End of the Week Link Roundup

The last Yankee lefty to hit .400 in April was Paul O'Neill who hit .448 in April of 1994 and appeared in this great Seinfeld episode highlighted to the right...And we're off:

Yanks!

• Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports has Jorge Posada ranks all his pitchers and the results are great
• TYU on Robinson Cano and "clutch"
• Want some weird A-Rod hate? HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra has the details and Wall Street Journal has some more of the haterade. 
• Joe Posnanski goes out of his way to defend A-Rod
• The Bronx Goblin on Jorge's availability last night and Joe at River Ave Blues checks in on Cervelli's good luck 
• IIATMS pits Cano vs. Pedroia: the intangibles and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer weighs in
• The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly on Javy Vazquez from NoMass
• A Yankees fan beat the New Yorker fact checker according to CBS News
• Ian O'Connor of ESPN New York talks to Ed Whitson about Javy Vazquez and Pinstriped Bible tells us why Curt Schilling wasn't totally correct
• Mike at River Ave Blues examines if Tyler Clippard is the one who got away
• The Yankees staff vs. the Media in paintball from YES Network
• RealClearPolitics has Jeter telling the President to watch out with the Yankee shots
• Ben from River Ave Blues on the John Sterling conundrum  
• The Yankees and the emotion of their Walter Reed visit from the News' Mark Feinsand
• The Onion says that True Yankees and Regular Yankees will be wearing different unis to distinguish

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Just When Things Were Starting to Look Up for the Mets...

No matter how good things get for the Mets, there's one bad date they have to put on their calendar: July 1, 2011. And, well, every July 1st thereafter--until 2035. Why? Bobby Bonilla. Let's let CNN and Mental Floss explain:

Next year former outfielder Bobby Bonilla goes back on the payroll at the ripe old age of 48.

In 1999, Bonilla returned to the Mets for a second stint at Shea following his borderline disastrous free-agent signing in 1992. Bonilla wasn't any better the second time around, so the Mets waived him in 2000. The problem was that the team still owed Bonilla $5.9 million in guaranteed salary.

Bonilla's agents worked out a deal with the Mets where he would defer the salary if the team would pay him $1,193,248.20 every July 1 from 2011 to 2035. Not a bad deal for someone who was so bad the team basically paid him to go away.

Now, if you're wondering, what that $1.193 M could pay for the Mets in 2011, Cot's Baseball Contracts is the place to go. But even if you just take the Major League Minimum of $400,000, Bonilla's salary could pay for almost three players to play--or, for 2011, Ike Davis, Jon Niese and Jenrry Mejia.

How bad was Bonilla in 1999 that the Mets decided to waive him and incur this future albatross? Well in 60 games, he hit .160/.277/.303 and a cool .260 wOBA (which, according to FanGraphs was 9.9 runs below average). According to Baseball Projection, that was good enough for -1.5 wins, the worst mark of Bonilla's career. He also supposedly was playing cards with Rickey Henderson during the 1999 NLCS--while the game was going on. And the Mets will be paying him until he's 72! Maybe if the Mets are looking for some offense this off-season, they can ask Bobby Bo to actually come back and earn some of that money.

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Robinson Cano Is Showing He Can Handle #5

It's time to issue a mea culpa: I was dead wrong about Robinson Cano's hitting ability in the 5th spot of the lineup and I apologize for it. Now can we move on? No? Ok, well let's review. I railed against how the Yankees constructed their lineup when Cano was hitting 5th in mid-June, and a week later, I was still on the task, with some data to back it up. I called it "inexplicable", suggested they hit him *gulp* lead-off,  and threw up a "Hallelujah!" when they moved Cano out of the 5th spot. I wasn't the only one. I look back on those posts now and cringe. Why? Because I was dead wrong, as so far this season, Cano is proving to be one of the better hitters in baseball.

And for a guy who began his career as a slow starter (.293/.327/.451 in 1st half vs .329/.360/.533 in 2nd half--and that includes this April), he's on one hell of an April tear. He leads the majors in runs, hits, batting average, slugging percentage, wOBA, OPS+ and total bases, and leads the AL in OPS. Cano has hit in 8 straight games (where he is hitting .531), is 16 for his last 24, went 17 for 34 on the road trip, went 8 for 13 in the last series with 3 homeruns, and has played (in general) very good defense at 2nd including a Web Gem last night (shown to the right). He leads the Yankees with 8 home runsAnd there's this from ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand: "If he keeps his average above .400 on Friday night, [Cano] will finish this month with eight homers and a .400 batting average. No Yankee has ever done that, according to Elias. The last major leaguer to hit .400 with at least eight April home runs was Barry Bonds six years ago." River Ave Blues writes: "I know it’s April, but that’s utterly insane. If the Yankees didn’t already contractually control his rights through 2013, I’d suggest that they lock him up before he hits the open market." And the Posts' Joel Sherman writes "Cano has the look of someone who has graduated from a very good player to something more special than that."

Now, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's throw out a few caveats. First, it is still just April. And Cano still isn't that much more disciplined at the plate. According to FanGraphs, Cano has the highest BB% of his career so far with 6.7%, but he's also striking out 12.3% which would be his highest mark since 2008. And Cano is a streaky player and has been beating up on some bad teams so the fun may only last until the next slump or the next good pitching team. Yankeeist points out that the real test may come next month for Robbie.

But this is the Robinson Cano that Yankee fans have waited for for a long time now. We've seen him have streaks of brilliance, but for some reason, he seemed to lose the focus needed to put it all together for an MVP-type season. 2010 may be the year. Now some had suggested that maybe Cano would play worse this season without his buddy, Melky Cabrera, on the team. But rumor (and internet pictures) has it that Cano and Melky partied a lot together and maybe without the distraction of Melky, Cano can be a more focused baseball player. Regardless of what the reason is, Cano seems to be clicking on all cylinders through the month of April. He looks slick in the field and smooth at the bat. Again, it's still early, but this is a great start for Robinson Cano, don't ya know!

One if By Sea to Two New York Baseball Stadiums

The Mets and Yankees have continued to come up with ways that people can avoid driving to baseball games and here's another way: they can take a complimentary New York Water Taxi to either stadium (H/T Aimee via Sarah). The transport leaves from Pier 11 (at the end of Wall Street) and is a great alternative for businessmen and businesswomen who would rather not squeeze into a packed 4 train in business suit and sweat their way to 161st in the Bronx.

During the course of the season, the taxis will leave 90 minutes before game time and arrive at least 30 minutes before first pitch. There will be no return service.

The water taxis, adorned with the team and Delta logos, are equipped with air conditioning, a bar and satellite television, and can accommodate 147 passengers. Tickets will be available up to two hours before departure and can be found on the New York Water Taxi website or by going to Pier 11.

Now, before we celebrate, there are some drawbacks here:

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Why go to a concert when you can get the music for free?

Today I tried to buy two tickets to see my favorite band, O.A.R., play a concert on July 23 at the Comcast Theater in Hartford, CT.  Here is the link to the concert, if you are interested.

Tickets are reasonably priced.  $32.50 for the pavilion (where you get actual seats) and $23.50 for the lawn (general admission).  Can't really argue with that, especially for a really nice outdoor venue in July.

But let's not forget about the inevitable -- and unavoidable -- Ticketmaster fees.  Want to see an affordable concert become unaffordable in two easy steps?  Let's go.

Concert ticket = $23.50
Facility charge = $6.00
Convenience charge = $10.00
Total = $39.50

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What's The Call?

Yesterday was the first softball game of the year and unfortunately, my team, "Friends With Benefits", lost to our geriatric foes, "Consenting Adults", 6-5. A tough loss to start the season, but in the words of Herm Edwards "we can build on this!"

There was a call in the first inning of the game that was highly disputed. The first batter of the game popped up the ball to first. The 1st baseman was in fair territory, but reached into foul territory to grab the ball. The ball bounced off the first baseman's glove and fell into foul territory.

