Squawker Jon must be exhausted from doing the Snoopy Dance this weekend. First, he got to see the Yankees get humiliated by the Rangers. Then, the Giants beat the Phillies, thanks in no small part to Bruce Bochy's great work. He was a manager who was unafraid to pull out all the stops, taking out his starter in the second, and using his best bullpen arms, including Tim Lincecum, in the game.
To top it all off, Ryan Howard pulled a Carlos Beltran, leaving his bat on his shoulder with the bases loaded, striking out to end the game, and the series. (Yeah, yeah, I know the same thing happened with A-Rod Friday, but he had nobody on base, and a 6-1 deficit to overcome -- what was he going to do, hit a six run homer)?
At any rate, two of the Mets biggest rivals ended their season this year, while the Braves' season ended in the NLDS. Jon as I were arguing on the phone last night over what team was the Mets' biggest rival these days -- the Yankees or the Phillies? He said Yankees, I said Phillies, telling him that right now, the rivalry between the Yankees and Mets is like the rivalry between the hammer and the nail. For some strange reason, Jon hung up on me over that. Touchy!
As for myself, a strange thing happened yesterday. I was reading Wally Matthews' analysis of Joe Girardi's bullpen mistakes in the Yankees' loss, and instead of muttering and cursing to myself, as I often do when reading his work, I found myself agreeing with nearly much everything he wrote. I hate it when that happens!
It gets better -- or worse, depending on how you look at it. I wrote words to that effect to him, and he wrote me a funny, self-deprecating response. Matthews came across as a likeable guy. I hate it when that happens, too!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Showing posts with label ALCS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALCS. Show all posts
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The morning after: Thoughts on the Yankees' ALCS loss
I had the worst dream last night. The Yankees got shut down by Colby Lewis and the Rangers, and lost the ALCS. What a nightmare. Oh, wait, that actually happened! Bummer.
I was very angry during last night's game, and I still think that Joe Girardi did a terrible job with his bullpen management moves. He had a quicker hook in the Taco Bell commercial for the chalupa eater than he did for pitchers who deserved to be taken out!
And you don't put in David Robertson with the game on the line when you have CC Sabathia, Kerry Wood, and Mariano Rivera in the bullpen. But hey, at least Mo was well-rested this week, thanks to him not being used on Monday, to pitch the bottom of the eighth in last night's 6-1 loss!
But those weren't the only things that went wrong during the ALCS. The Yankees got outplayed in every single facet of the game in this series. And for all of Michael Kay's talk on 1050 ESPN Radio about how Ron Washington is a terrible manager, Washington outmanaged, and his team outplayed, Girardi and the Yankees.
That being said, this loss was a team effort. You can't get stymied -- twice! -- by Colby Bleeping Lewis and expect to win.
However, even though I'm still bummed, I've calmed down a little, and I actually feel the least terrible that I have had in years after a Yankees series loss. I'm still peeved, but I'm not in complete despair or anything. After all, the Yankees did win the World Series just a year ago. As a friend said on Twitter this morning, "You know when people say 'act like you've been there before'? That applies to losing as well. The Yankees can't and don't win all the time."
Nothing will ever match the pain of 2004. Ever. Even now, I will still swivel my head like something out of "The Exorcist" if I see a clip on TV from that year. I have several good Facebook friends in Red Sox documentaries about that year, but there is no chance I will ever watch them in it!
But there have been some other bad Yankes series losses over the years. 2006 (Torre batting A-Rod eighth and being outmanaged by Jim Leyland) and 2007 (Bug Game) were worse than this year. 2001 was gut-wrenching at the time, but in retrospect, it was a miracle the Yankees even made it past Game 5. But I still won't watch clips from Game 7 of that series!
Funny thing is, though, is that I was able to deal with seeing the Texas Rangers and their fans celebrating last night without it making me want to pull an Elvis on the television set. Maybe it's because my nephew is a lifelong Rangers fan. Maybe it's because I lived in the state for so long. Maybe it's because it was interesting to see a football-loving state like Texas get excited over baseball instead of football. But I don't really have any vitriol towards the Rangers.
But as I noted last night, what I am still ticked off about are people like Mayor Bloomberg talking about planning the parade route, and Michael Kay showing such hubris in declaring the series over after one game. Oh, and Filip Bondy's thoroughly obnoxious "Count the Rings" take on the series still rubs me the wrong way:
What do you think? Tell us about it!
I was very angry during last night's game, and I still think that Joe Girardi did a terrible job with his bullpen management moves. He had a quicker hook in the Taco Bell commercial for the chalupa eater than he did for pitchers who deserved to be taken out!
And you don't put in David Robertson with the game on the line when you have CC Sabathia, Kerry Wood, and Mariano Rivera in the bullpen. But hey, at least Mo was well-rested this week, thanks to him not being used on Monday, to pitch the bottom of the eighth in last night's 6-1 loss!
But those weren't the only things that went wrong during the ALCS. The Yankees got outplayed in every single facet of the game in this series. And for all of Michael Kay's talk on 1050 ESPN Radio about how Ron Washington is a terrible manager, Washington outmanaged, and his team outplayed, Girardi and the Yankees.
That being said, this loss was a team effort. You can't get stymied -- twice! -- by Colby Bleeping Lewis and expect to win.
