Some Notes from a Monday

1) If the Yankees play all their games like tonight, we'll be in good shape. Well, in terms of offense, anyway. Canò was a double shy of the cycle, and the Yankees had a bunch of home runs. Don't ask me to list them all, I know Canò and Cabrera and Giambi had bombs but can't remember if anyone else did.

2) Hughes looked much better today than in his past couple of starts, but 86 pitches through five is a bit too many, even for a strike out pitcher. Still, he's progressing very nicely and if you're a Yankee fan and not encouraged, then there's something very, very wrong.

3) Rivera was vintage.

4) Boston and Oakland open the season for real tomorrow. I will not be waking up at 6 AM, sorry. I didn't do it when the Yankees went to Japan, so I sure as heck am not doing it for Boston.

4a) Speaking of Boston, I'm going to the Yankees-Red Sox game on 4/12, which happens to be the 22nd anniversary of my birth. Thus, that weekend, blogging is likely to be very sporadic, but I promise pictures, unless my camera dies or gets stolen.

5) I've broken the 30 page mark on my thesis, which is good. I only have 50 more to go. I have three weeks. And a full courseload. Oops?

6) I'm in love with the German band Faun. Most of you will probably not like the medieval pagan folk music, but if you're like me and a medieval history geek, or if you're up for trying something new, give them a listen. They don't sing in English, though, just so you know.

Some Notes From Today

1) What's wrong with this statement: The Yankees and the Rays, dueling in a scoreless game in the eighth inning, Rasner having started for the pinstripes...

[EDIT: So it's not scoreless any more, but it was when I started this post!]

2) So I get not calling Davidson and Western Kentucky getting lucky, but how the heck does my brother bet San Diego on a coin flip and I...don't? St. Joe's and Vanderbilt are killing me as well. As my brother said, "Madness? THIS IS MARCH!" (don't worry, he hasn't kicked me into a bottomless well...)

Also, when they do those studies about how March Madness costs millions in productivity, they need to study how many hours of productivity college students lose...

3) I know my posts have been sporadic of late; this week has been fairly tough academically wise and it'll get worse over the next few weeks before it gets better. Until it clears up, I do apologize.

4) Tampa's offering two tickets to opening day for $20. I am very, very tempted. However, on that note, I will find out around dinnertime tomorrow whether or not I have tickets to Yankees-Sox on my birthday next month. If I do go, I'll make specially sure to take some great photos.

5) Brian Bruney still can't locate.

6) Some of you have asked about "The Season". I am still working on it, and apologize for the lack of updates. There's a reason for it, but I don't want to get into it right now. Let's just call it a secret.

AAAAARRGGHHH Matey! (Exhibition Game Notes)

Today's game exemplifies why you don't pay attention to the score in a Spring Training game.

1) The story of today will be Billy Crystal. It SHOULD be Mike Mussina. He retired 15 straight, and while I grant that Pittsburgh doesn't really have a great line up, to see Mussina look as good has he did is a very encouraging thought. What's interesting is that even though last year was a bad year for Mussina, he was still above .500 for the year. Hmmm...


2) Okay, the Billy Crystal thing was kind of cool. He did strike out, but he worked the count full, and he did make contact. his swing actually looked better than some other players who shall remain nameless.


3) Karstens and Traber did not have good outings. You like to say one bad outing, no big deal, but when there are all these other people vying for your spot, it's not really the time to be messing up.

4) I don't know who Cody Ransom is, but I like him more each game.


5) Molina is having an excellent Spring Training.


6) Paulie + Coney in the broadcast booth = genius.


Right, am off for night one of three in a row of college basketball! If any of you have tickets to the Big East Tournament, come find me and say hi!

Something Cone-y This Way Comes (Exhibition Game Notes)

Some notes from today's game against Toronto:

1) Chien Ming Wang looked MUCH better today than he did his last time out, keeping it a little too high in the first inning, but getting much better as the game went on, which is obviously a really good thing.

2) The bats did their thing today. If there's one aspect of the 2008 Yankees I'm really not worried about (well, at least, not right now), it's the offense.

3) Molina was totally safe on the slide, but, that aside, I'd pay good money to see him and Posada in a foot race. An Olympic track star, he is not. However, trying to steal on him would be like signing my own 'out' warrant.

4) Cone was awesome in the broadcast booth. I could listen to him game in, game out.

5) Girardi, to use a geek term, pwned Michael Kay during the interview, and it was a beautiful thing.

Seeing Reds (Exhibition Game Notes)

So I saw most of today's baseball game, which is the first time i've been able to do that since, like, the beginning of last week, though I did miss most of Joba's pitching to eat dinner. Anyway, some notes.

1) Joba does need to get his pitch count down. He got the job done, but if he is to succeed as a starter, he's got to throw less than 45 pitches over two innings. I have no doubt Joba can do it, but I won't lie, I was a little nervous in the first where he was getting behind in counts and whatnot...but maybe I've just been spoiled by Phil Hughes.

2) Ian Kennedy got notably better as his innings went on.

3) Traber and Hawkins were good; Rivera was vintage. You would think he's got fifteen years left on his contract.

4) Cincinnati has this pitcher named Volquez, which keeps making me think of Star Trek, but the point is, Volquez struck out eight in four innings, including six in two. I haven't heard of him before tonight, but DANG.

5) The offense did its thing, of course.

Mmmm, Aaaah, Spring (Part Two)

The important thing to remember is that except for a few people at USF, today's game does not matter in the long run. Heck, that's why they call 'em exhibition games!

Anyway, that says, there are a few comments to make:

1) The Yankees seem to have picked up right where they left off--Joba, Phil and Ian are awesome, when Giambi is the worst guy in your starting line-up, that says something, and Kei Igawa still doesn't belong in a major league uniform.

2) Eric (Mike?) Baumann just had one of the top ten moments in his life. Okay, a grand slam against Kei Igawa is not a grand slam against Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain, but still. It's gotta stay with you for a while.

[EDIT: The USF roster site lists an Eric Baumann, while Feinsand says his name is Mike. Not sure which it is.]

3) The radio announcers did a great job, and once again makes you wonder why the Yankees announcers...well, could use some improvement (and I generally like John Sterling).

4) For the little while I was watching the game, I really felt like it was spring, so when I got up to make some pasta and I saw the ground outside covered in snow, it was a bit of a letdown.