Who is Edwar Ramirez and why doesn’t he have a “d” at the end of his first name? Seriously, he looks pretty nasty so far … might he be an answer in the late innings?

He’s got a nice change up, but he was up and down last year. And right now, the end of the game is the least of the Yankees concern. Ohlendorf has pitched well, and hell, even Cooter Farmadooke hasn’t been the frustrating meathead that he usually is. Of course, Chamberlain is tough and then there is the great Mariano. My friend Steve Goldman recently said that watching Mariano these days must have been like what watching Fred Astaire was like at the end of his career. He’s still so graceful, his delivery so smooth and seemingly effortless. I don’t know if there is another player that makes me appreciate the moment more than Rivera. I feel so fortunate to have watched him all these years. You know the old saying about how the great ones are more than just their numbers? I really get that feeling with Rivera, who has two gut-wrenching playoff loses to his name, but still he’s been so great for so long. And getting back to the numbers, here is one that still gets me excited: 0.77 ERA in 117 career post season innings. Amazing.

Any other “unknowns” to watch for this weekend?

I’d expect the Mets to take two of three, especially with Santana pitching. Cano had four hits tonight, maybe he’s starting to hit. But without Rodriguez and Posada, lefties really give them trouble. And right now, they are offensively…challenged.

Finally, how do you feel about this annual Subway Series? Is it me or is this thing getting a little tired?

I haven’t really enjoyed the subway serious in a long time. I know MLB wants to maximize the moolah, but if there has to be interleague play I’d have the Yanks and Mets play one, three-game series each year, taking turns, one year in the Bronx, the next in Queens. That might give the match-up a little more urgency. Otherwise, I think it’s just hype. I’d rather the Yankees face the Indians or the Angels more than some random NL teams–they are playing the Reds this summer…okay…The series is really for the fans, and I suppose heads still get amped for it, still turn out and enjoy the bragging rights. But there is nothing special about the subway series. It’d be special if it happened in the World Serious. Otherwise, it’s just another series, with a lot of racket around it.

Subway “serious” and “World Serious” … loving that … those who are avid readers of Ring Lardner should appreciate that one. Here’s to hoping Alex is right about the weekend, especially that part abou the Mets taking two out of three.

Thanks again to Alex Belth for giving us a full day’s worth of opinion from the Yankees fan’s perspective. Be sure to check out Bronx Banter, Alex’s columns on Sports Illustrated, and his excellent book on Curt Flood.

I know you’ve been a fan of the Yanks since the 1970s, so surely you have a place in your heart for Willie Randolph. Unfortunately, the Mets fans and pundits are calling for his head after every loss … it’s getting awful. I rarely stick my head out of my Mets vacuum, so don’t know if that’s the case with Girardi. Is there a lot of noise about firing him, or that the Yankees made a mistake in offending Joe Torre (or not hiring Don Mattingly)?

If so, here’s an idea: How about we trade managers, since most fans complain that Willie doesn’t play small ball, doesn’t motivate the players, doesn’t get fired up enough, doesn’t argue with umps, doesn’t get thrown out of games, doesn’t handle the pitching staff properly, and his “Torre style” of managing doesn’t work in the NL. (I don’t necessarily agree with all these complaints) Knowing the public perception of Girardi, you’d think he’d be perfect for the “Fire Willie” camp. And perhaps getting a Torre disciple would ease the fans in the Bronx?

I haven’t paid close enough attention to how Randolph manages to have an opinion one way or the other about him as a field general, but the manager usually gets the brunt of the blame when his team underachieves. So far as I can tell, Girardi hasn’t gotten much grief in the BX. He’s strange. I knew he was uptight which is a perfect fit for the Yankees. But I’ve been surprised at how secretive he’s been at times with the media re: player injuries. Almost to the point of being paranoid. Since he played and coached for Torre, worked for YES and FOX, I didn’t expect that from him. Michael Kay has said that Girardi reminds him of Billy Martin in that he takes losses very hard. You can see him, pale and drained after a loss. I think he’s equal parts Buck Showalter and Bill Virdon.

It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out for him. My contention all along is that you wouldn’t want to be the guy who replaces Joe Torre, you want to be the guy who replaces the guy who replaces Torre. Still, for a guy following Torre, I think Girardi is fine. He’s not beloved in the way that Mattingly is, but I think he can take what comes–success or failure–and survive it as well as anyone in his position could.

As for manager-swapping, I’d just assume keep Girardi over Randolph. And I think Met fans would embrace ANYONE who got his team winning. They’ll throw bouquets at Randolph’s feet too, although I fear that anything short of a championship would be considered a disapointment for Randolph at this point. I could be wrong about that. What’d your take?

Wait, I’m still trying to get over the combination of Bill Virdon and Buck Showalter — the vision of that gives me the willies (pardon the pun).

Naturally, I’d like to see the Mets in the Fall Classic again someday, and was frustrated by their underachievement last year. But the more Willie gets blamed, the more I find myself pulling for him. It’s as if he’s embodied the traditional Mets — an underdog, with seemingly no chance to win. That said, though I proposed the Randolph-for-Girardi trade, and believe a strong personality like Girardi is what many are clamoring for, the sentimental side of me wants to see Willie come out of this a winner. The logical side, though, is starting to lose confidence in Mr. Randolph.

OK, I’m finished … in the next installment, we finally discuss the series at hand. In particular, Alex will educate us on the Yankees bullpen, who stole the “d” at the end of Edwar Ramirez’s name, and which team he predicts will win the series (you may be surprised). Check back in a little while ….

Seeing how Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have been struggling, would you do the Philip Hughes / Ian Kennedy / Melky Cabrera for Johan Santana deal today? Why or why not?

I was hoping the Yanks made that deal over the winter although many Yankee fans I know–including my co-host at Bronx Banter Cliff and many of our readers–were dead set against giving up Hughes and IPK for Santana. Considering how Hughes and Kennedy have done this year, it’s easy to say the Yanks should have made the deal, but it’s way to early to make that call yet. Will probably be a few years before we have any sense of how it turned out. Again, though I was for the trade, I can’t fault the Yankees’ thinking–going with their youngsters. Also, they would have had to shell out so much dough on top of losing the kids. So nah, I don’t look back with regret. Hell, the signing the Yanks never made that really came back to haunt them was not inking Carlos Beltran, who would have been ideal to replace Bernie Williams. Instead, they forked over big bucks for Tony Womack, Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano. That one still smarts.

Tampa Bay is in first, the Yankees are about to replace the Blue Jays in the cellar, and Carlos Quentin is leading the AL in homers. In other words, it’s mid-May of any given baseball season. Are there any realistic concerns from the Yankees fans’ perspective right now, or are most chalking it up to the traditional slow start?

Although the Yanks have been worse to begin the season in recent years, I think this team is in worse condition. They really feel like a team in transition, and although I’m sure they will recover some, they’ve got a bunch of guys getting old fast–Damon, Giambi, Mussina, even Matsui and Abreu to come extent. Course they are the most expensive transition team in history. LOL. They don’t have a lot of bats that scare you without Jorge and Alex Rodriguez in the line up do they? I don’t think they’ll make the post-season this year, and while I’m sure I’ll be pulling my hair out come September, the thought of it doesn’t bother me as much as it would have in years past. Also, the way the baseball fates work, it would just seem to make sense that in the final year of Yankee Stadium, the team’s October run would come to an end. It might not be fitting for us Yankee fans, or for the Yankees and MLB, but I think that’s the way it’s gunna turn out.

There’s still more to come … in the next part of our series, I offer Alex a trade: Willie Randolph for Joe Girardi. Get a cup of coffee and check back here in a bit to see if he takes the bait …

In part 2 of our Q & A with Alex Belth of Bronx Banter, Alex gives us his view of the impatient fans of the northeast.

Alex, not sure if you’ve heard, but this year Shea Stadium has an unprecedented amount of boo-birds. We kid around here in the “Metsosphere” that the people booing are actually converted Yankee fans … but tell me, would Yankee fans boo Johan Santana on Opening Day? Would they be riding Aaron Heilman as hard as the Sheasters are lately?

I’ve noticed that Met fans get impatient and testy sooner than Yankee fans when I’ve been at the ballpark because there is a sense of the other shoe dropping with the Mets. It is as if some Met fans are just waiting for something bad to happen so they cut it off at the pass by cursing their team at the drop of a hat. It’s a by-product of many losing seasons and a handful of heartbreakers thrown too. On the other hand, so many Yankee fans, particularly younger ones, feel entitled and will accept nothing less than total and complete victory. Let’s face it, Yankee fans are spoiled, by the team’s success throughout MLB history, and by therecent championship run. And that sense of entitlement has long been fostered by George Steinbrenner. It’s understandable but unfortunate, particularly because I think those late 90s Yankees, almost to a man, appreciated how hard it is to win and how improbable what they accomplished actually was.

Would Yankee fans be booing Heilman right now? You bet they would. Would they have booed Santana on Opening Day? It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility. You’d think a guy would get a little slack but if Hughes pitched a shut out on Opening Day for the Twins (had he been traded), and Santana got rocked, sure he’d likely hear some boos in the Bronx. Then again, Met fans are understandably sore over what happened last year, nevermind the heartbreak of Yadir Molina the year before.
The bottom line is that both Met fans and Yankee fans are New Yorkers, so they do share a lot in common. I’m sure that statement will offend a lot of people who are convinced that there are very specific and clear differences between the two fan bases, just like Red Sox fans take offense when I’ve suggested that the Sox and Yanks have more in common than not. Throw Philly fans in there too. Yes, there are differences between the fan bases, but they are all from the northeast, are all self-absorbed, are all impatient and not shy about expressing their feelings.

In the next installment, Alex tells us whether he’d do the Johan Santana trade today, and why he believes the last season in Yankee Stadium could be unpleasant for Yankee fans …