Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

B Mac looked better in a uniform than Billy Crystal. Mr. 3000 over Mr. Saturday Night anyday.

The four man rotation probably could only happen if the DH is eliminated,as pitchers would be removed for a PH in the 7th inning or so...Also, owners would save $ 5 - 10 million plus by not having a DH and another small savings by finding another long reliever to take starter # 5's place. (Then again, watching the pen destroy Giese's great job today, I'm not so sure)

Not paying for a DH or # 5 starter saves money for investment elsewhere.

I don't disagree with your blunt assessment on the four-man rotation, Ken. Heaven help us if the six-man becomes the norm though. Last I checked, teams are only allowed to carry 25 players, except in September. That could mean fewer position player replacements may be available during the game.

Excuse my ignorance, but what causes a 50-year-old man to come down with an ultimately fatal bout of pneumonia? I realize that the illness affects all age groups, but why was it deadly for Bernie Mac, who could not be considered elderly?

The story has some details of his prior illness, JE. There seems to have been a link.

When Bobby Valentine was the manager of the Mets, he used a 6-man rotation at times. You need 5 staters plus a guy who is a long-man out of the pen, who can also start in a pinch. Considering that teams baby their pitchers, especially the young pitchers, and the obess of the pitch counts by teams, a 6-man rotation wouldn't last the entired season.
Jim's Boy, Dan Giese pitch very well today going 6 ininngs only giving up 1 run, which was the home run to Teixeira. Unfortunately, the pen lead by Veras, Ramirez and Robertson spit the bit and give up 10 runs the last 2 ininngs. And let's not forget that A-Rod had 2 runners on and 2 out against Lackey in the 7th, and he strikesout as usually with RISP in clutch situations. A-Rod eithers strikesout, pop out or grounds into a Double play with RISP.
A good man died too soon in Bernie Mac at age 50. Did the Bernie Mac show on FOX. And did Ocean's 11, 12, and 13 along with Mr. 3,000. He was big a Chicago White Sox fan. At least he saw the White Sox win the World Series in 2005. I know he was sick with pneumonia. And it sounded like he was doing well. But this is shocking news today. He will be miss.

Ken, this is all that I could find on the illness in the obit:

"Mac died Saturday morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital, his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles. She said no other details were available."

Maybe we'll learn more in the coming days....

Hey, hey, hey! Let's not forget that in the fifth inning, "Mr. Clutch", "Mr. November", "Mr. I Drink Wine Coolers", Derek Jeter also struck out with two men on and two out....

Yeah, according to this paragraph, there's not a link. Sorry about that:

Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

P.S. Does anyone else suspect that the above "Anonymous" is Dennis?

JE from Eonline:

Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that can affect any body organ, per the Mayo Clinic's website, but that Mac revealed in 2005 had taken root in his lungs. According to Smith, the pneumonia that struck down the star was unrelated to the disease, which had reportedly been in remission.

But it probably weakened his immune system and the pneumonia certainly didn't help things.

Ken, the anonymous was me. I forget type my name.
When Bobby Valentine was the manager of the Mets, he used a 6-man rotation at times. You need 5 staters plus a guy who is a long-man out of the pen, who can also start in a pinch. Considering that teams baby their pitchers, especially the young pitchers, and the obess of the pitch counts by teams, a 6-man rotation wouldn't last the entired season.
Jim's Boy, Dan Giese pitch very well today going 6 ininngs only giving up 1 run, which was the home run to Teixeira. Unfortunately, the pen lead by Veras, Ramirez and Robertson spit the bit and give up 10 runs the last 2 ininngs. And let's not forget that A-Rod had 2 runners on and 2 out against Lackey in the 7th, and he strikesout as usually with RISP in clutch situations. A-Rod eithers strikesout, pop out or grounds into a Double play with RISP.
A good man died too soon in Bernie Mac at age 50. Did the Bernie Mac show on FOX. And did Ocean's 11, 12, and 13 along with Mr. 3,000. He was big a Chicago White Sox fan. At least he saw the White Sox win the World Series in 2005. I know he was sick with pneumonia. And it sounded like he was doing well. But this is shocking news today. He will be miss.

Thanks, Ken and Sandy, for the additional illness info.

It's now almost 4.30am and must catch a few ZZZs. At least, I can go to sleep knowing that Stokes has been staked to a four-run lead in the first inning and we have established that Dennis, and not Joe Klein, is "Anonymous".

After advocating for Kennedy to be brought up to "compete" in the series with the Angels, I wouldn't blame Dennis at all if he wants to become Anonymous.

Sad day indeed, Ken. B Mac dying strikes me as an incredible waste.

After seeing what the Yankee bullpen did today and seeing how well Molina handled the pitchers recently, I am starting to see Ken's point about the Pudge-Farnsworth trade. I detested Farnsworth, but the club paid him a ton of money and they were finally getting some return. They could have used him today. Giese got shafted. What the heck is wrong with Robertson? The guy throws hard but keeps getting hit. Ramirez is scary. Can't be trusted, although he had a great run for a while. Too dependent on the change. When the batters wait and he throws that weak fastball, he's toast.

Mussina, and maybe Pettitte, too, should talk to Kennedy and call a spade a spade, just like he did with Pavano. This kid continues to head in the wrong direction on several fronts.

from the Yankke site.."Kennedy Draws Criticism"

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080809&content_id=3279935&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Girardi blames an inability to deal with the press. Mussina refuses comment.

closest to 3000 hits ...but just short from baseballreference.com

28. Sam Rice 2987 L
29. Sam Crawford 2961 L
30. Frank Robinson 2943 R
31. Barry Bonds 2935 L

closest to 300 wins..but just short (for we pitchers..)

24. Bobby Mathews 297
25. Randy Johnson* 293
26. Tommy John 288
27. Bert Blyleven 287

Guys, if you want to get a perspective on Ohlendorf in his AAA start against Rochester, read this:

http://www.bucsdugout.com/2008/8/9/590127/ohlendorf-throws-99mph-oth

Money quote: "He threw serious gas, and wasn't wild, but he was pretty hittable. It's esoteric and unprovable, but he looked, well, like he didn't know how to pitch. Thrower, not a pitcher, that kind of look."

Jim, I am not sure if I completely agree with your thoughts on Farnsworth. Sometimes, trades work out for both teams improve both clubs, other times they only help one. Perhaps this one is not doing much for either team?

I cannot imagine that if Farnsworth were still in a Yankee uniform, he would not be experiencing the same issues that he's got playing for Detroit.

Trading Farnsworth at his peak value was not a bad idea. Where you may wish to fault Cashman is who he obtained in return....

I couldn't stand Farnsworth and think it is one of Cashman's worst deals, only slightly better than Pavano. BUT, I didn't see the need for Pudge since I don't think the Yankees have a playoff team and felt they could have made it through the year with Moeller and Molina. As Ken said, the club was finally getting some return. I trashed Farnsworth pretty good, but when you see a game like yesterday's, you yearn for Farnsworth's ability (when he is on with his nasty stuff) to get the team off the hook.