Seriously, did something happen off the field that we don’t know about? Everyone from the Yanks to Terry Francona & Mike Lowell on the Sox are saying that there’s no way Joba is throwing at someone’s head with a 1-0 lead in the seventh inning. Then again, Joba came back to strike out Kevin Youkilis and then also rung up Mike Lowell and JD Drew. Intimidation? A Roger Clemens kind of crazy?

Or was it all just personal? Three times at a guy’s head in two years in the baseball equivalent of slapping a guy in the face, stealing his wife and then dropping a load on his chest….What the hell gives, Joba?

Still, the Yankees have needed a guy who will not only match zeros with another club’s ace, but will also make batters think twice about stepping in with him. Perhaps that’s one of the things that can make a guy an ace in the first place…Nolan Ryan, Clemens, Walter Johnson (I never saw the guy pitch or anything, but word is he was a nasty S.O.B.)…these guys made a living on fear. In fact, some say Mike Mussina has revived his career because he has started to work inside. I actually believe his arm is healthier than it’s been in years, but I also like the inside pitching theory.

Round two tomorrow. Pettitte and Wakefield…I can’t wait to see if there’s a 65 MPH knuckler with A-Rod’s name on it…payback can be funny.

The Yanks and the Sox…Yanks and Sox….here we are again and I have to say this is the one series I’m in favor of MLB keeping an unbalanced schedule for. Do I need to see Yanks-O’s 19 times a year? No. Do I need to watch nine or ten games a season at the backdrop of the Skydome…ahem, Rogers’ Centre? Hell no.

But Yanks-Sox? Now there’s a series I’ll always be ready for…particularly now that more than half the games are off the schedule and the Yanks are on the verge of making it a three-way race in the East. Yes, they’ve won six in a row and the pitching has been smokin’…plus, the June-July hot streak (thank you interleague ball and second rate teams…and that includes the Rays — yes, I said it) has been noteworthy. But who are we kidding? The Yankees aren’t for real until they send a message to Boston at Fenway Park and that means winning this weekend series.

Let’s look at the starters over the next three days.

Chamberlain vs Beckett. I’ll take Beckett who is 3-0 against the Yanks this season. Still, Joba does better commercial endorsements.

Pettitte vs Wakefield. This is the one game where Boston is at a disadvantage from the mound. Pettitte has been gigantic in the second half of any season for years now, but Wakefield is a mystery. We’ll know early if the knuckler is working or not…and if it is not, the Bombers will have batting practice until Terry Francona has seen enough.

Ponson vs Lester. Jon Lester has thrown a no-hitter, beaten cancer and carries a 3.20 ERA into his start on Sunday. Sidney Ponson is 6-1 with a respectable AL ERA of 4.01…but a closer look shows 99 hits and 27 walks in 78.1 innings. Somehow, he’s been a 258-pound Houdini getting out of jams with double plays and strokes of luck. Unfortunately for Sidney, the Red Sox are not a team that forgives too many base runners.

One never really knows how starting pitching will shake out as nothing ever really goes according to plan. Ponson may win the only game of the series for the Yanks and Beckett may get shelled in a winning effort. Baseball is funny like that. Still, the Yanks will need enough starting pitching to keep them in games so that Robinson Cano and the Yankee bullpen can win them (okay, Cano’s not the only one hitting, but he is on FIRE). Joba and Pettitte are the most likely Yankee heroes…or it could be Edwar Ramirez.

One last thought. If Ponson soon explodes — as he probably will — there is immediate help available. Ian Kennedy (I still have faith) has just completed 14 innings of one-run pitching in AAA ball.

We’ll likely see him soon.

It was the top of the 15th inning last night and I was running through the bowels of Yankee Stadium trying to sneak through a side door into an otherwise overcrowded MLB press conference room. Media members had packed the room for innings, staking out space in anticipation of someone breaking the 3-3 tie in the 79th All-Star game (thank you very much, Billy Wagner). A-Rod had left the Stadium in the 5th inning, but did interviews before going. Derek Jeter and most of the rest of AL & NL teams remained at the top step of the dugout, enjoying the end of the game…meaning the press had to wait to talk to them…

As I ran, my cell phone was telling me that it was past 1am. Doing some quick math, I realized that if the game ended soon I would still be at Yankee Stadium until 3am filing sound. (ouch)

Just before getting to the conference room door, I came upon a man walking with slumped shoulders, looking as if someone had just shot his dog. It was Bud Selig.

At the moment we were about to cross paths, we passed a TV that had the game on and a member of the NL had hit a low line drive…we stopped almost face to face, me turning to my left, Bud turning to his right and we both watched in hope that the ball would drop. It didn’t.

I let out an exasperated gasp while Bud’s shoulders slumped even more.

I didn’t need to ask MLB’s Commish what the plan was, whether the game would get called a tie like it did in 2002 when both teams ran out of pitchers. He had decreed that all All-Star games would be played until someone won. Right about then he was regretting that decision, but seemed to be resigned to fate as both squads were on their final pitcher. For the AL, Scott Kazmir was supposed to be hands-off because he had just pitched on Sunday. Now that he had gone one inning, would he have to go two? And what would happen after that?

I grimaced and looked at Bud who smiled back a little bit before moving on.

As it turned out, the AL won in the bottom of the 15th with Michael Young driving in the winning run. Terry Francona would soon tell the media that he may very well have gone with his own player and game MVP J. D. Drew as his next pitcher. Fortunately for everyone, he didn’t need to make that decision.

I’m sure that somewhere Bud Selig was breathing a sigh of relief.

Last night started out painfully as most of Yankee Stadium sat on its hands through the first round of the Home Run Derby.  From my seat high up by the left field foul pole (many regular press seats have been usurped by VIPs for All-Star weekend) I sat at my laptop, spending more time trying to book a vacation on Priceline than I did watching the Derby.  Ryan Braun, Evan Longoria, Grady Sizemore, Dan Uggla…???  Yawn.

Lance Berkman’s presence made things a bit respectable, but where were Manny, Papi, A-Rod, Pujols and Vlad?  In some cases, injured.  In others, refusing to hit.  But then there was this kid that everyone was talking about, Josh Hamilton.  A couple player of the month awards and GMs who said his batting practice was worth charging money to watch.  Interesting…

As the night was close to being a dud, Hamilton started hitting bombs.  (Click here for the highlights). The rest was history.

You probably know Hamilton’s story by now.  A recovering substance abuser who was once the number one overall pick by the Rays.  Power that hasn’t been seen since Mickey Mantle.  At 27 years old, he is a rookie and would be the AL MVP if the award was given at half season.  Outside of baseball, he is doing work to help those who also suffer from substance abuse.

We will hear much more about Josh Hamilton over time.  However, last night was a show I will never forget.  His home run off the Bud Light sign behind the right field bleachers is the closest I’ve ever seen a ball come to getting out of Yankee Stadium.  The Stadium was chanting Hamilton’s name over and over as he hit those 28 home runs in the first round.  The Ranger outfielder may be hearing more of that across the street next season as he is a free agent at the end of the year…

Still, wherever Hamilton winds up playing in ‘09, I want to say thanks for saving the Home Run Derby of ‘08.

You start looking at the bullpen numbers after today’s 9-4 win over Toronto and it kind of shocks you:

Edwar Ramirez: 2.73 ERA, 33 IP.

Jose Veras: 2.87 ERA, 31 IP.

Kyle Farnsworth: 3.51 ERA, 40 IP.

Dan Geise: 2.82 ERA, 22 IP (some as a starter).

Mariano Rivera: 1.06 ERA, 23-for-23 in save situations, 42.1IP.

Add to this list Brian Bruney (who has gotten through four innings of rehab relief in the Gulf Coast) and the main piece of the Gary Sheffield trade, Huberto Sanchez (recovering from Tommy John surgery, also pitching in the Gulf Coast League). That’s some nice depth in the pen now, and perhaps even more in a few weeks.

With the Yanks getting some better starting pitching (even credit Daryl Rasner today for battling after giving up 3 ER in the first and then nothing else through five), this could turn into something nice. So, what’s going on with this cast that makes the Yankees’ bullpen so suddenly effective in 2008?

It’s simple: they’re fresh & they don’t get stuck in the doghouse.

To start with the former, Mo currently holds the high mark out of the bullpen with 42.1 innings pitched. That puts him at a pace to reach 70 on the nose. By comparison, Scott Proctor, Joe Torre’s favorite whipping boy (I can only imagine what’s happening in LA this year) pitched 102.1 innings in 2006. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved Mr. T, but he had something personal against his relievers. When he found one he liked, he kept riding that horse until it died or needed shoulder surgery…but when he had one that he didn’t like…well, let’s just say they rarely found the outside of the pen in a significant situation.

Credit Joe Girardi for sticking with some guys who struggled early and constructing a pretty sweet situation for the end of games. To see Farnsworth drop over a full run in ERA to this point in the season is refreshing. In the past seven or eight seasons, it was sad to see guys like Proctor and Paul Quantrill (95.1 innings in 2004) have the life slowly sucked out of them.

Torre was brutal, but also had a fast hook for many but the chosen few.  Girardi has proven to be more forgiving and patient…something that should make his bullpen much more productive.

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I’d be remiss if I did not mention the passing of Bobby Murcer after today’s game. There are no witty stories here, just condolences to the loved ones of a life-long Yankee (with a few years apart in the ’70s). It was impressive to see him fight his cancer the way he did over the past two years, and with the way he continued to work, it seemed like he might beat it. Murcer seemed well-loved, and that’s the best thing that you can say about a man.

