Jaret Wright did not have great command on Saturday afternoon yet the majority of the hits that he allowed were dinkers and dunkers. While the Yanks manufactored three runs early on, they were shut-down by Kansas City pitching for most of the afternoon. Down 7-3 with one out and Jason Giambi on first in the ninth, Jorge Posada tapped an easy grounder to the mound. But the pitcher Jeremy Affeldt botched what would have been a game-ending double play and then the Yankees countered with a string of seeing-eye hits of their own. Matt Lawton, pinch-hitter Tino Martinez, Derek Jeter, Gary Sheffield and finally Alex Rodriguez all slapped hits just beyond Kansas City gloves as the Yankees scored five runs in the ninth for a thrilling 8-7 win. There was a lot of hugging and smiling in the Bronx on a late August afternoon as the Yankees pulled off one of the most memorable victories of their season. Combined with a Red Sox loss (the Tigers rallied after being down 6-0), the Yanks are now just a game-and-a-half behind Boston in the AL East.
It is far less beautiful in New York today. The sun is gone and it is overcast and humid. Al Leiter is on the hill as the Bombers go for the sweep.
1. Will the game be played? The Weather Channel is showing rain and thunder all afternoon for NYC.
2. Just overcast right now. Some puddles from last night's showers but I think they'll at least get it started...and with another sure sellout due in the house, I'm sure they'll do everything they can to get it in. Could be sloppy though.
3. Good. I want a sweep!
I hope the rain holds off in Boston, too. The Tigers have been having so much fun playing ping-pong off the Green Monster. :-D
4. This is a bleed over from the discussion before, and I am sure it has been raised before, but does anyone else really hate the "true Yankee" and "he wasn't a Yankee until x" discourse? I don't need a dramatic home run to tell me who fits in, who doesn't, and who "deserves" to be a Yankee, Sox, or whatever. Its so smug and if I weren't already a fan, its the type of thing that would make me root against them. Don't get me wrong, I love the history, aura, mystique, and everything that goes with the team, but when last year all the talk was about how "A-Rod hasn't earned his pinstripes yet" or "he isn't a true Yankee," and then to say that because of xyz hit he somehow became one, a la Giambi's grand slam a few years ago against Minn. (that hit somehow earned his initiation according to Sterling).
There is obviously a difference when talking about Roger or Boggs, since they were so associated with the enemy that it took some getting used to at first, but honestly, was Roger a "true Yankee" just because he came up big for us, considering everything since?
That was my rant and I am sticking to it...
5. Zack -
I hear you about that "true Yankee" stuff. I think most of us fans really appreciate the late 90s run and those players such as Jeter, O'Neil, Bernie, Tino, etc. The guys like Brosius, etc were easy to root for too.
I myself "learned" to appreciate Clemens and Boggs. Stuck here in Boston for 25 years, after spending the first 22 years of my life in Upstate NY....it took awhile to really cheer for those 2.
Arod ? Man, he is just so loaded with talent. He makes everything look easy. Having him on "my" Yanks is nothing short of terrific. I think he has settled in this year, and may get even better.
Sheffield ? In my eyes, loaded with talent, but a bit more of a "hired gun". Having him in that lineup makes everyone around him better and we know that opposing teams are afraid of him.
Oh well - enough of my ramblings - GO YANKS !
6. Hey guys,
It's raining a little bit here in PA (philly area) so it might be heading up there soon. It would have been nice to have a quick worker on the mound today to get the lead, get 5 innings in, get the win and get out! Well, I guess you can't have everything - still, most of the royals look like hackers so maybe, MAYBE Al can work somewhat quickly.
7. I hope Al's having a good day. Small can't back him up today, since he worked yesterday.
On the pre-game show, they said the Yankees tease Leiter about his age by asking him how he pitched to Babe Ruth. LOL! They'll be old one day themselves, then they'll be sorry... ;-)
8. Leiter? Old? He's a year younger than me!
9. All right, I'll bite.
True Yankees. Sure, this can be overstated, but some players just fit in better with "the team" than others. (I don't know what exactly I mean by "the team," whether it's the dynamic of the current members or some mysterious notion of a "Yankee Way," but leave that go for now.)
What I do know is that when Matsui and Justice came aboard, I took to them instantly. It was if if they'd always been there.
When Giambi and Clemens and Mondesi (to name three examples) showed up, I felt they stuck out like sore thumbs. I just didn't like them.
Is this "real Yankee" category rational? Probably not. Is it based on real feelings and intuitions? Yes.
10. The way these guys are pitching, this game is gonna be 5 hours long...
11. Rookies...
12. Cano?! Extra laps for you. Bet that'll make BBTN.
13. Wow, poor rookie.
14. What happened?
15. KC was trying for a DP, but only got one (at first). Cano was safe on 2nd, but thought he was out. So he wandered back toward the dugout, and was tagged out.
16. I just can't watch Al pitch - its excruciating - I feel for the guy but good lord, its like pulling teeth.
17. All right, Jason!
18. Whew, good HR for Giambi - hopefully it will help break him out of the funk...and hopefully Al will start throwing the ball a little easier.
19. I know Giambi has been in a funk lately, but if you look back at many of his ABs, he has been hitting the ball hard. The Moonshot just foul in TB, the great play in CF that took away a double, and a number of line shots that outfielders caught. So he may be 'cold', but not as cold as his BA would imply.
Since that ball hit off the top of the wall, it was catchable..... so count our blessings.
20. Anyone else excited about facing seattle's young phenom? I really hope i can watch the game...if the unit shows up it could be a great matchup.
21. Yup, I think we can say Giambi's breaking out of his slump. :)
22. My Bad!! Not CATCHABLE and funk officially over.
23. And yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing the 19-year-old wonder. I'm also hoping we crush him... ;-)
24. Interesting. Gamechannel's an inning behind today
25. Jeez. Al just does not deserve this.
2 hits, 1 ER, 5 K's and 4 BB's on 110 pitches
If he's done, and it looks like he is because Sturtze is warming up, he'll have served up one ugly two-hit game.
In the third it looked like he'd get touched for at least three runs.
Since then he's been solid.
How does he do it?
26. That's 7 RBI for Giambi
27. What, no grand salami, Jason? Slacker.
28. Giambi has been smokin' today, so why walk A-rod.. I don't get it..
29. Yeah, this "Giambi hits better while playing 1B" theory is gold.
30. "3. randym77 Good. I want a sweep!" Granted!
Maybe I just identify with over-the-hill guys, but has anyone noticed that as infuriating as Leiter is, when he throws strikes, he is still a pretty good pitcher.
And I don't want to seem ungrateful for our present run, but it's about time we had a slugfest. Every now and then we just need to kick some serious ass (just to show we can still do it).
Jason. Jason! JASON!
We luv ya.
We forgive ya.
JASON!
And BERNIE!
31. Oh, my. what a play.
32. Attention NYPD, Jorge Posada was just robbed.
33. "What I do know is that when Matsui and Justice came aboard, I took to them instantly. It was if if they'd always been there.
When Giambi and Clemens and Mondesi (to name three examples) showed up, I felt they stuck out like sore thumbs. I just didn't like them. "
I hear what you are saying, and believe me, I felt the same way, but isn't it more b/c Justice and Matsui are VERY likeable, and Clemens and Mondesi are, shall we say, difficult personalities...Giambi I have always been just short of a fan, rooting for him but never enamored...
In any case, it is mostly the moniker "true Yankee" that gets my goat. Its one thing to dislike, be annoyed by, or, a la Sheff think they are a merc (I totally agree), but I mean, looking at this years Yanks, I would say that being a merc is more Yankee than not...
34. It was a great play, but I gotta wonder if it's worth it, when you're already down by that much.
Leiter...he gets into such jams, but somehow he manages to get out of them. It's nerve-wracking to watch, but at this point, he's the one I most trust to get out of a hole. He gets so much practice, after all.
35. Regarding A-Rod & clutchness, I just ran across this post at Baseball Musings:
http://www.baseballmusings.com/archives/010897.php
"Looking at the Win Shares on the Hardball Times, I'm surprised to see Gary Sheffield ahead of Alex Rodriguez. Alex is having a much better year with the bat. The players are on the same team and both are right-handed so the park factors are the same. Yet Sheffield has two more offensive win shares than Rodriguez. How is that possible?
The answer lies in the clutch adjustments to win shares."
36. It will be interesting to see if having Sierra back on the bench will put Cano back into his May / June form.
37. Looks like Giambi, Matsui and A-Rod are done. Just as well
38. As long as Gordon and Mo don't get in the game.
39. Wouldnt it be great to see arod and jeter both make a dash at the batting title?
40. Sturtze's not looking that good of late.....
41. "Wouldnt it be great to see arod and jeter both make a dash at the batting title? "
à la Mattingly-Winfield!
42. 37 pitches for Sturtze, and it was nothing special. I dont see him approaching his early season numbers.
43. 37 pitches for Sturtze, and it was nothing special. I dont see him approaching his early season numbers.
44. 37 pitches for Sturtze, and it was nothing special. I dont see him approaching his early season numbers.
45. Was it Kay or Sterling who set a goal of 6 of 7 for the Yankees on this homestand?
They did it.
46. I think it was Kaat who said 6 of 7
47. Any statistical tool that uses "clutch" ain't worth the paper it's printed on. When someone demonstrates it exists, we'll have a scoop. No one has to date.
48. On the postgame, Giambi said he took a cortisone shot in his elbow 4 days ago. Looks like it worked.
49. It was Kaat who said that the Yanks needed to win six of seven early in the week. He was right and right on to the Yanks for following through.
50. And yes, cortisone is a steroid. But it's a legal one. Oh the irony.
I was at the park today. Leiter is so brutal to watch that it almost made the 10-3 win to sweep unenjoyable . . . almost.
51. Cliff, I was at the other 3 Leiter home starts and this was actually one of the least brutal, right behind this past Tuesday's game.