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Mr. Freeze was at it again today–making it look easy at the end of a long afternoon that included a rain delay.  The Yankees did their part against Johan Santana (7-7) who was good, not great, giving up three runs in six innings.  Good enough to lose.  The home plate ump didn’t help him any, either.  Andy Pettitte (9-5) was better, allowing two runs over six, solo shots to David Wright and Ramon Castro respectively.  

Jose Reyes got himself picked off of second base with another runner on first and David Wright at the plate in the fifth.  It was the play of the game.  Yesterday, Emma wrote that the Yankees left runners on base like it was going out of style.  Today, the Mets had plenty of Girbaud’s sagging around the bases.  Carlos Beltran whiffed four times.  Veras and Farnsworth held the Mets in check in the seventh and eighth and then came Rivera, who has been as automatic as he’s ever been in his long career. 

Carlos Delgado was first and Rivera fed him string of cutters.  Delgado got good wood on one of them but it was a pitch designed to be hit foul.  With two strikes, Rivera showed no mercy; instead of trying to freeze Delgado with a fastball on the outsider corner, he buried another cutter in on the hands.  It looked like a wicked, late-breaking slider and Delgado had no chance, swinging over it and catching nothing but a breeze.  Fernando Tatis was next, he took the first two pitches, and found himself ahead 2-0.  But Rivera evened the count and then got Tatis to hit a soft fly ball to Abreu for the second out.  Trot Nixon was last and he went quickly–swinging at two inside cutters and then looking at a fastball on the outside corner. 

It wasn’t fair but it was swift.  Twelve pitches, ten strikes, 0.74 ERA. When he’s on his game, Rivera truly is The Unfair One.

Yankees 3, Mets 2.

Andy and Mo are a good combination, you could look it up. 

It is hot and hazy, muggy and awful in New York today. A late afternoon start pits Andy Pettitte against Johan Santana. Promises to be a good one.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Join Will Carroll, Jay Jaffe, Steve Goldman, Joe Sheehan and Derek Jacques for a good, old-fashioned BP pizza feed on Monday night at Foleys, starting at 8 pm.  I’ll be there as well.  Love to see ya. 

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The Yanks and Mets took turns kicking each other in the ass yesterday. The Yankees wasted scoring opportunities early against Mike Pelfry in the first game and the Mets returned the favor against Sir Sidney later at Shea. Writing in the New York Times, Jack Curry, who ghosted Derek Jeter’s autobiography, was critical of the Yankee captain in Game One:

Before the Yankees’ bullpen imploded, Derek Jeter made a questionable choice in the fourth. With Melky Cabrera on first and no outs, Jeter, who entered the day with a .386 average against the Mets, sacrificed Cabrera to second. The Yankees pay Jeter $19 million a season to hit, not to bunt. While it would be illogical to blame a nine-run loss on one misguided bunt, the Mets outscored the Yankees, 12-2, after the Yankees left the bases loaded in the fourth.

It was one forgotten bunt in a marathon game, but it was one of the plays that wounded the Yankees and revived the Mets. The Mets used some erratic Yankee relievers as their smelling salts, pelting them the way Jeter usually pelts the Mets. But Ponson, the unlikely savior, made sure it was not a futile day for his new team, helping it gain a split.

Today’s game doesn’t start until close to four. Pettitte v. Santana promises to be a good one.

Yanks return the favor, blast Pedro, Mets: 9-0. 

The first of two will be played in the Bronx.  Then, a trek cross town for the night game at Shea.  I’m hoping the Yanks come away with a split this weekend. 

My good pal Hank Waddles has an interview with Richard Bradley, author of The Greatest Game: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Playoff of ’78, over at Broken Cowboy:

BC: You mentioned that you spoke to a lot of players and people connected with the game. Even though we’re talking about a game that was played thirty years ago, I’m guessing that the people you spoke with didn’t have any trouble recalling its details. Were you surprised by how vivid some of the memories were?

RB: Actually I was surprised at how faulty some of the memories were. I think this is something that happens with iconic events. At some point, say, a faulty memory might get introduced into the conversation, people misremember things just a little bit, and then they repeat it over and over again until it becomes established fact, at least in their own minds. I’ll give you an example. I went down to Florida to meet with Bucky Dent, and I was talking to him about his home run which he hit on a 1-1 count. Remember, this is one of the most famous home runs in the history of the game, far and away the most famous thing that Bucky Dent ever did on the playing field, and Bucky thought – and was adamant – that he had hit that home run with two strikes on him. He said that, and my ears kind of perked up, and I interjected and said, "Actually, no, there weren’t two strikes." And he said, "Oh, yeah there were." And I felt kinda bad, because…

BC: Because you had seen the tape.

RB: Who am I to say to Bucky Dent what the count was? But in fact, I’d always wondered because the first pitch of that at bat was arguably a strike and a check swing by Dent. And I’ve always wondered if on some level in his memory he didn’t sort of think that maybe that had been a strike, and maybe he remembered it that way.

Here is an excerpt from the book. Enjoy.

Yankee life, says Mike Mussina; minor league life, says Dan Giese.  Either way, last night’s game will be made up on July 10th.

