Nomar returns to Boston?
Well not really. While hanging out at his oceanside Charlestown (Boston 
community) condo recently (who knew he still owned it?), he & his Uncle Victor saw a woman fall into the water. Apparently the woman’s friend attempted to help but fell into the water as well, hitting her head on the pier on the way down. Nomar dove in and saved them both, and one was apparently unconscious. His uncle stated Nomar had them both safe by the time he arrived, but was unable to get them onshore without his help. A witness said he overheard one of the woman ask: "Are you Nomar?" after she was pulled to safety. Nice job Nomie. Welcome back…
Yanks post season ends, drought continues…
How much does it cost to win a championship? Not $200+ million apparently…
Oh baby… Yanks fall in the decisive fifth game to Los Anaheimangeles. Colon 
goes down with an injury in the SECOND inning, and they couldn’t get it done against a ROOKIE. Mussina was terrible after the first. What a great call to send him to California ahead of time. Now he’s a year older, just like the rest of the overpriced squad that was trotted out there. The drought continues. Year 2000! Year 2000!
Must have been a long flight back to NY. Ouch… Wonder who will get the ax?
For those of you cocky Yankee fans writing in giving us **** about the Sox over 
the last few days (even while down 1-2), how did that Angels series work out? At least the defense was pathetic, or uh, disturbing…
We are starting a petition to remove the Los Anaheimangeles tag. Any suggestions? How about the East LA Angels? Or the SoCal Angels? Hey Arnold, how bout the Kali-forn-ia Angels? What wouldn’t be better…
Baseball fans around the league were rejoicing after this loss, especially after the Sox had lost. Fans in general must be happy to see anyone other than the Yankees and Braves. We are. Angels and Cards have been in recently, and we are pulling for a Chisox & Astros finale. Would be so much more fun that way. Anaheim 
limps into Chicago with starting pitching in question. Colon’s return is doubtful, and others may not be available due to flu-like symptoms. Chicago only had a three game series and are well rested – including the entire pitching staff. Chisox should get their first birth in the Series since the early 1900’s. Go Chisox!!!
St. Louis vs. Houston will be the toughest matchup. Both have outstanding 
pitching staffs and good offenses. Get ready for low scoring & maybe even more extra inning games. The winner of this series will have a great shot at winning. We like Houston to take the whole thing…
Stay tuned for our Hot Stove updates. Theo is first on the list – his contract expires the end of this month. Don’t look for Manny to go anywhere unless Sox get blown away with an offer. Remember he’s only got 3 years left now. Hopefully Damon can get locked in soon…
Sox, Yanks allow games to slip thru
For those of you wanting to bash Graffinino, hold your horses. And the Billy Buck references you can stuff up your butt. He didn’t allow the winning run to score. Maybe you can pin the 3rd run on him, but a veteran playoff pitcher in Wells made a bad pitch and gave up the go ahead run. The offense was 0 for 7 with RISP after the 4th. Point is, there’s plenty of blame to go around. It’s self serving columnists (like ESPN’s Buster Olney – who used to cover the Yanks) that bring out the reference to make a story more appealing. Also remember he hit a big double in the 9th with one out and no one could get him home…
This team finds itself in an 0-2 hole. Not as daunting a task as last year, but still 
difficult. If anyone can pull it off, it’s this team. Ask Oakland and the Yanks. Last nights game was winnable. All the breaks have gone Chicago’s way so far. Now they venture into a hostile environment. If the Sox manage to take the next 2 (which they should) pressure will be back on them. If there is a rainout this weekend, that bodes well for the Sox too. Whoever will start for a potential game 5 (Wells?) gets an extra days rest. Remember, this team doesn’t panic or quit. Don’t ever write them off. Keep the Faith baby, keep the Faith…
Yanks let a very winnable game slip through their hands. What in the **** was Joe Torre doing
in this one? He pulled his Wang in too late, and replaced him with Leiter! Al Leiter!
Was Grady Little in the dugout sitting next to Stottlemeyer? Has he watched this guy pitch at all? How about Embree???
Guarantee Jeter was standing at short shaking his head. Actually, he was probably standing on the mound with every other infieder, the pitching coach, manager, trainer, and the guy with the water bottle. Maddening. Yanks have a must win with Big Unit going on Fri. If they don’t, they have very little chance of matching up with Angels pitching rest of the way…
Chisox open up can of whoopass, Yanks solve Colon
Yikes. Can easily say that was Clement’s worst performance all year. Gave up a staggering 8 runs in 3 1/3 IP. He just hasn’t had it since he was hit back around the All Star break. Let’s hope Francona buries him in the pen. Replace him with Arroyo, who has at least had some good starts down the stretch.
Chisox took full advantage of every Clement mistake, which was just about every other pitch. Why was he left in so long?
Pen management was a little sketchy as well. Would love to hear the explanations (Terry-isms) behind the moves…
Sox bats couldn’t get anything going against a solid Contreras. He struggled early but never gave up the big inning. And once the Sox were in a hole, it was all over…
Sox look to bounce back with Wells. Big games always seem to bring out the best in him. Not to mention that the Chisox may have spent all their run production last night. Pressure will build up especially if he keeps them down early. Lack of playoff experience should make them press as the game goes on. Red Sox will be loose and ready to go, returning to Boston tied 1-1…
Yanks get solid pitching from Mussina. He went 5 2/3 IP but threw 100 pitches. Not efficient, but effective. Angels just couldn’t get anything going. Yanks on the other hand took advantage of a slow start by Colon and scored all the runs they would need in the 1st. Rivera looked a little shaky in the 9th, giving up a hit, BB, and a run. Angels should gain some confidence after that.
Yanks throw out their Wang again tonight. The rookie showed he was not ready for prime time last week in a big game at Fenway. Very shaky. Not a good sign for a kid that pitched pretty well all season. His knees will be knocking again tonight as the Angels will rebound…
Of Note… Padres ace Jake Peavy pitched with a broken rib vs Cards yesterday. Apparently it was broken in a celebration with teammates on the mound after they clinched a playoff birth. He tried to pitch through it (unknowingly) but was lit up. He’s done for the season, and so is his team…
Yanks whimpering about loss of tiebreaker
Wow. Yankee fans have been way too excited about their team’s AL East crown. They earned the bid by a tiebreaker. The players were even crying after the game on Sat.
Well, now the Yankees themselves are doing the whining. Texas manager Buck Showalter took out a few of his starters so that he could reward some younger stars who haven’t seen much playing time. They were up 4-1 in the 3rd inning. Angels ending up winning and clinching homefield because the Yanks lost. They had identical records but Angels won the tiebreak.
Torre was upset that he took them out too soon.
Other guys were griping.
Here’s A-Fraud: "There’s a code of honor when so much is on the line". Right. This coming from the guy who slapped Arroyo last year & then acted like it was incidental. Can still remember him raising his arms standing on second in disbelief.
Apparently a number of the other Yankees have expressed their 
angst. Too freakin bad. You don’t hear the Red Sox complaining. Gee, wonder why no one likes the Yankees? Bunch of entitled babies…
Oh Baby! It’s all EVEN!!!
Another classic matchup. Does it get any better than this? Just when you thought this rivalry couldn’t come close to the pinnacle of 2004, or a close second 2003 ALCS game 7, a season ending 3 game series becomes epic. Not since 1949 has there been a series this important, or close. After we thought we’ve seen it all, comes yet another twist. Just astounding. Certainly flies in the face of naysayers earlier in the season… (see Sept 9th Blog in Archives: Sox/Yanks Rivalry: The thrill is gone?)
Sox get a veteran and gutsy outing from Wells. He was able to pitch out of trouble early on and 
dominate the rest of the way. He just earned his money. The Pen came through once again with the tandem lefty/righty specialists (as they should be & better stay that way). Then a DOMINATING Timlin got the last out in the 8th & finished off the 9th. Sox climb back into a tie for the AL East. Special thanks to the Indians who decided to drop a game to the AAA Chisox lineup. Must have absolutely killed the Cleveland faithful after 13 innings…
Sox put out a red hot Wakefield vs the Big Unit. Yanks are hitting a robust .157 against him this season. Big Unit has a losing record on the road with an ERA approaching 6. Just have a good feeling about this one…
Hopefully both teams are able to get in regardless. A Cleveland stumble not thought to be
possible might actually happen. Worst case is if the Sox/Yanks split the next 2 games, combined with 2 Cleveland wins, the Monday playoff loser plays again on Tuesday to get in. Can you picture a third ALCS in a row? Without dominant pitching on either side? It would be like a heavyweight fight between Rocky Balboa & Randall "Tex" Cobb. Never seen a character and a real boxer take that much of a beating & keep coming back. Can’t wait…
MV-Papi and momentum carry Sox into Weekend
Unbelieveable. MVP candidate Big Papi, aka MVPapi, not only ties the game with a huge blast in the 8th, but wins it in the 9th. In September. If it is a day later, it would be Big Pap-tober…
(We are going to go on a shooting spree at the Baseball Writers dinner if he doesn’t get the MVP.)
Manny comes up big with a 2 run blast to bring the Sox within one. The pen was solid. Rookie 
Papelbon continues to impress. What a presence on the mound. He’s the best pitcher on the staff right now. (Getting a little giddy about him starting next year too…)
Get ready Yankee fans, you’re going to be seeing more of the Manny / Papi scenes this weekend. A sweep is likely, and 2 wins are a given…
Playoffs have started. What a weekend this going to be. Getting a little tingly in the shorts just thinking about it.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
GAME 1:
Wang. Rookie. Bright lights, big city. No playoff experience. Done… Wells. Loves to pitch in big games. 7-1 at home with ERA under 3.
