Morning Brew, NY House Blend

Not a lot of panic in New York. Not nearly as much as followed the last Boston sweep. But still, we thought you might like a few headlines and snippets after a weekend that put the Sox 4 up in late June. Enjoy.

NY Post - CC Ya Later. (Nice twist of the Michael Kay call. I can't help but find that signature damn annoying. Otherwise, Michael Kay is pretty good. Still, with Ken Singleton on the color commentary, I don't wish the YES network on any of you.) "It took a $161 million arm to bark for the spotlight to dim on Alex Rodriguez's return from a two-game starting hiatus. With all eyes on Rodriguez to see how his fatigued body would respond to the first start since Thursday, Yankees ace CC Sabathia left the mound in the second inning with what was diagnosed by Dr. Dan Kanell as biceps tendinitis."

NY Post - Yankees Protest Lineup Snafu. (I mean, sure you've gotta get every game you can, but still, I enjoyed the smell of desperation in this.) "With pitcher Leo Nunez in the leadoff spot after Alejandro De Aza hit for Renyel Pinto in the seventh, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez doubled-switched left fielder and leadoff man Chris Coghlan out of the game. But with Coghlan in left as Nunez warmed up, Girardi told plate umpire Tim Timmons that Nunez couldn't be hitting first if Coghlan was in the game. And Girardi told Timmons not to warn the Marlins. After Nunez's first pitch, Girardi went back to Timmons, who gathered the umpires to discuss a situation Timmons told Girardi he never had seen before...It likely will fall into the laps of Joe Garagiola, senior VP of baseball operations, or Ed Burns, VP of baseball operations.
According to Girardi, if the protest is upheld, the game would be resumed with the Marlins leading 6-3 at the start of the eighth inning." (Pretty interesting. Wonder if the Yankees will come back within a base hit again.)

NY Daily News, A-Rod to Sit out One Day a Week. "Joe Girardi plans to rest A-Rod once a week for the next month, a plan Rodriguez said was devised by Dr. Marc Phillipon, the Colorado surgeon who operated on his hip in March. 'That sounds like a good plan,' A-Rod said Sunday. 'From what I understand, that comes from Vail (Colo.) and Dr. Philippon. We'll follow his instructions and regroup in a month. The idea is that I'll get stronger each month.'" (I understand doctor's orders and everything, but isn't your franchise player supposed to at least pretend like he doesn't want a day off every week, like it's tearing him up inside?)

NY Daily News, The Manager doth Protest too Much. "There's an old saying that every day you go to the ballpark, you might see something you’ve never seen before. That was certainly the case Sunday night. I saw CC Sabathia leave a game in the second inning, and while that has actually happened twice before, the last time was 2004, so I had personally never seen it...I saw two separate fights in the stands during the eighth inning, and while I’ve certainly seen my share of those, one of them involved two women who were fighting like Wendi Richter and the Fabulous Moolah. These two women weren’t having a stereotypical slap fight - they were throwing haymakers, essentially shifting all eyes in the ballpark in their direction. I had definitely never seen that before. But the most interesting thing that I had never seen before actually took place at the same time as the aforementioned fight. It was Joe Girardi halting the game in the top of the eighth to protest something to the umpires, apparently believing that the Marlins had taken part in some type of illegal substitution."

NY Times, Humble Josh Johnson Humbles the Yanks. (This one's from yesterday, but I thought the angle was pompous enough to include anyway.) The Florida Marlins’ Josh Johnson is 25 years old, young enough to still be awed to share a field with the Yankees’ Derek Jeter. At least, after the game he was awed. During it he was thrilled to strike out Jeter with a 96-mile-an-hour fastball. Johnson punctuated the moment with a rare fist pump. 'Striking out Derek Jeter, I’ll remember that for the rest of my life, I’m sure,' Johnson said. 'One of the best players in the game, one of the best players of all-time, I think. One of the most respected players, too. That’s when I got a little emotional, when I struck him out.'" (Yup, a story about how the Yankees are so great it humbles young ballplayers to beat them up. Well done, New York Times.)

Morning Brew, NY House Blend

Headlines and snippets from this morning's New York papers. The theme: this team is chomping at the bits, and this city is feeling optimistic:

NY Post, It's Time for Yanks to Beat Boston: "The Yanks dropped three straight in Boston in April before losing two in a row in The Bronx last month, when they were still trying to crack the .500 mark. Since then, Alex Rodriguez has returned from hip surgery and Mark Teixeira's bat has woken up as the Yankees have surged into first place -- one game ahead of the Red Sox after last night's 5-3 victory over the Rays at Yankee Stadium. Now, the teams seem poised to renew their rivalry atop the division. But that doesn't change the fact that the Yankees are 0-5 against the Sox. 'Definitely, we need to win a game there,' Mariano Rivera said...'I haven't forgotten about it," Burnett said. "But that's in the past. Obviously, it leaves a taste in your mouth. I'm not gonna stew on it, not gonna do too much. We know how important this is. I have to attack.' Their captain, however, had a different view. 'It doesn't matter,' Derek Jeter said of the Yanks' struggles against the Sox. 'It makes no difference in [tonight's] game. We're due to win a game. I'm pretty sure they're not thinking about what happened before. We couldn't care less what happened the first five games. It has no bearing on this.'"

NY Post (Vacarrio), Girardi, Fans Looking Forward to 1st Place Clash: But they sure seem like the two best teams in the American League, no matter how many games the Rangers have won (including two out of three at Fenway Park this weekend). They sure look like the class of the AL, in a year when the Rays are still trying to catch fire and the Blue Jays are trying not to slide down a greased flume ride, when the AL Central champion seems a good bet to win only 85 or so games, when the Angels seem to pay every day for allowing Francisco Rodriguez to seek exile in the National League...'Any time you face the Red Sox,' Girardi said after last night's game, 'you know the implications of the games.'"

NY Daily News, Red Hot Yankees roll into Fenway and try to get 1st Win vs. Red Sox. "Boston beat the Yanks twice at the new Stadium, too. But the Yankees are clinging to the idea that they were a very different team the last time the rivals met. In fact, they were. After a 7-3 loss to the Red Sox on May 5, the Yankees were a third-place team with a .500 record (13-13). Hideki Matsui was their cleanup hitter, Ramiro Pena and Angel Berroa were holding down third base and Jose Molina was the regular catcher. Mark Teixeira was irking fans with his slow start and his .198 batting average was a neon reminder of the team's sluggishness every time it appeared on a scoreboard. Since then, they've gone 20-10. After two losses to the Rays following Boston's two-game sweep, A-Rod came back May 8 and the Yanks are 20-8 since, the best winning percentage in the majors over that time. Posada returned May 29 and the lineup looked more like the juggernaut the Yankees hoped for during spring training. The rotation has soared, too. Over the last 24 games (in which the Yanks are 18-6), starters are 11-2 with a 3.83 ERA. The Yankees have a 3.65 ERA during that span, third in the AL."

Even a bit of the same rotation bombast that the Sox have come down with of late. Might come as news to Sox fans that the Yanks, too, feel bloated with starters:

NY Daily News, As Joe Girardi Juggles Rotation, Pettitte holds own, for now. "When there are six quality starters vying for five spots, every outing becomes a bit of an audition - no matter how many big games you boast in your resume. You got the feeling Monday night that Andy Pettitte was one more shaky outing away from a controversy, from people talking about his control problems, about his aching back muscles and about Phil Hughes wasting away in the bullpen. Pettitte did fine, though."

All in all, the Yanks are clearly feeling good about themselves. Let's hope you can check in over the next few mornings to find them taken down a notch.

Eye of the Storm

The Yankees have been on an unfortunate tear of late. They've got 11 wins in their last 14 games, burning up through the AL East standings like Sherman on his way to Atlanta (with the same sense of inevitability, if you ask the fans here). They've got one more to play tonight with the surprising AL leaders, the Texas Rangers, but after that will move on to a weekend series with the floundering Cleveland Indians. The Sox are going to have their hands full, that is, trying to defend their first place position.

At the season's beginning, ITM predicted that the Yankees upside would depend in large part on the ability of two players to bounce back. It was and has been our theory here that A-Rod and Texeira will produce, and Jeter and Damon will be workmanlike, and that those four alone will ensure that the Yankees have a competitive team. ITM's prediction was that the fate of the club would depend in large part on the success or failure of Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada. They are, the thinking goes, the real variable for the Yankees. And the club's success at any given moment can be loosely predicted based on a look at the trajectory of these two cogs.

