My friend Matt went to the Braves-Red Sox game on Monday. Before he left, he told me that every time he went to a Red Sox game, they lost. Well, his Ripkenesque streak is certainly intact...
In addition to that, Curt Schilling is on the DL - with off-days coming up, (namely the next two Thursdays, beginning tomorrow) the Red Sox may be able to fudge a 4-man rotation, but they'll have to bring up another pitcher. I'd give Jon Lester time and bring Kason Gabbard back up - after his cameo against the Braves last month, he deserves a chance to prove he can contribute.
The Sox thundered back - outscoring the Braves 15-0 over the last two games. J.D. Drew continued to thrive in his new role as leadoff hitter, until leaving the game tonight with a sore leg. Drew's trip to the DL this season was first prophesized by Nostradamus back in the 16th century, but hopefully he'll be able to delay it awhile longer. At least Pedroia is an attractive option to leadoff in his place (Memo to Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo: stay buried at the bottom of the order)
With Schilling hurt - not that he'd been terribly consistent - that puts more pressure on Beckett and Dice-K to prop up the rotation in his absence. Wakefield will continue to be a feast or famine guy, but perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the season can be summed up in this quote:
"Tavarez is 4-0 with a 3.65 ERA over his last seven starts"
Not too shabby for a guy who last year was to the Red Sox bullpen what big buckets of scotchguard were to the Sofa Superstore in West Ashley.
(Note of Explanation: the furniture store fire in Charleston, SC that made national news this week occurred less than a mile away from my apartment - such that I could see the smoke even before I knew that there was a fire to know about)
On a happier note, Mike Timlin failed to do something tonight that he had only managed to fail at 4 times in 13 prior appearances this season - that is, give up a run. Forgive me if my euphoria seems forced and insincere.
The Sox have a long weekend against the Padres - Dice K against Chris "Swing and a Miss" Young, Wakefield against Maddux (a clash of old titans), and Beckett against Peavey (a clash of young ones).
The Sox have a much more potent offense than the Padres - I'm hoping to see them take another two out of three.
Two days until Teddy arrives - big fun for the Rivalryredux boys is soon to come...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Hindsight and Foresight: Yankees Review June 11th to June 24th
Off of a bad day where the doctor told me I'd need surgery to remove a cyst, things are still looking up for the Yankees. I gave my mid-June assessment of the Yankees (and Red Sox) here so I'm going to make this weeks Hindsight and Foresight quick and painless (as I hope my future surgery is, though the recovery won't be fun).
Hindsight: June 11th to June 17th
Another two series won in the bag, one of which was a sweep. The Yankees were able to handle the D-Backs three decent starters, Webb, Hernandez and Davis handidly, and held Arizona's offense to four runs over the series. It was quite a dominating performance as Wang, Mussina, and Pettitte all went at least seven innings deep and combining for three quality starts. The pitching towed the line this week, though the Yankees offense did their part scoring an average of 6.5 runs/game. This was capped by the 4-5 hitters A-Rod and Matsui. Here are their weekly totals below:
A-Rod .429/.480/.952 3 HR 10 RBI
Matsui ..429/.500/.619 1 HR 8 RBI
The Yankees were blanked on Friday by Oliver Perez. On a sidenote, I used to think Perez would be the bomb and he was in 2004, but after that he's been erratic. It looks like Peterson has calmed him down. Clemens put up a decent performance, but I still think he needs to be tested against an AL team--as in AL East. Overall, the Yankees were solid as the stats below show:
Weekly Stats
W-L: 5-1
RS/RA: 37/14
Offensive Numbers (BA/OBP/SLG): .297/.376/.503
Pitching Line (ERA/Whip/K per 9/BAA/SLG): 2.67/1.09/8.0/.231/.347
Who's Hot: Chen-Ming Wang. I pointed out how well he'd been doing last week. It continued as Wang went 2-0 1.72 ERA 15.7 IP 0.83 Whip 6.89 K/9 (double his career average).
Who's Not: Tyler Clippard. He looked good the first few starts, but after the next few he's landed back in triple-A.
My Yankee of the Week: Hideki Matsui. Matsui's been quiet this year, not doing anything too great or too aweful, but his bat finally got my attention.
Foresight: June 18th to June 24th
I am off to Charleston, SC--what's that, not for work--but to hang out with Doug for a few days. I'm not sure what will transpire on the blog, but forgive us if the posts seem like we've had a few too many because that's what's most likely to happen. As for the Yankees, they hit the road going to Colorado, which could be fun for the offense (and not for the pitchers) and then off to San Francisco. I am seeing Igawa back in the rotation going on Friday. Too bad Clemens won't be pitching against Bonds. I remember the last time he was in pinstripes and playing the Giants he told the paper before the game he was going to hit Bonds in that "plated armor on his elbow". And then he did just that. San Fran is in last place in the NL West and CO is next to last, but is one game over .500. As I have said in earlier posts on here, these are the kinds of teams the Yankees need to win against to keep pace up with the Red Sox.
Hindsight: June 11th to June 17th
Another two series won in the bag, one of which was a sweep. The Yankees were able to handle the D-Backs three decent starters, Webb, Hernandez and Davis handidly, and held Arizona's offense to four runs over the series. It was quite a dominating performance as Wang, Mussina, and Pettitte all went at least seven innings deep and combining for three quality starts. The pitching towed the line this week, though the Yankees offense did their part scoring an average of 6.5 runs/game. This was capped by the 4-5 hitters A-Rod and Matsui. Here are their weekly totals below:
A-Rod .429/.480/.952 3 HR 10 RBI
Matsui ..429/.500/.619 1 HR 8 RBI
The Yankees were blanked on Friday by Oliver Perez. On a sidenote, I used to think Perez would be the bomb and he was in 2004, but after that he's been erratic. It looks like Peterson has calmed him down. Clemens put up a decent performance, but I still think he needs to be tested against an AL team--as in AL East. Overall, the Yankees were solid as the stats below show:
Weekly Stats
W-L: 5-1
RS/RA: 37/14
Offensive Numbers (BA/OBP/SLG): .297/.376/.503
Pitching Line (ERA/Whip/K per 9/BAA/SLG): 2.67/1.09/8.0/.231/.347
Who's Hot: Chen-Ming Wang. I pointed out how well he'd been doing last week. It continued as Wang went 2-0 1.72 ERA 15.7 IP 0.83 Whip 6.89 K/9 (double his career average).
Who's Not: Tyler Clippard. He looked good the first few starts, but after the next few he's landed back in triple-A.
My Yankee of the Week: Hideki Matsui. Matsui's been quiet this year, not doing anything too great or too aweful, but his bat finally got my attention.
