Monday, October 19, 2009

Fina-Goddamn-lly!

While I appreciate all your comments and e-mails telling me not to watch the ALCS for health reasons, I'm glad I got to see this one today.

The Angels finally busted through with an all-out assault, taking the power back in the series!

Just kidding. They DID win, but my lord did they ever try to lose it oh so many times. If you missed it, here's the quick recap.

Yanks get solo dongs early, but Weaver gets out of a few jellies, so it's "only" 3-0.

Angels get on the board with a Solo Cup of their own, and then, with two outs in the 6th, Vlad is up with a man on against the mysteriously quickly recovering Pettitte. Girardi comes out to mound for a chat. Pettitte serves it up. Dong, and we're tied.

7th: Joba, the man who hasn't done much of anything in his career yet still has T-shirts and wind-up toys made out of his likeness and always enters games with some kind of "danger! awesomeness ahead!" warning, enters to preserve the 3-3 tie, and gives up a triple on his first pitch. A sac fly, and the 'gels have the lead, which they'd never relinquish. Again, JUST KIDDING.

8th: After the Angels pitch out and nail the tying run at second with no outs, Posada hits a dong anyway, and we're tied. (Camera only cuts to Jeter in dugout ONCE before Posada finishes rounding bases. Victory!)

bottom 8th: Abreu with a leadoff bomb into the gap--he's going for 3! Yet he stops for some reason. Halfway to third, the fucker stops, as the ball is reaching the cutoff man, who throws to second, EASILY getting Bobby as he scampers back toward the bag. McCarver then teaches a seminar (oh don't think I didn't expect it--if Jeter's in the same town as any defensive play, he was integral) on how Jeter was the key to that play and every other play in the history of baseball/rounders. A "nose for the ball," Tim says. Forget the fact that it was all Abreu's fault. Or that Jeter simply caught a ball thrown to him and then threw it to where the dumbass runner was going, right in front of him. Or that Teixeira was the one who came all the way from first to cover the base! Nope, it was all Jeter.

But wait! As we come back from break, McCarver has come up with yet another reason why Jeter's play was so impressive. Tim claims that "no one told him where to throw the ball"! Can you believe that shit? Because of course, as a legally blind citizen, Jeter would never be able to see a baserunner stuck between two bases RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. Basically the replay we saw as Tim blathered proved the theory wrong as he was saying it. Go back and watch that one for a good laugh. And if Teixeira WASN'T yelling to throw him the ball (again, he wouldn't have needed to, Jeter caught the ball and turned with plenty of time to see where to throw), I'll give you 100 Jeter bucks, good for 50 Tim McCarver used Kleenexes.

In the 10th, the Angels start with a double. Game over, right? Not yet. Yanks go to Mo one batter too late, and the Angels bunt, and Mo goes to third with it! He's got the man! But he throws it away!! Game OVER, right?? No. Yanks back up the play. But it's first and third, no outs, tied. GAME OVER, right? No. Next guy grounds to first, Teix makes diving stop. Runner at third doesn't go, Teix touches base. Second and third, one out. Still just need a sac fly. Abreu looking to atone--but they walk him on purpose to load 'em for Hunter. Of course, our friend Torii grounds to the drawn-in infield, and they get the force at home. Vlad up, and he hits the third grounder to first for an easy out. Angels pull off a miracle, not scoring in that situation.

11th: First two Angels make outs vs. Robertson. Girardi thinks too hard and pulls the guy. Blown-ceves comes in and gives up a solid single to center. Winning run at first. Mathis hits deep fly ball to left--Hairston had gone to left for defensice purposes in the last inning since Damon has no arm (which also effectively took Mo out of the game since he was forced into the lineup and his spot came up in the top of the inning), and he goes back to the wall, doesn't catch the ball, but instead of trying to play the carom, which would have been the only chance they had at throwing the winning run out at home, he goes crashing into the fence, falling down like Shemp. Melky gets ball, but they've got no chance. Angels finally win. Yankees finally lose a postseason game. I bet every Yankee fan said something about "destiny" after they got out of that 10th. But they lost. Angels have to keep it going tomorrow to make it 2-2. CC on three days rest tomorrow!

Comments:
Girardi is a really dumb guy, and an awful manager. He handed the Halos the game when he took out Robertson in the 11th for no reason.

The Halos still have no chance in hell in this series. Good to see them win today though.
 
This has nothing to do with that, but how on earth do people tolerate the sound of Buck Martinez? Leaving out the value of his commentary for the moment, I'm watching the NCLS right now and I just can't take it anymore. More than anything else, I just find it disturbing that that voice belongs to someone who isn't freakishly old.

If there was a Disney movie about a frog from Louisiana who dreamed of being a sportscaster, and magically, his dream came true, he would sound just like Buck Martinez. And also, the frog would be 150 years old.
 
Ryan, ha.

AJM, don't tell me you're starting to believe the destiny hype...they can be beaten easily by a good team. The Angels are a good team--they've just been playing like a minor league one. Maybe now they start showing up.
 
I agree. The Angels can easily beat the Bronx Slimeballs, if they play to their ability.

Ryan, you have no idea just how bad Buck Martinez can be. He was a TV broadcaster with Fergie Olver for the Toronto Blue Jays in the late 80s. If you've never heard of Olver, count your lucky stars. He's insane. He makes Michael Kay look and sound suave, intelligent and reasonable by comparison. With Martinez as Olver's sidekick (on TSN), we may have experienced the very worst announcers in baseball history.

Martinez does have good hair, though.

Because of course, as a legally blind citizen, Jeter would never be able to see a baserunner stuck between two bases RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE.

Legally blind citizen... bwahahahahahahahaha!!!
 
Nope, I don't believe in destiny; I agree with Manny that you make your own destination.

But I do believe that spending $430mm in one off-season on free agents is probably sufficient to buy a championship. I know we don't want to admit it around here, but the MFYs are a very good, talented team. And in order to win this series, the Halos will need to win at least one game in the Bronx; they've shown zero evidence they can actually do that. Their hitters get intimidated, and I don't believe that their bullpen can shutdown the Yanks' lineup. I'll be very happy to be wrong on that, but I don't see it.

I actually think the Phillies can give the MFYs a real battle in the World Series, and that Petey can come through one last time. Unfortunately, their bullpen is even worse than the Angels, which will likely be their downfall as well.
 
Good recap.

"he goes crashing into the fence, falling down like Shemp" - Damon taught him this to make it look like you're really trying.
 
But honestly, on the bigger point here, I'm still trying to get my head around you spending five hours Saturday night thinking something good was going to happen. I mean yeah, the Halos are better than the Twinkies, but they've still got Fuentes as their closer and Torii Hunter, who talks a big game but turns invisible once he steps onto the field in the Bronx, as one of their key players.

I spent the day doing a walking tour of Brooklyn while my wife took a class in Chelsea, and then we had dinner with some friends in the city. It didn't occur to me once to check that score...in the unlikely event that it was good news, I could watch the highlights over and over on replay the next day. I actually did catch the end of last night's game while eating dinner by chance, but only turned it on because I figured the Halos actually had a shot a winning an extra-inning game at home once Girardi inevitably overmanaged. In the Bronx, where the MFYs' chemically-enhanced lineup always gets last licks against some overmatched reliever, Girardi's idiocy can always be overcome.
 

Post a Comment

If you're "anonymous," please leave a name, even if it's a fake one, for differentiation purposes.

If you're having trouble commenting, try signing in to whatever account you're using first, then come back here once you're signed in.



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

My Photo
Name:
Location: Rhode Island, United States