Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
"It's hard times befallen/The sole survivors"
Josh Beckett wears number 19 on his back and now he's got a matching figure on his ledger as he dropped a gem on the Yankees to earn his major league-leading 19th win of the season. Beckett held the Yankees to three hits and just six base runners while striking out seven in seven innings, the one blemish on his line being a solo homer to dead center by Derek Jeter in the first inning. That would be the only run the Yanks would score all evening as Mike Timlin and Bryan Corey swept up the final two innings.
Chien-Ming Wang, meanwhile, was off his game. Wild up in the zone, Wang gave up singles to three of the first four batters he faced to allow the Red Sox to tie the game in the first. In the third he walked the bases loaded with two outs as David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and J.D. Drew took 16 straight pitches (only four were strikes), but Jason Varitek swung at the first pitch and popped out to preserve the tie. Wang worked a 1-2-3 fifth, but all three outs came on fly balls to center (he'd have more fly ball outs than ground ball outs on the night). Wang got Dustin Pedroia to ground out to start the fifth, but after getting ahead 0-2 on Kevin Youkilis, he lost one up and in which caught Youkilis in the back wrist. The Jewish God of Squawks immediately flew in to his usual cursing and complaining routine and left the game with what was ultimately diagnosed as a bruise. Fleet-footed rookie Jacoby Ellsbury was put in to run and eventually came around to score on singles by Ortiz and Drew, giving the Sox a one-run lead after five.
Things got worse in the sixth. Erik Hinske, who had started in left and moved to first after Youkilis left the game, led off the sixth with a double. Coco Crisp followed with a single to center that pushed Hinske to third. After a Julio Lugo fly out, Crisp took second uncontested. Pedroia then grounded to Robinson Cano who was pulled in to try to cut off the run. He did just that. Despite Jorge Posada gesturing for him to go to first, Cano whipped a throw home which Posada caught as he fell to his knees and got positively flattened by Hinske. Hinske hit Posada high across the chest with a forearm, knocking Jorge's mask and helmet clean off, but Posada held the ball for the second out of the inning. It was all for naught, however, as Crisp took third on the play, Pedroia stole second uncontested, and Ellsbury and Ortiz singled them both home, with Ellsbury scoring from first on Ortiz's single as Jorge Posada, despite perfectly blocking the plate, forgot to actually make the tag. That made it 5-1 and drove Wang from the game.
In the seventh, Edwar Ramirez, who had struck out Mike Lowell to end the sixth, walked J.D. Drew, then struck out Jason Varitek, then was inexplicably pulled so that Ron Villone, who hadn't faced a major league batter since August 21, could pitch to the lefty Hinske. Villone, of course, walked Hinske on five pitches. Torre then called in Brian Bruney, who earned the lineup card the night before with a crucial scoreless inning that set up the big comeback. On this night, however, he gave up a ground rule double down the right field line to Coco Crisp that scored Drew, and walked Lugo on four pitches before striking out Pedroia. Torre then tried another lefty matchup with Sean Henn, whose only major league appearance since being recalled saw him fail to get an out on Friday night, against Ellsbury and Ortiz. Henn gave up a two-RBI single to Ellsbury to officially put the game out of reach at 9-1, then walked Ortiz to load the bases for good measure. That allowed Torre to go to Ross Ohlendorf, who walked Mike Lowell to force in a run on four pitches, but then proceeded to strike out four of the next five batters he faced (though he did also allow a solo homer to Hinske in the eighth).
Somewhat fittingly, Bronson Sardinha made his major league debut as a defensive replacement in the eighth, then, in his first major league plate appearance, swung at the first pitch and ground into a game-ending double play in the ninth. Final score 10-1 Sox, who erased any lingering doubts about their winning the division with the victory.
Elsewhere in the Cy Young race, Johan Santana gave up four runs in the first inning to the Tigers, who currently hold a 4-2 lead in Minnesota in the bottom of the fifth.
Saying that FOX is terrible at broadcasting baseball games is like saying that puppies are cute. There's no one left to convince, but the first inning of today's game provided a sharp contrast between FOX and the outstanding job that the YES Network does. As Bobby Abreu fought the sun in right field, Tim McCarver made several references to Lou Piniella's stab play in the Bucky Dent game in 1978, but FOX never ran the clip, even after Abreu made a similar (though not nearly as miraculous) stop on a ball he cleary couldn't see. YES would have shown that replay on first mention. What's more, McCarver kept talking about how Abreu was shielding his eyes with his glove prior to each pitch, but it took FOX took several pitches to show a shot of Abreu, finally doing so in a split-screen just as Wang was delivering a pitch, reducing Lowell's game-tying RBI single to a box half the size of the screen. YES would have shown Abreu immediately, doing so between pitches, then cutting back to the full-screen center field camera shot as Wang kicked and delivered.
Pete Abe piles on:
"I see Dane Cook in the Fox booth. What a time to not have a hand grenade. I remember hearing about him last year, wondering what all the fuss was about and then watching his show on HBO. It was brutal.I used to get comedy albums when I was a kid. Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Rodney Dangerfield. Those guys were funny. Dane Cook is like a drunk guy at a bar at 2 a.m. who thinks he's funny and he's not.
But some marketing whiz at MLB figures he's down with the kids and they hire him to do promos. You know who should do promos? Roberto DeNiro. Everybody likes DeNiro. Or Denzel Washington. Who doesn't like him? Get Jay-Z. But Dane Cook?"
Or Don Cheadle, who did a great job with those NFL promos. What Pete fails to mention is that Dane Cook and MLB on FOX were made for each other, both are loud and completely unqualified to do what they're doing.
One of the most perfect sentences ever written.
Denzel doing promos- seriously, how cool would that be?
To wash the taste of this one out, I'm guessing this will please quite a few people (judging by the game thread)- Jessica Alba on Conan:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pampOkNqkdY
The Boston Rag (siddown, and shaddup, Youk)
My Rival (long distance dedication from Wang to Beckett)
Dirty Work (lookin' at you Hinske)
Everyone's Gone To The Movies (including our bullpen)
Pretzel Logic (how many pitchers did we use again?)
oh, and one for McCarver et al:
Only A Fool Would Say That
But it helped.
BTW, Twins are within one at 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth. Santana's still in the game and has struck out seven.
And here's a choice lyric snippet for the Bostonians:
"I hear you are singing a song of the past
I see no tears
I know that you know it may be the last
For many years"
Dig it.
Immediately drag Schilling to shallow water with walks, basehit bunts, and stolen bases. Pierce the blubber with consecutive RBI doubles. Drag him to shore, and go Eskimo on him. But let him suffer at least until the fourth or fifth.
And let's have Shelley Fronkenshteen replace Godzilla at DH for one day, shall we?
The Steely sessions were definitely the highlight of my short career. If I could use one word to describe their approach it would be 'meticulous'. You're absolutely correct in them working with the best. The "studio musicians" for those tracks included the Brecker brothers, Mark Knopfler, Hugh McCracken, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd, Tom Scott, Rick Marotta, Larry Carlton and more. Talk about a 'moiderers row'. Holy cow!
For one track, we had to rent a Fender Rhodes (electric piano), had it delivered from SIR (Studio Instrument Rental), and I recall producer Gary Katz rejecting it, citing 'distortion' in a minor key that no one else could hear. Studio tech support was called in, hooked up some signal testing equipment, and sure enough he was right. That was a long night, but illustrative of how buttoned down they were...
Then reality sunk in, as the next sessions I got assigned to were The Village People. I kid you not...
They've got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues.
I certainly was feeling the Deacon Blues after the loss to the Red Sox and it got worse after Bama blew a 21 point lead against Arkansas. But the Tide didn't fold completely and pulled it out for a 41-38 win. At least the day was not a total loss. Play it again, Steely...
Damn, that is some roster for your Steely sessions.
You're right again. The strings and horns sessions for Village People tracks were incredible. I thought we were recording the f'n London Symphony Orchestra...
12 I dunno. We haven't done too bad vs The Schill this year. 16 earned runs in 25 innings, 35 hits, 8 HRs and a BA of .337. His ERA against us is 5.76. If Rocket is feelin' no pain, and maybe thinkin' this might be his final appearance in Beantown, he just might get us into the 7th in good shape. Here's hopin' for that...
Yanks need to rock Schilling early and often tomorrow.
That Darren McFadden is one tough running back. He should be in the pros right now. Watching him tonight reminded me of watching A-Rod when he is locked in and raking. They seem to play on a higher plane than everyone else.
G'night all, I'm out. We'll get 'em tomorrow...
Roll Tide and Go Yankees!!!!!!
14 Nice. Very nice...
Great day all around for football.
We haven't really hit well lately, and the blowhard pitching on the other side does seem to manage to hold us down at the most inopportune times. I don't think he'll meltdown against us, though i'd love to be wrong.
