As Michael Kay would say, "See ya!"

"Enrique Wilson does not want to return to the Yankees next season. Wilson, a reserve infielder for the Yankees the last four years, did not start against Pedro Martínez, whom he hits well, for the second time this week. He has started one game this month, during a doubleheader on Sept. 9.

'I'm going to wait until the season's over and move on,' said Wilson, who will be a free agent. 'It's my choice to come back or not. I know there are a lot of teams out there that need a guy that can play every position.'

Wilson has a .440 career average against Martínez and started against him in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series last fall.

But Miguel Cairo has taken over as the full-time second baseman, and Wilson is batting .216 in 89 games.

'You want to play,' Wilson said. 'It's tough when you don't play at all. You feel like you're not on the team.'

Mike Scioscia loses pennant, saves civilization.

Joel Sherman tries to put weekend series in perspective.

Joel is on a roll.

Apparently running out of baseball metaphors, Joel Sherman is forced to expand his vocabulary.

First, he takes on the Miracle of Life:

"I appreciate that this is Yankees-Red Sox, Fenway Park and the AL East is still to be determined. But forgive me if another three-game series does not exactly get me feeling as if my wife better not go into labor this weekend."

Item! Joel Sherman has a wife!

Item! Joel Sherman's wife is pregnant!


Then, he zings the World of Entertainment by mocking vanity ("Part of it is that the Yanks and Red Sox now see each other more often than Jennifer Lopez and a mirror") and comedic actors ("Nevertheless, do you think it is more likely that Red Sox-Yankees will be on your TV come mid-October or that horrible, new Jason Alexander series?") and, just when you thought Joel couldn't be any more hip, he throws out a reference to your favorite R-rated horror movie ("Say this about the Red Sox, they have some Freddy Krueger in them. They don't die easily. Maybe they will inflict their Nightmare on Lansdowne Street this weekend ... )".

No he di'nt! Joel Sherman did not just dis Jennifer Lopez and Jason Alexander! Oh, snap!

"Nightmare on Lansdowne Street" is like that movie "Nightmare on Elm Street" except, since Fenway Park is located on Lansdowne Street, he changed it to "Nightmare on Lansdowne Street." Get it?


Sherman then commits the Cardinal Sin of Metaphors by comparing his crystal clear primary subject matter to a muddy metaphor. Unless the reader happens to be a fan of tennis from the 1970s, they will have no idea what he's talking about:

"The same could have been said for Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. But since those two great champions played 80 times, there was some point at which you had to separate playing on the hard court at Amelia Island with playing at Wimbledon. For the Yankees and Red Sox, this weekend is some more Amelia Island. Three weeks from now is Wimbledon."

What the heck is Amelia Island? I have no idea.

Sherman's point is that this weekend series vs. Boston is not as important as the American League Championship Series.

While this is obviously true, a Tennis Metaphor just makes it less obvious.

Even if we take the wild leap of faith that both Boston and NY make if past the first round and meet in the ALCS, it won't be comparable to Wimbledon. Yankees vs. Red Sox in the ALCS is hardly Wimbledon. Certainly not for baseball fans who are reading Joel Sherman's baseball column.

Wimbledon is about as important to me as the latest Guthy Renker infomercial.

Those Red Sox sure are wacky. Ya gotta love 'em!

Still 4 1/2 games out, lost two games last weekend by combined scores of 25-5 when they could have pulled within 1/2 a game, have lost a game in the standings to the Yankees since September 1, the Yankees scored 7 runs off Pedro last time they faced him, 7 runs off Schilling last time they faced him, Pedro has beaten the Yankees something like 6 times in the last 20 times he has pitched against them.

Yet, without fail, the Sox are still considered the "hotter" team and a sure shot to make it to the World Series.

In fact, a lot of observers still seem to think they're going to win the AL East, which is completely unreasonable at this point, with just 10 games left in the season.

Should the Yankees be intimidated? Maybe so, especially because "Reliever Curtis Leskanic runs through the room with his pants pulled up well above his navel. Outfielder Manny Ramirez follows him, pointing and hooting."

"Intimidating" for sure.

Torre Criticized.

Last Friday, in game one vs. Boston, Jason Giambi got four at-bats. Sure, he was 0 for 2004, and had only managed two hits vs. AAA pitching during his rehab, and the Yankee lead vs. Boston was only 3 1/2 at the time, but Giambi had some encouraging upper-deck shots in batting practice. So Giambi goes 0-for-4 and is even allowed to bat in the ninth inning with the Yankees down by one run.

In the next two games, each of which the Yankees won by ten runs, Giambi got no at-bats.

Sitting in a bar last night, watching the Yankees game, pondering the six-man rotation experiment which had already nearly cost the Yankees the AL East crown, I breathed a sigh of relief as Torre finally came out of the dugout to bring in a relief pitcher.

Then, he left El Duque in for unknown reasons.

The reporters at the Daily News and Star-Ledger and Newsday describe the carnage fairly accurately:

"When Joe Torre walks out of the dugout, it means he's giving his reliever more time to warm up and it's the end of the night for the pitcher on the mound. When he jogs, it usually means he only wants to provide encouragement in a hurry.

Last night, with Orlando Hernandez in a seventh-inning jam and having thrown a lot of pitches, Torre rushed out to the mound.

Perhaps Torre should have strolled out there - because when he left, El Duque allowed a two-run triple to Vernon Wells that put the Blue Jays ahead for good in a 5-4 victory before 49,560 at the Stadium."


