Blogs By Fans

Antawn Jamison, The Answer At PF?

2008-05-12T06:45:11Z

Part 6 of the series features the Wizards PF, Antawn Jamison. (Archives after the jump)

Status

Unrestricted Free Agent
2007 Salary: $16,360,095

Reference

Thoughts On The Player

Jamison, while technically a power forward, doesn't play the back-to-the-basket style traditionally found at the position. He's a volume shooter, who does not shoot for a high enough percentage at the position (43% from the floor in '07-'08) and he takes way too many threes (4.5/game) and shoots them at a below-average 34%. That being said, he is a bona fide scorer, he can shoot from the outside, spread the floor a little bit, his rebounding numbers were impressive this year, and he would fit into the Sixers up-tempo offensive style.

Jamison will be 32 next month, and you have to believe he's looking for his final pay day. I think it's just going to take too much money to bring him in and while he'd help make them a better offensive team, I don't think he's the answer. He'd give you 17-22 points per night, eat up more than 15 shots per game doing it, and he isn't going to draw double teams or really make life much easier for the rest of the offense.

Thoughts On Likelihood

Jamison is at the head of the unrestricted free agent class right now. There are better players out there, arguably, but they all have some kind of string attached (restricted free agency, player options, team options, etc). The only thing it would take to land Jamison is money and a willingness on his part to play in Philly. The probability is pretty hard to peg right now, because not a lot of teams have the cap space to give him the type of deal he's looking for. Philly may honestly be his best option, if the Sixers want him. My gut says he goes back to Washington, though.

Projected Lineup

Miller
Iguodala
Thad
Jamison
Dalembert

See the rest of the series after the jump.
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Right Guy, Wrong Result

2008-05-12T04:15:35Z

Regardless of the 9-8 final score, Red Sox fans couldn't ask for much more than the scenario that unfolded in the matchup's final moments.

Regardless of result, there was one big positive to come out of Sunday night's
loss: We won't have to see those horrendous pink bats again for another year.

Down one run, runner on second base. Manny Ramirez at the dish, sitting on 297 home runs. Against a power pitcher with a curve. If ManRam finds a fastball, Jonathan Papelbon is rushing up in the bullpen, getting ready to toss the bottom of the ninth.

Instead, a hamstrung Manny grounded out meekly to end the game. That's the way it works sometimes, and this was one of those times. Still, it hardly diminished a fabulously offensive game from two teams who are rapidly starting to look like legitimate AL title contenders.

Things just didn't go according to plan from pitch one. Tim Wakefield struggled in a slide back performance just nights after his best outing in years. Amazingly, he lasted less than three innings and required Terry Francona to throw water on one of his worst performances as a pitcher who has often served as a Sox fireman himself. Funny how seven hits and seven runs over just 2.2 innings can do that to you.

Tonight, he was bettered by a local Twins rookie who was on his game, even though Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire very nearly gave him enough rope to hang himself. In the end, Nick Blackburn lasted six innings, allowing nine hits and four runs, eventually good enough for the win as Boston constantly rallied yet never quite caught up.

Still, there WERE a handful of positives for Boston to reflect upon in the aftermath of a second loss in the three-game set, marking just the third series this year the Sox have dropped. Coco Crisp knocked out a homer for the second night in a row, Alex Cora looked completely healthy in knocking around Minnesota pitching and flashing serious leather. And, perhaps most important of all, ManRam didn't argue against pinch hitting when Terry Francona called his name, despite the fact that he'd specifically asked for the night off .

Do those developments make up for the loss? Hardly. But they do bring a certain optimism amidst a fantastic game to watch, as long as you weren't the one on the pitching rubber.

STARTNING PITCHING: -
No other way to judge Wake on this night, which is striking in how diametrically opposed it was to last Tuesday. If ever WMYM needed reminding, tonight just goes to prove that the only safe bet on a night Wake starts is to not bet at all.

MIDDLE RELIEF: -
Julian Tavarez? Not a good night for the Big Lebowski. David Aardsma and Javier Lopez had their brief moments in the sun, a walk and hit from Aardsma not withstanding, but those were overshadowed by Mike Timlin's outing, which eventually was accountable for the losing run. Not what he had in mind, for sure.

SET-UP RELIEF: N/A
The Sox never had a lead, let alone one early enough to protect it.

