May 9, 2018
I started
listening to this game early, and when Masahiro Tanaka gave up the two-run home
run to Mitch Moreland in the second, I said, “Time to get dinner, this will be
a long night.” I was right. When I came back, the Yankees were ahead, though.
The most
annoying thing about a hitter being in a slump is that he is in a slump when he
is most needed to produce. The Yankees have loaded the bases in the bottom of
the fifth on a sloppy throw, a walk, and
a hit batsman, bringing Gary Sanchez to the plate. Fortunately, he hit the
ball. Unfortunately, it is merely a sacrifice fly, so the Yankees are up 5-3 in
the bottom of the fifth inning. Sanchez must be walking back to the dugout,
wondering if he’s succeeded (with the RBI) or failed (with no hit). But it
wasn’t enough…the Yankees loaded the bases, but only gained one run. If you
load the bases with nobody out, you should score runs. Not good enough.
Tonight has
been an interesting struggle for the pitchers. Rick Porcello has given up walks
and doubles, while Masahiro Tanaka has given up two home runs. It’s a wild and
woolly game, and I expect that it will be decided by the bullpens.
Giancarlo
Stanton has clearly declared war on the Boston Red Sox…he homered twice against
them last night to both fields and doubled in two runs today.
While the
Yankees are struggling to hold their 5-3 lead, the other New York team is
trying to hold onto its composure. Their manager, Mickey Callaway, submitted a
lineup , and his players batted out of order. The Reds took advantage of this
botch. Callaway should not feel too bad: Frank Robinson made the same blunder
when he first managed the Indians, as did Joe Schultz in the year he managed
the Seattle Pilots, their only year of existence. Robinson’s career suffered
temporary embarrassment – Schultz never managed again. The Mets have lost eight
of nine, and I have seen the Mets caps disappear when I walk around my city of
Newark, replaced by Yankee caps.
Xander
Bogaerts led off the sixth inning with a double to center, which has Chad Green
up in the Yankee bullpen. Tanaka has been laboring all game, and he will be
gone soon.
Bogaerts is
the fifth native of Aruba to play in the majors, and he has a twin brother, who
plays in the Cubs’ system. He speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Dutch,
and Papiamento, a Portuguese-based Creole language that is one of the official
languages of the Netherlands Antilles.
The Governor of Aruba, acting in his capacity as the “Fount of Honor”
for Aruba, made Bogaerts a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau, which
presumably comes with a coat of arms. The other Arubans in baseball are Sidney
Ponson, Calvin Maduro, Gene Kingsale, and Radhames Dykhoff.
All this, of
course, I am writing while Mitch Moreland hit a grounder to move Bogaerts over
to third, which drove Tanaka from the game, and brought in Chad Green to
restore order. The Yankees have brought the corners in but not the shortstop
and second. The first pitch to Nunes is a 95.5 mph fastball up that becomes a
liner to center. Bogaerts trots home, there are two out, and the score is 5-4,
Yankees. Once again, the Yankees are in a nail-biter.
Green now
faces third baseman Rafael Devers, batting .263. Doubtless both teams will send
in a number of bullpen artists. Devers strikes out on a foul tip, flings his
bat on the ground in disgust, and the top of the sixth is over.
Jacob
Ruppert once said that his idea of a fun Yankee game was one where the Yankees
got a 12-run lead in the first inning and slowly pulled away. So do I, but they
don’t happen very often. This is certainly not one of them, as the Sox have a
pretty good bullpen.
While I
write this, I am entertaining one of our two pet birds, Kimmy the Conyure, who
comes from Central America. Well, her species does. She’s captive-bred. Her
favorite hobby is prowling around me while I type, and preening my skin for
imperfections. Her second favorite is to bite my fingers when I try to type.
Miguel
Andujar swings at a Porcello 1-2 pitch for the first out of the bottom of the
sixth. He isn’t hitting as many extra-base hits any more. Clearly the “Great
American Pitchers Union” that Whitey Ford wrote about five decades ago has
kicked in. According to Ford, pitchers on rival teams discuss their mutual
enemies between games.
Porcello,
however, hasn’t got the word on Gleyber Torres. Nobody has figured him out yet,
as he’s betting .321. Porcello runs up a 3-0 count on the likely Rookie of the
Year and Torres raps a single to left field. Watching Torres has been
fascinating. He seems completely at ease in the majors – unfazed by major
league pitching, able to turn double plays with skill and speed, very calm in the
spotlight of New York. Since his arrival, the Yankees have exploded with
velocity and force. John Sterling says that he and Didi Gregorius will be the
Yankee double-play combination for the next 10 years. I hope so.
