When I was on the Larry Milian Show Thursday, I told him that if the Sox were struggling this weekend, a Yankee would get hit. I mentioned that the ball always seems to get away from the Boston pitchers in situations like that.
But I didn't expect anything like what happened with Josh Beckett. He started out great, but in the sixth inning lost his control. He reminded me more like a wounded animal lashing out than a headhunter in that inning, starting with hitting Robinson Cano. Now you can't really say it's a full out "intentional" plunking when you hit Derek Jeter with the bases loaded, and pitch inside to Francisco Cervelli and Mark Teixeira, also with the bases loaded. It almost seemed like Beckett just wanted out of the game or something.
What surprised Squawker Jon and me was how long Terry Francona kept him in the game. Beckett faced, what, 111 batters in the inning (or, at least it seemed like that!) Why did Terry keep him in so long - did he did into some of Joe Torre's green tea supply or something? It was just strange. Just when you've seen it all with Yankees-Red Sox, something like this happens.
At any rate, the Yankee dugout was positively peeved at Beckett by the time Jeter was hit. CC Sabathia and A-Rod apparently were the most angry. So I'm expecting CC to enact a little retribution today. As is the Boston Herald. John Tomase writes:
If and when Dustin Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis gets drilled by CC Sabathia this afternoon, they’ll have Josh Beckett to thank....I don't want anybody to get hurt. But let's just say I am glad that the Mike Mussina Years are over, and that CC is on the mound today. Especially if Cano, the Yankees' best hitter, ends up missing today's game.
The Yankees were not happy.
And why should they have been? While it would be nearly impossible to make the case that Beckett hit either batter intentionally, it’s not about intent. Cano’s throbbing left knee and the welt on Jeter’s back could care less what Beckett intended.
Sabathia is an interesting combination - he's both laid-back and fierce. Did you see what he said yesterday about Dallas Braden flapping his gums again about A-Rod?
“He's a clown,” CC Sabathia said of Braden. “Guy says he's from the 209, what the [bleep] is that? That's where I'm from and I don't know what he's talking about. Two-oh-nine. He needs to just calm down - put that in the paper. That's just tired.”This fan from the 718 (originally from the 201) applauds CC!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
2 comments:
Lisa,
The gang decided to compose a little song to Dallas (with apologies to Sherwood schwartz:
Here's the story of a guy named A-Rod
Who was happy with the ring he finally found.
His head was in the clouds, like usual,
So mistakenly he ran across the mound.
It’s the story, of a goof named Braden,
Who was busy with problems of his own,
He pitched badly, all together,
All he could do was moan.
Till the one day when this A-Rod meets this Braden
And we know that it is much more than a hunch,
That this meeting will somehow end up badly.
It will end with what we call the Braden Punch.
A Braden Punch, a Braden punch
That's the day we’ll all see the Braden Punch.
Speaking as a native of the 201 (now the 973) who then moved to elsewhere in the 201 (which became the 908 and now the 732), Braden needs to remember that Len Barker pitched a perfect game. And so did Charlie Robertson. Who? And Who? Exactly.
As for why Beckett lost his control, I've talked to a few people who think he's already starting to burn out, and that he might already be on the decline. Breaks my heart if it turns out to be true (he said, achieving multiple sarcasms).
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