On the Yankees beat

Win or lose the thing I'm taking out of this game is that while the Sox are beating up on Jeff Karstens, the Yankees aren't exactly scuffling against Beckett - and with three of their better hitters out of the lineup.

Why did Torre just remove Karstens. The game seems to be already out of hand, the relievers are overused, Lowell hit a lucky dinker. Why work the bullpen even more. Badly mismanaged in my opinion.

Call uo Hughes and Clippard please.

Get rid of Karstens and Rasner.

earlier i wrote that torre is going for a record - burning out the bullpen by mid-may. obviously insulted by my lack of respect, torre is now determined to show me that he can do better. early may is his new target for complete bullpen melt-down.
karstens is not an essential cog in the yanks near or far future - he can sacrifice himself once and eat up some innings. but not according to clueless joe.
good thing that tonight the yanks will only need to pitch 8 innings, so the bullpen is down for 3.2. pathetic.

Chip: I agree with your assessment the Red Sox are not beating us up. This maybe a loss weekend but the young guys getting valuable experinece. The team definitely needs to resign Posada and Arod. There are no replacements out there.

i want to ask all you cashman fans who swear by his name - how come when left handed relief is so critical the yankees signed maxed out villone and the red sox got okajima? obviously the guy is a very good pitcher, and kills left handers. where was the almighty GM when the sox snuck this guy in?

Gil - Villone is in Scranton - the Yankees essentially chose Henn over bidding on Okajima - after watching Henn against Papi, I won't argue with the choice.

I spent most of the day listening to the game on the radio - they were discussing the fact that with Posada hurt, Josh Phelps is the back up catcher - he might get the start tomorrow.

chip

they were looking for a LHP for the pen before spring training. out of all the options out there, cashman chose to re-up with villone, which naturally backfired. this is not by any means a knock on henn who i really hope is going to thrive. it just goes to show the questionable decision making of mr. teflon.

Gil, as to your other point - this is Karstens' first start of the year, he threw 89 pitches and is still going to be needed at least until the Yankee rotation gets healthy - I'm not thrilled about the Yankees possibly killing their relievers, but what do you want the guy to do, blow out Karstens's arm for the heck of it?

Gil - going into spring training the Yankees looked at things this way - Villone was a no risk signing (to a minor league deal) they had Myers, Vizciano was death to lefties last year and then they had Henn. So who do you not want in the pen so Okajima could be there - since Villone is in Triple A?

The way I look at it, if Hideki Okajima is the difference between the Yankees winning the division or not, well that's damned unfortunate but also not something I'm going to freak out over.

Gil: we get your point about Cashman. I think that he's good . making many adjustments with bad contracts and transitioning the team to younger. It does not happen overnight. Patience.

Gil, if you want to get on Cashman the best bone I can throw you is that the Yankee bench is weak.

But even that can't be looked at entirely as his fault, I mean how many good back up catchers are out there? And while I would have liked to see either an upgrade over Cairo or a younger player in that spot, it's a minor point.

Farnsworth has not worked out as well as Cashman (or I) hoped, but such is life, middle relief isn't easy to find and it's harder to predict and as I've said numerous times, going into that winter the Yankees had to revamp their pen, didn't know what they were getting out of Proctor and Farnsworth was the best option after BJ Ryan went to Toronto.

chip

look at the bigger picture. i just get annoyed with the free ride cashman gets regardless of results. the buzz and the spin are that the yanks bullpen has been "revamped" by cashman after last year's abuse by torre. what changed really? vizcaino was added, and the jury is still out on him, though the beginning is worrying. henn was already in the system, no big discovery of cashman. other than that - it's the same bullpen.
i was shocked to read that practically every newspaper in NY, while running a pre-series sox-yankees match up spread, gave the yanks the edge in the bullpen.
just use your own eyes and don't believe the hype. theo has done a much better job revamping his bullpen with less spin but more work.
look at this weekend as a basis for comparison (and the 16 games left between the 2). the sox bullpen is simply much better, and we're going to see their gem in the 9th.
i'm afraid bullpen is actually their biggest advantage, especially in light of how torre methodically wrecks the yankee pen.

larry,

who signed those bad contracts? i just love the way every bad signing was "forced" by GS and every good maove is cashman's. that's what teflon's made of. would you call pavano a bad contract? that's all cashman. please stop portraying him as a victim of GS's bad moves and the guy who's going to fix the yankees, since he has a huge part in the yanks big spending.

