Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Baseball's other three division series ended before the Yankees came to bat last night, and, in the early going, it looked as though the Yankees would go down as meekly as the Cubs, Phillies, and Angels. Roger Clemens got two ground balls to start the game, but Derek Jeter threw the second past Jason Giambi for what was absurdly ruled an infield single by Asdrubal Cabrera. Clemens then fell behind Travis Hafner 3-0, eventually walking him, and, after a Victor Martinez fly out, gave up an RBI single to Ryan Garko.
Thus the Yankees came to bat already behind 1-0 in a game in which they faced elimination. Johnny Damon singled to start things off, but Jeter, fresh off his non-error, bunted foul then ground into a double play. The pattern repeated itself in the second when Trot Nixon, whom Eric Wedge devilishly started in right field against Clemens, homered to make it 2-0 Cleveland, and Jorge Posada ground into a double play to erase a leadoff single by Alex Rodriguez (yes, Alex Rodriguez, what of it?).
The key event of the second inning, however, came on the second pitch to Kenny Lofton, who was leading off the inning. Lofton bunted a ball foul down the third base line and, in breaking off the mound, Clemens felt his tender left hamstring grab on him. When Casey Blake ground out to second after Nixon's homer, Clemens made a move to his left and the leg, in Clemens' words, "locked up" on him. Following the inning, Clemens went back into the clubhouse to have the leg tightly wrapped, but he was unable to finish his pitches and started the third by walking Hafner again and going full on Martinez before getting him swinging on a lame 92-mile-per-hour fastball right over the plate. With that, Joe Torre and trainer Gene Monahan made their second visit to the mound of the inning and called on Phil Hughes. Roger Clemens, for the night, and possibly for his career, was done.
Hughes' bounced his second pitch past Posada to move Hafner to second, then gave up a bloop double to right by Jhonny Peralta that ran the score to 3-0, but got out of the inning without allowing Peralta to score. Whatever damage Clemens' leg was going to inflict on the Yankees' hopes of keeping their season alive had been limited by Joe Torre's quick hook.
In the bottom of the inning, Hideki Matsui led off by beating out a bouncing ball hit toward second base for an infield single and moved to second on a Robinson Cano groundout. Melky Cabrera then hit a ball straight into the dirt in front of home that rolled fair. Martinez pounced on the ball and threw to third as Matsui attempted to advance, but Matsui got to the bag just ahead of the throw, aided by an excellent hook slide to the outfield side of the bag. Despite having his knee drained a week ago, Matsui was running with the abandon of a man who refused to accept defeat. Johnny Damon followed by singling Matsui home for the first Yankee run of the series not scored on a home run. Jeter then hit into another double play to kill the rally, but the Yankees had life.
Things got even brighter when Hughes turned in a 1-2-3 fourth inning, striking out Nixon (fastball up and away, swinging) and Grady Sizemore (fastball at the knees, inside corner, looking) and pitched around a one-out single by Hafner in the fifth, striking out Garko (fastball inside, looking) to end that frame.
Jason Giambi struck out to start the bottom of the fifth, but Matsui again got things going by going the other way with a Westbrook pitch for a single to left. Robinson Cano followed suit, slicing a double into the left field corner to push Matsui to third, and Melky Cabrera did the same with an opposite-field single that plated Matsui to bring the Yankees within one. Johnny Damon then took a pitch in the dirt and another just low before launching the 2-0 pitch from Westbrook into the old Yankee bullpen in right for a game-changing three-run home run. It was like an instant replay of his back-breaking grand slam in the deciding game of the 2004 ALCS, except this time for the home team. It was a season-saving shot, and the Stadium absolutely exploded when it cleared the fence. Damon came out to take a full, Reggie-style curtain call and, though their lead was a slim two-runs, it suddenly felt like the Yankees were out of harm's way.
After another scoreless frame by Hughes in the sixth, the Yankee bats piled on Westbrook and reliever Aaron Fultz for three more runs. The inning started with an infield single by Alex Rodriguez, which chased Westbrook. Posada then singled off Fultz. Doug Mientkiewicz hit for Giambi and bunted the runners over, prompting the Tribe to walk Matsui. Robinson Cano followed with a single to right that, delightfully, Trot Nixon failed to scoop, allowing it to roll to the wall as the bases emptied and Cano raced around to third.
Joba Chamberlain came on in the seventh to retire the top three batters in the Cleveland order on 16 pitches, striking out Sizemore on a wicked slider and Asdrubal Cabrera on three pitches, a 99-mile-per-hour fastball, a 79-mile-per-hour curve that dropped into the zone, and an 87-mile-per-hour slider that dive bombed out of it.
Joba stumbled a bit in his second inning of work. He got the first two outs on seven pitches when a Garko double play erased a leadoff single by Maritnez, but he then walked Peralta and gave up a single to Lofton and an RBI double to Nixon before getting Casey Blake to fly out a little too deep to right field for comfort's sake. All totalled, he threw 38 pitches in his two innings, his major league high.
With a still-comfortable four-run lead, Mariano Rivera worked a ten-pitch ninth, striking out Cabrera (high heat swinging) and Hafner (fastball away looking) on a total of seven pitches to seal the Yankees' 8-4 victory and send them to a now-necessary Game Four.
Chien-Ming Wang will be the Yankee starter in Game Four, starting on three-days rest for the first time in his major league career. That's the right call. Wang is significantly better at home than on the road. What's more, sinkerballers tend to suffer when they're too strong, leaving the ball up. Being slightly less fresh usually works to their advantage as they get more natural sink on their pitch. Beyond that, with Hughes having been burned last night, starting Wang tonight allows the Yankees to reserve Mike Mussina for long relief duty, and would also allow Andy Pettitte to start a possible Game Five on normal rest. Not that anyone's looking beyond tonight, of course.
Chamberlain, unlike Hughes, will be available tonight, though he did seem to tire in the eighth last night (the three hits he allowed in that inning, as well as the scary flyout by Blake, were all on fastballs up in the zone that were clocked in the mid-90s, rather than his usual high-90s). It could be that Joba will only be available for one inning, or even just a portion thereof if he's needed to come in and kill a Cleveland rally, but Rivera, who threw just ten pitches last night, should be able to pick up the slack.
The Indians will stick with Paul Byrd as their starter tonght, perhaps hoping for a win that will allow them to reserve C.C. Sabathia for Game One of the ALDS. The Yankees aren't looking ahead. They'll stick with trying to win today.
"Delightful" indeed, Cliff.
One of the more delightful things I've seen in some time.
The same thing actually happened to me in softball today in center because in my haste to sprint in to field the ball, I neglected to actually field the ball and came up with a glove full of air. Nothing lonelier than having to turn around and run after a stray ball out there.
After my own failure on the diamond, it was especially gratifying and delightful, as you say, to see the same thing happen to Trot Nixon, of all people, at the Stadium as our guys just kept on running.
Nice hit, Robby!
As you say, Cliff, Matsui's hustle was inspired.
And how 'bout Mo striking out his final batter on three (count them) identical pitches on the outside corner, not one of them even eliciting a swing.
Good God, but that was beautiful. Sent the frisson of bloodlust up my spine. Just carved him right up.
Have faith in the Yankees, my son, have faith in the great Rivera.
What do we make of this? A mid-90s fastball still shouldn't be quite so hittable. Does this mean essentially that the fastball's straight and that Joba relies on setting up the fastball with the breaking stuff?
I was stunned that whoever that was got on top of that high and away fastball, managing (iirc) not only to hit it, but to pull it.
It was really high, out of the zone, even, yet still the guy got around on it. That made me feel a bit insecure.
GO YANKEES!!!
(And if my boss tries to say I can't go, well then take my job and shove it!)
I've heard this since the days of Stottlemyer pitching for the Yanks in the 1960s. Has anyone ever looked at this to confirm it's true? I hope it is, but just wondering.
But no doubt Wang is better at home.
Gotta go after them one at a time.
3 days rest - 3.86ERA / 4.2IP
4 days rest - 4.02ERA/ 326.2IP
5 days rest - 3.73ERA/ 130.1IP
6+ days rest - 2.66ERA/ 64.1IP
It's all about TODAY. Win one game. Just one. Don't even think about Wednesday. Don't check the "*if necessary" times for that game. That game doesn't exist. It's apocraphyl. Just focus on today. Today only. Almost time to put on the "EVIL EMPIRE" T-shirt. Inning by inning. Brick by Brick. I know in my heart that three things are going to happen today:
1. Arod's going to do something to lead this team.
2. Wanger's sinker will be dancing more at home.
3. The Yankees will win today.
Who's with me?????
They didn't make things easy in the regular season; why should we think they'd do so now?
4 Frisson...oooh, good word there! (and yeah, I had to look it up!)
Yanks win in 2007 fashion, 10-7.
Back to Cleveland!
I just felt really stupid...
Man, you guys think some of the annoucers are bad on TNT/ESPN/FOX then you should try watching the ESPN Deportes feed that I'm getting here in teh Dominican Republic. They go into studio analysis after every 1/2 inning and they do it twice - before the commercial break and then when they come back from the commercial breaks.
The Dominican Republic is Red Sox country, I have met few Yankee fans and a whole lot of Red Sox fans.
I got a good chuckle at the cemetary yesterday when my cousin leans over to me and in Spanish says to me, "you smell that?". Smell what? The smell of the Yankees being buried tonight.
Red Sox fans are pathetic, even the one's in your own family. :-)
24 Uhh.....what?
When I was younger, I remember everyone loving the Dodgers here because they had Mondesi and Ramon Martinez at the time.
Dominicans don't follow teams, they follow select Dominican players and stick with that team.
29 i'll take rain over a plague of locusts or whatever those things were any time.
if the yankees can't beat paul byrd in a do-or-die situation, they don't deserve to play on.
let's go, fellas. you can do this.
It's amazing how difficult it is to play outfield. I think it's far and away the most underrated skill in baseball, probably due to lousy camera work.
It's easy to see what the infielders do, but with outfielders, by the time the camera finds them, the hard work of tracking the ball has been done already.
You tend to see the guy after he's settled under the ball so it looks like all you have to do is get under the ball and wait for it to come down.
But the trick of being able to run to where you think the ball will land (rather than backpedaling) and then turning around (so as not to fall on your ass tripping over your own feet) is so extraordinary that it amazes me how skilled even the poorest outfielder is.
Baseball gods, you owe us one!
Just like Trot Nixon! Har-har... ;)
It is fun. The one right at you, but over your head. God. That's a special kind of hell.
You think you've actually got it lined up and at the last second it sails the fuck over your head and you feel like a circus clown.
I don't know what it's like for infielders, but booting a groundball is so straightforward and you've got the outfielders behind you to bail you out. Can't imagine it's quite as demoralizing/humiliating as miscues in the outfield.
Any infielders care to weigh in?
40 the line drive right at the CF is one of the hardest plays i've ever had to make. for some reason it is easier to do in RF or LF... for me anyway.
41 if there is a god, and that being possesses even the smallest sense of humor, i think you may have just locked this up, jeb.
42 There are few things as humiliating as having a ground ball go right through your legs when you're the SS. I mean, uh...so I've heard, you know.
ha hah aha!
:)
that said, i have been forced into the infield a few times. SS and 3B. i can say that things happen so fast at 3B that if i was in any kind of position to make the play (a 50/50 chance at best), i could usually do it.
SS was torture. strange hops. judging whether you want to charge and take the short hop, or wait back and let the ball come to you... line drives off the end of the bat were curving around my head (only a slight exaggeration).
i have been absolutely humiliated in the infield. "taking off the glove, throwing it as hard as i can into the dirt, kicking said glove" humiliated.
it was more humiliating than any OF experience i have ever known... and i've made a real ass of myself out there, too.
Bernie, it that you? I wondered what you had been doing to keep in shape for a comeback... ;-)
Fair enough. :)
Perhaps it's fair to say simply that baseball's a humiliating sport.
Hats off for competing, YFB. Hardball. That's serious business.
Must fucking kill to get hit by a pitch.
Do you hang in there, or are you constantly bailing out?
Our dear Bernie. Oooh, hey, and right on cue, eh? Comment 51.
Ha ha hah ah ah a ha ha ha!!
anybody wanting to play in a boston area hardball league, let me know.
we're always looking for bodies.
(especially ptitchers.)
I like outfield because I get to run. I mostly play center right now but I'm not athletic at all. I just like to run. And I do hustle. But the flyball I fell down on I was playing left and I definitely did too much backpedaling. When the ball is to my left or right or deep over my head i'm good at turning and running to it, but those high lazy flies over my head I tend to backpedal and have not kicked myself of that habit.
But at least in the outfield, for many mistakes in early judgement you sometimes have time to correct it. In the infield, no time to make mistakes.
yes. i really am that bad.
Though I'm usually an OFer (also of the "no bat, no arm, but I can catch!" variety), I've played SS, and SS is worse. I'm always so concious of the lack of time. Not only must you make the play, you must make it quickly, or the runner will beat it out (well, not always in my league, but you get the idea). I also have to continually fight the tendency to lay back and "let the ball play me" which, as we all know, is a bad idea. The first game this year I had to play SS was awful. I'd been in the OF all year and we had no SS, so I volunteered. Sigh.
I prefer 3B for one reason: I'm oddly excellent at charging slow rollers & firing to 1st, and that probably happens at least 1 time per game in our league. I love that play. Not as much as I love running down a ball in the gap, but it's nice. :)
I would probably be a bad hitter in LITTLE LEAGUE. I'm the guy who manages to go 1-4 with a single in a slowpitch rec. softball game. There's so much movement in my swing I jam myself.
you can work on that, though. it sounds like you at least have an idea of what you might be doing mechanically.
...again, this advice is coming from a .185 hitter... but still. a couple of trips to a batting cage could solve that.
channel your inner dimaggio.
I was thinking about my own approach yesterday, how I'd pitch myself, and it occurred to me that I'm easy to jam. I seldom offer at pitches inside, even if they're strikes. I rarely pull the ball (and when I do, I don't even open up), but use right and center. I love going up the middle, which seems to be my natural swing.
So try maybe eliminating the inside part of the plate and just looking middle-out.
And of course, the trick in slow pitch is to just wait and wait and then wait a tad more and then BOOM!
:)
(whether or not the ball is within arm's reach of first is another matter entirely at that point... it is simply an amazing feeling.)
46 yes. But I'm not degrading her, I'm degrading me. Lighten up, Francis.
WRT to not knowing where to throw, I always plan it out before the pitch is thrown. Then I boot the grounder because I'm thinking about where to throw it.
Oh dear god, please tell me they don't read the comments. I seriously hope they don't think that's what all fans want.
...and Suzyn Waldman has just hotlinked this thread on her MySpace page...
Of course I was a lousy fielder, so everything was a challenge.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdtn0Z4o8cM
Random remarks that portray a woman broadcaster as lucky to get your sexual attention don't have much to do with last night's game. If there was some context to your remark I could understand your call for a sense of humor but since it's entirely gratuitous what you're really asking is to set the tone of discussion for everybody with no respect for their perspective. Good blog comments sections have a sense of community and I don't see what is gained by offending even a small minority of that community just for kicks. If you're going to say something crude at least try and have some context instead of being crude for it's own sake.
http://www.whoiskarimgarcia.com/
Me trying to hit to rf/rcf is comical. The result is almost always a popup to 2B. No, for me the very best is to concentrate on hitting a liner up the middle. Not closing my eyes during my swing helps too. Oh, and not swinging at total crap. And not overswinging. And...
It's like the golf swing. There's about a million things you can do wrong. I do half of them at any given time. :)
bronxbanter.baseballtoaster.com/archives/685421.html
From that thread:
I especially like the quotes that they call "Karimisms". My favorite is "The greatest trick Karim Garcia ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."
followed closely by:
"Do you believe in Karim Garcia? YES!!!"
and
"Now there's a steal by Karim Garcia! Underneath to DJ! He lays it up and in!!"
Who knew that Karim Garcia was mentioned in so many famous quotes... but then again, who even knew Karim Garcia in the first place?
Ms. Waldman, if you read this blog, I assure you that I meant no offense to your honor, beauty or integrity. It was harmless and Constitutionally protected parody, but if you insist, I will be happy to move to the Mystic Country Region of Southeast Connecticut and we can go to that resort and casino that I always hear you trumpeting on XM. I will be happy to take you dancing.
By the way guys, if the comments offend you that much, then ignore them. We'll be talking about the game soon enough and it won't be about Ms. Waldman, it will be about Wang, Jetes, etc. Let me and Bama and Yankz (and whomever else) have our fun JOKING about something (while we're supposed to be at work) and don't try to suck the life out of us. Dammit.
It's a joke, it's a joke it's a joke. CHILL! OYE! Dear Lord, I can't believe that I'm having an argument on a blog. UGH!
74 Yankz, that's awesome. Whomever made that video was also using parody to mask their love, just as I was.
I had a guy tell me once that my golf swing had more moves than a belly dancer (no offense intended to any belly dancers we might have reading the banter).
Like Papelbon's intimidation mask: O-face, or just gas?
As Ric Flair would say, "WOOOOOOOO!"
;o)
"But that was nothing compared to the double dose of champagne Theo Epstein took from Schilling and Papelbon, an explosion of the sticky liquid sending him shooting across the clubhouse floor, with Schilling whispering a warning to reporters standing close to watch out."
There. Now that will make everyone beg for a return to the Suzyn Waldman talk.
just a suggestion.
the karim garcia t-shirt is available now.
http://tinyurl.com/ysmrqp
Even my 5 year old runs around saying, "Bobby Abreu as sweet as candy!"
But, while I like Mr. Sterling, I don't "Like" him in that way if you know what I mean. LOL.
