TheRivernator

seriously, those who came to this country ILLEGALLY should be shipped back to wherever they came from. I work with many LEGAL immigrants from India and Africa and they have gone through the hassle of doing it the right way. It isnt fair to them, and it isnt fair to our economy. Seriously, I'd rather they find out who all the illegals are and ship them back to their true homes and give their jobs to those unemployed americans who need them.

His ETA was May 15. The likely ETA is at least 10-14 days from when he can start hitting again and he likely will need a game or two of either rehab or simulated BP before he is ready. His injury is a bad one in that it totally disallows him to keep up with his timing. He canot swing a bat. It isnt like a hammy where he could still take BP but can't run. He's likely to miss the first 5 games of the rivalry.....

It is a measure of middle relief. You always disregard the closer when you want to determine how strong your bridge is. It isnt like I said, disregarding your best middle relief guy, your middle relief is X. No, I am disregarding your closer, who relies on the bridge to gets his saves. It was a measure of the bridge, not the closer....

that is all well and good, but look at his trending thus far. Over his last 550 ABs, Loretta has lost all power capability. Trends are the way to go.

liar

he's 32

no need. Too many liars would say that they would not take the money....

But there is no certainty that he would be unhappy....

Hughes is not going to be f***ed with though. Paps should be in your rotation. Hughes will make a spot start here and there next yr and hopefully he sticks. From all sorts of scouting reports, he has pinpoint location and 3 plus pitches. I just hope he has the balls to handle the bigs....

Okay, you contradicted yourself, again. The battle between the Yankees and Red Sox is bigger than one player, yes that is true, but if that is the case then why are you so hung up about one player. Also, loyalty goes both ways. The Red Sox were not loyal to him by offering him a substandard deal (one furcal signed, Damon's value went up) and even went so far as to blow him off as a non-priority. That isnt the best way to show loyalty to one of your best players. Also, they are money-hungry? What do you do for a living? If someone offered you 12 million more $$ to do what you do, would you take it? Seriously, taking more money by switching jobs happens all the time. Why is it so taboo in baseball? When you get out into the real world, you'll see why he made that decision. Even if you are loaded, 12 mil is 12 mil, and that is a ton of $$ man, a ton of money. And you would be lying if you said that you wouldnt take that money....

Exactly what I was waiting for, a well thought out post of retort. Thank you. To rebut your points... I think Gonzalez hits close to .220 this yr with an OPS around .600. BUT, bringing a rookie shortstop up in the middle of a pennant race could have disastrous results to his development, especially since he projects more as a 2b. I expect him in the fens as your 2b next yr. Maybe, maybe not. He is still getting the bat on the ball at a good rate (5Ks in close to 100ABs), but he cannot drive it with regularity, which you still need to do to get even a single. It looks like his thumb injury may be worse than expected or he could be aging and not able to deliver like he did before. His terrible SLG last yr is proving to be more of a fact than a fluke thus far. If Paps goes to the rotation, then the sox will have a clear cut advantage in the rotation that I will not deny. But questions abound about Beckett and Schilling. Both got out of the gate hot, but both put together #3 or #4 type starts their past 2 outings. Beckett has questionable durability and also has questionable ability outside of the friendly confines of Marlin Stadium. Schilling has outperformed expectations to this point, but he is still not a true ACE in the meaning of the word. As a matter of fact, not many of them exist anymore. As far as Hansen is concerned, if you want to see a guy with power stuff that you describe flounder, take a look at Scott Proctor. His stuff is just as good as Hansen's, 96-99mph heat, + breaking stuff, +changeup. It took him 3 years to get his s*** straight at the MLB level before he started pitching well. Pitching in the bigs is more than stuff. If it wasnt, then McClung from TB would be a 20 game winner annually, but he isnt. Being built on pitching is a great thing, don't get me wrong, but undermining your offense in the process without an apparent offensive plan will detract from your pitching acquisitions. The sox got slower, more unathletic and more free-swinging in their lineup as well as less clutch. If you look at the teams that won based solely on pitching the last few yrs, they could do one of two things. They either were a power team able to win with the big inning or they were a team able to score a run when they really needed to with speed and precision bat handling. The sox have done neither to this point, and they havent made any indication that they will snap out of it. The fact is, the personell acquired in the offseason was questionable coming into the year on the offensive end. You got 3 guys who were coming off career worst seasons. It isnt like you nabbed the best of the best and hey are starting slowly. There is a real possibility that this is what you got. Once again, it is early, and I admit that, but the trends are there and they are glaring....