Torres’
single drives out Porcello, and in comes Jeremy Johnson to face the Yankees,
and batters are hitting .307 off of him, not a good number for Mr. Johnson. He
faces Gritty, Gutty, Brett Gardner, who has had two doubles to break a mammoth
slump. Johnson is the only lefthander, so he may be here to face Gardner, and
then Carson Smith to face the righthanded Judge and Stanton.
Johnson also
has a 6.00 ERA, which is not something any major league pitcher or manager
wants to see, but an opposing hitter does. However, he quickly works a 1-2 count
on Gardner. Both pitchers have gone 5.1 innings.
Gardner
fouls off two pitches, and I can hear that canned “Dayo” sound effect the
Yankees use for foul balls. I have always been puzzled by that. The next pitch
is in the dirt, 2-2. Why do the Yankees do this “dayo” for foul balls? Next is
a breaking ball for a 3-2 count.
Johnson
takes his time for the 3-2 pitch and Gardner promptly grounds it to short for a
6-4 force – his speed prevents the double play. Not a very successful at-bat
for Gardner. The Red Sox’ pitching coach comes out to convene with Johnson.
John Sterling theorizes that Johnson is being told to pitch around Judge and
face the slumping Didi. Furthermore, Judge might swing at a pitch off the plate
and end the inning. Another chapter from Sterling’s book “Inside Baseball
Strategy” is followed by a Sterling pitch for the Hebrew home.
Johnson
works a 1-1 count to Judge after the spot, and the theory works – Judge swings
and misses, 1-2. Judge hits the next pitch to right center to end the inning.
Sterling should write that book.
Kimmy the
Conyure only says four things: her name, “Bad Bird,” “Hah, hah, hah,” and “B,
B, B,” a reference to our dog Bodie, who we often call by saying, “B,B,B.” She
screeches “Bad Bird” in my ear as Brock Holt pinch-hits for the catcher to open
up the top of the seventh inning. Holt is fresh off the Disabled List. He is
14-43 off of righties, but he pops up the third pitch to Didi for one out,
which seems a bit of a waste.
Up comes
Mookie Betts, who is a menace to all things round and spherical. Green quickly
works a 1-2 count, then the usual slider in the dirt on 1-2. Chad wants to make
his living off the hungriness of Betts, but it’s ball two. Seconds later, it’s
ball three, and then Betts drives a screeching liner (they all “screech”) and
Gardner, as usual, hustles over and snags it before it hits the ground for the
second out.
Here’s
Benintendi, who hits well in Yankee Stadium, has homered earlier, and hits the
Yankees extremely well. I wonder which is more relevant – his love of hitting
in Yankee Stadium or his love of hitting the Yankees. If it’s the former,
perhaps the Yankees should acquire him someday.
Green works
the count to 2-2 with efficiency, and Benintendi leans away from a 95-mph
fastball for ball three. Green’s next pitch is low, ball four. The boos roll
out. I expect that Green is showing respect for a hitter who uses Yankee
Stadium as a dartboard.
Henley
Ramirez is the go-ahead run, and the outfield plays deep. He’s batting .288,
with three home runs. Kimmy stands between my hands, preening her own feathers.
Green deals the 1-1, at 95 mph, down the middle of the plate. It goes deep to
left, into the second deck, and the Red Sox now lead, 6-5. Tanaka and Porcello
are off the hook, Chad Green has a blown save, Jeremy Johnson a chance to win,
and the Sox have had their third home run of the night. Walks are always fatal.
Green puts his hands on his hips and closes his eyes. The fans are roaring –
there must be a lot of Red Sox fans in attendance. The homer went 431 feet.
This inning
has become disastrous, and J.D. Martinez comes to bat. Green goes 0-2 and then
fires the obligatory 0-2 slider away for a ball, and another one after that.
Martinez hits the next pitch into center field for a single, and Larry
Rothschild bounces out of the dugout to dispense wisdom to Green. Usually, that
consists of “Throw strikes, dammit.”
