It's All Arod's Fault...

Yea...That's About Right...

2009-02-09T11:16:00.001-08:00

My apologies for totally missing the boat on updating this site all off-season. I guess this weekend's past events should probably put me back into blog mode...

Special Thanks...

2008-11-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

To River Ave Blues for linking to us this evening.

Perhaps The Cover Picture for Next Year's Yankees' Media Guide???

2008-11-13T13:40:00.000-08:00

If the Yanks can land Sabathia in the next few days, in addition to Swish today, it will certainly be an early Christmas for Yankee fans indeed...

Photo via nickswisher.net

Blamerod of the Day - 10/10/2008

2008-10-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought you picked a good week to stop stiffing glue, paramedics at Miami International Airport treated at least six passengers who complained of bumps and bruises from turbulence Friday on an American Airlines.

This from Fox News...

Flight 908 was making a descent into the airport before 7 a.m. when it hit severe turbulence at 30,000 feet, American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said. The "fasten seat belt" light was on.

Six people — two flight attendants and four passengers — were taken to the hospital with back and neck injuries. Their conditions were not immediately available.

Clearly, the plane itself, the inanimate object that is, had some sort of sixth sense...or first sense for that matter, which just knew it was approaching the Miami home of Alex Rodriguez and did everything in its power to resist descent to Arod's hometown. Clearly, this turbulence can be attributed to Arod.

Too Much Pressure on Arod???

2008-10-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Perhaps we put a little too much pressure on Arod. CNN medical analyst David S. Martin took a closer look at the ways that Yankee third basemen and utility infielders over recent years have searched for solice in the hostile Bronx Zoo.

(CNN) -- ~~Presidents~~ Thid basemen need a break. Really.

In long days scheduled in 15-minute ~~increments~~ innings, ~~presidents~~ third basemen are asked to make {double play} decisions affecting millions -- sometimes life-or-death decisions.

"When you get to the ~~Oval Office~~ area right of the third base bag, there are no easy decisions," says Kenneth Duberstein, who was chief of staff to ~~President~~ third baseman ~~Ronald Reagan~~ Scott Brosius. "Any decision that reaches the ~~president's~~ third baseman ~~desk~~ is a close call. It's not black and white. It's shades of gray."

~~Presidents~~ Third basemen work best when they take regular respites from the burdens of the ~~presidency~~ infield, according to Duberstein and other White House insiders from the ~~Nixon~~ Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens ~~presidency~~ era through the current administration.

"The daily routine of a ~~president~~ third basemen is really grueling," says Ron Nessen, press secretary to ~~President~~ utility man ~~Gerald Ford~~ Randy Velarde. "It's hard to get thinking time. ~~Ford~~ Velarde talked about how when he was ~~swimming laps~~ playing Hungry Hungry Hippos, it gave him time to think about things."

Keith Sawyer, a professor of psychology, education and business at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, says good ideas come from a combination of hard work and down time.

"Creativity researchers have discovered that there is a cycle. It is very difficult to have a good idea when you're working all out. It typically happens when you take time away," says Sawyer, author of "Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration."

"The unconscious mind is really good at bouncing different ideas together," he says. "That's where creative insight comes from. When you're working hard, you're basically blocking the unconscious mind from doing that work."

No wonder then, that the most recent ~~presidents~~ third basemen have turned to ~~sports~~ strip clubs as a diversion from what's been called the toughest job in the world.

"~~Exercise~~ Attending gentleman's clubs was a huge part of his life," says Jody Powell, ~~Carter's~~ Wade Boggs' press secretary. "He enjoyed ~~tennis~~ Scores very much. He ~~ran~~ went just about every day."

{In addition,} ~~Presidents~~ infielders have enjoyed mountain biking(~~George W. Bush~~ Pat Kelly), tennis (~~Ford~~ Andy Stankiewicz, ~~Jimmy Carter~~ Mike Gallego), jogging (~~Clinton~~ Clay Bellinger), swimming (~~Ford~~ Luis Sojo), bowling (~~Richard Nixon~~ Jose Vizcaino), horseshoes (~~George H.W.~~ Homer Bush) and horseback riding (~~Reagan~~ Arod).

To blow off steam, ~~Clinton~~ Spike Owen would go to the putting green outside the ~~White~~ Club House.

"Everyone knew to leave him alone," says ~~Clinton~~ Owen press secretary Joe Lockhart. "It had to be a national security crisis to go out and interrupt him."

Even ~~presidents~~ third basemen who were not particularly athletic made a point of taking a break.

~~President~~ Third baseman ~~Nixon~~ Charlie Hayes had an office with a comfortable sofa in the ~~White~~ Club House, says John Dean, former ~~White~~ Club House ~~counsel~~ attendant.

"He would go over there and stretch out and get a couple hours reading or taking a nap if he was inclined, and that was built into the schedule," Dean says.

An avid ~~runner~~ sewer, ~~mountain biker~~ muscle bound woman lover and ~~fisherman~~ adulterer, "~~President Bush~~ Arod is good at finding ways to separate [from the job]," says ~~Ari Fleischer~~ Cynthia, his former ~~press secretary~~ wife. "But even so, you never have an uninterrupted day as ~~president~~ third baseman. Every day, you have a ~~National Security Council~~ players' meeting. Every day you get interrupted by a ~~intelligence~~ scouting report briefing."

No matter how the ~~president~~ thrid baseman chooses to unwind, the enormous burdens of the job are never far away.

"Even in moments when you're physically trying to relax in whatever outlet you have, you have a member of the ~~military~~ New York Post within 15 feet with ~~nuclear codes~~ a great camera angle," Lockhart said. "That kind of takes the fun out of whatever ~~sport~~ fetish you're into."

ALDS Game 4 Roundup

2008-10-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

By Mark Preston
CNN Political Editor

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Game changer it was not.

~~John McCain~~ The Angels entered ~~Tuesday's~~ Monday's ~~presidential debate~~ ALDS Game 4 needing ~~Barack Obama~~ the Boston Red Sox to stumble or in the very least ~~the GOP nominee~~ John Lackey had to deliver a performance that could help change the direction of the ~~campaign~~ series.

It didn't happen.

Neither ~~candidate~~ team had a stellar performance. Each failed to effectively ~~use the town hall format~~ hit with runners in scoring position to ~~express compassion for~~ help alleviate the {clutch hitting} problems ~~voters~~ David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and Vlad Guerrerro ~~are~~ were facing. Instead, ~~Obama~~ the Sox and ~~McCain~~ the Angels used the ~~debate~~ ALDS as a soapbox to tout their ~~policy~~ regular season positions and criticize one another on their ~~policy stands~~ closers' outrageous behavior.

A poll of ~~debate~~ ALDS watchers conducted by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation handed ~~Obama~~ the Sox a convincing win. Who did the best job in the ~~debate~~ ALDS? ~~Obama~~ John Lester received 54 percent, compared to the 30 percent who chose ~~McCain~~ Mark Teixera.

Missing from the ~~debate~~ series telecast were mentions of ~~William Ayers~~ Chuck Finley or ~~Charles Keating~~ Mark Langston, two hot topics of discussion on the ~~campaign trail~~ Angels pre-game show in the previous ~~four days~~ fifteen years. But the ~~candidates~~ teams did not shy away from criticizing each other. ~~Obama~~ Common sense and ~~McCain~~ Lackey clashed on just about every issue from ~~health care~~ bloop fly balls that fell for hits and ~~taxes~~ broken bat RBI groundouts to ~~Pakistan~~ suicide squeeze plays and who was more to fault for the crash of ~~Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac~~ the Angels' 100 win season.

~~President Bush~~ Manager Mike Scioscia did become part of the discussion as ~~Obama~~ Peter Gammons sought to tie ~~McCain~~ Reggie Willits to the lame ~~duck president~~ ass suicide squeeze play, ~~who~~ which has received a 24 percent approval rating, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll released this week.

In turn, ~~McCain~~ Willits tried to distance himself from his ~~Republican~~ dugout colleague and at one point attempted to lump ~~Obama~~ Willie Aybar together with ~~Bush~~ Scioscia and ~~Vice President~~ pitching coach ~~Dick Cheney~~ Mike Butcher on the issue of ~~energy~~ key botched plays in playoff history.

"By the way, my friends, I know you grow a little weary with this back-and-forth," ~~McCain~~ Willits said to the ~~town hall~~ ALDS audience and the millions tuned into the ~~debate~~ series. "It was an ~~energy bill~~ excellent opportunity on the ~~floor~~ field of the ~~Senate~~ Sox loaded down with goodies, and it was sponsored by ~~Bush~~ Scioscia and ~~Cheney~~ Butcher. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one. You know who voted against it? Me."

~~McCain~~ Willits was referring to ~~Obama~~ Aybar when he said "That one."

~~McCain's~~ Willit's willingness to disassociate himself with ~~Bush~~ Scioscia is not a new strategy.

Several times ~~McCain~~ Willits mentioned how he has a ~~bipartisan~~ minor league stolen base record and has worked alongside the likes of ~~Sens.~~ OFs ~~Joe Lieberman~~ Torii Hunter and ~~Edward Kennedy~~ Garrett Anderson on ~~the issues~~ shagging fly balls.

Game 159 @ Toronto

2008-09-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Once again, I was unable to watch the game last night, this time due to class, however, I did check out the highlights and the box and it looked like Glass Carl finished up his Yankee tenure with another stellar showing. I am sure you've all seen this stat before, but I think it's appropriate to throw it up one last time...Carl Pavano - 4 years, $40 million, 9 wins - $4 million per win! Yay!

I am not gonna rant about Glass Carl because it's been done by everyone else. So good riddance, CP. We'll see you next season when we visit Detroit or maybe the Mets!

As for Arod, he once again rode the pine as the Yankees tried to maintain their 1.000 winning percentage with Arod not playing this week. Unfortunately, it didn't go so well as Roy Halladay notched win number 20 thanks to his continued Yankee dominance.

The Yanks will move on to Boston for the final series of the weekend in hopes of playing spoiler to the Sox chances of winning the division in what should be a rain soaked weekend. The big news is Moose going for the elusive win #20 on Sunday.

Glenn Beck of CNN Headline News Weighs in on the Yankees Crisis

2008-09-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (CNN) -- When I see something on the horizon that I consider serious, all I can do is dive in and do as much homework as my brain can possibly handle.

Then, after I digest the information, I look around for the smartest people I can find and talk to them. And then I e-mail them.

Then I call them at home during their child's fourth birthday party. This is why there's not a long line of people gathering to be my friend (among other things).

Doing my homework and then listening to the best brains from both sides of an issue allows me to crystallize my opinions better than any other method I've tried.

When I first started to truly understand the ~~economy~~ Yankees' failure, one of the smartest people I began speaking to was Nouriel Roubini, chairman of RGE Monitor and professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business.

Right here on CNN.com, after sifting through all of Roubini's "smart guy" language, I attempted to boil down the five levels of ~~economic~~ Yankee disaster that we could be facing. Like our military's DEFCON (a one-to-five scale, with one being the most serious), the "~~DEFCONOMY~~ DEFCONOMELKY scale" has been eerily prescient so far. And believe me, this isn't a set of predictions that either Mr. Roubini or I wanted to turn out to be correct.

Back in February when ~~the column was published~~ pitchers and catchers reported to camp, I was being called crazy for being too pessimistic. I had become a bit of a dark cloud to be around. No one wants to grab lunch with the guy constantly whining about the sky falling, especially when things seemed to be going generally well.

At the time, most people weren't even sure we were on the ~~DEFCONOMY~~ DEFCONOMELKY scale at all. Now, we've clearly raced passed ~~DEFCONOMY~~ DEFCONOMELKY 5, 4, and likely 3 as well.

Look at the description of ~~DEFCONOMY~~ DEFCONOMELKY 3:

"Some ~~banks~~ Yanks begin to crack under the pressure of continuing ~~write-downs~~ low run outputs and mounting ~~defaults by consumers~~ opportunities with runners in scoring position . A ~~national or~~ large ~~regional bank~~ playoff streak finally collapses, triggering ~~hedge fund~~ rookie pitcher failures and general chaos on ~~Wall Street~~ River Ave, potentially leading to a 1987-style ~~market~~ fourth place crash.

Odds we get here: Very good. Roubini says that we'll likely ~~socialize the~~ end up with Sidney Ponson and many losses.

Any of that sound familiar? The Wall Street Journal reported that last week, "the ~~market for mortgage-backed securities~~ Yankees playoff chances disappeared" and that the "~~financial~~ farm system was behaving like a patient losing blood pressure."

As we threaten to cross into ~~DEFCONOMY~~ DEFCONOMELKY 2, the ~~government~~ front office rushed to bring us into the current ~~bailout~~ Mussina/Pettitte debate and stop the bleeding. But it may be too late -- my gut tells me we're already in ~~Defconomy~~ Defconomelky 2, and if true -- the transition to ~~Defconomy~~ Defconomelky 1 may be far quicker than many expect. To show how serious of a situation we are in, ~~Defconomy~~ Defconomelky 1 on Roubini's list is the ~~great depression~~ Stump Merrill era.

So now that we're here, what do we do? The idea of ~~government~~ Carl Pavano stepping in to bail out ~~international banks~~ the rotation that ~~were~~ was reckless with their own ~~business~~ baserunning in Houston literally makes my stomach churn.

In fact, it would have to take an absolute disaster to make me even consider supporting something like this. Welcome to that absolute disaster.

In the weeks following that ~~DEFCONOMY~~ DEFCONOMELKY column, I moved from thinking this meltdown scenario was a frightening possibility to realizing it was a near inevitability.

While it took the people in power far too long to recognize it, they are now understanding the same sad truth. This ~~bailout~~ Pavano plan is not a good idea -- it's an absolutely terrible idea. It's just the only idea we have left.

Our ~~financial~~ farm system is like a 747 flying around with all four of our engines on fire. The ~~bailout~~ Pavano effort will not stop us from ~~landing hard~~ finishing third, but without it, we may simply drop out of the ~~sky~~ supplemental draft.

What ~~Congress~~ Cashman is attempting is a last-second search for an open field to land this plane with as little damage as possible. With that in mind, I think some kind of action may be a necessary evil, but we must be very, very careful.

Action for the sake of action, much like change for the sake of change, doesn't solve problems. It usually inflames them. And what's worse is that it creates brand-new catastrophes we haven't even considered yet. ~~Wall Street~~ Girardi and ~~Congress~~ Cashman have been playing with fire, and now it's ~~Main Street~~ Giambi that's beginning to sweat {because he's fat}.

Game 158 @ Toronto

2008-09-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

A rare occasion where there's no Arod blaming...well, I have to be honest, I went to see Ben Folds last night in DC so I didn't get to see any of the game. Although, if I had, I am sure we could have found something to blame Arod for - ie accidentally spitting a sunflower seed on Phil Hughes and riling him up or something like that. Either way, nice to see the Yanks pull out a big win in extras, not losing to phony Yankee AJ Burnett, and putting together a nice seven game winning streak when the pressure is off.

Quickly, to Ben Folds at DAR Constitution Hall last night, it was the first night of his tour for his new album Way To Normal with his sort of new band. In a bold move, he played a set consisting of every song from the new album and some leaked outtake songs from the new album. He didn't play any classics during the main set which was very interesting. He encored with some old favorites including Zak and Sara, Landed, Losing Lisa, and Philosophy which the crowd really popped for, but for most of the night the crowd was pretty bored as the new album has not even hit the stores yet. Overall though, an interesting set. I would have liked to hear a set of classics mixed in with some of the newer stuff, but I can't complain when an artist mixes up their setlist and actually tries something new. God forbid more artists mixed up their setlists (that is another rant for another day). Plus, I had seen Ben a few years ago solo and heard all the classics. The whole set and feel of the venue and performance reminded me a lot of seeing Trey sans Phish - everyone kind of sitting on their hands through the new stuff waiting for one or two old favorites. As for Constitution Hall, it's a beautiful venue in the heart of DC, just a few blocks from the White House, however, the acoustics were awful with lots of reverb and they stopped selling beers way too early.

Okay, on to the Yankees. As I said, I didn't actually get to see any of the game, but from reading box scores/recaps, it looks like Bobby had a pretty nice end of the night. Also, a lot of praise for Philly Phranchise around the web this morning. He'll finish the year with a dissapointing goose egg in the wins column, however, he also finishes on a high note heading into the Arizona Fall League and hopefully next year's spring training.

As for Abreu, I guess he really wants to stay with the Yankees, huh? He's been having a nice finish to this season, hitting his 20th home run last night, a grand slam, and is now at 99 RBI, completing his eighth straight season with 20 HR and 20 SB (only Barry and Bobby Bonds have more - 10). And thus really fuels the great debate on whether to re-sign him, which works out well because we have a nice topic to muse on today. Should the Yanks keep Abreu for a few more seasons? Here's my answer...

Yes!

First of all, I must say that I am a bit partial to Abreu because I too am a slightly chubby ballplayer (softball, OK!) who hits a lot of singles and doubles, gets on base a lot without a lot of power, scores a lot of runs, and is deceptively kind of fast. That out of the way, Abreu is the best option the Yankees have. I understand that he's going to be 35 next season, but the guy is a consistent professional hitter who is way better than anything else we would get on the free agent market. We already have Nady locked up to play left field. Assuming that we need to fill the other two outfield spots, let's look at the free agents that will be available...

Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, Milton Bradley (can he even still play OF?), Mike Cameron, Manny, Juan Rivera, Rocco Baldelli

Even with Abreu's faults - his fear of the wall in the outfield (he's really not a terrible fielder other than that and he's still got a rocket arm) and his declining performance with age, you can't tell me that you'd rather have any of these other guys over him. Dunn and Burrell provide a ton of power but are strikeout machines. Bradley had a career year and the last thing the Yankees need is his attitude in the clubhouse. Mike Cameron is a washed up former Met - enough said. Juan Rivera - seriously? Rocco Baldelli is not as young as he once was and is injured almost as much as Carl Pavano.

That brings up Manny. Manny is obviously having a monster season. He was having a great season with the Sox and is now just putting up absolutely gaudy numbers in LA (.500 OBP!!! 1.248 OPS!!!) I mean just crazy stats like hitting nearly .400 and slugging .757 in 50 games. With the numbers also come all the baggage - Manny being Manny in the Yankees clubhouse. You do, however, get to stick it in the Sox faces which is always nice, but at some point we have to start making moves for us, and not to spite the Sox (Johnny Damon). All in all, the numbers don't lie - Manny is a Hall of Famer - the old Yankee regime would sign him and throw him in left and move Nady to right. However, Manny is Manny and he's two years older than Abreu (albeit still putting up huge numbers. I guess when you hustle so little in your youth, you have a lot saved up - smart career move by Manny).

So take your pros and cons with Manny as you will. I still would choose Abreu. For starters, I am sure he's a cheaper choice than Manny and although he's on the downside of his career, signing him for a couple years won't be that bad. Abreu is a model of consistency. I liken him to Paul O'Neill in that sense (although O'Neill was never afraid of hitting the wall). 20 HR and 20 SB for eight straight seasons. One more RBI and that will be six consecutive 100 RBI seasons. You know he'll hit around .290 and get on base. Although he's not going to get 100 BB like he used to or get on base at a .420 clip, he's still getting on base around 37% of the time and his OPS is still a solid .850.

However, the most important statistics regarding Abreu are his splits. According to ESPN.com, in close and late game situations, Abreu hits an un-Arod-like .358 with a .435 OBP and .978 OPS. With runners on and two outs an even more impressive .407 with a .478 OBP and an awesome 1.219 OPS. I believe he's also the Yankees leading hitter with runners in scoring position hitting .295 in those situations this season. I mean, the guy is just clutch. There's no way around it. Granted, his playoff numbers the past three years are nothing mind blowing, he's still consistent and clutch and the closest player the Yankees have had to Paul O'Neill (not in attitude don't get me wrong - rather pure numbers) since Paulie's retirement.

With Nady, Abreu, Matsui, and Damon vying for three spots (assuming Posada will either catch or play 1B), one has to go. We can't go through a whole season with Damon in CF (we'll talk about CF another time). With Abreu the free agent, he is the obvious choice, however, he's a better player than both Matsui and Damon at this point. It would be a shame to let Abreu go, especially for nothing (they would get a draft pick or two I would assume). My solution, as much as I hate it, is to trade Johnny Damon. I love watching Damon play because of his gritty attitude, not to mention he's a stand up guy off the field and a huge fan favorite, however, from a baseball standpoint, Damon's value is high at this point, coming off of a solid season at the plate - see what you can get for him, but Abreu needs to stay.

BlameRod #92 - Even Iran Despises Arod

2008-09-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Via CNN.com

In a blistering speech before the United Nations General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blamed "a few bullying powers" for creating the world's problems and said the "~~American~~ Yankee empire in the ~~world~~ MLB is reaching the end of its road."

And while he insisted ~~Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful~~ the Red Sox will not throw money at high priced free agents this offseason, Ahmadinejad blamed the same powers for seeking to hinder it "by exerting political and economic pressures on ~~Iran~~ CC Sabathia, and threatening and pressuring" ~~the International Atomic Energy Agency~~ Mark Teixiera.

"As long as the ~~aggressors~~ Yankees, because of their financial, political and propaganda powers, not only ~~escape punishment~~ sign these guys, but even claim ~~righteousness~~ others off waivers, and as long as ~~wars~~ seasons are started and ~~nations~~ small market teams are enslaved in order to win ~~votes in elections~~ divisions, not only will the problems of the global community remain unsolved, but they will be increasingly exacerbated," the Iranian leader said.

He accused the ~~United States~~ Yankees of oppressing ~~Iraqis~~ the Rays with six years of ~~occupation~~ merciless beatings, saying ~~Americans~~ the Yankees were "still seeking to solidify their position in the ~~political geography of the region~~ AL East and to dominate ~~oil resources~~ Carlos Pena."

Meanwhile, he said, ~~Palestinians~~ the Red Sox have undergone "60 years of carnage and invasion ... at the hands of some criminal and occupying ~~Zionists~~ Steinbrenners."

He said ~~Zionists in Israel~~ the Steinbrenners "have forged a regime through collecting people from various parts of the world and bringing them to ~~other people's land~~ Yankee Stadium, by displacing, detaining and ~~killing the true owners of that land~~ paying lots of money to Hideki Irabu, El Duque, and Kei Igawa."

The ~~Security Council~~ Commisoner's Office, he said, "cannot do anything, and sometimes under pressure from a few bullying powers, even paves the way for supporting these ~~Zionist murders~~ Steinbrenners."

Ahmadinejad pointed to what he said are signs of hope, saying an increasing number of ~~nations~~ small market teams are turning their backs on "the bullying powers" and seeking to establish new relations.

"Today the ~~Zionist~~ Steinbrenner regime is on a definite slope to collapse," he said.

Hours before Ahmadinejad's speech, ~~Bush~~ Arod told the ~~General Assembly~~ NY Post that ~~Iran~~ the Red Sox ~~was~~ were among the ~~nations~~ teams that "continue to sponsor terror."

Before Ahmadinejad spoke to the U.N., he told CNN's Larry King that he is willing to ~~meet with~~ root for ~~presidential~~ NL wild card candidates ~~Sens. John McCain~~ The New York Mets and ~~Barack Obama~~ The Milwaukee Brewers -- even in front of the media -- to ~~discuss~~ win the world ~~issues and debate~~ series.

But he has no preference between the two, he said in the interview that aired Tuesday night on "Larry King Live."

"This is the ~~campaign period~~ hunt for October, anyone can say anything. So we disregard that. What matters is that once someone is in ~~office~~ the playoffs, we have to watch and see if that ~~person~~ team will bring about some changes in policy or continue the same old path."

Ahmadinejad was in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, which began Tuesday.

Asked whether he fears a ~~U.S.~~ Yankees 2009 attack on the AL East, Ahmadinejad told King that attacking ~~Iran~~ the Red Sox would be the "worst thing the ~~U.S. government~~ Yankees can do ... I think that in the ~~United States~~ Yankees' front office, there are enough reasonable people, smart people, who would not allow the ~~U.S. government~~ Yankees to make such a big mistake."

On hostility between the ~~United States~~ Yankees Fans and ~~Iran~~ Red Sox fans, Ahmadinejad told King: "The hostility has not been from our end. Up to this day, we have always been interested in having friendly relations."

