Tough opponents

Weekend recap.

Yanks Edge Redsocks to Win Little League Crown in Deming, New Mexico

Somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout...

Deming Headlight (New Mexico)
June 22

Padres escape with Minor Div. crown, Yankees edge Red Sox for Majors title

Isaiah Gonzales came through for the Pinstripers when he laced an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning for a walk-off championship hit on Friday against the upset-minded Dodgers.
Both teams were tied at 8-all heading into the late innings.

Bobby Gannaway supplied the power for the Dodgers when he hammered a three-run home run.

The Yanks countered with Andres "Bulldog" Villa who cracked a solo home run over the centerfield fence.

Jacob Quarrell started for the Yankees on the pitching rubber and gave way to a bullpen by committee that included Kiko Quintana, Jesus Rincon, Isaiah Almanza and Georgie Ortiz to get the victory.

Here's Something the Yanks Haven't Tried Yet

MAGNET THERAPY!

Joe plans to rest A-Rod once a week, which means one thing...

He's gotta suck up to one of...
THE HUDSON BROTHERS!

Do You Like Brett Tomko? Do You Like Art?

Because Brett paints pictures, just like John Wayne Gacy before him! Which must be really something, because even The New York Times wishes it could afford one:

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Brett Tomko left Land Shark Stadium with a rolled-up 50-by-24-inch canvas of an acrylic portrait he is making for teammate Phil Hughes. Tomko is an accomplished artist whose paintings have sold for thousands of dollars, and the hobby relaxes him.

“It’s a good way to keep my mind off things,” Tomko said. “I’ll be painting a lot tonight.”

So how good is he? Well, this one doesn't look like Joba at all:

But this one is excellent!

Internet gives thumbs down on John Sterling

Goddamm Internet is so biased, it don't know its &^% from a hole in the ground.

It claims 78 percent of the Internet is negative on John (below). This just proves that John can't get a fair shake.

This. Is. So. Wrong.

UPDATE: Maybe it's a good thing to have the Internet down on you. Check out the Internet's view of Dick Cheney. It loves Cheney.

As you expected, the Internet hates AROD (below). Frankly, I think it hates the Yankees.

This will just make our World Series victory taste sweeter!

I Suggested "Missing You."

Maybe What This Team Needs Is An Encouraging Bible Verse

Deuteronomy 20:1-4
When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: "Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. 4 For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory."

I don't know about you, but that didn't help me at all.

Thought of the Day

Things Are Not So Bad.

So what if Nick Green hit a walk-off homer in Boston and Derek hit a walk-off grounder to shortstop in Miami?

So what if CC Sabathia only went 1+ innings yesterday, and Clay Buckholtz can't get back to the major leagues because there is no room for him.

So what if A-Rod is hitting .214 and needs one day per week off with Kate Hudson?

So what if we have one center fielder with 2 homers and another whose average has dropped by 40 points in the last three weeks?

So what if our left fielder drops the occasional fly ball and can't throw home on one hop from 10 feet behind the infield?

So what if Nick Swisher is a better pitcher than base runner or outfielder?

So what if Hideki Matsui has a range of 5 feet if placed in the outfield?

So what if other teams hit .355 when Jorge is catching?

So what if Joba can only go 4+ innings and his fastball is about 91 on the guns?

So what if Nady and Marte are playing Pavano's role this year?

It is a long season.  No one can predict what will happen in the game of baseball.  

We are only 4 games out.

So what if Brett Tomko gives up one homer per inning?

Bill O'Reilly debates John Sterling

The subject: Pornography

The team needs a huge shake-up: 10 options.

1. Fire Girardi. Bring in somebody from the Torre era. Donnie?

2. Trade Arod. Give him away. Accept that we get nothing in return.

3. Trade Jeter. The unthinkable. But he has no position beyond SS, and sooner or later, he can't do it.

4. Bundle prospects for a hitter. Hard to swallow. Matt Holliday? Oakland will rob us blind. Manny? The idea hurts.

5. Joba to the bullpen. Might happen anyway. Big enough jolt?

6. Public eruption from George. No lava left in the lamp. Hank too is on his meds.

7. Clubhouse Call-out. Jeter is not the type who names names. Burnett maybe. Teixiera? Or is everybody satisfied? Channeling Phil Garner...

8. On-field brawl. Sometimes, you just gotta get mad.

9. Batting order pulled from the hat. Billy Martin did it once. It worked. But this team needs an explosion, not a firecracker.

10. Bench somebody. Why are pitcher ERAs higher with Jorge? Why do we win often with Angel Berroa? How will we carry Matsui and Nady?

Alphonso, the most pessimistic Yank fan in the world, is right

We are a team of slap hitters whose home run totals are inflated because we play in a bandbox.

We are a team whose stars live in a different world than the rest of the players.

We are a really really really old and tired team.

Unless something changes dramatically -- and soon -- we will miss the playoffs again.

Let's Take A Look At John & Suzyn's Talking Points Of The Day, Sponsored By Lowe's.

John's talking points of the day:

There is no better feeling than the one you get when your child says, "Daddy, I love you."

Many significant things that happen in the game of baseball cannot be anticipated.

The Yankees have to win today. If they don't, they will be four games back.

Those young Yankee call-ups have played waaay better than anyone thought they would.

Never believe anything that happens in spring training.

Suzyn's talking points of the day:

Land Shark Stadium is a terrible, terrible name.

Who had any idea Scott Proctor was drunk?

Lowe's. Let's Build Something... Togethaaa! Restrictions apply.

Mocked by a Redsock fan on Father's Day

Dear el duque,

I read (your) comment about Arod this morning, and thought I
should warn you that starting a rumor that Arod may be available is
dangerous, not to the Yankees or MLB, but to the entire American
telecommunications system.

I mean, when other teams' general managers find out that all they
have to do is pick up the trifling remainder of his contract to get a
player of his caliber (.22) they will be jamming the phone lines with
calls to the Bronx. They may even send enough tweets to Brian
Cashman to shut down the entire Twitter system, perhaps for good.

(I will avoid dealing with the wisdom of trading such a rare player
except to point out that Arods do not grow on trees; they are
hatched every October from specially incubated goose eggs.)

Of course,, if the Yanks decide to trade him, I can easily envision
teams lining up to offer 27- and 28-year old prospects from their
single-A affilates all over the country. So the Yankees could get a
fair return in such a trade.

But the more important point is that by making his availability
known the Yankees could be putting in jeopardy the entire
telecommunications system, which could be brought down by the glut of
messages from opposing general managers.

Then how will sons around the country ever reach their fathers to wish
them a Happy Father's Day?

Just a thought.

Arod splash lands in Hudson, and I have had enough

Evidently, baseball's most famous .212 hitter in baseball (sorry Nick, Swisher) has been taking his two-game shore leave with Kate "Almost Famous" Hudson. I wonder if, when conversation about Joba lags, she can still recite that airline stewardess bit from the movie...

Wait... enough madcappery.

Let's talk honest-like. Eye to eye. No Sheriff Cowley. Truth.

We all know this team will soon make its run.

But I cannot fight the sense that we are the 2004 Redsocks -- before they traded Nomar Garciaparra. Which means we have to trade our Nomar.

If we don't do something dramatic -- I'm not talking prospects for Huston Street -- something that shakes the clubhouse -- forgetaboutit.

We can't trade Jeter, Mo or Posada. We'll get zilch for Damon or Matsui.

The Angels are floundering.

LA is Kate Hudson's town.

Would they take the reality show of Alex & Kate?

Jeter could move to third. If we found a fielding shortstop and an eighth inning bridge...

Ditzy Papelbon changes mind, won't sign with us

One day after boosting our hopes into the stratosphere, Paris Papelbon brought Yankee dreams crashing back to earth, by announcing he will NEVAH wear pinstripes! NEVAH!

This hurts.

Losing the opportunity to bid on little Papi, well... it... hurts big.

Especially because we never even got a shot with Schilling.

Sterling Index Plummets over 100 points, below Healy Line

The John Sterling WinWarble Index finished at 477 Friday, ending a turbulent week in which it only once peaked over the Fran Healy 500 mark.

Part of the problem stemmed from the team's failures against the Mets and Nats, which left Sterling gasping for hope and rational explanations. But controversy bubbled this week when a radio talk show host questioned whether John is too old to call a full nine innings, suggesting that the Voice of the Yankees may be too weak to warble up to the standards of his prime.

Previous Total: 604

Current Total: 477

Change: -127

Thought of the Day