Keefe To The City

Jun 7, 2012

Something’s Different About Rafael Soriano and Other Thoughts

Thoughts on Rafael Soriano, Tom Coughlin, John Tortorella and the Subway Series in the debut of Thursday Thoughts.

It’s the debut of Thursday Thoughts, which is my way of putting together things that didn’t end up in columns for the week and thoughts that were no more than a paragraph.

Thanks to the great invention of syndication I have the ability to watch Saved By The Bell reruns on MTV2 when I remember they’re on. Last week the episode was on where Kelly leaves Zack for Jeff, in what was the classic college-guy-dating-the-hot-high-school-girl move (I bet Jeff even told Kelly that he loves her), and Zack tries to get back at Kelly by going out with Screech’s smokeshow cousin. Slater asks Screech how he could possibly be related to her, and Screech answers, “She’s adopted,” and it all makes sense for the gang.

Well, I want to know how the Rafael Soriano that was the eighth-inning guy and then the seventh-inning guy and then the eighth-inning guy again could possibly be the same guy who is now pitching so well for the Yankees? The answer? He’s a closer again. It all makes sense.

Here are Soriano’s numbers since taking over as the closer.

8 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 1.13 ERA, .200 BAA, 0.875 WHIP.

Not only has Soriano pitched like a different pitcher since May 10, he looks like a different pitcher too. And on top of all this I feel confident when he comes into games. And on top of that, he’s oddly enough earning his $11 million this year. Here it comes … Is this real life?

Without Mariano Rivera and David Robertson, and with Cody Eppley, Clay Rapada and sometimes Boone Logan and Cory Wade, no one really knew what to make of the Yankees bullpen with the “A” relievers down, but Soriano has been as good as he was in Tampa Bay and Atlanta and as good as we hoped he would be as the setup man last season.

Do you think Brian Cashman has apologized to Soriano or Randy Levine yet now that Soriano might save the season from a bullpen standpoint, or is he still holding a grudge about losing that draft pick? Or maybe no apologies are needed for getting upset about giving a reliever $35 million and two opt-out clauses when no apology was given when $46 million was used for Kei Igawa on your watch?

– Tom Coughlin will be the Giants head coach for at least three more seasons and I couldn’t be happier. I have never had a more complicated love/hate relationship with anyone the way that I do with Tom Coughlin. I have changed my mind on how I feel about Coughlin more times than the Kings, Sabres, Panthers, Canucks and Coyotes have changed uniform colors combined. I know I used the words “second-half collapse” more than I wrote A.J. Burnett’s name in 2011, but I was never wrong about what I said regarding Coughin. I felt as though he would be fired if the Giants failed to make the playoffs again, and I felt that it would be the right move if he was unable to reach the postseason for a third straight season given everything that happened with the team since Plaxico went to the Latin Quarter nightclub in November 2008. But it’s good to know that Coughlin will be in charge of the Giants for at least three more years, so the Bill Cowher rumors can be put to rest and the team can focus on repeating as champions like Victor Cruz said on Wednesday night on the big screen at Yankee Stadium.

– I still haven’t done an end-of-the-year piece or anything for the Rangers yet (probably because the end of the season ended so abruptly after 102 games), but I plan on doing so next week, and hope to get WFAN extraordinaire Brian Monzo to join. But I did see a solid Bob Costas interview with John Tortorella on Monday night in which the two discussed Tortorella’s postseason postgame press conference tactics as well as his relationship with Marian Gaborik and his decision to bench him against the Devils in the conference finals. After seeing Tortorella answer challenging questions at length with the season over and wins and losses behind him, it’s remarkable how different of a person he can be outside the heat of the moment.

I said during the season that Tortorella had to get the team to the conference finals for me to finally jump on the John Tortorella bandwagon and for him to prove himself in New York and move away from banking on what he did in Tampa Bay. I have stayed true to my word. But I still wouldn’t have benched Gaborik.

– Through 57 games the 1998 Yankees were 44-13 and in the middle of a nine-game winning streak. Through 57 games the 2012 Rangers are 33-24 and are 2-5 in June after going 14-14 in May. The Yankees finished the season at 114-48 and won the World Series. The Rangers would have to go 80-24 to match that record and then win the World Series. So why do people insist on saying the 2012 Rangers are the best team since the 1998 Yankees? Am I missing something here? Because I feel like I’m taking crazy pills! I can only hope these comparisons end up the same way the 2011 Red Sox and 1927 Yankees comparisons did.

– The Heat-Celtics series is a win-win situation and a lose-lose situation for all New York fans. It’s a Catch 22 inside being stuck between a rock and a hard place. One of the two most hated NBA teams of New York fans will have their season end short of the Finals and the other will play the Thunder for the title. I haven’t been this torn on who to root for since trying to choose between Billy Costigan and Colin Sullivan in The Departed. It’s a terrible predicament, but there’s only one real way to look at it and that is to pull for the Heat to win the Eastern Conference as awful as that sounds.

If the Celtics win Game 6 or 7 they will be four wins away against a superior, but much less experienced Thunder team. And while no one wants to see LeBron James win a championship, there’s a good chance he will win at some point, so who cares if that some point is now? It’s way better than having Boston inch closer to a championship, which would relieve some of the pain of the Red Sox’ collapse and the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss, and no one wants that. The one downfall of the Heat winning is that it would take two more games, which is three more days (counting the off day) of my friend and Celtics fan Mike Hurley polluting my life with complaints about the officiating. And if the Heat are to win, there will likely be a lot of questionable and controversial fouls that were called or not called and that means days, maybe even weeks or months of Bostonians complaining about NBA refs. The idea of this is making me want the Celtics to win now, but I would never do such a thing.

– I’m happy the Subway Series is meaningful to both sides (at least for the first edition of it in 2012) as much as I don’t want the Mets to succeed. I love and enjoy the six meetings between the Yankees even if there are a lot of people that complain that it isn’t what it used to be in 1997 (these are the same people that complain about how much better things were back in the day or they are the people that will someday complain about how much better things were back in the day). Maybe the Subway Series has lost some of its luster since its inception 15 years ago, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still fun or entertaining. Most things lose their shine and the new-car smell after a while, but that doesn’t mean you need to get rid of it.

I know the schedules around the league are going to change in the future and there won’t be six Subway Series games anymore, and that’s disappointing. Because the only thing better than the Subway Series is a Subway Series that is lucky enough to get a split-stadium doubleheader.

Blogs • MLB

Jun 6, 2012

The All-Animosity Team

It’s time for the Third Annual All-Animosity Team, which consists of one player at each position, along with a starting pitcher, a closer and a manager from around the league.

Your team is up by one run in the eighth inning and the bases are loaded with two outs. Who is the last person you want to see coming to the plate?

Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Miguel Cabrera would be normal answers for non-Yankees fans, but ask a Yankees fan, and you might get Robert Andino, Carlos Pena or Howie Kendrick. Certain fans fear certain players differently, especially players on rival teams. I don’t feel confident when A-Rod is up against the Red Sox, but I have had Red Sox fans tell me they are scared when A-Rod is up. I could understand Derek Jeter or Robinson Cano (the most common answers), but A-Rod? If I ever get Mark Teixeira as an answer I might pass out.

Players that fan bases are scared of are usually also players that those fan bases hate. They are connected because usually hate players because of something they did to your team though there are times when you just hate a certain player because of who they are.

This brings us to the Third Annual All-Animosity Team, which consists of one player at each position, along with a starting pitcher, a closer and a manager from around the league. The standards to be considered for the team are simple and only one of the following three requirements needs to be met.

1. The person is a Yankee killer.

2. The person plays for the Red Sox.

3. I don’t like the person. (When I say, “I don’t like the person” or if I say, “I hate someone” I mean I don’t like the person who wears a uniform and plays or manages for a Major League Baseball team and not the actual person away from the game. I’m sure some of the people on this list are nice people. I’m glad we got that out of the way since I can already see Player X’s fan base in an uproar about me hating someone who does so much for the community.)

So, here is the 2012 All-Animosity Team with the winners from the previous years also listed.

C – Matt Wieters (2011 – Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 2010 – Jason Varitek)
Here are Wieters’ numbers against the Yankees this season.

14-for-30 (.467), 3 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBIs, .543 OBP, .767 SLG

The bad news is that the Orioles and Yankees still have to play 10 more games against each other this year. The worse news is that Wieters just turned 26 at the end of May. I have many, many, many more seasons of Wieters ruining summer nights for me.

1B – Adrian Gonzalez (2011 – Adrian Gonzalez, 2010 – Kevin Youkilis)
I really wanted to put Justin Morneau in this spot. Why? Well because Morneau is hitting .455/.571/1.273 against the Yankees this season with three home runs and four RBIs in just three games and 11 at-bats and he seems to hit three home runs in every series the Twins play at the Stadium. But Morneau never really stood a chance at making the team over Adrian Gonzalez.

Here are some quotes from Adrian Gonzalez following Game 162 of the 2011 season.

“We didn’t do a better job with the lead. I’m a firm believer that God has a plan and it wasn’t in his plan for us to move forward.”

“God didn’t have it in the cards for us.”

“We play too many night games on getaway days and get into places at 4 in the morning. This has been my toughest season physical because of that. We play a lot of night games on Sunday for television and those things take a lot out of you.”

“They can put the Padres on ESPN, too. The schedule really hurt us. Nobody is really reporting that.”

Forget that Gonzalez plays for the Red Sox. If you like the person who gave those excuses for the reason his team failed to make the playoffs then maybe you need to be on the All-Animosity Team of Life. If a Yankee had blamed the ALDS loss to the Tigers on anyone but themselves I would have turned into Nicolas Cage from any of these scenes.

2B – Dustin Pedroia (2011 – Dustin Pedroia, 2010 – Dustin Pedroia)
I hate to reuse what I wrote about Pedroia in this spot last year, but it still fits perfectly.

Pedroia is like Tom Brady for me. He has that winning instinct that you just don’t see all the time these days, he plays hard and he’s the type of guy you want on your team. But if I didn’t put him here again it would just be weird.

Even though I have a love/hate relationship with Pedroia and wish there was a way to get him on the Yankees while maintaining the same roster (Pedroia at second, Cano to third, A-Rod to DH, anyone?), if I didn’t put him on here people would think I like him, and that’s not the case.

3B – Robert Andino (2011 – Kevin Youkilis, 2010 – Chone Figgins)
(Note: Kevin Youkilis is the only player to make the All-Animosity Team at two different positions. This will likely be written on his All-Animosity Hall of Fame plaque.)

This is probably the only time Robert Andino will be viewed as a scarier hitter than Miguel Cabrera. Actually I know it will be the only time.

Andino is 10-for-27 against the Yankees in 2012, and it has a lot do with the fact that he crushes CC Sabathia (8-for-20, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBIs). Even though I don’t like Andino I will always have a special place for him in my heart for putting the dagger into the Red Sox’ 2011 season (or should I say the 1927 Yankees’ season?).

SS – Jose Reyes (2011 – Jose Reyes, 2010 – Jose Reyes)
I always look to the Red Sox roster before considering anyone else for any of the positions on this team, but when you have a shortstop platoon of Mike Aviles and Nick Punto, it’s hard to really hold any animosity toward them. In fact, I love the Red Sox’ idea of a shortstop platoon to create the superpower that is Mick Avunto. If I’m Ben Cherington, I give them both five-years deals. Why break up a good thing?

Mets fans were worried about Jose Reyes going to the Phillies and he ended up with another division rival in the Marlins. Do you remember hearing things like “The Mets have to re-sign Reyes!” and “I won’t watch a Mets game next year if Reyes leaves” from Mets fans last year? I do. But what happened when Reyes left the Mets for the Marlins and $106 million? The Mets became a likable team. They became a fun team to watch, even for someone like me who hates the Mets.

Jose Reyes was the face of what has gone wrong with the Mets since Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS and he needed to go despite Mets fans thinking he was part of the franchise’s solution rather than part of the problem. But I guess it’s hard to let go of a player Mets fans deemed “The Most Exciting Players in Baseball” even when that player requests to come out of the lineup to protect his batting title.

The season is a third of the way through and Reyes has no home runs and 12 RBIs in 247 plate appearances this season. But hey, Reyes was going to be the future of the Mets!

LF – Delmon Young (2011 – Delmon Young, 2010 – Manny Ramirez)
Delmon Young probably would have been taken off this list, but then he went and hit home runs in Games 1, 3 and 5 of the ALDS. I will never forget John Smoltz’s comment about watching out for a first-pitch fastball from Rafael Soriano to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning after the Yankees had just come back to tie the game with two runs off Verlander. That first-pitch fastball changed the series. I’m just glad David Robertson was sitting in the bullpen after not pitching in Games 1 or 2 and after being rested for the final two weeks of the regular season by Joe Girardi. Now that’s good managing.

CF – Josh Hamilton (2011 – B.J. Upton, 2010 – Vernon Wells)
I think I’m one of the only people that isn’t a Josh Hamilton fan. I get his whole “comeback” story, but if you’re a Yankees fan and you root for Hamilton maybe you forgot about these numbers from the 2010 ALCS.

7-for-20 (.350), 6 R, 1 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBIs, 3 SB, 8 BB, .536 OBP, 1.000 SLG

Do you still like him?

It’s insane that it’s June 6 and Hamilton has 21 HR and 58 RBIs after homering just 25 times in 121 games last year and 32 times in 133 games in his MVP year in 2010.

