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Hve faith. I think this is a different Mets team than the past 2 years. They feel the need to fight in serious situations and not just let the chips fall. They will do better than the past couple years.
Well, I have predicted the Mets demise a couple of times and this year it is time to change my tune. I say the Mets will make the playoffs this year for a few reasons. One,aside from the Dodgers there is not one team that is just dominating everyone they play. Also, The dodgers play in a very weak division. There are a bunch of teams that are still in it. Number Two, with all the Mets have been through this year they are still right there in the hunt. That is a very positive sign. You get everyone playing healthy and they can go on a big run. They are scrappy for my 3rd reason. They don't always play pretty when they win but it is better to win weather it is pretty or not.
The 9th, 10th and 11th of this month is going to be 3 big games for them. Boston has taken the 1st 5 from them this year. They have beaten some tough teams but Boston will be a big test for them now that they have found themselves. Then we have the Mets
It is only a few weeks since their dreadful start. They have put it together nicely and they are playing as a team for the 1st time in years. I just hope they can keep it up. Giardi went from goat to hero in the press to.
Yanks use big frame to rout Rangers
Jeter scores 1,500th, Matsui homers in seven-run fourth
NEW YORK -- The Yankees' box score on Tuesday night read like a rendition of the "Twelve Days of Christmas."
New York pounded out a season-high 12 runs on 13 hits with 11 RBIs as it thumped the Rangers, 12-3, in a series-opening win in front of a crowd of 43,948 at Yankee Stadium.
The Bronx Bombers lived up to their billing, churning out a seven-run fourth inning off four hits -- including Hideki Matsui's three-run homer -- and a pair of walks and a hit batsman.
Derek Jeter, who went 3-for-4, scored the 1,500th run of his career in the fourth off starter Vicente Padilla, and Jorge Posada connected for three-run shot of his own off reliever Warner Madrigal in the sixth.
Posada was charged with a throwing error trying to catch Elvis Andrus stealing second in the fourth inning, ending New York's record 18-game errorless streak.
Yankees starter A.J. Burnett picked up his first home win in pinstripes and saw his early mistake -- a three-run homer to Nelson Cruz -- easily eradicated in the offensive onslaught. Burnett scattered eight hits over seven innings and kept the Rangers swinging and missing for most of the night, totaling eight strikeouts.
The win improved the Yankees to 31-21 and solidified their position atop the American League East.
Brittany Ghiroli is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs
That was one of those cheapies that @ home could be scored either way. The guy scorched the ball but at the same time Cano was in the perfect spot for that ball. He should have had it.
Ruth retired 74 years ago on this date
Famed Yankees slugger hung up spikes as a Brave
Seventy-four years ago today, the Sultan of Swat gave up his throne.
Babe Ruth retired on this day in 1935, a midseason move prompted by a defused swing.
At 40, Ruth had lost both his power and his pinstripes. But not his dramatic timing, even while rehearsing his exit line.
He was a Boston Brave, not a New York Yankee, but still larger than life. On May 25, he produced the only coda imaginable -- hitting the final three home runs of his career in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field.
No. 712 went into the lower deck in right field of the Pirates' expansive ballpark.
No. 713 sailed into the right-field upper deck.
No. 714 soared over the towering right-field roof -- which for six decades would remain a rarely conquered barrier, somewhat like San Francisco's McCovey Cove is now.
Ruth's farewell drive, estimated at 600 feet, was the first to ever clear that roof, although Major Leaguers had been taking aim at it for 16 years.
That is how legacies are written.
Guy Bush, the Pirates right-hander who had watched Ruth's exploits all day, made a decision he quickly came to regret. Bush's obituary in The Sporting News quoted him:
"He came up again in the ninth. I was a little mad. I told my catcher, Tommy Padden, he was not good enough to hit my fastball. I came through with a fastball for strike one. I missed with the second. The next pitch I nodded to Tommy. I was going to throw the ball past Mr. Ruth. It was on the outside corner. As he went around third, Ruth gave me the hand sign meaning 'to hell with you.' He was better than me. He was the best that ever lived. That big joker hit it clear out of the park for his third home run of the game. It was the longest homer I'd ever seen in baseball."
A week later, The Babe hung up his spikes.
He had hit .181 in that final half-season, with six home runs and 12 RBIs in 28 games and 72 at-bats.
He spent the rest of his all-too brief life as a traveling sideshow, barnstorming and dealing with the disappointment and frustration of the Yankees' refusal to give him a shot at managing.
Ruth died of throat cancer at age 53 on Aug. 16, 1948, in New York City. His body laid in state at Yankee Stadium for two days and was visited by more than 100,000 fans.
Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
We all know how important team Chemistry can be. Look at the 2004 Red Sox for instance. They were a very close team and they did what so many thought couldn't happen. They came back down 3 games and never lost again then took the series. Look at the Yankees of the 90's. They not only believe in themselves but they believed in each other.
That was funny but yea, Like I said earlier, I bet Giardi's heart went in his throat.
MLB record: 18 games, no E's
Yankees surpass previous mark held by the 2006 Red Sox
CLEVELAND -- The Yankees came near tears of laughter in the fifth inning on Monday, when Joba Chamberlain soared through the air to snag a popup bunt and -- after belly-flopping on the infield -- threw to second base to complete a double play.
Those are the kinds of plays you make on a historic run of defensive success, and it doesn't have to be pretty. But the Yankees made it through an 18th consecutive game without committing an error in Monday's 5-2 win over the Indians, surpassing a string by the 2006 Red Sox to set a new Major League record.
"They say we're not athletes, but I think I proved some people wrong," said Chamberlain, who also threw eight innings of two-run ball in the victory.
The Yankees have not committed a miscue since May 13, when Ramiro Pena misplayed a grounder hit by Toronto's Jose Bautista at Rogers Centre. New York was 16-17 after that game, in third place, 5 1/2 games behind the Jays and 4 1/2 games behind the Sox.
"I'm proud of our guys, I'm proud of what they've done and what our staff has put in," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "They work hard with them all the time. Every position they work hard with them defensively, and it's paid off. The guys have to be willing to do the work and buy into it, and they've been great."
The contributions of New York's infielders have been paced by Mark Teixeira, who leads a starting quartet that has only committed five errors all season. Teixeira still sports a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage; Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano have made two errors and Alex Rodriguez one.
But Mariano Rivera even turned in a gem on the mound Monday, as Ben Francisco whacked a hard shot off his glove -- "All leather," Rivera said -- and scurried to chase the ball down for the first out of the ninth inning.
"We're playing the games, you know?" Rivera said. "When you play the games, good things happen. We're just enjoying [ourselves] and going through our business. We don't worry about errors or being aware that we haven't had an error. We're just trying to do our thing."
The highlight-reel moments are ones that will be remembered as eye-popping plays during this stretch, but the defense as a whole has been strong on everyday plays like throws to second and scoops at first base.
"There were a lot of good plays," Girardi said. "That's what we've been doing all year. The plays that we're supposed to make, we've been making. That just shows that they're ready to play every day, they're doing their work and preparation is important."
"I know everyone here works extremely hard at it," Jeter said. "We try to improve and pay a lot of attention to detail. The results have been there
A broken record
The Yankees have not committed an error since Ramiro Pena booted a ground ball while playing shortstop on May 13 in Toronto. Since then, New York has handled 651 total chances in 165 1/3 innings of play, recording 496 putouts and completing 162 assists with 13 double plays. The Yankees are 14-4 during the 18-game errorless streak.
Date Result
May 14 NYY 3, TOR 2
May 15 NYY 5, MIN 4
May 16 NYY 6, MIN 4
May 17 NYY 3, MIN 2
May 18 NYY 7, MIN 6
May 19 NYY 9, BAL 1
May 20 NYY 11, BAL 4
May 21 NYY 7, BAL 4
May 22 PHI 7, NYY 3
May 23 NYY 5, PHI 4
May 24 PHI 3, NYY 2
May 25 NYY 11, TEX 1
May 26 TEX 7, NYY 3
May 27 NYY 9, TEX 2
May 29 NYY 3, CLE 1
May 30 NYY 10, CLE 5
May 31 CLE 5, NYY 4
June 1 NYY 5, CLE 2
After Monday's game, though, all the Yankees wanted to talk about was Chamberlain's impressive leap. Cleveland had two runners on and nobody out in the fifth when Kelly Shoppach tried to get a bunt down.
"It was a big situation," Chamberlain recalled. "I needed to get that out, because they're a good team and they can change it with one swing."
The ball popped in the air and Chamberlain charged after it, snagging it before landing with a thud on the infield between third base and home plate. The Yankees never thought he had a chance.
"I'd be lying if I told you I did," Girardi said. "When I saw him do whatever you call he did, I didn't think he had a chance at it. I really didn't. Then it ends up in his glove. I guess that 6-3 frame turned out to be important."
"Even when he dove, I didn't think he had a shot," Phil Hughes said. "He kept gliding through the air. He was gliding for a while."
Yet the best part of the play might have been the recovery. Alertly, Chamberlain spotted Jamey Carroll too far off second base and fired a seed to the bag, completing the double play.
"I caught it, and I actually didn't know where the runner was," Chamberlain said. "I got my bearings and saw he was at second. It was a pretty big turn."
Jeter said he couldn't keep from laughing on the field, so in the dugout, Andy Pettitte had no chance. Chamberlain's rotation-mate led the guffaws, near tears.
"It looked like he was going into a swimming pool," Pettitte said.
"I looked over and he was horse-laughing," Chamberlain said. "That's the last thing I needed. I'm trying to get another out, there's two outs. I looked over and that was the first thing I saw. He's just probably mad because he's not that athletic."
The Yankees passed the previous longest errorless streak in Major League history, a 17-game stretch by the Red Sox from June 11-30, 2006. They also have obliterated their previous franchise mark, surpassing it last Sunday against the Phillies at Yankee Stadium when they played their 11th consecutive game without a miscue.
New York had three previous 10-game errorless streaks: from Aug. 28-Sept. 6, 1977, May 1-10, 1993 and June 20-July 1, 1995.
In order, those strings came to an end when Reggie Jackson misplayed a Duane Kuiper ground ball at Cleveland; Don Mattingly allowed Milwaukee's Pat Listach to reach on an error; and Randy Velarde allowed B.J. Surhoff to score on a stolen-base attempt by Listach.
Those memories have long been pushed aside by the Yankees, who now must wonder how long their good fortune will hold out. They certainly hope for a while longer -- they are 27-8 (.771) in games when they have not committed an error and are 3-13 (.188) in games where they were charged with at least one error.
"I hope it's 19. Let's make it 19 tomorrow," Girardi said. "The guys are playing great, and I'm very proud of the way they're playing. I just want us to make the plays that we should make. Don't give extra baserunners. If you do that, that's going to help our club tremendously."
Oh Burk you have been sooo missed. I am not embarrased. Every team loses. Even the greatest teams of all times lost with some of the best players on them. So thats pretty rediculous to expect a team to win every game. Welcome back Burk. We know you are so proud of how well the Yankees are doing now.
errr, Nope, not at all. I am not embarrassed to be a fan of the 1st place New York Yankees..I am sure you miss crying day in and day out about them losing.
Amazing day in and day out when they were doing bad but now that they are winning he just faded away..lol
He is a huge reason. He has taken the team on his shoulders. I knew it was only a matter of time before he was compaired to Tino. He has flashed some great glove and what a huge upgrade at 1st base.
I want him in the pen to. For one he has not been consistant enough to show he belongs in the rotation. Just because he pitched so well tonight doesn't mean it will continue. I think he knows there is a strong push to put him in the pen. So he really pushed himself tonight.
Wow, what a play by Jaba. I bet Giardi's heart went into his throat watching him dive for that ball.
It is funny, so many times when I hear about the Cubs I think about that incident with Bartman. I think what could have been for the Cubs. Could you imagine after so many years to go through what the Cubs went through and their fans and the most defining play of that season for their team is Bartman. It will be forever in Cubs fans minds and it will forever be on YouTube. One thing that always amazed me is they are diehard fans out there. Very Diehard. For so many years they knew their team was bad and would probably lose. But they still sold out and had a packed stadium.
Jaba should be in the pen. I went back n forth with that last year but he is a different pitcher out of the Pen than he is a starter. Jaba should be in the Pen, He has potential to be the closer when MO hangs it up or gets hurt.
I wondered that last week. . em
Yea, but last year Jeter was hurt and so far this year he is not hurt. We have discussed it many times no matter who the player is they should sit so they don't hurt the team. Jeter played hurt alot last year and would have healed faster I am sure had he taken a break. Remember he got hit in the hand last year and it went downhill from there. He looks good this year so I would have given him a shot. He can atleast run faster than Posada to..lol
Yep. Gardner didn't go. So he was supposed to.
I didn't understand that either. That would have been the smart move. You can't plan on Posada definitly getting a hit or him hitting it far enough into the outfield to get the run in. They probably would have let Gardner have 2nd.
Indians Manager over thinking could cost them the game and it has cost Pavano the win more than likely. Can't say if Yankees wouldn't have tied the game anyway but Pavano pitched excellent and the manager took him out.
I don't knock them for signing him. I am talking about all his antics after he got the nice contract. I was talking about the Indians signing him.
I agree but you will always have someone that will sign a player like the Pavano's of the world. After what he did in New York nobody should have signed him. He became one of the biggest jokes. Intentionally hid his injury from the car accident because he was worried it would have hurt his wallet getting hurt in a accident on his own time. Yet someone signed him,yes it worked out for the Indians to sign him but thats not the point. Nobody should have even offered him a contract.
It happens to much. Here is a guy that would end up on the 60 day DL for a paper cut or a butt bruise.
Look at Iron Man Carl Pavano there today. 5 wins in the month of may and going for his 6th today. Contract full of incentives and he is pitching well. He got to sit on his tail in New York and collect 39.5 million
For so many years they wanted to out slug everyone and they had such bad pitching. They do have good hitters and your right. They don't have to pitch great to win.
I believe I heard that to and I think they should. So many of these pitchers can't go past 100 pitches or they start falling apart. Could you imagine a guy like Nolan Ryan being on a pitch count? When he retired he probably could have gone a few more years and he was never on a pitch count. They let the agents dictate the game anymore.
From what I understand Nolan Ryan put in a new off season program with the pitchers to have them running more. He said it will help build endurance. So far it looks like they listened. This is the best pitching squad Texas has had in a very long time.
rofl. We all know that Bay wasn't going to keep averaging just about a RBI a game and Youk wasn't going to keep averaging over a .550 OBP Their pitching is a bit shaky right now but they are still one of the best in all of baseball. They will be fine. They hit Toronto at the wrong time. Any team that loses 9 in a row is a dangerous team.
So many Red Sox fans were very interested in what was wrong with the yankees when the yankees were so far behind the red sox, I wonder if they are just as concerned with the red sox and what is wrong with them Now that the Yankees took over at 1st place. I think it is just the balance of baseball. Thats why we play the whole season and it doesn't end in April. Boston will come back and wont keep losing and it will be a battle all year long. Not just in April or May.
I think Posada needs to let the manager do his job. If he wants to run the team he could retire and ask to be made coach.I think this Cervelli kid has done a great job and I would have liked to see them keep him up here. I think Wangs status will change as Andy has a bad back. One thing players need to do and I don't care who they are, they need to play baseball when their number is called.. I don't think Posada needs to worry about DH'ing to much as that spot has been taken by Matsui. It wont be long before Nady is back either and he can hit but really can't throw yet. So he would be a DH to and would need to share time with Matsui. You can't send Hughes down now either.
Maybe A-Rod finally gets it. Maybe just maybe he finally woke up after the beating he took this year in the press on how much he wasn't a team player and many on his team really didn't care for him. Whatever is the case, the return of A-Rod has helped this team.
It is a hard thing to build chemistry that team had. One thing that helps build that is consistancy. Having players come in and out of there and bringing people in that were never really known for being team players to begin with doesn't help.
I don't blame him for that move. It backfired but he wanted speed in there.
Any chance this clown gets to stick it to the yankees he takes it. He seems to not remember that they had a problem at Fenway at one time. There is something that is going to have to be done if it continues after they take the old stadium down. I have even read a few times that the Yankees want it this way to give them a advantage. However, the small minded thinking on that person forgets to mention the other team bats to bat the stadium so there is no advantage.
Santana fires back at Youkilis
Friday night, Kevin Youkilis got hit by a pitch from the hand of Mets' ace Johan Santana. After he was beaned, he stood in the box staring Santana down, and the incident nearly escalated into a brawl. There were two outs, nobody on base, and the count was 2-2. In fact, Youkilis had fouled off the previous two-strike pitch. Basically, there was no way the pitch was thrown intentionally.
As if I didn't already make myself clear, I couldn't agree more. Santana tried to come inside on a two-strike count, and he missed. He has nothing to gain by putting a runner on base for Jason Bay with a one-run lead (it was 4-3 at the time), especially since he'd already struck Youkilis out twice in the game.
To be fair, Youk has admitted he knew Johan wasn't throwing at him intentionally. He claims he was joking around, though it didn't really appear to be a joking matter at the time. It's entirely possible he's trying to save face after the game because he knows he overreacted when in the heat of the moment. He even went as far as to say Santana takes the game far too seriously.
"Everyone always told me in my career you shouldn't be so serious. Enjoy the game and joke around. When I do do it, I change my ways and joke around a little bit, I guess it's the wrong thing. So what are you gonna do? You win some, you lose some."
I'm all for having fun on the field, but it doesn't seem like taking a heater to the ribcage or elbow (as was the case with Youkilis) is especially fun -- so I can see why Santana apparently misconstrued what Youkilis was trying to do. It does appear from some replays Youk wasn't overly angry. Generally speaking, though, the player getting hit with the pitch and staring down the pitcher is usually the one who is taking things a bit too seriously. Thus, it's easy to see why Santana jumped to the conclusion he did.
http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets/archives/2009/05/santana_fires_b.html
No, I have not seen them get it wrong. I was not a fan of replay when they were going to 1st start using it but after listening to ESPN radio and hearing Colin Cowherd and he explained what I had said and I agreed. I would rather see them get it right. I don't think there is as many situations in baseball that need it as much as football does. But in a case like this I think it is useful.
Some like it and some hate it. I happen to like it. Sometimes it is going to work against my team but I would rather it take a minute for them to make the right call with Replay than have a 4 minute conference and still make the wrong call.