However, even though I'm still bummed, I've calmed down a little, and I actually feel the least terrible that I have had in years after a Yankees series loss. I'm still peeved, but I'm not in complete despair or anything. After all, the Yankees did win the World Series just a year ago. As a friend said on Twitter this morning, "You know when people say 'act like you've been there before'? That applies to losing as well. The Yankees can't and don't win all the time."
Nothing will ever match the pain of 2004. Ever. Even now, I will still swivel my head like something out of "The Exorcist" if I see a clip on TV from that year. I have several good Facebook friends in Red Sox documentaries about that year, but there is no chance I will ever watch them in it!
But there have been some other bad Yankes series losses over the years. 2006 (Torre batting A-Rod eighth and being outmanaged by Jim Leyland) and 2007 (Bug Game) were worse than this year. 2001 was gut-wrenching at the time, but in retrospect, it was a miracle the Yankees even made it past Game 5. But I still won't watch clips from Game 7 of that series!
Funny thing is, though, is that I was able to deal with seeing the Texas Rangers and their fans celebrating last night without it making me want to pull an Elvis on the television set. Maybe it's because my nephew is a lifelong Rangers fan. Maybe it's because I lived in the state for so long. Maybe it's because it was interesting to see a football-loving state like Texas get excited over baseball instead of football. But I don't really have any vitriol towards the Rangers.
But as I noted last night, what I am still ticked off about are people like Mayor Bloomberg talking about planning the parade route, and Michael Kay showing such hubris in declaring the series over after one game. Oh, and Filip Bondy's thoroughly obnoxious "Count the Rings" take on the series still rubs me the wrong way:
[Nolan] Ryan's no-hitters aside, this ALCS represents one of sports' great historical mismatches, 40 pennants versus zero. The Yanks should win this series just by throwing their pinstriped uniforms onto the field and reading from a few pages of The Baseball Encyclopedia.
If only Bud Selig would agree to waive a few silly postseason rules, the Bombers might send their Scranton/Wilkes-Barre roster to Arlington for the first couple of games, make this a fair fight....
The Rangers are the oldest of three existing major league clubs never to have won a pennant. They should be ashamed to bring their media guides to the Bronx....
Why are they even playing this series? Why don't they just use the scores from '96, '98 and '99?
"I can't even think back to those years," Jorge Posada said. "It's over. I don't think it matters."
It matters. The Yankees lead, 27 titles to none. Play ball.So much for that, dude. Too bad Bondy, like his colleague Mike Lupica, does not allow readers to comment on his articles, because he deserves to be mocked mercilessly for writing those words. Worst. Column. Ever.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Why I think the Yankees have a real shot of winning Game 6
It sounds like a facile argument, but I told Squawker Jon that as long as the Yankees won Game 5, they could win Game 6 and then the series. After all, a 3-2 deficit, even with the scary Cliff Lee pitching Game 7, sounds much less scary than being behind 3 games to 1.
So I'm hopeful about the Yanks tonight. Let me explain why:
* The absence of Mark Teixeira from the lineup, thanks to his hamstring injury. There, I said it (and felt bad about saying it!), but it's true. He's not only been slumping (not a single hit in the ALCS), but he's been injured. Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger reports:
* Robinson Cano moving up to the No. 3 spot in the lineup. It could be coincidental that the Yanks had their best day at the plate this series with him there, but he also is the best player on the Yankees right now, and moving him up from fifth to third can only help.
* The hitting of the whole team in Game 5. Perhaps they are finally waking up out of their October funk.
* Speaking of which, did A-Rod's good Game 5 wake up a sleeping giant? Let's hope so.
* The look on Phil Hughes' face during the pregame presser. He looks like he wants payback for that Game 2 loss. Unscientific, I know, but I'm going with it!
* CC Sabathia is available in the bullpen. Could it be shades of Randy Johnson in the 2001 World Series?
* Nick Swisher being ticked off at all the Cliff Lee questions.
* And finally, Cliff Lee himself, or rather, him being used as a crutch by the Rangers. Hear me out. I remember in 2004, how Joe Torre and the Yankees showed little sense of urgency after losing Game 4, and then Game 5. They were thinking about how they still had two games at home, and mystique and aura and all that jazz, until it was too late. Are the Rangers thinking it was okay to lose Game 5, or even a Game 6, because they have Lee for Game 7? That kind of complacency can be fatal.
Of course, if I'm wrong, I'll hear it all this winter from Squawker Jon! Oh well.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
So I'm hopeful about the Yanks tonight. Let me explain why:
* The absence of Mark Teixeira from the lineup, thanks to his hamstring injury. There, I said it (and felt bad about saying it!), but it's true. He's not only been slumping (not a single hit in the ALCS), but he's been injured. Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger reports:
Teixeira said he believes playing with a broken toe may have led him to compensate for the injury, altering the way he runs. Those changes, he believes, led to the hamstring strain that ended his season in Game 4, and also a swollen knee he played through during the month of September.While he did play through the pain, literally, maybe it's best that he's not in the lineup right now.
* Robinson Cano moving up to the No. 3 spot in the lineup. It could be coincidental that the Yanks had their best day at the plate this series with him there, but he also is the best player on the Yankees right now, and moving him up from fifth to third can only help.
* The hitting of the whole team in Game 5. Perhaps they are finally waking up out of their October funk.
* Speaking of which, did A-Rod's good Game 5 wake up a sleeping giant? Let's hope so.
* The look on Phil Hughes' face during the pregame presser. He looks like he wants payback for that Game 2 loss. Unscientific, I know, but I'm going with it!
* CC Sabathia is available in the bullpen. Could it be shades of Randy Johnson in the 2001 World Series?
* Nick Swisher being ticked off at all the Cliff Lee questions.
* And finally, Cliff Lee himself, or rather, him being used as a crutch by the Rangers. Hear me out. I remember in 2004, how Joe Torre and the Yankees showed little sense of urgency after losing Game 4, and then Game 5. They were thinking about how they still had two games at home, and mystique and aura and all that jazz, until it was too late. Are the Rangers thinking it was okay to lose Game 5, or even a Game 6, because they have Lee for Game 7? That kind of complacency can be fatal.
Of course, if I'm wrong, I'll hear it all this winter from Squawker Jon! Oh well.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Nick Swisher sez he's bleeping tired of talking about Cliff Lee
ESPN New York is making a whole to-do over Nick Swisher cursing (shocker!) when asked yet another question about Cliff Lee. Good for Swisher, I say.
Here's what happened (hat tip to Was Watching for the link.) Swisher overheard Andrew Marchand asking his teammates about Lee. Swisher responded:
The story continues:
A few points:
* Whenever you hear a writer refer to what "a reporter" said, nine times out of ten, "a reporter" is really the reporter writing the story. I don't know why sportswriters keep with this silly, passive convention; it does not serve the reader. And indeed, it is the case here; Marchand's ESPN colleague Wallace Matthews confirms that Marchand was the one to ask the question. Matthews also writes that Swisher was openly tired of the Cliff Lee questions as early as last Saturday.
* As for Swish's response, what's the big deal here? Swisher's response is exactly what I want to hear from him. And I don't give a bleep that he cursed to reporters, and offended their delicate sense of being (yeah, because we all know that the harshest word any sportswriter will say is "gosh darnit"!) What is Swisher supposed to say? That he's really, really scared to face Lee, and the Yankees are just terrified? C'mon now.
* Why don't the reporters worry about Game 6 before raising the OMG! Cliff Lee Is Pitching Game 7 specter? Then again, they raised it after Game 2, so that would be too much to ask for!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Here's what happened (hat tip to Was Watching for the link.) Swisher overheard Andrew Marchand asking his teammates about Lee. Swisher responded:
With the Yankees facing Texas Rangers starter Colby Lewis in Game 6, Swisher did not take kindly to a reporter asking teammates a couple lockers down about Lee.OMG, a ballplayer cursed! Twice! What is the world coming to? What about the children? (And yes, I'm being sarcastic here.)
You guys are talking about Cliff Lee?" said Swisher out loud in a room full of reporters. "[Expletive], who cares?"
As he walked off, Swisher said, "I can't wait to hit against his [behind]."
The story continues:
Later, when asked about saying this out loud with reporters present, Swisher cut off a question when the words "Cliff Lee" were uttered.
"I'm not talking about Cliff Lee," Swisher said. "I don't give a [expletive]."
A few points:
* Whenever you hear a writer refer to what "a reporter" said, nine times out of ten, "a reporter" is really the reporter writing the story. I don't know why sportswriters keep with this silly, passive convention; it does not serve the reader. And indeed, it is the case here; Marchand's ESPN colleague Wallace Matthews confirms that Marchand was the one to ask the question. Matthews also writes that Swisher was openly tired of the Cliff Lee questions as early as last Saturday.
* As for Swish's response, what's the big deal here? Swisher's response is exactly what I want to hear from him. And I don't give a bleep that he cursed to reporters, and offended their delicate sense of being (yeah, because we all know that the harshest word any sportswriter will say is "gosh darnit"!) What is Swisher supposed to say? That he's really, really scared to face Lee, and the Yankees are just terrified? C'mon now.
* Why don't the reporters worry about Game 6 before raising the OMG! Cliff Lee Is Pitching Game 7 specter? Then again, they raised it after Game 2, so that would be too much to ask for!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Non-Shocker! Mike Lupica tells A-Rod to "show up," makes him Designated Yankee Scapegoat
After Alex Rodriguez's great October last year, most of the media have been mostly muted on his so-far-disappointing ALCS this year. That's a story in itself, as evidenced by what Mike Vaccaro and even notorious A-Rod basher Wally Matthews wrote on the subject today. Vaccaro said that "it isn't a matter of "if A-Rod will hit in the postseason, "it is a matter of when." But the Daily News' Mike Lupica is still writing like it's 2006, with his back-page column criticizing the third baseman.
I've never written a blog entry criticizing Lupica before, mostly because I try to avoid reading his mailed-in, cliche-ridden columns as much as possible. It's like Lupey constructed each piece in MadLibs or something -- blah blah blah, Yankee payroll, blah blah blah, the Wilpons are great, blah blah blah, let's make a lame joke at A-Rod's expense, blah blah blah, I have the greatest family in the world. Bor-ing. Shooting from the Lip? More like Snoozing from the Lip!
