"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Monthly Archives: July 2008

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Dolla, Dolla Bill, Y’All*

New York magazine has an article on the hawking-off of Yankee Stadium.  Everything Must Go, One Time Only!

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Stumped

I realize that Manny Ramirez is in a slump.  Still, it was a strange sight watching him look at three pitches against Mariano Rivera last night, before returning to the dugout.  After the game, Rivera told reporters, "I was kind of surprised, definitely, that he never took the bat off his shoulder," Rivera said. "I don’t know what he was thinking. That’s Manny."

The Constant Gardner

Seven batters were hit in Saturday’s game and yet there was no beef between the Yankees and Red Sox.  My, how times have changed.  But things got lively on Sunday night–Kevin Youkilis slid hard into home, brushing against Joba Chamberlain’s leg in the fifth inning, and Chamberlain threw a pitch behind The Greek God of Walks in the sixth before walking him on a 3-2 pitch.   Joba vs Youk would be some Beffy Battle Royale but it’ll have to wait for another day.  The loudest fight of the night came when Joe Girardi got himself run for arguing balls and strikes with home plate ump, Laz Diaz.  But the Yanks had the biggest fight in them, as they rallied and won in extra innings, 5-4

Chamberlain pitched well in the early going, working quickly and efficiently through the first four innings.  But he allowed the first three runners to reach base in the fifth, with Youkilis scoring on a wild pitch.  Chamberlain regrouped, struck out the next two batters and then shook Jose Molina off before throwing a 3-2 pitch to Jacoby Ellsbury.  Molina went out to talk to Chamberlain who proceeded to walk Ellsbury on a check swing.  Chamberlain threw a slider; apparently, Molina wanted a fastball.  Dustin Pedroia was next and he fisted an inside fastball into right field for a two-run single.  Chamberlain gave up three runs on four hits, he walked four and struck out five in six innings. 

Alex Rodriguez, front page tabloid fodder all weekend, launched a knuckle ball into the left field seats to lead off the second inning, his 18th homer of the year and 536th of his career, tying him with Mickey Mantle on the all-time list.  It would be the last hit the Yankees would collect until the sixth.  Derek Jeter singled home a run before that inning was out, then helped give one right back in the top of the seventh as a throwing error led to a run.

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Step Right Up

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We’ve got a nice pitching match-up for the Sunday Night finale of this four-game series, as Joba Chamberlain goes against the old knuckler, Tim Wakefield. Never know what you are going to get from Wake, but we’ve seen him hand it to the Yanks on more than one occasion. Chamberlain is coming off a poor start against the Rangers where he was wild and threw a ton of pitches and was gone after four innings. Tonight is his biggest start yet. A huge game for the Yankees to keep pace–yes, the Rays won again this afternoon.

The All Star rosters were announced this afternoon and neither Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi made the team. I’m sure that’ll give Joe Morgan something to talk about tonight.

Oy.

Let’s hope the bats are boomin’ so it ain’t too painful and

Let’s Go Yan-Kees!

On Any Given Sunday…

…Something great can happen and that’s why we watch sports.

Today at Wimbledon, something great did happen. Rafael Nadal, the Red Sox to Roger Federer’s Yankees, defeated the five-time defending champ in what could possibly be the greatest finals match of all time, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. John MacEnroe sure thought it was. Nadal and Federer both showed great courage and determination, and the level of play was brilliant, the shot-making suburb, the drama palpable.

It reminded me of something Carlton Fisk once told Tom Boswell about being on deck with Yaz up in the ninth at the end of the playoff game of ’78 between the Yanks and Sox:

I was in the on-deck circle, just like I was when Yaz flew out to end the ’75 Series. You know, they should have stopped the game right then and said, ‘Okay, that’s it. The season is over. You’re both world champions. We can’t decide between you, and neither of you should have to lose.’

Nadal and Federer elevated the game today. Remarkable.

Moose Party

Here’s a quick look at Mike Mussina’s greatest efforts against the Red Sox.

