A busy Saturday in July...


The Yankees and Tigers are locked in a great pitchers duel at the moment as CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander have not disappointed.

Happy Anniversary to David Cone; It was on this day ten years ago that he pitched his very memorable perfect game against the Montreal Expos on Yogi Berra day. I can remember the game like it was yesterday...Don Larsen threw out the first pitch before the game as well as David Cone dropping to his knees in disbelief after the last pitch. What I think adds to the lure of his perfect game are the stories in Joe Torre's book, 'Yankee Years,' about that great day.


---Sergio Mitre will make his season debut with the Yankees next week against the Orioles as the team's fifth starter. Suffice to say Phil Hughes has undoubtedly cemented the role of the eighth inning guy after six strikeouts in two innings of work last night, which along with Mark Teixeira's huge home run, helped lead the Yankees to a 5-3 win.

---There are unconfirmed reports that Jose Reyes suffered a setback in his rehab in Florida while running drills. This can't come as a surprise to Met fans who have to be numb to any kind of injury news with this team at this point.


---The amount of stories giving up on the Mets in the local newspapers is on a sharp incline. There may be something to this idea, especially after an 11-0 loss last night. It may be a very quiet and lonely August and September in Queens. Anyone know how many days are left until the start of Jets & Giants Training Camp?

The Yankees have done to the Twins what the Red Sox have done to the Yankees thus far this season. This afternoon, the Yanks completed their sweep of the Twins in Minnesota en route to Anaheim, where the dreaded Angels are waiting.

It was when the Angels paid a visit to the Bronx in late April, where one of the worst streaks the Yankees have endured all season began. We shall see how much of an impact a banged up Vladimir Guerrero has and if Torii Hunter winds up on the disabled list which is most likely to happen. One things for sure; if the Yankees can win this series heading into the All-Star break, they truly have all the momentum in the world, going into the second half of the season.


Then there's that team in Queens. Tonight they lost the rubber match of their three-game series to Joe Torre's Los Angeles Dodgers. Once again, it was an inept offense coupled with another poor (or is it the expected) performance from start Livan Hernandez. Word on the street (or on the internet) is that the Pirates are looking to deal all-star second baseman Freddy Sanchez. Omar, make the call. Luis Castillo is nothing but a bench player. Just don't give up too much.

To add insult to injury (no pun intended), the Mets placed outfielder Fernando Martinez on the DL with knee inflammation. It was either the DL or a trip back to Buffalo (again), as the prized prospect has struggled in his first months in the big leagues.


---The Phillies are reportedly in serious talks with Pedro Martinez. I'm willing to bet that even if he does wind up signing in Philadelphia, it is not the last pitcher added to the Phillies' roster.

---Keep it up Kansas City. They have come from behind to take the lead on the Red Sox as Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson have been off. Obviously a Boston loss means a tie for first place in the AL East with the Yankees.

---It looks like Carlos Boozer will be on the move after all. A three-team trade looks to be in the works that would send the all-star forward to Chicago. Kirk Hinrich would go from Chicago to Portland and Tyrus Thomas would go from Chicago to Utah.


---This is officially the last mention of Brett Favre until there is a contract signed between him and the Minnesota Vikings. Apparently the Vikings' trainer was sent to Mississippi to work him out.


---Perennial hockey all-star Joe Sakic has officially retired from the game after 20 years. He was the active scoring leader and retires with 1,641 points (625 goals), which puts him eighth on the all-time scoring list.

They came, they saw, they conquered. The Yankees went into Citi Field and swept a depleted Mets team that has countless stars on the DL. Yankee fans really need to keep things in perspective and not go over the top in celebrating the sweep. What those fans can celebrate, is Chien-Ming Wang notching his first win of the season.

Mets fans on the other hand, need to avoid dwelling on the past three games and remember that this team has done a great job keeping their heads above water, especially when they won three-out-of-four against the Cardinals.

The ninth inning in tonight's ball game was especially entertaining. It started with a sloppy play between Alex Cora and Luis Castillo, letting a bloop fly drop between them, and ended with Mariano Rivera getting walked and earning his first RBI in just his third at-bat in his 13+year career. Did anyone else think it was really cool to see two of the game's best closers literally facing off?

Mariano went on to close the game out, a 4-out save which has become quite common lately. Tonight's save was number 500 for Mo, just another milestone in what is undoubtedly a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.

Islander Nation (all 6 of them) are indeed rejoicing tonight as the Islanders selected John Tavares with the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. Garth Snow and company are not done as they have traded with the Colombus Blue Jackets for the 16th overall pick as well.


---Meanwhile in Flushing, the Mets are enduring a very sloppy second inning. Bloop singles and plenty of errors have helped the Yankees take an early lead.

Just a few hours away from Yankees-Mets Round two at Citi Field. Both teams come off of series wins. The Mets played a tremendous series against the St. Louis Cardinals, taking three-out-of-four. As far as the Yankees are concerned, we shall see if the bats can stay alive after last night's 11-7 win over Atlanta.

On paper, the Yankees have a huge advantage, especially when it comes to the starting pitchers. But as the Mets have proven lately, they don't pay much attention to their chances on paper.



---The other major question of the night in New York sports would have to be if and how badly Garth Snow messes up the draft for the Islanders. As an avid fan, part of me has faith in the backup goalie turned general manager. But then there is that other part, that is just used to the idea of this franchise projecting things poorly...

Well the Yankees and Mets suffered similiar fates tonight as both were shutout by the opposition. The Yankees only left more than a dozen runners on base while the Mets wasted a solid performance by Livan and the rest of their pitchers. Hey, at least for New York fans, Brian Leetch was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, this does not do much for the local Islander or Devil fan in the area. Ugly stuff happening on the New York baseball scene right now...

Despite glimpses of hope, small glimpses at that, the Yankees lost another series. The Mets did the same as they dropped another one to the Rays. Both the Yankees and Mets have each one the first game of their previous two series' before losing the final two. Simple math tells you that kind of baseball doesn't get you to October.

Well the durable, inning-eating, work-horse, $161 million pitcher AKA CC Sabathia left during the second inning of today's game against the Marlins. This is one guy the Yankees CANNOT afford to lose for more than a start in the rotation. Stay tuned.

Both New York baseball teams found success after dropping their previous two games last night. The Mets returned to Citi Field and scored a win against the Rays, while the Yankees found a way to score five runs (without A-Rod who is apparently fatigued) and beat the Marlins, mostly thanks to Andy Pettitte's outstanding performance.

A 5-1 win over the Marlins doesn't automatically cure the wounds of losing two-out-of-three to the Nationals, although it does help that Boston lost to Atlanta, thus bringing the Yankees to two games back in the standings. Still, things must be dealt with.

Where to begin? The worst team in baseball comes into Yankee Stadium and takes two-out-of-three. The Yankees are actually lucky they didn't get swept, if not for Elijah Dukes and his two errors in the outfield.

I'm sorry, I don't give a rat's ass, let me be the only one to say this, Joba Chamberlain has lost it as a pitcher. He has come nowhere close to the velocity we saw last year and despite a few good sliders, he really hasn't had many devastating pitches. HE NEEDS TO GO BACK TO THE 8TH INNING WHENEVER THE NEXT CHANCE PRESENTS ITSELF.

Absolutley pitiful. We say it with the Mets all the time. You have to win the games that you are supposed to win and they blew it. Now they are off to play six games in national league parks (3 in Florida, 3 in Atlanta).

I realize it is pointless to over-react over two games in June, but again, you can't be happy when the (by far) the worst team in baseball comes into town and shows a $200+ million team how to play baseball.

Hopefully the offense is waiting for them in Florida...