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DEM’S FIGHTIN’ WOIDS

Are the Yanks and Sox headed for a brawl? If the press has anything to say about it, you betcha. I’m sure if you polled most Yankee and Red Sox fans, they’d be all for it as well. Imagine? The talk radio shows would have enough material to carry them through the second half.

This story will do nothing but gain momentum over the next couple of weeks. The Yanks and Sox next meet for a three game set in Boston, July 25-27th. According to the Globe, Pedro Martinez may not start in the series. You know the Yankees will hope to avoid starting the volatile Rocket Clemens as well.

Boss George avoided a war of words with Pedro for the time being, but that could always change. Martinez took exception to Steinbrenner’s comments that he intentionally tried to hit Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter on Monday. But George has a long history of crying when a Yankee gets hit.

In the last week of the 1981 season, Reggie Jackson, who suffered through a rough and tumble fianl season with the Yankees principal owner, got into it with pitcher John Denny of the Cleveland Indians. I vividly remember the encounter (I was ten years old). According to Dick Schaap’s book, “Steinbrenner!:”

Knocked down by John Denny…Jackson got up and headed toward the mound, seting off a free-for-all tha emptied the Yankees’ bench. Jackson and Denny both survived the scuffle, and the next time Reggie came up, he drove one of Denny’s pitches into the right field stands. When he finished his home run trot, Jackson and Denny charged each other again, and a fresh battle erupted. Teammates had to pull Reggie away, and as they did, he clapped his hands. He was having great fun, for one of the few times all season. Steinbrenner, from his Tampa base, joined in the fun. He threatened legal action against pichers who knocked down his players. “I will not tolerate our hitters being assaulted with a deadly weapon,” Steinbrenner said. “The Yankees are knee-deep in lawyers, and we will use them to protect our players.”

At the very least, perhaps the Sox want to retain legal counsel, just in case.

BERNIE’S BACK

Man, what a sight for sore eyes. Bernie Williams returned to the Yankee line up last night in Cleveland and went 1-4 with 2 RBI. Soriano and Jeter and Moni were back too, and the Yanks beat the Indians, 6-2. Jeter had four hits. C.C. Sabathia walked six (a career high), but wasn’t terrible. I hadn’t seen him pitch all year, and I’d forgotten just how big he is. I knew he was hefty, but at 6’5, the guy is a mountain. Funny, but he rocks his cap slightly to the side, just to stay cool I guess. Boomer Wells recovered from the beating he took on the 4th, and shut down the Indians in his favorite home-away-from-home.

The Yanks didn’t get any help from the Blue Jays, who blew a lead to the Sox and fell, 8-7. Doh! I caught the end of the game on ESPN2, and got all wrapped up in the game. Boy, it’s great to hate a team. It adds so much tension and excitement to the season. Trailing by a run, Frankie Catalanotto lead off the ninth with a doulbe, his fifth hit of the game. But then, the Sox closer, Mr. Kim struck out the heart of the order to end the game.

ESPN ran a graphic which stated that the Sox have won twelve games in their last at-bat, and lost twelve games in their last at-bat. I was hoping for lucky number thirteen, but it wasn’t to be, and Boston remains three games behind New York. The Jays are now eight games back. The Yanks and Jays square off this weekend, while the Sox play the Tigers. Grrrrr.

THE EGGMAN OR THE WALRUS?

Earlier today, I was wondering just who Kevin Millar thinks he is. I expect whinning and carrying on from the likes of Clemens and Boss George and Prince Pedro, but Millar? I look at him as a good ballplayer who should be thanking his lucky stars he isn’t on the other side of the world right now. Fortunately, Ed Cossette gave me the skinny:

Millar, if you believe the reports coming from the beat writers, is the guy most responsible for changing the climate of the clubhouse. Since the stars, Ramirez, Nomar, Martinez, shun the leadership role, Millar has more or less stepped in as the default captain/leader of the team.

Some have even gone so far as to say that Manny’s good mood (and even the occasional comment to the media despite his vow of silence) is the result of Millar’s antics; evidently he really ribs the hell out of Manny and Manny, a kid at heart, loves it.

Score one for Theo/James who went after Millar with a vengeance even though none of the rest of us had any clue why.

ANGRY YOUNG MAN

Alan Schwarz has a long, compassionate article on Milton Bradley over at ESPN. I didn’t realize that Bradley was such a nut job, but then again I haven’t been paying too close attention. The article is worth reading, and Bradley is worth keeping tabs of, simply to see who he incites next.

KICKED OUT THE HOUSE

Allen Barra , who I recently interviewed for Baseball Prospectus, will not be returning to The New York Times. According to Sridhar Pappu in The New York Observer:

The New York Times has quietly cut bait on its experiment with sports columnist Allen Barra, who was brought in just this March to write a weekly column called “Against the Grain,” in the hope of giving the Sunday Sports section an anchor column similar to culture czar Frank Rich’s in Arts and Leisure.

It was a seemingly harmless hire-and yet, during former executive editor Howell Raines’ months in office, perhaps no appointment roused the ire of an entire department more than the hiring of the former Wall Street Journal and Observer sports columnist. A Birmingham, Ala., native who described Mr. Raines as “so cool” in a March interview with Off the Record, Mr. Barra, according to several sources, became a lightning rod for a group still smarting over the decision by the Raines regime to kill off two columns disagreeing with the paper’s editorial-board stance on the Augusta National Golf Club in December 2002.Further, sources said, Mr. Barra’s statistically driven pieces were not appreciated by a department still without writers on three major beats-New York Giants football, the Olympics and the N.B.A.-or the non-Strat-O-Matic-playing public.

The decision, sources said, was based on the editors’ satisfaction with Mr. Barra’s work. But some wondered: Had Mr. Raines not left The Times newsroom June 5, would Mr. Barra still be crunching O.B.P. and VORP on Sundays?”If Howell was still here, maybe Barra would be,” one Times source said. “Without him, there was one less roadblock.”

Mr. Barra and Times sports editor Tom Jolly did not return calls seeking comment, and a Times spokesperson declined to comment. In the meantime, Mr. Barra has resumed writing for The Journal in an occasional column called “In the Fray.”

And I thought The Times was finally getting its act together. Here is Barra’s latest piece for The Journal.

THE OUT OF TOWNER

Sox fan Ben Jacobs was in town over the weekend and caught Sunday and Monday’s games (ah, bum luck strikes again). He survived the obnoxious louts and even met some nice fans too. His account of the Mussina-Pedro game is terrific.

DANG YANKEES

There is a good profile on Bill James (“The Professor of Baseball”) by Ben McGrath in the latest issue of The New Yorker. It appears that James was the perfect man for the Boston job in more ways than one. Not only is he one of the brightest minds in his field, but he has an inherent dislike of the Yankees too. The man who reads Douglass Wallop’s 1954 novel, “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant,” (upon which the musical “Damn Yankees” was based) to his kids every year, tells McGrath, “Kansas City hates New York more than Boston does.”

According to James:

“All of the dreams I have in which we are successful are dreams in which we succeed in reducing the Yankees to a more appropriate stature in life.”

Now, that’s a good line. But that’s not all James is up to:

“What I’m trying to do is to create ways to think about the real problems of baseball front offices in an organized way. I’ve actually had some really interesting insights into the game and developed some very interesting methods for the Red Sox, and it’s very frustrating not to be able to discuss them with the public.”

McGrath writes that “One goal that James and company are working toward involves identifying worrisome physiological and stylistic traits among pitchers that lead predictably to injury.” This is something that Rob Neyer intimated might happen early this spring.

But of course, James is still a writer at heart:

“I think about writing as much as I think about baseball. The issues of why people believe what they believe and how you persuade them to see things your way are extremely interesting and extremely critical to me.”

I’m not a James fanatic by any stretch, but I do admit to having some James-envy now that he’s working for the Sox. I didn’t grow up reading his books. In fact, I only started reading his Abstracts a few years ago when my cousin was getting rid of all his copies. But I quickly discovered why he was so popular. It’s not so much his theories that I responded to—although I appreciate them as well, but his writing style. The insight, the quick wit, and the built-in bullshit detector. It’s good to see that even though he’s working for the big boys now, he’s still a writer first and foremost.

YOU TALKIN’ LOUD BUT YOU AIN’T SAYIN’ NUTHIN

In the aftermath of Monday’s Sox-Yanks finale, there is still plenty of moaning going on. The participants? Boss George, Rocket Clemens, Prince Pedro and Kevin Millar. Kevin Millar? Damn. Is he still yappin? Not much of a story here—until the Yanks and Sox meet up again in a couple of weeks—just the usual bruised-ego, tough-talk you’d expect from big-walking, tough-talking guys.

Oh, Gertrude. I guess the Times has it right today; crying has become more acceptable in professional sports. Hey George, got a kleenex?

TRIPPED UP

A funny thing happened to the Yankees on their way to the All Star break. They were one-hit by former Met prospect Billy Traber in Cleveland last night, and lost the game 4-0. Meanwhile the Blue Jays wasted another brilliant effort from Roy Halladay, as the Red Sox knocked them off in extra innings, 2-1. The Yankees lead over Boston is now down to three games.

