Good stuff from Alex Rodriguez via Chad Jennings:
“I look at Cal Ripken,” Rodriguez said. “He was always my role model. He played to about 40 or 41. The one thing about third base is (you need) a strong arm and one step and dive. When you think about center field or the middle of the infield, you have to do so much more. As a shortstop, I always felt like that. As a third baseman, even if you have limited range, if you have good hands and a strong arm, I think you can play there forever.
“As long as you’re driving the ball offensively, it’s very important to be out there at third base because it allows your team, your roster and the organization to have a solid bat at DH, or have it as a rotator where you can have guys like Tex, Jeet, myself and Robbie to occupy it. You kind of strangle the team a little bit by just being an everyday DH when you can go out and play third base. You can always go out and find a guy that has a little more range at third, but if you can be a guy that can produce 30 runs, drive in 100 runs and make 10 or 12 errors, I think anybody would sign up for that.”
Here is tonight’s batting order…
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Eric Chavez 3B
Jorge Posada DH
Russell Martin C
And that’s word to Sy Ableman.
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
I've really enjoyed watching Jeter's mini-resurgence the last month or two, especially since there have been no steroid rumors following his career. Of course, that's probably because he and his fans are racist or something. (check out last Yankees thread.)
OK, I'll stop being an asshole.
Let's go Yanks!
(Maybe I can stay awake for an inning or three on European time...)
Monkeypants, the problem is that racists can't quite figure out whether they should be defending Jeter or excoriating him.
And have you looked at his August OPS? .965.
I mean, it's quite a melancholy .965, I have to say. But still.
[1] "OK, I'll stop being an asshole."
Can we hold you to that??! :) Loved Just Fair's last comment on that thread, did you see it?
I just realized there's enough espresso powder left for one batch of coffee..this is a good start to the day..
[3] Good morning to ya!
[2] I was having such a nice day. Stop making me sad.
Oh, good morning and good evening!
[3] About Curtis Granderson and the pinstripes/road greys? If so, thanks. If not, say what?
[6] Ah, my mistake, I think it was Sliced Bread at the end of that thread. Though well done about Granderson too!
Evening, Team.
Granderson with the swipe! I love power & speed guys.
[7] Gotcha. We do look alike. ; )
Zip! 1 out.
plouffe, there it went...
hi, team!
[0] Man, Sherilyn Fenn sure let herself go ...
really not a fan of the leadoff walk.
That's a beauty!
ROBBIECANODONTCHAKNOW!!!
How 'bout that Robinson Cano guy.
He does this shit every day.
[13] That's not funny! Sherilyn Fenn was the Mo of Twin Peaks, she's beyond criticism!
i'm a big fan of a harmless fly out, then quick double play.
apparently, i'm also now a rather huge fan of the Full Sail Amber Ale, from Oregon. mmm, tasty!
RUSSTACHE!
Clubs.
I really just want Phil to pitch a good game. It's still possible.
man, i wish i got YES, just to watch robbie everyday. he's *amazing*!!!
[21] awesome!
Oh, Freddy's on the DL? Good! That's the smart way to do it. So, who do they add to the roster?
Ah. Inventory. Another piece for the bullpen. A second lefty.
Oh, Mattpat is going to be ecstatic!
Scooped!
Yeah, he's looking good. Looking good.
Jesus, Kay, shut the HELL up.
Good hustle.
Oh goody, an MVP discussion amongst mental midgets ...
with all these pitches, slowey's gonna be outta this game pretty quickly.
(someone had to say it...)
Robinson Cano, ladies and gentlemen.
[27] I'm especially happy to hear we're calling up flotsam and jetsam because we don't want to subject rookies to a penant race. Does anybody remember 200 and fucking 2? Where the Angels called up Frankie Rodriguez (against the rules, but ssssh!) and he was a very big part of their World Series win?
This team seems to go out of its fucking way to not give its talented young players a chance to play and succeed.
Everyone's getting called out looking.
robbie rules!
Eventually someone besides Rob will hit the ball.
Oh, well, Russell. Sorry, Russell!
[34] let's hope it's No Place For Disgrace era Flotsam and Jetsam!!!
[you put that on a tee for me. i'm sure you'd be disappointed if i didn't comment! ; )]
Because human beings are different, Michael.
Ok, I've had enough of fucking Kay, he's in remarkably stupid form tonite, I'm switching to the Twins broadcast.
[38] Oh, well if it's tee ball, I want to play too! (I can't hit a curve. Or a fastball.)
[39] Exactly.
the royales scored a run. so, of course, the shit sox come back and immediately score more... : /
[40] Oh , you don't want to do that. They're on tv here today and the Twins guys are insufferable..10-mins "joking" about how they didn't know anything about Twitter..then the sideline reporter talking about the new Twins Fan Twitter account..endless and boring..
it's pretty fucking cool that one of russtache's 1,783 middle names, is Coltrane.
he has 1,783 more middle names than me...
[44] that's okay, i don't know anything about twitter, either!
i'm listening to the braves radio broadcast. don sutton & jim powell. generally, they're fine. but, right now, they're talking about facial hair and george clooney. ugh.
but i'm enjoying a great dinner, fantastic beer and following my yankees with you guys, so life is pretty damn good! : )
[44] Oh, I'm sure it's bad, it just can't be as bad as Kay and Flaherty, my two least favorite Yankees announcers. They're both as useless as nipples on a breastplate.
I <3 Grandy!
Wow, it really was fair! Justin, don't be pathetic.
[46] thelarmis, Twitter is EONS better than Facebook. Have made excellent jazz contacts through it and even got a couple part-time jobs after people found my site.
Umps not having a good couple of weeks it seems..
Flaherty just threw Jeter under the score truck.
[45] Dude, 1783 is the year of Kurfuerstensonaten!
You dig Beethoven, right?
curtis! my man.
[51] Hah! But that's one of the things I like about Flash. You ask him, he gives you an honest answer even if it's a little embarrassing. Cool.
c'mon tex, cash 'em both in!
Damn, nice slide, Derek!
pretty sure that's not sherilyn fenn.
as bad as Kay et al may be, I'm stuck listening to the Twins' announcers on the baseball package. They are TERRIBLE homers. Love the check ins by Ron Coomer.
[50] awesome! ha, i know *nothing* about facebook...
[49] Just Fair!
Oh, thelarmis, that Granderson double skipped up the line and Morneau thought it was a foul ball. Replay shows that it was in foul territory before 1B, then appears to have hopped back in and crossed the bag in fair territory. Gardenhire came out to argue.
Also, that tag play just now was very close, good throw and Jeter just beat the tag.
[52] the Three Sonatas. but, of course, my friend! : )
I like Flash, a lot.
Hey, it was! [59] Congratulations, man.
That reminds me, whatever happened to our old friend standuptriple, I wonder. Brett's hit a couple and I remembered him.
[59] thelarmis!
[60] thanking you, RI!
[63] yeah, he was cool. iirc, he was a catcher and lived out west. i think he may have even knew CC...
there are quite a lot of folks that didn't make the move over here to sny. then, it seems as though we lost quite a bit when the format changed to the current fancy state...
[65] This is fancy?
[65] Yep.
We do have some cool new people.
And of course, us Hard Core Corps.
And cult, you are missing a Scott Brosius interview.
[58] thelarmis, Facebook is mostly total crap. Leave it for the young'uns. You can use Twitter to advertise your gigs, send live updates about musical goings-on around town, etc. It's also a great way to see what amounts to a "news feed" about whatever topics you want to list. I have a "jazz" list, a baseball list, etc. Choose who you want to follow and ignore the idiots. Check it out!
[67] Not now, I just switched back!
jesus, shit sox with a comfortable lead now. shocking...
[69] Good, because it's pretty cool to see him. Brings me back!
Hmmm, "Donnie" Chavez seems out of his element recently ...
Brandi from Bismarck, North Dakota being interviewed on the Twins broadcast now..riveting..
JoPo!
chipper just went yard, oppo field. he homered last nite, too. he's quickly approaching 450 homers. today, he declared that he's *definitely* coming back next year. good!
Oh my god.
Russell with the Muscle!
Even without the hair, he's still RUSSTACHE to me!!!
[73] They should interview BatGirl. Now that I would watch.
[78] thelarmis would have dug Brandi from Bismarck!
Coltrane in the house tonight!!
Mussell!!!
[77] i love it!
[79] mmm, brandi...
[80] Do you like mussels? I'll be surprised if you say "yes". No, 'surprised' is not the word I want there. I think it over.
Hughes is #1.
(take a look at his box score line)
[82] no, i definitely do NOT! but, going back to your taster's cherce post today - i love cucumbers! just had one at dinner. i also dig eggplant. pickles, too. so, that covers your earlier thread.
[83] Very cool. My wife is a programmer, she would enjoy that line.
[84] Okay, I can believe that, about the eggplants, and I would have predicted the cukes and pickles. So my Weltanschauung is intact. (This is long German word night. Weepingforb had better appreciate it.)
[85] It did grab my attention. As did good old Scott Brosius.
[85] No wonder why you dug backpfeifengesicht!
Can those more informed than I offer some enlightnement..is Joe Mauer really that good? He has ONE hr this year..ONE career hr at Target Field..I know about the injuries but his contract must be a huge albatross already for the Twins..?
Finally. He's been pitching well, but I needed that K.
[86] Good, then it's all worth while. You did see 'Kurfuerstensonaten' too, right?
doesn't any one around here speak Swedish?!
[90] Negative.
[87] Yes, precisely. Preciselich.
Wow ... I thought that was a sure hit ... they had him played *perfectly*.
Nice.
[89] to throw off your wife's programming?
Yeah, he's cruising. A little lucky, but confident and cruising.
damn. hughes is working fast!
Well, he hasn't exactly been overpowering, but Hughesy is mowing them down tonite ...
[95] Ohhhh. Don't tell her, please.
Oh Michael Kay ... sigh ... soooooo many words, sooooo little thought.
Nick and Rob each cracked it, but no hit.
Get him out now, before things get out of hand.
[88] How valuable has Posada been? Mauer is a notch above on O and 5 notches above on D. Right now, I guess he has the best career numbers for a C.
[103] Oops... Piazza has much better offensive numbers.
[104] and don't forget barry foote! ; )
[102] I hope you are happy to be wrong about that!
good job, young philip. can't say i'm pleased he had more walks than k's, but...he done good!
[106] Extremely.
[103] Ever?
good ab, jorge!
Wheeeeeeeeeew.
Thelarmis, Russell just foul of a homer there.
[111] ooh, that woulda been cool. thanks for the heads up. i was sitting here thinking that russtache could only hit slowey...
huh. i thought hughes would be done for the night.
behold the binder!
I just realized, the Twins have an extremely unusual BABIP tonight. It's 0. With 18 balls hit onto the playing field!
[109] I believe he has the best OPS+ (ever) aside from Piazza with a career CS% of 35%. My guess is the top 5 would be Yogi, Bench, Pudge, Dickey and Campy... so you can compare Mauer's numbers to those guys.
It would be a good discussion, and since Piazza's batting is so much btter then anyone else's, I'd like to see how to qualify how important D is for a Catcher.
Mauer's breaking down and his days behind the plate may be limited, but right now, he's certainly one of the best ever.
19.
Damn, I jinxed it.
[115] Mickey Cochrane. 128 OPS+ lifetime.
hughes got the best of hughes.
[115] Well, yeah, but his peak is ... well, really pointy (assuming that we've the heights of it).
Nice catch, Brett!
Does the Binder tell the OFers where to play?
Well done Hughesy!
[122] I think that's a different notebook ...
[124] I like to think it's all on Joe's iPad.
phil's era down to 5.75
[118] Mauer, career OPS+ of 133. Piazza 142. Yogi 125, Bench 126, Dickey 127, Campy 123.
Booooooooooooone!
Huuuuuuuuuuughes!
[127] Yes. I was just pointing out that you'd left Cochrane off your list of the top hitting catchers.
[127] They've all got a LOT more games behind the plate than he does, though, including their decline phases. That matters and has to be accounted for.
Ooooooh, my least favorite Yankee pitcher is warming!
[130] YEP, games played counts! It's included when calculating WAR, isn't it?
Ooooh. That's a pre-ASB at-bat from the Cap'n!
[133] Call it a slap-n-dribble!
[132] Of course! WAR is a counting stat.
But I think OYF's point is to show how valuable Mauer is when playing. The answer is, incredibly valuable, among the most valuable players of all time. (Not this year, obviously.)
I'm kind of glad that Swarzak doesn't pitch for us.
Bop.
Best TESH ever!
Oh, Rob.
Nice to give all our real relief pitchers the night off.
"Joe Girardi, your team has been hitting so well, what's going to happen when A-Rod comes back?"
"We'll be better. We'll be deeper. We'll be longer."
At that point, Mrs. Girardi fainted.
Yawn..hey, did you guys know Sidney Ponson's career earnings in MLB is more than $23 million? After taxes, agents, bar bills..he should still have a good 7 or 8 million left..
[142] Well, yeah, but, the chicken fingers...
It's a shame the Twins don't still have Boof Bonser. Boof and Pouffe.
[144] Bonser and Pouffle, the law firm I'd be least likely to hire ...
Nicely played game by our guys. No complaints.
Jack Curry??? I feel cheated. No Kim!
So now I do have a complaint.
Nice catch by Curtis on that drive by Mauer. From what I see, his fielding is better than fine.
Easy win, the Twins are the Washington Generals for the Yankees.
[148] and a quite valid one, at that!