Extra, Extra
Extra, Extra
Extra, Extra
Extra, Extra
Early Addition
- Yankees 12, Mariners 3: Chien-Ming Wang doesn't deserve the American League Cy Young award, but he should get some lower votes. In a game the Yankees needed to win to keep their wild-card lead, Wang pitched 7 1/3 innings and kept the Mariners under wraps. That came as a welcome development after the Yankees learned that Roger Clemens will need a cortisone shot in his pitching elbow. Why was he out there Monday anyway? Horacio Ramirez, who shut the Yankees down in Seattle earlier this season, didn't have as much success in this one. Home runs came from Jorge Posada -- two of them -- and Alex Rodriguez -- that's No. 46 -- and the Yankees did a number on the Seattle bullpen. They lead the wild card race by two games and can increase it to three when the series wraps up Wednesday.
- Mets 11, Reds 7: With Pedro Martinez back, the Mets could be looking at a difficult decision about their playoff rotation. At least they're thinking about that and not the National League East race right now. Oliver Perez gave up five runs -- three earned -- in a less-than-dazzling performance. Who knows how Willie Randolph will decide to go come October? That's not a bad problem to have. On another note, is there any doubt that the Great American Ball Park is a hitter's paradise? Paul Lo Duca hit not one but two home runs.
- In the women's
finalquarterfinal at the U.S. Open, Justine Henin took care of Serena Williams in straight sets. That's the third straight time that the Belgian has dispatched the American at a grand slam. Maybe Williams will think twice before taking so many events off and thinking she can just show up and win grand slam tournaments.Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer took the court at 10 p.m. After Nadal, the world No. 2, took the first set, Ferrer rallied to take the next three and ousting the French Open champ. Nadal has the opposite problem of Williams. He just plays too much tennis. Maybe he'll think twice before taking a hefty appearance fee the week after Wimbledon to play at a clay-court tournament in Stuttgart.
- Staten Island 5, Brooklyn 4: And we have a pennant race! Jose Gil singled home the winning run for the Yankees, who trail th eCyclones by a game and a half in the division. Each team has three games remaining, but none against each other.
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Henin is a man.
I have bigger boobs than him, I mean her.
fantastique.
Maine/Perez will probably be settled by lefty/righty match-up. Which, you're right, good problem to have.
Gothamist proclaimed: "They lead the wild card race by two games and can increase it to three when the series wraps up tomorrow."
Except that Phil Hughes is pitching. In fact, any optimism about the remainder of the year is tempered by the fact that Wang can only pitch every five days.
Hughes is due for a good start. Pettitte has been brilliant (his latest game and joe's mismanagement notwithstanding, he had pitched really well till he ran out of gas before starting the 7th).
I am definitely not saying I'm happy about the state of the rotation, but to say they dont have a shot because Wang is the only guy on their staff is just inaccurate. I think Hughes will turn it around before it's too late, and who knows, maybe Mussina can pull himself together. This Kennedy kid looked very sharp, so with luck (which ALL teams need no matter how dominant) they will get their playoff berth and then, anything can happen in a short series.
SP, I largely agree with your assertion. I'm not counting the Yankees out (although, as wild card, can they beat the Angels or Indians?). Hughes may be "due" for a good start, but he is an as yet unproven quantity. Kennedy looked sharp, but is young and would not have been brought up had it not been for Moose's loss of control and the pennant race. The Clemens experiment was a miserable failure. Yes, Petite has looked good. And, of course, there's Joba. But, as we've debated so often in this forum, can the Yankees truly expect to go all the way with 2.5 pitchers?
I think Hughes, Kennedy, Mussina and what might be left of Clemens adds up to more than just .5 a pitcher. Mussina has been bad lately but I think he has been unfairly and prematurely buried. In the post season, you dont need a full five man rotation. If they can get in at all, I think their chances are good. Not great, but certainly doable.
The only postseason-bound team that scares me is the Angels, they have always played the Yankees well, even before they got good. As a wild card the Yanks would only play them in a 5 game series, so they could start Wang twice. We have seen crazy upsets before in 5 game sets, so despite the odds heavily stacked against them, the Yanks could conceivably pull it off. Indians don't scare me, neither do the Rod Sux.
Of course, if they made it out of the first round, then there would be some creative juggling needed, but needless to say, I would love it for them to have that problem to deal with. It would mean they were in the ALCS!
If LoDuca keeps hitting like this, dude's gonna be SWIMMIN' in underage pussy!