The ultimate battle of good vs. evil: KTE MFYs!

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Great KTE. I laughed, I cried. I give you an 'A'. You just missed out on your 'A+' because of this: The vile MFYs are like a wounded and very ugly animal, staggering into Citi Field for a three-game series against the gallant Mets. For this series the MFYs will be staggering back to the boogie-down.

Oh snap! That's what being out here in the Midwest does to me. Of course, we're marching proudly into the Bronx!

I did add some photos to prove that Teixiira and Minelli were separated at birth.

First base:
Mark Teixeria, .255, 9 homers, 22 rbi
True Yankee? No
Overrated/underrated: Overrated
Positives: Five of the eight letters in his last name are vowels
Negatives: Bears a slight resemblance to Liza Minelli

[MFS62]

A fair analysis in the KTE.
The only edge I would give the MFYs is Granderson's great voice.
When I hear sound bytes of his interviews on the news, I marvel that some of the guys being paid to announce are still employed.

Later

[Ceetar]

On Pagan/Martinez. I think they inferred Beltran DHing on Sunday. I'm curious if that's a hint that Pagan will be activated for Sunday and they'll send Fernando down.

They're flying to Chicago, either after the game Sunday or Morning morning. Do they want to fly Pagan direct from FLA to CHI? can you even do that or would you have a layover in NY anyway? maybe they want him to fly with the team? If that's the case he might get activated.

I think they may be rushing him a bit, he's been out a month and it's not like his timing was impecable before he went down. Wouldn't more than 3-4 Rehab games be advisable? Upgrading CF by the Phillies series would be nice, but I think we can live without him against the cubs.

[metirish]

Great job, Michigan. CNNSI says: Yanks in 2013 may look ugly

this is great

How else can you explain, say, the Tigers giving Joaquin Benoit a three-year, $16.5 million deal this year? Dave Dombrowski is a smart guy. He certainly knows that there is no worse money spent than signing an aging middle reliever coming off a good year to a multi-year deal. This is baseball�s version of giving your credit card number to the Nigerian prince who wants to deposit $23 billion in your account. Dombrowski knows this.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Granderson is as good of a guy as you are going to find. I was really impressed when he was in town. Not sure if I told the story here, but he was doing an injury rehab with the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Tigers' Midwest-A team here in grand Rapids. He told the team that he wanted to spend some time in schools during the day, and one of the middle schools quickly threw together an assembly. He spent close to an hour talking about his experiences in school, how his relatives were teachers and the importance of going to college.

Since we're just about two hours from Detroit, the 'Caps usually get Tigers on rehab assignments, and while most are good with the fans while they are here, Granderson's the only one I've seen do something with the schools.

he even published a book for kids with proceeds for charity.

People here were bummed when he was traded, largely because of where he went.

[Edgy MD]

The place will be packed with clones.

[Fman99]

Hilarious stuff, well played.

[Gwreck]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm surprised that, after so many years of interleague play, the Cubs had not yet gone to Boston. The Mets have been everywhere by now. I wonder if the NL Central having more teams is the reason that the Cubs (and presumably the Astros, Reds, etc.) haven't yet visited every American League city.

Nope, just poor scheduling.

[metirish]

Gwreck wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm surprised that, after so many years of interleague play, the Cubs had not yet gone to Boston. The Mets have been everywhere by now. I wonder if the NL Central having more teams is the reason that the Cubs (and presumably the Astros, Reds, etc.) haven't yet visited every American League city. Nope, just poor scheduling.

Sunday's game will be hyped to death by espn.

[Theoldmole]

Great job, Michguy!!!

[Gwreck]

Outstanding KTE.

My favorite was the ratings on the "True Yankee?" scale.

[ashie62]

Texeira looks like Liza Minelli and Lee Mazzilli.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Blessings on Pedro and the entire Beato family... and MGiM, for some fall-apart-tender red meat.

The MFY probables:

5/20: Freddy Garcia (2-2, 3.22 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.5 HR/9). Not dominating, and walking a few... but weirdly effective. NOW he feels better; funny how that seems to happen to old guys who undergo certain health regimens before putting on pinstripes. Anyway, he's basically doing a poor-man's-Livan thing, only with more home runs and line-drive shots given up. Ideal strategy for Metly bat-wielders: foul off or lay off the junk-- his curveball and split have been doing most of his work for him-- and hammer the fastball.

5/21: A.J. Burnett (4-3, 3.99 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.4 HR/9). Just being in the rotation this year after 9 starts makes him a comeback-player-of-the-year candidate. Not walking the park, but not fanning throngs of folk, either. Patience, again, seems key.

5/22: Ivan Nova (4-3, 4.33 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 4.9 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9). Appropriate for Sunday's late-brunch hour, since, as a ground-ball-artist with middling-control and no real plus pitch, he's a delectable treat for the patient batter. He's been up-and-down (bad starts against Boston and Texas, then good against Toronto and Texas, then shit against KC, then good on Wednesday against Tampa), but good God, he's smokable. And doesn't Pelf deserve a laugher?

[TransMonk]

Garcia and Burnett, both former Mets minor leaguers who never threw a pitch for the big club.

[Edgy MD]

And Ivan Nova is a former Bond villian who wasn't even able to kill Timothy Dalton.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Trivia: Who are the only players to appear in at least 200 regular season Major League games for both the Mets and the Yankees?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Strawberry

[Edgy MD]

Santana

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Elliott Maddox?

[Edgy MD]

Robin "The Body" Ventura.

[Ceetar]

A mostly worthless stat, but still fun.

R.A. Dickey's ERA against the #Yankees (2.66) is his second lowest against any team. (#phillies, 2.25). Minimum 20IP.

[seawolf17]

Willie Randolph
Rickey Henderson

[Fman99]

Mazzilli?

[G-Fafif]

Great and accurate KTE, and that was before the emergence of Justin Turner and Ruben Tejada ensure utter Met domination and concomitant MFY dismay.

Teixera's no Liza, though. Liza gave us the good version of "New York, New York." Teixera's helmet doesn't fit.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Another reason why Posada's "performance" this year has been so enjoyable, courtesy of Mike Salfino:

Jorge Posada's well-documented struggles are the major reason for the Yankees uncharacteristic DH woes. But other Yankees hitters have also faltered when asked to only wear the batting gloves. Prior to Thursday's action, Posada's mediocre on-base plus slugging percentage of .653 was still better than his replacements. All Yankee DHs have a combined OPS of just .640. The Mets options are Willie Harris (.619 OPS prior to Thursday's game), Scott Hairston (.648) and recent call-up Fernando Martinez (career OPS of .543).

[Ceetar]

Freddy Garcia has never allowed a Grand Slam in 1966 career innings. (despite giving up 10/13 runs via the home run this year)

Yankees are holding opponents to a .135 avg with the bases loaded.

Somethings gotta give right? Unmovable object meets unstoppable force?

[metirish]

Ceetar wrote: Freddy Garcia has never allowed a Grand Slam in 1966 career innings. (despite giving up 10/13 runs via the home run this year) Yankees are holding opponents to a .135 avg with the bases loaded. Somethings gotta give right? Unmovable object meets unstoppable force?

if the Mets are ever going to hit another one then this is the place.....Pridie hits one tonight.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Strawberry, Ventura & Maddox are the only three players in the Subway 200/200 club.

[Edgy MD]

Yankees to Honor George M. Steinbrenner III With New Museum Exhibit The New York Yankees today announced a new exhibit dedicated to honoring the legacy of the franchise's late Principal Owner George M. Steinbrenner III at the New York Yankees Museum presented by Bank of America. "The Boss: Remembering George M. Steinbrenner III" will open today - Friday, May 20, 2011 - as the Yankees welcome the Mets to the Bronx for the start of the Subway Series. The exhibit aims to capture Mr. Steinbrenner's dedication to winning, his motivation to take the Yankees to the top of baseball and his quiet generosity. The exhibit includes a variety of Mr. Steinbrenner's championship rings, including all seven of his World Series rings (1977, '78, '96, '98, '99, 2000 and '09), his American League championship rings from 1976, 2001 and 2003, two rings from the Olympics (1994, '96), his 1977 All-Star Game ring and a 1967 Rose Bowl ring. Fans can also get up close with Mr. Steinbrenner's straightforward leadership style with the "Lead, Follow, or Get the Hell Out of the Way" sign from his desk at the original Yankee Stadium. A selection of unique photographs from the Associated Press are also on display, as well as original artwork created by the late Bill Gallo and presented to the Steinbrenner family at the 2009 Welcome Home Dinner. The exhibit also captures Mr. Steinbrenner's passions off the diamond with a 1970 Tony Award for Applause and an opening night Playbill from the show, which he co-produced. Additional awards on display include the "Pride of the Yankees" award presented to the Steinbrenner Family at the 2009 Welcome Home Dinner, the 1998 "Team of the Year" ESPY Award and the 1999 "Sportsmen of the Year" trophy from the Sporting News. In addition, select items are available for viewing from Steinbrenner High School in Tampa, Fla., which was named in honor of Mr. Steinbrenner for his commitment to the community - in particular the schools and school system.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy DC wrote: Yankees to Honor George M. Steinbrenner ...

I saw the 2011 Yankees yearbook at a magazine store last month. It sells for 25 bucks. I always noticed that a yearbook generally sold for about 20-25% of the price of the cheapest seat in the stadium. Maybe this ratio still holds for YSv2011.