FREE BEER...

August 19, 2010
FREE BEER or REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED STUPIDLY
To me, Gardner’s hard, but clean slide into Guillen in Monday’s Yankees/Tigers game was such a non-issue, I didn’t even mention it. Jim Leyland said, “it was clean,” but perhaps the secondbaseman’s eventual trip to the DL got into yesterday’s Tiger starter, Jeremy Bonderman’s head. Brett Gardner, still wearing the lucky new shoes and leading off in Girardi’s A-Rod-less, shuffled line-up, gets hit in the leg to lead off the game. Now, intentionally putting one of the league’s leading base-stealers on base doesn’t seem like smart baseball to me, but the Tigers ain’t going anywhere, so…
Before Gardy even has a chance to make it sting back, the homeplate ump (also the crew chief) warns both benches: no inside pitches, no retaliation – doing so is supposed to mean instant ejection for both the pitcher and his manager. Gardner didn’t even have to swipe second base; Teixeira soon followed with a two-run shot, followed back-to-back by Cano and the Yanks were up 3-0. That’s the best way to answer a bean-ball…
I was indisposed for a few innings during the middle frames of the contest, but I was watching in the 8th when Joe Girardi brought in Chad Gaudin with a 9-4 lead. Gaudin plunks Miguel Cabrera squarely. Cabrera had two dingers earlier in the game, so if you’re looking for someone to hit – he’s the man, right? If Gardner’s HBP was intentional, then this one had to be, too. I had the feeling that Gaudin, who really is the last man in the bullpen (and perhaps one of the guys who should be worried with the imminent returns of Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves to the pen from the DL) is something of a Yankee enforcer. Sure enough, the numbers back it up: the only pitcher who has hit more is AJ Burnett who leads the league with 14. Gaudin’s beaned 6 in 45 innings. Next up is Sabathia with 4 over 181 innings; no other Yankee hurler has more than 3. I think the point is made.
But here’s where homeplate ump Eric Cooper lost total control of the ballgame. He didn’t toss Gaudin, he didn’t toss Girardi. Jim Leyland lost his mind – and rightfully so. But after he wouldn’t let it go from the dugout, Cooper did toss Leyland. And at that point, how could the ump toss the next Tigers pitcher who threw up and behind Jeter’s back? Girardi had to bitch a little, but really, what could he say? The Yanks, being pro’s and having SOMETHING to play for, let it die there. We’ll see if cooler heads prevail this afternoon as they wrap up the series.
Tuned in Twins/Sox in time to see Capps come in again in the 9th to try and nail one down. He gave up one run, but stranded the tying one this time, getting Ramirez to close it, 7-6.
Fire Minaya? Makes sense. Fire Manuel? It’s about time. Fire K-Rod? Sure thing, but while you’re at it, why don’t you just fire the whole Mets team? The only thing worse than a Mets game is an extra inning one. They should have to give out free beer at any Mets game (home or road) that goes past 10 innings. I was literally killing time when I tuned into the Mets/Astros 2-2 game in the 11th. Somehow the Mets eeked out a win in 14, 3-2.
Dodgers/Rockies? Ibid*

• Okay, I told myself I was going to turn that one off when it went to extra innings. I tuned in 2-2 in the 6th and you could just tell it would go long and the Dodgers would find a way to lose it. And at least Octavio Dotel had the decency to blow it in the 10th. With Jason Giambi at the dish and two out, two on, Dotel uncorked what I think was three straight wild pitches, bringing in the eventual winning run. The Dodgers did try to make it interesting for all their fans who had already long since gone home in the bottom of the tenth. But trying to score from first on a bloop to center saw the Dodger “runner” tagged out in the face (really) and by a mile at the plate to end it… 3-2 in 10.