Lupica offers insight into the Nomar situation that you can bank on.

Mike Lupica from Feb. 27, 2004:

This really is something that should never happen, and is a long way off if it does. It should never happen because if the Red Sox are smart, they will sign Nomar Garciaparra to a new deal before the baseball season even starts.

...

Again: For all his hurt feelings about the Red Sox shoving him out of the way to go after A-Rod, I believe Garciaparra wants to play his whole career at shortstop for the Red Sox the way Jeter wants to play his whole career at shortstop for the Yankees. Provided, of course, the Yankees don't shove him out of the way for A-Rod somewhere down the road. I believe Fenway is still where Garciaparra's heart is, and where he belongs.

...

I'm not trying to negotiate his new Red Sox contract for him. I believe that the Red Sox owners, even the way they allowed themselves to be pushed around by clerks from the Players Association on their own A-Rod deal, are smart enough to know that they need to make things right with Nomar now. And probably will.

How can I remember a Lupica article from February? I don't know. I guess I'm a Lupica savant.

Lupica says outrageous things in just about all of his columns -- one time, Lupica actually said that Mike Cameron was a better defensive CF in Seattle than Ken Griffey, Jr. -- I swear, Lupica actually said this -- maybe conveniently ignoring the TEN GOLD GLOVES THAT KEN GRIFFEY, JR. WON IN SEATTLE -- TEN!!! -- IN A ROW!!! -- okay, calm down, Felz -- and each stupid statement is like a fork in my brain.

You don't forget a fork in your brain.

It's Crossfire, with Joel Sherman.

Question: "Will Randy Johnson end up with the Yankees after all?"


For the "no" side, it's Joel Sherman, who doesn't seem to think so, making a fairly convincing five-point argument.

But he might have difficulty convincing Joel Sherman, whose confident headline the day before screams, "Snakes Will Blink, Deal Unit to the Bronx." (I apologize for the lack of a link to an archived article, but you get the idea.)


You've got to admit, at least Joel Sherman can not be accused of being stubborn.

Juan Melendez, Rochester, NY: I Salute You.

Amidst the Yankee fan darkness ...

"I'm really concerned with how much the Yankee bullpen has been used lately. After watching Mariano blow his second straight save the other night, and not seeing that fire in his eyes, I'm beginning to worry ... "
 
(Ummm, yeah.  I'm worried because his ERA for the season soared above 1.00.  Maybe he's just not trying hard enough anymore, fat and lazy Mariano, losing all his passion for the game.)
 
 
In a forest of Yankee fan ignorance ...

"What are the chances a Yankee gets the MVP award this year? I'm putting my money on Gary Sheffield as the next American League Most Valuable Player."

(That's Mark M. of New Haven, Conn.  I'm thinking about getting the phonebook and tracking down all the Mark M's in New Haven, Connecticut, because I'll gladly make that bet and take that money.  Makes perfect sense that Gary Sheffield will be the first Yankee MVP in 19 years.  The voters have shown such a history of love for the Yankees and particularly for a player with a personality like Gary Sheffield.  Put them together and what have you got?  A flood of MVP votes, no doubt.)

 
Churning, churning, endlessly churning a big barrel of Yankee fan milk ...

"They should go after Ted Lilly, a guy they should never have let go for Jeff Weaver. I'm sure Toronto would accept cash for him and a player to be named later."
 
(Maybe if the cash was $50 million and the "player to be named later" was Derek Jeter.)

 
Juan Melendez is the beacon of light, the path to truth, the cream rising to the top ...

"Why has no one in the media mentioned that the reason the Yankees farm system may not be as strong as other teams is due to their success? With the Yanks winning every year, their draft position is lower than other teams, not to mention losing draft picks signing free agents. When the core (Jeter, Bernie, Pettite, Posada, Mariano) came together, the Yankees had better draft position because they were mediocre at best."
 
No kidding.  Though I don't believe Bernie was drafted, he was just signed on his 17th birthday.  In any case, it's an obvious and valid point.

