maybe the best recap of the year and really captures the moment.

Don’t ask me why I know this.

which makes his outing all the more impressive.

The Floyd-Giambi battle was awesome and one of the many reasons I love baseball oh so much. Giambi rips the 2-0 pitch about 350+ feet and yet — on the very next pitch — Floyd throws the same fastball, catching the inside half of the plate and evening up the count at 2-2. What a great moment.

I recall Garland having a similar “he’s a big boy now!” moment versus the Orioles in 2005. It was a close game in the 7th inning and Garland had an epic battle against Miguel Tejada, finally getting Tejada to swing and miss on a sinker (or changeup) down-and-in.

Also, +1 for the “balls” tag. For comedy’s sake I certainly hope that’s not the last time we see it.

To preface, I am a fantasy owner who was lucky enough to draft Brady. I am being offered Jericho Cotchery and Kurt Warner for Steve Smith (Panthers). My QB right now is JT O’sullivan. I have M. Harrison, Lee Evans, David Patten. Do I pull the trigger?

Floyd’s got the biggest balls of them all

Great post. This was my exact point a few days ago in regards to the starting pitching. Danks has to step up and do the same. Its money time.

My other favorite moment was the IBB to Che.
I love that Alexei is so intimidating with his paper-thin stature….he’s a scrapper!

And since there is a new number to love today….

oooh, I CAN’T STAND IT!

(in a good way)

With Paul Konerko back in the lineup, manager Ozzie Guillen indicated Tuesday that Nick Swisher will see reduced playing time.
The Chicago Sun Times speculates that Swisher “has been thrown into the mix with "Brian Anderson, Dewayne Wise and Jerry Owens for playing time.”

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Sniff

Really, a fine outing by Gavin, one worth remembering. Even though his ERA has been ticking up, I think he’s actually gotten better as a pitcher as the year has gone on. In April, I think he was kind of lucky. Now, he’s earning those outs. Good for him.

Also, well done to Cheat/Chris. I agree with all the other fan-boys who enjoyed this write-up. It seems like these days you’re more comfortable writing narrative story than sabermetric-tinged analysis. Perhaps that’s the cure for your occasional Sox-malaise. For me, the real through-line of being a Sox fan over the decades is the stories. Watching Greg Walker come up as a strong young hitter, seeing him succeed and fail, worrying about him when he had that seizure, welcoming him back as a coach. Ozzie Guillen going from a hyperactive, skinny kid shortstop to a proud veteran who left with hard feelings to the wily lunatic manager who brought us a flag. Or AJ becoming our personal Bill Laimbeer, hated by everyone almost as much as he is beloved by us. Those kinds of tales, that take years to unfold, are the real heart of my being a fan. Gavin Floyd had a pretty good chapter in his own tale last night and had the good fortune to have you recognize it and write it up for him. He, and we, are fortunate that you did. Thanks.

And of course the best posts are not the UFRs or the recruiting breakdowns, but the kind he wrote after Bo’s death and before OSU, and such like that.

Back to the Sox…

Jerry Owens was horrible last night. Everything from failing to get the runner over (and then running himself into an easy out with a poorly thought out steal) to striking out with runners on. I don’t care how bad Swisher is scuffling there is no way Owens brings anything more than Swisher. Owens is horrible and has proved it over and over.

Cabrera’s defense continues to be excellent. He made numerous tough plays look easy ranging into the hole and saved a run on the A-Rod ball. With him and Uribe on the left side of the infield I feel confident that pretty much everything hit over that way will be sucked up.

Call me crazy but I probably wouldn’t mind a Fields/Uribe combo at 3rd next year with Uribe as the supersub.

Floyd’s battle with Giambino was a classic, he threw that slider 4 times in a row (or maybe one was a change) and Giambi kept fouling it away weakly, finally got him to swing and miss. The fist pump from AJ was great to see.

Intertesting that ESPN had Jeter as the lead, and the longest highlight was the 3-2 series to Giambi (though had the cameras focused on A-Rod going on the pitch during each foul ball, and how gassed he got from running – HAW HAW, God forbid they actually focus on the mano-y-mano action more).

Great night. And a great morning – financial markets crashing all over the place, firms going belly-up, and yet you can come to SSS for some love?

The world, she IS changing.

79% for elo and 87% for pecota. woohoo

twins get 4 with tampa bay this weekend and we get 3 with KC.

Despite the team attempting to make winning the AL Central look like a retarded baby attempt to walk, this has been a fantastic season.

Naturally, they’ll lose 21-1 today, Derek Jeter will ascend to the heavens and the Bronx-dwellers will finally get to tear A-Rod’s flesh apart.

Oh, and as I mentioned last night, it’s time we raise funds to get some ladies of a certain profession to Nick Swisher’s crib. He’s in some kind of funk that only the allure of a cheap whore can cure.

on his visit to his little sister’s middle school….

“It was amazing. I knew there were a couple kids in there that I touched.”

UH OH.

link

In the middle of the fourth inning the Yankees public address announcer implored fans to treat Yankee Stadium “respectfully over the final five games, and warned that anyone caught trying to take momentos from the ballpark would be arrested and prosecuted.” The Yankees will have extra police, including federal officers, in the stands Sunday. … Olympic silver medalist Dara Torres threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and Henry Kissinger, North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams and Hillary Duff were at the game.

Risky proposition, Yankees, pennant drive… Lots of pressure. Let’s see the kid nut it up. Go Sox.

12:07 [Comment From Matt]
What’s up Aaron. I don’t get to watch the twins a lot, so I’m curious, especially after last night’s debacle, as to how you think Liriano has progressed since his second comeback. Where does his stuff now compare to his ‘06 stuff, and do you think he’ll improve further next year?

12:08 Liriano’s performance since rejoining the team has been tremendously encouraging and impressive, although he hasn’t pitched as well as the win-loss record and ERA indicate. HIs velocity remains down significantly from his pre-surgery levels and his breaking stuff is nowhere near as nasty. He’s made major strides and is clearly capable of being a very valuable pitcher right now, but he’s still a long way from where he was.

what in the fuck the dude who sponsors buehrle’s BR page is talking about?

Matchup: White Sox (84-66) at Yankees (80-71), 7:05 p.m. ET
Probable Starters: Lance Broadway (145 IP, 5.40 RA, 1.45 WHIP, 101 K—Triple-A) vs. Philip Hughes (22, 9.41, 2.14, 13)
Pythagorean Record: Chicago, 84-66 (755 RS, 661 RA); New York, 79-72 (725 RS, 694 RA)
Hit List Rankings: Chicago, #6; New York, #10
Prospectus: The Yankees won’t make the playoffs this season for the first time in 14 years, but at least Bomber fans can take heart in the fact that their Triple-A affiliate in Scranton Wilkes-Barre advanced to the postseason and took home the International League title. The upstart Rays have buried New York in the AL East standings, but Scranton took revenge in a best-of-five series by beating Tampa Bay’s top affiliate Durham for the title. The championship push was largely dependent upon Hughes, who made two strong starts in the playoffs. The righty tossed eight shutout innings against Pawtucket on September 7, giving up four hits and no walks while fanning 11 in a game that Scranton won 2-0 in 10 innings to advance to the Governors’ Cub Championship against the Bulls. Hughes then served as the ice man last Friday night, going five innings while giving up one run and striking out 12 in a 20-2 blowout that clinched the title. It has been a very poor season for Hughes in the big leagues, as he had to spend three months on the shelf with a rib-cage stress fracture after being beaten around during April, and then went through a couple of rough outings in Triple-A upon his return to form last month. With just four runs allowed and 38 strikeouts over his last 25 innings, it seems as if Hughes might be regaining his old dominance. Just as they wished from him this year, the Yankees will need Hughes to be a major part of their rotation next year, and a good start or two in these final weeks could help build his confidence towards that end.

In last night’s loss, Derek Jeter picked up two singles and passed Lou Gehrig to become the all-time leader in hits at Yankee Stadium. Jeter has been trying to catch up after a poor first four months of the season; since August 12 he has hit .397 in 138 plate appearances. Jeter’s overall numbers are still his worst since 1997, but it has been such a down year for American League shortstops that he still tops his junior circuit positional brethren with a VORP of 41.9. American League shortstops as a group are hitting .265/.317/.370, with an OPS below 700 for the first time since 1995.

Is he having to actually WORK now that the global financial system is melting down?

Also, left-hander John Danks will be available in relief Wednesday night.

it’s at the bottom of this article.