Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Yesterday after work, I went down to the lower east side, between the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, to meet an old friend for a bite to eat. The neighborhood is populated mostly by Asians, Jews (this is the land of the Jewish settlements), Dominicans, and, increasingly now, hipsters. Hipsters with money. Which is where my old friend fits in (as fate would have it, his apartment building is just two blocks away from where my pal's grandparents first lived when they came to this country).
As I waited for my man in front of a playground on the corner of Essex and Strauss, I watched young Asian and hipster moms with their kids. I'm always intrigued by watching women with little boys. Sometimes, you will see women--mothers or nannies--curb little boys' enthusiasm, their aggressiveness on the playground. But that wasn't the case here.
One beautiful, but hard-looking young Asian mother pushed her son on a swing and occasionally looked at me warily. Another tall Scandinavian woman chased her son around a tree, and then led him to one of those jungle gyms that have stairs and a plank bridge and slides. She led the way and then waited for him to climb up the stairs. She stood several feet away as if to challenge him, but in a sweet, reassuring way. He then passed her and went down the slide. She followed, her long legs awkwardly bent like a stork attempting to sit in the kitchen sink.
I turned back to the street and saw a group of four boys, maybe all of 13 cruise down the street. The kid in the front, wearing all black, stood up on his bike, and cocked his head to the side with a cell phone pressed to his ear. He coasted through the traffic sign and his gang followed behind him. Just then, two Asian girls, maybe all of 10, walked past me. One of them clopped back and forth in that seasoned way of city kids, who look much older than they really are. This little girl, with absolutely no hips at all, actually had a switch, even though she had nothing to switch around. Man, these city girls are tough.
I listened to Slick Rick on my i-pod and stood in the fading sunlight. Old Asian women passed me, carrying transparent blue grocery bags filled with produce. I wonder what they'll be cooking tonight. Behind them, a hipster with a takeout bag in one hand and a Whole Foods bag in the other, wearing over-sized sunglasses looked typically ridiculous.
Then a little girl, maybe 7 or 8, walked by. She looked up at me. She had a good shiner on her right eye. Her face was round and quizzical as she looked right in my eyes. She was wearing a purple jacket, red skirt, white tights with little cartoon characters on them, and bright red shoes. Like most kids, she looked like she was almost going to tip over from the weight of her backpack. She was holding hands with an older, squat man in a green coat. Just as she looked at me, "Mona Lisa" played on my i-pod and I heard:
If you see me walking down the street
And I start to cry...each time we meet...
Walk on by...walk on by...
Foolish pride
Thats all that I have left, so, let me hide
The pain and the hurt that you gave me
When you said goodbye...
You walked on by...
I looked on the ground and saw a little strip of white paper. A fortune cookie. I picked it up and it read, "Be tactful; overlook not your own opportunity."
Tonight, Phil Hughes, gets his first start of the season, the first chance to take advantage of the opportunity the Yankees have given him. Jay Jaffe and I will brave the cold and be at the park.
Let's Go Yan-kees!
She's three.
I might understand one or the other alone, but the one/two? Where'd she pick that up?
Among the punishments, there's no tv for a week, which means I have to listen to Philthy's 2008 debut via Sterling and Waldman.
Does anyone else think Bobby had a few 'oopsies' yesterday with 2 bad throws? A different game if one, no less both, hit their mark.
Hey, it's not a good defensive team. It's not terrible, but it sure isn't good.
Which is why strikeout pitchers are, like, useful and stuff. Come on Phil!
Let's go Phil Franchise!
Jorge Posada's still out with a stiff throwing shoulder. Jose Molina gets the start behind the plate again. Also, Johnny Damon is getting a spell as the DH while Hideki Matsui plays left field.
For the Jays, Marco Scutaro was hit in the hand by Ross Ohlendorf's first pitch last night and the hand swelled up on him. He got x-rays today. I'm not sure of his status, but with Matt Stairs looking more and more like he's headed to the DL, the Jays could find themselves with John McDonald at third base tonight and a two-man bench of Buck Coats and Rod Barajas.
Also, the Jays sent scheduled starter Dustin McGowan home from yesterday's game with the flu and contemplated starting Shaun Marcum in his place tonight. It looks like McGowan's going to start after all, but he could be weakened. The Tigers' Jeremy Bonderman pitched under similar conditions against the Royals this afternoon and gave up four runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Fortunately the local news will keep us safe and informed about their spreading plume.
http://tinyurl.com/24dmyl
It's like I'm there.
I just visited the city with my kid (5 1/2) for a few days last week and we found ourselves in the playground in Madison Square Park. I really love hanging out at playgrounds in NY. They're usually really hopping and I especially love to see which of the adults mix it up with the kids and which sit on the sidelines. (I'm a mixer-upper, myself.)
No place like NY.
i'm excited for phil tonight.
nesn was on at the gym and they have phil with an 0-1 record - douchebags.
sounds like you enjoyed yourself chillin downtown with your old school crew alex. i really appreciate the beauty in your writing and that we get to partake so much of it.