If our general theory still holds, then things are not looking very good for the Sox on the month ahead. We didn't want to do it, but we began today with a periodic check-in with these two question marks. If you're looking for an optimistic note after a morning of sweating over Jon Lester's left arm, don't read on.

Cano is, so far, looking like his old potential-star self. He's hitting .317 on the season, driving in 27 and scoring 31 himself. He's had his troubles in the field, but all in all has been fairly solid and looks like he's covering a greater range than he did last year. The Yankees have him batting fifth, and the better he is, the more pitches A-Rod will have a chance to smack. He has not let them down. Increased patience, increased production, great balance for the lineup. All in all, he's looking scary.

Jorge Posada had a nice April himself, then pulled a groin the series against the Red Sox. But he caught a simulated game last night and is expected back with the club some time next week. With Molina also on the DL, the Yankees are down in their depth chart. Before he left, Posada was hitting .312 and slugging .584. Plop that back into the lineup in place of Kevin Cash and Francisco Cervelli, and it's unclear how pitchers are going to make their way 1-9.

Other factors will even out over the year: Mark Texeira will eventually hit a ball that stays in the park, Nick Swisher will come back to earth, Johnny Damon will stop hitting bloop homers, CC will pick things up a bit, and Matsui will start to give them something. But will Posada and Cano continue this hot streak? We'll check back at the end of June to see where they stand. But for now, ITM is predicting a tough fight at the top of the AL East in June.

Morning Brew, NY House Blend

A few quotes from the NY papers to start off your morning:

NY Daily News, Mike Lupica: "This was an April loss, 16th game of a real long season, 17 more regular-season games between the Red Sox and the Yankees to come. Only a big game because it was the first time Boston and New York were playing one for real in '09. Plenty of guys had knocked Mo out in the final round. Nobody ever hit him harder than Bay did Friday night. You couldn't believe the way the ball sounded coming of his bat and you couldn't believe where it landed."

NY Daily News, John Harper: "In his first taste of The Rivalry, Mark Teixeira had his chance to put a memorable imprint on all things Yankees-Red Sox and officially become the player Red Sox Nation loves to hate most. Well, until Alex Rodriguez comes back anyway...Instead Teixeira will remember his strikeout against Jonathan Papelbon with runners at first and third and two outs in the 10th as a failed opportunity to shut the fans up and perhaps pull out a victory for the Yankees.

NY Post, Mike Vaccaro: "'You give me any game where we have a lead and we have Mo on the mound,' Johnny Damon said, 'and I'll take it. I'll take it every time.' Almost every one of the 38,163 people inside Fenway Park knew that, too, and even so, they were on their feet, ignoring the odds. This is a city brimming with confidence after all, a city housing dynastic football and baseball teams, and the defending NBA champions, and even an out-of-nowhere favorite for the Stanley Cup. The people expect good things here -- even when they have no right to expect them."

ed. note---An altogether unpleasant night for the Yanks: Brian Bruney, their current setup man (had retired 22 in a row coming into last night) was sent back to NY for tests on his elbow; Cody Ransom, A-Rod's replacements, was immediately placed on the DL after doing something to his quadricep sliding into second last night; and Chien-Ming Wang was officially placed on the DL with a hip problem. The Yanks have activated David Robertson from AAA, and likely Phil Hughes, who is 3-0 with an ERA below 2 this year in AAA, will take Wang's spot in the rotation. Still, a disconcerting night for the Yanks on all grounds.

161 Million for this???

Remember last year, when Red Sox Nation was freaking out over a pudgy Josh Beckett? Well by that standard, Yankee fans should be burning down entire apartment buildings in the Bronx after looking at this picture of their 161 million dollar "ace" down in spring training.

You know how really fat guys with huge beer guts often take pictures with women who are 9 months pregnant in a contest to see who has the bigger stomach? (if you don't, then maybe I'm just weird, because I've seen it way too many times) ...well in this case, the Yankee "savior" would demolish the competition, even that chick who had 8 babies but no money to pay for them. But seriously, what happened here? Did he go on an eating rampage after signing the most lucrative deal for a pitcher in MLB history? What happened to putting on the pinstripes and becoming a different person? It doesn't look like CC took the off season as serious as many of our beloved Red Sox did (see Lugo, Dusty, Ortiz, Beckett, Lester, Tek, Jacoby and more).

Sure Yankee fans brush off the injury concerns, or the fact that he'll be pitching in a much better AL East division, or his post season struggles.....but how do you brush off the fact that he's 700 lbs?

A lot can change over the next month or two, and perhaps this is just a picture showing CC's "bad side", either way, I'm personally pretty happy that the Red Sox are not holding a 161 million dollar bag on this guy.

Suspicious Movements in Yankees Outfield

According to recent reports coming out of SI, the NYY may be looking to move corner outfielders. Specifically, they are looking for offers on Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady. The former is no surprise after the Teixeira signing. The latter became a fast fan-favorite in NY, but the Yankees may believe that last season's performance was a ceiling and are looking to sell high.

That would leave the Yankees with Damon, Matsui (no-trade clause), Cabrera, and Gardner for their outfield. Considering the health concerns of Damon and Matsui, the Yankees would much prefer them to at least begin the season in a DH/outfield platoon. As for Melky and Gardner, clearly the team thinks they can do better. Which begs the question that has lit up Yankees blogs this afternoon...

Are the Yankees making room for Manny? With each day that passes, it's more and more of a buyer's market on Manny, and if the Yankees are in fact interested in moving both Swisher and Nady (and not one or the other), then it would seem quite plausible that the Yankees are situating themselves to make the signing.

And come on, let's be honest, Sox fans, you've pretty much assumed for the last four or five months that this was how it would all end, didn't you?

The Day After...

Well Mark Teixeira is going to be playing first base for the New York Yankees in 2009, that much has sunk in within the last 24 hours. No matter how you are reacting to this, the Sox got burned on this one. Make no mistake about it that Teixeira was the Sox top off season priority, so to lose out on him certainly stings.

Tex going to the Yanks sucks for two major reasons; first the Sox have to see him 19 times during the regular season when the play the Yankees. Secondly the Red Sox line up remains a bit of question mark. If Lowell and Ortiz both come back healthy the Sox will be in great shape, however if not the hole left by Manny Ramirez will be talked about, especially after failing to sign Teixeira.

To complicate things in Red Sox Nation Kevin Youkilis' agent said a long term deal will not be reached between his client and the Sox this off season. Youk can either go to salary arbitration or sign another 1 year contract, I'd guess he'd make about $11 million next year either way.

In my opinion this isn't as big of a deal as others are making it out to be. The Sox are probably offering a contract similar to Pedroia, where the last years are back loaded with money. Youk is seeing dollar signs in his head as Teixeira just signed for $180 million; why would he sign a home town discount and why would the Sox offer him a truck load of money when they still control his future for another two years.

Secondly, I've heard some people say Youk is worth Mark Teixeira type money. I have to disagree with that at his point in both players careers. Youk has 3 full seasons under his belt and in that time is averaging 19 home runs, 90 rbi, and a .292 average. Tex is averaging 36 home runs, 121 rbi and a .290 batting average in his 6 year career.

I'd also like to point out Tex's on base percentage has been .400 the last two season, he gets on base 40% of the time. Hopefully Youk can continue to improve and put up numbers in the 4 hole, however 2008 was his first complete season statically speaking.

Now that the ink has dried on Tex's contract it's time to move on as Sox fans. The 2009 team is definitely going to compete with starting pitching and reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia. As far as who is the division favorite now it's hard to say; the Yanks are certainly better after spending $424 million and the Rays are bringing just about everyone back.

The Sox still have a few moves to make in regard to a 4th outfielder and another starting pitcher. Theo and the Brass also need to address the catching situation. Until then 2009 is shaping up to be another highly competitive year of baseball, which is what we all really want anyway, whether we realize it or not.

Happy Holidays to everyone and thanks for reading.

Sabathia to Wear Pin Stripes

Multiple sources are saying that the Yankees and CC Sabathia (photo courtesy of the AP) have agreed on a 7 year $161 deal, the richest contract ever for a pitcher at $23 million/year. This deal doesn't surprise me, I didn't think any other team would shell out that kind of money for Sabathia. A 7 year deal for a pitcher who's thrown 220+ innings the last 3 years, who's not the most slender guy in town seems like reckless spending.

I think there's a reason why the Red Sox have won 2 World Series titles in the last 5 years and the Yankees are in a drought, anyone born after October 2000 has never seen the Yanks win a World Series, how long must those kids wait! The Sox are much more frugal with their contracts, and would never sign a pitcher to a 7 year deal. The Sox are said to have had no real interest in signing Sabathia, probably for the reasons outlined above.

On the flip side look at the Yankees, they just offered about $60 million more then anyone else was offering to Sabathia. The Brew Crew offered 5 years $100, and I bet on some level they are happy the aren't going to be paying that. The Giants are handcuffed with Barry Zito's deal, the Dodgers would probably prefer to have Manny in their line up and need money to sign him; same can be said for the Angels and Texeria. Make no mistake about it, the current economic recession is going to affect the way every team negotiates with free agents; except the Yankees.

In 2012 we'll look back and see how Sabathia is holding up and how wise of an investment New York made. Will they have won a World Series, maybe, maybe not. If Sabathia hits the downside of his career in 2011 or 2012 the Yankees will be looking at another $70 to 90 million they have to pay to Sabathia, just the latest in a string on bad contracts.

Although as I wrote that last paragraph I heard that the Sabathia might have an opt out clause after 3 years. Not sure if it's only Sabathia that has the right to opt out of his contract, we'll have to wait and see what the final deal looks like.

Other Hot Stove News:

The Tigers traded for Rangers catcher Gerald Larid, and the Orioles traded Ramon Hernadez to the Reds for second baseman Ryan Freel and some cash. Scratch those two teams off the "need catching" list. It looks more and more like Tek could end up back with the Sox, although no real discussions have taken place about a contract.

The Mets signed closer Francisco Rodriguez, Krod, to a 3 year $37 million deal. Going back to a past post I believe I made this my Tim Murphy Stone Cold Locke Lead Pipe Keystone Light A1 prediction, mark it zero, next frame prediction. I have a gift my friends.

No real movement on Mark Texeria. The Red Sox, Angels, and Nationals (really?) are said to be the top 3 teams in the hunt. Don't count out the Yankees either, I'm sure they don't have a problem getting in a bidding war for Tex's services.

Boras: "Pinstripes bring out Manny's eyes"

Is it possible that Scott Boras is even more money hungry than Ari Gold? I'm sure Boras doesn't have the same kind of one-liners or the ability to bitch smack someone in their own office and walk out untouched.....but they're both all about the money. If MTV still had the show "celebrity death match" this would be a classic match up....with Ari Gold somehow severing Broas' body for the win. To me, Boras is more like Josh Weistien than Ari, both need a bitch slap of their own.

Anyways, let's get this understood, Manny Ramirez will go to the highest bidder. He has been sounding more and more like his ass clown of an agent lately, even going so far as calling himself a "five tool player" in an interview after his Dodger team got kicked out of the NLCS. Manny has made no secret about it, he's all about Manny being Manny, and all about the money.

From the shady details of the trade deadline deal, to his phantom knee injury, to absolutely torching the NL's weak pitching, Manny is indeed being Manny, but he's also playing the game like his agent. Enter the New York Yankees. It would only be right if the rumors floating along in the New York newspapers were true, that the Yankees might offer up A-rod like numbers to bring the "one tool" player to the Bronx to play right field. Short of the possible LA/Boston world series dream of a few weeks back, this may be the next best thing for the baseball media. Other teams with interest are reportedly the Mets, Dodgers and Bluejays, but none have the ridiculously deep pockets the Yanks have. Depending on who you trust or what day of the week it is, Manny is looking for a 4 to 7 (yes, 7) year deal in the area of 20+ million a year. Not many teams will promise that kind of money for that long of a contract to a 36 year old power hitter. That said, Manny could be lured into a shorter deal that included more money up front. Again, enter the Yankees.

Sadly enough, I could see Manny going to the Yanks and crushing the ball along with the rest of that lineup for the next two years. It would go against every reason why he left Boston, which is not surprising at all....good luck getting "mental peace" in New York buddy.

Sox, Bay dominate the Yankees in game two

I didn't last long at the sports bar...too many people eat and too loud to really pay close attention to every detail of such an important game. Besides, I felt like too many people were more concerned with what the specials were than the game, not my kind of place in the end.

The Red Sox received 6 solid innings from Paul Byrd and broke the game open in the 8th inning, going on to win game two 11-2 in a romp of the men in pinstripes.



I have to interject the post game wrap up here with a general comment.....After watching game two, I must admit that something feels different about this series. Perhaps it is the fact that the Yankees are all but out of the playoff race and as a result the fans just are not as into it. Or maybe the Stadium doesn't have the same electric feeling because the fans have turned on their team. Regardless, something is different and it certainly feels like the Red Sox are capitalizing on a team that has lost it's edge. The Red Sox are one win away from leaving Yankee Stadium for the last time by delivering the crushing blow that ends New York's season. I can't wait.



Jason "our new Yankee killer" Bay had another big night, going 2 for 4 with a triple and 4 RBI. Bay now has 24 rbi since joining the Red Sox.....since going Hollywood that guy from Washington Heights has 21 (the same amount of rbi Jed Lowrie has in the month of August as well!) He may not have Manny's name, but Bay is putting up "Manny numbers".

Dusty Pedrioa continues to make an effort to gather MVP consideration, going 3 for 5, hitting a nail in the coffin grand slam an 8th inning which saw the Red Sox plate 7 runs. "I never write the Yankees off until the season's over and the standings are set," Pedroia said. That might be the right thing to say, but a sweep of the series would all but crush any playoff hopes for the Yanks.

While A-rod went 2 for 4 with an rbi and made a few nice plays in the field....he was cheered for the two hits, but ultimately booed in his last plate appearance. The Red Sox go for the sweep with Jon Lester taking the mound against Mike Mussina in an afternoon game.

Game two...

Paul Byrd takes the mound for game two in the Bronx tonight as the Sox look to continue on what has been a successful road trip thus far (5-2). This will be Byrd's first experience of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, but I think he'll be ready for it. All the Sox expect is for Byrd to keep them in the game for 5 or 6 innings (similar to Wakefield last night).

Me, I'll be taking in the game from a local sports bar i've been dying to get to....a bar review and a postgame report will be following the game for sure.....until then, go Sox.

Sox take game one in New York

This was the game most sports analyst had the Yankees winning in the series. Wakefield coming off the DL, Pettitte pitching well, and a hot Yankees team was supposed to combine in a good start to the series for the Bronx Bombers. By the end of the night, A-rod was being booed and "let's go Red Sox" chants could be heard on the TV.

Timely hits allowed the Red Sox to initially trade runs with the Yankees and ultimately go ahead for good as they came away with a 7-3 win. While neither Tim Wakefield nor Manny Delcarmen were particularly good, they held the Yankees at bay and kept the Sox in a position to win the game. (In the end, that is all we can ask from Wakefield)

The Red Sox used a balanced hitting attack and smart base running to consistently push across runs through the middle innings. Jason Bay picked up where that guy from Washington Heights left off, going 2 for 4 and driving in 2 runs in his first expierence of the Red Sox/Yankee rivilary. Every hitter in the lineup had at least 1 hit (save for Dusty...weird).

On a separate note, I find the booing of A-rod to be quite obnoxious and annoying by Yankee fans. Believe me, I am certainly not a fan of their third basemen, but he has been in their lineup day in and day out, trying to bring his team back into a playoff race (perhaps trying too hard) and they boo him after failed attempts at the plate and successful plays in the field just the same. Quite simply, he is giving it his all but not performing up to his insanely high standards, and getting killed for it. If he was dogging it down the line, sitting out with a "fake injury", or bad mouthing the fans then go ahead and boo him, but booing a guy who is hitting well over .300 with 28 taters and 78 rbi isn't what true baseball fans are about.

Anyways, back to the game, combine tonight's victory against the Yankees with a Tampa Bay loss, and the Sox are now 3.5 games behind in the division race, and 6 games ahead of the fading Yankees in the Wild Card.

ITM Note: In AL Central action, The Whitesox won 8-3 over Baltimore and the Twins are in a late night matchup against the Mariners.

It was a good start to an important and potentially symbolic series in the Bronx. Certainly New Yorkers don't want to remember the last time the Red Sox played in "The Stadium" as the time the Sox buried their playoff chances. Until tomorrow....

Pregame notes...

I'm settled in and ready for the start of an important Red Sox/Yankees series. Many have said this is a sweep or die series for the Yankees, but I think it is more important for the Red Sox to play well. Win two out of three and the Yanks are basically out of it and they can hopefully expand the Wild Card lead.......here is some news coming out of the clubhouse this evening....

-Good news for once...Mike Lowell worked out today and felt good, he will likely hit off a tee tomorrow. Accordion to him he feels "much better" and is "really bored". You might see him playing this weekend.

-More good news? Is it Christmas? Josh Beckett threw a 50 pitch side session and reportedly felt fine, he is a go for his start against Chicago on Friday night (the start of another big series).

-...and then there's Drew......JD Drew saw a spine specialist this morning in New York and it looks more and more likely that he will be going to the 15 day DL, in fact, the Sox will probably announce it before today's game begins. It will be retroactive to last Monday.

- Sean Casey's strained neck feels better but Jeff Bailey will start in his place.

That said, let's play some baseball, here are the lineups

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Coco Crisp, CF
8. Jeff Bailey, 1B
9. Kevin Cash, C-

- Tim Wakefield, SP

Yankees

1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jason Giambi, 1B
6. Xavier Nady, LF
7. Hideki Matsui, DH
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Jose Molina, C-

- Andy Pettitte, SP

The word on the street in NYC....

With the Sox going to Yankee stadium this week for a big series I thought it would be good to discuss a few of the topics with a good friend of mine living in NYC. Joe is someone who lives, eats, sleeps and stresses about the Red Sox just like me, but does so right in the middle of Manhattan, true enemy territory…..

ITM: Joe, the Red Sox are coming to town, the Yanks are somehow still in the race, but team ownership seems ready to ditch this season for the new ballpark and 2009….do most New Yorkers share this opinion?

NY Joe: Obviously real fans aren't going to waive the white flag yet, but a quick scan of the NY dailies will tell anyone that there isn't much hope around here at the moment---not that people are dogging the Yanks; it's that they're hardly talking about them at all. As a Red Sox fan, my suspicion is that really it's some sort of huge Truman Show conspiracy going on where the entire city went to a Joe Girardi press conference where he revealed that Jeter drank some magic potion and Ian Kennedy grew a pair and Robinson Cano opened up the Wikipedia page on baseball and remembered what he was supposed to be on the field for---and that at the end of the conference, Girardi told everyone, "but listen, don't tell that kid Joe about any of this, because it's gonna be funny as hell to see the look on his face when he realizes we're gonna win it all again." But of course, it's possible that's just the usual Sox fan assumption. Absent that scenario, it does seem like a lot of people have given up. Fortunately, they had the Olympics to talk about for the past couple weeks instead. Now the US Open is starting up and that's a surprisingly big deal in the city---sort of a homecoming weekend type thing after people flee this place for August.

These are the main Yankees subjects right now that I'm hearing: 1) People love, love Xavier Nady ; 2) People feel really sorry for Melky---the guy was well-loved, for all his faults ; 3) There's a s*#tstorm brewing around Girardi. The buzz right now aside from the uninspired on-field managing is that he doesn't understand the distinction between not disclosing everything to the press and flat out lying. It's getting fans upset, and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets less slack than some expect at the end of the season ; 4) And, obviously, Joba. He's apparently throwing up to 45 pitches in sessions now, but just moved beyond fast-ball changeup stuff. There's a lot of debate now about when and how he comes back---the starter experiment might be done for '08.

ITM: Are the Yanks hyping this series up at all since it is the last time Boston will play at Yankee Stadium? We’ve heard some of that talk here in Beantown, but not too much, thank god.

NY Joe: No, I actually haven't heard anyone bring that angle up coming out of New York. Probably by tomorrow the series will get some steam going, but so far there's hardly any indication that the Sox are in town. That's something that really mystifies me, too, since a good series puts them squarely in Wild Card contention, yet my non-baseball-fan neighbor said that he wouldn't have had any clue that the Sox were in town except the doorman’s claim that Francona walked by our building today. Me and Tito---ships passing in the night. As to the farewell to Yankee Stadium generally: there is definitely rising anxiety about moving to the new ballpark and abandoning the old ghosts. That and people are pretty worried about how expensive it's going to be. The Mets recently made a big to-do about how the big-seat ticket prices at their new Citi Field are significantly lower than the sort of astronomical numbers we're hearing about the new Yankee park. But the Steinbrenners points out that these high-roller tickets are going to keep the cheap seats more affordable than they will be at Citi.

ITM: Is there any sincere concern about the Bluejays passing the Yanks?

NY Joe: I haven't heard anybody talking about it. I'm not sure you get any lower than not making the playoffs in the minds of Yankees fans---that's sort of their attention cellar. There seems to be a faint memory of chiding us a couple years back when we sunk below the Jays, but really the only one talking about it around here is my Canadian girlfriend, and even she's more focused on Jason Bay right now as far as the compatriot scene goes. Also, she asks like every week whether Justin Morneau is a free agent and whether we're gonna sign him or what. She loves that guy. I don't have the heart to tell her that he wasn't actually born in Quebec.

ITM note: Keep that as ammunition for a later, unrelated disagreement between the two of you. Break it out when she least expects it and when you’re in the most trouble, it’ll throw her off so badly that you’ll win by default…just a thought.

ITM: Do you think Yankee fans/ownership are ready to admit that the Sox have had just as many, if not more injuries than the Bronx Bombers this year and they are not the only ones with issues? (This is one topic that particularly annoys me)

NY Joe: They seem to think they have a monopoly on the injury card this year, despite the Sox and the Rays own battles. As far as the Sox, I've heard people acknowledge the Beckett situation, but probably only because he's missing the start against them. Not a peep about Lowell's absence or anyone asking me where the hell J.D. Drew's been. Though to be fair, maybe they don't ask about Drew because the default assumption is that he's injured. Maybe they'd only think to ask me what was up if he was in the lineup and not complaining about something or other. And speaking of injuries, I liked a line I read somewhere this morning (might have even been Cafardo) that Carl Pavano has now officially beat Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes to recording his first win in 2008. What would Yankees fans have thought if you told them that was how this season was going to play out?

ITM Note: They probably would have turned it into a story about the Pinstripes giving Pavano Wolverine-like healing power and they all topped 15 wins on their way to the World Series.

ITM: Did you see the javelin thrower from Paraguay in the Olympics? Wow. Any chance the Sox and Yankees sign her?

NY Joe: Paraguay's landlocked, I know, which for some reason I think gives us the edge over the Yanks in the bidding war.

ITM Note: I don’t know what the hell that means, but I completely agree.

ITM: What’s the sense on the Rays? Is everyone there still blindly hoping/expecting them to fade like most people here?

NY Joe: Nope, I'd say they've made believers out of a lot of New Yorkers. Plus what hope the fans here do have is on the Wild Card, so they'd like, I think, to see the Rays keep up their end of it so that if the Yanks do make a run, it can be to bring the Sox down a notch. That said, no one's looking forward to the remaining Rays' series.

ITM: Last one...Please tell me people in NY don’t actually think they can still win the division…

NY Joe: Of course they do. They're just keeping it a secret from me so that I soar with hubris, then when I'm flying nearest to the gods, they'll watch me tumble to a watery death like Icarus. At least as far as I can tell that's what's going on.

ITM Note: Not sure if I know what that means either....but good work.

As if things weren't bad enough...

Josh Beckett getting shelled...check, The Red Sox bull pen being taxed before a road trip...check, being down 9-0 to an inferior Toronto lineup after 4 innings....check, another Red Sox coming out of the game with an injury...check.

Things can't get much worse for the Red Sox today (save for the Rays winning tonight), JD Drew has come out of the game with lower back stiffness. While this is likely just a precautionary move on Tito's part, with JD Drew you never know. At this point in the season and given our already injury-plagued lineups, we can hardly afford for JD Drew to miss much time. Maybe The Boss's son Hank should take a look at the Red Sox injuries this year and then reconsider his "no one has gone through the injuries we have" comment. Every team goes through injuries, this year they have hit many of the teams in the AL East particularly hard, but you don't see our management throwing in the towel on the team and the fans.



...did I just translate my current anger at the Red Sox and their injuries right into Yankee hatred?.....I think so....check.

As if Manny hasn't said enough

Perhaps because it is from the joke of a paper called the New York Post, but an article in today's paper is causing a stir from LA to Boston. See the direct text below, courtesy of the NYPost:

"Having successfully orchestrated his divorce from Boston and his landing in with the Dodgers, Manny Ramirez would like to make life miserable for the Red Sox during the next few seasons. According to people who have spoken to the eccentric outfielder since he was dealt to L.A. on July 31, Ramirez wants to sign a free-agent deal with the YankeesNew York Yankees this offseason and get 19 chances a year to punish Boston. "

"He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox," a close friend of Ramirez's told The Post. "

Now I'm not ready to put much stock in this report, but I certainly would not be surprised to see the Yankees overpay for another aging, formerly elite player who will turn some heads initially and sell t-shirts, but ultimately fades down the stretch (for example: way too many to name).

Check out the full article from the Post here