26 to 6

Except that Banuelos did look pretty good... well except for that 2-2 pitch to Varitek that went all the way to the backstop...and even that pitch had some good stuff behind it Truth is that while Jacko might overhype or exaggerate some things, nobody gives him credit when his points are valid. It's pretty much a lost cause for him. You can't fault him for his enthusiasm, and we're definitely all a little guilty of the things that most of you ridicule him for. But back to the game. Colon looked pretty good again and A-Rod continues his hot spring. Despite the 4-run deficit (AT THE MOMENT ), it's still spring and these are encouraging signs for those players. Edit: Make that a 3-run deficit

Haha probably true. That's why I classify myself as a (closet) Pirates supporter lol . I've got 3 or 4 teams ahead of them. I am definitely a fan of their ballpark though, it's absolutely gorgeous. And a lot of people who've had the opportunity to visit most/all Major League stadiums say it's probably the best.

I'm going to the game on the 25th of June. I've always been somewhat of a closet Pirates supporter (despite being a Yankee fan I've always enjoyed rooting for the underdogs, which explains my strange attraction to the Expos as well back when they were in Montreal lol) and I've always wanted to see PNC so I figured this would be a great opportunity.

Fastpitch is no joke. I think she even struck out Bonds when she was doing her TWIB tour a few years back. This is a good story though. It'll be interesting to see how this kid makes the transition from softball to baseball and how he progresses as a prospect. He's only 17 so I'm sure it will be quite a while before his name is ever mentioned as a legitimate Major League prospect, but it will definitely be interesting to follow.

As we approach tonight's Sox/Yanks matchup in Tampa here's a touching story I came across. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703300904576178762851574594.html?mod=wsj_share_twitter It's funny because I don't even recall hearing anything about this last year. Hope all is well for Bridget though. While I'm a Yankee fan I have nothing against Ron. In fact I remember watching a PawSox game a few years ago and he did a a rather lengthy interview from the dugout, and I just remember thinking how chill and down to earth he was. It's tragic that this happened to his family. But it's a feel good story anytime tragedy prompts generosity.

Why not? He played left early in his Major League career, I'm sure he's athletic enough to still play the outfield, and he's obviously an offensive upgrade over Gardner.

What Jacko said...

3 times a charm?

I think if by some chance he ends up here you have to leave Tex at first. Pujols is a plus-defender at first, but Tex is better. You could DH Albert, or rotate him around a little from DH to first (when Tex needs a day here and there) and left field, especially against lefties considering the struggles that Gardner and Granderson have against southpaws. I wouldn't commit to him as a permanent DH though with the eventual need to have that position available for other aging stars such as Jeter and A-Rod. But like I said you could play him in left against lefties, DH him occasionally, he could possibly play third when Alex DH's (he came up as a shortstop/third baseman I believe), and so on. Either way, when you have a player like Pujols you make it work somehow.

I know you're just being sarcastic, and I can't speak for any of the other Yankee fans here since I haven't been too active lately, but as a Yankee fan I'm sincerely saying what you just said lol. I have the Sox penciled in for the division, hoping the Yanks can wrap up the WC. It's gonna be an interesting season, that's for sure.

Maybe not as Yankee manager, but I'm pretty darn sure Joe won manager of the year as a rookie manager with the lowly Marlins back in '06. When you say you'd take Tito over anyone else this point, I assume you're referring to currently active managers, right? Because historically I can list 10-20 managers off the top of my head who I think are miles away better than Francona, and that list wouldn't even include Torre or Girardi. Just my opinion though. But when it comes to comparing managers throughout history it gets a little tricky due to the different eras. Nonetheless, I'll take a tough, rugged John McGraw, or a Joe McCarthy, a Sparky Anderson, Cito Gaston, or even Bobby Valentine over Francona if I were playing historical "fantasy" baseball. But again, just my opinion. I can certainly see why Sox fans are so pleased with Tito however, as he's without question one of the top 5 (maybe even higher than that now with the retirement of Bobby Cox and Cito Gaston) managers in the game right now.

So I guess for a very long time the World Series, America's most prestigious sporting event (yeah that's right...f*** the Superbowl. Why watch one game when you can watch anywhere from 4 to 7), meant nothing to you for a long time lol, im jk....couldn't resist that one No hard feelings.

I still think it would be nice to find a way to add him without losing the draft pick, like the Rays did last offseason. IIRC they pretty much agreed on a dollar amount for a one year contract, then had Soriano re-sign with Atlanta, who then traded him to the Tampa. I could be mistaken about exactly how it went down, but I think it was something along those lines. For some reason I may have 'misremembered' some of the details, but either way I've always liked Soriano, going back to when he first came up with Seattle, and he would definitely be a perfect addition to our pen setting up Mo. God knows we have to figure something out, because it certainly hasn't been the most productive offseason thus far. I guess I kind of like the likely/possible addition of Andruw Jones, but I'm not 100% sold on him. Can't hurt though, I suppose. Also, I thought I remembered reading somewhere earlier in the offseason (I want to say back in November sometime) that Marcus Thames was working on a deal with the SoftBank Hawks in Japan, and that there were several other teams over there interested in him. It doesn't appear anything has been finalized on that front, as his name is still mentioned sometimes. I wouldn't mind having him back if he decides to stay in the states. Just for so long though I didn't even consider it because I figured he was definitely going to be playing in Japan. Although streaky at times, he wasn't too bad for us this past season, and would be cheaper than Andruw. Plus, for some reason I've always liked him too lol. I still remember seeing him hit that first HR off of Randy Johnson on the first pitch he ever saw in the big leagues back in '02. At that point I was convinced he was going to be a huge star for years in our outfield , only to be disappointed when he was traded to Texas the next year for Ruben Sierra. I liked "Big Rube" though, so it's all good since things obviously never panned out for Thames as I predicted they would lol. Anyway, it's gonna be interesting to see what changes or additions we make both leading up to and during the season to stay competitive with the Sox. It's gonna be an interesting and exciting year in the AL East for sure.

Idk if it's been pointed out anywhere on the board, but with the agreement to sign Bobby Jenks, the Sox right now have a higher payroll than the yankees I just thought that was unusual. I know I haven't chimed in here lately, but I have to give the Sox kudos on making a bunch of great improvements to their club so far this offseason. It's definitely gonna be fun to see how this team plays in 2011.

Agreed. It was well-deserved.

I want that shirt! lol

Congratulations to the Giants, they played a great series, and had an awesome season. I hope all the Giants fans out there are living it up right now!

Hopefully the baseball gods are asleep right now

At the time I thought that the Sox had the better pitching staff top-to-bottom, and that the Yankees were the team to beat. The Sox had the better head to head record that season, but the Yankees won the division, on top of the fact that the Yankees so dramatically beat the Sox the previous postseason. They were both very comparable to each other that year, but to me despite Boston's pitching advantage they were still looked at as the underdog coming into the series, and that was supported when they went down 3-0, making their incredible comeback that much more amazing (or devastating, if you're a Yankee fan). I don't think that the Yankees' advantage as the "favorite" was that dramatic though, as they were both very competitive all season.

f***in Hamilton at it again...ughh!!

Now that I'm back around I just wanna say whats up to everyone. Great series so far, looking forward to what I hope will be another great October! It'll be fun, that's for sure.

I know I'm a little late here, but there were a few nice places to eat there. I don't remember what it's called, but there's a pretty good pizza place there not far from the hall. I actually met Willie McGee there during Ozzie Smith's induction ceremony. Also, I love the "Foo Kin" Chinese place, for the name if nothing else.