Hey.... the Tiggers actually beat TB. Even a broken clock....

Ug.... 7:00 PM in Texas and only 99 degrees on the field.

It seems Mighty Mouse's little hoof has healed, and he is slated to be back in the Sox lineup on Wednesday.

looks crazy hot down there, poor kim jones was schvitzin like a pig.

[3] Kim doesn't schvitz, she glistens.

I'm eating an ice cream sandwich.

Fuck Texas

Evening folks!

47 straight games without an error for Jeter ... but how many chances did he handle, and how many didn't he reach?

(context, Kay .... context)

Stuff and great command! Scylla and Charybdis!

fuck. and to make matters worse i have to see w and laura all fucking night long.

That off speed pitch to Vlad was funny! Vinny Padilla funny.

[8] errors are a bs stat, but the fact that jeter basically doesn't fuck up the balls he does get to is not meaningless.

hopefully granderson re-doing his swing pays-off. does seem to be a tricky thing to pull off mid-season though.

damn po is just missing.

[14] Cliff Lee is just missing bats.

I sat Cliff Lee so I could root against him. The worst of all possible outcomes is occurring.

That dude is going to look very good in pinstripes.

[11] You sound like Jazz Jr when I do my Yankee victory dance

Texas announcers saying Young's HR was the shortest ever at Texas ballpark.

So I guess Posada isn't cranky anymore? As suspected, Girardi was just trying to alibi for an awful decision. I'd love to hear what Posada really thinks about it.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leecl02.shtml
Lee has a career ERA+ of 114. Seems like it should be higher, although in his first 6 years, his ERA+ was around 100. Wonder what he did to turn things around so radically....

[21] EST?

[21] Hard work, prayer, positive attitude...that's my guess.

[21] Not sure wha he had done, but it really kicked in starting with 2008. The Yankees look like have no chance despite the fact that it seems as if he is simply throwing the ball right over the plate. It's really an incredible story.

Looks like te Red Sox are taking advantage of the life line the Yankees gave them on Monday. If the Yankees don't wake up soon, we are going to have the three team race everyone envisioned.

[20] William, to answer a question from a thread or three ago: I did some searching, and yes, it appears that in 1994 RC Cola took over from Coke as the official sodie-pop of Yankee Stadium. I'm not sure for how long, though my memory tells me it was only for a couple of years. I don't have any pictures, but this article confirms things:

http://tinyurl.com/25glrlu

[21] Must of gone to the crossroads.

[26] I hated RC so much, I can't believe I forgot that, especially since 1994 was the first year I had a season plan.

Thats a solid looking ball girl.

[24] Lee's magical transformation into Cy Nolan Maddox in 2008 is what makes me oddly skeptical of signing him to the mega-contract that he will command. I'm just not convinced that a guy who suddenly becomes the best pitcher on the planet, for two years, at age 29-30 is a particularly safe bet going forward. Is he a flash in the pan? Is he enjoying an extreme peak?

I know I'm not being very rational, but I get a bad, bad feeling about him going forward.

Apparently RC had a significant presence at the Stadium. From a NYT article in 1994:

"SIGNAGE UPDATE The best thing about the odious rotating sign behind home plate at Yankee Stadium was how it got stuck for most of Friday's game on the RC Cola sign. What? No rotating sign repair man on site?"

Another article confirms that RC's reign was a short two years as Coca Cola took over again in 1996.

[30] That was the main reason I didn't want to part with Montero, but in retrospect not getting Lee seems as if it has turned the Yankees from a prohibitive World Series favorite to merely a contender.

This might be a sensitive subject, but is it normal for a player to miss two games when their wife has a baby (assuming the delivery had no complications)?

[33] Yeah, I'm not sure. Maybe these days teams are more lax about these things. But you would think that with charter flights instead of trains and buses, it would be easier for the new daddy to rejoin the team more quickly.

I'm not gonna pass judgment on Teix or the Yankees, but let's just say that I was back to work pretty quickly.

