uh oh

ken rosenthal must be out to piss june off. don't make her boil your bunny rabbit, guy.

the derek jeter fan club

all season i thought i've been seeing an on-field mutual admiration society develop between these two workaholics.

"I just have always believed I could have done something better," he said. "I can think back to a lot of occasions when I didn't do the job. I look at situations where I could have worked the count better or been more patient and helped us win a ballgame. I always feel like that if you're supposed to be all that people build you up to be, then you're supposed to make your teammates better."

When asked why he refuses to sit, Sheffield simply shrugged and said, "Warriors breed warriors." He then gestured to one of his teammates dressing nearby.

"Just watch Jeter," he said. "Watch him and how can you miss a game?" [newark star ledger]

there's a mean-spirited joke in there about breeding, warriors, and the pitching staff but i'm too tired to connect the dots.

worcester's own

dear tanyon sturtze,

i would like to take a moment to apologize for ever damning you to bum-hood. it was my birthday, i was disappointed. you can't really blame a girl. oh, and that time i opined that perhaps the yankee organization was confused by the fact that you superficially resemble greg maddux? i'm sorry for that, too. you're not a bum, not really. sure, maybe once in awhile you look like a doe frozen in the headlights of a mack truck out on the mound... maybe you walk in some runs, hit some batters. it happens! what's important is that you get out there and do the best you can. you know what's really funny though, tanyon? that lately i'm kinda... happy to see you trotting out from the pen, like an old friend. maybe i'm finally starting to trust you. i am old-fashioned, after all.

i'm glad i got a chance to say this to you. and i'm glad you're in the pen. slap e-lo around a little for me, will ya?

love,
your friend,
at least until the next time you fuck up,
lupe

um

Giambi expected to rejoin Yankees for rehab on Tuesday

August 30, 2004

NEW YORK (AP) -- Slugger Jason Giambi is expected to rejoin the New York Yankees on Tuesday to continue his rehabilitation.

The five-time All-Star has not played since July 23. He was diagnosed with a benign tumor last month.

Giambi is hoping to again play for the Yankees before the regular season ends. The team has not set a timetable for his return.

Giambi has been working out at the Yankees' complex in Tampa, Fla. He took batting practice Sunday for the first time since being diagnosed.

The former AL MVP is hitting .221 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs.

Updated on Monday, Aug 30, 2004 6:59 pm EDT

...

...

... free steve karsay, while you're at it.

alex rodriguez, super genius

"Rumors appeared after the game that left Rodriguez looking like a genius. Word was that Rodriguez apparently mouthed 'line drive, base hit' to home plate ump Tim McClelland while the Blue Jays catcher went out to the mound to meet with the pitcher Jason Frasor."

so that's why he didn't round first and head for second. it all makes sense now, self-fulfilling prophecy and all.

in other news, dumb internet. before its inception, or rather, before i was addicted to aware of it, i'd have seen a 4 1/2 game lead and thought, "so?" now it's all too easy for normally pollyanna me to feel the lure of the waves of chicken little-itis.

I HAD THAT BOOK AND

she's right!: "When I was a kid, I had this little book about Ferdinand, the peaceful bull who only wanted to sit under a tree and smell flowers all day. So when Bernie Williams first came up with the Yankees, he totally reminded me of Ferdinand with his cow eyes and peaceful nature."

[picture of ferdinand.]

holy c... let me stop.

you're a good man charlie brown

"New York Yankees manager Joe Torre reached across one of baseball's biggest rivalries on Friday to donate $25,000 to the Jimmy Fund, which raises money for children with cancer and has long been affiliated with the Boston Red Sox."

BARF

way to waste a good moose outing, guys.

the amazing chinless human bobblehead's craptastic defensive instincts again making me want to drown kittens. jeter not helping the feline cause either, today.

on the bright side, arod went 4-4.
keep him in the 3 spot? ...bueller? ...bueller?

Labels: yanquis

oh andy

"Skip, I'm sorry," Andy Pettitte was suddenly saying in his ear, and Torre frowned and smiled at the same time.

Pettitte was calling to tell his manager - the only major league manager he had ever known - that he was leaving the Yankees and returning home to Houston to sign with the Astros. He didn't want Torre to hear it from someone else or read about it in the papers. Later, Torre said it was one of the classiest things he had known a player to do. [ny daily news]

i'm ignoring the clemens blah blah blah.

oh and one more thing.

fascinating ongoing piece at futility infielder on the torrid evolution of gary sheffield:

Sheffield in the batter's box, bat twitching back and forth as he waits for the pitch, is pure menace, a tiger waiting to pounce. His violent swing is the tiger's ruthless attack on its hapless prey, dismemberment in a single bound. Foul balls scream down the third-base line, threatening mayhem to coaches, ballboys and spectators. Liners speed at fielders so quickly that they're too stunned to do more than keep the ball in the infield, bobbling it for an error or simply shaking their stinging hands while he takes first base unchallenged. Home runs leave the playing field without a moment's doubt as to whether they're long enough. Balls off of Gary Sheffield's bat are unequivocal.

Sheffield's ferocious swing, tremendous plate discipline and physical toughness have positioned him as the fulcrum of a Yankee offense that for all its talent has been scrambling to live up to this season's lofty expectations.

- part one
- part two

in other news

caught this in the star ledger this morning: "The last time I talked to Earl, he told me, 'There's still time to call this thing off,'" Palmer told the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck. "I said 'Earl, you're taller than you've ever been in relation to me, so you'll love it.' "

forget whatever it is they're talking about, the writer's name is schmuck?! not since learning that there's a reliever named putz have i been filled such unspeakably juvenile glee.


***


from the WTF dept:

One of Red Sox Nation's worst fears might be unwarranted. Free-agent-to-be PEDRO MARTINEZ is coveted by GEORGE STEINBRENNER , but Yankees executives have already determined that there would be a player revolt if the team signed the No. 1 enemy of the Joe Torre Dynasty. Then again, that just might make Steinbrenner want him more.

***


to the surprise of, oh, NOBODY, esteban loaiza has been banished to the pen, thus mercifully ending the 6 man rotation experiment. joe girardi made a sensible point correlating the extra rest with the recent spate of early inning struggles for the starting staff, citing that feeling strong possibly causes them to overthrow, and tiring as the game goes on settles them down to effectiveness. maybe i'm grasping for a hopeful something, but that seems logical enough to non-pitcher me.

rhymes with bunt

trite hater bile spewing forth from the toronto star:

Reasons to get mad as a fan? There was Alex Rodriguez, the first to cross the plate ahead of Ruben Sierra's grand slam, waving towards Reed Johnson, who flipped the ball into the stands, already calling for the 300th home run ball to be retrieved for his teammate. Obviously, individual milestones were uppermost in Yankee minds, not the game. Do that pseudo-leadership crap from the dugout with a phone call. You're competing.

unreal.

i seem to remember one gabe gross hitting his first career home run at yankee stadium. and i hope a blue jay or two pulled some pseudo-leadership crap and got him that ball.

sir, when the game is 14-6 with nobody out, kerry ("You could watch batting practice some days and not see that many balls hit that hard in a 10-minute span.") ligtenberg beginning to resemble a whipped puppy, no end in sight and even this observer uncomfortably wondering whether a mercy rule would be wise, you're not competing anymore.

where the hell do i even start

Tony Clark was still dripping with sweat, the adrenaline still rippling through his body, when Joe Torre sidled up to him in the clubhouse following the Yankees 18-6 thrashing of the Toronto Blue Jays early last night.

"You know John Olerud is back in there (today), right?," the Yankees manager asked.

"No question about it," said Clark, who immediately headed off for his usual postgame weight-lifting routine. [newark star ledger]

madness. milestones and madness: the most bizarre save of mariano rivera's career... ruben sierra's 300th home run, and yawn, his third grand slam of the year, even... tony clark with the first 3 home run game of his career and only the first yankee since tino in 1997 to do so... alex rodriguez's 31st home run on the year making the yankees the first team in history to post four 200 home run seasons in a row... sheer run-happy madness ended only by the arm of a jays utility infielder. by the time it was all said and done, kevin brown's early difficulties and that the jays at one point had been up 4-0 seemed like hazy fiction. eric hinske said it best: "We got our asses kicked."

in light of the offensive struggles of recent weeks, the explosion was like being able to breathe again; my all out hopping up and down clapping my hands giddiness, however, was tempered lightning-fast by the sight of gary sheffield's ankle rolling at an angle ankles are not supposed go:

The laughter and merriment that come with an 18-6 victory, with watching one teammate launch three home runs and another hit his 300th, with forcing the opposition to put a second baseman in to pitch - all of it dissolved Saturday with one cold jolt of reality.

There was Gary Sheffield writhing in pain at third base, and all the Yankees' universe was aghast, wondering if it was his knee, his ankle, if his season was over and theirs with it. [the hartford courant]

my heart plummeted stomach-ward, and yes, my face looked much like this. because as tony clark put it, "I'm surprised his back isn't sore, too, for as much as we've been riding him this year."

praise baby jesus, he's day to day with a sprain. sheff's reaction when asked if he'd be available today? "I just need to tape it and I can go." hardcore.

holy crap

Batting
2B - A Rodriguez (17, T Lilly); J Posada (29, T Lilly); G Sheffield 2 (24, D Maurer, K Ligtenberg).
HR - T Clark 3 (15, 6th inning off T Lilly 2 on, 1 Out, 8th inning off J Frasor 0 on, 1 Out, 9th inning off K Ligtenberg 0 on, 0 Out), G Sheffield (33, 7th inning off V Chulk 0 on, 1 Out), R Sierra (15, 9th inning off K Ligtenberg 3 on, 0 Out), A Rodriguez (31, 9th inning off K Ligtenberg 0 on, 2 Out).
RBI - J Posada 2 (59), H Matsui 2 (91), R Sierra 5 (54), T Clark 5 (45), G Sheffield 3 (98), A Rodriguez (76).
2-out RBI - A Rodriguez.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - R Sierra 2.
Team LOB - 7.

olympic baseball

good read at BP on the level of olympic play. in a phrase- bush league: "...the average Olympic player was about halfway between an average Carolina League player and an average Eastern League player." props for the gals, though: "Basically, the U.S. women as a team hit like Barry Bonds and pitched like Mariano Rivera's best week."

more crazy psycho laughter: http://www.whoareyoukarimgarcia.com

pardon the interruption

stealing juney's revamp idea. plz ignore the quirks as i iron out the wrinkles. thx.

bwahahahaaa: "Gary Sheffield hit a ball down the left field line so hard that it traveled backwards in time and space, and killed the squirrel that was running in the outfield in Cleveland on Wednesday night." [from the replacement level yankees blog]

Labels: quote of

oof

OH NO NOT THE FACE!

kruk, with all the stunted eloquence of a 7th grade boy, gives props to cap'n intangibles on page 2. lots of normal jeter blah blah blah and some trademark dopey opinions ( "I'd be the first to admit that Jeter isn't the best hitter. He isn't... the best base runner, either." thus insinuating inadequacy, and um, meanwhile... ) , but he snuck in a surprising thought: "I hope my son learns to love baseball in time to see Jeter play. If he does and he wants to play the game more, then I'm going to teach him to model his game after Derek, not after me."


happily (who am i kidding. it's bizarre), krukie and i share a mutual sploogefest over the ladies of US softball:

A big tip of the hat to the U.S. women's softball team.

Wow. That's how you dominate. Nine games, nine wins. They outscore their opponents 51-1, and the one run was a meaningless footnote in the gold-medal game.

They just laid down the gauntlet and said to the other teams, "If you think any of you has a chance, you're kidding yourself." It was like Larry Bird looking around the locker room before the three-point contest at the All Star Game.

"Hey, Larry. What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for the poor son of a bitch that's coming in second."

The other day on the air, I mentioned this team and said there's no way I could ever hit their pitchers. I guess someone from the team heard that, because they sent me a warm-up jacket and some other stuff.

