Fly-On-The-Wall: Sox-Yanks Gamer XIV

Nick and ag had a chat today, mourning the impending demise of the Yankees' season.

ag: baseball has me down.  I've got a moon shot draw from the hearts deck of sociopathic tendencies.

Nick: kris kristoferrson would play me in the movie of my life

ag: I guess that leaves me with Nick Nolte

Nick: Nick Nolte versus Kris in the battle of grizzled tell-it-like-it-is men.  for the Lee Marvin award

Nick: Bad song, and you can't even dance to it.

ag: That's brutal

Nick: yep.  Can't win, so take it out on the guy with the full bladder.  you always know when an empire is crumbling by the stupidity of its foot soldiers.

ag: Onward Bronxian soldiers.  Except General Joe ran into Genghis Maddon and Tito The Great, and our little Napoleons fight their battle of hold-your-water-you-can't-go-to-the-loo.

Lineups follow, comment away...

Byrd facing Ponson feels so ripe for sniping but too easy, so what's the point?

Boston
J. Ellsbury rf	.263
D. Pedroia 2b	.315
D. Ortiz dh	.263
K. Youkilis 1b	.319
J. Bay lf	.341
J. Lowrie 3b	.296
J. Varitek c	.223
A. Cora ss	.278
C. Crisp cf	.263
P. Byrd	4.61
NY Yankees
J. Damon cf	.313
D. Jeter ss	.294
B. Abreu rf	.298
A. Rodriguez 3b	.308
J. Giambi 1b	.247
X. Nady lf	.321
H. Matsui dh	.310
R. Cano 2b	.269
I. Rodriguez c	.283
S. Ponson	4.67

Comments

[I'mBillMcNeal]

This lead is even Hansen proof.

[Hudson]

>>> But not quite "two three-run homer proof"! <<<

True, SF... Formerly known as "Not Gagne- Proof."

[Atheose]

Don't tempt fate, Bill!

[I'mBillMcNeal]

the thing I hate about these blowouts is that you know it's hell to pay tomorrow. Can even remember how many times that's happened. And we need a good start out of Lester tomorrow.

[I'mBillMcNeal]

Sorry. Can't even remember ...

[Devine]

Successful road trip...

Too early?

[SF]

Michael Kay sounds like someone who woke up after a long Friday night at the bar and the cold pizza he thought was in the fridge is actually sitting, face down, in his cat's litter box.

[Devine]

Okay...just have Oki warming in case Timlin lets them within 5, all right Tito?

[Devine]

Night all...hope I come home to uneventful victory.

[Hudson]

>>> [...] like someone who woke up after a long Friday night at the bar and the cold pizza he thought was in the fridge is actually sitting, face down, in his cat's litter box. <<<

This sounds uncomfortably like someone speaking from experience...

[Hudson]

Bill: You're all too right. Anecdotally, it does feel like the Sox bats tend to go cold the day after a blowout.

[I'mBillMcNeal]

Thank God this hasn't become a beanball war. But with the meathead gone ...

[I'mBillMcNeal]

I know you YFs don't know what to think. Well, I don't know what to think, either. This is as weird to me as it is to you.

[SF]

I hate cats, Hudson. I have also never lived with someone with a cat. It's more of a strained metaphor than anything else!

[Atheose]

Cats are good as long as you don't get a crappy one. I guess that's true for all pets.

Can you imagine this lineup when Cora and Crisp are replaced by Lowell and Drew?

[I'mBillMcNeal]

Britton looks like Pyle from Full Metal Jacket. Vincent D'Onofrio, or however it's spelled.

[I'mBillMcNeal]

Was Kotsay set to pinch-hit for Covelli?

[I'mBillMcNeal]

And Timlin still isn't Giambi-proof.

[Atheose]

Timlin vs Giambi. Shudder.

[Atheose]

ESPN broadcaster: "Timlin's a team player... he's been on two world championship teams."

The other broadcaster just corrected him, mentioning the two Toronto teams.

[Hudson]

I have never had a "crappy" cat. If you get them young and treat them right, you won't have problems. (No, this has nothing to do with baseball that I can think of, unless it's some kind of draft/farm team metaphor.)

[Hudson]

Timlin unhelpfully sending the Yankees into tomorrow on an up-note, relatively speaking. Bleh.

[Hudson]

Ah, but IRod restores the dismal ending for New York.

Tomorrow is a good day for schaenfreude-lovin' Sox fans to savor both the New York Post and New York Daily News.

