Another week, another edition as time rolls on.
"Knocked Up," the next step in the evolution of frat comedies with heart, is either a masterpiece or a too-long, unoriginal affair.
Chris Cornell has a new album out. There's a streamed song here.
Carl Pavano has his huge contract to console him, but still, he's lost baseball's respect, the usefulness of his arm for a while, and his smoking-hot girlfriend.
"The Office" and other finales covered as only The Onion can.
Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert debate the Iraq war after the fact in a hard-edged verbal battle called "Even Stepvhen."
Labels: Midweeklinks, Pavano, The-Office
Thankfully, the Yankees did the right thing and fired a nice-enough guy who has no business being the head trainer on a major-league team, much less one of the oldest and highest-profile clubs.
It's a PR move, of course, and some of the injuries (Wang, Pavano, Karstens twice, Matsui, Mussina, etc.) weren't muscle-related or were fluky. However, the guy never had the confidence of the team, and that counts for a lot. And the Yankees who seemed to never warm to Miller were some of the hardest workers -- such as Andy Pettitte.
As for the withering flower Pavano, he may -- emphasis: may -- have to get Tommy John surgery. And while that won't erase the legitimate criticism of his less-than-steel reserve before, it will excuse him for the rest of his terrible contract.
MVN has more on other Yankee developments, and Yankees Chick reports on the prizes that AL Player of the Month Alex Rodriguez gets.
Tomorrow's doubleheader would be a nice place for a sweep, but two in one day is never an easy task. Andy Pettitte will have the heat on for the rest of the year to be the 1996-97 or 2003 version of himself, and Mike Mussina will also have to turn back the clock. Lots of pressure, and the odds are not great. But if you're bored with Yankee dominance and want to see some sweating, this is the season for you.
On the heels of Carl Pavano's ace-like performance, Andy Pettitte earns his 150th Yankee win and Alex Rodriguez hits his 37th home run of the season. Maybe it's only six, but you've got a feeling that 37 is going to be just a short stop on the way to higher numbers.
Pettitte was sharper tonight, A-Rod just did what he does, and the team continued to prove that offense is not a problem. And Minnesota -- they should just be glad they don't play in the American League East. Since 2002, they are 25-8 against the Twins, including 12-6 in the Metrodome.
Granted, they've played .614 ball over all, but winning more than 75% of your games against a team that's been above .500 every year since 2001 is impressive. Minny has managed a 6-6 split over 2005 and 2006, with Scott Baker and Johan Santana winning two each.
The Twins do fall prey a bit to the old Red Sox mentality pre-Schilling -- that an ace is enough. The 1999 Red Sox are the perfect example. Their fans love to talk about Pedro Martinez destroying Roger Clemens, but that was the one win the team earned in that ALCS. The Twins, through no fault of their own (i.e. low payroll), have Santana and a bunch of guys the Yankees can hit. And starting Sidney Ponson is almost inexcusable.
On a completely unrelated note, TCM is showing a ton of Rita Hayworth movies. Man, can she look good (and not dated) and dance. Man, can she not act her way out of a paper bag.
Well, every Yankee starter has pitched, and none has pitched more than five innings. Andy Pettitte needed two appearances to get to that point.
It's not the end of the world. After all, the 1998 Yankees did start 0-3, to use a wildly optimistic example. On a more realistic note, it's been chilly because Major League Baseball thought it a grand idea to have all the cold-weather teams host many warm-weather or dome teams in early April.
But when Carl Pavano is your de facto ace, things aren't so bright. The bigger worry, I think, is the injury situation. Outfielders and middle infielders in their 30s getting nagging injuries is the stuff of legends -- or rather, teams with legends that go nowhere.
Three notes from yesterday's loss: Alex Rodriguez hit another home run off physical reaction. Muscle, and not much else, gets that ball over the wall. Keep not thinking, A-Rod!
When they showed Giambi's walk-off grand slam from 2002 -- the famous 14-inning rain game (link coming) -- did anyone else notice how thin, yet ripped his torso was? Not natural at all, in hindsight.
Josh Phelps is the gawky kid who's really tall in middle school but is the worst basketball player. Maybe I'm wrong on him, but he doesn't look like a major leaguer. Hensley Meulens tore up AAA, too, and we know how well he did. Amazingly, Meulens is not yet 40.