The vice versa also applies to the Expos.  Inexplicably getting endless credit for all their former players who turned into all stars.  It helps your draft position when you're always in last place, doesn't it?  As if they were going to magically keep every single one of these players, anyway.  Vlad Guerrero and Larry Walker standing next to each other in RF, sharing the MVP vote.  

Unit unnecessary and not evil.

How can Heyman try to get away with this?:

"If the playoffs start today, their ace is gopher-ball-prone Javier Vazquez, the No. 2 starter a toss-up between Jon Lieber and Jose Contreras."
 
The playoffs don't start today.  The playoffs start in October.  Plenty of time to get Brown and Mussina back in the rotation and maybe send Contreras back to Havana in exchange for a few boxes of cigars.

Why can the Yankees afford such a luxury?  Because the lead in the AL East is a whopping 8 games.  Which is why all those boring wins against Baltimore mean something in the long run.

Yes, of course, if Brown and Mussina are still on the DL when the playoffs start, the Yankees are in big trouble.  But nobody knows who will be on the DL when the playoffs start.  Maybe Randy Johnson will be on the DL.  Maybe Curt Schilling will be on the DL.  Maybe Andy Pettitte will require major surgery and suddenly bear a striking resemblance to Jim Abbott.

If the playoffs start the day after Mariano Rivera, Tom Gordon, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Miguel Cairo are all hit by a bus, then the Yankees playoff hopes would really be in trouble.

How about this?  Since we're playing "if the playoffs start today"?  How about the playoffs start today, but I get to pick two starting pitchers from every other playoff team and magically put them on the DL?  Then, the Yankees might actually be in good shape in this theoretical battle of AAA call ups and #5 starters.

Without Schilling and Pedro, the Red Sox might be in trouble.  If the playoffs started today.  So they better get Unit.

 

The Y in YES Network stands for Yankees.

"And the content had no balance. On that day, YES was nothing more than a Yankee propaganda machine."
 
On that particular day? 

The Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network is a Yankee propaganda machine 24/7.  I challenge Bob Raissman to find a single moment when it's not.

Watch enough Yankeeographies and you'll think Bobby Murcer was better than Hank Aaron.

The best part is Kool Kat Fred Hickman on the postgame.  The Yankees could lose 17-0, lose Jeter and ARod to injuries, and acquire John Franco for Jorge Posada in the middle of the game.  But Fred and Suzyn would be all, "Ain't no thang.  Where the Mets at?  Fourth place?  Thought so." 

In sharp contrast to hysterical NY media wondering if Mariano has lost it.  Or Jerome from Manhattan calling WFAN. 

YES is Neverland for Yankee fans.  Nothing is ever wrong on YES.  Don't fight it.  Let YES embrace you in its bosom.  Join us.  Say YES to YES.

I want Unit to want me.

I need Unit to need me.

I'd love Unit to love me.

I'm begging Unit to beg me.

Oh, didn't I didn't I didn't I see you cryin'?

 

I thought Yankee fans were arrogant.

The so-called blogger duel with the Red Sox blogger was nothing more than a shoe-gazing lovefest.  But this is supposedly a blogger with Yankee Fan Attitude.

Does this sound like a typical arrogant Yankee fan?  What is this guy so worried about?

"A-Rod lost his cool Saturday and gave the Sox the rallying cry they so sorely need this reason (this could go down as one of the biggest bonehead plays in Yankee history if the Sox come back and win the division.)"

Every Yankee fan I know thought it was cool.  I enjoyed seeing the $25 million pretty boy mix it up.  Why do the Yankees rely on Don Zimmer, Karim Garcia, Alex Rodriguez, and Tanyon Sturtze to get into brawls?  Why don't any of the True Yankees ever fight the punk-ass Red Sox?

I hate the Red Sox.  I want the players on the Yankees to hate them, too.

Then, there's this gem:

"While I do know a lot of Yankee fans who despise Clemens solely for his decision to unretire as an Astro, I am not one of them. I just have a general dislike for this "warrior" attitude he projects but so often fails to live up to."
 
There are some Yankee fans who don't like Clemens and some who do.  But I have never met a Yankee fan who really cares too much that Clemens unretired and joined the Astros. 

