I hate to be that guy, but while I’m as excited about Opening Night against the Red Sox, set to commence in little more than a half an hour, as anyone else, I must temper my and your expectations for tonight’s game with a reminder about CC Sabathia’s tendency to stumble out of the gate. Against a career mark of 3.63, Sabathia has posted a 4.54 ERA in 39 career starts in April to go with a decidedly unimpressive 1.96 K/BB on the month. The last two years, coming off heavy workloads, his early starts have been worse.
In 2008, coming off his Cy Young season and a huge jump in innings pitched from 192 2/3 in 2006 to 256 1/3 (including the postseason) in 2007, he gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings on Opening Day against the White Sox and after four starts was 0-3 with a 13.50 ERA and as many walks as strikeouts. Last year, in his Yankee debut against the Orioles on Opening Day in Baltimore, he gave up six runs in 4 1/3 innings while walking five against no strikeouts while clinging to a heating pad between innings. He didn’t struggle quite as much thereafter, but after six starts was 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.6 K/BB. Sabathia’s 7.23 ERA and 3.85 BB/9 in spring training this year (which doesn’t include a minor league start in which he was lit up but does include the five runs in 4 2/3 innings he allowed in his final spring start) don’t offer much hope for his bucking that trend this year.
If there’s a positive for Sabathia going into tonight’s start, it’s that he was nails against the Red Sox last year, going 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 5.17 K/BB in four starts. Then again, the Sox have added two right-handed power bats, one of whom, Mike Cameron, has hit him well in the past (6-for-13 with five extra base hits and just two strikeouts, though most of that came when Cameron was with the Mariners and he hasn’t faced Sabathia since 2004). Cameron, however, is the only member of tonight’s Red Sox lineup to have had any significant success against Sabathia.
As for Josh Beckett, he struck out 22 men against just five walks in 19 1/3 spring innings and allowed just two hits in seven innings while striking out ten Rays on Opening Day at Fenway a year ago. The key matchup for the Yankees against Beckett is new fifth-place hitter Robinson Cano, who has gone 15-for-44 (.341) against the Boston righty in his career with eight extra base hits (three of them homers) and just four strikeouts. Brett Gardner, meanwhile, has never reached base against Beckett in ten career confrontations.
Finally, thanks to Steve Lombardi at the Baseball-Reference Blog, we know that the Yankees and Red Sox last opened the season against each other at Fenway Park in 1985. Oil Can Boyd beat a 46-year-old Phil Neikro that day and the Yankees went on to lose the division to the Blue Jays by two games. (For more Opening Day ephemera, check out Diane’s debut Bantermetrics column.) The Yankees and Sox last opened the season against each other in 2005 doing so in a Sunday Night game at Yankee Stadium in which Randy Johnson beat David Wells. That year, the two teams finished with identical records, but the Yankees won the division by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker. The Yankees were 10-9 against Boston that year. You could say they won the division on Opening Day.
YES is showing pregame festivities from Fenway
Man, Cliff, remind me not to invite you to my parties!
Yankees baseball (that counts). Bronx Banter. i have a modern day HD tv. this is awesome!
too bad it's boston, the shit sox, epsn, skurt, jon/joe, et al. oh well.
LET'S GO YAN-KEES !! !!!
cliff and alex, not to be rude, but there are too many posts on tonight's game and i don't know which to comment on.
The image ESPN2 HD is broadcasting is pretty shitty.
It's so weird that Dr Dre, considering the breadth of offensiveness he's perpetrated, has become so cuddly. It happens, but it's always weird when it does.
[4] This is the game thread. Have at it, folks . . .
I guess it's NESN for me. ESPN.... NESN..... Rock..... Hard place
NESN is showing this too???... its not blacked out per ESPN Sunday Night "exclusivity"????
Yay, baseball!
[8] I heard ESPN was allowing YES and NESN to have this game. It's on Yes... yes?
[9] Happy Baseball (figured I'd repeat it as this is the game thread).
Signs of the apocalypse, Schilling on Baseball Tonight.
LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!!!!!
[5] yeah, but it's better than my old 13" tv/vcr combo!
wasn't there talk of ending the jon & joe fiasco last offseason, or something? man, i wish joe was gone...
Title Defense: Game 1
looking forward to seeing our familiar friends here at the banter return - the ones that took the offseason off...
OUCH! Did you guys see that little kid with his 'screw the Yankees' speech? Is that the definition of bad taste or WHAT?
LET'S GO YAN-KEES!!!
Funny shit with the Kid. But damn something is very wrong with opening in Boston tonight.
Let's go Yankees!!!
Unfortunately, no living in Vancouver, I have to listen to Joe Morgan. You win some, you lose some.
does anyone know what yes just meant by "segment 2"? after the 1st commercial break?
[20]
I bet major bucks its a movie tie-in :-)
[21] in 3D
[21] Yes... it appears to be on NESN.
how many pitches til Jeter inside-outs one to right?
i say: 3
Oh the image quality is MUCH better on YES
Beckett's still ugly.
Hey hey the gangs all here. CC Sets the tone tonight.
As I said on the earlier threat, maybe CC pitches like a champ tonight and we can get to Beckett early. If Beckett comes out early pitching like some kind of latter-day Christie Mathewson we might be in trouble. I love Christie, but I’d rather he pitch like a kitten against our lineup.
Let’s Go Yan-kees!
Nuts.
[24] you may yet be right...
Good eye Nick the Stick.
I'm feeling giddy...
[22] seamus!!!! how yins doin', bro? good to see ya back!
[24] apparently, "nostralarmis" is still in tampa for spring training! ; )
actually, jon, it's OBP. oba, is different. here we go...
Ooh ... YES is showing OBP .... but not OPS ...
(holding out for UZR) :-)
Damn, that thing carried!
well, Nick Johnson has one at-bat and didn't get hurt. Pretty good omen.
Beckett is at least looking hittable tonight.
NJ hits the ball 400'
[26] pouk is still VERY ugly.
PANIC IN THE BANTER!!!!
i can get used to NJ hitting with some oppo power.
damn i was in the old thread wondering where the hell everybody was!
[36] yep, Beckett doesn't look like Christie Mathewson.
part of me wants to sit in my new - and very very awesome - recliner chair to watch. but then what about the banter...??? : ~
in NFL news, McNabb has been traded to Redskins ... compensation not yet announced ....
wow ... traded within division ...
Nice at-bat by Nick. Bad at-bats by hacky Jeter and Tex.
Drew hitting seventh and Lowell on the bench. Francona is doing the Yankees a couple of favors there.
[43]
wireless keyboard and local network :-)
Dancers Groin Rust!
[44] And I'm sure in followup news, McNabb complains and declares himself greatest QB ever.
[43] thelarmis, you need a laptop my friend. Hope your offseason was nice.
Where the heck is William?
[46] ya know, i have the wireless and laptop! but it kinda defeats the comfy-ness of the chair...
[41] Heh heh ehh hehe. Poor thing. :)
sit the hell down midget
Have a nice rest Dusty.
CC doesn't look like a kitten tonight.
[49] i have one! only computers i've ever had have been laptops.
siddown, midget. he looks even shorter on this wide screen tv.
[51] sometimes I use my blackberry to post. Try that.
[44] Wow. I guess McNabb really didn't want to go to Oakland -- can't blame him one bit.
But why do the Eagles want to get rid of him. I've heard the trade rumors, but not any analysis of the Eagles thinking.
Buh bye Pedroia.
WOW! 67 degrees at gametime at Fenway. A break for WW Sabathia.
there was the first "slidepiece" of the season. thankfully, there'll be no fisting tonight.
alright mk saved that point saying that vmart sucks as a backstop - i thought al was going in a different direction
I kinda like the upper left-hand corner summary graphics box on YES this season
[57] yeah, i remember that from when we were at the Braves game. i don't have a fancy enough phone! how ya doin', btw? : )
[59] it was 90 here today.
CC looks pretty good, thus far
Oops, I was over at Cliff's analysis thread, wondering where everyone was!
[62] me too.
[62] No YES for me :-(
Was that a scream from the ball being hit off the hands?
sweet! 13 pitches.
[64] yeah i think we turned the lights out over there
[64] You and Ms. O get to share the dunce cap.
[63] I'm doing okay. Busy at work, but fired up for the new season.
Nice play by Tex on Martinez's grounder off the bag. Nice K of Pedroia on high heat by CC. Good inning. Here's hoping CC makes me regret benching him in my fantasy league tonight.
[70] hahaha - fortunately i don't have a mk sized head :}
Also, I am watching the NESN feed. It's not bad at all.
All right, Alex, show this clown who's boss.
Time for A-Message!
[63] oh and thelarmis, since my favorite baseball team won last since, my favorite college football team whipped ass in the Rose Bowl and my favorite college hoops team is primed and ready for tomorrow night, it's been a helluva sports year.
[71] i wish i were busy with work...
[73] Uh oh. My head is on the large side. But if I recall correctly, Weeping's dunce cap is enormous.
is bill james telling them to bat youkilis 4th?
[73] Heh heh hheh.
Youk is good.
nice throw by beckett
I swear Arod's just not a true Yankee.
[This is a joke and I promise not to repeat it this season]
Alex is also only 3 stolen bases away from 300. he'll be the 7th player in the 300-300 club - my favorite! : )
[79] Capacious, even.
The new YES graphics are pretty good. Definitely an improvement
that was a nice cut by robbie.
let's go jorgie! i feel a fenway double coming...
They're smacking the ball. Beckett doesn't seem particularly sharp.
[89] Agreed but you don't want him getting confidant.
[89] yeah he's not missing many bats -he's just getting off to a good babip start
OHHH, YESSSSS!!!
HIP HIP JOR-GE!
Juiced it!
Well Jorge seems to not be regressing.
WAHOO!!!!
he doubled my double!!! : )
JORGIE!!!
God.... Posada looks old!
jorge driving the score truck out of the garage
Jorge!
Po!
Nice quick hands, Jorgie!!
Forgot about the sleeping baby and let out a "woo-hoo!" when Posada's homer hit the Pesky Pole.
chalk one up for the piss hands! (eeeewwwww)
And I called it in the previous thread. Even though it looks like I said A-Rod would hit the first homer, I clearly meant Jorge.
[90] Good, now he isn't too confident!
Did YES show Pedro talking to Johnny Pesky before the game, by the way? Nice images. (That pole shot reminded me...)
And the YANKEES SUCK chant is alive at Fenway.
Que Original.
[102] That's a maddening situation. I've been there. You scream and then choke it down midway. Not nearly so gratifying that way.
HA HAH AH AHA AH AH @@@@@
YAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!
Oh, poor Josh!!!
back to back beckett you bitch!!
Bad trade Cashman!
How's that trade looking so far?
Could someone tell me what Sterling said on Granderson's homerun?
DANCERS GROIN RUST!!!!
Welcome to the Yanks, Squrtis!!!
he *smoked* that!!!
God I love it
Back to back baby!
Curtis is now a Yankee (couldn't resist)
Nice hitting.
home run josh is alive and well!
whew! this is FUN!!!
We are smacking this fucker all over the park!
Oh, they're just crushing Beckett. Slurp.
I'm so glad I didn't take Beckett in my fantasy $$$ league this year, unlike last year.
Batting practice Beckett.
Granderson can coast on that for a while. Homer off Beckett at Fenway in his first Yankee at-bat? Hell yes.
[119] Isn't it, though???
:))
[116] But not a 'True' Yankee yet......
Drag bunt!
[113] NO!!! Do you *really* want to know?
I'm wondering how I'm going to research players who hit homer in first Yankee at-bat ...
[122] i hope you have your pen and paper out. i'm sure there are lotsa Bantermetrics nuggets so far in tonight's game! : )
Can I second Evil Empire's request [113]? Anybody listening?
Wow.... this is looking like a 1,000 post thread!
And 1,500 if William joins before the 3rd inning!
I fucking love me some Granderson.
Anyone have the Sterling call? Sad that I wonder but that's his only use...
let's hope the sox have a catcher controversy brewing and facemask has to catch beckett
[128] OH please tell me. I'm a Sterling fan...I know I'm a geek.
[129]
found it ... page 436 of the Media Guide ...
Gardy gets in on the action!
I still wish that was Melky up there instead!
And Gardy goes opposite way. Beautiful. C'mon Captain!
whoa, gritner got a real hit! color me impressed. or him, lucky. ; )
What a gritty hit! Lets go Cap!
Gritty and Gutty hit there
Huh.
What happened to that delightful, gritty Fenway "Yankees Suck!" chant? Now all I hear is a kind of mooing.
[131] You're trying to kill me, aren't you?
[138] haha man - we have to do something to honor melky when william joins
I've been talking to myself on the last thread for about 15 minutes. Now I see. lol..
[131] and since 3 is my favorite number, i'll third that. i'm curious...
Big AB here. The season hinges on it
That's a good pitch.
[146] Ha.
Time for Jeter to pull one off the Wall....
[135] If I knew, I probably wouldn't repeat it, but I don't. :)
Granderson is 14th player (since 1961 only) to homer in 1st at-bat as a Yankee.
Quiz: who was the last player to do it prior to Granderson?
damn speedy almost beat that out
man, that was close at 2nd...
Wow, Gardner almost made that a basehit.
Motherfucker, that man can run.
God damn.
Good inning
[146] Dude that is so completely funny
WOW! That was close at 2nd. Great speed! Beckett at 36 pitches.
[146] Sweet, now Ms. Oct and I are off the hook!
All told, that wasn't so bad for Beckett.
I gotta say, though - that Granderson HR was beautiful.
I closed my browser and reopened safari. I thought I broke something or scared everyone off.
[153] Thames? off RJ
Grey, Rainy Monday
Bronx Banter back again, yes
Tokyo Jazz, smiling
Welcome to the New York Yankees Mr. Curtis Granderson!
ugly is even uglier in HD. what a stoopid stance. i loathe this fucker.
[153] Thames?
ugly is still really ugly
[153] Marcus Thames?
[164]
Thames is on that list, but wasn't the last one to do it prior to Grandy
Ah Youkilis. My first mouth throw-up of the season
[155] I've gotta go with Thames.
jon miller has an orgasm on the mic. he was silent for curtis and po.
Damn.
decent throw by granderson
John Miller squealed when Youk hit that ball. Wasn't Joe Morgan supposed to quit this year? Do we really have to listen to these two?
Shoot. even though I hate him, Youklis can hit.
Green light for Youk on 3-0, interesting.
[173] Natch.
Loathsome.
A CFer with some semblance of an arm ... nice.
i think it was some random scrub guy who hit the homer, but i can't remember who. minor league journeyman type, iirc...
[170] So it's post Thames.
Damon?
Ortiz would need the cream and the clear and the Clomid to hit like he used to hit ...
Granderson's arm was one thing I wanted to see...it's not Melky's that's for sure.
the no mustache thing is really gross looking. it's Florida Evans with chops. ick!
[178] i would greenlight him - he has excellent zone recognition
[177] He really can.
[183] not damon. i think he had a single. after DJ singled...
[183]
its post thames ... in fact 6 guys after thames ... and its not damon ...
this player is no longer on the team
[189] No, he batted before DJ, right?
nice hook. here comes a foul out to 3rd...
[190] Mary Shelley Frankenstein's Duncan?
Papi gets high-fives for moving the runner over to third...oh, how the mighty have fallen!
CODY RANSOM!!!!
(chad jennings just posted it at lohud). i was right about the scrub part...
Whew!
Errr...Curtis, not a good route.
YES!!
Nicely played, Granderson.
Nice catch. That was pretty damn high.
nice grab Grandy
Great catch!
Curtis is the anti-Abreu
Sure it was a sac fly, but Granderson makes the highlight real on the other side of the ball with a leaping catch at the wall.
[191] details, details...
curtis broke in first and didn't need to jump, but made the play. sounds like...granderson.
[195] ding ding ... winner
In fact ... Ransom HRed his first 2 abs for the Yanks ... only one to do that
[203] yeah, but i don't think he needed to jump.
I know Matsui did it Diane, but that was pre-Thames....hmmm
Anyone think Beltre was juiced his big contract year?
I understand not wanting to move Grandy back and forth, but I prefer Gritner in CF... which would also help Swisher a bit.
Orsillo on NESN just said Steven Tyler is going to sing God Bless America later on...that needs no comedic follow-up..
Great, now we have Morgan talking about "keys" for the Sox. Apparently Youklis is "THE key", but Drew and Ortiz are "other keys." Ugh.
Why is Miller more excited about the Red Sox getting a double, with two productive outs to get 1 run than he is about the Yankees getting two runs off of 2 HRs.
[207]
ummm ... no .... Hideki homered in his first GAME, not 1st AB
[204] Nah, that was up the wall. He would have had to jump regardless.
I always hate giving back a run in the next half inning. Phooey. Here's hoping that's all they get here
[208] Yes I think Beltre was juiced to the gills.
gas. siddown, nancy.
That's the Marco Scutaro I know and love!
Go solve a mystery Nancy Drew.
The pitch count graphic seems a tad OCD to me. Bye-bye, Drew.
Was Drew guessing something else there? Just took a 95 mph fastball on the outside corner and walked back to right field. No complaint.
[212]
Hideki actually homered in the 2nd AB of his first HOME game ...
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200304080.shtml
[211] well of course, miller appreciates the game being played the right way
[219] I could do without that. The whole thing is too big, but it looks better than it did. The new batter stats look great though.
[215] His OPS that year was 163. His 2nd best is 114.
Oops..... OPS+
[219] Agreed, but it's on the scoreboard at the ballpark, so it does recreate that to some degree.
Remy and Orsillo are actually very even-handed. I mean, they're Sox fans, but they don't go all Miller/Morgan over every little thing.
[223] As long as Kay doesn't drone on about it I'll be okay. I agree about the new batter stats.
C'mon Prvt. Pyle. Get it started.
Nick Johnson looks like a shaved Stevie Ray Vaughan.
John Miller just robbed Diane.
[227] Yup. I don't mind getting the NESN feed for Yankee Red Sox games.
[228] mk will be talking about that shit for at least a month :}
Mr. OBP God at it....
ruh-roh....did Nick Johnson hurt himself getting to first?
nj fulfilling his mission on earth
I'm liking NJ in pinstripes again.
[229] ah, a lil' bit. i used to think he looked like a mix between babe ruth and eddie munster, when he was sitting on the bench!
[230]
I robbed the Media Guide .... :-)
So, what did I miss?
[239] Good ol' fashioned Beckett-whuppin'.
[239] becket gave up back to backs to po and granderson and being hit decet; cc decent but not that sharp
I really like the new YES graphic.
[227] I like Remy and Orsillo better than any other tandem. They have fun, are well-informed, and even-handed. No complaints.
[239] Not much Matt.
[239] back-to-back homers by Po & Curtis. grandy's was gorgeous!!!
Grandy's was a "laser".
yeah when i lived in rsn i thought remy and orsillo were easy to take and did a good job
[239] And Curtis had a nice snag in the OF.
i need to take a break here and go make some vittles. hold down the fort CC and Banter!
So, did anyone get Sterling's call on Grandy?
since this game is on espn2, i don't get why it couldn't have started at 7pm est
[250] Nope, apparently not. I guess with the game televised nation-wide, nobody's listening to J&S.
haha even kim jones call gardner gritty
John Henry is such a putz.
[243] Agree 100%. The best team in MLB.
Girardi threatening to use "matchups" frightens me.
Nick Green counts as a "key departure"?
marco gives dusty a run for shortest
[257] Yes, because he was gritty.
wow, nice throw alex
YEAH!
Got 'em!
Dope. Atta boy Cameron.
YESSSS!
Hm...looked safe on first glance. Let's see the replay.
Sweet! Nice, A-Rod.
Thanks Mike.
Wow, he was safe. How do you miss that call?
he was safe but - no replay for you!
Yeah, he looked safe. Ah well..
Cameron was clearly safe on the replay.
Angel's in postseason form.
[268] So, you didn't pay attention to the umping, like, all of last year?!
[259] Gotcha.
Francona should have thrown his red challenge flag ...
[270] Angel Hernandez
Well done, boys.
[273] Oh yeah, forgot.
Still, all he has to do is look at Cameron's hand and listen for the pop of the ball in the glove, right? If you can't get that call, then you really can't be a first base ump.
Billy Martin was one
Billy Martin and Ralph Houk
Ellsbury is no Granderson.
Oh, nice jump, Ells!!!
Yes!
Very nice, Robbie!
Somehow the idea of Joe Morgan and Dr. Dre meeting makes my mind melt.
Ellsbury=most overhyped, overrated player today?
Granderson would have gotten that.
CC with 50 pitches. It looks like 6 innings for CC.
Ellsbury blows that play.
i thought ellsbury would be able to catch any fly ball in left
Manny would have had that
I like watching Jacoby fail.
[278] No argument from me on that one. Meanwhile, the ESPN announcers prattle on about the NBA and Dr. Dre...
I want the world to take notice of Cano this season. .
But no pressure, Robbie. : )
Posada "Big Papi's" Cano.
[285] Remember when Longoria was running away with the ROY and ESPN was still pushing Ellsbury hard?
[284] ??? NESN feed here..i would love to hear that story..Joe Morgan a huge jazz fan so he still gets my respect!
Robbie Cano, he
is a double machine-man!
Sweet Swing, I'm in love
Crap.
That didn't work.
[290] My last name is Jacoby. Pains me every time I hear it associated with the Red Sox.
Damn it.
[285] Top ten, for sure.
Rob gets a double for that. Oh, come on, Curtis.
[294] Yeah, he's just not that good. He takes poor routes, his entire offensive game is hitting singles and stealing, yet people talk about him as this amazing young player. I don't get it.
Productive out + unproductive out < base hit.
What the hell is Kay on about?
Is that Stuart Varney in that terrifying picture behind home plate?
kenny is like i don't get paid by the hour these games need to end as fast as possible
[298]
YOU are Brook Jacoby???? I loved you on the Indians in the early 90s
[301] When people were gushing over his three run single in the playoffs a few years back, I was screaming "He would have had a triple if he effing ran!"
*Good* eye, Swisher.
Wow, really good eye Swish. Let's go Gardy.
Okay, come on, Gritner! Show Jacoby how a REAL displaced weak-hitting former CF left fielder does it!
Tough pitch to take. Now, Gritner makes him pay...
[305] Heh hehhheh.
alright gritner - anything but looking at strike 3
I love that Jason Varitek has been relegated to the Andy Phillips memorial ceremonial greeter.
Squeeze!
He let a good one go by....
[306] Sadly, no. Robert. I could have made the ML except for an inability to hit, field & throw.
[285] Most overrated is Pedroia. Dude has a .750 OPS on the road in his career.
[315] Yes!
[314] captain greeter to you
Times like these, I wish it were an NL game ...
The HP Ump is actually calling a good game.
[320] Oh Jesus, I forgot about that.
NO!!!!!!!!!! Outside!
Lil G' atempting his Grid-eye mind trick.
Is Thames wearing a watch?
[322] yeah, country joe west is NOT in midseason form
Is the Score Truck near Fenway?
He should have called time there.
[313] steel yourself!
Gritner!
MVP.
Gritner!
nice piece of hitting brett!
Whoa!! Look at that!
Wow!!
Gardner!
I always liked that Brett Gardner
Ellsbury is a good fantasy player because he'll steal 60-70 bags, but his OPS+ has been 87 and 97 in consecutive seasons. Unless he can get over the mystical "league average" plateau, he'll remain seriously overrated. Even if he was 110 he shouldn't command this much attention.
So long Melky. We handly knew ye.
Gritty...very gritty. So gritty, in fact, that even Miller got a bit excited.
Damned gritty grindy gutsy ab right there
[328] Yup. Driven by Gritner.
Great AB there, works the count full, fouls a couple off, then slaps a single. Great hitting!
Melky WHO???
Meet Brett Gardner: MVP
Eff you Beckett. You don't get to "send messages" at 70 pitches in the 4th. You suck tonight, deal with it.