May 24, 2001

May 30, 2001

Sep 2, 2001

Sep 8, 2001

June 1, 2002

July 19, 2002

Aug 28, 2002

July 7, 2003

Sep 19, 2004

July 5, 2008

And of course, the biggest relief outing of Moose’s career came against Boston.

Saving Face

The Yankees and Red Sox combined to put 23 men on base yesterday afternoon, but just three of them came around to score as the Yankees pulled out a slim 2-1 victory.

The Sox set the tone in the top of the first inning. With one out, Dustin Pedroia lined a ball down the left field line that kicked out to left fielder Brett Gardner. Pedroia attempted to stretch the hit into a double, but was nailed at second base by a perfect throw from Gardner. Two pitches later, J.D. Drew doubled, but with Pedroia already in the dugout, Boston had nothing to show for their back-to-back hits. Yankee starter Mike Mussina then moved Drew to third on a wild pitch and lost control of a 3-2 changeup which slipped behind Manny Ramirez and hit him in the rump to put runners on the corners, but rallied to strike out Mike Lowell to strand both runners.

The Yankees took an early lead against Boston’s rookie starter Justin Masterson in the bottom of the second on a four-pitch walk to Jason Giambi and two-out singles by Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera, but Jose Molina grounded out to strand two more runners. An inning later, they loaded the bases with one out when Derek Jeter singled, Bobby Abreu walked, and Alex Rodriguez was hit on the right thigh by a pitch, but Giambi struck out and Wilson Betemit grounded out to strand all three.

That third inning featured two key defensive plays by the Red Sox’s infield. With Brett Gardner leading off the inning, third baseman Mike Lowell was playing several steps in on the grass to protect against the bunt. When Gardner instead hit a would-be double down the third base line, Lowell made a great diving stop to his right to retire the rookie. Betemit’s inning-ending groundout was also hit hard and required second baseman Dustin Pedroia to range far to his left and make a spinning catch and throw to kill the Yankee rally.

Hit batsmen, sharp defensive plays, and runners left on base would continue to be the order of the day.

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Master and Servant

We all knew the Yankees weren’t going to sweep their current four-game series against the Red Sox to pull into a second-place tie in the AL East, but the possibility was there. Now, having dropped the first two games, the Yankees have to sweep the final two in order to avoid losing ground to Boston as a result of this series.

Looking to snap the Yanks out of their malaise in today’s nationally-televised afternoon tilt will be Mike Mussina. The bad news is that two of Mussina’s three worst starts this season came against the Red Sox in April. Here’s Moose’s line from those two starts against Boston: 8 2/3 IP, 15 H, 9 R, 3 HR, 0 BB, 2 K, 9.35 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 0-2. Manny Ramirez did the bulk of the damage against Mussina in those games, going 4-for-5 with a double and three home runs, driving in six of the nine runs Mussina allowed and scoring a seventh. It would thus seem a natural to have Mussina pitch around Ramirez today, but the man hitting behind Ramirez is Mike Lowell, who has a .579/.600/1.158 career line against Mussina. Ironically, Lowell was on the DL when Mussina faced the Red Sox in April, but in 2007, Lowell went 4-for-5 with a walk, a double, and two home runs against Mussina, and in 2006, he went 5-for-10 with a double and a homer against Moose.

So there will be no pitching around Manny today. Instead the Mussina will have to focus on keeping runners off base ahead of Ramirez and Lowell. Third-place hitter J.D. Drew is just 1 for 11 with no walks in his career against Mussina, but Boston’s top-two hitters, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, have a combined .555 OBP against Mussina (Moose has never walked either one, but he’s plunked Ellsbury twice and the two are a combined 8-for-16 against him).

Gulp.

Opposing Mussina will be 23-year-old rookie Justin Masterson. Masterson, who is just the fourth major leaguer to have been born in Kingston, Jamaica (Devon White and ex-Yankee Chili Davis are two of the other three) is a big dude (6-foot-6, 250 lbs.). He’s also a sinkerballer in search of an effective second pitch. Masterson made two strong spot starts for the Red Sox in the season’s first two months, but since being installed in the rotation at the beginning of June in place of the then-injured Daisuke Matsuzaka, has been merely average, posting a 4.54 ERA, walking 4.79 men per nine innings, and allowing seven home runs in six starts. I keep waiting for the Red Sox to swap him back out for Clay Buchholz, who is younger, better, and allowed just two runs in six June starts for triple-A Pawtucket (4-1, 0.88 ERA).

