New York @ Boston, September 15, 2007
Crushing blow last night. HUGE. Leading 7-2, 6 outs to go, and the roof caved in. 6 runs in the 8th, and a 8-7 loss. Not that it really affects anything, but it had a huge effect on ME, anyway.
Robbie Cano is only batting .240? I didn’t know that. He’s a heck of a ballplayer. Last year, I would have traded Pedroia for him. Not this year, though.
Seeing the end of the Jeter Yankee dynasty-Jeter himself, Posada, Rivera-these guys won’t last forever-I am struck with the thought that these were classy ballplayers, by and large, these guys. I hated them for partisan reasons, but as a simple matter of their greatness, it’s hard to argue with all three as clear Hall of Famers and among the greatest who have ever lived. Obviously, they can’t go on forever, but they were a great bunch. Not exactly a news flash, but as a baseball fan, who have to appreciate greatness when it’s right in front of your face.
It would be really, really great if somebody who worked for my company knew just what the fuck they are doing. Just one would be great.
Wang is really struggling. They better get to him before he rights himself, or we’re going to lose again.
Didn’t everybody used to call him “Tiger” Wang? When did we stop doing that? Is there something racist about it that I missed?
The Red Sox are hitting long, long flyouts, but not scoring. If they can’t get some runs soon, we are doomed.
I don’ t think this team is good enough to win the World Series in any case. We don’t have enough hitting. Period. And nobody is hitting like New York right now-nobody.
You know what’s a bunch of crap? Statements like, “The Vikings are 14-2 on the road in September” or “the Yankees can’t beat the Angels.” First of all, the only way to make that statement meaningful is if the same Yankee team, or the same Viking team, played all those games. Obviously they didn’t. But you hear that all the time, as if there is some sort of voodoo hex bullshit going on.
Shit. Youkilis just got hit by a pitch, and is out. If he is out for any length of time, that’s a huge, huge loss for us.
Youk’s hand is bruised, not broken. That’s really good news for Red Sox Nation.
Hinske just came home and whacked Posada good, but Jorge held on to the ball. Wonder if that will result in Hinske getting dusted tonight or tomorrow.
Jacoby Ellsbury for Mayor!
Heck, Jacoby Ellsbury for President!
2 run double for Ortiz, 5-1 Boston-but 9 outs to go. Which means we have to get Damon-Abreu-Jeter-Rodriguez out one more time. Sigh.
Useless Facts Department: First time since 1955 New York has come back from 5 runs down in Boston last night. First time since 1914 Boston has two players with more than 25 steals this season.
Top Seventh- Posada pops out-8 outs to go. I will never forget the hit he got during the rally that beat Pedro in 2003, the way he clapped as he cruised into second. Hated it, but it was memorable.
Matsui flew out-7 outs to go. Matsui is a heck of a ballplayer,too-his swing is very memorable to me. Classy guy, but somehow never as great as I thought he was going to be, or at least never as great as he was his first year or two here.
Giambi hit by a pitch, with the namby pamby warnings issued, and then a single by Cano, so we’ve got two out trouble. Cabrera now, another tough out. This Yankee team doesn’t have any easy ones, that’s for sure.
Cabrera struck out. 6 outs to go. Beckett’s over 100 pitches, so you have to think we’ll go Timlin-Pap, or maybe even Timlin-Gagne. Gagne has looked a little better lately. His recovery would help enormously.
If we win today, the magic number goes down to 9. That would be sweet, and then if we can hammer Rocket tomorrow, this series will feel a whole lot better.
To me, anyhow.
Never fails-you’re open for 10 hours, but everyone comes in during the last 15 minutes. Sigh.

Someone special died this month. Al Arthurs, founder of one of the longest running tabletop baseball leagues in North America, died at 49.

RIP, Uncle Al.

Well, the lead is 6-a couple of agonizing losses to Baltimore and Tampa folded in that could have been wins, but a doubleheader sweep of Chicago today helped. I have the sneaking suspicion that this team simply can't hit enough to win in the postseason, despite the 20+ runs today. The pitching is pretty good, but without Papi and Manny hitting like themselves, this team is not going to win the World Series.

And I thought I had a bad day....

Pitcher Brian Burres, Baltimore Orioles, tonight against the Texas Rangers.

R Vazquez singled to right.
R Vazquez to second on wild pitch by B Burres.(Dang.)
F Catalanotto walked.(Rats.)
I Kinsler bunted into fielder's choice to pitcher, R Vazquez out at third, F Catalanotto to second.(OK, good play.)
M Young singled to left, F Catalanotto to third, I Kinsler to second.(Alright, force at any base.)
M Byrd homered to left, F Catalanotto, I Kinsler and M Young scored.
(A grand slam? Marlon Byrd? Are you kidding?)
J Botts struck out looking. (Phew! OK, maybe I'll get out of this.)
N Cruz reached on infield single to third. (Or perhaps not.)
D Murphy singled to center, N Cruz to second. (Dammit.)
J Saltalamacchia singled to left, N Cruz scored, D Murphy to second. (Oh, come on.)
R Vazquez singled to left center, D Murphy scored, J Saltalamacchia to second. (Seriously.)
F Catalanotto singled to left, J Saltalamacchia scored, R Vazquez to second(Are you there God, it's me, Brian Burres!)

...then your teammate Rob Bell allows an RBI single, scoring Vazquez.

2/3 ip, 8 runs.

Whatta day.

Isn't it funny how the rugged, go capitalism go, market solutions for everything types are now whining about government inaction in the face of the subprime mess? I guess losing one's shirt is only fair when it happens to other people.

Just watched the first episode of Hard Knocks, on HBO. I don't care one whit about the Chiefs, but it made for a great program.

American Idol for football players, I guess.

There's the standard mix of vets (Tony Gonzalez, Ty Law, Patrick Surtain, Eddie Kennison), rookies (Bowe from LSU, and a kid lineman from Camden, Turk something), and guys with issues (Kyle Turley, Priest Holmes).

It's going to be very interesting to follow. And unlike so called reality TV, you know this one is real.

I don't know why anyone has kids. Or a family. I am sick to death of everyone and everything. Except the girl with pretty shoes.

(Cue Vader's Theme)



Loss to the Angels, combined with ANOTHER YANKEE WIN, means the lead is 6.



(Stop Vader's Theme)



I have to put down something about the girl with the pretty shoes. I've been thinking about her non stop since Sunday. Flying from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, I saw a pleasant, attractive girl wearing really pretty shoes. She was a violinist, travelling with her mother, wearing a fairly short, pleated skirt. She was, how you say, not a size two, but very pleasing to the eye. She got her baggage at baggage claim

5-3, after doubles by Youkilis and Ortiz. Hopefully Le Gagne can hold 'em.

Well....bases loaded, nobody out, trailing Balmer again, 3-1. We better make some hay out of this.

August 1, 2007. They are 7 games behind. Gulp.

We need to put a hurtin' on the Orioles for the next two nights, then hopefully go out west and show up against Seattle and LA. Those games are going to be real toughies.

I love Eric Gagne-now. Great pickup, but I'm still thinking a bat would have been better. Oh well. Once more into the breach, dear friends.

In my head, I'm hearing Perry Farrell singing, "Here we GO....."

RIP Bill Walsh, too, can't forget that. Well, we got Gagne without giving up Ellsbury or Buchholz, so that's a clear win. I am somehow not convinced that we didn't need a bat, though. The offense is scaring me, and a loss to Baltimore while the Yankees smoke Chicago brings the lead back up to 7. That's not a lot of games against an offense that seems unstoppable and a rotation that with Philip Hughes is going to be hard to beat.

Since I'm simply too depressed to chronicle the continued mismanagement, frauds, perjuries, and crimes against humanity of the current President, on to sports:

The Garnett trade is fascinating. On paper, and healthy, the Celtics look solid-going 2-3-4 with Jesus Shuttlesworth, The Truth, and The Big Ticket means you can hang with anybody. But the lack of depth now means, if injured, they are going to look woeful.

The Phillies obtain Iguchi and Lohse while the Braves get Teixeira and the Mets get Castillo? The Phils are still in it, for the moment, but it doesn't look good.

The Red Sox? Well, 8 games is 8 games. But the Yankees are better than they were 2 months ago, and I'm not sure the Red Sox are.

Oh well.

Day off today. As August dawns tomorrow, we stand thusly:

BOS 64-41
NYY 56-49, 8gb

We take on Baltimore at home, then head out to Seattle on Friday, the same day I go out to Pittsburgh. Hoorah.

Trailing the damn Devil Rays 5-2. Three homers for 5 runs for them, one by Northeastern's own Carlos Pena. Top of the ninth.

The lead is nine over the Yankees, but they are winning (5-4) over the Birds.

This time next week I will be back home from ReplayCon 07, a tabletop baseball gathering in Pittsburgh. I am ridiculously excited about this, almost to the point of being too excited, where it couldn't possibly be good enough to live up to what I want it to be. There's something about a room full of people who have the same stupid obsession as you.

Flyout to center. One down.

It's stupid, in my precarious financial and personal life, to spend time and money on a hobby.

Gary Glover is pitching. I "owned" him in a tabletop fantasy league a few years ago. He was lousy for me then, and the entire Tampa pitching staff is lousy this year. But it's hard as heck to score 3 runs in one inning, even against crummy pitching.

I preordered Madden 2008 this year, which is something I haven't done in a while. I spend way too much money on crap like that.

Yankees lead 6-4.

Varitek, pinch hitting, drew a walk, and the Tampa announcers, typically, are whining. I forget how good the Boston announcers are sometimes when I have to listen to these idiots.

I'm thirsty, but I'm not going to get up, just in case the rally continues.

I think Bronx is Burning, on ESPN, is brilliant TV, even though I hate the Yankees. I hated them then and I hate them now, but the show is extraordinary. The book, which I HAD to have, is good too.

I am also pleased Hard Knocks is coming back on HBO. That was a really good show.

Strikeout, then force out at second. Sox lose.

We took two out of three, and lost to Kazmir, so that isnt all that bad, but you really have to beat Tampa. You do. You just do.

Sigh.