Yankees Advance; Mets Fall Back

May 31, 2009 By LibertyBoy 38 Comments

Yanks win.  Mets lose.

Yanks moved to nine games above .500, which must make Joe Girardi whistle while he irons his shirts.  Since November, I’ve been saying that he has until June 1 to be in first place, or at least winning consistently, or else his job was on the line.  Alas, it is done, and now Joe has a whole ‘nother four months to play with, to add and subtract, to shuffle and reshuffle his cards as he will.  There is a new test in keeping up the pace and lengthening the lead now; the next level for Joe is the playoffs.  Now, if he can only get Mark Teixeira to stop breaking to first…

Mets fall behind to the Phils with a loss to Florida and a Phillie win, but it’s early yet.  If the Mets play .500 ball short fire starter Jose Reyes, and with Ollie Perez still doing batteries of Rorschact Tests and electro-shock treatments in Port St. Lucie, you gotta think they have as good a shot as anyone to make the playoffs.

Joe Frisaro of MLB.com points out that Josh Johnson is a bonafide Met killer.  Here are some notable stats for Mets vs. Johnson – some were in the lineup last night, some not, but you should get the picture:

Beltran 3-21; Delgado 1-15; Murphy 2-11; Reyes 4-16; Wright 3-18…Tatis is 5-9, but no one on the Mets with more than 10 at-bats against Johnson is batting more than .250 against him.  Just a statshot there that caught my eye.

Both games today are early afternoon.  I received your very special holiday wishes, BR2…working on a page tonight and I’ll have something up that’s adequately festive.

BallHype: hype it up!
Filed Under 2009 Tagged With game logs 2009, joe frisaro, joe girardi, jose reyes, josh johnson, mark teixeira, oliver perez
Yes! I would like a toilet subscription to Bronx Brass Tacks. Yes! I would like a toilet subscription to Bronx Brass Tacks.

Comments

  1. Hey howdy, boys and girls.

    Dropped this number at unk’s joint, but it’s worth posting again.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF4-r2MpRMs

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 8:08 am

  2. Morning LB…se you’re up early on a Sunday morning. Heading out for softball @ 9am, so wish your old fat & slow Yankee comrade in arms a good game & I’ll talk to you & the boys this afternoon. Another win last night for the AL’s hottest team…here’s hoping we pummel cookie puss Pavano @ the Prog today.

    supernaut924 May 31, 2009 at 8:10 am

  3. Gotta drop ol’ Mumsies favorite Dead melody.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdTQ3OPtGY

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 8:10 am

  4. Later fellas. Got work to do. Thanks for the drops, lou.

    libertyboynyc May 31, 2009 at 8:16 am

  5. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re9qdd6GdTg&hl=en&fs=1]

    libertyboynyc May 31, 2009 at 8:36 am

  6. Ah lib, those guys strike a chord.

    Dire Straits is college, and that was all good.

    A personal favorite, now that there’s a a dollop or two of Cognac in my coffee.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C25pVKRuVY

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 9:21 am

  7. Good morning fellas. Keep the music flowing Lou, Supe good luck at the ball yard, Libs good photo of the kid sliding into pain from Babe.

    Sorry for any Met fans that got ripped off yesterday with Jerry keeping his few big bats out of the line-up against Johnson, and mailing it in. Hopefully it wasn’t the first and only time you made the trek to Citi Field this year, I had a friend who did and they weren’t happy campers. An already bad match up made worse. Maybe those fans can get a discount on their ticket prices. It’s a grueling schedule, you need to rest your guys sometime I guess, no sense having Johnson ruin your best hitters confidence.

    Actually it almost made it an even playing field. I take it back, tip of the fedora to Jerry for being fair and balanced. Enjoy the rest of your day.

    unkulsal May 31, 2009 at 9:43 am

  8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DANkec2NY4w&feature=PlayList&p=07BC74A148CCE646&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1

    Check out the bass player

    unkulsal May 31, 2009 at 9:53 am

  9. Hey Big Sal. Nice to see you around. Nice drop.

    Lou, my wife got me in to those guys, they are big in Latin America believe it or not. It’s Pacific thing.

    libertyboynyc May 31, 2009 at 10:07 am

  10. For you unk, just name it.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpDkmWHIAQU

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 10:07 am

  11. Hahahaha that’s how I feel sometimes.

    libertyboynyc May 31, 2009 at 10:07 am

  12. You guys trying to tell me something?

    libertyboynyc May 31, 2009 at 10:09 am

  13. Reg Kehoe, now there’s a blower of one’s mind.

    lib, I can believe it. They got talent in whatever country.

    Speaking of…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8aN0zB8Qf8

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 10:15 am

  14. This one goes out to j bone, sunning it up next door to Cuba.

    If you see any of our southern neighbors yearning to be free, well pull them ashore. You never know, they might have rich relatives.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oSoYXrAWdw&feature=related

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 10:21 am

  15. Here’s another for j, courtesy of that famous writer feller who resided there.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzUhzRgk9xk

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 10:24 am

  16. Libs/Lou I just thought I stumbled across the DN Cha Cha band. I’m out, off to the mountains to see Franti, Derek Trucks and the Brothers. have a good one..

    unkulsal May 31, 2009 at 10:26 am

  17. Rubber side down, unk.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjiusdXr_O0

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 10:39 am

  18. hahaha lou I saw that Miles band two years later. Cosey is nuts enough on 6 strings why’d they give him 12? Leibman had a place just outside of Ellenville just over the mountain from New Paltz. I like Henderson. The band roped in the arrangements when Marcus Miller took over later on. Miles wasn’t playing with a full deck for a while, but the concept was great, it turned the jazzbo’s on their ear, and woke them up. Herbie’s Headhunters really defined that idiom, but Bitches Brew invented it. Chick, Herbie, Dejohnette, Airto, Shorter,Harvey Brooks, Cobham , Larry Young, Dave Holland, there had to be 14 or 15 guys on that record.

    unkulsal May 31, 2009 at 11:32 am

  19. Update on my no 95 vision. That’s no 95 win teams and no 95 loss teams.

    It’s looking good. On the upside, only the Dodgers and Texas have winning percentages over .600. And the Dodgers .667 is misleading. They are 23-8 in their division, and 9-9 outside of it.

    On the downside, only the Nationals are a threat to spoil my dream, at 13-35, but I smell a .500 streak.

    Back to the music…oh yeah !
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbSYwlxwotY&feature=related

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 11:37 am

  20. http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-wonder-why-it-went-out-of-business.html

    libertyboynyc May 31, 2009 at 12:03 pm

  21. If Girardi had a pinch runner for Matsui,Garko would have been holding him on and Gardners would have been a hit

    BabeRuth2 May 31, 2009 at 2:45 pm

  22. can someone please tell me why Gardner did not try to steal 2nd in the top of the 9th?

    supernaut924 May 31, 2009 at 4:10 pm

  23. BTW can you say Tex AL player of the month for May?

    supernaut924 May 31, 2009 at 4:17 pm

  24. I’m still trying to figure out what he was doing showing bunt with one out, a 1-1 count and the go ahead run on second in the ninth.

    The only thing I can think of there is to give Posada a chance to hit a sac fly. After his swinging first strike, it probably would have been a good time to run him. The odds of him being thrown out are probably lower than Jorge grounding into a DP.

    Leviathan May 31, 2009 at 4:41 pm

  25. Gardner is rapidly turning into a poor decision maker. Today he misjudged the liner to center which directly led to the 4th Indians Run. In the post game report it was clear that he didn’t steal second when the sign had been given to him. Last Sunday, he dives for a ball in center with 2 outs. which leads to 2 runs and eventually costs the Yankees the Ball Game. In the Minnesota series, he’s overly aggressive when there’s no need to be and is tagged out by Maurer as he tries to score from second when Mauer “suckers” him in. Garnder–overly aggressive when there’s no need to be and too wary (by his own admission today) when he needs to steal a base. He’s not a gamer.

    noogerguy May 31, 2009 at 5:02 pm

  26. Agree Supe..you have 1st and 3rd,one out and two of the fastest runners in the league..maybe a double steal? hit and run? do something Retardi instead of making Torre-like decisions with your finger up yer ass

    BabeRuth2 May 31, 2009 at 5:39 pm

  27. Gardner hurt more than he helped today. Pavano outpitched the yankee phenom. Maybe Hughes can make the money Pavano has someday.

    Nice win by the Mets. Nice homestand all considering in the win department. Pepto for everyone as they head for Pitt.

    kev86 May 31, 2009 at 5:47 pm

  28. Girardi apparently, extricated his finger from his derriere and gave Gardner the sign to steal. Inexplicably, Gardner decided on his own to not steal. That’s two games within a weeks’ time that Gardner has admitted later that he is responsible for the loss. He is not much of a gamer in my book. Personally, I’d like to see him take his game elsewhere.

    noogerguy May 31, 2009 at 6:20 pm

  29. Shelley Duncan–in 40 Games at Scranton-Wilkes-Barre–18 homers, 49 rbi’s and a .304 batting average. He leads the league in homers and rbi’s. It would be nice to have another right=handed bat right now. Duncan or Matsui? Duncan or Gardner? Duncan or Berrora? I know who I would want.

    noogerguy May 31, 2009 at 6:40 pm

  30. I don’t think Duncan is on the 40 man roster so they can’t bring him up without dropping someone.Gardner blew 2 plays today,1 in the field then not stealing.Posada is a terrible pinch hitter,does not do well off the bench.

    dallasbomber7 May 31, 2009 at 7:36 pm

  31. Nooger … Shelley Duncan has been to the BIG dance before and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a power hitting AAA player who hits AAA pitching very well. The vision of him corkscrewing himself into the ground trying to catch up to a major league fastball and miss is vivid in my memory. I don’t want to see it again. Having said that I don’t want to see Gardiner stand pat when given the steal sign in a critical situation. IMHO I don’t think they would have thrown to second if he had attempted to steal…but he didn’t …can’t win them all and on to tomorrow…GO YANKS!!

    cdnyankeebb May 31, 2009 at 7:40 pm

  32. canandian–I disagree. Duncan was not given much of a chance at all. He didn’t do well last year, but he was not given many at bats at all. He had a great spring this year. Also, he never has had difficulty “catching up” to any fast ball. Breaking balls are another story. Is he excelling at the AAA Level against only those pitchers who can’t pitch in the bigs? Can he be any worse than Swisher? Or a rapidly deteriorating Matsui? Gardner is like the law of diminishing returns. Gardner has done much more wrong lately than not stealing when he has been given the sign. I’ve never seen a speedy outfielder like him get such a poor break on a ball. The more you play him, the worse he will be. Duncan deserves another shot. He is dominating at the level where he is, so you do the logical thing.

    noogerguy May 31, 2009 at 8:51 pm

  33. Duncan had 57 at bats in 2008. In 2007 he hit 7 homers in 75 at bats. Is anyone “cast in stone” and proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in that small of a sample? I know what I feel about Gardner beyond a shadow of a doubt.—He’ll never amount to anything because he’s not good enough.

    noogerguy May 31, 2009 at 8:57 pm

  34. Evening folks, I need some help

    The name of the song from the movie Anchor’s Aweigh ( ? ), starring Sinatra and Kelly

    ” New York, New York, it’s a hell of a town, the Bronx is up, and the battery’s down ”

    Thanks

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZW3YDmievI&feature=related

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 9:28 pm

  35. I found it, but had the wrong movie.

    New York, New York from On The Town
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v7QfCxuvLo

    spiritofstlouis May 31, 2009 at 10:04 pm

  36. I fuckin hate Pavano…really wish the Yanks could’ve hung a 10 spot on his sorry ass today.

    supernaut924 May 31, 2009 at 10:34 pm

  37. I saw Matt Wieters CUM on Friday!

    coltsoriolesbullets1971 May 31, 2009 at 10:41 pm

  38. CARL PAVANO has burned The Yankees THREE TIMES…
    First, as an opponent of The Yankees in the 2003 World Series…
    Pavano burned them again, when he spent almost his entire four seasons with The Yankees on the disabled list, collecting $40 Million in the process…
    And now, Pavano is burning them again as an opponent. Ouch.

    coltsoriolesbullets1971 May 31, 2009 at 11:57 pm