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Will They Never Learn? Sox-Yanks Gamer I (Maybe)

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It's raining and chill in the big city tonight. Will the historic rivals play their first game at the new ballpark in the Bronx? Will anyone be there to see it? Who knows. But on the Yankee home page, they're advertising tickets, and at $350 a pop, the "once in a lifetime" experience they're pimping is maybe more accurate than they mean. Comment away on all the action…..

296 replies on “Will They Never Learn? Sox-Yanks Gamer I (Maybe)”

yanks really dicking ticket holders over here by not calling this thing this afternoon. now it’s in rain delay but it’s coming down hard here in brooklyn and the forecast sucks. no update over on lohud, except that aceves is now up for claggett, and joba’s mom is in jail for selling meth (oy). and then there’s the whole a-rod thing. but whatever, we’re just not interested.
in other news, check out rob’s stadium note in the initial impressions thread. i don’t agree with all (most) of it but it’s fair minded and worth your time, if you’re interested.

I’m more concerned about how calling this game would mess up the Yankee’s rotation. If there’s a future doubleheader, Al Aceves will most likely pitch the first game. I’d rather not have the Yankees go to such a contingency plan.
Ticket holders? The performance of the team comes first. I get your concern, but it’s better if the Yankees play tonight.

they better get this game in. i’ve got 5 friends over and we’re ready to play the teixeira buyers remorse drinking game.

I’m also hoping they get this one in – I left work a little early to watch, since it’s nationally televised, and got home to see Braves/Mets. BOOO.

lol not a fan of the pinstripes, YF?
not an easy look to pull off, though.

looks like we might actually get some baseball tonight, starting 9ish.
over/under on 1:00 as finish. i’ll take over.

9:20 start, sez ESPN. Which is crazy, because every NYY/BOS game this year has taken four hours to play. Glad I’m on the West Coast…

Over YF, easy. Especially with Hughes/Lester pitching. I predict a 20+ run-scoring night.

Hey, the broadcast is starting. Best thing about mlb.tv this year is being able to choose your broadcasters. Michael Kay? No thanks. Fox announcers? Nope. Orsillo and Remdawg? Yessir.

Paul, beg SF to lend you his mlb.tv username/password ;-) I have three friends all using mine simultaneously.

Sterling/Waldman both crapping on the decision to start the game. Apparently it’s still raining just as hard as it was when the game was delayed two hours ago…

Cleveland ties it in the 9th against Toronto. Booya.
Drew walks on a close pitch. Let’s go Bay!

Wow, Lester has a bad ERA – any SF want to explain it? For some reason I thought it was something in the 3 range..

Well scoring 50% of our baserunners sounds good to me. Hey Paul, that would make a great post-topic: what’s the normal amount of runners LOB?

He’s looked good so far, but he seems to have one bad inning where it all unravels. Don’t be surprised if the Yanks are hitless through 4, then score 7 runs in the 5th.
The wild pitch changed to a passed-ball. Good call.

Oooo look at the shots from the butcher shop inside YS. That’s some good looking beef.

Lester strikes out Jeter and Damon, both relatively good 2-strike hitters. And here’s our 182 hitter.

Strikes out the side, the “good” part of the lineup. Colour me impressed.

I take a piss and come back to see that Lowell is awesome. I approve of this message.

Hughes gets 2 strikes count on everybody, but not striking them out.. and the Sox is running the count up..

I hate listening to John Sterling. He calls the long drive, tracking Damon back “to the wall, and it is…. caught by Cabrera.” WTF?

Can’t give up hard hits/outs and walk them at the same time. 3rd walk of the night, this time to Ells, and I’m sure he’s going to run..

Seeing Green play, why would we ever start Lugo until whatever magic carpet ride Green is taking finally runs out?
Walk to Ellsbury. Might be a long night for the Yankee pen.

Pedroia hits it hard, and Swisher slides a bit in the outfield, but makes the catch anyways. Let’s go Lester.

Commercial topic: has anyone seen the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? I decided that I needed to watch it so I downloaded the trilogy (I didn’t know it was a trilogy until I looked it up), and I have to say that the third one was the worst. A Few Dollars More is infinitely better, and Good Bad and Ugly is a mediocre movie except for the last 15 minutes. Why does it get all the recognition?

Swisher draws a 7 pitch walk.
Sterling and Suzie raving about Swisher..
Anyhow, so there goes the perfect game, and Cano is up.

