Friday, September 24, 2004
Oy (Again)
The yanks just know what it takes to get it done. Just pay off the right umpires at the right time, and you can almost guarantee victory.
That A-Rod slide in to third base, man, the ball beat him. That gets you the call 99% of the time. Then Rod-boy tries to do a trick slide, still gets tagged out, and for some reason, the umpire just "decides" that he's safe. And then later at third, another bad call on that Sierra play. And you'd think they would have called Millar safe on the play at second where he was a lot less out than A-Rod was, but it wasn't to be.
The Yes announcers, in their ongoing quest to make Sheffield the MVP, acted like he did something good on that bloop hit. That is, until Girardi finally admitted that all he was trying to do was hit a home run.
Speaking of that, the other day, someone called Kay's radio show, and asked why Sheffield didn't dive for a ball a few days ago. Kay said, "He's injured, he can't be divin' for balls." Real valuable.
With two outs in the ninth, suddenly Yes lost their feed, and weird stuff was going on with it. Fortunately I threw Castiglione on the radio, and the picture came back after two pitches. So at least I got to hear his call instead of Kay's for the end of the game.
Despite all the great defense, we're still making mistakes. Like Trot throwing the ball in, and, well, Yes never showed the play again, because they had already committed to doing a "Pitch by Pitch" after that play happened, but a runner moved up, as the ball got away. I was ready to disown Timlin on that pitch that got away, after he walked the number nine hitter with two outs, but fortunately they got the runner at the plate.
Frustrating game. I'm done talkin' about it.
Going up tomorrow for game two for the last game of my 10-game plan (except for an ALDS game). We need a win.
That A-Rod slide in to third base, man, the ball beat him. That gets you the call 99% of the time. Then Rod-boy tries to do a trick slide, still gets tagged out, and for some reason, the umpire just "decides" that he's safe. And then later at third, another bad call on that Sierra play. And you'd think they would have called Millar safe on the play at second where he was a lot less out than A-Rod was, but it wasn't to be.
The Yes announcers, in their ongoing quest to make Sheffield the MVP, acted like he did something good on that bloop hit. That is, until Girardi finally admitted that all he was trying to do was hit a home run.
Speaking of that, the other day, someone called Kay's radio show, and asked why Sheffield didn't dive for a ball a few days ago. Kay said, "He's injured, he can't be divin' for balls." Real valuable.
With two outs in the ninth, suddenly Yes lost their feed, and weird stuff was going on with it. Fortunately I threw Castiglione on the radio, and the picture came back after two pitches. So at least I got to hear his call instead of Kay's for the end of the game.
Despite all the great defense, we're still making mistakes. Like Trot throwing the ball in, and, well, Yes never showed the play again, because they had already committed to doing a "Pitch by Pitch" after that play happened, but a runner moved up, as the ball got away. I was ready to disown Timlin on that pitch that got away, after he walked the number nine hitter with two outs, but fortunately they got the runner at the plate.
Frustrating game. I'm done talkin' about it.
Going up tomorrow for game two for the last game of my 10-game plan (except for an ALDS game). We need a win.
Fenway Park 9/22/2004
Pat & I went for the 25% off obstructed view seats on Wednesday, and it worked out okay. The seats were right behind the section 23 pole, on the third base side of home, barely outside the screen. So we had a chance for a foul ball (except it would've hit the pole, of course).
The guy next to me was an older man from Boston, who came with his autistic son, who sat in the seat in front of him. Their seats were not obstructed. The guy was very nice and understanding of my situation. He let me lean over him, and he made sure I was leaning enough to see the batter. (He had the aisle on the other side of him, so he had room over there.) By the tenth, some people started to leave. So we moved to unobstructed, awesome seats. From those we saw the Cabrera game winning HR.
We had a great view of that 4-2-3 double play. As well as Ortiz diving in to first, and his 40th dong of the year. It was a great game, except for Foulke.
I got a ball, too. David Newhan flipped it in to the crowd in BP, and I nabbed it. That's getting one the easy way.
And at one point, Larry Luchino came walking up our aisle. I saw him and yelled out, "Fairfield County wants NESN!" I don't know if he even heard what I said, but he stopped. He pointed at the huge pole right in front of my face and said, "Hey, what kind of a seat is that??" Heh. So I stood up, you know, after laughing at his great joke, and said, "We live in Fairfield County, CT, and we can't get NESN." His eyes brightened up and he said, "I was just talking about this today. It's considered yankee territory." And I was like, "Yeah, I know." He told me to call my cable provider. I told him I've done so, and that they told me that it's not their decision, it's MLB and the teams that decide which regions are allowed to see which teams. Larry told me to just keep putting pressure on the cable company. And I wish he'd said, "And we'll handle the rest," but I did get that impression.
