I raise a glass of, uhh, coffee in hopes that our boy Mitre can go 7 innings. [clink]

Just wanted to point out that my twitter updates are now on the sidebar beneath the Recent Posts section.

This way the twitterphobic (which described me just a few days ago) can follow along without leaving Banter. Only my most recent "tweet" will be on the sidebar, however. Click "follow CliffCorcoran" to see older tweets.

[1] Man, that coffee doesn't come from Columbia... >;)

[3] or Colombia for that matter... damn my political insight!

back once more with the wallop in the score

[3] good twist on eric b for president last night chyll

[2] cool cliff, thanks

i really hope david wright is okay after being hit in the helmet - and that the mets do the right thing concerning him

this seems like the beginning of papi's farewell

Alex, I haven't played any hip hop for Amelia yet, but we were dancing to the De La you posted and she had a huge smile. She loved it.

[5] Eric B & Rakim is always a good place to start, thanks!

[6] Kid has good sense >;)

Cliff, that is so awesome! I'm going to start a new feature of tunes for Amelia. Say werd.

[0] The Woody Woodpecker riff is priceless. Love it.

[5] Holy shite.. Ortiz sounds like he's starting to lose it. On the record and reminiscing about the days when the reporters said he was an easy superstar to deal with... kinda pathetic.

Not for the squeamish, but here's the Wright HBP (reminiscent of Goose nailing Roy Cey many moons ago)

http://tinyurl.com/lbuv24

[6]

We need an updated pic of her, preferably in a Yankee outfit.

(Will, a Maddie pic for the Banterites?)

[10] He makes Alex seem positively Jeterian by comparison...

[13] Poor Papi..I actually feel bad for the guy, not his fault Boston made him a cartoon superhero..

Tech Question: Since I updated the new Firefox, have been unable to log into the Banter there..it always says "Username Invalid"..going through Safari now which I don't like using..anyone know how to fix that problem in Firefox?? Techinical idiot here so any advice appreciated...

[14]

Which specific Firefox version ...
Have you cleaned out the internet cache and cookies lately?

[6] Do it quick, Cliff. I had Mr. OK Jazz Jr grooving to Grant Green and Franco & TP OK Jazz (from the Congo) but once Barney came into his life..hard to keep a joint very jazzy when you're doing the "Baby Bop Hop" on "Barney: Let's All Go To School!"

[16]

'Baby Bop *Hip* Hop' might pass the test nowadays

[15] Will try that now..new version of Firefox, no idea the number/name, never pay attention to those things..(part of the problem, obviously)

[17] I think a part of my soul died when I heard Barney "rap" two verses of the Macaroni & Cheese song..

I did stay up and watch the games the last two nights. Dunno if I'll make it through tonight's. You know you're getting old(ish) when you want to go to bed early on Saturday night.

[19]

I took a 2-hour nap this afternoon .... on a beautiful Summer day.

[20] I took like a five hour nap

[19] [20] I guess I'm one up on you guys. I'm working nights this weekend--so the left coast trip suits me just fine. :)

The pregame is talking about how our pitchers have consecutive 10 strikeout performances for the first time since whenever. I don't expect that to continue tonight

[6] Cliff, it always kills me to think about the songs my wife and I will be singing/dancing to in front of our (non-existent as of yet) kids as compared to what I saw my folks get down to. Times...........

[24] I'm more concerned about the fact that seemingly every movie or TV show we watch has ample cursing (even if bleeped as on some of the talk shows) and frequent drug and sex references etc.

[26] No doubt. Saw A Miley Cyrus video clip the other day where she was pole dancing at the Teen Choice Awards. My grandpa used to say "we're going to hell in an handbasket" and that was 30 years ago.. It's madness. : / Ugh. What can you do?
Whoops, Ignore that soapbox rant.

[25] Not on Noggin, son.

Give it a year... you'll be watching Yankees games on the 13" TV in the bedroom. haha My kids play wii more than watch TV, actually. But they're into the Yanks, so it's all good. :)

[you know} D'oh!

[26] They showed a clip of that last night on the Soup. With daddy standing and halfheartedly clapping. Gotta be a not good feeling to see your 16 year old daughter dancing around a stripper pole.

David Wright has a concussion. With the Mets organization, that can be really bad for Wright

[30]

Ryan Church nods knowingly ...

(starts to put together an all "salad dressing" team .... Lucas French, Vida Blue .... ummm)

[29] That's where I saw it. Who knew the Teen Choice Awards still exixted? : D

[29] At least she knows where she's going...

[32] Don't forget Frederick Romaine Applegate...

: )

[32] Jeff Newman

It's 10:23. Do you know where your Orgies is?

Pardon?

Oh Christ

If Melky had been charging from the get go that would not have happened. : (

[26] Umm...what? Not sure I could handle having a daughter!

[32] Be careful not to approach Chris Berman territory here... :)

[40]

So Dave "Thousand" Eiland wouldn't cut it, eh? :-)

That had 3 run job all over it. Pfewwwwww.

paging Kei Igawa....Kei Igawa and his sunglasses please report to New York

By the way, if Boston's going to lose anyway, this might be a fine game for Mitre not to get out of the first and finally for the Yankees to DFA him...

[41] Does Dennis Olive "Oil, Can" Boyd count?

[42]

Obama should put a call into Mitre, as Sergio seems to be able to create many (3-run) jobs in this economy (ba-dum-bum).

[43] No.

The Rogers Sports Net Pacific coverage of the YAnks-M's game only began at 10:30 (!), so I missed the first inning. What happened to Sergio "Unlucky" Mitre such that he score is 1-0?

[47] Ichiro reached second on a ground ball to Cano

[44] Cesar Geronimo?

For those who like to skydive while eating their salad?

: )

[43] With his cap down Mitre kind of looks like Igawa...

Got this on while tv is muted, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xir-5oAWxXE

Perlman = stunning artist and craftsman

Mitre = not so stunning..

Interesting:

Ken Griffey, Sr. OPS+ at 39 years of age = 116
Ken Griffey, Jr. OPS+ at 39 years of age (so far) = 97

The senior's finally better than the junior at something....

Good play by Langerhans.

I wonder if we'll see Hairston pitch by season's end?

Holy Cow!

Not a good play by Gutierez.

Bunt, please.

[53] maybe by GAME'S end!

[52]

I wonder if Langerhans ever got picked on by Mensans who knew his name referred to regions of the pancreas that contain endocrine cells.

No, check that, swing away Jose!!

Hooray for the 3rd base coach. Good read.

Damn, I thought Jeter gapped that one at first. Anyway, a productive out, unselfish sac fly, playing the game the right way, etc.

[32] Coco "Bacon" Crisp

Woohoo Spanky McSkittles, the "Road Warrior!"

Let's see if Unlucky can manage to keep this lead.

how will Mitre blow this lead?

So far....so good.

[64] glass half full

[65] glass half empty

Suzyn just said Wright is off to the hospital for "special surgery". WTF does that mean?

[68]

No .... its the "Hospital for Special Surgery"
http://www.hss.edu/

from ESPN:
"Wright was examined in the clubhouse before being taken by ambulance to the Hospital for Special Surgery. Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said Wright had a CT scan, which was negative."

You can't stop Jerry Hairston, you can only hope to contain him.

I still don't think we've seen the best of Cano. And that's why I find him so exciting. And frustrating.

[72] He's...the most interesting man in the world.

oh oh... someone is turning into a Melkdud.
.760 OPS and falling rapidly.

[69] no offense to D Wright (I hope he's alright), but that's funny as hell. She can't say that on the got damn radio! I'm over here thinking "huh? for a concussion??"

[74] Melky seems (anecdotally of course) to do well when they light a fire under his ass (e.g. give the starting job to Gardner). The two seem to make a decent platoon.

[73] Hahahahah! Who IS that guy in the Dos XX commercial anyway?

[77] Some bit actor from the 80s. He;s been getting a lot of press (interview in Macleans, for example) lately since the ad campaign has taken off.

Damn

So, all of the runs in the game are unearned? You just can't predict...

[73] Cano speaks Spanish in Latin. : )
Nice to see Ichiro hustling against non-Japanese players.

[76] that seems a bit like an intangible to me....

Just a GREAT play by Ichiro.

[81] He speaks French in Russian. That kills me every time.

[82] Admittedly yes. Though it would be interesting to look at his offensive numbers when platooning (or soon after) v. when he is securely starting.

Meanwhile, shhhh...Texas is pounding Boston in the 8th.

[80] only the runs scored by Suzuki and Melky are unearned.

[85] I actually think you're correct about Melky; I do think that there are some things that are unmeasurable about the game. I adore the stats but I became a fan of baseball because of my own perceptions of hustle, clutch and a little grit....

[84] Cano once had a terrible year just to see how it feels. : D

[87] Then the MLB.com Gameday live box score is wrong.

If you're going to particpate in the Orgies, you must pass in your keys.

[86] shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......lol.......I would love Texas to beat them tonight AND tomorrow and then have them fall apart in Toronto -- at least they'll face Halladay.

Who is this guy pitching for the Yankees tonight?

[87] I think I'm wrong there. I guess since Guiterrez' dropped ball allowed the inning to continue, and the runs weren't scored until after the 2nd-would-be-3rd out, then they're all unearned. Is that right?

Goddamn. Learn something new everyday.

[89] Awesome. ; )

Why did the Yanks change their plan and start Joba tomorrow?

[93] Ed Whitson

[94] That's why unearned runs are sometimes misleading. It seems to me that the HR should be an earned run regardless of the previous error, but that's just me. Anyway, baseball is a mysterious sport at times!

That was scary

[96] The speculation was that they were worried about throwing Mitre and Gaudin back-to-back (read: Mitre sucks and burns up the bullpen). But Mitre is making them look too clever by a half.

Hey! Mitre didn't airmail that throw to CF!!

IF Mitre fucked up that play again I very well would have lost my mind.

[98] And I'm guessing that your choice of words in [80] were in mockery of Sterling? Cause he does say that like 4-6 times a week.

The Baltimore Chop is one of the weirder basehits.

Texas 7 Boston 2, FINAL

[102] No mockery intended, but if Sterling says that, I take it back.

Boston is DONE!

I leave the room for five minutes and Mitre gets unlucky again.

[103] Why is it called a Baltimore Chop?

[106] I won't be sure of that for about a month....

[108] Didn't Singleton or someone recently say that it goes back to the olden days, when a team from Baltimore (maybe the pre-Yankees) were proficient at chopping the ball into the ground on purpose, to beat out IF base hits?

I feel a little bad for Torre:
Dodgers winning 3-1 in bottom of 9th, then

Jonathan Broxton pitching:
Gerardo Parra: Strike swinging, Ball, Strike looking, Ball, Ball, Parra struck out swinging.
Mark Reynolds: Reynolds homered to center.
Miguel Montero: Strike looking, Ball, Montero homered to right.
Chad A. Tracy: Strike looking, Strike looking, Foul, Ball, Tracy struck out swinging.
Alex Romero: Foul, Foul, Romero grounded out to shortstop.

Cashman saved this team by convincing H&H to get Tex.

[108] Read the first paragraph after the TOC

IIIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFFFFFF the wild card came out of the west. WOW.

[108] Wikipedia is your friend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Chop

[113] of course, I forgot the link. Duh.

[112] If only he wasn't infatuated with terrible pitchers.

[115][116] Arigatou! I should have known that..so did the mid-80s Cardinals then perfect a modern version of the Baltimore Chop?

[108] Actually, Baltimore had some speedy guys. The grounds crew made the ground/grass in front of Home Plate really hard, to encourage high bouncing balls. It's mostly balls that bounce high off the plate, but it can be off the grass too.

I'm not sure a player can be proficient hitting ball off of Home Plate!

[115] Wee Willie Keeler got a double on a Baltimore Chop! Holy Cow...I guess Robby and Melky were in the field for that one.

[111] I don't think I'll ever feel bad for Torre, at least not wen it comes to the game on the field.

mental note: keeping score while at work is hard to do.

[103]
http://tinyurl.com/o99fqg

Mauer now at .378. The dude, a Catcher, is UNREAL!

Good news: Mitre has managed (so far) to pitch well against the awful M's.

Bad news: this all but guarantees that he stays in the rotation.

Good news: hopefully this won't matter much in the end, if Boston keeps fading away.

[123] "see also...Butcherboy stroke." I haven't heard that in years..nice!

Dodgers SP Kuroda hit in head by line drive, taken to hospital, apparently OK
http://tinyurl.com/osso2p

[124] .378!! What a hitter..does Theo offer him 200million?

[126]

I'm in the midst of writing up my SABR Convention trip for the Banter, and one of the highlights was a talk given by Paul Dickson. He's quite the character.

Mark Feinsand just said "blogosphere" in the radio. And Sterling (bless his lil heart) has to keep up with the plays, cause it's radio, and that's funny cause he sounds like a dude who's ignoring his guest. Especially since Suzyn just chats away with Mark and Sterling keeps interrupting with the action. haha

[125] Vote Yes on Orgies. I know he's basically sucked, but most of the awful #5's we've seen in the past years seem several levels of suck below him. If that makes sense. (ducking from stats) : D

You can't stop Joe Molina...

Sterling said Girardi told him he'd like to stay away from Bruney and Hughes tonight. Bruney I get. But what's the deal with Hughes? he pitched 2 games in the last 6 days. 2.1 innings total. Why would he say that?

[133] It's the anti-stretch-out plan.

Mitre has pitched 28 innings allowing 43 hits (more than 13.50 per 9IP) while walking only 7 (2.25 per 9) .... here's the list of pitchers who have pitched the most innings in a season while having those rates (since 1961)

http://www.bb-ref.com/play-index/shareit/5FEn

1st base coach Mick Kelleher played 11 seasons, 622 games, and 1,202 plate appearance and had nary a career homerun.

[135] How many of those guys couldn't stay healthy or were coming off TJ surgery? Just sayin'.

Ahhh, here comes the Unlucky.

2nd bullshit hit from RoJo

[139] I'd be more upset, except for the various frozen ropes the M's hit right at defenders. It was just a matter of time.

I like Robertson..a lot. But given his walk rate, he's not my first choice with bases loaded.