CLOSER: N/A
We're not typing that sentence above again. You know that's what we'd do here, anyway.

LINEUP: √+
So Manny couldn't come through with a miraculous hit. So what. The Sox, who often struggle against starters the first time they see them, got great nights from Dustin Pedroia, Coco Crisp, Alex Cora et al. in making up for ManRam's absence and a horrendous outing from Mike Lowell. It wasn't enough for a win, but it was enough to keep offensive momentum going heading to Baltimore late Sunday night for a Monday PM first pitch. Here's hoping Clay Buchholz is already hanging in the Charm City.

How Will Mike D'Antoni Effect The Knicks?

2008-05-12T02:55:10Z

Changes. Not a lot on the way (the Knicks aren't really capable of revamping the entire team), but some more are on the way. First Donnie Walsh, now D'Antoni. The Knicks are putting together the management team that will put together the team. They still need a GM, and with a big name President with tons of experience, and a big name coach with a well regarded system, the GM can be a novice. Kiki Vandeweghe signed on to be Rod Thorn's GM, so look for one of the aforementioned head coach candidates - Mark Jackson, Kenny Smith, et al - to resurface as a possible GM candidate.

Personnel wise? The Knicks who would seem to benefit the most are Renaldo Balkman (someone whom the Suns were reportedly very interested in during the 2006 Draft), Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson (someone whom the Suns drafted), David Lee, and perhaps Jared Jeffries.

Quentin Richardson and Stephon Marbury both played on the Suns under D'Antoni for a bit, but both may be too old or worn down to contribute heavily. In fact, the two things the Knicks will need in order to implement the D'Antoni system are: a point guard with court vision, and high percentage three-point shooting. If those two guys can turn it around, and provide those skills (skills they once possessed), then they might have a role on this team. If not, then the Knicks will go shopping.

If the Knicks get a top-2 pick, Derrick Rose will undoubtedly be drafted, and the first problem is solved. However, the likely reality is this: the Knicks may end up with a #5-7 pick. If that happens, Danilo Gallinari suddenly comes into play much more than anyone (including myself) might have anticipated.

Aside from the obvious Italian connection, Gallinari fits a lot of D'Antoni's Knicks pressing needs: he's international (as D'Antoni's system is), he's a SF (the Knicks were dead last in SF +/- last year), and he's deadly from downtown (40% shooter from behind the arc). No, I don't particularly like him that much, but he will become a very likely option if the Knicks end up with the #5 pick or worse.

If that happens, the point guard situation will likely be resolved via a trade with Toronto. The Raptors have a legitimate problem right now; Jose Calderon has stated, on his website, that he wants to be a starter:

Quiero ser titular y estar en un equipo que aspire a todo. Desde luego no estaré en un equipo en el que yo pueda ser importante pero no haya una estructura sólida o no haya opciones en los 'playoffs'. (poorly written translation, also from the site: "I want to be a starter and be on a team that aspires to everything. I will not be on a team in which I canoot be an important contributor nor if there is not a solid structure or if there are not options to be in the playoffs.")

TJ Ford has also said similar things. The Raptors will now have to choose, especially since Calderon is a restricted free agent. The Knicks can't really offer Calderon a deal (beyond the mid-level exemption, or about $6 million a year for 5 years). The Raptors aren't going to let Jose Calderon go, not when he's a much healthier point guard than TJ Ford, and has more upside (Jose's stats this season as a starter are positively amazing). Look for the Raptors to put Ford on the trading block; the Knicks could offer Jamal Crawford, an aggressive slasher/explosive scorer who would help fill one of the Raptors most pressing needs.

Jamal Crawford may be a decent uptempo player who excels at throwing alley-oops, but I doubt he will be anything more than a sixth man under D'Antoni. Crawford is just too low % for Mike's system.

Other players in danger of being traded: well, if D'Antoni didn't take much of a shining to Shaq, then you have to believe he won't have much patience for Eddy Curry. The Knicks might give him away to anyone who wants him. Possible candidates include the Heat or the Grizzles (with maybe famous draft bust Darko coming back this way). He is tradeable, but the Knicks will have to either rebuild his value by making him an option in the offense, or they will have to accept pennies on the dollars for him (Mark Blount).

