So it rained before the game, and it’s raining now, but the heavens closed tonight just long enough for the Yankees to play a listless nine innings and lose, 4-2, to the Rangers.

During the game I was thinking that Phil Hughes may be back in the rotation sooner rather than later, because it sure seemed like something was off with Andy Pettitte. After the game he said he was fine, but his first couple innings tonight were a festival of walks and singles – both his stuff and his location were giving him trouble. It’s a testament to either Pettitte’s luck or his guile that he  limited the damage to four runs and then got himself through five innings, given how rough he looked in the early going. Could just be an off-night, or maybe his back still hurts and he’s  being macho about it, which (note: complete speculation) would be my guess.

Meanwhile Scott Feldman, going for the Rangers, was not exactly dominating but did do a good job of preventing the Yankees from stringing anything together. Alex Rodriguez singled in Nick Swisher in the first, and then in the seventh, Jorge Posada knocked a line drive over the right field wall, and that was it for New York.

Despite all their come-from-behind wins this year,  I never thought they’d pull one of those off tonight – the game just didn’t have that feel. Low-energy, and a bit of a comedown after the last two doozies, but hey, they were certainly due for one of these. My personal favorite moment of the game was Paul O’Neill’s extended shocked silence at the revelation that Randy Choate is currently closing for the Rays.

So, I’m off to sleep. Over the last few weeks I’ve been having really odd, vivid dreams, which I only mention because a lot of them have been baseball-related. There was one the week before last in which Jeter and A-Rod were kidnapped and for some reason I had to find them when the police couldn’t. Then I had one of those classics where you show up to class and discover there’s a huge exam you’re totally unprepared for, and all the questions were about the ’94 strike. Oddest of all, a few nights ago I dreamed I was… making out with Johan Santana at an Enrique Iglesias concert. (Please note that my admiration for Johan Santana is considerable, but platonic, and that I can’t stand Enrique Iglesias.) The subconscious is a strange place.

Anyone else have any weird baseball dreams you’d care to share?

Thunderstorms, says the weatherman. Hopefully, they’ll get the game in…

Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

Meanwhile, according to the intrepid Pete Abe:

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: Wang starts tomorrow. More to come later. Hughes to bullpen.

UPDATE, 4:49 p.m.: Hughes is a temporary bullpen fix, Cashman said. He’ll be a starter long term.

New York, New York Big City of Dreams (and everything in New York ain’t always what it seems)…

IRT Station, Inwood

I’ve got a good one for you.  Dig this boss site, New York City Walk.  Dude from New Mexico came to New York and walked every street in Manhattan.  Took him two years. And he kept a blog.  It’s fascinating.  Here’s a neighborhood-by-neighborhood breakdown.

There’s just no end to the cool people in this world, is there?

Jonah Keri and Rob Neyer on Jorge Posada’s chances of making the Hall of Fame.

Whadda think?

I saw the actor/director Tim Blake Nelson (pictured above with George Clooney) on the IRT this morning. He was with his son, taking the kid to school. I met Nelson when I worked for the Coen brothers and later adored him in their movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?  He was a friendly, unassuming guy.

Though I was sitting just two feet away from where they were standing, I chose not say hello.  I went back to my book, and looked up at them occasionally, not wanting to invade their privacy.  Nelson was warm and loving with his son.

Talented actor and director. Good man.

An apology to Star-Ledger Yankees beat reporter Marc Carig is in order.

On Monday, I wrote:

STAR LEDGER: Marc Carig copied off Erik Boland’s paper in that he had individual stories on Gardner and Wang/Hughes, But he had a couple of other tidbits: 1) His recap was short and had additional bulletpointed notes. I thought this was an interesting format. It reminded me of an anchor calling highlights and then reading key notes off the scoreboard graphic. 2) He had a full feature on Phil Coke and his blaming the umpire’s call on the 3-2 pitch to Trevor Crowe. Check out the last paragraph. Looks like he copied off Pete Abe’s paper, too.

I realize that the above block can be construed as an accusation of plagiarism, but it is not. The “copied off his paper” lines were meant to be tongue-in-cheek, to demonstrate that there is information overlap, and in some cases, quote and word overlap, in deadline situations. The fact that Marc Carig’s stories in the Star-Ledger were similar to the ones in Newsday and the Journal News was a coincidence.

These coincidences occur daily if you follow all of the media. For example, late last week, Michael Kay interviewed Mets GM Omar Minaya on his radio show in the afternoon and asked him, in a different order, nearly the same exact questions Craig Carton and Boomer Esiason did on WFAN in the morning. Michael may or may not have listened to the FAN show, but in analysis, I could have written, “It sounded like Michael Kay ripped his questions off the morning team at WFAN. Wouldn’t that add to the WFAN-ESPN rivalry?”

To Marc, I am sorry for the loaded nature of the statements above and for any fallout or criticism it has caused you in the past few days. I know the seriousness of that accusation and wouldn’t wish it upon myself or anyone else. Moving forward, I will do a better job of reading between the lines as I proof these pieces to make sure the words I choose are the right ones.

Thank you.

“Payback is a pitch that lands in the bullpen.” — Yankee play-by-play man, Michael Kay

Before he signed with the Yankees I knew that Mark Teixeira was a very good player, even a great player, but I didn’t have much of a sense of him. He seemed professional and aware, unremarkable and sterile. My wife said he looked like a white Barry Bonds. That was his defining quality to me. Cliff ranted and raved all winter long that the Yankees needed to sign Teixeira or else the balance of power would remain in Boston for years to come and I had no reason not to believe him. Teixeira slumped in April but has otherwise been a marvel; a brilliant and exciting fielder, a wonderful hitter, and a spirited competitor. I didn’t figure on the competitor part–which we first glimpsed against Carlos Gomez a few weeks back–and didn’t know how much fun he would be to watch.

Teixeira had his signature moment as a Yankee on Tuesday night when he broke up a double play after being plunked in the rump by Vicente Padilla. It was the kind of play that inspires columnists and is later referred to by announcers as a “turning point.” It earned Teixiera a standing ovation and more importantly led to six extra runs as the Yankees pounded the Rangers, 12-3.

It was hard not to think back to 1998 when Armando Benetiz hit Tino Martinez square in the back. The brawl, the back-to-back Yankee home runs and the win. That was one of the most memorable and satisfying regular season games I’ve ever seen. I don’t know that this was as juicy (nobody threw a punch), or how good this Yankee team will be, but it sure  felt good. Damn good.

Padilla and AJ Burnett matched wits in a suck-a-thon shoot-out for the first few innings. The Yanks let Padilla off the hook once and then twice while Burnett was touched for a three-run dinger in the third. The next inning, with the score tied at three, the Yanks had runners at the corners with one out when Padilla drilled Teixeria in the ass. This after hitting Teixeira in the second inning.  Teixeira slammed his bat down and cried “Bullshit,” looking hard and angry at Padilla, a known red-ass who looks like a cheap, greasy bad guy from a Sergio Leone western. I don’t imagine they were the best of friends when they were teammates.

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Throughout the new month, I’ll profile some of the former Yankees who will be coming to Cooperstown on June 21 to participate in the first-ever Hall of Fame Classic. The list of Yankee old-timers scheduled to play at Doubleday Field includes Phil Niekro, Lee Smith, Dennis Rasmussen and Kevin Maas. In the first installment, we take a fond look at the career of the man affectionately known as “Kitty.”

Jim Kaat has not thrown a meaningful pitch in more than a quarter of a century, but I can still see that pitching motion in my mind today. The photograph from his 1980 Topps card brings it all back: a delivery featuring virtually no windup and the smallest of leg kicks, accompanied by a mechanical precision. It’s no wonder that Kaat’s career lasted a marathon of 25 seasons with hardly a stay on the disabled list.

Like Bert Blyleven and Tommy John, “Kitty” is part of a contingent of longtime starters who fell just short of the 300-win club but remain on the cusp of election to the Hall of Fame. Unlike Blyleven, I’ve never given Kaat a vote in any of my mythical Hall of Fame elections, but I would not exactly shed a tear if he somehow joined the elite in Cooperstown. Though never really dominant and hardly an overwhelming collector of strikeouts, Kaat achieved a high level of successful longevity, fulfilling at least one of the requirements of Hall of Fame enshrinement.

As a pitcher, Kaat enjoyed two careers. The first spanned from 1962 to 1975, when he carved out a niche as a durable and effective starter for the Twins and White Sox. Over the course of his long tenure as a starter, I came to know Kaat for three attributes. First, he loved to throw the quick pitch, often catching hitters off guard by throwing without a windup. Second, he was a skilled and highly conditioned athlete who could run and hit better than most pitchers. (In 1973, Topps issued a card for Kaat showing him batting—not pitching—in a game for the Twins.) And third, Kaat could field his position like no other moundsman. With catlike reflexes that reinforced his nickname of Kitty, Kaat snared a record 15 Gold Gloves.