RF – Jose Bautista (2011 – Magglio Ordonez, 2010 – Magglio Ordonez)
The only way Magglio Ordonez wasn’t going to win this award was if he retired, and that’s what he did. On Sunday the Tigers had Magglio Ordonez Day and everyone was respectful and cheering and some of the Yankees took part in the pregame ceremony by sitting in the dugout and acknowledging the career. I watched the game from the couch and booed as if Ordonez was 50 feet from me in right field.

I have yet to find a Yankees fan that was sad to see A.J. Burnett get traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I’m pretty sure Jose Bautista wasn’t happy about Burnett’s departure from the AL East.

I don’t like Bautista because of what he does against the Yankees and what he does to any wager I place for or against the Blue Jays. If the Blue Jays are somehow in the race for the division down the stretch, I will have no choice but to bet on them every game to ensure that Jose Bautista does absolutely nothing.

SP – Josh Beckett (2011 – Josh Beckett, 2010 – Josh Beckett)
There’s no one who will ever take this award from Josh Beckett. If Jered Weaver drilled Derek Jeter and forced him to miss a significant amount of time he still wouldn’t be in the conversation even when you combine such a terrible act with his relation to Jeff Weaver. Now if Jered Weaver injured Jeter for a lengthy period of time and then upon Jeter’s return he injured him again for another lengthy period of time, then maybe we can talk about replacing Josh Beckett here.

The thing that takes the fun out of Beckett being my No. 1 Most Hated Athlete To Look At (which is completely separate from being on the All-Animosity Team) is that the city he plays for hates him. The same city he won a World Series for in 2007. Red Sox fans obviously want him to pitch well so the team wins when he starts, but at the same time they aren’t upset when he loses. It’s a beautiful thing.

CL – Jose Valverde (2011 – Jonathan Papelbon, 2010 – Jonathan Papelbon)
Goodbye, Jonathan Papelbon. It was fun (not really). Now it’s time to say “Hello” to Jose Valverde.

I don’t know if I will ever get over the fact that the Yankees faced him three times in the ALDS and didn’t get him to blow any of the three games. This ultimately led to the Yankees’ demise, well this along with the heart of the order’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position and failure to get the big hit, and CC Sabathia coming up short twice and Joe Girardi using Luis Ayala more than David Robertson.

There can’t be any fan base that likes Valverde aside from Tigers fans. There just can’t be. No one wants to see Valverde succeed with the amount of time he takes between pitches and his version of the Electric Slide that he does after successfully converting a save. But maybe other fan bases don’t hate him as much as Yankees fans because we’re used to seeing Mariano Rivera walk toward home plate and shake the catcher’s hand after a save rather than moonwalk across the mound or dance like your wild uncle at a wedding who hung out at the bar for the first three hours and is hearing “Call Me Maybe” for the first time.

Valverde’s perfect season of going 49-for-49 in save opportunities was hard to watch, but I’m glad he has come back to his old self in 2012 with a 4.64 ERA and 1.594 WHIP.

Manager – Bobby Valentine (2011 – Mike Scioscia, 2010 – Joe Maddon)
Did any other manager have a chance? In a league that boasts hipster Joe Maddon, the genius Mike Scioscia and Fidel Castro supporter Ozzie Guillen, it’s Bobby Valentine who stands alone.

Whether it’s Bobby V taking shots at the Yankees during spring training or having stories written about him building a fence in the offseason (I helped my dad build a deck last summer and no one wrote a story about me), or doing weekly spots on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York, or calling out Kevin Youkilis for really no reason or supporting Josh Beckett playing golf after missing a start due to a back problem, there’s always a reason to dislike Bobby.

I just want to take this time to thank the Red Sox ownership group for not letting their new general manager do his job and for going over his head and making Bobby Valentine their manager. Thank you.

Blogs • Yankees

Jun 5, 2012

A Sunday with John and Suzyn

It’s always entertaining to listen to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman broadcast a Yankees game. But it’s even better when that game is the final game of an 11-day, nine-game road trip.

Last June with the Brewers at the Stadium for a three-game series, which the Yankees would sweep, I decided to listen to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman while I wrote down my thoughts from their broadcast. I have wanted to do it again since, but wasn’t sure when the time would be right. With the debut of this site and the Yankees wrapping up an 11-day, nine-game road trip, and figuring John and Suzyn would be at their “best,” Sunday seemed like the perfect time to do it again.

Here’s what transpired on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park…

TOP 1ST
If there’s ever a “You can’t predict baseball” matchup for John and Suzyn, this is it. Justin Verlander, the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner against Phil Hughes, the reigning The Only Reason We Still Believe He Is A Starter Is Because We Picked Him In The First Round Eight Years Ago winner. I have already sarcastically tweeted that I’m excited for this Phil Hughes start in my attempt at flipping this around Leon Black style from Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The last time I did this there wasn’t a single “You can’t predict baseball” reference. That would be like Phil Hughes making a start without giving up a home run. It just doesn’t happen. And if it happens again today it would be monumental. There’s no way you can pick two random games to listen to an entire broadcast from John and Suzyn and get a “You can’t predict baseball” no-no in back-to-back games nearly a year apart. It’s impossible.

I said it already, but I think it’s important to say again that is the last game of an 11-day, nine-game road trip for the Yankees and it’s a day game and a getaway day game following a devastating walk-off loss from about 14 hours ago. In other words, this has all of the makings of a recipe for disaster. Did I mention that it’s Phil Hughes against Justin Verlander?

Suzyn: “And as the Captain, Derek Jeter, steps up to the plate, stepping up to the microphone is the voice of the New York Yankees … here is John Sterling.”

John: “Well, Suzyn, I thank you.”

And before John can even give Verlander’s numbers…

John: “Swung on and hit in the air to right field and deep … back goes Boesch on the track at the wall … SHE’S GONE! Oh, what a beginning! The captain homers the opposite way to right field on Verlander’s first pitch! The first-ball fastball he hit over the right field stands. El Capitan! He homers and the Yankees take a 1-0 lead! And Suzyn does that ever underscore about how you can’t predict baseball?”

Suzyn: “You cannot predict baseball!”

Well, that takes care of me worrying about not hearing “You can’t predict baseball.”

Justin Verlander might be the best pitcher on the planet, but he doesn’t really scare me as much as rookie lefties do against the Yankees or any pitcher making his Major League debut. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true, and I bet I’m not the only one that thinks this way. The Yankees have now scored in the first inning in each of their last five games against Verlander and six of the last seven if you include the ALDS. If they can find a way to win today they will be 2-0 against Verlander this year. Give me Verlander over the 21-year-old lefty that looks like he’s 15 making his Major League debut on Sunday Night Baseball in Yankee Stadium any day of the week.

Curtis Granderson walks on four pitches and after the count goes to 1-2 on A-Rod and John gets into some more about predicting baseball…

“It’s funny … you can talk baseball … you can have the experts … you can have predictions … analyze it … I’d like to know the person who felt that Jeter would homer on the first pitch off Verlander.”

A-Rod walks, and the Yankees have first and second and no one out.