Zach Randolph? He's a good fit for the pick and roll system (Isiah: "what's a pick and/or roll?") that will get him open looks from fifteen feet, where he is pretty solid. The problem will be can D'Antoni convince him to shoot without taking ten seconds of dribbling.

Donnie Walsh will check to see if the Bucks have changed their minds about the Michael Redd for Zach Randolph trade that was discussed, and dismissed, last season. Michael Redd's deadly three-point shooting would be ideal for the D'Antoni Knicks. Perhaps if the Knicks trade down a few spots with the Bucks in the draft (if Danilo is still available with the Bucks' pick), that might be enough to entice the Bucks to giving up Redd for Randolph.

Nate Robinson might get a larger role in the system. He's a tenacious defender capable of getting steals, gets up the court quickly, and shoots 40% from behind the arc. By definition he'll be a good fit for the system. Of course, once his value gets high enough, the Knicks might look to trade him.

Don't expect too many changes at first, though. The Knicks have some hard to move contracts, and D'Antoni has to evaluate the players, and how he wants them to implement his system, before he can make any decisions on who should go. These proposed moves will probably take place over the course of a year, maybe more.

Finally, to try to answer the question on most NBA fans' minds: Why did D'Antoni chose the Knicks (over the Bulls, among others)? Besides the money, which was probably reasons number one, two, three, and four:

-The Knicks have such low expectations D'Antoni has at least two to three "free" years before he can be criticized. In contrast, the Bulls, despite being just as bad as the Knicks last season, still have high expectations based on past performances.

-There are more players on the Knicks that D'Antoni is familar with. As mentioned, Q-Rich and Steph played on the Suns; Robinson was drafted, and Balkman was supposedly a draft target.

-The Knicks have unlimited cash. I can't emphasize this enough. The worst thing about those Suns teams was that they could have been even better, had their owner not been so cheap. Yeah, Bill Simmons wrote a nice article about this a few weeks back. But lest anyone accuse me of biting Simmons, I have been writing and complaining for years about the stinginess of the Suns owner. This is something that you have to figure must have eaten at D'Antoni. All that work, all that greatness... and to fall short, mostly because your owner was trying to squeeze every last penny out of the team? I can't imagine Mike would ever want to roll the dice with an owner that exhibited any kind of stinginess again.

So while James Dolan of the Knicks had no problems meeting D'Antoni's terms for being a head coach, the Bulls were trying to get him to sign with them on the cheap. Now, how easy do you think, did that approach make the choice for Mike D'Antoni? The Bulls might have just as well gift wrapped him to the Knicks....

Mike D'Antoni Hired As Knicks Coach, And Nobody Is Excited?

2008-05-12T02:23:47Z

Sometimes I really hate the local media in NYC. Especially the sports media.

I haven't been writing much lately, but I did note (and comment) several times over the past week or two about how obvious it was that certain members of the local media, particularly the Daily News, were clearly pining for Mark Jackson to get hired by Donnie Walsh as the Knicks new head coach. Frank Isola must have written at least one article a day stating that "Mark Jackson was the leading candidate", and that "Mike D'Antoni has no interest in the Knicks, and is only using them to get more money from the Bulls". Why the love for Mark Jackson? Because he's an old school New Yorker, one of the few people that still answers the phone when a guy like Mike Lupica or Frank Isola call for a quote. Mike D'Antoni is an unknown quantity to the local media. And he comes with his own set of "personal" reporters, guys like Jack McCallum, who beat all the local beat writers to the scoop that D'Antoni had agreed to a $24 million, 4-year deal to coach the Knicks.

So what's the result? We get one blatant column in the Sunday Daily News, with Frank Isola ripping Donnie Walsh's "credibility", while calling the hiring "a risk". Any quotes for the article? You can always tell the writer's personal angle by the quote that he ~~makes up~~ uses for the story. What do we get today?:

"I think it's a terrible match," said one rival head coach. "I don't get it. Two of the biggest problems with the Knicks are that they don't practice and they don't play defense."

Not to pick on Isola, let's see how the rest of the local media did. Peter Vecsey took the usual Post route, which is to say the same thing as the News, but with more hyperbole. DONNIE WALSH BLEW IT. A picture of D'Antoni, with the caption "Bad choice". Thoughts from Vecsey?:

I'm stunned and baffled by the decision.

Any quotes from "rival head coaches"?

"Not only are the Knicks known to shoot themselves in the foot, they often crouch down to get a better aim," zaps column contributor Brian McGunigle.

Who? Whatever... I could keep breaking on these local beat writers/fools, but now there is someone else to do it! Check out this great post from The Palpable Masses, for the some Fire Joe Morgan style riffing on Isola.

We do all realize that the Knicks just signed one of the two most successful coaches in the NBA over the past four seasons, right? The other, Avery Johnson, has won over 70% of his games as head coach, and is the only other person available that should be considered a better candidate than D'Antoni. I personally would have preferred AJ, but Mike D'Antoni is no scrub. And as much as I liked Mark Jackson as a player, and as an announcer... when did he become the second coming of Red Auberach?

For that matter, we do realize we are talking about a guy who, as a Hall of Fame point guard, was notorious for his shabby defense?!? Was Mark Jackson really going to teach Jamal Crawford how to defend better?

Do you see how the media manipulates the discussion? Most people, most Knick fans, aren't excited that the Knicks just signed a top coach to lead their team. Not just a top coach with a winning record - check that, a stunning record over the past four years, including 232 regular season wins - but the coach and architect of the most exciting system in the NBA! Yeah, man are we unlucky or what?

This is why nobody likes NYers.

But, of course, the local media credits the entire Suns success to Steve Nash, a great point guard who plays no defense. Jamal Crawford is no Steve Nash; Stephon Marbury is no Steve Nash. But neither of them will be any worse on the defensive end than Nash is. If the Suns could win without playing defense, maybe D'Antoni really is the perfect coach for the Knicks. After all, it's not like the Knicks offense last season was effective, or efficient; they also ran almost no plays, and had no cohesive system. Those are problems that are just as important to fix as the defense (which isn't as bad as advertised - guys like Robinson, Chandler, Balkman, and Jeffries aren't terrible, and the Knicks would sometimes be able to put together good runs of defense and rebounding when they had the right personnel on the court).

Let's talk about what Mike D'Antoni brings to the table....
**********************

Good Day For A Rainout

2008-05-12T02:02:46Z

Hopefully, today's rainout in Detroit will mean we won't be subjected to another Kei Igawa start, but you never know.

One troubling thing from Joe Girardi today, even though no game was played. The lineup pasted below is what Girardi was going to trot out there to face Nate Robertson and Tigers:

Damon
Melky
Abreu
Jeter
Giambi
Duncan
Cano
Molina
Alberto Gonzalez

I swear, Girardi must wake up every morning and try figure out a way to assemble a different lineup. Is it indecision on his part? Does he like asking different things of every guy every day? Does he just have no clue? Does he think he's still managing the Marlins? Your guess is as good as mine, but I will say this, when A-Rod and Posada get back, we better see a stable lineup day in and day out. This is getting ridiculous.

The Yanks are resting well in Tampa right now, they have seven games in the next seven days, four in Tampa and 3 at home against the Mets. Is 4-3 too much to ask? Still no word on A-Rod's return, he's eligible to come off the D.L. on Wednesday.

Mother of a Game

2008-05-12T01:11:34Z

The Mets beat the Reds 8-3 Sunday, for the last Mother's Day at Shea Stadium. The Mets also took two out of three from the Reds during Cincinnati's final Shea appearance.

Plenty to remember about this weekend. The intended 2008 starting lineup (with Alou, Schneider and Castillo healthy) finally played a series in New York…until Castillo had to leave today’s games with a strained quad. Then there were the pink bats, wristbands and shoelaces. And don’t overlook the Mets getting 14 hits (Beltran 2–5, with 3 RBI’s, Reyes, 3–5).

But the most memorable moment of the game happened in the 9th, when Dusty Baker's Reds batted out of order after a double switch in the 8th. Outfielder Corey Patterson was charged with an out when backup catcher David Ross came to the plate instead of him in the No. 8 spot and flew out to Beltran. Randolph came out to complain, which resulted in at least a 15 minute delay of game while the umpires huddled, then spoke to each manager at least twice. Ross got to hit again, and he singled, then play was delayed yet again while the umps debated over how many outs there were.

The only guy in Shea who seemed to know the rules was Gary Cohen on SNY. He also smartly pointed out that Randolph had erred by complaining too early. If he had let the next batter come to the plate after Ross for one pitch, then complained, the Reds may have been charged with a second out. Randolph admitted after the game he had protested too early.

The important thing is the boys have started their homestand strong after a .500 West Coast road trip. With the bats comign to life (excluding last night’s debacle), time to feast on Nat pitching for a few days.

Tags: New+York+Mets, Shea+Stadium

Washout in Detroit Rock City

2008-05-12T00:44:50Z

Rain made it a no go in Mo Town for the Yanks and Tigers Sunday.

No makeup date was announced and the Yankees aren't scheduled to hit the Motor City again, but there are two options to make up the game. The Bombers could play in Detroit on July 24, which is an off-day following a six-game homestand at The Stadium before they head to Boston, or Sept. 1 before embarking on a nine-game road trip that will take them to Tampa, Seattle and Los Angeles. If they opt for the July date, the Yanks will be playing 27 straight games coming out of the All-Star break.

Obviously, New York would prefer a day game on the September date, but the Tigers would rather play a night game in July to capitalize on a higher attendance figure.

I'm not sure who has the final say in the matter. Time will tell.

The rainout means the Yanks can skip Kei Igawa in the rotation. Igawa is scheduled to pitch Thursday against the Rays, but the Yankees could go with Darrell Rasner on regular rest instead. It seems like a no-brainer to bump Igawa and reshuffle the rotation, but I'm not in charge.

The Yanks will head to Tampa and take on the Rays for a four-game series staring on Monday. Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.77 ERA) will take the ball and go against Matt Garza (1-1, 4.91 ERA). Pettitte was scheduled to go on Sunday and owns a sparkling 14-3 career mark against the Rays with a splendid 3.62 ERA in 23 games. This will be Pettitte's third start this season against Tampa. He's 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA. Garza came over from the Minnesota Twins as part of a six-player deal this past offseason. In two career games against the Yanks, the 24-year-old Garza is 0-1 with a robust 6.75 ERA.

This four-game set will be played under the roof in St. Pete so it looks like they'll be able to get the games in.

But you can never predict baseball.

Dragnet Sunday Spectacle: Sox at Twins

2008-05-11T22:00:39Z

Being the MLB Sunday game of the week has both its advantages and disadvantages. Everyone in the country gets to watch it on ESPN. That's an advantage. The ESPN announcers are completely insipid. That's a push, because when they aren't so dross that you want to poke your ears out, they tend to spread horrendously inaccurate information or names. Having the game on ESPN brings new camera angles. That's an advantage, though we're still waiting on a roof camera at the Metrodome. Couldn't they hire a high-rise window washer to rig the camera up there or something?

Last night, Jed Lowrie hit his first big league homer. This afternoon,
he was probably hitting up the Chili's in the MPS airport terminal.

Oh, but there is one horrible disadvantage: The ESPN talking heads don't talk fishing, so WMYM won't have any clearer idea about when ice fishing season opens after the game tonight than we did before it started. That's a shame.

All of that being said, we're happy to be watching it, and happy that ESPN is slotting the Sox in the 8 p.m. slot on a non-Celtics night, though those have become oddly predictable of late, haven't they (incidentally, when was the last time that you felt absolutely certain a team would win when it was playing at home and almost absolutely sure it would lose on the road in the playoffs? Yeah, we couldn't remember either).

With a late-night flight to Baltimore in the offing, Boston is tossing Tim Wakefield, he of the preposterously efficient three-hitter last Tuesday, against a Twins pitcher named Nick Blackburn. The good news is that Wake is coming off his best outing in years after his whitewash of Detroit, though everyone knows how mercurial he can be from start to start. The bad news is that the Sox have never faced Blackburn, and just as they showed last night, Boston's record against first-time starters against them is not so sterling.

Of course, there was that night last summer of the back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers off a young Yankees pitcher on ESPN Sunday baseball. Hmmmm, and the plot thickens, no?