"Orlando Hernandez threw only 68 pitches in his previous appearance, that rain-interrupted affair Friday night against the Boston Red Sox. In the seventh inning last night he was at more than 115 pitches -- already his highest total of the season. Yet, after a visit to the mound and with a reliever ready in the bullpen, Yankees manager Joe Torre decided to let the starter who has carried his staff the past two months throw a couple more.

Say it isn't so, Joe."


"The situation cried out for immediate relief. Joe Torre was looking beyond the immediate, and it cost him.

Orlando Hernandez had thrown 106 pitches and was nursing a one-run lead when he started the seventh inning against Toronto last night at Yankee Stadium. Though he might have piled up the innings in Cuba, Hernandez hadn't thrown more than 110 pitches in any of his 2004 starts.

Still, Torre kept Tom Gordon and Paul Quantrill away from the bullpen mound. He didn't want to use Gordon until the eighth and he didn't want to use Quantrill, who had pitched three straight days, at all.

So he stayed with Hernandez, through a leadoff double and a bloop single and a hard out to center. Stayed with him for one more batter, the dangerous Vernon Wells, and paid the price."


This time, they hyper-negative NY press got it right.

Even after El Duque had blown the lead, Torre showed no particular interest in winning this game, turning the game over to Felix Heredia and Tanyon Sturtze. Sturtze did the job, but it's hardly the point. The point is, Torre is continually acting as if he's not in a pennant race. He's constantly trying to accomplish something more than just winning today's game. These secondary and tertiary concerns have taken over.

He is so into this Stoic Overseer shtick, that he won't even tell his team they're about to clinch a playoff spot, if you can actually believe what you're hearing: "I didn't tell anyone (about the clinching chance) because I didn't want to put pressure on anybody."

Oh, now I understand why Giambi is playing game one vs. Boston. It's not a big game.

Now I understand why El Duque is allowed to try to get through the heart of Toronto's lineup for the fourth time while he's running on fumes. It's not a big game.

If it was a big game, everybody would feel pressure, and that would be bad. So by tanking games in the short run, by acting as if he doesn't really care about winning, Torre is sending an important message about staying calm and putting things in perspective.

I call it blase to the point of unprofessionalism, Torre calls it psychological management of his team.

What is Torre possibly hoping to accomplish that's more important than beating the Blue Jays on a Wed. night? S aving his bullpen? Building El Duque's confidence? Determining Heredia's status on the playoff roster?

You know, the lead is 3 1/2, not 10 1/2. The team is down by one run, not ten. Try focusing on winning the game first.

I'll keep dreaming about the 110 wins this team would get if the Showalter or Piniella was the manager.

Clemens Syndrome.

I'm on vacation and it's time to ramble ...

On the post-game the other day, Michael Kay claimed that Jeter was having his best season ever. After I did a Danny Thomas spit take, I thought, "Didn't Jeter hit .349 one season?"

Yes, he did, a whole five seasons ago, but apparently too long ago for Michael Kay to remember.

Marvel at Jeter's 1999: .349 ba, 91 walks, 19 stolen bases, .438 ob%, .552 slugging%, 24 hrs, 37 doubles, 9 triples, 134 runs, 102 rbis.

But 2004 is supposedly Jeter's best season because he has rebounded from a dismal April and May and might actually crack a .300 batting average.

Jeter's a great player who will end up in the Hall of Fame and he is having another great season. But it's just flat-out incorrect to claim 2004 is the best season of his career. Not even close.

My sense is that Michael Kay or Mike Lupica or Joel Sherman can claim something, no matter how ingorant or incorrect, and this statement simply goes unchecked and unexamined by the majority of listeners. Then it gets repeated on WFAN and on Eyewitness News Talking Head Sports and, next thing you know, it's a Fact.

But let's say you want to clean the Jeter slate from April and May (those months still qualify as part of the "season," by the way). Let's say you want to marvel at the fact that Jeter's average has risen by 101 points since the depths of .189 on May 25th.

Why don't we apply the same logic to ARod? ARod's Achilles' Heel this season is the much-maligned RISP.

Do you remember when ARod was hitting under .200 with RISP? Less than a month ago, August 25th, ARod was batting under .200 with RISP.

Today, he's batting .245 with RISP (still badfor the entire season, of course). But 23-for-117 got quickly turned around to 35-for-147.

In his first pennant race in the spotlight of New York when the games really count, so-called Mr. April is 12-for-30 (.400) when it really counts.

So why doesn't ARod get the same praise that Jeter gets?

It's the Clemens Syndrome. It's writers and fans who use different criteria to evaluate different players.

Clemens came to NY and he wasn't a True Yankee. He wasn't a big game pitcher. He had two straight Cy Youngs and Triple Crowns in Toronto. Add all this up, and expectations were unreasonable and many writers and fans are, in essence, rooting against him.

The Clemens Syndrome reached its peak in 2001 when Clemens went 20-3 and won a Cy Young. Scrutiny of his Run Support and Strength of Competition. Don't you remember this silliness?

You have never seen a 20-game winner before or since scrutinized in the same way. Any pitcher, for that matter. Nobody mentions that Schilling couldn't win 20 this year without lots of run support or if he had to face the Yankees every game (say, did Schilling duck out of the recent weekend against the Yankees to face the Devil Rays?).

That's the Clemens Syndrome. When a player is simply judged with new and different criteria than every other player. ARod has 35 hrs and 101 rbis, that's the bottom line. Trust me when I say this: Some of those hrs and rbis were valuable and helped the Yankees win.

