I was sitting here watching the All-Star game

And then I saw something astounding - Placido Polanco's head! What the fuck is up with it?!














I know I've noticed it before, but has it possibly grown since last year?

Joba and Wang

- Three-run homers from Matsui, Cano and Arod sealed the win today as the Yanks went on to a 12-0 rout. Wang pitched 6.1 shutout innings, and Myers, Proctor and Villone closd out the game. The Yanks go into the All-Star break having won five of seven and are one game under .500. They open the second half with a four game series in Tampa Bay.

- In San Francisco, Joba Chamberlain, the Yanks top pitching prospect (assuming Hughes is now a major leaguer), pitched one inning for the U.S. All-Star Futures team, and fared ok (though considerably better than Hughes last year): one inning, one hit, one walk, one run and one K. It was a weak run - Joba walked the leadoff hitter (which seemed mostly due to nerves), he stole second, and the next hitter squeezed a groundball through the right side for a run.
But his stuff was electric. His fastball was sitting 94-97 mph, with one at 91 and another at 98. He threw a few nasty sliders (about 83-85 mph), although it's more of a hard curve, and one changeup (at 72 mph!) - that's about a 25 mph difference, which is gigantic. Check out the broadcast from the game (do it soon before it's taken down).

First half awards

These are pretty easy - I don't even have to look at anyone else because we all know who the winners are.

First half Cy Young:
Chien-Ming Wang, who since returning from the DL in late April has been the Yanks best and most consistent starter. He leads the pitchers in Win Probability (1.14), Value Over Replacement Player (25), and is second in Win Shares (6).

MVP:
Who else but Arod? .317/.413/.665, 30 HR, 86 RBI, 79 runs and 9 steals for good measure. He leads the team in Win Probability (3.70), Win Shares (17) and leads baseball in Value Over Replacement Player (53.2).


Win Probability courtesy of FanGraphs
VORP courtesy of Baseball Prospectus
Win Shares courtesy of The Hardball Times

Yanks - Angels Preview

From USA Today -

There may have been an ulterior motive for New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez to miss his first game of the season: he was resting up to face Los Angeles Angels pitcher Bartolo Colon.

Despite a current 0-for-19 slump and a strained hamstring, Rodriguez may still get a chance to extend his domination over Colon as the Yankees open a three-game series Friday against the Angels at Yankee Stadium.

The All-Star third baseman sat for the first time Thursday as the Yankees (40-42) recorded a 7-6 victory over Minnesota. Rodriguez, who tripped over Twins first baseman Justin Morneau running out a ground ball on Monday, went 0-for-4 on Tuesday while playing the field and 0-for-4 on Wednesday as the designated hitter before being a spectator in the series finale.

''He was a little uncomfortable yesterday,'' said Yankees manager Joe Torre, who listed Rodriguez as questionable for this game. ''I don't think it's anything more than it was, but probably a couple of days playing on it exposed it a little bit more. We still don't think that it's anything that's going to require anything more than maybe a day or so off.''

Colon (6-4, 5.79 ERA) may be secretly hoping Rodriguez - the major league leader with 28 homers and 80 RBIs - takes another day off. Rodriguez is batting .444 (20-for-45) with eight homers and 17 RBIs against Colon, hitting three of them in a 12-4 rout April 26, 2005, in which he ended up with a career-high 10 RBIs.

Wang and Edwar

Made for a hugely enjoyable game. Wang got fairly lucky, getting by with mediocre stuff but got double-plays when he needed them. I was pissed when Torre brought in Proctor for the eighth instead of Edwar Ramirez, but I held out hope he'd be used in the ninth. He came in, glasses and all, and dominated three great hitters, including last year's MVP, striking out the side (without allowing a baserunner). He got all three Ks on his nasty changeup, and after the third one even Derek Jeter had a huge grin on his face. He won't be this dominant once word and video gets around of him, but he does have the ability to be a very good to great set up man.

- Meanwhile, the Yanks top two prospects (since Phil Hughes is now considered a major leaguer) both had great nights. Joba Chamberlain absolutely destroyed the Harrisburg Senators tonight in Trenton: 6 ip, 4 h, 0 r, 12 k, 1 bb. And Jose Tabata racked up four hits (in six at-bats) and a stolen base against Clearwater.

Now that's the Roger

We were hoping to get: eight innings, one run. Bring in Mo for one inning and there's your ballgame. Win number 350 for the Rocket, who became the first to win that many since Warren Spahn in 1963!

Arod left after straining his hammy trying to beat out a double-play grounder (which he did). He could be out a few days or a few weeks. A few weeks without Arod will effectively end the Yanks season unless the impossible happens, i.e. Cano, Abreu and Matsui step up their offensive games.

- Edwar Ramirez was finally called up from Triple-A Scranton where he was dominating: 26.2 ip, 47 Ks, 9 BBs, .67 era. He's been with the big team for two days but hasn't pitched yet. I can't wait to see his ML debut and see if his stuff translates to the majors. I believe it will - just the fact that he throws strikes makes him a better option than many of the other relievers.

Of all the games to go to

I picked today's. The Yanks were down 8-0 in the second. When was the last time they even won a series? I looked it up. Two weeks ago against the Mets... Good god. At least the Sawx lost too.

Took some pics of the new stadium - they'll be posted here soon (it's a normal film camera, not a digital, so I have to finish the roll, get it developed, then upload it here; it's a process).