Posted on 05/09/2006 4:03:54 PM PDT by misterrob
The saga continues in the Bronx this week. The Sox send out Beckett, Wakefield and Schilling. The Yankees counter with Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Shawn Chacon.
The New York Post ran a back cover story questioning why anyone has not dared to throw at David Ortiz.. (maybe because he is 6' 4" and weighs 250 lbs) Sox offseason pickup Josh Beckett returns to Yankee Stadium for the first time since Game 6 of the 2003 World Series.
Series returns to NY after an abbreviated series last week in Boston where Boston fans expressed their true feelings about Johnny Damon.
Yeah, I admit I like Matsui. He seems like a class act.
That's wild that the Marlins have twice as low payroll as the NEXT lowest team. (and TEN TIMES lower than the yanks!).
From my experience over the past few years on our occasional visits to Yankee Stadium... when the Red Sox beat the Yankees at home there are usually "mini riots" that break out all over the place...
Try close to 13 x's lower.
Yes, indeed. When Rivera gives up a run in a game it should be noted.
Lol, I remember during the 04 ALCS they had security and police out in full riot gear, good thing one didn't happen.
Are you a Red Sox or Yankees fan?
You know why they had them out there? The umps got the calls right that night. That was the night of the A-Rod purse snatching.
Now that Matsui is down for a while, Darth Steiner has to be coveting a new merc left fielder. Yankee$ payroll will soon be over $200 Million again.
Steroid testing and Salary Cap NOW!!!
Heck they are $75 Million higher the than team with the second highest payroll...It's an obscenity!
He's got nothing to trade and frankly they should be playing Crosby. He's got wheels and can throw some leather.
LOL!
Recap:
The Sox are winning more than losing and doing it without their offense firing on all cylinders. They are drawing a lot of walks which is good but the power production is way down across the board. That is not likely to remain as a problem but it bears watching that they cannot seem to drive in runs. Walks are great but I see too many guys just looking to get on base instead of looking to kill a pitch.
Starting pitching has been more than adequete but there needs to be more consistancy in their outings and better focus in the games. Too many home runs being allowed and while they are throwing strikes, Tek is simply calling too many pitches outside the zone in 2 strike counts. (Gee, I am down 0-2, 1-2, I bet the next pitch is a high fastball out of the zone. They did it the last 10 times in a row. Let's go for 11)
Bullpen: Papelbon is a monster right now but the rest of the guys are inconsistant. They need a reliable guy in the 7th and 8th and while Timlin is still effective, Father Time is catching up. Seanez is a disappointment and Tavarez is trick or treat. Is Foulke ever going to get it together? How many months til Hansen is ready?
Defense: No complaints on this subject. Infield is solid and Manny actually hustles every play. Adventures in Wily Mo in the outfield can make the game interesting.
Other comments:
Pena is getting better at the plate and is actually drawing walks and not whiffing on 3 pitches anywhere near as much. He still seems off balance at the plate. He can hit a rope double to the opposite field while swinging off balance though. I would love to see him lock in on a fastball and pull it.
Lowell is turning out to be a great pick up. Loretta has been hot at the plate lately as well.
The Sox #1 and #2 hitters can easily look at 12 pitches in the first inning.
What do you do with Youk when Crisp comes back?
Nixon still tries to pull away pitches too much and watches too many fastballs down the middle of the plate.
Tek's swing is too big...
Someone needs to tell Gonzalez that line drives are okay. He's not going to hit many fly balls for HRs.
Willy Harris reminds me of Wesley Snipes' character in Major League. Pop up power.
Bronson had plenty of time to show what he could do. .500 pitcher who couldn't handle left handed pitching. The NL is easier to pitch to.
The Sox are grooming Hansen as a starter, not a setup-man.
(That's what they were saying on NESN.)
SOX WIN! First Place!
I'm liking that Timlin/Foulke/Pap 1-2-3
WFAN Yankees Beat Reporter Sweeny Murti is reporting that the Yankees FO have a very bad feeling that Gozirra is out until 2007. I respect the hell out of Matsui for managing to get the ball into the infield after that gruesome break. Big loss for the Yanks. He is one of the most clutch hitters they have.
Buster Olney suggests that the Yanks will go after Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter. The Phillies are only 2.5 GB in the WC and 3.0 GB of the Mets and Abreu leads the team in runs scored. Hunter is more of an option with his high salary and because the Twins are so horrible.
I think Matsui is gone for the year. He's a great player, but a Red Sox killer. Still, it's horrible to see a class act go out that way, even if he is a Yankee.
Now, Juicin' on the other hand....
I was amazed to see him manage to get the ball back into the infield while his wrist was flopping around. The pain must have been awful. Yankee uniform or not I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
>>SOX WIN! First Place!
WEEI's local post-game talk continued past midnight so JT The Brick was joined in progress about 12:45 am. I didn't want to miss an opportunity to hear that big Yankee fan rant about his team losing; I knew WBAL (AM 1090, Baltimore) carried the show too, so I tuned in for a moment. He lamented the loss of
Matsui, of course--and said "So, the Sox and the Yankees are tied in the loss column" or something like that.
He could not admit Sox are in first! Last week I think the Sox are Yanks were tied though the Sox had one more win AND one more loss than the Yanks,and JT said, "The Yankees are ahead in the loss column". Way to spin it JT!
Sox AND Yanks that should say
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