Well, it doesn't thicken that much. Manny Ramirez is out of the lineup tonight, so any stretch of four straight homers won't include ManRam slugging No. 498. The good news is that Ramirez's injury is only being called a hamstring strain, so it shouldn't sideline him for too long. The bad news is that the injury hardly helps the team's depth tonight, particularly hours after rookie infielder fill-in extrordinaire Jed Lowrie was sent packing back to AAA Pawtucket to make room for Alex Cora, who is starting at short tonight as Julio Lugo sits out a second-straight night following a slightly scary collision. And Bryan Corey, he of the flip-flopping uniforms and waiver-wire status, is headed to the Padres. The Sox traded him after he was outrighted to Pawtucket, with San Diego sending either a player to be named or cash back to Boston. Hard to tell if they'll get the ever elusive "player to be named" out of this deal, since it was no secret that Corey was going to be on the shuttle all year, and at any time could have been scooped up by another MLB club. Still, the improved performance of Craig Hansen likely paved the way for the deal, with Hansen giving Terry Francona and Theo Epstein a little bit of breathing room when it comes to situational righties.

Now, about that Blackburn fellow ...

Rasner Impresses Again as Yanks Top Tigers

2008-05-11T06:07:03Z

It took five tries, but the Yanks finally got the best of Detroit.

Darrell Rasner spun six quality innings, Derek Jeter went deep for the first time this season and the bullpen continued to post zeros as the Yanks dropped the Tigers 5-2 at Comerica Park. The Bombers pounced on Jeremy Bonderman early and Mariano Rivera notched his 10th save in as many chances this year. The victory pulls the Yanks back to the .500 mark at 19-19.

I was at a Communion bash for this one, so my roundup will be spotty. But that's never stopped me before.

The Good:

Darrell Rasner. Second start, same as the first. Rasner gave up a homer in the first inning again, but settled down and controlled the Tiger lineup for the majority of the afternoon. I think it's safe to assume that Rasner will be hanging around if he keeps sticking to the script: trust your stuff, throw strikes and work quickly. Rasner picked up win No. 2 with this: 6+ IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR.

Derek Jeter. It's been a long time coming, but The Captain finally went yard. DJ's first inning wallop gave the Yanks a quick 1-0 lead and got the ball rolling against Bonderman. Johnny Damon has been getting most of the press with his hot-hitting at the top of the Bomber offense, but Jeter is also starting to heat up. Jeet is batting .385 in his past seven games. Jeter also made a nice diving stab off the bat of Edgar Renteria in the fifth that turned into a double play and snuffed a mini Tiger rally. Jeter finished 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Mariano Rivera. It's expected to watch Rivera slam the door on opponents in the ninth, but The Sandman is putting up awesome numbers so far this year (even for him). Rivera disposed of the Tigers on just 10 pitches Saturday and has yet to give up a run this season (or a walk). It's still early, but Rivera check out Rivera's stats so far: 15 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K, 10 for 10 in save opportunities. Keep doin what you're doin, Mo. Rivera's line: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K.

The Bad:

Chad Moeller. Every Yankee regular reached base Saturday via either a hit or a walk, but Moeller has been scraping at the plate since he re-joined the Yanks at the end of April. Moeller is just 2 for 11 in the month of May. I know Chad was catching two straight days (including the dreaded day game after a night game), but I've got to keep the guys on their toes. Moeller finished 0 for 3 with a walk.

The Ugly:

Twice as nice. At some point the Yanks may want to bring in a priest (voodoo or Buddhist) to sweep out the club house. Another Bomber went down Saturday -- Wilson Betemit strained his right hamstring after booming an RBI-double to center in the fourth inning and was placed on the 15-day disabled list. It will be the second stint on the DL this season for the switch-hitting infielder. Alberto Gonzalez will take Betemit's place. I figured Gonzo would be back with the big club soon, but I didn't think it would be this soon.

The rubber game will feature Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.77 ERA) and Nate Robertson (1-4, 6.64 ERA). Pettitte pitched well in his last start against the Indians at The Stadium, but didn't factor in the decision as Joba Chamberlain self destructed in the eight inning. Pettitte has had a tough time at Comerica Park during his career -- 2-3 with a 4.65 ERA in five starts. The American League has had its way with Robertson -- 52 hits in 40 2/3 innings -- but he earned his only win this season against the Yanks on May 1.

Let's see if the Yanks can make it two in a row against the Cats.