14 Ever see the Hipster Olympics? Good for a chuckle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAO4EVMlpwM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmndlzkDXuA
(Weeping has spoken.)
On the bright side, Alex Rodriguez currently has an OPS+ of 316!
That's right. An early mix tape featuring Slick Rick and Dana Dane. What does that have to do with where Stanton Street got it's name? Forget it Weep, it's Chinatown... >;)
I took the initiative that created Karim Garcia...
In the unlikely story that is the Yankees, there has never been anything false about hope...
what's a "Switch"?
It is Chinatown!
Ha ah ahah!!
Nice.
As to Stanton Street, this guy was a Governor Stanton, right?
I seem to recall something about a Governor Stanton.
Didn't we all, mehmattski, didn't we all.
Crazed smile, sure. Laughing loudly, sure.
But creepily?
I protest!
Nothing creepy about my laugh.
Hearty, yes. Raucous, sure.
Never creepy.
:)
Crisp inning!
Two backwards K's on two different pitches.
Nice!
Sigh.
41 I also thought it was a change.
So my Toronto "injury" warnings proved pointless. Sorry about that.
My nerves...
What was that, 9 pitches? So 29 total through 3? Awesome...
He really hits.
Good contact guy.
Huh?
Oh, there ya go Kay, way to correct it 5 min later.
What's with the wild swings?
He did hit it hard, to be fair, but man, I don't like it.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK199010200.shtml
He reached on an error, and the Reds later tied the game and went ahead in the clinching game.
It still makes me cringe, though, especially that first swing.
http://tinyurl.com/2mcv9j
Here is the money quote:
"But again O'Neill stood still in the eighth inning, shortly after Chuck Knoblauch's two-run home run had tied the score at 5-5. With Derek Jeter on first base, John Rocker pitching and none out, O'Neill tried to bunt. He popped up the ball in the direction of first-baseman Brian Hunter.
Instead of heading to first, O'Neill -- angry with himself -- didn't run. Rocker, seeing this, shouted for Hunter to let the ball fall. He did. Seeing this, O'Neill started to run, but it was too late. With Jeter still close to first anticipating a catch by Hunter, the Braves threw the ball to second base and then to first for a double play."
So, no sac.
Bad play by Cano there, going for the tag without the ball in his glove on a SB attempt and sending Rios to third.
Not sure why Thomas is so darn pissed...
Bravo.
Man, that was nice.
Hey, Frank, what gives?
You got all those other calls!
Nice baserunning by Abreu there, taking advantage of the shift to go first to third on a weak grounder to first.
I can't remember O'Neill's sac bunt either. Maybe he did something like hit the ball to the right side and he now remembers it as a sacrifice.
This is a very frustrating game.
Phil at over 70. Whats his cap?
Sticks, on the other hand...
Basehit for Hideki, punched to left.
Nice.
Ok, Team, here we go!
Now if only we could score a couple this inning.
Darn, im having chocolate chip cookies. I woulda loved some milk.
I remember reading the Girardi was criticized in Florida for bunting too much. Why not there? Any thoughts?
Nice job.
I'm really, really happy about Phil.
Now, for the love of Jehovah, you think we can maybe send a man or two around the bases until that they shall returneth to the place whence they sallied forth?
Is that too much to ask?
Torre hated bunting and giving up outs and it always frustrated me. This was one thing I was excited about having Girardi come in
Derek reaches.
Ok, Team, here we go!
Auspicious...
Let's go, Alex!!!!!!
Here.
We.
Go.
Terrible 1-1 swing, Alex.
Fuck...
Come on, Alex!
He laid off that one!!!
HA!
Damn it.
Terrible ab.
We're lucky we picked up the one...
Single scores two.
Fine, he got the run in.
I'll take that.
Still, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with some sign that all that "work" on going the other way in spring training had some purpose or other.
Anyway, we tied it up, I'll take it!
This game's ours now.
It's frustrating to watch him flail like that so to me, it's memorable. He seems to get anxious sometimes whereas others (like Abreu, for instance) seems pretty consistent in his approach.
Especially when otherwise he seems to be swinging the bat well.
It just reinforces the clutch thing, which I think there is something to, although it's overstated.
I'm happy he got the sac, though, don't get me wrong.
How can you say that after last season? What do you want, that he hits .800 and slugs 3.000 in all clutch ABs?
Nice catch, Bobby!
So now every Yankees reliever has made an appearance, but the only Yankees bench player to make an appearance is Molina.
...
Hey, Abreu, let me introduce you to the wall!
If Abreu can run into a wall, anything's possible.
I'm not saying what you might think I'm saying.
I'm saying that Alex does seem to get jumpy under pressure.
Not all the time, and certainly less last year.
But in general, he just doesn't seem equally comfortable in all spots, based on chasing pitches, lunging, that kind of thing.
I'm not trying to demonize Alex. Please don't mistake me.
240 I was answering OYF's question, to the best of my ability. That's what I came up with.
Remember how Sori used to flail at those sliders off the plate? Well, all I'm saying is that it seems as if Alex does that more (much less last year, you're right) under pressure than does a guy like Abreu.
