Yanks-Rays thoughts

Went to the Yanks’ 8-6 win over the Rays last night, a game that from start to finish (and even before it started) is best described as bizarre. With that in mind, a few thoughts, rated on a scale of one to five Alvin Greene howls (and trust me, that defines bizarre).

--Before the game, the Yankees honored George Steinbrenner with a video tribute, a parade of past Yankee greats and a staggeringly colossal plaque in Monument Park. I mean, this thing is huge. It’s seven feet by five feet. 7x5! Not only was the gargantuan monument an a propos tribute to a man who loomed large over all things pinstripes, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Steinbrenner hadn’t ordered the monument to be built in his honor after he died. It’d be a typical Boss move.

Anyway, my dad had the best idea for how best to utilize George’s giant head, which is so visible from home plate that it has to be obscured by a curtain to avoid distracting hitters. Pops suggested that at a critical moment in, say, a playoff game, the plaque is unveiled while the opposing team is batting. Gorgeous George writ large = called strike three. (FOUR HOWLS)

--Among the luminaries who came to pay tribute were Joe Torre and Don Mattingly, neither of whom had been at either Yankee Stadium since they went to the Dodgers after the 2007 season. Since then, Mattingly has waited patiently and will take over as L.A.’s manager next season. As for Torre, he reportedly engaged in a painfully awkward moment with GM Brian Cashman as the cameras rolled. Memo to ESPN and everyone else who said the two ‘settled their differences’: That was not a reconciliation. That was a momentary détente so the media would shut up about their non-story of a feud. (ONE HOWL)

--Ivan Nova deserved the win. He also deserves to be on the playoff roster. Unless of course you think the team should carry only 10 pitchers or Chad Gaudin. (ONE HOWL)

--What a great night for Curtis Granderson. Two towering home runs, five RBIs, and a late-inning stolen base to boot. His second home run (which proved to be the game-winner) bounced high off the right-field foul pole, a sight I’ve never witnessed live. It really is a beautiful thing to witness. (TWO HOWLS)

--I’m not even sure where to begin a discussion of Joe Girardi’s game management last night. So I’m just going to go batter by batter in the disastrous sixth inning, which began with the Yankees up 4-0.

Jason Bartlett singles to left. The Yankees had just scored two and stranded three in the bottom of the fifth. So Nova, who’s got good stuff but is still just a kid, was almost certainly going to be rusty after cooling his heels during the long half inning. But no one’s warming in the bullpen. Again, let me say NOVA IS JUST A KID

John Jaso walks on five pitches. And the one strike came on 3-0. Nova is obviously rattled. I mean, a small child can see this. And yet the bullpen is still empty. No one is even warming up! At this point, I had begun muttering.

Ben Zobrist singles to right. Bases loaded, no one out. Boone Logan is finally warming in the ‘pen, but not quickly enough to save poor Nova, who undoubtedly remembers his last start against Tampa, when he came unglued in the fifth inning and blew a 6-0 lead. At this point a farm animal would signaled for Logan with its hoof or other relevant appendage. But incredibly, Girardi stays put.

Carl Crawford reaches on catcher’s interference. Admittedly, not Nova’s fault—chalk it up to Francisco Cervelli being a moron. But if Nova wasn’t rattled before, he certainly is now. I may or may not have been hurling obscenities around this time.

Evan Longoria grounds into double play. Run scored, and now it’s 4-2. Only now does Girardi rescue Nova, who exits to a well-deserved ovation. It’s Boone Logan time.

Dan Johnson singles to right. Now it’s 4-3, and we can see a righty warming up in the bullpen. Is it Joba? David Robertson? Kerry Wood?

Matt Joyce walks on five pitches. Wait…it can’t be…that’s Gaudin warming up. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carlos Pena reaches on infield single. Really bad luck. Especially since it prompts Girardi to signal for Gaudin. God help us.

B.J. Upton walks on five pitches. A bases loaded walk. Tie game. Unbelievable, if not at all shocking.

Jason Bartlett flies out to left. After working the count to 3-2 and nearly causing me to swallow my tongue. Inning over. Finally.


Nova should have been a supertight leash in the sixth. A young pitcher who’s cruising along is far more likely to get cold after a long sit on the bench. Girardi managed Nova like he was fricking C.C. Sabathia. Guess what, Joe? HE’S JUST A DAMN KID!!!!!

And once Logan had failed to get out of the inning, how in God’s name can you go to Chad Gaudin?? That guy should only be pitching if it’s the 20th inning or we’re at least 10 runs up or down. The obvious answer is that Girardi didn’t want to burn any of his three real setup guys in the sixth. And that’s fine—if it were mid-May. But it’s not, Joe. It’s mid-September and we’re a half game ahead of these guys and if you or anyone else thinks we’re winning the World Series as a wild card, I have a Ponzi scheme to sell you. Terrible managing, all the way ‘round. (FIVE HOWLS)

--Girardi got a measure of redemption with a slick hit-and-run call in the bottom of the inning. Cervelli slapped a ball right where the shortstop would’ve been, Brett Gardner went to third, and the big inning was on. Good call. Perfect execution.

--And finally, home plate umpire Tim Mcclenland may or may not have been in the Twilight Zone the entire game. In brief, he squeezed both teams’ pitchers indiscriminately, got all macho and barked at Kerry Wood for staring too long at him, punched out A-Rod on a pitch that was no fewer than three inches inside and finished the night off by squeezing Mariano Rivera, of all people. Just as long as he's not screwing up the ALCS, I guess. (FIVE HOWLS)

Monday Musings

--I wish I’d written more extensively about this over the weekend, but… I didn’t. Whatever (copyright: Bill Simmons, circa 2003). That being said, I think Yankee fans take Alex Rodriguez for granted. There has been so much ink wasted on steroid use and bizarre magazine covers and Madonna hookups and divorce and “get off my mound” that we have lost sight of the once-in-a-lifetime experience that is watching A-Rod on a daily basis. The media circus has obscured the greatness of the man. I mean, we’re talking about arguably one of the 10 best hitters OF ALL TIME and for my money the best right-handed hitter the Yankees HAVE EVER HAD and yet when greatness comes up we all think about Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera and A-Rod gets sort of taken for granted. Which is a mistake.

Take Friday night’s two-out, two-strike, last-gasp three-run homer to literally snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a game the Yankees really needed. The New York columnists’ reaction was a barely perceptible shrug. But make no mistake—it was awesome. And A-Rod’s 2009 postseason was quite simply extraordinary. There is no one else I have ever seen on the Yankees in my lifetime that could duplicate that postseason. Not even close.

So the next time you watch the Yankees and A-Rod does something incredible (and that’s a when, not if statement), take a moment and cherish getting to see one of the greatest players ever play in his prime. Yes, there’s a big asterisk entitled STEROID USE. But even with the juice, what he’s done—and more importantly, what he’s capable of—is remarkable.


--Random college football thought of the week: All talk of Washington QB Jake Locker being EITHER a leading Heisman candidate or the surefire No. 1 pick in next year’s draft needs to cease. Immediately. Locker’s statline from Nebraska’s 56-21 pasting of the Huskies on Saturday: 4-20 (4-20!), 71 yards, 1TD, 2 INTs. I don’t care how overmatched your team is—you don’t get to be considered the top quarterback prospect in the country if you complete 20 percent of your passes and make Mark Sanchez’s Week 1 line look stellar.


--In the plethora of laudatory articles about Sanchez’s play against the Patriots, there were several columnists who praised his successful two-minute drill at the end of the first half, which led to a 49-yard Nick Folk field goal that gave the Jets momentum going into halftime. But no one gave any credit to Folk. A 49-yard field goal is no gimme, especially when a miss would deflate your team going into the break. By nailing the kick, Folk ensured that Sanchez’s drive was a success and set the stage for Gang Green outscoring New England 18-0 in the second half on its way to a 28-14 win. Sanchez deserves the lion’s share of the credit, sure—just don’t forget about Folk.


--Either Michael Vick’s advisers have started earning their money, or he really has gotten smarter. The former dogfighting operator/prison inmate/PETA pariah has had a couple missteps since re-entering the NFL, most notably when his friend was involved in a shooting at a party hosted by Vick. But when it comes to his football life, the Eagles’ quarterback has—pardon the cliché—said all the right things. Take his statement Monday that injured starter Kevin Kolb is Philly’s “leader” and that he is “OK” with being the backup. This after he played a flawless game in Kolb’s place, throwing for 284 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-32 win.

Whether or not Vick is sincere is immaterial to some degree, because he doesn’t have to say that he’s the better quarterback and would give the Eagles a better chance of making the playoffs. Every Philadelphia sports radio host, blogger and itinerant fan will say it for him. That Vick is ostensibly putting the team before him will only increase the calls for him to be named starter. And he—or at least his P.R. person—has to know that.