Gil,

From your argument I would say your fight is with Torre not Cashman. The guys in the Yankee pen who we knew were coming back were Bruney (signed as a free agent mid season after Arizona released him), Proctor (who Cashman got in a trade from the Dodgers), Mo, Farnsworth, Myers. So it isn't like there was a whole lot of revamping to do there. Cashman, knowing Torre burns out relievers, got him a guy with a rubber arm in Vizciano, traded for another young power arm like Bruney in Britton and then signed Villone to a minor league deal as insurance incase Henn wasn't up to task. I think when you read about people praising Cashman for revamping the pen, it is in reference to the young arms he got (Clagget, Jackson, Whalen) to go with JB Cox, TJ Beam and the other Yankee draft picks, all of them are prospects and all of whom the jury is still out on.

But like I said, if your main complaint is that the Yankees always have pens that wear down at the end of the season, I share that complaint with you, but that's not Cashman's fault.

Yankees lose 7-5, but on the positive side, they scored 5 runs against Beckett without 3 of their big bats and the guy who was pitching for the Yankees is their 6th starter when everyone is healthy.

Again, as long as the Yankees don't completely fall apart in the time it takes for them to get healthy (Matsui back on Monday, Wang on Tuesday, Mussina in time for Texas) they'll be fine - Boston will have its injury problems too I'm sure.

Well that game sucked. The Yankees looked listless, seemed to have no answer for anyone out of the Sox bullpen. Giambi chokes, Mietkiewitz still looks like he should be hitting in AA, Yankees burning through the bullpen, and every inning the Sox were making contact. Our pitching is turning Cora and Crisp into tough outs for $#%$ sake. I know we have injuries, but they didn't play to win this game.

I hope Yankees Released Mike Myers. I have more faith in Sean Henn than Myers who strikeout Big Papi

Jeter is never a HR threat

Its a shame that Jeter gets superstar treatment yet he's never a threat to take a pitcher yard when the game is on the line. Pitchers don't fear Jeter's base hits. Boston's closer when right at him with his best stuff cause he knows Jeter won't take him.

Jeter is not strong enough to catchup on 98mph fastball and get hit from Power Pitchers like Schilling and Papelbon. Jeter only weighs 195 pounds? I hope Jeter gain more muscle.

Chip:

You're moving from a patient, reasonable observer to an automatic "Don't worry, be happy" apologist. Yes, we have all stars at every position and will score 1,000 runs. But there's no assurance that the rotation will ever solidify, the bullpen (not so great to begin with) is already being taxed, and the defense is shaky. Melky has now been thoroughly scouted, so don't expect .280. And Mintky is beginning to look like a mistake. And of course no acceptable backup to Posada. I'm looking at 88 wins.

Of course the bullpen is being taxed, people are starting games who are just coming off the DL or just got called up from the minors. These guys don't have the gas to go beyond 5 innings right now. Jeez...Chip and I and many others have said all along, a healthy, strong starting rotation will save the bullpen. Wang, Pettitte and Mussina will eat their fair share of innings and the bullpen can be rested for the 4 and 5 spots in the rotation.
Pavano isn't coming back, I'm almost certain of it.

Zander

I'm not trying to be an apologist - I loathe the fact that the Yankees lost to the Sox, I do not like the way Torre has managed this series. But there are a few things to take from the first two games:

1. Pettitte pitched extremely well against Boston

2. The Yankees smacked around Schilling and Beckett

3. The Yankees lost the first game because Rivera blew the save - if some people want to take that as a sign he's falling apart that is their perogative, I'm not going down that road.

4. Three of the Yankee top hitters were out.

5. Jeff Karstens is the 6th starter on the depth chart, Wang is due back Tuesday and Mussina the next week and Pavano probably a week or two after.

I can't argue with the back up catcher point - although defensively Nieves is superior to any back up the Yankees have had since Girardi and the guy can run.

I'm not writing off Melky - as I've said before, the Yankees had a very good centerfielder for a lot of years who was a notorious slow starter.

Doug is not on the team for his bat, we knew that when they signed him - he was playing off the bag last night because no one could expect Coco Crisp to pull the ball against Rivera so he was trying to close up the gap between first and second.

