Monthly Archives: October 2012

Over at Grantland, here’s Bryan Curtis on Josh Hamilton:

By now, you and I could recite the outlines of The Story: Hamilton, baseball’s no. 1 overall draft pick in 1999, falls under the sway of crack and cocaine; abandons his wife and daughters; gets clean; gets acquainted with God; and in a semi-damaged, heavily tattooed state, leads Texas to the franchise’s first two World Series appearances.

While Texas fans still love Hamilton’s “story of redemption,” ESPN’s Jean-Jacques Taylor noted the other day, Hamilton “has abused that goodwill.” Not by having a bad season: Hamilton hit 43 homers, just one fewer than Miguel Cabrera, and posted a .930 OPS. No, Hamilton abused it by hitting into a first-pitch double-play ball against the Orioles and looking at just eight pitches in four at-bats and, with a frequency that seemed to accelerate when the Rangers needed it least, behaving like a flake.

Before we dive into how Texas fell out of love with Josh Hamilton, I want to be clear that I’m not making fun of Hamilton’s religion. I’m not questioning the events of The Story. What I’m suggesting is that Hamilton has become a prisoner of it.

…It’s not defending Josh Hamilton to say that he became despised this year for many of the things that, in the confines of a redemption narrative, once made him beloved. The Story swallowed the man. Hamilton seems like a reasonably friendly, occasionally defensive guy who is teetering on the edge of sobriety, who is prone to inconvenient bouts of detachment, and who gets hurt a lot. When he goes to his next team, I hope a new story will start there. But I have a sinking feeling that every time he loses a fly ball, Hamilton will again be a prisoner of redemption, trapped in a tale too flawless for any man.

This might pick you up. The Princess Bride is a clunky-looking movie but it retains much of the novel’s charm. Funny performances, a good, exceedingly quotable script, and really, who cares how cheesy it looks? That doesn’t take away from the movie’s pleasures. Movie is worth watching, book worth reading.

Picture by Lissy Elle Laricchia.

Another late night…So why only half a cup? Fill it to the rim.

[Photo Via: Julia]

Before we even get started, let me tell you one thing. I’m not going to complain about the Yankees’ lack of hitting with runners in scoring position, mainly because that’s like complaining that the sun is rising in the East. Even without that issue, there’s plenty to discuss here, and several issues to chew on, so let’s get at it…

Things couldn’t have started out better. Derek Jeter quieted the raucous Baltimore crowd with a line drive single to right center off rookie Wei-Yin Chen to lead off the game, and the suddenly dynamic Ichiro followed by reaching on a questionable error to set the Yankees up with two men on, no one out, and the heart of the lineup due.

The papers will be awash this morning with doomsday headlines about Alex Rodríguez and damning statistics on the ineptitude of the offense, but A-Rod came to bat in the first inning and laced an absolute seed just a few feet to the right of second base. The infield defense was pulled around to the left as it usually is for A-Rod, but even positioned close to the bag, second baseman Robert Andino only had time for a quick step and a dive. He snared the line drive, then flipped to second to double off Jeter. Had that ball been just two or three inches to the left, a run would’ve been in and a rally would’ve been rolling with the hottest hitter on the planet due up next.

As it was, there were suddenly two outs and a man on first, A-Rod was still a dog, and the Yankees still couldn’t hit when it counted. It’s a game of inches, you know. But then Robinson Canó dug in and ripped a laser of his own off the base of the wall in right field. Always one to push the edge of the envelope, third base coach Robby Thompson windmilled Ichiro around third, but the relay throw from Andino appeared to have him dead to rights. But as Baltimore catcher Matt Wieters took the throw and lunged to make the tag, Ichiro took a right turn. He avoided the tag, but missed the plate by several feet, skittered counter clockwise around the dish, then leapt in the air like a cat to avoid Wieters’s second attempt before finally tagging the first base side of home plate. It was so much work it probably should’ve been worth two runs, but the score was only 1-0. Even so, it was a start.

This was Game 2, so naturally Andy Pettitte was on the mound for the Yankees, and naturally he was dominant early on. How good was he? He retired the first eight batters like this: fly out, ground out, backwards K, pop out, ground out, strikeout, fly out, ground out. He made a tough pitch to the ninth hitter, but it was too tough, as Andino broke his bat and lofted a base hit over second base. Then things got sticky.

Nate McLouth knocked a clean single to center, then J.J. Hardy walked on four pitches to load the bases for Chris Davis, a left-hander who had struggled against Pettitte in his career. After taking ball one, Davis poked a single to right to score two, and the Orioles suddenly had a 2-1 lead, just as they did in the third inning of Game 1. (An interesting note here: Nick Swisher actually came up with a good throw to third, one that Jeter could’ve cut off but chose instead to let go. He couldn’t have known this, but Hardy had rounded second a bit too aggressively, and had Jeter cut off that throw where he stood atop second base and then looked for the tag, Hardy would’ve been out before McLouth would’ve been able to score with the second run. No shortstop in his right mind would’ve cut that ball off, but it’s the type of play we’ve come to expect from Jeter in October. Not this time.)

And so the inning continued. Adam Jones bounced a grounder deep into the hole at short, forcing Jeter to range far to his right. Jeter and A-Rod, as well as Hardy running from second, probably all realized the only play would be at third. As a result, Hardy was digging hard for the bag and didn’t notice when the ball rolled just under Jeter’s glove. A-Rod was giving his best decoy at third, waiting for a throw that would never come, so Hardy also didn’t notice his third base coach furiously waving him in. He pulled up at third, much to Jeter’s amusement. Wieters popped up the first pitch he saw, and Hardy never scored. The inning was over.

The Yankee hitters, meanwhile, weren’t scoring, but they were making Chen work hard. It looked like that strategy might pay dividends in the top of the fourth when they loaded the bases with one out after Mark Teixeira singled, Russell Martin walked, and Curtis Granderson singled.

(Speaking of Granderson, TBS showed a revealing statistic during his first at bat. (And speaking of TBS, their coverage is bordering on unwatchable. Cal Ripken and John Smoltz have fallen into the trap that awaits most postseason announcers: they make a point and then react as if they’ve discovered penicillin. I watched large chunks of Game 1 with the mute button engaged. During Game 2, Ripken even tried to tell me that switch hitters used to regularly bat left-handed against Pettitte to counteract his power cutter, even though I’m fairly certain this never happened. That was Mo.) But back to Granderson. Peep this: When he puts one of the first two pitches in play, his batting average is .405, slugging percentage .767. After that the numbers drop to .190/.425. Ouch.)

But we were discussing the fourth inning, and the bases loaded buffet awaiting Eduardo Nuñez. He came to the plate needing just a quality out to tie the game, but imagine what a simple base hit would do. With his pitch count mounting, every fan in the park on edge, his entire home nation of Taiwan having called in sick to watch their countryman’s first playoff appearance, this was clearly a critical moment for Chen. A base hit would likely give the Yankees the lead and fill Chen’s head with doubt as the lineup turned over and Jeter, Ichiro, and A-Rod readied for their turns at bat. The game would open up, and the series would close.

But that’s not how it happened. Nuñez popped out, Jeter grounded to third, and the inning was over. Late Monday night Curt Schilling and John Kruk gushed about Chen’s game plan and execution, but I kept wondering if they had watched the same game I did, and I think Jeter’s reaction might’ve been similar. When he was asked about Chen after the game, the Captain was clearly suppressing a grin as he generously allowed, “He was hitting his spots.” It reminded me of an interview Kobe Bryant gave after the Lakers lost a tough playoff game to the Phoenix Suns. When asked if Raja Bell had given him some trouble, Kobe simply laughed. “Raja Bell? Raja Bell?” More laughter. “No.” Jeter was more diplomatic, but the message was the same.

What can’t be denied, however, was that Chen made it into the seventh inning, which is probably more than the Orioles had hoped for. Now trailing 3-1, the Yankees mounted a rally as Nuñez poked a ball into short right center and hustled it into a double, then came home on a Jeter single to cut the lead back to one at 3-2. After Ichiro forced Jeter at second and Darren O’Day came in to strike out A-Rod for the second day in a row, Buck Showalter chose to bring in Brian Matusz to walk the HHOTP and face Swisher with two outs and the tying run on second. I’m guessing Showalter wasn’t worried. Swisher entered that at bat with a 1 for 33 career postseason mark with runners in scoring position, and a career 1 for 19 against Matusz. Predictably, he popped out to left.

