AP Photo/Mike Carlson
You know how they always tell us that cycles are just as rare as no-hitters and should be appreciated as such? Nonsense. Cycles are nice, but they’re really just gimmicks. A no-hitter, though, is history, and CC Sabathia was chasing history on Saturday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays.
I’m an optimist in all things, especially when it comes to no-hitters, so after CC set down his twelfth straight batter, striking out Ben Zobrist to close out the fourth inning, I started thinking seriously about it and ignoring everything else in my life in favor of the outs piling up in Tampa. One of those things was my wife, who made the mistake of asking me a question in the bottom of the sixth inning just as Jason Bartlett smoked a line drive that looked ticketed for right field. Our conversation went like this:
Wife: Do you think we have time to stop at the camera store?
Me: Look at Big Tex!!!
What I probably should’ve said was, “Sure, we can definitely swing by the camera shop, but did you happen to notice the play that Mark Teixeira just made there? That ball surely looked to be a base hit, but he really showed his Gold Glove form as he laid out to snare that liner. Jason Giambi, by the way, wouldn’t even have been able to turn his head fast enough to follow the flight of the ball.” But that’s not what I said.
Only an inning later, we had a similar conversation:
Wife: I’m worried about Alison’s fever. Do you think we should take her to urgent care?
Me (standing and pumping fist): A-Rod!!!!
The smarter thing would’ve been for me to take my daughter’s temperature, discuss possible treatment options, and then explain that A-Rod’s play was the type of play that every no-hitter seems to have. B.J. Upton had smashed a one-hop liner that looked to be headed to the left field corner, but A-Rod had dived to his right, hopped nimbly to his feet, and fired across the diamond to nab the speedy Upton by a step and a half. With only six outs to go and Sabathia looking as strong as the defense behind him, the no-hitter looked extremely possible.
The best part of all this was that the game wasn’t really in doubt, because the Yankee hitters had arrived at the park with the urgency of an innocent man accused. Robinson Canó can’t hit with runners on base? He came up with two outs and Teixeira on first and answered that question by launching a home run to deep right, putting the Bombers up 2-0. Teixeira can’t hit in April? Tex rapped out his first three hits of the season, including an RBI double in the fourth that stretched the lead to 4-0. Brett Gardner is an offensive liability? He faced a team-high 27 pitches, reached base all five times, drove in two, scored twice, and stole a base. (Some might disagree, but I’d love it if Girardi would send him out there every day for a few weeks, just to see what happens.)
So by the time the Rays came up in the 8th they were already down 8-0, and the only drama revolved around Sabathia and the final six outs. Willy Aybar led off with a grounder that ricocheted off CC’s pitching hand (gasp!) to Canó who fired to Teixeira for the first out. Pat Burrell then lofted a fly ball to Curtis Granderson in center, and Sabathia was four outs away; alas, that was as close as he’d get.
His former Cleveland teammate Kelly Shoppach roped a clean single to left, and that was that. Joe Girardi sprinted out of the dugout immediately, and I imagined that he must’ve spent the entire half-inning crouched in starting blocks, poised to pull Sabathia as soon as possible. (More on that later.) The Yankees tacked on a couple more runs in the top of the ninth and David Robertson struck out two while nailing down the final four outs to close out what was almost an historic afternoon. Yankees 10, Rays 0.
That Shoppach single was about as disappointing as a meaningless April base hit can be. Even before the ball had been returned to the infield, I found myself wondering about what might’ve been. I imagined Sabathia setting down Carl Crawford with a letter-high fastball and the celebration that would ensue. Francisco Cervelli would leap Yogi-style into Sabathia’s arms, the rest of the team would mob them, and A-Rod and Teixeira would struggle to hoist CC’s 290 pounds onto their shoulders.
Post-game interviews, however, would reveal that if Shoppach hadn’t spoiled the no-no, Girardi would have. As dominant as the big horse had been, umpire Wally Bell’s postage stamp strike zone had helped drive Sabathia’s pitch count up to 109 heading into the Shoppach at bat. “Watching that pitch count go up and up and up, that was what was on my mind the most. Shoppach was his last hitter no matter what.”
Sabathia jokingly responded that Girardi would’ve had a fight on his hands had he tried to prevent him from going back out to work the ninth, and if I had been in Tampa, I would have been fighting right alongside him.
hehe -- excellent wrap-up, Hank. Well worth the wait.
the dialogue with the wife is eerily similar to what goes on at my house, as well. I was laughing out loud here. Makes me think of July 27, 2004, when my son rolled over for the first time. I remember that vividly because A. it was A-rod's birthday, and B. as I video taped him teetering on the brink of rolling over (with the game blaring in the bg), the camera panned up to A-rod belting a HR on the TV and missed the rollover. haha Classic Yankee moment that's forever wrapped around my family.
Hank...
As as older man with some experience, a bit of advice.
for future, the correct answers were:
sure.... Look at Big Tex!!!
and
Tylenol first... (standing and pumping fist): A-Rod!!!!
You're welcome
I missed everything until the hi-lites this morning. Thanks for the recap. Speaking of wives, mine was mad a Gardner for not laying out for Shoppach's liner. He had no shot, but wish he had given it a go...
Hank,
Some might disagree...
I think you'll have a hard time finding anyone left here who'll disagree. Brett has made the case for a shot at the full-time job, and Thames has made the case for see I knew it what the fuck was Cashman thinking.
I was on the phone to my (teenaged) son when A-Rod made his diving play, and I shouted into the phone and then had to explain.
[4] I was positive even with A-Rod's play that Upton was going to beat him out. That was really the first time I thought there was a real shot.
[4] It's still early, but a) Girardi seems committed to some sore of Thames-Gardner platoon, and b) Thames is awful in LF. I agree---let's run Gardy out there for a couple of weeks---no platoon, though use Thames as a PH occasionally in a tight spot. If Gritner can handle it, great. If not, the Cashman starts working the phones, because neither Thames nor Winn should be out there full-time.
Great piece, Hank.
My niece's 15th birthday party at Benihana kept us (me, my dad, and my sons) from watching the last 5 innings. The restaurant had a soccer match on the big screen in the lobby. I didn't bother asking the hostess to switch to the Yanks game, but the thought occurred to me more than once during our 2 hours in the joint.
One slight correction in your re-cap. The Yanks would have had to hoist, I suspect, quite a bit more than CC's listed weight of 290. The camera adds ten pounds, and the media guide, in CC's case subtracts more than twice that amount.
It's hard to judge on TV, but I thought Thames had a poor inning in the 4th which contributed to Javy's troubles. That game could have been close enough for the 8th inning rally to matter if Garnder was out there catching some of those hits.
I agree he's got to play so we can see how good the OF defense can be w/ him and Granderson out there together.
sounds like i missed a helluva game from a yankee dominance perspective.
speaking as someone who is a bit skeptical of gardner, i am okay with running him out there as a full-time of. in a very small sample his numbers against lhp has either been in line with his overall numbers or better - let's give it a shot.
i actually think he has a better shot against lhp than the little i have seen of granderson - this is not advocating for thames/granderson platoon, maybe just giving granderson the day off against a really tough lhp some days.
i realize it has only been a few games, but from what i have seen so far and based on career numbers and reputation, thames has absolutely no business in the of. his bat is not really good enough to overcome the butchery that is him with a glove in lf - and just wait until it is in yankee stadium.
I came in right when Robbie made that play after CC got hit in the hand (Robbie-flavored Cano!), then watched Shoppach line the single to left and it was only then that I found it he'd been throwing a no-hitter until then. I thought it was my fault at first, but I gave Shoppach credit for hitting it cleanly; would've been mad if it were a fluke or somebody not giving a full-out effort to get it. And, if it were anywhere else, I'd have thought it was really gracious of the way crowd to applaud him for the near-no.
Damn, wouldda made a nice belated birthday gift, too (this past Wednesday) >;)
happy belated chyll.
when you update the score truck i am thinking our #5 hitter should be the face of it.
[10] Happy birthday, Chyll. Hope ya had a good one.
I'm hopeful for Gardy. I like him and I think he deserves a chance at full time LF. If he pans out, slaping the ball around with success, and you know his fielding is good, we'll be very solid. I really like him roaming LF in Yankee Stadium where it is good to have a LF who can cover ground.
[10] Heppy boithday!
Damn fine game last night. Why is today's on TBS?
[14] funny thing is that I just looked at the tv listings and missed that. 3 games in the first week on tv here! woo hoo! So much for not wasting my time away watching games...
[10] oh, and happy birthday!!
For some reason I wasn't all that disappointed it wasn't a no-no. If it were a perfect game in the balance, that would be different.
That being said, Girardi has GOT to be kidding.
My sole comfort re: Gardner is that as repulsed as I am by his at bats, it must be doubly disgusting for fans of the opposition when he conjures a single with that crippled swing of his. And I agree he should have laid out for that ball, with the lead they had, two outs, etc. You never know.
Cano's HR was great but isn't the knock against him with RISP? Well it's a start anyway.
[17] That's your sole consolation? Interesting. I don't really care how disgusted opposing fans may or may not be. Rather, I am much more consoled by a .400+ OBP so far. In fact, if he keeps his OBP above .350 or, even better, .370, I won't need any consoling at all.
[18] Comfort, not consolation of course!
[17] Interesting indeed
[18] That's very adult of you. Very mature. Scientific even.
If only A Rod would get back on the HGH, that would have been a home run.
[22] La di da di da