And my final point - the Yankee record through 16 games 8-8; the Yankee record through 16 games last season 8-8.

I don't think any of those points make me an apologist, just no

sorry, posted without finishing a thought...what I was saying is that I don't think I'm being an apologist, just not going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge over a slow start and some injuries.

It's only April. We know the Red Sox have three good pitchers. A great closer and the Japanese import lefty is doing a good job.

The Yankees kids, Karstens and Henn and others are doing well. The teams needs youth and an injection of talent. Hard throwers are important, look at Detroit last year.

As for the roster, it is flawed. They need a third catcher. They need health. They need their first basemen to hit. Without A Rod where would they be?

Still, there is a lot of baseball to be played and Cashman has Hughes in the minors and more than a few trading chips.

Perhaps the best that can be hoped for this year is a Wild Card berth and maybe getting past round one of the playoffs.

The Mets could win the World Series this year. The Yankees will always be within striking distance as well. But they are obviously not the teams of 96 - 00. They were special.

Torre's managerial decisions have become increasingly frightening, like when the Sopranos killed of Adrianna ... what he does is shocking and unexpected.

Still like the Sopranos, the Yanks are a fun team to watch and keep track of inspite all its flaws.

And at least we have our own Blog, unlike the Red Sox.

If the Yanks win tommorrow, the Doomsday predictions will disappear and most will be happy with 1 out of 3 and an "almost win" with 3/4s of the Team available!
Lighten up! This Team has the most talent in Baseball!
(Trivia: I wasn't aware that the Yanks had won 7 in a row at Fenway coming into this Series)

Amen!

Torre is starting to lose it!

Torre has already lost it from what I have seen in the last several years.

His managerial skills have eroded so much, it just keeps getting worst with each passing year.

His moves are no longer clever but leaves you scratching your head and in the end makes you angry because it frequently backfires.

He is such a slave to the left-right, right-left matchups that he is totally oblivious to the situation of the game or the players.

For example, just because Mike Myers is a lefty doesn't mean you should pull whoever is pitching right now and put him in to face a lefthanded-batter.

If the current pitcher is effective, why remove him just to get the matchup?

This and so much other stuff just makes me so angry at the guy.

The Yanks need to get healthy: then we can all compare Red Sox & Yanks. Not 60% Yanks to 100% Red Sox.

This is not the end of the season. Have faith in Gene Michael and Staff. Remember he is the one who groomed Cashman. He is still Cashman's right hand man. And he built the Dynasty Teams.
Yanks will always rule.

Chip, thanks for the rational appraisal.

It hit the board at 9:05-9:06 last night but I didn't visit until now. After the game I couldn't face another round of alternating 'fire/trash somebody' with troll-talk.

In July 2004, the Yankees swept the Red Sox at Yankees Stadium (beating Pedro, Wakefield & Schilling). That's when Jeter went flying into the seats chasing a ball; this year Crisp went flying over the wall chasing a ball. Sox went on, via the Wild Card, to win the WS. This is only April and we played Boston with a skeleton pitching staff and injuries to Posada, Hideki, Damon, and a bullpen with several pitchers who are experiencing this rivalry for the first time. We are playing against a team that is playing with full force, full health, and in their own ballpark (where they traditionally do exceedingly well). The big picture is worth taking a look at under these circumstances.

Over or Under:

Carla Pavano still feeling "it" for the rest of the year?

Another post-game video analysis of Mariano's pitching revealed that he was "opening up" while pitching, causing him to lose control. It was suggested that, if Posada were pitching, he would have seen this anomaly in Mariano and would have corrected the situation before too much damage was done. Evidently, the Red Sox noticed some flaw in his pitching; unfortunately, Nieves did not.

Hideki Okajima Interviewed

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

Q: Your thoughts (Yankees-Red Sox)?
A: It's like we just won the pennant.

Did you know you were going to pitch today?
No, I didn't. But was ready.

When were you told to get ready?
After we came back on top. (7th run scored)

First batter was Jeter, what did you think?
Good hitter. Not a hitter that you want to face, but I pitched with my feeling.

First two pitches, you look like you were nervous?
I was trying to pitch quicker, maybe. I figured I had to try something.

Then you went back to your regular focused face?
(Laughs) Is that so?

Then you faced red-hot A-Rod. What were you thinking?
I was thinking, I can't let him hit a home run.

