Monday, May 4, 2009

Game 25: Boston Red Sox at NY Yankees. Live blog

Thank you to the Yankees for holding off the start time until 9:30 just for me. I got home from work not too long ago (just in time to see Tallett lose his no-hitter. Ha!) and I warmed up a hamburger, so I'm ready to roll.
I have a diatribe about Selena Roberts in my blog queue, so you'll get to read my thoughts on her later tonight.

Hey! Aceves is here! Whaddaya know! I mentioned him on my bullpen post.

How creepy do the guys in the booth look speaking to the cameras while looking up so high? It's contrived and odd.

Headed to Baseball Reference to look up some stats on the team. Hey, B-R, I appreciate your website, but I don't have $370 to throw around to sponsor the "2009 Yankees" page.

Phew, Swish is back. That means we're not sending Gardner out every few innings to strike out looking.

First pitch: a ball, outside. Let's roll!

Top of the 1st
Is it me, or has Robbie Cano been all over every single pop-up this year? I'm sure Alex will appreciate that when he comes back this week.

(Finished my hamburger. That was delicious.)

You've got to really be in love with your breaking ball to throw it in a 3-ball count. Hughes didn't walk anyone in his last start. Now he walks the #2 elf hitter. If you're Hughes, you've got to go after Ortiz here. He's the perfect double-play candidate.

It's interesting to me that no one really brings up David Ortiz's association with banned trainer Angel Presinal. Or the fact that Alex Rodriguez's associations with him don't necessarily mean anything insidious. The mainstream media really loves the Red Sox, don't they?

Double down the line. Hughes has awful career first-inning numbers. I'd like to see him get out of this jam, if for no other reason than as a confidence-booster. (And you really don't want to be trailing against Lester)

Never mind. 1-0 Red Sox. Molina looked shocked at the location of that pitch.

Hughes looks a little wild today but not terrible. He's certainly not as sharp as he was last week, and it's too early to call "squeezed!" so we'll see what happens.

1-0 Red Sox

Bottom of the 1st
Has anyone purchased Gameday Premium? It satisfies the baseball geek in me but $20 seems like a lot of money for not a lot of information right now. I've got student loans, people!

This is how every single one of Johnny Damon's plate appearances goes: look at a pitch, look at a pitch, slash-swing at a pitch (usually fouling it off toward third base), big swing-and-miss at an inside pitch, look at a pitch. I'm just saying.

Lester looks good early. This would be a great game for Teixeira to get going. No, seriously, Tex. Please start hitting.

Yankees strike out in order. I'm pretending this isn't a portent of things to come and I'm going to get more hamburger.

Top of the 2nd
Oh. Well, okay. 2-0 Red Sox on a Mike Lowell first-pitch home run to left

Michael Kay just echoed my thoughts about the Blue Jays and their soft April schedule. As my father says "but wins are wins."

They can show that Melky 6/6/06 catch as many times as they want. That's one of my favorite Yankee memories since the last pennant. Have I mentioned I'm a big Melky Cabrera fan?

Now I remember why Phil Hughes frustrates me so much: just when I think he's the Real Deal, he goes back to looking like a neophyte.

Bottom of the 2nd
Is Swisher trying to pull the ball with that open stance? Why cheat toward the big part of the ballpark?

Holy Moses that was a nice grab by Nick Green. How come he was awful with the Yankees and is all of a sudden Ozzie Smith with the Sox?

Jorge Posada is red. hot. I missed that big ol' butt last year.

Kay just announced that Melky is hitting .600 off Lester. This would be a good time to go .636.

Two outs with RISP. Good thing we have Albert Pujols at the plate! Oh...wait...

Yikes. That was a deflating inning. And I still haven't gotten my burger. I may miss the top of the 3rd. This is serious business.

2-0 Red Sox

Top of the 3rd
Well, I'm back. What'd I miss? Looks like nothing except PHIL HUGHES LOSING COMPLETE CONTROL OF THE STRIKE ZONE!

Ahem...sorry. A 5-4-3 DP does the trick to calm me down.

Here's how it works, Hughesy: When you get ahead in the count, you have a far better chance of recording outs than you do when you consistently throw first-pitch balls. Forget getting squeezed; he's all over the place tonight.

Oh he was so close. How do you berate a pitcher for giving up a bloop single?

Yankees need to string some hits together. Time to make their move.
3-0 Red Sox

Bottom of the 3rd(that's it? Seriously?)
Somehow, Berroa's strikeout makes me angrier than the other five. If you don't get much playing time, you have to produce more frequently.

