Fiction v Facts : The True Story Revealed

FICTION:  The Yanks persevered last night and defeated their cross-town rivals, 7-2 in twelve innings. The Mets had played brilliantly, and Matt Harvey was spinning a shut-out  At the end of 8 innings, the score was 2-0 Mets ( The 2 run total, ironically, was the same maximum run production per game generated by the Yankees in 2015).

There was an overhanging fear, however, and that was that this Yankee team was pesky, aggressive, and would not be intimidated.  In the 9th inning, the rookie , Greg Bird, made the play of the day.  He was on third, the Yankees had moved the score to 2-1 and there was one out.  The Mets' personable and entertaining Manager played the infield in to cut off the tying run at the plate.

Sure enough, a soft ground ball was hit to the left side of the infield.  Unfortunately for the Mets, David Wright had to field it, leaving no one to hold the runner close to the bag.  Instinctively, David tried to look him back and throw to first for the second out.   Bird realized, however, that there was no threat to him  at third and, even with the look over ( a kind of "neighborhood play" in his mind), he crept closer to home.  The instant that Wright released his throw to first, Bird took off for home.  He knew that the team had been behind all day and this might be their only shot at tying the game,  breaking the spirit of the Mets and their fans with one move.

Duda caught Wright's throw and threw awkwardly to home.  He did not have the time to really set his feet, and his throw went awry.  Bird scored.  Tie game.

  Now it would be a battle of bullpens, and you knew the Mets had no shot.

FACTS :  The real Yankee team had long ago dispersed and started their off-season golf and fishing trips.  They had lost 11 of their last 12 regular season games but, somehow, still backed into the one game play-in, where they scored zero runs.  The Yankee management and owners are patting themselves on the back, lighting cigars to the success of the 2015 season.  A great step-up from 2014.

From a Yankee fans' perspective, this is a dead franchise now.  We have no chance of getting back to the World Series, much less a shot at scoring runs, coming from behind, being aggressive and winning it.  Not in most of our lifetimes.

The owners get richer every year and the team gets worse.  Cashman and Girardi are rewarded for failure.   Each year, the Yankees take some extreme action against a meaningless member of the organization, and convince themselves that the problem has been excised.

The young players the Yankees have all fit in the, " average," category though, by comparison ( to the over-paid, former star players still under contract ) they are refreshing and fun to watch.  But there is no future.  Compare them to the young players you just saw playing in the World Series.  It makes your spirit and enthusiasm sag, doesn't it?

  We are burdened, for several more years, with a bunch of worn out tires.  High end, Michelin tires, but worn out just the same.  You think A-Rod will be better next year?  Jacoby will be faster?  Brett will hit .300 and be an all star again?  Our hot young, flame throwing pitcher ( Eovaldi ) could not hold up, while those of the Mets and Royals are thriving, and throw harder with more control.  We fill out the staff with an old drunk, a Japanese guy who will need arm surgery, and idiot who can only pitch well with pine tar, and another guy who we traded Jesus to get.  Luis Severino will surely need arm surgery and Adam Warren will be our " go to " guy.  And one guy in the bullpen, upon whom we can depend.  Nice work, there, Brian.  Enjoy your off-season celebration.

The truth is:  the Yankees are done.  And for a decade, minimum. What is there to root for?

So some of us substituted the "play-in " game Yankee roster for the Royal line-up, tocreate a fictional interest in the goings on.  The baseball was exciting and dramatic.  The better team won, though the Mets will certainly be back next year.

The Yankees will win 80 games.  And Girardi will wear  number 27 on his back until he gets sciatica and retires.

The truth hurts.

Subway Series Roundup: One Win Away

Oops: Yanks survive Beltran's gaffe, take 3-1 Series lead

Hocus Focus: For faithful fans, a Yankees shrine keeps good 'Juju' flowing

Harvey vs. Wallbangers: Yanks have thrived all season against aces

Designated Sitter: No spot for A-Rod in big games

Short Order: Why does Didi bat leadoff for the Yanks?

Grave Undertaking: Grieving Tanaka can pitch Yanks to Championship

Halloween Pulls Merciless Trick On Mets Fans.

The Mets were streaming along.  A tough, but fairly routine, 3-1 lead over the Yankees through 7 innings.

Cameras were increasingly panning the joy of Mets' fans at Shea ( what is that stadium called these days?  Chase Park?  Disney?).  The psychological warfare was let loose.  Fans had to be talking about, " evening up the series at 2-2"  Surely, then, the Mets would win two of three with the pitching they have, and with David Wright  ( Oh Captain, my captain….) storming back, and Lucas Duda Dudaaing everything his way.

Halloween get-ups were everywhere;  " What is your trick now, AL imposters, one sign shouted ?"  There was one out in the 8th.  Only 5 outs needed to bring this series back to even.  And at home.

At the very moment the cameras focused back on the game, the evil spirit of halloween, the dark, inky, tricky side, began to be-devil Tyler Clippard. Out of no blue book of statistics, he walks two in a row, temporarily taking Cashman off the hook for mindlessly trading him for nothing.  Sensing the danger,
the Mets crafty and insouciant manager plays his trump card ( what is a Trump card in today's
world ?).

 He brings in his closer, Jerry Familia.  The breakfast cereal to be.

This is the same strategy that Joe Torre and Joe Girardi successfully used forever.  Mariano comes in to get 5 outs, or 6 outs in the key moment of the playoffs or world Series. There is no holding back at this time of year.  You go with your best when the moment is critical.  For the Yankees, it almost always worked.  But that was Mariano.

Suddenly a mis-hit, bleeder is twisting its way toward second base, and the KC runners on base are all sprinting.  Murphy races in to make the play of the night.  Problem is; the halloween dark side is watching, and that ball rolls under Murphy's glove to rest nowhere. It remains, by itself, on the one spot on the infield/ outfield grass where it can't be touched by anyone.

 It is, indeed, the play of the night.

 KC runners don't stop sprinting from base to base.  It is like like a free "grab bag" time period for kids in a candy store,  bases are available for the taking without any risk, and the game is tied by the time another Met can retrieve the ball.  Before the stadium can catch its breath, witnessing this unfolding disaster, the sky opens and the flood gates fail.  Broken bat singles plop into right center, fly balls drive in another run.

When the inning ends, on a heads-up play by Murphy ( preventing yet another run), the Mets have gone from up 3-1 with 5 outs remaining, to down 5-3 with 6 outs remaining.

A final blunder by the Mets has Cespedes getting doubled off first (representing the tying run), on a soft liner to third in the last of the 9th.  How he misread that is black magic of some sort.

Game over.

 Mets' fans expressions go blank.  Go hopeless.  This has been a cruel and forgetful halloween night for them.

However;  " It ain't over 'til it's over…."  - Yogi

Subway Series Roundup: Clueless Joe

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Bad decisions & indecision cost the Yankees Game Three

Who Manages the Managers: Girard & Collins both took their starters out too late

Big Name: Yankees' Chris Young winning new fans

I Have Always Relied on the Kindness of: Strangers send 90-year old Yankee fan to his first World Series

Boo Hoo: World Series game on Halloween forces Yankee fans into balancing act

Just Do It: Which team's fans are better at sex?

Old Baseball Maxim Proves True

On mischief night, anything can and often does happen.

The Devil really looked sharp.

The Maxim, however, held firm:  Good Pitching Beats Good Hitting

The lesser known part of the Maxim is:  Good pitching Plus Good Hitting results in a rout.

This one-sided beat down is just like going up to Boston during the season and getting skunked.

Tonight it felt as though the Yankees don't belong here at all.

The team might as well be off fishing, playing golf, or throwing parties for Derek Jeter.

World Series Roundup: Everyone's a Yankee Fan!

USA Hooray: The Bronx is the best baseball town in America right now

Kneel Before A-Rod: Yankees look like unstoppable October force

Tanaka, Pineda, Severino: Yankees to become first in Series history to start 3 pitchers born outside U.S.

The House that Truth Built: Alfonso Soriano pep talk still echoes through Yankee clubhouse during 2015 World Series

We Can See Clearly Now: After half a decade of losing, Yanks fans are learning how to have fun

Mystique & Vegara: Sofia wishes Yankees good luck in Game 3

Moo's on First: Dairy's blue milk pays tribute to pinstripes

Bambino meets Bambu: Pot-Smoking Yankee fans spark friendship at World Series

Ju-Ju Rules Apply

I have read Ju-Ju rules, many times.

 The book provides techniques we can ( and should ) all use ( techniques whose efficacy has been proven over the years ) to give the Yankees a leg up at critical moments.  Certainly, each game of this World Series represents a critical moment.

As a consequence, I am sticking with the above photo as long as the Yankees continue to thrive.  If we lose tonight, at Shea, I'll return to the archives.  But a key Ju-Ju rule is: " always stay with what worked for you most recently."   The Yankees played their best ball of the year in their 7-1 win, so I am sticking to the routine.  

Last night, on WFAN, in NYC, Suzyn and John did a call in show to summarize what the first two games have revealed.  Oddly enough, at about 1:15 am, a call came in from El Duque ( he tried to disguise his voice );

El Duque :  "What are the keys to the Yankees' success in the first two games?"

John: " Why don't you take this one Suzyn?"

Suzyn; " But you are the voice of the Yankees, John."

John:  " True.  But I sense this is a set-up question, and I don't want to be stung."

El Duque  :  " Perhaps I should re-phrase the question.  How is it that Didi is playing more like Alcides Escobar than himself?"

