This was the game I thought the Yanks were going to have on Monday. A night where nothing goes right. Instead it happened tonight. For every sloppy play the Yankees made the Rays countered with a slick one. Moving to his right, Carl Crawford closed quickly on a line drive robbing Alex Rodriguez of an RBI base hit. Later, BJ Upton glided back and nabbed a shot hit by Jorge Posada. (They are a wonderful contrast in styles–Crawford, powerful and aggresive but not graceful; Upton, smooth like butta.) Jason Bartlett also made a couple of nifty plays at short.
Meanwhile, Derek Jeter and Rodriguez had throwing errors (Rodriguez’s mistake led to a run), Mark Teixeira mistimed a jump on a line drive allowing another run to come in, and Nick Swisher had two adventurous plays that he’d soon like to forget (the first one included an ill-advised and unnecessary dive). Hideki Matsui drove in the Yankees’ first run and then got picked off after misreading the throw from right fielder Gabe Gross.
Nobody helped CC Sabathia, who was far from terrific anyhow–he gave up some shot to Evan Longoria. Scott Kazmir, on the other hand, was excllent, allowing one run over 7.1 innings as the Rays cruised, 6-2.
And so the Yanks went kerplunk. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. Just ask Buster.*
* This is one of Keaton’s signature sequences but it came about by accident. His brother-in-law, and business manager Joseph Schenck bought the script “Seven Chances” (1925) a movie Keaton thought was a dud. And it was, until the final scene. During a preview, the audience responded to Buster running and knocking into some rocks. It got a good laugh. So he went back and re-designed the scene to make the rocks the centerpiece.
In a 1956 interview, Buster said:
We built fifteen hundred rocks, starting from grapefruit-size up to one was eight-foot in diamter, and we went out on the ridge route and spotted one of those big barren mountains with these rocks and then I went up there and got started. At least I was working with paper mache, although some of them…for instance, that big one weighed four hundred pounds. Buy the time you built the framework, it weighs something, but you could get hit with them all right. Well, I got into the middle of the rock chase, and it saved the picture for me, and that was an accident. It hadn’t been framed. It was an out-and-out accident.
Watching the great physical comics of the silent era gives you a new appreciation for the term “tough guy,” doesn’t it?
per pedro:
Chien-Ming Wang needs season-ending shoulder surgery It’ll be tomorrow morning.
Papelbitch gives up 3 in the 9th, tied at 7 !!!
peter gammons had to leave his segment on BBTN to cry off screen...
[2] I was doing the play-by-play on the previous thread!!
If Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO does the Sidewinder alone in a forrest...
Gammons..nice one!
[1] Poor CMW..will he be allowed in the dugout during our WS win?
FWIW...on last thread I have a comment that is awaiting moderation, which I suspect will never appear (and it's too late anyway). So, in response to a discussion about great pitchers holding runners close or ignoring them, here are a couple of links I found regarding Maddux. Maybe I can trick the spam filter this time. Here's the first. It's from a SD Padre blog entry claiming that Maddux’ career SB against was 76%.
http://tinyurl.com/krcgph
I have no idea if that's good or bad.
[4] Apparently Madduc also counseled fellow Padre Chris Young to ignore runners, according to this news story: http://tinyurl.com/muo5lf.
[5] i remember that about Mad Dog and Tall Chris Young. i'm guessing Maddux' SB rate wasn't good - they stole at will against him. of course, in his halcyon years, not too many guys got on! then again, i haven't checked his WHIP, so i'm talkin' outta my ass. pay no mind...
Nomah doubled w/ 1-out! they have any speed on the bench? please steal 3rd, score on a sacrifice and then win!!!
well, the HOTTEST baseball wife in history (Jamie Kotsay) is now in the windy city. i'd like to see her in a mini-skirt there! ; )
Fuck. Cust goes down swinging against Delcarmen. 2 outs, NoBalls on 2nd...
[7] married to Mark Kotsay..so even scrubby baseball players get hot wives!
Nomar stole 3rd...WTF?!
18 friggin' hits and they're gonna lose that game.
well, NoBalls did eventually steal 3rd, but Kurt Suzuki failed. onto the bottom of the 10th...
[9] aaron boone and brett tomko are each married to playmate centerfolds! bobby crosby's wife, might be hotter than kotsay's. it's just ridiculous...
oh, gammons on dice-klay: "when he came to the States, he thought he was god." period, that's it. blamed the player. the shit sox organization is the greatest thing on earth. how dare oakland take this to extra innings. feh!
btw espn and fans - gammons is HORRIBLE at guitar/singing/music. FACT!
[11] i just saw the highlight. Suzuki did NOT "fail." Bay made a fine catch on a hard hit sinking line drive to left...
breslow vs. laroche. i hope laroche fails miserably now and forever. i've never liked him and he should NOT do well in beantown...
super quick and easy inning for Breslow!!! former sock...
