Open Thread: A day off before the co-aces

June 28, 2010 by Michael Axisa 240 Comments

Mariners Rangers Baseball — Photo Credit: Tony Gutierrez, AP

The productive yet surprisingly stressful west coast trip is over, at least until the Yankees head back out there next week. They were able to enjoy an off day today before welcoming the Mariners into town, who are kind enough to throw Cliff Lee on Tuesday and Felix Hernandez on Wednesday. They were also nice enough to re-acquire Russell Branyan just in time for him to hit another homer off the restaurant in centerfield. Thankfully Seattle’s offense is so inept (.295 team wOBA) that it’s like having nine Yuniesky Betancourt’s (also a .295 wOBA) in the lineup, so the Yanks certainly have a chance.

Anyway, here’s tonight’s open thread. Stephen Strasburg takes on the Braves at 7pm ET (airing on ESPN2), and the Mets are playing the Marlins in Puerto Rico. The College World Series Finals (best-of-three) start tonight as well (7:30pm ET, ESPN), with Gerrit Cole and UCLA taking on Jackie Bradley Jr. and South Carolina. Talk about whatever you want, just be cool.

http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder

I gotta say, I love those uniforms. Nice rich navy and solid gray with some light blue, silver, and white accent colors… the Mariners are one of the better dressed teams in the bigs, IMHO.

/probablybeenwatchingtoomuchHGTVwiththewife’d
- Tom Zig
  
  I like the Diamondbacks and Dodgers home unis.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Dodgers, yes.
    
    Diamondbacks, ugh, hells no. Top 5 ugliest uniforms in baseball, and always have been. They look like clowns.
    - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
      
      Seriously, the Diamondbacks look like an arena soccer team.
    - Tom Zig
      
      The white and red? really?
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Literally every single uniform the Arizona Diamondbacks have ever worn, ever, has been ugly.
        
        Home whites, road grays, alternates, the current red/orange/black color palette, the old purple/teal color palette… all of them.
        
        Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone.
      - Tom Zig
        
        granted the word “D-backs” could be smaller, but it’s not the worst out there.
      - vin
        
        They’re better than the ridiculous purple pinstriped with cut-off sleeve business they used to wear.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Sure, in a “shooting myself in the foot with a nailgun is better than getting my nuts caught in a wood chipper” kind of way.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        http://imagecache6.allposters......C6D00Z.jpg (safe-ish)
        
        You don’t look like D-Backs, you look like D-Bags.
        
        Tom Zig
        
        I can’t decide if these are horrendously awesome or just horrendous
        
        http://rocksoft.files.wordpres.....astros.jpg
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        Horrendously awesome. I may or may not have a shirt like that with, oh, you can guess whose name is on it. (It’s currently missing and has been for about a year. So saying I actively have a shirt like that is probably a lie.)
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        The next Astros uniform that looks good will be the first one.
        
        http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
        
        lol tommie that astros uni is one of the best of all time. i have an autographed nolan ryan uniform from those days. it is straight up parkin lot pimpin
        
        vin
        
        I don’t care for how they had to abbreviate their own team name on their jerseys. Imagine the Yankees working in “Yanks” on their unis. Or the Metropolitans calling themselves the “Mets.” It’s obviously very low-rent.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        ICWUDT
- Tom Zig
  
  What’s the worst dressed team? Padres? Blue Jays?
  - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
    
    The Padres must have changed the camo uniforms because I was watching them a few Sundays ago and they weren’t utterly disgusting like I remember them being last year. I feel like they’re more dark green with white pants now or something.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      If there was a Mount Rushmore of Baseball Ugly, the Padres, Astros, White Sox, and Diamondbacks would be the four teams on it.
      - Kiersten
        
        White Sox should go back to the blue and red with the big SOX. I like those.
        
        The Padres were much better in orange and navy.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        The Padres were much better in orange and navy.
        
