-Not a good night for either local baseball team. The Mets dropped their third straight in Philadelphia 3-0- shutout for the second time in three games to the suddenly wild card contending Phillies. At least Tom Glavine gave them seven solid innings. The difference: Philly catcher Chris Coste was a perfect 3-for-3 with a second inning two-run home run which was all ex-Yankee Jon Lieber would need. In a game which took only two hours and three minutes, he tossed just 101 pitches (72 strikes) for a five-hit shutout to pickup his fifth win this year. Less than two weeks ago, the crafty righthander was pitching a similar game before his own throwing error turned it into a Met comeback victory. So Lieber atoned. After struggling most of the season, he’s pitched better of late and is one of the reasons the Phillies are one under .500 and remained 2.5 behind the wild card-leading Reds who prevailed over NL Central leader St. Louis 7-2 to pull within 1.5.

-For the Amazin’s, it’s been a disappointing first three games in the City of Brotherly Love. They’ve now been outscored 27-4. Outside of Jose Reyes’ sparkling three homer performance the other night, they’ve gotten nothing from slumping 3-4-5 hitters Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright. Sometimes, you’re going to hit lulls. You have to figure it’s just a matter of time before the productive trio gets untracked. It’s amazing to this writer that there are panic-driven Mets fans calling up WFAN’s Steve Somers about changing the batting order to snap out of it. They’re still 12 clear of second place Philly and still possess the NL’s best record at 71-48- eight games better than both the fading Cards and sizzling Dodgers who were finally cooled off by Florida yesterday afternoon 15-4 thanks to two Miguel Cabrera homers. There was even one delusional fan who proposed batting Reyes cleanup. Say what?!?!?!?!?! Thankfully Mets skipper Willie Randolph doesn’t listen to these meatballs and is sensible. He probably also understands that his ballclub is in a great position and is just going through a tough few days. This hasn’t been the norm for the Kings of Queens. Expect them to turn it around soon and clinch the NL East by the first week of September.

-One thought on 21 year-old Mets right fielder Lastings Milledge. The kid has a lot of raw ability but he just doesn’t seem ready for primetime. He has misjudged enough fly balls in the past couple of weeks since his recall to have a seat on the bench. How many times do you have to see him dive for a ball and have it land just in front or pop out of the club. Or what about the poor jumps he gets on other line drives which actually could’ve been tracked down? As Mets’ SNY analyst Keith Hernandez astutely noted the other night during a recent telecast, “he just doesn’t look comfortable out there.” And we have to agree. If he were producing at the plate enough, then you could still justify having his bat in there. But the fact is that the former New York 2003 first round selection isn’t getting it done at present:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7706

We got to admit he’s got one of the coolest names in baseball. But at this point, any Mets fan can see that the kid is struggling. Randolph gave him a night off last night in favor of supersub Endy Chavez. There are still seven weeks until October. So we’re certain Randolph will get Milledge back out for more at bats. But if he continues not to progress, maybe it would be better if the Mets went out and got another right fielder who can platoon with the very capable Chavez. Preston Wilson just cleared waivers with Houston. It might not be a bad option.

-Just throwing this out there: Melky Cabrera was just as overmatched in his brief stint last year as a 20 year-old last year and has done just fine subbing for injured Hideki Matsui in left field a year later. With three more hits in last night’s 3-2 loss along with an RBI double, he raised his average to .291 with seven dingers, 18 doubles and 38 RBI’s. He’s also chipped in nine stolen bases, a respectable .359 OBP (35 BB) and an arm which has now thrown out 12 runners after he picked up yet another assist by nailing Baltimore’s Ramon Hernandez at second. That kind of improvement is a good indication that it could take another year before Milledge becomes the player Mets brass think he’ll be. Sometimes, patience pays dividends.

-It also wasn’t a good night for the Yanks, who fell to Baltimore 3-2 and saw their AL East lead dwindle to two games thanks to Boston’s 6-4 triumph over Detroit at Fenway. Returning from just a four inning stint due to stomach cramps in a loss, Cory Lidle gave up a run in the first three frames before settling down to pitch into the seventh and take the hardluck defeat. The difference: a bases loaded walk to still Yankee killer Kevin Millar (Millaaaaaaaaaahhh). Sorry, we got a little carried away. Though they battled back from three down to cut it to one on a Robinson Cano runscoring single in the sixth, ultimately they fell short and just couldn’t come up with the big hit which could’ve put them over the top. In particular, they left runners on first and second in the eighth with no one out. Manager Joe Torre opted not to have Cano sacrifice the runners over. He eventually flew out to left. Let the second guessing begin. The inning ended when Bernie Williams lined into a 4-6 double play. A few innings earlier, the popular elder statesman passed Don Mattingly for second on the all-time Yankee list in doubles to the usual deserved reception from the Stadium faithful. His 443 trail only the legendary Ironhorse Lou Gehrig, who finished his distinguished Hall of Fame career with 535. Orioles’ skipper Sam Perlozzo (Bugs Bunny) opted to have closer Chris Ray toss the final two innings for a classic save (28th of season). Nice to see that even the popular cartoon figure would let his closer go the last two. And why not? The Orioles are where they usually are. Out of contention and hanging on to star shortstop Miguel Tejada when they could’ve had a very good package which included Angels’ young hurler Ervin Santana. But who needs more pitching on a team that hits but can’t always pitch deep into games? Ah. Owner Peter Angelos strikes out again!

-Though the Yankees fell short, it had to be somewhat encouraging to finally see reliever Octavio Dotel make his major league return over a year removed from reconstructive elbow ligament surgery. The former A’s closer faced just three batters in the eighth, fanning Melvin Mora on a fastball which topped 96 MPH. But he gave up a hit to Tejada and walked Jay Gibbons on four pitches before giving way to Yankee workhorse Scott Proctor, who got a 6-6-3 double play to get out of the jam. The 32 year-old Dotel threw 13 pitches (6 strikes) and was just happy to finally be back on a big league mound:

“I’m happy to be back. Finally, I made it.“

Who could blame him? It was a long road to recovery and he showed the velocity on his fastball which had to be a plus. Certainly, the Yankees will be very cautious with Dotel’s pitch count in future outings and watch over him very closely. This is a project the rest of the way which might turn out beneficial if they see the postseason two months from now. But it’s still a long way away. One day at a time.

-With two walks, Yankee right fielder Bobby Abreu reached 100 for the season- making it the eighth consecutive year he’s done that to match both Max Bishop (1926-33) and The Big Hurt (1991-98) for the major league record according to Elias Sports Bureau. It certainly demonstrates how much plate discipline the ex-Phillie has. Those kind of at bats can wear down pitchers and help teammates see everything in their repertoire. Definitely beneficial.

-If we have to see anymore of this ridiculous Yankee “groundbreaking” ceremony of the New Stadium which took place yesterday, we’re going to vomit. How over the top a production could they have made it? Geez. Nobody needs to see all these hypocritical politicians and other people who no one gives a bleep about. It’s embarrassing hearing Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki talk about beating the Red Sox once again and still having their number outside of one miraculous comeback. Just shut up! Nobody cares about that. I don’t understand why such a ceremony needs to become about that or about so many other things which aren’t traditional no matter what those nimrods proclaimed. And some of them were still stuttering the words even after their PR person probably hand wrote what to say in prepping them. I hate that. If you can’t speak from the heart, then you have no business being up there wasting everyone’s time.

To be honest, as nice as this New Stadium idea sounds in making it look like the Old Yankee Stadium, it still sickens me to no end. All they talked about was upgrading everything and making it modernized. And you know what that means. Screwing more average Joe’s like yourself out of ever stepping foot in that pricey ballpark. That’s the one thing about new stadiums that I can’t stand. And especially the Yankees, who already charge astronomical prices for tickets and especially concessions. Who exactly is going to these games in the future? The worst part is you continue to tune into UPN when they televise games and have to hear Michael Kay give a cheap plug for some second-rate star’s show that’s debuting in the Fall. Ugh. And the sad part is you know those losers got in for free while the general public waited in line. The whole thing is sickening. As sad as it is to say, things are heading downhill fast in America. This is what’s become the norm. I remember a time when it was much easier just to be a fan and go to a game or watch one on TV without being annoyed by an obnoxious selfserving ‘caster or silly promos which had zero value. Unfortunately, those days are long gone. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. There just isn’t that much that’s pure anymore in sports.
-Make me care about TO’s first Cowboys’ practice after missing the first 14 with a sore hamstring. How soon before Coach Parcells gets tired of his act? Over/under: Week Six

-According to Browns running back Lee Suggs, he’s never felt healthier after failing a medical test with the Jets that would’ve completed a deal for corner Derrick Strait:

“I was shocked. I practiced throughout training camp and all of the spring. I did all the workouts, passed the physicals here and everything was fine. Then I went up to New York, and I failed. So, yes I was shocked…No coach told me, no GM told me. Things happen for a reason. I feel as healthy as I have ever been. I just think the Jets have their reasons...I honestly don’t know. I was just told I failed. I feel great and I will show it on the football field when I get the chance.”

