I think you have to give Twins’ starter Brian Duensing some credit – he didn’t do too badly for a rookie tossed into the lion’s den. I mean, yes, he did get eaten by the lions, but he put up a respectable fight, as did the presumably exhausted Twins. The postseason, as we all know, doesn’t often go exactly according to plan, but events last night unfolded more or less the way the Yankees drew them up, and they eased into a 7-2 win.
Things started off a little disconcertingly, as Denard Span opened the first inning with a double off CC Sabathia (you can’t keep a good Span down). Sabathia got out of that inning, striking out Joe Mauer in the process – despite a passed ball – but couldn’t wiggle out of a jam in the third without some damage. There was a single, a double play, a single, a double, another single, and then another miscommunication with Jorge Posada, before Sabathia struck out Jason Kubel for the third out, leaving the Twins up 2-0. (After the game Posada said the first incident was his mistake, and the second was Sabathia’s, but that doesn’t explain Jorge’s rather casual approach to tracking down the second passed ball, which resulted in Joe Mauer scoring the Twins’ second run).
So things were a mite tense when, in the bottom of the third, Derek Jeter came to the plate, and dispersed the gathering unease with a two-run homer to tie the game. It was not a very Jeterish hit – how often does he blast one to left field? – but on the other hand, given the timing and circumstances, it was a very Jeterish hit. One inning later, Nick Swisher doubled in Robinson Cano, and the Yankees took the lead for good; they added to it in the fifth with Alex Rodriguez’s two-out RBI single (yep), followed by a big two-run Hideki Matsui blast. Just for good measure, A-Rod added a second two-out RBI single in the seventh, and let’s all hope this marks the beginning of the end of that particular subplot.
Sabathia left after six and two thirds innings with eight strikeouts and nary a walk, and though he did have two runners on base when he left, Phil Hughes took care of that by striking out our old pal Orlando Cabrera after a long, tough at-bat that somehow felt very personal. Funny how that happens once in a while, in a big spot in a big game, if an at-bat goes long enough. (Paul O’Neill used to be the master of that kind of plate appearance, but then, Paul O’Neill took everything personally).
Anyway, with the luxury of a five-run lead and an off-day tomorrow, Girardi rotated through he best relievers, getting everyone a little work. Hughes, Phil Coke, and prodigal reliever Joba Chamberlain each took care of one out in the eighth, and Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth. He allowed two baserunners, but the tension was out of the game by that point, and eventually nature took its course.
I imagine both teams will sleep very well tonight, though for different reasons.
Finally, Jay-Z was in the house tonight, sitting next to Kate Hudson. I thought it was fitting since, if the Yanks go anywhere this postseason, “Empire State of Mind” is already shaping up to be the anthem – it’s Jeter’s at-bat song, a current hit, and a popular pick for Yankee montages. It’s far from Jay-Z’s best, but I kinda like it despite myself.
I’m a sucker for songs about New York, always have been. If was picking one for this series, though, I’d probably go with this one.
Finally, I need your help with a very important issue: the Chip Caray/TBS Drinking Game. Thoughts, suggestions? Let get this thing hammered out by Friday.
Two thoughts:
1) not that anything the broadcast crew did was remarkable, but in being unremarkable, they provided a wonderful respite from the typical postseason agony of a McCarver-Buck-ish call. It was extremely pleasant to experience a game with almost nary an instance of infuriating stupidity.
2) While the home run could be said to be un-Jeterian, in some ways, it was quintessentially Jeterian. It was markedly reminiscent of his lead off homer in Game 4 of the WS against the Mets. That series was never the same after that moment, and it was clear that Jeter had decided that the situation demanded that kind of statement.
He did almost the same exact thing - although that homer was slightly less dead pull, iirc, and was absolutely crushed - but it was a jumped on, pulled and deposited in the seats jack. The home run in the 2000 WS has always seemed to be one of the classic Jeterian moments. He knew what was required and he imposed his will to "make it so," like Patrick Stewart making ladies' clothing fall off.
I suppose one other difference is that tonight's home run came on a 1-0 count, instead of on the first pitch of the at bat. But a statement was made.
[1] I soundly concur with your first thought. Ron Darling is fantastic. Insightful without being insidious (read: McCarver). Knowledgeable. Knows when to stop. Often gives just enough to raise an eyebrow, but not upset. Chip Caray is fine and he has that great voice, of course. His line of the night after Coke finished his one-pitch outing. "...And he may not even have to shower. " A very pleasant team for a very enjoyable game.
Sorry, Emma. Another pithy, witty, delicious post, as always. I've come to expect it from you, so forgive me for taking your prose for granted. You are a big reason why I love the Banter. Thanks.
In the regular season, Derek Jeter's HR/AB is 38.66. In the postseason, it's 27.61.
What I objected to during the TBS broadcast was their decision to over-chronicle Alex's postseason futility, which fortunately ended last night. Darling does provide insight; Caray, otoh, would not have his job, imo, but for his bloodlines. Caray seems to have trouble distinguishing between line outs to the OF and hits. Also, could they please keep viewers updated on pitch counts throughout the game?
[1] [2] Couldn't disagree more...I was at the game, so I am watching the TBS broadcast on MLB.com has I type, and Chip Caray has been his usual insufferable self. He is inane at his best and moronic at his worst. I also find his voice to be irritating, especially when he makes it deeper for the big moments. As bad as McCarver and Buck are, Chip Caray is the worst.
And btw, Craig Sager dresses like a circus clown.
[6] I thought he was?
I am the biggest advocate of MLB running their business for maximum profit, but in the case of network TV, I would strongly advise that they consider taking a little bit less to join with NBC as their partner. Unlike FOX and TBS, NBC has always had a good feel for how to do a baseball game. If FOX and TBS turn off diehard fans, I can't imagine what they do to the casual ones.
Yeah, I got real upset seeing Sager touch the Mattingly Bat.
[6] My daughter, who loves the color purple, was sad he wasn't wearing the same purple suit he had on for the Tigers-Twins game. I told her, perhaps Friday.
[7] The last time I remember seeing a postseason game on NBC, it was called (IIRC) by Bob Costas (who has sadly gone downhill re: baseball, IMHO) and Joe Morgan. You sure you want that again?
Now, if NBC were to blow it up and start from scratch, and go with guys who do outstanding work, I'd kill to see a booth of Jon "Boog" Sciambi with Ken Singleton, among others. Truly outstanding broadcasters are hard to find these days.
[7] At best TBS is frustratingly inconsistent and underprepared. Not that Fox is much better. Baseball in general has worst broadcasting of the major sports.
Personally, I'd like to see the MLB Network do more games. Maybe even one every night and then at least the Division Series'. I'm not sure NBC has the same personnel that did baseball back in the day.
Call me crazy but I think Craig Sager's suits are pretty f'ing cool. He kind of has that 1930s Cotton Club feel to him. The colors are cool, not traditional, and it shows that he's quite comfortable with himself. I can appreciate that. I also loved when he was put on camera while reporting from the upperdeck of the stadium, the wind was blowing all over the place, then when they cut back to the broadcast booth and Darling says, "that's the first time I've seen Craig's hair actually move".
If the Yankees lose then nobody talks about the broadcast team, if they win then everyone cares about the broadcast team. I guess it's better to be talking about the latter, just that my focus isn't so much about who is broadcasting or what they are saying. I just care to see a Yankee 'W' around this time of year. I suffered through an entire year of Michael Kay's pontificating and proselytizing, it's hard to judge these other dude when just everyone and their mother can't stand Kay and he's on the Yankee network.
I watched a couple of games of the '74 WS on MLB last month. Curt Gowdy, Monte Moore ( the old A's play by play guy) and Tony Kubek. There certainly wasn't the same dissecting of the each play, but there was a minimum of stupid banter and a lot of just letting the game tell the story.
Much better, IMHO.
Let's see, the drinking game. You drink when....
