Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
"... an exemplary sports book..." Kirkus Reviews

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Get used to games like last night; Jesus Montero is going to hit a lot of home runs against us

From Day I of Brian's Botch, we knew last night was coming. We knew Jesus Montero would arrive in NYC and smack one, the first of many - every one a poke in the eye. We just never imagined that the Yankees would sacrifce Jesus for nothing. Which is what we did.

So when he homered last night, I fell into one of those depressed Yankee fan states that none of us are proud of. I was listening to John and Suzyn, and I knew they felt the same:

"Good. Make it hurt. Make everybody feel the pain."

That's what happens when the Yankees piss you off so much that you want them to suffer. You want them to experience the pain that you are feeling. Suzyn mentioned that Jesus was doing a fine job catching, leaving listeners to fill in the blanks. She noted that Tony Pena last spring had stressed how young Montero was, and how nobody could project his future behind the plate. And she mentioned that the Yankees won several championships with an offensive catcher who made himself a competent backstop. You knew they were feeling it: We had talked ourselves into the notion that this kid couldn't catch, and we were bent on trading him - no matter what. At that moment, I wished the Yankees put Brian Cashman's picture on the Jumbotron and gave every member of the jeering throng an onion to throw.

But we skated. Or at least Cashman did. We skated because Raul Obanez homered in the bottom of the inning, eliminating the speculation before it had a chance to grow. We were lucky last night.

But in the course of a great career, numbers pile up. If Montero plays to age 35, he might hit 400 home runs. (Or he could be a bust, too.) If so, he'll hit 20 to 30 home runs against us. That's 20 to 30 pokes in the eyes. Bring your own onions.

2 comments:

Stang said...

"Obanez?"

Mike said...

Wow!! That about sums it up for me too!!