Ring, Brackman, Burnett Take Home Gold

The final results have been tallied, the medals have been awarded, and the national anthems have been played. The 2010 Yankee Arcade Olympics have concluded. Here are the results, courtesy of Chad Jennings. Please note that no bronze medals were awarded as part of Hal Steinbrenner's budgetary constraint efforts.

Pop-a-Shot Basketball
Gold: Royce Ring
Silver: Mark Melancon

Congratulations guys, these are the only competitions you're likely to win this spring as the Yankee bullpen crunch has you both on the outside looking in. I had pegged the side arming Ring as a the Skee Ball favorite earlier today. No words as to whether that throwing motion translated to Pop-a-Shot and saw him shooting free throws Rick Barry style. Former collegiate basketball players Andrew Brackman and Randy Winn did not place.

Skee Ball:
Gold: Andrew Brackman
Silver: Eduardo Nunez

Brackman was a heavy favorite in basketball, but managed to medal in Skee Ball. The guy is like the Bo Jackson of arcade games. And since he had the accuracy to win the Skee Ball tournament, we can all expect great improvements upon his 26 wild pitches, 10 HBP, and 6.4 BB/9 from last year. Nunez made 33 errors at Trenton last year and rated at minus fifteen runs per 150 according to Total Zone, so he has experience in bouncing his throws to a target.

IndyCar Racing:
Gold: A.J. Burnett
Silver: Dana Cavalea

I figured Burnett as more of a NASCAR guy, but racing is racing I suppose. Dana Cavalea is the Yankees Strength and Conditioning coach.

Last year's billiard champion, Mariano Rivera, failed to medal, proving the he is in fact human. Of course, at 40 years old he likely grew up with primitive gaming systems like ColecoVision and Commodore 64, so he was working with a handicap today.

That's it for today Fackers. Jennings has pictures here and here. We'll be back tomorrow with real live baseball. Amen to that. We started the day with The Boss and we ended it talking about an arcade. I suppose I have to embed this now:

Field Trip Day At Yankee Camp

Good morning Fackers. Today marks another milestone as we move closer to real live baseball, as it's the final day before Spring Training games begin. The Yankees will not spend the day doing pitcher's fielding practice, throwing bullpens, and taking BP. Instead, trying to recapture the success of last spring's team building exercise, the team will play hooky today and take a little field trip for some sort of mystery competition.

Last year it was a pool tournament, so I doubt they'll repeat that this year. Reports from earlier in the spring ruled out bowling and paintball as too much of an injury risk. So what does that leave? Shuffleboard? Bocce? Laser tag? Mini golf? Ping pong? What do you think Fackers? Leave your ideas in the comments.

I can't take credit for the idea below, as Peter Abraham ran with this last year upon the recommendation of Connie Schwab in the Yankees' media department. I don't think they'll end up in a pool hall again today, but the general idea still applies. And far be it from me to pass up an opportunity to embed a Springsteen video.

We're gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool
Stay out all night, it's gonna feel all right

Land Of Hope And Dreams

For the thirteenth time in the last twenty two nights, there will be no Yankee baseball this evening. Right now the weather looks like it should cooperate tomorrow, when the Yankees are scheduled to play their first World Series game in six years and three days.

There was no major news coming out of the Yankees workout this afternoon. Their rotation is unannounced beyond Game Three. Chad Gaudin was slated to throw a 70 to 80 pitch bullpen session this afternoon in an effort to get him stretched out for a potential start. It likely would also leave him unavailable for Games One and Two, but given that he was used for just a single inning of mop up work in the Yanks' first nine post-season tilts that shouldn't be a big loss for them.

The Yankees have yet to announce any roster changes, but with Games Three, Four, and Five (if necessary) happening in Citizens Bank Park, it's a sure bet that Eric Hinske will be added back to the roster for pinch hitting purposes. Freddy Guzman, who replaced Hinske on the ALCS roster, would be the likely man to go. However, Joe Girardi has shown an affinity for using pinch runners this October. I wouldn't rule out the Yankees instead choosing to drop Francisco Cervelli. If the Yanks do go with a three man rotation, A.J. Burnett would start Game Five in Philly. I doubt the Yankees would want to lose Posada's bat in that game since they're already missing the DH, so the third catcher on the roster would lose a lot of his already limited usefulness. Lots of factors to consider here; and in some ways the eventual Hinske announcement may give insight to the Yankees' pitching plans for the Series.

In other news, earlier this week the story broke that the Yankees met with Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman during Game Six of the ALCS. While it's no surprise that the Yankees met with him, I am a little surprised about the manner in which it happened. Inviting Chapman to attend Game Six was likely a negotiation ploy by the Yankees, as it was reported just last Friday that a meeting with Chapman would have to wait until the ALCS wrapped. Perhaps the Chapman meeting explains Brian Cashman's conspicuous absence from the clubhouse celebration Sunday night.

Earlier today we took a look back at the only previous New York-Philadelphia World Series, but of course these 2009 teams met earlier this year. To refresh your memory here are the three previews from that series in May, and here are the three recaps. The Phils took two of three, and their fans took over the Stadium. Let's hope things are different this time around.

I watched the final game of that series from a bar on the Jersey shore, where the crowd was seemingly equally divided between Yankees and Phillies fans. Appropriately enough, our friend Rob Iracane over at Walkoff Walk sees this Series as the Garden State's own version of North and South, just without Patrick Swayze before he was dead, Kirstie Allie before she was fat, and David Carradine before he hung himself while beating it.

Deadspin took a look at a similar Jersey-centric North vs. South issue just last week. Thankfully, Phillies' South Jersey area was represented by the laughable hair band, while the Yankees' North Jersey territory was aligned with the classic Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Just like in the World Series, I'll take my chances with the North Jersey side in that match up every time. Just 24 hours and four wins away from the Land of Hope and Dreams. See you in the morning Fackers.

Game 158: Promised Land

Despite their best efforts last night, the Yankees actually beat the Royals and will attempt to continue their climb past 100 wins this evening. The highest they can get is 106, but it would only take three more wins to reach 104, their highest total since 1998. The last time they won as many as 104 games (save for '98) was way back in 1963, when the league had just recently expanded. It's an attainable goal, but obviously won't take precedent over aligning their rotation and getting everyone well rested for the playoffs along the way.

A.J. Burnett takes the hill for the Yankees tonight, fresh off two pretty solid outings. He didn't make it through the sixth inning his last time out against he Angels, but that was largely because he racked up 11 of the 17 outs he recorded via strikeout. He threw 65 of his 101 pitches for strikes but did allow ten baserunners over that span. This will be his second to last outing before the postseason rolls around, so he's still got a little time to work out the kinks. Tonight against the punchless Royals should be a good opportunity to do so.

For the Royals, Anthony Lerew gets the call. The 26 year old righty was up for a quick cup of joe in both 2006 and 2007 with the Braves but had Tommy John Surgery an was released after some rehab starts in 2008. The Royals picked him up off the scrap heap in the beginning of this year and signed him to a minor league deal. He posted pretty marginal numbers in AA this year but was recalled to make a start against the Red Sox last week. He gave up 4 runs (only 2 earned) in 4.2 IP but also surrendered 10 baserunners, threw 108 pitches and struck out just 2.

Unlike Luke Hochevar yesterday, Lerew will be facing pretty close to a full strength Yankees line up. Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Melky Cabrera were given the night off, but A-Rod, Jeter, Teixeira, Matsui, Swisher, and Damon are all back in action.

Also, as Matt mentioned early today, tonight is also Peter Abraham's last night on the Yankees beat before he heads off to the fackin' Boston Globe. Be sure to head over to his game thread and wish him well.

We already did a tribute to Pete when the news first came down, but wanted choose a song to commemorate his ascent to what is one of the premier sports pages in the country. While the glory days of Ray Fitzgerald, Will McDonough, Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan and the like are gone, the Globe still represents the top of the world of sports journalism. Congrats Pete and best of luck.

There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor,
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm.

Game 153: Growin' Up

It's getaway day at the Big A, and I can't imagine the Yankees are too sad to leave it behind for the time being. With a playoff berth clinched and a win in Anaheim finally to their credit, Joe Girardi is giving some of the regulars an extra day off heading into tomorrow's off day. Jerry Hairson Jr subs for Alex Rodriguez at third. Jose Molina catches his second game of the series and will try to control the Angels' running game. Johnny Damon gets a day off, with Melky Cabrera in LF and Brett Gardner in CF. And with a lefty on the mound, Shelley Duncan gets his first start of the year as Nick Swisher grabs some pine. Wisely, Hideki Matsui, who has been destroying left handed pitching this year, remains in the weakened line up as the DH.

Old friend Scott Kazmir takes the hill for the Halos today. He's 2-0 in two starts against the Yanks this year, with a 2.63 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 10:1 K:BB in 13.2 innings of work. Those two outings aside, Kazmir was having a downright bad season for the Rays. He has battled injuries throughout his career, including missing a month this season, prompting some to question the wisdom of the Angels making a deal for him on August 29th.

It's been a great deal so far. Though he's just 1-1 in four starts since the trade, each outing has been a quality start. He's pitched to a 1.42 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and held opponents to a .540 OPS. The sample size is small, and he's benefited from a very pitcher friendly .247 BABIP, but for the time being at least, it would seem that the 25 year old Kazmir is back on track.

Looking to stay back on track for the Yankees is A.J. Burnett. Since the start of August, he's had some very bad starts. However, last Friday in Seattle, Burnett allowed just one run in seven innings of work, sparking hope that he's corrected whatever issues were causing his recent poor performances.

Prior to his start last Friday, Burnett had this to say: “I’m throwing the ball where I want to for the most part. You eliminate a couple of mistakes and everything’s great.” At the time, it was a bit of a tough statement to hear. Chris H at The Yankee Universe took him to task over it, and I included it in a link around here with a snide comment of my own attached to it. One start certainly doesn't prove Burnett prophetic, but if he is in fact back on top of his game, it wouldn't be the first time he's proven somewhat clairvoyant.

The low point of Burnett's season came in Boston on June 9th, when he lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing 10 baserunners and 5 runs (3 ER). After the game, Burnett copped to his struggles to that point in the season, saying his season to date was:

“Terrible. Glimpses of greatness but I’m not very consistent right now. I’m not a negative guy, so I’m not going to beat myself up over it. But when I do get on that run, it’s going to be impressive. I promise you that.”

It was a boastful, bold, and potentially risky statement at that point, but he backed it up, going on a tear that saw him go 7-1 with a 1.68 ERA and 1.17 WHIP over his next eight starts. Hopefully his statements last week and his start last Friday are indicative of another stretch of him putting his money where his mouth is.

Early in his career, Burnett had a reputation as a bit of a malcontent, culminating with the Florida Marlins excusing him from the team in late September 2005, following remarks he made that were critical of the organization. 28 years old at the time, it ended Burnett's Marlins career and prompted him to issue a fairly mature apology. That off-season, he signed with Toronto, where he had three good seasons. But more importantly, Burnett became a teammate of Roy Halladay, who Burnett credits with helping him mature as a pitcher and a professional.

By all accounts, Burnett has been an outstanding teammate and a positive influence in the clubhouse. Aside from his role as resident pastry chef for the littany of Yankee walk-offs this year, he's credited with being a big part of the team building that's happened over the course of the season, dating back to spring training. Burnett's chief protege has been Joba Chamberlain, who is seemingly always at the side of Burnett and/or CC Sabathia in the dugout. While the trio is likely talking pitching most of the time, young Joba should take some notes on poise and public relations from the two consumate professionals.

Chamberlain has spent much of the season making comments not all together different than what we heard from Burnett in June and again last week. While there may be some sort of double standard at play, there are two key differences here. First, Burnett has a track record that Joba has yet to develop. Second, and more importantly, Burnett backed up his comments with an extended stretch of dominance. Chamberlain had a three start stretch in late July where he was excellent and has been decidedly and frustratingly inconsistent otherwise. Yet start after start we get the same canned comments alternated with excuses: he had too much rest, there was a hitch in his delivery, etc.

I've not given up on Joba Chamberlain. 23 year old pitchers struggle. On top of that, he's being put through a very public experiment right before our eyes as it relates to his innings limit. It's been a unique and difficult situation to handle. The extra rest and truncated starts probably haven't helped him at all. The hasty transition to the rotation last year may or may not have contributed to the shoulder injury that may or may not still be impacting Joba this year. Some of Joba's off the field issues may or may not be creeping between the lines with him. His meteoric rise to the Majors and instant celebrity may have stunted his development as both a pitcher and a professional.

But the bottom line, as Brian Cashman laid out yesterday, is that Joba has to produce. And when he continues to fail to produce while trotting out the same wooden answers time and again, it becomes very frustrating to listen to as a fan.

Anyway, this preview has gone well off the rails. I'll finish by saying this. I can accept the inconsistencies better if there were more accountability. At some point in his career A.J. Burnett decided to grow up. Joba Chamberlain now has more than two years of Major League service time on his resume. He turns 24 today. He'd be wise to take the advice of fellow birthday boy Bruce Springsteen and to follow the example of fellow pitcher A.J. Burnett, and get to growing up soon.



I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade,
I combed my hair till it was just right and commanded the night brigade,
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch,
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched,
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd but when they said "Sit down" I stood up.
Ooh-ooh growin' up.

Game 96: Nebraska

When the Yankees last saw Brett Anderson, he was a rookie with two Big League starts under his belt, and a record of 0-2. They touched him up for 5 runs over 5 1/3 in the game against Sabathia we mentioned in yesterday's preview and left him with a 5.89 ERA.

Since then, the 21 year old right hander has made 14 more starts, lowered his ERA to 4.25 and gone on a tear as of late. He hasn't allowed a run in his last three starts, starting with a complete game shutout in Boston on July 6th, and leaving off with 8 scoreless innings against the Angels last Sunday. I'm sure Brett's a nice kid, but it would be nice to bring him back to Earth.

Heading into the All-Star break Joba Chamberlain was coming off of three dreadful outings against the Mariners, Blue Jays and Angels. The one against the Halos was the most frustrating because he not only blew a seemingly comfortable four run run lead but did so by following up a fielding error by A-Rod by allowing a 3 run shot to Kendry Morales. However, he came out of the All-Star break strong with 6 2/3 innings of one run ball against the Tigers and earned himself his fifth victory on the season.

It's only one start, but Joe Girardi thinks the break might have helped Joba:

Girardi thought that the biggest difference in Chamberlain's return from his time in Nebraska -- when he said he spent most of the time chasing his 3-year-old son, Karter, around the family backyard -- was that he was able to repeat his delivery more consistently and get out of jams.

"I just got back to being myself," Chamberlain said. "It was fun to get away from baseball for four days. I think that was the best -- to get those four days to get my mind right and get back to having fun and the confidence and attitude I know I have."

We took a much-needed hiatus during the break, so I can kind of see where Joba is coming from. Hopefully he can carry that confidence into tonight's game and keep the Yanks rolling. In any event, look on the bright side, Joba. You're not in Nebraska anymore.

And Nebraska's so flat that I don't care,
I'll never use this map, have I made it clear,
I don't know jack, but I stay sincere,
Woah-oh my navigator's here.

And just because it's Friday (and it's in black & white), here is the Springsteen version, which Matt most likely would have chose had he wrote this post:

Posada Gets The Pie

The Yanks added another walk-off win today, as Jorge Posada's 12th inning base hit plated A-Rod to end the long afternoon. Joba Chamberlain and A.J. Burnett tag-teamed the traditional pie in the face as Kim Jones interviewed Posada. He probably choked them both out with his urine soaked hands following the interview.

