Just when you write Mike Mussina off he comes back to make the season interesting. With two starts left (most likely) the Moose went out and
picked up his 18th win of the season. The hunt for 20 could go down to the wire, the final game of the season at Boston.
It was funny to watch Ozzie Guillen manage like his team is the one playing out the string. He emptied his bench in the fifth inning down 7-1 and brought in a part-time pitcher/part-time porn star Lance Broadway to mop up. The ChiSox will leave town with their tail between their legs, but a 2.5 game lead over the hapless Twins in the Division no one wants to win.
The Yanks, on the other hand, have now won five of their last six, all against playoff teams (if you want to call the ChiSox a playoff team). We had another douche chill moment when Moose walked off the Yankee Stadium mound for the final time. Moose even cracked a smile, which was impossible this time last year.
Personally, I think they should bring the Moose back next year. Give him a two-year deal, let him get his 300 wins in Pinstripes. He's earned it with the performance he turned in this year, against long odds. With his new pitching style, it's not a stretch to see him succeed for another two years. But that's a conversation for another day, today, we're dreaming the dream, reaching for the stars, pushing the envelope, running out of cliches...The Moose is going for his first 20-win season.
Juan Miranda got his first M.L. start tonight, Damon wasn't at the Stadium, he and his wife had a baby. Miranda looked very disciplined at the plate, I wonder how much we'll get to see of him the rest of the way. Francisco Cerevelli and Humberto Sanchez also made their major league debuts. Sanchez looked good on the hill, Cervelli looks like he has an absolute cannon behind the dish. Abreu was the hitting star of the game, 2 bombs and 6 RBI.
Player of The Game: Moooooooooooooose
Team Record: 82-71
Damon: DNP birth.
What in the world is a "douche chill moment"?
Douche Chill
1. A feeling of strong embarrassment for a verbal or physical act someone else has preformed.
1-a . Feeling the need to look away from an embarrassing moment on TV.
I, too, think they should bring the Moose back next year. Moose vs. Moyer in the Interleague game will be a dream match.
Leiter was probably right last night. If Mussina comes back for one year, he's going to be too close to 300 to call it a career at that point. He's going to need at least 30 wins to get it, that's two very productive years, three decent years. I'd give him a two-year deal.
I really liked the way Cervelli looked behind the dish last night. Like you mentioned he has a great arm, and he was like a cat back there, appearing to be very quick on his feet. He just looks like a catcher. As opposed to someone like Inge who can play catcher but looks like a secondbaseman, Cervelli just has that squat, stocky build like a catcher.
I doubt we'll get much out of him at the plate, but it would be nice to actually develop some depth within the organization for once. Cervelli could definitely be a backup catcher for years to come. Catch every fifth day, throw runners out.
He'll have next year to develop some more at AAA, then Molina's contract runs out and he could slide in a Posada's backup, possibly Montero's down the line.
That's exactly the progression I was thinking. YOu never know. He could turn out to be like the catcher Tampa has now that was once ours (I can't remember his name for some reason right now). I don't if I'm right or wrong about this, but I don't remember anyone projecting him to be much of a hitter and he's really come into his own this year.
Dioner Navarro. I remember hearing a lot about him before the Yanks traded him, I think for Randy Johnson. Took him several years to develop as a hitter.