Foresight: June 18th to June 24th
I am off to Charleston, SC--what's that, not for work--but to hang out with Doug for a few days. I'm not sure what will transpire on the blog, but forgive us if the posts seem like we've had a few too many because that's what's most likely to happen. As for the Yankees, they hit the road going to Colorado, which could be fun for the offense (and not for the pitchers) and then off to San Francisco. I am seeing Igawa back in the rotation going on Friday. Too bad Clemens won't be pitching against Bonds. I remember the last time he was in pinstripes and playing the Giants he told the paper before the game he was going to hit Bonds in that "plated armor on his elbow". And then he did just that. San Fran is in last place in the NL West and CO is next to last, but is one game over .500. As I have said in earlier posts on here, these are the kinds of teams the Yankees need to win against to keep pace up with the Red Sox.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Deleted Scenes and Bonus Footage
Continuing to make as much use of the internet as I can before the hiatus...
- The line I referenced before in SI, "With a little more than a third of the season gone, baseball has one bona fide superpower (the Red Sox) and a small handful of bottom-feeders," was something of a throwaway line in an article about whether teams will be buyers or sellers at the trading deadline - not a full analysis, but certainly careless.
- I'll concede the giddiness of Yankees' fans when the Sox are down on their luck. The dynamic of the rivalry seems to go like this: The season begins and the Red Sox are up, the Yankees are down, Red Sox fans gloat, Yankees fans ignore it; The season continues, the Yankees surge, the Red Sox fade, Yankees fans gloat, Red Sox fans pout.
- Barry Bonds has yet to homer against the Sox this series (though he did go wide right of the Pesky Pole on at least one occasion), but today the Sox are putting Wakefield on the mound, and his flutterball tends to facilitate batters trying to "Dial 8". Has anyone else actually heard that expression - "Dialing 8"? I came across it the other week as a euphemism for hitting a homerun - apparently it has something to do with needing to hit the number 8 prior to making an outgoing call in a hotel.
- With the possibility of Bonds lurching closer to Aaron's record, I'm sure Curt Schilling will be hunched over his own laptop, typing on his own blog, throughout the game. This may be the day that he demands to be traded to every team that the Giants play for the rest of the season sequentially, pitching in the remaining 95 games this season, walking Bonds every time he faces him, and automatically receive a $13 million extension from the Dodgers. (Interesting Note: After being traded to the Red Sox, Schilling had an incentive clause built into his contract, guaranteeing an option year if the Sox won the World Series. This kicked in, of course, after '04, and I believe that this is that option year. Shortly thereafter, MLB banned this incentive clause, so Schilling remains the only player to benefit from this. Had the Sox not won, Schilling would have been a Free Agent this past offseason, coming off a 15-7, 3.97 ERA, 183 K/28 BB year)
- Donnelly went on the 15-day DL, so the Sox have called up Manny Delcarmen. Manny D's been pitching better than I thought he had been in AAA (3-2, 3.49 ERA, 37 K/12 BB, 19 G, 28 1/3 IP) and he looked all right against the Yankees in his one ML appearance this year - a scoreless 1-2-3 inning. The next two weeks will give us a chance to see if Manny can be a contributor this season.
- Some fun with names in the draft - the Nationals drafter the pitcher with the best pitcher name - Josh Smoker ("And Smoker smokes another one!"). The Sox picked 4 guys named Scott in the 6th round and beyond. Did they not know the last name of the guy they wanted? ("With the 1099th pick, the Red Sox will take... Scott," "You mean Scott Lyons?" "Uh, yeah, sure.") In the 43rd round the took lefty high school pitcher Scott Cure ("Matsui, the Yankees' big lefty, is coming to the plate - and Francona is going to the bullpen - he's got just the 'Cure' for Godzilla!")
- I'm going to see the Charleston Riverdogs later his afternoon - the Yankees of the future, up close and personal!
RE: All-Stars, Writin' Red Sox, Flaws
Phew--I was starting to worry Doug was internetless or computerless or some combination of the two. It seems our overall posts this week was kinda lower than average, but now we're catching up. Still I wonder if anyone's gotten around to reading this (the latest excuse I hear from friends is they have no time. My recommendation: make this your homepage)...
After just reading Doug's two excellent posts, I felt the need to justify some things I wrote about.
After just reading Doug's two excellent posts, I felt the need to justify some things I wrote about.
- I definetely agree with Doug's assessment of my All-Stars OF picks in both the AL and NL not being one RF, CF, and LF. Actually, I sometimes forget off the top of my head where in the OF some of these guys play (in fact some of them move ie: Ichiro who I keep thinking is in RF still but is actually in CF). But it is a good point because I would rather vote for the starting LF, RF, and CF and since MLB is too lazy to list it on the ballot, I'm too lazy to look it up to cast my vote.
- I realized a few weeks ago that I only wrote about the Yankees on here and I decided recently that I'd start watching (other than watching the Yankees) and paying more attention to the Red Sox. But there are a few reasons for not doing it:
- One is the resident expert on the Red Sox who writes on here knows more than I do about their history and current news. Honestly, I read his stuff and that's how I catch up. But I'm going to try to change that.
- Starting this blog in early May after the Yankees had a mediocre April and then were horrible in May focused more of my attention on their situation. Plus the Red Sox were so good (and still are) and my main duty on here is to give the critical Yankee view on my team. There hasn't been much to be critical of for the Red Sox and again, Doug does a better job than I on that.
- Do I not care about the Red Sox? If I said yes to that, why are we doing this blog? I think the common Yankee fan pays attention to the standings in respect to how the Yankees and Red Sox are doing, but focus more on our team and that's it. But when the Red Sox start losing against teams other than us, most Yankee fans get giddy and are happy they are losing--and that's it. I want to look more into what the Sox are doing this year from the Yankee perspective, whatever that means (it won't mean being a typical ignorant Yankee fan and being beligerant).
So expect more of something written about the Sox from my Yankee view, I'll suprise Doug and Red Sox Nation when I do (as I did yesterday).
- Yankees/Red Sox flaws. I haven't read the SI article, but I don't think there's a superpower team this year--not the Red Sox. In the AL Cleveland and the Angels have been just as good and will probably win their divisions. Remember when we wrote about Milwaukee last month? It was a hot start. The NL West is very close and the Mets are showing their flaws this month. The Yankees and Red Sox flaws have been well documented here--and that includes off-field stuff too. So whoever wrote the SI article either has lower expectations of what a superpower is or hasn't been watching the Red Sox as closely as Doug.
I'll be back for Hindsight and Foresight tomorrow!
Synchronicity
I must have started my last post before Teddy started his, but he must have finished first.
He certainly upended my whole Teddy-doesn't-write-about-the-Red-Sox thesis statement, but to clarify, that was meant as an observation, not a criticism.
I had known in a non-sabermetric sort of way how much better the Yankees were doing than the Red Sox this month, but kudos to Teddy for documenting things in detail.
In light of his remarks, I won't dismiss the move of Drew to the leadoff spot as a desperation move, and stand by what I wrote earlier. Youk, Mikey, and Tek have all had better-than-expected seasons and belong in the 5-6-7 spots, but they haven't shown much this month, so I won't argue that, either.
I think the wisest thing I can say right now is that both teams are flawed - the Red Sox did a better job of hiding that at the beginning of the season, and now they've been exposed. The Yankees' have flipped the script on that this month.
I read a piece in "Sports Illustrated" today which called the Red Sox the only bona fide superpower in baseball right now, which made me squirm.
Now, I'll listen to national writers call the Patriots a superpower anytime, anyplace (and leave the local writers to nitpick at perceived deficiencies) but I'm uncomfortable with a national writer annointing the Red Sox thus.
I haven't looked at the Red Sox once this year and seen a bona fide superpower - I've seen a wildly inconsistent offense, a pitching staff that's asked to do too much, and some gaping, cavernous holes in the bullpen.
The Yankees have a lot of the same problems - which makes those 8.5 games less of a margin than a lot of people think it is.
He certainly upended my whole Teddy-doesn't-write-about-the-Red-Sox thesis statement, but to clarify, that was meant as an observation, not a criticism.
I had known in a non-sabermetric sort of way how much better the Yankees were doing than the Red Sox this month, but kudos to Teddy for documenting things in detail.
In light of his remarks, I won't dismiss the move of Drew to the leadoff spot as a desperation move, and stand by what I wrote earlier. Youk, Mikey, and Tek have all had better-than-expected seasons and belong in the 5-6-7 spots, but they haven't shown much this month, so I won't argue that, either.
I think the wisest thing I can say right now is that both teams are flawed - the Red Sox did a better job of hiding that at the beginning of the season, and now they've been exposed. The Yankees' have flipped the script on that this month.
I read a piece in "Sports Illustrated" today which called the Red Sox the only bona fide superpower in baseball right now, which made me squirm.
Now, I'll listen to national writers call the Patriots a superpower anytime, anyplace (and leave the local writers to nitpick at perceived deficiencies) but I'm uncomfortable with a national writer annointing the Red Sox thus.
I haven't looked at the Red Sox once this year and seen a bona fide superpower - I've seen a wildly inconsistent offense, a pitching staff that's asked to do too much, and some gaping, cavernous holes in the bullpen.
The Yankees have a lot of the same problems - which makes those 8.5 games less of a margin than a lot of people think it is.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
It Began in Boston
If you haven't been watching the Yankees are the hottest team in baseball of late. They won nine in a row before losing to the Mets Friday night and are 12-3 since June 1st as of today.
Interestingly enough just when the Yankees are winning, Boston is losing more often than before this season. On June 1st the Yankees were 12.5 GB and are now 8.5 GB. What's been going on with these teams since June 1st? Let's take a look at some numbers.
Overall Cumulative Numbers (since June 1st)
quick glossary: offense numbers are BA/OBP/SLG
BAA is batting average against
BABIP is batting average balls in play
BR per 9 innings is base runners per 9 innings of play
NYY
W-L: 12-3
RS/RA: 92/53
Offense: .309/.389/.487 15 HR, 13 SB
Pitching: 3.53 ERA/.259 BAA/.295 BABIP/4 SV/11.9 BR per 9 innings
% IP: starters 66.1% vs 33.3% bullpen
BOS
W-L: 7-8
RS/RA: 58/64
Offense: .264/.346/.388 11 HR, 7 SB
Pitching: 4.15 ERA/.248 BAA/.284 BABIP/2 SV/11.7 Base Runners per 9 innings
% IP: starters 70.2 vs 29.7 bullpen
By the way, June 1st is also the day the last Yankees/Red Sox series had started. As any reader of Bill James knows, baseball games are won by scoring runs--one team has to score more runs than the other to win. As the numbers show, the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox over this stretch is in their offenses. The Yankees have outscored their opponents by 39 runs while Boston has been outscored. The current trend is quite a reversal of the first two months when Boston's offense was in the top three in the AL each month (posting OPS's of .778 in April and .829 in May).
But in this month one thing stands out between the teams' offenses: the lineup. I haven't watched too much of Boston's games, but as Doug has pointed out Boston's leadoff woes. Lugo was still Boston's leadoff man until June 4th. Since then Francona has tried Pedroia and Drew in the leadoff spot (Pedroia moving up from 8th and Drew from 6th). Crisp who started the season as Boston's leadoff man now bats 9th and Lugo is now 8th. I wouldn't argue this is depesperate times yielding desperate measures, but Francona's going by the numbers (since June 1st):
Lugo .135/.203/.212
Crisp .208/.250/.208
vs.
Pedroia .391/.431/.565
Drew .306/.350/.528
It doesn't get better for Boston though because Youkilis (who formerly batted 2nd), Mike Lowell, and V-Tek are either slumping or hitting below an average hitter.
The Yankees on the other hand have the hitting bug just about all around. And unlike Boston's lineup, there's has been more stable in terms of who hits where (with the exception of Giambi and Mientkiewicz who landed on the DL but were both a drag on the offense). How good is the offense this month?
The biggest positives for the Yankees offense of late have been Abreu, Rodriguez, and Matsui. These guys, the 3-4-5 hitters are hitting .370 10 HR 49 RBI. The big negative is their leadoff hitter Johnny Damon who's hitting slightly better than Lugo and Crisp, but still hasn't found his stroke this season.
As for both team's pitching the Yankees have avoided injuries and a couple Red Sox starters have had some bad luck of late. Clemens, Mussina, Pettitte, and Wang have pitched well this month going a combined 6-1/3.45 ERA/73 IP/46 K in 11 GS. For the Red Sox this month Beckett's ERA is 5.59, Wakefield's 5.89, and Schilling's 4.26. Dice-K and Tavarez have been solid though.
What's In Store?
It's only been three weeks into June, yet the Yankees needed this offensive surge and a nine game winning streak to prove to themselves that they are for real. As for Boston, the timing couldn't have been worse, however I don't doubt that their offense will come alive any day now.
Interestingly enough just when the Yankees are winning, Boston is losing more often than before this season. On June 1st the Yankees were 12.5 GB and are now 8.5 GB. What's been going on with these teams since June 1st? Let's take a look at some numbers.
Overall Cumulative Numbers (since June 1st)
quick glossary: offense numbers are BA/OBP/SLG
BAA is batting average against
BABIP is batting average balls in play
BR per 9 innings is base runners per 9 innings of play
NYY
W-L: 12-3
RS/RA: 92/53
Offense: .309/.389/.487 15 HR, 13 SB
Pitching: 3.53 ERA/.259 BAA/.295 BABIP/4 SV/11.9 BR per 9 innings
% IP: starters 66.1% vs 33.3% bullpen
BOS
W-L: 7-8
RS/RA: 58/64
Offense: .264/.346/.388 11 HR, 7 SB
Pitching: 4.15 ERA/.248 BAA/.284 BABIP/2 SV/11.7 Base Runners per 9 innings
% IP: starters 70.2 vs 29.7 bullpen
By the way, June 1st is also the day the last Yankees/Red Sox series had started. As any reader of Bill James knows, baseball games are won by scoring runs--one team has to score more runs than the other to win. As the numbers show, the difference between the Yankees and Red Sox over this stretch is in their offenses. The Yankees have outscored their opponents by 39 runs while Boston has been outscored. The current trend is quite a reversal of the first two months when Boston's offense was in the top three in the AL each month (posting OPS's of .778 in April and .829 in May).
But in this month one thing stands out between the teams' offenses: the lineup. I haven't watched too much of Boston's games, but as Doug has pointed out Boston's leadoff woes. Lugo was still Boston's leadoff man until June 4th. Since then Francona has tried Pedroia and Drew in the leadoff spot (Pedroia moving up from 8th and Drew from 6th). Crisp who started the season as Boston's leadoff man now bats 9th and Lugo is now 8th. I wouldn't argue this is depesperate times yielding desperate measures, but Francona's going by the numbers (since June 1st):
Lugo .135/.203/.212
Crisp .208/.250/.208
vs.
Pedroia .391/.431/.565
Drew .306/.350/.528
It doesn't get better for Boston though because Youkilis (who formerly batted 2nd), Mike Lowell, and V-Tek are either slumping or hitting below an average hitter.
The Yankees on the other hand have the hitting bug just about all around. And unlike Boston's lineup, there's has been more stable in terms of who hits where (with the exception of Giambi and Mientkiewicz who landed on the DL but were both a drag on the offense). How good is the offense this month?
- Six of the nine current starters are hitting over .300 this month:
- And seven of the nine's OPS is at least .800
- I personally also applaude the Yankees running more on the base paths, not only stealing bases, but doing quite a bit of hit and runs.
The biggest positives for the Yankees offense of late have been Abreu, Rodriguez, and Matsui. These guys, the 3-4-5 hitters are hitting .370 10 HR 49 RBI. The big negative is their leadoff hitter Johnny Damon who's hitting slightly better than Lugo and Crisp, but still hasn't found his stroke this season.
As for both team's pitching the Yankees have avoided injuries and a couple Red Sox starters have had some bad luck of late. Clemens, Mussina, Pettitte, and Wang have pitched well this month going a combined 6-1/3.45 ERA/73 IP/46 K in 11 GS. For the Red Sox this month Beckett's ERA is 5.59, Wakefield's 5.89, and Schilling's 4.26. Dice-K and Tavarez have been solid though.
What's In Store?
It's only been three weeks into June, yet the Yankees needed this offensive surge and a nine game winning streak to prove to themselves that they are for real. As for Boston, the timing couldn't have been worse, however I don't doubt that their offense will come alive any day now.
Confessions of a Mildly Dangerous Mind
All-Stars
Dang it, Teddy's outdone me again - I voted for my All-Stars a couple of weeks ago, but didn't take the time to document my decisions.
I don't disagree with Teddy's selections on any particular point, but I do agree with a few - and this is based not so much on his picks, but of the All-Star voting as a whole.
Teddy chose outfielders Vlad Guerrero, Torii Hunter, and Magglio Ordonez from the AL, and Carlose Lee, Jason Bay, and Matt Holliday from the NL.
My problem with this is that neither set comprises an actual outfield.
The AL Outfield is composed of 2 rightfielders and a centerfielder - which isn't terribly problematic. My guess is that Magglio would start in left in that scenario.
As for the NL, there are three left fielders chosen - I'm sure there's at least a passable right fielder in the bunch (Holliday or Bay) but none of those guys would actually play Center on a real baseball team.
Of course, I have the same problem with Fantasy Baseball...
Anyway, I for one am a fan of the Midsummer Classic. I watched it last year and it was a surprisingly exciting game. Yes, it doesn't matter the way it once did, and players find excuses to cop out (see the cases of not only Martinez, Pedro, but also Clemens, Roger) - but it's fun to watch. It would probably be smarter to do what the NFL does (hold the All-Star Game after the season some place fun like Hawaii), but players count on the 3-day break as a chance to spend time with their families, and of course there's the silly determination of World Series homefield advantage nonsense to contend with.
With the dilution of Major League talent the whole "every-team-gets-an-All-Star" tradition has become a little ridiculous. Of course, I think the NL will do better than Dmitri Young as the Nationals representative - probably Chad Cordero or Ryan Zimmerman, even though neither of them really deserve it.
Of course, you could do worse than Zimmerman as a backup All-Star third baseman (see the case of Cooper, Scott - the Red Sox representative in '93 AND '94) or for that matter, from the Nationals' current roster (Robert Fick - the Tigers representative in '02)
What will always make me question the credibility of All-Star games isn't just Joe Torre's habit of packing the roster with Yankees' players in the late '90s ("So Zim, how do we justify Bernie Williams this year?" - Berniewhocky was an All-Star 5 times, Torre managed all but one of those games) but the fact that two years ago Shea Hillenbrand became two-time All-Star Shea Hillenbrand.
I think I just threw up in my mouth.
Sox Stuff
I will continue my utter lack of consistency on the hindsight/foresight tip - giving a review/preview early, after giving a late one earlier this week.
Another ugly week - 3-4 against the D'Backs, the Rockies, and the Giants. And they needed to beat the woeful Giants twice to look that good. It was inevitable that Beckett would have a lousy start eventually, but where are the bats? Take away last night's 10-2 game, and the Boston offense scored 7 runs all week. The team continues to ask too much of the pitching staff, but Tavarez and Dice-K certainly looked very good against the Giants yesterday and today.
