Posted by: Jason
Was Glenn Close about 30 rows behind third, wearing white?
Was Kim Basinger distracting him last year?
I guess we know why they called him "The Natural" 10 years ago.
Magical.
Was Kim Basinger distracting him last year?
I guess we know why they called him "The Natural" 10 years ago.
Magical.
04/19: Interesting Reads
Posted by: James
Ken Tremendous of FireJoeMorgan checks in with his usual point by point take down of a mainstream media article. This time, we get the A-Rod and Jeter story...again.
Also, Tim Gorman of the Boston Globe decided to run the Boston Marathon dressed as a Yankees fan. Why? I guess you could call it a social experiment. Hilarity apparently did not ensue.
Hat tip to Deadspin for this one.
The Yankee captain and New York’s favorite baseball player since Don Mattingly has been having a rough go of it this year. It’s not so much his hitting, although his average is sinking fast after a torrid start and he’s got just three RBI in 12 games, but his fielding that’s been a problem.
Jeter has made a lot of errors so far. But so has Mike Lowell. And unlike Jeter, Lowell is actually a good fielder. Freaky things happen in small sample sizes. That's why after a week Ian Kinsler is your HR leader. That's why people say things like "At this pace, Garth Iorg will have 300 RBIs!" and then he ends up with like 34. You really can't tell anything about a player's year after 40 AB or 10 games in the field.
Jeter has made a lot of errors so far. But so has Mike Lowell. And unlike Jeter, Lowell is actually a good fielder. Freaky things happen in small sample sizes. That's why after a week Ian Kinsler is your HR leader. That's why people say things like "At this pace, Garth Iorg will have 300 RBIs!" and then he ends up with like 34. You really can't tell anything about a player's year after 40 AB or 10 games in the field.
Also, Tim Gorman of the Boston Globe decided to run the Boston Marathon dressed as a Yankees fan. Why? I guess you could call it a social experiment. Hilarity apparently did not ensue.
Earlier in the race, if I needed to insulate myself, I could stay in the middle of the road. But with the route narrowing, it was proper to walk on the outside, where I had to grin and bear the insults. A couple told me they would never do it under any other circumstances, but they clapped and cheered. Another woman ran to greet me from her perch on the side of the road with a high-five. But it took some intoxicated fans in Brookline to get me running again.
Back on the right side, a kid was holding a penguin for runners to pat on the head, presumably for good luck. I reached out as I approached the penguin and he quickly snapped it back. No Yankees allowed. Then a husky fellow standing next to him reiterated that point, with unprintable profanity.
Back on the right side, a kid was holding a penguin for runners to pat on the head, presumably for good luck. I reached out as I approached the penguin and he quickly snapped it back. No Yankees allowed. Then a husky fellow standing next to him reiterated that point, with unprintable profanity.
Hat tip to Deadspin for this one.
04/19: Vote for the All-Stars Now
Posted by: Patrick
What the deuce? It's April 19 and you can vote for your 2007 all-star teams now. We've played 13 games. Did someone change the All-Star Game to May 15 or something?
I mean, I know that the All-Star game is basically looked at like a fans thing now... not the best performing players, but who the fans want to see, but could we get done with the first month of baseball first, maybe? Maybe it was like this last year, I forget. In any case, I bet A-Rod takes an early lead at 3B.
I mean, I know that the All-Star game is basically looked at like a fans thing now... not the best performing players, but who the fans want to see, but could we get done with the first month of baseball first, maybe? Maybe it was like this last year, I forget. In any case, I bet A-Rod takes an early lead at 3B.
04/18: That's More Like It!
Posted by: James
Phil Franchise is at it again. After a rare poor start, he shows off why everyone is still drooling.
Here's the line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB and 10 Ks in 83 pitches (63.8% for strikes) with a 6-2 GB-FB ratio. Not too shabby, eh? MiLB.com has the splits updated already too in case you're interested.
Here's the line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB and 10 Ks in 83 pitches (63.8% for strikes) with a 6-2 GB-FB ratio. Not too shabby, eh? MiLB.com has the splits updated already too in case you're interested.
