Game 162: The End
By
(Scott Halleran/Getty)
So this is it. The final game of the season. The Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs a few days ago and both Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte have had their grand send-offs. All of the important stuff has already been addressed, so this game is the epitome of meaningless. I expect a lot of quick at-bats by both teams since everyone wants to get home for the winter. Vacation’s a waitin’. Here is the final lineup of 2013:
- 3B Eduardo Nunez
- C J.R. Murphy
- CF Curtis Granderson
- LF Vernon Wells
- 1B Mark Reynolds
- DH Travis Hafner
- 2B David Adams
- SS Brendan Ryan
- RF Zoilo Almonte
And on the mound is left-hander David Huff, at least for a little while. A parade of September call-up relievers will follow him to close out the year.
More heat, more humidity, and more rain in Houston. The retractable roof at Minute Maid Park has gotten a workout this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10pm ET and can be seen on YES. Enjoy.
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Come on Yankees I need you to win one last game for 85! 85 wins and no post season was my prediction! Go get em!
Ha, that lineup.
Let’s go out with a win and no injuries.
Ok, one more time this season, let’s get this one up to a typical 500+ comment game thread.
I’ll probably tune in for a little bit here or there, but there’s more important stuff today.
Peace, 2013. Hasn’t been the best of years, but it’s chewed up six months of my year all the same.
It’s been far from the worst, though.
I still maintain that I’ll look back on this team more fondly than some playoff Yankee teams of the past decade or so.
Dummy
+ 1
I guess the Rays weren’t really interested in having their season end today. Redmond throwing meatball after meatball right down the middle helped a bit too.
This is the kind of lineup we usually throw out there on the last day of the season… in order to rest the regulars for the postseason.
Thank God I went to yesterday game that line-up would be hard to watch live.
Oh shit you saw a great game! Nice.
Yeah, this lineup sucks. But what’s really fucked up is that not even one of the spots is guaranteed to be upgraded next season. Not even one.
How do you support an ownership that doesn’t at least try to improve the team?
Are you saying that along the lines of next year’s 1B won’t be an upgrade over Reynolds? If that’s how you’re referring to it, then I disagree.
Teixeira, even with his decline and injuries, should still be better than Reynolds. Gardner is an upgrade on one of the OFers. Romine/Cervelli is likely an upgrade on Murphy. It’d be hard to imagine finding a worse DH than what Hafner is at this point.
Yep, it was a great end to the era before heading into obscurity.
Dude, you can see the writing on the wall they are going to take the hit next year if the kids work great if not they will try to win are hearts back with the 2014 free agents.
Nothing’s a guarantee when you’re still playing game #162.
I really wish people would stop writing NEXT season’s eulogy already.
If you guys are ever in Texas don’t talk politics apparently the Bushs are royals here and Fox news is the leader truth reporting.
SHM
Great state the people are nice and friendly, but its like being in another country.
As someone born a southerner but who is a westerner and godless liberal I sympathize. Or as Faulkner said, “The past is never dead; it’s not even past.”
Just go to Austin.
I have much nicer!
Nice, our May-July lineup. I missed it.
How are the Giants looking?
All I know is that they are down 10-7
According to the box score, Eli hasn’t thrown an interception yet (though he did lost a fumble).
I’m sure that must be a misprint.
I have the box is anyone actually watching the game?
I see he’s now taken care of that 0 in the interception column.
Damn!!!
When I left the hotel it was 10-7!
31-7 and 0-4
God give me strength.
“Let’s just leave it at that.”
So, obviously that was a great discussion about Cano’s “hustle”. I’m sure that means he got through to him…
Isn’t the continued lack of hustle obvious proof that he didn’t?
Of course, I was being sarcastic. We just hadn’t heard before that he even bothered to address the topic with him.
All this never-ending goodbye to Mariano and Pettitte is beginning to sound like an elegy for the team itself.
In a way it is.
Henderson Alvarez just finished 9 no-hit innings against the Tigers, but his Marlins haven’t scored either so he hasn’t even gotten to celebrate or anything.
And now he officially gets the no-hitter on a walk-off wild pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 9th.
Strange things happen on the last day of the season.
So we’ll have to rally if we’re going to get to forensic’s 500 posts.
Good to see Brett Marshall. I’d hate for his Baseball Almanac entry to only read that outing where he was left for dead out there for a few hours while the rest of the team went and got a sandwich.
Let’s get the rally started!
We have to weed through a whole bunch of shit sometimes, but this continues to be a great group of fans who don’t always have to see things the same way. No one will ever doubt, though, that the regulars here are some of the best, smartest fans you’ll continue to find on the internet today.
For those of you around right now, guys you like, mustang, Darren, that weird dude beating me by .42 in FF right now because of Alex Smith having his way with the Giants like a smitten high school girl, need hitting, JLC, Kramerica, and everyone else NOT here right now…..I enjoy procrastinating with you guys, and I look forward to another season and hot stove season, win or lose, of doing so…
…even if I decide to retire the RT screen name this off-season, which is under strong consideration.
“guys like you”
You make it pretty damn unbearable, so there’s that.
FWIW, Reggie Bush and Marshawn Lynch are single-handedly carrying my FF team against Pat D’s.
I’m just going to pop my head in here to say that the Giants…
ABSOLUTELY FUCKING SUCK!!!
You people thought this Yankees season was tough to swallow? I don’t know how this Giants team will beat anyone except maybe Oakland.
Tear it down and/or blow it the fuck up. Clean house. New GM, new coach, new coordinators, new personnel. Two to three year rebuilding project? Fine, do it.
Yup.
You da man, Jim.
You have every reason to root for two enemy teams, yet here you are, letting your true colors show.
*raises glass*
Wait who do I have an excuse to root for?
You’re in Boston, n’est-ce pas?
Nope. GF is a boston fan though. Not sure that counts as a reason to root for them, however.
I do live in Baltimore, and I root for the O’s when it has no negative effect on the Yanks. Could be what RT is referring to.
Why yes it is. I was just being vague because I wasn’t sure how much you wanted to disclose.
Hm, wonder why I thought Boston, then.
I guess the LOLskins are the other enemy team?
I know; isn’t it great?
That might have been Grandy’s last hit as a Yankee. And Cano might have payed his last game in pinstripes too. Next year is gonna be weird.
On a Yankees not, I’d like to say that I honestly can’t wait to see what this offseason holds, especially on this site.
Quite frankly, this has been the worst year for this site since I’ve been visiting. Nothing but whining about the same shit over and over again. We need to get over ourselves, OK? If dark days are ahead, we’re just going to have to deal with them. I’m sick of people trying to one-up each other on who is more of a “real fan.” We’re all fans, that’s why we all come here. Maybe we could all remember that and try to be a little nicer to each other. Hopefully the trolls will just go the fuck away. Those of us who post regularly know how to identify the trolls. Let’s make sure we just stop paying attention to them.
But fear not, for the ROVP shall not be going anywhere. You may not see the ROVP, but it will always be there…lurking in the shadows…ready to remind you of the simple facts…that your trade proposal sucks.
No one’s going to stop paying attention to trolls. Just an unfortunate side effect of the internet. Live goes on.
People who give up in June are not fans I want to be friends with.
They gave up in April. I didn’t give up. The fact that they didn’t make it doesn’t mean I regret it.
Amen.
Yeah, well, Alex Smith just gave you a 25-spot because of the Giants….and my QB’s on a bye-week, leaving me to start douchebag Rivers.
Win, lose, or reload, I’ll be here, and I’ll never stop giving 100% of my fandom to this team. If the franchise needs to re-invent itself, I’m going to be here when it figures that out.
They can still shove the luxury tax up their ass, though. If you don’t spend the money this off-season, make it because there was little to spend it on. Don’t spend for shits and giggles either.
You are a man among men, Patrick.
Yea, but Rivers is playing a team that has no pass defense.
They gave up 3 100-yard receivers in the same game to a team that is now 0-4.
My alternative was Joe Flacco, and fuck Joe Flacco.
He threw 5 picks today. Good call.
Go watch wrestling and leave the baseball to the REAL fans.
So after going up 7-0, the Rays have now given up 6 unanswered runs and only lead by one in the 9th inning.
*group hug*
*hug*
I love you, man.
*sniff*
Get Jim in here. I actually met that dude this year.
Next year, man. Next year.
Looking forward to it.
Cabal meet up. It needs to happen.
The junior member of the cabal is up, so I must leave this lovefest.
Per forensic, you all have to come up with 400 more comments before the game ends. Get to it.
I’m here!
We made it. It sucked, but we made it!
Yo da man as well.
Murphy looks a little, dare I say, overmatched lately?
Step it up in Spring Training, my man.
So, is Mo gonna play CF in the bottom of the ninth?
Nah. I think he made it clear he didn’t think his knees were up to it.
Whatever Mo wants.
It is easy for many to write off next season when as a fan, you just endured a weird, frustrating, drama-filled season. The Yankees may not be better next year, but they won’t be much worse, if they are at all.
