River Avenue Blues

Preliminary schedule has Yanks ending 2008 on the road

by 14 Comments

Apparently, those responsible for creating MLB’s schedule aren’t fond of the Yankees. On the final day of the 2008 season, the last season for one of the most historic ballparks in the game, the Yankees are tentatively slated to be playing a game at Fenway Park. Har har, schedulers. That was a good one. Now hand out the real schedule to teams.

Even worse than playing the final game of the 2008 season in Fenway is that the Mets, also slated to have a new park in 2009, are home. So you’re going to allow the Mets to have a fond farewell to the biggest shithole stadium in probably all of sports, but are forcing the Yankees on the road? That’s fucking ridiculous.

Feeney said scheduling both New York teams to end the season at home is “not impossible, but it’s difficult,” adding, “there are a lot of issues when both teams are home.”

I know that I’m biased, but it would seem that the closing of Yankee Stadium, home of 26 World Championships, is a tad more important than the demolition of Shea. After all, who’s going to miss their stadium more, Yankees fans or Mets fans? If you had to think about that for more than a millisecond, get off my site.

Yes, I realize that regardless of whether it’s the last game of the season or not, there will still be a final game at the Stadium. Why wouldn’t you make it the last game of the season, though? It gives everything a sense of finality — that is, until the playoffs.

What it will take to win the East

by 6 Comments

Let’s reset yesterday’s look at what it will take to win the division. With a Yankee win yesterday and a Boston loss, as Joe discussed this morning, the Yankees find themselves just 2.5 games out of first place (2 on the loss side).

As Cool Standings tells me that the Yanks win the division 22.8 percent of the time – the highest its been since the start of May – let’s take a look at what it will take for the Yanks to win the division. Remember: All they have to do is tie the Red Sox, and the AL East crown is theirs.

If the Red Sox go… then the Yanks have to go…
0-103-8
1-94-7
2-85-6
3-76-5
4-67-4
5-58-3
6-49-2
7-310-1
8-211-0

It’s possible, if a bit improbable right now, for the Yanks to capture that crown. They just have to keep winning. And I’m trying not to think too hard about the Devil Rays’ blowing those two games against Boston last week. Oh, the “What If’s” of baseball.

It’s so much fun to say: 2 1/2 games out

by 10 Comments

That was a pleasant surprise, now wasn’t it? Moose just handed in his best performance of the year. It was only the fourth time this year he finished the seventh inning, and the third in which he pitched more than five innings and allowed zero runs. He struck out six and walked just one (and the first batter of the game at that), en route to throwing 66 percent of his 98 pitches for strikes. He didn’t have the 90s velocity the YES gun had him at last outing, which I think says more to the YES gun’s inconsistency than to Moose’s performance. Incidentally, I set the unofficial record for saying the phrase, “Moose is dealin’!”

When I do a writeup of a game, I try to pick the three most important aspects of the game and discuss them, rather than take you inning-by-inning through a game you saw — and if you didn’t see it, you could just as easily look through the play-by-play (which I prefer from CBS, since the PBP is detailed, and their site is quick to load). Tonight, though, was more of a carnival than a game, so it feels more appropriate to pick out the attractions.

[Read more…]

The best trade never made

by 6 Comments

Anyone for Eric Gagne. He’s done more to help the Yanks while on the Red Sox than he would have done in the Bronx. Hands down.

PS Who isn’t lovin’ Derek Jeter right now? 11 for his last 27. He wants that division title really badly.

One million thanks

by 27 Comments

Just a minute ago, in the top of the 2nd during tonight’s Yankees-Orioles game, River Ave. Blues reached a huge milestone. Since we launched this site back on February 20, 2007, with a post previewing the college draft, we’ve had 1 million page views. The three of us never expected to find this level of popularity or participation, and we owe it all to you, the people who have read our 998 posts and have left over 7400 total comments on this site.

So as we look back on February 20, let’s first pause to make fun of Mike for saying the following in a comment: “RE: Brackman. I know all about him, but I’m not overly thrilling considering his limited track record (just 70 IP career at NC State). That said, I think there’s a better chance the Yanks will draft Jesus Christ than have Brackman fall all the way to 30.”

And let me also thank all of you who read every day. We’ve got some great plans for River Ave. Blues, and we’ll certainly be here to the next million page views and beyond. We hope you will be too.