Would Tanaka get lit up? Would he throw the four-seamer at all,? Go up in the strike zone from time to time?
My nerves caused a bit of a gulping syndrome, so I was down a full manhattan when Tankaka recorded the third out of the opening inning.
As the bottom of the inning unraveled, and A-Rod hit " a pitchers best friend" into the gap in left center ( if there are any Norwegians signed onto this blog, a" pitcher's best friend" is a 3 run
double ), I got up and went to the bar where I had stashed a pitcher of M's. I poured my self a second and enjoyed the ride.
Two run homers, back to back homers. Everyone was joining the party. With a 7-0 lead , after one inning, I began to panic. It is one thing to score 7 in the 6th or 7th inning, and quite another to lead off with that. It was clear that Boston was going to stay with Buckholtz, even if he gave up 16. They needed length, at that was now his job. And what if Boston came back, and won this game?
So I cheered at every Red Socks out. Every failing. I even listened to that turd Shilling talk about how Tanaka had to show he could go "up and down" in the strike zone, as well as from east to west.
Then, our defense kicked in. A sure-thing inning ending DP, with two men on. But Drew throws the ball far too wide for Didi to catch it and everyone is safe. I took a break here and went to the pitcher ( my pitcher ). That error, the 9th for the Yankees so far this season, led to runs for Boston ( in the end, it was sort of Tanaka's fault, as he had walked the lead-off hitter with a 7 run lead) and, worse, extended Tanaka's pitch count to 38 for the inning.
I sleep walked threw the next few frames, figuring the Yankees only score the 7. But I was wrong. So wrong. The last manhattan was purely celebratory( we had 12 runs!), but it did me in. I never saw the last two outs of the 9th. I don't remember who was pitching for us. I do know that Tex was no longer playing first base.
Let's see if the offense lives for another day.
ReplyDeleteI'm missing something here:
"(if there are any Norwegians signed onto this blog, a 'pitcher's best friend' is a 3 run double)"
Well, it's not April 1st, and my king ain't named Harald V, so were these words a test, a joke, or just a foggy Manhattan flashback?
Norwegians have been seen sporting Yankees caps.
ReplyDeleteIt was my way of saying; if there is anyone on this blog who could possibly not know the expression ( a pitchers best friend is a three run double ), here is what it means. So I used an obtuse reference to a little known subculture of fans
ReplyDelete( Norwegians), who may love the Yankees but not know that much about baseball.
It was also a foggy flashback.
This is the post of the year. Hits all the bases.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I guess I'm the obtuse one, but I always thought a "Pitcher's Best Friend" was a double play.
ReplyDeleteIt's likely I'm still missing the point. No soap, radio?
Jeg vil gjerne ha en Manhattan. Gjør det til en dobbel, takk.
I agree with Bill White.
ReplyDeleteA pitcher's best friend is both a double play and a 3-run double. It's like Schrödinger's cat, often mistaken for Heidegger's. These things happen.
This staff will need a room full of Quakers to compete this season.
ReplyDeleteA pitcher's best friend is his dog.
ReplyDeleteI agree if that dog is Fred McGriff.
ReplyDelete