Chip Caray calls a fly out a base hit
Chip misidentifies a player
Ron Darling makes an inexplicable reference to antlers
Either announcer says the Twins play good fundamental baseball *
Either announcer refers to "Philip" Hughes
* They don't, but the meme survives. Over at the Baseball Prospectus live chatter, someone suggested that saying a team plays good fundamental baseball is like saying a woman has a nice personality, and I'm coming around to that opinion...
---Keith
Broadcast team: ugh. I really disliked them. I won't say they were worse than McCarver, Buck, Morgan, Miller, but they gave me the same feeling of "Why can't we have decent color guys and analysts for the top national broadcasts?" By the sixth inning I had essentially tuned them out.
Drinking Game:
Here's a start, courtesy of mehmattski (who was organizing a different game, as you see).
I thought Sabathia pitched great . Even though he gave up 8 hits, at least three were seeing eye grounders. There was the one off his foot, etc.
Posada's bizarre performance behind the plate concerns me somewhat. He really seemed out of sync. Or something.
I loved the way Girardi used the bullpen, giving a bunch of guys a taste in a low-pressure situation. I think a guy like Coke especially benefits from this sort of thing but it's good for anyone, I'd imagine.
I'm not quite sure why bringing Mariano in there was necessary; maybe just to give him some work?
So kudos to Girardi though he's still no Joe Torre.
Is anyone else noticing program freezes on the broadcast in the five boroughs? Is that on TBS or Time Warner Cable? It's driving me nuts.
so I was at the game so I didn't get to experience the Chip Caray Debacle...but after two years ago, I can only imagine.
Seriously, he makes Buck sound like Vin Scully out there...he's absolutely awful.
A few thoughts:
- I ended up really liking the 6:07 start, watching the sun set over a playoff game at the stadium was pretty cool...everyone seemed into it...and I got home at a sane hour.
- I was a little skittish at first about whether or not the stadium would have a "playoff feel" with the early start and whatnot; but as I think William can attest, after Jeter went deep it sounded like 1996 in that place. It was definitely christened the right way last night.
- did anyone hear CC say "We ain't Detroit, son" in the postgame? He was money last night, didn't have his A+ game but battled through and looked like a legit ace.
- A-Rod two hits...thank God.
- I met Charles Oakley, Mickey Rivers, and Bobby Bacala...just sayin'
[17] When you tell people you met Charles Oakley, Mickey Rivers, and Bobby Bacala, does anyone say, "You met Bobby Bacala?"
Just wonderin'.
[18] my dad was, by far, most impressed with the Bobby Bacala encounter (I'm Italian and originally from NJ...it's to be expected)
Oakley was cool as hell, standing outside the VIP entrance by Jerome Ave after the game with a bunch of people...dressed all in black, just observing the whole scene. Of course as soon as I saw him I reverted to being a 10 year old and just yelped out "OAK!!", he gave me the fingerpoint/thumbs up/wink.
Mick The Quick was with Fritz Peterson signing autographs outside Stan's before the game, the years have not been kind.
tonight in Anaheim may every count go to 3-2, may every inning be longer than the last, may each team beg the other to mercifully end the game, and may this scenario repeat itself until only one player is standing at the end of Game 5.
[17] [18] Had to look up Bobby Bacala (I never watched the Sopranos). Steve Schirripa, however, I know who he is!
[13] [14] I like the bingo idea better than the event rules, because I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by the 5th inning if I drink by those rules . . . bingo at least would stretch it out some.
[0] I've never heard "Empire State of Mind" and I'd like to to hear it now, if only work didn't block youtube . . .
[20] I'll drink to that! (If it wasn't 9:45 AM.)
I would also prefer the player still standing to be, let's see, Darren Oliver. I'm pretty sure the Yanks could take him.
[22] heh.. I can't wait to read Cliff's preview of that ALCS: Yankees vs Darren Oliver.
and in the comments section we'll all be bitching about Molina being lined up to catch AJ in Game 2, and debating whether Jeter should lay down a sac bunt in the early innings.
[16] During the game, I called up Time Warner and explained I had this problem with the broadcast freezing every few minutes. The thing that got me on the phone was I missed a base hit. Anyway, the woman said "Channel 708?" and I said "Yep". She told me they were having "trouble" with channel 708. I said "Then a lot of people are probably annoyed right now." And she said "Don't I know it."
I went to my friend's and watched the rest on DIRECTV.
[21] Where do you live? I can't go a day without hearing that song blasting out of some car.
[22] now the Yankees vs Chone Figgins THAT would be a classic series. No way that goes less than 7 games.
[16, 24] I noticed this during the LA/STL game after I got home. I switched over to the standard-def feed and it seemed to be an HD only problem.
But of course I didn't blow my stimulus check on a flatscreen tv so I could watch standard def, what is this? Russia?
also, entries like this are making me seriously re-think the "new" LoHud
UPDATE, 8:23 p.m.: CC looking strong, his pitch count is at 95 through six. Nice play Punto to get Cano; Punto is one of those scrappy, do-it-all players that can give the Yankees fits.
[16] I had the same problems.
I re-booted the TWC box a few times, and it did nothing to correct. I had the same issue during the Twins/Tigers game on Tuesday. I do not have the same trouble w/ YES or ESPN or MLB Network though.
It was really tough to watch this way.
[25] The far southwest suburbs of Boston. I'm more a rock/heavy metal guy, and I have two little kids, so Jay Z isn't exactly my thing or something I hear quite often. Now if you want to ask my about the Wiggles, I'm your guy!
[28] ? Sounds right to me - Punto is a scrappy, do-it-all player of the type that often flusters the Yanks (see Chone Figgins). Note too that Chad Jennings is an expressed admirer of Punto - I don't hold it against him. None of us is perfect.
[30] I think I just naturally bristle when I hear terms like "scrappy", it comes off like lazy sportswriting to me. Maybe thats just me being overly sensitive.
[1] I had the same thought, and thanks for expressing it so well:
"Jeter had decided that the situation demanded that kind of statement." No doubt, the 2000 WS homer at Shea came immediately to mind.
It also made me think about Wade Boggs, who used to punish the bleachers in BP but revert to his high-average approach once the game started. Or the old, apocryphal story about Ty Cobb, who is said to have "switched" to hitting homers once just to show the boys in the press box that Ruth wasn't so special. Two days, five home runs, and then he went back to choking up. Or so they say.
So I'm watching Jeter round the bases and I'm thinking: Christ, this guy can actually flip a switch. Not to hit one out at will and without fail, because no one can. But he can pick the spot and make a statement.
Spooky good. He and Mo are definitely on that tell-your-grandkids-someday level.
Now, for the wart that validates the praise (thank you Robert Ruark): Will someone please tell Jeter and Cano that the team does the laundry for free? Someday, one of those "three steps and an olé" ground-ball base hits is actually going to cost them. Dirty, please.
I can imagine Joba's line in the Darren Oliver game 4:
3 1/3 IP, 0R, 1H (infield single), 4BB, 92 pitches, 51 for strikes.
[31] "Scrappy" almost always means "short white guy."
Chip Caray's vomit-inducing speech about how Jeter "plays the game the right way" was way over the top as well. As someone noted last night, if I weren't a Yankee fan I would be totally disgusted at that point.
Much respect to those who were there [5] [17] but I must say that even the celebrations of the home runs by Jeter and Matsui were met with dull celebration compared to basically evreything that happened at Dodger Stadium last night. Traditionally the crowd in LA is considered a "wine and cheese" affair, with empty seats until the fourth inning. But the place was packed from the start, and LOUD. Even our man A.Belth noticed it last night. I was more than a little disappointed by NYS, how it sounded through the TBS cameras.
i didn't mind the tbs broadcast overall because i love that they keep the little strike zone up in the corner (although that can also be infuriating). i want to like darling because he seems likable and everyone raves about him, but half the things he says are pretty stupid. he does know what he's talking about with pitchers though. chip caray is a joke, but what really bothered me was the length of the commercial breaks. did anyone else think they were unusually long, even for playoff games?
[35] As someone noted last night...
Yeah, that was me.
I swear, I would be delighted to learn that the Red Sox broadcasting team was going to do the next Yanks/Twins game.
[9] Costas does have a tendency to preach, but he knows baseball and knows how to do play-by-play. I'd take him any day over Chip Caray.
[15] Agreed on Girardi's use of the bullpen, especially his early call for Hughes. I was afraid of his managing in the post season, but he actually made a positive impact in the first game.
[17] I also enjoyed the early start time (I wish the regular season would move up to 6PM). As for the crowd, I agree again that for much of the game it was pretty lively, which is why I was surprised to read the comments on the game thread and hear Michae'l Kay's take. I think the noise in the stands is still pretty loud, but perhaps it doesn't collect around the press level as it did in the old place?
[28] That's certainly not a distinguished comment, but it beats the swarmy anti-Arod comments.
Darling is fine, though he sort of sounds like an early Harold Reynolds in that he hasn't found his tv voice yet. Caray is horrible. As are so many other tv baseball announcers/color guys.
And what happened to Tim McCarver -- IIRC, he was good when he first started (Mets broadcasts?) but did he fall in love with his own voice?
But yeah, it's nice when the only real complaint I have is the announcers. Tonight's task, for those of you in the city, is to take all the Twins players out drinking until 5 am.
[35] After watching the TV replay, I agree that the sound wasn't overwhelming, but I think that's an audio issue. I noticed the same thing throughout the season. What sounded loud at the games comes across more subdued on TV. Had I not been at the game, I would have probably also thought the decibel level was too low.
[36] I definitely noticed that at the game. CC, in particular, would warm up and then stand akimbo on the mound waiting for the second base umpire to look up from his stupid stop watch.
[37] Aww, I forgot it was you, and after you cited me with a nice block quote and everything! My apologies!
[38] I suppose the conspiracy theorists can say that TBS turned the sound down for the Yankees game. Because the contrast with Dodger Stadium, especially after Kemp's home run, was very stark.
[39] Nah, we'll just send Miguel Cabrera and Braylon Edwards out to party with them. I hear they like to have a good time.
[42] I don't think a conspiracy theory is needed. The positioning of the crowd mics and the overall acoustics of the ballpark could account for the discrepancy.
I haven't seen the TBS broadcast so I can't really say, but I think it was just a combination of acousitcs and microphones in regards to the crowd noise.
It was plenty noisy in there during key points of the game (Jeter's HR, A-Rod's first RBI, Swish's double, Hughes striking out Cabrera).
It DID quiet down a bit around the 9th inning when a decent amount of people had left to beat the traffic on a schoolnight, but that isn't the first time that's happened.
[43] That was my thought, too. YS2.0 is a lot bigger, space-wise, than Chavez Ravine's ballpark. The noise as collected by the press box TV microphones is not necessarily indicative of the noise level at the ballpark.
In other words, don't trust your ears!
[42] Heh. Though I don't think we need to have any of the Twins arrested. Maybe Mauer.
[30] Ha, yeah you probably won't hear too many people bumping paeans to NYC in their cars there.
Maybe Nick Punto could be arrested for underage drinking, and then lost in the system for a while.
I like how mlb.com has this graphic about teams who go up 1-0 in the Division Series. I saw it first in the Dodgers-Cards recap, where it looked kind of impressive:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091007&content_id=7387652&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
But then you notice that it's just the NL.... in the ALDS, the team that loses the first game ends up winning the series exactly half of the time...
oh I almost forgot one true highlight of the game last night...
Around the 6th or 7th inning they showed a shot of Francesa sitting in the crowd up on the jumbotron.
The reaction was not warm.
[44] The Cabrera AB was very loud by me. Nothing has or will ever compare to the 1995 ALDS, but aside from that, I don't think last night was far below most of the big games over the last 15 years.
[48] Cops: "Well, well. Nick Punto, from Minneapolis. I heard some guy got killed in Minneapolis and they never solved the case. But you wouldn't know anything about that now, would you, Nick?"
Punto: "But there are lots of unsolved murders in Minneapolis!"
Cops: "You don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you, Little Nicky?"
(With all apologies to The Simpsons, and Steve Sax - who was a much better player than Punto, IMHO.)
[50] That was funny...he elicited his share of boos (or groans). Francessa's popularity stems from how dislikeable he is, which seems to be a formula that works in sports.
[52] LORD PALMERSTON!!
[51] Glad to hear that. My living room was pretty damn loud right around then.
[48] Wow, that is very odd -- how different the 1-0 advantage is between the two leagues.
With a discrepancy that huge you'd be tempted to say, there must be some underlying difference between the two leagues that explains it. But that's so doubtful that presumably it's just SSS and noise.
Overall, in all the DS, the chance of winning the series given that you win the first game is .69. That is almost exactly what you'd expect if the games were decided by coin toss!
[56] And what remaining difference from random you see is probably due to how sometimes the home team loses the first game and sometime the road team loses. I bet there is a slight advantage to the home team winning the first game. But the sample size is still too small to test any significance.
[56] Without looking at it closely, my guess would be the Wild Card in the AL has traditionally been a better team, so more capable of rebounding from a game 1 loss on the road.
[54] PITT THE ELDER!!!!
[18] But he's dead!
[20] Hear, hear.
Oh, and, btw - I actually really like Ron Darling, and love him as part of the Mets' broadcast team. He does do some of that "back in my day, they let a pitcher pitch" and "so-and-so just plays the game the right way" stuff, but it's not usually as bad as it was last night, and he's a smart, funny dude. But he was not at his best yesterday - he usually gets to bounce off Gary Cohen and play straight man to Keith Hernandez, and that trio has great chemistry; Chip Caray is nowhere near their level.
But then, I'm also willing to be convinced that global warming and the stock market crash are also Chip Caray's fault.
[30] Sam Borden is doing the LoHud game threads, not Jennings. Chad is being eased in with pre- and post-game stuff. Chad is much better than Sam, overall, I think.
[62] Ah, Emma joins us in the comments! It just goes to show, you can't keep a good Span down.
[62] yalie camaraderie?
So did anyone else besides me notice that immediately after the game was over, on his way out to the mound to tape the celebration, the cameraman did a faceplant? All of a sudden the camera starts tumbling, then goes upside down and then is finally on the ground. The broadcasters were not very good at containing their laughter.
[65] Boola boola.
I also have a soft spot for him because Roger Angell wrote a piece about a terrific pitcher's duel that Darling was in while he (Darling, not Angell) was still in college - I think it was the first Angell piece I ever read, and one of the first really awesome pieces of sports writing, and it really stuck with me.
[66] yes, and i made my friends rewind and watch it again
[54] [59] If Mike Scioscia gets radiation poisoning, I'd like for it to be after the ALDS and before the ALCS.
And would it be too much to ask for Chone Figgins to fall into the Springfield Mystery Spot, again, afte the ALDS and before the ALCS?
[67] Yes, that was the legendary Darling - Viola matchup
I would love it if they could get one broadcaster from the home team, one from the away team, and one network guy if you have to throw someone else in. That would seem to accomplish all goals (satisfies die hards and casual fans from in and out of home territory). Of course, probably can't happen due to contracts, etc., but a guy can dream. I wonder what it would be like to have Ken Singleton and Jerry Remy do a Yanks/Sox game
You know, at first I thought the "Jeter's making a statement" thing was a bit overstated, but on second thought, it occurs to me something special really happened. Not because he happened to hit a home run when the morale of all of us was screaming for it; that could have been coincidence. Rather, it's the fact that, as has been noted, the home run was so un-Jeterian. The fact he went to left like that leads me to believe he actually did have some kind of a plan that led him to take a different approach. Simply put, it's like he was, indeed, looking for a pitch to pull and drive.
He's a great one.
Emma, I couldn't agree more. LOVE the Darling/Cohen/Hernandez team, but they are greater than the sum of their parts.
Darling by himself seems to start running away with a thought, much like Leiter seems to. I have a feeling Hernandez usually tells him to shut the F up off camera.
Hernandez away from the group seems almost creepy.
Cohen could be a robot for all I care, but he seems to hold the team together well.