New York Yankees' Fans' Thread [Archive]

Fiatjustitia

07-05-2008, 07:45 AM

NY Yankees' Fans' Thread - July 4th Weekend - Final Post at InSession:

Greetings and Happy 4th of July to TobyTiger, Littlewheels (And congrats on another win and Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Fish tonight!), Janicelee (And congrats on the win and Good luck for your Reds vs. Tim Russert's Nats this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (And congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the Yankees this afternoon!), to TwoFour, and Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

It was a disappointing loss for our Yankees to Boston last night - considering it was a blowout and all. According to Tyler Kepner's recap at nytimes.com (linked further below) there was another blowout of a different sort with Manager, Joe Girardi's, second meltdown in a week following a loss by our Bombers.

Maybe it's time to fess up to the fact that youth, energy and speed of the sort Brett Gardner offered the team on Wednesday are the answers to all this. It's lovely to see legends wearing our team's uniform, but, as this year's and last year's DL has shown, when athletes hit their mid-thirties, they tend to start missing a step and ours have been missing them by the dozens.

***

Other MLB news for today once again surrounds the off-field troubles of A-Rod and the Rocket - and not solely for their respective penchants for pursuing Rock and Country & Western warblers:

1) Rocket's former trainer, Brian McNamee, has moved to dismiss Clemens' defamation suit from the U.S. District Court in Houston, or, in the alternative, to move it to the U.S. District Court in NYC where, according to McNamee, most of the witnesses live.

McNamee reportedly also asserts that DNA accessible from syringes and gauze swabs will prove his defense of "truth" to the action and that he should be granted immunity because the statements claimed to be defamatory were given to George Mitchell's committee. Neither is a ground for dismissing this case with prejudice, in my opinion.;

2) Rocker Lenny Kravitz insists that he's merely giving Cynthia Rodriguez a place to stay during her sudden trip to Paris this week and that, as his former gal pal, Madonna, has claimed about her relationship with A-Rod (that surfaced this week), the two are "just friends."; and

3) Kevin Hench of foxsports.com asks whether the public should be surprised by A-Rod's penchant for moving from woman to woman after he moved from team to team in search of the highest bidder for his talents - 'though that hardly explains the stripper. Here's the link for that bit of fluff:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8310588/Surprised-by-A-Rod?-Then-you-haven't-been-watching

***

Now for the NY Time's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, appropriately entitled, "The Yankees Are Silenced, and Girardi Lets Them Hear It":

"Joe Girardi and his coaches tore into their players after a lifeless 7-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox Thursday night. Girardi, the first-year manager of the Yankees, closed the clubhouse doors for 31 minutes, three times the allotted period for cooling off, yet the steam seemed to still be rising from his crewcut as he marched to the interview room. . .."

Here's the link for all of it, including much input from the sweet Johnny Damon at Joe Girardi's latest dressing down of our boys in pinstripes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/sports/baseball/04yankees.html?scp=6&sq=Tyler+Kepner&st=nyt

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including a report that not only may the dominating Rays be looking to acquire the Tribe's reigning AL Cy Young winner, C.C. Sabathia, by the trade deadline of July 31st, but that the NL East leading Phillies might be too:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#12

***

And, about the All Star Voting, here's a link to MLB.com with a reminder that - now that the votes are in - with the winners to be announced this weekend:

1) From July 6 to July 10, you can return to MLB.com and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster.

2) Finally, on July 15, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

Good luck to all of your favorite players to make the final rosters of the All Star Game!

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Recalling that Reas' Angels, Toronto and the Tribe were off, other scores from yesterday's MLB games are: the Yadgers and Billingsley grounded the Astros and Backe, 5-2; the Brewers and Parra were edged by the Snakes and Webb, 6-5; the Phillies and Cole Hamels bested the Braves and Jurrjens, 4-1; KC and Davies decimated the O's and Olson, 10-7; the Cubs and Gallagher were vanquished by SF and Lincecum, 8-3; Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan were defeated by Janicelee's Reds and Cueto, 5-3; the Fish and Miller were netted by LW's Rockies and Redman, 6-5; the A's and Duchscherer blanked the CWS and Vazquez, 3-0; the Mets and Pelfrey won 52 card pickup against St. Louis and Boggs, 11-1; and the Tigers and Verlander marooned the Sailors and Silva, 8-2.

The July 4th schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett will meet our Yankees and Rasner; 1:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann will face Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Lowe will take on SF and Sanchez; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will play against the Sailors and Bedard; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Blanton will contend against the CWS and Buehrle; and the Mets and Santana will vie against the Phillies and Happ (in a pitching change from yesterday); 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will meet the Twins and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez; 7:35 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Moehler will face the Braves and Hudson; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Olsen will take on LW's Rockies and Reynolds; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Cubs and Zambrano will play against the Cards and Looper; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Burnett will contend against Reas' Angels and Jered Weaver; and 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Baek will contend against the Snakes and Haren.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 3:55 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston will meet our Yankees and Mussina; and the Cubs and Lilly will face the Cards and Lohse; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Smith will take on the CWS and Floyd; and the Mets and Maine will play against the Phillies and Moyer; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Laffey will contend against the Twins and Slowey; the Astros and Sampson will vie against the Braves and Reyes; and Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will meet Janicelee's Reds and Harang; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Tucker will face LW's Rockies and De La Rosa; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Peavy will take on the Snakes and Davis; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Halladay will play against Reas' Angels and Lackey; and the Yadgers and Park will contend against SF and Zito; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Galarraga will vie against the Sailors and Dickey.

That's all for today, Everybody, and, again, here's to a great 4th of July, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the Red Sox this afternoon.

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-05-2008, 08:51 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, Littlewheels (Congrats on another win and Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Fish tonight!), Janicelee (Congrats on another win and Good luck for your Reds vs. Tim Russert's Nats tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the Yankees this afternoon!), and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

It was another disappointing loss for our Yankees to Boston yesterday - but at least it wasn't a blowout this time.

No word yet on whether more words were exchanged between Manager, Joe Girardi, and the team in the clubhouse afterward - although such would have been tempered by thoughts of the sweet Johnny Damon's injury in a fluke play that will be talked about everywhere for quite some time to come - more about that in the recap to follow.

The big and basically only MLB news of the day is that the All Start rosters will be announced tomorrow and I'll post them when they are available on the net. And, in rapt anticipation thereof, here is a link to a piece from foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal sharing whom he would pick for the mix:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8311346/All-Star-team-a-mix-of-no-brainers,-close-calls

***

Now for the NY Time's recap of last night's loss, with a title reflecting the play that injured Johnny Damon: "Ball Sits on Wall, and Yanks Have Great Fall":

"With his first swing of the game, Johnny Damon jolted his team awake Friday. He doubled off Josh Beckett to start a three-run spurt in the first inning, and it seemed as if his pointed words from Thursday’s team meeting were sinking in.

'I was pretty pumped up,' said the Yankees’ hitting coach, Kevin Long. 'The guys were pretty excited, after last night’s performance, to come out the way we did.'

But everything changed with one play in the third inning — one bizarre, painful, and possibly season-turning moment. Damon crashed into the left-field wall as he gloved a high drive from Kevin Youkilis. The ball popped out, resting perilously atop the fence before dropping back onto the field.

The Yankees had lost the lead on the tying triple, and soon enough, they lost the game to the Boston Red Sox, 6-4, at a soggy Yankee Stadium. More significantly, they might have lost the engine of their lineup for a while.

Damon, who challenged his teammates to play to their potential during a half-hour meeting after Thursday’s shutout loss, had an X-ray and a magnetic resonance imaging test. He was found to have a contusion and a sprain of the A.C. joint of the left shoulder, and he will probably land on the DL for the first time in his career.

Damon was sometimes bothered by shoulder pain with the Red Sox, but he regularly played through it. His former manager, Terry Francona, could tell this injury was significant because Damon could not continue.

'You know when Johnny leaves the game, something is wrong,' Francona said.

The extent of the injury could be determined by how the shoulder responds Saturday. For now, Damon said, it is worse than anything he dealt with in Boston. . .

It is hard to overstate the impact Damon has on the Yankees. Before Friday, he was hitting .395 in games the Yankees won and .228 in games they lost. When Damon has more than one hit in a game, the Yankees are 20-5.

The Yankees are already down one outfielder, with Hideki Matsui possibly facing season-ending surgery on his left knee. Brett Gardner replaced Damon on Friday, and although he worked a tough walk that led to a run off Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th, he has just five days in the major leagues.

'Now the world gets to see what Brett Gardner can do,' Damon said. . .

What the Yankees have is a lineup that shrinks in the clutch. The Yankees hit .293 with runners in scoring position last season, but this year they are at .256. They went 2 for 9 in such situations Friday, and A-Rod epitomized their frustration. He drove in two runs with a first-inning double, but left the bases loaded on a grounder against Manny Delcarmen in the 7th. . .."

Here's the link for all of it, including "Inside Pitch":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/05/sports/baseball/05yankees.html?sq=Tyler%20Kepner&st=nyt&scp=2&pagewanted=print

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, for items that may have been added since yesterday:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#12

***

With the All Star team rosters to be announced tomorrow, here are reminders of what to do next:

1) From Sunday, July 6 to Thursday, July 10, you can return to MLB.com and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster.

2) Finally, on July 15, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

Good luck to all of your favorite players to make the final rosters of this year's All Star Game to be played at Yankee Stadium!

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's MLB games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann were blanked by Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo, 3-0; the Yadgers and Lowe decimated SF and Sanchez, 10-7; the Tigers and Rogers were sunk by the Sailors and Bedard, 4-1; the A's and Blanton clobbered the CWS and Buehrle, 7-1; the Mets and Santana were edged by the Phillies and Happ, 3-2; the Tribe and Byrd were thoroughly dunked by the Twinkies and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, 12-3; the Astros and Moehler were grounded by the Braves and Hudson, 6-2; the Fish and Olsen were fried to a crisp by LW's Rockies and Reynolds, 18-17; the Cubs and Zambrano squeaked past the Cards and Looper, 2-1; Toronto and Burnett were defeated by the Angels and Jered Weaver, 8-2; and the Pads and Baek basketed the Snakes and Haren, 5-1.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 3:55 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston will meet our Yankees and Mussina; and the Cubs and Lilly will face the Cards and Lohse; 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Sampson will take on the Braves and Reyes; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Smith will meet the CWS and Floyd; and the Mets and Maine will play against the Phillies and Moyer; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Laffey will contend against the Twins and Slowey; and Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will meet Janicelee's Reds and Fogg (in a pitching change from yesterday); 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Tucker will face LW's Rockies and De La Rosa; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Peavy will take on the Snakes and Davis; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Halladay will play against the Angels and Lackey; and the Yadgers and Park will contend against SF and Zito; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Galarraga will vie against the Sailors and Dickey.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Balester will meet Janicelee's Reds and Volquez; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Rodriguez will face the Braves and Morton; and the Mets and O.Perez will take on the Phillies and Kendrick; 2:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Harden will play against the CWS and Danks; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Lee will contend against the Twins and Perkins; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Hendrickson will vie against LW's Rockies and Cook; 3:15 p.m., EDT, the Cubs and Marshall will meet the Cards and Wellemeyer; 3:35 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Litsch will take on the Angels and Garland; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Stults will play against SF and Cain; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Robertson will contend against the Sailors and Rowland-Smith; and the Pads and Banks will vie against the Snakes and the Unit; and 8:09 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston will meet our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain.

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Saturday, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the Red Sox this afternoon.

And, thank you again, Pauli, for this lovely new home.

Fiat

:happy0207:

littlewheels

07-05-2008, 09:47 AM

HOW 'BOUT THEM ROCKIES! :zm10:

TobyTiger

07-05-2008, 01:55 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!!!

AGAIN THANK YOU FOR BRINGING OUR YANKEES OVER HERE...where you won't find all your hard work in recapping the daily games moved to a closed forum.

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

sunstar

07-05-2008, 02:36 PM

Hi! :0012: I'm glad you started this here too. I like the Yankees for the AL and the Braves in the NL. My Braves aren't doing too well this year though. :groan:

SaberGal

07-05-2008, 03:58 PM

I hope it is OK to share this story here...

My dad has been a Yankees fan his entire life. Through his childhood and teen years, his dream was to play short stop for the Yanks. He married his high school sweetheart, my mom, and worked his way through college and seminary. There are 3 things that my dad loves more than anything else in the world - God, his family, and the New York Yankees. My parents have 5 children. Mom stayed at home with us and dad worked his tail off to provide. Money was always tight but we always had whatever we needed and some of what we wanted. Mom and Dad never splurged on anything for themselves.

Last year, as Father's Day was approaching, my brothers and I were collaborating about what would be a good gift for him. The youngest in the family came up with the best gift idea in our family's history - he says, "You know, they are going to be tearing down Yankee stadium and dad has never been. How about we send him to a game? We can't let them tear it down before he gets to go see it." From that moment, we went into action, planning the surprise. We had such a great time planning and we managed to keep the entire trip a secret, telling him about the surprise two weeks before the trip over dinner. He cried when it all began to sink in...and we did too. We flew him and my mom to NY for 4 days, put them up at a 4 star hotel in Park Ave, sent them on a tour of the stadium and to a game. Mom says that when dad got to the stadium he was in absolute awe and like a little kid all over again! We had hoped that on the tour, they would let them go onto the field and take pictures but that is apparently a no-no. It didn't matter, because at that moment, just finally getting to Yankee stadium and being there with his 'main squeeze', life for this 59 year old was perfect. They did go to the dugout and mom got some pictures of him warming the bench. They toured the locker room and back offices. Then they spent the rest of their tour time in Memorial Park where dad was again moved to tears. I was sitting at my home watching the game with a couple of my brothers and we were all very disappointed when the Yanks lost that night. As soon as my parents were back at their hotel, dad called us and if we didn't know otherwise, from the sound of his voice, you'd have thought the Yanks had just won the World Series! He was so happy and so excited! As far as me and my brothers are concerned, no one deserved that trip and experience more than my parents. When my dad talks about it, he still gets misty-eyed and says he can't believe he's been to Yankee Stadium. None of us are happy that they are going to tear it down (it seems almost sacrilegious to us) but at least my dad got to see it.

Anyway....sorry this has turned into such a long post!

TobyTiger

07-05-2008, 07:00 PM

gramvof14

07-05-2008, 07:15 PM

Welcome Fiat I don't think you will have to worry about all your hard work going south on this site, I doubt you will ever have the door shut in your face without giving you a good reason.I can't say enough good things about the Adm. and the mods. I came here in Dec. and I have never regretted it.:love0085::zm10:

Saber that was a wonderful story about your dad, I am sure your mom and dad will always remember it with fond memories, as well as you and your siblings also.:love0085::1222423:
BTW Saber, I am a Red Sox Fan, its still a great story.

gramvof14

07-05-2008, 07:21 PM

Just KNEW we'd need this thread today...:happy0158:

YANKEES 2
BOSTON 1
FINAL

Congratulations to Mike Mussina (WP) and Mariano (S)...

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280705110&refreshRate=60
:zm10::zm10::zm10:
OH well I guess we have to let the Yankee's win once in a while hahaha
Congrats Yankee's:zm10::zm10:

TobyTiger

07-05-2008, 07:23 PM

OH well I guess we have to let the Yankee's win once in a while hahaha
Congrats Yankee's:zm10::zm10:

Yeah...especially after inviting Fiat over here!!

Big game tomorrow night on ESPN!
:zm10::zm10::zm10:

gramvof14

07-05-2008, 07:27 PM

Yeah...especially after inviting Fiat over here!!

Big game tomorrow night on ESPN!
:zm10::zm10::zm10:
Yes you are right and I love Fiat, and all the hard work she/he does.:zm10:

TobyTiger

07-05-2008, 07:34 PM

Yes you are right and I love Fiat, and all the hard work she/he does.:zm10:

Yeah...Fiat's as busy as I am during the week and compiling the information for these posts isn't an easy task.

:zm10:

gramvof14

07-05-2008, 07:45 PM

Yeah...Fiat's as busy as I am during the week and compiling the information for these posts isn't an easy task.

:zm10:
I can appreciate that and I am sure the fans from IS appreciated it also, but someone evidently DIDN'T. :groan: THEIR LOSS OUR GAIN.:zm10:

Pauli

07-05-2008, 07:52 PM

Welcome Fiat I really like what you are doing with this.. don't worry about the door being shut here.. we are open 24/7... 365 days a year. We never close.:zm10:

TobyTiger

07-05-2008, 07:56 PM

I can appreciate that and I am sure the fans from IS appreciated it also, but someone evidently DIDN'T. :groan: THEIR LOSS OUR GAIN.:zm10:

EXACTLY!
:zm10::zm10::zm10:

TobyTiger

07-05-2008, 08:22 PM

A more detailed article on tonight's win...

RIVERA, YANKS HOLD OFF RED SOX (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25546414/)

updated 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Mariano Rivera flashed his classic form just in time.

The New York Yankees closer pitched himself in and out of trouble Saturday, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth inning and preserving a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

After Mike Mussina pitched six shutout innings, Rivera took over in the ninth with a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox quickly scored a run and were poised to get more, but Rivera struck out Coco Crisp, got Jason Varitek on a popup and fanned Julio Lugo for his 23rd save.

The Yankees won after losing the first two games of the series to Boston.

Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner, two of New York’s three healthy outfielders, each drove in a run and made a nice play in the field. Cabrera had an RBI single in the second and Gardner’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the sixth.

Justin Masterson (4-3) hit three batters, threw a wild pitch and walked two, but managed to hold the Yankees in check in his six innings. The rookie right-hander allowed six hits in his first appearance against New York.

Dustin Pedroia went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games for Boston, which almost dealt the Yankees a heartbreaking loss.

Mussina (11-6) allowed four hits and walked one in his first win over the Red Sox since June 5, 2006. He was 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in his previous six games against Boston...

more at the link

SaberGal

07-05-2008, 08:22 PM

littlewheels

07-06-2008, 10:42 AM

Morning! How 'bout them ROCKIES? (I didn't say that too loud!) Darned 'ol Tulo sure put himself in a mess! :yes2:

Fiatjustitia

07-06-2008, 11:25 AM

Before putting up today's summary, I want to say Thank you EVERYBODY for your kind warm welcome and thank you, PAULI, for making us Yankees' Fan's threadsters feel, as the late, great George Carlin would say, "Safe at Home". :love0085:

It's wonderful to be here - the thread looks gorgeous - and to know we won't be shut down from talking about baseball and the Yankees at any point in the season - but especially when our Yankees are playing those all-important games against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox!! :s1gyahoo:

SaberGal, your story brought tears to my eyes just imagining your Dad standing in Yankee Stadium with your Mom, thanks to the wonderful gift you and their other children gave them. I come from a Yankees' loving Dad too - who passed on this gift genetically - our love of the Yanks goes back for generations. :howdy:

If he and my Mom were still here, I like to think us kids would have pulled out all the stops to see them attend a Yankees' game in this last year - possibly even the All Star Game in the Stadium on July 15th. Hopefully, your story will inspire others with NY Yankees' blood in their veins to do for their parents or themselves what you did for yours before the season ends, if it's in their power to do so.:smile:

Yes, Littlwheels! How 'bout them Rockies??? They just won their 5th straight game! Looks like that MLB newsie at foxsports.com should be congratulated for his prediction that the "Little Team That Could" will also have a tremendous end to this season. :s1gyahoo:

Here's hoping SS Troy Tulowitzki won't be on the DL too long with his cut hand. I read where it happened when he slammed and broke his maple bat after being pulled from the game. The talented Troy was humble enough to admit that, after losing 46 games to a torn thigh tendon, he was "stupid" to do such a thing.:groan:

GramV, love you too! Thank you for your invitation to come here and sweet words of welcome and am still chuckling at your post to SaberGal that, being a Red Sox fan, you still thought hers was a great story. One of the nicest things I've experienced in talking about baseball with you and our other threadsters since it all began is how willing you all have been to give "hi fives" to great stuff from the other side. It's a wonderful thing to see happen!:hifive:

And Sunstar, I love it that you're a Braves' fan. As you can see, your team is already listed as one of real interest in the thread - put there because the Southern half of my own family are Braves' fans through and through. There's also a Missouri contingent who are diehard Cards's fans - which is why their name appears. All this is to say, we'll add your name as "owning" the Braves to give them a spiritual boost from your prayers and hopes for them to make it into the post-season.:happy0158:

And Toby, what can I say? What saddened me most about closing the thread at InSession was how much I'd miss hearing your enthusiasm for our boys in pinstripes - primarily because you must know as well as I that it's not easy being a Yankees' fan when you live so far away from their home territory. Thank you for asking me to come here to keep it going and for continuing posting your recaps - referring everyone to last night's at your posts #8 (foxsports) and #17 (NBC) above this one. :friends3:

Congratulations to everyone in littlewheel's HTFM NASCAR thread who picked Kyle Busch as the winner at Daytona - his 6th win on the circuit this year. That would be the fabled Sunstar, who won again for having the most top pics for the race, and GramV, SavannahStar and Dotcomrade for picking him as their #1.:zm10:

And Look4u, when time has allowed - yes, am as busy as Toby during the week and sometimes, like with his schedule too, mine gets completely crazy. It's a good thing that when that happened last at IS, we were in baseball's off season. But, have recently been looking in on NASCAR races on TV - to help me follow all of your conversations about the latest races and the drivers you like best. :INhouseReading04:

A driver I remember when there was time to watch was Dario Franchitti, who won last year's Indy. Here's hoping he picks up a new sponsor soon - would hate to see him lose more time in his career trying to find a sponsor to support it. Wonder if the Judd family might want to invest in a racing team?:0009:

Lastly, to Janicelee, sorry to hear you're having problems with your computer and hope to see you back again real soon.:0012:

Now, on to the summary - noting that Fox won't be announcing the All Star Team rosters until later this afternoon - so I'll recap all that in tomorrow's summary - which, sorry to say, can't be posted until later than usual because it will be an early and long work day.:francis:

Thank you again, Pauli, and Everyone Else and Here's to a great Sunday for All of You!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-06-2008, 02:52 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), Littlewheels (Hi! and Congrats on another win and Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Fish this afternoon!), Janicelee (Congrats on another win and Good luck for your Reds vs. Tim Russert's Nats this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the Yankees tonight!), to Sunstar (Good luck for your Braves vs. the Astros this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Yes, Toby, that win yesterday was a godsend and certainly not lacking in drama at the end with Mo Rivera's letting the bases get loaded and all! Thank you again for posting the recaps of the action at #8 and #17 above.

Other Yankees' news has the sweet Johnny Damon likely headed to the DL for a bit to heal the injured shoulder suffered when he gave up his body for the team in Friday night's game. In fact, there's a really nice piece posted by George Vecsey today at nytimes.com (linked further below) entitled, "Damon Will and Does Run Into Walls for Yanks".

Besides the impending announcement of the All Star Team Rosters - is a crazy pronouncement to be found in a piece posted at foxsports.com that A-Rod has been brainwashed by Kabbalah - an ancient and now revived Jewish sect (some would consider it a cult like Scientology that ratchets up the less intellectually endowed famous members or our species to adapt to the unusual circumstances wrought by being extraordinarily well-known and human at the same time).

In any event, quoted extensively in this article is A-Rod's now displaced current trainer (for being in Cynthia Rodriguez' corner) who opines that, in disposing of his wife and family and taking up with Madonna, A-Rod is engaging in the Kabbalah practice of "Cleaning Out His Vessel", or as we lesser beings call it, "out with the old and in with the new".

Now, some of us who are neither famous nor holding the job of wiping their behinds for them would attribute an altogether different meaning to A-Rod's "Cleaning Out His Vessel" in the context of his "connection" with Madonna.

And, am sure that those of us who work in fields involving the cleanup from the routine attempts of the dregs of humanity to fleece the rest of us, might worry that those surrounding this Kabbalah thing of A-Rod's aren't in the process of "cleaning out" his ample bank account.

Here's the link:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8316254/Ex-Trainer:-A-Rod-brainwashed-by-kabbalah

***

Now for the NY Time's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's win entitled: "Mussina Wins Again After Rivera Saves Himself":

"From the start of the perilous ninth inning, Mike Mussina could tell something was wrong with Mariano Rivera. Pitches he might miss by an inch or two were sailing a foot away from their targets. For the first time in his career, Rivera hit two batters in a game. Mussina had a victory in the balance, and as he watched from the Yankees’ clubhouse, he was nervous.

Mussina, who had thrown six shutout innings before light-headedness forced him from the game, paced the room. He tried sitting in the players’ lounge. He tried standing by his locker and peeking at a television around the corner.

'About six different places,' Mussina said. 'I didn’t see some of it.' [am smiling at this remark of Mussina's because, during part of that inning, I also had to leave the room - Fiat].

Jason Giambi saw all of it. Giambi, who had scored the game’s first run by rumbling two bases on a single, was parked on the massage table, shouting encouragement to Rivera on the TV screen. He never doubted that Rivera would close out a 2-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox, even with a run in, the bases loaded and no outs.

'Even in that situation, you still know he’s going to get out of it,' Giambi said. 'That’s the amazing thing about the career Mo has established — no outs, bases loaded, you still think we’re going to win this game.'

Rivera survived by striking out Coco Crisp, getting Jason Varitek to pop out on a 2-0 pitch and fanning Julio Lugo to end the game. It preserved Rivera’s 23rd save in 23 chances this season, and gave the Yankees their first victory in three games in their series against the Red Sox. . .."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/sports/baseball/06yanks.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, for items that may have been added since the 4th:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#12

***

With the All Star team rosters to be announced later today, here are reminders of what to do next:

1) From after today's announcement (July 6) to Thursday, July 10, you can return to MLB.com and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster.

2) Finally, on July 15, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

Good luck to all of your favorite players to make the final rosters of this year's All Star Game to be played at Yankee Stadium!

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's MLB games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Cubs and Lilly were edged by the Cards and Lohse, 5-4; the Astros and Sampson beat Sunstar's Braves and Reyes, 6-1; the A's and Smith were stomped by the CWS and Floyd, 6-1; the Mets and Maine bested the Phillies and Moyer, 9-4; the Tribe and Laffey were thumped by the Twins and Slowey, 9-6; Tim Russert's Nats and Redding were defeated by Janicelee's Reds and Fogg, 3-2; the Fish and Tucker were driven ashore and left to rot on the beach by LW's Rockies and De La Rosa, 12-6; the Pads and Peavy flattened the Snakes and Davis, 4-2; Toronto and Halladay kept the Angels and Lackey here on earth, 7-5; the Yadgers [our name for former Yankees' Skipper, Joe Torre's new team, the Dodgers] and Park went down to SF and Zito, 5-2; and the Tigers and Galarraga were caged by the Sailors and Dickey, 3-2.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Balester will meet Janicelee's Reds and Volquez (Reds up 5-3 in the 6th); 1:35 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Rodriguez will face Sunstar's Braves and Morton (rain delayed in the 1st); and the Mets and O.Perez will take on the Phillies and Kendrick (Mets up 1-0 in the 3rd); 2:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Harden will play against the CWS and Danks (CWS up 1-0 in the 2nd); 2:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Lee will contend against the Twins and Perkins (Tribe up 1-0 in the 3rd); 3:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Hendrickson will vie against LW's Rockies and Cook; 3:15 p.m., EDT, the Cubs and Marshall will meet the Cards and Wellemeyer; 3:35 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Litsch will take on the Angels and Garland; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Stults will play against SF and Cain; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Robertson will contend against the Sailors and Rowland-Smith; and the Pads and Banks will vie against the Snakes and the Unit; and 8:09 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston will meet our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain.

Tomorrow, a boatload of teams are off and will begin series on Tuesday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: our Yankees (Rays); Janicelee's Reds and the Cubs (against each other); Tim Russert's Nats and the Snakes (against each other); the CWS (KC); Tribe (Tigers) and Cubs (Phillies). Monday's complete schedule of games is: 12:40 p.m., EDT, KC and Meche will meet the Rays and Garza; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Baker will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Mets and Pedro Martinez will take on the Phillies and Eaton; and the Astros and R. Hernandez will play against the Buccos and Dumatrait; 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Jimenez will contend against the Brewers and McClung; and the Angels and E.Santana will vie against Texas and Mendoza; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Washburn will meet the A's and Eveland; and the Fish and Nolasco will face the Pads and Maddux; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Campillo will take on the Yadgers and Kuroda.

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Sunday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the Red Sox tonight.

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

07-06-2008, 02:55 PM

Thank you so much Fiat :0012: but the Braves & Astros are in a delay. :shrug1: I hope they get the game in today! I'll be watching the NYY & Red Sox tonight!

Fiatjustitia

07-06-2008, 03:06 PM

Thank you so much Fiat :0012: but the Braves & Astros are in a delay. :shrug1: I hope they get the game in today! I'll be watching the NYY & Red Sox tonight!

Great to see you in real time, Sunstar, and you're welcome!

Here's hoping that rain stops soon and your game is over in time to watch the Yanks play the Red Sox tonight at 8! And that it's a win for you against the Astros!

I'm heading out to get some work done now and maybe take a nap so I can stay awake to watch the whole thing!

Cheers and again, have a great day!

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

07-06-2008, 03:09 PM

Great to see you in real time, Sunstar, and you're welcome!

Here's hoping that rain stops soon and your game is over in time to watch the Yanks play the Red Sox tonight at 8! And that it's a win for you against the Astros!

I'm heading out to get some work done now and maybe take a nap so I can stay awake to watch the whole thing!

Cheers and again, have a great day!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Hi Fiat :0012: If I take an afternoon nap I'll be up all night and tomorrow's another day back at work. The tennis at Wimbledon is in a rain delay too so my DH just turned on the golf. :girl_haha:

TobyTiger

07-06-2008, 06:32 PM

Greetings, Fiat!!

90 minutes to go...
:zm10::zm10::zm10:

TobyTiger

07-06-2008, 11:36 PM

YANKEES WON!

IT ONLY TOOK 10 INNINGS...

YANKEES 5
RED SOX 4
FINAL

WP: MARIANO RIVERA

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280706110

Fiatjustitia

07-07-2008, 06:05 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), Littlewheels (Hi! and Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Brewers tonight!), Janicelee (Congrats on another win and a pleasant day off for your Reds today!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the Twinkies tonight!), to Sunstar (Hi! Congrats on the win and good luck for your Braves vs. the Yadgers tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Yes, Toby, it was great to see the series with the Red Sox split 2-2 and the cosmic equilibrium between the wins and losses when they play once again preserved. Thanks for your recap of the game [post #26 just before this one] and here's hoping our boys in pinstripes are enjoying a well-deserved day off today!

And how 'bout the new kid, Brett Gardner, who's been spelling the sweet Johnny Damon in the outfield? We no sooner said he added speed, energy and youth to the team and along he comes and wins a big one for us. Nice work, Brett!!! Thank you!!!

And, Sunstar, sure wish I could've watched the Federer-Nadal match at Wimbledon. I remember Roger's announcement last year that he was happy to still be winning against Nadal because "Rafa would soon winning them all". Can't wait for this year's Open in August to see whether Rafa has reached the point where he can beat Federer on hardcourts - Roger's best surface - as well.

As for naps disturbing my sleep, I can sleep anytime. In fact, I am one of those people who will go to sleep whenever I possibly can.:smile:

***

MLB news today naturally concerns selection of the All Stars - featuring GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox galore. But, in order for this summary not to become prohibitively long, I'll post the All Star Team members and reserves right after this summary.

Remember you can still vote for the last team member for each league and the Giambino is up for the Yankees. The link to mlb.com is still being provided further below for your voting convenience and I'll leave it up until the game on the 15th so you can vote for the MVP too.

Other big news is the Tribe's trade of reigning AL Cy Young winner, C.C. Sabathia, to the Milwaukee Brewers. C.C. will make his debut for the Brewers in tomorrow night's game against LW's Rockies.

And in news merely tangential to MLB, Cynthia Rodriguez has filed for divorce, citing A-Rod's extracurricular activities. Every MLB news site linked in our summaries has coverage of that report and Ben Maller's rumors site has a raft of tangentially gossipy items on the subject too.

***

Now for the NY Time's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's win entitled: "Rivera Does Job, Then Fill-In Works for Winning Hit":

"If the American League has a late lead at Yankee Stadium in next Tuesday’s All-Star Game, Manager Terry Francona will have a tantalizing decision. Would he use his own closer, Jonathan Papelbon, to lock down the game? Or would he use the ultimate closer, Mariano Rivera?

Francona would not touch the subject Sunday afternoon, but the closers squared off hours later. Rivera stifled the Red Sox for two innings, getting pinch-hitter Manny Ramírez on three called strikes to end the ninth. Papelbon lost the game in the tenth inning, 5-4, when Brett Gardner singled up the middle.

Gardner, who is replacing the injured Johnny Damon atop the Yankees’ lineup, fouled off three two-strike pitches before slapping a bouncer up the middle on the eighth pitch of his at-bat. It deflected off the glove of a diving Alex Cora as Robinson Cano hustled in from second with the winning run.

'I was talking to the ball,' said Gardner, who had worked a walk off Papelbon on Friday. 'I was trying to take it up the middle. As soon as I saw him get a glove on it, I was like, ‘Oh, man, he’s going to knock it down.’ But it squirted away and gave Robby enough time to come in.'

It was the second hit of the game for Gardner, a memorable capper to a debut week in the majors that started with one hit in his first 18 at-bats.

'I’ve known since spring training that I could play at this level,' said Gardner, speaking 20 minutes after the game and still wearing a jersey smeared with dirt.

'Coming up here this week, I haven’t done as well as I’d hoped, but I’ve felt pretty good at the plate. It’s definitely something that will boost my confidence and let you know you can get the job done.'

The victory gave the Yankees a split in a four-game series with the Red Sox, who lead the Yankees by four games in the American League wild-card race. The East division-leading Tampa Bay Rays come to town Tuesday for a two-game series. . .

The Yankees scored first, when A-Rod led off the second inning with a liner into the seats down he left-field line. It was his 536th home run, tying Mickey Mantle for 13th on the career list, and it earned a curtain call from the fans. . .."

Here's the link for all of it including "Inside Pitch":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/sports/baseball/07yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including that bunch of gossipy items about A-Rod - with bits announcing that his mother-in-law doesn't like him, he's hired Shaquille O'Neill's divorce lawyer and that he might be looking for a batchelor pad near Madonna's marital home. Sorry to say there's nothing yet on what the Rodriguez' two children think of their parents' untidy little mess:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#2

***

With the All Star team rosters announced yesterday, here are reminders of what to do next:

1) From today through Thursday, July 10, you can return to MLB.com and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster.

2) And, on July 15, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's MLB games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: Tim Russert's Nats and Balester were edged by Janicelee's Reds and Volquez, 6-5; the Astros and Rodriguez lost to Sunstar's Braves and Morton, 7-6; the Mets and O.Perez beat the Phillies and Kendrick, 4-2; the A's and Harden were beaten by the CWS and Danks, 4-3; the Tribe and Lee were bested by the Twins and Perkins, 4-3; the Fish and Hendrickson decimated LW's Rockies and Cook, 10-5; the Cubs and Marshall euchered the Cards and Wellemeyer, 7-1; Toronto and Litsch were vanquished by the Angels and Garland, 7-1; the Yadgers and Stults defeated SF and Cain, 5-3; the Tigers and Robertson sank the Sailors and Rowland-Smith, 2-1; and the Snakes and the Unit squeaked past the Pads and Banks, 3-2.

Today, a boatload of teams are off and will begin series tomorrow against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: our Yankees (Rays); Janicelee's Reds and the Cubs (against each other); Tim Russert's Nats and the Snakes (against each other); the CWS (KC); Tribe (Tigers) and Cubs (Phillies). So, today's complete schedule of games is: 12:40 p.m., EDT, KC and Meche stung the Rays and Garza, 7-4; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Baker will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Mets and Pedro Martinez will take on the Phillies and Eaton; and the Astros and R. Hernandez will play against the Buccos and Dumatrait; 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Jimenez will contend against the Brewers and McClung; and the Angels and E.Santana will vie against Texas and Mendoza; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Washburn will meet the A's and Eveland; and the Fish and Nolasco will face the Pads and Maddux; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Campillo will take on the Yadgers and Kuroda.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Kazmir will meet our Yankees and Pettitte; the Twins and Blackburn will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester; the Tribe and Sowers will take on the Tigers and Verlander; and the Cards and Pineiro will play against the Phillies and Cole Hamels; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the O's and Cabrera will contend against Toronto and McGowan; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Webb will vie against Tim Russert's Nats and Perez; and SF and Lincecum will meet the Mets and Pelfrey; 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Redman will face the Brewers and the debuting C.C. Sabathia; the Angels and Saunders will take on Texas and Hurley; and Janicelee's Reds and Harang will play against the Cubs and Dempster; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Contreras will contend against KC and Davies; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Jurrjens will vie against the Yadgers and Billingsley.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great what's left of Monday and baseball for All of You and some restful time off for our Yankees before they meet the Rays tomorrow night.

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-07-2008, 06:19 PM

Cubs, BoSox dominate All-Star Game rosters

Posted at foxsports.com
July 7, 2008

"Maybe Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and the rest of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs should just play their own All-Star game.

A charmed season for the Cubs got even better Sunday when they put a team-record seven players on the NL roster. The World Series champion Red Sox also will send seven to Yankee Stadium on July 15.

"They love me everywhere, what can I tell you?" Ramirez said. "That's why I'm here. I guess I'm not stealing money."

Said New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez: "It's going to be weird having them in our locker room."

The Tampa Bay Rays, with the best record in the majors, did not have a single player elected to start. Pitcher Scott Kazmir and catcher Dioner Navarro were added to the AL squad.

AL STARTERS

Player - Position - Team

Joe Mauer C Twins
Kevin Youkilis 1B Red Sox
Dustin Pedroia 2B Red Sox
Derek Jeter SS Yankees
Alex Rodriguez 3B Yankees
Manny Ramirez OF Red Sox
Ichiro Suzuki OF Mariners
Josh Hamilton OF Rangers

NL starters

Player - Position - Team

Geovany Soto C Cubs
Lance Berkman 1B Astros
Chase Utley 2B Phillies
Hanley Ramirez SS Marlins
Chipper Jones 3B Braves
Alfonso Soriano OF Cubs
Kosuke Fukudome OF Cubs
Ryan Braun OF Brewers

'Picking the All-Star team, it's normally based on individual performance,' Rays manager Joe Maddon said. 'You can look at our group, individually we don't necessarily stand out, and that's OK. As a team, we totally stand out.'

The Yankees will be well represented, too, on a night showcasing Hall of Famers and a famed ballpark in its final year. Rodriguez will be joined by Yankees captain Derek Jeter and closer Mariano Rivera.

There was only one change in the last week of fan voting for starters - Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun overtook Ken Griffey Jr. in the NL outfield. Griffey finished fourth and was left off the team.

Rodriguez was the top overall vote-getter for the second straight year at 3,934,518 and became a 12-time All-Star, as did Ramirez. Philadelphia second baseman Chase Utley led the NL voting with 3,889,602.

The 1958 Yankees hold the record with nine players in an All-Star game. The Cubs and Red Sox came close when these rosters were announced - Internet voting this week will determine the 32nd player on each team.

'To be able to represent the Red Sox with that number of Red Sox will be very exciting,' AL manager Terry Francona of Boston said. 'I'm very proud of that.'

Outfielders Kosuke Fukudome and Soriano and rookie catcher Geovany Soto were chosen to start for the Cubs, who own the best record in the league. Soriano has been out with a broken left hand, but may return in time to play.

Cubs pitchers Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster and third baseman Aramis Ramirez were chosen by NL players, and pitcher Carlos Zambrano was picked by NL manager Clint Hurdle of Colorado.

'It's flattering,' Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. 'We've played well the first half and these guys that are going are, in a way, largely responsible. We have a few others but these guys have all done their jobs and done them well, and they're being rewarded.'

The Cubs, trying to win their first World Series in 100 years, put six players into the All-Star game in 1988 and 1936.

'Obviously all seven guys have good enough numbers to be there,' Zambrano said. 'I was kind of like 50-50. I was planning to make a flight to Venezuela, but now I have to change it.'

Ramirez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox were elected by fans. Ortiz is on the disabled list with an injured wrist but will attend; Francona said Texas' Milton Bradley would become the designated hitter.

Boston outfielder J.D. Drew, catcher Jason Varitek and closer Jonathan Papelbon were picked by a vote of AL players.

'Definitely be more comfortable,' Pedroia said. 'That's the biggest thing because a lot of the guys I don't know.'

The AL starting lineup: Youkilis at first base, Pedroia at second base, Jeter at shortstop, Rodriguez at third base, outfielders Josh Hamilton of Texas, Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle and Ramirez, and Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer.

Starting for the NL: Houston first baseman Lance Berkman, Utley at second base, Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez and Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones, with Soriano, Fukudome and Braun in the outfield. Soto will become the first rookie catcher to start for the NL.

Pitchers Joe Saunders of the Angels and Cliff Lee of Cleveland were among 14 first-time AL stars. Colorado pitcher Aaron Cook and San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez were among the NL's 11 newcomers.

The AL candidates for the last spot in Internet voting: outfielders Jermaine Dye and Jose Guillen, first baseman Jason Giambi, second baseman Brian Roberts and third baseman Evan Longoria.

The NL candidates: outfielders Pat Burrell, Corey Hart, Carlos Lee and Aaron Rowand and third baseman David Wright.

Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins, Detroit outfielder Magglio Ordonez and Boston third baseman Mike Lowell were among the top players left out.

