updated 7:10 pm EST
Here we go, folks. This is not a test, this is the real deal. Three games at Fenway Park to determine the outcome of the American Leage East race for 2005. The Yankees lead the Red Sox by one game and can win the division with just two more wins. One Yankee victory would clinch a tie, meaning that, at worst, the Yankees would get to play one final all-or-nothing home game to decide the division. In essence, the Yankees simply need to split the next four (potential) games against the Red Sox to win the division. The Red Sox, meanwhile, need to win two of three just to have a chance to play for the division crown at Yankee Stadium on Monday, and would have to sweep to clinch in their home park.
Meanwhile, the series between the AL Central Champion White Sox and the Cleveland Indians, who are currently tied with the Red Sox one game behind the Yankees, will determine if the losers of the New York-Boston series win the Wild Card or start emptying their lockers. Hank Waddles over at Only Baseball Matters has posted a handy chart outlining the 23 possible outcomes, which, at their most stomach-churning include a pair of one-game playoffs, one on Monday for the AL East crown and one on Tuesday between the Indians and Monday’s loser for the Wild Card. Eighteen of those 23 possible outcomes have the Yankees in the playoffs (as opposed to 14 each for the Red Sox and Indians), which would give the Yankees the edge if everything else were equal. Of course, as Waddle concludes, the problem is, “we’re not flipping coins.”
Of course, with the Yankees and Red Sox, it often seems as though we are. The two teams are 34-34 in head-to-head match-ups over the past three seasons, and each has won a seven game ALCS at the expense of the other to push their overall records to 38-38. Thus far this season, the Yankees have a 9-7 advantage over the Sox in head-to-head match-ups, including a 5-2 record against the Sox since the All-Star break and a 4-3 record at Fenway Park (this despite the Red Sox having won a full two thirds of their home games on the season while the Yankees have played mere .526 ball on the road). The Yankees are also the hotter team, having gone 14-3 since Randy Johnson beat Tim Wakefield 1-0 in the final game of the two teams’ last match-up. The Sox, meanwhile, are 10-8 over that span (both teams are 5-2 over their last seven, but the Yanks are 2-1 while the Sox are 1-2 in their last three).
Ultimately, what matters is the quality of the teams on the field this weekend, not over the past six months. So let’s take a closer look at the two rosters and tonight’s starting pitchers.
New York Yankees
2005 Record: 94-65 (.591)
2005 Pythagorean Record: 90-69 (.563)
Manager: Joe Torre
General Manager: Brian Cashman
Ballpark (2004 park factors): Yankee Stadium (96/97)
Current Roster
1B – Jason Giambi
2B – Robinson Cano
SS – Derek Jeter
3B – Alex Rodriguez
C – Jorge Posada
RF – Gary Sheffield
CF – Bubba Crosby
LF – Hideki Matsui
DH – Bernie Williams
Bench:
S – Ruben Sierra (OF)
L – Tino Martinez (1B)
R – John Flaherty (C)
L – Matt Lawton (OF)
S – Mark Belhorn (IF)
L – Tony Womack (OF)
R – Andy Phillips (IF)
R – Felix Escalona (IF)
R – Mike Vento (OF)
R – Wil Nieves (C)
Rotation:
R – Chien-Ming Wang
L – Randy Johnson
R – Mike Mussina
R – Shawn Chacon
R – Aaron Small
Bullpen:
R – Mariano Rivera
R – Tom Gordon
R – Tanyon Sturtze
R – Scott Proctor
L – Alan Embree
R – Felix Rodriguez
L – Al Leiter
R – Jaret Wright
L – Wayne Franklin
R – Jorge DePaula
DL:
R – Carl Pavano (60-day)
R – Kevin Brown (60-day)
R – Rey Sanchez (IF) (60-day)
Typical Line-up
R – Derek Jeter (SS)
R – Alex Rodriguez (3B)
L – Jason Giambi (1B)
R – Gary Sheffield (RF)
L – Hideki Matsui (LF)
S – Jorge Posada (C)
L – Robinson Cano (2B)
S – Bernie Williams (DH)
L – Bubba Crosby (CF)
Joe Torre reluctantly installed Bubba Crosby in the line-up following Gary Sheffield’s thigh injury two weeks ago when Matt Lawton and Ruben Sierra proved their inability to play the outfield, only to have Bubba earn his keep by playing outstanding defense, cracking a game-winning home run, and tallying a .321/.333/.415 line for the month. But with Sheffield able to return to the field this past week, Torre has once again benched Bubba in favor of DHing Ruben Sierra, keeping Bernie Williams in center field where Bubba could to a tremendous amount of good for the Yankees’ pitchers. Sierra has since gone 4 for 13 with a walk, which isn’t terrible except that his only extra base hit since coming off the DL when rosters expanded at the beginning of the month was a home run back on September 8.
John Flaherty, hitting .169/.212/.258 on the season, continues to catch Randy Johnson, and will indeed start behind the plate tomorrow (when Torre would be well advised to DH Posada, who is concluding a disappointing season at the plate with a rhobust .309/.404/.519 September). Tino Martinez will be used as a late-inning defensive replacement for Giambi when the Yankees have a lead. Tony Womack might be used as a pinch-runner, the Dave Roberts role that many believe inspired his acquisition to begin with. Otherwise, the Yankee bench is unlikely to play much of a part in this series as, with the exception of Bernie, the Yankee offense has been clicking very well of late, Rodriguez, Giambi and Cano especially.
The Yankee bullpen, however, is another matter entirely. Mariano Rivera and Tom Gordon give the Yankees a dominating one-two punch to nail down the final innings of a win, but if Torre needs to remove a starter any earlier than the seventh inning, the Fenway fans would be advised to duck and cover. Perhaps the biggest key to this entire series is whether or not the Yankee starters can hand the ball directly to Rivera and Gordon. The good news for Yankee fans is that Rivera is very well rested, since throwing 36 pitches protecting a four-run lead last Sunday, Rivera has pitched just once in four games, needing just nine pitches to secure a 2-1 victory over the Orioles on Wednesday. Gordon has actually appeared in each of the last two games, but needed just three pitches last night and, prior to throwing thirteen on Wednesday, had both Monday and Tuesday.
* * *
Boston Red Sox
2005 Record: 93-66 (.585)
2005 Pythagorean Record: 89-70 (.558)
Manager: Terry Francona
General Manager: Theo Epstein
Ballpark (2004 park factors): Fenway Park (106/105)
Current Roster
1B – Kevin Millar
2B – Tony Graffanino
SS – Edgar Renteria
3B – Bill Mueller
C – Jason Varitek
RF – Trot Nixon
CF – Johnny Damon
LF – Manny Ramirez
DH – David Ortiz
Bench:
L – John Olerud (1B)
L – Alex Cora (IF)
R – Doug Mirabelli (C)
R – Kevin Youkilis (IF)
S – Alejandro Machado (IF)
R – Kelly Shoppach (C)
L – Roberto Petagine (1B)**
R – Gabe Kapler (OF)*
L – Adam Stern (OF)*
Rotation:
L – David Wells
R – Tim Wakefield
R – Curt Schilling
R – Matt Clement
Bullpen:
R – Mike Timlin
R – Jon Papelbon
L – Mike Myers
R – Chad Bradford
R – Bronson Arroyo
R – Jeremi Gonzalez
R – Manny Delcarmen
L – Lenny DiNardo
L – Mike Stanton
R – Chad Harville
L – Matt Perisho
R – Keith Foulke*
DL:
R – Wade Miller (60-day)
R – Matt Mantei (60-day)
Typical Line-up
L – Johnny Damon (CF)
R – Edgar Renteria (SS)
L – David Ortiz (DH)
R – Manny Ramirez (LF)
S – Jason Varitek (C)
R – Kevin Millar (1B)
S – Bill Mueller (3B)
L – Trot Nixon (RF)
R – Tonny Graffanino (2B)
*unavailable due to injury
**unavailable due to personal issues
In one of the latest trades in baseball history, the Red Sox acquired former Yankee lefty Mike Stanton from the MLB-owned Washington Nationals yesterday for a pair of A-ball pitchers. They’ve also moved starter Bronson Arroyo into their pen for the weekend, swelling their relief corps to eleven men, despite having shut down injured closer Keith Foulke for the season. Unlike the Yankees, the Red Sox don’t have any dominant pitchers in their pen (though rookie Jon Papelbon has been coming on strong of late, establishing himself as Mike Timlin’s primary set-up man), but they have fewer outright disasters. Timlin is a shaky but effective closer. Rookie Manny Declarmen and sophomore Lenny DiNardo could get some big outs if Francona is willing to use them. Bookended submariners Mike Myers and Chad Bradford are extremely effective against the like-handed as per their extreme splits, but are almost entirely ineffective against those who bat from the opposite side, the same of which is surprisingly true of Stanton, who has historically had a reverse split but doesn’t this year. Highly touted 2005 draft pick Craig Hansen has electric stuff, but struggles with his command and is unlikely to see any high-pressure situations.
