Apr

Red Sox barely beat weakened Yankee club

Very short note on this series tonight. I’m mad at the Baseball Gods, and I need to sleep.

But in the “Good News” Category, I think the Yanks â€” and their fans â€” have much to (painfully) smile at after what could have been a disheartening three-game sweep.

Basically, it comes down to pitching. The Yanks lost one game because Mariano had a meltdown. They lost the other two because Jeff Karstens and Chase Wright pitched. Clearly, that won’t be happening for much longer.

But meanwhile, the Red Sox lined up their rotation to throw Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the outcomes, despite two ridiculous standing ovations by fans that I thought knew better, were less than spectacular. The Red Sox threesome of supposed aces combined for 20.2 innings. They gave up 25 hits and 15 earned runs. That’s an ERA of about 6.50.

The Yankees were playing this series without Jorge Posada for much of the weekend, without Hedeki Matsui for much of the weekend and without Johnny Damon for much of Saturday. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I would say that the outcomes of at least two of these games are different with a full lineup and Major League starters.

Take heart, Yankee fans. When the Red Sox come into our house next weekend, we’ll have Kei Igawa and Chien-Ming Wang going on Saturday and Sunday, somebody who probably isn’t Chase Wright on Friday night, and a lineup featuring Hideki Matsui as well as Posada and Damon.

With Mussina not far behind, things could look a lot worse after an infuriating three-game sweep. And aren’t you, dear readers, proud of me? I didn’t once mention Joe Torre’s utter inability to handle in-game bullpen decisions or base-running strategies, two things that clearly came back to haunt the Yanks tonight.

Categories : Game Stories

4 Comments»

Joe Torre says:

April 23, 2007 at 1:40 am

Hi, My name is Joe Torre. Please support my Safe at HomeÂ® Foundation. It teaches there can be nothing more devastating to a child than abuse and violence at home. Home should be a sanctuary, a safe harbor from any storm. Yet for many children, home is a place of danger and fear of an abusive adult.

I know that fear. I lived it as a child. Even in my formative years, I stayed away from home, fearful of his own father, who abused my mother. I became a father myself. I realized that no child should have to live with that fear.

I don’t support violence, so therefore I don’t encouraged my pitchers to retaliate even if my players get hit by a pitch.

I’m soft and lovable manager. I love drinking green tea. It’ so good; I feel so refreshed by drinking it.

Travis G. says:

April 23, 2007 at 1:55 am

Ben, i totally agree. each game could have gone either way. a hit here, an out there, and the Yanks sweep the series.

i think it showed how poor Boston’s pitching is. tonight, if not for 3 line drives right at infielders, the Yanks put up 9 runs.

TheFeed says:

April 23, 2007 at 8:02 am

The way the Yankees pounded their pitching definitely makes for good vibes going into this weekend. Torre, though, never seems to learn from his mistakes with the bullpen and it makes me very worried.

Yankee Fan in Chicago says:

April 23, 2007 at 10:19 am

You know why teams seldom hit three, let alone 4, homers in a row?

B/c usually that 3rd or 4th guy up winds up at first rubbing dirt on a painful bruise in his ribcage or back.

That this did not happen, despite Dice-blah plunking both Arod and Jeter, is a testament to the pussification of the Yanks in recent years under Torre.

Back in the day Paulie O would’ve come in from rf, taken the ball from Chase and hit Lowell or Tek — as if we need an excuse to hit Tek.