I dont agree with that statement. I think everybody knows that RJ and Beckett are better than their ERAs and both of our questionable old men have come up aces (Mussina and Schilling). I'd call the top 2 a draw to this point. The middle of the rotation is basically a draw as well with Wake a bit better than Wang (although we will see tomorrow) and Chacon better than Clement. Our 5's suck, but we both have questionable injury returns in Pavano/Small for us and Wells for you guys. If the 5's neutralize each other, then I'd call the rotation even. If one outperforms the other, then that will be the winning rotation. The top 4 to this point is equal...

a month of stats is enough to at least mark some trends, is it not?

another post of attacks. You want something punk? Here you go. We would be okay with getting the championship without playing the games? That is the gayest thing I have ever heard. Seriously, what baseball fan would say they would not like to watch any baseball. Just a f***ing stupid post, utterly pathetic and downright comical. I don't care what it takes for the yankees to win a world series? Aside from the obvious, I wouldnt. You arent a fan of a team if you won't accept a win at any cost mentality. And if you want to call out the drug users, go ahead. No team is innocent, it has pervaded everything. Only a select few have been caught and 2 of them play for us. I don't like them, but they wear the NY logo on their hat and Yankees on their chest, so I will root for them, period. Any "Fan" who cannot accept that is not a true fan of their TEAM. Apparently you will only accept choirboys on your team, but you are already shooting yourself in the foot with losers like Tavarez. We are the NY Yankees, worship us? No, but acknowledge that the franchise over the years has been amazing and some of the leaders of our team are stand up, good guys. Same as yankee fans will acknowledge that Ortiz and Vtek are good players and good stand up guys. As far as cheering a player that has returned, it is the right thing to do. He was the sparkplug of the 1st championship in 86 years. He helped bring joy to your club and he did what every other red blooded capitalist would do, and he went for the money. You should cheer him when announced and then treat him like every other pinstriper gets treated. If you cannot do that, then you lack maturity and respect, but I see you already lack that....

also, my post was mostly factual. I just pulled out some numbers. Might be premature in some of the analysis, but nothing premature about using statistics to validate a point....

solid post, um not. About as good as your last one. I see how easy it is to push you over the edge, let me bank that one for later....

My opening salve was a shot over the bow of red sox nation, sparking the rivalry and this site into a frenzy for tomorrow...

Hughes is a beast and should be on the fasttrack to the bigs for next yr....

did you read my post, or is readin hard for you? Your argument about being unimpressed with your own history, well, I basically turned it on you. Your argument that the sox are a better team right now, well, you are premature in making that assessment and flat our wrong if you have been watching the games recently....

Sadly, I think he'll get booed.

so you were rather unimpressed with your own history making performance? You basically just shot yourself in the foot right there. Keep goin Bubba. Also, currently, the sox are not better than the yankees and I think most of the people on this site will agree. But it is May 1st at midnight and there is a lot of season to go. I am sorry for your girlfriend or your wife if you were able to convince the local dip s*** champ to enter into nuptuals, because she may never understand what real lovin is. You keep creamin the bed sheets with your prematurity....

I didnt ignore it. I laughed at it for its sheer lack of baseball intellect and total homer persuasion. BTW, let me translate that into texas speak. Your argoomant was just plain dumb boy. No need to pick it a part I reckon...

also, that is a pretty bold statement to make saying that this yrs sox team is better than this yrs yankee team after watching your team play horribly over their last 10 games. Hang onto it tightly and don't let it go, no matter how the logic works...

Do any of these resemble you or your family?? You Might Be A Redneck If . . . . . . you were acquitted for murdering your first wife after she threw out your Elvis 45’s. . . . you think watching professional wrestling is foreplay. . . . your front porch collapses and four dogs get killed. . . . you no longer drink wine ever since the screw cap got caught up your nose. . . . you think that Dom Perignon is a Mafia leader. . . . that billboard that says, “Say No To Crack” reminds you to pull up your jeans. . . . your wife’s hairdo was ever ruined by a ceiling fan. . . . you go to your family reunions looking for a date. . . . you think a Volvo is part of a woman’s anatomy. . . . your Junior/Senior Prom had a Daycare. . . . you’ve got more than three cousins named “Bubba”. . . . you have an Elvis Jell-O mold. . . . taking your wife on a cruise means circling the Dairy Queen. . . . you’ve got more than one other named “Darryl”. . . . you ever won first prize in a tobacco spittin’ contest. . . . on Thanksgiving Day you have to decide which pet to eat. . . . you’ve ever come home and found crime scene tape across your front porch. . . . your favorite entree is Spam barbecued on the grill. . . . your child’s first words were, “Attention K-Mart shoppers!”. . . . your idea of high-quality entertainment is a six-pack and a bug-zapper. . . . your whole family is Democrats except little Mary. She got to readin’. . . . you think the last words to The Star Spangled Banner are “Gentlemen, start your engines.” . . . you kissed your own wife at midnight at the New Year’s Eve party. . . . you’ve ever taken reading material into an airplane restroom. . . . you’ve ever gotten an official letter of recognition from a tobacco or beer company. . . . you vacuum the sheets instead of washing them. . . . you’ve ever valet parked a snow plow. . . . you’ve ever stood in line to have your picture made with a freak of nature. . . . you break wind in public and blame it on your kid. . . . you’ve ever had to siphon gas from your lawn mower to put into your truck. . . . you’ve ever paid for a six-pack of beer with pennies. . . . there are hubcap wind chimes anywhere on your block. . . . you have a Bud Light pool-table light hanging over your dining room table. . . . the strongest smell in your house is butane. . . . you think paprika is a Third World country. . . . you ask the preacher, “How’s it hanging?” . . . you go to a stock car race and don’t need a program. . . . you have a bumper sticker that says, “My mother’s an honor student” at the local junior high. . . . you think potted meat on a saltine is an hors d’oeuvre. . . . you played the banjo in your high school band. . . . the velvet paintings in your house were bought from an art dealer on the side of the highway. . . . you have no hubcaps on your car because you’re using them to feed your hunting dogs. . . . you can’t visit relatives without getting mud on your tires. . . . your mother doesn’t put shoes on to go grocery shopping. . . . you’ve ever been blacklisted by a bowling alley. . . . you honest-to-God think women are turned on by animal noises and seductive tongue gestures. . . . anyone in your family has ever purchased peroxide in a gallon container. . . . you don’t think baseball players spit and scratch too much. . . . you’ve ever been to a wedding reception at the Waffle House. . . . your dog has ever brought home something that you cooked for dinner. . . . you owe a taxidermist more than your monthly income. . . . you’ve ever caught bugs just so you could throw them in the bug zapper. . . . you have a Hefty Bag for a passenger-side window. . . . you’ve ever hollered, “Rock the house, Bubba!” during a piano recital. . . . your kids’ favorite bedtime story is “Curious George and the High Voltage Fence.” . . . your watchband is wider than any book you’ve ever read. . . . you know who is actually leading the Winston Cup series. . . . you’ve ever had to turn your pickup truck around because of bridge clearance restrictions. . . . your favorite beer company cannot afford to advertise. . . . you’ve ever barbecued Spam on the grill. . . . you time your belches to achieve a personal best. . . . your new job promotion means that the company foots the bill to have your name sewn on your shirts. . . . the fountain at your wedding spewed beer instead of champagne. . . . your favorite restaurant has the word “eats” anywhere in the name. . . . there’s graffiti on the bathroom wall in your own house. . . . you have grease under your toenails. . . . your idea of a romantic evening is sharing the same spit cup with your girlfriend at a tractor pull. . . . the most common phrase you hear at your family reunion is “What the hell are you lookin’ at Diphead?” . . . your best coon hound gets a birthday present and your wife doesn’t. . . . your mother has more chest hair than your father. . . . you think Campho-Phenique is a miracle drug. . . . you think a manicure is some kind of French doctor. . . . your mama saves aluminum foil. . . . you have more than two brothers named Bubba or Junior. . . . you clean your house with a water hose. . . . during the wedding ceremony the minister said, “Do you, DeWayne, take Connie to be your old lady?” . . . the game warden knows the serial numbers to your guns by heart. . . . you pawned your grandfather’s pocket watch because you needed beer money for the weekend. . . . you took your coon dogs on your honeymoon. . . . you drive across town to see a car wreck. . . . it’s impossible to see food stains on the fabric of your work uniform. . . . you think that anyone with ten fingers and toes is abnormal. . . . you need one more hole punched in your card before you get a “freebie” at the House of Tattoos. . . . you have a personal account of a UFO sighting. . . . you think a hard drive is driving more than one hour. . . . you’ve ever taken a generator and a 27-inch TV camping. . . . you help booby trap your family’s marijuana crop. . . . you have ever made a frog-gigging spear. . . . the last time you saw your daddy outside, he was picking up trash, chained to three other guys. . . . your mother’s only shoes are house slippers. . . . your sewage system consists of a pipe down a hillside. . . . you wear knee-high stockings with a skirt. . . . you follow the tractor pull circuit. . . . you have more electronic equipment in your truck than in your house. . . . your primary income involves pigs or manure. . . . your best sofa came out of a Chevrolet. . . . your favorite T-shirt is declared offensive in at least 13 states. . . . you were expelled from summer school. . . . you’ve ever been asked for your autograph at a rattlesnake roundup. . . . you attend a parent-teacher conference wearing flip-flops. . . . your baby’s crib mobile is made out of beer cans. . . . you’ve ever been asked to leave Shoney’s all-you-can-eat breakfast. . . . you have a grave in your yard. . . . you’ve ever stolen toilet paper. . . . you think the theory of relativity has something to do with inbreeding. . . . your deceased hunting dog’s tombstone is larger than your grandfather’s. . . . you wake up in the morning already dressed for work.

Half my family is from Jersey. I am from CT. Also, Jersey is still filled with northerners, who are for the most part, smarter than your average yokel from down south. I think the guy who washed my windshield at a stop sign in Newark even had a college degree. Now, that is pronounced Kol-ij for those of you who have never heard of it. Also, up here we can tell the difference between our steers and our women, well we at least want to tell the difference. The last part of your post is the best part though. Jeter and Rivera are pussies, lol. 4 rings, 10 postseasons altogether and they still get no respect. I at least thought a boy from the south would have a little respect, but it seems you have lost even that. Oh well, nothing goes better with 110 degree heat and 100% humidity like overalls and chewin on a straw, eh good buddy?