Now Derek's only 4-21. I like seeing him pull the ball, even though everyone in baseball loves his super special inside-out swing.

Let's talk about Melky some more, shall we? Share with me your favorite Melky memories.

C'mon, Yankee fans. The booing is classless. This is why everyone in baseball hates you.

Top of the 4th
Okay, I'm calling it here: 1-2-3 inning for Hughes. Except not on that whiffed pop-up by Molina.

Out 1: F8 by Nick Green

Johnny Damon Not Making a Play 1: Ground-rule double by Ellsbury. And bonus creepy points for the fans trying to touch Damon's prone body.

Out 2: F8 by Pedroia and a close play at third on the gun of the Melkman.

Phil Hughes Being Unable to Retire Ortiz 2: RBI double down the right field line. And Swisher impressed me by gunning that ball in.

(I'll say it: Kevin Youkilis's batting stance really bothers me. He looks like a toddler trying not to wet his pants)

Um. Did the Red Sox first base coach just call Girardi a p*ick?

Out 3: Backwards K to Youkilis.

Phew. I'd like to see the Yankees cut the lead in half this innings, but you know what? Everytime I see that, they whole team simultaneously pops out while swinging and missed. Impossible, you say? Not for these guys.

Bottom of the 4th
What'd I say about pulling the ball, Swish?

I wonder if cameramen for NFL games look at MLB cameramen and laugh at their wimpy ways. These are the things that go through my head when the Yankees are trailing. Also, David Cone is a relentlessly optimistic broadcaster. I'm like the 25 year-old female version of him, minus all the infidelity and greenies.

No comment from me on Melky. And no comment on the Yankees' chances in this game. It's been a long night.

Top of the 5th
Aceves is pitching. I mentioned him before, like I said. He's got a lot of upside. I saw him pitch the weekend before last here in Rochester and he looked great. He does give up quite a few home runs, though.

Oh, okay. I see, blue. That was a strike for Lester but suddenly it's not anymore. I gotcha.

Aceves looks very studly in his "mugshot". Check out Gameday.

Nice inning for Double-A. (Ha! You're not the only one who can give players nickname, John Sterling)

Bottom of the 5th
Hip Hip Josey!

Someone remind me why Berroa's playing? Pena's a switch-hitter. Berroa has virtually no upside.

Wow, Jeter towers over the umpire. Good for Girardi coming out and getting ejected. I'm sure that's strategy, but I like it. I do not like another strikeout.

Home run for Johnny Damon into the right-field seats. I called that (in my head) about 20 seconds before it happened. I really should start digitally streaming my thoughts onto the internet. On second thought...

And Mark Teixeira jacks one to left!! Whatever Girardi did, it sure as heck worked.

4-3 Red Sox

Top of the 6th
Jeter's got to make those plays. Pitching and defense win championships and, as it stands, this team has very little of both.

Okay, I take back my Berroa comment--for now. Aceves looks pretty good through two. Think of how many games the Yankees could have won this year with a long man in the 'pen from Game 1.

Bottom of the 6th
I'm not going to lie--I won't cry if Youkilis needs to take a few days off. Meanwhile, I love how stadium crowds get so excited over fly balls. It's not always easy to judge the distance of balls hit into the outfield when you're watching it live. There are so many more factors that go into watching it on television that allow us to realize when a ball is routine or not.

Dear God,
I don't ask for a lot. I know, I know, I asked you to let Melky hit that walk-off against Oakland. But I really need to ask one more favor. Please don't let Posada be hurt. Pretty please? He's really important to the team.
Thank you,

Elizabeth

Top of the 7th
You've gotta love Aceves. Strikes out Bailey and then plunks Drew.

I'm the biggest jinx today. 6-3 Red Sox

Molina's a mess today. If we're going to need to see this every day (assuming Jorge's injured) we're in trouble. Luckily, he's never shown us that kind of sloppy play consistently throughout his career.

Bottom of the 7th and Kate Smith's annoying voice
I'm not too proud to admit that this game is giving me a monumental headache. And, while I generally respect the opinion of River Ave Blues, I'm puzzled by their newest Tweet: "Can we get over this myth of "Al Aceves knows how to pitch" already? Al Aceves knows how to pitch poorly."
Maybe I'm overly optimistic, or maybe I'm naive, or maybe I know very little about baseball, but I don't understand this statement. Aceves gives up home runs; this is true. But he's shown he's a very capable pitcher, with strikeout stuff. Sometimes RAB is much too quick to make snap judgments, like too many baseball fans.

Yankees go 1-2-3. Headache.

Top of the 8th
Sometimes this team looks like a Little League club and I have to close my eyes because they just can't get it together. I'm anxious to see them clean up their act. Right now, baseball feels a little bit out of sorts to me.

Walking Ortiz to pitch to the rookie? I hope this doesn't come back to bite them.
Whoa. Wait. He's not a rookie, is he? He looks like a soccer coach-dad. Like his name should be Steve or Greg.

Greg strikes out. Clock's ticking for the Yankees.

Bottom of the 8th
Teixeira ate his Wheaties this morning. 6-4 Red Sox

Now Swish is turned around to the short field. Let's see if he can get his power swing going at home.

Not, uh...not like that.

Yep, yep, Posada's hurt. I'm praying this isn't a DL situation.

Walkin' Robbie does it again. Clearly this means the Yankees are going to win the World Series this year. Meanwhile, Papelbon is coming in for a 5-out save.

For the record, I have no problem with Papelbon's celebrations, as long as they're done at home. I believe it's disrespectful to gloat and celebrate at another team's ballpark. However, if he wants to do that at Fenway, more power to him.

Melky extended his hitting streak to eight with that hit.

It'll be interesting to see what effect, if any, that pitch-leeching out of Papelbon's arm has.

Top of the 9th
Molina's probably thrilled that that pop-up landed in the seats.

I don't like this move of Ramirez for Aceves. I don't trust Ramirez is any game situation at this point.

See? No one is throwing any strikes coming out of that bullpen. The bullpen was such a strength last year and it's the biggest liability that's now starting to spill over into the rotation and lineup. Ramirez has got to go.

Not many things make me seethe more than relievers who can't come in and be effective. I need a Xanax.

Phil Coke up next on the Great Bullpen Experiment. Good lord, I need some sleep.

Coke is apparently going to laugh in my face about my need for sleep as he can't find the plate, either.

Phew. Let's see how good Papelbon really is against...oh, no. Berroa, Damon and Jeter.

Bottom of the 9th (otherwise known as "How Soon Will Elizabeth Get to Sleep?"
I wonder if Papelbon picked the best time in the world to hit Jeter? I'm sure that was no accident.

Now Teixeira is going to swing for the fences and strike out. I betcha. These are professional hitters. Why can't they hit like them in clutch situations?

Like I said...

You have two runners on, no one out, and you get nothing? That's the New York Yankees thus far in 2009. Still not more frustrating than a bullpen that can't throw strikes, though.

If I have a heart attack and die mid-post it will be all Michael Kay's fault. Sheesh.

Here we go. The entire ball game comes down to Robinson Cano vs. Jonathan Papelbon. If this were last May, I'd be crying already. As it is, I may be crying anyway. Maybe more so, because Cano's been so clutch all year.

This is Pap's 30th pitch, coming up...

Well, at least I'll get some (fitful) sleep tonight.

Final score: 6-4 Red Sox. Yankees are now 13-12 and Red Sox are 16-10

7 comments:

YankeeJosh said...

You're absolutely right about Ortiz and A-Rod. It's a double standard. Roberts used Presinal to condemn A-Rod but no one says word one about nice guy Ortiz.

Looking forward to reading your rant on Kitty Kelley, I mean Selena Roberts. It's too easy to confuse the two.

DynastyNYY said...

Jingoism is jingoism.

YankeeJosh said...

I agree about the booing. It's a bit much.

And Melky's done a lot of good things but nothing can top the catch on 6/6/06. Brilliant!

Topher D said...

little shaky defence with Jeter and Texeria there is no comparing Arod and BIG PAPI ,Arod is a known liar as well as some kind of ego freak. should be a great year.
Topher D

DynastyNYY said...

No one's comparing those two. I was wondering why no one bothered to question other athletes who hung around Presinal. How do you know Ortiz isn't a liar? Does he have the same kind of scrutiny on him? We don't know a lot about him, period.

YankeeJosh said...

Dynasty, exactly. Roberts used the fact that Presinal was A-Rod's trainer as "proof" that A-Rod used recently. Yet when it comes to Presinal and Ortiz, the connection is completly ignored. Hypocrisy at it's worst.

Topher D said...

the burden of arods contract,the way he finds himself playing 3rd base for the new york yankees, his sometimes bizzaar(?) behavoir.he is the backpage.i wish he had not done steroids, not that it would have suprised me.it would not suprise me if ortiz did steroids,but i dont think he did.