But I had to say something about Lupica's big screed on A-Rod, where he says that it's time for Rodriguez to show up in the postseason. Because even for Lupey, this column is ridiculously unfair. Some snippets:
* Lupica writes that "there have been times when he seemed perfectly happy to take a walk, leave it to Cano when Cano was still hitting behind him." Aside from Lupica not seeming to understand that getting on base by any means necessary is considered a good thing these days, how does he know that A-Rod "seemed perfectly happy to take a walk"? Is The King a mindreader now?
Incidentally, do you know how many times A-Rod has been walked in the eight games of the postseason? Four -- three in the ALCS, and one in the ALDS. Do you know how many times he was walked with Marcus Thames, not Cano, batting behind him? Two. So we're talking about ONE TIME in the ALCS where A-Rod walked in front of Cano! So much for Lupica's point. At any rate, there were times in this series where I would have preferred that A-Rod take a walk, and not strike out or hit a weak dribbler or hit into a double play!
* Sure, A-Rod has had a bad postseason, but so has every other Yankee hitter not named Robinson Cano or Curtis Granderson. Not to bash Mark Teixeira, but he didn't merit a back page column when he had a .000 BA in the ALCS before getting hurt, the second year in a row he had a terrible postseason. What, is it because Tex is a "True Yankee," and A-Rod isn't? Puh-lease.
* At any rate, Lupica's article is very curiously timed, especially since Rodriguez had a good Game 5, and looked the best at the plate that he's been for the whole ALCS. A-Rod was on base three times Wednesday, twice via walks, and once via a sharply hit double to left field. (He didn't get an RBI -- Nick Swisher surely would have scored on it -- because it was a ground-rule double that bounced into the left-field seats.)
A-Rod scored the first run thanks to the first walk (so much for walks being bad!) He also hit the ball very hard a second time, but Michael Young made a great play to cost him a hit. And he looked good in the field that game, something he has not been during the series. A more fair-minded person would have seen this as a good game for Rodriguez. But that's not Lupica. According to him, nothing Rodriguez did in this game "has mattered." Good grief.
* Lupica does briefly mention that other players haven't stepped it up, but doesn't give them the full-throttle criticism he does A-Rod:
* Lupica isn't even willing to give Rodriguez credit for his huge hit with the bases loaded in Game 1,saying it was a "two-RBI single that Michael Young should have made a play on." Maybe in Lupica's world, Michael Young should have fielded that hit in Game 1, but most people think that would have been a tough play for Young to have made. I watched the video again, and broadcaster Ron Darling said that the batted ball was going "a hundred miles an hour;" thus, Young was unable to make the play. And Young did not get an error on it. So much for Lupey's great analysis.
* Finally, it takes more than one star to win a series. We saw A-Rod "show up," as Lupica would say, in September and win AL Player of the Month for his great hitting, going .295/.375./600 for the rest of the season, with nine homers and 28 RBI . What was the Yanks' record during that time? 9-17.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
I've never written a blog entry criticizing Lupica before, mostly because I try to avoid reading his mailed-in, cliche-ridden columns as much as possible. It's like Lupey constructed each piece in MadLibs or something -- blah blah blah, Yankee payroll, blah blah blah, the Wilpons are great, blah blah blah, let's make a lame joke at A-Rod's expense, blah blah blah, I have the greatest family in the world. Bor-ing. Shooting from the Lip? More like Snoozing from the Lip!
But I had to say something about Lupica's big screed on A-Rod, where he says that it's time for Rodriguez to show up in the postseason. Because even for Lupey, this column is ridiculously unfair. Some snippets:
The Yankees showed up on Wednesday in Game 5, they did, hundred percent. Now they have to do it again in Texas, or they become another big, bad Yankee team of this decade that got hit somewhere before the World Series and never recovered.A few points:
You know who is supposed to show up Friday night for Game 6? Alex Rodriguez. So far he has three hits in the series and only one of them - two-RBI single that Michael Young should have made a play on, eighth inning of Game 1 - has mattered. There have been times when he seemed perfectly happy to take a walk, leave it to Cano when Cano was still hitting behind him.
* Lupica writes that "there have been times when he seemed perfectly happy to take a walk, leave it to Cano when Cano was still hitting behind him." Aside from Lupica not seeming to understand that getting on base by any means necessary is considered a good thing these days, how does he know that A-Rod "seemed perfectly happy to take a walk"? Is The King a mindreader now?
Incidentally, do you know how many times A-Rod has been walked in the eight games of the postseason? Four -- three in the ALCS, and one in the ALDS. Do you know how many times he was walked with Marcus Thames, not Cano, batting behind him? Two. So we're talking about ONE TIME in the ALCS where A-Rod walked in front of Cano! So much for Lupica's point. At any rate, there were times in this series where I would have preferred that A-Rod take a walk, and not strike out or hit a weak dribbler or hit into a double play!
* Sure, A-Rod has had a bad postseason, but so has every other Yankee hitter not named Robinson Cano or Curtis Granderson. Not to bash Mark Teixeira, but he didn't merit a back page column when he had a .000 BA in the ALCS before getting hurt, the second year in a row he had a terrible postseason. What, is it because Tex is a "True Yankee," and A-Rod isn't? Puh-lease.