John:  " Why don't you take this one, Suzyn?"

Sidebar:  Audience hears phone slammed on the other end.

It was, if nothing else, entertaining.

Suzyn did offer, at one point, an argument that Adam Warren should start tonight, but I'm pretty sure it will be Severino.

Yanks Don't Play Like Yanks; Offense Hammers Mets in Huge 7-1 Win

This is how sweet the Yankees were last night ( see above photo, dummy!)

I really could not believe what I was seeing.

Pineda pitched better than he had since he was a Yankee.  He looked poised, confident, and had
 that, " give me the ball and I'll win this one for us," attitude.  In short, he looked like the stud pitcher we thought we were getting in that trade with Seattle, rather than the dumb ass off-kilter, hat wearing, pine tar globbing blob of mediocrity who starts to sweat heavily when his breaking balls aren't breaking.

He also used a mound presence and approach we have never seen before in a Pineda outing.  He seemed to know what he was doing.  He kept a fine-hitting Mets team off-balance, and allowed only 2 hits in nine innings.  Amazing ( sorry Mets fans ).

I really did not believe it was Pineda out there.

And the rest of the team performed differently , as well.  First of all, when deGrom had a 1-0 lead
( due to a bad call at first base ), I thought we were close to finished.  I know this Yankee team, on its best days, can score two runs, but not more.  And if the opponent gets two, we are stuck with a drawn out, extra inning tie, which we always seem to lose.  So, we were on the brink.

Not this time.

The Yankees blasted their way to a 4 run fifth and, later in the game ( and more astonishing, based on our season long performance ) a three run outburst.  More amazingly ( sorry Mets fans for that reference  again), they did it without Home runs.  They played aggressive, solid baseball of a type we didn't see all season long.

And most of the time, we were hitting rockets.  Often, the Yankees did most of their damage down two strikes in the count, and sometimes with two outs.  Not like the April-September performance at all.

And everyone contributed;  I'll give Girardi some credit for playing John Ryan Murphy ( last minute line-up change ), who handled Pineda well and got a couple hits.  Slade got  a couple also, giving himself a World Series batting average, and maybe some confidence.

The big star, and I owe Cashman a huge apology here, is Didi.  He is doing it offensively and defensively.  Once again, the guy playing shortstop last night for the winners, did not resemble the Didi I have watched all year.  I berated Cashman for another lame trade, for another mediocre player.  But last night's shortstop play was all star.  So sorry, Cash.  You have done an amazing job building this team.

They just don't like those mediocre Yankees anymore.  They look like a team that can win it all, not like the losers who can't score a run in a play-in game.

Let's see what happens when we move across town to Queens.

Survey Says….

There is a growing interest and appreciation in the Yankee "substitution" program used by members of this blog for getting through the 2015 World Series.

Mets v Yankees is, after all, the ultimate appeal.

El Duque commissioned a survey after the first day's reporting, and we have a statistically significant, early result;

Folks would like to experience, and participate in ( via comment ) a live blog of an upcoming game…..with the play by play and commentary provided, of course, by John & Suzyn.

Mustang will be channeling John and I will be channeling Suzyn. El Duque would be the broadcast booth guest during bottom of 5th inning, representing the Baseball Commissioner's office in the form of Joe, " what do I do now? " Torre.

We need the approval of IIHIIFII…C  Ceo, El Duque, to invest the technical dollars to proceed, and bring Suzyn back from her vacation in Haiti.

I am confident in El Duque's support because we all know, despite his protestations to the contrary, that he loves this idea.

Keep the votes, pro and con, coming in.

If we have enough tweets and responses in favor, we may be able to create and give away El Duque bobble head dolls to the first 18,000 ticket holders to enter the stadium for game 6.

Errata

Sorry guys, I meant to type Pineda.

One Change to Yankee Line-up for game 2

I heard a radio spot from John and Suzyn this morning, as they discussed the " dead air" situation from last night's game.  As you may know, FOX lost power for a while and there was chaos on the field.  The game stopped with Harvey pacing the mound like a caged lion.

Joe Torre was called from the stands to do nothing.  He looked around for help, wondering if he could bring in a reliever for himself.  This was unprecedented.  The issue was; there would be no instant replays available until the power was restored.  Simply translated;  there would have been a lot of blown calls which might have changed the game.  Finally, the two teams agreed to proceed with out the benefit of replay.  Luckily, the power came back.

Remember when David Wright was called safe at second, on his attempted steal?  Could have been a game changer without instant replay.  Instead of runner on second and one out, it was no one on and two outs.  I think.

Anyway, John & Suzyn were a barrel of laughs, about their great insights being lost, etc.

They did pass on that Joe has announced his line-up for tonight's game:

1.  Didi (SS)- can history repeat?
2.  Refsnyder ( 2B ) - what an upgrade over Stephen Drew.
3.  Ellsbury (CF ) - 1 for 6 last night, but covering a lot of turf.
4.  Bird ( FB ) - Rookie must be feeling fine today.
5.  Beltran (DH ) - ( A-Rod sits after 0-3 night with a walk and a K ).
6. Headley ( 3B) - some great defense last night.
7.  Mc Cann ( C) -  This is one tough dude ( hit on hand with backswing last night ) with a cannon arm.
8.  Gardener (LF) - Unexpected hero.
9.  Heathcott (RF) - Will he hit?  Defense a plus.

Peralta with the funny hat is scheduled to pitch for the good guys.

The Mets, supposedly, will start Sundeguaard ( I have no clue what his name is ) who seems to me, unhittable.  Every pitch is 97-102 mph and his location excellent.

Stay tuned.

The Yanks need this one to assure a return to the stadium.  And I have tickets with Mustang and El Duque for game 6.

Yanks Win Opener In 14th !

The Yankees started their ace last night, and Tanaka ( cousin pictured above….our graphics guy was hung over this morning ) gave what we have come to expect; 6 innings and 3 runs.

Who knew that it would take 14 innings for the Yankees to outlast the feisty Mets?  The game story is endless, as this was one of the best opening acts the World Series as ever seen.

The Yankees had a number of amazing performances, beginning with Didi's lead off inside-the-park home run.  I do agree, by the way, that the ball should have been caught.  Nonetheless, a lucky bounce took the ball 50 yards out of the reach of either Met outfielder, and Didi turned on the jets to cross the plate standing up. Needless to say, this energized the crowd.  I give some credit to Joe Girardi for shaking up the line-up and having Didi lead off.

The Mets, however, showed that they can not only take a punch, but deliver a flurry of their own.  The Yanks had to battle back from deficits two times, including the dramatic bottom of the ninth.  I am encouraged by this because, during most of the year, the Yanks couldn't score more than two runs against a quality team.  And Matt Harvey looked as though he was settling in…I think he retired 11 straight at one point.

But let's get to some real drama.  With the game knotted at 3-3, Bird misplayed a ground ball that should have been the end of the inning, and the Mets scored the go-ahead run on the error.  The rookie had a chance to drive in the tying run in his next at bat, with Refsnyder at second ( lead-off double ) but Tyler Clippard struck him out on a high fastball, out of the zone.  Tyler, of course, was a long time Yankee property whom Cashman traded for a sack of rocks a few years back.  The irony.

I had just finished saying to the guy sitting next to me at the bar that, " the team has got to pick
him ( Bird ) up."  A Bill Buckner type experience ( it was a much tougher play than Bill had to make ) could hurt his psyche forever. Cut to the bottom of the 9th, Mets up 4-3 with their perfect Familia in to close things out.

Then the most unlikely thing happened;  Brett Gardner ( a .200 hitter since August 1 ) jumps a fastball and plants it into the seats.  Tie ballgame.  In the 14th, Greg Bird hits the sac fly that wins the game for the Yanks.

Perfect.

Opening NIght

It has been a while since the Yankees have opened at home in the World Series.

But tonight is opening night, and at the new stadium for the first time.  Girardi has hinted at some line-up changes, as the second subway series ( the real thing ) commences on this beautiful Fall day.

I read a comment from tonight's starter, Tanaka, where he said, " the extended rest after the playoff win over Toronto has helped bring new energy to my arm."  This, of course, is the translation from his interpreter.

Girardi won't post his line-up, officially, until 4pm, but my inside sources indicate a few exciting changes for Yankees fans.

First off;  Slade Heathcott will be playing right field.  Refsnyder will be at second and, Bird, at first.  Think about that;  three guys from Scranton who no one thought would be in pinstripes for a World Series in 2015.

No offense Gardy will be in left field, primarily for defensive purposes, and he will bat 8th I am advised.  Jacoby ( also a member of the no offense club will likely lead -off) ;McCann will catch, and hopefully his left hand swing will nub a few opposite field grounders off Harvey for infield singles.  If he can make it to first base in under 20 seconds, we'll have a hit.

Third base remains a bit of a mystery, with the .230 hitting Headley the likely candidate.  But rumors persist that another rookie could get a shot.

The Yankees don't figure to score more than a run, so Tanaka better keep Lucas Duda and the Murphy dude at bay.

In any case, it is all New York baseball.  What could be finer.?

Enjoy

Secure Message For Mustang; No one else is authorized to read this.

Dear Mustang,

The Yankees open the subway series against the Mets on Tuesday.  Give me your starting line-up.

It is the only way we can watch it.  The royals are the Yankee surrogate.

Duque loves this.  Remember?

Tanaka is ready to start, I think.  But CC is still at Silver Hill.  Maybe Adam Warren can give us 5 solid innings in game 2.

But, I am getting way ahead of myself.