You got him out.
Yes, I was lucky.

Lucky?
I was helped by his mistake.

Did you think you can get a save for the team this early in the season?
No, I did not. I did not expect it.

Are you happy to be able to pitch well against Yankees in Fenway Park?
Yes. But this is only the beginning. I thank fans for the support and the loud cheering.

Just woke up with a slight hangover - first article I see on line is Wallace Matthews saying the Yankees need to sign Clemens "now if not sooner." My headache got worse as I read it.

It's very nice that Matthews thinks the Yankees could use Clemens immediately - from everything I've seen and heard, Roger is not inclined to sign with a team before Memorial Day and when he does sign with a team it won't be because that team is so riddled with injury they are desperate for him. So it is a little harder than going on a computer and clicking "Add Player" like you would in a fantasy league. By Memorial Day, when the Rocket is ready to make a decision, Jeff Karstens will be a long reliever rather than a starter making his season debut in Fenway Park.

I said a couple of days ago that Theo Epstein was on WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog show and they asked him about the trade that sent Bard and Meredith to San Diego for Mirabelli - Theo was disgusted with himself for making that trade, "I decided then and there that would be the last time I made a trade out of haste; it was a reactionary move to Bard struggling through a bad series and it completely backfired on us." Making moves, throwing money at Clemens, throwing other players under the bus, firing Torre - all would be the same - reactionary moves to a bad series *that in retrospect hasn't been all that bad*

Chase Wright, who wasn't even on the Yankees' radar going into this spring, is being thrown into the lion's den tonight - do we expect him to go 8 giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and striking out 10 - no, I fully expect him to get knocked around like a pinata against a lineup the likes of which he has never faced and the team will get swept in Boston, drop a game under .500 - and it will suck. And tomorrow the sun will still rise and there will still be 145 games to go.

From the Ft. Worth Star Telegram:

The Rangers' poor pitching Friday was costly for Bruce Chen, who was forced to relieve Brandon McCarthy in the second inning after McCarthy couldn't get the first six batters out.

Chen pitched four innings and threw 86 pitches. With Kameron Loe starting Saturday and Chen unavailable, the Rangers found themselves without a long reliever, which resulted in Chen being designated for assignment. Reliever Willie Eyre was called up from Triple A Oklahoma.

The Rangers have 10 days to either trade, release or outright Chen to the minors.

They have made clear that they will try to trade him and likely will be able to because of numerous injuries to pitchers around the major leagues, including to the Yankees.

Well,

Two games in the books. Beckett got rapped around a bit, but Chip I dont agree with your synopsis that it is any sort of "blueprint" for future games. I mean who knows? Beckett may pitch a one hitter next time....or stink up the park and get mashed and be in the shower byt eh 2nd inning. One performance doesnt ensure the next. There is little question about Beckett talent or his 'stuff". There is also little quetion of the Yanks ability to score runs....it is staggering.Same goes for Schilling.

The Yanks are decimated by injuries right now and so to say this is the same matchup and results we will see later in the season is short-sighted. However, keep in mind the Sox are not at 100% either. Lester will be back at some point this season and that starting rotation gets even deeper, stronger.

A win is a win and any win is important. But, it is April...a long long way to go. Of course not being a Yank fan I probably dont share the angst that some fans have...but I wouldnt worry too much...the Yanks are just too good to win only 88 games like one of you suggested earlier.

Tonights game is a real treat, for fans of both teams. Enjoy the game, watch this kid Dice-K pitch. He is an exceptional pitcher with an incredible array of pitches and with precise command/control.....typically. Let's see how he does against the best offense in MLB.

A few observations:

Well, apparently ruse is right on the money about Lilly. He SUCKED again on Friday! 7IP, 2R, 6K's and LOST 2-1 against the World Champ Cards.

Meanwhile, Cashman and Torre put their dominating team on the field for a nationaly televised game against their hated rivals as Bernie Williams continues to tune his guitar in his garage.

Oh, and lest we forget, Pavano is still being Pavano.

Chip, you made some great points about the pitching, especially regarding our smacking around Schilling & Beckett. We actually smacked Schilling around a lot better than the numbers revealed. If this were another ballpark, we probably would have won the game, since there were an awful lot of very long balls caught near the track. I know, would've, could've, should've doesn't count, but in this instance we can say it does matter how you play the game in evaluating a team's overall, long-term potential, not just whether you win or lose one game.

