A bad game was bound to happen eventually, and the Yankee’s filled last night’s contest against the Rays with as much bad baseball as they could. Luckily, Jonathan Papelbon let a Boston 3-run lead slip away from him in the ninth and the A’s beat the Red Sox in extra innings, keeping the Yankees 2.5 games ahead in the AL East.

CC was clearly not sharp last night. He got into trouble in the second inning, in part due to a throwing error by Jeter. He minimized the damage to one run, but the third inning spelled more of the same. This time the Rays were able to score 2-runs, with help from a throwing error on A-Rod. Matsui got New York on the board with a RBI single in the top of the fourth, but then promptly overran first and got tagged out. Longoria went long off CC in the fifth and the Rays added two more runs in the sixth to put the Yanks in a 6-1 hole when Sabathia left the mound. Girardi either had already given up or heard every beat reporter, blogger and fan that wondered why Melancon was warming the bench, so he gave the kid a shot. He pitched 2.1 innings of shutout ball, but the damage was done and the Yankees lost 6-2.

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A bad game was bound to happen eventually, and the Yankee’s filled last night’s contest against the Rays with as much bad baseball as they could. Luckily, Jonathan Papelbon let a Boston 3-run lead slip away from him in the ninth and the A’s beat the Red Sox in extra innings, keeping the Yankees 2.5 games ahead in the AL East.

CC was clearly not sharp last night. He got into trouble in the second inning, in part due to a throwing error by Jeter. He minimized the damage to one run, but the third inning spelled more of the same. This time the Rays were able to score 2-runs, with help from a throwing error on A-Rod. Matsui got New York on the board with a RBI single in the top of the fourth, but then promptly overran first and got tagged out. Longoria went long off CC in the fifth and the Rays added two more runs in the sixth to put the Yanks in a 6-1 hole when Sabathia left the mound. Girardi either had already given up or heard every beat reporter, blogger and fan that wondered why Melancon was warming the bench, so he gave the kid a shot. He pitched 2.1 innings of shutout ball, but the damage was done and the Yankees lost 6-2.

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Lar from Wezen-ball takes us on a stroll down Memory Lane, back to 1998 when Randy Johnson was traded to the Astros.

I’ve tried not to get to wrapped up in the rumor mill (except for ones that make me angry; I’m looking at you, Brandon Arroyo). The last day or so, however, I can’t help but see the RedSox plastered all over the place. In heavy discussions with Toronto for Doc Halladay. Dancing with San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez. And then there’s the “get Victor Martinez AND Cliff Lee” mega-deal. Either way, an acquisition of that caliber would scare me, as a Yanks fan. But which would scare me more?

One of the things the RedSox could use (I am refraining from the word “need” since they don’t really need some of these things) is a boost from their corner infield spots. Adding Adrian Gonzalez could bump Lowell to the bench and put Youk at 3B. That would be a tremendous upgrade. Of course, it doesn’t solve their SS blackhole. But still, a lineup that can run Pedroia, Youk, Adrian, Bay, Papi is a damn formidable quintet. Having Lowell and newly acquired LaRoche on the bench would be nice, but might leave the team short in the middle infield depth. That lineup would be a beast to navigate. However, figuring that Buchholz would be in the deal to land Adrian, it would leave their rotation further in the lurch. Smoltz has been pedestrian, putting it kindly. Wakefield and Dice-K are on the DL, too. That leaves Beckett and Lester (two studs), Brad Penny, and….? Does Masterson re-enter the rotation? Do they rush Wakefield back? This is not a rotation that would really make me sweat. The RedSox have preached pitching and defense and by subtracting Buchholz, they are weakening a pillar.

Now, if the Sox landed Halladay, I would be scared. Beckett, Halladay and Lester are good enough to beat anyone, anytime, anywhere. It would also make the back end of the rotation less worrisome. The lineup would have to bump along with Lowell and LaRoche playing bigger roles than in the Adrian scenario. But Doc is that good, that dominating, that much of a positive influence (look what he did with Burnett), that I can’t help but be terrified if the Sox landed him. And if they were able to simply take on Scutaro as part of the deal to shore up their SS hole, that’d be a great move for the Sox. A great one.

The Lee & V-Mart scenaro is an interesting one. It would put a very good bat in the lineup (and could spell ‘Tek a few times a week) in addition to adding a very good pitcher. I don’t have any really good reason or data to back this next statement up, but: Cliff Lee doesn’t scare me. I think he’s over his head. He’s good, but he’s not THIS good. However, he’s still an upper tier starter and when you add him along with V-Mart, that’s intimidating.

Which scenario would scare you the most? What have I missed?

The Lorena Bobbitt jokes may now begin. Sometimes, I try to keep it high road. Othertimes, the low road is fun to travel. So there you have it: my Wang needed surgery. Lengthy recovery period. Soft tissue tightened. Badum-cha. Coffee, please!

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By now, you’ve read a-plenty about Omar Minaya’s Twilight Zone-esque presser yesterday. Why he chose to do this, who knows? But as I said last week, I think Omar’s time as Mets GM should be nearing an end. That’s even more the case after he tossed the NY Daily News’ Adam Rubin squarely under the bus:

“Adam has lobbied for the player development position,” Minaya said. “I scuffled with it early on. I had to think about that.”