[328] Diane I hear the beeping as it's backing up.
Yes!!!
Well done, Derek!
WHOO!
Cap'n Clutch!
So beautiful.
Eat it, Beckett.
BTW, I tuned in on the teevee late...who is the extra idiot in the booth tonight? Yay Jeter!!
Nice throw Snozberry.
Pastadiving Scutaro!
Steal home!!
Trying to throw out Gritner. Yeah, right.
beckett is not long for this game methinks
[343] Yeah, it really was.
[352] isn't hershiser the 3rd man at espn this year
what is this ESPN/Boston.com? Isn't it just ESPN.Com?
[352] Orel Hershheiser.
[355] Now that's just crazy. ; )
I am enjoying this. Especially the Beckett part.
And hooray for Marco "UZR" Scutaro! I love him.
Nick, stop hitting yourself with baseballs!
Even Kenny's teasing Nick!!!
ha hah ah ah ah !!!!
i just got a text from cult of basebaal: GRITNER!!!
(well, it was a few minutes ago...)
Please, NJ, stop fouling the ball off yourself.
[353] "Whoever heard of a Snozberry?"
Dear Nick Johnson,
Please stop hitting yourself with the ball.
Yours truly.
OldYanksFan
I think they need to put Nick in one of those Captain Pike wheelchairs to hit ..... won't get hurt that way
FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!!!
haha there is your steal of home
Fucking Beautiful.
YES!!!
Oh... gee... NICE!
WHOO
HOO
[362] HA!!
Double steal! Love it.
Oh, that was too fucking beautiful. Just too beautiful.
Fuck!!
wow!
We have some *swagger* tonight!
Gardner: MVP.
That was cool
haha, i loves it!!! : )
oh, that RULED!!!
with nj's stance i think he needs a pad on his knee like many guys have on their foot and/or shin
Wasn't someone saying how no one was talking about the weakness of the Sox catching?
[383] I suggest bubble wrapping. All over.
[384] Yeah, some blowhard was saying that.
;)
what a throw from victor there. that looked like a piazza special.
Brett Gardner...you can only hope to contain him.
[366] :)
Say hello from the gang!
[387] Terrible play to throw to second in any case...two outs, two strikes, Gardner on third: that's an automatic double steal situation. VM should never have thrown through.
I told you, I always had faith in that Brett Gardner
they're killing us with pitching and defense
Siddown, Dusty!
Thanks for diving there Dusty McGritty.
Take that you fucking midget
another beautiful play!
Wow...he looked safe.
Seriously, Cliff...how is the Sox catching not a major weakness? Teams are going to exploit their arms all season long.
Ohh, beautiful play, boys!
En fuego, tonight, on all cylinders.
damn big fella - moving
Too bad, Dusty. Ya' little shithead.
Nope, he was out. Of course, if he ran through the base instead of sliding...
if only he was 5' feet tall, he coulda reached the bag...
Remy is saying, "It became a footrace between... Pedroia and... CC Sabbathia... oh boy."
He's obviously out
oh dear jesus a sliding into 1st lecture from mk on opening day
Kay is so funny.
Two taters, steal of home, solid CC, good D...2010 Yankee baseball!
when pedroia jumped up didn't it look like he wanted to attack the umpire for a second?
slip into a warm familiar bath of Kay
And what backup do the Sox have when teams start running wild on them? Isn't there a reason the Indians moved V-Mart from behind the dish?
Because he is small and seems to have hooves, I have a nickname for Pedroia: My Little Pony.
Feel free to join me.
Alex is gobbling them up tonight.
Hey, when was the last time a Yank stole home?
The Yankee infield makes more in salary than entire teams .... interesting.
[406] I love when he gets all indignant.
just the sight of ugly and his unsightly stance, is ruining my makeshift meal...
[412] That is teh awesome.
Nice pitching, Big Man!
[414] tune into the next edition of Bantermetrics! coming to a laptop near you...tomorrow! i bet as a bonus, it'll be 'when was the last time a yankee stole home on opening day!
[412] yep - that is great!
[414] Straight steal or double steal? I remember Claudell Washington stole home, and didn't Tony Fernandez? I think there have been some more recent double steals.
[415] You don't say.
[410] LOL
If I was pitching and Youk came up with 2 outs I'd simply drill him and pitch to Oriz.
[416] oh yes, and leiter knows how to rile him up
[411] Do all the Molinas have jobs?
[426] It's true, he does!
[423]
nah ... I just thought about it as the 27 million dollar 3B threw the ball to the $23 million 1B .... :-)
Seriously, I don't understand how the Sox FO can get all sorts of accolades for pitching and defense and then they've gone with a all-hit catcher and nowhere to put him. I suppose they could start Varitek again...except he's been even worse.
Oh, lord, I'm getting to see Peter Gammons interviewing A-Rod.
Happily, Gammons isn't speaking.
did Fuckett's 4-yr deal get completed? i forget...
mark my words, mk will be talking about the new graphics until may
"It's actually to the point where it's too much a part of the game but it is, you can't ignore it."
[433] Haha hah ah ah a a a a !!
[432] not quite yet
Rob-fuckin-ie!!
damn robbie is on fire tonight
Hmm...that's one long single.
Nice, Rob!
Wow, so Robbie gets a very cheap double, but now he has a wicked hahd single.
what a stroke. just beautiful.
[433] That sounds like a possible fallacy of a pre-determined outcome. Damn, Robbe. 400 hear we come.
Oh man, Robbie is looking really sweet so far.
[439] sheeiiiiiiiit, he hit it too hard
Orsillo notes that it's very rare for a ball hit to that part of Fenway to be a single. Rob hit it so hard, and it took a nice bounce off the base of the wall, too.
[440] Goes to show, you just can't...
Cano just owns Beckett, doesn't he?
[436] thanks.
i really wish Robbie ran faster. and harder.
do it again, Jorgie!
[442] Hah ahh aha ha ha ah ha ah ah ah ah ah ha !
[412] I'm all about the My Little Pony Bandwagon. Well done.
just bounced right into drew's right hand
[446] Ahhhhhh!
Where's Coney? : (
[446] Whaddayanknow, Robbie Cano looks set to have a big season! Now Suzyn, can you get me a cup of chamomile tea now please..?
Wait, how'd we get back to pitch counts?
who's the ugly reliever in boston's pen?
there's the walk. nice!
[453] smelling sunday night elsewhere :{
So Long Redneckett
Oh yeah, good job Po.
And Beckett is reaching the end of his rope...
ah, schoenweis...
Calling on soft underbelly.
Bye bye Beckett. Well, we get to see Grandy against a leftie quite soon.
Goo'bye, dickhead!
toodle fucking ooh josh
Well, here's Granderson's first crack at a LOOGY as a Yankee.
I'm looking for the big BB here. The traditional LOOGY role.
very different look for schonweiss from his angels days
Hopefully "Beckett" is English for "Matsuzaka".
Pitching and defense.
Schoeneweis looks like one of the GEICO cavemen.
Heckuva catching job there.
we already know "Tazawa" is Japanese for "Igawa"
Wow, I didn't know about Schoenwiess' wife. That's horrible.
carp.
The only problem with calling Pedroia "My Little Pony" is it's easy to say but not type. I just sort of mutter it to myself if no-one's around. It's pretty satisfying.
Oh well.
Wow, I can believe Granderson struggles against lefties. He looked like crap.
Bollocks.
Hm. Still working on that lefty-lefty thing.
[468][472] Oh well done there EE!
[469] Run prevention.
[470] Or a starving Wade Boggs.
[475] MLP ?
[475] just go with the acronym - mlp or juts pony
[473] yeah i remember when it happened last year - really awful
[32] hey man! Things are good in the burg. How's your new place? Oh, and yeah, sorry for the delayed response. Company showed up right when you posted...
Yeah, I vote for "Pony".
[473] yeah i can't imagine having to deal with that.
Biiiiiiiig pop-up.
Jeter and Cano could be in lawn chairs tonight.
[475] we can just shorten it to "Pony Boy"
[478] my favorite word! : )
Both "Pony" and "MLP" are funny, for different reasons.