Jeter 0-for-2 with bases loaded last night!

Jeter has no grand slams in his entire career!

Jeter still hitting just .221 against the Red Sox this season!

Conclusion? Jeter must not be clutch.


Even when ARod has a good game, he's going to be criticized by some if he doesn't bat 1.000 with runners in scoring position, or if he doesn't hit a walk-off hr:

"With the Yanks trailing 2-0 with two out in the third, A-Rod fanned as the tying run. With none out, first and third and Toronto up 3-0 in the sixth, Rodriguez grounded into a double play that scored a run, but destroyed any Yankee momentum. Rodriguez did deliver a two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth, but the Yanks were trailing 6-1 at the time."

This kind of criticism is comical and asinine. ARod got the Yankees back into the game with an 8th-inning clutch hit, right after Jeter's un-clutch pop out to right field, and right before Matsui's un-clutch inning-ending double play.


The only reason ARod is not considered clutch is because people don't pay attention or because they've made up their mind before the season even started. Stats are there to remind you about ARod's BIG HITS. That's their entire function:

"A closer examination reveals otherwise. It shows, among other things, that 17 of Rodriguez's homers have either tied a game or put the Yankees ahead - one more than Gary Sheffield. Sheffield, universally regarded as an MVP candidate, has hit 10 home runs in the seventh inning or later this season. A-Rod, the defending AL MVP who has hardly been mentioned in connection with the award this year, has hit nine."


Like I've posted before, if Jeter has a good game, then it's suddenly considered a "big game." The analysis is rigged.

Friday night vs. Boston wasn't really a "big game" because Jeter went 0-for-4. Sunday had to be a "big game" because Jeter played well, and also hit a homerun.

But it gets a wee bit out of hand when he's praised effusively for catching easy pop ups:

"It's hard to quantify exactly what Jeter, a Yankees original, brings to his team. Sunday, he crunched a solo home run off of Martinez in the third. Earlier that inning, he made a twisting, back-to-the-infield grab of a popup in the swirling Stadium winds to rob Johnny Damon of a hit. In the fifth, he did something similar with a basket catch of a Manny Ramirez fly ball."

Thud.

John Donovan leads the charge off the Boston bandwagon.

On Saturday, the Red Sox are "a force that can't be stopped."

One day later, after Jon Lieber stopped the unstoppable force: "We knew all along that the Yankees wouldn't go meekly. They wouldn't simply hand over the AL East title that they've held onto for six years running. They're the Yankees. They don't do that."

ARod has no walk-off grand slams this season.

"Rodriguez had a big day yesterday against the Red Sox, but so did everybody except the ushers. He hit a three-run homer when it was already 10-0, his 34th of the season. Maybe this is the beginning of an ending to this season that will be up to his standards. Starting right now, against Boston, is when Rodriguez can look like the player the Yankees thought they were getting from the Rangers, and that means the best baseball player, at least this side of Barry Bonds, in the whole world."


First of all, the ushers probably did have a big day against the Red Sox. Lots of people were in the stands and a lot of them were fat.


Secondly, ARod had 3 hits, 3 runs scored, and 3 rbis. Yes, his hr occurred when the score was already 10-0, but I'd like to see Lupica mock "Papi" Ortiz for hitting a solo shot to make the score 14-1 in favor of the Yankees. "Papi" is clutch.

Just in case you forgot, Lupica is such good friends with David Ortiz and so comfortable with the traditions of the Latino community, that he feels comfortable referring to David Ortiz as "Papi."


Thirdly, let's compare 2004 vs. Red Sox stats, since Lupica is fixated on this. Are you ready to be shocked? You thought ARod was having a bad season vs. Boston, didn't you?:

ARod -- .310, 2 hrs, 6 rbis (eh), 11 runs., .895 ops.

Jeter -- .190., 0 hrs, 4 rbis (eh), 6 runs (yuck), .488 ops.


Let's explore how deeply Lupica misunderstands baseball. When Torre and the Yankees moved ARod to third base, they instantly lowered his status. ARod at third base is no longer the second-best player in baseball.

It is clear as crystal that the only reason ARod won the MVP last season -- or ever was considered the best player in the AL -- is because he was putting up his offensive numbers at the same time he was winning gold gloves at shortstop.

Move him to third base, and his AL competition is Huff, Chavez, Glaus, Blalock, Mueller, etc. His NL competition is Rolen, Beltre, Chipper, etc. Lots of third basemen hitting lots of hrs and driving in lots of runs.

ARod's numbers this year almost exactly mirror his MVP numbers from last year. A few less homeruns while playing half his games at Yankee Stadium instead of the Bandbox at Arlington, naturally. The main reason he won't get much MVP consideration because he plays a less important defensive position. ARod's offensive numbers were never the best in the league, they were never historically significant unless one includes the clause, "for a shortstop."

Am I repeating myself? I apologize if I am repeating myself. But this fact is utterly obvious, yet it seems to be universally ignored.

ARod isn't starting to play like ARod, he has been playing like ARod all along. If you're not impressed, you haven't been paying attention.


Finally, if you have any doubt that Lupica misunderstand baseball, read the following passage, where he once again inexplicably rips ARod (maybe Torre, too?) for batting second:

"Joe Torre recently moved him to No. 2 in the batting order. He wasn't brought here to bat No. 2 in the order behind No. 2 of the Yankees, which means Jeter. Rodriguez was brought here to be a big stick and bat in the middle of the order where Ruth and Gehrig and DiMaggio and Mantle batted."