If it weren’t so funny, we’d cry. Now watch Suggs go on to a productive 2006 season! Only in the crazy world of the Jets. So who’s betting he tops 1,000 yards? We know Paul Lo Duca is!
-Vikings’ receiver Koren Robinson was charged with DWI Wednesday. An excerpt from an AP story about the details:

Robinson’s blue BMW sedan was caught on radar going more than 100 mph in a 55 mph zone at 10:45 p.m., and he refused to stop, St. Peter police chief Matt Peters said Wednesday. Robinson was arrested by police about 10 miles away in Mankato, where the Vikings hold their training camp.

On Wednesday, Robinson, who made the Pro Bowl last season after alcohol problems derailed his career in Seattle, was charged in Nicollet County with fleeing from police, a felony, along with two DWI charges and three other misdemeanors. A criminal complaint said a field test measured Robinson’s blood-alcohol content at 0.11 percent.

The 26 year-old former Seahawk was supposed to have a promising future only a couple of years ago. Now, he seems headed in a downward spiral where who knows where the maligned receiver could wind up. Oh. He’s already been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s drug policy a second time two years ago. But according to his attorney Joe Tamburino, “he’s a fine individual.” Oh, we agree with his assessment if his definition is to continue screwing up. Here’s the best part. Minnesota was convinced his problems were in the past and gave him a new three-year deal worth $12.7 million, including $5.5 of which was guaranteed. Is Mike Tice still running the Vikes? Just wondering.

-In a bit of a surprise, Roger Federer lost to Andy Murray in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4 in Cincinnati yesterday afternoon. It snapped a remarkable 55-match win streak in North America which included the last two U.S. Opens. Even when the eight-time Grand Slam 25 year-old winner loses, it makes big headlines. Of course, the Scottish Murray is no slouch. At Wimbledon, he took out Andy Roddick early with some splendid tennis. He recently hired former ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert to coach him. Having reached a final a couple of weeks ago and now becoming only the second player to beat Federer outside of Rafael Nadal (4-1 this year), it looks like Gilbert is already starting to pay dividends for Murray. It won’t be long before Murray cracks the top 10. He’s got an excellent all around game which includes an underrated serve, a lethal backhand and a nice touch at the net. So, even though this was a huge second round win over the world’s No.1 player, it wasn’t as big a surprise because he had been playing well coming in and Federer had played a ton of tennis lately. It was bound to happen some time. As for Federer, he was far from crushed:

“The streaks? I don’t care about those now that they’re over. It’s going to be a relief for everybody, and now we can move on…Two Masters series back-to-back — 12 matches in 13 days — it’s something of the impossible…I’m not disappointed. There’s no reason to be. It was an incredible run. You always expect a loss once in a while, so when it happens, why be disappointed?“

Of course, the incomparable champion is right. He had a great run. Can’t win them all. I’m sure he’ll come back even stronger in trying to successfully defend his U.S. Open title for the third year in a row starting less than two weeks from now. The guy’s the best for a reason.

-A couple of days late. But congrats to Junior Seau on a fantastic 16-year NFL career. The linebacker went on to have a great career mostly with the Chargers where he spent his first 13 seasons en route to 12 Pro Bowl appearances (1992-2003) before concluding the final three years of his career with the Dolphins. Seau helped lead San Diego to its only Super Bowl appearance a decade prior. The popular linebacker was also named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade Team for the 1990’s. The 37 year-old had some interesting thoughts about his brilliant career:

“Don’t think you’re going to come here and get a press conference where I’m going to cry. Listen, I win. I’m not going to cry. You know what? I won...So please, understand when I say this. I’m not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you’ll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain’t going to happen.“

Amen to that! We definitely get what Seau meant. He had a great NFL career that most could only dream of. Not everyone makes it that big. Especially at such a tough sport where injuries shorten careers. It sounds like he’s ready for the next phase of his life and that’s good to see.

-We see that Arizona first round pick Matt Leinart finally decided to sign the other day, getting six years and $14 million guaranteed. He had to realize that veteran QB Kurt Warner is off to a great start thus far in preseason. Even if we don’t put much emphasis on it like ESPN where EVERY DOWN MATTERS, by Leinart continuing to hold out, it wasn’t doing him any good. Now, he can get some snaps and make an impression hopefully with Coach Dennis Green. Even if he gets backup duty and sits behind Warner, he can learn a lot from the former Rams’ Super Bowl MVP. Just ask Eli Manning.

-Our favorite article of the day was once again from the Post on the continuing Paul Lo Duca saga which won’t go away. Now, there’s another 19 year-old brunette from Philly who claims she too had an affair with the now Mets catcher which began a year ago while he was with the Marlins. This time it’s Christina Alisio who says she met the All Star catcher at where else but an OTB where she was a teller. And in similar fashion to Long Island’s Krista Guterman, he left a note with a co-worker saying she was cute along with his number. Some highlights from the latest gossip article:

“I guess Paul likes young girls and has one in every city - I must be his Philly chick. You never know how many are out there. He put on a good show. [It seemed like] he cared about me. He was a nice guy. Now I know it was all a show.”

Alisio said they had “quick sex” a couple of other times that year and then enjoyed several more trysts this year, the last time in mid-June. She said that he only called her when in town with the Marlins or Mets and that the pair had their romps exclusively at the Westin and the Hyatt, where he occasionally stayed.

A co-worker whom Alisio let listen in on some of her phone conversations with Lo Duca told The Post: “He would ask her what she was doing and if she wanted to go out.”

“She was excited,” the young woman said of Alisio.

When the player came into their gambling hall, “he would flirt with her all the time and invite her to the games . . . He was just back there betting and talking to her.”

Asked if anyone else at work was aware of the alleged affair, the woman added, “They all knew.”

The young woman then started to say, “He has a particular taste . . . ” Before she could finish, Alisio piped up, “Yeah, 19-year-olds with long brown hair.“

You got to love it. Alright. So a Lo Duca representative denies this or the other alleged affair took place. Who knows? Why are these stories coming out? It doesn’t seem that either is after his money. Maybe they did take place. So he’s not perfect if true. Is there really a crime in that? I say unequivocally, ‘No.’ Maybe his marriage to PlayBoy model Sonia just wasn’t working out after six years. You never can tell. An athlete’s life is far different than an normal person because they’re constantly on the road. It can’t be easy. Sometimes there is a lot of temptation out there which can be hard to resist. I just don’t see the big deal except that he was married man. But maybe that didn’t matter. It seems like if you were an athlete, it would be a lot easier to be single than be married just for the simple reason that you wouldn’t have to deal with such problems arising in the paper. Especially in the media circus here in NYC. Anyway, leave the guy alone and let him continue to star for the Mets and help them win a third World Series. At least it’s not affecting his on field performance.

-It was another good night for the Yankees as they cameback from three runs down to defeat the abysmal Orioles 6-3. Mike Mussina pitched six solid innings but gave up three runs (two earned) and looked like he would suffer the hard luck loss. Former Yankee nemesis Kevin Millar took him deep in the fifth to start the scoring. An inning later, the O’s tacked on two more including the latest A-Rod throwing error which made it 3-0. No matter what he does, it’s magnified. A half inning later, he came through with an RBI single in a bases loaded no out situation to cut it to two. But it looked like it wouldn’t be the Yanks’ night when Baltimore starter Erik Bedard got out of further trouble by fanning Robinson Cano, got Jorge Posada to line out and Craig Wilson to ground out. An inning later with Bedard out of the game due to 106 pitches (those darn pitch counts), the Bronx Bombers struck for three against Cubs reject LaTroy Hawkins. If you’ve been rejected from that sinking ship, your career isn’t exactly heading in the right direction. Johnny Damon delivered a tying two-run home run. After Bobby Abreu doubled and advanced to third on an error, the O’s opted to intentionally walk cleanup hitter Jason Giambi to get to the way too mentioned A-Rod. Somehow, Mr. But always seems to come up in these situations. Btw…that is his new nickname thanks to an interesting Post column by Larry Brooks which we’ll get to a little further down. So, you’d think he’d make Baltmore pay the price. After all, he’s feeling 100 percent! Instead, the reigning AL MVP swung at the first pitch and popped up harmlessly to first leading to you guessed it. More boos. With two out, it was at that point that Orioles skipper Bugs Bunny (in reality Sam Perlazzo but what’s the difference any puppet could manage that joke of a team) brought in lefty Tim Byrdak to face Cano. It’s worth noting that this guy had over a 14.00 ERA before he gave up the go-ahead double to the second-year second baseman who atoned for failing in a similar situation in the sixth. A Damon RBI triple and a Derek Jeter sac fly put the game out of reach, allowing for Mariano Rivera to pickup his 31st save.

-Picking up the win was the under the radar Scott Proctor, who retired five of six batters faced in his major league-leading 59th appearance. The third-year reliever has been invaluable to the Yankees this season. Counting tonight, he’s now pitched 75 innings and struckout 69 while notching a record of 5-3 with a 3.72 ERA. He’s basically become the seventh inning man and sometimes the eighth when Kyle Farnsworth needs a night off. If the Yanks are to reach the postseason and have success, they’ll need Proctor to continue to be durable enough to handle some tough situations.

