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Baseball Today: Tuesday, May 29

OH, WHAT A NIGHT: It certainly was for Curt Schilling, who was about as dominant (7 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts) as he's been all year. And for Kevin Youkilis (above, Journal photo), author of that rarest of Fenway Park rarities -- a standup, inside-the-park home run. And Jonathan Papelbon (right, Journal photo), who, aided by a . . . well, call it a controversial call, escaped a ninth-inning jam of his own making to nail down his 13th save. And especially for Trot Nixon, who came home to about the warmest welcome a visiting player will ever receive anywhere. (All stories projo.com)

And, in the end, it was quite a night for the Red Sox, who improved their record to 35-15 with a 5-3 win over fellow division leader Cleveland.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY? Curt Schilling gives his normally insightful game breakdown on 38pitches.com, but, in the midst of it all, creates a mystery. ''Pre game meeting went well,'' he writes, ''as Dave Jauss (our scout who’d been following the Indians) was in town and I asked him to sit in and give me his thoughts on approaching this lineup.'' Dave Jauss? The Dave Jauss I know, the one who'd been in the Red Sox organization in the 1990s and early 2000s, is Grady Little's bench coach in Los Angeles (and I just saw him the other night while watching the end of the Dodgers' extra-inning win over the Cubs). Or are there two Dave Jausses?

MEETING WITH DISASTER: The Yankees held a closed-door, 45-minute meeting prior to last night's game in Toronto, which, judging by the results, did no good whatsoever. (Both stories New York Daily News) For what it's worth, Derek Jeter thinks all the Yankees are as tired of losing as he is. (New York Daily News)

US TOO, DEREK: Yankee fans are also tired of losing, and the New York Daily News reports they're voting with their feet . . . and their pocketbooks.

THE CALVALRY IS COMING: After a disconcerting outing last week in Trenton, Roger Clemens looked like a $28 million man last night in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. And the New York Post's Kevin Kernan says the Rocket's overreaction to a misunderstood softball question ''is exactly the kind of passion the lifeless Yankees need.'' John Harper of the Daily News thinks so, too.

ON THE FIRING LINE: It's not looking good for Brian Cashman. (New York Post)

YOU THINK YOU WERE SICK OF HEARING '1918'? Yankee Universe is getting ready to adopt 1978 as its mantra of choice for the rest of this season. (New York Daily News)

NOT SO FAST: David Pinto, however, thinks a repeat of '78 is highly unlikely. (baseballmusings.com)

FROM DENIAL TO ACCEPTANCE: The Replacement Level Yankee Weblog says it has ''finally accepted the truth . . . The 2007 Yankees are not going to make the playoffs.''

JUST IN CASE YOU HAD ANY DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THIS GUY WAS A POLITICIAN . . . New Mexico governor (and presidential candidate) Bill Richardson claims to be both a Red Sox and Yankee fan. (www.newsmax.com) Bill, Bill, Bill . . . let me put this in terms you can understand. That's like claiming to be both a Democrat and a Republican. Get it now?

LISTEN TO O-CAB, BILL: And if that's the case, Richardson probably lost Orlando Cabrera's vote. Cabrera calls Yankee fans ''bad losers . . . [They're] mean. And they're really mean to the other team . . . They don't appreciate good baseball: They just appreciate the Yankees beating up on everybody.'' (Los Angeles Times) The New York Post went out and got some Yankee fan reaction to Cabrera's charges. And there's no question our friend Bill Simmons would give Jen Prisco of Orange, Conn., high marks on his Unintenional Comedy scale when she dismissed Cabrera by saying, ''He's not a Yankee, so I don't care what he thinks.''

Uh, Jen? That's his point!

DON'T BE A HYPOCRITE: The New York Post's Mike Vaccaro says if Met fans want to boo Barry Bonds this week, then they'd better not welcome Guillermo Mota back with open arms. Mota is returning after a 50-game suspension for doing something Bonds never did: Fail a test for steroids.

BOTTOM LINE BUSINESS: But, sadly, the odds are that if Mota pitches well, he'll get the same reaction that Elijah Dukes -- who allegedly threatened to murder his wife -- is getting in Tampa. (St. Petersburg Times)

JUST IN CASE: The Baltimore Sun reports the Orioles have drawn up a list of potential replacements for Sam Perlozzo.

TROUBLE JUST SEEMS TO FIND ME: A.J. Pierzynski was in the middle of yet another controversy, this time in Minnesota. (Chicago Sun-Times)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:04 AM | Permalink

Comments

john | May 29, 2007 11:26 AM link