Here's to 2010!

And employment. Maybe.

and yes...

Edgar Martinez should be in the Hall too. No, I don't care that he was a career DH, it's time to move out of the '50s and his career numbers are as follows:
.312/.418 (!)/.515 (!)/.933, 147 OPS+

Going 1990-2003:
.317/.426/.531/.957, 153 OPS+

Those numbers are really really ridiculous. I mean, the guy took my team and stomped all over it in the 1995 ALDS (*weeps for Donnie Baseball*), and I still respect the hell out of him. If he doesn't make the Hall it's probably because there are a bunch of cranky old people who will NEVAH vote for a DH. But you gotta consider that he was, for an extended period of time, the best ever at his position. Yeah we should be a little more selective about DHs, but his numbers totally pass the test.

It just occurred to me.

Jorge Posada is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. And honestly... you could make the point that this is an easy first-ballot HoF vote.

just a note

I would like to see Sherlock Holmes soooo freakin' badly. Hellooooo HoYay! between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

ohhh MLB Network

"Who knows how Bonds was able to do what he did at his age."

Steroids. It's called steroids.

(That said, I fully believe that what Bonds did throughout his career, especially this decade, cannot be explained away simply by steroids. Same with A-Rod and Manny. Players who went from mediocre to the most feared hitter in their league? Guys who had total career years pretty much out of nowhere, at weird ages? Those are a little more suspicious. Guess who I'm referring to in those two questions!)

I saw movies!!!!

Yesterday, my dad basically forced me to watch Julie & Julia. I forget whether I talked about it or not, but I really didn't like the book. The author seemed like an incredibly unpleasant person who didn't deserve her totally nice husband at all and, as an unemployed college graduate who can't find anything to do, I basically wanted to smack her for acting like working in an office was THE ABSOLUTE WORST FATE EVER. She was much better in this movie, plus it's hard to dislike Jesus. As for Meryl Streep... well, her part of the story was absolutely wonderful. Stanley Tucci was terrific and it was heartwarming to see how in love they were, even if the thought of Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep having sex is very gross. And I understand she was playing a character, and she did that extremely well. But that doesn't mean that the character that Meryl was playing wasn't OMG TREMENDOUSLY ANNOYING AAAAAAGH okay I'm done.

On the day after Christmas, I went to go see Up in the Air. It's fantastic. It's so well-written. George Clooney is absolutely terrific. It pretty accurately captures Our Depressing Times, but it's an ultimately uplifting movie. I found myself in tears multiple times. Go see it. Seriously.

The 2009 Yankees Were Really Good Once They Got Their Shit Together, Part Nine Million

opposing batters facing Mariano Rivera, July 17-October 4:
.173/.246/.260/.505

Jose Molina, 2009:
.217/.292/.268/.560

since this is (supposedly) a movie blog

Not that Moviefone is great, but here's an interesting list.

TOP TEN SUPPORTING ACTOR PERFORMANCES
10. Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
I thought he was hilarious. He didn't deserve the Oscar exactly, but he was basically the only reason to watch that movie after the first hour or so.
9. John Travolta, Hairspray
GOD NO. He was really awful. And terrifying.
8. Rip Torn, Dodgeball
Heh, I love this movie, and he's hilarious, but there are a number of other, better choices for this spot.
7. Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
I'm not so sure I would put him this high but sure. He was terrific.
6. Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
There was something about this performance I wasn't crazy about, if I'm remembering correctly. But again, it's not a bad choice.
5. Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Hell yes. This movie is what, two years old?, and this performance already became iconic.
4. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
Again, hell yes. I'm glad people are acknowledging this performance, as it's absolutely terrific but in a small movie that not many people saw from the beginning of the decade.
3. Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Yup. The acting was really superlative in this movie.
2. Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
I'm not sure I'd put him this high, but he was great. Again, another movie with really awesome acting.
1. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Yup yup yup. Even if not for his tragic death, this would still be one of the best performances ever, really. He was so damn good.

TOP TEN SUPPORTING ACTRESS PERFORMANCES
10. Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Oh hey I thought everyone hated this performance now? I loved it. That girl can act with her voice like no other. Does that make sense? Eh.
9. Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
I'm not sure I'd put her so high, but I really liked her. It's also funny to see her on The Office after this.
8. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
YES. I LOVE HER HERE. She'd probably be in my top five supporting actress performances this decade. It was just a balls-out performance. Uh, figuratively speaking, of course.
7. Leslie Mann, Knocked Up
I've come full circle on this movie because now, I totally love it, and I love her in it. There's one line that she delivers that is PRICELESS but I can't think of it now. Grrrr.
6. Mo'Nique, Precious
Haven't seen it.
5. Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Y'all know I think she's crazy overrated but I liked her a lot in this movie.
4. Sophie Okenedo, Hotel Rwanda
I liked her a lot in this movie, but she's way too high here. She wasn't that great, though she was very good.
3. Adriana Barraza, Babel
Yay. She was terrific and Rinko Kikuchi sucked. Hey, remember when Babel was gonna make these two BREAKOUT STARS? And then they were never heard from again? Awesome
2. Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
???? She should not be this high. She was good and all, but I don't even remember her in it.
1. Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
??!?!?!?!? Yeah, she was hilarious, but this is a no for #1. And GOD this movie was so, so bad. Christopher Guest, I am severely disappointed.

TOP TEN LEAD ACTRESS PERFORMANCES
10. Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake
She was insanely good in this, yup.
9. Ellen Page, Juno
I'm not sure if she'd be in my top ten, but she really was awesome. I don't think this was an easy role to pull off without coming off as ridiculous, but she did it. She was the heart and soul of this movie and the main reason why it ultimately succeeded.
8. Sienna Miller, Interview
Oh God I love you for including her here. SO GREAT and nobody saw it.
7. Nicole Kidman, Dogville
Ditto.
6. Penelope Cruz, Volver
This performance is really overrated. Good, not great.
5. Charlize Theron, Monster
I'm not sure I would have her SO high on this list, but she was excellent.
4. Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Abso-friggin'-lutely.
3. Samantha Morton, Minority Report
I love this guy for including Samantha Morton in anything, but this was a supporting role. And she was even better in Morvern Callar the same year as this movie.
2. Julie Christie, Away from Her
I'm not sure she should be this high but at least it's not Marion Cotillard.
1. Diane Lane, Unfaithful
She's way too high, but this performance was just awesome.

TOP TEN LEAD ACTOR PERFORMANCES
10. Denzel Washington, Training Day
He was so awesome in this, and totally against character. He's really the only reason to watch this movie.
9. Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I wouldn't put him this high but I fully approve any support of ESotSM, woot.
8. Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
I don't even remember if I saw Gran Torino or not. It didn't look very good. And heh, if I did see it, I obviously don't remember it.
7. Sean Penn, Mystic River
He was awesome, but he was in no way better than Bill Murray that year. Who does not appear on this list. Boooooo
6. Benicio del Toro, Things We Lost in the Fire
Didn't see it, but I appreciate that whoever did this list is going for some more obscure performances that were really good (Miller, Kidman).
5. Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Yes. So so so good.
4. Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean
Sigh. No.
3. Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
Remember that naked wrestling scene? That was awesome. So was he (though I liked him better in A History of Violence).
2. Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
He was awesome here. #2 of the decade, I dunno, but he was just so great.
1. George Clooney, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
#1? Uhhh that'd be a no. But I love the Cloons.

I may do my own list of these, keeping in mind that I feel like I haven't seen bupkiss from the past two years.

back!

Sort of. I have to use this crappy computer for a couple of days AGAIN. When I get back, talk about the Globes, MLBN's top nine games of 2009, and I actually saw a movie!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I probably won't be posting for the next two days or so unless something CRAZY happens. When I get back - Globes talk ferrealz guys. Merry Christmas, everyone!

I'll talk about the Globes eventually.

Really, I will.

On the Javier Vazquez thing.

Oh boy.

So, when I went to bed last night at around 2:30 AM (being unemployed is an exciting life), the Yankees were on the verge of trading someone... for some pitcher. Seriously, it was a mystery, though some of the things people were posting on Twitter were kind of hysterical ("Probably not Christy Matthewson." "They're trading Derek Jeter for a washing machine, but it's a washing machine with a really good warranty."). Funnily enough, one of the tweets (ugh I can't believe I just used that word) said something like, "I bet the mystery pitcher is Javier Vazquez or Oliver Perez and they're keeping it a mystery because of what the fanbase's reaction would be to that," and of course I woke up this morning to find out that Melky Cabrera had indeed been traded for Javier Vazquez.


The reaction by most people was:

a. AAAH PANIC OMG 2004 ALCS AAAHHHHH!!!!
b. He can't handle NY!!! He couldn't in 2004!!! AAAH 2004!!!!
b-1. He has terrible numbers against the Red Sox, too!!!!
c. We're getting rid of all the TRUE YANKEES! These guys are winners! They just won a World Series!!!!!


Okay, guys. Calm down. I shall respond to these highly irrational people/points:

a. This is completely unfair to Javier Vazquez, as you're judging him on one truly terrible appearance. Believe me, I hated that shit too, but you gotta move on, and you can't judge based on one performance. There are about a million different rebuttals for this, so I'll just name a few. CC Sabathia had an ERA well over 7 in the postseason before this year and a lot of Red Sox fans laughed at us for signing him because "he's a choker!!!!". I don't even need to mention the many foibles of A-Rod. In Game 6 of the 2001 World Series, Andy Pettitte had a chance to clinch the Series for the Yankees with a win. Instead, he couldn't get out of the third inning, and we all know what happened at the end of Game 7. Do these performances mean that Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera are awful chokers who can't get it done in essential moments during the postseason? Don't be silly. But if you judged them on one game that was probably their individual worst game, that's what you would think.
Also, are we that fucked up by 2004? Didn't we essentially knock the Red Sox out of the playoffs in 2006? After going 0-8 against them to start this year and hearing about how much they were in our heads and we would never ever ever ever ever beat them, didn't we pretty much stomp them for the remaining ten games between them? Aren't the Yankees the reigning World Series champions? Move the hell on. And this from someone who's still all a-weepy about 2001.

b. He had a very good start in 2004, going 10-5 by the All-Star Break with an ERA of 3.53. He fell off a cliff in the second half because he got hurt. Except oh wait, I guess he suddenly realized he was in New York and therefore couldn't handle it or whatever. Pussy. He's also under a lot less pressure this time, not that he was really affected by pressure last time, and he's a more mature (yet still not too old) pitcher.

b-1. His numbers against the Red Sox were 2-7 with an ERA that was around 4.50. 2-7 doesn't sound good, but who knows what that means because pitcher wins are silly and one of the losses was this game. An ERA around 4.50 isn't great, but considering what Boston was like in the years he was facing them, when they had the best offense in baseball, that's not terrible either. They're a very different team now then they were in 2004 or 2007. Again to use the small sample size, Kazmir had great numbers against both the Yankees and Red Sox and he totally sucked against both of them in the playoffs. And seriously, there are other teams besides the Red Sox. You guys all sound like... Red Sox fans, who would rather see the Yankees lose than their own damn team win.

c. Anyone who uses the term "True Yankee" needs to just... stop doing that. No one is more sentimental than I am, but I think it makes people sound unbelievably stupid. You're a Yankee the minute you put the pinstripes on.
The last time the Yankees let a World Series MVP go, it was John Wetteland after 1996. Of course, this proved to be an incredibly stupid move, as the Yankees were never able to find another decent closer again and that role has been in turmoil for years, not to mention it ruined the clubhouse chemistry of proven winners, leading to years of failure for the Yankees. Oh, wait. I am very fond of Hideki Matsui, and I will wish him luck whenever he plays anyone but the Yankees (because he's on the Angels now and they don't need any luck for that grrrr), but if the reason he left the Yankees and went to the Angels was because the Angels were going to let him play the field and the Yankees weren't, this was absolutely the right choice to make. Matsui's knees won't hold up if he plays the field on a consistent basis.
I really like Johnny Damon and would be happy to have him back for, say, two years at $14M, but that's just not going to happen when he's a Scott Boras client. I give him a lot of credit for playing hurt, but it seemed like he was hurt a decent amount of the time, and he's just getting older. If he leaves, I'll always think of him really well for essentially flipping off the Red Sox to sign with us and that dash to third base.
I love Melky Cabrera, I think he's outright hilarious, but he's league average. And if Robinson Cano OMG can't handle it that Melky left, well, that's really pathetic for a major league baseball player. I'm very happy we traded Melky and not Swisher. I actually kind of can't believe the Braves made this trade. They needed a big bat and that's... likely not Melky. Aroydis Vizcaino has a lot of upside, but he is YEARS away from the majors. Mike Dunn is a generic bullpen piece that would be available through the Braves' own farm, I imagine. For those three pieces, they traded away the guy who just came in fourth for the NL Cy Young. Braves fans are livid and fans of other teams who are big stat guys are Tweeting pretty hilarious things about how the Yankees "unlocked God mode." If we didn't have those 2004 memories, we'd be thrilled.


As for Javy himself, well, I am absolutely not expecting, and neither should you, what he gave Atlanta last year. That would be ridiculous (but OMG it would be awesome, I would LOVE if he would do that). He's gonna be probably our #4. He will pitch probably more than 200 innings with an ERA between 3.50 and 4.50. Yeah, I'll take that. We needed to address our starting rotation (and yes, MSM, we would have needed to do that even if the Red Sox hadn't signed Lackey). It's really a testament to how crazy our offense was that we won 100+ games and the World Series with a starting rotation that consisted of:
1. awesome CC Sabathia, 230 IP, 127 ERA+.
2. insanely inconsistent AJ Burnett, 207 IP, 107 ERA+.
3. Andy Pettitte, who everyone wanted to DFA in May/June, 195 IP, 103 ERA+.
4. Joba, who went like 4 innings per start, 157 IP, 90 ERA+.
5. a rotating door of crap. Mitre 52 IP, 63 ERA+. Gaudin 42 IP, 125 ERA+ but the guy can't go through decent lineups more than like twice and he gets mauled by LHP (I still think he's a useful piece). Wang 42 IP, 44 ERA+. I'm not sure what Hughes' ERA+ and IP were as a starter, but I don't think they were that great.
This year, we had two guys who were slightly above league average looking at ERA+, though both of them generally got it done in the playoffs, and one true ace. That actually turned out okay for the Yankee starting pitchers in 2009, because a lot of the time all the pitcher needed to do was not let the game get out of control and then the ridiculous offense could usually do its thing. If we get one more guy that's Burnett or Pettitte-level to replace the Joba part or the terrible #5 spot, that's great. If Javier turns out to be more than that, that's awesome. Plus, he'll make the bullpen stronger by likely putting one of Hughes/Joba - who should be starters, but I understand if they want to give them time to grow - in the pen to work as Mo's setup guy. Of course, Joba and Hughes' numbers out of the bullpen were unreal, better than Mariano's when he was the setup guy (this is because they are starters and even simply average starters make awesome relievers. Mariano was, more than likely, not going to be even an average starter.).

Do I wish we somehow managed to get, instead of Vazquez, Josh Johnson, Matt Cain, or Justin Verlander for Melky Cabrera + change? Of course. But this is a good trade. If not for Damon's grand slam - which I can totally understand why people were upset by, but you're being irrational if you're gonna hold it against the guy forever as THE LONE REASON the Yankees lost the 2004 ALCS, that's as dumb as Red Sox fans who blame Bill Buckner for the entire 1986 World Series - I don't think anyone would be complaining about this.

And how could you hate this face? Dawwww. Welcome back, Javy. Prove them haters wrong.

The 40-Year-Old Virgin on cable TV is somehow even worse

It's about 80% blurred nipples.

Jorge, this is like a D- answer considering the question you were asked

Still not old.

Also OMG OMG OMG OMG THE YANKEES ARE GOING TO TRADE FOR SOMEONE SOMEWHERE TONIGHT MAYBE

what?

Ed Helms is in Confessions of a Shopaholic? He is everywhere. Not that I mind.

Be mine Joe Mauer

The glasses?!?!? He is such a dorky Minnesota boy and he must be mine immediately.

(Speaking of men that must be mine immediately, remember when Andy Pettitte struck him out on three pitches in the ALDS? That was glorious. Also, Mariano completely sawing off his bat. It was a good postseason, wasn't it?)

and in other, maybe even more disturbing news

While watching the Survivor Samoa finale, I realized... wow, I don't hate evil Russell. In fact, I now like the guy. When his wife was talking? OMG I was like near tears. WTF is wrong with me? o_O

Today, in conversations with my mother.

(We are watching MLBN as is our wont. It's some documentary or something, and Luis Gonzalez comes on to comment on... something)

Me: Boooo hiss!!!!
My mom: Ohhh, I like him.
Me: YOU LIKE HIM?!?!?!
My mom: Yeah, he was Tino's best friend and he was a nice guy and he had triplets and they were really cute! I was happy for him!
Me: WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?!?! YOU WERE HAPPY FOR HIM?!?!??!
My mom: He was just a nice guy! Can't I be happy for a nice guy?
Me: SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL.

(I think she may be schizophrenic though. One time he came on to comment on something and she threw a balled-up piece of paper at him. She burst out crying the instant that crappy flare single hit the ground in 2001 because she may be the only person more irrational than I am. Also, when we were in Boston, she saw one of those "I root for two teams: the Red Sox and whoever beats the Yankees" shirts and was seriously going to buy it until I literally took it out of her hands. Maybe she was drunk? I still love the crazy lady, though.)

RUSSELL DOESN'T WIN SURVIVOR SAMOA!!!!

SUCCESS!!!!

I love you, Gawker

Jersey Shore: A Field Study

there is a LOT of snow outside

So my mommy and I stayed in and wore sweatpants and drank tea and watched Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS on MLBN and pretended like we'd never seen it before. On a Saturday night. and you know what? It was awesome.

Leap Year looks adorable

Why is it coming out January 8, AKA The Day of Dumping Shitty Movies?

serious inquiry

Will they ever stop making American Pie movies?

And will Eugene Levy ever cease to being in them?

for those of you keeping score

Jersey Shore is still totally amazing; I particularly enjoyed the part where Sammi Sweetheart or whatever her name is was talking about how she had sex with Ronnie while the MTV editors very cleverly decided to put EXPLODING FIREWORKS in the background. Oh and Ronnie was like, "Yeah, we smooshed." AMAZING.

Oh God I know these peoples' names o_O

Nick Johnson (supposedly) comes home

For Washington and Florida last season, Nick Johnson had a .426 on-base
percentage, third in the majors behind Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols.

So in conclusion, the guys who were on base the most in the entirety of the major leagues:
1. the AL MVP
2. the NL MVP
3. the guy who will now usually be on base in front of Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez.

Oh God it's so beautiful (cries)

Now I know he has some sort of crazy injury it seems every year. I will be very worried if there is a particularly raucous celebration at home plate after a walk-off win, and if he is, in fact, the one that hits a walk-off home run, I hope everyone doesn't jump on him very strongly. That said, I'm quite pleased, even if I will miss Matsui and Damon (and Damon may still come back, but I hope it's not for a mrazillion years).

AMAZING

I love this so much. I just love Jersey Shore.

I am easily amused

This part in the Top Chef reunion where they're making fun of the French people that Kevin had to hang out with is hilarious.

I miss Top Chef

This reunion is lame. :(

RIDICULOUS

Mariano Rivera in the postseason in the 1990s:
31 G, 4-0, 47.1 IP, 2 R (0.38 ERA...), 30 H, 9 BB (0.828 WHIP), 30 K, 13 S, 1 BS, 4 Holds
These are SILLY NUMBERS. They look like they are MADE UP. His numbers in the new millennium are pretty much equally silly, especially when you consider that his "worst" postseason in terms of hits, runs, and whatnot was probably 2000 (yes, it was worse than 2004 looking at stats), when the Yankees actually won the World Series. His 2003 and 2009 were extremely strong (even if he walked more guys than he usually does in the 2009 postseason, I think his control was a little off - I am talking Mariano standards here, people! - because the guy was hurt) and yes, 2001 was a pretty strong postseason for him though he had his one bad outing at a truly terrible time and you could make an argument that throwing the bunt away hurt him a lot more than his actual pitching did. A lot of the time, the Yankees weren't getting as deep into the postseason as they had in the 1990s, so I suspect he would have been great in 2002, 2005, 2008 etc. if the Yankees had gotten deeper into the postseason/gotten into the postseason at all. The guy is filthy and we are spoiled.

in which I sort of give Joe Buck credit

He actually sounded pretty excited when calling the Boone home run and oh man did he sound bored when the Red Sox won in 2007. Maybe he just hates baseball, which is supposedly the case.

He'll never be his dad (oh, he sounded bored when calling the last out of the 2006 World Series too, WTF), but whatever.

oh wow, Globe nominations are out!

Apparently I've been too busy following baseball in December to notice this.

I'm sure you've seen them before, but here are the nominations. I'll comment on them later, but a warning: I've seen about three movies on that list, even if I want to see a lot of them really badly (It's Complicated, Nine, Up in the Air, Precious, An Education...).

BAHAHAHA

Read the part toward the end in italics explaining why the film got the rating it did.

well this is insane/a rant

They clinched a playoff spot in August!!!! That's crazy talk!!! The guys who came in second in the division, the Red Sox, were not slouches that year (they were 92-70. Oh and they almost drafted/signed Mark Teixeira), so it's not like they had no competition in the division.

I love it when Boston fans/the media (cough ESPN) try to tell me what the Red Sox did in 2004-2008 was somehow more impressive than what the Yankees of 1996-2001 did. Don't get me wrong, they had a very strong run and coming back from an 0-3 hole from 2004 was definitely an accomplishment, as was coming back from a 1-3 hole in 2007. If they completed their comeback in 2008 and won the World Series, they'd be the team of the decade without a doubt, as much as it makes me puke to admit that. However, in between 2004 and 2007, they got swept out of the first round in 2005 and didn't make the playoffs in 2006. In 2008, they made their way back from a 1-3 deficit in the ALCS to force a Game 7, including a game that could have decided the series for the Rays where the Red Sox were trailing 7-0 in the seventh or something ridiculous like that. Thanks for leaving your obviously tiring relievers in too long, Joe Maddon! However, they didn't win the ALCS, so... yeah. Basically, it was the runs of 2004 and 2007, not 2004 through 2007.

The 1996 Yankees totally overperformed and beat the defending champion Braves with a rotation that boasted Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz, as well as Danny Neagle as the fourth starter. They are one of only three teams in history to drop the first two games at home, only to win the Series (the '85 Royals and '86 Mets are the others if you particularly care. Wow, the Red Sox really screwed the pooch in that 1986 World Series. But whatevs.). The 1996 World Series was like a miracle victory, though it more than likely had to do with the bullpen; we had John Wetteland getting over that unfortunate suckinginthepostseasonitis he came down with in 1995, some guy named Mariano Rivera working as his setup guy, and other really solid pieces like Jeff Nelson and Graeme Lloyd, while the Braves had stuff like Mark Wohlers and his hideous mullet thoroughly blowing saves in epic fashion (hope everything turns out okay for you, Jimmy :( ). The Yankees lost in 1997 but as I think I said before, it was one of the better losses in Yankee history because it made those guys hate to lose.

The 1998 and 1999 Yankees were ridiculous; they went 22-3 over the two postseasons. The 1999 Yankees had an 11-1 record in the playoffs, the best ever, only matched by, of all teams, the 2005 White Sox (and their insane pitching staff). The Yankees of those two years were so much better than everyone else, and frankly, they knew it. In 1998, they owned the Texas Rangers to the tune of the pitching staff holding that very powerful team to one run over three games. Then, they went down 1-2 in the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians - including a humiliating extra-innings loss at Yankee Stadium, thank you Chuck Knoblauch, and Andy getting absolutely ripped apart - who'd beaten them the year before, and then they remembered that THEY HATED TO LOSE and absolutely came roaring back and didn't lose a game the rest of the postseason and, seemingly enough, the 1999 postseason too. The Padres definitely put up more fight than the 4-0 Series final would suggest, but the Yankees of that year were just too good. Heck, when Scott Brosius ties/sets a team record for RBIs in one postseason, you know you're just blessed by the baseball gods, frankly.

The 1999 Yankees beat the Rangers really thoroughly again; in fact, IIRC, they once again held them to one run in three games. That Yankees' team's one loss was a beating at Fenway after winning the first two games of the ALCS against Boston, but the Yankees rebounded really nicely the next two games, still took that ALCS in five, and celebrated their trip to the World Series at Fenway. Sweeeeet. They swept the Braves in the World Series - and yes, the Braves still had Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine, plus an awesome year by Kevin Millwood. The Yankees beat all four of those guys. If not for a crappy start by Pettitte in Game 3 that led to a great Yankee comeback and a walk-off home run, there honestly wouldn't have been a single exciting game in the four-game series. That's how good the Yankees were. That 22-3 record over two years - that's .880 baseball against the best teams - is something that probably won't be done again for a verrrrry long time, if ever, in the contemporary baseball era with its multiple rounds of postseason play and free agency going on.

2000 was just weird. If you look at the OPS+ of the lineup the team normally used, they had literally only three guys that were above league average - Jeter, Jorge, and Bernie. David Justice was a huge addition, though. Scott Brosius's OPS+ was 70, lol. I am very fond of Tino Martinez, but he was just not that great for what you generally expect from first base offense that year. The top three guys in their rotation - Clemens, Pettitte, and El Duque - were great, but Cone completely fell off a cliff and Neagle wasn't very good either. The bullpen was still solid, but I bet everyone was freaking out that Mariano Rivera's ERA was 2.85, over a point higher than it had been in 1999, when he was almost laughably untouchable the entire second half of the season. Still, considering 2000 was probably the peak in the steroid years... anyway, yeah, the Yankees still won that year. But the 2001, 2002, and 2003 Yankees... all probably better than the 2000 version.

In 1998, 1999, and 2000, the Yankees went a ludicrous 12-1 in the World Series. Heck, throw in 2001 when they lost, and it's 15-5. Again, ridiculous. Five World Series appearances in six years? Six in eight? RIDICULOUS. (Oh, and I just remembered how Bob Brenly was hailed as a GENIUS! GENIUS! for throwing Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson as many times as possible at the Yankees in 2001, or how it was so very admirable for the Twins' pitchers such as Carl Pavano were OMG so selfless and put the team ahead of themselves by going on short rest the last few days of the season, but when the Yankees of 2009 did it with their best pitchers in the World Series, it was OMG THREE DAYS REST THEIR ARMS ARE ALL GOING TO FALL OFF!!!!!! Aaagh. You put your best pitchers out there to give yourself the best chance at winning possible, especially when the other guy people were talking about starting, Chad Gaudin, has beyond horrible numbers against lefties. Utley, Howard, and Ibanez would have MURDERED him. AJ Burnett got murdered in Game 5, but that was just Bad AJ. Yes, I realize 2009 AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte are not exactly 2001 Schilling and Johnson, but you know what I mean.)

In conclusion, another Yankee dynasty would be pretty thoroughly awesome. I'd love it if the 2010 and 2011 Yankees did even better than that 22-3 record the 1998 and 1999 Yankees posted over two postseasons. ;)

Also, unrelated, but Troy Tulowitzki so cute <3333 I do love all these white-boy baseball players who look kinda like doofuses.

thoughts on the HOT STOVE!!!! and other baseball things

I really bounce around on topics on this blog. In six months I will probably be talking about oh God I don't even know, the Oscars or something.

1. There are a decent number of Yankee fans who are in a PANIC!!!! about the Red Sox signing Lackey. There's no doubt their rotation is terrific and I would have loved to have Lackey because you can't ever have enough pitching and he's got a big-game mentality that fits in with East coast baseball. That said, the lineup is still a weak point for them, especially away from Fenway. I don't write them off because that rotation really is insanely good, but we're really good too. It'll be a battle for the AL East, and how does that change anything from the way it's been the past decade or so?

2. Are we gonna hear about how THE RED SOX ARE RUINING BASEBALL BY BUYING ALL THESE PLAYERS? No? Just about how their entire pitching lineup is "Aces Wild," ESPN? Oh cool. When the Red Sox didn't make the playoffs in 2006, their way of dealing with it was to go out and spend a crapton of money on Dice-K and JD Drew. They won a World Series the next year by completely spanking an actual small market team. Now, they're gonna spend a lot of money on Scutaro, Lackey, and I guess Cameron too. And honestly, there's nothing wrong with that, though I obviously hope they don't win the World Series next year. I just wish people would stop friggin' treating it like it's the worst thing ever when the Yankees do it.

3. These Mariners might be serious, huh? With the Angels losing Lackey and Figgins, they don't have a lot of what they needed to dominate int he past, bringing the AL West into question. Their bullpen is rather questionable. Fuentes is not K-Rod. I'm not saying they won't still be great and in particular infuriatingly AMAZING against the Yankees cuz that's what the Angels do, but yeah. People like to hype the Texas Rangers and the guys they have on their farm every year, but they never seem to come through. The Mariners will have King Felix and Cliff Lee at the top of their rotation (even if the rest of their rotation is a cast of thousands including guys named "Fister" and "Snell" and that cute lefty who wears glasses on the mound and has a really long name that barely fits on his jersey [OMG he's Australian!!! Memories of Graeme Lloyd]), and a siiiiick defense. They have Ichiro and Figgins to lead off. Sure, they lack offense, but that just means they have issues like every other team. They are one big bat away from being absolutely terrifying in a short series.

4. Not sure I understand this Cliff Lee/Roy Halladay trade. So, the Phillies will trade Cliff Lee to the Mariners for prospects, and then the Phillies will flip these prospects to the Blue Jays for Halladay? Uh, does "prospects" include, like, Ichiro? Cuz I can't tell why the Blue Jays will want to do that. Whatever, Roy Halladay will freaking love the NL. It's gonna be like a vacation for him. The only really scary lineup he'd have to face, he'll be playing for. My mom predicted he will be 23-4 with at least eight complete-game shutouts and one no-hitter and I don't think she's wrong. And he's out of the AL East so we don't have to face him 47 times a year!!!!

5. Bye Matsui and Wang. I will miss you guys. :( Matsui is awesome and a class act all the way but I have to believe that if the Angels got him for as little (yes, I know little is a relative term) as $6.5M, Cashman wasn't really planning on bringing him back anyway... especially if he's now gonna go play in the field in Anaheim. Good luck with that, Angels. Wang, I'm sorry I missed most of your glory years while I was at college. Heh, Wang is a funny word. /immature

6. As far as players on the market, I would not mind Nick Johnson coming home. He does two things I really love in a baseball player: he takes walks and he wears high socks. He's really fragile, though.

