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I was out at Shea Stadium last night, soaking in the cheerful noisiness of a decidedly motley crew in the upper deck, and missed all of Mike Mussina’s complete-game beauty in Detroit. Final score: Yanks 6, Tigers 1 (Moose missed a shutout due to an error by Alex Rodriguez, but it only took him 100 pitches on the nose, to finish the job regardless.) The Mets and the Diamondbacks featured a terrific billing–Pedro Martinez v. Brandon Webb. Both pitchers were excellent and neither team scored a run until Endy Chavez’s RBI single in the bottom of the 13th. By the time we filed out of Shea, the Yanks had a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning and that’s all I knew until I got home just past midnight.

What a game for Mussina. If the Tigers have one flaw it is that they are over-aggresive offensively and that obviously worked in Mussina’s favor. Andy Phillips and Miguel Cairo–who started in place of the aching Derek Jeter–flashed some leather, the defense turned three double plays, and Mussina cruised. He has pitched at least six innings in each start this season and has 12 consecutive “quality” starts (I know that stat isn’t especially impressive, but when you have a dozen straight in ain’t bubkus either). With Jeter, Sheffield and Damon all sitting and the young Verlander going tonight, Wednesday night’s victory was sweet for the Yankees. Jason Giambi and Rodriguez had three hits each and provided more than enough support for Mussina, undeniably the team’s ace this season.

So? What did I miss? What stood out to those of you who caught it?

Before the NBA playoffs in 1983, 76ers power forward, and future Hall of Famer, Moses Malone was asked for a prediction. “Fo, fo, fo,” he replied succinctly, meaning that his team would win each series in four straight (the Sixers did win the title that year, going 12-1 in the process). The NBA playoffs have been truly exciting this spring, but for the injured-torn New York Yankees, the answer to their problems came in a familiar package last night: Mo, Mo, Mo. Mariano Rivera worked three innings for the first time in a regular season game since 1996. He threw just 25 pitches and was brilliant as the Yankees beat the Tigers in extra innings, 11-6. It seemed like the Tigers were going to find a way to pull the game out–coming back from 6-1, but Jason Giambi’s solo home run off of Todd Jones broke the tie and then his teammates added four more for good measure. Combined with another Toronto win over Boston, the Yanks find themselves tied for first place this morning.

It was the Good, Bad and the Ugly last night in the Motor City. Let’s address the bad first. Neither Johnny Damon or Gary Sheffield were in the line-up last night. Damon is playing with a broken bone in his foot and will need to rest every so often. Sheffield’s wrist has not gotten better. In fact, it may have become significantly worse and the slugger may return to the DL. According to Sam Borden in the Daily News:

Sheffield admitted that he has suffered a new injury to his already-ailing wrist and believes he could be facing another long layoff.

“Yeah,” Sheffield said when asked directly if he thought he might need to go back on the DL. “As soon as I picked up the bat to warm up (yesterday afternoon), it felt like my wrist came off. …I don’t know what’s going on. I felt like (the previous sprain) was getting better, but it’s in a different spot now. It’s right on the wrist, right on the bone. It’s really painful.”

(more…)

Funny what pitching in Comerica Park can do for a pitcher’s disposition. Randy Johnson had some of the old juice in him yesterday–he brushed back at least two Tiger hitters, as the Yanks won the first of a four game series, 4-0. It was the third straight win for New York (who beat the Royals 15-4 on Saturday, and 6-5 on Sunday). Fly balls that have been going over the wall recently against Johnson found their way into the gloves of his outfielders. According to Tyler Kepner:

“It’s one game,” Johnson said. “My career wasn’t over after a few bad ones. It doesn’t mean anything because I threw a good one. It just means I’m back on track to where I should be. That’s all.”

…Detroit stacked nine right-handed hitters against Johnson, who induced more groundouts to third base (six) than strikeouts (four). The Tigers’ Brandon Inge noticed that Johnson was throwing more off-speed pitches than normal.

“That’s something I haven’t seen from him in a long time,” Inge said. “To me, that shows he’s pitching. He’s not trying to blow it past you anymore. But he still has it when he wants to reach back.”

It’s a start. It will be interesting to see how Johnson fares against the Orioles at Camden Yards this weekend.

It hasn’t been hot or humid in New York this spring. Until yesterday, that is. The sun is peaking out this morning but it is muggy as can be and there is a chance we’ll see thunderstorms this afternoon. The game doesn’t start until 4:00 but even if there is a delay, I’ve got every reason to believe they’ll get this one in.

