• That inning had a strong whiff of Black Sox. Does anyone know where DraftKings was lurking while the Yankees were stepping on their own dicks? I know, I know: Judge already has all the money he'll ever need, and more. But is it enough? And even if it is, Volpe and Wells aren't exactly raking it in, and Judge is their fearlessly protective captain.
• Congratulations to John Sterling for not having to endure cross-country travel to attempt calling a game (or two!) in the MLB stadium with the loudest piped-in rah-rah shit. Over the weekend I heard him raise his voice in anger for the first time ever. Triggered by the rah-rah racket, he bellowed, "IF IT WOULD JUST STOP FOR A MINUTE!"
• Thanks to John Sterling for giving us these weeks to say goodbye after last spring's too-abrupt retirement. And gratitude to him for pressing on when, over the last two nights, the voice of the New York Yankees sounded worryingly hoarse. Be well, John, and may you enjoy a long retirement brimming with show tunes, soap operas, autobiographies of long-dead celebrities, cocktails, steak dinners, and no Yankees at all.
Amen, Stang.
ReplyDeleteMaster, sorry you had to go out with the Keystone Yanks. They coulda won it all, but their manager is too stupid and their discipline is for shit.
Maybe they were drunk.
That inning is a permanent stain on the Yankees, that will not be washed away.
ReplyDeleteStang - that almost looks as though you were the one t hat shot that photo.
ReplyDeleteI sure hope you enjoyed the meal with the Master.
But, to Stang's first point, you do wonder who had what bets on which team. That was just too weird.
ReplyDeleteChristy Mathewson in the booth somewhere, passing notes to Ring Lardner?
ReplyDeleteJohn and I had a few cocktails, so my memory of that night isn't sharp.
ReplyDeleteHere's to The Master—who in the end, called it like it was. And to Suzyn, too. She will be missed.
ReplyDeleteAmen
ReplyDeleteStang, I thought the same thing! Although Judge and Volpe and Rizzo, I can't imagine that they would ever succumb to any sum of money from gamblers. So if the fix was in, then it was major league baseball directing it all from the very top. Maybe like pro wrestling. They tell you who wins and who loses and you do what you're told, because it's just theatre, and you're just one of the players.
ReplyDeleteThe other side of it is that, even though it was incredibly crazy, that's how bad this Yankee team is. They have talent, but the fundamentals are brutal. Everyone plays out of position because of their insane management. So an inning that bad is not only possible, but it's just a matter of time before it happened.
They already had an inning like that in that Oriole game before the All Star break, with Volpe and Verdugo and Clay Holmes doing the honors. And I don't think that one was fixed. So we know it's possible.