WOW, Nick Green is amazing. Lugo would have watched that shit go through the middle.
No DP, but that’s okay.

Hey, look! Nick Green flashing the leather and gets the lead runner. Julio Lugo would have passed out after taking one look at the ball.

Nick Green can thank the sopping wet grass for that one. Nice play, but doesn’t happen if the grass isn’t soaked.
Good inning thus far, let’s hope they can capitalize.

Huge strikeout there. Wow, Lester is 4th in the AL in strikeouts? How is this possible?

Melky doing his best Carlos Beltran imitation.
Varitek: “Can I help you?”
Melky: “Naaa, just looking.”

Most frustrating pair of stats this season = Josh Beckett and Jon Lester both in the league’s top 10 for Ks and K/9.
And another K!! Awesome!

Most frustrating pair of stats this season = Josh Beckett and Jon Lester both in the league’s top 10 for Ks and K/9.
This is frustrating, of course, because neither has been pitching all that well, despite their strikeouts.

Strike three to Molina. Lester looking good despite a few runners in the middle of that inning.
Hey btw, last night Theo was in the booth with Orsillo, and he said that John Smoltz has a wicked knuckleball and that he’ll probably pitch until he’s 50 as a knuckler once his fastball loses its pop. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

Molina strikes out. 5 K’s and the Yanks not clutch again. Lester at 35 pitches, 23 for strikes.

Hey, Dave Roberts is in the booth! He’s officially a member of NESN. I expect great things.

Yanks not clutch again
That’s partially due to who was up when we needed a hit…I HATE the double catcher lineup. I also do not like Melky, so I can’t say I am shocked we got nothing. Cabrera, Molina, Pena/Berroa…that’s near automatic outs. Please don’t tell me how Melky’s been hot and Pena’s been decent…Pena is better than Berroa and Clay Bellinger, ooops I mean Cody Ransom, but that’s like saying I am more handsome than Julian Tavarez.

Ath, Are you really that excited over Dave Roberts? That’s like me getting all excited if Mel Hall was in the booth with Kay.

I agree Lar, I hope the Sox score 20 runs and the game gets called, that would put the smile back on my face.

John, Roberts has guest-appeared in the booth a few times before and he’s always well-prepared and genuinely interesting to listen to. He’s no Remy, but he’s certainly an above-average game caller.
Jeter trynig the jump-throw, but it’s off the market and Drew is safe. Go go gadget MIKE LOWELL!

Bloop single by Lowell and the Sox up 3-0.
Bases empty, 2 outs, and the Sox scores. Both ends of the unclutch stick.

Blooper to right drops in, 3-0 Sox, Hughes up to 74 pitches… Sox may get into that soft Yankee ‘pen sooner rather than later.

Hey, remember when we were going to sign Teix and trade Lowell? Ahhh, hindsight.

Hughes limits the damage, but hits the 78-pitch mark after only three innings…
Meanwhile, another heart-attack game for the Celtics. This dual-attention thing is bad enough with the drama back in Boston.

[Still a 4-point deficit for the Celts, they have the ball with about 35 seconds left. Oy.]

I am sure he does a great job Ath, I am just in a foul mood. Between the Yankees and the Noah’s Ark type weather we have been having, my family is staying far away.
The evening getting slightly better as the Celtics are just about ready to lose to the Magic.

In other news, Zack Greinke is something SPECIAL this year. Complete-game shutout, 6-0 with a 0.40 ERA. And he’s on my fantasy team. Who is “The Intangibles”? You’re playing me this week ;-)

[C’s don’t get a key foul and miss some shots, back to a six-point deficit with 0:13 left. Oh well.]

[95-90 final, C’s lose. Nice comeback attempt, but they couldn’t overcome the horrible shooting throughout.]

Wow, I didn’t realize that Teixeira’s BA had dropped all the way down to .179.

Even worse, Youk’s dropped below .400! I have a bad feeling he’s going to crash hard.

Great effort by Damon, but too much slice on that shot. Great inside-out swing by Ellsbury; his swing has really improved in the last few weeks. If he starts getting on base more we’re going to be a fearsome team.
Oh, and Papi needs to hit too. That would be good.

Papi doubles again, Jacoby scores. How long can Girardi stick with Hughes? (85 pitches, 4-0 Sox.)

Shit, Youk pulled something… looks like his oblique. He’s still at-bat, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him replaced in an inning or two.