I’ll be there in Bob Uecker territory, the right field nose bleeds with Emily, my cousin Jonah and his wife Jenn. Emily is sooooo excited–it’s her first game of the year (she’s rocking her Giambi shirt). Jonah’s first game ever was at Yankee Stadium but he hasn’t been back since (he’s a Mets fan), so it’s as if he’s never been. This is Jenn’s first time as well, so I’m excited to play host a little something.

You have to figure the Yanks’ll bounce back today after a silly loss last night. “I have faith,” says Emily.

“That’s all you got for a quote,” I ask?

“Yeah,” she says.

“Man, you are getting to be just as bland as the players, Lady.”

“I wish Bubba was playing.”

“You won’t get your Bubba, but you’ll get a Melky and you’ll like it.”

“Mmm, I like Melky.”

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

Mike Mussina gets the start tonight against the Royals, losers of 13 straight. (Is it just me, or does anyone else get nervous that a team is due to win a couple after losing so much, even a team as woeful as Kansas City?) Will this be the year Mussina finally wins 20 games? Ehhhh, could be. Ed Price tackles the subject today in the Star-Ledger:

“Moose likes to live in the shadows somewhere,” manager Joe Torre said. “He doesn’t like all that attention. He’s proud of what he does, but he doesn’t need someone to tell him that.”

Mussina says he’s not overly concerned about winning 20. There is too much season left for him to get ahead of himself. He has to be pleased with how he’s pitch so far, though. Moose adds:

“Being older and a little smarter and all that stuff, when you’ve had years that you’re struggling, you pay attention to why you struggle and what bad habits I had. You try to make sure you don’t have that when you get to the next year.”

Without crunching any numbers, I’d rank Mussina with the likes of Curt Schilling and John Smoltz as borderline Hall of Fame candidates. Smoltz has been a terrific playoff pitcher and of course was also an elite closer for a few years; Schilling has the 300 K and 20 win seasons and two World Serious rings. I wonder which of the three will last the longest. My guess is that right now, Schilling and Smoltz are more likely to make it to Cooperstown, but one never knows…does one?

I can safely say that Mussina’s got the Bronx Banter crew behind him 110%.

As I mentioned yesterday in the comments section, I’m excited to see El Duque return to New York. In a way, it’s actually a relief to me that he’s on the Mets. This way I can enjoy watching him perform without being too emotionally invested in the outcome. I like Buster Olney’s take on the deal:

The best possible situation you can have with Orlando Hernandez at this stage in his career, a high-ranking American League executive said last night, is when you don’t have to count on him.

“The White Sox played it exactly right last year,” the exec said, “because they brought him along and he was kind of the extra guy in the rotation — they didn’t absolutely need him to win. They went into the postseason, and he wasn’t filling a crucial role; he was just another guy on their pitching staff. And then, in the playoff series against Boston, they brought him [in] when it wasn’t make or break, and he was tremendous.”

…There will be issues with El Duque: He gets hurt a lot, he is temperamental and he is high-maintenance. But if the Mets make the playoffs and face a big moment in October, there is nobody stronger mentally than Hernandez.

By the way, I know I’ve mentioned this before, but if you are interested in Duque, do yourself a favor and pick up “The Duke of Havana,” by Steve Fainaru and Ray Sanchez. It’s not necessarily a great baseball book–it actually reads more like a Graham Greene novel than anything else–but it is an absorbing account of Cuban baseball and El Duque’s life and career.

Jim Baumbach has an article in Newsday today about Yankee prospect Eric Duncan, who is currently rehabbing a lower back strain in Tampa:

Team officials are contemplating sending Duncan, who has struggled at Triple-A Columbus, to Double-A Trenton, a demotion they would be likely to say is necessary because of the sudden influx of major-league journeymen at Columbus.

But such a move also would send a message of concession, essentially saying the 21-year-old first baseman isn’t ready to succeed at Columbus. And with the trading season about to begin, this is the worst possible time to send that message to the baseball world.

The Yankees will be in the market for pitching help, and perhaps a leftfielder, too, and the teams that will be sellers will be looking for major league-ready talent.

Meanwhile, Melky Cabrera has shown some promise at the big league level this season. Tyler Kepner has a good piece in the Times about Melky and his big brother/mentor, Robbie Cano:

“Both of them are very similar in the fact that they’re having fun,” [Manager Joe] Torre said. “I don’t think they understand the pressure most people understand here. They’re just out there playing baseball.”

Last week at the Stadium, Cabrera made a fine running catch near the right field wall. After he threw the ball to the infield he made a funny face–in the direction of Cano–that said, “Wow, can’t believe I got that one without killing myself.” With Sheffield back, Cabrera will return to left field where he’ll continue his unsentimental education learning to adjust to the position.

Jorge Posada has a torn hamstring tendon in his left knee. It is still uncertain if Posada will be placed on the disabled list. The Yankees’ catcher will be re-evaluated in a few days. GM Brian Cashman told the New York Times:

“The M.R.I. had to show something. As it was explained to me, there are several tendons that connect to the knee. This one is an unusual injury, but on the good side, it’s a tendon that you don’t need to function.”

In the Daily News, Anthony McCaron continues:

Posada had an MRI yesterday and also was examined by Yanks team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon. Cashman was worried because the Yanks’ trainer, Gene Monahan, couldn’t even speculate on how badly Posada was hurt.

“And Geno’s been doing this a long time,” Cashman said. “It’s good news, considering my level of worry, but the bad news is we’ll be without Jorge’s services for a period of time.”

Posada’s injury is unusual, Cashman said, because he has a tear in one tendon of several behind the knee. “The way Dr. Hershon explained it to me, this is a tendon we apparently don’t have a need for and it is typically used if someone needs a transplant,” Cashman said. “So it’s the pain and swelling that gets in the way for Jorge.

“Jorge told me (last night) that he feels much better since Wednesday and he hadn’t even had anti-inflammatories (medicine) yet. His belief is he’ll be ready sooner than 15 days and Hershon said it was plausible.”

This one is worth holding our collective breath over. Nothing to do but hope for the best, but shoot, this goes down just when Posada was clicking offensively too. Dag.

Steve Lombardi links to a good piece about John Flaherty discussing Randy Johnson’s performance last night. The Yanks acquired back-up infielder Nick Green, while on a more worrisome note, Jorge Posada will have a magnetic resonance imaging exam today to determine if there is anything seriously wrong with his hamstring. We can only hold our breath and hope that Posada is OK though I wouldn’t be surprised to see a whole lot of Kelly Stinnett this weekend.

Our pal in Japan, Mike Plugh shared an interesting bit about Godzilla Matsui with me recently that I’ve been meaning to pass along. It has to do with a small reference Bill Madden made about Matsui last week:

The pregame topics of conversation – Hideki Matsui’s return to the Stadium to address the small army of Japanese media and once again apologize for breaking his wrist; Torre’s depleted lineup – had become distant memories.

Mike sent Madden a letter because he believes that the American media has it twisted and thinks that Matsui was apologizing for all the wrong reasons. Anyhow, here is what Plugh wrote to Madden:

Hello Mr. Madden.

My name is Mike Plugh and I live in Akita, Japan where I am an English instructor and baseball blogger. I also teach Cross Cultural Awareness and perhaps have some insight into Matsui’s statements.It seems that the US media hasn’t quite caught the right angle for the storyline, and since I enjoy your writing very much, I decided to send this tip to you.

Matsui isn’t apologizing because he’s sorry for being hurt. Clearly, even he knows that something like that is out of his hands. No pun intended. He’s isn’t apologizing exclusively because he’s letting the team down. He’s apologizing because the Yankees (his employer) made a tremendous financial commitment to him, and he is obligated to earn his pay. He is obligated by what the Japanese call “giri” to perform his assigned duty for the employer, and since he is no longer able to do so, but still collects a paycheck, he has to make amends by lowering himself before the public in an appropriate display of remorse. He’s acknowledging to the Japanese public that with the money he collects and the status he’s afforded he also will bear the burden
of humility to balance the situation and promise to work hard to come back and earn his keep.

Yes, he’s a stand up guy, but that has little to do with his statements and it’s almost a Japanese cultural thing on auto-pilot. You’d see a fisherman, janitor, school teacher, or CEO do the exact same thing. It’s required of them as a matter of protocol.

Good stuff, Mike. Thanks for the enlightenment.

The Cookie Monster, David Ortiz gets the Gas Face! This picture is a classic.

