tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56616052011-04-21T17:54:07.670-04:00Debunking da Bombers since 2003Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comBlogger4041100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1110455795627373292005-03-10T06:38:00.000-05:002005-03-10T06:56:35.630-05:00

A week or so ago I let you all know that I was going to be joining Alex Belth as the co-author of Bronx Banter. In the meantime, I've not had a lot to say in this space, partially because I was saving some ideas for the relaunch of Bronx Banter. Well, I'm very pleased to report that the new Bronx Banter (same as the old Bronx Banter, but Cliffier), is now live at an exciting new site called

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1109874625851805412005-03-03T13:23:00.000-05:002005-03-03T15:43:31.740-05:00

God Bless MLBTV. Top 1:Tanyon Sturtze, starting for Randy Johnson and his ouchy calf, takes the mound against this Pirate line-up:RF - Marcus LawtonSS - Freddy SanchezLF - Jason Bay1B - Daryle WardDH - Craig WilsonCF - Tike Redman3B - Ty Wigginton2B - Luis CastilloC - Benito SantiagoSturtze's first pitch is a fastball strike down the middle. He then retires Lawton on a nice play by Tony Womack,

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1109808709752574272005-03-02T18:55:00.000-05:002005-03-03T01:16:10.550-05:00

The Yankees kick off their spring training schedule today with the usual list of aches and pains. Jorge Posada has a stiff neck. Gary Sheffield is still nursing his surgically repaired shoulder (and poor grasp of contractual obligation). NRI backstop Joe DePastino has a sore back. And, in case you hadn't heard, Randy Johnson has a ouchy calf, the result of running without proper stretching

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1109102241016220892005-03-02T02:09:00.000-05:002005-03-03T13:31:33.486-05:00

Scroll down for recent posts.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1108971126028680832005-03-02T02:08:00.000-05:002005-03-03T13:32:00.086-05:00

My dear readers, I have some big news. Alex Belth has asked me to join forces with him over at Bronx Banter and I have agreed to do so. This does not necessarily mean the end of the BRB, but it does mean that the majority of my posts, and nearly all of my larger pieces of analysis, will be found on Bronx Banter starting now.I want to thank all of you for making this site a success over the past

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1109108596820167942005-02-22T16:17:00.000-05:002005-02-22T16:43:16.820-05:00

According to this report on the YES site, Jason Giambi walked the walk in his first batting practice session of the spring today, and the Tampa crowd supported him. Here's hoping this establishes a trend for 2005.In other news, Bernie Williams has a stomach virus (better that than appendicitis), Gary Sheffield will need to be carefully monitored so as not to do too much to soon with his

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1108708746984972302005-02-18T00:48:00.000-05:002005-02-18T02:39:10.740-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since I started going through the Yankees non-roster invitees to spring training. I really do apologize for the lack of posts thus far in 2005. This is just my ninth post this year. That's one every 5 1/2 days, and that just won't do. Thankfully, spring training is under way and there should be plenty of reasons for me to write in the very near

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1108108037131768432005-02-11T02:11:00.000-05:002005-02-11T03:59:27.180-05:00

Jason Giambi finally met with the media today, almost two and a half months after the San Francisco Chronicle published the leaked BALCO grand jury testimony in which he confessed to using steroids during the 2001-2003 seasons. For those with the technology to do so, you can find the video of the press conference here.As expected, Giambi made a general apology to the media, fans, his team and his

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1107930434900997072005-02-09T01:06:00.000-05:002005-02-09T03:07:12.340-05:00

Wasn't I supposed to be breaking down the Yankee NRIs some time last week? Sorry about that. My plan was to move from the outfield to the infield, but as the Yankees signed veteran LOOGY Buddy Groom to a minor league deal with a non-roster invitation to spring training on Monday, let's skip over to the pitchers. To begin with, the Yankees are up to their necks in live bodies in the pitching

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1106982705647459502005-01-29T01:47:00.000-05:002005-01-29T04:07:10.726-05:00

When the Yankees traded Kenny Lofton and cash for Felix Rodriguez back in early December I wrote the following:The Yankees made two solid trades on Saturday. In the first they traded persona-non-grata and Carlos Beltran place-holder Kenny Lofton to the Phillies for Felix Rodriguez, a solid, 32-year-old righty set-up man with 19 career postseason games under his belt and a career 122 ERA+. I

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1106703728713854032005-01-25T20:12:00.000-05:002005-01-26T03:30:42.236-05:00

Anchored by Gary Sheffield (.318 EQA), Hideki Matsui (.317), Alex Rodriguez (.312), and Jorge Posada (.310), the Yankees lead the major leagues in EQA in 2004. This despite Derek Jeter's awful start, the continued decline of Bernie Williams (his .281 EQA in '04 was his lowest since 1993), and league average production from first base, second base and designated hitter. Jeter, of course,

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1106671689493556642005-01-25T11:11:00.000-05:002005-01-25T12:40:34.213-05:00

Monday morning at 2 am, Larry Mahnken's apartment building burned down, taking all of his possessions with it. Larry did not have insurance and is now staying at his sister's while trying to put the pieces together. Please help him buy clothes, a computer and save money to find a new home by making a donation to his PayPal account. Even small amounts will help. Larry has donated a great deal

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1106547211003391732005-01-24T01:03:00.000-05:002005-01-24T01:38:16.630-05:00

Sorry for the silence, folks. Sadly, it's going to continue a tad longer. This is just to let you know that I'm fine and that this blog has not become dormant. Thing is, I'm up to my neck in work (been putting in nights and weekends at home of late). That this has coincided with the incative period of the offseason (the Yankees have made all of their major moves and the pitchers and catchers