Posted by: Jason
If a Yankees fan asks you this morning how the team did last night, reply as follows:
"Doug Mientkiewicz went deep. How do you think they did last night?"
Yes, Mink's home run was one of a few pleasant surprises. The most important surprise was a serviceable performance by an emergency Trenton callup whose name struck me as tailor-made for the local evening news anchor desk:
"Good evening Wichita, I'm Chase Wright, Channel 4 Action News...."
Of course we can have a few laughs after a 7 run blowout, but it was not pure fun and games: Wright found himself in peril after two consecutive walks to open the game. He thankfully relaxed and began to pitch, inducing ground ball outs that minimized the damage to one run.
The bottom 1st brought the first trickle of run support, as Alex's sharp single drove in Damon. Jorge's sac fly plated Jeter and gave the pinstripes a 2-1 advantage. (Speaking of the captain, he later made a high-quality defensive play moving to his left including a spin-jump-throw to first.)
Chase put up a zero in the top 2nd and then that trickle of run support became a deluge. Doug (I'm not kidding) put a charge into a Westbrook fastball, 3-1. Cleveland 1B Garko could not handle an Abreu laser beam and Damon scored, 4-1.
Jake Westbrook tried to throw Alex a sinking fastball. It sank onto the sweet section of the bat and had very little time to say goodbye, 6-1. Giambi singled and suddenly Jorge is over the 385 sign in right center, 8-1.
The Yankees tacked on two more in the 7th. For the Indians fans, Travis "Juggernaut" Hafner went seriously deep.
In the end, Yankee power gave the new pitcher an almost embarrassing cushion with which to win his first major league start. Might makes Wright.
"Doug Mientkiewicz went deep. How do you think they did last night?"
Yes, Mink's home run was one of a few pleasant surprises. The most important surprise was a serviceable performance by an emergency Trenton callup whose name struck me as tailor-made for the local evening news anchor desk:
"Good evening Wichita, I'm Chase Wright, Channel 4 Action News...."
Of course we can have a few laughs after a 7 run blowout, but it was not pure fun and games: Wright found himself in peril after two consecutive walks to open the game. He thankfully relaxed and began to pitch, inducing ground ball outs that minimized the damage to one run.
The bottom 1st brought the first trickle of run support, as Alex's sharp single drove in Damon. Jorge's sac fly plated Jeter and gave the pinstripes a 2-1 advantage. (Speaking of the captain, he later made a high-quality defensive play moving to his left including a spin-jump-throw to first.)
Chase put up a zero in the top 2nd and then that trickle of run support became a deluge. Doug (I'm not kidding) put a charge into a Westbrook fastball, 3-1. Cleveland 1B Garko could not handle an Abreu laser beam and Damon scored, 4-1.
Jake Westbrook tried to throw Alex a sinking fastball. It sank onto the sweet section of the bat and had very little time to say goodbye, 6-1. Giambi singled and suddenly Jorge is over the 385 sign in right center, 8-1.
The Yankees tacked on two more in the 7th. For the Indians fans, Travis "Juggernaut" Hafner went seriously deep.
In the end, Yankee power gave the new pitcher an almost embarrassing cushion with which to win his first major league start. Might makes Wright.
Posted by: Patrick
This is my weekly recap of the performance of the YanksBlog.com teams in the Yankees Bloggers Fantasy Baseball League.
