Never Again Will I Do One of These…
The Yankees went for their 27th World Series last night. I wanted to make sure I had record of what I was thinking if it happened:
I tend to have a lot of thoughts when it comes to the Yankees, thanks mostly to Joe Girardi’s questionable managing, but I’ll try to be brief tonight.
Going into the game I’ll just say I love pitching AJ on three days’ rest, I love the fact the Yankees chose to Ramiro Pena over Freddy Guzman to replace Melky Cabrera, and the bottom third of tonight’s lineup (Gardner, Molina, and Burnett) looks like something an Independent League team would put out, not the $200+ MM Yankees.
Top of the First 8:09 PM- The fact ARod got anything close to hit is pretty unbelievable considering the Nick Swisher is protecting him tonight. Good job by Damon scoring from first too, with two outs you need to send him. Lee doesn’t seem to have the command he has shown the rest of the preseason and even the Yankees’ outs were fairly well hit.
Mid 1st (8:10 PM)- They just showed the commercial with the replay of Jeter’s catch going into the stands. The other night my Grandma had this comment, “They show replays of every little thing, but why didn’t they show the one where Jeter went into the stands? He was bleeding from the face!” Grandma didn’t realize this play happened five years ago.
Bottom 1st (8:18 PM) - Chase Utley is really good. There was no doubt about that one. AJ’s two seamer isn’t moving and the curve doesn’t have the sharp movement it should when he is on. There may a Chad Gaudin sighting tonight.
Bottom 1st (8:25 PM) - Web Gem Tex followed by Joe Buck just saying, “The Yankees bought a guy…” I stopped listening to the statement after that mostly because I despise Joe Buck, but c’mon Joe, you just made it seem like the Yankees bought a slave or something. This isn’t the Roman Empire nor the antebellum South, it is free market baseball. Were you bought by Fox? Let’s pick our words a little better. More importantly, the inning just ended and AJ’s pitches are showing a little more movement. Phils 3, Yanks 1.
Top 2nd (8:36 PM) - No surprise there. Yanks down 1-2-3. The line for that to happen would of been -850. Also, it’s halftime of the Knicks game, which means as a Knicks fan I calculate if they will hit the over…because you should always bet the over when it comes to the Knicks. One-hundred ten points at halftime, over is looking good.
Bottom 2nd (8:45 PM) - Getting Victorino will be one of those moments that no one remembers tomorrow but was huge. Chase won’t get the chance to bat with runners on and the game will stay reachable at 3-1. Can we also recognize that anyone named Chase is destined for awesomeness. If he was a Mike or Bob or Frank there is no way he gets away with that haircut, but his name is Chase so the haircut is sensational.
Top 3rd (8:55 PM) - Lee gets away with pitching to ARod. Again, I wouldn’t go near him with the Pittsburgh Pirates behind him.
Bottom 3rd (9:03 PM) - Jeter has to pick that ball and make the tag. Ready for a Michael Kay-esque statement: Facing Howard with one out and nobody on would be a better situation than facing him with no outs and Chase on second.
Bottom 3rd (9:08 PM) - AJ is done, Francessa is going to have a field day tomorrow, and its Dave Robertson time. I may get to watch the Knicks on TV instead of GameCast.
Bottom 3rd (9:16 PM) - As Werth scores on a slow groundball I’ve realized why everyone - no matter who you root for - hates Joe Buck. It’s not because he says negative things or overcriticizes, it’s because every other statement he makes is a jinxing comment. Let’s just say I am not all that glad he talked about Robertson keeping the Yanks in it so all the talk about Game 6 would become irrelevant.
End 3rd (9:22 PM) - The bright side of AJ Burnett throwing batting practice is Posada can now hit for Molina, followed by an Eric Hinkse sighting for the pitcher. The bottom third of the lineup this time around (Gardner, Posada, Hinske) will now be upgraded from an International League level to a National League level.
Mid 4th (9:29 PM) - It’s just one of those nights. Three hard hit balls lead to three outs. In other news the Knicks are tied at 87 with 8:55 left…at least gambling on regular season basketball can give someone (if, you know, they were allowed to…) a rush if watching their team in the World Series does not.
End 4th (9:38 PM) - I knew Gaudin wasn’t the answer, but maybe Robertson should have started this game. If the Yankees want to have a chance tonight they need at least a run this inning.
Top 5th (9:44 PM) - When producers determine segments on food is better than covering the actual game then you know it’s a good game. Meanwhile, Jeter singles to get first and third with one out…we need more food, we need more food!
Top 5th (9:47 PM) - We nearly saw the first decapitation in baseball history. Another Michael Kay-esque comment: “What a heady play by the Captain to avoid shattered bat. Isn’t it just amazing how he is always thinking!”
4th Quarter 1:33 remaining (9:50 PM) - 211 points scored and the Knicks are actually winning. Good night for all Knicks fans who took the over.
Bottom 5th (9:53 PM) - What a play by Gardner. Long run and leaping catch against the wall. I’m not sure if I love or hate Werth’s rounding the bases there…really funny, but a coincidental high and tight fastball in his next AB might be coming.
Top 6th (10:06 PM) Brett Gardner’s career Z-Swing % (percentage of pitches he swings at of balls inside the strike zone) is 49.9%. That means that over half the time he won’t swing at a strike. How can you be a major league baseball player and not swing at strikes over half the time? I can’t even come up with an appropriate analogy.
End 6th (10:15 PM) Posada is a miserable catcher and a miserable baserunner. He has really morphed into Mike Piazza in the latter stages of his career. Good thing his bat is up next inning. Yanks need another run and for this to be Lee’s last inning to have a shot.
Top 7th (10:23 PM) Batting Hairston over Matsui is one of those not smart moves. Hairston is a .242/.319/.422 batter against lefties this year while Mastui is .282/.358/.618 against southpaws. With no runners on and needing a run, Matsui and his higher probability of getting a hit and it being a more valuable hit is the easy choice.
Bottom 7th (10:34) Chase for all intents and purposes ends this game. I’ve learned never to do one of these running diary things. They perfectly correspond to Yankees losses. Some will argue a small sample size problem but I see the writing on the wall. I’ll leave them to Bill Simmons who does them far, far better than I.
Hopefully then Yankees will be able to pull out the series at home. With two lefties going even on short rest you have to like their chance, especially against any of the Happ, Pedro, Hamels trio. Meanwhile, Ibanez just went big fly so I’ll take that as my sign to wrap up quickly. Good night and I’m pretty sure most of the non-New York baseball viewing audience is having fun tonight.