O.G.

Oh, snap:

“We understand that John Henry must be embarrassed, frustrated and disappointed by his failure in this transaction.”


I'd like to add that Gangsta George bought the team for a mere $10 mill.

I would play Japanese baseball for free.

I hate the Red Sox. I hate bunting, too.

I hate when Boston fans come to Yankee Stadium and I can hear them cheer. Every day of the baesball season, I root for the Yankees to win and the Red Sox to lose. This atmosphere provides "juice" no matter what. There was plenty of "juice" when these two teams met in spring training.

But Bob Herzog has a very good point in this article.

This is not really like '78 because the loser does not go home. Logically, these games are not truly all that important. Emotionally engaging for sure, but that's because the opponent is the hated Red Sox.

The wild card is sometimes good, sometimes bad. In the case of the AL East in 2004, the wild card hurts the pennant race.


It's also a good article because of this reminder that Small Ball is stupid:

"Sept. 13-15, 1977

The Red Sox had won 10 of 11 to close within 1½ games of the Yankees. But New York won the first two of a three-game set at the Stadium, including a 2-0 classic when Reggie Jackson hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Reggie Cleveland after ignoring a bunt sign from Billy Martin earlier in the count."

Strikeouts better than bloop singles.

While a healthy Giambi could be a helpful offensive force, it's fairly obvious that he's still not in baseball shape -- he couldn't even hit AAA pitching -- and it would be very surprising if he played against the Red Sox at all.

Of course Joe Torre is going to support his player, but Mr. Avuncular seemed to be watching a different game than the rest of the world:

"He needed the at-bats," Torre said. "The plate was a little large sometimes when he was hitting, so it was a little tough to get a gauge ... He looks good to me. He has a better presence at the plate. At-bats at this point are probably better than bloop singles."

Personally, I'd take the bloop singles. Especially with two on and two out in a tight game in a pennant race.

Remember when the Mets swept the Yankees?

Seriously, the Mets really swept the Yankees in a weekend series. It was just 2 1/2 months ago. Doesn't anybody remember?


"The New York Mets fired manager Art Howe on Wednesday but left him in the dugout for the final 2½ weeks of a season gone bad after the All-Star break.

...

Howe told the team about the move before they took batting practice, and said the clubhouse was 'very quiet.' Critics often said Howe was too laid-back and too easy on his players -- in fact, outfielder Richard Hidalgo and pitcher Victor Zambrano walked into the meeting after it already had started."

Melvin Mora for MVP.

"Ramirez leads in homers, runs created and has a huge lead (1.038, Sheffield .961, Guerrero .937) in OPS."

Maybe so, but Melvin Mora has an OPS of 1.003 and is batting .345. Mora can't be a one-year wonder, since he was similarly wondrous last year. Maybe he's a two-year wonder.

Now, I suppose I should applaud Gammons for even mentioning someone besides the Anointed Big Three in the AL MVP race, but Mariano Rivera is hardly the first guy I'd think of.

I also find it odd that he chooses to compare Ichiro's credentials to ARod 2003, but doesn't bother with the obvious comparison: Miguel Tejada. Tejada has a bunch of errors, but he's still a shortstop who just happens to lead the whole league in RBIs. He was my pick a couple of months ago, and nothing has occurred since then to change my mind.


However, upon closer inspection, I'm not really sure what Gammons is saying, or what his opinion is (other than his belief in a higher entity). Does he think Mariano is the AL MVP, or not?:

"As for the Cy Young Award, Rob Neyer's Cy Young Predictor has great merit. Rivera and Eric Gagne are probably the most dominant pitchers in their respective leagues. But I have always thought of relievers as everyday players/MVP candidates, and I have a mental block that somehow the Cy Young Award winner is someone who records 650-750 outs. Is [sic] Curt Schilling's 740 outs more important than Rivera's 240 when the season is over? That's for a higher entity to decide."

Stupid Kids.

Though not any more stupid than many adults who constantly choose to ignore the "professional" in "professional sports."

I do lots of things for free every day. If I wanted to, I could play hockey or baseball for free every single day. Maybe by myself, maybe with some other friends who have nothing better to do.

So my advice to these children is to get some hockey sticks and pucks and play some hockey. For free. Gary Bettman is not stopping them.

Now, would you pay to watch these stupid kids play hockey? Ummm, probably not.

It seems like I've discovered a wrinkle in their plan to save the National Hockey League.


If this doesn't seem like a baseball post, just replace NHL with MLB. Same stupid commentaries when baseball threatens a work stoppage.

You see, there are no substantial Yankee articles today. Giambi returned to the lineup, Mussina pitched well, ARod had two hits and even another two-out RBI, the Yankees won, the Red Sox lost, the Yankees extended their lead to four games, and Scott Kazmir even beat Boston just to make the Mets look bad.

As a result, poor Mike Lupica has nothing to write about.

I might have to wait until Sunday for another Lupica "Shootin' From The Lip" article, but I guess it depends how the Yankees do against the Red Sox on Friday and Saturday.

I have a crazy hunch that Lupica will mention Yankee payroll, Boston grittiness, and find a way to compare ARod unfavorably to some other player in the big leagues (Dmitri Young makes less money than ARod, yet has a higher batting average against Boston, and ARod was brought here specifically to have a high batting average against Boston). All of is just part of the Lupica Template, regardless of what actually occurs on the field.

Maybe Lupica will once again inexplicaly refer to .291-hitting ARod a ".260 hitter." Whatever, it's just Mike Lupica utilizing his poetic license. What kind of anal-retentive readers or sports editors check the facts, anyway?