Ahmadinejad has also caused controversy by previously suggesting there were no homosexuals in ~~Iran~~ the Red Sox clubhouse. Regarding that statement, he told King: "I said it is not the way it is here. In ~~Iran~~ Boston this is considered a very -- obviously, most people dislike it. And we have, actually, a law regarding it and the law is enforced. {Sorry, Mike Piazza}"

BlameRod #458 - Game 157 @ Toronto - Yanks Win, but Miss Playoffs...Must be Arod's Fault

2008-09-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Just another standard Yankee's season...no October baseball...Oh wait, the last time that happened I was actually in third grade. Granted, I am only in eighth grade now, but still...Social Studies is tough stuff! I am 24 and I still don't know exactly what a textile is.

Seriously though, it's tough to really lament on the Yankees missing the playoffs this season. I mean did they really have a shot at going on a run (not withstanding their current six game winning streak)? Plus, the past three seasons, the Yankees made the playoffs, yes, however, that was more a formality than anything else - 3 first round losses. In 2005, a sloppy five game series they should have won (guess who grounded into a crucial ninth inning, game five double play? Oh yea also hit .133 with 0 HR and 0 RBI) against the Halos. In 2006, an embarrasing drubbing at the hands of the upstart Tigers (Arod hitting eighth in the lineup! Yea that would be .071 with 0 HR and 0 RBI), and in 2007 a wasted series of what if's against the Tribe (Arod's MVP season followed up with an encore of .267 1 HR and 1 RBI - an improvement I suppose but still no more dissapointing than going to a Phish concert, hearing an awesome two sets and then coping with Friday as the encore). The point is, to make a big deal of the Yankees missing the playoffs this year for the first time since 1993 is silly because, in essence, due to their apathetic play the previous three postseasons, it's almost as if they didn't play in the postseason.

As far as last night's game goes, I'd have to say it was the most exciting game of the year in my opinion. The Moose gets win number 19 and sets up a meaningful season finale in Boston on Sunday as he goes for the elusive win number 20 and tries to avoid the ominous stat of being the only pitcher in big league history to record three 19 win seasons without a single 20 win season - against the Sox to boot!

That's why Sunday's finale will be exciting, but as for last night, watching the bullpen work through some serious jams with the tying and, in some cases, lead runs in scoring position was amazing, especially because winning that game last night wasn't so much about winning the game, it was about winning it for the Moose. If Coke, Bruney, Marte, Joba, or Mo allow that tying run to score, and the Yankees went on to win, I would actually be pretty dissapointed by last night's outcome because Mussina wouldn't have a shot at win number 20 on Sunday.

Luckily, the bullpen rose to the occassion and shut the door on the Jays (although I am sure I wasn't the only one skeptical enough to be thinking about who the goat was going to be). Arod also chipped in to help Mussina's cause with an impressive 0-4 including 2 stirkeouts and 1 LOB.

BlameRod #437 - Game 152 vs. White Sox

2008-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

Shockingly (I hope you pick up on the biting sarcasm), I had my last trip to the House that Ruth Built completely ruined by, who else, Arod.

With Phil Hughes making his first big league start since late April, the Yankees welcomed him back with six uninspired innings before the X-Man drove Arod in with an RBI single to knot the game at one in the bottom of the seventh. A Robby Cano double followed, bringing up the other Rod with runners on second and third and the chance to take the lead. Pudge had already singled earlier in the game, meeting his quota for hits for the week, so asking for an RBI single was out of the question. Luckily Mike MacDougal (of Kansas City closer and Fantasy Team circa 2003 fame) came on and immediately obliged throwing a wild pitch, allowing X to score. Comforted, Pudge promptly grounded out to short.

With a 2-1 lead heading into the eighth, things were set up perfectly for a Joba-Mariano finish. The best way to end my last trip to the Stadium. After mowing down the Sox in the top half of the eighth, Melky lead off the bottom of the eighth with a single (!) and Johnny Damon popped a two run homer to give the Yanks a 4-1 lead. I'll take a little insurance for Mo.

However, three batters later, things took a most unappealing turn for the worse. Arod came up and with the Yankees up by 3, obviously, the time was ripe for an Arod solo tack on...putting the Yankees up by four, 5-1, and thus surrendering Mo's save situation and completely ruining the night for nearly 50,000 fans. Way to go, Arod.

You would think we would all be excited that Arod's homer was his 35th and 100th RBI, passing Babe Ruth recording 12 seasons with such illustrious numbers. Oh wait, here comes Edwar Ramirez to close things out. Geez, thanks, Jerk!