So I guess it's back to square one: Comcast. I wonder if they'll say anything different to me when I say, "No no, you don't understand, the owner of the Red Sox said I should call you..." But I doubt it.
The one thing I've got going for me is that since I do have Comcast, I probably will get NESN, should it ever be allowed to be shown in my county. Because Comcast seems to be a big Red Sox sponsor. We'll see.
I'll see the games this weekend, albeit with crappy yankee announcers.
Overall, it was the definitive Fenway trip: a genuinely nice fan next to us, a ball, a blown lead followed by a walk-off win, and a pole.
The magic number is 15. All the talk now is about the yanks' magic number, But as long as they've still got one, we've still got one. We can wrap this thing up in 8 games. But there's only 10 games left, so we need to get on that quick. Pedro, be ON tonight.
The guy next to me was an older man from Boston, who came with his autistic son, who sat in the seat in front of him. Their seats were not obstructed. The guy was very nice and understanding of my situation. He let me lean over him, and he made sure I was leaning enough to see the batter. (He had the aisle on the other side of him, so he had room over there.) By the tenth, some people started to leave. So we moved to unobstructed, awesome seats. From those we saw the Cabrera game winning HR.
We had a great view of that 4-2-3 double play. As well as Ortiz diving in to first, and his 40th dong of the year. It was a great game, except for Foulke.
I got a ball, too. David Newhan flipped it in to the crowd in BP, and I nabbed it. That's getting one the easy way.
And at one point, Larry Luchino came walking up our aisle. I saw him and yelled out, "Fairfield County wants NESN!" I don't know if he even heard what I said, but he stopped. He pointed at the huge pole right in front of my face and said, "Hey, what kind of a seat is that??" Heh. So I stood up, you know, after laughing at his great joke, and said, "We live in Fairfield County, CT, and we can't get NESN." His eyes brightened up and he said, "I was just talking about this today. It's considered yankee territory." And I was like, "Yeah, I know." He told me to call my cable provider. I told him I've done so, and that they told me that it's not their decision, it's MLB and the teams that decide which regions are allowed to see which teams. Larry told me to just keep putting pressure on the cable company. And I wish he'd said, "And we'll handle the rest," but I did get that impression.
So I guess it's back to square one: Comcast. I wonder if they'll say anything different to me when I say, "No no, you don't understand, the owner of the Red Sox said I should call you..." But I doubt it.
The one thing I've got going for me is that since I do have Comcast, I probably will get NESN, should it ever be allowed to be shown in my county. Because Comcast seems to be a big Red Sox sponsor. We'll see.
I'll see the games this weekend, albeit with crappy yankee announcers.
Overall, it was the definitive Fenway trip: a genuinely nice fan next to us, a ball, a blown lead followed by a walk-off win, and a pole.
The magic number is 15. All the talk now is about the yanks' magic number, But as long as they've still got one, we've still got one. We can wrap this thing up in 8 games. But there's only 10 games left, so we need to get on that quick. Pedro, be ON tonight.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Oy
My summary of my trip to Fenway on Wednesday (the Cabrera HR game) will have to wait until tomorrow, as I am now going to make up for the sleep I didn't get last night, after getting home from Fenway at 2:45 AM.
About tonight's game. One word. Form of question. "Kim??????????????????"
Never liked him since the anguish he caused me in the '01 Series. Can't believe he ever was on my team, let alone still is, and pitching at a very, very important time. Fortunately the Baltimore "Angels of Death" are leaving town.
About tonight's game. One word. Form of question. "Kim??????????????????"
Never liked him since the anguish he caused me in the '01 Series. Can't believe he ever was on my team, let alone still is, and pitching at a very, very important time. Fortunately the Baltimore "Angels of Death" are leaving town.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
O Yeah...O No!...O Yeah..Eh..O Yeah!
Jeee-zus, what a crazy 'one-strike away from a win/blown lead/ then get the winning run on second with no one out/then almost lose/but still win' game that was. And an actual victory over the O-bags at that. I listened on the radio, but saw the highlights many times on NECN and CN8. Why do I get the feeling that yankee fans will call Comcast saying, "Uh, there seems to be a problem, my tv keeps calling the yankees the 'evil empire,' please fix it." And Comcast will immediately take those stations off the air. Meanwhile, the truth is, there's like 50 NY stations, and I can't even get the Red Sox games at all. Anyway, the celebration on the field was great. I'll be up there tomorrow night, behind a pole, but close to the plate. Thanks, FOX Sports Net! Can't wait to start writing for you in the fall! I'm completely kidding. I hope you know that.
