Blogs By Fans

Lucky #13 For Moose

2008-07-23T19:39:34Z

What a dominating performance by Mike Mussina. 8 innings, 6 hits, 0 walks, 8 Ks, 0 runs. The adjustments this guy has made from last season to this season are nothing short of miraculous. Today's 5-1 win was his 13th of the season, and as ironic as it may be, I think he has a legitimate shot at 20 wins for the first time in his career.

The Yanks have 61 games remaining on their schedule, meaning if everything went according to plan, he'd have 12 more starts to pick up 7 wins. Of course, when you factor in days off and the desire to skip the guys at the tail end of the rotation, he could see as many as 14. That would be the story of the year, as far as I'm concerned. The guy was a true ace for over a decade, but it wasn't until he lost his velocity that he finally won 20 games.

As for the offense, well there wasn't a whole lot of it, but 5 runs is better than we've seen plenty of times this year, and it was more than enough today, so I'm not complaining.

Sterling had me fooled on A-Rod's two-run double. From his call I thought it was headed for the left-field bleachers. Otherwise, nothing too shocking from his call of the game. I don't recall hearing, "That's baseball!" Once today, which is noteworthy.

Justin Christian took a commanding lead in the battle for center field with his 2 for 3 performance, including a double to break the 0-0 tie and plate Jose Molina all the way from first base. The Melk Man was also 2 for 3, Gardner had the day off.

Player of The Game: Moose
Team Record: 54-45
Damon: You tell me, I had to listen to the game.

Giants 6, Nats 3: Cavalcade of Codgers

2008-07-23T15:00:28Z

As the morning papers note, the Giants are showcasing Omar Vizquel and other vets for another 10 days before the deadline with the hope that a mini-hot streak will catch a scout's eye. Jack Taschner is now officially a set-up man and allowed to pitch an entire inning -- unless he does like last night and walks two of the three guys he faces. Way to boost that short-term trade value, Special Agent.

Dave Roberts is back and might start tonight in place of FreddieLoo!, though it's hard to imagine he's being showcased unless the Red Sox are on a dewy-eyed nostalgia trip. Oh well. Keeping Roberts isn't so bad for the rest of the year. If it weren't for his salary, he'd be a perfectly fine backup OF. He's a great pinch-hitter to lead off an inning when you need one run late in the game. Maybe he'll help teach Velez and Burriss the finer points of basestealing, the same way Maury Wills taught him when he was a pup, and his situation will sort itself out this winter.

You might even read "showcase" into the move to bring back Steve Holm, who according to Baggs' Blog could swap places with Eliezer Alfonzo tonight. Perhaps the Giants heard rumblings of interest in Holm, and they want to make sure he gets a little major-league PT before the deadline. Baggarly also speculates that Pablo Sandoval, who has moved up to AA and keeps on raking, could soon see the bigs, perhaps after Rich Aurilia is traded.

As for the youth movement, lo and behold check out the bullpen. With Yabu out, Tyler Walker is the senior citizen at 32; Taschner's the only other 30-year-old.

I'm feeling optimistic this morning. Bringing the Nats to town, now 0-5 against the Giants this year, will have that effect. And not just for the results on the field. Did you see where they traded top reliever Jon Rauch (good pitcher under a reasonable contract) straight up for the D-Backs' dubious infield prospect Emilio Bonifacio? But wait, there's more: GM Jim Bowden, perhaps eager to throw his weight around before he goes to jail, also gave a two-year $16 M extension to SS Christian Guzman, who is sporting a rather empty .300 batting average after a four-year run of offensive misery and a long injury-induced absence. Lunatic fringers, it could be a whole lot worse. We could have Paul LoDuca in left field.

Who Do You Blame?

2008-07-23T12:06:43Z

Another night, another late-inning come-from-ahead-loss. A strong first inning is not a portent of things to come. And a reliever allows a home run. So, where do we start with the blame?

Do you, like TLR, take on the offense? Six runs in two games isn't necessarily a recipe for success, I'll grant you. But look at the lines for Milwaukee and St. Louis last night. Same number of AB. Same number of hits. Same number of total bases. The Cardinals even walked twice when the Brewers didn't walk. So it's hard to lay it too much on the offense when Milwaukee can do the same and win.

I think the problem is the bullpen, but maybe not for the reason everyone is talking about. Look, Lohse had labored through the seventh. If there is a bullpen combo that TLR trusted, he'd have pulled Lohse after seven, used Pitcher A in the eighth and pitcher B in the ninth (perhaps with Villone in the middle to get Fielder as well). Right now the Cardinal staff has 13 arms on it. There should be no reason to extend starters like they did last night.

But the problem is there are very few that can be trusted in that pen. Springer's been pretty good, but he's pitched too much recently. McClellan, obviously, has that trust (though it backfired last night). Villone can be trusted against lefties, but he's not a guy you can throw out there for an inning. Thompson has been giving good innings lately. After that, who? Izzy and Franklin are very dangerous. Flores hasn't been effective. Boggs is out there, but you know they are trying to save him to start Friday.

All these arms and the game is still left in the hands of a tiring starter.

That said, Kyle Lohse pitched a heck of a game. It's too bad he didn't get a win out of it, but it was just more of what we've come to expect from him. I'm still not sure the Cards should sign him to an extention--this screams "career year"--but I'm glad that they picked him up in spring training.

Unfortunately, the goat has to go to Kyle McClellan. It's tough being in a tie game where one mistake can cost you the game, but you really don't want to give up a home run in that situation. A couple of base hits, it's possible you can work out of that. A home run there, especially after the Brewer comeback, is just demoralizing.

So after another Cubs loss, the Cards sit in third, two games out. Earlier in the year I'd started to write off the Brewers, but now they may be our best chance to keep the Cubs out of the playoffs.

The Cards can only split this series and that'll take a herculean effort with the pitchers for the next two days. Tonight, Braden Looper goes against CC Sabathia. On paper, that's not even close. Since he's been in the AL, there's not a lot of heads-up data against most of these Cardinals, though Troy Glaus has been pretty hot against him. Maybe he can bounce back from the 0-3 from last night. Sabathia's been dominant since moving to the NL, though, with a 1.88 ERA after three starts. Looper, well, you never can be sure what you are going to get with him. The Brewers haven't had much trouble with him in his career and this year, he's 1-1 against them but has an ERA of 4.09.

The bad news wasn't contained to wins and losses last night. First off, Chris Duncan hits the DL. Some may find that a reason to rejoice, but Duncan had started to look better since his return from Memphis. Plus, with him going on the DL now, the odds of him getting traded at the deadline are almost nonexistent. He can be traded with his permission, I believe, but nobody's going to take him on while he's hurting.

Then, in Memphis's game, Colby Rasmus goes down with a potentially season-ending MCL injury. We'll know more today, so that could be his dad's (who is the poster that put up the info) overreaction, but it doesn't sound good. Which means that we won't get that extra offensive boost by getting Rasmus into the lineup either.

Wonder how all of this affects what Mozeliak is doing or needs to do? Will we hear of any trades soon or will this be another quiet deadline?

Jethro Tull Rocks Shea: 1976

2008-07-23T04:02:24Z

KIngman and co are still on vacation. And we are still in mourning at the end of Shea Stadium's rock & roll era. Here is another new entry to the Shea Rocks series.

Today is the 32nd anniversary of Jethro Tull at Shea Stadium. From all surviving accounts, a good time was not had by all.

On July 23, 1976, Tull came to grace the same stage as the Beatles, Grand Funk Railroad and the Festival of Peace. Rory Gallagher and Robin Trower opened. In what must have been state of the art for the time, giant video screens provided "Tullivision" for the fans in the back rows.

However, the show was hampered by setup and weather issues. It took an hour between each act to break down and build the stages. Add to this annoyance lit fireworks: apparently an issue for concert-goers in the mid-'70s. According to Sounds magazine these "jive bombers...threw combustibles off the top tiers, betting if they'd explode before landing on those at ground level. Foxholes anyone?"

Jive bombers - awesome band name.

Here is the Tull set list from that day:

Thick As A Brick
To Cry You A Song
A New Day Yesterday (w. flute solo, incl. Bourée)/Living In The Past
Too Old To Rock'N'Roll...
Minstrel In The Gallery
Beethoven's Ninth
My God
Cross-Eyed Mary
Encore: Guitar Solo
Wind Up
Back-Door Angels
Locomotive Breath/Wind Up (reprise)
Dambusters March/Back Door Angels (reprise)

Here is the entire Sounds review:

JETHRO TULL / ROBIN TROWER / RORY GALLAGHER

Shea Stadium, New York

Perhaps Deep Purple, who were once rated the world's loudest group, could have won a battle against the LaGuardia Airport runway which neatly bordered Shea Stadium. At the peak of rush hour flights on a Friday evening, Jethro Tull didn't have a chance.

Shea is normally a baseball stadium, capacity 55,000, and even with Tull's specially bulky outdoor sound system, it hardly constituted an ideal venue. For one thing, it took a bold leap of imagination to actually see anything resembling human beings at the several hundred foot distance from the stage. For some others, almost everything below 90 decibels was drowned out by the jet paths, and, as you can probably guess from Britain's many mud-filled festivals, it steadily rained on all but the few enclosed seating areas. Add circumstances together, and the bands themselves seemed to take on their physical surroundings in performance, mediocrity of setwork matching the greyness on the field.

Pity the unfortunate Rory Gallagher, who opened the evening forced to play his foursome of repetitious blues tunes while the bulk of the audience slowly filed in. Those who were seated didn't hesitate to show their opinions — one song done, and the first of the firecrackers exploded. An outdoor arena provided the jive bombers with new attack plans, and they threw combustibles off the top tiers, betting if they'd explode before landing on those at ground level. Foxholes anyone?

The concert's promoters bit off more than they could chew in battling with Shea's logistics. Gallagher was on stage for 20 minutes; over an hour later Robin Trower's equipment was finally ready for action. A system that would give surprising clarity to Tull's softish volume found no friend in Trower. His leads lost all differentiation, just as Jim Dewar's vocals were muddily obscured by an overbalanced bass control.

Struggling through the murk came 'Day Of The Eagle', 'Bridge Of Sighs', and new song, 'Long Distant Ways' and 'Too Rolling Stoned', Trower's normally delicate and sinuous passages now predictable to the point of boredom. He fared a bit better on the uptempo 'Lady Love' and 'The Fool And Me', only because the fast pace of those tunes eliminated any extended notes in favour of a quick melody, over and out. Trower has reached a dangerous point in his career, as his promised innovations are awfully slow to emerge, and what was once an acceptable Hendrix adaptation is now just so much rehash.

By now it was nearing the imposed time limit on use of the stadium, but Tull's show was preceded by another hour-long set change. Grand gestures introduced the almost full house to 'Tullavision', a group of large projection screens which made it possible for everyone to see at least one part of the stage action in close-up. Of course, 90% of the camera time was focused upon Ian Anderson, well-clothed in a neat, multi-colourful dancer's costume.

The rest of Tull played with brilliant complexity, defying my belief that no one could sound discernible notes in such a large place, but they might have been hidden behind the stage for all we got to see of their musicianship. Only when Anderson played his one-legged flute trills, introduced a song via acoustic guitar, or physically left the stage, was any instrumental work illustrated.

Anderson gave the audience the clever, warble-voiced madman they had waited four hours to see. He introduced 'Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll' pushing a baby carriage, and, growling, menaced his way through 'Aqualung'. Much of the set was fairly new; none of it was introduced, and songs had the uncanny way of blending into one another.

Mostly, they began in quiet; always, they crashed into full force with great energy, Anderson careening around the stage bug-eyed, mugging for the camera. And that bothered me most -- the use of long distance concert giving as a lucrative live show substitute. To pay the ten dollars for a slightly more personal 'Top Of The Pops'? The choice may soon no longer be yours to make.

OK so maybe Ian Anderson does not have fond memories of Shea. But wouldn't you have loved to see Billy Joel and Tull jam out on "Too Old To Rock & Roll/Too Young To Die"?

Bombers Cruise to Fifth Win in a Row

2008-07-23T02:24:45Z

All too easy.

Darrell Rasner pitched well, but in bad luck, Bobby Abreu launched a two-run bomb and Robinson Cano picked up two more hits and two runs batted in as the Yanks slammed the Twins 8-2 at The Stadium. This one was a pitchers' duel through six, but the Bombers exploded for three runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to stay unbeaten since the All-Star break and moved a season-best 10 games over .500 with their fifth straight victory.

Rasner gave up only two runs through 5 2/3 innings, but left trailing 2-1. David Robertson came in to relieve and was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst. D-Rob vultured his second win in four days with just one pitch. Yep, sometimes baseball is just unfair. The bullpen continued to flex its muscles as Jose Veras, Kyle Farnsworth and Dan Giese wrapped things up with three innings of one-hit ball.

The Good:

Bobby Abreu. The Yanks seemed destined for another dismal offensive performance when Abreu stepped up to the plate with the score 2-1 Twinkies in the sixth. But El Comedulce sparked the Yankees with one swing of the bat. Abreu crushed a 1-1 pitch deep into the Bronx night with Johnny Damon aboard to give the Bombers a 3-2 lead. The Yanks would go on to score five more runs and coast to the win. Bobby has been slumping in July (.234 average heading into Tuesday night) and his dinger was his first since June 25 at Pittsburgh. Maybe this will jump-start his bat. Abreu finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.

Robinson Cano. Another night, another two hits for Robbie. Cano continued to wield a mighty stick with his fifth straight multi-hit game. Robbie's RBI-single in the second gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. Cano added another ribbie-single during the Bomber's three-run sixth to extend the lead to 4-2. Keep on keepin on, Rob. Cano finished 2 for 4 with 2 runs batted in.

Derek Jeter. Cano's hot-hitting has garnered most of the attention (and rightfully so), but The Captain is also starting to heat up. DJ's two-run double in the seventh gave the Yanks a more comfortable 6-2 lead. Jeter drove in two runs for the second straight night and is working on a modest four-game hitting streak. It's been well documented that Cano is a strong second-half hitter, but Jeter also comes alive when the weather turns oppressive. DJ is a career .322 hitter after the All-Star Game. Jeter finished 1 for 5 with a run scored and 2 ribbies.

The Bad:

Melky Cabrera. The Melk-Man has been hitting well since the break (.353 in four games), but he didn't have a good one Tuesday night. Cabrera went hitless and also committed his fourth error of the year in the first inning. And it was an egregious one. Denard Span singled to center to open the game and Melky came in to field the ball, but misplayed it and Span advanced to second base. Physical error? Negative. Melky fumbled the ball because he was waving his hand in acknowledgment to the bleacher creatures' roll call. Inexcusable! The error didn't cost the Yanks, but Melky has to know better than that. Cabrera finished 0 for 4.

The Ugly:

Screw you, doc. This news is a day old, but I forgot to mention it. Doctors recommended season-ending knee surgery for Hideki Matsui, but Godzilla will try and make it back without going under the knife. "I still have a strong desire to come back this year and be a force for the team," Matsui said Monday. I like Matsui's grit, but GM Brian Cashman didn't seem to think it would make a bit of difference. "I wouldn't say I'm optimistic, personally," Cashman said. "I think it speaks a lot to his heart. The doctors looked at him and recommended surgery, but he wants to see if he can fight through it and continue to play. And there's no harm. He's not going to make it any worse by doing that. So we'll see. But I'm not optimistic." Prove 'em wrong, Matsui.

