At least he's getting strikes today, but yeah, he is definitely pushing a bit. Which I totally understand. Especially given they go on the road after this and its against Boston (just like Maris).

I just wish the crowd wouldn't go so quiet for his at bats. It is very respectful and really understandable but I don't know if it is actually helping him. Particularly given all the stories there have been about it. Who knows, though.

I was driving home and was 3 minutes away from my house during Judge's last about. I was positive he'd hit it as a pulled into my street and I'd miss it. Lol...

at bat I meant.

That kid's going to be alright.

So why is MLBN showing a Don Mattingly special instead of the scheduled game? I’m not in the NY market.

[5] I am as confused as you are. And despite MLB's "Watch for FREE!" ad, for people in the NY and Boston markets the game is blacked out on MLB.com and MLB.TV. Not sure if they lift it for Judge at the plate, though.

A VPN, though, is a very helpful thing.

I've been wracking my brain for a bad pun for Bader and all I can come up with is a lineup that featured Ruth, Bader, Goldberg.

Another day of waiting, but also another win - I will take it!

(7) Darth Bader

The Great D-Bader - Cause he is known for his defense??

So I'm seeing rumors that the Yankees might DFA Chapman? I wouldn't be opposed to it -- how could you possibly put him into a playoff game right now? -- but it's pretty surprising how fall he's fallen.

So Mattingly will be free in the off season. I think he’d look good in pinstripes.

[12] I like the way you think, rbj! What a homecoming, he'd have total fan & media support, at least we know that.

Aw rats, merely a double, but it seems he’s not pressing.

The Pirates claimed Miguel Andujar. I hope he rakes for years in Pittsburgh.

[15] best of luck to Miggy Jr.

I turned on MLB channel on Sirius yesterday. They were commenting how they thought Judge was pressing during this sox series. I changed the channel right quick. Clowns.

Wow, Bonds and A-Rod talking with Michael Kay, wish could watch that here.

Nasty Nestor making a strong case to start Game 1.

[11] Good. I wish they would DFA Britton, too. Too big a risk for the postseason.

[19] Yeah, as he has all season.

Looks like I'm gonna miss the the next Judge AB for work. Things often happen when I look away, so you got that going for ya, which is nice.

[18] Me too. Should pop up somewhere on YouTube in a day or so.

Nerts, not even “walking the terrorist for the last time” worked.

Ya don't see that everyday. lol...
Good on Hix for scoring.

Hmm, Cortes over 100 pitches and still out there?

Aw crud, rain delay.

So of course MLBN shows the Nats - Braves game.

Helps with the triple crown race.

SkyDome! Seems very out of date as a stadium now, wonder when they’re going to build a replacement.
I’m a bit scared of the Blue Jays..Springer alone seems to always hit .650 against the Yankees

Watching on Yes in Rochester. Flpped over to MLB network during Judge's at bat. They did not show it

Hard to argue that Judge is pressing when he’s being walked constantly and sprinkling in some solid singles and doubles besides.

My brother thinks Boone and Mattingly are too similar, but if the Yanks don’t reach the World Series this year, I think Boone will have had enough chances to break through, and bringing Donnie and his experience in would be a great idea.

Another lead off walk! grrrrrr.........

I would have thought I'd be pretty disappointed at no Judge homers in six games at this point, but in fact I'm totally okay with the way things have gone.
He's inching ahead in the race for the batting title (and, of course, thereby for the triple crown). The Yankees are smashing the opposition (admittedly sweeping the Red Sox doesn't have the cache it often has).
Is the magic number now 2?? 3?

Oh, and Nestor got a CG shut-out, albeit kind of on a technicality.

Now I really want to see the bullpen shape back up.

[33] It's fine. That's how Severino keeps his pitch count down. BB, GIDP, ground out.

Can they give I. F. K. 3 errors on that play?

[34] 2. Any win against Toronto clinches it.

IKF is just..not very good.. #analysis

[37] Okay that's what I thought!

Well, that certainly could have been worse -- and I thought it was gonna be.

So rain delay, with XB on deck. Maybe the delay chills him or something.
Oh, well, the Orioles will be up when they resume, but Xander is first up in the bottom of the inning.

Argh.

Called strike three plainly below the strike zone.

This game should be about 5-0. sigh.

Interesting, the last Blue Jay batter was using the group Boston as his walk up music..is this type of ‘classical rock’ still listened to by the young ones in the US? I thought classic rock radio as we knew it growing up was pretty much dead..

[43] I'm guessing it's something his parents listened to as a kid. I flip all over Sirius radio in my car so my little one gets quite the music appreciation. We heard "Take it to the limit" by The Eagles today and she said, "I like this song." lol...

I've always wondered what it would look like if Johnny Damon played short.

(44) ‘I hate the duck in Eagles, man…’

I applaud the retro rock vibe.

I’m 44 and in the early days of Covid I got way into Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, coupled with a much deeper dive into Willie Nelson and Stevie Wonder. Go figure.

The two best shows I’ve seen lately have been Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou, and I’m going to see the latter again at a much smaller venue in a couple months.

⬆️Knuckles, I’ve never seen Bonnie Raitt live but would really love to.

Saw her with Lucinda Williams, who sadly had a stroke recently and can’t play guitar anymore but still got the pipes.
Bonnie played three different types of guitar in a 75 minute set. Pretty cool.

You do wonder how much these folks need to tour versus just can’t imagine doing anything else. All three, plus Mary Chaplin Carpenter who’s touring with Emmylou are pushing 70-75. Quite a lifestyle.

Vlad Jr. with the walkoff. Drat.
Back to Eli/Peyton and the G Men.

