Yankees Fall into Last Place

[Dan Gould]

I honestly did not believe the Yanks could lose tonite, even with the rookie making his second start. I figured that staring last place in the face, they'd get the offense going and avoid this embarrasment.

Which leads us to the poll question (hope you guys who hate this Sox/Yanks focus enjoy that last option).

As much as I half expected a poor season, I never imagined anything this bad and have a hard time believing it will continue. But I will say this: Womack can't stay in left field, not the way he hits. And he's so short-how many drives go over his head or just beyond his reach before they realize he's not a left fielder?

[BFrank]

Hard to believe a team with that monsterous payroll is in panic mode already......but it sure seems to be.

[Dave James]

Sorry, but I'm going to have to recuse myself. Even if I didn't feel duty bound to do so, I'm not sure I can see clearly enough through the tears to cast a ballot.

Up over and Harold.

Edited May 6, 2005 by Dave James

[dave9199]

Not being into sports, but originally from Massachusetts and therefore was glad to be alive when the Red Sox won the World Series, maybe they passed their curse onto the Yankees!

[bluesForBartok]

not sure if it will last but I'm enjoying every minute of it! Steinbrenner's obsession with building a team of hired guns may have finally caught up with him.

[Big Al]

Wanted to find a combined vote: they got too old too fast, but f*ck 'em anyway! (not a big fan of the Sox either, but Steinbrenner doesn't own them. Anymore!)

[Noj]

The Yankees seemed to have a lot of question marks this year despite the massive payroll. Too many graybeards. I'd bet they'll turn it around, but I'm hoping the Orioles keep it going and give the Bronx Bombers and the BoSox a big shitburger to eat!

Go Dodgers!

[chris]

And lovin' every minute of their misery too

[jazzypaul]

All of this, while the White Sox are able to win a game with no hits.

Start showing some freakin' respect, already.

Edited May 6, 2005 by jazzypaul

[Dan Gould]

All of this, while the White Sox are able to win a game with no hits.

Start showing some freakin' respect, already.

Earth to Paul:

Championships aren't won in May.

You get respect when you WIN something. You ain't won shit yet, and you never will

CUZ YOU THREW THE WORLD SERIES.

[jazzypaul]

All of this, while the White Sox are able to win a game with no hits.

Start showing some freakin' respect, already.

Earth to Paul:

Championships aren't won in May.

You get respect when you WIN something. You ain't won shit yet, and you never will

CUZ YOU THREW THE WORLD SERIES.

In 1919!!!!! Show some forgiveness already!

Championships aren't won in May, but getting one in October is a lot easier if you were winning in May.

You need a hug, Dan.

[Dan Gould]

I said it before, Paul:

Throwing the World Series=Eternal Damnation by the Baseball Gods

and there's no time limit on eternal damnation. Sorry, but its true.

[Noj]

What's the length of the curse sentence for an unsportsmanlike swat at the ball in the glove of an opponent making a tag during the ALCS?

Edited May 6, 2005 by Noj

[jazzypaul]

I said it before, Paul:

Throwing the World Series=Eternal Damnation by the Baseball Gods

and there's no time limit on eternal damnation. Sorry, but its true.

whatever. My White Sox will be looking forward to being knee deep in the ass of your beloved Red Sox, come July 21, July 22, July 23 and July 24.

Winnin' Ugly is alive and well in Bridgeport folks. Believe it.

[BruceH]

I think it's just nice to be reminded once in a while that having the biggest payroll in MLB doesn't necessarily guarentee anything.

(And it's BECAUSE they have the biggest payroll that the Yankees are in panic mode right now. If they had one of the smallest they could blame their losing streak on that.)

[MartyJazz]

not sure if it will last but I'm enjoying every minute of it! Steinbrenner's obsession with building a team of hired guns may have finally caught up with him.

Oh, and the Red Sox don't know from hired guns??!!!!!! Give me a break, please.

That said, hired guns aren't the problem. The problem is going after aged gunslingers at the expense of young 'uns who require some patience but in due time will become as fearsome as the over the hill guys (e.g., Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson) once were.

[Big Al]

Kevin Brown was fearsome? When? Besides his off-the-field tirades, I mean....

[BFrank]

Kevin Brown was fearsome? When? Besides his off-the-field tirades, I mean....

He USED to be ...

He won 21 games in 1992 and then had a pretty good run from 1996-2001. He even had a pretty decent year in '03.

Check the stats.

[sheldonm]

not sure if it will last but I'm enjoying every minute of it! Steinbrenner's obsession with building a team of hired guns may have finally caught up with him.

Oh, and the Red Sox don't know from hired guns??!!!!!! Give me a break, please.

That said, hired guns aren't the problem. The problem is going after aged gunslingers at the expense of young 'uns who require some patience but in due time will become as fearsome as the over the hill guys (e.g., Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson) once were.

I would be interested in knowing (not guessing) how many of the Red Sox and Yankees playing on their current major league roster came up through their respective systems....my guess is not many.

Edited May 6, 2005 by sheldonm

[gslade]

What's the length of the curse sentence for an unsportsmanlike swat at the ball in the glove of an opponent making a tag during the ALCS?

[Dan Gould]

I would be interested in knowing (not guessing) how many of the Red Sox and Yankees playing on their current major league roster came up through their respective systems....my guess is not many.

Well, Nomar was the most important til last year. Off the top of my head, Trot Nixon and Kevin Youkilis both came up through the system. There are also several extremely well-regarded prospects at AA and AAA who are likely to be in Boston in 2006 or 2007 at the latest. Actually, that's an important difference: the fact that Sox are much better stocked with propsects than they were at the end of the Duquette era. Duquette slashed the budget for scouting and development and actually believed you should let other teams develop the talent and then trade for them or sign them as free agents. The new ownership changed that, and people like Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Kelly Shoppach, John Papelbon are the result. Its likely that Pedroia will replace Bellhorn at second, Hanley is a five-tool guy that has the biggest potential and we'll either be moved to center (to replace Damon?) or traded.

On the Yanks, you're still looking at Jeter, Posada, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera as players the Yanks developed, but the youngest one is Jeter and no one of consequence has followed, and Williams is on his last legs, Posada looks to be hitting the wall that makes catchers go downhill in a hurry, and Rivera obviously isn't quite what he was.

So, the point is that the Sox don't have a lot on the roster now but that's about to change. The Yanks still have a lot on the roster, but the minors are picked clean and those guys are getting old and that's why the Yanks immediate future isn't looking so hot anymore.

[Dan Gould]

Championships aren't won in May, but getting one in October is a lot easier if you were winning in May.

No, winning a championship isn't any easier because you won in May.

Winning in May sometimes means having a ]I]chance to win a championship in October.

[ghost of miles]

A repeat of what I've said before, but the Yanks' great era ended in Arizona at the end of Game 7 in 2001. From 1996 through 2001 they had a great run, and some of that--much of that?--was b/c Steinbrenner was out of the loop for a couple of years in the mid-1990s. Otherwise I don't doubt that Jeter, Rivera, Pettite, Posada, and all the other homegrown talent would've been traded away... They also made shrewd trades in those years too, and I don't recall as many big free-agent signings--even Clemens came in a trade, right? And as long as the Yanks won the Series, George pretty much had to leave well enough alone. I still think it's heartbreaking that O'Neill/Martinez/Brosius couldn't walk off with a last title under their belts, particularly in the aftermath of 9/11... those last two games against Arizona at Yankee Stadium were magical, and I would daresay even healing in a small way, given how raw we all still felt at the time. I remember practically praying for Jeter to hit a home run in Game 4, and then he did... simply amazing.

The Yanks weren't only good, they were likeable under Torre... that '96 team was like something out of a cliched kids' sports novel. It's sad to see him trying to hold this team together now--the chemistry just ain't there. And that's what those late-1990s teams had, with chemistry left over to give. That's how they could go a godawful 88-74 or whatever they went in 2000 and then march through the playoffs and knock off the Mets in the Subway Series (another magical moment, and coincidentally enough, right around the end of the Clinton era--we had our messy, nasty presidential election just a few days later). I kept buying copies of the NY Times for days after they won, and I remember the wistfulness I felt when they ran a last photo feature with the headline, "Closing the door on the Subway Series."

These days I fear we're back in Eighties mode. Could be a long next few years.

Edited May 7, 2005 by ghost of miles

[chris olivarez]

Final score Oakland 6 New York 3 (10 innings). I don't think that it will be too long before more changes are made.

Edited May 7, 2005 by chris olivarez

[MartyJazz]

I said it before, Paul:

Throwing the World Series=Eternal Damnation by the Baseball Gods

and there's no time limit on eternal damnation.  Sorry, but its true.

See "Eight Men Out" for a sympathetic portrait of the 1919 White Sox. But whether or not you like the film, Dan, that was an eternity ago. Today's ballplayer could not relate to that infamous incident whatsoever.

All that aside, it's quite amazing that a city like Chicago with two baseball teams hasn't won the Series in oh so many generations.

Edited May 7, 2005 by MartyJazz