Hanging On, Barely; Gilmar, 1930-2013

The Yankees needed to make a statement against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg this week. They failed.

Yes, they won the finale in dramatic fashion, but that was hardly enough. The Rays are battling it out with the Boston Red Sox for the AL East title, and the loser of that race will almost certainly get one of the AL Wild Card berths in the Playoffs. So the Yankees needed to win at least 2 out of 3.

Hiroki Kuroda started the Friday night game, and allowed 3 runs in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, and 1 each in the 4th and the 5th. Instead of Hiro being a hero, the Daily News' back page called him MEATBALL HIRO.

For all Kuroda has done for us the last 2 years, he didn't deserve that. But this is 2 bad starts in a row, and he's no kid, and I'm starting to get worried that he may be running out of gas, just when we need the Yankees to pick it up.

The Yankees scored a run in the 1st and another in the 6th, but that was it.  Rays 7, Yankees 2.  WP: Chris Archer (7-5).  No save.  LP: Kuroda (11-9).

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CC Sabathia, another guy who's logged a lot of innings, started the Saturday game, against David Price: Ace vs. ace.

The duel lived up to its billing for 4 innings, before the Yankees got on the board in the top of the 5th. Alex Rodriguez (yeah, him again, Bill Madden) led off with a single, followed by another by Vernon Wells. Curtis Granderson struck out, but Mark Reynolds singled to short center -- to short to score A-Rod. Austin Romine worked a bases-loaded walk.  Ichiro Suzuki grounded to 2nd to force in another run. 2-0 Yankees.

But in the bottom of the 6th, CC allowed a Sam Fuld single, a Desmond Jennings walk, a Ben Zobrist double and an Evan Longoria single to give the Rays a 3-2 lead. And, in the 8th, off Preston Claiborne, Longoria, who (as John Sterling noted on WCBS) always seems to hit home runs off the Yankees, did it again. The Yanks went out meekly, with the Rays' pen getting out the last 8 batters.

Rays 4, Yankees 2.  WP: Price (8-5).  SV: Fernando Rodney (30).  LP: Sabathia (11-11).

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Then came yesterday's game, which looked like a lost cause. The Yankees got on the board in the top of the 4th, thanks to Robinson Cano's 24th home run of the season. In the top of the 6th, Ichiro led off with a single, and Cano doubled him home. But in the bottom of that inning, Longoria homered again, this time off Ivan Nova, who was once again putting together a very good start before that. That tied the game 2-2.

Nova pitched into the 7th, relieved by Shawn Kelley, then David Robertson, who pitched the 9th. When both teams went 1-2-3 in the 9th, we went to extra innings. A-Rod, pinch-hitting for Chris Stewart, singled to lead off the 10th, and Brett Gardner bunted him over, but Ichiro grounded into a double play to end it.

The bottom of the 10th was, clearly, an attempt by Yankee manager Joe Girardi to make my head explode, because he used both Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan.

Well, Joba struck out Yunel Escobar to start the inning, but then walked Jose Molina -- whom you'll remember as the replacement for Jorge Posada for much of the 2008 season, and who hit the last home run at the old Yankee Stadium (making it somewhat appropriate that Jorge hit the first homer in the new one). Joba walked Molina, and, as he is slow and fat, was replaced by Fuld. Girardi pulled Joba for Binder Boy Boone, and I prepared for the worst.

Logan got Jose Lobaton to ground into a double play to end the inning.

And then ended up as the winning pitcher! With 1 out in the top of the 11th, Alfonso Soriano doubled, and stole 3rd, and Granderson hit one to center, a sacrifice fly to get him home. Mariano Rivera came on and went 1-2-3, and the Yankees had salvaged the finale.

Yankees 3, Rays 2. WP: Logan (4-2). SV: Rivera (38). LP: Jamey Wright (2-2).

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There are now 5 weeks left in the regular season, and the AL East standings are as follows:

Boston 77-55
Tampa Bay 74-54, 1 behind
Baltimore 70-59, 5 1/2
New York 69-61, 7
Toronto 58-73, 18 1/2

In the loss column, Tampa Bay leads Boston by 1, Baltimore by 5, the Yankees by 7, and Toronto by 19.

Here's the Wild Card standings. Remember, the top 2 qualify:

Tampa Bay 74-54
Oakland 72-57
Cleveland 71-59, 1 1/2 behind
Baltimore 70-59, 2
New York 69-61, 3 1/2
Kansas City 65-64, 7

Detroit currently leads the AL Central, and Texas the AL West. The other AL teams -- Seattle, Anahiem, Toronto, Minnesota, Chicago and Houston (the Astros have lost 86 games with over a month to go, on top of the 106 they lost last year and 107 the year before) -- are out of the race.

The Yankees head to Toronto, and they've played those pesky Blue Jays pretty well this year. In fact, if it wasn't for games against the Jays and the Minnesota Twins, the Yanks would be under .500.

And Derek Jeter is expected to be activated from the Disabled List.  o that's good news.

There are 32 games left to play. 7 of these (4 home, September 5-8; 3 away, September 13-15) are against the Red Sox. Only 3 (September 24-26, all at home) are against the Rays.

In order to have any hope of winning the Division, the Yankees will need to take at least 7 of those 10.

There are 3 left against the Rays. There are 7 left (3 home, August 30-September 1; 4 away, September 9-12) against the Baltimore Orioles. None left against the Oakland Athletics or the Cleveland Indians.

In order to have hope of winning the Wild Card, instead of the Division, the Yankees will need to take at least 7 of those 10.

In the cases of either of those 10, they will also, of course, have to take as many of the other 22 as they can.

Stay tuned. For the moment, the Yankees are hanging on.  Barely.

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Speaking of barely, I have one thing to say about Miley Cyrus: You CAN stop. And you should.

The Mets got swept by the Detroit Tigers. They allowed 7 runs in the 9th inning yesterday, to lose 11-3. The Tigers got 41 hits in the 3 games.

Hey, Met fans: Do you still like Interleague Play?

The Philadelphia Phillies had a weird game on Saturday night, home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Starting pitcher Ethan Martin didn't get out of the 1st inning, and they were down 6-0 in the bottom of the 5th. They got to within 7-3 by the 6th, and then tied it in the 8th. But the game kept going and going and going. The last 2 pitchers they used were position players, Casper Wells and John McDonald.  McDonald, normally a shortstop, had never pitched in the majors before. Wells, normally a left fielder, had, once before, earlier this year for the Chicago White Sox.  nyway, the D-backs scored 5 runs in the 18th inning to win, 12-7, making Wells the losing pitcher.

The Giants played the Jets this weekend. The Jets won in overtime, 24-21.

In the words of the immortal Billy Martin, "It's an exhibition game, George! It doesn't mean anything!"

Well, here's what it means for the Jets: Mark Sanchez, supposed to be the starting quarterback, got hurt. He may not be able to play in the regular-season opener.

Here's what it means for the Giants: Eli Manning had a bad game, leading to thoughts that he might now be in decline (yes, he's no kid anymore), and Stevie Brown tore up his knee, so he's out for the season.

With players now bigger than ever, and faster than ever, resulting in collisions that are harder than ever, resulting in more and worse injuries than ever, I'm starting to wonder if American football is even worth it anymore.

Of course, there's that other kind of football... and, as an Arsenal fan, it is now #TottenhamHateWeek!

I'll have more on that later in the week.

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Gilmar is dead. You may not know his name, or even his nickname, unless you've studied Brazil before Mexico '70.

Gylmar dos Santos Neves -- why the spelling was changed to "Gilmar," I don't know -- was born on August 22, 1930 in Santos, São Paulo state, Brazil. A goalkeeper, he starred for local sides Corinthians and Santos, the latter with Pelé in front of the team.

He won São Paulo state championships in 1951, 1952, 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968. He won Brazil's newly-established national championship, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, in 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968. He won the Copa Libertadores, South America's continental title (their version of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League), in 1962 and 1963.

He played on the Brazil teams that won the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden and 1962 and Chile, and also on the 1966 team at the World Cup in England. He is the only starting goalkeeper on 2 World Cup winners.

He participated in the 50th Anniversary celebrations of Brazil's 1st World Cup win in 2008, and died on August 25, 3 days after his 83rd birthday.

UPDATE: His final resting place is not publicly known.

New Jersey's NBA Goodbye Is Set; Dr. Sócrates, 1954-2011

And another awkward goodbye for sports in this area: The revised, post-lockout NBA schedule has been released. The Knicks open at Madison Square Garden on December 25 -- you may know it as "Christmas Day" -- at noon against the Boston Celtics. These are, of course, the only two remaining 1946 charter members of the NBA still playing in their original cities.

Also playing on Christmas Day (all times Eastern):

* 2:30, a rematch of last season's (and the 2006 season's) NBA Finals, the Miami heat at the Dallas Mavericks.

* 5:00, the two most successful franchises of the last 25 years, the Chicago Bulls at the Los Angeles Lakers.

* 8:00, two of the up-and-coming teams of the league, the Orlando Magic at the Oklahoma City Thunder.

* 10:30, the Los Angeles Clippers at the Golden State Warriors in Oakland -- two teams that could have been arch-rivals, but instead are notorious underachievers.

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The Nets open the next day, at the Verizon Center in D.C., against the Washington Wizards. Formerly known as the Washington Bullets. And the Capital Bullets. And the Baltimore Bullets. And the Chicago Zephyrs. And the Chicago Packers. They may the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim look like a paragon of nomenclatural stability.

The last Nets home opener in New Jersey will be the next day, December 27, against the Atlanta Hawks at the Prudential Center.

The Nets' New Jersey finale -- barring the Playoffs, but who's kidding who -- will be on Monday night, April 23, at the Prudential Center. Somewhat appropriately, it will be against the team to whom the New York Nets had to sell Julius Erving just to get into the NBA in 1976, the Philadelphia 76ers. Instantly, they went from being the best team in the ABA to being the worst team in the NBA, moved to the Rutgers Athletic Center in 1977, changing their name to the New Jersey Nets, to the Meadowlands in 1981, and to the Prudential a year ago.

The last day of the NBA regular season will be Thursday, April 26, and the Nets will play their last game as the New Jersey Nets at the Air Canada Centre against the Toronto Raptors. Come November 2012, it will be home games at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as the Brooklyn Nets.

Damn you, Bruce Ratner. R.I.P. New Jersey Nets, 1977-2012.

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Sócrates is dead. No, not the ancient Greek philosopher. Well, yeah, him, too, but he's been dead for 2,410 years. I mean the Brazilian soccer legend.

Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was born on February 19, 1954 in Belém, in the State of Pará, in northern Brazil, far from the huge cities of the country's south, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. He began playing professionally as a midfielder for Botagfogo-SP Ribeirão Preto in the State of São Paulo -- not to be confused with Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas (football and rowing), of Rio, one of the most-supported clubs in the world.

In 1978, he signed São Paulo club Corinthians, and he became a legend. He led them to the São Paulo State Championship in 1979, 1982 and 1983. In the 1982 World Cup in Spain, wearing the Number 8, he was the biggest star on a Brazil team that thrilled the world with its stylish play, much as the 1970 Brazil team led by Pelé did. Sócrates was their main playmaker, a two-footed shooter known for his white headband, and for making blind heel passes to teammates like Zico, Éder Assis and Roberto Dinamite.

As the man himself said, in words that would be agreed upon by Dutch visionary Johan Cruijff and Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, "Beauty comes first. Victory is second. What matters is joy."

However, this was the era of the World Cup being decided by 2 group stages, and, despite a goal by Sócrates, Italy knocked them out thanks to a hat trick by Juventus star Paolo Rossi -- who titled his memoir I Made Brazil Cry. That Brazil team is often called the best team not to make a World Cup Final.

Sócrates also played for Brazil in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico (now wearing Number 18 and, like Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon at the same time, making his white headband iconic), but they lost to France on penalties in the Quarterfinal.

The Italians must have seen something in Sócrates, because in 1984, he was signed by Florence-based Fiorentina. But he may have gotten homesick, because he returned to Brazil after just 1 season, playing for Rio's Flamengo (winning the Rio State Championship in 1986) and São Paulo's Santos (Pelé's old club), before concluding his career in 1989 with the club with whom he started, Botafogo-SP.

He later managed them, and also Ecuador's leading club, LDU Quito, and Rio club Cabofriense. In 2004, at 50, he made a 1-game (12-minute, as it turned out) comeback with Yorkshire side Garforth Town.

His father was a prominent civil servant, and so, unlike most Brazilian boys of his generation, Sócrates was able to go to college. He went to medical school, and became a practicing physician, and was known in the public imagination as Doctor Sócrates.

I know: It sounds like the name of a comic-book supervillain. But he was a hero. When the Brazilian military coup happened in 1964, he was 10 years old, and saw his father get rid of the thing he valued the most: His large book collection.

Knowing that wasn't right, Sócrates spent much of his soccer career also engaging in political agitation, founding the Corinthians Democracy movement (possibly in tribute to the ancient Greeks, inventors of democracy and originators of the names both he and his club bore). On March 15, 1985, an elected government took office, and Sócrates and the others who opposed the military dictatorship were vindicated.

Soccer writer Adrian North compared him to one of his political heroes, Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, who was no hero: "Che believed to change the world, he needed a voice and a gun. Socrates believed he could change his country by amplifying his voice through football."

"I smoke. I drink. I think."

Ernest Hemingway would have loved him.

So would Jack Kerouac, until the subject turned to politics.

Ironically, this brilliant man who was also a physician smoked, and it led to a few ailments that combined to lead to his death 3 days ago. He was only 57, and left behind a wife and 6 children.

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil: "On the field, with his talent and sophisticated touches, he was a genius. Off the field... he was active politically, concerned with his people and his country."

Ronaldo (the bald Brazilian, not the gel-haired Portuguese): "Sad start to the day. Rest in peace Dr. Socrates."

Paolo Rossi: "His death is piece of our history that's broken off and gone away."

We call our sports stars "heroes." Doctor Sócrates really was a hero, for his country and for the world, for his time and for all time.