[141] Yep.

Except for the first part.

[141] Man, but his confidence would go through the roof if he succeeds.

Christ, the Rangers stole eight bases tonight.

I'm sure its not Varitek's fault though.

If we're going to lose anyway, I wish Sergio would have blown up on the mound and given up 10 runs....

[142] You're a tougher critic. He's got a 137 ERA+ and a 12+ K/9 INN rate (and only 6.8 H/9 INN). There's a lot to like there. But he's not my first choice with the bases juiced.

Here's to you Mr. Robertson! Too bad you did it against such a shitty team. : D

Woohoo Robertson!

[146] I have little patience for men that walk five batters per nine innings.

But, he did his job tonight

Tough, tough call there...but the replay shows that he pitch crossed at the knees.

SUSPENSE!
yes!

Great Punch-Out, too! : ) The right jab.

wow...with Ichiro on deck....

That was ball four.

I'll take it

[149] Normally I agree with you on that point, but it all depends how such a pitcher is deployed. to start an inning, his high K-low H rate will generally offset his high BB rate. After all, 5 BB/9 INN is less than a BB per inning. But he is exactly not the sort of pitcher that I would use with the men all over the bases.

2 pitchers combined to strike out the side there. (with 2 hits and a bb in between) whew..

[154] It was a strike, no doubt, according to the rule book. The side replay shows the ball crossing his body at the knees, and he was standing back in the box (i.e, the ball was higher when it crossed the plate).

BTW, The eight stolen bases in Texas match the ML high this year, on May 3, when it also wasn't Jason Varitek's fault that the Rays ran wild on him.

[144]

6 of the 8 were with Penny pitching (in only 5.2 IP!)

[154] Gameday shows it as strike as well, for whatever that's worth.

night everyone...hopefully we can keep this lead and not have to pitch Mo tonight.

[158] I truly cry a river for him and BIg Mami! lol.

[158]

Guess who was pitching that night? Penny

Tek's CS rate was in low-mid 20s most recent years .... this year (prior to tonight) ... 15%
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/varitja01.shtml#standard_fielding

Nice play again by Langerhans.

[163] I just love listening to NESN as the announcers continue to make excuses for Captain Facemask, who does nothing well anymore.

Posada is not fast.

[167] He's also not average, below average, or even slow

Brad Penny's career CS/SB #s ....
(Varitek guilty?)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pennybr01-pitch.shtml#pitching_batting

thelarmis should be getting in soon. Send a memo to the dugout--hold the score here.

Hey... Robertson got 3 outs in this game. All Ks!

[169] Ah, the Greg Maddux school of holding runners close?

For some reason, I don't feel confident in this match up.

Phil Coke ... Like Chop

[170] i thought you would say, hold that camera shot of the women behind home plate, sure to be a thelarmis beauty o' the game..

[173] Hah!

[175] naaa.. I'm at work listening on the radio and keeping score.

BTW, the last 6 outs made by Mariners were Ks, one looking.

Girardi's an effin' genius. : O

Wow .... an early Xmas gift from Ichiro.

Why would Ichiro try to take third there? that wasn't even close.

You try THAT ..... against Molina???? With a lefty up????

[180] maybe he misread the sign and thought hit n run.

I would leave Coke for the eighth, at least to start the inning.

[182] course, that doesn't make much sense cause he can score from 2nd on almost anything through the IF

[180, et al.] M's announcers are certainly baffled.

Can Mauer hit .400?
http://baseballmusings.com/?p=39201

Is Phil Hughes unavailable for the save in the 9th, given Mo's soreness?

So......the M's are 2 back of the Rays in the WC race. FWIW. Not much.

[186] A hitting catcher is already a rarity. But, given that Mauer can hit, I wonder if his odds aren't a little better than for other position players, because he will have a few more off days (as a catcher). That is, rate stats are easier to maintain in smaller numbers of PAs, while counting stats benefit from high numbers of PAs.

[187] He's unavailable in the 9th to spite Mo's soreness. : (

[187] He threw 28 pitches last night, and Girardi apparently wants to avoid using him. Plus, it could be a SAVE SITUATION, so you habe to, by rule, use your closer...right?

[187] I heard Sterling say earlier that Girardi said he wants Hughes to stay on the bench tonight, which I think is retarded.

Woohoo Derek!

YESSSSSS. The Captain!!! : )

He could reach 20 homers .... wow

Fifteen HR for Jeter.

You know, if not for Teixieira, Jeter really is putting up an MVPish year.

I don't know what the win% is for a two three run lead in the ninth, against a team that "hits" like the M's, but I would be pretty willing to let Coke try to finish the game.

[196] Teix is getting the attention, but Jeter has been as or more valuable (according to WAR).

The closer comes in just to work and blows the hold. nice.

[198] And per VORP