June 12, 2009

Schadenfreude 87 (A Continuing Series)

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:
If the Yankees and Red Sox are headed for a date with destiny in the ALCS as many believe, then Boston should start making World Series plans.

The Bombers took another shot to the gut Thursday night, dropping a 4-3 decision for their eighth defeat in eight games against their rivals.

This one was particularly brutal, as Boston battled back for three runs in the eighth after the Yankees had taken a lead just an inning earlier, giving the Red Sox a victory to continue their most dominant run in the rivalry in nearly 100 years. ...
Joel Sherman, Post:
The Yankees need to stop talking about "the big picture" as a way to change the subject from how they have been dominated by the Red Sox.

Hey guys, I am here to tell you this: The Red Sox are the big picture. ...

This is not just a team in the division. This is Boston. This is your main rival and now your measuring stick, and on this measuring stick the Yankees could not be any tinier.

The Red Sox are embarrassing the Yankees. Ever since they became the first team ever to rally from 0-3 down to win a playoff series in the 2004 ALCS, Boston has seemingly been searching for new ways to humiliate the Yanks. And the Sox have come up with a doozy for this season. They are trying to go 18-0 against the Yanks. ...

Here is some more big picture: The AL East now undoubtedly goes through Boston and it is going to be kind of tricky to win the division without ever beating the Red Sox. ...

[O]ne team is 8-0 against the other. At some point that stops being coincidence. It is obvious now that Boston knows it will beat the Yankees, and the Yankees hope they can beat the Red Sox.
George A. King III, Post:
The Yankees insisted the Red Sox didn't rip their hearts out last night at Fenway Park with a come-from behind capper to a three-game sweep. ...

Yet, there was no ignoring that a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to their blood rivals in front of 38,153 not only stretched their 2009 losing streak to the Red Sox to eight, but inserted a morsel of doubt. ...
John Harper, Daily News:
The 0-fer against the Red Sox becomes more embarrassing by the day for the Yankees, all the more so after an eighth-inning meltdown Thursday night that ruined a strong outing by CC Sabathia and officially put this rivalry on psych-out alert. ...

After Thursday night's 4-3 comeback victory by the Sox, you have to say that Aura and Mystique apparently have found a new haunt.

Then again, there is nothing magical about the way the Red Sox have dominated the Yankees this season, going 8-0 against them - with two wins in New York - because they've hit better in the clutch, played better defense and counted on what is statistically the best bullpen in the American League to close out games. ...

Still, this is the game that has to make the Yankees wonder if they'll ever find a way to beat the Sox this season. ...
Kevin Kernan, Post:
In every way, the Red Sox have the mental and physical edge now over the Yankees. This was shades of the 2004 ALCS when everything started going Boston's way. ...

This is the Yankees longest losing streak against Boston to start a season series since they lost 14 straight to the Red Sox from April 11, 1912, to July 1 of that year. ...

The best part for the Red Sox is that they can let the Yankees sit and stew until August when they meet again. That's a long time for the Yankees to wonder if they can ever beat these guys.
Tyler Kepner, Times:
They have 55 days to let this settle, 55 days of killing time until they meet the Boston Red Sox again. For almost two months, the Yankees will live with the rancid aftertaste of another sweep by their rivals. No matter how the Yankees handle other teams, the notion that they cannot beat Boston will rattle around somewhere in their brains.

A two-out, two-run double by Alex Rodriguez had given the Yankees a lead in the seventh. It was their first lead in 49 innings against Boston, but by the bottom of the eighth, it was gone.
Bob Klapisch, Record:
The wall of sound covered the Yankees like a downpour – it was the collective roar of a sold-out Fenway crowd celebrating another Red Sox victory over the Bombers. The cheers were mixed with taunts and insults. Mark Teixeira, who made the final out, lowered his head and walked off the field, absorbing the humiliation every step of the way.

So the hex continues, full force, in the Yankees' faces. ...

The Yankees were 3-for-38 with runners in scoring position in the series – a tattoo of failure that won't wash off any time soon. ...

"It stinks, it stinks for all of us," Joe Girardi said. "But you find out the character of a team in tough times."