I'll take the blame for bringing the Waldman stuff up in this thread. If I offended anyone I am truly sorry (although, I have read a lot worse stuff than that on here).
Also, if our posts should only be on topic or concerning last night's game...well, I guess I'm usually outta luck. I just try to lighten the mood around here sometimes and try to help keep everyone loose. Man, life is too short to take things so seriously...
BUT, if the Yanks win tonight I am expecting you to post "Paging Suzyn Waldman to Jeb's room" or some such nonsense! [FN1]
;o)
[FN1] Again, this is pure parody between Me and Bama and NO OFFENSE is meant to anyone else, Ms. Waldman, any "true" Yankees or any Native American Tribes.
(as for the guy doing the swinging and missing, well, i am well versed in such matters.)
I was at the game last night and it was that loud and that amazing. It was my first playoff game at the Stadium, so maybe it does indeed get louder. Still, it may have been as much sweet noise as I've ever heard.
Clemens was definitely booed as he left the mound. It really irritated me. The vast majority of fans though made sure that their appreciation of his years of effort was the last and most resounding sound.
When Hughes came in everyone was excited. Even more importantly they were determined to boost his performance with two-strike claps, wild cheers and chants of "Huuuuuughes." The crowd clearly wanted to energize the Yanks, to remind them it was their house and they were not alone in this. It was special. So positive. Something as a non-native (born, but not really raised here) I often find lacking in NYC.
As for the Waldman thing, I asked the lady of my house. She agreed that it could be seen as offensive since such a large, diversified group read the blog. I must admit that I was not offended as I'm used to silly talk and sex being intertwined with sports. Personally, I find the near unanimous belittling of Suzyn's professional performance more damaging and offensive. Sexist. She's not the best. Not the worst. And I think she gets blasted more often for being a woman broadcaster. Somehow, that bothers me so much more.
We even take left turns on red lights in some situations out West.
Such is life on the New Frontier.
well, either that or hitting a line-drive backspin homerun, those mythical creatures that seem like they could be caught in the infield but keep rising and carrying and carrying ...
Was it a 3-base error or more of a Trot Nixon thing?
I asked a desk clerk at the hotel (Best Western or something like that) what was a good Chinese place in town, and she told me what street it was on. I asked what it was called. She refused to tell me. So, I figured I'd better not risk losing my DT privileges...
Re: infield vs. outfield. Where we play, the OF is fine. The IF is often difficult. Tricky hops are pretty much guaranteed. The bases are often loose, too. The OF is just grass. Not as much to screw up there. There is one field that has a depression in left that I have to be careful with, but that's nothing compared to playing SS on baked dirt that plays like concrete.
I'm glad NYC is changing some of their fields to turf, makes me feel a bit safer playing on them.
FWIW, in softball I play P, OF, C, 1B. Co-ed softball, add 3B & SS. Hardball limits me to P & 1B
BR/TL, been playing the game since '86.
Have Bat - Will Travel
Wire Raf
The Bronx
:)
And add DeWitt Clinton (Manhattan) to the list of atrocious fields. Small wonder no one has been killed playing there.
I know, so much to focus on.
And then there's the mental thing. I popped a ball up yesterday (after we were already wiping the floor with the other team, but still, don't give anything away, right?) because I swung at the second pitch. And I heard the fielders chatter about "This guy hits it hard..."
Somehow it made me more aggressive and I overswung at the second pitch. I had to explain to me son, "See what happens when you don't wait for your pitch?"
So, so hard to stay focussed each and every time up, especially after you've had success in the first couple of ab. Your head (my head) starts to swell, you take a King Kong swing and pop the fucker up in the air.
It's all half-mental, you know?
:)
107 Nothing more pleasing.
I love that feeling. Full out sprint, snatching the ball on the run, hearing the groans of frustration from the opposing dugout.
To be frank, and I don't mean this in a mean way, but when I turn on the TV in the morning there are these knock-outs doing the weather. I guess I don't mind that, but I've commented to my wife on a number of occasions, "wouldn't it be great if they got a fat woman to do the weather, so no one will think it's all about eye candy?"
Suzyn ain't pretty, but clearly she got her position because she's got some talent as a broadcaster. At the end of the day I like her. (I'd still take Steiner over her).
Also like the decision to pitch Wang. He looks mighty good going against Byrd. Plus if we win he probably sets up for game 1 of the ALCS.
Joba does concern me though. I don't like our chances if it's a close game in game 5 and we have to go to Farnsworth.
I think I'm already getting an ulcer just thinking about it.
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