View From the Seats

Back in New Yankee Stadium, my first trip to the new bleachers (section 235). Not a bad view from here. Worlds of difference from the old left field bleachers.

The tarp is coming off the field after an hour rain delay.

About to start here in the Bronx. Robinson Cano is still hitting 5th. I give up.

-Andrew

Clearing Out the Baseball Cache

Have a bunch of articles to post (before I head to the Stadium tonight for my first game in the bleachers of the New Yankee Stadium) so here it goes:

• Mark Feinsand for the New York Daily News says that Chien-Ming Wang's win on Sunday was even bigger than Mariano Rivera's 500th save, and in some ways I agree with him. Mo has never been about the records and no one doubts he's the best closer of all time. But if the Yankees can get Wang to pitch 85% of what he was before the injury, they have a very, very dangerous rotation.
• Speaking of Mo, Rob Neyer echoes Peter Abraham and says that you can't root against him. You just can't. Unless you're a Red Sox fan.
• Joel Sherman breaks down the Yankees acquisition of Eric Hinske. Why the Yankees needed $400K covered is beyond me. They nickel and dime at the weirdest times (like in Chien-Ming Wang's arbitration). I do like that fact that Hinske has seen 4.05 pitcher per plate appearance this year and 3.95 P/PA over his career as that fits right into the Yankees game. I'm not sure how good Hinske plays third, but this does make more sense than Shelly Duncan at this point, though I think the need for a right-handed bat was greater than a left-handed bat. I wonder if they wouldn't have been better off trying to get Ty Wigginton, in an off year, from Baltimore (if the O's would trade with them).
• I have to disagree with Joel Sherman on one point: I don't think A-Rod's increased walk numbers are a good sign at all. I think he's just been scared to swing at times because he's lost up there.
• Speaking of Eric Hinske's former team (the Pirates), they were not done dealing. They sent Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to the Nationals for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan. I guess they're hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Milledge (remember when that guy was untouchable), but I figured they could get more than a failed prospect and a failed closer for Morgan and Burnett.
• Remember when Joe Girardi was on the hot seat?
• How good is Tim Lincecum? Well through his first 74 games, he has 39 starts with 8+ strikeouts. According to Baseball-Reference, that's the top mark of any pitcher (since 1954). The scary part for Lincecum and the Giants? A lot of the other names on that list have had injury histories after that: Doc Gooden, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Cole Hamels, Ramon Martinez, Scott Kazmir, A.J. Burnett, and of course, Oliver Perez.  
• Speaking of Ollie Perez, Rob Neyer has some ideas of how to fix the Mets.
• If Adrian Gonzalez was a Yankee, he'd probably win the MVP.
• 51 runs and 58 hits? Sounds like a Red Sox/Yankees game! Amazingly, they finished the 51-run game in 4 hours and 10 minutes according to the New York Times. On April 24 and 25, the Yankees actually played longer games against the Red Sox. That was after playing a 4:57 game against the A's on April 22nd.
• Didn't get a chance to talk about the passing of Billy Mays on NYaT but we pass along our condolences. Loved the ESPN360 commercials. Here's CNBC's Darren Rovell on the man "who left the world knowing he sold it".
• Is Jacoby Ellsbury the new Juan Pierre? Hopefully not for the Red Sox (though I wouldn't be so sad), but Rob Neyer asks it anyways. I think that's it too soon to feel that way about Ellsbury, but we shall see...
• Behind the Moat thinks that the Yankees Broadband Package is for idiots. I think it's just way overpriced. I'd take it for free, though :)
• Slate with a great article on the horrible camera angle used to determine balls and strikes for the TV-watching fans (H/T Rob Neyer)
• Lastly, since I promised Jay I would provide proof there is a Joba debate, here is Bryan Hoch from MLB.com and River Ave Blues on the Joba-to-the-'pen debate.

Also: Deadspin on the U.S. soccer gulf (and Soccer Jews, too!) and ESPN's Chris Sheridan on the Knicks interest in Ricky Rubio

Ken Rosenthal on Yankees Bullpen

FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal chimes in today about the Yankees bullpen:

 

Joba? Who needs Joba

Joba can stay in the rotation, the 'pen has it covered. (Al Bello / Getty Images)

If the last 13 games are any indication, the Yankees' bullpen — after a period of upheaval — finally might be taking shape.

In those 13 games, Yankees relievers have allowed seven earned runs in 39-1/3 innings for a 1.60 ERA, holding opponents to a .142 batting average.

Righty Brian Bruney is back from the disabled list, and righties Phil Hughes, David Robertson and Alfredo Aceves have proven effective replacements for righties Jose Veras, Edwar Ramirez and Jonathan Albaladejo.

"It's not necessarily how it was drawn up, but when you have some depth, you hope something clicks," GM Brian Cashman says. "We've found some things that have clicked pretty well."

Cashman is particularly complimentary of Robertson, who has shown much better fastball command this season in addition to his plus curveball.

The Yankees would like to add a second left-hander to go with Phil Coke, and they're also looking for bench help. Francisco Cervelli is likely to return to Class AAA when Jose Molina comes off the DL; the Yankees want Cervelli to play regularly.

 

The Yankees already went out and got that bench bat. Will the second lefty in the bullpen come next? Or will they wait for Marte to recover?

 

Yankees Get Hinske

Well the Yankees went out and got a bat: Eric Hinske. Via MLBTradeRumors:  

 "Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  reports that the Yankees acquired Eric Hinske from the Pirates for two minor leaguers, Eric Freyer and Casey Erickson. ESPN.com's Amy Nelson says the Yankees are also sending the Pirates cash."

I'm not sure this was the bat that the Yankees needed to get (or if they really needed to get a bat), but this is an interesting move for the Yankees as they acquire a player that they've coveted for a while now. I've coveted him for my sports betting. Hinske's line is .255/.373/.368 with one homerun and 11 RBIs in 106 ABs. Not exactly a bi g slugger. But he does provide insurance at 3B and can play both corners in the outfield and infield. 

For his career, Hinske is a much better hitter vs. righties than lefties. He's also a slightly better pinch hitter than when he starts (.833 OPS to .769 OPS).

I do wonder if it would have been better using these prospects to acquire a bullpen arm, but the Yankees felt they needed to upgrade their bench and have done so with this trade.

Best and Worst Free Agent Signings AL

Yesterday we looked at the best (and the worst) National League free agent signings. Today, let's look at the best and worst from the American League:

• Catcher - Best: Jason Varitek. Worst: Michael Barrett/Chad Moeller. Jason Varitek rebounded from his worst season in the majors last year to have his best season since 2005 so far. He'll never hit for average but his .240/.335/.485 line is fine for a catcher and he has 11 homers. Michael Barrett and Chad Moeller are two of the worst backups in the league. Combined, they have an awful 13 hits, 4 walks, 2 HR, and 4 RBI in 73 PAs.
• First Base - Best: Russell Branyan/Mark Teixeira. Worst: Kevin Millar. Russell Branyan has been one of the biggest surprises of the first half so far. He's .303/.400/.609 with 19 HR and is playing against lefties. Imagine if someone would have given him a starting role before this. Tex has been great for the Yankees after a rough April. Although Branyan's splits are slightly better, Tex has 22 more RBIs, 9 more walks, and 26 less Ks. Some of that has to do with who is in the lineup with you, but Tex has been a huge part of the Yankees attack so far and has played Gold Glove 1B. Kevin Millar has 155 PA and a .243/.316/.379 line. I know he's supposed to be great the clubhouse, but if that's the case, then make him a coach. I left Jason Giambi off this list because, despite a .200, he's still walked more than Teixeira in 40 less PAs.
• Second Base - None. There were no second base free agent signings in the American League.
• Shortstop - Best: Omar Vizquel. Worst: Orlando Cabrera/Cesar Izturis/Nick Punto. This was a weak class. Omar Vizquel, however, is the best of the worst. He's hitting .300 and has always had a great glove (though old age has slowed him down some). Orlando Cabrera has been awful this year with a .247/.291/.318 line in 327 PAs with 2 SB and 4 CS. That's an even worse OPS than Cesar Izturis, although Cabrera at least has 17 XBHs to Izturis' 7 and 20 BBs to Izturis' 5. Nick Punto is one of the worst hitters in the game. He's at .220/.313/.247 with no homeruns. Why the Twins continue to give him ABs is beyond me. Let's get past the idea that he's somehow a "piranha" that's going to help this team.
• Third Base - Best: Joe Crede. Worst: None. There was one free agent signing at 3rd base in the AL and he's been pretty good. Although he has a low average, Crede has hit 11 HRs with a high slugging and has cut down somewhat on his K-rate. He's not great, but there are so many negative hitters in that lineup (Matt Tolbert, Nick Punto, Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez) that he looks really good in contrast.
• Outfield - Best: Juan Rivera/Gabe Kapler/Bobby Abreu. Worst: Willie Bloomquist. Juan Rivera is a player who is continually underrated. He has a .307/.348/.514 line to go along with 13 HR and 43 RBI (both second ion the team behind Torii Hunter) and only 25 Ks. Gabe Kapler has been a better hitter than B.J. Upton, Pat Burrell, or Matt Joyce (who they traded for Edwin Jackson...ouch) so far this season. Abreu is just steady: .299/.397/.422 with 17 SB (on 20 attempts) and 42 BBs. Special Mention here to Rocco Baldelli and Scott Podsednik who have done good jobs as reserve OFs this season. Willie Bloomquist isn't all that bad, but isn't great either. He's played every position but pitcher and catcher so far this season but his .694 OPS isn't good for any of them.
• Designated Hitter - Best: Hank Blalock. Worst: Pat Burrell. Blalock doesn't hit for a high average or walk a lot, but his .502 SLG will help out his cause, as will his 14 HRs. Out of 51 hits, 27 are for extra bases. Special Mention to Ken Griffey, Jr. who is actually 3rd in homeruns and OPS on the Mariners (which probably says more about the team's hitting than his). Pat is not "the bat" this year. I thought this was a good signing for Tampa but Burrell is off to a .233/.345/.327 start with only 3 HRs. Ouch.
• Starting Pitching - Best: CC Sabathia/A.J. Burnett. Worst: Carl Pavano. Sabathia and Burnett have started to really turn it on for the Yankees. CC has a 3.55 ERA, a 1.092 WHIP, a 2.52 K/BB ratio, and a .615 OPS against. A.J. has a 3.93 ERA and 8.81 K/9. Carl Pavano, despite a 6-6 record has a 5.80 ERA and has given up 107 hits in 85.1 innings with an .828 OPS against. I think the Yankees should be happy Pavano is gone and the other two are in his place. Bartolo Colon, Andy Pettitte, and Brad Penny have been average so far and John Smoltz had one bad start but the jury is still out.
• Relief Pitching - Best: Darren Oliver/Matt Herges/Brandon Lyon. Worst: Damaso Marte/Juan Cruz/Horacio Ramirez. Oliver has been a pleasant surprise for the Angels, posting a 3.00 ERA in 33 innings for a bad bullpen, with a SO-BB rate over 2-1. Matt Herges has a 3.70 ERA, a WHIP of 1.110, a .663 OPS against and a K/BB ratio of 3.40 for the Indians. Brandon Lyon has been a reliable arm in the Detroit 'pen with a 3.89 ERA and a WHIP of 1.162 in 37 innings. Marte was a mistake from the beginning but the Yankees wanted to have something to show long-term from their trade with the Pirates. Before he got hurt, though, Marte wasn't worth a bag of balls. Juan Cruz cost the Royals a draft pick and has been pretty bad with a 5.47 ERA in 31 innings with only 6.39 K/9 which is way below what you expect from him. Horacio Ramirez is another one of the Royals relievers signed in the offseason to shore up the bullpen (Jamey Wright and Kyle Farnsworth as well) and Ramirez has not been good with a 5.96 ERA and well over a hit an inning leading to a 1.676 WHIP, only a 1.18 K/BB ratio and only 5.16 K/9.
• Closer - Best: Brian Fuentes. Worst: Kerry Wood. I think that the Angels should have made more of an effort to resign K-Rod, especially with the money they threw at CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, but Fuentes hasn't been bad with a 3.76 ERA and 21 saves. And while most don't think of him as a strikeout pitcher, he has 10.25 SO/9 innings and has only allowed a .676 OPS against. Kerry Wood also has 10.25 SO/9 innings, but has an ERA of 5.47, a WHIP of 1.557 and only 9 saves. With 5 HRs allowed and a .837 OPS against, opposing hitters seem to be teeing off of Wood. The Indians thought that they were getting a solid back-end to their bullpen but Wood's been really shaky so far. 

Agree? Disagree? It certainly seems that there were very few big free agents signed by AL teams besides the Yankees expenditures, but also few gems have been found in the AL. Russell Branyan is definitely the best free agent signing in the American League judging by price, expectations and impact.

Kevin Kennedy On Rivera's 500th Save

Today (June 29, 2009) on his daily talk show on SIRIUS XM Radio, former Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy talked about Mariano Rivera’s 500^th career save, which came against the Mets last night at Citi Field.

Kennedy, who managed the Red Sox in 1995 and 1996, recalled being on the receiving end of a particularly dominant performance by Rivera while in his early years as a set-up man for the Yankees.

Kevin Kennedy: “I’ll never forget this as long as I live, it’s a true story: we’re in New York, the old Yankee Stadium, Rivera comes in and he just blows it by Mo Vaughn, [Jose] Canseco, Reggie Jefferson, whoever. He went through us in the seventh and eighth inning like he was facing little leaguers. And you’re talking about the [1995 AL] MVP [in Vaughn]. I’ll never forget after the eighth inning, I think he struck out Mo, and I saw Derek [Jeter] cover his glove over his mouth and Rivera happened to get the ball and look at him, and Derek just kind of shook his head and laughed. Now, he covered his mouth out of respect because he wasn’t laughing at the Red Sox. He was laughing like, ‘I can’t believe how good this guy is, how dominant this guy is. I’m glad I’m not facing him.’ It was a respectful thing. I knew what Derek was doing. It wasn’t about, ‘Oh, we’ve got you guys.’ It wasn’t about that. I’ll never forget that, watching that from the visiting dugout, and I’m thinking the same thing on the bench. Now, all these years later, did I know Rivera would have 500 saves and be able to do this for, you know, 15 years in a row? No, but I did know there was something special we were watching that year in ’96.”

Mariano Rivera was really good against the Red Sox in 1995 and 1996 as the set-up man, but I think the game he was talking about was September 22, 1996. In the 7th, Troy O'Leary flew out to left, Bill Hasselman struck out, and Arquimedez Pozo (who?) struck out. After Paul O'Neill hit a sacrifice fly driving home Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera came back out and got a lineout from Darren Bragg, a double from Jeff Frye, a groundout from Reggie Jefferson (moving Frye to third), and then he struck out Mo Vaughn to end the inning. So not exactly how Kennedy remembered it, but still pretty good.

In 1995, Mariano had one game against the Red Sox, with two innings, with no baserunners and one strikeout. In 1996, he was 1-0 with one earned run in 7 innings, a WHIP of 1.000 and 13 strikeouts to one walk. THAT is the dominance that Kennedy was talking about.

Best and Worst Free Agent Signings NL

Let's look at the best and worst free agent signings in the National League by position at this point (guys could have been resigned by original team, just had to be a free agent this past offseason):

