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Not Drowning, Waving: Mets-Yanks Gamer II

The Yankees have dropped seven of their last ten. It hurts to watch, but we will be watching anyway, especially with staff ace Chien-Ming on the mound. Howse about a win, fellas?

Lineups follow, comment away.

Sunday, Weary Sunday: Brewers-Sox Gamer III

Late last night Mike Timlin closed out a sweep of Milwaukee in clean, efficient fashion, the tidiest accomplishment in an ugly nightcap (seven errors between the two teams) easily forgotten by lovers of slick baseball everywhere. On short sleep the Brewers and Sox retake the field at Fenway in what is probably a bit of a daze, the likelihood of good fundamental baseball tempered by sleep deprivation. On "good baseball"'s side we have ace Josh Beckett leading the way - it is a game in which seven solid innings from the Bosox' stopper would seem imperative.

Use this thread for all commentary.

Get Ready for a Rehabbed Colon

In the first of what may be several posts with infantile titles, this missive points everyone to the Sox' newfangled rotation, courtesy of the Globe's Extra Bases blog. Bartolo is back on Wednesday, following a spot-start from Justin Masterson on Tuesday.

Let's Play Two: Brew-Sox Gamers I/II

The last time the Milwaukee Brewers played at Fenway Park, Butch Henry picked up the win behind two home runs by John Valentin -- two of six hit by the Red Sox on the day. Here are the six home runs, and the last time we heard of these players:

• John Valentin (2): Retired after playing a season for the Mets in 2002.
• Wil Cordero: 29 games for the Nationals in 2005 with a -14 OPS+
• Troy O'Leary: 93 games with the Reds in 2003,.
• Bill Haselman: 3 at bats on a very brief return jaunt with the Red Sox in 2003.
• Jeff Frye: That was one of the three home runs he hit al year and the 16 he hit in his eight seasons. Played 74 games with Toronto in 2001.

A six-homer attack would be more than welcome today. Comment on both games here!

Let's Try That Again: Mets-Yanks Gamer I

Last night's rainout leaves us with two games for this series, and Rasner gets passed over for Pettitte while Santana is on the bump for the Mets. Enjoy the game, those of you that can watch.

Lineups follow, comment away.

Crosstown Traffic: Mets-Yanks Gamer I

Pete says that despite the rain, they are going to try and get the game in, but it is likely to be a delayed start. It's fitting that the first game of the subway rivalry will feature Johan Santana for the Mets, and perhaps equally fitting that call-up Darrell Rasner gets the rock for the Yanks. Here's hoping they get the game in tonight, and that the Yankee bats come up with something against arguably the best pitcher in the game over last six seasons, while Rasner shows he's the right choice for the rotation.

Lineups follow, comment away.

The Thong's The Thing

Why not.

Statements of Fact, Followed by a Conclusion

• The Tampa Bay Rays will not finish the season in first place.
• The Toronto Blue Jays will not finish the season in first place.
• The Baltimore Orioles will not finish the season in first place.

Ergo, the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees must finish the season in first place.

Hank: "We've Got To Own Harder..."

"...Own Smarter. I inherited a LOT of money (I mean it's a shit-ton, and that money came from the ship business so I know how much a shit-ton is) and I landed a team worth the Franklin Mint, and I had better decide for myself to earn that money. I've got to start owning the way Stuart Sternberg is owning. I need to start treating it like when I was younger and going after that inheritance, like I'm in a thin-walled duplex in Channelside and trying to score a condo in Brandon. Harder and smarter! By force, if necessary. RANDY! Hit me with this 2 X 4! And make it hard and smart!"

Randy swings and misses.

Yeah, I'm bored.

In Progress: Yanks-Rays Gamer VII

Shockingly, the Yanks are struggling against Scott Kazmir. He's pitching a no-hitter through three.It's not like I'm jinxing it or anything. But he is only six innings away from a no-hitter. The Yanks do not have a hit and it's the bottom of the third.

Comment here on the no-hitter.

Reason to Believe: Yanks-Rays Gamer VI

Honestly? I can't imagine a world in which the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (yeah, they'll always be the Devil Rays to me) win the AL East, or even come in second. If these things happen, then we have a lot more important things to worry about: the four horsemen, galloping zebras, blood spouting from tree tops (I'm going for my Revelations imagery here. I have not read it but I can imagine the Apocalypse). The Apocalypse (should it be capitalized?) also involves Toby Hall hoisting a championship trophy above his head at the Trop. What? Toby Hall doesn't play for the Devil Rays? But you're wrong. He'll always play for the Devil Rays in my world.

So it will again be a two-team race. The Yanks versus the Red Sox. And check this out. Remember the loss column? That's what you need to look at. The Yanks are only two games back in the loss column! That could increase after tonight, but maybe it won't. And what about that? That's pretty good! No?

Enjoy the game. Comment on all the action here.

In Progress: Sox-Os Gamer II

A leadoff single and stolen base by Ellsbury off of Daniel Cabrera was followed by a double from Dustin Pedroia to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. They are now in the bottom of the second, Lester on the mound.

Comment away..

By Any Means Necessary

From the Post:

"There's no question we need to turn it around and we have the talent to turn it around. We've got the team in place, and now they just have to go out and do it. "This is going to get turned around," Steinbrenner said. "If it's not turned around this year, then it will be turned around next year, by force if we have too." (Emphasis is mine)

Does this mean that Hank is going to drive a tank into Kei Igawa's locker? Or punch Robinson Cano until he gets a hit?

Actually, what's more interesting is the very un-Steinbrenneresque mention of next year. Would papa have ever talked about next year when going off on the team? Maybe Hank isn't exactly like his win-now dad?

Advance Scouting: Yanks-Rays Gamer VIII

Intrepid author Nick-YF is doing some homework, checking out senior circuit prospects as he heads to Shea tonight to ingest the Nats/Mets game. Or maybe he just wants to watch a winning New York baseball team in action. Traitor. In the mean time, the Yankees try to crawl back to .500 as they face the Rays at the Trop. Chien-Ming Wang goes for the Yankees, Edwin Jackson for the Sun Fish.

Lineups to follow, comment away.

Josh Beckett Fighting for His Job: Sox-O's Gamer I

A few weeks ago, after a couple rocky starts by Jon Lester, the media howling in Boston was that he was all but losing his job to Bartolo Colon. A couple good starts later, and that talk has vanished.

No surprise, then, to see the references cropping up today after a second poor start from Clay Buchholz.

Buchholz, who threw only 37 fastballs among his 90 pitches, would appear to be fighting for his major league existence every time out because of Colon's presence ...

Extending this meme, I can only conclude that if Josh Beckett struggles in Baltimore tonight, he'd better start looking over his shoulder. A former Cy Young winner is pitching mighty well in Pawtucket.

Watch the edge-of-your-seat action here, and comment away!

What's Bad for the Goose

Rich Gossage says what many outside Yankeeland can't without being pilloried: Joba needs to chill.

One Is the Luckiest Number: Sox-Twins Gamer IV

Admit it. You're a little relieved. The Red Sox are now just 7-5 in one-run games. They're outperforming their Pythagorean record by just one game. So, despite three one-run losses in their last five contests, the Sox still sit in first place -- in the division, in the league and in the game -- with a 24-16 record. Better for the correction to happen this way than it did last year, when it came during the heat of a Yankee winning streak.

Clay Buchholz looks to put the Sox back on the winning track tonight. He got blasted around last time out but has been pretty solid otherwise. He faces Livan Hernandez, who is having a fine season himself. Hernandez is facing the Sox for the first time since 2006 and just the third time overall. In each of his other two starts (1999 and 2006), Hernandez allowed eight hits and six runs. Sounds good to us.

The first game of the PTE (Post Tavarez Era) begins shortly. Comment away!

No Gimmie: Yanks-Rays Gamer VII

The Rays are playing really well right now. They are a good team, darned good, and though the Yankees lead the season series so far, it could be quite the test at the Trop for four games starting tonight. Andy Pettitte vs. Matt Garza. Lineups follow, comment away.

Gossip Guy

The New York Daily News gives us this blind item:

Which formerly awesome Major League pitcher can the blame loss of shoulder strength on years of smoking pot and one drug-addled incident where he had to carry a passed-out date up three flights of stairs? His fastball hasn't been the same since.

Any guesses?

Manny Being Manny (Part 362)

The Red Sox are a lot more fun when Manny Ramirez is talking to the press:

Manny Ramírez, meanwhile, spent a couple of minutes in the clubhouse trying to convince reporters the Sox should trade Tavarez for one of Milwaukee's sausages, the stars of the race that occurs prior to every seventh inning in Miller Park. That was after he announced that Tavarez should be traded to Tampa Bay.