Yankees: Objects in Mirror are Closer then they Appear

[Vlad Antlerkov]

I'm presuming LoA's silence means he went.

From the looks of things on Gameday, Manny's and Cookie Monster's HRs looked like absolute jacks. Sadly, Gameday doesn't say what deck they landed in...

(Zito's an extreme flyballer, but started off this game with a ton of groundouts, then it balances out with two home runs. Funny, that.)

[Vlad Antlerkov]

...Swisher's average has fallen almost 200 points tonight.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Roberts just got caught stealing... third base. And then Bellhorn singled on the next pitch.

Edit: Cookie Monster's up with runners on 1st and 2nd. Yays.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

...this was supposed to be a rant about Tito plugging in Embree to face The Lion of Alameda County (who's been hitting lefties really well this season), except the difference between Chavez's performance against lefties (338/437/554) and righties (250/396/534) is pretty much created entirely by batting average. Really, he's just been hitting more singles off lefties.

...and it doesn't matter, as Chavez gets out anyways.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Well, that was one long sac bunt by Bellhorn.

Based loaded, one out. Cookie Monster at the plate.

edit: ORTIZZLE!

[The Emperor Fabulous]

Yikes...I don't think that you could've dreamed of that happening. Manny dives for a ball in left, the ump says he catches it, but the replay shows it slightly bounced into his glove. The A's bullpen said he didn't catch it, as did the livid Kotsay, who was batting. The A's get nothing.

Next inning, Kotsay catches a ball in right field, but the ump said it bounced into the glove (which was the right call). Kotsay points at him and says "that's two". The fans throw **** into left field.

You could not have dreamed of that happening one after the other.

Sox now lead 8-3.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

It's over. 8-3.

Edit: Did I miss when Mendoza became effective again or something?

[Lawrence of Arabia]

WHAT A GAME ! LETS GO RED SOX!!!

[Lawrence of Arabia]

From the looks of things on Gameday, Manny's and Cookie Monster's HRs looked like absolute jacks. Sadly, Gameday doesn't say what deck they landed in...

ortiz crushed it, manny's looked like a fly ball out. he hit it right off the end of the bat, no pop sound , the trajectory it took was straight up, and it was opposite field, but somehow it just barely made it over the wall, which is very high in that section.

mendoza was nasty. we're gonna need him and use him down the last three weeks of the season. oakland fans threw crap onto the field in the 8th and delayed the game.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Ah, so that's what Gameday was babbling about.

Just as a curiosity, how would you set the postseason roster?

Here's how I'd do it. Mostly obvious.

C: Varitek
1B: Millar
2B: Bellhorn
SS: Cabrera
3B: Mueller
LF: Manny
CF: Damon
RF: Kapler
DH: Ortiz

Backup Catcher: Mirabelli
Infielders: Pokey (Gutierrez if Pokey is unavailable), Eyechart, Youkilis
Outfielders: Nixon, Roberts

SP: Pedro, Schilling, Wake, Arroyo/Lowe
RP: Foulke, Timlin, Embree, Mendoza, Malaska, loser of Arroyo/Lowe

[Vlad Antlerkov]

And for laughs, award predictions:

AL MVP: Manny Ramirez or Gary Sheffield
NL MVP: Adrian Beltre (not that I think he should win it; Bonds is far better, and IMHO Rolen and Pujols are also ahead.)
AL CYA: Johan Santana
NL CYA: Jason Schmidt or Roger Clemens (depending on whether the Giants or Astros win the Wild Card, mostly; if neither, then probably Gagne again. )
AL RoY: Bobby Crosby. (Yes, I know Lew Ford is having a better year, but Lew Ford isn't a rookie. )
NL RoY: Khalil Greene
AL MoY: Alan Trammell or Buck Showalter
NL MoY: Bobby Cox. No way around it, this one's inevitable.(Though I'd imagine Leo Mazzone might get some votes here and there. Okay, okay, and LaRussa, too.)

[Lawrence of Arabia]

i hope you dont mean varitek bats leadoff!
if trot doesnt come back, and youkilis does come back

with lowe pitching
1. Damon CF
2. Bellhorn 2B
3. Manny LF
4. Ortiz DH
5. Varitek C
6. Millar RF
7. Mueller 3B
8. Cabrera SS
9. Mientkieveciasdjaoscndsofcz 1B

with youkilis in the lineup

1. Damon CF
2. Youkilis 3B
3. Manny LF
4. Ortiz DH
5. Varitek C
6. Millar RF
7. Mueller 2B
8. Cabrera SS
9. Mientkwisdoiosicz

i'd like to see mientkeivekajdoaiscz as a fulltime player, but we have just too many players out there that can play too many positions (we'll prolly cut down on our depth in the offseason. depth is good, but too much depth isnt) so if trot comes back, that means kapler and roberts will most likely sit, and then you have a problem at 1B between millar and mintkiewiwdjocz. and if youkilis comes back, then you have to fit youkilis/mueller/bellhorn in two poisitions.

i think if we play minnesota in the first round, the SP and order should be

Pedro, Wake, Schilling, Lowe

the gyus in relief should be

mendoza, timlin, embree, myers, williamson, adams, foulke.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

i hate bobby crosby - not only do all A's fans (and theres a lot of them here) salivate all over the place when you say his name, they also are to the man willing to say that he's the best rookie of the year, which he's not. Kevin Youkilis is the best rookie of the year, with better stats, and the only reason he doesnt play more is because we already have a 3B. plus crosby runs his mouth about what lowe did last year in ALDS and HE WASNT EVEN THERE.

what a scrub.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Crosby has over twice as many at bats as Youklis. I'm sorry, but the Rookie of the Year shouldn't go to someone who only has 178 at bats. Youklis may be the better player, but Crosby played much more and thus deserves the award this year, no contest.

[Vlad Antlerkov]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Crosby has over twice as many at bats as Youklis. I'm sorry, but the Rookie of the Year shouldn't go to someone who only has 178 at bats. Youklis may be the better player, but Crosby played much more and thus deserves the award this year, no contest.

Actually, doing such a thing wouldn't be without precedent. In 1959, Willie McCovey won the NL award with only 192 AB (in which he hit 354/429/656).

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Lew Ford wins it; not that many people actually know that he's ineligible due to service time, and his numbers are far better than Crosby's.

(Apparently, BB-ref just finished adding Top 10 Comparable Players to a given player by year. Cool.)