Mr. Grudge

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Get Rid Of Them All: A Frustrated Fan Rants
2007-06-27 19:05:00
Scott Proctor is either very good, or very bad. He's one of those pitchers who Joe Torre can rely upon. That means he gets to trot to the mound every day and throw the ball until his arm breaks off. That does not mean that he gets off the hook for walking in the game winning run against the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday night. Without recounting the gory details, it was one of those scenarios where this writer, while watching the game with the sound on mute to help keep my blood pressure lower (it's difficult to listen to someone give a play by play of crappy baseball), knew that the Yankees would lose. It was especially infuriating to lose with Proctor walking in the winning run. When the Yankees return to Yankee Stadium Friday to face the Oakland A's, stadium personnel should dispense with the organ music, and all of the other song clips and sound effects and merely play circus music for the entire game. That would not only make me feel good, it would be appropriate for the way th...
More About: Red Sox , Rants , Frustrated , Johnny Damon

Looking Towards October
2007-06-26 22:35:00
The division is out of reach for the Yankees this year it seems. However, the Wild Card may be the most attainable goal for the Bronx Bombers. With the way they're playing, nothing seems possible, though. One of my baseball colleagues at my job observed that the Yankees pulled Joe Girardi from Tuesday night's broadcast in Baltimore. Most likely, it was because the Yankees didn't want Girardi to have to discuss why he turned down the managerial job with the Orioles. Also, the Yes Network didn't want the Girardi story to become a distraction to the game. As my friend quipped, "The way they're playing, they can use all the distractions that come their way." He's right. The only thing as a Yankees fan this writer has to look forward to is the All Star Game. After that, it's the long slide until the end of the season and my interest then focuses on football and whichever of the "New Jersey" teams are doing well. You just know that there are hunting and fishing magazines laying aro...
More About: Jets , Baltimore Orioles , Giants

New Image Of Mr. Grudge
2007-06-22 22:52:00
Special thanks to Stephen Ingram for the painting of Mr. Grudge . This image has developed over time, and he's captured Mr. Grudge in a good mood. You can view Stephen's Blog, and his terrific drawings and paintings here: http://www.stepheningram.blogspot.com/. Please visit his blog and enjoy!Copyright ©2007 Mr. Grudge All Rights Reserved
More About: Image

Mr. Grudge Goes Fishing
2007-06-22 22:40:00
Have a great weekend all. Even though this is baseball season, I do my best baseball writing in the off-season. Just kidding. It's V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N time. Go Yankees, I think. Oh, hell. I should care about the lives of millionaires?Copyright ©2007 Mr. Grudge All Rights Reserved
More About: Fishing , Goes

Underdogs Instead Of Underachievers
2007-06-13 17:31:00
While listening to ESPN's Mike & Mike this morning, Mike Greenberg gave a brief re-cap of the Yankees victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday night. Immediately, Mike Golic sarcastically asked "Did they pick up a game against Boston?" The answer of course, is no. He further went on to state that it would take a "colossal" failure on the part of Boston for the Yankees to overtake them and that the wild card was a more reasonable objective for this Yankees team. His tone didn?t suggest confidence for either of those scenarios happening.Everything Mike Golic stated could very well be true, and the Bombers could wind up bombing even worse than they did for the first two months of this season, injuries or not. However, according to this writer's eye, this team has apparently hit its stride and looks as if they are ready to pounce. Pounce on what, I'm not sure. But, if the wildcard is what they need to shoot for in order to make it to the post season, then so be it. Nobody sneere...
More About: Wild Card

A Plate Of Crow, With Ketchup, Please
2007-06-12 18:59:00
One of the anonymous baseball fans quoted frequently in this blog came to this writer Tuesday morning with a grin on his face. It was a classic "I was wrong" grin which I knew immediately had to do with his position on Alex Rodriguez and the current state of the Yankees. This writer's position on A-Rod has been consistent in that it is my contention the he should not be traded, allowed to leave, or faulted as not being clutch in the post season. We all want the Yankees to be heroes in October, but, they need to get there. This season, more than any other in recent history has illustrated fact more distinctly. Alex Rodriguez is having a phenomenal season, and the A-Rod haters want him to fail in the post season, should the Yankees actually make it there, so they can watch him leave. That has been the unswerving stance of the aforementioned Yankees fan that arrived at my desk this morning, ready to be contrite. "Is something happening here?" He asked, that wry smile indicating that h...
More About: Baseball , Ketchup , Crow , Etch

Yankees Quick Check: What A Difference A Fan Makes
2007-06-11 18:50:00
Those who visit Mr. Grudge are aware of how very seriously he takes the dedicated baseball fan. Over the course of this very difficult 2007 season, this writer has polled the only other resource available, besides print media, websites (Gotham Baseball Magazine, for one) and merely watching games, and that is interviewing fans. For better or for worse, baseball fans carry the history of baseball, readily available to those who will listen, as part of their own personal history. Some tell the story of baseball and how it fits into their analysis of the game, and how it affects their lives better than others. That is why this writer polls the same individuals on a regular basis. Though I don't mention names, or give descriptions of my fan-analyst contributors, I do try to distinguish them by writing about their experiences and predictions etc, at different times. Today is no exception, and I am ready to introduce readers of Mr. Grudge to a personality who has a wealth of baseball kno...
More About: Red Sox , Devil Rays , Check , Quick , Pittsburgh Pirates

Mussina Throws, A-Rod Slams
2007-06-08 17:25:00
In Thursday's invective laden tirade against Mike Mussina, Mr. Grudge stated in a very un-Mr. Grudge like tone about Mussina: "He's an intense player who's quick to criticize others, has finicky habits about getting ready for his starts, and his skills are diminishing. That's not to mention that he's a bad "clubhouse guy" who keeps to himself and huddles over crossword puzzles with a haughty air or self-assurance."It's time to apologize, if not to Mussina, who will never, ever read this column, but to my readers for absolutely blowing it. It?s one thing to make bad predictions about a game or an entire season; but, to personally attack a player simply because he hasn?t performed up to his usual level is unprofessional. Mussina did an excellent job of pitching last night and needs to be congratulated. Many people kept telling me that Mussina will come around, and this writer turned into a spoiled Yankee fan, tossing a fit because his favorite team is in the toilet. Mussina has ...
More About: Alex Rodriguez , White Sox , Yankees

Wang Keeps Up The Momentum
2007-06-07 15:24:00
Chien-Ming Wang gave the Yankees exactly what they needed facing the White Sox Wednesday night. Not only did he pitch well, he pitched a one run complete game. He looked like the Wang we all came to know and love when he started as a rookie, all the way up until his name started to be mentioned in the same sentence as Cy Young's last season. The Yankees need momentum. As this writer mentioned in his previous column, quoting the old baseball adage that in baseball, momentum ends with the next day's pitcher, then Yankee fans have every reason to be nervous with Mike Mussina scheduled to take the mound against the White Sox Thursday night in Chicago. Without going on a rant, this writer will just state that he has very little confidence that Mussina will give a good performance. There's no need to compile stats when offering up the observation that Mussina pitches well until he decides its okay to give up a home run or two. His game will sometimes fall apart after that. This season,...
More About: Red Sox , Baseball , Momentum , Tyler Clippard

Yankees Quick Check: Pitching + Run Support + Defense=Win
2007-05-29 22:54:00
Tyler Clippard came through for his seasoned, big league teammates Tuesday night against the White Sox. In return, the defense and the offense chipped in to help him out. This Yankees' season could have been scripted by the late, great, Kurt Vonnegut himself, as this cosmically challenged team found itself fraught with a plague of injuries, poor plays, and silent bats in the lineup. If momentum ends with the next day's starter, the Yankees have stumbled every fifth day with a new, unproven arm sent out to the mound to earn his first major-league win and to keep the team from slipping further down the greased pole that is the AL East standings. Tuesday night's game represented the prototype game which the Yankees need if they are to get back to .500 and then mount some sort of run at either a wild card berth, or, dare I say it, the division title. There's been a lot written about the talent that's on this team and how eventually these players will begin to play better baseball b...
More About: Red Sox , Defense , Support , Check

Good Luck Yankees, I'm Out For the Weekend!
2007-05-25 19:33:00
As if anything I do or think will have any effect on the Yankees level of play, I have to take the weekend off with my family. That means, no more crying about the Bombers in the confines of this space, and no more advice from my living room armchair for Brian Cashman and company. Of course, I'll watch the games, such as I can, while attending the many gala events I've been invited to over the course of the next three days. But, I will watch them in much the same way kids view horror movies. That is with my hands over my eyes while peeking through my fingers. They should get through okay though, the Yankees that is. They seem to respond well to a good pitching performance by their starters of late. The lone exception would be that aging, fragile, touchy, intense, opinionated, clubhouse loner, Mike Mussina. That's another whole column right there. But, that will have to wait until Mr. Grudge returns after this glorious Memorial Day weekend.It needs to be said, however trite this o...
More About: United States , Armed Forces , Weekend , Good

Yankees Quick Check: Taking It Day By Day
2007-05-24 23:10:00
A quick and un-scientific survey of the dwindling number of Yankees fans at my place of employment on Thursday revealed that hope is still alive in Yankees Land. "Day by day, that's the only way I can take them." Reported one of the longest tenured and most stalwart of the fans I surveyed. "They looked good last night," He continued "and they blew it the night before, and the kid Clippard did great against the Mets. Let's see how they do against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this Friday. coming up." He said the "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim" for dramatic effect. It was like saying "General George Patton," instead of merely "Patton." Tyler Clippard takes the mound again against the younger, more competant of the Weaver brothers for the Angels. The Yankees have a good chance in that game as no one named Mike, Moose, or Mussina will be pitching for them. Such was the general consensus as I made my rounds, polling my co-workers. Apparently a memo went out to all Yankee fans anno...
More About: Check , Quick

NY Yankees: Hey Moose, Buy A Clue!
2007-05-23 16:34:00
Apparently Mike Mussina didn't get the memo. The New York Yankees are trying to battle their way out of a deep hole in the American League East and win their division. Yes, that is a tall order, and if the level of determination they showed on both Sunday and Monday indicated that they were serious about becoming contenders, all of that was lost on the "Moose."As reported by Kat O'Brien in the Wednesday, May 23, 2007 edition of Newsday, "Mussina has never really gotten on track this season, and he did not do so last night. He gave up six runs in four innings in his first start of the year, then strained his hamstring in his next outing. Once he came off the disabled list, he had two decent games before reverting to inconsistency in his last two." Mussina is quoted as saying: "I felt like my arm had some life the first two," Mussina said. "I haven't felt like I had that life the last two." Not for nothing, if you don't feel like you can pitch before a game, then don't.If the Yan...
More About: Boston Red Sox , Brian Cashman , Curt Schilling

Mr. Grudge Is In Gotham Baseball Magazine
2007-05-22 20:50:00
Mr. Grudge is in Gotham baseball Magazine . For those of you who love baseball, this magazine is a must read. Click here to catch up on all that is happening in the world baseball in the major leagues, minor leagues, and even fantasy leagues and high school baseball. Of course, please read my column. Also, sign up and enjoy the forums. Mr. Grudge wants to give thanks to the kind folks at Gotham Baseball Magazine for believing in my writing, and for posting me on their fine website. I encourage all of my readers to visit them and subscribe. Thanks you.Copyright ©2007 Mr. Grudge All Rights Reserved