Use Proctor and gamble. Ouch……

Proctor’s ‘stuff’ is why they keep running him out there. Million dollar arm, ten cent head.

Chuck, FWIW, in the post game, Torre said that he brought in Proctor, to face the first guy, and would have left him in, as long as he was getting people out, but, the plan was, according to Joe, that he was only to face one batter, assume he did not retire him.

I didn’t think Gordon’s pitch was necessarily a bad one so much as it was a bad call. Vlad’s in a big slump. You didn’t need to throw a perfect pitch, but you sure didn’t want to put one on the golden tee Vladdy reserves for his one wood.

Another dumbfounding loss. Memo to Joe: We have only 3 pitchers who can pitch in a close (or relatively close) game after the sixth inning and Proctor and Groom aren’t two of them. If you are going to use Gordon with one out in the 7th anyway why not just start the inning with him or at least put him in after Proctor’s awful walk? Forget about this specialization crap – a bad pitcher is a bad pitcher. So instead Joe throws Gordon out there with the bases loaded and Vlad up. Gordon’s pitch was not bad – Vlad reached down and golfed it, he is just that good. Joe asked for trouble by using Gordon that way and he got it.

As for the Giambi criticism – I think it is wildly unfair. Giambi worked a 3-1 count and he got ball 4 – the umpire made a terrible call on a pitch well outside. He then struck out on a very tough pitch. But K-Rod really didn’t give him anything to drive and was clearly staying away. Of course, with Bernie and Jorge coming up the game was effectively over.

In his prime Mattingly hit high fastballs, that was one of the near legendary things about him.

As for the pitch to Vlad, the guy is like Clemente and Yogi, he hits non-strikes better than he hits a pitch down the middle.

Murcer and Kay suggested in the post game that Gordon was not properly warmed up.

As to Rivera in the 7th…… even suggesting it is _______ (fill in the blank).

The real problem here is starters going six innings or six-and-a-third. Then when a RJ has to leave because he tweaks something your pen is rested not abused. That is what is needed, seven innings from the starters not six. They won’t get those innings tonight from Leiter without divine intervention.

Do you think that the problem with Proctor is that he’s unable to develop the control, or is the problem the fact that he just has not pitched enough to maintain any kind of effectiveness? When you come in to pitch less than once a week, I cannot imagine that any kind of consistency is possible. I think Torre was panicking a bit, to pull the kid after a 3-2 count walk; while Proctor should have thrown a BP fastball down the middle (it’s the NUMBER 8 HITTER, for cryin’ out loud), Torre should have let him have one more batter. Worst case scenario: 5-4 Yankees, THEN bring in Groom.

Raf, the game took a while to get going. The grass they put down is in horrible condition, players falling down all over the place. The US was flat until the end of the game. They were lucky to pull that one out. The Colombia vs. Panama game was much more exciting.

Sorry Steve, I’m going to the finals on Sunday.

And my point is that you have to take into consideration all the outcomes, not just the one you want to happen. Giambi could have just as easily swung through that pitch, or lofted a shallow fly ball, or lofted a deep fly ball, or grounded to short, or grounded to third, or gotten a base hit. Ok, so maybe Giambi walks, and Womack’s inserted as a pinch runner. Maybe Womack gets picked off, maybe KRod throws the ball away, maybe there’s a straight steal, maybe there’s a double steal, maybe Womack’s thrown out maybe there’s a wild pitch, maybe Bernie swings on the first pitch hitting into a double play, yadda yadda yadda…

KRod wasn’t looking to walk Giambi (don’t put the go-ahead run on base), but apparently he wasn’t looking to give in either (3-2 slider). A hell of a pitch. Gotta give KRod credit

Actually, the Sox and the Angels are a lot alike. Both have stars that are Latin, and have great Latin pitchers – at least the Sox did until this year – and both teams seem to beat the Yankees as much as they lose to them.

Raf, JohnnyC nailed it. A-Rod, Matsui, and Posada had no issue making contact with K-Rod in the 9th. It’s not like he was Herb Score out there. All Giambi needed was to get the bat on the ball.

Only 2 teams the Yanks face regularly annoy me…Boston and Anaheim/LA whatever:

The Frank Robinson thing tells you everything you need to know about the manager, i.e., contemptible.