With Johnny Damon out due to the shoulder contusion he suffered in yesterday’s game, Brett Gardner will lead off and play left field today. Wilson Betemit gets the start at first base with Jason Giambi at DH. That means Jorge Posada rides pine as Mike Mussina pitches to his personal catcher in Jose Molina.

Let me get this straight: Molina caught yesterday’s game (with Posada DHing). Tomorrow’s game is a night game. Monday is an off-day. Yet, Girardi can’t find a way to get Posada into the lineup against the Red Sox today with Johnny Damon hurt and his team desperate to pull out a series split? I think I’d like to have my own team meeting with the Yankee skipper. I realize the Yankees are babying Posada’s throwing shoulder out of necessity, but Girardi needs to prioritize. Molina has hit .191/.234/.243 since injuring his hamstring against the Red Sox in mid-April. He’s killing this team. Posada has hit .263/.380/.421 since coming off the DL at the beginning of June. The Yankees need that OBP in the lineup. Meanwhile, in the last month, Chad Moeller has entered just one game before the eighth inning and had just five plate appearances (in which he’s doubled and been hit by a pitch). Even if Posada’s shoulder is so tender that he really can’t catch today, it’s long since time to give Moeller a chance to contribute again, Mussina’s preference be damned.

Update: Per Pete Abe, Posada’s “a little under the weather.” That excuses that, but not the continued preference of Molina over Moeller.

Card Corner–Nate Colbert

 

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Admit it, you like those yellow and brown uniforms the San Diego Padres wore during the 1972 and ’73 seasons. There’s just something especially captivating about those yellow jerseys and pants. So colorful, so bright and cheery. Oh, who am I kidding? As much as I loved baseball in the seventies, those uniforms may have been the worst creation in on-field fashion this side of the Houston Astros’ rainbow uniforms and the short pants worn by the Chicago White Sox for three games in 1976.

In spite of having to wear those hideous polyester monstrosities, Nate Colbert is doing his best to maintain a happy face while posing for his 1973 Topps card. As the former Padres slugger pointed out to me during his recent visit to Cooperstown, those duds were major league uniforms, far superior to anything that he would have endured wearing in the Pacific Coast League. "Well, the brown didn’t bother me," says Colbert. "The yellow ones, which were called ‘Mission Gold’—I don’t know where they got that name from—when I first put them on, I felt really embarrassed. But I looked at it like this is the major leagues; this is the uniform I was required to wear. I took a lot of ribbing, especially from the Reds and Pirates players. Even my mother used to tease me. She said I looked like a caution light that was stuck. You know, it was a big league uniform. I’d rather have that than one with the Hawaii Rainbows on it, that being the Triple-A team for the Padres [at the time]."

In many ways, that’s just Nate being Nate. Just as he appears on his Topps card—smiling, positive, and upbeat—Nate tends to looks at the bright side of things. If Colbert had chosen a different path, he could have worn the more dignified pinstriped uniforms of the Yankees. As an amateur ballplayer in 1964, Colbert was offered a lucrative contract by the Yankees. They promised to double any offers given to him by any of the other 19 major league teams, but Colbert had his heart set in another direction.

If the Yankees had signed Colbert, they presumably would have brought him to the majors by the late 1960s. That would have been good timing for the struggling franchise, considering the instability the Yankees had at first base. Given Mickey Mantle’s impending retirement and Joe Pepitone’s imminent departure, the Yankees endured a period of mediocrity at the position. Patchwork players like Danny Cater, Johnny Ellis, and Mike Hegan, and the oft-injured Ron Blomberg could have given way to Colbert, who put up big slugging numbers from 1970 to 1972. Colbert also would have supplied some much-needed right-handed power, balancing a lineup that had Bobby Murcer (and later Graig Nettles) from the left side of the plate.

It was not to be. Colbert briefly considered the Yankees’ offer, but opted to sign with his hometown St. Louis Cardinals. That fulfilled a dream for Colbert, who wanted to play for the same team as his idol, Stan Musial. Unfortunately, the Cardinals had such depth at first base and in the outfield that Colbert faced major roadblocks. After the 1965 season, the Redbirds left Colbert unprotected in the Rule Five draft.

The Astros jumped in and picked Colbert, bringing him to the major leagues in 1966. As it turned out, Colbert would cross paths with the Yankees one more time. Prior to the start of the season, the Astros hosted the Yankees in an exhibition game at the Astrodome, giving Colbert his first glimpse at a Yankee legend. "Mickey Mantle was taking batting practice," says Colbert, recalling his boyish enthusiasm that day. "I said to my teammates, ‘Oh my gosh! Hey guys, that’s Mickey Mantle.’ The other guys on the team just said calmly, ‘I know.’ "

Colbert made his major league debut in 1966. Two years later, he met his most colorful teammate ever, Doug Rader. "When we were with the Astros, he and one of the guys, another player on the team, went down to the pet store. That’s when it was legal to own alligators. And they bought three alligators, baby alligators. They waited until we were all in the shower, and they let them loose in the shower, down in Cocoa, Florida. We were trying to climb the walls, these little baby alligators all around us."

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Pause Mix

You Lose, Cause I Got the Ill Street Blues:

Sweet Lou

Here’s to one of the great days in Yankee Stadium history…

 

Yankee Panky #57: Independence Daze

On yet another Fourth of July weekend with the Yankees facing the Red Sox, both teams are looking up at the Tampa Bay Rays, who may be end up being the craziest worst-to-first story in the Expansion Era. After today’s discouraging loss the Yankees are nine games behind the Rays.  Thursday night’s 7-0 debacle featured the following elements that rightly incurred the wrath of manager Joe Girardi:

• It marked the 28th time this season that the Yankees scored two runs or less.

• It was the third start Andy Pettitte made against a divisional opponent where he went five innings or less, gave up at least five runs and eight hits.

• LaTroy Hawkins tanked another mop-up appearance in what may or may not have been a showcase for a trade or release. One thing is sure is that his body language on the mound indicates that he does not want to be a Yankee, and a palpable sarcastic, "Oh, great, Hawkins," feeling permeates the stadium when he enters the game.

• It gave us the following sequence, buried near the bottom of GAK III’s writeup in the New York Post:

"It looked like we didn’t have a chance. After we got down it seemed like there was nothing there. We are not playing up to expectations and that’s not good. The Steinbrenners spent $200 million on us and we haven’t shown what we are made of." Johnny Damon

The scary thing is that maybe this is what the Yankees are — a 45-41 collection of expensive parts incapable of an extended hot streak due to an inconsistent hitting and a rotation that stunningly includes Sidney Ponson.

"We have to get better. That’s the bottom line. Everyone has to get better and it starts with me. I’ll take responsibility for where we’re at. It’s my job and we have to get better." — Joe Girardi

* * *

I can’t even comprehend the A-Rod-Madonna / Cynthia Rodriguez-Lenny Kravitz love rhombus. The coverage is only going to intensify; it will only become a distraction if the Yankees continue to languish in mediocrity.

* * *

To the main focus of today’s column: My top 5 Fourth of July (or close to the actual day) Yankee Stadium moments. I wanted to limit it to games that I’ve seen and/or have occurred in my lifetime. Obviously, the most powerful moment is Lou Gehrig’s speech in 1939. That may have been the most memorable moment in the Stadium’s history.

The point of lists, though, is to spawn comment, and perhaps fuel argument. I’m curious to see your responses and editions to this list:

1. 1983: Dave Righetti’s no-hitter against the Red Sox. The day was a lot like today: muggy, overcast, threat of rain, sun mixed in. I asked Bobby Murcer about this game, and the story he told me involved Phil Rizzuto leaving the broadcast booth in the seventh inning to beat the traffic over the George Washington Bridge, and listening to the events unfold on the radio, with Frank Messer’s call.

2. 2004: It was July 1, but the game will forever be known as the "Jeter Dives Into the Stands Game." For me, it ranks as the greatest regular season baseball game I’ve ever seen. It had everything – Brad Halsey standing tall against Pedro Martinez, lead changes, great defense by both teams, and Joe Torre exhausting his roster to the point that he lost the DH. The unlikely hero: John Flaherty. For me, the most memorable moments, aside from Manny Ramirez’s two home runs, Jeter’s dive, and Flaherty’s hit, were A-Rod’s play in the ninth inning that had everyone in the ballpark thinking they’d seen a triple play, and Nomar Garciaparra’s conspicuous absence.

3. 2003: The Red Sox pounded the Yankees, 10-3. This game was memorable to me, though because in my opinion, it put David Ortiz on the map as a dangrous hitter. He hit two mammoth home runs on the Fourth, one off David Wells and another off Jason Anderson that would have been out in any MLB stadium. He hit two more home runs in the following game — a 10-2 Red Sox rout — beginning his reputation as a Yankee killer.

4. 1989: It was the 50th Anniversary of Lou Gehrig Day. The promotional giveaway was a 32-ounce plastic cup with a diagram of the stadium featuring some of the Stadium’s greatest moments. The Yankees faced the Tigers and won, 1-0. My greatest memories were watching Don Mattingly go 3-for-4, Luis Polonia getting picked off of first base in the first inning, and Jesse Barfield throwing a runner out from the right field corner.

5. 1998: A 4-3 victory over the Orioles that was the fifth victory in a 10-game run that spanned the All-Star break. There was bad blood from earlier in the season (the bench-clearing brawl that saw Darryl Strawberry pummel Armando Benitez following his plunking of Tino Martinez). Chad Curtis’s base hit in the sixth inning put the Yankees on top, and El Duque, making just the sixth start of his career, shut the O’s down.

Honorable mention: 2002: This game is memorable to me, not for anything that happened on the field — Raul Mondesi hit his first home run as a Yankee as part of a 7-1 victory that capped a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians — but for a goofy family bonding episode. I was editing that day’s game for YES Network.com, and during a break in the postgame while waiting for my writer to file, I was playing with my nephew — he was five months old at the time. In a moment while I held him over my head, he gave me a look as if to say, "Gotcha, Uncle Will," and he spit up onto my face. I closed my eyes and mouth just in time.

Next week: Yankee Panky is on vacation, trying not to get seduced by the Kaballah workings of a pop icon.

Boogie Down, Beat Down

The Red Sox stepped all over the Yankees again today, 6-4.  This one featured a rain delay to sustain the misery for Yankee fans. Alex Rodriguez got to Josh Beckett in the first, lashing a two-run double into the left field corner, but grounded out as the go-ahead run with the bases loaded in the seventh.  He didn’t have much help around him either as the Yanks only got six hits. 

They couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead.  Kevin Youkilis tied it in the third when he hit a long fly ball to left field.  Johnny Damon tracked the ball and jumped up to catch it as he reached the wall.  The ball popped out of his glove and momentarily rested on top of wall.  Then, like one of those miracle putts that find a way to fall (Caddyshack), the ball dropped off the wall and landed next to Damon on the ground.  The tying run scored and Youkilis was on third with a triple.  Damon left the game.  Two innings later, Mike Lowell cranked a three-run jack, enough to do the Yankees in.  Even an umpire’s gift in the ninth didn’t help much.

I think the Yankees are upset, I think they are mad, just like the Sox were upset and mad after being swept by Tampa. It’s just that the Sox are a better overall team than the Yankees.  Ten years ago, the Yankees always seemed to take advantage of other teams’ mistakes.  Now, the Yankees are the other team.  And the Sox are the defending World Champs.   Boston has been a brilliant reaction to the most recent Yankee Dynasty–they built a sleeker, more efficient version of the Yankees.     

My cousins came over this afternoon.  We made these killer ribs in the oven from a Cook’s Illustrated recipe–Lapsang Souchong black tea is used for smoke.  They brought over a black-eyed peas salad and I made a cous cous salad.  It was all simply delicious.  So at least the food, and the company, was good.