The Yanks will go for the sweep Wednesday afternoon. Mike Mussina (12-6, 3.49 ERA) will battle Glen Perkins (7-2, 3.84 ERA). Perkins has won five of his past six decisions and hasn't dropped a game since May 30 when the Yanks drubbed him for five runs on 10 hits in four innings. The Moose has been spectacular in July (2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three starts) and is 21-6 with a 3.18 ERA in 31 career starts against Minnesota. Mussina was the winning pitcher for the Yankees in their May 30 win against the Twinkies at the Metrodome.

Time to take this winning streak to six.

Five Straight

2008-07-23T02:14:03Z

A game that started with Melky Cabrera making an error while answering his roll call from the bleacher creatures turned around quickly in the bottom of the sixth when Bobby Abreu caught up to an inside fastball and deposited it in the right field seats to reclaim the lead for the Yanks. The bullpen would make it stand up.

Rasner gave you as much as you can hope for. 5 2/3, 2 runs. You can live with that. You can win with that. Robbie Cano kept up his torrid Summer pace with another two hits and two RBI.

The highlight of the game was obviously the near 3-6-1 double play started by the Giambo. When I saw him stumble and throw from his knees to second I was 100% sure the ball would wind up in left, but he hit Jeter with a decent throw and they almost turned it.

The bullpen was unbelievable again. Farnsworth completed nine straight no-hit innings tonight. The only blemish was a single given up by Geise in garbage time in the 9th.

Gardner gets the slight edge in the battle for center field tonight. He was 0/3 with a walk and two K's, but Melky was 0/5 with that bone-headed play in center.

The Rays lost tonight, the deficit has been cut to 3.5 games. Boston is playing on the left coast, but they can't overtake the Rays so the deficit will still be 3.5 when you wake up tomorrow.

The Moose vs. Perkins to wrap the series (and hopefully the sweep) tomorrow night.

Player of The Game: Abreu
Team Record: 55-45 (HW)
Damon: Nada

Best Foot Forward

2008-07-23T01:07:05Z

This is the part of the season called keeping pace. Thus, in the interest of putting one foot in front of the next, we bring you Game 2 of the I-90 bookend series: Seattle vs. Boston.

Last night's Red Sox win, a 44-0 doozie over the Mariners highlighted by Jon Lester's brilliant eight-inning shut out and Jonathan Papelbon's Houdini impersonation in the aformentioned eighth, a two-pitch double play gem that got Lester out of a bases-loaded jam (though he could hardly be blamed for the last of the three runners), was a return to normalcy.

OK, maybe it wasn't a return to normalcy. After all, how many times this year has Jason Varitek come through with the big homer? Still, it showcased more of the offense pressure fans are used to than Boston flexed in Anaheim. The team's four runs came in two different innings, included an impressive homer and clearly benefitted from hitters showing more patience at the plate, eventually getting to Jerrod Washburn despite the pitcher's relatively impressive stuff.

That brings us to tonight, with Daisuke Matsuzaka heading to the hill for his first start of the second half of the season. His personal campaign -- you can practically call it the "Yes, I really am worth all that cash" season -- kept it's positive trajectory going in his final start before the All-Star break, yet another win with big innings and harrowing escapes more typical of a mid-summer Tom Cruise flick than an mid-summer outing on a pitching rubber.

All of those steps forward, for both Matsuzaka and Boston, will get pushed to the side if they can't put together another game like they did on Monday night. Interestingly, the tables will be turned on the Sox, with their hitters facing off against ulner ligament-less knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, whose 2-4 record comes with the asterisk of limited starting experience -- he's only started seven games this season -- and his relative youth as a knuckleballer. Dickey came up as a fireballing fastball hurler, then converted himself into a gimmick pitcher after he had his ulnar ligament completely removed when one elbow surgery turned into the next without any significant productivity in between.

Dice-K, meantime, has had mixed results against the Mariners himself. After the loss in his Fenway Park debut, in which he was famously outdueled by Felix Hernandez, Matsuzaka hasn't lost against Seattle. Unfortunately, he's only won once, with a whopping three no-decisions thrown in for good measure.

One would think he'd need a bit more run support than in his earlier outing against the M's this year, when he lasted only four innings while giving up three runs. But that all depends on whether Dickey's knuckler moves.

Here's hoping Tim Wakefield hasn't been giving any lessons in the past week.

Is The NBA In Serious Trouble?

2008-07-22T16:42:20Z

Since the beginning of time, overseas professional baseball, basketball and football leagues have been the last refuge for aging stars, an alternative recruiting source and sometimes a proving ground for marginal talent. Is that all about to change?

Over the past year we've seen something in the NBA we've never seen before. European players who could actually play in the NBA are choosing to go back to European leagues. While it's a new development, it's not completely shocking. The NBA culture has to be shocking for many of these guys. These guys are in a strange country, immersed in a culture they may not understand, may not want to understand, and for the most part, they aren't the heroes and stars they were in Europe. Not to mention the weakening dollar. It's to be expected that some imports would go back to the place where they were wildly successful, to a culture they're comfortable with for equal or even better money.

