Yankees are out but baseball is still alive

The regular season is over and the post season is about to begin. Even though the Yankees are out of it, I am still baseball obsessed and will be posting my thoughts about the games ahead, including who I have decided to root for this post-season.

Most years, I root against the team that kept the Yankees out of the post-season, or beat them in the post-season, for instance if they didn’t make it past the ALDS or ALCS. Or the Red Sox. It’s always good to root against the Red Sox. This year however, the team that kept the Yankees out of the post-season was the Yankees. They just didn’t win enough games. There are some teams that I absolutely won’t root for, like the Braves, who aren’t in it, and the Orioles who are, but don’t have the most wins in the American League. An important fact that I had to bring out.

The final teams haven’t been decided, since they now have this stupid 1 game Wild Card playoff. The fourth team is YTBD. The teams competing are: Kansas City Royals and Oakland A’s (9/30) in the AL and Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Francisco Giants (10/1) in the NL. I like the Oakland A’s, they were Hunter’s first team but they have Lester, which makes me want to hate them, but the Royals have Shields, which makes me want to root against them. I have the opposite problem with the NL teams. Pirates have Russell Martin, who is adorable, I mean a really good catcher and longtime favorite player of mine. The Giants have Buster Posey, who is also a really good catcher and fun to watch. The minuses here are the Giants are ORANGE and the Pirates are YELLOW. Also Russell has gone from being clean-shaven to a scruffy little thing. Since I promised to pick one I am going with the Royals (can’t get past the Lester dislike) and the Pirates (Russell is my boo!).

For the ALDS series between the Tigers and Orioles (starts 10/2), I am going with the Detroit Tigers, because, well Baltimore. The NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers (begins 10/3) is also hard, normally I would go with the Dodgers because they are the blue team, and the Cardinals failed to beat the Red Sox last year (the rivalry is alive!) and they have Don Mattingly. But they are LA soooo, all right, I talked myself into it, my pick is the Dodgers.

So there you have it. After the Wild Card is done, I’ll be back to pick my teams for the rest of the Division Series.

Still the best

The Yankees may be in second place in the AL East but to me they are still the best. The fact that last week they were in third place and this week are in second place and the team that was in second place is now in fourth place shows you just why the saying is: “It’s a long season.” These are Yankees we are talking about not the Mets.

Right now I am waiting for the game to start at 4:00 p.m., yes it is a West coast game. The Yankees have won two of three of a four game series. Depending on what happens today they could win or split. Since Boston (first place) is winning I would really like the Yankees to WIN TODAY!

After this series the Yankees head south to play the Athletics then the Angels. I haven’t been watching the games because the Yankees were losing every time I watched. I am willing to make this sacrifice for my team, since I can still get my baseball fix by watching college ball, for a little while.

So while we’re waiting for today’s game, some interesting things from yesterday in baseball.

First up the Yankees, Andy Pettitte got career win number 250, on the same day his son was drafted by the Yankees. The Yankees also drafted Paul O’Neill’s nephew, Michigan outfielder Michael O’Neill, in the third round.

There were three games with free baseball: Texas vs. Toronto, 3-4(Toronto) 18 innings; Miami vs. NYM, 2-1(Miami) 20 innings; Minnesota vs. Washington, 4-3(Minnesota) 11 innings (amateurs).

In other sports, Nadal Captures His Eighth French Open Title (tennis ~ YAWN), the only excitement there was a protester jumping on the court with a flare. Palace Malice a long Shot wins the 145th Belmont Stakes. The no triple crown winner drought continues.

6 hrs, 32 minutes, 597 pitches

After 19 innings the A’s won the game with a walk off home run. Everyone was excited and happy. Brandon Moss, who hit the home run got two pies in the face, one was self inflicted, and a Gatorade shower. If you wondering why I am writing about Oakland and not the Yankees this was the day that the Astros shut out the Yankees, oh wait they didn’t shut them out they Yankees scored 1 run to the Stros 9.