'Every year there are guys who make it that people question and there are guys that probably have the numbers that don't make it,' Lowell said.

Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-1, 3.12 ERA), the Yankees' Mike Mussina (11-6, 3.64) and St. Louis' Kyle Lohse (10-2, 3.61) also were left off.

Once again, the league that wins the All-Star game will get home-field advantage in the World Series.

The AL has not lost an All-Star game since 1996 at Veterans Stadium. Since then, the AL has won 10 and tied one. Overall, the NL leads 40-36-2.

'It's more than just an All-Star game, it's like a celebration of Yankee Stadium,' Jeter said."

Here's the link:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8317772/Cubs,-BoSox-dominate-All-Star-Game-rosters click to print this page

Cheers and A great evening to All!

Fiat :happy0207:

gramvof14

07-07-2008, 07:41 PM

Sorry Fiat didn't get over here earlier to Congratulate the Yankees for their win last night against my Red Sox:zm10::zm10:
Hope the Red Sox win tonight. and looking forward to the All STAR Game.

Love reading your updates, have a good night.:friends3: gramv

sunstar

07-07-2008, 07:54 PM

Hi Fiat :0012: I stayed up for most of the Yankee game last night but I confess I fell asleep around 11pm. :groan: I see my Braves won yesterday too!!! :hifive: I hope they win again tonight against the Dodgers!

Fiatjustitia

07-08-2008, 06:21 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Brewers and Sabathia tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds vs. the Cubs tonight!), GramV (Hi!) and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the Twinkies tonight!), to Sunstar (Hi!) and Good luck for your Braves vs. the Yadgers tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

GramV, thanks so much for your compliment on the summaries - it feels wonderful to be here with all of you. You must be thrilled by having so many of your Red Sox in the All Star Game - a night we can all root for Boston and the Yankees at the same time.:s1gyahoo:

And Sunstar, great your Braves won on a night when you could watch the Yankees. Sorry Atlanta lost last night, and here's hoping they can give the Yadgers a revenge blanking when you play them again tonight!:104511:

With the Yankees off yesterday and due to meet the dominating Rays tonight, here's some news making the rounds at our usual MLB sites:

1) In Beantown, big Papi Ortiz is now taking batting practice, indicating that his wrist is showing some improvement, and Curt Schilling, always good at keeping in touch with the media, has announced to one and all that he's "pondering" his future;

2) And, in a bit of whimsical news, another great pitcher - the one who just changed his address from Cleveland to Milwaukee - where he will make his debut against LW's Rockies tonight - is announcing that he is dropping the periods in his first "name", and henceforth will be known simply as "CC" Sabathia; and

3) A-Rod news is heating up. We've seen the story jump from the sports' web and tabloids to the mainstream television media this week. The second stage of a news cycle generally involves the reactions that emerge after the initial shock has set in. Espn.com and foxsports.com do not disappoint in that department, with the following fun stuff to read:

Here's a link to a piece from foxsports.com's Mark Kriegel ripping A-Rod a new one - and deep:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8323296/On-the-Mark:-What-is-A-Rod-searching-for?

***

Here's a link to a piece from espn.com in which Tim Keown calls this saga one of the most "deliciously stupid stories we can expect to see in our lifetimes":

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keown/080708&sportCat=mlb

***

And, further turning our sports media into an annex of the tabloids, here's an item from foxsports.com describing Cynthia's divorce complaint as pleading A-Rod's involvement in an "affair of the heart" - clearly accentuating the positive, inasmuch as it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the nexus of this "connection" ain't nearly that high up:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8325056/Divorce-suit:-A-Rod-over-the-'borderline'

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including a report that the knee that Tigers' ace, Dontrelle "The D Train" Willis, hyperextended in April isn't getting much better and that word around the diamond is that he may not make another start for the entire rest of the season:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#1

***

With the All Star team rosters announced yesterday, here are reminders of what to do next:

1) From today through Thursday, July 10, you can return to MLB.com and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster from these AL and NL candidates' lists:

AL candidates: outfielders Jermaine Dye (CWS) and Jose Guillen (KC), first baseman Jason Giambi (NYY), second baseman Brian Roberts (O's) and third baseman Evan Longoria (Rays).

NL candidates: outfielders Pat Burrell (Phillies), Corey Hart (Brewers), Carlos Lee (Astros) and Aaron Rowand (SF) and third baseman David Wright (Mets).

2) And, on Tuesday night, July 15th, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Recalling that yesterday, our Yankees, Janicelee's Reds, the Cubs, Tim Russert's Nats, the Snakes, the CWS, Cards and Tribe were off, scores from yesterday's MLB games were: KC and Meche stung the Rays and Garza, 7-4; the Twins and Baker were bageled by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka, 1-0; the Mets and Pedro Martinez decimated the Phillies and Eaton, 10-9; the Astros and R. Hernandez walked the plank for the Buccos and Dumatrait, 10-7; LW's Rockies and Jimenez edged the Brewers and McClung, 4-3; the Angels and E.Santana stomped Texas and Mendoza, 9-6; the A's and Eveland squeaked past the Sailors and Washburn, 4-3; the Fish and Nolasco evaded the Pads and Maddux, 3-1; and Sunstar's Braves and Campillo were blanked by the Yadgers and Kuroda, 3-0.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Kazmir will meet our Yankees and Pettitte; the Twins and Blackburn will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester; the Tribe and Sowers will take on the Tigers and Verlander; and the Cards and Pineiro will play against the Phillies and Cole Hamels; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the O's and Cabrera will contend against Toronto and McGowan; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Webb will vie against Tim Russert's Nats and Perez; and SF and Lincecum will meet the Mets and Pelfrey; 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Redman will face the Brewers and the debuting C.C. Sabathia; the Angels and Saunders will take on Texas and Harrison (in a pitching change from yesterday); and Janicelee's Reds and Harang will play against the Cubs and Dempster; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Contreras will contend against KC and Davies; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Jurrjens will vie against the Yadgers and Billingsley.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Jackson will meet our Yankees and Ponson; and the Twins and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will take on the Tigers and Bonine; and the Cards and Mulder will play against the Phillies and Happ; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the O's and Olson will contend against Toronto and Burnett; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Owings will vie against Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan; and SF and Correia will meet the Mets and Santana; 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Reynolds will face the Brewers and Sheets; the Angels and Jered Weaver will take on Texas and Padilla; and Janicelee's Reds and Cueto will play against the Cubs and Zambrano; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Vazquez will contend against KC and Bannister; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Hudson will vie against the Yadgers and Lowe.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great what's left of Tuesday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the Rays tonight.

Fiat

:happy0207:

janicelee

07-08-2008, 07:52 PM

fiat dear, so happy to see you here. Saves me a stop on my rounds of the internet if you are posting the best thread on baseball anywhere on the internet right here. Nothing else to add, not much likely to happen in Redsland til after the allstar break. Am kind of hoping to see Josh Hamilton face Edison Volquez for an at bat in the allstar game. Would give us alot to talk about here in Cincinnati since the topic of Hamilton for Volquez is still a good way to start a fight here in Cincinnati.

TobyTiger

07-08-2008, 10:21 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!!

THANKS, ANDY...

Derek Jeter delivered with his bat and glove, backing a determined effort by Andy Pettitte that led the New York Yankees to a much-needed, 5-0 win over the Tampa Bays Rays on Tuesday night. Jeter lined an early go-ahead double off All-Star Scott Kazmir, then made a stellar play in the seventh inning that preserved a two-run lead and prompted a sellout crowd to chant his name. Pettitte needed little other help in pitching eight sharp innings.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280708110

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

In other news...the temperature here is currently 106 at 7:20pm...tomorrow is expected to be 107+, Thursday 108+...not much wind and I feel as if I'm in a sauna! :thud2:

Have a great day!
:happy0207:

gramvof14

07-08-2008, 10:54 PM

Hello Fiat

Manny's blast leads Sox comeback
Manny Ramirez hit a game tying two run homer over the Green Monster as the Red Sox scored four in the eighth off the Twins bullpin in a 6 - 5 victory
on tuesday. Kevin Youkilis had three hits and scored the winning run on Brandon Moss's single.:zm10::zm10:

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/index.jsp?c_id=bos

Fiatjustitia

07-09-2008, 04:02 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Brewers tonight!), Janicelee (Hi! and Good luck for your Reds vs. the Cubs tonight!), GramV (Hi Again!) and Barskin&Co (Congrats on another win and Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the Twinkies this afternoon), to Sunstar (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves vs. the Yadgers tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Janicelee, thanks so much for your compliment on the summaries and am so very happy to oblige with the more convenient location! And yes, it will be interesting to see Josh Hamilton come up against Volquez during the All Star Game and here's hoping the Skippers' sequencing of the players permits it.

Too bad Edinson's not pitching in the Home Run Derby - Josh being a contestant this time around - but there wouldn't be any home runs LOL.

GramV - thanks for posting the recap of Boston's win over the Twins - just above at #34. I'll tellya, after the All Star Break, it's going to be exciting to watch the competition heat up in the AL East as the battle royal progresses for the top spot between your Red Sox, the Yankees and the Rays.

And thanks, Toby, for your recap of our blanking of those Rays! By this point in the season, a "blanking" of the Rays is coming to assume a whole other meaning besides leaving them with a score of "0".:happy0158:

And, God, more triple digit heat for you! I'll keep you in my thoughts to get through it okay and hope it doesn't become too unbearable.:021:

***

News in MLB today shows a slowing down of the A-Rod gossip and a return to matters more relevant to the subject of baseball:

1) The Cubbies have assured that July 31st trade deadline will not pass without more excitement by securing the A's ace, Rich Harden, within days of the Brewers' adding the Tribe's reigning AL Cy Young Winner, CC Sabathia, to their starting rotation. In short, when you haven't won a World Series in almost a hundred years, it's high time to let the world know you're "serie-ous".

2. Home Run Derby contestants who will compete on Monday night, July 14th, of All Star Week are: Lance Berkman (Astros), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Josh Hamilton (Texas), Grady Sizemore (Tribe), Dan Uggla (Fish) and Chase Utley (Phillies). Three more hitters, whose names are TBA, will be added.

Our Yankees' first baseman, Jason Giambi, has said he will contend in the Derby if he is selected via the fans' vote (through tomorrow - see the mlb.com link further below) as the last player on the AL All Stars' roster.

****

Now for the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's win, entitled: "The Yankees Take a Page From the Past":

"Andy Pettitte punched the thick air with his fist, then slapped his left hand against his glove. With one play, he had hopped into a time machine, when Derek Jeter had limitless range and the Tampa Bay Rays tried in vain to catch the Yankees.

At 34, Jeter does not move as quickly as he once did. With the best record in baseball, the Rays are no longer doormats. But in the 7th inning at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night, Jeter ranged far to his right for a dazzling play that preserved Pettitte’s shutout and punctuated the Yankees’ 5-0 victory.

Jeter drove in the first two runs with a third-inning double off an overpowering Scott Kazmir. He later singled and scored in the 8th, but the defensive highlight seemed at least as satisfying, considering the criticism Jeter takes for his defense.

'I guess you’ve got to ask the people that criticize me; maybe they’ll write a different story,' Jeter said. 'Send ’em a tape.'

The Rays, who lead the third-place Yankees by seven and a half games in the AL East, did not have a serious threat against Pettitte until the 7th.

Willy Aybar batted with two out and runners at the corners, pulling a hard grounder past A-Rod and onto the grass in shallow left field. Jeter dashed over, took about five steps into the outfield and fired a jump throw across his body to cut down the runner at second.

It is a play Jeter has made many times — balls to his left are harder to reach — but Manager Joe Girardi said he did not expect it this time. To Girardi, executing the throw made the play stand out.

'I just think the control — that he’s able to jump and spin and make the throw right on the money,' Girardi said. 'That’s impressive to me.'

The inning was over, the threat was averted, and Pettitte stayed near the mound until he acknowledged Jeter. Pettitte had reached 100 pitches, but he kept at it another inning, allowing four hits and no walks over eight. . .

Kazmir did not last as long — just five innings — but he looked like a worthy All-Star selection for next Tuesday’s game in the Bronx. . .

[T]he Yankees got to Kazmir in the 3rd, when Robinson Cano led off with a single, his 12th hit in his last 19 at-bats against left-handers. Jose Molina doubled him to third before two strikeouts brought Jeter to the plate.

With a 2-1 count, Kazmir left a changeup high in the strike zone, and Jeter lashed it to the right-field warning track, over the head of Jonny Gomes. That was all the offense the Yankees had until the 8th, but it was more than Pettitte needed in a vintage performance."

Here's the link to all of it including "Inside Pitch":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/sports/baseball/09yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including a report that the Yadgers are expected to change hitting coaches on July 18th by replacing Mike Easler with Don Mattingly.

"Donnie Baseball", was given this job initially when Joe Torre moved to LA, but resigned to tend to his divorce and has been a Yadgers' special assignments' coach since then. He will now be around to help the Skipper full-time - hooray!:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#1

***

With the All Star team rosters falling into place, here are reminders of what to do next:

1) From today through tomorrow, July 10, you can return to MLB.com and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster from these AL and NL candidates' lists:

AL candidates: outfielders Jermaine Dye (CWS) and Jose Guillen (KC), first baseman Jason Giambi (NYY), second baseman Brian Roberts (O's) and third baseman Evan Longoria (Rays).

NL candidates: outfielders Pat Burrell (Phillies), Corey Hart (Brewers), Carlos Lee (Astros) and Aaron Rowand (SF) and third baseman David Wright (Mets).

2) And, on Tuesday night, July 15th, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Twins and Blackburn were edged by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester, 6-5; the Tribe and Sowers were stomped by the Tigers and Verlander, 9-2; the Cards and Pineiro bageled the Phillies and Cole Hamels, 2-0; Toronto and McGowan sqeaked past the O's and Cabrera, 7-6; the Snakes and Webb beat Tim Russert's Nats and Perez, 2-0; SF and Lincecum were relegated to zero and nothingness by the Mets and Pelfrey, 7-0; LW's Rockies and Redman lost to the Brewers and the debuting C.C. Sabathia, 7-3; the Angels and Saunders were blanked by Texas and Harrison, 3-0; Janicelee's Reds were defeated by the Cubs and Dempster, 7-3; the CWS and Contreras bested KC and Davies, 8-7; and Sunstar's Braves and Jurrjens vanquished the Yadgers and Billingsley, 9-3.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Jackson will meet our Yankees and Ponson (score tied 1-1 in the 10th); and the Twins and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett (Boston up 7-5 in the 7th); 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will take on the Tigers and Bonine; and the Cards and Mulder will play against the Phillies and Happ; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the O's and Olson will contend against Toronto and Burnett; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Owings will vie against Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan; and SF and Sanchez (in a pitching change from yesterday) will meet the Mets and Santana; 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Reynolds will face the Brewers and Sheets; the Angels and Jered Weaver will take on Texas and Ballard (in a pitching change from yesterday); and Janicelee's Reds and Cueto will play against the Cubs and Zambrano; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Vazquez will contend against KC and Bannister; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Hudson will vie against the Yadgers and Lowe.

Tomorrow, the following teams are off and will begin series on Friday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (O's) and Sunstar's Braves (Pads). Thursday's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Slowey will meet the Tigers and Rogers; the Cards and Looper will face the Phillies and Moyer; and SF and Zito will take on the Mets and Maine; 2:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and De La Rosa will play against the Brewers and Bush; 2:10 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo will contend against the Cubs and Lilly; 7:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Mussina will vie against the Buccos and Maholm; and the Rays and Sonnanstine will meet the Tribe and Laffey; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the O's and Guthrie will face Toronto and Halladay; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Haren will take on Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Lackey will play against Texas and Feldman; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Buehrle will contend against KC and Greinke; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Johnson will vie against the Yadgers and Park.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great what's left of Wednesday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the Rays this afternoon.

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-10-2008, 03:13 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Brewers this afternoon!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds vs. the Cubs this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the smashing of the Twinkies and a restful day off for your Red Sox today!), to Sunstar (Here's to a restful day off for your Braves today!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Wow! What a nice win for our Yankees with their two game sweep of the first place Rays! And how sweet for Bobby Abreu to be the hero who saved the game. Kudos must also go to to our new guy, Sydney Ponson, for another great performance on the hill.:love0085:

Today, we play one Interleague game against the Buccos in Pittsburgh before heading to Toronto - so here's hoping this lovely magic continues away from home.

***

There's plenty of news in MLB today with the All Star break coming up, including an uptick in A-Rod stuff, but not much:

1) Those of us who have followed the career of the Cubbies' tremendously talented OF Alfonso Soriano will be sorry to hear he won't be able to play on the NL team in the All Star Game because the hand he broke in early June still hasn't healed. The good news for LW and all Rockies fans is that Matt Holliday will replace him:s1gyahoo:;

2) Now that the Yankees have won four games straight following meltdowns of Manager, Joe Girardi, and all the team's coaches, the infant brother, Hal, of Baby Boss a/k/a "Hands on Hank" Steinbrenner, who had also lectured the team on its shortcomings, has only now decided to act out a fairly transparent sibling rivalry in voicing his own displeasure with our boys in pinstripes. God. I hate that, don't you?:rolleye0001:;

3) Ben Maller is listing a rumor in today's column - linked further below - that the Buccos are rumored to be thinking about trading their ex-Yankee first baseman, Doug Mientkiewicz, before the July 31st deadline - but are also saying they'd like to keep him if they can.

Those of us who enjoyed seeing ex-Yankee Andy Phillips playing in the Mets series, will be happy for tonight's "reunion" with the popular Doug, whose time in pinstripes was cut all too short by injury, and wishing all the best for him whether he remains a Pirate or not; and

4) There is a heartrending piece featuring an interview with Cynthia Rodriguez posted at foxsports.com in which she claims to still love A-Rod, albeit that the marriage is over because of other instances like the fling with Madonna that have happened before. She also says she won't be there when he comes back down to earth this time around. Interesting the writer cites "Narcissism" as a reason why he's never, in reality, done that before, nor will he ever be capable of coming to his senses at any time. Here's the link:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8331866?MSNHPHMA

With Pauli's indulgence, I will add in a completely serious vein that, if Cynthia, who is a child psychologist, has never heard of it before, I recommend she visit the following site where she can learn from a vast array of reading material and guidance available from the posters there and their leader, Dr. Sam Vaknin - a "recovering" narcissist himself - that, when an "N" has sucked you dry of what he or she needs and/or wants from you - whether in minutes, days, weeks, months or over a period of years - you're gonna be scrapped forever like a worn out toaster whether you like it and can deal with it, or not.

http://groups.msn.com/NARCISSISTICPERSONALITYDISORDER

****

Now for the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's sweep, entitled: "With Another Standout Effort, Ponson Is Fitting in Nicely for Yankees":

"The Yankees gave out 20,000 novelty mustaches Wednesday, celebrating their whiskered All-Star hopeful, Jason Giambi. In the clubhouse before the game, the media-relations director, Jason Zillo, placed a mustache in each player’s locker. Respecting tradition, he avoided the day’s starting pitcher, Sidney Ponson.

But after spending much of last month in the baseball wilderness, Ponson wants to be part of a team. So he got up from his chair and asked Zillo for a mustache, too — a silly but symbolic reminder that Ponson is a member of the Yankees in good standing.

For the second time in three starts for his new team, Ponson pitched a gem for six innings. He allowed one run to the Tampa Bay Rays and helped the Yankees to their fourth victory in a row, 2-1 in 10 innings.

'I’m just happy the Yankees gave me the chance, and I’m going to get the most out of it,' Ponson said. 'I’m going to work hard every time they give me the ball to give them a chance to win.'

Bobby Abreu doubled home the winning run against Grant Balfour, completing a quick two-game sweep of the Rays, who lead the AL East. Yankees pitchers allowed one run in 19 innings, on Carlos Pena’s home run against Ponson in the 6th.

'They know we’re still around,' said the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera, who struck out four in two innings to earn the victory. 'They know that. You don’t disappear just like that.'

Derek Jeter scored in the first inning on a single by Giambi and again in the 10th on Abreu’s double to the alley in right-center. Jeter, whom Balfour walked with one out, scored standing up.

Abreu leads the Yankees in runs batted in, with 57, but he came into the 10th with two hits in his last 22 at-bats. Balfour challenged him with fastballs at 96 and 97 miles per hour, and Abreu fouled off four before taking a ball.

Finally, Abreu got an off-speed pitch and drilled it for his first game-ending hit as a Yankee. Robinson Canó and Melky Cabrera dumped a bucket of water on his head during his postgame interview on YES. . .

Ponson, 31, went home to South Florida after the Rangers cut him June 6. He threw two bullpen sessions to try to stay in his groove. The Yankees signed him June 19; eight days later, he shut out the Mets for six innings.

His last start was a rocky one — but the Yankees won. This time, he allowed five hits and two walks. He thrives by staying low in the zone, with a sinker he has refined since his early days in Baltimore.

'He threw harder then — we all did — and if it wasn’t working, it was difficult for him to make adjustments,' said the Yankees’ Mike Mussina, a teammate of Ponson’s with the Orioles. 'I think he makes better adjustments than he did then; he sinks the ball more often. He pitches more. Back then, it was more throwing than pitching, and now it’s more pitching than throwing.'

Ponson has made only three starts, too early to judge success or failure. But the [pitcher Rangers' central deemed a] misfit. . .seems to have found a home, and the Yankees are glad to have him."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/sports/baseball/10yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

And, here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the rumor that the Buccos could be looking to trade former Yankee, Doug Mientkiewicz.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#1

***

With the All Star team rosters falling into place, here are reminders of what to do next:

1) Until 5:00 p.m., EDT, today, you can return to MLB.com [linked below] and cast your final Vote for the final player for each League's 32-man roster from these AL and NL candidates' lists:

AL candidates: outfielders Jermaine Dye (CWS) and Jose Guillen (KC), first baseman Jason Giambi (NYY), second baseman Brian Roberts (O's) and third baseman Evan Longoria (Rays).

NL candidates: outfielders Pat Burrell (Phillies), Corey Hart (Brewers), Carlos Lee (Astros) and Aaron Rowand (SF) and third baseman David Wright (Mets).

2) And, on Tuesday night, July 15th, you can watch the 2008 All-Star Game live on FOX and go to MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Vote.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Twinkies and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, were smashed nearly to smithereens by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett, 18-5; the Tribe and Byrd were defeated by the Tigers and Bonine, 8-6; the Cards and Mulder were beaten by the Phillies and Happ, 4-2; the O's and Olson were edged by Toronto and Burnett, 9-8; the Snakes and Owings were blanked by Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan, 5-0; SF and Sanchez were likewise bageled by the Mets and Santana, 5-0; LW's Rockies and Reynolds mashed the Brewers and Sheets, 8-3; the Angels and Jered Weaver were grounded by Texas and Ballard, 5-4; Janicelee's Reds and Cueto lost to the Cubs and Zambrano, 5-1; the CWS and Vazquez thumped KC and Bannister, 7-6; and Sunstar's Braves and Hudson lost in a squeaker to the Yadgers and Lowe, 2-1.

Today, the following teams are off and will begin series on Friday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (O's) and Sunstar's Braves (Pads) - and the schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Slowey will meet the Tigers and Rogers (Tigers up 6-2 in the 6th); the Cards and Looper will face the Phillies and Moyer (Phils up 4-1 in the 7th); and SF and Zito will take on the Mets and Maine (score tied 3-3 in the 6th); 2:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and De La Rosa will play against the Brewers and Bush (score tied 1-1 in the 4th); 2:10 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo will contend against the Cubs and Lilly (Cubs up 3-1 in the 2nd); 7:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Mussina will vie against the Buccos and Maholm; and the Rays and Sonnanstine will meet the Tribe and Laffey; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the O's and Guthrie will face Toronto and Parrish (in a pitching change from yesterday); 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Haren will take on Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Lackey will play against Texas and Feldman; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Buehrle will contend against KC and Greinke; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Johnson will vie against the Yadgers and Park.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, SF and Cain will meet the Cubs and Marquis; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Burres will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz; the Rays and Shields will take on the Tribe and Lee; the Twins and Perkins will play against the Tigers and Galarraga; the Snakes and Davis will contend against the Phillies and Kendrick; and the Cards and Lohse will vie against the Buccos and Duke; 7:07 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain will meet Toronto and Halladay; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Cook will face the Mets and O.Perez; 7:35 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Oswalt will take on Tim Russert's Nats and Redding; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Fogg will play against the Brewers and Parra; and the CWS and Floyd will contend against Texas and Feldman; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Garland will vie against the A's and Gallagher; and Sunstar's Braves and Reyes will meet the Pads and Peavy; and 10:40 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Volstad will face the Yadgers and Stults.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Thursday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the Buccos tonight.

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-11-2008, 08:03 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Mets tonight!), Janicelee (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Reds vs. the Brewers tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the O's tonight!), to Sunstar (Good luck for your Braves vs. the Pads tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Well, it was a disappointing loss in Pittsburgh last night - ending a four game streak - here's hoping "Infant Boss" Hal Steinbrenner's last minute ragging of our team didn't affect their spirit to succeed. Now it's on to Toronto to play against the Blue Jays and here's hoping for a win there.

I'm here early for the first time since last weekend - mainly because it will be so busy today that I might not arrive until well into the evening and didn't want you to have to wait until then to see who and when your teams are playing.

The only thing to take note of is that, if Ben Maller's rumors column doesn't pop up at the link provided below (they change frequently), it can be accessed under the headlines at the right top front of foxsports.com's MLB front page - link provided further below on this page.

***

MLB news today concerns the fans' selection of the last members of the NL and AL All Star teams - nope the Giambino didn't make it - and trade rumors abounding as the July 31st deadline nears. There are also recaps of the first half of the season and, for your convenience, I'll link one of them here.

1) Brewers' OF, Corey Hart, and Rays' rookie third baseman, Evan Longoria, won the fan voting for the last NL and AL All Star Team roster spots, respectively. The Yanks' Jason Giambi's vote tally wasn't even close, unfortunately, but perhaps he could become a last minute replacement instead - or could score an invitation to participate in Monday night's HR Derby - wouldn't that be nice?;

2) Trade rumors are abounding near the end of the deadline of July 31st. If you're worried one of your guys might be having to obtain a change of address form at the Post Office, here's a link to a list of "hot" prospects for trading in the next couple of weeks according to Tracy Ringolsby at foxsports.com:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8332762/Hottest-names-to-watch-on-trade-market

3) And, for one of the "first half of the season" recaps popping up on MLB websites, here's a link to the one posted by Randy Hill at foxsports.com discussing what happened from April through now - including the latest rumors surrounding performance enhancers that have been popping up in baseball - like mustaches, Viagra and such:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8325496/What-we've-learned-during-MLB's-first-half

****

Now for the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, entitled: "In Do-Over, Pirates Make the Yankees Buckle Under":

"It was perfectly sunny during batting practice Thursday at PNC Park, not a blip of rain on the radar. Joe Girardi, the Yankees’ manager, thought back to the last time the Yankees tried to play here, and how that game began against the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm.

'We had good at-bats off him,' Girardi said. 'Had a lead.'

In the context of the game that followed, those words seemed wistful. The Yankees were cruising here on June 26 before the rain rolled in, but they never had a lead this time. Maholm throttled them for eight innings, riding Nate McLouth’s seventh-inning homer to a 4-2 victory in the final interleague game in the majors.

'You wish you could have taken the three runs from before and added them to our score,' Derek Jeter said. 'But you can’t, I guess.' . . .

A-Rod went 0 for 4 against Maholm, including an inning-ending grounder in the 7th after the Yankees had tied the score. Rodriguez is 1 for his last 13 as he deals with a very public divorce, but he said he was swinging at the right pitches.

'If I swing at strikes and I put my ‘A’ swing on them, there’s no question I’m going to do very well,' Rodriguez said. 'Sometimes when I get anxious and I chase, I expand the zone, and that’s when I get myself out.'

Mike Mussina started for the Yankees and said he did not feel sharp. He allowed nine hits in six innings, but he walked none and gave up just two runs. Twice he benefited from the Pirates’ unusual lineup.

Maholm hit eighth, not ninth, and he struck out to end two of the first four innings, leaving a total of three runners on. Maholm had hit in the usual pitcher’s spot last month, and Mussina was startled by the revision.

'I heard them read off the lineup while I was warming up, and I thought I heard it wrong,' Mussina said. 'He came up there a couple of times with guys on base and two outs. It could have been a lot different if Wilson was up instead.'

The St. Louis Cardinals’ manager, Tony La Russa, bats his pitcher eighth every game. Pirates Manager John Russell is curious enough about the strategy to have tried it nine times this season. . .

INSIDE PITCH

Mike Mussina singled to left in the 7th for his first hit in six years. The Yankees’ pitchers had been 0 for 15 before Mussina connected, and he had a simple explanation: he wore his pant legs high for the first time as a Yankee. 'My 5-year-old told me to,' Mussina said. 'He said, ‘You’ll hit better, Dad, if you pull your pants up.'"

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/sports/baseball/11yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

Here's a link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including trade rumors that LW's Rockies could lose OF Matt Holliday and P Brian Fuentes to the 1st place Tampa Bay Rays:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#10

***

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates on information about the team and the players - both healthy and injured (yes, the sweet Johnny Damon's shoulder still hurts) - and to keep abreast of all the hooplah surrounding the playing of this year's All Star Game on Tuesday night, July 15th, in Yankee Stadium:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

With the 2008 All Star team rosters now fallen into place, except for last minute replacements for starters and reserves due to illness or injury or whatnot, all that's left to do now is to watch the game on Fox on Tuesday night and go to MLB.com [linked below] at the announced time to submit your choice for the Ted Williams MVP of the game via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Ballot.

Here's the link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Recalling that GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Sunstar's Braves were off yesterday, other scores from games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Twins and Slowey edged the Tigers and Rogers, 7-6; the Cards and Looper were bested by the Phillies and Moyer, 4-1; SF and Zito went down to the Mets and Maine, 7-3; LW's Rockies and De La Rosa were all but annihilated by the Brewers and Bush, 11-1; Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo clobbered the Cubs and Lilly, 12-7; the Rays and Sonnanstine were all but pummeled into dust by the Tribe and Laffey, 13-2; Toronto and Parrish squeaked past the O's and Guthrie, 6-5; the Snakes and Haren thumped Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann, 7-5; the Angels and Lackey stomped Texas and Feldman, 11-10; the CWS and Buehrle were beaten by KC and Greinke, 4-1; and the Fish and Johnson netted the Yadgers and Park, 5-4.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, SF and Cain will meet the Cubs and Marquis; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Burres will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz; the Rays and Shields will take on the Tribe and Lee; the Twins and Perkins will play against the Tigers and Galarraga; the Snakes and Davis will contend against the Phillies and Kendrick; and the Cards and Lohse will vie against the Buccos and Duke; 7:07 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain will meet Toronto and Halladay; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Cook will face the Mets and O.Perez; 7:35 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Oswalt will take on Tim Russert's Nats and Redding; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Fogg will play against the Brewers and Parra; and the CWS and Floyd will contend against Texas and Millwood (in a pitching change from yesterday); 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Garland will vie against the A's and Gallagher; and Sunstar's Braves and Reyes will meet the Pads and Peavy; and 10:40 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Volstad will face the Yadgers and Stults.

Tomorrow's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are scheduled for: 1:05 p.m., EDT, SF and Correia will meet the Cubs and their newly acquired ace Rich Harden; 1:07 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Rasner will face Toronto and Litsch; 3:55 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Baker will take on the Tigers and Robertson; LW's Rockies and Jimenez will play against the Mets and Pedro Martinez; and the Snakes and the Unit will contend against the Phillies and Eaton; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Liz will vie against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield; the Rays and Garza will meet the Tribe and Ginter; Janicelee's Reds and Volquez will face the Brewers and McClung; the CWS and Danks will take on Texas and Mendoza; and the Cards and Wellemeyer will play against the Buccos and Dumatrait; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Rodriguez will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Balester; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and E.Santana will vie against the A's and Eveland; 10:05 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Morton will meet the Pads and Banks; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Nolasco will face the Yadgers and Kuroda.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Friday, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Toronto tonight.

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

07-11-2008, 08:24 PM

Hi Fiat :0012: thanks for the good luck wishes for the Braves tonight!

Fiatjustitia

07-12-2008, 11:19 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hope you're keeping cool!), Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Mets this afternoon!), Janicelee (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Reds vs. the Brewers tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the O's tonight!), to Sunstar (Hi and You're Welcome! Good luck for your Braves vs. the Pads tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

It was a disappointing loss to Toronto's ace, Roy Halladay, last night - we're now on a two-game losing streak following the remarks of "Infant Boss", Hal Steinbrenner, expressing displeasure with the team when we were on a four game winning streak. As they say in the Philadelphia area, "Go Figure!":shrug1:

There ought to be a rule that after the Manager and coaches and one of the heads of Yankees' Central get results with their rants about performance, no other ranting is allowed until it is deserved and/or necessary.

Ahhhhhhhh, venting feels gooooooooooooood.:45024:

***

MLB news posted at our usual sites today includes reports that:

1) Clint Hurdle, Skipper of LW's Rockies and Manager of the NL All Star Squad, has chosen Mets' 3B, David Wright, to replace Cubs' OF, Alfonso Soriano, who is nursing a broken hand, but will attend the game anyway.

Hurdle explained the switch - the originally chosen Rockies' OF, Matt Holliday, will instead replace Soriano in the NL's batting lineup on Tuesday night - as based on the need for an infielder trumping one for a replacement outfielder on the roster.

This doesn't answer the question as to who will replace Soriano in the outfield, however, nor does it clarify the status of the fans' choice for 3B, Chipper Jones of Sunstar's Braves, whose batting stats are better than Holliday's - in fact, Chipper's batting average of .373 ranks first in the NL.:smiley_aasg:;

2) The Rays' Evan Longoria has been added to the list of AL competitors in Monday night's Home Run Derby. He will join Josh Hamilton (TX), Grady Sizemore (Tribe) and two more hitters whose names are TBA. NL players who will vie in the contest are: Lance Berkman (Astros), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Dan Uggla (Fish) and Chase Utley (Phillies);

3) MLB's formerly number 1 Rays, having lost 5 straight games - two of them to our Yankees - are now relegated to second place - with the Cubbies again assuming the top spot in baseball; and

4) When you check out today's rumors' column from foxpsports.com's Ben Maller [linked further below], you will see an item reporting that Yankees' Central is considering a way to thank Bernie Williams for his stellar service to the team - ranging from asking him to throw an opening pitch at a home game - all the way to a celebration of "Bernie Williams Day".

As respected, popular and beloved as this great player was and continues to be, I'm hoping the Steinbrenners will opt for the latter - in the clear certainty that millions of Yankees' fans all over the globe will agree with me.

****

Now for the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, entitled: "Vintage Halladay Renders Yanks’ Bats Feeble":

"Whenever they play at home on a Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays dig out their powder blue uniforms, with pullover jerseys and vintage caps. Whenever Roy Halladay pitches, it is throwback night already.

Halladay is an old soul, a pitcher who tries to finish each start by pounding the strike zone and forcing hitters to flail at his zigging and zagging stuff. The Yankees were no match Friday night, with two hits and dozens of awkward swings in a 5-0 loss at the Rogers Centre.

Derek Jeter had one of the Yankees’ two hits, but he did not really know how he did it. Jeter is rarely effusive about any pitcher, but he said Halladay was peerless.

'He’s probably the best starter in baseball, I would think,' Jeter said. 'You could have thrown an All-Star team out there today and it wouldn’t have done much with Halladay.'

Halladay (11-6) very well could start for the AL on Tuesday in the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. He did not allow a runner past second base, striking out eight with one walk. He has seven complete games, more than twice as many as any pitcher in the majors.

A-Rod had the Yankees’ only hit for eight innings, but he also made the last out of the game. Rodriguez, who is going through a divorce, was booed lustily by the crowd, and some fans behind the Yankees’ on-deck circle held up photos of Madonna when he came to bat.

'Tonight was domination,' Rodriguez said. 'We weren’t even close.'

Solving Halladay is tough for any offense, but Friday’s task seemed especially daunting for a sputtering lineup. The Yankees have scored two runs or fewer in 32 games this season, including five of their last eight. . .

Jeter and A-Rod can relax the next time Halladay pitches, because they will be behind him in the All-Star Game. Asked if he wanted the start, Halladay said it would be an honor, but he had not thought about it.

'There’s a lot of quality pitchers,' he said, 'a lot of deserving guys.'

Maybe so, but after succumbing completely to Halladay, the Yankees might doubt there is anyone more deserving. . .

INSIDE PITCH

Phil Hughes is scheduled to throw off a mound Saturday in Tampa, Fla., for the first time since he was sidelined by a fractured rib in late April."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/sports/baseball/12yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including a report that Barry Bonds' agent is crying "Conspiracy!" about his client's ongoing failure to land a job in MLB this season.

And, there's also the rumor mentioned above that Yankees' Central is considering holding some event, like retiring his jersey or allowing him to throw an opening pitch or possibly even throwing a "Bernie Williams' Day" celebration, to commemorate the great Yankees' OF's service to the team before the closing of Yankee Stadium:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#8

***

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates on information about the team and the players - both healthy and injured - and to keep abreast of all the hooplah surrounding the playing of this year's All Star Game on Tuesday night, July 15th, in Yankee Stadium and of updates on what Yankees' Central will do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

With the 2008 All Star team rosters now fallen into place, except for last minute replacements for starters and reserves due to illness or injury or whatnot, all that's left to do now is to watch the game on Fox on Tuesday night and go to MLB.com [linked below] at the announced time to submit your choice for the Ted Williams MVP of the game via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP Ballot.

Here's the link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: SF and Cain were bested by the Cubs and Marquis, 3-1; the O's and Burres squeaked past GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz, 7-6; the Rays and Shields were blanked by the Tribe and Lee, 5-0; the Twins and Perkins edged the Tigers and Galarraga, 3-2; the Snakes and Davis were narrowly defeated by the Phillies and Kendrick, 6-5; the Cards and Lohse shivered the timbers of the Buccos and Duke, 6-0; LW's Rockies and Cook lost in a squeaker to the Mets and O.Perez, 2-1; the Astros and Oswalt were utterly decimated by Tim Russert's Nats and Redding, 10-0; Janicelee's Reds and Fogg thumped the Brewers and Parra, 6-5; the CWS and Floyd were lassoed by Texas and Mendoza, 7-2; the Angels' and Garland's wings were clipped by the A's and Gallagher, 9-2; Sunstar's Braves and Reyes were defeated by the Pads and Peavy, 4-0; and the Fish and Volstad swam unharmed past the Yadgers and Stults, 3-1.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, SF and Correia will meet the Cubs and their newly acquired ace Rich Harden; 1:07 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Rasner will face Toronto and Litsch; 3:55 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Baker will take on the Tigers and Robertson; LW's Rockies and Jimenez will play against the Mets and Pedro Martinez; and the Snakes and the Unit will contend against the Phillies and Eaton; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Liz will vie against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield; the Rays and Garza will meet the Tribe and Ginter; Janicelee's Reds and Volquez will face the Brewers and McClung; the CWS and Danks will take on Texas and Millwood (in a pitching change from yesterday); and the Cards and Wellemeyer will play against the Buccos and Herrera (in a pitching change from yesterday); 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Rodriguez will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Balester; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and E.Santana will vie against the A's and Eveland; 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Nolasco will face the Yadgers and Kuroda; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's Braves and Morton will meet the Pads and Maddux (in both time and pitching changes from yesterday).

Tomorrow's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are scheduled for: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Kazmir will meet the Tribe and Sowers; and the Twins and Blackburn will face the Tigers and Verlander; 1:07 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Pettite will take on Toronto and Tallet; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the O's and Cabrera will play against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Astros and Backe will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Perez; the Snakes and Webb will vie against the Phillies and Cole Hamels; and the Cards and Pineiro will meet the Buccos and Snell; 2:05 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds will face the Brewers and CC Sabathia; 2:20 p.m., EDT, SF and Lincecum will take on the Cubbies and Dempster; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Contreras will play against Texas and Harrison; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Saunders will contend against the A's and Duchscherer; and Sunstar's Braves and Campillo will vie against the Pads and Wolf; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Miller will meet the Yadgers and Billingsley; and 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Redman will face the Mets and Pelfrey.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Saturday, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Toronto this afternoon.

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 02:48 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!!

:happy0207:

Weather is much better for the weekend...highs reached 110 this week, with humidity/smoke however today expected to be only 99. LOL.

Today's game currently in progress...with our Yankees leading 9-4 in the 5th!

:zm10::zm10:

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 07:02 PM

YANKEES WON!

A-Rod's passes Mantle, helps Yanks blast Jays

Alex Rodriguez passed Mickey Mantle on the major league home run list, and Derek Jeter hit No. 200 of his career to help the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays 9-4 on Saturday. Rodriguez, Jeter and Brett Gardner each had three RBIs as the Yankees rebounded after being blanked 5-0 Friday night by Roy Halladay's two-hitter. New York is 5-1 following a shutout, outscoring opponents 36-16 in those games. Rodriguez's 537th home run moved him past Mantle, a beloved Yankees great, and into sole possession of 13th place.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280712114&MSNHPHMA

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 07:04 PM

YANKEES BROADCASTER MURCER DEAD AT AGE 62 (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25654526/)

updated 45 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Bobby Murcer, a five-time All-Star outfielder who spent nearly four decades with the New York Yankees as a player, executive and announcer, has died. He was 62.

