Then came last night's game. A disgrace.
But not for the reason you might think.
On Saturday, CC Sabathia (16-6) lost for the 2nd straight time after 8 straight wins, with The Scum scoring 3 runs in the 3rd and 5 in the 4th. Once longtime (Angels and Red Sox) nemesis John Lackey (10-8) got out of the way, the Yankees got to within 7-4 in the top of the 8th, but Hector Noesi, who started his career off so well earlier this year, had nothing again. Red Sox 10, Yankees 4.
So whoever won last night's game was going to end the series in 1st place. The Scum scored a run in the bottom of the 2nd, but that was all Freddy Garcia allowed. In the top of the 5th, Russell Martin singled, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.
In Fenway Park, such a run can loom very large, and that one did, especially when you consider what happened next: Eduardo Nunez hit a home run to tie it, 1-1.
Joe Girardi sent Boone Logan out to pitch the top of the 6th. What are the odds that Logan was going to pitch well at Fenway against The Scum twice in one series? Not good, and he did not follow up his one-batter, yet winning-pitcher performance on Friday night. The big fat lying cheating bastard David Ortiz drew a walk, and Carl Crawford singled him to 2nd. Girardi saw enough, and brought in Cory Wade, who got out of the jam.
No, Logan being brought into such a game is not the disgrace I'm talking about, and it's certainly not the disgrace you're likely thinking of.
In the top of the 7th, Super Punk Josh Beckett gave way to Matt Albers. With 2 outs, Brett Gardner hit a home run over the bullpens and into the Fenway bleachers. Must have been about 420 feet. Probably the longest home run of his career. And had the lead held, it would have been the biggest hit of his career. It was 2-1 Yankees.
The next batter was Derek Jeter. Albers hit him.
Since this was the Captain of the Yankees getting hit by a Red Sox pitcher, right after a Yankee had hit a home run, and it was at Fenway Park, home plate umpire Tim Timmons... did nothing. He did not throw Albers out of the game for an obvious purpose pitch. Nor did he issue so much as a warning.
Had this game been at Yankee Stadium, the plate umpire would have... done nothing. Why? Because the Red Sox are always allowed to get away with this crap. Always. Far be it for an umpire to do his job on national television!
That was the disgrace. The Red Sox cheated again. And the powers that be let them get away with it again.
Just once, I'd like to see a Red Sox pitcher hit a Yankee batter on purpose, and get thrown out of the game for it. A subsequent fine and suspension would be a mere bonus. I want to see the toss happen.
It never will. Not as long as Allan H. Selig Jr. is Commissioner. Or as long as the Commissioner is anyone who sees the Boston Red Sox as a cash cow, rather than as the lying cheating bastard Scum that they are.
Bottom of the 9th, Mariano Rivera to close it out. If there's one team that has Mo's number, it's the Red Sox. By the same token, if there's one team that has Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon's number, it's the Yankees. The reasons are the same: Familiarity.
Mo let the leadoff hitter, Marco Scutaro, double off the Green Monster. Jacoby Ellsbury sacrificed him to 3rd, and Dustin Pedroia hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
That Mo, the greatest relief pitcher ever, allowed The Scum to outdo him again, would seem to be a disgrace. But it might not have happened if Timmons had done the right thing and thrown Albers out of the game, forcing the Sox to waste another pitcher.
Instead, Daniel Bard came in to pitch the 10th, and went 1-2-3. Girardi sent Phil Hughes out to pitch the bottom of the 10th -- suggesting that Hughes, rather than Garcia, A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon or Ivan Nova, is the odd man out in what was shaping up to be a 6-man rotation -- and while he got the dangerous Kevin Ewwww-kilis out to lead off the inning, the big fat lying cheating bastard doubled off him. To set up a double play, Girardi had Hughes walk Crawford intentionally. It didn't work: Josh Reddick singled home Ortiz's pinch-runner, Darnell McDonald.
Red Sox 3, Yankees 2.
The Yankees outlasted Super Punk, got home runs from unlikely sources (shades of Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone), and took a lead into the 9th, a 9th that was unlikely to have the big fat lying cheating bastard come to bat.
They still couldn't get it done. They had chances to make sure that a single run in the 9th would have meant very little. But they couldn't get it done.
The Yankees return from Scum City 2-10 against The Scum this season, and a full game, regularly and in the loss column, behind The Scum -- although still leading the Wild Card race.
This is not enough. More must be done.
The Yankees have today off, then begin a 6-game homestand, 3 against the Whatever They're Calling Themselves This Year Angels of Anaheim, 3 against the Tampa Bay Strays.
The next series against The Scum is in 3 weeks, a midweek series at Fenway.
The Yankees must take it in order to win the American League Eastern Division. We saw last year (in The Scum's favor), and the year before (in our favor) what kind of a difference winning the Division makes against winning only the Wild Card.
Because we know The Scum will continue to cheat -- steroids, hit batsmen, whatever -- and we know that the baseball establishment will continue to let them get away with everything. Or do you really think Manny Ramirez would have been forced into retirement if he'd been caught using steroids again if he were still on the Boston payroll? Of course not!
*
Jeter hits 3029 DONE
Rivera saves 588 13
A-Rod homers 626 137
A-Rod hits 2762 238
*
Days until Arsenal play again in a competitive match: 6, this Saturday, August 13, against Newcastle United at St. James Park, in the opening of the 2011-12 Premier League season.
Days until the Red Bulls play again: 6, this Saturday, home to the Chicago Fire. Having come home from London with the Emirates Cup did not help them this past Saturday night, a 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake -- a good team, but a bad effort against them.
Days until the Red Bulls play another "derby": 12, on Saturday, August 20, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Under 2 weeks. And they next play their CLOSEST rivals, the Philadelphia Union, in their regular season finale, on Thursday night, October 20, at Red Bull Arena.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 22, on Tuesday night, August 30, at Fenway Park.
Days until Rutgers plays football again: 24, on Thursday, September 1, home to North Carolina Central. Just over 3 weeks.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 31, on Friday night, September 9, at Monroe. Just 1 month.
Days until the next North London Derby: 54, on Saturday, October 1, at White Hart Lane. Under 8 weeks.
Days until the Devils play another local rival: 61, on Saturday, October 8, at 7:00 PM, in their season opener, at home, against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Prudential Center. Just 2 months. The first game against the New York Islanders is a day-after-Thanksgiving matinee, Friday, November 25, at the Nassau Coliseum. The first game against The Scum isn't until Tuesday night, December 20, at the Prudential.
Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 96. Under 100 days.
Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 108.
Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 254, on Wednesday night, April 18, 2012, against the Chicago Bulls, at the Prudential Center. Under 9 months before New Jersey no longer has an NBA team.
Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 354 (July 27). Under 1 year.
Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 701 (estimated -- adjusted for his current injury). Under 2 years.
Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 832 (estimated).
Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 909 (tentatively scheduled for February 2, 2014, although it could end up being moved back a week or 2).
Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,443 (estimated).
Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 763rd career home run to become as close to a "real" all-time leader as we are likely to have: 1,557 (estimated).
2 comments:
Uncle Mike, please. Do you really think in an important one-run game, Albers is going to put the more-feable, right-handed Jeter on base to pitch to lefty MVP-candidate Granderson? Furthermore, it wouldn't have mattered if Albers had been tossed -- because Francona pulled him immediately to get the lefty in!
Of course he's going to hit Jeter. This is what the Red Sox do. Because they KNOW they can get away with it. It doesn't matter if Francona pulled him: The message had to be sent by the umpires that this bullshit is not going to be tolerated anymore.
That message will not be sent by the umpires as long as the current baseball establishment cares more about the money that can be made by the Red Sox winning than they do about the integrity of the game.
And anybody who says otherwise is a goddamned liar or a goddamned fool. Which one are you, Gregg?
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