* At any rate, Lupica's article is very curiously timed, especially since Rodriguez had a good Game 5, and looked the best at the plate that he's been for the whole ALCS. A-Rod was on base three times Wednesday, twice via walks, and once via a sharply hit double to left field. (He didn't get an RBI -- Nick Swisher surely would have scored on it -- because it was a ground-rule double that bounced into the left-field seats.)
A-Rod scored the first run thanks to the first walk (so much for walks being bad!) He also hit the ball very hard a second time, but Michael Young made a great play to cost him a hit. And he looked good in the field that game, something he has not been during the series. A more fair-minded person would have seen this as a good game for Rodriguez. But that's not Lupica. According to him, nothing Rodriguez did in this game "has mattered." Good grief.
* Lupica does briefly mention that other players haven't stepped it up, but doesn't give them the full-throttle criticism he does A-Rod:
He's not the only one in the order who hasn't shown enough stick. Derek Jeter has hits, but has struck out six times Mark Teixeira was 0-for-14 before he got hurt. Nick Swisher is .105. Maybe the home run that Swisher hit in Game 5 is the start of something for him.Why is it that Swisher getting only his second hit of the entire ALCS is "the start of something for him," but A-Rod having a very good Game 5 doesn't matter?
* Lupica isn't even willing to give Rodriguez credit for his huge hit with the bases loaded in Game 1,saying it was a "two-RBI single that Michael Young should have made a play on." Maybe in Lupica's world, Michael Young should have fielded that hit in Game 1, but most people think that would have been a tough play for Young to have made. I watched the video again, and broadcaster Ron Darling said that the batted ball was going "a hundred miles an hour;" thus, Young was unable to make the play. And Young did not get an error on it. So much for Lupey's great analysis.
* Finally, it takes more than one star to win a series. We saw A-Rod "show up," as Lupica would say, in September and win AL Player of the Month for his great hitting, going .295/.375./600 for the rest of the season, with nine homers and 28 RBI . What was the Yanks' record during that time? 9-17.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Yankees are staying alive, and the Squawkers got to see it in person
I went to yesterday's Yankee game not just because I got a terrific deal on tickets, but to make a statement about my faith in the team. I wasn't going be the equivalent of one of those fans who fled for the exits in the seventh inning of a playoff game Tuesday night. I could hear the trash talk from Yankee haters Tuesday on Facebook, and I hoped that the team would shut them up Wednesday.
And I had bit of an ulterior motive in taking Squawker Jon to yesterday's playoff game. I was hoping that he would continue his good luck for the Yankees. Even though we didn't actually see Game 4 of the World Series in person (I dragged him to the simulcast at Yankee Stadium instead), I always think that Jon's presence in Yankee Stadium had some karmic connection to Damon's Dash!
Jon noted that in the last three Yankee games he attended, "the Bombers have hit ten homers - three [Wednesday], five on August 24 in Toronto and two on June 19 against the Mets." I wasn't at the Toronto one, but in recent years, Jon was also at the first night game with me in the new stadium (a win), and the first time A.J. Burnett threw a pie at a Yankee!
As for my own game attendance record, while I have some good memories (Jeter dives in the stands game, the Pine Tar Game, etc.), I've also got some terrible ones as well. For a variety of reasons (money, job obligations, etc.) I was able to get exactly two sets of playoff tickets in the 2000s (how is it that we went through that decade without ever giving it a nickname!) The two times I went to see the postseason: Games 6 and 7 of the 2004 ALCS! In the nineties, I did get to see the Yankees clinch twice against the Texas Rangers when I lived in Texas, but I also saw the Bombers get their butts kicked in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, after I spent money flying in from Texas to see the team.
So, if there is any good luck charm for the Yanks between us, it's the Met fan! Jill, one of my Facebook friends, suggested we send Squawker Jon to Texas to help the Yankees' luck. I totally think he should do it -- he could go eat fried butter at the State Fair, then watch the Yankees win! Sounds like a plan to me!
Squawker Jon thought that Robinson Cano, who batted third yesterday, was finally hitting where he was supposed to be. He also wondered if Jorge Posada were insulted that he was batting seventh, behind Marcus Thames and Berkman. If Posada did have his nose out of joint about it, he took it out on his bat!
C.C. Sabathia actually gave up more hits than C.J. Wilson, although C.C. didn't walk anybody in the battle of the initials. But he limited the damage, and kept his team in the game.
And not only did Robinson Cano continue to be the Yankees' MVP, but some other batters showed "signs of life," as a fan's sign said. Everybody got on base, with the exception of Brett Gardner. Curtis Granderson had three hits. And even A-Rod, who had looked terrible at the plate for the series, seemed much better.
I think the Yankees will win his series -- after all, I did predict the Yanks in 7. But even if they don't, they won't be going down meekly.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
And I had bit of an ulterior motive in taking Squawker Jon to yesterday's playoff game. I was hoping that he would continue his good luck for the Yankees. Even though we didn't actually see Game 4 of the World Series in person (I dragged him to the simulcast at Yankee Stadium instead), I always think that Jon's presence in Yankee Stadium had some karmic connection to Damon's Dash!