When I was watching this video, which is not embedded, this a link that will take you to the MLB website, I had two thoughts and I thought I would share them, since my thoughts about the other baseball game are not printable. The first one was, I felt the shot of the Angels pitcher walking off the mound needed a ‘sad trombone‘ and the second thought was, Brandon Moss is kind of short.

Then I watched the video again and realized he is not really that short, I was just looking at him being hugged by a much taller person.

The longest game

Not the longest game ever, but —->

At 5 hours, 43 minutes, this was the #Yankees‘ longest ballgame since battling the Twins for 5 hours, 45 minutes in 2002.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 23, 2012

The last game I had tickets for was to be played on Tuesday, September 18, however it was rained out. Kasey was coming up to go with me but fortunately the game was called before she left, early the next day she got on the train, we had big plans for the day. Unfortunately I was sick and we ended up watching the game in my apartment.

Part of the reason I was so upset was this was Andy Pettitte’s first day back from the D.L. I really wanted to see him pitch, instead I had to settle for watching him on the little screen. At least the Yankees beat the Blue Jays.

Later in the week Tom sent me a message asking if I wanted to go to the game Saturday, I said that since I had missed the game Wednesday, of course we all know I would have gone regardless. Kasey was in the city and made her request for me to text her game highlights. I took my phone but didn’t bother with my charger since, I was just going to a game, wouldn’t need my charger.

~~ Yankees 10, Athletics 9 ~~

As the saying goes, famous last words. We get to our seats, which actually weren’t our seats. For a Saturday day game the stadium was rather empty. Tom and Mike were in the right section, but not in the right row, well all right, I can be flexible. Tom is busy scouting out new seats for next season’s tickets. He still wants the Audi Club and Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, and I think he is staying in the Grandstand, but he wants seats closer to home plate. We sat in those seats for a while. It didn’t seem like long, but longer then Nova stayed in the game. Stephen Drew hit a home run in the third inning and Nova’s day was done. It didn’t seem too bad, after all the Yankees were still a run ahead, but the A’s were continuing to hit and the Yankees were not, by the 4th inning the game was tied. Then the Yankees broke the tie, then the A’s tied it again. After testing out the seats in section 419, which Tom liked the section but not the row he picked, we went to the Audi club. Because the game had gone on so long they had stopped serving beer in the concession stands, I was still texting Kasey, my text read, “Tied game, again.” Kasey’s reply was, “I hate Oakland!” We get to the 9th inning, still tied. Then the 10th, the 11th, Tom and Mike left for Yonkers. I stayed. I was looking out from the windows across to the bleachers and the right field seats, it looked like a steady exodus of people from the stadium.

Top of the 13th, Freddy was in his 3rd inning and boom, boom, boom, 3 home runs by Oakland scoring 4 runs. Some Oakland fans started cheering, Michael Kay and Tino and Ken started talking about what this loss would mean to the Yankees during the middle of the inning. Then the Yankees came up to bat.

Ichiro starts off with a single, then Alex hits a single, then Robbie takes his turn and also hits a single. A’s bring in a new pitcher, who promptly throws the ball to the wall behind home plate and home comes Ichiro. Nunez brings Alex home with a sacrifice fly, that’s two runs and 1 out. Raul comes up to bat, the same Raul that has been slumping, that some people are saying is too old to play everyday, the same Raul that broke the tie in the 5th with a home run and I thought they were were showing a replay of that home run, I thought they were continuously showing it, but the Audi club was getting loud, and the A’s fans were rather quiet. Home run #17 for Raul Ibanez to tie the game again. Cory Wade comes in and pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 14th.

Chavez get on first and is replaced by Pinch-runner Melky Mesa, he was brought up for his speed so this makes sense. It is his major league debut. Jeter bunts, and then Ichiro is walked. I hit the table and snarled, “Cowards!” The girls next to me just laughed. Oh and by this time my phone was dead as the Red Sox’s chance of going to the post season, so much for not needing my charger. The summary from MLB.com says

Alex Rodriguez singles on a line drive to center fielder Yoenis Cespedes. Melky Mesa to 3rd. Ichiro Suzuki to 2nd.