No Fish Tale: Dice-K Delivers Again

2008-05-11T04:44:08Z

It wasn't an Instant Classic, but Daisuke Matsuzaka earned his sixth win of the season on Saturday night in Minnesota. If you were watching the game on the MLB Game Plan and were forced to listen to Minnesota play-by-play men, you might not know that. But he did.

However, the opening of fishing season is evidently a much bigger deal in Minnesoata than a matchup between the Twins, featuring a young, promising home-town pitcher making his first start, and the defending World Champion Red Sox, who threw one of the most expensive imports in sports history out on the mound.

Amazingly, the pitching lived up to the billing for the most part. Outside of a dodgy second inning that was entirely too remiscent of 2007, Matsuzaka danced around the strike zone, got some batters to hack at good pitches and some, like shortstop Adam Everett, to hack at horrendous dropping off-speed magic that left him looking like an eighth grader. All-in-all, it was a positively serviceable performance.

Luckily, it was also backed by four - count them, four - solo homers as the Sox patched together a 5-2 win. It may not have been a victory with a vintage appropriate of Bordeaux, but it had positively French wine-level moments. A pair of strikeouts were chalked up to the emergence of Matsuzaka's magical changeup dubbed the "gyroball" afterward, and Dice-K wasn't counting out that possibility. The homers from Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie in the seventh hit almost identical spots in the left field stands, and that's all Boston needed to do with Hideki Okajima and a truly, furiously pissed off Jonathan Papelbon waiting in the bullpen to close things out.

As they say in Okie and the Dice-man's homeland, that means sayonara.

Of course, all of this was overshadowed by creatures that were nowhere near the Metrodome ... fish. The Saturday morning opening of fishing season in Minnesota was first referenced in the second inning, then followed up with a strong plug for the Metrodome smoked whitefish and its role in the team's new "all you can eat seats" promotion that gets unveiled during the team's next homestand. Then, after the whole "hey, we can all go out on boats and go fishing at 5 a.m. tomorrow!" concept was fully established, the Minnesota dynamic duo officially switched over to ice fishing references in the fourth and fifth innings.

Clearly, WMYM has underestimated just how strange and solitary Minnesota can be. We'd dwell on it some more, but hey, we've got some smoked whitefish spread to get to.

STARTING PITCHING: √+
There were moments early when it looked like it was going to be a - in this slot, but as he has all season, Dice-K struck his way out of jams. He walked in the first run and gave up a second later, though that might have been avoided if Coco Crisp hadn't been in center with his pee shooter of an arm unable to throw out anyone this side of Jason Giambi when they're trying to score from second. To keep it to that point Dice-K dazzled, leaving Joe Mauer shaking his head twice and other Minnesota hitters looking truly foolish at times. Needless to say, those seven Ks helped make up for the two costly walks in the second inning and the two runs, and that paved the way to 6-0/

MIDDLE RELIEF: N/A
It's getting almost eerie that all of Boston's pitchers keep working until the eighth inning, isn't it? We're going to go ahead and pinch ourselves now so we don't ruin it before tomorrow. Yikes.

SET-UP RELIEF: √+
Okajima did it again. It's amazing. And as bad as he's made a lot of team's hitters look, Minnesota might have looked worse than any other on some of those hacks Saturday night. It was downright belittling, and that's a great thing for the Boston bullpen.

CLOSER: √+
Finally, a return to normalcy, even with the flukiest hit you'll ever see - Mike Lamb's 200-foot pop-up that hit a speaker above the infield - mixed in. And while it may have looked almost like a sigh of relief when he pumped his fist and trudged to meet Jason Varitek, there's little doubt that the game-ending strikeout helped re-establish some of Paps' luster and bluster, commodities that are as important to the Red Sox' success as anything else.

Rasner Cruises

2008-05-11T00:15:21Z

Six plus innings, two earned, zero walks. That's the type of outing we were expecting from Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes this year, instead, it's Darrell Rasner who's been picking up the Yankee rotation. Yet again, the Yanks made a solid effort from their starting pitcher stand up for a 5-2 win.

Jeter hit his first bomb of the year, Giambi and Cano both continued to look good at the plate, but the offense was not the story of this game. Even with Rasner's impressive outing, the thing we need to spend some time talking about is the back end of the Yankee bullpen. Farnsworth, Joba and Mo have effectively shortened the game to 6 innings at this point.

