Life In The Fast Lane: Yanks-Sox Gamer XI

It has been a busy morning, tracking all the news since last night.

·· Xavier Nady (he's in the lineup) and Damaso Marte flew to Boston to join the Bombers while Dan McCutchen, Jeff Karstens, Jose Tabata and Ross Ohlendorf departed from their locales for various tiers of the Bucs organization.

·· Manny Ramirez' knee feels better and he's back at cleanup. If he didn't play, rumor has it his pockets would have been lighter, and by bearing less weight it would have helped his knee anyway so win-win. Shaughnessy's sure he's a goner, and soon.

·· For some reason, Kevin Youkilis' magical beard causes pitches to "get away" from Joba Chamberlain. I think he keeps candy in there.

·· David Ortiz returned to action and singled in the fourth for his first hit since May 31st.

·· Mike Lowell got ejected by Marty Foster for arguing two strikes called on him -- one on the throw to the plate and one when Molina threw the ball back to Rivera.

Now we're back to Fenway on a Saturday afternoon and thankfully, it's a FOX game so we can all play along. Tim Wakefield starts for the Sox. He's coming off a loss to the Halos but pitched extraordinarily well against the Orioles in his prior start. Andy Pettitte is on the bump for the Yankees. With a loss to Toronto sandwiched in the middle, the other two of his last three starts were his finest outings of the season.

Game time is in one hour. Lineups follow, comment away.

New York Yankees
1. Johnny Damon, DH	.315/.385/.462
2. Derek Jeter, SS	.285/.346/.402
3. Bobby Abreu, RF	.277/.350/.440
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B	.320/.399/.592
5. Jason Giambi, 1B	.255/.397/.529
6. Robinson Cano, 2B	.265/.300/.390
7. Xavier Nady, LF	.330/.383/.535
8. Melky Cabrera, CF	.248/.305/.348
9. Jose Molina, C	.217/.255/.293
SP Andy Pettitte, LHP	11-7, 3.46
Boston Red Sox
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B	.320/.364/.459
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B	.311/.380/.548
3. David Ortiz, DH	.252/.352/.481
4. Manny Ramirez, LF	.301/.402/.530
5. Mike Lowell, 3B	.288/.352/.481
6. J.D. Drew, RF	.287/.403/.548
7. Jed Lowrie, SS	.294/.338/.397
8. Coco Crisp, CF	.252/.312/.391
9. Kevin Cash, C	.234/.298/.362
SP Tim Wakefield, RHP	6-7, 3.69

Comments

[attackgerbil]

Robi grounds up the middle... ticks off of Lopez and kcks to Lowrie who throws him out at first. Robi is not fast up the line.

[attackgerbil]

Nady takes a pitch directly on his right knee. That looked insanely painful.

[walein]

Xavier Nady comes into town and gets hit by a pitch...a dubious hit by pitch?

[walein]

Xavier Nady comes into town and gets hit by a pitch...a dubious hit by pitch?

[doug YF]

Oh sure, hit the new guy.

[attackgerbil]

Melky up with Nady on first and one away; he takes ball one, then a strike at the knees. The 1-1 is low. The next pitch is ripped foul up third. Then outside to make the count full. The payoff: strike out/throw out DP to end the inning.

[attackgerbil]

Jose Veras is on in relief for the Yankees in the bottom of the seventh.

[attackgerbil]

FOX guys say Veras delivery looks like Riveras. No, not really. Not at all actually.

[attackgerbil]

Cash down looking.

[attackgerbil]

Pedroia takes five pitches and walks. Youk up with one away.

[attackgerbil]

Veras catches the outside corner for strike one. The 0-1 is outside. Breaking pitch away to make it two and one. The next pitch is a single to left to bring up Ortiz. Here comes Damaso Marte.

[doug YF]

Awesome K by Marte. What a way to make your debut.

[attackgerbil]

First pitch fastball at the knees for a strike. The 0-1 is fouled back left. Papi checks the next pitch back. Another 0-2: suckers Papi with a pitch in the dirt.

[attackgerbil]

Agreed, doug. that was great.

E Ramirez to face M Ramirez.

[doug YF]

MARTE IS NOT A LOOGY

If Girardi uses him like that all the time, it's an epic waste.

[attackgerbil]

Slider at the letters for strike one. Now Many pops a high fastball to left center to end the threat. Nicely done.

[doug YF]

McCarver: "Ramirez, one of the best right-handed changeups in baseball."

Me: "Manny?? what the f- oh. wait."

[attackgerbil]

I get to listen to the rest of the game in my car; gotta run. Take care all.

[YF]

Damasso. Edwar.
Yay.

[doug YF]

Molina showing some quick feet! Nice.

[krueg]

that...was...awesome.

[attackgerbil]

This is an honest question: I didn't see ARod get plunked, but was listening. Steve Phillips said it may not have been intentional, which I'm inclined to believe since Hansen couldn't hit the floor if he fell out of his bed today. Between Molina "Bayloring" (thanks walein) a Wake flutter, Nady taking a screamer on the knee, and ARod taking a plunk on the arm, is the "matter" closed regarding Joba's buzz of Youk? Did Hansen's throw look intentional?

[krueg]

It kinda did but who cares...the difference is we don't bitch about our guys getting hit seeing as they ALWAYS hit us. Bottom line...10-3 and ARod is fine.

[dc]

"...is the "matter" closed,,,"

probably not

"... Did Hansen's throw look intentional?..."

doesn't matter how it looked...it was intentional...the sox post game comments [last night] suggested this was coming...

here's the only take you can have...the sox are scared...you can see in their faces and body language as well as the fans faces...funny thing is, the yanks are still in 3rd place looking up...question: are yf's on this site [other than a-yf] really 'stepford', or are you simply patronizing your panicking counterparts?...i said at the beginning of this season that this was a rebuilding year for the yanks...i still believe that despite the recent hot streak and roster moves...the sox can/will rebound if their bullpen gels, or they make a move to strengthen it...if they don't, it could be interesting the rest of the way...

[attackgerbil]

> here's the only take you can have...the sox are scared...you can see in their faces and body language as well as the fans faces

Hmm.. I don't have that take.

> doesn't matter how it looked...it was intentional

point taken, dc.

> are yf's on this site [other than a-yf] really 'stepford', or are you simply patronizing your panicking counterparts?

I don't understand this question. Should I feel insulted?

> it could be interesting the rest of the way

Sure. It's interesting now. The Rays are still on top, but it looks like their pitching is collapsing. If they figure it out, yeah, it has to be interesting.

[dc]

"...Hmm.. I don't have that take..."

like i said, it's mine, and perhaps mine alone...but it's real...i know a lot of sox fans very well...and the players don't seem too relaxed either...could be my imagination...doubt it...

"...Should I feel insulted?..."

no, i still love you...i just wish some of you guys [yf's] had more fire in your belly to slap back at the sf's when they get too carried away, which they do frequently, it's inherent, they can't help it...still hung up on the yankees...maybe not as aggressive as a-yf, but it wouldn't hurt to mix in a little vinegar with the sugar...as more of an observer these days, the conversations appear to be rather one-sided sox lovefests, with the occasional "villagers with torches after frankenstein" attempts to silence a-yf, rather than a spirited 2-sided debate...he feels picked on, and to some extent, i don't blame him...much more rope is given to certain sox fans who are more militant...i don't need to name names...but, it's one of the reasons i don't join in so much anymore....it's tiring...

"...Sure. It's interesting now. ..."

yessir, but a pennant race in sept is way more interesting than a pennant race in july...

[attackgerbil]

dc, I'm glad you stopped by.. it's been awhile and I appreciate your perspective.

A YF has said more than once that he doesn't need ratification or validation from anyone for his postings. I'll take him at his word and not concern myself for him that you infer from some of his comments he expressed feeling "picked on."

As far as the vinegar, not every (possibly) wrong comment made by a poster, regardless of their affiliation, needs to be dressed down and subsequently recursively argued to the point where the original wrong concept is completely removed from the argument. It mires the conversation and disenchants everyone except the principles. I often like it best to let someone's words that are wrong be wrong. Those wrong words, suspended in time, usually topple without a push.

> it's inherent, they can't help it

I don't agree with this generalization, but to embrace and extend that concept, why not just let "they" spin in their own dervish?