What this rather dry sentence does not tell you is the reason Melky Mesa went to third and didn’t score was because he missed the base. He ran right over it and never touched it. Someone said, ‘Rookie mistake’, uh duh! He is a rookie, but a worse mistake would have been for him to go home and been called out. So he went back to third, looking very dejected, and the next play he was out at home. I felt really bad for him, as they showed him dragging his feet across to the dugout. No high fives for him, he might get a base in his locker and he will always be remembered as the runner who missed 3rd base.

And then, Eduardo Nunez reaches on a fielding error by first baseman Brandon Moss. Ichiro Suzuki scores. An error, the first baseman dropped the ball and Ichiro ran in and scored the winning run. He was very happy, had a big grin and hugged, whoever was at the base when he ran in. Probably Nick. Nick likes to be in the middle of everything. Make an error against the Yankees and you will pay, in this case it was with the game. Yankees win, everybody is happy.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Frustration

Before the game last night, I was thinking I should write a post about how the Yankees swept the A’s, I was even going to use my little broom gif. However it was beastly hot and I really didn’t want to sit with my laptop making my lap hotter. So I thought I would type it after the game. In the first inning the Yankees scored 3 runs, the Angels came back and scored 4. On the surface that may not seem too bad, but the Yankees got 3 runs because the Angles committed 2 errors. The Angels got 4 runs without any errors by the Yankees. It was a sloppy inning, Phil did not have very good stuff.

At lot of times Phil gets very low run support, on May 22, a game I was at, the Yankees scored 3 runs. It was enough because Phil held the Royals to 2 runs. Last night he gave up 7 runs. The Yankees scored 8 runs, tying it up in the 7th inning. Then the Angels got a home-run in the bottom of the ninth to win it. Mark Trumbo hit it off Cory Wade. But I don’t blame Cory, as he said:

“He got paid to do just what he did with it — hit it out of the ballpark,” Wade said. “If I throw that same pitch 10 more times, he’s going to hit it out 10 more times. It was a pretty bad pitch.”

That gives the Angels 7 wins in a row, and breaks the Yankees winning streak. Tonight Andy pitches, hopefully he can shut down the Angels.

In the third inning Nick and Curtis collided. I confess, I laughed, sorry guys. They both got up, the ball went into Swish’s glove and then bounced out when they collided. Curtis was up first and scrambling after the ball.

Granderson and Swisher collide

The Yankees make history, again

~~ Yankees 22, Athletics 9 ~~

The score was 7-2 in favor of Oakland and I was disgusted, leaving work and muttering to myself, saying I wasn’t going to watch the game, wasn’t going to watch the Yankees get swept by the A’s, the Yankees paid me back for being a bad fan. I say I was a bad fan because even when I saw the score was 7-6 I thought, “So they’re going to lose by one run AGAIN!” I turned the game on anyway, so I guess I’m not a terrible fan, to see Russell Martin walking up to the plate with the bases loaded. I got that feeling I get, like the time I was sitting in the stands and Alex walked up to the plate, stuck at home run 599. Or when Teixeira was walked and Alex comes up with bases loaded. Martin hits a grand slam. Second of the game.

I’m not going to say Phil was terrible, or awful, or really really bad. I’ll just say the bullpen and the home runs saved his ass. You can infer what you want from that statement. The bullpen kept the A’s from scoring any more runs until the 8th inning, then it was a “Whee! We have twice as many runs as you!” pitch, because after the home run, Luis Ayala strikes out the next two batters. Then in the ninth the A’s got another run so that was 9 to the Yankees bajillion runs.

But in the bottom of the 9th, the A’s loaded the bases again, for the 37th time (I might be exaggerating), Brett singles bringing in a run (bases are still loaded), Derek Jeter strikes out (bases are still loaded), Curtis Granderson comes up to bat, hits Grand Slam #3 of the day. With one swing he makes history. Then Andruw Jones comes up to hit the last home run of the game.

