So Clarke Schmidt has the Banter seal of approval, right?

Stanton still looks lost. He has a couple of weeks to figure it out.

Hm. Okay let's withhold that seal for a little longer.

Phew.

Did he stop at first so Judge can bat?

Unreal.

[105] That's what Nelson said!

And now he's just said, "He has no pop" for the double.

And he's batting .316.

Unreal.

It should be noted that the only time they've retired Judge was his first at bat when the centerfielder robbed him of a certain double when an absolute laser off the bat almost went over his head.

Those 2 runs may prove to be important

The problem with bringing in Holmes in this situation is that he has to face at least three batters. It could be a completely different game by then.

[110] I would like to think everybody in our bullpen could hold a 4 run lead, even if the bases are loaded.

[111] I would like to think that also. The problem is that I don't. But a win is a win.

Yeah I'm with Hank. Four run lead with the bases loaded and nobody out? I'm not confident at all.
But it's all good, we got to marvel at Wonderboy today.

And I'm going to the game on Tuesday. So now there's a chance... a small chance, of course, but there's a chance...

Touche, the way this second half has gone, every game is an adventure even with a seemingly large lead.

[113] Here's hoping you get to see something special. Even if he doesn't go deep, I'm sure every at bat will be electric with the whole stadium standing. It'll definitely be fun either way, and maybe you'll get to see some history!

Bader CF tonite!

The team is slowly coming together!

I couldn't pick Bader out of a lineup so it will be nice to finally see him.

Yes. Bring on Bader! Put Oswaldo and Judge out there to keep him company and tell Hix to enjoy the show.

Rookie pitcher on the PIRATES?? I call TWO taters

How about naming the newbie Darth Bader?

Bader a (kind of) New York guy? So few mlb players these days from the Tri-State area..

I read today Friday's game is on prime. If i'm around to watch I expect it to be wonky and choppy like every other gd prime game this season. Nice job, MLB.

⬆️Prime at least has the regular announcers? I read the Apple broadcasts were unlistenable..

(124). Not Prime but Apple TV. MLB ain’t gonna change that. Really sux.

They traded Monty for Bader??? We got the bader end of that deal.

2d career start and no hits through 3

Wow. Quite the read.

Welcome to the Bronx, Bader.

Booo! Pitch to Judge.

They had a video of the Pirates 3rd baseman vs. the Mets? recently standing near the bag with his glove off eating sunflower seeds while a dude was rounding third headed for home. Was that Hayes? Ugh.

One can't expect the Yankees bullpen to hold the Pirates down.

The one time Kay should say it's gone if it's fair and he doesn't. I guess it has to be 100 foot foul to break that one out. Unreal.

Welcome to the Bronx, Bader.

Heckuva debut for Bader!

Can't believe Judge didn't get a run in.

That Judge at bat was something, even though it didn’t work out. I was actually standing in my living room.

[136] He did! It's just the ump called that first pitch a strike when it clearly wasn't, so he should have walked, pushing in a run, on the fourth pitch, but...

[137] It was the first time I felt that he was almost pushing just a teensy tiny bit. Didn't make me enjoy it any less (outcome aside).

So of course the Pirates have a pitcher named Robert Stevenson.

This kid is due.

Nothing to worry about. Bader due up fifth this inning.

[141] I still really miss Monty, but Bader is doing some good things.

Wouldn’t you think Stanton would break his bat and dunk one in once in a while? Something?

Maybe next time.

Stanton’s ‘struggling’ swings look like my ‘48 years old with a delicate back’ swings in the 110kph batting cage here..

Stanton can't look like garbage for too much longer. Yikes.

Stanton is cooked.

[145] Haven't been to the cages in decades. Do they have kiddie cages?

⬆️ Depends on the center, the famous old one in Shinjuku is refurbished and they have a range of speeds. I have to stretch for like 30mins to just get through 20 swings without big pain.. sucks getting older!

Those MLB "Baseball Zen" commercials are really cool.
(Even though I think the MLB, as an organization, is evil)

This bullpen is suspect.

[148] I'm going to see a sports doc about my knee next week.

What a drag it is getting old...

This is Pittsburg, FFS.
They should be crushing these guys.

This game fucking sucks.

Yes, love the little Baseball Zen interludes! Very cool.
(151) Yep, I’m at the ‘always get an aisle seat a the movie theater’ stage too now. Stretch the legs and have easy bathroom access..
I’m guessing the average Banterite age is somewhere between me and you Boat so everyone hear knows what we’re talking about :(

This does not look like a playoff ready bullpen.

This is a weird one. If I’d told you Judge wouldn’t have a hit, that he’d be up with the bases loaded and none out and wouldn’t get a run in, than Rizzo would have a critical error to allow the Pirates to take a lead in the eighth, you probably wouldn’t have believed any of it.

Not sure I’ve ever seen a bat flip with a look into the dugout on a ball that landed in the first row, but that doesn’t really matter, does it?

I'm off to the chiro on Thursday. I used to only go when I was in dire straight. I've been going at least once every 6 weeks for about 2 years and feel like I'm 36 again!

[156] Even watching it I don't believe it.

I guess Holmes is getting all the HRs out of the way before the playoffs? Grasping at straws here...

The Pirates have done everything they could to give this game away. It’s a shame.

They are going to lose in the 1st round.

8 runs to the Pirates, ugh! The Yanks have 200+ more runs than the Pirates this season.

The hoopla about Judge's amazing season is all good fun, but I don't see this team winning a single playoff game. Certainly not a series.

Whenever they plug one hole another opens up.

At this point, in what way are the Yankees are a better team with Marwin Gonzalez on the roster, IKF playing shortstop, and Volpe in AAA? Seriously. Call the kid up, ditch Gonzalez, and send IFK to the bench to be a super utility guy until DJLM returns.

There it is!

[165] He did it!

60!

60!!! What a season!!!!

HE DID IT!!!

Whoo-hoo!

I guess Stanton figured something out, huh? Now THAT is a way to end the game Judge hits #60 in!

Greatest inning of the year, the centrury and maybe ever!

WOW..!!!!!!!!! Just amazing

Well that’s unexpected. I’m going to sleep now.

Judge IS baseball

HOLY FUCK!!!!!!

RI is at the stadium!!!

Heard about 9th via texts in bed from wife. Oh, well. Go Yankees. Zzzz...

RIYank is there?? Expect a full recap when he sobers up!! What a game, and what a season!!

[177] RI is AT the Stadium?!?!? Holy mackerel!!! What a game to see in person!!

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Naturally, it all started with Judge.
That was insane.

So I’m stuck in a Zoom meeting, so I kind of watched the ninth on my phone. I saw Judge’s homer, then saw that Rizzo had doubled, then suddenly everyone was bouncing around at home plate. Crazy.

He’s also leading in the Triple Crown right now!!!

Outside shot at Bonds?

It is thrilling when we see records fall. Do we play under the same rules as when Maris was so stressed out in '61 that he was losing his hair because he couldn't eat for the hate he took from Yankee fans? Did Aaron, who along with Jack Robinson was the most pilloried player ever to hold a bat? Did Bonds, regardless of whether or not he used substances to play the game longer than he could have, but he was the best in a league of cheaters. Did he do it for his own gain (hopefully), or was it just a game played by McGwire and Sosa and Giambi and Pettitte and Clemeens and Canseco, and any other person we might want to understand why a game that had poor rules just fell into a graft where baseball owners made money hand over fist and screw the health of the players.

Whatever your choices are, go for it. But the winners were always the shareholders, not the players.

Had to get up early for a flight so I went to bed at 5-4. Should have foregone another 40 minutes sleep apparently. Wild ending.

Will be fun to see where Judge ends up. I’d imagine Toronto and possibly Baltimore will avoid pitching to him if they can avoid it. And maybe Boston out of spite.

I was indeed *at* the game!
It was really disappointing for 8 1/2 innings or so.
But Hank, I guess I did get to see something special, even if it wasn't a record homer!

[187] I think Alex Cora is too cocky to pitch around Judge. I bet he gets 61 AND 62 against the Sox, which is just perfect.

[188] This isn't good enough. I think I speak for the Banterites when I say that we need a full recap of what the Stadium was like during that ninth inning.

As I said earlier, I was stuck in a Zoom meeting, so I wasn't really able to watch. No problem, I thought. The game is still on in the other room, I can just rewind it back and watch it. But then I quickly realized that the unattended TV had turned itself off after four hours of inactivity. Crushing. I obviously saw the highlights and soaked up the postgame show, but it wasn't the same. Hopefully it'll show up on Yankees Classic sometime soon.

Well, okay!
So first of all, the general feel around the stadium was, of course, that the flaws in the Yankees were glaring. The bullpen in particular, but also Stanton and the power outage in general. (Well, sure, I'm probably projecting my own attitudes into the 50,000, but NO DOUBT ACCURATELY.)
The place was only maybe 60% full in the top of the first, but much fuller thereafter -- it looked like maybe 80%, with only the really cheap sits thin, and the Areas-Where-An-Important-Homer-Might-Land particularly jammed. (We were in Section 225, just behind the third baseline cameras, which is a really good spot to watch a game.)
The only moments when the place really rocked were when AJ came to bat. And each deflation left the overall energy a little lower, until...
A whole lot of people left in the eighth inning. Serious. Maybe half. Remember, in the bottom of the eighth Judge was to be the fourth batter, so people were still hanging around, but we went 1-2-3 and the expensive seats just drained and even some of the bleachers. The bunch of 20-somethings in the row behind me declared that they would go watch the rest of the game from a bar; one woman pointed out, "Look, it's not a Red Sox game, it's a Pirates game."
But Chapman was good! And then Judge would lead off the bottom of the ninth, so some were hanging around just for that. Onto the mound strode Wil Crowe. His great great great uncle was Red Ruffing -- the Stadium Disembodied Voices made sure we knew the mystical connection to The Babe. Clearly History had something in mind tonight.
Judge slammed his mighty gavel, and there was an explosion of joy, relief, vindication. Even the bullpen didn't seem like pure garbage anymore! And of course Wil Red Ruffing Crowe couldn't leave. He was chained by rule and destiny to the mound. The late-stayers congratulated ourselves and stood.
The rest happened so fast. Rizzo's double got another roar. The comeback possibility had gone instantly from Unrealistic to Inevitable. Gleyber walked. The benighted Josh Donaldson rifled a single. The crowd stood and watched Giancarlo Fuckin Stanton step into the box. The odd Wil Crowe was still perched in his nest.
I don’t see how you could doubt that Judge's 60th homer reorganized the mess in Stanton's brain. Until that moment he’d looked utterly, hopelessly lost, staring at strikes, flailing at sliders in the dirt, starting his swing so early he was simply guessing or flicking the bat so late it was an afterthought. But this time he was locked in. His 116 mph line drive got into the seats in the blink of an eye, and the Stadium roared one last time in his absolution.
On the 4 train I stood between a Jewish couple in their 70s and a young black man, and we listened to the Jewish guy wax poetic. He let us know that with the homer, Judge had moved into first place in the AL in batting average, and assured us that this was even more important than the 60th homer. Then he asked the young guy whether he knew who was the last Triple Crown winnder – he did, although he’d forgotten Miggy’s year. I smiled and asked our sage who was the most recent before Cabrera… yeah, he knew that too, and he knew Mantle was in ’56, and he was really pleased when I reminded him that Frank Robinson did it between Mick and Yaz. The young man told us that five seconds after Judge homered, tomorrow’s game (that is, today’s!) sold out. (He tried to buy tickets on his phone.) Then other riders suggested strategies for getting a ticket.
But I’m back in Rhode Island, because my son, who was with me at the game, is getting married this weekend, and we have to get on with life. You can bet we’ll watch the games until #62 is in the books!

[190] You’ve been holding out on us! Man, that was fun to read. The Crowe in his nest! I’m a sucker for lines like that. Thanks so much.

Here’s a really cool highlight package, a nice pairing to RI’s beautiful recap. Guaranteed goosebumps.

https://twitter.com/talkinyanks/status/1572559768626962432?s=21&t=e_CwK-r8P70D07iS_qV0pQ

Awesome, RI! I’ll try to stop by Friday, if I can.

GO JUDGE!!! GO YANKS!!!