May 18, 2010

G40: Red Sox 7, Yankees 6

Red Sox - 000 001 042 - 7 10  2
Yankees - 020 120 001 - 6 8 2
During the bottom of the ninth inning, as Jonathan Papelbon weaved and bobbed and seemed to be slipping on the high wire, an old Richard Thompson song popped into my head. It was back in 1983 and he was singing about something other than baseball, but the line has stayed with me: "My heart was beating like a song by the Clash".

You wouldn't think that a game on May 18 could make a fan of an underachieving team solidly in fourth place and coming off its most demoralizing loss of the year feel like it was actually October 18 with the pennant hanging in the balance.

But with Randy Winn in the box with two outs and the tying run at third and winning run at second, in a game that I had emotionally tossed the metaphorical white towel in on after seven innings and a 5-1 Yankees lead, only to be utterly delighted and reawakened by the sight of Joba Chamberlain flat-brimming his way to allowing four Boston runs before recording a second out (though both outs were gifts, as Victor hacked on 3-0 and Ortiz literally walked to first watching his fly ball not leave the park), and then having Daniel Bard slam the door on Hideki Okajima's little two-out mess in the eighth and preserve the tie, and then watch the Sox rally for two more runs against Mariano Rivera, a key play of which was Marcus Thames dropping Marco Scutaro's pop-up in short right and literally kicking it into right-center, then Jeremy Hermida (who had replaced a possibly injured J.D. Drew after Drew had hit a key double against Joba), clearly looking at strike three on a 1-2 pitch inside, which would have ended the inning with the game 5-5, but for some reason not having the plate umpire ring him up, whacking a two-run double far over Winn's head in left field, and then hoping Bard would return for the ninth, but no, it's Papelbon, yikes, and Slappy reaches as his ground ball lazily rolls past Scutaro's back-handed glove into left, Cano doubles, it's now 7-6, Cano is sac'd to third and Thames walks (but not before ball 2 is up and not really that far in, but Thames backs away quickly anyway and glares out at Bot; a fight - now? in the rain?) and Pena runs for Thames at first and goes to second as Miranda smacks a hard, low snake to Papelbon, who twists and turns (seemingly in panic, though that was probably a bit of projection by me) before throwing to first, and so now Winn is up and the count is 2-1 and here's where my heart is thumping like it's the ALCS, Winn fouls off a pitch, takes ball three, full count, and if he walks, the bases will be loaded for Jeter, who hasn't done a thing all night, but it's still not a situation I would willingly ask for, and Winn fouls off another 3-2 pitch, and then suddenly, he swings and misses. And immediately, everything stops. It's actually slightly disorienting. Winn is out, it's the third out, the inning is over, and that means the Sox win the game. Jesus, can I take a breath now?

And it turns out that the Thompson line in "Tear-Stained Letter" is: "My head was beating like a song by the Clash". ... I like what I remembered much better.

I'm not sure two other games, without the added intensity of extra innings, could offer as much drama and tension as this little mid-May series did. The remaining 122 games of the regular season will unfold however they do, but after tonight, you should neither need nor demand any additional evidence of this Red Sox team refusal to quit. They will claw and scrape and battle to the very last out. (And shame on me for assuming this one was over.)

An impartial observer watching these two games would come away thinking baseball is the most amazing, exhilarating, action-packed, heart-stopping, emotionally-draining game ever devised. And, of course, she'd be right.
Example
Start of game delayed by rain. 8 PM start expected.

Mike Lowell is very frustrated, says he has thought about asking for his release.
Example
Josh Beckett / CC Sabathia

It's raining in New York.
Scutaro, SS
Pedroia, 2B
Drew, RF
Youkilis, 1B
Martinez, C
Ortiz, DH
Beltre, 3B
Hall, LF
McDonald, CF
Lost amid the shitastic ending last night was some good hitting: Victor Martinez was 0-for-his-last-19 before he homered from both sides of the plate, the first time a Boston player has done that since Jason Varitek on August 16, 2005 (crazy linescore -- and it was the second start/game of Jonathan Papelbon's career).

David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and J.D. Drew also went deep. Drew's dong was especially big, cutting New York's lead in the fifth from 6-2 to 6-5. That rally started after Phil Hughes retired the first two batters on only three pitches.

B-Ref: "Are The Red Sox Toast?"

If you need it: "Vent Thread: Where SoSH Proves It Can't Handle Mediocrity"

286 comments:

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allan said...

