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August 21, 2006

Was This Your Celebrated Summer?

I don't even want to hear his excuse.

There can be no rational explanation. It's impossible. His decision to go with Timlin and then Lopez -- and leave his best arm (who had not pitched at all in the series) in the pen -- was inexcusable. He should be fired. This is a man who does not want to win.

In a playoff-caliber battle, Curt Schilling gave everything he had. He had waited through a one-hour rain delay, and thrown 73 pitches through four innings. Knowing he had to go deep into the game, he fought his way through the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, needing only 10, 14 and 12 pitches, retiring nine of 10 Yankees.

David Ortiz wanted to win. His long home run broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning and he hustled his way to a double leading off the bottom of the ninth. Manny Ramirez drove in the first run of the night and was on base five times. Coco Crisp tried, in vain, to snare HGH's home run in the 10th and possibly hurt his left wrist.

(Did you see the sweat pouring off Giambi when he was back in the dugout? I could have put him in front of my house and watered my lawn. ... Jon Miller said he got that sweaty running out the home run.)

But the man at the helm -- in what was the first must-win game of the summer -- did not go for the throat. He didn't want to win. The choice of pitcher to start the eighth was not his only misstsep. Having Kevin Youkilis, the team's third-best hitter, bunt in the ninth was also the decision of an idiot (even Joe Morgan was surprised). The bunt did not work, and the Yankees intentionally walked Mike Lowell, leaving the game in the hands of Eric Hinske and Doug Mirabelli.

In the eighth inning on October 16, 2003, when the manager walked away from the mound and did not make a pitching change, John Henry -- who had wanted to fire the Grinning Jackass before the 2003 season even began -- turned to Larry Lucchino and asked (through gritted teeth, no doubt): "Can we fire him now?"

Last night, as he watched Francona make decisions that were 180 degrees away from everything the organization has been preaching for three years, I wonder what Henry was thinking.
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8 comments:

  1. laura kAugust 21, 2006 at 9:15 AM

    I turned off the TV after Giambi's home run, and went to sleep. I guess that's the equivalent of leaving the game early. The most maddening part is it was all so predicatble.

    ReplyDelete
  2. allanAugust 21, 2006 at 9:16 AM

    Neil H at 3,079 Miles to Fenway, 3,448 miles to Yankee Stadium writes:

    We have Tito saying before the game - "Papelbon is available to go deep"

    We have Tito saying in game to Jon and Joe - "2 innings? Papelbon could go 4"

    and then...

    Presented with the perfect opportunity to use Papelbon for six outs he chokes.

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  3. thatdietcokegirlAugust 21, 2006 at 10:07 AM

    it's baffling isn't it? i remember him saying that in the little dugout conversation during the game. why the fuck did he say that when he wasn't really going to do it?

    ;(

    The most maddening part is it was all so predicatble.

    exactly.

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  4. Timmy MacAugust 21, 2006 at 10:39 AM

    I was surprised Tito didn't use Paps for all six outs, considering that he'd said he would, but really, the best case scenario is that we'd have put off our date with death for one more game.

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  5. BillAugust 21, 2006 at 1:07 PM

    Dont blame Francona.

    Bunting with Youk was the correct move in that situation, as it avoided the inevitable double play...but i do have to question if bunting is part of the red sox practice routines at all some times.

    Yes, last night was the text book 2 inning save situation, but honestly, we cant have pap. pitch 2-3 innings every game we are up.

    This team just does not have the personel to win against elite teams, it's really just as simple as that.

    If anything, blame the front office for not supplying tito with decent arms in the pen, trading away our best position prospect, and throwing away arroyo.

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  6. Michael LeggettAugust 21, 2006 at 7:52 PM

    Misappropriation of resources, I'd say:

    You're blog has been added to my link list, now about the size of Beckett's ERA;

    Essay on 2 teams, 2 years after World Series;

    The years are '02 & '06.

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  7. JackieAugust 22, 2006 at 11:26 AM

    and the NL West is nowhere near as competitive as the AL East.

    DLowe looked pretty good in his last start, though. :/

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  8. allanAugust 22, 2006 at 4:33 PM

    It is on page 224 of Seth Mnookin's new book "Feeding the Monster".

    I always wondered if ownership was thinking what we were thinking.

    Henry adds: "I felt pure rage."

    So, yeah, he felt like us.

    ReplyDelete