There was not a dramatic turn-around for Randy Johnson on Wednesday night at Fenway Park. He pitched inconsistently and poor enough to allow five runs in five innings, but he did strike out eight (matching his season high) while only walking two. As fate would have it, Johnson pitched just well enough for him to earn the victory in the Yankees’ 8-6 win. Fortunately for New York, Boston’s starter Matt Clement had more than his fair share of problems-—mostly throwing strikes. Batting in the lead-off spot in place of Johnny Damon—who Joe Torre felt sorely needed a rest–Melky Cabrera drove in four runs and was the offensive hero of the game. Cabrera also made a fine running catch to rob Mike Lowell of a hit to end the seventh (it wouldn’t be Lowell’s only lost hit of the night). The Yanks survived three extra base hits from Manny Ramirez, including two home runs, and Kyle Farnsworth struck out David Ortiz with the bases loaded to end the eighth, the dramatic highlight of the game. After getting served by Curt Schilling on Monday night, the Yanks wind up winning the series and they leave town just a half-a-game behind the Sox.

The Sox got to Johnson early. Kevin Youkilis, who Cliff recently called a right-handed version of Nick Johnson, singled and reached third on Mark Loretta’s line drive off the Green Monster. Loretta was thrown out at second and then Ortiz whiffed–one of four K’s on the night for Cookie Monster. But Ramirez belted a home run over everything in left and just like that Johnson was in a hole. (For what it is worth, Ramirez put his head down and ran after both of his dingers on Wednesday.) The Yanks put up four in the second thanks in large part to Clement’s wildness—he walked two batters, hit another, got smacked in the leg by an infield single by Bernie Williams and surrendered a key, two-run single to Cabrera.

The lead didn’t last long. After striking out the first two men in the bottom of the second, Alex Gonzalez singled and then stole second. Johnson got ahead of Youkilis 0-2 but could not put him away. It’s become customary to see Youkilis—like Jason Giambi—extend virtually every at-bat to a full-count situation. Johnson’s payoff pitch was a flat slider and Youkilis crushed it for a game-tying homer.

(more…)

Two odd-looking birds pitching tonight in Boston, eh? Randy Johnson and Matt Clement are gangly and all angles. Neither is going to win a beauty contest anytime soon. Johnson, as we all know, has been getting his ass kicked around for more than a minute now. It will be interesting to see if he has figured out any of his problems. He did pitch well against the Red Sox last season but he’s been a different pitcher entirely of late, and it’s likely that it’ll take him a while longer to get his groove back. Still, I just hope he improves tonight. I don’t expect him to turn the clock back to his days with the Diamondbacks.

That said, it would be a tremendous boost for the Bombers if they leave Boston with a series win. The Yanks host the hapless Royals this weekend before four tough games against the surprising Tigers next week. I have a hunch that I’ll be cursing a blue streak tonight, but nevermind the fatalism, let’s hope the boys on both sides give us a good game.

Go Baseball!

That team is decimated. They’ve lost some very significant people,” said [Curt] Schilling, who improved to 7-2. “We have to take advantage of that.

“Who’s playing for (Gary) Sheffield? Who’s playing for (Hideki) Matsui? That’s a drastically different team. That’s not a knock on any of the guys they’re running out there, but we’re talking about All-Star caliber players – Hall of Fame caliber players – that they’re playing without.

“We’ve got to take advantage of them now.”
(N.Y. Daily News)

That is exactly what Schilling and the Red Sox did last night as Boston drilled the Yanks, 9-5. Schilling’s 199th career win puts his team two-and-a-half games ahead of New York in the American League East (Toronto is three back). Other than a third inning rally which produced a run, Schilling dominated the Yankees, aided by double play balls in the fifth and the seventh. Schilling’s splitter was in fine form–he got ahead of hitters and then put them away.

Chien-Ming Wang wasn’t as sharp and he paid for it. With one out and two men on in the bottom of the third, Wang fell behind David Ortiz 3-0. It looked as if he was pitching around the Yankee Killer, but then Wang laid in a cookie to the Monster who promptly smacked it into left under the glove of a diving Terrence Long for a two-run double (not for nothing but Long looks like Claudell Washington and Oscar Gamble’s long-lost love child). Manny Ramirez followed and quickly fell behind 0-2 before Wang made another mistake–a meatball served up on a platter. Ramirez probably couldn’t believe his luck, and didn’t waste any time walloping the pitch into the center field bleachers.

“He looked like he tried to do something with Manny, something up, which is not his neighborhood,” Torre said. “It’s Manny’s neighborhood, but not his neighborhood, and he killed that ball.”
(N.Y. Times)

Wang settle down for the next few innings but was chased from the game in the seventh, and allowed seven runs in all. By the time the Yankees rallied for four runs in the ninth, the Sox already had a comfortable lead, as they cruised to a victory in the first of three at Fenway Park. Jorge Posada and Alex Rodriguez popped homers off Keith Foulke late, and whatta ya hear whatta ya say, Bernie Williams (the unbooable man) had another couple of hits. The Yankees are eager for Gary Sheffield to return to the line up tonight–he’ll have some kind of welcome back having to deal with Tim Wakefield’s floater.

I’ve got to be brief this morning. The Mets beat the Yankees 4-3 on a blustery Sunday night in Queens. The Bombers had plenty of hits and walks but they simply could not get anything done with men on base. Tom Glavine was not great but he was good enough. He made big pitches when he had to (see Jeter’s double play in the sixth).

Alex Rodriguez came to bat with the bases loaded twice and came away with nothing but his lingering reputation for pressing in tough spots. To be fair, he crushed a line drive in the first situation, but with the tying run at third and the bases juiced with just one out in the eighth, Rodriguez tapped into a 6-4-3 double play. Try sleeping on that. I know it took me awhile to stop muttering to myself and hey, I like rooting for Rodriguez. I can only imagine what else was being said about him after that.

Long balls from Carlos Delgado and David Wright proved to be all the offense the Mets would need. The Yankees’ pitching was as good as can be expected under the circumstances. Billy Wagner made it interesting in the ninth, once again, but recorded the save all the same.

The Bombers face Schilling tonight up at Fenway. But hey, there is hope on the way. What? You say that Scott Erickson doesn’t fill you with that Barton Fink feeling? How about Terrance Long, Richard Hidalgo or Mr. E. Durazo?

It’s been a strange day with the weather here in New York–sunny, rainy, then sunny again. There is a chill in the air, a steady breeze too. Sunday Night Baseball features future Hall of Famer Tom Glavine bringing the soft stuff to the Yankees tonight. Journey man pitcher Aaron Small hopes to similarly vex the Mets by keeping them off balance, utalizing his good change-up.

I wouldn’t be suprised if the Mets blew the Yanks out, but if the Bombers can get to Glavine, if he’s not especially sharp, then we’ll have us a ball game. Wonder which team is going to decide to catch the ball tonight?

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

“I didn’t think Pedro would come out, the way he was throwing and with his pitch count pretty low,” [Mike] Mussina said. “It was pretty easy for him. And I was surprised when Wagner came back with a four-run lead, and he just pitched last night.

“But, of course, you don’t expect a closer of his caliber to pitch like that. Strange things happen.”
(N.Y. Times)

Over the years, the Yankees’ key to success against Pedro Martinez is to make him throw a lot of pitches, and hope their pitcher can keep the score close. The idea, in theory, is to chase Pedro from the game by the seventh inning–either by scoring off him or just plain tiring him out–to get into the bullpen. The Yankees had to be careful what they wished for yesterday though, as the Mets’ bullpen has been one of the strongest in the big leagues so far this season. Add that to the fact that because of injuries Miguel Cairo was the Yankees’ starting left fielder yesterday. But strange things do tend to happen when Martinez pitches against the Bombers. And though he didn’t figure in the final decision, you have to wonder if was days like these that once prompted him to call the Yankees his daddy.

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Last winter, the Yankees got Randy Johnson to be their stud, big-game pitcher and the Mets signed Pedro Martinez to be their star attraction. At this stage, Martinez has lived up to the billing. Every time he takes the mound it is an event, in large part because of his natural showbiz charm. I think Johnson will eventually pitch much better than he has, but the fact is he couldn’t hold a 4-0 first inning lead last night.

Pedro hasn’t been dominant in his last couple of outings but you have to figure he’d hold a four run lead against this Yankee line up in a National League park. Bernie and Farnsworth are unavailable today. Kevin Reese is getting the start. Believe that. How fired up is Pedro? On National TV. He’ll bring the drama, baby.

Mussina has been the Yankees’ best pitcher this year by far. He’s far less emotional than Pedro but he’s a tremendous pitcher on a hot streak. With Aaron Small–whose golden goose has likely turned back into a pumpkin already–going tomorrow night against Glavine, today is key for the Bombers. They’ve had more than reasonable success against Martinez over the years. But you gotta like the Mets bullpen right now. Tough game. Just got to hope they keep it together with the leather and that Moose can give them 7-8 innings. They’ll get some runs.

Randy Johnson had another bad outing for the Yankees on Friday night. Staked to a 4-0 first inning lead, Johnson would go on to blow leads of 4-3, 5-3 and 6-5, in the Mets’ 7-6 win at Shea Stadium. Carlos Beltran and Xavier Nady took the Big Unit deep, Kaz Matsui had a big RBI single and the Mets’ hitters consistently worked the count, fouling off pitches, all night. In the end, t was a fine night for the Shea Faithful. According to Tyler Kepner in the New York Times:

“It’s a very humbling game,” said Johnson, whose earned run average rose to 5.62. “I’m humbled; I always have been. But I’m not going to quit. I’m not a quitter. I’ve come back from a lot of things. I know my teammates need me, and I need them. I’ll continue to battle.”

Johnson said he believed his pitches were still good enough to win. He blamed his problems on poor location and selection.

“Obviously I’m not throwing 97 or 98 miles an hour, but I’m throwing 94 or 95, and my slider’s at 85 to 87,” Johnson said. “So I’ve got the pitches. Location and pitch selection are the things that are inconsistent. The stuff is there. People will say what they want, but I’m convinced the stuff is there. It’s just not getting the job done right now.”

Mariano Rivera took the loss in the ninth when David Wright crushed a two-out single to the base of the center field wall. With Paul LoDuca on second, the Yankees chose to walk Carlos Delgado to get to Wright. I had had a nagging feeling for innings, wondering how the Bombers would find a way to lose the game and this move cinched it. I know Delgado is a beast, but Wright is no slouch and wouldn’t you always rather see Rivera pitch to a lefty?

It was a tough loss but a relatively entertaining game. After a flurry of runs early on, the Mets bullpen out-pitched the Yanks’ pen for the win. Aaron Heilman had his change-up working as he threw three scoreless, while Billy Wagner fanned the side–including Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez–in the ninth.

The Mets also flashed some nice leather, while the Yankees’ fielding continues to falter–another error by Rodriguez, a botched run-down by Robinson Cano. Offensively, Derek Jeter had a good night and Cano hit the ball hard three times, though he only had one hit to show for it.

Nertz to the final score, the bad news for the Yanks came when Jorge Posada left the game with tightness in his back after the first inning. Initially, the announcers speculated that it was his relationship with Johnson that drove him from the game–talk about a headline!–but the injury appears to be legit. Bernie Williams strained his ass legging out a double and Kyle Farnsworth would leave the game with a back problem after pitching a 1-2-3 eighth.

The Mets overall record is one game better than their counterparts in the Bronx. But right now, the Yankees are wondering when the pain will stop. They’ll need length and luck today as aces are high with Mussina and Pedro on the mound.

Vicente Padilla and the Texas bullpen out-pitched Jaret Wright and the Yankee pen, as the Rangers toppled the increasingly banged-up Bombers 6-2 on an overcast afternoon in the Bronx. Both starting pitchers were excellent, but some poor fielding and lousy relief did the home team in. After starting the season impressively in the field, the Yanks have been kicking the ball around more than somewhat of late.

The funniest moment in the game came in the seventh inning. The Rangers had taken a 4-0 lead in the top half of the inning and Padilla had runners on second and third with two men out when Jorge Posada pinch-hit. Padilla looks like a bad-guy extra in a Roger Corman biker movie, and it was hilarious to see how Posada tried to mess with his head. With the count 1-1, Padilla threw a late breaking slider over the outside part of the plate. It was called a strike though it looked way outside. The next pitch, a high fastball, looked like strike three but was called a ball. Okay, fine. They were even. Then Posada stepped out. Padilla had been taking a long time between pitches all afternoon, so now he and Posada are locked in a duel of stubborness.

Posada, who is more stubborn than a mule, asked the umpire for a new ball. Padilla contempuously rolled the ball back towards the plate, almost directly at Posada. He then missed for ball three. Next, without holding his hand out, Posada called time after another long stare-down with Padilla. He was granted time, but not before Padilla went into his wind up and delivered a breaking ball that looked to be a strike on the outside corner. No matter, the pitch didn’t count. Next pitch? Check swing, ball four and Posada had his walk.

Showalter sprung out of the dugout and offered his characteristically comic, terse signal to the pen. Padilla was furious on the mound, red-faced, smoke coming out of his ears, like some poor schnook that Bugs Bunny had just worked over. He left the mound with the lead, but when Johnny Damon dumped a two-run single into left, you could see Padilla in the dugout with some kind of scowl on his mug.

That was as close as the Yanks would get, but it just cracked me up how Posada drove this guy from the game in a fit of frustration. Padilla pitched a really nice game too.