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1105499733008685882005-01-11T19:29:00.000-05:002005-01-12T10:08:15.113-05:00

Randy Johnson's introductory press conference yesterday afternoon was a hoot (particularly in comparison to Carl Pavano's bore-a-thon). The sight of the 6'10" pitcher standing next to mighty mite Brian Cashman looked like a special effects shot from Lord of the Rings or Big Fish. Also, I'm continually fascinated by Johnson's resemblence to the late Frank Zappa. Johnson is also an

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1105414653932468212005-01-10T22:05:00.000-05:002005-01-11T02:21:53.156-05:00

Three and a half weeks ago I was watching ESPN Classic's "Cheap Seats" (a show that's quickly growing on me) and looking forward to a rare good night's sleep amid the holiday rush when the ticker at the bottom of the screen reported a three-team trade between the Yankees, Dodgers and Diamondbacks. The Yankees were to send Javier Vazquez and the two top prospects in their organization--catcher

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1104479136342121052004-12-31T02:04:00.000-05:002004-12-31T03:54:56.310-05:00

And I have awful timing. Just as things are beginning to actually happen between the Diamondbacks and the Yankees, I'm going to be off-line for a week. Normally, I'd give you a full breakdown of the still unconfirmed trade, but we've been down this road before and I'm a bit gunshy. There's still an unpublished post lurking in the bowels of this site breaking down the three-team deal with the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1104386619019425912004-12-30T01:20:00.000-05:002004-12-30T02:41:12.536-05:00

Yesterday, on Jaret Wright's 29th birthday, the Yankees finally officially announced the righthander's three-year, $21 million deal with the club. In doing so, they clarified the clauses concerning Wright's potential DL stays. If Wright spends a total of 75 days or more on the DL due to shoulder problems in 2005 and 2006 combined, the Yankees can buy out his 2007 season for $4 million. If

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1104175912522151352004-12-27T14:20:00.000-05:002004-12-29T14:31:22.543-05:00

Eddie Layton, Yankee Stadium organist from 1967 until 2003, died on Sunday following a brief illness. He was believed to have been in his late 70s. Layton was employed by CBS as an organist for radio soap operas when the network bought the Yankees in 1965. Two years later, they made him the first organist in Yankee Stadium history. Over his 37 seasons "tinkling the ivories," Layton's organ

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1103666628573603602004-12-21T13:28:00.000-05:002004-12-22T04:01:29.260-05:00

While we've all been waiting for something final (be it yay or nay) on the A-Rod/Man . . . I mean Johnson/Vazquez trade, a couple of important deadlines have come and gone. The first was Sunday's deadline for players offered arbitration from their 2004 teams to accept or decline the offer. Only three players in all of baseball accepted their team's offer (Roger Clemens - Astros, Placido

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1103339712455077222004-12-17T21:31:00.000-05:002004-12-18T02:53:47.156-05:00

Could it be that the Yankees' unconfirmed three-way deal was passed off as reality Thursday night to steal the back pages of the local tabloids from the Mets on the day they introduced Pedro Martinez? Naaahhhhhhhhh. [nods enthusiastically] If so [there's really no if about it is there?], consider the delayed confirmation of the Wright and Pavano contracts to be the second charge against the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1103268821539607552004-12-17T02:15:00.000-05:002004-12-17T02:33:41.540-05:00

There's a rumor going 'round that the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Dodgers have agreed on the following three-team trade: Yankees get: Randy Johnson D-backs get: Shawn Green, Brad Penny, Yhency Brazoban Dodgers get: Javier Vazquez, Dioner Navarro, Eric Duncan However, there are also rumors going around that the trade is not going to happen because of one or more of the following: 1) Johnson got

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1102922214984597972004-12-13T01:08:00.000-05:002004-12-13T02:16:54.983-05:00

The big Yankee news out of this weekend's Winter Meetings in Anaheim was that Carl Pavano has decided that, after completing his Magical Mystery Tour of what seemed like every major league club and part of the Federal League, he wants to become a Yankee. This doesn't mean he is a Yankee, of course. There's still that pesky contract thing to work out. The figures being floated around are

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1102570004787292832004-12-08T23:54:00.000-05:002004-12-09T03:38:12.720-05:00

In the comments to my previous post, James asked me if Jaret Wright at $5 million per year for three years was a justifiable risk. Here's my answer again for those who missed it:$5 million per, sure. 3 years? Dunno. The upside to that is that Wright is just shy of 29, the downside is that if he lets that lightning out of the bottle, he'll be a real drag. Honestly, I don't think there is a

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1102409210804267982004-12-07T03:46:00.000-05:002004-12-07T03:46:50.806-05:00

Today is the day that all teams must decide whether or not to offer arbitration to their major league free agents. Players not offered arbitration will not be able to resign with their 2004 teams until May 1, 2005. Players who are offered arbitration are free to sign with any club, including their 2004 team, between now and December 19th when they must, if still unsigned, accept or decline

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1102285701176602602004-12-05T13:25:00.000-05:002004-12-05T17:28:21.176-05:00

You can blame Tuesday's arbitration deadline for the lack of compelling non-Giambi Yankee news (and resultant BRB posts) thus far this offseason. Other than declining a trio of player options and tidying up the 40-man, the front office has produced nothing but rumors, a new bench coach, and some broadcasting musical chairs (this just in: Suzyn Waldman Joins John Sterling, Yankee Fans Reinterpret

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1102045430501400372004-12-02T22:07:00.000-05:002004-12-03T04:39:06.770-05:00

According to the local papers the big Yankee news yesterday morning was the team's declaration that they'd cut off trade talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks concerning Randy Johnson following the D-Back's outrageous demands. But that story was small potatoes compared to the headline that greeted San Francisco Chronicle readers almost 3,000 miles away: Giambi Admitted Taking Steroids The

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1101173377412652032004-11-22T20:10:00.000-05:002004-11-23T09:50:41.573-05:00

At long last there is some news from Yankee land, though it's all pretty small potatoes. Item: Gary Sheffield is finally having surgery on his left shoulder. A month's rest didn't do the trick, so Dr. James Andrews is getting out the ole arthroscope. The surgery will take place tomorrow (Tuesday) and should require just four to five weeks rehab. Item: the Yankees have reclaimed shortstop "

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1100305069436484292004-11-12T19:03:00.000-05:002004-11-12T19:17:49.436-05:00

Check out my debut appearance on Baseball Prospectus Radio this Saturday morning at 8:00 AM on espn950.com or your local BP Radio affiliate. In this episode, Alex Belth, Jay Jaffe, Steven Goldman and I have at it with host Will Carroll over the state and fate of the Yankees. I'll post a link to the archived show on BaseballProspectus.com once it's been posted.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1100286617630389112004-11-12T13:34:00.000-05:002004-11-12T18:59:09.310-05:00

This is where the Yankees will make or break the 2005 season. The selection of pitching talent, particularly starting pitching talent is the most important task facing the front office this offseason. With that in mind, the fact that Eric Milton has been the name most often associated with the Yankees in the rumor mill thus far is a very bad sign. To be honest, I could not for the life of me

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1100198103015625492004-11-11T13:17:00.000-05:002004-11-12T15:04:27.510-05:00

I created the Official BRB Dream Team last year so that loyal BRB readers would know up-front how I think the Yankees should improve their team during the offseason. Before they make a single trade or sign a single free agent, I want you all to know what I think they should do and whom I think they should go after. For full accountablility, I'll keep my Dream Team roster posted on the side-bar

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1100191028579053032004-11-11T10:22:00.000-05:002004-11-11T11:37:08.580-05:00

Alright. It's been more than a week since the election, more than two weeks since the end of the baseball season, and more than three weeks since the Yankees' last game of 2004, so let's get this party started right. To begin with, here's what's happened since my last baseball post: The Yankees declined Travis Lee's $3 million option for 2005, buying out the remainder of his contract for

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098944427287275502004-11-02T23:59:00.000-05:002004-10-28T02:22:30.410-04:00

Scroll down for new baseball posts.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098599867486785992004-11-02T23:58:00.000-05:002004-11-02T11:27:48.133-05:00

There are a few things I try to avoid in this space to make this site inclusive and friendly to all readers. One of them is that I try to keep the language clean (y'know, for the kids). Another is that I try to avoid moral judgements or hot button non-baseball topics such as religion or politics. I must suspend one of those rules for the moment, however, as a contest far more important than

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1099345685497771642004-11-01T16:32:00.000-05:002004-11-01T16:57:11.330-05:00

More of me yappin' my trap over on All-Baseball: Wha'appen (Part One) - In which Alex Belth, Jay Jaffe and I try to figure out where things went wrong in the ALCS. Wha'appen (Part Two) - In which Messrs. Belth, Jaffe and Corcoran attempt to figure out what offseason moves will result from the Yankees' ALCS loss. Say Children, What Does It All Mean? - In which Rob Neyer, King Kaufman, Mike

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1099092340929710842004-10-29T20:21:00.000-04:002004-10-30T02:48:19.503-04:00

Check out my email conversation with Alex Belth and Jay Jaffe over at All-Baseball regarding where the worm turned in the ALCS. Part two, due Monday, will contain our initial impressions of what the fallout from the loss will be. Once that's up I'll officially fire up the Yankee Hot Stove here at the BRB.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1099101379917130932004-10-29T20:12:00.001-04:002004-10-30T02:49:15.263-04:00

The results of the first annual Internet Baseball Writers Association Awards have been announced over at All-Baseball. Not to be confused with Baseball Prospectus's Internet Baseball Awards, which are open to the public, the IBWA Awards are voted upon only by members of the IBWA, the newly established on-line answer to the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA, founded 1908). The BBWAA

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098944283564182752004-10-28T01:13:00.000-04:002004-10-28T02:18:03.563-04:00

And so it's come down to this. Eighty-six years, one month and sixteen days after the 1918 Boston Red Sox finished off the Chicago Cubs behind a 2-1 Carl Mays complete game to win the World Series four games to two and claim their third World's Championship in four years, Keith Foulke is taking the mound in Busch Stadium for the bottom of the ninth inning of the fourth game of the World Series

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098821444890374162004-10-26T15:22:00.000-04:002004-10-26T16:10:44.890-04:00

Beginning their first official week of the postseason, the Yankees are taking care of business. Gary Sheffield is in Birmingham having his left shoulder looked at by Dr. James Andrews, who will perform any necessary surgery after a proper diagnosis. Paul Quantrill and Javy Vazquez both had MRIs. Quantrill's, on the right knee he injured in a collision with Alex Rodriguez in the Yankees'

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098343823348124952004-10-21T02:14:00.000-04:002004-10-21T15:35:24.060-04:00

So there you have it. The 2004 New York Yankees will forever be the first major league baseball team to lose a best of seven series after having had a 3-0 lead. So be it. As rough as it was to come within three outs of a series sweep only to lose that game and the next three, the Yankees have had tougher postseason loses than this. At least in this case they had a second (and third, and fourth

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098296142355548182004-10-20T13:30:00.000-04:002004-10-20T16:08:52.306-04:00

Be it the Red Sox's comeback, the Yankees' season, or the curse, one thing that will for sure not endure beyond tonight is this torturous American League Championship Series. For that I am eternally grateful. RECAP: For the better part of the 2004 season, Curt Schilling struggled with tendinitis in his right ankle. Then, pitching against the last batter he would face in the regular season (

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098162866428238182004-10-19T01:03:00.000-04:002004-10-19T02:57:19.126-04:00

I can't take this much longer. It's not the Yankees' inability to put the Red Sox away (not just in the series, but in consecutive games in which they led entering the bottom of the eighth). It's the marathon games, the overtaxed bullpens, the runners left on base in extra innings, and David Ortiz. Enough with David Ortiz. I can't bring myself to dislike the guy the way I do say, Trot Nixon or

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1098110720378890392004-10-18T10:02:00.000-04:002004-10-18T14:21:12.430-04:00

The Yankees got within three outs of sweeping the Red Sox and moving on to the World Series last night, but once again the Sox got to Mariano Rivera, tying the game in the ninth and winning it in the twelfth on a mammoth two-run David Ortiz home run off Paul Quantrill. While there is no legitimate reason that the Yankees should have swept the Red Sox in this series, it was still a brutal loss,

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097997379594892672004-10-17T02:25:00.000-04:002004-10-17T16:27:13.830-04:00

From my last post: Tonight is a huge game for the Red Sox. If the Yankees can put them down the Yanks will have four chances to win just one, forcing the Red Sox to sweep the rest of the way to pull out the series. If the Sox win, they'll be in position to tie things up with a win tomorrow. Tonight's not a must-win for the Yankees, but a win would be absolutely huge, especially after two off

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097956790226783012004-10-16T15:20:00.000-04:002004-10-16T16:00:18.936-04:00

As expected, Game 3 was rained out last night pushing the three (potential) Fenway games back one day each, filling Monday's off day (potentially). Before I get into the possible implications this might have for the series, I've not griped about FOX's broadcasts in this space despite having ample reason to do so, but I simply cannot excuse baseball's decision to avoid announcing the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097788091328561482004-10-14T16:46:00.000-04:002004-10-14T17:08:11.326-04:00

It's official. The Yankees will send El Duque to the hill in Game 4 and the Red Sox will be forced to go with Derek Lowe in a possible Game 5. The former, in addition to giving the Yankees a better outlook in Game 4, means that Joe Torre will have the option use Javier Vazquez out of the pen, which could be significant considering the severe lack of depth in the Yankee pen. Conversely, the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097732459426319672004-10-14T01:40:00.000-04:002004-10-14T03:10:04.473-04:00

The last time the Yankees were up 2-0 in a postseason series was in the 2001 ALCS against the 116-win Mariners. That also happened to be the last time the Yankees were an underdog entering a postseason series (which, in case you missed it, they were again entering this series with the Red Sox). They defeated the M's in five games in that series. Not that that means anything. RECAP: After Jon

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097641541810358272004-10-13T01:12:00.000-04:002004-10-13T01:54:36.586-04:00

Yeah, so Curt Schilling got lit up, Mike Mussina was perfect through 6 1/3 and the game ended 10-7 with the tying run at the plate. You know, just like we figured. RECAP: Through six innings, Game 1 of the 2004 ALCS was drastically lopsided. The reason for this was the drastically disimilar performances of the two starters. Mike Mussina was perfect through 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097606254112415052004-10-12T13:24:00.000-04:002004-10-12T16:04:37.383-04:00

A little less than a month ago I wrote two extended posts comparing the Yankees and Red Sox. The first took a look at the pitching, the second the hitting. The conclusions I reached were that things were basically even, the only significant difference being a Boston advantage in the bullpen. Of course, those comparisons were done with a few weeks left in the season, so there were still a few

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097591108194017032004-10-12T10:08:00.000-04:002004-10-12T11:13:29.966-04:00

Some highlights from a year of Yankees vs. Red Sox on the BRB: 2003 ALCS Game 1 (The Moose is too loose) Game 2 (That old black magic) There's a rumble in Boston tonight . . . Game 3 (Yes, there was a game yesterday) Sox catch break, chickens all wet/Rotation corrections Don Zimmer vs. The Beanball: A History/Bill Madden on Zimmer Game 4 (Slider outside) Game 5 (One win away) Game 6 (Blown)

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097426166969766962004-10-10T11:48:00.000-04:002004-10-11T03:49:20.100-04:00

As I said on Saturday morning, with Johan Santana taking the hill against Javier Vazquez, Game 4 was the Twins to lose. Little did I know that was exactly what they'd do. RECAP: In the bottom of the first the Twins get an early run against Vazquez on singles by Shannon Stewart and Jacque Jones and a Torii Hunter sac fly. Surprisingly, the Yankees tie the game up before things get any worse.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097312478122874802004-10-09T03:41:00.000-04:002004-10-09T05:01:18.123-04:00

Remember when I said I'd be lucky if I could sit still for more than an inning or two of last night's Yankee-Twins ALDS Game 3? Well, for some reason I was strangely calm throughout the game. Perhaps it was the fact that I was too wrapped up in the drama of the Angels' comeback against the Red Sox when the game started. Perhaps it was just the ol' Spirit of '98 coursing through my veins like

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097297071649647062004-10-08T23:43:00.000-04:002004-10-09T03:40:57.953-04:00

Despte the fact that last night's ALDS Game between the Yankees and Twins was the most important game the Yankees had played all season (in a dead tie with Wednesday night's contest), it turned out to be only the third most compelling thing on television last night. The first, which I almost forgot about, was the second Presidential debate (and with that I leave that topic alone, at least for

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097256278891483942004-10-08T13:35:00.000-04:002004-10-08T13:24:38.893-04:00

Hey, anyone else notice that five of the eight division series games played thus far have ended in a score of either 8-3 or 9-3, including all four games of the Red Sox's and Cardinals' series? Just curious. Anyway . . . Joe Torre has announced that he will put Kenny Lofton in centerfield tonight in Game 3, shifting Bernie Williams to DH and Ruben Sierra to the bench. This is a smart move on

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097174428400629202004-10-07T14:17:00.000-04:002004-10-07T14:40:28.400-04:00

But the Red Sox have taken a 2-0 lead on the Anaheim Angels, outscoring them 17-6 behind a pair of solid, though not phenomenal starts from Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez. This is rarefied territory for the accursed Sox. They've not held a two-game lead in any of their eight postseason series since they started the 1986 World Series by taking two from the Mets. The last time the Sox were up

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097125648033498362004-10-07T01:02:00.000-04:002004-10-07T02:54:10.036-04:00

Having lost game one to Johan Santana on Tuesday night, the Yankees were in a must-win situation last night, needing a win to avoid having to beat Santana in his second start and sweep the remainder of the series in order to move on. The Yankees eventually defeated the Twins 7-6 in twelve innings, but despite the favorable result, I didn't enjoy the game much at all. Rather I spent most of the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097082186728302642004-10-06T13:38:00.000-04:002004-10-06T13:03:06.726-04:00

I'm stressed out to the point of distraction over tonight's must-win game at the Stadium. When I get like this, rather than try to divert my attention from baseball, I find it helpful to read as much as possible about the issue in question, to engage my mind rather than let my emotions run wild. In doing so this morning I was particularly moved by the following: Amid his Game 1 summary over at

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097045937140467802004-10-06T01:20:00.000-04:002004-10-06T10:17:19.086-04:00

After the Cardinals and Red Sox took the first games of their respective series by six runs each, it was left to the Twins and Yankees to provide some compelling postseason drama. Their response was a error-free, 2-0 pitchers duel that played out almost exactly as one might have expected. Game One of the 2004 ALDS was played on a crisp autumn night in the Bronx. Armed with a 44 ounce coke (no

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1097013442918492202004-10-05T17:33:00.000-04:002004-10-05T17:57:22.920-04:00

Check out the Yankees and Twins postseason rosters over at Transaction Guy. The Yankees will have a bench of Lofton/Sierra, Clark, Wilson, Flaherty and Crosby. Giambi did not make it. All five Yankee starters made the roster, with a bullpen of Mo, Go, Quantrill, Sturtze, Heredia and . . . Esteban Loaiza?! That's inexcusable. Meanwhile Brad "LOOGY" Halsey and Steve Hearsay (according to Torre

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096956447374236562004-10-05T01:31:00.000-04:002004-10-05T16:28:51.303-04:00

Just over one year ago, the AL East Champion New York Yankees and AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins kicked off a best-of-five ALDS in Yankee Stadium with a pitching match-up of Mike Mussina against Johan Santana. Prior to that game, I summarized the differences between the two teams this way: Yankees strengths: offense, starting pitching Twins strengths: defense, bullpen Indeed, bad defense by

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096618626406371922004-10-01T03:09:00.000-04:002004-10-01T04:17:06.406-04:00

The Yankees clinched the AL East last night in grand fashion. Having come from behind to tie the Twins three times in the game (2-2, 3-3 and 4-4), the Yankees sent Gary Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams to the plate in the ninth to face Juan Rincon, who had finished the eighth by striking out Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on seven total pitches. Sheffield worked a full count before

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096606009564193732004-10-01T01:10:00.000-04:002004-10-01T03:09:23.603-04:00

Mark Prior struck out 16 men yesterday afternoon as the Cubs drove yet another steak through the hearts of their fans, losing their third straight game to the Cincinnati Reds. The third man Prior struck out in that game was Adam Dunn (on a 2-2 count, all three strikes swinging), thus allowing Dunn to accomplish what Jose Hernandez twice refused to do: break Bobby Bonds' single-season strike-out

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096563790563539422004-09-30T13:14:00.000-04:002004-09-30T14:00:21.566-04:00

The Yankees were forced to schedule an emergency double header yesterday after Tuesday night's game was washed out by the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne. As a result, they made it a single-admission day, allowing those with tickets for yesterday's regularly scheduled 7:05 contest to show up at 4:00 and take in Game One as well. By sheer chance, I was offered a ticket to last night's game and was

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096436920411167242004-09-29T01:06:00.000-04:002004-09-29T01:48:40.413-04:00

Hurricane Jeanne washed away last night's game forcing the Yanks into a Twin bill (rim shot) today. Game One, scheduled for 4:05, could very well be a preview of ALDS Game One with Mike Mussina facing off against Johan Santana (though the Twins still lead the now-tied A's and Angels by 1 1/2). Game two will see Jon Lieber face off against last night's scheduled Twins starter Kyle Lohse. As for

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096349844860792622004-09-28T01:29:00.000-04:002004-09-28T03:41:24.350-04:00

These are the stories we've been following for you: My two Yankees vs. Red Sox posts concluded that the two teams were extremely evenly matched. Indeed, they wound up splitting their final six games, the home team winning 2 of 3 in each weekend series. The Yankees entered those six games up 3 1/3 games in the AL East and finished the set with the same lead. The best news to come out of this

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1096040012247569582004-09-24T11:33:00.000-04:002004-09-24T13:39:28.520-04:00

One week ago, in both preparation for and celebration of the final six games to be played between the Yankees and Red Sox, I compared the two teams' pitching staffs member by member. The conclusion I reached was that, despite contrary popular opinion, the two teams’ starting rotations are fairly evenly matched, but that Boston’s bullpen is deeper, more diverse, and potentially as dominant up top

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095830150754879202004-09-22T01:23:00.000-04:002004-09-22T01:15:50.753-04:00

I said this: "This is just the sort of on-paper no-brainer that tends to go against instinct in reality in this sport." Ding ding ding! Loazia vs. Halladay results in a 5-3 Yankee win. "at this stage, a 6IP/5R start from Loaiza would seem like a miracle" How about 5 1/3 innings and 2 runs? Torre hooked Loaiza after his 99th pitch (57 percent strikes) turned into a Vernon Wells groundout.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095780913232586752004-09-21T10:58:00.000-04:002004-09-21T12:50:14.153-04:00

Let's be honest, you saw yesterday's loss coming, didn't you? Last time the Red Sox came to town the Yankees swept them, finishing them off with that insane 13-inning grudge match on July 1. The Yanks then went to Shea and got swept by the Mets. By comparison, a 6-3 loss that ended with the bases loaded on a hot shot up the middle by Derek Jeter that was scooped up by September call-up Russ

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095706477937263092004-09-20T14:28:00.000-04:002004-09-20T15:20:05.053-04:00

Gary Sheffield was going to get two cortisone shots in his shoulder after the Yankees faced the Royals last Wednesday, using the Thursday off-day to recouperate, but decided not to risk missing any of the weekend series against the Red Sox. Instead he got the shots yesterday in the eighth inning when he was pulled for Bubba Crosby. Sheffield might miss a few games of the Toronto series (he

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095656655889893392004-09-20T01:14:00.000-04:002004-09-20T03:53:38.476-04:00

"[I] hope to have a lot to say Sunday night. Let's hope the Yanks are up by 4 1/2 and the magic number is down to 10 by then." Those are the last words from my most recent post. As Hannibal Smith used to say when snacking on elephant livers . . . After losing a heartbreaker in the ninth inning on Friday night, the Yankees came out and made a statement, taking a pair of laughers from the Sox

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095482801074083232004-09-18T01:32:00.000-04:002004-09-20T00:13:28.656-04:00

In my previous post comparing the Yankee and Red Sox pitching, I wrote the following:"Rivera has allowed a run in just three post-break appearances, only two of which came in save situations, and those were just two days apart in late July." What I failed to mention was that the first of those two post-break blown saves came against the Red Sox. In the game made infamous by the Alex

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095361395989603922004-09-16T14:43:00.000-04:002004-09-17T11:59:23.980-04:00

When the Yankees and Red Sox were set to face off for the first time this season back in mid-April, I posted a rant about how the series was placed too early on the schedule, complaining that there was no drama or passion involved in the match-up, just a lot of hype. What I was waiting for then is what we're getting now. With just 16 games left in the season (17 for the Red Sox) the Sox trail

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095309951045848192004-09-16T01:16:00.000-04:002004-09-16T10:19:58.120-04:00

Javier Vazquez's line from yesterday: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 0 HR, 65 percent of 115 pitches for strikes. The last time Vazquez left a game without giving up a home run: July 21 The last time Vazquez left a game without giving up a run: May 18 The last time Vazquez left a game having given up three or fewer hits: April 30 Conversely . . . The last time Vazquez walked four or more men in

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095220855006475082004-09-14T23:41:00.000-04:002004-09-15T11:46:14.806-04:00

As hoped, Mike Mussina was aces against the Royals last night, dig: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K, 70 percent of 97 pitches for strikes That drops his season era to 4.76 and pushes his composite line from his last three starts to: 23 IP, 14 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 25 K Although Moose wasn't allowed to start the ninth inning last night (Tom Gordon was perfect in relief, striking out two), he still

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095181513341271992004-09-14T10:14:00.000-04:002004-09-14T13:05:13.343-04:00

Imagine this situation. You are managing the best team in your league in a game against the worst team in your league. Your team, which has scored an average of 6.5 runs per game in its last 12 games, takes the field for the bottom of the fifth inning with a 3-2 lead. Your starting pitcher has thus far allowed five hits, walked none and struck out two while throwing 65 percent of his 77

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1095108310985064342004-09-13T15:53:00.000-04:002004-09-13T17:05:22.473-04:00

Sorry, have I been asleep on the job here? My bad. Sadly, this is not really a post as much as a confirmation that I'm still alive. I intend to cover this weekend's Red Sox series (see expected pitching match-ups on the side-bar) like I would the playoffs, and hope to get a few state-of-the-Yanks posts up between now and then. General thoughts: The Yankees are 9-3 on the month (also 9-3

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1094273263693444082004-09-04T01:30:00.000-04:002004-09-04T12:52:07.703-04:00

The Yankees lost the opening game of their series against the Orioles last night by a score of 3-1 despite a strong effort from starting pitcher Kevin Brown, who worked six full allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven and throwing 62 percent of a mere 81 pitches for strikes. And why was Brown pulled after a mere 81 pitches? Well, I'll let him explain:"Getting

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1094018518724863412004-09-01T01:30:00.000-04:002004-09-01T10:37:52.296-04:00

The Yankees gave the Blue Jays the business on Saturday. They scored nine runs in the ninth off Dave Maurer (2 hits, 2 walks, 0 outs--he has since been returned to triple-A) and Kerry Ligtenberg (2 outs, 6 hits including a Ruben Sierra grand slam and solo shots by Tony Clark and Alex Rodriguez), forcing the Jays to turn to infielder Frank Menechino to get the final out of the inning (a Sierra

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1093724425872432542004-08-28T16:03:00.000-04:002004-08-28T16:20:25.873-04:00

Steve Karsay joined the Yankees on Toronto on Thursday. He had a successful bullpen session before Friday's game. He is expected to be activated when rosters expand on September 1. Jason Giambi's comeback has been slowed by a groin pull and an upper respatory infection, but he took 30 swings on Friday. As for the 25 men on the active roster, since my last post on the Yankees' late-season

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1093239570849581292004-08-23T01:24:00.000-04:002004-08-23T03:43:39.916-04:00

With yesterday's 4-3 victory, the Angels became the first team to sweep the Yankees since the Mets in early June and just the third on the season (the formerly infamous Red Sox series in April rounding out the trio). The Yankees have now lost six of their last seven games to contenders as the Red Sox have won six straight from the White Sox and Blue Jays, knocking five games off the Yankees'

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1092889907387471422004-08-19T00:12:00.000-04:002004-08-19T00:38:01.896-04:00

I don't think I could have called last night's game any more accurately. For the record, the Yankees demoted Phillips as expected. Alex Rodriguez will be back at third tonight. Two interesting bits of injury news: Gary Sheffield has been officially diagnosed with a "slight separation" of the left trapezius muscle, which is actually a muscle in the upper back. The diagnosis was made by Dodgers

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1092860687842601262004-08-18T15:46:00.000-04:002004-08-18T16:24:47.843-04:00

I'm chalking Javier Vazquez's poor performance last night up to rust. Javy's had some poor outings this year that weren't due to long rest, but only four times this season have his total runs allowed equaled or surpassed his raw innings pitched (sans thirds). In two of those four games Javy was pitching on extended rest (in Boston in his second start of the season and in Detroit following the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1092675379192141772004-08-16T12:06:00.000-04:002004-08-16T16:56:57.720-04:00

Since last we met, the Yankees picked up the final two games of their series against the Rangers behind some strong pitching that included six innings from the bullpen in which they allowed just one baserunner. They then flew up to Seattle where they took the first two games before dropping yesterday's contest when the first two men out of the pen (Nitkowski and Quantrill) failed to retire any

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1092234456756858452004-08-11T10:21:00.000-04:002004-08-12T10:54:26.083-04:00

[note: do to an undiagnosed error, this post from yesterday never got posted] So first we had this: Brown: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 0 HR, 71% of 107 pitches for strikes Vazquez: 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 74% of 92 pitches for strikes Hernandez: 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 0 HR, 67% of 104 pitches for strikes Lieber: 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 71% of 107 pitches for strikes And

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1091856247272920672004-08-07T01:05:00.000-04:002004-08-07T01:24:07.273-04:00

The Blue Jays didn't lose last night's game because Sean Douglass was tossed after unintentionally hitting John Flaherty in the third inning, but that doesn't make Chris Guccione's call any less absurd. Meanwhile, after Kevin Brown tossed an eight-inning gem, throwing 71 percent of his pitches for strikes, Javier Vazquez went a full eight for the first time since June 13 (before Kevin Brown went

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1091849762282504982004-08-06T23:25:00.000-04:002004-08-07T01:03:54.076-04:00

Last year the Blue Jays scored the second most runs in the AL (third most in the majors) and sent the eventual AL Cy Young Award winner to the mound every fifth day. This offseason they kept that offense largely in tact and added pitching. As a result they looked like a dark horse Wild Card candidate that could slip by the mighty Sox or Yanks should either team stumble. So why are the Jays

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1091770040190026502004-08-06T00:44:00.000-04:002004-08-06T01:50:26.406-04:00

Don't look now, but Kevin "If He's Healthy" Brown is healthy. He peeled off a gem against the A's yesterday: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 71 percent of his 107 pitches for strikes. Since coming off the DL his line over two starts looks like this: 14 2/3 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 12 K. He's now 9-1 on the season with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Big time stuff. In his second Yankee start John Olerud

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-10917169698310572004-08-05T09:47:00.000-04:002004-08-05T10:42:49.830-04:00

Esteban Loaiza made his Yankee debut last night. He wasn't great, allowing a pair of homers (one was a solo shot and the other was to the superhot Eric Byrnes) and walking four in the process of allowing five runs on six hits in six innings. But he also struck out six men, ate up six innings, and kept the Yanks in the game. Not bad for his first start as a Yankee wearing the pinstripes in the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1091639398619506532004-08-04T12:03:00.000-04:002004-08-04T13:49:29.363-04:00

I'm working on a post about the eleven major trades that happened while I was away, but as that is taking a while, I thought I'd give you a few words inspired by last night's trouncing at the hands of the Oakland A's. The story of the game was bad Yankee pitching. Jon Lieber hadn't had a disaster outing since June 23 in Baltimore, but got lit up last night after the Yanks got out to a 3-0 lead

