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Locked and Loaded

nycrian

The rain isn’t enough to stop the Yanks, never mind the White Sox. It was drizzled all afternoon at YS III in the Bronx as the Yanks bombed Jose Contreras and the White Sox, 10-0.  The castaway duo of Serge Mitre and Chaud Gaudin combined for the one-hit shutout as the Yanks provided tension-free entertainment.

The only glitch came when Mitre left the game after being hit by a line drive. According to Anthony McCarron in the Daily News:

X-rays taken at the Stadium were negative, but Mitre has a painful bruise that could jeopardize his next start.

“Geno (trainer Gene Monahan) knew it was going to be pretty sore pretty quickly,” Joe Girardi said in explaining the decision to yank Mitre. “The last thing we want him to do is hurt himself.

“There is some concern,” Girardi added. “He got hit pretty hard. We’ll see how he is and keep our fingers crossed.”

Derek Jeter had three more hits and has been hot for weeks. (If he finishes strong I can see him winning the MVP over Mauer whether he deserves it or not. Look at it like a lifetime achievement award, like Paul Newman winning best actor for Color of Money.) Robbie Cano, fresh off his badass walk-off homer on Friday, had three hits too. Hideki Matsui, Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher each had a couple.

The White Sox made three errors and The Bomb Squad Bombeth.

After the game, Chicago’s manager Jose Guillen was characterisitcally frank (Cowley, Chicago-Sun Times):

“I’m embarrassed,” Guillen said. “And everybody in that room should be embarrassed. If they’re not embarrassed, they got the wrong job or they’re stealing money from baseball. I feel like I’m stealing the money from [board chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf]. And that’s a shame. When you got more errors than hits, you better look yourself in the mirror and start second-guessing yourself.

“But I’m second-guessing myself right now, making the wrong lineup every day. I second-guess myself bringing in the wrong guys to pitch. Second-guess myself like we work so hard to put this team together, all the way from spring training and when I look on the field.

“I was looking at the Little League game this morning, 11 to 13 [years old], and they were playing better than we did. It was more fun … this is not major-league baseball. Sorry.”

In the seventh inning, Johnny Damon fouled off a pitch and catcher A.J. Pierzynski scooped up a handful of dirt and tossed it at Damon. It was playful, a funny moment. Damon scooped up a handful and threw it back at Pierzynski. That was even funnier. Okay, it’s not Ray Knight decking Eric Davis but point taken. Don’t you playfully throw dirt at me, mister.

Yanks are awful tough right now. Especially against teams that play like ass.

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11 comments

1 The Hawk   ~  Aug 30, 2009 1:35 am

I think Paul Newman was as good as he can be in The Color of Money. Underrated movie, too.

2 Mattpat11   ~  Aug 30, 2009 1:59 am

If Mauer cools down some in September and the Twins continue to be irrelevant, I think Jeter wins the award. The pundits have been talking up Jeter alot lately. Even if Jeter isn't the most deserving, I'll consider it a make up call for the Morneau debacle.

3 Chyll Will   ~  Aug 30, 2009 2:08 am

[1] I'll always think he was huge in a limited role in Road To Perdition. Was sorry he didn't win Best Supporting Actor...

4 OldYanksFan   ~  Aug 30, 2009 7:18 am

Post game interview with Ozzie Guillen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrncqybPGYs

5 RIYank   ~  Aug 30, 2009 8:24 am

[2] It can't really be a make-up for the Morneau debacle, because Mauer got shafted that year, too (in fact I would have voted for him #1, Jeter #2).

The Damon-Pierzynski incident would have been funny, except that it was A. J. Pierzynski, who is not funny. I can't really explain why this is.

6 RIYank   ~  Aug 30, 2009 8:29 am

Now here's something funny. John Smoltz with the Cards:

11 IP; 1 R; 7 H; 1 BB; 15 K; 0.82 ERA; .411 OPS-against.

Yeah, it's the NL, but given the Boston pitching woes Theo must be glancing over wistfully.

Poor Tim Wakefield.

7 Sliced Bread   ~  Aug 30, 2009 8:48 am

The etched-in-stone, never-to-be-altered Mitre Map dictates that Sergio will make his next start regardless of positive or negative X-rays, or painful bruises.

re: the AL MVP trinket. The only award Jeter would be interested in obtaining is World Series MVP. Give the silly thing to Mauer, give it to Pedroia again as far as I'm concerned. Heck, call it the Most Valuable Pedroia award. That's what it's worth. The only honors we collect around here are championships.

8 monkeypants   ~  Aug 30, 2009 9:43 am

[7] You would think that. But keep in mind that Mitre has now had a couple of nice starts. This should mean that he is promoted out of the rotation, in exchange for a lesser pitcher. The injury may have just provided a fortunate opportunity for the plan to unfold properly.

9 Sliced Bread   ~  Aug 30, 2009 10:16 am

[8] I'm one of the few privileged fans who recently got a peek at the etched in stone, never to be altered Mitre Map, located in a vault 30 feet below Monument Park. Security guards confiscated our cameras so I could not document the Mitre Map, but you are absolutely correct. The top secret, never to be altered plan is to have Mitre pitch even better than he did yesterday for one more start before he is moved to the bullpen, never to be seen again. One thing you got wrong, the injury is part of the plan, not some random opportunity for the plan to unfold.

10 Sliced Bread   ~  Aug 30, 2009 10:24 am

[9] I should add that another fellow on our tour asked if we could possibly see the Phil Hughes Map. The guide gave him a blank stare, snapped his fingers, and within 15 seconds security guards quickly, and somewhat violently removed the man from our tour. I often wonder what happened to him after that.

11 monkeypants   ~  Aug 30, 2009 12:48 pm

[9][10] Well played!

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver