"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

Calling on the Cards

“Please, beat those Cardinals,” says the Pirates fan in this house, who has acquired an acute aversion to Red Bird over the last few years. When they eliminated Pittsburgh last fall… well. No fan escapes the game without scars, right?

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The A-grade aces will be missing this series as they both twirled on Sunday. But I think we can expect a corker of a series. At the very least, it’s fun to take on a franchise and a fan base that doesn’t suffer from a crippling inferiority complex. I’d rather see this play out in October some time soon (can you believe it’s been 50 years since they met in the Serious?), but hard to beat Memorial Day afternoon.

 

 

Photo by Beth Crawford

Categories:  1: Featured  Game Thread  Jon DeRosa  Yankees

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132 comments

Show/Hide Comments 1-100
1 kenboyer made me cry   ~  May 26, 2014 1:32 pm

Yes 50 years ago since that last WS meeting, and the beginning of the Yankees nuclear winter. I was 7 years old, and Ken Boyer made me cry. Remained a proud Yankee fan when the city turned its back on them, and paid attendance seemed to average less than 5,000 at the stadium. It's easy to love a front runner...

2 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 1:49 pm

Hey yeah, particularly significant series for you [1].

I'm looking forward to this one. As an appetizer, have a look at the Red Sox game (I think it's on ESPN). Laptop just left with nobody out in the fourth. He walked eight, and is pretty lucky to be tagged with only four runs (plus responsibility for two more as Badenhop enters).

3 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 1:54 pm

Bad news: it's camo cap day. I'd wish the Yankees would be allowed to use the 1914 red white & blue cap.
Good news: Boston on its way to the eleventh straight loss.

4 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 1:58 pm

Badenhop allows both inherited runners to score.
BJ drove in Justin! That must be fun.

I'm going to have to keep an eye out in my neighborhood. RSN suicide watch.

5 thelarmis   ~  May 26, 2014 2:04 pm

Uh-oh. Tex scratched. No idea why...

6 thelarmis   ~  May 26, 2014 2:10 pm

[4] we've been working on the house, so I forgot the game was on. Just put Sutton on the radio.

Go Bravos!

7 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 2:19 pm

Papi ties the game with a 3-run bomb after My Little Pony knocks a 2-run single.

This could be the game! Red Sox Nation holds its collective breath...

8 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 2:20 pm

Man, there were two out and nobody on and the Sox scored five in the fifth. Ervin Santana really spit the bit.
Also, the Uptons are not good at fielding. Seriously bad.

9 thelarmis   ~  May 26, 2014 2:26 pm

I guess that was my fault...

I fucking HATE that fat lying piece of dogshit. I really want him to retire...

10 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 2:52 pm

Teix's wrist is stiff. "Not unexpected", which I guess means the docs told them it would stiffen up from time to time.

11 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 2:58 pm

Hey, Ozzie Smith will be on the field for a pregame Jeterfest. Very cool. Also Red Schoendienst! I figured he was dead. (He wore #2.)

12 GaryfromChevyChase   ~  May 26, 2014 3:19 pm

As long as Gibson ain't pitching we gotta shot.

13 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 3:46 pm

Rain rain go away.

14 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 3:59 pm

[11] not too many of us remember Schoendienst, a great shortstop.

15 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 4:16 pm

Ah it's Fozzie Bear on the mound.
Play ball!

16 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:17 pm

[14] No. But I remember his name. I guess my dad talked about him.

17 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:20 pm

This is starting off very nicely!!

18 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 4:21 pm

Go off to feed the dogs and come back to a nice surprise.

19 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:21 pm

Goddamit. Not as nicely now.

20 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:22 pm

In ATL loaded with one out in the seventh for Papi.

21 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:25 pm

Sac fly.
The NESN crew was very, very excited. It did look like he slammed it, but caught in front of the track.

22 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:27 pm

Ichino.

23 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 4:27 pm

Ichiro is a better fielder than that.

24 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 4:34 pm

Heh.

Awesome camera direction at ESPN. We got a great view of Brian McCann as the runner slid into third.

25 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 4:52 pm

C'mon Chase.

26 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 5:12 pm

Hey, all. Off topic but did anyone else hear about Manny Ramirez becoming a player/manager for AAA Iowa? I give this pr stunt less than a week before imploding.
http://tinyurl.com/kjb8adh

27 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 5:20 pm

[26] Yeah, I saw that. I like it! I mean, suppose it implodes, so what?

By the way: our long RSNational Nightmare is over. (The Red Sox beat the Braves.)

28 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 5:21 pm

Fug, ESPN just dropped the game.
Does that mean I can now watch in on mlb.tv??

29 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 5:23 pm

It does!
Just in time to see Ellsbury run that one down.

30 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 5:28 pm

Woo hoo!
Time for Chase to get his first rbi.

31 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 5:29 pm

Or not.

32 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 5:29 pm

Hey, I like this inning. Good inning.
Now let's make it very good.

33 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 5:31 pm

Oh yeah, I forgot that mlb.tv is about 40 seconds behind. I won't read comments...

34 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 5:31 pm

Brett gets one rbi.

35 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 5:45 pm

[27] So what? So what? I demand my news to be Manny-free! ; )

36 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 5:46 pm

[35] All Manny news drives RSN absolutely nuts. That's not the sole reason I enjoy it, but it sure don't hoit.

37 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 5:49 pm

Shoulda had it, Brett.

38 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 5:56 pm

[37] agree. Bit of field unfamiliarity contributing too

39 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 5:58 pm

C'mo, triple play.

40 GaryfromChevyChase   ~  May 26, 2014 6:02 pm

Why does JP kill us regardless of his uni?

41 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 6:03 pm

Oh well, it could have been worse.

42 GaryfromChevyChase   ~  May 26, 2014 6:30 pm

Capt shoulda been swinging on gtitners steal try..

43 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 6:33 pm

[40] Why would his uniform matter??
The real question is why do some teams seem to have our number no matter who's in the unis?

44 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 6:36 pm

Can Dellin pitch another inning? Please?

45 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 6:38 pm

[44] sounds good

46 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 6:43 pm

This will be interesting, to see how Joe plays this. Of course the problem of batting for the pitcher puts constraints on it, but also offers opportunities for creativity!

47 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 6:49 pm

100 mph for Betances

48 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 6:49 pm

Good. I was beginning to despise Alan Craig.

49 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 6:54 pm

Okay.
So now we must score, lest we have Aceves forced upon us.

50 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 6:54 pm

Oh goody, "free baseball." Yeccchh!

51 salvomania   ~  May 26, 2014 6:57 pm

not too many of us remember Schoendienst, a great shortstop.
Great second baseman; 17th-most games ever at the position.

52 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 6:58 pm

Ugliest beard YTD 2014...

53 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:01 pm

Hm. Yeah, Trevor Rosenthal. So, we'll need another inning to win.

And no, Trevor is not Jewish.

54 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 7:03 pm

[51] I stand corrected. I was like 9 years old when he was great - and I was an AL fan.

55 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:04 pm

Oh, god. Fully expected, but still unhappifying.

56 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:07 pm

Can we please just cut Aceves already? He's freaking useless.

Any opinions on why Girardi, if he was going to use Betances anyway, didn't use him where he used Claiborne?

The game has felt like a guaranteed loss since then.

57 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:07 pm

Hah!

Damn, Ryan, very very nice. Wow. Smart, too.

Damn.

God, I hate Aceves. I really hate him. He's the only Yankee I hate.

58 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:08 pm

Love post [1], btw.

59 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:09 pm

[56] Girardi thinks relief pitchers like to have set situations. And he wants Betances to be the Mo to D-Rob's Wettland.
I don't think it matters too much, strategically -- the only time it's really a problem is if there's a very high leverage situation in, say, the seventh inning. And Joe may well be right about the psychology.

60 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:10 pm

I spent a long series at old Busch at the courtesy of that organization, and I confess that my opinion of those fans is very high.

61 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:12 pm

We're gonna see another inning of Ace, aren't we?

62 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:12 pm

[59] I know that's his preference, but hasn't he shown a willingness to move DB around? Or is that willingness fading as his importance has become more apparent? It just seemed like that was so clearly the best opportunity to get this game from point A to point B.

63 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:12 pm

[61] What do you think? Versus 3-4-5. Well, this will end well.

64 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:13 pm

[60] Hey, so did I, when I was a child. My cousins lived there. I saw Lou Brock. Gibson didn't pitch, unfortunately.