So about Kay's (contrived) disbelief of Francona's dugout interview: Turns out I was right that he was just stirring up shit. Because on his radio show yesterday, after his little monologue, he says, "Coming up next I'll tell you something on Saturday that I think is the difference between the yankees and the Red Sox." And I thought, Gee, I wonder if this is about Francona's dugout interview. It was. And he again got all up-in-audio-arms about it, saying how "unbelievable" it was, and how Steinbrenner just wouldn't allow it. His co-host said bascially what I said, that he was asked to do it, so he did, so what? Then he took his first call, and the caller promptly changed the subject. Kay wanted to make this a big deal, but no one cared except him. Type "Francona dugout interview" into Google, and the incident doesn't even come up. But he has succeeded in the nation just assuming that Sheffield is the MVP. Even on NECN tonight, it said at the bottom of the screen, "Sheffield front-runner for MVP." Just hand it to him now. The media did it's influencing, and there's no looking back now. It's in everyone's heads. By the way, to the person who commented on this, I'm sorry I (kind of) acted like you got your opinion on Yes. I just meant that I'd heard the Shef argument before. But as you say, you feel Vlad deserves it, and I wouldn't be offended by that. So...
It's funny, when I watch the Sox-yanks games, I start off thinking, "Eh, Kay isn't that bad, he's just a yankee fan, at least he respects the rivalry and everything." And a few innings in to the game, I'm screaming at him at the top of my lungs, telling him how I'd prefer it if he were not alive any more. Especially when he starts with his "the great Pedro" crap, just mocking us repeatedly. He's convinced that the yanks own Pedro, even though he admits it's our bullpen that's blown most of the games he's pitched against them. And he thinks Pedro isn't great any more, strictly because he doesn't throw as hard as he used to.
And then on the radio he got all over John Kerry today for not knowing a lot about the Sox despite Kerry saying that he's a die-hard fan. Kay's point is that if Kerry "lies" about that, how could we trust him on Iraq, and other important issues? So a guy called in and said how Bush sent us into war based on a lie, and his administration is telling bigger lies than just some sports thing. And Kay replied, "Didn't John Kerry vote to go to war? Bush took us into war on evidence that turned out to be false, so that's not a lie." Then I turned to CBS News and the top story was, "Bush defends his choice to go to war to U.N." Terrible job, Kay.
One more 'Hell, No' Network related thing. There was a play in yesterday's game, where Lofton caught a ball in right that may have hit the ground, but was called an out, and then threw to first to double off a runner, who looked clearly safe, but was called out. When they showed the replay, (Kay wasn't there, laziness) Jim Kaat saw the play in the outfield, it wasn't clear either way, and said casually, "Gets it in the webbing..." Then you saw the guy slide in to first, his foot hitting the bag not only before the ball hit Olerud's glove, but before the ball bounced, before hitting Olerud's glove. He was that safe. Kaat's reaction? Silence. Cut to commercial. You think these guys are a little afraid of Steinbrenner?
Magic number to beat the yanks is, as Winger once said, only seventeen. We need to start climbing that ladder again, and soon.
So about Kay's (contrived) disbelief of Francona's dugout interview: Turns out I was right that he was just stirring up shit. Because on his radio show yesterday, after his little monologue, he says, "Coming up next I'll tell you something on Saturday that I think is the difference between the yankees and the Red Sox." And I thought, Gee, I wonder if this is about Francona's dugout interview. It was. And he again got all up-in-audio-arms about it, saying how "unbelievable" it was, and how Steinbrenner just wouldn't allow it. His co-host said bascially what I said, that he was asked to do it, so he did, so what? Then he took his first call, and the caller promptly changed the subject. Kay wanted to make this a big deal, but no one cared except him. Type "Francona dugout interview" into Google, and the incident doesn't even come up. But he has succeeded in the nation just assuming that Sheffield is the MVP. Even on NECN tonight, it said at the bottom of the screen, "Sheffield front-runner for MVP." Just hand it to him now. The media did it's influencing, and there's no looking back now. It's in everyone's heads. By the way, to the person who commented on this, I'm sorry I (kind of) acted like you got your opinion on Yes. I just meant that I'd heard the Shef argument before. But as you say, you feel Vlad deserves it, and I wouldn't be offended by that. So...
