Bronx & Beans

BOSTON -- There's a tradition of driving past Fenway Park on I-90 and giving it the finger.

Of course, that tradition started Wednesday night, but whatever. It just feels right, doesn't it?

That tradition carried over to Thursday morning. Sitting at breakfast in a Boston hotel restaurant, oopsies, I wore my Yankees bandanna. A waitress politely asked where we were from, as if the blue, red and white Yankees logo and the script "New York Yankees" wasn't a tell-tale sign.

I pointed to the bandanna for my response.

"What are you guys doing here in Boston?" she asked.

"Giving Fenway the finger!" I responded.

She laughed. But sensing her Bostonian pride - did they have any before 2004? - was about to get crushed, she retaliated with "You know, we do that too to Yankee fans."

"Yeah, but the New York finger is so much more powerful."

"Is that right?"

"Yep. Here, I'll show you."

And with that I gave a Boston hotel restaurant waitress the finger before noon!

- La Monica

Bad news, Bronx boo-birds: the diamond will be filled with red B's, and not white interlocking NY's, when the American League all stars take the field for the final All Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

As of this writing, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez are leading the way in the all-star votes for their respective positions. Jason Varitek trails Joe Mauer in a close race for catcher. The only Yanks who lead in balloting are A-Rod at third and that guy who used to date Mariah Carey over at short. Hideki Matsui could get the nod at DH over David Ortiz, who is leading in votes but is likely out due to injury. Johnny Damon is being a whiney baby about how he deserves a shot, but he is in sixth place in the outfield voting race, almost 300,000 votes behind 3rd place vote-getter Ichiro Suzuki.

In other words, there's a mighty good chance the whole right side of the infield will be Red Soxers at this year's Mid-Summer Classic. Meanwhile, the left side will be be occupied by two sure-thing All-Stars whose tickets to the game were punched in March. It also means five (six if Varitek makes the cut) of the eight starting position players will be Red Sox and/or Yankees. Will the Bleacher Creatures do a roll-call and conveniently skip over Man-Ram, Peds and Youkie? Probably.

Maybe a Yankee pitcher will start the game to settle the score. Oh, wait a minute.

More updates on the All Star voting are available on Kat O'Brien's blog at www.newsday.com/sports. Get into it - it's gonna be a heck of a game.

--Whittle

Yeah, Colon didn't look so hot at the plate last night, and he's starting to remind those of us in the 30-and-older crowd of Aurelio Lopez. That would be in terms of girth, not velocity.

But fear not, gentle Sox fans. Bartolo is on the DL, but the Sox have something the Yanks lack: fans who bathe. Oh, and pitching depth. It would nice to think that the Bartolo Colon of 2008 is the same pitcher who won the Cy Young Award, but let's be real. Any good performances from Colon this year were simply gravy: a chance to give Clay Buchholz more seasoning in Triple A. And with Dice-K ready to come off the DL, Bartolo's batting blunder will allow Justin Masterson (3-1, 2.90) to stay in the rotation.

The Yanks are in trouble, though. Chien Ming Wang (who, by the way, should only be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "ace" if he's going to a hardware store) is out until September. The Pinstippers have limited options; some baseball pundits have even floated the idea of promoting career minor leaguer Dan Giese to the rotation. If that doesn't work (it won't) the other options are Kei "Worst Pitcher in the History of Modern Baseball" Igawa and about eight guys with names like Steven White (6.61 ERA at AAA Scranton) and Heath Phillips (5.88 ERA at Scranton). Where are Tyler Clippard and Matt DeSalvo when you need them?

(In case you're interested - the Yanks probably are - they are with the Washington and Atlanta organizations, respectively).

--Whittle

100 points to whoever can figure out what Bartolo Colon is thinking in this picture!

(50 bonus points if you can prove you knew it was Colon and not Rich Garces or Juan Berengeur without reading the headline!)

(AP Photo / June 16, 2008)

50 points to whoever can answer that question best!

Bobby Abreu arrives at the 7th annual Heroes Of Hope gala on June 16, 2008 at The Pierre in New York City. (Getty Images)

AP Photo

Hey, I've got an idea: Let's continue with interleague play 13 years after the MLB strike that canceled the 1994 World Series.

Maybe this way, all American League teams can be at a disadvantage for 9 games a season and, if we're lucky, a pitcher who gets paid to be near the plate only with his pitches and not his feet could be thrown into a physical encounter he's not used to so maybe he'll get hurt and miss the rest of the season.

Yeah, great work Commissioner Bud. What's next, end the All-Star game in a tie? Oh wait, sorry.

Sure, I'm whining, but whatever. It smells and smells hard that Chien-Ming Wang is likely out for the remainder of the season with a Lisfranc strain.

Thanks a lot, Mr. Selig. Interleague play, yeah, great idea. Let's put an asterisk on your forehead!

So here we go with the start of full-on interleague play, that gerrymandered Seligism that allows AL fans to watch their managers flail around at double switches and hit-and-runs. One manager who is sure to flail is Joe Girardi.

Now, credit where it's due, Joe manage to coax a surprising season out of a thoroughly talentless NL team in 2006. But now it's time for the comedy that is the Yankees playing in Houston (I guess we'll finally get to see what the 2004 World Series would have been like if both squads hadn't choked). Witness: an outfield consisting of Old Man Damon, Statue Matsui and the Adventures of Bobby Abreu. Witness: Joba Chamberlain confuses bat for a chicken wing, takes a bite out of the trademark. Witness: Lance Berkman clubs Yankee pitching, launches a few into Houston's comically short left-field porch.

Over in Ohio, the Running Red Sox will adjust swimmingly to NL-style ball. Be on the lookout for a three-hit day from former first baseman Tim Wakefield, a couple beautifully executed hit-and-runs featuring Alex Cora and some double switches featuring Kevin Youkilis playing first, third and the corner outfield positions (perhaps all at once). And that's just Saturday's game!

As a former resident of sunny Sarasota, I wish I still had my Homer Bailey SaraRed Bobblehead to place an Irish curse on. Sadly, I don't ... but the Sox should mash him anyway.

In other news: Manny Delcarmen is putting it together, the Sox have approximately 15 good starting pitchers on the 40-man roster, and Mike Lowell had 18 RBI last night. This "race" is about to turn into a waltz.

--Whittle

Check out the fifth inning of tonight's Yankees game as Joba Chamberlain says "take care" to a Shawn Chacon curveball deep into Houston's leftfield seats.

It's Joba's first day hitting in a big league game and I say he goes yard in his second at-bat, finally getting the timing of Chacon's slow deuce.

Joba's final line: 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 BB, 10 K -- from the plate: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 RBIs.

"That guy's still in the league?," said Bronx Mark La Monica about Chacon. "It will be a great battle between guys who wear their hats below their eyes."

-- Fernandez

With the Yanks on the West Coast, we get some nightly highlights on YES Network before the boys play those scrappy A's.

The Red Sox-Orioles highlights begin with a shot of famous ex-Sox on the field to support the "Baseball as America" exhibit this summer at Boston's Museum of Science. (The fact that Bostonians even understand science is evidence of paranormal activity.)

Among those shown on the highlight was Dennis Eckersley's mustache (supposedly Eckersley was there, too, but we were blinded by that mustache set against the Mystic tan skin; seriously, was that George Hamilton?), Carlton "Please be a fair ball" Fisk and Wade Boggs.

Since I know how much it stings Bean Dennehy when I raise a No. 1 finger in the air to him, mimicking Boggsy on the police horse celebrating his first World Series title in pinstripes instead of red socks, it seems only fair to do it again right here. Enjoy the best photo ever.

- La Monica

OK, Yankees fans, here it comes: the annual "What's wrong with Mariano Rivera?" stories in newspapers, Web sites, TV spots and talk radio.

Before we get to the meat of our argument, let's give you a refresher course on The Mariano Rivera Cycle you've come to know and love and loathe.

- Mariano starts the season smoking every batter in his path.
- Mariano hits a little rough patch, usually a one-week vacation from his perch on top of the bullpen world.
- The media and fans go crazy with "He's done!" and/or "Is he hurt?" and/or "Is he finally too old to strike out everyone he faces?" and/or "Maybe we need a new closer."
- Mariano returns to smoking every batter in his path.
- Yankees fans return to normal breathing patterns.

So, with Rivera serving up tie-breaking home runs in the 9th inning in two of his last three appearances in the Royals series, you can bet you'll hear a little "Mariano is washed up" comments around media circles this week, especially with the Yankees now on the West Coast and newspapers needing to fill space for their early editions.

Here's why you should pay little attention to anything written or spoken about the end of Rivera's dominance. It's a look at the times he's given up runs at least twice in a three-game span during the past seven seasons and how he's responded after those blips.

2007

- Gave up 5 runs in 3.1 innings on Aug. 12, 13 and 15, collectively. Afterward, 4 runs the rest of the season (19 appearances, 19.1 innings).

- Gave up 9 runs in 2.2 innings on April 15, 20, 23 and 27, collectively. Then, 2 runs in next 17 appearances (18.1 innings).

Season totals: 3-4, 30 saves, 3.15 ERA, 71.1 innings, 74 K, 12 BB, 4 HR.

2006

- Gave up 2 runs in 5 innings on Aug. 18, 20 and 27, collectively. Doesn't allow a run the rest of the season.

- In 5 appearances between May 11-19, allows 3 runs in 4.2 innings. In his next 11 outings (16 innings), Rivera allows 6 hits and strikes out 14.

Season totals: 5-5, 34 saves, 1.80 ERA, 75 innings, 55 K, 11 BB, 3 HR.

2005

- In 7 games between Aug. 10-23, Rivera allows 5 runs in 10.1 innings. He closes out the season with 19 innings, allowing 12 hits and 2 runs and striking out 16.

Season totals: 7-4, 43 saves, 1.38 ERA, 78.1 innings, 80 K, 18 BB, 2 HR.

2004

- In appearances on July 24 and 26, Rivera gives up five runs in 2.2 innings. He allows eight runners in all of August (11 games, 12 innings).

- Gives up 3 runs in two spots on Sept. 17 and 21. Allows just two hits and no runs in final four outings of the season.

Season totals: 4-2, 53 saves, 1.94 ERA, 78.2 innings, 66 K, 20 BB, 3 HR.

2003

- On May 27-28, Rivera allows 3 runs in 2 innings. Over the next two months, Rivera throws 32.1 innings, allowing 21 hits and 3 walks and striking out 30.

- In games on Aug. 3, 6 and 7, Rivera allows 3 runs in 2.1 innings. He holds teams scoreless in his next three outings, then gives up runs in three of his next four appearances - the least consistent month of his career as a closer. No team scores on him in September (12 innings in 11 games).

Season totals: 5-2 saves, 40 saves, 1.66 ERA, 70.2 innings, 63 K, 10 BB, 3 HR.

2002

- Never gives up runs more than once in a three-game span.

Season totals: 1-4, 28 saves, 2.74 ERA, 46 innings, 48 K, 11 B, 3 HR.

2001

- In three outings from April 22-28, Rivera gives up two runs in 3.2 innings. He then holds team scoreless in his next seven outings.

Season totals: 4-6, 50 saves, 2.34 ERA, 80.2 innings, 83 K, 12 BB, 5 HR.

Exactly what does all of this mean? Well, we don't know either. Basically, it means Rivera has plenty more left in that Hall of Fame right arm of his arm, so don't sweat a little hiccup along the way. Worry more about the starting pitching and the bridge to Mariano. And maybe concern yourself a bit with the inconsistent offense.

- La Monica

Here on the Beans side of the office, I've been guilty of neglecting some great baseball action this week.

First, we had Coco Crisp showing his featherweight chops against the loathsome Rays. Then there was this bizarre matter of Youkilis and Manny coming to blows in the Red Sox dugout during the same game.

And there were even some late-inning heroics in the Bronx, including old friend Johnny Damon, who, we should note, went 6-for-6 against the Toledo Mud Hens on Saturday afternoon. So congrats to Johnny.

But, no, we've been rather distracted by the Celtics, whose Big 3 and swarming defense are making us feel like we're in 5th grade again as they chase banner number 17 against the dreaded Lakers. In fact, I've retired the Sox hat for a few days and dusted off the vintage '80s Celtics painter’s cap.

And those two hours or so each day I would normally devote to worrying about Joba Chamberlain's next start are now spent breaking down who should guard Pau Gasol in the fourth quarter, and how we can get Sam Cassell some more shots.

Speaking of the Celtics, earlier this spring we shared a clip of what has become a fourth-quarter tradition at the Garden. His name is Gino (well, not really, but...) and when opponents see his graceful-yet-masculine dance moves on the Jumbotron, well, they know they might as well get the buses started.

Ah, Gino. Again, it's not quite Red Auerbach lighting the cigar, but it's fun.

But now comes this shocker: Gino's DEAD!. Thanks to some crack reporting by the Wall Street Journal, we learn that Boston's favorite '70s icon was named Joe Massoni. He was a California native. And he died of pneumonia in 1990.

So not only was he probably a Laker fan, he won't be strutting at the City Hall Plaza during the championship parade, and won't make a cameo appearance when Neil Diamond sings 'Sweet Caroline' at Fenway this summer.

I've got to be honest; I haven't felt such a pall over a championship game since we learned before Super Bowl XXXI that Bill Parcells would be bolting the Pats for the Jets after the game.

-- Dennehy

Because I just realized I am watching REPLAY of the Yankee game. And while they were getting killed in the middle innings, they came back to win in dramatic fashion.

Mea culpa.

--Whittle

Quick tutorial: This is a good mustache. This is a bad mustache.

On to the contending teams. A lot of zany things are happening at the Sox/Rays game up in Boston. Things like:
-An ill brawl featuring James Shields swinging at Coco Crisp and a big pile involving Jonny Gomes, Aki Iwamura and Crisp.
-Jacoby Ellsbury hurting his wrist (doh!).
-Youkilis and Manny reportedly beefing in the dugout (sparking Internet fury on Sons Of Sam Horn).

You've got to hand it to these Rays, they are about to get swept, but they have spunk.

Meanwhile, Melky Cabrera just muffed a little league fly ball, and the Yanks are getting brutalized by Toronto. Ho, hum.

--Whittle

A brief recap of Thursday afternoon inside the Bronx & Beans office:

Bottom 8, Yanks down 7-6.

Johnny Damon at the plate. He hits a shot to deep right that Toronto's Brad Wilkerson runs down at the wall. Bean Dennehy takes a pot shot at his former Idiot ringleader. Bronx La Monica utters something like "If only his mustache was a bit thicker, that would have been gone." Bronx-in-training Dwyer mutters something about Giambi's bushy stash.

Bottom 9, Yanks down 8-7.

Bronx La Monica looks over at the TV, sees a runner on first, two outs and Giambi trotting back to the plate after a grounder went foul down the first-base line. "Giambi two-run bomb to end it? A little mustache madness?"

Bean Dennehy grumbles in his seat.

Boom! Let the world rejoice, for the mustache has done it again! Yanks win, 9-8.

Bean Dennehy grumbles in his seat.

Moments after the game

Mama La Monica calls in to make sure we saw Giambi's bomb. She's anti-mustache. Big Cat of Campus Confidential fame calls in to make sure we knew YES reporter Kimberly Jones asked Giambi about the future of his mustache and that he said it's never going away.

Bean Dennehy grumbles in his seat.

- La Monica

My No. 2 rule in life is to never trust a guy with a mustache. Just take a look back at recent Yankee history for proof: Tom Gordon in the postseason, Randy Johnson anywhere in New York City, Steve Balboni in a big spot.

But Giambi is hitting the ball again now that he has let the hair on his upper lip accept its natural place in this world.

Watching Wednesday night's game, I noticed some stuff located on the space between Ross Ohlendorf's nose and upper lip. Having been on vacation the past two weeks, I called Bronx Fernandez for confirmation of this toddler-stage mustace and not a bunch of dus buildup on my screen. Indeed he confirmed such a development.

Whoa!

Ohlendorf had given up a total of 9 runs in three outings (6 innings) before throwing two shutout innings on May 31. He then threw another shutout inning (one hit on 18 pitches) Wednesday night.

Was the difference in pitch location? Nope. The difference lies in facial hair location. Let those mustaches fly!

If I wasn't so sure that Yankees fans are the most over-confident fan base in America, I'd start to think there was a sense of panic in the Bronx.

First, Hank Steinbrenner and the brain trust gut one of the team's strengths by moving wonderboy Joba Chamberlain out of the bullpen and into the starting rotation - leaving blunder-boy Kyle Farnsworth as 'the bridge' to Mariano in the 8th inning. And we saw how that worked Monday night.

Then, after watching over-hyped prospects Philip Hughes (0-4, 9.00) and Ian Kennedy (0-3, 7.41) routinely cough up about 7 runs per start, Yankees fans are suddenly so desperate that they're giving Chamberlain a standing ovation after giving up only 2 runs in 2 1/3 innings in his first start! (By the way, 23-year-old Red Sox rookie Justin Masterson improved to 2-0 Tuesday night with a 2.95 ERA.)

Finally, the boo birds hammer the Yankees bullpen when guys named Dan Giese and Jose Veras can't keep the Blue Jays off the scoreboard after being asked to hold the game --- for 6 2/3 innings!! Yikes.

Apparently, there has already been rumbling that a few of the Yankee veterans aren't pleased with the decision to switch Joba from the pen to the rotation. And after a week like this, you can't blame them.

Of course, there is some good news for the Yankees. The troubling injury to David Ortiz' wrist gives some hope to all American League pretenders. And this week the Yanks have the luxury of watching the iron of the AL East beat each other up at Fenway as the Red Sox battle the Rays.

Hey, anyone want to start a Red Sox-Rays blog?

-- Dennehy