A Few Random Thoughts On Bill Mazeroski Day

Bill Mazeroski, standing in front a preserved part of the Forbes Field wall,

October 13, 2010, the 50th Anniversary of his World Series-winning home run.

October 13, 1960 to October 13, 2015: This morning, 55 years to the day after perhaps the greatest game in baseball history, resulting in the only home run ever to win Game 7 of a World Series in the bottom of the 9th inning, I showed my niece Rachel the official highlight film of that game.

(My other niece, Ashley, wasn't interested in watching. The world's least identical twins are now 8.)

The Pittsburgh Pirates led the Yankees 4-0, then the Yankees led 7-4, then the Pirates led 9-7, the Yankees tied it up, and Bill Mazeroski won it, 10-9, and won the World Championship, their 1st in 35 years.

Rachel wanted to know why the Yankees lost. I explained about the way manager Casey Stengel mishandled the pitching staff in that Series, and how he was fired afterward, saying, "I'll never make the mistake of being 70 again." I explained about the bad-hop grounder that hit Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, resulting in the rally that put the Buccos 9-7 up. And I explained that the Pirates were lucky to have survived 16-3, 12-0 and 10-0 blowouts to extend the Series to a Game 7, but also that the Pirates were a very good team, even though it took them 11 years to win another Pennant and World Series.

She wasn't happy that the Yankees lost. Lots of people weren't. The Yankees have won so often that people tend to forget that, as many times as they've been in the postseason, they have a better chance of facing a "Bill Buckner Moment" (Sorry, Bill, but no other name will get people to better grasp what I mean) than any other team. And, until the expanded Playoffs of the 1990s and the shortfalls of the 2000s, 1960 Game 7 was the Yankees' biggest heartbreak moment.

It tends to get brushed aside because they won the next 2 World Series. But ask a Yankee Fan old enough to have watched it, and he'll say it still bothers him, 55 years later.

It doesn't bother me, because I'm not old enough to have watched it as it happened, and because it's hard to begrudge the Pirates' fans this great win, since they've only won the Series 5 times in the 110 times it's been played (every season since 1903 except for 1904 and 1994).

As the nursery rhyme goes, the Pirates are like the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead: When they've been good (as they've been the last 3 seasons), they've been very, very good; but when they've been bad, they've been horrid. So why not accept it when they've been good? After all, they're not the Red Sox. Or the Mets.

Mazeroski, a Hall-of-Famer, an 8-time Gold Glove winner and a 7-time All-Star, is still alive. He recently turned 79, and still gets around, living in the Gulf Coast city of Panama City, Florida.

There are 15 Pirates still alive from the 1960 World Champions: Mazeroski, shortstop Dick Groat, center fielder Bill Virdon, left fielder Bob Skinner, catcher Hal Smith, pinch-runner Joe Christopher, and pitchers Vernon Law, Bob Friend and Elroy Face played in the game; Shortstops Dick "Ducky" Scofield and Dick Barone (who turns 83 today), outfielder Ramon Mejias, catcher Bob Oldis and pitchers Joe Gibbon and Bennie Daniels were also on the Pirate roster.

From the 1960 Yankees, 7 players survive who played in the game: 2nd baseman Bobby Richardson, shortstop Tony Kubek, substitute shortstop Joe DeMaestri, pinch-hitter Hector Lopez, and pitchers Bobby Shantz, Jim Coates and Ralph Terry, who gave up the home run (but won Game 7 with a shutout 2 years later). Not entering the game, but on the roster and still alive: Outfielder Bob Cerv; and pitchers Whitey Ford, Art Ditmar, Luis Arroyo, Eli Grba, Bill Short, Fred Kipp, Johnny James and Hal Stowe. Total, 16. Yogi Berra, of course, died last month.

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Speaking of Pittsburgh: They say "ambivalence" -- having conflicting feelings -- is watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new Cadillac.

Well, today, ambivalence is loving both dogs and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and having Michael Vick lead the Steelers to victory last night over the San Diego Chargers, 24-20 at Jack Murphy Stadium. (Qualcomm Stadium.)

The Steelers have been held up as a "model franchise" and a "class organization" for so long, it's uneasy hearing that their top 2 quarterbacks are Ben Roethlisberger, twice investigated for rape (but never charged due to questionable evidence), and Michael Vick, who served nearly 2 years in prison for running a dogfighting ring. (The seasons in which he was 27 and 28 years old, and should have been at his peak.)

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Speaking of the Mets: Last night, something happened that neither you nor I have ever seen before: A postseason game was played at Citi Field.

The Mets got "revenge" on the now-suspended Chase Utley in the best way possible: They won, beating the Dodgers 13-7, to move within 1 game of winning the National League Division Series.

There was a moment in the 9th when it looked like the Dodgers might come back, but, this time, the Curse of Donnie Baseball was stronger than the Curse of Kevin Mitchell.

One of those curses will strike, either tonight, or in the not-yet-necessary Game 5, and eliminate one of these teams. Right now, it looks like the Mets will move on.

It also looks like the Chicago Cubs will move on, beating their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals. Jake Arrieta, who's been the best pitcher in baseball the last month or so, did not have good stuff last night. But the Cubs hit a postseason record 6 home runs last night: 1 each by Kyle Schwarber, Starlin Castro, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Jorge Soler and Dexter Fowler. Despite a Cardinal rally in the 9th, the Cubs hung on to win, 8-6, and Arrieta was the winning pitcher anyway.

The Toronto Blue Jays extended the Texas Rangers to a 5th game -- and road team has won all 4 games in that series so far -- and the Kansas City Royals did the same to the Houston Astros.

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Speaking of Arrieta: I saw his major league debut live, only I'd forgotten that he was in it. I went to see the Yankees play the Orioles in Baltimore on June 10, 2010. What I remember is Alex Rodriguez jacking them out in batting practice, and yelling, "Hey, Alex: Save some of that for the actual game!" Then he got hurt and had to leave the game after just 1 inning!

That left the Yankees with light-hitting Ramiro Pena batting 4th and playing 3rd base. It wasn't a total loss, as he had a sacrifice bunt in the 6th, but the Yankees lost the game 4-3. Arrieta didn't pitch great, but he got the win.

I'd tried to put that bastard of a game out of my mind, until Squawker Lisa reminded me of it a couple of days ago. As Bob Dylan would say, "Now, if you see Saint Lisa, please tell her thanks a lot! I cannot move, my fingers are all in a knot!"

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Hours until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 8, tonight, at 6:30 PM Eastern Time, against Costa Rica at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Last Saturday night, they seemed to have forged a 2-2 draw and penalties in the CONCACAF Cup Final against arch-rival Mexico, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, outside Los Angeles. But they let in a late winner, 3-2. Someone called it the darkest day in the history of U.S. soccer. I don't know about that, but in some countries, it would have been reason alone to fire the manager. And yet, for all his screwups, Jurgen Klinsmann is still the manager. The next game isn't until November 13, time enough to find a new manager.

Days until the Red Bulls play again: 1, tomorrow night at 7:00, home to Toronto FC.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 3, this Friday night at 7:00, away to J.P. Stevens. Last Friday night, they fell to 1-3 by getting pounded by Stevens' crosstown rivals, Edison. Our 1 win was a 2-point home win over North Brunswick. So far, this season is shaping up like 2013: We went 1-9, our only win being a 2-point home win over North Brunswick. Begging the question, how bad is North Brunswick? The answer is, "Very."

Days until Arsenal play again: 4, this Saturday, 7:45 AM our time, home to Hertfordshire club Watford, who are in the Premier League for the 1st time since 2007.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 4, this Saturday afternoon at 3:30, away to Indiana. They looked like they would upset Number 4 Michigan State at home on Saturday night, but blew it.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: 5, this Sunday afternoon at 1:00, away to the Rangers. They visit the Flyers on the following Thursday night, and make their 1st regular-season visit to Brooklyn to play the Islanders on the Tuesday night after that.

Days until the Red Bulls play another "derby": 5, this Sunday nigh at 7:30, home to the Philadelphia Union. This will be the regular-season finale. The Red Bulls could play D.C. United or the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup Playoffs, but the won't play New York City FC or the Union again before next March.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 26, on Sunday, November 8, at 11:00 AM New York time, at the Emirates Stadium. They've already gone to White Hart Lane and knocked The Scum out of the League Cup.

