Giants Saints Preview

Here is the preview of the Monday Night Game I did for 89.5 FM

Can Jets Stop Jackson?

The Jets worst defensive performance of the year was week 3 against Oakland. They allowed Darren Mc Fadden to rush for 171 yards on 19 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Fast forward to today’s game against the Bills and Gang Green is facing another physical back, who brings the same level of physicality McFadden does, as well as breakaway speed. This player is Fred Jackson, and the similarities to McFadden are striking. McFadden is 6 foot 2 210 lbs. Jackson is 6 foot 1 215 lbs. Both have breakaway speed, and run a majority of their plays up the middle with Jackson specifically garnering 284 yards and 30 touchdowns on 45 attempts.

While the Jets have always been good against the run, this year at least the stats have been somewhat misleading. The Jets have handled the short versatile backs, Ray Rice and Maurice Jones Drew fine but struggled against McFadden and Ben-Jarvus Green Ellis. In terms of running back style Jackson fits into the latter group, which is not good. Today represents a chance for the Jets defense to bring back their old swagger and physicality that they had in the second half against the Chargers. If the Jets defense bottles up Fred Jackson, the Bills won’t be able to establish a tone offensively, and without a fair balance between run and pass plays the Jets can key in on Fitzpatrick, once they stop Jackson.

Today is the day where we see how good the Jets defense is. In a must win game (even though I say every game is a must win game) the Jets have to rekindle the defense of last season, and dominate Buffalo on the line of scrimmage. In the Bills loss against the Bengals and their luck win against the Patriots Jackson struggled held under 75 yards in both games. If the Jets can hold Jackson to that type of game they will win, and in a season with 3 AFC East contenders a win today could make all the difference.

25 years a go today..........

October 25th, 1986 Game Six of the World Series. I still remember the Mookie commentary from a video on the 86 Mets "The ball shall not pass without offering." The famous/infamous squibber through Bill Buckner's wickets on a 3-2 count from Bob Stanley. The drama was pretty nuts if you remember 25 years a go. This 1986 Mets team may be my favorite sports team of all-time. I was reminiscing about them a little yesterday after having seen Doc Gooden on TV talk about missing the ticker tape parade because he was in the projects somewhere in Long Island whacked out on drugs.

Here is the full details of game six from baseballreference:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610250.shtml

They won 108 games that year, many with suspense and drama in come from behind wins. They had a great starting rotation of : Gooden, Darling, Sid Fernandez (one of the game 7 heros in relief), Bob Ojeda (who they got in a package from Boston --- Mets sent Cal Schiraldi and others)

Gooden went 0-3 in the World Series as did Schiraldi. Can you believe the Sawx brought Schiraldi back out there in game 7 even after he threw 55 pitches in game 6? Perhaps it was because besides Bob Stanley their pen had guys like Al Nipper and Joe Sambito.

One thing I loved about this team besides having one of my favorite all time players Gary Carter (the biggest reason I started watching the Mets [I was an Expo fan b/c of Carter]), was the fact that they had stars(Carter, Hernandez, Strawberry), and they had characters like Mookie, Dykstra, Wally Backman, HoJo. I liked that they had 3 platoons going on, and it seemed like there was continually unlikely heros.

I might have to watch some youtube clips of the '86 Mets tonight to bring back the fond memories, or better yet maybe I can find that old VHS I have!

Fall Television Review

It's that time of year again: it's time to take a look at all the best shows on television. During the summer I ranked the shows and last year I just wrote my feelings on each one. This year? We go with superlatives like we're in our Senior year of High School. I have to admit: I don't watch every show on TV and I'm not a big fan of reality television. But here's what I got:

Claire Daines' Homeland is the Best New Show on TV (Showtime)

Best Show: Breaking Bad

This wasn't Breaking's best season (Season 3 certainly was), and there were some flaws to this season, but there is still no doubt this is the best show on television. Things with Walter White started out pretty poor when the season started and the show wasn't at its best for much of the season, but the leadup to the finale and then the finale itself were edge-of-your-seat awesomeness. I don't think I breathed for about 5 weeks as I watched the three-way showdown between Gus, Walter, and Jesse unfold. Mr. White and Mr. Pink (what else should I call Mr. Pink-man?) started out facing the blade of a boxcutter, but ended the season with their faces still in tact--which is much more than we can say for some characters (most brilliantly gif'ed here). Fabulous show that I miss already and cannot wait to see how they end it. Bonus Thought: It took me a week to be convinced that Walter White was responsible for a kid being poisoned. I don't know why, but it took me forever to feel like that was actually his doing despite the end of the episode. And I, like everyone else, should have realized what was going to happen in the episode as LOST's Damon Lindelof wrote on Twitter: "@DamonLindelof: The true brilliance of what happened last night is that we should have been spoiled by the TITLE OF THE SHOW ITSELF... and yet? Shocker."

Best New Show: Homeland

If 24 has to be off the air, at least I now have Homeland. It's gripping, engaging and all-too-real. And I have to agree with the critics who love this show. And we're three freaking episodes in! If I told you Claire Daines was going to star in a hit a thriller of a television show, you would have probably thought I was as bat-shit crazy as she seems to be on the show (and while she is great, she's nowhere near the top actor as Damian Lewis has stolen the show so far). But the writing is fantastic, the background stories have been engaging and, in true 24 fashion, I have no clue whatsoever where this show is going. I have my theories, of course, and I've read theories on line, but like Season 1 of 24, I don't feel like I can trust anyone (damn you, Nina Myers--you've ruined my TV innocence). I've really enjoyed it so far and, for bonus points, the people behind the show really love boobs. Bonus Thought: Saul=Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. Thank you IMDB for helping me make that connection!

Funniest Show: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
 

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View From the Seats: Bills at Giants

The view today is from Section 143, row 15 as the New York Giants get ready to host the upstart Buffalo Bills. The view is of the G-men running in for their pregame introduction. It's a beautiful day for football and the seats are great, 15 rows off of the goalline.

The Giants have a must-win game here in Week 6 as they need to make sure to keep their lead in the division. The Bills have been the surprise team of 2011 and are looking to keep up their success against the G-men. The key will be avoiding the big turnovers and to stop the Buffalo running game.

Let's go Big Blue!

-Andrew

In a pickle..........

I think they summed it all up pretty good over at itsaboutthemoney.net :

http://itsaboutthemoney.net/archives/2011/10/04/so-its-come-to-this/

Don't bother even checking, I already did, and there is no rain in the forecast for Detroit tonight.All we can do is hope we can get to Porcello early and often!

Taking a Stab at the Yankees Playoff Roster

When your magic number is zero for anything you can play for, the two things to do is avoid injury and try to sort out a playoff roster. The Yankees have some interesting decisions to make this year, starting with who the heck is in the rotation. As we whittle down from 40 here's my thoughts about who should be the 25 guys the Yankees head into the first round of the playoffs with (hint: I will not be picking Scott Proctor):

This awesome picture (which you have to enlarge) is from @CreatureTV

The Starting Pitching:
CC Sabathia is their number 1 starter and although he didn't reach 20 wins this season, this was his best season in Pinstripes--and it's not even close. He had his best K/9, BB/9, HR/9, LOB%, ERA, FIP, xFIP, and has really taken the Yankees on his big back this year. I know Justin Verlander is a lock for the Cy Young, but there is a case to be made that Sabathia has actually had a better season. I won't make it, though. He's their numbers 1. And, for that division series, he should be going twice in the first four games. Yup, that means a 3-man rotation for the Division Series. I was a little worried about CC since his numbers have been pretty abnormal since that no-hitter start which kept on getting delayed because of rain, but if injury is not a concern, he should be going in Games 1 and 4 of the ALDS.

