Well, that was quick

Marcus Thames' run as Yankee Hero came to an end last night. Just 25 hours after erasing what was a disgusting game with a two-run, game winning home run against the Red Sox, Thames crapped himself in the outfield. It was nice while it lasted, I guess.

PS - Did you see the 2-2 pitch to Jeremy Hermida? I didn't think I would ever see a call like that that didn't go Mo's way. I mean that thing clipped the corner, and SHOULD have been strike three. I know that Thames should have caught that ball, and the Yankees didn't deserve to win the game anyway, but REALLY? That's Mariano F'ing Rivera out there. He gets that call.

No Explanation Necessary

Sure, I could do what I usually do and write an incredibly witty and insightful summary of the best game of the year so far. But I think I will just let the picture say its 1000 words.

Well, it looks like April is over

(Mark Teixeira watches his third home run leave the yard on Saturday in Boston)

Tex's numbers in May -

7 games, .400 BA, 3 HR, 11 RBI

I don't care how good the Rays are - when Teixeira and A-Rod get no the same page, nobody is safe.

Rivalry.

Gone are the days of pussies like Mike Mussina who refuse to protect their hitters. This is a shot of CC Sabathia after Josh Beckett drilled Derek Jeter in the 6th. I would say that the Yankees should retaliate tomorrow by hitting the Red Sox' best hitter, but I am not sure at this point that they have one. When in doubt, hit Kevin Youkilis.

Wow.

The tides have turned. 15 innings of uneventful bullshit culminates in Mr. Non-Clutch hitting a walk-off.

The Yankees now sit at 2-8 against the hated Red Sox. The more important number, however, is the 4.5 game lead that the team holds in the AL East.

On a side note, I haven't seen that many Asians in a game since Tom Selleck was anchoring a solid Dragons lineup in Chiunichi.

It's about God damned time

Curse reversed.

Hey, Boston fans: STFU

It looks like Christmas came early for Jimmy Dugan. After enduring endless amounts of shit from my Red Sox fan friends about the Yankees' links to steroids, I have been vindicated.

The New York Times is reporting that both David Ortiz AND Manny Ramirez were on the list of 104 steroid users in 2003 (you know, the list that A-Rod was on?). This further proves that the "report" conducted by George Mitchell isn't worth the paper that it was printed on. Despite Mitchell's best efforts to avoid the public indictment of any Boston player, his efforts will now be futile.

So, in short, screw you all. This does nothing but prove that EVERYONE was guilty, and no holier-than-thou fanbase has the right to thumb their noses at the rest of the offenders any longer*.

*Though this is the same group that had the balls to act like Rodney Harrison thing never happened, so I guess only time will tell if this does anything to pare back their douchebaggery.

Red Sox acquire Adam La...oh, hey look! A bird!

Continuing their season-long commitment to making small-time moves like Smoltz, Penny, and Baldelli, the Red Sox traded minor league pitcher Hunter Strickland and minor league shortstop Argenis Diaz to the Pirates for Adam LaRoche.

LaRoche, once a highly touted Braves prospect, is now a below average defensive first baseman with a below average corner infield stick. As for the prospects that the Sox sent in the other direction, I could give a shit about their system, so here is a report from Baseball America's Matt Eddy:

Signed out of Venezuela in July 2003, Diaz has big league potential as a defense oriented shortstop, thanks to plus hands, instincts, range and arm strength. The 22- year-old is not fast or aggressive on the basepaths, though, and his bat projects to be a bit light for a regular role. A righthanded batter, Diaz was hitting .253/.309/.310 in 277 at-bats for Portland, showing the lack of patience (21 walks, 60 strikeouts) and power (14 doubles, one triple) that have been constants during his six-year pro career.

A 6-foot-5 righthander lauded for his makeup, Strickland had touched 94 mph in his last two starts for low Class A Greenville, where he was 5-4, 3.46 in 18 games (12 starts). He generally sits in the 88-92 mph range and locates his fastball down in the zone. Strickland's secondary stuff needs refinement, and he lacks a swing and miss pitch, as evidenced by his strikeout (51) and walk (13) totals over 83 innings for the Drive. On the plus side, his fastball command gives him a chance of developing into a big league reliever. The Red Sox selected Strickland in the 18th round of the 2007 draft, taking him from Pike County High in Zebulon, Ga.

Ok, so I wanted to beef up my post - kiss my ass. In reading all of this, it looks like the Sox traded two players with the potential to suck at the Major League level for one that already does. Nice work. I guess they are banking that Ritalin isn't on the PED list.

The plain truth

Yankees vs. teams not names the Red Sox - 34-18
Red Sox vs. teams not names the Yankees - 28-24

I understand that the Yankees HAVE to beat the Red Sox to maintain a certain level of respectablility and sanity amongt Yankee fans, but the fact remains that the Yankees have been riddled with injuries since day one. Of the eight games played against the Boston, the Yankees have been without Alex Rodriguez for five, Jorge Posada for three, Brian Bruney for three, CMW is a ghost, and Teixeira was awful in the first five games. This is not making excuses, as I am embarassed as anyone by the performance the team has put up against the hated Red Sox, it is merely a statement of fact.

With all of the talk out of Boston, you would think that they are terrorizing the league and running away with the division. How about you learn how to beat some other teams before awarding yourselves the World Series?

The Curse of the Moose

The Yankees have not beaten the Red Sox since Mike Mussina made his deal with the Devil for his first 20-win season at the ripe old age of 76.

**BREAKING NEWS**: Yankees Swept in Boston

I am not sure if anyone noticed, but the Yankees were embarrassed in three straight games this weekend against the Boston Red Sox.

I have received numerous emails reprimanding me for not having done a write up on the series, and maybe the readers have a point. Facts being facts, though, The Fowl Balls has never been a "news driven" site, and if you don't know how/why the Yankees got their rectums impacted this weekend, then maybe you have stumbled upon this site by accident. Without further adieu, here is the Official TFB review of this weekend's series.

Game 1 -
Mariano Rivera caught the "suck flu" from others in the locker room, and blows a two run lead with two outs in the ninth by giving up a home run to Jason Bay. In all fairness, it should have never come to that situation as the Yanks blew a bases-loaded, none out opportunity just two innings before.

Game 2 -
It was A.J Burnett's time to crap himself as he let up 8 earned runs, including a grand slam to Jason Varitek, who proceeded to sprint around the bases like like a Little Leaguer. Speaking of Little League mannerisms, Mike Lowell and his 10 year old bat wiggle helped pound the Yankees into submission as well, plating like 47 runs all by himself. Robinson Cano continued his early domination of the league, albeit in a losing effort.

Game 3 -
This marked the third consecutive game that the team blew a lead. Andy Pettitte battled, but looked like a rookie as Jacoby Ellsbury stole home on the aging lefty. Justin Masterson had the Yankees sputtering all night, followed by two pitchers that nobody has ever heard of shutting down what is supposed to be a dominant offense.

I hope that this makes you all happy. The Yankees look awful, and not only am I forced to watch the games, now I am expected to write about it? My readers suck.

Let's get it on

Pitching matchups for the weekend series:

Friday: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 5.06) vs. LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 5.50)
Saturday: RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 3.20) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (2-1, 3.79)
Sunday: LHP Andy Pettitte (2-0, 2.53) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (1-0, 3.18)

Congratulations!

Red Sox MVP second baseman Dustin Pedroia will grace the cover of MLB '09 The Show, due to straining economic times. Apparently Sony was able to save some money by selecting a player that is able to appear at actual size on the game cover, recquiring no re-scaling.

Yankees Universe > Red Sox Nation

Yankees #1 in out-of-market- brand loyalty amongst the teams in the 4 major sports, Red Sox third.

Though this is quite an achievement, the Red Sox were much more proud of earning the distinction of "Least Diverse Fanbase".Source:http://bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2657:yankees-the-king-of-out-of-market-brand-loyalty&catid=30:mlb-news&Itemid=42

Red Sox Win?

"If this had happened to the Yankees or Red Sox, it would be the equivalent of Watergate" - Dave "Soup" Campbell on Mike and Mike this morning, regarding the tag that Captain Intangible botched on Reggie Willets last night.