        Sadly, you’re right, again in a “Given the choice between these 10 utterly horribly ugly things, I choose this option which is slightly less ugly than the other options” way.
    - vin
      
      There’s nothing worse than Husky Heath Bell in the sand-colored Padres uniform.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Ugliest baseball uniforms currently in use:
    
    Padres
    
    (gap)
    
    Astros
    Diamondbacks
    Blue Jays
    
    (gap)
    
    Natinals (note to Washington: gold is not a color on the American flag)
    Texas (solid blue and solid red tops: equally ghastly)
    - Kiersten
      
      What’s wrong with the Blue Jays’ uniforms? I like them.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        They look fatally bland and nondescript. It’s like they’re trying to make me forget about them. Designed by a focus group of tasteless losers attempting to be cool and edgy but failing to do either.
        
        http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        Also… Totally incoherent. Too many different fonts and logos.
  - ROBTEN
    
    What about this from the Rays?
    
    http://farm5.static.flickr.com.....473c_o.png
    
    Putting the stripes mid-calf seems like an odd placement. It makes the uniform very “busy,” for lack of a better word.
    - Tom Zig
      
      Are they all wearing stirrups? What the balls?
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Yeah, that was a regrettable sock choice. It’s a shame, too; the Rays switch from their old unis to their new ones was probably the single greatest uniform upgrade in sports history. They went from a bottom 5 uni to a top 10 one.
      - Tom Zig
        
        http://img714.imageshack.us/f/20112917.jpg/
        
        Kiersten
        
        When starting an expansion team, rainbow gradient is the obvious choice.
        
        http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
        
        Plus, it’s very multicultural which opens up your team to a large, affluent market that generally doesn’t watch too much sports.
        
        It also gives a whole new meaning to a bunch of common Baseball phrases, like “A come from behind game” and “He makes his living tossing balls”.
        
        Kiersten
        
        I just laughed out loud at work. Oops.
        
        http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
        
        Wow, and I didn’t even mention the obvious one about ‘Pitchers and Catchers’ .
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        My eyes, they bleed
        
        vin
        
        That looks like its straight out of Back to the Future 2.
      - http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        You know, I don’t dislike the Rays’ new unis, really, but I am very unimpressed by them. They’re just so, so bland, and the font in the “Rays” across the front looks like something someone created in Microsoft Word like 10 years ago.
        
        They’re a million times better than the old unis, obviously, and like I said, there’s nothing wrong with them… I just find them really boring. I’d think if you had the opportunity to design a uni from scratch you could come up with something much cooler than what they came up with.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I’ll agree that the Rays typeface is pretty blah, but the new color combination and how they use it is fan-frickin-tastic.
        
        Plus-plus color scheme.
        
        http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        Yeah they definitely chose nice colors, no argument there. Honestly, this is weird, but they’ll also look better to me when I don’t have to see their unis against that neon fake-field in that awful dome in the highlights all the time. Nobody looks good playing in that shithole.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Co-signed. I really hope that beautiful bayfront stadium finally gets built.
        
        The Trop needs to be permanently juiced.
        
        Kiersten
        
        But abandoning a totally awesome animal in exchange for uh… the sun… was a fail.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I think their new mascot should just be a bunch of Italian guys named Ray.
        
        http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        I laughed.
        
        They should do the Italian Rays race, like the sausage race or the Presidents race. Just a bunch of mascots that are Italian stereotypes running around the field.
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        I am laughing so hard.
        
        http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        Yeah I also don’t love that they feature the sun on their unis. It’s just kinda random and doesn’t really have much meaning to the team. It also looks like Microsoft Word ’95 clip-art, which fits with the bland-font theme across the front of the uni.
        
        I mean, their name is the Rays and they play in a freaking dome. Not really getting why the sun should be the featured graphic.
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        Because… ummmmmm…. Florida…. and stuff….
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        It’s the Sunshine State?
        
        http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
        
        I mean, obviously I get that, but it’s a relatively tenuous connection to the team. Wouldn’t the Marlins look ridiculous with a sun as their logo?
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Meh, all the good mascots are taken. They’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.
        
        Question: If they didn’t play in a dome and had never been the Devil Rays, just came into the league as the Rays playing home games in an open-air sunny Florida stadium, would you find their mascot objectionable?
        
        My guess is no. It would make perfect sense if the Trop and the Devil Rays ideas had never existed. JMHO.
        