If Ivan Nova hadn't spent a decent amount of time in the minors this year, I think he runs away with Rookie of the Year. He's a very similar pitcher as Chien-Ming Wang--a groundball pitcher who gets a few strikeouts and relies on his fielders to make the plays around him. The difference may be that Nova has a chance to keep this up long-term as he has flashed the ability to finish off people with the strikeout. Now he just needs to stay healthy. Either way, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down this season (unlike Hughes last year) and he's my pick to go in Games 2 and 5.

At any time this season (before probably two weeks ago) I told you that Freddy Garcia would be my pick for the number three starter, I would have even told myself I was crazy. But Phil Hughes has been dealing with back spasms, Bartolo Colon has been dealing with slowing down, and A.J. Burnett has been dealing with being himself. Colon has had the much better season overall, Hughes has the brighter future, and Burnett has the best chance of being dominant, but Garcia gives you consistency which is what the Yankees desperately need in Game 3. Colon hasn't won a game since July and since is 0-4 with a 5.58 ERA, .845 OPS, and 9 HR allowed in 50 innings. Garcia is nothing special and has had some injury issues but he's gone at least 6 innings in 17 of his 26 starts which is what the Yankees need out of their playoff starter with the bullpen they'll put out there. If Colon rocks it tomorrow, I may change my mind, but right now I go with Garcia.

Starting Lineups:
Against righties:
1. Brett Gardner
2. Derek Jeter
3. Curtis Granderson
4. Robinson Cano
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Mark Teixeira
7. Nick Swisher
8. Eric Chavez/Jorge Posada/Jesus Montero
9. Russell Martin

Against lefties:
1. Derek Jeter
2. Curtis Granderson
3. Mark Teixeira
4. Robinson Cano
5. Alex Rodriguez
6. Nick Swisher
7. Jesus Montero/Andruw Jones
8. Russell Martin
9. Brett Gardner

Before you get all in a huff, let me explain position-by-position.

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View From The Seats: Yankees vs. The Team That Will Knock The Red Sox Out Of The Playoffs

The Yankees look pretty hung over from their champagne celebration last night: it's 7-0 Rays in the bottom of the 3rd. Tampa didn't waste any time, either, recording three runs before the Yankees recorded an out in the top of the first. Either the Rays have come back with a renewed sense of determination after losing the first three games of this series with their season on the line, or the Yankees' quadruple-A lineup is just overmatched and the team in general is tired and complacent after securing the AL East title last night. I'm going a bit more with the latter. The Yanks just look a little bit unfocused, which is more or less expected and, frankly, not a huge concern right now.

The upside is that a Rays win (assuming they hold on) would keep the pressure on the Red Sox, who seem intent on outdoing the 2007 Mets for the biggest September collapse in MLB history. So at least there's that.

Special H/T to Sonak for the primo seats!

"It's getting late early"

A couple Saturdays ago I was forced to make a trip to the local cable company’s offices. They had a huge satellite dish outside which prompted my kids to ask “What is this place?” I told them without hesitation
“This is the cable company, the worst of all the companies!”

We were forced to make the trip because of the recent shift to all digital which meant I HAD to get a cable box even though my tv is cable ready.

I wanted to share a couple links (one from Lifehacker, the other from Business Insider) to articles discussing the increasingly popular concept of cutting out cable and going straight to internet based programming. First off let me be clear that I am not tech savvy, I use a computer all day and do not want to look at one when I go home at night. I do not know much about Apple TV or Google TV or vehicles of similar functionality. What I do know is that if it were not for live sports, there is limited need for cable tv. News, and weather info can be accessed with ease and with unlimited options via internet. The links above talk to what the current options with sports. There is still the argument for HBO series and other tv original programming that are not all available on the net. It is an interesting topic, where we have just seen the beginning of the trend of people getting rid of cable, it’s highly logical since you end up paying for a lot of stuff that you never watch.

The most frustrating sport in regards to the internet has to be MLB who is very tight in allowing use of it’s video. That seems to have changed with Full Count launched today in conjunction with Yahoo

On my ride home last Friday NPR radio was talking about how this year in baseball was the first season where you may not have any real pennant races since they started the wildcard. Since then the Rays pulled off a weekend sweep of the Sawx and things have tightened.

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Remembering 9/11

As a particularly nostalgic person, I find myself in an interesting position, writing a piece about the 10^th anniversary of 9/11.  The attacks took place at a particularly critical juncture of my life and in my development as a human being.  I was a senior in high school, preparing to apply to college and transitioning to the beginning of adulthood.  In fact, I was in my high school guidance office dropping off college paperwork when I overheard one of the guidance counselors mention that the White House had been evacuated.  Only later that morning was this information solidified via an announcement by our principal over the PA system.

The whole experience was surreal, in the most negative sense possible.  Looking back, I don’t think that I truly grasped the magnitude of what had occurred.  I was neither fearful, nor fearless.  After all, I was in the midst of applying to college and trying to improve my SAT scores.  To make matters more difficult, my grandfather passed away less than a month later and then my grandmother passed only a few weeks later.  It was the first time in my life that I really had to deal with the loss of family that was close to me.

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Announcing the NYaT Survivor League

Hey!, 

You have been invited to join our Private Group in Yahoo! Sports Survival Football.

In order to join the group, just go to Survival Football, and click the "Join a Group" button. From there, enter the following information...

Group ID#: 25153
Password: 24

The commissioner of this group has sent the following note:
--------------------------------------------------------
Join our survivor/suicide league. Bragging rights are at stake once again!
--------------------------------------------------------

-- Survival Football Commissioner/Blogmaster, Andrew Katz
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/survival

View From The Seats: Mets vs. Marlins at Citi Field

Elissa and I moved to NYC today, and our first order of business was seeing the Mets take on the Marlins here at Citi Field. (Note: this was not my idea. I would have preferred a Yankees game, but alas they are up at Fenway tonight).

It's a beautiful night and the LOLMets are up 4-2 in the 5th, thanks in large part to David Wright's two-run single. But the highlight of the night was the Keith Hernandez sighting you can see below. In case you're wondering, and I know you are, his mustache looks as glorious in real life as it does on those Just For Men commercials. A touch of gray gets me every time.

UPDATE: I just caught a tshirt from a tshirt gun! Full extension, and I dove across a pretty girl to grab it. (H/T Sarah). Upside = bright orange color, nice Mets logo on front. Downside = an even larger "Pepsi Max T-Shirt Launch 2011" logo on the back, XL sizing. Still pretty cool, though!

Sorting out the American League MVP Race

20 years ago it was easy to pick an MVP. You figured out who had the best combination of batting average, home runs, and RBIs on a team that competed for the playoffs and you give it to him. Now, with the advent of multiple advanced metrics, the choices actually become tougher. What do you value the most? wOBA, runs created, WPA, WAR? And if you choose WAR (Wins Above Replacement), which WAR do you pick—FanGraphs WAR (fWAR) or Baseball-Reference WAR (bWAR)? Or something else all together? Well let’s take a look at the American League MVP field as we reach the end of August to see my top candidates. I’ll give my order at the end, so you’ll have to read through to find out who my top 10 are:  

Jose Bautista is the best hitter in the AL--but is he the MVP (CBC)

Jose Bautista: This one is the toughest for most people to comprehend (including me, at first). Bautista leads the American League in bWAR and fWAR. He is tied for the Major League lead in home runs (38) and is first in OBP (.453), SLG (.645), runs created (130), walks (107), and wOBA (.457). And before you go and say that a guy can’t be an MVP for a team that has no chance of going to the playoffs, think about this: the Blue Jays right now are a .500 team and how much worse would they be if they didn’t have Bautista? And if the Blue Jays played in any other division, they may be looking towards the playoffs with Bautista running away with the award. Oh, and he’s the best player in baseball in 2011.