27 Clarification: Hoping for the best, Roger completes six, keeps us in the game, and then hands it to Joba/Mo for the close. Five innings and a close one? I'll take that, too. We can, have, and should hit Big Mouth...
i hate to admit it, but i am NOT a steely dan fan in the slightest. i actually have a bunch of musician friends that are in my corner, too. i dunno, it's just too 'safe' for me. it's like they oughtta know better. they have like the best musicians in the world with them and some of the tunes are very well written, but it's so...vanilla. and square.
anyway, that's just me. still, an unbelievable work experience. thanks for sharing! if you did similar work on the left coast you probably could've worked with drummers john guerin and jeff porcaro (RIP both)...
can't say i'm too happy about today's happenings in baseball. we're still up on detroit by 3 in the loss column, but they just got to santana and won 4 in a row. i'm definitely sweating it. tomorrow is pretty much a must win and we really need to beat up on the shitty teams the last 2 weeks of the season. go Rocket, go scott baker!!!
I'm sweating it too. Personally, those "Postseason Odds" things jump around so much that I basically throw them out the window.
I don't know, though. It's been so long that the Yanks haven't been in October that I don't even know what it'd be like. But I think I'd recover. I guess since I've been mentally preparing for it since 05, when things looked extremely bleak. Am I alone? Would anyone pull a Chris Crocker?
yeah, it's probably just me - i've got a MAJOR thing for blondes. so, in reality the ones i saw have nothing on jessica alba, but to me, i lose all sensibility in the presence of a freakin' barbie doll look-a-like...
i hear ya, it's been ages since we haven't played in October. it's not a birthright, but it does almost seem like a given. since '05, folks here at the Banter have mentioned how they'd give up the postseason one year to work in some of the kids. well, it looks like we can possibly have the best of both worlds here in 07 (as long as Joe doesn't call on Henn anymore...). personally, i'd be mortified if we don't make it to the playoffs. it would completely crush me...
i hear ya, i can't pull an all-nighter tonite. i'm totaled and have another gig tomorrow afternoon, 1.5 hours away in the north georgia mountains. finally, today the southern heat broke. i hope for cooler temperatures the end of sept. when i go visit the fam in NY. it's a shame the Yanks will be in Tampa when i'm home. them the breaks...
It's one game, folks, we'll bounce back. If we don't call me a liar, but we'll be in the post-season soon.
Sheesh.
http://tinyurl.com/2z8s6w
Use the link if you'd prefer to avoid cursory contact with dickweed Lupica's ode to Beckett.
Looks like Posada is OK.
That's why they make chocolate and vanilla.
And yeah, I don't get the vanilla idea either. I can see how someone would say they sound too clean, or perhaps cold. The lyrics are way too subversive to be vanilla.
37 Man, I miss him. I hope he comes back in some capacity soon.
:)
To my untrained ear their compositions are complex enough, and, as you say, lyrically they've got plenty going on to keep them out of the vanilla bin.
I'm optimistic about Roger tonight. I think he knows this is the last season -- he can't even go half a season anymore without breaking down and this is going to be his last regular season game in Fenway. He'll let it all hang out tonight.
Now i'm thinking of yummy baked goods and the 5 pounds of blueberries in the fridge!
Walter Becker and I graduated from the same high school (Stuyvesant). He in '66, me in '81.
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen first played together at Bard. Their drummer? Chevy Chase.
In my hard rocks days, I was pretty impressed with:
Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge and much more)
Ian Paice (Deep Purple)
Aynsley Dunbar (frank Zappa)
Barriemore Barlow (Tull)
Love to hear your assessment.
yeah, you were just more blunt and harsher than me, but i agree with your thoughts 100% - i, too, despise Steely Dan.
so, you play drums for a living! do you freelance or have a steady gig? are you in nyc? do you teach? sorry for all ?'s, it's just cool to have a peer here...
39 40 49 i know, i know. some truly fantastic drummers were on their records. even moreso nowadays when you look at their tours, employing the likes of Dennis Chambers, Keith Carlock, Peter Erskine and others. there are certainly some SD tunes where the drums are up front. i don't know their catalog inside and out but Gadd on Aja and the "Purdie Shuffle" on Babylon Sisters come to mind. i dig a lot of bands/styles where the drums are NOT up front, so that's not it for me.
i do think it's 'vanilla' in a lot of ways. but i guess adjectives like too "clean" or "glossy" work just fine.
55 that's awesome! i believe dana carvey and jim belushi both play drums, as well...
56 i'm definitely a barriemore fan, he rocks! the shit he was doing w/ Tull on Thick as a Brick and A Passion Play in the early-mid 70's was killin'. i think he's really underrated and unnoticed. cool little fact: he played on Yngwie J. Malmsteen's debut cd!
i'm a HUGE Zappa fan, but i'm not a big Aynsley fan per se. he's certainly a good drummer and has had a great career. other noteables include Journey and Whitesnake on his resume.
Ian Paice is okay. cool lefty, liked jazz, has decent hands. i'm not a big fan of him or Carmine though. too "Rock" for me. carmine (and his brother vinny), always have terrible, awful, horrible sounding drums. like cardboard boxes.
so, from your list: they're all good and have had big gigs, but i'm really only down with Barriemore Barlow. (what a name, too!)
i'm gonna have to scoot out to a gig here pretty soon and won't be back til the game is on. but i'll try and check back here for comments tonight to catch up.
Rock on, Vockins!!!
i've got his 2005 Topps card right here on the side of my fridge, so i 'see him' all the time. it's not the same though. it's a great card - he's in home pinstripes at a corner base. left hand gently relaxing down at his side, right hand replete with helmet raised high and the crowd behind him standing. it must've been from a big moment. his face is calm, cool & classy.
i love bernie.
Which one was John Glasscock, one of the guitarists? Now there's a rock name.
Well, all, good luck. I'm signing off from baseball altogether for the rest of the season, seeing's how Torre's only playing for the wild card, yet curiously refuses to rest Jeter until then. There's potential for evil there and I don't want to have to witness it. I'll be back during the playoffs (I'm that sure we'll make it). TTFN...
40 Steely Dan has some absolutely phenomenal drummers. Bernard Purdie is a massive, groundbreaking player. Just incredible. I could listen to him all the live long day. My issues with Steely Dan have nothing to do with their drummers. It's just what the drummers are in service for on Steely Dan records.
56 I like Paice with Deep Purple and Appice with Vanilla Fudge, but it's more about liking some albums they played on. I like Zappa up to and including Hot Rats, but I don't really listen to much of the stuff after that. Tull's never been my thing, but obviously Barlow knows what he's doing.
I guess I like drummers that really contribute to the effect of a good song. That's incredibly ambiguous but that's the best I can articulate the idea. I like Elvin Jones, but I like Phil Rudd too, because both of them played exactly what the songs demanded. Britt Walford is excellent, but so is Ralph Molina. Charles Moffett is phenomenal and so is Clyde Stubblefield. They all serve the song.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QIKe5Dwz2vI
Wow ..... its true!
http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/glassja01.shtml
Gadd on "Aja" is just amazing. I saw him play a few times live: once (I think) with Chuck Mangione and his orchestra. He drives the band in a subtle way.
As a high school kid in the late 70s, college in the early 80s in upstate NY (Siena) - I was very into Rush and Genesis - loved that stuff back then and loved Neil Peart and Phil Collins (When he played and not sang)
As for the recent games - I've been in Newport at a friends wedding. Surrounded by drunk "Red Sox Nation" - Saturday sucked - but Friday was nice ! Here's hoping for the best tonight
Go Yanks, Go Yanks, Go Yanks, Go Yanks, !!!!!!!!!!!!
Mets getting waxed. 8 pitchers for them.
Ugly afternoon for the hometeams.
Schilling will be distracted by the primetime Emmy awards tonight, even though he doesn't stand a chance against Gandolfini. Kick his ass while he's down, Yankees!
nice description of the appices thealarmis ... i've never really listened to carmine very much, but i've always referred to vinny as "the bogslogger" since his drumming always sounds like he's just finished crawling through miles of muck and mud and is exhausted beyond belief ...
Frankly, I'm not good enough to be able to make up "Pebbly Jack" Glasscock.
Damon LF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Posada DH
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Mientkiewicz 1B
Molina C
72 Too funny, now if they just schedule the Bloggies during one of his starts in the playoffs, we're set.
Zach Barocas of Jawbox. He played intricate stuff but hit the drums as hard as Grohl.
Damon CF
Damon CF
Jeter SS
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Giambi DH
Cano 2B
Matsui LF
Betemit 1B
Molina C
Posada in the sixth or seventh if necessary.
I know this is useless but I just wanted to write it out.
Psh.
Joe's weirdly charitable when it come to Schilling.
At least the game isn't on ESPN, so we have that goin' for us.
Gotta use Minky though, Giambi's elbow is sore, Philips and Duncan are on the DL.
Not sure Betemit is a better option than Minky.
Betemit at least has some power...painful watching Mintkiqwezxt at the plate..
With Detroit charging hard, the Yankees simply can't afford to let Torre give away a game, but he is doing everything in his power to ensure that he does. All of sudden, that invitation to the playoffs is looking more and more tenuous.
I simply can't understand JT's reluctance to use Giambi as our 'regular' DH.
New thread up.
"Posada told us he's feeling OK after the collision with Hinske yesterday and thought it was a clean play. He revealed that for the last three seasons he has had CT scans after the season just for his own peace of mind. … Giambi had his right elbow iced up, the result of being hit yesterday. He doesn't think it's a problem."
1) If Jason's elbow is not right, then he probably isn't good for hitting.
2) I would rather be cautious with Jorge after yesterday. Concussions are tricky and the season is not worth long term harm to Jorge.
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.