Daily Archives: July 29, 2005

A couple of pitches in the second inning gave the Angels all the offense they would need tonight as they stifled the Bombers 4-1 at the stadium. Garet Anderson opened his stance and stroked a high, inside fastball to right for a two-run homer and then Benji Molina turned on another inside pitch for a solo dinger to left. Neither pitch was that bad at all. As Jim Kaat and Paul O’Neill commented on the YES broadcast it was as if both hitters had read Mussina’s mind and were sitting inside–the pitch to Anderson was particularly tough. His quick, fluid swing belied just how difficult it was to hit a home run on that pitch.

Those three runs would do the trick. Mussina ended up pitching well over eight innings, but Ervin Santana, a lanky right-hander with a good breaking pitch and a zippy fastball, was better. The Yanks put two runners on with nobody out in the first and third innings only to come away with bubkus. They had two men on in the sixth but couldn’t get a run in either. Tino Martinez did line a solo homer into the right-centerfield stands in the seventh, then Derek Jeter doubled to right with one out. However, Brenden Donnelly got Robinson Cano to line out sharply to first and Sheffield to pop out to first to end the inning. And dems the breaks, bro. (Sheffield hit another seed tonight, but this time it went right to Steve Finley for an easy out leading-off the sixth inning.)

The Angels added a run against Tanyon Sturtze in the eighth while the Yanks went quietly against Scot Shields and a far more subdued Francisco Rodriguez. I don’t want to go so far as to say that the Yanks were listless tonight but they didn’t have much punch either. You would never have known that the Angels were the team who played 18 innings last night. Right now, the Angels simply have the Yankees’ number. New York fell another game behind Boston who beat the Twins at Fenway Park. The Yanks now trail the Red Sox by two-and-a-half games.

Um…darn.

As the Yankee fight another uphill battle against the Angels in the Bronx, the Boston Globe is reporting that the Mets-Red Sox and Devil Rays are in seriously considering a blockbuster trade. Dig this:

Under the principal scenario discussed by the teams — according to one of the clubs involved in the negotiations — the Red Sox would receive infielder/outfielder Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays and outfielder Mike Cameron from the Mets. The Mets would receive Ramirez from the Sox and closer Danys Baez from the Devil Rays. Tampa Bay would receive a number of prospects, possibly from both clubs. If the Sox have to deal a prospect, it could be Double-A pitcher Anibal Sanchez.

”I’m not sure this thing is really going to happen, but it’s definitely being discussed,” the source said.

Lean back. It would be something if this one goes down. But hold the phone. According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, talks hit a roadblock this afternoon:

“I don’t know if it’s completely dead,” said an official of one of the three teams. “But it’s hit a roadblock … unless someone has some other thoughts.”

A source said the Red Sox felt they could not go ahead with trading Ramirez and two prime prospects — reportedly catcher Kelly Shoppach and right-hander Anibal Sanchez — if all they were receiving was New York’s Cameron and Tampa Bay’s Huff. So they went back to the Mets “for more pieces,” the source reported. At that point, the Mets “squashed the whole thing” and talks broke off.

A baseball man with knowledge of the discussions said the Red Sox asked the Mets for a “key player,” whom the Mets felt they couldn’t trade.

An official of another club that spoke with the Mets on Friday night said the Mets also had reservations about going ahead with the deal because they would have had to assume all $64 million of Ramirez’s contract, and that would have put them both over budget and over the luxury-tax threshhold.

So, is this much ado about nuthin’ or will the Sox trade Manny by Sunday?

The Angels were up all night playing extra innings with the Blue Jays. They are in the Bronx tonight to face Mike Mussina and the Bomb Squad. I wish I had a good feeling about Moose but I don’t. Hopefully it’s just something I ate and he’ll Yanks be fine. Sure is wunnerful anytime they beat the stinkin’ Angels.

It was slightly overcast today but really it’s as nice as it is going to get in New York at this time of year. The humidity is low and there is a calm breeze in the Bronx.

Just thinking about who could be the star(s) tonight is fun: Sheff, Alex, Jeter, Godzilla, Robbie Cano, Posado, Giambo, Tino, heck, Tony Womack: which one of dese?

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Although he’s only played in New York for a season-and-a-half, Gary Sheffield has already left an lasting impression on Yankee fans. He’s not only an incredibly clutch hitter but a viscerally exciting one–even his foul balls are electric. (In fact, for much of 2004, Sheffield’s signature hits for the Yanks were line drives scorched into the left field stands.) Yesterday, in the first inning Sheffield glicked a low and inside pitch from Joe Mays into the left field stands that was hit so hard that it didn’t have a chance to twist foul. Although I’ve seen great right-handed hitters like Jim Rice and Mike Piazza rope line drive home runs like that, Dave Winfield is the only Yankee I can recall who specialized in those kind of laser shots. Jim Kaat said later on that it was like watching Tiger Woods drive one off a tee, and he was right. I know Sheffield has hit more important home runs and even more majestic home runs too, but for my money, that shot yesterday was my favorite one he has hit in pinstripes. It was Mmm, Mmm Good. Put a patent on it because that there was the ultimate Sheffield dinger to me.

Aaron Small pitched impressively yesterday as the Bombers beat the Twins, 6-3. Small allowed three runs over seven innings. He struck out only one but didn’t walk a batter. He was aggresive, throwing strikes and working quickly. After his first game last week, Cliff e-mailed me and commented that Small was a dead-ringer for Kaat. Yesterday, the YES broadcast put up a still photo of Kaat in the first inning and made the comparison in the first inning: it’s all in the jaw. (Incidentally, Paul O’Neill continues to bust Michael Kay’s chops. Early in the game he was ragging on Kay for being such a big star now. He asked Kay if he had his own clothing line yet. O’Neill went further and said it would probably be a line for oversized men. Kay was clearly offended and after O’Neill apologized an uncomfortable silence hung in the booth for the next two pitches.)

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