Everything’s up to date in Kansas City…
…where the eats am good…
…and the ball park is lovely:
The home team is scrappy but remain kind of blue, stuck in last place again:
Our old pal, the Ace of the Staff, is on the hill, and I figure he’s gunna have worked-up an appetite. Especially against freakin’ Bruce Chen.
Sure would be nice to see the Score Truck make a pit-stop in town for the weekend.
We’ll be watchin’ and rootin.’
Our boy Cliff does like he do in his new digs:
No Gardner tonight. Maybe because he's really been struggling this month. HIs AVG and OBP in August is .133
Can that really be? No walks at all this month?
Too bad the ballpark doesn't look like that anymore. One of the few things they had going and they ruined it.
Series preview up on PinstripedBible.com, game thread right freakin' here . . .
Now THAT's the way i always imagined the Score Truck!
For those familiar with Ithaca, New York...especially the Cornell University campus...it calls to mind the Hot Truck, from back in the day:
http://tinyurl.com/669dxd
[2] Hey, go away!
I kid, I kid!
Yay, the game is on up here in Canada...thank you, Jays afternoon game. Where is everyone?
[5] We're here in the US. Mostly.
It's sad down here, by the way.
7) well it is 2010 afterall. Look at your calendar man.
[8] OMG.
That was sub-optimal.
Still, better than Swisher just standing there doing nothing.
11) and infinitely better than a two ruHR in the first inning!
[12] Yes, we avoided the trap.
Now let's see if we can lure the Royals into one of ours.
New Swing!
[14] Our genius coaching staff.
Ugh. The YES audio has gone to heck.
Don't ever do that again Mark.
yay! Yankees!
yay!! john coltrane!!
yay!!! KC Royals!
Lot of posts today to catch up on, thanks AB for the T.Monk, love that tune!
Brief recap of the Sox loss, anyone? Will try to catch up on the news at lunch..
Go Go CC!
[2] Agreed, always loved those fountains. Guess they needed the new seats to acommodate all the bandwagon fans now that the Royals have a "Process"...
Hm..I have a rules question. Teix made sure to tak the bag with the ball-in-glove. But had he stepped on the bag the runner would have been out. In a force situation, can the fielder tag the bag with any part of his body? for example, could Teix have reached out and touched the side of the bag with his bare hand?
I guess I could check my rulebook...
[20] I would think so.
T-Monk???
That's COLTRANE!
Don't make me come over there, dammit!!!
19) the thing is, i'm not sure the added more seats to the stadium. I'll have to check, but I think the new seats beyond the fences replace others that were displaced by luxury boxes. In any case, it's too bad, because the stadium is not half as pretty as it used to be.
Sad. So, so sad.
[22] You dare question the master?? Monk was an earlier post!
I've prayed at the Church of St. John Will-I-Am Coltrane in San Francisco, sunday morning versions of "A Love Supreme"...
23) yep. It looks like kauffman stadium has a seating capacity of about 1000+ fewer since the renovations in 2009.
[20] Yes, any part of his body. Just like a runner.
Hello all,
This game is shaping up nicely. Too much drama lately, and a quick according to the script victory is in order.
[20] With the ball in control by the fielder, if any part of said fielder touches the base in a force situation, the out is recorded (at least that's the rule when little league umpiring).
Whassup, gang? I caught a game at Kauffman Stadium last summer. Nice place.
I could use a laugher here. Too much drama in Texas.
28, 27, etc) that's what I figured. It was interesting how Teix seemed almost to instinctively put the ball in his glove and tagged the bag with his glove. I wonder if he does this (or should do this) on purpose because it's easier to hold the ball in the glove and the glove provides protection for his hand in case it's stepped on. Or, was it pure instinct? Maybe the best play would have been to keep the ball in his bare hand while reaching for the bag with his glove..this might have saved a fraction of a second over transferring the ball.
It's a big deal at all...just an interesting play when looked at in slow motion.
31) NOT a big deal.
That's what I meant to write, of course.
[31] Seems like instinct. "Have ball, about to tag, tag with ball hand."
One truely has to love the game to be a dire hard Royals fan. Last in the playoffs 25 years ago, and maybe 6 or 7 seasons over .500 since then. I wonder the rhetoric on the Royals game threads?
Austin "Powers" One!
Austin Kearns = almost Real Yankee.
NEW SWING!!
KLong is a genius!
[34] I know, truly spelled wrong, and I meant die hard (although dire seems to fit).
[37] I like "dire hard". It's an eggcorn.
37) Don't worry about a few typos; you're in good company here...and as long as I'm active on the thread you're bound to look good by comparison.
[0] [3] Hot dogs for everyone!
[2] Cliff, I'm lovin' the new PB, though it felt just a little strange to read your series preview over there.
Speaking of the new PB, I hear Jeter needs to hit ~.346 the rest of the way to crack .300 for the year. A 2-3 start to the night would be a nice step on that road . . .
Wouldn't it be incredible if Long's treatment really were responsible for turning Granderson from a weak-ass hitter into a terror? He would become the most valuable Yankee employee. Maybe the most valuable Yankee employee in history...
41) but also a sad reminder of how awful Girardi is as a manager, for letting Granderson languish so long without sending him to work with Long. i mean, take some leadership, Joe.
.
.
.
Yes, I am being sarcastic. I feel slightly silly tonight.
The boys in the booth need to hit a karoke bar and belt out "Mele Kalikimaka."
[25] Eh, Monk is *nice* ... JC is JC!!!
JC!
[42] Shush, you ...
=)
It's really sad to watch every facet of Jeter's game decline right before our eyes.
[45] BETELGEUSE...
[38] Thanks for the eggcorn link, VERY amusing.
[39] Thanks, but while there might be some typos on your posts, the eggcorns of wisdom are vast.
Some hard hit balls this inning.
[48] Eggcorns are actually serious linguistics. Psycholinguistics, insight into cognition and lexical comprehension. (Also amusing, yes.)
[49] Not just this inning. Lots of fly balls off CC.
[46] SHADDUP SHAADIN UP, DAMMIT!!!
I've turned to Little League. The New England Regional Semis are on NESN. RI vs VT, and Old Yankee Fan's guys are winning...
[53] The RI pitcher's name is "Baldelli". I think he must be a relative of Rocco's. (Rocco is from the same area as this RI team, too.)
Wow, the RI boys get Baldelli out of a jam with a DP! That's hard in little league!
Man, what a Swishalicious AB this is.
The Royals are not good.
[42] C'mon William! Get off Girardi's back!
[57] You checking out the Little Leaguers on NESN? Your guys vs. my guys...
One quick inning and CC might be able to go the distance tonight.
[59] True. In fact, I guess he's on pace for 117 pitches in 9 innings (13/inning).
The Royals are bad, but they have lots of fun names. I mean, we're talking Candy Maldonado territory.
Tough to pay attention to this game. I wonder what the ratings are for games like KC v Seattle? I would imagine, tumbleweeds.
When the Yankees come to KC, to the locals it must seem like Cortez and his conquistadors have descended. It's been a long time since those Yankee/Royals classics with George Brett spitting nails.
This little league game is great.
The dominating Vermont pitcher has reached his pitch count limit with two out in the fifth. He struck out ten.
Booooooo.
Kevin Long sucks.
[63] in NY we're getting the NW regional, Montana v Washington. I would rather watch the NE game.
One pitch out, walk, one pitch double play. Complete game here we come.
[44] What's yer favorite? I'm partial to both "Live at the V.Vnaguard 1961" with Dolphy and A-A Malik on bass & oud, or "Sun Ship" recently, one of the last Quartet albums..but anythng from 1960 on is gold..
CC in control, yes...but a two run lead is not enough to remove all the tension from this game. That puny score truck is not sufficient.
Jeter would have beat that out even if Betemit fielded that cleanly. Should be a hit.
Damn, Gregor Blanco came out of the game..for our old friend Wilson!
Here we go. I hear a truck rumbling...
Duck. Pond. Let's go ARod.
Our Teixeira is better looking than their Texeira.
73) And by more than an iota.
Another crappy GB...
[71] You could sing that to the tune "Folsom Prison Blues"
Dang, I missed the A-Rod AB (watching LL). What happened?
75) ah, but it was a productive out, indicative of playing the game the right way and taking what they give you!!
77) a virtuous and selfless ground ball to third base with the runner at first going (hey, a PLAY!!), scoring Jeter.
Rhode Island gets a solo homer and a swinging bunt single, now down a run with one out in the bottom of the last inning. Ground out, the tying run advances to second.
What tension!
[79] Oh, thanks. So he didn't try to do too much with it.
Walk off homer, Rhode Island wins!!!
I don't want to rub the bottle, but why is it that a certain blogger is only apparent when the Yankees are losing in a game?
How bad is Alex Gordon that he bats behind Betancourt??
Its nice to see Wilson Betemit be horrendous on someone else's team
[81] Little Rhodey moves on!
CC appears to have gotten stronger.
Is it my imagination, or does Greg Holland look like he's three feet tall?
I wonder how much Flaherty spit spray got on Singy when he tried to say the word "plush".
(if you are watching YES).
New swing!!!
Fear the New Swing, Greg Holland, yes.
[87] I dunno, he looks normal. But I've just been watching Little League, so three feet might look normal.
In all seriousness, I suspect Cervelli is bunting here.
Grandy needs to change his high socks look along with his swing.
Another play!
93) you're not a fan? i much prefer the high socks to the baggy pajama look. of course, most of all I miss the 70s stirrups look!
[87] Holland does look diminutive, but that high angle from the side is deceiving.
[92] Exactly what Joe wanted you to think!
I would like to see the stolen base play a little more, especially from the fast guys at the bottom of the lineup.
Dammit, ground balls make me sad.
I was shocked before when I heard that Jeter and Teixeira were tied for the lead in runs scored. Never, ever would have guessed.
97) I never graduated from checkers.
Is this the chess piece: ♚? Yes, looks like it. I'll be using that.
Wake up, Swish...you could have made that a tough play at first base.
[93] I sometimes like the high socks, but on Granderson it makes his legs look so skinny...that he sometimes does appear like a little leaguer. I too miss the stirrups, something about a pitcher high kicking delivery with stirrups adds to intimidation.
I wonder if Swish tweaked something. He looked like he was limping a bit at home plate after the last AB, and now he's replaced in the OF.
I really dislike Wilson Betemit.
[105] Even on another team? You're hard to satisfy.
Come on, quick out. Let's keep the CG on track.
[105] Wilson Betemit has more than $5 million career earnings from baseball...does that make you like him any less?
Do you think Joe just told CC that this is his last batter?
Let him go nine, Joe, let him go!
Oh, sweet.
He should certainly start the ninth.
109) Or at least his last inning, given the heat. Though I am holding out hope for the CG.
[105] That $5M goes a long way in the DR.
[108] Oh yes.
It's still a save situation. Won't Mo pitch the ninth?
[115] He shouldn't. CC is strong, and though it's technically a Save it is a very low leverage situation (cough cough Papelbon cough).
[106] I will maintain until my dying breath that he was the worst player in baseball in 2008. I am a bitter and vindictive man who does not want to seem him succeed anywhere because of that.
115) three nights in a row..I doubt Girardi goes straight to Mo if he feels he can avoid it. yhen again, the save rule tends to dominate all.
The old 1-3-1 put out, just like they drew it up.
117) you really have a thing for Betemit. I'm not clear how you would think that a player with a .718 OPS could be the worst player in all of baseball. But whatever keeps you going, man.
Hm...this is not boding well for the CCCG.
Oy.
Well, this could be a Save for Mo after all...
122) still, it's fun for me to watch a game being pitxhed and managed like they used to be when I was younger.
One more batter! Come on, CC.
Wow, I feel like it's 1985.
No Mo!
No CG?
[120] He was also slower than me and fielded about as well. And he was our primary LIDR and often used as a pinch runner. He was bad at everything they asked him to do and Girardi just kept putting him in. In what was not a good year anyway, the Betemit fetish was the low point. And I'm including allowing Sidney Ponson pitch 80 innings.
125) I'm confused, does this make this the seventh inning or the eighth inning, technically?
Huh, now why not Mo here? Not that I'm complaining, I'm just surprised. Save situation, feels slightly tense. Dave has a low HR rate, which is probably the biggest factor in this situation. Interesting.
The Yankees can't get Willie Bloomquist out.
Shit.
Gaudin?
Mattpat, this is your dream come true!
THROW A FUCKING STRIKE.
It all comes down to Betemit.
127) him being bad at what Girarsi asked him to do, and girardi continuing to go to the well strikes as more a problem with Girardi than with Betemit. Seriously, if you want to have this Betemit fixation, I won't begrudge you. But scroll through some other rosters in 2008 and you'll find plenty of worser players.
Sabathia couldn't do this?
Wow, this is more exciting than I really want.
Oy, I was comfortably falling asleep. Now I am up for another two hours.
129) hasn't Mo been unsed,actually, three games in a row, ,becuase of that silly one pitch appearance on Monday? Given his tough outings the last two games, my guess is that he is simply not available tonight.
[140] That's right, I forgot about that.
[136] Honestly, I'm sure there are a few, but I cannot imagine there are a ton of men that hit as poorly as Betemit did while playing such awful defense and offering no speed and still played so god damned much.
140) ...been used three games in a row...
Kendall's got a big enough chin already
[143] he may have been unsed as well
[140] No, just two games in a row. (I just looked at the game logs.)
So why did we take Sabathia out again?
Nice, old fashioned game.
Hey, good work, Dave!
I bet he got a serious adrenaline rush out of that appearance.
[146] Was the one pitch game Sunday?
Whew!!
Nice, order is restored. Good night all.
146) oops, I misremembered! But I bet he was unavailable for whatever reason.
2 games up again. and 6 over Boston
[150] Yes, it was Sunday.
Here are his game logs.
i agree w/ flaherty about the insane quality of that last curve ball. the bloomquist at bat was awful, but he really pitched well to betemit and kendall.
[153] He must have been. Otherwise the temptation to stick the binky in his mouth would have overwhelmed even the stoic Girardi.
And also, Mariano Rivera is never, ever allowed to retire.
150) yep, it was on Sunday. I did a quick scan of Mo's game logs...he has not made three consecutive appearances this season. Now, if the plan was not to use Mo in any case, I wonder the logic of pulling CC with two outs instead of letting go another batter or two, except that it gave Robertson a little more wiggle room.
[158] For some years I confidently insisted that Posada's retirement would have a bigger impact on the Yankees than Rivera's. This now seems obviously wrong. Anyway the impact on the fans will be immeasurably greater when... well, I can't bring myself to say it.
[155] That whole ninth inning last night only took eight pitches?
Felt like alot more than that
[160] I don't know. I think Mo and Jeter are more or less on the same level in fans minds. I do think they're both a level above Pettitte and Posada.
"We needed to get one out and Robbie was able to get it for us!"
Well, eventually.
Just looking at some NESN highlights. Papelbon was hitting 99 mph on his fastball, and a few at 98. But the Jays were just scorching him. His slider wasn't working and he left the cheese up in the strike zone with no motion. It was a Farnsworthy performance.
[164]
BUT HE WAS THROWING HARD! THERE IS NO WAY TO HIT SOMEONE WHEN THEY'RE THROWING HARD!
/Michael Kay