7. Andy Pettitte is an incredibly attractive man. Thank you, MLBN, for tonight when you showed lots of clips of him when he was on the Astros (and called him the #5 starter of the decade!!! YAY ANDY.) and had sort of a beard/mustache thing going on and it looked really good on him. I also maintain that That Never Happens if we'd kept him for the 2004 season - we got up 3-0 in that series with totally inferior pitching - and it was terrible to basically let him walk away like that.

8. Here is an interesting list that I will comment on later.

oh, boo!!!

I forgot to watch Hannah and Her Sisters over Thanksgiving. Now, I just gotta remember to watch Love Actually before Christmas...

now that I have seen that 2007 tiebreaker game...

Matt Holliday totally didn't touch home plate.

But, the Padres' catcher didn't tag him, either.

And Trevor Hoffman clearly did not have it that day. Seriously, the Rockies hitting against him went like this: double, double, triple, very hard-hit ball but right at someone that maybe-scored the winning run. Coors isn't an excuse because the Padres' other relievers had done an outstanding job. Sorry, Trevor. Sucks that it had to happen in such an important game, but even the best relievers have totally awful days. Even Jake Peavy, who had been something like 5-0 in his past six starts with an ERA well under three for the year, clearly didn't have it that day. He pitches like he had for his other September starts, and Hoffman wouldn't have even needed to be a factor. But whatever.

Are people like offended about this?

This... yeah... the way the article/the teaser to the article was written, I thought she was gonna look borderline obscene.

I still can't believe they're making this movie, blah

MLB Network is very thoughtful.

Remember how I said I wanted to see that Rockies/Padres one-game playoff from 2007? Well it's on right now. Thanks, MLBN!

And is that Fuentes pitching for the Rockies? Yes it is. Ahaha.

ETA: Blown save (in the eighth. Blown hold? Whatevs.) for Fuentes based on some really non-spectacular fielding by Matt Holliday. That kinda reminds me of something, though this time around it wasn't an actual error, it was just Holliday being really poorly positioned for where the ball was going. Then again, Coors is crazy.
Double ETA: Speaking of Holliday, is he cute or not? I can't tell. Troy Tulowitzki is definitely adorable, though, and how could you not love someone who wears #2 for Jeet?

I haven't been talking about The Office much lately

I actually missed the last two episodes before this week's...

Anyway, I loved this week. But uh, are Jim and Pam still like married and everything? Just checking.

gross?

I just saw a commercial for "Aloe Cure" for upset stomachs. It involves drinking aloe vera. Isn't that, like, poisonous?

I'll take "things that are really weird and unsettling" for $400, Alex

Help me it's December and I can't stop talking about baseball.

OH AMAZING

There's a new Jersey Shore y'all.

No, "The Situation," not every girl likes you. You have a bizarre potato-nose.

This is hilarious

Also uhhh I'm watching this "Aura of the Home Run" thing on MLBN and the host (Ray Liotta! That's random.) just compared the home run that gave us the whole "THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!" thing to September 11. WHAT THE HELL. Yes I understand the "you know where you were when this happened" thing but it's a little... trivializing.

Oh. Oh wow. This was made right after the 2002 season, and they're talking about Barry Bonds as a "surefire Hall of Famer" bahahahahahahaha I seriously cannot stop laughing. And they keep showing "Curt Schilling, Diamondbacks pitcher" and stuff like that. But holy crap, I forgot that when Bonds hit a home run, HE HIT A HOME RUN. Also, ahaha remember when A-Rod hit his 500th home run FINALLY... and then Bonds broke the all-time record on the same night or something like that? Poor A-Rod/Hilarity.

Michael is Top Chef!

He almost smiled!!!!

This is why wins and losses are a semi-silly stat for a pitcher

This game

In case you don't remember or can't follow it, Andy Pettitte pitched seven shutout innings. Jon Lester went toe-to-toe with him, but allowed a solo home run to A-Rod in the bottom of the seventh. In the top of the eighth, Girardi brought in Phil Coke as opposed to Phil Hughes, who's normally the eighth inning guy. I think Hughes had pitched the two games before this, so I can't really complain about Girardi not wanting to wear the kid out. Anyway, Coke, as he is wont to do, gives up a 2-run home run to Victor Martinez, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead and making them get all hilariously excited considering what came the next inning, when the Red Sox's 8th inning guy, Daniel Bard, got two quick outs then gloriously gave up back-to-back home runs to Damon and Teixeira, and then the rest of the inning just kind of fell apart for the Red Sox as the Yankees tacked on two more runs. Mo got the save and it's all good. I think this game is very very underrated as one of the best games of the year because everyone remembers the 15-inning game, but whatevs.

Anyway. In this situation, Coke got the win in this game. That is silly. If you look at who was the pitcher who, you know, kept his team in the game and didn't relinquish a lead that his offense thankfully took back, it was Pettitte. But you know.

"Kevin...

You are NOT Top Chef."

NOOOO YOU SCREWED WITH MY HEAD AND BROKE MY HEART (punches a wall)

TOP CHEF FINALE HELL YEAH

That is all.

MORE BASEBALL!!!!

Top Ten MLB Games of the Decade. Because I know you all care, my thoughts.

10. Maybe not top ten, but I loved this game. Obviously.

9. I remember watching this game and being like "holy shit this is kind of hilarious. And WOW they are cursed!" IIRC, the Red Sox were favored in the ALCS that year, too, so everyone was like "Red Sox/Cubs WS!!!!" and then it ended up being the Yankees for the sixth time in eight years and the goddamn Marlins, who had the lowest attendance in the entire big leagues. And the Marlins won. UGH. But this game was still... wow. Watching the Cubs implode against the Dodgers, who seem to annually implode against the Phillies these days, was kinda crazy too.

8. I didn't see this game because I was abroad, but from what I've read about it, it basically seems absolutely insane and should probably be higher than...

7. Again, from what I've heard, probably not as good as #8... but this was an amazing, amazing game. And you know that Tiger batter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and therefore the Twins would have only tied it in the next inning (maybe. You can't predict baseball! /michaelkay), making it EVEN MORE EPIC. There was definitely a point where I thought the two teams would be still be playing this game when they were supposed to be playing the Yankees the next day...

6. Insane. I mean, the Mets were at Shea, and they were frankly better than that Cardinals team, and Perez really pitched the game of his life, and Endy made that UNBELIEVABLE catch and pulled that crazy double play, and you just KNEW they were going to win because teams just don't make miracle plays like that and not win and then... hello, heartbreaker. And oh my God that curveball was so filthy. I'm not a Mets fan, but Beltran just standing there as strike three was called and then Wainwright and Molina celebrated is just as vivid in my head as Luis Gonzalez frigging spazzing out like a spider monkey. The scariest thing? It's all been downhill from there for the Mets after that curveball.

5. The 2002 World Series is hideously underrated because it was a West Coast WS. It featured, among other things, this really awesome game and Barry Bonds destroying the entire world. I think the 5-0 deficit the Angels came back from was the biggest deficit ever from a team on the verge of elimination. I swear, that fucking Rally Monkey...

4. This was an awesome game too, but awful, if you know what I mean and considering my allegiances, that shouldn't surprise you.

3. These might be the two most important games played at Yankee Stadium, ever. I'm obviously not happy about how the Series ended, but it's not like 2004 where I kinda wish the Yankees had never reached the postseason to begin with. It's also kinda funny how the "Mr. November" thing hammered home Jeter's clutch reputation when he batted like .100 in that series (it's okay, everyone did, that's what happens when you face prime Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling like 17 times).

2. YES. I won't ever forget this game. Here is a fun story... I had actually tuned out (!!!! and my mom, who might be a bigger die-hard than I am, had GONE TO BED!!!!!) soon after Wells came in and gave up that home run to Ortiz, just because Pedro was so, so damn good at the beginning and it seemed nigh-impossible the Yankees were going to come back. So I TURNED OFF THE GAME AND WENT TO DO SOME HOMEWORK. YES, SERIOUSLY. IT WAS GAME 7 OF THE ALCS VERSUS THE RED SOX, AND I TURNED IT OFF TO DO HOMEWORK. Then, though, I heard the entire street shaking and turned the game on just in time to see Matsui and Bernie standing on second and third, with Posada at the plate... and you know what happened after that.

1. I HATE THIS FUCKING GAME AND IT WILL HAUNT ME FOREVER but it was an amazing game and an easy choice for #1. Also, guys, way to fact-check, it was a one-run single; the game was already tied (everyone remembers the Gonzalez bloop single; no one remembers the Womack double.). It was definitely an "important" loss in Yankee history, to say the least. Like... this will make no sense, but in retrospect, it's good that I/everyone could get that upset about baseball. It's not a "good" loss like the 1995 ALDS, which more or less led to the Yankee dynasty (I've heard many a story about people who had Red Sox fans who were crowing "Edgar Martinez for President!!!" after that Game 5, but then after 1999 or so, they were like "I really wish that asshole had just grounded into a double play!!!"), and which I totally got over considering that the Yankees annihilated that 116-win Mariners team. The 1997 ALDS was also a "good" loss, because it made those guys hate to lose. Again, this game wasn't a "good" loss, but we definitely saw one of the best World Series of all time, maybe the best and, considering all the other shit going on in the world at the time... honestly, it meant something just to have that.



MLB's All-Decade Team

1B. Yup. Pujols is insane. I don't think he's human. AND HE'S ONLY 29! THIS IS INSANITY.

2B. Yup again. Utley is so much better than every other 2B out there right now, I gotta say. Giving you 1B offensive production while playing elite defense? Yes please. I don't remember if there were guys that good earlier in the decade. Also, WORLD FUCKIN' CHAMPIONS!* And remember when he said "fuck you" at Yankee Stadium because he was all surprised to get booed? He's kind of amazing.

SS. Can't really complain. Wait... "He twice won the Hank Aaron award as the league's best offensive player when there seemed to be clearly better hitters out there." Um, he hits like he does and he's a shortstop. That should mean something to you. I don't disagree that the Hank Aaron award should go to the best hitter by stats alone in the game/league/whatever, but saying that there are "better hitters" is not a reason for him not to get that award when he's one of the best hitters and again, he's a shortstop. Of course, one of the years he won that award was this year when the best hitter in his league was a catcher, so yeah. That award is silly and voted on by the fans.

3B. Or maybe I can complain. Alex Rodriguez is/was a much better shortstop than Derek Jeter. He's obviously a fucking monster offensively and always was, but defensively he was siiiiick too. It's not like I ever saw him play, but Honus Wagner was crazy good; however, there's a pretty strong case to be made for A-Rod as the best shortstop ever. Plus, Honus Wagner has a silly name and, if Wikipedia is to be believed, was doofus-y-looking. That said, if A-Rod's not the 3B, I don't know who would be. Wright?

LF. An OBP of .609 IS INSANE. INSANE! Yes, Bonds gets the nod here. "Bonds stuck around for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and while he wasn't the same, he did lead the league in on-base percentage both seasons." Um, having the guy who makes the fewest outs in the league is never a bad thing aaagh. Oh and his OPS+ was ONLY 156 and 169 in those seasons; his SLG in 2007, while definitely down from his peak years, was the same as Mark Teixeira's 2009. I will have that be a "down year" any day. Also, let it be known, yes the smallest possible sample size, but oh my goodness this amuses me/makes me so very happy. It was in 2002, too!!! I wish I remembered the exact way it happened so I could appreciate it. (ETA: Eh maybe not, Mariano did take the loss by allowing a run that inning. Oh, Mariano in tie games...)

CF. I really like what I've seen of Beltran, so I can't argue. He's a dangerous hitter. Didn't he score like 21 runs in six games in the 2004 postseason or something like that? Straight-out nasty. I feel like there's a center fielder that might have been better, but I can't think of who would have been right now.

RF. Vladdy is also INSANE. I can't believe how slow he's gotten, though. I mean, I am terrified of him, but he's also kind of hilarious to watch. Also, Mariano almost walked him in the last game of the ALCS (Mo's "no no no, that's ball three!" thing was kind of hysterical. Mariano is love.), which would have been even more hilarious.

C.Give him as little as one more year and I'm pretty sure Mauer can fully belong here. But read what you just wrote, Sports Illustrated... "The Yankees' Jorge Posada had the more complete body of work, but how can you deny Mauer?" You can deny Mauer because Jorge Posada had the more complete body of work over ten years. That's how you can deny Mauer. I know you already had two Yankees on that list and that's probably why you honestly left off Posada, but he deserves to be here. And wasn't Ivan Rodriguez pretty darn good offensively for a while this decade?

DH. Yes, probably. Also, "Steroid accusations at the end of the decade dimmed somewhat one of the great stories and characters of the 2000s." I love the accusations thing. Uh, he did steroids. So did A-Rod. So did many, many, many, many others, both superstars and guys who never got out of the minors or were bench players on last-place teams. It doesn't make it right, but it happened and our reaction shouldn't be "oh no poor Big Papi!" Like, a guy who was DFAd by the Twins suddenly turned into a superstar on the Red Sox. Not surprising, guys (but omg they were just teaching him to pull the ball the opposite way!!! or whatever they said).

Pitching. Pedro had a DISGUSTING 2000. It was UNREAL. I love Johan and Halladay, and Randy Johnson, who, as they note, hasn't been as dominant since 2004, was just as DISGUSTING as 2000 Pedro before then. I gotta love their writeup about Schilling: "He started Game 7 of the 2001 World Series -- the greatest game of the decade..." Yes, and he would have (probably) taken the loss if Mariano doesn't make a crappy throw on that bunt. Would that have made him a crappy pitcher? No, it wouldn't have, SI. And oh, boy, he was a Sportsman of the Year! (Oh, God, Curt Schilling was a Sportsman of the Year before any Yankee ever.) I do agree he was a very-good-to-excellent pitcher, even if I totally hate the guy. It's also silly not to consider Mike Mussina or Roger Clemens (hey they mentioned Andy!!!), and I'm just speaking from my Yankees-centric world. Though I know we are NEVER SUPPOSED TO SPEAK OF ROGER CLEMENS again in the same way we are NEVER SUPPOSED TO SPEAK OF MARK MCGWIRE again - oh wait, he's the Cards' hitting coach now? Oops

Setup man. Sure. I don't really pay attention to non-Yankee setup men, NGL.

Closer. Yes. It's an obvious a choice as Game 7 '01 or Pujols. And yes, 2007 was an off-year, especially at the beginning. And anyone saying Trevor Hoffman is as good as Mariano Rivera, please. The guy is excellent and will and should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he doesn't have that proven postseason excellence or really, any serious pressure situation. Yes, I realize that is silly for me to say about a CLOSER who has been very successful throughout his career, but... yeah. The tiebreaker game in 2007, his postseason appearances (thanks for Game 3 of the 1998 WS, Trevor), that one All-Star Game he was trying to save in I think 2006, and in the 2007 season he blew a save on the last day of the season and the Padres went on to lose the game when they could have clinched the Wild Card then, and not had to deal with the tiebreaker game... you know what I mean. And oh my God I do not want to hear how Mariano IS ACTUALLY NOT THAT GOOD!!!! because of Game 7 '01 or Game 4 and 5 '04. In the 2001 World Series, he pitched two innings to save a 2-1 Game 3 for the Yankees, and he pitched two scoreless innings in both of the extra-inning games the Yankees won. He took the win in one of them. In 2004, the first blown save, fine. Never walk the leadoff man because they always score /timmccarver'd. The second, he came in with a guy on third and NO OUTS. Sure, he should/could have struck the next three guys out, but he pitched two innings of scoreless relief and allowed, IIRC, NO BASERUNNERS. The guy had also found out multiple relatives of his had just died and had rushed back to NY to be able to pitch in the ALCS that year; the Yankees weren't even sure they'd have him for that series. It doesn't excuse it, I'm just saying. He has five blown postseason saves - three in one year, and two of those were on the "enter with a guy on third and less than two outs, allow no hits" type - and five World Series rings. Well that was... a rant. But basically, Mariano Rivera is the greatest ever and I don't want to hear you morons talking about how he SECRETLY SUCKS!!!! If you think it's easy to be a closer in the postseason, please see this year. At least I don't have to hear Boston fans talking about how much better Papelbon is than Mariano.

Manager. Not Scioscia?!?!?!?!?!? Not FRANCONA WHO LED THE RED SOX TO THE WORLD SERIES HOORAY FRANCONA?!?!?!?!? I agree that Torre taking his team to the postseason every year is incredibly impressive, though to say he "lost some of his postseason magic" is... an understatement?

GM. Sure. I can't stand Theo or the way he seems to personally control ESPN, but he's a good GM. The Schilling deal was really his only moment of ZOMG BRILLIANCE! though, but hey, most GMs don't even get one, so yeah. Remember how signing Smoltz and Penny was the most brilliant move ever and they were gonna win more games than CC and AJ?



* I really wanted one of the Yankees to do that this year. Preferrably, like, Andy Pettitte. Or Mariano. Always, Mariano.

and on the awesomeness of the 2009 Yankees

This is really never getting old.

Are we sure Mariano Rivera can't hit? Like, that was a VERY well-hit ball, just right at someone. He also had a very good at-bat against K-Rod.

in case you forgot... again

God the Yankees infield this year was so good. It is honestly up there with like the Big Red Machine of 1975-1976 and the Dodgers of 1951 when you look at OPS+ and all those other stats. I would probably take the Big Red Machine because Joe Morgan sucks at talking about baseball but oh my God he was just insane as a player, plus they were probably overall better defenders and baserunners, but the fact that we can have this be even a reasonable debate is INSANE.

I mean here is OPS+ for respectively, the 1975/1976 Reds, the 1951 Dodgers, and then the 2009 Yankees.

1B (Perez/Hodges/Teixeira) 124/118/138/149
2B (Morgan/Robinson/Cano [heh]) 169/187/154/129
SS (Concepcion/Reese/Jeter) 88/107/104/132
3B (Rose/Cox/Rodriguez) 132/141/98/147
C (Bench/Campanella/Posada) 140/109/159/133

Oh and since Philly fans liked to say that the Yankees' infield wasn't even the best in the World Series and that the Phillies of 2008 were "so much better" than the Yankees of 2009...
1B Teixeira 149/Howard 140 (2008: 124)
2B Cano 129/Utley 136 (2008: 135)
SS Jeter 132/Rollins 86 (2008: 103)
3B Rodriguez 147/Feliz 81 (2008: 81)
C Posada 133/Ruiz 104 (2008: 63 YIKES!)

Don't get me wrong, the 2009 Phillies had a very good infield. But the Yankees had the edge EASILY in SS, 3B, and C; it's very difficult to find offense like Jeter's at SS or Posada's at C. I knew Rollins was having a bad year, but... yikes. It's not an overwhelming advantage, but I easily take the Phillies at 2B because Chase Utley is the best second baseman in baseball, and the Yankees at 1B because Tex doesn't struggle against lefties and he's a slightly better defender.

There are other years where teams had excellent infields. I'm sure you can look them up... but those are the ones that come to mind. Honestly, having a catcher who can give you pretty much elite offensive production - AND HE'S 38!!!!* - is just killer. I know as a Yankee fan I am supposed to whine about how every run our pitchers give up is his fault, but I fucking love Jorge Posada, dammit (and when Yankee pitchers give up big hits, I generally notice that they're shaking him off or they miss badly with the location he asks for, Joba.). I don't need to get into what makes Derek Jeter so great because it's been done by a million people before and you're probably tired of hearing about him.

Yes I will still talk baseball in December. Welcome, Curtis Granderson!

* And yes, I can't help but think "steroids" in this day and age UGH

ummmm

Except on this 2009: That Really Happened thing, they appear to be telling me I should feel so bad for poor Chris Brown because the media turned him into a villain after he beat up Rihanna. No.

bahahaha

VH1 is currently running something called 2009: That Really Happened. As you can imagine, it is HIGHLY ENTERTAINING.

just in case you forgot

Kill Bill is really awesome.

Jersey Shore

This is the greatest show ever produced by any television network ever. I would like to thank the same two-hour episode for keeping me entertained for six total hours this weekend while I was bored out of my mind.

YAYYYYY MY NON-CRAPPY COMPUTER IS BACK!!!!!

Wooooo!!!!!!!!!!

I guess the furious posting will begin again... tomorrow.

oh my godddd guyssss

This computer is TOO SLOW I cannot wait until the freaking Geek Squad fixes my laptop tomorrow.

NOOOOOOOOOOO JENNNNNNNN

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I am still not unconvinced the brothers won't somehow share the win. Aaaand... that's a lot of negatives.

holy crap it's December

And I wish I had my regular laptop and not this crappy slow desktop :(

27 Dresses is stupid

a. I've been over this before but OMG KATHERINE HEIGL IS SO HORRIBLY UNATTRACTIVE BECAUSE SHE HAS MOUSY BROWN HAIR!!!! is a stupid concept to base your movie around.
b. the protagonist's "toast" at the rehearsal dinner for her sister's wedding was so not that insane.

aaaaghhhh

My normal computer got infected with a virus :( so it's getting fixed and I have to use my mom's ancient desktop which kinda sucks. So I might not post that much for a little bit? Yeah.

Cheese is delicious.

There is nothing to post about.

Blah blah blah I'm Mike Mussina and I went to Stanford and I crap-talked Mariano in The Yankee Years despite the fact that he's saved more games for me than any closer has saved for any starting pitcher in history other than Pettitte and Mo and Eckersley and... someone, and even I am kind of shocked I have not publicly said something whiny about the fact that I joined the Yankees the year after a World Series and left the year before they won again, but this clip is still kind of cool, no?

(Mike Mussina is not one of my favorite Yankees if you couldn't tell. Though Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS is still awesome.)

I just literally

fell off my chair laughing over The Soup's mocking of Survivor. You win this time, Joel McHale.

dear lord I have almost 100 posts in November

And this when I haven't really written all that much lately.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And keeping up the random baseball discussion, apparently next Wednesday MLB Network will have Baseball's Seasons: 2001. I get a sort of black humor kick out of the fact that they said "the Yankees and the Diamondbacks faced off in an emotional World Series"... yeah, I'll say. Should I even bother to watch or should I cry, puke, and punch a wall all at once and save myself some time? SIGH

But yeah. I am thankful for many things. Maybe not my unemployment, but damn, I am thankful the Yankees won the World Series.

no new Top Chef/ANTM tonight :(

And why are all these Bravo shows on at 11 now anyway?

yeesh

These Captain Morgan commercials are like... very inappropriate. Seriously, the key party one???

Also, most hilarious baseball moment ever: Albert Pujols' HR off of Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS. Poor Lidge. I remember watching that and getting irrationally angry at Lidge for blowing a really good game by Andy Pettitte (when he was with the Astros). :P

I think I found the one thing more annoying than people complaining about movie awards

People complaining about baseball awards! Especially when the writers GOT THEM ALL RIGHT this year and most are basically quibbling over one or two lame points.

Also, sorry guys, yeah he shouldn't have won the MVP this year to Mauer, but Teixeira being in second place was not OMG TRAVESTY!!! If the Red Sox have the guy on their team, they likely run away with the AL East and are looking at their third WS title in six years. He very much defined "valuable." But like I said - that award was totally Mauer's and it would have been a laugher if he didn't get it. Oh, and gosh he's cute (but really dorky with an annoying voice).

oh hey.

I'm here. Just... nothin' to write about.

I find this pretty amusing

What would Seinfeld be like if it came back today?

i'm back woooo!!!

but busy

going on vay-cay.

Back Sunday night.

bahaha I love random people on the internet

On the Yankees possibly needing to get younger (which I agree with):

"I hope everyone knows this doesn't apply to Mariano. This discussion is about aging men, not robots, gods, or god-robots."

BAHAHAHAH

so the finale of Top Chef is Kevin, Michael V., Bryan V., and Jen?

SHOCKER NO ONE SAW THIS COMING

That said, they are all extremely deserving and Eli clearly knows this and isn't being a whiny bitch about it like douchey Mike or Robin were.

did Jen just say she had CHARCOAL in her meal?

If so, ew ew ew ew ew ew ewwwwww

It was nice to see her win a challenge and she seems a lot less spazzy and it's definitely not painful to watch her like it has been the past few times. But oh no they don't like her dish that much :(

Brothers looks super-terrific...

but a trailer that starts with "three of the best actors of our generation" and then goes on to list Tobey Maguire first... uh.

Watching Top Chef

WTF is "shrimp flan"?

Michael V. is kind of an asshat.

Wow!

I'm still kind of in shock that a model as awesome as Nicole actually won ANTM. Like... she was an incredible model! She wasn't the Asian girl! She's not actually the shortest winner (thanks Eva)! Whoah. O_O

oh, Judge Judy

You are so dramatic.

I am probably inviting bad karma by posting this but oh well

This article reminds me of that article Fire Joe Morgan posted that was from right after Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS that was like "oh it's so cute that the Red Sox managed to win a game. They ain't winning the series."

I was in school for a lot of those early games, so I didn't get to see such wonderful things as Mo blowing saves or Jacoby Ellsbury stealing home against Pettitte (I really missed baseball while I was in college :( but all things considered, it's probably very good that I missed the 2007 postseason entirely due to being in Spain, because it would have just made me angry. The way the entire thing played out, plus what happened afterward with Mo, Alex, and Posada almost leaving, would have just pissed me off excessively). It's nice to see the Sox fans say the latter was the best moment of their season; sure, it was awesome for sure from a Red Sox fan perspective, but it was April 26. And it's a looong season...

I still kind of can't believe the Red Sox lost to the Angels in the playoffs. And they got swept. Let me repeat that: the Angels swept the Red Sox in a postseason series. The Angels have been completely owned by the Red Sox in postseason play since literally before I was born. This year, though, they totally flipped the switch on those guys, and the way they did it was freaking awesome.

Why am I talking stuff that happened in mid-to-early October in mid-to-late November? Cuz that's what I do. Yeah.

you're silly, E!.

You have a Fashion Police for the New Moon red carpet. Silly.

Also... is that Sofia Coppola on The Girls Next Door??????? WHAT THE HECK? I don't really disapprove or anything, I'm just confused!

hey Reebok Easytone shoes.

You really don't need to have that commercial that focuses on boobs and ass the entire time. Really.

Still hasn't gotten old.

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can't do...

unnecessary:

Those commercials that talk excessively about "skunky beer." PUKE

Launch My Line

Bravo, you already tried this. It was called The Fashion Show, remember? And it was not very good at all and nobody liked it?

Project Runway marathon on Bravo...

Remember when this show was good? Like, remember people complaining about Season 5? This seems silly in retrospect. >:(

oh! Something to write about!!!

I saw The Men Who Stare at Goats and it was uhhh... weird. I can't tell if it was supposed to be pure political commentary or a dark comedy or a combination or something else. It was just totally weird. It definitely wasn't bad or anything and it's certainly worth seeing. The acting is good and it's nice to see Kevin Spacey in something that isn't totally horrendous. Honestly, though, expect weirdness.

I seriously have not been posting here all that often, it's weird

I dunno, man. I dunno.

Also, I think there needs to be a Yankeeography: 2009. :D Seriously, I am watching the Yankeeography of 1998 and honestly, there were TWO moments where they would have had doubt about their season: they started out 1-4 (including a game in Seattle where some guy named Alex Rodriguez hit a walk-off home run and I was like "but that's a good thing! See, he's so clutch!!!" and then I remembered, 1998) and at one point in the ALCS, they trailed two games to one. Uh, that's about it.

2009 Yankeeography. And make it like two hours long. DO IT, YES.

(ETA: I forgot Darryl Strawberry was diagnosed with cancer in the beginning of the playoffs in 1998. :( But... as Mariano just said on this Yankeeography... it served to motivate them all the more.)

I would just like to let it be known

I think I would throw up if it turned out Albert Pujols was on steroids. The only two names that would upset me more are probably not surprising considering who I root for: Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter, and I do believe both are clean. Same with Albert, but ugh, there's so much "OMG HE MUST BE ON STEROIDS BECAUSE HE IS A BIG POWER HITTER IN THE STEROID ERA" bullshit.

The name that would make me more satisfied than anyone else's? Curt Schilling. Luis Gonzalez, considering it's very likely, too.

Ew, I'm sort of voluntarily watching Bride Wars

It's about as bad as you'd expect. "Your wedding will be huge... just like your ass at prom" is indeed the worst line delivery in the history of the universe.

KATE HUDSON FOR MVP!!!!!

yay!

I guess you can say "douche" on TV now

hmmm

I'm watching Kill Bill, Vol. II right now and it never really struck me before, but for a director that's such a genius with sound effects and music, this movie is really, really quiet a good amount of the time. And it totally works. Ugh Quentin baby, I love you.

I never commented on ANTM this week

Ugh, Erin honestly has one of my favorite ANTM portfolios of all time. I know she'd clearly fallen out of favor with the judges, but I was really hoping she'd stick around. Oh well.

I read spoilers so I knew her elimination was coming, but it's still kinda shocking to me that Jennifer isn't going to win. Her edit just seemed so Teyona/McKey. And... I mean... she's Asian! In the short girl cycle!!!!!

Nine

Goddamn this movie looks so awesome. COME OUT NOW PLEASE.

heh

Pete Abraham is really terrible at analysis and I'm super glad he doesn't write for the Yankees any more.

In the post of the year, Giuseppe Franco says that the Yankees cannot win the World Series without Alex Rodriguez.
The Yankees have won 26 World Series without him. Somehow.

How DARE that selfish A-Rod not help the Yankees win the 1962 World Series!!! Can the Yankees win without A-Rod? Sure. I mean, they did it while he was still with the Mariners. But without A-Rod at third base, and with Cody Ransom, they were one hell of a weaker team.

I realize it’s spring training, but the Yankees have looked terrific.

You know who also wasn't there at this point during ST? Derek Jeter. I think I read somewhere that during Jeter's injury in 2003, the Yankees went a pretty incredible 25-11. Nobody suggested the Yankees were better without Jeter because that would be the stupidest thing ever. You're never a better team without your best players.

But that money they spent on him in 2007 could have been used elsewhere.

Yeah, maybe we could have gotten Sabathia and Teixeira in the off-season. ;_;

The last comment (in case anyone else pokes in to make fun of him, it's the November 8 comment) in that thread is gold.

John Wetteland! :(

really fond memories of you from 1996. I hope you get the help you need and everything turns out okay.

God I want some spinach dip right now for no reason.

PUKE PUKE PUKE

I was just innocently watching The Daily Show and OH GOD WHY DOES JOE BUCK HAVE A RENT-A-CAR COMMERCIAL?! He's NEVER GOING AWAY is he???

oh wow

This has been an even more boring episode of Project Runway than usual. How is that POSSIBLE?

"Murder"

Teehee. I loved Kevin asking Andy to do the accent of the Swedish Chef.

Also, it set up some great storylines. LOVE this season.

unintentionally (???) funny headlines

"Lou Dobbs Bids CNN Adios"

aaah hooray!!!

E! True Hollywood Story: America's Next Top Model!!!!

YAY WHOOOO

Top Chef answered my prayer.

OMG Robin why are you crying so annoyingly, you got like 500000 people farther than you should have

Jen, ohmygosh, SACK UP.

Postseason Commentary: Let's All Remember.

10. One inning during the ALCS, Fox skipped out on the commentary on, you know, what was actually going on in the game to talk about CC Sabathia's paycheck (CC wasn't pitching that game) and to compare Kendry Morales and Mark Teixeira... entirely in terms of money. Wow, it's CRAZY to think that an untested rookie who turned out to be insanely talented would get millions less in his first season than possibly the best first baseman in all of the American League, who was already firmly established!

9. Prior to Game 1 of the ALCS: "CC Sabathia is not the kind of pitcher that goes out there and dominates." He then... went out there and dominated. WHOOPS! Also, Tim McCarver screeching about how he could tell that Mariano had looked really off during his warm-ups after he walked the lead-off guy in... some game... which I'm pretty sure was followed by Mariano getting a ground ball double play and a strikeout in like five pitches. Nice.

8. David Wells was not allowed to cover every play of every game. Nooooo!!! :(

7. That guy on TBS' suits.

6. Chip Caray. Just... Chip Caray. The guy's name is "Chip," how could he not be awful? I still have his SCREAMING during Jimmy Rollins' walk-off hit in my head. Yeah, it was really exciting, but dude, calm down. By the end of the ALDS, he was screaming about random singles. ANNOYING!

5. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver's excessive analysis of A-Rod's postseason gum chewing during one of the ALCS games. Though it was kind of awesome that they were like "he's really locked in" and then he hit a huge home run.

4. "Pedro Martinez: 5'11", 170 pounds, all heart." Nah, he's at least 3% Jheri curl and 45% pure orneriness.

3. Ozzie Guillen, on Fox's pre-show, calling Derek Jeter "God" multiple times, and all the analysts coming to the conclusion that Derek Jeter is the greatest Yankee player of all time. I love Cap'n Intangibles too, but... no.

2. Noted asshat Mark Grace confidently declaring (I seriously can't get over how incredibly smug he was when he said it, but it was kinda cool that he actually apologized on the post-game after Andy was awesome), on Fox's pre-game show, that Andy Pettitte would lose hardcore in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels in 2009 because in 2001, he pitched poorly in Game 6 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. SENSE, YOU DON'T MAKE ANY!

1. LINE DRIVE BASE HIT!!!!

a wish for Top Chef tonight

Please get rid of Robin PLEASE thank you.

I love Wednesdays,

naps, lazy rainy days, and quesadillas.

I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING AT THE New Moon TRAILER

How do people watch and enjoy this shit?!!?!?!?

SERIOUS IMPORTANT QUESTION

How the HELL did the Braves only win one title in the '90s when their starting rotation was Maddux, Smoltz, and Glavine?! Did they have literally no offense? Did they have only those pitchers who were constantly pitching on three days' rest or something? Yeesh

ooooh, the ANTM pictures for this week leaked too!

They are somewhat better, mostly because they simply couldn't get worse!

Yay, yay, yay

MLB images of 2009

群晉 | MySpace Video

ESPN aired this the last day of the regular baseball season and I've been looking for it for a while. Yay, it finally turned up on the internet!

Obviously, it'd be cool if they had a playoff "update" of this... but yeah.

Why can't there be more baseball? :(

you'll probably notice I haven't done the ANTM photos this week

That's because they were all awful and honestly, they're all on the same level of awful. I can't rank them. Ugh. Maybe later, sometime. Project Runway is coming later because it should be pretty short-ish.

I love Bridget Jones' Diary

Movies, I used to watch them. :(

PAYROLL ARGUMENTS!

ZOMG guys the Yankees, they spend money, they and their fans shouldn't be allowed to enjoy that they won a World Series!!!!

Seriously? If you're arguing along this line, eat me. I realize how incredibly lucky I am to be a Yankee fan in terms of available income and whatnot. I realize it's completely ridiculous that, as I read on some blog, the Yankees spent "half a billion dollars on three human beings" in the off-season.

That said... I can't feel that bad that other owners, who are richer than the Steinbrenners, use their teams to horde money for themselves. The Marlins won the Series in 1997 and 2003, and after their wins, the owners sold so many of the players that had given them their successes just to make profits for themselves at the expense of their fans.* Um. No thank you.

Knowing how to spend money effectively is a boon, too. The Cubs? The METS (okay, the Mets had like $100M in payroll on the DL this year, but uh... 2007 anyone, and even 2008?)? I fully admit the Yankees are not always all that great at this type of thing, either. Kevin Brown... Carl Pavano... Randy Johnson. That said, Cashman rocked this year, getting three great players (though I think AJ Burnett's contract was probably a little too much for a little too long, but I'll take it) and even doing a great job with the utility players like Hinske and Hairston. And of course, the second the Yankees return to success, this is an ISSUE and the Yankees won ONLY BECAUSE THEY OUTSPENT EVERYONE and they should just, I don't know, give their World Series rings to the Pirates or Orioles or something.

And honestly? I am really fucking tired of Red Sox fans complaining about payroll. You're a big market team too, jerkwads. I mean, I know no one is ever supposed to imply that the Red Sox have succeeded because of anything other than grit, ugly facial hair, and selfless heroics involving ketchup bloody socks, but yeah. May I remind you that in 2007, you beat an actual small market team in the World Series, and your roster included a guy that you spent $50M just to talk to? And Phillies fans who are complaining about it, you beat the Rays last year! Nobody's screaming that either of those championship teams should have to surrender their titles.

Also, as far as "OMG it's not fair, the Yankees will always win with that kind of advantage," I guess I missed the part where the 2003 Marlins took one look at our payroll and gave up on the World Series, or the part where the Rays in 2008 decided, pre-season, not to bother playing, considering they were in the same division as two of the biggest market teams in baseball. I know these are mostly exceptions, but they prove it happens, so pony up cowboys.

In conclusion, haters to the left please. I will show y'all something that should make you very very happy:

See? Look at this picture. Be happy. OMG I wanna cry every time I look at it! ;_;

* all 152 of them that show up for the games, anyway /iapologizeforthecheapshot

aaahaaaa!!/truth

Spotted on someone random's Twitter:
"The Yankees made a Jay-Z song more famous than a Jay-Z can."

(The first time I saw this song's lyrics, I MAY have asked "what's a Yankee can?" MAYBE. You will never get confirmation from me!)

Not Another Teen Movie

Uh... it loses something on cable. Mostly, the fact that it has to be censored and this takes away about 90% of the "jokes."

MLB Network is quality.

This weekend, to celebrate the Yankees' win I guess (yay!!!), MLB Network has been airing these... sorta documentaries of the various World Series wins by the team, up to 2000. The summaries of the pre-'90s WSes were mostly just boring overviews (the stuff with Reggie Jackson was interesting, though), but during the dynasty years, the shows take more of a documentary feeling and... wow. Just wow. I've seen them before, but I haven't seen them in a really long time.

There were just so many moments. David Cone's return from shoulder aneurysm surgery in 1996, only to find himself pitching in a must-win World Series Game 3 in Atlanta, while his family watched (it's adorable that both his dad and brother called him "Coney"). From 1998, they had the team dedicating the win to Darryl Strawberry, who was suffering from cancer, El Duque describing what pitching in the World Series meant to him after escaping from Cuba, and Andy Pettitte carefully writing "DAD" on his hat in honor of his hospitalized father before pitching the clinching game of the Series (and I'll fully admit I actually shed tears when they had a clip from John Sterling calling the series and, after Andy pulled a big double play to end an inning, Sterling said "And there's a very happy man in a hospital in Houston right now." I have a huge soft spot for Andrew Eugene, what can I say). 1999 had Paul O'Neill's father dying right before the clinching game, as well as Roger Clemens talking about how moved he was to get a standing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd (that made me actually cry too, and I don't even LIKE Roger Clemens!). Just... wow. Yeah.

It really made me realize... I am so lucky to be a fan of the New York Yankees. All Yankee fans have a bit of Lou Gehrig in them in that way, I suppose. The Yankee "mystique and aura" may just be "dancers at a nightclub," as noted genius Curt Schilling once said, but it's hard not to get choked up over stories like these... and those are only from three years in the team's history.

Here's to many more than merely #27 and the stories yet to come...

oh, shit! Project Runway!

I totally forgot it was on/existed. I can look at Wikipedia to see who got eliminated though and I will see the outfits online and then bitch about them.

Thank you for existing, internets!!!!

Words can't express.

a. OH MY GOD SHUT UP JOE BUCK I AM SO TIRED OF YOUR BULLSHIT
b. I can ignore how annoying Joe is, because this video is seriously hilarious.
c. "Hey Dave, we did it!" BE MINE!

oh my god

Who the HELL decided that they should play "We Like to Party" by the Venga Boys over and over and over and over and OVER again while handing out the keys to the city? MY EARS!

Deadspin says it really, really well.

"So they spent more money than anyone else. So they didn't have to wait as long as anyone else. Ask us fans if it feels any less amazing. It doesn't."

and on a lighter note

I still need to watch America's Next Top Model from this week, hmm.

My attempt at being epic.

This will be long.

