Structurally, this was one of those classic, endless Yanks-Red Sox seesaw games – except that since only Wild Card-vs.-AL East is at stake now, it was significantly less tense than those usually are; I can’t recall ever being quite so calm when the Sox were down by two and had the bases loaded against New York. It took 10 innings, and 14 pitchers altogether, but in the end the Yanks beat the Red Sox 6-5 in game one of tonight’s doubleheader.
Andy Pettitte was not great, but he was just about good enough to stave off panic about his fitness for postseason play. He only went four innings, giving up nine hits (!), walking two and striking out eight (! again), and allowing three runs. He did look healthy, though, and as witnessed by all those strikeouts there wasn’t much wrong with his stuff, so here’s hoping he was just shaking off some rust. Mike Lowell (on Thank You Mike Lowell Day, natch) drove in Boston’s first two runs with a double in the first inning; Daniel Nava added an RBI single later. It wasn’t a disaster, although allowing that many baserunners in general is not going to lead anyplace good.
The Yankee offense was perhaps more concerning, as the team engaged in one of those left-on-base smorgasbords they seem to have become so fond of recently. They had many, many, many opportunities, and capitalized on disconcertingly few of them. In the third inning, a Curtis Granderson triple, A-Rod ground out, and Robinson Cano homer gave them a 3-2 lead; an inning later it was a tie game. They took the lead again with doubes from Teixeria and Cano in the fifth, making it 5-3; Boston chipped away with a run in the seventh, off Boone Logan, and then tied it in the eighth, off the usually impeccable Kerry Wood. To be fair, the ump was calling a strange and small strike zone all night – and while that went for both teams equally, it seemed to hamper Wood more than most. Tonight also witnessed the temporary return of Phil Hughes to the bullpen; he came on in the bottom of the ninth and pitched beautifully, making me wish once again that we could clone him and use him in both the rotation and the pen. (You know Brian Cashman is already working on this).
Finally the Yankees took a 6-5 lead in the 10th inning, when Brett Gardner walked (bad idea, Papelbon), was bunted to second, and scored when Bill Hall couldn’t make a bare-hand play on Derek Jeter’s (super-clutch!) dribbling little infield hit. I’ll take it. Much to my relief, Rivera came in and took care of the bottom of the 10th inning without breaking a sweat: Mo’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.
I guess I better keep this recap concise, because we’ve got another one of these babies starting right now. So: that was fun; let’s do it again!
Be nice for Robbie to give us an ealy lead here....
Be nice for Berkman to give us an early lead here….
Be nice for Dice-k to lead off vs. AJ in the 1st so he could drill him in the ass. Though AJ would probably miss.
Sox fans to Dice K. as Yanks fans to AJ....
Dice-K doing his Ollie Perez impression here ...
Emma, Jeter's hit in the 10th was dribble all the way. A great mind and a burnt out husk think alike some times.
Checking in... With Dice-K and AJ, this has the potential to go another 4 hours.
Round and round Aj's curveball goes,
where it stops, nobody knows.
drat... Should've used the glove.
Not a fan of Kay and Leiter in the booth...
Dear AJ,
What I love about you most is when you hit a guy on 0-2. It is simply an amazing skill I hope to impart on my children one day.
Sincerely,
me
Oh, this is fun.
[8] Usually the backstop ...
This is going to be a long one
Well, there's something new ... 2 for 2 plating RiSP this inning.
Nice.
[15] Without a hit. WTF.
A 1,2,3 inning from AJ. Everyone take a drink.
[16] And then a 1-2-3 inning from Burnett.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle K ...
[16] Baby steps...
It's nuts, but we have a good shot at the Division.
C'mon Fat Goober!
C'Mon, Lance! It's been awhile.
Blow the Modamn game out of the water right here.
2008 2nd baseman .326 .376 .493 .869 - 17 / 83 - AL MVP
2010 2nd baseman .317 .376 .533 .909 - 29 / 108 - ????
Not quite sure why Kearns is in the BIg Leagues after seeing him for a month.
Kearns!
I don't mind Kearns striking out, I do mind him swinging at dumb pitches...
