Results tagged ‘ Tampa Bay Rays ’
The End? The Beginning? The Beginning of the End?
‘This is a love attack, I know it went out but it’s back.
It’s just like any fad retracts before impact.’
®. A much, much better result than the last three games – by a longshot.
It’s sad to say the 2009 regular season is over for our boys. They need only 11 wins throughout this postseason to accomplish Mission27
™ and raise a new banner in the “House That George Built.” But, on the plus side, they finished up with a record of 103-59 along with a guaranteed trip to the playoffs, the AL East title, and Home Field Advantage throughout the playoffs. Talk about a 180
°. I think it’s safe to say
2008 never even existed in Yankees history, at least, at this very moment in
time. =)
But anyway, back to the game itself. AJ got a little
redemption courtesy of his offense come the sixth inning. In the sixth inning,
which should be known as the “Middle Finger” inning, the Yankees
scored all ten of their runs, seven of which came off the bat of Alex
Rodriguez. Those 7 RBI made history today. It let Alex finish the season with a
couple of nice, round numbers – 30 HRs and 100 RBI on the season. His
second homer of the inning set a franchise-record 243 for the season. It made
him the 5th Yankee of the season to have over 25 pops, and second on the team
in RBI, following Tex. Now, I called this inning the “Middle Finger”
inning for a couple of reasons. First, the Rays basically IBBed Tex the second
time around the lineup because they didn’t want him to get ahead of Carlos Pena
for the league lead in home runs. D!ck move on their part. It was a dumb move
both for that reason and because in A-Rod’s previous at-bat of the inning, he
smoked a 3-run shot. Clearly a stupid move, even though they probably could
have cared less whether they won or lost.
The other reason I gave the sixth inning that nomer was because, well, A-Rod beasted it this season. He missed nearly a month’s worth of games [and then some with the days off] and came back to be top-10 in a few offensive categories. If you were told prior to the season that you wouldn’t be back ’til August, but still come back in May and have a season like this? I think anyone would take it. He basically showed everybody who doubted him that he can still work it, even if he’s not 100%. Now, I haven’t been a huge fan of the guy in the past, but this season, I think I’ve been converted. A good postseason may just lead to idolatry.
Sidebar: He sent his first pitch of the season over the fences, and he did just the same with his last. Now that is something.
Of course, A-Rod couldn’t have had all those RBIs without guys on base. Johnny Damon woke up a little from his recent slumber and had two doubles [both in the sixth inning]. Jeet had two hits, no surprise there. Roboto had a hit, Swish had a hit, Melkster had a hit, and even Panda had a hit (it’s about damn time). Even a good amount of the replacement guys got action: BG scored, Miranda scored, and Guzman scored. For a half inning, it sure was action-packed. And thanks to all this action, AJ, despite giving up two runs and seven hits, got himself his 13th win of the season.
Even though it was a beautiful blowout, some of the relievers had to get some work in. Girardi sent David Robertson to the mound: success. Joba? Success (more on this later). Cokie? Success. Philly “Pornstache” Phranchise? Success. Mo? Speaks for himself. No runs, no hits, no walks for all five of those relievers.
Back to Joba. On Twitter, V [over at Flair For the Dramatic] said this: “Joba is Jesus out of the bullpen.” I don’t think I could have said it better myself. The guy is golden in that spot. I really don’t get why they couldn’t just keep him there. But that’s a debate I’d rather not get into. He pitched a whole half-inning and got a K out of it. He was sssssmokin’. I like him in the bullpen for the postseason. Hopefully he gets a shot at some point.
So, with all of this said, the 2009 season has come to a close. I hate that line. At least there’s still some good baseball left to be seen. I’m hoping TPPT™ as well as GoodKarma™ (a newbie on the scene) will be present throughout these playoffs and will help get us that 27th World Series title. The wait will be long, but in the end? Absolutely worth it. Whatever the ALDS may bring, whether the team is Detroit or Minnesota, our boys will be ready with the momentum of this final win behind them. In closing, here’s a preliminary toast to all of you fellow fans out there, to a fan-freakin’-tastic ’09 regular season, and, of course, to our boys in pinstripes. And like an old friend of ours once said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” [clink]
History in the Making
As for the rest of the game, Jorge Posada was the night’s hero. Before his at-bat, Swish got A-Rod across on a grounder to first via a major throwing error, which sent pinch-runner JHJ to third. With runners on first and third, JoPo jacked a 3-runner, putting the Yankees above and beyond by a score of 4-2. So, along with making history, this game puts our boys at 91-50, 9 games above the Sox in the East.
Along with the overshadowed win goes Joba Chamberlain’s outing. I almost forgot he started the game, especially since he was in it for about 5 seconds. Apparently our Man of the Hour had a little ****-chat with The Hut after his first inning and straightened him out. I’m nothing if not convinced that Derek Jeter is Jesus Christ incarnate.
So, to close out this series and head into an off day (which I am also taking, btw – from the blog, but not from anything else… [sigh]), we find ourselves immersed in Yankee lore, comparing the name Derek Jeter with that of Lou Gehrig. People can say what they want. They can say things like ‘Oh, well, he’s still such-and-such a number on the all-time hits list. This means nothing,’ but everyone should know damn well that it does. This is the most storied franchise in sports history, let alone baseball history. Derek Jeter taking over the number one spot from someone that’s been there for nearly 72 years is HUGE. Anyone who thinks otherwise is clearly ignorant. You can say what you want about Derek Jeter, but you can never take away from the fact that he is a true Yankee, through and through, and will forever bleed the pinstripes.
Gaudin Is the Man & Swish Is Delish ;)
Naturally, we in Yankees Universe are no strangers to the walk-off win. Whenever a game is tied going into the bottom of the 9th or later, it’s only a matter of whose turn it is to get the infamous and always entertaining pie in the fach. Today, ladies and germs, it was my boy NickySwish!♥ Of course, as this was going on both myself and my Twitter/blog friend Jess aka ‘Furballz’ over at The Fuzz were flipping a sh_t because, well, let’s just say we wouldn’t be opposed to Swish playing inseminator. [insert laughter at painfully obvious joke here]
Aside from being the hero and becoming the victim of yet another cream pie, NickySwish had himself another homer in the second. That’s the third time this season he’s homered from both sides of the plate in a game. And it’s about damn time he hit some of those things at home. Cue the sighs of relief and rounds of applause.
A-Rod had an RBI single in the 6th to make it 2-0, but Tampa came back in the 7th and 8th to tie it. And, well, you know the rest.
And Derek… well… he’s gone cold. Stick that dude on a hot plate and warm his a$s up! We need him to hit, aside from this whole breaking-of-records deal. Now is definitely not the time to slow it down, Derek!!!
The other big story of today’s battle was the pitching. Gaudin was nearly untouchable through 6, only allowing one run. Who woulda thunk it?! I was under the impression he’d need a crapload of runs to get the job done. Figures he’d turn me into a liar, but hey, I’m sure other people would’ve agreed with me.
More pitching notes:
1. Phil Hughes gave up a run via the homer. No, I’m not kidding. Hercules was half human too, ya know. Oh well, ish happens. I’m sure that was a fluke.
2. David Robertson has a Dr. Andrews-caliber boo-boo. If that’s serious, I might just cry.
3. David Price actually pitched really well for Tampa. He kept the Rays in the game the entire time he was in it, only allowing two runs. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t enough. I’m looking forward to seeing big things from that guy in the future.
So, the brooms are out (just in case) for tomorrow night’s game. We’ll just have to wait and see how Joba fairs… [bites nails in suspense] TPPT™, yo! ‘Til next time!
Deuces!
Double the Pleasure, Double the Fun!
As the illustrious Ernie Banks once said, “Let’s play two!”
Indeed, there were two games played on this lovely Labor Day Monday afternoon/night. Those two games were also won by the ever-persistent, fun-loving, and awesome Yankees.
Naturally following a two-game day, there would be an abundance of information to relay and opinions to establish (I’m in a vocabulous mood tonight), but for fear of going on an endless tangent, I’ll keep it as brief as possible.
So, starting off with the starters of our matinee and nightcap:
CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. The Initial Kings in the land of Yankees Universe. CC in game 1 went 7, only giving up 1 earned run while fanning 10 – he got the ND. Say it with me now, dom-in-ance. AJ went 6, also only giving up 1 run and striking out 8. He got the win. Lucky for us Dr. Jekyll was in the house today. I mean hey, this was a sh!tload of a lot better than his last few starts, no? Yeah. I think so.
CC was relieved by Hughes and Rivera. Game. Set. Match. AJ was followed by Edwar Ramirez, Jonathan Albaladejo, and newbie Michael Dunn. A bit shakier a repertoire, but no damage was done. Gotta love when the kiddies are gettin’r done too.
Offense, hm, let’s just start with the fact that Deej went 0-8 today. How does that even happen? “Paging: Derek Jeter. Paging: Derek Jeter. Don’t give Jim Rice a reason to inflate his already robust ego. That is all.” That still keeps him at 3 away from tying Gehrig at 2,718. The first game was pretty dead until the 8th, where the Yanks extended their incredible tied-post-7th-inning winning streak to 15-0. That game ended at 4-1. Mark Teixeira and Jose Molina had themselves quite a nightcap, Tex hitting two homers and Panda going 3-3 with 2 BBs. The game was blown open in the third when they scored 8 runs. Final score: 11-1. Good stuff.
Okay. What else… hmmm… Brett Gardner has returned after a 6-week stint on the DL. Welcome back BG! We love you, man! Welcome back also to Shelley Duncan and a belated welcome back to our favorite September callups in Frankie Cervelli and Ramiro Pe
ña, of course! =D Good to have those guys back on the squad, fershure. On a sadder note, the Rays took a huge blow below the belt [metaphorically] when CC hit Carlos Pe
ña in the hand [literally] with a pitch, breaking two of his fingers. Talk about a letdown. I legitimately sympathize with the Rays fans out there. I wouldn’t wish that on anybody… except maybe the Red Sox. Just kidding.
Well, with those two wins, that puts our boys 9 games up in the AL East. Absolutely nuts. And now, courtesy of about 23,805,728,957 people on Twitter, the Magic Number is down to 16. The postseason is so close we can taste it, folks. This season has been quite a trip thus far, and it can only get better if one number is in the future – twenty-seven.
Siyonara kids!
AJ Be Burnin’
Game 1 = Great success! All thanks to this guy:
Okay, all Borat allusions aside, AJ Burnett pitched an absolute gem. Seven innings of 2-hit, 1-run (unearned, to be precise) baseball. What more can you ask for from a starter, in all honesty? I mean c’mon, this Rays team is no walk in the park… they’re the reigning AL champions for goodness’ sakes. Thankfully, AJ made it seem otherwise.
In terms of offense, again, what more can you ask for? Not a thing, that’s what! This is what I’ve been asking for since that three-game stretch of 2-1 wins. Four homers: two by my boy Swishalish along with Johnny Damon’s long-awaited 200th-career and Robbie’s 15th of the season. (Speaking of Robbie, what a freakin’ year he’s having! I see a gold glove and at least another 10 homers in his future.) All this ending in an 11-4 blowout. ‘S wonderful… ‘s marvelous. =D
And now I want to watch An American in Paris…
I digress. This win keeps us at 2.5 up on Boston. That definitely ain’t a bad place to be. Hopefully we can build on that in the next two days. That would be smashing to say the least!
‘Til tomorrow, bloggeroos; deuces!
Back on the Winning Track
After being teased with the whiff of a comeback yesterday, the Yankees got the actual job done today. They came back to win the final game of the homestand and were able to fly to Tampa on a high note.
Now, instead of looking backwards, I’ve decided I’m going to look ahead to the pitching matchups vs. the Rays. Why? Because they are nothing if not intense.
I’m sitting here reading scouting reports via yankees.com, and I must say I might be a tad nervous for the next three games.
Monday: AJ Burnett (9-4) vs. James Shields (6-6)
This might be the game I’m most optimistic about. AJ Burnett has been straight up dealing lately, so much so that I think he should moonlight at a Texas Hold ‘Em table. Shields is 1-6 vs. the Yankees in his career, and has had the misfortune of not getting much offensive backup in his starts. Hopefully the Yankees will come on strong early and Burnett will be, well, Burnett.
Tuesday: CC Sabathia (10-6) vs. Scott Kazmir (4-6)
CC’s last outing against the A’s was a good one. He stayed on for 7 innings and only allowed 3 runs. Hopefully the little kinks that were present get ironed out and he puts on a good show. Kazmir scares me. He’s 5-4 against the Yankees, but with an annoying 2.65 ERA. Really now? Hopefully this “tightness” he’s feeling in his arm gets the best of him and the Yankees can pound on him.
Wednesday: Joba Chamberlain (6-2) vs. Matt Garza (4-6)
Joba, Joba, Joba. Where to begin? Well, his last start was stellar to say the least – one run and two hits (we can forget about the 3 walks…) in seven innings. Let’s just hope he stays as good as he has been, especially since he’s been better overall on the road. Garza just beat Roy “Trade ‘im While He’s Hot” Halladay in his last start. Again, really now? That’s just too good, and I don’t like it one bit. Impressive? Yes. Annoying? Quite. He’s 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA against the Yankees. I think it’s time to elevate that ERA a bit. This might turn out to be the most exciting game out of the three, but who knows? Anything can happen.
…I’m just hoping “anything” translates into “three Yankee wins”.
Until next time… !
Perennial Pinstriper
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