It's funny, when I watch the Sox-yanks games, I start off thinking, "Eh, Kay isn't that bad, he's just a yankee fan, at least he respects the rivalry and everything." And a few innings in to the game, I'm screaming at him at the top of my lungs, telling him how I'd prefer it if he were not alive any more. Especially when he starts with his "the great Pedro" crap, just mocking us repeatedly. He's convinced that the yanks own Pedro, even though he admits it's our bullpen that's blown most of the games he's pitched against them. And he thinks Pedro isn't great any more, strictly because he doesn't throw as hard as he used to.
And then on the radio he got all over John Kerry today for not knowing a lot about the Sox despite Kerry saying that he's a die-hard fan. Kay's point is that if Kerry "lies" about that, how could we trust him on Iraq, and other important issues? So a guy called in and said how Bush sent us into war based on a lie, and his administration is telling bigger lies than just some sports thing. And Kay replied, "Didn't John Kerry vote to go to war? Bush took us into war on evidence that turned out to be false, so that's not a lie." Then I turned to CBS News and the top story was, "Bush defends his choice to go to war to U.N." Terrible job, Kay.
One more 'Hell, No' Network related thing. There was a play in yesterday's game, where Lofton caught a ball in right that may have hit the ground, but was called an out, and then threw to first to double off a runner, who looked clearly safe, but was called out. When they showed the replay, (Kay wasn't there, laziness) Jim Kaat saw the play in the outfield, it wasn't clear either way, and said casually, "Gets it in the webbing..." Then you saw the guy slide in to first, his foot hitting the bag not only before the ball hit Olerud's glove, but before the ball bounced, before hitting Olerud's glove. He was that safe. Kaat's reaction? Silence. Cut to commercial. You think these guys are a little afraid of Steinbrenner?
Magic number to beat the yanks is, as Winger once said, only seventeen. We need to start climbing that ladder again, and soon.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Out Of The (Shoddy) Woodwork
I always make the joke, "yankee fans don't pay attention until playoff time." Which isn't really a joke, considering it's true among 90% of people who claim to be yankee fans. But I don't know if I've actually ever heard someone blatantly admit it--until yesterday.
There's this person at work who is the type that in school would say, "But teacher, you forgot to give us homework!" So they've got that going for them right off the bat. (I'm using the genderless "they" here, which is doubly appropriate because I'm pretty sure this person is a robot.) Just the kind of person you wish would go away. "Uh, I never got the feedback on that job I did..." That's him, only say it in a real nerdy voice. No, not the cool kind of nerd (like us), the kind who just doesn't realize that it doesn't matter that you wrote something in black ink, even if the "official instructions" say you're supposed to write in blue.
Anyway, this person has never worn any sports-related items (we have a very casual workplace) to work, and I've never heard them make any mention of sports in any way. But Monday, after the yanks got that big sweep of the Sox (Oh, we know it wasn't a sweep, but you know yankee fans--those two big wins plus a near win, that's a sweep to them, just like they won the '01 World Series.), suddenly everyone was talkin' about the yanks. Including the Robot. 'Bot was asking someone how many games the yanks had won over the weekend. I thought, "What's this, suddenly this dumbass is a yankee fan?" Then the 'Bot said it: "Right around now is when I usually start paying attention." Shudder.
You know what? I honestly don't have a problem with someone who is a casual fan. As long as they admit it. If you're gonna not care about your team all season long, and then wear a yankees world champs shirt in November, can you at least come up to the guy who's been wearing the Sox gear all year, dying night after night, riding the emotional rollercoaster while you played Skee-Ball, only to look up and find that your team has been crowned king, therefore making you better than me, and say, "Hey man, I know you're way more into this than me, I'm not a true fan, but I got the shirt, the yanks are always gonna be my team, you know, until the Mets are good again, so I don't know what to tell ya."? Is that too much to ask?
Or go ahead and be like George Carlin, who admits that he's proud to just be a fan of whoever wins, because sports are supposed to be fun, and why become attached to someone who'll break your heart? But just admit it. Don't come in with some stupid yankee shirt in October and think I'm not gonna notice that you didn't wear one all year, or that I'll think you're a "true fan" who just happens to wait until the World Series is over before wearing your team's colors.
*Please note that I am a big fan of George Carlin as well as Skee-Ball.
Also on Monday, I overheard some other non-yankee fan on the phone saying, "We were right by third base, so we were really close to A-Rod and Derek Jeter." Well let's just throw a parade for you, taking up seats that actual baseball fans would love to have so that you can gawk at the cute superstars.
That day, I was wearing my "F the yanks" t-shirt at work. I had my jacket zipped up so it wasn't really visible, but after these little events, I opened that crap up, because I needed these phonies to see that they're not in some yankee-friendly utopia, where, Hey, it's October, everybody's a yankee fan! Go yanks! I get the feeling these people think that all the baseball fans are yankee fans, and everyone else is an October yankee fan. And that's it. That's all the people. In the world. That there are. Mm-hmm. Can you pull the SUV into the garage, honey, I think it might drizzle.
