Sunday, June 10, 2007

Yankees.6.7

First of all, on an unrelated topic (though Jersey is Yankee territory), the Sopranos Finale: WTF. Seriously, WTF. I'm trying to think of something else to write, but ... eh! WTF. The spoiler alert is on for anyone who ventures into the comments section.

And now on to Yankees.6.7:




Good times, my friends! The SOtY is much better than it was last Y.X.X post. I'm not saying we're out of trouble yet, but I'm liking the direction we're headed in. The Bombers have won 9 out of the last 11. 6 in a row. A week and 1/2 ago we were 14.5 out of first place. Now it's 9.5. And only about 5 out of the wild card race. There are 20 game until the All Star break and I think we can get that down to 7 and 3. And I like our chances with that and a half a season to go.

So, what to say ... oh yeah, the Rocket. Saturday brought the return of Roger Clemens to the New York Yankees and a glorious return it was. It wasn't quite a lucky 9 and 2/3 inning no hitter, but it was a great start. The owner of World Series rings from 1999 and 2000 chucked 108 pitches in his first start at the age of 44. He did give up 3 runs, but it was only on 5 hits and 1 walk. And the former fireballer who supposedly now doesn't rely on strikeouts notched 7 K's, putting him back ahead of the biggest 6'10" douchebag in the game (though the white trash beanpole may have passed him striking out Red Sox today (conspiracy theory)). But Roger's not the whole team (though I like the fact that he has captivated the team). Here's my breakdown on the team:

rotation:

1. Wang - inconsistent at first, but better recently. The Ace. And I'm good with that.
2. Pettitte - He's been great. 3.11 era. I'll take that all year long.
3. Clemens - tbd.
4. Mussina - shaky. very. His fastball is dipping down to 85 (tops), which is making the rest of his stuff ineffective. You can solve all the NYTimes crosswords you want, but that's not going to get your arm where it needs to be.
5. Clippard - like him, don't like him, like him, don't like him, etc. is this the next Sam Militello? OK, maybe that's not a fair comparison, but c'mon.

wild card - Hughes - tbd.

relief staff:

Mo - Better. Way better. I'll take Mo any day. And you would too.
Farnsworth - Not impressed and I wish Joe wasn't so obsessed with him.
Proctor - I like his stuff and wish Joe would leave his starters in longer.
Bruney - The best middle reliever in the pen.
Vizcaino - crap.
Villone - Let's go U Mass, clap clap clap clap clap!
Meyers - Get your one out, Mike.
Henn - Britton should be here instead of you.
Britton - Should be here instead of Henn.

1 (dh) Damon - He's been hitting better recently and the old man and his chicken arm could use some time out of the center. Thank God Giambi's laming out. I like Giambi, but the occasional HR is not surpassing his other shortcomings.
2 Posada - What can you say about the Other Captain? The man is one of the best game callers in baseball and he's batting .358, which, for my non-sports-fan readers, is really goddamn good. He's the MVP of the team so far. A great leader.
3 I'm going with Miguel Cairo here, because the Yankee vet and quintessential utility infielder has been brilliant in the last 4 games, since D-Mink got injured. I'm calling for the unconditional release of Minky and Phelps and the establishment of Cairo as their permanent first baseman.
4 Robinson Cano, who was named after Jackie R and wears 24 because it's the inverse of the famed 42 (and btw, MLB mandated that every team retire 42 with the stipulation that if a player was already wearing that #, they could wear it until they retired, and there is only one player left in the league wearing 42. who? Mo.). Mattingly is in love with his swing, thinking he's the next Rod Carew. He had a rough start but I think he's coming around.
5 Alex Rodriguez - he's pretty good. 24 HR and 63 RBI through 61 games.
6 Derek Sanderson Jeter - The Captain. .338. Always. The hitter.
7 Hideki Matsui - He's back.
8 Melky Cabrera - He's back. and is great in center.
9 Bobby Abreu - He's back. Actually, he's wicked back. wicked wicked.


let's go Yankees, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.

38 comments:

Dewy24 said...

Oh my god! The Yankees just won 7 in a row! I think I just crapped my pants.

Talk to me when you're over .500.

Dan Nolan said...

you are crapping your pants. you just won't admit it.

blythe said...

the more i think about it, the more i'm in the it was a pretty great ending camp. i think the thing is, i've always wanted a movie or something to just end, because that's just how it is sometimes. it just ends. life goes on.

other things:

was it paulie and not carlo that flipped? could explain why he was hesitant to take t's job offer and why he was upset with the cat - who killed a rat...

and which is it? tony gets indicted or that guy was going into the bathroom to get a gun or something.

did uncle jun really not know him? or is it still kind of a ruse?

how awful is janice?

also, onion rings sound sooo good right now.

mostly, david chase is super smart, and i am not, so i don't get a lot of it.

Dan Nolan said...

as I commented on your live blogging post, I think it was the dirty bastard child of a cop out and a fuck job. I thought the whole episode was disjointed and I was waiting for a reason for that and then -


I think if they were going for the "that's how life is, it just ends" feel then they shouldn't have done the Journey song getting louder and louder. That was intended to jack up the drama, which it did and then -


I liked the cat as reincarnation of Christopher thing. I also loved the Phil hit. That was brilliant. The rest of it -

blythe said...

what if it goes blank because guy in the bathroom shoots tony or all of them? i mean, the whole thing is from his perspective, for the most part, so that could make sense. that leaves paulie. bad news.

Dan Nolan said...

yeah, but if that's what happens - and it makes sense that you don't know when you're going to get shot and there's no neat closure to that - the rest of the show leading up to it was lame. We're either the viewer or we're Tony. You can't treat us like the viewer for 59 minutes and then flip to another perspective. fuck that.

mostly, I'm concerned about the implications of this for the way my graphic novel will be read.

blythe said...

good point. i blame melfi.

blythe said...

whoa, stop the presses: i just read that the guy in the diner was phil's nephew. for reals. care to weigh in on this development? i'm fact checking now.

Dan Nolan said...

I don't think it changes things. Someone I was watching it with said that he was Tony's bodyguard and that the black guys killed Tony when the other guy went to the bathroom. I think the guy who suggested that might just have been a racist though.

I think he was probably there to kill Tony, I think the bathroom thing was a nod to the Godfather, and I still think it was lame. I think my problem is mostly aesthetic.

blythe said...

i don't want tony to die. i can handle the show being over, but for some reason, i can't handle the idea of a murdering, lying mobster to bite it. what?

Dan Nolan said...

well, I guess you got your wish. we don't know that he's dead. maybe that was the idea - to allow those of us who wanted him to get capped think he's dead and those who want life to go on for T think that nothing happened.

blythe said...

i hate david chase right now.

Dan Nolan said...

fucking asshole's probably sipping on a mojito somewhere in the Carribean having a good laugh. real funny, funny man. ha ha.

blythe said...

he's in france. for reals. he totally knew what kind of shitstorm he was releasing.

Dan Nolan said...

well, isn't that the coup de grace.

blythe said...

it's somethin'

Dan Nolan said...

yeahr it is.

Anonymous said...

A Crazed Artie finds out that the Soprano's plan to have their final dinner together at a Brooklyn diner instead of Vesuvio's. Artie sneaks into the diner kitchen and poisons the Onion ring batter. Meadow, wise to the plan rushes to warn her family only to arrive too la

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah this is a Yankees post...

Go Sox...
9.5 ...

Dan Nolan said...

And despite knowing that her whole family is in the process of being poisoned, Meadown continues to parallel park for five minutes, subconsciously fulfilling her destiny as the smart one of the clan: she knows they all have to die; it must end.

Welcome back, Mike Timlin!

Dewy24 said...

I wish I could comment on this Sopranos stuff but I jumped ship 2 years ago pissed off that HBO had strung me along for 18 months.

BTW the Yankees would be lucky to have Timlin in their bullpen and he sucks.

Dan Nolan said...

I've calmed down about the finale and the reality is that I just started watching it on A&E over the last year and have seen handfuls of episodes past season 4 (I think). Anyways, point being that I didn't have as much invested in it as most people so I really shouldn't complain that much.

I might take Timlin over Henn.

blythe said...

WHAT? you just started watching on A&E? I spent the winter of 2005 watching every episode to date preparing for the last seasons. I took more pride in my nightly viewings than my job. Obvs. Anyway, watch this: http://www.lindsayism.com/2007/06/if_you_watch_ju.html

Dan Nolan said...

I thought you might be a bit peeved at that admission after my righteous indignation act. It's not like I wasn't into the show; I just haven't invested 8 years in it like some people have. I'm sure I've seen over 1/2 the episodes, all within the last year.

blythe said...

yeah, yeah, i'll let you off the hook. just this once.

Dan Nolan said...

After my ignominious relegation on your blog link list, I should hope so.

Love by Lauren said...

Back to baseball-

“nineteen-seventy-eight, nineteen-seventy-eight.”

Dan Nolan said...

8 in a row! 10 of 12. If Moose can put in a good outing tonight that would go a long way towards me feeling very optimistic.

Also, I wonder how Curt Fatty felt watching Verlander throw a no-no. Also, I don't usually root for Bonds but I would love to see him go on an HR tear so he could hit the record off Curt at Fenway. That would be the best.

Love by Lauren said...

That would be AWE-A-SUM!

Dan Nolan said...

First things first:

"Talk to me when you're over .500." - dewy 24

I'm talking to you, compadre. I'm talking.

2nd. Moose!! If Moose can bring it around, we are looking tough. I'm tellin' ya...

3rd. Curt Fatty, you suck! 5 earned runs in 5 innings? That's a 9.00 era you sucky suck ass sucker!

4th. Lauren, how much are you loving Miguel Cairo at first right now? I don't care if he bats .200, Miguey's the Man!

Love by Lauren said...

I love him!
*sigh*

I also kinda hope that giambi does get suspended. I think it's good to have him away. I think the team is finally 'gellin'.

Dan Nolan said...

Suspend the Giambino? It's weird - everyone always says he's such a good clubhouse guy. I don't know why his absence (in the lineup anyways) would make the team gel.

Love by Lauren said...

DUH!

Cairo at first, Melky in center, Damon on the DH - and no one has to wonder what their status will be day to day.

I'm liking the lineup this way - and I bet when Giambino gets back it starts to get ugly again. I got nothin' against the guy - I'm just sayin'!

Oh, and btw, tomorrow is Andy's Bday. I only know this because Michael Kay just said it - not because I am a crazy stalker.
*swoon*

Dan Nolan said...

I think "DUH" might be a little harsh, but I can't disagree.

Andy's pitching well right now. 3 hits and 1 er through 5...

Love by Lauren said...

Yeah, I didn't mean it that way - just like, 'HELLO!' - is that better?

Dan Nolan said...

That's better I guess. I'm just saying, we Boston based Yankees fans have to stick together. We have to present a united front to these bastards.

Dan Nolan said...

Yankees win again! Pettitte goes 8, gives up 1 run on 4 hits. 9 in a row.

Tomorrow, the Rocket goes for career win # 350 and 10 in a row for the Bombers up in the Bronx against the Mediocre Mets, who've only won once in their last 10 games.

Dan Nolan said...

7.5