Bring The Pain.

The pain??? I expect to get in there and wipe the floor with Matsusucka. Boston has looked like crrrrrrrrap lately.

You mean the pain the Yankees are going to inflict on Boston, right?

Or is it the pain of having Saturday's game on Fox and Sunday night's on ESPN?

Anybody see Alfonseca bringin' the pain, at least trying to, against Helton last night?

As my Phillies fan buddy explains it the Phils are fed up with getting beaned all year.

Another of theirs got plunked last night. Werth?
Enter Alfonseca. Helton's up. Alfonseca looks into the Phils' dugout. Orders from the boss. Affirmative nod from the pitcher. Busts a curve toward Helton's skull which fortunately only grazes his arm. Outta the game.

Method Man woulda laughed.

Gentleman's game mine arse.

Whut up, Boston? Joba Rules for ya Joba Fools.

My favorite part of last night's game was a shot of Kennedy walking off the mound after the 6th. He had just retired 15 straight batters as you mentioned, but issued a two-out walk in the 6th to Adams before getting Alex Rios on a loud fly out to left. The YES cams caught his expression walking back to the dugout. He was shaking his head and looking back at where the ball landed in Damon's glove and cursing himself.

Now that's what I love to see - a young kid who beats himself up over a pitch that he got away with instead of smiling because he got out of the inning. The guy was throwing a one hitter, but that wasn't good enough for him. That's what you call character.

You know what I'd like to see more than anything else this weekend?

A smackdown of Becks on Saturday. If Wang pitches well, and PtGtRW gives up 8 er in 3 ip or something, that could balloon his era, vaulting the Wanger right over him in the Cy Young race. We got a lot of hits off him in the Bronx, but couldn't translate them into runs. Let's change that.

(Of course Sabathia should win it, but you can't overestimate the big-market, NY/Boston hype machine.)

5 I think all the new rookies have that quality, and it definitely bodes well for the future.

6 I dunno... I think you have to consider Fausto Carmona too. He's been brilliant all year and his run support has been pathetic (4.55). Meanwhile Sabathia's RS is over 1 run higher (5.69) and Wang & Beckett have gotten 2-2.5 runs more (7.12 & 6.54).

6 Wang's our guy but he's no Cy.

Not a campaign slogan fit for a bumpersticker, but probably truer than anything you'll read in traffic these days.

I was trying to think of a Kennedy campaign slogan to respond to 5 , but was coming up empty.

Anyway, it's starting to look like this Kennedy kid is the Yankees best use of the #36 since Cone, who he's beginning to resemble grit and stuff wise. Good to see.

8 Right now, the AL CY Young should be Sabathia hands down. His 141 ERA+ is second only to Johan's 143, but CC has pitched 20 more innings. Compared to Beckett, CC not only has a better ERA+, but he also nearly 40 innings pitched. If everything stays the same, Sabathia is really the best candidate, by far, with a case to be made for Santana.

9 Wang shouldn't really be in the discussion...he is probably around 8-10 on the list of deserving candidates.

10 Hey, I'm all for ERA+ as a measure, but we're taking about differences of 0.18 between the Johan the ERA leader and Becket in the #8 position. That's a difference of 1 run every 50 innings, which is more than explained by luck, ballparks and infield defense. The ERA field is very close and I think this year we've got to look deeper than ERA. I don't think anyone is a hands down choice.

5 I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. Recognize you got away with one, sure, maybe even file it as something you have to work on - then let it go. Those things happen an awful lot over the course of a season, and cursing himself out in the dugout seems like a serious overreaction. The fans tend to love overreaction, but I don't think it's actually any more valuable than underreacting.

Wow, slow day... or is everyone as exhausted as I am?

Don't worry, the Beantown papers are already trying to fan the flames around Joba.I think it mostly stems from the fact that the Sox wanted/needed a reason to dislike a guy who, in reality, they have no business disliking. Period.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ggyut
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2z8dmv

I'm off to "the Nation" in about an hour for the wedding weekend, so I turn over any mojo I might have to y'all. I really really really want a sweep this weekend. How great would that be? I have little confidence of it happening in Fenway, but you never know!

Let's go Yankees!

14 I hope he actually beans Youkilis this weekend, and shuts his mouth up. I loved in one of the articles how Tavarez says that we gotta respond. Respond to someone not getting hit. That makes a lot of sense.

God, how I hate the Red Sox!!!!!

A welcome distraction from their football issues, I suppose. You don't like what people are saying to you or about you, so you go dump on someone who has nothing to do with it... typical.

Farnsworth...
Farnsworth...
Where forth art thou Farnsworth?