        Kiersten
        
        It’s a reminder to their fans that they could be outside enjoying the beautiful Florida sun, but they’re stuck inside that god-awful juice box.
    - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
      
      I actually really like that. Mandatory high socks are never, ever, ever, ever a bad thing.
      - Tom Zig
        
        ummm imagine high socks on CC Sabathia.
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        I’ve seen clips of him wearing them from like 2001. He looked fine. Because high socks rule.
      - Kiersten
        
        I don’t think some players should be allowed to wear their socks high while others don’t. It’s very not uniform.
  - Zooboy
    
    Whatever uniform is covering Youkilis is the ugliest that night.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Winner.
      - JPK
        
        Mr Potato Head
    - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
      
      a. A+
      b. the Red Sox’s green uniforms really are an embarrassment. As are the day-glo red uniforms they wear sometimes.
      - Kiersten
        
        I don’t like colored jerseys in general, but those green ones have to be the worst.
        
        Merry Christmas everybody.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        As are the fact that they wore blue socks on numerous occasions in the past two years.
      - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        Actually let me correct myself:
        a. A+
        b. the Red Sox~~’s green uniforms~~ really are an embarrassment. ~~As are the day-glo red uniforms they wear sometimes.~~
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  Hahaha no, they have really nice uniforms, you’re right.
- Gardnerella
  
  definitely agree…but there’s something about their logo that gives me a headache: really “busy.”
- http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
  
  I totally agree on the Mariners. I also love the Orioles’ unis, for much the same reason I like the Mariners': Unique and original color scheme, no crazy colors, no cheesy modern trends. Simple, original, unique, sharp colors, and nice fonts and logos. It’s really not that hard, I don’t understand how so many teams F it up so badly.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Agreed on the Orioles.
    
    But they need to dump the black tops and the orange tops. Just stick to white at home and grey on the road.
    
    K.I.S.S.
    - http://twitter.com/JoeRo23 The Honorable Congressman Mondesi
      
      Totally, I really can’t think of an alternate uni that I like. And as far as the O’s go… If you have such a sweet uni, why F it up by wearing batting practice jerseys?
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        The Orioles are like the Rockies to me. It’s hard to pull off black and a bold color together (orange or purple), but they managed to do it.
        
        And then they ruined it by doing the black or the bold color as the PRIMARY color on their alternates. If Colorado and Baltimore both ditched their alternate uniforms, they’d be top 10 with a lock.
      - Kiersten
        
        The best (and only good that I can think of) alt jersey is the Indians’ throwback jersey. I like it so much better than their current uniforms.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I’ll agree with that. Especially since it doesn’t include Chief Wahoo, quite possibly the most offensive mascot still in use anywhere around the world.
http://www.richardiurilli.com Richard Iurilli

Sorry if the answer to this is obvious, but it’s hard to keep up with baseball news in Ireland…

Why is Phil starting tomorrow and Javy on Wednesday? Is it just because of the skipped start and the Yankees not wanting Phil waiting too long before starts?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  I guess, though I also noted that this lines him up nicely to pitch in the All Star Game…
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Conspiracy.
forensicnucchem

So, who is this Stephen Strasburg I’ve heard 1 or 2 million people talk about today?

Methinks it’s some fake person, like that ‘King James’ guy.
Marcus

I know MLB schedules are fairly difficult to coordinate, but it seems very strange that they couldn’t somehow figure out a way to keep the Yanks on the west coast for a few more days rather than make them fly back to NYC for one series, then back again to Oakland.
- forensicnucchem
  
  They’re home for 2 series, not one.
http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS

Well, eight Yunis and Branyan (.355 wOBA)
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

So, what happened while I was gone?
- Tom Zig
  
  AJ Burnett got traded for Cliff Lee and Jesus Montero (the other one). We now have dueling Jesuses in our farm system.
  - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
    
    Two Messiahs? I like it.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  So, what happened while I was gone?
  
  A bunch of people’s trade proposals sucked.
  - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
    
    Nothing new, then.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Oh, and Januz completed his full metamorphosis into Joe Morgan.
      - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
        
        Did he do it consistently?
- http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa
  
  AJ locked up the Cy.
  - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
    
    CY standing for “Crappy Year” right?!
    - http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
      
      I laughed.
    - http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
      
      IETC
- vin
  
  So, what happened while I was gone?
  
  Turns out the sideways universe was purgatory. Pretty lame.
http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder

ESPN Rumor Central blurb headline:

“Rangers eyeing arms, bats”

:: head explodes ::

It’s like a WSJ headline that says “Mutual fund managers look at stocks, bonds”
- http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
  
  Except this time it has a very different meaning.
  
  “Arms” means that Tom Hicks is stockpiling assault weapons, because he doesn’t want to give up control of the team to some bankruptcy judge.
  
  “Bats” refers to Nolan Ryan’s idea that “pitch counts are baloney” despite mountains of medical evidence.
http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

Melky > Strasburg, whoah
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  WHY WAS HE EVER TRADED?!?!
  
  /hasn’t bothered to look at numbers
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Last I checked, Austin Jackson was raking.
    
    /thatoneguywhodidn’tcheckrecently
    - http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
      
      /~~thatone~~thoseseveralguyswhodidn’tcheckrecently
- forensicnucchem
  
  I think they’re trying to upstage Strasburg. At least twice Pudge has been ‘future hall of famer’ and yet I haven’t heard it for Strasburg yet tonight. Unbelieveable…
mike c

i’m going with hughes/CC for the series win
http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS

Did Melky get a foot in there?
Tom Zig

Speaking of uniforms, does anyone own any non-Yankee jerseys?
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  I have a Rays Baldelli t-shirt jersey, that’s it.
- forensicnucchem
  
  New York Football Giants?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Negative.
  
  I own one Yankees jersey (#24) and 3 Jets jerseys (#24 Revis, #19 Keyshawn, #20 Jones Titans throwback). That’s it.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    Oh, sorry: 4 Jets jerseys. Also have a James Hasty home green. That’s my boy.
    - camilo gerardo
      
      Steve Nash!
- mike c
  
  i have a fake mark gastineau jets jersey t-shirt
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  As I said above, I’ve got a Pettitte Astros t-shirt from 2004-2006 (in the style of the ugly/awesome rainbows-across-the-chest uniforms from, what was it, the 80s?) that’s probably lost because I haven’t seen it in a year.
- Gardnerella
  
  Homestead Grays
  
  (former-Pittsburgher here…)
- http://www.richardiurilli.com Richard Iurilli
  
  I have a 2008 All-Star Game Josh Hamilton t-shirt jersey. I think I got it off of eBay. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another one.
- Carlosologoist in Humid Ass Colombia
  
  I got a San Francisco Giants jersey as a birthday present.
- http://www.retire21.org Mike R.- Retire 21
  
  A couple of soccer jersies. That’s it.
leon

check out this die-hard kid yankees fan. classic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-92KLYtLuk
VO

Ok so I am new to this twitter thing, what and why do people put the # in front of things. Second what are some good twitters I should add?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  The hashtag (#) is used to tag keywords for searching purposes. You can go to http://hashtags.org/ and see who is saying something about that keyword. If you’re tweeting about the Yankees, you should throw on a #yankees or #mlb or both onto your tweet to get it seen by people who want to talk about/read about the Yankees.
  - VO
    
    That makes sense now, thank you.
- Kiersten
  - Kiersten
    
    Fail.
    
    http//:twitter.com/yesmichaelkay
    - VO
      
      Yea I have that one, it’s one of the funnier things out there.
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

Sutt just blew my mind. Dunn would make a perfect DH?! Where does this brilliance come from?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Bonus: since he’s from the National League, he’ll know how to field a bunt.
  
  /~~Januz’d~~JoeMorgan’d
forensicnucchem

Just for the hell of it…

If Adam Dunn was traded to the Yanks tomorrow, would you bat him 2nd for the great OBP or 6th for the power?

I think I’d have to go with 6th and put Swish 2nd. Girardi’s head might explode with the back-to-back lefties in Cano and Dunn though.
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  The Binder would save him. Both Dunn (.361) and Cano (.351) have good wOBAs against lefties. I, too, would bat him sixth.
- http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
  
  I think they should put Cano right next to another lefty–it would encourage people to bring in LOOGYs to face him. He is slugging .612 off lefties this year.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    The ol’ Baby On The Corner trick.
    - boogie down
      
      Gun Store, Gun Store, Liquor Store, Gun Store… Where the fuck you taking me??
- Ross
  
  Keep Swish 2nd, bat Dunn 6th as protection for Cano. Let them bring in a lefty to face Cano and he’ll do what he did last night. Posada would slide in nicely 7th there.
  
