Maybe it’s just too early in the season to get too worked-up but aside from my visceral dislike of the usual suspects–Youk, Dusty, Beckett, and Paplebon–I’ve found the opening series against Boston, not dull, but tepid. The first two games were close, and long of course, but I wasn’t especially stirred. Tonight saw a nice pitcher’s duel between John Lackey and Andy Pettitte but the relative lack of melodrama was evident when Kevin Youkilis and then Derek Jeter were hit by pitches. First, Pettitte tapped Youkilis in the helmet with a pitch that wouldn’t even give the slugger a headache and then Lackey plunked Jeter in the side. As Jeter approached first base, Youkilis grinned and Jeter gave him a playful shove.
Yanks-Sox–free and easy, go figure that.
The game moved along briskly. The Sox scored a run in the third on an RBI single by David Ortiz (who otherwise had a rough night at the plate), and the Yankees–who repeatedly hit the ball hard all game long–tied the score in the seventh on an RBI base hit by Nick Swisher (and an adventurous bit of base running by Jorge Posada). Daniel Bard was impressive in the eighth inning for Boston, particularly the fastball-change-up-curveball strike out of Nick Johnson, and Chan Ho Park was even better over two scoreless innings for the visitors.
So I was mildly surprised to see Park back out there in the ninth after Paplebon retired the Yanks in order in the top of the inning. Adrian Beltre flew out to deep right, JD Drew followed with a clean single up the middle, Mike Cameron skied out to deep left (Brett Gardner caught the ball a few feet away from the Monster), and Marco Scutaro lined out to left. Sox hit the ball hard to no avail.
Welp, they made it through nine innings in less than three hours. Disoriented and confused, they just had to go to extras.
That set the stage for the new guy, Curtis Granderson, who led off the tenth with a long solo homer to right. Hot dog. Paplebon recorded an out but then walked Brett Gardner, who stole second after many throws to first, and walked Jeter too. That was it for him and Paplebon was replaced by Scott Atchison who walked Nick Johnson same as he did last night. Mark Teixeira followed with a soft ground ball to short, driving home an insurance run which was more than enough for Mariano Rivera who gave Yankee fans that peaceful easy feeling we know and love so well, setting down the Sox in order and giving the Yanks the series win.
Final score: Yanks 3, Sox 1.
And we is heppy kets.
[Photo courtesy of ESPN]
Park pitched three innings, didn't he?
He sure did. Was cooking for two, and lucky for the last one. Hey, we'll take it.
damn fast recap Alex! Nicely done.
Where's thelarmis? I swear we've been talking for 2+ years about how good Granderson would look in pinstripes? Good for him. And we haven't seen in it, yet. : )
I kind of feel like Nick Johnson never left. I know he didn't log that many ABs for the Yanks the first time around, but for some reason his style, approach, and swing are really familiar.
I guess Curtis Granderson is officially a Yankee?
[5] I feel the same way, but I also got to watch him a lot in Columbus back in the day. For whatever, he was the prospect that I followed most closely in the last 15 to 20 years, including Jeter. So he seems very familiar to me as well.
Park is the other Ace.
A win against Boston and Forbes values the Yankees at $1.6bn. Not a bad day for the Steinbrothers.
[4] Present! yes, i'm quite pleased he's in Yankee
pinstripesroad grays! he'll look great in the home unis sending laser beams into the short porch! : )yo thelarmis HInske! I'm jazz guiding some tourists round the neighborhood tonight, going to hit the hard-bop bar and the used vinyl record shop..will try not to spend the money I earn as host!
Yanks take 2 of 3, Curtis with the two taters..spring off to a great start.
What you up to?
It's easy to say it now, but I called that Granderson homer (in my head). Nice game, nice for Park to get back on the good foot before heading home. The Yankee bullpen could be just ridiculous this year, and the lineup is really impressing me, even if they only scored three in 10 innings in this one.
[11] careful on the Hinske, King...! ; )
i was just thumbing thru the Bllue Note album cover Book 2. got it today. next up, i'm (finally) getting the beautiful BN Photography Book 1 - the hardcover version w/ my man Hank Mobley on the cover! i've wanted this for 15 years!!! 200 pages of Francis Wolff's b/w photos from the classic blue note sessions.
i'm listening to Terry Gibbs/Buddy DeFranco right now - great vibes/clarinet frontline!!!
have fun w/ the jazz tourists! : )
[12] Aceves, CHP, JobaJoba and St. Mo the Divine..sounds good. Boston's pen used to scare me but I think Bard and Riverdance are not as unhittable as they appear..and with Nick the Magic 4-Ball in the lineup we're guranteed at least one baserunner if he comes up..
[13] Man, I want to get that book too! Need an apartment big enough for a coffee table though..
Jazz tourists tonight and tomorrow, should be fun. Groove Holmes on the ol' iPod today...
[14] i just watched 4 curtis vid clips at yes. he rocks!
yeah man, i wanted that book when it came out. but i was about to graduate college and didn't have the $35. i've been searching for it the last few years, but it's usually like $100, if you can find it. just found a copy for $25! : )
Worth it at that price. Blue Note covers truly artistic gems.
Will catch the YES interview tonight, stuck on an ass-kicking Thailand assignment now that I cannot come close to cracking..
They moved the MLB Highlight show here from 9:30pm to 11:00pm. I thought this was better until I realized I can barely keep my eyes open past 10 these days...D'oh!
Also ready for a lot of Angels-As and Angels-Rangers games on tv here...sigh...
i have both album cover books, plus the small version, as well.
there are also 2 black/white photo books (from inside the sessions, not the album covers). the 1st edition is the hardcover, there's a 2nd soft cover (w/ joe henderson on the cover). i had the 2nd one, got the first one today, cheap. hope to receive it next week! : )
[16] i have a bunch of blue note albums i've been buying on vinyl, to frame the covers. makes for great, classy artwork around the house! i have one more on the way and then there's one final one i'm trying to track down. i might have to get it from your adopted country, we'll see...
I declare that April 7 is officially Chyll Will Day; after all it honors the day I was born and the Yankees won today and all... >;)
[19] Heppy Boitday, Will!
[19] HAPPY BOITHDAY, CHYLL!!!! : )
and with that, i bid you all farewell. til...the day after chyll will's birthday!
enjoy your root beer, bro!!!
[19] Yo Chyll, was wondering where you were! Caught up in an endless loop of Tarkovsky's "Stalker"? Happy B-Day, お誕生日おめでとうございます！
Ugh, stupid mlb.tv just stopped working. I can't even log into the website right now. I only saw the first 5 innings. So disappointed. The Yankees are one of the few reminders of home I have out here.
[23] Hope you're not in Kyrgystan at the moment..mlb.com last year was a mess for the first 5 weeks of the season, then it settled down.
Youk, Dusty, Beckett and Pap -yuck! Nothing like going yard on Pap. Makes my day.
The rivalry has changed. They have been palsy on the base-paths for years now. I still can't get used to it entirely. A friend would say, "It's the multimillionaire's club. What do you expect?"
I honestly believe that after Pedro was out of the Boston rotation, so shifted the rivalry ever so subtly. Then again, who would ever think that I would root for Ortiz as he spewed expletives at the Boston press. Does know thine enemy sometimes mean like thine enemy? Oh well! Change is change.
[25] Didn't much like the Cap fraternizing with the enemy. And I take great pleasure in Papi struggling. And every time Pap blows a save or loses a game. And every time Becket sucks. And ... and ... and ....
AB used the right words - visceral dislike. The BoSox tend to recruit players that for some reason I just can't stand. The list is long - Schilling, Manny, Pedrioa, Beckett, Youk, .....
If Jeter wants to yuck it up with Youkalis - do it off field. I know that was an unscripted moment, but I woulda been happier if Jeter kicked him in the shins or sumtin.
(grumble grumble)
Great game. Great ending. I love baseball.
[26] I was there last night. The collective groan when Granderson knocked the HR off of Papelbon was great.
One of my friends had spent the entire game running his mouth incessantly and at high volume. That HR was especially cathartic for me.
[26] I don't mind the fraternization this early in the season. Plus it's a good way to diffuse what could have become a tense situation. Don't need the hyper-tension at game #3. Plus, everything came out alright in the end, Yankees win & Pebblebrain takes the loss.
I was very happy to see the Youkilis/Jeter exchange. I get soooooo tired of the rivalry being anything more than that. There's no reason for bad vibes. And something about Youkilis and Jeter being the point of contact was poetically correct. They're so different but at the same time I think equal in their immersion in the game. Youkilis is like the bizarro world version of Jeter.
[24] Nope, I'm in Vancouver, so all I hear about is the Canucks and Curling, sigh, It was a lot nicer when I got home from work and my DVRed or live game was right there on my flat screen.
Loved the "disoriented and confused" comment Alex. Ha! Too true.
I enjoyed the Jeter/Youk exchange too and agree with [28] that it was a good way to diffuse tension. Semi-related: My husband and I had commented earlier in the game about how much we despise Youk, but after the playful shove, we thought, "well, if Jeter likes him, then he probably isn't too bad of a guy, right?!"
"The Grandy-man can"?
?!?!
Uh, no-no-no-no-no. No.
He's gone too far this time.
[32] Heck that was the good part of the call!