Okijama looked great, but we've never faced him before, and as a closer, he wasn't on the mound too long. Hopefully, we'll become better acquainted with him soon enough and Yankee management will study him more closely from hereon in.

Papelbon is awesome, no doubt. I loved the fact that we pushed him to pitch 19 pitches and Abreu came very, very close to depositing it over the wall. Papelbon already has 5 saves in 16 games, putting him on track to save over 50 games this regular season alone. His violent, jerky 90+ mph delivery reminds me a lot of Eric Gagne (one of the best closers I've ever seen).

APRIL 22 Mlb PREDICTIONS

10-7 white sox over tigers 9-9

8-10 marlins over nationals 6-13

11-7 orioles over blue jays 8-10

12-6 braves over mets 11-6

8-7 indians over devil rays 7-11

10-9 reds over phillies 5-12

12-6 twins over royals 5-13

10-7 astros over brewars 10-8

8-10 rangers over athletics 9-9

8-10 cardinals over cubs 7-11

9-9 angels over mariners 5-9

12-7 padres over rockies 7-12

12-5 red sox over yankees 8-9

11-9 diamondbacks over giants 8-9

7-10 pirates over dodgers 13-6

Interesting stat: The Red Sox haven't swept the Yankees at Fenway since 1990. I didn't know that.

A WIN IN APRIL IS JUST AS GOOD AS A WIN IN SEPTEMBER...and conversely A LOSS IN APRIL IS JUST AS BAD AS A LOSS IN SEPTEMBER.

Let's just keep that in mind as we start with all the rose colored glasses comments. It's great to be optimistic, but there is a thing called reality also.

A couple more comments on Torre - not only does he not manage very well, but he is also guilty of always setting the bar too LOW when it comes to expectations from the players. And, when he does wake up from his naps, he's always quick to evoke the "Don't worry, be happy" line.

I say it's time to start DEMANDING some accountability from these pampered millionaire sissys. Tell the SP that they ARE going to pitch 7 innings each day regardless of the score or number of pitches that have been thrown. You might be surprised how their approach changes. Instead of nibbling their way to 110 pitches in 5 innings, they might actually go after the hitters with their best stuff. Also, tell the "lefty specialist" that he WILL get his "man of the week" OUT when he's called on to do so. And explain to the backup C that since he can't even bunt a runner over on offense, that he damn well better get his a** down and start blocking balls in the dirt since defense is all that is left for him to contribute.

Actually, if memory serves...the Sox have had better luck sweeping the Yanks at Yankee stadium. Next weekend looms.

A lay-down-and-die attitude in April is all right for the fans, but I sure hope the Yankees aren't following suit.

Optimism=Confidence=Wins.
Pessimism=Defeatism=Losses.

We will have losses in April and September, just as we will have wins. The losses to the Red Sox can be salvaged through wins against other teams. If the Yankees are plummeting in the standings, you can be sure they'll be fired up against every team. Can the Red Sox become fired up against Tampa & KC so early in the season after decimating the Yankees? That remains to be seen.

Rick - the "Pampered millionare sissys" are playing fine - the two pitchers who haven't given the Yankees a quality start in the last week are Rasner and Karstens. And if guys like that start trying to pound the strike zone against hitters like they have seen lately in Cleveland and Boston they are not going to succeed. It isn't as if they are facing minor leaguers or washed up players over there - it is a lot easier to armchair quarterback a game than it is to actually play in one Rick.

The Yankees lead the league in scoring (mostly because of Alex) and even without Doug hitting and Nieves and Melky in the lineup the Yankees still scored enough runs that they could have won the last two games.

As for Myers, it isn't like he goes out there and stands on the mound thinking "you know what, I'm just gonna not try this time out" Ortiz is a pretty good hitter - getting him out is easier said than done - just like I'm sure Schilling didn't go out there thinking, "hmm, I should let A-Rod drill two out of the park tonight."

Yes, wins and losses in April mean just as much as in September, but consider that two years ago the Yankees went into Boston with Darrell May and Tim Redding starting two games for them - got blown out both of those games and still won the division - it just means that the Yankees have to beat someone else down the line to make up these games.