• Catcher - Best: Dave Ross. Worst: Ivan Rodriguez. Dave Ross (.293/.396/.573 with 6 HR in 82 ABs) combines with Brian McCann to have the best hitting catching duo in the majors. Ivan Rodriguez has 226 PA and has walked a grand total of 9 times, accumulating a .249/.280/.394 line. The guy is not a good hitter anymore.
• First base - Best: Tony Clark. Worst: Rich Aurilia. Tony Clark is once again proving to be a great bench asset. The guy is supposedly tremendous in the clubhouse and has an .828 OPS and 4 HRs in 54 PAs. Rich Aurilia is not really a first baseman, but truly shouldn't even be a major leaguer anymore. He has 105 PAs and has rung up and awful .211/.267/.263 line. Giving ABs to him is just a waste of an AB.
• Second base - Best: Orlando Hudson/Craig Counsell. Worst: David Eckstein. Orlando Hudson and Craig Counsell both have identical .303/.371/.438 lines. How weird is that? O-dog has been a huge part of the Dodgers lineup minus Manny and Counsell has been a huge part of the Brewers lineup minus Rickie Weekes. Special mention to Felipe Lopez who was a good bargain bin pickup by the Diamondbacks. David Eckstein hasn't been bad, but I think gets tremendously overrated. Some have called him the team's MVP, but the guy has a .673 with 1 HR and 2 SB. Not exactly Adrian Gonzalez.
• Shortstop - Best: Alex Cora. Worst: Edgar Renteria/Rafael Furcal. This is not a good position for free agents. 37-year-old Juan Castro is the only above average hitter and he only has 55 ABs. Alex Cora has done a great job for the Mets in the field and in the clubhouse, so he gets the mention here. Edgar Renteria is one of the worst hitters out there with a .633 OPS, 2 HRs, and 4 SB in a decent hitters park (and he hasn't been good on defense in a while). Rafael Furcal screwed over the Braves and A's and I think they're both very, very glad not to have him. When he hasn't been hurt he's had an awful season and can't even steal bases anymore (4 SB, 4 CS). Special Mention needs to go out to two Ramons: Vazquez (.615 OPS) and Martinez (.396 OPS with 8 times on base in 44 PAs for the Mets).
• Third Base - Best: Casey Blake. Worst: Jerry Hairston/Juan Uribe. Casey Blake cost the Dodgers a good catching prospect but he's been worth the trouble. He's hitting in the middle of that Dodgers lineup and producing without Manny. Jerry Hairston has hit 7 HRs in one of the best hitting parks in the majors but has only managed a .249/.307/.394 line. Juan Uribe has 5 BB to 28 Ks.
• Outfield - Best: Manny Ramirez, Raul Ibanez, Adam Dunn. Worst: Jason Michaels and Milton Bradley. Manny was a tough one here to say if he was a boon or a bust. I'm going with the former. He was the MVP at the time of his suspension and his departure from the Dodgers not only inspired them to band together and play like a team, but saved the Dodgers a few million dollars that they can now use at the trade deadline to fix any holes before October. Raul Ibanez was the MVP before he got hurt and has been one of the best free agent signings in either league. Adam Dunn continues to rake and got passed over by way too many teams because he has high K numbers (but who cares if he gets on base and mashes like he does). Milton Bradley has not only been a total head case, injury prone and a "piece of shit" (as his manager describes him), but also has failed to produce. When the Indians traded for Jason Michaels back in the day, I thought it was a great move. But I don't know if was too lofty expectations or a PED drop-off, but this guy has lost his way. He's .179/.247/.299 for the Pirates.
• Starting Pitching - Best: Randy Wolf, Livan Hernandez. Worst: Oliver Perez, Jamie Moyer, Braden Looper. Stuck to three for worst, but could have added a few more in. Randy Wolf has been the most unheralded free agent pickup but he's been great for Joe Torre's Dodgers. Livan Hernandez has been everything the Mets needed: an inning eater who could rack up a few wins for them. His loss yesterday was a tough one as he held the Yanks to 3 runs in 7 innings. In fact, before last night Livan had only left one start without the lead since May 15th. After Johan Santana, Livan may be the best the Mets are offering right now. There were a lot of bad free agent pitching signings but Ollie Perez may be the worst since the Mets knew exactly what they were getting from him. If he really was injured, it was just ignorance on their part. Jamie Moyer can't be faulted because he's beyond old (46), but he has an ERA of 6.05 with 19 HR in 83.1 innings. Looper hasn't been much better (but could have been replaced by Jon Garland, Mike Hampton, or even Randy Johnson or Derek Lowe). Expected to help fill in for the loss of Ben Sheets, Looper is off to a rough start. 
• Relief Pitching - Best: Jeremy Affeldt, Arthur Rhodes, Dave Weathers, Ron Villone, Trever Miller, Julian Tavarez. Worst: Alan Embree, Kip Wells, Will Ohman. There are a LOT of good free agent pitchers signed last offseason. This list doesn't even have Joe Beimel or Bobby Howry who have both been very good. Affeldt was the first free agent signed and now you know why. His ERA+ is 274. He's given up as many earned runs as K-Rod this year. Arthur Rhodes and Dave Weathers have been great for Cincinatti. Rhodes has held opponents to an insane .161/.225/.258 line and an insane .863 WHIP. Weathers has been good too with a 2.45 ERA in 25.2 innings with a WHIP of 1.130. Ron Villone and Julian Tavarez have been the two Nats bright spots in the bullpen (though Beimel hasn't been bad) and Trever Miller is really tough to hit for St. Louis with a K/9 of 9.74 (higher than K-Rod). Will Ohman wanted a lot more money this offseason and settled for Los Angeles and hasn't proved he was worth any more with a 5.84 ERA, .979 OPS against and a 1.622 WHIP. Kip Wells is a part of the problem with the Nats bullpen with a 6.49 ERA and Alan Embree has been nothing short of  disaster with a 7.08 ERA, 1.770 WHIP, and only 4.43 K/9.
• Closer - Best: Francisco Rodriguez, Trevor Hoffman, LaTroy Hawkins. Worst: None. This was a good category. K-Rod, despite yielding Mariano Rivera's first RBI, has a ridiculous ERA+ of 348, giving up only 5 ER in 36.2 innings, with a .484 OPS against, 9.57 K/9 and accumulating 20 saves. Trevor Hoffman shows San Diego and the world he can still pitch with an ERA of 1.99, a WHIP of 0.971, and OPS against of .479 and 17 saves. And the best signing of all, LaTroy Hawkins, wasn't even supposed to be a closer but got forced into the duties and did a great job, racking up 10 saves with 2.62 ERA. 

What do you think? Anyone I left off this list or anyone you disagree with?

Rivera's 500th

Rivera's 500th save (Ben and I were at his 400th and 500th), Rivera's first RBI, a Yankees sweep, 5 in a row, 3 games back of the Red Sox and my 10th Yankees win in person this season. Awesome!

-Andrew

View From The Seats Subway Series Style

So there are no obstructed seats at Citi Field? I have plexiglass between me and the pitcher and batter and I can't see the left field corner. Don't get seats 1 and 2 in a low row of the 500s. We were in 524 which is a good section, but we couldn't see with people walking through and the glass obstruction. Yuck.

Also yuck is the Yankees play so far. They've managed 3 hits off of Livan Hernandez and have not scored since the 1st. And Robinson Cano has proven once again why he should not be hitting 5th. He's killed two innings as the GIDPs continue.

Yankees are up 3-2. Wang didn't pitch well and didn't pitch poorly once again. I guess you give him another start. Though I wonder if, with his breakdowns in the 4th, whether Wang wouldn't be better in relief pitching with smaller outings. Great defense so far for the Yanks have helped them out.

On to the bottom of the 7th (Citi Field just did God Bless America). Hopefully the bullpen can hold this at one.

-Andrew

Some Thoughts Before The Final Subway Series Game Tonight

Again, why is Robinson Cano batting 5th?

• 0 for his last 9 ABs in RISP. Last hit with RISP was June 16th against the Nationals.
  
• Men on: .263/.299/.431
  
• With RISP: .222/.258/.356
• Runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs: .200/.222/.333
  
• Runner on 3rd, 2 outs: .200/.231/.200
  

Chien-Ming Wang against the Mets (sorted by OPS):

                   PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Ryan Church         4   3   1  0  0  1   2   1   0  .333  .500 1.333   1.833     0   0   1   0   0
Alex Cora          18  18   5  0  0  1   4   0   0  .278  .278  .444    .722     0   0   0   0   0
David Wright        8   8   2  1  0  0   0   0   1  .250  .250  .375    .625     0   0   0   0   1
Jeremy Reed         7   6   1  1  0  0   1   1   1  .167  .286  .333    .619     0   0   0   0   0
Luis Castillo       6   5   1  0  0  0   0   1   0  .200  .333  .200    .533     0   0   0   0   0
Gary Sheffield      3   2   0  0  0  0   0   1   0  .000  .333  .000    .333     0   0   0   0   0
Brian Schneider     4   4   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Total              50  46  10  2  0  2   7   4   3  .217  .280  .391    .671     0   0   1   0   1

Livan Hernandez against the Yankees (sorted by OPS):

                   PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Mark Teixeira       6   6   3  0  0  2   3   0   1  .500  .500 1.500   2.000     0   0   0   0   0
Alex Rodriguez     22  19  11  5  0  3  10   3   3  .579  .636 1.316   1.952     0   0   0   0   0
Hideki Matsui       8   7   3  0  0  1   3   1   0  .429  .500  .857   1.357     0   0   0   0   0
Robinson Cano       9   9   4  0  0  1   1   0   0  .444  .444  .778   1.222     0   0   0   0   0
Jorge Posada       16  12   4  1  0  1   2   4   4  .333  .500  .667   1.167     0   0   0   0   0
Derek Jeter        21  19   8  3  0  1   2   1   0  .421  .429  .737   1.166     0   1   0   0   0
Brett Tomko         5   4   2  0  0  0   0   0   2  .500  .500  .500   1.000     1   0   0   0   0
Brett Gardner       2   2   1  0  0  0   0   0   0  .500  .500  .500   1.000     0   0   0   0   0
Melky Cabrera       5   5   2  0  0  0   1   0   0  .400  .400  .400    .800     0   0   0   0   0
Nick Swisher       14  14   5  1  0  0   0   0   3  .357  .357  .429    .786     0   0   0   0   0
Johnny Damon       15  13   2  0  0  0   1   2   3  .154  .267  .154    .421     0   0   0   0   1
Cody Ransom         1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Total             124 111  45 10  0  9  23  11  16  .405  .455  .739   1.194     1   1   0   0   1

The Yankees have had much more success against Hernandez, but how Chien-Ming Wang has pitched so far this season, that's not much of a predictor of future success. ESPN Insider says that Wang continues to get less ground balls per start, which is usually bad news but may be OK in this cavernous ballpark, Citi Field.

Yankees lineup with have Derek Jeter back in it according to the New York Daily News' Mark Feinsand via Twitter: @bloggingbombers: June 28 vs Mets: Jeter SS, Swisher RF, Teixeira 1B, A-Rod 3B, Cano 2B, Posada C, Cabrera LF, Gardner CF, Wang RHP. With Damon having struggled in the past against Hernandez and coming back from injury, this makes sense.

Meanwhile, Buster Olney on why A.J. Burnett dominated yesterday:

Why Yankees starter A.J. Burnett won, from ESPN Stats & Information:

• Dominant curveball: 48 percent chase percentage, 63 percent miss percentage, 19 percent in-play percentage

• Finished the job: 21 of 26 pitches with two strikes in the count were strikes, and he earned a season-high 10 strikeouts

• No-fly zone: Season-low five fly ball outs in seven innings of work

Yankees go for the sweep and I head out to Flushing tonight to see if they can accomplish it. More updates later.

Recent Yankee dominance over Mets

Not to take the wind out of Andrew's stat-saturated analysis, but these stats need to be shouted from the rooftops.

According to Tim Kurkjian on Baseball Tonight, here is what the Mets have done at the plate over their last 3 games against the Yankees:

1 run
.112 BA (10 for 89)
1 extra base hit
Outscored 29-1

Diagnosis: Yankee slump
Prescription: more games against the Mets

4 wins in a row...going for the sweep tomorrow....come on Chien-Ming!!

Javier Vazquez Is Not That Bad

Maybe the Yankees shouldn't have given up on Javier Vazquez so quickly. He mostly shut down the Red Sox today and looked like he had their number.

Since he was traded away from the Yankees at the end of 2004, the only players with more Ks than Vazquez are Jake Peavy and Johan Santana. And the only pitchers to log more innings are Santana, CC Sabathia, Dan Haren, Roy Oswalt, Aaron Harang and Mark Buehrle.

He's a good pitcher and I think the Yankees may have given up on him a bit too soon, though he really never proved he could be an effective pitcher in New York

Tonight's Pitching Matchups

All courtesy of Play Index:

A.J. Burnett against the Mets (sorted by OPS):

                    PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Gary Sheffield     38  30   9  0  0  3   6   7   5  .300  .447  .600   1.047     0   0   0   1   0
 Brian Schneider    23  23   9  3  0  0   2   0   3  .391  .391  .522    .913     0   0   0   0   0
 Daniel Murphy       3   1   0  0  0  0   0   2   0  .000  .667  .000    .667     0   0   0   0   1
 David Wright       18  15   3  1  0  0   4   2   7  .200  .278  .267    .545     0   1   0   0   0
 Ryan Church         9   8   1  0  0  0   0   1   4  .125  .222  .125    .347     0   0   0   0   0
 Luis Castillo      10   8   0  0  0  0   0   2   3  .000  .200  .000    .200     0   0   0   0   0
 Alex Cora          20  19   0  0  0  0   0   1   7  .000  .050  .000    .050     0   0   0   0   0
 Fernando Martinez   3   3   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
 Jeremy Reed         1   1   0  0  0  0   0   0   0  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   1
 Fernando Tatis      3   3   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Total             128 111  22  4  0  3  12  15  31  .198  .297  .315    .612     0   1   0   1   2

Not bad at all. 128 PA and a .198/.297/.315 with only 7 XBH, 12 RBIs 15 BB and 31 K. Some ones to note. Alex Cora is 0-19 and Luis Castillo is 0-8 against Burnett. David Wright is 3-15 with only one XBH. Sheffield is the only one to homer against Burnett in his career and Brian Schneider has had a good amount of success.

And Tim Redding vs. the Yankees:

                    PA  AB  H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   **OPS**   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Johnny Damon        5   4   3  0  0  0   0   1   0  .750  .800  .750   1.550     0   0   0   0   0
 Mark Teixeira      12   9   4  4  0  0   1   3   1  .444  .583  .889   1.472     0   0   0   0   0
 Alex Rodriguez      2   2   0  0  0  0   1   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     0   0   0   0   0
 Brett Tomko         3   2   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000    .000     1   0   0   0   0
+-----------------+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---------+---+---+---+---+---
Total              22  17   7  4  0  0   2   4   3  .412  .524  .647   1.171     1   0   0   0   0


Not much of a sample size, but pretty good success, especially since Tomko really doesn't count.

Of course, none of that will matter when they play tonight. Looking forward to it (as long as the weather holds up)

Some Yankees-Mets Game 1 Thoughts

I didn't see the game. The late start and a Friday night dinner kept me from seeing any of the action. So I'm watching Yankees Encore and catching up.

My thoughts:

-First, some awesome info from Jayson Stark:

Loyal reader Tom Mariam noticed something really bizarre about the Yankees and Mets, who will play "Subway Series" No. 2 this weekend: In between their two Subway Series, the Yankees and Mets matched wins and losses every day in which they both played. Take a look:

Tuesday June 16: Yankees (vs. Washington) and Mets (vs. Baltimore) win
Wednesday June 17: Yankees (vs. Washington) and Mets (vs. Baltimore) lose
Thursday June 19: Yankees (vs. Washington) and Mets (vs. Baltimore) lose
Friday June 20: Yankees (vs. Florida) and Mets (vs. Tampa Bay) win
Saturday June 21: Yankees (vs. Florida) and Mets (vs. Tampa Bay) lose
Sunday June 22: Yankees (vs. Florida) and Mets (vs. Tampa Bay) lose
Tuesday June 24: Yankees (vs. Atlanta) and Mets (vs. St. Louis) lose
Wednesday June 25: Yankees (vs. Atlanta) and Mets (vs. St. Louis) win
Thursday June 26: Yankees (vs. Atlanta) and Mets (vs. St. Louis) win

Not sure what that means, exactly. But here's one thing I can safely predict: That streak will not last another day, unless they play to three straight ties this weekend.

-Maybe the most important sequence of the game was when CC Sabathia struck out Omir Santos and Mini Reyes with two men on. This came the same inning that Gary Sheffield hit his homerun. Although the Yankees would pile on later, it was a close game at that point.

-Brett Gardner should be starting every day. He was 5-6 today with a 3B, a HR, 2 RBI and a SB (he's only the 8th player in Major League history to have a night like that according to Play Index). He's hitting .303 with a .374 OBP, .441 SLG and 17 SBs. The only players who have those numbers are David Wright and Derek Jeter. If you take away the stolen base number from the equation, there's only 19 other players with at least the .303/.374/.441 line inlcuding Ichiro, Carlos Beltran, Kevin Youkilis, Hanley Ramirez, Justin Upton, Albert Pujols, Evan Longoria, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Morneau. This guy is a good hitter and can fly. He's also the best CF on the team (minus the arm). He's on pace for 41 SB and only 5 CS. Let the guy play.

-If my count is correct, the Yankees have 56 SB and 9 CS. Their SB% is the best in the majors at over 86%. That's really, really good. Only one team since 2000 has had a better mark (The Phillies in 2007 with 88%). Stolen bases are only good when you're successful a large majority of the time. Otherwise they're just outs. Then you do literally run yourself out of innings. David Wright (19 SB, 8 CS), Chone Figgins (23 SB, 7 CS), and Nyjer Morgan (18 SB, 7 CS) need to be more selective. Derek Jeter is 17 for 18.

-Why is Robinson Cano still hitting 5th? He was 0-3 again tonight with RISP. I'm going to keep asking this until there is a change.

-I got a message that A-Rod had crushed a homerun to right-center, deep into the bullpen. I was excited knowing that it takes a lot to get it out there at Citi Field and A-Rod going out to right-center is a huge sign for the Yanks. Then I saw that he hit it off of a meatball from Elmer Dessens. It lessened my excitement somewhat. Still nice to see A-Rod hitting the ball well.

-This park can't be that hard to hit homeruns in if Brett Gardner hit one. (just kidding...I know it was also off the same guy named Elmer)

-For all the ruffled feathers about the lack of tickets the Yankees have been selling near the plate, I want people to know I could have easily gone on Mets.com and gotten seats for any game of this series. Now the New York Times is reporting that some season ticket holders are thinking of not renewing for next season. Ouch.

-Great quote from Jerry Manuel via Ken Davidoff: "We're looking literally at trying to survive this until the break," Jerry Manuel said before the game. "The break is a big blow for us to get there safe.'' With John Maine now also out until the All-Star Break, this is looking like the "tread water until" point. Hopefully for the Mets, they can get healthy at that point and start playing with a full(er) deck. Plus, they signed one of the biggest free agent busts this past summer, accoridng to Tim Marchman.

-The Mets errors early in the game did them in. Not only did it lead to runs that inning, but it led to Mike Pelfrey coming out of the game early, the bullpen being exposed, and the Yankees putting the game out of reach. I know the Mets aren't playing with the full deck, but you need to play fundementally sound baseball to win games. In the top of the 8th, Parnell dropped the ball to balk Cano to second and Santos was slow to pick up a ball in the dirt so Cano went to third. The potential run ended up probably being meaningless because of the lack of offense the Mets had been able to produce, but you can't just give teams the extra inch.

-Lastly, here's a stat you probably won't see anyplace else. The Mets had one of all the extra pitching lines: one IBB, one HBP, one WP, one BK. The Mets have only had 5 other games in their entire history where they've recorded one in each of those columns, according to Play Index.

-Goodnight. Yanks up to 3 in a row. Let's hope they can make it 4 tomorrow.

Uncle Lou Comes To the Rescue, May Be Watching Weeds

You have got to love Lou Pinella. After Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto admitted smoking pot, Sweet Lou came to his defense. Via ESPN Chicago:

"Look, I have smoked dope one time in my life," Piniella said before the Cubs faced the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. "And it didn't do a damn thing for me, and I never tried it again. I'm fortunate because of that. A lot of people do. You can even buy it in California from a pharmacy."

Yes, you can, Lou, sort of. Have you been watching this season of Weeds? Because Silas and Doug are opening up their own "pharmacy" now (or is it a farm-acy if you're selling weed?). It's a really good show if you don't watch it.

Anyways, this is not the only World Baseball Classic violation it seems. Sidney Ponson was caught taking what he says are diet pills, but are being described as a "stimulant". I've seen Sir Sidney before and I'm pretty sure that he's not on diet pills. Not positive. But pretty sure. They're certainly not helping his pitching with the Royals (1-5, 7.27 ERA).

