ghost of miles

I was watching the at-bat live and pitch 7 looked easily like an inside ball, especially from the overhead angle--that's why A-Rod complained to the ump. It was clearly (from the TV angles, anyway) a bad call. Yes, #3 was a close one, but A-Rod might not have been as inclined to go after #4 if he'd been at a 1-2 count instead of 2-1. Really not that big a deal--umps miss ball/strike calls all the time, and NY was destined to lose this one... Shields was just pitching too well. And (if the PA posters are right, which is a big if), Shields had been getting that inside pitch called for strikes a few times before... batters/teams have to adjust to the way the ump's calling the strike zone. (It was A-Rod's first AB of the game, so maybe he wasn't as tuned in to how the zone was getting called.)

Great disc--I'd jump on it if I didn't already have it.

Yep, that was a key moment, and then he got Berkman to hit into a double-play. Ballgame pretty much over at that point. If Berkman walks or singles there then we have first and second with one out and Tex/Cano coming to bat. And Shields did throw a really great game--best he's had against us all year so far.

Incredibly, Chad Gaudin bailed him out of it. All to no avail, though, as NY lost anyway. Congrats to TB, hope we can hold onto the division lead. TB-NY season series now breaks down as: TB 6-5, 59 runs scored NY 5-6, 58 runs scored

Bad call by the ump on A-Rod's pinch-hit third strike--see pitch 7: Called third strike Instead of first and second the inning's over. Of course with Pena on deck the inning was probably over anyway... I think TB's got this one in the bag, Papsrus. Shields really tied us in knots today with his changeup. EDIT: Shields departs in the 8th having K'd the Yankees 11 times. Talk about having our number!

Hep has just put out the November 1949 Nat King Cole trio concert at Carnegie Hall. This was part of a double-bill tour with Woody Herman's big band; Encore put out a CD a few years ago of both acts performing in California. Looking forward to the Hep release, which includes notes by Will Friedwald. Amazon UK listing

Yet another notable 9th-inning moment from the Rockies.

Yes, it's looking very good for the Rays today... we can't seem to buy a hit off Shields, and I can't imagine that we'll nail Soriano two games in a row, even if we manage to put a couple of runs up on the board and hold TB off at the plate. Some commenters over at PA bugged that Joe chose to rest A-Rod and Gardner today and put Berkman at first--sentiment is, why not wait and do it tomorrow or Tuesday against Toronto? A good chance we leave town only one up on you guys instead of three.

Case in point: Shoppach's RBI single that Tex most likely would have caught and that sent Berkman tumbling.

Surprisingly pleasant here, given that it's the first day of August in south-central Indiana. We actually shut off the AC yesterday evening and still have the windows open this afternoon. I'm drinking coffee, reading Robin D.G. Kelley's HAMMER AND HOE, listening to the Ahmad Jamal Mosaic, and keeping tabs on the Yankees-Rays game via Internet radio. Nice way to spend a Sunday, with some fresh air in the house for a change, as opposed to the ol' AC-chilled stuff.

My guess is that Joe wants to give him a day off for both regular rest and a break from the 600 craziness. Makes it likely he'll finally hit the mark during the upcoming homestand... but we're also resting Gardner, too, and we've got Berkman at first and are DHing Tex. Giving away a bit much for the rubber match of a series with our biggest rival right now, considering that A-Rod's bat is replaced by Pena's. Papsrus, I didn't know you guys had another hot ace in the pipeline. TB's pitching is already awfully scary-good.

Yankees-Rays season against each other so far: 5 games played at NY, 5 games played at TB NY: 5-5, 58 runs scored TB: 5-5, 56 runs scored

Papsrus, another great game tonight--Matt Joyce really seems to have our number. Just glad we got those two late titanic shots from Tex and Cano. I know it's a cliche to say so, but this series really does feel like an early playoff bout... if NY doesn't go all the way, I'll be rooting for Tampa Bay or Texas to do it instead.

Remember that incredible 9th inning the Rockies had a few weeks ago? Well, they topped it.

Wow, Big Papi just brought the Bosox within 1 against Detroit in the bottom of the 9th with a grand-slam off Valverde, after Valverde walked three in a row. Would be an incredible comeback for Boston to pull off... 2-1 on Victor Martinez right now. EDIT: Valverde at 54 pitches! First and second, two out, after Beltre's double and the IBB to Drew. Can't believe Valverde's still in there, but I guess Detroit burned through several of their relievers already.

