Doh!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Home Game 64
Tigers 5 Yankees 3
Subway Race Winner: D train
Cap Game: #1



Well, didn't that just suck. Granted, the Yankees had no business winning that game (3 runs on 3 hits?), but it would've been nice to have stolen that one. I'm more concerned than upset. 20 more pitches for Villone. 31 more for Proctor. This is why we can't have nice things, Joe. You keep on using them until they break. I think this would've been a perfect time to put Dotel in there. If you want to see what he's got, let him show it in a pressure situation. Now that Farnsworth's back is officially balky, the Yanks need another reliable arm in the pen. Well, we can't find out what he's made of if he doesn't get the chance to pitch in a big spot.

I've been reading a lot of comments and posts on other blogs about the booing after the top of the 9th. And while I'm sure a lot of people were booing Proctor, it seemed like a lot of dissatisfaction (in the immediate vicinity) was directed towards Torre for leaving Proctor in for so long.

There were a couple bright spots tonight. Wright pitched a good game. Much better that he had been doing. Of course it helped that this was the Tigers and they swing at everything. But still, he looked better. There were also some nice plays on defense. That bobble-spin-throw-to-second thing that Fasano did was awesome. Cano made a nice grab in the 8th to save a run. I missed the part where Guiel got run over though. I saw Cano make the throw and then all of a sudden Guiel was on the ground. I guess I'm still a little out of it. My head was clogged all day and I felt like I was listening to everything with paper cups over my ears.

This was the first time I've been to the Stadium since they broke ground for the new one. It's weird not seeing that park there anymore. Instead they have a black wall up. In some spot there's a fenced gate and you can see into the now empty lot. Some construction equipment is there and much of the ground seems to have been dug up already.



In attendance record: 24-16

This is probably for the best.

The rain out, that is. Jet lag is a bitch. And it doesn't help when you're sick too. So, I guess I'll only be seeing 1 game for the Tigers series as I can't take tomorrow off for the first game of the double header. I'm starting to go through my Seattle pictures and hope to have a recap of last Thursday's game sometime this week.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

In a few hours I will be heading off to Seattle for my cousin's wedding. It was just our dumb luck that the Yanks are out there right now too. So, we'll be at Thursday's game, which will hopefully be the rubber game of the series. And with any luck I'll be able to get a game recap up before the Detroit series at the Stadium starts.

Taking one for the team

Well, I suppose to go to the game tonight. But there was an emergency at work so I had to stay. In fact, I'm still here. The Yanks started to rally so I was afraid to leave, lest I bring some bad juju upon the them. Sounds like I missed a good one. But maybe it was for the better that I took a day off from the Stadium.

I think if they can maintain this 3-game lead going into Boston, they will be in good shape. (Although I will gladly take a 4- or 5-game lead too:-)

If I can swing it, I might head out to the Bronx tomorrow. If not, my next game will be next Thursday in Seattle.

Purgatorio

Monday, August 14, 2006
Home Game 59
Yankees 7 Angels 2
Subway Race Winner: Jailhouse Rock (see notes)
Cap Game: #1



Much better. The Yanks manage to come away with a split against the Angels. Would've been nice if they took one on either Friday or Sunday, but I'm not going to complain. Boston lost and the Yanks' lead in the East is back to 2.

This was a good win. Randy was great, scattering 8 hits over 7 innings. He struck out 5 and on his second K of the evening, he hit number 4,500 for his career. His only real trouble came in the 7th, when he gave up 2 runs. Finally, the Yankees' bats weren't cold (16 hits on the night). However, they couldn't quite get it together for the first 6 innings. They had a chance to score in the second but Giambi appeared to run through a Bowa stop sign and was thrown out at home. I was hoping he'd throw a shoulder at Molina just to try to make it interesting. Jeter put them on the board in the 3rd with a 2-run homer (and trotted the bases to some MVP chants). They had runnners on in 4th, but a base-running gaffe by A-Rod (that's all he needs now, right?) kind of killed the inning. With Cano and 1st and Alex at 2nd, Posada hit a grounder to Kendrick at second. It was a low liner that one hopped to him, so A-Rod had to hold up a bit to see if it was caught. I'm assuming he thought there would be a 4-6-3 double play, so he half-assed it to 3rd. Cabrera saw this and made a heads up throw to third to get A-Rod on the tag play. Lucky for A-Rod, he would later redeem himself. Come to think of it, that's really the only thing I think you can pin on him tonight. He played a solid third base, making some nice charging plays. He looked more comfortable tonight.