Who ever thought this BB crowd would be bemoaning that fact that Krazy Kyle wasn't available? HA!

As much as Kennedy didn't deserve "not to win", I felt a bit relieved for the Yankees to end the winning streak before going to Boston. Anyone feel the same?

9 ,10 Years from now, Wang could be the guy with most wins and still won't get Cy Young, no? Well, as long as he stays with the Yankees and keep getting those wins, we will all be happy, right?

I heard Peter Gammons on the radio this morning. He claims he saw Joba look in A-Rod's directions after the whole Youkilis ordeal and nod, as if to say, "I got your back after Dice-K beaned you." He definitely felt it was intentional.
Thanks, Peter. Feed the nation.

Steve at WW has the definitive numbers on IF it's possible to catch Boston.
Numerically possible... EXtremely unlikely.
My botton Line:

1) We MUST sweep this weekend. Numerically, but especially psychologocally, it's a must.
2) After that, we both have 4 against Toronto and 3 against TB. Then Boston has 2/Oakland and 4/Minn... both of who can beat Boston with good pitching. We meanwhile have 6 against Baltimore. So.... the schedule favors us slightly.

Boston goes 7-5 of their remaining 12.
We go 10-3 of of remaining 13.
That's a tie.
WHERE is the playoff held?
Or is it the best season series record?

We gave her a good post-ASB run.
But methinks we are out of time.
A sweep keeps the hope alive.

19 Gammons was on with Kay the other day talking about the young Yankee pitchers.
He had some complimentary things to say about Joba, but instead of pausing between sentences he kept awkwardly injecting the words "Clay Buchholz." It was fascinating.

Gammons decides what he wants to believe on his own, then makes up back stories like that crap to justify it, and no one calls him on it because he's a HOF writer. He should just go work for NESN or fade into Bolivian.

I never thought I'd be happy that a Yanks-Sox game is on ESPN, but my cable box died this week, so I'm surviving currently w/o hi-def, DVR, or Extra Innings, until I can get my butt down to Comcast and trade for a new box.

I like this sentence from the Union Leader article:
"The mere mention of throwing at a batter's head enlists strong reactions."

Umm, hey idiot, don't you mean elicits strong reactions? Or do you follow a different set of grammar rules up yonder in NH?

20

sox actually end up avoiding harden, blanton and santana in those series as well as halladay in toronto.

23 Hi Ric, trolling for some intellectual Banter I assume? Maybe you should start a sister site... the 'Rox Ranters'.

11 That's exactly why Sabathia should be the clear leader. He has many more innings pitched than most of the other top contenders, including Beckett, Wang and Carmona. He is even 20 IP ahead of Santana.

15 If anyone is going to handle that job, it should be Krazy Kyle. I would love to see Youkilis charge the mound against Farnsey. As much as I hate his pitching, knowing that Kyle would willingly protect his boys prevents me from putting him on the list of all-time hated Yankees.

19 That's hysterical...so much so, I actually wish it was true.

19 That's hysterical...so much so, I actually wish it was true.

27 28 And I had to say it twice.

20 At this point, I am looking at these games as a chance to maintain or pad the WC lead. Basically, I'd be happy if the Yankees match the Tigers win for win. If that means a sweep, then you can look at the division. I honestly think 10-3 is a very reasonable expectation. With the Orioles pitching in free fall and the D'Rays bullpen in midseason form (which is a bad thing), those 9 games should provide a haven.

Not to think too far ahead or anything, but who sits next season out of the young pitching crop starting rotation? Can you really put Hughes, our best pitching prospect since...a long time, in the pen or back to the minors? Who doesn't want to see what Joba can do starting a game instead of pitching only one inning? Doesn't he have to be in the rotation? And if Kennedy keeps going at this rate, why wouldn't he be in the starting rotation? We also have Wang and likely, Pettitte. Do the Yanks go after a pitcher over the off-season? (I don't think there's many available) But even if they don't go after another pitcher, I can't see them starting the season with potentially 3 unknowns in Joba, Franchise, and IPK, although I wish they would.

24

ill tell you what oldballs, theres nothing very controversial about what i said so if its too much for you to bear, just ignore.

20 Fine, but the Orioles manage to beat the Yankees with bad pitching. Yanks are 4-8 against the O's this year; doesn't feel like much of an advantage.

31 I could see any one of those guys being sent down in '08 if they hit a rough spot.

I would also be in favor of the Yanks signing another lefty starter from the free agent market (but who) to compliment Pettite. This is pending Clemens' (next) retirement of course.

But then there's Moose, who's still hanging around too.