The "Situation" Around the Yankees

Since last I mentioned how the Yankees were actually doing -- instead of talking about The Other Team and doing my all-time regional-native team projects for all 30 MLB teams -- they beat the Cleveland Indians 8-0 and 11-4, to complete a 3-out-of-4 series at Jacobs, I mean Progressive Field.

A.J. Burnett is back on track, and last night Dustin Moseley, filling in for the injured Andy Pettitte, was superb for 6 innings. As the author of the blog Respect Jeter's Gangster points out, it's not the quality of Moseley's opponent (the Indians, not that long ago just 1 win from a Pennant), but the quality of Moseley's control. If he can reach the strike zone like that against a bad team, then chances are he can do it against a good team, unless that good team gets into his head. He has earned the right to try to show that this as-yet-hypothetical good team will not do so.

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Joe Girardi brought Chan Ho Park in to pitch the 8th and 9th innings. As John Sterling has pointed out too many times (not his fault, it's Park's), Park is usually fine in his first inning of work, but in his second, forgive me for using a technical term here, but "Hoo boy."

Last night was no exception: Park actually got a 1-2-3 8th, and got the first 2 in the 9th, and the Yanks led 11-1. Final score, 11-4, due to Park allowing walks, then hits, then runs. Apparently, we can't trust him with anything more than an 8-run lead.

Again: Chan Ho has got to go.

It could be worse. Fans of the English soccer corporation Manchester United sing about their Korean star Park Ji-Sung...

Park, Park, wherever you may be
you eat dogs in your home country!
It could be worse, you could be Scouse
eating rats in your council house!

Note that ManUre fans hate Liverpool, and people from the Liverpool area are called Scouse or Scousers, and a council house is the U.K. equivalent of a public-housing project, although it isn't necessarily an urban high-rise, it can be a little house.

Note also that ManUre fans are bastards. And the Liverpool fans have their own song, about one of their own and Manchester natives, or Mancunians, or Mancs:

Dirt Kuyt, wherever you may be
you smoke pot in your home country!
It could be worse, you could be a Manc
waking up your sister for a wank!

They're mean in England.

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It was mentioned in today's Newark Star-Ledger that A-Rod is 9-for-30 since his last homer. That's a batting average of an even .300. As I said, I'd love to be in that kind of "slump." The man is helping us win games, so who cares how he does it?

Joe Maddon, manager of the 2nd-place Tampa Bay Rays, says the reason there's not as much interest in A-Rod's coming 600th career homer because of the steroid question.

Hey, Joe, I got a question. Well, two. First: Are you sure nobody on your 2008 Pennant winners was using? And second: How come your team, which has been in 1st or 2nd place the whole season, and just 2 years ago won a Pennant, is averaging just 21,878 fans in home attendance this season? That's 24th out of 30 in the majors, 10th out of 14 in the American League, and 4th out of 5 in the AL East?

At least they're 1st out of 2 in the State of Florida: The Marlins, playing out the string at whatever the Dolphins' stadium is being called this year, with a new ballpark looking like it will be ready for the 2012 season, are averaging just 17,605, 29th out of 30.

Dead last? The Indians, who got pretty good crowds this week with the Yankees in town, but that's partly due to the fact that Clevelanders have hated the Yankees since the 1920s (the Indians finished 2nd to the Yanks for 3 Pennants in that decade), and partly due to the fact that a lot of Yankee Fans made the 500-mile roadtrip.

Still, the Indians, who famously sold the Jake out 455 straight times (and even retired that number for their fans, even though no baseball personality has ever worn a uniform with a 3-digit number), are averaging 17,499. I know we're still in the hangover from the George W. Bush Recession, and Ohio was hit really hard by the idiot's economic policies, but, still...

Leading the majors in average home attendance? The Yankees, with 46,067. I suspect that number would be a bit higher if they were still playing in the 57,545-seat original Yankee Stadium, instead of the 50,086-seat new Stadium. Leading the National League? The Phillies, selling out Citizens Bank Park with 45,019 every night. The Mets? Averaging 33,705 at 41,800-seat Citi Field, 12th overall, 8th in the NL -- behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who aren't doing so hot this season and weren't drawing so well even when they nearly made the Playoffs in 2007 and did so in '08.