Seems.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
.
.
.
That was sarcasm.
O'Neill just mentioned earlier in the broadcast about how he felt more pressure with the infield in. Could you see that in his performance, I don't know, but he admitted to feeling more pressure, so I don't think it's crazy to talk about pressure as a factor in one's ab.
Hard to measure, of course, but I don't think it's out of line to muse about it.
Nice pitch, Joba!
Hint: there aren't many managers who ever use their closer in a tie game on the road.
Come on, sticks!
I wanted to see a strikeout right there, but an out's an out...
Joba for 2 or 3 please!! tired of one-inning relievers
Yay!!
Ok, Team, here we go!!
Bunt?
Seems that they were discussing the "Joba dance" after Thomas' strikeout. I don't have a problem with it, nor do I have a problem with guys showing emotion, real or otherwise.
One thing I love about Bonds is his uncanny ability to see the pitch that's coming and react to it. I've often thought that some of the drills he does to practice this should be done by other teams/players.
Is O'Neill doing more games this year? I like him. Is it because Bobby isn't available?
GO MELKMAN!
And as I write...
It's not the distance he hits the ball, it's that he hits the ball.
Yaaaayyyyyy!!!
Joe Girardi!!!
With the bunt!!
Everyone's safe!!!
Yaaayyyy!!!!
Make things happen!
He's not hitting.
Bunt, Derek!
Now we're cooking with gas, Team!
Wowzers, can we get a bunt conga line going?
Nice and easy, nice and easy.
Wow!
I can't believe what I'm seeing!
Textbook inning!
OK, I got that bit of childishness out of my system.
NOTE: "Being Scrappy," in the process of making an out, does not count as an out in the scorebook. You could look it up.
(Ftr, I thought his ab last night in the ninth, where he struck out, was a fine, upstanding ab. No criticism from me on that. He just got beat. I just hate seeing him flail around, is all.)
On 2-0 pitches, his OPS is 1.301
On 0-2 pitches, his OPS is 0.605
Obviously, everyone is prone to do poorer behind in the count, but to this degree?
On 2-0 pitches: 1.083
On 0-2 pitches: .449
Looks pretty similar in the last few years, maybe even worse. (.249 OPS on 0-2 counts in 2005).
All that matters is what his overall numbers are. Given that his OPS the last three seasons are 1.031, .915, 1.067, he must do a good job of not getting behind in the count.
What a fucking pitch!
Mo.
I love you, Mo.
Nothing like baseball.
I'm pretty sure Bobby Abreu just said that Justin Verlander was on the Blue Jays
Yes it does.
331 Most players have splits like that. Arod is a great hitter...he isn't perfect though. Not sure we need to go searching for his flaws when we can instead spend time appreciating all of his strengths.
355 Velocity?
Regardless of perception, the Yankees have no won two kinds of games they struggled to win at the beginning of last season.
Yeah, the BP has been great this series minus LaTroy (not that he was terrible per se), but of course, small sample size holds
Great news. The offense will start hitting, and if Moose is our worst pitcher then we should be set.
Also, good BP and tactics so far for the most part. Girardi has only bunted in the late innings when it was called for. I was giddy to read the only book currently in his office is the BP 2008 annual. That's awesome. Maybe he reads Banter (Hi Joe!).
really good series though. every game is down to the last hitter.
then again, the Yankees seem to always suck against bad pitchers.
;-)
Welcome to the "Dark Side" Joe, it can get lonely over here... there's me, Weeping, Mehmattski (only a part timer), OYF and a few others (from the looks of the earlier comments we welcomed a new member named Cliff Covey tonight). The Dark Side of Small-Ball... it's sweeping the Bronx... ;-)
Hi Covey, thanks for coming on board, watch out for deadhorses, chump change and hidden sarcasm, hah! >;)
"Alexa Rodriguez, 13, left, is attacked by a red-tailed hawk during a school tour of Fenway Park Thursday in Boston. Rodriguez sustained a cut to her scalp and was taken by ambulance to a hospital"
How bizarre is that?
One sac bunt: Ha Ha Ha Ha
Two sac bunts: Ha Ha Ha ha
;-)
Phil's knuckle seems to to hang up there but the guys at bat consistently buckle. So that's cool. Great game to watch. Another under 3 hrs. Billy Traber seemed like a cool dude in the post game. Cano best not be hitting 100 a week from now. Get better Jorge. The Big Hurt had a reason to be pissed. /nonsense
In other news Kei Igawa was dominant in AAA. He may be the greatest AAA pitcher the game has ever seen. Maybe he's like the pitching version of Crash Davis. Its amazing to me how he can be so consistently dominant in AAA and so consistently awful in the bigs.
Muahahahahaha! (one eyebrow evilly arched as I stroke my goatee)
Woody Woodpecker?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2zwpoq
btw, do you think the "special link" technique will work this year? I'm curious if it will work with the new media player upgrade...
I bought two bananas for breakfast. They sat on my desk looking like mottled yellow quotation marks.
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