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An American Original

The Yanks were thoroughly out-played last night. Today, they get Josh Beckett. Could be a long weekend.

Regardless, here is something to kick off the game in style.

Have a safe and Happy holiday, everyone and Let’s Go Yan-Kees!. 

Wish You Were There

I often felt like I was being jipped when I was a kid. Whatever I had, it never seemed to be enough. Didn’t have enough presents, stuff, didn’t get enough attention, not unless I was acting the fool. It’s part of the territory when you are a twin, I suppose. So I often was envious of the “things” that my friends had–a t-shirt, or a pair of sneakers, a book or a guitar. I remember my friend Matt Cantor being at Yankee Stadium twenty-five years ago when Rags threw his no-hitter against the Red Sox. Normally, it would have been just the kind of thing that had me green with envy. I don’t recall much about that day–I’m sure I watched the game, but I don’t have a clear memory of it. What I do remember is feeling happy that Matt got to see it in person. At that point, Yankee pleasures came in small doses, and this was surely an unexpected surprise–the great Wade Boggs stuck out to end the game no less. I was not jealous that I wasn’t the one at the game, I was just excited that someone I knew was there. Hey, if it wasn’t me, might as well have been Matt, who a die-hard Yankee fan.
Twenty-five years ago. Jeez. Think I’ll go change my diaper now and put in my teeth.

Born on the Fourth of July

Couple of nifty birthday’s today, including Satchmo’s even though he was born on Aug 4th:

How about our very own Boss George Von Steingrabber:

It’s easy not to think about the Boss these days.  He isn’t brought up much.  His sons are running the family business now.  But he turns 78 today and has always been very proud of being a Patriot, a Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Here’s wishing the old guy a happy birthday.  Yeah, he just might be one of these after all:

Lester The Molester

Jon Lester walked the first two Yankees he faced last night and, after a Bobby Abreu fielders choice, the Yankees had runners at the corners with one out and the heart of the order up in the first inning. Lester then struck out Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi to strand both runners. Lester didn’t walk another batter in the game and allowed just a pair of singles over the next six innings. By the time the Yankees picked up their third hit, they were trailing 7-0 in the eighth.

A two-out ground-rule double by Melky Cabrera in the eighth gave the Yankees just their second runner in scoring position of the night. Cabrera was stranded on second when Johnny Damon struck out. Derek Jeter, who made a costly error in the first inning, singled to start the ninth, but was promptly erased by a double play off Abreu’s bat. One pitch later, Rodriguez flew out to give Lester a five-hit shutout. Lester needed just 105 pitches to complete the game, 71 percent of which were strikes.

Immediately after the game, Joe Girardi held a 30-minute closed-door team meeting. Johnny Damon and Andy Pettitte, who described his performance as “terrible,” called the loss “embarassing.” Girardi wouldn’t divulge any of the details of his meeting, but was clearly fed up in his post-game press conference.

As for Pettitte, he was Bad Andy last night. More from the man himself: “I couldn’t throw anything where I wanted to. Couldn’t throw my fastball to either side of the plate. Couldn’t throw my offspeed stuff for strikes. It was just an absolute horrible game.”

It wasn’t quite that bad. Pettitte only walked three men, and only one of those three scored. He was also hurt by his defense in the first inning when, with one out and two on, he got Manny Ramirez to hit a double play ball that would have ended the inning without a run scoring, only to have Derek Jeter’s pivot throw sail toward the Yankee dugout, plating one runner and putting Ramirez in position to score on Mike Lowell’s subsequent single. The two-RBI double that doubled the Sox’s lead in the second inning was a well-placed flare over first base by Jacoby Ellsbury. Still, there’s no real way to shine up six runs (five earned) in 4 2/3 innings. LaTroy Hawkins added another run in his lone inning of work to make the final 7-0 Red Sox.

If there were any positives to come out of last night’s game for the Yankees they rested in a quartet of individual performances. Dan Giese retired all seven Sox he faced in relief of Pettitte, striking out three of them, including J.D. Drew and Manny Ramirez to end his stint. David Robertson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and didn’t allow a ball out of the infield. Robinson Cano continued his recent resurgence with a 2-for-3 night, his two singles representing 40 percent of the Yankees’ hits off Lester. Cano is hitting .393 since being omitted from the starting lineup against the Astros on June 14. Finally, Melky Cabrera, who entered the game on an 0-for-18 skid, also went 2 for 3 against Lester. Both of Melky’s hits were hard shots pulled down the left field line. One hit the retaining wall before it turns parallel to the foul line and kicked right to left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury who held Cabrera to a single. The second skipped over the parallel portion of the wall for a ground-rule double. Melky got the day off on Wednesday. Here’s hoping that brief respite starts him off on a kick similar to that of his comrade Cano.

The Yankees come off this embarrassing loss and have to face Josh Beckett in a Fourth of July day game. Didn’t take long for this series to sour, did it?

Boston Red Sox III: Looking Up Edition

If there’s an odd feeling to this weekend’s four-game set between the Yankees and Red Sox in the Bronx, it’s because the last time these two teams met this late in the season without either one of them holding first place in the AL East was September 1997, when the Orioles won the division, the Yankees won the Wild Card, and the Red Sox finished 20 games out in fourth place. Entering tonight’s game, the second place Red Sox are 3.5 games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays, with the Yankees another four games behind the Sox in third place.

The Yankees could pull into a second-pace tie with the Sox by sweeping this weekend’s series, but we all know that’s not going to happen. Instead the Yankees will hope to take three of the four games, which would pull them within two games of the Sox in the standings. The Sox have lost their last five games to the Astros and Rays, but four of those were one-run losses and the last was decided by a 3-1 score. Still, there’s a vulnerability there, much of which has to do with the Red Sox road performance this year.

In a season that has thus far seen abnormally poor performances by road teams in general, the Red Sox have been a primary offender, dominating opponents at Fenway with a .756 winning percentage, but struggling mightily outside of Boston, with a .413 winning percentage elsewhere. Their current 1-5 road trip and 0-6 record when visiting the Rays have a lot to do with that, but so does a pitching staff that has allowed 1.87 runs per game more on the road than at home.

Just looking at the four starters the Yankees are scheduled to face this weekend, Jon Lester, who goes tonight, has an ERA more than a two runs higher on the road than at home. Rookie Justin Masterson, who will face Mike Mussina on FOX on Saturday, adds nearly a run and a third to his ERA on the road, and Tim Wakefield, who will start against Joba Chamberlain in Sunday night’s capper, has an ERA more than 70 points higher on the road. In the bullpen, three of Jon Papelbon’s four blown saves this season and 10 of the 13 runs he’s allowed have come on the road, and Craig Hansen’s road ERA is nearly two and a half times his mark at Fenway.

Those losses are tempered somewhat by the fact that Josh Beckett, who starts tomorrow night, and releivers David Aardsma, Hideki Okajima, and Javier Lopez (ignore the ERA, look at his peripherals) have actually been better on the road than at home, but with the offense similarly shedding more than a run off it’s home average when wearing road grays, winning on the road has proven a struggle for the Red Sox this year.

The Sox have been to the Bronx once already this season, splitting a two-game set in mid-April. The Sox scored 16 runs in those two games, half of which came against Chien-Ming Wang in the game the Yankees won. The Boston win was largely due to a strong outing by road warrior Josh Beckett and Mike Mussina’s inability to retire Manny Ramirez (two at-bats, two homers, three runs).

The recipe for a series win would thus appear to be winning the three games not started by Beckett and having Mike Mussina pitch around Ramirez on Saturday. The trouble with the latter idea is that the man behind Ramirez, Mike Lowell, has a .579/.600/1.158 line in 20 career plate appearances against Mussina, which dwarfs Ramirez’s .280/.333/.630 career line in 108 PA against Mussina. Still, the key seems to be to beat Lester tonight with Andy Pettitte on the hill, win the Chamberlain/Wakefield matchup on Sunday, and hope to pull out one of the remaining two.

That doesn’t sound so tough. Pettitte has bee fantastic in his last four starts, posting this line: 4-0, 27 IP, 19 H, 2 HR, 7 BB, 23 K, 1.00 ERA, 0.96 WHIP. Lester gave up six runs in five innings against the Astros in his last start and hasn’t faced the Yankees since his rookie season of 2006, when he was lit up for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. Then again, Lester will be fresh as he threw just 76 pitches in Houston and had a 1.63 ERA in his four starts prior to that (three of them came in Fenway, but the best came against the slugging Phillies on the road).

Melky Cabrera returns to center field tonight. Brett Gardner is on the bench and could be a very valuable late-inning weapon in a close game. Wilson Betemit stays at first base against the lefty Lester with Jason Giambi at DH.

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June Farm Report

May Farm Report

Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

The big news out of Scranton is that Shelley Duncan‘s season might be over due to a separated shoulder suffered after making the spectacular warning-track catch pictured here. Not that it matters any more, but Shelley hit a miserable .160/.328/.280 in June.

In other 40-man roster news, Ian Kennedy, who was activated from the DL and optioned to single-A Tampa last week, dominated for five innings in his lone Tampa start and is scheduled to start for Scranton tonight. First baseman Juan Miranda finally stayed healthy in June and hit .356/.371/.475 on the month, but if you look closely that’s almost all batting average. Miranda hit no homers and drew just two walks in June.

I still can’t figure out why the Yankees called up Justin Christian when Hideki Matsui went on the DL. Supposedly they picked the righty-hitting Christian over the lefty-hitting Brett Gardner because the team was scheduled to face several left-handed starting pitchers, but as Pete Abe pointed out to me on Monday, Gardner hit .318/.404/.518 against lefties in Scranton this year against Christian’s .286/.315/.531. Yes, Christian was having a monster June (.412/.448/.588), but Gardner was having the better overall season (.293 GPA to Christian’s .281) and, at age 24, still has the sort of prospect potential that the 28-year-old Christian lacks. At least Christian’s stay was brief. Christian could have some use as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement, but there’s no good reason to start him in the major leagues. That said, Christian was the only SWB Yankee to make the International League All-Star team.

Elsewhere in the Scranton outfield, Brigham Young product Matt Carson, who started the year in Trenton and just turned 27 on Tuesday, hit .351/.400/.568 in June.

On the mound, Alan Horne was unimpressive in June and is back on the DL with a tired arm, but Jeff Karstens had a great month (1.88 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 22 K, 4 BB, 1 HR in 24 IP) and another strong start last night. Of course, Karstens still has that scary fly-ball rate. He should compare notes with Jeff Marquez who finally got straightened out in June, posting a 2.92 GB/FB ratio, a 1.89 ERA, and a 0.95 WHIP. Then again, Marquez walked seven in 19 innings against just three strikeouts. Dan McCutchen was inconsistent in his first full month in triple-A, but posted a 3.38 K/BB, which is a good sign that he’ll settle down. Alfredo Aceves was promoted from Trenton, but landed on the DL with a groin injury before making his triple-A debut.

Veteran reliever Scott Strickland made just 13 appearances during the first two months of the season, but made 13 more in June and allowed just one run in 17 1/3 innings with a 0.69 WHIP and 18 Ks. Scott Patterson was solid after returning from his brief stint in the majors, but is now on the DL with pneumonia. J.B. Cox spent most of June on the DL with a sore shoulder, but is back in action now. Steven White has been dreadful since moving to the bullpen and finally and deservedly lost his place on the 40-man roster when the Yankees cleared room for Christian. Billy Traber‘s recent major league stint was utterly unmotivated by his minor league performance.

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The Greatest Corn Beef on Rye NYC Movie Ever

 

I love almost everything about this movie.  It’s such a ton of fun.  One of the subway hostages in the movie was played by a woman whose daughter was my babysiter when I was mad young.  Also, years later, when I worked in the movie business, I got to know the wife of the sound guy.  She is a wonderful New Yorker, with stories for days and the accent and attitude to match.  She grew up in Little Italy, and her husband recorded wild sound for most of the movie’s audio.  In the final scene, when the subway screeches into a downtown station, the sound effects came from sliding the shower rings in their bathroom. 

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver