What are the Odds?

Attached are some of the pictures I took of the Yankees at Baltimore last night. If you want to check out the full set just click the link to my flickr page.

By now you are all aware that the Yankees lost last night in the 10th inning which means that the dream of winning the division is officially over. It sucks, I had really hoped that they would magically pull it off, but in the end I'm fine with it. We made it to the post season which has never been a guarantee this year.

Last night it seemed like Torre was testing out his post season squad. Damon was in Center, Giambi was DH, and Mussina was on the mound. Unfortunately Moose didn't look very good, and Rivera blew a save. After last night I don't see Mussina starting in the post season short of Clemens arm falling off.

That brings me to the title of my post. Even though the the Yankees didn't get the division and lost the game I am a happy man today. If you haven't figured it out yet that picture of a baseball in a case is my first true foul ball which I caught last night courtesy of Jason Giambi. I've relayed this story many times before on this page, but once more can't hurt. Shortly after Giambi came to New York he was slumping and was booed like there was no tomorrow. I was living in Boston at the time and the Yankees were in town for the first series of the season. I found out that he was at a bar next to where I was so I ran in and said to him (through his wall of body guards) that I was happy to have him in New York and wished him luck. He cleared the fortress of bounces, got up, shook my hand and gave me his autograph. I asked him if I could buy him a beer but he said no, instead he bought me one. So fast forward a few years and here we are again. He didn't get me a beer, but he did give me my first true foul ball.* Thanks Jason, just to let you know I was wearing your shirt underneath my Jeter Jersey.

My girlfriend was at the game with me last night. She isn't a huge baseball fan but she is used to enduring all of my baseball superstitions and f-bombs when the Yankees aren't doing well. I tried to describe to her what it was like to catch that foul ball, but I guess it is just something that you can't explain. You have to go to game after game every summer since you can remember. You have to bring your glove to a game and just miss, but you still keep trying. And then when you finally do catch that ball you just can't believe it. I'm still smiling this morning. But that is me, I love this game. Always have, always will, no matter how old I get or how many games I've been to. Someone said Baseball is about where we were and where we are going, its true.

*I kind of caught another foul ball of Nick Johnson last year, but that one was actually tossed to me by the Nationals Bat boy. He tossed me another one shortly after that but I gave that to a little kid.

Going To See The Yankees Tonight

That's right, tonight I'll actually get the watch the game live rather than constantly refreshing MLB gamecast or hunting for a bar that has the MLB package. I'm fricken giddy right now because.....I HAVE FIELD SEATS!!! My Giambi shirt, Jeter Jersey, and Hat are all laid out on my desk right now as a reminder. I'll update tomorrow with pictures from the game and hopefully a souvenir or two!

YANKEES CLINCH POSTSEASON APPEARANCE

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It may have been somewhat of a foregone conclusion over the past few days, but that doesn't change the fact that I am as excited as hell this morning!!! I have admitted this time and time again, but if you had asked me before the all-star break if the Yankees were going to make the playoffs I would have said yes, but I wouldn't have been confident about it. Especially since we were 9 1/2 games out of the wild card in July looking ahead at some solid teams. Well today post season dreams have become realities.

So now we turn to the post season and what to expect. The wild card means that we face off against Cleveland who I feel more comfortable with. I expect Torre to go with Wang and Pettitte as number one and two. But number three, arguably the most important game, is up in the air as Clemens struggles with hamstring problems. Personally I would rather stick Ian Kennedy in assuming that his stiff back issues are resolved, but I know that Torre will go with Clemens assuming he is close to 100%.

I would like to write more on this, but I am pretty busy today so I will leave it up to the commenters to help me out with the post season predictions. I will say this though, I have a feeling that the Yanks are going to go to the October classic and take another ring.

(oh and thanks to Lucky, yet again)

Sigh

Well, we can pretty much kiss the division dreams goodbye but I am really fine with that. What we need to do is clinch our position in the playoffs!!! Giving up a grandslam home runs is not what we should be doing right now. I hate to overwork the poor guy but I am sending in Lucky yet again. Simply put we just need to do this thing.

6 to Go

The Yankees haven't clinched the playoffs yet, so until that happens I am going to be somewhat brief. I was going to do my thoughts on the playoffs, but since I don't want to jinx anything I am going to hold off until it is a sure thing. Crazier things have happened.

Magic Numbers......2

(First of all, thanks Lucky, you have never let me down)

I was pretty worried yesterday as I was attempting to live blog, but Moose managed to reset and pulled off his 250th career win against Toronto. Of course he was overshadowed by Joba who lowered his ERA to .42 earning his first save as a Yankee. What else can I say about Chamberlin that I haven't already? The kid is simply amazing.

I must say that I do have respect for Toronto. They really are not as bad of a team as their record might lead one to believe. If they played in another division they would be contenders. They have certainly proven they can win big games against great ball clubs. When you consider that and the amount of bad blood that has passed between these teams it puts me on edge whenever they play each other.