So diet pills and pot? Sounds like a college campus to me.

Two Really Cool Websites

The first website is Flip Flop Fly Ball which has some amazing graphics on their site (H/T Rob Neyer). The Green Monster one is pretty awesome, but some of the best have little facts.

• If stolen bases were actually stolen, the stolen base leader for 2008, Colorado Rockies' Willy Taveras, would be charged with a Class 4 Felony under Colorado Law for stealing $6,119.32.
• One (discounted) Legends Box seat at the New Yankee Stadium (the most expensive seat in the league) would buy you 312.5 tickets in MLB's cheapest seat, the bleachers at Coors Field (and there would be just as many homeruns).
• Or, if the Yankees continued to retire numbers at their current pace, they would run out of double digit numbers by the year 2220.

So cool and I recommend you check out that site for more of those (hope to get some more on the blog from time to time).

 

The other website is Newseum which has 807 front pages from 71 countries. The one here is from Taiwan and although I don't know what they're saying, I know they're all about Michael Jackson today. The Calgary Sun has one of the more interesting ones today on Jack-O. The Press of Atlantic City (NJ) and the Opelika-Auburn News (AL) were two papers that gave equal footing to MJ and Farrah Fawcett, who has seemed to have gotten lost in all the Michael Jackson hysteria. And BILD, from Berlin, Germany has Michael Jackson AND boobies (obviously NSFW) on the front page. Non-sports related but pretty cool stuff.

Proving People Wrong or Disappointing

Every day we have athletes that prove us wrong or those who disappoint after lofty expectations. Here's a breakdown of some of those people:

 

Proved People Wrong:

• A-Rod - As River Ave Blues pointed out, A-Rod proved Buster Olney wrong. Or at least premature in his obituary. I hope last night was a breaking out for A-Rod rather than him beating up a struggling pitcher. But if A-Rod can pick it up, this offense can start rolling over people. And A-Rod certainly has a lot of people to prove wrong with the steroids allegations hanging over his head.
• Nick Swisher - Nick Swisher isn't going to win a batting title or a Gold Glove. I don't know why people care. He's serviceable in right field except for one huge error against the Red Sox. He'll never be great but he'll hustle after the ball and has a decent arm. But more importantly, he's one of the best hitters on this team as Steven Goldman points out:

Nick Swisher answered yesterday's discussion about him here with another home run, and it's tempting to let that be the final word for now. The guy is second on the Yankees in on-base percentage (to Mark Teixeira), fourth in slugging, but he leads the club in road slugging, road doubles, and road home runs by a wide, wide margin--he and Hideki Matsui are the only hitters on the team that haven't seen their numbers grossly distorted by the House that Ruth Didn't etc. He leads the team in walks, and the only reason that hasn't resulted in a higher number of runs scored by Swisher personally is that he's been buried in the bottom half of the order. There has been an awful lot of Ransom and Molina up behind Swisher.

I've said for a while I think the Yankees are wasting Swisher so far down in the order...but then again, they won't let me manage.

• Joba  - From Steven Goldman again: "Chamberlain's road record is yet another nail in the 'Joba-to-the-bullpen' argument. If this is what he can do in a neutral environment, average six innings a start and allow fewer than three runs--that's more than good enough. Few pitchers can do that"
• San Antonio Spurs - Well I don't think this team is going to be so boring offensively. They went out and got Richard Jefferson and starting him with Ginobili, Parker, Duncan they should be able to keep up offensively with the Bryants and Carmelos and Nowitzkis of the league. The question is how much this hurts the team defensively and in their chemistry. Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas were really good pieces on that team. But I think this makes them infinitely better and a favorite in the West. And, as usual they excelled at the draft, getting an A+ from Chad Ford. If DeJaun Blair can come in, be healthy, and be 80% of Kurt Thomas, this team will be tough to beat.
• Orlando Magic - Well this is all about not resting on your laurels. The last time the Magic got to a finals before 2009, they had Shaq. And many expected them to be quiet in this offseason with a team that surprised many and made the finals this year, hoping that another year of development would put them over the top. But they went out and got Vince Carter which gives them a proven offensive player to play alongside Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard. If Turkoglu comes back, this team will be very good. 
• Maric Jaric - I don't know how he does it, but he has the #1 pick in the Hot NBA Wives and Girlfriends draft from The Big Lead
• Antonio Piece and Shaun O'Hara - Both made ESPN's list of most underrated players of the past decade.
• Mariano Rivera - Many said he was done. When he wasn't they said he was on PEDs. So this is what he said in Sunday Conversation (via Peter Abraham):

On PEDs: “The reason why I’m laughing is because I don’t even drink coffee. And if I don’t drink coffee, I would never put in my mind or think to put that in my body. If the talent that God has given me is not enough, well, I’ll have to quit. When I leave this game I know deep in my mind, deep in my heart that I was clean.”

And those who disappointed:

• Marlon Byrd - Working with Victor Conte to provide you "supplements" and admitting such, as Shysterball reports, is pretty f'ing dumb. Even if it's totally legit, it's really dumb. Like incredibly boneheaded.
• John Smoltz - Baseball Tonight and Ken Rosenthal thinks that this start was good? To me it looks like Chien-Ming Wang.
• Dice-K - Daisuke Matsuzaka isn't exactly living up to that $103 million contract. Rob Neyer calls him "Boston's $103 million man-bust". Oliver Perez and Wang at least had real injuries when they were put on the DL. Dice-K is just looking like another disappointing import from abroad. He had been an OK pitcher in the past, but this year according to Neyer:

This year ... Well, you know about this year.

In retrospect, investing $103 million in a pitcher who'd never pitched against most of the best hitters in the world seems at least a little bit risky, right? Particularly a pitcher who had, by all accounts, thrown an immense number of pitches before reaching physical maturity? Oh, and do you remember when Matsuzaka was held up as a shining example of why young pitchers should not be babied?

• Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte - It's not his fault, but Nady may be done. Marte hasn't pitched in a long time and may not for the rest of the season. And the Yankees have Marte for two more seasons after this one. That trade is looking worse and worse by the day. They should have insisted on Jason Bay.
• Sammy Sosa - First came the failed steroids test last week and now this week CNBC's Darren Rovell is reporting that former slugger Sammy Sosa actually altered his jersey to make his arms look bigger. Between the corked bat, this revelation about the sleeves, Sosa's walking out on the Cubs, and the PED use, it is shown that was always about Sammy and his image. Sad downfall for a guy who was so beloved in 1998.
• Andy Pettitte - According to Play Index, there are only three lefties in Major League history who have won 190 games and have a better winning percentage than Pettitte's .631: Whitey Ford, Lefty Grove, and Randy Johnson. That's better than Tom Glavine, Warren Spahn, or Steve Carlton. But after failing down the stretch last year, Pettitte is looking like he may be finished. Some of his problems at home I can understand, but he had an 8-1 lead yesterday and couldn't get out of the 4th inning. Some of that had to do with bad defense, but he was pretty brutal also. The Yankees need him to get back to pitching well, though you have to wonder whether this it for Andy being Dandy. Remember when he thought he was worth $16 million?
• Matt Holliday - This guy may be close to untradeable according to MLBTradeRumors: who is going to pay $13.5 million to take on a guy who is only hitting .197 in his last 17 games, with an OPS under .600 (his second big slump of the season)? And, moreover, who would give up any type of prospects for this guy? This move and the ditching of the movie makes this a bad month for Moneyball and Billy Beane.
• Minnesota Timberwolves - Nice job moving up in the draft and getting Ricky Rubio, but how many point guards does one team need? There has to be another trade coming? Right? And then what was the point of trading up in the first place?
• Florian Busch - ESPN reports about this German hockey player who was banned for two years for refusing to take a drug test for a few hours while he was chilling with his girlfriend. That's rough. But after this quote, you wonder what he was doing during the doping test: Germany coach Uwe Krupp said Busch was sharing "a private moment" with his girlfriend when the testing team arrived.

Ejecting The Organist

Love running through Baseball-Reference's "On This Date In Baseball History". Here's an awesome nugget for today:

• 1985 - In Clearwater (Florida State League), after a disputed call at first base, Phillies organist Wilbur Snapp is ejected by the first base umpire for playing "Three Blind Mice" following a close call against Clearwater.

Ejecting the organist? Amazing! It reminds me of this story from the New York Times obituary of Eddie Layton, the longtime Yankees' organist (though the best quote may have been Layton saying, ''I thought that a sacrifice fly had something to do with killing an insect''):

Layton was not supposed to play during the baseball action, but he told National Public Radio how once ''I just got lost in the moment'' with the Yankees' Reggie Jackson at bat.

''I kept playing and playing and playing and playing,'' he remembered. ''And Reggie looked up at the booth, and the umpires looked up at the booth. Reggie threw down the bat and he started dancing at home plate.''

I would have loved to see that one. Great moments in Baseball Organist History.

A Few Sports Thoughts Before Bed

-Derek Jeter just turned 35. I feel old. I was in 5th grade when he made his major league debut. Happy birthday to the Captain. No active player has earned more rings or had more beautiful women than Jetes has had.

-Jorge Posada's wife is hot (another picture on the right)! Nice job, Jorgie! You really juiced that one!

-Our poll is now closed. 60% wanted Chien-Ming Wang in the starting rotation, 30% wanted him out and 10% said one more start. The only good news for him is that Citi Field is cavernous.

-Jeff Bennett = Kevin Brown.
-Geovany Soto = Michael Phelps

-I'm sorry I didn't mention the U.S. Soccer win over Spain earlier, but the truth is that I don't care that much about soccer. It's never really caught on in my life. I watched the World Cup once when my family first got High Definition television and saw the infamous headbutt. After that, I haven't cared much at all. But, regardless, this win was awesome. The New York Times declares it "Miracle On Grass".

-On the Knicks roster: Darko Milicic, Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas
-Not on the Knicks roster: Quentin Richardson, Stephen Curry and Ricky Rubio
-Not happy with the Knicks draftday: Knicks fans (I, personally, don't care. It's all about next summer)

-I knew Juan Pierre wasn't that good. From Fangraphs:

April 8 - May 28: 133 PA, .407/.470/.542 May 29 - June 24: 107 PA, .232/.276/.283

Joe Torre and the Dodgers should be glad Manny is coming back soon.

-Which MJ was greater in the '80s and '90s? Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan? And who had the weirder career move: Jordan to baseball or Jackson to Lisa-Marie?

That Was More Painful Than It Needed To Be

The first four in the Yankees lineup saw 98 pitches. The position player who saw the least pitches? Nick Swisher who leads the Yankees and is second in the American League. A-Rod has 3 hits, 4 RBIs and a home run. Derek Jeter got on base 6 times. Even Cody Ransom had 2 runs, 2 hits and 2 RBIs. The Yankees were up 8-1.

So of course they needed to empty out the bullpen before bringing in Mariano Rivera to save it.

The offense was good. The pitching...not so much. Andy Pettitte was awful and now has only three quality starts in his last 11 starts. And while Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke were very good, David Robertson needed to be bailed out by Mo in the end (of course, after I praised Robertson today).

A win is a win. But it was painful at times. A lot more than it needed to be.

And some bad news after the game from Mark Feinsand from the New York Daily News via Twitter: @BloggingBombers Nady pulled himself from Triple-A game after five innings. Doesn't sound good. Cashman said it could be the "worst-case scenario"

RIP Michael & Farrah

The world lost two icons today - thought we should take a moment to acknowledge them both.
We hope the media lets both families grieve in peace

First - A Little Thriller:



And the Classic Ms. Fawcett:

Braves Fans Stating the Obvious

Check out the top left corner of the picture. The Braves fans wanted to make sure the whole world knew that Alex Rodriguez cheats and so they taped it to the stairs so it would be on TV (it has since been taken down).

But we already knew he cheated on his wife so I don't know why this is anything new...maybe he's cheated on Kate Hudson and she sent an operative to post the sign.



Ohhhh.....they mean he takes steroids? I get it!

Well I guess that it's working as he's having a big game along with the rest of the Yankees offense. This offensive outburst is what the Yankees desperately needed. Now they can come back for the Subway Series Part Deux and feel comfortable about their offense.

Well, until they try to hit homeruns in Citi Field...