Okay, I guess this is turning into a shot at suburban yankee fan phonies, so I apologize to you homeless real yankee fans out there.
Maybe I just need some better yankee fans at work. Even the ones that do pay attention couldn't be paying that close attention. This one person wore their yankee shirt today, after they lost. Why not wear it Monday, after they took 2 out of 3 from us? Could it be a laundry issue? I don't get these people.
Even more to come later, but I've gotta go watch/listen to some baseball.
Oh, no, don't get out of the pool yankee fans, we'll let you know when the playoffs start.
There's this person at work who is the type that in school would say, "But teacher, you forgot to give us homework!" So they've got that going for them right off the bat. (I'm using the genderless "they" here, which is doubly appropriate because I'm pretty sure this person is a robot.) Just the kind of person you wish would go away. "Uh, I never got the feedback on that job I did..." That's him, only say it in a real nerdy voice. No, not the cool kind of nerd (like us), the kind who just doesn't realize that it doesn't matter that you wrote something in black ink, even if the "official instructions" say you're supposed to write in blue.
Anyway, this person has never worn any sports-related items (we have a very casual workplace) to work, and I've never heard them make any mention of sports in any way. But Monday, after the yanks got that big sweep of the Sox (Oh, we know it wasn't a sweep, but you know yankee fans--those two big wins plus a near win, that's a sweep to them, just like they won the '01 World Series.), suddenly everyone was talkin' about the yanks. Including the Robot. 'Bot was asking someone how many games the yanks had won over the weekend. I thought, "What's this, suddenly this dumbass is a yankee fan?" Then the 'Bot said it: "Right around now is when I usually start paying attention." Shudder.
You know what? I honestly don't have a problem with someone who is a casual fan. As long as they admit it. If you're gonna not care about your team all season long, and then wear a yankees world champs shirt in November, can you at least come up to the guy who's been wearing the Sox gear all year, dying night after night, riding the emotional rollercoaster while you played Skee-Ball, only to look up and find that your team has been crowned king, therefore making you better than me, and say, "Hey man, I know you're way more into this than me, I'm not a true fan, but I got the shirt, the yanks are always gonna be my team, you know, until the Mets are good again, so I don't know what to tell ya."? Is that too much to ask?
Or go ahead and be like George Carlin, who admits that he's proud to just be a fan of whoever wins, because sports are supposed to be fun, and why become attached to someone who'll break your heart? But just admit it. Don't come in with some stupid yankee shirt in October and think I'm not gonna notice that you didn't wear one all year, or that I'll think you're a "true fan" who just happens to wait until the World Series is over before wearing your team's colors.
*Please note that I am a big fan of George Carlin as well as Skee-Ball.
Also on Monday, I overheard some other non-yankee fan on the phone saying, "We were right by third base, so we were really close to A-Rod and Derek Jeter." Well let's just throw a parade for you, taking up seats that actual baseball fans would love to have so that you can gawk at the cute superstars.
That day, I was wearing my "F the yanks" t-shirt at work. I had my jacket zipped up so it wasn't really visible, but after these little events, I opened that crap up, because I needed these phonies to see that they're not in some yankee-friendly utopia, where, Hey, it's October, everybody's a yankee fan! Go yanks! I get the feeling these people think that all the baseball fans are yankee fans, and everyone else is an October yankee fan. And that's it. That's all the people. In the world. That there are. Mm-hmm. Can you pull the SUV into the garage, honey, I think it might drizzle.
Okay, I guess this is turning into a shot at suburban yankee fan phonies, so I apologize to you homeless real yankee fans out there.
Maybe I just need some better yankee fans at work. Even the ones that do pay attention couldn't be paying that close attention. This one person wore their yankee shirt today, after they lost. Why not wear it Monday, after they took 2 out of 3 from us? Could it be a laundry issue? I don't get these people.
Even more to come later, but I've gotta go watch/listen to some baseball.
Oh, no, don't get out of the pool yankee fans, we'll let you know when the playoffs start.
Great Scott!
Am I a total psychopath for kind of not wanting the Angels to lose games? As far as I'm concerned, no, actually, the truth is, we could be tied for first in four days. And when that happens, I want some team to be close enough to the yanks to get them really worried. I mean, we're gonna have to win almost every game anyway, right? I say keep that next team close. Maybe it's easy for me to say this since I've really never thought about the wild card all season anyway. I've always been confident that we will be playing in the playoffs. It's worth it to live dangerously to see those yanks squirm. My dad, and probably 100% of Sox fans, will tell me I'm crazy, even though I do have a slight amount of tongue in my cheek when I say this. You'll all say "It doesn't matter, as long as we make the playoffs, we can beat the yanks there." Well, it's not like I'll be disappointed if we get in as a wild card. And I'd be rooting just as hard. But I'd like that home field advantage, and to see the yanks miss the playoffs or have to struggle to get in, and to know Derek Jeter would look in the mirror, and say, "Wild card. That's all you are. You've failed," man, that would be sweet. Picture that last scene just like on SNL, when Carvey as Bush, Sr. was talking to himself, saying, "You're a one-termer," after losing to Phil Hartman, I mean Clinton.
Anyway, alright, just gimme the damn wild card. Just kidding. This weekend will be fun. These people who say the division is lost--what are they gonna do this weekend, go fishing? Have a little hope, people! I'll be there Saturday (and tomorrow) and I hope to see us move in to first.
Now I'm gonna write something else in a new post because these things are getting longer and longer. But the next thing I write will be above this one, the way this blog is laid out. So you may have just read something I haven't written yet. So tell me, Marty McFly, who wins the fifth at Belmont?
Anyway, alright, just gimme the damn wild card. Just kidding. This weekend will be fun. These people who say the division is lost--what are they gonna do this weekend, go fishing? Have a little hope, people! I'll be there Saturday (and tomorrow) and I hope to see us move in to first.
Now I'm gonna write something else in a new post because these things are getting longer and longer. But the next thing I write will be above this one, the way this blog is laid out. So you may have just read something I haven't written yet. So tell me, Marty McFly, who wins the fifth at Belmont?
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Those Who Attempt To Poison And Destroy My Brothers
Wanna puke, if you're not puking already? Check out this piece of crap article by John Donovan of SI.com.
Besides having a second mouth surgically implanted to be able to kiss Steinbrenner's and Jeter's asses at once, Donovan writes this nonsense about the series:
"If not for a fluke of a ninth-inning comeback against closer Mariano Rivera on Friday night, the Yankees would have made a clean sweep of this series. Boston had gone 9-0-1 in its last 10 series. Saturday and Sunday marked the first time the Sox had dropped back-to-back games since early August, too."
Fluke of a ninth-inning comeback? You might be able to say that if Mariano had previously shut down the Sox every other time he's faced them. But from what I heard from yankee announcers, he'd blown 7 saves against the Sox in his career, compared to 14 against the rest of the league combined. That's closer to the norm than it is to a fluke. And notice how I quoted my source there, unlike Donovan, who, in classic sports media dork fashion, spewed to me exactly what I already heard from Yes announcers a few hours ago, acting like he came up with everything himself.
Another reason to check those facts would be so you don't end up saying something completely untrue, like the Sox not having lost back-to-back games since early August. Uh, dumbass, we lost two in a row less than one week ago. (That's mid-September.)
That's all I'm gonna say about John Donovan right now. I don't want to waste space on JOHN DONOVAN. You'll note I'm using the name John Donovan a lot. My hope is that he reads this, so I figure the more I write "John Donovan," the better the chance he sees this, since you know that this insecure bastard google-searches his own name every five minutes. (The other four he spends looking for nude pics of Jeter.)
About the game today: Hey, sometimes (all the time) the yanks are gonna hit 319 foot home runs, what can you do? Pedro didn't do all that bad. We're four back in the LC with three to play against them at home next weekend. If we can just keep pace this week, we've still got a good chance to take this division. The question is, can we figure out the damn Orioles?
Kay told his usual lies today. One that he's basically turned into reality by driving it into people's heads is that last season Pedro "hit Jeter and Soriano" back to back, sending them both to the hospital. You might be saying, "Yeah, that's true. That did happen." But listen to how Kay says it--Pedro "hit" them. This would imply that they were both hit by a pitch, and awarded first base. Wrong. Soriano went to swing at the ball, the ball hit the bat and got a piece of his hand before going foul. This is not "getting hit by a pitch." This is a "strike." Then Soriano proceeded to strike out, before the next batter, Jeter, was actually hit by a pitch. Look at the play-by-play from this game, which took place July 7th, 2003 (thanks Redsox1918.com): "New York 1st -- Soriano struck out swinging. Jeter hit by pitch." And from the boxscore: "HBP - D Jeter (by P Martinez); J Posada (by B Kim)." That's right, Soriano was not hit by a pitch. The "evil Pedro" was just throwing inside, and got the strike he was looking for. (And Jeter's hands were right over the plate when he got hit, by the way.) (And both stayed in the game after they were hit, if only for a short time; Kay acts like they were carted off from the batter's box.)
