I gasped when Hank proclaimed that we would look back on last night's game as the day they won the division.

Just as suddenly and pointlessly as it began, the Steve Pearce era is over.

h/t: IIATMS
From Mark Feinsand: “Gardner and Aardsma both listed among today’s active players. Justin Thomas and Steve Pearce are not.” So there you have it.

Aardsma will always be first on my list of Yankees.

Baseball Prospectus now gives the Yankees a 99.8% chance of making the post-season, 85.7% for the Division title. The latter feels a bit high, but of course BP is not swayed by recent runs of success.

I wish Nate Silver would weigh in on these predictions... but I guess he's busy these days modeling another race.

[1] Oh no, he didn't (said with finger snapping included)! He's insufferable, but at least he hardly weighs in. Is there some kind of ritual or spell to put the kibosh on his hasty prediction, I wonder....

Oh, and I am happy about Gardner and Aardsma.

[7] I'm really not excited about Aardsma.

Also, I'm so turned sideways by this second wild card. We watch Anaheim to figure out the magic number for the playoffs, right?

[9] Technically that's probably right -- but I'm watching Tampa.

Sox and Rays off to a late start (there was a pathetic "Remember 2004?" pregame special with the players from that year).

1-2-3, 1-2-3, they go to the second. It's Buchholz vs Price, so I expect a small score.

By all rights, Andruw Jones and/or Freddy Garcia should have been designated. Neither has a future with the Yankees, and neither deserves to be on the postseason roster.

Pearce made two great defensive plays against Oakland and drew an occasional walk. That's at least something. What has Jones done of late, other than strike out or not run out pop-ups?

Whoops, [11] could be wrong. Buchholz walks two and then Keppinger homers and it's quickly 3-0 Rays.

[12] Maybe they aren't that interested in what players have done recently.

[12] Jones is a HR threat.
If we ever need someone to threaten someone, Jones is our guy.

Of the bottom four Red Sox batters tonight, the one with the highest batting average is Danny Valencia, who is batting .188.

Good start.

David Price balks in a run!

Good news. TB up on the Sox 3-2.

Toronto up on the Boids 2-0 after 5.

[19] Is it New England night at Bronx Banter tonight?

[11]Again? How many of those do they do per season? We get it, they broke the curse, came back from 3-0 down, yadda yadda yadda.

This dude is just flinging frisbees up there and making everyone look stupid. Except Jeter of course. Ugh.

Hm, why did Laffey leave? I'm trying to watch three games and I can't keep up!

[23] Wieters was 2-2

Truthfully, I know the Yankees aren't going to win out (probably) but they really kinda should with this schedule.

[24] Really, that's why? Huh. Laffey had thrown only 64 pitches through six innings. So there must have been some other reason, no?

Ooh, two on nobody out for the Jays in the top of 7 on a booted attempted sac bunt.

RBI single for Rasmus.

[26] So sayeth Buck Martinez.

[27] Meaning Blue Birds up 3-0 on the Orange, top of the 7th.

Edwin Encarnacion with another RBI single, 4-0; base-running blunder by the Jays though, two out.

Let's go Tonto! I know it's important for TB to win so their last series with Bal means something, but really all Baltimore has to do is lose a few, and the Yankees lose less.

A few weeks ago i accidentally downloaded "Dallas" by Alan Jackson. I quite like it.

Oh, christ, a fucking play. Great idea.

4-0 TO, BTW

[31] Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.

Arod gives me a headache.

The last replay looked like Ichiro was safe. Oh, well. Alex had trouble making any contact with 2 straight 91 mph fastballs.

[32] Alan Jackson is actually a fine songwriter. What brought that thought up?

I Like Nix. He is a solid UINF.

Can you imagine the teasing a child would receive with a first name Denard?

[32][38] Alan Jackson.."Dallas"..my spideyjazzsense is tingling, that sounds suspiciously like modern Country music..thelarmis and I are frowning. :(

Ted Williams? HoFer wins AL MVP but doesn't play in a single Whirled Serious game is the question.

Warm it up, Robbie. 2 for 2.

[4] but will he be first in heart?

are we being urp'ed?

[44] I doubt it, and sort of.

But not anymore!!!

CORNFLAKE GOES BOOM!

Whoo-hoo. Swish likes the Twinkie's Field!

[44] 3 of 5 the 2nd time through the order.

[15] btw, danny valencia is one of us.

which begs the question: what the hell is doing playing tonite?!

i guess the better question would be: why the hell am i eating food RIGHT NOW?!?! ('coz i'm hungry, but don't tell my mom!)

Brandon Lyon extinguishes Oriole threat in the seventh, 4-0 going to the eighth.

[42] Williams definitely played in the World Series

[50] No way! Wow, that's a surprise.
(I mean, not that you're eating, that's no surprise.)

[40] less teasing than if it was Asdrubul. (ass dribble)

[53] and like you: i don't care for miso soup but i love cucumbers. some of your comments the past few games had me in stitches, reading through the game threads, after the fact...

btw, did the BCC email make it to you?!

That is one hell of a play.
I bet Joe uses that play a lot in the future. We love plays!

For fuck's sake with the strike 'em out throw 'em out. Fuck!

[33] RIYank ~ Sep 25, 2012 7:58 pm

Oh, christ, a fucking play. Great idea.

[52] Thanks. He didn't win a ring so I've always assumed he didn't play in one. Knowing all the W.S. Teams is too much trivia for me. Donnie's not in the HoF.

[55] Yes -- I replied this evening, actually. (I don't check that email often.)

[41] i don't frown upon country music. i don't particularly like it or listen to it, but i've had to play in several country band situations here in Georgia and i certainly appreciate the work and the playing, in general.

that said, i just got a 2cd Hank Mobley set - live in newark 1953. early stuff for him. i'm looking forward to listening to it later!

Every once in a while we put on a hit and run that I'm sure was designed to fail.

That was one of them.

[55] Miso soup is the tits! Cucumbers are wack!

[60] oh, wonderful! and thanks.

i'm just getting home from work. starving. must get to the studio soon. haven't checked my email yet. looking forward to it!

[62] All plays suck. No hit and run. No steals (except Jeter). No sacrifice bunts. Just plain vanilla baseball.

[63] i like tom kha soup (thai spicy chicken coconut). vietnamese pho, indian soups and soup in general. just not miso so much...

RI and MR. OK were talking about this over the weekend...

[61] You know I love Hank Mobley!

[63] Cucumbers and miso paste last night when I got home..with a can of Guinness to add some iron.

[65] 'cept for double steals, of course. those are always welcome! even if there's only 1 baserunner... ; )

[66] Miso soup with a couple of clams and some enoki. Mmmmmm ... perfect way to warm up for sushi!

I like Patsy Cline. Probably a couple other country artists. But mostly, no.

Oh, fucking Ibañez. I guess Gardner won't be able to play OF, right?

chicken parmalee with yet another xbh.

That was the strongest throw I've seen Raul make all year. Probably all jacked up with adrenaline after nearly killing himself trying to pick up the ball against the wall. Oi!

faith hill is a beautiful woman. (i'm saying nothing about her music...))

[70] I like Beverly D'angelo..she played Patsy Cline in the Loretta Lynn movie..also was the mom in the Vacation films.

Think Philthy Phranchise can get out this game without giving up a homer?

[72] But it was a crappy pop fly to LF, Ibanez was out of position and then had trouble picking up the ball off the padding.

Ninth inning at Camden Yards, still 4-0.

June Carter!

[76] Heyheyheyhey. Raul almost died picking that baseball up. It was actually kinda scary.

it's official.

braves comeback walk-off win, clinches playoff berth!

Tiggers win, tying with Chicago for the AL Central.

Hmmmm ... is that Megan's Law 'stache on Hughes a new addition???

[82] yes, and yes, its no good.

Excellent play by Denard Span.

[82][83] What happened to the Stein Doctrine No Facial Hair Policy?

Don't Willie, Waylon, Johnny, Townes, and Merle count as great country musicians, singers, writers? And Patsy is HOF worthy, but what about Tammy, Emmylou, and Loretta?

Most modern country is overproduced lowest common denominator stuff not worthy of a listen, but there are exceptions.

[70] I do appreciate olde tyme country musick. It's when they blended rock and pop in that they lost their way.

Who couldn't like Johnny Cash?

[85] nothing below the lip.

[86] Yeah, some of those at least.
I'm just not a fan of the genre, I guess. I can sometimes appreciate the really great ones, even in a genre I'm not fond of. (I'd add Hank Williams to your list.)

[85] Mustaches that stop above the lower lip are allowed. Remember Mattingly?

Man, it's depressing to see Alex being overpowered by 91 mph fastballs ...

[88] That's what she said..?
[90] I cried when he shaved it.

Nardo can play some CF.

Oh, dang. Shoot.
Span is good at that.

[91] Well, at least he gave that one a ride ... Of course, it's also depressing to see how much his power has diminished from where it used to be ...

Two out in the ninth, one on, Orioles about to lose...

[89} Yeah, Hank is probably the top. To bad his son besmirches the family name.

There are probably many who should be on the list.

Janssen walks Manny Machado, two on, tying run on deck, in Baltimore.

2 runs off that guy. Bollocks!

Oh lord, Jenssen walks Jim Thome, bases loaded. Two out. Tying run comes to the plate...

tying run at plate. bases loaded...

O's lose

AND DOWN GO THE ORIOLES!

Whew. It's over. Jenssen survives.

[103] So, your prediction is that they'll win their final seven games, right? Because you said they'd win eight of their last ten.

orange loses!

Thanks Canada. Ya know, Canadians are just unpatriotic Americans.

There's a lot to like about Hughes these days.

Huuuuuuughes.

A CG would be good. Okay, how about 8 innings? That's more realistic. (He's on pace for 9, though.)

RI - Good call on Bartok. i'm definitely a fan.

thanks for listening, glad you dug it! : )

Coltrane!!!

BODIE!!!

Woo-Hoo!

Russell Martin is becoming a force to reckon with. For a minute there, it looked like his average would be higher than Granderson's at the end of the season.

[108] Every time I get excited about him I get a homeriffic Phoul Hughes game.

i'm listening to Hank Mobley, but i'm praising Coltrane!

Anyone heard the new Dylan?

[116] Amen to that!

David Price takes the hill with three outs to go for a CG.

[115] Phil Hughes≠excitement. Let's settle on competent.

[117] i'll have it next week. my pop said it's awesome and the reviews have all been fantastic. definitely looking forward to that!

[120] i was wishing i had the "not equal" sign on my little laptop earlier today!

Has anyone else noticed that with CC on the team, some of the other pitchers are getting a little chubby too? Hughes, Joba, even Nova. Andy's influence needs to slim them down.

And the Rays win.

And TB Wins.
[105] Ya just can't predict Baseball!

[121] Oh, but you have it. An ampersand, followed by the letters "ne", followed by a semicolon.

≠

[122] well, tonight/tomorrow would be a perfect time for them to fast! ; )

[125] that code does not seem to work on my dell.

≠

Oh, fercrisake.

The OTHER Hughes problem: can't put a guy away with two strikes on him.

AAAAAAGH.

I take 5!!! minutes to make dinner and THIS is what I return to???

holy fuck, it works!

HUZZAH!!!

how the hell did that happen?!

i was looking for it in an email. i don't think it works for text documents. does it?

≠

Yay!

&ne:

[132] Boooo!

≠

The zoom in/wideshot/zoom in on YES just made me dizzy

[134] Yayyy! OK, will stop flooding the game thread with juvenile non-emoticons.

≠

[132] [133] It's a semicolon, not a colon. All "entities" end with semicolons.

[130] It's yom kippur magic.

I've created a monster. An unequal one.

You know its not a terribly exciting game when this is what entertains us.

Oh, boy.

≠

≠

≠

this is fun!

≠

don't mind me...

≠

it's actually kind of a pain to type this out...

≠

ok, i think that's enough...

≠

what the fuck, one more for good luck...

≠

and that's for atoning the fact that i ate after sundown.

≠

that one is for all the food i'll be eating tomorrow...

≠

that last one is for a DOUBLE PLAY!!!

For some reason, Hughes with a Megan's Law 'stache reminds me of Matt Damon's character in True Grit.

[140] How do you keep Bronx Banter busy?

hilarious!

i had NO idea others were doing this, too.

yup, definitely an unequal monster RI created!

≠

Don't walk this guy

Wow. One more Phil.

get the #9 hitter.

Oh, Phil! I was doubting, I atone, I am sorry, I am not worthy.

Good Phil. One more.

Thelarmis, how do you like this?

א

[150] Nope ... time for Bullpen Roulette!

Easy Fast(ball), strike three.

i like aleph it a lot!

[144] ≠ talk and the game thread can coexist, there is no confluct!

Oh, perfect.

Jesus Christ.

Man, Joey Joe Joe's plans have worked wonders tonight, haven't they?

RI, what do you call this symbol, ∰?

Nice, a past ball relief pitch. It must end here.

Okay, Boone, atone by getting Span out.

span was 0-3 vs. hughes.

this better work out!

[158] Wow, I dunno. Is it a triple integral with a ring to tie it all together?

Oh fucking hell.

MATCHUPS!

[158] looks like a funky fortississimo with a ring around the fff.

158 cult of basebaal ~ Sep 25, 2012 9:26 pm

Man, Joey Joe Joe's plans have worked wonders tonight, haven't they?

fuck you boone.

FUCK YOU GI JOE!!!

: /

Damn, this was looking like a great Yankee night in every way. I'm sorry I ate that Mallowmar.

Its gonna be really fucking tough for this team to overcome Girardi.

[168] I think Girardi made the right call. Boone just couldn't execute. But he was the right guy to try to get Span.

[168] Well..that one maybe goes on Boone-y.

oh, that's good - walk the guy to pitch to mauer.

schmart!

The Yankees deserve better than Joe Girardi.

Oh, man. Almost predictable.

FUCK!

I blame Arod for all this.

fuck.

Hey Joe, you motherfucking handedness obsessed asshole, ITS NOT FUCKING WORKING.

boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I think I'll have a couple of drinks now.

Awful. Boone-y...you gone!

[175] Funny, I blame Joey Joe Joe Shabbadoo ...

Anyways.

I'm sure there's some EPL action from the weekend I could be catching up on.

Pathetic.

If Joe uses the words "they had four lefties coming up" in the post loss press conference, I want someone to throw something at him.

i'm surprised less-yes didn't hit a 3-run homer.

[180] Funny after 10,000 viewings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzbn0yR2A-w

Losing to the Twins is just...not good.

[178] have one for me!

no beer tonite or tomorrow. maybe thursday. definitely fri/sat!

At least Hughes pitched well. I know it's easy to second guess, but maybe Hughes should have been given a chance to keep his win, especially with the low pitch count. Plus he got into trouble without being hit hard. Jo-Jo had better remember and learn from this situation.

Come on bats!

What the fucking fuck?! I turn my back for two minute and the whole world goes to shit.

BTW, which is the proper order on an exclamation-question like "WTF"?

[186] Wait, you think Joe Girardi might *learn* and not just instinctively bow to the handedness gods every fucking time?

Is it !? or ?!...?

[187] The manager is a fool.

Former Cy Young closer Eric Gagne alleges in his new biography that 80 percent of his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates were using performance-enhancing drugs.
"I was intimately aware of the clubhouse in which I lived. I would say that 80 percent of the Dodgers players were consuming them," Gagne says in the book.

[188] Maybe?

[191] 80%?? Wow...seems high but..

[189] Interrobang!

there's a piece on my forthcoming record with that title!

i prefer to put the interrogation mark before the bang:

?!

do it again, swish!

fuck. piss. shit. hell.

[190] Occupation Fool.

[196] Easy Fast there cowboy.

[198] i haven't fasted since i'm a teenager : )