Of the six men on the Boston bench, Shoppach and Machado are September call-ups unlikely to play a part beyond the odd pinch-running gig for Machado. Kevin Youkilis has been rehabbing from a fractured finger and expects to be available this weekend, but hasn’t come to the plate in two weeks. Mirabelli catches Wakefield, though he has a solid bat and is thus far less of a downgrade than Flaherty, even if this hasn’t been his best year at the plate. Olerud and Cora could wind up getting a start at first or second respectively depending on match-ups or the performances of Millar and Graffanino. The latter missed some time earlier in the week with a strained left groin, but started the last three games against the Blue Jays. Ortiz and Ramirez have been carrying the offense down the stretch, though Millar has helped out more than expected and Renteria and Damon have heated up over the last week, giving the Sox a dangerous top four in the order. Trot Nixon, meanwhile, has been so cold that he’s been dropped three spots in the order to eighth.
Tonight, Chien-Ming Wang makes his first ever start against the Red Sox, though it is not the first time he has faced Boston. Wang’s one major league relief appearance came against the Sox back on May 29 at the Stadium, when he was called up on to stop the bleeding from a disastrous start by Mike Mussina. Wang allowed two runs on six hits and a walk in five and two thirds innings in that game, the two runs bookending an impressive stretch of four scoreless innings against the major league’s best offense with the latter run scoring on a David Ortiz single allowed by Mike Stanton after Wang was removed from the game. Chien-Ming has made four starts since coming off the disabled list, dominating the Orioles and Blue Jays in his last two to post the following combined line:
15 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 K
The bulk of that damage (three of the five runs) came in a shaky fifth inning against the Blue Jays on Sunday after which he settled down to pitch two more scoreless frames.
Wang’s opponent is ex-Yankee David Wells, who combines with the newly-acquired Stanton to give the Red Sox a pair of former two-term Yankee left-handers. Wells has faced his old club four times this year, bookending two dominant mid-season wins (15 1/3 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 2 HR, 0 BB, 7 K) with a pair of losses (11 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 2 HR, 2 BB, 6 K), the first on opening day, the last coming on September 9 at the Stadium.
Note the similarity between Wells’ line in his two dominant outings against the Yankees and Wang’s line in his last two dominant starts:
Wells: 15 1/3 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 2 HR, 0 BB, 7 K
Wang: 15 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 7 K
Wells, now in his 18th major league season, is a goateed 42-year-old Californian lefty who weighs two and a half bills and relies on a wicked curve ball. Wang is a comparably slender 25-year-old Taiwanese rookie righty who doesn’t appear able to grow facial hair of any kind and dominates with sneaky fast mid-90s heat and heavy sinkers. But despite their many differences, both are groundball pitchers who throw strikes and pitch to contact.
In fact, the similarity in their results is as striking as the differences in their appearances. Consider their respective contact and groundball percentages this season:
Wells Wang
Contact 83.9% 84.9%
Missed Bats 16.1% 15.1%
Ground Ball Outs 50.8% 65.7%
Fly Ball Outs 32.3% 22.5%
K 16.9% 11.8%
BB/9 0.97 2.13
Wells misses more bats by virtue of his higher strike-out rate, but opposing hitters put the ball in play at essentially the same rate against both pitchers as Wells is historically stingy with his bases on balls. Wang, meanwhile, is among the most extreme ground ball pitchers in the majors. Nearly two thirds of Chien-Ming’s outs come via the groundball. When he’s on, that rate is even higher, as evidenced by his outing against the Orioles at the Stadium last week when 19 of his 24 outs (nearly 80 percent) came on the ground, nine of them weak bouncers back to the mound.
Overall this season, Wang has had greater success than Wells, posting an ERA nearly a run lower and a WHIP almost ten points lower, thanks to that extreme groundball rate which turns would-be hits into infield groundouts. The one accusation levied at Wang this year, who if he hadn’t hit the DL would have deserved to be in the Rookie of the Year conversation, is that he’s had his success against the weaker offenses in the league. I’m not convinced. Wang has allowed more than three runs in just four starts this year, one against the Cardinals in which his defense abandoned him (risk number one of being a groundball pitcher), and three against the Devil Rays, whose offense is built around the sort of speed that gets a lot of infield singles, two of those coming on the slick turf of Tropicana Field (risk number two of being a groundball pitcher, fast infield surfaces). Tonight, that theory will be put to its ultimate test.
1. Let's go Yankees! Drive for Two.
Or -- dare I say it yet? -- the magic number is 13.
2. Bernie in CF... I hope this is not a sign of things to come over the next 3 days (and hopefully through the postseason), but it sure looks like it...
Bubba in CF gives an automatic upgrade in LF and in RF. Joe doesn't understand that this saves more runs than what Sierra can eventualy produce, and Bubba can bunt, run, work the count and also hit, whereas Sierra can only hit, clog the bases, strikeout and wear silky red shits with silky red ties and look damn good.
With that though, LETS GO YANKEES!!!
3. OK, so we can't expect any help from the White Sox. They put out their B team on the field...
4. #3 — I hope we get a chance to thank 'em in the post season, if you know what I mean...
Tonight's the night, Yanks! Grind it!
5. Torre starting Sierra pissess me off and reminds me that he rarely pays attention to anything besides loyalty and past past history
6. Here we go.
I'm watching this from the bar - I think I'm going to need a lot of drinks before this game is over.
7. This is just how I had hoped it would work out, but my god, I can't take it!!! Every minute seems like 3 hours. Watching these games is going to be torture...
LET'S GO YAN-KEES!!!
8. I am shocked, shocked, to see that Berman's top 10 Yankee-Sox moments since 2003 feature almost all Sox moments. He actually said "in this moment, the Yankees actually classier," as if that is a shock. What a homer...
9. To which I respond, "fuck ESPN."
Well, this is it. Hopefully, our boys win tonight and take the pressure off.
Let's go Yankees!!!
10. Crud, Extree Innings has the NESN feed.
11. Aaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I can't take it....
12. Oh no! Its O'Brien and Sutcliff on ESPN, dag
13. OK, would you believe I gotta go teach a 2-hr class......10 minute break to vomit scheduled, of course........Let's go, Yanks!
14. #10 - rbj — my sentiments exactly. NESN or ESPN, what a %#$@*&! choice...
15. Bkln, what did you choose? I can't make up my mind.
16. F' the White Sox. Ozzie said he would put up a fight too. Hope they enjoy the first-round elimination...
17. Oh shit. Here we go.
18. Oh gosh here we go, I can't look!!
19. OK, did Sutcliffe just say Olerud's fielding percentage is every bit as good as A-Rod's? Umm, apples and oranges anyone?
20. I can't bear to watch this..
21. Not Olerud Meuller I think
22. Terrible at bat. Who am I kidding to think we can beat Wells in a big game? Other than the back game, this guy is money. Got a bad feeling about the fat jerk. Come on A-Rod.
23. OK, that's apples and apples then:)
24. Fielding percentage is largely meaningless and Rodriguez's is lower than it should be anyway due to his early season/Pavano start struggles.
25. FatBoy wanted no part of A-Rod...
26. BOOMAH walks someone
27. True Cliff. Good at bat by A-Rod. these chants are pissing me off!
28. #15 atc — I'm going with ESPN until something scary happens... how about you?
