Does anyone know if you can go to the City Hall ceremony without a ticket? The ticket giveaway was from 9 am to 11 am this morning and I completely missed it/didn't know about it until now. Can I just go anyway and watch? Does anyone have an extra ticket or two? This really sucks.

I am definitely going to be at the parade at least, I was just also hoping to see them on stage as well.

Hello, FB. I would like to introduce myself.  I am Branta, a Yankee fan. Thus it might be a little unusual for me to be posting here at all, being a blog about the Nationals and all. As Abraham said, "I am a stranger in a strange land."  However, Chien-Ming Wang, current Nationals pitcher and project, was once the Yankees ace, so I was interested in his progress back from injury. I would like to see him make his way back to the big leagues soon and see him succeed.  I happen to be down in Woodbridge, VA this weekend for the 4th of July holiday to visit my brother and his fiancee.  As luck would have it, Wang was making what I believe to be his second rehab start (I could be mistaken) for the P-Nats.  I'm no baseball scout, but I thought you might want a first hand account of the evening.

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I, like I presume most of you, am a born and raised New Yorker.  I will always be proud of that.  Except when it comes to the media and hype of the Sports section, talk radio, et al.  I read around the trade deadline that the expectations, should the Knicks trade for Melo, would be higher than ever on D'Antoni and the Knicks to deliver a winner.  I don't recall if the phrase "championship or bust" was ever used, but I do know that for some reason, there was thought that if this Knick team was one and done in the playoffs, then it would be a disappointment.

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Everybody passes and drive through the D
The big man is gone as you can see
I just don't know who to blame for this catastrophe!
But my one wish on Christmas Eve is plain as can be!

All I want for Christmas is a true center.
A true center, a true center.
Gee, if I could only have a true center
Then I could wish you
"Merry Playoffs!"

It seems so long since I could say
"Swat that ball out of bounds!"
Gosh oh gee how happy I would be
If we could only get D rebounds!

All I want for Christmas is a true center.
A true center, a true center.
Gee, if I could only have a true center
Then I could wish you
"Merry Playoffs!"
Playoffs!
Playoffs!

Aw, forget it, Happy Postseason!

Originally by Don Gardner, shamelessly butchered by Branta

Let's assume for a moment that the most frequent lineup of 2010 for the Yankees of: Jeter, Swisher, Teixeira, A-Rod, Cano, Posada, Thames, Granderson, and Gardner gets modified in the following ways:

• Posada takes over the DH role for most of the season, moving Thames off the lineup
• Russell Martin moves into the catching slot for Posada (Posada bats 6, Martin 7)

Now, lets take the following Red Sox lineup:  Ellsbury, Pedroia, Crawford, Gonzalez, Youkilis, Ortiz, Drew, Salty, Lowrie

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MLB Trade Rumors has the Elias Rankings for the upcoming offseason, which can be found here.  That got me to thinking about the offseason, what the Yankees might need, and who might be available to fill those needs.  The following are what I personally would like to see the Yankees go after in the offseason, in order of importance:

1. Starting Pitcher
2. Left-Handed Reliever
3. Designated Hitter

That is all I can see the Yanks really needing at this stage of the game.  #1 is obvious:  The Yanks pitching in the postseason did not come through for them, and they therefore exited early.  The 2nd was something I read Cashman had talked about, and I think it makes sense to have another guy in there with Boone Logan to take care of left handed batters with Damaso Marte gone till the 2011 All Star Break. 

And lastly there's the DH.  Joe G tried to get by in the DH spot with Nick Johnson, Marcus Thames, Lance Berkman, and rotated some everyday guys to give them a sort of break.  Obviously, with Posada getting old, and Jeter getting old, etc. the DH will again see some use as a sort of half-day for the guys, but I think the Yankees should at least take a look at getting a real designated hitter to enhance the lineup.  So after the jump I will look at the 2010-2011 offseason free agents available that might fill this need.

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A lot of people have been talking about Derek Jeter's down year on this blog as a sign of the times.  He's getting older, and age has shown to get the better of many a pro athlete.  However, the things I have read on the blog make me almost angry.  Such as:

-Move Jeter down the lineup
-Move Jeter to 3B (and make A-Rod DH)
-Move Jeter to a corner outfield spot (and then lose either Gardner, Swisher, or Grandy everyday, or get rid of one entirely)
-Move Jeter to DH
-Hope Jeter retires

None of those things, I feel, will or should happen.  And there's a very simple reason behind it, even as his contract is up.  And that reason is his status as Captain.  There have been 11 recognized Captains in Yankee history.  Jeter is the leader of the team in the clubhouse and on the field.  Yes, his batting was below what we've come to expect from him, but he was still one of the top hitting SS in the American League.  His range in the field is declining, but he still feels he can play.  And if he still feels like he should go, he has earned the right to trot out there everyday and field his position.  After all this time, all the clutch October hits in the past, it would be shameful to take it away from him before he is ready to give it up.  This is bigger than statistics.  This is the pride of the Yankees of my generation.  Jeter is one of the reasons I became a fan of baseball when I was 9.  Call me sentimental, but I think the Yankees organization understands that it just can't take the face of its franchise off the field for half an inning, or move him over, or do anything before he is ready to end it on his terms.  That's called loyalty, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Hello, gentlemen. I am going to be attending the game this Sunday with the Lions, my first at the new stadium. My brother and his girlfriend are coming up from Virginia to check it out, as well, and we were wondering about a few things:

What's a good time to get there? We're taking the LIRR in case it matters.
Is there a tour before gametime and when do those start?
Tailgating wise, is there anything we should know? I know I read in Cleveland they started charging admission to the lot that most of the tailgating took place to people who walked up, so that caused me some pause.
My brother had heard that there was a Bud Light party building or something for people to go to? I don't know what he's talking about there.

Any other pieces of information you have are appreciated.  Thanks!

According to Pro Football Talk, the New England Patriots have released LB Adalius Thomas today after 3 years.  His first season with them was their nearly undefeated run (we all know how that ended), however he posted a postseason high 2 sacks and a forced fumble in that game.  In '08 he suffered a season ending injury but led the team in sacks to that point.  Belichick rubbed him the wrong way after he started off the 2010 season slowly and now he's a former Pat.  My question is do you think the Giants should pursue him?  He started most of his first season at ILB until Colvin was injured, but that was in a 3-4 Defense.  His entire career has been in a 3-4 defense.  Do you think he can make the switch and would he be worth pursuing to you?

I just wanted to take time out to give the bloggers over at The Good Phight a nod for not being insufferable douchebags, unlike some other Yankee postseason foes' bloggers.  I was just checking out the post game writeup and I thought it was perfect to a tee, even liked the good rib on AJ's "alien-like" visage.  So, while Philly fans may be rabid and have a reputation for unkindness, the Good Phight doens't seem to let their biases take over fully.

Many are going to want to start questioning the direction of the team after back to back losses, and some might even start blaming the wrong people (first comment if the link doesn't work properly), but let's take a moment to put the past two weeks into perspective.

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