Yay win.

Boston hasn’t won yet, though it seems likely.

Boston hasn’t won yet, though it seems likely.

With Papelbon and a three run lead, it’s more than likely.  It’s automatic.

isn’t the magic number 22? (you have 21), or am i missing something?

isn’t the magic number 22? (you have 21), or am i missing something?

I don’t have my spreadsheet in front of me to double-check it, but I think it’s because Tampa Bay and Boston still have games against each other.  If Boston wins out, that means Tampa Bay can’t, so the standard magic number formula doesn’t really work here.

I could be wrong though.

Montero tonight (doubleheader): 4/8, 1 db, 2 hr.

A sweep would be optimal.

Montero tonight (doubleheader): 4/8, 1 db, 2 hr.

Better than Cliff Lee sucking.

cant believe that worked!

I love the visualization of the 8 straight days of the Yankees and Tampa Bay tied (and, of course, the Yankees breaking away part is cool, too).

Can we see that chart with the Yankee win streaks taken out?

It’s painful man to watch Jeter beat one ball into the ground after another.  I get the impression that the statements I hear from YES announcers, attributed to K-Long, that “Derek doesn’t need to work on his mechanics” are just party line nonsense.

Anticipating extreme house money lineup today—day-game-after-night, amid a winning streak, on the heels of roster expansion.

Have you ever seen a worse team with so many win streaks?

just party line nonsense

Or maybe Long thinks the problem is something other than swing mechanics?  I mean, it’s not like there’s a shortage of non-mechanical things you can do wrong as a hitter.

I hear from YES announcers, attributed to K-Long, that “Derek doesn’t need to work on his mechanics” are just party line nonsense.

As long as they are privately working to try to fix him (assuming that’s possible), I’m fine with a little public dissembling.

[16] Lay opinion obviously, but I rarely see Jeter try to drive *any* pitch. Instead of turning on inside fastballs, he’d rather punch them to right field. Mix in a love of rolling over outside pitches that has shown up this year for whatever reason, and you’ve got a season full of groundballs and weak flares.

His splits vs LHP are interesting though. Not sure what to make of it yet.

[13, 16, 17] Also possible that Long thinks at this point he could do more damage than good.  E.g. a couple of tweaks won’t help, and rebuilding his swing isn’t feasible at this point.  So perhaps it is something they will attack in the off-season, potentially with some targeted exercising to improve strength or flexibility in certain areas.  If that’s the case, I’d rather Long say, “there’s nothing wrong”, than, “his swing is totally eff’d up, if he were a car I wouldn’t deem it safe to drive without a complete overhaul”.

Other possibilites are nagging injuries that will take more than a couple of weeks of rest to resolve.  So Jeter’s mechanics are fine, IF his _blank is healthy, but with _blank hurting no amount of changes will help.

[18] My guess is that Jeter is able to pick up the ball a little earlier when thrown by LHP, and as a result he isn’t as late on his swing as multiple scouts have said he is v. RHP.

If that’s the case, I’d rather Long say, “there’s nothing wrong”, than, “his swing is totally eff’d up, if he were a car I wouldn’t deem it safe to drive without a complete overhaul”.

Not bad, but if I were Long, I would think of something even more hilarious. “If Jeter’s swing was a piece of fish, you’d end up in the hospital if you ate it.”

I agree with i’s assessment about the poisonous fish character of Jeter’s swing.

I’ve gotten spoiled as a Yankee fan.  I need to remember my humble roots in the Horace Clarke and Mel Hall eras.

I looked at all the division standings and playoffs today, did a squee and a dance in my chair.
I wonder about rainouts tomorrow…

[14]  Not too bad except for the leadoff spot:

Jeter SS
Swisher RF
Teixeira 1b
Cano 2b
Thames DH
Posada C
Kearns LF
Nunez 3b
Gardner CF