In the 5th, the Yanks ran into some bad luck. With Melky on 1st, they put on a hit and run. Damon smacked a liner to right field but it was right at Vlad, who made the easy double play. Can't really blame them for trying a hit and run. Although a bunt could've worked in that situation too (or maybe even a straight steal). At this point in the game, everyone is getting pretty antsy. We can see that Detroit is ahead, but we know that a 4 or 5 run lead at Fenway isn't going to cut it. Plus when the Yankees lose opportunities to put more runs on the board, things tend to not go their way. Sure enough, in the 7th, the Angels finally get to Johnson and put 2 runs on the board to tie the game. (My only real solace at this point in the night is that the Mets are getting clobbered. Not that I personally really care what the Mets do, but Philly pitcher Cole Hamels is on my fantasy team)

Bottom of the 7th, Damon leads off with a single. With Jeter up next, you could just smell a bunt coming. And he did. It was a perfect bunt and Jeter is safe at 1st. (They should make Melky watch tape of that bunt over and over again.) Abreu is now up with runners at 1st and 2nd. I heard someone in the crowd say that he should bunt the runners over. But I didn't really think they'd have their number 3 hitter do it. But, they did. Again, it was a great bunt, and he didn't look to be out by much at first. I'm already reading a lot of criticism for this move (cause, ya know, some people just can't be happy when the Yankees win a game). On the post-game they were talking about it and Joe had Larry approach Abreu to see if he was comfortable with it. Bobby was, so they put the bunt on. I really don't have a problem with it. The way their luck had been all night it looked like they would need to manufacture that go-ahead run. So now, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, they intentionally walk Giambi to pitch to A-Rod. When Molina stood up and held his hand out, the Stadium started to boo. By the 3rd pitch, chants of "A-Rod A-Rod" started. It was probably the most tense I've felt at a game this year. I sooo wanted to him to get a run home. I didn't care how. Hit, walk, sac-fly, HBP, whatever. I just wanted him to succeed. I guess partly because I'm tired of the boos and partly because he needs some confidence. I don't remember the count, but I do remember a couple foul balls. Then Alex to a pitch the opposite way, hitting a high fly ball to right. I knew it was fair and a run would come in, but I didn't know if it had enough to go over. I didn't see the catch, but later I heard that Vlad got it right a the wall. A-rod missed a grand slam by a couple feet. But, a run scored to put the Yanks ahead.

Farnsworth pitched the 8th and threw absolute heat. I can't see the gun readings where I am, but I'm sure a couple of those hit triple digits. The first batter was Vlad, a great power vs. power match up. And Farns' first pitch made Vlad's swing look slow. Hopefully he now realizes that his fast ball is his friend. In the bottom of the 8th, the Yanks finally got their offensive shit together and put 4 more runs on the board. Posada led off with a homer (3-4 on the night, maybe he's getting out of his slump now?). Wilson singled. Melky singled on a bunt! (Maybe he was watching Jeter and Abreu when they executed theirs). Abreu reached on an infield single, scoring Melky. A-Rod hit another infield single, scoring Jeter. 7-2 Yanks.

Mo was already warming up in the pen, so they brought him in the pitch the 9th, even though it was no longer a save situation. I would think that people would know by now that when Mo is already warmed up, he's going to come in to pitch. That's how it is. Get used to it. Quinlin led off with a single and moved to second on "defensive indifference". Molina grounded out to A-Rod. Willits tried to bunt his way on, but Alex made a nice charging play to nail him at first. Figgins grounded out to Cano to end the game. Despite their early troubles with getting runners home, this was a good win. I think (hope) Randy got over that 130 pitch outing and is now on track again to pitch these types of games. I really think that was the big issue with those troubled starts he had prior to the White Sox game.

Random Notes
– Cast members from the musical Jersey Boys sang the national anthem.

– When the Subway Race came on, there was sound but no video. In the middle of John Sterling's intro to the race, they cut in with Jailhouse Rock, so there was no race tonight. (unless I missed it later on, which is entirely possible)

– The giveaway today was a CD sampler from J & R. It has 6 songs: Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones, I Want Action by Poison, Warrior (Paulie's Theme) by Scandal (featuring Patty Smyth), I'm Walkin' by Fats Domino, Let's Work Together by Canned Heat, and of course Cotten Eyed Joe by Rednex.

– On Giambi's sac fly to right in the 8th, Vlad gunned the ball home to try to get Damon. The throw was late. Let me just say it was an absolute thrill to watch Vlad make that throw (especially since Johnny was safe).


I have 2 tickets to the Thursday day game that I can't use. If anyone is interested, email me (address is in the sidebar). I also have 1 for for tonight (Tuesday).

In attendance record: 24-15

John Sterling Makes Dead Elementary School Teachers Cry

Bronwyn C from WFMU writes about her dislike for the radio stylings of John Sterling.