The last time there was a baseball game on November 4, it was because the season had been pushed back due to a national tragedy. It was the 2001 World Series, between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks. The Yankees had dropped the first two games in Arizona - Game 1 was a blowout where Mike Mussina was not good at all, and in Game 2, they were shut out by Randy Johnson - only to return to New York and win all three games in beyond dramatic fashion. The first was a 2-1 nailbiter where I think the two runs were unearned... and the other two are practically legend. Two nights in a row, with two out in the bottom of the ninth and trailing by two runs, the Yankees shocked Arizona's closer Byung-Hyun Kim by homering off of him to tie the score, then won in extra innings. Even though the Yankees had a pathetic overall batting average in the Series (I think I read somewhere that it was like .163! This is what happens when you face prime Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling about 45 times.), it was incredible how we rallied. After those wins, there was just this feeling that we could do anything, especially after 9/11. For maybe the only time in history, you felt like everyone was rooting for the Yankees.

In the first game back in Arizona, the potential clinching game for the Yankees, Andy Pettitte pitched poorly and didn't last two innings, and Arizona devoured the Yankee bullpen, forcing a Game 7.

I'll provide Wikipedia's summary of the end of that game, because... yeah:

With the Yankees ahead 2–1 in the bottom of the eighth, manager Joe Torre turned the game over to his ace closer Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save. Rivera was one of the strongest closers in the game, and had pitched brilliantly throughout the postseason up to that point. Rivera struck out the side in the eighth, including Arizona's sluggers Luis Gonzalez, Matt Williams, and Danny Bautista, which lowered his ERA in the postseason to a major league-best of 0.70. Although he was sharp in the eighth, this game would end in the third ninth-inning comeback of the Series.

Mark Grace led off the inning with a single to center on a 1–0 pitch. The real turning point was Rivera's errant throw to second base on a bunt attempt by Damian Miller on an 0–1 pitch, putting runners on first and second. Derek Jeter tried to reach for the ball, but got tangled in the legs of pinch-runner David Dellucci, who was sliding in an attempt to break up the double play. Rivera appeared to regain control when he fielded Jay Bell's bunt and threw out Dellucci at third base, but third baseman Scott Brosius decided to hold the ball instead of throwing to first to attempt to complete the double play. Midre Cummings was sent in to pinch-run for Damien Miller. With Cummings at second and Bell at first, the next batter, Tony Womack, drove a double down the right-field line on a 2–2 pitch that evened the score and blew the save. Bell went to third and the Yankees pulled the infield and the outfield in as the potential winning run stood at third with less than two outs. After Rivera hit Craig Counsell with an 0–1 pitch, the bases were loaded. The winning run would be batted in with a gentle tap over the drawn-in infield. On an 0–1 pitch, Luis Gonzalez lofted a soft single over Derek Jeter that barely reached the outfield grass, plating Jay Bell with the winning run. This ended New York's bid for a fourth consecutive title and brought Arizona its first championship in just its fourth year of existence...

As an objective baseball fan, the 2001 World Series was, without a doubt, one of the greatest World Series of all time. Believe me, I know. Books have been written about it, and documentaries made. I think ESPN declared it the second or third best World Series of all time, and again - objectively, it totally was. But... as a Yankee fan and a New Yorker less than two months after 9/11, it fucking sucked. It wasn't just that we lost, it was HOW we lost and the other circumstances involved. Maybe it was karma for those walkoffs in the Bronx, but man, I would have much rather lost via a blowout like Game 1 or Game 6 than with a heartbreaker like that. I'll fully admit I cried over it, as did many others I know. It was silly and stupid to cry over baseball, but it was the way to cement the catharsis we got 99% of.

After that year, many lynchpins of the dynasty years left. Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez were both absolutely BELOVED, and they left. In 2002, for the first time since 1997, the Yankees failed to make the World Series. At the time, it was pretty damn shocking, but they were beaten by the Angels, who won the World Series themselves. So we lost to the champs. No big deal. The Yankees would be back next year. Right?

2003. A lot of people like to joke that the Yankees won "the real World Series" this year with the 2003 ALCS, and it's, in a way, true. Aaron Boone hitting that home run and Mo collapsed on the pitchers' mound in disbelief and joy are pretty much everyone's favorite memories from these "drought" years (or they should be!). That said, we did lose the World Series to a team that was probably inferior to ours, and, honestly, that Series was probably the beginning of the end for Torre (thanks for bringing in Weaver with Mo sitting in the bullpen!!!!). Oh, and the game where the Marlins won the Series was a complete game shut-out at Yankee Stadium by Josh Beckett. This sucked for so many reasons.

2004. Everyone knows about this. It's not THE WORST COLLAPSE IN BASEBALL HISTORY! like everyone likes to paint it as, but it was a really, really, really bad and conspicuous collapse. There were many reasons it happened, such as Tom Gordon sucking in the postseason that year, poor Mo probably being distracted by the fact that his hometown and family were, like, underwater (seriously, three blown saves in one postseason? I don't blame Mo for Game 5's blown save at all, but that's more than he has in all his other postseason series combined!), Torre making some truly terrible decisions including being ~too classy~ to bunt and steal bases on a supposedly HORRIBLY INJURED Curt Schilling but not being too classy to write a book once he left the Yankees trashing several of his former players, and the fact that Boston was ZOMG SO SCRAPPY!!!! COWBOY UP!!!! NO TEAM HAS EVER HAD THAT KIND OF CHEMISTRY AND NO TEAM EVER WILL AGAIN!!!! HEROIC BLOODY SOCKS!!!!! AKA David Ortiz and probably like 20 other guys on that team were on steroids (oh, get over it, it was almost certainly true for the Yankees as well but I will take my jabs where I can get them).

Was 2004 as gut-wrenchingly painful as 2001? To me, it wasn't. There was just so much about 2001 that just viscerally hurt. 2004 was really humiliating and it stung Yankee fans until this win, but I thought the Red Sox were honestly a better team than the Yankees in 2004 (their starting pitching was significantly better, especially for a short series; letting Pettitte walk was horrible). I was amazed that the Yankees went up 3-0 to begin with, and once Game 4 went into extra innings, I had a terrible feeling about the series; when Game 5 went into extra innings, I was pretty sure the Red Sox did, in fact, have this one in the bag. That said, the fact that we're still the only team to blow a 3-0 lead in a 7-game series still hurts and, again, it freaked out our fanbase and enabled our haters for years - witness the "ZOMG IT'S 2004!!!!!" panic by both casual Yankee fans and the media (there was an ESPN/SI article about the WS, I know for sure) after the Yankees didn't win Game 5 in the ALCS and World Series, even though the situations were not in any way similar - and the fact that it was against the Red Sox really, really, really sucked. Oh, and A-Rod slapping the ball? Yeah, that was terrible.

2005. Oh hey again, Angels. Losing on a stupid error is awesome.

2006. Heavily favored to win the ALDS against the Tigers, who had blown a big divisional lead and had to settle for the Wild Card and were horribly scuffling in the last weeks of the season, the Yankees instead lose in an embarrassing fashion as the offense feels the need to take the series off against pitching that frankly wasn't that good (except Verlander. Notice the Tigers' pitchers all rolled over and died in the World Series.). Does this sound familiar? Oh, and thanks for being awesome for us after dominating us in the past, Randy Johnson! We really appreciate it!!!!! (I still kinda hate that guy.)

2007. We fight tooth and nail to get into the postseason, after starting off cellar dwellars in the AL East. Then, Wang falls apart and Joba is eaten alive by bugs. A team as streaky as the 2007 Yankees needed to get all the breaks going for them in the playoffs to go far, and everything went against them. As an extra kick in the crotch, the mega-douchey version of the Red Sox win the World Series (Seriously, though, Papelbon, Schilling, Varitek, Beckett, Manny, Ortiz, Youkilis, Pedroia, and Ellsbury on one team?). When the season is fully over, Torre leaves (I love what Joe Torre did for the Yankees in his early years with the team and it's still totally weird and frankly wrong to see him fist-bumping with Manny in Dodger blue, but this was more than likely overdue), A-Rod opts out of his contract and causes a total mess, and it seems unsure and unlikely Mo and Jorge will return and... God only knows. I'm pretty sure I've said "humiliating" a lot here, but... it still applies. (I actually wasn't in the US for this, but my mom called me in Spain to yell about the whole situation a lot.)

(I use parenthesis a lot)

2008. We don't even make the playoffs as the new manager doesn't quite seem like he knows what he's doing and our pitchers - minus one grumpy old guy - suck and Jeter has a terrible year and everyone is injured and/or dead. We say goodbye to old Yankee Stadium and are left to wonder if the ghosts will travel across the street. Based on the last few seasons, I know quite a few fans felt like maybe they wouldn't.

2009 seemed like it would be much the same. Before the season, our best player - who has never been uncontroversial - admitted to using steroids, then had to go through surgery, with his return uncertain. We'd made some huge free-agent signings, but early on it seemed like they all struggled. The guy who had been our ace of the staff in 2006 and 2007 had an ERA over 30. We were 0-8 against the Red Sox and we ended the first half by being swept by the Angels in pretty degrading fashion... as is usually the case when we play in that goddamn Stadium.

And then... and then... and then... something happened. Actually, many things happened, and most of them were just awesome. After the All-Star break, we went on an absolute tear. We beat the Red Sox, and we didn't just beat them, we beat them in some of the most humiliating ways possible (and it's really nice to use "humiliating" in a way that involves us doing it to other teams and not vice-versa). We won a series in friggin' Anaheim. We'd come to love pie in the first half of the season, and that continued in the second. Derek and Mo made history. Mystique and Aura came back, and they brought Kate Hudson with them! We swept our way through the ALDS, shook off the demons of the Angels in the ALCS, and dethroned the reigning champions to finally, finally, finally get that 27th ring... and yes, I realize it's a totally whiny, spoiled Yankee fan thing to say that after only nine years between titles. For so many reasons, the championship was absolutely perfect.

What happened on November 4, 2001 still hurts. I suspect it will pretty much any time I think about it. 2004 is still awful, as are all the other too-early playoff exits. But thanks to November 4, 2009, both of these hurt a lot less. Now, the last image of the Yankees in the World Series isn't Josh Beckett tagging out Jorge Posada in 2003 (and the last time Mariano was on the mound with the chance to close out a series, it didn't end like 2001 did). It's this, and it's awesome. And then, we celebrated. You did me good, boys. You did me good.

I think I'll write more on the season later because HELLO I need a highlights post. But for now, I am just enjoying this.

(And for a little levity, to prove how bad this decade was for the Yankees - in 2000, we lost a World Series game to the METS! The ultimate humiliation.)