[12] I'm not sure I disagree with Gammons on this one point. I get the sense that Dice-K thinks that he is much, much better than he is (of course, his fluky good won-lost record despite poorer peripherals helps). That said, the Sox as an organization did blunder--not in changing his work out regimen or by refusing to let him throw the gyro ball, or whatever. But rather because they paid so much for a glorified #3 pitcher to begin with.
[16] you do realize that his good won-lost record his first 2 seasons here were solely contributed to his "shoulder savings", right?!?! ; )
if i could borrow some of his, um, savings from being on the DL, i might could buy a house!!!!
you know i've been in the South for a loooong time, when i actually say "might could"...: ~
[17] Yes! We have long been told how the Japanese save more than Americans. See, it pays off!
2 out double for Ellis!
The A's are hitting the ball hard, but keep coming up short.
And a cue shot through the hole does the trick!!
YEAH!!!! R. Davis singled. 8-7 A's!!!! I love you R. Davis (whoever the fuck you are)!!!
btw, i saw some highlights from this game before. A's starter Vin Mazzaro really got squeezed on a coupla key at-bats to Pukilis and Nancy. let's hope this stands!!!
Melancon better start getting regular work now.
Now why did Tito change pitchers there? It's not like the last ball was hit hard. I guess he might have reached some magic pitch count, maybe. Sometimes the way managers deal with relievers is sort of funny.
[24] Melanco or whoever...if they carry thirteen pitchers, they all better get work.
oh, hell yes - insurance run!!!
[25] he logged 30+ pitches. who knows.
[0] is that a picture of the Padres' Score Truck?! 'coz it's sad...
[26] My point is simply that the kid has more upside than Aceves, Roberston, or AlbalaDFAo. Apart from Mo and Hughes, he could be their best reliever, if he is given a shot.
all-star rookie andrew bailey on the bump to close up shop. do it up, kid!!!
[29] he certainly deserves a chance to pitch out of our 'pen more. i hope he gets it!
more from petey:
Wang needs a tear in his capsule repaired, apparently. The capsule is the soft-tissue membrane. Typically, the capsule is tightened in surgery.
The Yankees either don’t know or aren’t saying how long Wang will be out. But it will be for the rest of this season and quite likely some of next season as well. This will be Wang’s second shoulder surgery in eight years.
The surgery will be performed by Dr. James Andrews tomorrow morning.
crap. leadoff single for lowell. i'm sure it's loud at the fens. last place on earth i'd wanna be...
fuckin' hell. back-to-back singles. must get a DP. i don't care if it's 9-8, as long as the A's win...
21 hits against the best staff in baseball? Unfathomable. Especially by a team that should be winless. : D You just cant predict....... : )
[29] I'm not disagreeing with you. I wast just making the tangential but related point that the Yankees current BP arrangement is not optimal, especially if they refuse to use all of the numerous pitchers on the staff. I hope Melancon continues to pitch and succeed...on an 11 or 12 man staff!
Meanwhile, the Sox are predictably coming back.
1 out. 2nd & 3rd. Ellsbury up, McMidget on deck
Well this is it--man on third, one run game, two outs and the meat of the order coming up.
9-8. 2 outs. man on 3rd. ugly ass fuckhead at plate. (the littler one...)
Woo-hoo.
Popped him up...and the game is over. Still, the Yankees can't beat the Big Boys.
YEAHHHHH!!!! : )
just back to see Sox blow it!! 2.5 lead still there...brutal loss for the "best pen in baseball"!
oh yeah, Gammons music is just pedestrian white blues-rock..nothing of interest.
oh wow, that is a great surprise to see Boston lose!! I saw they were up and figured they would win.
and i'm off. gotta catch up on the threads tomorrow. If I have time.
Well tonite's action was just sloppy all around ~ so pleased to see the pink sox blow a gimme win. did anyone else see kid rock in the stands (next to peter wolf) ~ could sworn he was wearing a ladies' hat, the sort andie macdowell would wear. weird. anywho, glad to see ex-bomber nick green do his best to sink the sawx. no love from heidi w. tonite for him!!
thinkin joba brings it tomorrow...should be a great one.
[47] two errors in the 9th for Green..Papelbon probably danced an Irish jig on his face ni the clubhouse afterwards..
Joba is back, I'm calling 7 1/3, 8 ks, 1 ER!
That Red Sox game almost makes up for yesterday's loss. Almost. Very close.
[49] Well... considering the Yanks were really due for something like last night, and that the Sox were Home at Feway, playing the offensively impaired A's, and had a four run lead late in the game, and that Laptops had a WHIP around 2, and that Paps blew it, along with an error and unearned run, and that it went to extras, and that the Sox left the tying run at 3rd.....
Well.... that's just too good a loss. It's a loss to be saviored.
Actually, I think it felt better then both teams winning.
Made my day.