hope you had an easy flight and are having a blast in Scotland! will you get to see the Royal Mile?!

There are lots of Yankee fans in RI — I think it’s because of the Italian heritage, from the days of Joltin’ Joe. By ‘lots’ I mean maybe 15-20%, still greatly outnumbered. But you do see plenty of NY hats, so it’s not too surprising to see an RI hat at the Stadium.

I won’t be able to stay up to watch tonight, I’m afraid. I’m bushed. Good line-up tonight, though.
Go Yankees!

@ #27: Best to mute Joe (Capn Obvious) Morgan and find some good radio commentary to go along with your video.

@ #28: Any idea what the Phillies have to offer?

As much as I like The Wanger, I think he has peaked. He does not, and cannot, make guys swing and miss much, and that does not bode well. He relies heavily on the sinker, and though the fastball has been good in the past (~94), his velocity will only decline given his age. On the other hand, he still has some trade value. Time to give that spot to Hughes, I think.

A 6-3 road trip is very acceptable!

However, Joe Morgan calling Yankees games is not!

: )

i am holding out more positive feelings on wang – though i understand the skeptics perspective – tonight should be a good time for him to have a good game

Hughes is definitely going to make some starts in the second half. IMHO, he should be starting now and Wang should be DL’d again.

Maybe they’re just looking to have him make a few good starts so he has some trade value. I’m trying to look at the bright side, because I think that’s about all Wang’s good for anymore.

Ace does have a high fly ball rate, but man he gets guys out. He’s a competitor too. Why is his nickname The Vulture?

As for Hughes in the pen, he definitely has the ability to be very good, but: 1) I’m not sure Pettitte still has enough to remain in the rotation; and 2) Hughes needs to reach 150-160 IP this season in order to be able to be a full-fledged starter next season.

I only see Aceves as a long reliever as a result of his high flyball rate. I think Robertson and Coke will be late inning guys. Maybe Melancon too.

We need AJ to pitch like this if we’re going to stay close to the Shit Sox. He’s got to be at the front end, because no one else really can. Joba can’t seem to find his command each time out, Andy is hit-or-miss, and The Wanger’s problems are well-documented.

AJ definitely has what it takes. Now that he’s been in the Zoo for a while, I see him adjusting and having a big second half.

Things will really fall into place if Girardi finally figures out that Hughes can be a late-inning guy. Hughes, Bruney, and Ace in front of Mo is a combination that would call to mind the bullpens of yore. And Wang can watch from the sidelines once October rolls around.

He has been impressive, and although I have been loathe to think this way in the past, I won’t have faith in AJ or this team in general until they start consistently beating that despicable team that has held the title of the best run organization in MLB since 2004, especially in the playoffs.

As for the relative dimensions of the new NY parks, I’m still agnostic until more data is accumulated. For example, Posada thinks that the ball carries well in Citifield. I was referring to the aesthetics in my previous post.

: )

At this rate, Belth will be suiting up for the Metsies in LF …