Celebrating being a game under five hundred and 11 games back? Well...it's an improvement.

I had shit to do, places to go, people to see.

Then again, according to Ronnie, I don't think much of the people here, so maybe that's why I don't visit.

No matter what their record, I'd still rather watch the Yankees play than any other team. We'll just have to see how the season goes, and chat again in about 6 or 7 weeks.

Hadda be painful for any Yankee fan to watch today's game... Clemens pitched well enough for the "W" but he forgot to tell the Yankee offense that.

Made me feel old to see some of the "oldtimers" at their annual show today... I remember when some of them first started playing.

It's amazing how little offensivesupport clemens has gotten in the past three seasons.

What, no one begging for Cano's head?

You poor baby. I promise I won't hurt you so hard next time then.

Hurt? You can't be hurt if you don't care.

Wait, Melky Cabrera struck out 5 times yesterday? Donnie, how about a week in the batting cage for the kid

Yes, SC, yesterday's loss was a tough one. However, today's win ALMOST made up for it. I would've liked to see those runs spread out over a few games.

Not the best first half of baseball in Yankees history, but they are only 10 games out. Wang had a good outing and A-Rod just continues to kill the ball

Lay off Melky. He's what, 21, 22? Christ. Bernie Williams wasn't Bernie Williams overnight. He's shown some flashes of power and he's at worst a great utility outfielder. Leave the kid alone...

I understand that. I just don't want another Doug M. up there who can't even hit his weight

Yup, that was always the Yankees problem. By the time these guys get to be known as super stars and we just have to have them here in New York they are already half worn out if not half broken down. Then they trade all the young players away to get the worn out superstars with the big payroll and the worn out arms and legs.

Well, Boston has let some games get by them so we are still not six feet under. The Yankee bats have come back around, but for how long, Who knows?

I'm glad to see that Irishman has popped his head in. I was getting worried that something had happen to him. Rumor had it that he started watching golf with Tiger Woods.

Hey, Doug M. was doing quite good until he got injured...

BREAKING NEWS: A-ROD TO OPT OUT



Fuckface.

What happened to how much he loves NY and is so happy to be there, and just be helping the team to win??

That is what happens after New York Bashed his wife and her tee shirt.

Oh boy, here comes the hate for A-Rod.

Then again, maybe he'll resign. I mean, get out of that ridiculous contract and resign a new contract that might be more favorable to him....especially if he pulls off a 3rd AL MVP crown.

To be fair, this story is now being widely discredited, and it appears that Most Valuable Network (MVN.com) that linked to the story either did it as a hoax, or because they are fuckwits.

Hopefully coming back soon

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'I didn't feel a thing out there'

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- New York Yankees rookie Phil Hughes pitched two innings Monday for Class A Tampa in his first minor league rehab start since being sidelined more than two months by ankle and hamstring injuries.

Hughes didn't allow a hit, gave up an unearned run and walked two. He struck out three against the Dunedin Blue Jays.

His next start is scheduled for Saturday with Double-A Trenton.

Hughes hurt his hamstring May 1 while he was working on a no-hit bid in the seventh inning against Texas in his second major league start. He hurt his left ankle May 25 while doing an agility drill during a rehab program for a strained left hamstring.

"I was a little tentative in the first inning, but that's to be expected," said Hughes, who threw 20 of 36 pitches for strikes and had his fastball reach 94 mph. "The second inning I felt a lot more comfortable. I was kind of letting it go and not really thinking about landing as much on my front foot or anything like that."

Hughes said he was encouraged that his ankle and hamstring held up well.

"I didn't feel a thing out there so it was good," Hughes said.

The Yankees are 42-43 at the All-Star break and their rotation has been hurt by injuries.

"It's been very tough," Hughes said. "Not just the fact that the team is struggling, but from a selfish point of view, you never want to be out, whether I was in Triple-A or the big leagues.

"It's frustrating, especially the amount of time. You know little injuries are going to happen, but twice in a row like it did, it's very frustrating. I try not to dwell on it too much."

Jeff Karstens, out since April 28 with a broken right leg, is scheduled to make his second rehab start Thursday at Class A Staten Island. He threw 3 1-3 scoreless innings last Saturday in a Gulf Coast League game.

Source: SI

Maybe a little fresh meat will give them the push they need for the second half.

Change of heart?

SAN FRANCISCO -- George Steinbrenner and other top Yankee decision makers are in agreement: They like Alex Rodriguez very much and now plan to try to do what they can to keep him in pinstripes. And if that has to mean an extension for A-Rod, so be it.

It has been suggested in many circles that Rodriguez is very likely to opt out of the remaining three years and $81 million on his record $252-million contract, and he may still do so. However, the Yankees will still have first crack at keeping A-Rod, and despite a previously stated intention not to extend him, word now is that they will be willing to negotiate if that's what it takes to keep him -- which shouldn't be such a surprise, considering his monstrous first half.

If the Yankees dare try playing hardball now, they understand that A-Rod will turn his unusually beneficial opt-out clause into mega free-agent dollars elsewhere, which is the one thing the Yankees truly can't afford. It is expected that as a free agent A-Rod would have a chance to sign yet another deal for $200 million, or perhaps even more.

Taking a page out of the Yankees' spring strategy not to commit, A-Rod, himself an astute businessman, isn't about to give away his intentions. Upon hearing after Tuesday night's All-Star Game about the apparent shift in the Yankees' thinking, Rodriguez said, "Cool .... I love the Yankees,'' and he left it at that.

A-Rod has suffered through some bad publicity this year, thanks to the New York tabloids, but has seemed more comfortable than ever in the big city and has genuinely appeared to enjoy this season (except for the losing part); he has also thrived like never before, with a league-high 30 first-half home runs and 86 RBIs, plus a .317 batting average, all of which explains why the Yankees have decided they want him back so badly. They also need him: The Yankees will enter the second half with a surprisingly mediocre 42-43 record despite A-Rod's audacious first-half numbers.

Even beyond their tremendous revenue streams, the Yankees possess a slight financial edge in retaining A-Rod, in that Texas owner Tom Hicks has committed to pay $29 million of the $81 million remaining on the current contract, but only if he remains with the Yankees; if A-Rod opts out, Hicks will save the $29 million, giving him a strong rooting interest here. If A-Rod opts out, he is also almost surely gone from the Yankees, since they'd no longer have the benefit of the $29 million Hicks gift.

In assessing A-Rod's chances to stay, know that he generally enjoys the big stage and the benefits that come with an enhanced chance to win from New York's $200 million payroll. Rodriguez has surely thrived at Yankee Stadium, and he is believed to prefer to remain in the American League. There's an extra benefit to the Rodriguezes being on the East Coast, as they're not too far from their hometown of Miami. None of the other potential suitors can provide all those benefits, though perhaps the rival Red Sox come closest.

Of course, with almost countless riches available on the free-agent market, there can be no certainty that Rodriguez will stay in New York. While Rodriguez has spoken only positively about New York -- particularly here at the All-Star game -- when he signed with Texas he went for the best financial package, and he knows that if stays with the Yankees he'll never know whether another team would have bid more later.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told SI.com on March 21 that the Yankees didn't intend to chase A-Rod or get into a bidding war, saying, "He has a significant contract as it is. So I don't anticipate any dialogue regarding an extension,'' then making similar statements in other new outlets the following day.

While Cashman's comments were interpreted to mean that the Yankees wouldn't be enhancing A-Rod's current deal, Cashman's words technically provided some leeway. Cashman declined to discuss A-Rod's situation when asked about it on Tuesday, mentioning his intention not to repeat the media firestorm that his quotes caused last time.

There's also the possibility that the Yankees' thinking simply has changed. And if it has, A-Rod's responsible for that. When Cashman spoke back in March, Rodriguez was coming off his worst season ever. But this week A-Rod came to San Francisco as the consensus best player in the game after a monster first half that has caught the attention of not only his bosses but all of baseball. Should A-Rod rebuff the Yankees' overtures, he'll have several suitors, including possibly the Angels, Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, White Sox and Red Sox. There's even speculation that Texas and Seattle may want him back.

Whether he stays or goes, the price will be high. It's hard to predict how high, but it's hard to imagine A-Rod taking a pay cut from his currently contracted $27 million 2008 salary. His existing contract calls for him to have the option to ask out after '08 and '09 if the Yankees don't raise his pay "by the greater of $5 million or $1 million above the largest salary of any position player,'' which could give him reason to set the asking price at $32 million.

In any case, the Yankees can't afford to let him leave now.

Source: SI

We'll see. Some WFAN spies actually swore on their kids lives today that he's not coming back.

That kind of fanatacism gives me the creeps.

The same WFAN that has Mike Francesca and Chris Russo?

Yeah. All well and good. Way to piss off Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada, who apparently don't merit contract negotiations until after the season ends...fucking retarded business strategy we've had lately.

So what else is new? But just wait till Irishman gets a job there. He will strighten things up!

See, I'd start crazy rumours if I worked there..."Prospective trade sends A-Rod to the Devil Rays for future considerations," or "Posada and Jeter to Royals for Gil Meche."

DJ, Geoff and any other Yankee fans wanting to attend, I contacted the Yankees ticket office yesterday and asked them when All-Star tickets for next year's festivities would be going on sale. The man wasn't 100% sure, but he said it wouldn't be until December or January. I'm marking it on my calendar as I'm dying to go!

You know what would be cool? If we could meet up and go to the game together! That would be sweet. Sort of a mini-BB fest. SB, FS, Geoff, Irishman, myself etc.

I was thinking the same thing DJ, but getting tickets together would be difficult