Granderson will get his qualifying offer. He will likely accept. Let’s assume he does. Doubtful he gets something huge from another team. Cano will be back – there is no way that leaked number is even close to what will wind up being agreed upon. Teixiera will be around. Gardner will be back. Any upgrade at C will be a boon.
What you will have to put up with:
-Jeter inevitably being nicked up 2/3 of the season.
-Low to moderate production at 3B depending on who that is.
-DRob turning the 9th inning into a circus.
-No true “ace” of the staff.
-Idiots expecting Pineda to be Tom Seaver.
All in all, if everything breaks right, they could where they were in August, which is contending for a WC spot. It’s not like they are potentially a 70 win team next year. My hope is that Nuno is healthy and has a good spring with a chance to make the squad. Yanks are not going to have a true #1, but they might have 4, if not 5 above average starters.
I even think the possibilities are wider than that.
Like Mike said in his post a few days ago, nothing would surprise me right now.
They might just as easily have 4, if not 5, below average starters.
Um, yeah, that is certainly a legit possibility. You can’t even predict Yankee starting pitchers with quality metrics, because it’s like they operate in their own fishbowl. What would be considered league norms and regression to the mean somehow, for some reason, don’t translate as much to NYY pitching staffs.
If everything breaks right, they will win the World Series. Like most non-Houston, non-White Sox teams.
Thank you.
As much as I hate when the season ends I sure hope this doesn’t go into extras.
Your wish is laughed upon by the agonizing gods of baseball who seek to further endure our suffering.
Free baseball, folks. Seasons not over yet!
Can’t they just treat this like Spring Training where the managers wave at each other and just call it a day?
Hey! We have to win this game to finish ahead of the Fightin’ Showalters!
Best they can do is tie now.
May as well lose and get the slightly better draft pick.
I refuse to consider finishing behind Baltimore.
They win the tiebreaker for 3rd place if they finish with the same record.
They have tie-breakers for non-playoff spots?
Why?
Because fuck Buck.
Like you said…draft order.
Right, there’s a tiebreaker for that.
But they’d still be considered tied for third place in the standings.
But not really.
Hah, if only
Kenny Powers needs to pitch in this game.
*Rubs eyes groggily, list head off couch and looks at TV*
“We’re still playing? Awesome!”
I always wanted to attend a game that went like, 25 innings. I’ll settle for watching it today. Especially after sleeping from the 3rd through 11th.
How funny would it be if we NEEDED Mo to pitch?!
*lifts head* Still sleeping apparently. Hey that’s what happens if you have two beers, no sleep, eat too much and watch Yankees/Astros.
The Yankees have to play this game as if there is no tomorrow!
Welcome back, my friends, to the season that never ends
Daley under team control? I wonder if he’s pitched himself into a stronger ST looksie next season.
Yes, still under team control.
It appears he might even have options left.
Worth a shot. Looks good in meaningless work. Squeeze whatever you can from him.
So what kind of chance should David Adams get next year? he had flashes of playing well, and plenty of streaks of sucking. I can’t get a read on him. Even someone like Nunez teases with his line drive ability and occasional good fieldwork, but doesn’t follow through with any consistency.
Chance at a bench role. Otherwise play well enough while riding the shuttle too prevent being DFA fodder.
Yeah, I could also see them giving Adams the chance to fill in for ARod if ARod’s suspended for 50 games.
My hunch right not is that the trade market brings you your third baseman next season. If David Adams is your third baseman next season, the terrorists have won.
Funny how the last game of the year goes into extras just to extend this mostly miserable season. Another example of two terrible offenses are unable to score. It would be nice to say we finished in 3rd but the higher draft pick is nice too so I’m ok with the outcome either way. Wake me up when it’s over.
I could give three shits about draft order. Just win, baby.
Man I wish Grandy could put the ball in play sometimes.
But then he wouldn’t be Grandy.
It’s so exciting that we get a whole nother year of Vernon Wells…
And Ichiro!
A perverse part of me wants this game to keep going. This is similar but totally different feeling to Game 4 in the 1998 WS, when I actually wanted the Padres to rally because I didn’t want the season to be over. (obviously after the series that cannot be spoken of in 2004, I would never ever ever do that again)
Does the rule that we don’t play meaningless players in the final game say that we can’t just put Cano/Soriano/etc in just to hope we get a goddamn run.
I have heard more Wendy’s commercials during this broadcast than I’ve ever heard during the entire rest of my life. It’s like they’re trying to repay Wendy’s for not being able to do postseason broadcasts or something. They play 3 commercials during the actual break, then as soon as the action resumes Sterling reads the spot again. I get that advertising pays the bills, but this is ludicrous.
What do you guys think the rotation will be next year? If we don’t sign any outside FAs it will be CC, Nova, Kuroda, Pineda, Phelps with Warren and Nuno competing for the fifth spot. Also Pineda, Phelps, Warren will probably be on innings limits and Kuroda could use some extra rest given his age. We should probably go after at least 1 FA though since that rotation just isn’t good enough.
Pitch counter guy got bored, its now 9 behind. Daley at 23, not 14.
He reset it when the inning started for some reason.
We’ve had few pitchers go 2 innings would be one reason.
Nooooooooo, not Joba!!!! I want to keep watching.
MARK REYNOLDS (21)
F
I
N
A
L
L
Y
Woo hoo Reynolds!!!
Give this guy a job next year!!
One more Joba appearance coming up.
This will probably go on forever until we put in some pinch hitters or have position players pitch. On a side note Texas is winning 5-2 so it looks like they will have a one game playoff against Tampa tomorrow for the 2nd WC. Should be interesting.
Never thought the Indians would win the 1st WC this year or even make the playoffs. They actually only finished one game behind Detroit thanks to their 10 game winning streak against terrible teams. Lucky bastards.
Oh great, Joba up.
So just joining. What’s the extensive game recap?
Yanks made Bedard look like an ace.
Huff went 5, gave up 1 run. Since then we ‘ve had Marshall, Betances (K’d a ton of people), Claiborne, Phelps, and Daley (who has been 2 perfect).
Granderson singled in Nunez.
Thanks. When I saw the line and the inning, I didn’t even think there would be four lines of recap!
I did arrive just in time for the HR.
Platinum Sombrero for David Adams?
Ouchy day in deed.
2nd gripe K with Bill Miller.
Yikes, that’s pretty painful. Glad I haven’t been watching all that closely, that would’ve been even more discouraging.
Hopefully that was a Reynolds wrap.
Did Sterling ever adopt some variation of that for his Reynolds call?
Yeah, he’s done it for all since the first one, if I remember correctly.
Thanks. I’ve yet to hear his call, although I thought he ignored the obvious Reynolds wrap one.
Since I know you’re not a Scully fan, would you rather listen to Sterling of Scully?
Yeah I missed all of Reynolds HR Sterling calls. I don’t listen to WCBS that much because my iPod doesn’t pick up AM Radio.
WFAN did me a big favor in that department.
As old and overrated as Scully is, he’s still light years better than Sterling.
They’re just different kinds of bad. If you put a better partner with Sterling, I’d probably end up picking him just because I could at least stay awake.
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good one!
Finally caught up to live TV just in time for the HR. Awesome.
Finally some runs! Well looks like we’re going out with a sweep and in 3rd place in the east. Not bad considering what we were up against this year and how good our division is.
If Joba gets the save, does that mean he’s finally the heir to Mo?
Going to be D-Rob.
I wasn’t being serious.
NUNEY.
RUNS?!
Let’s win this and finish this season right!
In 3rd place? Yipee.
All things considered, it’s the best we could hope for.
Astors on track for a 111-loss season, closing it out with 15 consecutive losses. When was the last time any team finished with something like that many losses on the season and consecutively?
I saw that the 15 losses to end the Season set an MLB Record (Couple that with the Season K Record (which they would have avoided without the Granderson hit)), and you essentially have a Historically bad day for Houston
1899 Cleveland Spiders lost the final 16 games. Modern era, 15 games is a record to close out the season.
I know it is a meaningless game (well maybe not for the Astros who broke the Major League Record for Strikeouts in a Season, and have lost 14 straight), but it would be nice to win, if only to see Andy & Mariano go out with smiles in their final Game as active Yankee Players,
Now the Yanks are just being mean. But congrats on your first RBI, J.R.!
Rangers win.
Tiebreaker game here we go.
Is Michael Kay constantly chewing and smacking his lips? Gross
I didn’t need that image.
I know I shouldn’t care, but Reynolds leaving the team and stadium early really aggravates me.
me too. WTF?
What is this, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson? Reynolds has to leave early?
Does any know how draft order is determined if two teams are tied and have never played each other?
A big reason the Rangers get to host game 163 is this! http://i.minus.com/ibpwLTpK7HlNgS.gif
Human element, baby!
Marty Foster. The only reason he isn’t Worst Umpire of 2013 in my book is because Angel Hernandez clinched that award.
You should name the award after Angel Hernandez.
Texas still could of still won that game if he walked but still a terrible call that costed the Rays severely in the end.
Holy shit. I’ve seen softball games with better strike zones than that.
One out away boys!
Thanks Mike!!! Thanks RAB!
85-77.
Time for the playoffs. I will be watching.
Yankees win!
THEEEEEE YANKEES WIN!!!!!
a share of 3rd place…
And it’s over.
They played hard. They always came back. It was going to be an uphill battle all along. I’m certainly proud of my 2013 New York Yankees.
Given where this site was what, two months ago, I will be happy with this result.
I’m just glad it’s over.
I’m hoping, but not optimistic, for a clear shift in front office philosophy.
I know you said you like this team better than some of the Championship teams somehow, but I just don’t see any reason to get attached to half of the roster, thereby making them even more blah and unappealing to me.
Plenty of guys I could give a fuck about, but also plenty of guys like Overbay and, honestly, the folks that for us through at short that I will certainly remember.
With the massive (historic, really) amount of injuires and setbacks this team suffered, 85-77 is nothing to be ashamed of at all. The 2013 Yankees did more with what they had than a lot of other teams would have. I can say that with certainty.
They always come back? Ha another excellent FALSE statement.
Well, they always came back in April…..
And, in the offseason, the vermin will go stink up some NFL blog somewhere.
Well, she does tell you she’s a psycho right there in the SN.
A win to end the season. Well it was a rough year but it could have been worse. On to the offseason. Hopefully we’ll see an exciting postseason even if we’re not in it.
Also did you guys see the no hitter today on the walkoff? Crazy stuff. Against Detroit too from a 100 loss team.
So where do we pick in the draft?
18
Not bad. Higher than usual. Hopefully there’s a good draft class next year.
*if they keep the pick
Always love the end of the year recap video on YES. Reminds you of everything good that happened over the year.
Cool video montage of the season YES is doing.
Totally enjoying it and taping it.
Unfortunately, I can’t see it, or the Mo special later. I am international and can only see what’s on MLB.com baseball package. I missed Mo’s last games, even Andy’s great game yesterday!
85 wins. All in all not bad, considering the adversity they faced this season. Andy went out strong and with class, couldn’t ask for more. Mo will always be Mo, on and off the field. Te vamos a extrañar grueso Mo, gracias por todo. Te deseamos toda la suerte del mundo en tu futuro como ‘civil.’ Arriba los Bombaderos!
Your Spanish sucks.
They played well, with the team they had. I’m glad I found RAB near the end of the season. Go Yankees!
Stick around. Mike and company (although mostly Mike) provides great coverage of the team, although the game threads can get kind of ugly.
Dating myself again, of course, but this seems fitting:
Dating yourself? I got you beat with my Johnny Carson reference above!
Thanks to Mo and Andy this was the best 85 win season ever. And to wrap up the game and year sterling style: BALLGAME OVER. SERIES OVER. 2013 OVER. THE YANKEEEEEEEEESSSSS WIN!
Season sucked ass. Not going to the playoffs is a huge failure. Everyone who said the Yankees were going to suck were right. Keep telling yourselves otherwise you pom pom losers.
GUTLESS WIMPS = YOUR 2013 NEW YORK YANKEES
appropriate handle
Your 2013 New York Yankees:
Starting C missed 145 games
Starting 1B missed 147 games
Starting SS missed 145 games
Starting 3B missed 118 games
Replacement 3B missed 134 games
Starting CF missed first 102 games
Disregarding everything else that went wrong with the Yankees, I’d like to see how well some other teams would do facing those kinds of debilitating absences.
Yankees have no catcher period!
Yankees 1b is a 250 hitter nothing more. RF or bust attitude
Jeter would have no carried this team
Granderson would have strike out 200+ times and hit 230
arod would have hit 270 and 20 hrs
yankees replacement’s 3rd is on them and what they chose to run out there with the rest of the shit.
Yankee were winning no more then 85 games whici I said during spring trainig and no PS. What’s next? This team is fine rightttttttttttttttttttttttttt
Those are all sweeping generalizations that gloss over the fact that as a whole the replacements for all the players lost were WELL below replacement level. To say that the Yankees wouldn’t have been a signifcantly better team with all their starters intact for most of the season is just ignorant.
No and Andy should b pitching in the playoffs. This one on management believing it could replace injured players with other team’s discards. George S. should b ashamed of his sons.
DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER!!!
Replacing injured guys with TRASH PURE TRASH!!
1000% AGREE!!!!
Hey Mr. ALL CAPS, what moves would YOU have made?
Mo and Andy. Damn spellcheck!
!!!!!!!!!!! 85 wins no post season prediction complete!!!!!!!!!!
BOOM!!!!!
You must feel so proud.
Resigned Russell Martin. Picked up Alex Rios. Kept soriano in the bullpen. Traded for cliff lee. Resigned Swisher. Traded for Jose Reyes.