On the bright side, in Bruney, Henn and Proctor we could be watching the emergence of the new Mendoza, Stanton, Nelson bridge to Rivera - they all pitched very well in this series and it is a situation like this that could push Bruney and Henn to the front of Torre's trust chart in the pen.

As a Sox fan no one knows better than me that April aint August or September....I give you the 06 baseball season as an example.

Of course I'm happy the Sox are off to a good start....and taking at least 2 of 3 from the Yanks at home is cause for excitement. That said, you wont here this fan gloat or make any post season predictions for awhile yet.

hear, not here...

I hope I can assume that all the posts trashing our coaches and players come from people who have coached or played at least at the college or minor league level?

Because their posts give the impression that they must have demonstrated someplace the skill, passion and work ethic that would make them able to render summary judgment on the people they are trashing...

Lucy - you hit the nail on the head. Fans live and die with each win (just look at the blog) but players can't have that mentality - they can't all be Paul O'Neil - do they want to win, of course, but they also know that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and that whatever happens in this weekend, they know they have to win around 90 games to make the playoffs, so if they have 8 wins through this weekend, they just need to go out there and find at least 82 more victories. As I said, Tony Pena put it best, with all the injuries the Yankees just have to tread water for now - Boston is the team that needs to go on a major run - they need to distance themselves from the Yankees and Blue Jays while both those teams are being decimated by injuries like they didn't do last year when the Yankees were strugging to find outfielders.

That was the biggest thing about last year, and I think Observer would agree, the division was there for the taking by Boston last season and they let the Yankees hang around, and when injuries struck Boston the Yankees went for the throat and wouldn't let up, culminating in the sweep in Boston. That has to be in the Sox mind now, that now is their opportunity to bury the Yankees, that not only do they have to sweep this series but they have to go on a run, distance themselves from the Yankees and not look back - are they capable of doing it, sure, they could be this year's version of the Mets, but maybe they don't, maybe the Yankees keep pace with Boston, hang around 3 or 4 games back, get healthy, and go on their own run.

146 games to go.

Interesting quote from Tito Francona in the Boston Globe a few days ago:

"If I managed like a fan, I'd soon become one."

Beyond Torre's often bizarre moves ... he's not the Fourth Member of the Trinity and who can read his mind? Henn, Proctor and Bruney are doing great. That is the best part of the April, along with A-Rod. Karstens will be ok once he gets back in form. We know what Mussina can do. Wang will do better than average. Once the pitching gets sorted, with all this hitting, a Wild Card is almost a sure thing. They need better spare parts though. The bench could be better and there are major holes when Doug and Melky don't hit. Posada is not a good baserunner, slow and foolish and that hurts too. He runs like he's wearing a diaper. (Great player and person otherwise!) Another power arm in the rotation would help come playoff time. Losing 2 or 3 to the Red Sox or even all three is not the end of the world. The kids need to develop and this is a semi-rebuilding mode/year in a way. The farm system is strong. Bad apples were traded off. We will get back at the Red Sox at the Stadium. We'd better with a 200 million dollar team. Of course I am in St. Louis, but rooting from the banks of the Mississippi anyway. When the Mets and Yanks play their Subway Series this year, that will be great and also have an effect obviously on the standings. Two talented teams not named "Tampa Bay." Yankees fans should be happy. The team is good, good enough to root for, with enough flaws that keep you on edge. From 1998 - 2000 there wasn't much drama. The Yankees destroyed everyone. Now, they will have to fight for every inch. That's a good thing for the fans. We became spoiled I supposed. This year is more realistic in some ways.

Diane,

I get what you mean, I was slated to play at the college level but tore out my knee my senior year in HS. Sadly I get the impression that many of the people calling for heads to roll are the same people who were equipment managers for their HS Varsity Teams and now go to their kids' little league games and sit in the stands screaming at every mistake an 8-year old makes.

Observer, that is a fantastic quote - it's also why a GM can't make moves based on a couple of performances like a fan would.

Chip,
I do agree with your synopsis of last season, but I dont agree that the Sox "need" to sweep this series. I also dont believe that this season is entirely motivated by the results of last season. Two entirely different squads on the field. I DO believe that the Sox took measures to ensure that what happened last season wont happen again this season. They were very aggressive in the off season and have plugged in long term highly talented players to fill the holes of last season.

I'd love to see the Sox run away with it...well, part of me does...on the other hand if there is no battle for the AL east then the season becomes a bit anti-climatic.