After the Yanks were no-hit by the Astros earlier this year, Rob Neyer noted that the Bombers have just the kind of team that is prone to be getting shut down:

…It’s not really that surprising, what happened Wednesday night.
Why? Because if you’re trying to predict which team’s going to be no-hit, there’s really only one thing worth looking at: team batting average.

If you want to know if they’re going to be no-hit, you need to look at batting average … and the Yankees don’t have much of a batting average.

Heading into last night’s action, the Yankees were 10th in the American League with a .265 team batting average. So while it’s tempting to think that the Yankees just shouldn’t be the victims of a no-hitter, the fact is that we shouldn’t be all that surprised when a .265-hitting team gets no-hit, even if its ancestors have won 26 World Series.

Instead of Alfonso Soriano and Derek Jeter at the top of the line up, the Yanks fielded Enrique Wilson (.200) and Todd Zeile (.198) last night. Ouch.

But manager Joe Torre gave credit where credit was due:

“I’m glad the question was not asked: ‘Was it his pitching, or lack of hitting?’ Or, ‘Did you guys have a letdown after the Red Sox?’ ” Yankees Manager Joe Torre said at the end of his session with reporters. “None of that stuff happened. It was all him, no question. He was terrific tonight.”

Jeff Weaver got into a jam in the first inning, giving up two runs, but then pitched well after that. Weaver looked so pissed in the first that I thought he was going to implode. It looked as if he wasn’t even breathing, just seething, like a kettle ready to boil. It’s clear that he’s talented, but his head is in the toilet. He is a model of self-loathing.

Weaver needs to turn that frown upside down. Perhaps a little patience would help. Speaking of which, Bernie Williams will make his return to the Yankees tonight. And not a moment too soon.

WHO?

The boys over at Elephants in Oakland are running a good series covering the A’s prospects. Pitching phenom Rich Harden has been stealing the headlines all season, but a kid by the name of Justin Duchscherer looks mighty impressive too. I wonder if Beane will dangle Harden, while Duchscherer is his guy all along. Hmmm.

AIN’T NO HALF STEPPIN

Who is the most underrated player in baseball? According to Aaron Gleeman, it’s Seattle center fielder Mike Cameron.

FAT BEATS

There is an excellent new blog out there called Rich’s Weekend Baseball BEAT. The writing is succint and thought-provoking, certainly a welcome addition to the world of baseball blogs. Check out the latest article on the merits of the Triple Crown. My old pal John Perricone, who appears to be back with a vengence, adds to the discussion over at Only Baseball Matters. Great to see you off the dl, John.

SLUMPIN

Robin Ventura came to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth inning yesterday, and struck out for the fourth time of the day. David Pinto thinks that Ventura is just about warshed up. As likable as Ventura is, I can’t say that I disagree.

STRONG MEN ALSO CRY, SIR

When I first went to work for the Coen brothers in the fall of 1996, they had already cast Jeff Bridges as “The Dude” for their next movie, “The Big Lebowski.” For the first couple of weeks I was with them, they agonized over who would play “Lebowski.” The trouble was, most of the actors on their wish list were dead: Fredy Gywnne, Raymond Burr, Orson Welles. Ultimately, it came down to two actors, one of whom was British. I thought the Brit was the better choice, but for Joel and Ethan it was important that the actor was American, preferably of the midwest variety.

Thinking back on it, George Steinbrenner would have been an ideal choice. I was reminded of this after reading that Boss George got all choked up in front of a group of stunned reporters after yesterday’s exciting win over the Red Sox. As Lebowski would say, “Strong men also cry.” Veteran New York reporters Bill Madden and Joel Sherman were genuinely surprised at Steinbrenner’s reaction. That is saying something. Jack Curry reports in the Times:

The tears were visible beneath his sunglasses soon after Pride delivered for the second straight game. Steinbrenner depicts himself as a tough guy and a tough owner, a man who has avoided tears after winning some World Series titles. But on this emotional day in an emotional rivalry, when two of his best players wound up at a hospital for X-rays, Steinbrenner turned softer than pudding.

“I’m just proud of the way Mussina pitched,” Steinbrenner said. “You know, I’m getting older. As you get older, you do this more.”

According to Madden:

With a security guard behind him looking on in astonishment, Steinbrenner briefly excused himself from the group of reporters that had surrounded him in the press box as the Yankees were loading the bases against the new Red Sox closer, Byung Hyun Kim, with none out in the ninth. Moments later, as jubilation reigned from the 55,000 fans exiting the Stadium and Sinatra was kicking into “New York, New York,” Steinbrenner came back, still teary-eyed, only this time with a tone of defiance to his voice.

“Did you think Martinez was deliberately throwing at your guys?” he was asked.

“I have no idea what’s going on in his head,” Steinbrenner said, “except that it didn’t look too good to me. Two hitters? One of whom, Soriano, is on his way to the All-Star Game. … If he did deliver a message, he delivered the wrong — message!”

The postgame interviews featured relatively tame he-said/she-said accounts of Martinez’s drillings.

Naturally, the Sox left town vexed that they couldn’t win the series. Bob Ryan has a terrific summary of the game in the Globe this morning:

…Of course the Yankees found a way to win by a 2-1 score, and when it was over Niagara Falls took up residence on Steinbrenner’s face. The Boss bawled some serious tears of joy. Seriously. He was really crying. When it comes to this rivalry, there is never any need to make things up. Fact has been kicking Fiction’s butt now for nigh onto nine decades.

Ryan points out how the Red Sox wasted a great opportunity to take the series with Martinez pitching and the Yankees fielding their B (or C?) team.

The journalistic temptation is to get melodramatic when discussing the ceaseless Red Sox fan frustration against the Yankees, but how can you not when you see games like this? Losing this game, and falling back to the same situation the team was in when it arrived here in the wee smalls Friday (i.e. four games behind), on a day when they were playing the junior varsity and your team was suiting up the full varsity is, what? Galling? Humiliating? Exasperating? Oh, God forbid, and worst of all, predictable? Was there a seasoned Red Sox fan out there who didn’t know with 1 trillion percent certainty in his or her heart of hearts that as soon as Giambi’s single tied the game off Martinez that this game was a lost cause and more than likely would end in some messy fashion?

What did we have in the ninth? We had two singles on two-strike pitches, a hit batsman to load the bases with none out, and a botched grounder that had inning-ending 4-2-3 written all over it.

And then we had George opening up the facial faucet.

When the subject matter is the Red Sox and their ongoing battle to slay the big, bad dragon from the Bronx, no mere sportswriter is equal to the task. But Homer is dead, and we are all you’ve got.

Weep on, George. History remains on your side.

WHAT, ME WORRY?

I got a letter from reader Cliff Corcoran who found my general pessimissm surrounding the Sox series off-putting. Fair enough, but I should warn you, it ain’t likey to change anytime soon. I’m a nervous, jumpy fan by nature, so please, bear with me folks. I usually put my own team down, and then hope for the best. It’s not that I lack faith, it’s just that I’m very reserved about expressing it. Plus, I guess I like to out-fox the Sox fans in the gloom-and-doom department (fat chance, buddy), just to try and jinx ’em.

Maybe I just want to be a Red Sox fan. I sure sound like one often enough. I don’t know where I got this from. Perhaps it comes from growing up with the Yankees in the 80s. Or maybe it’s because I’m a Knicks fan and a Jets fan too.

Otherwise, I think I’m a well-adjusted adult. Honest.

THE ONLY SPLIT THAT FITS

So who should steal the headlines from the big boys today, but Curtis Pride, of course. Pride hit a slow grounder to second; Bill Mueller bobbled the ball and then threw the ball over Jason Varitek’s head, allowing Hideki Matsui to score the winning run. It took a full 20 seconds for “Mlb Gameday” to display what happened after they signaled that a pitch had been ‘hit into play.’ I thought my heart was going to pop out of my shirt.

I received the following e-mail from Ed Cossette when Ventura came to bat:

Bases loaded. No outs. By the time you get this it’ll all be over.

I don’t know how much longer I can take this. If I wasn’t stuck having to write for Fox, there is no chance I’d blog tomorrow.

Why didn’t my parents live in New York? Why God why?

The Yanks earn a split of the four game series, and once again lead Boston by four games. Hey Millar, yer evicted buddy.

ONIONS!

Mr. Kim showing he’s got some brass ones, comes back and whiffs Ventura.

OR…

Or Posada’s fat ass could get hit. Kim plunks Jorge to load the bases for Robin Ventura. Still nobody out.

RALLY…?

Matsui leads off the ninth with a single, and then Karim Garcia hits a single too. With Flaherty up, Posada must be pinch-hitting here. He can be a double-play machine…

POPPING OFF

Me and my big, fat mouth…Manny popped out to Jason Giambi to end the Boston ninth. Game is still tied. I am now in the process of chewing my entire hand, forget the nails. Who says we take this rivalry too seriously?