YFSF

The Debut: Sox-Jays Gamer III

Dave Pauley makes his major league debut in an effort to help the Sox avoid a pathetic sweep at the hands of those vile foreigner Blue Jays.  Xenophobia: the new Yankee-hating.

Go to it, everyone.

(and by the way, Tito takes Youkilis' wonderful OBP and P/PA and drops them behind the guys who are supposed to drive people like him in.  Brilliant.)

The One True Ace: Yanks-Tigers Gamer III

Anyone else notice that the only one pitching like a true ace for either the Yanks or Sox is Mike Mussina? Curt Schilling's declined since the 133 pitch ego-stroking game; Josh Beckett sometimes plays the game the right way, and sometimes he has to face Vernon Wells; and we all know about Randy's issues. That leaves us with Mr. Mussina. He hasn't faltered yet, and he's on the mound for our beloved squad tonight. The Yanks are in good hands as they go for 3 in a row against the mighty Tigers. This is your chance to root them on...

New Order?

Let's indulge in fantasy for a moment.  Imagine, if you will, a time when the Red Sox are completely healthy.  A time when every player that we hope to see in the everyday lineup actually shows up without the flu, without a broken knuckle, or without a bad big toe.  A time when Terry Francona has the ability to really stack things in his favor, if, in fact, he can figure out how to do that.  So what is the batting order on that fantastical, fictional, and far-off day?  Do you bat Youk at leadoff, since he's been one of the best in the entire Majors at that spot so far?  Or do you put Coco there, since, well, he's fast, and that's what you're supposed to do?  Do you continue to bat Jason Varitek as high as Terry has (making us wonder: is Terry high himself?)?  Or do you put him at the bottom, risking  (boo-hoo!) hurt feelings? 

Here's my ideal lineup for any given day when you don't have to worry about the opposing pitcher, head-to-head matchups, lefty-righty splits, or all that nonsense.   And I didn't use sabermetrics.  Or VORP, or anything else intelligent like that, so take that for what it's worth.  This is simple armchair quarterbacking based on field observations and not much more.

1. Youk - how can you not bat the best at a position at that position?
2. Loretta - seems like he's got just terrific bat control, a line drive hitter who moves guys along
3. Papi - obvious - he's insanely productive, why move him?
4. Manny - textbook cleanup hitter, though I toyed with moving Youk here, I think he's that good.
5. Coco - here's the unconventional move - he hits for average, he has speed, he switches, I think he'd be great everyday cover for Manny.
6. Lowell - should be hitting higher than 7th, as he is currently.
7. Trot/WMP - they would exceed a typical #7's production
8. Tek - ditto for a #8 hitter.  Plus he might end up walking more with BB behind him.
9. Bathroom Break - can he bat 10th?

Am I nuts?  Thoughts?

No, for real this time ...

Apparently Newsday was so good, they scooped even Clemens' agent and the team he signed with:

HOUSTON -- Roger Clemens is coming out of retirement for the third time, agreeing to a $22 million contract to pitch for the Houston Astros for the rest of 2006.

The 43-year-old Clemens, who will be entering his 23rd major league season, is agreeing first to a minor league contract that pays $322,000 over the five-month minor league season, and his first start is likely to be June 6 at Lexington, Ky., the Class A team where his oldest son, Koby, plays.

If all goes well, his second minor-league start would be June 11 at Double-A Corpus Christi, Texas, followed by a start June 16 at Triple-A Round Rock, Texas.

Clemens announced his return Wednesday at a news conference.

I find it hard to believe that the Hendrivks brothers and the Astros' GM had no idea a deal was about to be done when they issued those ridiculous denials, both of which were along the lines of: "I've never heard anything like that, and don't you think I would know?" I have a word for people who lie to journalists, but it's not very nice.

Dulce du Leche: Yanks-Tigers Postmortem II

After a second consecutive road win against the frontrunning Tigers, the Yanks are now 10 games over .500 at 30-20, and back in a tie for first with the Sox. There was a lot to feel good about in this game. A big dinger from Giambi to put the Yanks out front in the 11th; a spectacular 3 inning outing from Mo, who appears to be back to all of his former self and then some; and the continued excellent play from Melky "Leche" Cabrera, this year's Robinson Cano (who's not doing too badly either). The sour note? Kyle Farnsworth continues to be unreliable, physically and mentally. As noted in the game thread, there's a big drop between his performance and that of erstwhile setup man Tom Gordon. Compare what they've done this year:

Gordon: 23 ip, 14h, 8 bb, 31k, 1.57 era
Farnsworth: 24 ip, 23h, 15bb, 29k, 4.50 era

This is likely to be a continuing frustration. Better stock up on the Rolaids.

Last Stop 'Til You Circle the Planet: Sox-Jays Gamer II

That line's from Futurama by the way. I use it because with the Sox' staff now hoping for Aaron Small-like (2005 version only, please) performances from untested youngsters alll over the place, tonight's start from Josh Beckett could be huge. Let's hope the well-tested youngster makes it a perfect May-and-0 and gets the Sox back on track -- oh, and keeps us in first. I won't be here (Mrs. Paul-SF is tasked with texting me the game scores while I'm in a meeting all night), but I'm sure someone can pick up the slack.

Comment away!

Will The Fake Aaron Small Please Stand Up?: Yanks-Tigers II

The Yanks and their fans probably should have expected Aaron Small's 2006. The reality of his career matched much closer with what he's done this year than with how he pitched in 2005. This is not a criticism of Cashman's decision to re-up the journeyman in the hopes that somehow last year wasn't a fluke. It was worth the gamble; heck, he deserved some type of compensation for helping the Bombers win the East again. But, reality seems to have set in. Small has been awful (even worse than Matt Clement), and it appears that his magic has left him. This is to say that I have very little confidence going into tonight's match-up against the Tigers (at least in the run prevention side of things), and the Yanks need to seriously consider alternatives to Small from here on out. He is not useful as a fifth starter and he's not valuable as a long-relief man. Might that crappy farm system hold better options for the spot Aaron Small currently fills? I once heard rumor of a young man named Matt Smith...In any case, the Tigers are countering with a young pitcher themselves, who's filling in for the injured Mike Maroth (again, heed the wisdom of your peers, Mr. Cashman). Roman Colon, the Matt Smith of the Tigers, takes the mound against our heroes from the Bronx. Again, the odds are against them, but these Yanks have a way of surprising even the most jaded of followers. Let's hope they do it again. Comment away!

News Alert Redux: False Landing?

Check that! Looks like the Astros are calling BS on Newsday. Great scoop? Bad Newsday. Bad, bad Newsday.

News Alert: Rocket Lands in Houston

There will be no reunions for Roger Clemens in NY or Boston this year, no tipping the scales of the AL East race to his places of erstwhile glory. According to Newsday (nice scoop!) the Rocket has re-upped with Houston, and for roughly $3.5 million/month. Just as we predicted in our brief moment of radio glory.

Sox-Jays Postmortem I: A Tale of Two Pens

(Apologize for the lateness of this, but thunderstorms kept me offline all last night)

Odd how this game works. The Sox completed a four-game sweep against the Devil Rays, and I felt awful. Last night, the Sox lost the first game of a road trip to a team they can't seem to beat, and I felt pretty good. Why? Well, rallying from a 6-0 deficit to tie it in the eighth is pretty nice, and take a look at this pitching line:

3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K

That's the combined line of Jermane Van Buren and Manny Delcarmen, who weren't lights-out but were effective in keeping a potent Toronto lineup at bay. This is the bullpen of the future, and the future looked awfully bright last night. If we can get these guys regular work so they don't become rusty over the rest of the season, they can be incredibly valuable during the stretch run. Not so impressive last night:

4 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 0 K, 2 HR

That's the combined line of our pitching staff of the present -- Matt Clement and David Riske, who took the loss by giving the Jays the lead right back while getting just two outs in the bottom of the eighth. Riske I think just needs to get some innings in so he can get more consistent. Clement just needs to be gotten the heck out of Boston -- by any means possible. I'd be surprised if he's allowed to make another start.