a700hitter

I've been waiting for this since june of last year.

I hope that Drew doesn't strain his groin from all this baserunning tonight. Good, Tito is pinch running for him. We need him for the Yankee series. He's locked in just in time.

VMart can hit a little bit. The Yankees will not be facing the pop-gun offense that they faced at Yankee Stadium.

Pedroia is back and in the lineup for Thursday. It's a good lineup.

No, I think it is almost certain that a wrist injury like the one he sustained causes a mid-30's hitter to lose something. He's clearly in decline from his heyday, but I don't think he is near the cliff yet.

Kotchman over Ortiz? I think that would be a horrible mistake.

He has more HRs than anyone (other than 1 player) since June 1st. If he's doing "just enough" to stay in the lineup, everyone else should be benched?

What I mean is that I have no positive or negative emotional connection to people that I don't know. These people that go crying to a celebrity's funeral talking about them like they know them when some of them haven't talked to their brother or sister or other family member for a couple of years leave me puzzled. The Pedroia thing was my commentary on societal priorities.

Discussing what has been done right is really quite boring. Discussions about what needs to be fixed and how to fix it is where the creative ideas get exchanged. No one remembers positive posts, because they are boring. Criticism. . . Well that gets everyone engaged and people remember those discussions. However, I do tire of the accusations that I don't like kids or I don't like Youk, etc. Etc. For the record, I really like watching Youk play. I don't care if a player is an ******* off the field. I enjoy if they play hard and they play well. Youk does. None of my criticism is out of a dislike of anyone on a personal level. Every player, manager, coach and FO person is subject to criticism and that is what this space is for. It has nothing to do with likes and dislikes regarding individuals. To me they are not even real people. I don't know them. I don't care about their personal lives. Why should I... They are not my friends or family. I don't dislike any of them. To do so would be irrational, because I don't know them. I evaluate their play and share my thoughts and opinions here. It's funny how people don't remember my prediction that Papi will be a force the rest of the season, but they will remember every well-earned criticism that I bring here.

If the drug testing is that big of a farce that a scientific genius like Ortiz could avoid detection for 6 years, then I guarantee you that everyone is taking something... everyone, except the few rookies that can't afford the program. Do you think Mo's longevity is completely natural? The guy is as good as he was during the World Championship days. Come on? No decline even in his late 30's? What about Jeter increasing his range at age 36? I have never heard of an athlete increasing his agility after hitting age 35, but he has. Check his Range ratings.

I root for all our guys, and in none of the hundreds of games that I have been too in my life do I remember booing one of our guys. There is no player that is above criticism. Is there? I actually took the opposite side (from Crespo) of the Youk argument. I was fine with him charging the mound, but not because I am a Youk-o-phile like other posters.

I'm glad to here that you are not worried about him. It will make the pain more intense if it is unexpected. You've been warned.

Moneyball philosophy results in some ridiculous decisions. The A's get the first two guys on base in the 8th inning in a 1 run game. The batter is a 270 lb rookie Everidge who has been swinging at pinatas all night. Rather than put up a guy that can bunt to get both guys into scoring position where an out can score the tying run, he let's the fat load swing away. A strikeout would have been a plus. He hits a grounder to third base for a DP. Idiotic.

Pudge 3 for 3 tonight. Did Woodward ever get 3 hits in a game?

Pudge has an RBI hit in his first game with the Rangers.

You can't win this point with all the Youk-o-philes on this site.