Moose could have some nice golden years if he played for, say, the Padres, or another NL team in a division without the stresses of AL quality hitting.

Poo poo. I understand Moose was a bargain this offseason, but damn, a two year contract is like an albatross the way he's been playing.

A-Rod receives key to New York City

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was presented on Thursday with a key to the city in honor of his 500th home run.

A-Rod, who just turned 32, hit the milestone homer against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 4, becoming the 22nd and youngest player to reach the mark.

He received a key to the city from Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Yankee Stadium before a game against the Detroit Tigers while teammates and manager Joe Torre looked on.

"It will be something I hold dear to me for the rest of my life," Rodriguez said.

The Yankees paid tribute to A-Rod on Monday before their game against the Baltimore Orioles, presenting him with home plate, a silver tray with an inscription from team owner George Steinbrenner, two portraits and a sculpture.

Keys to the city are presented to distinguished people for outstanding civic contributions. Last week, the mayor presented a key to New York Mets pitcher Tom Glavine in honor of his 300th career win.

A-Rod and Glavine are in lofty company. Past recipients of keys include the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II and Mother Theresa.

Source: SI

Who would've thought, after he had all that shit hurled at him last year that he would get the key to the city.

Maybin just took Roger deep. And he's only 20.

And the Yankees still win the game and worst case, split the series

Have you met Shelley Duncan? He's 26.

And the Yanks take 3-out-of-4 from the Tigers Let's hope they can also take the series from the Angels as they are always Yankee killers

Doubtful. Unfortunately, the Angels always kick our asses. I hope we don't face them in the playoffs.

Still, the Angels beat up on the Red Sox for us a bit, so we're 4 games back, and 1/2 behind in the Wild Card.

BTW - Anyone hear Steve Phillips (aka the ex-Mets retarded GM) who said the Yankees should trade Melky, Chamberlain, and Hughes for Johan Santana right now?

I think it sheds some light on why he's no longer a GM in major league baseball and instead works for ESPN...

I'd rather wait until the end of next season and sign him as a free agent

Man, they just couldn't win that game last night

They tried, sort of. What a waste!! Back to 5 games out.

I sort of expected this, though. They have a terrible record against the Angels.

Me too. Everytime they got a lead, they lost it and everytime they tied, the Angels would score that same inning. Like I said, they just couldn't win that game last night no matter what. And what's with Cano's defense? I saw at least a play or 2 where it seemed like he should have come up with the ball and he didn't. Dive for crying out loud!

Cano definitely had an off night. Oh, well. He's been on a good streak lately, so I guess it was bound to happen.

He was out!!! OMG!! He was SO out!!! And what's Moose going to do?? Walk the entire freaking team??? And WTF was Abreu and Melky doing?? The two of them looked like they were going to wrestle one another for the ball! It's only the first inning, and this game has disaster written all over it already.

Moose is terrible. They lose tonight and they're 6 out from Boston. They might want to think about putting Moose at Triple-A and moving Kennedy up if they want to 1) get into the postseason and 2) be successful

FYI, they'll never demote Moose for the same reasons they never dumped Giambi or Kevin Brown. There is too much money there, and the Yankees would have to have Moose a.) clear waivers and b.) accept the demotion. I doubt either would happen.

Now, that being said, Moose has been terrible all year. 85 MPH fastballs are not going to fool anyone at the Major League level. I suspect they're going to finish the year with Moose, and try to work around his NTC (I think he has the 5/10 rule, where he's been with a team for 5 years, so he has a limited NTC where he can pick 10 teams he'd accept a trade to) to send him to an NL team, like I've already said.

One more time - it is no surprise we lost. The Angels are Yankee-killers, and every time we play them, we look like Little Leaguers.

If we make the playoffs, pray we don't meet them there (even though we probably will). Give me the Red Sox any day of the week over the Angels.

A big win for the Yanks tonight. They couldn't leave Anaheim on a sweep. They also move closer to both Boston and Seattle. Finally, congrats to Joe on passing Casey Stengel for 2nd on the all-time wins list by a Yankee manager

All I gotta say is..... Joba

No better teacher

----------------------------------------------------------------

Clemens passing the torch to rookies

Most of the Yankees were filtering out of a visiting clubhouse in Anaheim this week, scattering to the streets. Only a partially cracked weight room door provided a glimpse to Roger Clemens' inner workings.

As Mike Mussina finished dissecting a troubled start, many exited, their night complete as the clock inched toward 3 a.m. on the East Coast. But duties weren't yet over for Clemens, who grunted dozens of biceps curls into a mirror before finally permitting himself to leave the premises.

Once again, the reminder was served: It is no accident that Clemens has pitched as well as he has, for as long as he has. For the youngest Yankees, Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, Clemens is a constant inspiration through perspiration.

"It was great to know you've got somebody like that coming in, and somebody who's so willing to talk, willing to learn, willing to teach," Chamberlain said. "He's 45 years young and he still wants to teach. He had great teachers when he was growing up, and you can tell that he wants to continue the legacy that was brought upon him to the younger generation."

The Yankees' early season financial pitch for Clemens was based upon a need for a quality starting pitcher at the Major League level, a service that the future Hall of Famer has consistently provided.

But just as he did with the Houston Astros, where sweaty afternoons were spent in workouts with starry eyed Minor Leaguers, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner has offered instruction and advice to Yankees prospects whenever possible.

"Obviously, they're paying him money to go out and perform, but he feels like the other part of this job is to help us out and mentor," Hughes said. "There's only so much you can do in this game that he hasn't already done. I think he likes the fact that he's passing the torch, in a sense."

Chamberlain and Hughes both had the opportunity to borrow from the Rocket's wisdom when all three spent time at the Yankees' player development complex in Tampa, Fla., earlier this summer.

During one of Clemens' rehab sessions, firing tuneup offerings toward his eventual Yankee Stadium relaunch against the Pirates, the hurler invited a group of prospects to observe and ask questions -- partially to help inform and pass on knowledge gleaned from 24 seasons of big league service, and also because Clemens may have been curious as to the thought process of the younger generation.

"We had some good times in Tampa," Clemens said. "I think that was the most important thing, and they paid attention. Every step of the way that I was working on coming back -- which was real important to me -- they hung out a little bit longer and watched. Now that I get to see them actually learning on the go, it's kind of fun to watch."

Hughes' last start, a Monday effort at Angel Stadium -- the California native's nearest big league facility as a youngster --yielded the most promising results since he returned to the big league squad from injuries. Meanwhile, every Chamberlain appearance continues to be an event; wielding an electric fastball and a biting slider, Chamberlain struck out the side in an inning Wednesday against the Angels, including fanning Vladimir Guerrero for the final out.

"They're going to obviously play a big part in what's going to happen here," Clemens said. "The quicker they can understand to get a good workout routine and get a solid base that they can count on, the Yankees are planning on them being a big part of that new stadium across the way."

Projecting Chamberlain and Hughes as pillars of the Yankees' new facility rising between Jerome and River Avenues in the Bronx may be tricky business, but for manager Joe Torre, it's easy to look past age in favor of mature attitudes.

That, Torre said, is one of the most impressive aspects of sending a pair of 21-year-olds out on a regular basis: neither seems to be intimidated, only to belong.

"They're all going to be judged on how they handle the pot holes, and that's where pretty much the jury is still out, because we haven't seen that yet," Torre said. "But again, knowing their makeup, I think they've sort of been forewarned."

For Chamberlain, who completed a meteoric rise from Class A Tampa to the big leagues in his first full pro season, Clemens' most striking lesson has revolved around proper workout programs and conditioning.

"The biggest thing was to treat your body like a temple. What you put into it is what you're going to get out of it," Chamberlain said. "You can have your fun, but you also have to realize when it's time to flip the switch and time to get to work. You can do everything you set your mind to -- you just have to be patient and work hard."

For both Chamberlain and Hughes, early success has convincingly proven that they have been blessed with standout talent. But that is just the beginning of the lesson, for as Clemens warns, such gifts have an indefinite shelf life against similarly superb athletes.

"They wouldn't be here if they didn't have the makeup," Clemens said. "I've encouraged them to get something that they can believe in and count on, and take with them for a long time.

"They'll have to adjust, because people will adjust to them once they see them enough. That's all part of it. If you can survive on talent for four or five years, you're going to have to make adjustments from there on."

Source: Yankees

This just in: Brian Bruney back up with the big club, Villone or Henn down.

Why the fuck does Cashman hate Chris Britton so much?

Burning Hot Rumor: Joe Torre has spoken confidentially with Mike Mussina and Brian Cashman, letting Moose know that if he does not show some improvement in his next start, his job in the rotation could be in jeopardy.

Yay!

Mike Mussina fights for his spot in the rotation (career with the Yankees?) tonight as the Yankees close the series with the Tigers at 7:05 PM.

Well, if this was supposed to be Mussina's big "comeback", it didn't work. I turned off the game when the Yankees were down 16-0. TOO depressing. Any shot at the division is gone, and just when they looked like they could almost do it. There's faint hope for the Wild Card, but it grows fainter every day. It's like May all over again, and when they had such a fantastic run!!

Don't give up just yet SB, there's still a month left. Sure it looks like the division is lost but they still have 2 more series against Boston which could turn things around for them. But again, even if they don't win the division, they can still creep in with the Wild Card. All's not lost yet but they need to replace Moose. Bring up Kennedy and see what the kid can do. A major league start would be good for experience, especially if he's going to come up either next year or the year after.

Moose is gone. Peter Abraham is reporting he's being moved to the bullpen, and will likely replace Sean Henn.

The likely call-ups to replace Moose will be Steven White (yes), Kei Igawa (no), Matt DeSalvo (no), and Ian Kennedy (yes).

The problem with Kennedy is that this will mean all 3 of their big name prospects will now be in the majors ahead of the timetable. I don't think they want to call him up unless it is vitally necessary - and as long as the Yankees other four starters are doing well (which they are), they can afford to tinker with a fifth man, so long as he can provide some decent pitching...which Moose wasn't doing.

Getting beat 16-0 is not very good is it?

i agree as much i want moose out after 3 horrendous starts, i like cashman dont want to flirt with the young future arms but if it propels us to the playoffs and then ws im all about. i do know igawa and desalvo would be a waste of valuable september time.

I haven't given up yet, I12. However, I do have to believe that the Wild Card is the only hope they have of making the playoffs.

So right now it's top of the 3rd, Boston's up, 2 men on, 1 out and Big Papi hits a sac fly to tie the game. DAMN! And here comes Manny!!

Jeter came through, Damon came through, Joba came through and now we need Mo. C'mon Sandman!!!

They got the win and cut the lead to 7. Good job on a good win