Days until the next East Brunswick vs. Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 44, on Thursday morning, November 26, at 11:00 AM, at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick. A little over 6 weeks.

Days until the Yankees play again: 175, on Monday, April 4, at 1:00 PM, home to the Houston Astros, the team that knocked them out of this season's Playoffs. Under 6 months.

Days until Euro 2016 begins in France: 242, on Friday, June 10. Under 9 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 297, on Friday, August 5, 2016. Under 10 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez's contract runs out: 750, on November 1, 2017 -- the date on which Game 7 of the World Series would be played that year. Just over 2 years. Yes, I'm including this in the countdown again, because, again, he faded down the stretch and choked in our postseason game. "Redemption of A-Rod," my ass.

Days until the next World Cup, in Russia: 975, on Thursday, June 14, 2018. About 32 months, or under 3 years.

Yankees 1, Harrison Ford 0

UPDATE: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was released in 2023.

I saw the most recent (last?) Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, on its opening night, a Thursday, May 22, 2008. The theater was packed, and a big cheer went up from all of us, myself included, when Indy borrowed a line that his portrayer, Harrison Ford, had used in his other major role, Han Solo from the Star Wars films: "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

Last night, the Yankees played the 2nd and last game of their rain-shortened series against the first-place Baltimore Orioles.

Phil Hughes was the Yankee starter. He's been struggling since late last season. "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

Starting for the Orioles was Jake Arrieta. I had seen his major league debut, last year, on June 10, in Camden Yards, the day Alex Rodriguez was crushing balls in batting practice, but then couldn't field a grounder in the 1st inning, taking himself out of the game, leaving new 3rd baseman Ramiro Pena and his 36 OPS+ in the cleanup spot. Arrieta was, obviously, a pitcher the Yankees had never seen before, and, as is so often the case, when a pitcher like that opposes the Yankees, it's bad news.

And here he was again, having now pitched twice against the Yankees, going 2-0 with an ERA of 3.65 against the Yankees. "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

Hughes, again, did not have it, getting shelled for 5 runs and not getting out of the 5th inning. It was 5-0 Baltimore in the 5th, and Bartolo Colon, whom most of us thought was washed up, was coming in to relieve. "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

Well, if this game had been attended by a few thousand English soccer fans, they would have had a song for the Orioles: "Five-nil, and you fucked it up! Five-nil, and you fucked it up!"

Colon pitched brilliantly in the 5th, 6th and 7th, and into the 8th. Joba Chamberlain took over from there and got us through the 9th. Hughes may still be struggling, but Colon and Joba are back.

The Yankees clawed back. They scored 1 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th. In the bottom of the 9th, it was 5-4 Baltimore, and Jorge Posada stepped to the plate. First pitch: BOOM! A tremendous blast for a tie ballgame and his 5th home run of the season, the 266th of his career.

Then Curtis Granderson doubled. The winning run was on 2nd with nobody out! The Yankees were going to win!

Cue Lee Corso: "Not so fast, my friend!" Russell Martin failed to bunt Grandy over to 3rd, and then he and Brett Gardner struck out. Then Derek Jeter (1-for-5, a step closer to 3,000 hits) showed his 2010 form and hit an easy grounder to short. The Yankees only managed to tie it, not win it.

And when Mariano Rivera comes in with the game tied, it doesn't usually work out well. "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

I need not have worried: Mo was fine, and in the bottom of the 10th, the Yankees got to 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly to right to score A-Rod. Cue John Sterling: "Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeee Yankees win!"

Yes, Swish got the "walkoff pie" from A.J. Burnett. I think Swish enjoys that particular celebration more than anybody.

The Yankees beat the Orioles, and they beat some long odds. What's that, Harrison Ford, you have something else to say? "Never tell me the odds!"

Me to the Yankees: "I love you!"

The Yankees to me: "I know."

WP: Rivera, 1-0 (obviously, there was no save in the game). LP: Michael Gonzalez, 0-1.

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Still, there is reason to be concerned about Hughes, whose ERA is now a shocking 13.94. And there appears to be no injury here. In addition, Gardner is now batting .150; Posada, in spite of last night's heroics, .189; Granderson, .194; Swisher, in spite of last night's heroics, .211; Mark Teixeira, after a hot beginning to the season, .225; Jeter, .233.