29. NESN, but on a very low volume.
30. Great at-bats here. This is exactly what I wanted to see. When we're patient, we win.
31. Nice A-Rod. Very nice. Wow.
32. Yeah, A-Rod! Glad to the boys patient AND aggressive so far...
33. Sweet steal AROD.
I'm using ESPN.
34. MVP! MVP! MVP!!
35. Wells back must be hurting....
36. Kay is a fool. It was obvious that hit Sheff, the ump signaled it. Terrible call.
37. LOL! rbj, It's working so far ;-)
38. Damn, hits his foot. What a shame that Wells doesn't seem to have his control.
Go Godzilla
39. GS
40. HIIIIIDEEEEKKKIII!!!
41. Go-go Godzilla!!! Base hit and RBI for Matsui!
42. BIG GAME MatsZilla! 1-0 Yanks!
43. Jorge what the hell are you doing swinging at the first pitch when Wells is wild!!
44. Grind It, Jorgie...
45. Posada has got to be patient. That was a crap pitch.
46. Jorge to kill the rally
47. C'mon Po, drive in some runs
48. Bad AB so far
49. Damn it with Sierra on deck we need PO to get at least one home
50. God damn Jorge sucks
51. Horrible AB!
52. OK, Sierra time to justify those silk shirts!
53. And oh boy, Ruben is up. Only one run is unacceptable
54. Thhhpppptttt. Very disappointing outcome from that rally. Still, got the lead and made Wells work.
55. Shoulda gotten more than one.
Lets go Wang.
56. That was disappointing
57. That was terrible - at least fat ass through alot of pitches
58. Well, Torre's brilliant management has our only bench player playing, even thoughhe gives us nothing, and we end the inning after two awful at bats by Jorge and Sierra with just a one run lead, alreay left 3 runners on
59. We really needed to go for the kill there. Sierra has no business starting. #$%#%#%$#%$% Torre.
60. Huge opportunity to open this one up lost here. At least we got big fatso to throw 24 pitches. Thats the plan boys, but also scoring a few.
1-2-3 for Wang coming up
61. Help Me. I get EVERY Bosotn game on TV. NESN. Now the Indians are on ESPN and MLB.com has blocked the game online. What the fuck is going on! Am I gonna miss this game????
62. i like long hair. i HAVE long hair. i love the idea of players being a little funky... but johnny damon just doesn't look cool with long hair. i want him to get signed by the yanks if for no other reason than to see him cut his hair.
63. First inning jitters, time for a beer.
64. Damn, looks like both pitcher are jumpy
65. Ump seems to have a majorly small strike zone today
66. #61 I heard that on the ESPN pregame and I thought the guy was kidding...
67. Waaaang? What are you doing?
68. This strike zone is rediculous
69. Posada's going to lose this game for us.
70. This is no time for Tiger to turn into a pumpkin...
71. That delayed strike call by the ump is maddening.
72. slow strike call tonight
73. Here comes Fat Papi
74. Nice Wang...now walk Ortiz..or only throw it very very low
75. Where was that ump? Another phantom ball
76. This ump is giving him nothing
77. At least Wang kept him in the park...
78. God damn it....
79. f'in a! how do i know that this hit is gonna get much more attention than a-rod working a walk from a guy who walks one guy every eleventeen innings?
80. Hey Stucliff, there actually was a runner in scoring position there you dolt
81. Yeah, walking Ortiz mighta worked there, sets up the inning-ending DP. Of course it also sets up the 3-run Manny jack.
82. Tied game. Wang appears to be settling in, that was a ground ball hit, nothing to be worried about if he keeps the ball low. Here comes the DP
83. Wang is throwing very high today...
84. All right, Tiger! One more...
85. NICE
86. Good thing he throws 95 MPH.
87. Jesus this strike zone is driving me crazy
88. I'm hating this strike zone
89. well, on the plus 2 ks for Wang, which is rare, but on the downside, he is throwing everything up
90. Nice recovery, Wang!
Now let's keep the pressure on LardAss...
91. Shoulda walked Ortiz.
Oh, well. Just gotta light up Boomer now.
92. First inning jitters out of the way now. Time to tee off of Boomer
93. Wang's a little geeked. Umm, yeah. How come everyone with good seats at Fenway has blonde hair?
94. 25 pitches for Tiger, I'll keep the last 10, great stuff at the end. He has to adjust to the K zone and he'll be alright.
Let's go Bernie, Cano and Jetes, get'us some runs.
My stomach ache hasn't kicked in yet, that's a good sign
95. Wang was showing nerves in the first there. Here's hoping he calms down from here on out. I suspect he will.
96. What the hell, Manny can't make that play
97. Is Kay's audio on delay or is he just drunk?
98. Bernie is hitting those with the fat part of the bat but all he gets are those weak fly balls.
99. Only a late jumpin' shufflin' slack ass like Manny can make that look spectacular...
100. Shut up Sutcliffe. Just shut up.
101. Nice at-bats guys, 3 pitches 2 outs
102. Since when does Manny catch that ball?
103. Make FatBoy work, Cap!
104. Manny could have made it easier if he ran harder. Jeter needs to work Wells over here, no quick inning.
105. At least the ump seems to have a small strike zone for everyone
106. Tocho, that ball Bernie hit should have been a double, you can't blame him for swinging at it, or for how well he hit it.
107. Great, we just totally negated making fat ass work in the 1st
108. Looks like the swing early and often and do nothing against a 42 year old offense is back
109. fuck
110. Damn. OK, Tiger. Match 'em out for out...
111. Damn, two balls hit hard but nothing to show for them.....
112. Kay is choking. Making errors left and right, like he's drugged or something.
113. The white sox still have best record to play for...maybe they'll play a little harder becasue of that
114. We'll be ok. Hang in there. I can smell it.
115. Fuck, who didn't see this happening after we go down so easily...fuck fuck fuck this sucks
116. Ugh. Just remember, no lead is safe in Fenway.
117. You're right Cliff, I don't blame him for swinging at it, after all it was a srike, all I'm saying is 2 years ago that would have been a double off the wall, unfortunately that loss of power is what comes with age.
2-1.
118. I have the crappy NESN broadcast on mlb.com.
Varitek . . . great . . . fucking great. . . !"
119. Wow, didn't look like Varitek swung that hard. I thought it was a single or a fly out off the bat.
120. No problem, Wang. The bats will get your back, just pitch, brother...
121. That HR was my fault guys, I forgot to mute the TV just as the Sox were about to hit. It won't happen again...
122. and out come the ground balls
123. 4 GBs, 2 Ks. I can dig. Two hits, one a ground ball up the middle. I can dig. Just up to the offense. Heart of the order up. I can dig.
124. He looked the like Wang we know the last two outs. I think he'll be okay.
125. #121 — FIVE laps if it happens again, tocho! ;-)
126. I hate Fairytek.
Why cant our catcher do things right?
127. I'm getting sick of these ESPN guys. I think I'm gonna turn Sterling on in the background. Damn that was a good catch Manny made earlier. They came to play
128. Three groundballs, Wang's settling down and we've got hitters. Plus Wells is susceptible to giving up homers.
129. 7-pitch inning. Great as long as the HR doesn't rattle Wang, which it doesn't look like it did.
Heart of the order coming up. This is where the Yanks get it done.
130. marc — that's what I'm thinking, too. The delay sucks, though. At least one full pitch if not more...
131. Wow has this game ever changed. We have the hcance to score many in the first, blow it totally. Now our offense settles down and does nothing, while they take advantage of a struggling pitcher...sigh
132. C'mon Sheff, ovah tha Maaansta!
133. I cant tolerate backwards Ks in games like this
134. Two hard-hit outs in that inning.
135. We need to get right back out there
136. Wells at 47 pitches through three, with Papelbon having thrown 30 pitches last night, the Yanks have a good chance to get to the soft side of the pen. Of course, it'd be even better to just smack Wells around, they did it in the Bronx a few weeks back.
137. Is the ump getting a delayed feed for calling balls & strikes? Not that I'm paranoid and think there's a conspiracy to have a playoff game on Monday.
