In George We Trust
A(nother) blog about the most storied franchise in sports
Monday, May 01, 2006
Rivalry renewed
Buster Olney blogs about the Yanks-Red Sox rivalry, which as you know begins a new chapter tonight:
Mariano Rivera carries himself as if emotion could never breach his outer defenses, but he sat in front of his locker at Yankee Stadium on Sunday and said that nothing experienced in the regular season could ever compare with games between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The fact is the players feed off this rivalry as much as the fans do.

"The games force you to compete at a higher level," he said. "Actually, it's good to have that. You're faced with a challenge and you have to go out there with your best stuff."

Rivera shook his head and smirked a little at the notion that intra-city games between the White Sox and Cubs or the Mets and Yankees might compare with Red Sox vs. Yankees. The intensity of this series, he said, "is between the players."

Which Red Sox player has Jorge Posada enjoyed playing against the most? Jason Varitek, he said. "He's good, he's solid," said Posada. "He plays hard." Posada said that during games, he and Varitek will say hello, nothing more than that, but a few years ago, he and the Red Sox catcher chatted at length at an All-Star Game, talking about Varitek's glove.

Rivera is very old school about fraternization, and doesn't have any particular favorite competitors among the Red Sox. "I've pitched to [David] Ortiz, I've pitched to Manny [Ramirez]," Rivera said. "They're all the same." In other words, whoever is standing in the batter's box at the moment is the competitor he is most concerned with.

Rivera says that he'll say hello to Red Sox players before games, remain polite, and then he'll walk away.

The Red Sox player against whom Derek Jeter has enjoyed playing is Pedro Martinez. "Because of the whole build-up," he said. "Everybody was into it, the fans were into it, there was always so much talk."

Even with all the brushback stuff?

Jeter nodded: "It was always fun. Always a challenge."
Weekly Poll: Almost half of you (48%) feel Phil Hughes is the prospect most deserving of a promotion, followed by Brett Gardner (33%), Cody Ehlers (14 %) and Steven White (5%). The new question is up, and as always, thanks for taking the time to vote.

Down on the Farm:

Triple-A Columbus (8-7 win over Indianapolis)
Melky Cabrera: 4 for 6, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI
Koyie Hill: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
Eric Duncan: 0 for 4, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K - DH'ed - picked a runner off at first
Danny Garcia: 2 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Andy Cannizaro: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 2 K, 1 SB, 1 E (throwing)
Darrell Rasner: 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Jose Veras: .2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K - 14 of 40 pitches were strikes (35%)

Double-A Trenton (3-2 win over New Britain, walk-off style)
Justin Christian: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 2B, 2 BB - scored gam winning run
Bronson Sardinha: 2 for 4, 1 BB, 1 K
Kevin Howard: 2 for 5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K - game winning single in the bottom of the 9th
Jorge DePaula: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - 4-9 GB/FB ratio
JB Cox: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K - 5-2 GB/FB ratio

High-A Tampa (4-1 win over Sarasota)
Brett Gardner: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 1 K - hitless for 2nd straight game
Hector Made: 1 for 3, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Marcos Vechionacci: 0 for 4, 2 K - BA down to .136
Tim Battle: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 K - don't look now, but he's kinda hot with the bat
Alan Horne: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Jeff Kennard: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K - 6-3 GB/FB ratio

Low-A Charleston (7-5 loss to Kannapolis)
Austin Jackson: 1 for 5, 1 R, 1 K
Reegie Corona: 1 for 5, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 K
Jose Tabata: 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI - traded in his usual double for his first HR of the year
Chris Malec: 1 for 4, 1 R, 2 RBI
Joseph Muich: 2 for 4, 1 K
Estee Harris: 1 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
Jon Poterson: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 K
Wilkins Arias: 2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Elvys Quezada: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HB
Zach Kroenke: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K - first strong outing of the year comes in long relief
Written at 7:37 AM by Mike A.
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