.291 is .260, more or less, just like a $194 million payroll is $180 million, more or less, just like the Mets are about to take over the baseball scene in New York, more or less.

Es muy malo.

No es bueno.

"Contreras lost for the fourth time in five starts. He has allowed 15 runs and 15 hits in his last two outings, which lasted a combined 4 2-3 innings. Acquired from the New York Yankees at the July 31 trade deadline for Esteban Loaiza, Contreras was roughed up for eight runs and five hits in 1 2-3 innings of a 10-3 loss to Texas last Tuesday. The Cuban right-hander went 3-0 with a 3.04 ERA in his first four starts after coming to Chicago. 'Contreras has a great arm and he's had success,' Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. 'But he's not doing what he wants to do. So next time, we'll let him throw what he wants.'

'I hope he'll be relieved to hear that.'

Contreras, speaking through a translator, said he already was throwing what he wanted."

Red Sox are, like, the kewlest.

On the same day Mike Lupica finally noticed that the Mets are bad, the New York Daily News won't let you forget about their other favorite hometown team: the Boston Red Sox.

Female writers like Lisa Olson are not the only perpetrators of this kind of so-called sports journalism, but does this article sound like the gritty New York Daily News sports section, or does it sound like Teen Beat?

Lupica angered by ARod success.

"Incidentally, I'm happy that A-Rod is a little looser at No. 2 in the order.

But he wasn't brought here to hit No. 2.

He was brought here to team with Gary Sheffield and do for the Yankees what Manny Ramirez and Papi Ortiz are doing for the Red Sox."

I challenge anyone to make sense of this attempt to criticize ARod.

For one thing, without Giambi in the lineup, it has been apparent for a long time that the Yankees need to tweak the lineup, and even if they had a strong 3-4-5, they would need more punch from the top two spots in the lineup. Jeter is playing better lately, but his on-base% has been poor for most of the season.

Bernie batting first or second? Lofton leading off? Cairo leading off? No good.

So batting ARod second, after Jeter, is not a good idea just because it has worked out so well in the short term. It's a good idea just because it's a good idea. All you have to do is watch the games and this is obvious.

But Lupica doesn't think .300, 40 hrs, 110 rbis (maybe not quite, but close to those numbers) is good enough for ARod. Because ARod is batting second instead of batting fourth. He wasn't supposed to bat second, how dare he? On top of batting second, please don't forget that ARod also strikes out as much as Alfonso Soriano.


What if the Yankees lose in game seven of the World Series but ARod hits .500 with six homeruns in that World Series? It would not really be ARod's "fault," would it?

Yes, it would be. Mike Lupica knows, because Mike Lupica can look into the Future:

"I asked one of the inside guys on the Yankees who's going to get blamed if this becomes four years in a row when the Yankees don't win it all.

The guy said, 'Torre. Cashman. A-Rod. In no particular order.' "


The Yankee starters had eight quality starts in a row before Brad Halsey and the godawful Javy Vazquez (we're complaining about ARod, but not the guy with the 9.99 era in the pennant stretch?).

How does Mike Lupica interpret this recent stretch? With clarity.

In Lupica's diseased mind, the Yankee opponents "keep scoring a touchdown or more" against the Yankees.

At least we know why Boston lost last year's ALCS ...

... it was because Team Samson all shaved their heads in a sign of unison:

"I think that's who we are as a team," Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "It's our personnel. We couldn't do it any other way. I mean, let's say we had a policy requiring haircuts and no facial hair. The benefits would be uniformity, discipline, and perhaps a heightened sense of order. But we'd lose individuality, self-expression, and fun. Given our personalities, our players thrive when they're allowed to be themselves and have fun. When we've played our best baseball the last two years, we've looked like this. It's a pack of sloppy, fun-loving renegades. We play our best ball when we're having fun, like when you are a kid."


Kevin Millar's thoughts on the still-in-first-place Yankees?:

"They wear helmets during batting practice. When Schilling first came over here, he'd say, `Look at them. They look like pros.' Over here, we're not. You see guys during BP wearing sleeveless shirts or parachute tops, no hat, game hat, red-and-blue hat. We look like sloppy, no-discipline dirtbags."


Gee, you think Boston pushes the Dirtdog image?

You want to get multi-millionaire Cowboy Up no-discipline dirtbag Trot Nixon really angry? Tell him to clean his batting helmet. Pine tar on his batting helmet? Why is it so important to him? Because he has a contrived image to protect?

You know, the Red Sox are hardly the opposite of the Yankees, even though they constantly try very hard to portray themselves as the gritty underdog. They're a $130 mill team chock full of free agents and one of the season-long favorites to win the World Series.

The Expos are the anti-Yankees. Unclear, however, if growing their hair, or trading away their shortstop, would help them win like the Red Sox.

ERA Infinity.

Not a great major league debut this afternoon for Mr. Urdaneta:

-L. Urdaneta relieved J. Johnson

-D. DeJesus walked, D. Brown scored, A. Castillo to third, R. Gotay to second
-A. Berroa singled to center, A. Castillo scored, R. Gotay to third, D. DeJesus to second
-A. Nunez singled to center, R. Gotay and D. DeJesus scored, A. Berroa to third
-M. Stairs singled to left center, A. Berroa scored, A. Nunez to second
-J. Randa singled to shortstop, A. Nunez to third, M. Stairs to second
-C. Pickering singled to right, A. Nunez scored, M. Stairs to third, J. Randa to second

-F. German relieved L. Urdaneta

Mets Fun Facts as they lose their tenth in a row.