That's the point, isn't it: The Yankees have glimpsed their competitive soul and discovered they're still lacking. ... [T]hey left Fenway shaken to their very core.
Ken Davidoff, Newsday:
Call it a system failure for the organization with the largest payroll in the industry. They spent the week here not coming up with enough big hits - they went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position last night, after going 2-for-14 on Wednesday night - and not getting anything from their first two starting pitchers, A.J. Burnett and Chien-Ming Wang. ...

If the Red Sox are favored to win the American League East, then the Yankees rank atop the contenders for the AL wild card. You need only be in it to win it.
Reassuring talk about the wild card on June 12! I love it.

33 comments:

laura k said...

Sir, you outdo yourself. A fine schaudenfreude morning it is.

B.R. said...

It's embarrassing that we can't seem to beat Boston. I'm not going to make excuses, but last night was truly a winable game, and Aceves completely blew it...not even C.C. I am so happy we don't have to see you guys until August, because we were doing just fine until we strolled into Fenway.

I think it's inevitable we will face off in the ALCS, and hopefully by then, the Yankees can solve their identity complex....

8-0 sucks
A 3 game sweep sucks
But I'll glady lose every single game to Boston, blow leads in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th as long as we win when it counts...in October


Nevertheless, you kicked our asses....

9casey said...

B.R. said...
and Aceves completely blew it...not even C.C.



Really ? you but the blame on some no mame reliever rather than then the Ace that was brought there to win championships....A base hit to Nick Green(on a weak change-up) a 10 pitch walk ......a base hit up the middle for J.D. Drew(a lefty the Red Sox often sit down against lefties).....and this is a no name relievers fault....O.K. ,if that allows you to sleep at night..

The Pita said...

the post's website doesnt help:

http://imgur.com/URCMb.png

Patrick said...

Ehh. You win some you lose some. One game ahead is nothing to party about in June.

Still, that said, I think this team of ours will only be getting better from this point onwards:

An awakened Big Papi,
The Return of the Jedi,
Some guy named Smoltz,
Some kid double aych,
and a regression (the good kind) from Lester and Beckett (and maybe even Dice-K?).

Oh yeah.

9casey said...

Patrick said...
Ehh. You win some you lose some. One game ahead is nothing to party about in June
TEAM W L % GB
Boston 36 24 .600 -
New York 34 26 .567 2.0

Can we party at 2?

MOCK! said...

B.R. said "as long as we win when it counts...in October"


Gonna be hard to be playing in October when you can't beat the division leader once....

(I know, big talk, but still...)

allan said...

Sir, you outdo yourself. A fine schaudenfreude morning it is.

I couldn't do it with the Yankees.

allan said...

Wise words from the Game Thread:

Edward Lee said...
Major props to Girardi for having Rivera ready to go in the 8th for the Bill James save and then not putting him in as the Yankees blew the game. Genius,
Fri Jun 12, 6:11:00 AM


***

I agre 101%. Rivera should have been in there to put out the roaring fire, not Aceves.

If Fruitbat protected the lead, THEN Joe could worry about who to have in the 9th. From his post-game comments, he stupidly thought that if he brought Mo in, he'd have to have him in there for the entire rest of the game. And he didn't want to do that.

So he kept Fruitbat on ice while his shittier arms blew the game -- thus, no chance for a save.

Pure idiocy.

God love him!

allan said...

Oh, and this post could have easily been twice as long. Plenty of good stuff in the linked stories that I did not include.

allan said...

Ehh. You win some you lose some. One game ahead is nothing to party about in June.

Rule No. 1:

Any time you get a chance to laugh at the Yankees, you damn well fuckin' laugh at the Yankees.

B.R. said...

Casey....C.C. went a solid 8 innings, the guy pretty much completely shut your team down...I have nothing to complain with him...I can complain about all the men we left on base the first two innings and what not.....

Patrick...I think Papi awakens only for the Yankees, I don't see that guy ever returning to his old form...he just doesn't look the same....and Smoltz is 67 years old

9casey said...

B.R. said...
Casey....C.C. went a solid 8 innings, the guy pretty much completely shut your team down...I have nothing to complain with him...


I don't know about that, 4 runs on 6 hits isn't pretty much completely shutting down a team...That may be good enough to beat some teams , but not the better ones.........He was brought there to dominate and the only teams he has dominated this year is KC., Cleve, and Balt...

Zenslinger said...