There will still be people who tell you the Yankees leave a lot of men on base, I will repeat what I have said here before, they leave a lot of men on base because they get a lot of men on base. The A’s walking 13 batters certainly helped, but if the bases hadn’t been loaded up as many times as they were, the Yankees wouldn’t have had the opportunity to hit 3 grand slams.

Another thing that has never been seen before is Jorge Posada playing 2nd base in the big leagues. He got the last ground ball and bulleted it over to Swisher, who caught it and fell over, all the while keeping his foot on the bag.

In summary: Martin hit 2 HR (1 grand slam), Cano hit 1 (grand slam), Granderson hit 1 (grand slam), and Jones hit 1. 14 runs by way of evil home runs.

Granderson is now over 100 RBI.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Oakland A’s at NYY ~ Wednesday, August 24, 2011

~~ Athletics 6, Yankees 4 ~~

We looked to the big man to once again save us, “Save us CC! From the evil A’s!” It was not to be. In 7.1 innings, CC gave up 3 runs. Not bad, except the Yankees only got three runs themselves, the third run coming in the 8th by way of a homer by Mark. So the game was tied going into the 9th, in the 10th Soriano gave up 3 runs, and Swisher tried to get things going by hitting his 2nd home run of the game, but it didn’t happen. So two loses and a lost series, Tomorrow is a day game, then the Yankees go to Baltimore. Here’s hoping Phil can keep the A’s from sweeping.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Oakland Athletics at NYY ~ Tuesday, August 23, 2011

~~ Athletics 6, Yankees 5 ~~

It seems like forever since I went to a game, but it’s only been a month. I was sure with Bart pitching and the fact that I was there, we would have a win. It didn’t happen, even with Sarah doing her baseball player whisperer thing. But it was a good game even so, kind of exciting with the late game rally and the almost home run, but Swisher only hits walk off home runs on my birthday, and it wasn’t my birthday. On the subway, a dad said to his little boy, ‘That would have been special if that had been a home run.’ And the little boy agreed and I agree.

So I got to see Bart pitch, and Boone and Hector. Mark Teixeira did a double play all by himself (I’ve seen that before, but its thrilling, I can hear Michael Kay saying, “What a play by Teixeira!”). I got to see Swisher hit a 3 run home run, but no Mariano, and no win either. Here’s hoping next time I go, there is a happier outcome.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Granderson is grand (Russell Martin is pretty hot too) ~ Sunday, July 24, 2011

~~ Yankees 7, Athletics 5 ~~

It’s a corny title but I couldn’t resist. I have to say Curtis Granderson is good at playing baseball. He can hit home runs (27), he can run down a long fly ball and make spectacular throws to home plate. Of course Martin was there to catch the ball and tag the runner.

Russell Martin is also good at baseball. He throws out base runners, and he steals bases.

Hideki Matsui had a perfect night, he went 5 for 5 but Colon only gave up 2 runs in 7 innings. Dave and Mo decided to make things interesting. Kasey never should have told him about her blood pressure. Or maybe Dave just wanted Mo to get his 25th save. We know Mo just likes to play head games with the other batters.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛

Run limits ~ Saturday, July 23, 2011

~~ Athletics 4, Yankees 3 ~~

Each team in the MLB has a set number of runs they are allowed to score in a series. The amount varies to some degree but it applies to each team. I don’t know the exact number, but I do know these limits exist.

When the Yankees scored 17 runs the other night they got a call from Bud reminding them that if they went over their run limit there would be repercussions. Because of that coming into this game the Yankees were afraid to hit the ball. Oakland on the other hand was nowhere near their run limit so they could pound away at the ball. These run limits are the reason Oakland was able to break their 11 game losing streak against the Yankees and why Josh Willingham and Hideki Matsui weren’t afraid to hit homers.

Some of you may be thinking you’ve never heard of ‘run limits’, didn’t you see how Nick Swisher was scolded after he homered? Trust me, they exist.

If they don’t then it means that the Yankees don’t like AJ and that is just not true. I think.

~~ Questo è tutto, dice la principessa ~~ 😛