  Too bad it’ll never happen, the Nationals love that guy and rightly so.
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

How fuck. Gerrit Cole is a dead ringer for Badger from Breaking Bad.
Operation Venditte

So via MLBTR it says the Royals are actively pushing to trade Jose Guillen and the Yankees could be a prospective suitor oh and the royals are willing to eat salary (He’s due 6.39 million I believe)…What do you guys think? Honestly I dont want him if the Royals are eating salary their going to ask for a larger return.
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  I don’t think I’d want him for free.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  Joe Posnanski has completely brainwashed me (in a good way) to hate Jose Guillen. His horrible OBP totally outweighs any power he provides.
  
  Pass.
Ross

Good news? Last time King Felix faced a AL team he gave up 7 runs in 6 innings to the Rangers.

Bad news? He’s pitched back-to-back complete game 5-hitters.

Hopefully he’s a bit worn out and the Yankee bats get to him. Not holding my breath, though.
- VO
  
  I’ll make my prediction now he goes 5 IP, 7 runs 1 K and 6 BB.
mike c

any idea of what miranda’s trade value might be? id like to see cash try to make a deal for some of toronto’s young pitchers
- Ross
  
  First of all, for Toronto to trade within the division the trade starts with Montero and goes from there, probably going to give up Nunez too.
  
  Second, why do we want a pitcher? You could argue this team needs help everywhere except the starting rotation.
  - mike c
    
    bullpen support
    - Ross
      
      Who are you talking about then? When people talk about Toronto’s “good young pitchers” they’re usually referring to Cecil Romero etc who are all starting pitchers. Who is this young bullpen arm?
      - mike c
        
        fwiw heyman tweeted this last week http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyma.....6862553281
        
        Ross
        
        Frasor and Downs are not young (nor good) and the other two are starting pitchers.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        I’d be interested in Downs, he’s a decent LOOGY. At least, he’s a massive upgrade over Loone Bogan. Wouldn’t give up much for him, though, and as we both said, the Jays aren’t trading anyone to us without charging a premium, which makes it a nonstarter.
        
        mike c
        
        really? i think downs could be a decent lefty bullpen option.. couldn’t be worse than chan ho park
        
        Ross
        
        He could be, but why trade for a 2nd LOOGY when you pay premium dollar since it’s Toronto?
        
        I agree Chan Ho needs to be booted sooner rather than later, but Downs isn’t the guy to replace him. Chan Ho is a 1-inning-guy stuck in a long-man’s role.
        
        vin
        
        “. Chan Ho is a 1-inning-guy stuck in a long-man’s role.”
        
        That’s just because he’s being misused. Reminds me of when Marte first came back to the Yankees in ’08. Girardi used him to get multiple outs quite a few times, but with little success.
        
        Right now, Chan Ho needs successful, short outings to get some momentum. He’ll get straightened out.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  I don’t know exactly what Miranda’s trade value would be, but it’s not high enough to get one of Toronto’s young pitchers (intradivision, no less).
  
  Toronto’s not trading one of their young hurlers for anyone during a rebuilding process. They’re certainly not trading one of them to a division rival for a 1B/DH (that they don’t even need).
  - mike c
    
    yeah generally i would agree but they seem to be deep in young pitchers right now, and might be looking for a brighter option at 1B than lyle overbay… compound that with all of their low draft picks and they could probably afford to spare an arm for a bat
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Their better option than Lyle Overbay is called Brett Wallace, and he’ll be promoted any day to take over 1B for the foreseeable future.
      
      They wouldn’t be interested in Miranda.
http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS

Four pitch walk for Strasburg–what a bust
http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama

ESPN talking about the value of walks.

Whoah. Whoah. Whoah.
- Ross
  
  I’m not watching it but now I know Joe Morgan isn’t calling the game, all walks do is clog up the bases.
  
