boywiththorninside

The numbers are a record of what has happened on the field. They are the best way to measure what has happened on the field, plain and simple. Dismissing them makes no sense at all.

What if the numbers are partially based on the performance of players no longer on the team? The Yankees pitching staff, as presently constituted, is not the pitching staff that has compiled their team numbers. Matt DeSalvo, Tyler Clippard, Darrell Rasner, Kei Igawa, Sean Henn, Jeff Kartsens, and Mike Mussina each put a nice dent in the Yankees team ERA. The thing is, except for Mussina, you aren't going to see these guys the rest of the way. You are going to see quality young guys like Chamberlain, Hughes, Kennedy, Ramirez and solid old guys like Clemens, Pettite and Wang (not that old, I know). Anyway, I'd like to see the numbers if the present staff and relief core got to pitch the whole year together. I bet they would be pretty good and definitely more representative of the team that the Yankees will bring into October (assuming they are lucky enough to make it).

Numbers.

The numbers say the Yankees were the best team in baseball in the 1980's. They compiled the most wins of any team for that decade. I watched those teams. Those teams stunk and never won a ring. I don't dismiss numbers, but I don't see them as the end all either. Yes, the numbers would indicate the Yankees pitching has been inconsistent. However, again, the numbers do not show who compiled those figures. Fortunately for the Yankees, many of the guys who compiled their numbers are now enjoying their off-season.

If the Yankees pitching has been inconsistent, it isn't right now. The arms have become pretty well settled. That's the gist of it for me.

By the way, is there a bigger candidate for steroid user of the year than Posada?

Carlos Pena - Tampa Bay.

What's the suspicion with Posada? Only his average is up. HR's and RBI's are pretty steady with the rest of his career. He's had two good years after a slight decline. However, these past two years are also the first time his son has been healthy. According to the Yankees radio team, this has helped him mentally. Is it true? I got no idea.

Also, there's been no physical change with Posada. He looks as unathletic and chubby as ever.

Are we supposed to be talking 'roids? It's part of the game now, I guess. Regrettable, but unavoidable.

They're 8th in the AL in team ERA. The Red Sox are first, the Indians are 3rd, and the Angels are 4th.

What?!!? They have the # 1 offense in the AL, by several measures -- runs per game, total runs, team batting average, total home runs, team on-base percentage, team slugging percentage, adjusted OPS, and runs per game at home (and they're second in runs per game on the road).

 

That's why they're four games up in the wildcard, 5

So, no one's supposed to predict an ALCS without the Yankees?

 

For much of this year, the Yankees' pitching was terrible. It's not unreasonable to argue that it still is terrible.

 

An overly sensitive Yankees fan ... isn't that an oxymoron?

I don't mind predictions, I just don't want anyone to think a Sox-Angels ALCS is a foregone conclusion. Basically I'm just trying to stick up for my team.

If the Yankees pitching is so terrible why are they 4 games up in the WC? Why are they only 5-1/2 behind the Sox? Why have they been able to take 8 of the last 11 from the Sox this year? I'm not trying to be an a-hole, but the Yankees pitching is nowhere as near as bad as people are trying to make it out to be. If anything, the offense has been more of a problem. For the first half of the season only A-Rod, Jeter and Posada hit. They got nothing from Melky, Abreu, Damon, Matsui and Cano. Thankfully, that has changed.

I actually like the fact the Yankees are being overlooked. I know I overlooked the Tigers last year and look how things turned out. Again, I don't want to be an a-hole, but I just have a feeling about this team. It would be a perfect script. Everyone counted them out when they were 14-1/2 behind and yet, somehow, they win their 27th championship. Who knows? Anything can happen in October. I just feel good about this team.

I know about A-Rod's post-season history, but, if the Yankees are fortunate enough to make the play-offs, I expect the guy to deliver. He is so locked in this year. Additionally, it's really only 2005 and 2006 that he's been a post-season dud. He put up good numbers with Seattle in the play-offs, and in 2004 he carried the Yankees against the Twins and even hit a few bombs against the Red Sox before the whole thing went to shit. After the Detroit series last year and the accompanying uproar, I expected him to be a total head case and perform like crap this year but instead he's been great. I expect it to continue.

There was a post before mine predicting a great Sox-Angels ALCS - from Leo, I think. He also said the Yankees pitching was terrible. I'm very sensitive.

I don't think anyone has dismissed them. They are always a threat to the division. They've been playing decent ball the last month or so but the fact that Detroit and Seattle have been playing terribly has obviously helped them greatly for the WC slot. Moreso than their suspect pitching.

I'm probably being hypersensitive, but I take the predictions of a Red Sox-Angels ALCS as a dismissal of the Yankees.

I don't consider the Yankees pitching to be any more suspect than any other teams. Wang, Pettite, Clemens, Vizcaino, Chamberlain, Rivera - that's enough. A-Rod's bat will fill any holes.

Sadly, I agree that the Yankees appear to have th wild card, even though their pitching is terrible.

 

I look for a great championship series between the Red Sox and Angels.

I'm pretty happy with the Yankees pitching. Wang (like Beckett) is 18-6. Pettite is always solid, especially after losses. His record is not great and he is obviously vastly overpaid, but, if healthy, I always feel comfortable with Clemens. Also, they have some decent young starters in Hughes and Kennedy. As for the bullpen, well, there's Joba and Mo. Is there a better 1-2, 8th and 9th inning combo in baseball? Okajima and Papelbon are admittedly very good, but I'd still take Joba and Mo.

I know the Yankees are the George W. Bush of baseball in terms of popularity around here, but don't dismiss them. Wild Card teams tend to do pretty well. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees in the ALCS and beyond.

Check it out:

http://www.dylanmessaging.com/create

Only Lie Worth Telling - Paul Westerberg

Three Girl Rhumba - Wire

Me on the Beach - Nagisa Ni Te

Darling I Miss You So - Lonnie Johnson

Promises I've Made - Emitt Rhodes

I Don't Believe You - Magnetic Fields

Top Ranking - Blonde Redhead

Lovelier Girl - Beach House

Rise N Shine - John Coltrane

#1 - Animal Collective

Won't Let You Down - Wilco

Keep on Keeping On - Curtis Mayfield

For No One - Ryan Adams

Jeane - The Smiths

The Red Blouse - Antonio Carlos Jobim

Arrow Through Me - Paul McCartney

Black Sheep Boy - Scott Walker

Care of Cell 44 - The Zombies

Baby - Os Mutantes

Sipping on the Sweet Nectar - Jens Lekman

oh i thought you meant the baseball player, i think he used to pitch for the Seattle Mariners...

I thought he meant the point guard for the '84 Georgetown national title team.

As I'm not much of a beer drinker or enthusiast, I've never heard of this Michael Jackson. Nevertheless, RIP.

Earlier this morning, I watched this:

Good list and good call on "Tweeter." Excellent tune. I also enjoy "Congratulations" from that Willburys album.

Oh yeah, "Congratulations." If I was making this mix, that would have to be included. I never liked "Tweeter" much, but it is definitely well regarded and should be included.

Wilburys 3 was from the 90's, right? "If You Belonged to Me" is pretty great, but, I guess, ineligible for an 80's mix.

For whatever reason, the Yankees always struggle with Tampa Bay. I don't think the Yankees are looking past them, or are thinking they won't need Joba to beat them. I agree though they need more than Joba in the bullpen to maintain this slim WC lead or to...maybe...yes...catch the Red Sox.

Based on the Cashman-dictated "Joba Rules" (pitch one inning = one day rest, pitch two innings = two days of rest), the whole thing seems suspicious to me. Why would Torre send Joba out there for another inning with a 5-0 lead when this would mean Joba wouldn't be able to pitch again until Sunday? My thinking: he didn't intend Joba to be out there for a full inning. The plan was for Joba to throw at someone right away and then get taken out (or tossed). The intended target was probably Ortiz, but he flew out on the first pitch of the inning. A-Rod got plunked yesterday, so Ortiz had one coming today. That's my theory anyway. The main flaw to this theory, I think, is that by ordering Joba to throw at someone, you run the risk of losing him to suspension. Nonetheless, I'm sticking to my theory.

Additonally, just look at the replays. I've been watching Joba pitch for a few weeks now and the kid has missed his target maybe twice this entire time. Now two pitches in a row, he's that far out of the strike zone? Those two pitches were Joba hitting his target, as he usually does. It's just this time his target was right above Youklis's head.

Just my opinion.