Second time he got a 3-1 fastball. Last At Bat he fouled it back, this time he pops it up.
[484] new place is awesome, thanks man! : )
CC's got some stuff workin' tonight.
Those last 2 pitches were nasty.
That really was a great pitch.
Dang. What a freaking change up.
If Sabbathia is this good in April...
Yikes.
Who, exactly, would argue that it's better to have two pitches than three?
big man is starting to look nasty
The four day creeper. New song title for thelarmis.
Oh, cheap one. Good hitting, though, I have to admit.
damn - good hit
francona should be thinking about swapping drew and papi
[492] sweet. good to hear! ah, baseball is fun tonight!
All the talk of ace ranking is lame. Go out and pitch the best and you'll be the ace.
Crud.
Okay, big man, finish them now.
[499] HA! "Shadow Games", for Todd Drew, is coming along rather nicely.
i've always liked Cameron. it's a shame i have to root against him now. i need him to hit 37 meaningless homeruns to reach 300. he's only 5 stolen bases away...
i hope he does zero damage in our 18 games vs. these scumsuckers!
ah, crap. (i even waited to post this, so it wouldn't be my fault...)
okay, bear down, bear. get outta this now!
Grr.
Strikes, please!
wtf kind of throw was that gritner?
Oh, Brett. Jesus.
Wait, did we end up signing Damon?
I've got to ask. What Yankee gear is everyone sporting tonight. I went completely simple -- no jerseys or Yankee shirts -- just a World Champs hat like they wore on the field.
Nice throw. Fucking terrible.
fuck you, jon miller. asshole.
i used to kinda like him. but this is just ridiculous...
Umm...that was a poor throw...
Marco Scuturo...you can only hope to contain him. Meanwhile, Gardy, WTF with that throw???
That's one of worst throws I've ever seen. Don't kill the third base coach.
[510] i'm actually wearing a State College Spikes t-shirt. NY-Penn League. Buccos affiliate at Penn State. i'm sure seamus knows of them!
alright carsten - ease on out of this
well, Brett knew many of us miss Damon, so he was channeling Johnny.
ooh, i thought he went around...
[514] he is a yankee killer
Ugh. Sit him down already.
[516] state college has a minor league team? I actually had no idea.. !
Thank god for the second #9 hitter batting in the lead-off slot.
nice pitch
Uncle Charile!
Oh, FUCK yes!!
Fucking BEAUTIFUL!
yes!
Gardnered.
F'ing beautiful, CC.
Oh well, Gritner's throw didn't end up hurting us because of CC. BTW, Jorge didn't exactly hustle on the bad throw there.
that looked like a bigger curve than he usually throws
[527} haahha :}
[518] The beauty of baseball is how many ways the same play in the scorecard can play out in the field. Damon's chicken arm would have bounced a 47 hopper, allowing the runners to advance. Gardner meanwhile achieved the same end by throwing the ball to, well, no one. But it went kinda far.
[521] you're just kidding, right?!
it's been there about 5 years. i went the inaugural season, when they were actually a Cardinals affiliate. i've got a few items of Spikes gear around my pad. i think i went 2 years in a row and missed 2 years. i hope to catch a game the end of June. if so, i'll only be there overnight, so i don't think it'll be easy to meet up...
[533] not kidding. i had no idea. i feel lame.
seamus: meet the spikes!
http://tinyurl.com/ylfhjo6
(hopefully word press won't hold up this link. that is so utterly annoying...)
Don't bunt at Beltre, that's his signature defensive play.
Yawn.
Another crisp, zippy Sox-Yanks game.
[534] dude, it's a really nice stadium and very fun experience. i hope you get to go to a game sometime!
an uppercut swing. great, just great...
[537] Don't jinx it. Still could finish by midnight.
Ah, a pitching change. Excellent, a little break from the frenetic pace of the game.
i hope kevin long tazers gritner every time he uppercuts
If he gets a couple of hits every night, I'll cope with the uppercut swing against the opposing team's designated LOOGY.
[540] i guess i was a fool to think this would be over a bit after 11pm
C'mon, Jete.
[535] Thanks man. i'll have to plan a trip for a game. That'd be fun. Probably more exciting than the pirates!
[544] Yes, my DVR goes to 1am on this game.
[543] oh yeah, me too. i am just razzing him.
ramon ramirez looks like he has been visiting dunkin donuts a lot
that'll never get old.
Yikes, Jeter spanked that.
Nice hit, Derek!
[544] Fool. No. Wildly optimistic. Yes.
[548] A well deserved razz, too, between that AB and throw the previous inning!
[547] i have a DVR now! so i know what you guys have been talking about now. it pretty much friggin' rules! : )
I still hate seeing the Captain share giggles with Youkilis...some things are just..not...right...
not a great start for nick johnson i fear
well, NJ hit the ball hard two times.
[554] I have never tasted one. I don't even know what you guys are talking about.
Surprised they didn't steal Jeter there. Great situation to get a runner in scoring position with two outs for a favorable platoon matchup against a catcher with no arm.
[556] 2 hard hit balls, a walk, and no major injuries. not bad! : )
[555] Jeter knows he's ugly, too. But he's just being polite. : )
[554] ah welcome to the universe of the dvr! I love it.
[558] dvr's are really good with spicy mustard. mustard, ick!
Well, if we are going nicknames, should Nick Johnson, "NJ" be called "Jersey"?
[561] some truths are universally known
[553] that throw was abysmal. i have to think he changed his mind about which base he was planning to throw to in the middle of his throw.
[561] He likes to hang out with really ugly guys, because that way on average he's hanging with normal-looking people.
[564] Nick the Stick and OBP Jesus aren't enough?
yo thelarmis, Roy Haynes' son is also a drummer, he contacted me through my website about coming to Japan. He also had a photo up of him with his dad and Bill Cosby together after a gig..too cool! Roy still looking dapper and fit past 80yrs old..
C'mon CC, set them down and hit the showers!
cliff - is the bullpen catcher considered an employee of the team - he is not on any roster is he?
He's getting squeezed here. At least one of those "balls" was over the outside corner.
those look like some j's - those silver shoes looked hard as hell
[564] I've always enjoyed Private Pyle.
Finally caught up after starting the game on DVR an hour late.
'Ello gang. Happy baseball season.
Grandys good. Gardner's fast.
And anyone who picks the Yanks to finish behind Boston or Tampa is an idiot.
Get it loose, Mr. Robertson.
[574] agreed
[569] that is sooo cool! yeah man, Roy is the last living legend of that ilk. he is sooo frickin' cool. he also makes dustin look like an nba forward! ; )
my bass player is in japan right now. actually flew out today. playing blues-rock shows for a week.
my favorite drummer will be there in about 2 weeks. i'll let you know when/where...
[568] It just came to me, with the ESPN crew doing nicknames & saying NJ. Besides, I was born in NJ.
c'mon very large man. don't lose it now.
DP baby!
CC's running out of gas, methinks. Let's see if he can steal and out or three, then it's the BP.
Oh, fuck. I was sure that was foul. DAMN.
this is very not good.
That may be it.
i didn't think that was such a bad pitch, vm, professional hitter that he is, went down and got that pitch
The change just isn't dropping. Enough.
Let's see if he can get Youk with that two-seam.
i would pull him. he hasn't looked sharp for last inning plus.
I'm not liking this matchup right now.
k ugly please
Pull CC now! He's fading.
Lead off walks. Fuck a duck.
Last batter for CC.
[590] especially to a pony
Ohhhhh boy.
Oh well.
fucking shit - awful pitch - awful route swish
The greek god of making me want to fucking throw up in mouth.
stfu jon miller. i now hate you immensely.
fuck
Oh brother!
Aaaauuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhh!
Swisher really misplayed that. OF defense still in spring training mode.
ooh, wish we got him right there...
I'd like to see that ****er stranded at third but ...
Gotta figure CC's out after Ortiz regardless, right?
I get that this is a lefty-lefty match up, but i would have pulled CC.
Hey, nice job, Rob.
good play robbie
For some reason I want to give Cano loads of credit there
Is Girardi gonna let CC throw 110 pitches today?
alright robertson time
OK< good job by CC and Cano. Now, listen to Cliff [603] and pull the starter.
NIcely done, Robbie.
That was a 50/50 play. Atta boy, Robbie.
Nice Robbie, especially with a broken bat coming in your vicinity.
[604] Ortiz's platoon splits are pretty severe, I was fine with letting CC face him there.
Funny, the infield was so far back, but Youk had to wait to see if the ball was going to be caught. Soft semi-liner.
Well what seemed like a sparkling start for CC ended up being ... something altogether more "meh". Well, I'll stay tuned cause if that run scores, I'll downgrade from "meh" to "yuck".
[614] yeah i wanted him pulled for Ugly but with Ortiz up I was good with him in there.
Has anyone figured out what the hell Swisher was trying to do?
Bring in Rivera! Emergency! Emergency! The season is on the line!
[619] Can Mo go 3+ innings?
Sigh.
Oh God damn it.
Well that went well.
One pitch and a blown save for Robertson.
Okay safe to say now neither starter was really any good.
Oh, damn. I thought Dave had a shot to get him with a K.
Robertson hitting 94? Nice, more than just sneaky fast.
fuck, shit, piss and hell.
You know, I was in a very good mood before.
damn that curve is nice -
This is where I thank God we don't have two lefties in the pen, by the way
Don't say I didn't warn you guys.
Hm, I think Teix could have had the runner at second. But I guess it was smart to get the sure out.
And it turns out, it was.
All right, then. Back to work.
Greeting and happy new season, y'all!
I'm gonna have to apologize for this last inning, it was 5-2 until I decided to leave the bar I was watching the game at. Obviously, that was a mistake.
Oh, well, back to even again.
Okay. Just gut punch them now with a crooked number
[632] about cc stumbling out the gate?
[632] :)
If you told me this game would be tied in the seventh, I'd have been happy.
[635] Hey, cob!
[637] I think I might be the most excitable guy here, and I can't imagine getting worried over a slow start by Sabathia
[637] yeah
[637] considering that slow starts is the norm...
Have they ever said what was wrong with Gene?
good. hopefully our leadoff walk will also lead to 3 runs!
Thelarmis, with Schoenweiss and Youkalis both making big contributions, you have to admire the pesach spirit of the Sox tonight, no?
By ten feet, Kay.
Stupid wall. Alex crushed that.
What a chokey double.
A-ROD!!!
[632] Well I expected it too. But then things were going so well ... Seemed like a trend was about to get bucked.
YAY-ROD!
Okay, second and third with nobody out! Here we go.
Damn, HR in any other park.
I never thought that was anything but a double.
alex smashed that ball
he would have hit 350 easy if he ended up on the red sox
[635] get back to that bar, cult! and drink one for me... : )
nice shot, Alex!!!
Well done, Alex.
See if A Rod was still juicing we'd be up two runs right now. That proves he's not.
Make me happy this inning, Robbie.
Robbie against a lefty with ducks...
Hey everyone! Happy Easter, and Happy Opening Night!
I started watching the game with the kids and, after helping put them to bed, was way behind. I FINALLY caught up. Just checking - everybody else thought CC should have been pulled when he went to 3-0 (IIRC) on the second hitter in the 6th, right?
Its nice to have baseball back, and its nice to be back here with everybody. Now if you'll excuse me, I have 655 comments to go back through. ;)
IN THE AIR
Ok, Robbie, here it comes...
Let this be Cano's coming -out party. Superstar!
[663] I'm thinking, opposite field...
[663] Actually Mark is on third. We may need a base hit
Oh Dusty.
Good enough.
Though not much of a hit.
fuck it, i'll take the rbi
*That* got the run in?
It was hit right at him.
PRODUCTIVE OUT!!!
well, we got the lead back. let's add another right now!
Bleh. Okay. But bleh.
Eh. Not exactly heroic, but it got the job done
Robertson for the win.
I think that miniature horse was just startled is all
[671] Right, but you know, My Little Pony gets frightened.
jorgie!
Jorgie!
Oh, hell yes, Jorgie.
Po!
Hip! Hip!
[678] LOL I guess the options are pretty limited here
hip hip!
[677] [676] Damn you, Quickfingers.
Jorge. Love them shots through the middle.
I'm liking this inning.
[673] Your wish is the Yankees' command.
Score truck!
Hip-Hip!
notice how miller said nothing. if it was the shit sox, it'd be: VAGITEK UP THE MIDDLE AND IT'S 7-5 BOSTON. WAHOO!!! YIPPEE!!! YANKEES SUCK!!!
fuck you.
"...all year."
OK boys, let's keep the train moving so we can get to Gardy.
[683] What is that word for what a horse does when it's scared?
I should know this. It will come to me shortly.
I hope Granderson's Yankee days end better than Ransom's
MK will keep us well informed of Grandy's ab's vs. lefties. Thank goodness.
[691] Ain't no train, monkeypants. This here's the SCORE TRUCK.
[654] But Jorge's shot was foul in any other park.
Gold star for Granderson!
good job, curtis
nice AB for Granderson
Sweet. Lefty specialist.
[689] He really is insufferable. I'm glad I have Kay.
[696] Both statements are true.
I bet John Sterling is saying, "It always begins with a walk..."
[692] Well I'm waiting cause I hadn't thought of it but now that you mention it, it definitely exists and I can't recall either. I do know I saw his eyes roll back a little there.
That's better. Hip Hip Jorge!
[704] me too - damnit it is one of those words i know, but just can't think of right now
[704] Shy. The little pony shied.
I think.
This is surreal.
Mr. OK, are you still with us here?
Ok so we got the lead back. Cool. I'm feeling some disappointment that CC spit the bit still. Ach why am I using a horse metaphor? Though I have to say he looked like a Clydesdale in that race with My Little Pony.
wait. who's the babe w/ steven tyler?
Horses spook.
steven tyler's from white plains. or yonkers. he was the original drummer for aerosmith.
is that one of his daughter's, or something?
Spook, that's it!
Thanks, Cliff. Whew.
Jack Curry getting drowned out by the "awesome" YES music.
[692][704][706] Spook?
[712] Yeah, who's the tomato.
Tyler's voice is shot.
[712] He drummed in a previous band. I think he was always just the singer for Aerosmith, though I think he will get behind the kit to write a song or jam a song into existence.
amazing!! chp's velocity as a reliever is faster than as a starter.
Spooked.
[715] Oh, missed it by that much. (Holds arms about five feet apart.) Now you know how Jorge feels.
[715] Frau Bruher!
[708] Yep..thankfully, got a local Japanese news update and was spared GBA Aerosmith style...
NOT happy with Park Chan-Ho having to shave his awesome beard..damn Steinbrenner conservatism..grumble grumble...
Chan Ho!
[712] That was an quite a lot of lips there!
And with that pitch, the Chan Ho Park era begins...
Beardless.
[722] man, that thing was hideous!
Evening, BB. Was listening on the Droid and I'm watching it now. God, I love baseball.
Seems YES ripped us all off by cutting away from Steven Tyler. Twitter is atwitter . . .
So, Park to Joba to Mo?
[712] Yonkers!
He went to my high school!
Him and Crazy Eddie.
And a guy who called the White House and threatened to kill the first Bush.
Gross.
[714] i read that as "awesome YES music" - as in the band, Yes.
then, i saw:
[716] tomato, as "Tormado" - a late 70's Yes record.
well, regardless who the babe was, she was pretty smokin'!
Nothing like going 3-0 on the #9 hitter...
and then giving up a hit.
Mark Melancon.... COME ON DOWN!
Sure, tonight's may have been the first real cocktail I've ever had, but is there a better drink than the Manhattan?
[728] Greetings, Eirias. Here to help us work toward a thousand-comment evening?
[731] Moses?
Wow, nice pitch.
Nice movement.
Not a good evening for Ells.
Sick movement on that 92 mph heater from Park.
FUCK.
M
F
fracker
Chan Ho Park is making a believer out of me.
Neigh!
Well you see he does "trot"
Chan Ho=Oh no?
god damnit chp - letting mlp take you depp
no. no. no no no.
FUCK!!!
pony took a ride around the park.
oh, and fuck you jon miller.
Fug.
Welcome to playing in the Big Boys League, Chan Ho ...
meh.
[744] Monkeypants, your timing is just impeccable!
Chan Ho Park is Korean for Sucks. Anyone want the over and under on him not being on the roster as of June?
ok i gotta roll for a bit. go yanks!
please learn a fucking lesson and do not pitch the pony high!
[733] Tomato = hot chick. Old school style. Real old school. But that's who I am. Still no cell phone, & just got an HD tv. Though now I need a blue ray DVD player & have to re-buy all my dvds that are in blue ray. Starting with Concert for George -- screw it, Amazon doesn't show a blue ray version.
Aw crappity crap crap crap!
Another 315ft-Fenway "homer" from My Little Pony...sheeeeeeeeeitttttttt....
i'm not enjoying this anymore.
That certainly reminded me of the last time I saw Park pitch in person, getting bombed by the Yanks in a Mets uniform.
[756] i need the cell phone for work. just got the hd tv.
never hoid tomato, but yeah, she certainly was HOT! : )
[752] Give me some credit, man. That was sarcasm, posted after Dusty's 319 ft "blast".
It's amazing how a Yankees Red Sox season opener will start and I am enthusiastic as hell but already I'm exhausted and ready to give up on the damn thing ... I mean it's cool to win the game and all but do I really want to cut my sleep in half to watch this ?
Pfew.
[761] Ohhhh. You forgot the >sarc> tag, so I didn't notice.
Damn, Park was nails in camp. Shows how much that means.
Good night for Youkalis.
Wow Youkilis really got under that ball and it still almost left the stable
[762] I'm gonna still watch, but time to kill the computer. See you all at the morning wrap up. Good night all.
[762] I know. I can't be staying up til 2 for this but it is Opening Day and all.
What fuckhead idiot decided on an 8pm start, anyway?
[764] I don't use no stinking sarcasm tags!
I need more candy . . .
[764] Ah, I meant:
You forgot the <sarc> tag.
I knew there was a way to do that.
The SI article Sometime, The Bear Eats You is a fascinating story by (and on) Frank Deford and his amazing career as a sportswriter.
Ahhhh.
The Lefty Specialist.
Oh for the love of G-d. I know this is the first game and all, but come on guys, execute!
[771] i just had a Reece's Crispy Crunchy bar. those things are heavenly!
So, if Marte fails to get Ortiz, and Joba comes in, who pitches the eighth?????
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
Ugh
oh no. you've gotta be fucking kidding me. this is awful. totally brutal.
I would say unbelievable, but it's not.
Jesus Christ.
Amazing. Lefty fucking Specialist.
[777] You misspelled "teh."
Nice catch, Jorge.
that was horse shit!
Good thing I left the bar.
I'd be doing some *serious* drinking at this, might not be safe.
Just fucking wonderful.
Man, Posada
this is fucking ridiculous. total fucking waste.
here's Joba...
Damn, I was joking {777], but Girardi has the quick hook tonight, with everyone except CC and CHP.
I generally don't get upset over April losses, and Opening Day losses especially, but if they lose this on a passed ball, I'll be sick.
[780] Jinx.
Remember when the Yanks were up 5-1. That could happen again. Just not tonight.
[783] : )
Really, Jorge. Oh damn.
It all began so well.
Posada just lost that Player of the Game vote.
I am officially pissed off now.
Turn the glove over, Jorgie
[790] What can you do but bow down to the the gritty, working-class hero, run-prevention warriors? Oh well, I am still wearing my #27 t-shirt so one loss here is nothing..and we could still beat up on PapelBard..
Is Cervelli starting Tues? Just kidding. Sort of.
[796] That's ok, because Brett "one man wrecking crew" Gardner is going to take over the game next inning.
Well the good news is the Yanks could be swept this series, the next one and lose the one after that and still tie the Sox for the season series, and win the World Series. That's how I see it.
Oh look, a pony!
Six outs left to tie it up against Bard and Papelbon.
[795] Well, its not over yet!
At 10:15, my wife said, "When will you come to bed?" "Oh, probably just an hour or so, 11:30 at the latest." Damn un-ending Yanks-Sox slugfest. And I have to get up in 6 and a half hours to go to work.
[804] at least you don't have to write it up after it's over . . .
Don't they scout the Sox? The little midget LOVES high inside fastballs.
No PH for Gardner here? No chance he makes contact against Bard, is there?
Gritner needs to get on and steal a damn base.....I refuse to give up.
[807] Who would you PH against a RHP?
[805] or have an infant. Sorry Cliff.
Settle down, Kenny. Every high school 2b in the country makes that play.
[805] But Cliff don't you get big bucks to do that?
Hey Shaun P, last time I "saw" you on here we were predicting homeruns (Correctly) during the postseason.
[805] I can't do 'em like you can, Cliff - no one can - but I think it'd fun to write up a win.
A loss, especially in a see-saw, drag-out game like this, vs the Sox, on Opening Night - ugh.
Hey folks who don't have NESN - don't leave your seats. Maybe YES will show Neil Diamond's live "Sweet Caroline" performance in a few minutes.
Dang it.
Swung at ball 4. D'oh.
[812] hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
wait, were you serious?
pesky pole. tie the game, NJ
[812] Hey EE!
I remember that! That was a lot more fun that this. I was a bit of lurker over the offseason - lot of other stuff going on, etc. Its nice to see you too!
I'm calling a game-tying walk here . . .
OBP
c'mon Tex!!!
Nick Johnson does what he does.
c'mon Tex, get a knock.
winn better not pull a charles gipson here...
Run, Randy, run!
[818] Yep, those were good days, but they'll come back again. We've got 161 of these after tonight and the game's not over yet.
[823] *shudder*
winn looks sooo different w/out his goatee. alsmot like a smaller, skinnier, paler sheffield.
I'm not sure about using the PR here, though I get the logic.
Fug
Heavy sigh. UGH. Neil Diamond.
well, i guess Alex will have to tie it against Paplebitch.
well, so long as we keep 'em at 8...
Right, so why did they put in a PR?
Excuse me, I have a gallon of bleach to drink and then I have to put my head in the fucking oven.
MUTE!!!!
Oh Shit, see what Neil on the back of his jacket?? The makes up for the awful Boston hat and performance!!
Nothing like Sox fans to worship a song about pedophilia.
[835] Wow, missing verb and poor conjugation in that post..I'm in playoff form already!
This is about the most nauseating sight I've seen in some time. I bet John Miller is squeezing his nipples and going stroke-for-stroke in the booth.
[836] Yep. I used to really enjoy this song, Fenway-connection aside, until I found out he was talking about Caroline Kennedy - all of (IIRC) 8 years old at the time.
[834] Me too! thelarmis, I'm very happy to read about your DVR and HDTV - welcome to the 21st century, dude! You'll wonder how you ever watched sports without both (if you haven't already).
There's nothing worse then listening to the Yankees blow a lead with John Sterling at the mic.
As with any small sample, there are lots of conclusions to which one can jump, but I think one thing that we can be confident in is that Chan Ho Park will be a Latroy Hawkins-like failure. I was kind of hoping he wouldn't be used so prominently off the bat, but alas it seems like everyone is going to be given "their inning", which I think is going to lead to some extra blown leads.
[835] what did it say? (or do i not wanna know?!)
[840] WILLIAM! What was Sterling's call on Granderson's homerun?
[840] Well, everyone will get "their" inning, except Marte, who has been reduced once more to a LOOGY.
[842] I was watching at that time...I had Sterling on for the ride home.
[841] "Keep The Dodgers in Brooklyn!"
Oh, Orel, please no...
[840] what was his call for Granderson?
[839] thanks, man! i'm still trying to figure something out - i have 2 tuners, so i can dvr two shows at the same time, but can i be watching a live program at the same time i'm recording 2 other shows? i'm thinking that makes 3 tuners though...
i'm actually getting a 2nd - and larger - hd tv, for the living room, in the next coupla weeks. but i won't have dvr on that one.
i might buy some yankee games online and i have some cool modern day ideas with that, but i'll cross that bridge when i get to it. i'm thinking sometime in May...