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1090901607545175112004-07-26T23:49:00.000-04:002004-07-27T00:20:03.770-04:00

Jose Contreras failed his test on Sunday night, though his 5 1/3 IP, 9 H, 8 R outing was by far his best career start against the Sox in just four tries (scary as that may be). Mo blew his second consecutive two-run save tonight against the Jays, though he did wind up with the win thanks to a pair of hits from Tony Clark and Jorge Posada (who hit a salami in the first to give the Yankees a lead

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1090737753030595182004-07-25T02:04:00.000-04:002004-07-25T03:44:31.006-04:00

The last four games the Yankees and Red Sox have played against each other have been decided by a total of five runs with the winning run coming no earlier than the bottom of the eighth inning and two of the games ending in the home team's last at-bat: June 30, Bronx: With a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning the Red Sox load the bases with no outs. Joe Torre calls in Felix Heredia who proceeds to

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1090648942318952202004-07-24T01:43:00.000-04:002004-07-24T02:03:23.333-04:00

I owe you guys a real post. I started one earlier today, but I need to work on some other writing this weekend. I promise you all something before I disappear for another vacation on Tuesday (yes, I'll be off line for the trading deadline--not my idea). Normally I wouldn't even waste your time with a quickie like this, but I have two things I just have to say: 1) The Yankees are 9.5 games

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1090035868536853522004-07-16T23:42:00.000-04:002004-07-17T02:16:05.186-04:00

Forgive me if this post is a bit sloppy. Blogger's revamped their interface and the spellcheck isn't working for me. That said . . . We've been over this before, but the Yankees pitching is in a bad way. After the Yanks were swept in Shea two weekends ago I echoed Steven Goldman's sentiments that the Yankees desperately needed to take a gamble on some of their more successful triple-A arms,

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089819689761425072004-07-14T10:53:00.000-04:002004-07-14T15:45:00.190-04:00

Sure it's a cliche, but you know you want it . . . It's the All-Star Break lets-take-a-step-back-and-look-at-this-team post! I'm not feeling very loquacious today, so let's get straight to it. And just because I got this post up on the infield doesn't mean I can guarantee the outfield and pitching staff before first pitch in Detroit tomorrow. Jason Giambi Coming into the season the big

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089645102549442732004-07-12T10:49:00.000-04:002004-07-12T12:24:35.596-04:00

Before the current baseball season started, a friend emailed me to ask what I thought the chances were of Ken Griffey Jr. finally reaching 500 career home runs this season. Griffey needed 19 and had hit 13 and 8 in his previous two seasons. We agreed that the odds were pretty slim. We were, of course, wrong. Griffey hit his 500th on June 20th off Matt Morris. He was then elected by the fans

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089436467152019072004-07-10T00:46:00.000-04:002004-07-10T01:14:27.153-04:00

I'm a about 36 hours late on this, but the Yankees recent losing streak (5 of 6 to the Mets and Tigers) did indeed trigger the promotion of a pair of pitchers from the Columbus bullpen. Surprisingly, Colter Bean, Alex Graman and Scott Proctor are not involved. Rather, Sam Marsonek and Juan Padilla have joined the big club with Brad Halsey and Bret Prinz taking their places in triple-A. Both of

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089433662468085262004-07-10T00:02:00.000-04:002004-07-10T00:29:29.036-04:00

Three things that made me happy today: 1) Watching Larry Bowa get thrown out of the Phillies-Braves game for jawing at home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman from the dugout over a Rafael Furcal home run that he thought had gone foul, then come bursting out of the dugout in classic Billy Martin/Earl Weaver fashion to get his money's worth. The ESPN cameras captured enough f-bombs to make Miles Davis

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089426581489487132004-07-09T22:19:00.000-04:002004-07-09T23:56:21.556-04:00

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays went 20-6 in June. How is that possible? Well, it wasn't a weak schedule. 12 of their 26 games were against winning teams (Twins, Giants, Padres, Marlins). They were 9-3 in those games and 11-3 against weaker opponents (Orioles, Rockies, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays). They must have just played well. Here's a look at how the individual Rays performed in the month of June.

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089322532337949022004-07-08T17:07:00.000-04:002004-07-08T17:35:32.336-04:00

Don't look now, but the Yankees are a mere .500 (10-10) since June 16. Of course their struggles are easy to discern: pitching, pitching and pitching. The Yankees haven't lost a game in which their opponent has scored less than five runs since May 22 (4-3 loss to Texas). Of their thirteen losses since then, their opponents have scored exactly five runs just once. Meanwhile, Yankee

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089224492399262322004-07-07T13:10:00.000-04:002004-07-07T15:56:55.023-04:00

Well, the bulk of the All-Star Rosters are in and it's time to vote for the final man on each team. Let's take a quick look, shall we? Using my AL and NL ballots as reference, I'm just going to take a look at the 19 position players picked for each team: American League Fan vote (8): 1B - Jason Giambi: it's good to see that Giambi still gets some respect, but he shouldn't even be at the

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661605.post-1089154875105688452004-07-06T17:11:00.001-04:002004-07-06T19:36:26.656-04:00

After the Red Sox swept the Yankees at home in April I wrote the following:"The best my inner optimist can do for this team right now is to say that they've got to hit bottom before they can climb back up, and perhaps a four game losing streak that includes getting swept at home by the Red Sox and shut out in the final game is them hitting bottom." Indeed, the Yankees, who were 8-11 (.421) after

Cliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13122692553658687275noreply@blogger.com