Tony Paige said on WFAN that whoever the Yanks play in the postseason should just shelve their starters and start all brand-new rookies. That would violate roster-eligibility rules. I wonder, would Allan H. Selig Jr. look the other way?

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On Subway Squawkers, Lisa Swan was upset that last night's Yanks-Indians game ran long, and she couldn't watch the season premiere of Jersey Shore. And she hasn't run the tape back yet (or the DVR), so she doesn't want anyone to give her spoilers!

Here's a spoiler for Jersey Shore: It stinks as much as Chan Ho Park's pitching. But at least they've got better hair than the Seattle-era Randy Johnson.

What's the difference between Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino? 599 homers, and A-Rod doesn't wear his World Series ring on his pinky.

I don't need to watch Jersey Shore. I've seen it live, many times over the last 30-odd years. Unlike most of the castmembers, I'm actually from New Jersey, and I don't need to go to the Shore to see Snookis (or is that "Snookies"?) and Situations.

Do you remember what Times Square was like before Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the Walt Disney Corporation cleaned it up, and made it a place for a suburban family, instead of for the Bonanno family or the Manson family? Well, imagine that on a beach-town boardwalk, with souvenir stands replacing the X-rated movie houses, and you've got Seaside Heights -- it even has a big video board in the middle, just like Times Square. If you can get through the winos, that is.

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I think A-Rod is going to hit his 600th homer tonight in St. Petersburg. It's just a feeling. So I'm taking it off the countdown.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 7, starting a week from tonight, at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until the new English Premier League season starts: 15. 2 weeks. Arsenal's lid-lifter is the next day, Sunday, August 15, against Liverpool at Anfield.

Days until the first football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed): 16, the Giants against the Jets in a preseason exhibition (with the Jets as the "home team"), Monday, August 16, 8:00 PM on ESPN.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 34. 5 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 43. 6 weeks.

Days until the first regular-season Giants game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 44.

Days until the first regular-season Jets game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 45.

Days until the Devils play hockey again: 70, on Friday, October 8, at home at the Prudential Center in Newark, against the Dallas Stars. 10 weeks.

Days until Rutgers and Army play the first college football game at the new Meadowlands Stadium: 78. 11 weeks.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 86, on Sunday, October 24, at Madison Square Garden against The Scum. 12 weeks. Then the Rags come to the Prudential on Friday, November 5. The first game of the season against the Islanders is on Friday, November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, at the Nassau Coliseum, followed the next day by the first game of the season against the defending Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers, at The Rock.

Days until the next North London Derby: 114, Sunday, November 21, at New Highbury.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 118. Under 4 months.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 294 (estimated). Under 10 months.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 470. 15 1/2 months.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 625 (estimated). 20 1/2 months.

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 728. Now under 2 years.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 811 (estimated). 26 1/2 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 1,074 (estimated). Now under 3 years.

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 1,283. 3 1/2 years.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,737 (estimated). 57 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,761 (estimated). 58 months, so, less than 5 years.

Yanks Hang 11 On Jays, K-Rod Implodes

Today, the Yankees trusted Chan Ho Park with an 8-run lead. He did not blow it. A whopping 11 runs in the third inning, and the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 11-3.

Andy Pettitte pitched 6 strong innings for his 239th career win. Dustin Moseley made his Yankee debut, tossing 2 perfect innings, and Park pitched a perfect 9th. In that 3rd inning, A-Rod hit a 3-run double, and Brett Gardner, who almost never homers, hit a grand slam.

Whereas, in Washington, the Mets actually managed to have superrookie Stephen Strasburg beat... and Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez blew it, turning a 5-3 Met lead into a 6-5 Nationals win.

On WFAN, Steve Somers -- "the Schmoozer," a humongorious Met fan -- could do little other than say, over and over again, "Frankie Rodriguez!" He was having a conniption. "Frankie Rodriguez!" He was fielding calls from Met fans once again wondering if they might not have what it takes to compete with the 1st-place Atlanta Braves (who won today) and the 3-time defending NL East Champion, 2-time defending NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies (who are beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 as I type this).

"Frankie Rodriguez!" Somers compared "Frankie Rodriguez!" to Armando Benitez and Mel (tdown) Rojas. "Frankie Rodriguez!"