That was pretty great. Let me tell you, though -- if the men's hoops team sent me something, it would end up in the closet. But I'm wearing this stuff. I'm fine with my manhood.

and a big lawl at dr. hibbert, i mean, ken singleton, and joe girardi arguing semantics with michael kay tonight. :D

sheff mvp'ing it up in more ways than one. helpin a brotha out:

As Sheffield returned to the dugout after scoring, he pointed to Rodriguez at first base.

"That's all you want is validation from your teammates,' Torre said. 'That said it all."

"The guys in the dugout were happier for him than he probably was for himself," Sheffield said. 'We've all been through it and when you're going through it you think you're all by yourself. But we felt his pain."

Hesitantly, Sheffield said he had taken Rodriguez aside before the game. It's something he doesn't usually do with players who have "track records"

"You're getting in the way of your ability," Sheffield said he told A-Rod. "Draw a box when you come to the plate. If the pitch isn't in that box, don't swing. If it is, hit it out of the park."

"If you make contact, you'll hit it hard somewhere. Don't turn into a slap hitter just because you have two runners on base."

Rodriguez said Sheffield's advice didn't click until after he had grounded into that inning-ending double play in the fifth.

"I realized I was feeling for ball and that's not who I am," he said. [newark star ledger]

bye bye hank

"Featuring a darting fastball delivered from a deceptively easy motion, and overcoming severe blisters on his pitching hand, Borowy was the first pitcher to win at least 10 games in the American League and the National League in a single season. He was 10-5 for the Yankees in 1945, then was sold to the Cubs in midseason and went 11-2 for them, propelling Chicago to the pennant." [ny times]

and a hell of a nice guy, too.

i love john flaherty

"As we walked out, Flaherty was sitting at a table with a few friends and a couple girls. We asked for his autograph and he said, 'Sure, no problem.' Handed him a card of his when he played for the New Britain Red Sox (AA) and he said, 'Wow, I was 22 in this picture!' Then he asked us if he could pass the card around to his friends. They passed it around and everyone was like, 'Wow, oh my god.' Then Flaherty had a classic line: 'Can I shred it since I was on Boston?' " [yes network forums]

Labels: quote of

sometimes

derek jeter reminds me of the black knight from monty python and the holy grail. and i mean that in the most admiring possible way.

meaningless stats of the morning: team is 16-0 when jeter hits a home run. and i thought i heard kenny singleton say the other night that the indians infield and battery ought to pay careful attention to jeter on 2nd, as he was 9-9, at that point, stealing 3rd. which now makes him 10-10. unless i completely misheard him and am making shit up. edit: i should work on paying attention. shannon says it's 9-9 now. thanks shannon!

unfuckingbelievable

didn't sheff do the exact same thing after zambrano fractured jeter's hand?

edit: yes. yes he did:

In the Rays' last trip to New York, reliever Danys Baez buzzed Sheffield and knocked him down. Sheffield got up, glared and finished the at-bat by driving a pitch toward the George Washington Bridge. So was this homer payback for hitting Jeter?

"I think that bothered him a little bit," Torre said. "That's his personality. That's why you want him on your team."

That's why you don't want him up as the go-ahead run. After you've just hit Derek Jeter. See what happens? [tampa tribune]

FUCKING BOB FUCKING WICKMAN !@#$%^&*()_*(&%^&#$@!

lawl

it's like deep thoughts with jack handey, baseball-style:

I'll bet you dollars to donuts that Mike Mussina is going to be one grumpy old man.

I guess we should count or blessings that Tanyon sturtze has only been pretty crappy instead of frighteningly horrendous.

Esteban Loaiza, if you can make it here you'll make it anywhere. If you can't make it here though, the heck with you. [the midnight hour]

Labels: yanquis

the week in review

stink, stank,stunk.

though therein lies the luxury of the 5 billion or 10 or 11 1/2 game cushion - they can sleepwalk for a week and make my dad's old man softball team look like the big red machine, and still have the division by a good margin. i'm sure if someone had told me in april that the yankees would be 5 1/2 up in august, i'd have been looking mighty satisfied.

melodramatic much, felipe?

"The wild card is the purgatory of the lost...It's a place souls go and wait millions of years until redemption. We have had a tough time, but there was always the possibility of the wild card. There are so many teams in this purgatory." [mr. alou, in the sf chronicle]

Labels: quote of

thank heaven for little girls

"They are America's newest golden girls -- powerful and just a shade from perfection. The U.S. softball team won its third straight gold medal with an unprecedented and nearly unblemished romp through the Olympics, capped by a 5-1 victory Monday over an Australian team, that, like the rest of softball's elite, never had a chance." [ap]

i'm corny. i'm proud. what stars they are, what a joy to watch.

asdfghjkl:"

the molinas are becoming my archnemeses.

minus the baby one. he hasn't done anything to me.

YET.

amazing

i hate laughing right now because it's been a migraine-tastic day and my head is killing me but OH MY GOD.

from the YES forums:

Never have I seen a woman
Who's beauty shines through the baseball world
Who has the most beautiful, tender, gorgeous face
Who looks so good, she makes my heart race.

She has the prettiest, most sparkling, dazzling eyes
It'll make you think she's from some place high
An angel (Not Anaheim) from above, you would think
I hope someday, our hearts will link.

Never have I seen a woman
Who's sweetness is known throughout the baseball world
Who has the biggest, kindest, sweetest heart
Who is so great, I'd never want to part.
Please Don't Fire her.

She's the nicest one I've ever met
Makes me feel great, for sure, that's a bet
She picks me up when I'm falling down
Making sure I don't make a frown

Her YES pre and post game shows are the best
So come on guys, give this making fun of her a rest.

dear sweet merciful baby jesus,

please let the ugly slump that has poisoned the entire yankee roster (except for maybe gary sheffield, but considering what he accomplishes all battered and bruised, i'm not entirely sure you have sovereignty over him anyway) end soon. i'm not the type of fan that has unreasonable expectations, but since that last game in seattle, things are rapidly becoming painful. i even promise never to have impure daydreams about arod, jeets and champagne-flavored body powder ever again.

at least until the offseason.

or maybe the next off day?

well jesus, thanks for listening.

love,
your pal,
lupe

gary fuckin sheffield

"This was a big win," said Rodriguez, whose 30th homer of the season tied him with Sheffield, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz for the league lead. "It gave us a winning trip and the difference was Mo (Mariano Rivera, who threw a scoreless ninth). He pitched like he was mad at someone. But the whole thing revolves around Sheff.

"He's been unreal. In my opinion, he's playing like an MVP. It's been awesome watching him."

Derek Jeter agreed. "I can't see anyone else. Every hit he gets is in a big situation." Then he smiled and shook his head when he started talking about Sheffield's second homer, which came off Twins closer Joe Nathan, who had not given up a run in 29 innings and had converted 27 straight saves.

"It wasn't even a strike," Jeter said. "It was 96 (miles per hour) and down and he yanks it into the seats." [daily news]

thank god arod is coming back tomorrow. the more i have to look at enrique wilson the more annoyed i am by the fact that damaso marte was traded for the amazing chinless human bobblehead.

"Had they come back, it would have been just another chapter in the Yankees' dominance of the Twins. 'No lead is ever safe,' Hunter said of playing against the Yankees.'They have all the hitters in the world - all my favorite players are on that team. Just to see them hit is a joy. They're still the best club in major-league baseball . . . You see Alex Rodriguez, Sheffield, Posada, Jeter. Even John Olerud scares me.'

Then it was mentioned to Hunter that the Yankees and Twins could meet in the playoffs. They met in the American League Division Series last year, and the Twins took the first game before the Yankees won three straight and advanced behind strong outings by Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and David Wells.

Hunter was asked if the Yankees' pitchers scare him. Then, for the first time, he paused to think. 'I ain't going to get caught up in that,' he said. 'I can't say that.'" [newsday]

quoth a guy known for his defensive prowess, not that other kind. torii my pretty, you could at least pretend.

the inconsistency is wearing thin. the air is already cooler, i'm starting to sense the first neurotic joyless creepy crawly worrisome aspects of the postseason itch coming slowly round the corner. duque excepted, this rotation's like having a supermodel boyfriend with terrible self-esteem. you'd like to help him love himself but mostly you just want to slap him around.

the women's olympic softball team is like WHOA.

second and third

times baseball broke my heart:

- 1995, kingdome, edgar, griffey running full speed ahead, leyritz helpless on his knees, the ensuing pile of giddy mariners.
- 2001, bob, and what kind of ballpark has a fucking jacuzzi in it anyway, mo chucking the ball into center, the bloop that still makes me feel like i've been punched in the gut.

viva el duque!

float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

Hernandez (W, 5-0) 7IP 4H 1R 1ER 3BB 7K 0HR 2.08ERA

funny:
"David Dellucci walked and Soriano tagged up and moved to third as Michael Young flied to right. When El Duque paid him no attention, Dellucci stole second without drawing a throw. Hernandez stared menacingly at the ex-Yankee after Dellucci reached second, and Dellucci glared back and said something to Hernandez." [newark star ledger]

and then proceeded to walk dellucci twice more, for all three walks issued in the game. like duque wouldn't deign to pitch to him, and left the dirty work to tom gordon.

the first time...

... baseball broke my heart:

"Ten years ago today the players stopped playing, beginning a strike they would end 233 days later after a federal judge issued an injunction that prevented the owners from unilaterally establishing new work rules in the absence of a new collective bargaining agreement."

- ny times

bernie knows whats up

"'You know, everyone wants us to win the World Series, but I don't think the season is only about October,' Bernie Williams said. 'For the fans, it's about summer, about watching their favorite team. It's about kids being out of school, about spending a day or a great night, seeing a great game.'

Williams paused for several seconds, thinking, and added, 'It's about seeing how it all turns out.'"
- ny times

huh

three beautifully pitched games? in a row? what the hell?

twitter

"When a reporter challenged Olerud's bland assessment of himself by asking about his listening to Run-DMC on one of his first dates with his wife, Kelly, Olerud finally blinked.

'I can't believe that's out there,' he said. 'That's not supposed to get out there.'"
- ny times

HOORAY

i'm sure the world's heard already but felix the run fairy has been shipped off to tampa to get fixed. i was pulling for his release but this will placate me for the now.

god loves ugly

bad pitching, bad fielding, bad offense. it had it all! what a game!

poor olerud was probably thinking "am i in the right place? maybe these are the staten island yankees."

hee.

speaking of giddy-like-a-schoolgirl: can i love this new postgame ritual of a-rod's any more? the answer is no.

stealing home

lost in all the confusion was my hopping-up-and-down-clapping-my-hands-like-a-giddy-schoolgirl glee at this:



"He runs. He fields. He hits for power. If there's anything Alex Rodriguez can't do on a baseball field, it probably has something to do with making those neat, geometric patterns that are mowed into the grass on most major-league diamonds." - newark star ledger

goddamn you lisa olson!

i didn't want to be sad.

"Contreras was stunned, distraught, and, said someone who saw him shortly after, angry. Cashman left while Contreras spoke via phone with his agent, Jaime Torres. By 3:40 p.m., "it was getting hairy," said Cashman, but then his Blackberry buzzed. It was Torres, giving the okay. Nineteen minutes later, as the last T's were being crossed, Contreras slipped out of the Stadium, unnoticed by the giddy crowd. It was the eighth inning, and sweat poured down his cheeks as he strolled through the players' parking lot. He never got to say goodbye."
- ny daily news



i am sentimental. let me preface by saying there is a LOT i will not miss: the agita, the uncertainty, the frustration. but i will miss the name el titan rolling off my tongue. i will miss the sight of hitters knees buckling helplessly and moving out of the box in resignation before the umpire gets through declaring strike three. i will miss the sight of those powerful fingers split and stretched in the forkball grip, making the ball look small and lost. i will remember the gentle giant as the first to congratulate the kid on his first major league start, and the joy in his thoughtful eyes as his small daughter slept on his shoulder. i wanted to believe in him, wanted him to believe in himself. what can i say, i'm a sucker for a nice human interest story.