Well, at least Hughes gets Youk. Maybe this is his last inning, maybe not.
Still has time for a rain out! Don’t finish the inning!

Youks Ks on a long at-bat, Hughes at 94 through four innings. Sox have put up a single run in every inning.
I hate to even voice this thought, but these cold wet conditions practically scream “injury potential.” Hope both teams make it through unscathed.

Why do you say that Lar?
Hudson, bite your tongue. If anyone injures themselves it’ll be Ellsbury, either slipping in the outfield or slipping trying to steal.

I’ll say this in defense of Youks: Sure, 2Ks and a GIDP, but he’s seen 22 pitches in his 3 AB. That’s 22 of the 94 pitches Hughes has thrown in four innings, working toward the weak NYY pen. So he’s certainly contributing.

Wow another strikeout looking. Cano, why are you arguing? That was gorgeous.

Posada works an 0-2 count into a walk. Which is really what everybody did on Hughes.

The asshole comment referred to something like:
“Swisher hits one to deep right, it is.. caught by Ellsbury”
I’m too lazy to colour it, but you can imagine it’s “one of those”. Bah. Haha.

Lester flashes some leather, then throws it in the dirt. Still got the out at 2nd, but Berroa is safe at first.

Girardi and Jeter crying about a borderline pitch that has been called all night long. Stalling for rain?

Lester at 89 pitches through 5 – not excellent (from a Yanks prospective) but not great. Now if they can hit against the bullpen..

IBM, Greinke is on my fantasy team and I’m LOVING it. I predicted the Royals would put up a fight in the Central this year, and so far my drafting of Greinke/Meche is paying off. Me gusta.

wow. haven’t seen a yankee rf get one in the gap like that since, when????? early winnie?
way to make this a game with the back-to-back shots. FINALLY tex does something. maybe some day he’ll even get a hit w/ men on base….

Berroa completes the DP to end the threat.
I have Greinke in a dynasty league – I think I got him as a throw in to some other trade, and no one remembers the players in the trade, only that he had a good year last year, and dominating this year so far..

Ortiz GIDP. Lame.
And sure enough, Youk is out of the game early. I smell a trip to the DL with an oblique injury.

Lester’s curveball is sick. Very tough to recognize coming out of his hand.

Cano now has not gotten a hit in some at bats..
Posada does get a one out single though, before the bottom of the order up..

Goddamnit, 5th curveball in the count gets slapped into center. Good hitting there.

Melky refuses to work the count at all and grounds out on one pitch.
Lester at 99 pitches through 5.2.

But, Posada does move up, so the Yanks are one hit away from tying this thing, somehow.

Molina gave it a ride, but to the warning track.
Lester after 6 with exactly 100 pitches, exactly 70 for strike.

100 pitches after 6, 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. Great outing, despite the two bad pitches in the 5th.
If he’s up for it, I say send him out to pitch to Berroa in the 7th.

Lester looking mere mortal out there, but the Yanks probably could’ve worked him a little bit. Ah well.

Got a question for you guys that coach Little League. My player is running from first to second, their fielder throws to the 2nd baseman. Ball pops out of his glove and hits my guy before he gets to base. Is he out?

Nope RBF, unless the ball popped out of his glove on the transfer. The fact that it hit the runner is irrelevant.

Lester comes out for another inning, or at least hitter. Wasn’t paying attention, anyone warming up in the pen?

Thanks Ath. A bunch of 9 year olds mobbed my coach who was operating the pitching machine complaining that the kid was out. We had called him safe but they were adamant enough to make me check.

rbf – it depends if he “had” the ball, which obviously is questionable, but pretty much what Ath said – if it falls out in the process of transfering to the other hand (to throw to first) then it’s out, but otherwise, it’s likely safe.

Yet ANOTHER great piece of hitting by Ellsbury. He’s stopped trying to pull the ball and is going the other way with it a lot, and it’s really working for him.

He definitely didn’t have the ball, it bounced off the top of his glove. They were arguing that if the player got hit by the ball, he was out.

Gotta be kidding me, another pitch outside (AND high) called a strike. Ump, he’s only 5 feet tall!

Aceves, in the same number of innings as Hughes: half as many hits, half as many runs, 1/4 as many walks, three times as many K’s. And 2/3 as many pitches.

Aceves pitching well, really, other than a mistake to Bay (or two if you count hitting JD). At least enough to give Yanks a chance to win..

Sam, did I suggest that Red Sox fans do NOT do this?
no Bill but I doubt you make that comment if the same thing happened in fenway.

Tesh with another HR – too bad nobody’s on base, but now the score is 6-4.
Apparently, it’s a text message.

Aaaaand the Ramon Ramirez streak of scoreless innings comes to an end. Fucking Teixeira.
I knew that the Teixeira slump wouldn’t last. Now that he’s heated up he’s going to tear the cover off the ball.

Well, if Ramon Ramirez is going to give up his first earned run, AND if the Sox are going to allow a second homer to Mark Teixeira, this was about as good a situation as you could get. Still up by two.

4-pitch walk to Cano means it’s Okajima time.
Wait scratch that, looks like a 5-out save for Papelbon. Surprised at this, considering the left-handed Matsui is now at-bat. Then again, Okajima hasn’t exactly been lights-out this year.

Papelbon in for a 5 out save.
Panic move? To be fair, with Posada out, after Matsui is Melky, Molina, and Berroa, so maybe these are 5 “low stress” outs?

Prediction: Matsui makes it a one-run game, and then Paps gets out of it. Then we’ve got to sweat through the ninth, where anything can happen against the top of the Yanks’ lineup. Yuck.

Papelbon’s fastball has a TON of movement tonight. That thing is tailing like crazy!

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t find Waldman to be that bad of a color analyst. Her bouts with subjectivity aside (Clemens, etc.), she seems to be fair and even-keeled, well prepared — much moreso than Sterling, who just said Papelbon has “an excellent fastball” (true) “and an even better splitter and slider” (not true).

Gameday thinks Papelbon’s splitter is a two-seamer. Silly computer-machines.
Line-drive off Pedroia’s glove. Good pitch, good hit, good effort to catch it.

That’s funny Paul, considering Paps has had his slider for about 2 months and has thrown it maybe three times this season.

Paul the problem with Waldman is that she is highly repetitive. She will make a good point here and there but then say it every 2-3 innings for the rest of the game…

Two men left. Ah, if only that text message was sent with people on base!
That said, if anybody gets on, Tesh will get to hit in the 9th. We’ll see how he handles Paps.

Molina pop-up. Berroa-Jeter-Damon in the 9th. Let’s score 5 runs and give ourselves some breathing room, huh guys?

Why was Youkilis taken out?
And that cleanup spot is ug-lee: 0-for-5, 4 Ks. Which is a shame, because Ortiz got on base four times, to go along with Ellsbury, Pedroia and Drew getting on twice, never mind Bay (thrice) and Lowell (twice).

Paul, in Youk’s third at-bat he swung and missed at a pitch and then grabbed his side. Trainers immediately came out but he waved them off, though he still looked like he was in pain.
Gameday says it was his back, but it looked more like an oblique to me. Worrisome.

However,, Paul, Youks took 22 pitches in his first three ABs, although they were 2 Ks and a GIDP. Through three he’d seen about one fourth of the pitches that Hughes had thrown.
…
Ramirez warming for NYY.

Erkel in for Aceves, who pitched a hell of a game despite the two-run homer to Bay. He’s going to be a great addition to the Yankees ‘pen.

steve philips now talking about Joba to the pen AGAIN.
Never mind the fact this guy has an ERA under 3 as a starter. Those are easy to come by…what an ass

Seriously Sam? I listened to the game in the first inning and he found an excuse to talk about sending Joba back to the pen, and he’s doing it again? The man is a one-trick pony.
Step 1: Pick a controversial topic
Step 2: Advocate for the stupid option
Step 3: Continuously bring up that topic
Step 4: ?
Step 5: Profit!

Edwar getting into trouble. Yanks walking people bases loaded is not a good way to set up for a comeback.. especially the #9 hitter!

Ellsbury is going to go the other way with a pitch outside for the third time tonight, sending it into left field for two RBI.

Whoever is managing the Yankees did a good job switching pitchers up, as Papelbon sat for about 25 minutes.
I have to be up for work in 4 hours. FML.

Here’s Gardner pinch hitting. Kind of questionable, only because you really want Gardner to be the tying run, but I guess Gardner can get on base.
That said, Gardner beats out an infield single, so he gets his job.
However, Captain Doubleplay is up..

Seriously, I’ve never seen Paps’ fastball tail so much. He’s hitting 94-96 and it’s looking like a two-seamer there. Me gusta.
Dribbling hit to Green, Gardner’s speed is too much. Fuuuuuuuck.

Well, Jeter cannot hit into double plays when he’s not hitting.. Jeter took one for the team there..

FUCK, Jeter hit on the first pitch. Things getting out of hand quickly, and the remaining Yankees fans are pumped up.
Reverse-jinx: Damon is going to hit a walk-off.

Wow this strikezone is all over the place.
*Pulls out the lucky Pedro Martinez bobblehead doll*

I can’ reiterate it enough: Papelbon’s fastball has an amazing amount of movement. Almost looks fake, like from a wiffleball game.
K’s Teix. Thank you baseball gods.

Tesh strikes out. Kind of sucks since the Yanks led off with two men on, and couldn’t even get a single run across. Ah well.

They do get the double steals. Tesh struck out so it’s moot (wouldn’t have scored any) but ya..

I will not let you reverse-jinx this Lar: Swisher can still hit a walk-off here!
Well a single will do it: you got your double-steal.

Two straight pitches tailing high-and-away. Cano up with the bases loaded.
I have to wake up at 5:00. Why the hell did I stay up to watch this? If we lose here I’m not going to be able to sleep.

PAPELBON DOES IT. Jesus christ that was an intense game: YF’s, at least Teix is getting hot and Aceves is good.
G’night everyone, it’s been a pleasure.

Tough game for the YFs out there. Gotta like the fight they showed and a few good performances. The umpiring behind the plate was downright brutal but I guess it cut both ways although it felt like it hurt us more ;)
Not good to hear about Posada’s hamstring i smell a DL trip…

A pretty typical Sox/Yanks game: players on both side leaving with injuries, an ejection, late-inning almost-comebacks, and baseball until 1:11am. It’s WAY too early to be at work.

I practically screamed with vexation when they talked about Joba to the pen. Yes, because taking one of your best starters to this point (especially when there’s a lot of worry about the starters’ innings and burning out said pen) and moving him to the 8th inning is a BRILLIANT idea. That Phillips (?) dude should be slapped.

Joba is going to get rocked tonight…another sweep at the hands of the Sox. THis team is pathetic. The Sox are the VASTLY superior team, no doubt.

I am upset that the team continues to lose to the Sox, but I am far from ready to call them “VASTLY superior.” They are a good team, playing better than the Yankees right now. It’s a long season, let’s see how it plays out.
2 bigger issues: 1, the first base coach of the Sox and Girardi had words last night in Re: to the coach tipping off location on pitches. 2, Posada could be out awhile. That’s not good.

What coach tipping off pitch location? I didn’t hear anything about that story.

bigger issues: 1, the first base coach of the Sox and Girardi had words last night in Re: to the coach tipping off location on pitches
No, Girardi had words for Bogar because he though Bogar was tipping location. Girardi actually made a threat to the Sox players over this. Joe is, of course, an angel, and harbors no coaches who would ever contemplate such shenanigans, though of course he does shelter a guy who violates Little League rules.
I am really going to enjoy Girardi winding himself into tight knots and cracking under the New York pressure, you can already see it. I have come to dislike him intensely.

I was not placing blame on either person SF, just passing along info. If the order in which I made my statement seemed to pass blame, you have my apologies. None of us have any way to know if it really happened, just passing it along.
As for disliking Girardi, I like him a lot, even if he might not be the right guy for this team. He’s a brilliant baseball guy, he works his a** off and the team seems to be behind him. Does that translate to success? Who knows. This team has bigger issues than Girardi and that’s getting everyone on the field at once, trying to get Wang right and solidifying a bullpen. This current situation with this team might make anyone crack.

Got it, John.
Aside: is Girardi a “brilliant baseball guy”? Honestly, I haven’t yet figured that out, and I see a lot of the Yankees. He’s no John McNamara, I think he seems utterly competent (which is an achievement, frankly) but what evidence is there beyond that Marlins fluke season to show that he’s a “brilliant” baseball guy? Honest question.

I think most of the brilliance that I see at least comes from his knowledge of the game. He is not brilliant in the sense of managing, not yet of course. But knowledge of the game and it’s situations, etc…seem to definitely be something he gets and understands. Now, it’s tough to see that while he has been the manager because of the team he is managing. The Yankees don’t play a style of baseball that needs a lot of managing, so it may get lost there. I like him, I think he does a good job, but in the end what I think means squat.

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