(I didn't read anything to this effect, but I do hope that "No Doubt" Dave Roberts received a standing O from the Fenway faithful when he led off the first game)
I'm intrigued by the shakeup of the lineup. Crisp and Lugo/Cora have been banished to the bottom of the lineup where they belong. Yes, I know I advocated starting Cora every day and putting him at the top of the lineup, but after his white-hot start, he's cooled down into, well, Alex Cora. If only the Red Sox could get a shortstop like, I don't know, Orlando Cabrera/Edgar Renteria/Hanley Ramirez. Nah... no way the Sox could ever get their hands on that kind of talent.
Youkilis is hitting 5th now, which has gone from the kind of thing that should only happen when a bunch of regulars are getting routine days off to a move that makes sense. Pedroia is batting second, which is where I always thought he'd end up, though I certainly didn't think he'd get there this soon.
J.D. Drew batting leadoff is the most intriguing move - it certainly worked last night. Drew is definitely an OBP guy (only .347 this year, but .390 for his career), so he makes more sense than Lugo (.313 this year, .335 career). It's also welcome evidence of the Red Sox' willingness to think outside of the box. I don't know if this was Francona's call - or Epstein's, or Bill James', or Dr. Charles Steinberg's - but it is thinking different. Last year Youk was the unconventional leadoff choice (due to his lack of speed), and now they're taking a guy who conventional wisdom says is a middle-of-the-order hitter and batting him leadoff. I like it.
The Sox have one more game against the Giants, and then a series against the Braves and the Padres - neither of whom will be easy pickings. The Sox took 2 out of 3 from the Braves the last time they met, so there is hope - but the bats seriously need to wake up.
I have to take back what I said about J.C. Romero upon his release - lousy peripherals and all. Mike Timlin has become the bullpen equivalent of throwing enriched uranium at a nuclear test site. I still like Snyder and Donnelly, but it sounds like the Sox are stuck with Timlin and Joel "The Last Son of Krypton" Piniero.
Timlin was a sentimental choice to stick - a member of the '04 World Series champs and the Last Man Standing from the '03 "Closer-by-committee" debacle. The Sox are on the hook for Piniero to the tune of $4 Million this year - apparently "White Flag" Wayne Gomes wasn't available.
The Sox' bulllpen has held its own thus far this year, but I remember '04 when Joe Torre had Quantrill and Gordon (and to a lesser extent, Jeff Nelson) pitch until their arms fell off and left them inneffective in the second half and in the postseason. The Sox need another bullpen arm stat, unless they want to see Kaji and Pap suffer through the same indignity - a scenario that seems likely given the anemic state of Boston's offense.
But what do they get and how do they get it?
I know that Troy Percival is trying to make his way back, but I'm not ready to sign up with that corporation. Keith Foulke is also reportedly contemplating a comeback - but to say that there is no love lost there would imply that there had been love there to begin with.
Jon Lester came off the DL and was promptly sent to Pawtucket - which means that, for the time being anyway, Julian Tavarez isn't leaving the rotation to reinforce the bullpen. Hey, at this point, why mess with a good thing?
To hammer away further at a theme I've hammered at before, Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen aren't going to help anytime soon - unless one or the other of them turns into one of those guys who inexplicably can't get AAA hitters about but dominates big leaguers.
Besides, don't rush anyone - see Fiasco, The: Meredith, Cla.
Of course, there's always Matt (shudder) Clement, the Red Sox' version of Carl Pavano + half a good season, and a guy who could theoretically step into a rotation or a bullpen role. The Sox owe him a lot of money, too ($8+ Million), and as far as I know he hasn't even begun rehabbing yet. If and when he becomes healthy, the Sox will be in a play-him-or-trade-him situation.
Wily Mo Pena is the hot name featured in trade rumors recently, so that's the likely lure for a bullpen arm. The question is - where does it come from? What teams are going to be sellers?
A rundown of possible partners:
Baltimore - Chris Ray is struggling this season, but he's too young and too cheap to part with. I'm sure the Orioles would love to dump Danys Baez, but there are 6.52 reasons for that - plus he's injured. I wouldn't want to relive the Chad Bradford show, and I had hoped the Sox would reacquire Scott Williamson this past offseason, but the O's have invested a lot of dollars over a lot of years on these guys - don't see it happening.
Tampa Bay - The D-Rays already have more promising young outfielders than they have room for, and I don't trust Al Reyes any further than he could throw a pitch and ruin Nomar Garciaparra's career.
Toronto - Pass. J.P. Ricciardi doesn't want to do business with the Red Sox, unless it involves off-loading a - what would you call it? - Hinskesque contract.
Chicago - The White Sox are supposed to be willing to sell parts off, but I'm sure Bobby Jenks isn't one of them. And as for the White Sox bullpen - Hey, look, Ozzie Guillen offended someone again!
Kansas City - I'll admit that this surprised me - the Royals actually have 6 relievers with ERAs below 4 - Joakim Soria (3.04), Jimmy Gobble (giggle - 2.59), David Riske (3.14), Joel Peralta (3.59), Brandon Duckworth (2.94) and Octavio Dotel (3.12).
Soria is a Mexican league find that GM Drayton Moore is unlikely to part with, I don't really know anything about Peralta, Gobble and Duckworth have never pitched this well in their lives, and you'd need a Haz-Mat suit to handle Dotel's elbow. Riske would be a Red Sox rerun.
So for the sake of reliving the past, I'll take Riske out of the equation. I'll put Soria on the Royals' untouchable list, and Dotel on the Dear-God-Don't-Touch list. The other three - Gobble (giggle), Peralta, and Duckworth might be viable - Moore traded Jeremy Affeldt for promising slugger Ryan Shealey a year ago, so history might repeat.
Texas - Another club whose bullpen is more promising than expected. I'm terrified of Eric Gagne for the same reason as I am Dotel, and as long as he's a risk, Otsuka isn't going anywhere. That leaves the intriguing C.J. Wilson (a lefty) and Frankie Francisco - a former Sox farmhand better known for throwing a chair into the Oakland stands than throwing strikes. Wily Mo would be a great fit in Texas though (great home run park, lousy outfielders) so this, too, bears watching.
Washington - We already know that Jim Bowden wants the moon, the stars, and unlimited access to Scarlett Johansen in exchange for Chad Cordero - let's just avoid that road altogether.
Cincinnati - David Weathers is a decent closer for the worst team in the worst division in baseball - not exactly a ringing endorsement. That and the reason the Reds traded Pena to Boston in the first place was that they had too many outfielders. Even with the Austin Kearns trade, that hasn't changed.
Houston - A couple of weeks ago, Lidge probably could have been had - but would have only agreed to a trade had he gone some place he could have closed, which wasn't an option in Boston. Now, he's apparently had a brush with medieval history and has turned into a shutdown closer again. The Astros, making their home at the other homer-friendly Texas ballpark, could certainly use Pena's bat, but they probably still think of themselves as contenders and their bullpen is split between guys that they can't afford to lose and guys that no one would want.
Pittsburgh - Jason Bay and Xavier Nady are the only guys who can actually hit on that team, and Pena's not really an everyday centerfielder, so not a good trading partner. Matt Capps and Damasao Marte are intriguing, and hey, you only need to scam a UMass alum to make a trade there.
San Francisco - I'd love to say that the Giants have another future Joe Nathan to spend here, but I don't really see it. Besides, Brian Sabean only likes position players who are halfway to Social Security - Pena's too young for his taste.
Colorado - Because Dan O'Dowd has been operating the Rockies' post-full-frontal lobotomy for some years now, he's considering trading closer Brian Fuentes. But with three young outfielders (Hawpe, Taveres, Holliday) - Colorado isn't really a potential trading partner either.
So there are options out there, just nothing safe, obvious, or apparent.
Here Come the Yankees
So the Yankees' won 9 games in a row and 10 out of their last 11.
Ho, hum
Don't get me wrong. I don't ho hum this in a dismissive manner - just with an utter lack of surprise.
A few weeks ago every sports columnist in New England was racing to stick a fork in the Yankees like hipsters trying to take credit for "discovering" a new band. I can't wait to see the round of columns in which they scold their readers for believing in this notion, all the while disavowing the fact that they were the ones who perpetrated it in the first place.
(Here's a freebie for Dan Shaugnessy - "For all you "idiots" still living in 2004, I have another year you might want to think about - 1978")
Kenny Williams could have taken a Bobby Abreu for Jermaine Dye trade, but turned it down. Since then, Dye has continued to disappoint, while Bobby Abreu has gone crazy Broadway style. Of course, the results could have been the same had the trade been made - putting on pinstripes seems to be the equivalent of sewing a big red S on the chest of underperforming players (or to put it another way, Truth, David Justice, and the Yankee Way).
I have a friend - a White Sox fan - who expressed hope that his team could swing a Mark Buehrle-for-Melky-Cabrera deal with the Yankees. Had the Yankees continued their poor play, and had this resulted in Cashman being fired and the Boss taking over the reins of the organization himself again, this might have happened. Unfortunately for those of us who root against the Yankees, Melky Cabrera is exactly the kind of player that Cashman would not trade for a rent-a-player or, more likely, at all.
I took some fleeting pleasure in seeing the Rocket outdueled by Oliver "O-Face" Perez yesterday, but of course they bounced back today to win 11-8 in game that featured a rogue's gallery of grotesque ERAs. I mean, Scott friggin Proctor was the only pitcher on either side with an ERA under 4 (at 3.28 he's way better than I've ever given him credit for).
To sum up, in order of appearance:
Mets:
Glavine: 4.67 - Isn't this guy supposed to be closing in on 300 wins?
Schoeneweiss: 6.65 - Further proof that being a lefty guarantees you a job for life.
Mota: 7.20 - If steroids are "performance enhancers", I'd hate to see this guy unenhanced.
Sele: 5.25 - Ah, the meltdown artist in Boston who inspired Lowe and Clement
Yankees:
Clippard: 6.62 -Desperation is now spelled T-Y-L-E-R
Vizcaino: 6.06 - He's pitched 30 times this season. Is Torre trying to get himself fired?
Proctor: 3.28 - Pass
Farnsworth: 4.94 - All that, and he resents Clemens!
Rivera: 4.50 - Isn't this guy supposed to be the best closer this side of Kyra Sedgewick?
Ah, New York, New York - if you can make it anywhere, you can make it there.
So, the Yankees aren't going anywhere - and despite what happened today, their pitching is catching up to their hitting, which certainly isn't the case in Boston. The sickening sense of dread that is all too familiar to Red Sox fans should be settling in any day now.
No Cure for the Common Cold
I realize that I spend way more time writing about the Yankees than Teddy does writing about the Red Sox.
This is a symptom of the rivalry - Red Sox fans are obsessed with the Yankees, and Yankees fans (excepting my collaborator on this blog) really don't care about the Red Sox.
Case in Point: as I mentioned earlier in this post, and in at least one previous post, a lot of ink was spilled by Boston writers in the past month about just how done the Yankees allegedly were. Had the roles been reversed, with the Red Sox floundering, do you know how much coverage it would have gotten in the New York press?
None. Nada. Zippo.
Because while Red Sox fans enjoy Yankee tribulation as much (if not more) than they do Red Sox success, Yankees fans simply do not care.
Who can blame them? For a Red Sox fan, it's a matter of "What's going to go wrong next?" For a Yankees fan it's, "Whatever, we're going to win anyway."
I like to thing that I've risen above most of the rivalry - I have never participated in a "Yankees Suck!" chant, and as I always like to tell people, one of my best friends is a Yankees fan. (Hint: he also posts in this space)
But while a Yankees fan can put the Red Sox out of his mind, I, as a Red Sox fan, am incapable of reciprocating.
Dang it, Teddy's outdone me again - I voted for my All-Stars a couple of weeks ago, but didn't take the time to document my decisions.
I don't disagree with Teddy's selections on any particular point, but I do agree with a few - and this is based not so much on his picks, but of the All-Star voting as a whole.
Teddy chose outfielders Vlad Guerrero, Torii Hunter, and Magglio Ordonez from the AL, and Carlose Lee, Jason Bay, and Matt Holliday from the NL.
My problem with this is that neither set comprises an actual outfield.
The AL Outfield is composed of 2 rightfielders and a centerfielder - which isn't terribly problematic. My guess is that Magglio would start in left in that scenario.
As for the NL, there are three left fielders chosen - I'm sure there's at least a passable right fielder in the bunch (Holliday or Bay) but none of those guys would actually play Center on a real baseball team.
Of course, I have the same problem with Fantasy Baseball...
Anyway, I for one am a fan of the Midsummer Classic. I watched it last year and it was a surprisingly exciting game. Yes, it doesn't matter the way it once did, and players find excuses to cop out (see the cases of not only Martinez, Pedro, but also Clemens, Roger) - but it's fun to watch. It would probably be smarter to do what the NFL does (hold the All-Star Game after the season some place fun like Hawaii), but players count on the 3-day break as a chance to spend time with their families, and of course there's the silly determination of World Series homefield advantage nonsense to contend with.
