[3] I totally agree about Tex. Whereas I used to hold my breath with Giambi and the other nudnicks platooning with him, I now see true artistry. His signing was crucial.

I noticed that Nelson’s strike zone was strange, but I missed the early part of the the game. Was he squeezing Hughes? That seems to be happening to him. I did think that Coke’s 3-2 pitch was a strike. Hey, but I wan’t there.

That literal music video was too much.

I became absolutely convinced it’s mostly the shorter porch when I looked at this homerun tracker. Look at how many are out where the wall goes straight where it used to be curved.

I count 22 homers just beyond the right field wall that could have easily fallen in last year. Then compare the leftfield porch. There are another 11 that wouldn’t have been out at the last place. That’s the difference between last year and this year! The doubles have become homeruns!

Still doubt me?

Some interesting math:

2009 Yankees (as of Friday when games played was only one off):
Home = 43 doubles, 45 homeruns
Away = 56 doubles, 32 homeruns

See that?

Let’s simplify:
Home = -13 doubles, +13 homeruns
Away = +13 doubles, -13 homeruns

What about the Yankee pitching (as of Friday)?

Home = 37 doubles, 42 homeruns
Away = 54 double, 26 homeruns

Let’s simplify again:
Home = -17 doubles, +16 homeruns
Away = +17 doubles, -16 homeruns

Case closed. It’s the closer walls that are turning long doubles into homeruns – for both teams. It’s really as simple as that.

: P

· I’m really not going to get into a pinstriped circle jerk over an errorless streak, record or not. That would be like giving umpires credit for making calls that are both correct and incorrect. One need only watch a game or two at The Fens to see the validity in “official scoring!” In reality, it stains any accuracy the game pretends to have.

· Thanks for caring Tino! Things like that really do make a difference! Now if we can only get David Cone away from the bars, David Wells, and tapings of “Yankees on Deck” long enough to “have speaks” with each member of the pitching staff, they’ll be golden, too (see also Reggie getting with Gardner, instead of taking “queues” in the field from Johnny Damon)!

· I still contend it’s the terrible and mistake-ridden pitching, coupled with modern hitting training!

· Joba’s in the rotation, no matter how much folks want to shoehorn him into the eighth. Thank God, too! It’s all they need for him to go into a close game “setting up for Mo,” and have some 30-pitch walk-a-thon crapfest time after time as they are already getting from a few members of that pen! They haven’t even discussed it this season according to Girardi, much to Francesa’s chagrin! I’m thankful he’s even capable of being chagrined! Here’s hoping “Miked Up Moron” stays that way, especially if it means the Yankees get to stay in first place! I would argue part of Joba’s troubles are his confusion between what A.J. Burnett told him about “holding back,” and what Girardi and Eiland are telling him about attacking both the strike zone and the hitters! I mean, if he continues to struggle mightily, it’s not going to be Burnett who sends him down to SWB after all, is it?

· “There were some strange requests.”

Brandon Steiner is full of shit! To prove this fact, I need only mention “freeze dried turf” (see also a Monument Park Brick for $200)!

· “The baseball rules state that in a five-inning game, a starter need not go the full five to earn a victory.”

That sure sounds like one of the “Joba Rules” to me!

: )

Oh well there is this Three Stooges clip:

Happy Birthday

And hey, at least Pavano didn’t get the win.

[0] As adamantly opposed as I am to switching Joba to the pen, I am in favor of doing it for a week to find out if he could consistently throw 98-100 mph as a reliever. I suspect that he can’t, whether as a result of shoulder problems or whatever.

At that point, the debate would be recast on more accurate terms.

Either way, I have been skeptical of the Yankees’ spin on the situation, as well as the idea that he has lost his swagger as Francesa has fatuously observed.

If the BP report is true, I would like to be assured that it is temporary and/or that Joba can’t exacerbate the situation by continuing to pitch.

But to this point in the season, he doesn’t seem like the same guy who beat Beckett in Fenway last season, or the dominant reliever.

btw, Tex is a truly great player. Signing him was at least as important as signing CC.

Happy birthday, Alex – and here’s to a win tonight to be the icing on the birthday cake!