anyone else, as I understand it the beat writer is the person assigned by the media outlet to gather facts, conduct interviews, and write the fact based stories.

Columnists write opinion pieces about the same issues but rather than just facts their writings include their opinion too. Some will say their opinions are fact, and yet others will disagree.

So the beat writer is the reporter, so to speak, as I understand it, Alex.

The offense has been ugly since Sunday afternoon.

Sunday night they were shut out. Yesterday except for 2 swings by Giambi there was nothing. Today it was all Melky.

Jeter needs to hit 3rd. His stats are far better in that position. Then perhaps try Phillips in the 2 slot.

Then Giambi, then Posada, then maybe ARod, then Bubba, then Melky, then Cairo.

Other than Giambi's 2 home runs, which were huge yesterday, he has not been hitting, and ARod seems to be back in the hole.

I don't care if he has to move into Mattingly's house but we need ARod's bat to come alive.

Mark, let us get real for a moment. I realize most of my stuff is pretty bad and picking on guys all the time. But lets call this straight up. How can you honestly sit there and say with Melky, Cario, and Crosby as constants in this line up and you have Farnsworth and Beam and Smith in out bullpen and expect to win a division? Come on Mark. Seriously, what has A Rod done in the last 6 weeks? You can't sit there and say this team is better than Boston, Detriot, or Chicago. Injuries happen to every ball club. No sane Yankee fan can sit here and say that the team we are fielding is a playoff team. It isn't Mark, that is bottom line. You rather have Melky, Cario, Crosby than Lowell, Loretta, Nixon or pick any three from Chicago or Detroit. That is why I am so sarcastic. Be realistic. This team isn't going anywhere this year. Shef needs to be gone next year, wish Posada would be, wish RJ would be, wish Pavano would be to name a few before we start winning anything. I am sorry, that is the way I feel. No way they make the playoff in any capacity this year.

JCC, I know they were losing when Wright left and never took the lead, but I thought when his runs were covered, whomever delivered the winning run takes the loss, this time being Villone.

Yeah I was kind of surprised that Villone didn't get tagged with the loss. Wright gave up one run which they got back and then Villone gave up the two runs, including the go-ahead that stood until the end so I don't get why Wright got the loss.

Good to see Sam posting something coherent for once and most of what he said is true.

Cario? Do we even have a player on our team called Cario?

Sometimes I wish people would actually call it like it is and stop beating around the bush. Like tonight, yea, I made fun of Jeter and was sarcastic, but the point was he had a horrible, horrible, at bat with runners on 2nd and 3rd and grounded out to the pitcher. Stand up and say, "Come on Jeter, what was that, that was horrible".. call it like it is. Your right, I shouldn't be as saracastic, but my point is make a comment like that. You haven't said one bad thing about Farnsy tonight...OK, I will....he was horrible. His ERA is 4.92 and everyone holds their breath when he comes in. No excuses. Make a comment about the last 15 innings against a bad ballclub and we score what, 2 runs? How horrible is that? Maybe they ought to have a meeting like Jim Leyland did w/the Tigers and start getting things out on the table. Most of your bloggers make excuse or sugarcoat stuff as if the Yankees will come back, and it isn't happening.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. If a pitcher leaves while the team is losing and they never tie the game afterwards, then the pitcher that had left losing is the one that gets the loss (and not the pitcher who actually gave up the game-blowing runs).

Sam, your problem is that you are rude with most of your posts. You attack people for no reason. Your belief that the Yankees won't make the playoffs is fine, but your attitude toward the people here isn't.

A beat writer is someone who is assigned to cover the team for the entire season, including all of the road games.

Sam Borden is the Yankees' beat writer for the Daily News, just like I am the Yankees' beat writer for MLB.com.

Mark, do certain teams treat the writers better than others. Like maybe the Yankees have buffets available for you and Kansas City makes you bring your own table and chairs?

Maybe the Yankees have a fleet of limos pick you up at the airport and the Twins give you a 10¢ coupon off a bus pass?

Maybe the Yankees provide free massages before a day game after a night game and maybe the Marlins expect you to staff a concession stand for 30 min before they let you see the game?

I just do that to make a point. I will stop being rude...but that isn't changing how this team is this year. So, is it bad saying "Jeter, that was a horrible at bat" or "A Rod, that was a horrible at bat"....How about someone making the comment of how bad A Rod's defense and footwork is this year? Every telecasts mentions it. 12 errors already, ties him w/errors of last year. Seriously, A Rod needs to drop down in order or something. Let's talk the truth her people. How about Mark talking about how Torre over uses our bullpen and is too loyal at times to people? Or about Small was a one year wonder?

Again Sam, I say it like I see it. Without having the "fan" interest, I just give you folks my thoughts based on what I see and what I hear from the guys when I talk to them.

Paul, if that's how you think writers are treated, I'd come cover your team in a second should you ever own one.

Seems to me, just because you talk to them.....you can't be critical of them at all....and wouldn't tell them that to their face.....seems like your their puppet......Ask A Rod next time why his defense and footwork are so horrible this season......ask him what is wrong with him at the plate the past 6 weeks...Ask Joe why is so loyal to his players all the time.....ask Jeter tonight why w/runners on 2nd and 3rd, he swings at ball 4, and grounds out to the pitcher......ask Melky why is he batting .240 something.....ask Stinnett why someone stole home on him and that is inexcusable....because you can't........so let us help you out

Paul, if you're still interested I have the answer to your question. I had the same question last year and called into a local radio show that Frank Viola was a guest on and he gave me the answer.
When Wright left the score was 1-0. Then Villone gave up the homerun and it was 2-0. The Yanks scored, but never tied or took the lead, therefore the starting pitcher gets the loss because his team never tied/took the lead after he left. Does that make sense?? I agree with the thought that if a pitcher only gives up 1 run and the team winds up scoring 2, the loss should go to the person that gave up the 3rd run, etc. Hope that helps.

I think it is your job to "spin" everything....and this blog should be a "NO SPIN ZONE"......gees, I should have show called that.....

Mark, I owned an NFL team once, but lost it in a drunken Rock-Paper-Scissors game.

Dang, that Jerry Jones is crafty!

Thanks, GoSoxRed. I did not realize that.

Sam, you are simply wrong. But there doesn't seem to be any getting through to you, so I'm not going to try.

If you curb your rudeness, you can stay. If not, you're out. Simple as that. Attacking me as a writer isn't going to help your case.

Mark, you haven't answered any of my points period. This team needs to take a long look at them in the mirror and be accountable. No matter what anybody says to you negative about the Yankees, you always have an excuse. It gets sickening sometimes. What did you think about Farnsy tonight? Your honest opinion....what about Stinnett letting someone steal home? Your opinion......A Rod's defense,, your opinion?

Seriously, are you allowed to give your opinion without getting into hot water? Then I respect that. Have a good night..........I am going out.........blog tomorrow

The starting pitching has been good overall. Randy is certainly best news for his confidence and to regain an ace status. Chacon and Wright were also not bad. Wright showed certain progress by going 6 innings finally. However, the bullpen has serious issues as shown tonight and that should be the biggest trade deadline focus. Farnsworth is definitely a letdown and has problems using his electric stuff to get batters out. THe rest of the bullpen is all question marks getting to Mo, so unless the bullpen gets fixed with solid performances, the Yankees will lose many important games. That, not the hitting even with Cano out, is the biggest key.

I don't understand why some Yankee fans are rooting for the Mets to lose to Boston. That makes no sense. Isn't Boston the biggest rival and team the fans want to see beat? Mets are in another division, another league altogether. The city rivalry is way too overrated by this interleague stuff. Anyway, glad to see Pedro get good welcome--that's a good thing for baseball.

Mark, thank you for finally standing up for the blog and the decency of the bloggers. It's about time Sam gets some grow up calls. Looks her mom or dad really failed out--or just gave up.

Sam, I am allowed to give my opinion. The problem is that when I do, you yell that I'm not looking at things correctly. It's an OPINION. That mine differs from yours is OK.

Farnsworth? He's been terribly inconsistent. Very good one night, terrible the next. He needs to get better.

Stinnett? He's the backup catcher. If the Yankees' season hinges on his play, they're in trouble. The double steal was a bad play, but he's been solid behind the plate the rest of the year.

A-Rod's defense? I think it has been worse than last year, but again, I don't think that's the reason they're 3 1/2 games out. His head has been messed up by the slumps, and by the booing -- which he finally sort of admitted tonight. Read my game story from tonight and tell me I take a positive outlook on every game. It's just not true.

You don't look at the glass-half-empty of things, you look at the glass-all-empty. Giambi hits two homers and drives in five runs in a game where Randy pitches seven shutout innings and all you can talk about for the last 90 minutes of the game on Monday is that the Yankees couldn't score off the rookie reliever. That kind of stuff makes no sense, and most of the time, neither do you.