So, what was the worst loss of these three Yankees-Red Sox games? Easy. Last night's. Because I have a feeling we're going to see that video of Jacoby Ellsbury stealing home a time or two this year, even more than we'll see the replays of Jason Bay's or Kevin Youkilis' homers. Especially since ESPN broadcast last night's game. Heck, we're going to see that replay more than Susan Boyle singing on "Britain's Got Talent"!
I do know I've officially decided that the ESPN broadcasters are worse than FOX. Joe Buck and nonwasher Tim McCarver are annoying, to be sure. But I've never heard either of them shriek the way Jon Miller did over Ellsbury stealing home. That was just flat-out embarrassing.
Miller, who is known for yelling "THE SPLITTER" about Curt Schilling, and pronouncing Carlos Beltran's last name as Bell-TRON, is simply horrible. His counterpart, (Should Be Fired) Joe Morgan, is no great shakes, either.
And if that weren't enough, they added Steve Phillips into the mix. Who, exactly, thinks this clown is any good? Steve had the gall to refer to his playing days during last night's broadcast. Dude, you make John Flaherty's career look like Johnny Bench's. Just stop.
Oh, and how is that noted Red Sox fan Peter Gammons gets to be part of the Yankees-Red Sox pre-game broadcast? How does that work, exactly? I thought journalists are supposed to be, you know, objective.
Back to the game. Who to blame for the steal? Is it Andy Pettitte's or Jorge Posada's fault, or both? This is usually the type of thing that gets blamed on A-Rod or something, instead of one of the "True Yankee" dynasty guys. (Quick joke - Q. How many True Yankees does it take to change a lightbulb? A. - Shut up, they've got four rings!)
Speaking of A-Rod, can Joe Girardi put in Ramiro Pena instead of Angel Berroa until Alex Rodriguez comes back? Berroa was terrible last night, making two errors. That is to be expected, though, since he has virtually no experience at third. Pena is a rookie, and he's not that experienced there as well, but he's worth more of a try, I think.
Anyhow, I'm kind of worn out after this lost weekend. At least Oliver Perez was the Bad Ollie again, so my writing partner Squawker Jon's taunting might be a little subdued!
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the ESPN announcers were, as always, painful to listen to last night. They act like it's the only baseball game on tv all week.
I think good Ollie is lost. Maybe we can raise a collection to search for good Ollie and good Wang.
ReplyDelete"Quick joke - Q. How many True Yankees does it take to change a lightbulb? A. - Shut up, they've got four rings!"
ReplyDeleteLisa, you are the BEST. If at some boring moment I laugh during class later on its all your fault.
Lisa, all this talk about how biased (N)ESPN and Fox are won't matter a damn if the Yankees start beating the Chowdaheads. Then, it'll be a side note, just as it was when Howard Cosell was an obvious Dodger fan during the World Series in 1977 and '81. (NBC had it in '78, and, of course, Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola out-talked Tony Kubek -- explain to me again why any of them is in the Hall of Fame?)
ReplyDeleteThis weekend's results would have been bad enough if the Yankees had given a solid effort and still got beat by a better team. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would've accepted it and moved on.
What we saw this weekend was unacceptable, and that really had little to do with the Red Sox. Because it was the Red Sox, it gets magnified. But when it happened against Cleveland, and against Tampa, it was just as bad, if not just as glaring.
The 2009 New York Yankees have no heart. They have no sense of pride. They have no awareness of drama, of knowing that there is a clutch situation in front of them and they must come through.
And Alex Rodriguez getting healthy isn't going to change that. Come on, let's be honest: A healthy A-Rod wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference this weekend, because we know he turns into the $275 Million Bum when the lights get bright.
It gets old seeing people like me defend the old guard, Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera. But who would you rather defend: Somebody who did it but it was a long time ago, or someone who's never done it?
I'll put it in a Met perspective: No sane Met fan... must... not... laugh... No sane Met fan would trade Jose Reyes for Rafael Santana, right? Or for Bud Harrelson, right? Yet Santana and Harrelson were Met shortstops who won the World Series. Reyes is not, and never will be at the rate he's going.
Maybe the four remaining old guarders will never win another. But the guys we've got now, who haven't been a part of it -- I'm trying to think of how many others are still here from the last Pennant in 2003, I know Matsui is but he's been hurt so much that he may be done -- won't be a part of a championship team until someone comes in and tells them the awful truth.
"This is unacceptable."
As a great New Yorker, Vince Lombardi, put it when he first became a head man, taking a team that had been 1-10-1 the year before, "We may not win, but we will not lose with the same people."
The man generally accepted as the Green Bay Packers' best player at the time was an All-Pro end named Billy Howton. Ever heard of him? Unless you're a diehard Packer fan or a football historian, probably not. Lombardi cut him. And he built possibly the greatest team the NFL has ever seen, getting a winning season in his first season, to the title game in his second, and championships in his third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth seasons.
The time has come to make a choice: Either get the current guys to care about winning, or sit them and start over. I could tolerate sacrificing this year if I thought it meant that we'd be ready to gun for a title next year. But if Cano, Melky, several of the bullpen guys, and even the big ticket Teixeira don't start playing every game as if it's September and they're one game out of first place, then they shouldn't play. Simple as that.
They may file a grievance with the players' union. Let them. At least it'll show that they care.
The time has come to get tough or get out. Especially if you're the manager.