Last Week
I was able to top Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com), 5-3. My offense was led by the red hot Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Lee, whose lines were extremely similar: both had 5 runs, 3 home runs and 7 RBI. A-Rod hit .364 while Lee hit .389. Huston Street had an odd week: 2 wins with a 6.23 ERA. All of my saves came from one person: Joe Borowski. He picked up 4 saves on his own, allowing me to tie in the category. Jen's offense was led by Miguel Cabrera, who hit .294 with 2 homers, 3 runs and 5 RBI. Both pitching staffs were excellent, with mine having 4 wins, 4 saves, 26 K's, a 2.47 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP and Jen's having 5 wins (1 each for Anibal Sanchez, Chris Ray, Halladay, Millwood and Dave Bush), 4 saves, 24 K's, a 2.08 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
Mike (River Ave. Blues) topped Seamus, 7-3. Seamus' pitchers were unable to pick up a single win this week. Todd Jones 3 save, no ER week helped him to take the saves category. His offense was led by Rickie Weeks who scored 8 runs, hit 2 homers, had 4 RBI, 1 SB and a .389 AVG. Mike's offense was led by Russell Martin (7 R, 5 RBI, 3 SB, .429 AVG) and Delmon Young (6 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .345 AVG). On the pitching side, Hamels, Nathan, Lowe and Felix Hernandez combined for 4 wins while F-Rod picked up his lone save.
E.J. (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) defeated James by the score of 7-2. EJ's pitching was flat out dominant, picking up 6 wins, 2 saves, 66 K's and a 2.57 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. Tim Hudson scored 2 wins on the week with an ERA of 0.64. Thanks to 7 saves (from Wagner, Jenks and Valverde), James was able to take that category. James offense was led by Chipper Jones who hit .368 with 6 runs, 3 home runs and 7 RBI. Meanwhile, Ian Kinsler carried the load on EJ's side, hitting .476 with 4 homers, 7 runs and 8 RBI.
Top 3 in the league: Mike (16-4-0), Ben (River Ave. Blues) (15-4-1) and E.J. (11-7-2).
This Week
Patrick (6th, 8-10-2) vs. Mike (1st, 16-4-0). *gulp*
Seamus (T9th, 6-13-1) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (T9th, 6-13-1).
James (T7th, 6-12-2) vs. Aziz (Pride of the Yankees) (5th, 10-10-0).
Last Week
I was able to top Jen (NoSenseWorrying.com), 5-3. My offense was led by the red hot Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Lee, whose lines were extremely similar: both had 5 runs, 3 home runs and 7 RBI. A-Rod hit .364 while Lee hit .389. Huston Street had an odd week: 2 wins with a 6.23 ERA. All of my saves came from one person: Joe Borowski. He picked up 4 saves on his own, allowing me to tie in the category. Jen's offense was led by Miguel Cabrera, who hit .294 with 2 homers, 3 runs and 5 RBI. Both pitching staffs were excellent, with mine having 4 wins, 4 saves, 26 K's, a 2.47 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP and Jen's having 5 wins (1 each for Anibal Sanchez, Chris Ray, Halladay, Millwood and Dave Bush), 4 saves, 24 K's, a 2.08 ERA and 1.18 WHIP.
Mike (River Ave. Blues) topped Seamus, 7-3. Seamus' pitchers were unable to pick up a single win this week. Todd Jones 3 save, no ER week helped him to take the saves category. His offense was led by Rickie Weeks who scored 8 runs, hit 2 homers, had 4 RBI, 1 SB and a .389 AVG. Mike's offense was led by Russell Martin (7 R, 5 RBI, 3 SB, .429 AVG) and Delmon Young (6 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .345 AVG). On the pitching side, Hamels, Nathan, Lowe and Felix Hernandez combined for 4 wins while F-Rod picked up his lone save.
E.J. (Pinstripe Potentials and Pending Pinstripes) defeated James by the score of 7-2. EJ's pitching was flat out dominant, picking up 6 wins, 2 saves, 66 K's and a 2.57 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP. Tim Hudson scored 2 wins on the week with an ERA of 0.64. Thanks to 7 saves (from Wagner, Jenks and Valverde), James was able to take that category. James offense was led by Chipper Jones who hit .368 with 6 runs, 3 home runs and 7 RBI. Meanwhile, Ian Kinsler carried the load on EJ's side, hitting .476 with 4 homers, 7 runs and 8 RBI.
Top 3 in the league: Mike (16-4-0), Ben (River Ave. Blues) (15-4-1) and E.J. (11-7-2).
