Nightcap Links

Do you know anyone in this world who wears an actual nightcap? Grandparents maybe? What does it say about our culture that the drinking form of a nightcap is probably thousands of times more popular than the ridiculous thing you wear on your head to bed? Just thinking out loud here...

Unsurprisingly, the Yankees cleaned the Giants clock in the New York market last night, ratings-wise. Somewhat surprisingly, they also edged the NBC night game nation-wide. Oh, and enjoy that article from Neil Best because unless you live on Long Island it might be one of the last you get to read.

Rob Iracane at Walkoff Walk details the upcoming battle over New Jersey.

We used this song for a preview before Jeter started using it for his at bat music, and now it's going to be performed live before Game 1 of the World Series. (via BBTF)

Joe Girardi has made some highly questionable moves this postseason, but to label him the "#1 October Disaster" like Jon Heyman did is indefensible. (via Craig)

Ross from New Stadium Insider wonders how many Philly fans will be at the games at Yankee Stadium and based on secondary market ticket prices, there might be a lot.

FanGraphs looks at Andy Pettitte's season using Pitch f/x data. Over there as well, Dave Cameron suggests that Girardi go with a three man rotation in the World Series.

If Rob Neyer talks about the Yankees on a podcast, I will link to it.

Matthew Pouliot at Circling the Bases thinks the Angels should be embarrassed with their performance in the ALCS. David Brown at Big League Stew thinks they should still be proud of the season they had.

Some historical precedence on the rivalry between Philly and New York. (via BLS)

That's all for now. We'll be back at it tomorrow with some historical perspective and other good stuff. In the meantime, feel free to root for neither of the teams playing in Monday Night Football.

Cranky, Eh?

If this bit of news were recorded by PeteAbe himself and not his fill-in Josh Thomson, I wouldn't have needed to make this connection:

Mariano Rivera didn’t throw at all today and was unavailable to pitch. “He was feeling a little cranky today,” Joe Girardi said. Rivera told us his right shoulder was sore, but he did not classify the soreness as painful. He said he has felt this pain before and felt fine soon after. Girardi said he’d be “shocked” if Rivera weren’t available tomorrow in Seattle.

Of course, "cranky" was the term Girardi used at the end of last season, when Mariano was supposedly leaving to go back to New York from Toronto for "a physical" instead of going with the team to Boston:

Girardi was asked several times and in several ways whether Rivera had an injury to his elbow and shoulder. He denied it every time. The questions were very exact. “He said his whole body was cranky,” Girardi said.

The beat writers all found this to be perplexing, since Rivera could have got a physical just about anywhere and if they were intent on having it done by a certain team doctor, they could have flown him out to Mo, not the other way around. Some of the writers called Brian Cashman, who said that Rivera need an MRI which ultimately revealed that he needed surgery.

Again Mariano is making travel arrangements separate from the team for personal reasons, according to Thomson in the same article. Marc Carig of the Star Ledger talked to team spokesperson Jason Zillo who said it has nothing to do with health issues. "No tests were done and none are scheduled" and Mo will be in Seattle for the game.

Is there a reason that Girardi chooses "cranky"? Cranky is a strange and vague term to use for describing injuries. We all know was "sore" and "stiff" and "tight" mean. It seems like cranky is his go-to line when he doesn't want to give away information about an injury because it means nothing to anyone but him. Cranky is what a four year old is when you wake them up from a nap. Cranky is how your grandmother got when your little brother broke her lamp.

Rivera hits these rough patches seemingly every season and Girardi has dramatically improved the way he relates to the media so hopefully the the connection is nothing more than semantics. If nothing else, every time there is an sort of uncertainty about Rivera's health, it makes you take stock of how important and valuable he is to the team. In Mo we trust.

Instant Karma's Gonna Get You

Entering last night's game, Nick Swisher was mired in a long slump, hitting .102/.262/.184 for May. While he was struggling on the field, the ever-positive right fielder didn't take his troubles outside the white lines. On the heels of his charitable outing Wednesday afternoon, Swish spent some time pre-game with Polly Tompkins and her guests at the Stadium. A lifelong Yankee fan, Tompkins is battling breast cancer, and was the Yankees' honorary bat girl as a guest of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Polly threw out the first pitch, and it was caught by none other than Swisher.

Swisher went on to hit a HR in his first AB of the night, draw 2 BBs and score 2 runs. After the game, he presented Polly with the line-up card as a memento of the evening. This on the heels of Brett Gardner's visit to the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital last Friday, that preceeded his 3 for 3 performance featuring a triple and the first Yankee inside-the-park HR in 10 years. If you do good things, good things will happen for you. So in a break from our usual tomfoolery here, I'd like to ask you all to consider doing something good today.

Virtually no one can go through life without being affected by cancer in some way. I work for a medical device company that deals exclusively with cancer treatment. While we are a for-profit company, I find comfort in knowing that the work we do can help people stricken with this awful disease. My job does not entail seeing the people we aim to help, but cancer has hit close to me in recent weeks:

• Last week, Mark Herzlich, star linebacker at my alma mater, reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and all around good person, announced he has Ewing's Sarcoma. A month ago he was projected as a top ten pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Now at age 21, he has a disease with a 5 year survival rate of 70 to 80%. His prognosis is good thankfully, and I'm sure Herzy can win this.
• A co-worker, universally liked and respected in the office, was diagnosed with Stage IV colorectal cancer recently. She's started chemo and is battling like a champ. It's inspiring to see how bravely she's facing this and the constantly positive outlook and good humor she's maintaining.
• Another well-liked co-worker lost her father over the weekend. He had been fighting cancer for some time.
• My grandmother, who can discuss the state of the Yankees as well as anyone I know, beat breast cancer four years ago. My family is now anxiously awaiting the results of tests that could indicate a recurrence.

Below is a list of cancer charities. I need some good karma, so I'm going to make a donation or two. I ask you to consider doing the same, not for my benefit, but perhaps your own, and certainly for those affected by the disease.

• Yankees Universe Fund - benefits pediatric cancer care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• American Cancer Society - A charity with which Bobby Murcer worked. Murcer lost his fight with brain cancer last year and would have turned 63 yesterday.
• Susan G. Komen for the Cure - The charity that brought Polly Tompkins to the Stadium last night. MLB also partners with them annually for Mother's Day
• Prostate Cancer Foundation - MLB partners with them for Father's Day
• Making Strides Against Breast Cancer - Another American Cancer Society effort. This link goes to the personal page of Shari, wife of our friend Jason at IIATM, S. Shari is participating in this event to raise money for breast cancer support and can you use our help.

Thanks for listening. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Guitar Solo Sunday

Anyone up for a new recurring feature?

Here are the rules:

1. No other instruments (for now)
2. No singing
3. Under 5 minutes
4. Take a picture of the scene of the crime
5. Make a simple YouTube of it
   
6. Make your mother proud

I have left the initial offering to the Guitar Gods below.

It was actually tuned up to 450Hz, which is where Clapton plays almost all of his Derek and the Dominoes stuff, which is why it sounds a little more bright than usual. See if you can spot the 60's song melody line that drops a little ways in.

I captured it on the terrible sound recorder program that comes on my computer, which is why there is a crackling in the background. When I figure out how to use the reel to reel recorder that was sitting in our lobby on Friday night (pictured above) with a note that said "Needs a home (barely used)", that will change.

Since it's usually just my PRS and me, it feels kind of cool to throw this up in this space knowing at least a few of you might enjoy it. But it would be awesome if I never did this again, and instead had readers/friends chip them in. Anyone out there with a black Custom Shop Les Paul and a PA system in his basement where we have played over 1,000 games (conservatively) of beer pong who would like to expose me for the marginal guitarist that I am? After that, we could duel Clapton vs. Harrison style. Poolroom jam next time I'm upstate with the R2R? I can think of another Yankee blogger with a vintage telecaster who may or may not like to weigh in.

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There is a strange combination of anonymity and exhibitionism about blogging. There are only a handful of people of people in this world who have ever heard me play the guitar. I could probably name every single one. But at the same time, I feel compelled to post it on this blog where people I have never laid eyes on are probably going to think it sucks, just for the fuck of it.

I apologize for the bait and switch aspect of putting this up on what appears to be a sports blog, but I'm guessing some of you like music. After all, Donald Trump thinks it is the most popular thing in the world.

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Anyway, here it is. It kind of dies in the middle, but picks back up at the end. Somehow it turned out to be 4:20 long. Go figure...

I'll call this "Christmas Cactus" after the plant my grandma gave me sitting on top of my dresser.

Please Call Home [Allman Brothers]

Call your Grandmother.

She'll appreciate it. I talked to mine for 45 minutes this morning.