This guy was supposed to be the difference-maker, the man who was supposed to turn them from the choking team of 2007 and 2008 into the World Champions of 2009. Or 2010. Then again, so was The Great Johan Santana, wasn't he? He isn't. And neither is "Frankie Rodriguez!"

Wherever he is, Tug McGraw weeps. "You gotta believe"? Can anybody believe that the Mets wouldn't have been better off holding a seance and trying to bring the Tugger's screwball back from the great beyond to finish off the Nats? Because, at this point, a dead man who hasn't thrown a baseball in a regulation professional game in 26 years would be better than "Frankie Rodriguez!"

Now, K-Rod did make the difference for the Angels in 2002, their first World Championship and the only Pennant they have ever won. And he got them into the postseason 5 times in 7 seasons -- before that, they'd made it 4 times in 41 seasons, and that's if you count their 1995 choke into a Playoff for the AL West title that they also lost. And he collected a record 62 saves in 2008, his last season with the Halos.

For the 2010 season, 28-year-old "Frankie Rodriguez!" is making $12.17 million. For the same season, 40-year-old Mariano Rivera (who was not necessary today) is making $15 million.

Mariano is 18 of 19 on saves this season (95 percent), with an ERA of 0.86 and a WHIP of 0.686. "Frankie Rodriguez!" is 19 of 23 on saves this season (82 percent) with an ERA of 2.63 (a little higher than you want your closer to be) and a WHIP of 1.320 (a lot higher than you want your closer to be).

Mariano Rivera vs. "Frankie Rodriguez!" Reason Number 42... or is it Reason Number 75?... that it's better to be a Yankee Fan than one of the Flushing Heathen.

Chan Ho Has Got to Go

A.J. Burnett pitched well today, ending his streak of 5 consecutive lost starts. But in the 11th inning, David Robertson got in trouble. And then Joe Girardi brought in Chan Ho Park.

Those of you who had flashbacks to Joe Torre bringing in Scott Proctor, or Kyle Farnsworth, join the club. In fact, there's dues. The money will go toward buying out Park's contract.

The top of the 11th became one of those innings from hell. Toronto Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1.

Chan Ho Park was 18-10 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was 10 years ago. He is now 37 years old, and has an ERA of 6.48 -- an ERA+ of 63. For his career, his ERA+ of 97.

Chan Ho has got to go. Before he turns what is still, for the moment, a 1st-place Yankee team into a team that has to fight to get back into first place.

Burnett Bombed Again, Mets vs. Tigers

The Yankees lost 10-4 to the Arizona Diamondbacks last night. Once again, A.J. Burnett didn't have it. I'm getting concerned: Just when Javier Vazquez seems to be fully straightened out, the Pieman isn't getting the job done.

Neither is Chan Ho "Taken Out of the" Park. Maybe he's too busy watching Korea in the World Cup. Eyes on this hemisphere, Chan Ho.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Yankees are counting on Andy Pettitte tonight, to bounce back from a bad loss.

Whoever is in charge of showing scoreboard highlights at Chase Field showed a replay of Luis Gonzalez (cough-steroids-cough) hitting that looper that won the 2001 World Series for the Diamondbacks. And in the crowd of 47,000, which is about double what the Snakes usually get at home, there was a considerable amount of... booing!

Once again, Yankee Fans took over an opposing ballpark. And Phoenix is not a short trip like Boston or Baltimore (both a little over 200 miles), or even a comparatively short one like Cleveland (500) or Detroit (700) or Chicago (900). We're talking 3/4 of the way across the country. There must've been a lot of frequent-flier miles cashed in.

After all, when it's 90 degrees in New York and New Jersey, the place you really want to go to is Arizona.

Yankee Fans watching that game must've gotten hot under the collar, but... I think you know what's coming here... it was in Arizona, so it was a dry heat.

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The Mets start a three-game series at Citi Field against the Detroit Tigers. Interleague play. It's got to go, except for March and October. Spring training and the World Series, that's it.

The Mets and Tigers have almost no history together, aside from two notable trades:

* December 12, 1975: The Mets trade Rusty Staub and some guy named Bill Laxton to the Tigers for Mickey Lolich and Billy Baldwin -- not the one from the Long Island-based acting family. Lolich was one of baseball's best pitchers between 1964 and 1973, but he got hurt, did next to nothing for the Mets, and while he retired as the all-time leader in strikeouts by a lefthanded pitcher, this was a trade the Mets regretted big-time, as Rusty continued his great hitting in Detroit, before they got him back for a decent end to his career.