Jeter, SS
Gardner, CF
Teixeira, 1B
Rodriguez, 3B
Cano, 2B
Cervelli, C
Thames, RF
Miranda, DH
Winn, LF

allan said...

Earlier:

CLE - 000 010 010 - 2 6 0
FKR - 001 004 01x - 6 12 2

MIN - 000 100 010 - 2 6 1
TOR - 221 105 00x - 11 15 0

ALE (right now):

FKR ---
MFY 2.5
TOR 5.0
BOS 9.0
BAL 16.0

JFC....

allan said...

Start of game has been delayed.

allan said...

I'd rather have Varitek in there catching Beckett and batting RH against CCC.

Zenslinger said...

And Lowell in the lineup? Maybe.

allan said...

tarp coming off.

beckett tossing in outfield

Patrick said...

"Drew's dong was especially big..."

Smiley face.

allan said...

shit - i will have the mfy feed.

allan said...

time for baseball.

the party starts now.

laura k said...

No threading for me tonight. Not b/c of last night.

Go Sox.

Please.

allan said...

of - single

allan said...

attack this mountain of goo.

Edward Lee said...

Really disappointed by the headline on Benjamin's article. Lowell sounds eminently reasonable throughout. Frustrated, sure, but not bitter or spiteful at all.

allan said...

light rain falling

allan said...

flo strokes a hit to left. nice.

allan said...

mfy tv finally posts the sox lineup. as the #7 steps in

allan said...

this mfy feed (my9) has not been going to commercial btw innings, just a steady shot from the high home camera.

Amy said...

Quiet thread, huh? I was out and now have stuff to do so will be checking in and out of the thread while tracking the game on line.

allan said...

scutar-oh shit

Joe Gravellese said...

the game started?

allan said...

at 8:05.

Joe Gravellese said...

excellent, are we winning yet

allan said...

no
0-0, mfy have bases loaded and 1 out in bot 2nd

allan said...

miranda single = 1-0 mfy, still loaded

allan said...

beckett has lost the ability to throw a strike -- that does not get smacked for a hit

Joe Gravellese said...

=(

Joe Gravellese said...

I switched back to the Memorial Cup; I don't like watching us pitch when we be doing it wrong.

nick said...

Emma and I were reviewing amazing pictures of Mount St. Helens while listening to a terrific song about it. Between the song that a friend of ours played on and going out to visit my folks in Washington and hiking on the Mt. it has meaning for her. The power the pictures show is just devastating.

kinda like this game.

allan said...

CI = KI

Joe Gravellese said...

Hahaha

nick said...

bobble bobble toil and trobble.

coulda been a lot worse (coulda been a lot better).

Joe Gravellese said...

Mississauga is hosting the memorial cup next year (?!) L and A I am coming to visit

meanwhile, hoping for lots and lots of in play, and even moreso, RUN(S) - NOT out(s)

allan said...

come on up

allan said...

dong pls

Joe Gravellese said...

Lets goooooooo boys

allan said...

joe, i meant to ask for links to your hockey stuff. is it still on line? did you do game stories, a column, or what?

Joe Gravellese said...

i'll email you later with some links. i did mostly (short) game stories, with a few features, previews, off-day stories, etc.

laura k said...

So we are Memorial Cup Central next year, is that it? Sounds good to me. I wonder how much tickets are to those games.

Joe Gravellese said...

face value ticket packages for the entire tournament (8 or 9 games) was $299 this year.

i'm guessing for individual games the only choice is the secondary market.

i'll do some investigative reporting.

Joe Gravellese said...

tickets for tomorrow's final round robin game can be had on ticketmaster.ca for $35 or $55 per.

Dr. Jeff said...

I'm unimpressed with Beltre's hitting. And fielding.

Joe Gravellese said...

dear red sox

if you decide to score some runs

nobody's gonna be mad

laura k said...

ha. nice.

Joe Gravellese said...

JoS 2.5: Frozen JoS. May 2011.

The Blue Jays will probably be playing, too. (maybe against the sox or yanks!)

We know the Maple Leafs won't be though.=)

Joe Gravellese said...

btw, for the benefit of me and Ish, those $35 tickets, at the current exchange rate, translate to around ~$35.

laura k said...

yeah, it's no fun getting paid in US anymore.

allan said...

beckett just got read his miranda rights.

laura k said...

btw, that "ha nice" was at the little letter / poem to the red sox.

oh look. someone wearing pinstripes is trotting around in a diamond shaped pattern.