So now the Yankees magic number to secure a playoff spot is at 2 games. People have been talking all season about if Torre be back next year, voluntarily or otherwise. To hell with that, the way things have gone this season I think that Joe Torre has to be in the running for manager of the year. To take a team from 14.5 games out of first and 8.5 out of the wild card to end up 1.5 out of first and 5.5 up on the Tigers is nothing short of an incredible feat. I'm sure that someone will argue that Torre couldn't have done this with a team that didn't have the talent that the Yankees have, but screw that too. 14. 5 games is 14.5 games. Not to mention the fact that Torre has been forced to go through an obscene amount of pitchers before settling on the rotation that we have now. He's made big choices like taking the Moose out of the line up, holding Chamberlin in a relief position, and using the younger position players much more often. If you can give me a reason why he shouldn't AT LEAST be in the running I want to hear it.

Come on Moose

I'm going to live blog for as long as I can today, but I have to go play poker soon so unfortunately I can't do it for the entire game.


Top of the second vs Toronto and Moose has given up three runs. That worries me, whenever he gets behind early he has a really hard time getting settled back in. Come on Mike, we need you, we want you to be here, but you have to figure this out now otherwise you can kiss your post season start goodbye. Detroit is winning by the way, I'm not scared yet but we can't come this far only to let it slip away.

I'm sending Lucky in for relief!

Bottom of the 2nd....MR. DEREK JETER!!!!! Bobby Abreu ends the inning. Red Sox are losing to Tampa bay 2-0. Detroit is up by 5.

(Damn I love that Squirrel)

Does The Division Really Matter?

The Yankees lost last night and the Red Sox won. There is no reason to think that the dream of the division is dead, but there is another question to ponder after last nights 14 inning marathon. Should Torre rest up the pen and the rotation so they are fresh for the playoffs or should we go for the division full speed ahead? Now don't get me wrong, I want to win the division, but what advantage does that really give us? In other words the division doesn't really matter, I want to win the October classic.

If we do win the division chances are that we will play the Angles, the only team in baseball who has a winning record against the Yankees in the Joe Torre era. They haven't been playing up to their potential lately but the fact that they have knocked us out of the playoffs both times we have faced them in post season play doesn't sit well with me.

So I'm torn. What I really would like to see is this scenario.....Yankees win the division by the skin of their teeth and face Anaheim in the fist round. Yankees take the series in four and go on to have another classic series against the Sox in the ALCS taking them down in 6 games. Then it's on to number 27.

What I think will happen / should happen is that Torre will be cautious with the starters, both the position players and the pitchers. The Sox win the division by the skin of their teeth, Yankees sweep Cleveland. Another classic ALCS with the Sox, Yankees win in 7 thanks to a late inning home run by Derek Jeter. Then it's on to number 27.

At A Loss For Words Again Today

There is nothing more exciting than baseball in late September and October. Yes, football has started and sure I'll watch it on any given Sunday, but it is not the same. One of my blog buddies I Now Pronounce You wrote a great piece on this yesterday. Since I am still in the midst of my writers block (and I'm also struggling with a ridiculous work load) I suggest you check it out. It pretty much mirrors my thoughts on the greatest game there is. Here is the link.

And Then There Was One......and a half

I'm having a bit of writers block today so I will keep today's post short and simple. Congratulations to Andy Pettitte who won his 200th game last night in what could be his last season as a major league pitcher. The Yankees are now only a game and a half behind the Sox. Even if the Yankees don't catch them, the turnaround the Yankees have had this year is nothing short of amazing.

Two and a Fricken Half!

Holy crap, I admit that I have been pretty skeptical at various points throughout the season. After we went down 14.5 games even in my most optimistic days I really didn't think that we could catch the Sox. But 2.5 games back with just under two weeks to play is more than I could have hoped for short of Schilling contracting the plague. 2.5 games left with one more series against Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore left in the grab bag. I think the proper word to describe how I am feeling right now is giddy.

You know how you can tell when Sox fans are starting to get really worried? You start getting pictures of A-Rod and Jeter holding each other, or references to something that happened in 2004. Given the number of pictures I received this morning combined with the total number of references to the past I would say the level of anxiety in the Nation is 11 on a scale of 1-10.

To put it bluntly, Gagne sucks. Manny's return is questionable, and even when he does who knows if he will be 100%. Dice-k has been having trouble, Francona keeps screwing up by keeping pitchers in too long, and I have a feeling that Schilling will continue to decline (most likely due to erectile dysfunction). Now I am not saying that the Sox will fall apart so badly that Detroit will catch up to them and they will miss the playoffs, but at this point I put the chances of the Yankees winning the Division at higher that 50%.

Meanwhile Moose seems to have gotten his mojo back, Jeter is on fire, and Chamberlin continues to amaze. While the thought of facing the Angels in the first round is cause for some trepidation, we can beat them if we keep playing the way that we are.

Next week I have field seats for the Yankees last regular season series against the O's. How great would it be to attend the game where the Yankees secure the division! Here's hoping.

To help with the final push lucky is contributing to the blog again today.

Oh Man!

I don't want to get too excited here, but the Yankees are only 3 1/2 games behind the Sox right now (only 3 in the loss column). This is the closest that the Yankees have been to Boston since late April, and if I were Boston I certainly wouldn't be sleeping easy right now. Detroit lost too, oh man!

The Yankees looked strong last night, despite Hughes requiring 33 pitches to get out of the first. He did end up settling down and went on to win his first game at the Stadium after pitching a decent 5 2/3 innings. Actually he would have come out a bit sooner if it wasn't for the fact that the phone to the bullpen wasn't working. I'm waiting for the Yankee hating sports writers to start to questions Hughes. But let me just preempt them all by saying this....THE KID IS 21 YEARS OLD. It's natural that he is going to have some trouble settling in right now. But there is no question in my mind that he will figure it out and be the starter that we all expect him to be.

Moose faces off against his old team tonight. His performance tonight will most likely be the determining factor on if he makes a start in the first round of the post season. No doubt Torre faces a dilemma on who should be the fourth starter. Do you go with Mussina who has a ton of post season experience but still hasn't proved that he is 100% back, Hughes who still needs some fine tuning but has pitched well over his last three, or Kennedy who has been great so far but only has a few starts? Torre has said that he'll go with experience if it is close, so if Moose pitches well tonight I'll bet that he wins back Torres favor. Hughes and Kennedy will pitch in the post season, but probably from the bullpen.

This Is Just Too Funny Not To Share

As if I already didn't like Duncan enough.

http://withleather.com/post.phtml?pk=3883

Mr. Clutch (my 100th post)

This marks my 100th post and almost 2,000 visits. I am happy to say that number 100 is about the Yankees beating the Red Sox and leaving Boston with a series win.

Something big was about to happen, you could just see it in Jeter's eyes. Next thing you know the ball was sailing over the green monster and the Yankees took the lead. Despite what Yankee haters say about him, Jeter has come through in clutch situations more times that I can count. Maybe it is just consistency, maybe it is something else, but no matter which side of the clutch debate you fall on there is no question that Jeter is the man who you want at the plate in critical situations. In fact Roger Clemens said that Jeter is the reason he decided to "get off the couch" and play another season for New York. Although I'm sure that the 18 million had something to do with that decision.

I understand that Derek Jeter is the face of the organization that everyone loves to hate. But let's be honest here, the guy is a class act and a great baseball player. He may not be the best short stop to ever play the game, but his consistency and leadership are second to none. So it drives me up a wall the way that Yankee haters rip on the guy for no good reason. I don't scream out Ortiz sucks every time he comes to the plate.....because he doesn't suck. I have respect for his abilities even though he plays for the most obnoxious franchise in baseball. (I almost wrote in North American Sports, but I think the Redskins fans may be just as annoying).

But I digress. Last nights win puts us 4 1/2 games out of first and keeps us 2 1/2 up on the Tigers in the wild card race. The schedule is pretty light from here on out, but we still need to keep the momentum going. It helps that Detroit plays Cleveland, but Boston won't have much of a challenge through the end of the season. Next up we play the O's. They have given us trouble this season, but recently they have recently been letting opponents round the bases more times than a 17 year old on prom night. I'm predicting 2 for 3 against the O's.

YES!!!!!

Holy crap what a game!!!!

Before I get into the details of the win against the Sox last night I need to address something that really fricken pissed me off....the home plate umpire. He was TERRIBLE!!! I can't even count the number of calls that he missed. Pettitte alone must have had at least ten strikes called for balls.

Ok, now to the game. The early innings were so hard to watch that I don't think my poor girl friend has ever heard me drop so many f-bombs before. Bad plays, and a few more bad calls at the expense of the Yankees had us down early, and by a lot. I had pretty much given up hope when we were down by five runs and Pettitte came out. But as Torre said,
"no game can be considered over in Fenway Park -- not with its intimate dimensions, angular quirks and a propensity to lend itself to magical comebacks." In the 6th Jeter predicted that they would win the game. Well the ghosts came out in force.

The incredible thing about the Yankees comeback was that it was done while facing some of the best relief pitchers in the Majors, Papelbon and Okajima. Until last night Okajima had not given up a home run to a left hander. Enter Jason Giambi who was looking to make up for a terrible game defensively. Giambi slammed home run number 14 of the year, but the story doesn't end there! Up next, Cano, another lefty....BAM, another homer. I nearly pissed myself. From there it was shot after shot until by the time the smoke cleared the Yankees had taken the lead.

I had speculated the other day on the future of Jorge Posada. Well after his performance last night I don't think that there is any question that we need Posada to be a Yankee until he retires. It is simply amazing how well he hit last night.

To his credit, I will say that Dice-K had a good showing. I kind of felt bad for the guy. After he came out of the game they kept the camera on him as he watched Timlin try to protect him from more earned runs. It reminded me of the Japanese team from the little league world series. In other words I was afraid he was going to start crying. Speaking of Dice-K, I have a $20 bet with my buddy going back to the beginning of the season. My theory was that hitters would figure him out and he would struggle once that happened. The bet is that he will win 14 or fewer games. If he wins 15 the bet is a wash, 16 or more and my buddy wins. At this point its looking like I won't be needing to visit an ATM.

Tonight its Wang vs. Beckett. This is going to be a really tight game. The Sox have got to be furious about last night, but the Yankees have the momentum. You can bet there will be a lot of tension in the air. I'm also sorry to say that Rocket is facing off against Schilling on Sunday. I had hoped for Hughes. I'm not sure its a good idea to bring Roger back into the rotation like this. Basically I am worried about him over doing it in his first start back simply because it is Fenway. Regardless we are 4 1/2 back now. I'm not making any predictions, but you all know what I mean when I say that there is enough time left so that anything can happen.

Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy

It's a shame that the Yankees couldn't put the hits together last night because Ian Kennedy was nothing short of phenomenal. In 7 innings Kennedy gave up 1 earned run, walked 4, and stuck out seven. The kids era is 1.89 after his first three major league starts. I say it again....PHENOMENAL!

I read somewhere yesterday that Torre hasn't ruled out using a 6 man rotation should Clemens come back healthy and Mussina gets the nod. That could work, and it would be great to be able to give the starters an extra day of rest before the post season. Then again we are not in the post season yet, we still need to concentrate on keeping Detroit in our rear view mirror and possibly catching up to Boston. Moose had a good start yesterday but it is going to take one or two more before my confidence in him is restored.

The award for role model of the day goes to Johnny Damon who in the 6th inning gave a ball to a fan seated in the front row. The fan responded by giving Damon a $20 bill (granted it was Canadian so it was only worth about a nickle). Damon took the money then handed the bill to a young child. That's what I'm talking about when I talk about players who are good for the game. If it were Curt Schilling not only would he have pocketed the money, he would have taken the guys wallet and then punched the little kid in the head.

Pettitte Unsure About 2008

Andy Pettitte feels that he is neglecting his family and is unsure if he will return to the mound in 2008. He never thought his arm would be as strong as it has been this year, but he is going to talk to his son before making any final decisions. It would be a shame to lose Pettitte (again), but given the level of young talent that we have pitching for us right now we should be fine if he doesn't come back. Of course that would mean that Mussina would have to be back on track all year. In the absence of Pettitte I don't think there is any question that Joba would take his place as starter.

Moose Crossing

MOOOOSE!!!

It was do or die time for Mussina last night, if he failed he might as well have packed up his cleats and headed home. But he didn't fail, and I for one am happy for him. In his first start back since being dropped from the rotation, Mike gave up 5 singles in 5 and 2/3 innings, struck out one, and walked three. So maybe it wasn't a flawless game, but it sure is a hell of a lot better than his last three starts. Hopefully he can capitalize on that momentum and break out of his funk because I really believe that is all that was, a funk. Torre made the right decision by taking him out of the line up when he did. It gave Mussina a chance to clear his head, and it made him hungry again. It worked last night, lets hope it works again.

Rumor has it that Clemens might be coming back to pitch on Sunday. I think that is a bad idea. I applaud Clemens competitive spirit, but right now I would rather have a Hughes / Schilling match up rather than put a questionable Rocket on the mound.

So if the Moose is back and Clemens does return this week, what does that mean for Ian Kennedy? The kid has pitched some great games for us and I think that he deserves to stay up. But Torre is so fiercely loyal to his veterans I expect to see Kennedy sent back down in the next week or two. Although that it is still a big question mark and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Cashman stepped in to hold off the decision of whether or not to switch Mussina back in permanently.

My man Joba Chamberlain's scoreless inning streak ended last night when he gave up a run in the 8th. But considering he pitched 15 1/3 scoreless innings (the second longest streak to start a career by a Yankee pitcher) I don't think anyone minds too much.

Just in case you didn't know this, the Yankees are 40-19 since the All-Star break.....the best in the Majors!

18 To Go And A Preview of This Weekend Against the Sox

Jason Giambi blasted a grand slam home run (his first since late August), Posada homered, and Phil Hughes pitched six solid innings as the Yankees won their sixth in a row beating Toronto 9-2. This is the first time all season that the Yankees have been 20 games over .500 which has Torre breathing a sigh of relief...at least for the time being.

I'm happy for Giambi who if he plays at all next year will be playing for a small market team like Kansas City or Tampa Bay. I've written about my thoughts on him before. He is a nice guy and he bought me a beer when I met him. But he's breaking down, and his quasi confession to steroid use doesn't strengthen his case either. He can still produce from time to time, so for at least the rest of this season I'm glad to have him. Honestly though, even if he does go down again we have so many strong hitters to take his place it really isn't that big of a loss. The only thing the Yankees are really missing is the money we pay his salary with.

A big question is what do we do with Posada next year? I believe that we should resign him, but there are certainly plenty of arguments going in the other direction. He is having the best season of his career this year batting .338, with 81 runs, and 85 RBI's. But on August 17th he turned 36 years old. Granted he hasn't been an everyday catcher for his entire career so his knees might have some life left in them, but it would be hard to justify a bloated salary for him at his age and position. I put that question out to the commenters. I say we re-sign, but I can easily be swayed. *

I'm glad to see that Hughes is coming around. His era over the past two games is only 2.25. Not bad, but I'll be interested to see how he does under post season pressure. I think of all the new kids he will probably be the one who is most susceptible to the post season spot light.

This Weekend

This weekend might be an important series after all. With The Yankees down only 5 games there is a chance that we could put some hurt on the Sox lead. I know that it is still a few days away, but for me preparing for a Yankees / Red Sox series is like preparing for war. I don't think that we will sweep again, but I do think that there is a better than 50 / 50 chance that we take the series.

Manny Ramierz started swinging a bat again yesterday, but I doubt he will be back for this weekend which helps. Despite the fact that they scored 16 runs last night without him, I refuse to use their score over Tampa Bay as any indication that he isn't missed. Tampa hasn't won a series in Boston since 1999.

Here is what we are looking at for starting pitchers:

Friday - Pettitte v. Dice K - this should be a tough one. Pettitte has been pitching well and Dice K lost his last decision but is still strong. I unfortunately have to admit that he adjusted to the majors much better than I thought he would at the beginning of the season. But he does seem to have some trouble against the Yankees. He's 2-1 with a 6.98 ERA against us so far, so I have to give the advantage in this game to New York.

Saturday - Wang v. Beckett - Talk about a battle royal! Two 18 game winners on the top of their game chasing the Cy Young award. Beckett's ERA and strike outs are a bit higher than Wang's, but he has also pitched in more innings. This one will be very close unless the Yankees are somehow able to get to Beckett early since this one will be all about offense. Slight advantage goes to the Sox.

Sunday - Hughes v. Schilling - I hate Curt Schilling. I would rather get kicked in the nuts by John Rocker than so much as shake Schilling's hand. But given his last few starts versus Hughes past couple I have to put the advantage to the Yankees on this one. Of course it is also to our advantage that Schilling is older than dirt.

* I had originally put "resign" thanks to That Girl Who Can't Play Pool for pointing that out.

Remebering 9-11

September 11, 2001 was six years ago today. It is hard to believe that it has been more than half a decade already. So today I take a break from the diamond to share my 9-11 story, what it means to me, and some other thoughts on the post 9-11 world.

I was living in Boston at the time (rough place for a Yankees fan) and working at my first job out of college. September 11, 2001 was a beautiful fall day and I came into work just like I had every other day, and by that I mean I was supposed to be in at 8:30 but I was running late. When I finally got in at around 8:45 there was already a message from one of my friends to call her back, apparently a plane had "accidentally" flown into one of the world trade center towers.

Now I have always had a special place in my heart for those two towers. Growing up my aunt and uncle lived almost directly across the street from them and I used to look up in wonderment at just how tall they were. There was certainly nothing like them in the small town in Vermont where I grew up. Standing on the top floor of the Trade Centers was one of the biggest thrills of my younger years. In fact the very month before while visiting my brother I asked him if we could go back up, but unfortunately there wasn't time. We decided that we would go on my next visit which would presumably be in October so that we could catch some post season play at Yankee Stadium. Well, we all know what happened next.

After I got the message that morning I checked CNN to see what was going on, and indeed something had hit one of the towers but no one really knew what was going on. One thought raced through my mind, my two brothers. My middle brother lives in Brooklyn and my oldest brother happen to be there visiting him that weekend and was scheduled to come back that morning. I called and told them to turn on the news. Fortunately my oldest brother had not left for Penn Station yet, so I told them to stay put just in case. Then I called to wake up my mother to let her know that we were all ok. She was a nervous wreck.

By the time the second plane hit we all knew that this was no accident. It was like something out of a movie. We all ran to the AV room in my office to watch what was happening on TV. I simply have no way of describing what it was like watching that.

The only solace that I took at that point was the fact that I was pretty sure my two brothers and sister in law were ok. Then I came back to my desk. My mother had left me a message saying that my older brother decided to get out of the city rather than stick around. Anyone trying to make a phone call into New York at this time can tell you that it just wasn't happening. You were lucky to get connected once every 50 tries. I couldn't contact my brother, no one knew where he was, and then the tower came crashing down. I was in hysterics.

The sight of the towers being hit was one thing, but the towers falling and knowing that my brother was somewhere in the vicinity of what was going on was almost too much to take.

I could look up the exact times of when the planes hit what, but in my memory the Pentagon was hit sometime around all of this madness. The Pentagon had been hit, are you fucking kidding me!

Our offices where evacuated at that point and I jumped in a cab home and called everyone that I could to find out if everyone was alright. It wasn't until 3:30 that afternoon that my sister in law, who worked in midtown, was finally able to meet up with my brother. His story up to that point was nothing less than amazing.

He was on the N train which goes through the Canal Street Subway station right around the time the second plane hit. The Subway filled with smoke and they had to be evacuated to the surface through an emergency tunnel. At the top of the tunnel an EMT tried to treat him for smoke inhalation, then one of the towers came crashing down a mere twenty or so blocks from where he was. He and everyone else ran uptown. Somehow he eventually was able to find his way to my sister in law, which in itself is a miracle.

Our offices were closed the next day. But on the 13th we had to go back into work. I remember getting on the T (Boston's subway) that morning. Everyone on the train looked at each other with a look of shock. No one said a word, but everyone was thinking the same thing. Did this really happen....can you believe this....is this some kind of movie? It was the only time I have ever been on a packed subway train where no one said a thing, it was surreal.

The next few days were pure pandemonium. Our office was evacuated three times, and everyone was constantly on edge. There were reports of malls being the next target, apartment buildings, etc etc. Then the Anthrax scare happened. Eventually things calmed down, but anyone who didn't live during that time will never be able to fully comprehend the sense of anxiety we went through for those months. I was so angry that I almost joined the military.

I am glad that I didn't enlist. You see the anger that I now feel is two pronged. I'm still angry at the people who did this to us, but I am just as mad at our political leadership (Democrats and Republicans) for turning my story, and everyone's story for that matter into political fodder to be used for a pipe dream cause. By that I mean the war in Iraq. I never would have imagined that 6 years after nearly losing a family member we would be entrenched in a new Vietnam. Meanwhile the people who did this to us are still making their home videos and planning something even bigger. The events of 9-11 should have been a lesson, not a tool for foolishness. Because of a massive failure of leadership, 6 years later we are just as vulnerable, and even more hated than ever before. I live in Washington and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think to myself "is today the day."

19 To Go

With the Yankees sweep of the Royals this weekend everything seems to be on the right track for the last couple of weeks before the post season. Or at least it would seem that way. There are still a number of things that worry me. Not the least of which being Jeter's sore right knee. Jeter has felt irritation since August 21st after taking an awkward step out of the batters box against Anaheim. He took yesterday off and he will start tomorrow. Jeter claims that it is no big deal, but is still worries me a whole lot.


Clemens is a HUGE question mark right now. He was scheduled to throw a session in Huston last night but never got back to Torre about if he actually did or not. I'm afraid that the reason may be that Clemens feels he is falling apart worse than he expected but still wants to throw. It's the work horse mentality which is somewhat admirable, but can also be destructive when he is really hurt and just isn't effective. Especially when Mussina has a giant monkey on his back right now.

Detroit is the other thing that has me anxious. They are a good team, they are not going to just roll over and die like Seattle has. Their schedule over the next week should give them a chance to keep in step.

We face off against the Sox again this weekend. Unless things go great in Toronto and Tampa Bay preforms miracles this series wont mean a whole lot, but here's hoping. If we make it through this next week in the place that we are I think every little thing is going to be alright. But until then I'm on pins and needles.

On a side note the O's have shut Bedard down for the season. Too bad, that kid has some nasty junk. But then again he is still a kid and has plenty more baseball left to play. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does in the next few seasons.

22 and The Rookie Pitchers

22, that's the number of regular season games the Yankees have left. It's like seeing the finish line but you still have half a mile to run. You need to pace when you start your sprint otherwise everyone else will pass you before the tape.

The NY Daily News has a piece on all of the rookie pitchers that we've used this year. It's really pretty astonishing that we even have a prayer of making the post season considering its September and we really still don't have our rotation set. Here is what the article says about the performance by the rookies followed by my prediction about each pitcher in italics:

Phil Hughes
Allowed four runs in 4.1 innings in losing debut, but threw 6.1 no-hit innings in his second start before hurting a hamstring.

It will take Hughes another season to fully mature as a starting pitcher, but once he does he has the potential to be number 1 or 2 starter for years to come. He will just keep getting better and will eventually be an all-star.

Kei Igawa
Gave up seven runs in five innings the first time, three runs (two earned) in No. 2. Both were no-decisions.

We couldn't get rid of him this year, but we will try again in the off season. If we can't get rid of him then we'll try to use him again next year but I don't see him ever being a starter for the Yankees. Most likely he'll wind up fizzling out in triple A or he'll be designated for assignment.

Chase Wright
Got a win by allowing three runs in five innings in debut, but gave up four consecutive homers at Fenway in follow-up.

There is some potential here, but Wright still needs a lot of work. I see him as middle relief in the future, but even that is going to take another half season of development in the minors.

Darrell Rasner
Five earned runs in 4.1 innings in first start, a loss; three runs (none earned) in 5.1 innings in a no-decision in second start.

Rasner will most likely never be heard from again.

Matt DeSalvo
Two good ones - no decision in debut, allowing one run in seven innings, and a win over the Mariners in his second start when he went 6.2 innings and allowed two runs.

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if DeSalvo was part of a trade deal to acquire Santana in the off season. Aside from that he is a big question mark for me.

Jeff Karstens
Seven runs and a loss in his first start; a broken leg in his second when he faced two batters and gave up two hits, including a comebacker that hit his shin.

Karstens like Hughes has potential. It will be interesting to see how his recovery comes along, but I see him as a future number 5 man.

Tyler Clippard
Sunday night win over Mets at Shea, allowing one run in six innings. Second start was a loss when he gave up three runs in four innings.

I have to say that I like Tyler, he had a rocky second start but I think that had more to do with the fact that he just wasn't ready for prime time. I think that it's 50/50 on if he makes the rotation or gets traded away. Either way he'll be a solid number 4 or 5 man.

The article doesn't mention these guys, but I will:

Joba Chamberlin

This kid is going to be great, probably even better than Hughes. It's hard to predict how he'll do as a starter but if his relief performances are any guide he will be a hall of fame pitcher.

Ian Kennedy

He has only started one game for us, but man what a game it was. Again, its hard to predict after only one start, but I think that he will continue to develop into a Mike Mussina type pitcher (the effective Mussina type pitcher that is) and will be an all star in a few short years.

As for my prediction for next years rotation, I think it will look something like this:

1. Wang

2. Pettitte (Possibly Santana)

3. Hughes

4. Chamberlin

5. Kennedy

On The Road

I haven't written on much else aside from baseball in the past months, but my friend Abbott pointed out to me that today is the 50th anniversary of On The Road. Considering this is my favorite book I am going to leave the diamond for a moment to comment on what this book has meant to me since I first read it in my high school English class.

I had that high school English teacher. You know the one, she threw parties at her house and invited a few students, swore like a sailor, wrote poems about her bong and was involved in a torrid love triangle with the principle and the school secretary. So its no wonder that Jack Kerouac was required reading. Now I have never been a drug user, a poet, or even a hipster for that matter so I started reading with a sense of indifference, but was immediately sucked in. My teacher harped on what the beat generation was after, something different, not knowing your place, and breaking with social norms. But what really got me about this book was the pure sense of adventure that came along with sticking out your thumb and hoping you get lucky.

So I tried it, and I got addicted (hitchhiking that is). I would hitchhike home after sports practice even though I lived less than a mile away from school. I would hitch rides to my buddies houses even though I could have ridden my bike. I was Jack or so I thought (minus the pills). Then I took an infamous long distance trip with a friend of mine that came close to resulting in my death three times.

The goal was to make it to Canada, cross the border, and return home. Everything started out fine. The first driver to pick us up was a Russian immigrant who was training to compete with the US Biathlon team. We were also biathletes so we had a good talk about his training and his chances for the Olympics. Then things started going down hill. The next guy who picked us up started snorting blow going 80mph on the highway. He wasn't too happy when we turned down his offer of nose candy so he dropped us off in one of the most desolate, and under traveled places he could. We waited there for at least two hours, keep in mind this all took place in northern Vermont in February so we aren't talking about the tropics in terms of weather here. Finally a respectable looking Audi pulled over and let us in. In our minds we were thinking, ok an Audi, this guy obviously has some money and probably has more to lose by killing us than he does than by just taking us where we want to go. The conversation with him went something like this:

Audi Guy: So how fast do you think we are going right now?
Me: I don't know, I'd say about 30
Audi Guy: Nope, 58, this car is awesome you can't feel a thing
Me: Wow, how long have you had it?
Audi Guy: I had a friend who owed me a favor so I went over to his place and gave him a bunch of coke and he gave me this car
Me: You can let us out right up here, thanks

Two coke heads back to back. We should have just turned around then, but we were only 10 miles from the border. So we decided a bit more selective with our next ride which turned out to be an older Canadian couple driving a minivan on their way back home to Canada. Perfect, we could make it to the border and then just turn around and hope for an illicit drug free ride somewhere close to home. What we didn't realize is that you need to be at least 18 to enter Canada without parental approval. The couple was allowed to pass through the border, but we were not. In fact we were detained. Do this day I still recall the customs agent talking to my dad on the phone and saying the words "so you were not aware of this trip?" That ended my hitchhiking career for years.

But then I got to college and fell into the typical freshman year self evaluation. To top it off my college writing professor was also that teacher. He looked like a cross between John Denver and the Hippie teacher from Beavis and Butthead. The assignment was to read (or re-read) a book that somehow inspired us and write a creative piece. I was in that in between phase between the new and the old. Not unlike the way the beat generation was a bridge between the conservatism of the late 40's and early 50's to the hippie generation of the late 60's. On The Road was my natural choice.

I only made it about one hundred pages in before I realized that I needed to take another hitchhiking trip. So I had my roommate drop me off next to the on ramp of the highway and I stuck out my thumb. My goal was St. Johnsbury Vermont, about a three hundred mile trip from my college. I was a little older and wiser, but given my past experience I was sure that there would be at least one brush with a recently released convict. I was pleasantly surprised to only have one bad experience on that entire round trip. A man who seemed to be more interested in my leg than on driving the car. But aside from that I accomplished three goals, I made the trip unscathed round trip, I wrote a great paper about the experience, and I decided that unnecessary risks are not to be toyed with.

So thanks Jack, your book inspired me to take a few adventures, but also helped me to get out of those early phases in life where the only way to learn something is by hitting the road and testing things out for yourself.