Or, to put it another way:

"C.C. went a solid 8 innings"

No, the boxscore shows 7.0 innings. Whether you consider them "solid" or not, I don't know. Allowing 4ER in 7 IP makes for a higher ERA than the minimum requirement for a so-called "quality start" (6IP, 3ER).

"the guy pretty much completely shut your team down"

No. He did a very good job for the first seven. Then he broke down, gave up two singles and a BB, and didn't retire a batter in the eighth. He was tired, and his manager made a poor choice to leave him in.

A respectable performance by CC, but still a deserved (albeit tough) loss.

Lord Lynch said...

As much as this is totally enjoyable, a much needed antidote to a depressing English summer, and a lovely little item to wind up the beloved, I'm not proclaiming the wicked witch of the Bronx dead just yet, which is the clear implication of this swivel-eyed, bipolar bullshit coming from the New York press.

Got enough air time to waffle on, and enough dead trees to scribe on, then give the people ADHD headlines and chicken licken (what we say over here) "sky is falling in nonsense" and it'll get filled. The media abhors a vacuum and it certainly abhors rational thought.

If the MFY's take it as evidence that we are convinced we are going to win it all, then more fool them. I've seen the Sox blow a bigger lead than this.

Schadenfreude indeed. Long may it continue redsock. It feeds my laughter gene....

B.R. said...

As much as I can't stand the Red Sox....I do love this blog...guilty pleasure....can't help it

laura k said...

"Ehh. You win some you lose some. One game ahead is nothing to party about in June."

Patrick, you're a Red Sox fan, and you can't party about beating the Yankees 8 times in 8 chances? Please take your partyometer in for a tune-up!!

laura k said...

Just my opinion, but if this blog devolves into a "debate" (nyah nyah, we're better than you!) with Yankees fans who happen to stop by, it's going to really suck. I know B.R. has done nothing bannable, but his posts bring out the kind of stupid non-arguments that many of us can't stand. I hope it doesn't continue.

allan said...

I don't see any evidence of that kind of debate ... yet.

I don't have any problems with discussions of the pros and cons of each team, but I do expect it to be a fair amount above the low bar set by sports radio. And that's really never been a problem here.

mugro said...

I know it's only June, but as Redsock says, if you get a chance to laugh at the yanks, you laugh at the yanks.

There have been tough times in the past for Red Sox fans, and there will undoubtedly be more tough times in the future. But, we have a chance to savor this moment of pure bliss, so I'm gonna savor it....

9casey said...

L-girl said...
Just my opinion, but if this blog devolves into a "debate" (nyah nyah, we're better than you!) with Yankees fans who happen to stop by, it's going to really suck. I know B.R. has done nothing bannable, but his posts bring out the kind of stupid non-arguments that many of us can't stand. I hope it doesn't continue.






B.R. seems like a good guy who can argue and also take his lickins. I think he has brass balls, I respect that ....I didn't think that debating with yankee fans will ever suck it's half the fun , we need them and they need us, without one another we don't exist...

Pepe Lepew said...

This reminds me of a debate I had with a pretty obnoxious Yankees fan earlier this year spouting off all game long about how terrible Ortiz is. This guy was giving me grief after a game earlier this year in which Beckett beat the Yankees in the pouring rain and he started spouting off, "Yeah, yeah, you Red Sox fans think you're hot shit now, but Ortiz still sucks and we're going to kick your ass in September ..."
And I cut him off and said, "look, we all know the Yankees are going to get hot. They do every year (except 2008). They always go through some stretch where they get ridiculous and win like 25 out of 30, so right now the Yankees are struggling, the Red Sox are kicking butt ... and I'm enjoying it! I want to see the Yankees buried as much as possible so they have that much further to climb back when they get hot. Give it a rest."
I just don't get people who don't keep this stuff in perspective.

allan said...

"... and we're going to kick your ass in September ..."

Possibly. Now, as for October ...

laura k said...

9C, like I said, just my opinion. I see no evidence of balls, brass or otherwise. It doesn't take much courage to type - especially anonymously!

I don't know why any Yankee fan would bother with this blog or why any Sox fan would bother with a Yankees blog. Just not my idea of fun.

laura k said...

Also meant to say

"I didn't think that debating with yankee fans will ever suck it's half the fun"

For me it is 0% of the fun.