If, by the end of the next Yanks-Sox series, the Yankees have not shown significant improvement in attitude, if not in record, then it's time for Hank Steinbrenner to truly live up to his father's legacy, and fire the manager. And bring in some blood-and-guts players.
And, please, Hank, and please, God, not Donnie Regular Season Baseball. I want someone who knows what it's like to win.
Uncle Mike, wouldn't it be nice if the captain got around to saying "This is unacceptable"? Or does his tough talk only extend to passive-aggressive digs at A-Rod?
ReplyDeleteI think Good Ollie and Good Wang are somewhere on the "Lost" island or something, along with all those Yankee retired numbers!
And I'm glad to see that even Sox fans find the ESPN announcers annoying.
Symphony, thanks for the compliment.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteObjectivity from baseball announcers is an oxymoron. While the network guys at ESPN or Fox are bad, the local guys at YES, SNY, WFAN or WCBS are probably worse when calling a game. The local guys all shill for the home team, although some are more blatant than others. Do we really want Phil Rizzuto or Ron Darling to be objective. Most former players will not harshly criticize a fellow player. Calling for Carlos Beltran's benching for not running balls out or sliding is not going to make you popular in the clubhouse and may limit future access to the criticized player and others. It's a fine line which most won't cross.
Scott
"It gets old seeing people like me defend the old guard, Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera. But who would you rather defend: Somebody who did it but it was a long time ago, or someone who's never done it?"
ReplyDeleteWhat does it matter (besides on a message board, at a bar over in a Yankeeography) NOW? As for NOW, there is no difference between the two.
I give the Old Guard all their credit for what they did THEN, they are not about harsh criticism if they are not doing it NOW.
Fan and honestly critical can go hand in hand.
I give the Old Guard all their credit for what they did THEN, they are not about harsh criticism if they are not doing it NOW.
ReplyDelete*above not about
I used to follow you guys all the time on the Daily News website. I'm very happy I found the Subway Squawkers site because I love reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteAs a Red Sox fan I'm very pleased with how the weekend turned out. I know it is just the start of the season and there is a lot of baseball left to be played but I did get giddy. Watching the Sox and the Yanks play is not a casual stroll in the park but a decathlon of epic proportions because you never know what will happen. Just in Saturday's game alone 385 pitches were thrown and most of the longest regular season games have been Yanks/Sox matchups. Some of written that this great rivalry has lost some of it flair but I don't believe that to be true just look at this past weekend and every game coming up where these teams will face each other.
I forgot to write I agree you about your assessment of both the Fox and ESPN announcers. I much rather listen to Jerry Remy because he is fun and gets straight to the point about everything. He can be very critical of Red Sox players when he doesn't think they are playing up to snuff or makes a stupid error in the field. He loves the team but he doesn't have blinders on when it comes to them.
ReplyDeleteI posted this in the wrong post ..here it is again ...sorry for the repeat..
ReplyDeleteBefore people leap off the GWB by the thousands, the Yanks are continuing a trend that hasn’t changed since 2004. They tend to play woefully bad against the Red Sox in April and May but eventually turn things around and reverse that trend.
Yanks vs. Red Sox in April and May:
First Half Record - 13-24 (.351)
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...I'm hoping 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 !!!!!!!!
People expect the home announcers to be partial but it's not suppose to be the same with national announcers...unfortunately someone forgot to tell that to Morgan and Co at ESPN and Buck & McCarver at FOX.
ReplyDeleteWhat would be really interesting would be to have one home announcer from each team calling the games...too bad it can't be ...
Go Yankees 2009 !!!
Thanks, Anonymous, for making the point I was about to. They beat us early. We beat them late. It's a pattern. Do we need help in the pen? Sure. But don't tell me Tex doesn't have any pride or the will to win. He had a bad series at the plate, but he's been terrific at first and will heat up offensively. Cano? Could he be any hotter? I do agree about Steve Phillips. What a bonehead.
ReplyDeleteShe Fan ...read your book ...fun read. I happen to have dealings with the other Jane Heller through my office.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope the Yankees get off to some winning ways starting tonight ...
Peggy
Go Yankees 2008 !!!
Although it's only April and no reason to panic, this was definitely a message series from the Sox to the Yankees. We don't have Manny but we can still score runs in bunches. Varitek was "finished" but he can still club a grand salami when needed. Dice-K is out but we can still plug in guys to do the job. The Sox showed grit and heart. The Yankees almost none. Can't get on the bullpen too much - hey, they were pitching well when we got to Boston (remember the 14 inning game - not so long ago?). A call for AAA help? Berroa was killing the ball at AAA and he hung an 0 fer and 2 errors on the board last night. Again, only April, no reason to panic - the starters (like CC) need to give quality innings and Tex needs to relax (he reminds me of Tino in '96). I don't think Girardi is the problem (although I don't want to hear he's still "learning") and I don't think he'll be fired mid-year like Randolph - he'll go the whole year and the Yankees will go after LaRussa/Duncan big time for 2010.
ReplyDeleteWow, didn't think I would ever say this, but Grandpa Mike, you are starting to sound like a...ahh...gulp...Mets fan, welcome aboard!
ReplyDeleteAs for the yankees, I would be less worried about an April sweep in boston and more worried that your "ace" is 1-2 with a 4.73 era, and really hasn't looked all that good so far.
km
KM is a closet Yankee fan!! :-)
ReplyDeleteThat would have to be one hell of a closet.
ReplyDeletekm