Jon noted that in the last three Yankee games he attended, "the Bombers have hit ten homers - three [Wednesday], five on August 24 in Toronto and two on June 19 against the Mets." I wasn't at the Toronto one, but in recent years, Jon was also at the first night game with me in the new stadium (a win), and the first time A.J. Burnett threw a pie at a Yankee!
As for my own game attendance record, while I have some good memories (Jeter dives in the stands game, the Pine Tar Game, etc.), I've also got some terrible ones as well. For a variety of reasons (money, job obligations, etc.) I was able to get exactly two sets of playoff tickets in the 2000s (how is it that we went through that decade without ever giving it a nickname!) The two times I went to see the postseason: Games 6 and 7 of the 2004 ALCS! In the nineties, I did get to see the Yankees clinch twice against the Texas Rangers when I lived in Texas, but I also saw the Bombers get their butts kicked in Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, after I spent money flying in from Texas to see the team.
So, if there is any good luck charm for the Yanks between us, it's the Met fan! Jill, one of my Facebook friends, suggested we send Squawker Jon to Texas to help the Yankees' luck. I totally think he should do it -- he could go eat fried butter at the State Fair, then watch the Yankees win! Sounds like a plan to me!
* * *
Not only did we get to a Yankees' victory yesterday, we saw Lance Berkman fall on the ground and not be able to get up for a few minutes. I think most fans were looking on in horror, thinking that the Yanks would be out another first baseman, after Mark Teixeira's untimely injury, but fortunately, all that was hurt was Berkman's "pride," as he joked about later.Squawker Jon thought that Robinson Cano, who batted third yesterday, was finally hitting where he was supposed to be. He also wondered if Jorge Posada were insulted that he was batting seventh, behind Marcus Thames and Berkman. If Posada did have his nose out of joint about it, he took it out on his bat!
C.C. Sabathia actually gave up more hits than C.J. Wilson, although C.C. didn't walk anybody in the battle of the initials. But he limited the damage, and kept his team in the game.
And not only did Robinson Cano continue to be the Yankees' MVP, but some other batters showed "signs of life," as a fan's sign said. Everybody got on base, with the exception of Brett Gardner. Curtis Granderson had three hits. And even A-Rod, who had looked terrible at the plate for the series, seemed much better.
I think the Yankees will win his series -- after all, I did predict the Yanks in 7. But even if they don't, they won't be going down meekly.
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Joe Girardi leaves A.J. Burnett out to dry
A.J. Burnett is getting a lot of grief from Yankee fans these days, including some calling for his head last night. But really, he did much better than expected, giving up only two runs in the first five innings. Heck, he was the first Yankee starter to get through the first inning without giving up a run in this series. Until Joe Girardi left him in too long in the sixth, that is.
Longtime readers know that I'm no Girardi basher, but he has done such a poor job with decision-making this series that Squawker Jon and I were musing last night what were the chances that be fired if the Yankees lose the ALCS. And what Joe did in the sixth was just ridiculous.
Guess Girardi never heard of that "leaving on a high note" adage. He should have pulled Burnett after Vladimir Guerrero's hit. At that point, A.J. was at 90 or so pitches. Burnett could have left the cheers from the crowd, with a well-pitched game, and something to build on for the future. Instead, Girardi got a little too cute, deciding to leave him in, and then intentionally walking David Murphy to pitch to Bengie Molina. This, even though he had Joba Chamberlain warmed up in the bullpen. I thought Girardi would keep Burnett on a short leash, but instead, the leash was long enough for A.J. to get caught in.
Incidentally, did you see that Burnett nearly threw the ball away in one of the intentional walk pitches? That should have been yet another clue to Girardi that Burnett was about to turn into a pumpkin.
I didn't watch the postgame last night because he was too angry after the loss. But Jon did, and he thought Girardi was awfully defensive. New York Post columnist Joel Sherman wrote about what the manager said, and I pretty much agree with Sherman's take on what happened last night (emphasis added).
One last note -- Squawker Jon sez Molina's homer is bad karma on me for trash-talking Jon for four years about Yadier Molina's homer against the Mets. By the way, last night was the fourth anniversary of that event.
What do you think? Tell us about it.
Longtime readers know that I'm no Girardi basher, but he has done such a poor job with decision-making this series that Squawker Jon and I were musing last night what were the chances that be fired if the Yankees lose the ALCS. And what Joe did in the sixth was just ridiculous.
Guess Girardi never heard of that "leaving on a high note" adage. He should have pulled Burnett after Vladimir Guerrero's hit. At that point, A.J. was at 90 or so pitches. Burnett could have left the cheers from the crowd, with a well-pitched game, and something to build on for the future. Instead, Girardi got a little too cute, deciding to leave him in, and then intentionally walking David Murphy to pitch to Bengie Molina. This, even though he had Joba Chamberlain warmed up in the bullpen. I thought Girardi would keep Burnett on a short leash, but instead, the leash was long enough for A.J. to get caught in.
Incidentally, did you see that Burnett nearly threw the ball away in one of the intentional walk pitches? That should have been yet another clue to Girardi that Burnett was about to turn into a pumpkin.
I didn't watch the postgame last night because he was too angry after the loss. But Jon did, and he thought Girardi was awfully defensive. New York Post columnist Joel Sherman wrote about what the manager said, and I pretty much agree with Sherman's take on what happened last night (emphasis added).