I felt bad for Warner Madrigal tonight.

Poor kid.  His first appearance in the big leagues and he sets off an offensive explosion for the Yankees.  His hair was puffed out the side of his hat indicating that he, Warner Madrigal, was young and ungroomed unlike the veteran players around him.  He was an innocent pup taking the mound in the seventh inning against Bobby Abreu, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.  Just 24 years old, the neophyte from the Dominican allowed six of the seven batters he faced to reach base safely and absorbed six earned runs.  Warner also picked up the loss.

This, however, was good news for the Yankees who turned a 7-6 seventh inning deficit into a 12-7 lead — and ultimately a 18-7 victory — fighting back with a punch rarely seen this year.  The key hit was Jason Giambi’s two-run double to the left-center gap that gave the Yanks the lead.  Yes, for the love of God, he hit the ball to the left-center gap.  Damn.

From there, the rest of the crew laid into Warner and Jamey Wright.  A-Rod even hit home run number 17/535…yes, he’s good.  And no, I don’t believe he’s the devil for skipping the home run derby.  All A-Rod has to do is look across the clubhouse at Bobby Abreu to see how a home run contest can mess with a guy’s swing for a year or so.  I’d rather see him do right by the Yankees, not MLB.

So, here the Yankees sit, 7.5 games behind the Rays — the RAYS! — and 4 behind Boston who are in town starting tomorrow.  Sure, Tampa sits atop the majors, but until they crack the post-season, my money’s still on another Yanks-Sox battle in the AL East.

Lester vs. Pettitte in round one tomorrow in the Bronx.

I made it to the front end of today’s doubleheader and saw enough baseball to last a week. About four hours for eight pitchers to throw close to 400 pitches. I hardly cared who won after the Mets’ 15-6 drubbing of the Yanks was all over.

The big story was the Mets and Carlos Delgado’s nine RBI (a record for a visitor to Yankee Stadium…A-Rod holds the overall record at ten) so I made my way to the visitors’ clubhouse area. It was a crunch between games as the Mets had 20 minutes to get their things and get on their police-escorted bus to Shea. The media was directed into two circles in which three players and manager Jerry Manuel were rotated in and out. Delgado was a happy camper, but part of you could tell that he wanted to tell the media to shove it since every outlet in the city’s been calling for his head. Perhaps that inspired the .233 hitter to have a big day.

Now I see that Sidney Ponson went six shutout innings in a 9-0 revenge match at Shea. I’m not placing the ranch on this one panning out yet. Seriously, Ponson’s still listed at 6′1″, 258. He sweats when he’s standing still. Until my man sheds some pounds, I’m predicting his second term with the Yanks will be short.

Nonetheless, it’s always nice to see the Yanks beat Pedro.

Before closing, I have one comment on the media’s clear bias in favor of the Yankees over the Mets (which then helps, to some degree, sway public opinion). A colleague up at the stadium, Rich, griped about how he’s given up on being a Met fan after the Willie Randolph firing. Then he seemed to get to the heart of the matter just a little bit more. “They treat you with respect at Yankee Stadium. It’s a class act around here.” And it certainly is. Although media access to players leaves a bit to be desired, the Yankees certainly provide cushy work spaces for the press, keep everything clean and everyone who works there is happy and happy to see you. More importantly, the food is GOOD…famously better than the food at Shea (think high school cafeteria). Today I ate a full plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, fried chicken and a mini-muffin before putting together a turkey sandwich from the cold cut platter to bring upstairs and eat during the game. As for Shea, let’s just say the last time I ate a full press meal I was on the throne for an inning and a half.

Simply put, the press gets the royal treatment at Yankee Stadium. At Shea, the security often looks at me like I’m trying to steal something. The inside workings of Shea are a dump. There is no space for the media to work besides back upstairs at their game seats (a real pain if you have a deadline or want to keep electronics dry when it rains and water leaks through the ceiling) and paint is peeling off the walls. Hopefully, it’s a lot better next year at the new place.

Now, you could have a worse life than working baseball games at Shea for a living. But when a press member sees his favorite manager go out in the middle of the night AND he’s not fed well…it may be just enough to start influencing some columns.

First of all, I gotta say I was surprised to hear that ex-Yank Shawn Chacon is in trouble for assaulting his boss, GM Ed Wade down in Houston.  Chacon’s side of the story is that Wade got in his face and the GM wouldn’t stop yelling.  That’s when the veteran pitcher slammed Wade to the ground by his neck.

Frankly, I’m stunned.  Back when I covered the Yanks in the ‘05 and ‘06 seasons, Chacon often appeared to be a few hours removed from a session with the peace pipe.  In my interactions with the guy, he was nothing but relaxed and pleasant, exercising a vocabulary that including surfer terminology.  I recall him admitting to “taking a serious digger” once when he slipped on the field.

Still, he choked his boss.  I don’t see the mellow reputation saving him.

As for the Yanks, it’s been a typical two-game stretch where the world has both deemed the season over and then praised them for getting hot at the right time.  I love this town. 

The fact is, Joe Girardi did what he needed to do after Tuesday night’s loss by tearing into his team.  Tuesday was pitiful.  Jeter and Abreu swinging against Tom Gorzelanny after the Pittsburgh starter walked Daryl Rasner (a pitcher) and then Melky Cabrera on four pitches.  The result, of course, was a fielder’s choice ground out and a double play against a guy that couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. 

I turned off the game after that…the Yanks were destined to lose.

As for last night, the Yanks got the message.  When I saw Bobby Abreu leg out a single in the first and then Alex Rodriguez go hard into second to force a wide throw from Jack Wilson — allowing two runs two score on what would have been an inning-ending double play — I knew the Yanks were going to win.   The fire was there last night.

This weekend it’s the Mets…I’ll be at the Yankee Stadium end of things to watch Dan Giese take on Mike Pelfrey.  I hope, somehow, Hank Steinbrenner has Willie Randolph back in a Yankee uniform either tomorrow or at least to showcase at the All-Star game.  What happened to him was awful.  He’d be a great mentor to some of the young players on the Yankees and is the kind of guy who excels in a professional atmosphere…something that I hear was lacking across town.

It’s the age-old formula to employ against the Yankees: call up a few kids from the minors the Yankees have never seen, hand ‘em the ball and then watch the wins pile up. Yes, the Yankees were playing well until they dropped two of three to the Reds over the weekend. Still, it seems the world is more excited about the Yankees’ pitching than the losses. Mike Mussina looked good, but lost to a very impressive, young Edinson Volquez. Giese lost to first-timer Daryl Thompson (and his bullpen). But Pettitte stepped up and dropped Johnny Cueto — of the Reds’ young guns, perhaps the one with the most impressive stuff.

You had a feeling the Yankees bats weren’t going to get it done when you saw about 15 combined career starts for three opposing pitchers. It’s just the way it’s been for about ten years in the Bronx.

So, uh…Dick Pole…oh, man. Really? How many times did that guy’s name and face come up on tv this weekend? Seriously, I’ve never seen so much attention paid to a pitching coach in my life…announcers loved saying it and the production guys had it up on the screen several times. You would think the guy would go by “Richard”.

Also, a thought on Volquez and the team he came from, the Rangers. As many of us know, he was traded with Danny Herrera for slugger Josh Hamilton. Volquez leads the NL in strike outs and ERA and is second in wins. Hamilton lead the AL in home runs and RBI and is seventh in batting average.

Now, Volquez has no known record of smoking crack and being an alcoholic. Guess who does? Hamilton. Additionally, the Rangers must have an allergic reaction to pitching and their own crack-like addiction to guys that can hit a ton. If they ever get/keep some real arms, perhaps we will see the Rangers in the playoffs again. They should have held on to Volquez who the Reds were smart enough to snag…it should be fun watching Cincinatti develop into a contender. I’m not so certain about Texas.

The Yankees may be on a roll and they may finally be playing solid ball. I look at the record and see they are six games above .500. Great. I see that they are 8-2 in the last 10 games. Wonderful. I see the recent brush success has come during Interleague play. Maybe I’m starting to feel a little less confident about it. I look a little closer and see that the stats are little scary. All of the sudden I’m not so cheerful.

I know I am not the eternal optimist, perhaps the eternal cynic instead. I am not exactly pleased about being five games out from first and three and a half behind the Tampa Bay Rays. I would like Yankee Stadium’s last season to be a little smoother, a little more dominant.

I would like to see the team with highest payroll in Major League Baseball play with a little more passion. I would also like to see a greater run differential than +19. I see that statistically, the Yankees rank in the middle of the rode in runs scored and runs allowed, though our hitting is rated much better than our pitching.

I would like to see an offense that ranks third in hitting average, fourth in slugging percentage, and third in on-base percentage do a little better than sixth in run production. This means that means that for all the power behind Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi’s bats they are more likely to be hitting solo shots than driving batters home. Of course, Rodriguez and Giambi are not the main offenders. If anything they are the exception to the numbers, with both having over 40 RBIs so far this season.

The rest of the offense needs to wake up and start hitting the ball with others on. It is inexcusable for a team to have so many good hitters and struggle to score runs. New York can forget about buying World Series tickets until the offense starts finishing better. Let’s face it- the pitching is not going to get much better, so it is up to the offense to carry the load.