THIS LOSS STINGS BUT WE TURN THE PAGE

Some games are just a knock-out, drag-out battle and neither team is really advancing. Then, on a silly pitch or error or misplay, or even home run... it ends and you are either on top, or you lose. It's that cut and dry.  Tonight it ended in a home run off Nate McLouth's bat in the bottom of the 10th and then... game over, the Yankee lose. Hey, that's baseball. Rub some dirt on it and come back tomorrow.

The game was tied 2-2 almost the entire game. Travis Hafner knocked in Brett Gardner in the first inning and later on Chris Dickerson solo homered for the Orioles. Then Travis Hafner came back in the 4th and knocked in Vernon Wells. 

The O's struck back with Chris Dickerson's second solo homer in the 5th inning.  Then the tug-o-war continued until the 10th, when Vidal Nuno came in and allowed McLouth to launch one.

That's it.  Not much more to say except that I applaud Dickerson for hitting so well tonight, but hey, the Yankee bats were quiet tonight. Forget this one ladies and gentlemen... turn the page.

Final: Orioles 3 - Yankees 2.

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TY HENSLEY & DROB STEP UP BIG FOR OKLAHOMA

Never selfish, Yankee Ty Hensley offered a special and important challenge to athletes everywhere... time to help out.  It's not a threat, it's an idea that could very well help Moore, Oklahoma, a neighborhood near Edmond where the Ty and Jake Hensley grew up.  His tweet today (HERE) was direct and public:

I like this kid. I like where his head's at and it all stems from a positive home. Kudos to Marci and Mike Hensley, you raised some great kids.

No doubt there will be athletes as well as average people giving what they can.  I know from seeing the way David and Erin Robertson jumped in right after they witnessed the destruction in David's hometown of Tuscaloosa a few years ago, they would immediately jump into helping with this tragedy.  They have. David announced this (HERE):

It's the mighty High Socks for Hope foundation! David also announced he'll give $100 per strikeout this season. Love it. Good people do good things and it's great to know that people like Ty, like the Robertsons, like Kevin Durant who just donated $1 million (Read HERE) have their hearts in the right place.  Let's help the cause too! Go to the American Red Cross website HERE, or log on on your own REDCROSS.ORG.

I tip my cap Ty, David, Erin... keep it up!

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GUESS WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO DON MATTINGLY?

The Los Angeles Dodgers "suck" and when I mean "suck", I mean they have 18 wins, are in last place in the National League West and none of it, and I mean NONE OF IT is Don Mattingly's fault. But, if you are Dodger brass and you give the organization every possible tool they need to win a championship and they aren't winning, well, then it has to fall down on the manager.  Donnie Baseball is the manager. Damn that sucks. There have been alot of stories lately like Ken Rosenthal's of FOX Sports suggesting that the hammer is about to fall on Mattingly, and we'll detail that in a moment, but know this, today's story from ESPN suggests that Dodger brass isn't interested in firing Mattingly. General Manager Ned Colletti is quoted HERE saying: "his manager is 'doing fine' and has kept the team steady despite its last-place showing in the NL West." And Donnie has even said: "I'm still here. Ned didn't tell me I wasn't going to be here tomorrow or today. That's the way I look at it." Sure, I love that because I'm a Mattingly guy, but we all know how quickly investors lose their patience.

I wrote THE PRESSURE NOW FALLS ON MATTINGLY back in December.  It was easy to predict then that if the Dodgers weren't raking in the National League, it would fall on Donnie. I wrote then that Donnie knew that he had a lot of pressure to win. But let's face it, there is one important part of this puzzle and it was crystal clear. Like last year when Bobby Valentine was thrown into Beantown with a bunch of veteran Red Sox for example...veterans are set in their ways and change for no one. Los Angeles is no different. Sure, Valentine, or Mattingly may be the best baseball resource a club could ever have, but if veterans want to play their way and don't want to be told what to do. Their approach is always the same, win or lose. Trust me, I believe that if the Dodgers had a bunch of rookies and upcoming prospects, the molding from Don Mattingly to the Dodgers youth would translate beautifully and they could turned that ship around, but we all knew that Dodger brass would lose their patience early if they didn't win immediately.  Why? I'll tell you why... because investors don't get the game. They think throwing money at veterans solves problems and assures a championship. Well, as we Yankee fans have learned from quite a few years of the Steinbrenner way... it doesn't always work out that way.

Now back to that latest story about "firing" Mattingly, coming from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He writes in his story titled Ax to fall soon for LA's Mattingly, " I’ve seen it too many times with unproven managers who are in the final years of contracts. A team struggles. A manager’s personality turns. A cloud forms over a club. Watch the games, listen to Mattingly and tell me this is not happening to the Dodgers.... Watching Sunday’s meltdown on television, I thought, 'Mattingly might be gone tomorrow.' And then I got a text from a rival scout, one who has no particular insight into the Dodgers, but is attuned — like so many in the sport — to the game’s day-to-day rhythms.

'Making the call — Donnie Ballgame will get the axe tomorrow,' the scout said.  The scout continued, 'He’s a laid-back manager with a laid-back veteran club. Great dude, but they need some energy. Some fire. Some change with that payroll. Not his fault, but you can’t fire 25 players.'"

Is Rosenthal jumping the gun? Maybe. Again, I don't think it's very fair to stare at Don Mattingly and think he's the cause of this, but like I said, Dodger brass wants results and if they think Donnie can't move the team up the rankings, they'll go out and find a guy who can.  Message to Dodger brass though... I very much doubt any manager can change this club and by the way, Donnie's nickname is "Donnie Baseball" for a reason. Why you'd want to give this guy the axe is a puzzle to me. Let the man manage!

Trust be told, I never liked Donnie in Dodger blue anyway, so maybe, if Rosenthal is correct and Mattingly does get fired... well, maybe it's a good thing for us Yankee fans.  Maybe then we can get our old captain and Yankee hero back.  Maybe then we can have him in the Bronx for Old Timer's day again, maybe for some type of special advisor role with our club, who knows.  Maybe we can bring our boy back to New York and celebrate him like we should have done years ago.  Maybe, just maybe we can slowly creep him in and eventually make him our manager... wishful thinking... and I'm clearly getting ahead of myself.

Whatever happens, I wish Donnie well.  I love the dude and nothing's ever changed years later.  The only difference is I want him back in Yankee blue, not Dodger blue.

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OKLAHOMA NEEDS HELP

As Americans, we always jump in.  So do it now. 

Go to the American Red Cross website HERE, or log on on your own REDCROSS.ORG.

Or, you can text REDCROSS to 90999. Donate. Do what you can.

To follow the American Red Cross on Twitter for updates, follow them at @redcrossokc.

Do the right thing and hug your kids alittle tighter today.

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SCOTT PROCTOR HANGS IT UP

It's being tweeted by Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News  that Scott Proctor is going to retire.  Feinsand's tweet is HERE. 

Proctor had a good life in baseball.  Not outstanding, but good.  Proctor is 36 years old. Just recently he was with the Orioles, that was back in March and then he was released in April.   We reported on it in ORIOLES RELEASE SCOTT PROCTOR.

His Yankee career went like this: 11-13 with a 4.51 ERA in 198 games. Quick note about this picture above. I always got a kick out of it because despite whatever the Yanks are talking about on the mound there...Alex Rodriguez still manages to find the camera. Hilarious.

Enjoy retirement Scott.

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BARRY BONDS SHOULD STOP YAPPING

This is what Barry Bonds told USA Today's Bob Nightengale when talking about Miguel Cabrera. Now, the way Nighengale sets up his piece HERE, he clearly is running a comparison piece between Cabrera and Bonds. And, he interviewed Bonds, so, no doubt Bonds and his ego are going to eek in quickly. While it may not be surprising that Bonds thinks so highly of himself, it's also highly annoying.  Anyway, this is what Bonds said in chatting it up about Cabrera:

"He’s definitely the best. It’s not rocket science here. He’s the best. By far. Without a doubt.... I was the best on the field. I did more things than he did. My game was different than his game. So comparing him, to me, there’s no comparison. He doesn’t have my MVPs. He doesn’t have my numbers. Well, not yet, anyways. But does he have that ability? Yes, he does. Does he have that gift? Yes, he does.”

I'm not a Bonds fan. I mean, I liked his ability, I think he is mad talented, but there is nothing better in baseball than doing your best "I'm not worthy" speech when it comes to talking about the up-and-comers or other talented players of the game, especially when your days in baseball are over. I think I was hoping Bonds would almost check his ego at the door... not sure what I was thinking though... I mean,  this is Barry Bonds we're talking about.

The reality is Miguel Cabrera is an animal on the field, he's always been an animal on the field and he is mad talented. 

Anyway, be sure to read Nightengale's piece, it's good.

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