“Here’s Cano and the pitch is … in the dirt … it gets away from Santos! Well, runners at second and third and now if the Yankees make the right kind of outs they can actually take a 3-0 lead. I know he’s a tough pitcher … he’s the toughest!”

John gives a recap of what’s happened and then Suzyn corrects his previous call.

Suzyn: “And he just gave him a passed ball on that because that ball did not hit the dirt. That ball was bounced off of Santos’ glove … he’s not a great catcher.

John: “No…”

Wild pitch? Passed ball? In the dirt? Off a glove? Ah, who cares?

The inning ends with the Yankees leading 2-0. Hughes blew a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning in his last start, so I’m setting the over/under at 1.5 innings until the Tigers tie the game or take the lead, and once this happens, how badly will John and Suzyn cover for him? Then again, the Yankees lead 2-0 against Justin Verlander and I have already heard the word “predict” several times and we haven’t even played a full inning. Can it possibly get any better than this? Should I just turn the game off now?

BOTTOM 1ST
Four Sundays ago I did a retro recap of Hughes’ start against the Royals for WFAN.com in an attempt to find out if Hughes belongs in the rotation and to find out just what Phil Hughes is since he’s now in his sixth season in the majors, and no one really knows if he should be part of the rotation or the bullpen. Hughes pitched his first quality start of the year in that game and then went on a little run for a few weeks before the Angels embarrassed him in front of his family and friends last week. I hope I can have the same impact on the game I did four Sundays ago.

John introduces Phil Hughes and his numbers by saying Hughes “has pitched much better of late.” What? Is this real life? This is Hughes’ 11th start of the year. He has three quality starts so far, and in his last outing against the Angels he gave away a 3-0 lead in the first inning and allowed 11 hits and seven earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. But hey, he’s been much better of late!

Hughes retires Quintin Berry and Danny Worth.

“There are two away … here is Mag … I was going to say Magglio Ordonez. Here is Miguel Cabrera!”

I guess it’s hard to get on John for trying to activate Magglio Ordonez and hit him third in the Tigers lineup since he is at the park today and since Miguel and Magglio both begin with the letter “M.”

Cabrera walks and a passed ball allows him to move to second with two outs.

John: “Now first base is open, so you can pitch carefully to Fielder.”

I’m not sure that’s the best advice, John. This is Phil Hughes pitching, not CC Sabathia. I don’t think we want to be giving free passes in the first inning with the dangerous Yankee killer Delmon Young on deck. But Hughes has been “much better of late,” so what do I know?

Hughes retires Fielder to end the inning.

TOP 2ND
Nick Swisher singles to lead off the second inning bringing up Eric Chavez.

John: “Verlander deals… swung on and popped in the air to left … going back is Kelly … on the track … leaps … and he’s made another catch! Last night he robbed Teixeira of a homer … this time I’d say he robbed Chavez of a double! That ball went a lot further than I ever thought!”

I’ll say it went a lot further than being “popped in the air to left.”

It does feel like I’m using a cheat sheet by watching the game muted on YES while listening to John and Suzyn just to see how good of a job they are doing. (I’m sure Michael Kay wasn’t exactly all over that Chavez out either.) On a side note: Don Kelly reminds me of David Murphy.

The replay shows the ball clearly would have bounced and hit the wall, but that doesn’t stop Suzyn from saying, “I think that would have been a home run” despite her seeing the replay.

Russell Martin walks as the fifth Yankee to reach in the first two innings and Suzyn adds, “I cannot picture a game when I have seen Justin Verlander like this.” Since I’m giving out doppelgangers (I feel like Michael Kay talking about Paul Byrd as Kelsey Grammer and Jeff Niemann as Jeff Daniels) well Justin Verlander has always reminded me of Jason Lee. Stillwater, anyone? “Fever Dog!”

BOTTOM 2ND
Suzyn is giving her first scoreboard of the day, so I decided to go back to the last time I did this to see what I said about Suzyn and her scoreboards.

Suzyn is giving her first scoreboard update of the day. The best part of the scoreboard updates is that John clearly hates them. He hates that his broadcast gets hijacked momentarily and hates that he has to interrupt Suzyn to give the play-by-play. It breaks up his flow and his rhythm and I kind of agree. And maybe the scoreboards can be taken out of the broadcast? I know it would be like taking away someone’s lines in a play in that Suzyn’s airtime would be cut down significantly, but it’s 2011. I don’t think anyone is waiting for Suzyn’s scoreboard updates to find out scores from around the league.

Change “2011” to “2012” and I could have just reused that whole thing.

Phil Hughes has terrible body language when he throws a ball. It’s so noticeable and I can’t think of anyone acting that way after they miss their spot, and it looks ridiculous. A two-out hit against Hughes prevents us from seeing our first 1-2-3 inning of the game.

John: “Hey, there’s no question about Hughes’ arm. He began the season terribly and he has pitched much better in the last few weeks.”

Why does John feel the need to always build Hughes’ confidence and self-esteem? He can’t hear you, John! And there are a lot of questions about Hughes’ arm, mainly because of the way he has pitched this season. Was I the only one that watched Hughes pitch in Anaheim last Monday?

TOP 3RD
The Yankees take a 2-0 lead into the third and the first pitch to Granderson is a ball.

John: “He really can’t throw strike one … and this is Justin Verlander we’re talking about! It’s a funny game.”

The scoreboard screen has stopped working at Comerica Park and this can only mean chaos for John and Suzyn.

John: “We can’t give you a pitch count. That pitch count has stopped. We’ll find out later for you.”

Suzyn: “It said 39.”

John: “No, no … it started at 39.”

Suzyn: “Oh!”

John: “The pitch to A-Rod is low and the count is 2-0.”

Suzyn: “OK, 39 and it was 3 and 2 … and he struck him out…”

John: “Right, so that’s…”

Suzyn: “So that’s 45 … and two … 47…”

John: “The pitch is a strike. Also the scoreboard has stopped. I gotta find a different place for the count.”

Suzyn: “I guess you’re going to have to look at the monitor here.”

And then on the 3-1 pitch to A-Rod…

John: “And the pitch is swung on and lined to deep left … that ball is HIGH … it is FAR … IT IS GONE! Over the inner fence and over the original fence! Way up in the crowd … what a shot! An A-Bomb from A-Rod, and the Yankees take a 3-0 lead! And Suzyn you could hear the crack of the bat from up here … you can’t hit a ball a lot further except if you’re Miguel Cabrera.”

Suzyn: “No. That was the ninth homer of the year for Alex and … you knew for it … and Verlander knew as soon as he hit it also. You could see Don Kelly take a couple of steps to his left and Berry turn around, but that ball was gone from the second he it.”

Cano and Teixeira are retired, but the Yankees lead 3-0.

BOTTOM 3RD
John: “Our fervent wishes that the board would come back. It makes it somewhat tough.”

