KTE - 'Here come The Yank-ees...'

[soupcan]

I'm going to do away with part II of my personal history of Yankee animosity because I got the distinct impression that nobody gave a shit. Which is fine because I don't remember much that happened from 1980 on anyway. Alcohol and Marijuana you know.

I don't know the Yankee lineup because, well, I don't watch a whole lot of Yankee games. So here is a position by position breakdown. Information contained in this KTE has been stolen from multiple sources.....

FIRST BASE

Jason Giambi has rebounded from an awful April and May and ranks tied for second in the league in homers with 17. Fifty-one percent of Giambi�s hits have gone for extra bases, and his homer total leads the team. Golden thongs, porn 'staches and undetectable HGH seem to have helped his revival.

SECOND BASE

Robinson Cano is off to a brutal start and needed back-to-back three hit games in Pittsburgh this week just to get up to .241. So all that talk of being the next Rod Carew has died down just a touch.

SHORTSTOP

Derek Jeter had a 13-game hitting streak through Wednesday and his errors are down. Probably because he can't get to anything to misplay it. He remains overrated.

THIRD BASE

Alex Rodriguez has been hot since coming off the DL on May 20 and was second in the league with a .324 average through Wednesday but leads the AL in high-fives not being given to him by teammates.

LEFT FIELD

Johnny Damon has been hot over the past month hitting .413 over his last 31 games and is in the AL's top 10 in both average and on-base percentage. His left foot has been giving him issues though. Supposedly he still has the best ass in the majahs, but I wouldn't know about that.

CENTER FIELD

Melky Cabrera is "a third or fourth outfielder with limited range." I like that quote and I'll let it stand for itself.


RIGHT FIELD

Bobby Abreu is in a slump at the moment but remains the Yankees' RBI leader. He makes lots of $$ and is allergic to walls.

CATCHER

Jorge Posada is hitting over .300. The Mets should be looking to test that balky shoulder. They should also blow high-pitched dog whistles to confuse him and his supersonic hearing.

DESIGNATED HITTER

The DH will only be used in Game 1 today. The Yankees are likely to go with Hideki Matsui or Wilson Betemit.

BULLPEN

Mariano Rivera has been Mariano Rivera. Jose Veras has also been solid.

BENCH

Matsui won't be playing the outfield this weekend due to a bad knee, but his bat is available. That's pretty much the only real threat off the bench for the Yanks.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1 Mike Pelfrey -v- Dan Giese, RHP (1-2, 0.64). Giese threw an impressive 6 2/3 innings in his Major League starting debut against the Reds on Saturday. The right-hander recorded outs quickly and avoided long at-bats, throwing only 75 total pitches. Of those 75 tosses, 53 were strikes. Giese was tagged for three unearned runs to pick up the tough-luck loss. He gave up just four hits and struck out five with no walks. The righty's one mistake was a throwing error to second that blew a double-play opportunity. Giese retired 20 of the 25 hitters he faced in his first big league start.


Game 2 Pedro Martinez -v- Sidney Ponson, RHP (4-1, 3.88) Ponson made his Scranton/Wilkes-Barre debut last Saturday, giving up one run through four innings in a tuneup for the Mets. He is 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA in three career starts against the Mets, though he hasn't faced them since 2003.

Game 3 Johan Santana -v- Andy Pettitte. Pettitte threw six shutout innings on Sunday in the Yankees 4-1 win over the Reds. He has allowed just one earned run in his last three games and none in 19 innings. He's 7-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 17 career regular season starts against the Mets, though one of those losses came earlier this year.

Game 4 Oliver Perez against Darrell Rasner. In Rasner�s, only ever appearance against the Mets, he gave up two earned runs in 0.0 innings of work. Ollie is 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA with 23 strikeouts against the Yankees.

[Fman99]

="soupcan"]THIRD BASE Alex Rodriguez has been hot since coming off the DL on May 20 and was second in the league with a .324 average through Wednesday but leads the AL in high-fives not being given to him by teammates.

Well played, sir.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Lotsa rain in the forecast for the next three days.

Hopefully they'll be able to get all four in. If there are two or more rainouts it'll play hell with the schedule the rest of the way.

[Guest sharpie]

Gary Cohen mentioned that both teams are off September 11. Could be a game or games then.

[Guest AG/DC]

Can we just spend the first three innings bunting between Ponson and Giambi? That would be marquee entertainment.

[Guest themetfairy]

Nicely done soup!

[Centerfield]

I like these pitching matchups. This four game sweep of the Yankees will turn around our season.

[soupcan]

Nope. Put your money on Giese or Ponson throwing a gem.

You just know its gonna happen.

[Benjamin Grimm]

soupcan wrote: Nope. Put your money on Giese or Ponson throwing a gem. You just know its gonna happen.

The old "R. A. Dickey Phenomenon."

It's funny, but we've come to a point where, today, I have more faith in a good outing from Mike Pelfrey than I do from Pedro Martinez.

[soupcan]

Me too.

Jerry Manuel on WFAN on Pedro starting the Shea game tonight: "I want our home crowd to see our good players."

Uh, Jerry - as one of those home fans, I'd prefer Big Mike tonight if its all the same.

[Guest AG/DC]

I'd like one of them teams where they're all good players.

[MFS62]

Well done, Soup.

Later

[soupcan]

soupcan wrote: Nope. Put your money on Giese or Ponson throwing a gem. You just know its gonna happen.

Thank you.

[soupcan]

By the way - after Friday night's debacle I am now 1-5 in Mets games attended this year.

Yay Mets.

[Guest AG/DC]

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

="soupcan"]I CENTER FIELD Melky Cabrera is "a third or fourth outfielder with limited range." I like that quote and I'll let it stand for itself.

Nobody mentions this fact when they discuss the MFYs failure to pull off a Santana deal. Amazinly, Cabrera and Cargo are both OPSing at an identical 665 but Gomez has speed, D and youth on his side.

Word is the MFYs are ready to go with AAAer Brett Gardner in CF.

[Elster88]

soupcan wrote: I'm going to do away with part II of my personal history of Yankee animosity because I got the distinct impression that nobody gave a shit.

I give a shit. I want to hear it.