Strawn apparently knows "a lot" who despise Clemens solely for that reason. 

Seems to really have his finger on the pulse of the typical Yankee fan, doesn't he?

 

Playa Hatin the Rest of the AL.

It's obvious that a group of sportswriters makes a living just playa hatin the Yankees (Rocca, Lupica, Olney, etc.).  They barely hide their contempt for the team.  But they go too far when it warps their own ability to analyze baseball.

After picking the Yankees to miss the playoffs for two years in a row, Rocca now is convinced that the Yankees are far worse than they really are:

"He's spent $183 million on a club that might be an underdog in a five-game series against the Twins, Rangers or A's if it were to start today."

Or Olney, whose "analysis" is merely reciting every possible worst-case scenario for the Yankees:

"Javier Vazquez is struggling to get some life on his fastball and has a 7.29 ERA in July; Kevin Brown is on the disabled list, and may or may not be activated later this week; Mike Mussina reportedly suffered a setback this weekend as he played catch, aggravating his sore elbow; the 39-year-old Orlando Hernandez has pitched well in three starts after missing last year; Jon Lieber is pitching but has trouble maintaining arm strength; and Tanyon Sturtze injured the pinky finger of his right hand in Saturday's fight and can't throw his changeup."

 
I have no idea who'd win a five-game series, any team vs. any other team.  That's baseball.  Sure, the Yankee starting staff is quite shaky without Mussina and Brown, that kind of goes without saying.  No team in baseball is five deep in their starting staff, much less seven deep.

But imagine for a moment if these sportswriters applied the same type of cataclysmic analysis to the pitching staffs of the Yankee opposition in the AL.

Do  they seriously trust Kenny Rogers in a big spot?  Can Rocca even name another starter on the Rangers besides Rogers?  Can anybody?

Do they just think Zito will magically return to form and Hudson's injury is no big deal (even though Mussina's injury must be a big deal)?

What's Pedro's ERA in July?  (It's 6.53, I checked.)  That's not a problem, but the new stat "July ERA" is a problem for Vazquez for some unexplained reason.  Didn't Schilling just get shelled by the Yankees?  Pitched worse than Jon Freakin Lieber.

If Contreras should worry Yankee fans, should Terry Mulholland and Seth Greisinger worry Twins fans?  Or will the Yankee lineup be completely intimidated by the Unhittable Brad Radke?

What it boils down to is that "Yankee winning" is a boring story.  "Yankee losing" is news.  But Yankee hatin is getting quite tired ... and downright stupid.

 

Things I Learned About Baseball This Weekend.

1) There's indian rubbing in the majors, which means Chuck Knoblauch was correct in the 1998 playoffs after all.

2) "Enigmatic" is Spanish for "sucky."

3) The Mets are contenders, according to the Star-Ledger, as they comment on the enigmatic Jose Contreras:

"But in 10 starts against contending teams -- the White Sox, Red Sox, A's, Rangers, Dodgers and Mets -- he's 2-4 with a 7.61 ERA"

4) The Mets are not contenders, according to the New York Post.

5) After a great win against Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning on Saturday, the Red Sox apparently "awoke."  Which means their $130 million payroll hasn't been trying too hard for about 100 games.  Should they be proud of this or embarrassed? Didn't anybody remember to supply the "Cowboy Up" tee shirts this season?
 

Call him George Fonzbrenner.

George Steinbrenner is about to panic. Any day now. Wait and see.

This is about the fiftieth time I've read this during the season, starting with game two in Japan.

He's going to panic if the Yankees lose in Japan, if the Red Sox sweep them, if the Mets sweep them, if Contreras pitches poorly, if Kevin Brown goes on the DL, etc., etc. Just watch, he's about to panic.

This is a very common nonsensical theme with many writers who cover the Yankees. There is completely no evidence to back this up.

The Red Sox were willing to trade Nomar and Manny in order to get ARod and spent two months trying to get it done. Unbelievably, much of the negotiations process was done in the public eye. Smooth move, Potsy.