GAME 2:
Big Eunuch. 5-6 with 5.7+ ERA on the road. He better be spectacular or forget it. Wake. Yanks hate to face him, only batting .157, and best part, he’s on a roll…
GAME 3:
Mussina. Just off DL, couldn’t get out of 2nd inning last start. Put a fork in him… Schilling. Gutting it out at this point. 6+ innings, 3-4 runs avg. Offense should carry this one easily…
Monday: 
Fughgetaboutit…
Yanks take lead, Sox can’t solve Lilly
You could feel it coming. The Ted Lilly experience. We hate this freakin guy. He has an ERA approaching 6, but always finds a way to pitch well against the Sox. Just Maddening. His last outing was against – guess who – and he didn’t make it out of the first inning…
Arroyo, who had been 4-0 in Sept, decided to leave a few breaking balls over the plate. The 3 
gopher balls did him in. Let’s hope he can bounce back because we’ll need him Sun or Mon. The lineup continued their struggles against Lilly and only went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. The only one hitting right now, Renteria, is the guy who hasn’t hit much all year…
There were a couple of "light" moments last night. A group of four late 20-somethings were sitting near us in full Sox garb. They spoke Japanese and very little English. It was refreshing to see people so excited just to be at a ball game. When they got on the big screen between innings, they almost jumped out of their shoes. Just screaming something in Japanese. Thought they hit the lottery. Hilarious. Funniest part? When Gabe Gross came to the plate, and they broke out into Beavus & Butthead laughter about "GROSS". Almost spit out my beer…
Yanks get another good outing from Chacon. Just unbelievable. Yanks were able to throw 
enough money at the starting rotation and plug the holes. Give Cashman credit, but… Nice when you have an ADDITIONAL payroll equivalent to 3 Oaklands and a Tampa Bay.
The MVP race will ultimately go to A-Rod. Even the Boston writers that have a vote are biased against the DH. What a joke. Some of the Yanks players say it should be Rivera (that’s a slam on A-Rod by the way). But if you consider who is more VALUABLE, you need to consider Small & Chacon. They are a combined 16-3. Yanks are VERY fortunate they came along. Thats why they’re in first. Small goes again tonight…
Big BIG weekend coming up. There’s no way the Yanks win two at Fenway. So it really comes down to tonights game, or Monday. Small goes against the always tough Bedard (3.60 ERA). Sox will pull it out tonight, as the bats have been quiet for too long. The wildcard is still up for grabs, as Cleveland has now dropped 2 straight. Looks like Chisox will hold on…
Can you believe the Padres clinched the division with a .500 record? They also get homefield for the first series. How is this right? The good thing? Bonds goes home early. The Babe will be safe for another season…
Yanks pick up half game, Mother Nature ruins Schill & Unit matchup
Yanks were able to blow out the listless O’s. They get another solid outing by the Big Unit, and another homer from Giambi, aka "HGH". Yanks should be able to dominate the series vs an O’s team who already has their golf bags out. They put Mussina back on the mound for his second start coming off the DL. He might be the difference maker if he is able to pitch well. Based on the way the season has gone, don’t count on it. The other big question is why Torre has put his best pitcher, Small, back in the pen. This could come back to haunt them…
It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature…
Although she’s the one fooling with the Sox. The rains forced the Sox into a doubleheader today, which will be tough to pull off. This also throws off an epic matchup between Schilling & Johnson. That would have been another classic. Imagine if that were the game to decide the AL East. Well, now we’ll never know. Let’s just hope Mother Nature stays out of it…
Sox face a scrappy Blue Jays team that has given them trouble all season. Key to these games is to get up early and keep the pressure on. They only have so much resolve at this time of year. Good thing is that the Sox had a day of rest. This group is still banged up and every day counts. Sox have been in similar spots before, and the pressure won’t effect them. In some cases, it will make them play better and more focused. First test is a doubleheader. Let’s hope Wake rolls on and Schilling is his old self. Stay out of the pen boys…
Come visit us @ www.NYchoke.com
Yanks can’t get it Wright, Sox pull even
Poor Jaret Wright. Every time he gets on the mound, he seems to get pelted with something. This time it was a line drive & the Jays bats. Yanks unable to overcome another poor start. Only able to hold onto first for another one day stint. Fortunate to hang on yesterday with a Cano blast in the 7th. Yanks hit the road for last 7…
Sox pull off an impressive sweep and finally had some help from "Renta-ribby". He was known as being clutch in the NL and finally showed it over the weekend. Hopefully the "Renta-wreck" version has disappeared. Great to see Manny swinging the bat well again, hitting 5HR’s in last 5 games. Got some good pitching performances from Arroyo, Clement, & Wells. Although Clement gutted out a tough one. Nice to have veteran starting pitching this time of year. Let’s hope phenom Hansen can find his offspeed pitches before next weekend. Sox come home to increase best home record in majors. Sure felt like home games with all the Sox fans at Camden…
Cleveland helped the cause of both teams by finally losing one. That’s only their 3rd loss in the last 20 games and amazingly came against KC. Chisox manage to increase their lead back to 2 1/2.
Well folks, here it is, the homestretch. This should be a fun week, culminating with another showdown at the Fens.
It’s all tied up!
Let’s hope it stays that way so the team to win 2 out of 3 wins it. Should be another classic. Stay tuned!!!
Come visit us at www.NYchoke.com
mlblogsnychoke
Recent Comments