Yanks Up Three Games

I've always been up and down when it comes to A-Rod. There is no question that he is an incredible player, and this years AL MVP, but his attitude and cheap tricks tend to rub me the wrong way most of the time. Last night though A-Rod really stepped it up, possibly after being inspired by our lucky little squirrel. Despite going for a pre-game MRI that showed his ankle was only at 60% he looked Torre in the eyes and told him that he wanted to play, subsequently slamming two home runs putting the Yankees up three games in the wild card race. Love him or hate him, you have to respect him for what he did last night.

Phil Hughes made a slight readjustment last night which seemed to help. The kid is his own worst enemy and really gets down on himself when he losses. That is to be expect when you are 21 and playing for the most successful franchise in North American history, but relax Phil, we have confidence in you. Speaking of youngsters, Joba Chamberlin continues to impress us all. He was so worked up from his two game suspension (which I think was ridiculous) that he went and asked Torre if he was still on the roster. Of course he was and went on to earn his first win in the Majors (he didn't realize it until Rivera told him, but still.)

This weekend we match up against Kansas City who the Yankees have beat six times in the past seven meetings. I would like to say that I'm not worried, but considering the Yankees problems with the AL cellar I can't say it is a sure thing. One prediction that I will make though, Detroit takes the series over Seattle. Seattle is falling apart faster than the Bush administration. That worries me a bit, Detroit is certainly a tougher team to slug it out with for the wild card, but assuming we can play top ball over the coming week the Yankees should be able to cushion themselves enough make it to post season play. But until then we definitely need more squirrel.

Squirrel Power

I told you there was something to that Squirrel! He came out again last night and climbed the right field pole prompting chants of "let's go squirrel." Now I don't want to wear the guy out, so I am going to use him sparingly going forward.

The Yankees need all the help they can get right now. Even with last nights thrashing there were some scary moments. Wang's back seems to be ok, but I'm glad they pulled the plug when they did. He has been the only consistent pitcher for us all year and to lose him now would be a disaster. A-Rod apparently is also doing fine after rolling his ankle. But then again A-Rod is kind of a hypochondriac. Every time he so much as gets a scratch on his forearm he checks in for an MRI.

It pains me to say this but I have officially given up hope on winning the division. Frankly we can't focus on two things at once right now so the Yankees just need to make sure that they are in the post season. Of course my biggest fear is that we face the Angles in the first round which historically has been a disaster for the Yankees. But how great would it be to meet Boston and take them out in the ALCS!

Switching gears here if I may, last night I had the chance to sit three rows behind the dugout for the Nationals 4-3 victory over the Marlins. Since I was a kid I have had a few things that I have always wanted to do at a baseball game. Last night I was able to check another one off my list, that's right, I finally made it onto the jumbotron. In case you are wondering, here is my list in no particular order (its pretty standard really):

1. Catch a foul ball (done)

2. Catch another foul ball and give it to a kid (done)

3. Go to the World Series at Yankee Stadium (done)

4. See the Yankees Win the World Series at Yankee Stadium (Pending)

5. Sit in the seats right behind the dugout (done)

6. Make it on the Jumbotron (done)

7. Punch Curt Schilling in the face (pending)

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

I took a little break over the labor day weekend from writing. Mostly because of pure frustration. Just when I say that I think the Yankees can catch the Sox look what happens. I am banning myself from making predictions on the Red Sox until further notice.

It is well known that the Yankees have a history of hard times with some bad teams, the Orioles for example. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are not one of these teams and there is no reason that they should be. So someone please tell me why the D-Rays were able to beat up the Yanks for a series win this past weekend. The only bright spot was that Ian Kennedy preformed as promised....unfortunately that was the only bright spot.

Then Seattle rolls into town. A good team that we have done well against historically. What happens? Another spanking. Not to mention that Clemens is going to miss his next start. I had heard blisters on his feet was the cause for his awful performance yesterday, but apparently his elbow needs an x-ray too. I suppose that means that Mussina will take Clemens place in the rotation, but who knows, maybe in the words of Yoda...there is another.*

With the Yankees most recent down turn it must be time for ESPN to call Torres future into question. Sometimes I swear that they pay extra for a column that rips them apart. So imagine my surprise when fellow Vermonter Buster Olney writes this about Joe Torre. He actually makes a good point about what will happen if/when Torre is gone. I don't think that will make too much of a difference with A-Rod, but Posada could be one to jump ship if Torre leaves. He is also right about the new philosophy about pitching. So for once I have to agree with ESPN.

So here we are in the final month of baseball and the roller coaster Yankees are on their way down again at the worst possible time. If the Yankees can at least take one I'll feel a bit more comfortable considering we play Kansas city this weekend while Seattle plays Detroit. But hell, the way this season is going we'll probably destroy the Mariners in the next two games only to be out scored by 20 runs this weekend.

*Please note that was a Star Wars quote and not a Star Trek quote....i.e. completely acceptable.

** The lucky squirrel makes a reappearance today to help out with tonight's game.