Somehow.... Brains gets the job done again.
Kearns is such a worthless piece of shit, I guess we should be happy that he just struck out with the bases loaded - again! - rather than hitting into the first MLB-ever quadruple play.
"sure-velli?"
[24] Gritty > Smooth. cack. I've been thinking about this for a while actually. I love Cano. The fact that LP won with those #'s makes my brain hurt. Screw him.
Dice-K thru 3 (PC-ST) 70-36.
I can't imagine him going more then 6... and with some patience, we could have him out after 5!.
We gotta be fucked - AJ can't throw 2 scoreless innings in a row.
[33] Nope.
Up by 3. Can't walk lead off guy. Must give up 1st career homer.
And that cocksucker didn't!
Wish Burnett would pie the wrong guy - who would then turn around and put a knife in his chest.
Well... in 2008, Mil-TON Bard-LEY lead the AL in OPS posting:
.321 .436 .563 .999 - 22 / 77, so no one wowed the crowd that year. ARod was 2nd in OPS with a .965.
Dustpan was 18th in OPS in 2008.
Robbie is currently 7th.
[37] Dude.... 1 (800) Anger-Management.
I'm 59 years old and I swear I can pitch better than this fucker
I think the Yankees should jettison Eiland after the season. For all the good things I've heard about Long this year I've heard jack shit about Eiland. I've seen struggling batters make adjustments and improve. I've seen struggling pitchers labor through the same shit over and over and over again. There's got to be a new message to hammer through to these guys. Or something Oy!
/rant
Anyone wanna bet that the Red Sox acquire a new player before the bottom of the 4th and that he homers off AJ in that inning?
[41] i wonder what that pretty long personal leave was mid-season. i guess the team kept that one under wraps pretty well...
why isn't brett on 2nd? : /
[41] Seriously?
I don't think it's any fault of Eiland's fault that Javy Vazquez now has a limp noodle for an right arm, nor for the fact that AJ Burnett has a ten-cent head that isn't worth a nickel.
Perfect timing as usual, Brett.
[41] He was learning how to give one of his worst pitchers a black eye withoug leaving any trail. He definitely was not at a "tell your guys to be agressive" seminar.
Repeat - kill AJ NOW!!!
NOW!!!!!!
Burnett summoning his inner David Cone...
[45] Yes. And I don't know who this Vazquez guy is so he doesn't count. ; )
But despite Phil's year I think he has not yet lived up to his potential and AJ had the worst year of his career.
I'm glad I was to busy typing to pay close attention to that play.
Fuck you AJ. Even though he was out.
sigh *facepalm*
Burnett should be lifted immediately...it's time for Girardi to send him a long overdue message.
If Cashman does anything this off season, he has to find a way to dump Burnett.
Pull him, now. Fuck him. And pull Kearns too, that guy is the drizzling shits.
Somewhere Knoblauch just had a cold shiver run down his spine.
[54] Dude beat up his wife, so he's spineless.
Don't let Cevelli catch it I thought.
otra vez... *facepalm*
Yup.
Somehow I just knew that was going to happen.
UnFUCKINGbelievable.
And Cashman's second goal should be shedding the roster of minor league talent like Cervelli,
Ain't the glove's fault, Frisco...
Yanks are going for the "infield error cycle" this inning
Yeah, I would've liked to have seen the Yanks somehow snag Jose back but they seem to think they have something with Cervelli.
i can't believe we still have the lead.
oy vey
[59] I was so very comfortable shedding J. Molina and giving the job to Cervelli.
In hindsight, we should have renewed last year's arrangement for another season.
Molina may not hit any better than Cervelli, but he's still a top notch defender.
Cervelli, meanwhile, is the only catcher worse than Posada at throwing runners out ...
Yeeesh.
Burnett's not throwing home constitutes a fire-able offense - thereby saving the Yankees millions
I DEFINITELY remember being off the day of the Bucky Dent HR.
ya know, robbie cano's gonna win a batting title one day...
Burnett cannot possibly be on the playoff roster, right?
How can an umpire blow one right down the pipe? I guess he'd rather see Kearns go down swinging.