You may have also seen in that article by John Donovan that he defended Jeter's bunt with the yanks up 7-1 today. This was much different than my reaction, which included lots of loud f-words, as well as making it known to any neighbor with an open window that I hope we throw at Jeter "with intent to injure."
I'm not saying he should "give up an at bat," as the yanks' announcers kept bringing up, but it's 7-1, swing the god damn bat. That goes for Little League games, Old Timer's games, any game, any sport, anywhere. You ever get the feeling Jeter would bunt for a hit in a beer league softball game? And for the cowardly suck-ups in the yankee booth to not jump all over that cheater for that weak, classless move is just unbelievable. And then when he got up again, in the eighth I believe, Paul O'Neill starts talking about how you don't want to "give up an at bat," because it might mess you up for tomorrow. Jeter went on to get one of the all time cheapest bloop hits into no-man's land, and Kay boasted, "See, he didn't waste the at bat, and now he's got a three-hit day instead of a two-hit day." Well, la-ti-freakin'-da. I'm telling you, a slow, horrible death awaits Michael Kay.
What kills me is this game was on ESPN, but it was blacked out because of Yes, so I should've had neutral announcers. The score made me mad enough without having to hear those horrible yankee-rooters.
Kay also was appalled by Francona doing the interview with Fox while down 9-0 the previous day. He said how Joe Torre would never do such a thing. In this case, both other announcers jumped in to defend Tito, saying Fox makes you do the interview. Kay said that Fox "encourages" them to do it, but they don't have to. I don't know if he's lying about that, but the point is, MLB gave the networks the right to interview players and managers during games this year. Fox asked Tito to do an interview, so he did it. It was nine to friggin' nothing, what else did he have to do? Would it be better if it was tied in the ninth, and he wasted key minutes getting interviewed when he should have been plotting strategy? Kay needs to just shut up in this situation. You could tell that all he was doing was trying to stir up shit. Had Torre done it, Kay would have praised him for being so generous and honorable to do an interview even when his team was being blown out.
You don't like the manager being interviewed during the game, Kay? Well how do you feel when the crowd in the bleachers at the Stadium chants each yankee fielder's name in the first inning, and each fielder raises their hand in acknowledgment, WHILE THE GAME IS GOING ON? How about about taking a stand against that, you fucking prick!!!!!!
Finally (I swear), someone commented to my blog in response to my saying that Sheffield shouldn't be MVP. (By the way, did you notice how John Donovan did exactly what I talked about yesterday? Saying how Sheffield is "looking more and more like the MVP." Why? Because you're saying it more and more? What a scam.) Anyway, to respond to this person, who told me that Sheffield is more valuable because he's "carrying" the yanks, while Manny has Ortiz to back him up and vice versa: First of all, I am familiar with this argument. I watch Yes, too. (Not saying you wouldn't of thought of it yourself, because you sound smarter than the usual yankee fans that write to me.) But I'm just saying that as long as this yankee lineup is going to be referred to as "murderer's row," and called "the best offense in the game," I don't see how taking one guy out of it would hurt the yanks all that much more than the Sox would be hurt with one less guy in theirs.
Besides having a second mouth surgically implanted to be able to kiss Steinbrenner's and Jeter's asses at once, Donovan writes this nonsense about the series:
"If not for a fluke of a ninth-inning comeback against closer Mariano Rivera on Friday night, the Yankees would have made a clean sweep of this series. Boston had gone 9-0-1 in its last 10 series. Saturday and Sunday marked the first time the Sox had dropped back-to-back games since early August, too."
Fluke of a ninth-inning comeback? You might be able to say that if Mariano had previously shut down the Sox every other time he's faced them. But from what I heard from yankee announcers, he'd blown 7 saves against the Sox in his career, compared to 14 against the rest of the league combined. That's closer to the norm than it is to a fluke. And notice how I quoted my source there, unlike Donovan, who, in classic sports media dork fashion, spewed to me exactly what I already heard from Yes announcers a few hours ago, acting like he came up with everything himself.
Another reason to check those facts would be so you don't end up saying something completely untrue, like the Sox not having lost back-to-back games since early August. Uh, dumbass, we lost two in a row less than one week ago. (That's mid-September.)
That's all I'm gonna say about John Donovan right now. I don't want to waste space on JOHN DONOVAN. You'll note I'm using the name John Donovan a lot. My hope is that he reads this, so I figure the more I write "John Donovan," the better the chance he sees this, since you know that this insecure bastard google-searches his own name every five minutes. (The other four he spends looking for nude pics of Jeter.)