Yo, I just wanted a chance to post a picture of Kent Tekulve, a name that I couldn’t pronounce for the life of me when I was a kid. 

Let’s Go Moose!

Over at BP, Kevin Goldstein has the lowdown on which Yankee farm hands could replace Joba as Mo’s set-up guy. In order of “prospecty goodness”:

Marc Melancon: Someone didn’t give Melancon the note about Tommy John survivors having problems getting their control back. In 54 innings this year, the former University of Arizona star has walked just 10, while limiting opposing batters to a .209 batting average. Both his sinking fastball and his hard curve rate as plus pitches, and with the way he’s throwing at Double-A (1.57 ERA in 11 games), he could be in line for a September look.

David Robertson: As a small righty, Robertson doesn’t pass the scouting sniff test, but he keeps getting hitters out, easing concerns about his height. In over 130 innings as a pro, he’s yet to give up a home run, and in 28 appearances between Double- and Triple-A this year, he has a 1.74 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings. With a low-90s fastball and outstanding slider, Robertson may not have Melancon’s upside, but he might get the call sooner.

J. Brent Cox: Like Melancon, Cox missed all of last year due to reconstructive elbow surgery, and like Melancon he’s impressed people upon his return. Spread across three levels and now at Triple-A, Cox has posted a 1.38 ERA in 22 games. The one knock against him is that he doesn’t miss many bats (only 13 in 26 innings), but he makes up for it by inducing a good number of groundballs.

After the first game of the inter-city double header tomorrow, Lo-Hud columnist Sam Borden is going to troop from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx to Shea out in Flushing, Queens. It’s a ten mile hike. Sam has set-up a donation page at The American Cancer Society. Yesterday, in an e-mail, he wrote “This isn’t something The Journal News is involved with or affiliated with, which is why I’m not publicizing it on the paper’s web site. It’s just something I think is important, and am hoping to get as many people to know about it as possible.” So, yo, good cause here, peoples. If I didn’t have to work tomorrow and wasn’t still gimpy with a bad ankle, it’s just the kind of thing I’d love to join. Regardless, I’ll post Sam’s write-up on Saturday.

Yer Welcome.

Yanks need a lift from their young gun.  I expect the offense will get the led out too.

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

I don’t have as many records as I once did.  It’s what happens when you live in a small space and have a life long habit of collecting more stuff.  In with the baseball books, out with the records, you know how it goes.  I’ve sold some vinyl, and put the majority of them my collection storage, leaving me with just a couple of hundred at the crib.  I don’t know if there is a story behind every record I own, at least not a good story, but there usually is a fond memory, so I figure I’d start a new series, highlighting a piece of wax each week.

First up is the dancehall classic Bam Bam performed by Sister Nancy:

 
It’s been sampled to death, but my favorite treatment is “Just Hangin’ Out” from Main Source’s debut album. 

Back before re-issues flooded the market about a decade ago, you actually had to hunt around for records.  This one wasn’t that hard to find but it took me a minute.  When I found it, the store clerk, a Dub afficiando, sniffed at me.  “That isn’t even the best track on the record.”  Maybe not.  There are a few other good joints.  But none as memorable as “Bam, Bam.”  Least not for my money.

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HBO is planning a retrospective.  Peep, don’t sleep.

Jay Jaffe is pretty funny too.

Johnny Damon is hurting. According to the Post, he could be headed to the DL. Pete Abe says Hideki Matsui won’t be playing the outfield anytime soon.

Bottom Line:

“The whole game bothered me, we stunk, we stunk,” Girardi said. “We keep putting [runners] out there. We have to turn it around because we are missing opportunities. We had a lot of opportunities. The defense didn’t help us, the pitching didn’t help us and the runners in scoring position …”

…”I don’t think he needed to express that,” said Alex Rodriguez, who went 0-for-5 and hitless in two at-bats with runners in scoring position. “We all were upset.”
(N.Y. Post)

Due to a quirk in our schedule, Cliff isn’t available to present his usual series preview tonight (he’ll miss the Subway Serious too, but will be back for the Rangers). I’m not going to even front and try to do what he does so well. But I can tell you that I’m really looking forward to watching this series, and not only because the Yankees should be able to handle the Pirates. No, it’s more because PNC ballpark is one of the most breath-taking Stadiums in the country. At least it is on TV. Which means it’ll be three times dope on HD-TV.

The cityscape beyond the center field wall is a tremendous sight. I’ve never been but a few years ago they held some kind of throwback night where they turned off the electric scoreboard and the booming soundtrack. They only effects that night came from the organist. I can’t recall wanting to be at a non-Yankee game more in recent years. Another time, during Rickey Henderson’s final year with the Mets, the legend was thrown out attempting to steal second base. As he trotted off the field, the organist played "The Old Gray Mare." Now, that’s old-timey style.

So, instead of our regular preview, let me direct you over to our good pal Pete Abe, who has the starting line-ups, pitching match-ups as well as a couple of roster moves (we have a new face in left tonight).

Ain’t nuthin else much to say ‘cept the obvious:

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Lovely piece by John Branch in the Times the other day about an 89-year old organist Lambert Bartak.  Worth a click.  Man, baseball organists are a beautiful thing, no?