With the dilution of Major League talent the whole "every-team-gets-an-All-Star" tradition has become a little ridiculous. Of course, I think the NL will do better than Dmitri Young as the Nationals representative - probably Chad Cordero or Ryan Zimmerman, even though neither of them really deserve it.
Of course, you could do worse than Zimmerman as a backup All-Star third baseman (see the case of Cooper, Scott - the Red Sox representative in '93 AND '94) or for that matter, from the Nationals' current roster (Robert Fick - the Tigers representative in '02)
What will always make me question the credibility of All-Star games isn't just Joe Torre's habit of packing the roster with Yankees' players in the late '90s ("So Zim, how do we justify Bernie Williams this year?" - Berniewhocky was an All-Star 5 times, Torre managed all but one of those games) but the fact that two years ago Shea Hillenbrand became two-time All-Star Shea Hillenbrand.
I think I just threw up in my mouth.
Sox Stuff
I will continue my utter lack of consistency on the hindsight/foresight tip - giving a review/preview early, after giving a late one earlier this week.
Another ugly week - 3-4 against the D'Backs, the Rockies, and the Giants. And they needed to beat the woeful Giants twice to look that good. It was inevitable that Beckett would have a lousy start eventually, but where are the bats? Take away last night's 10-2 game, and the Boston offense scored 7 runs all week. The team continues to ask too much of the pitching staff, but Tavarez and Dice-K certainly looked very good against the Giants yesterday and today.
(I didn't read anything to this effect, but I do hope that "No Doubt" Dave Roberts received a standing O from the Fenway faithful when he led off the first game)
I'm intrigued by the shakeup of the lineup. Crisp and Lugo/Cora have been banished to the bottom of the lineup where they belong. Yes, I know I advocated starting Cora every day and putting him at the top of the lineup, but after his white-hot start, he's cooled down into, well, Alex Cora. If only the Red Sox could get a shortstop like, I don't know, Orlando Cabrera/Edgar Renteria/Hanley Ramirez. Nah... no way the Sox could ever get their hands on that kind of talent.
Youkilis is hitting 5th now, which has gone from the kind of thing that should only happen when a bunch of regulars are getting routine days off to a move that makes sense. Pedroia is batting second, which is where I always thought he'd end up, though I certainly didn't think he'd get there this soon.
J.D. Drew batting leadoff is the most intriguing move - it certainly worked last night. Drew is definitely an OBP guy (only .347 this year, but .390 for his career), so he makes more sense than Lugo (.313 this year, .335 career). It's also welcome evidence of the Red Sox' willingness to think outside of the box. I don't know if this was Francona's call - or Epstein's, or Bill James', or Dr. Charles Steinberg's - but it is thinking different. Last year Youk was the unconventional leadoff choice (due to his lack of speed), and now they're taking a guy who conventional wisdom says is a middle-of-the-order hitter and batting him leadoff. I like it.
The Sox have one more game against the Giants, and then a series against the Braves and the Padres - neither of whom will be easy pickings. The Sox took 2 out of 3 from the Braves the last time they met, so there is hope - but the bats seriously need to wake up.
I have to take back what I said about J.C. Romero upon his release - lousy peripherals and all. Mike Timlin has become the bullpen equivalent of throwing enriched uranium at a nuclear test site. I still like Snyder and Donnelly, but it sounds like the Sox are stuck with Timlin and Joel "The Last Son of Krypton" Piniero.
Timlin was a sentimental choice to stick - a member of the '04 World Series champs and the Last Man Standing from the '03 "Closer-by-committee" debacle. The Sox are on the hook for Piniero to the tune of $4 Million this year - apparently "White Flag" Wayne Gomes wasn't available.
The Sox' bulllpen has held its own thus far this year, but I remember '04 when Joe Torre had Quantrill and Gordon (and to a lesser extent, Jeff Nelson) pitch until their arms fell off and left them inneffective in the second half and in the postseason. The Sox need another bullpen arm stat, unless they want to see Kaji and Pap suffer through the same indignity - a scenario that seems likely given the anemic state of Boston's offense.
But what do they get and how do they get it?
I know that Troy Percival is trying to make his way back, but I'm not ready to sign up with that corporation. Keith Foulke is also reportedly contemplating a comeback - but to say that there is no love lost there would imply that there had been love there to begin with.
Jon Lester came off the DL and was promptly sent to Pawtucket - which means that, for the time being anyway, Julian Tavarez isn't leaving the rotation to reinforce the bullpen. Hey, at this point, why mess with a good thing?
To hammer away further at a theme I've hammered at before, Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen aren't going to help anytime soon - unless one or the other of them turns into one of those guys who inexplicably can't get AAA hitters about but dominates big leaguers.
Besides, don't rush anyone - see Fiasco, The: Meredith, Cla.
Of course, there's always Matt (shudder) Clement, the Red Sox' version of Carl Pavano + half a good season, and a guy who could theoretically step into a rotation or a bullpen role. The Sox owe him a lot of money, too ($8+ Million), and as far as I know he hasn't even begun rehabbing yet. If and when he becomes healthy, the Sox will be in a play-him-or-trade-him situation.
Wily Mo Pena is the hot name featured in trade rumors recently, so that's the likely lure for a bullpen arm. The question is - where does it come from? What teams are going to be sellers?
A rundown of possible partners:
Baltimore - Chris Ray is struggling this season, but he's too young and too cheap to part with. I'm sure the Orioles would love to dump Danys Baez, but there are 6.52 reasons for that - plus he's injured. I wouldn't want to relive the Chad Bradford show, and I had hoped the Sox would reacquire Scott Williamson this past offseason, but the O's have invested a lot of dollars over a lot of years on these guys - don't see it happening.
Tampa Bay - The D-Rays already have more promising young outfielders than they have room for, and I don't trust Al Reyes any further than he could throw a pitch and ruin Nomar Garciaparra's career.
Toronto - Pass. J.P. Ricciardi doesn't want to do business with the Red Sox, unless it involves off-loading a - what would you call it? - Hinskesque contract.
Chicago - The White Sox are supposed to be willing to sell parts off, but I'm sure Bobby Jenks isn't one of them. And as for the White Sox bullpen - Hey, look, Ozzie Guillen offended someone again!
Kansas City - I'll admit that this surprised me - the Royals actually have 6 relievers with ERAs below 4 - Joakim Soria (3.04), Jimmy Gobble (giggle - 2.59), David Riske (3.14), Joel Peralta (3.59), Brandon Duckworth (2.94) and Octavio Dotel (3.12).
Soria is a Mexican league find that GM Drayton Moore is unlikely to part with, I don't really know anything about Peralta, Gobble and Duckworth have never pitched this well in their lives, and you'd need a Haz-Mat suit to handle Dotel's elbow. Riske would be a Red Sox rerun.
So for the sake of reliving the past, I'll take Riske out of the equation. I'll put Soria on the Royals' untouchable list, and Dotel on the Dear-God-Don't-Touch list. The other three - Gobble (giggle), Peralta, and Duckworth might be viable - Moore traded Jeremy Affeldt for promising slugger Ryan Shealey a year ago, so history might repeat.
Texas - Another club whose bullpen is more promising than expected. I'm terrified of Eric Gagne for the same reason as I am Dotel, and as long as he's a risk, Otsuka isn't going anywhere. That leaves the intriguing C.J. Wilson (a lefty) and Frankie Francisco - a former Sox farmhand better known for throwing a chair into the Oakland stands than throwing strikes. Wily Mo would be a great fit in Texas though (great home run park, lousy outfielders) so this, too, bears watching.
Washington - We already know that Jim Bowden wants the moon, the stars, and unlimited access to Scarlett Johansen in exchange for Chad Cordero - let's just avoid that road altogether.
Cincinnati - David Weathers is a decent closer for the worst team in the worst division in baseball - not exactly a ringing endorsement. That and the reason the Reds traded Pena to Boston in the first place was that they had too many outfielders. Even with the Austin Kearns trade, that hasn't changed.
Houston - A couple of weeks ago, Lidge probably could have been had - but would have only agreed to a trade had he gone some place he could have closed, which wasn't an option in Boston. Now, he's apparently had a brush with medieval history and has turned into a shutdown closer again. The Astros, making their home at the other homer-friendly Texas ballpark, could certainly use Pena's bat, but they probably still think of themselves as contenders and their bullpen is split between guys that they can't afford to lose and guys that no one would want.
Pittsburgh - Jason Bay and Xavier Nady are the only guys who can actually hit on that team, and Pena's not really an everyday centerfielder, so not a good trading partner. Matt Capps and Damasao Marte are intriguing, and hey, you only need to scam a UMass alum to make a trade there.
San Francisco - I'd love to say that the Giants have another future Joe Nathan to spend here, but I don't really see it. Besides, Brian Sabean only likes position players who are halfway to Social Security - Pena's too young for his taste.
Colorado - Because Dan O'Dowd has been operating the Rockies' post-full-frontal lobotomy for some years now, he's considering trading closer Brian Fuentes. But with three young outfielders (Hawpe, Taveres, Holliday) - Colorado isn't really a potential trading partner either.
So there are options out there, just nothing safe, obvious, or apparent.
Here Come the Yankees
So the Yankees' won 9 games in a row and 10 out of their last 11.
Ho, hum
Don't get me wrong. I don't ho hum this in a dismissive manner - just with an utter lack of surprise.
A few weeks ago every sports columnist in New England was racing to stick a fork in the Yankees like hipsters trying to take credit for "discovering" a new band. I can't wait to see the round of columns in which they scold their readers for believing in this notion, all the while disavowing the fact that they were the ones who perpetrated it in the first place.
(Here's a freebie for Dan Shaugnessy - "For all you "idiots" still living in 2004, I have another year you might want to think about - 1978")
Kenny Williams could have taken a Bobby Abreu for Jermaine Dye trade, but turned it down. Since then, Dye has continued to disappoint, while Bobby Abreu has gone crazy Broadway style. Of course, the results could have been the same had the trade been made - putting on pinstripes seems to be the equivalent of sewing a big red S on the chest of underperforming players (or to put it another way, Truth, David Justice, and the Yankee Way).
I have a friend - a White Sox fan - who expressed hope that his team could swing a Mark Buehrle-for-Melky-Cabrera deal with the Yankees. Had the Yankees continued their poor play, and had this resulted in Cashman being fired and the Boss taking over the reins of the organization himself again, this might have happened. Unfortunately for those of us who root against the Yankees, Melky Cabrera is exactly the kind of player that Cashman would not trade for a rent-a-player or, more likely, at all.
I took some fleeting pleasure in seeing the Rocket outdueled by Oliver "O-Face" Perez yesterday, but of course they bounced back today to win 11-8 in game that featured a rogue's gallery of grotesque ERAs. I mean, Scott friggin Proctor was the only pitcher on either side with an ERA under 4 (at 3.28 he's way better than I've ever given him credit for).
To sum up, in order of appearance:
Mets:
Glavine: 4.67 - Isn't this guy supposed to be closing in on 300 wins?
Schoeneweiss: 6.65 - Further proof that being a lefty guarantees you a job for life.
Mota: 7.20 - If steroids are "performance enhancers", I'd hate to see this guy unenhanced.
Sele: 5.25 - Ah, the meltdown artist in Boston who inspired Lowe and Clement
Yankees:
Clippard: 6.62 -Desperation is now spelled T-Y-L-E-R
Vizcaino: 6.06 - He's pitched 30 times this season. Is Torre trying to get himself fired?
Proctor: 3.28 - Pass
Farnsworth: 4.94 - All that, and he resents Clemens!
Rivera: 4.50 - Isn't this guy supposed to be the best closer this side of Kyra Sedgewick?
Ah, New York, New York - if you can make it anywhere, you can make it there.
So, the Yankees aren't going anywhere - and despite what happened today, their pitching is catching up to their hitting, which certainly isn't the case in Boston. The sickening sense of dread that is all too familiar to Red Sox fans should be settling in any day now.
No Cure for the Common Cold
I realize that I spend way more time writing about the Yankees than Teddy does writing about the Red Sox.
This is a symptom of the rivalry - Red Sox fans are obsessed with the Yankees, and Yankees fans (excepting my collaborator on this blog) really don't care about the Red Sox.
Case in Point: as I mentioned earlier in this post, and in at least one previous post, a lot of ink was spilled by Boston writers in the past month about just how done the Yankees allegedly were. Had the roles been reversed, with the Red Sox floundering, do you know how much coverage it would have gotten in the New York press?
None. Nada. Zippo.
Because while Red Sox fans enjoy Yankee tribulation as much (if not more) than they do Red Sox success, Yankees fans simply do not care.
Who can blame them? For a Red Sox fan, it's a matter of "What's going to go wrong next?" For a Yankees fan it's, "Whatever, we're going to win anyway."
I like to thing that I've risen above most of the rivalry - I have never participated in a "Yankees Suck!" chant, and as I always like to tell people, one of my best friends is a Yankees fan. (Hint: he also posts in this space)
But while a Yankees fan can put the Red Sox out of his mind, I, as a Red Sox fan, am incapable of reciprocating.
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