The magic number is …
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Sep 23, 2009 
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Pending the result of tonight’s Boston-Kansas City game, of course.
The 97-56 Yankees lead the Red Sox by 6.5 games in the division and the Angels by 6.5 games for best record. With nine games left, they can take care of business during the upcoming homestand.
The best story about Joe DiMaggio is that when he accompanied Marilyn Monroe to visit the troops in Korea, she came back to the hotel and exclaimed, “Oh, Joe, you never heard such crowds.
“Yes,” DiMaggio said, “I have.”
Back in a bit with clubhouse reaction.
Looking forward to Lou Gehrig later tonight.
Alternate view:
http://tinyurl.com/ns2daj
Where are all the whiners and cry babies who said the Yankees couldn’t beat the Angels
Where are the whiner’s and cry babies who said the Yankees would end up losing the division because the were playing against the Sox and Angels this week
3-3 on a road trip they should have been 4-2 on.
Nope, the Yanks can’t beat the Angels in LA.
Never mind that A-Rod, Posada, Damon, Swisher, and Hughes didn’t even play.
HA! That is a great quote.
Richard Ben Cramer’s biography on DiMag is an EXCELLENT read for any of you that are interested in the life of Joe D…which I am sure you all are.
Great performance today by the Yankees.
I am starting to feel comfortable again with AJ’s performance.
Don’t forget everyone who complained about the lineup! Guess Joe G. wasn’t trying to throw the game away today huh?
Molina’s YES on-field post-game reaction:
http://bit.ly/qPGcs
I’ve always loved that DiMaggio story.
I also love that number that is the same as the number of steals The Captain has.
I called us taking the series yesterday. Thank you.
Wow. Tough series. The yankees getting swept and all in Anaheim.
And now they have to play the invincible Red Sox who are of course particularly impossible to beat when they play on the road.
Another sweep coming. 6 game losing streak to finish the season!!!!
so i guess bruney won’t be on the postseason roster..
if IPK is trusted more than bruney you gotta think he’s watching the postseason on TV…
im going sat, monday and tuesday. good chance to see them clinch!
Remember when people were saying Girardi was giving the game away at around 1:45 when the lineup was posted? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense now looking back.
magic number is 5
http://plagiarist.com/poetry/a.....igure5.jpg
Kennedy, then Mo…
Capuchins capitulate…
Sowing Angels’ angst…
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just predicted that the Yanks will clinch vs. the Sox on Sunday.
You know, out of all the victories the Yankees had today, the game itsef might be the least of them:
AJ pitching well, Ian Kennedy pitching at all and winning a series in Anaheim…
This team has some seriously good karma right now
I don’t have angst…
Man, DiMaggio’s wife had a bang’n body
woohoo. Got home in time to see Mo do his thing.
We need to take up a collection to send Pat M. to every game in Anaheim!
The Yankees shocked the rally monkey!
Shock the monkey tonight.
The Boston series will be a strange one for Pete.
Kinda like living in the house with the wife during a divorce and the girl friend comes to call.
Hey guys, just cause a decision worked, doesn’t mean it’s a smart one.
Although I’d say it was a smart one, except I just wouldn’t have rested *all* of these players in the same game.
Anyways what can we learn from this? AJ Burnett has some good stuff – but we need him to keep his pitch count low, and be able to work out of the jams.
Coke isn’t exactly the best lh specialist, but he got the job done. Hopefully he can keep on doing that.
Kennedy walked two hitters, Albadejo gave up a hit. I think we know by now albaldejo is going nowhere, and I wouldn’t be too happy over the inning Kennedy pitched, he didn’t exactly strike out the side. He need some more innings so they can gage his ability.
Marte looked pretty strong. But does this warrant a playoff spot? Needs a couple more appearances.
Andrew GTLU Bronze Medalist
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Not much left to be said now by all the babies on this board. Second guessed the hell out of Girardi ALL afternoon long and all it got you was win #97
*****
Andrew-
Some people just don’t understand that there is a reason Joe Girardi is the Yankee manager. Maybe, just maybe, the guy knows what he is doing.
Unfortunately, some people use second guessing the man as a form of entertainment
213 Area Code
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Alright! And you can count the magic number on one hand. Have a safe flight back, gentlemen, & crush the Beaneaters on Friday night.
————————————————————
Big deal. Alfonso Alfonseca could have done that after last night’s game.
DT – OPPC member (blood type – Positive)
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:28 pm
woohoo. Got home in time to see Mo do his thing.
We need to take up a collection to send Pat M. to every game in Anaheim
****
I bet you he showered again before going…..
Nice win.
Ian Kennedy did good, but he is still an enigma to me. Unless he is spots on, I am worried. I hope he gets it together for next season. Nice way to finish his season in Joe’s confidence.
Erica: what on earth leads you to believe that Pat M doesn’t regularly shower already????
What a great game…….
AJ may have righted himself…IPK did a very good job (I’m very happy for him – what a way to wind up his year) and the Yankees won a close game, the type of game that will be played in the playoffs.
“Don’t forget everyone who complained about the lineup! Guess Joe G. wasn’t trying to throw the game away today huh?”
Resting the players was the right move, but Girardi got away with it by winning a tight game that broke the Yankees way which is why you play the game because anything can happen.
Rebecca–Optimist Prime–Montero Fanaticus Primus
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
You know, out of all the victories the Yankees had today, the game itsef might be the least of them:
AJ pitching well, Ian Kennedy pitching at all and winning a series in Anaheim…
This team has some seriously good karma right now————————
plus yanks beat Angles (I prefer this spelling) with a B line up.
Add Kennedy to the postseason roster.
My favourite Marilyn story is this one:
She’s at dinner at Arthur Miller’s parents house. They’re having matzo ball soup. She turns to Mrs Miller and inquires “Is there any other part of the matzo you can eat?”
No way Kennedy gets added to the postseason roster
I think the real B lineup would take offense.
Today? C+ at best.
One thing I liked was that AJ didn’t want to come out of the game. He looked good today, even though he wasn’t very economical. Though on his behalf the Angel lineup is packed with .300 hitters.
Magic number shrinking at a good clip now.
The Yankees may have killed the rally monkey as well with this performance.
Mike D
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Add Kennedy to the postseason roster.
I for one would not be “flabberghasted”
a little surprised yes.
These past two games have had a playoff feel. Good practice for us.
YES post-game Booth Report with Nancy Newman, Michael Kay, and Ken Singleton:
http://bit.ly/3koLvg
Posted on last thread…..
When we went 0-8 against Boston, all the Worrywarts said we can not win against them. Then what happens, we crush them.
Now the same worrywarts are worried that we never win in big A. Well we took the series.
Now stars are aligned for us to win the divison in a game against Boston at home. How sweet it will be ….
Some of you are unbelievable with your comments. Kennedy did fine. The guy just came back from a life-threating injury. Give him a break.
No class at all
This was only a big series if you believe in ‘curses’ or thought we were going to blow the division.
This is another series off the schedule. If we had lost it, it wouldn’t have been a big deal.
able 21, baby steps. The Yankees rushed him up, he had shown some promise and just like Joba, it built the hype up a little too much.
Yogi Berra reportedly commented on the marriage of Joe Dimaggio and Marilyn Monroe:
“I don’t know if it is good for baseball or not, but it beats the hell out of having Phil Rizzuto for a roomate.”
The more the crybabies try to justify their whining and secondguessing, the dumber they look.
Please go away for the post-season. Find another blog to bring your tired act. 41 games over .500, the best record in baseball, and some of you whine and cry everyday.
You aren’t Yankee fans because real Yankee fans aren’t crybabies.
Go away. Nobody in here gives a crap about your nonsense any longer.
How was the game? 11 K’s! Burnett must be disappointed he couldn’t go deeper.
Good to see IPK get in there, looks like some of you are heavy-handed with the comments from what “Jones” is saying.
But he did earn a hold.
Kennedy’s pitching in the Arizona Fall League to get his innings up, so, he’s not likely going to be on the post season roster. The Arizona Leagues start in the middle of October, October 13th, to be exact.
I’ve changed my mind. Now that we have proven we can beat LA in LA, I want them in the ALCS instead of Boston.
From the comments here you would think Giradi went to Kennedy over Hughes. No better way to find out what the kid has got than in that situation esp when the alternative is Brian Bruney or Edwar Ramirez.
Nick von Clausewitz in SF
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Erica: what on earth leads you to believe that Pat M doesn’t regularly shower already????
****
The shower has nothing to do with actual stinkiness. It goes back to my crazy “bad baseball stink” superstition.
Whenever I do not like the way a Yankee game is going. If I haven’t already done so for the night, I get in the shower
YES showed the graphic that it’s Joba vs. Lester on Fri.
I hope that is a mistake.
# adrian mckinty September 23rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
My favourite Marilyn story is this one:
She’s at dinner at Arthur Miller’s parents house. They’re having matzo ball soup. She turns to Mrs Miller and inquires “Is there any other part of the matzo you can eat?”
=========================================================
Bless her. The little hottie was a teabagger
Mark, I disagree about it not being a big series, simply because this series did wonders for “getting the monkey off their backs”. It was mentioned by a lot of the players, so you know that it was getting under their skin.
In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t critical, but the mental aspect of it is huge. You know the Angels believed they had this won especially after taking the first game.
Girardi also just said in the postgame that Bruney pitched Monday & warmed up last night, hence why Girardi went to Kennedy in the 8th, for all those that need to know the inner-workings of a manager that is going to win 100 games this year.
Kennedy did fine today and it was great seeing him out there pitching in a tight game.
Erica: ah, I get it. You’re crazy.
Jobber vs Lester on Friday?
In the case, there’s no reason to come home early, Friday night.
By the way Yanks are at 97 wins (my pick)
Let’s hope whoever picked 106 wins is correct
Girardi’s YES post-game reaction:
http://bit.ly/kvd9j
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad just congratulated Ian Kennedy and criticized his detractors in whithering terms.
The three easiest words for me about today’s line up prediction of doom,`I WAS WRONG.~
The Yankees cleared a huge milestone with the Angels,in their own yard.
No Damon,Posada,and Alex(1 @ bat,)and they won the game in the 4th inning basically.
Another Big series win!
C’mon KC tonight!
Alfred E. Kennedy is awesome.
Not bad for his first appearance of the year.
A small note on the game.
We’ve heard for years how great the angels are at the fundamentals and how Sciosa and the ralley monkeys are so much more sound that the yankees, etc. ,etc.
Well you can make a real case for the reason why the Angels lost today was another poor execution of the fundamentals.
Scott Kazmir failed to back up the catcher on that throw and that gave the yankees a critical advantage.
You can say Kazmir is a recent acquisition but he’s on the team of teams and it’s still poor fundamentals.
Yesterday they ran into a double play in the 9th inning.
This is a different season.
It’s a different yankee team.
Kennedy has a huge grin in the interview and he deserves to be wearing it. Say’s he was a little too pumped up and Molina’s cramp actually helped him to take a breath and relax.
Is it me or do you guys get the feeling that Tony pena makes the final decisions in this team. Everytime there’s a close game or some decision to make I see Girardi asking Pena and him doing all the talking. Also it’s interesting to see him on the post game interviews, he doesn’t let reporters finish their questions and at times seems a little nervous
Anyone who picked under a 100 wins is a bad fan and, perhaps, a bad person.
I had the radio on and Sterling was flipping out over Kennedy being left in there. It was pretty funny.
Gates
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
YES showed the graphic that it’s Joba vs. Lester on Fri.
I hope that is a mistake.
————————————————————
Why do you care about this match-up?
If Joba is going to pitch poorly, does it matter who is throwing against us?
Bring on Joba vs Lester. Joba will be the underdog and hopefully he will show signs of improvement and throw a nice game. That’s the biggest thing we should be rooting for in that game.
If he doesn’t, we lose the game and it doesn’t matter who is pitching for the Red Sox. The worst that can happen is our lead is trimmed back to 5.
Burnett gives a big “hoo-rah” to Kennedy. Not upset with Girardi for pulling him out in the 6th inning.
I was actually a little disappointed that Joe didn’t go with Josh Towers in the ninth.
Joe
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Is it me or do you guys get the feeling that Tony pena makes the final decisions in this team. Everytime there’s a close game or some decision to make I see Girardi asking Pena and him doing all the talking. Also it’s interesting to see him on the post game interviews, he doesn’t let reporters finish their questions and at times seems a little nervous
———————————————————————-
U sir are a big dummy.
Well, Cecil Cooper has already been fired. Probably more to come. Who will the hot candidates be? Valentine, Pena, Donnie Baseball?
Kennedy’s inning was frustrating to watch, but it was huge to see him get that third out knowing what kind of situation he’d been put in today after his last few months of personal scare and uncertainty. I’m definitely happy for IPK.
If any Joe D. fans out there can get “The DiMaggio Albums,” I recommend they do so. It’s a two-volume set that traces his career from his first pro game (San Francisco Seals, 1932) through “after the game” retirement. What’s great is that the story is told with reproductions of news articles, box scores, columns, photos, etc. written at the time–including, of course, the 56-game hitting streak, day by day as it was happening. Books were published in 1989, so also include an introduction and commentaries by DiMaggio.
Baseball history, Yankees history, really good stuff.
Well, I guess I can join those who say the Division’s in the bag now. Beating this team in this Stadium two out of three is HUGE.
However, Burnett is still not right as far as I can see. His anger and frustrations get the best of him. That may not matter against the Baltimores and the Kansas Citiys, but it won’t cut it in the playoffs when mistakes loom larger than in the regular season.
The Bullpen? Eh, other than Mo and Huges, it’s a coin flip for Joe. Coke looked pretty good, but everyone else thought it best to put at least one to two runners on base each inning.
They still have pitching issues that are not going to be resolved at this late date. All they can do is hope they rise to the challenge.
The offense is the strength of this club, but these funks they go into after getting multiple runs in one of the early innings, then hanging on for dear life is puzzling.
Well, onward and upward. Now is the time to get ready to be champions, I believe they can do it, but they have issues that may derail that goal. We shall see.
Nevertheless, this has been a great season, this team performed way beyond my expectations. Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, great job guys!
Kennedy’s YES post-game reaction:
http://bit.ly/XS670
This was a HUGE series.
If we had lost it, we would have gone 2-4 on the road trip, having won only 1 of our last 6 series.
The Angels would also be in our heads if they spanked us again.
Tony Pena doesn’t make any final decisions.
He’s the bench coach. The manager makes the final decisions.
Try again.
Today, the Angels were 0 for 10 with RISP which is why the Yankees won this close game.
I like that Kennedy said he was mad at himself a little. Shows he has matured. I’m real happy for him. I hope its a huge confidence booster. Great to see him healthy & smiling. God Bless.
A.J.’s YES post-game reaction:
http://bit.ly/ptWBP
“The Angels would also be in our heads if they spanked us again.”
I don’t believe that stuff, I think fans and the media believe that thought process more than the actual players.
does anyone know how many curves,changeups, and fb’s burnett threw.
What do you guys think the Yankees are going to do with Kennedy? Are they going to see if he can be effective out of the bullpen or are they going to give him this confidence boost, send him to Arizona, and say see you next year?
If his body can handle it I do not see any harm in finding out what he has got.
Don’t project your fears onto players.
Nobody is in this teams head.
Just because some of the fans are nervous nellies, it doesn’t mean the players are.
We heard the same drivel from some of you about the Red Sox.
paging cb
Nick von Clausewitz in SF
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Erica: ah, I get it. You’re crazy
*****
Basically
Isn’t he going to be in the Arizona fall league?
Angels left 13 guys on base. Ouch.
IPK raised his off season trade value this afternoon.
I would love to see NYY take all three games against Boston, just to even up the season series, but, 2 of three would be just fine. 1 of 3 would be ok, but, it would make this board a garbage pit.
Nick von Clausewitz in SF
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Anyone who picked under a 100 wins is a bad fan and, perhaps, a bad person.
****
That’s me!!!! LOL
I thought 100 was nice and round
Congratulations to Girardi for FINALLY beating the Angels at home. UGH. What a ‘rally’ monkey on their backs that’s been.
Meanwhile, I can’t believe this time next week, Pete won’t be posting.:(
Got home from work and watched the rest of the game over dinner. The Yankees are dealing with many deamons, from that 0-8 start against the Red Sox to that frippin’ Monkey in Anaheim. Tremendous on many levels –
1. The good AJ is back.
2. Joe is a good game manager. He put his players in position to succeed today. Yes, they had to perform, and the players are the ones who win. But Joe continually put in players to make the plays.
3. Marte has really come on. Three big outs.
4. Phil Coke, sick for the last two days and still not up to full strength (lost 8 pounds according to Kay) still stepped up and got his man. I would think the regulars noticed that.
5. Ian Kennedy also stepped up. Just getting onto a major league mound, after serious arm surgery, was a victory for him. And working his way out of trouble was the cherry on the sundae. He learned a lot about himself going forward. I am excited about what he can do for the Yankees in 2010.
6. Robbie Cano got a very big hit with RISP. He’s done that a few times lately. Who’d a thunk it?
7. Years from now, the Yankees will have a big time closer. And people will talk about him, and say, “He’s pretty good. But he’s not Mariano.”
“IPK raised his off season trade value this afternoon.”
Are you kidding?
Also, the Yankees aren’t trading Kennedy until they can solidify their 2010 rotation with plenty of depth.
“Anyone who picked under a 100 wins is a bad fan and, perhaps, a bad person. ”
I knew I shouldn’t have picked 99 wins.
Start chilling the bubbly cause the Yankees are going to the Super Bowl !!!
4. Phil Coke, sick for the last two days and still not up to full strength (lost 8 pounds according to Kay) still stepped up and got his man. I would think the regulars noticed that.
****
Holy crap- what kind of flu does he have????
Good summation, Joe……
vin: in your case, perhaps not is also applicable!
Ian Kennedy can be our Hughes next year coming out of the pen, throwing gas.
Thanks for the audio Pel !
Joe from Long Island-
I wish this blog had a “like” button like facebook does, cause your last post is definitely one of my favorite posts of the day!! I agree with everything you said and wish I had the eloquence to say it myself. But I’ll just make jokes instead
“Holy crap- what kind of flu does he have????”
Something tells me he had a bad case of food poisoning and lost a bunch of water weight.
Btw-
I have a massive soft spot for IPK cause we share a birthday.
And now that I have said that, I do appreciate birthday presents (but its a little early)
Mo’s YES post-game reaction:
http://bit.ly/16bXTB
Erica – always OPPC September 23rd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
4. Phil Coke, sick for the last two days and still not up to full strength (lost 8 pounds according to Kay) still stepped up and got his man. I would think the regulars noticed that.
****
Holy crap- what kind of flu does he have????
====================================
There’s been a nasty bug going through the east coast.
I hope they kept Coke away from the rest of the team. No joking.
>Thanks for the audio Pel !
Erica,
He’s a guy — so he can lose weight a lot faster than most women. If he had been you, for example, he may only have lost 3-4 lbs. That’s possible with not eating and at the same time, having fluids emerge from every which way — if you get my drift.
Rough way to “diet” though…
How he was able to pitch, though, is beyond me. It takes a while to get your strength back. Go Coke!
Speaking of birthdays, I will be celebrating one tomorrow……
If the Sucks lose 1 of their next 2 games, then that means if we win 2\3 this weekend, we can clinch the division.
anyone think arod can get 30 and 100 hes at 27 and 89 with 9 games left. Im gonna put a wager on it.
The Yankee Clipper retires his number.
http://i378.photobucket.com/al.....etires.jpg
Yeah, thanks Pel. SO nice for you to offer this service.
The one surprising move today (besides Kennedy) was the appearance of Sciosca’s apparent concession of the HFA by not batting Guerrero in the 8th inning. Napoli has hurt NYY all year, but, chose to pinch hit for Napoli by using Izturis instead of Guerreo with two on base. guerrero is dangerous wheth you need a homer or a single.
Wang IS Taiwan
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Erica,
He’s a guy — so he can lose weight a lot faster than most women. If he had been you, for example, he may only have lost 3-4 lbs. That’s possible with not eating and at the same time, having fluids emerge from every which way — if you get my drift.
Rough way to “diet” though…
*****
I did lose 4 pounds on the swine flu diet
I was just taking a look at Burnett’s game log and I think his struggles have been WAY overblown. His numbers have been severely skewed by 4 pretty much atrocious starts.
Since June 2nd he has had 4 REALLY bad starts where he gave up 7 runs, 9 runs, 6 runs, and 6 runs. In every other start though over about a 4 month span he has been dominant in most and very good in the rest. Take a look. It will make you feel a lot better about AJ. It sure has for me.
“I did lose 4 pounds on the swine flu diet.”
Yikes! Glad you’ve recovered. Two of my family members go it, as well.
Erica – always OPPC September 23rd, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I did lose 4 pounds on the swine flu diet
=====================================
yeah, but how many inches and in what place?
Betsy
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Speaking of birthdays, I will be celebrating one tomorrow……
***
Duly noted
Evan, yes there is a flu going through the North East area, unfortunately I am just getting over it, so I know first hand. But Coke didn’t have a flu, it was from something he ate. That isn’t contagious. That’s a good thing.
Now the Yanks just need to wear those masks everywhere they go, or hope they get it sooner rather than later.
Betsy September 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Speaking of birthdays, I will be celebrating one tomorrow……
=======================================================
Happy Birthday, Betsy! Wow, the BIG Six-Zero.
another Wednesday win. The Yanks are an incredible 19-5 on Wednesday!
Mon. 10-8
Tue. 15-8
Wed. 19-5
Thu. 11-7
Fri. 16-7
Sat. 12-12
Sun. 14-9
Abdababdaserser
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
able 21, baby steps. The Yankees rushed him up, he had shown some promise and just like Joba, it built the hype up a little too much.
Abda…. we really don’t disagree at all on this. I am all for getting him back in the bigs. But he is not an overpowering pitcher. He depends on absolute control to be successful. I was happy Joe stuck with him, but I am not ready to trust the postseason to him
http://www.yankees.mlb.com Pitching Matchups
Fri Lester,Sabathia
Sat Matsuzaka,Chamberlain
Sun Byrd,Pettitte
Should be wild.
Betsy
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Speaking of birthdays, I will be celebrating one tomorrow……
————————————————————
We can celibrate in December. You can bring your chaperones, I suppose.
Erica, when is your birthday? Soon?
new post
Evan, thank you! I am not 60, however, lol…….
Per Joe, Hairston is going to have an MRI tomorrow – he’s apparently had wrist issues going back to Cincy. I hope he’ll be ok as he’s been a valuable guy off the bench.
Many people have complained about Girardi’s faith in certain relievers, but sometimes that faith can be extremely rewarding.
Imagine if Girardi had taken Kennedy out after he loaded the bases and the Angels ended up scoring in that inning. That’s a world of difference from Girardi trusting Kennedy to work out of his own jam and boost his confidence.
God, I hate that monkey!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgjcvxQjpKA
Tyler Kepner report:
Friday is Sabathia’s day, but the Yankees pushed him back to give him six days’ rest. He would also have extra rest before his final start of the regular season next weekend at Tampa Bay. Then he could start Game 1 of the division series on no fewer than four days’ rest.
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/
Nice Silent Season of a Hero drop there Pete. Gay Talese’s writing still has yet to be matched.