The Week In Review

I want to keep the blog police off my ass, so I'm writing a couple of overdue postings tonight. I would have done a couple yesterday, but it too damn hot and my AC is in my bedroom while the computer is in the living room (Long Story. Hopefully that situation will be resolved soon). A nice rain has cooled things down tonight so I don't have to worry about my terminal exploding.

I've been getting some flack over Friday's blog "Beltran From The Top Rope!" Some members of the Empire as well as Mutt Infidels who "don't hate the Yankees" thought it was crass of me to make light of a very scary incident. I say, Spare me. My attitude is this, when it comes to dealing with infidels;

OUR WAR ENDS WHEN ALL WARS END.

Plain and simple. Sometimes a carpetbombing is in order to keep them in line and let them know who's still in charge. Yes, some innocents suffer in the process. But I (as seen in this picture on the right) have been involved in an Infidel Outreach program for years. Trying to turn people to the ways of the Jeter. This is what i get in return for my efforts.



When the Angels beat us in the 2002 divisional playoffs. Death Row Inmate Metstradamus papered my entire office with these damn Rally Monkeys!(to the right)


When we suffered the worst collapse in the history of baseball last year in the playoffs. Infidels from all across the country sent me this horribly doctored photo of A-ROD.

So I have taken on this stance on dealing with scum....

the only good infidels are dead infidels.

While some may not harbor the hatred for the Empire like Metstradamus or Uncle Buck, unless they come to see the error of their ways and embrace the ways of the dark side...than, to paraphrase our president...You're either with us, or with the terrorists.

So every chance I get, I'm going to torture infidels mercilessly. When Pedro blows a no-hitter and a win like tonight, I'm going to be there with lemon juice to pour on the wound. When Beltran and Cameron have a head to head meeting, I'm going to send out crass notes like "Beltran From The Top Rope."

OUR WAR ENDS WHEN ALL WARS END

Good week this week for the Bombers. Some members of the empire were hyperventilating when we lost back to back games to the Chi-Sox 2-1. But I liked what I saw. We had good pitching performances from our starters and outside of a couple of burps, the bullpen has held up as well. Proctor was HUGE for us on Thursday filling in for Randy Johnson. These guys are exhausted, yet they're finding a way to get it done during the dog days of August. There's no shame in losing well-pitched games like Tuesday and Wednesday. And I seriously doubt that Garcia, El Duque and Contreras (especially) will pitch as well if we see them again. We went 5-2 on this homestand, with a very sweet sweep of Texas. The first time we've swept them in a four game series at home in 10 years. We gained a half game on the Sux today with their rainout and a full game in wild card hunt. Now we head to Tampa to face the Rays who have been playing well lately. Jaret Wright pitches tomorrow for the first time since April. And while I have no idea what we're going to get out of him, I feel good that we'll find a way to get it done in Tampa and in Chi-Town vs the Sox.



I think we might have found a diamond in the rough in Shawn Chacon. This guy can pitch. Nice fastball, nasty curve and breaking stuff when he's on. I don't think he's a flash in the pan. I think he just needed to be in the right situation to thrive. I'm not calling him an ace or anything, but he can definitely be a nice number 4 or 5 starter for us. Or give us a boost in the bullpen like he did on Friday night. It was his throw day and he gave us a scoreless eighth which enabled Torre to rest Gordon and Mo and get to Sturtze in the ninth. Sunday, he didn't have his best stuff in the brutal heat. But he found a way to battle through five innings. Matsui's three run bomb took care of the rest. He probably would have come out for sixth inning if not for the rain delay.



The great thing about Chacon and Small is that they THROW STRIKES.After sitting through Al Leiter's Trail of Tears on Friday, I can sort of relate to what my Cherokee forefathers went through two centuries ago. Games like Friday's, are what people hate about baseball. There is no reason that a nine inning game should take nearly four hours to play. 125 pitches in five innings??? A buddy of mine who works for the Rangers was in the clubhouse where Kenny Rogers was charting the game. Rogers said that their pitchers had thrown 168 pitches...and the game wasn't over yet!!! Unbelievable. There's talk that Small might be the odd man out and sent to the bullpen. If anything, it should be Leiter or Wright. After his gem vs the Sux in Boston, Leiter has been unable to consistently throw strikes. And Wright is just coming off the DL. Small has earned a chance to keep his spot in the rotation. And the pen can use the extra arms. If I had my way, the rotation would be Johnson, Moose, Chacon, Small and Leiter if they need a fifth starter. Wright's arm would be a huge boost to a very tired bullpen. Not the ideal situation, but with Pavano and Wang out, I think that gives us the best chance to win consistently. The only way we're catching Boston or capturing the Wild-Card, is by stringing together quality starts. Four and a half back, it's doable, but the surge has to start now.