[842] If it wasn't "ain't it grand" I'll be shocked.
Gang, are we going to hit 1000 tonight.
I'm thinking "Granderson slam"? I would go for that. Then if he hits a grand slam Sterling can say "a Granderson slam ... slam!!!"
I am not sure what the line for Granderson, but it seems like Posada's new nickname has become "Gets by" :(
[850] HAH AH AH AH AH AH AH AHA H HAH AH A !!!!!!!!
[851] Call him "Gatsby"
[847] Your instinct is right - if you want to record 2 live shows and watch a 3rd live show, you'd need 3 tuners. But you can record 2 live shows and watch something you've already (completely) recorded.
In any case, there's nothing like a DVR, especially a good one.
[843] Personally, anytime a starter leaves before the 7th is done, I'd just put Joba in the game until the 9th, but that's me trying to get him as many IP as possible.
The rest of the time I'd go mix-and-match with Marte and Robertson, and Mo for the 9th.
Curtis..........He's Grrrrrrrrrrrrranderson. (ducking)
[851] william has his own blog! i can't wait to check it out! i'll read it all and bookmark it! : )
They're so stupid with that fucking wave.
[850] surely Sterling will find a Curtis Mayfield reference, as hip as he is.
Can we get a link to William's blog?
Crikey I'll call it a night if we can just hit 1000. It's slowing down though. I have a full day tomorrow, folks. Pick up the pace. Also: Yankees. So Joba, you get to work here. Then Yanks win, quickly.
[854] oh, cool! yeah, i've got a brand new digital box. it's the new comcast one.
so, let me get this right - i can record 2 programs that are being aired at the same time, and also at the same time, watch a completed program from my dvr? holy cool!
c'mon Joba. keep the score where it is.
Yup. Get cute with Scutaro.
[854] My "formula" would be Aceves, Joba and Robertson for as long as they are effective and then Mo to close. I really don't want to see too much of Park, Mitre and even Marte. Off the bat, it seems like Park is going to be the biggest concern, although to be honest, I think the overall strength of the Yankees bullpen is very much open to question.
I seriously do not want to see lil Joba give up runs here. Come on fella!
[859] just click his name here. it should be red.
Unfortunately, I have a bad feeling this is going to be the first of many stomach-turning appearances for Joba this year ...
Not good
Everybody sucks.
it's not a new year until you hear 'betwixt and between'
Shaking head.
Hey, look, Joba can run his pitch count up, nibble, and give up runs coming out of the pen, too! It's the pitcher, not the role.
So Joba as a reliever still sucks? Ugh, what happened to him?
goddamn motherfucker. i hate ponies.
[872] Texas.
I'm staying up til midnight to watch THIS?
At least tomorrow is an off day.
[866] and to think, we saw his very first appearance together! against the Blow Jays. you kept saying, "The Hutt!!!" : )
[874] ugh. i was on stage when that happened. that was awful...
[871] He didn't seem to used to do that. Maybe being a starter ruined him for both roles, as I feared it might.
Perhaps all he ever had for fuel was piss and vinegar and once he started "thinking" he couldn't stop. And here we are.
[[863] Agreed all around, though I'd try to save Aceves for the really long appearances (starter out in the 3rd/4th/5th). Not that Joba couldn't do that, but that also saves Aceves for extra innings when needed.
I am very pessimistic about Park, but not about Mitre. Don't ask me to explain that one, I have no clue why. Just a feeling.
[856] A very modest effort meant to save me some time from posting on all the non-Banter blogs. Hopefully it's worth reading.
Meanwhile, Joba is whittling down my formula to Robertson and Aceves as the bridge to Mo.
Well, I guess Pedroia has nailed down POTG tonight.
I can't believe this game is still going on.
[871] So says you, but Miller, Morgan and Hershiser will of none of that kooky talk.
[879] Texas.
My god Joba means to ruin my sleep
I hate losing any game, much less Opening Day to Boston, but I have to admit, winning #27 has kind of restored the natural order of things. Had the Yankees still been licing in the shadow of 2004, this game would probably really bother me.
Rodriguez, Cano, Posada vs. Papelbon, needing two runs with 3 outs left.
A bloop and a blast, anyone. Or better, a blip, a bloop and a blast?
[879] The way he pitched in college and in the minors prior to 2007 suggest otherwise.
Someone, I think here, pointed out that Hughes got 67 starts in the minors, Joba less than 20 (though of course Joba spent a couple years in college, while Hughes did not). In any case, a big part of me thinks the best thing for Joba is to send him to SWB, and put Melancon in the big league pen.
Well, 2 runs off Papelbon isn't hard with A-Rod, Cano, and Posada (and Granderson and Swisher) due up.
I will say one thing. The Yankees have so ruined Joba Chamberlain that i just don't care anymore when he goes out there and sucks.
And there is nothing that enrages me more than Joe Girardi's pinch stand there. WHY?
[886] Yeah I feel pretty relaxed really. I hate to see the Sox come back on us, but the loss in and of itself isn't a big deal. CC will get better, etc.
Get the tying run on 2nd at least. Oy. Over 170+ days of going to bed without shaking my head over a bad loss. Welcome back. lol...
[889]
Yes.
[879] Maybe, but since he was starter before the desperate Yankees moved him to relief in 2007, I sort of doubt it. If anything, one could argue that making him a reliever ultimately ruined him for both roles. Or maybe he got injured and has never (will never) recover?
Whatever the case, he doesn't inspire much confidence these days.
[891] Yep...in another start or two, CC will be strong enough, so a similar meltdown wont happen. The Yankees do need to figure out their bullpen though.
Well done on the blog, William.
OK, well so much for A-Rod helping out.
Damn, thought that was the bloop. Where's that damn Score Truck when you need it?!
[896] Ditto. You've got some interesting stuff there, william.
I'm shutting down my computer yall. Hopefully a reverse jinx? Well anyway good to have baseball back.
I enjoyed the last game thread much better. Let's go, Curtis.
Quick! Put in someone to pinch run for Posada!
But don't actually have him run or anything.
Hmmm . . . Granderson? A home run here would be a heck of a way to make sure everyone in NY loves him.
[895] Agreed. And I also think that Joba should be sent to AAA to hone his craft [889, 893].
[896] [898] Thanks.
[901] I guess I can't be too upset - that got a good laugh out of me.
Granderson's face does not inspire confidence there.
The bright side? We don't get to see Mitre tonight.
Cue: "The Yankees can't beat the big boys"? Or is that sooooo 2009?
Well, that sucked ...
Horse shit game.
But Opening Day, nonetheless.
'Night, all you monkeys.
Well, that went about as poorly as possible.
Brutal.
So much for my prediction that Yankees would bookend the entire 2010 MLB season by walking off the field winners in both games.
Oh well, gonna have to shoot for 161-1.
Has anyone figured out what the hell the point of Randy Winn's appearance was?
[913] so, i guess i can go ahead and delete that text message, huh?! ; )
[914] clearly, to rile you up! ; )
[909] Yep. But its only 1 game.
[908] So many pointless angles for the fish rags to choose from . . .
And with that, good night - plenty of time to commiserate in the morning.
Wow, to use Oral's term, the bullpen really wet the bed didn't they? And CC wasn't sterling either.
Fug.
Well, we're in last place.
Eh, I don't care. I'm happy there's baseball again.
[914] To begin the process of justifying his being on the team.
[916] Oh, you have no idea how well its worked. I don't really care about the loss by itself, I'm not worried about Sabathia, and the Yankees have convinced me to not care about Joba.
But if Girardi is going to keep doing that pointless move to make a move bullshit, its going to be a long year.
[920] His job on the team is going to be to stand around and do nothing?
[922] He doesn't have a role, obviously. At least not one that will be apparent until (if, when?) Gardy stinks so bad that starting Winn seems like the better deal. Until then, he get the odd start and the occasional PH (for Gardy v. LHP?) or PR (like tonight) to justify his existence. Whether he actually hits as a PH or runs as a PR is really a secondary concern to keeping up appearances.