KKKearns!
Does Kearns have incentives in his contract that pay him by the strikeout?
fuck you, KKKKKKKKKKKearns.
let's get golson in there. somebody, anybody...
The announcers are so fucking dumb - the 1978 playoff game was on Yom Kippur, not the first day of Rosh Hashanah.
Kearns kan't be on the playoff klub either, kan he?
[59] Out of 47 MLB Catchers with 175 ABs, Brains is 26th in OPS. So he is a little South of average... including against 30 starters. For a BUC, that is just fine. His RISP numbers are: .312 .404 .364 .768. Brains is hardly the problem, and he fills a roster spot at minimum wage... which is really important.
[75] He is an awful defensive catcher. Also, as we have noted before, he has been more of a co-starter than a BUC. He isn't THE problem, but he is a problem. He should not be on the 25 man roster next season.
My guess is with Montero up 1/2 a season or more next year, Brains will be a true BUC, and JoPo and Jesus will rotate at C and DH.
OYF, BR has Cervelli at 92 games this year. Calling him a BUC this year is a stretch. imo.
[75] He was the starter this year
A little tid bit I uncovered....Cervelli and Posada are the first Yankee catching tandem to each get at least 300 PAs behind the plate.
In his 5 year career, up to this year, Brains has CS 21 of 51, for a CS% of 41% . This year is an aberation.
[78] He's a BUC who has played no much. None the less, his OPS is just short of middle of the pack. That is not terrible.
And #5 SB for Gritner today.
Brett has had the "steal on strike 3" all game. Fucking bullshit.
[82] OOps.... TOO much.
[84] It's all good. I'm on Cevelli's side; as much as he drives everyone else mad. If you trade him away, though, what the hell is he going to yield?
Francisco Cervelli ladies and gentleman.
In September:
Teix: .232 .353 .368 .721
Cano: .262 .304 .346 .650
Nick: .237 .310 .368 .678
Gritty: .231 .346 .385 .731
JoPo: .207 .313 .379 .692
Ugly.
Oh dear
Good Lord.
What a sloppy game.
Alrighty now, inning-ending GiDP, just like we drew it up ...
Time to watch something more terrible. SNL. Fucking Bollocks. How come we've never seen AJ's parents? What the hell is their story?
OYF do you trust Girardi to use Cervelli like a BUC next year?
Send AJ out next inning I say. 106 pitches be damned.
I have my Burnett headache
[93] He shouldn't even be used as a BUC. He does nothing well.
Please pinch hit Kearns with CC. Pretty please, Joe. You can do it. Maddon style.
Is Kearns allowed to put the ball in play?
I'm sorry, WHAT THE FUCK is KKKearns doing hitting here???
Are you playing for the division or not?
pinch hit for KKKKKKKKearns.
godfuckingdammit!!!!!!!!!
motherfucker!!!!
FUCK YOU, KEARNS!!!
seriously, FUCK YOU!!!
Exactly the way Girardi drew it up... Never doubt the Chessmaster.
Dear Banter,
FUCK You.
FC
: )
I still say cut him!
guess we can't trade him now. ; )
ya know, i think it's high time Mista Tims gets some ups...
i guess Gazoo does some good.
C'mon Gritner, time to sweep the leg.
PUT HIM IN A BODYBAG!!!
Big Puma ... LIKE A CAT!!!
What an awful, awful game. Guess that's what happens when you schedule a day night double head at 4 and 9.
what a "wild" game.
jeez...
Awesome, *just* what I was wanting ... Meat Tray time!!!
(still, better than Gaudin)
The Red Sox lineup is a joke. Time for them to get their Meat-Tray on.
Fish gotta swim,
Birds gotta fly,
Coffee Joe gotta spin that wheel ...
[93] Absolutely. I don't think he will see 175 ABs again and he's cheap.
At 25 players for $200m, our 'average' player makes $8m/yr. To pay ARod $30m, we need 2.5 free players. To pay CC $23m, we need another 2 players. Same with Teix... and some for Jeter. In order to be able to afford our high priced guys, and continue to add Lee and others, we need lots of cheap kids.
