Schadenfreude 121 (A Continuing Series)

Anthony Mccarron, Daily News:

Moments after Coco Crisp's 10th-inning home run landed in the second deck in right field Wednesday night, thousands of fans at the Stadium rose from their seats and headed for the exits. The ones who remained hooted at Rafael Soriano, serenading the $35-million setup man with boos after he finally got the last out of the inning. ...

After dropping their second straight to the A's, the Yankees have suddenly lost 3-of-4 games against inferior competition, including the end of their series in Minnesota. And they didn't get a whole lot of good news out of CC Sabathia, their struggling ace ...

Sabathia's poor recent pitching caused consternation in Yankeeland in part because one of the outings was against the Red Sox, who have pounded Sabathia all season.

In his very next start, the Rays crushed five solo home runs off Sabathia ... only the sixth time any Yankee pitcher had given up as many as five homers in a game.

Mark Hale, Post:

Whether he was rusty or not, well-rested Yankees reliever Rafael Soriano was a disaster last night ...

Soriano has shined other times when he was pitching on multiple days of rest. ... [A]fter the $35 million man got the first out last night in the 10th, Cliff Pennington and Scott Sizemore ripped singles. One out later, Crisp bashed a slider into the second deck in right.

Joel Sherman, Post:

The brouhaha over what occurred on the mound between Burnett and manager Joe Girardi on Saturday at Target Field – and the aftermath – leaves me wondering if the duo wants us to think of them as liars or just unprofessional. ...

Burnett said he was infuriated that umpire D.J. Reyburn called a close, full-count pitch to Joe Mauer a ball to force in a run. That was Burnett's 61st pitch. If it is a strike, he is out of the inning. But not before his first 60 pitches had results in three runs on five hits, two walks and two wild pitches. In other words, Reyburn had as much to do with Burnett's problems that night as the position of Jupiter in the sky.

Bob Raissman, Daily News:

Girardi, now the official leader in the clubhouse for "Best Performance By A Manager on a Postgame Show," was making this all a media issue as he attempted to turn the reporter into a villain. ...

In a few moments Girardi had shown surprise, anger, sarcasm and disgust. A remarkable range. There were some who bought his performance and the story about Burnett's obscene language being directed at home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn for squeezing him on a pitch to Joe Mauer. ...

YES had the money shot. It's [sic] camera was focussed on Burnett's face when he left the mound. His lips were easy to read. ... Those replays showed the pitcher looking back over his shoulder, directing words to Girardi not Reyburn. Also, the YES voices never once indicated the pitch to Mauer was close. They never even commented on it during the game.

Mark Feinsand, Blogging the Bombers:

Breaking news: A.J. Burnett has shaved his head.