Thursday Morning Linkarooski

As we mentioned a couple of times yesterday, Jay-Z and Eminem were slated to show up in the Yankees' broadcast booth during the second half of the doubleheader, and turned out that they were on air during the only inning during which Phil Hughes' had any trouble - the fourth.

The two renegades were there to announce two shows that they are playing in September - one at Comerica on the 2nd and the other at Yankee Stadium on the 13th. Appropriately, Jay-Z will headline the show in New York - the first concert at the new place and his first show in a stadium anywhere - and Eminem will take top billing for the one in Detroit.

During their time in the booth, Michael Kay said Eminem's new song "Not Afraid" was only the second ever to debut at #1 on the Billboard charts. Um, it's the 16th. No one batted an eyelash at that and surprisingly, the most awkward moment belonged to Ken Singleton. Kenny had apparently been told that Eminem did "poetry" nearby the current location of Comerica Park "back in the day". Em's response, "Um, Poetry?"

Jay-Z attempted to steer the conversation back on track by clarifying that "Rap is poetry" and they eventually changed the subject.

Other highlights:

• Jay-Z bragged about getting Betty White's number when he met her on Saturday Night Live and said he and Eminem were going on a double date with her and "the othah one". Michael Kay then clarified it was Rue McClanahan he was talking about and Eminem said they actually had to get going and meet up with them.
  
  
• Em said that, in light of what they did in the draft, he can't remember the last time he's felt this good about the Detroit Lions, which is not saying all that much.
  
  
• He then sabotaged any and all of his credibility by saying he was also a Cowboys fan.
  
  
• Michael Kay referred to "Lose Yourself" as "one of the best songs ever" and claimed that he works out to it and it was the reason that "he's the shape he's in",
  

Like any other guest appearance it totally detracted from what was going on in the game, but as far as these promotional things are concerned, it wasn't that bad. Fortunately, the first time around I was watching without any sound and it didn't make a difference at all.

Now, onto the rest of the links:

Andy Pettitte wanted to pitch yesterday but he still has to throw one more "downhill" session (off a mound) before he can rejoin the rotation.

After six long weeks languishing in the top 5, the Yankees have finally ascended #1 of the Beyond the Box Score power rankings, which are based solely on the team's statistical output this year. Incredibly, the Red Sox, whose Pythagorean winning percentage is a humble .484, have played like the fourth best team in the league, according to BtB.

Via Lisa at Subway Squawkers, here is a ranking of the Yankees' warm up jackets over the years. I like the ones that say "Yankees" across the front as opposed to the ones with the interlocking NY, but I've always felt that wearing a warm up jacket out with casual clothes looks kind of weird.

On the heels of the AP story about teams scouting umpires that we linked to on Tuesday, Jeremy Greenhouse of Baseball Analysts attempted find evidence of pitchers altering their approach based on who was behind the plate.

Navin Vaswami's road trip swung through Chicago this week, first stopping at Wrigley and then the Cell. You can also check out the photo album from his trip right here.

Big League Stew has the video of Dallas Braden's appearance on Letterman, including the top 10 thoughts that were going through his mind when he was pitching on Sunday. Carig has the transcription of that list.

The Wall Street Journal's sports section hasn't been around for very long but they are already cranking out crusty and nostalgic pieces like this one about the good ol' days when batters didn't dare step out of the box, lest Bob Gibson fire one at their head.

Via the Book Blog, here is an incredibly deep analysis of wind effects on baseball parks.

The greatest thing about being rich and famous? People give you shit for free. Reminds me of the end of this Louis CK bit.

Via Jonah, this tumblr site is sheer brilliance. Similarly, so is this shirt.

Also from Mr. Keri, Bloomberg Sports has upped the ante with Mustrash Talk, a series of videos of Keith Hernandez giving you the business about the goings on in your fantasy league.

At Walkoff Walk, Dan McQuade notes that if the Phillies aren't duplicating the oldest trick in the book by stealing signs with binoculars and the bullpen phone, it's pretty damn close. Meech from the Fightins' found visual evidence that the Phils' bullpen coach does indeed have "opera glasses".

What do Mike Sweeney and Carmello Anthony have in common? Neither tolerates snitchin'.

The "10th inning" of Ken Burns' Baseball is scheduled to air late this September.

An interesting tidbit about the upcoming season of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

Did you know that you can get a DWI on a golf cart? Thankfully there aren't very many cops patrolling the links or we'd all be screwed.

Could the Super Bowl be coming to New York in 2014? The wheels are in motion.

They found a hole in space. Whaaaa? Wrap your head around that one without it exploding.

Amidst all the action yesterday, we neglected to wish Yogi Berra a happy birthday. Happy belated 85th, Yogi, and many more.

Friday Morning Link Party

We are five for five: a linkaround everyday this week. Some may feel that's excessive, but Michael Phelps is totally down with it, brah! Wait, what were we talking about?

During her recap of last night's game, Emma Span at Bronx Banter got all anagrammy on your asses. Examples - A.J. Burnett : A Burnt Jet; Curtis Granderson : Transcends Rigour; Michael Kay : Lama Hickey.

There was plenty of talk about Robinson Cano's bat after his performance last night but Maric Carig collected some quotes about his defensive abilities.

Ian O'Connor talked to the infamous Ed Whitson - the first time the former Yankee granted an interview to a New York reporter about his time with the team since he left them in 1986. Whitson's name has been invoked frequently in attempts to frame the struggles of Javy Vazquez and he offers some advice on handling the vitriol to Javy at the end of the article.

Soxenfredue! FanGraphs Audio breaks down the panic in Red Sox Nation.

FJM founder, former writer for The Office and co-creator of Parks & Recreation Michael Schur just signed a multi-year deal with NBC.

Details about Eastbound and Down's second season are emerging. (This link and the last via Aaron Gleeman)

YES Network extra and commenter extraordinaire Mode weighs in with some thoughts on the future of PEDs in baseball.

Brain Hoch asks what the matter with A-Rod is and Joe Girardi answers.

Phil Musnick is bitching about how visible John Sterling was in the photos of the Yankees trip to the White House. I have to agree with him on this one and mentioned to a few people that I thought the players and coaches should have been together in the middle behind the President with everyone else out of the picture on the sides. I'm sure that was what they were hoping for, but these are probably the kind of logistical kerfuffles that happen when you are the lowly World Champions getting squeezed into the President's schedule.

Will Leitch and Joe DeLessio began their tour of New York area minor league baseball stadiums with a trip out to Long Island to see the Ducks.

Lahhhs Anduhson is in fackin' Pawtucket! It's only a matter of time until his name with be comically mispronounced by the Fenway Faithful.

R.J. Anderson juxtaposes the takes of Jonah Keri and Greg Doyel on the Ryan Howard signing and explains what Jonah's has in spades that Doyel's has almost none of at all.

I can't decide which I want more, this shirt, these shoes or this cake.

What the fuck should you make for dinner? Find out.

And finally, again via Mr. Gleeman, this may be my favorite mashup ever.

Molina & Gardner In, Melky Move To Come

That's the news according to LoHud eminating from the press conference with Joe Girardi. Jose Molina will again be catching A.J. Burnett while Brett Gardner gets the start in center over Jerry Hairston, Jr., thankfully. The bottom third of the order was going to be a black hole one way or another, at least they have someone who is comfortable and excellent in center field and fast on the bases in Gardner, should he ever reach them.

Girardi also said that the Yanks are in discussions with the MLB in regards to a roster move with Melky Cabrera. We'll use this post to keep you updated on those developments and separate this stuff from the preview which is going up at 5:30.

Update: 5:26: Again, per LoHud, the Yankees will hear from the MLB concerning their roster move at 6PM.

Update 5:59: Ramiro Pena (not Freddy Guzman as we speculated earlier) will replace Melky Cabrera. Apparently the Yanks value Pena's versatility in the field over Guzman's speed on the bases. Pena has not appeared on the postseason roster at any point up until now but he may be thrust into action early. His best chance of appearing in a game will probably be tonight given that the Yanks are in a National League park and will likely be replacing Jose Molina at some point.

Update 6:27: Interesting tidbit from Mark Feinsand of which I was not aware:

According to the MLB press release, postseason rules provide that injured players can be replaced during the World Series if the severity of the injury, as determined by Major League Baseball, is such that it would require a disabled list assignment during the regular season.

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.

Game 154: Empire State Of Mind

The Yankees return home tonight, coming off what was a pretty decent road trip. They got themselves in a 1-3 hole starting with a series loss to the Mariners, but won the last two against the Angels to break even on the six game swing.

This 3 game set in the Bronx will round out the Red Sox final road trip of the season. After dropping the first two against the Royals, the Sox rallied to halve the four game set and these next three against the Yanks will determine if it will be a winning or losing one. It will also determine if the season series between the two teams will be won by the Red Sox or be a wash. It currently sits at 9-6, so if the Yankees win all three, they can square it up.

The tiny superstitious part of me that hasn't been beaten down by studying game theory, years of analyzing market research data and attempting to do objective baseball analysis would rather see the Yankees simply take two out of three than sweep. I guess the fear is that a sweep would make it seem like the Red Sox were due to win some games should they meet in the ALCS.

However, I really hope that one of those two games is tonight. Young Master Joba only has two chances to come up with a respectable start or he might have to face the reality of being left off the postseason roster. His last start in Seattle was downright terrible and even his most ardent supporters need to see something good out of him tonight to regain some confidence in him. Not getting shelled would be nice. Making it though the sixth inning would be a pleasant surprise.

Jon Lester faces the Yanks tonight for the first time since throwing 7 innings of one run ball against them in the Boogie Down back on August 9th. He and Andy Pettitte were locked in a scoreless duel until the 7th inning that night when A-Rod took Lester deep. Victor Martinez answered with a two run homer in the top of the 8th but Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira countered with solo homers off of Daniel Baaahhhd in the bottom half to put the Yanks over the top.

That night the Yanks completed a 4 game sweep, went up 6.5 games up in the division and they haven't been separated by less than 5 games since. With the margin sitting at 5.5 right now, the Sox have the chance to breach that 5 game barrier.

When the schedule first came out in the beginning of the year, there was certainly the potential that this series could have more direct implications on the outcome of the divison. Nonetheless, there's a good chance some champagne will be popped at some point over the weekend. I'm just glad that the best case scenario for my team isn't celebrating it in the Stadium of the club we're trailing for first place.

Unlike the Red Sox, the Yanks got last night off, slept in their own beds and should be refreshed and ready to go as they open their final homestand of the year. Let's hope for an inspired performance from Joba et al. tonight.

Concrete jungle, where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you’re in New York,
These streets will make you feel brand new,
Big lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York.