With one out, Berry lays down a bunt and is thrown out by Chavez in what might be the most accurate Sterling call in 15 years. He honestly couldn’t have done a better job on the play.

“The pitch … Berry bunts toward third … fielded by Chavez … throws … IN TIME for the out.”

Worth walks with two outs preventing the first 1-2-3 inning of the game and it brings up Miguel Cabrera or “CabrerA” as Sterling likes to say. Hughes gets him to fly out to right and it’s still 3-0 Yankees after three.

TOP 4TH
John: “You know one thing Suzyn, you gave the stat before … when they don’t hit a home run, the Yankees are 0-12. Well, they’ve hit two homers today.”

Suzyn “Right.”

John: “Hahahaha. We’ll see if that holds up.”

And…

John: “You know I think what bothers the Yankees and their followers … here is Verlander’s pitch … swung on and hit in the air to right … Boesch is back … in front of the track … and he makes the catch and there’s one away. I think what bothers, Suzyn, the Yankees and their followers and the broadcasters … look at this lineup against a righty when you have Ibanez, Swisher and Chavez … 6, 7 and 8 and the Yankees never hit or don’t hit much with the bases loaded or with men on base.”

Raul Ibanez flies out to lead off the inning.

John: “Hey, the scoreboard’s back.”

Suzyn: “Yes, it is.”

Swisher walks and Verlander is at 63 pitches with 33 balls and he has just 10 outs.

Chavez singles, but Russell Martin lines into a double play to Cabrera, and John reminds us, “That’s baseball though.”

BOTTOM 4TH
Hughes’ first pitch to Prince Fielder is a curveball that finds Fielder’s perfect stroke and then goes about as far as any home run at Comerica Park has gone to right field, and Fielder knows it as he slams down his bat and watches his work.

Suzyn: “Boy was there no doubt about that.”

Young grounds out and here’s Suzyn with the scoreboard update just in case you wanted to know that Nationals-Braves score.

Hughes bounces back to retire the next three after Fielder’s leadoff home run and keep the Yankees’ lead at 3-1.

John: “One run, one hit … the Fielder home run, which went so far it should count for two … at the end of four … 4-1 Yanks on the New York Yankees radio network driven by Jeep.”

TOP 5TH
More first-pitch balls from Verlander in the fifth…

John: “Of all things Verlander can’t throw strike 1 and he is a strike throwing machine.”

Granderson doubles with one out before A-Rod strikes out swinging. Cano comes up with Granderson on second and two outs, and on 3-2 pitch…

John: “Now Verlander deals … swung on and a high fly to right-center … Boesch … and Berry … and … that ball is … IN THE GAP! It falls in the gap! Granderson scores … here is Cano going to third … and the throw is … not in time! It gets by … but backed up by … now the ball went into the dugout and Cano is allowed to go home! So first of all, the long fly to right-center split Berry and Boesch and landed … and went to the wall. It was an easy triple for Cano … it’s 430 feet out there. The throw got by, so we’ll find out who the error is on. Two runs score. Give Cano an RBI .. and the Yankees now take a 5-1 lead.”

Teixeira grounds out, but I’m still in awe over the call on the Cano triple. Granted, I had the chance to see it on TV as it was happening and it was a little weird that Berry didn’t get to it, but nevertheless, that was an epic piece of broadcasting.

BOTTOM 5TH
I think it’s funny that Sterling says “error” the way you’re supposed you say “era.”

It’s time for the Daily News 5th and Roger Rubin joins the booth in place of Mark Feinsand.

Hughes walks Don Kelly to lead off the fifth inning. Kelly is currently in a 6-for-46 slump, so walking him to lead off an inning with a four-run lead is always a good idea.

John and Suzyn start asking Roger questions about the Yankees offense…

Roger: “You know it’s funny before the game a bunch of us were talking to Kevin Long about the team’s problems scoring with runners in scoring position and Derek [Jeter] was walking by and he was almost making fun of it. You know, ‘What’s wrong with us, Kevin? Tell us!'”

Suzyn: “Well, it would actually be nice if they figured out what’s wrong with them.”

Roger: “It would be. At one point Kevin say to Derek as he was walking back by a second time, ‘Derek, are we ever gonna score again?’ and Derek was like, ‘I don’t think so.’ Well, he took care of that one right there.”

John: “But, however, if people ask that question, they have a right to ask it because the percentages are so bad … men in scoring position and bases loaded.”

See this is what I love about John and Suzyn: they are Yankees fans and they don’t hide it. They want the Yankees to win the way the fans do and when the team plays poorly they want answers. The mood of the broadcast changes depending on the score of the game and the Yankees’ recent play, and if the Yankees are in the middle of a three-game losing streak you feel like you’re watching the game with your buddies complaining about the team. They don’t follow the game the way beat writers and reporters do, and they shouldn’t since they are the voices of the team on the radio and have to watch them for 162 games plus the playoffs. John and Suzyn should want and expect success from the team and they should be noticeably upset when they don’t get it. This is the Yankees radio network and not a national broadcast.

Santos hits into a double play that is turned by Jeter and Cano leading John to ask, “Have you ever see anyone cooler than Robbie Cano?”

Berry goes down looking and Hughes continues to look good (though I’m scared to type that since things can unravel quickly for the Phranchise).

TOP 6TH
John always reminds us that he owes a station break as if it’s a contest and he owes the listeners another chance to win. Now he might just be talking to the producer to let him know he’s aware that he stills need to do a 10-second station ID, but it always sounds like we let John borrow a station break and he has yet to return it.

Chavez singles on a soft fly ball to left, but that’s all the Yankees manage in the sixth.

BOTTOM 6TH
Suzyn tries to get her scoreboard updates in, but Hughes strikes out Worth and Cabrera swinging and Fielder grounds out for a perfect inning from Hughes.

If the first time I did something like this for Hughes led him to go on a mini run, and this game ends up being one in which he outpitches Verlander, does that mean I will have to do this for every Hughes start for the rest of the season? If it produces wins, I don’t have a problem with it.

TOP 7TH
John: “The 1-1 is lined toward right-center, and there’s a base hit! Jeterian? Haha! You bet! Inside-out swing and he lines it to right-center field.”

John talks about the tight AL East, and as bad as the Yankees have been they can head to the Stadium on Tuesday for a three-game series with Tampa Bay and trail in the division by just one game if they hold on today.

But John reminds us that, “Willie Stargell used to say, ‘The pennant race begins September 1.’” So, I guess the first five months of the season didn’t count back then either?

BOTTOM 7TH
A quiet frame from John and Suzyn as Hughes allows a two-out single to Jhonny Peralta before getting Kelly to pop out to end the inning. This has been Hughes’ best start of the season and with the chance to either finish at 6-3 on the road trip with a win, or 5-4 with a loss following Saturday night’ debacle, Hughes has done his job, which is rare.

TOP 8TH
Ibanez, Swisher and Chavez go down in order and I’m beginning to get the sense that John and Suzyn just want the last couple of innings of the last game of an 11-day road trip to go quickly. This road trip started back on the Yankees’ off day on May 24. That feels like forever ago.

TOP 9TH
John and Suzyn are talking about the players drafted ahead of Derek Jeter in 1992, which leads to a discussion about other great players passed over early in the draft, and the name of the player the Mets took first overall before Reggie Jackson in the 1966 draft has eluded them. John knows the player’s name was “Steve,” but can’t remember his last name. Keith Olbermann texts Suzyn to tell her it was Steve Chilcott.

Suzyn: “What a wonderful invention … texting.”

John: “Ha! I love E-ZPass and DVR myself.”

Suzyn: “Hahahaha! Well, the person that invented DVR and E-ZPass should be in some Hall of Fame.”

John: “Hahaha right! … Absolutely!”

Suzyn: “Somewhere…”

John then goes on to say that the Cross Bronx Expressway belongs in the Hall of Shame. I can’t disagree with him there.

After Martin’s leadoff double, Jeter, Granderson and A-Rod go down in order and John gets excited: “The Yankees are three outs away from a big win.”

BOTTOM 9TH
Phil Hughes is three outs away from his first complete game ever, unless you really want to count the rain-shortened six-inning complete game he threw.

He strikes out Cabrera to start the ninth and gets Fielder to ground out before Young singles. With Young on first and Hughes facing his last batter in Boesch, a fan runs on the field.

John: “And now someone runs on the field … no one pursues him … and he’s running out toward right field … and Swisher gives him a little high five … and now he runs to center field … now people start coming out on the field to get him … and now he runs toward the infield … brilliant … and finally he is apprehended and taken down. You know at first you think it’s funny and people laugh, etcetera, well, how do you know the guy isn’t crazy? How do you know he doesn’t have a weapon or a knife or something? So, the gentleman is handcuffed and led off … two outs, a runner at first and now Girardi trots out to make sure Hughes is OK.”

“And once again it’ll be a 2-2 to Boesch … Hughes is set at the chest … and the pitch … struck him out swinging! Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeee Yankees win!”

The game ends in two hours and 39 minutes. Phil Hughes beat Justin Verlander, threw his first nine-inning complete game in the process and kept Miguel Cabrera in the park. The Yankees scored five runs against Verlander and A-Rod hit his second home run in three games. John and Suzyn talked about not being able to predict baseball after the first pitch of the game, and I got to hear John do play-by-play of a fan running on the field while trying to evade security. And on top of it all, the Yankees won the game and the series and finished their 11-day, nine-game road trip at 6-3. Forget Johan Santana’s no-hitter. This was a perfect game.

Blogs

Jun 5, 2012

Welcome to Keefe To The City

The official introduction to Keefe To The City.

I have never really been good at “hellos” or greetings in general. I’m always worried about getting my handshake right and making sure to say my own name that I always end up disregarding the other person telling me their name. Then I have to whisper to someone later to find out “So-and-so’s” name and hope that “So-and-so” doesn’t hear me asking what his or her name is.

I don’t think this is any different except I don’t have to say, “Hey, I’m Neil” or “Hi, I’m Neil” or “Hello, I’m Neil.” All I have to say is “Welcome,” which I think I have only said a handful of times in my life because who says “Welcome” aside from restaurant hosts, hotel concierges and pilots? The only times I can think of saying it would be while pretending to be Axl Rose and screaming the word in “Welcome to the Jungle,” or when trying to see how good of a Bob Sheppard impression I can do by saying in my best “Voice of God” voice, “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Yankee Stadium.”

Keefe To The City will complement my work on WFAN.com and CBSNewYork.com and will be a place for additional content with columns, blogs and podcasts and hopefully some other things down the line. I won’t be the only voice on this site as I have put together a team of contributors that will be announced within the next couple of weeks.

The site as it is now may change over the next couple of weeks as contributors start contributing, and it might change a few times in the next month or so. It probably won’t change as many times as Joe Girardi makes pitching changes in the late innings, but more like the amount of times John Tortorella changes line combinations. (But don’t worry, we won’t be benching Marian Gaborik in the Eastern Conference finals here.)

The first column for the site, “A Sunday with John and Suzyn” is up and there will be new content in various formats posted every weekday from here on out. I hope you enjoy the site, and for more on the site and updates and information, you can follow Keefe To The City on Twitter or check out the Facebook page.

Thanks for stopping by,

Neil Keefe

Blogs • Email Exchanges • Yankees

Apr 20, 2012

Yankees Arrive in Boston with Things Going Badly for Bobby Valentine

With the rivalry resuming for the first time in 2012 there was only one thing to do, and that’s an email exchange with Mike Hurley to find out just how bad things are in Boston with the Yankees arriving for the weekend.

The Yankees have had inconsistent pitching and hitting to begin the season, and when you mix in some of Joe Girardi’s questionable lineup choices and managerial decisions, well you get a 7-6 record. But up north, Bostonians would trade their situation for a couple of games of Eduardo Nunez in the middle of the infield and a few too many pitching changes if it meant relieving them of the Bobby Valentine show.

With the rivalry resuming for the first time in 2012 there was only one thing to do, and that’s an email exchange with Mike Hurley of CBS Boston to find out just how bad things are in Boston with the Yankees arriving for the weekend.

Keefe: So, we meet again (via our email inboxes). The last time we talked was back at the beginning of March when we both shared our mutual disrespect and dislike for Bobby Valentine. I think it was the first time we agreed on anything since that time you finally admitted to me that Eli Manning is a better quarterback than Tom Brady.

When the Red Sox announced the hiring of Bobby Valentine, I had visions of the 2012 Red Sox being the September 2011 Red Sox on HGH, but you never really think things are going to go out of hand the way you hope. I imagined clubhouse chemistry issues and verbal abuse between the manager and his players in the media. I daydreamed about Ben Cherington and Valentine getting into a shouting match and then throwing haymakers at each other as they rolled around the ground like you see in the WorldStarHipHop fight videos, and most importantly I hoped for a lack of success on the field and losses mounting in the standings. My prayers, wishes and dreams have come true.

Bobby Valentine has been a disaster through 12 games as Red Sox manager. His team is 4-8 and he’s made questionable managerial decisions along with calling out his third baseman and one of the two players left from the 2004 World Series team (even if Kevin Youkilis was as much a part of that team as you were). He has been booed at Fenway Park and laughed at on TV, on the radio and in print. And now on Friday, he will see the Yankees for the first time as the manager of the Red Sox, but before the game starts, the organization will honor the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park by bringing back important figures in the team’s history. This includes Terry Francona.

There’s no doubt that the ovation for Francona will be the loudest thing at Fenway since Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe and Tim Wakefield walked from the dugout to the bullpen to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” for extra innings of Game 5 of the 2004 ALCS. And after Francona gets showered with cheers, applause, a standing ovation and “We want Terry” chants, there will be a baseball game to be played between two rivals, which will only magnify the job of Bobby Valentine. (The more I write about this, the bigger the smile on my face gets.)

The only thing that can help Bobby Valentine win over Boston is winning. No one cares about his personality or his postgame quotes or his baseball “geniuses.” People care about winning and so far he hasn’t shown anyone that he is capable of this through 12 games.

Will Bobby Valentine ever be loved in Boston? And how awkward is the scene on Friday at Fenway going to be with every Red Sox fan in attendance (and at home around New England) wishing Francona would put in a chew, put on a Red Sox hat and manage the game while Bobby V sits there and gives a half-hearted clap for the ex-manager?

Hurley: Hey. Neil. Good to see you.

We most certainly agreed that Bob Valentine (the man is 60, can we drop the “Bobby” baloney?) was a bad idea for Boston. He’s been out of the majors for a decade and he proved on a weekly basis last year on ESPN that he doesn’t follow baseball enough to be considered someone with expertise in the subject. Yet there he is, hired to run the team with the third-highest payroll, in a city with psychotic fans who were already mad as hell from the events of last September. The odds are staked against him to succeed here.

But like you said, winning would cure a lot of that. Unfortunately for Bob, four wins in 12 games isn’t quite going to cut it.

Sure, you could point to the suspect roster given to him ($173 million just doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to these days), but you have to look at his in-game management thus far. I believe he himself has lost two out of the last three games. He let Daniel Bard, a reliever making his second big league start, stay in the game after four straight balls to Carlos Pena. Guess what he did next?! He threw four straight balls to Evan Longoria to walk in a run. The Red Sox lost 1-0.

Then on Wednesday, I saw a scene I’ve never before witnessed. I saw a reliever come into a 3-2 game and load the bases. The manager left him in the game, and he hit Craig Gentry in the foot. Craig Gentry is not a very good baseball player, and Morales couldn’t even get him out. But Valentine left him in! And Franklin Morales … served up a bomb to Mike Napoli. Because Valentine may have been sleeping in the dugout, a 3-2 deficit jumped to a 6-2 hole in a matter of minutes. It was truly some of the worst managing I’ve ever seen at this level.

As for Francona, he’ll get the reception and thanks he deserves and earned over his eight years in Boston, and that’s a good thing. I don’t think Valentine will feel too awkward though. I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s the man, no matter what.

Keefe: Over the weekend the Red Sox dominated the Rays in the first three games of the series, and had a three-game winning streak going and it looked like they were going to get back on track the way they did at the beginning of last year. Then Bob V went and opened his mouth and called out Youkilis for no real reason. Sure, Youkilis hasn’t been good this year, but who is Bob V, who has been in Boston for nine games at the time to go and call out Youkilis? And then to make matters worse, when called out about his callout, Bob V decides to cover up his comments with a terrible excuse saying that he was only answering a question, and was in fact sticking up for Youkilis and trying to “smooth” something over. What that something is, I’m not sure, but can I offer you some crazy pills?

Dustin Pedroia responded with some jabs at Bob basically saying that he has been around for nine games and this isn’t Japan a subtle shot that I enjoyed that made fun of Bob’s time managing in Japan while no team in Major League Baseball valued or wanted his services. So after winning three games, Bob V turned the clubhouse on him and the fans who will always back the players.

What I don’t get is why Bob V is everywhere. He’s on every sports media format and outlet up and down the coast. He’s everywhere! And since he is everywhere and always accessible to the media he says a lot of ridiculous and stupid things and then gets testy when people call him on it. But I guess I will just keep enjoying the ride and the circus as the Red Sox are 0-3 since his timely ripping of Youkilis.

Hurley: Pedroia’s response was just so fantastic. I can’t say enough about it. “Maybe in Japan or something, but over here, the U.S., we’re on a three-game winning streak.” The guy is just the best.

And Bob V’s backtracking was just disgraceful. He said he was just answering a question, as if that gave him free reign to question a player’s physical abilities and mental focus. And worst of all, he said his initial comments on Youkilis were just him “trying to smooth it over.” I don’t know exactly which world Valentine lives in, but it sounds like a nice place.

Keefe: Good old Bob Valentine. I’m glad there’s something that brings us together, and I’m glad that something is the leader of the sports team I hate most.

When I heard that Andrew Bailey was going to be out for months and that the Red Sox would go to an Alfredo Aceves-Mark Melancon tandem to try to finish off games, I sprinted down 6th Avenue and rolled around like Theo Fleury after his game-winner in the ’91 playoffs. Aceves?! Melancon?! Has anyone making decisions in Boston seen them pitch? I know that Aceves is a jack-of-all-trades that served as Ramiro Mendoza Part II in the Yankees’ World Series run in 2009, but his stuff isn’t exactly end-of-the-game stuff. (Yankees fans found this out in extra innings in Game 3 of the 2009 ALCS.) As for Melancon, he was traded to the Astros for the Ghost of Lance Berkman in 2010 (a year before Berkman saw a picture of himself and realized he was a slob and decided to recommit himself to the game and then won the World Series with the Cardinals) and he had success in the NL Central for a team that won 56 games and finished 40, yes 40 games back in the division. So there wasn’t a whole lot of something called “pressure” or “high-leverage situations” for Melancon.

Now to your credit, you were against the bullpen decisions when made, and rightfully so after we watched the Tigers rip the duo apart and then the Rangers went ahead and punched Melancon’s ticket to Pawtucket on Tuesday night with a reenactment of the 1999 Home Run Derby at Fenway. There’s a good chance the Red Sox are going to need big outs from some combination of Aceves and Vicente Padilla and Matt Albers and Scott Atchinson and Franklin Morales and Justin Thomas (?) and yes even the legendary Junichi Tazawa this weekend against the Yankees. (Typing those names was like playing through a blackjack heater while increasing my bets.) Is this the worst bullpen in Major League Baseball?

Hurley: I think you’re being a little unfair to Mark Melancon. The guy’s ERA is only 49.50. It could be much worse. Who cares that he’s only retired six of the 18 batters he’s faced this year for a 6.00 WHIP? What if his ERA was 64.50 and he had only retired six out of 25 batters? That would be worse, wouldn’t it?

I don’t dislike Aceves as a closer. He doesn’t have electric stuff, per se, but he works fast, throws hard and pitches to weak contact. I anticipate he’ll be 85 percent as effective as Jonathan Papelbon was, so all things considered, he’s not that bad.

The rest of the bullpen, however, is. I refer to Scott Atchison as “Everyone’s Uncle Scott,” because he could sit down at everyone’s family dinner and just look like someone’s uncle instead of a professional athlete, or just “A Guy,” because he just looks like any guy. That guy, who was DFA’d in January, has pitched four times already. That tells you all you need to know about the state of the Red Sox bullpen.

(I’m pretty sure they just made up a person named “Justin Thomas” when the season started, kind of like a David Webb-Jason Bourne situation. They found a carpenter or something in Fort Myers and asked if he was free to travel to Detroit. “Son, you’re a major league reliever now.” He’s also pitched four times and has a 7.36 ERA.)

I can’t say with any degree of certainty right now that it’s the worst bullpen in the majors, but I can see it’s the absolute worst among teams that actually spend money to build rosters. That’s for certain.

Keefe: I thought things were bad, but I think you just made me realize they’re much worse. I don’t even think we’re going to have to talk about the Yankees at all in this email exchange because there’s just so many great qualities about the Red Sox right now that we might be able to save Mark Teixeira’s “bad luck” and Joe Girardi’s over-managing for another day.

Let’s make our way to the Red Sox rotation where Jon Lester pitched well twice and then got rocked, Josh Beckett might be turning back the clock to 2010 (or hopefully 2006), Clay Buchholz has been OK and Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard have been alright in their first two starts as part of a rotation full-time for the first time. We could actually make the case I think that Doubront has been the Red Sox’ best pitcher to this point, but he might not hold the belt for too long because I have an Avicii-like feeling that the slumping middle of the Yankees order is going to come alive against him this weekend.

Starting pitching is the one area where I can’t really talk so much since CC Sabathia has been his usual April self, Hiroki Kuroda has been A.J. Burnett-esque, Phil Hughes has been pitcher he has been since the second half of 2010, Freddy Garcia is close to retiring to a beach home in Florida and playing golf and fishing everyday and that leaves Ivan Nova who is 2-0 and has been the best starter. Meanwhile Bartolo Colon is 3-1 for the A’s, making just $2 million and shut out the Angels for eight innings on Wednesday by throwing 38 consecutive strikes at one point. Who would have thought I would be longing for the return of Bartolo Colon to the Bronx?

At least the Yankees have Michael Pineda and Andy Pettitte on their way to stabilize this shaky rotation though we can’t say the same for your team. But I guess you shouldn’t worry too much about your rotation since Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was referred to as the best No. 5 starter in the history of baseball last year by a Boston outlet could return this season. Did the sweet sounds of “Sweet Caroline” just get a little sweeter for you?

Hurley: GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD!

Let me just tell you that I spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights at Fenway this week. It was 16-2 in the middle of the eighth on Tuesday, and there were only about 4,000 people left in Fenway Park. I’d estimate that 3,000 of them stayed just to sing that godforsaken song and then leave. Do these people have iTunes? Or a CD player? Go home and listen to Neil Diamond. You don’t have to pay $80 for a ticket and another $80 on Bud Light to sing the damn song.

Sorry about that. But you brought it up.

I love Freddy Garcia for being totally pissed about Andy Pettitte’s return, as if one good season out of nowhere earned Garcia a rotation spot over a five-time World Series legend.

As far as the Red Sox rotation goes, I think it’s far too early to say anything too positive or negative about anyone. Bard has been a pleasant surprise, I’d say, and Doubront’s start hasn’t been entirely surprising. I think he’s capable of putting together a few good starts, but by the end of the year, he’ll probably have just as many stinkers.

Beckett and Lester will be fine, and the glorious return of Daisuke could actually be a boost. Saying that with a straight face, though, tells you how suspect the situation is to begin with.

I don’t really remember what question you asked or if you even asked one, so I hope that works for you. I’m going to go listen to Neil Diamond on repeat. BUM BUM BAHHH!!!

Keefe: “Where it began? I can’t begin to knowin’ but then I know it’s growing strong.”

I didn’t really ask a question. I just sort of said that the Red Sox aren’t very good and you just confirmed it.

I’m glad you have finally come around on what Fenway Park has become. I know you probably already felt the way you currently do about Fenway, but I think this is the first time it’s been said publicly or documented and I’m glad to be a part of it.

Freddy Garcia is a weird case. He did pitch well for the Yankees last season, but against the league’s best teams he struggled and then he failed in his postseason start in Game 2 of the ALDS, which was supposed to be Game 3. Now this year he has gotten lit up by the Orioles thanks to five wild pitches, but got bailed out by the Yankees offense before getting beat up by the Twins. So after two awful performances against two of the worst offenses in the league, I’m expecting a disaster at Fenway on Saturday, and I’m relieved to have a wedding to attend, so that I don’t have to see Garcia give CPR to the Red Sox’ season. Actually the wedding is at 2 p.m. and gets over at 10 p.m., so when you factor in the game starting at 4 p.m. and being a FOX game, I should be home in time for the third inning.

Is there any doubt that the Yankees are going to revive the Red Sox this weekend? I don’t think there should be. Last season when the teams met the Red Sox were 0-6, but they beat up on Phil Hughes on a Friday afternoon and then Josh Beckett dominated on Sunday Night Baseball. In 2010, the Red Sox opened the season with a win over the Yankees thanks to Joe Girardi’s decision to have Chan Ho Park pitch in the seventh inning to Dustin Pedroia. And who could forget when the Red Sox started the year 8-0 against the Yankees winning in just about every way possible to win a baseball game? At 4-8, I fully expect the Red Sox to find themselves this weekend despite not having either Lester or Beckett scheduled to pitch.

This brings up another point: Is possibly moving Lester up to pitch on Sunday night since he only threw 80 pitches on Tuesday against the Rangers a panic move by Valentine?

“Was in the spring, and spring became the summer, who’d have believed you’d come along?”

Hurley: SWEEETTT CAARRROOOLLLIIINNEEE!!

Maybe we haven’t discussed it publicly before, but Fenway’s been that way for a while now. Part of it is that it just comes from winning, but the other part is that going to Fenway and being a part of that whole “scene” has become a phenomenon. There was a woman in a row in front of me on Wednesday night who spent the entire game playing Draw Something on her phone. Her seat cost $94. And she probably bragged to everyone the following day that she went to the game. I can’t explain it, and as someone who just loves watching baseball, it’s devastating to witness. There are plenty of good fans left, but it’s just become more difficult for them to get into the park to actually see baseball.

I don’t think moving Lester up to Sunday would be necessarily a panic move. For one, you always want your ace going against the Yankees, but you also have special circumstances surrounding it. Bard was stretched a little too long on Monday (thanks to Bob V.), and Lester barely made it to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, so you’ve got a slightly overworked Bard in his first year as a starter and a greatly underworked Lester. It’s something that just sort of makes sense, so I wouldn’t look at it as a panic move.

You might see a close series this weekend, like you say, but I fear you’re not fully understanding the state of the Red Sox’ lineup without Jacoby Ellsbury. Cody Ross batted cleanup on Wednesday. Jason Repko has made two starts this week. Nick Punto was used as a pinch hitter. Darnell McDonald is hitting .083. Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hitting .080. Even Kevin Youkilis is hitting .184.

The short version of that is that there’s no reason to believe the Yankees won’t win two out of three this weekend at least. But hey, at least we’re both heading in with opposite expectations. It’s nice that we not agree about everything.