Pitcher Scott Strickland tries to explain what it's like to play for Art Howe

"I've got enough problems with my own injuries," Strickland said. "I don't need a light pole planted in my head."


The Alfonzos demonstrate quite a bit of creativity when naming their children:

"Edgar Alfonzo, the brother of former Mets third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, is being considered to replace Matt Galante as infield coach."

Gotta Love Phil Pepe.

The same guy who wrote the Authorized History of the Yankees, now tackles the daunting task of defending Babe Ruth's career as a homerun hitter.

Jayson Stark: Pro-Hurricane.

I'm shocked that I found even one columnist who diverted blame away from the "desperate" Yankees.

The Devil Rays and MLB messed up, not the Yankees. The Yankees are playing by the rules and asking about a forfeit, knowing full well that they're not going to get one. Just like when a manager sometimes argues balls and strikes or when a team plays a game under protest.

You know you're not going to win the argument, you're just trying to make a point.

You know what? Maybe Cashman has a point:

" ... last September the Bombers wanted to leave Baltimore a day early when Hurricane Isabel was bearing down on the region, only to be told by MLB that they were required to remain in the area and try to play the game. To do otherwise, they were told, would result in a forfeit ... 'Our beef is with the inconsistency between how we were treated last year and how we've been treated this year,' Cashman said. 'It seems to me that Major League Baseball did not communicate properly with the Devil Rays.' "

Why are the Yankee players and the fans sitting around a ballpark needlessly for six hours? Doesn't Lou Piniella care about Families? The Poor Li'l Rosy-Cheeked Children sitting around Yankee Stadium since 11:00 am for no reason?

Think of all the sad-eyed puppy dogs with no food in their bowl all day long as they wait for their owner to return from Yankee Stadium. Think of all the unmanned lemonade stands in the tri-state area which perhaps were going to raise money for flood victims. Some of these children who wasted their day away in Yankee Stadium are probably orphans looking forward to the first baseball game of their lives. But heartless Lou Piniella can't even make a phone call and tell people that he's going to be late.

Jeter and ARod are on the same team.

I have trouble believing that Jeter and ARod have any sort of substantial rivalry between themselves, but it is clear that some of the fans and writers feel a need to treat ARod like a Johnny Come Lately who is testing their personal loyalty to Jeter.

Maybe it's a result of Yankee fans defending Jeter vis a vis Rodriguez for so many years, maybe it's a result of ridiculously high expectations for ARod, maybe it's a result of the emotional connection that the fans and writers feel towards players on teams that win Championships. It is fun to win Championships, it makes everybody feel good, and the players that make you feel good deserve a special place in your heart.


A lot of times, the Jeter Worship is blatant. You know the drill: Jeter has already proven he was what it takes, ARod is a shrinking violet who can't handle New York.

But in this case, it's quite subtle:

"the time had arrived for him to help extricate Alex Rodriguez from his latest funk and put some growl back into the Yankees' recently meek batting order."

Wait a minute ... has ARod been in a funk? That's news to me. I've been watching most of the games and that doesn't sound right. I remember the four-hit game in Toronto, the three-run dinger against Cleveland, etc.

Let me check out how ARod has performed the past few weeks. In his past 17 games, the slumping choker who can't handle the pressure is 21-for-67 (.313) with 4 hrs, 2 doubles, 10 rbis, and 12 runs. During this time, he even slumped to a .395 on-base% that would remind Jeter of the old days and a .522 slugging% that Aaron Boone could only dream about.

Oh, and that doesn't include his 2-double, 3-rbi performance last night. That was about the 10th time in the past month that ARod "finally" got a big hit.


In contrast, when Jeter has a nice game, it's Captain Courageous to the rescue. I'll stick with Newsday, but every paper had the same angle -- Jeter basically saving the team from its plummet through the power of his will. If only ARod tried as hard as Jeter.

So when ARod hits a 3-run dinger against Cleveland ,or gets four hits in Toronto, or clears the bases against Tampa Bay ... let me guess ... those aren't really big games.

The Jeter 2-hit, 3-run game? Now that was a big game. It must be a big game because we all know that Jeter performs well in big games. Not including games against the Red Sox this year (.179). Or the World Series against Arizona (.148). Yes, that's completely unfair to bring up two series out of an entire career -- and it's stupid to bring up one 1-for-17 series in Boston.


ARod is basically putting up the same stats he always puts up. A few less walks, a few less rbis, maybe a few too many strikeouts. He is already the best 3b the Yankees have ever had and, if Torre would move the gold glover to the position he belongs, he'd be the best ss the Yankees have ever had. The low RISP BA is part of the story this season, but it shouldn't be the whole story.

But I also know why the whole thing makes no sense to me. In Baseball According to Felz, it's not Old Yankees vs. New Yankees. It's just Yankees vs. Everybody Else.

Scott Miller picks Tampa Bay to win World Series.

"There's a reason the Yankees haven't won a World Series since Paul O'Neill retired and Tino Martinez was traded. Winning to the degree the Yankees did between 1996 and 2000 -- four World Series titles in five tries -- requires two essential ingredients: top-tier talent, and extraordinary character.

In opening George Steinbrenner's checkbook to bring on board players such as Jason Giambi, Raul Mondesi and Brown over the past few seasons, the Yankees have kept the talent top-shelf. But that's it.

These guys aren't Yankees."