This Week
Patrick (6th, 8-10-2) vs. Mike (1st, 16-4-0). *gulp*
Seamus (T9th, 6-13-1) vs. Dave (Pride of the Yankees) (T9th, 6-13-1).
James (T7th, 6-12-2) vs. Aziz (Pride of the Yankees) (5th, 10-10-0).
Posted by: David
In a totally unexpected turn of events, Marco Scutaro hit a game winning three run homer off of Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth to make a winner of Oakland against the Yankees in the series finale, 5-4.
Rivera had retired the first two batters rather easily but Todd Walker singled and Jason Kendall battled before walking which led to the heroics from Scutaro. On a 0-2 pitch, Rivera's fastball got too much of the plate and Scutaro hit it off the foul pole in left to win the game.
The Yankees fell behind early 2-0 in the first inning as Andy Pettitte's streak of not giving up runs in the first inning ended at 15. Rich Hardin was tough until he left with tightness in his right shoulder.
The Yankees took the lead in the 7th when A-Rod led off with a double then Giambi singled him to third. Kennedy replaced Hardin and Posada hit a double down the line in left to score A-Rod with the Yankees first run. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera added sacrifcie flys to put the Yankees ahead at 3-2. They added a run in the eighth and Scott Proctor was effective before giving way to Mo in the ninth.
The loss is particulary crushing considering the way the Yankees battled back to go ahead and that Mussina and Pavano were DL'ed earlier in the day.
Monday is an off day and the Yankees resume at home on Tuesday evening vs. the Indians.
Rivera had retired the first two batters rather easily but Todd Walker singled and Jason Kendall battled before walking which led to the heroics from Scutaro. On a 0-2 pitch, Rivera's fastball got too much of the plate and Scutaro hit it off the foul pole in left to win the game.
The Yankees fell behind early 2-0 in the first inning as Andy Pettitte's streak of not giving up runs in the first inning ended at 15. Rich Hardin was tough until he left with tightness in his right shoulder.
The Yankees took the lead in the 7th when A-Rod led off with a double then Giambi singled him to third. Kennedy replaced Hardin and Posada hit a double down the line in left to score A-Rod with the Yankees first run. Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera added sacrifcie flys to put the Yankees ahead at 3-2. They added a run in the eighth and Scott Proctor was effective before giving way to Mo in the ninth.
The loss is particulary crushing considering the way the Yankees battled back to go ahead and that Mussina and Pavano were DL'ed earlier in the day.
Monday is an off day and the Yankees resume at home on Tuesday evening vs. the Indians.
Posted by: James
Is that the Yankees rotation or a M.A.S.H. unit? Right now, it looks like the latter as Carl Pavano and Mike Mussina have joined Jeff Karstens and Chien-Ming Wang on the 15 day DL. Both players have been disabled retroactively and Chris Britton was called up from AAA Scranton to take one spot (and to shore up a very tired bullpen). Right now, it seems that it is up in the air as to who will take the other spot (and Mussina's starts).
Chase Wright keeps getting mentioned but is it really a smart move to promote someone to the bigs all the way from AA? Especially when you're talking about a pitcher who is really only beginning to harness his stuff? I don't think so. If it was up to me, I would probably just take a shot with Matt DeSalvo...but if I remember correctly, DeSalvo's no longer on the 40 man so someone on the 40 man would have to be waived to bring him up. Hmmm...decisions, decisions (oh, Wright's already on the 40-man so if they brought him up, no one gets waived).
If you don't know that much about Chase, here's an interview with him over at Scout.com, a profile on him from EJ and his career stats.
Chase Wright keeps getting mentioned but is it really a smart move to promote someone to the bigs all the way from AA? Especially when you're talking about a pitcher who is really only beginning to harness his stuff? I don't think so. If it was up to me, I would probably just take a shot with Matt DeSalvo...but if I remember correctly, DeSalvo's no longer on the 40 man so someone on the 40 man would have to be waived to bring him up. Hmmm...decisions, decisions (oh, Wright's already on the 40-man so if they brought him up, no one gets waived).
If you don't know that much about Chase, here's an interview with him over at Scout.com, a profile on him from EJ and his career stats.
Posted by: Jason
As Darrell Rasner suffered 3 unearned runs in the 1st (due to an error by Jeter), I confess I had flashbacks to the first 25 games of 2005, when everything broke in the wrong direction in the Yankees Universe.
Those fears were thankfully unrealized. After the alarming 1st inning, Rasner and the stalwart Yankees bullpen held the A's to 2 hits and 0 runs over the next 12 innings. In order:
Rasner: 5.1 innings, 5H, 3R
Henn: 0.2 innings, 1H, 0R
Proctor: 1.2 innings, 0H, 0R
Myers: 0.1 innings, 0H, 0R
Vizcaino: 1 inning, 0H, 0R
Farnsworth: 1 inning, 1H, 0R, 2K
Rivera: 1 inning, 0H, 0R
Bruney: 2 innings, 0H, 0R, 2K
That's right: The ENTIRE bullpen deserves credit for this very satisfying win. Given the increased media/blogosphere dissatisfaction with Farnsworth's high ERA and command issues, he deserves recognition for buckling his chinstrap and performing well last night, fanning 2 in one inning's work.
I still don't understand how the Yankees blatantly stole a power arm like Bruney.
On the offensive side: Alex continued his blazing April start with one run on one powerful swing in the 5th, cutting the Oakland lead to 3-1. Melky singled in Cano in the same inning as the Yankees scrambled back into the game...and then the 7th saw Posada score Cano all the way from 1st on a hit and run, tie game.
The game went on, and on, and on: until the top 13th, when the slumping DH launched a no-doubt HR into deep right-center...4-3 Yankees. Bruney closed out the bottom half and the team overcame 4 errors and 3 unearned runs.
Giambi on the spot.
Those fears were thankfully unrealized. After the alarming 1st inning, Rasner and the stalwart Yankees bullpen held the A's to 2 hits and 0 runs over the next 12 innings. In order:
Rasner: 5.1 innings, 5H, 3R
Henn: 0.2 innings, 1H, 0R
Proctor: 1.2 innings, 0H, 0R
Myers: 0.1 innings, 0H, 0R
Vizcaino: 1 inning, 0H, 0R
Farnsworth: 1 inning, 1H, 0R, 2K
Rivera: 1 inning, 0H, 0R
Bruney: 2 innings, 0H, 0R, 2K
That's right: The ENTIRE bullpen deserves credit for this very satisfying win. Given the increased media/blogosphere dissatisfaction with Farnsworth's high ERA and command issues, he deserves recognition for buckling his chinstrap and performing well last night, fanning 2 in one inning's work.
I still don't understand how the Yankees blatantly stole a power arm like Bruney.
On the offensive side: Alex continued his blazing April start with one run on one powerful swing in the 5th, cutting the Oakland lead to 3-1. Melky singled in Cano in the same inning as the Yankees scrambled back into the game...and then the 7th saw Posada score Cano all the way from 1st on a hit and run, tie game.
The game went on, and on, and on: until the top 13th, when the slumping DH launched a no-doubt HR into deep right-center...4-3 Yankees. Bruney closed out the bottom half and the team overcame 4 errors and 3 unearned runs.
Giambi on the spot.
04/14: Cano in ESPN The Magazine
Posted by: Patrick
... In the fall of 2005, the day after Larry Bowa was hired as the Yankees' third base and infield coach, his cell phone rang. The caller identified himself, but Bowa didn't immediately recognize the name. "Who?" Bowa asked.
"Robinson Canó," the second baseman repeated. He was calling to tell Bowa he was ready to go to work on his defense, and that he intended to report early to spring training.
Bowa was shocked by the gesture. "I've never had a player do that, in all my years as a coach or manager," he says. ...
"Robinson Canó," the second baseman repeated. He was calling to tell Bowa he was ready to go to work on his defense, and that he intended to report early to spring training.
Bowa was shocked by the gesture. "I've never had a player do that, in all my years as a coach or manager," he says. ...
