About the best thing that can be said for the Yankees through the first six innings today is that they weren’t trailing by more than they were. Curtis Granderson left the game with an injured leg and was on his way to the hospital for an MRI with the score 3-1, the lone Yankee run coming on a solo homer by Robinson Cano.
Cano just missed another homer too in the sixth inning, too.
The Wife and I were in the car, driving across Sixth Avenue on Eighth Street, listening to John and Suzyn on the radio. Sterling gave it the ol “It is high, it is far…” only to report that the ball was caught. It took everything in me a) not to crash the car into a pedestrian or b) scream at the top of my lungs and frighten my Bride. If I’d been alone who knows? Instead, I calmly clicked the radio off and said, “That man is irresponsible.”
Cano was fantastic in the field, too, turning a wonderful double play and making a tough over-the-shoulder catch.
The reason the Yanks were fortunate is because David Phelps walked the world. But the O’s couldn’t take advantage. Then, in the seventh, the Yanks had an unlikely rally. With one out, Steve Pearce singled for his first hit as a Yankee. Russell Martin flew out and then Jason Nix fell behind 0-2. We were still in the car, now on the West Side Highway driving home, and with each ensuing pitch I called the strike out that never came. Instead, Nix walked. That brought up Eduardo Nunez–remember him?
Don’t hack at the first pitch, don’t hack at the first pitch.
So he hacked at the first pitch, a fastball and drove home Pearce. Then, a new pitcher, and Ichiro waled. Bases loaded for Jeter. We were home now but stayed in the car knowing we couldn’t miss what came next. So it’s 0-2 with the quickness but the Captain worked the count full and walked. Game tied. Fist bump with The Wife.
By the time we got upstairs and turned on the TV they were replaying SS J.J. Hardy’s error which allowed the go-ahead run to score. Go figure that, especially since Hardy is a good fielder. David Robertson pitched a clean eighth and Rafael Soriano mowed ’em down in the ninth and the Yanks won, 4-3.
Feels about as big a win as they’ve had all year.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. We will take it.
That literally felt like a weight being lifted off my chest. Just one game, and mercurial Freddy goes tomorrow, so, yikes(?), but that feels like a big win that the team needed. Or that I needed, lol.
I spent the entire 7th muttering assorted incantations at the mlb scoreboard on espn, and that was a lot of awesome up until Robbie's 3-2 count.
Seems like a big time job out of some of our guys, although, of course, I couldn't actually watch thanks to Angelos. You know, if I actually lived in crummy Baltimore, the blackout wouldn't upset me nearly as much (or at all).
Sori seemed dominant from watching the scoreboard?
It just felt like I hadn't seen much of anything I *really* liked from the team since they drove Floyd out of the game in the first game of the Chicago series. Everything has felt badly off since that moment.
So nice to have a comeback win.
One question, which I swear I have had since long before that Chicago series - was it a justified decision to get rid of Wise? I always really liked the guy and his speed, will at the plate, and plus defense at all outfield spots? And even if there was a reason - and forget what happened with Curtis today - is there anyway to look at the Wise move as anything other than a brutal mistake?
Would like to hear some opinions/answers on this.
Mood is brighter this afternoon. Until tonight, which will be/could be very ugly for me.
Yes, Soriano dominated. D-Rob also looked very strong.
Yeah, Sori had the good fastball, 95mph, got away with a couple of hanging sliders only because he buried a couple more in the dirt.
Seemingly good news on Grandy: http://es.pn/T4pU3I
A few observations from today's game:
The Yankees looked so bad over the first six innings that I went and took a nap. So to hear that they came back and won was an excellent surprise.
How did Granderson hurt himself? He didn't even swing at the last pitch. And are players that fragile?
It's probably time to stop playing Andruw Jones. Against a lefty, put in Pearce, or McGehee, or Nunez.
Perhaps Nunez should be the righty DH. If he doesn't have to worry about fielding, maybe he can go on a tear.
That sounds good (on Curtis). A day to clear his head might not be the worst thing, although it leaves me pining for Wise.
Has anyone called Garcia "Mercurial Freddy" before? I kind of like that name.
[4] Bruce, like I said at the end of the game thread, I have always been a believer in Nuney's swing. Great bat speed and nice looking swing, imo. That's a ship I'm perpetually on, no matter how much water it takes.
Curtis didn't really hurt himself. He had a pre-existing tendonitis and it just tightened up.
[5] I like "Mercurial Freddy" too. Not "Freddy Mercurial", huh?
Bruce, not to put a damper on your enjoyment, but it might be said that the Yankees managed to come back because the Orioles remembered that they are the Orioles. Let's hope they don't forget right away.
[4] Yes... it was a LUCKY Win, no doubt about it.
It's GREAT that Grandy isn't injured, but this is ugly:
"Granderson hasn't been much help lately. In his last 22 games, he is hitting .176 with 23 strikeouts. When he left the game, his 159 strikeouts were tied for second in all of baseball."
[1] was it a justified decision to get rid of Wise?
No, the move was absolutely silly, especially considering that when they picked up Ichiro, Swisher was nursing some injuries. He would have provided some reasonable depth---and might have been nice piece as the extra position player on the PS roster. But the team seems determined to play Ibanez in the field as much as possible. FWIW, Wise has had a better offensive season overall than Ichiro.
[8] When he left the game, his 159 strikeouts were tied for second in all of baseball
He led the AL in Ks in 2006, he had 169 last year, and two other times topped 140 Ks. So, this is not exactly foreign territory.
Thanks for the additional info, guys.
Perhaps Dickerson could fill the role that Wise had filled. Dickerson is a good outfielder with speed, ala Wise.
[11] That just makes way too much sense, Bruce. I don't have much confidence in The Binder processing that kind of information.
How great is Mercurial Freddy (just better than Freddy Mercurial)? That must stick.
All We Are Saying, Is give Pearce a Chance. Although we cringe with each ground ball hit to him, Nunez could prove to be very valuable in the home stretch. If he has a good respresentation, he will at least be solid trade bait in the off season. The Flying Nunie can't wait much longer to play shortstop for the Yankees.
I missed most of this game except for the first couple of innings on the radio, and the 0"s two run lead. I went to YS with my family for the Friday game, and after that dominant performance by the pride of Guadalajara, Miggy Gonzalez I thought this would be a lost weekend for the Yankees and the realization that I must move on and stop investing so much emotional capital on this team. Friday's game was bloodless affair; a stifling night, and a realization that the Yankees were running out of the magic they would need to keep the division lead. Buck must be loving it. Anyway, nice to see the comeback win yesterday and I see today's game as the probable tipping point of the season. BUT...how can you predict baseball?