And then came the eighth inning, perhaps the most frustrating frame of the night for me. Teixeira led off with a rocket that looked ticketed for the left field corner and a sure double. But McLouth hustled over to cut it off, and the hobbling Teixeira was forced to stay at first. Here’s how the rest of the inning should’ve played out: Brett Gardner pinch runs for Teixeira and remains in the game in left field; Ichiro moves to right field; Swisher comes in to play first. Gardner steals second (because if he doesn’t, why exactly is he on the post season roster?), then Martin can either bunt him over or take a shot to right field. Assuming this works, Granderson needs only produce a fly ball to tie the game.

But Joe Girardi wasn’t interested in any of that, so he let Teixeira sit at first base as Martin and Granderson struck out and Nuñez popped out. The game wasn’t over, but it certainly felt like it. Baltimore closer Jim Johnson worked the ninth inning and smartly set down Jeter, Ichiro, and A-Rod in order, leaving Canó in the on-deck circle.

You have to admit, it was a nice way for 2012’s final game at Camden Yards to end. Orioles 3, Yankees 2.

[Photo Credits: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images (1); Patrick Semansky/AP Photo (2&3); Nick Wass/AP Photo (4)]

Tonight gives that ol’ Yankee Game 2 stand-by, Andy Pettitte.

YANKS

Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Russell Martin C
Curtis Granderson CF
Eduardo Nunez DH

ORIOLES

Nate McLouth LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Chris Davis RF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Mark Reynolds 1B
Jim Thome DH
Manny Machado 3B
Robert Andino 2B

Never mind the one-game lead: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Picture by Heather Landis; drawing by Larry Roibal]

I never liked Pac Man. The whole thing made me paranoid. Run around a maze eating dots, chased by ghosts, the more you eat the faster they come. Can’t shoot anything, nothing to blast, just run, run, run.

Nah, not for me.

This is pretty cool, though.

From Ego Trip, here’s Prince Paul and his son.

This is good.

Steak au Poivre from The Dog’s Breakfast.

Paperboy, the movie opened last Friday. Our man Dexter does not approve.

Read the book. It’s a good one.

Late last night The Wife says, “I should get the purple heart for dealing with your ass.”

I say, “You’d get a purple heart if you’d married a Mets fan.”

Touche, she says.

When the Yanks finally won it was after midnight. I was typing away on my computer as she talked to me. She laughed because I wasn’t listening. I heard her laughing but didn’t hear what she was saying because I wasn’t listening.

She announced she was going to bed.

“The wife is exhausted,’ she said. Then, to herself: “Purple heart. And if you don’t give it to me, I’ll give it to myself. I don’t need you to give it to me.  That shit is mine, man.”

Oh, what the heck?  (We Got) another Gummy Soul Pharcyde-Tribe blend.

One time.

[Photo Via: She is Glorious]

“Either Way” By Michael Carson (via Germinate)

Today, let’s take a moment to appreciate the rock n roll critic Lester Bangs. For a sense of who Bangs was and what his work meant, read this by Maria Bustillos.

Then, check out this 1980 Bangs Q&A by Sue Mathews:

Sue Mathews: How much relevance do you think Rock’n’Roll can have to an ageing population?