Fonzbrenner had a third basemen who broke his leg playing basketball. In one weekend, he quietly had ARod signed.

Gee, how panicky!

The George is probably an egotistical blowhard who's tough to work for and likes to make press releases comparing baseball players to soldiers. He also has a history of making dumb moves, probably as a result of short-term emotion. In other words, "panicking." Like firing Dick Howser after losing in the playoffs. Thing is, that was 24 years ago.

Seriously, when is the last time Fonzbrenner made a panic move? Maybe Dave Collins in 1982, maybe Ken Phelps in 1988. He was very angry at Bobby Murcer for bunting poorly in the World Series in 1981. Even if that indicates a history of panic moves, it's all ancient history.

The current panic move would be trading Posada for Randy Johnson (it's a rumor, believe it or not). But Fonzbrenner knows better than that. A 9 1/2 game lead only makes the George say, "Ayyyyyyyy!"

The other weird thing is that Olney somehow tries to put the pressure on the Yankees.

"With Lieber, Sturtze and Contreras to pitch in Fenway, the Yankees will see how much another starter is needed."

The Yankees? What about the Red Sox? "With Schilling, Arroyo and Lowe ... "

Pedro just gave up 8 runs, Schilling just gave up 7. Those are the only starters they've got in Boston with even the potential to be effective down the stretch. Lowe, Wakefield, and Arroyo are reasons to panic.

Oh, and Boston is 9 1/2 games back. In case nobody noticed.

But Olney doesn't think the Red Sox are in panic mode. Maybe they should be.

Still looking for the "bizarre" part.

30+ years after free agency and it's still a shock to some people that bigtime professional athletes make a lot of money.

I'll tell what what would have been bizarre. If Gary Sheffield had hired some guy to install an above-ground trailer trash pool. You hit 400 homeruns in the bigs and you can afford posh. Hey, right fielder for the Yankees is good work if you can get it.

Then comes the typical morality play: "But that snobbish viewpoint overlooks that Larry Leskanic's job is actually more important to society than Sheffield's, even if salary structures don't reflect so."

Maybe being a contractor is more "important to society" than a MLB player, maybe not. But, if it is, I'd venture to say it's also more "important to society" than Bad Sportswriting.

Filip Bondy is totally far out. You seriously ought to check him out, man.

Let's smoke a bowl, turn off the lights, put on some Floyd --  you can totally synch it up with the Wizard of Oz -- get some munchies, and read Filip Bondy.

"Look into my eyes. ...You are getting sleepy. ...Your eyelids are growing heavy. ...You are perfectly content, floating in a suggestible, hypnotic state. ..."

Totally, man.

"Planet Arrapaicrag."

Whoa.  Far out.  What is Planet Arrapaicrag, dude?  Is that, like, even in our solar system?

"That's Garciaparra, spelled backwards."

Seriously, dude?  Like NOMAR is RAMON spelled backwards!  Trippy.

Dude, does this have anything to do with yesterday's column where some guy named Bald Vinny is your guide to moral relativism?  Because I've been reading Ayn Rand and I was totally connecting the whole thing.  Baseball and morality and now the solar system and capitalism and stuff spelled backwards -- God and dog, war and raw, Toby Harrah and Harrah Ybot, Garciaparra and Arrapaicrag -- and now there might be a planet called Arrapaicrag -- and I was totally freaking out. 

I'm doing it, man.  I'm turning off my mind and looking at the Red Sox in the Blue Jay way.  I'm looking at everything in the Blue Jay way.  I don't even know what that means, dude!  But just read some Bondy and you'll understand.

This Bondy is too intense.  I need to mellow out.  Maybe I need to read a Phil Pepe article and watch some cartoons instead.

Battle of the Titans.

Finally, the matchup everybody has been waiting for tonight at Yankee Stadium.

Name	Carlos Delgado	Jason Giambi
Salary	$18,000,000	$S-load
AB	223	228
BA	.211	.224
HR	11	11
RBI	38	36
Middle Name	Juan	Gilbert
Nickname	None	None
Felz Nickname	No He Di'nt	Jeremy's Brother
Excuse	See, what had happened was ...	Intestinal parasite
Politics	War! What is it good for?	Operation Gumby

Newsflash: Diamondbacks bought the World Series title.

Why is this concept so difficult to understand?  It will supposedly ruin baseball forever if Unit bullies his way out of Arizona and goes to one of the few teams who can afford him.  But how do you think he got to Arizona in the first place?
 
There's nothing "superficially offensive" about any person, in any field, looking out for #1.  Any situation, any time, any place. 
 
This theoretical trade might not even happen.  Unit has a no-trade clause, the D'Backs GM certainly doesn't have to trade him.  But it could turn into a win-win-win if the right deal is made.  The best free-agent signing of all time -- four straight Cy Youngs after he was signed -- just maybe has earned the right to determine his own baseball future without all the furrowing of brows.
 
 
 
 
 

Fun With Archives.

Predicting baseball isn't easy, and I don't claim to always be correct, but here are some doozies ...


Lawrence Rocca's pre-season predictions:

"The Blue Jays look like a 100-win team."

"The Royals will show the Yankees that good decision-making is more important than spending a lot of money."


Boston fans talk smack to Yankee fans on April 26.


Gordon Edes pre-season predictions:

"B.K. Kim will have a bigger impact than Kevin Brown, Curt Schilling, Andy Pettitte, or Roger Clemens."


Frank Deford predicts the AL East:

"I'll bet you this: that either Toronto or Baltimore will finish in first or second place in the American League East. It won't be a Boston/New York quinella. Deford's First Law of Sports is that as soon as everybody starts expecting something, that something won't happen ... especially when that something counts on the Red Sox winning."


Mike Lupica on May 25:

"[The Mets] are 3 1/2 games worse than the Yankees ... you look up at the standings in the NL East, and the Mets are almost as close to first place as the Yankees are in the AL East. It seems like that should be some kind of typo, and is not."
 
 
Even Bill Simmons got fooled in May.
  


 

Mike Lupica wants it both ways.

It is a little difficult to keep track of Mike Lupica's contradictory statements, but a whole three days ago he wrote an article in the same newspaper which was entitled, "Knicks only pay for mistakes, not stars." He seemed to be lamenting the fact that the Knicks could not afford Shaquille O'Neal because they couldn't match the Yankees and their "vulgar" payroll.

Three days later, he's criticizing the Nets for trading Kenyon Martin. Years and years of criticizing Steinbrenner's "vulgar" payroll, he then criticizes Ratner's budget-cutting, build-for-the-future move.

Make up your mind! You're either happy that the Nets and Knicks can't build an evil, vulgar, unfair dynasty like the Yankees ... or you're unhappy about it! It should not be bad news for the Nets, it should be good news for the Nuggets. Hooray for the salary cap!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Back to baseball, the article also includes this tidbit:

"When the Braves, who weren't supposed to do anything this season, need a 5th starter, they don't buy one, because they don't have the money to do that anymore.

Here is what they do: They pick up a former phenom like Jaret Wright off waivers from the Padres last August, and then they develop him into a starter themselves.

Imagine that."


It's shockingly inaccurate on so many levels. Just one paragraph could be this inaccurate and misleading.

The Braves really weren't supposed to do anything this season? I suppose the Phillies were the favorite in the NL East, but nobody in their right mind counted out the Braves after winning more than a decade's worth of consecutive division titles.

The Braves didn't buy a #5 starter? They did buy Jaret Wright. With money. Jaret Wright doesn't play for free and he doesn't barter his services.

Did Lupica just conveniently ignore the Yankee #5 starters this season? Talk about your reclamation projects or unproven youngsters. Try Donovan Osborne, Jon Lieber, Tanyon Sturtze, Orlando Hernandez, Alex Graman, and Brad Halsey. What heartwarming stories, one and all. "When the Yankees needed a #5 starter, they didn't go out and just buy one. They reclaimed Orlando Herdandez from the Expos disabled list. Imagine that."

The more I watch the NL rules, the more I like the DH.

In a performance reminiscent of Carl Hubbell, Roger Clemens struck out all star Mark Mulder on three pitches. Fun stuff.

Mark Mulder and his career .045 batting average. While 1,040 homeruns sat on the bench:


C -- Victor Martinez, 14.

1B -- Ken Harvey, 23.

1B -- David Ortiz, 112.

2B -- Ron Belliard, 18.

SS -- Carlos Guillen, 42.

SS -- Miguel Tejada, 171.

SS -- Michael Young, 46.

3B -- Hank Blalock, 55.

OF -- Carl Crawford, 11. (Eleven? What is he doing on the team?)

OF -- Matt Lawton, 120.

OF -- Hideki Matsui, 33.

OF -- Gary Sheffield, 395.


Please also note that the day before, in the same ballpark, MLB held an event known as "Homerun Derby." They didn't hold an event called "Pitcher Strike Out Derby."

I know it will never happen, but the NL should get with the program. Everybody else uses the DH. Because it's good.

Parcells would call it a Jap move.

The other day, Matsui missed a ball in LF and Kay and Kaat were discussing whether it sould be an error or a double.

Kaat said it hit Matsui's glove.

Kay then says, "it nipped off his glove."

Now, in my world, this clip would be played forever and ever. But I don't think it got any play from the stiffs at SportsCenter.

Three Ways to Fix Homerun Derby.

1) Distance counts. In fact, distance is the only thing that counts. Ten swings, whoever hits it furthest advances to next round.

2) Throw in some wild cards, like Rey Ordonez or Tony Womack. If for no other reason than to laugh at them.

3) Lefties bat righty, righties bat lefty. Switch hitters get blindfolded.

"Mental Gidget."

Fantastic SportsCenter clip either way, but I could have sworn Lowe said "mental reject."

I'm not sure which is actually more funny. Mental Gidget or mental reject? Either one brings me back to grade school.

Lowe should have said to the reporter, "I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on to you."

Clemens coming back to the Yankees?

Worthwhile article here. "Is Clemens coming back to the Yankees? Probably not."

About as likely as a trade proposal from a WFAN caller: "Jason Giambi for Randy Johnson. Jose Contreras and Kenny Lofton for Roy Oswalt and Jeff Bagwell."

The Yankees probably will get a new starter before long, but it will be a #5 starter to replace Contreras. Or they'll just trust El Duque. Contreras is reduced to an $8 million mop up man.

The top 4 starters are fine as long as you trust Mussina's track record. Of course, this also assumes Brown gets off the DL and back to form. Lieber's as good as any #4 in baseball and he'll just get better in the second half.

The Yankees seldom add superstars for the pennant stretch. I can't think of one in recent memory. It's always mid-level stars or role players. Instead of Carlos Beltran, they get David Dellucci. Instead of Sammy Sosa, they get David Justice. Instead of Big Unit, they get Denny Neagle.

Hi, I'm an editor at the Star-Ledger.

Did anybody check if the Yankees won 51 games or 50 games? Oh, who cares? Probably some geek with a blog is the only person who even notices. Print the damn thing.

Kerry picked Gephardt, too. Whatever.

Damned if you do.

Tim Layden lives in a cave.

Tim Layden thinks Barry Bonds isn't criticized by the media, especially with regards to possible steroid use.

ESPN Daily Quickie discusses Gagne streak.

I can't provide a link, since it will be changed tomorrow! It's a Daily Quickie, after all.


"Gagne: Streak Over

Why does it feel like Eric Gagne's 84-game save streak -- snapped Monday night -- was underrated while in progress over the last 22 months?"

This streak was overrated, not underrated. Great pitcher with a lot of luck. Less than half were one-run saves. Gagne blows five of his next ten saves, guaranteed. The streak reveals itself as a statistical oddity more than a true measure of great pitching. Though he undoubtedly is a great pitcher who pitched great during this streak.


"Blame the Dodgers' mediocrity: No playoffs made the saves seem empty."

Mariano is going to the Hall of Fame because of his playoff performances. Gagne might be able to dominate in the playoffs, but if he doesn't, his rep is shot. Ask Trevor Hoffman. Or Mark Wohlers. Or Armando Benitez. Or BK Kim.


