Tonight At Progressive Field….
Yes, the birds were out in Cleveland. The bugs too. So creepy, especially because the birds were eating the bugs. But the Yankees vanquished them both – and the Indians – for a 5-2 victory.
Thinking I could only get the ESPN feed, I spent the first few innings listening to Steve Phillips run his mouth. Before I switched over to YES, Orel Hershiser had a good line. Jeter was 0-and-2 in the top of the first, and Orel said, “It doesn’t look like Jeter sees the ball because of the shadows on the field.” Next pitch? Jeter singled. Way to call it, Orel!
Congrats to the Captain for his 2600th hit, by the way. It came in the third on a bunt single, and resulted in the Yankees’ first run of the evening.
The Yankees offense wasn’t exactly in attack mode, but fortunately Joba was pitching a gem. He was brilliant, in fact, his only mistake a home run to Martinez in the fourth. Then came Shoppach’s pop-up bunt attempt in the fifth and Joba’s spectacular diving catch.
Nice belly flop, guy!
The Yankees wasted a perfectly good opportunity to break the game open in the sixth when Sowers, the Indians’ starter, went sour. Three straight walks and we didn’t score! That’s hard to do!
But after Aquino came in and issued another three walks, Swisher doubled in two runs.
Onto the mound came a familiar face, and I knew we had the game won.
Viz allowed another couple of runs for 5-1. I swear he’s an older version of Veras.
Anyhow, Joba went eight innings – his longest and best outing yet as a starter – and Mo finished up with a 1-2-3 ninth.
I sort of laughed when Francisco hit a grounder that glanced off Mo’s glove. Judging by the way Gene Monahan rushed out to check on him, you would have thought he’d been hit by a bus.
The weirdest line of the night belonged to Michael Kay, after Mo threw one past Choo: “Mariano’s got some hair on the fastball tonight.”
Euww. Sorry.
The Yankees extended their streak of error-less games to an MLB record of 18. (What a difference a Gold Glove first baseman makes. ) And they remained in first place for another day.
Now it’s home to the Launching Pad in the Bronx to face the Rangers and, hopefully, to witness a whole bunch of these by the Bombers.
Confessions of a She-Fan 
I WATCH MOST YANKEE GAMES on GameDay at work (i’m a database programmer, and i’m online all day); so i don’t get to see video footage until after the game’s over at home (because for this year mlb.com has decided that video highlights are a premium feature – last year, video highlights were available to view minutes after the play)
i only got to see Joba’s Superman-prostrate popup grab hours later; when that play happened, Gameday wrote the summary as “Kelly Shoppach bunts pops into double play, pitcher Joba Chamberlain to shortstop Derek Jeter. Ryan Garko out at 2nd.” i figured that Joba grabbed the popup, and Garko doubled off at 2nd base, but i didn’t figure it was that spectacular!
and on top of the Flying Joba and the 30th win of the season, the Yankees have set the major league record for the most consecutive errorless games (18!) – and even better yet – the record beat out the 2006 Red Sox!!!! hahaha!!!! i remember that year (the Red Sox set the record mainly during interleague play)
First, can I hire you to give my Angels a pep talk??? Good for Joba…8 solid AND he’s playing defense now? That should help silence his critics. Please, please, please beat up on the Rangers. We’d owe you big time when we face the Sox again.
Lori
http://luckylori.mlblogs.com
Almost forgot…congrats to Jeter. He’s always been on my “good guys” list. And “The Birds” trailer? Looks like my house at dinner time! 😉
Lori
The Joba sprawl was terrific! It looked like the Indians might be starting something, and bam! (quite literally) he shut down a potential big inning for the Tribe. I also liked CC’s flip of the sunflower seeds on Johnny Damon and his “look” of disgust. This team is fun to watch…well, except for a few guys in the pen.
Scott
http://fotr.mlblogs.com
Wait – how come when your games are on ESPN you can still get a feed on YES with your announcers? That doesn’t happen with Red Sox games. hmmm…. Those midges in Cleveland – I hope this isn’t a sign of how the whole season is going to be. Oh – and “hairy balls” – Dennis Eckersley has been using that term all season while he has been filling in for Jerry Remy.
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
Jane, once again, your entry is a work of a genius.
Jane, my favorite Yankee is Derek Jeter, so my congratulations to him. Yankees, watch out for Texas, they are a tough team. They’re sitting on top of their division like the Dodgers (Yaaaaay Dodgers) are sitting on top of theirs.
That clump of hair is pretty disgusting, Jane.
When are you visiting your Mom?? I wish you could have taken a few of my tickets for the Dodger games. Obviously my buddies Marynell and Linda are not cheering the Dodgers enough cuz they bit the dust last night without yours truly in attendance. I think that if they saw you in the stands, it would have spurred them on. However, I would have had to give you a Dodgers hat to replace your Yankees one. The Dodgers are very well aware of their fans and know that we are the greatest fans in all of baseball (as the great Vin Scully puts it).
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
OMG! That hair ball picture just made me throw up a little in my mouth. LOL
That hair is sooo gross. Good thing I wasn’t eating while reading this!!
http://kaybee.mlblogs.com
Wasn’t last night fun to watch? The Joba diving catch and the ensuing hilarity it caused for CC and Andy just made my night.
I might be crazy, but last night, when Swisher was up with the bases loaded, right before his double, I thought I heard Flaherty say: “He’s got four grand slams in his career, three with the bases loaded.” Please tell me I didn’t hear that right…
Loved the Game.. so fun to watch ! Better than watching Joba Flying for that pop bunt was the reaction from the dugout. PRICELESS !
Is it just me or dont you feel like its not a big deal to pitch “8” innings. Joba is a young guy. Frustrates me these young guys have trouble pitching more than 5 or six innings. I wish it wasnt such a big deal Joba can pitch eight innings. Lots of pitchers in the old days pitched full games and batted all the time, before weight rooms and conditioning coaches.
Does Flaherty sound like Adam Corolla?
Yes ,I heard Flaherty say that about swisher too !
Growing up with six sisters, I found plenty of hairballs like that lying around the house. No bugs though. Or birds. I bet you miss Josh Lewin, don’t ya.
–Jeff
http://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/
http://mtrredstatebluestate.com/
More Great Stuff. Or should I say, “Mo…great stuff!” Had my heart in my throat for a few secs when Joba did his Swan Dive (okay, bellyflop) — Greg Louganis he ain’t — but it all worked out. Loved to see CC & Andy’s reaction…think there must be some Bonding Afoot?! And how great was it to really EARN that record — Joba’s dive, Mo’s quick reactions, musical third basemen just DARING the fates — and of course, Big Tex making it all look So Easy. Awesome. Now, when the Rangers come a-calling, it really could be Home Run Derby…ever see the original TV show, with Mantle & Aaron & Killebrew, etc. etc.? Good Evening, Mr. Hitchcock, we could be in for some SUSPENSE!!!
Sorry you had to miss Joba’s flying grab and double dip, Levelboss. It was fun to watch, as are most of the games lately. Sure hope the revelry continues against the Rangers tonight.
Lori, I’ll try to make the Yankees beat the Rangers for you, I promise. But then your guys will have to do their part for us. Deal?
I love your qualifier, Scott. LOL. Isn’t it time we got another arm in the pen? Bruney and Marte aren’t coming back any time soon, so why not trade for somebody (not Vizcaino).
Julia, I think I got the YES feed because I’m on the Extra Innings package and we’re supposed to get a certain number of local games per season. But honestly it’s all a mystery how it works.
Thanks, Joe.
I wish I could have taken your seats at Dodger Stadium, Cat. I would have worn a Dodger cap in your absence. But I hope you’re having a good time in VA. I’ll be in NY 6/11-18.
Serena and Kaybee, sorry about the hair ball! I debated whether it was too gross and then said, “Nah.”
I think I did hear Flaherty say that, YRC! Classic! It’s like when I went to a restaurant and ordered pie a la mode and the waitress said, “Do you want ice cream on that?”
Brendan, I do agree with you about the over-emphasis placed on the innings pitched. Down in Texas they kept saying that Nolan Ryan has thrown out the pitch count and pushed his young arms to go deeper into games. But I guess they want to avoid the injury Joba had at the end of last year. He’s so much better when he doesn’t try to conserve velocity and just lets it fly.
You grew up with six sisters, Jeff? How did you survive them (and the hair balls)? And yes, I do miss Lewin. He made the games more fun.
I’m hoping it won’t be home run derby for the Rangers, Dave. I know their offense is powerful, but we managed to keep them in check in Arlington, so maybe in the Bronx too?
Thanks, Brendan and Jane. Now I know I’m not nuts, but Flaherty is.
Haha absolutely excellent stuff as always Jane, and I loved the belly flop/Hair pictures and The Birds trailer. Perfect! It was great to see Joba overcome the seagulls and midges in Cleveland, and at least we could beat up Luis V since Pavano somehow got the best of us on Sunday. Talk to you soon, and keep up the always great work!
http://heartbeatofthebronx.blogspot.com/
Now that we’ve made fun of the birds and bugs in Cleveland, Stephen, let’s hope there are no pigeons at the Stadium tonight. No squirrels either.
That play by Joba, well, it looked like a mixture of Grady Sizemore, Curtis Granderson, Torii Hunter, and Jacoby Ellsbury. He full out dove for the ball to keep the game solid for the Yanks. It was fantastic. Check out my blog later on today. I will eventually get my post up about the game last night and on Joba’s play. Check it out around, say, 7:00 ish.
-Dillon
http://demboysfromthebronx.mlblogs.com
18 straight errorless games? Very impressive. Pitching and defense will win you a lot of ballgames.Russhttp://wight4256.mlblogs.com
Joba as Torii Hunter. Good one, Dillon!
Pitching and defense are key, Russ. The Yanks are playing good baseball right now.
Maybe after last night’s game we can see why Joba should stay in the rotation, and not go to the pen which has been piss-poor all season. That’s where the team’s problems lie. Veras needs to go, his last two outings were nothing more than milk runs as the Yanks had sizable leads and he STILL struggled. Coke needs to go as well, he’s nothing more than a middle innings reliever with average stuff, I don’t know why Girardi wants to use him in situations where a setup guy is required. Robertson isn’t the answer either. What are the Yanks gaining by putting Chamberlain in the pen as a setup guy? The problem has been the rest of the pen since the start of the season. guys like Coke can’t even hold a lead to hand over to Chamberlain. So there’s no point in putting Chamberlain in the pen.
If this team is to be competitive in the division and win it they must keep the best talent available in the rotation. Heck, this team hasn’t been competitive gainst teams like the Suks this season with what it does have (0-5) and they still have troubles with Tampa. So this team gains nothing by putting him in the pen. Who would this team use to replace him? IF anything the only competition is between Hughes and Wang. Hughes has been inconsistent since being called up, if he struggles down the road expect to see Wang come in to replace him and Hughes will become one of three long relievers in the pen, a much better scenario to have rather than keeping Veras, Coke and Robertson.
It’s just too bad people can’t wait for him to develop more as starter in the majors, after all he has far more value as a starter than a reliever,the Yanks still see him as a starter which is what they drafted him in the 1st Rd for. OF course he is going to struggle a little like all young pitchers do. He only has 22 career starts in his career at the major league level, plus his minor league experience is limited as well. He is still learning to pitch so get off his back with all the talk about moving him to the pen.
It’ll be good to see Cabrera in the lineup again. This team needs someone who can provide some offense. Gardner is way too inconsistent and limited as a hitter to be a starter. He needs to go back down and get some AB’s in order to develop more. This team is not doing him a favor by keeping him on the bench. He’s been a disappointment this season considering he beat out Cabrera for the starting CF position.
I think Joba cemented his slot in the rotation last night and silenced the doubters, Matthew. The pen is a problem though. No clue when Bruney is coming back. Same with Marte. I hope Cashman’s on the phone trying to find someone. I also hope Melky’s shoulder is OK. He didn’t look too good at the plate last night.
yeah those bugs are pretty nasty… they really love Joba it seems too…
Anyways, the Yankees game made me smile for the first time ever last night… and it was all because of the play Joba made on that popped up bunt. The airtime he got on that was unbelievable and the fact that he caught it after making such an awkward attempt was just hilarious. aha.
http://eatsleepmlb.mlblogs.com
Who won the video camera?
~ King of Cali
http://kingofcali.mlblogs.com/
I’m sure they’ll show the clip again tonight, Johnnnnn. It will live on in Yankeeland.
Here’s the link to the post about the winner, King. I wish you’d entered. Maybe next time.
http://janeheller.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/05/and_the_winner_of_the_flip_vid.html
Jane
Amazing score against the tough Rangers. Congrats!
I love my little Kodak video camera. A nice little gadget to add to my collection. I never would have thought of getting one until I saw yours. Thanks.
Having a great time in Virginia but I miss my Dodgers. I think now they are used to my absence.
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
So glad you’re enjoying your camcorder, Cat. They’re so much fun. I take mine everywhere because you never know. Don’t worry about your Dodgers. They’ll be fine until you’re back.