The umpire called the ball fair. Was this the right call or not? We debated forever last night during the game (and even afterwards at the bar) so I figured it was a good question to turn to the NYaT audience for a ruling: fair or foul? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

The Yankee Clipper: Disappointing Loss

There are games that you should win, and last night was certainly one of those for the Yankees. So why did they come out on the short end? While This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes looks for some rays of sunshine, let's take a look (with A-Rod looking absolutely ridiculous Presidential on the right from ESPN.com):

1. The Yankees bullpen and defense didn't perform. Boone Logan and David Robertson (and to a lesser extent, Alfredo Aceves) just didn't get the job done. Phil Hughes struggled but got through 5 2/3 with a 2-1 lead and turned the ball over to Boone Logan with the lefty, Luke Scott, up at the plate. Logan promptly walked him. Robertson came on to face Wigginton who he hit (on an 0-2 pitch). He then allowed three straight RBI singles to Rhyne Hughes (rookie), Nolan Reimold (struggling), and Caesar Izturis (just bad) before finally striking out Adam Jones.  As the Post's Joel Sherman writes, the Yankees bullpen is a little bit of a mess in front of Mo. Ben from River Ave Blues breaks down the Boone Logan decision.
2. The bullpen was bad, but the Yankees' defense didn't help them out. Aceves' run could have been prevented but bad defense by Derek Jeter (error to lead off inning) and Jorge Posada (who sailed a throw down to second into CF) but Caesar Izturis (Yankee killer) made it 5-2. Randy Winn also had a chance to throw out Luke Scott at the plate in the 6th but ended up throwing the ball straight into the ground (a la Todd Zeile in the 1996 ALCS).
3. The Yankees base-running was atrocious--and hurt them. Jorge Posada hit a home run but had a tough game defensively and running the bases. In the 6th inning, Posada was caught straying too far off second base (where the heck was he going) and Miguel Tejada easily threw over to get Jorge. Posada is not a good baserunner and this is not the first time a base-running gaffe of his hurt the Yankees.  Another bad baserunner on the Yankees is Robinson Cano who somehow thinks he's a base stealer just because he's a middle infielder. Well Cano got caught at second and ended a potential rally. NoMass has a memo to Cano to stop attempting steals.

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A Great Sports Illustrated Cover: Lunch with the "Core Four"

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Trivia Tuesday: Catchers Hitting Home Runs

With his next home run, Jorge Posada will tie Ted Simmons for first all-time in home runs by switch-hitting catchers at 248. But there are 8 other catchers with more home runs than Simmons or Posada. Can you name them?

Put your answers in the comments below. Good luck (and no cheating)!

Bonus question from ESPN's TMI blog: Mark Buehrle is set to face the Rays for the first time since his perfect game last July. Besides Buehrle, who are the only two pitchers with a World Series title and multiple no-hitters including a perfect game all with the same team?

Let's Play Two (for one)

With New York getting pounded by some real April weather (remember how April Showers Brings May Flowers used to actually make sense?) the Metsies decided to postpone last nights game before the gates even opened. First off I want to take an unusual step for me and applaud their decision to postpone the game well before it started. Last year both the Mets and Yanks opened the gates on nights where it was almost obvious no baseball was to be played, collected their fans parking and concession money, let them sit in the wet and cold for 90+ minutes and then called the game. It made economic sense for them - new ballparks, plenty of fans, but was a real gut punch to the loyal fanbase that showed up.

Whether for altruistic reasons this year (or merely because they knew nobody would show up anyway) the Mets decided to call yesterday's game before 6pm and schedule a classic, old-school, doubleheader for today at 4pm. Yes that's right, one of those goodie 2-for-1 opportunities that I personally never thought we would see at Citi Field. The Mets are clearly struggling with attendance - even with the Dodgers in town they still have well over 10,000 seats per game unsold, so this move probably made economic sense. They also moved Johan up to game one, so there should be fannies in the seats starting with the 4pm game, if the weather improves.

So, kudos to the Mets for going with the fan-friendly value option here, instead of trying to milk two separate gates today or Wednesday. With the team's improved play they could even be, gasp, in first place by 10pm tonight. However, as most of the educated NYaT community knows, it is statistically unlikely that any team sweeps a doubleheader, even if they are playing at home. So mother nature might have delivered some value to Met fans, but may also now be responsible for ending their win streak. But hey, you gotta believe!!

Any of our loyal readers heading out to Citi this afternoon?

Side note: The Metsies hit Philly this weekend for a series with their hated rival. The weather forecast is looking good and the Saturday 3pm matchup will likely be Doc Halladay (fresh off his first loss) vs. Mike (Hand-licker) Pelfrey. The game is sold out but there is plenty of inventory on Stubhub and I am seriously thinkin about making the trip. Startin to feel things turning around for my Mets!

24 Recap: Jack'ing your Helicopter and The End of Loyalty

One of the things that 24 has shown over the years is that loyalty only goes so far…and then the urge to take a knife to the ones who you owe the most to and stab them in the back comes into play. This is especially true in here in our 8th and final season of 24. The people who owe the most to Jack (the President and Chloe) have turned against him. Ethan, who served his President so loyally—and even made a miraculous recovery from a heart attack—was a victim this week of a power struggle. Even someone like Denny, is owed more than to just be handed over to a “private security firm” for “interrogation”—well, maybe that’s stretching it a bit too far. But you see what I mean—this is a show is constantly telling us that no matter what you do for people, loyalty is only as strong as the next conflict’s issues, and most of the time, you’re bound to get screwed in the end.

Oh, So You Want Your Helicopter Back, Do You?

We sometimes forget how many amazing skills Jack has in his bag of tricks. He can speak Russian and German, can copilot a plane landing onto a highway, and last night we remembered he can also fly a helicopter. We saw him do it way back in Season 3 when he was freeing Ramon Salazar from custody (which is the season, oddly enough, when he had his only other real “sidekick” besides Freckles—Chase). And although we’ve seen him do it other times in between, last night was the first time we’ve seen him try to outmaneuver anyone and escape on that chopper since the Season 3 escape to Mexico. This time, Jack is amazingly able to duck under a pair of highly trained Air Force helicopters and land the helicopter on a building. Glad he’s not rusty after all those years. Maybe in his free time he’s been giving helicopter sightseeing tours around Manhattan.

Jack makes his way to ground level and tries to blend in. How can Jack blend in, though? Somehow he does since no one knows Jack. It’s not like he’s done anything for this country yet nobody recognizes him. Miley Cyrus’ cousin walked down the street and I guarantee you someone would know who they are; Jack does and he’s just another Joe Sixpack. Well one person who does know what Jack looks like is FP jr and Chloe* sends him into the field to get Jack. She also makes sure Arlo The Horndog and everyone else is tracking Jack. Arlo looks upset that he doesn’t get to use the satellite to spy on naked girls. So pissed.

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If You Needed Another Reason to Root for Javy Vazquez...

...you got it. Curt Schilling has opened his big mouth again and hopefully it lights a fire under Javy Vazquez and brings Yankee fans together to rally around this guy. Schilling, who is never one to shy away from expressing his opinions, did just that yesterday on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" according to ESPN New York:

"I never ever thought the move to New York the first time was a good one [for Vazquez]. And I didn't think this [move] was good as well," Schilling said. "I don't think he suddenly learned how to pitch when he went back to Atlanta and dealt last year. He's a phenomenal National League pitcher. It's hard to say this without sounding disrespectful and I don't mean it that way -- the National League is an easier league to pitch in, period. And some guys aren't equipped to get those same outs in the American League, and he's one of those guys."

He's not done yet, either. Schilling also said on the radio show that he doesn't think Vazquez is comfortable with the media glare that comes with playing in New York.

"[Vazquez] thrived in Montreal and he thrived in Atlanta, and those are both second-tier cities from a baseball passion perspective. He's not a guy that I've ever felt was comfortable in the glow," Schilling said. "You're seeing what you're gonna get from him consistently all year. Having said that, he could turn around next week and throw a one-hitter with his stuff. I just don't see him being a consistent winner in the American League."

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The Yankee Clipper: Same 'ole in Anaheim

No matter how much things change, they always seem to stay the same. The Yankees overcame their inability to beat the Angels in last year's American League Championship Series, but they still are unable to beat them in Anaheim (or is it Los Angeles?). Even last year, en route to winning the series, the Yankees dropped 2 out of 3 in California. The latest iteration was no different--a loss, followed by a win, followed by a tough loss. Let's review:

1. Javier Vazquez was not good. Listen, I'm a Javy Vazquez fan and I think he'll be fine, but this is not the start that helps me to prove that. Not even to myself anymore. How bad is it? Well consider this stat from ESPN's TMI blog: "Vazquez's ERA jumped to 9.00, matching the worst-ever April ERA by a Yankee who pitched at least 20 innings." For my friend Paul who is NOT a Javy fan, I will say this: BRUTAL! That's a horrible start. Jason @ IIATMS debates whether this is a result of a small sample size (and maybe bad luck) or time to panic. Chris at TYU defends Javy a little, saying, at the very least that he's probably not a "gutless bitch". Vazquez claims to be embarrassed by all this and Joe Girardi thinks it's mechanical. Let's hope so. At least that can be corrected.
2. What exactly happened before the Kendry Morales home run? I'm still confused. And, although some will sweep it under the rug, it was a big at-bat in a one-run game. It was runners on 1st and 2nd for Morales vs. Damaso Marte with David Robertson ready in the bullpen and Juan Rivera on deck. Girardi left in Marte. Francisco Cervelli rose from the catcher's stance like they were intentionally walking him and took ball one. Now this seemed like an odd move to me and the rest of the Twitter universe took the task of asking why the Yankee would walk someone when 3rd base was the one that was open. I guess Girardi was checking out his Twitter feed because he decided that they were going to now pitch to Morales. So Marte threw ball 2...and then ball 3. Right before the next pitch was going to be thrown, I saw Girardi signal something to Cervelli. I thought that signal was to let him know to just put Morales on base. Instead, the signal was to let Cervelli know that Morales will swing 3-0 and not to groove one over. Instead, Marte grooved one over and it was crushed out for a three run shot. A close one-run game became an easy four-run lead for the Angels and they never looked back. Girardi looked upset at the time and took all the blame for the Yankees. I know it was just one play, but for a team that prides themselves on professionalism and fundamentals, that was a big hiccup in a bad spot. The New York Times' Ben Shpigel talks about how out of character that was for Girardi.

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End of Week Link Roundup

I know that it's technically the beginning of a new week, but we needed a link roundup. The man to the right was in the Yankee clubhouse today (and was one of my favorite baseball players when I first started following the game though he's one of my least favorite members of Baseball Tonight). As we debate what LOST stars should do next, I finish watching Dwayne Wade dominate, and I continue to be amazed upon learning what the creator of Weeds looks like, let's get to some great links from the past week:

Baseball Edition:

• This was an awesome slide (H/T Dad)
• Updating the A-Rod vs. Dallas Braden argument, David Wells calls A-Rod "full of crap" according to The Big Lead (big surprise)
• Joe from River Ave Blues says that Robinson Cano is showing patience on certain pitches in the young season and Carson from FanGraphs looks at how nasty CC Sabathia can truly be vs. opposing hitters
• Matt at Fack Youk has a great look at the history of the Yankees and at the A's and ESPN's Buster Olney takes a look at Ryan Braun, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt
• SI's Jon Heyman has 20 observations, The Book observes that Jackie Robinson was really good, and Flip Flop Fly Ball has the list of the last #42s for each team
• Rich Harden joins in on the Yankee hating and his own team may be the one in trouble
• Curtis Granderson heads to Target and Eric Duncan heads no place according to Bronx Baseball Daily
• The Biz of Baseball has some interesting stats about Opening Day payroll numbers
• Lou Pinella really must hate Alfonso Soriano, like really and Ubaldo Jiminez's mom changed her mind.
• The Ike Davis era has begun in Queens, a Mets reliever is welcomed to the 8th inning and then to the DL, and HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra writes about "classless and ignorant Mets fans". At least the Mets didn't sign Derek Lowe.
• The Marlins have gotten rid of out-of-town scoreboards and lineups, the Royals got rid of Juan Cruz, and the Red Sox avoided making a bad decision according to Jason @ IIATMS
• Some early Cool Standings, under/over-performers, and some early league leaders
• NYY Stadium Insider reviews the Champions Suite and NYYSI on a new form of entertainment at the new Stadium
• NoMass says that American (League) runs on Victor Martinez, ESPN Boston talks about the historic amount of stolen bases Boston is giving up (H/T Jay), and ESPN TMI and FanGraphs tells us why Boston will finish in 3rd.
• Some H/T Rob Neyer links: FanGraphs has UZR updates, The Hardball Times finds the stretch may not cost a pitcher, Tango Tiger tries to evaluate catchers, and Seamheads on World War II

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The Yankee Clipper: A-Rod Disses Dallas

Not exactly Debbie Does Dallas, but because A-Rod is involved, there's just as much controversy. The Yankees take their 5th series to start a season matching the 1926 squad and two wins in Los Angeles this week would set a new franchise record. Before we get there, let's look at the series that was:

1. A-Rod vs. Dallas Braden. Here's my quick opinion: Dallas Braden was wrong and A-Rod was wrong in how he responded to it. As far as A-Rod's controversies go, this ranks pretty low on the list. Everyone weighed in: The New York Times' Ben Shpigel (picture to the right from that article), ESPN's Wallace Matthews, LoHud's Sam Borden, HarballTalk's Craig Calcaterra, River Ave Blues' Mike Axisa, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (with a quote from Tim McCarver), Mark Feinsand of the Daily News, TonyBlogs, the Posts's Joel Sherman (who made an unfunny joke), and Jay from Fack Youk (who weighed in on everyone weighing in). Twitter users oh_gee_en and LadyBlueICU came up with funny pictures. 'Duk from Big League Stew summed it up nicely: "You can read more of [what Braden and A-Rod said] at MLB.com or listen to his interview at the LoHud Yankees Blog....On one hand, it's nice for A's fans to see that one of their young guns won't cede any ground or be intimidated by one of the best players on the defending world champs...But on the other, there's something to be said for knowing your spot in the game and earning enough capital to call out a perennial All-Star over something so petty." ESPN's Rob Neyer adds another layer to it: "There's something odd about this, though: The inning was over. Braden wasn't on the mound anymore. It wasn't his mound."
2. Oh, by the way, the Yankees turned a triple play yesterday (no, not that triple play or that triple play). According to John and Suzyn, it was the first triple play turned by the Yankees in a long time. According to the broadcast team, the last one was June 3rd, 1968: Dooley Womack to Bobby Cox to Mickey Mantle ("yes that Bobby Cox and yes that Mickey Mantle"). More than 6600 games ago. I saw one in person last year (unassisted) when the Mets had one turned on them in Citi Field (DJ AM threw out the first pitch that game, sadly enough). It's a really cool feat. Too bad they couldn't follow it up with a win. Quick side note: I also got to hear Suzyn say during the broadcast: "Isn't texting just the best thing in the world." Ummm...

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Quick Review of MLB.TV on the PS3

A few weeks back I wrote about a $20 price mistake for MLB.TV that I was able to jump on. Today, that purchase became even more valuable when MLB.TV made it's way to the Playstation 3. There's a lot of ways to watch the games. But I'll say this: MLB.TV on the PS# is awesome and if you're a big baseball fan (and have a PS3) it's worth every penny to lay down the full price to get it for the rest of the year. Let's give you a quick preview I found on the Playstation Blog:



When I got home from work, I went back and watched the half inning where A-Rod turned the triple play. Maybe in a few months I'll want to go back and watch the near-no-no that Phil Hughes just threw or CC Sabathia threw before him--and I can do that too. It's unbelievably awesome and almost feels like it was silly that it wasn't in place before. They've basically made Neftlix streaming this easy so why would it take so long for MLB's media, which CNET says is the No. 1 most profitable video-streaming service on the Web? It's worth the wait, though. Globe and Mail says that it's a game changer and I totally agree. As a Premium subscriber, I can listen to home or away broadcasts and pause live games. Interactive scoreboard to pick from games. Whatever game you want. It's baseball a la carte and baseball a la mode. It's an iTunes for MLB games. Streaming On Demand--in 720P HD. I love it.

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The Yankees Hughes-Wang Problem

The Yankees had back-to-back years with perfect games as David Cone and David Wells became "baseball immortality". In 2001, Mike Mussina took an September ESPN start to two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning with a perfect game. And then Carl Everett broke it up. Since then, Yankees pitchers have come oh-so-close to no-no's only to fall short. So far this year the Yankees had CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes throw 1-hit gems. This is the second time that Hughes has come close--but failed--to throw the no-hitter, joining former Yankee Chien-Ming Wang among the unlucky this past decade. So for Hughes to Wang (by the way, I've wanted to use that title for a while), the Yankees have been unlucky in finishing out the no-hit bids.

So close. Near no-no's. The forgotten games. Moose's I will never forget. He was dealing and looked totally unhittable. He dominated a really tough Boston lineup in a really tough ballpark. 26 up, 26 down. 13 K. And Carl Everett ruined it. You wonder how many times Mussina goes back to that 0-2 pitch and wishes he would have wasted one there instead of throwing a meaty pitch for Everett (a Yankee foe, indeed) to club.

35 times the Yankees have had a pitcher go 7 innings and give up two hits or less since the beginning of the 2000 season. Mike Mussina has 6 such games in his Yankee tenure. Chien-Ming Wang and El Duque are tied for second with four each. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Randy Johnson and A.J. Burnett have each had 3. 

Some of them stick out in your mind.  

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Jerry Manuel vs. Lou Pinella: Which Manager Has a Worse Disadvantage?

The gauntlet has been thrown. Jerry Manuel took our first Stupid Call of the Week by throwing K-Rod for 100 pitches in the bullpen and Lou Pinella fired back with the second Stupid Call of the Week by moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen. So I decided to pit manager vs. manager to see who has a worse disadvantage at doing their job. Is it "Sweet" Lou Pinella and his band of lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs? Or is it Jerry Manuel and his unlucky group of New York Mets? Best of 7. Let's get to it!

	Jerry Manuel	Lou Pinella	Dis-Advantage
GM	Omar Minaya - What can you say about Omar that hasn't already been said? Oliver Perez. Lack of bench depth. Tony Bernazard. Lack of starters. If the Adam Rubin press conference didn't do him in, you wonder what will finally end the misery?	Jim Hendry - One hamstringing contract after another. Alfonso Soriano. Milton Bradley. Now Carlos Silva. Also, surprising lack of NLCS appearances despite playing in weak division and weak league and spending plenty of money	This one goes to Jerry. Minaya's public spat with Carlos Beltran put this one over the top this year.  1-0 Jerry
Team Curses	You wonder if breaking ground on Citi Field is going to be this team's ultimate downfall. 2006 NCLS breakdown, two seasons of losing on the last day of the season and then last years debacle	The Billy Goat. Merkle's Boner. Steve Bartman. Collapse after collapse and bad fortune after bad fortune. A century of losing. The team has tried to sacrifice goats on Harry Caray's statue and it hasn't even worked. And there's even an "Ex-Cubs Factor"	This is all Sweet Lou. Now that the Red Sox and White Sox won, it's the Cubs all alone. The Indians haven't won in 60 years and it looks like nothing compared to the Cubbies. All tied up at 1

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The Stupid Call of the Week: Carlos Zambrano to the Bullpen

I don't even have to wait until the end of the week. Lou Pinella and the Chicago Cubs have taken the cake for the stupid move of the week. Why? They moved their ace starter, Carlos Zambrano, to the bullpen. Seriously. Lou Pinella said the move "makes all the sense in the world." Oh boy. This is the same team that won't bench Alfonso Soriano...but they decide to basically do the same thing to Carlos Zambrano. I feel like Lou Pinella is trying to get fired. I don't even need to explain the stupidity of this move...I'll let others do it:

Let's let ESPN's Rob Neyer bat leadoff:

Carlos Zambrano is heading to the bullpen? So Carlos Silva can remain in the rotation? Has there been a weirder story this spring? Or a sillier story?

Yahoo! Roto Arcade's Andy Behrens:

You didn't ask for my opinion, but here it is: This decision isn't merely stupid, it's weapons-grade stupid. Total organizational failure. Even if Zambrano is successful in the setup role, this is an atrocious use of resources. This is neither bold nor innovative. It's just insane. One of the all-time panic moves. In fact, it's in the panic move hall of fame. 

HardballTalk's Matthew Pouliot:

Sticking Zambrano in the bullpen is really the most boneheaded move the Cubs could have made. Sticking him in left field would have made as much sense. Zambrano, after all, has 16 homers in 314 at-bats since the beginning of 2006. Alfonso Soriano has eight homers in his past 314 at-bats.

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Lost with LOST: Oh The Places We'll Go

A whole lot of nothing happened last night on LOST. Yet, a lot happened. Last night's episode was a "Matthew Abaddon" episode. The other one this season occurred the last time we saw Sawyer and Miles in the Sideways World. It was also the one where FLocke tried to recruit Sawyer. In last night's episode, we saw FLocke try to recruit Jack with many of the same double speak. Meanwhile, Sideways Desmond is pulling his own Matthew Abaddon impression, shepherding all the Castaways towards consciousness. It wasn't an episode I loved but it seemed like a necessary one to set up the rest of the season. So in honor of last night's episode being on 4/20, put a whole lot of nothing into our [tobacco-only] paraphenalia, put on some Geronimo Jackson, light our Dharma matches, inhale, and let the world as we know it float away.

That's FLocke'd Up!