"Blame East Coast bias: If Gagne played in New York, the streak would be touted as the greatest since DiMaggio's 56. Instead, "84" has no meaning to anyone ... yet."

Do you know whose record Gagne broke? Try Tom Gordon. The importance of a record is often defined by the previous record holder. Tom Gordon ain't exactly Lou Gehrig or Wee Willie Keeler.

As for East Coast bias, in 1999, I believe Mariano gave up zero runs in the entire second half of the season. That was a streak. That was in New York. Nobody really paid any attention to it.


"50 years from now, when no reliever has come close, fans will finally affirm that comparison. It is baseball's greatest performance streak since 56 (no, don't count Ripken)."

50 years from now, when no reliever has come close, fans will say, "Eric Who?" Rose's 44 is the greatest streak performance streak since 56. Molitor's 40. Maybe anybody who got halfway to Joe D. That's more impressive than what Gagne just did.

Saves have only existed for about 30 years and closers have only started accumulating saves about 15 years ago. Hitting has been around, like, forever in baseball. Joe D. is up against every batter who ever played. Gagne was up against closers from the past 15 years.

Besides, how can you just "not count Ripken"? What, it's the greatest performance streak in baseball since 1941 ... if you don't count Ripken?

What is it up against then? Mark Grace's 252 straight games at first base without a throwing error? Todd Zeile's 995 straight games where he argued with the umpire about a called strike? Jorge Posada's current streak of errorless return throws to the pitcher following a pitch? It's currently 200,000 and counting. Keep it up, Jorge!

Mike Lupica ... how can I phrase this nicely? ... he "changes his mind" again.

Mike Lupica gushes poetically on July 2: "Jeter had gotten hurt making this amazing play at the corner of the left-field stands, where the stands meet the third-base line. ... Jeter like a wide receiver running over the middle in traffic, putting his glove up at the last second, catching the ball because he always does, and then disappearing into the Stadium.

He came up with a cut under his eye and a hurt shoulder. And the ball."


Mike Lupica is unimpressed on July 4: "I can't quite tell from reading the papers the last few days, did the captain of the Yankees make a superb, fearless play to win a ballgame, or get us out of Iraq? ... We still don't have to cover it like he carried people out of a burning building."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lupica also suspects that the Mets are about to take over the "town." He understands NY baseball history better than you. Except he doesn't seem to understand that Yankee fans aren't going anywhere when the team is winning 100 games and making the playoffs every season. Attendance of 4 million might be one clue.

In a way, I'm relieved the Yankees were swept by the Mets. That wasn't so bad, was it? The Impossible Most Awful Thing finally occurred and the Yankees are still 7 1/2 games up in the AL East, George won't panic, Yankee fans aren't going to suddenly turn into Met fans. In October, it will all be irrelevant and forgotten. That's not sour grapes or arrogance, it's just reality. Mets fans won bragging rights, I'd rather win the pennant. Next year, will anybody still think try to believe that the Mets vs. Yankees are "big games"? More important than any other 6 games out of 162?

Jose Contreras should not have confidence.

Because he's not a good major league pitcher. Even if he has false confidence, even if he has heart, he only has mediocre "stuff." His 96-mph fastball is a total myth. His normal in-game fastball is a batting practice fastball. He has given up so many homeruns, it's comical. As long as batters lay off the splitters in the dirt, they will walk a lot and hit lots of homeruns ... a Contreras pitch just jumps off the bat.

Kernan compares him to Clemens? Like Contreras would be Clemens if he tried harder? Doesn't anybody even watch the games? Contreras might top out at Tim Belcher level, not Roger Freakin Clemens.

What was your favorite moment of last night's Yankee game?

1) Jeter's catch and dive into the stands.

2) ARod's double play throw home from his knees.

3) Cairo's game-tying double.

4) Flaherty's game-winning hit.

5) Nomar sulking by himself on the Boston bench.


I definitely pick (5). Isn't he a free agent after this season? I think he might look good at second base for the Yankees.