Cashman knows this and uses the BP to save money. Gritner has been a good find. Jesus will help. But we need to be able to have a bunch of cheap players on our roster.
Again, 14 teams of 30 have STARTERS with worst OPS then Brains. His RISP numbers are good.
I'm not saying he's a very good player. I'm saying he serves a purpose.
The ol' mix and match! I don't know.
I stand corrected.
Man, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's games. With the right combination of outcomes, there could be the need for a 3 way playoff on Monday and Tuesday:
[106] You get yer wish!
Today, the team is 3 for 32 with RISP.
I sometimes don't know how we win games.
Solo HRs I guess.
Damn, thought that was going to drop in.
Today, the team is 3 for 33 with RISP.
lohud:
UPDATE, 12:05 a.m.: Ivan Nova is getting loose in the bullpen. That seems to indicate Dustin Moseley is tomorrow’s starting pitcher. Not sure though.
huh. i was hoping nova was pitching tomorrow...
Settle down, MK. It was a routine catch.
Phils fan here. Is anyone really watching this game? The pace at which these two teams play, the fact that they've played two games already, and the lack of any real purpose to the outcome is bad enough. Now the guy in white can't throw strikes.
Just stopping in to express my hope that hte Phils and Yanks meet again in the Series. Good luck Yanks.
As for those scenarios, I'm hoping Phils win tomorrow for teh simple fact that I don't want to ever see Bobby Cox win another game. Quick trivia fact - Braves are the only team with more divisional titles than the Yanks (16-15) since diviisional play began in '69. And, they were a laughing stock for the first 20+ years of divisional play.
So is tomorrow either Gaudin or Brackman at this point?
Dammit!
I really, really, really don't want to see two lefties in the bullpen next week.
Atta boy, Royce. Lead off walk.
great. i fucking hate the leadoff walk. : /
[125] i remember you. i like bobby cox. also, i live in atlanta. go braves!!!
[126] dust in, the win? (moseley)
This is fun.
You the man, Royce! Great start. Douche.
Back to the game. It's like Yankee Sox baseball 24 hour marathon.
This game is a dog's breakfast. Starting with the two starters. I was able to peek at the game out. If AJ is not a head case, he is just not that bright.
Reading through the posts, you can tell this is a real Saturday night crowd. Easy everyone, you don't want to spill your drinks on the keyboard.
Yankees really need to win tonight...Royce Ring gives up a lead-off walk? If he can get through this with the lead, who pitches the ninth? Who is pitching tomorrow?
Please no more Royce Ring.
fucking crap.
You can claim to be trying to win and use Royce Ring.
This is tough on Girardi. We need to Win today. We may need to Win tomorrow. And We need to be in shape for the Playoffs. Joe is spreading the work around, and praying a few guys come through.
But scratch Riyce Ring off that list.
[130] damn you twice! I respect Cox. Don't like him, though.
Wish this October's version of A.J. Burnett pitched game 2 of teh '09 Series.
Wasn't Meat Tray doing ok last inning before matching lefties?
Dammit, I take a quick shower with nobody on ... and come back to 1st and 3rd???
WTF?
Bah. Shoulda had that Nunez.
Oh fuck it!
[140] Girardi is going to be so atrocious if we have two lefties in the playoffs.
[140] He threw well to the first two batters, but Girardi decided to play roulette.
[139] I bet you do. This is a different AJ for sure....for now.
[140] see [114]
Nunez needs to make that play, but after 8+ hours (and warmups) of baseball and the pitching, hard for the players to be on point.
Wow... looked like a BH off the bat.
How come we don't shift on Pappi???
[138] The team will have plenty of time to rest on Monday and Tuesday. I can understand being cautious during a doubleheader, but everyone should be available tomorrow.
[149] Might as well hand them third base
[144] I know Girardi spun the wheel. I'm just questioning its usefulness.
Now Nova's got the nerves ...
[152] Doesn't matter.
LEFTIES!
[152] It's definitely a useless excercise, but that's Girardi.
I'm glad we pulled Mitre. That served a purpose.
hoo boy...
the 1st 2 pitches on gamecast were right down the fucking middle.
C'Mon, Nova!
This is awful.
I hate Pitch by Pitch
[158] Then gamecast is broken.
Cervelli had to make a kicksave on the 1st one to keep it from the backstop.
2nd pitch also hit dirt before it got to Cervelli's glove.
Sure. Throw Sloppy a breaking ball b/c he's right on your 95+mph fastball. FUCK.
Don't walk Kevin Cash.
It's Kevin Cash, throw strikes
What the $%^ is Girardi doing?
[139] i don't appreciate the "damn you" by someone i don't know and isn't a yankees fan. i would never go to a phillies blog and do that. show some respect or just don't show up. thanks.
I didn't want the division any way.
No Va (can't go) more like can't throw strikes.
[162] yeah, i figgered.
holy shit, this is frustrating.
STRIKES!!!
Guess the Yanks are going to regret leaving all those LOB's
I don't care, throw im another FB
Did Cervelli get hit in the balls?
[167] Well, then you've taken it completely the wrong way.
I'll go fuck off. You go be cranky while these teams threaten to populate teh entire top ten list for longest 9 inning games in history.
The last two pitches have been ball four
boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
carajo!
You knew that would happen.
Just give up a booming double and be done with it.
Yup.
That figures.
FUCK!!!!!!!!!
I hate Girardi. He is a fucking idiot.
Girardi is just an awful manager.
Sometimes Al Leiter reminds me of Jim from Taxi.
[180] Its hard to get upset over a game we're clearly not trying to win, but I had high hopes this weekend.
Why would you call for a waste pitch from the man who just walked in the tying run?
1 out, 25 pitches. 2 pitches thru the first 2 batters.
Sure am glad that Girardi decided to bring the non-reliever into the 1st and 3rd situation.
Wouldn't want to do something like ease him into the relief role, have him start a fresh inning or anything.
Nahhh, why we do that???
Now, to elaborate...
I've been blaming him for a lot of stuff recently, but when we start game 1 on the road, it's all thanks to this jackass.
And I've been blaming him because his mistakes have been so patently obvious.
HELLOOOOO GIRARDI YOU FUCKING RETARD - A shitty lefty vs. a lefty does not a matchup make.
Nova's been starting. You put him in at the top of the fucking inning. It's so damn obvious. I know this game already had the regulars out, no regular bullpen available - but when you have a chance to win a game, you try not jump right on top of the flag pole to avoid a cornholing from your own damn petard.
Letting Ring start the inning is such blatant stupidity, it's criminal.
[185] Forget not trying to win...it seems like they are trying to lose.
[188] LEFTIES!
[190] Maybe he wants to go home.
[188] You read my fucking mind. Only you're clearly much more calm about this than I am. I want Girardi to choke to death on one of his steroid shakes. All muscle between his ears.
Ah, well coulda been worse, I guess...
Not cashing in those gimme runs in the 1st game has fucked both games up.
This team and this season in a nutshell.
Please Yankees score, we cannot endure another extray inning game.
What happened? Are we down by three? I turned it off to avoid an aneurysm. Why is aneurysm so damn hard to spell? I'm pissed off at everything now.
[194] This interminable game is now going to go even longer.
[193] I swear this all boils down to that obsession with having two lefties. He has no idea how to manage two lefties, but damnit, he wants to try.
Don't find the next 3 batters particularly inspiring...
[191] Well, yes ... but he also could have warmed Alby up.
Alby, who isn't much, but *is* a seasoned reliever (of the groundball variety) and who is, at least by experience, a much better choice there.
Playoff implications and it's PawSox vs. SWB Yankees. Ugh. Nice rip, Juan.
You know things have went badly when Matt is complaining about Mitre being pulled :)
I mean, you're right Matt. I've always felt that if a guy is going good, you leave him in and don't go to match-ups, especially when the pen is already short.
At least there is a Yankee cheer at Fenway, always a smile maker when you hear it break out from the infiltrators.
Cervelli is on FIYAH
Gazoon Brains with a shot. Yee-Haw!
[203] And when your matchup is frigging Royce Ring
[199] That is one particular pet peeve of mine - the failure to understand that the crappy vs. lefty/righty matchup is just that. A conscious choice to put crap on your side of a match up. Maddening.
Please no Albaladejo. That guy really, really sucks.
These pop ups are driving me fucking crazy.
[188] i was thinking the exact same thing, cult. i was also hoping nova was gonna start tomorrow. this will prolly crush his confidence, too.
did bard pitch in the 1st game? hope he's not available. i'm guessing he's not, otherwise he'd be pitching right now...
[201] Although, the way these things work with Girardi, he was probably saving Alby for the 9th, you know, because he was a closer down in SWB ...
There ya go Nick. Two pitches from Jerry Manuel.
[204] really? oh, yay! i like that, too : )
[211] Oh God. Think the Red sox will be kind enough to throw Andy Phillips, Josh Phelps and BJ Surhoff out there for him so he can get someone out?
[213] There was a roar when they won the first game
What the hell was Gardner looking for?
Oh, intercourse.
Brett was just going to keep taking until he called one of those close pitches.
4 for FUCKING 34 w/ RiSP.
We don't deserve the damn division.
Frankie Cervelli - POTG
Sit down Gardner, that was a friggin strike, and you have to at least swing at it.
[216] A walk.
[216] The same thing he's always looking for I guess. It's a major flaw in his game.
The Ump has been calling that pitch for a strike all game (on both teams).
THE GREAT GAZOO!!!
[210] Yes, Bard pitched in the first game.
[223] Its not nearly as bad as it was last year. He swung at well under half of the pitches in the strikezone last year.
4 for 34 with RISP = 117
EPIC FAIL.
If the Yankees can't beat this Red Sox team (even with AJ on the mound and Girardi in the dugout), how far are they going in the playoffs anyway.
You can't simply turn the switch back on when you want.
He was crap Al. Please don't try to hide that.
[215] very nice!
let's hope this goes to extras and the yankee fans can roar a 2nd victory tonight.
One of the unearned runs scored because AJ was arguing with the umpire in the middle of a god damned play. He was a wreck.
This is not going to be a happy night.
Nova is sure not inspiring any confidence that he can come out of the pen in the playoffs.
[226] thanks, raf.
i looked at the box score before but couldn't remember. i'm half-ass paying attention as i'm going thru a bunch of charts for work at the moment...
That's what i want to see before we head to the playoffs.
[234] It's not his fault that his first relief appearance came at 1AM in pressure situation at Fenway Park.
[237] Well, if he's going to be of any use to us in the playoffs, he's going to have to deal with that type of environment
[238] He'll never be used in such a situation, or should never. Nova's value would be as a long man, not an 8th inning reliever.
As a long man he's probably going to be coming in with runners on trying to keep the game close.
Let's go, Nova. One more, baby.
[237] This wasn't Nova's 1st relief appearance.
Why does that girl have a rat hat?
Anyone know why Varitek doesn't play anymore? Is he still injured? Wonder if he'll get one last start tomorrow and then a kick out the door.
shit. game feed has broken.
what's happening?
Lets stop throwing that pitch
[242] Right he had at least one back in the spring, but still, it's not a role he is accustomed to.
[239] Circumstances are making him a long man tonight.
So Nova's got one more inning left in him before he shits the bed.
This is crazy.
yay
Xtry Innings!
[245] Free baseball is happening. Just what we all wanted :)
That's actually a very impressive job by Nova.
[244] I was wondering about Varitek as well. He's finished.
More baseball. This is exhausting.
nevermind. it's back. extras!
I'm just tired.
These are west coast games hours.
Wowzers. Run, Curtis, Run!
I'll remind everyone that the 9 PM start time was the plan.
good AB, curtis!
RUN
midnight is like noon to me.
(vampire boy keeps "musician hours")
: )
Ya know, 90% of school districts in this county do not get the Jewish Holidays off. Kay needs to get out of the Bronx mindset once in a while.
Run, Grandy, Run!
Shite!
Mark Teixeira is slow.
[266] Broken toe
[263] meant to say country there (not county).
well, steal 3rd then...
Alex hasn't done much today. It's about time.
We have yet to see a 90mph FB
Damn...thought he got that one.
`Kay. when the fielder lifts his glove up, he's going to catch it.
[270] That doesn't count. #$@$@#$@#$@$
They're still playing?? WHY is A-Rod in the game, where are the scrubs???
[263] that still throws me off. my mom is the dean of a jewish day school on long island. i have students here that have school on her offdays. i can't keep up...
[263] And while he's at it, he needs to learn to read OF'ers.
OOOOhhh, that would have been nice, but not that close to going out.
a-rod just miss that?
ok, fine. let's go MIRANDA!!!
Posada has had a horrendous day. He's due.
Man, looking at the Boston lineup..how are these games going extra innings??
Oh right, AJ started..
c'mon jorgie!!!
[282] We needed to see what Royce Ring had.
[282] and girardi managed...
[279] Arod hit it far, and just missed it, and a farily routine catch by Kalish. Kay got a little too excited.
MK LOVES when a man on 1st gets the jump on a 3-2 count. Every time.
Has there been any Green Monster doubles in this series?
Jorge looks tired.
This can't end well.
Who is this Manuel character that we can't hit?
[289] It's past an old man's bedtime ...
The Yankees are being shutdown by every non prospect in the Boston system. That's a big concern.
Come on. These f-ing guys.
Still not sure why Granderson didn't swipe second to start things.
[284] Something pornographic with that name.
[291] I think it's because his fastball looks like a changeup.
Oh boy.
[294] I'm afraid that's not how the Chessmaster rolls ...
Who is this R. Manuel pitching for Boston? Who's warming up, L. Helm and R. Danko?
I assume Gaudin will be in?
[288] Swisher had one about 9 hours ago. : )
[300] Nope he did his damage against the Rays, ensuring these games would be meaningful.
Wow.
Thought that was gone.
[299]Hey, wait a minute Chester...
Bill Hall..damn, have seen him on Gameday in the OF, at 2B and 3B..now he's going to score the winning run...the Sox are tormenting me with Bill Hall, an ex-Brewer!!
[302] And Texas, don't forget his "work" against the Rangers ...
what happened to Po's at-bat. i'm frozen at 8 pitches, 1st & 3rd...
That's all we needed there Ivan. Get in the way of the damned bunt.
[305] Yep...he definitely earned his keep.
[306] Popped up
Well that was not-unexpected.
Well, we saw what Royce Ring had to offer.
Sad.
Buenas noches, caballeros y caballeras.
And there it is. Thanks, Girardi. Game 1 on the road because you thought that starting an inning with fucking Royce Ring, who miraculously didn't wet himself on the one batter the inning before, was a good idea.
All so he could get to the lefty hitting second in the inning. Instead of, you know, starting the inning with the guy who's been, uh, starting since he's been up here. Terrible.
And there you have it.
A perfect encapsulation of the mediocrity that this team has been over the last month of the season.
Lousy situational hitting.
Shaky relieving.
Craptastic starting.
Questionable managing.
Another star for Girardi.
At least Mitre will be fresh for another 2 batters tomorrow.
But I can't figure out what's worse. Losing to Lee at home to Pavano in Minny. Oy!
[311] Something pornographic.
Honestly, I blame Kearns for costing them the division. That guy has played the worst stretch of baseball I have ever seen from what should be a competent major leaguer. Besides Girardi, he's my scapegoat.
Everyone get some rest. You're all making way too much out of this game.
Nine hours to see Eric Patterson single off Ivan Nova.
wait. is the game over?
who pitched? who homered?
[318] He doesn't write his name in the lineup.
[315] Dang it, cult, you keep either just preceding or just following me with exactly what I'm trying to say, expressed much more calmly than I can muster. Although I'm too tired to scream. Just annoyed and exhausted.
[319] Didn't we just piss away a golden chance to have home field, or am I missing something? I don't mean that aggressively - I'd just love for some perspective that will make this less sour.
And just think. if AJ Burnett didn't stand there arguing with an umpire we may have won the damned game. About six hours ago.
[324] Yes, in a way, but a) I'm not convinced it will mean a whole hell of a lot and b) if Tampa hadn't sucked ass all week it wouldn't have even been a consideration. I'd love for the Yankees to win and Tampa to lose tomorrow, but really, I'm not sure it matters.
[322] Very true, and I agree, but man is he awful. With today's performance, he has struck out in 35% of his Yankee at bats compared to about 21% for a career. Dude is not cut out to be a Yankee. I'm actually surprised his OPS is at .694 as he seems much worse.
Girardi is totally at fault. If not for him, the team would not have gone 4 for 35 with RISP and they would not have made 3 errors, or give away a run arguing with the ump.
Fuckin' Girardi.
[325] Burnett is a piece of garbage. What was the deal with him smiling after he hit the batter on an 0-2 count, with the hitter lying on the ground, writhing in pain?
[326] I take it your point is that our squad sucks, so it's death by hanging or death by firing squad?
Yeah, I've felt that way for months, but it hasn't stopped me from foaming at the mouth with every horrible managerial move Girardi's made over the last sixty or so games. Which is a sickness, I know.
well, that fucking sucks.
so... only way we win the division is if we win and tampon loses?
[328] I get your point, but remember I hew towards that perspective myself. I know it's just that I'm calling it like this, but I really try to restrict blasting the manager to plain as day errors. And in my opinion, if you know you're going to Nova, having Royce Ring out there to start that inning instead of Nova is just shitty managing. It's crap.
[329] I think he's statistically retarded.
[326] Its just so frustrating to go in half way. Either we're trying to win the division or we have a lefty fetish and we desperately need to see Royce Ring
How many questions in before Girardi gets snippy with Kim Jones?
[328] Why was Royce Ring in the game tonight?
[335] Because Wayne Franklin retired?
[335] I cant stand the logic that goes because so many other things went wrong, everything should be excused.
[336] Is CJ Nitkowski still around somewhere?
Yup.... we have $60m in Grandy, Teix and ARod, who went 1 for 14.... but yeah, it was Kearns who lost the game. And outside of Cervelli's 2 hits and 2 RBI, he's a goat too.
I mean... How can $100m worth of stars be expected to hit with Kearns and Cervelli in the lineup???
And outside of Cavo and Brains, fucking Girardi went 2 for 31.
What a shitty manager.
[339] Why was Royce Ring in the game?
I hope the Yankees never hire a former player again because it sucks that instead of thinking of triple in Game 6, I now associate Girardi with being such an awful manager.
[340] It was Girardi's punishment to the team for not hitting with runners in scoring position.
[339] Kearns has sucked for over a month, striking out and ending rallies with DPs. Teix hasn't done much either. Sure, A-Rod and Granderson had rough games, but they've both played very well lately. We're not going to bitch about them.
[338] Apparently he is in Korea....
Girardi didn't have a great 2nd game, but these 2 games were blown by the hitters inability to plate multiple easy runs in the 1st game.
Dustin Moseley is the super secret mystery man.
I have no idea why this had to be a secret.
[344] I agree. Not happy with the Ring call either and Kearns should follow CJ to Korea (until Siberia starts a baseball league), but the hitters blew it. Plenty of chances.
Eh, what's done is done, night all.
Ooooh, Girardi's rival chessmaster used 8 pitchers in today's game against the Royals.
[339] I hope you can understand that [340] and I are asking a reasonably simple question.
I have a real thing about managers/coaches who snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I just don't care what came before - if the game was there to be won, and you do something impossibly stupid that increases the chances of that not happening, I'm going to be mad at you. That's how I see it.
Holy crap, C.J. Nitkowski has a blog and it's really freaking good: http://www.cjbaseball.com/
For some reason, after I started kalling Austin "KKKearns", I thought of Otto in 'A Fish Called Wanda'
Oh, no ... it's K-K-Kearns ... and he's K-K-Koming to K-K-Kill us (and our rallies).
[349] Yes!
[350] Great film, Kline and Cleese were fantastic in that. By all means do not watch their renuion movie though..blechchh...