Lester: Well, It’s like a friend of mine said when I asked him “ Do you think The Rolling Stones should break up now that they’ve put out ‘Some Girls’ and quit while they’re ahead or should they keep going? ”. And he said “Oh no, absolutely, they should keep going until they’re totally senile, and a little bit more creepy and pathetic and creaky each time playing the same old Chuck Berry riffs until they’re 60 years old”. And I agree that’s exactly what they should do, and I think Rock’n’Roll as it goes along gets more creaky. The whole culture will get more creaky and why not. I mean I’d rather listen to the Stones than Tony Bennett or something like that. I guess what you’re asking is if the youth is a minority, and then Rock’n’Roll as being. . . . . well. . . Lets look at it this way, lets compare it to say Jazz or to Blues, music where some of the greatest work was done. When the artist Charlie Parker or Mingus or who ever, who were in their 30’s and 40’s. I mean I thinks it’s a total myth that only someone who is an adolescence can create good Rock’n’Roll. Patti Smith didn’t start till she was in her 30’s and she’s created some excellent Rock’n’Roll, some of it even great. Lenny Hayes is in his 30’s, in fact to tell the truth this whole punk rock thing, half of the people in it are in their 30’s. When you get right down to it, nobody admits their age, very few of them are 21 years old I guarantee you. I mean the people that make it are like Bob Seger, Ted Nugent what ever you may think of them, they’ve been slogging around for 10 years. Most of the people that make it have been slogging around for ten years. Debbie Harry, that whole group, it’s just simple arithmetic that these people could not be teenagers if they’ve been trying for that long. It usually takes about that long in fact or it quite often does. So it stands to reason that you know it’s not this myth that this person drops out of high school and grabs a guitar and the next week is the biggest thing in the country, I mean yes this happens, but in general it’s not that way at all.

Here’s an on-line archive of Bangs’s work.

[Photo Credit: Los Angeles Times]

They waited two-and-a-half hours to play tonight and when they began Derek Jeter singled up the middle. He took off for second base just before Ichiro lined one into the gap in left center field. Jeter scored easily. Then Ichiro took off for third on the first pitch to Alex Rodriguez and was thrown out. It wasn’t a bright play and killed the inning.

Couple of innings later another mistake on the bases cost them, too. Rodriguez worked an impressive walk to start the third, laying off a couple of nasty breaking balls. He took off for second just before Robinson Cano hit a sharp line drive down the first base line. It was speared by Mark Reynolds who tagged first. Nick Swisher walked and then Mark Teixeira hit a long fly ball to right. More of a line drive, really, and it missed being a home run by a couple of feet, maybe less. Rodriguez scored to tie the game but Teixeira was thrown out at second on a nice throw by Chris Davis. Difficult play to judge for Teixeira but considering he can’t run probably not a wise gamble.

The RBI hit was enough to tie the game though. The Orioles got a couple in the third when CC Sabathia hung a slider to Nate McClouth with runners on second and third. McClouth slapped it into right field. Otherwise, Sabathia looked crisp, 76 pitches through six innings. He gave up a few bleeders, some dunkers but was in control. Sabathia got into a jam in the fifth and was saved by some nifty defensive work from his catcher Russell Martin, who blocked several pitches in the dirt and made an athletic play on a bunt, as well.

Real time, now. Martin leads off the seven inning by drawing a walk on a full count pitch against lefty reliever Troy Patton. The raucous crowd in Baltimore turns pensive when Raul Ibanez gets ahead 3-1. They stir when Ibanez checks his swing for strike two and groans when Patton misses outside to walk him. Buck Showalter sprints to the mound to summon the sidearming Darren O’Day to face Jeter.

Jeter squares, the pitch sails outside for a ball.  Again, he squares, pulls the bat back, and takes a strike. Then, he stabs at another pitch tailing away, good for a strike. Don’t see that often. You also don’t see a guy bunt with two strikes but that’s precisely what Jeter did, laying down a fastball, right down the middle for a successful sacrifice, 5-3.

They don’t walk Ichiro and he takes a called strike and backs off at a ball inside. Crushes the next pitch foul, way ahead of it–Nertz. Now, the crowd is up, waving their orange towels again. Ground ball right at Andino at second. Throw comes home and is low, but Weiters picks it and tags Martin out.

Rodriguez got a pitch, first pitch, he got a pitch, and he fouls it off. Tries to check his swing on the next pitch and couldn’t. Down 0-2, any Yankee fan with confidence? Hardly. Towels waving. Another side-arming floater, outside corner, Alex holds up. Gets the nod. No strike. Next pitch, even further outside, lays off again. Waves at the next pitch.

Fail.

Bottom of the inning, Spark Iron Lew Ford leads off against Sabathia and grounds out on a 3-2 off-speed pitch. He hit a slow, steady roller to second. Cano raced for it, fielded and scooped it over to Teixeira to nick Ford by a half step. Robert Andino is next, works the count even at 2-2, fouls off a fastball, then a breaking ball, looks at a heater outside for ball three, and takes Sabathia’s 90th pitch of the night. He starts to walk to first when he hears that he’s been called out on strikes. Andino hops, twirls and walks back to the dugout. Nate McClouth takes a few borderline pitches then grounds out to Cano.

Past tense. Here’s out it panned out.

Brian Matusz was effective in the eighth working around a two-out walk to Teixeira and striking out Curtis Granderson to end the inning.

Sabathia returned for the eighth and promptly fell behind J.J. Hardy, 2-0 and then gave up a double. The pitch was outside and Hardy went with it, a nifty piece of hitting. First pitch to Adam Jones was right over the plate, and Jones almost came out of his shoes swinging at it. Sabathia and the Yanks were lucky he fouled it back–straight back–and didn’t deposit it over the wall in center. The next two pitches were inside for balls but then Sabathia came back and got him swinging–nice breaking ball.

One hundred and four pitches for CC and the next one was a fastball in Matt Weiters’ kitchen, good for a foul out to Teixeira.

Mark Reynolds, that late season Yankee Killer: changed up (84 mph) for a called strike; fastball (92), just misses inside for a ball; change up (86), low but good enough for called strike two. Sabathia walks off the mound, meets Martin half way to home, puts the glove over his mouth, and then returns to the hill. Another change up, inside (84), and Reynolds hangs in to foul it off down the right field line. He can’t do much with the next change up but ground it softly to Jeter.

Phew. And some game from the Poppa Large.

So the ninth gave the O’s closer, Jim Johnson. Ball one, and ball two and then Russell Martin skied one to left. A High Fly. About five rows deep and the Yanks had the lead.

Ibanez singled to right and after a botched bunt attempt Ibanez took off for second, Jeter got jammed but fisted one into right for a cheap shit base hit.  Eduardo Nunez replaced Ibanez at third. So Ichiro has a swinging bunt, little dribbler not fifteen feet up the first base line. Johnson fielded it but had no play. Nunez slid home head first and the Yanks had a two run lead and Rodriguez at the dish.

Rodriguez missed one pitch to hit and then K’d for the third time on the night. But Cano, who hacked at almost every pitch he saw tonight, nailed a double to left, scoring Jeter and Ichiro. A poor throw allowed Cano to move to third and Johnson was done, the score now 6-2. He came home when Swisher hit a deep fly ball against Tommy Hunter.

Many of the home town fans left by the time Sabathia returned and got the first two outs in the ninth. Lew Ford doubled and Joe Girardi replaced Sabathia with David Robertson. Camden Yards has been a haven for Yankee fans for a long time now but they were drowned out by the home faithful. Which was appropriate. But when Robertson got the last out the only cheers heard were those of the Bronx variety.

Final Score:  Yanks 7, O’s 2.

[Photo Credit: John Munson/N.J.com]

Game One. It’s cold and rainy in Baltimore.

Chad Jennings has the Yankees ALDS roster. And here are the lineups:

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Ichiro Suzuki LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Curtis Granderson CF
Russell Martin C
Raul Ibanez DH

LHP CC Sabathia

ORIOLES
Nate McLouth LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Mark Reynolds 1B
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Davis DH
Lew Ford RF
Robert Andino 2B

RHP Jason Hammel

Never mind the previews and prognostications: Let’s Go Yank-ees!

[Photo Credit: mOrtality]

Here’s an Sunday open thread. Nats, Cards and then A’s, Tigers this afternoon before the Yanks play against the Orioles down in Baltimore this evening. We’ll have a Yankee post up before game time.

Meanwhile, playoffs and football and all that other good shit.

[Photo Credit: mOrtality]

“Jammin’ In Four”–Edmond Hall

[Photo Credit: Harry Gruyaert, Terrace of a local hotel, Gao, Mali, 1988 via Mythology of Blue]

Over at Sports on Earth I recapped last night’s game between the Tigers and A’s. After that, the Reds outlasted the Giants, 5-2.

[Photo Credit:  Damian Strohmeyer, SI]