Hey Hey, Ho Ho, John Sterling’s Got to Go

Abandon all hope, ye who try to figure out why the Yankees can't hit a rookie pitcher

Sunday, August 13, 2006
Home Game 58
Angels 5 Yankees 3
Subway Race Winner: 4 train
Cap Game: #2



Such a crappy game, on such a beautiful day. Not a whole lot to talk about. Actually, there's probably a lot to talk about but I don't really feel like doing it. Weaver the Younger was great. Wang wasn't. Craig Wilson hit a home run. So did A-Rod and Giambi. Villone did a good job in relief. As did Veras (although he's painfully slow).

There was a Matsui sighting during batting practice. When he was jogging in from the outfield my dad noted that he had a glove on. I said that he still wasn't cleared to catch anything. Just as I said that he scooped up a ground ball hit his way and got a nice hand from some fans.

In attendance record: 23-15

Sydney Ponson, Hitler and Liza Minelli walk into a bar...

Friday, August 11, 2006
Home Game 56
Angels 7 Yankees 4
Subway Race Winner: 4 train
Cap Game: #2



Ok, so I don't have a punch line, but all 3 of those people made an unwanted appearance tonight. Ponson in the 5th, when a stomach virus-stricken Lidle had to leave after 4 innings. Hitler, well, I'll get to him later. And Liza was heard during the sad walk out of the Stadium.

Lidle started out good enough. He struck out 3 of the first 4 batters he faced. Then he gave up a solo shot to Anderson. Ok, at least no one was on. He was kind of shaky in the 3rd, giving up 3 hits, including a 2-run shot to Izturis. But, he settled down in the 4th. The Yanks came back with a run in the bottom of the inning. A-Rod got the first Yankee hit of the game. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a Giambi single.

So with the score now 3-1, Ponson came in to pitch in the 5th, and proceeded to give up 2 more runs. He did his best Jaret Wright impression and managed to get hit by 2 balls right back at him. The first ticked off his glove making it impossible for Green to get the out at first. The next hit actually bounced off of Syd and landed in front of him. But he didn't know where it went and the runners were safe. He pitched a scoreless 6th but gave up another run in the 7th. With a runner on third Izturis singled to center. When the ball went past the infield I saw Jeter actually put his head down in a "shit, not another one" way.

We had no clue as to why Lidle was pulled. He didn't seem hurt or anything. On the post-game I learned that Corey had a stomach ailment was very weak. He told Joe that he could give him 4 or 5 innings. If the Yanks had a decent option to start tonight, it would be easy to question the decision to let Lidle pitch. But I would take 4 innings from a Corey Lidle with intestinal trauma than a start from Sydney Ponson.

The Yanks tried to chip away, but they just couldn't get any good rallies going. A-Rod had a pretty good night at the plate (2-4, with a HR and 2 runs scored.) He was robbed of a single in the 6th when he hit a laser to center, but Figgins dove forward to make the catch just before it hit the ground. Everyone thought it was going to drop, even Jeter who was nearly double off second.

Now about that Hitler thing. When Fasano is up at bat, they use this picture on the Diamond Vision. It's from his stint with Colombus in 2004. Well, in his AB in the 7th, it looked like the A/V guys tried to draw a mustache on Sal. From where I was it looked like a black blob under his nose. Someone shouted that he looked like Hitler. So the "Hit-ler Hit-ler" chants started up. A good amount of people joined in. (It got really loud at one point.) Some did the "sieg heil" thing with their arms. It was one of those things that was so very wrong, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing. I think I did so because I was so shocked.

Random Notes
– With all the recent security issues going on at the nation's airports, we are now required to open and sip from any drinks brought in from the outside.

– Before the game, Jeter was presented with, uh, something (don't remember what he actually got) for being named to the All-World team for the WBC.

– When Nick Green makes a nice play in the field, the organist plays a few bars of the Green Acres theme.

– My friend Dave totally called that double play that Giambi grounded into in the 6th. He also tried to take credit for the out that A-Rod made, although he said that he was going to strike out on high fastball. So I contended that it didn't count. Dave tried to argue, but Dave was wrong. Dave was a little tipsy tonight.

In attendance record: 23-14

I Must Be In The Front Row

Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Home Game 54
Yankees 7 Toronto 2
Subway Race Winner: WW
Cap Game: #2



There aren't many chances to catch a ball during the game in my usual seats. Sure, there's always batting practice, but I'm not doing that again anytime soon. So, I figured with my seat last night (first row, right behind the tarp) I would have a shot at something. Unfortunately only one ball came close. Bottom of the first, Jeter is up. First pitch he pops up to the down the first base line in foul territory. I can see the ball coming my way. As it's coming down I can tell it's going to land very close to me. All I can picture is getting thwacked in the head again. The ball keeps going past me, but I cower and cover my head anyway. It comes down 4 seats to my right and I hear a bit of commotion. I look up and see Alex Rios and his glove with the ball inside. (Thanks to Bronx Banter poster randym77 for the screen shots.) The fans gave the guy shit for letting Rios catch the ball. After awhile, I thought about it, and I was going to cut the guy a little slack because he was kind of small and Alex is a very large man. But after seeing the replay, the guy should've tried a little harder.