Damn that Thames...he should have knocked over the catcher!

Lee sucks.

Yay! Arod worked the count and got one, but last year that would have been HR.

My wife just said, "Cliff Lee, eat your shorts."

[33] Buchholz had a start two days after his first child was born. (Against us.)

[34] When you are being paid like Tex, I would think their would be some impetus to not miss an extended period of time, especially when one game could be the difference between making the playoff and not, which for the Yankees is a multi-million dollar proposition.

But, if the Yankees allow him the time, I can't blame Tex for taking it.

[38]

That's one of the (many) reasons you married her, right AB?

[37] 2010 = sad.

Ball has not been bouncing the Yankees way lately.

[42] No, he means last year the wind was blowing out toward dead center. Remember?

[34][40] Yikes, you guys would fit in well with the bosses over here..only in the last year has "paternity leave" come into existence, and it took the governor of one prefecture to take a week off to set an example..

Teix will play 200 games in his career, mayb ewill have two or three kids. He should stay home as long as he can..

[45] that should be "2000 games"...d'oh!

[45] He's going to play 200 games in his career? Do you know something we don't know?

I should have known you'd beat me to that one. The time difference gives you a huge advantage.

[45] I think you have to make the distinction between professional athletes and the "real world". Again, the Yankees are paying Tex $20 million per season. If they don't make the playoffs, it cost them close to $100 million. I don't think it would be unfair if the Yankees only allowed him one game, again assuming there were no complications.

[45] I had a plenty generous paternity leave, but I chose to decline it because I also felt an obligation to my job (especially the students enrolled in my course...missing a chunk of the team pretty much blows up the class). I don't begrudge Teix for taking as much time as he can. On the other hand, his job is such that he *could* get back to work quickly and still spend a good deal of time with the family.

[48] That's right, I'm Jazz McFly hanging with Doc Brown-sensei..wait till I tell you who will be president in 2040...

[44] The wind was blowing out, if. ; )

Perhaps the Yanks can include a "marital relations" clause in their player contracts .... no baby-making during the months of May-January.

Vazquez has to avoid three ball counts.

damn hamilton is crushing damn near everything.
it didn't really matter then, but gardner's throws are ass awful sometimes.

[51] That explains the DeLorean!
[52] That's my favorite tense. Er, mood.

I just can't believe that on the entire interwebs I can't find a decent picture of Yankee Stadium 1994 or 1995, with a damn RC Cola sign visible.

Yeah, I am obsessive as well.

[55] ms october! only one thing to say to you: "tap dancing".... got to love Nascar! :)

Oh, man, this is really dumb.

[58] yep, unreal. btw your man zeke is not getting the knicks job after all.

perhaps this isn't as a big of a concern in mlb, but i used to really dread going back too far in the outfield while playing ss to get popups because of all the near collisions.

Give Tex a break. It is after all his third child, and he had to go to Canada to get the Cubans to pass around the team in KC.

This is hideous.

IBBs suck.

[61] I have played and still play 2B and love going out like Cano for pop ups!

He gets ahead of Molina and then nibbles his way to a walk. Very hard to win pitching like that.

Walking Molina, ugh-lee

[60] Wise move..he can get back in the league one day as a head scout am sure..but now with the Knicks!

C'mon Javy, this is huge here...

fuck, of course that happened.

Perfect.

I guess we really do miss Tex, as evidenced there.

Mark, thanks for being a dad, please come back.

Looks like the old IBB with two outs in the fourth damn inning didn't work out. Good to see Girardi put his stamp on the game early.

I've said it before, but if the Yankees are relying on Javy to pitch in the post season, they're in huge trouble.

I was just about to post, in response to RI's [64], that it was the IBB that got Javy into some more trouble on Friday night, and now he's doing it again?

And then 2 runs score. Aiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeee . . .

[65] i hope your cf and rf give you space!

[72] I forget where, but someone pointed out that CC just had a kid not long ago, and now Tex - and early August is about nine months from early November (i.e., just after the Serious win) . . .

Can't blame 'em in that light, right?

♞MJ

[74] They've learned. The one time I backed off a play, the ball wound up bouncing off the CF'er head into my glove anyway, so I guess they figure they might as well just let me catch it the normal way.

[72] i actually think Javy is pitching well tonight, save that walk to Molina. The HR was flukey, and those last two runs were scored by a bouncer an inch or two from Berkman's glove, and Tex prolly would have gotten there.

Meanwhile, in Milwaukee

Diamondbacks 4th
Dave Bush pitching:
Justin Upton : Foul, Strike swinging, Upton flied out to right.
Adam LaRoche : Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Ball, Foul, Foul, Foul, LaRoche homered to right.
Miguel Montero : Ball, Foul, Strike swinging, Montero homered to right.
Mark Reynolds : Foul, Ball, Reynolds homered to left center.
Stephen Drew : Ball, Drew homered to right.

[78] And the Murphy run belongs to Girardi. Because Girardi put him on base.

Gardner has completely reverted back to his take pitches down the middle phase...not good for the Yankees.

[79] That's good! The Yankees aren't the last team to have 4 homers in a row off of them anymore.
That ended Chase Wright's time in the majors.

[77] that's good.

this is the painful gardner that i was not too fond of last year. hopefully he can snap out of it.

Looks like the Yankees are heading for a 4-8 record against this recent stretch against good teams. They'd better go to town over the next 12 games against the Royals, Tigers and Mariners.

[81] FWIW, Gameday had strikes two and three right on the corner and just off the plate respectively. Strike one was, however, more or less down the middle.

[45] This is Teix's 3rd child, so what's the big deal? Yeah, at $23m/yr he should get 2 days off.... one now and one when the kid is 16.

The shame is we have been getting some decent pitching. We just have the score truck up on blocks.

So now the Sox will only be four out.

Fuck.

Hopefully it works out in the long run, but not getting Lee could wind up being the story of this season. After CC, the Yankees really do not have a reliable starter (at least until Pettitte proves he is healthy).

[88] William, there's your cue.

[88] And they can thank GM Girardi for falling a sleep in that seventh inning, because if the Yankees had tried to win the game there, their season could have been over.

I guess Javy's arm is still dead.

[78] I might have spoken too soon.

JORGE!

I could see Posada was waiting too long before that even happened. What was A Rod doing?

Good old Jorge. His complete decline in catching skills has really been drastic.

Can Montero execute a rundown?

That rundown failure is a little league miscue. When does that ever happen?

wtf was alex doing there?

[95] What did Arod do wrong?

Great, I come in to see a botched rundown...

Good night.

[100] standing in the middle of the play with his arms up didn't help the situation.

oh great, the sme commences!

The Yankees are unraveling.

[95] Nothing. Looks like he tried to deke the runner.

[100] I don't know; it looked weird. I'm seriously asking

Posada is getting hard to watch.

Well, the silver lining for me is that if the Yankees do free fall out of the post season, Girardi will be managing in Chicago.

nice throw swish.

Thanks, Nellie Cruz

[103] Are you experienced? Have you ever been experienced?

Montero is doing very well at AAA for his age (.855 OPS after a 3 for 4 day), but I don't think he's ready for April 2011.

Nice throw by Swisher! (Too little to late).

I can't read too much into this game. Texas has a true ace on the mound, and the Yanks have god knows what. I don't think losing this game is indicative of the whole season. Even if they'd been rolling along lately, this probably would be the same.

[112] I'd like to find out if he is ready. He can't be a worse a defender than Jorge and can't be a worse hitter than Cervelli.

I get that the infamous run-down is scored a FC, but I don't understand why the official scorer cannot give an error on a the botched rundown. Wouldn't Posada's very late throw constitute a failure to make a play, which resulted in giving up an out?

[113] Losing to Lee is alarming, but the way they have played over the last 12 games is. Also, the continued unreliability of Vazquez and Burnett are a major concern.

[111] yes, i am experienced, and i consider myself quite unlucky to have experienced that experience.

[115] Maybe the official scorer was thinking that as long as Posada didn't rifle the ball down the line, he did the best he could do.

By the way, did anyone else see the story on LoHud about Kevin Long completely reworking Granderson's swing? I am not sure that's what the Yankees expected when they acquired him.

It's not an error on Posada... but a SIASD
....
....
...
(Stupid Is As Stupid Does).

[118] OK. It's just the Texas announcers made it sound like the scorer *could* not assign anything beyond a FC (like a you can't assume a DP sort of thing). I assume that it is allowed under the scorer rules to give an error, even if the scorer will tend to give the fielder the benefit of the doubt on a non-play.

[118] RAB claims that Grandy approached Long, not the other way around.

[122] was for [119]

[121] It is allowed, and it should have been scored an error. Unfortunately, scoring in baseball is so disorganized that it really makes you wonder.

[119] yeah, i posted about it earlier when i was talking to myself :}
it seems drastic, but i guess granderson's statement that it can't get much worse is sort of true too. i guess long thought he could make minor adjustments with granderson but evidently that wasn't enough.

[122] Right...wasn't suggesting Long intervened, but either way, relearning how to hit in August during a pennant race kind of makes the trade look like a big mistake in retrospect.

I may be wrong, but Alex does not look like he is keeping his head on the ball. Pulling off... and also trying to pull outside pitches. Anyone notice how many balls recently he has rolled over to SS?

kind of makes the trade look like a big mistake in retrospect.

Indeed! And some of us thought it was a big mistake from the start...

Right now, the Yankees are a team with only 5 players consistently peforming on a high level: Sabathia, Mariano, Cano, Swisher and Tex. If that doesn't change, the Yankees are not going to make the playoffs.

[126] I think his numbers speak for themselves ... If he wants to try and fix himself, that's fine with me. The trade looked bad before this latest development.

[127] You keep coming back to Alex, but he is the only hitter who has driven the ball in this series. The Yankees problems run much deeper than Arod. Having said that, yes, Alex does look as if he is pulling a little more than normal.

[130] I agree...regardless of this latest development, the numbers don't like. However, it does say something about the Yankees player evaluation skills that they couldn't pickup on the fact that Granderson's swing was in need of an overhaul. After all, if the swing was fine, they wouldn't be reworking it, regardless of his struggles.

[132] This assumes that his swing this year is the same as it was in previous seasons, which is what the Yankees would have looked at. It is possibly that Granderson has developed some new quirk, or in frustration he has tried to compensate in some way that has led to more bad habits, etc.

[132] That is true about their evaluation. But he was trending the wrong way; they must have thought there was something they could adjust. Maybe not to this extent though.

Either way, it seems like some people - perhaps including some on the Yankees staff - expect joining the mighty Yankees to act as some kind of magical elixir and it just doesn't always work out that way.

[131] I shouldn't expect more from ARod? His OPS is under .820, and he is on track for only about 26 HRs. I like the guy.... but he is our star, and when his OPS is well more then 100 pts below expectations, it really hurts the team. Coupled with Jeter's .730 OPS we are losing a LOT of output.

[133] Long's quote seems to indicate that it isn't a new problem, but one they ignored because of the success he has had. Of course, we all know Granderson's trend was down heading into this season, so perhaps that should have been a red flag when combined with Long's assessment that his swing had "length".

"He’s had length to his swing for a long, long time. He’s been an all-star with length to his swing, but we’ve both decided at this point we want to shorten it as much as we can.” - Long on LoHud

"In play, no out"..then Gameday froze!! what happeend??

[135] You should, but the irony with Arod is that while he isn't compiling as much, he does seem to be getting more than his fair share of big hits. Again, I agree that the Yankees need more from Arod, but he is down the list of problems.

damn kearns would have scored if not for the gr double.

Squeeze! :)

[136] But even that quote indicates that Grandy's swing is not the same as the swing they evaluated and based their trade on: it has gotten worse.

In any case, I'm not defending the trade: I criticized it at the time, and all anyone needed to do was look at his career numbers and especially the trend over the last few seasons. The warning signs were right there in the stats, without looking at a single swing!

[139] True, but that ball probably should have been caught.

[137] berkman got a ground rule double - 1 run scored; runners at 2nd, 3rd 1 out

[141] I don't read the implication that it has gotten worse. Where do you see it?

[140] Why not? Seriously, if they get even just one run here and leave the inning down 6-4 v. Lee (at 100+ pitches), they've given themselves a real shot.

Really cooled off... only 95 degrees now.

GRITNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No more Lee! Me likey!

OK.... where did everyone go?

[143] Nice, cuaght up now. Go Go Team!!

if nothing else, nice to see them get 4 runs off lee.

[144] but we’ve both decided at this point

I had read his quote as meaning: "yeah, he's always had a long swing, we knew that, but it's gotten worse and at this point we have decided to do something."

I probably am reading too much into things.

How many pitches before Gardner goes? Is it even worth the risk with a runner on third? Normally, I'd say no, but Jeter has been such a ground ball machine this year.

[152] It could be. I read it more as, "he swing was always long, but it seemed to work in the past. It isn't anymore, so we've decided to rework it".

Either way, let's hope Long works his magic.

[149] Brett "The Singularity" Gardner caused a rift in the space-time continuum. The question is not "where did everyone go" but rather "when did we go?"

[141] You are right about his trend.
Would you take a chance on this guy and his last 3 years?
.254 .372 .493 .865
.262 .381 .455 .836
.219 .332 .410 .742

[153] It's too bad Berkman is so slow. With any speed on third they might not even bother trying to get Gardner at second.

[153] SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE!

good for gardner - maybe that will kick start him running again.

[156] I would be willing to take a chance on such a player, but at the cost of (at the time) the top (or second top) position player in the farm system and absorbing his costly contract, which really balloons after this season.

Come on Jeter! Stop swinging out of the zone.

Jesus Derek! Terrible pitch!

god damnit, another k.

That's been Jeter's problem all season. He has lost his plate discipline. What a crucial strikeout. Jeter is simply not the same player any more.

cousin oliver time.

I hear the Score Truck's horn a honkin' "Swish Swish Swish"!

[160] You probably know it, but that's Swisher before coming here. Just saying a 3 year 'trend' doesn't always tell the story in a youngish player.

He'd never do it, and neither would I, but the best Yankee lineup has Jeter batting at the end of the order. He has arguably been their worst offensive regular.

[156] Now, trading a spare part like Wilson Betemit and paying a modest salary for a player expected only to be a backup, who then blossoms into a star..yeah, for that cost I'd take a chance on that trend.

[164] That was ugly. Is he pressing in this contract year? I've never seen him swing at so many bad pitches.

[170] I thought that earlier in the year, but as time as passed, it just looks as if his bat speed has diminished so severely that he now starts his swing earlier.

Agreed that losing AJax was painful. At 23, he is currently at: .305 .353 .407 .760 - 103 OP+... which is pretty good. He does have 118 Ks, which is pretty scary for one so young.

[167] Again, you have to consider the COST and the EXPECTATIONS when evaluating risk. They got Swish for nothing, paid him little, expected him to be a backup for Nady, and his "trend" was two pretty similar years followed by one really bad year.

That is not really comparable to Grandersons three year trend, which showed across the board decline. And he cost a pretty big prospect at the time. And he was expected to be the starting CF for years to come, not a back up. And his contract was scheduled to go way up after his first season in pinstripes.

[170] I remember watching Ripken near the end..SS in their late 30s, not a long list that are still bringing the "O"..

Not scoring at least another run is devestating. Jeter's and Swisher's at bats were just awful. This team just isn't very good right now, and it's hard to see how they get much better.

Fuck! Jeter is killing us. A bunt there might have been nice.

Are the Yankees striking out more than usual lately?

[176] Joe Maddon and I agree with you.

[172] Why are so many strikeouts scary for a young player? Isn't that to be expected, with the K rate dropping as the player grows into his offensive prime?

Or put another way, how is it significantly more scary than a player who had these K totals: 174, 141, 111, 141 at age 25-28.

[172] I'd say its scary for someone with so little power (.102 IsoP, 1 HR).

I'd also say that his insanely high .422 BABIP (according to b-r.com) is why he's hitting over .300. Even if you knock that down to the .350 range, all of a sudden you've got a guy hitting what, in the .250s with a .300 OBP?

Its way too early to say that losing Jackson was a bad thing.

[176] Jeter is killing them, except for his two base hits and two runs scored earlier in the game.

[180] I agree: in the end, Jackson may not pan out. I'm just saying that at the time of the trade I would not have swapped one of the organizations top position prospects for a player who was trending downward and was expected to play a key position.

[177] Yes. They have K'ed in double digits in 7 of the last 10 games. Before that, they had only K'ed 10 or more times in 10 games.

The reason for bringing in Wood was what?

[182] Especially if that top prospect could have been used for, say, Cliff Lee.

Captain Defense!

Well, that obviously blew chunks.

And we have to listen to the fucking piece of human excrement that is Sutcliffe - thanks for parroting that line of utter horse shit that was the Texas GM's PR blast on getting Lee.

Riiiiiiight. Because the Yankees didn't get Lee because of the Yankee Tax. And because Smoak was soooooo much more MLB ready than Montero. Smoak was ready to suck. I guess that's ready to do something.

I gotta bite on this one, though - how did Girardi lose the game in the 7th against the Red Sox?

I was watching on mute, at the gym, so maybe I missed something.

What I remember was a perfect confluence of horrors being responsible for what happened there.

I remember these factors conspiring:

Curtis at the plate against a strong Lefty, with absolutely no righty bat to go to off the bench. They were all in the game. And Berkman's last at bat notwithstanding, we were led to believe Berkman from the right side only by necessity. No one else to go to, unless I forgot someone. Now, Granderson has been so futile, that I actually wondered to myself about pinch hitting Ramiro Pena. Which is an absurd thought.

Jorge at third. It's always fucking Posada at third in these spots, it seems. Which means you can't really pull a squeeze of either variety, because Jorge is so slow that he's a dead duck at third.

Kalish not catching the ball - you ask me, that's where the game died. If Kalish catches that ball, it's a totally different story. He's going into the stands - runner from third scores, runner from second goes to third with only one out. I cursed him for not making a spectacular catch. Because it would have been a dumb one.

There were a few other factors that weren't in our favor in that spot, but my brain just fogged up and I'm tired of typing.

But can someone tell me what obvious move Girardi didn't make in the 7th of that game? I'd like to know.

[171] Strangely, I've recently seen Jeter be right on a number of very hard throwers. Which surprised me.

Why is Thames batting here and not Granderson?

[160] Yeah, but Jackson hasn't been doing so hot himself

[189] ummmmm....forget I wrote that please

I really like Marcus Thames. I hope they bring him back next year.

[189] I think your question has been answered :D

[189] but perhaps I should write it for the next hitter.

Thames has easily been Cashman's best acquisition this season.

If only the Captain had managed a ground ball to 2B (said in John Sterling's voice).

Why is Rodriguez batting here and not Granderson?

Uh oh, I see a lot of stats and sarcasm tonight. Should I even bother tonight or should I wait til tomorrow?

[189] [191] I believe the answer to your question can be put succinctly:

♞MG

[189] Granderson is relearning how to hit, and he isn't done with his classes yet.

[197] Join in on the fun, you know you wanna :)

[189] [196] oh well.

[197] Hard to say, because you just can't predict baseball...blog threads.

[187] Sutcliffe...perfect example of why ex-players should go to broadcasting school before getting on the air..I heard i think it was E. Karros on mlb.tv yesterday..couldn't get through 45 secs before shutting it off..

Go Go Thames!

If they are going to come up short again, they could have had the decency to just roll over at 6-1. The annoying thing about all of these close losses has been there have been so many decisions that could have made the difference.

Why is Cano batting here and not Granderson?

[187] I was watching on mute, at the gym, so maybe I missed something.

Surely you meant moot, sir... >;)

That AB is why Cano has the chance to be a really great player over the next 5+ years.

Shouldn't Cervelli be hitting here?

[203] what they really need to do is make all the TV and radio guys listen to Scully, Harwell, Barber, Allen, etc., and then hold guns to their heads and remind them to be like Scully, Harwell, Barber, Allen, etc., when they get too much like the Hawk, Mike Shannon (absolutely shitty), Buck, McCarver, Miller, Morgan and the dreaded Chris Berman

[208] or Pena.

Strike zone has been awful tonight.

[209] Hawk is SO bad it's actually funny. Can't stand Berman though..was that schtick EVER funny?

Who does Mike Shannon work for?

2-run tater for Jorge Po here, i call it!

Why is Posada batting here and not Granderson?

[200] "Yeah Homer, room or one more!"

Holy Shit... that looked like a strike.

Does Maddux dye his facial hair?

So so so VERY nice to see guys work walks.

First positive thing for Jorge tonight.

[212] Shannon is the Cards announcer. You guys think Sterling is bad, but y'all don't know diddly. Shannon literally cheers, to wit:

"Did he get enough!!!!!!!??? Did he get enough!!!!!!!??? DID HE GET ENOUGH!!!!>???!?!!!?!!......HOME RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray for your team!!!"

[212] [219] Oh and he says, "come on baby....get out....GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!"

PR for Posada?

I'm listening on the computer, which has a pretty good delay, so I apologize if this question is already "mute".

Why is Kearns batting here and not Granderson?

I like how Kay corrected himself with "sharp single to left"

[216] No it's fake....he's actually his brother Greg.

There has to be a better term for what Teixeira is doing than "maternity leave"

holy shit, Kearns is a slow poke

[223] Well, he does do a lot of animal-based charity work...

y67y67uhuy76huy76ioio.p[;'/.p[;uyjhmnuyjhnrtgfvgrtfvguyjhn7uyjhn7.p[;'

I feel sick.

Wow...I can't believe he was swinging there. This is just not a smart team from the manager on down.

I woulda taken there, since Francisco's having such a hard time throwing strikes

So I didn't see Javy pitch. Did someone tell him this was a big game or something?

Who is this Kearns guy, and why is messing things up?

[225] "Rocking the cradle"?

[226] Paternity leave?

I wonder if eveyone in the clubhouse is ok with Teixeira taking two days? I can't recall another playing taking that many days. You could easily make the argument that his presence would have made the difference in either or both of these games.

[235] oops, really for [225]

FWIW, Gameday had the last pitch to Kearns pretty much right in the middle of the plate, a little to the inside. Not exactly a BP pitch, but it's hard to complain about him swinging at a cookie on a 3-1 count.

[235] No, that's how you end up with single moms...

[237] Yett it still makes sense.

[206] Ha!

So, anyone with an answer on how Girardi, not the Yanks simply not coming through, was responsible for the 7th inning against the Red Sox?

In more recent news, I cannot fucking stand Sutcliffe.

Robbie Cano "doesn't run well." Mitre into the rotation would be a "good idea."

This follows on the heels of the last ESPN telecast, which was quite possibly the single worst telecast I have seen in recent memory. And we crushed in that game, so I wasn't even in a bad mood.

But it was pathetic. I heard inaccuracy after inaccuracy, layered on top of preposterous statement after preposterous statement.

No new news, but ESPN is a FUCKING DISGRACE.

Why? Because every single guy in that booth - and Miller may have been worse than Morgan, last Sunday - and that is quite a fucking accomplishment - DOES NO FUCKING RESEARCH. NONE. NOT A SHRED OF PREGAME WORK.

It's inexcusable. Every person at that network should kill himself or herself in shame.

[241] I think i would beat Cano in a footrace.

[241] Somebody must like ESPN, because they account for nearly ALL of the profits for Disney last quarter.

You cant fry an egg at 111 degrees. Kay is a moron.

Kay declares Wood the Yankees best trade deadline acquisition.

...

I guess so?

[243] Toy Story 3 will be for this quarter.

The Yankees have been having Wood throw a lot of pitches.

[242] No. No you wouldn't. I used to say that I would beat Posada in a footrace. But that was two years ago, and sadly, may not even be true anymore.

Cano isn't the fastest player on the team, but he is far from slow. Going first to third, scoring from second on a hit - he may not be Gardner, but I find your evaluation odd.

[243] Apparently they use exponents when tallying the New England region...

i fear that somehow, it will come down to Arod.

Three of Wood's five highest pitch totals this season have been with the Yankees

[247] TMI!!!

Still would like an answer on what obvious move Girardi didn't make in the 7th against the Red Sox.

How many pitches did Feliz throw last night?

Berkman, Gardner and Jeter...that trio against Feliz doesn't inspire much confidence. For two games, Francisco tried so hard to give the game to the Yankees, but they just wouldn't take it. Too bad.

[254] Only 21.

[256] Ick.

Great AB by Berkman. You have to run with Granderson now.

Anyone think Berkman brought a losing virus over from Houston?

...

If Granderson doesn't run...

If Gardner bunts, it has to be a drag.

PR for Berkman, right? Right?
Yes.

OK, Grandy had better be going early.

RUN

[258] You might be on to something. I don't trust anything right away that comes from Texas.

Molina might be a deterent. I wouldn't mind a hit and run here.

....

Berkman couldn't do this?

FUCKING RUN

[241] "It’s inexcusable. Every person at that network should kill himself or herself in shame."

Hahaha...I'd settle for Jon Miller putting a gun in his mouth during a sunday night broadcast.

Imagine if Granderson was on second for that?

hi team.

home in time to hopefully see us tie...and win.

nice. i wish grandy had stolen 2nd...

double steal!!

Gritner! For the love of God can we actually please score just one run????

Sad to say, but I think you have to bunt with Jeter. I just don't see him doing much more than grounding out against Feliz.

[268]

...

I like Jon Miller.

um, that's gardner, not berkman.

i'm guessing it's a good thing i missed an entire game listening to Sut...

[269] According to Kay, he barely made it to second on the hit.

Ok since Jeter is an automatic GIDP, should we hope Joe sacrifices?

ah, don't bunt!

double steal first, at least...

[275]He held up until he saw it wasn't caught

[273] as the great Dalton once said in Road House, "opinions vary."

ok, that rules!

Wow...lucky to unlucky to lucky in three seconds.

Oh, this is going to be really sad, isn't it?

IN THE AIR

What the fuck was that?

WAHOO!!!

tie game.

Yankees luck might be turning. The ball has been bouncing the other way all month.

well if I do say so that was a horseshit base hit (which would've been a double play had there not been a wild pitch) but I'll fucking take it.

Wow... did that hit TWO gloves?

[268] If my wife saw that post, she would FORBID me from coming back here.

Yankees really need it from Swish...two righties coming up next.

[282] Yes, groundball from jeter = sad. very sad.

; )

Alright Nick, in the air!

Oh God.

PLEASE Swish...
Oh Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It always comes down to ARod.

ok if we don't squeeze I'm going to vomit on my laptop

Swisher has really come up small in some recent big at bats. The Yankees really needed him to come through there.

fuckity fuck.

how bout a freaking sac fly, or something...

IN THE AIR MARCUS

[295] I am the Mr. Charmin of the Banter, but you can't squeeze with Thames because I doubt he can bunt.

Hopefully the Yankees can pull this one out, and given the way they have tied it up it might---just might---cosmically balance yesterday's goofiness v. Mo.