ghost of miles

Pinstripe Alley blogger comment on the starting pitchers in today's Baltimore-New York game: So far A.J. is winning the battle of mediocrity today.

We re-aired The John Coltrane Songbook last week and it remains archived for online listening.

Here's an update on Josh Beckett's sprain (surgery won't be required, expected to miss at least one start), plus this tweet:

He hit two HRs to opposite field--the first 399 feet, the second 396 feet, home runs in just about any right-centerfield in the American League. And yes, what you said about the lack of time for everybody to dissect his strengths and weaknesses is true, but the fact remains that this kid has a lot of raw hitting talent. Biggest question for the Yankees is whether or not he can be at least adequate as a catcher at MLB level, because Tex has first base locked up, and A-Rod may be moving towards much more of a DH role over the next several years. Anyway, here's a rundown of Montero's two HR at-bats yesterday. Dave James: yes, if we had Lee this year we'd be looking sweet against Boston in the playoffs with two ace lefties in our rotation (though C.C. hasn't exactly been dominating against the Bosox this year). Still, there's no guarantee that Lee would have stayed with NY, and he's 33, and he would have been locking up $25 million of payroll a year for the next seven seasons if he had stayed. Worst-case scenario would have been that we would have given up Montero to rent Lee for half a season. Given how poorly NY played over the last two months of 2010, I'm not even sure that having Lee could have saved us, though we might have gotten to the World Series. Conversely, btw, this year the team seems to be getting stronger as it heads into the season's homestretch.

Jesus Montero may be Yankees' best option for playoff DH this October. So, so glad we're finally getting to see this kid hit at MLB level--and so, so glad that the trade to Seattle last year for Cliff Lee fell through, no matter how good a year Lee's having with the Phillies.

Thank you Jesus! Montero's 2 HRs carry Yanks to Labor Day win

Up for Labor Day: Workin': the Work Song in Jazz and Popular Music Another program of Labor Day interest, via Afterglow: Popular Song On the Picket Line: Social-Significance Songs From the 1930s and 40s

Thanks for the heads-up, Lon--just pre-ordered it along with the new Sonny Rollins Road Shows release.

Stonefaced Yankee employee unimpressed by Wise's catch

I've followed most of Nova's starts, and outside of that recent White Sox game, he's pitched very, very well, no matter how many runs the Yankees were scoring. (Unlike, say, the 2010 Phil Hughes, whose pitching declined badly as the season progressed and who was indeed the beneficiary of the Yankees' offense, picking up W's in games where he pitched badly.) And hey: David Robertson IS The Man After Mo. Coming to a baseball stadium near you in 2013.

We re-aired Returning The Call: More From The Unsung Hardbop Heroes Of Chicago this past week and it remains archived for online listening.

Dave James and fellow Yankee fans: thank the baseball gods for Ivan Nova, eh? He's looking like a strong candidate for Rookie of the Year. And great to see Brett Gardner again making his quiet but dramatic contributions to the team, what with the two great plays in left field tonight that kept things from getting totally out of hand in the first inning, and then the two-run homer later on. Neither Tex nor A-Rod in the lineup tonight, but with Nova throwing a great game, not too many runs were needed. (And A-Rod as a presence in the lineup is starting to seem like a dusty memory...)

Damn, Mo, way to just about give me cardiac arrest. Nothing like loading the bases in the bottom of the 9th in order to face the best hitter in the American League!

Anybody else see the story about the dog of the dead Navy SEAL at the SEAL's funeral? Heartbreaking. EDIT: here's a link to the story.

Never dreamed NY would come back in such overwhelming and record-setting fashion. Great day for the history books, but I share the concern about Hughes having such a bad start... hopefully an aberration in an upward curve. And at least we didn't get swept at home by the A's.

We re-aired Chicago Calling: Unsung Heroes of the City's Hardbop Scene last week, and it remains archived for online listening.