Can't say enough about Wang. Listening to the post-game on the drive home, Waldman was talking about how Guidry and Wang have been working well together. After a shaky second inning, Guidry was talking to him on the bench. He settled down in the third and was brilliant the rest of the way.

Jeter got the Yanks on the board in the 3rd, with a home run to center. In the 6th, A-Rod led off with a double to left. He really should have stopped at first, but he thought he could make it to second so he kept going. Catalanotto played the ball well, fired into second and had Alex out by a good 20 feet. But he made a nifty head-first swim slide and got around the tag. (I had mistakenly had my camera on the wrong setting and instead of getting a picture, I got this half-second video clip.) While it may not have been smart to make that turn for second, I like the aggression I'm seeing from A-Rod lately. And now that it seems like Torre will be batting Abreu third, I think Alex will be a lot more comfortable at the plate.

So, with A-Rod on second, Posada then hit a 2-run dinger to deep left, into the Blue Jays' bullpen. And that opened the flood gates. The Yanks batted around, scoring 6 runs. Cairo was the only Yankee without a hit last night. Both Wilson and Abreu recorded their first hits as Yankees. Wilson looks thinner than I expected him to be.

Villone came in to pitch the 9th, and unfortunately gave up a 2-run shot to Glaus to break the shut-out. But it didn't bother me too much. The Yanks win and stay ahead of Boston by a small margin.

Random Notes
– Before the game there was a moment of silence for Thurman Munson. Last night was the 27th anniversary of death. They also played a video tribute in the 7th inning. I wasn't old enough to remember when it happened, but I still get a little choked up whenever they play those old clips.

– A-Rod was wearing wristbands with Posada's number on it. I've heard of him doing this a couple other times. I'll have to keep and eye out to see if it's an every day thing.

– The MVP chants are starting for Jeter, much like they did for Alex around this time last year.

– A man and his son from New Orleans were sitting behind me. Nice guy. They were here on vacation and said that they couldn't go to New York without taking in a Yankee game. I like talking to out-of-towners that are here for the first time. Most of the time they have no rooting interest in the game so they tend to just appreciate the experience of being at the Stadium rather than get emotionally involved with the outcome.

– When the team was doing their post-game fist-knocking, 6'10" Randy Johnson held his hand way up for 5'11" Melky so he had to jump up to slap it. I don't know if they always do this or if Randy decided to have some fun with Melky. Either way, it was a funny sight. Something an older brother would do to a younger sibling.

In attendance record: 23-13

A New Beginning

Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Home Game 53
Yankees 5 Toronto 1
Subway Race Winner: 4 train
Cap Game: #2



Ok, so there are, what, 59 game left on the schedule. But last night had the feel of Opening Day all over again. We have new players in the Bronx. And there's a virtual tie atop the division. But unlike April, it's too late to be saying "well, it's still early."

It was a pretty good game. Wright pitched his usual 5 innings, but didn't implode when he got into trouble. Villone, Proctor and Farnsworth shut down the Jays the rest of the way. Although there were quite of few fly balls that could've gone out if the wind was blowing the right way. A-Rod got some love last night too. He's looking more aggressive at the plate, which is a good sign. His game-tying RBI double came on a 3-0 pitch, which he usually doesn't swing at. Hopefully with Abreu behind him, Alex will see better pitches. Although I would like to see Giambi and Bobby switched in the lineup.

Bernie added 3 more runs in the 4th with a bases-clearing double. Let's hope this is the start of one of Bernie's late-season hot streak.

Tonight we get to see what Craig Wilson is all about, presumably at first. He'll be tested right away, what with Wang on the mound. I bit the bullet and bought a ticket for tonight. The game isn't on my plan and since I can't go tomorrow, I figured I'd go tonight. I'll be sitting in the front row on the first base side by the tarp (I think. It's somewhere around there anyways.)

Random Notes:
– The organist played "Enjoy the Silence" before the game.

– Sheppard announced before and during the game, that with the heat wave the Yankees will be conserving energy throughout the Stadium. The out-of-town scoreboard and the Diamond Vision were used sparingly throughout the night. The tv's by the concession stands were turned off. They were also dimming some light amongst other things.

– This sign sums up my feelings quite nicely.

In attendance record: 22-13