In spite of all this, with last night's win, the Yankees move into 1st place, at 7-4, 1 game ahead of the Orioles, 1 1/2 (2 in the loss column) ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, 3 1/2 (4 in the LC) ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays (still struggling despite last night's walkoff win), and 5 ahead of the Boston Red Sox -- at 2-9, The Scum have the worst record in the majors.

The best record in the majors? The Colorado Rockies are 10-2... after sweeping yesterday's rain-forced doubleheader with the Mets at Pity Field.

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The best record in the American League is 9-3 and belongs to the Texas Rangers, the team that beat the Yankees in last season's AL Championship Series. Fortunately, the Rangers will be without the injured Josh Hamilton, who was quite the Yankee-killer last October. Tonight at 7, on YES, Ivan Nova vs. Matt Harrison. Tomorrow afternoon at 1, on YES, Freddy Garcia vs. Derek Holland. Sunday night at 8, on ESPN, CC Sabathia vs. Alexi Ogando.

What a minute, Alexi who? (Checks Baseball-Reference.com for his game logs... ) Uh-oh, he's practically a rookie, and has never faced the Yankees before! Aaaaaaaand, it's an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game! You know what that combo means? "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

But I did a little more checking and, yes, he has faced the Yankees, 2 games in last year's ALCS, and allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 2 innings with no decisions or saves. So we do have some material (against us) to work with.

Today is April 15, Jackie Robinson Day. MLB celebrates this anniversary as usual, and the slogan this year, meant to emphasize that Robinson's victory was a victory for all people of all races, is, "I Am 42."

Well, next year, I will be 42. Years old, that is. For now, I'm 41... But that doesn't make me Tom Seaver. But I could be the Yankees' Number 41. After all, it's currently vacant.

Today, on the Yankees' official website, all players are listed as Number 42, which suggests that they will all be wearing the number that, except for the players then wearing it (and Mariano is still the last one who can), was retired for all of baseball in Robinson's memory in 1997.

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Today I'm debuting the Yankee Milestone Counter: Jeter's hits, and how many he needs to reach 3,000; Rivera's saves, and how many he needs to break the all-time record; A-Rod's home runs, and how many he needs to break the all-time record.

When Jeter gets to 3,000, I'll start a new count for A-Rod's drive to 3,000 hits, as he has a pretty good chance of getting there as well. Not this season, but barring a medical or ethical calamity, he will get it.

Jeter 2936 64
Rivera 564 37
A-Rod 617 146

Oh yeah, since the Yankees are back in first place, I can put up the Magic Number to clinch the AL Eastern Division again.

Magic Number 151

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Days until the Red Bulls play again: 1, tomorrow night, at home, against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Days until the next North London Derby: 5, this Wednesday, at White Hart Lane. First, Arsenal must play Liverpool, this Sunday at New Highbury.

Days until the Red Bulls play another "derby": 6, this coming Thursday night, against their biggest long-term rivals, D.C. United, at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. They next play the team that should be their biggest rivals, due to the whole New York-New England thing, the New England Revolution, on Saturday, June 11, at Red Bull Arena. And they next play their closest rivals, the Philadelphia Union, on Thursday night, October 20, at Red Bull Arena.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 28, on May 13 -- a Friday the 13th -- at Yankee Stadium II.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 61 (estimated to come on June 14 -- less than 2 months).

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 140, on Thursday, September 1, home to North Carolina Central. Just 20 weeks.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 148, on Friday night, September 9, and the opponent and location are TBD. Just 21 weeks. Or, if you prefer, less than 5 months.

Days until the Devils play another local rival: As yet unknown. The next season's schedule hasn't been released yet, save for the season-openers at the neutral but hockey-loving site of Helsinki, Finland, games that will include the Rangers. That will be on October 7. Figure the Devils' season opener will be the next day, which is 177 days from now. Figure they'll probably play a local rival, either the Rangers, the Islanders, or the Flyers soon thereafter, maybe a week after, so, tentatively, I'm going to say the number of days is: 184. A little over 6 months.

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 211.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 222.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 365 (estimated). Just 1 year, unless new owner Mikhail Prokhorov decides he'll stay in the Prudential Center, the great new arena he's already got.

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 470.

Days until Alex Rodriguez collects his 3,000th career hit: 779 (estimated).

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 700th career home run: 901 (estimated).

Days until Super Bowl XLVIII at the Meadowlands: 1,024.

Days until Alex Rodriguez hits his 756th career home run to surpass all-time leader Hank Aaron: 1,521 (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: 1,635 (estimated).

Yankees - A-Rod + Pena Batting Cleanup = Loss

Yeah, I did it. I went down to Baltimore yesterday. I'll give a critique of the experience in a separate post. This is solely about the game itself.

I get into Oriole Park at Camden Yards early enough to see the Yankees take batting practice. And I'm in Section 338, in the first row of the upper deck, right over the plate, perfect view if not for the railing in front of me. (But it has to be that tall for safety reasons, so credit to the Orioles for that.) And there's A-Rod, crushing the ball. I finally had to yell, not that he was likely to have heard me from there, "Hey, Alex! Save some of that for the game, will ya?"

He didn't. Bottom of the 1st inning, Adam Jones hits a grounder that a good third baseman could have gotten without much trouble. Here's A-Rod's account, from Yankees.com:

"Not only did I not make a play, it was a routine play. It's a play you make 10 out of 10 times. I just locked up. At that point I pointed to him. I had warned him about 15 minutes before the game to make sure he was ready."

A play you make 10 out of 10 times? Obviously not. I guess they didn't teach A-Rod math at the University of Miami. Unless, in this case, "you" refers to who he's talking to. Well, if he was talking to a reporter, probably not. If he was talking to me, you gotta be kidding. But then, I am not a man frequently referred to as "the best player in baseball."

"Him," to whom Alex was pointing, was his 3rd base backup, Ramiro Pena. Now, Pena is a good fielder who can play almost any position. You want someone like him on your team.

What you don't want is Ramiro Pena batting 4th. You want your lineup to look something like Jeter-Swisher-Teixeira-Rodriguez-Cano-Posada. Jeter-Swisher-Teixeira-Pena-Cano-Posada looks very different. (Well, Yankee bench coach Tony Pena, no relation, was a good hitter in his day, but he wasn't a cleanup hitter.)

So not only did A-Rod let in the 1st run of what turned out to be a 1-run Yankee loss, but he didn't even come to bat, sinced the Yankees went out 1-2-3 in the top of the 1st.

Regular catcher Jorge Posada, still working his way back from injury, was the DH again. Therefore, essentially, the Yankees' starting lineup had Ramiro Pena, Marcus Thames and Chad Moeller (shown in the photo above), in place of, respectively, Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner and Nick Johnson.

Even against the Orioles, who got off to one of the worst first 2 1/2 months in memory (but still far better than their hideous 1988 when they lost their first 21 games), and even in Camden Yards, where almost anyone can get a lucky pitch and hit one out, that could still have been enough to win.

But A.J. Burnett, 11-2 lifetime against the Birds and 5-0 in that ballpark, didn't have his good stuff. He was great in innings 2, 3, 4 and 7, but struggled in innings 1, 5 and 6.

To make matters worse, the Yankees engaged in their nasty habit of flopping against a pitcher they've never seen before, especially one making his major league debut. Jake Arrieta wasn't especially sharp, but when the Yankees took a 3-2 lead in the 3rd on Curtis Granderson's triple, Arrieta shook it off and pitched pretty well until getting into a jam, and then impressively working out of it, in the 6th. Whatever still has to be done for the 24-year-old Missourian to become a good major league pitcher, it's not confidence, and it's not poise. Whether he's going to make it is not clear. What is clear is that he's ready to try.

It's a little fitting that he's from outside St. Louis, about 75 miles south of Busch Stadium. The Orioles had been the St. Louis Browns before moving to Baltimore in 1954. Maybe Arrieta can be a big part of the Orioles' rebirth as a respectable baseball business. Which they currently are not: A class organization, yes; but a respectable baseball team, no. More on that in a subsequent post.

(UPDATE: In 2013, Arrieta was traded to the Chicago Cubs. In 2014, he became one of the best pitchers in baseball. In 2016, he helped the Cubs win the World Series. Think how much better the Orioles would have been from 2012 onward if they'd had that kind of starting from Arrieta.)

Weird phenomenon: Not wanting Pena to bat and kill a 7th-inning rally, Joe Girardi pinch-hit for him with Francisco Cervelli, who has hit rather well as Posada's backup. It didn't work. But this was the first time I can ever remember a team having all 3 catchers on their roster in the game at the same time: Posada was the DH, Moeller was catching, and Cervelli was pinch-hitting and remained in the game to take over for Pena at 3B.

The Yankees threatened in each of the last 4 innings, but to no avail. Damaso Marte and (to my surprise and, well, relief) Chan Ho Park pitched superbly in relief of Burnett. But the Orioles won the game, 4-3, ending a 10-game losing streak against the Yankees.

The crowd was announced at 27,064, although I don't think it was inflated this time. It was about 19,000 the night before and 23,000 the night before that. It wasn't that long ago that you couldn't get a seat at Camden Yards, especially for a Yankee visit. Now, you can just walk up to the box office and pretty much sit wherever you can afford.

The Yankees did get a bit of luck, though: Tampa Bay lost to Toronto, so the Yanks remain just 2 games out of 1st in the loss column. And the Red Sox? As they would say in English soccer, "Five-nil, and you fucked it up!" Three Indian errors led to 4 Sox runs in the bottom of the 1st, and they extended it to 5-0 in the 2nd, but the Tribe chipped away, and took a 6-5 lead in the 6th. But the Sox took the lead back and were up 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th. Enough for them to win? In the immortal words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!" Russell Branyan singled home 2, and Cleveland walked off with an 8-7 win that could be a huge lift for them, and a gut-punch to the gutless Boston Scum. (Thank you, Indians and Jays.)

And the Mets only got a split of their rain-forced doubleheader with the resurgent San Diego Padres. The Great Johan Santana started the opener, rookie Jon Niese the nightcap. Guess which pitcher threw a 1-hit shutout. Guess which one lost. Of course: The Great Johan Santana lost, and Niese threw the near-gem.

(Incidentally, you may hear the phrase "pitched/threw/tossed a gem." No. In baseball, a "gem" is a no-hitter. Not a near-no-hitter. Unless, of course, you're Armando Galarraga. How is it that this is the first time I've mentioned the stolen perfect game in this blog? Bud Selig, you shameless slug, give him credit for what he earned!)

So, I got back home at around 2:30 in the morning, turned on WFAN, and heard Joe Girardi talk about how A-Rod has had difficulties with "tightness in his groin."

This is like the scene in the 1st season of Friends where, during the Christmas season, instead of being hired to play Santa Claus, the department store where Joey works makes him put on an elf costume, and Chandler sees this and his brain overloads: "Too... many... jokes... must... mock... Joey!" (Sadly, while I found many references to this on the Internet, I couldn't find a clip. Apparently, most of the "Joey highlights" on YouTube are from later seasons, after the show jumped about 50 sharks.)

So, A-Rod has groin problems. Too... many... jokes... must... mock... Alex!

The fact that it was blamed on the artificial turf in Toronto -- where the Stripper Incident and the Ha! Incident took place -- makes it even more ridiculous.

A-Rod has now helped the Yankees win a World Series, and all is forgiven. But I will never, ever understand him.

Incidentially, this is not the longest roadtrip I've ever made to see the Yankees play. Far from it: As far as American League opponents go (excluding Interleague games with the Mets and Phillies), Baltimore is the Yankees shortest roadtrip, an even 200 miles from Yankee Stadium to Camden Yards (160 miles from my home base).

My longest trip thus far has been to Cleveland, almost 500 miles, and lucky for me they held on to win a tight one (in 2007). I've also seen them play in Toronto, and lose. Twice (2005 and 2006). I've also seen the Yankees win at Shea (although I have yet to see an Interleague game at Citi Field), the Vet, Fenway (all three of those in 1999) and at Camden Yards (in 2004), and seen them lose to the Washington Nationals at RFK (that infamous 8-2, 9-8 game in 2006).

The Yankees next visit Baltimore on September 17, 18 and 19. I am considering going again. But they'd better win.