What hasn't happened yet, is an American player who can hack it in the NBA jumping ship and playing in Europe. Josh Childress could break that barrier. According to reports, Childress is weighing a 3 year, $20 million offer from Olympiakos, a Greek team.

Now, Childress is in a precarious position in the NBA. He's a restricted free agent and most of the teams with available cap space have already spent it. Realistically, the Hawks and the Grizzlies are probably the only teams who could offer a comparable monetary offer to Olympiakos, the Grizzlies won't spend the cash and the Hawks may have bigger fish to fry (like re-signing Josh Smith). If Childress's main concern is the largest paycheck, going to Europe could be his best bet. Here's the thing, though. If the euro leagues become a viable alternative to the NBA for NBA players, how slippery of a slope will it become.

Think about it. We love to think guys care about winning more than money, but a lot of the time, that just isn't the case. In baseball and basketball, players have been loathe to sign with a Canadian franchise due to the tax rate and the relative weakness of the loonie. Nothing to do with winning, purely financial. The converse is also true, when you hear about the premier free agent locations in the NBA you hear the obvious giant markets, Los Angeles and New York, and then the Florida teams for tax reasons. Again, it comes down to money.

It seems like a natural progression, and if it happens there will be plenty of blame to go around. The arcane rules of the CBA, the dropping value of the dollar, the explosion of the international game, Team USA's pitiful Olympic performances. Europe is no longer inching toward being a viable alternative, it's banging on the door. If Childress doesn't go to Greece, someone else eventually will.

Talks With Lou Commence

2008-07-22T16:29:08Z

Phil Jasner reports the Sixers have opened discussions with Lou Williams on an extension. There have been rumors circulating that the Warriors are interested in Lou, so it would behoove the Sixers to get an extension done before someone signs him to a prohibitively lucrative offer sheet.

How much is Lou worth? That's an excellent question. It's hard to find a comparable to him, but one offer sheet signed recently can be used as a barometer. The OKC Sonics signed C.J. Miles to a 4-year/$16M sheet which the Jazz have 7 days to match.

Miles is a good shooter (39% from three), but played a minor role on the Jazz. I was hoping the Sixers wouldn't have to pay this much to retain Lou, but if Miles is worth that much after averaging 5 points in 11 minutes/game for Utah, you'd have to think Lou's 11.5 points in 23.4 minutes would be worth more.

Hopefully the Miles deal is an aberration and the Sixers will be able to get Lou on the cheap, but I won't be holding my breath.

Here's the question, at what point does Lou become too expensive? Is there a dollar figure or a length of contract you wouldn't want to see the Sixers pass in their effort to keep him?

Woman and A-ROD, Dumb Alike

2008-07-22T14:30:00Z

BY DUBS

With Ricky not in, work has become exponentially agonizing. I find myself actually doing some, which is not in my daily routine until about 4:30pm when I rush to get all my shit done for the day.

Fuck Roman for causing this.

I do not do well without my daily TUP and my daily douching by, you, the TUP faithful. I try to give a different view (using facts and logic) here at TUP and in the end it gets me called “the dumbest piece of shit I've ever seen.” This is weird because I have never actually met commenter Fred, but can assume he’s substantially tanner, taller and better looking than this guy (Hot or Not anyone?):

Anywho…This whole A-Rod thing is pretty much annoying the hell out of me. And by “this whole A-Rod thing” I mean Cynthia Rodriguez.

I hate wives of professional sports stars (or bench warmers for that matter) calling foul play when their supposed loyal hubby gets caught with his pants down (thrusting back and forth) in another woman. They are professional athletes for Christ’s sake, and girls, if anything, are jersey-chasing whores.

It comes with the territory.

If you don’t want to get cheated on, WOMEN, don’t marry/date/talk to/text/acknowledge professional athletes. They are here on the planet for one thing and that is to spread whatever STI (yes, they’re infections now) to whatever girl-at-night-club lets him.

Exhibit A: Shawn Kemp. He has like 700 kids. And I am being conservative with that figure. Now A-Rod is like 50 times better looking (so I’m told) and 100 times richer. How can he not ball like MJ?

Onto A-Rod: A-Rod, A-Rod, A-Rod of all the young trim you can pull you chose this:

Come on. THAT? THAT’s what you chose? Anything is better than THAT. Was THAT worth it? You just lost half of your millions for THAT? Really? Shame on you Alexander Enmanuel Rodriguez! SHAME ON YOU!

Summation: In the end, all that will happen is two kids will have to split time at two different homes and A-Rod will lose half of his worth. Make note professional athletes and women, alike.

DON’T MARRY EACH OTHER!

-DUBS

Check out my new list today at Top Ten Chicago Sports. I teamed up with Mrs. Dubs for this one.

Behind The Eight-Ball

2008-07-22T11:56:17Z

The Cardinals have playing a hard nine down. Too bad yesterday went 10 innings.

I wasn't able to watch much of the game. Monday night is Promise Keeper night for me and between that and doing the dinner/cleaning kids routine beforehand, I only got chances to glance at the TV in the first few innings. What I saw looked good, though. The Cards seemed to continually put runners on and had a nice 2-0 lead early.

Of course, all it takes is one wrong pitch, which is what happened when Pineiro faced Rickie Weeks with two on.

The offense didn't do much in the middle innings, waiting until the ninth to tie it up. Unfortunately, Albert Pujols wasn't able to come through this time in the ninth. His homerless streak is up to 13 games.

Again, you have to give hero props to Troy Glaus for his two for four night, plus driving in those first two runs. It's almost ridiculous how hot he is right now and I'm afraid what'll happen to the team if he comes back to earth.

Goat is pretty obvious, though when you read the PD story, it quickly becomes questionable why Ryan Franklin was out there at all. You'd think you might go with some fresher arms in that situation, especially since Franklin hasn't exactly been dominant even at the top of his game.

So now, to hold serve in this series, the Cards are going to have to beat either Sabathia or Sheets, neither of whom are considered "gimmies". Sure, the Cards have had some success with Sheets in the past, but he's really been pitching well lately and he's not a player you'd want to face needing a win for a split.

Before we get there, though, old friend Jeff Suppan comes off the DL to face the Cards. His last few pre-DL starts were pretty bad, but you figure he's rested and ready to go if nothing else. The Cardinals have had good success against Sups, though it's a little surprising that Yadier Molina, who caught him for so long, only is one for six.

St. Louis counters with Kyle Lohse, the current staff ace and one of the few pitchers on staff that anyone has any confidence in. Lohse has done reasonably well against the Brewers in his career, though you'd expect new second baseman Ray Durham to be in the starting lineup. Lohse did lose to the Brewers back in April, though.

I see that Friday's start is TBD. Hopefully LaRussa doesn't try for a bullpen game. That's not likely to have much success this year.

And if Mozeliak is crazy enough to send Jess Todd to Texas for Eddie Guardado, there might be a storming of the front office by the fans led by the Future Redbirds crew. I can't imagine that has any chance of happening.

Dark Knight thoughts

2008-07-22T07:43:38Z

Guest post from Dubs coming later today

So I saw Dark Knight in IMAX tonight and was not disappointed. It really did live up to the hype, and was equal to if not great than Batman Begins, which is an astounding feat in itself. But I want to talk about what is going to happen in the sequel to the Dark Knight. If you’ve seen the movie already (DON'T READ THIS POST IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE YET), let’s get into what could happen in the franchise’s next installment after the jump. ]]>
Still, the thing that makes these Batman movies so much better than all the previous ones is because there is actually a story arc. In the Michael Keaton, Kilmer, and Clooney editions, the movies serve completely independently. These two new Batman films have a clear story arc, and I think it would be a crime to stop with how this one ended, even if the Joker can’t be a character.

So what happens next? I guess the first question should be this: is Harvey Dent still alive? Driving home with three other people we were split two and two on whether Two Face will be around in the next film. I was originally positive he was dead, and I believe that when the movie was finished shooting, he was supposed to be dead. But Ledger’s death may have changed everything, and I now think Two Face will probably be back in the next film. His fate after he and Batman fall to the ground is so murky, and I bet Nolan made it that way so that if he does decide to do the third film, he has something to work with.

I have three predictions for the sequel: Scarecrow will play a central role, The Riddler will be introduced, and Batman will be revealed to be Bruce Wayne to the public. One major unresolved development is that one Wayne Enterprise employee knows Batman’s identity. He never gets to reveal it on television as planned in the Dark Knight because of the Joker, but that’s still a big deal going forward. I think that theme reappears.

So what do you guys think? What’s this third movie going to be about?

Fans Remember Shea Stadium's Festival For Peace

2008-07-22T04:35:18Z

We wrote about the Shea Stadium Festival of Peace, held August 6th, 1970.

The original post from last year inspired alot of comments. There were some rumors floating around that Jimi Hendrix had performed or was supposed to perform.

I have never done this before but I thought it would be great to publish some of the comments in a separate post. So little has been written about the Festival: clearly one of the most exciting and little known events in Shea Stadium history. Who better to share the experience with than the folks who were there?

Here are some highlights:

Indeed, many people were pretty buzzed so fuzzy memories would be common. I was quite young so still "un-buzzed". No Hendrix, but a young Tina Turner certainly made an impression in the binoculars on a 12 yr old boy!
The biggest confusion about Jimi stems from the fact that he played at the earlier Winter Festival for Peace at MSG but could not make the much larger Summer Fest.
Many of the biggest rock acts of the era were there and Joplin was not truly a surprise guest as she announced she'd perform on The Dick Cavett show a few nights before the show.

The choosing of the date was no coincidence: Peter Yarrow (of P,P&Mary) produced both shows and the proceeds were used to finance Anti-War political candidates.

The show did go on for 13 hrs and finished late at about 11:30pm: anyone who doesn't remember probably left early. And yes - during CCR's performance, the first tier was bouncing up and down so much they stopped playing and asked the people to sit down. I know this because I was in the first row btwn Home-3rd and a bit scared at the time!

No one has done much to preserve the memory of this truly historic show and piece of SHEA history!!! (thanks to KINGMAN tho)

Any one ANY more info PLEASE contact me at bebopnjazz(at)gmail(dot)com.

I was 14 when I attended the concert, I had never used drugs at that point and I can tell you Hendrix DID NOT perform, just a rumor. The music was great. This was the first concert I ever attended and it made such an impression I went out and saw every other concert I could after this one. Janis, Steppenwolf, CCR were huge stars at the time and all performed fantastic sets. Poco was great. Johnny Winter and James Gang rocked. Paul Simon performed solo. Let me tell you I have seenover 150 concerts since this first one and only 6 or 7 can measure up . IT WAS FANTASTIC

I was at the show. Hendrix did not perform. This was my first "city" concert and I loved every bit of it. I still have the Newsday ad for it and my ticket stub. For those who were there, It was myself and my friend Matt who folded down the upper balcony seats to spell PEACE it 125' tall letters. Peace to all

I was at the show with the good fourtune to have an all access pass to be on the stage field and backstage. It was all that's been said and then some for me. I did not see Jimi onstage or backstage at all. I did however come out of the Mets dugout right where you were sitting and pose for a photo with Janis taken by a fan right behind it. If anybody knows of this photo please contact me, I am listed in Nyack N.Y. BTW I am the young man intervewed at Shea in "The Beatles Anthology" This can be seen on Youtube by pluging in Beatles Shea 1965 It is in the clip that is 9:57 long.

I attended the shea stadium peace concert and it was one of the most memorable days of my life. The music was terrific, Janis, Steppenwolf, Poco all very memorable. No Jimi H. I had seen him at Randalls Island in July. I recall leaving near dusk summertime (not 11PM). I had a deeply moving experience of peace and love not to be repeated. It was amazing. Would love to see us do it again.

I was there also. Left NJ about midnight and slept in the car in the parking lot with my girlfriend. We were some of the first to gain entry and therefore had great seats. Stage(s) were sort of a revolving dumbell where, while one stage had a live act playing, the other was being broken down/set up for the next. True non-stop music. The music was fantastic and I too wonder about the lack of coverage for such a great event with so many top rock stars. I recall them stopping the music when the tiers began to sway due to everyone stomping their feet to the music. I believe the deal was to extend the concert (due to the number of bands and surprise guests) if we would literally stop rocking Shea. (I also thought it ended closer to midnight or beyond but it was almost 40 yrs ago, so...). Particularly vivid was when Big Brother was about to play and Janis ran out to the stage unannounced to sing with them. The place went nuts. Really wish this concert would get the coverage it deserves. Did no one really record any of this concert? And yes, no Jimi. Anyone recall any other unannounced guests?

I was there and I remeber these acts. Johnny Winter and with Rick Derringer Poco Credence Clearwater Steppenwolf Pacific Gas & Electric Janice Joplin Peter Yarrow (of Peter paul & Mary) John Sebastian Sha Na Na The Rascals The James Gang 10 Wheel Drive Al Kooper Richie Havens miles davis (I believe) Three Dog Night

I was there - we arrived around 11 - I remember early in the day: Havens, I'm petty sure Joan Baez made an appearance, 10 Wheel Drive did their hit "Are you Ready?" and had everyone up bopping in unison--- so hard the stadium actually "bounced" and for a moment I worried it would self destruct! ( I was standing on the brass rails between sections!)Fritz, Mike and Manny and me made it all the way to the end- I remember almost falling off the upper level, after going up there to ignite an organic substance: far left field, top row, furthest end seat (chosen just because!)and on my way down hit the rail kind of hard and almost flew 60 feet down to my seat! :) It truly was one of the best days of music ever- Creedence, The James Gang, Janis and Steppinwolf were in peak form and made the night. Janis had her hair dyed like the flag! it was a day to remember and am so amazed it is nearly forgotten. NO FILM, NO RECORDINGS? At the time we said it was our Woodstock, all neatly packed into 1 day, no mud, no cars! The subway delivered us to and from(at 14 the summer before, according to my parents, I wasn't "heading up the country"!)

I attended this show with several friends. I was 14 at the time. Hendrix was indeed suppose to play, but in fact did not. I also remember the grandstand tiers moving up and down as we were on the top decl about 3 or 4 rows back. It was very scary, but I do not remember them stopping the show for an announcement. I do remember the acts listed above, and some of them I had forgetten about. It was a great show, I tell people about it but no one I know really has heard about it. Its a shame no more information is available. I remember it was a big deal for my parents to let me go with friends to a show like that at 14yo. Who would trust their 14 yo like that TODAY?

I was 18, living in Queens, and I was there. Jimi was on the scheduled list of performers, but didn't show. I definitely remember James Gang, Pacific Gas & Electric, Staple Singers (terrific!) and Creedence rockin' the house to end it.

Four In A Row

2008-07-22T02:59:18Z

It's almost as if the Yankee bats realize who's on the mound and hit accordingly. With Sid the kid out there tonight against the Twins, A-Rod and the Yanks delivered 12 runs of support and got him his 6th win of the season.

Robbie Cano continued to scorch the ball, going 2 for 5 with an upper-deck bomb. On the heels of the horrible Posada news, it was good to see the Yanks go out there and pound someone. It was equally heartening to see them put up double digits. Even Jeter got a hold of one and deposited it in the right field bleachers.

The next two games are big. It's safe to call the Yanks hot right now, the Oakland series didn't prove much, but Minnesota had been playing some of the best ball in the league recently and anytime you can get a win with Ponson on the hill you've accomplished something. Rasner will take the hill tomorrow night against Slowey. The Yankee bats will be needed yet again. Then it's the Moose to finish off the series before the short flight up to Boston for a three-game set.

Don't lose sight of these next two games. Get the sweep if you can, win the series at the minimum and then worry about the Sox.

Melky had the edge again tonight in the battle for center field, a battle that may last much longer than expected with Jorge's return to the DL. Melky was 2/5 with 2 runs, Gardner 1/4 with nothing else. Damon returned to the lineup as the DH, a spot I think we'll see him in quite a bit the rest of the way. He was 1/4 with a run and a RBI.

Player of The Game: A-Rod
Team Record: 54-45 (high water again)
Damon: Uno

Yankees Gobble Up Twinkies

2008-07-22T02:39:05Z

This team can score runs!

Alex Rodriguez clouted a homer and drove in three, Robinson Cano continued his torrid hitting and Sidney Ponson did just enough as the Yanks crushed the Twins 12-4 at The Stadium. This game was knotted at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the second, but that's when the Bombers seized control. The Yankees put up a four-spot in the frame, two in the third and put the game away with three more in the sixth. Johnny Damon made his return from the disabled list and contributed with a double and an RBI (and another broken bat), Derek Jeter blasted a round-tripper into the bleachers in right and the bullpen trio of Edwar Ramirez, David Robertson and LaTroy Hawkins was nearly flawless as the Yankees cruised to their fourth straight victory.

The Good:

Alex Rodriguez. It's been a roller-coaster month of July for Rodriguez (personally and on the diamond), but it looks like he's ready to go on a tear. At the plate that is. A-Rod belted his 21st home run in the first to give the Yanks a quick 2-0 lead. Rodriguez then knocked out Twins starter Nick Blackburn in the second with an RBI-single to left that put the Yankees up 6-2. The Bombers have been scrapping on offense, but if A-Rod catches fire he may be able to carry this team like he did in the early part of 2007. Rodriguez finished 2 for 3 with a walk, two runs scored and 3 runs batted in.

Robinson Cano. If only Robbie could bottle this second-half magic. Cano continued to sizzle and pushed his average to .260 with another multi-hit game. That makes four in a row. Canu went upper tank in the third for his eighth homer of the year and second in four games. He added an RBI-single in the sixth. Robbie entered the game batting .345 so far in July. That number will go up after Monday night. Cano finished 2 for 5 with a run scored and 2 ribbies.

Jose Molina. Wally Pipp anyone? OK, that's beyond absurd, but the Yanks will be seeing a lot more of Molina (see: Ugly) and he responded with his first three-hit game of the season. Even his out in the third inning was a productive one -- his ground ball to first moved Cano over to third base with one out. Molina also showed he's got fire in the belly on a play at the plate in the second. Brendan Harris rounded third on a base hit by Alexi Casilla and headed for home. Bobby Abreu threw a strike to Molina and seemed to nail Harris. Not so, according to home plate ump Mike Everitt. It was a bang-bang play, but it looked like Molina made the tag. The ball also beat Harris to the dish, which is usually a deciding factor. Well, Molina was incensed. He slammed his helmet to the ground and argued the call. It went for naught, but it was good to see Molina fired up over the play. Again, no one expects Molina to replace Jorge Posada offensively, but they won't lose anything defensively and I think the Yanks would be thrilled if he could hit around .240. I think Molina is up to it. Molina finished 3 for 4 with a run scored.

The Bad:

Jason Giambi. Baseball is a humbling sport. One day you're the hero, the next you're a bum. All right, that's too harsh, but the Yankees banged out 16 hits on the night and not one of them came from Giambi. Jay Jay was also the only starter to register a zero in the hit column. It was one of those no-contact nights for Giambi -- four plate appearances equaled three strikeouts and a walk. Don't fret, Jason. There's always tomorrow. Giambi finished 0 for 3 with a walk.

The Ugly:

Going under the knife? The Yanks put Jorge Posada on the DL Monday. I'm not a doctor, but even I could see that Posada's ailing right shoulder wasn't getting any better. Jorgie tried his best to give it a go, but he couldn't throw runners out and was becoming a liability behind the plate. Posada is scheduled to have an MRI on his shoulder Tuesday and will make a decision about season-ending surgery. Jorge was going to have surgery at the end of the season regardless and the longer he puts it off, the longer it will take for him to come back next season. The Yanks will definitely miss his bat and his leadership, but if I was Posada, I would have the surgery now and come back fresh next season. Hopefully.

Darrell Rasner (5-7, 4.97 ERA) will go against Kevin Slowey (6-6, 4.26 ERA) in the middle game Tuesday night. Slowey is 4-0 in his past six starts, but the Detroit Tigers blasted him for six runs on nine hits in his last start. But the Twins came back to win the ballgame so Slowey picked up a lucky no-decision. Slowey has made one career start against the Bombers and it wasn't a good one. The Yanks five runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. Rasner battled through five innings and picked up a win in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was his first victory since he defeated the San Diego Padres on June 18. The Twins handed Ranser and the Yanks a 5-1 loss on June 1 in Minnesota. The Ras is 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA in two career starts against the Twinkies.

Let's see if Rasner can be the recipient of another offensive explosion.