  I miss FJM :(
  - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
    
    Listening to J. Morgan explain base ball is like listening N. Armstrong express his belief in a geocentric solar system.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      Let’s gallimaufry this shizz.
- Kiersten
  
  Well yeah, walks are good because it allows the next guy to bunt. And we all know bunting is better than DH’s hitting home runs.
nathan

Cole is unlucky
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

I would love for Strasburg to pitch in the ASG…then see Cano take him so deep that the ball circles back around the globe before again clearing the fence and hitting a Red Sox fan in the face.
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  (sobs in joy at this hypothetical situation)
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

So what’s everyone thinking about this “Predators” thing? I mean, it could be alright–watching people get fucked up by Predators for 90-120 minutes could be pretty cool. But, I’m sure they’ve fucked it up somehow.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  That movie is gonna make House Party look like House Party 2.
- http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
  
  I was dragged to Alien vs. Predator. I figured it would likely be terrible, but watching them fight might be at least entertaining. It was over an hour before Alien fought Predator. That’s just not ok.
  - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
    
    Yeah, same. I totally thought it would just be Aliens and Predators fighting. People being in that movie totally ruined it.
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      I felt the same way about Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever.
      
      [Ed. note: Tommie’s lying. He didn’t see Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever; nobody did.]
      - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
        
        Wait, wait, wait…why does that sound familiar?
        
        http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
        
        Wow, I totally forgot that thing.
        
        Was it a spinoff of anything or just a totally original piece of trash?
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        It appears to be an original work of… hmm. “Art” isn’t the right word. “Crap”, maybe?
      - http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
        
        That is one of the only movies I know of that has a good number of reviews and a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        Wiki includes it in the “List of films considered the worst films ever” article.
        
        This action movie, starring Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas, was universally panned by critics, earning a rare zero percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where it remains as the worst critically reviewed film on the site. Critics variously described the film as “A picture for idiots”, “Boring to an amazing degree”, “A fine achievement in stupidity and dullness”, “Dreadful”, “[Giving] new meaning to the word incoherent”, and “bad on just about every level”. One critic suggested an alternate title as “Simplistic: Bullets Vs. Humans.” Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post wrote, “You could run this film backward, soundtrack included, and it would make no less sense.” Roger Ebert called the movie “a chaotic mess, overloaded with special effects and explosions, light on continuity, sanity and coherence”, and included it on his list of “most hated” movies.
        
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W......282002.29
        
        http://www.progressamericana.com/ Pablo Zevallos
        
        At least it has Ray Park in it.
    - http://twitter.com/riddering Riddering
      
      http://images.fanpop.com/image.....8_1016.jpg
SouthernYankeeFan

I live in Mississippi on the gulf. I can’t go fishing because of the oil situation. and now I’m blacked out from getting to see Strasburg pitch. FML
http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/.....id=5333971

Did playing football turn Chris Henry’s brain into a suicidal one? Does the NFL have a serious problem on it’s hands?
- nathan
  
  That report was a little scary. Playing football is a real death wish. The monetary benefits for the top players hides the so many flameouts who dont sniff the NFL or are bit part players, sacrificing your mid-life for that is just not worth it. But the game is too popular for anything constructive to happen.
nathan

UCLA defense is poor. Cole is getting burned.
nathan

Would hv so loved to see Strasburg v Heyward. The NL ROY will be a fun race to watch.
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  I’m voting for Edinson Volquez. After five years in the league, I think he’s finally ready to play like a Rookie of the Year.
Ivan

For the all the ridiculous considerations for Strasburg to make the All-sta team, you know who might be the best young pitcher nobody heard of or talks about:

Mat Latos. Yet not one “analylist” has said that Latos should be on the All-Star team…
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
  
  I’ll have a response for you, as soon as I get done reading all the articles on ESPN’s Tebow Tracker.
  
  http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/.....TebowWatch
  - Ivan
    
    I guess you completed all the articles on the LeBron James FA tracker too…
    - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
      
      PANDA WATCH!!!
      - http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
        
        They said no, you can’t go in there; he’s a live bear and he will literally rip your face off.
        
        http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        That’s the smell of desire, m’lady.
        
        http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
        
        It smells like a used diaper full of Indian food!
http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

What a cluster fuck of a play.
http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

Aluminum bats are such a joke. Off the end of the bat and has enough juice to sail over the 1B head.

BTW-Cole needs to use his fastball more. Nothing but breaking balls that inning. Last pitch was 97, use it.
http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=5337933

Really? There’s never been a Puerto Rican manager before? That’s just odd. There’s obviously been numerous latino managers; it’s quirky that none of them thus far have been from the one part of Latin America that’s actually part of the United States.

Bizarre.
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  All of the Puerto Rican men of age to manage were too busy fighting The Jets to focus on baseball.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    My favorite Puerto Rican woman of all time: Natalie Wood.
- http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
  
  With Stu Sternberg making noise about leaving Tampa, I can’t help but wonder if Puerto Rico would be a good place for a MLB franchise. Travel wouldn’t be bad, Baseball is already very popular there, and there are big cities like San Juan that could support a team. Mexico City is another one that I wonder if it could work.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
    
    I’ll be dead in my cold, cold grave before I allow a baseball team to be based in Mexico City.
    
    Sincerely,
    Xenophobes
    - http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico_City
      
      8.8 million fannies to put in seats, and the 8th richest city in the world and 25th largest economy.
      
      If anything, there are probably political roadblocks that stop MLB from going there. But I have no doubt Bud would love to set up shop there tomorrow.
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside the Elder
        
        BUT TEH MEXICANS R TIKN R JOBS
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

Boone had a .245 OPS against Sheets in 25 PA. Ouch.
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

boy i always forget how good hudson is
- http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
  
  The Nats have scored 0 runs in Strasburg’s last two starts
  - http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
    
    he’s gonna have a lot of starts like that the next 6 years
    - http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
      
      it really sucks for him
      - phughesisgod
        
        Heh. Sucks for Strasburg? How the hell do you think Andrew Eugene Pettitte has felt his whole freaking career?
        
        http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
        
        i dont get what you are talking about. other than his time with the astros, pettitte has had good run support, no?
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        Whuhuh? Pettitte gets some pretty nice run support and has throughout his career. He’s also been on very, very good teams, not the Nationals (yes, they’re improving, but the chances of them being the late 1990s Yankees aren’t very high.).
        
        http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
        
        Also:
        
        How the hell do you think Andrew Eugene Pettitte has felt his whole freaking career?
        
        I dunno. Sexy?
        /obligatory’d
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

strasburg is effing unbelievable

K’d 5 straight
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

why did bobby cox allow hudson to bat? the guy was at over 100 pitches and they need to score runs

jeez
http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno

That was one of the worst swings ever.
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  agreed
- Johan Iz My Brohan
  
  he could still throw twice as hard as you can.
  
  /dick’d
  
  (if it makes you feel better, I bet you could throw harder than Damon!)
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

boy looks like hudson has a different K zone than strasburg

that looked like a strike 2 to me.

oh well
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

looks like the braves are rallying
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  wow thats how you screw up a double play
  
  man the nats suck
http://www.riveraveblues.com Mike Axisa

Strasburg’s about to strike out the side. Watch.
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  that would be mariano-esqe
- Ivan
  
  Prediction FAIL!!!!
- http://youcantpredictbaseball.wordpress.com/ bexarama
  
  Stephen Strasburg is no Mariano Rivera. Only sorta kidding ;)
http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

No doubt Cole has been victimized by by some seeing eye hits and shoddy defense (including his own) but he’s still pretty wild. Falling behind a lot of hitters despite walking just one. On the plus side, he has a nice, quick easy delivery and just oozes stuff. Easily sits at 94-97 with his fastball, good hard breaking ball and another pitch I can’t quite figure out. If it’s a slider, it’s not sliding all that much, at least not consistently. But at his age, you don’t expect him to be a finished product. He’s still raw, but what an arm.
Johan Iz My Brohan

Good one Desmond!
Reggie C.

Can someone decipher the NY Knicks’s strategy?

Having the Dolans fly out to Cleveland to speak with Lebron is to appeal strictly to Lebron’s plan to become the first billionaire athlete. There’s no way the Dolans can or should speak of the actual Knicks team.

I’ve heard the GM Donnie Walsh will be out in LA to speak to Amare.

If we miss out on ‘Bron and subsequently Bosh … is there any way we can sign both Amare and Johnson and then swing a trade for Tony Parker?
- Yankeefan91 Arod fan
  
  idn how the knicks are going to attract lebron and bosh here we need a star point guard in my opinion hopefully we can trade for parker or paul or even monta ellis. I can see the knicks trading chandler and curry for ellis and den signing lebron and bosh.
  - SouthernYankeeFan
    
    Didn’t Tiger hit the billion dollar mark before all of his conquests came out.
  - yankees1717
    
    why the hell would golden state accept that
  - yankees1717
    
    the knicks don’t have anything to trade. at all.
- http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
  
  Actually, I’d love to hear TSJC’s opinion on this. He’s very optimistic, but I’m not really seeing much right now.
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

man steven strasburg should seriously choke bitches

how can your SS have 19 errors and it’s not even the end of june??
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  oh boy this really sucks for SS.
  
  he should’ve been out of that one with no runs
Kevin

Check it, Mariano’s Wikipedia entry is the featured article of the day:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
- http://twitter.com/dpatrickg Dirty Pena
  
  Easily the biggest accomplishment of his career.
Carlosologoist in Humid Ass Colombia

I´m a bit late on the uniform topic, but why do some home teams have the names on the back. Personally, I´ve never been a big fan of having the name on the back when you´re playing at home. Since you`re playing at home, everybody knows who you are. No reason to put a name on it. That´s why the Yanks uniforms are the best. Bitches know who you are at home AND on the road.
- Kiersten
  
  Doesn’t every team besides the Yankees and Red Sox wear names on the back of their jerseys at home?
  - Carlosologoist in Humid Ass Colombia
    
    Giants don´t.
    - Kiersten
      
      Ok, so 27/30. My bad.
http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist

http://www.tmz.com/2010/06/28/.....pel-video/

Gives a whole new meaning to ‘Two-way Forward’ huh?
- http://www.theyankeeu.com/author/steve-s/ Nostra-Artist
  
  I bet the ‘5 on 3’s would be interesting as well.
http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS

Man, Strasburg really sucks as this whole tRA+ thing
- deuce bag poster
  
  “Wins are THE most important stat.”
  
  -Wally Matthews, Father of the modern formula used to calculate tRA+
  - http://www.soxandpinstripes.net JGS
    
    In his last three starts, the Nats have a combined one run
Kiersten

Reading comments on boston.com really brightens up my day.
- http://theyankeeu.com Matt Imbrogno
  
  Please share.
  - Kiersten
    
    I could go on and on, but I’ll just highlight a few. These are from Shaugnessy’s latst 2 columns.
    
    OK enough is enough, sox are so close of taking first place.Now we need theo to go out n make some blockbuster go after a catcher now like suzuki or montero we need a catcher anyway get him now!. Need a 2baseman get jose lopez from Seattle he’s available. they can hold this team together till everyone gets back to health!
    
    ——–
    
    The Yankees have been inconsistent;
    
    (if having the best or second-best record in baseball all season is inconsistent, I hope we’re inconsistent every year)
    
    ——–
    
    truly heartbreaking. Pedroia is the heart of the team. I’m still surprised that the sox aren’t behind the Orioles right now considering all the injuries.
    
    ————
    
    Some players, such as Pedroia, Cameron, and Randy Moss, are character players. They come back faster than expected from injuries or play through the injuries. Others, such as Ellsbury (who has the same injury that Moss had) and Lowrie take much longer than expected to come back from an injury.
http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G

i hate hate hate aaron heilman. that d-bag cost me and my fantasy star dan haren to not get a win

ugh super sucks
Carlosologoist in Humid Ass Colombia

I fear for the game on Tuesday. Lee has only issued four walks all season. Wednesday the Yanks might have a shot.
- http://www.twitter.com/stophamm3rtime Dela G
  
  i’m not excited to see lee’s spiked curveball again
  
  man that thing was nasty in the world series
  - Total Dominication
    
    We have our own co-ace on the mound though.
phughesisgod

Oh this is pitiful. Apparently, its ok to say Evan Longoria can become the next Derek Jeter off of an argument with BJ Upton which apparently solidified his ascension into being Rays leader for the next how ever many years. Shaking my head at Buster Olney and Steve Berthiaume.
- forensicnucchem
  
  Berthiaume talked about something other than ‘The Nation’?
- Pete
  
  wow. Longoria may be the next “Jeter” (except, if we’re being honest, better at playing baseball), but it’s not because of his argument with BJ. It’s because he’s really freaking good at baseball, doesn’t take roids (as far as we know), and seems like a pretty good guy.
Johan Iz My Brohan

That Ubaldo guys is really good.
Total Dominication

Ubaldo has lost sole possession of the era lead, he’s at this moment tied with JJ.

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