Justin Verlander: Like Bautista, Verlander suffers from another old-school idea that pitchers can’t be MVPs. Usually I agree, but Verlander may be an exception to the rule. He leads the league in wins (20), W/L (.800), starts (29), IP (215.2), K (218), WHIP (0.904), H/9 (6.1), and has a sparkling ERA (2.38), FIP (2.84) and xFIP (3.03). He leads all pitchers in both bWAR and fWAR and is fifth in fWAR and second in bWAR. And where would the Tigers be without Verlander? The Yankees pitching after CC Sabathia is not great but the same is true of the Tigers who don’t have the same peripheral team as Verlander has this season.

Curtis Granderson: As a Yankee fan, the Grandy Man is a tough candidate to root against. Last year he was a frustrating player to have on your team as he not only struggled mightily against lefties, but you felt like he should be a better player overall. Well a trip to the swing doctor, Kevin Long, during a particularly bad stretch last August has turned him around and the results cannot be better. He already has 38 home runs (tied for first), 122 runs (top by far), and 107 RBI (most despite hitting 2nd quite a bit this season) tops his counting stats and with 24 stolen bases, he has a great chance of having a 30-30 season. His batting average (.276) and strikeout rate (24.1%) are not pretty for most but the one thing that would stop Granderson from winning the award may be his poor defense this year by most advanced metrics (as a Yankee fan, I can back that up at times as his terrible jumps and routes to the ball, combined with his poor arm make him tough to watch at times out there). But nothing he does surprises A-Rod anymore.

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View from the Seats: A's at Yankees

Back at the big ballpark in the Bronx tonight on a beautiful night for baseball to see the New York Yankees host the Oakland Athletics. Tonight I'm sitting in Main 231, row 3.

The Yankees got down early in this one, but great defense and a few big hits have given them a 2-1 lead in the 7th.

CC Sabathia has been hit hard but the only big hit off of him was a solo bomb by Coco Crisp. He's also been helped out by some nice defense. The A's speedy second baseman Weeks hit one into the rightcenter gap to leadoff an inning but a nice relay from Granderson to Cano to Nunez got Weeks at 3rd. The most amazing part of that play was seeing the birthday boy, Brett Gardner, SPRINT in from leftfield to back up third base in case of an overthrow. He ran so fast he beat Sabathia there.

Nick Swisher's homerun gave the Yankees the lead in the bottom of the 6th and CC and the Yankees bullpen will try to hold them here. That's tonight's report from a packed house in the Bronx.

-Andrew

What could have been........

There is a special type of sports discussion that revolves around what could have been IF a player did not get injured. One of the greatest examples is Mickey Mantle. His infamous injury suffered by getting his cleats stuck in a drain that altered his career. Mantle was strong and fast and not only the star of the future for the Yankees BUT a player with a combination of power and speed that had never been seen before. This injury changed a lot of that, as Mantle was never the same. At least his brilliant talent was seen. In the case of 7 foot 3 inch Arvida Sabonis the Lithuanian Center who played several years for the Soviet Union until the USSR crumbled, the American sports fan got to see a tiny sliver of his talent before injuries hampered his accomplishments (most notably in the 1992 Olympics where the Lithuania team won Bronze). He also played several seasons for the Portland Trailblazers, after many injuries, and definetely past his prime.

My friend sent me the link to the Grantland story by Jonathan Abrams on Arvidas Sabonis: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6867508/arvydas-sabonis-long-strange-trip

Perhaps Ted sent it to me because he remembers I used to proudly wear my Lithuania tie dye shirt in our college years (you remember the Grateful Dead helped sponsor the team). You can still buy the t-shirt here:
http://skullman.com/
The article is good and brings back the discussions of what could have been if players did not have injuries that altered their career forever. Any basketball fan should read it for the many quotes from Bill Walton...... entertaining even though often kooky.

Walton of course being one of the best examples of a tremendous talent who dealt with injuries preventing him form having a long elite career.

Other examples that come to mind are : Houston Astros pitcher J.R. Richard, let's hope Stephen Strasburg recovers, the recent retirement of Yao Ming, Bo Jackson, Donnie Baseball fits in here since he never got to play in a World Series game, etc.

If I come up with some more examples I will add them to the comments.

"Slow News Day": the Batting Stance Guy riffs on MLB reporters and broadcasters

With many thanks to this tip from The Big Lead, we bring you "Slow News Day," which is a brilliant and hilarious riff by the "Batting Stance Guy" on various MLB broadcasters and reporters:



My favorite is definitely Tim Kurkjian, but I also really enjoyed his impressions of Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal, Craig Sager, and Pedro Gomez.  Peter Gammons and Jon Heyman are okay too, but not his best efforts.  And I'm not sure Rex Hudler belongs in this group, although that sentiment might be due to my geographical bias and to be fair, he is ripe for mocking.

In general, though, the most impressive aspect of this clip is his ability to pick up on the little things (Olney's constant references to two dozen media sources, the camera view on Rosenthal, Sager's habit of looking at everything but the interviewee and the audience, etc.) that will make every baseball fan nod their head and laugh.  Good stuff.

AFC East Radio Preview

As most of you know I have a segment on 89.5 FM every Sunday. Here's the show for this week, previewing the AFC East...

Some Quick Yankees Thoughts

I don't have a lot of time to blog and I hate it. I love blogging, but unfortunately it doesn't pay the bills. So it's a rare occasion I can sit back and blog. But watching the Yankees beat up on the White Sox tonight made me feel like it was time for a post. A bunch of short-sweet thoughts:

It's not just Tex Messages for the Yankees offense (Reuters)

Alex O wrote a post yesterday which said "why not the Yankees?" And I've been meaning to write that for weeks. Here's the American League in my mind: the Red Sox, the Yankees, and everyone else. 

And if you think the Yankees have some pitching questions, check out the rest of the American League:

• The Red Sox have Josh Beckett and Jon Lester and then a whole lot of question marks (and Josh Beckett, in my mind, still has to be a question mark because of his past health issues). 
• The Texas Rangers made some great bullpen moves, but the rotation is unintimidating--at best (there is no Cliff Lee). The White Sox have a really good rotation on paper but they've all shown to be less than stellar.
• Between the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, there is maybe 3 top-line starters combined--and that's including the acquisition of Ubaldo Jiminez
• The Tampa Bay Rays have David Price and a revived James Shields and the Angels have Jered Weaver and Dan Haren--and that's about all that's reliable between those teams.
• So in the end, I'll take CC Sabathia and X, especially if that X is a dealing Bartolo Colon (I can't believe I'm saying that). This is not the National League with deep pitching staffs in Atlanta, Philly, San Fran, and Los Angeles. It's not great by any means, but I'll take CC and The Misfits.

The Yankees lead the Majors with a +168 run differential. The Red Sox at +142, Phillies at +118, and Rangers at +88 are the only teams at more than +50 in all of baseball. The Yankees are only one down in the division and could go up 8 in the Wild Card if the Angels score holds tonight. Again, why not them?