The Yankees said Murcer died Saturday due to complications from brain cancer. He was surrounded by family at Mercy Hospital in his hometown of Oklahoma City, the team said.

“Bobby Murcer was a born Yankee, a great guy, very well-liked and a true friend of mine,” Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. “I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Kay, their children and grandchildren. I will really miss the guy.”

more at the link

:1222423:

ohno40

07-12-2008, 07:31 PM

RIP Bobby Murcer -a true class act :1222423:

Thoughts and prayers to his wife, children ,grandchildren and Yankees family- he will be missed

janicelee

07-12-2008, 09:12 PM

So very sorry to hear this, Bobby Murcer was a talented baseball player and I can't recall ever hearing a bad word about the man, which given the spotlight of being a professional athlete in New York is saying something. My sympathy to his family, friends, former teammates, and the entire Yankee nation who will morn his loss.

Fiatjustitia

07-12-2008, 09:40 PM

Hi Toby, Ohno40, Janicelee and GramV and Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Am normally not on the 'net in the evenings, but wanted to remember Bobby Murcer after hearing he had passed and it's wonderful to see that, thanks to you, Toby, Bobby's already here.

Am picturing him now gathered with Scooter Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle and his great friend Thurmon Munson getting a load of A-Rod's passing Mickey on the HR list in today's game - and shaking their heads over the Madonna business at the same time and probably chuckling over the whole darned thing.

I'll add to Toby's NBC piece Bobby's obit from the NYT MLB page - yes, Janice and Ohno, there isn't a soul who's had a bad thing to say about this good and decent man who spent most of his professional life playing for and taking care of our Yankees as a broadcaster and a dear friend to the team who is going to be dearly missed.

Bobby Murcer, 62, Yankees Star, Dies

By Richard Goldstein
NYT
July 12, 2008

"Bobby Murcer, the Yankees’ All-Star outfielder and longtime broadcaster who never became another Mickey Mantle but endeared himself to Yankee fans in a baseball career of more than four decades, died Saturday. He was 62.

The Yankees said that Murcer died because of complications from brain cancer. He was surrounded by family members at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, the team said.

Murcer had surgery for a cancerous brain tumor at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in December 2006 and had received an experimental vaccine in a clinical trial there.

He returned as a Yankee broadcaster in May 2007 and broadcast some games this season. His memoir, “Yankee for Life: My 40-Year Journey in Pinstripes,” written with Glen Waggoner, was published in May, on his 62nd birthday.

When he made his Yankee debut in September 1965 as a teenage shortstop, Murcer evoked images in the press of a young Mantle. Murcer batted left-handed while Mantle was a switch-hitter, but both were Oklahomans, both had been signed by the Yankee scout Tom Greenwade, both possessed speed on the bases, and both had played at shortstop in the minor leagues.

But Murcer, at 5 feet 11 inches and 160 pounds, had a slighter build than Mantle. “Both of us were power hitters, the only difference being that Mickey’s power took the ball over the fence a lot more often than mine did,” Murcer said in his memoir.

Murcer eventually succeeded Mantle, his boyhood hero, in center field. He never approached a Hall of Fame career, but he proved an outstanding hitter and a fine fielder in his 17 major league seasons.

Playing mostly for the Yankees, Murcer hit 252 home runs and had 1,862 hits and a .277 career batting average. In 1971, he hit a career-high .331 and was the runner-up for the American League batting title, and he became adept at bunting. The next year, Murcer won a Gold Glove award.

He was named to five All-Star teams, from 1971 to 1974 while with the Yankees and in 1975 while with the San Francisco Giants. A memorable career moment came on June 24, 1970, when he hit four consecutive home runs in a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians.

Murcer moved to the Yankee broadcast booth, as a commentator, the night of June 20, 1983, hours after George Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ principal owner, offered him the job during his second stint with the Yankees, when he was playing infrequently. He teamed at the outset with Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer and Bill White and remained a Yankee broadcaster most of the time after that until his death.

Murcer recalled how “one critic sniffed that my Oklahoma accent sounded a bit incongruous.” But, as he put it, “I’d spent almost four decades perfecting that accent, and I sure wasn’t going to change now.”

As for those early comparisons to Mantle, Murcer once told The New York Times that he did not feel overburdened. “I was too young and too dumb to realize what they were trying to do in the first place,” he said, “and by the time I realized it, I had already established myself.”

Bobby Ray Murcer was born May 20, 1946, in Oklahoma City. His father, Robert, owned several small jewelry stores. Murcer was signed out of high school, and spent two years in the minors before joining a Yankee team that had entered a long decline.

After playing briefly with the Yankees for two seasons, then marrying his high school sweetheart, Diana Kay Rhodes (known as Kay), Murcer spent two years in the Army. He became a regular in 1969, when Mantle retired.

In 1973, Murcer became the third Yankee, after Joe DiMaggio and Mantle, to receive a $100,000 salary, and a year later he became the highest-paid player in Yankee history, with a $120,000 contract.

Murcer once recalled that after Steinbrenner gained control of the Yankees in 1973, “he told me that I was a big part of the Yankee tradition, and always would be.”

But after the 1974 season, the Yankees traded Murcer to the Giants for Bobby Bonds. Murcer spent two seasons in San Francisco and two and a half seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

“What hurt the most was that in the years I was with the Giants and the Cubs, the Yankees won three straight pennants and back-to-back world championships,” Murcer wrote in his memoir.

Murcer was traded back to the Yankees in late June 1979 and emerged as a team spokesman six weeks later when the Yankees’ star catcher and captain, his longtime friend Thurman Munson, died in the crash of his small plane. Murcer and his wife stayed up all night with Munson’s widow, Diana, in the hours before Munson’s funeral in Canton, Ohio — attended by the Yankees, who flew in from New York — and Murcer delivered a eulogy.

“We all flew back to Yankee Stadium for a game against Baltimore,” Murcer recalled in a 1983 article for The Times. “None of us wanted to play, but we did, and I batted in all five runs and we won, 5-4. I never used that bat again. I sent it to Diana.”

Murcer finally made it to the postseason in 1980, and he played on a World Series team for the first time in 1981, when the Yankees were beaten by the Dodgers. But he had only a part-time role in his second Yankee stint.

In addition to his wife, Murcer is survived by a son, Todd; a daughter, Tori Witherspoon; his brother Randy and five grandchildren.

In August 1993, Mantle presented Murcer for induction into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame at ceremonies in Oklahoma City.

Mantle, who died in 1995, struck an irreverent note at the ceremony. “The first time I ever heard of Bobby Murcer,” The Saturday Oklahoman quoted him as saying, “they said a kid from Oklahoma was gonna be the next Mickey Mantle. They were right. Sure enough, he couldn’t play shortstop either.”

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/sports/baseball/13murcer.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

RIP Bobby and deepest sympathy in your loss and thoughts and prayers from all of us for your family, friends and fans.:1222423:

Fiat

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 09:43 PM

Greetings, Fiat!!

Nice to see you "live"...however not under these circumstances.

RIP, Bobby
:1222423:

gramvof14

07-12-2008, 09:51 PM

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 09:53 PM

So sorry my condolences to his family and friends.:1222423::1222423:
we should have a cure for cancer by now.I HATE THAT WORD:groan:

Sad to lose two great men in the same day...
:1222423:

Fiatjustitia

07-12-2008, 09:54 PM

Greetings, Fiat!!

Nice to see you "live"...however not under these circumstances.

RIP, Bobby
:1222423:

Hi Toby (and GramV too - just saw your post)!

Great to see you too - such a sad day. Was hopeful a few weeks back that Bobby would pull through this latest crisis - they were reporting a painful bout of shingles as one of the problems he had to deal with at the time.

Guess it was too much for him after all and it was time for him to be called safe at home.

Glad to hear all's well with you and your weather and thanks for the update on tonight's win - from news reports, all the players who knew him well were deeply saddened by the announcement and my heart goes out to them.

Take care, thanks for your note and see you next time.

Fiat :happy0207:

Edited to add that if your reference was to Tony Snow, Toby - I am saddened by his loss too. He had such a great sense of humor and readiness to laugh, and showed such class in soldiering on while battling his illness that he will always be an inspiration to me.

RIP Tony Snow and thoughts and prayers for all his family, friends and fans.

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 09:56 PM

Hi Toby!

Great to see you too - such a sad day. Was hopeful a few weeks back that Bobby would pull through this latest crisis - they were reporting a painful bout of shingles as one of the problems he had to deal with at the time.

Guess it was too much for him after all and it was time for him to be called safe at home.

Fiat :happy0207:
Very well stated...

:zm10:

Fiatjustitia

07-12-2008, 10:09 PM

Very well stated...

:zm10:

Thank you again, Toby - it comes from George Carlin's routine about how baseball differs from football - the line's not completely mine. :smile:

It came to me as I was thinking about Bobby - just seemed like the right thing to say about our hopes for where he is now.:1222423:

G'night!

:zm10:

ohno40

07-12-2008, 10:10 PM

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 10:17 PM

Thank you again, Toby - it comes from George Carlin's routine about how baseball differs from football - the line's not completely mine. :smile:

It came to me as I was thinking about Bobby - just seemed like the right thing to say about our hopes for where he is now.:1222423:

G'night!

:zm10:

Thanks for the origin...however, still very appropriate to be posted here.

Have a good night...NASCAR race is on now. Hopefully another Yankees win tomorrow!

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-12-2008, 10:21 PM

Thanks Fiat- your vision of our "Yankee Angels" :innocent0002: having a chuckle over the whole ARod & Madonna debacle brought a smile to my face

I found out about Bobby's passing after the game today on YES- they did a great tribute instead of the typical post game show (and plan another tribute show tonight)- when they interviewed Michael Kay over the phone, he broke down at the end. That's when I cried- for a man who lived life to the fullest, and fought the good fight (with a smile) right to the end and for those he left behind.

Thank you too for this thread- I'm not much of a poster- but I have read you faithfully over at InSessions and now here-
OhNo

Thank you so much, OhNo - I really appreciate all your kind words.

Such a sad way for us to meet and thanks for talking about what happened on YES today. I have the cable's MLB package, but, unfortunately, this one wasn't televised.

Poor Michael Kay - I love that man - he and Bobby and Kenny Singleton were so great to hear when they were all working together up in the booth.

We should keep Michael in our thoughts too - I've read how he cared for his mother for many years and had to take a month away from the station after she passed away. So, this may take more time for him to absorb than it will be for the rest of us - tough as it is.

Thank you again and even though you don't do much posting - will keep you in mind from now on as I write.

G'night!

Fiat

:happy0207:

janicelee

07-12-2008, 10:22 PM

I had much to my shame forgotten about the kindness Mr. Mercer showed to the family of Thurmond Munson, after his untimely death. Thurmond and I are both Kent State Alumni although our stays at the Harvard of the Midwest as Steve Stone used to call it did not overlap each other. I do now remember the incredible class Mr. Mercer showed in those trying days after Thurmond died, and as a proud alum, I feel very kindly to Mr. Mercer for looking out for the family of a fellow Golden Flash. I'm certain that Thurmond Munson was the first to greet Bobby at the pearly gates to thank him for his kindness, to his family. I strongly suspect they still play doubleheaders in heaven on Sunday, and I'm certain Bobby Mercer will be in the starting lineup for the first game tommorrow. Here's hoping you go you go 4-4 tomorrow and drive in a couple of runs.

Fiatjustitia

07-12-2008, 10:25 PM

Thanks for the origin...however, still very appropriate to be posted here.

Have a good night...NASCAR race is on now. Hopefully another Yankees win tomorrow!

:happy0207:

You too and good luck with your picks! I see Dario Franchitti got a car for an upcoming Sprint race - so all is not lost for him on the circuit.

Thanks for everything and GOOOOOOOOOO Yankees!! for a win tomorrow for Bobby!

Fiat:happy0207:

:zm10:

TobyTiger

07-12-2008, 10:28 PM

You too and good luck with your picks! I see Dario Franchitti got a car for an upcoming Sprint race - so all is not lost for him on the circuit.

Thanks for everything and GOOOOOOOOOO Yankees!! for a win tomorrow for Bobby!

Fiat:happy0207:

:zm10:
Thanks again...however I'm actually conceding I most likely won't be the winner tonight...perhaps Pauli or someone else will be.

Fortunately our Yankees won today (for Bobby) and yes, hopefully will continue to honor him tomorrow.

:zm10:

Fiatjustitia

07-13-2008, 12:54 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi! and Thanks Again!), OhNo (Hi! and Welcome!), Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies vs. the Mets tonight!), Janicelee (Hi! and Congrats on another win and Good luck for your Reds vs. the Brewers again this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Hi! Congrats on the blowout win and Good luck for your Red Sox vs. the O's again this afternoon!), to Sunstar (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves vs. the Pads again this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Yesterday was a sad day for us Yankees' fans and our pinstriped boys and for Bobby Murcer's family, friends, former teammates and fellow broadcasters and fans as well. It felt so good to come here and see Toby, GramV, OhNo and Janicelee sharing the news and remembering Bobby last night.:1222423:

Other news pales by comparison, but here goes with what's posted at our usual MLB sites today:

1) Toby and I posted obits from NBC news and the NYT's MLB page. Here are links to those from espn.com and foxsports.com, respectively, in case you would like to check them out too:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3484627

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8339494/Yankee-great-Murcer-dies-of-brain-cancer

And, here's a link to another nytimes.com retrospective entitled, "Beloved Yankee Remembered as an Example", written by Tyler Kepner:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/sports/baseball/13bobby.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

My favorite remembrance from the material posted about Bobby since yesterday is a statement from the Yanks' "Mr. October", Reggie Jackson, who opined, "If there's a Hall of Fame for people, he's in it." Bobby Murcer is in it, indeed.:1222423:

2) Boston fans can take heart from reports that Big Papi's wrist is all but healed and that he is scheduled to start again on July 25th - the opening game of a weekend series against our Yankees - to help the Red Sox out a little bit.:smile:

3) And, although I'll be saying more about this below, the end of the Mets' game against LW's Rockies this evening will mark the beginning of this season's All Star Break.

A much abbreviated four game schedule this Thursday, July 17th, featuring the Tigers and O's at 7:05 p.m., EDT; the Mets and Janicelee's Reds at 7:10 p.m., EDT; the Pads and Cards at 8:15 p.m., EDT; and the Buccos and LW's Rockies at 9:05 p.m., EDT, will signal the return to regular season play.

***

Now for the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's win including another landmark HR from A-Rod, entitled: "Passing One Yankee, Honoring Another"

"Alex Rodriguez passed Mickey Mantle in career home runs Saturday in the Yankees’ 9-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not recognize the impact of the feat until after the game, when he learned that Bobby Murcer had died.

A-Rod has known of Murcer since Rodriguez’s early years in Seattle, when his manager at the time, Lou Piniella, often invoked Murcer in stories. Piniella and Murcer were teammates and friends on the Yankees, fellow outfielders in the post-Mantle era.

'From what I understand, he was supposed to be the next Mickey Mantle,' Rodriguez said of Murcer. 'There are no random events. I’m sure it’s a sign, somehow, the day that I pass Mantle. Bobby will be watching us. He’ll be cheering on the Yankees for all time.'

A-Rod led off the fourth inning by driving a 3-2 pitch from Brian Tallet off the left-field foul pole at the Rogers Centre. It was his 537th career home run, putting him 13th on the career list. Mike Schmidt is next, with 548.

The homer was the final run of the game, which started with a flurry of scoring and ended with a string of shutout innings from Yankees relievers. Darrell Rasner (5-7) gave up four runs in the first, but he made it through five innings to earn the victory.

'I was able to hang in there and get the team back in the dugout to score some runs,' Rasner said. 'I tip my hat to them. They gave me a second chance.'

The Yankees came into the game with 426 runs, their fewest through 93 games since the 1992 season, the last year they finished below .500. But the offense came alive as Derek Jeter led off the game with the 200th home run of his career and the rookie Brett Gardner singled twice to drive in three runs."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/sports/baseball/13yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came for other items that may have been added since yesterday:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#8

***

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for remembrances of the late Yankees' great, Bobby Murcer; for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; to keep abreast of all the hooplah surrounding the playing of this year's All Star Game on Tuesday night, July 15th, in Yankee Stadium and of what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes this year:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: SF and Correia were edged by the Cubs and their newly acquired ace Rich Harden, 8-7; the Twins and Baker bested the Tigers and Robertson, 6-5; LW's Rockies and Jimenez were blanked by the Mets and Pedro Martinez, 3-0 in the Mets' 8th straight win; the Snakes and the Unit (who belted a double that drove in 2R) decimated the Phillies and Eaton, 10-4; the O's and Liz gave a performance worthy of the minors in being bested by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, 12-1; the Rays and Garza went down to the Tribe and Ginter, 8-4 in their 6th straight loss; Janicelee's Reds and Volquez got their third straight win in defeating the Brewers and McClung, 8-2; the CWS and Danks corraled Texas and Millwood, 9-7; the Cards and Wellemeyer walked the plank for the Buccos and Herrera, 12-11; the Astros and Rodriguez flagged Tim Russert's Nats and Balester, 6-4; the Angels and E.Santana beat the A's and Eveland, 4-1; the Fish and Nolasco netted the Yadgers and Kuroda, 5-3; and Sunstar's Braves and Morton vanquished the Pads and Maddux, 4-1.

Today's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are scheduled for: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Kazmir will meet the Tribe and Sowers; and the Twins and Blackburn will face the Tigers and Verlander; 1:07 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Pettite will take on Toronto and Burnett (in a pitching change from yesterday); 1:35 p.m., EDT, the O's and Cabrera will play against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Astros and Backe will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Perez; the Snakes and Webb will vie against the Phillies and Cole Hamels; and the Cards and Pineiro will meet the Buccos and Snell; 2:05 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds will face the Brewers and CC Sabathia; 2:20 p.m., EDT, SF and Lincecum will take on the Cubbies and Dempster; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Contreras will play against Texas and Harrison; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Moseley (in a pitching change from yesterday) will contend against the A's and Duchscherer; and Sunstar's Braves and Campillo will vie against the Pads and Wolf; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Miller will meet the Yadgers and Billingsley; and 8:05 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Redman will face the Mets and Pelfrey.

ALL STAR BREAK

As noted above, there will be no regular season MLB games played tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. Major All Star Break activities are:

Monday, July 14th - Home Run Derby - 8:00 p.m., EDT, on ESPN

Tuesday, July 15th - All Star Game - 8:00 p.m., EDT, on Fox

During the game, you will be able to access the Ted Williams' MVP Ballot at mlb.com to register your choice of the player who performed best in the All Star Game - here's the link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

And, of course, although the times aren't noted here, remember that both ESPN and Fox will televise related features both before and after the Home Run Derby and All Star Game like the parade of players and their families and interviews with great players of the past and the present if you want to check those out too.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Sunday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Toronto this afternoon.

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

07-13-2008, 01:18 PM

So sorry to hear about Bobby's death. I hope he is at peace now, without the pains of the disease that finally overcame him. I think of the movie 'Field of Dreams' and he's now walked over into the cornfield ~ to the beautiful, other side. :1222423::1222423:

TobyTiger

07-13-2008, 09:22 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

Sorry...no good news today with our team!

BURNETT PITCHES JAYS PAST YANKS (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280713114)

Andy Pettitte isn't happy with the way the New York Yankees are playing heading into the All-Star break. A.J. Burnett came within two outs of a shutout, Marco Scutaro hit a three-run home run and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Yankees 4-1 on Sunday. "If we want to make the playoffs, we've got to be better," Pettitte said. "We stink right now, for the most part. As a team, we've kind of stunk it up here lately and we've got to play better.

more at the link

Now...back to Sunday Night Baseball!
:zm10::zm10:

Fiatjustitia

07-14-2008, 08:45 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels, Janicelee, GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and your Red Sox being back at #1 in the AL East!), to Sunstar (Hi! and Congrats on your Braves' blowout win against the Pads yesterday!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thank you, Sunstar, for your lovely vision of Bobby Murcer entering the cornfield in "Field of Dreams". And congratulations on being once again the pickster as well as the hostess with the mostest in choosing Kyle Busch and the highest place closers in NASCAR. Your ability to do that is amazing! :happy0158:

Toby, thanks for posting the recap of yesterday's game. Yup. Another bummer for our boys in pinstripes. Unfortunate that they had to lose at this sad time and at the All Star break. Well, here's hoping four days of rest will do them some good!

And, maybe just maybe, they and their coaches and Joe Girardi will spend some time reflecting on why great pitching stymies their bats so!:INhouseReading04:

***

More about Bobby Murcer::1222423:

Along with news that the Yankees will wear black armbands on their left sleeves - closest to their hearts - through the end of the season to honor him, there are additional remembrances and retrospectives of Bobby Murcer and his career posted at our MLB websites today:

Here's a link to one from Richard Sandomir at nytimes.com entitled: "A Great Teammate to the End":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/sports/baseball/14sandomir.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

And here's a link to a piece from Mike Vaccaro at foxsports.com entitled: "Murcer Was a Yankees Icon Then and Now":

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8340404/Murcer-was-a-Yankees-icon,-then-and-now

***

News items making the rounds at our usual MLB spots today include:

1) With the Rays having lost their 7th straight game, Boston returns to the top of the AL East;

2) With the Mets now having won their 9th straight game, credit is being given to new Manager - or Interim Manager, as the case may be - Jerry Manuel, for the magic he might be working on the team;

3) MLB newsies are whining that there will be no Yankee in tonight's Home Run Derby, and A-Rod, who turned down the invitation to participate, is taking the blame - nevertheless, Jason Giambi was asked as well and turned down the invitation too.; and

4) Foxsports.com's Dayn Perry - the man of a thousand lists - has compiled one of players who gave winning performances during the first half of the season and who he thinks should be awarded for them.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8338718/Handing-out-the-first-half-hardware

***

Now for the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, entitled: "Yankees End Road Trip on Sour Note":

"It was not an opinion widely shared in the clubhouse. Most of the Yankees said they had simply succumbed to a tough pitcher on his game. But for Andy Pettitte, who lost to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, 4-1, the final game of a lackluster trip was cause for concern.

'If we want to make the playoffs, we’ve got to be better,' Pettitte said. 'We stink right now, for the most part. As a team, we’ve kind of stunk it up lately, and we need to play better.'

A. J. Burnett humbled the Yankees, allowing six hits in eight and a third innings and needing just 98 pitches to do it. Burnett, who was working on three days’ rest, is a top candidate to be traded this month, and the Yankees would love to see him leave the American League: he is 5-2 against them in his career, with a 2.85 earned run average.

'He was getting ahead and throwing a lot of strikes,' Derek Jeter said. 'You just hope, when you’re facing guys capable of shutting you down, that they don’t have their best stuff.'

Burnett did, striking out A-Rod on a 97-mile-an-hour fastball in the first inning, prompting Rodriguez to swat his bat to the ground. Burnett fanned others with his curveball, stifling the Yankees nearly as thoroughly as Roy Halladay did Friday.

Burnett was emotional, punching the air with his fist after striking out Jorge Posada with two men on to end the 6th. The gesture appeared to bother Posada, though he did not say much about it later.

'He’s involved in the game, I’m involved in the game,' Posada said. 'Things happen. You move on.'

The Yankees have been so prone to offensive shutdowns that it is not always easy to know when to credit the pitcher. Sunday’s game was the ninth in the last 14 that the Yankees scored two runs or fewer.

Manager Joe Girardi insisted he was not mystified by the inconsistency, but he did not offer much explanation, either.

'When you face Burnett and he’s throwing the ball the way he is, and you face Halladay, that’s going to happen,' Girardi said. 'If a pitcher makes his pitches, sometimes you’re not going to score a lot of runs.'

Girardi then pointed to the hitters’ track records and said, 'I believe in our guys, and I have confidence they’ll get the job done.'

The loss was the Yankees’ third in four games on the trip, which began with a makeup game in Pittsburgh. They enter the All-Star break with a 50-45 record, six games behind first-place Boston in the A.L. East and five and a half games behind sinking Tampa Bay for the lead in the wild-card race.

At the break last July, the Yankees were 43-43, trailing by nine and a half games in the division and by eight games in the wild-card race.

'We’re in a decent position to make a run,' Girardi said. 'We could be buried, but we’re not.'

The Yankees’ pitchers have a 4.12 E.R.A., their best mark at the break in the last five seasons. In a year designed as a transition to younger starters, Pettitte and Mike Mussina have been the mainstays. . .

INSIDE PITCH

Jason Giambi declined an invitation to participate in Monday’s Home Run Derby. Giambi, who lost to Evan Longoria in fan balloting for the final spot on the A.L. All-Star team, flew home to Las Vegas for the four-day break. 'If I was going to be there for the game, I was going to do it,' Giambi said. 'It’s fun, but it’s tiring.' ... The Yankees will wear black armbands on their left sleeves for the rest of the season in memory of Bobby Murcer, the longtime outfielder and broadcaster who died Saturday of complications from brain cancer. ... This is how the Yankees will align their second-half rotation: Mike Mussina, Joba Chamberlain, Andy Pettitte, Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner. ... The three A.L. pitchers with the most wins since last year’s All-Star break are all Yankees: Pettitte (21), Mussina (18) and Chien-Ming Wang (18)."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/sports/baseball/14yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came for items that may have been added since yesterday:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#8

***

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for remembrances of the late Yankees' great, Bobby Murcer; for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; to keep abreast of all the hooplah surrounding the playing of this year's All Star Game on Tuesday night, July 15th, in Yankee Stadium and of what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

Now for the latest scores and game schedules:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Rays and Kazmir lost to the Tribe and Sowers, 5-2; the Twinkies and Blackburn were dunked by the Tigers and Verlander, 4-2; the O's and Cabrera were edged by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka, 2-1; the Astros and Backe bageled Tim Russert's Nats and Perez, 5-0; the Snakes and Webb were stomped by the Phillies and Cole Hamels, 6-3; the Cards and Pineiro sent the Buccos and Snell to the briny deep, 11-6; Janicelee's Reds and Bailey lost in a squeaker to the Brewers and CC Sabathia, 3-2; SF and Lincecum thumped the Cubbies and Dempster, 4-2; the CWS and Contreras lost in a test of wills to Texas and Harrison, 12-11; the Angels and Moseley bested the A's and Duchscherer, 4-3; Sunstar's Braves and Campillo clobbered the Pads and Wolf, 12-3; the Fish and Miller were deep fried by the Yadgers and Billingsley, 9-1; and LW's Rockies and Redman were blanked by the Mets and Pelfrey, 7-0.

Again, there are no MLB games scheduled for today, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, July 17th, a much abbreviated schedule of four games with pitchers TBA: the Tigers and O's at 7:05 p.m., EDT; the Mets and Janicelee's Reds at 7:10 p.m., EDT; the Pads and Cards at 8:15 p.m., EDT; and the Buccos and LW's Rockies at 9:05 p.m., EDT, will signal the return to regular season play.

***

ALL STAR BREAK

Monday, July 14th - Home Run Derby - 8:00 p.m., EDT, on ESPN

AL Contestants: Josh Hamilton (TX), Evan Longoria (Rays), Justin Morneau (Twins) and Grady Sizemore (Tribe) - sorry for the mistaken report that there would be five!

NL Contestants: Lance Berkman (Astros), Ryan Braun (Brewers), Dan Uggla (Fish) and Chase Utley (Phillies).

Tuesday, July 15th - All Star Game - 8:00 p.m., EDT, on Fox

During the game, you will be able to access the Ted Williams' MVP Ballot at mlb.com to register your choice of the player who performed best in the All Star Game - here's the link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

And, of course, although the times aren't noted here, remember that both ESPN and Fox will televise related features both before and after the Home Run Derby and All Star Game - like the ever popular parade of players and their families and interviews with great players of the past and the present if you want to check those out too.

Enjoy!!!

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Monday for all of you and a terrific Home Run Derby in Yankee Stadium tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

07-14-2008, 07:57 PM

You're most welcome, Fiat! I love that movie and it was the first thing that came to my mind knowing how Bobby loved baseball and especially the Yankees so much. :1222423: I'm glad too that my Braves did something good this weekend and are entering the little break on an up note!! :smile: Oh and about the NASCAR picks, I just thank the guys I pick for doing so well!!

Fiatjustitia

07-15-2008, 07:44 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels, Janicelee, GramV and Barskin&Co, Sunstar (Hi! and Good luck to you and the drivers of your next NASCAR picks!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Wow!! What a special night in Yankee Stadium! How riveting to watch Josh Hamilton (TX) hit those 28 HR - the highest number ever in a first round of the Home Run Derby! And how stunning, thanks to how the thing is run, to see Justin Morneau (Twins) come along and take the title away from him!

HOME RUN DERBY RECAP:

Here's the recap from Eric Orvieto of foxsports.com - including a round by round description of all of the action:

"Josh Hamilton was the story. Justin Morneau was the champ. Everyone watching was a winner.

Hamilton's unbelievable 28-homer first-round outburst was the highest first-round total of all-time, and it will be the lasting memory of the 2008 Home Run Derby, as the Rangers star showed off his amazing power, belting 500-foot home runs and showing why he is the best story in baseball this season.

Maybe the fan-favorite didn't pull through in the end, but former AL MVP Justin Morneau is a worthy champion, and stayed consistent to win his first derby, as the Yankee Stadium All-Star sendoff began with a bang.

Morneau topped a tired Hamilton 5-3 in the last round, giving him the title. But the night belonged to Hamilton, a first-time All-Star who put on a dazzling power display worthy of The House That Ruth Built.

"The whole stadium, the way people responded, higher and higher — you can't beat it," Hamilton said. "Them chanting my name and getting louder, it makes you more focused."

Back from eight trips to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction that derailed his career, Hamilton broke Bobby Abreu's mark for one round. Abreu hit 24 home runs in the first round in 2005 at Detroit's Comerica Park.

With the crowd of 53,716 chanting his name, undoubtedly warmed by his improbable journey to stardom, Hamilton connected on 13 consecutive cuts before falling short of the fences on his final two in the first round.

Hamilton was drafted No. 1 overall by Tampa Bay in 1999, with some veteran scouts calling him the best prospect they'd ever seen. He finally reached the majors last year with Cincinnati, then was traded in the offseason for All-Star pitcher Edinson Volquez in a deal that has paid off immensely for both teams.

With his smooth left-handed swing and jaw-dropping power, Hamilton seemed a natural choice to take advantage of Yankee Stadium's short right-field porch. But he cleared the deepest fences with ease, hitting three shots farther than 500 feet - including his longest estimated at 518.

"They should have juiced the ball up. I'd have hit the subway," Hamilton said.

But while Hamilton was the big story, Morneau did what he had to do to win. Though, he does know he got a lucky break that the home-run totals were set to zero after the second round, and he didn't have to play a game of catch-up that he was likely not going to win.

"I was lucky that we got reset," he said. "This was his show. He deserved to win it.

"It does seem kind of unfair that he didn't get to win the whole thing," Morneau added. "Anyone who was here won't forget that performance."

That's for sure, Justin. What a remarkable night of slugging."

Here's the link for the rest, including the round by round description of the action and photos:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8341540?MSNHPHMA

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our usual sites today includes reports that:

1) In an item supplied by Ben Maller in his rumors column, linked further below, it is reported that A-Rod's former agent, Scott Boras, brought Cynthia and the couple's oldest daughter, Natasha, to visit A-Rod on Saturday in Toronto.

It's also stated in the piece that it is unknown whether Boras is involved in brokering the Rodriguez' divorce, but that Boras' involvement in getting A-Rod's mind back on baseball was welcomed by Yankees' Central.;

2) The shoulder Johnny Damon injured giving his body up for the team is still sore, making the time of his return to the Yanks after the All Star break a tad iffy;

3) Janicelee's Reds are set to move their Spring training camp to Arizona in 2010;

4) Fittingly, on a day when Yankee Stadium was being celebrated to the skies, a sweaty cap worn by Babe Ruth went for $328,000 at auction;

5) Here's a link to foxsports.com's special celebration of "The House That Ruth Built", contributed by baseball writer, Greg Boeck:; and

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/wcStory?contentId=8345056#story=8340980

6) In this cynical age, we would be remiss in not showing the other side of the "Goodbye Yankee Stadium" story. Here's a link to a piece from Alan Schwarz at nytimes.com, entitled: "Some Players Hold Their Noses to Say Goodbye to Stadium" that includes players' remini"scences" of sights and smells of the place that they will be thrilled to leave behind them.:0012:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/sports/baseball/15stadium.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today, including some mouth trouble the Yanks', "Mr. October", Reggie Jackson, ran into while haggling and bartering for a piece of art on a NYC street corner. Ah, yes, those picture phones are just about everywhere anymore!:groan: :

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS" SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors around the major leagues and that piece about Scott Boras' becoming involved in the big league divorce problems of A-Rod and Cynthia with the blessing of Yankees' Central:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#19

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for remembrances of the late Yankees' great, Bobby Murcer; for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; to keep abreast of all the hooplah surrounding the playing of this year's All Star Game tonight in Yankee Stadium and of what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULE OF MLB GAMES:

Besides tonight's All Star Game, there are no other MLB games scheduled for today and tomorrow. On Thursday, July 17th, regular season play will resume with a much abbreviated schedule of four games: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will meet the O's and Olson; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Santana will face Janicelee's Reds and Cueto; 8:15 p.m., EDT; the Pads and Peavy will take on the Cards and Lohse; and 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and a pitcher TBA will play against LW's Rockies and a pitcher TBA.

***

ALL STAR BREAK

Tuesday, July 15th - All Star Game - 8:00 p.m., EDT, on Fox

Starting pitchers: AL - Cliff Lee (Tribe) - 12-2, 2.31 ERA and NL - Ben Sheets (Brewers) 10-3, 2.85 ERA

During the game, you will be able to access the Ted Williams' MVP Ballot at mlb.com to register your choice of the player who performed best in the All Star Game - here's the link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

And, of course, although the times aren't noted here, remember that Fox will televise related features both before and after the Star Game - like the ever popular parade of players and their families and interviews with great players of the past and the present if you want to check those out too.

Will it be yet another AL victory this time around? Enjoy!!!

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Tuesday for all of you and a terrific All Star Game in Yankee Stadium tonight!:zm10:

Fiat

:happy0207:

littlewheels

07-15-2008, 07:51 AM

:0012: Morning! Coffee's done! Ready for a cup? Have a good day! I have a feeling it's going to be a looonnnnnggggg one!

Fiatjustitia

07-15-2008, 08:48 AM

:0012: Morning! Coffee's done! Ready for a cup? Have a good day! I have a feeling it's going to be a looonnnnnggggg one!

Hey, LW!!! :mornincoffee:

Had signed off but looked here quickly and saw your post. Would love to stay and enjoy a cup of coffee with you, but I have to get ready and go to work.

I see from your NASCAR thread you've re-joined us in the daily "commute". Hope all that's going well and you're enjoying being back at the grind.

Hope some others come along for a cup before you have to leave yourself!

And that your day goes quickly and gets you safely back home to your world and Lil' Kasey and your coffee pot!

Cheers!!!

Fiat :happy0207:

littlewheels

07-15-2008, 09:04 AM

Hey, LW!!! :mornincoffee:

Had signed off but looked here quickly and saw your post. Would love to stay and enjoy a cup of coffee with you, but I have to get ready and go to work.

I see from your NASCAR thread you've re-joined us in the daily "commute". Hope all that's going well and you're enjoying being back at the grind.

Hope some others come along for a cup before you have to leave yourself!

And that your day goes quickly and gets you safely back home to your world and Lil' Kasey and your coffee pot!

Cheers!!!

Fiat :happy0207:

I was/am at work when I sent that! My start time is 6 am! :francis:

ohno40

07-15-2008, 05:47 PM

:happy0207: Fiat and all Sports Fans!

It was great to see Justin Morneau win the Home Run derby. He played for my hometown Red Wings, the triple a affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, before he was called up- we knew how special he was then.

How about Josh Hamilton- what a great story, and a classy guy. Not to take away from Justin, but Josh really deserved to win.

Good Luck to the AL tonight- should be a great All Star game!
:happy0158:

littlewheels

07-15-2008, 06:31 PM

Good Luck to all of the players! "All of them" should be proud they made it this far! :happy0158: Gotta run some errands. Hope to catch ya'all later! Save my seat! :hifive:

janicelee

07-15-2008, 07:12 PM

Well I'm getting ready to enjoy the all-star game particularly glad it is being played in one of the most historic places in baseball during it's last year of existance. I hope to to see Edison Volquez, face off against Josh Hamilton, but I'll survive if he doesn't I'm a little disapointed that Brandon Phillips, one the best second baseman in the game didn't make the cut. But all the same the stars are out tonight and I plan on enjoying watching them. Everyone enjoy the game.

sunstar

07-15-2008, 08:31 PM

I'm watching too! :0012: It was wonderful to see the player introductions ~ both past & present day players! Go Chipper!!! :s1gyahoo:

gramvof14

07-15-2008, 08:39 PM

I'm watching too! :0012: It was wonderful to see the player introductions ~ both past & present day players! Go Chipper!!! :s1gyahoo:
Hi Sunstar are we ready for some baseball???:happy0158:

rem16

07-15-2008, 08:53 PM

I'm watching too! :0012: It was wonderful to see the player introductions ~ both past & present day players! Go Chipper!!! :s1gyahoo:

Really great to see all of the older players.. Many of my 1st Place Cubbies are there! :s1gyahoo: Maybe this year..

sunstar

07-15-2008, 09:11 PM

Really great to see all of the older players.. Many of my 1st Place Cubbies are there! :s1gyahoo: Maybe this year..

Maybe!! :happy0158: My Braves need to get a lot better to do it.

gramvof14

07-15-2008, 10:43 PM

YAAAAAHOOOOOOO Josh Groban I love him.:happy0158::kissyface4::love0085::love0081:

TobyTiger

07-15-2008, 11:16 PM

Greetings!

Yes, I've been watching the game also...just got here however.

Glad to see it's a close one...
:zm10::zm10::zm10:

TobyTiger

07-15-2008, 11:19 PM

Tied again!

3-3
Bottom 8th

:zm10::zm10:

rem16

07-15-2008, 11:23 PM

Verrry exciting..I hope the NL pulls it out. :0012:

TobyTiger

07-15-2008, 11:36 PM

Verrry exciting..I hope the NL pulls it out. :0012:

Still tied...bottom 9th!
:zm10::zm10:

rem16

07-15-2008, 11:39 PM

Still tied...bottom 9th!
:zm10::zm10:

Ooooh, we might even have EXTRA INNINGS! Didn't George Carlin say something like that? :smile:

TobyTiger

07-15-2008, 11:46 PM

Ooooh, we might even have EXTRA INNINGS! Didn't George Carlin say something like that? :smile:

Yeah...and we do have EXTRA INNINGS!!

:happy0158:

TobyTiger

07-15-2008, 11:53 PM

WTG...Mariano!

On to the bottom of the 10th...
:happy0158:

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 12:04 AM

Into the 11th inning...

:happy0158:

rem16

07-16-2008, 12:06 AM

:hifive:

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 12:09 AM

:hifive:

Glad to see you're still here!

:zm10:

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 12:25 AM

On to the 12th inning...

:happy0158:

rem16

07-16-2008, 12:27 AM

On to the 12th inning...

:happy0158:

I love it..:s1gyahoo:

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 12:32 AM

I love it..:s1gyahoo:

It's only 9:30pm here...so they could keep this up for a while, as far as I'm concerned!

:happy0158:

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 12:46 AM

On to the 13th...

:thud2:

:biggrin:

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 01:06 AM

14th inning....

OK, guys, it's now 1:00am in NY.

Aren't you tired yet???

:biggrin:

rem16

07-16-2008, 01:25 AM

When was the last extra innings All Star game?

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 01:34 AM

When was the last extra innings All Star game?

Good question...I'll check!

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 01:37 AM

2002.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game

:biggrin:

rem16

07-16-2008, 01:38 AM

:1187603408.CR.Mothe Oh Drat! I wanted home field advantage!

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 01:38 AM

AL WINS!!!

AL 4
NL 3
FINAL
15th Inning
Time 4h50m

:happy0158::happy0158::happy0158:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280715131&refreshRate=60

TobyTiger

07-16-2008, 01:39 AM

:1187603408.CR.Mothe Oh Drat!

Sorry!

:love0085:

Have a good night!

rem16

07-16-2008, 01:41 AM

Sorry!

:love0085:

Have a good night!

Thanks, you too.

littlewheels

07-16-2008, 08:04 AM

:mornincoffee: :67302:

Fiatjustitia

07-16-2008, 04:24 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels, Janicelee, GramV and Barskin&Co, Sunstar, Rem16 (Hi! and Welcome!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

How nice to come here today and see that you all blogged the All Star Game! Sorry I wasn't here too! But, even if I'd known of your gathering (and that LW was here again this morning with coffee), I couldn't have stayed because of a work assignment - but was able to watch the game while I was doing my reading to keep up with what was happening.:smile:

However, sleep overtook me at 1:00 a.m., so I didn't see the finish - and work has kept me from coming back here until now to discuss it and to thank you in advance in asking for your indulgence in my not posting tomorrow so I can finish the project that's been keeping me so busy. :6u8ky2o::give_rose:

For your convenience, I'm putting up the schedule of Friday's games today so you'll know when and against whom your teams that are not starting their next series tomorrow will be playing on the weekend.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our usual sites today includes reports that:

1) Confessed drug supplier, Kirk Radomski, has allegedly now provided documentary evidence to the feds purportedly evincing that he shipped HGH to the Rocket;

2) The Phillies' 2B, Chase Utley, has apologized for the embarrasing gaffe made after his introduction as a contestant in the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

When his name was greeted by "boos", Utley, forgetting that he was miked, said "Boos? F-You!" Chase is a sweetie - Believe me, he would never have said this if he had remembered that he was wired for sound.:lex_10:

3) Jonathan Papelbon, the Red Sox closer whose dog ate his World Series winning ball, is now delivering a different spin on his request to All Star Game AL and Bosox Skipper, Terry Francona, that he, instead of Yanks' legend, Mariano Rivera, should close for the AL team.

After the news hit the press, Jon got Bronx cheers during the parade of players as well as during the game last night. Last word was that Papelbon was whining to the media that the hostility was so extreme on the parade's red carpeted roadside that his pregnant wife was in fear for her life.

Personally, it sounds to me from all this that Jonathon has spent way too much time hanging around Curt Schilling, who likewise would conclude that everything that happened on Monday and Tuesday nights solely revolved around him;:rolleye0001:; and

4) Now that the season is half over, here's a link to predictions for what might happen in the second half and how it might end according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=3491092

***

ALL STAR GAME RECAP:

For starters, the AL did win it again, as it has every year since 1997, except for the tie in 2003. And, for a recap including some making of history to add to our reminiscences, here's what was posted by Jack Curry at nytimes.com at 2:47 a.m., under the title: "A.L. Wins in Lengthy Farewell to Stadium":

"It was tense, it was exciting and it was long, but, in the end, the final scenes from the All-Star Game proved to be as predictable as ever. The American League was better than the National League, again. Regardless of how many twists and turns this marathon game took, the A.L. prevailed, 4-3, in 15 innings.

After Michael Young’s sacrifice fly delivered Justin Morneau early Wednesday morning, the longest All-Star Game ever — by time — was over after 4 hours 50 minutes. The A.L. is now unbeaten in 12 straight seasons.

By the time the game ended at 1:37 a.m. Eastern, most of the 55,632 spectators, some who paid as much as $725 a ticket, were in a car, in a train or in a bed. The 63 players who were selected to play took part in a game that dragged on and on, kind of like a baseball season.

The game is also tied for the longest All-Star Game by innings. J.D. Drew of the Red Sox, who had a two-run homer, was named the most valuable player. And, on this crazy night, Drew, a right fielder, said he would have pitched if Manager Terry Francona had asked him.

'It got wild,' said Clint Hurdle, the Rockies’ manager, who handled the N.L. team.

Brad Lidge, the last pitcher left for the N.L., allowed a pair of singles and a walk, loading the bases in the 15th. Young hit a fly ball to medium-right. Corey Hart corralled the ball and made a decent throw, but Morneau slid in ahead of Brian McCann’s tag.

Aside from its length, the final All-Star Game at the Stadium will also be remembered for a lot of snazzy plays and missed opportunities: the Mets’ Billy Wagner blew a save for the N.L.; the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera pitched like the legend that he is; and Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox was booed by the Yankees fans who had been rooting for the A.L. By winning, the A.L. again earned the home-field advantage in the World Series.

In addition to Wagner, Lidge and Papelbon, Dan Uggla will surely want to forget this game. Uggla, a second baseman for the Marlins, made three errors and was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.

As inning after inning passed, it felt a lot like 2002, when the teams played to a 7-7 tie that ended after 11 innings because both sides ran out of pitchers. Position players, like Drew and David Wright and Evan Longoria, spoke about possibly pitching after Tuesday night became Wednesday morning. Lidge said it would have been "scary" if either side had run out of pitchers. Of course, since Lidge allowed the decisive run, that did not happen.

When Wagner was asked how desperately he wanted to beat the A.L., he said, 'It would be fantastic to beat them about 20-0.'

How about 3-2? The N.L. was in position for a 3-2 win, but Wagner botched that chance. With two outs and no one on in the eighth, Wagner was brought in to pitch to Grady Sizemore.

Sizemore singled, stole second and then scored on Evan Longoria’s double to tie the game, 3-3. Wagner’s blown save turned a game into a marathon. It was a marathon with some highlights.

With runners on first and second in the 11th, Young smacked a single to center field and it seemed as if the game was over. But Nate McLouth hustled in and made a throw that almost reached home on a fly. Catcher Russell Martin snared the short-hop, blocked the plate with his left leg and tagged out Dioner Navarro. But the N.L. could not suppress the A.L. all night.

Uggla misplaced his glove in the 10th as he committed errors on the first two grounders hit to him. After an intentional walk, Aaron Cook rescued Uggla by inducing three straight groundouts to escape from the bases-loaded jam. Shortstop Miguel Tejada made a running, sprawling play on Morneau’s slow roller for the third out.

There was only one Yankee on the field late in the game, but that did not stop the fans from being territorial. When Rivera pitched the ninth and the 10th, he heard his name chanted and also heard chants of 'Let’s Go Yankees.' Rivera worked one and two-thirds scoreless innings.

Papelbon was honest enough this week to say that he felt he should close the game, not Rivera. When Papelbon pitched the eighth, he heard chants of 'Mar-i-ano' and 'Over-rated.' Papelbon allowed an unearned run as the N.L. took a 3-2 lead.

Matt Holliday, whose homer gave the N.L. a 1-0 lead, mentioned how vital the home-field edge was after his Colorado Rockies lost the first two games in Boston last October and were swept in four games by the Red Sox. Lance Berkman’s sacrifice fly in the sixth put the N.L. ahead, 2-0.

Ben Sheets, Carlos Zambrano and Dan Haren silenced the A.L. for the first six innings, but that changed when Drew lined a two-run homer off Edinson Volquez in the seventh. Drew heard his first and maybe his last cheers at the Stadium.

'It was brief, to say the least,' Drew said.

Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox had spoken hopefully about being included in the lineup roll call that the Yankees’ bleacher creatures do in the first inning. But, realistically, Youkilis had no chance to hear 'Youk-i-lis' in the Bronx.

When the fans did their roll call, they limited it to the left side of the infield and chanted for third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. Both waved toward right field, as they always do.

After Cliff Lee buzzed through the first inning with two strikeouts, Jeter delighted the Yankee fans with the first hit of the game. There were hundreds of flashbulbs popping when Jeter cued a ball that bounced off second baseman Chase Utley for a single. He then stole second.

With two outs, Rodriguez had the opportunity to drive in the first run in the final All-Star Game at the Stadium. But Rodriguez did not turn the situation into an all-Yankee production as he fouled out to the catcher off Sheets. After Jeter’s first-inning single, he twice batted with runners on base and failed to deliver.

An emotional George Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ principal owner, delivered four baseballs to the mound as part of the pregame ceremonies. It was Steinbrenner’s first visit to the Stadium this season.

After the All-Star teams and 49 Hall of Famers were introduced, a golf cart carrying Steinbrenner appeared along the warning track. Steinbrenner was weeping as he was driven to the mound. He received a polite ovation.

When the cart pulled on to the field, Steinbrenner gave the baseballs to Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage, the four Yankee Hall of Famers who were on the field. Ford and Berra kissed Steinbrenner and Jackson and Gossage hugged him.

Since Steinbrenner’s health has eroded in recent years, he has not been as much of a presence, physically or vocally, around the Yankees. Steinbrenner, who turned 78 on July 4, has owned the team since 1973. Rodriguez said the Stadium and Steinbrenner were 'the two biggest stars' of the game.

But, several hours later, there was another star that Rodriguez did not mention: the A.L. The A.L. won another All-Star Game. Different season, same result."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/sports/baseball/16allstar.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS" SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the very latest on trade rumors around the major leagues and a report that the beloved Bobby Murcer personally raised $5 Million to help MLB veterans:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#9

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for remembrances of Bobby Murcer; for more recaps and memories of All Star Week in Yankee Stadium; for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Tomorrow, regular season play will resume with a much abbreviated schedule of four games: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will meet the O's and Olson; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Santana will face Janicelee's Reds and Cueto; 8:15 p.m., EDT; the Pads and Peavy will take on the Cards and Lohse; and 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Maholm will play against LW's Rockies and Jimenez.

Friday's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Blanton will meet our Yankees and Mussina; and the Tigers and Galarraga will face the O's and Guthrie; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Maine will take on Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; the Phillies and Moyer will play against the Fish and Nolasco; and Toronto and Burnett will contend against the Rays and Shields; 7:35 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will vie against Sunstar's Braves and Jurrjens; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies will meet the Astros and Moehler; 8:11 p.m., EDT, KC and Greinke will face the CWS and Buehrle; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Maddux will take on the Cards and Looper; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Snell will play against LW's Rockies and Rusch; 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Kuroda will contend against the Snakes and Davis; 10:05 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz will vie against the Angels and Lackey; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Laffey will meet the Sailors and King Felix Hernandez.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Wednesday and day off from baseball for all of us and our favorite teams too and see you here again on Friday!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Roenick

07-17-2008, 12:21 PM

Here is a picture of my dads uniform from when he was little. It is made out of a Yankee uniform. He was 1/4, my uncles were # 1/2 & # 1/3.

My dad oldest brothers God-Father was Lou Berberet

I use to love the Yankees. Sax, Moss and Nokes...
Now I'm a Braves fan and can not stand the Yanks.

Fiatjustitia

07-18-2008, 09:33 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and good luck for your Rockies against the Buccos again tonight!), Janicelee, GramV and Barskin&Co, Sunstar, Rem16, Roenick (Hi! and Welcome!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Roenick, always happy to meet a fellow hermit...on the NET ha ha ha. Your Dad's Yankees' uniform, #1/4, is adorable - to say the least - and thank you for posting the picture so we all could see it.

Your uncle was blessed to have as his godfather the late Yankees' catcher, Lou Berberet. For others who might not have heard of him, here's a bit from his Wiki bio:

Louis Joseph Berberet (November 20, 1929 - April 6, 2004) was a catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers between 1954 and 1960. He was born in Long Beach, California.

The bio goes on to note that Lou "spent his life making friends." We should all be so lucky to know someone like him! Here's the link for the rest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Berberet

And, Roenick, I hope your current dislike of the Yankees doesn't extend to Yankees' fans in general and that your affection for the Braves will keep you posting here as a friend of the game.

And, my thanks to everyone for your indulgence in giving me a day off from posting the summaries. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked due to interruptions and distractions, so will have to finish the work on the weekend. And so it goes...:frustratedf:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our usual sites as the second half of the season begins in earnest includes reports that:

1) Depending on where you read at the time of this writing, our Yankees have either made a deal or are in the process of making one to hire the 6'8" and 33 year old former Sailors' 1B, Richie Sexson, who bats right handed, to solve some of the team's problems with left handed pitching;

2) Pioneering RHP, Hideo Nomo, has announced his retirement from MLB at age 39. Known for his deceptive delivery and devastating forkball, Hideo, who led a raft of Japanese players into the majors, played for the Dodgers, Mets, Twins, Tigers, Boston, Rays and lastly for the Kansas City Royals, who released him in April.;

3) The Phillies have hired RHP, Joe Blanton, away from the A's in exchange for three minor league prospects.; and

4) Yadger Stadium will host the 2009 WBC finals - news heralding the happiness those of us who suffer baseball withdrawal when the seaon ends will feel in knowing there will be big stuff going on in the sport in March.:happy0158:

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS" SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the very latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB and a report that the sweet Johnny Damon, who has been nursing the shoulder injured when he hit the back wall of Yankee Stadium trying to make a catch on July 4th, hopes to return to the team in another week:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#1

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for more info on the deal to hire Richie Sexson; for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Scores from yesterday's games were: the Tigers and Rogers edged the O's and Olson, 6-5; the Mets and Santana decimated Janicelee's Reds and Cueto, 10-8 (allowing the Mets to tie the Phillies atop the NL East); the Pads and Peavy lost in a squeaker to the Cards and Lohse, 4-3; and the Buccos and Maholm were dragooned by LW's Rockies and Jimenez, 5-3.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Smith (in a pitching change after Blanton was bought by the Phillies) will meet our Yankees and Mussina; and the Tigers and Galarraga will face the O's and Guthrie; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Maine will take on Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; the Phillies and Moyer will play against the Fish and Nolasco; and Toronto and Burnett will contend against the Rays and Shields; 7:35 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will vie against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly will meet the Astros and Moehler; 8:11 p.m., EDT, KC and Greinke will face the CWS and Buehrle; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Maddux will take on the Cards and Looper; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Snell will play against LW's Rockies and Rusch; 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Kuroda will contend against the Snakes and Davis; 10:05 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz will vie against the Angels and Lackey; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Laffey will meet the Sailors and King Felix Hernandez.

Tomorrow''s schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Duchscherer will meet our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain; 3:55 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett will face the Angels and Saunders; the Tribe and Sowers will take on the Sailors and Washburn; the Pads and Wolf will play against the Cards and Wellemeyer; and the Phillies and Kendrick will contend against the Fish and Olsen; 6:10 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Halladay will vie against the Rays and Garza; 7:00 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan will meet Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hudson; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Robertson will face the O's and Cabrera; KC and Meche will take on the CWS and Floyd; and Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano will play against the Astros and Rodriguez; 7:40 p.m., EDT, the Mets and O.Perez will contend against Janicelee's Reds and Fogg; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Herrera will vie against LW's Rockies and De La Rosa; and 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Billingsley will meet the Snakes and Haren.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Friday, weekend and baseball for all of you and a win for our Yankees against the A's tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-18-2008, 11:35 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

Please excuse my absence since the All-Star game...I barely made it here last night to post a news article regarding a rescued (albiet badly burned) cat from the California wildfires (on the Wildfires thread) being cared for here locally.

Now to our Yankees!

YANKEES 7, ATHLETICS 1 (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280718110)

Robinson Cano hit a three-run homer, Alex Rodriguez also connected and the New York Yankees made it an easy night for Mike Mussina in a 7-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday. Richie Sexson hit an RBI single in his first at-bat with the Yankees, and Mussina (12-6) pitched six effective innings to tie Cleveland's Cliff Lee and fellow All-Star Joe Saunders of the Los Angeles Angels for most wins in the AL. Mussina was left off the All-Star team for Tuesday night's showcase at Yankee Stadium, but he's certainly pitched like one of baseball's best this season.

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

See you later on...going to try to get up early for the (British) Open!
:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-19-2008, 01:38 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi! And missed you!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the second win in a row and good luck for your Rockies for another one against the Buccos tonight!), Janicelee (Congrats on your Reds' win against the Mets and good luck for another one against them tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against the Angels this afternoon!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on your Braves' win against Tim Russert's Nats and good luck for a repeat tonight!), Rem16 (Good luck for your Cubbies against the Astros tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for posting the recap of last night's game, Toby, and you know why I completely understand your need to be away and it's always great to see you when you can get here. And, my heart is warmed by your giving as loving and tender care in looking after your cats as I do for my bears. That we both share - along with OhNo and our readers who haven't expressed it - the same degree of love for our Yankees is a fact I will always cherish.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

Since it's a slow newsday with not much of note making the rounds as we speak, let's move on to the recap of last night's win against the A's.

***

NYT's YANKEES" GAME RECAP:

Here is the nytimes' Dave Caldwell's recap thereof, singing the praises of new kid on the block, Richie Sexson and a 12th win for Yanks' pitching ace, "Moose" Mussina, entitled, "A New Yankee Delivers, and the Others Follow":

"Derek Jeter has been asked so many questions about the Yankees’ scuffling and bewildering first half of the season that he wondered aloud on Friday afternoon if his team was actually 40 games out of first place instead of six. He wore a smirk as he said it.

If everyone contributes, he said, the Yankees can make a ferocious run. As if to underscore Jeter’s point, the Yankees received significant contributions from many players — including a newcomer — to pummel Oakland, 7-1, before 54,145 at Yankee Stadium.

'We looked good today, and if we can look like this every day, we’ve got a chance,' said Mike Mussina, the winning pitcher.

Richie Sexson, the 6-foot-8 first baseman cut loose by Seattle last week and signed by the Yankees on Friday, was put in the starting lineup by Manager Joe Girardi. He hit a run-scoring single in his first at-bat.

Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, his .249 batting average lagging 57 points behind last year’s average, hammered a tension-breaking three-run homer in the third inning and made two sharp defensive plays.

A-Rodriguez had three hits, including a bases-empty home run in the sixth that was his 20th of the season and the 538th of his career. Bobby Abreu had two hits, scored two runs and drove in the first of two fourth-inning runs.

Mussina overcame a slow start to improve to 12-6. He allowed only one run in six innings despite giving up nine hits. But he finished strong to post his third victory in his last seven starts.

'You look at all the things you need to do to win a game, and we did them tonight,' Girardi said.

It was a night to think positive, maybe to an extreme. Johnny Damon, who has missed the last eight games with a sprained left shoulder, hit balls off a tee Friday. He was so encouraged with how he felt that he thought he would try to hit on the field Saturday, with hopes of playing as early as Sunday, the first day he is eligible to come off the disabled left.

'If I feel good, I’m going to put it in their corner, and they can make a decision,' Damon said, referring to Yankees management.

Brian Cashman, the Yankees’ general manager, said he appreciated Damon’s enthusiasm but added: 'I think a rehab stint is probably necessary. But we’ll see.'

After Mussina had allowed a run in the first, Sexson, batting fifth in the order, got it back. Oakland right fielder Ryan Sweeney made a splendid running catch of a foul ball hit by Jeter for the first out, but Abreu singled off the left-hander Greg Smith, and Rodriguez walked.

Athletics center fielder Carlos Gonzalez took a single away from Jorge Posada with another running catch, bringing up Sexson, who worked a full count before ripping a pitch to center field that scored Abreu.

'I was more happy that a run came in than I felt a weight coming off my shoulders,' said Sexson, who played for the Mariners for three and a half disappointing seasons.

Oakland traded the right-handed pitcher Joe Blanton to Philadelphia on Thursday, so more than a No. 39 pinstriped jersey and a freshly stocked locker awaited Sexson when he joined the Yankees. There was a bonus: his name was on the lineup card.

Smith was moved up a day to take Blanton’s spot in the starting rotation, and the 33-year-old Sexson was signed by the Yankees, in part, because he has a .344 batting average against lefties.

'They moved Smith up, so his debut moved up,' Girardi said.

Mussina gave up a leadoff single to Gonzalez in the second, but he pitched with precision, retiring Jack Hannahan, Donnie Murphy and Ellis on called third strikes. He gave up a two-out single to Jack Cust in the third, but Emil Brown bounced out.

Cano belted his seventh home run off Smith with two outs in the third inning. Rodriguez singled with one out, and Posada walked before Smith struck out Sexson. Smith threw a fat 1-2 fastball to Canó, who drove it into the right-field bleachers.

'He’s grinded his way through it,' Girardi said of Canó, who batted .151 in April. 'There’s been a progression, and he gets better each month.'

The Yankees added two runs with two outs in the fourth inning before Smith left the game. Smith walked Jeter, then gave up a double to Abreu. Jeter scored, and Abreu rumbled to third on an error, then scored on a single by Rodriguez.

Sexson struck out, walked and grounded into a double play in his last three at-bats. But he had delivered early, and the Yankees started the second half of the season strong.

'If he can get back to where he was, he’ll be a big addition,' Girardi said."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/sports/baseball/19yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS" SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the very latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB, such as LW's Rockies' insistence that they haven't placed All Star OF, Matt Holliday, on the trade wire and a piece listing 5 MLB management people currently on the hot seat:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#10

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Tigers and Galarraga were caged by the O's and Guthrie, 7-4; the Mets and Maine were stopped from winning their 11th straight game by Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo, 5-2; the Phillies and Moyer pureed the Fish and Nolasco, 4-2; Toronto and Burnett were edged by the Rays (stopping their 7 game skid) and Shields, 2-1; Tim Russert's Nats and Redding were flummoxed by Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens, 7-6; Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly lost in a squeaker to the Astros and Moehler, 2-1; KC and Greinke were thumped by the CWS and Buehrle, 9-5; the Pads and Maddux were royally flushed by the Cards and Looper, 11-7; the Buccos and Snell were sent to Davey Jones' locker by LW's Rockies and Rusch in back-to-back wins, 5-2; the Yadgers and Kuroda charmed the Snakes and Davis back into their basket, 8-7; GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz were defeated by the Angels and Lackey, 11-3; and the Tribe and Laffey were sunk by the Sailors and King Felix Hernandez, 8-2.

Today''s schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Gallagher (in a pitching change from yesterday) will meet our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain; 3:55 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett will face the Angels and Saunders; the Tribe and Sowers will take on the Sailors and Washburn; the Pads and Wolf will play against the Cards and Wellemeyer; and the Phillies and Kendrick will contend against the Fish and Olsen; 6:10 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Halladay will vie against the Rays and Garza; 7:00 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan will meet Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens (in a pitching change from yesterday); 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Robertson will face the O's and Cabrera; KC and Meche will take on the CWS and Floyd; and Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano will play against the Astros and Rodriguez; 7:40 p.m., EDT, the Mets and O.Perez will contend against Janicelee's Reds and Fogg; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Herrera will vie against LW's Rockies and De La Rosa; and 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Billingsley will meet the Snakes and Haren.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Duchscherer will meet our Yankees and Pettitte; 1:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Cole Hamels will face the Fish and Johnson; 1:15 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Pelfrey will take on Janicelee's Reds and Volquez; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Verlander will play against the O's and Burres; and Tim Russert's Nats and Perez will contend against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Reyes; 1:40 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Parrish will vie against the Rays and Kazmir; 2:05 p.m., EDT, KC and Bannister will meet the CWS and Danks; and Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster will face the Astros and Backe; 2:15 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Baek will take on the Cards and Garcia; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Duke will play against LW's Rockies and Cook; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Lee will contend against the Sailors and Silva; and the Yadgers and Lowe will vie against the Snakes and Webb; and 6:00 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will meet the Angels and Garland.

***

Am concluding this summary with some thoughts on the reopening of the InSession boards today. I'm staying here and not going back for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because I love this place.

First of those reasons is that HFTM is devoted to a wonderful cause that seeks to help and benefit all of humanity. And, if I haven't said so directly and publicly before, it is a cause in which I too volunteer to help in any way I can - and encourage as many of you who are able to do likewise.

Second, Pauli has created a beautiful, warm and inviting environment that has facilitated the growth of a community devoted to civil interaction designed to express goodness and goodwill between and among the members.

And this community of ours is open 24/7 and subject only to shutdowns of an emergency nature - and not the unexpected kind caused by decisions that are either purposefully arbitrary or accidental in nature.

I always feel good when clicking my mouse to arrive here. A related reason I'm staying is that, while we had a lot of reading of this thread at IS, we didn't have a lot of participation, and I don't do this merely to be a "blogger".

Don't get me wrong, I love the readers as much as I do the writers, but I believe the threads I create both here and on another forum where I still post should become a home of sorts for those who share the interest to which the thread is devoted and it thrills me to see this happening after nururing it over a period of time like this one.

Third, and technically, it is a joy not to have to battle with IS's 8,000 character limit. It took almost as much time as posting to edit the summaries to conform to the darned limit. Although I always try to conform to that limit here out of respect for the size of Pauli's bandwidth, it is good to have extra room when there is a big story in MLB. And, last but not least, it's great to be done with that way-too-short editing time!

And -- what a joy to have so many emoticons to help with making the intent of our messages clearer. Thank you so much Pauli, for everything!

My only request is, if any of you posting at IS should receive questions or notice one in the old thread about where it has gone, that you will kindly direct them here.

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Saturday, weekend and baseball for all of you and another win for our Yankees against the A's this afternoon!

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-19-2008, 11:23 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

I'll check over there for you...although I won't be logging in or posting much myself.

YANKS GET FINAL WORD AGAINST A'S (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280719110)

One after another, the New York Yankees kept putting runners on base and leaving them out there to wilt in the heat. Somehow, they still managed to outlast Oakland. Jose Molina was hit by Lenny DiNardo's pitch with the bases loaded in the 12th inning, and New York edged the Athletics 4-3 Saturday in a tense game that lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes on a 93-degree afternoon. "That's the way it goes sometimes. It was crazy," Molina said. Robinson Cano had four hits for the Yankees and David Robertson earned his first major league win.
:zm10::zm10::zm10:

Hope you're having a great weekend!!

rem16

07-20-2008, 02:45 AM

Hi Fiat! Loved reading your post...The Cubbies are making it interesting, having lost their last 3 games, with the Cards and Brewers nipping at their heels.. Never a dull moment. :thud2:

Fiatjustitia

07-20-2008, 11:04 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the third win in a row and good luck for a sweep for your Rockies against the Buccos this afternoon!), Janicelee (Congrats on your Reds' back to back wins against the Mets and good luck for a third in a row against them this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against the Angels this evening!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against Tim Russert's Nats this afternoon!), Rem16 (Hi and Thanks! And good luck for your Cubbies against the Astros this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thank you for posting the recap of last night's game, Toby, and looks like there still aren't any posts in the old thread questioning what's happening or whether it's been moved. Maybe in another day or so when they see the summaries aren't being put up - 'though I'm happy in the belief that our regular threadsters have found us already, so no real worries on that account.

And, adding to the other technical glories bestowed by Pauli upon us here: the ability to bold, italicize and underline with ease and the certainty that capitol "B's" will appear - a glitch at the old place that's never been fixed - making it impossible to identify players as 1B, 2B and 3B!:frustratedf:

Rem16 - thank you for your kind words about the summaries and I see the Cubbies are up again for bid - more in the "news" part of the summary about that - with the NBA's Dallas Mavericks' owner, Mark Cuban, again in the mix - well, we know he's got the requisite $1 Billion to buy them, for sure!:yes2:

Also, checking the MLB standings, your Cubbies are still holding their own. Right now, there are three AL teams competing with them for the top spots in MLB: #1, the Angels (59-38); #2, the Rays (57-39); #3 your Cubbies (57-40) and #4, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox at 57-42). But, as they say, there's a lot of ball left to be played.

But, even as much as I love our Yankees, it would not disappoint me to see your Cubbies end their longtime World Series drought this year and take it all. So, good luck to you and all other fans of the Cubs who read and/or write in this thread!:happy0158:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News items making the rounds at our regular MLB sites include reports that:

1) Boston's big hitting Papi Ortiz's return to the team after suffering the injury to his wrist is looking ever more imminent after he pounded a big home run in a rehab stint;

2) Mets' pitching ace, Pedro Martinez's health, however, is sliding downward. After receiving epidurals to treat his sprained groin muscles, he's likely not to make his start when the team begins a series against the Phillies this Tuesday;

3) Although Boston's free-spirited "Manny Being Manny" Ramirez is playing serious hardball with Red Sox' Central in demanding to know how big his next contract will be, foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal strikes a cautionary note about what Boston's moneybags might have in store for Manny's future. Here's the link:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8356892/Aging-Manny-may-be-expendable-for-Red-Sox

4) And, here's the link to a piece posted at espn.com describing the wheeling and dealing regarding bids going up hither and yon to buy Rem16's Cubbies and the right to rename the fabled Wrigley Field after the bank that that ends up financing the purchase:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3496713

***

NYT's YANKEES" GAME RECAP:

Here is the nytimes' Mike Ogle's recap of last night's 12th inning victory entitled: "Hit by Pitch, Molina Starts a Celebration for the Yanks":

"Jose Molina carried his bat all the way down to first base, even though he did not need it. When he reached the bag, his teammates swarmed him, jumping on his back and bouncing in celebration.

Without using that bat, Molina had just recorded the winning run batted in for the Yankees, ending a marathon of a game on a boiling Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

With the bases loaded in the 12th inning of a game in which the Yankees had floundered trying to find ways to push runners across the plate, Molina stumbled upon a simple solution.

He let a just-barely-too-inside fastball from Oakland reliever Lenny DiNardo hit him in the knee. As a result, the game ended after 4 hours 45 minutes as Molina trotted to first with a game-ending hit-by-pitch that gave the Yankees a 4-3 victory against the Athletics.

'It feels good because we won the game,' said Molina, who took over for Jorge Posada in the 10th. 'But it hurts.'

Manager Joe Girardi offered a tongue-in-cheek compliment for his catcher for his stand-still star turn that helped make the 21 runners the Yankees (52-45) left on base a bit easier to swallow.

'Jose did a good job of letting the ball hit his leg,' Girardi said.

Molina’s game-winning plate appearance helped save another solid start by Joba Chamberlain. It also saved the bullpen from squandering a win against the A’s, a team that Yankees could find themselves battling for the wild-card spot.

Chamberlain did not throw as deep into the game as he would like, making it through six innings on a day when the temperature was in the mid-90s. He allowed base runners in every inning but his last, but he struck out the final batter in every inning but one.

He allowed one run to score, on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, and scattered six hits while striking out eight, walking one and breaking a few bats.

'I pitched six innings and gave my team a quality start,' Chamberlain said. 'That’s all you can ask.'. . .

The start was Chamberlain’s ninth since his transition from setup man, and this time the bullpen almost let the game slip away.

The A’s tied the score off the right-handed reliever Jose Veras in the seventh. Veras loaded the bases, then threw an inside fastball into the dirt. Wes Bankston scored on the wild pitch.

Mariano Rivera ran into trouble in the ninth, giving up two singles and a lead to the A’s. Rajai Davis pinch-ran for Jack Hannahan after Hannahan singled. Rivera became preoccupied with Davis on base, but Davis stole second anyway. Ryan Sweeney knocked him home with a single of his own for a 3-2 edge. It was only the sixth run Rivera had allowed this season.

The Yankees fought back in the bottom of the ninth. Wilson Betemit stroked a single to left-center field to score Robinson Cano and tie the score at 3-3.

The Yankees threatened in every extra inning. Relievers Edwar Ramírez and David Robertson shut down the A’s, allowing one hit and striking out five in the final three innings. . .

The last four hitters of the Yankees’ lineup went a combined 6 for 11 against [Sean] Gallagher, while the first five managed just one single in 12 at-bats. In all, Cano, Betemit and Melky Cabrera had 10 hits, with Cano accounting for four, including two doubles.

Cano, who is batting .256 on the season, is a career .335 hitter after the All-Star break and is 6 for 10 in the two games since the All-Star Game. Girardi joked that next year he will tell Cano during spring training that it was already the second half of the season.

The Yankees, too, are off to a strong start as they try to duplicate the second-half surge they had last season, when they had the major league’s best record after the break to make the playoffs.

'These are the types of games you need to win,' Jeter said.

INSIDE PITCH

Johnny Damon (left shoulder sprain) took batting practice for the first time before the game, displaying power and appearing comfortable. Joe Girardi said that he expected Damon to return to the team sometime next week as a DH (he has not thrown yet). He was unsure if Damon would require a rehab stint first. ... Jorge Posada blocked a pitch with his palm and shook his hand in pain at times. He left the game in the 10th."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/sports/baseball/20yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS" SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB and other items that may have been added since yesterday:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#10

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett lost to the Angels and Saunders, 4-2; the Tribe and Sowers beached the Sailors and Batista, 9-6; the Pads and Wolf were trumped by the Cards and Wellemeyer, 6-5; the Phillies and Kendrick were netted by the Fish and Olsen, 9-5; Toronto and Halladay were speared by the Rays and Garza, 6-4; Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan bested Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens, 8-2; the Tigers and Robertson lost in a big squeaker to the O's and Cabrera, 11-10; KC and Meche all but annihilated the CWS and Floyd, 9-1; Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano were thumped by the Astros and Rodriguez, 4-1; the Mets and O.Perez were vanquished in back-to-back wins by Janicelee's Reds, this time with Fogg on the hill, 7-2; the Buccos and Herrera were given another taste of the briny deep by LW's Rockies and De La Rosa, 7-1; and the Yadgers and Billingsley got bit by the Snakes and Haren, 3-2.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Duchscherer will meet our Yankees and Pettitte; 1:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Cole Hamels will face the Fish and Johnson; 1:15 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Pelfrey will take on Janicelee's Reds and Volquez; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Verlander will play against the O's and Burres; and Tim Russert's Nats and Perez will contend against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Reyes; 1:40 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Parrish will vie against the Rays and Jackson (in a pitching change from yesterday); 2:05 p.m., EDT, KC and Bannister will meet the CWS and Danks; and Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster will face the Astros and Backe; 2:15 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Baek will take on the Cards and Garcia; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Duke will play against LW's Rockies and Cook; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Lee will contend against the Sailors and Silva; and the Yadgers and Lowe will vie against the Snakes and Webb; and 6:00 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will meet the Angels and Garland.

Tomorrow, the following teams are off and will start series on Tuesday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: the Phillies and Mets (against each other) and Tim Russert's Nats (SF). Monday's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Twinkies and Blackburn will meet our Yankees and Ponson; and Toronto and Litsch will face the O's and Liz; 7:08 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and McClung will take on the Cards and Pineiro; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Banks will play against Janicelee's Reds and Bailey; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo will contend against the Fish and Volstad; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Miner will vie against KC and Hochevar; 8:11 p.m., EDT, Texas and Hurley will meet the CWS and Vazquez; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Stults will face LW's Rockies and Kip Wells; 9:40 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Harden will take on the Snakes and the Unit; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will play against the Angels and E.Santana; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester will contend against the Sailors and Washburn.

***

Now, it's off to see whether "the Shark" Greg Norman will win the British Open at Royal Birkdale this afternoon! Won't say more here because Rem16 has started a thread about Norman in this forum already.:smile:

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Sunday and baseball for All of You and a sweep of the A's for our Yankees this afternoon!

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-20-2008, 01:45 PM

Greetings, Fiat!!

Agree...this board is 100% better than where you previously posted! Everything works!!
:happy0158:

Just finished watching the British Open...congratulations again to Padraig Harrington (+3) on back-to-back wins!
:zm10:

More later after the Yankees game!
:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-20-2008, 07:26 PM

PETTITTE OUTPITCHES A'S ALL-STAR TO GET WIN (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280720110)

Derek Jeter didn't know what happened. Mariano Rivera appeared just as lost. And if Ryan Sweeney had any idea, Oakland might have won. Instead, Rivera closed out a stellar performance by Andy Pettitte in a wild ninth inning, making Jason Giambi's homer and Alex Rodriguez's sacrifice fly stand up in the New York Yankees' 2-1 win over the Athletics on Sunday. "This is what we expect," manager Joe Girardi said of his team's three-game sweep. The Yankees (53-45) won their seventh straight at home and climbed a season-best eight games over .500.

more at the link

:zm10:

and another, longer article...

PETTITTE, GIAMBI LEAD YANKS TO SWEEP (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25773079/)

updated 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Derek Jeter didn’t know what happened. Mariano Rivera appeared just as lost. And if Ryan Sweeney had any idea, Oakland might have won.

Instead, Rivera closed out a stellar performance by Andy Pettitte in a wild ninth inning, making Jason Giambi’s homer and Alex Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly stand up in the New York Yankees’ 2-1 win over the Athletics on Sunday.

“This is what we expect,” manager Joe Girardi said of his team’s three-game sweep.

***

Notes: Republican presidential candidate John McCain took in the game as a guest of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. ... Yankees OF-DH Johnny Damon (sprained left shoulder) plans to begin throwing Monday, Girardi said. OF-DH Hideki Matsui (sore left knee) also will be examined Monday. ... A’s 1B Wes Bankston was out of the lineup after dealing with severe cramps on Saturday.

more at the link
:zm10:

Fiatjustitia

07-21-2008, 03:45 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the sweep of the Buccos and good luck for your Rockies against the Yadgers tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against the Pads tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against the Sailors tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Fish tonight!), Rem16 (Congrats on the win and good luck for your Cubbies against the Snakes tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thank you for posting the recap of yesterday's game, Toby - I'm still laughing remembering that play A-Rod made to save the out with "Jeet" at 2B after Bobby Abreu dropped and then threw the ball over Jeter's head from way out in right field. And 8 solid innings from Andy Pettitte, plus a seamless 24th save for Mo Rivera! Great stuff, indeed!!:s1gyahoo:

And I totally agree with you that Greg Norman made the British Open interesting in Tiger's absence this year. Sorry he lost, but it's good to see Padraig Harrington's star continue to rise in the pantheon of professional golf. This was also certainly a boon for revving up Norman's profile as a contender on the PGA senior tour whose British Open starts this weekend or next, I think. Some practice round for the Shark - I'm sure we'd all agree!!!:happy0158:

Did you know that Padraig's cousin, Joey Harrington, who was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, is an NFL quarterback who plays for the Atlanta Falcons - traded there as a backup, and eventually a replacement for Michael Vick? His success has been spotty, but he still continues to be signed. Here's a link to his Wiki bio for anyone interested in knowing more about him.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Harrington

And, sorry I forgot yesterday to say I hope you were having a great weekend too! And, yes, HFTM is truly a technical, as well as a poster's paradise!:love0085:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites in a fairly slow cycle includes reports that:

1) The legendary Hank Aaron - whose all time HR record of 755 was broken last year by Barry Bonds, and who, at 74 years young, is still going strong, will see his childhood home in Mobile, Alabama become a museum; and

2) Rem16's Cubbies are hoping to get All Star OF, Alfonso Soriano, back from the DL (broken left hand) by Thursday of this week;

***

NYT's YANKEES' GAME RECAP:

Here is the nytimes' Jack Curry's recap of last night's sweep of the A's - including the aforementioned wacky game-saving play - entitled: "In Heat, Win Boils Down to Pettitte’s Efficiency":

"Andy Pettitte of the Yankees wanted to work quickly during the oppressive heat Sunday, so he barely stepped off the pitcher’s rubber. He threw a pitch, waited a few seconds and then threw another. Pettitte worked like someone who had a personalized, air-conditioned trailer waiting beside the dugout.

Although it was important for Pettitte to be fast, it would not have mattered had he been ineffective. But Pettitte was fast and effective in mixing his fastball, cutter and changeup. He was also precise and overpowering in leading the Yankees past the Oakland Athletics, 2-1, at Yankee Stadium.

As Pettitte chased the final out in the eighth inning, the crowd of 54,366 stood and clapped. Most of the fans probably understood Pettitte was pitching his last inning. And most probably realized how crucial Pettitte had been to the Yankees. After a flyout ended the eighth, Pettitte ambled to the dugout. It was the slowest he had moved all afternoon.

'The story of the day was Andy Pettitte throwing darts for eight innings,' Alex Rodriguez said. 'He was incredible.'

Because Pettitte struck out nine and allowed only four hits, because Jason Giambi had a tie-breaking home run off Justin Duchscherer and because A-Rod had a sacrifice fly and also made a timely defensive play in the ninth, the Yankees swept the three-game series.

Pettitte is peaking at the proper time for the Yankees, who wasted much of the first half of the season and can finally talk about being in the playoff hunt without it sounding like a dubious claim. He is 6-2 with a 2.18 earned run average in his last eight starts. In five of those starts, Pettitte has allowed one earned run or fewer.

'He was outstanding,' Giambi said. 'In my seven years here, he’s been our go-to guy. Every time.'

A day after José Molina was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to help the Yankees beat the A’s after 4 hours 45 minutes and 12 innings, they ended Sunday’s 2-hour 26-minute game in bizarre fashion, too.

With one out and Ryan Sweeney on first in the ninth, Bobby Crosby hit a fly ball to right fielder Bobby Abreu. Abreu settled under it, but raised his hand to act as if he might lose the ball in the sun. Abreu was trying to confuse Sweeney. While Abreu appeared to catch the ball, he fumbled it as he tried to remove it from his glove. The first-base umpire, Hunter Wendelstedt, ruled that he had dropped it.

Abreu fired the ball to second base to try to get the forceout, but it went over Derek Jeter’s head. Rodriguez alertly backed up the play and shoveled the ball to Jeter for the out, and the Yankees avoided putting Mariano Rivera in a more precarious position.

'Just luck more than anything,' Rodriguez said. 'Right place at the right time.'

The odd inning continued as Rajai Davis, pinch-running for Crosby, tried to steal second. Molina nabbed him, ending a game for the second straight day.

'A walk-off yesterday and, basically, a walk-off today,' Manager Joe Girardi said. 'You don’t get too many walk-offs either way, honestly.'. . .

Now that the Yankees have won 8 of their last 11 games, Girardi said, 'This is what we expected.' In a much more relaxed and much happier clubhouse, Pettitte used almost the identical words to describe his feelings.

'We’re the New York Yankees,' Pettitte said. 'I just expect us to win.'

INSIDE PITCH

Johnny Damon, who is recovering from a sprained left shoulder, reiterated that he is ready to play. But the Yankees want Damon to test his shoulder in a minor league rehab stint. Damon, who is not keen on going for a rehab stint, has not thrown a ball more than 60 feet. The Yankees want him to be able to play the outfield, not just be a designated hitter, once they activate him. 'There’s nothing more I need to do,' Damon said."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/sports/baseball/21yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB and items reporting that Manny Ramirez is saying he has "no issues" with the Red Sox, and that the aforesaid Red Sox are rumored to have some interest in acquiring LW's Rockies' All Star OF Matt Holliday --- as Manny's eventual replacement, maybe?:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#1

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Phillies and Cole Hamels were edged by the Fish and Johnson, 3-2; the Mets and Pelfrey beat Janicelee's Reds and Volquez, 7-5; the Tigers and Verlander bested the O's and Burres, 5-1; Tim Russert's Nats and Perez defeated Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Reyes, 15-6; Toronto and Parrish thumped the Rays and Jackson, 9-4; KC and Bannister squeaked past the CWS and Danks, 8-7; Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster blanked the Astros and Backe, 9-0; the Pads and Baek were euchered by the Cards and Garcia, 9-5; the Buccos and Duke were swept to the shores of Tripoli by LW's Rockies and Cook, 11-3; the Tribe and Lee sent the Sailors and Silva off course in the same direction, 6-2; the Yadgers and Lowe stung the Snakes and Webb, 6-5; and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield went down to the Angels and Garland, 5-3.

