I was a tad concerned that this World Series wouldn't interest me much - I like the Rays but I'm not all that invested in their success, and I'm pretty neutral about the Phillies. To my delight, the series has actually been quite riveting and I've enjoyed every moment of it!

I've got a couple gripes, though:

1) What is up with the umps?! I hate to knock those dudes because they are generally amazing and make the right calls (I can't even count the number of times I've hollered "what?! He was safe!" only to see that the ump was in fact right when they played the slow-mo replay for us), but there have been SEVERAL missed calls in the first four and a half games of the series. I understand the hesitation to utilize the available instant replay willy-nilly during the regular season, but I think that special provisions should be made for the World Series. Perhaps they could allow each manager a certain number of challenges? It seems like a waste to refuse to use the available technology during the most important games of the year.

2) What is up with the umps in the rain?! I have never seen a baseball game played in rain as hard as Monday. The pitchers' fastballs were only about 80% as fast as they're capable of throwing, and how the hell are batters expected to hit a ball so slick with water? Not to mention the risk of slipping and sliding all over the field (or on the on-deck circle a la Manny). WHAT WERE THEY WAITING FOR?! A hurricane? Dugout flood? Drowning of the shortest player on the field? Did they honestly think they were going to play 9 innings? It was obvious after an inning that the rain was WAY too outta control to get the game in. Tonight, since they ended on a tie the other night, they're basically playing a 4 inning game to decide whether the Phils win or if the Rays get another chance. That just doesn't seem right.

What dost thou think? Am I being ridic?

Who needs a World Series ring when you can win a place on the Sporting News All-Star team? Not Jeter or A-Rod! I'm sure they're happy just to have received any honor at all, right?

No offense to the TSN. I'm sure all the honored players appreciate the shout-out and I image A-Rod and Jeet have both cleared off a space in their trophy rooms (both of which are larger than my home, I have no doubt) for their 12th and 9th respective TSN prizes. Do they get trophies? I might have made that up.

That said, it's time to refocus our attention on the HUGE game tonight, essentially a make or break contest for the Rays. If they lose, they COULD make up comeback, of course - no one that's watched them this year could put that past them - but who wants to have to rely on a game 4 win at the Phillies own stomping grounds? Judging by their year-long tradition of coming from behind, I'm anticipating a home run derby-esque game with Longoria putting the team up 3-1 in the 1st.

And before I sign off for the day, let's all have a good chuckle over A-Rod's latest endorsement deal with Guitar Hero (partially funded by The Boxer Brief Association of America):

UPDATE 8:41pm PST: THE RAYS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!! Who would have thunk it?! Congratulations!!!

I am more nervous about tonight's final ALCS game then I've been for any game all year - even all those make-or-break games the Yankees blew. If they hadn't been getting in the way of the Yankees post-season dreams I would have been secondarily rooting for those devilish Rays all year, so once the Yankees so gracefully extracted themselves from the playoff run I threw my support behind the underpaid youngsters. They breezed through the games with the White Sox and were handling the Sox for a few days there, but I think their inexperience came into the equation once they realized they were a heartbeat away from the World Series. Did they get too excited? Did the pressure start to way down on them? I don't know, but I hope Joe the Skipper sits them down for the best pep talk since Gipper Day tonight. My adoration of their Cinderella story and my perpetual burning desire to see the Red Sox retreat in humiliation have come together in my heart to create a longing for a Rays win comparable to the longing I felt during games 4-7 of the '04 ALCS.

So yeah... I've got some nerves rockin right now. Let's do a cheer I never anticipated doing: Gimme an R! (R!) Gimme an AYS! (AYS)!


On another note, Jeff Hardy lost to that that Russian guy who wears undies that look like they were purchased in 1973 and is EXACTLY what I imagine a militant 80's Soviet officer to look like on Friday. The hell?! They've been pushing Hardy on us for months, naturally leading me to anticipate an impending championship, and they pass on the opportunity to let him be the first person to beat Vladimir Stereotypicalrussiannameicantremember and boost his status even more? Now I'm nervous they don't have any plans to give him a title after all! If they make Big Show champion again before Hardy, I'll be sick. And I actually liked Big Show a lot before he became a bad guy, but he is such an unconvincing antagonist - his attempt at an "evil smile" actually make him look like a jovial fat man beaming at the birth of his first spawn - that I can't stand to watch him anymore. It's Hardy time.

Whew! It's been many moons since I last posted a Top Ten Tuesday on the proper day (or at all), but for once I am here, coming atcha with some sweet Top Ten action.

The season is quickly getting closer to the finish line - the Yanks will play their 100th game tonight - and they're still rotting in the third place hole in the division. They've got a 4.5 game deficit to surmount and not much time to do it; they're going to need to really get things together to blaze ahead of the Rays and Sox. The problem? They've got a lot of holes in the roster at this time and often seem to be hanging on by a thread. I've got a few thoughts on what they'll need to do during these last few months in order to make it to the playoffs... ready?

Top Ten Things the Yanks NEED if They Want to Make it Back to the Playoffs:

10) Jeter needs to get his average and OBP up. He's hitting well, but not as well as he usually does. Perhaps I'm being a bit greedy expecting him to hit over .300 again, but it sure would be a help.
9) They've still got 9 games to go against the Sox, and big wins would not only boost their spot in the standings (obv) but provide a hearty dose of confidence and momentum - beating the Sox always does.
8) They've also got 6 more games to play against those devilish Rays, and those are going to be must-win contests.
7) The offense needs to produce big time when the "filler starters" - Sir Sidney and Rasner - take the mound. Both of them are decent pitchers and can certainly keep the team in the game so long as the bats show up. Each of them is likely to give up at least 3 runs in the 6 innings they last each time they pitch, which puts a little extra pressure on the offense.
6) Keep hitting, Cano!
5) The bottom third of the order is currently pretty weak, with Melky, Gardner and Jo-Mo (see #3), and that's a pretty big issue at the moment. Everyone seems to think Gardner has the potential to hit a lot better than he has been (.170/.237/189) and Melky has shown glimmers of what he's capable of, but methinks it's unlikely those three will be even close to as productive as the top 6 in the lineup. If they can just get their collective average up to even .250 it would be a big improvement. The team can't win consistently with three automatic outs at the bottom of the lineup.
4) The bullpen has been surprisingly incredible - lights out, in fact - of late, and while I doubt they can keep their ERA under 2.00 for long, if they can just stay healthy and pitch at a 3.00 clip, the Yanks should be able to provide enough run support to hang onto their leads (or mount a comeback when they're behind).
3) Jo-Mo is going to need to start hitting. He's awesome behind the plate, throwing out potential steelers at nearly a 50% rate, but a .227 batting average and .266 OBP ain't going to cut it. If he could just get his average up to how Posada was hitting, about .265 or so, he'd actually be an upgrade over the injured Jorgie. Seems unlikely, though. Let's cross our fingers for .240.
2) Can Matsui make it back from the DL? He opted not to have the surgery his docs were advising, which doesn't seem like the best idea - the docs are the pros - but he knows his body and hopefully he can rehab successfully.
1) When Hughsie and/or I-Ken finally claw their way back to the majors, we need a few wins from them. Before they took up residence at the DL Resort and Casino they hadn't managed a single win - that's got to change. They are the ultimate "Get it TOGETHER!" boys.

...The Rays are the team to beat these days.

HUGE win for the Yanks today. The Rays are easily the toughest team to beat this season and the Yanks needed the series win not only to gain some ground in the standings but to prove to themselves (and us) that they've got what it takes to beat the best. The pitching was fantastic this week and while the offense could use a little perking up they still got the job done.

PS: He may have pitched well today, but how long until Ponson gets his DUI ass DFA'd? Anyone up for some betting action?

PPS: No hard feelings, SidDawg. Thanks for a solid 6 today.

Hello and welcome back to the world of YC posts! I am back to attack and here to discuss all the latest and greatest Yanks news once again. I apologize for the lengthy spell of post-less YC - I took a brief detour to the DL Resort and Casino. Twas poor timing, though, as I missed quite a bit of juicy topics about which I could/should have been bloggin'; let me make it up to you by offering up some YC commentary on everything I missed. Ready?
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A-Rod vs Cynthia "Classy Shirt"-Rod: The celebrity drama-loving part of me is relishing every moment and every new allegation of this hoopla, though I do feel badly for the poor sap. Going through a divorce is tough enough, and a public break-up chock full of scandal is sure to mess with ones psyche. I'm having a hard time believing Cynth's claims that A-Dawg has been messing around with the Material Girl, largely because I can't believe that any rational man could be attracted to those mannish biceps the lady is sporting. Have you seen those suckers?!
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Giambino and the 'Stache of Glory: The 80's pornstar 'stache continues to work its magical powers (note to Melky: grow one. Stat) as Giambi lays down base hit after base hit and even manages to not jack up plays at first base. The Yanks bigwigs have taken notice of the power of the facial hair and have launched a "Support the 'Stache" campaign encouraging us all to vote him into the final spot in the All Star Game.

Sidenote: Many thanks to Keith Hernandez and his Just for Men commercials, which have seemingly influenced Giambi to die his formerly blonde mustache a nice rich brown hue.
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Melky still sucks. Sad face emoticon.
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Cano, on the other hand, is heating up: His average over the past 7 games is .346 and the average is up to .252. He's still got a ways to go to boost that average up to the .300 I still think he can hit, but at least he's on his way at last.
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No C.C.: The man I most wanted the Yanks to grab at the trade deadline is off the market and in a Brewers uniform. Perhaps it is for the best though, since he would have been just a half season rental or required some sort of extension, which probably wouldn't have been the best situation given his apparent propensity to overeat and eschew exercise.
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Devilish Rays: The Rays continue to pretty much unstoppable. They've won 8 of their last 10 and worked a 4-game lead in the division (8.5 games ahead of the Yanks!), and at this point in the season the Yanks must be concerned about them. They're going to need a repeat of last year's second half, when they had the best record in baseball, if they want to top these guys and get to the playoffs. They've got a mini-series against them - 2 games - starting today and a sweep would be a good sign and much-needed confidence boost. What dost thou think - can they do it?
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Alrighty YC friends and foes - that does it for the news wrapup. Stay tuned for a Top Ten this evening... or tomorrow.