Jason Varitek and Jonathan Papelbon were kicked out of the game this afternoon in Boston. The Sox blew a 7-3 lead but eventually won in extra innings. Meanwhile, out west, Dan Haren was scratched and Ervin Santana will start in his place for the Angels. He’ll face this line-up:
Derek Jeter SS
Curtis Granderson CF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Russell Martin C
Nick Swisher RF
Jorge Posada DH
Brett Gardner LF
Good ol’ C.C. goes for the Yanks. Never mind the preamble:
Let’s Go Yank-ees!
[0] That photo reminds me of the California of my imagination, as a child. Rather than surfing, blondes and Hollywood, I was always into the California I saw on 70s & 80s cop shows. Colombo, Hunter, etc. Dusty, endless strip malls and industrial areas; Chevy Novas and Dusters; hazy skies; Eagles on the radio. (Man, I HATE the fuckin' Eagles..) Just seemed like a different planet from my neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Michael Mann's "Heat" kind of captured that LA feeling, I thought.
Yes, I found it at THIS ISN'T HAPPINESS, which is a great site. Sorry I don't have a photo credit. It does suggest "Heat," and something seedy at night when the sun goes down...
Let's hope the Yanks are hitting some seeds tonight.
I FUCKING hate palm trees.
Lived in SoCal for almost 20 years and every I come to despise them more.
No shade, no fruit, no flowers and every year they shed heavy, nasty fronds when the winds come.
Fuck 'em.
[2] Or, "To Live and Die in L.A."
Aww, CC went to hang with the little leaguers!
That's awesome.
[3] Agreed.
[1] Nice.
Yes, I remember my first visit to southern California (I grew up in Yonkers). I was in college and drove from Iowa to Thousand Oaks with a friend of mine and I remember feeling like it was, indeed, a different planet. In fact, I talked to some guy who was doing housework for the family and it turned out he was from Brooklyn, so understood my astonishment: "When I first came here, I thought I was on the moon."
And of course, my response and repulsion was pre-conditioned by "Annie Hall."
[7] Grew up (12 years) in SE Asia and then (6) years in northern New Jersey. Came out to SoCal for college.
The 1st year was ridiculously weird, but after I adapted to the West Coast, the East Coast seemed like the Dark Side of the Moon and Mars.
I'll never go back ...
I only lived in L.A. for four months--November through April. Seems like the ideal amount of time.
[8] Totally!
[9] Where in SE Asia?
Great "leadership" by Captain Varitek getting tossed in the 9th inning on ball-strike calls. Pitches weren't even close. Umpire a bit confrontational with Papelbon to be fair.
Let's Go CC!
[10] I'd like to live in the Bay Area for awhile. SF is amazing.
[10] Yeah, but you were in the "business", so I don't blame you. For the rest of us, LA is (usually) a fantastic place. I mean, if we're going on the scouting scale, it's an 80 place for film, a 60 place for stage, an 80 place for comedy, a 70+ place for music, an 80 place for food, an 80 for sports, a 60 place for culture, a 70 place for weather. There's decent skiing and surfing within a 3 hours drive of each other. L.A. is one of the greatest cities in the world (especially if you learn to live near where you have to work).
[11] Born in Hong Kong (5) and then moved to Malaysia (KL)(7).
[12] 'Frisco' (they HATE being called that) has a *REALLY* bad case of "teh smugs". But, that aside, it is a GREAT city (something, of course, you'll never hear anyone there relate in return).
My food is taking forever to come, so I'm going to be in a very grouchy mood if we don't hit Santana
[14] c.f.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ19ahNyM3I
[13] Yeah but any city with little to no public transport is no-good..ain't got a license..
Both HK and KL are great cities.
[15] Espresso and mueslix set here, Jazz Princess snuggling and sun shining outside. Sunday morning baseball!
[15] Man, Santana could use a good smacking ... Carlos, that is ...
[18] You don't like Carlos Santana??! Why not??
There you go, Curtis.
[18] Musician or catcher?
Lame
[13] Eh, they're just different. I wouldn't live in KL without a car. I'd have a car, if I lived in SF, if parking wasn't a complete, insane bitch.
Foods here
[19] Uh, because he's a sad, pathetic shadow of who he was? Seriously, '74-'75 Santana Band *might* just have been the "Best Band in the World".
And now?
Well, he's fallen far.
FAR.
Not that that doesn't mean he can't play great music when he's challenged (e.g. the show he played with the Trey Anastasio Band at the Warfield ((IN FRISCO!!!)) back in 2003 ((which I was at, dead center, front row)), he's just not challenged at all anymore ...
Sterling's Law, Flash.
evening folks ...
I have Santana on my roto team ... I sat him down as I knew he never pitched on 3 days rest .... so of course ... he looks sharp so far ..
[27] He's on normal rest, I believe, I think they had a day off (Thursday?).
It's really past time for Robbie to go on a tear.
He has no business hitting .278 this late in the season.
[29] He's swinging at anything within the same zip code.
It's weird, he spent the offseason preaching the gospel of St. Long, he's spent the *season* pissing on the saint's icon.
ROBBIECANODONCHAKNOW?!?!?!?!?!?
Man. Martin's mask appears to have some sort of foul ball attractor ... at-tractor beam, if you will) built in.
[28]
ack ... you're right .... sigh ... I only read they were moving him up a day ....
Was that a curve CC got the third out with?
That was a great pitch.
[31] Heheh.
Well struck, Nick.
Hey all -- I'm skipping this baby because I'm watching hockey again. Yeesh. It's a disease. Also, June. I'm watching hockey after Memorial Day. Great game, though.
Jorgie! Wow, two well struck balls in a row!
Gah.
PUSHUPS, SLAPPY!
GRRRRRRRRRR.
Gardner's really struggling. He's not getting on base at his usual clip.
Good boy, Derek...
Nice work, Derek.
A;ight, CG, make 'em pay!
Damn.
Well, FUCK that.
Fucking Bobby.
That was such a nice swing.
DAMN YOU, Attack Hamster!!!!!!!
What a half-ass tag. He didn't even try to make it look good.
FUCKING Cano.
Wow, CC. Nice.
At least C.C. showed up tonite ...
That was wacky.
And talk about speeding up a guy's bat.
ROBBIECANODONCHAKNOW?!?!?!?!?!?
Robbie is so exasperating.
There's nothing wrong with his swing, as you say, cult.
His mechanics are so fucking sound that it's maddening he can slump as badly as he does.
Shit.
Melky would have thrown him out.
Ohhhhh, Derek!!!!!!!
Fabulous.
One out.
Mathis still starts? Nick Punto of the Angels, easy out!
I remember Baylor most of all for leaning into all those pitches.
And for his stance, practically entirely vertical.
Who was *that* fat, troll-like creature at the end of the bench near the bat rack?
[60] Don Baylor would lean into a frickin' BLITZKRIEG.
[62] Heheheheh! No kidding. Awesome, right? He set a record, didn't he? 26HBP or something?
Oh, Derek, you're killing me.
Identical to the last one.
That's what Robbie needs to be doing way more often.
ATTACK JAMSTER!!!
I really thought that was going to travel a lot farther, too. It's like it just died out there.
Very nice, Alex.
Very nice.
YAY-ROD!!!!!!
Ahhhhh.
Such an effortless swing.
[71] I wish he'd make an effort once in a while. Effort is what matters.
Morally speaking.
Heehee!
Hockey's going to OT.
They take a huge intermission before the overtime begins.
[72] Just doesn't play the game the right way.
GGBG!!!
No, Flash, the thing about GGBG is that he approaches stealing bases like he approaches hitting ... he's always waiting for the perfect pitch.
It ain't bad, but it's often sub-optimal ...
GGCG.
FUCK.
Well, the OT did not last long.
Eleven seconds.
[79] Trust in outs, always put your trust in outs ...
Doesn't matter how hard you throw it afterwards, Alex, you still suck at pop-ups!
=)
Wow, that was very efficient. CC could get a CG.
[80] Oh, yeah, but they don't have them on ice, you know.
God, Alex!
Wtf?
[84] Uh, looking for something else?
The bats are regressing.
[85] I know, I mean, obviously, but you can't sit on something with two strikes. I know he'll do that but I don't like it. The ball was right down the middle. At least make an emergency hack.
Unbelievable.
That's three in a row.
[87] Eh, batters get fooled. Sometimes, even the best ones, badly. Shit happens.
Pfew!
Mo ought to be getting up.
Now.
Mo time?
[87] I wouldn't call that getting fooled, almost by definition. It was a fastball down the middle. But whatever.
[93] You're looking for one thing and adjusting to the other. If you get the other and you can't pull off a swing, you got fooled.
This ain't brain surgery, y'know?
Diving Teixeira!
[89] I'm really not trying to belabor the point, but the point being that if you have a defensive swing with two strikes, that simply doesn't happen. My criticism, therefore, is of his not having defensive swing with two strikes. I'm just against that on principle.
[96] It's reprehensible. Such a shame the Players' Union insisted on that No Flogging rule.
[94] I know, I get it, but that's why you're supposed to work off the fastball, is my only point. I'm just talking about fundamentals.
[97] No. It's because they're against DECIMATION!
[97] It's just not how I would teach players to play the game, is all.
In short, it comes down to how far do you think a player should go to avoid a K. I personally think players should value making solid contact more highly than they do. You sacrifice the likelihood of hitting the ball out for the increased likelihood of hitting it hard, where it's pitched.
I'm sure I don't need to explain any of this, though.
It's a question of philosophy. I don't like Ks.
[96] And my point is, simply, horseshit.
Defensive or not, if you're sufficiently fooled, you can't pull off the swing.
[101] Of course you do, but then, again, most of us disregard your outdated conceptualization of scoring theory.
You, know, because of the facts?
In hockey they also swing at things with sticks.
Just saying.
[103] Why are you being combative, exactly?
"most of us disregard your outdated conceptualization of scoring theory.
You, know, because of the facts?"
Whether this is true or not (and more or less it is), it's hostile.
Why are you being hostile?
Kid can still play, that third baseman.
Plus, I wasn't talking about "scoring theory."
But whatever. I'm bored already.
Yeah, this is the last batter for the Big Man.
Oh, bullshit! What a crap hit.
[109] I'd go with boring already ...
And I've said this before but I suppose it needs to be said again: I watch the game as a coach and as a player. You can say it's as a bad coach and as a bad player, but quite simply, from my perspective, you don't just shrug and say "shit happens" when someone takes strike three down the middle.
If I had a player who did that, I'd try to get to the bottom of it, figure out what the player thought he was doing, etc., and attempt to redress it.
Whether it's outdated or not, that's simply how I experience the game of baseball.
Why do I have to apologize for that?
Thanks be to Mo.
Praise be to MO.
And I've played ball and coached ball ... and sometimes you get beat.
Sometimes, you look for a pitch with a reason and you get beat ... and ... that happens ... how is that hard to understand???
[116] Awwww, will you be my Huckleberry???