138. I think everybody here knew this fat lump would settle down and start throwing strikes. His stupid curveball seems to be working again.
No bunts to test the knee. And no shift for Ortiz which BTW would have prevented the run.
139. Of course, Wells was at 30 pitches at the end of the first...
140. A-Rod just lost the MVP.
141. And now we are playing like shit too...
Funny, I don't see Ortiz even fielding
142. Ugh, Alex Buckners one! Kaat's saying the infield is slick, I wonder if they made it extry so for Wang.
143. WWOR put up the out-of-town scores and it freaked me out, I really thought this was the postseason.
144. #142 - Great question, Cliff. That and the Stanton move makes it appear forces are working behind the scenes against us ;-)
145. Cliff-Would that surprise you at all? Remember back when Pinella used to accuse the Yanks of wetting down the basepaths
146. Fat Papi up. 3-1
147. YEAH
148. HAHAHAHAHA, wheres your mvp chant now?
149. Sound on ESPN down here, Sterling up...
150. Nice idiot move Damon.
151. YES!!!
152. Nice GB on Ortiz from Wang and terrible baserunning error by Damon, returned Alex's favor.
153. Whoa! The delay sucks, but I'm not touching anything for a while...
154. If the team playing the best defence wins we're in trouble wow. Then again if the team with the best baserunning wins they're in trouble
155. Bkln, I've pulled out the old "pause the tivo to sink up with the audio which I'm streaming through mlb.com" trick.
156. Zack (145), it wouldn't surprise me in the least, it's part of the game, teams do that sort of thing all the time.
157. Nice sweater Boggs, circa '86 (those of you on NESN will get this one)
158. Cliff, agreed, hell if I were the Yanks and Lowe was still pitching, I'd do the same...And I don't doubt the Yanks relly did wet down the paths, although its much more fun to think Pienlla is just a crazy old man...
159. Chance for redemption jorge
160. atc, sweet! My wife's been buggin' me to get a tivo. If this works tonight, I'm at the electronics store before they open tomorrow ;-)
161. damn, I wish that would have been Ortiz with the baserunning error after the A-Rod error. That would have been hysterical
162. Fortunately, in Cleveland, Ozzie is only resting his 4 best players. Chicgao needs one win for HomeTeam advantage, so at least they have some motivation to win.
163. Man Jorge has looked just awful today...
164. Just keep the line moving. Oh Jorge. Come on Ruben.
165. What exactly does Posada do well?
166. Posada is in extra useless mode tonight
167. We cannot keep stranding runners.
168. How the hell does Sierra ever hit anything with the way he swings?
169. I was kind of thinking Gary and Arod would bang a few off the monster. That place is built for righties, more so than the Stadium is to lefties.
170. WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY TAKING STRIKE THREE ALL NIGHT?
171. What exactly does Sierra do well?
172. We gotta get Wells out of this game. Good Ab's guys, good Ab's.
Now we have to make Wells look like Roger Clemens.
173. Fly ball, K, fly ball, K . . . come on fellas.
174. Good Lord, this is not good for my health. I need some whiskey.
175. We're losing this game. The team in some perverted attempt to "be patient" is refusing to protect the plate.
176. Can someone explain the double play to me? I'm in Toronto and all I have is MLB's "David Ortiz grounds into double play, pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to first baseman Jason Giambi to pitcher Chien-Ming Wang to first baseman Jason Giambi to third baseman Alex Rodriguez to shortstop Derek Jeter. Johnny Damon out at 3rd." It's good, I just can't figure out what happened. How does Giambi get the ball twice?
177. Jorge should have tried bunting.
178. Good job Joe, now we have 3 auto-outs with Jorge, Ruben, and Bernie back to back to back and no other option on our bench...
179. Bernie followed your advise Stormer. I just can't stand those weak flyballs on apparent meat balls.
180. SVS, he doesn't, thats wrong. Giambi threw to A-Rod after the out at first, and A-rod ran Damon back towards second, threw to Jeter, who tagged him out running back towards 3rd...
181. Cool. Thanks Zack.
182. Wow, look at Manny hustle down that line...let's throw him a freaking parade for it
183. Its like deja vu from last year with those 3, followed by Tony and Cairo. Cairo being the only one getting stuff done.
184. I don't think Giambi got it twice. It went straight back to Wang. He faked a throw to Jeter at second, fooling Damon and making him try for third. Then he threw to Giambi, who threw to A-Rod. A-Rod and Jeter had Damon in a rundown, and Jeter caught up with him and tagged him.
185. White Sox get 1.
186. Absolutely 172. When Wells is good, he is very tough. And he is good tonight after a shaky first inning. Sierra sucks, but I still think he will bounce one off the Monster.
187. thanks Trot, you are a "true Red Sox"
188. Gift out for us. Thanks for being an idiot Nixon.
189. C'mon, Yanks! Make 'Please Butter My Bacon' FatF*ckWells start sweating out that case of Budwater Light he slammed down last night. Work the counts, let's get some baserunners and wallbangers!
190. Wangs ball is not moving as much as usual, but he looks to be settling down some. Against the Sox, if we dont score at least 4 or 5, we are going to go down.
191. The Red Sox are really antsy tonight.
192. OK guys, this is my last post of the weekend. Stay safe and no matter what happens see you all Monday.
Vamos pinches Yankees, péguenle a este maldito marrano!!
193. we're screwed
194. Wells only at 65 pitches in 5 so far...
195. tocho — have a great weekend. We'll be discussing our divisional series matchup on Monday. Looking forward to your thoughts ;-)
196. maybe jeter can stop fraternizing with the enemy and get a freaking hit
197. Damn, I was calling for that sloppy curve ball to be crushed.
198. I am absolutely fucking fuming. The Yankees are half assing the biggest game of the year
199. Sterling was as fooled as I was for second... Damn!
200. That's two fly outs to the deepest part of the park for ARod. Can anyone tell what the wind is like tonight at Fenway?
201. What the hell? We need baserunners in the 6th. Come on Wang. Guys, pick him up, 1 run aint going to do it. We can't go to our pen first!
202. What is with all the 3-0 counts. Dare I say Wright might be used?
203. Wang looks like shit tonight
204. Sucks to have a lowball pitcher pitching with an ump that seems to not call anything below the belt a strike
205. #198 — Matt, since the first inning, there's zero intensity at the plate from the Yanks. DoughBoy can't get it above 89 and why someone can't sit on one of those looping curves always drives me crazy...
206. What the f ump?????
207. We really need to consider warming someone up. This is getting stupid.
208. We need baserunners!
209. niiiiice
210. For the love of God, shut up Sutcliffe.
211. There we go, momentum?
212. maybe not. But wang is throwing a ton of low balls.
213. #201. Stormer — I think you're dead on. First one who has to go to the pen is the loser tonight...
214. These ESPN guys are the worst, well actually the worst will be tomorrow, but these aren't far behind
215. Matt,
That is the problem, who the hell do you warm, that is likely to be any better the Wang? Seriously, who? I would love for us to have an answer for that.
216. Wang's doing fine. I don't want to see F-Rod or Sturtze or whoever come in now.
217. Wang has given up 2 runs on 2 hits through 5. That ain't bad against the Sox. I guess our offense was counting on a shutout.
218. lets tie this goddamn game
219. Bklyn,
Yea, we have to at least make him work. It is hard when it is always 0-1, but we have to figure out a way to do it, otherwise Wells could get to 8, and that will be trouble for us.
220. Some runs pleeeeeeeease...
221. Wang is doing fine, all things considered. 2 runs in Fenway through 5 is a-ok...
222. Its hard to tell some of these Sox players on first glance...they all have shitty goatees...Mueller, Graffanino, etc...
223. Come on offense, pick it up, no more swinging for the fences! Walks! Hits! Baserunning! = Runs!
224. Wang does give up hits and walks, but usually it doesn't faze him. Sort of like Pettite. 2 runs to Boston at this point is pretty good.
225. Runs...
226. Im trying to find a way to put this delicately, but who would want Billy Ripken to teach you the game?
227. Remember, "Bloody Sock" is going Sunday, and he could just turn in another great game to spite us. Moose, eh, um? We gotta win today!