* December 7, 1984: The Mets trade pitcher Walt Terrell to the newly-crowned World Champion Tigers for Howard Johnson. Terrell gave the Tigers more than Lolich gave the Mets, but HoJo became the greatest third baseman in Met history. Which is like calling Gerald Ford (who lived most of his life in Michigan and was himself a Tiger fan) the least damaging Republican President of the last 50 years. (Well... he was.)

The Tigers won the World Series in 1968, the Mets in 1969. The Tigers finished 2nd in the AL East in '69, but well behind the Baltimore Orioles, whom the Mets defeated in the World Series. The Tigers reached the postseason in '72 (lost the ALCS), the Mets in '73 (lost the World Series).

A Mets-Tigers World Series looked very possible between 1984 and 1988, but it just didn't happen. The Tigers were a net 7 1/2 games out of first place for those 5 seasons (their 15-game final AL East lead of 1984 wiped out by being 15 back in '85), the Mets at a net tie for first place in those seasons, buoyed by huge NL East wins in '86 and '88 to go with close losses in '84, '85 and '87. But the two teams just couldn't both get it done in the same season.

In fact, since Jesse Orosco threw his glove in the air on October 27, 1986, the Mets and Tigers have either reached the postseason a combined 7 times, and had 8 other close calls between them, but each has won exactly 1 Pennant in that time (the Mets in 2000, the Tigers in 2006), and each lost the World Series in 5 games in the season in question.

In fact, despite the fact that the Tigers, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers won 31 Pennants between them from 1904 to 1956, the Tigers have never played a New York team in a World Series. The Fred Merkle "Boner" of 1908 kept the Giants out of a World Series that the Tigers were in.

Either the Giants or the Tigers were in the World Series every year between 1933 and 1937. The Tigers won a Pennant in 1940, the Dodgers in 1941; the Tigers in 1945, the Dodgers nearly so in 1946. But then the Tigers went into a decline that would last until the 1960s, by which point the Dodgers and Giants were in California. When they finished a strong but not close 2nd to the Yankees in 1961, came oh-so-close in Detroit's riot year of 1967, and won it all in 1968. And when the Tigers finally played a California team in a World Series in 1984, it wasn't the Los Angeles Dodgers or the San Francisco Giants, but the San Diego Padres.

The only time the Tigers have ever played a New York team in the postseason was the 2006 American League Division Series. After the Yankees won Game 1, their bats went silent, and the Tigers took advantage to win 3 straight, and then swept the Oakland Athletics in 4 straight for the Pennant, with Magglio Ordonez joining Bobby Thomson and Chris Chambliss hitting a walkoff home run in a Playoff game for the Pennant.

(Hank Aaron hit a walkoff to clinch a Pennant, but that was in the regular-season, in the pre-Divisional Play era. Jack Clark hit what turned out to be a Pennant-winning homer in a 9th inning of a potential clincher for his team, and Tony Fernandez did it in an 11th, but both did so in the top half.)

The Mets thought they were going to join the Tigers in the 2006 World Series, until the 9th inning of Game 7 of the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, when Yadier Molina joined Jack Clark and Tony Fernandez (in his case, the 11th inning) as players who hit what turned out to be a winning homer in the top half of the last inning of a potential Pennant clincher for his team. He hit it off Aaron Heilman, who interestingly enough, is on the Diamondbacks now, as they play the Yankees this week. (Hope springs eternal for the Bronx Bombers!)

And the Tigers went on to play like a team that did not belong in the World Series, losing to the Cards in 5 games. The 2 previous Tigers-Cards World Series both went 7, with the Cards winning in 1934 and the Tigers doing so in 1968. Each of those was one of the better Series ever played, but the 2006 edition may be the worst that I can remember.

Had the Mets beaten the Cards, would they have beaten the Tigers? It's hard to tell: They were better on paper, but the games aren't played on paper, they're played on grass (and, all too often, on plastic), and, besides, we're talking about the Mets here. The Mets would have found a way to screw it up.