CMW was sharp through five, ran into trouble in the sixth, and then left with a shoulder issue. He was sent for an MRI. Pete Abe reports Wang is headed for the DL and will be out about a month. This could be a blessing in disguise. Another DL stint could allow Wang a full rehab assignment this time, provided the organization doesn't screw it up again, and hopefully allow him to work out the kinks against minor league comptetion. Abe further speculates the neither Aceves nor Hughes will take Wang's turn on Thursday. Nady can be moved to the 60 day DL to open a 40 man spot for someone (Sergio Mitre?) to start.

The bullpen, outside of David Robertson, was great today, with Brian Bruney, Phil Hughes, Mo, Phil Coke, and even Brett Tomko combining for 6 innings of scoreless work.

Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Posada all homered. Robbie Cano had another brutal day, going 0 for 6, running his RISP hitless streak to 20 at bats, and missing a sign in the twelfth leading to an ill-advised bunt attempt on a 3-0 pitch.

If you're watching the tube tonight, YES will be airing both the Lou Gehrig Yankeeography and Dave Righetti's 7/4/83 no-hitter.

I've been in Jersey all day with family, watching the game and playing whiffle ball. Good times. We're not quite in Asbury Park, but it's the Fourth of July, and it's close enough.

Say Goodbye It's Independence Day

Good morning Fackers. Today is a day for celebration, and not just because the Yanks notched a needed win last night. Our long national nightmare is over. Sixty days after he was added to the roster, and nearly seven weeks after he'd outlived whatever usefulness he offered, Angel Berroa was finally designated for assignment last night when Cody Ransom was activated.

Berroa made it into 21 games in his Yankee career, amassing 24 plate appearances and hitting .136/.174/.182, good for an OPS+ of -6. That's negative six. He is now .228/.270/.318, 52 OPS+ over his last 796 Major League PAs.

In the field he was ostensibly A-Rod's back-up at third, even though A-Rod has started all but five games there since his return. Berroa logged 63 innings at third, or 62 and 2/3 more than his career total entering the season. In his time there, he made 3 errors, good for a fielding percentage of 0.880 and a UZR/150 of -34.5. Once again, that's negative thirty-four point five.

From May 5th until spelling A-Rod this past weekend, he played in just 11 games, had only 5 PAs, and played just 18 innings in the field. Yet the team considered him more valuable than any of the other options at their disposal.

How and why he lasted that long is beyond me. It confounds me to even ponder why. Boggles the mind. Stupifies. Befuddles. Flabbergasts. The best I can come up with is the following list of National Independence Days:

June 12 - Philipines
June 17 - Iceland
June 26 - Madagascar
June 29 - Seychelles
June 30 - Democratic Republic of the Congo
July 1 - Canada, Burundi, Rwanda
July 3 - Belarus
July 4 - USA
July 5 - Algeria, Cape Verde Islands, Venezuela
July 6 - Malawi

There it is. Within two weeks in either direction of Berroa's release fourteen different nations celebrate their independence. Caught up in the spirit, the Yankees wanted to give us fans a holiday of our own in that time. So thank you Yankees. Thank you for thinking of us, and potentially sacrificing victory over the past several weeks so that we can now observe Angel Berroa DFA Day every June 24th, celebrating our independence from Berroa's tyranny of epic suckitude and worthlessness.

Four weeks ago I went on a diatribe about what I felt was the dead weight on the Yankee roster. Of the five players I highlighted in that post, Wang is moving back towards respectability and three are now off the roster. You're next Tomko.

The Yankees have ten days to waive, trade, or release Berroa. If they were able to move Jose Veras for cash considerations, what can they get for Berroa? Loose change?

My New Favorite Reader

Most of the time, a blog is a one way mode of communication. Only a small fraction of those who read posts make comments and an ever tinier percentage feel compelled to write an email to us saying that they enjoy the site, there is an egregious error in one of our posts or to ask why there are no women listed as contributors. It's really exciting whenever that happens because I get to connect names with the numbers I see on Google Analytics and have actual proof that writing for this blog isn't a complete and total waste of time.

Well, over the weekend I received far and away the best email in the history of the site from a reader named Giles McNamee (presumably of no relation to this man). Here it goes:

Dear Jay:

I was just over at Fenway Park with some friends who were recording your friend Youk and a couple of the other Socks players singing Sweet Caroline and Dirty Water. Youk is putting out an album for his charity.

Interesting that the Socks would play Sweet Caroline, a song which was written by a 40 year old man in tribute to an 11 or 12 year old girl, in the eighth inning of every game. “Touching me, touching you.” Think about it. This has to be on the pedophile classic hits top ten list, don’t you think?

Anyway I was there because a band I’m in laid down the instrumental tracks for the songs. As a Yankee fan, I only agreed to do this because I could then bring my kids, who are Bostonians and died-in-the-wool Red Sock fans, to meet Youk and some of the other players. Being a dad sometimes trumps being a Yankee fan... Sort of...

Anyway, I had Youk sign a ball to you because I thought you would enjoy it (see attached photo).

Shoot me an address and I will send you the ball.

Keep up the excellent work on your blog.

Best,

Giles

Pretty sweet, right? I don't gather that Giles told Youk that the person he was signing the ball for actually created a blog named after his hatred of him, but that is quite understandable. The event was for a good cause, after all.

I made sure he was okay with me turning the email into a post and his response he also added:

Four explanatory things for the record: (1) Youk’s charity is called “Hits for Kids” and it supports a number of worthy children’s causes in the greater Boston area; (2) The CD is being produced by Rounder Records and, in theory, all the bands who have played at Fenway Park (Jimmy Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Dave Matthews, etc) are going to donate one song each to put on the album; (3) The little girl about whom Sweet Caroline was written was Caroline Kennedy which makes Neil Diamond seem even creepier; (4) My band is called EGGSLAP, a recent incarnation which includes myself and the drummer from my former band, the Rockhoppers.

So, Bostonian readers, keep an eye out for EGGSLAP appearing to a music venue near you. And if any of you happen to meet our boy Youk, you know what to do if you would like to star in your very own guest post. Operators are standing by.

Game 53: Badlands

Working in the fields, 'til you get your back burned
Working 'neath the wheel, 'til you get your facts learned
Baby I got my facts learned real good right now.
You better get it straight darling:
Poor man wanna be rich; Rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied 'til he rules everything.
I want to go out tonight, want to find out what I got.

I had been thinking about choosing "Born in the U.S.A." as tonight's song to commemorate my return to the States, but then I got to thinking that I didn't want to misinterpret the song's meaning as badly as Ronnie Reagan did during his 1984 re-election campaign. That, and I didn't want my preview tonight to be as self-indulgent as Jay's was last night.

So, with Springseen in mind, having had a Springsteen cover band play the wedding reception I attended Saturday, and with Andy Pettitte taking the mound for the first time since back pain forced him to a premature exit in his start last Friday, we turn to one of my favorite Springsteen songs: Badlands.

Now this is not yet another blog post bashing the new Stadium and its issues. In fact, it has nothing to do with the Stadium itself. Rather, it's a brief look at Andy Pettitte. Early in his career, a knock on Pettitte was that he was constantly battling arm problems and that he often had difficulty discerning the difference between pitching in pain and pitching injured.

Pettitte has long outgrown that reputation, twice (at least) with the aid of human growth hormone, but more due to better conditioning and the savvy that comes with being a 15 year veteran. He spent much of the second half last year pitching through shoulder pain knowing that the team was already decimated by injuries, thin on pitching, and in a (losing) fight for its post-season life. Pettitte pitched poorly during this stretch: after going 10-7 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP in the first half, he struggled to the tune of 4-7, 5.35, 1.53 in the second half.

It was an unfortunate turn for Pettitte, finishing off his contract in such a poor fashion and raising questions again about his health and durability. After making $16M in both of the last two seasons, he held out for much of the off-season, hoping for a deal similar in value. Pettitte however overestimated both the market and his own worth at this advanced stage of his career, instead settling in late January for a $5.5M base salary with incentives for every ten innings pitched from 150 to 210 as well as roster bonuses for days on the active roster. The incentives can bring the contract value to a much more palatable $12M.

So, as Ben at RAB wisely pointed out Saturday, it comes as no surprise that Pettitte has been adamant since last Friday that he would be starting tonight. You can say that his back may be burned, but he's got his facts learned: he knows what his body can and can't do at this point in his career and he knows what's on the line financially. This rich man wants to be king, or at least richer, and tonight he'll go out to the mound and find out what he's got.

In other news, Chien-Ming Wang, who almost assuredly would have started tonight had Pettitte not been able to go, will now return to the starting rotation tomorrow. CC Sabathia will be pushed back to Friday, and it appears that Phil Hughes is now ticketed for the bullpen. Rest assured we'll be talking about this more over the next day or so.

Opposing Pettitte tonight will be Scott Bizarro Kramer. I have some misplaced hatred towards Bizarro Kramer. He baffled them in this game last year, spoiling Brett Gardner's Major League debut. I then proceeded to get tagged with a $397 speeding ticket driving home from the game. I blame Feldman. Go get him fellas.

Obese Football Coach Week Continues At Fack Youk

Following yesterday's Charlie Weis name-drop and a gratuitous picture of an asphyxiating Jabba the Hutt (or were he and Leia playing the choking game?), submitted for your enjoyment is the following text message exchange I had with my friend who attended the Springsteen show at The Swamp last night:

Him: Rex Ryan is sitting right in front of us. i didnt realize how fat
he is

Me: Who's fatter? Him or Weis?

Him: Definitely weis

I would have to agree.

So there you have it. Notre Dame may have fallen on tough times of late, but they still have the Heavyweight Champion of the Football World. I suppose I'm obligated to come up with something about Andy Reid soon.

As a side note, the Yankees faired much better last night than they did the night I caught The Boss on this tour.

Game 21: Detroit Medley

The rubber match of the Motown Showdown goes down tonight as the Yankees look to climb back over .500. Like Phil Hughes did last night, Joba Chamberlain will get a chance to remind everyone why he should be in the rotation. I think Joba should be a starter until injuries or ineffectiveness prove otherwise. Having too many good starting pitchers is a good problem to have. And that's all I have to say, about that. 

Toeing the rubber for the Tigers tonight is a lanky 20 year old righthander named Rick Porcello. For those unfamiliar, Porcello was a high school phenom who entered the 2007 draft and was projected to go in the top five picks, with some forecasts placing him as high as number two. His senior year at Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey included a perfect game, a 14.7K/9IP ratio and he was named the Gatorade National Baseball Player Of The Year. 

Porcello chose Scott Boras, and as a result, concerns of signability allowed the Tigers to draft him with the 27th overall pick, just three slots ahead of where the Yankees drafted Andrew Brackman. His total contract was worth over $11M, making him the highest paid high school prospect ever. After spending only one year in High A-Ball, Porcello is already in the Big Show. While he had a solid 2.66ERA in the minors, his strikeout ratio dipped to just 5.2/9IP. Clearly, the Tigers felt pressured by the massive contract they extended to him, along their lack of depth in the starting rotation, to give Porcello some Big League burn. 

So far this year, he has made three starts. Sandwiched between two outings where he gave up 4 and 5 earned runs respectively, Porcello threw seven innings of one run ball against the Mariners last Sunday. By far the youngest starting pitcher in baseball at the moment, just over two decades old, Porcello makes a 23 year old Joba Chamberlain look like a seasoned veteran. 

I must extend a special thank you to local Springsteen Aficionado, Schiff Happens for tonight's song selection. In honor of Jersey boy Rick Porcello, from The Boss, here is a version of Detroit Medley from the '78 Tour, which I have been assured was epic.