In case you were unaware of the obvious, the primary reason that Tino and Paulie won so many rings with the Yankees is because they happened to play on the same team of perhaps the most important playoff performer in baseball history, Mariano Rivera.

Ask Mr. Yankee himself, Donnie "No Rings," how tough it is to win titles without Mariano.

Very odd that Tino's mere presence still hasn't brought a World Series title to Saint Louis or Tampa Bay. Or maybe it isn't surprising. Lots of teams have won World Series titles without Tino Martinez, some before he was even born. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that this year's winner will not be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, even though they had the wisdom to import a True Yankee with Championship pedigree. Or maybe Character don't mean squat without Pitching.

This obsession with Character and Chemistry is the kind of idea that can never be disproven. If the Yankees do win the World Series this season, Scott Miller can just claim it's because of payroll. If they lose, it's because they lack character. After the World Series is over -- or any sporting championship, for that matter -- the winning team seems like the team of destiny and they're so damned happy that they all have have insta-chemistry as they douse themselves in champagne. Zell Miller would jump into John Kerry's arms like a little baby if John Kerry threw a perfect game in the World Series.

The biggest playoff hits by the Yankees last season were by the godawful Aaron Boone and the Clubhouse Cancer of all Clubhouse Cancers, Ruben Sierra. Doesn't anybody remember? Is outcast Ruben Sierra suddenly a True Yankee because he got a game-tying hit in the ninth inning of a World Series game? I don't know, but Scott Miller surely must think so.

You want my list of True Yankees whose Character was vital to Yankee rings in the Torre era? How about Darryl Strawberry, Jim Leyritz, Kenny Rogers, Cecil Fielder, Chuck Knoblauch, Roger Clemens, wacky Jeff Nelson, and backstabbin' author David Wells? What, am I supposed to believe that they're all Character Guys, too?

While they didn't play too much during the playoffs, maybe it was the mere presence of drunk driver Shane Spencer, statutory rapist Luis Polonia, and the ever-popular Jose Canseco which gave the Yankees the edge they needed in their Championship runs.

I'm not convinced the 2004 Yankees will win the World Series, but I'd sure like their chances better with a big jerk on the mound, as long as he can pitch.

Mike Lupica figures out the obvious.

Jason Giambi is not discussing his pituitary gland tumor (about three feet higher than I figured, actually) because it will link him to human growth hormone. Mike Lupica figured this out all by himself and then wrote an article in the newspaper about it.

But even though Lupica figured this out, he still doesn't understand baseball at all. For instance, he doesn't seem to understand what valuable players Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez are.

"Jason Giambi was brought here for offense, to hit home runs and be the kind of star in New York another A's slugger named Reggie Jackson had been once. But now it seems as if he has been on defense for almost a year. About his health. About BALCO. About his weight. Now about a benign tumor. Maybe he will even be defensive about the rest of his contract someday."

Now, can we at least ignore Giambi's brain tumor stats? Separate them from the non-brain tumor stats? Because, you know, prior to the brain tumor, Giambi was still a great offensive player for the Yankees. At his worst, he was still 40 hrs, 100 walks, 100 rbis. The Yankees can't get that kind of production from Sierra, Olerud, and Clark unless their stats are combined. The Yankees expected a higher batting average from Giambi, but they can't complain about his production during his first two seasons in NY.

It doesn't look like Giambi will get healthy enough to contribute this season, but if he can eventually recover and keep putting up 40 and 100, then he's living up to his contract. Even if Giambi doesn't do what Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was able to do. No, Giambi probably won't hit three hrs in a World Series game. Set your sights a little lower, you dummy.


"Giambi was on defense at the end of last season, because of a knee injury, one painful enough that he sat out Game 5 of the World Series, at that point the biggest baseball game he'd ever played in his life."

Giambi did not sit out Game 5. That's just a fact. He came off the bench and hit a homerun. Torre benched Giambi (and Soriano) because he thought that Johnson and Wilson gave his team a better chance to win.

Giambi played the entire 2003 season with a sore knee, he played far too long this season with a brain tumor. He wasn't helping the team while playing injured, so if you want to rip him, rip his batting average. His toughness is unquestionable.


Another inexplicable attempt by Lupica to rip ARod:

"Alfonso Soriano, who struck out too much to suit the Yankees, had struck out 110 times going into yesterday's games.

A-Rod had struck out 111."

Last season, Soriano struck out 130 times and MVP ARod struck out 126 times. So I think it's fair to say the Yankees knew what they were getting into, wouldn't you agree? (Reggie Jackson also struck out a wee bit, by the way, as in more than any other player in baseball history.)

If you really want to compare ARod to Soriano, then let's do it. Soriano has a lower batting average, lower on-base%, lower slugging%, fewer runs, fewer rbis, fewer hrs, more errors, and even fewer stolen bases. Also, if you just watch the games and value the fundamentals of the game, there is no doubt that ARod is a better overall player than Soriano (despite one more whole strikeout over the course of the season).


So why does Lupica ignore attributes like Baseball IQ and Attention to Fundamentals when comparing ARod to Soriano? Doesn't he value the Small Things?

I know he must, because when comparing Jeter to ARod, Lupica is suddenly obsessed with Intangibles. This must be true because Intangibles are the only reason one would think that Jeter is better than ARod (for the record, I have no personal opinion about who is better-looking):

"A veteran in the Yankee family was talking about A-Rod the other day and then started talking about Derek Jeter:

'The guy on the other side of the room (Jeter) can't hit as well, can't field as well, can't throw as well. He isn't even as good-looking. And there's no question that if I had to choose, I'd pick him if I was starting a team.' "

Jeter is a Winner, Jeter has that Special Something, Jeter is Captain Courageous. Okay, that's all fine and dandy. But since we're ripping Giambi's contract, let's get some perspective. Jeter's making $19 mill and putting up Jimmy Rollins numbers.

Also, if you really believe in all this Intangible stuff and importance of Leadership, then why do you rip Steinbrenner for his "When the Goin' Gets Tough" silliness? Of course Steinbrenner is a dummy when he compares baseball to war (like Grady Little), when he invokes September 11th in a baseball discussion (like HBO), when he thinks the Yankees win because of mystique or Babe Ruth's ghost or high school football rah rah speeches (though anything that brings back memories of Billy Ocean on Friday Night Videos can't be all bad.).

But if Lupica et al can see Steinbrenner's stupidity so clearly, then why do they endlessly talk about the exact same stuff? How can they claim that Jeter is a better player than ARod? Is it because Jeter is Tougher, because he's a Winner, because he'd Never Quit? Sounds exactly like Steinbrenner.

You know what? Let me make this simple for you. The guy who hits better, throws better, and runs better is the better ballplayer.

Maybe that's why ARod's subpar 2004 is still better than Soriano's subpar 2004 and Jeter's subpar 2004.

Kevin Brown is a Warrior.

Without a doubt, Kevin Brown's intensity and willingness to put his body on the line is the catalyst the Yankees needed.

Trying for win number 512 ...

Texas at Boston
Sat, Sep 4 - 1:20 pm EDT

C. Young vs. T. Wakefield

John Olerud, Clubhouse Cancer.

John Olerud was released by Seattle on July 23. Ichiro responded thusly:

"In August, Suzuki's best month of the season, he batted .463 (56-121) with four home runs and 15 RBIs."

Sturtze and Contreras: Sure Things.

In Fenway, no less.

You remember, don't you? Back in the ARod-Varitek Fight game?

We were all sure at the time that the Red Sox were going to get swept.

We were all confident that Tanyon Sturtze and Jose Contreras would beat Boston in Fenway.

If you don't remember your own memories, no worries. Mike Lupica revises your own history for you:


"The Red Sox had been swept the week before at Yankee Stadium and now it looked as if they were going to get swept again.

Now it is the third inning of Saturday's game. The Yankees are ahead 3-0. No surprise there. The Red Sox have been a .500 team for three months. If they lose again, they are 10 1/2 games behind the Yankees, on their way, we are all sure at the time, to being 11 1/2 behind after the Sunday night game on ESPN."


I know I talked about this disgraceful Lupica column at length just yesterday, but it's truly amazing just how many mistruths permeate everything Lupica writes. I mean, if you give it a little thought, do five minutes of research about the things that don't quite sound right ... the problem is, there are so many little things that are wrong, they can draw attention away from the overall theme or conclusion, which is also invariably wrong.

With Lupica Lies, you have to decide whether to attack the Forest or the Trees.

Yankees Seldom Quit.

"Sure, we got punished badly last night, but winners never quit and quitters never win," Steinbrenner said. "We all know that New Yorkers never quit, and we reflect the spirit of New York."


In the seventh inning down by sixteen runs? Go ahead and quit. New Yorkers aren't stupid, either.

It's a Race.

The primary goals of any baseball team during the regular season, in order:

1. Make the playoffs.
   
2. Win the division.
   
3. Best record in their league.
   

There is nothing more a team can accomplish in the regular season. The Yankees are still in a position to attain all three of these primary goals, and I would consider the 2004 season a downright disaster if (and only if) they missed the playoffs entirely. Given their high expectations and 10 1/2 game lead over the nearest competition in mid-August, missing the playoffs should cost Torre his job.

Even if the Yankees hold off the Sox, there is a real downside to Boston's recent surge. The Yankees won't be able to accomplish some of their secondary goals which seemed easily attainable a few weeks ago:

1. Rest the bullpen.
   
2. Rest the veteran players.
   
3. Play some of the September call-ups.
   
4. Give Giambi some at-bats.
   

You know, Torre just trying stuff out that you'll never see again as long as you live. Like the six-man rotation.

The Guy With the 1.80 ERA Since the All Star Break.

Nope, it's not Javy Vazquez.

Even after yesterday's 22-0 loss (I miss Warner Wolf and his, "If you had the Yankees and 21 runs, you still lost!"), I still think the Yankees will cruise to 100 wins against weak September competition and win the AL East.

But if the standings hold, the wild card winner goes to Oakland, and the division winner hosts Minnesota (I checked the standings fifty times yesterday, and must have inexplicably transposed Oakland's record with Minnesota's. I blogged it, I even argued with folks about it -- sorry John, sorry Les -- insisting that the wild card winner goes to Minnesota, which was something I didn't want the Yankees to do.)

But even if the Yankees got the Twins out of the Metrodome, I'm not so sure that's a preferable matchup. Right now, Santana scares me more than Mulder, Hudson, Zito, Pedro, Schilling, Lowe.

Of course I want the Yankees to win the division, I want the Yankees to win every game. I know it could easily backfire to "try for a wild card" and no sane organization would even suggest it. I also know that it could easily backfire to actually desire a matchup with Oakland's Big Three in the first round.

But I could also foresee a scenario, if the Red Sox actually finished off this 1978 Redux and won the division, where they're down 2-zip to Santana and Radke before they're done celebrating their AL East title. Be careful what you wish for.