The above was uttered by Stacey as we watched the episode and it was certainly true. Let's bring out a few large questions/reveals from the episode and I'll give my opinion on it. I want to know your opinions too so make sure to chime in below in the comments. Because we all know that I'm bound to be wrong more than I'm right, but since you're here reading my blog post, you must think something of my commentary. (I'm more curious about yours)

FLocke tells Jack that his dead father's ghost was actually Man In Black running around the forest in Smokey's body. Do we believe him?

[Deep exhale] I don't know. In some ways, this makes sense with everything we've learned from LOST so far. But there are some serious holes here. If the Man In Black can't leave The Island then how did he show up as Christian in Los Angeles during Jack's flash forward in "Something Nice Back Home"? Was he Christian when he appeared before Michael telling him "you can go now" in "There's No Place Like Home: Part II"? Is it possible that Christian's body never made it on the plane in the Island World as it didn't make it on the plane in the Sideways World? I've learned not to trust "bad guys" on LOST (from Ben to Widmore to FLocke), so excuse me if I'm not going to believe the shifty FLocke just yet. And Claire did say to Jin that she was kept company on The Island by Christian and a friend (MIB). It keeps me wondering...

Sayid couldn't have killed Desmond, could he have? Come on, brutha!

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Crohn's Disease should not stop the New York Giants from drafting LB Rolando McClain

If you've been following the 2010 NFL Draft, then you know that the New York Giants need a linebacker.  Don't believe me?  Check here, here, here, here, here, and here.  A Google search for "giants need linebacker" produces 7.59 million hits.  Feel free to email me if you still need more proof.

The good news is that there is a deep and strong talent pool at the linebacker position this year.

The consensus is that Alabama's Rolando McClain is the best linebacker available.  Just look at his numbers.  He's 6'4" and 256 lbs yet he runs the 40 in 4.65 seconds.  Nobody else ran a faster time at his size.  He was a 3-year starter at Alabama and in his final season, he had 105 tackles with 14.5 tackles for a loss.  (It sure would be nice if the Giants had a linebacker who can tackle!)  He also had 4 sacks, 14 QB hurries, 2 interceptions, 3 deflections, and 1 fumble recovery.  Oh yeah...he also helped the Crimson Tide with the "national championship."

But some people have suggested that the Giants might be concerned about his health after he announced that he has Crohn's Disease, which seems to run in his family since his mother is also afflicted.

That's hogwash.  Here are three reasons why the Giants should not worry about drafting Rolando McClain.

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Tonight's Pitching Matchup: Some Good News For Javy Vazquez

Since the man can use some good news before his start tonight in Oakland, I ran Javier Vazquez's numbers vs. the current Athletics hitters (including postseason) on Baseball-Reference. Here were the results:

	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	SH	SF	IBB	HBP
Travis Buck	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Rajai Davis	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Ryan Sweeney	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000	0	0	0	0
Kurt Suzuki	10	9	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	.111	.200	.111	.311	0	0	0	1
Gabe Gross	8	5	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	.000	.375	.000	.375	0	0	0	0
Mark Ellis	17	16	3	0	0	0	0	1	1	.188	.235	.188	.423	0	0	0	0
Kevin Kouzmanoff	6	6	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.167	.167	.333	.500	0	0	0	0
Eric Chavez	12	10	1	0	0	1	3	2	2	.100	.250	.400	.650	0	0	0	0
Jack Cust	9	8	1	0	0	1	2	1	2	.125	.222	.500	.722	0	0	0	0
Coco Crisp	17	16	5	0	0	1	3	1	3	.313	.353	.500	.853	0	0	0	0
Daric Barton	6	5	2	0	0	0	1	1	1	.400	.500	.400	.900	0	0	0	0
Jake Fox	4	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500	.500	.500	1.000	0	0	0	0
Eric Patterson	7	5	1	0	0	1	2	2	1	.200	.429	.800	1.229	0	0	0	0
Cliff Pennington	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	2.000	3.000	0	0	0	0
Total	105	93	18	2	0	4	12	11	17	.194	.286	.344	.630	0	0	0	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/20/2010.

As you can see, only Coco Crisp has had sustained success against Vazquez and he's on the disabled list. Of course, these are all small sample sizes, but Vazquez has look pretty good against tonight's foe in the past. Let's hope the success can continue tonight.

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