I'm an idiot. Joba was throwing at Youklis. Sorry for the misinformation.

I can't really pinpoint the motive - I don't think any Yankees were hit. I know Lowell has made some comments about the Yankees in the past. Plus, didn't he have some real hard slide against Jeter last series? I'm just guessing. It really looked intentional. Joba has too good of control to miss like that twice in a row.

I don't know if anyone is watching this live, but Joba Chamberlain was throwing at Mike Lowell's head and got ejected. Two pitches in a row - it looked intentional to me and I'm a Yankees fan.

I would consider putting the following on:

Covenant Woman

What Can I do For You?

Solid Rock

Heart of Mine

Every Grain of Sand (essential)

Caribbean Wind

Jokerman (essential)

Sweetheart Like You

Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight

Tangled Up in Blue (Real Live - alternate lyrics)

I'll Remember You

Dark Eyes (essential)

Brownsville Girl (essential)

Silvio

Everything Is Broken

Ring Them Bells

Man in the Long Black Coat

Most of the Time (essential)

Shooting Star

Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart

Foot of Pride

Blind Willie McTell (essential)

When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky

Series of Dreams (essential)

essential = not necessarily my opinion, but what I understand as being the consensus of opinion (from what I've read, etc.)

I don't see any of the Pro-lifers jumping to address this point of his post:

 

"Hentoff also takes pro-lifers to task for being inconsistent, quoting Barney Frank: "Those who oppose abortion are pro-life only up to the moment of birth." Hentoff feels that to be pro-life, one requires a "consistent ethic of life. They ought to actively oppose capital punishment, preparations for war, and the life-diminishing poverty associated with" certain government policies.

 

Hmmm. Discuss."

I hate the labels, but I would consider myself a moderate "pro-lifer" - if there is such a thing (and I would like to think there is). Anyway, for myself, I don't know what there is to discuss about Hentoff's above quotation. I think he's right. I know in the past I had been far too willing to accept war and capital punishment, while holding myself out as "pro-life." However, over the past four or five years, for whatever reason, I've changed much of my thinking in regards to certain aspects of foreign policy and criminal justice. Right now, I would say I do fall along the Hentoff suggested anti-war, anti-death penalty, anti-abortion line. I imagine circumstances could arise that would force me to stray from that line, but, for now, that's where I would like to think I am. If I sound holier-than-thou in writing this, I apologize. I just wanted to give ... his desired "pro-lifer" feedback.

Organized religions silence insofar as the war is concerned is deafening. That Bush

I know he's in Japan working on films. I heard he said he has no music left in him. Which is sad.

I apologize for going off topic, but do you know in what capacity O'Rourke is working in with film? Is he writing, directing, music consultant?

"Thou shalt not kill" is apparently the most ambiguous of the commandments.

 

Tell you what, when war is outlawed let me know. Then there might be level playing field for the abortion discussion.

I don't know if this adds anything, but I thought it was interesting. It seems to show a pretty consistent "pro-life" stance from the present/recent hiearchy of the Catholic Church. Of course, this is only one (actually two) writers opinion/point of view. Nonetheless, I thought it was a decent read.

Link

"The most consistent and frequent promoter of peace and human rights for the last two decades has been Pope John Paul II.

From Iraqi War I to Iraqi War II, he has echoed the voice of Paul VI, crying out before the United Nations in 1965: War No More, War Never Again!

John Paul II stated before the 2003 war that this war would be a defeat for humanity which could not be morally or legally justified.

In the weeks and months before the U.S. attacked Iraq, not only the Holy Father, but also one Cardinal and Archbishop after another at the Vatican spoke out against a "preemptive" or "preventive" strike. They declared that the just war theory could not justify such a war. Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran said that such a "war of aggression" is a crime against peace. Archbishop Renato Martino, who used the same words in calling the possible military intervention a "crime against peace that cries out vengeance before God," also criticized the pressure that the most powerful nations exerted on the less powerful ones on the U.N. Security Council to support the war. The Pope spoke out almost every day against war and in support of diplomatic efforts for peace.

John Paul II sent his personal representative, Cardinal Pio Laghi, a friend of the Bush family, to remonstrate with the U.S. President before the war began. Pio Laghi said such a war would be illegal and unjust. The message was clear: God is not on your side if you invade Iraq."