Last night could have been a gritty, gutty Yankee win against the Red Sox. Instead, it turned into a horror show. Let me count the ways.
Jason Bay. The name sounds like some beach resort from hell. And last night, the guy traded for Manny Ramirez had a Manny-esque moment, taking Mariano Rivera deep.
One Squawker reader/Red Sox fan teased me on Facebook after the game about my predictions for this weekend, noting that I forgot to write "Mariano will blow another save against the Sox." Ouch!
Oh, and to add insult to injury, Kevin Youkilis, who makes my Top 5 Least Favorite Current Red Sox list, moved to No. 1 with a bullet on said list when he won the game with a walkoff homer off Damaso Marte.
While both these things are awful, I also blame the Yankee hitting - or lack thereof - for the game's loss. You can't have the bases loaded with nobody out in the ninth and not score even one run. Unacceptable. Not to mention all the other missed scoring opportunities throughout the game.
If only Mark Teixeira had done something to shut up Jonathan Papelbon and his tiny mouth in extra innings. Incicdentally, the Sox fans' boos for Teixeira were pretty tepid - not only did Teixeira get booed worse in Baltimore, but Johnny Damon got more, well, enthusiastic boos when he came back to Fenway for the first time.
But geez, Fenway Park was full, with people sitting in the good seats, even those behind home plate. Imagine that. Too bad Yankee president Randy Levine is more concerned with throwing a hissy fit about what the soccer commissioner said than in getting our stadium's seats sold.
How bleak are things for the Yankees right now? Brian Cashman's postgame interview was like a M*A*S*H report or something. We heard about Brian Bruney's cranky elbow, as well as the announcements that Chien-Ming Wang (expected) and Cody Ransom (unexpected) are going on the DL.
It was bad enough hearing all this news, but what made it even worse was Cashman chewing gum while talking to reporters. Gum chewing while talking, especially when somebody is speaking in public, is a big pet peeve of mine. Dude, ditch the gum already!
The only bright moment in the postgame was when Michael Kay made some joke about knocking Tim McCarver and Joe Buck out so the Yankee broadcasters could do today's game. Which reminds me - when was the last time the Yanks had a good game on FOX? Let's hope it's today!
What do you think? Leave us a comment.
11 comments:
There are certain things you just... don't... do. As Jim Croce might have said...
You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger. And you don't leave 15 men on base at Fenway Park.
And you certainly don't load the bases with nobody out in the 9th and fail to get any of them home. Especially in that yard, where anything is possible -- if you hit the ball in the right place, Robinson Cano!
And there's one other thing you just don't do, especially if your name is Joe and you manage the New York Yankees.
You don't bring Mariano Rivera in until the 9th. Never, ever in the 8th.
Once again, the way to beat Mariano is to hope and pray the Yankee manager has a major case of brain lock, and brings him in at any time in the 8th, and then hit one up the middle on him in the 9th. The 2001 World Series, the 2004 ALCS, and this isn't the first regular-season example of it, either. If Girardi brings in someone else for the 8th and Mo pitches the 9th, this doesn't happen, and the final score is Yanks 4, Red Sox 2.
"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it." I don't know if Georges Santayana was a baseball fan -- coming from Spain, he probably wasn't -- but Girardi failed to learn from history, and he doomed the Pinstripes in what should have been a statement game for us. Red Sox 5, Yankees 4.
What really hurts is that Mariano burned David Ortiz -- and the Fat Man decidedly thinner in this post-steroid era, did you notice that? -- with a high fastball, very high, no smart hitter would have swung at it, for strike three to lead off the 9th. That was a great sign. And he got the second out. But then came that liner back up the middle, and then Jason Bay's drive that juuuuuuuust hit the top of the Green Monster and came down, to tie it up. As the old Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez said, "I'd rather be lucky than good." Gomez was both, and, last night, so was Bay.
And then, in the top of the 10th, with a man on third and two outs, Mark Teixeira does the exact same thing that Ortiz did: Swing for strike three at a pitch way too high. Sometimes, you just know. I didn't just know when Bay hit that homer, but when Tex struck out on such a ridiculous pitch from that preening schmo Papelbon, I just knew the Yankees were going to lose. It was just a matter of when and how.