Pepe Lepew said...

I don't know why any Yankee fan would bother with this blog or why any Sox fan would bother with a Yankees blog. Just not my idea of fun.

We're in accord. But, there's a *lot* of that on the Internet. I don't totally get it. I think it's a kind of mental illness. The worst are right-wingers who go onto left-wing blogs and insult liberals and Obama, etc. ... and vice versa. (Though I honestly think right-wingers do it a lot more than left-wingers.).
That all being said, this B.R. person doesn't seem terribly obnoxious ... I've heard *lots* worse from Yankees fans! Like, "Wow, Ortiz sure sucks ... doesn't he? Man, does Ortiz ever suck." (For like two solid hours...)

Zenslinger said...

I don't mind it for its own sake and have occasionally posted on Replacement Level. But bitter name-calling and such I can do without. If that's what people want, there are better places to do it, or are even meant for it (Yanks Fan vs. Sox Fan?) on the Web.

allan said...

Never noticed that at YF/SF. They usually have intelligent posts.

Patrick said...

I was more consoling BR than anything else.

B.R. said...

L-girl....thanks for being so rude....you are the only one here that's like that towards me...

You don't need to know who Iam...I don't like giving out my real name, it's unnecessary. I haven't found a Yankees blog as concise, and interesting as this one, so that's why I enjoy posting here. I will never be obnoxious, disrespectful, or insulting. Iam 25 years old, and certainly wasn't raised that way.

I am a big Yankees fan that enjoys a good baseball discussion or debate...and won't make excuses for my team. The way you respond to my posts, makes me wonder if you are an 18 year old bitter betty.

Thanks Casey for the respect and understand. Thank you red sock for allowing me to post. L-girl, relax...Iam not here to debate who's better...we'll see who that is in October

allan said...

I will never be obnoxious, disrespectful, or insulting.

That's good to hear.

... makes me wonder if you are an 18 year old bitter betty.

Well, it didn't take long to break your promise, did it?

Look. You are a Yankees fan posting at a Red Sox blog. You are gonna get some shit. And people are going to wonder wtf. ... *I* am wondering wtf.

And don't start in with the whiny "L is the only one here that acts rude to me" silliness. Pepe alluded to a "mental illness" for fuck's sake -- that's cool with you? Or do you only have a problem with girls?

(For the record, there has been a history with trolls here who make that exact same comment about L. 10 of us say the exact same thing, but the troll goes after only her. It's a horseshit move.)

I guess you had a problem with this

but his posts bring out the kind of stupid non-arguments that many of us can't stand

For what it is worth, I agree with L, though as I said, that kind of second-grade back and forth has not happened, and it will not happen.

And honestly, I took her comment as more hoping that Red Sox fans do not take the MFY fan bait. I didn't think she was even talking about you.

I see nothing else that Laura said to get even the slightest bit bothered by. But if there is, you're gonna have to accept it as the price of hanging around.

Finally: Please do not tell anyone here to "relax". It's insulting.

laura k said...

Pepe, yes indeed, there is a ton of it on the internet. I deplore it. Allan and I have both tried to keep our blogs free of that kind of b/s.

I've heard a lot worse than B.R. too, but that's not my barometer. I'm more concerned with where it could go than where it is now.

Predictably, B.R. singles me out for attack. As Allan says, we've seen it here 100 times. Ten posters with male names will say whatever they want, but I'll say something, no matter how innocuous, and guy will go on attack. It's amazing how consistent this is.

"I am a big Yankees fan that enjoys a good baseball discussion or debate"

B.R., I don't consider what you're doing discussion or debate. Discussion or debate would be (for example) who is a better shortstop, person A or person B, and how can we try to prove it. What should be done about David Ortiz. Should Francona have brought in Papelbon in that situation. And so on.

What you're doing is "nyah nyah, my team is better than yours". In my opinion, that is best left to 8 year olds.

"The way you respond to my posts, makes me wonder if you are an 18 year old bitter betty."

I'm not sure what a "bitter betty" is. I am 48 year old woman and the partner of the person who writes this blog.

I don't need to be told to relax. I'm not the slightest bit upset by your comments. I just find your prescence here ridiculous. As Allan pointed out, I am always hoping JoSers don't take the bait.

B.R. said...

Apologies to all