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It is always the same, the sudden, stomach-dropping, jolt.  Walking along a city block, looking up at a familiar store front or restaurant, a Closed sign hanging in the door way, or a vacant window. Something has happened. Change has come, like it or not.

I gasped last night as I walked past Sal and Carmine’s pizza shop on Broadway between 101st and 102nd (They make a salty but delicious slice.)  The grate was up and a red rose was taped against the metal.  Above it was a small xeroxed obiturary from a New Jersey paper.

Sal died late last week. I’ve been eating their pizza since I was a kid.  Sal and Carmine.  Two short, taciturn men in their seventies, though they look older. I never knew who was Sal and who was Carmine, just that one was slightly less cranky than the other. These are the kind of men that don’t retire but are retired.

The funeral was yesterday; the shop re-opens today.

As I read the obituary, people stopped and registered the news.  They congregated for a few moments, some took pictures with their cell phones, and then slowly walked away, the neighbhorhood taking in the loss.

… and also in the first-seven-innings role. Someone must’ve told him it was Alex’s birthday.

Great game tonight – drama, frustration, release, a major league fielding record, awe mixed with uncontrollable giggles at the expense of a large man bellyflopping acrobatically, clips from When Animals Attack… this one had it all. The Yanks won 5-2 and they did it with style.

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Photo courtesy of ESPN.com

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Five runs was enough for New York, but it could’ve been more, given that the Indians loaded the bases on walks not once but twice, and handed out 11 free passes all told. Joba pitched very, very well – was in fact perfect until Victor Martinez launched a homer with two outs in the fourth – but the game stayed tied, 1-1, into the seventh.

Chamberlain was briefly in trouble in the fifth, with two on and nobody out, when Kelly Shoppach (who apparently likes to play with black cats under ladders in his spare time) came up and bunted. The ball shot up in the air and Joba, in a move that managed to be both staggeringly awkward and remarkably graceful at the same time, launched into a huge bellyflop of a leap for it, with some very serious hang time. He made the catch just as gravity reasserted itself. Video here. Joba’s teammates were cracking up after the play (Pettitte, in the dugout, looked like he couldn’t even breath), but leave it to ol’ redass Jorge Posada to run up to the prone Joba, screaming for him to get up and get the second out at second base – which much to his credit, Chamberlain actually had enough breath left in him to do.

In the seventh inning, with the bases full of walked Yankees for the second time, Nick Swisher came up and whacked a two-run double that missed grand slamdom by just a foot or two. 3-1 Yanks. Then the Indians did something I’ll never understand: walked Teixeira to load the bases so that they could pitch to Alex Rodriguez. Wha? I mean, yeah, right handed pitcher, whatever, and I know how hot Teixeira is right now, and A-Rod’s not 100% still, and you want to set up the DP… but, no. Steroids or not, clutch or not, how do you intentionally walk anyone to pitch to Alex Rodriguez? Anyway, Rodriguez validated my feelings on the matter with a two-run single.

Mariano Rivera came in for the save – Joba went eight innings, 106 pitches, big velocity, a beauty – and ended the game with a nifty grab, twirl and throw, a play that might actually have been better  than Joba’s, though it was not nearly as funny.

So: who would ever have thought that the Yankees of all people would set a Major League record for consecutive errorless games? This was their 18th. Yes, yes, I know errors are not a very meaningful measure of fielding skill, and this isn’t exactly one of the sport’s more hallowed records, but still. Even in their late-90s heyday defense wasn’t really the Yanks’ thing… and I don’t think it is this year, either, though lord knows Teixeira helps. But hey, Mr. Fielding Controversy himself, Derek Jeter, is looking awfully good these days. I intend to enjoy it while it lasts.

Finally, what is up with the animals in Cleveland? Who’s been screening Hitchcock for the seagulls? I don’t think New York pigeons know what fear is, but you almost never see them settle en masse on a playing field like that. I think I’ve only ever seen birds that brazen in Atlantic City, where the seagulls are absolutely HUGE – bigger than many dog breeds, no exaggeration – and always look at you like they’re just biding their time til they can get you outnumbered and pick the flesh from your bones.

I vaguely remember writing something like this during the midge game in ’07, but we need NYC animal life to come out and support the local nine the same way those gnats gave Cleveland a boost.  I mean, let’s see how calm opposing relievers are when cockroaches swarm the mound and the outfield is full of rats. At the very least someone ought to start some false bed bug rumors and induce psychosomatic itchiness.

Anyway, Yanks are in first place by a hair and coming home. Good night Cleveland, there will be no encore!

The Yanks won 2 of 3 in Texas and have won 2 of 3 so far in Cleveland (they split their first series against the Indians, 2-2). A loss tonight would be a drag. So after a lousy start last week against the Rangers, I expect Joba Chamberlain to come out and pitch well this evening.

Ya heard?

As you may have already heard, Steven Soderbergh will attempt to make the great baseball movie out of Moneyball, Michael Lewis’ seminal baseball book.  Brad Pitt is set to play Billy Beane.  Adapted for the screen by Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List), Soderbergh is perhaps the ideal director to bring Lewis’ book to the screen.  When he’s not directing A-List star vehicles like Erin Brockovich or Ocean’s 11, Soderbergh makes smaller, more avant-garde movies like Schizopolis and The Limey where he experiments with linear narrative.

Moneyball is a book that, on the surface anyway, seems to be ill-suited for the big screen. But I’ve always felt that it had dramatic potential–a charismatic lead, evocative scene-chewing set pieces like the draft room business. The fact that it is not a traditional story works in Soderbergh’s favor. 

The question is: Can the best baseball book of a generation become the best baseball film of them all?
 
“Bull Durham is the model for most baseball fans in terms of behavior and storytelling,” Soderbergh said recently.  “It seems the most lifelike. But I want to do something that’s even more immersive. I’m standing on the shoulders of [director] Ron Shelton. That was his contribution to the genre. Now it’s my turn….”My clearly stated goal is to set a new standard for realism in that [sports] world.”

Soderbergh has the cooperation of MLB (he can use game footage).  Art Howe, Rick Peterson, David Justice and Jeremy Giambi will play themselves as the director attempts to create a realism never seen in a baseball movie.

This all sounds promising.  But here’s the catch.  Moneyball was hip and timely when it was released in hardcover; now, the material is dated. I wonder how Soderbergh can work around this and create something that is aesthetically exciting, dramatically compelling, and relevant. 

Monty Poole doesn’t think it can work. I have my reservations too, but believe it will be an interesting movie regardless. And since the bar for baseball movies is so low, Moneyball could be worth watching–it could even be the best baseball movie ever filmed–even if it is a fine mess.

There was so much hype about Carl Pavano facing the Yankees. The tabloids ate it up, and Suzyn Waldman, as far back as the Texas series, said, “If there’s any justice, C.C. Sabathia will pitch against Carl Pavano in Cleveland.”

Sabathia and Pavano both pitched, but not against each other. Sabathia faced his No. 2 two years ago, Fausto Carmona, on Saturday, while Pavano squared off against Phil Hughes, which may have been a more intriguing matchup considering Pavano’s history with the Yankees and his five victories in May, and Hughes’ stellar outing in Texas and continued effort to stay in the rotation.

As I was listening to the game on the radio (another Sunday spent driving), I got to thinking about the myriad options the local editors and writers had for the game. Would Pavano be the lead? Would I make Phil Hughes’ mediocre start coupled by Chien-Ming Wang’s three scoreless innings of relief the lead, playing up the intrigue of Wang’s possible return to the rotation? Poor umpiring was a theme of the day. Where would that fit in? Are all these topics combined into one or do you do take one story as your base and go with the others as supplemental pieces?

I probably would have made Pavano the focus of the game story and made Hughes/Wang a featured supplement, tying in the early note that Andy Pettitte expects to be ready to start on Wednesday. How would you have presented Sunday’s game? Thinking of the broadest audience possible, how would you have set up your Yankees section as an editor? How would you have attacked the game if you were on-site? It’s two different thought processes. I’m curious to get your thoughts.

An examination of the eight local papers covering the Yankees revealed the following:

NY TIMES: Jack Curry had Pavano leading but alluded to the Hughes/Wang situation, melding everything into a tidy recap with analysis and historical context. Typical goods from Mr. Curry.

NEWSDAY: Three individual stories from Erik Boland, who’s now off the Jets beat and has replaced Kat O’Brien: Hughes/Wang leading, a Pavano piece tied with notes, and a short piece on Gardner’s failure to steal.

NY POST: As of this writing, only George King’s recap had been posted. Interesting to see that he focused on the bullpen, specifically Coke and David Robertson. (Had I been reporting, that would have been the angle I took with the game recap.)

NY DAILY NEWS: Mark Feinsand tied everything together, but it looked and read strangely like an AP wire story.

JOURNAL NEWS: No full game recap posted, but Pete Abe gives more in about 200 words on a blog than most other scribes do in 800.

STAR LEDGER: Marc Carig copied off Erik Boland’s paper in that he had individual stories on Gardner and Wang/Hughes, But he had a couple of other tidbits: 1) His recap was short and had additional bulletpointed notes. I thought this was an interesting format. It reminded me of an anchor calling highlights and then reading key notes off the scoreboard graphic. 2) He had a full feature on Phil Coke and his blaming the umpire’s call on the 3-2 pitch to Trevor Crowe. Check out the last paragraph. Looks like he copied off Pete Abe’s paper, too.

BERGEN RECORD: Only one story on the game from Pete Caldera, but boy does he know how to write a lead paragraph.

HARTFORD COURANT: Associated Press recap. Not much to say except this paper is an example of what’s happening in the industry. Dom Amore’s words are missed.

And this just in … on the “Inside Pitch” segment of the midnight ET edition of Baseball Tonight, Karl Ravech and Peter Gammons said the Yankees were the best team in baseball. This revelation comes hours after the ESPN ticker read “Pavano dominates Yankees” in the first half of its description of the game. I’m not sure what to make of this. I know Ravech, my fellow Ithaca College alum, is as good as it gets, but when Gammons agrees, I get concerned.

I’d say the best team is the team with the best record, and the team that’s playing most consistently on a daily basis. That team is being managed by Joe Torre.

I never did like Carl Pavano much when he was in pinstripes but I didn’t necessarily enjoy ragging on him. It became inevitable at a certain point–he didn’t leave us any cherce but to bust on him–but it wasn’t something I relished. 

Now, I really don’t like the dude. With his fat arse and crooked nostrils and current success on the mound.  Whadda Bum.

On Sunday afternoon, Pavano pitched well against the Yankees for the second time this year. He was even better today than he was at Yankee Stadium in April, throwing slop effectively, mixing speeds, getting ahead, and keeping his pitch count low. A steady wind blocked fly balls from sailing into the seats and Pavano got by on a steady diet of fly ball outs. 

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Carl Pavano goes for the Indians today against Phil Hughes. As you may know, Pavano has pitched well of late. This is not an amusing development for Yankee fans–it’s revolting, actually. I hope the bats keep it up this afternoon and put a whuppin’ on Mr. Pavano. It would also be nice to see Mr. Hughes throw another good game, wouldn’t it?

Happy Sunday and Let’s Go Yan-Kees.

There have been some strange imagery in Cleveland the past two nights as bugs and boids have swarmed the field. The little bugs floated through the air for the entire game on Saturday. From the center field camera it looked as if both teams were playing inside a bottle of club soda. Seagulls swooped and soared in the outfield and into the stands.  

Fausto Carmona didn’t have much and the Yanks made quick work of him.  Solo homers by Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher put New York on the board in the second, and they added five more in the fourth, thanks in part to a couple of errors by the Indians. Derek Jeter, who had the big hit in that inning, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano each collected two hits; Hideki Matsui had three. 

CC Sabathia was strong early on, not as much after getting the lead, but he muscled his way through seven, allowing three runs. CC is pitching well, now (5-3, 3.46 ERA). And that’s a beautiful thing.

David Robertson looked good and threw a scoreless eighth, while Jose Veras, Felix Heredia’s heir apparent as the run fairy, gave up a couple in the ninth.

Final Score: Yanks 10, Indians 5.

Coupled with a Red Sox loss, the Yanks are now 1.5 games ahead of both Boston and Toronto.

While most of Cleveland will be paying attention to Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals tonight, CC Sabathia returns home to face the Tribe. I’d love to see Lebron James and the Cavs force a Game 7 but the smart money has the Magic winning this one going away. Still, one can always dream, right?

In the meantime, Sabathia has been pitching well of late. Let’s hope he throws another good game and gets plenty of support from the Bronx Lumber Company.

C’mon boys, make it a Saturday Night to savor.

Game ain’t ’til tonight, so get out there and enjoy the day.

Don’t have to like him, but the man is a great player.  The Nuggets brought out the best in Lakers who polished Denver off in Game 6 last night.

Kobe’s line? 35 points on 12-20 shooting (9-9 from the line), 6 boards and 10 assists.