Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
As I walked to the subway last night I saw a middle-aged man wearing a Yankee cap and a navy blue t-shirt that read: "Got Melky?" I complimented him on his shirt. Dude was the first person I thought about early this morning when Melky Cabrera's solo home run won the game for the Yankees in extra innings, 5-4.
Sidney Ponson wasn't terrible but Joel Piniero was better. (Both bullpens were strong.) The Yanks trailed 4-2 in the ninth when it began to rain. After the heat we've suffered through in New York for the last few days, the rain was welcome. And just as the Yanks started to rally, the rain started to fall. The crowd--as if speaking for all of New York--started to cheer, both for the team and for the rain. Andy Phillips doubled. Thunder clap. The fans roar. Winds swirling like mad. Aaron Guiel, pinch hiting, singled to right scoring Phillips. Lighting. More cheers.
And then, a gift. The Yanks lucked out when Jorge Posada was called safe legging out a ground ball. He was clearly out. Instead of two outs and a man on third, it was one out, men on the corners. Johnny Damon followed and slapped the first pitch into center for a sacrifice fly, tying the game.
Alex Rodriguez did not start but entered the game late as a pinch-hitter (Nick Green played third and collected three hits). In the seventh, Rodriguez popped up to the shortstop. Before the ball landed, the boo birds began to howl. Now, Rodriguez was up in the ninth with two outs and a runner on first. The rain poured down, a real summer thundershower. The crowd cheered Rodriguez. But with the count 3-1, the umps called for the tarp. Derek Jeter was due up next. As the players filed into the dugout, Jeter had a look of mock disgust on his face (though the Yankees were lucky the umps let them play as long as they did). Seconds later, he was smiling, that broad, easy smile of his that we only see on the field or in the dugout but never when addressing the press.
Rodriguez would have to close to two hours to think about things before he got back in the batter's box. When play resumed, he swung at a slider and then was caught looking by a fastball on the outside part of the plate. The boo birds had mercy--or most of them had gone home already. Perhaps the rain temporarily refreshed them. Two innings later, Cabrera ended it. What a joyous way to end the game as well as the heat wave. As Cabrera approached the plate, he tossed his helmet into the air with both hands--a move that has become customary these days. Johnny Damon caught the helmet and happily spiked it into the ground behind home plate.
The energy in the stadium in the ninth inning will go down as one of the most memorable moments of the year for me. And how about Johnny Damon playing first and Andy Phillips playing second base? The Yanks steal a win and remain a half-game behind Boston. Not a bad way for Joe Torre to celebrate his 66th birthday.
And I went to bed once the tarp came on.
A couple times the amount of late movement caught even Stinnett off guard.
I went to bed with the tarp as well, but having seen Sid pitch as well as he did, I was content with the loss, and ready to tip my cap to the Seattle bullpen - a bizzaro win at 12:40 am is just icing on the cake...
After sitting in the stagnant heat the last couple nights the rain felt great!
Whatta game, dunno what else to say.
From the air-conditioned chill of my basement, I thought about him almost with pity as the game got underway. Sir Pantsalot was off to his expectedly terrible start, it was a murderous 100 degrees, and Joe had deployed a mid-March split-squad lineup that would surely make Pinero look like Johan Santana. (Cliff covered these hellish conditions in his pregame).
Five and a half hours later, I had zero pity for my friend, who, no doubt, was one of the few thousand lucky, soggy fools who witnessed a wild game, and rode out the storm, waiting for the Melkman's early morning delivery.
Don't 'cha love gettin' lucky?
Can't wait for lunch. I'm having "20 Games Over .500" on rye.
Of course my wife thinks I'm crazy to dream about the Yankees at all, but that's another story.
Imagine how thrilled I was to wake up and find that, not only did the Yanks win, but my daughter slept through the night as well. Here's to another win today!
It would seem to me your wife is lucky that the only Mistress you dream of wears pinstripes.
Here's hoping she gets another good night of rest after today's matinee. Sweep dreams.
Sir Sidney wasn't bad once he settled down. He kept the game in hand and the Yankees had a chance to win which the most one can ask from the 5th starter. We'll see how he does his next time out.
But just wondering: Does anyone ever dream the Yankees win? Maybe it's because I started being a fan in the mid 1960s, a famously horrible period in Yankee history.
However, considering the law of averages, I still don't want to bet the PS and WS on our current roster. It's possible that ShefSui may come back and be productive, but looking at the history of wrist injuries and considering the time missed, I wouldn't count on it. Matsui batting .270 with an OPS of .800 will help, but not that much. At least it will get Bernie off the field.
I checked out Beltran's numbers after he hit yet another slam yesterday. We are eating 34 mil/year of RJ/Pavavno/Wright (who are producing about 15 mils worth) and we were worried about 'overpaying' Carlos 14 mil/year. Literally one of the biggest offseason mistakes in Yankee history.
Abreu is way overpaid, and he is not a star, but he is an impact player. Swapping Abreu for Bernie is a major upgrade on offense, defense and the bench. No matter what happens, the pennant race will be close, and if we win the AL East, there is still a long PS ahead. I think Abreu could be the difference. I'd rather have Sori, but he looks out of the picture now (although Cashman is sneaky smart).
The Sir Toad deal rivals last years Small aquisition, except Small never really had much talent. Ponson is a guy with decent talent who is a head case. He is not an Ace but that's what the O's hoped for. It seems the contract and position went to his (already questionable) head. But emotionally, he seems to be back on track. I think he is really glad not only to have a second chance, but to have it with the Yankees. Kudos to the much maligned Man-of-Cash.
No question that this teams is much, much more fun to root for without it's typical mercenary lineup. Cashman's commitment to the Farm makes the future look much brighter.
I remember one (non Yankee fan) writer talking about a dream infield of:
Nick the Stick, Soriano, Jetes and Henson.
Well, it was not to be... but in a few years we will hopefully see some young studs: Hughes, Tabata, Duncan and that young stud Catcher we just signed.
I think Ponson will be a decent #5... maybe even #4. Wright appears be be getting slowly, consistantly better. It we can get one impact bat and Dotel and team stay healthy, we are in a pretty good position.
I was astonished at how well Sir Sidney did. I'm willing to cut a little slack for first-inning jitters; but even so, he pitched into the 7th and kept the team in the game. He keeps doing that, we've got a fifth starter. I was down on him, hated the idea of seeing him in pinstripes, so now I guess I have to eat my words, or eat crow, or eat my hat. Or I would, except that Sidney's probably eaten them already...
That's my bad, re: the link. I ment to use a Seattle link there and the Boston one for the Red Sox mention at the end. I'll try and correct that later on. Good lookin.
16 I would much rather have Abreu than Soriano. Abreu might not be a star, but he probably should be. He's very much like Beltran in that he does everything well but doesn't dominate in anything. I know his rep in the field isn't good, but I don't know how much of that is Phillie fans. In everything else, Abreu produces at a high and very consistent level.
Soriano, on the other hand, is a streaky player having far and away his best year. I don't trust him to maintain this level of production, because he's never done it before. He's extremely capable of laziness and lackadaisical play. I definitely wouldn't want to sign him to a long-term, big-money contract.
Melky's reaction was awesome - adorable actually - just like the giddy kid that he is! I like how they mobbed him and then he just darted for the dugout - as if to say "dudes, let's get the hell out of here! We've GOT to get some sleep!"
YES picked Ponson as POTG, but watching the replay this morning, I have to say POTG was Andy Phillips. Ponson was good, but he put the Yanks in a hole to begin with.
It was really tough, because so many players contributed last night, but Andy really stands out.
A home run. And a sparkler of a defensive play. And a hustle double in the 9th that eventually became a run. And solid play at 2B (when he'd never played 2B in the majors before).
Johnny Damon would be my second pick. Pushed the tying run across and kept hope alive. And he played 1B for the first time in his major league career...and saved Scott Proctor an error!
Honorable mention to Villone, Posada, Wilson, Guiel, Farnsworth, Proctor, Melky, the first base umpire, and Mother Nature. ;-)
22- Not quite innocent but there are pillows around.
http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1823110,00.html
I also highly recommend everybody else check this out. Just shows you what happens in a country without MLB!
I don't want to use BB as my personal vehicle, but if you have an interest, drop me a line at: wizofoz01@comcast.net
I liked the part where Jeter introduces the kid to Bernie. He says something like "He's our oldest player. Your dad used to watch him when he was a kid."
Bernie looks at Jeter and says, "That ain't right."
And when Reggie tells Jeter (about the kid), "He's never seen me play!"
Jeter replies, "I've never seen you play, either."
The segment ends with Bubba Crosby telling the boy that when he gets big and strong, maybe he can be a Yankee, too. (Was I the only one thinking, "When are you going to get big and strong, Bubba?" ;-)
I see that line everywhere, and its obviously a result of the last 4 or so years,, but it always kind of pissess me off. It combines two of the worst aspects of Yankeeness: the mindless thought that we are entitled to everyone in mlb at whatever cost, and the demand that the Yanks sacrifice everything for any chance of a player. To me, yes, the Yanks could use some help, but I hardly think it is a foregone concluusion that the Yanks will make a trade, let alone that they should.
I know that it is the media needing a story, but hopefully Cash's new role will do away with some of that mentality, as has been rehashed many a time here
31- Too funny about Bubba. But it was exciting to see that they are all loose and having fun. I cracked up when he said that about Bernie. Johnny Damon was trying to teach the poor kid some dance moves and I don't think the kid wanted to learn the moves he was showing him.
www.nosenseworrying.com/img/071806_jeter_arod.jpg
I'll have more up once I finally get my blog entry finished.
I also liked Reggie's line about how "If you have an hour or so, Steven, I'll tell you all about me!" I almost busted my gut laughing at that one. The older he gets, the more I like Reggie.
I was very tempted to work singledd's 29 link into that statement, but I restrained myself. I'll leave that to Sliced or one of the other resident comedians.
Anyone else figure they're going to get little to no work done this afternoon?
I first heard about the Make A Wish thing reading a newspaper article from the kid's home town. I don't usually watch SportsCenter, but watched it yesterday after reading the article.
The kid specifically mentioned the dance steps Damon tried to teach him, and said he was still practicing.
37 Probably. I'm just amused at how sports writers are always going out of their way to mention how small Bubba is. He must looks smaller in person than on TV.
39- I can't even imagine being at that game. I woke the entire house up the husband and kids had retired much earlier. I will never forget it.
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Giambi DH
ARod 3b
Posada C
Philips 1B
Melky LF
Guiel RF
Green 2B
Trades or no trades, I just hope we can keep the pitching staffs after ASG The Way They ARE. Yes, all of them, pitching the way they are.
On an unrelated note(actually who knows), Bubba and Berkman played in the same college program in Texas.
A friend of mine who is from that area said that it was Bubba who was thought to have had the brighter baseball future back then. Didn't turn out that way.
Todays Question:
Mr. Mullets final line:
RJ will go ____ innings and give up ____ earned runs.
I say 2 runs in 6 innings (pretty safe)
http://tinyurl.com/q66la
How is that mass-masturbation event any different than the mass circle-jerk which takes place every day in Red Sox Nation?
You figure the self-pleasuring participants will be smarter and better-looking than the hideously stupid, wank-til-you're-blind Boston fan, but other than that? Sounds like just another icky "Give Yourselves A Hand Day" in Redsoxville.
Let's go U-nit! (sweep, sweep, sweep-sweep-sweep!)
61 I am hoping it's just Torre decided to give him more rest. And then pinch-hit him later if needed. I refuse to think about that foul ball and his hand.
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