Joe Gravellese said...

At least you're not getting paid in Euros... nosedive!

Joe Gravellese said...

Mother Eff

Patrick said...

He's been great, but I really look forward to the day we're not fielding Darnell McDonald.

Joe Gravellese said...

BTW, in a slight glimmer of good political news in the US, the more progressive candidate, Joe Sestak, appears to have defeated Republican-No-Wait-I-Mean-Democrat senator Arlen Specter in the state's Democratic primary.

Joe Gravellese said...

that state = Pennsylvania

Patrick said...

Pedroia's numbers thus far look like that of a slugger, and not a high contact on base machine.

Joe Gravellese said...

excuse me, you mean Laser Show operator, not slugger

allan said...

can someone read ccc's lips?

"that's a fucking strike, you fucking ___________! fucking ___________fucking ___________fucking ___________fucking ___________fucking ___________fucking ___________!"

that's all i got.

Joe Gravellese said...

http://www.sullysbrand.com/blog/1274128783.jpg

allan said...

tito and farrell both hot on B4 to teix. tito yelling "that's the same pitch!!" -- meaning FY's, i guess.

allan said...

...........

Rob said...

Why doesn't the rain ever fall as dirty water drops in New York anymore?

Rob said...

NESN, your pitch count becomes less believable when Pitch #103 has just been thrown and Beckett leaves at 101.

Is he leaving injured now? Ugh.

allan said...

did he slip on his landing foot only on slappy's L7?

allan said...

maybe CC can sprain a fat.

SoSock said...

This is really not good. And I seem to be saying that a lot lately.
At least the Yankees fans at the bar last night left before Pap's implosion.
Beckett?

allan said...

shithead girardi questioning whether beckett left because of an injury... or just shitty pitching.

it can't be both?

allan said...

i'm sensing an in-game bad call meltdown from tito if we lose a few more games...

SoSock said...

Don't really care for the way Hall jumped at that catch

allan said...

tito is out talking to ump (home ump?) presumably about the pitching change. could see the ump explaining to tito and saying "slipped on the mound", probably recapping girardi's argument.

tito stays cool and goes back. ump now going to talk to girardi? no -- going too telephone...

allan said...

ump chatting on the blower, girardi beside him.

not raining enough for tarp...

singleton wonders if girardi is protesting the game/pitching change

allan said...

i gotta mute kay, so i got silence. if there is any news, post away pls

allan said...

I AM THE SULTAN...

I AM THE SULTAN OF SWEAT

Rob said...

Reading on Twitter that the Yankees are playing under protest. Both YES and NESN talking about it.

Rob said...

Amalie Benjamin reports the game being played under protest, as well. *yawn*

nick said...

I don't really get what the protest is. What's different here?

allan said...

singleton was saying well what's to prevent any manager from saying oh my pitcher is hurt, i need to bring in another and let him have all the time he needs.

if a mgr fucks up and does not have an arm up in time, he could resort to that. i guess that's why it is not allowed.

nick said...

That's entirely possible, but it's not like Beckett suddenly self-destructed. Seems odd to publicly register playing under protest here.

allan said...

well, girardi is an ass, so there's that.

nick said...

geez. not even any casual chatting round here.

Had a sudden I miss Ococ moment. I'm sure it'll pass just fine.

allan said...

if this keeps up, game threads will be me posting the other team's lineup in the first comment, then ... crickets.

SoSock said...

We sure are making CC look good here

allan said...

ramram in

SoSock said...

Nick - that's almost sad. Missing oCoC I mean

SoSock said...

ramram - why?
It's the fucking Yankees.
Give us at least a fighting chance to come back

allan said...

my9 showing 3 replays of the jeter dive into the stands -- something that happened 6 years ago -- for no apparent reason.

allan said...

in comes the cunt ...

nick said...

I've had a soft spot for the crispy one. Were that he just a bit more (good). As a name to play on and root for he was solid and he had a bit of a character...charging the mound, battles with mascots, some great layouts.

allan said...

schoeneweis up ...

allan said...

if joba hits yook, it'll be armageddon ... that would be cool

allan said...

alive?

SoSock said...

Since baseball is not exciting tonight - got good news/bad news today.
Took Noah to the vet, not sure at all when I left that he would be coming home with me. He's had hip issues for a while, but this weekend they got very bad. He's dragging his back legs behind him most of the time.
Bad news - probably a blown disc in back and he probably doesn't have a lot of quality time left.
Good news - Vet feels like he can make him comfortable and able to walk for at least a few weeks, maybe months with steroids.
Have used them before to try to help with the skin issues, but this time, given the prognosis, he said he would prescribe a much higher dosage. Said it would almost definitely make him feel better, but only for so long. So we have some time to hang out.
And the Sox are showing signs of life!

nick said...

Pedroia would've had that if, y'know, he hadn't hit it.

Amy said...

Sorry about Noah, SoSock. How old is he?

Amy said...

Still around, just not motivated to thread tonight. Not sure if it's the game or just my general state of mind. I just hate making negative comments. As my mother said, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything.

allan said...

i love that indifferent bastard!!!

allan said...

get some revenge, yook.
tie this shit.

SoSock said...

Tying run at the plate!

Amy said...

A run!

allan said...

eat shit, joba!!!!!!!!!

nick said...

please no wounded Werd.
Youk could tie this.

allan said...

man, that sucks about noah, tim. enjoy every minute.

Benjamin said...

Shit eaten.

nick said...

Not a tie, but fucking fuck yeah!

Amy said...

Wow, almost tied up!

Kathryn said...

Hi everybody. I've been watching (yuk), but haven't been able to post. I'm finally settled in for the night.

Oh yes, the Jeter dive. We were listening to that in the car on the radio and I can still hear Sterling saying, "He's just a winner."


Keep it up Sox!!!

allan said...

why swing 3-0? that is dumb.

Zenslinger said...

I've been in The Bar.

Whatever else may happen, it's sure nice to see Joba eat it raw.

allan said...

hey joba - what, no fist pump for that out?

SoSock said...

YOOOOK!
We have a game!

Noah is around 13, we're not 100% sure. I remember he was a Mother's Day present, so his "birthday" was recently. But none of us are sure about what year we got him for her. Fairly certain, though, that he's 12 or 13.

nick said...

Frere Papi, Frere Papi.......ding dang dong, ding dang dong...

allan said...

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

almost gone!!!

but we be tied!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amy said...

YES! Tied.

Oh, Papi....

Kathryn said...

Almost Papi of old.

A tie game!

SoSock said...

Damn, just a few more feet woulda done it. But...we're TIED!

nick said...

yes!, bah, yes!, bah!

allan said...

when sosock bitched about ramram, i was going to post - down by 4 with 6 outs, tito knows (correctly) that it's over.

oops! :>)

allan said...

NOW LET'S NO BLOW THIS SHIT AGAIN, OKAY??? JEEMER, THAT MEANS YOU!

SoSock said...

Gotta second 2 earlier comments.

Zen - agreed about how nice it is to see Joba eat it.
RS - didn't understand the 3-0 swing myself. Especially not given the score and situation

allan said...

nyy tv showing drew after he got to second. in pain?

allan said...

this team ain't quittin', that's for sure.

SoSock said...

Shakespeare up

SoSock said...

Looked like he was hurting to me. Did he come out to play OF?

SoSock said...

Hermida's in RF now
(Answering myself)

Amy said...

Whatever happens, at least we didn't go down without trying (and tying).

Kathryn said...

So get this. My father-in-law (who works with my husband) is a big Yankees fan. My husband says his dad spent about 10 minutes today talking about what a great game that was last night. How he had given up on them and turned it back on to see them win, etc. He spent 5 minutes on the greatness of a walk-off win. Jay says he seemed to have no thought that he could have been pissing off his son.

Anyway, I say if the Sox win this one, Jay can turn the tables. Talk about how it was 5-1 in the 8th, the brilliant JtC pitching, etc.

SoSock said...

What a poor excuse for a hit.

allan said...

like about 75% of his hits.

Amy said...

MrsG, imagine living with a Yankee fan... He is usually very good about not gloating, but last night as soon as Thames hit that HR, he jumped up and said, "Good! I am happy." He was pissed about Pap hitting whatshisname, the batter before Thames.

So far tonight, he is quiet.

allan said...

living with a yankee fan ...

i wonder what that is like...

***

fuckin jeemer.

SoSock said...

Bard vs. Tex-error

allan said...

smoke him if you got 'em.

Kathryn said...

I guess Jeemer didn't read your post, Allan.

allan said...

doucheira 3 for 9 vs bard

allan said...

done.

Amy said...

OK, so can we keep Bard in for the 9th? If Pap comes in, I will puke.

Amy said...

(My Yankee fan went to bed. Guess he doesn't want to see me gloat tonight...I hope.)

allan said...

L also sleep. Getting up at 6 to transcribe stuff.

F-Bat in.

allan said...

not that she is a yankees fan :>)

SoSock said...

Have I menntioned lately that Bard is a Tarheel?

Amy said...

Bard is cute.

Amy said...

I should go to sleep, but cannot right now. I will hope for a go ahead run this inning. Otherwise, I doubt I can make it to extra innings.

SoSock said...

Blow it again Fruitbat!

Zenslinger said...

(My Yankee fan went to bed. Guess he doesn't want to see me gloat tonight...I hope.)

Worth a laugh!

Amy said...

No, Laura saw the light.

allan said...

when she went upstairs it was still 5-0. she was watching the office and i told her yook donged. then i went up to say we tied it, but it was dark and she was pissed i woke her up.

Amy said...

Too bad Mike can't run.

Kathryn said...

No more threading for me tonight.

Let's win this one!

SoSock said...

I HATE to say this, but that was a pretty good play. Of course, Lowell is not very fast either

allan said...

mcdonald totally swung at that! gift!

Rob said...

Someone turn these damn raindrops dirty!

Amy said...

Go ahead run on base!

Benjamin said...

Also swung at that one.

allan said...

i'm calling it winning run.

allan said...

HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...

"CATCH THE BALL!@!!!!"

SoSock said...

WOW!!!!!

Benjamin said...

Yay.

nick said...

holy frakkin' fuck!

Benjamin said...

Yay.

Amy said...

HOHOHOHO!

Amy said...

(Good thing Harvey didn't just hear me laugh out loud!)

allan said...

D'oh!

Zenslinger said...

Yeah yeah, c'mon now.

Amy said...

NOW take advantage of that!!

nick said...

FY really looking to be power... just get me something good.

Amy said...

Come on, Pedroia. You can do it.

Amy said...

Well, at least it wasn't a DP from DP.

nick said...

gah..... something good. good.

SoSock said...

Plz let Yook get a shot here

allan said...

whoa - where was that!

nick said...

Show us the way, Hermes.

Benjamin said...

Not sure about that 1-2 pitch.

Benjamin said...

!!!!!

Amy said...

YES!!!

allan said...

MELTDOWN IN THE BRONX.

Amy said...

This Hermida guy---where did we get him from?

SoSock said...

HOT DAMN!!!!!!!!!

Amy said...

I love when we get to Mo.

nick said...

The inventor of fire takes over for On Fire and fires one to left!

Zenslinger said...

HA HA HA HA!

allan said...

i am sure about that 1-2 pitch. it was strike 3. anyone got a f/x shot?

meunier said...

Here's hoping the Bot dosn't blow its motivator like last night :/

SoSock said...

Bard - Please Tito, Bard

Benjamin said...

Yeah... not a ball.

Benjamin said...

(Numbered plot)

Amy said...

OK, guess I have to stay up for the bottom of the ninth, now that we are ahead. But man, I am dreading it.

allan said...

more bard pls

hope tito doesn't worry about appearances (not going with closer)

meunier said...

What the heck is Cervelli doing that high in the order?

Amy said...

I agree---Bard, not Bot.

allan said...

speaking of bots, the mobot seems to have blown a fuse lately.

Benjamin said...

I love seeing Mo get bloodied, but I'd rather it weren't the ump doing the bloodying.

Rob said...

Don't fuck this up again, Bot. Time to atone.

I like Bard here better, but you know Tito... Bard threw TWO pitches.

nick said...

Have Hermes on the brain. Looked it up on wikipedia. This line:

He is athletic and is always looking out for runners, or any athletes with injuries who need his help.

Benjamin said...

the mobot

Fruitbot?

allan said...

mo-bot / robot.

oh shit, it's snuffelupagus.

hold on.

allan said...

at least we are up by 2.

nick said...

No Shakespeare no tragedy please.

Benjamin said...

snuffelupagus

Fuckitupforus?

SoSock said...

Maybe pitch 5 should have been a srike, but pitch 2 should have been a ball. Anything that close is iffy, you get some, they get some

nick said...

redsock said...
at least we are up by 2.


Because that worked so well yesterday?

allan said...

oh god.

allan said...

ummmmmmmmm if bot sucks, we can bring bard back out, right?

right?

RIGHT???

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