2. We won despite the heat lamp scorn of Bob Costas and Ron Darling, who both wanted Jazz Chisolm out at 2nd on a steal. They claimed replays showed it. But I didn't see it, and neither did the MLB tech gerbils. (Let the conspiracy theories begin!) Basically, you couldn't tell. But that didn't stop Darling & Silk from rendering their Old Testament judgements. Darling even suggested his view was better than MLB's. I love it when technology fails.
3. Judging on Elon's X, Costas pissed off the free world last night. Everybody hates him. But but BUT... a confession: I like Costas. There, I said it. Costas has the rare ability to speak in actual paragraphs. Most announcers today can barely utter a sentence. (Paul O'Neill is, at best, a burst of strung-together syllables.) Costas can sum up a player in a few practiced words. I recognize that praising him is like defending Mike Pence to a MAGA crowd. But - honestly - it's nice to hear him, still slinging the shit.
4. One other point on Costas: He noted that Aaron Judge's throw from home - way off line, allowing a run to score - hit the side of pitchers mound and skipped to the right. A minor note, maybe, but it absolved Judge of a bad throw.
5. Clay Holmes delivered. Three words I never thought I'd write. Holmes gave us the game's most important five outs. He effectively staunched KC's offense, the first Yankee pitcher to do so. Screw the closer role. Holmes began with the Yankees as a middle innings man. Maybe that's where he's always belonged.
6. Great night for Juan Soto. We didn't know it at the time, but his early throw to the plate, nabbing Salvador Perez, eventually saved the game. Plus, three hits! Listen: If he leaves the Yankees, he will rue that decision the rest of his life.
7. We can whine about Judge's night. He didn't look good. But we've seen his mini-slumps come and go. The mission of the Yankees is to somehow get Judge into the next round. If they do, he'll hit. (Not so sure about Giancarlo, though, whose inability to run cost us a run.)
8. We rip Aaron Boone when he botches a decision. So kudos for starting Verdugo in LF. Guy made a sliding catch on a foul. He held Gurriel to a single on a drive off the wall. He drove in the winning run. And maybe he taught The Martian a lesson: To reach this level, you better learn the basics.
9. I think we're okay with Oswaldo at first. He made a great scoop on a low throw, delivered a double. Anthony Rizzo wouldn't have done much more.
10. Wouldn't it be nice if Bobby Witt Jr. - 0-for-5 - stays snake-bitten? Last night, he reminded me of Danny Tartabull, in 1994, at the end of his Yankee tenure. I wonder why?
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MLB is rewarding aggressive baserunning. As it should. Better brand of baseball. Replay is there to prevent Dinkinger in 1985 Series and (dare I say) Richie Garcia in 1996 ALCS like mistakes. If too many naked eye safe calls were overturned by replay based on nanosecond and nanometer analysis, aggressive baserunning would be radically curtailed and the game would be ever more stolid and boring.
11. Listening to the Master with Costass muted.
A win is a win but Judge and Princess Flouncy need to step it up here. Can't be gagging on a chicken bone every time the playoffs roll around
Also, Golden Boy my ass
Volpe was lousy. Judge was lousy. Stanton was lousy. Cole was lousy. And we still won. I expect Judge and Cole to continue being lousy and the others, maybe to probably.
Judge is a great player, a great hitter, but he usually sucks when the heat is on. That's not a good look. Legends don't do that.
Costas is just alright with me. Costas is just alright, oh yeah.
At least Judge and Cole and CANTrun didn’t Costas the game.
And The Athletic sez:
Yankees’ Aaron Boone out-manages Royals to tense Game 1 win
If you're having a cup of coffee, a spit take is called for.
Plus Sterling was positively giddy after his Yankees win call.
What annoys me to no end is how these mlb-tv and audio apps that I rely on to watch and listen to the games with just abruptly end the broadcast 2 minutes after the game’s end. Grrrrrrr with a capital pissed off. Sometimes it hard to be a fan so many thousands of miles away. Maybe it’ll inspire an Haiku’ian response.
JM - I forgot to ask you which end/part of the body that spit take was supposed to come from and now I think that I seriously regret it. Oh my….
Some big plays, and questionable calls in our favor. Kudos for Verdugo, Wells, and Soto. Special shout-out to the bullpen, especially Dream Weaver, who has been nothing short of a revelation.
Soto may one day rue not staying with the Yankees, but he will do it atop a cartoonishly huge mountain of cash. I think he'll be okay.
I don't think Soto will rue it for the rest of his life, so much as we will. HE MUST STAY.
I like Costas, too, Duque. He speaks well, as you say, and he knows what he's talking about. I've liked him ever since he argued passionately against having a wild card in baseball. I agree: in baseball, you should have to finish first, at least in a division, to get into the playoffs.
As for The Call, though...both Darling and Costas can suck. There is no way in hell that replay showed Chisholm as either safe or out. Thus, the call stands. (The bigger question is how it could have been so close on such a bad throw. What the hell was Chisholm doing?)
When it comes to judging Judge...I dunno. He had some very good playoff series until the 2019 ALCS against Houston. Since then...nada. Last night on TV, both Big Papi and A-Rod were saying how Judge is opening up too much, and that he needs to "stay quiet" and wait on pitches.
A-Rod, in one of his endless confessionals that I find even more boorish than his old arrogance, was saying that that was what he did until be finally learned to "go quiet" in 2009. Yeah, that's great, Alex—and how does it account for the 0 HR, 6 RBI, 12-79 performance in the 22 GAMES you played in the playoffs AFTER 2009?
I imagined Big Papi and Derek Jeter staring at him across the broadcast table with quiet contempt.
Oh, and that Stanton run to first? Ridiculous. It wasn't just that he was slow—and for cryin' out loud, the guy is what, 34? It was that, as he approached the bag, he seemed to be actively trying to avoid hitting the first baseman, who was not in his way. It was weird—as if he has forgotten how to run to first. Enough already with this guy.
That was what Rizzo was saying to Judge in the dugout...
LOL "Darling and Silk."
Staton is another in a long line of slow Yankee sluggers. Danny Tartanull! Chili Davis! Cecil Fielder!
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Stanton physically can't run and as I recall, a batter's legs are very important for succeeding at the plate. He seems to use his arms to compensate, and you can see that in a lot of his batted balls.
Babe Ruth
Mid 60s Mantle.
So, Sevvy pitching for the Mets, who are managed by Carlos Mendoza, Yankees bench coach under Boone (wish we had him instead of Boone), and the Phillies are managed by Rob Thompson, former Yankees coach (who I would also like to have instead of Boone), who replaced jarhead Girardi (who I wouldn't want back).
All of whom–save for Jose Tartabull's son—produced more big hits in the postseason than Giancarlo Stanton.
And one of Clemens' kids is playing for Philly.
Or Judge?
Crushing sequence for the Metsies. One strike away from getting out of the 6th, Sevvy gave up a single, home run, home run. Homers to Harper and Castellano. Seemed foolish to throw anything good to Harper.
Indeed.
Nimmo put the Mets ahead again. But it doesn't feel like this is in the bag, at all.
And how about your New York Giants, ladies and germs? Looking good.
Diaz has become the Mets' Holmes.
Phantastic
Holy shit. They've done it again.
Fuck
Phuck the Phillies
Phabulous ballgame
The Yankee variant of Sevy turned up
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