Who are we really kidding, indeed? Every baseball fan wants his or her team to win. NY fans are penalized because over the course of history NY's done it more than any other team? I have about five or six friends who are Yankee fans, several of them from the city, several of them not. None of them fit your description. Boorish, insulting, disrespectful, and utterly without class--ah, nope, it doesn't exactly fit the Yankee fans I know, or the fans of just about any team in the league. But it sure does fit folks who get off on venting all of their rage towards a sports team. Talk about getting too personally invested!

I saw that too--I'm sure he is feeling a little frustrated by now, given how long it's been since the last HR and all of the attention, camera flashes, etc. He's pretty much on pace to hit 27 HR this year, so 6-7 games between dingers isn't all that unusual by this season's standards. But yes, a nice win for your guys, and that is indeed an awesome 1-2 punch you have in the bullpen.

Um--did you happen to watch the 2009 postseason, by any chance? Against the Twins Against the Angels Against the Phillies Two good things for NY tonight--Hughes pitched really well, outside of the homer given up to Joyce, and Joba pitched like a demon. Tough one to lose, though. If the Phillies would have kept Lee and faced the Yanks again in the WS, the Phillies would have home field advantage and two pitchers that KILL the Yanks available to pitch 4-5 games of a 7 game series. Yep. That's pretty much what I've been saying since the day that boob traded Lee for 3 toilet flushes. THIS JUST IN: Phillies fans are now as obnoxious as Red Sox and Yankee fans! :lol: Whatever one thinks of fans of various teams, they're all trumped in obnoxiousness by Yankee haters--quite easily.

Somebody said the only way NY first baseman Juan Miranda could've caught that throw from Thames was if he'd been running a slant pattern.

Skeith and Patrick, how about the Tribe's hidden ace? Andy Marte sets down the Yanks 1-2-3 Full clip of Marte K'ing Nick Swisher: Swisher K's against Marte That 9th inning was a gasser in general. Out of backup infielders, the Yanks put Marcus Thames at third base, resulting in the following hijinks: Thames at third base Not a bad stop, but that throw!

Thanks for posting that, Matthew--interesting article. I was amused by this passage: I think A-Rod's persona change is half-PR and half-genuine (I think he really has finally become a team player and found a real camaraderie with the Yankees, just in the past year and a half), but it's true that he's pretty sanded down these days. OTOH I can't stand the NBA or the NFL much these days precisely for the kind of personality atmosphere that this guy describes. Poignant image at the end about throwing a ball against a wall and pretending to be Freddie Lynn in 1975... I did almost exactly the same thing that year.

In the meantime, the Rangers picked up Jorge Cantu from the Marlins, continuing to improve the team they're fielding. Not looking forward to possibly running into them in the playoffs.

Strained back for Talbot. NYY get 7 innings (or more) against the Tribe bullpen. Yep, Tribe's now on their fifth pitcher, but the Yanks have managed only two runs total so far. John Sterling's gone into his home-run call at least three times so far for balls that ended up either landing foul or getting caught. EDIT: well, they did finally get to Cleveland's bullpen... after Tex and A-Rod's outs to start off the inning, the Yanks have scored 5 runs with two out and still have runners on first and third. Santana just took some kind of hard dinger off his body, but he's staying in the game. EDIT 2: man, that was the inning that wouldn't end--Yanks ended up scoring 7 and stranding two, all with two outs.

The Indians' Talbot leaving the game after 2 IP--Yanks didn't knock him out, there's something wrong, evidently.

Well Dave, since I am an exiled Clevelander stuck in the belly of the beast - I have to listen to what the Yankees announcers say and they said the Yankees were having an off night, of course it couldn't possibly be that Josh Tomlin did one hell of a job last night. Love it when David beats Goliath. Go Tribe. Skeith, all credit to Josh Tomlin for an excellent performance against the Yanks--and here's something interesting: the NY Times' Sean Forman did some statistical digging and discovered that the Yankees really do do worse against new pitchers than other MLB teams... over the past 10 years, anyway, a period in which NY has been the best-scoring team in baseball. Weird.