Yesterday, my car needed a jump start when I was about three miles away from Subway Squawkers headquarters. I had to pay a cabbie $15 to get my PT Cruiser going quickly so I could make it back home in time to watch the game.
I should have saved my money.
I would say that yesterday was the worst game of the year, but I think Friday is also a pretty good contender for that spot. In the first game, the Yanks seemed like they could actually escape with a win. In Saturday's game, once Jason Varitek hit the grand slam, I knew the Yankees would lose. Even though that hit didn't technically give the Sox the lead, it was just a matter of time. And I knew we were going to be in for a long, torturous afternoon.
Here's the thing - I've been tossing around in my mind a list of my Top 5 - or should that be Bottom 5? - least favorite current Red Sox. I had Kevin Youkilis, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Beckett, and Dustin Pedroia as my unfab four, and was trying to decide between David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Dice-K, and Nick Green as No. 5. And wouldn't you know it? Varitek hit his grand slam right then and there, getting him a spot on my list. Oh joy.
The rest of the game seemed to go by in a blur, as these slugfests seem to do, with one Yankee pitcher after another getting beaten up, while the Yankee hitters would try to take back the lead. Even when the Yanks did go ahead, like in the seventh inning, I figured it would be short-lived. It was that kind of day.
I was kind of shocked to see Jonathan Papelbon throw 30 pitches in a game where his team had a five-run lead. That was the last senseless thing in a senseless day.
Wonder what A-Rod is thinking right now - not that he would have made much of a difference in this game, unless he could have thrown a shutout inning or two. Squawker reader Symphony sardonically referred to him in noting how "at least there are no 'distractions' and what is more important than that?" Heh.
Another reason I bring him up is after this nightmare of a game, I literally had a nightmare about the Yankees when I went to sleep. In my dream, Scott Brosius came out of retirement to fill in the spot at third. And all the "true Yankee" fans were delirious in their insistence that Brosius should stay in that position over A-Rod, even though he's now 42 years old. Good grief.
All that, and Bea Arthur died, too. What a bad day. (Speaking of her, did you ever notice how the opening credits of "The Sopranos" are a ripoff of "Maude's" opening credits? Click here to see what I mean.)
What do you think? Leave us a comment.
The way the Red Sox are treating the Yankees this weekend all I can say to the rest of the world is using a quote from "Maude"
ReplyDelete"God'll get you for that."
My fellow Yankee fans are gnashing their teeth over this weekend's series: the lost opportunity of Friday night plus Saturday's blowout. If we get swept, it will mean about as much as the Mets sweeping the Nationals at Citi. It's only APRIL, people. But the pitching does worry me. What about Pedro Martinez? The Yankees say they are not interested which usually means they are. No one knows when Wang comes back and is Bruney is out, so Joba goes back to the bullpen and Pedro could be there to eat innings. Berroa has been killing the ball at AAA and should have been here from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, how odd that both games were 4 hours 21 minutes long.
ReplyDeleteAnother day, another game, another marquee matchup, and another surprising battle of the bullpens. Detroit and Cleveland must be loving this.
It always feels good to get a win - and certainly one over the Yanks, but man did it seem like the Sox were making a valiant effort to lose that game! I never would have expected it to be as wild as it ended up. I thought AJ would outpitch Beckett, but I was surprised at just how bad Beckett was. Of course I was even more surprised at how fast AJ unraveled. I certainly enjoyed it but I'm not expecting that to be a regular thing - I'll hope for CC in the next series.
While it is only April and these are just 3 games out of 162 I always put more stock in these games simply because season series may count for something if tiebreakers are needed. With most folks expecting a photo finish for the top 3 spots in the East anything is possible. I'm not lost on the fact that even a sweep tonight wouldn't lock anything up (and I'm not saying I expect one either). One game at a time.
My bold prediction for tonight - first team to the pen loses.
Nutball - great use of Maude's signature line. Definitely gave me a hearty chuckle!
Have a great Sunday everyone!
These last two games were typical of the Yankees since, oh, October 17, 2004: All that talent, but it's only a matter of time before they find a way to give you an ulcer. It's like meeting Jessica Alba at a bar, and as you're walking out, she turns into Tara Reid and trips and falls in a drunken stupor, and as you help her up she barfs all over you. You know that under all that puke and the haze of booze, there's still something worth it under there, but you can't stand to try to find it. That's the Yankees of the A-Rod Era.
ReplyDeleteBring back Brosius? Well, he'll probably be a little rusty, but at this point he still might be an improvement over what we've got available. Certainly, he knows how to hit in the clutch, something even Alex Swift and His Electric Distractions don't know how to do.
Okay, who kidnapped the normally brilliant Jonmouk and put that guy in his place? Putting Pedro Martinez in Pinstripes is like electing Yassir Arafat to the Knesset.
I'm just old enough to have gotten the racier jokes on "The Golden Girls" but not really remember "Maude" well. I had totally forgotten that Bea Arthur and Rue McClanahan were together on that show -- and Conrad Bain is no Mr. Drummond on that show, either. A terrific show, and I don't think it would've worked with any other lead actress besides Bea Arthur.
I was also shocked to see a "Mary Tyler Moore Show" rerun with Betty White as Sue Ann Nivins. I said, "Oh my God, 'Rose' is playing a 'Blanche!'" Quite a shock.
But that's the way it is, you remember stars in the roles you first remember them. Look at "The Andy Griffith Show." To me, Andy Griffith will always be Ben Matlock, Ron Howard will always be Richie Cunningham, Don Knotts will always be Ralph Furley, and I first saw Jim Nabors on the Krofft Superstars' "Far Out Space Nuts" with Ruth Buzzi. And I don't care what kind of ratigs "The Beverly Hillbillies" got, to me, Buddy Ebsen will always be Barnaby Jones. Though I wonder what J.R. Ewing and Tony Nelson (the two sides of Larry Hagman) would have thought of each other.
The A-Rod Era? You put no analysis into that whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteWhy do idealistic Yankee fans continue to say "it's only April"?
ReplyDeleteOh that's right, losses don't count in April, how stupid of me.
Burning out the arms in the bullpen which could very easily affect their play as the season grinds down isn't real, it's virtual.
Witnessing shoddy managing, a general manager who has no clue about talent, people watching Wang in spring training and not realizing then the guy has no velocity does not surprise me.
It looks like the Stinkees have a very long season but not to worry it will end after 162 games as the greatest team this century, the Boston Red Sox will continue into postseason as usual and probably will take the Series. But then again I forgot they have real baseball people in that franchise and a very capable general manager.
One other thing, who are these conditioning coaches the Stinks have been hiring these last few years? It always seems like the whole team goes on the DL.
The bottom line is the Stinks need to spend more money. They can always recoup it from outrageous ticket prices - NOT
the stinkees ....... what are you 7 ?
ReplyDeletethat person does not speak for the rest of the nation
acapelad,
ReplyDeleteI agree. Especially when you just won two, it is sad to come on to a Yankee blog and use that language. I hate it when Yankee fans call us Red Sux fans, etc. It is juvenile.
Good luck to each team tonight. The good times come, the good times go; just enjoy them when you can.
Oh, good one Uncle Mike! I love the Yassir and the Knesset line (and I've gotten similar heat from some of my other Yankee friends). But Yankee history is filled with ex-rival pitchers being picked up when needed to win a pennant: Bobo Newsom in 1947; Ray Scarborough in 1952; even Sal "the Barber" Maglie in 1957. Even Clemens wasn't exactly getting Xmas cards from the Yankee players before he came aboard. My point is best illustrated by the words of Leo Durocher, "I'm interested in one thing. Winning. I'll play an elephant if he can do the job....." Now I know you'd prefer a Colter Bean, Ken Clay, or Tyler Clippard to do the job but if it's all the same to you I'll take Pedro at this point to "do the job".
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, the Yankees look bad...are bad. It was so predictable. Brian Cashman and company cannot assess talent! Until they rebuild from the front office down, they will "also rans".
ReplyDeleteSymphony: "The A-Rod Era? You put no analysis into that whatsoever." Okay, here's the analyisis: In the nine seasons immediately preceding A-Rod's arrival, the Yankees made the Playoffs all nine times, won six Pennants and four World Series. Since A-Rod arrived, five seasons, four trips to the Playoffs, one Playoff series won, no Pennants. And just look at A-Rod's postseason numbers. What more analysis do you need? He is a loser, and his reverse-Midas touch makes everyone around him a loser, too.
ReplyDeleteJonmouk: Bad examples. Was Bobo Newsom a headhunter? How about Ray Scarborough, how many Yankees did he put in the hospital? I know Sal Maglie wasn't called "the Barber" because he was a whiz with a pair of scissors, but he was a National League pitcher and except for the stray World Series appearance didn't have a chance to terrorize Yankee batters -- and, when given those chances, behaved himself.
And Clemens? I don't recall him pulling half the crap Pedro pulled, certainly not grabbing a Yankee coach in his 70s by the head and throwing him to the ground.
And even if Pedro were a changed man (Yeah, and Dick Cheney really wants more documents revealed), he's finished as a productive pitcher. Do you really think you'll get 25 productive starts out of his shoulder and elbow? How about 10? How about 5? And that's not counting the games he'll get thrown out of for hitting batters -- and you know he would get thrown out now, because he'd be a Yankee, and Yankees aren't allowed to do what the other 29 teams are allowed to do. No, if Pedro's the answer, then the question is a bigger problem than we yet realize.
Come to think of it, the question is a bigger problem than anybody's willing to say right now, unless you count my response to Lisa's latest entry.