Shitty clutch hitting and I. K. F butchering a routine dp. Sweet loss.

Let me say this. I canNOT wait to watch the Yankees celebrate on the Jays’ field. Can. Not. Wait. I hope they bring the champagne out to the pitchers mound.

From doing a lot of reading (and even some interviews pre-Covid when foreign acts were still coming regularly to Japan) my own impression would be these musicians would still tour even if they had no financial need to. Look at Mock Jagger, what possible need has he to still play live at this point? Either it’s narcissism, or just ‘this is what I do’ but moat would not stop gigging.

Hank, I’m scared of the BLue Jays, let’s not ranger them.. :/

[53] I did think about that -- would an excessive celebration give them added motivation? I really don't care. I hate them. I say we dance on their graves.

Also, do we know if they reseed the playoffs after the wildcard round? It seems like they should, but if they don't, the Yankees will likely have to play only one of Houston/Tampa/Toronto, which would be ideal. Nothing about Cleveland or Seattle worries me.

Okay, after sleeping on it, I have more thoughts on my wishes for the Blue Jays. I could tell you that I just want this team to get to the World Series, or that I just want them to win, no matter how.

But I want everything.

I want the Yankees to beat the Jays like a drum tonight, and I want them to celebrate like they've never celebrated before. I want them to dance on the pitcher's mound. I want Harrison Bader to sneak into the Jays' dugout and steal their home run jacket and have each Yankee take a turn wearing it while taking a victory lap around the empty stadium. I just wish they had a pool beyond the outfield fence so the Yankees could go for a swim the way the Dodgers did in Arizona a few years ago.

I want the Divisional Series to be an emphatic sweep.

I want the Astros in the ALCS. That's right, I'll say it again -- I want the Astros in the ALCS.

I want the Yankees to sweep games three, four, and five in the Stadium, and I want the crowd to produce only three cheers all night long -- M!V!P! every time Judge touches the ball or steps to the plate, "Let's Go Yankees!" whenever they goddamn feel like it, and "Fuck Altuve" at all other times. I want it to be like a soccer match, with constant chanting.

I want Gerrit Cole to strike out 15 in a complete game shutout in Game 5 to clinch the series, and before the celebration begins, I want the whole team to look silently into the Houston dugout for just a beat before Judge steps forward, points at Altuve and says, "You're not stealing *this* MVP from me."

Oh, and I want the Dodgers. I want all of that smoke. I want all of their 110 wins, their cocky yet myopic fans who don't appreciate the generational greatness of Clayton Kershaw. And I want Aaron Judge to remind everyone of Reggie Jackson as he hits three home runs in Game 5 in the Bronx to clinch the Series and complete the greatest individual season of all time.

Is that enough?

[55] Hear, hear!
Maybe a 101 mph Cole fastball that slices Altuve's uni in the back to expose he's still wearing wires.

Dammit.

Don't trust the noodles arm of I. F. K.

[47] [48] I saw Willie, Emmylou and Crystal Gayle in the late '80s at Willies 4th of July party at Giant's Stadium

But I was really there for the other acts: Linda Rondstadt and The Stray Cats.

[55] I have no hate for the Jays. Sometimes I feel sorry for them.

I really want the Mets to beat the Dodgers, as I don't see the Yankees beating the Astros, but I'd love to see the Mets beat them.

Yes, I'm jaded.

I wish they would stop talking about the HR chase. (I know they won't)
Judge is doing everything right. If he never hits another he still will have a season for the ages.

So glad to have Rizzo back.

This line up is so much better with Rizzo and Gleyber performing up to expectations.

I actually forgot about DJ.

Stanton, on the other hand...

Booooo.

Ha!

What percentage of pitches that Judge thinks are balls and the umpire calls a strike are in fact in the strike zone?
I'm guessing it's very low.

Aggressive base-running.

Two walks, two runs scored. Be better to challenge Judge.

That Stanton at bat was horrifying.

Yow.
Stanton just can't see which pitches are in the strike zone.
I thought he was coming out of that.

We’ll, at leastJudge is padding his OBP lead over the rest of the field.

Hicks should have held up at first.

Only partly kidding.

Zach Pop..?
Even Judge’s parents look bored with this chase now.. :)

Yeah.

Boooooooooooooo.

Oh come on

Judge didn't score this time, but I still feel like the Jays paid for that walk too. And the game matters to them -- not like the Red Sox.

Ha! 2.0

Sorry that’s not baseball..they need to stop those calls where they come off the bag by half an inch

This is my house!

Huh, they did move Judge to RF. Why, did Michael say? I've turned the sound off.

Ah, Bader for Oswald-O. But still, why?

Improve the defense by a skoach?

Getting impatient...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Seven pitches and not one of them in the strike zone!
Oh screw you Wordpress. I'm not posting "too fast".

Grrrrrrr.
They shoulda paid.

Bring on the bullpen fun.

Uh.
How about get Taillon out of there now, before there's any damage.

Whoops. Jameson still in.

Or, wait till he gives up two hits, that might also work.

Fucking springer. I hate that asshole.

Manfred should have a word with teams to freaking pitch to Judge. This is bullshit.

Nice.
Well, not much left to watch! The game's not exactly in the bag, but close, and presumably no more Judge plate appearances.

Worthless abs from Stanton. Yikes.

Miguel Andujar hit a 3 run double to put the Pirates up 4-1 over the reds within the last hour. Missed a salami by about 2 feet.

So Chapman isn’t activated for any reason.

whoo-hoo.

I love division titles! Best reg season team should be more respected, marathon over a sprint.

Well done, Team!

Well done.

Yay! Step one.