That's what I am talking about Giambi! Take what he gives you!
228. Storm, FatBoy has kept me on the edge of my seat even when he expanded the Pinstripes. He just looks soooo hitable, but now I'm going nuts when we're not capable of doing it.
Cool. Jason just stroked one... Let's keep it going...
229. so many fly balls that end up in gloves...as seems to be the case so often, we didn't get to Wells early and missed our chance for the whole game
230. Fly Ball, Fly Ball, K. Fly ball, Fly Ball, K.
231. How did he not score there?
232. Finally we crushed one of those lazy curves...I think we should have sent Giambi
233. Godzilla! Just about anyone else, they score.
234. Godzilla is Boomer's daddy.
And thank you for stopping Giambi. Speedy, he's not.
235. Wow, too bad it had to be Giambi at 1st. No chance to score from 1st, wow! Come on pokey!
I wish I had faith we will get him home.
236. BigGameZilla!!!!!
Yet another opportunity for redemption tonight, Jorgie! Grind It!!!!!!!!!!
237. Damn it why does Po have the AB whenever there are runners in scoring position.
238. Giambi can run triples into singles. Only one out, men on 2nd & 3rd, I hold him.
239. Dammit!! And now that Ruben is up...well...
240. Posada fucking sucks.
241. Could that have been worse Jorge! No, seriously, could it?
242. And Stucliff suddenly loves Mueller and advocates him for the gold glove
243. The bottom of our order is too weak with ARod batting 2nd.
Jetes
Bernie
Sheff
Giambi
ARod
Matsui
Posada
DH
Cano
244. unbelivable.
UNFUCKING BELIEVABLE
245. unbelivable.
UNFUCKING BELIEVABLE
246. what a f***ing joke
247. See that is why you fucking send Giambi in that situation because you have two worthless guys to follow, thanks to Joe fucking Torre, and you know that those players are going to stay right there. Another shitty, lazy fly ball, and between Ruben and Jorge they have stranded runners each. Brilliant...
248. rbj,
Gotta send him!
That was what ESPN ig going to call, the critical moment in the game, and the Sox held them down.
249. Po sucks.
250. Its amazing how Posada seems to come up in every ralley
251. Do you typically bat the league's best HR hitter second and then the league's best OBP BEHIND him?
252. Fly ball, fly ball, K.
253. Joe is an idiot for starting Sierra..
254. Zack, I'm not sure what non worthless players could follow Matsui
255. Are we the only team that doesn't know what a sac fly is? This has been happening all season.
256. True, true Matt, but at least with Cano or Bernie 2nd, Matsui is batting one spot lower
257. They are beating us with small ball, I mean Boston, really, pathetic.
258. This game is falling apart
259. POSADA IS KILLING US!
260. Wang needs to step up -- AGAIN -- because our O aint helping him out!
261. Posada's fucking useless.
Two outs in critical situations, two Caught stealins tonight.
If we lose tonight, its all on his head.
262. FUCKING JORGE (meanwhile Sutcliff sings the praises of Francona for his brilliance in having Damon steal) Nevermidn Jorge's inability to throw down there
K walk Ortiz
263. don't pitch to Ortiz
264. It's on Tiger right now... he has to pitch his way out this...
265. Whenever there are runners in scoring position Papi comes up for the Sox, Po comes up for the us
266. I would bean him.
267. ugh...I have a bad feeling about Manny coming up here with two on.
268. I didn't mean intentionally - I think that may be the only way Manny knows what's going on
269. Don't throw that one again
270. Walking Ortiz to get to Manny is a bad idea.
271. I consider a base hit with no RBIs against Manny a gift.
272. C'mon Trot, a little 6-4-3 bingo here.
Double play.
273. ok guys, even if we lose tonight we'll be TIED at the very worst! let's be calm here...
274. DOUBLE PLAY PLEEEEZE
275. I meant two stolen bases
276. We coulda use that....
277. where the fuck was that pitch????
278. Maybe the bad Wakefield will show up tomorrow.
279. that'd be a strike for wells and a ball for wang... fk that ump
280. That third ball call was B.S.
So what have we learned? Don't issue IBBs.
281. This fucking sunks.
HOW DO YOU WALK TROT NIXON?
282. This fucking strike zone...and now sutcliff is talking somethign about "slowing down moments" idiot...
Where the hell has Mel been all game???
283. Sutcliff is unbearable
284. This is all on the offense. They ahve done nothing, gone quickly and painlessly, while the Sox have done the opposite. If we lose this, our offense should be fucking ashamed
285. AGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH WE SUCK FUCK THIS
286. Remember when i said we should start Tino??
287. or better yet, the BAAAAAAD Unit!!!
288. Put Flatherty in.
289. Put Flatherty in.
290. Make up for it with a homer Jason.
291. Stomach punch error by Giambi there. Brutal.
292. Torre has no confidence in the pen.
293. Who's pitching tomorrow?
294. Let's remember the Sox pen is worst than our!!!!!
295. We're losing this game, and its almost completely Jorge Posada's fault.
I hope he's off the team enxt year.
296. We'll still win.
297. Bernie's complete lack of arm there. And once again our team completely lets down Wang, both sides of the ball. Giambi looks like he forgets what to do on the ball hit to him, Bernie has no arm, the offense looks like they just don't care, and Sutcliff just said "what a hitter, what a hitter Olerud is, he's something special"
298. Cliff, a legitimate major league catcher nstill holds on to that ball. It wasnt so bad that Posada should have completely missed it.
299. And another Posada fuck up
300. I can't blame Wang for this. He was told to IBB Ortiz, he kept Manny from driving anyone home, got screwed on the pitch calls to Nixon, got what should have been an out at home and then what should have been the third out to Bernie. This should be a 3-1 game at worst.
301. And the Posada passed ball. Just in case he hasnt TOTALLY lost this game for us.
302. Guys, we're going to win this game!!! we are, we are, we are!
303. Well, I guess we know why Ortiz doesn't get walked more often. :-P
304. It doesnt matter if their bullpen sucks, Wells is on pace for a cg...we have that shellshocked look we had last year and the year before against the Sox. What happened to that confidence/momentum of winning 5 of 7 cliff? Dag...
305. yup.... hitting a shallow fly to center is pretty special. If Bernie fired it to Jetes, and Jetes threw home, we would have a better chance then the 2 bounce lobs Bernie throws.
306. I want Flats starting Sunday's game too. Jorge offers us nothing in any aspect of the game at this point and we can used the well called game and good defense.
307. No single digit lead is safe in this ballpark. The comeback starts now...
308. Mattpat, it would have been a pretty good play by Posada to get that, look at the replay, there's no reason Giambi's throw should have been that terrible, he could have lobbed it home for the out. I grant you Posada shares responsibility, but if Giambi makes a competent throw we're not having this conversation.
Anyway, time for runs.
309. Not Flaherty. He's worse than Posada. The Sox will steal at will against him.
310. BklynBomber,
YOU'VE GOT THE RIGHT IDEA!!! We're going to win this.
311. And a two pitch out for Bernie, what else is new
312. Christ, nice hit by Bernie, and it's right at them.
313. no big deal. We got three more innings and maybe some of our shots will start falling in. Well not a good start
314. The up side is we probably wont need Gordon or Mo. We only absolutely need 1, and 2 is gravy. We can get 4 innings from them tomorrow if necessary. We have to hope the Yanks aren't too over anxious against Wake tomorrow.
315. that's it, Robbie! Now let's go Jetes. a hit by the Cap and a bang, and this game is a nailbitter again
316. The Unit better come up fucking aces tomorrow
317. Funny, that pitch was a ball for Wang..oh well, had we fielded the ball it wouldnt matter anyways
318. I think O'Brien doesn't read Alex's stuff. His loss.
319. YYYEEEAAH, thats a start!!
320. 2-run homer for Jeter!!!
