Caught a little getaway day ball from Oakland; looked like a pretty day, wish I had been there for the $2 tickets and the $1 hotdogs although the most interesting thing in the “contest” was Oakland’s September call-up pinch-running in the 9th. Guy’s last name is BE AZA and it mostly just looked like a letter had fallen off the back of his uniform and no one cared enough to notice or tell him. If the Giants can misspell their city, why can’t the team across the Bay misspell a player’s name? Works for me.
Obviously a very crucial game between the front-running Yanks and Rays. How could I tell? After the 2+ hour rain delay knocked AJ out again (second time for a rain-shortened start for him recently) Girardi has to turn to his bullpen in the 1-0 game. Or, rather, should I say he turned to Scranton Wilkes Barren’s pen with Ring, Moseley, Gaudin and Abeladejo coming in succession.
At least Berkman finally got his first Yankee homer which put us back in the game briefly.
I know I am biased, but I swear it sounds a lot as if both color-man John Flaherty and sideline reporter Kim Jones are both sick of Kay’s shit and can’t wait for the season to end.
George Hendrick, the Rays’ first base coach, is generally the most chill of all of them. He won’t flinch at balls hit toward him, he will never even attempt to pick a foul ground ball coming his way. But he sure was forced to hit the ground when a line drive was heading right for him. His helmet flew off, exposing his ‘do rag and a smile as the Rays’ bench gave him a standing O.
So quiet later in the Stadium after the long rain delay and the Yanks down and looking like coming back was not an option. Swish pops up and, clear as day, you can hear his: “Awwwww shit!” Not quite Dave Winfield’s “That’s bullshit, Jerry” in regard to a called strike, that I recall as the first time I could clearly hear a ballplayer curse on TV.
I wish I had a friend in the 5th row last night that I could have called to konk the bald guy in the 4th row in the head and tell him to stop fuckin’ waving. You’re not six years old. Leave that kind of obnoxiousness to the kids, right? I mean, I was thirteen (and I still think within my rights) when I spent quite a bit of time during the pre-game of game 6 of the 1981 World Series from the left field bleachers at the old Yankee Stadium heckling the previous night’s starter, Jerry Reuss. I think it was probably about the twentieth time that I bellowed, “Hey Jerry – you’re really fooled Bobby last night!” that he ducked out from under the bullpen awning, located me and flipped me the bird.
I must admit a good point in regard to Hamilton over Cano for the MVP. He was so valuable to Texas that he was able to propel his team to such a commanding lead in the weak AL West that even though he’s missed pretty much all of September his team has such a lead that they can’t blow it. I suppose that is also a very valuable player, but I think if Cano stays hot, gets to 30 homeruns, that it could be a very interesting two-man race.
During the Yankee rain delay, I turned to the Giants/Cubs match – watching the WGN broadcast to maybe change things up for the Bay Area squad. And although I will admit the Cubbies’ announcers are pretty entertaining, and Buddy Guy singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was swell, the Giants still couldn’t score. And the useless Dodgers did nothing to help them out vs. the Padres; I swear I read Donnie Baseball’s lips as he spoke to Mr. Torre in the dugout, I swear he said, “Take me with you.”
Yahoo podcast interview with Boomer Wells is worth tracking down. First fourteen minutes he just talks baseball, but then Mr. Torre’s name comes up. Apparently, David is not a fan. First he calls him a “coward” for having pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre tell him he wouldn’t be pitching in the 1st round of the 1997 playoffs, and then he really lowers the boom. Although Boomer was wrong about the Yankee fans reaction to the former manager when he showed up for The Boss’ monument unveiling; it was the biggest cheer of the night and not the boo’s that Boomer predicted. But he is right about the whole manager vs. pitching coach thing about chain of command.