Chacon and On and On

Since last we spoke:

This Victory Brought to You by the Letter "O" -- Shawn Chacon beat the Blue Jays Thursday afternoon. I didn't get to see the game, but so far, Chacon hasn't looked dominating on the mound; he's just produced results. So far, that's a 3-1 record and a 1.80 ERA in pinstripes: five of his six starts have been quality starts, and not the 6 IP, 3 ER variety, either. The peripherals (28 Ks, 15 BB in 40 IP) don't scream that this will go on forever. But as long as it lasts, I will enjoy it. Thursday afternoon's game was dubbed "The Battle of the Vowels" by Steve Lombardi of the Was Watching blog, because it involved Gustavo Chacin in a fight to the finish against Shawn Chacon. Was Watching is one of those blogs I have to add to the Yankee blogroll, the next time I update my links.

Bernie Baseball Breaks Out the Boomstick -- To heck with me. Despite being labeled old here and elsewhere, Bernie had a "do not go gentle into that good night" game at the Stadium against the Royals, going deep twice: once in the sixth inning, with Jason Giambi on base, and again in the 8th, this time bringing Gary Sheffield home with him. All of this was excellent backup to a Big Unit-type start from Randy Johnson--8 IP, 4 hits, 6 Ks--good for a 5-1 win. We'll just try to forget that these guys were starting a horrific 5-9: Angel Berroa, Mark Teahen, John Buck, Aaron Guiel, and Super Joe McEwing. We'll just remember that these same Royals took 2 out of 3 from the A's and Red Sox to draw the Yanks to the top of the Wild Card, and within 2 1/2 games of the AL East lead. Nice going. Now, don't keep that up!

Look At All These Rumors -- Bernie's game was well-timed, since ESPN.com is reporting that the Yanks are close to acquiring outfielder Matt Lawton from the Cubs. I guess this would be a white flag by the Cubbies, who are now 8 1/2 games out of the NL Wild Card, and six games under .500 to boot. For the Yankees, this would be a weird choice, since Lawton hasn't set foot in center in five years. I'd like to see the Yanks add more depth, but I wonder what Lawton would be doing in pinstripes. Would he ride the bench? Play left while Hideki Matsui moves to center? Heck, it would make more sense to pick up Mark Bellhorn (DFA'd by the Red Sox last week).

You Make a Grown Groundskeeper Cry -- Again, scrolling down the ESPN headlines, this one reads "Stones Trash Fenway." Apparently, the Rolling Stones ripped up Fenway's outfield while putting on a couple of concerts during the Beaneaters' road trip. While all this was going on, Curt Schilling was doing his best to show the world that, like Mick Jagger, he has a big mouth, expounding on Rafael Palmeiro and steroids. All that yapping left him a little too tuckered out to focus on his first start since April, in which he allowed six runs over five innings.

Speaking of Big Mouthed Red Sox Pitchers -- Boomer Wells doesn't like Yankee fans anymore. At least that's what he tells Penthouse (via the Daily News gossip column, halfway down the page). Quote: "New York is my city. I love it. But to get the '[Bleep] you, mother[bleep]er' from the fans? I've washed my hands of them. Of all people, I would never expect them to do that."

Let's have a brief history of Boomer, shall we?

• 2003, Spring -- Writes dumbass book, "Perfect, I'm Not" in which he claims, among other things, that he pitched his perfect game drunk. No sooner did the book hit the shelves, then Wells claimed wasn't drunk, just hung over. Organization suffers black eye, Boomer gets fined $100K. Good Memory or Bad Memory? BAD

• 2003, Summer/Fall -- Boomer goes 15-7, with a 4.14 ERA. He even pitches effectively in the Division Series against the Twins, and the ALCS against the Red Sox which treats us to a number of shots of his hot wife in the stands. Good Memory or Bad Memory? GOOD

• 2003, Fall -- Wells takes the loss in Game 1 of the World Series, despite pitching well. He then feuds with Mel Stottlemyre over his conditioning, and goes on to prove the point about his conditioning by begging out of Game 5 with back spasms after a single inning of work. The Yanks never recover, and lose the World Series to the Marlins. Good Memory or Bad Memory? QUITE BAD

• Winter, 2003 -- Wells agrees to return to the Yankees. Then, after the Yanks pick up Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown, Boomer decides he doesn't want to be a Yankee, and reneges on his agreement. He signs with the Padres, for more money. Good Memory or Bad Memory? BAD

• Winter, 2004 -- After a decent season with the Padres, Wells signs with the World Champion Red Sox. Good Memory or Bad Memory? VERY VERY BAD

So if Boomer's wondering why he's getting booed, he could just look at the above chronology. He didn't exactly leave a good taste in New York fans' mouths with how he finished his Yankees career, how he left, or most particularly how he jumped the bandwagon of our most hated rivals. What's so confusing about that, David? Most Yankee fans would boo Stephen Hawking if he were wearing Red Sox colors. You expect to be the Red Sock that we love?

(On the other hand, I'd have to say that I would be hard pressed to boo Wells as a Yankee fan. Too many good memories, pre-2003. But if he keeps up this petulant crap, I might have to revise that policy.)

Doctor K Speeds Away -- Dwight Gooden fled from a traffic stop earlier this week, and was a fugitive for three days, prior to turning himself in at the same jail where his son is currently imprisoned. This is too sad to talk about right now...