I believe that with the depth of pitching the Sox have they will be at or near the front of the pack the entire season and will be a good bet for the post season, in spite of what the other teams in the east do.

I never played baseball beyond my neighborhood, but I do know from work in other areas of life how hard it is to excel even some of the time, let alone for a career -- and how the people on the sidelines can be far more hateful than any actual opponent.

Who Do you think is better catching instructor and Current Redsox Bullpen Coach Gary Tuck or Tony Pena?

I would rather have Gary Tuck than Tony Pena as a Yankees catching coach instructor and return to the Pinstripes. I wish He never left. So far the Redsox leads the league in Pitching and their Bullpen is solid. I blame George and Cashman for this.

Im played ball thru high school, and then I managed my son's little league team for 3 years....so, I must be an expert, right?

Well Chip and Ladies,

I think we all agree that AR is NOT going to keep this pace all year? When he does cool down to reality, the likes of Minky, Nieves, , Thompson, Melky, et al will not be able to pick up the slack. At that point, it will be about pitching.

The pitching is what I was basically talking about needs to start being held accountable! Other teams have lesser knowns doing a better job. Everyone talks about Lilly being a nothing and made fun of KC for giving all that money to Meche, etc. But, both of those guys are giving better efforts than what we have!

And Torre is a joke! He needs to set the bar HIGHER with his expectations and quit making excuses for piss poor performances from these pansy a**es.

And yeah Diane, I have played and coached in this game quite successfully for 31 years. I know what I see and I know what works. My approach has always been "high energy" and high expectations alla Billy Martin. I have always believed that when you expect more from people, you will always bring out their best!

Torre's approach is ala Bob Lemon (see bump on the log, take a nap, etc.) You often get "lackluster" performances from these types of leaders. The players know that "we can always get'em tomorrow". Well, sometimes, tommorow never comes.

What position, guys? [Don't you think that forever influences our view of the field?]

Full disclosure: I played first base in a neighborhood where there were only enough kids for a team if boys and girls played together, so we did, and took full advantage of a great school playground with a diamond just across the street from my house.

I always wanted to play SS (my hero back then was Rico Petrocelli), but rarely did as I am left-handed. Occasionally I'd get the chance in pick-up games. Mostly I played RF or pitched. I had a pretty good arm, and decent movements on my pitches. My problem was I had no command when there was a batter in the box. I was, at best, an average player who absolutely loved the game of baseball. Still do. The 3 years I coached little league and my son was on that team (and no he wansnt the "star" his best friend was...but he was a much better player than his father), may of been my best memories of being involved with baseball in a player/coach position. I wouldnt trade those memories for anything.

Red Sox have a fantastic rotation.

Stop the denial. it's true. hopefully when our rotation gets wang and muss back it'll be decent, but it's not red sox quality. just because youre a yankee fan doesn't mean you can't see the truth.

Here's a little story some of you may be interested in:

When I was coaching my son's little league team (1992/93/94), Bill Lee and his team (mostly retired Sox players) barnstormed thru Maine where I live. His team played the Sheriff and Police Department's softball team in my town. Lee chose my son as his bat boy for the game, an honor my son was estactic over. After the game, which Lee's team won by 20 runs or so, Lee himself hit 4 homeruns, Bill Lee took an hour and a half of his time to work with this kid on his pitching. He and my son stayed on the mound on that field and went over how to pitch a curve without hurting your arm, went over how to grip the ball to make it move differant ways, and what sort of pitch to throw in certain situations. He also autographed a few balls, my sons ball cap and was a complete gentleman and became my sons biggest hero. It was very impressive for a 11 year old kid from the sticks of Maine...and for that kid's father.

Diane - I was a pitcher, played outfield on the days I didn't pitch (either Right or Left) and was an emergency catcher.

Rick, I agree, Alex will not keep up this pace all year, but it won't be guys like Thompson or Nieves trying to pick up the baton, it will be Posada and Matsui - both due back on Monday.

Again, starting pitching is nice, and important but take a look at the starting rotation of last year's world champions:

Chris Carpenter
Jeff Suppan
Jeff Weaver
Al Reyes
Jason Marquis

not exactly world beaters.

That team won 85 games Chip.

Strange days indeed.

Rick, A-Rod does not have to continue at this insane pace all year in order to be successful and continue producing. If and when A-Rod does slow down, I think we can expect production from Damon, Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, Cano, Matsui, Posada, maybe Phelps -- or should we expect them to fall off the end of the earth along with their eternally pessimistic fans?

Torre does appear to be sedate in the dugout and in front of the cameras, but we don't know what goes on behind closed quarters. Joe appears to be proceeding with caution, realizing we have a long road ahead of us. He will bench a player who stubs his toe and he won't overwork his pitchers. He's not panicking yet. Other teams who are less cautious and playing like it's October may find injuries catching up with them come October. The Yankees are traditionally known to use the regular season to prepare for the playoffs. I think this is what Joe has in mind when he makes moves that baffle his live-for-the-day antagonists.

gj, no one here said the Sox don't have an awesome rotation. How did you come to that conclusion? We said the Yankees did extremely well against Schilling and very good against Beckett. I didn't notice any denial after reading these posts, just lots of optimism.

Perspective is an interesting thing.

Some folks feel that the Yanks hit Schilling harder than they hitr Beckett. I dont. Schilling is a power pitcher, therefore a fly ball out pitcher. He had several balls hit deep, but were in the park and were caught. That is typical Schilling. To me, Beckett was hit harder than Schilling because he was not able to command his pitches deep in the count.

In any case, the performances in those two games are what they were. These two teams will face each other another 15 times at least this season, I'm sure by the end of the season both Schilling and Beckett will have faced the Yanks at least 3-4 times each....we will see how the stats stack up.

Seattle's Felix Hernandez suffered a mild muscle strain in his elbow during Wednesday night's game and they expect him to start throwing Monday. Pavano suffered a mild muscle strain to his forearm near the elbow area a couple of weeks ago, and his return is still uncertain. I have the feeling if King Felix were a Yankee, he'd be playing chess and mahjong with Pavano for the next few weeks.

I've been reading this blog for several months, but first time write-in.

I agree with Rick Keyes regarding Torre.He is not only an absolute destroyer of bull-pens but a terrible example of setting low expectations particularly with the starting pitchers. How about Ron Guidry? Is he a yes man or doesn't he remember the importance of sticking with a SP even though they may be getting rocked around?

Nothing like coming to a Yankees' Forum to commiserate with other fans about Yankees' success, reasons for optimism, gleaning some good after two bad outings, while supporting our team and each other. Playing tit-for-tat with Red Sox fans would be more appropriate and better received in a Red Sox forum.

Lucy, thank you for the "welcome". Joe Torre's moves related to his handling of the team are wrong whether the team wins or loses. He has been asleep at the wheel for quite a while. Nothing to do with optimism or lack thereof, has everything to do with observance of his managerial decisions and probable consequences to the team down the road of how he is handling things now.

Oh please Lucy....stop beating that same old tired drum.

This is an internet blog...a blog designed for exchanges of thoughts and ideas...perspectives if you will. Why does one have to be a Yankee fan? I have visited many differant blogs/chat rooms/forums...never have I not seen a mix of fans. Sure there are some idiots that post drivel, and try to antagonize. I tend to ignore them...why as Diane says "feed the trolls". Just because I'm not a Yankee fan, it doesnt make me a troll...or anymore of a troll than you.

If you dont want to have exchantges with me....so be it...your choice. I dont come here and gloat, I dont bash the Yanks, and I dont antagonize...I do enter into the discussion if I have something to add or find a particular thread interesting. I will on occasion fire back a few salvos when I get a bunch of mindless idiot crap from people....much like you or anyone else on here.

For what it's worth I do frequent both a sox blog much like this, and a soc live chat room...and have for 6-7 years, and there are people like this there as well. Some who are reasonable and enjoy discussing baseball, not just screaming about being a Sox fan or a Yank fan, and then there are others of varying degrees who thump there chest or drag their knuckles and make it frustrating sometimes....so I understand how you feel. Bet please, dont put me in to that catagory, because I dont belong there...

Yankee21, I think Joe is using a long-term strategy and these pitchers will see longer runs as the season wears on.

While many feel the starting pitchers should be stretched out, we have a strong middle relief consisting of several strong pitchers. Is there any reason why pitching an average of one or two innings every other day will wear out several middle relief pitchers? Some of these guys could be starters and would see a lot more pitches during the course of a wee