-While the Yankees took care of business, they got some more help from Detroit, who pushed home a run in the ninth to edge Boston 3-2- taking their second straight at Fenway to put the Red Sox three out of first in the AL East. Detroit also got some unexpected help from the Royals, who halted the White Sox’ five-game win streak with a 4-2 win. The difference was a two-run dinger from rising star Mark Teahen in the sixth off losing Chicago starter Javier Vazquez. It helped put Detroit back up to 6.5 in front in the AL Central. Despite that, they lost second baseman Placido Polanco to a separated shoulder when he made a diving catch in the seventh to save a run. Manager Jim Leyland wasn’t certain when he’d return. Oddly enough, catcher Ivan Rodriguez played the final couple of innings at second. Hopefully, Polanco will be able to return this year.

-Getting back to the topic of A-Rod. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the error he made was his seventh this season with Mussina on the mound, tying Colorado third baseman Garrett Atkins for the most in the majors behind one starter. His seven have come behind Jeff Francis. For more on Mr. But, there was an interesting piece written by the Post’s Brooks out of all people. An excerpt:

There was Something About Mary and there is Something About A-Rod as a public figure that rarely seems genuine. As an individual, as a civilian, he might be the most pleasant, well-intentioned fellow around. He might be the best husband and best father extant. We don’t know him away from the field. We don’t know him away from the clubhouse.

We know him as an athlete who was advertised as the best player in baseball upon his arrival in The Bronx, but who has been substantially less than that in Pinstripes, regardless of the numbers he’s accumulated.

For it is impossible to conceive of Derek Jeter pulling the same kind of stunt. Impossible to imagine Jorge Posada alluding to subpar health as camouflage for a subpar semester. Impossible to imagine Gary Sheffield invoking the “but” defense.

The more Rodriguez tried to explain himself last night, the less he made sense. He didn’t want to say what the problem had been, only that it was behind him. He didn’t want to say whether he was hurt badly enough to have come out of the lineup if the Yankees hadn’t already been playing without Sheffield, Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano, though he sure created the impression that he perceived himself as the most valiant soldier out there.

All valid points by a freaking hockey beat writer. Brooks can be a little arrogant at times (especially with his off the wall plea for the Rangers to bring back an ancient Brian Leetch) but he’s been around long enough to get a good read on situations. When the Yankees traded Alfonso Soriano (who in every way this year is superior to the guy he was dealt for playing a new position) three years ago for Rodriguez, they were supposed to be getting the best player in the game. It was considered a no-brainer. For the most part, that talent has still be on display in the three years (last year by far his best). But they’ve also witnessed a supersensitive player who puts an immense amount of pressure on himself and doesn’t always deliver in key moments. Something even Yankee homer Michael Kay pointed on during the UPN telecast when the third baseman didn’t get home a runner at third with less than two out. According to what he said, only the Twins’ Michael Cuddyer has come through less in such situations. I’d imagine they got this from Elias Sports Bureau. Who knows? In any event, Brooks’ take on the 2005 AL MVP is interesting and can be read in its entirety down below:

http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/with_alex__there_is_always_a_but_yankees_larry_brooks.htm 

-Speaking of good reads, Post baseball writer Joel Sherman also had a great piece on Boston slugger Manny Ramirez. The former George Washington High School product has gone on to become one of the game’s best overall hitters with both the Indians and Red Sox spanning a 13-year career. During the article, Sherman goes on to compare Ramirez’ production at the same age of 34 to all-time home run King Hank Aaron. Interestingly enough, a former teammate of Aaron and current Yankee skipper Joe Torre supported the argument:

In the midst of his age-34 season, Ramirez has 467 homers, 1,507 RBIs and a .314 batting average. At the conclusion of his age-34 season in 1968, Aaron had 510 homers, 1,627 RBIs and a .314 batting average.

“That’s a hell of a comparison. Because, like Henry, Ramirez is a great hitter, not just a home run hitter. Henry Aaron was the best hitter I have ever seen, but I put Manny right in the conversation about the upper echelons with no hesitation.“

Good insight from the future Hall of Fame manager who’s seen it all in his five decades in the game. The rest of the article can be viewed here:

http://www.nypost.com/sports/born_to_hit_sports_joel_sherman.htm 

-Meanwhile, the Mets were pounded for the second straight night in Philadelphia 11-4. This time, El Duque took it on the chin by compiling his worst outing in the majors- allowing 11 runs and 10 hits in just four innings of work. Lately, he had been pitching very well for the Amazin’s. In fact, before tonight’s destruction at the hands of the suddenly rejuvenated Abreu-less Phils, Orlando Hernandez had gone at least six his last four outings and hadn’t lost since June 30 to the Yankees. He also had pitched at least seven in five of his previous seven times on the hill. So, maybe this was just an aberration for the 36 year-old Cuban veteran. Sometimes, you just don’t have it. When both Shane Victorino and David Dellucci connected for homers in a four-run first to put the Phillies ahead, it was pretty apparent that it would be a short night for the former Yankee. It would only get worst from there as Philadelphia scored seven more in the next three frames to get all 11 runs against him. In particular, new left fielder Victorino drove in three with a HR and triple. Doesn’t it speak volumes that Pat Burrell has taken a seat on the bench while the Phillies are two under .500 and within 2.5 of the wild card-leading Reds? Just wondering.

-While it wasn’t a good night for the Mets in the least who dropped their second straight and have now been outscored 24-4 in the first two games of the four-game set, there was at least one bright spot. Rising star shortstop and leadoff man Jose Reyes picked a tough night to go into the record books by becoming the seventh Met to hit three home runs in a game. As part of it, he ledoff the game for the fifth time this season with a dinger to give the Mets their only lead. The 23 year-old shortstop who recently inked a four-year extension worth over $23 million now has a career high 14 HR and 59 RBI’s. He’s also hitting .299 with 49 stolen bases and 98 runs scored. The guy’s a splendid talent and realizes what it’s about even on such a prodigous night:

“We lost, so I can’t get too excited. If we would’ve won, it would’ve been more exciting.“

Added manager Willie Randolph on his exciting star:

“He’s one of the most exciting players in the game. He’s just scratching the surface. He’ll be around for a long, long time.”

And the Mets are very lucky to have him. What a joy he is to watch!

-In just another day for a Jets fan (well I’m not but if you are apologies), just acquired running back Lee Suggs failed his physical to void the trade Gang Green made with the Browns which sent corner Derrick Strait to Cleveland. As WFAN’s Joltin’ Joe Benigno would say, “This could only happen to the Jets.” And of course he’d rant about it for a half hour in typical Benigno fashion. Of course, when you’re also a Knicks fan, there’s a lot to yell about. At least he’s got the Mets and Rangers. Did we just say that? So instead of possibly solidifying their problem if Curtis Martin indeed is done, the Jets remain in limbo with Cedric Houston and Derrick Blaylock. Oh boy. You do realize that if they had Ron Dayne, that would signal an upgrade.

-In hockey news, the Islanders signed defenseman Sean “Over the” Hill. Is this really supposed to be a good thing?

-It appears former Pens’ 2004 second overall pick Evgeni Malkin has left his Russian Super League team and could wind up in the NHL debuting for Pittsburgh. If he does, he will make an immediate impact helping form a dynamic top two center duo with Sidney Crosby. Malkin’s game is eerily similar to Sergei Fedorov. He’s a great skater with size and can play in any situation. Oh. And he can finish and setup goals. Question is is he really going to get out of his contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk? At this juncture, his whereabouts are still unknown after bolting their training camp in Helsinki, Finland this past Saturday. Updating the story, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the Russian team will go to court for compensation if Malkin leaves for the NHL. Metallurg general director Gennady Velichkin was furious with Malkin’s American agents:

“They all like to talk about democracy, the American way and then they shamelessly steal our best players. This is pure sports terrorism. Don’t forget, Malkin is a young kid, he is still very naive and it was easy for them to get into his head all that stuff about the American dream and how great the NHL is. The Pittsburgh owners are trying hard to sell the club, and the price would be totally different if they had Malkin. But you can’t just take our best players and expect to get away with it…In soccer, a fee for a player of Malkin’s caliber would be into tens of millions of dollars. He is a franchise player and we won’t be satisfied with anything less.“

Of course, he has a valid point. Especially with the uncertainty surrounding Malkin’s contract status. It was reported that he did re-up with the team for another year before this strange disappearance. But to utter the word terrorism goes too far. Ultimately, the kid’s going to do what he’s going to do. Problem is whether or not it’s legal. We can certainly understand what kind of value as well as appeal Malkin would have back home. I am betting this situation won’t be settled for a while. Expect Malkin’s destination to be in limbo.

-It was a good night for the Yanks as they gained a split of the four-game series against the pesky Angels with a 7-2 victory. On the strength of Derek Jeter’s third inning two-run home run, Randy Johnson took a shutout into the seventh inning for the second straight outing but gave up two two out RBI hits to Chone Figgins and Howie Kendrick which tied it. For Johnson who notched his 13th win of the season, it was his second consecutive solid start and one in which he became only the third pitcher to ever reach 4,500 strikeouts when he fanned Tim Salmon in the fourth to get a nice ovation from the crowd- joining Nolan Ryan (5,714) and Roger Clemens (4,552). Quite an accomplishment for the soon to be 43 year-old five-time Cy Young winner and one he reflected on afterwards:

“I’ve never allowed myself to get too caught up in the accomplishments. Maybe I will when I’m done. It means I’ve been around a long time and I’ve struck out a lot of batters. That’s probably why my arm’s pretty tired.“

Well put. Of course, it’s understandable if the savvy 18-year vet didn’t want to talk too much about what it meant because he’s still trying to accomplish something here. The Yanks should just be encouraged that he’s pitched up to form against two quality clubs. Maybe that’s a good sign. They can sure use him to come up big down the stretch. And we all know what’s coming up later this week at Fenway.

As for the rest of the game, an A-Rod sac fly in the seventh took Vlad Guerrero to the warning track to put the Yanks on top. An inning later, they put the game away with four more including a Jorge Posada solo shot which was part of a three hit night for the catcher who broke out of an 0-for-25 slump. They tacked on three more including a gift A-Rod RBI infield single on a chopper Orlando Cabrera should’ve had in his sleep. Even A-Rod couldn’t believe they scored it a hit. Hometown scoring alright if we ever saw it. Hey. He’ll definitely take it.

In the same game, Jeter had three hits to raise his average to .344 along with 10 dingers and 70 RBI’s. The popular shortstop even drew some “MVP, MVP” chants from his supporters after a bunt single. The guy deserves it. I don’t think anyone could’ve expected the 32 year-old vet to have arguably his best year. It’s just not supposed to happen that way. But he is the consumate pro and that’s why any baseball fan should be able to appreciate what he brings to the table day in and day out. It kind of reminds me of a good point our favorite Daily News Sunday columnist Mike Lupica brought up about Jeter’s teammate Mariano Rivera. Though we’re not a huge fan of him, Lupica occasionally can be right (problem is he thinks he always is). His take from his Shooting From The Lip column on the great Yankee closer of the past decade:

You watched Mo Rivera cough one up the other night as he does maybe once a month, and were reminded again that he might not just be the most valuable Yankee of the Joe Torre era, but perhaps the most valuable Yankee of all time.

He does not make the most money on the Yankees, or even close.

He is not the most famous of them.

Just the best of them, after all these years.

He is the one player on his team better at what he does than any others are at what they do.

Of all the money players in the history of sports, and that means all sports, Mo Rivera has failed less in big spots than anybody else you can mention.

Think about that.

He has had his failures, you bet.

Some of them turned out to be monumental, like Game 7 of the 2001 World Series and Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox.

But more than the manager, more than Jeter, he has done the most to make this time in Yankee history special.

He is the one who makes us believe the championship teams of the Torre era were better than they actually were.

The quietest one of all, then, one of the quietest Yankees of them all, has been the most important.

Sometimes it takes a ninth inning belonging to the other guys to make you appreciate him all over again.

Mo Rivera can’t go on forever.

This may be the last season we see him close to being his best.

Appreciate him for as long as this lasts, just because nothing like this will ever happen again in baseball.

His streak of power relief pitching, excellence in power relief pitching, is as impressive as Cal Ripken’s consecutive games played streak.

Whether or not you love or hate him, Lupica can sometimes be right on point about some things. And he nails it here about Rivera. What the now 36 year-old veteran ace reliever has accomplished this past decade has been remarkable. If you take him away from any of those championship teams, there’s no parade down the Canyon of Heroes. There’s no Yankee domination either. People sometimes forget how vital he was to that first one in 1996. That bridge to John Wetteland was the most lethal probably in baseball. Opponents knew that if they didn’t get the lead by the sixth, the game was over. A decade later, it’s three more World Series titles along with an WS MVP trophy and 409 saves encounting. The greatest closer of our generation. The most valuable Yankee. Period.

-If the Yanks and Mets meet in a Subway Series, who are you handing the ball for those final three outs? Rivera or Billy Wagner?

-Not only did the Yanks get back on the winning track but they actually increased their AL East lead to two over Boston because the Red Sox fell to the Tigers 7-4 at Fenway. Detroit snapped a season worst five-game skid by knocking around Josh Beckett for five earned in six frames. If there’s such a thing as a big win when you improve to 36 over .500, this was it for the boys from MoTown. The White Sox are coming and it’s imperative that Jim Leyland’s ballclub gets the ship righted here. Those Sox btw won rather easily over the Royals 12-2 to remain 5.5 out and pulled three full games ahead of Boston and idle Minnesota for the wild card. The defending champs are getting better pitching lately and have come around. If they continue to roll offensively and pitch more effectively, they’re going to be increasingly tough to deal with down the stretch.

-White the White Sox are getting in gear, so too are the suddenly red hot A’s. They cameback from 4-2 down against Seattle to post a 5-4 win. It was their fourth in a row and moved them 5.5 ahead of the Angels and Rangers. Frank Thomas slugged his 25th dinger and Nick Swisher’s two-run shot in the eighth proved to be the difference. Their ninth win in 10 has gotten them to 14 over .500. In fact, Oakland’s 21-9 mark since the All Star break is the best in the majors. Meanwhile, with his 473rd career HR, Thomas has been hot of late hitting a sizzling .343 with five long balls and 18 RBI’s in his last 19. He’s made Billy Beane’s $500,000 gamble look great. Sure. He is injury prone and doesn’t hit for the average anymore but if you look at the production, it’s made a difference. In the 95 games he’s gotten into, he’s got 25 homers and 69 RBI’s. Now with right fielder Milton Bradley finally healthy, it’s given the Athletics a solid middle of the order that can produce. Toss in third baseman Eric Chavez and they can score more. With Barry Zito and Dan Haren anchoring the staff and Justin Duchscherer setting up for Huston Street, Oakland looks to be in good shape. If Rich Harden can comeback soon from a right elbow ligament sprain which has sidelined him over two months, even better. Before the season began, our pick to win it all was the A’s. We had them beating the Mets. Both teams are still on track for that to happen. It should be an interesting final couple of months.

-While things were significantly better for the Yanks, the same couldn’t be said for the Mets. The NL leaders were dealt a potential blow when ace Pedro Martinez was unable to get out of the first inning against the Phillies in a 13-0 blowout loss. In his fourth start since returning from the DL, the three-time Cy Young winner gave up six runs in the first for the first time in his career according to Elias Sports Bureau before departing with a strained right calf. The outing was the second shortest in his career. Wild from the outset, Pedro hit two batters, walked one and even balked. Throw in four hits allowed and it was a brief 35-pitch night for the Met hurler. In a game where Phils rookie Cole Hamels went eight shutout innings while K-ing nine to pull Philadelphia within 3.5 of the idle wild card-leading Reds, Mets’ skipper Willie Randolph was more concerned with his ace:

“He felt a twinge out there, but he felt like if it got loose, he could go out there and give us what he had…The concern, obviously, is that he’s OK. I want to wait and see when the dust settles where we stand.“

And that’s how it should be when your team sits atop the NL with a 71-46 record and is still 14 clear of the Phils. At this point, Martinez is listed as day-to-day and will be reevaluated later today by a team doctor. Hopefully, it’s not that serious. But we’re also sure that even if it isn’t, the Amazin’s will be cautious before bringing him back to the mound. They can afford to be. That’s the luxury they’ve earned.

-Meanwhile, the NL West-leading Dodgers continued their winning ways with a 4-2 victory over the Marlins for their fifth consecutive win. Now eight over .500, Los Angeles is 2.5 up on San Diego. Thanks to a two-run homer from Nomar Garciaparra off Dontrelle Willis plus a solid seven from Derek Lowe, the Dodgers have now won 16 of their last 17 after starting 1-13 after the All Star break. Amazing turnaround. It’s worth noting that that 16-1 stretch is their best mark since the franchise relocated from Brooklyn back in 1958. In fact, the last time they had such a stretch was in 1953. G.M. Ned Colletti who’s assembled this suddenly contending club spoke about the big turnaround:

“We had two weeks that were horrific, but we never lost faith in the club and the club never lost faith in themselves. The end of July was not the time to say, `When does ‘07 start?‘ I believed and (manager) Grady (Little) believed that there were good players in this room who were all competitive and who all care.“

Sometimes, baseball can be a funny game. You’re in a slump and you never think you’ll get out of it. But that’s also why there’s 162 games. Colletti and the Dodgers must be given a ton of credit. A few weeks ago, they were even the laughingstock of a mock site called http://www.dodgerblues.com/content/news.html.

We doubt they’re singing many blues these days. Maybe there was a method to Colletti’s madness cause whatever it is, it’s worked.

-Congratulations to Staten Island’s own Mid-Island Little League, who advanced to the Little League World Series with a 2-1 dramatic walkoff win over Livingston, New Jersey. Knotted at one, Frank Smith’s solo home run in the home half of the sixth lifted them to victory in Bristol, Connecticut. They’ll now be one of 16 teams who will compete in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the LLWS. Around here, this is huge news. Anytime one of our teams makes it this far, it’s big time and very exciting for everybody. I can remember when South Shore used to produce very good squads while I was growing up that my former next door neighbor Anthony Sutter was a part of. Those were great times. Now, an S.I. team gets another chance to bring home the trophy. No matter what happens the rest of the way, those kids will remember this experience the rest of their lives. Best of luck!

-The Yanks’ struggles continued against the Angels yesterday in a 5-3 loss at the Stadium. Chien Ming-Wang had his second straight poor outing, giving up five earned on 13 hits in five-plus. While the second-year starter didn’t have close to his ‘A’ stuff, the Yankee hitters were baffled by Los Angeles rookie sensation Jered Weaver. He allowed just a Craig Wilson solo homer and three hits in six innings while striking out eight. Though Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi went back-to-back with two out in the ninth off Scott Shields, it meant little when K-Rod got Jorge Posada to pop out to end it. What it did mean was another loss to a team that seems to have their number. The Angels improved to 4-2 against them this season with one more game tonight as Randy Johnson looks to salvage a split. The Angels of course have eliminated the Bronx Bombers twice in the past four postseasons (2002, 2005). They just are a match-up from Hell for the Yanks. Players such as Chone Figgins give Yankee pitchers fits. And the Halos are pesky and pitch well enough to make life difficult for the team with baseball’s highest payroll.

It’s at that point that you realize that having the most money means squat. If your players don’t execute on the field in the most pressure packed situations, you aren’t going to win when it matters most. One critic likes to point at what the Yanks have coming out there everyday even without Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield. Let’s ask something. Why did the Yanks win four World titles in five years with a much smaller payroll but have had little October success since? Where would the Yankees be without the Melky Cabreras, Andy Phillips, Miguel Cairos and even Aaron Guiels? Not in the position a game up on Boston with the big five-game series coming up later this week at Fenway. Why is it perfectly okay when other teams have role players who help them get through a rough stretch but not when the BIG BAD YANKEES do? Because some critics are hypocrites who only choose to see what they want but look the other way when the lesser names are the ones chipping in for the Pinstripes.

-The latest A-Rod news was reported in today’s New York Post by Joel Sherman that the reigning AL MVP insisted that he played through injuries earlier this season and probably should’ve been DLed. That whatever problems he had helped cause the throwing errors and him to be late on any fastball waist up (that’s the book on him). All this stuff looks like an excuse. Nobody cares why the game’s highest paid player was not performing up to peak. The bottom line is he was out there everyday. So there shouldn’t be any excuses. Players play hurt. On the same team, Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter both played banged up earlier this season. It shouldn’t be a big deal. You’re not always going to be 100 percent. If Rodriguez did the same thing, good. Whatever the problem was, the Yankee third baseman knows that what’s happened to this point means nothing and is ready for whatever challenge lies ahead:

“My season starts now. In this town, it doesn’t matter what happened earlier. No one will remember.“

And he’s absolutely right. Finally sounds like he gets it. Yes, playing in the media circus known as New York can be very trying. This is a Win Now town. If you don’t put up, you’ll hear it. If you do, you can turn things around in the blink of an instant like the Mets’ Carlos Beltran. A-Rod did insist he felt the best he had all year which is a plus. Well, that means he should get back to being the most talented player in the game and start delivering for the Bombers. They certainly need it in this crazy AL playoff race. Rodriguez along with his teammates will be determined on what they do from this point on. If they fail to make their 12th straight postseason this October, it won’t matter how well some played. It will all be for naught. Sherman’s article is definitely worth the read:

http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/a_reeling_rodriguez_tosses_injury_card_in_yankees_joel_sherman.htm

-While it should continue to be an uphill battle just to see October again for one New York team, the same can’t be said for the Mets. After yesterday’s 3-1 win over the Nationals in Washington, they ran their NL best record to 71-45. The latest unlikely hero was Michael Tucker, who slugged his first homer in over a year to lift the Amazin’s to their second win in a row and another series victory. Ironically, the veteran outfielder was given his release by the Nats during Spring Training. So it had to be a sweet redemption.

Just how much better are the Mets than their NL competition? They are now 9.5 games better than the reeling Cardinals, who somehow got swept by the NL worst Pirates this past weekend and saw their NL Central lead over the Reds dwindle to 1.5. Okay. Maybe the Cards no longer count as primary competition. Outside of Albert Pujols, Chris Carpenter, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds, they stink! There’s no other way around it. This team was never going to be as good as anyone thought. Their pitching staff is on life support. Mark Mulder has been DLed since June with a problem with his left shoulder. Jason Marquis somehow has 12 wins with almost a 6.00 ERA. So desperate were the Cards that they went from Sidney Ponson to Jeff Weaver. What the heck is the difference? Jason Isringhausen can still get the job done out of the pen but is no longer automatic. And Braden Looper doesn’t exactly strike fear into opposing batters. So what’s keeping them alive? Well, aside from the usual Pujols heroics, rookies such as Chris Duncan and Adam Wainwright have done a solid job. And of course the fact their division just isn’t that good. It’s amazing that the Reds haven’t passed them yet.

The third best team (really second due to how they’ve played lately) is the NL West-leading Dodgers. They just swept the pathetic Giants (somewhere WFAN’s Chris Russo is crying) to improve to six games over .500. Despite having played extremely well for three weeks now, they only lead the Padres by 1.5 and Arizona by 2.5. Even the Colorado Rockies sit 4.5 out. If the Dodgers continue to pitch and hit well, they should run away with that division. They might be the only team capable of making the Mets work for a series victory. They have enough bats to compete. It all depends on the health though of Nomar Garciaparra, Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew. Greg Maddux, Brad Penny and Derek Lowe give them a puncher’s chance. They’ve also gotten contributions from rookies Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Takashi Saito and Andre Ethier. Toss in vets such as Rafael Furcal, Julio Lugo, Kenny Lofton along with Danys Baez and they certainly have enough balance to make some noise if they make the postseason. There’s one thing that hurts them. They’re managed by Grady Little.

-The wildcard race continues to be wacky with the four over Reds leading the Padres by half a game and Arizona by 1.5. Colorado and Houston trail by 3.5 while the Phillies are four off the pace. Even seven under Florida and Milwaukee are only 5.5 out. And Atlanta is six out despite being eight under! You can’t make it up.

-With two more home runs this weekend against the Mets, Alfonso Soriano continued his march to becoming just the fourth player to 40/40:

Official Soriano Watch: HR-38   SB-28   GR-45

-If the Phillies win the wild card, does Ryan Howard win MVP? Just wondering.

-While things remain tight in the Senior Circuit, it’s heating up in the AL Central after the White Sox swept the Tigers to send them to their season worst fifth straight defeat to suddenly pull within 5.5 games. Oh. At the beginning of last week, they trailed by a season high 10. So is the impossible happening? Detroit still has the majors’ best record coming in with a cool 35 games over .500 (76-41). It won’t get any easier for them as they travel to Boston for three starting tonight. So can Jim Leyland right the ship? Meanwhile, the White Sox host Kansas City for four. Uh. Want to bet it’s down to three by Friday?

-Should we be surprised that Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson broke up after six years? Such is life in Hollywood. Ah. Well at least she’s finally single!

-I’m still wondering what that comeback Giants 17-16 preseason win over Baltimore is going to mean for them a month from now. But it was HUGE! Jay Feely is back!

-When does Eric Mangini finally admit that Patrick Ramsey is a flop and that either Chad Pennington or rookie Kellen Clemens is his QB? Even Brooks Bollinger is miles better than Ramsey. Well at least they got a running back today by acquiring Lee Suggs from Cleveland for cornerback Derrick Strait. Guess that spells the end for Curtis Martin.

-In hockey, tough news for Rangers forward Jed Ortmeyer. The 27 year-old PK specialist was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. For those who don’t know, it’s the sudden blockage of an artery in the lung which is likely caused by blood clots. What ashame. The fan favorite will be sidelined indefinitely. According to his agent Mark Witkin, it’s not considered to be career threatening and can be treated with medication. Hopefully for Ort and the Blueshirts, he’ll be able to return later this season. I wouldn’t expect him back too soon.

-We’ll start this off with a Random Thought…only on ESPN does the first week of NFL preseason games MATTER. How much? How about they bring in their idiotic analyst Sean Salisbury (who’s never been right kind of like his NFL career) to “breakdown” the first snaps of Denver first round pick Jay Cutler. I guess because he completed 16-of-22 for 192 yards and a touchdown, it means he was a steal at 11th overall and will have a good rookie season and a great career! All cause he had such a splendid preseason debut! Did they mention it was against the Lions? Thought so. Their D will never be confused with the 1985 Bears.

-Sticking with the football theme, according to ESPN’s panel of experts, there’s also no reason to watch the season. I mean heck. It was a month ago when they projected the Patriots to come out of the ultracompetitive AFC and advance to the Super Bowl. Nevermind that they lost their clutch kicker Adam Vinateri to the Colts and their D is not as good as it used to be. Or that Corey Dillon is coming off a miserable 2005 in which he rushed for less than 1,000 yards. No matter! The Pats are still treated like football Gods in Bristol. Would it happen to be because they’re from Massachusetts? Nah. Couldn’t be! Especially on a professional sports station. Did we just say that?

-While the Yankees are up 5-2 on the Angels thanks to homers from Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon, the Red Sox have predictably rallied against the hapless Orioles to tie their game at seven. They trailed 5-1 and 7-3 but pushed across four runs with two outs in the home sixth on the strength of the red hot Willy Mo Pena (2-run triple) and Doug Mirabelli (2-run HR). Who’s managing the Orioles? Bugs Bunny?!?!?!?!?! That actually might be an upgrade.

-There was just some discussion on Fox between Dick Stockton and Tim McCarver about the mock cheers Alex Rodriguez received after making a nice scoop play and perfect throw to get Orlando Cabrera. Earlier in the game, A-Rod was charged with a tough error for his 20th of the season when he couldn’t field a tough hop. As you probably know by now, he leads all third basemen in that unfortunate category. I probably wouldn’t have given him an E5 on this one because it did hop up. Of course, the all knowing McCarver disagreed. He’s an excellent analyst even though he blabbers on and on. Getting back to the mock cheers a couple of innings later, McCarver accurately pointed out that “he never thought he’d hear that for Rodriguez.” Maybe it’s me. But it seemed like most of the Yankee Stadium crowd was recognizing the play he made and giving him the support to let him know they’re on his side. It should be noted that the 2005 AL MVP hasn’t been booed once at the plate since the Yanks returned yesterday. One other topic came up about the much talked about third baseman. McCarver mentioned “the best player in the game and how maybe that’s come down.” In a down year, one would have to agree about reassessing Mr. Rodriguez’ place in the game. It’s hard to even rank him in the top 10 this season based on his body of work. But despite not playing up to par, he still has 24 home runs and 82 RBI’s along with 80 runs scored and 11 steals. Not too bad. He’s a hot streak away from having a normal season. Btw…with two more hits today (both opposite field doubles), he’s lifted his average to .287. So it’s not brutal by any stretch.

-As we were writing that, a rested Kyle Farnsworth tossed a 1-2-3 eighth and Mariano Rivera retired the Angels in order for his 30th save in 33 tries. Since he became the team’s closer in 1997, the future Hall of Famer has now saved 30-or-more in nine of 10 seasons. The only year he didn’t reach that plateau was 2002 when he saved 28, only getting into 45 games. I think the most remarkable thing about Rivera is his longevity. He’s not a kid anymore at 36 but continues to get the job done more often than not. He’s not exactly a big guy either but has never broken down. It’s amazing that opposing batters know what’s coming (two-seamer, cutter) and still don’t have much success. It really tells you how great a reliever Rivera is.

-Not to be overlooked in the Yanks’ win was another decent performance from Jaret Wright. He pitched into the sixth allowing just one run on two hits to improve to 9-6. As usual, he threw less than 100 pitches (83) but lately the former Brave who was given that big contract last year has been gritty. The 30 year-old former Indians 1994 first round pick has won three straight decisions, giving up only one run in each outing. Though he’ll never be considered worth the three-year $21 million contract Yankee GM Brian Cashman handed out a couple of winters ago, Wright’s pitched alright this year. On a staff where Randy Johnson has won 12 games despite having an ERA over 5.00, Wright now has a 4.24 and has become reliable enough to keep his ballclub in games. Got to give credit where it’s due.

-The Red Sox and Orioles were still tied 7-7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth at Fenway. So does anyone care to guess which Red Sock will be the hero?

-Meanwhile, things continue to suddenly get interesting in the AL Central after the White Sox edged first place Detroit 4-3 to cut their lead to 6.5. It was the Tigers’ fourth loss in a row, tying a season worst. Three Detroit errors was the difference in the game, making all four runs Kenny Rogers gave up unearned. Think maybe they’re getting nervous in Jim Leyland’s clubhouse? If the White Sox win tomorrow and complete the sweep, sound off the alarms.

-Well, it’s over in Fenway as the Sox comeback from four to defeat the listless O’s 8-7 in 10 innings. The hero: AL MVP candidate Manny Ramirez:

M. Ramirez singled to left, G. Kapler to third, D. Ortiz to second, G. Kapler scored on left fielder B. Fahey’s fielding error

He now has an AL best 27-game hitting streak. Ramirez is hitting .325 (38 points higher than David Ortiz) with 32 home runs and 93 RBI’s. Of course, Big Papi leads the other two categories (9 more HR and 17 extra RBI’s). Both are great players and depend on each other. They’re the most explosive dynamic 3-4 duo in baseball. If you’re going to include on in the MVP talk, the other deserves the same respect.

-There was an interesting blurb in today’s NY Post written by George King about how Mariano Rivera got away with a balk in the one Yankee win over the White Sox the other night at U.S. Cellular Field. With runners on the corners and two out, according to King, Rivera moved his front shoulder forward before stopping and then delivering the third pitch to Jim Thome. Has home plate umpire Tom Gorman noticed, a game which the Yankees led 7-0 would have been tied. Instead, Rivera cameback to get Thome to ground out to second to end it. The best aspect of King’s article was the admission by the ace closer:

“I did know it, but it wasn’t too obvious.”

Sometimes, even the best can luck out.

-It looks like the real Cory Lidle showed up tonight unfortunately for the Yanks. Nine days after such a promising debut where he shutdown the Blue Jays, the ex-Phillie allowed two home runs an inning apart and lasted just four giving up three earned and tossing only 79 pitches before the immortal Sidney Ponson replaced him and gave up three more to put the Yanks down 6-1. One question. Why was Lidle pulled after only 79 pitches? What? He couldn’t throw strikes and give them a couple of more innings before Ponson insured that there would be almost no chance of a comeback. While the Angel bats were taking advantage, rookie Joe Saunders was baffling the Bombers for six innings allowing just an RBI single to Jason Giambi before tiring in the seventh and allowing the first three batters to reach including a Sal Fasano two-run double which cut it to 6-3. But he’s in line for the win after Nick Green mysteriously bunted into a 1-6 double play. Green was in the lineup to give Robinson Cano a night off due to travel. Since coming off the DL, the All Star second baseman was a sizzling 7-for-14 with five extra base hits in three games at Chicago. Not a bad way to return after six weeks out with a hamstring injury. The one positive in this game was that rookie Melky Cabrera threw out a runner at second for his 10th assist of the season. He’s also drawn two walks and scored a run. There’s also this. Out of his seven homers this year, three had come in the past four games.

-Random thought from this game. Why the heck did Joe Torre throw Jose Veras out there for one batter in the eighth only to see Vlad Guerrero pulverize a hanging breaking ball to restore a four-run lead for the Angels? Then he pulls him. What’s the point? Sometimes, I wish I could be a baseball manager. Maybe I too can waste Kyle Farnsworth in a five-run game and pitch him in back-to-back when he can’t do it and see him serve up two dingers which forces us to bring in Rivera. Where’s Bobby Valentine with his fake mustache disguise when you need him?

-Random Thought II…my brother pointed this out to me earlier as we were watching the Giants-Ravens preseason game on NBC. The new look NFL referee jerseys are some of the ugliest things we’ve ever seen. It’s about as God awful as it gets. Who designed them? The same bozo who decided to turn the Buffalo Sabres logo into a laughingstock of epic proportions. I only know about it because I hear about it on a daily basis from a buddy Brian in Sayreville, NJ. And he’s right. It’s butt ugly. You decide:

-If new Jets coach Eric Mangini can’t go for fourth-and-one from the Tampa Bay 40 in a meaningless preseason game, yikes. Oh. The Jets also lost 16-3. From what we saw, Chad Pennington QB’d the first two series and drove the offense deep into Buc territory but both drives stalled including a predictable lost fumble from the comebacking QB which cost Gang Green at least three. Outside of that, there wasn’t much to get excited about.

-Meanwhile, the Giants still look like they can’t tackle. At last check, they were losing 16-7 at Baltimore. Maybe they were still suffering flashbacks of that 24-0 home debacle to Carolina. Another thing. If I have to see them give it to Brandon Jacobs for a sweep to the right only to see it go nowhere, will Coach Coughlin get the hint that this guy can’t be utilized that way? Welcome to Ron Dayne Part II.

-The Mets lost 2-1 at Washington. Does it really matter? They could lose the next 10 and still would somehow lead their division by 10. At least the much publicized Paul Lo Duca stayed red hot by hitting a first inning homer. Interestingly, since his ex-Playboy wife Sonia filed for divorce at the end of June, the All Star backstop has been the major’s hottest hitter. According to Elias Sports Bureau via an AP report, he was hitting .413 entering Friday night before hitting his fourth dinger (first since May 13) of the season in the first. You got to love it. The man continues to go about his business on the field not missing a beat. Maybe more players should date younger women. Just look at the affect it’s having on Mr. Lo Duca! We’re not suggesting other major leaguers should dump their wives. That’s not the intention at all especially if they’re happily married. But you can’t say Lo Duca has been affected negatively by all this. Toss in the gambling debt accusations and the ex-Marlin is definitely tough. He’s somehow managed to turn all this into a positive by focusing on team. Maybe when you have these kind of circus-like distractions, the best way to channel it is to come to the ballpark and swing the bat and call a solid game behind the plate. Definitely a good way to relieve the tension.

-The other encouraging news for the Mets is Tom Glavine pitched a second straight solid game, going six allowing only two runs and striking out seven. Unfortunately, he was outpitched by former Met 2000 first round pick Billy Traber, who six years and two organizations later held the Amazin’s to one run and four hits in seven frames to improve to 2-1. For the Mets, Jose Reyes continued to swing a hot bat with two hits in a losing effort and stolen base number 49. He continues to improve all the time. Sure is a pleasure to watch. Though they had a five-game win streak snapped, we’re certain the NL’s best team will bounceback tomorrow with John Maine on the hill. The former Oriole who was viewed as an afterthought in the Kris Benson-Jorge Julio deal is riding a 23 inning scoreless streak- turning that trade into a laugher. Especially when you consider that the Mets now have El Duque to show for Julio. That’s 2/5 of their rotation and both have pitched well. Not bad value for GM Omar Minaya.

-With the Yanks losing to the Angels 7-4 and the Red Sox finally returning to Fenway and snapping a five-game skid with a 9-2 victory over the Orioles, New York’s division lead is down to two. Much like Boston didn’t take advantage when the Yankees were in some trouble, this time the Bronx Bombers didn’t. They could remember those couple of games in Chicago if they don’t get the job done at Fenway for five next week.

-The Red Sox actually got seven innings from David Wells for his first win of the year. Manny Ramirez had two hits and drove in two to extend his AL season best hitting streak to 26. How come whenever the MVP talk surrounds his teammate Big Papi, nobody ever discusses that he bats behind him and has been splendid this season? Just wondering. Food for thought:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5132/situational;_ylt=AnfSpPKwyHd0hpoy5TpOJvSFCLcF

-In other meaningful AL action, the White Sox shutout Detroit 5-0 behind Jose Contreras, who went the distance three-hitting the Tigers. Don’t look now but they’re 7.5 behind the AL Central leaders. If the defending World champs continue to play well this weekend, it could mean a totally different kind of race. In the meantime, Chicago maintained their two game wild card lead on Boston. The Twins dropped their second straight to Toronto to fall 1.5 back. They were shutdown by A.J. Burnett, who allowed one run while fanning 10 in seven strong innings to pickup his fourth win. Making matters worse for Minnesota is that prize rookie hurler Francisco Liriano could be gone for the season. A second MRI showed a mild chronic strain of his ulnar collateral ligament. This has caused stiffness in his left shoulder and some soreness in the elbow as well. If the 22 year-old rookie can’t return, it would be a big blow to the Twins’ playoff aspirations. He was 12-3 with an AL best 2.19 ERA. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire seems to believe they’ll have him back before the end of the season. In the meantime, he’ll have recently recalled top prospect Matt Garza. Though he didn’t have an auspicious debut Friday night, the former 2005 first round pick out of Fresno State was so dominant this season that he went all the way from Single A to Triple A. In two years in the minors, he was 18-8 with a 2.73 ERA and 243 K’s. Where do the Twins find these guys?

-The AL West-leading A’s were ahead of Tampa Bay 3-2 in the sixth on a Bobby Kielty two-run homer off Scott Kazmir. Kazmir was making his first start back after being DLed for two weeks with a sore shoulder. He had six strikeouts at last check. If Oakland wins, they’ll remain 3.5 up on the Angels.

-Meanwhile, in the wacky NL, the Phillies posted a 6-5 14 inning victory over the Reds to pull within two of the wild card leaders. The suddenly revamped Phils overcame Tom Gordon’s fourth blown save by pushing the tying run across in the ninth on a Shane Victorino sac fly and won it on an Aaron Rowand runscoring single five frames later. Oh. How crazy was this game you ask? A grand total of 43 players were used by both teams: Reds- 23 (9 pitchers) Phillies- 20 (7 pitchers). Unreal.

-Don’t look now Part II: But Houston’s 4-2 win over the Padres was their fourth in a row to pull them one under .500 and within 1.5 of the wild card. Andy Pettite hit his first career homer and matched a season high by fanning 10. Can the Astros once again sneak up on everyone and steal a spot into the NL postseason? Why not? Nobody’s exactly running away with it. The ageless Roger Clemens is pitching well and his Butt Buddy Pettite is getting it together. Plus they still have ace Roy Oswalt. Aside from that trio which nobody would want a part of, they also possess the game’s most underappreciated superstar in Lance Berkman. Under total obscurity, the 30 year-old has made a smooth transition from the outfield to first and is having an MVP season if anyone cares enough to pay attention. With a solo homer Friday, he’s now at .326 with 31 dingers and 98 RBI’s. And if you want to know why he should get serious consideration if this team gets in, just look at the rest of his team. While Morgan Ensberg checks in with 20 homers which is next on the ballclub, Berkman leads free agent flop Preston Wilson in RBI’s by a whopping 43 while Enberg checks in third with 49 and savvy vet Craig Biggio fourth with 44. In fact, Berkman leads the Astros in four key offensive categories: average (.326), home runs (31), runs batted in (98) and runs scored (65). He also has a .422 OBP and .623 SLG (1.045 OPS). Awesome stuff from someone who flies under the radar. He doesn’t have the protection that a Carlos Beltran has. And for all those David Wright supporters, Beltran has the better power numbers and the Mets have a bunch of MVPs. Of course, the Cards’ Albert Pujols is the rating MVP and definitely has the inside track. With Juan “Nomad” Encarnacion batting behind him, the slugging first baseman still has a .329 average with 34 HR, 91 RBI’s and 85 runs. That’s with missing some time too. He’s played in just 97 games. It’s impossible to ignore what he means to the pitching challenged Cards. You take his bat out of that lineup and they struggle to score as well as pitch. It’s still amazing that they’re 3.5 clear of the Reds despite being brutal since the All Star break. So will they hold on to see October? With how bad the Senior Circuit is, you have to figure yes.

-At last check, the NL West-leading Dodgers were knotted at two with the last place Giants. Ex-Giant Jeff Kent homered but former Kent fave (we kid) Barry Bonds tied it with a single. Despite playing dreadful ball the past couple of weeks, the Giants are only 4.5 off the pace. God. When you have the freaking Rockies three games out while being three under still vying for the division, you know things are bad. Only in the world of the NL. Doesn’t quite have the same ring as Sesame Street’s Land of Make Believe.

-Well, it looks like the Yanks might come up short in this crucial game at Chicago. A win would mean a four game lead over Boston and five clear in the loss column. It’s worth noting that that big five-game series at Fenway is coming next week. If the Bronx Bombers can get a cushion entering it, that would put a ton of pressure on the fading Red Sox, who have now dropped five straight to the combination of Tampa Bay and Kansas City. Kind of makes you wonder about that team’s psyche. They are without Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon which definitely hurts. Though Willy Mo Pena has suddenly caught fire with Nixon out and is producing on a nightly basis. Really, Varitek’s loss is worse cause he’s a leader on that club. He’s got a presence and maybe could settle down some of their struggling pitchers. Plus we like his bat in a tight spot over Javy Lopez or Doug Mirabelli. Of course, no Tim Wakefield hurts too. The veteran knuckleballer can give them innings even if he’s getting hit. We don’t count Matt Clement cause he’s not that good. To think that the Cubs gave up Dontrelle Willis for him. Not that he was bad at Wrigley but still. I know who I’d rather have.
-The Yankees currently trail Chicago 5-4. Melky Cabrera atoned for an earlier fielding error by hitting a moonshot to right for his seventh of the year. Not bad. We love the way the 21 year-old left fielder turned on White Sox flame thrower Brandon McCarthy’s fastball. Up till that point, he was making the Bronx Bombers look bad with some filthy stuff to fan Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada and Robinson Cano three in a row between the sixth and seventh. Then Craig Wilson doubled and Cabrera deposited McCarthy’s first offering about 15 rows up. They got a solid inning plus of scoreless relief from the overworked Scott Proctor, who made his major league-leading 57th appearance by retiring all five batters and fanning three. But unless the Yanks can push a run across in the ninth against tough closer Bobby Jenks, it will be in a losing effort.

-The White Sox hold on. Jenks retired the first two batters before Bernie Williams delivered a tough pinchhit single to right and Cabrera beat out an infield hit to give themselves a chance. But Johnny Damon grounded out to second to end it. He slid but he was out by three steps. So it didn’t matter. A nice try by the Yanks but ultimately, their D in the second inning was their undoing in this one. They have to be pretty disappointed losing two of three in this series. Especially when they see that Boston lost all three to the Royals. So instead of building a four or five-game cushion, it’s three heading back to the Stadium for a four-game set against the always pain in the butt Angels. A team that’s had their number in recent years. It certainly won’t be easy this weekend.

-Here’s the latest disappointing outing for the Cubs’ former ace Mark Prior in their 8-6 loss to Milwaukee:

It’s sad to see what’s become of the 25 year-old former 2001 second overall selection. Not long ago, Prior looked like he would be one of the great pitchers for a long time. Who could forget October 2003 when he and Kerry Wood had the Cubs on the verge of the World Series before the roof caved in against the Marlins. Of course everyone blames Steve Bartman for that catch of a playable foul ball which Moises Alou angrily let the poor fan have it. But still, the Cubs were five outs away and never finished off Florida. And in typical Cubs’ fashion, they lost the last two games on their home field. Wrigley never looked so ugly. To think they were that close. And yeah. I believe they too would’ve beaten the Yankees and won their first World Series since 1908. If you actually go to the baseballreference site (http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/) and look up the Cubs history, there’s a fitting line from the page sponsor: Chicago Sports Fan…It’s A Tough Life!

Sad but true. In only his second season and first full year in ‘03, Prior made 30 starts and went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA, three complete games, a shutout and also struckout 245 in 211.1 innings. Absolutely dominant. In the three seasons since, he hasn’t come close to 200 innings and has become very average. The stuff is still there but he’s now more hittable and his command isn’t as good. Here’s a look at Prior’s career stats courtesy of yahoo:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6787/career;_ylt=ApVvxERjGPNLNyqqCfBqO6eFCLcF

With Prior now 1-6 with an ERA over 7.00, the question becomes will he ever recover to become the kind of dominant starter he could’ve been? Or did Dusty Baker overwork him that one year which was almost special and ruin the former USC product’s career. Hard to say. In the old days, 200 innings was normal. Now, you have these guys on pitch counts. So they’re not used to grinding it out and going the distance. There just aren’t too many starters today that have the pinpoint control and are durable enough to go the full nine on a consistent basis anymore. As a traditional fan who grew up watching baseball in the 1980’s, it’s disappointing. Of course, a lot of this also has to do with the reliever’s role growing to huge proportions. Now, you have the quality start. Six innings has become the equivalent of nine. Then there’s your seventh inning pitcher, eighth inning setup man and your closer. It’s made a starter’s life much easier. They’re not as taxed. But what about when your guy has it going but reaches 110 pitches. Do you take him out? It’s something that could be debated forever. Gone are the days of Jack Morris tossing a 10 inning complete game in Game Seven of the 1991 World Series to lift the Twins to a 1-0 shutout of the Braves at the Metrodome. Man, to think that really happened only 15 years ago. That was old fashioned baseball. Not the kind now where you have managers playing by the book and changing on the fly for matchups. None of that mattered on October 27, 1991. One of the greatest finishes in World Series history. Maybe if today’s pitchers were pushed a little more, they wouldn’t wear down as easily as Prior and Wood have. Such ashame.

-In the Mets’ sweep of the Padres this afternoon, they used an outfield of Michael Tucker, Endy Chavez and Ricky Ledee to post a 7-3 win over the NL West leaders. In other words, an all reject outfield (and yes before Chavez suddenly became good here, he was nothing special) was good enough to beat a first place team to complete the sweep at Shea. It really tells you all you need to know about how pathetic the rest of the NL is. In fact, the veteran Tucker made his 2006 debut and chipped in with an RBI double to cap a four-run seventh which gave the Amazin’s their fifth win in a row and first three-game sweep of the year. If you also include catcher Mike DiFelice who gave the much too talked about Paul Lo Duca the day off, that’s four starters who weren’t even part of the Mets roster a week ago. Apparently, manager Willie Randolph realized the stiff competition wasn’t coming from their opponents. Especially with fan favorite (well maybe not anymore after he hit two out last night) Mike Piazza sitting out the final game. And why not? Randolph’s team has an insurmountable lead in their division and an easy bye into October for the first meaningful baseball in Queens since 2000. You can afford to rest some guys down the stretch when you’re 25 games over .500 while the vast majority of who’s still in the playoff race (and who the heck isn’t) battle it out to see which other three teams (2 division winners and 1 wild card) live to see October.

Here’s the best part. The survivors will get one chance to celebrate before they’re taken apart by the NL’s best team, the Mets. And for those who wonder if we’re already putting them in the World Series, you got it. Who exactly is going to beat them in a short series or a seven-game series? The Cardinals? A team that’s hanging on by a thread in the pathetic NL Central and actually sends Jeff Weaver to the mound every fifth day? The Reds who still somehow lead the wild card almost by default when they have virtually no starting pitching? Where’s Jose Rijo when you need him? The joke that is the NL West? The Padres were just swept but can only trail by half a game if the Dodgers win. The Dodgers have a solid lineup now that Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent have returned but also are relying on the 40 year-old Greg Maddux to continue his rebirth. They also have Brad Penny and veteran Derek Lowe. They also have a new closer Takashi Saito who’s done a very good job along with Danys Baez to setup. On paper, this might be the team that could actually present the best challenge to the Mets. But they’re very unpredictable. This is a team that lost eight in a row and 13 of 14 last month before reeling off 11 straight wins before it was snapped by the Rockies last night. So which team are they? And that right there is why the Mets should roll through the first two rounds of the postseason. Who’s going to step up? The Diamondbacks are okay pitching-wise with Brandon Webb and newly acquired Livan Hernandez but have Jorge Julio closing and a paltry offense that just doesn’t measure up.

When it comes down to it, there just aren’t any teams that should scare Randolph’s well balanced ballclub. Heck. The three under .500 Phillies are only three out of the wild card and they sure as heck can’t compete with the Mets. The Astros? Ha. Unless the Mets choke under the pressure, it should be on cruise control to a pennant.

-The Yanks are trailing the White Sox 4-2. Here’s why: E - A Rodriguez (19, throw); M Cabrera (2, bobble). Ah. Say it ain’t so. That is one of our favorite Weezer songs. A-Rod had been going so well in the field lately too but he botched an easy double play ball which helped lead to the White Sox’ four-run second. He threw the ball about eight feet wide of Robinson Cano. We’re not sure why he rushed it but it hurt. Making matters worse, rookie Melky Cabrera booted Alex Cintron’s RBI single which allowed a third run to score and moved Cintron into scoring position. He came around to score on Scott Podsednik’s single up the middle. Poor Moose. His defense really let him down that inning. Jason Giambi got two runs back with his 33rd homer off ex-Yankee Javier Vazquez in the third but also struckout to leave the bases loaded in the fourth. This is a huge game for the Yanks because the unthinkable happened at Kansas City earlier when the Royals scored three in the eighth off Curt Schilling to sweep the Red Sox. A Yankee win would mean a four-game lead in the AL East.

-How dire has the Red Sox’ situation become? They left Schilling in the game and watched him give it up before Mike Timlin got the final two outs. The damage was done as the suddenly fading Sox went 1-2-3 in the ninth (no David Ortiz didn’t come up and get a chance to save them) against the immortal Ambiorix Burgos. Try saying his first name 10 times fast. How thin is Boston’s pen? We think a recovered 61 year-old Hall of Fame Boston Globe columnist Peter Gammons would be an upgrade. All the best to one ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst who doesn’t act bigger than the game and just provides solid knowledge.

-Official Alfonso Soriano Countdown to 40/40: Home Runs-36 (4 needed) Steals- 28 (12 to go) Games Remaining: 48

Washington G.M. Jim Bowden below:

-Well, lots happening the last couple of days. Of course, the biggest news was Mike Piazza’s return to Shea as a member of the Padres Tuesday night. The popular catcher got a well deserved warm reception from the fans and also was given a nice five minute video tribute which played some of the highlights of his eight-year career with the Amazin’s. Cheered loudly throughout the big night which saw him finish with one single in four trips, the seven-time Mets All Star who led the team to two postseason appearances including the 2000 World Series was clearly taken back by how he was treated:

“I can’t really explain how honored I am because you just don’t see that a lot in sports today.“

And really, that’s all he needed to say to sum up how special it was to receive such great treatment from an organization he helped turn around when the Mets truly were going nowhere. For as bad as things became in the catcher’s final couple of years, they were even worse before he arrived here from Florida on May 22, 1998 for a package which included Preston Wilson. Before Piazza came, the Amazin’s were a baseball laughingstock with almost no direction. Then he arrived and turned New York into a two team baseball town again. It was fun to watch the former Dodger star take his rips in what was a pitcher’s park. He never got cheated and even matched his most homers in a season with 40 in his first full year in 1999. For four straight seasons, he slugged 33-or-more dingers and was the dominant offense force behind the plate that electrified crowds. Of course, it ended last year when the Mets moved on and traded for another former Dodger who played with Florida in Paul Lo Duca.

Meanwhile, the 37 year-old has moved back to the West coast with the Padres, who are in a tight battle for the NL West with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. He might not be as productive as before but he still leads all major league backstops in home runs with 18, including two more in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to his former club before nearly 50,000. Even when his team lost, Piazza became the story by ripping two solo homers off Pedro Martinez to make things close and even turn some cheers to boos. Ah. A typical New York crowd. It doesn’t matter what stadium it is or the sport. As soon as you do too much as the opponent, they start to turn on you. It might not be fair but that’s just the way it is here. After connecting in two consecutive at bats, he nearly had number three in what would’ve gone down as storybook. With two runners on and down two runs, he came up just short against Mets reliever Aaron Heilman taking him to the warning track before Carlos Beltran hauled it in. It left Piazza to compare it to the time he made the final out in the 2000 World Series against Yankee closer Mariano Rivera:

“This stadium is so unforgiving if you don’t get everything into it, and that was a prime example…It was a similar at bat.“

That gives Piazza three homers in five games against his ex-team. Not bad. There’s still one more game to go later today. Maybe he can propel the Padres to a much needed win.

-It was the fourth win in a row for the Mets. Jose Reyes had two hits, a stolen base and an RBI. Martinez pitched into the eighth inning giving up the two Piazza blasts to improve to 9-4. But the news wasn’t all good. As usual, closer Billy Wagner made things interesting in the ninth by serving up a solo shot to Josh Barfield which cut it to one. But he pitched around it for his 26th save in 31 tries. That’s Wagner in a nutshell. He’ll make things interesting but usually gets the job done. Can’t wait for October.

-Of course, the other Mets news once again surrounded around the divorcing Lo Duca. Once again, the New York Post broke a front page story about the current catcher’s alleged affair with a 19 year-old teenager from Long Island named Krista Guterman. Here’s a pic of her: