Gotta love ad-serving technology. Got this while loading the previous postings into Facebook. Picture after the jump….
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Entering the 2009 season, the Yankee offense was considered one of the best, if not the best offensive attacks in baseball. True to form, they lead the American League in home runs, walks, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. They are getting great seasons from the usual suspects, like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter. But they are also getting a career year out of Johnny Damon. Damon currently is posting an OPS of .884 and a wOBA of .386, both career highs. It is important to look at this breakout to not only decide if he can keep up this pace over the rest of the season, but also to try and determine what kind of contract this breakout warrants for next year.
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Players would rather look cool than wear a bulkier helmet that could protect their noggins. I’m about as shocked about this as I was when I heard about Papi appearing on The List. Yet, the defiance is misplaced. We’re talking about protection from a potential career-ending brain injury. But noooo, heaven forbid a player not look cool.
As helpful as the new helmet may be, there is resistance to it from some major league players who are not prepared to sacrifice comfort and style for added protection.
[...]
“No, I am absolutely not wearing that,” Mets right fielder Jeff Francoeur said with a laugh after seeing a prototype, as if he were being asked to put a pumpkin on his head. “I could care less what they say, I’m not wearing it. There’s got to be a way to have a more protective helmet without all that padding. it’s brutal. we’re going to look like a bunch of clowns out there.”
[...]
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Did Shaq bring his kid to the Cardinals game to watch him throw out the first ball? No, it was just lil’ ole Albert FREAKIN’ Pujols. Poor lil’ Albert is only 6’3″, but next to Shaq, he looks like David Eckstein.
No jokes, no snark here. I can’t even imagine the life reliever Scott Schoenweis is living right now. Having lost his wife (undisclosed cause) at age 35, with four kids (14, 7, 5, and 2).
“It’s obviously been a horrific year for him,” Arizona manager A. J. Hinch said. “On a personal level, I can’t imagine what he’s endured. He has tried his best to be a major league baseball player while going through the worst thing imaginable.
“He’s done an incredible job of raising four kids and doing this,” Hinch added. “At this point, baseball becomes irrelevant.”
I hope he can take the time he needs to get himself back on track. Pitching is the least of it.
This one made me chuckleTazawa had hit Cabrera in the first inning, though Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell viewed the approach as sound pitching.
But if your guy gets hit, he’s justified in charging the mound, sick of being a target? Riiiiiiiiight.
Where have you gone, Don Baylor or Craig Biggio?
UPDATE: Jay over at FackYouk takes particular delight in all things anti-Youk, so naturally he’s positively giddy right now:
The Bombers came out swinging and showed that Monday night’s loss was already forgotten. Offensively and defensively the Yankees have everything clicking and if one of them doesn’t have their A game on a given night, the rest of the team has the ability to pick that person up. Joba did not bring his best Tuesday, but the bullpen and the offense did and the Yankees picked up a 7-5 victory.
Once again, Jeter started the Yankees in the right direction, sending the first pitch to the outfield for a single. Damon followed with his first double of the night and Teix plated Jeter with a single. After Ks by both A-Rod and Matsui, Posada got the Yankees on the board again with a double to right center that scored Damon. A combination of a nice relay throw and a bad decision had Teixeira pegged at home by a long shot to end the inning. In the second inning, Cano doubled and moved to third on a balk before being brought home on Melky’s sac fly. The Yankees took the 3-0 lead into the third, at which point things got a little rocky.
With one out, Joba walked Inglett and gave up a single to Scutaro. Hill grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Joba walked Lind, loading the bases with two outs. He then served up a three-run double to Overbay and suddenly the game was tied 3-3. A solo homerun by Randy Ruiz in the fourth gave Toronto the lead as the Yankee bats went quiet. In the bottom of the eighth the Yankees offense got a jumpstart as Matsui drilled one deep to right knotting up the score at 4-4. Posada would not send the ball as deep, but it was long enough, just clearing the right field fence and giving the Yankees the 5-4 lead and their third straight game with back-to-back homeruns. Hinske doubled and Hairston came on to run for him. Melky’s single scored Hairston and he moved to second on a stolen base. Johnny Damon drove a single to right, scoring Melky but ending the inning when he tried to stretch it to a double. The Yankees had a 7-4 lead heading into the top of the ninth, and they called on Mo. Rivera got Ruiz to line out to Cano before giving up a solo shot to Encarnacion and a single by Barajas. He settled and struck out the next two batters to secure the victory for New York.
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After sweeping Boston out of the Bronx, the Bombers struck out against the Blue Jays, losing 5-4 and ending their win streak at 7 games. Mitre was able to give the Yanks five innings, but he seemed destined to give the game away and pick up his first loss of the season.
Jeter started things off with a bang for the Yankees, sending a leadoff homerun into the stands. Swisher and Teixeira followed with singles, but Alex grounded into a double play and Posada popped out to end the first inning. Mitre got two outs quickly in the third inning, but gave up a homerun to Hill, tying the game 1-1. Mitre managed to get out of the inning, getting Lind to pop up. Jeter singled, stole second and moved to third on an errant throw that ended up in center. Swisher sent a sac fly out to the warning track and New York regained the lead.
When Mitre took the mound in the fourth he clearly was missing something. He walked Overbay and gave up a single to Wells. Bautista sent a grounder back to the mound, which Mitre fielded cleanly. He then seemed to hesitate, taking an extra step before letting loose a throw that sailed past Robinson Cano and allowed Overbay to score. Wells would score on a sacrifice fly to Nick Swisher and Inglett would triple in Bautista to give the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead. Once again, the Bombers erased Mitre’s mistake, tying the game on back-to-back shots by Cano and Hairston. In the top of the fifth Mitre started strong again, getting a quick two outs before giving up a homerun to Overbay. Aceves would relieve Mitre in the sixth and pitch a strong four innings for the Pinstripes, but it would not be enough as the Blue Jays bullpen was able to keep the Yankees’ bats quiet.
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I think Sergio Mitre’s only counting the big ones, but from what I saw, there were more than three:
“I made three mistakes, two home runs and the bad throw to second base,” Mitre said. “The ball was hit hard, so it got to me quick, so I double-pumped trying to get a grip. If we make that double play, the game is 4-2.”
I saw a pretty darn hittable guy yesterday who left a lot of pitches up. I can’t bash him too hard because he is, afterall, still coming back from TJS. But that doesn’t mean he gets to keep his rotation spot for this team. A number five starter has to come from somewhere. Down on the farm?
Just not picking up the contracts on Arroyo or Harang. That’s not an answer. I’d rather see one of the kids, even Igawa, before taking on some other team’s horrible contracts for mediocraty.
I was actually retelling this story the other day to my older son, to his delight (then horror) about how Dave Dravecky came back from a malignant growth on his arm and how his career ended soon after. That it’s a 20 year old story blows my mind. Great to see that the Giants are honoring him.
Dravecky pitched eight innings to beat the Cincinnati Reds in his comeback game on Aug. 10, 1989, 10 months after surgery to remove a malignant growth from his pitching arm. The memory of the game still gives chills to those who were at Candlestick Park that day.
[...]
Five days later at Montreal, Dravecky’s surgery-weakened upper left arm snapped as he threw a pitch, and he fell to the mound in pain. Two months later, it broke again during a celebration after the Giants’ playoff-clinching game against the Chicago Cubs.
Dravecky never pitched again. After additional surgeries and radiation treatments, Dravecky’s left arm was amputated in 1991. He said he has no regrets about making the comeback.
Horrible injury. Great lesson on perseverence and never giving up. Damn shame, though, how it ultimately wound up.
If you change his name from “John Smoltz” to almost any other name and relied on your eyes and data, there would be no reason the player known as John Smoltz, 2009 edition, would draw any interest. Yet, according to Olney, he is.
Some National League teams, as well as the Texas Rangers, have interest in acquiring John Smoltz, major league sources say, which is an early indication that he will have another opportunity to pitch this year — if he chooses to take it.
Is the NL really that bad?
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Red Sox and Yankees fans were all feeling a bit of deja vu as the Yankees completed the 
Boston Massacre II, sweeping Boston out of the Bronx. It was not quite as dramatic as 2006, when the Yankees swept a five game series against the Red Sox at Fenway, but the implications are the same. Then, as is the case now, the Yankees took a season high 6.5 game lead ahead of the Sox in the AL East. In fact, the end of 2006 was the last time the Yankees were 27 games above .500. The Red Sox fell apart during the second half of the 2006 season and failed to make the playoffs. As it is now, they are tied for the Wild Card lead after losing 5-2 on Sunday.
Last nights game felt similar to Friday’s 15 inning affair, as both pitchers had their good stuff going. Lester threw a great game, allowing no more than one base runner per inning through six. Pettitte managed to keep the struggling Boston offense at bay (no pun intended but convenient). In the fourth inning, Andy started to struggle, giving up singles to Bay and Drew. With Lowell at the plate Pettitte must have momentarily thought he was playing cricket, as he continually bounced the ball to the Boston DH, eventually walking him to load the bases. With two outs, Pettitte gave Varitek something to hit, and he drilled the ball to left – directly at Johnny Damon who made the catch.
In the bottom of the seventh, Alex Rodriguez put the first run on the board with a solo shot. Posada followed with a single, but Swisher, Cano and Melky all grounded out, leaving the score at 1-0. With Pettitte in line for the win Girardi brought in Coke. After Ellsbury struck out looking, Pedroia singled and Victor Martinez sent a monster home run into left to end Boston’s 31-inning scoreless streak and give Boston the 2-1 lead. Coke gave up another single to Youkilis before getting Bay to ground into a double play. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Damon tied the game back up with a solo shot off Daniel Bard. Two pitches later, Teixeira would send another Bard pitch into the stands and the Yankees regained the lead. A-Rod would walk and Posada would double, putting two on with two outs for Nick Swisher who tried to make like he got hit by the very first pitch. The ump didn’t buy it, and this was perhaps for the best as Swisher singled, plating A-Rod and Posada and giving the Yankees the 5-2 lead. Rivera then came out in the ninth and picked up his 32nd save of the season.
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