Tuesday, April 24, 2018

You Can't Complain...

...about four straight wins, outscoring the opposition 36-6, good pitching, great hitting, the kids taking charge at second and third.

Or CAN you?

As I like to tell people who say that, "This is New York. You can always complain!"

So what's not to like tonight?

Well, another Toonces head game, of course. But that's almost to be expected by this time.

More alarming was another backslide from Giancarlo Scranton. Not just 0-4, but three more strikeouts.

And the fourth at-bat came against Tyler Duffey, a used Kleenex of a relief pitcher. While his teammates were slow-roasting Duffey on a spit, Scranton looked completely overmatched.

First he laid off two, low-and-outside pitches that were balls.  Good!  Dis iz gutt!

Then...he got beat on an entirely predictable, straight-down-the-middle, 93-mph fastball. Swung right through it.

Um, it happens, I guess. And at least on the next pitch he grounded into a forceout. Instead of striking out again.

But still. Giancarlo looks like a big, broken machine up there, and I'm not sure why.





14 comments:

Anonymous said...


Here are somethings that I observed.

1) After Sanchez' second HR Judge tried to get the dugout to go silent treatment on him. But the players couldn't hold it. I don't believe this was a lack of Judge's leadership as much as maybe -- you don't screw around with Sanchez. It's sort of like when the Yankees used to do the pie thing during post game on field interviews. I never saw Jeter get one. It felt like that. Don't screw with Sanchez.

2) After Gleybar made that amazing play on the tag at second and it was amazing he did a roll and when he got up he was rubbing his "non throwing" arm and making a face. When he almost got hit or perhaps did he again rubbed the arm and made a pain face. I really, really, really hope that those were psychological reactions. And, even if they were it shows he's not fully healed (perhaps in his mind)

3) The last time the Yankees lost Gardner didn't go all the way hard after a foul ball that he thought would make the stands. It didn't and went for a double. You could see from his face he felt that he should have made the catch. The next night there was a similar ball and he made sure that he went after it and caught it. That's why I like that guy.

4) Betances is really starting to piss me off. He is now easily my least favorite Yankee and I would not mind if they traded him. I have zero confidence when he takes the mound. Zero.

Anyway, an enjoyable series. They are very good right now.

Doug K.

Parson Tom said...

Complaints, I've got a few, but not about that nickname: Giancarlo Scranton.

How about this for whining: the knees and shoulder of Gary Sanchez should not be wasted catching. He's a lethal weapon.

When this lineup is hot, it's like watching a video game, especially at Yankee Stadium. But they're all a lot of empty noise until they go up to Fenway, put some holes in that wall and start flashing some pinball scores like they always do here against the Twinkies.

Anonymous said...

OUR WORST HITTER IS A GUY WHO HIT 59 HOMERS LAST YEAR.

Parson Tom said...

And Doug spotted it. Something is hurting on on Mr. Gleyber. You can see him wincing pretty hard on the replays of the tagout at second. The Yankees will admit nothing, of course, until he lands back on the 60-day list.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Re The Gleyber: I dread to think it's the arm again.

But what I saw in the replays is that when Escobar, the Twins' runner, went in he kept an arm up that slapped Torres right in the breadbasket. It seemed to me that that was what he was rubbing when he ran off the field.

Of course, if we were the Red Sox, we would have hit Escobar in the head with a pitch next time around, started a righteous brawl, made several complaints to the commissioner's office, and filed an appeal with the World Court, the General Assembly, and the United Federation of Planets.

Not being part of The Communion of Saints, we just ignored it.

Let's hope it is nothing—Gleyber did seem unbothered on the field, and cheery in the postgames.

HoraceClarke66 said...

Oh, and re the competition:

Can we play the Twins EVERY night? Huh? Can we? Canwecanwecanwecanwe?

ranger_lp said...

With the Twins, it sure looks like the Globetrotters vs. the Washington Generals.

KD said...

time for some outside-the-box thinking on Toonces. something to alter the dude's brain chemistry might work. Electroshock therapy, maybe? Or perhaps some behavior modification techniques, as in A Clockwork Orange. He should be willing to try anything at this point.

JM said...

Everything Doug K said.

KD brings up a good point. I'm not saying it would work, but Cary Grant always spoke highly of his LSD therapy until the end of his life. Worth a thought.

Parson Tom said...

a lobotomy might work. not pleasant to think about but the guy clearly needs to disconnect from some of his excess emotions.

Alphonso said...

I saw the Torres thing as well. He looked hurt for sure. And that grimace after a checked swing was telling.

However, he was later smiling ( after base hit ) and played okay in the field ( except for the missed throw ). But he was thinking too fast on that one, " catch it and begin the rundown between first and second, but watch the guy on third. Is anyone covering home? Cutting off the run is more important. However, we've got to get an out here...etc ), and he didn't look at the rocket throw from Sanchez. Inexperience rather than injury, I hope.

In the end, my gut is that he is okay. If I didn't believe that ( and I watched his demeanor whenever the camera was on him ) the Black Swan would be swimming and speculating today.

But is was a legit worry that the announcers let go of far too quickly.

Anonymous said...

If the Black Swan thinks he's OK that's good enough for me.

One last observation from last night. After Didi hits his HR, he's working his way down the dugout and AnDUjar is getting ready to do what ever their secret decoder ring congratulation thing is.

But Didi blows by him and he looked sad. (By the way I went from a 32" tube TV to a 49" flat screen which is why I now see all this stuff.) I offer it as a glimpse into the other side of the game.

And I'm like, "What was that?" It was actually because Didi was bee-lining towards his BFF Torreyes.

But here's the thing... and props to both Didi and to who ever runs the broadcast. (And remember, it is show business and the director of the broadcast has the power to create narrative. If they give you a shot of a player yucking it up after huge failure we will not like him as much.)

They later showed Didi and AnDUjar doing a full secret handshake. So as I said above, props to Didi for being a great teammate and doubling back (another double for Didi) AND props the guy in the truck who made sure we saw it.

Doug K.

The Sayonara Kid said...

One complaint! The Master teased us with a rare win warble encore! Stopping, if memory serves, at his second rendition of “ballgame over” to say, “we’ve already done that.” What a rarity! You can’t predict win warbles.

-The Sayonara Kid

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