> much more rope is given to certain sox fans who are more militant

Perhaps. But I just don't see that being the case. Speaking strictly for myself, I'll try and be more diligent regarding comments that are outside the boundaries of the posting guidelines.

That was not an open invitation for discussion of said guidelines or past incidents/perceived transgressions in this thread. If anyone has a question or comment, please email us at yanksfansoxfan@gmail.com. We appreciate hearing from you.

[attackgerbil]

> a pennant race in sept is way more interesting than a pennant race in july

Gosh I hope that happens.

[IronHorse (yf)]

Since seeing fear is probably akin to McCarver seeing confidence and Morgan seeing consistency, you may have a career in the broadcast booth dc.

I'm sure plenty of Sox fans are scared - planty of fans think their team is the greatest ever when things are going well and the worst ever when things are going poorly. I don't think players are as susceptible to such schizophrenia, thoug it was Andy Pettitte who said less than two weeks ago "We stink". Now Kevin Youkilis may be scared of Joba at this point, but that would be both understandable and a different matter.

As for the game: great offensive outburst and after what was a lackluster and sloppy first inning defensively, it was great to see the Yanks offense just keep coming all day and the pitching shut things down.

The last Marte pitch that struck out Ortiz looked terrible to me - started low and ended low. It was not something that dropped of a table. Either his ball is incredibly difficult to pick up, Ortiz was in complete guess mode, or both. Regardless, it was nice to see.

A-Rod certainly thrown at. Since A-Rod is to Kevin Youkilis as Tiger Woods is to Fred Couples, I would be pleased if the Yanks pitchers came back at Manny or Ortiz, but I'm sure that's not a popular sentiment and as long as they're winning I'm not really hung up on it anyway.

Not interested in watching Ponson in a Yankee uniform tomorrow, but the prospect of a Fenway sweep is good enough to make me look past his unsightly appearance.

As far as whether yfs on this site are tough/rude/aggressive/arrogant enough, I'm too wimpy/polite/scared/shy to address the issue.

[attackgerbil]

> The last Marte pitch that struck out Ortiz

I watched that pitch five times on the DVR... it looked like he did a slide step on his delivery, rather than a kick. Did you see that, IH, or was I imagining it?

[doug YF]

Someone has to explain this "Stepford Yankee fan" thing to me. What an odd choice of allusion.

"If that's a veiled criticism of me, I don't understand it and won't respond to it." - Lucille Bluth

[attackgerbil]

> What an odd choice of allusion.

Odd, and false.

[dc]

ag and ih,
no disrespect intended...i do respect both of you for a number of reasons, as i've mentioned here on several occasions...i guess much of that respect is based on qualities that also infuriate me the most [not always, just at times] about not just yourselves, but some other yf's as well...

perhaps my generalization about sox fans would be more palatable if i suggested that it also applies to yank fans...we are obsessed with each other to varying degrees depending on the individual...i don't personally know of any fans on either side who don't feel that way...some actually face the demons and admit it...

this is the best advice i've received in a long time: "...I often like it best to let someone's words that are wrong be wrong. Those wrong words, suspended in time, usually topple without a push...."

finally, i think the moderators do a great job with a very cumbersome task, policing the site...so this wasn't about that...you keep the most rabid sf's and yf's in line as effectively as you can in a very difficult environment...i'm talking about something way more subtle than that, but for the sake of my own sanity i'll drop it and focus instead on your [ag] great advice...

[A YF]

" with the occasional "villagers with torches after frankenstein" attempts to silence a-yf"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

That's much better than saying I've been "picked on". The latter I really could care less about. But the slant to the debate is obvious. It's no biggie but it makes it much easier to dig in my heels. I wish dc was around more often too - if only to add more balance when the villagers mass. But it seems they've run for the hills for now..

[attackgerbil]

> But it seems they've run for the hills for now..

How lucky I thought to wear my waders today.

[IronHorse (yf)]

"'with the occasional villagers with torches after frankenstein attempts to silence a-yf'

I couldn't have said it better myself."

Frankenstein was a mindless social misfit/mutant creation with a single digit IQ and bolts in his neck.

Finally we agree on something.