321. Boo ya, Jeter!
322. BOOOYAH
323. That was a tremendous at-bat by Jeter.
324. AY CAPTAIN!!!!!! Jeter!!!!
325. JETER!
326. Sutcliff changing favorites by the second
327. With 2 righties coming up, we might see Tino and 1st and Giambi DH'ing. Its a much better line-up on paper, but Giambi's DH numbers are scary bad.
328. This Yankee team will NOT give up!! Let's go Arod!!
329. The Cap comes through!
By the way, I switched to NESN full audio prior to this inning. I'm keepin' it here until...
330. Bronson Arroyo? Things are looking up.
331. a few good fielding plays last inning and this game is tied. argh!
332. Another fucking called strike three for Arod
333. Singledd, DH Tino. Phillips can play late-inning defense. He might actually be better than Tino in the field right now.
334. And that was the exact same location as the ball called to Nixon, Sutcliff ignores this fact
335. Fuck it. A-Rod's play tonight lost him the MVP and deservedly so.
FUCKING LOOKING?
336. Hey Sutcliffe, K-Zone shows it to be a freaking ball. What a bullshit ump. It's not where the glove is you fucking idiot.
337. 331 - Giambi makes that throw and it's 3-3.
338. The umps all over the place
339. This up is killing me. I'll take 2 though
340. I heart derek... i'm stuck watching the NESN video feed via mlb.tv and they had john henry and another sox exec in there talking shit when jete launched it.. they left the booth right after that... woo hoo! go yanks.
341. I forgot about Sutcliff's man-crush on Varitek, its out of control...
Lets see, does Torre go to the bullpen here, I wouldn't...
342. This ump is killing me. I'll take 2 though
343. Unfucking belivable. Just UnfuckingGodly. This team and its called strike threes are drving me mad.
And Lord help us, Posada has to get up next inning.
344. Also, Giambi runs better and it's 5-3. I can't knock Giambi, though, he's a big reason why this team is still alive. Here's hoping he atones in this game.
345. 344 er, 5-3 yanks that is
346. Wells is at 101 pitches.
347. rbj, how can you even think of taking a pitch with two strikes against David Wells? Was he trying to work a fucking walk?
348. Oh man, they just said that ESPN has baseball for 8 more years, I hope to God they can dig up someone better than the two clowns tonight...
349. Torre's still got a love affair with Leiter. I'm glad Wang is still there.
350. Useless interview with Robert Redford, who seems so not interested
351. Once you see Leiter, say goodbye to the ballgame.
352. Redford's infamous? I don't like the guy, but aside from some crappy movies he hasn't done anything real bad.
It's "famous" you stupid twit.
353. rbj, come on, butch and sundance is one of the best ever...
354. Smart wang, walk Rent so Ortiz can bat
355. Mattpat11, the ball was clearly well inside, off the plate by 3-4 inches. At that point you're using the handle to hit, which is too small, you're more likely to miss. Wang doesn't get those calls.
356. Storm — it's good to be wrong, isn't it? Please say yes...
357. ugh, here comes Leiter against Ortiz. It's outta here!!!!
358. True #355. That was a horrendous call
359. I've officially turned my attention to tomorrow. Hello Leiter. Goodbye any shot....
360. Yup, this seems like the perfect time to try out Senator Al as the Loogy.
361. How do you walk Rentawrecka in front of Ortiz?
sigh
Come on Al.
362. everytime I look at this board to read or post I keep missing a play. another walk and Wang is gone. I think I might be better off reading this board than watching blimpie kill us again
363. 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER - good job, Chein-Ming, Giambi'll make it up to you.
So, how many pitches does Leiter need to walk Ortiz here?
364. Leiter vs. Ortiz. Oy.
365. White Sox need to hang on
366. The ump screwed Wang.
367. who's coming in when Leiter walks blimpie
368. I should add 363 that the walks were brutal, but one was IBB and he had some early inning jitters, which I can forgive, he's a freaking rookie from another country.
369. Cliff you're on to something. Torre's brilliant. Pitch around Papi and go for Many who's batting .231 against lefties. Brilliant!
370. #67...Proctor
371. Plus what Rich said 366.
Four pitches?
372. Zack, I was thinking along the lines of Sneakers, Legal Eagles, Out of Africa (how that beat out The Color Purple. . .) Electric Horseman.
The Sting is damn fine though.
Crap, Leiter. Throw strikes dammit
373. Oh man, now who does torre bring in..Proctor vs. Manny, great
374. Proctor to Manny? How many pitches will it take for him to give up a dinger here?
375. Oh good lord. Four pitches?
Now Proctor? I feel like I'm watching a plane about to crash.
376. PROCTOR?
377. Oh my God....I would have rather have the lefty Lieter than Proctor. Jeeeessssuuuussss.....
378. Why don't they give Wright a shot? he's got to be better than the bullpen
379. I have to say, however said the other day that this is supposidly one of the best umpire crews in the league didn't factor in the HP ump, hes been awful all night.
380. This matchup has "DOOM" written all over it.
381. Gordon should pitch now.
382. Allproctor's going do is supply more power to many to hit it out, not thant Manny needs help
383. that pitch even fooled the ump
384. Hello all! What'd I miss?
385. I think I would have gone with Gordon.
386. Whew....
387. Way to bail out Torre, Proctor!!
388. Go Proctor! Go figure!
389. Nice stuff from Proctor.
390. Good job Proctor.
No lead is safe in Fenway.
(repeat as needed)
391. ok. Now lets tie it. and Pretend Posada doesnt come up.
392. WTG, Scott.
RUNS!
393. How about that!
[sip Ballantine]
394. White Sox have a guy at 1st and 3rd with 1 out.
395. torre and scrubs worked it out. you got to give em credit cause they would have been castigated if it didn't work
396. Wow, was I seeing things, or did Proctor actually have a decent breaking ball? One of his better sequences of the season.
397. I stopped watching, Proctor got out of it, therefore, the logic dictates I must not watch anymore...
398. Nothing less than a confidence booster for Procter. That was huge...
Now let's get a few bloops and a blast, Yanks!
399. Bradford's in for Sheff. Please let him stay in to pitch to Matsui. At any rate, great that Wells is out, not sure what Tito's thinking.
400. Way to take one for the team, Zack.
401. Guy with a funky delivery and a first pitch swing? Sheff's not usually the one who pulls that crap.
402. I thought Wells looked a little tired last inning. How about Mike Stanton?
403. I HATE first pitch swinging.
404. time to listen to the Chisox on XM so I'll go bersrk with total sensory overload
405. Just doing my job, hoping something works...At lease Sienfeld is on
406. Myers Matsui, this is a familiar match-up from last year's ALCS. Matsui's 2 for 6 off him in the regular season, but I seem to remember some big hit in the ALCS. Am I wrong? (not going to look it up now)
407. 74 MPH, didn't even look that fast.
408. How is that a strike!!!!!
409. 2 runs in 2 innings? WE CAN DOOO IT!!
410. Quite an ab for Timo Perez.
411. DP..
412. I can't be bothered with the Cle/Chi game.
413. Good AB Matsui, tire the guy out
414. Well, the game we neeeded to win, we are on our way to losing, meaning tomorrow becomes and absolute MUST win
415. Great AB Godzilla
416. Not good considering how Wakefield dominates our lineup
417. What an AB.
418. Lead off single for Cleveland.
419. Great AB for naught...man do we ever look pathetic...and Torre gets outmanaged all over the board
420. And here comes Jorge to slam the lid of the coffin down.
421. Can't fault Matsui. 3 for 4. Too bad.
422. A double off Marte.. looks like the Indians are going to win.
423. It's not over yet.
424. Make Timlin throw lots of pitches. Even if we lose, wear out the bullpen for a second day in a row.
425. 2nd and 3rd no out for Cleveland.
MVP for today's game is Ozzie Guillen. Ever hear of a pinch hitter?
426. I meant for the Indians...
427. Nice battle by Matsui, but for naught. Those fouls were all weak dribblers, he wasn't getting a hit there anyway.
Timlin in. Should be able to get at least one off him, though the Yanks need a minimum of two. The problem is he gets Jorge, Sierra, Bernie, Cano. Ouch. Starting Sierra is just not cool.
428. Looks like we're about to be in a 3 way tie unless the Yankees rally
429. Cleveland just tied
430. THIS UMP IS HORRIBLE!!!!
431. Get off this team Jorge. Just get the fuck off this team.
432. The strike zone is f*cking laughable. This game is fixed. F*ck you, ump.
433. Come on, Posada. Jesus.
434. How was that a strike... the ump sucks
435. Heh. How many do the Sox score now? Two? Three?
436. Cliff, not that Sierra is ideal, but who do we start over Sierra? Maybe Tino, I guess.
437. I often let the umps slide off my back, but this is a disgraceful display at home plate in such an important game. No wonder Mats was lunging at so many pitches...he couldn't trust the umpire to save his life.
438. BTW, if (big if) the Sox don't score, I hit for Sierra to start the ninth. Tino preferably.
439. Well, I would say time to start praying for a mean, nasty Unit tomorrow and guaranteeing at least a tie, thats all I ask. I feel better back at the stadium with Chacon vs. a short rest Chin Beard Clement. Just get angry Randy, and Yanks, remember how you used to crush Wakefield...
440. posada's pathetic.that last pitch looked like a certain strike 3 and he's still siting at the plate moping about the last call instead of swinging and at least protecting the plate
441. So now Jorge lost us any chance of getting a borderline call.
442. Sierra hasn't hit well all year. I would play Phillips, but that is pretty unconventional. Bubba for his defense would be good too.
443. Did he just call Timlin a caged lion... lol...
444. I would have dh'd sheff and started Bubba...
And so much for those bunts, just like last year with Shilling. Cause that would take some actual fucking managing by Torre
445. Mattpat11, you start Bubba in the outfield (he might have eliminated that sac fly, got a strong arm) and DH Bernie or Tino. I could even see DH ing Lawton over Sierra.
446. Marc, that strike 2 on Posada was WAAAAY below his knees. Those same pitches were being called balls for Wang.
447. Who's this Proctor guy?
448. The K-zone said it was a strike, but if it was Wang wouldn't have thrown so many balls.
449. I've never seen Proctor throw so many curve balls...is this something new?
450. Nice job.
We can do this!
451. Check out Scott Proctor! Go figure! Huge outs, even if we lose he saves the pen, gets into the Sox heads as an extra dog in the yard.
452. I'd let Sierra hit. He's still a good hitter even if he sucks now
453. Lets just hope Mo has to come in in the bottom of the ninth.
454. .235 < .300 OBP, is not a good hitter.
455. He's sticking with Ruben. Fuck.
456. Torre throws in the towel and has Ruben hit
457. Chisox blanked in top od the 9th. Cleveland goes for the win now
458. c'mon Ruben....get on base!
459. Go Ruben, prove me wrong...
460. point in fucking case, he looks awful..hey joe, how about benching one of your worst players
461. Sierra sits the rest of the season.
462. Stinkin' Torre.
463. Torre sucks.
464. Jesus H. F'n Christ, this ump is cost us the game.
465. Thats a strike??????
466. Oh, that pitch was too high?
467. The ump has fucked their judgment of the zone.
468. We have looked overmatched all game...shellshocked, whatever you want to call it, but this is a team of pros, we shouldn't look so scared
469. While it seems we were never in this game, if not for Giambi's easy throw, we are 3-3.
470. Why we need more young players.
471. Way to go Cano!
Can't blame Bernie for swinging, I have no clue what is and isn't a strike.
472. Jeter is up again in the 9th with the game on the line!!! c'mon Cap!
473. and a low strike called, hmmmmmm
474. We were never in the game?
475. get on Jeet. 3 run shot for ARod.....Come on!!!!
476. Jorge Posada lost this game.
477. Is it just me or does the ESPN crew sound just a little too happy that Boston won?
478. And another game ending out for Jeter, ESPN announcers react as if the Sox just won the pennant. Idiots. Tomorrow will be worse with mccarver though.
479. bad Wakefield vs. BAAAAD Unit.
And get a legitimate umpire in there. I don't trust this guy to ump little league.
480. Number 20 for Jeet? Last out in the game? Jeesh. Besides the ump, which if I was Cash would recommend the tape for review, guys played a little tight (at the bat and with the gloves). Ding Torre for not getting his team ready for today. Let's hope tomorrows a different story.
481. the fact that we have no one CLEARLY better than Ruben to LEAD OFF when down TWO RUNS is just--fuck....
482. this ESPN bunch obviously has a bit of Boston favoritism but they suck so bad it doesn't make much difference.
483. Is it going to be a different umpire tomorrow? This guy drove me nuts.
484. This was a definite regression for the team...they can't blame bad starting pitching or middle relief either. If the home plate umpiring is anything tomorrow like it was tonight, RJ may face his second ejection.
485. Well, if it was easy, it wouldn't be interesting.
That said, GODDAMMIT.
486. What was the home plate ump's name?
487. When you need a baserunner, why would you leave Mr. .274 OBP to lead off the ninth? What is Torre thinking? If anything he is a longball threat off the bench.
488. It doesn't bug me as much as last year when Torre started him against the Red Sox in the ALCS instead of Lofton.
489. Oh well, we'll get him tomorrow without Sierra.
490. Guys, guys, you are thinking Torre actually has a clue how to manage. he has never been a good in game manager. he is an amazing social worker, but a bad manager. so be it, all it comes down to is tomorrow. Knock Wakefield around, get to their bullpen, and hope Randy's mullet is angry and bitting
491. well if you really want a post-season you may need to hope Cleveland doesn't score in the bottom of the 11th. At least they'll be a little used up for a play-off if it comes to that. This game tomorrow couldn't be more huge I guess I'm stating the obvious.
492. Wang did okay, and Proctor stepped up big. Leiter was horrible, but didn't hurt us in the end.
The problem was no offense and some defensive lapses. They probably should have played Tino instead of Giambi, with Wang pitching.
I hope they put Bubba in tomorrow.
493. Just back from Fenway ... ugly. To overstate the obvious, Posada had two big opportunities to help, but didn't, and Wang walked too many. It was a bad luck game, in that many of the balls hit off Wells were rockets that just happened to be right at people.
Oh well. Another night staring at the ceiling wondering what if ...
494. I don't get the professional Torre bashing regardless of what he did. The big decision he made that he would have been bashed for was Scott Proctor and that worked out great. the rest is a bunch of little bullshit. We lost. A hypothetical near-perfect manager is still going to lose almost as many games as they win. The bright side is we have a fresh Gormo tomorrow if we hopfully have an opportunity to use them.
495. Cleveland bases loaded only one out. Looks like3 way tie time coming
496. 2 outs with Aaron boone up with bases loaded bottom of 11th. Sounds like they're following it on ESPN also.
497. It's only one game. And unlike the Sox, we don't have to sweep to win. TanGorMo got to rest today. For better or worse, we won't have Jorge Posada to kick around tomorrow.
498. Cleveland goes to the 12th. No 3 way tie yet.
499. posada looked worse than dogshit after an accidental Ex-Lax swallowing.
500. Marc, Torre's big decision was to start Sierra, in between Posada and Bernie, and considering that Sierra has given us, to use the oft quoted term, hoseshit, over the course of the season, its a truly puzzling move in a must win game. yeah, he has hit Wells, but thats the ancient past: thats Torre being Torre
501. 494
marc,
I think the Torre "bashing", as you call it, has a lot to do with allowing a bad hitter to hit with the game on the line. We needed baserunners to start a rally, and the person chosen was probably the most likely to make an out (well, we do have Woe on the bench, but that is another matter).
Maybe, Torre will allow a senior guy to manage on Sunday. Isn't that what he does usually? I guess that usually comes after we clinch.
Anyway, all or nothing now. But this season has been a fabulous one for baseball, and regardless of how the next two games play out, for the Yankees.
502. Cleveland fails to score in 12th. goes to 13th.
503. how can you miss a suicide squeeze sign? I don't know what that was. Runner on 3rd for Chisox and Posednic bunts the ball to 1st and the guy never broke to the plate.
504. Ross Gload!
505. White Sox 3, Cleveland 1.
506. Chisox double scores 2. they have a 3-1 lead in top of 9th. If Cleveland fails to win in bottom of 9th then Yankee's/Boston will lead in the WC instead of a 3 way tie
507. We cannot blame Joe for this loss, we scored 3 runs against Boston, you expect to win that game? They only scored 5 (well below the Red Sox game average), they put it right there for the taking, the offense blew it. What was that from Sheff and Arod and the boys, fly ball, fly ball, K? Come on now, righties in Fenway have to do better than that, period.
Here is how I see it.
It is all about the pitching. Tomorrow is a great opportunity for us with Randy Johnson on the mound in September form. If the Yankees do not win tomorrow, they could be in big trouble. We have no idea what we will get from Moose on Monday, leaving only Small for an inning or two, Jaret Wright in long relief, should Moose get in trouble early. I wouldn't sleep well Saturday night if I'm Joe Torre if the Yankees lose tomorrow.
We need to win tomorrow, no doubt about it.
Come on Randy!
508. Wow...............
You guys still here?
Can the ChiSox hold on?
That would be nice!
509. White Sox just need three outs. I want a parachute!
510. Our team deserves the crap it's getting for its anemic performance tonight, but the Tribe is seriously choking this week...two 1-0 losses and nearly a third tonight against a team that only started 2 regulars.
And then Ross Gload...who?!
I don't know, I'm probably in the minority, but I would find the end to this series a little anti-climactic if the loser actually gets the wild card and a more favorable draw.
511. 1 Out in the Land of Cleve!
512. Max,
Too much whining tonight, not enough hitting.
513. i'm not sure what I want to see. Some horrible one or two way playoff that kills our pitching staff if we end up winning or to settle it all with Boston mano to mano winner takes it and loser goes home for the year. I guess we came on so strong at the end I'll settle for beaing Cleveland for the WC if it comes to it. I guess Wright will have to start if needed if it comes to that
514. i'm not sure what I want to see. Some horrible one or two way playoff that kills our pitching staff if we end up winning or to settle it all with Boston mano to mano winner takes it and loser goes home for the year. I guess we came on so strong at the end I'll settle for beating Cleveland for the WC if it comes to it. I guess Wright will have to start if needed if it comes to that
515. I am just nervous about Sunday. As I said above, tomorrow is a must win game, the pinnacle, the Mt. Everest, the El Capitan, the Big Kahuna of all must win games!
516. 2 Outs!
517. HR. Cleveland still down by 1, 3-2.
518. Bobby Jenks Go! Go Bobby Go!
519. cleveland loses. Yanks/Boston both one up on Cleveland. Safety valve remains open for the losing team
520. Chi sox win
521. Game over. Sox win, the sox win. You can but in the booooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrdddddddddd, Yes!
522. Going into the playoffs with this pitching staff gives me chills, and not the happy I got a new toy fire truck chill, a bad bad chill indeed.
523. Man, Cleveland looked unbeatable the last couple of weeks and now they can't even win with Chisox putting a lot of scrubs in.
524. Un-fucking-believable!!
The ChiSox lineup was so bad, I couldn't even dare hope for a win. 3 starters batting under .200, one under .150. Only 2 of 9 starters in the line-up.
Un-fucking-believable!!
UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!
Hopefully, this takes some pressure off our guys and they play their game.
525. UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!
526. If we have to play Cleveland for a playoff, who has home field? We have it against the Sox.
527. At least I'm glad the Chisox had clinched and we didn't get some nightmare 4 team tie.
528. I think i saw Cleveland has home field over the Yanks but Boston has home field aganst Boston. I thought I saw that earlier based on coin tosses
529. I just checked the tv listings for tomorrow's game, just to make sure it was on here in DC, and the fucking Nationals-Phillies game is on fox at 4pm, and the Yankee game is not. I pay however much money a year to get the MLB package, and I have to listen to the biggest game of the year over the radio. It's not possible to state how much I hate Fox right now.
530. We still need to go for the division. I don't even want to think of a playoff against the Sox on Monday followed by an absolutely ravaged pitching staff against the Tribe at Cleveland on Tuesday.
531. I think i saw Cleveland has home field over the Yanks but Boston has home field aganst Cleveland. I thought I saw that earlier based on coin tosses I may have been on the blog game preview or in posts but I don't guarantee I'm right
532. I know we have to go for the division but in baseball more than most things you can't always get what you wa-ant
533. I would much rather sneak in to the playoffs as the wild card with the chance to face the Sox in a full series, with the all important home games, than go home, obviously. So time to root for Chicago. However, this extra inning thing hurt a lot, as Chicago won't play anyone tomorrow, fatige etc.
So tomorrow is the key, we win, and we get a home game...
534. Fox has fucked up big time this year. I can't imagine how they come to their choices. Could any regular series game possibly have more interest then the next 2 between the Yanks and Sox? They are morons.
535. Zach - Quite the contary. All the Indian regulars played 12 innings. The entire Sox line-up rested. The question is: why would Ozzie go out of his way to win? Chicago already has best record.
536. okay - back from the bar - and i feel i have to make some comments to purge myself at the very least.
1) Why the fuck is Sierra playing. I'd rather Bubba in CF and Bernie DH.
2) Posada let us down big time.
3) Sheff was missing from the offense.
4) Wang had trouble in the 5th (?) - but I can't blame him. He's a rookie - the pressure got to him and the defense let him down.
5) Francona did what I wish Joe would have done all season - match up pitcher to batter - perhaps then Sturtze and Gordon wouldn't be so tired now.
6) Shit shit shit shit fuck fuck fuck fuck. It's going to come down to Sunday no matter what the Yanks do tomorrow.
7) Thank god for alcohol.
537. To me, Posada gets the goat horns. His at bat in the first set the tone for the rest of the game, swinging at that shit. He stranded what, 7 runners with less than 2 outs? Playing Sierra certainly didn't help. Well, at least Cleveland lost.
538. Of course Sierra got the start. He's in Torre's circle of trust or whatever the hell he calls it. And Crosby, a good complement to this plodding lineup, gets to pick splinters out of his ass all night. It's decisions like these that inflame the so-called Torre bashers. He brings it on his damn self.
539. JeremyM,
Agreed. How many AB's did the 6-8 spots give away tonight. I realize Sierra's had some money hits for us over the years, but he clearly belongs on the bench, in a pinch-hitter's role.
540. Also, of all the pitchers to start the fastball-hitting Sierra against: Why Wells?
541. Well, I watched the game from the start to the end.. without going to bathroom...
the thing is that... we have much more mistakes today then boston, and thats y we lost.
first of all, when Wang is piching on the mound, that means there will be a lot of groundballs which then means the infielders will do more job and it requires a better defence.
so, i dont think that Jiambi should have played today on first base, although we need his power, we can put him to like.. CF... and make Belhorn play first... because Jiambi has made quite a few errors by now, and we see a big one today which could end up to be 3-3
then, there comes Sierra, who i hate to say, but he pretty much fucked up the whole lineup for the last 15 games w/ only like 8 hit out of 50 abs
we had a chance to jump big on the sox today at top of first inning, however, Posada fucked up that ab too, which then brings up Sierra, who couldnt hit the ball, and then we left the inning with bases loaded w/ 1 run scored.
it became obvious that we get a whole at our number 6~8 today, which cause us a game
for Wang, i think that we did pretty well today. consider that hes only a rookie, and the atmosphere and the pressure that he gets for today's game, and the ump today had a weird K zone that fraustrated us, not only our batter, but also wang.
so, overall
1. wang did pretty well, allowed 4 hits but 6 balls, 5 runs w/ 3 earned, which is not that bad for a rookie at Fenway Park, although he was shaky sometimes, there wasnt a true big inning lost by him
2. Wells pitched well today, along with Timlin, which really limited our score down
3. As the intention gets higher, we are not afford to make errors, which will eventually come back and bite us.
4. Some adjustments has to be made to our line up.. althought i hate to say this, but it seems that Sierra and Williams are not going to help much more down to the strech, so we might consider to give these spots to other players who can hit...
ya..thats bout it for now... two more games and then we are done for this season, and lets focus on the post season from there, shall we?