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AAA credit rating trivia and the final third of MLB 2011

What 17 countries have AAA credit rating? I‘ll give you two: The USA and The Isle of Man (80k residents on an island in between Scotland and Ireland)

Enough about credit ratings, let's talk baseball!

Clearly the Yankees management did not want to overpay for talent at the trade deadline. The decision kept us wondering since many in Yankeesland would love to see Jesus Montero given a shot in the bigs. I thought maybe they were keeping him buried to keep his trade value high? He will definitely come up when rosters are expanded, but not soon enough for many Yanks fans frustrated by Jorgie at DH and Martin’s offensive numbers.

Clearly Montero would be an offensive upgrade over the Cisco kid as a back-up catcher. I think it would be wise to give the kid a shot and give him some time behind the dish and at DH. So far at least the pinstripe brass begs to differ.

Cashman and co. have stuck to the status quo roster since they have seen some additions by rehabilitation and more soon. Chavez is back, A-Rod will be back soon once he is done frolicking with Cameron Diaz and is feeling 100%. Soriano is back, and for now they have 6 starters. Any sane Yankees fan would have signed up for 107 games into the season and only 1 game in back of the Sawx, and a seven game cushion in the wild-card.

Unless Cashman was lying, he recently said he is confident in the team he has. He was ok with not making any moves at the trade deadline. Do you think the Yankees are good enough to win the World Series? Why not? If A-Rod comes back and can heat up along with Freddy and Colon continuing to mystify then the possibility is there for a good run. The Rangers bullpen got a lot better at the deadline but there is no Cliff Lee to shut down Yankee bats in the playoffs.

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View from the Seats: Mariners at Yankees

It's a rain delay right now but before my phone dies, I want to post the view from the great seats I have tonight in 127A, row A (thanks Nate). Awesome view--once they start this game of course.

There was a really light rain and people at the Stadium were getting restless there was no baseball being played and now that they're going to start at 9 PM, it looks more ridiculous they waited two hours for such a drizzle. But supposedly there is baseball to be played around 9 PM from the big ballpark in the Bronx.

-Andrew

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!!!

Yes, yes I am. As word came down today that the lockout was over one could practically hear all of America breathe sighs of relief. The players association is very close to voting to end the lockout, start free agency, and get back to football as opposed to the legal drama that seemed like it would never end over the course of the last 130 plus days. Football is back, teams will soon be signing free agents and the world can get back to focusing on football, rather then focusing about what was going on in a conference room in Washington D.C.

As the terms of the lockout come to light, fans have seen happiness from both sides that the deal was done, but frankly from a fans perspective, I would rather this be totally behind everyone, today. I don't want to hear about when the NFL PA is going to vote, all I want to know is when free agency will start, when teams will report and when the season will start. Of course we will be inundated with useless chatter for the next day or so about how both sides are happy with the terms of the deal, and how Goodell and Smith are pure geniuses for putting together a deal that worked out for both sides, and I suppose, to some extent fans should be thankful to the guys who made the deal an actuality.

However the effort spent talking even more about the lockout is a waste, at this point, with the season on the brink of delay, one can't help but crave the useless football chatter of yesteryear. What with all this lockout chatter you forgot? You know, the endless speculation about which players will end up where, how your teams going to do this year, the quarterback battles and all the real football drama that makes the NFL pre season enticing for fans. For know we can go back to trash talking friends, making fantasy teams, and returning to the real NFL we all know and love. Are you ready for free agency, training camp, practices, a Rex Ryan super bowl guarantee, days spent in the bar, in the living room, or in the stadium parking lot? Are you ready for an end to the legal drama and a start to the gridiron drama? Are you ready for some Football? IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

View From The Seats: Yanks vs. A's, 7/24

It's 6-2 Yankees here in the top of the 8th. Andrew and I have watched Bartolo Colon once again revert to his 2005 form by holding Oakland to 2 runs and 8 hits over 7 innings. The Grandyman provided the big blow so far with a 2-run second-decker and there was also a pretty Granderson-Cano-Martin relay to end an A's rally.

But the main story (for me, anyway) has been the heat and humidity -- it's another scorcher in the Bronx. Hopefully we, and the Yankees, can survive and escape with a win. David Robertson is in now trying to do just that.

View From The Seats: A's at Yankees

Back in the Bronx in some record heat for the Yankees vs. A's with Tropers. Tonight we're in Section 418, row 4 and sweating bullets. Speaking of bullets, the Yankees have been hitting them all over the place against A's. 14 runs in 3 innings as they got to Trevor Cahill once again.

Phil Hughes has given a few back as the A's have chipped into the lead--but it's still 9 runs as we head to the bottom of the 4th. Two long layoffs on a deathly hot night in the Bronx may have done Hughes in. Oh, did I mention it's hot? Like really hot.

I usually stay until the end of every game but if I'm not out of here in a few innings, it's probably time to call security. Speaking of which, you may want to call them as it looks like the rest of the Bronx has lost power tonight. There has been no power lost in the Stadium though--either literally or figuratively.

-Andrew

View From The Seats: Mariners vs. Rangers @ Safeco Field

Suppose your fiancée is a bridesmaid at a wedding in Seattle and you're along for the ride. The bachelorette party starts at 6:00 and you are suddenly in a new city, with nothing to do, and the Rangers are in town to play the Mariners. What would you do in that scenario?

Needless to say, that's me tonight and I couldn't be more glad to have bought a ticket to tonight's game at Safeco. Especially when that ticket is located 20 rows off the field, halfway between home and first, and only cost $53.

As anyone who has been here can attest, it's a beautiful ballpark, albeit 1/3 full despite hosting Texas, the defending AL champs. Perhaps it has something to do with the weak Seattle lineup (Miguel Olivo is batting cleanup) or maybe an All Star Break hangover?

Either way, the roof is open, the weather is lovely (partly sunny, low 60's) and Josh Hamilton has spotted the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a first inning bomb off Jason Vargas. Wait, make that 2-0. Nelson Cruz just lifted another solo shot to right, barely over Ichiro's glove. Wish y'all were here...

When will Jeter drop in the batting order?

I am a life long Yankees fan. I fully appreciate all that our Captain has done to help the team in a career that will make him a first ballot hall of famer. No one can take any of that away form Derek Jeter.

Sometime in the next few games Jeter will reach the milestone of 3,000 hits. He will be the 28th player in MLB history to reach this milestone. That is a pretty exclusive club. So far this millenium we have seen Biggio in 2007, Palmeiro (dubious) 2005, Henderson 2001, and Ripken Jr. in 2000. So 5 of 28 in the last 11 years.

Growing up I witnessed the end of Yaz, Rod Carew and Pete Rose's careers, along with the majority of the careers of: Molitor, Yount, George Brett, Dave Winfield, Boggs, and Tony Gwynn. So I have been fortunate enough to have watched 14 of the 28 3k hits club members.

My memory is selective as I remember more of the hey day of Henderson, Brett & Gwynn, not the last days of their career. I can still picture Winfield (drafted out of college for football, baseball, and basketball) robbing a homer at Yankee Stadium and stretching a single into a double. Of course all Yankees fans remember Boggs toward the end in Pinstripes jockeying a cops horse. We tend to remember the best parts of great players careers, not the endings when they stay too long.

The same will be true of Jeter. As fans we will choose to remember "the flip", or an opposite field double in the gap.............. not a sad dribbler to third that has become commonplace. I am offering a beautiful "Vandelay Industries" t-shirt from fivefingertees if someone can name the exact date Jeter gets moved out of the lead-off spot permanently. We can take guesses up until Jeter gets his 3,000th hit, so post your guess in the comments.

Revis's 8th Ranking On Top 100 List Major Mistake By Players

As an attempted respite from the nonstop drama of the NFL lockout, the NFL Network just concluded the players' ranking of the best 100 players in the NFL, a symbolic drink of water to the NFL fan dying of thirst in the lockout desert. While the list has certainly sparked debate among NFL fans with its hits and misses -- and there are many of both on the list -- for the Jets fan it is not the names of the players on the list that sparks outrage, but rather a single person that was undervalued.  While the players piled on admiration for Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, and Ray Lewis, the biggest names on defense over the past decade, they didn’t share the same love for our very own Darrelle Revis. Revis was selected eighth behind not just the three players mentioned, but also Andre Johnson, and Adrian Peterson. For Revis to be selected at this spot is a shame, as it doesn’t reflect what Revis is: the best defensive player in the NFL today.

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A Standing O: Wimbledon, Wiffleball, and White Barbecue Sauce

Once the weather gets nice, most people look forward to baseball season really getting under way. But Alex O has another sport that has his attention once the seasons turn. Summer just started and Alex O is back to talk about Wimbledon, Wiffleball, and give you a recipe for barbecue sauce (editors note: posted a day late which is my fault)

SI

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Summer is almost a week old. The 3H days are upon us---- Hazy, Hot and Humid. I was born in the summer so it is no surprise that it is my favorite season. It is the time to barbecue, head to the beach, and enjoy the sports of the summer.

One of my favorites sporting events to watch in the summer is Wimbledon. A trip to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is high upon my bucket list of sporting events to witness live. I can still remember the epic Wimbledon match in 1980 between John McEnroe (my favorite) vs. the Bjorn Borg.I have yet to watch the HBO documentary on these two but am looking forward to it.

There is something special about this tournament that holds on to its traditions, and is the only major tournament still played on grass. When I was growing up in the 80’s the Australian Open was still a grass tourney and the US Open was grass until 1974. One of the strict rules is that players must wear mostly white. Here is a link to some outfits that caused a stir at Wimbledon. The tournament this year is now wide open on the women’s side since the Williams sisters lost as did the #1 seed Wozniacki. The favorite now is the grunting Maria Sharapova, it is all about her ability to serve if she will be able to get her second Wimbledon title. She won her first when she was 17 back in 2004.

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Trivia Tuesday: Missing out on October

It hasn't been all smiles for Adam Dunn and the ChiSox (Chicago Tribune)

Adam Dunn is having an awful first season in Chicago and his White Sox currently sit 5 games out of first place. If Dunn and his White Sox don't make the playoffs, he'll extend his major-league leading active streak of the most regular season games played without making the playoffs. His streak currently sits at 1515 but 8 other active major league players have at least 1000 games played without making a playoff appearance. Can you name those other 8?

Bonus Question: obviously, Dunn is also on the list of players who have never made a World Series. But his 1515 games only ranks 12th among active Major Leaugers who never have made a World Series appearance. Can you name those top 11?

Put your answers in the comments below. No cheating! We'll reveal the correct answers later. Good luck!

(Constant) Tino Martinez Hits A Bomb On Old-Timers' Day

Tino rounding 1st after Coney gave up the bomb.  (Daily News)

I just wanted to pass along this gem from yesterday's Old Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium.  For anyone who grew up during the Yankees' heyday of the late 1990's, this is especially meaningful.  Tino Martinez blasting a 2-run HR into the right field seats off David Cone with Bernie Williams on base?  Just typing that sentence brought back all kinds of wonderful memories.  Enjoy:

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Interview With Jets DE Mike DeVito

Aside from writing for NYAT I also have have a radio show on 89.5 FM WSOU. Today I had on Mike Devito to talk about the Jets and the NFL lockout, give it a listen...

View from the Seats: Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium

On a beautiful, sunny day here in the Bronx, the View from the Seats comes today from Old Timer's Day and the Rockies at the Yankees. Today I'm in 431B, row 2, and watching a lethargic-looking Yankees after a very exciting Old Timer's Day. Joe Torre, Lou Pinella and Bernie Williams were back in the Bronx for the event which included a very nice ceremony to honor Gene Monahan.

The Yankees have done nothing against Rockies starter Juan Nicasio. Actually nothing. Through 4 innings, they have no baserunners. On a day when Don Larsen, David Wells, and David Cone are in attendance, Nicasio is pitching a perfecto so far as the Yankees look hopeless against the Rockies' rookie.

On the other side, Ivan Nova has pitched well against all the Rockies, except the bottom half of the lineup, giving up solo bombs to Ty Wigginton and Chris Iannetta. The Yankees are currently down 3-0 halfway through here in the Bronx.

-Andrew

My Three Biggest "Times Square Momements" with Joe Girardi: Sacrifice Bunting

I like Joe Girardi as a manager. For the most part he seems to have a good handle on his team, doesn't misuse any one player, and does not try to do anything too extreme as a manager. He understands the game and he understands the perspective of an entire season over sacrificing one game--no matter who they are playing. But he certainly has his "Times Square" moments. I have given it this name after my evening commute which takes me through Times Square, an annoying, confusing, illogical and all-together frustrating experience that leaves me throwing my hands up. (Yes, please, family from out-of-town, let's all fan out, hold hands, and then decided to stop and turn around without any warning to take a picture. That sounds like a wonderful idea that's not going to bother anyone else on the street.) I'm going to start on a series of my three biggest Times Square moments with Joe Girardi with today's entry: Sacrifice Bunting

Joe Girardi needs to add a note to his binder: DON'T BUNT (NYT)

If you are warm and have a fireplace in your place of dwelling, you have two options, you can either take your cash to store and buy some firewood or you can burn that money. Sure, burning that money will keep you warm since it is flamable and it's really easy since you don't have to go outside in the cold to get it but it's a really inefficient and it's a lazy way about going about things.

Truthfully, no one would actually burn money instead of going to the store for the firewood, but in many senses, the amount of sacrifice bunting that some American League teams do is on that level. It's inefficient and it's frankly lazy managing. Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, Football, and many other sports have a clock; baseball has no finite time-frame, only a finite number of outs. They need to be protected like unobtanium in Avatar and yet they really are sometimes given away. I'm not saying that one should never bunt (more on this later), but some of the great hitters who are given the sign to lay down the sacrifice make me scratch my head.

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Meet Brett Gardner, the 12th Best Position Player In MLB

Brett Gardner flashing some leather.  (Credit: Zimbio)

According to this Fangraphs article, Brett Gardner is the 12th best position player in MLB.  And by "best," I mean that Gardner's WAR -- Wins Above Replacement -- is currently ranked 12th in baseball, behind such names as Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, Joey Votto, Jose Bautista, Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, and Evan Longoria.  And believe it or not, Gardner's 9.2 is only 0.6 short of being ranked third on that list of perennial MVP candidates.  Impressive.

Now, I realize that's a big statement to make about a sprightly left fielder who was hitting .244/.372/.696 three weeks ago.  Yet I just can't disagree with Fangraphs' assessment.  WAR isn't just about big sluggers putting up gaudy power numbers.  It also values defense, which may be Gardner's best asset -- his 14.1 UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) is currently tops in MLB.  (Oh, and by the way, Gerardo Parra's second-ranked UZR is an incredible 12% lower than Gardner's.)  In essence, Gardner uses his speed to track balls down and his strong arm to nail foolish baserunners.  Exhibit A = this beautiful catch-and-throw double play that recently preserved the Yankees' 3-2 lead over the Cubs with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning:

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Rory McIlroy toasts to victory + Moneyball trailer

I am officially a member of Team Rory.  Having been captivated by the Rory McIlroy Show for the past four days, it's safe to say that we all just witnessed the emergence of the Next Great Golfer in the history of the sport.  Aside from his utter domination over the entire field of the 2011 U.S. Open, I know this for several reasons.

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Ode to Mike Emrick, the Voice of the NHL

Although it's over a week old, I just read a wonderful article about Mike "Doc" Emrick, who is widely considered the Voice of the NHL.  Growing up in North Jersey, I listened to Mike Emrick on a regular basis, since he has been the play-by-play voice of the New Jersey Devils for as long as I can remember.  Much like John Sterling with a Yankees baseball game, I simply associate Emrick with the sound of a hockey game.

But unlike Sterling, my admiration for Emrick isn't based in mere nostalgia or a sense of entertainment.  It's because Mike Emrick is damn good at what he does.  I think Sam Flood, the executive producer of NBC Sports and VERSUS, put it best:

"No one calls a hockey game better, no one paints a better picture, and no one is better at building up a moment.  He is the voice of hockey in this country, and as talented a play-by-play guy as there is in any sport."

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View from the Seats: Red Sox at Yankees

Well this has sucked so far. Armed with main-level seats and Mohegan Sun Sports Bar passes for my dad's birthday, I figured it would be a fun night in the Bronx. But here I sit halfway through the game wondering how this Red Sox team was so bad early in the season and how the Yankees can find some pitching to shore up their rotation.

It's 7-1 and I'm now sitting in Main Section 210. It's cooled off a bit but it's still steamy here in the Bronx. The Yankees bats have been pretty cooled off against Tim Wakefield but the Red Sox continue to pound the Yankees starters.

And, of course, without David Ortiz or any Red Sox hitter getting hit or even brushed back. It's amazing how soft the Yankees are at times in situations like these. AJ Burnett really can't drill Ortiz or Dustin Pedroia? Well, I guess it takes a lot of aim to hit Pedrioa and Burnett has none of that today. Another frustrating night in the Bronx hoping for some cool air and some crooked numbers on the scoreboard in the bottom row. For my dad's birthday, at least.

Happy birthday dad!

-Andrew

Miami, Police Ask For Help Locating Lebron's Offense

The Miami Heat and South Florida Police are asking for the public's help in finding Lebron James' offense, the main part of the 26 year old basketball player which disappeared before game 4 of the NBA Finals. James--who police warn is clearly mentally unstable for deciding to host a one-hour "Decision" on where he would play basketball in the 2010-11 season--has been declared a missing talent case following game 4. Last year it went missing towards the end of his days in Cleveland, notably quitting in the final game loss to the Celtics, so the public shouldn't be that concerned as its happened before. This time however it could be much more serious as his doctors have warned the public that the bigger the stage, the more the offense tends to vanish--and it doesn't get much bigger then the Finals that Lebron is en route to blowing.

According to teammates in Miami, his talent has been going through a serious crisis brought about by the move to Miami. In the finals especially, the offensive ability of James seems to be trying to play more like J.J. Barea or a hybrid mix of Raymond Felton and your average NBA shooting guard, than like the MVP known for drives in the lane and putting up massive amounts of points. Said teammate Dwayne Wade "I know it has been hard for his offense, he was so used to being the star, and now he feels obligated to like, have assists and stuff, it's really different."

Inside sources have blamed Chris Bosh for the disappearence. An unnamed coach said "Bosh needs the ball, so Lebron feels obligated to help feed him it so he doesn't have another meltdown like he did after we lost to Chicago."

Here in the Finals Lebron has taken this role to heart, feeding Bosh to the tune of 24 points in game 4, and the game winning shot in game 3. This deferment has caused his offense to be as much of a mirage as his championship rings.

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Five Things I Was Dead Wrong About in Major League Baseball

I know that I haven't gotten to blog a lot lately (and I apologize for that), but I'm back here with a mea culpa--one some really bad calls I made so far this baseball season:

I doubled ouched on my Jose Bautista prediction (NYT)

1. Jose Bautista was a one-hit wonder. Ouch. Double ouch when you consider that I had him in a keeper league and DROPPED him in order to keep Nick Swisher. I thought Bautista was the second coming of Brady Anderson and not the second coming of Barry Bonds. Bautista actually reminds me a lot of another Blue Jay, Carlos Delgado, who looked like he was just going to be an okay Major Leaguer--and probably someone who would have to platoon--until something kicked in and you just couldn't throw anything over the plate to him. Bautista has to be eating Popeye's spinach at this point as these results really have no explanation. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to fall, but until then, I'll just watch in wonder for a guy who is much more than a one-hit wonder.

2. John Danks was a Cy Young candidate. Well he's 0-8 with a 5.25 ERA. Holy crapola. I have four fantasy baseball teams and drafted him on all four. And I still have him. I think this is a fluke. I wasn't the only one sending praise Danks way. Now, it's really just trying to figure out what the heck happened here. Some of this is bad luck, but Danks hasn't been an ace this season by any measure. At this point, he's become the Nintendo cartridge that you would blow on for like 20 minutes knowing that it probably still wasn't going to return to normal. You wonder if this guy may just need a change of scenery from Chicago to reboot his career, but right now he's been more Cy Yuck than Cy Young.

3. The Yankees weren't going to be able to rely on Freddy Garcia or Bartolo Colon.

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Trivia Tuesday: Professional Sports Relocation

With the Atlanta Thrashers announcing today that they will be moving to Winnepeg, I figured it was a good time to bring out a relocation trivia questions--here they are:

The Thrashers will be the 10th NHL franchise in the to relocate (actually move, not move arenas within a city) in the modern era (since 1976). Who were the other 9*?

Bonus #1: 13 Major League Baseball teams have relocated--can you name them?
Bonus #2: 13 National Football League teams have relocated--can you name them?
Bonus #3: 20 National Basketball Association teams have permanently relocated--who are they? (the New Orleans Hornets did temporarily during Hurricaine Katrina but I left them out).

Put your answers in the comments below. Good luck**.

*Side Note: Not among the 9 you need to name is the San Jose Sharks who were an expansion team but basically split off from another NHL franchise in one of the oddest sports stories ever where the Sharks were allowed two drafts--a dispersal draft and an expansion draft. Thought the dispersal draft wasn't really a dispersal draft but a reverse merger of a professional franchise. Seriously, this happened.

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Heat's Success Ushers In A New Era For NBA

All together now "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO." Yes the hated Heat are going to the NBA Finals one step away from forever silencing the haters and vindicating Lebron, from the hatred he got for joining a super-team in Miami. However regardless of the outcome of the Finals, the Heat's success means that the damage has been done, and may just be the start of a new era, one step cleaner then the steroid era in baseball. Lebron and Bosh may have successfully ushered in the era of the three superstars meet up, form a Miami Heat like dominant team, and vie for the championship. While this may be good news for teams like the Knicks, it kills the small market teams, with the lone superstar, who will be out of luck trying to land the players who will try and fit the Lebron mold in switching squads.

Consider in the next two years, the list of restricted, and unrestricted free agents in the NBA is filled with All-Star caliber talent who you can bet will try and team up Heat style in order to win. Star players that could be on the move include Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Marc Gasol, Deron Williams and Steve Nash. Plus these two free agent classes are filled with the type of role players who can go in for mid level money and thrive alongside the stars who have teamed up. I'm talking about you Jamal Crawford, Glen Davis, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Matt Barnes, O.J. Mayo, and Rudy Fernandez. You can bet that most of these players will be looking to team up, or go with a team that already has an established superstar.

While some teams will probably gain from this, think big market, already with a superstar, like the Knicks whose fans are already clamoring for CP3, this type of switching kills the majority of the NBA. With all of the stars teaming up a majority of the NBA will be unable to contend. Sure there will be six great teams, and the playoffs will be spectacular, but for teams without three stars they will have no shot, and if the team is in an undesirable place to play, how will they ever contend. Will Dwight Howard ever want to go play in Minnesota? Lebron has created a system in which the teams are at the mercy of the players. Every summer will just be a feeding frenzy of free agency in which the small teams watch as their star departs for the bright lights and the near guarantee of playing for the NBA title. If Lebron can do it, why can't CP3, Dwight Howard, and a host of other big name players do it too? It's a question that will change the NBA and it all happened because of one man and his "Decision"

Belated Reaction To Yankees' Second Walkoff Win Of The Season

Photo Credit: New York Daily News

Last night, the Yankees posted their second walk-off win this season, beating the Blue Jays 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th inning.  Having still not fully recovered from their six-game losing streak, and after losing the first game of the Toronto series badly on Monday night, this impressive comeback (they were down 4-1 entering the bottom of the 8th) came at the perfect time.

Given the importance of this win, I thought I would share a few (admittedly belated) thoughts...

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Trivia Tuesday: Now Batting, Derek Jeter, Number Two

Photo Credit: NY Post

There has been a lot of talk recently about Derek Jeter's struggles, but there's no question that Captain Crunch will go down as one of the greatest Yankees ever.  Top 10?  Top 5?  That's up for debate.  But there's no debating that the Yankees organization will retire Jeter's No. 2 uniform number after he hangs up his spikes.

With that in mind, can you name the last Yankee to wear No. 2 before Jeter?

Bonus no. 1: Name the years in which the last Yankee before Jeter wore No. 2.

Bonus no. 2: Five former Yankees All-Stars wore No. 2 before Jeter.  Name them.

Thursday Trivia

I'm a little groggy today, after staying up to watch all 15 innings of last night's game.  I, like many of us, expected it to be an early evening, after Bartolo Colon pitched a gem and then handed the ball over to Mo with a 1-0 lead in the ninth.  Unfortunately, Mo blew his third save of the year (anyone worried in the least?) and the game went to extra innings.

The Yankees, for whom both Dave Robertson and Joba Chamberlain were unavailable, got 6 innings of shutout ball out of their bullpen.  Luis Ayala and Boone Logan got them through the 10th and 11th and, in an impressive rookie debut, Hector Noesi pitched four scoreless frames.  Both teams posted threats in almost every inning, but it was the Yankees who finally broke through in the top of the 15th, on a Robinson Cano two run double.  To make things more interesting, Orioles reliever Mike Gonzalez then hit Chris Dickerson in the helmet (the helmet actually broke) and was immediate ejected, forcing Buck Showalter to bring in today's starting pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie.  Left with only Posada on the bench, Girardi pinch ran for Dickerson with AJ Burnett and moved Derek Jeter out of the DH spot to play shortstop and moved Eduardo Nunez to right field.  It was a wild one, but the Yankees prevailed.

This brings us to today's trivia question:

When was the last time the Yankees won a game that went into the 15th inning?  I'm looking for the opponent, who scored/drove in the winning run, the opposing pitcher, and the final score.  Bonus if you can give me the date.

Extra Bonus: What was the longest game played (in terms of innings) in Yankee history in which they were victorious?  Name the opponent, date, and final score.  If you can name how the winning runs were scored and who the opposing pitcher was then you deserve a medal.

The Yankee Lineup

With the Yankee's offense in a deep slumber, there have been calls to shake up the lineup.  In Girardi's tenure as manager, he has been hesitant shake up the core of the lineup.  Jeter hasn't batted anywhere other than 1 or 2 and he won't split up Teixeira and Rodriguez.

I personally think lineup changes are overrated, especially when it comes to Texeira and Rodriguez, both of whom are slumping.  If he's going to make any lineup changes, he might as well use the old Billy Martin technique, which involves throwing nine names in a hat and picking them randomly.

However, let's take a look at some statistics and come up with a lineup that may better suit the Yankees at this time.  First, let's take a look at the Yankee OBPs, courtesy of www.baseball-reference.com:
Rk                      OBP
1                        Mark Teixeira# .384
2                        Russell Martin .357
3                        Curtis Granderson* .353
4                        Alex Rodriguez .345
5                        Brett Gardner* .339
6                        Nick Swisher# .333
7                        Robinson Cano* .318
8                        Derek Jeter .313
9                        Jorge Posada# .278

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View from the Seats: Red Sox at Yankees

Back at the big ballpark in the Bronx for Yankees-Red Sox. Snuck my way down to 329 where I am right now. It threatened to rain all day but so far (knock on wood), the rain has held off. It's been a rowdy crowd so far as the Yankees are down 5-4 heading into the bottom of the 5th.

For the Yankees, it has been a homer-driven offense again and the Red Sox have matched them tonight. The Yankees have a few innings to avoid the sweep, but will need plenty of runs with a shaky Garcia on the mound and a bullpen without Soriano. Reporting from a cool, but so far nice night here in the Bronx.

-Andrew

View From The Seats: Nationals vs. Marlins

NYaT is on the road this week, checking out some National League action in Washington, DC, as the Nats take on the visiting Marlins.

So far it has been something of a snoozer: 1-0 Marlins in the bottom of the 8th, after a combined 8 hits were registered against starters Livan Hernandez and Anibal Sanchez. The lone run came on a bomb by young slugger Mike Stanton.

But the noteworthy part hasn't been the game or the park itself. Rather, it's the apathetic fan base. Granted, it's gloomy and overcast, and has been misting with a threat of thunderstorm, but the place is probably 30% full at best. And a lot of these people are wearing Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and Marlins gear. Even at big moments of the game (runner on third, two outs, down by one for Washigton in the 7th) the place is muted. So....yeah. Nats fans. Hopefully the return of Stephen Strasburg and the rise of Bryce Harper will fill some seats with real fans.

Trivia Tuesday: Yankees Batting Order

Consistency is usually the mark of a championship team and such was the case with the 2009 Yankees who used their most common lineup 15 times during the season. But back in 1996, when the Jetererian Era started, the Yankees changed the lineup around quite often. So much, in fact, that they only had one lineup they used more than three times. Amazingly, they only used this lineup 4 times all season. Can you name that lineup from 1-9? This one should be really tough since they used 131 different lineups that season!

Bonus: the 1998 Yankees had one lineup they used 8 times--can you name that lineup 1-9 as well?

Bonus II: if those two are too hard for you or too long ago for you then answer this--which lineup did the 2010 Yankees use 10 times (which was the most often-used lineup)?

No cheating! Put your best guess in the comments below and I'll let you know if you are correct (or, like Mastermind, I will let you know how many of your 9 are correct). Good luck!

Trivia Tuesday: RBIs aplenty

It's a little late in the day, but better late than never to revive one of NYaT's longest traditions...

Going into the 2011 season, the Yankees' lineup seemed old and primed for a dropoff in production, while the Red Sox (having added Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford) were expected to be an offensive juggernaut.  Alas, we have seen a very different story over the last five weeks.  There are 5 Yankees ranked in the Top 20 American League RBI producers (Cano, Martin, A-Rod, Granderson, and Teixeira) while the Red Sox have just one (Gonzalez).

Way back in 1961, Roger Maris led the AL with 142 RBIs.  Who was the next Yankees player to lead the league in RBIs?

Bonus: In what year did he do it, and how many did he drive in?

Bonus No. 2: Who was the most recent Yankee to lead the AL in RBIs?

Put your answers in the comments below and later tonight I'll reveal the correct answers!

A Standing O: NBA Playoffs Talk

Last Saturday night I was heading home from the bars when it started to rain. I put my head down and started hoofing it to get home. All of a sudden I knocked into a really large person and looked up to see Blake Griffin staring back down at me. I got over my initial shock, apologized and went on my way. Since the Knicks failed to win a game in these playoffs, that was about my personal excitement in these NBA playoffs. But as usual, Alex O has many more insights to give in this post:

http://www.burdandkeyz.com

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Pretty exhilarating stuff if you have been able to watch a lot of these games.

This was a great regular season of NBA basketball: The ups and downs of the “talents from South Beach”, the amazing MVP worthy year of Derrick Rose, the surprise year by the veteran Spurs, the Melo-drama, Blake Griffin!!!

A) Unfortunately the Knicks are no longer in the party. It seems they blew their load in the first 2 games and left us all wondering “what if” they closed out those games. Now we Knicks fans have chock full of teams (nemisi?? Is that the plural of nemesis?) to root against: Heat, Celtics, Bulls, & Lakers.

B) I for one was rooting for Chris Paul and the Hornets to topple the Lakers. Is it possible that the Knicks (who just picked up Chauncey Billups option for next year) could trade Burps for CP3 since their contracts are a match--- both making $14M and free agents after next year? I guess it depends on the owner of the New Orleans Hornets who is……… David Stern/NBA. Maybe the toast from LaLa/Melo’s wedding will come true?!?

C) The action I have seen these playoffs been extremely entertaining, and I missed Durant’s end of game performance that sent the Denver (Old Knicks) Nuggets packing. I did see Ibaka have a couple of nasty blocks early in the game. There is little doubt that I agree with Bill Simmons that to win the NBA crown you must be able to protect the 6 feet around the bucket. I also missed the improbable 5 points in under 5 seconds that extended the Spurs vs. Grizzlies series. I was very bummed that game was not on TNT last night. Grizzlies go home and are a 2.5 point favorite to complete the 8 beats 1 seed rarity. It is 9 pm Friday night---- only game on that night since Heat and Thunder took care of biz last night. I recommend all hoops fans to youtube the play Darell Arthur of the Grizzlies made in game 4 where he blocked the shot then chugged downcourt full speed and finished an amazing alley-oop.

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Book Review -- Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil, by Jerome Charyn

I'll begin this book review by doing something that Joe DiMaggio himself rarely did: I openly admit that I made a mistake.  You see, when I agreed to review Jerome Charyn's Joe DiMaggio: The Long Vigil, I assumed I would be reviewing a baseball book written by a sportswriter.  It appears that I forgot what happens when people assume things.  Needless to say, I was wrong in judging this book by its cover. 

To be sure, the book is about Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, the sweet-swinging Yankee Clipper who was one of the best to ever play the game, and certainly one of America's greatest sports heroes.  But Charyn is not a sportswriter (he considers himself a "novelist and cultural critic" and has won several prestigious fellowships and awards for his fiction) and baseball is, at most, a supporting actor in this story about DiMaggio's darkest demons.  Rather than retell the ubiquitous story of The Streak, or spend a half dozen chapters drooling over the "Jolter's" awe-inspiring talent, Charyn assumes the much more difficult task of exposing DiMaggio's struggles to the public eye.  He succeeds, and the resulting pages are simultaneously compelling, frustrating, and perhaps most poignantly, depressing.

For many Yankees fans in my generation -- those who grew up in the eighties and nineties -- Joe DiMaggio was first and foremost a Hall of Famer.  An all-time Yankee great with a 56-game hitting streak, a prized single-digit uniform number, and a giant plaque in Monument Park.  He was a famous song lyric within a famous Simon & Garfunkel song and, unavoidably, we knew him as Mr. Coffee and Mr. Marilyn Monroe.  Perhaps we're a little too young to remember how DiMaggio looked when he played the game, but that's where Charyn steps forward in chapter two, "The Walloping Wop."  He hits all the usual stuff: the Dago's graceful strides in center field, his strong, quick wrists, his fierce (a favorite word of Charyn) and unbreakable concentration.  But he also discusses some aspects of DiMaggio's time in pinstripes that we don't hear about often.  How Babe Ruth left a leadership void in the Bronx that Lou Gehrig, "just a good old plowhorse," could not fill and DiMaggio could.  How DiMaggio effortlessly hit his way into the majors in 1936.  How long it took the Yankees to integrate after Jackie Robinson, and how blind DiMaggio was to the introduction and significance of black ballplayers, even after he went head-to-head with Jackie Robinson in the hotly-contested 1951 World Series.  How intense DiMaggio would approach the game; intense enough that teammates were afraid to fail and therefore "risk DiMaggio's displeasure."

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Blast From The Past

I was browsing around YouTube today when I found the following clip.  It is the full, uncut footage from the Yankees-Orioles on May 19, 1998, when the gutless Armando Benitez hit Tino Martinez.

A few things stick out at me:

• The stadium was empty.  I know it was a middle-of-the-week night game, but the left field bleachers were empty and the upper tier was a ghost town.
• What a shot by Bernie Williams.  I definitely miss those upper tier homers.
• You really don't see baseball brawls like this anymore, mostly because the umpires have taken too much control over regulating games with the "warning system."  Joe Torre was always very vocal about his opposition to this, yet he seems to have done very little to try to change the system since joining MLB's front office.  In this instance, the umpires stayed out of it until the very end, at which point they merely got involved to ensure that the game would get going again.  They did toss Benitez immediately, since it was pretty clear that Benitez hit him intentionally and threw behind Tino.
• I'm not sure I've ever seen such camraderie amongst teammates.  In an age where players are worried about contracts and not getting hurt in order to potentially make more money in incentives, Tino's teammates went out and took it right to Benitez.  After Graeme Lloyd, Jeff Nelson, and Scott Brosius managed to get few weak hits, Darryl Strawberry blindsided Benitez with a left hook.
• I remember George Steinbrenner being interviewed after the game and he was so proud of them.  If I recall correctly he said "I'm proud of them.  Aren't you proud of them?"
• Later that season, there was another brawl, although not of that magnitude.  I believe Roger Clemens hit Scott Brosius and Hideki Irabu retaliated.  The Yankees went on to lose the game, but proved once again that they were a team to be reckoned with.
• The best part of the whole thing was when Tim Raines hit the first pitch after the brawl in to the right field bleachers.

I was convinced for a long time that Tino was never the same player after the brawl.  His average and power declined over the next two years and although he had a resurgence in 2001, he never came close to being the middle of the order offensive force that he was during his first few years with the Yankees.  Through the first 38 games of that season, he hit .326 with 6 homers and 37 RBIs, with an OBP of .415.  That's a pace of almost an RBI a game!  From May 22 through the end of July, he hit only .178 with a .267 OBP and only drove in 20 runs.  From May 22 through the rest of the season, he hit only .264 with an OBP of .332.  He still hit 22 homers and drove in 86 runs, but it seems clear that he wasn't the same.