Rothschild
departs, Bogaerts comes to bat for the honor of Aruba, and Green goes back to
work. Chasen Shreve starts warming up in the bullpen. Green goes 1-2 on
Bogaerts. Then he strikes out Bogaerts to end the inning, but two batters too
late. Everyone rises to honor a veteran and sing “God Bless America” along with
the tape of Kate Smith. I actually like Ronan Tynan’s rendition better, which
includes the rarely-sung first stanza, but he made an anti-Semitic crack in
2009, and that ended his singing career in a city that has more Jews than all
of Israel.
The Yankees
now have nine outs to regain the lead and win the game. Brock Holt departs, and
Christian Vazquez comes on to catch.
Johnson is still in, to face the lefthanded Gregorius, and Carson Smith will
then face Stanton and the other right-handers. They only need to survive two
innings to get to Craig Kimbrel, their ace closer.
Gregorius
hits a 1-0 pitch to left for the first out, and Alex Cora emerges – the pitcher
with the 6.00 ERA and .300 opposing batting average has done his job. Carson
Smith will come on. Kimmy flies up from my computer keyboard and onto the row
of DVDs above for a moment, looks at me quizzically, then flies down again, to
preen my hands.
Smth has a
4.09 ERA, and he is facing Giancarlo Stanton, who has been teeing off against
the Red Sox. Smith has given up 11 hits in 14 innings and hitters are batting
.250 against him. So this should be an
interesting battle.
The first
pitch is low and inside for ball one. Stanton hits a grounder to short and
Bogaerts disposes of Stanton in short order for two outs. Sanchez is next.
Sterling
does the power report from Indian Point Power Plant, which is glowing with
pride. Smith works a 2-1 count to Sanchez. Chasen Shreve and David Robertson
warm up in the bullpen. Sanchez hits a liner to left for a base hit. Applause
all around. Aaron Hicks comes up. He has walked and sacrificed flied, and
grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Hicks has
the advantage of being a switch-hitter, but falls behind 1-2. The next pitch is
low for 2-2. Smith is slowing down the pace of the game because of the tightness
and the next pitch is ball three. But the next pitch is strike three called,
and that ends the seventh.
Lefty Chasen
Shreve faces lefty Mitch Moreland to lead off the eighth inning and is quickly
1-1. Jonathan Holder starts getting loose for the Yankees. Shreve goes up to
3-2. He doesn’t challenge hitters – he throws too many pitches. And sure
enough, he walks Moreland. Shreve,, as Peter Shaffer’s Emperor Josef says of
Mozart in “Amadeus,” is offering “too many notes.”
Next is
Eduardo Nunes, who hurt the Yankees as a Yankee with questionable defense and
is now hurting them as a Red Sock with powerful offense. Leadoff walks are
fatal, and this one is, too. Nunez rips a line drive down the left field line
that puts runners on second and third with nobody out. The Yankees bring the
infield up, Rafael Devers comes to bat, and Shreve is in serious trouble.
I’ve watched
Shreve pitch, and I can see him on the radio, a skinny kid with a skinny face.
When he had trouble against Cleveland and came out of the game, he stood in the
dugout, chewing on a paper cup, held in place by his teeth.
He works 0-2
on Devers, then the usual outside pitch to make it 1-2. It is very difficult to
get out of runners-on-second-and-third-nobody-out situations, but Shreve gets
Devers on a swinging strikeout.
That’s
enough for Aaron Boone, who summons Jonathan Holder from the pen. Suzyn Waldman
tells us this call is sponsored by “Kars-for-Kids,” which means we’ll hear that
ghastly commercial and even more ghastly song. Holder’s ERA is a whopping 6.23,
so it’s hard to imagine things getting worse. Tommy Kahnle and Adam Warren are
both still on the disabled list, sadly.
When Shreve
reaches the dugout, he hurls his glove and other kit onto the bench in fury and
disgust. Despite the money, or perhaps because of it, today’s ballplayer is as
ultra-competitive as those 100 years ago.
Christian
Vazquez comes up, batting .196. A ground ball to the right side or a fly ball
scores the run. Next is Mookie Betts. Holder has to pitch to Vazquez or face
destruction at the hands of Betts. Holder works the count to 2-2, and strikes
him out swinging with the slider.
With first
base open, Boone orders the intentional walk to Betts rather than face him,
bringing up Benintendi, who is no improvement from the Yankee point of view.
The first pitch to him is a strike. Benintendi has seen Holder twice. Both
players are therefore facing scouting reports. The next pitch is a ball.
Another ball follows. The “Let’s Go Yankees” chants are replaced by solid booing.
Benintendi hits a one-hop liner to Didi, who fires it to first to end the
inning. The Red Sox rally is stalled. The Yankees have another chance in the
eighth. I hope Shreve feels better.
Neil Walker
and his .191 average leads off the eighth inning against Matt Barnes and his
2.51 ERA. Kimbrel starts warming up to get the two-inning save, if necessary.
Barnes starts off with two balls, but then evens the count. Walker lines a ball
all the way to the wall, and Walker gets another double. In spite of his .191
batting average, he has been getting timely hits. The Yankees have the tying
run on second and nobody out. Up comes Andujar, two of the bottom-of-the-order
guys who are making the Yankees go. 47, 000 fans start screaming their heads
off as Barnes goes 2-0 on Andujar.
The Red Sox
do not play Andujar to bunt. He grounds the ball to second and moves Walker to
third – it’s a sacrifice without the credit. Andujar gets patted on the back as
he goes to the dugout. The Sox’ pitching coach goes to the mound for another
Geneva Convention – this one to discuss whether or not to intentionally walk
Torres and face Gardner. They decide to pitch to Gleyber and move the infield
in. The first pitch is high, 1-0. The next pitch is a bouncer in the dirt, 2-0.
The fans are yelling “Let’s Go Yankees.” The infielders have their feet on the
infield grass. The third pitch is low, 3-0. It’s pretty obvious that the Sox
are pitching around Torres, theorizing that Gardner is an easier out on a
double play. Torres takes the next pitch for a strike. The last pitch is a
breaking ball for ball four. Torres trots down to first. Craig Kimbrel jogs in
from the bullpen for a five-out save, sponsored by “Kars for Kids.”
And that
horrible song immediately starts playing. Kimmy screeches at the song in
response. She doesn’t like it, either.
Kimbrel has
nine saves, 21 strikeouts, and a 1.23 ERA in 14.2 innings. Gardner comes up,
and the first pitch is a ball. So is the second, which puzzles me…Kimbrel is
better than that. Kimbrel’s third pitch is low, 3-0. He hasn’t come close to
the strike zone. On deck is Judge. Sterling muses on whether Gardner should
swing on the 3-0 pitch. Aroldis Chapman is up in the pen for the ninth.
The next
pitch is a 97-mph strike. The 3-1 pitch does not arrive…Kimbrel throws to first
to hold Torres. Kimbrel faces Gardner again. Gardner grounds it foul for a full
count. Vazquez looks to the signs from the dugout. I am reminded of how John J.
McGraw, managing the Giants in the 1920s, personally called every pitch. My
computer tells me that the Giants have lost 11-3. They have run out of gas.
Gardner
fouls back the next pitch. Clearly GGBG will try to make this a quality at-bat.
Kimbrel is relying on his patented fastball, which is fair. Gardner hits a ball
to deep left center, off the left-center field wall, 399 feet away, over Betts’
head…..Walker goes home easily, and Torres slides home head first, ahead of the
throw. Gardner steams into third base. The Yankees lead, 7-6.
Judge comes
up next and fouls Kimbrel’s first pitch. Craig is still relying on fastballs. A
good major league hitter can hit a fastball…it’s a matter of timing. If you
can’t time the incoming heater, you lose. Judge stands in, and the count goes
to 1-2. Everyone in Yankee Stadium is on their feet.
Judge hits a
ball to deep center….the ball goes into Monument Park. Gardner trots home.
Judge thunders steadily around the bases in his typical fashion. The fans are
roaring. The score is now 9-6. The Red Sox’ closer has not blown the save,
though…the go-ahead runs are on his predecessor’s tally sheet. But for a
certainty, Kimbrel has poured gasoline on the fire.
The bases
are empty now, with one out, and Kimbrel regains his composure to strike out
the slumping Gregorius. The home run is Aaron Judge’s ninth of the year. It’s
his 65th as a Yankee, putting him in a tie for 58th place
on the team’s all-time list with Scott Brosius.
Kimbrel
strikes out Stanton to end the eighth inning, but the mystery is why he was
left in after Judge’s shot…he may not be available tomorrow. The Yankees have
blasted the Red Sox’ best relief pitchers for four runs in the inning, with a
double, a triple, and a mammoth home run. They go to the ninth with a 9-6 lead.
The Sox will
send up Ramirez, Martinez, and Bogaerts in the ninth. None of the three are
slouches, and Chapman is coming on in a save situation, but with a three-run
lead. This will be a test of talent and timing at its very best. Chapman can
fire his heat fairly accurately at 100 mph or more. The Red Sox have proven
hitters.
Chapman and
his 1.69 ERA come on. Chapman wears 54, and I wonder why that number hasn’t
been retired for Rich Gossage. Chapman quickly goes 0-2 on Ramirez. Ramirez
fouls back the next pitch. Sterling plugs Workmen’s Circle Quality Care, which
sponsors save opportunities, whatever that means.
Chapman’s
0-2 fans Ramirez, swinging. 102 mph. Ramirez could not time that. J.D. Martinez
comes up next. Sterling points out that tonight’s overlooked hero is Jonathan
Holder, who slammed the Red Sox down in the eighth when they had runners on
second and third and one out. He will get the win, deservedly so.
Chapman
works the count on Martinez to 1-2. Just outside, 2-2. Martinez fouls back the
next pitch. The Sox refuse to go out…they are determined. Martinez grounds it
to first and past Walker. This is doubly annoying, because it puts a Sox runner
on and can jar the Yankees’ concentration. The Sox now have the tying run on
deck, if Bogaerts gets on. This game is getting too dramatic.
Chapman gets
the count on Bogaerts to 1-2, and takes his time, like most closers. Mariano
was just as deliberate and utterly emotionless. I always wanted to be like him.
I never could.
On deck is
Mitch Moreland, who homered earlier. Chapman waits as Bogaerts digs back in. Fouled
back. I expect the at-bats now will become epic duels. I’ve seen many. Another
foul ball, grounded off first. Chapman delivers a slider, and Bogaerts swings
ahead of the pitch. Two out. Chapman worked on his slider and change all
through spring training, to overcome his deficiencies of last year, and they
are paying off.
Mitch
Moreland steps in, with two out. Gary Sanchez goes to the mound to discuss
their next move, and umpire Cory Blazer breaks up the chat. It’s interesting
how quickly those conventions go. I often wonder what they say.
The first
pitch is a strike. The second pitch is way inside and Moreland has to move out
of the way. The infield plays back – if Martinez steals second, it’s
irrelevant. Moreland fouls off the pitch as Martinez goes, making it 1-2. The
Yankees are one pitch away. That last pitch is the longest. I have a book about
the 1986 post-season that points out that very subject.
Chapman
delivers the 1-2 and strikes out Moreland swinging. The Yankees have gone into
first place. They have also taken the series, and come back from being down 2-1
and 6-5 to win the game.
Suzyn
Waldman grabs her star of the game, which is Aaron Judge, for his diving catch
and two-run home run. Judge promptly gives credit to Brett Gardner, who got him
“fired up.” Humble and modest. It works for Judge. It sounds believable and
real. Judge calls Gardner “the leader of the team.” He also calls Walker
“incredible for what he’s done for us all year.” And Judge honors Holder. “He
went in strong and tough and had command of his pitches.” On being in first:
“Gotta keep it rolling. Tomorrow is a new day.” In a few years, Judge will be
the Yankee captain.
The numbers
are in: a loss for Barnes, a blown save for Kimbrel, a blown save for Green, a
win for Holder (1-1), and Chapman’s ninth save.
Two games
against the Red Sox are endless drama, but they do end. This game is over, the
Yankees have won, and are now in sole possession of first place and the best
record in baseball. But the two teams face off again tomorrow, and the night
could end with the teams tied again. We have to continue the fight again.
The Yankees
are sometimes called the “Evil Empire,” and I am reminded of a line by the evil
Duke of Gloucester after he has been crowned king in “Richard III,” by William
Shakespeare.
Richard says
to his aide, the Duke of Buckingham, “Thus high, by your advice and assistance,
is King Richard seated. But shall we wear these glories for a day? Or shall
they last and we rejoice in them?”
But that
might go over the heads of many baseball fans. Maybe Hall of Famer Stanley
Coveleski, who won 297 games in his career said it better, in “The Glory of
Their Times” 50 years ago: “The pressure never lets up. Doesn’t matter what you
did yesterday. That’s history. It’s tomorrow that counts. So you worry all the
time. It never ends. Lord, baseball is a worrying thing.”
