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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

" Seems Like Old Times....."


So I settle back into my bark-a lounger and dial up the Yankee game.

At first I thought;  " This is great.  An olde fashioned pitchers' duel.  Tension on every pitch.  No margin for error on defense."

Then, I realized something else;  this Yankee team cannot hit and, by definition, cannot hit when it matters ( in the clutch for those new to baseball).

We surged ahead in the bottom of the 5th, to lead 2-1.  I didn't actually notice how we scored that run.  Nonetheless, as I poured another re-fill from my pitcher of, "Crown Royal  manhattans," it hit me;

"The 2 Run Limit."

 The Yankees had already reached it and, unless we could pitch shut-out baseball through the 9th, we were going to lose.  We don't ever win at home when we go into extra innings.  Because, due to baseball folklore ( and who does the predictable thing more often than Girardi?), we will have used both Betances and Miller to keep the game tied for us, so we could walk-it-off in the bottom of the 9th.

Only thing is, we never win in that scenario.  Maybe if it is 12-12.  But not if it is 2-2, and the Yankees haven't threatened for 2 hours.

So I watched pointlessly as the zeros mounted.  I think the Yankees always went out 1-2-3.  Maybe I missed one inning when a Yankee reached base.  But nothing happened.  Not a damn thing.  My adrenaline never once wiggled ( until I noticed the manhattan pitcher was on empty ).  There was not a second of positive expectation for the Yankees.

Didi made two great defensive plays.  I remember them.

Next thing I know, the 2-2 tie proceeds as I surmised, and now we are into the 10th and 11th, with the Scranton no names, replacing our real relievers.

Game over.

It is so inevitable.  And so draining.

My anticipation for watching a Yankee game is like looking forward to dusting the attic.

 A-Rod added to his statistical collection ( a hit, an rbi ).  What else matters?

I wonder how Mason Williams is doing?

5 comments:

JM said...

I find myself in an unusual and uncomfortable position--disagreeing strongly with Alphonso.

Crown Royal is only good in a pinch, and I'm not entirely sure it's really 100% rye. Obviously, Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye is rye, so that's acceptable, although still a second tier rye, in my opinion, like Bulleit Rye.

I'll throw Michter's Rye into the 1.5 tier, maybe, but far and away my choice for Tier 1 would be Woodford Reserve Rye with Templeton nipping at its heels (so to speak).

Once the rye question is settled, then you have to deal with the vermouth. Without question, Carpano Antica is the only choice in sweet vermouth, although I admit I am not as familiar with the category as I am with rye.

Any good quality bitters will do. If you want to amuse the tastebuds, try black walnut bitters. Interesting twist. Speaking of which, a little lemon twist is also not a bad idea instead of a maraschino cherry, but if you go the cherry route, for God's sake get real maraschino cherries, not those evil bright-red horrors filled with dye that are available at the supermarket. The real, soaked in liqueur babies are out of this world, and you can find them easily now thanks to the power of the webinized Intertubes.

I have a vague memory that I've been over all of this before in response to an Alphonso post, but I'm not sure if that actually happened, was merely residue of a bizarre morning dream, or if my liver is already destroying my ability to distinguish between reality and vague imaginings. In any case, give the above a try, I think you'll find it worthwhile.

el duque said...

Screw all of you.

PABST!

Anonymous said...

WE CAN'T HIT!!! ...I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS ALL LAST YEAR, AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED.....HOW COULD IT?...IT'S THE SAME MOTHERFUCKING PERSONNEL AND LINEUP WE HAD LAST YEAR (EXCEPT FOR CASTRO)...ONE GUY IN THIS LINEUP CAN'T DO SHIT.........I REALLY HOPE I'M WRONG, BUT I THINK THIS MAY BE THE YEAR WE COLLAPSE....WHAT A SHAME.....WITH SUCH AN EXCITING BULLPEN, IT WON'T EVEN MATTER FOR US......... TIME TO FOCUS ON ROOTING FOR THE NATS TO CRUSH THE METS THIS YEAR.....THAT'S WHAT BEING A DIE HARD YANKEE FAN LOOKS LIKE IT IS COMING DOWN TO ALREADY THIS SEASON.....THIS FUCKING SUCKS!.......HAL!!!.... WHEN YOU CHINTZ WITH THE NEW YORK YANKEES, IT NEVER WORKS!!!!! (EXAMPLE- THE ENTIRE DECADE OF THE 80'S, AND THE LAST 3 YEARS!).....PLEASE LISTEN, PLEASE???..........I'LL HAVE A JACK & DIET COKE (NO COKE) PLEASE.

Alphonso said...

John M,

We have not had this discussion. I just like Canadian Whiskey, period. Rye or not. I used to use Seagrams V.O. and thought Crown Royal was a step up from that.

Who knew?

My sense is that you make a killer manhattan, and I would love to try yours. It would likely spoil me forever.

I am probably a lot more lazy than you, in that I just throw the stuff together, stir it up with ice, and guzzle it down.

Point of interest; I do use cherries soaked in white lightning.

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