When was the bottom of the 11th. How was a home run from Kevin Youkilis. On a 2-2 count, no less.
I can't blame Damaso Marte, even though he's been awful so far this season. I blame Joe Girardi for bringing in Mo in the 8th. You just don't do that.
I don't like Youkilis. He's a whiny twerp. Which is probably why Red Sox fans love him, because they're whiny twerps, too. (In my blog, I used a much stronger word than "twerp," but now that I think about it, "twerp" is a funnier word.)
These next two games, we better not leave a platoon on base.
And did you notice? The Curse of Kay struck again. He named the Yankee bullpen, collectively, as Player of the Game as the bottom of the 9th started. And then...
I can't stand Michael Kay. Keep him for CenterStage on the YES Network, but let Ken Singleton and the various late-'90s Yankees (O'Neill, Cone, etc.) be the color commentators. Get rid of Kay!
As much as I hate to say it, The Red Sox are a better run Organization and have more gutty players than the Yankees. This Red Sox team is alot like the Yankee Team of the 90s
Good post Lisa. It was a nail biter for me to the end. The amount of opportunities lost by both teams was so frustrating. And at least we will all suffer equally today having to listen to the Fox idiots.
Too bad you missed the NESN announcers replaying the three times Joba has thrown at Youklis's head (including one hit). You would have liked that.
And Uncle Mike, you were correct in your prediction yesterday. I don't think there was one Red Sox fan left in the park last night to cheer Bay or Youklis's homeruns. I couldn't hear a peep! They all went home certain of defeat to the mighty Yankees. You must amaze even yourself.
NAM, speaking of the Sox announcers, I have a copy of Jerry Remy's new book, and I'm going to review it soon.
That's great Lisa. I hope it's a good read. There are two things I have always liked about him as an announcer: He doesn't ramble on needlessly during a game and he makes fun of himself first.
Good luck today. Let's see if either team can strand less than 15runners. Now that deserves a Good Grief!
It really was an unbelievable game...almost a little painful to watch both starters get into jams and then sneak out of them. Definitely some good defense and from my perspective, a great finish. I'm especially happy that it was Bay who kept the game alive.
Lisa - I agree with you that today's game has the best potential for fireworks but somehow I'm still doubting we'll get them.
Well, heading out to watch round 2 with friends. Hoping for the best but Burnett is good - scary good at Fenway.
Cheers!
But look on the bright side Lisa, at least there are no "distractions" and what is more important than that? LOL
bay was "more lucky than good" ???
talk about homer-ism. even posada agreed that it was one of the hardest balls ever hit off rivera.
and " I don't think there was one Red Sox fan left in the park last night to cheer Bay or Youklis's home runs." ???
where do you people come up with this stuff ?
anyway, better "team" won again today. hope it was as painful to watch for you as it was a joy for the nation.
tomorrow night you get to see what a real farm system produces when masterson gets the W.
cheers
a cape lad said,
Is sarcasm lost on everyone? Uncle Mike claimed in the previous blog that Boston should worry about how many Fenway fans would still be left after the 7th because the Yankees were going to blow them away. I was "sarcastically" making a point.
Welcome to the blog, but please keep up.
Lisa, you had me at "Jason Bay. The name sounds like some beach resort from hell." Very funny. I wish I could say the same for today's game. 16-11. The horror.
Before people leap off the GWB by the thousands, the Yanks are continuing a trend that hasn’t changed since 2004.
2004: 1-6
2005: 4-5
2006: 3-4
2007: 3-6
2008: 2-3
Yanks vs. Red Sox from June through Sept:
Second Half Record - 35-22 (.614)
2004: 7-6
2005: 6-4
2006: 8-4
2007: 7-2
2008: 7-6
0A
Anyone notice a pattern here?
They haven’t had a winning record against the Red Sox early in the season since 2004 and have not had a losing record against them in the second half.
We also have another bad trend going back to last year and that's leaving way too many men in scoring position...hopefully that will change when Tex gets going and Alex is back.
Hopefully the same thing will happen this year when the starters do their thing and give this team innings on a consistent basis although I'm hoping for a winning record for BOTH halves ...not off to a good start tho' with these disappointing losses but we still have over 140 games to play so I say ..... Gooooooo Yankees !!!!!!!!
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