65 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:14 pm

[62] Yes, exactly -- when he realized Betances was going to be really, really good, he slotted him into the eighth inning.

Yeah, I agree, I give us about a 20% chance to get to the twelfth now. However, I believe we'll win if we get to the twelfth.

66 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:15 pm

[51] Red is worshipped in St. Louis. I'm guessing he still shows up at batting practice every single day.

67 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:15 pm

Oh, nice job, Ace, nice job.

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends...

68 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:15 pm

That's our Aceves

69 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:17 pm

Gritner!

70 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:17 pm

Gawd.
There is no justice. Two Cardinals just crush the ball and Ace is unscathed.

Well, so far.

71 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:19 pm

Well there you have it. Can't predict baseball.

Now I'm feeling good. I think we have these turkeys right where we want 'em.

72 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:19 pm

[64] It wasn't the most impressive park, but the surrounding concourses, and the whole vibe was great. Wish I could have seen Brock. Instead, I saw McGwire's 67th and 68th, and then all that turned out to be a farce.

Well, you got the 12th - Gardner jumping above the wall probably represented your 20%, a number that may have been a little high!

73 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:24 pm

Ahhhh.

Remember when our crappy relievers used to walk Ellsbury in extras?

74 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:24 pm

Oh, god, he won't bunt, will he? No. Good.

Come on, Brian!

75 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:25 pm

It was interesting - the one time I wanted Gardner to stay put, he actually goes. That guy's move seemed too quick, when combined with YM. Throw was perfect to get him, in fairness.

76 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:25 pm

Molinas are dangerous in the regular season too, no stealing please.

77 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:26 pm

Attaboy.

Ellsbury really knows how to steal.

78 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:26 pm

[76] He beat you YM!!!!

Got a great jump.

79 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:26 pm

[76] Ellsbury is Molina-proof.

80 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:27 pm

Glad he didn't listen to me.

81 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:27 pm

Uh oh.
Hmmmmmmm.

I dunno. Probably not overturnable, right?

82 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 7:27 pm

All that blabber the other day about how dangerous hands first sliding is when a runner can easily bust something up feet first.

83 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:28 pm

Seems like the Cards kind of took a flier there. I don't think they were convinced they had him.

84 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:28 pm

Excellent.

I like Brett, but Ells just has steal-intelligence or something.

85 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:31 pm

Ha ha, right in the good part of the keister. That's probably one of the better places to get hit if you have that kind of backside.

86 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:31 pm

Bunting is correct here, by the way. One of the very few situations in which it's clearly correct.

87 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:32 pm

Uh, well, assuming he can get it down, I mean. Hm.

He did it!

That's very good, I'm proud of Joe and of Solarte, both.

88 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:33 pm

[84] I think Ellsbury's instincts are in a different universe from Brett's. He's mentally a plus when he's considering going, and the struggle remains for Gardner.

89 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:34 pm

And this IBB is not terrible either. It feels wrong to me, but I just checked. (Feels wrong because there's so much pressure on the pitcher to throw strikes.)

90 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:35 pm

Time to step up Brian

91 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:35 pm

Oh fucking yes!

Beautiful Brian!

92 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:35 pm

Yes! Hammer time

93 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:36 pm

Now one more, please. Come on Sori, just a fly ball baby. (Squeeze? I bet he can bunt. I might squeeze here, if Sori knows how...)

94 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:36 pm

That was muy bueno. Please more.

Btw, as to [89], do they say what the difference is with bases loaded depending on whether the first pitch is a strike or a ball?

95 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 7:36 pm

Well that was highly unexpected.

96 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:37 pm

[93] Bunting seems like the kind of specific skill that Sori would be terrible at. Not sure what the numbers say, but my gut says that he is not a good bunter. Too little bat control.

97 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:38 pm

So, will Joe remember that Ace got his shit blasted, or will he just remember that he held the Cardinals scoreless for two extras?

If Cashman owed me a favor, I would cash (so to speak) it in for the elimination of Aceves from the team.

98 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:39 pm

[94] No, that's too fine-grained info for my source. I bet you could work it out from the general effect of a first-pitch strike, but I wouldn't want to rely on that.

99 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 7:39 pm

Ha! That'll do.

100 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:39 pm

Ahhhhhhhhh.

Hell yes. Hell yes. I'll take that for sure.

Thanks, Sori. Better than a bunt.

Show/Hide Comments 101-132
101 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:39 pm

That worked out DELIGHTFULLY!

Oh, was I happy when he went down to his knees.

102 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:42 pm

[98] They just always say how crucial that first pitch is, and I'm inclined to agree with them, but I wonder if the numbers back that out.

[97] I don't know - they have to see how consistently ineffective he is. I still think he may have been roiding in Beantown.

Who is your top candidate to replace him on the roster?

103 Ara Just Fair   ~  May 26, 2014 7:43 pm

More runs!

104 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:43 pm

Okay, Brendan Ryan can definitely stay. He can have Ace's salary.

105 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:44 pm

Ryan just got a hit. Well, I was about to make a watching Brendan Ryan hit is like watching a fish trying to fuck a rooster joke, but now I am just astonished. That was a rope.

It's too bad I hate Papa John's and everything about Papa John's.

106 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:45 pm

Ryan!
Where are you going, Best Fans in Baseball? Support your team!

107 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:45 pm

[102] In general they do. They affect batting average in general about the way you would expect. I don't have anything that says specifically what win expectancies are broken down to pitch count, but I know somewhere I have batting average on pitch count info. I'll look that up another time for you.

To replace Aceves I'd just bring up a batter and let one of the other bullpen mediocrities take his innings, honestly. I don't think we need such a big bullpen.

108 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:47 pm

[107] I kind of was more specifically wondering if there was space between the effect of the first pitch of an at bat versus the effect of the first pitch of an at bat with the bases loaded. Did that sentence make sense?

Maybe if we can get Kelley back, I start to feel pretty good about this bullpen.

109 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:49 pm

[106] Hey man, traffic is traffic, lol. I remember it being a bit dicey getting away from that ballpark, and memorial day traffic has got to be brutal in that neighborhood.

110 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:49 pm

Oh come on, Jetes.

111 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 7:49 pm

Derek? Mentally I had one down.

112 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:49 pm

F'ing facepalm. Why did I have that weird dread as soon as that ball was hit?

113 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:52 pm

[108] Yeah, it might make a difference. I don't know if I have that. I'll check some time.

114 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:52 pm

YOU GOT NAILED, MY BOY.

115 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:53 pm

[113] Thanks.

That was an appealing looking third strike.

116 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:53 pm

Hm. Tying run to the plate...

117 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 7:54 pm

Both Johnson and Ryan having problems adjusting to 1st baseman mitt. Balls falling out of fat part of the mitt.

118 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:54 pm

I'm not concerned. I'm very confident.

119 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:54 pm

Argh, I'm pretty committed to this one at this point. Please shut them down.

120 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:55 pm

That's two.

121 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:57 pm

YOU GOT HAMMERED!

122 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 7:57 pm

Very nice, aesthetically pleasing win.

123 jjmerlock   ~  May 26, 2014 7:57 pm

Hamma!!!!!

Yes. That's a nice win.

124 GaryfromChevyChase   ~  May 26, 2014 7:57 pm

Great win.

125 coleman42   ~  May 26, 2014 7:58 pm

A "struggling" win

126 rbj   ~  May 26, 2014 8:04 pm

Woo hoo! My touchpad went on the blinkers there for a minute.

127 kenboyer made me cry   ~  May 26, 2014 8:42 pm

Yippie, a great win. Glad to see the last three innings.

128 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 8:45 pm

Ryu is no-hitting the Reds through six.

If he can complete the no-no, the Dodgers will have accomplished a feat no team has ever managed to pull off: consecutive no-hitters.

129 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 8:50 pm

Through seven...

130 RIYank   ~  May 26, 2014 9:26 pm

Todd Frazier doubles to start the eighth and end the bid for history.

Too bad.

131 thelarmis   ~  May 26, 2014 11:03 pm

[130] Ryu had to hit and run the bases in the bottom of the 7th. my guess is that ill-affected him. i really wish pitchers never had to hit...

132 Boatzilla   ~  May 27, 2014 2:22 am

Could some one explain to me how wearing ugly, absurd disgusting camo hats and numbers honors veterans (living and dead)?

It's like suggesting that wearing a ski mask honors terrorists.

I suppose this is against the rules. Sorry Alex, guys.

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