min0 lee

LOL, yes he does...the worst I have ever seen from a pro.

Funny but I don't remember his swing before Boston but his stance is as ugly as Youkillus......ugly but effective.
He looks so off balance yet he connects.

I Are Baboon

Yankees will take 3 of 4 this weekend...at least. Those homos.

min0 lee

I don't know about that, the Yanks now pee in their pants now when they see Boston.

They have Smoltz pitching tonight who has been awful but with our luck he'll find his form back tonight.

Triple Threat

I sure hope so. A sweep would be even better.

Beating Beckett will be tough. He's pitching well lately and kills the Yankees. Burnett will have to be on fire for the Yankees to win that matchup.

Hopefully Joba isn't too pumped up, to the point where he's out of control. Smoltz is giving up 5-6 runs a game, so a good outing from Joba would be a good start to the series.

I Are Baboon

The Red Sox can't hit on the road. Baltimore doesn't count. The Yanks are going to kick the shit out of Smoltz and Buchholz (Buchholz = overrated). Lester and Beckett have a chance if the Sox can score a run or two, but that's a big IF.

Come on...these teams play to a tie or close to it pretty much every year. It'll all even out in the end this year.

Hope I'm wrong.

min0 lee

I am not going to agree with you and jinx them.

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Yankees designate Cody Ransom for assignment

.190/.256/.329

He was bad.

I Are Baboon

The first eight games, the Yankees were trying to figure things out and get some sort of rhythm going. They are chugging right along now. They are the World Series favorite, unless you are severely retarded and think it's someone else.

min0 lee

Why do you have to talk about Soxmuscle like that.

Well they got A-Rod back...not 100 %.
Jeter is playing better defense and hitting better.
Tex has been awesome....I love his fielding.
Cano has improved from last year and he's real good at turning DP's.
Hughes is playing with confidance now, nice breaking ball.
Hinsk has good pop from the bench.
Melky if he can continue playing like this....well I would be real happy.

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BY John Harper
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Thursday, August 6th 2009, 12:40 AM




FIRST BASE: MARK TEIXEIRA VS. VICTOR MARTINEZ/KEVIN YOUKILIS
The Victor Martinez trade skews the matchups a bit, since he figures to be a major contributor whether he plays first, catches or is used as the DH. Kevin Youkilis will play more third base now, which is what the Sox had in mind when they pursued Mark Teixeira.
Youkilis and Teixeira are both having outstanding seasons, with Teixeira (.284, 27, 80) giving the Yankees exactly what they hoped for when they outbid the Sox at a price of $180 million.
EDGE: EVEN



SECOND BASE: ROBINSON CANO VS. DUSTIN PEDROIA
The difference is that Cano has dramatically raised his level of play to at least pull even. Cano is hitting .308 with 16 home runs and 56 RBI, a force in the Yankee lineup. He is playing a superb second base, making double-play pivots and plays up the middle as well as anyone in the majors because of his ability to throw across his body with a flick of his wrist.
EDGE: EVEN



SHORTSTOP: DEREK JETER VS. JED LOWRIE
Derek Jeter has put to rest talk of a decline with one of his best seasons in recent years in the field as well as at the plate. The friendly confines of the new Yankee Stadium have surely helped his home run total of 11, but Jeter is also hitting .318 and doing a good job at leadoff hitter with a .391 on-base percentage.
The Sox finally gave up on Julio Lugo, a free-agent bust, and while Nick Green has done a serviceable job, Jed Lowrie is coming back from injury and figures to become the everyday shortstop. He showed promise as a rookie last season but is hitting only .148 so far this campaign.
EDGE: YANKEES



THIRD BASE: ALEX RODRIGUEZ VS. MIKE LOWELL/YOUKILIS
So far it looks as if Alex Rodriguez is winning the battle of the hip surgeries. Mike Lowell is having a solid season, hitting .296 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI, but his lack of mobility after offseason hip surgery is the main reason the Sox made the trade for Martinez, giving Youkilis the chance to slide over to third to spell Lowell.
A-Rod, meanwhile, has looked more agile recently, moving well in both directions, making throws on the move also. And while he's hitting only .261, he has 19 home runs and 60 RBI. Plus he's had more meaningful hits already than he had all of last season, and his presence in the lineup is crucial.
EDGE: YANKEES



LEFT FIELD: JOHNNY DAMON VS. JASON BAY
Jason Bay has gone cold, hitting just .252, but his 21 home runs and 75 RBI have been a vital part of the Sox attack. He seems to have a penchant for delivering the big hit, going all the way back to his home run off Mariano Rivera in April.
Bay, however, reinjured his right hamstring last night and is expected to miss the first two games. Expect to see Rocco Baldelli while Bay recovers.
EDGE: RED SOX



CENTER FIELD: MELKY CABRERA VS. JACOBY ELLSBURY
After a slow start, Jacoby Ellsbury has begun to live up to the hype as a speedy game-changer. In addition to making all the plays, his 48 steals are second in the AL behind only Carl Crawford, and he has his average up to .301.
The Yankees have gotten more out of their center field duo of Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner than they probably imagined. Cabrera has been the biggest surprise among position players, hitting .284 with 10 home runs and some memorable clutch hits. Gardner, however, broke his thumb and is on the DL.
EDGE: EVEN



RIGHT FIELD: NICK SWISHER VS. J.D. DREW
J.D. Drew has been a major disappointment for the Sox, hitting .248 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI, and Nick Swisher has done enough with 18 home runs and 55 RBI as well as a .371 on-base percentage, to make a case for reversing Drew's edge from April matchups. In this case, however, the difference in defense is too significant to ignore. Drew remains a top-notch right fielder with a strong arm, while Swisher is always an adventure on fly balls, negating the occasional spectacular play with too many misplays.
EDGE: RED SOX



CATCHER: JORGE POSADA VS. JASON VARITEK
Potentially Martinez gives the Sox more punch behind the plate, but Terry Francona figures to stay mostly with the defense and leadership that Jason Varitek provides there, even if the Sox captain is hitting only .229.
Between returning from shoulder surgery and then missing a month with a pulled hamstring, Jorge Posada has yet to looked locked in at the plate, but he is hitting .272 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 250 at-bats. His postsurgical throwing has been adequate enough to keep his bat in the lineup.
EDGE: YANKEES



DH: HIDEKI MATSUI VS. DAVID ORTIZ
He may or may not have lost his beloved Big Papi status since it was revealed that he was on the list of 2003 drug cheats, but reports of his demise seem to have been premature. He was so miserable early that he's hitting only .225 with 15 home runs, but in June and July Ortiz hit .280 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI, which means he's still dangerous.
EDGE: RED SOX



STARTING PITCHERS
The surprise is that neither of these rotations has been as dominant as expected. As of yesterday, Sox starters ranked eighth in the AL with a 4.54 ERA, Yankees ninth with a 4.56 ERA. Sox feel good about Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, however, as Yanks do about CC Sabathia and A.J Burnett. Burnett, however, especially needs to deliver against the Red Sox after twice melting down against them.
With Tim Wakefield on the disabled list and John Smoltz struggling with a 7.12 ERA in his seven starts, Yanks have the advantage right now because Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte are riding hot streaks.
EDGE: YANKEES



BULLPEN
Sox had a huge edge here in the early season games, but the Yankees have changed everything since going to the late-inning combination of Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Phil Hughes to set up a still-dominant Mariano Rivera.
The Sox lead the AL with a bullpen ERA of 3.21, but over the last two months the Yanks have lowered their league-worst bullpen ERA by more than two runs, to 4.35, 10th in the AL. And while the Sox have introduced 100-mph flamethrower Daniel Bard to the late-inning mix, they traded Justin Masterson to get Martinez.
EDGE: EVEN



MANAGER
Joe Girardi has come a long way in his second season, harnessing his intensity to ease some of the day-to-day tension that seemed to be an issue around the ballclub last year. Francona has proven to be a master at communicating and handling distractions, but he has new challenges now with the Ortiz controversy and the need to juggle the lineup to best utilize Martinez.
EDGE: RED SOX

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I Are Baboon

Youkilis rules. He's just a real solid ballplayer all around.

min0 lee

Yes he is.

I Are Baboon

God dammit all to hell does John Smoltz fucking SUCK! SUUUUCK!

min0 lee

This is not the Smoltz I remember.

min0 lee

LOL, Melky homers to make it 5- 3 in favor of trhe Yankees.

Lefty's are killing him.

min0 lee

Sheesh, looks like the Yankees want to extend their losing streak to 9.

Triple Threat

What game were you watching?

min0 lee

The first couple of innings they hit Smoltz hard and had runners in scoring position but did nothing, heck... did you see that non slide by Posada at home?
And to top it off Joba gives a rookie his first hit....a homer.

The Milkman changed all that.

min0 lee

Sad, but the papers are ripping into Smoltz.
He was a great starter and a great reliever who always did what was asked of him.

He was also good in the playoffs.

He's old and coming off an injury, what do you expect.

IainDaniel

I haven't heard anyone ripping smoltz.

Just that they feel bad for him.

Good job by the Yanks with the pitching matchups so far. Cause joba was iffy last night.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

min0 lee

Listen to WFAN, some Boston papers are ripping him. One of the better radio sports guy.

Joba was actually decent against Boston.

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IainDaniel

Joba lasted 5 innings and had seven walks, that is decent?

It didn't matter cause the bats won it.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

min0 lee

min0 lee

Not last night, he was horrible and I am really surprised he didn't allow more runs.

He did pitch 2 decent games againnst Bosotn prior to last night.

IainDaniel

Sad. he is done.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

IainDaniel

NM.

I see he was designated for assignment.

Red Sox call up Japanese pitcher from AAA.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

min0 lee

Trust me.
I See all.

IainDaniel

I See

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan