Gameday Live 6: Yanks-Rays
4:01 p.m. Mariano comes in, Rays go down in order. Another effortless door-slammer for Chamberlain and Rivera. Yankees take it, 2-0, and Joe Girardi feels better than he has in days. Take it away, Frank...
3:42 p.m. After an easy 1-2-3 for Joba, Peter Botte [Islanders fans, you know who that is] of the Daily News - [he's also a veteran baseball guy] made a query popular with some Yankees fans, and not as popular with others.
"Why would you ever take this guy out of the bullpen?" Botte said. More than a legitimate question. Isn't a guy who's dependable every day more valuable than one every fifth day? This, of course, is column fodder for Davidoff, Baumbach, Howard, Rieber, Powell or whomever else for another day. A topic that won't die down any time soon.
3:37 p.m. Too early to scoreboard watch? Not for Yankee fans when it involves the Sawks. A loud cheer just now when Toronto 7, Boston 3 popped up on the out of town scoreboard.
3:34 p.m. final line on Wang: six innings plus two batters; four hits, no runs, two walks and six strikeouts. He threw 96 pitches, 56 for strikes.
3:29 p.m. Chamberlain started Willy Aybar with 77-mph curveball and followed that with a 101-mph fastball. Aybar, finished on the next pitch with a 85-mph slider, looked as overmatched as Dennis Kucinich in the Democratic primary. Joba finished the inning by getting Shawn Riggans to hit into a line-out double play. 2-0 Yankees, bottom of seven.
3:20 p.m. The blog-jinx continues...Wang out with two on and none out. Joba comes in and Wang leaves to a standing "O."
3:14 p.m. YMCA time at the Stadium as Wang retakes the mound with a 2-0 lead. He has thrown 89 pitches to this point so this figures to be his final inning. If Wang navigates through this inning, looks like another Joba/Mariano finish.
2:52 p.m. and the answer is...Yogi Berra. Yankees leave the bases loaded in the fifth and still lead 2-0.
2:39 p.m. First and third one out after Robinson Cano made a poor choice trying to bare-hand Jeter's throw on a double-play ball. But Rays manager Joe Maddon with an odd call for a squeeze and Willy Aybar is caught trying to get back to third by Jorge Posada. Nice call, Joe.
Also, place your bets, place your bets. Who will be today's celebrity to take us from 76 to 75 on the Metlife games-left-at-Yankee-Stadium board?
2:32 p.m. ok, sorry
2:25 p.m. No surprise that it was Matsui taking James Shields deep just now to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Coming into the game, Matsui was 4-for-7 with two home runs against Shields. Thanks, Rieber. Don’t know how I’ll manage tomorrow night without you.
Oh, tempting fate here, but Chien-Ming Wang is TAKING A NO-HITTER into the top of the fifth. C'mon, lighten up. There's nothing to that jinx thing.
2:08 The pitch count for Wang is getting up there - he went past 50 in the top of the fourth - but the Rays haven't a clue as yet how to attack him. Good thing, too, for the Yankees that Wang is giving this kind of performance. His teammates have continued their early-season somnolence at the plate. 0-0 in the bottome of the fourth.
1:49 p.m. Wilson Betemit, WHAT THE H--- ARE YOU DOING. Beyond bad base running there.
1:44 p.m. Another strong inning out of Wang as he sets down the Rays in order, including strike outs of the first two batters. Between innings - I love some of this stuff - there was a public service announcement about the dangers of broken bats or foul balls.
"If you're concerned with your seat location, contact a customer service representative," one of the Yankees intones.
I wonder if anyone has actually ever done that. 0-0 with the Yanks coming up in the bottom of the third.
1:38 p.m. Through two and still scoreless. Hideki Matsui got the Yankees first hit with a one-out single but Shields induced consecutive fly balls to end the inning. Too soon to call this a pitcher's duel, which we won't use anyway. That's almost as bad as calling players "scrappy."
1:18 p.m. Yankees go in order in the first. Between innings, Kyle Farnsworth was shown on the big screen as various Yankees were asked to choose between three Jimi Hendrix songs. There was some light booing.
For Farnsworth, not Hendrix. 'Purple Haze' was the winner.
1:12 p.m. Pretty easy first inning for Wang, who threw nine pitches in getting the Rays in order. Homers will really have to be drilled as there's a stiff wind blowing in from center. Carl Crawford got on a pretty good pitch but it died in the breeze. Yankees coming up in the bottom of the first.
Boland once again as your blogger-in-chief for today's game. Joe Girardi finally back in the dugout. An icy, windy day at the Stadium with Chien-Ming Wang (1-0, 2.57 ERA) taking on James Shields (1-0, 2.57).
On an unrelated note, logged on a few minutes ago and saw this AP item: "Charlton Heston, who won the 1959 best actor Oscar as the chariot-racing "Ben-Hur" and portrayed Moses, Michelangelo, El Cid and other heroic figures in movie epics of the '50s and '60s, has died. He was 84."
The "they" he spoke of some years ago can now get around to prying away that rifle...
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Comments (13)
I blame Boland for mentioning the no-hitter.
That's Boland. B-O-L-A-N-D, who just cost Wanger the no-no. Boland Bad.
I haven't seen any Redsox fans around lately.
Hmmm....Puzzling.
I want to see if the Sux say anything about the trip to Japan causing the slow start. Epstein was very critical of Moose and others for complaining about it (though moose's comeback about using the crutch to win the division was priceless).
Nice to Wang pitch well. Is anyone else questioning cash's decision to not give Wang an extension? The cost of pitch being what it is these days, Cash will pay through the nose if Wang has another good year...
What a difference a day makes *sigh*
I was really pissed about loosing two games in a row and watching essentially last years team.
Ya know...
The one that had the fabulous start in April while leaving what seemed like a major league record of men on base?
The one where Mariano had an ERA north of 5 and took 4 weeks to get his 3rd save?
The one that saw normally mediocre opposing pitchers do their best Sandy Koufax impersonations???
At the risk of sounding too complacent or worse, "Optimistic" -Hah!! *GASP*
Alas, we still need more out of the offense.
Sure, it's a treat to watch Joba hand it off to the best closer in the history of the sport BUT still...It shouldn't be up to the tandem to nail down EVERY victory we get this year.
Maybe now I'm being too negative ;-)
The Tigers are like 0-5?
The Sox just got swept by the Blue Jays number 4 and 5 starters (and "Doc Halladay" )
So I guess I'll try not to poor too much cold water on us...
Another nice win.
Bravo Hideki!!
BRAVO WANGER!!!!!
Ant,
Be careful what you write. You might make the Viper cry! Then he will accuse me of being you and you being me and claim he knows peoples IP addresses as if we are a bunch of kids that can be fooled by made up tales of mythical spying ability.
So Viper,
Whats my IP address?
Whats YOUR IP address?
What is an IP address?
Three question you can't answer!
Delaney,
Why don't you knock off the stupid juvenile crap? You've never shown your face around here until yesterday and I haven't seen you make one comment about baseball yet.
Do you have ANYTHING of value to add to this discussion forum or are you here to heckle and annoy others?
Hey Jon K,
Let's get the rules straight. First of all I have been around a lot longer than you on this blog so as you advise...knock of the juvenile crap.
Rule #1 do as you advise others to do.
Rule #2 don't tell others what to do or what they should post about
Rule #3 if you wish to talk about baseball...as you intimate...talk about baseball and not me (see rule #1)
Rule #4 I will chose to annoy whoever I please and if you dont like it see rule #2.
Rule #5 Leave Ant alone. He has 100 IQ points over you and 150 over baby boy Viper.
Rule #6 Dont attempt to have a baseball discussion with me because you won't last 10 seconds based on what I've seen you post over the past few months. Not original, not well thought out and not well expressed.
Once you learn the rules and follow them you will find life easier to deal with and your experience on this board less embarrassing. Everyone starts out as a hapless rookie. By paying attention to the big boys and listening instead of butting into conversations that you contribute nothing but noise...you can learn and maybe one day post something that makes sense to someone other than Bevis and Butthead.
Study hard!
Jon K,
One more thing....its DELANCY not Delaney! Nothing makes a person look more ridiculous or loose credibility than getting a persons name wrong...especially when its written and spelled out in plain view.
Another Rookie mistake!
Thank you for clearing that up.
I rest my case.
For someone who claims to be a "big boy" and he has been around the blog for awhile, why is this the first time you've ever posted anything?
Doh. I've been here since Jim Baumbach started this blog in '06 and I've never heard of you.
It looks like we have an impostor who decided to hide under a different name. Nice going. You're maturity must be through the roof!
Don't criticize others for misspellings or grammar if you don't want to be held to the same standard:
Beavis and Butthead not Beavis
I will choose to annoy whomever I please not "I will chose to annoy whoever I please"
Don't not Dont
Sounds like you need to "study hard."
I don't know who that Jon K. is but he is not me - and I have been posting regularly here for months!
Sounds like babyboy Viper has been caught in his own trap doing what he claims other do again. Nice Job! Time out time for you.
Yeah I get the IP addresses e-mailed to me like you do....hahahaha.