Front Page: A Look at the Newspapers the Day After a Texas-Sized Comeback

I'm not sure whether a board has to vote or if there's a way to just fast-track it, but last night's Yankee game has to be declared an Instant Yankee Classic on YES Network. It is as easy a decision as Ron Washington bringing in his closer in the 8th inning last night...oh wait. There are even better visuals from last night and make sure to check out Rebecca's post from This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes to see them. Mostly courtesy of Newseum, here are the front pages:

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The Mets REALLY Need to Swing for the Fences

If there wasn't incentive enough before, now there's real incentive for the Metsies to take a page out the book of their cross-town Bronx Bomber friends: hit some home runs. Why? Because at least when they do so in 2010, it'll go to a good cause. From the New York Post:

If there are Mets fans who don't know who Stewart Rahr is, they will soon enough. The Brooklyn-born billionaire -- a k a Stewie Rah Rah -- is donating $1,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation every time a Met hits a home run at CitiField, and $5,000 every time David Wright does, as he did on Opening Day. Later in the season will be "Home Rah Rah Day" with giveaways of Rahr's trademark yellow sunglasses.

Last season the Mets hit 95 home runs which was dead last in the National League--well dead last in any league. Their leading homerun hitter was Daniel Murphy  with 12 and they had 4 people (David Wright, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur) tie for second with 10. They had the longest streak of games without a home run in 2009, when they had an 8 game drought from July 3rd to July 11th (they also went 7 games in May). So let's just say, they need to hit some more home runs in 2010. That's why they signed Jason Bay, wasn't it?

David Wright was the real disappointment of 2009 on the power front only hitting 10 home runs after hitting 33 the year before. Wright has the Mets only home run so far this season (pictured to the right from The Star-Ledger), so that's $5,000 in the books. It must be The Situation and Vitamin Water (H/T Ari). According to FanGraphs, the projections for Wright's 2010 home run total lie between 19 and 25. Let's hope that he finds his power stroke again. Come on David, it's for the kids!

Have You Seen This Man Wandering the Streets?

I glanced at a newsstand while walking to work this morning and saw the cover on the right (it must be a very slow news day). Alas, when I finally checked out the newspaper, I found out that Derek Jeter had not blown all his millions and was not living out on the street. Rather, he was playing a fictionalized version of himself in the upcoming Will Ferrell movie, "The Other Guys". According to the Post:

In the comedy, Ferrell and notorious Red Sox fan Mark Wahlberg play cops who spend their careers as desk jockeys. The two are permanently benched after Wahlberg's character wrongly shoots Jeter in the leg after seeing him walking around with a bat, sources said.

The scene shot at Nathan's [Famous in Coney Island] takes place years later, when a down-on-his-luck Jeter -- wearing a filthy hobo's jacket and sporting stringy gray hair -- encounters the crime-fighting duo. 

Jeter's played himself in television and movies before. He was on "The Abstinence" episode of Seinfeld in 1996 (ironic name for a Jeter episode, isn't it?) and he also played himself in 2003's Anger Management. With the lack of success that the Yankees had the year after those two movies came out (they went from a World Series to heartbreak the following year), let's hope that there is no curse associated with his cameos.

Checking Out Today's Papers: Joy in Gotham

Kicking 'Em While They're Down

Deadspin takes aim at ESPN while the New York Post continues their assault on Brooke Hundley. Let's take a look at both on Day 3 of the attacks:

When the New York Post gets into kicking you, they won't let you back up for air for a while. A-Rod was certainly a recipient of this as were many other unfortunate souls. I really don't think Steve Phillips had as many New York Post articles written about him while he was the General Manager of the New York Mets (though "Stevie Nixed" was a classic) The Post was the first to break the story of the Steve Phillips/Brooke Hundley affair. Then Day Two of the story got even more play from the Post. And today the New York Post decided to lay the whammy by sitting outside Hundley's apartment, taking non-too-flattering pictures of the none-too-attractive girl, and then wrote up a none-too-nice article.

The New York Post has so far, in three days called her a "harlot", a "strumpet", "tubby", "portly" (at least twice), "shlubby", and write that she "waddled" away from her apartment. Now that's journalism for you!

Side Note: Now in Adam-Sandler-in-the-Wedding-Singer fashion, can she please stop wearing the Yankees hat before she jinxes the team!

If there's one person more upset with the New York Post coverage than Hundley, it's Deadspin. Deadspin wanted to break the story themselves but ESPN wouldn't help them out in their pursuit. Once the New York Post broke it first, the floodgates of hell opened. Yet hell hath no fury like a blogger scorned. Deadspin then made it their duty to expose "The Worldwide Leader In Sexual Depravity". The ESPN Horndog Dossier was opened and no one was spared: not Erik Kuselias (with Stephania Bell?!?), not Katie Lacey, not even some guy named Jed Drake. They even published the responses to Deadspin's ESPN Witch Trial today.

I think it's time to find a new topic. It was great for a while (hell, we even posted something about it), but eventually they'll need to find a new whipping boy (or girl) because at some point it just becomes over- saturation. I think we may have reached that point.

New York Post and Daily News From Today Looks Awfully Similar

Just saying...

Under pressure from No, You're a Towel, Mets terminate Tony Bernazard

Ok, NYaT is probably not the only reason Tony Bernazard won't be coming into the office tomorrow - but it was certainly pressure from media outlets and the blogosphere that led to his dismissal. Bernazard has been an issue in the Mets clubhouse for well over a year now and had clearly become a major distraction for a team that seemingly can't concentrate on the simplest of baseball tasks (read: catching pop-ups).

Now let's see if this leads to some strong play from the Mets, much the way the ouster of Willie and Rick last year seemed to wake them up.

Let's Go Mets!

So Jonathan Papelbon Doesn't Want To Become a Yankee?

Well first he said he would be become a Yankee on Sirius/XM, now Jonathan Papelbon on Rob Bradford's WEEI blog:

"I want to make that clear, I don’t want to go (expletive) play for the Yankees"

Well we don't (expletive) want you either, you piece of (expletive)

There. Now it's settled. And I know you won't get along with the New York Post anyways.

(It's worth reading the rest of the interview. This guy clearly suffers from being a crazy MoFo. The man refers to his crazy alter ego as Cinco Ocho! Seriously. Crazy. Like if that's not a picture of 'Roid Rage, I don't know what is)

Stat of the Day and Jorge as DH

Figured I'd try and get a few new segments on this blog including "Stat of the Day". This one is a scary one, from New York Post's Joel Sherman (via Twitter):

Yankees staff ERA with Posada catching: 7.71. Even without Wang's horror show it is still 6.45.

Joel Sherman wrote today in the New York Post all about how Posada should be the DH for the Yankees, especially going forward. While I don't disagree with him, the Yankees have a true problem: too many DHs and not good enough options at catcher.

This year the Yankees have Matsui (who can't play the field at all), Xavier Nady (who may be able to return but unable to play the field), Nick Swisher (who, while in no way a liability in right, would probably be better at DH), A-Rod (who needs a day off every once in a while to rest that hip), Damon (who looks absolutely lost in left field this season at times), and Jeter (who should probably be making his way to at least a part-time DH role).

That's a lot of guys for one spot. Next year, Matsui, Nady and Damon come off the books, but the Yankees still have a dilemma as to where Jeter plays. He seems like he's lost yet another step at shortstop and needs to get moved to another position. There's no way to tell if he could be a successful outfielder, so DH may be the place for him. And A-Rod will be a year older next year so he'll need a rest every once in a while there too.

I love the Teixeira signing in many ways, but they'll wish at some point they had that first base slot open. But maybe the goal next year will be to split DH 50/50 with Posada and Jeter. With both on the wrong side of 30 (at least in baseball years), they need all the time off in the field that they can get to keep their bodies from breaking down. That's if you can get those two, who are very prideful guys who feel they should always be in the field, to agree to DH, which is a whole 'nother story...