About the game today: Hey, sometimes (all the time) the yanks are gonna hit 319 foot home runs, what can you do? Pedro didn't do all that bad. We're four back in the LC with three to play against them at home next weekend. If we can just keep pace this week, we've still got a good chance to take this division. The question is, can we figure out the damn Orioles?
Kay told his usual lies today. One that he's basically turned into reality by driving it into people's heads is that last season Pedro "hit Jeter and Soriano" back to back, sending them both to the hospital. You might be saying, "Yeah, that's true. That did happen." But listen to how Kay says it--Pedro "hit" them. This would imply that they were both hit by a pitch, and awarded first base. Wrong. Soriano went to swing at the ball, the ball hit the bat and got a piece of his hand before going foul. This is not "getting hit by a pitch." This is a "strike." Then Soriano proceeded to strike out, before the next batter, Jeter, was actually hit by a pitch. Look at the play-by-play from this game, which took place July 7th, 2003 (thanks Redsox1918.com): "New York 1st -- Soriano struck out swinging. Jeter hit by pitch." And from the boxscore: "HBP - D Jeter (by P Martinez); J Posada (by B Kim)." That's right, Soriano was not hit by a pitch. The "evil Pedro" was just throwing inside, and got the strike he was looking for. (And Jeter's hands were right over the plate when he got hit, by the way.) (And both stayed in the game after they were hit, if only for a short time; Kay acts like they were carted off from the batter's box.)
You may have also seen in that article by John Donovan that he defended Jeter's bunt with the yanks up 7-1 today. This was much different than my reaction, which included lots of loud f-words, as well as making it known to any neighbor with an open window that I hope we throw at Jeter "with intent to injure."
I'm not saying he should "give up an at bat," as the yanks' announcers kept bringing up, but it's 7-1, swing the god damn bat. That goes for Little League games, Old Timer's games, any game, any sport, anywhere. You ever get the feeling Jeter would bunt for a hit in a beer league softball game? And for the cowardly suck-ups in the yankee booth to not jump all over that cheater for that weak, classless move is just unbelievable. And then when he got up again, in the eighth I believe, Paul O'Neill starts talking about how you don't want to "give up an at bat," because it might mess you up for tomorrow. Jeter went on to get one of the all time cheapest bloop hits into no-man's land, and Kay boasted, "See, he didn't waste the at bat, and now he's got a three-hit day instead of a two-hit day." Well, la-ti-freakin'-da. I'm telling you, a slow, horrible death awaits Michael Kay.
What kills me is this game was on ESPN, but it was blacked out because of Yes, so I should've had neutral announcers. The score made me mad enough without having to hear those horrible yankee-rooters.
Kay also was appalled by Francona doing the interview with Fox while down 9-0 the previous day. He said how Joe Torre would never do such a thing. In this case, both other announcers jumped in to defend Tito, saying Fox makes you do the interview. Kay said that Fox "encourages" them to do it, but they don't have to. I don't know if he's lying about that, but the point is, MLB gave the networks the right to interview players and managers during games this year. Fox asked Tito to do an interview, so he did it. It was nine to friggin' nothing, what else did he have to do? Would it be better if it was tied in the ninth, and he wasted key minutes getting interviewed when he should have been plotting strategy? Kay needs to just shut up in this situation. You could tell that all he was doing was trying to stir up shit. Had Torre done it, Kay would have praised him for being so generous and honorable to do an interview even when his team was being blown out.
You don't like the manager being interviewed during the game, Kay? Well how do you feel when the crowd in the bleachers at the Stadium chants each yankee fielder's name in the first inning, and each fielder raises their hand in acknowledgment, WHILE THE GAME IS GOING ON? How about about taking a stand against that, you fucking prick!!!!!!
Finally (I swear), someone commented to my blog in response to my saying that Sheffield shouldn't be MVP. (By the way, did you notice how John Donovan did exactly what I talked about yesterday? Saying how Sheffield is "looking more and more like the MVP." Why? Because you're saying it more and more? What a scam.) Anyway, to respond to this person, who told me that Sheffield is more valuable because he's "carrying" the yanks, while Manny has Ortiz to back him up and vice versa: First of all, I am familiar with this argument. I watch Yes, too. (Not saying you wouldn't of thought of it yourself, because you sound smarter than the usual yankee fans that write to me.) But I'm just saying that as long as this yankee lineup is going to be referred to as "murderer's row," and called "the best offense in the game," I don't see how taking one guy out of it would hurt the yanks all that much more than the Sox would be hurt with one less guy in theirs.
