Aha!
Yeah, Noesi vs. Shields. Andruw instead of the RBI Machine. Edwardo Scissorhands.
I think I'll work this afternoon and get my fix tonight.

Of course, the bright side is that if Tampa takes this first one, in amps up the pressure in Fenway this evening.

Can I also say, this made me remove Papelbon from my Most Hated list.

I know it won't happen, but it would make for good fun if Cashman signed the guy this winter. Best Bullpen Evah.

Let's see what "Big Game" James has got today.

[2] Ugh, no thanks.

I'd rather be sealed in a large glass globe and force-fed until I drowned in my own waste than watch Private Pyle throw a single pitch for the Yankees.

YMMV, of course ...

[2] i think you are kind of joking, but what set-up person that the yanks have actually paid for in the last 10 years has even come close to being worth it?

interesting race between texas and detroit for better record between the 2.

Alex!

Nicely done.

is this the game thread?

; )

Lettuce move Romine to the head of the line for BUC!

44 pitches for Noesi already.

Looks like a long afternoon for the bullpen.

Mmmmmmmm, the long, pu-pu platter death march has begun ...

Hector didn't last long.

[11] He seems to have a bit of the Phil Hughes Disease ... throws strikes, can't put people away or get them to make outs.

Too many foul balls.

BFUG+ has hit his EIGHTH homerun of the season, for the Redlegs.

that's not only a career high, but 20% of his career total!

[13] Into the 2nd deck, no less.

I tuned into the Reds game just in time to see him crush it.

[12] I'm stuck with game channel -- stupid work, interfering with my baseball. Did he just not have it today?

[12] Velo was good, location was good, he just couldn't put the Rays away.

Sweet, Kontos warming!

Kontos in ... Kontos out ... Laffey in ...

So basically CC is going to have to go deep in the game tonight.

Nuney!

NUNEY NUNEY!

[8] clever.

though the inning ending double play doesn't make anyone look good. well, maybe longo, but he doesn't count...

[22] Romine looked just fine. He smoked that ball, just right at Longoria.

Nuney was running on contact, so it's not really a knock on him either, nothing he could do about being doubled off.

[21] My oldest sister used to tease my youngest sister's poodle with that... "Nuuuuney! Nuuuuuney!" He of course being a total spaz would freak out like you wouldn't believe.

My favorite call-and-answer with him was "STFU" (and variations thereof...)

I'm listening to the radio broadcast here at work. This is Sterling's call of the last out in the sixth: "Brigniac hits a line drive base hit to center! Jeter grabs it and throws him out at first!" He paints quite a picture.

[25] Yeah, if he was going for Salvador Dali...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOne!

[27] That's never a good sign...

Oh great, use up the bullpen for a game in which we have no offense.

[29] Using Ayala is "using up the bullpen"?

Joe hasn't touched SoRoMo ... or Proctor.

Besides, most of these guys can go again tonight if they absolutely had to.

Laffey out ... Wade in ... Wade out ... Logan in ... Logan out ... Ayala in ...

NUNEY!!!

NOOOOOOOOOONEY!!!

ooh, i guess this means jesus is catching?!

[34] I assume Martin is coming in.

[30] That home run has now thrown the plan into chaos.

[35] oh yeah. i'll go back to shutting up now!

wait a minute. gamecast says this:

b. gardner doubled to left.

b. gardner stole second.

um... i know i'm kinda dumb and stuff, but...

[37] Singled ... then stole second.

Wow! Yay, Rob!!!!

what a fuckin' hitter!

GO ROBBIE!!!

I peeked in just in time to see Gardner steal. Good timing. Missed Nuñez' homer, though.

James not happy.

(Thelarmis, they just showed Shields in the dugout. Banging things.)

[33] (1000 poodles spazzing in the Bronx)...

[43] did he use traditional or matched grip?

[45] Ummmmmm.
I think he plays tom toms.

Damn, I really have to go. I'll get the finish from Sterling.

Thanks be to Mo.

Thank you, Mo!!!

always & forever - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

(Once I saw him throw one pitch, I just decided to be late.)

Yes! Post season!

NO CELEBRATION!

PLAYOFFS!

Tonight we go for the Division!

postseason!!!

#603

Post season!!!

What a long, grueling, up and down year it's been.

I confess, I just don't see how we're going to get through any of this with our lack of starting pitching, but can't complain about being guaranteed another October of sweaty palms and walls closing in pressure on the heart valves!

This one was weird. Have to be thrilled to clinch the post season, have to like beating the Rays, but got the smallest tinge of "crap, we just put those other bastards into the playoffs." We're asking too much from Baltimore, aren't we?

No matter what, this is going to be a nasty field in the Playoffs. Some really good teams out there this year.

jj, you don't see how we're going to get through it with our lack of pitching... on the afternoon when Hector Noesi was up against James Shields... and we won?
I mean, I can understand a certain lack of imagination, but you don't have to imagine it. You just saw it!

Our pitching is much better than the Tigers', by the way. Better than the Rangers. Phillies, we'll worry about when the time comes.

I *hated* seeing the Tigers get Pfister. I thought we should have put in a bid to at least drive the price up.

Verlander and Pfister in a series? That could be tough. The Rangers are just a scary team, period, imo. I don't know if he's kept it up, but I believe Hamilton may be heating up, and that is the stuff nightmares are made of. And if the Red Sox get in, and Laptops comes back...

Do we have a #3 starter? What do we look for? Do we give Colon some rest now, and figure that with rest, we can see good Bartolo?

CC's been bad, and past Nova, what's there?

The Rays - at least how they looked these last two games - just haven't been a terrifying offense. We beat Shields thanks to being able to hang at 2-1 with a lot of slop.

I love your confidence and, of course, I want you to be very, very right, I just don't know how we maneuver a series with what we're throwing out there. It's always seemed to me that a huge part in the playoffs is you look at who's matching up with who - I like to have a leg up in more of those match ups than not, and it seems we're going to be on the short end of a lot of them. Which is not to say any of that goes to form - heck, look at Ryder Cups, for example. I just still prefer to have the favorite in a match up than be the team that needs to surprise.