Friday, October 09, 2009

ALDS Game One: Don't Go To Bed Pissed At Your Team

First of all, Orsillo? I knew he'd be doing a division series again, and I hadn't seen any of the Rockies/Balboas series, and knowing they couldn't possibly have him do our series, I figured he was doing that one. But there he was. Terrible job. Not a fan of having an announcer of one of the teams involved in a series. Imagine if they had Michael Kay doing the Yankees series? And on top of it, it makes it feel less like the playoffs, for me anyway. Why in the world would they do this?

And I've heard Tito lie through his teeth a few times now, about the Beckett in game two thing. This team told me repeatedly that the most important thing was "lining up the pitching." Instead of sweeping the Twins and being at home right now, we're in LA down 1-0 because we thought it was more important to start "lining up the pitching" IN AUGUST, yet getting Beckett to go in game one was just totally impossible. Don't think that means I didn't want Lester going in game one, and yes, I realize this is Tito's way of not having to publicly say Beckett doesn't deserve to pitch the first game, but why lie to everybody? (or, how can you fuck something up so badly when you gave yourself a month to plan it as your number one priority?)

Peter Brady did a fine job for them tonight. Lester gave up the one big hit, and that was it.

I can see making a mistake on occasion, but how that ump could make those calls when they were so obvious....at least they didn't cost us, except for making Lester throw more pitches. But I have to look at the reasons why the plays were close: In both situations, it was, Guy makes great play to get ball, fine. Guy settles down instead of rushing, realizing he has time to make a good throw, fine. Guy lazily throws to fist from heels making ball go off to the throwing-arm side! Not fine! Youk did a great job bailing Gonzalez and Lowell out, but, of course, the ump missed both calls. Throws anywhere near the target and we wouldn't be talking about it.

In the eighth, man on second, Crotch-man and Jacoby give me ground outs to third. Terrible. And earlier, when it was 3-0, after the hit by Dustin, the four pitch walk to Vic-E Mart, and then three more balls, Youk has to give me more than a very weak inning-ending groundout to third.

TBS mostly did a good job, except for getting a little too "artsy" worrying about runners on base, and showing one pitch from high in the right field upper deck. And with that weird play where they came back from commercial since it turned out the inning wasn't really over, and when it did end, the commercials were then all effed up, making me wonder if the game was ever coming back...

Beckett for us, Weaver spinning the wheel of fish for them tomorrow night. Sunday's game's at noon, and Monday, hopefully necessary, will be a night game.

Comments:
Gotta have a little offense here, gentlemen.
Lackey's good, sure, but not that good.
Discipline, please.
The umpiring WAS horrible, but didn't cost us. We gotta do better.

Of course I have no doubt we will.
Noon on Sunday? damn, I had heard it was later, mid afternoon or something. Gotta check that out now, I may have made plans based on misinfo. crap
 
I had also heard some Boston beat-writer bigshot saying "what we're hearing is Sunday will be a night game and Monday will be afternoon. And it's the opposite. I love it when those guys are wrong! (It works out perfectly with my schedule--I was hoping for it to turn out this way, but like you, was kind of thinking the other way based on fools.)
 
The most disturbing thing about the game was Ortiz carrying his bat with him on his way (he never made it more than half-way)to first base in a PLAYOFF game!
 
Tonight we get that shitty ump behind the plate - hope he's better there. The only problem I had with Joe West last night was the pitch that Papi thought he had walked on was called a strike and the pitch that Lester thought he struck out Hunter on was called a ball. They were both in the same location!

And I agree, that AB by Youk was frustrating. After being 3-0, he lets two strikes down the middle go by before we see yet another weak grounder. Let's hope we see some Sox offense tonight.
 
Hang in there my friend, it's only one game.

Now to answer your prior post about having multiple teams. I don't hate, nor do I root for the Mets, I don't despise them but that's because my mom was a Met fan and she introduced me to baseball and loved to talk about all the Dominican baseball players she grew up watching.

Similar stories, where parents or some other family member(s) might root for the other team, in the same city exist everywhere. As a kid it's only natural to develop an affection because of what you remember as young child.

My parents didn't know they had to hate other teams, they rooted for the Dominican and, to a lesser extent, all Spanish ball players. My mom's favorite ball players were Juan Marichal and Roberto Clemente, I know she liked Tiant too, as did my father. My grandfather loved Joaquin Andujar, which I still don't know why.

Not everything is as black and white as the hate in your world for the Yankees. You have to get past that at some point, hate the Yankees but try not to make so many blanket statements. Those kind of things developed over time in our generation.

I have an affinity for the Mets, I definitely don't hate. I don't care for the Olde Towne Team, but I would understand why a Sox fan would like the Mets/Phillies - like you stated. I've learned to dislike the Mets more because of their GM, I like to laugh at how they are run and how Madoff swindled the Wilpons.

Sometimes you can post some dumb shit, other times you surprise me. I think it's cause you get overly emotional about all things Sux. Get a grip!
 
pweezil: I of course noticed that by Ortiz. It's his usual for years now but nobody says anything. I really want someone to show him up by just holding the ball, waiting for him to move. Even drop it on the ground, toy with him. Lowell does it too.

Daaa--Being from CT, that's split-family country just like NY would be. I have Yankee and Sox fans in my family. Doesn't mean we all get together and root for both! And what's this about Yankee hatred coming up in this generation? Yankee hatred has been built up for almost 100 years! That's why I get so mad when people talk about hating BOTH the Sox and Yanks, as if the two could possibly ever be on the same level.
 
Jere - the difference is that my family was composed of mostly immigrants. Their frame of reference, with respect to the local teams, wasn't meant to draw a line in the sand where I hate this team and I like this one. That kind of developed with the first generation of kids born, like myself. They were more focused with rooting for their hometown heroes.

It's just an element that I don't expect you to understand, maybe you do understand. I don't know.

Anyhow, this is your post about last night's sox game. Probably not the right place for this conversation. I was just trying to point out to you that not everything is as simple as you paint it, or complex, depends on your perspective.

Peace!
 
That was my point, you answered my question: "Yankee hatred has been built up for almost 100 years!". Most people that came over from other countries during the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, didn't come with this hatred fully in place.

That's all I was trying to say. It wasn't something that was a learned behavior, like it is now.

The world is a much smaller place, the hatred Red Sox fans in the Dominican Republic have for the Yankees is well rooted now. It has a lot to do with the competition both teams have been a part of the last ten years, internet being more mainstream even in the 3rd world countries, the fact that they can watch the games where in the past that wasn't possible. Or at least not as easy.

So what was a norm to you wasn't necessary the same for a lot of people.
 

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