Today, the following teams are off and will start series on Tuesday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: the Phillies and Mets (against each other) and Tim Russert's Nats (SF). The schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Twinkies and Blackburn will meet our Yankees and Ponson; and Toronto and Litsch will face the O's and Liz; 7:08 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and McClung will take on the Cards and Pineiro; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Banks will play against Janicelee's Reds and Bailey; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo will contend against the Fish and Volstad; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Miner will vie against KC and Hochevar; 8:11 p.m., EDT, Texas and Hurley will meet the CWS and Vazquez; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Stults will face LW's Rockies and Kip Wells; 9:40 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Harden will take on the Snakes and the Unit; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will play against the Angels and E.Santana; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester will contend against the Sailors and Washburn.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Twinkies and Slowey will meet our Yankees and Rasner; and Toronto and Marcum will face the O's and Olson; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Peavy will take on Janicelee's Reds and Cueto; the Phillies and Blanton will play against the Mets and Santana; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will contend against the Fish and Hendrickson; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will vie against KC and Davies; 8:11 p.m., EDT, Texas and Mendoza will meet the CWS and Masset; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Suppan will face the Cards and Lohse; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Johnson will take on LW's Rockies and Jimenez; 9:40 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis will play against the Snakes and Owings; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Ginter will contend against the Angels and Jered Weaver; 10:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka will vie against the Sailors and Dickey; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann will meet SF and Zito.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Monday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the "Twinkees" tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-22-2008, 03:24 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies against the Yadgers tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against the Pads tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox for another against the Sailors tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves for another against the Fish tonight!), Rem16 (Good luck for your Cubbies against the Snakes tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Wow! What a great night for our boys in pinstripes!!! All those runs against the Twins and pitching to die for from Ponson and the bullpen too!:s1gyahoo:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) A-Rod has signed with Hollywood's William Morris Talent Agency. He says he did so to broaden the scope of his career to allow for some "creative" endeavors. We know he's done plenty of broads, so that leaves the "creative endeavors". Can this mean movies, vocal recordings, guest speaking engagements? Appearing in the next Madonna video? Ah, the mind races! But, we'll all have to just wait and see.:shrug1:;

2) Surgery on the Yanks' C Jorge Posada's ailing shoulder could end his season. As Michael Kay said last night on YES during the game, the sooner Jorge has the operation, the sooner he can return to the team. And, as we saw once again in last night's game, Jorge can rest easy that Jose Molina is a wonderful replacement in between; and

3) On the heels of the sweet Johnny Damon's return from the DL, comes word that our Yankees could also lose LF Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui to season-ending surgery if he has to have that troublesome left knee of his drained of fluid one more time.

***

NYT's YANKEES' GAME RECAP:

Here is the nytimes' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's win with a title reflecting the Yanks' multiplying problems in sick bay, "Yanks Keep Doing More With Less":

"Every eligible position player took part in the Yankees’ 12-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins on Monday. That included Justin Christian, Chad Moeller and Richie Sexson, three players who were not among those gathered in Tampa, Fla., when the Yankees began spring training.

Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui were there then, but they did not play on Monday and may be gone for the rest of the season. There is a strong chance Posada will need season-ending shoulder surgery, and if Matsui’s left knee swells up again, he will need an operation, too.

In spite of all that, the Yankees are mounting an impressive push at the start of the second half. They won their fourth game in a row, getting three home runs from a relentless offense and five and two-thirds competent innings from Sidney Ponson. They also welcomed back Johnny Damon, who was activated from the DL and started the game as the DH. Damon hit a run-scoring double in the third.

'I think you could probably count on one hand the number of times we’ve had what we thought would be our lineup, so our guys have been resilient,' Manager Joe Girardi said. 'They’ve just kept at it and kept at it. We’ve went through some tough times and we’ve found ways to bounce back. You just want to keep the momentum going.'

Robinson Cano had one of the Yankees’ homers, a towering drive into the third deck in right field, and he has at least two hits in all four games since the All-Star break. Cano is 10 for 19 since the break, when he made the most of a trip home.

'I wish I would have gone to the Dominican Republic with him,' said A-Rod, who homered to center in the first inning. 'I want to know what he found down there, maybe the water. He’s been outstanding. It’s remarkable how he hit .230, .240 and he’s come out and looked like Ted Williams.'

The Yankees always expected Cano to hit, but Ponson’s success has been more surprising — on the surface, anyway. Ponson made seven starts for the Twins last season, losing five and allowing almost seven runs a game. His elbow bothered him, he said, and now that it is healthy, he is pitching much better.

The Yankees signed Ponson after Texas released him for personality reasons, and they see no reason why he cannot sustain his success. He is 31 years old, with a lively sinker to go with a slider and changeup. He was shaky at times Monday — after 11 days of rest — but he improved to 6-1. The Yankees have won all four of his starts for them.

'He was just a little bit off of the zone,' catcher Jose Molina said. 'But when he had to make pitches, he made them. This is a good outing. If you think about the 10 to 12 days he was off, I think he pitched awesome.'

The Yankees have often struggled to score, but in Ponson’s four starts, they have scored 41 runs. His next turn comes Sunday in Boston — after Andy Pettitte and Joba Chamberlain — in a series that could be especially intense if the Yankees stay this hot.

They have won four in a row against Oakland and Minnesota, rivals in the AL wild-card race. But as long as they continue to win, the Yankees can focus on Tampa Bay and Boston in the East division, even with a depleted lineup.

'We’re chasing two teams, and you try to keep the heat on them and keep them within distance so when you play them, it means a lot,' Girardi said. 'We have six games against Tampa and nine against Boston, and you want those games to be really important. By winning games, that’s what you do.'

INSIDE PITCH

Brian Bruney is scheduled to pitch back-to-back games this week for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Bruney, who has been out since April with a foot injury, would probably be activated after that. ... GM Brian Cashman said Carl Pavano was getting close to starting a rehabilitation assignment as he tries to come back from reconstructive elbow surgery. ... Mariano Rivera was saddened to learn that Jerome Holtzman, the Hall of Fame sports writer and creator of the save statistic, had died. 'He created a job for us,' said Rivera, who met Holtzman several times. . .."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/22/sports/baseball/22yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB and an additional item reporting that Carl "American Idle" Pavano, on whom the Yankees have spent $40 Million, but who has played only 19 games in 4 seasons, just might be headed to a minor league rehab assignment.

Will Pavano survive the rehab workout without injuring himself yet again or possibly getting into another car accident and lying about it? I guess we'll just have to wait and see!:0009::

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#8

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Recalling that the Phillies, Mets and Tim Russert's Nats were off, other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: Toronto and Litsch were stomped by the O's and Liz, 8-3; the Brewers and McClung trumped the Cards and Pineiro, 6-3; the Pads and Banks bested Janicelee's Reds and Bailey, 6-4; Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo blanked the Fish and Volstad, 4-0; the Tigers and Miner clobbered KC and Hochevar, 19-4 (in the third time this season that Detroit has scored 19 runs in a game); Texas and Hurley vanquished the CWS and Vazquez, 6-1; the Yadgers and Stults pounded LW's Rockies and Kip Wells, 16-10; Rem16's Cubbies and Harden were bageled by the Snakes and the Unit, 2-0; the Tribe and Byrd whacked the halos off the Angels and E.Santana, 5-2; and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester sank the Sailors and Washburn, 4-0.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Twinkies and Slowey will meet our Yankees and Rasner; and Toronto and Marcum will face the O's and Olson; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Peavy will take on Janicelee's Reds and Cueto; the Phillies and Blanton will play against the Mets and Santana; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will contend against the Fish and VandenHurk (in a pitching change from yesterday); 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will vie against KC and Davies; 8:11 p.m., EDT, Texas and Mendoza will meet the CWS and Buehrle (in a pitching change from yesterday); 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Suppan will face the Cards and Lohse; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Kershaw (in a pitching change from yesterday) will take on LW's Rockies and Jimenez; 9:40 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis will play against the Snakes and Petit (in a pitching change from yesterday); 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Ginter will contend against the Angels and Jered Weaver; 10:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka will vie against the Sailors and Dickey; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann will meet SF and Zito.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 12:35 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Maddux will meet Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Twinkees and Perkins will face our Yankees and Mussina; 2:05 p.m., EDT, Texas and Millwood will take on the CWS and Richard; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Galarraga will play against KC and Greinke; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Kuroda will contend against LW's Rockies and Rusch; 3:35 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Laffey will engage in an alliterative contest on the diamond with the Angels and Lackey; 4:40 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz will vie against the Sailors and King Felix Hernandez; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Burnett will meet the O's and Guthrie; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Myers will face the Mets and Maine; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will take on the Fish and Nolasco; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Sabathia will play against the Cards and Looper; 9:40 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly will contend against the Snakes and Davis; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Balester will vie against SF and Correia.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Tuesday and baseball for All of You and another win for our Yankees against the "Twinkees" tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

07-22-2008, 09:15 PM

Hi Fiat :0012: I've been following a murder case when I get home from work, so I completely forgot to check on my Braves! It's so nice to come here and get the links and updates!! :kissyface4: I just checked though and the Fish are ahead in the 7th inning! :groan:

Fiatjustitia

07-23-2008, 10:47 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the blowout against the Yadgers and Good luck for your Rockies for another one against L.A. this afternoon!), Janicelee (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Reds against the Pads again this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the back-to-back wins and Good luck for your Red Sox for a sweep of the Sailors this afternoon!), Sunstar (Hi! and Thanks!) and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Fish tonight!), Rem16 (Good luck for your Cubbies against the Snakes tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

How 'bout our Yankeeeeeeeeeees!?! Five wins in a row and 10 games above .500 for the first time this year! What's a girl to do? Be THRILLED, that's what, as I'm sure Toby and Ohno and our readers who are Yankees' fans are too!!!:s1gyahoo:

Thank you, Sunstar, for your kind words about the summaries. I love doing them because taking the time keeps me focused on what's happening with the Yankees and baseball - two of the great loves of my life.:love0085:

And from letting life and work distract me from paying attention to MLB - that would normally be the case without this project - because, as with all of us, when we are away from our computers, there is way too much to do.:francis:

The greatest benefit, however, is in being able to meet you and our fellow threadsters and to be part of a community of baseball lovers sharing our thoughts, joys and sorrows and info about our teams and love of MLB. That's what's really, really, really neat!:happy0158:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) A story bubbling just under the radar and featured on espn.com's front page today, is the brilliant pitching talent, Francisco Liriano's pique at the Twinkies for keeping him in the minors - where he has exhibited for some weeks now the "lights out" pitching we knew before he had the surgery that cost him last season on the hill;

2) Thanks to a Mets' meltdown in the 9th last night, the Phillies have regained first place in the NL East;

3) Phillies' fans who remember pitcher, Randy Wolf, might be interested to know that he's just been traded by the Pads to the Houston Astros; and

4) For fans of great pitching and pitchers, here's a link to foxsports.com's "Dugout Central's" take on "Who's The Greatest Living Pitcher?" for your reading enjoyment.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8365632/Dugout-Central:-Who's-the-greatest-living-pitcher?

***

NYT's YANKEES' GAME RECAP:

Here is the nytimes' Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's win fittingly entitled, "Cano and Yanks Find It’s All Coming Back to Them" - with tips in "Inside Pitch" on which of our Yankees' pitchers will be facing which pitchers from Boston this weekend:

"In the seventh inning, as the Yankees were thumping the bullpen of the Minnesota Twins, Jason Giambi rapped a sharp foul ball to the on-deck circle beside the first base dugout. Robinson Cano was standing there, waggling his bat, and he reached up for the ball with his bare hand, snatched it from the air and coolly flipped it to the stands.

It happened in an instant Tuesday night and seemed utterly effortless, the way everything seems with Cano these days. It took a while, but Cano has found his stroke, and he is taking his teammates along for the ride.

After mashing the Twins, 8-2, the Yankees are just three and a half games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East. They are 10 games over .500, at 55-45, for the first time this season.

'The way that we’ve played so far, that’s the way we have to continue to do it,' said Bobby Abreu, whose two-run homer in the sixth put the Yankees ahead for good. 'However many games we have left in the season, we have to end it right where we want to be.'

The Yankees have played five games since the All-Star break, winning them all, with Cano recording at least two hits each time. He had two more Tuesday and is 12 for 23 since the break.

Cano was hot at the start of July, but he finished 1 for 17 before the break. While the All-Star Game went on at Yankee Stadium, Cano flew home to the Dominican Republic to see his father, Jose, a former major league pitcher.

The day after the All-Star Game, they drove to a nearby field and acted out game situations, with Jose pitching from half the distance to the mound. Cano took 90 to 100 swings, he guessed, and since returning he has stopped lunging at pitches and has sharpened his hitting eye.

'He was laughing,' Cano said of his father. 'I called him and he said: ‘Oh, it’s working now. So anytime you get a break, you’re going to have to come here and we’re going to have to practice.’

As important as it was to smooth his mechanics, Cano said the session also boosted his confidence. He came into the season as a .314 career hitter, but he tumbled to .246 by the break. Now he is hitting .263, steadying a lineup that was inconsistent far too long.

'It makes us much stronger as a club, because he’s not just a good hitter, he’s a run producer as well,' Manager Joe Girardi said. 'He gets big hits in big situations, and he’s not a guy that only hits right-handers. When this kid is right, he hits everybody. He is a big part of our offense, and we’re going to need him.'

Cano drove in the Yankees’ first run with a single in the second inning, and Darrell Rasner nearly made the lead stand. The Twins managed only one hit off Rasner in the first five innings, but a double by Carlos Gomez sparked a two-run rally that drove him from the game with two outs in the sixth.

Dave Robertson came in, threw one pitch, and earned the victory after Abreu turned on a high fastball from Kevin Slowey and powered it deep into the lower deck in right in the bottom of the inning. Rasner threw 92 pitches and had no decision in his longest start since June 6.

The Yankees would like to improve the back of their rotation, and they are exploring the market for starters like Jarrod Washburn of Seattle and Bronson Arroyo of Cincinnati. Rasner would probably be bumped if the team makes a deal, but he said he was not thinking about it. . .

INSIDE PITCH

Johnny Damon continues to throw before games as he recovers from a sprained left shoulder, and he may play in the outfield this weekend in Boston. 'I think I can be in the outfield sometime soon,' Damon said. ... After striking out the side in the eighth inning, Kyle Farnsworth has thrown nine consecutive hitless innings since June 27. ... Joba Chamberlain will face Josh Beckett on Friday in the opener of the Yankees’ series with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Andy Pettitte opposes Tim Wakefield on Saturday, and Sidney Ponson will face Jon Lester on Sunday night. . .."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/sports/baseball/23yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms and, since it hasn't been updated at this writing, for additional items that may be added later today:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#8

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place the Yankees first on your list:smile::

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: Toronto and Marcum decimated the O's and Olson, 10-8; the Pads and Peavy were flattened by Janicelee's Reds and Cueto, 4-3; the Phillies and Blanton retook 1st place in the NL East from the Mets and Santana, 8-6; Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves were bageled by the Fish and VandenHurk, 4-0; the Tigers and Rogers stomped KC and Davies, 7-1; Texas and Mendoza were lassoed, tarred and feathered by the CWS and Buehrle, 10-2; the Brewers and Suppan edged the Cards and Lohse, 4-3; the Yadgers and Kershaw were obliterated by LW's Rockies and Jimenez, 10-1; Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis were defeated by the Snakes and Petit (no relation to Andy - not enough "t's"), 9-2; the Tribe and Ginter lost in a squeaker to the Angels and Jered Weaver, 3-2; GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka sent the Sailors and Dickey over some rocky shoals, 4-2; and Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann, not enjoying the Western sunshine much, lost to SF and Zito, 6-3.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 12:35 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Maddux will meet Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Twinkees and Perkins will face our Yankees and Mussina; 2:05 p.m., EDT, Texas and Millwood will take on the CWS and Richard; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Galarraga will play against KC and Greinke; 3:05 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Kuroda will contend against LW's Rockies and Rusch; 3:35 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Laffey will engage in an alliterative contest on the diamond with the Angels and Lackey; 4:40 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz will vie against the Sailors and King Felix Hernandez; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Burnett will meet the O's and Guthrie; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Myers will face the Mets and Maine; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will take on the Fish and Nolasco; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Sabathia will play against the Cards and Looper; 9:40 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly will contend against the Snakes and Davis; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Balester will vie against SF and Correia.

Tomorrow, a barge full of teams are off and will start weekend series on Friday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: our Yankees and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (against each other); Janicelee's Reds and LW's Rockies (against each other); the Tigers (CWS); Tribe (Twins); Angels (O's); Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves (Phillies); the Yadgers (Tim Russert's Nats); and the Snakes (SF). Thursday's complete schedule of MLB games is: 12:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Moyer will meet the Mets and O.Perez; 12:35 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Halladay will face the O's and Cabrera; 3:45 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will take on SF and Cain; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Hensley will play against the Buccos and Herrera; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Olsen will contend against Rem16's Cubs and Zambrano; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Garza will vie against KC and Meche; and 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Sheets will meet the Cards and Wellemeyer.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Wednesday and baseball for All of You and another win for our Yankees against the "Twinkees" this afternoon!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiat justitia ruat coelum - "Let justice be done, though the heavens fall." L. Calpurnius Piso

ohno40

07-23-2008, 10:16 PM

Can you believe it Fiat- another sweep!!! :s1gyahoo:
I think our boys in pinstripes are finally getting their act together.

Rest up guys.....this is going to be one, of if not THE most important series of the season this weekend.
Yankees vs. Redsox...always a nailbiter :francis:

Looking forward to yours and/or Toby's great recaps this weekend

TobyTiger

07-23-2008, 10:40 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!!

MUSSINA LEADS YANKS TO SWEEP OF TWINS (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280723110)

Mike Mussina entered this season almost an afterthought in the Yankees' rotation, the old man on a staff of budding stars. What a difference four months makes. Mussina walked off the Yankee Stadium mound Wednesday to rousing "Mooose!" calls from the sold-out crowd, having thrown eight economical innings in New York's 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins for their 10th straight home victory. Last year "I physically couldn't do what I wanted to do.
:zm10::zm10::zm10:

Hope you're having a good week!
:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-24-2008, 03:32 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo (Hi!), Littlewheels (Congrats on the back to back wins against the Yadgers and here's to a restful day off for your Rockies before they take on Janicelee's Reds tomorrow night!), Janicelee (Congrats to your Reds for back to back wins against the Pads and here's to a peaceful day off before they take on LW's Rockies tomorrow night!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on your sweep of the Sailors and a pleasant day off for your Red Sox before they play our Yankees tomorrow night!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on the win for your Braves against the Fish and here's for a pleasant day off today before they meet the Phillies tomorrow night!), Rem16 (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Fish tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

ONE MORE TIME!!! Yes, Toby and OnNo!!!! How 'bout our Yankeeeeeeeees!?! A sweep of the Twins, Six wins in a row and 11 games above .500 for the first time this year and 10 wins in a row at home for the first time in a decade! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee HAH!!:zm10:

Thanks for posting the recap Toby - and my week's going fine - pretty busy - tomorrow's going to be a bear too - ugh! - and hope you're having a nice one yourself!:smile:

I join you both in being on pins and needles about this weekend in Boston and will bet GramV and Barskin&Co are too. It's a little unique for the AL East competition to include a third party and heartiest congrats to the Rays and their fans for all that.:hifive:

So, this year, more than ever, even in mid-season, every win most certainly counts for our boys in pinstripes!:happy0158:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

It's another of those slow news days in MLB when no particular headlines besides the one announcing Yanks' C, Jorge Posada's, decision to forego shoulder surgery for now, caught enough of my attention to highlight in this spot. So, am referring you instead to the links to our regular sites below if you'd like to take a look for yourselves.

***

NYT's YANKEES' GAME RECAP:

Here is the nytimes' Tyler Kepner's recap of yesterday's sweep, fittingly entitled, "Mussina in Command for the Surging Yanks":

"As the players dressed and left the ballpark late Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees’ general manager, Brian Cashman, was already in the air. The team heads to Boston on Thursday, but Cashman has a different agenda.

With the nonwaiver trading deadline a week away, Cashman will meet with club executives in Tampa, Fla., to talk about strengthening the Yankees for the stretch run. Considering the timing, it could feel like shopping for groceries on a full stomach. With six victories in a row since the All-Star break, the Yankees might have what they need.

'I don’t think there’s going to be anything earth-shattering,' Mike Mussina said after beating the Minnesota Twins with eight shutout innings in a 5-1 victory. 'We’ve got a team right now that believes in themselves and believes we can play with anybody, any time.'

They have proven they can play with the Oakland Athletics and the Twins, at least. Both teams led the Yankees in the American League wild-card race but fell flat in the Bronx, where the Yankees have won 10 in a row for the first time in almost a decade.

The starters have a 1.83 earned run average in the last six games, the bullpen has been almost flawless, and the offense is averaging more than six runs a game lately. It is just how the Yankees want to be playing on the verge of a series at Fenway Park.

The only shame of it is that Mussina will not face the Red Sox. He improved his record to 13-6, and no pitcher in the majors has more victories. It is a surprising turnaround for Mussina, 39, who was bumped to the bullpen last fall after a dismal regular season.

'What he’s done over the last 16 starts or so, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody with as good command as he’s shown,' his teammate Andy Pettitte said. 'I’m not talking about velocity; I’m talking about flat-out command. He doesn’t miss over the middle of the plate with anything anymore.'

Mussina allowed six hits over eight innings Wednesday, with seven strikeouts and no walks. The Twins did not advance a runner past second base against him, and they never had two base runners at the same time until the ninth.

The new first baseman Richie Sexson played excellent defense and started a double play to end the fifth inning. With the way Mussina is locating his pitches, Sexson said, defense comes easily.

'The thing I see him doing different this year is movement,' Sexson said. 'There’s really nothing straight. He starts something in the middle, it could be a slider, and off to the outside corner it goes. He’s got his sinker working now, too. He’s able to get ground balls, he’s jamming people, he’s hitting his spots. It makes it easy to play defense behind him, because when you see the catcher setting up, you know he’s going to hit his spot.'

It was rarely like that for Mussina last season, when his 5.15 E.R.A. was a career high. He strained his hamstring in April and hurt his foot when he slipped on the dugout stairs in May. That led to problems with his back and his knee.

Mussina never used injuries as an excuse, partly because he did not realize how hurt he was. Now that he is free of physical problems, he does.

Even so, Mussina had no desire to try for a complete-game shutout, which would have been his first in three years. Mussina threw 105 pitches, and with a big lead and a steady bullpen, that was plenty.

'To go out there and try to throw a shutout after being at 105, it could end up stretching out to 118, 120, and then you’re compromising the next time around,' Mussina said. 'There’s no need to.' . .."

Here's the link for all of it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/sports/baseball/24yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms, including an item reporting that Janicelee's Reds' resident "rock star" pitcher, Bronson Arroyo, says he wants to remain in Cincinnati:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#7

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place the Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Pads and Maddux were flattened by Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo, 9-5, in back to back wins; Texas and Millwood were decimated by the CWS and Richard, 10-8; the Tigers and Galarraga mauled KC and Greinke, 7-1; the Yadgers and Kuroda were vanquished by LW's Rockies and Rusch, 5-3; the Tribe and Laffey lost in a major league slugfest to the Angels and Lackey, 14-11; GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz made a clean sweep of the Sailors and King Felix Hernandez, 6-3; Toronto and Burnett bested the O's and Guthrie, 5-1 when this game was completed today; the Phillies and Myers went down to the Mets and Maine, 6-3 (with both teams once again tied for tops in the NL East); Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves filleted the Fish and Nolasco, 9-4; the Brewers and Sabathia blanked the Cards and Looper, 3-0; Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly decimated the Snakes and Davis, 10-6; and Tim Russert's Nats and Balester went down to SF and Correia, 6-4.

Besides a continuation of last night's interrupted game between Toronto and the O's today, a barge full of teams are off and will start weekend series on Friday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: our Yankees and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (against each other); Janicelee's Reds and LW's Rockies (against each other); the Tigers (CWS); Tribe (Twins); Angels (O's); Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves (Phillies); the Yadgers (Tim Russert's Nats); and the Snakes (SF). Today's complete schedule of MLB games is: 12:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Moyer will meet the Mets and O.Perez; 1:30 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Burnett beat the O's and Guthrie (finishing last night's game today), 5-1; 2:00 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Halliday will meet the O's and Cabrera; 3:45 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will take on SF and Cain; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Hensley will play against the Buccos and Herrera; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Olsen will contend against Rem16's Cubs and Zambrano; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Garza will vie against KC and Meche; and 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Sheets will meet the Cards and Wellemeyer.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Johnson will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster; 7:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett; the Angels and Saunders will take on the O's and Burres; the Twins and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, will play against the Tribe and Lee; the CWS and Floyd will contend against the Tigers and Robertson; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will vie against the Phillies and Kendrick; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Batista will meet Toronto and Parrish; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Cook will take on Janicelee's Reds and Fogg; and the Cards and Boggs will play against the Mets and Pelfrey; 10:15 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Haren will contend against SF and Sanchez; and 10:40 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan will vie against the Yadgers and Billingsley.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Thursday and baseball for All of You and a fabulous day off for our Yankees before they face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox - who are off today too - tomorrow night in Beantown!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-25-2008, 01:36 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies against Janicelee's Reds tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against LW's Rockies tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against our Yankees tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Phillies tonight!), Rem16 (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Fish again this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Well, tonight's the night! Our boys in pinstripes are gathered in Boston to face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox. At stake is how the standings in the AL East will look when the series between us is over.

On the heels of news that the Rays (who lost 4-2 to KC last night and play them again tonight in a 4 game series ending on Sunday) have just lost their 7th straight game on the road, the AL East standings look like this: 1st - Rays (59-42, .584); 2nd - Boston (60-43, .583); and 3rd - our Yankees 56-45 (.554).

So off we go and may the BEST team win!!!:happy0158:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today include reports that:

1) Mets' ace and three time Cy Young winner, Pedro Martinez, who's been ailing with groin and shoulder problems since July 12, left the team today for for the Domincan Republic after hearing that his father had passed away from brain cancer at age 79. Our deepest sympathy, thoughts and prayers for Pedro and his family.:1222423:;

2) Boston's big hitting Big Papi Ortiz returns to the lineup tonight - news to delight our Yankees, Joba Chamberlain and us fans as well.:francis:;

3) An interesting side-story to the weekend series between LW's Rockies and Janicelee's Reds is that Rockies' Central might be interested in acquiring Reds' "rock star" pitcher, Bronson Arroyo. :021:;

4) If you're interest in the breaking maple bats issue - nytimes.com's Jack Curry has a piece today entitled, "In Major League Study, 257 Broken Bats and Counting". :INhouseReading04: Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/sports/baseball/25maple.html?ref=baseball

5) Yankees' Central has been talking Barry Bonds at their big meeting this week, among other things. Here's a link to a piece posted at foxsports.com providing some info on just what those things might be.:shrug1:;

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8375662/Bonds-among-topics-at-Yankees'-meetings

6) And here's a link to a piece posted by Tyler Kepner at nytimes.com today entitled, "Yankees Outline Priorities for Trades as They Take Streak to Fenway".:howdy::

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/sports/baseball/25yankees.html?ref=baseball

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms, including the possibility that our Melky "The Melkman" Cabrera could exchange his Yankees' pinstripes for bell bottoms if he is traded for LHP Jarrod Washburn of the Mariners.:cray::

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#6

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list:smile:.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Recalling that our Yankees, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston, Janicelee's Reds, LW's Rockies, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves, the Tigers, Tribe, Angels, the Snakes and the Yadgers were off, other scores from yesterday's MLB games are: the Phillies and Moyer lost this game and 1st place in the NL East to the Mets and O.Perez, 3-1; Toronto and Burnett bested the O's and Guthrie (finishing Wednesday night's game yesterday), 5-1; Toronto and Halliday then beat the O's and Cabrera, 7-1; Tim Russert's Nats and Redding were blanked in a squeaker by SF and Cain, 1-0; the Pads and Hensley walked and freely jumped off the plank for the Buccos and Herrera, 9-1; the Fish and Olsen were left high and dry by Rem16's Cubs and Zambrano, 6-3; the Rays and Garza went down to KC and Meche, 4-2 (in the Rays' 7th straight loss on the road); and the Brewers and Sheets edged the Cards and Wellemeyer, 4-3.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Johnson will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster; 7:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett; the Angels and Saunders will take on the O's and Burres; the Twins and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, will play against the Tribe and Lee; the CWS and Floyd will contend against the Tigers and Robertson; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will vie against the Phillies and Kendrick; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Batista will meet Toronto and Parrish; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Cook will take on Janicelee's Reds and Volquez (in a pitching change from yesterday); and the Cards and Boggs will play against the Mets and Pelfrey; 10:15 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Haren will contend against SF and Sanchez; and 10:40 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan will vie against the Yadgers and Billingsley.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Vostad will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Harden; 1:07 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Silva will face Toronto and Purcey; 3:55 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Pettitte will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will play against the Phillies and Cole Hamels; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Garland will contend against the O's and Liz; the Twinkies and Baker will vie against the Tribe and Carmona; and the CWS and Danks will meet the Tigers and Verlander; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and De La Rosa will face Janicelee's Reds and Bailey; and the Cards and Pineiro will take on the Mets and Knight; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Webb will play against SF and Lincecum; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Perez will contend against the Yadgers and Lowe.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Friday, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox in Beantown tonight!:s1gyahoo:

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-25-2008, 11:26 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

YANKEES 1, RED SOX 0 (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280725102)

Joba Chamberlain dominated the Boston Red Sox with his best major league start and the surging New York Yankees moved two games behind their longtime rivals with a 1-0 victory Friday night. Chamberlain allowed three singles and struck out nine in a career-high seven innings, Mariano Rivera shut down a threat in the eighth and the Yankees improved to 7-0 since the All-Star game. They inched closer to the second-place Red Sox in the AL East after Boston started the day a percentage point behind Tampa Bay.

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

Fiatjustitia

07-26-2008, 07:40 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi! Missed You!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Rockies against Janicelee's Reds tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against LW's Rockies tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against our Yankees this afternoon!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves against the Phillies this afternoon!), Rem16 (Good luck for your Cubbies against the Fish this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for posting the recap, Toby, and Wow! What a game!! Joba Chamberlain and Boston's Josh Beckett turned in fabulous pitching performances, as is evident from the score, and our Yankees won their 7th straight game! Not only that, but this long a streak following the All Star break hasn't been duplicated since 1947!:zm10:

Noting that the Rays beat KC, 5-3, last night, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (60-42, .588); 2nd - Boston (60-44, .577) - 1 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 57-45 (.559) - 3 GB. Boston currently leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by our Yankees at 2 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are the Angels (63-39), followed by the Rays (60-42), Rem16's Cubbies (60-43) and Boston (60-44).

So off we go again and may the BEST team win...AGAIN today!!!:happy0158:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) News that came across the wires during the game last night is that Yankees' Central has acquired OF Xadier Nady and LHP Damaso Marte from the Buccos in exchange for sometime Bullpenner, Ross Ohlendorf, and some prospects we've never heard of. Deals will be finalized pending physicals.

Here's a link to a piece from Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com in which it is reported that Nady, 29, will balance the lineup with another right handed hitter and fill Hideki Matsui's spot in the OF; Marte, 33, will be the only left-handed reliever in the bullpen; and the Yanks are still talking with the Sailors about acquiring LHP Jarrod Washburn for the rotation.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8380066/Sources:-Yanks-strike-deal-for-Pirates'-Nady

2) Although David "Big Papi" Ortiz returned to the Red Sox lineup last night, "Manny Being Manny Ramirez" - who's been at odds with Boston Central lately - sat out last night's game with a mysterious "knee injury".:waitasec:; and

3) Ending speculation posted here yesterday, GM, Brian Cashman, says the Yankees' being the MLB team to finally give Barry Bonds a job this year is defintely not "part of his plan".:lex_10: ;

***

YANKEES' GAME RECAP FROM NYT:

Now, here's Tyler Kepner's recap of last nights win with a title that gives credit to Joba and Josh where credit is due, "With Ace of Their Own, Yankees Beat Beckett":

"The Yankees have tried to find their own Josh Beckett for almost five years, ever since he blanked them in their last World Series game. They have yearned for a dominant starter to match an opponent’s ace, and Friday was a test.

Joba Chamberlain faced Beckett at Fenway Park, and he responded with the finest of his 10 major league starts. Chamberlain worked seven innings, striking out nine, allowing three hits and brushing back Kevin Youkilis again in a 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. It was the Yankees’ seventh victory in a row, and not their only reason to celebrate.

During the game, the Yankees reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates to acquire outfielder Xavier Nady and the left-handed reliever Damaso Marte for four minor leaguers, pending the approval of medical results. The deal fortifies the bullpen and the lineup at a time when the Yankees are surging.

Their seven-game winning streak is their longest immediately following the All-Star break since 1947, when they rode an 11-game run to a championship. They have ground to cover in their playoff race now, but when Mariano Rivera completed a five-out save, they pulled within two games of Boston for the American League wild-card lead.

'This is what makes you better; this is why you play the game,' Chamberlain said. 'You understand that it’s going to be tough against them, and that’s the way it’s going to be. Josh is an unbelievable pitcher, and we got that one break.'

The break was a two-out single by Jason Giambi that dribbled through the left side of the infield, beating the shift and scoring Bobby Abreu. It was the only run Chamberlain needed to rise to a self-imposed challenge.

The last time he matched up against an ace, Chamberlain faltered first in a loss to Toronto’s Roy Halladay. That bothered him, he said, and motivated him not to be the first to bend.

Chamberlain had never lasted seven innings before, and he said he knew the Red Sox would be patient and try to run up his pitch count. He planned to counter that by pitching aggressively and getting ahead, and Boston let him do it.

The Red Sox took a called strike on the first pitch 12 times, helping put Chamberlain in pitcher’s counts. His stuff was sharp enough to stifle a Boston lineup that was missing Manny Ramírez but included David Ortiz for the first time in 46 games.

'You’re not going to see this every time,' Derek Jeter said. 'That’s pretty tough to do. But for the most part, every time he’s started for us, he’s given us a chance to win. And Boston can hit, especially here. I don’t remember a 1-0 game at Fenway Park.'

The last one here between the teams was on Sept. 2, 2001, when Mike Mussina nearly pitched a perfect game against Boston’s David Cone. Chamberlain was 15 years old then, a long way from a rivalry in which he is now a central character.

Chamberlain is a certified villain for Red Sox fans after his third suspicious incident with Youkilis. Last August, Chamberlain threw near Youkilis twice, earning a two-game suspension. In his start at Yankee Stadium on July 6, Chamberlain threw a fastball behind Youkilis after he had singled twice.

When Chamberlain faced Youkilis as the leadoff man in the seventh inning Friday, he had already struck him out and induced a fly out. He fell behind, 2-0, and the next pitch was a fastball that would have drilled Youkilis in the head had he not twisted away.

Youkilis barked at Chamberlain but made no move toward him. As the plate umpire Marty Foster warned both benches, Youkilis yelled again from about 60 feet away. Catcher Jose Molina stood a few feet in front of Youkilis, shaking his head.

'He has great command,' Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said of Chamberlain, 'until Youk gets in there.'

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi insisted Chamberlain’s repeated trouble with Youkilis was a coincidence. Chamberlain said there was no way he wanted to hit Youkilis in a tight game with Mike Lowell and J. D. Drew coming up.

'It’s a 2-0 count and the game’s 1-0 — do you think I want to lose the lead and put the lead runner on with those two guys coming up behind him?' Chamberlain said. 'No shot.'

With order restored, Chamberlain humbled Youkilis, who swung wildly at a slider off the plate for strike three. Lowell struck out looking — he did so again in the ninth and was ejected by Foster, firing his helmet and bat to the ground — and Drew flied out to end the inning.

That was all for Chamberlain, who threw 103 pitches and matched a career high with nine strikeouts. He is averaging 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings in the starting role, where his earned run average is 2.30.

More and more, Chamberlain looks like the ace of the Yankees’ dreams. He has made the conversion from the bullpen to the rotation, just as the Yankees mandated, and they have not looked back.

'This is what we were going to do, and we did it,' General Manager Brian Cashman said. 'Glad to see everybody getting on the bandwagon.'"

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/sports/baseball/26yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms, including another item speculating on the possibility that our Melky "The Melkman" Cabrera could soon be buying some docksiders and learning to sail if he is traded for LHP Jarrod Washburn of the Mariners.:1187603408.CR.Mothe:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#6

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Fish and Johnson squeaked past Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster, 3-2; the Angels and Saunders edged the O's and Burres, 6-5; the Twins and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez narrowly lost to the Tribe and Lee, 5-4, making Lee a 14 game winner; the CWS and Floyd narrowly beat the Tigers and Robertson, 6-5; Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves bested the Phillies and Kendrick, 8-2; the Sailors and Batista were beached by Toronto and Parrish, 5-4; LW's Rockies and Cook pummeled Janicelee's Reds and Volquez, 7-2; the Cards and Boggs were euchered by the Mets and Pelfrey, 7-2; the Snakes and Haren decimated SF and Sanchez, 10-2; Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan lost in another squeaker to the Yadgers and Billingsley, 3-2, but at least earned some runs this time; and as noted above, the Rays and Jackson stung KC and Bannister, 5-3.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Vostad will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Harden; 1:07 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Dickey (in a pitching change from yesterday) will face Toronto and Purcey; 3:55 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Pettitte will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton will play against the Phillies and Cole Hamels; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Angels and Garland will contend against the O's and Liz; the Twinkies and Baker will vie against the Tribe and Carmona; and the CWS and Danks will meet the Tigers and Verlander; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and De La Rosa will face Janicelee's Reds and Bailey; the Cards and Pineiro will take on the Mets and Knight; and the Rays and Kazmir will meet KC and Hochevar; 9:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Webb will play against SF and Lincecum; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Perez will contend against the Yadgers and Lowe.

The schedule of tomorrow's games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Blackburn will meet the Tribe and Sowers; and the CWS and Vazquez will face the Tigers and Miner; 1:07 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Washburn will take on Toronto and Marcum; 1:10 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Lohse will play against the Mets and Santana; 1:15 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Jimenez will contend against Janicelee's Reds and Fogg; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the Angels and E.Santana will vie against the O's and Olson; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will meet the Phillies and Blanton; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Sonnanstine will face KC and Davies; 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Fish and VandenHurk will take on Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and the Unit will play against SF and Zito; 4:10 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann will contend against the Yadgers and Kershaw; and 8:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Ponson will vie against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Saturday, weekend and baseball for All of You and another win for our Yankees against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox in Beantown this afternoon!:s1gyahoo:

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-26-2008, 02:37 PM

Greetings, Fiat!

Yeah that would've been a great game to see...and congratulations again to Joba and our team!!

Perhaps I'll be fortunate enough to see today's action on TV...if not, there's tomorrow night on ESPN!

:zm10::zm10:

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-26-2008, 09:50 PM

:happy0158::happy0158:

YANKEES WALLOP RED SOX FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT WIN (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25865530/)

updated 9 minutes ago
BOSTON - Robinson Cano and Andy Pettitte are doing it again, rounding into form as the New York Yankees gear up for another playoff run.

Cano homered and drove in three runs, Pettitte gave the Yankees another strong start and New York beat the Boston Red Sox 10-3 Saturday for its season-best eighth straight win.

The Yankees closed within one game of second-place Boston in the AL East and remained unbeaten since the All-Star break. Tampa Bay began the day with a one-game lead over the Red Sox.

“It’s important to stay in the present,” Alex Rodriguez said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead and too far behind. “

Cano, who hit just .219 in his first 54 games, is batting .529 (18-for-35) since the All-Star break. He’s batting .341 after the break over the past three seasons.

“The All-Star break came at a good time for this team,” Johnny Damon said. “Robinson was able to gather his thoughts. He was swinging the bat well. He’s a big reason we’re on the streak we’re on now.”

Newly acquired Xavier Nady started in left field in his first game with New York, and reliever Damaso Marte struck out David Ortiz in a key spot. The Yankees finalized their deal with Pittsburgh on Saturday, acquiring Nady and Marte for four minor leaguers.

Rodriguez was drilled on the left arm by Red Sox reliever Craig Hansen in the eighth and fans cheered. Rodriguez stayed in the game before being replaced at third base in the bottom half by Wilson Betemit.

“No,” Rodriguez told reporters when asked if he thought the pitch was intentional. “That’s all, guys.”

Hansen was wild throughout the three-run inning, walking three batters.

more at the link

Fiatjustitia

07-27-2008, 11:25 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the back to back wins and Good luck for your Rockies against Janicelee's Reds this afternoon!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against LW's Rockies this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against our Yankees tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Phillies this afternoon!), Rem16 (Good luck for your Cubbies against the Fish this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here, including Reas who posted in IS that she missed us and here's hoping she decides to join us and talk about her Angels over here!

Thanks for posting the recap, Toby, and Wow! ANOTHER great win! Had to "watch" this one on the ESPN crawler because it wasn't televised on regular cable or via my MLB "Extra Innings" package and was too busy to sit and follow it on the computer.

But, watching our Yankees' runs pile up at the bottom of the TV screen on the way to our 8th straight win, I was so proud of our pinstriped boys, I had to pinch myself to stop grinning from ear to ear!:67302:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays beat KC, 5-3 (again), last night, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (61-42, .592); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (60-45, .571) - 2 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 58-45 (.563) - 3 GB. Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by our Yankees now at only 1 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (64-39; .621), followed by the Rays (61-42; .592), the CWS (59-43; .578), Rem16's Cubbies, who are now tied with the Brewers (60-44; .577), GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (60-45; .571) and then our Yankees (58-45; .563).

Tops in the NL as we speak are the aforementioned Brewers and Rem16's Cubbies, followed by the Cards (58-48; .547) - all in the NL Central, and the Phillies and Fish from the NL East, tied at (55-49; .529), just behind the Division leading Mets (56-48; .538).

Rem16's Cubbies and the Milwaukee Brewers also lead the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Cards at 3 GB and the Fish and Phillies tied at 5 GB.

You can readily see all our marvelous good taste in our choices of teams to be included in the summaries by the numbers thereof that have risen to the top since the beginnng of the season.:happy0158:

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) Although Manny Ramirez has returned to the lineup, all is not forgiven at Boston Central according to a piece posted at nytimes.com by Jack Curry. Disciplinary action may be in the offing as a result of Manny's fit of pique over his potential new contract - which ultimately could bear a clause admonishing Manny not to "be so Mannyc" in the future.:lex_10: Here's the link:;

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/baseball/27curry.html?ref=baseball

2) According to a piece posted by Tyler Kepner at nytimes.com, there may be another trade in the offing, but not at as great a sacrifice to our Yankees - who initially provided the wrong names in the trade for Nady and Marte - we now know that pitcher Jeff Karstens accompanied the bullpen's talented Ross Ohlendorf on that sudden trip to Western Pennsylvania.:thud2:

Here's hoping this means we can keep our Melky "The Melkman" Cabrera in the Yankees' own outfield and he won't be having to learn to sail in Seattle after all.:021: Here's the link:;

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/baseball/27trade.html?ref=baseball

3) Speaking of trades, here's a link to a piece posted by espn.com's Jayson Stark announcing that Yadgers' Skipper, Joe Torre, will be receiving some help with the acquisition of the Tribe's 3B/OF, Casey Blake, in exchange for two prospects.:0012:; and

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3506150

4) Our Yankees and all of baseball will be celebrating the induction of one of the world's greatest set-up men, Goose Gossage (along with some posthumous inductees), into MLB's Hall of Fame today - the ceremony to be televised at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN.:hifive:

Here's a link to a piece from espn.com's Jerry Crasnick celebrating Goose's life and times on the diamond according to those who felt his presence there back in the day.:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof08/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=3506118

***

YANKEES' GAME RECAP FROM NYT:

Now, here's the NYT's Tyler Kepner's recap of yesterday's win of a game that featured the welcoming of newbies, OF, Xavier Nady, and LHP, Damaso Marte, from the wilds of Western Pennsylvania:howdy:, entitled: "Loudest Sound at Fenway Is Footsteps":

"Three hours before the trading deadline in 2006, Xavier Nady was a member of a first-place team. Then the Mets traded him to the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, a devastating blow.

'Going from first place to last was pretty tough, emotionally,' Nady conceded Saturday after making a nearly reverse commute in the standings. 'But I’m excited. It really makes you that much more eager to show up to the park every day. It kind of jump-starts you in late July.'

The Yankees did not need a major trade to jolt their senses, but they finished one Saturday morning and resumed normal business in the late afternoon. With Nady in their lineup and Damaso Marte in their bullpen, the Yankees flattened the Boston Red Sox, 10-3, at Fenway Park.

The Yankees have won eight games in a row since the All-Star break, and a victory here Sunday would put them percentage points ahead of the Red Sox for the lead in the American League wild-card race.

Their new additions are thinking big. Marte struck out the only hitter he faced, David Ortiz, helping the bullpen toss three scoreless innings in relief of Andy Pettitte.

'This is great, this bullpen,' Marte said. 'They’re young, and they’re throwing good right now. So I hope we go to the World Series like that.'

The Red Sox are the reigning champions, of course, but they have made no trades this month and this weekend has been a mess for them. Manny Ramírez played on Saturday — under threat of discipline from the team’s management — but he was all but invisible in a lineup that has scored one earned run in two games.

There was not much to excite the crowd, at least until the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez took a fastball to the upper left arm in the eighth inning. As Rodriguez recoiled in pain, the fans erupted with cheers.

It might have simply been a wayward throw by Craig Hansen, who walked three of the seven hitters he faced. More likely, it was retaliation for Joba Chamberlain’s latest threatening pitch to Kevin Youkilis on Friday.

Whatever it was, it knocked Rodriguez from the game after he scored, although he said he was fine and would play Sunday. It was another intense moment in a series that rarely disappoints.

'We understand Youk’s not happy,' the Yankees’ Johnny Damon said. 'It’s part of the game. Both teams go out and play hard and try and play the game the right way. Unfortunately, Youk’s gotten a lot of pitches up and in on him. Unfortunately, Alex got hit.'

[The sweet Johnny] Damon added: 'It should be over. It’s nothing we’re going to talk about. We know it’s part of the game. What we’re thinking about tomorrow is hopefully going out there and doing better against Lester this time.'

The last time the Yankees faced Jon Lester, they were shut out at home on July 3. That listless effort prompted a sharp lecture from Manager Joe Girardi and a challenge from Damon, who implored his teammates to play to their abilities.

The Yankees have done that lately, with the starting pitchers allowing no more than three earned runs in 15 of their last 16 games. Pettitte gave up one earned run in his six innings Saturday, striking out seven.

'This is what I expect us to do,' Pettitte said. 'Obviously, not to win eight in a row, but we should be a good club. Sometimes against tough pitchers, we should knock them around. We’ve got talented players.'

Tim Wakefield is a good pitcher, but he is 2-10 in his last 12 games against the Yankees. Robinson Cano, who is hitting .514 since the All-Star break, slammed a home run to center against him in the fourth to tie the score, 2-2.

After Nady grounded out, Melky Cabrera bunted for a single, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Damon. That put the Yankees ahead to stay, and they added four runs in the sixth against Wakefield and Justin Masterson.

Nady did not contribute much, going 0 for 3 with a walk. He also received his introduction to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry when he was hit by a pitch. But he seemed happy to be back in a pennant race with the hottest team in baseball.

'It’s a great lineup,' Nady said, 'and I’m glad to be a part of it.'

INSIDE PITCH

Johnny Damon left after eight innings because of cramping all over his body. 'Ankle, hip flexor, calf, quad, hamstring,' he said. 'It was kind of weird, because I’ve never had that before.' Damon said he would play Sunday. ... The new left-handed reliever Damaso Marte was issued No. 34, with the blessing of the injured pitcher Phil Hughes, who had no luck with the number early this season. Xavier Nady took No. 29, last worn by pitcher Kei Igawa, who was dropped from the 40-man roster."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/baseball/27yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms, including new items that might have been added since yesterday.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#6

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list:smile:.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Fish and Vostad squeaked past Rem16's Cubbies and Harden, 3-2; Seattle and Dickey got their sails trimmed by Toronto and Purcey, 8-3; Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton were decimated by the Phillies and Cole Hamels, 10-9; Reas' Angels and Garland stomped the O's and Liz, 11-6; the Twinkies and Baker clobbered the Tribe and Carmona, 11-4; the CWS and Danks declawed the Tigers and Verlander, 7-6; LW's Rockies and De La Rosa thumped Janicelee's Reds and Bailey, 5-1; the Cards and Pineiro old maided the Mets and Knight, 10-8; the Rays and Kazmir bested KC and Hochevar, 5-3 in back to back "5-3" scores; the Snakes and Webb hissed at SF and Lincecum, 5-3 (Yup. Making me wonder if 503 would make a good daily number pick?); and Tim Russert's Nats and Perez were blanked by the Yadgers and Lowe, 6-0.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Twins and Blackburn will meet the Tribe and Sowers; and the CWS and Vazquez will face the Tigers and Miner; 1:07 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Washburn will take on Toronto and Marcum; 1:10 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Lohse will play against the Mets and Santana; 1:15 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Jimenez will contend against Janicelee's Reds and Fogg; 1:35 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and E.Santana will vie against the O's and Olson; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will meet the Phillies and Blanton; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Sonnanstine will face KC and Davies; 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Fish and VandenHurk will take on Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis; 4:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and the Unit will play against SF and Zito; 4:10 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann will contend against the Yadgers and Kershaw; and 8:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Ponson will vie against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester.

Tomorrow, the Phillies and Tim Russert's Nats are off and will begin a series against each other on Tuesday. Monday's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Looper will meet Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Guthrie will face our Yankees and Mussina; Reas' Angels and Jered Weaver will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Tigers and Reyes will play against the Tribe and Boyd; and LW's Rockies and Hirsh will contend against the Buccos and Snell; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Shields will vie against Toronto and Burnett; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Maine will meet the Fish and Nolasco; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly will face the Brewers and Sabathia; and Janicelee's Reds and Cueto will take on the Astros and Oswalt; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Buehrle will play against the Twins and Slowey; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Owings will contend against the Pads and Maddux; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, SF and Correia will vie against the Yadgers and Kuroda.

***

That's all for today, Everybody and here's to a great Sunday and baseball for All of You and a SWEEP for our Yankees of GramV's and Barskin&Co's Red Sox in Beantown tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

rem16

07-27-2008, 11:55 AM

Hi Fiat!

I didn't think that fish could eat cubby bears, but they seem to be doing just that! :thud2: Hopefully things will change and soon!

TobyTiger

07-28-2008, 12:02 AM

CONGRATULATIONS, GRAMV!
:biggrin:

RED SOX 9, YANKEES 2 (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280727102&refreshRate=60)

:zm10:

littlewheels

07-28-2008, 07:56 AM

How 'bout them ROCKIES! 9 and 1 after the All-Stars and the weekend sweep was SWEET! GO TEAM! :INhouseReading04:

Fiatjustitia

07-28-2008, 01:48 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Hi! And congrats on the sweep of Janicelee's Reds and Good luck for your Rockies against the Buccos tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against the Astros tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox against Reas' Angels tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Cards tonight!), Rem16 (Hi! And congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Brewskis tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for posting the recap, Toby, and Yes, congratulations to GramV and Barskin&Co for Boston's win last night!:happy0158:

And Rem16, looks like your Cubbies made a great light snack of those Fish and here's hoping they'll beat the Brewers tonight and follow yesterday's win with the enjoyment of some lovely malted drinks!:party52:

And, Yes LW!! How 'bout them Rockies!!!:zm10:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays lost to KC, 6-1, last night and Boston won, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (61-43, .587); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-45, .575) - 1 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 58-46 (.558) - 3 GB. Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by our Yankees at 2 GB and the Twinkies at 3 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (64-40; .615), followed by the Rays (61-43; .587), Rem16's Cubbies (61-44; .581), GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-45; .575), the CWS (59-44; .573), the Brewers (60-45; .571), and our Yankees (58-46; .558).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies, followed by the Brewers, Cards (58-49; .542) - all in the NL Central, the NL East leading Mets (57-48; .543), the Phillies (56-49; .533) and Fish (55-50; .524), with the Phils and Fish just behind the Mets in the NL East division race at 1 and 2 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers now lead the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Cards at 3 GB and the Phillies at 4 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) Manny's T.O. act continues with reports during last night's game that he has announced he would not nix a trade if the Red Sox feel they can win it all without him. :lex_10: Here's a link to a piece entitled, "Ramirez Ends Silence and Dares Red Sox", posted by Jack Curry at nytimes.com:;

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/sports/baseball/28redsox.html?ref=baseball

And, if you're as mystified as I am about which team would take on the talented "Manram" and the drama that inevitably follows wherever he goes, :parting:, here's a piece posted at foxsports.com by Ken Rosenthal speculating on which teams might be willing to shoulder a burden that Skipper Terry Francona seems eager to unload:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8384144/

2) The Yankees' great set-up man, Goose Gossage, was inducted into MLB's Hall of Fame yesterday. :love0085: Here's a link to coverage of the occasion from Richard Sandomir of nytimes.com:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/sports/baseball/28fame.html?ref=baseball

3) And, the suspense over whether our prized OF, Melky Cabrera, may end up sailing in Seattle is not over. :smiley_aasg: Here's a link to a piece with a lede announcing, "Mariners Mulling NYY Offer for [LHP] Washburn", posted by Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8382980/Mariners-may-want-more-for-lefty-starter

To make things worse, here's a link to a foxsports.com blogger, Matthew Goodwin's, page reporting the rumor that KC's RHP, Brian Bannister, might become a Yankee and Melky could be "Goin' to Kansas City Here He Comes" instead.:groan::

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/41693-is-brian-bannister-heading-to-the-new-york-yankees

***

YANKEES' GAME RECAP FROM THE NYT:

Now, here's the NYT's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, entitled, "Red Sox Exhale in Blowout; Yanks' Streak Is Snapped":

"They have spent the better part of this decade punishing Yankees pitchers and tilting the axis of a one-sided rivalry. David Ortiz and Manny Ramírez are the thunder in the middle of the Boston Red Sox’ lineup, and the Yankees savor those rare games when they disappear.

For two games this weekend, Ortiz and Ramírez had little impact. But with the Yankees needing a victory Sunday to tie Boston for the American League wild-card lead, their tormenters showed up.

Ortiz and Ramírez combined for five hits, driving in five runs and scoring four in Jon Lester’s 9-2 victory at Fenway Park. It was an emphatic drubbing of starter Sidney Ponson at a time when the Yankees are deciding if they need to trade for Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn before Thursday’s deadline.

Considering that Washburn fired eight strong innings to beat Toronto on Sunday, the Yankees might need him badly. Opponents are hitting .352 off Ponson in his five starts for the Yankees.

'I was throwing the ball up in the zone, down the middle,' said Ponson, who is 3-12 in his career against the Red Sox. 'I tried to go inside a couple of times and didn’t get there. Especially with that team over there, you can’t make a mistake. One or two mistakes and they hit you hard.'

The loss snapped the Yankees’ eight-game winning streak, their longest immediately following the All-Star break since 1947. It put them three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the A.L. East and two behind the Red Sox.

'We’re not too happy,' Johnny Damon said. 'We knew we had a chance to tie them up in our division and to gain a game on Tampa Bay. We didn’t quite do it. They were definitely better than us tonight.'

The last time Ponson pitched at Fenway Park, on Aug. 18, 2006, he allowed six earned runs in three innings. It was the last game of Ponson’s first stint with the Yankees, when he pitched with bone chips in his elbow and had a 10.47 earned run average.

He had been much better this time, with a 2-0 record through his first four starts, all Yankees victories. But Ponson has been helped by terrific run support, and after this performance, his E.R.A. for the Yankees is 6.08.

The Red Sox’ scouting report on Ponson characterized him as an aggressive pitcher who could be handled by attacking his fastball from pitch one. The hitters followed the suggestions and blitzed Ponson in each of his four innings.

The Red Sox scored only three runs in the first two games of the series, but it took just 16 pitches Sunday to match that total. Ortiz and Ramírez made it happen.

With one out and Kevin Youkilis at first, Ortiz singled hard through the right side. Ramírez followed by lashing a double up the alley in right center, scoring Youkilis and bringing up Mike Lowell.

Unlike the two hitters before him, Lowell had no prior luck off Ponson. But he singled to center for his first hit in eight career at-bats against him, bringing both runners in to score.

The Red Sox continued to hammer Ponson, with at least two hits and a run in all of his innings. Every player in the lineup had a hit off him except J. D. Drew, and he was intentionally walked in the third inning.

Ponson walked Drew with two out and Ramírez on second after a double. The next hitter was Jason Varitek, who had struck out in the second, dropping his average to .214. It was a reasonable move by the Yankees, but Varitek delivered a run-scoring double to left, pushing the Red Sox lead to 5-0.

Two more scored in the fourth, when Ponson was one strike from ending the inning without a run. But Ortiz turned on a full-count fastball and sent it soaring on an arc into the right-field seats.

'I was trying to come in,' Ponson said. 'Right down the middle and up doesn’t work.'

It was Ortiz’s first home run since May 31, when he tore a tendon sheath in his left wrist. It was also his 222nd with the Red Sox, tied with the Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx for eighth on the club list.

One long drive later — Ramírez flied out to the distant center field triangle — the inning was over and Ponson was done for the night. He had allowed 10 hits and 7 runs.

Manager Joe Girardi said Ponson would make his next start, on Friday. Girardi always pledges his full belief in every player, but his characterization of Ponson’s start stretched the limits of credibility. Six of Boston’s 10 hits against Ponson went for extra bases, but Girardi seemed to see something else.

'Sometimes ground balls are going to get through and sometimes they’re not,' he said.

In any case, the Red Sox had all the runs they needed after the first. Lester escaped a few early jams, and wiggled out of a bases-loaded, no-out mess after two runs scored in the fifth.

Lester shut out the Yankees on July 3 and retired his last nine hitters on Sunday. Since the start of June, he has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of nine starts, going 6-0 with a 2.56 E.R.A.

'He had total control of the game,' Damon said. 'He’s going out there and showing he’s one of the best pitchers around.'

Lester said he had learned a lot by watching the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte, and the cutter he used to fan Xavier Nady in the fifth would have made Pettitte proud. But Damon said Lester reminded him most of Erik Bedard, in the days when Bedard pitched for Baltimore and dominated the Yankees.

'It’s a good feeling, definitely a confidence booster,' said Lester, who is 20-5 in his career. 'Any time you get a couple of wins against that lineup, it helps.'"

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/sports/baseball/28yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms on Thursday, including new items that might have been added since yesterday.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Twinkies and Blackburn dunked the Tribe and Sowers, 4-2; the CWS and Vazquez were treed by the Tigers and Miner, 6-4; the Sailors and Washburn sank Toronto and Marcum, 5-1; the Cards and Lohse were trumped by the Mets and Santana, 9-1; LW's Rockies and Jimenez swept Janicelee's Reds and Fogg, 11-0; Reas' Angels and E.Santana lost their halo's to the O's and Olson, 5-2; Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves were pounded in a HR derby by the Phillies and Blanton, 12-10; the Rays and Sonnanstine were bested by KC and Davies, 6-1; the Fish and VandenHurk were chomped by Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis, 9-6; the Snakes and the Unit defeated SF and Zito, 7-2; and Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann were blanked by the Yadgers and Kershaw, 2-0.

Recalling that the Phillies and Tim Russert's Nats are off and will begin a series against each other tomorrow, today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Looper will meet Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Morton; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Guthrie will face our Yankees and Mussina; Reas' Angels and Jered Weaver will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Tigers and Reyes will play against the Tribe and Boyd; and LW's Rockies and Hirsh will contend against the Buccos and Snell; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Shields will vie against Toronto and Burnett; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Maine will meet the Fish and Nolasco; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly will face the Brewers and Sabathia; and Janicelee's Reds and Cueto will take on the Astros and Oswalt; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Buehrle will play against the Twins and Slowey; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Owings will contend against the Pads and Maddux; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, SF and Correia will vie against the Yadgers and Kuroda.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Wellemeyer will meet Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hudson; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Cabrera will meet our Yankees and Rasner; Reas' Angels and Lackey will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz; the Tigers and Galarraga will take on the Tribe and Ginter; and LW's Rockies and Rusch will play against the Buccos and Herrera; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Garza will contend against Toronto and Halladay; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Myers will vie against Tim Russert's Nats and Balester; and the Mets and O.Perez will meet the Fish and Olsen; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano will face the Brewers and Sheets; and Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo will take on the Astros and Moehler; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Richard will play against the Twinkies and Perkins; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Davis will contend against the Pads and Young; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, SF and Cain will vie against the Yadgers and Johnson.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Monday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the O's at home tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

07-28-2008, 11:09 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!!!

THOSE DARNED BIRDS...

:biggrin:

ORIOLES 13, YANKEES 4 (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280728110)

Adam Jones hit a grand slam and an RBI triple to back Jeremy Guthrie's strong start, leading the Baltimore Orioles to a 13-4 blowout Monday night that ended the New York Yankees' 10-game home winning streak. Kevin Millar hit a three-run drive in the second and Ramon Hernandez followed another homer off an ineffective Mike Mussina (13-7), who failed to last at least six innings for the first time since May 24. It was the fourth time Baltimore has hit back-to-back homers this season, including three times against the Yankees.

rem16

07-28-2008, 11:44 PM

And Rem16, looks like your Cubbies made a great light snack of those Fish and here's hoping they'll beat the Brewers tonight and follow yesterday's win with the enjoyment of some lovely malted drinks!

Yep! CUBS WIN!!:s1gyahoo:

Fiatjustitia

07-29-2008, 08:18 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies against the Buccos tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against the Astros tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against Reas' Angels tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Cards tonight!), Rem16 (Hi! and Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Brewskis again tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for posting the recap, Toby and Yup. Those darned BIRDS. Like to flip them the bird, but they outhit us and we earned that loss, big time - even with Xavier Nady's first home run and Damaso Marte's first shutout relief inning in Yankees' pinstripes.:frustratedf:

Here's hoping our Yankees will rev up those faltering bats big time and we will cage the little yellow feathered fiends tonight and tomorrow afternoon and dispatch them forthwith back to B-More 2-1!!:happy0158:

And congratulations Rem16! Your Cubbies, indeed, were a mite thirsty after chomping the Fish on Sunday and it showed! Here's to another happy round of drinking tonight and a sweep of Milwaukee's barroom floor!:zm10:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays lost to Toronto, 3-1, last night and Boston lost to Reas' Angels, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (61-44, .581); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-46, .570) - 1 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 58-47 (.552) - 3 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by our Yankees at 2 GB and the Twinkies now at 2 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (65-40; .619); followed by Rem16's Cubbies (62-44; .585); the Rays (61-44; .581); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-46; .570); the CWS (59-45; .567); the Brewers (60-46; .566), and our Yankees (58-47; .552) who are tied with the Twinkies at the same W-L stats that we have.

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers; and the Cards (59-49; .546) - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Mets (57-49; .538); the Phillies (56-49; .533); and Fish (56-50; .528), with the Phils and Fish just behind the Mets in the NL East division race at .5 and 1 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers now lead the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Cards at 2 GB and the Phillies at 3.5 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) Our Yankees' legendary Catcher, "Hip Hip" Jorge Posada got the verdict on his ailing shoulder yesterday. He must have season ending surgery that will keep him away from the diamond for 6 months to a year. :021:

Here's a link to a piece posted by Tyler Kepner at nytimes.com filling us in on all that.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/sports/baseball/29pins.html?ref=baseball

2) Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves are dealing with trying times with 3B, Chipper Jones (hammie), and Pitcher, Tim Hudson (elbow ligament), now on the DL, by putting 1B, Mark Texeira, up on the trading block. :104511:

The Snakes popped up right away as interested in acquiring Texeira, with the Yadgers and Rays close behind - with our Yankees possibly in the mix as well. Here's a link to a piece from Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com explaining all that and trying to sort it all out.:6u8ky2o::

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8386852/Braves'-struggles-have-Teixeira-on-the-trade-block

3) And, here's a link to a piece from Jack Curry at nytimes.com noting that the Phillies are taking a pass on Manny Being Manny Ramirez. Although Phils' Skipper, Charlie Manuel, and Manny go way back, GM Pat Gillick has harpooned any possible deal.:lex_10::

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/sports/baseball/29manny.html?ref=baseball

***

YANKEES' GAME RECAP FROM THE NYT:

Now, here's the NYT's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, appropriately entitled, "Rough Night for Mussina Is Even Worse for Yanks":

"If the Yankees could have simply showed off the new guys on Monday, a capacity crowd might have left Yankee Stadium happy. Outfielder Xavier Nady homered for his first hit in pinstripes, and Damaso Marte pitched a shutout inning.

The problem was that those things happened after the Baltimore Orioles raced to a double-digit lead; after several Yankees regulars were lifted from the game; and after Mike Mussina allowed a season high in earned runs.

It was mostly a night to forget for the Yankees, who lost, 13-4, for their second lopsided defeat in two nights. The consolation was that their top division rivals also lost, meaning the Yankees stayed three games behind Tampa Bay and two behind Boston in the American League East.

'We struggled all around tonight, pitching,' Manager Joe Girardi said. 'Our pitching has been so good. I guess you’re going to have these nights once in awhile. You forget it, put it behind you and move on.'

Mussina allowed six earned runs in five ordinary innings, and the rookie David Robertson surrendered five runs in a third of an inning. The Orioles’ Adam Jones blasted a grand slam off Robertson in the sixth, and after he walked the next hitter, the fans booed Robertson as he shuffled off the mound.

Mussina was trying to match Cleveland’s Cliff Lee for the A.L. lead in victories, with 14. But he fell far short, walking the leadoff man and allowing six of eight hits for extra bases.

'It wasn’t awful stuff, but it wasn’t good stuff,' Mussina said. 'It was a struggle from the beginning. When I’m getting in bad counts, I’m going to struggle, and it seemed like I was always 1-0 or 2-1 the whole game. When I did get ahead in the count, I’d make a bad pitch.

'They always seem to be scoring runs, especially when they play us. Today was another one of those days, and if I made a bad pitch, they put the ball in the gap or hit it over the fence — whatever they wanted to do.'

The Yankees were in last place when they met the Orioles at the end of May. Now Baltimore is in the basement, and at 50-55, the Orioles are in danger of a 12th consecutive losing season.

Starting pitching has been a culprit. Over their previous 21 games, the Orioles’ starters had a 7.44 earned run average. Predictably, Baltimore had a dreadful record during that stretch, at 6-15.

Jeremy Guthrie has been dependable, at least, and he improved to 7-8 on Monday. Guthrie allowed Nady’s homer and no other runs in six and a third innings, mixing breaking pitches with a lively fastball that reached 98 miles an hour when he struck out Jason Giambi with the bases loaded to end the sixth.

'He can be dominant at times,' Girardi said. 'He’s got outstanding stuff, and he proved it tonight.'

The Yankees had only one hit through five innings, while the Orioles had six runs. Three came on a homer by Kevin Millar in the second inning that raised his career average against Mussina to .450.

The next hitter, Ramon Hernandez, also homered.

Jones had the last hit off Mussina with a run-scoring triple in the fifth. He followed that the next inning with the grand slam off Robertson, whose earned run average rose to 4.97 from 1.46.

At least Nady homered for the Yankees after going hitless in his first eight at-bats since Saturday’s trade from Pittsburgh. It came with one out in the seventh with the Yankees trailing, 11-0.

'Just got a pitch to hit,' Nady said. 'It’s good to get one out of the way, relax and get back to going out and having fun.'

After two blowout losses following an eight-game winning streak, that is what all the Yankees hope to do on Tuesday.

INSIDE PITCH

Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ co-chairman, said his family would be thrilled to see his father, George, elected to the Hall of Fame, as Goose Gossage and Dick Williams suggested Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y. 'I think most people agree he belongs there,' Steinbrenner said. 'He would kind of shy away from that and not make it that big of a deal, but I know, deep down, it would mean a lot to him.' The veterans committee votes on executives, and it meets every other year. Its next round of inductees will come in 2010, when Steinbrenner will be 80.

... General Manager Brian Cashman reiterated that he was satisfied with Jose Molina and Chad Moeller, and that he was not seeking to beef up the Yankees’ catching. 'There’s no catching out there to track down,' he said. ...

After wearing No. 29 for two days, Xavier Nady switched to his usual No. 22. That number was last worn by reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who was designated for assignment. Hawkins is drawing interest from the Minnesota Twins, according to The Star-Tribune in Minneapolis. ... Moeller made his first career appearance at third base, taking over for A-Rod in the ninth inning."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/sports/baseball/29yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms on Thursday, including new items that might have been added since yesterday [noting here that this page hasn't been updated since the weekend, and if it should happen and the link changes, Ben's "rumors"' site is accessible on the right under the headlines on foxsports.com's opening page].:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list:smile:.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Recalling that the Phillies and Tim Russert's Nats were off, other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Cards and Looper pummeled Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Morton, 12-3; Reas' Angels and Jered Weaver bested GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka, 7-5; the Tigers and Reyes were blanked by the Tribe and Boyd, 5-0; the Buccos and Snell shivered the timbers of LW's Rockies and Hirsh, 8-4; the Rays and Shields went down to Toronto and Burnett, 3-1; the Mets and Maine were speared by the Fish and Nolasco, 7-3; Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly quaffed the ale of the Brewers and Sabathia, 6-4; Janicelee's Reds and Cueto were edged by the Astros and Oswalt, 5-4; the CWS and Buehrle were bageled by the Twinkies and Slowey, 7-0; the Snakes and Owings were defanged by the Pads and Maddux, 8-5; and SF and Correia squeaked past the Yadgers and Kuroda, 7-6.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Wellemeyer will meet Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo (in a pitching change from yesterday); 7:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Cabrera will meet our Yankees and Rasner; Reas' Angels and Lackey will face GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz; the Tigers and Galarraga will take on the Tribe and Ginter; and LW's Rockies and Rusch will play against the Buccos and Herrera; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Garza will contend against Toronto and Halladay; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Myers will vie against Tim Russert's Nats and Balester; and the Mets and O.Perez will meet the Fish and Olsen; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano will face the Brewers and Sheets; and Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo will take on the Astros and Moehler; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Richard will play against the Twinkies and Perkins; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Davis will contend against the Pads and Young; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, SF and Cain will vie against the Yadgers and Johnson.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 12:37 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Jackson will meet Toronto and Richmond; 1:05 p.m., EDT, Dennis Sarfate and the O's will face our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain; 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Carpenter will take on Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Saunders will play against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett; the Tigers and Robertson will contend against the Tribe and Lee; and LW's Rockies and Cook will vie against the Buccos and Duke; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Moyer will meet Tim Russert's Nats and Redding; and the Mets and Pelfrey will face the Fish and Johnson; 8:00 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster will take on the Brewers and Parra; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Volquez will play against the Astros and Rodriguez; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Floyd will contend against the Twinkies and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Haren will vie against the Pads and Baek; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, SF and Sanchez will meet the Yadgers and Billingsley.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Tuesday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the O's tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Reasonable

07-29-2008, 07:15 PM

Fiatjustitia

07-30-2008, 07:04 AM

Hiya Fiat and all!

I finally made it here. Thanks to Fiat for inviting me.

I only have a sec cause the Angels game is on now. About 30 minutes before the game I heard about getting Teixeira. I'm not even used to it yet. WOW. Kotchman was so loved here but hey sounds like a good deal was made. Time will tell. I sure loved Tex when he was in Texas.

bbl maybe after the game. :happy0207:

Hi Reas!!:mornincoffee:

It's great to see you here at last!!!:hifive:

How 'bout that Texeira trade to your Angels? Here they were saying the Snakes wanted him and then boom, he's not a reptile, he's an ANGEL! No wonder LA had that earthquake!:shrug1:

Speaking of the earthquake, hope you didn't feel it much and your windows and china and wall plaster suffered no damage yesterday. The news reports are it's So Cal's biggest earthquake in about 15 years.

I hope Kotchman will be happy in Atlanta - am sure he will help the Braves with Chipper Jones out of the lineup for a while.:021:

And congrats on that almost no-hitter for John Lackey last night and the win against Boston, solidifying your first place standing even more!:happy0158:

Again, welcome back to our baseball thread. Am really looking forward to hearing more of your stories and info about the Angels and your trips to the ballpark to watch them play!:howdy:

Fiat:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-30-2008, 08:49 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies against the Buccos tonight!), Janicelee (Good luck for your Reds against the Astros tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against Reas' Angels tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Cards tonight!), Rem16 (Congrats on another the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Brewskis tonight!), Reas (Hi! and Welcome Back to our thread and to HFTM!! :howdy: and Congrats on the win and Good Luck to your Angels for a sweep of Boston tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

The Yanks were attacked once again by the Birds and A-Rod by O's pitching. This has not been a happy trip to Baltimore for our boys in pinstripes. But, there was a nice rally at the end to give us hope that our Yankees will be getting good wood on the little white missiles to be hurled their way - and hopefully not anywhere on A-Rod's beauteous bod - this afternoon in Camden Yards.:yes2:

We're gonna need those bats big time when we face Reas' Angels for a series starting tomorrow night at home!:happy0158:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays blanked Toronto, 3-0, last night and Boston lost again to Reas' Angels, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (62-44, .585); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-47, .565) - 2 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 58-48 (.543) - 4 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the Twinkies (59-47, .557) at 1 GB and our Yankees still at 2 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (66-40; .623); followed by Rem16's Cubbies (63-44; .589); the Rays (62-44; .585); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-47; .565); the CWS (59-46; .562); the Brewers (60-47; .561); the Twinkies (59-47; .557) and our Yankees (58-48; .547).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers; and the Cards (60-49; .550) - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Mets (58-49; .542); the Phillies (57-49; .538); and Fish (56-51; .523), with the Phils and Fish just behind the Mets in the NL East division race at .5 and 2 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers still lead the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Cards at 1 GB and the Phillies at 2.5 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) Mark Texeira's trade was made almost as soon as it was announced - and he went to Reas' Angels instead of the Snakes. Here's a link to a piece posted at espn.com by Sean McAdam, although this headline is all over the 'net with the consensus being that adding Texeira's bat to their lineup boosts Reas' Angels' chances for World Series' rings this year no end.:zm10::

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=3510422

2) That leaves everyone wondering whether Manny Ramirez will be moved before tomorrow's trade deadline. Here's a link to a piece from Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com answering that complicated query with a simple "probably not".:lex_10::

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8391628

3) There is unwelcome news to LW and all other Rockies' fans that, after weathering injuries to a number of key players early on, the team has had to place OF Scott Posednik on the DL with a displaced left pinky.:000a1:

Here's a link to coverage of that story from foxsports.com.; and

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8392300/Rockies-place-Podsednik-on-15-day-DL

4) There is welcome news for all Yankees' fans that pitchers Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes have begun rehab assignments in the minors in anticipation of their return to the team before the end of the season - or in Pavano's case, hopefully before the end of his MLB career.:doh:

Here's a link to a piece posted by Bill Davis at nytimes.com providing coverage of this one.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/sports/baseball/30pitchers.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

***

YANKEES' GAME RECAP FROM THE NYT:

Now, here's the NYT's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, entitled "Yanks Continue Streak in the Wrong Direction":

"In five eventful seasons with the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez has often said that somehow, some way, the outcome of the game rests with him. It is the burden of the superstar — not just the chance to be the star or the goat, but to so often be the story.

So it was on Tuesday, when Rodriguez reached base safely in his first four plate appearances but struck out on a high, inside fastball from George Sherrill as the potential tying run in the ninth inning of a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Jason Giambi brought the runners home with a single, but Sherrill recovered to strike out Robinson Cano and Wilson Betemit to send the Yankees to their third loss in a row. It ensured that the game’s most memorable image would be Rodriguez taking a first-pitch fastball off his upper left arm in the eighth inning.

That led to the immediate ejection of the Orioles’ starter, Daniel Cabrera, who had dominated the Yankees except for a long homer to center field in Rodriguez’s previous at-bat. Rodriguez also singled and walked against Cabrera, who allowed three runs, eight hits and two walks in seven-plus innings to beat the Yankees for the third time this season.

'Obviously he has a comfort zone against us, and he’s pitched well at Yankee Stadium,' Rodriguez said of Cabrera, who was 1-5 with a 6.56 earned run average in his last 10 starts. 'We have to figure it out, because we’re going to be facing this kid for a long time.'

Rodriguez said he did not think Cabrera meant to hit him, but Manager Joe Girardi was cryptic. Girardi would not guess at Cabrera’s intent, but he mentioned that Cabrera had drilled Derek Jeter in the hand in May.

'He was down in the zone all night tonight, and you just don’t like it,' Girardi said. 'It’s happened a few times with this guy, Daniel Cabrera. We know at times he has some control issues, but it’s just awful dangerous when you’re up there.'

As soon as Cabrera was ejected, several Orioles sprang from the bench, and Manager Dave Trembley argued with the plate umpire, Chad Fairchild. Trembley said he told Fairchild, 'You just did exactly what we have been trying to avoid — waking up 54,000 people.'

There was no warning issued before the ejection, and the crew chief, Jeff Kellogg, said he doubted there would be warnings on Wednesday, when Joba Chamberlain faces Dennis Sarfate, a rookie from Brooklyn who will make his first major league start.

Kellogg said Fairchild was within his rights to guess at Cabrera’s intent, and Fairchild believed Cabrera hit Rodriguez on purpose.

'My thinking with the ejection is when Alex came to bat the prior time, he had hit a home run, and the very first pitch his next at-bat was up toward the head area,' Fairchild said. 'I deemed that pitch intentional and I removed Cabrera from the game.'

Naturally, Cabrera said he was surprised to be ejected and was not trying to hit Rodriguez.

'It was tough, because I know everybody in the whole stadium and every player, they know I’m not trying to hit A-Rod,' he said. 'So he took me out, and there’s nothing I can do. I was surprised because the game’s 6-1, nobody out, runner on second. How am I going to put someone on base?'

The Yankees rallied with two singles off Jim Johnson to cut the deficit to 6-3. But Aubrey Huff homered off the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera in the ninth. That was the last of Huff’s four hits, including a three-run double off Damaso Marte in the seventh, and it turned out to be the margin of victory after the Yankees scored three off Sherrill in the ninth.

The Yankees hope not to squander all the good they did by winning their first eight games after the All-Star break. In their three-game losing streak, they have lost by the combined score of 29-9 and have been throttled by starters Jon Lester, Jeremy Guthrie and Cabrera.

'We know we’ve faced some tough pitching in these three straight losses,' [the sweet] Johnny Damon said. 'We need to try to get to them early and give our pitchers some breathing room. It seems like we haven’t been doing that. The offense needs to show up and show up sooner.'

Damon added: 'I still think Rasner threw the ball pretty well. He’s the type of pitcher who’s going to give up some runs here and there, but he goes out there and competes, and he pitched good enough to win.'

Damon was referring to Darrell Rasner, who allowed two runs in the first six innings but was charged with two more when Huff doubled against Marte. It was Rasner’s final start before Thursday’s nonwaiver trading deadline, but if the Yankees want to replace him or Sidney Ponson, they might not have to look far.

Ian Kennedy allowed a run and three hits in six innings Tuesday for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he could soon rejoin a rotation that included him at the start of the season. In his last three starts, Kennedy has allowed seven hits over 20 innings with a 0.90 earned run average."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/sports/baseball/30yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms tomorrow, including new items that might have been added since the weekend [noting here again that this page hasn't been updated since then, and if it should happen today and the link changes, Ben's "rumors"' site is accessible on the right under the headlines on foxsports.com's opening page].:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list:smile:.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Cards and Wellemeyer trumped Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo, 8-3; Reas' Angels and Lackey (who took a no-hitter into the 9th) bested GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Buchholz, 6-2; the Tigers and Galarraga defeated the Tribe and Ginter, 8-5; LW's Rockies and Rusch lost to the Buccos and Herrera, 6-4; the Rays and Garza blanked Toronto and Halladay, 3-0; the Phillies and Myers edged Tim Russert's Nats and Balester, 2-1; the Mets and O.Perez netted the Fish and Olsen, 4-1; Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano chugged the Brewskis and Sheets, 7-1; Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo were thumped by the Astros and Moehler, 6-2; the CWS and Richard were edged by the Twinkies and Perkins, 6-5; the Snakes and Davis bageled the Pads and Young, 3-0; and SF and Cain were vanquished by the Yadgers and Johnson, 2-0.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 12:37 p.m., EDT, the Rays and Jackson will meet Toronto and Richmond; 1:05 p.m., EDT, Dennis Sarfate (a debuting rookie who's from Brooklyn) and the O's will face our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain; 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Carpenter will take on Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Saunders will play against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett; the Tigers and Robertson will contend against the Tribe and Lee; and LW's Rockies and Cook will vie against the Buccos and Duke; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Moyer will meet Tim Russert's Nats and Redding; and the Mets and Pelfrey will face the Fish and Johnson; 8:00 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster will take on the Brewers and Parra; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Volquez will play against the Astros and Rodriguez; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Floyd will contend against the Twinkies and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Haren will vie against the Pads and Baek; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, SF and Sanchez will meet the Yadgers and Billingsley.

Tomorrow, a small raft full of teams are off and will start series on Friday against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (A's); Janicelee's Reds (Tim Russert's Nats); Toronto (TX); Rays (Tigers) and Mets (Astros). The complete schedule of Thursday's MLB games is: 12:05 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Verlander will meet the Tribe and Carmona; 2:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Harden will face the Brewers and Bush; 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Pineiro will take on Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Garland will play against our Yankees and Pettitte; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Kendrick will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Dickey will vie against TX and Harrison; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Danks will meet the Twinkies and Baker; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Webb will face the Yadgers and Lowe.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Wednesday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against the O's this afternoon!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Reasonable

07-30-2008, 06:37 PM

WOW, great posting Fiat. I didn't realize how much I missed your through reporting :smile:

Right off I see that your Yankees got Pudge for Farnsworth. That's a sweet deal don't cha think?

Kotchman was very well liked here and just coming into his own. Great fielder as well. I wish the best for him.

I spent the summer of 2005 in Arlington, Texas and while there became a huge fan of Teixiera. Now just waiting to see how he fits in here. No doubt he will love some giant house down in Newport Beach. Maybe neighbors with Matthews and Torii Hunter.

The next game I go to is next Tuesday night. We have seats 6 rows back of the dugout. Fred Lynn's old seats which the wife got in their divorce :girl_haha:

Also will be seeing your Yankees in August here as well.

Good luck with tonights game and congrats on getting Pudge.

Oh and the quake was horrible and I have been here 29 years. This one scared me the most. ugh!

Who are the Snakes? I never heard that.

Later!

Reas

TobyTiger

07-30-2008, 11:01 PM

Welcome, Reasonable!

:zm10::zm10:

BTW..."Snakes" are the Arizona Diamondbacks.

TobyTiger

07-30-2008, 11:03 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

Much better results tonight, and great news about Pudge!!

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

YANKEES ROUT ORIOLES, PICK UP RODRIGUEZ (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280730110)

Yankees manager Joe Girardi must have figured something was up when he walked into his office after New York finished off the Baltimore Orioles. There was general manager Brian Cashman, ready to talk — and not about Bobby Abreu's two home runs or another strong start from Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees shored up the catcher spot by acquiring 14-time All-Star Ivan Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, a deal that went down just as Abreu was hitting the second of his two homers to go along with one by Alex Rodriguez in a 13-3 rout of the Orioles.

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

07-31-2008, 09:14 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Rockies against the Fish tonight!), Janicelee (Congrats on the win and Here's to a peaceful day off for your Reds today!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Here's to a peaceful day off for your Red Sox today!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Cards tonight!), Rem16 (Congrats on the threepeat and Good luck for your Cubbies to sweep the Brewskis this afternoon!), Reas (Hi! and Congrats on the sweep of Boston and Good Luck to your Angels against our Yankees tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for the recap, Toby, and it sure was a relief to see those bats stay alive to send the O's back to Baltimore defeated 13-3! And, here's hoping they will remain so when we take on Reas' Angels in Yankee Stadium tonight.:happy0158:

Thanks for more kind words about the summaries from you, Reas, and yes, it's wild that the two biggest trades this time around involved your Angels and our Yankees. I'm sure Mark Texeira will do you all as proud as he did when you saw him playing for the Texas Rangers, and we know he did his very best while playing for Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves in Atlanta. :zm10:

Pudge will give the Yankees the freedom to exhale while Jorge Posada's away and provide a welcome addition to the catching staff and backup security behind the plate if the terrific Jose Molina has a bad day. All in all, for both our teams it was a very good week - even if it was sad for Joe Girardi and reliever, Kyle "Farney" Farnsworth, to have to part!:021:

And, hope you don't have another earthquake for another 29 years! Every time I read reports of how the jolt was so strongly felt, I imagine how I'd have reacted in your shoes, and I certainly would have been scared as hell.:groan:

Can't wait to hear how it goes at the ballpark when you go to watch your Angels next week, and again when you go in August to watch our Yankees play your home team!:howdy:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays beat Toronto, 3-2, yesterday afternoon and Boston was swept by Reas' Angels, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (63-44, .589); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-48, .563) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 59-48 (.551) - 4 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by our Yanks tied with the Twinkies (59-48, .551) at 1 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (67-40; .626); followed by Rem16's Cubbies (64-44; .593); the Rays (63-44; .589); the CWS (60-46; .566); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-48; .560); the Brewers (60-48; .556); the Cards (61-49; .555); and the Yanks and the Twinkies tied at (59-48; .551).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers and the Cards - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Phillies (58-49; .542), the Mets (58-50; .537) and the Fish (57-51; .528), with the Mets and Fish behind the Phillies in the NL East division race at .5 and 1.5 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers are now tied with the Cards for the lead in the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Mets at 2 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) With Mark Texeira barely starting his search for a pricey new house in or around L.A., came word that the Tigers' Hall of Fame bound catcher, Pudge Rodriguez, would be looking for a place in or around NYC. Although coverage of this hot news is all over the 'net, here's a link to a piece posted by Tyler Kepner at nytimes.com telling us all about the Pudge for Kyle Farnsworth trade.:love0085::

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/sports/baseball/31pudge.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

2) That still leaves everyone wondering whether Manny Ramirez will be moved before tonight's trade deadline and what other trades could be made as well. Here's a link to a piece from Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com talking about what could and may not happen between this minute and midnight - like whether Manny could take off his Red Sox and become a Fish or something else, knowing full well that Manny will always be "Manny" whether he swims or walks.:022::

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/8398172/Teams-should-still-consider-trading-for-Dunn

3) And being that our Yankees will be starting a series at home against MLB's number 1 team, Reas' Angels :innocent0002:, tonight, here's what the nytimes.com's Tyler Kepner has to say about all that.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/sports/baseball/31pins.html?ref=baseball

***

YANKEES' GAME RECAP FROM THE NYT:

Now, here's the NYT's Tyler Kepner's recap of yesterday's win, appropriately entitled to recognize Edwar Ramirez' revenge for A-Rod's drilling (at the plate), "The Yankees Get Way Ahead, and Then They Get Even":

"Manager Joe Girardi was indignant Tuesday night, deeply suspicious about the intent of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Daniel Cabrera on a fastball that drilled Alex Rodriguez on the upper left arm. The Yankees seemed likely to retaliate Wednesday, and the plate umpire, Mark Wegner, believed they did so with their 99th pitch of the game.

Not coincidentally, Joba Chamberlain threw the first 98. Once Chamberlain, the prized young starter, was gone after six tidy innings, reliever Edwar Ramírez came in and fired a first-pitch fastball over the head of the Orioles’ Kevin Millar.

Girardi argued, but Ramírez had no reaction when Wegner ejected him. The rookie Dave Robertson came in to strike out the side, helping the Yankees to a 13-3 victory that snapped a three-game losing streak on the eve of a series with the imposing Los Angeles Angels.

'He intentionally threw it behind his head, at Millar,' Wegner said. 'It was a done deal.'

Rodriguez homered for the second game in a row with a seventh-inning blast to right-center off Fernando Cabrera. It followed the second homer of the game by Bobby Abreu, who was the designated hitter for the first time this season.

Playing on the second anniversary of his trade from the Phillies to the Yankees, Abreu had his first multihomer game in pinstripes. He added a double and scored four runs to match a career high.

'I don’t really like to D.H. too much,' Abreu said. 'I think that’s one way to have a day off, pretty much. It was a pretty good game, but I’m not a D.H. guy.'

Chamberlain, who struck out six and allowed one earned run, is 3-1 with a 2.23 earned run average over his 11 starts. In 60 2/3 innings, he has 69 strikeouts and has allowed only one home run.

As for Ramírez, he probably faces a suspension, which would be the second given to a Yankees reliever this season for an incident related to Daniel Cabrera. On May 20, after Cabrera hit Derek Jeter, the Yankees’ LaTroy Hawkins threw behind the Orioles’ Luke Scott and was suspended for three games.

'I understand what happened last night,' Ramírez said. 'Cabrera, he did it on purpose. That’s Cabrera. I don’t play that game. I don’t want to hit Kevin Millar in the head. I’m trying to throw inside pitches.'

Millar, who homered on Monday and Tuesday, said he would have gone deep against Ramírez if only he had stayed in.

'He’s a cute little fella, doesn’t throw very hard and doesn’t have very good stuff,' Millar said, adding later: 'I wasn’t expecting a ball at my neck, I was looking to go to Monument Park in left-center. But the most important thing is they did throw him out.'

Predictably, the managers had opposite viewpoints. Orioles Manager Dave Trembley said the only thing that surprised him was that Chamberlain did not throw the purpose pitch. Chamberlain knocked down Boston’s Kevin Youkilis with a high, inside fastball in his previous start.

'I thought if anyone was going to throw a pitch at us, it was going to come from Chamberlain and not Ramírez,' Trembley said. 'It was obvious as the nose on my face that he was throwing at Millar. But he has to do what he has to do to defend his team, and that’s what he did.'

The teams were not warned before the game, and Girardi said he hoped Ramírez would not be suspended.

'It’s unfortunate one got away, because we’re not trying to hit anyone,' Girardi said. 'You talk to players and you tell them to stay away from that area. You pitch inside to guys, and you have to be careful.'"

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/sports/baseball/31yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trade rumors and deals around MLB as the July 31st deadline looms tonight, including new items that might have been added since the weekend [noting here again that this page hasn't been updated since then, and if it should happen today and the link changes, Ben's "rumors"' site is accessible on the right under the headlines on foxsports.com's opening page].:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list:smile:.

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Rays and Jackson edged Toronto and Richmond, 3-2; the Cards and Carpenter trumped Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Jurrjens, 7-2; Reas' Angels and Saunders swept GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett, 9-2; the Tigers and Robertson mauled the Tribe and Lee in a heavy hitting slugfest, 14-12; LW's Rockies and Cook dragooned the Buccos and Duke, 7-4; the Phillies and Moyer flagged Tim Russert's Nats and Redding, 8-5; the Mets and Pelfrey went down to the Fish and Johnson, 7-5; Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster quaffed the Brewskis for the 3rd straight day in a row, this time with Parra on the hill, 7-2; Janicelee's Reds and Volquez grounded the Astros and Rodriguez, 9-5; the CWS and Floyd dunked the Twinkies and El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, 8-3; the Snakes and Haren smushed the Pads and Baek, 7-3; and SF and Sanchez were blanked by the Yadgers and Billingsley, 4-0.

Noting that the following teams are off and will start series tomorrow against the teams whose names follow theirs in parentheses: GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (A's); Janicelee's Reds (Tim Russert's Nats); Toronto (TX); Rays (Tigers) and Mets (Astros), the complete schedule of today's MLB games is: 12:05 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Verlander will meet the Tribe and Carmona; 2:05 p.m., EDT, Rem16's Cubbies and Harden will face the Brewers and Bush; 7:00 p.m., EDT, the Cards and Pineiro will take on Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Garland will play against our Yankees and Pettitte; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Kendrick will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan; 8:05 p.m., EDT, the Sailors and Dickey will vie against TX and Harrison; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Danks will meet the Twinkies and Baker; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Webb will face the Yadgers and Lowe.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and former Yank, Jeff Karstens, will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis; 7:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and E. Santana will face our Yankees and Ponson; and the A's and Duchscherer will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's Rockies and Jimenez will play against the Fish and Volstad; and the Tigers and Miner will contend against the Rays and Kazmir; 7:30 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Suppan will vie against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and James; 7:35 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Bailey will meet Tim Russert's Nats and Perez; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Marcum will face Texas and Hurley; and the Mets and Pedro Martinez (returning from berievement leave and the DL) will take on the Astros and Backe; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Vazquez will play against KC and Hochevar; and the Tribe and Sowers will contend against the Twinkies and Blackburn; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Cole Hamels will vie against the Cards and Lohse; and 10:40 p.m., EDT, the Arizona Diamondbacks, a/k/a "the Snakes", will meet Kershaw and the Yadgers, a/k/a "the other L.A. team", now coached by ex-Yankee Skipper, Joe Torre.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Thursday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Reas' Angels tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

janicelee

07-31-2008, 06:26 PM

Well, a less then peaceful day in Redsland, with Ken Griffey Jr. being traded to the White Sox. Much as I hate to see Jr. go I think it is probably best for both parties, guess now I'm at least a part-time White Sox fan. Best wishes to Jr.

rem16

07-31-2008, 07:26 PM

http://bestsmileys.com/sports1/9.gif

I DO BELIEVE! I DO BELIEVE! I DO BELIEVE!

GO CUBBIES!! :s1gyahoo:

Reasonable

07-31-2008, 08:32 PM

Hi Toby!

Thanks for the welcome.

Fiat, I read your report this morning but had to leave then had a late afternoon appt. at the dentist.

I am way behind on the game but had the dvr set and have to catch up now.

I love that Pudge is there. he's a big fav of mine.

wow Manny to LA. Should be interesting. Torre has done a great job there.

I asked everyone who the snakes were and no one knew. Must be an East Coast nick. My son figured it out but only cause he said the D-Backs were the only other team that could have used Teixeira.

Learn sumpin new everyday. lol

Off to watch the game now and decide if I can have coffee or if I need a lil something in it :wink:

Reas

eta, I love Ken Griffey to and wanted him here.

TobyTiger

07-31-2008, 11:40 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

NOT THE OUTCOME WE WANTED...however, Reas should be happy!!!
:biggrin:

ANGELS 12, YANKEES 6 (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280731110)

Torii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero and Juan Rivera each hit a three-run homer, and the Los Angeles Angels added to their East Coast romp with a 12-6 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday night. Coming off a three-game sweep at Boston in which they scored 22 runs, the Angels hit a trio of three-run homers in a game for the first time in 30 years. Los Angeles improved baseball's best record to 68-40 with its 11th victory in 13 games since the All-Star break.

Perhaps we shall prevail tomorrow...
:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

08-01-2008, 03:51 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your Rockies - henceforward to be called - "LW's MountainMen", against the Fish tonight!), Janicelee (Hi! and Good Luck for your Reds against the Nats tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Bye to Manny and Good luck for your Red Sox against the A's tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves against the Brewskis tonight!), Rem16 (Hi! and Congrats on the sweep of the Brewskis and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Buccos this afternoon!), Reas (Hi! and Congrats on the win and Good Luck to your Angels against our Yankees tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for posting the recap from foxsports.com, Toby! For some unfathomable reason, the NY Times MLB page didn't publish one today, so am here referring our threadsters to your post just above this one, or if the page has turned, just before it.

Janicelee, I was happy that we have included the CWS in our list of teams to regularly follow when hearing about your Junior Griffey going from Cincinnati to Chicago. Was a little saddened that he won't end his career with the Reds - but am sure from all the reports that a fresh start in Chicago might do him and the White Sox some good.:hifive:

And Rem16, you must be beside yourself with glee to see how well your Cubbies are doing this year. Tops in the NL and second only to Reas' Angels in all of MLB and on their way to possibly winning a World Series for the first time in 100 years. That's a story that should be making all of us feel good!:happy0158:

And Reas, hope your trip to the dentist was not unpleasant and that you didn't come home needing something stiffer to drink than some coffee! You certainly needed no liquid "fortification" after your win last night. It was well earned by all of your Halos and they and you are to be congratulated for it.:smile:

And, yes, it should be interesting to see how Manny Ramirez does as a Yadger. By all accounts from the ESPN punditry on "Sportscenter" and "Baseball Tonight", Manny will be on his best behavior in Yadgers blue and do his new Skipper, Joe Torre, proud. Otherwise, he won't be getting that multi-million dollar deal elsewhere that his tiff with Red Sox' Central was all about.:0t13:

And, sorry, I have no memory of where our name for the Snakes came from - like the Rockies' new name, "LW's MountainMen", it might have come from one of us, or was used by someone - maybe Toby?/LW? - in a post and we picked up on it, or maybe I made it up myself. Anyway, glad your son enjoys a wacky sense of baseball humor like you and the rest of us and was able to help you out!:67302:

And here's hoping that whoever coined the reptilian nickname for the Unit's team might step forward and help me out - sorry, there's so much going on where I am today, that I just can't remember right now.:shrug1:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston were off yesterday, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (63-44, .589); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-48, .563) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 59-49 (.546) - 4.5 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the Twinkies (60-48, .556) at .5 GB, and then our Yankees at 1.5 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (68-40; .630); followed by Rem16's Cubbies (65-44; .596); the Rays (63-44; .589); the CWS (60-47; .561); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (61-48; .560); the Twinkies, the Brewers (60-49, .550) tied with the Cards (61-50; .550); and our Yankees.

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers and the Cards - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Phillies (59-49; .546), the Mets (58-50; .537) and the Fish (58-51; .532), with the Mets and Fish behind the Phillies in the NL East division race at 1 and 1.5 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers are still tied with the Cards for the lead in the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Mets at 1.5 GB and the Fish at 2 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) Manny being Manny has become a Yadger and is expected to start in their game against the Snakes tonight beginning at 10:10 p.m., EDT, for those of you who are able to watch and decide how he looks in Yadgers' blue. The rest of us will have to content ourselves with reports from the various MLB sites, following much commentary on this move today, including the doffing of Pirates' gear for a new pair of red socks by OF Jason Bay.

For a sampling of what you'll see at our sites, here's a link to a piece from Ken Rosenthal at foxsports.com, entitled, "In Manny Trade, Everybody Wins":

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8401438/Take-your-pick:-Manny-deal-produced-winners-all-around

2) Junior Griffey has joined the CWS, a move, according to ESPN writer, Jerry Crasnick, that puts this future Hall of Famer in a position to play in a World Series game for the very first time in his storied career. Here's the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3512365

3) For commentary on all the last minute trade excitement and how it shook things up in MLB and who may have won and lost thereby, here's a link to a piece from Kevin Hench at foxsports.com:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8402066/Handicapping-the-pennant-races-after-deadline

4) And, in lieu of the missing recap of last night's loss, here's a link to the NY Times' Tyler Kepner's chatting us all up with his take on the deal that put Pudge Rodriguez in Yankees' pinstripes.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/sports/baseball/01pudge.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&adxnnlx=1217606556-lXcn1I7ttR2AH2V1z1ALaA

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trades that were made before the deadline yesterday [noting here again that this page hasn't been updated since the weekend - Ben must be on vacation - and if it should happen today and the link changes, Ben's "rumors"' site is accessible on the right under the headlines on foxsports.com's opening page].:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Recalling that GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston, Janicelee's Reds, Toronto, the Rays and the Mets were off yesterday, the scores from the complete schedule of games are: the Tigers and Verlander were caged by the Tribe and Carmona, 9-4; LW's MountainMen and De la Rosa were pummeled by the Fish and Sanchez, 12-2; Rem16's Cubbies and Harden swept the Brewers and Bush, 11-4; the Cards and Pineiro were thumped by Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton, 9-4; the Phillies and Kendrick swept Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan, 8-4; the Sailors and Dickey lassoed Texas and Harrison, 8-5; the CWS and Danks were decimated by the Twinkies and Baker, 10-6; and the Snakes and Webb slithered past the Yadgers and Lowe, 2-1.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and former Yank, Jeff Karstens, will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis (Buccos up 3-0 in the 6th); 7:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and E. Santana will face our Yankees and Ponson; and the A's and Duchscherer will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield; 7:10 p.m., EDT, LW's MountainMen and Jimenez will play against the Fish and Volstad; and the Tigers and Miner will contend against the Rays and Kazmir; 7:30 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Suppan will vie against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and James; 7:35 p.m., EDT, Janicelee's Reds and Bailey will meet Tim Russert's Nats and Perez; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Marcum will face Texas and Hunter (in a pitching change from yesterday); and the Mets and Pedro Martinez (returning from berievement leave and the DL) will take on the Astros and Backe; 8:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Vazquez and a debuting Ken Griffey, Jr. will play against KC and Hochevar; and the Tribe and Sowers will contend against the Twinkies and Blackburn; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Cole Hamels will vie against the Cards and Lohse; and 10:40 p.m., EDT, the Arizona Diamondbacks, a/k/a "the Snakes", will meet Kershaw and the Yadgers, a/k/a "the other L.A. team", now coached by ex-Yankee Skipper, Joe Torre, and a debuting Manny Ramirez in Yadgers blue the outfield.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Maholm will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly; 3:55 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Jered Weaver will face our Yankees and Mussina; the CWS and Buehrle will take on KC and Davies; and the Brewers and Sabathia will play against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Morton; 6:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will contend against the Rays and Sonnenstine; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Eveland will vie against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester; and the Mets and Santana will meet the Astros and Oswalt; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will meet the Twinkies and Slowey; Janicelee's Reds and Fogg will face Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann; and LW's MountainMen and de los Santos will take on the Fish and Nolasco; 7:15 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Blanton will play against the Cards and Looper; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Burnett will contend against Texas and Feldman; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and the Unit will vie against the Yadgers and Kuroda.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Friday, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Reas' Angels tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

gramvof14

08-01-2008, 07:02 PM

Hi Fiat and thanks for the updates,:happy0207: I have been pretty busy with family matters. I have a break for a little while thank goodness. Well Manny is gone and I for one am very glad, I think he was very disruptive to the team, great hitter but on his terms, when he felt like playing he played when he didn't want to play he didn't good luck to LA.:groan:

Fiatjustitia

08-02-2008, 08:44 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your MountainMen against the Fish tonight!), Janicelee (Good Luck for your Reds against the Nats tonight!), GramV (Hi! And belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox against the A's again tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Brewskis this afternoon!), Rem16 (Good luck for your Cubbies against the Buccos this afternoon!), Reas (Congrats on the win and Good Luck to your Angels against our Yankees this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

GramV, great to see you again! And hope your real life distractions have all been pleasant ones. I see from HFTM's NASCAR thread that you had a birthday on July 29th! All my best wishes that the celebration is an ongoing one for you with your family and friends.:zm10:

I felt sorry for Manny as I do for any athlete who was supremely talented in their prime and can't seem to face that their "value" diminishes with age and infirmity in the cruel world of professional sports. How well they deal with the eventual downside depends on their level of maturity and that of the people around them. :friends3:

Manny got his point across in a very big way, and certainly got what he wanted. If the payoff is a big contract with the Yadgers or another team next season, he will have succeeded in a very big way. But, now he will carry the sort of "T.O." baggage that will make people take him less seriously in the long run, an unfortunate consequence of throwing a tantrum to get his own way.:madranting94dp:

But, Manny was never one people were inclined to take seriously anyway, and his talent has always done the talking for him wherever he's played. I join with you in wishing him all the best and hope his talent and body will not fail him and that this effort to score a big money deal through the end of his career will not have been a waste.:71526:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston both won their games yesterday, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (64-44, .593); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (62-48, .564) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees 59-50 (.541) - 5.5 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the Twinkies (61-48, .560) at .5 GB, and then our Yankees at 2.5 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (69-40; .632); followed by Rem16's Cubbies (65-45; .591); the Rays; the CWS (61-47; .565); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston; the Twinkies; the Brewers (61-49, .555); the Cards (62-50; .554); and our Yankees in a tie with the Phillies at (59-50, .541).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers and the Cards - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Phillies, the Mets (58-51; .532) and the Fish (58-52; .527), with the Mets and Fish behind the Phillies in the NL East division race still at 1 and 1.5 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers remain tied with the Cards for the lead in the NL Wild Card race, followed by the Mets at 2.5 GB and the Fish at 3 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) Manny being Manny debuted in Yadgers' blue last night and got two hits even though the Snakes and the Unit won the game, 2-1.:021:

There are plenty of articles offering commentary on the meaning of Manny's new duds all over the net today and here are links to a couple of those:

Here's a link to a piece from espn.com's Eric Neel describing Manny's debut in Yadgers' blue:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=neel_eric&id=3515904

And, here's a link to a piece from foxsports.com's Mark Kriegel querying whether Manny will be of much help to his new team:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8405020/Manny-beginning-new-chapter-in-Dodger-blue

2) And, the brilliant Francisco Liriano has finally been rescued from minor league oblivion by the Twinkies and has replaced El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez (10-8, .548 ERA), in the starting rotation, and Livan's been cut from the team. :104511: If Yankees' Central is still in a rescuing mood, I'd love to see Livan wearing pinstripes like his big brother before him.:innocent0001:

Here's a link to the brief report on Francisco's rescue and Livan's ostracism, for those who would like to see it:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8404160/Twins-promote-Liriano,-cut-Hernandez,-Monroe

3) And, Janicelee and all Junior Griffey fans will be happy to know that he contributed two RBI's to the CWS' 4-2 win over KC last night and here's a link to a piece posted at espn.com reporting on that happy story and announcing how thrilled Junior is to be in Chicago.:basic44::

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3515314

***

NYT's RECAP OF YESTERDAY'S GAME:

Now for the nytimes.com's Joshua Robinson's recap of last night's brilliantly pitched (by both the Yanks' Sidney Ponson and LA's Ervin Santana) loss, aptly entitled, "Shut Down and Closed Out":

"With 16 zeros stacked across the Yankee Stadium scoreboard after eight innings, the pitchers’ duel seemed set to give way to a closers’ showdown Friday night. Ervin Santana and Sidney Ponson (with one inning of help from his bullpen) had kept the Yankees and the Angels deadlocked for eight innings. It was time for the top two closers in the American League, Mariano Rivera and Francisco Rodríguez, to face off.

'Both sides were dealing,' Angels center fielder Torii Hunter said. 'The pitching duel was sick today. And it came down to the closers.'

On a tense evening that kept virtually all of the 53,799 fans glued to their seats through the ninth, Rivera blinked first. Rodríguez did not blink at all. He sat down all three Yankees he faced to hold on to the 1-0 victory and leave the Yankees wondering what had happened to the eight-game winning streak that carried them through last week. The Yankees have lost five of their last six, including two against the Angels.

'They can win games a lot of different ways and we’ve seen two ways already,' Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said.

Rivera started the ninth with an uncharacteristic walk to Mark Teixeira — 'It’s got to be a full moon when he walks somebody,' Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said — and Teixeira was replaced with the pinch-runner Reggie Willits. A single by Vladimir Guerrero made Willits the second Angels runner to reach third base all night, and another base hit by Hunter off a wayward cutter scored Willits.

'I saw it and my eyes got pretty big,' Hunter said of the pitch.

Before Friday night, Hunter had been 1 for 6 against Rivera, with five strikeouts. The Yankees will not have to worry about Hunter, who hit a three-run home run Thursday night, hurting them again this weekend. He will skip the next two games to travel to Pine Bluff, Ark., for his grandmother’s funeral.

It was Rivera’s fourth loss of the season, and all four have come in non-save situations.

Rodríguez began the bottom of the inning by striking out Alex Rodriguez with a changeup. 'It was the first changeup he ever threw me,' A-Rod said. Jason Giambi and Robinson Cano flied out to end the game. With 45 saves, Rodríguez is comfortably on pace to break the single-season save record of 57.

But if the Angels’ rock-solid pitching performance was expected, Ponson’s excellent seven innings came as a bit of a surprise.

With every pitch, all 258 pounds of Ponson eased their way back and forth across the mound, like a great pendulum in the middle of the diamond. Ponson, the same pitcher who was rocked in Boston last Sunday — seven runs in four innings — was suddenly a picture of stability, filling the batters’ view with his broad shoulders, broader waist and a steady stream of elusive sinkers.

Ponson did not allow a hit until the fifth, though it took two impressive plays in the fourth to keep his no-hit bid alive. Wilson Betemit speared Maicer Izturis’s fizzing line drive down the first-base line before Bobby Abreu shagged Hunter’s deep fly at the wall with two outs. Neither of the nifty defensive plays was as striking as Melky Cabrera’s running grab over his head in the seventh.

Girardi said before the game that he expected Ponson’s sinkers to turn into ground ball outs. Only five did. In his seven innings, Ponson recorded 15 fly-ball outs. And if a few of those had been any longer, he might have been staring at his third loss of the season.

'They know I throw the ball over the plate,' Ponson said. 'I don’t strike people out. I’m a contact pitcher. I work fast and I keep those guys on their toes.'

But his shutout pitching concealed some less impressive control. Of his 96 pitches, Ponson threw only 48 for strikes.

Santana, less physically imposing than Ponson at 185 pounds, was more commanding. He powered through eight innings while throwing 118 pitches, 73 for strikes. He scattered five hits and struck out eight Yankees with his pinpoint fastball.

Abreu did his part to try to give the Yankees a run leading off the bottom of the fourth. He lined a fastball into right field and stole second after Alex Rodriguez fouled out. After a Giambi flyout, Abreu took third on a wild pitch — the only Yankee base runner to advance past second. But Canó flied out to end the inning.

Damaso Marte replaced Ponson for the eighth and efficiently kept the Angels at bay, but Santana returned and struck out two in the eighth, including Abreu for the third out with a runner on first. And as he marched off the mound, he kissed his bright red glove. Though, just for a moment, he looked as if he could be blowing smoke off a gun barrel."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/sports/baseball/02yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trades that were made before the deadline on Thursday [noting here again that this page hasn't been updated since last weekend - Ben must be on vacation - and if it should happen today and the link changes, Ben's "rumors"' site is accessible on the right under the headlines on foxsports.com's opening page].:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Buccos and former Yankee, Jeff Karstens (in a winning debut) blanked Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis, 3-0; the A's and Duchscherer were edged by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (with the winning run contributed by the debuting former Bucco, Jason Bay) and the knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, 2-1; LW's MountainMen and Jimenez fried the Fish and Volstad, 5-2; the Tigers and Miner were stung by the Rays and Kazmir, 5-2; the Brewers and Suppan bageled Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and James, 9-0; Janicelee's Reds and Bailey went down to Tim Russert's Nats and Perez, 5-2; Toronto and Marcum were narrowly defeated by Texas and Hunter, 9-8; the Mets and Pedro Martinez were thumped by the Astros and Backe, 7-3; the CWS and Vazquez, with two ribbies from the debuting Ken Griffey, Jr., beat KC and Hochevar, 4-2; the Tribe and Sowers were baked by the Twinkies and Blackburn, 4-1; the Phillies and Cole Hamels were old maided by the Cards and Lohse, 6-3; the Arizona Diamondbacks, a/k/a "the Snakes", and the Unit bested Kershaw and the Yadgers, a/k/a "the other L.A. team", now coached by ex-Yankee Skipper, Joe Torre, 2-1, with the debuting Manny Ramirez getting two hits in his new Yadgers blue uniform.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Maholm will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly; 3:55 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Jered Weaver will face our Yankees and Mussina; the CWS and Buehrle will take on KC and Davies; and the Brewers and Sabathia will play against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Morton; 6:10 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Rogers will contend against the Rays and Sonnenstine; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the A's and Eveland will vie against GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester; and the Mets and Santana will meet the Astros and Oswalt; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Byrd will meet the Twinkies and Slowey; Janicelee's Reds and Fogg will face Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann; and LW's MountainMen and de los Santos will take on the Fish and Nolasco; 7:15 p.m., EDT, the Phillies and Blanton will play against the Cards and Looper; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Burnett will contend against Texas and Feldman; and 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and the Unit will vie against the Yadgers and Kuroda.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Lackey will meet our Yankees and Rasner; 1:10 p.m., EDT, LW's MountainMen and Rusch will face the Fish and Olsen; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the A's and Braden will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Brewskis and Sheets will play against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo; and Janicelee's Reds and Cueto will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Balester; 1:40 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Galarraga will vie against the Rays and Shields; 2:05 p.m., EDT, the Mets and Maine will meet the Astros and Wolf; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Richard will face KC and Greinke; and the Tribe and Ginter will take on the Twinkies and a returning Francisco Liriano (replacing El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, who, in turn, has been designated for assignment); 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Snell will play against Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Davis will contend against the Yadgers and Johnson; 8:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Purcey will vie against Texas and Mendoza; and the Phillies and Moyers will meet the Cards and Wellemeyer.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Saturday, weekend and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Reas' Angels this afternoon!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Reasonable

08-02-2008, 01:59 PM

Yadgers :confused:

You're killing me. I've been here 29 years and never heard that one either :67302:
I have heard of the Twinkies :happy0158:

I remember Ponson from Texas days and I was stunned at how good he was last night. No one makes you chew your nails like Frankie :hide:

I can't even remember the last time he went 1 2 3.

Weaver :a1chic:

Cya later & thanks for a great report and good luck today with Mussina!

Reas

TobyTiger

08-02-2008, 02:34 PM

Greetings, Fiat!

Thanks for last night's recap...needless to say I was away from the computer!

However I am here today anticipating a WIN!
:zm10:

TobyTiger

08-02-2008, 11:59 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

MUSSINA RETIRES 17 STRAIGHT IN YANKS WIN (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280802110)

Mike Mussina got a big assist from his catcher and shut down the surging Angels. Mussina retired the final 17 batters he faced in seven solid innings, Jose Molina hit one of New York's four home runs and the Yankees snapped Los Angeles' five-game winning streak with an 8-2 victory Saturday. After two nights of being outclassed by the Angels in every aspect of the game, the Yankees rebounded with a complete win of their own despite missing Robinson Cano from the starting lineup.

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

:happy0207:

Fiatjustitia

08-03-2008, 12:51 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your MountainMen against the Fish this afternoon!), Janicelee (Good Luck for your Reds against the Nats this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox for a threepeat against the A's this afternoon!), Sunstar and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against the Brewskis this afternoon!), Rem16 (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Buccos this afternoon!), Reas (Hi! and Good Luck for your Angels against our Yankees this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for the recap, Toby! And Wow! What a game! Four home runs - one each from A-Rod, Bobby Abreu, Wilson Betemit and Jose Molina and then good 'ol Moose's retiring 17 Angels before he left the field! Our blessed boys in pinstripes got Jered Weaver's number early and never let up! Woooo Hoooooooooo!!!:zm10::zm10:

When it comes to playing a team as good as Reas' Angels, it does NOT get any better than this!:s1gyahoo:

And, Reas, the Yadgers' nickname was invented only last year by an MLB newsie describing Yankees' fans who would continue rooting for Joe Torre after he went to the Dodgers. It started with "Yadgers' fans", which is where our name for the team came from.

But, when this season started, I couldn't remember exactly what the nickname was and Toby pored over the old IS thread and found it and we've been using it ever since.:6u8ky2o:

And, it was YOU who named the "Twinkies" - and I borrowed it and we've been using it ever since.:happy0158:

Am smiling here, given how adept we've all been at coming up with nicknames for the teams, that, now Manny's wearing Yadgers' blue, GramV might pop in with the suggestion we start calling them the "Boyadgers" instead.:67302:

And, your feelings about Jered Weaver are similar to what mine were about Mike Mussina last year. One game, absolutely brilliant. Next time out, falling flat on his face.:faintTHUD: Thank God, after studying the Phils' Jamie Moyer, Moose has become a 14 game winner this year.

Here's looking forward to seeing how things go when your John Lackey goes up against our Darrell Rasner today!:basic45:

I know Lackey was brilliant with that no-no in Boston, but, it wouldn't surprise me to find Toby, Ohno and our Yankees' fans' readers joining me in the small hope for your unfailingly brilliant John Lackey to - fall flat on his face in Yankee Stadium today.:innocent0001:

But, if he doesn't and your Angels :innocent0002: kick our behinds instead :104511:, we'll be seeing them this coming weekend and bringing our Joba Chamberlain with us!:basic44:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston both won their games again yesterday, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (65-44, .596); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (63-48, .568) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees (60-50, .545) - 5.5 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the Twinkies (61-49, .555), now at 1.5 GB, and then our Yankees still at 2.5 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (69-41, .627); followed by the Rays; Rem16's Cubbies (66-45, .595); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston; the CWS (61-48, .560); the Brewers (62-49, .559); the Twinkies; the Cards (62-51, .549); and our Yankees in a tie with the Phillies at (60-50, .545).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers and the Cards - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Phillies, the Fish (59-52, .532) and the Mets (58-52; .527) with the Fish and the Mets behind the Phillies in the NL East division race now at 1.5 and 2 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers now lead the NL Wild Card race with the Cards at 1 GB, followed by the Fish at 3 GB and the Mets at 3.5 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites today includes reports that:

1) 72 former Yankees - including Yogi, Reggie, Goose, Dave Winfield and Willie Randolf (who received an extended warm welcome :love0085: when he walked onto the field) - returned to play in the last of the annual Old Timers' Games to be played in the old Yankee Stadium.

Here's a link to a recap of the game and this lovely occasion from the NYT's Billy Altman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/baseball/03oldtimers.html?adxnnl=1&ref=baseball&adxnnlx=1217779614-meHv8LsEQcGi6AiJRKV4gA

2) And, before speculation heats up about who will become the buyer of Rem16's Cubbies, here's a link to a piece posted by Richard Sandomir at nytimes.com querying, "[Mark] Cuban wants Cubs, But Will Baseball Want Him?"::0009:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/baseball/03cubs.html?ref=baseball

***

NYT's RECAP OF YESTERDAY'S GAME:

Now for the nytimes.com's Joshua Robinson's recap of last night's win, fittingly entitled: "Yankees Find Offense, and Mussina Does the Rest":

"After watching his team throw away its best pitching performance of the homestand on Friday night, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi mused that the Angels knew how to win games in a lot of different ways.

On Friday, the Angels used brilliant pitching to edge the Yankees. The night before, they had simply bludgeoned them. So on Saturday, the Yankees took on the Angels on both fronts with an outstanding performance from starter Mike Mussina and a show of offensive power that could make their remaining seven games against the Angels a little easier to bear.

'Everybody who put on the uniform thought this was an important game today,' Mussina said.

Wilson Betemit, Bobby Abreu, Jose Molina and A-Rod homered against Angels starter Jered Weaver in an 8-2 victory, giving the Yankees their first four-homer game since May. With each homer, Weaver’s frustration seemed to bubble a little more as he threw his arms down and wrung his hands when the ball cleared the fence.

It was that kind of relentless offense that carried the Yankees through an eight-game winning streak after the All-Star break and got them back into the race in the American League East. But that was before they lost five of six games last week, a spell that culminated with Mariano Rivera’s surrendering the winning run in Friday’s loss to the Angels.

After being outclassed by the Angels in the first two games of the series, the Yankees could take Saturday’s victory as a reassuring sign that the Angels — with the majors’ best record and a 37-29 mark against the Yankees since 2002 — are mortal.

'We haven’t looked very good for about a week now,' Mussina said. 'We needed to win a ballgame. These guys have always given us trouble. They really stuck it to us the first night and then won a tough game the second night, so it was a big deal to go out and win today.'

After allowing two runs in the second, Mussina never seemed seriously troubled by the Angels as he coolly defanged their offense. He struck out Chone Figgins to end the second, the first of 16 straight hitters he retired before leaving after the seventh. He gave up two hits and one earned run and struck out five for his 14th victory.

'Hey, it just means it’s one more than 13,' he said. 'I hope I’m not done yet. I’m going to keep going. I’m not going to stop here because it’s better than last year was.'

The 39-year-old Mussina has the most victories on the Yankees’ staff this season. And with the Old-Timers’ Day game scheduled earlier Saturday afternoon, Mussina joked that he was going to start that one, too.

'When he was younger and his arm had more velocity, he had great command of all his pitches,' Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. 'That why he was a perennial Cy Young award candidate. He has changed his approach but still has uncanny command, an ability to change speeds and to make his pitches.'

Weaver, who had won both of his previous starts at Yankee Stadium, seemed virtually unhittable in the first two innings. With his deceptive off-speed pitches, aided by a generous strike zone, he struck out the first four batters he faced. But by the fourth inning, the Yankees’ offense had found a gear that had all but gone missing over the past week, and saddled Weaver with four runs, six hits and a two-run deficit.

The Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the third after Molina, who went 3 for 3, scored on Derek Jeter’s double-play ball. Abreu tacked on a run by crushing a pitch over the fence in right, his fourth homer in four games. Since the All-Star break, Abreu is batting .362 with 5 home runs and 16 runs batted in.

Molina chipped in with a homer in the fifth, his first of the season and first in 221 at-bats.

'When he hit that home run,' Girardi said, 'it seemed like I used to see him do that a lot against us when he was with the Angels.'

By then Weaver looked ragged and frustrated, his failings only magnified by Mussina’s effectiveness. After Weaver allowed a home run to Rodriguez and a walk to Jason Giambi, Scioscia went to the bullpen, which gave up two more runs. Meanwhile, the Yankees’ pitching went according to plan.

Although Mussina wanted to pitch the eighth, Girardi brought in Jose Veras, who allowed a walk before striking out the side. Brian Bruney, who was making his first appearance since he injured his foot on April 22 in Chicago, worked the ninth. With a six-run cushion, Bruney made sure that the Yankees’ best game in a week did not go to waste.

INSIDE PITCH

Robinson Cano was held out of the lineup Saturday with a sore hand he has been nursing for a week. Sitting in the clubhouse with his left hand wrapped, he said he first felt pain during an at-bat in Boston last Sunday, but that it has not bothered him in the field, only at the plate. In his last six games, he is 3 for 26 with no runs batted in. ... Xavier Nady started in left field after missing Friday night’s game because of swelling in his right quadriceps. He said the swelling had gone down. Nady was replaced in the eighth by pinch-hitter Justin Christian. Manager Joe Girardi said it was a precautionary move."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sports/baseball/03yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS"' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the latest on trades that were made before the deadline on Thursday [noting here again that this page hasn't been updated since last weekend - Ben must be on vacation - and if it should happen today and the link changes, Ben's "rumors"' site is accessible on the right under the headlines on foxsports.com's opening page].:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Buccos and Maholm walked the plank for Rem16's Cubbies and Lilly, 5-1; the CWS and Buehrle were put in the shade by KC and Davies, 9-7; the Brewers and Sabathia pickled Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Morton, 4-2; the Tigers and Rogers were caged by the Rays and Sonnenstine, 9-3; the A's and Eveland were all but annihilated by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Lester, 12-2 - helped by a win powering HR from newcomer Jason Bay; the Mets and Santana were edged by the Astros and Oswalt, 5-4; the Tribe and Byrd circled the wagons of the Twinkies and Slowey, 5-1; Janicelee's Reds and Fogg were decimated by Tim Russert's Nats and Bergmann, 10-6; LW's MountainMen and de los Santos were fried by the Fish and Nolasco, 5-3; the Phillies and Blanton squeaked past the Cards and Looper, 2-1; Toronto and Burnett lassoed and hog-tied Texas and Feldman, 6-4; and the Snakes and the Unit were stomped by the Yadgers and Kuroda, with a HR contributed by newcomer, Manny Ramirez, 4-2.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 1:05 p.m., EDT, Reas' Angels and Lackey will meet our Yankees and Rasner; 1:10 p.m., EDT, LW's MountainMen and Rusch will face the Fish and Olsen; 1:35 p.m., EDT, the A's and Braden will take on GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka; the Brewskis and Sheets will play against Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo; and Janicelee's Reds and Cueto will contend against Tim Russert's Nats and Balester; 1:40 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Galarraga will vie against the Rays and Shields; 2:05 p.m., EDT, the Mets and O.Perez (in a pitching change from yesterday) will meet the Astros and Wolf; 2:10 p.m., EDT, the CWS and Richard will face KC and Greinke; and the Tribe and Ginter will take on the Twinkies and a returning Francisco Liriano (replacing El Duque's kid brother, Livan Hernandez, who, in turn, has been designated for assignment); 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Snell will play against Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano; 4:10 p.m., EDT, the Snakes and Davis will contend against the Yadgers and Johnson; 8:00 p.m., EDT, in a time change from 8:05 p.m., EDT, yesterday, the Phillies and Moyers will vie against the Cards and Wellemeyer; and 8:05 p.m., EDT, Toronto and Purcey will meet Texas and Mendoza.

Tomorrow, a small pleasure craft full of teams will be off and will begin series on Tuesday against the teams whose names appear in parentheses after theirs: the CWS and Tigers (against each other); Mets (Pads); and the Cards and Yadgers (against each other). Monday's complete schedule of MLB games is: 6:07 p.m., EDT, the A's and Smith will meet Toronto and Halladay; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Moehler will face Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Brewskis and Parra will take on Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; and the Tribe and Lee will play against the Rays and Garza; 8:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain will contend against Texas and Padilla; 8:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston will vie against KC and Meche; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will meet LW's MountainMen and Cook; 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Herrera will face the Snakes and Haren; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Sarfate will take on Reas' Angels and Saunders; 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Twinkies and Perkins will take on the M's and Batista; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will play against SF and Cain.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Sunday and baseball for All of You and another win for our Yankees against Reas' Angels this afternoon!

Fiat

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

08-03-2008, 01:31 PM

Greetings, Fiat!

Yes that certainly would've been a great game to watch yesterday!

Hopefully our Yankees will do as well today!

Currently, however, in the 2nd inning the Angels are ahead 2-0.

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

08-03-2008, 05:30 PM

YANKEES ERUPT IN 8TH, SPLIT SERIES WITH ANGELS (http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/gameTrax?gameId=280803110&MSNHPHMA)

Xavier Nady homered and had a career-high six RBIs, rallying the New York Yankees past the sloppy Los Angeles Angels 14-9 in a wild, back-and-forth game Sunday. Mark Teixeira hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning for his first home run with Los Angeles, but New York took advantage of uncharacteristically poor defense by the Angels to score six times in the bottom half and complete its largest comeback of the season. Ivan Rodriguez hit his first homer for the Yankees, starting their improbable rally from a five-run deficit against ace John Lackey.

:zm10::zm10::zm10:

Good work, Pudge!

:happy0207:

TobyTiger

08-03-2008, 10:24 PM

BRAVES ANNOUNCER SKIP CARAY DIES (http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/08/03/skip_caray_dies.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab)

Published on: 08/03/08

Skip Caray made the call when the Atlanta Braves won the World Series in 1995: "Yes! Yes! Yes! The Atlanta Braves have given you a championship! Listen to this crowd!"

He made the call when Sid Bream scored on Francisco Cabrera's pinch-hit to win the National League Championship Series for the Braves in 1992: "Here comes Bream! Here's the throw to the plate! He iiiiiiiisssssssss ... safe! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! ... Braves win!"

Oldest son Chip, who rejoined the Braves broadcast lineup in 2005, often working with the man he called 'my dad and my hero.' Skip Caray, who was in his 33rd year calling games for the Braves died Sunday.

And he made the call in the late innings of a lousy game in the lost season of 1979: "You have our permission to turn off the TV and go to bed now ... as long as you promise to patronize our sponsors."

Harry Christopher "Skip" Caray Jr. moved from St. Louis to Atlanta in the 1960s partly to escape the professional shadow of his father, the iconic and inimitable baseball broadcaster Harry Caray. Over the next four decades, with a style very much his own, Skip Caray became as much the voice of baseball in the Southeast as his father had been in the Midwest.

Caray died in his sleep early Sunday at his Atlanta home, the Braves announced. He was 68.

Caray first came south to broadcast Atlanta Crackers minor-league baseball games in 1964, returned for good to broadcast Atlanta Hawks basketball games in 1968 and made his mark broadcasting Braves games on radio and television from 1976 until his death. This season was his 33rd in the Braves' booth. He was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame, along with long-time broadcast partner Pete Van Wieren, in 2004.

With his nasally voice, wry and witty delivery, and tongue often in cheek, Caray became an enduring sound of summer in the South. He described more than 4,000 Braves games — from the last-place finishes of the 1970s and '80s through the 14 consecutive division titles of the 1990s and beyond.

He often said he would think of truck drivers as he called a game, doing his best to keep them entertained — and awake — as they made their way across the South.

Caray missed several weeks of work late in the 2007 season because of mounting health problems, and he reduced his broadcast schedule to home games at the start of the 2008 season. He was battling diabetes, congestive heart failure, an irregular heartbeat and reduced kidney and liver functions, he said in April 2008.

"I almost died in October [2007]," Caray told an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter at the Braves' 2008 home opener. But he was on the air that night, vowing to call as many games as he could for as long as he could do the job well.

"When I'm working, I'm fine," he told the AJC. "You know intellectually that you're exhausted, but so what? Concentrate on the game. I know this: I'm not going to embarrass myself. If I can't do this, I'll be the first to know it. I've had a hell of a run, so I've got nothing to complain about. If I die tonight, I've had a great life."

more at the link

Rest in Peace, my friend...
:1222423::1222423::1222423:

Fiatjustitia

08-04-2008, 04:38 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your MountainMen against Tim Russert's Nats tonight!), Janicelee (Good Luck for your Reds against the Brewskis tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on your sweep of the A's and Good luck for your Red Sox against KC tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves against SF tonight), Rem16 (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Astros tonight!), Reas (Good Luck for your Angels against the O's tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Thanks for posting the recap, Toby! Could fill this page with the WOW's! the last two games have been! This one had us down twice and then redeemed by the bat of our newcomer, former Bucco, Xavier Nady, with his career high 6 ribbies to power this win and the fleetfootedness of young Justin Christian, whose base-running initiative allowed us at a most crucial point to breathe again.:happy0158:

The way it looked to me is that, with their 4 fielding errors, Reas' Angels must have run outta gas after playing so long at such a high level. Our pinstriped boys are going to have a different row to hoe when they arrive in LA on Friday and play them again after the Angels get their own wind back.:basic45:

And thank you for posting [just before this summary] the remembrance of legendary Braves' announcer, Skip Caray, who passed too soon at age 68 in his sleep - the way all of us might wish to go.

RIP Skip and thoughts and prayers from all of us for your family, friends and fans, wherever they may be.:1222423:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston both won their games again yesterday, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (66-44, .600); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (64-48, .571) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees (61-50, .550) - 5.5 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the CWS (61-49, .555), at 2 GB, and then our Yankees still at 2.5 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (69-42, .622); followed by the Rays; Rem16's Cubbies (67-45, .598); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston; the Twinkies (62-49, 559); the CWS (61-49, .555); the Brewers (62-50, .554); the Cards (62-51, .549); and our Yankees in a tie with the Phillies at (61-50, .550).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers and the Cards (62-52, .544) - all in the NL Central; the NL East leading Phillies, the Fish (59-53, .527) and the Mets (58-53; .523) with the Fish and the Mets behind the Phillies in the NL East division race now at 2.5 and 3 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers still lead the NL Wild Card race with the Cards remaining at 1 GB, followed by the Fish at 3 GB and the Mets at 3.5 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

In addition to the announcement of Skip Caray's passing, making the rounds at our regular MLB sites on an otherwise slow news day is a report that:

Twins' ace, Francisco Liriano, won his first start last night since being placed on the DL for surgery in 2006 and missing all of 2007. :zm10:

For those of you who have been following Liriano's career ups and downs, here's a link to a piece prominently introduced on the front page of espn.com with a simple, "Hello...Again".:love0085:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/notebook?page=bbtn

***

NYT's RECAP OF YESTERDAY'S GAME:

Now for the nytimes.com's Joshua Robinson's recap of last night's gem, fittingly entitled: "Two Rallies, and No Need for More", with an answer in "Inside Pitch" to the question why Mo Rivera didn't close the game - he was suffering from back spasms:

"After scrambling out of the dirt at third base, the Yankees’ Justin Christian whipped off his helmet and broke for home. Angels catcher Jeff Mathis had tried to prevent him from stealing third, but his throw rolled into left field. Christian, who came in as a pinch-runner on a full count, saw his chance.

When he crossed the plate, he scored the tying run, the first of six runs in a wild eighth inning of an even wilder game. The Yankees fought back from a five-run deficit, then rallied again after an Angels grand slam to win, 14-9, in front of 54,204 mostly ecstatic fans at Yankee Stadium.

Christian, who added a run-scoring single later in the eighth, 'did an unbelievable job,' Manager Joe Girardi said. 'He created runs all by himself, and that’s why we like having him.'

After four innings, the Yankees trailed, 5-0, because of Darrell Rasner’s miserable start. Three innings later, lifted by Xavier Nady’s three-run homer, they had clawed their way to an 8-5 lead.

In the top of the eighth, Edwar Ramírez handed the advantage right back to the Angels by allowing a grand slam to Mark Teixeira. In the bottom half, however, 11 Yankees came to the plate and the Angels committed three errors. Only 5 of the Yankees’ 14 runs were earned as the four-game series ended in a split.

'The Yankees kept coming back, and they took advantage of our mistakes,' Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said.

No one took advantage of those mistakes more than Nady, who went 4 for 5 with a career-high six runs batted in and took his first Yankee Stadium curtain call after his homer in the seventh. He was so surprised, he said, that one of his teammates had to push him up the dugout steps. 'It was an honor,' Nady added.

Nady, who is batting .334, was acquired by the Yankees from the Pirates on July 26 to balance their lineup with right-handed hitting. In that time, he has more than lived up to the faith the Yankees put in him, with 3 home runs and 10 R.B.I. in eight games.

'He’s a guy that can hit probably anywhere in the order,' Girardi said. 'He has power, he’s good in R.B.I. situations, he’s been clutch all year, whether it was in Pittsburgh or here. He makes our lineup better, that’s for sure.'

It was a lineup that produced 13 of its runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings as the Angels had a string of defensive breakdowns and the Yankees dug themselves out of the mess left by Rasner.

Going into the game, Rasner was 2-8 over his previous 11 starts, and his earned run average ballooned to 4.92, from 1.80. It took another serious blow on Sunday, jumping to 5.23. The Angels pounced on him early with seven hits and five runs in the first four innings.

He was replaced in the fifth by Dan Giese, whose three shutout innings laid the foundation for the Yankees’ surge. Carefully shepherded by catcher Ivan Rodríguez, who hit his first home run as a Yankee in the fifth, he allowed one hit and two walks.

'He gave me all the confidence because I knew I could trust him,' Giese said of the newly acquired Rodríguez, adding, 'We were just learning each other as the game went on.'

The comeback started in earnest in the sixth as the Yankees trailed, 5-1. Nady’s ground-rule double drove in two runs, and Wilson Betemit’s run-scoring groundout made it 5-4. Suddenly the Yankees were within striking distance.

Derek Jeter led off their four-run seventh inning by getting to second base with help from a surprising error by Gary Matthews Jr. in center field. Chasing down a long fly ball near the warning track, Matthews let the ball bounce off the end of his glove. By the time Ramírez came in to pitch the eighth, the Yankees were in front, 8-5.

By comparison to Giese, Ramírez was nothing short of a disaster. After earning two quick outs, he allowed three straight hitters to get on base before leaving a fastball over the plate for Teixeira. With one swing, he turned the game again and gave the Angels a 9-8 lead. It was his fourth career grand slam.

'We’re asking for big outs from some young guys down there, and that’s part of their maturation process,' Girardi said. 'It’s something they have to go through.'

The Yankees created some distance in the eighth, scoring twice on Angels errors and single runs on R.B.I. hits from Robinson Cano, Nady and Christian.

But it all started when Christian came barreling down the third-base line, his helmet left somewhere in the dust.

INSIDE PITCH

Mariano Rivera was not available to close the game after having back spasms. He said he first felt them Friday night, after he allowed the winning run. Rivera traveled with the team to Texas and was scheduled to be re-evaluated Monday. ... Carl Pavano and Phil Hughes, who are rehabilitating injuries, pitched for the second time Saturday for Class A Charleston. Pavano started and gave up one run and five hits in three innings. Hughes was far more impressive in three and two-thirds innings. He allowed one hit and a walk, and struck out five. ... Robinson Cano came into the game in the eighth inning on Sunday after missing Saturday’s game with bruising and swelling in his left hand. He said he was first injured last Sunday in Boston."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/sports/baseball/04yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS"' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including the announcement that our Jason "The Giambino" Giambi has decided to shave off his lucky mustache because it hasn't been lucky for him lately.:lex_10::

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#6

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: LW's MountainMen and Rusch hooked the Fish and Olsen, 3-2; the A's and Braden were swept by GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Matsuzaka, 5-2; the Brewskis and Sheets were bageled by Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Campillo, 5-0; Janicelee's Reds and Cueto were swept by Tim Russert's Nats and Balester, 4-2; the Tigers and Galarraga lost in a squeaker to the Rays and Shields, 6-5; the Mets and O.Perez were blanked and swept by the Astros (for the first time since 1993) and Wolf, 4-0; the CWS and Richard were decked and nearly K.O.'d by KC and Greinke, 14-3; the Tribe and Ginter were dunked by the Twinkies and a returning Francisco Liriano, 6-2; the Buccos and Snell were sent to Davey Jones locker by Rem16's Cubbies and Zambrano, 8-5; the Snakes and Davis were pummeled by the Yadgers and Johnson in a game that included 4 hits from Manny, 9-3; the Phillies and Moyers beat the Cards and Wellemeyer, 5-4; and Toronto and Purcey lost the farm and the horses to Texas and Mendoza, 8-4.

Today, a small pleasure craft full of teams will be off and will begin series tomorrow against the teams whose names appear in parentheses after theirs: the CWS and Tigers (against each other); Mets (Pads); and the Cards and Yadgers (against each other). Today's complete schedule of MLB games is: 6:07 p.m., EDT, the A's and Gallagher (in a pitching change from yesterday) will meet Toronto and Halladay; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Moehler will face Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Brewskis and Parra will take on Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo; and the Tribe and Lee will play against the Rays and Garza; 8:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Joba Chamberlain will contend against Texas and Padilla; 8:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston will vie against KC and Meche; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Redding will meet LW's MountainMen and Cook; 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Herrera will face the Snakes and Haren; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Sarfate will take on Reas' Angels and Saunders; 10:10 p.m., EDT, the Twinkies and Perkins will take on the M's and Batista; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will play against SF and Cain.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Rodriguez will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Harden; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Johnson will face the Phillies and Moyer; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the A's and Smith will take on Toronto and Richmond; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Brewskis and Bush will play against Janicelee's Reds and Volquez; the Pads and Young will contend against the Mets and Pelfrey; and the Tribe and Carmona will vie against the Rays and Jackson; 8:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Pettitte will meet Texas and Harrison; 8:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett will face KC and Bannister; 8:11 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Robertson will take on the CWS and Floyd; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Billingsley will play against the Cards and Carpenter; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan will contend against LW's MountainMen and De La Rosa; 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Duke will vie against the Snakes and Webb; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Waters will meet Reas' Angels and Garland; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton will face SF and Sanchez.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Monday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Texas tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

sunstar

08-04-2008, 07:56 PM

Rest in Peace, Skip ~ All of us Braves fans will miss you terribly.
:1222423::1222423::1222423::1222423::1222423:

rem16

08-05-2008, 12:40 AM

2) And, before speculation heats up about who will become the buyer of Rem16's Cubbies, here's a link to a piece posted by Richard Sandomir at nytimes.com querying, "[Mark] Cuban wants Cubs, But Will Baseball Want Him?":

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/sp...l?ref=baseball

Thanks for the link Fiat, I will definitely read it.. My Cubbies were rained out tonight by the mother of all thunderstorms and it's still going strong. Very scary. Quite a light show with booming thunder and shooting lightning..

http://bestsmileys.com/weather/3.gif

Cubbies

Fiatjustitia

08-05-2008, 08:52 AM

Greetings to TobyTiger, OhNo, Littlewheels (Good luck for your MountainMen against Tim Russert's Nats tonight!), Janicelee (Congrats on the win and Good Luck for your Reds against the Brewskis again tonight!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Good luck for your Red Sox against KC tonight!), Sunstar (Hi!) and Roenick (Good luck for your Braves against SF tonight), Rem16 (Hi! and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Astros this afternoon!), Reas (Congrats on the win and Good Luck for your Angels against the O's again tonight!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Yes, Sunstar - Skip Caray's passing was sad for Braves' fans and the world of baseball. I mentioned at the beginning of the season - before you joined us - that the Braves are on our "list" because my relatives in Tennesee have loved and followed them for years. They are beside themselves over this loss because they loved Skip's humor and considered him to be like "family". Although he hadn't been well recently, nobody expected this!:1222423:

And Rem16 - it will be interesting to see whether Mark Cuban - a flamboyant character in the NBA as owner of the Dallas Mavericks - will become the owner or a principal owner of your Cubbies and what his presence will do to the Cubbies profile, both professionally and publicity wise.:smile: Hope we won't have to wait much longer to see how the wheeling and dealing for ownership will play out.:z0tdntknw:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays lost to the Tribe and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston lost to KC yesterday, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (66-45, .595); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (64-49, .566) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees (61-51, .545) - 5.5 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the CWS (61-49. 555), tied with the Twinkies (62-50, .554) at 1.5 GB, and then our Yankees still at 2.5 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (70-42, .625); followed by the Rays; Rem16's Cubbies (67-46, .593); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston; the CWS; the Twinkies; the Phillies (61-50, .550); the Brewers (62-51, .549); our Yankees; the Cards (62-52, .544); the Fish (59-53, .527); and the Mets (58-53, .523).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Phillies, the Brewers, the Cards, the Fish and the Mets. The Phillies still lead in the NL East, followed by the Fish and the Mets at 2.5 and 3 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers still lead the NL Wild Card race with the Cards now at .5 GB, followed by the Fish at 2.5 GB and the Mets at 3 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

Besides the passing of longtime Braves' announcer, Skip Caray, making the rounds at our regular MLB sites on another slow news day is a report that:

MLB is investigating reports that young prospects recruited to the majors through a baseball academy located in the Dominican Republic have been required to kick back portions of their signing bonuses to employees from the Yankees, Red Sox, CWS, and Nats, among other teams.

A number of scouts have been fired or placed on leave, and the name of Jim Bowden, of "Ball Four" fame is also somewhere in the mix.

The Yankees are cooperating fully with the investigation - of which we are destined to hear more in the near future. Here's a link to a piece from Michael S. Schmidt at nytimes.com, entitled "Some Yankee Scouts Under Investigation" - filling us in on what's happening now in NY.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/sports/baseball/05scout.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin

And, here's a link to another piece on the subject in general, posted today at espn.com, with the lede: "Bonus Probe Targets a Handful of Teams":

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3519111

***

NYT's RECAP OF YESTERDAY'S GAME:

Now for the nytimes.com's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss of the game, and hopefully not of Joba due to shoulder strain, entitled, "Shoulder, Not Loss, Is Yanks’ Worry":

"Since they first recognized Joba Chamberlain’s extraordinary talent, the Yankees have made him a case study in protecting young pitchers. They have shifted his role from starter to reliever and back again, tracking every inning, all so he could help them while not damaging his golden arm.

But it is all guesswork, and Chamberlain’s shoulder let him know that it was time for a rest during Monday night’s 9-5 loss to the Texas Rangers. Chamberlain was removed from his start at Rangers Ballpark with two outs in the fifth inning with stiffness in the deltoid area of his right shoulder.

Chamberlain will fly to New York on Tuesday morning for tests on his shoulder at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Manager Joe Girardi said Chamberlain would probably miss at least one start.

'I’m optimistic, with the way they stretched and pushed and pulled and did whatever they do as trainers,' Chamberlain said. 'It’s a little stiff, but that’s why I’m going back — to rule everything out.'

Only the loss of a player like Chamberlain could overshadow a difficult loss on the field. Marlon Byrd walloped a game-ending grand slam off Damaso Marte to lift the Rangers to the victory. Marte had faced five batters in the ninth, walking three and retiring two, before Byrd smacked a first-pitch fastball over the wall in center.

'It’s difficult for my team, difficult for me, difficult for everybody,' said Marte, who was the second-to-last available pitcher in the bullpen. Girardi said he would not use Mariano Rivera because of Rivera’s back spasms, or the overworked Jose Veras and Dan Giese.

The Yankees led, 3-0, in the fourth, trailed by a run after the fifth, and tied it on a homer by Xavier Nady in the eighth. But center fielder Josh Hamilton robbed Derek Jeter of a hit on a sinking drive that would have given the Yankees the lead in the top of the ninth, and Marte came undone at the end.

The Yankees did not expect Chamberlain, 22, to emerge as quickly as he has. Last season, as he neared his prescribed innings limit, the Yankees put him in relief to keep his innings down and let him contribute to their pennant drive.

This season, he stayed in relief through mid-May to limit his innings, and then began a gradual transition to the rotation. He has not exceeded seven innings in any of his 12 starts, and he has pitched much the same way he did as a reliever — a few more curveballs, but mostly sliders and high-octane heat.

'Some things you can’t prevent,' Girardi said. 'But we have been careful with Joba.'

There were never any physical problems serious enough to miss time, until now. The Yankees treat shoulder trouble with grave concern, and even a minor hint of it with a budding ace like Chamberlain may cause them to be even more conservative than usual.

'Joba is that dominating pitcher who can anchor your staff, who could be that ace when postseason time comes,' [the sweet] Johnny Damon said. 'We’ll wait and see what the tests show, but with a young kid like that, you can’t take risks. We’ll just have to start counting on some of the young guys.'

Damon mentioned Ian Kennedy, who is pitching well at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He also named Phil Hughes and Carl Pavano, who are recovering from injuries in the minor leagues. Giese has already been tabbed to replace the struggling Darrell Rasner.

It was the second injury in two years sustained by a young Yankees starter in Arlington. Last May, Hughes had to leave a no-hitter in the seventh inning when he strained his hamstring.

Even so, the Yankees came into the series with a 10-game winning streak here, dating to a game in July 2005 when the long-departed Wayne Franklin allowed a go-ahead homer to Hank Blalock. The only active Ranger who played that day was Michael Young.

Young had the biggest hit off Chamberlain in the fifth inning Monday, a three-run homer to right on a 2-0 fastball down the middle. It put the Rangers ahead, 5-4, and it was the second homer Chamberlain allowed in the game; he gave up only two in his first 11 starts.

'You can’t fall behind to Michael Young,' Chamberlain said. 'He makes his living to right-center, and that’s what he did.'

With Young’s blast, Chamberlain squandered a lead built partly on homers by Jason Giambi and Robinson Canó.

He said that he was not bothered by the shoulder when he flipped to the ground to avoid a throw by catcher Iván Rodríguez in the fourth inning. The discomfort began in the fifth, he said, but even then he did not call the trainer out. Only when Girardi noticed Chamberlain shaking his right arm did the Yankees check.

'As a pitcher, unless my arm falls off, I’m probably not going to say anything,' Chamberlain said. 'Sometimes, maybe you should call somebody. It was something that grabbed and popped and got stiff.'

Chamberlain soon amended his description, saying the shoulder did not really pop. If he had more experience with arm injuries, he joked, he might have better words to use.

Naturally, the Yankees hope he never becomes an expert. A healthy Chamberlain is critical to the future of the organization, and the Yankees will learn just how healthy he is on Tuesday."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/sports/baseball/05yankees.html?ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1209639614-BflsmSTGz5h91s11jNPE9A

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS"' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site - the one from yesterday is still up at this writing - at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including reports that Mo Rivera's back problem is being evaluated in Texas and that the Yankees have hired the retired Hideo Nomo to be their pitching advisor in Japan in an effort to avoid more Kei Igawa fiascos.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#6

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Recalling that yesterday, the CWS, Tigers, Mets, Cards and Yadgers were off, other scores from Monday's games are: the A's and Gallagher were thumped by Toronto and Halladay, 6-1; the Astros and Moehler narrowly blanked Rem16's Cubbies and Dempster, 2-0; the Brewskis and Parra were clobbered by Janicelee's Reds and Arroyo, 6-3, and then pummeled each other in the dugout afterward; the Tribe and Lee triumphed over the Rays and Garza, 5-2; GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston were edged by KC and Meche, 4-3; Tim Russert's Nats and Redding vanquished LW's MountainMen and Cook, 9-4; the Buccos and Herrera surrendered their booty (but not their honor) to the Snakes and Haren, 13-7; the O's and Sarfate lost in a squeaker to Reas' Angels and Saunders, 6-5; the Twinkies and Perkins were marooned by the Sailors and Batista, 11-6; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves lost to SF and Cain, 4-2.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Rodriguez will meet Rem16's Cubbies and Harden; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Johnson will face the Phillies and Moyer; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the A's and Smith will take on Toronto and Richmond; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Brewskis and Bush will play against Janicelee's Reds and Volquez; the Pads and Young will contend against the Mets and Pelfrey; and the Tribe and Carmona will vie against the Rays and Jackson; 8:05 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Pettitte will meet Texas and Harrison; 8:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett will face KC and Bannister; 8:11 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Robertson will take on the CWS and Floyd; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Billingsley will play against the Cards and Carpenter; 9:05 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan will contend against LW's MountainMen and De La Rosa; 9:40 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and Duke will vie against the Snakes and Webb; 10:05 p.m., EDT, the O's and Waters will meet Reas' Angels and Garland; and 10:15 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton will face SF and Sanchez.

Tomorrow's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 12:35 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Suppan will meet Janicelee's Reds and Bailey; 12:40 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Sowers will face the Rays and Kazmir; 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Backe will take on Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis; 3:35 p.m., EDT, the O's and Olson will play against Reas' Angels and E. Santana; 3:40 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and former Yankee, Jeff Karstens, will contend against the Snakes and the Unit; 3:45 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will vie against SF and Lincecum; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Sanchez will meet the Phillies and Kendrick; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the A's and Duchscherer will face Toronto and Marcum; 7:10 p.m., EDT, the Pads and Baek will take on the Mets and Pedro Martinez; 8:00 p.m., EDT, our Yankees and Ponson will play against Texas and Hunter; 8:10 p.m., EDT, GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will contend against KC and Hochevar; 8:11 p.m., EDT, the Tigers and Verlander will vie against the CWS and Danks; 8:15 p.m., EDT, the Yadgers and Lowe will meet the Cards and Pineiro; and 9:05 p.m., EDT, Tim Russert's Nats and Perez will face LW's MountainMen and Francis.

***

That's all for today, Everybody, and here's to a great Tuesday and baseball for All of You and a win for our Yankees against Texas tonight!

Fiat

:happy0207:

Reasonable

08-05-2008, 01:30 PM

Fiatjustitia

08-05-2008, 04:18 PM

Hi Fiat and everyone else!

I have been sick and it took me forever to catch up on your reports. Nice job as always. I am late with the congrats to your team for, well humiliation is a good word. lol

I am going to the game tonight if I have to be taken on a stretcher :groan:

Garland will face the Oreos. A team that can beat anyone anytime.

Sorry to hear about Joba. I do wish him well. I know what it's like to have a main player out on injury. Sounds like he may get better sooner rather than later.
I don't know how the Yankees or Texas could stand that heat last night. I was talking to my daughter who lives there and she said it was beyond miserable.
Your Yanks will be very happy to play here where the weather has been great with nice cool evenings :smile:

I was reading an article yesterday that said about the Angels "The Los Angeles Team that operates out of Anaheim" :lex_10:

Fans have been angry about that since Moreno bought the team and changed its name.
It's all about money and Moreno bought up all the Los Angeles hispanic radio stations and figured he'd lure more fans from that base by changing the name of the team. Grrrrrrrrr
I do like Moreno but I don't like that.

I'm rambling. Must be the meds :francis:

Good luck to all tonight and hope that I can give you a full report from being at the game.

Reas

Hi Reas!:hifive:

I won't keep you as you must get your rest before going to the ballpark for tonight's game.

Thanks so much for your kind words about the summaries and for more of your insights about your Angels :innocent0002: and Arte Moreno and the team.

Looking forward to hearing all about the game and good luck against the Oreo's [wow! another neat nickname!] again. From the Yanks' travails against them, I too think of Baltimore as one of MLB's "stealth" teams who can play way over their heads when they're up against the best!:smile:

Am hoping all is well with Joba's shoulder too - they've nursed him along in hopes of not putting too much on him since the beginning, and now this. He is still scheduled to start against Lackey on Saturday afternoon and am praying hard he still will!:innocent0001:

And, yes - Texas is an oven right now. I have cousins living in Houston and they're on air conditioning life support as we speak! LOL

We lived on the base in Wichita Falls for two years or so when my Dad was in the Air Force - yup, I'm a military brat - and all I remember about the place was the horrendous heat, terrible blisters on my too fair skin and hideous dust storms that came from out of nowhere! :groan:

Have lived a lotta places, but none brings out the superlatives like Texas. And Plattsburgh, NY, which was as cold as Texas was hot. LOL :45024:

But, unlike Plattsburgh, I never, ever had a desire to go back to Texas!:67302: So, it goes without saying that I have great empathy for your daughter as a resident of the Lone Star state and the poor Yankees who are playing there this week.:021:

Those last two games in "the Stadium" were fabulous - as were the two you won.:yes2: When you get top level play combined with all that energy and excitement, it's what keeps ya' comin' back for more!:happy0158:

Needless to say, it promises to be another great Angels v. Yankees series this weekend and I'm really looking forward to watching it!:s1gyahoo:

Well, take care and be well - no need to wish you a great time at the game because we know it's always fun for you and your family, as it is for us :basic44: to read your thoughts about everything that happened when you get back!:6u8ky2o:

Fiat:happy0207::zm10:
.

TobyTiger

08-05-2008, 11:42 PM

GREETINGS, FIAT!

NO JOY TONIGHT IN TEXAS...

RANGERS 8, YANKEES 6 (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,398005,00.html)

:groan:

Fiatjustitia

08-06-2008, 01:04 PM

Greetings to TobyTiger (Hi!), OhNo, Littlewheels (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your MountainMen against Tim Russert's Nats tonight!), Janicelee (Good Luck for your Reds against the Brewskis this afternoon!), GramV and Barskin&Co (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Red Sox against KC again tonight!), Sunstar and Roenick (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Braves against SF again this afternoon!), Rem16 (Congrats on the win and Good luck for your Cubbies against the Astros again this afternoon!), Reas (Hope you had fun at the game, nonetheless, and Good Luck for your Angels against the O's this afternoon!) and to Everyone Else Who Reads and/or Writes With Us Here,

Yup, Toby, that loss was a bummer. :sad0119: Thanks for posting the bad news last night and here's hoping that Ponson will pull off a win for us against the Rangers tonight!:innocent0001:

***

MLB and OUR YANKEES' STANDINGS' PICTURE FOR TODAY:

Noting that the Rays and GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston won their games yesterday, here's how the AL East standings look today: 1st - Rays (67-45, .598); 2nd - GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston (65-49, .570) - 3 GB; and 3rd - our Yankees (61-52, .540) - 6.5 GB.

Boston still leads in the AL Wild Card race, followed by the Twinkies (62-51, .549) at 2.5 GB, and then our Yankees at 3.5 GB.

Tops in MLB at this moment are Reas' Angels (70-43, .619); followed by the Rays; Rem16's Cubbies (68-46, .596); GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston; the CWS (62-49, .559); the Brewers (63-51, .553); the Twinkies; the Cards (63-52, .548); the Phillies (61-51, .545); our Yankees; the Fish (60-53, .531); and the Mets (59-53, .527).

Tops in the NL as we speak are Rem16's Cubbies; followed by the Brewers, the Cards, the Phillies, the Fish and the Mets. The Phillies still lead in the NL East, followed by the Fish and the Mets, now at 1.5 and 2 GB, respectively.

The Milwaukee Brewers still lead the NL Wild Card race with the Cards still at .5 GB, followed by the Fish at 2.5 GB and the Mets at 3 GB.

***

TODAY'S MLB NEWS:

News making the rounds at our regular MLB sites include reports that:

1) The Yankees have sent Joba Chamberlain to see an orthopedist and have become veritable clams regarding comment on the condition of Joba's shoulder, most likely because they'd rather wait and hear what it is from the doctor first. :nocomment:

Here's a link to a piece posted by Tyler Kepner at nytimes.com sharing the information he's been able to glean about Joba's condition thus far.:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/sports/baseball/06pins.html?ref=baseball

2) Given that injuries to key players at this point in the season can undermine the chances of teams to prevail in the pennant races, here's foxsports.com's Dayn Perry playing doctor and "diagnosing" how the injury picture so far might impact the contenders' hopes for post-season play.:smiley_aasg::

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8412438/Which-playoff-hopefuls-are-hurting?

3) And for a look at how GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston is faring right now, here's espn.com's Rick Sutcliffe discussing how baseball goes in Beantown, now that Manny's left town.:missing::

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/notebook?page=bbtn

***

NYT's RECAP OF YESTERDAY'S GAME:

Now for the nytimes.com's Tyler Kepner's recap of last night's loss, entitled, "Lost Trip So Far Has the Yankees Losing Ground", in which Tyler also relates, in "Inside Pitch", that the Yankees will be in Oklahoma City today for a memorial service for the late great Yankees' player and YES announcer, Bobby Murcer:1222423::

"The Yankees are halfway through the first leg of their three-city trip, and so far things could not be going worse. On Monday, their young ace hurt his shoulder. On Tuesday, their stalwart left-hander fell flat against the Texas Rangers.

A night after Joba Chamberlain left his start with shoulder stiffness, Andy Pettitte allowed five runs in five innings as the Yankees lost, 8-6, in a sloppy game at Rangers Ballpark. The teams combined for 17 walks and 4 hit batters, and Alex Rodriguez hit into two double plays, including one that ended the game when he represented the tying run.

'Joba’s down, we didn’t get a great outing last night, and it’s my job to go deep in the game,' Pettitte said. 'I take a lot of pride in that, and it’s extremely disappointing when I’m not able to do that. It hurts. It hurts me in my gut right now. I’m sick.'

It was the seventh loss in 10 games for the Yankees, whose eight-game blitz to start the second half is only a memory. They trail Tampa Bay by six and a half games in the American League East, and stand three and a half games behind Boston for the wild card. With two more losses here, the Yankees would fall behind the Rangers in the wild-card standings.

'It’s critical now,' [the sweet] Johnny Damon said. 'We had an opportunity last night to inch closer, and both of the other teams ended up winning tonight. It’s not a good combination.'

Pettitte was hit hard by the Angels in his last start, when he struggled to find a rhythm with new catcher Ivan Rodríguez. This time, Jose Molina caught Pettitte, but the results were disappointing.

The rookie reliever Dave Robertson took over for Pettitte and struck out four hitters in a row between the sixth and seventh. But other rookies were the stars. The Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison held the Yankees to two runs and five hits over six and a third innings, and first baseman Chris Davis drove in four runs.

A double off the center-field wall by Richie Sexson chased Harrison with one out in the seventh, and reliever Josh Rupe walked pinch-hitter Jason Giambi to load the bases. Instead of using Iván Rodríguez to hit for Justin Christian, Manager Joe Girardi summoned the struggling Melky Cabrera, who popped out.

A walk forced in a run, but the Yankees lost their chance for more when Derek Jeter lined out to second, ending the threat. By the end of the seventh, they were trailing by six, thanks to three walks and Davis’s bases-clearing double off Brian Bruney.

'It was the difference in the game,' Manager Joe Girardi said. 'You get two quick outs and they end up with three runs. Those things kill you, and they killed us tonight.'

Even Sexson’s first Yankees homer — a grand slam in the eighth off C. J. Wilson, who will leave the team to have elbow surgery — could not keep the Yankees from plunging deeper in two postseason races.

Injuries have devastated the Yankees, who will have an easy excuse if they snap their streak of 13 consecutive postseason appearances. But there was no use complaining this time; a rookie with less than a month in the majors was better than Pettitte.

The Yankees often seem to struggle against unfamiliar pitchers, but this year that trend has not held. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, rookie starters were 1-10 with a 5.36 earned run average against the Yankees this season, with Baltimore’s Garrett Olson the only winner.

Harrison was making his sixth start in the majors and lugging a 7.40 E.R.A. As bad as that sounds, it was lower than Pettitte’s career mark at Rangers Ballpark. In six games before Tuesday, Pettitte had an 8.10 E.R.A., allowing 48 hits in 33 1/3 innings.

He struggled again this time, though he nearly escaped the first inning unharmed. With two out and the bases empty, Pettitte got ahead of Michael Young before walking him to face Josh Hamilton. After getting two strikes on Hamilton, the count ran full before Hamilton swatted his 27th home run to right center.

The Rangers have the most productive offense in the majors and they continued to peck away at Pettitte. A leadoff triple by Brandon Boggs led to a run in the second. Marlon Byrd, whose grand slam ended Monday’s game, singled to lead off the fourth and advanced a base at a time. He stole second, took third on a grounder and scored on a sacrifice fly.

Byrd brought himself around again in the sixth, forcing Pettitte from the game. To that point, the Yankees had scored just once off Harrison, when Damon stroked a leadoff triple in the sixth. Otherwise, the Yankees were frustrated offensively, hitting into double plays in the second, third and fourth innings.

INSIDE PITCH

The plate umpire Alfonso Marquez warned both benches after the Yankees’ Jose Veras drilled Josh Hamilton with a pitch in the eighth. The Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez was hit twice earlier in the game. ... The Yankees will have a large group in Oklahoma City on Wednesday for the memorial service of Bobby Murcer, the former player and YES broadcaster who died of brain cancer last month. Executives including General Manager Brian Cashman will fly from New York, and the team has chartered a flight from Texas on Wednesday morning for Manager Joe Girardi and others."

Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/sports/baseball/06yankees.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=baseball&pagewanted=print

***

LINKS TO OUR REGULAR MLB NEWS SITES:

Here are links to the MLB pages at nytimes.com, foxsports.com, ESPN.com and usatoday.com, respectively, for more coverage of these and other reports for today:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/baseball/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/mlb/index

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/default.htm

***

LINK TO BEN MALLER'S "HOT STORIES AND RUMORS"' SITE:

Here's the link to Ben Maller's latest "Hot Stories and Rumors" site at foxsports.com with links to the sources from whence they came, including a report that LW's MountainMen have claimed El Duque's, kid brother, Livan Hernandez, who until only recently was a Twinkie, off waivers for their pitching lineup.:

http://msn.foxsports.com/rumors/mlb#7

***

LINK TO YANKEES' OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

And, here's a link to our Yankees' official website for up to the minute news and updates of information about the team and the players both healthy and injured; and for updates on what Yankees' Central plans to do to thank Bernie Williams before the Stadium closes at the end of the season.:

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy

***

LINK TO MLB.COM:

Since we have some extra space to use here in Pauli's Paradise, I'm adding a regular link to mlb.com because it offers access to even more MLB headlines and the websites of all of your favorite MLB teams - for those of you who don't place our Yankees first on your list.:smile:

http://mlb.mlb.com/index.jsp

***

SCORES AND SCHEDULES OF MLB GAMES:

Other scores from yesterday's games featuring teams of real or possible interest are: the Astros and Rodriguez were clobbered by Rem16's Cubbies and Harden, 11-7; the Fish and Johnson bested the Phillies and Moyer, 8-2; the A's and Smith were edged by Toronto and Richmond, 4-3; the Brewskis and Bush thumped Janicelee's Reds and Volquez, 8-1; the Pads and Young lost in a squeaker to the Mets and Pelfrey, 6-5; the Tribe and Carmona were stung by the Rays and Jackson, 8-4; GramV's and Barskin&Co's Boston and Beckett stomped KC and Bannister, 8-2; the Tigers and Robertson were decimated by the CWS and Floyd, 10-8; the Yadgers and Billingsley were euchered by the Cards and Carpenter, 6-4; Tim Russert's Nats and Lannan were defeated by LW's MountainMen and De La Rosa, 8-2; the Buccos and Duke were beached by the Snakes and Webb (now MLB's only 16 game winner), 3-1; the O's and Waters blanked Reas' Angels and Garland, 3-0, despite the presence of Reas and her family at the field; and Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves and Hampton vanquished SF and Sanchez, 11-4.

Today's schedule of games featuring teams of real or possible interest is: 12:35 p.m., EDT, the Brewers and Suppan will meet Janicelee's Reds and Bailey; 12:40 p.m., EDT, the Tribe and Sowers will face the Rays and Kazmir; 2:20 p.m., EDT, the Astros and Backe will take on Rem16's Cubbies and Marquis; 3:35 p.m., EDT, the O's and Olson will play against Reas' Angels and E. Santana; 3:40 p.m., EDT, the Buccos and former Yankee, Jeff Karstens, will contend against the Snakes and the Unit; 3:45 p.m., EDT, Sunstar's and Roenick's Braves will vie against SF and Lincecum; 7:05 p.m., EDT, the Fish and Sanchez will meet the Phillies and Kendrick; 7:07 p.m., EDT, the A's and Gonzalez (