On the Yankees beat

I'm going away for a bit -- will be traveling through most (perhaps all if it's quick) of the first round. Keyboard time will be limited, but didn't want anyone to think my interest in what you have to say had been lessened by recent frothing-at-the-keyboard. I'll catch games when I can, but will miss catching your comments!

Safe travels Marianne.

Today will be an interesting day with no games to play.

Let's hope it's not a day of lunatics accusing people of stuff.

Side question...
Who do people want to see win the Rockies/Padres playoff game?

I am rooting for the Rockies. It is just too good a story to have a team win 13 of their last 14 and storm into the playoffs

Hurry back Marianne

Sully,

What's up? Hey I wanted to ask you something. Someone on this blog mentioned that you made a movie. Is that correct? If yes, how can anyone see it?

E mail me at info@sullybaseball.com

I wouldn't want to upset the Anons, Cashmans and BEN DOVERS of the world by doing any self promotion.

Sully,

It's not Anon, it's either anonymouse or BBBEEEEAAAATTTCCCHHH.

Sully,

Can I trust you? I wouldn't want you to e-mail me any Red Sox propaganda at work. LOL I will e-mail you after lunch.

Sully,

I'm rooting for San Diego.

Pads.

The Rockies won 13 out of their last 14. Pretty impressive streak. I would think that they'd have a slight edge because the game is at Coors Field.

I send no propaganda... I am a father of two with a job that has me working bizarre hours.

I don't have the energy to do propaganda

I was going back and forth with the baseball package yesterday between the Mets, Phils and Yanks.

I wonder how many Cub fans are going to show up at Chase field for their series? My wife told me that she could have gotten tickets, but chose not to do so because she knew that I'd root for the Cubs.

There are a lot of Chicagoans out here.

I'm pulling for the Rockies. They're quite a story and held on tough. I feel bad for the Padres though as it seems that another tyrade by Milton Bradley has cost them their spot in the playoffs. They're a dangerous team in the playoffs with that 1-2 punch of pitchers, though having to use them the last two games of the season leaves them in a bit of a bind.

TBS and FOX will commit suicide if the NLCS is D'Backs vs Rockies or Padres

Westbrook started to come around the second half of the season. Post All Star break he had an ERA around 3.50. He could be a threat, especially since we don't know what Roger we'll get with all the time he's missed and I don't care what Mussina we get since we shouldn't let him pitch.

The real question is how many D'Backs fans will be in Wrigley?

Over under: 2

Well, the D'Backs' wives will be there at least.

I for one, do not think that this will be an easy series against the Tribe. All we need to do is get a split in the first 2 at Cleveland and hope that Clemens pitches us to a win in Game 3. If Mussina gets the start, then Torre has to pull him REAL FAST.

Sully,

Did you see our Jints beat up on the Eggles last night?

Well besides friends and family of the players, I wonder how many people from Phoenix wearing D'Backs jerseys sitting in the grand stands saying "Let's Go Snakes!"

I'm guessing 2

John,

It was nice to see the Giants defense finally come through. I still think the secondary is pretty bad though.

I actually DID watch some of the Giants/Eagles game.

Was glad to see my Giants win... but I still can't get into football while there is baseball going on!

Yankees catch a break with the seven day series?

Seriously????

Hmmm. I think I'll take my chances with Carmona and CC beating you 3 out of the 4 games they pitch.

Clemens, Mussina and Hughes are a BIG GIANT CRAP SHOOT!

and Pettite and Wang haven't exactly looked like number 1 and number 2 starters as-of-late!

Indian Sweep!

I for one would like to thank Chief Wa-Hoo for taking the heat off of us Red Sox fans for at least 3 games

Dog,

I was actually shocked that the "D" played as well as they did. But I agree with you in that our secondary is pretty bad!
Wathc the Jets clean our clocks this Sunday.

Sully,
other than you, I must have been the only person in America watching baseball yesterday instead of the NFL. I can't get into it either while there's still baseball being played.

But since I don't get to see the Jints on TV every week and I'm stuck with the Cardinals, I'll watch the Jints when they are on TV out here.

Mike and the Mad Dog are trashing the Mets right now.

John - ive taped mike and mad dog and im anxiously awaiting heading home tonighjt and watching to see what they have to say about the mets collapse. question - worth watching? do chris and mike put their two cents in and more right off the bat? or do they go right into giants/ football?

Chief,

Don't count your teepees before they're built.

Ugh!

Miggy,

Let's just say that Doggie is in rare form!

The list of Mets that should be thrown off the team is pretty big.

I'm not going to say anymore to you about it. I don't want to ruin your evening.

(not our Doggie that blogs here).

How could you NOT trash the Mets today?

Sully,

How did you become a Sox and Giants fan. Shouldn't you be a Patriot fan?

They haven't talked football at all yet.

Chief,

Injuns are a heck of a team...I love how that team has jelled this year...and I suspect they will be knocking on the door next season too....but if I were you, I wouldn't get too cocky...or perhaps you have not noticed the Yanks second half record?

Dog,

Actually, there are alot of Giants fans in the Northeast...I have always pulled for them. Of course, I am a Pats fan...but like other teams in the NFL as well. Kinda funny really...as a die hard Sox fan, I could never really root for another baseball team, yet in the NFL, to me, it's easy to have multi-loyalties.

Was just looking at Wang's "splits". His ERA is 2 runs "higher" on the road than at home. With Wang in line to pitch Game 1, and possibly Game 5, both on the road, what is Torre thinking?

Dog,

He's a Giant fan. He's one of the good guys from Oct 30th till Feb whatever.

Hi Sully! :-)

How many Red Sox fans own that red jersey?

I kinda like it.

Roy,

He may be going on the fact the the Tribe hasn't seen him this year.

I believe that if goes 5 and Wang gets into trouble, it will be all hands on deck.

Interesting point Roy,

How would you set up the rotation?

I never followed football that closely growing up. I did root for the Pats and I rooted for them in the SuperBowl vs the Bears. But it was nothing like the Red Sox (or even the Celtics)

When I moved to NYC in 1990, my cousin got me into the Giants and they won the Super Bowl.

I felt kind of guilty about jumping onto a team when they got good, so I said "I'll follow this team when it stinks and that will make me not a bandwagon jumper."

So when the Patriots started winning Super Bowls left and right, I was happy for them and I rooted for them in each game... but my team is the Giants.

If I became a Patriots fan again, then I would be a bandwagon jumper... and I hate bandwagon jumpers.

(I never dropped the Celtics... and I've followed the San Jose Sharks since their first game)

Cas,

I kind of feel the same way about football. I am a huge Giants fan but I don't have as deep of a commitment to them as I do to the Yanks. I live and die by the Yanks but only kinda sorta maybe have a small heart attack for the Giants. Baseball is definitely the number 1 sport in my house!

Football is the only sport where I'll root for 2 NY teams. I've always liked the Jets when they were in the AFL and I went to 2 Jet games a year when I lived in NJ. Giant tickets are near impossible to get.

But if the Jets and Giants play each other, I'll root for the Giants.

It is SOOOOO different in the SF Bay Area.

People have hats that have BOTH the Giants and A's logos on it.

But the lines are drawn between Raiders and 49ers, and it is Mets/Yankees esque, especially since both have won Super Bowls

Sully,
If I were you, I would be rooting for the Padres. Doesn't anyone remember when they went on a tear against both Bosox and Yankees when our teams were playing well? This team can be dangerous, especially if they get some confidence. I am hoping Peavy shuts them down, and claims his Cy Young award. We can handle the Pod's if they make it to the WS.

I'm not looking towards the World Series... I just think the Rockies run to the playoffs is a better story

Besides, the NL is so wide open that at this point, I'd think the CUBS are winning the pennant!

Pettitte, Clemens or Hughes, Wang. That would be my rotation. If Clemens starts game 2, then Hughes starts game 4, or vice versa.

Love to see the Cubbies in the WS.

Cas,

Maybe flip flop Wang and Pettitte since Pettitte is good on the road. I think that's where Roy is coming from. If Pettitte piched in game 1, he would get game 5. Now, he'll only get game 2.

The Mets have a lot of growing up to do. They do way too much taunting and they always seem to put gas on the fire. They did that on Saturday and Florida took it to them yesterday.

But it never should have come down to one game!

I might agree with you Roy. But, I suppose it is hard to justify not starting Wang, a 19 game winner, in the series opener.

In 1991, I was in Candlestick Park for the Giants/49ers NFC title game that Roger Craig fumbled, LT recovered and the Giants won on the last minute field goal.

I was going bananas in a quiet Candlestick.

I've since become friends with Roger Craig... but I have never told him I was cheering against him in that game

Confidence in the PLAYOFFS! Just in case some loser questions my BB IQ.

OK, got to pick up my son.
Talk to you tonight

I wouldn't Cas. The WHOLE country is going to root for them.

Well, I guess that it doesn't matter.

Roy,

I think that if Wang loses game 1, Torre wants to come back with Pettitte because he seems to always pick up the Yanks in the playoffs after a loss. I'm not sure that I would trust Hughes in game 2 if we're down. I could be wrong.

John G.,

Yeah, the Cubbies will get alot of support...but for that reason they are the "safe" team to face the AL champs, because...even if the Cubs win over say the Sox..or Yanks...it would be hard to feel mortified. I mean come on...dont you kinda want to see the poor hapless Cubs finally win one?

Sure I would Cas.

But not at my expense. LOL

I mean we already contributed to ending one curse.

2 in my lifetime is just asking for too much.

LMAO...I hadnt thought of it that way....

You know how I feel about predictions...(sorry HYD)...but I will stick my neck out and say ..it will NOT be 86 years before either the Sox or Yanks claim the WS again...in fact I'll stick it out further and say it wont be 86 months.

No predictions from me.

Anyone of the teams in the AL can do it. They are just too close to each other. What? 2 games seperate the team with the best record (Boston) and the wildcard team (Us).

I think that the Tribe has the worst closer of the 4. Borowski, although he did okay this season, is the one guy who can give up the long ball in a crucial situation. If the Tribe has a 1 run lead going into the 9th, it could be dicey for them.

Cas,

I agree with John. I say helping to break one curse is enough for me. I'll wait another century for another. I am a little worried about Wang in the first game. When he is hyped up he tends to get the ball up in the zone which is a killer for him. Once he settles down it could be too late. The only saving grace is that the Indians are not a huge offensive team....of course if their pitching shuts us down it won't matter.

I agree with Roy, I would go Pettitte game 1, Clemens game 2, Wang game 3. As great as Wang is, he's just not the same pitcher on the road as he is at the stadium. Pettitte has been just as good as Wang this season, even if Wang has a few more wins. I think that Torre is making a BIG mistake here that could cost us the ALDS.

Dave,

Joe may be banking on the fact that Pettitte has always thrown in game 2 of most of our post season series' and he's probably using him as an insurance policy in case Wang loses game 1.

I say we just stay confident and hope that Wang throws a great game. Then we won't have to worry about anything.

I like the way the Yankees' pitching is set up. I think holding Roger back and giving him a full two weeks off could be a difference-maker.

That could mean the difference between Roger going 6 and Roger going 7 in Game 3; that's the difference between handing off to Villone and Farnsworth or going straight to Jo-Mo.

I'd rather the Yankees go straight to Jo-Mo.

I agree...out of the four teams..clearly Borowski is the weakest closer....era at or around 5.00

Weight at about 275. LOL

Agreed Ed.

Any extra rest that Clemens can get will be a bonus and if we can get 7 out of him, it's Joba for the 8th and Mo for the 9th.

Cas:

Good point. Unless Sabathia and Carmona are buzz-saws and go into the 8th or 9th, and Yankee pitching totally collapses, I like the Yankees in each game during this series.

Unless Farnsworth pitches. I hope he doesn't even get mop-up duty.

Kat has an article on the Hekowes in today's paper.

Ed,

No question, the Yanks are very dangerous from the 7th inning on...perhaps the most dangerous team in MLB....I dont think the Injuns have the pen to stop them. Additionally, the Yanks lineup is nothing if not patient....they will wear a starting pitcher out by sheer number of pitches he must throw. I like the Yanks chances.

Who are the Hekowes? Am I just out of it not to know this?

If the Yanks and Wang lose Game 1, and Pettitte pitches game 2 and wins, evening the series at 1-1, it's then a 3 game series. If Pettitte were to start another game it would be on "short rest", and Wang and his much higher road ERA,would start a deciding Game 5 at Clev. That scenario stinks.

Sully: I remember that Giants/49ers game. I was 7. I threw the BIGGEST tantrum in the world, screaming, ranting, raving, crying. I was and still am a 49ers fan. Their team over the past few years hasn't given me a lot to cheer for, but I'm still loyal. It's hard to have the same passion, even if I wanted to, for a team that I don't get to watch every game. I try though.

Cas: I wouldn't be surprised if both won a title over the next 86 months. Hard for me to say as my main solace after 2004 was telling myself that my kids would point out 2004 to Sox fans someday the way I got to point out 1918.

It's a fictional Indian tribe from the TV sitcom F-Troop from the 60's.

They got their name from wandering from place to place and would up in their new home by accident. When they settled down, the chief said to the rest of the tribe, "where the heck are we?". That shortened to the Hakowis (sic).

Google F-Troop when you have some time.

Roy

Pettite is pitching on Friday. Game 5 would be next Wednesday. So he is an option and it would be on regular rest. This could happen if Wang gets hit hard in game 1.

The only thing that can stop the Yankees is JT inability to handle his starters and use his bullpen effectively.
That said,the Yankees could have a big problem with the Indians if Hughes does not get a start before Clemens or Moose.

Takes me right back to the days when Hughes was supposed to be the phenom that saved the franchise. Was that only a few months ago? Back when the same people thought Joba was just a fat boy with a fast ball, good trade bait?

Times have changed, anon. the fate of the franchise does not depend on 'Philip' getting the ball before Clemens or Moose. (Remember how he didn't like to be called just Phil.)