Hilarious: Please tell us Irsay's kidding

I nearly mentioned in my earlier link to Granderson that he's all but made me forget how much I was looking forward to seeing Austin Jackson (the main prospect the Yanks gave up in their trade to Detroit for Granderson) hold down centerfield for NY... his walkoff throw against the Tribe today brings back that lingering regret: Jackson guns down runner at plate Glad that AJ is finding such success in Motor City.

Yes, the only thing worse than paying a pitcher $16 million a year to warm the bench is paying him $16 million a year to put games out of reach for you before the second inning's over. Why does it matter, and why do you care??? The Steinbrenners do not know the meaning of the word "budget". They will always continue to pay as much as it takes to win. ?? Not sure that's as true as it used to be, and not sure what it has to do with my remark about A.J., which concerns the notion that his high salary makes NY hesitant to pull him from the rotation. Highlight from today's game against the Twins: Curtis Granderson hits the first-ever inside-the-park home run at Target Field.

I actually feel bad for Wakefield (there was a shot of him looking pretty miserable in the dugout after KC had tied the game) and would like to see him finally pick up #200. Preferably, in the process, snapping a four-game Bosox losing streak...

Again, I think J.H. meant it only in the context of taking too much pride in a team running up an amazing W-L record. Rightly or wrongly, a team that wins a ton of games but fails to win the championship tends to be forgotten, or remembered primarily (as those Bills teams are, or the Vikings teams of the 1970s) for never having gone all the way. Nobody's season is utterly meaningless, no matter how many games they win or lose. But I'd go along with the notion that a claim to being the best team in MLB rings pretty hollow if you don't win the World Series--especially given that you have to win three intense/high-pressure series to pull off the whole thing, a serious test of any team's mettle. It doesn't mean that your season was meaningless (hey, ask me about the 2001 Yankees! ), but it does (in my eyes) invalidate any aspiration to be judged as the top team of the year. On the A.J. Burnett page, here's another interesting stat bouncing around the Internets tonight: Also, according to the PSA round-up, in terms of IP and ER given up, this was the worst start of A.J.'s career. Right now I'd say NY's looking at a postseason rotation of C.C., Hughes, Nova, and either Garcia or Colon. Yankee fans have to hope that Hughes' recent success continues and that one of the two reclamation projects (Garcia and Colon) has enough gas in the tank to last the rest of the season. (In Colon's case, the signs are not promising.) EDIT: in the postgame Girardi evidently teed off on the media, saying that he and A.J. were both mad about the ump's call on a pitch to Mauer that would have ended the second inning if it had been called a strike, and not mad at each other. I hope that's the case; there's enough drama floating around A.J. as it is, without adding a conflict with the manager to it. EDIT 2: Hmmm, not sure I'm buying it: video of Girardi pulling Burnett Joe says he went into the clubhouse to view the ump's call on the last pitch to Mauer (which looked like a ball to me anyway).

Somebody posted this image at Over the Monster tonight after Boston fell behind the Royals, but I think I'm going to swipe it for future A.J. starts: Meanwhile, over at Pinstripe Alley, some reaction during tonight's debacle--particularly after Girardi pulled Robinson Cano and moved catcher Russell Martin to second base: ABANDON YOUR POSTS!!!! FLEEEEEEE FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!

I could not disagree with this more. It's not just a lie, it's a big lie. I think J.H. means it in the context of a team running up the best record in baseball, as opposed to any team that makes it into the playoffs. Most famous case is the 2001 Mariners, who won 116 games--two more than the '98 Yankees--but it's the '98 Yankees who often get referred to as the greatest team of the past few decades, whereas nobody brings up the Mariners in that regard.

Yikes--did I put the jinx on him? Man, what just happened in the Boston-KC game? Boston was up 4-1 last I checked going into the bottom of the 6th, and now they're down 9-4.

Yes, the only thing worse than paying a pitcher $16 million a year to warm the bench is paying him $16 million a year to put games out of reach for you before the second inning's over.