Girardi had Mariano Rivera for as much as two innings, a remnant of the manager’s iffy choice not to use the closer to keep the Yankees within 2-0 in the ninth inning of Game 3. So Girardi would have had to fill just two set-up innings here.
But he got greedy or caught up in the moment....
“If you take A.J. out there and you give up a couple of runs, people say, ‘Why did you take A.J. out?’“ Girardi said.
No, that would not have been the conversation. New York is now well versed on Burnett. No one could think it was a good idea to have him on the mound at that moment: tying run in scoring position, go-ahead run on first, season on the brink. Burnett has spent a career breaking hearts, throwing the pitch he absolutely could not at the wrong time.
And he did here....
Girardi had given a baseball arsonist matches and the Yankees season went up in flames.I agree with Sherman, something I don't say very often!
One last note -- Squawker Jon sez Molina's homer is bad karma on me for trash-talking Jon for four years about Yadier Molina's homer against the Mets. By the way, last night was the fourth anniversary of that event.
What do you think? Tell us about it.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Cliff Lee, David Robertson, Joe Girardi haunt Yankee fans' nightmares
For me, Monday's ALCS loss was the most frustrating playoff defeat since the Bug Game. And only some of my frustration had to do with the Yankees being completely flummoxed by Cliff Lee (so much for my thoughts that he could be beatable last night, eh?) Top it off with Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young, my fave NFL player, getting hurt on Monday Night Football, and it was a completely miserable evening for this Squawker.
I could have lived with just a little (okay, maybe a lot) of grumpiness about the Yankees getting shut down by Cliff Lee, with Andy Pettitte pitching a very good game. But what bugged me even more about the game was the way Joe Girardi left David Robertson in the game to get shelled. The young reliever clearly didn't have it last night. Virtually everybody in the park (who started fleeing for the exits as soon as Roberston started giving up hits) knew that, except for Girardi, who left him in like a lamb to the slaughter to give up five runs, five hits, and a walk. The Yanks ended up with their worst postseason shutout loss ever, and Robertson ended up having a very good young career so far marred with this disaster.
It reminded me of when Joe Torre left Chase Wright in to give up four homers in a row to the Red Sox.
You just don't do that to young pitchers. It isn't right. You tell me there was no other pitcher Girardi could have brought in to rescue the ballgame (and the reliever's psyche) before Robertson imploded?
For that matter. why didn't Mariano Rivera start the ninth? If the Yankees were still down only 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth, it literally would have been a different ballgame. So why didn't Girardi go to Mariano Rivera? He told reporters:
What do you think? Tell us about it!
I could have lived with just a little (okay, maybe a lot) of grumpiness about the Yankees getting shut down by Cliff Lee, with Andy Pettitte pitching a very good game. But what bugged me even more about the game was the way Joe Girardi left David Robertson in the game to get shelled. The young reliever clearly didn't have it last night. Virtually everybody in the park (who started fleeing for the exits as soon as Roberston started giving up hits) knew that, except for Girardi, who left him in like a lamb to the slaughter to give up five runs, five hits, and a walk. The Yanks ended up with their worst postseason shutout loss ever, and Robertson ended up having a very good young career so far marred with this disaster.
It reminded me of when Joe Torre left Chase Wright in to give up four homers in a row to the Red Sox.
You just don't do that to young pitchers. It isn't right. You tell me there was no other pitcher Girardi could have brought in to rescue the ballgame (and the reliever's psyche) before Robertson imploded?
For that matter. why didn't Mariano Rivera start the ninth? If the Yankees were still down only 2-0 in the bottom of the ninth, it literally would have been a different ballgame. So why didn't Girardi go to Mariano Rivera? He told reporters:
Well, Mo is a guy that sometimes we use multiple innings in a situation that if we are ahead. Our bullpen had been really, really good up until that point. Boone had done his job. Robby had done his job. We were down 2‑0 and if you bring in Mo, you may not have him available for multiple innings tomorrow, if you want to use him. So we went with guys that were throwing well in a situation where we were down.Even if he wanted to save Mo for a better situation, it was completely inexcusable of Girardi, to leave Robertson in, and take the fans out of the game like that. I'm peeved, and even Squawker Jon felt bad for Robertson!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Shocker! The Yankees beat the Rangers after being down, 5-0
When the Rangers went ahead 3-0 in the first before making their first out, I wasn't exactly in a hopeful mood. As my friend Steve Lombardi wrote on his WasWatching blog, it looked like CC Sabathia went trick-or-treating as A.J. Burnett! I can't ever remember seeing Sabathia look as inept.
After the Yanks fell behind 5-0 in the fourth, CC was out of the game, and Joba Chamberlain and Dustin Moseley were acting as mop-up men. Combine that with the Yankees' hitters' inability to get anything going against C.J. Wilson, and I figured the Yankees were going to lose. I kept on watching, but I was peeved!
Little did I know that not only would those two relievers shut down the Rangers' bats, but that Ron Washington was going to remove Wilson after just 104 pitches in the eighth inning. Yes, he did let two runners get on base, with Brett Gardner's gutty, gritty play, and Derek Jeter's RBI double, but he was still the best option. The second-best option would be to bring in closer Neftali Perez in that spot, with the heart of the Yankee order coming up.
But Washington instead decided to do this whole revolving reliever bit, using the Darrens (Oliver and O'Day) and a whole other slew of arms in the eighth. I was half-expecting to see the Darrens from "Bewitched" to pitch as well!
A-Rod silenced the "he's not clutch" critics for one night, at least, with his big hit. And after Robinson Cano drove in the tying run, and Marcus Thames got a hit to put the Yankees ahead for good, there was the thing that was symbolic of the night: the Nolan Ryan Face (photo courtesy of Sliding Into Home). Nolan really had the whole Angry Dad face going on, didn't he? Classic!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
Friday, October 15, 2010
This ALCS series will be no cakewalk for Yankees
I get frustrated when I hear Yankee fans -- or read New York sportswriters -- dismiss any playoff competition as an EZ-Pass or something. While the Bombers are a better team than the Texas Rangers, being the better team doesn't guarantee a playoff win. Or we wouldn't have the 83-win St. Louis Cardinals as the 2006 World Champions.
Anyhow, I think the Yankees will win the ALCS, but I will say it's in seven games, just to be on the safe side (I cautiously predicted the Yanks would win the ALDS in five games). But WhatIfSports, the sports simulation site, ran the series 1,001 times and determined that the Rangers will win!
I wrote an article for The Faster Times about WhatIfSports -- please check it out.
And also read my piece on the Rangers' whole "claw and antlers" thing. Squawker Jon has his own set of hand signals when it comes to watching Yankees games, too!
What do you think? Tell us about it.
Anyhow, I think the Yankees will win the ALCS, but I will say it's in seven games, just to be on the safe side (I cautiously predicted the Yanks would win the ALDS in five games). But WhatIfSports, the sports simulation site, ran the series 1,001 times and determined that the Rangers will win!
I wrote an article for The Faster Times about WhatIfSports -- please check it out.
And also read my piece on the Rangers' whole "claw and antlers" thing. Squawker Jon has his own set of hand signals when it comes to watching Yankees games, too!
What do you think? Tell us about it.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Texas papers (and some NYC journalists as well) stir up stuff against Yankees
The graphic on the right is from the Dallas Morning News, used to illustrate an anti-Yankee photo contest. Refresh my memory though. Who was it again who paid Alex Rodriguez $252 million in the first place? Oh, yeah, it was Tom Hicks and the Texas Rangers!
I saw one particularly nasty column on A-Rod on the Dallas Morning News' website. And wouldn't you know it? It was from Tara Sullivan of the Bergen Record! She wrote about Alex's time with Texas:
Three steroid-fueled seasons bloated A-Rod's personal stat column, but the obscene largesse of the biggest individual contract in pro sports history did little to get the lowly Rangers out of the cellar....Yes, that unsecured creditor fact is technically true, but Hicks' financial problems ($500+ million) were much bigger and deeper than the $27 or so million the Rangers owed A-Rod. Sullivan should know better, but it's easier to just blame A-Rod!
They never got close to this point with Rodriguez, whose justification for cheating was the pressure of living up to the enormous contract. The Rangers still are paying for their extravagance, with former owner Thomas Hicks forced to sell the team to the current group led by former ace Nolan Ryan. The franchise went into bankruptcy as part of the sale, and record show that the largest single unsecured creditor on the rolls was none other than Rodriguez.
The article also makes a big deal how A-Rod said this week that "boos are compliments." Guess Sullivan wasn't aware that Derek Jeter, with his "fans don't boo nobodies" talk, has said the same thing for years.
I was also reading some of the Texas Rangers' fans comments online. They're down on A-Rod, but Teixeira is just as much of a villain to them!
I did agree with DMN writer Evan Grant's evisceration of NYC tabloid columnist Filip Bondy's over the top take on the series. Bondy wrote:
The Rangers have retired exactly one player's jersey (aside from Jackie Robinson's) and attempted to counter George M. Steinbrenner with George W. Bush in the owner's box.I hate that kind of drivel, especially from a sportswriter who I know would rather be watching figure skating and soccer than covering the Yankees. And writing that "the Yanks should win this series just by throwing their pinstriped uniforms onto the field and reading from a few pages of The Baseball Encyclopedia" is just asking for bad karma.
All they've ever had was Nolan Ryan, and they've ridden him like an urban cowboy on a mechanical bull.
Yes, this has been a sad, losing franchise for half a century, but not in a charming way like the Cubbies. The Rangers are still hoping to emerge from the darkest of dark ages now under the guidance of Ryan and new owner Chuck Greenberg - who happens to be from Pittsburgh, so you can imagine how much he knows about building a decent baseball team.
The Yanks should win this series just by throwing their pinstriped uniforms onto the field and reading from a few pages of The Baseball Encyclopedia.
So I appreciate that Evan Grant rightfully criticized this New York nonsense, saying, "Congratulations, Mr. Bondy, if you could just toss in how we ride horses to work, wear cowboy boots all the time and shoot guns in the middle of dusty streets at high noon, you would have thrown the equivalent of a perfect game when it comes to tripe, cliche and mud-slinging. It's another example of why we in the newspaper business are in such trouble. This is what so many of us stoop to in order to draw page views." Bravo, Mr. Grant!
What do you think? Tell us about it!
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