Really? This is the path you chose as you sought to deflect attention from your boy, Tony Bernazard, getting the heave-ho? Rubin’s reponse:

As I told the reporters who descended upon me after Minaya left the press conference, I have never, ever, asked Omar Minaya for a job. Or even career advice. Frankly, I’ve never been very close to him.
[...]
The minor-leaguers Bernazard oversaw lived in fear of losing their jobs because they were constantly told they were disposable. How do I know? They told me.

Their parents told me. Others in uniform at the various levels of the Mets told me. Scouts who observed instances told me. Minaya did not identify one piece of inaccurate information in any of The News’ stories.

Monday, after learning about what had happened at the press conference, one of the whistleblowers in the Binghamton incident summed it up best: “You didn’t get Tony fired. Tony did. Don’t let them take the focus off that.”

That last comment is spot on: Tony Bernazard was a major problem for this team. So is Minaya. One’s gone. The other needs to go, too. And soon.

And feel free to watch the trainwreck here.

As a follow-up, check out Shysterball’s essay on the subject.

[This game recap was provided by Tamar Chalker as her second "tryout" for the IIATMS daily recap writer.]

After a phenomenal homestand that catapulted the Yankees into first place, the Pinstripes showed no signs of slowing down in the first game of their first road trip since the break. This series against the Rays could prove to be crucial, as third place Tampa Bay is still within striking distance.

AJ started off a little rough, walking Crawford and who got to third when AJ’s check throw flew past Teixeira (perhaps he had just heard the rumor about the Yankees trading for Arroyo that sure made me want to throw things). Burnett did settle down and was virtually untouchable through 7 innings. The Yankee bats woke up in the second inning, which started with a single by Matsui, a double by Posada and a triple by Cano, and ended with the Bombers up 3-0. Back-to-back homers by Cano and Swisher in the sixth would stretch the Yankees lead to 5-0, until AJ gave up an unearned run, thanks to a strikeout/passed ball that put Upton on first. With the Yankees up 7-1 in the 8^th, Girardi called on Albaladejo. He struggled, giving up 2 more runs and had to be replaced by Robertson with 2 people on. Robertson got the strikeout and the Bombers held the lead at 7-3. With two outs in the top of the ninth Swisher smacked his second HR of the game, followed a few batters later by Johnny Damon’s 3 run shot. Robertson came out in the bottom of the ninth to finish the job and he picked up his first career save–in a game where the final score was 11-4. Sometimes timing is everything

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“Yankees, Reds Working On Arroyo Deal” (via MLBTradeRumors.com):

The Yankees are in serious discussions with the Reds about acquiring Bronson Arroyo, although right now the deal may be hinging on how much of Arroyo’s remaining contract the Reds are willing to eat, major league sources told FanHouse on Monday.

Reds top officials met via conference call this morning, an indication to one big-league source that they were “close to a deal.” Arroyo has since been removed as the Reds probable pitcher for Tuesday.

Wait, didn’t I hear that the Yanks weren’t in on Halladay due to added costs (among other reason)? So now they’d take on that abortion of a contract? Please no. And they’d have to give up someone with a pulse? Make it stop. $18 million thru the end of 2010. I wanna cry.

UPDATE: A well-placed source of mine had this to say: “[Your] source may have exaggerrated the likelihood of a deal. The teams have talked, but appear to be far apart on how much money the Reds would send.” Thank goodness!

This simply HAD to happen:

The New York Mets haved fired Tony Bernazard, the Post has learned. GM Omar Minaya will make that official this afternoon at a press conference.

Reached by phone, Bernazard did not want to comment on the situation. But a second source has now also confirmed his removal to [Joel Sherman].

My previous, recently posted thoughts on the the Mets mess can be read here.

Up next in the IIATMS interview schedule is Brendan Gawlowski. Brendan, like the others, is looking to fill the Stats/Analysis guru role. As with the others, please use the comments to critique, laud, extol, glorify, mock, shame. Or something.

(He also has a good sense of timing as his subject’s name is bound to come up over the next few days, too.)

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Commish Selig is again considering reinstating Pete Rose. Normally, this would be a yawner to me, but given that the man that gives Selig the grade-school-giggles, Hank Aaron, also thinks Rose should be in the HOF, I am thinking this has a good shot of happening.

The tip-off that Selig may now be inclined to pardon baseball’s all-time hit king was Hank Aaron’s seemingly impromptu interview session with a small group of reporters in the lobby of the Otesaga Hotel on Saturday. In declaring for the first time that he would want an asterisk put on the achievements of any steroid cheats elected to the Hall of Fame, Aaron brought up Rose, who, in August of 1989, was given a lifetime ban for gambling on baseball, saying: “I would like to see Pete in. He belongs there.”

For years, I have thought Rose should never be allowed in. Over the last few years, I have begun to separate the crime from the player/manager. Rose did the crime as a manager. His career as a player deserves to be elected. His plaque can contain a phrase to the effect: “Rose was suspended from baseball due to gambling activities in August 1989.”

Pretend you’re the Commish: Reinstate Rose or not. What are you gonna do?