Today, Farnsworth struggled a little bit, but he still got the job done. In the past, you'd find yourself saying Farnsworth had dominant stuff, but still found a way to blow it. No more. Joba had his one hiccup earlier in the week, but he's back to blowing away hitters and making it look easy. Mo has been the best closer in the game through his first 14 appearances, he's yet to allow a run or a walk, and he's only allowed 6 hits. If Farnsworth continues like this, moving Joba to the rotation isn't going to be an issue. They'll have Farnsworth for the 8th, Ohlendorf or Edwar for the 7th and of course Mo at the end.

The Yanks will look to take this series from the Tigers tomorrow with Andy Pettitte facing Nate Robertson.

Vitals and updated Damon graphic after the jump.
]]> Player of The Game: Darrell Rasner
Team Record: 18-18
Damon's Broken Bats: Two magnificent split bats in his last two times to the plate. The second one died a hero.

Dragnet Climbing Horses: Sox at Twins

2008-05-10T21:21:49Z

What do you do when you blow two straight saves? You climb back on the horse.

Unlike the blurb sitting atop the boston.com Red Sox section, the Sox have NOT lost two straight. Rather, it's Jonathan Papelbon who has lost HIS last two outings, both in the bottom of the ninth, sandwiched around an efficient 5-1 victory on Thursday.

Another night, another blow save for
Papelbon. And that's the problem, isn't it?

While that makes that particular section front of boston.com look moronic, it doesn't alleviate the frustration that is the current Boston predicament: The Sox have been good enough to be absolutely undefeated on a rough midwest trip so far. Instead, they're 4-2.

That's a good start, but 6-0 would have been an EXCELLENT start. Tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka gets another chance to try and put his stamp on the team's direction. In the process he could deliver a huge victory over a Minnesota team that is proving significantly more resilient than fans and kitchen pundits of the neverending horse race that is the MLB trade market expected after what appeared a rather one-sided trade of Johan Santana to the Mets just before the season started.

Instead, reinfused with the energy of centerfielder Carlos Gomez and fellow outfielder Delmon Young - who was gleaned from the Rays for young pitcher Matt Garza - the Twins are riding high atop the AL Central, a division in which they were supposed to compete for third. At best.

One of the reasons why has been a surprisingly deep and exuberant pitching staff, which tonight showcases the season-debut of one Glen Perkins. You've got about as good an idea of how he'll do as WMYM does, but if past precedence tells us anything, it's that Boston often A) has trouble against pitchers the first time they see them and, B) it often struggles to hit well in the Metrodome.

For what it's worth, here's the lineups heading out there in the artificially clean air of Minnesota's favorite short-lived indoor monument to Hubert H. Humphrey.

So, time for another bounce back. And perhaps a chance for Paps to try and redeem himself. Again. Otherwise these two outings will be more than just a blip ... they'll be a legitimate rough patch. That's the last thing that the Sox, let alone Papelbon himself, can afford to consider.

Pave Paradise

2008-05-10T20:20:40Z

SNY was showing a special about the 1984 Mets last night, during the Mets/Reds rain delay. Shea looked odd to me in the old clips, then I realized why: there was no Citi Field in the parking lot, just a parking lot.

Soon Shea Stadium will be just a parking lot.

Meanwhile, On opening day at Shea Stadium, I took some pictures of the view from the Upper Deck. Six months from now, this vista will be accessible only to birds and maybe a La Guardia-bound jetliner.

Tags: Shea+Stadium, New+York+Mets

Saturday's are for rap

2008-05-10T17:53:06Z

At least it is when ~~Rob Skoglund~~ Brian Scalabrine drops a beat as phat as this one. Or when Skeets does.

Update: Rats. D'Antoni to the Knicks.

Memories of Shea Stadium: The Mets Clinch, 2006

2008-05-10T11:11:49Z

On September 18, 2006, the Mets beat the Florida Marlins 4–0 and became the National League Division Champs.

And we were there. My parents, Ron Hunt and I sat in Loge13 and celebrated together. Ron Hunt just uploaded his video of that night. This is what victory looks like from Loge13:

Full disclosure: I am the bozo screaming “Rock & roll” and behaving stupidly in the background, along with 50,000 other people.

Tags: New+York+Mets, Shea+Stadium