[Hudson]

No ground gained as the Rays and the Twinkies win. Chicago loses, but unless they collapse that's not much help... (Been rooting for the White Sox to go on a tear and Minneapolis to collapse.)

[stuck working]

Picky, picky, Hudson. Can't you just enjoy a massive beatdown? God, I'm positively panting at the possibility of a sweep. Who cares about the standings when you're smacking around the Yankees??

[Atheose]

By the way SF, I started watching Arrested Development again at your insistance... it's BRILLIANT. The humor is so subtle it's great. Oh, and they're bringing it back to TV with new episodes... check it out on imdb.

[sf rod]

both jason bay and dustin pedroia singularly had more rbi than the yankees lineup collectively tonite.

[Brian Houk SF]

Okay, I have to say something here. Last year, when the Yankees lost the division for the first time in like 30 years, then lost to the Indians in the first round, Joe Torre was treated like garbage. I said then that as much as I hate the Yankees I respected Torre and despite his failings, wishing for Torre's demise was like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs. And so here we are, nearly a year later. While Girardi may prove me wrong in the future, how are Yank fans going to feel when the Yankees not only don't win the division, but don't make the playoffs? Gee, that never happened under Torre. Flame throwing, MAYBE, but by god the crucifixion of Joe Torre was brutal, and the rosy eyed statements of those Yank fans who decried Torre and saw the future so brightly ... Well, let me just say, I told you so.

[Micah-SF]

Ath: yeah, Arrested Development is one of the best shows of all time.

I don't think they're making new episodes, but it appears they ARE making a movie, finally. It should be awesome.

Also: I love Pedroia and his amazing midget powers so very much. NAIL IN THE COFFIN!

[SF]

Glad to hear, Ath, it is a great show. I may have to watch the whole thing again.

As for the comment about Torre above, I don't think it is at all relevant. I don't see how Torre (and I was a big booster) could have had any more impact on this team than Girardi has had. Torre doesn't have magic powers over Wang's ankle, or Joba's shoulder, or any other body part. Torre would be skippering the same floundering team that Girardi is. Though I thought the Yankees handled the Torre situation terribly, I think that the managerial position has had a lot less impact on the team than, say, the injuries to the starting rotation, or the offense's ability to hit in situations. I think the antagonism of the above comment is a bit off-putting.

[DuffsWhole30Challenge]

Picky, picky, Hudson. Can't you just enjoy a massive beatdown? God, I'm positively panting at the possibility of a sweep. Who cares about the standings when you're smacking around the Yankees??

Here, here, brotha. Games like that are sooo much fun. As soon as that ball left Pedroia's bat I started chuckling. Freakin' sweet.

[Brian Houk SF]

SF, what I found off-putting was the attitude that Yankee fans showed for Torre last year.

Here is what I wrote last October

"Bobby Cox is probably the closest equivalent to the accomplishments of Joe Torre in THIS era... Who believes Bobby Cox could hold Joe's jock as a manager? Let me reiterate what we all know that Joe presided over 4 WS winning teams, 6 ALCS winners and won the AL east a mind boggling 11 times in a row, throughout his Yankee tenure. Oh yeah, finished 2nd in the AL east ONCE but won the wild card after a 21-29 start!!

Boy you guys are tough on a guy that no matter what you say has presided over the Yankees being feared for virtually the entire time he has managed them and at no time did the Yanks come close to having a lousy year.

Okay... So the Yanks didn't win the division and lost in the first round a couple of times.

Jeez not for nothing but I think there is a crapload of teams with great traditions that would kill for EVEN a friggin wildcard slot!

Will the Yankees become the Orioles? Maybe not, and maybe with Joe at the helm they won't ever be THE DAMNED YANKEES again, I am willing to bet that if they toss Joe aside it'll be a long time before they are again THE DAMNED YANKEES and it won't last nearly so long as this time around. Believe it, remember it was told to you..."

So, anyway, it's only the first year of Girardi but the Yankees won't make the playoffs for the first time in practically a generation.

Maybe it's too soon for an "I told you so", and maybe Girardi will get them there next year. BUT maybe he won't.

[dc]

brian, i'm one of those "entitled" yankee fans who so easily gets under the skin of so many of you sf's, because i supposedly think the yankees should win every year...believe it or not, the yankees don't win every year, nor should they...that would get boring, right?...in fact, over the years, not only have the yanks not won every world series, they failed to qualify more often than not, going through long [for them] stretches without making the playoffs...torre was a great manager for the yankees, and while i still disagree with sf about the details of his departure, the yankees have actually fired some pretty successful managers in the past, just because they felt a change was needed:
stengel, martin [3 or 4 times]...