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So... Roger's big night and he gets shelled and chased after 1 inning. What was Mike doing back there?

A. Calling pitches into the AL wheelhouses
B. Tipping the hitters
C. Using the wrong finger to call for a fastball
D. All of the above

Felt ambivalent about Twins pitcher Joe Nathan fanning Phillies slugger Bobby Abreu, but that's life when you grow up in one city and move to another.

JimSomebody - I'm no fan of Clemens, although he's a definnite hall of famer, and from what I read has an exhaustive workout regimen to keep himself in condition for baseball.

But he's a typical mercenary professional athlete, no better no worse than his peers. I wonder if he ever gave the Hummer and other parting gifts back to the Yankee organization - the ones they gave him at his "retirement" ceremony?

I saw Clemens shake off Piazza a number of times in the first inning - usually followed by an extra base hit.


How many Yankees and ex-Yankees were on the field last night? I think the Yankees had 8 players, plus Clemens, Soriano, and maybe a few more I can't think of right now.

Re-reading my original post, it occurs to me as if it may look like an anti-Piazza (and/or pro-Clemens) perspective. Neither is true, actually. Just having some fun with the whole thing. :)

Actually, I probably have a pro-Piazza bias. I grew up just outside of Norristown, PA, his hometown (also hometown of Tommy Lasorda and organist Jimmy Smith). A good friend of mine is a 2nd cousin (I think) of Mike's; sees him occasionally. But, in addition to respecting Clemens' ability, longevity, and achievements, I also like it that he's kind of a throwback in some respects. Anyway, seeing them as battery-mates was fun.

Yeah, lots of Yankees/ex-Yankees last night! Driven by major-market demographics, I guess. Possibly hurts small-market teams. I recently saw the Twins' Johan Santana (sp?), among the AL strikeout leaders, pitch. Great velocity, devastasting change. He sure looked All-Star-quality to me! But what the heck. Still enjoyed the parts of the game I saw.

Baseball. Try as they do to mess it up, there's still something great about it. Now if only I could see it at an outdoor ballpark.

Could also be that we saw a lot of Yankees because Torre was managing, and knows that if they do get into the Series this year, he could win home advantage by winning the game. So, probably just used the folks he knew could get it done.

I also wondered about the Clemens-Piazza thing, though, in a Bull Durham kind of way.

JimSomebody - I'm with you. I think that major league baseball is out of my price range right now, too many other things I'd rather spend the money on. But there's been a resurgence in my area of Central NJ of minor league teams. The Somerset Patriots, Blue Claws in Lakewood, the Trenton Thunder, etc... still provide good baseball for a reasonable price. A family can go and enjoy themselves without re-financing their house.

We have a Triple-A affiliate in the Memphis Redbirds. They play in a beautiful new park downtown. $5 will get you in. $10 will get you a beer, a dog, and a bag of peanuts. It's the one thing my wife will always agree to do.

$6 gets you a seat in the nosebleed section at Dodger Stadium. We just pack in our own food.

You mean - like this:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/040714

Hehe, very amusing! (message too short, message too short!)