Black Friday

Well, Black Friday has come and almost gone. Get your shopping done yet? I haven't. Why start today when there are still twenty eight shopping days until Christmas? And how about the irony in the biggest retail bonanza day of the year having appropriated the name originally given to the day in 1929 that the stock market crashed, ushering in the Great Depression?

Anyway, I hope no senior citizen greeters were trampled to death by charging, angry mobs this morning, rushing to get their shopping done before the sun rose. It would be an improvement from last year. It's bad enough to have be in a work at four in the morning the day after a holiday, it's quite another to have to fear for one's life in doing so.

A couple tidbits of Yankee news that you've doubt heard already. Shelley Duncan, outrighted last week, has elected free agency. And Bob Sheppard, absent from the Yankee public address job for the past two plus years, has officially announced his retirement. I knew it was a long shot for Mr. Sheppard to make it back, but it certainly is sad to know that "The Voice of God" will never be heard live in the new Stadium. We wish them both the best in the future endeavors.

That's it for today Fackers. We'll probably ease our way back into the swing of things after the long holiday weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving

Good morning Fackers. And Happy Thanksgiving to you. Of course, Thanksgiving isn't until tomorrow technically, but let's face it, you've already checked out mentally. If you're not off from work/school already, today is your last day before that sweet, sweet four day weekend. At worst you're completely non-functional this morning. At best you'll be counting the minutes until the whistle blows.

Though perhaps not as often as we do with music or vulgarity, we like to pepper our posts here with some American History. And the history of Thanksgiving is distinctively American. It's a tradition stemming from the earliest European settlers of our continent, who despite fleeing their homeland in search of religious freedom, spending months upon the Atlantic Ocean, landing hundreds of miles from their intended destination, surviving a harsh northern winter, and suffering the indignity of inhabiting what would become Red Sox Nation, took the time give thanks for a bountiful harvest, celebrating with their Native American neighbors - a situation that was far too rare in the nation's history.

The tradition was observed, sporadically at least, throughout the colonial days and into the early years of nationhood. Though it didn't become an official holiday until it was signed into law just weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, it had been unofficially celebrated anually since a proclamation from President Lincoln at the height of the Civil War. That the unofficial and official births of the holiday came during such dire times in American History speaks volumes as to how important it is to pause and be thankful for the good things, no matter how bad everything else may be.

Thanksgiving is easily, absolutely, positively, without doubt, indisputably, hands down my favorite holiday. There's no debate between religious and secular societies as to what the "true meaning" is. There's no pressure to find "the perfect gift". It hasn't been commandeered by furniture stores or car dealerships as an excuse to have a sale. It isn't something that can be claimed as holiday specifically for a particular nationality or culture. It isn't a holiday whose original intent has been obscured by becoming the "official" start of the summer, or the middle of the summer, or the end of the summer. It wasn't concocted by the greeting card, candy, floral, or jewelry industry. It's not a celebration of simply flipping the calendar or an excuse for those who can't handle their alcohol to binge drink.

It's so simple that its name says it all. It's a day to pause and reflect, put aside all the garbage that we bitch about and let bog us down all the other days of the year and just give thanks - to God, to Allah, to Buddha, to Ganesh, to random chance, to whatever - for all the good things that we do have in our lives. I know that's not something I do nearly often enough. A friend of mine is fond of saying "If everyone threw all their problems into one big pile, chances are everyone would want to take their own back". I think that's true, and I'm thankful we have this holiday to remind us of that. If that's not enough, we get to smother copious amounts of food in gravy, cap it off with pie, and nap off the tryptophan coma while watching football. It doesn't get much better than that.

So Happy Thanksgiving Fackers. We're thankful that you choose to visit this little corner of the internet and we hope that you and your families have a great holiday. I'll step down from my soap box now.

Game 135: The Long Road

Baseball's regular season is a long road. With the completion of game 135 tonight exactly five sixths of that road will be in the Yankees' rearview mirror. Also in the Yankees' rearview mirror is the entirety of the American League. They hold a 10.5 game lead on a playoff spot, a 7.5 game lead in the AL East, and 7 game lead for home field.

As such, the Yankees have the luxury of not having to put the pedal to the floor heading down the stretch. They didn't have to panic and make a deal for a brand name fifth starter at either trade deadline. They don't have to rush Sergio Mitre back after he took a liner off his arm last Saturday. They don't have to trot Mariano Rivera out to the mound while his groin is bothering him. They don't have to bend their already flexible rules as it pertains to Joba Chamberlain's innings and push him because they need to win games.

All of those factors will be in play tonight. Chad Gaudin, the swingman pitcher the Yankees acquired in place of a bigger named starter, spot started in place of Mitre last night and required 5.1 innings of relief from the bullpen. Mitre will start Sunday, on seven days rest and having pitched six innings just once in seven starts this year. Rivera, who did not throw his scheduled bullpen today, will be unavailable for the third consecutive game. And Joba Chamberlain will make his second consecutive start on regular rest but with a strict pitch and inning limit.

Last Sunday, Chamberlain was on a 50 pitch or 3 inning limit. He got through three on just 35 pitches. I haven't seen it posted anywhere yet, but I'd imagine that he'd be capped at about 60 pitches or 4 innings today.

The fact the Yankees even considered that Joba would reach 50 pitches prior to completing three innings speaks to how poorly he's pitched of late. Since throwing eight shutout innings against Tampa Bay on July 29th, Joba has made five starts to the tune of an 8.22 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. Opponents are batting .323/.414./500 off him during that time and he's walking a Bruney-esque 5.87 per nine. He's averaged 18.78 pitches per IP during that stretch, so a three inning start tonight is a distinct possibility. Yet the delusionary Joba still insists he's pitching well (see the 5:50 update). I'm hopeful that tonight he'll turn in a performance that a more discerning observer would deem acceptable.

Either way, the Yankees will likely need four to six innings from the bullpen tonight. With Gaudin having started last night, Mitre going Sunday, and Alfredo Aceves having thrown 2.1 innings last night, they're without their usual long relief options. My guess is that Mark Melancon will follow Joba for two or three innings, then it's anyone guess from there. With Mo being day-to-day they'll likely not use Phil Hughes for more than an inning. Thankfully even with Mo and Alf presumably unavailable, they'll still have nine men in the bullpen due to September call-ups, and six of them didn't pitch last night. It should be enough to get them through the weekend.

As for the Blue Jays, they'll also send a struggling starter to the mound. Roy Halladay was one of the big name starters the Yankees were rumored to be pursuing at the deadline. The Jays ended up overplaying their hand and held on to Halladay. A Cy Young candidate at the deadline, Halladay has been horseshit since, going 2-4 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP since, as opponents are OPSing .860 off him. One of those losses came against the Yanks on August 4th, his second straight poor start against the Yankees. They'll look to hang another "L" on him tonight.

Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher get the night off, replaced by Ramiro Pena and Eric Hinske respectively. Johnny Damon slides up to the leadoff spot, and Hinske, interestingly, bats second.

Heading into Memorial Day weekend, the Yankees had a nine game winning streak going. I wrote this preview, featuring "Once" from Pearl Jam. The Yankees lost that night.

Heading into Fourth of July weekend, the Yankees had a seven game winning streak going. I wrote this preview, featuring "State of Love and Trust" from Pearl Jam. The Yankees lost that night.

Now we're heading into Labor Day weekend (or Labour Day for the Jays fans) and the Yankees have a seven game winning streak going. In an effort to prove how non-superstitious I am (or how stubborn and stupid I am), I'm going to roll the dice again.

"The Long Road" was originally written for Mirror Ball, the 1995 album from Fack Youk's favorite Canadian, Neil Young. Pearl Jam was his backing band for the album. "The Long Road" was one of two Eddie Vedder tunes that didn't make the final cut for the album, and were later included on Pearl Jam's EP Merkin Ball, considered a companion piece to Mirror Ball.

With the Yankees in Canada this weekend, hopefully this song's connection to the Canadian Young will bring a little better luck. And hopefully tonight Joba will pitch well, even if he cannot stay around for long. Either way, tonight's another step on the season's long road.



And I wished for so long,
I cannot stay,
All the precious moments,
I cannot stay,
It's not like wings have fallen,
I cannot stay,
Without you something's missing,
I cannot stay.

Wrapping It Up For The Weekend

Sorry Fackers. Like Jay, I'm heading out for a little weekend trip to the heart of enemy territory, so things are going to be a bit sparse around here. We'll have previews, maybe recaps, maybe scattered updates. But don't count on too much.

That also means that even though last night's game marked the two thirds point of the season, we won't be doing our usual extrapolations and ZIPS. Sorry math geeks. If you have a third grade education you should be able to figure out how to do the extrapolations on your own. For the ZIPS projections, check out the awesome fangraphs.com

Before I go, here are a few Sox related thoughts:

During the series in Boston in June, I posted a recap of the Sox off-season moves compared to the those of the Yankees. Though lauded in the media, they haven't been too great. Smoltz is pitching like he has a giant fork sticking out of his back, Kotsay was DFA's then traded, Bard was released before the season started, Penny's been so-so, Baldelli's on his second DL stint, and Varitek will now be losing playing time to Victor Martinez.

I was a little perplexed by the Sox deadline moves - particularly the quick flip of LaRoche for Casey Kotchman. They way I figured it, Youkilis, Kotchman, Lowell, Martinez, Varitek, and Lowell would all be fighting for playing time amongst the corners, catcher, and DH. Last night's line up may have given some insite into their thought process. With Jason Bay sidelined with a sore hammy, Youk was in leftfield. Youkilis made 18 OF apperances in 2006, but has played less than 9 innings out there since. And left field in Yankee Stadium is far different than catching caroms off the Monster.

I wonder though, if J.D. Drew continues to struggle, might the Sox give Youk more time in the OF to get the other bats in at first and third? Time will tell, but from my vantage point in the upper deck last night, Youkilis didn't look too comfortable out in left. He was continually short-arming his throws like an infielder as well. But it speaks volumes as to the guy's versatility that he was able to that. Fack him anyway.

I was a bit surprised that Francona left former Yankee Billy Traber out there for so long. It was the equivalent of waving the white flag. Given the way the Yanks swung the bats it may have been the smart move, but seemed to be in stark contrast to the all-in look of the initial line up, i.e. Youkilis in left.

Lastly, I'm extremely interested to see what comes out of the David Ortiz press conference tomorrow. I realize it's convenient for the union to address this now since they're based in NYC, but it can't the wisest move for Ortiz to do this right in the thick of a critical series against the Yankees, in New York. You knwo the tabloids are going to be hanging on every word like a pack of hungry dogs.

That's it until the preview folks. Enjoy your Friday.

Riches To Rags

Yesterday we looked back at Andy Hawkins' no-hitter that wasn't. As promised, today we'll look back on a more pleasant no-no. Saturday marks the twentysixth anniversary of Dave Righetti's Indepence Day no-hitter against the Red Sox. Since we'll all be off enjoying the holiday weekend on the actual anniversary, we'll revisit the game today.

Righetti was acquired in November of 1978 as part of a ten player trade that saw the Yankees send their former closer, Sparky Lyle, to the Texas Rangers. Rags made his Major League debut as a September call-up in 1979, spent all of 1980 back in AAA, then returned in 1981 to capture the Rookie of the Year award, going 8-4 with a 1.07 WHIP and leading the league in ERA, ERA+, H/9, HR/9, and K/9. In 1982 he fell back to earth a bit, serving a brief stint in the minors and going 11-10 with an ERA just better than league average (105 ERA+). He once again led the AL in K/9, but also led the league in BB.

The July 4, 1983 game fell on a Monday, a blistering 94 degree day, the final day of play before the All-Star break. Righetti would later admit he was steamed at not being selected, and he had a good candidacy, entering his start that day at 9-3 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP while holding opponents to a .248/.294/.340 batting line.

Righetti fanned Jerry Remy and Wade Boggs to begin the game, then promptly lost the perfecto by walking Jim Rice. He completed the first by whiffing Tony Armas. Rags was perfect in the second, third, and fourth, striking out two in both the second and third. He broke his string of eleven straight batters retired by issuing a one out walk to Reid Nichols in the fifth, but then promptly picked him off attempting to steal.

The Yankees supplied Righetti with some offense in the bottom of the fifth, as an Andre Robertson single scored Steve Kemp for the game's first run. Rags worked a perfect sixth, walked Rice for a second time with one out in the seventh, the erased him on a 6-4-3 double play.

After a 1-2-3 eighth, Righetti walked light-hitting catcher Jeff Newman to lead off the ninth. Newman was replaced by Glenn Hoffman on a fielder's choice, narrowly avoiding a double play. A Remy groundout moved Hoffman to second. With just one out to go, Wade Boggs stepped to the plate. Boggs entered play that day hitting .361, the same mark as his end of season average, which would win the Major League batting crown by a whopping twentytwo points. Righetti caught him looking in the first, then coaxed flyouts to center in the fourth and seventh. After peppering Boggs with fastballs to the run the count to 2-2, Rags came back with a slider. Fooled, Boggs flailed feebly at it, giving Righetti his ninth K and the first Yankee no-hitter since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

Righetti finished 1983 at 14-8 with 1.20 WHIP and 3.44 ERA (112 ERA+). Not yet 25 at season's end, Righetti was 33-23 with 117 ERA+ in his young career, projecting as a solid number two starter if not a future ace. But incumbent Yankee closer Goose Gossage departed the team after that 1983 season, and 1984 saw Righetti as the new closer. He would never start another game for the Yankees.

He spent the next seven seasons at the back of the Yankee bullpen, never saving less than 25 games in a season, including a then Major League record 46 in 1986. While Righetti was a good closer, he was never quite great. Because of things like small sample sizes and inherited runners, I prefer to use Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) to evaluate relievers. In three of his first four years as Yankee closer ('84, '85, '87), Righetti was bettered or equaled FIP by other Yankee relievers (Jay Howell, Brian Fisher, and Tim Stoddard respectively).

Meanwhile, the Yankee teams of those years were perpetual bridesmaids and notoriously short on starting pitching. In 1985, the Yankees finished in second place, just two games behind the Blue Jays. Despite posting an ERA better than league average, Yankee starters' FIP was far worse than league average. Righetti on the other hand was 1.25 runs better than the league in FIP. His numbers may have suffered somewhat from the additional exposure of pitching in the rotation, but he assuredly would have performed better than starters like Ed Whitson. We'll never know if his presence in the rotation could have made up those two games.

In 1988, the Yankees finished 3.5 games out of first. Once again, Yankee starters were worse than the league average while Righetti out performed the league by two thirds of a run. Again, there's no telling if Righetti in the rotation would have been enough to make up the 3.5 games and four teams between the Yankees and the division crown, but he certainly would have been a better option than Rick Rhoden, Rich Dotson, or 45 year-old Tommy John.

This weekend you're sure to hear about Righetti's no-hitter. You're also likely to hear the old Joba-to-the-bullpen argument or the newer and now more-popular Hughes to the eighth inning argument. When you do, think back to what it may have cost the Yankees the last time they relegated a potential front end starter to the back end of the pen.

Independence Day at Fack Youk

Good morning Fackers. Here's the deal. It's July 2nd today. But it's the last day of the work week for me, and likely for you too (if it isn't, tough nuts - I feel for you). So we're celebrating the Fourth here today. Because Jay and I aren't going to be around much this weekend and face it, neither are you. Besides, technically the Continental Congress voted for independence on July 2nd, but the wording of the Declaration of Independence wasn't approved until the Fourth.

So Happy 233rd America. Here's to 233 more, unless we tax and spend and bail our way out of business first. Or if the Chinese call in their loans. But that's neither here nor there.

We'll be back with fireworks and whatnot later. For now, let's rise for the Anthem. Unfortunately our high school softball team called in sick. So you're on your own for this one. Maybe that's a good thing. Mr. Hendrix, if you'd please: