Tagged: Kerry Wood
Bart Is A Yankee (Woohoo)
I feared it would happen. I dreaded it. I thought it signaled total
desperation. But now that the former Cy Young winner has signed a minor
league deal with the Yankees I’m sort of who-cares about it. If he
pitches well, he could help us. If he doesn’t, he’ll be cut loose and
nobody will miss him. (I’m betting on the latter, but I’ll be thrilled
to be wrong.)
Cashman talks a lot about “catching lightning in a bottle” whenever
we bring in a guy with baggage. Dwight Gooden was lightning several
years ago. Kerry Wood was lightning last year. Lightning is possible.
But why, with only weeks to go until spring training, are we even having
this discussion? Shouldn’t we have cemented our rotation already? Like
with bona fide starters with proven track records? I’m just not getting
this off-season. It’s so….un-Yankee-like.
Now that I really think about the Colon signing, I’m actually
depressed by it. I was planning to post something fun from my archives
tonight as I count down to my moving day (I’m guessing it’ll be Friday
or Monday), but the Colon thing was on my mind. I hate to be a Debbie
Downer but I kind of am right now. Sorry. I mean, Bartolo Colon?
Seriously?
Still Breathing
How much better do I feel knowing the Yankees are on a plane to Dallas instead of cleaning out their lockers in the Bronx? This much better.
I wasn’t ready for our season to be over and neither, apparently, were the Yankees. CC didn’t have his dominant stuff, but if there’s a pitcher (besides Andy Pettitte) who can grind through an outing and still retire very good hitters in very big situations, it’s our ace. Huge applause for him.
The bats came alive against Wilson, who helped by not having the kind of control he had the last time out. The homers by Cano, Swisher and Granderson were awesome, but so were singles that kept the line moving. Speaking of Grandy, I’m thinking maybe we should give the prize of the Crumbs Yankees cupcakes to Kevin Long for turning his season completely around. What do you think? OK, never mind. Maybe Barbara or Melissa will knit/sew him a nice scarf instead.
There was still an issue with RISP, but I’m not going there. Not when I’m this happy. So let’s talk about Wood. When he spun around and picked off Andrus at second, I gave him a standing ovation.And Mo. Well. It was just good to see him after what seemed like an eternity. Of course, there was another moment of panic when Fat Elvis went down trying to catch that foul ball. I swear I thought we were seeing The Curse of the First Basemen. But once I figured out that he was OK, I watched the replays of his banana peel slip and slide and (I admit it) I laughed.
I hope he’ll get plenty of treatment for his neck/back and feel 100% on Friday night. I’m just so excited that there will even BE a Friday night. Yes, we’ll have to deal with the Rangers’ white towel-waving home crowd and yet another elimination game, but at least we’ll have a shot at tying up the series and forcing a Game 7. In other words, it’s not over until she sings.
Yanks-Rangers Game 1: Picking Up Our Horse
OMG, what an amazing ride. And there are people in the world who don’t watch baseball? I mean seriously. Raise your hand if you saw or listened to the game and didn’t think it was exciting, no matter which team you root for. Not possible.
CC was awful and who would have expected it. I had dismissed all the talk about the extra rest – nine days worth – but he looked rusty. If you had told me he’d only last four innings I would have laughed, but there it was. Still, his play at home in the first was fantastic. For a big guy he got down fast. I bet the earth moved when he hit the ground.
When Joba came in with the Rangers ahead 5-0, I figured we were in mop up mode. But after he held Texas scoreless and then Moseley pitched brilliantly and Cano went deep, I couldn’t help thinking maybe C.J. Wilson would be pulled and we’d break the door down.
And that’s what happened. As improbable as it seemed, the Yanks silenced the white towel-waving crowd in Arlington after Gardner’s head first slide into first base triggered a barrage of hits. Could we put our hands together for him, Jeter, Swisher, Tex, A-Rod, Cano and Thames?
With the Yankees now up 6-5 (and me in absolute delirium), Wood couldn’t find the strike zone and nearly made me stick my hand through the TV and wring his neck. But all I can say is THANK YOU, IAN KINSLER! I guess your deer antlers didn’t have magic powers tonight.
How about that rundown? LOVED Jeter’s little fake throw that preceded the tag. Was that pickoff the straw that broke the Rangers’ back? Probably. But Michael Young’s strikeout against Mo was pretty devastating. You could tell by the change in mood of George W. Bush and Nolan Ryan.
(Hat tip to Friend of the Blog Michael Fierman)
Anyhow, the Yankees gave us fans a miraculous victory that I’ll be reliving in my head all night. I can’t wait for tomorrow afternoon when the game will be on at 1 o’clock here. For once I won’t be blacked out by Fox.
That Game Nearly Killed Me – In A Good Way
Is there a Yankee fan who wasn’t hyperventilating tonight? I doubt it. Where/how do I even begin to talk about this game?
First: the decision to start Hughes instead of Moseley. Whether it was Girardi’s idea or Cashman’s edict, who cares. It was the right move for every reason, and Huuuuughes rose to the occasion. I feel so much better about our pitching after seeing how he stepped up.
Dice K was dealing, so Tex’s bloop single and A-Rod’s homer were enormous. Just huge. Kudos to them for giving us the lead for the first time in ages. A-Rod looks ready and willing to carry this team if necessary.
Cano drove home the tying run and is a lock for the MVP now. OK, not a lock, but he sure made a good case for himself tonight.
Dave Robertson. Great job in a pressure situation. How lucky are we to have him? Same goes for Kerry Wood. And really nice outing by Joba – yes, Joba – as well as Boone Logan.
Girardi was playing Russian roulette with all the moving parts, but the game had a happy ending. Miranda’s walkoff walk (I love typing that) wasn’t a pretty type of win, but who needs pretty. Given the Rays’ loss, we’re only a half a game back in the division. Way to capitalize, Yankees.
I can’t not mention the obvious: Mo blew another save – his fourth in the month of September. I’ve been saying, “No big deal,” but maybe there’s cause for concern after all. I’d love to know if he’s injured and not telling anyone, or whether he’s simply going through an ineffective period. I love him too much to even contemplate the possibility that he’s wearing down.
And Jorge. Seriously. Not only couldn’t he give us a sac fly when we needed a run, but those throws. Ugh. Why not just send out a press release to other teams that they should run on his arm whenever possible?
But I quibble. Tonight was a great baseball game and the Yankees came out on top. (Freya, you promised we’d win and you came through!) I’m going to bed feeling nice and secure.
Talk About A Seesaw Game
First we lost a heartbreaker last night. Then we jumped out to a healthy lead against Garza tonight, thanks in part to homers by Cano and A-Rod. Then Nova and Logan coughed up the lead.
Then Cano tied it up at 7-7 and it was yet another battle of the pens.
I was hanging on every pitch from Joba, Wood and Robertson and went nuts with joy and relief when Granderson made the catch of our season. Just look at his handsome face and maybe give him a clap or two, OK?
You could tell the team was fired up after that, so when Jorge came up to pinch hit I was ready for something good to happen. And it did.
Did he crush that ball or what? Up by just a run with Mo on the mound in the bottom of the 10th – the second straight night of extras – it was tense times. Everybody knew Crawford would try to steal second and make it, so I was getting antsy with all the throws over to first. But what happened next was straight out of a dream (a good one this time). Crawford took off for third and was nailed – absolutely gunned down – by none other than Greg Golson. Who?
Yeah, I didn’t know he had an arm either. Fast? Sure. A decent call up? Right. But a missile to throw out Crawford? Flabbergasted. So, it seemed, were the Yankees as they celebrated the win. I haven’t seen Jeter that excited in awhile. This is one series that has earned the advance hype: the two best teams going at it. I can only imagine what Wednesday night will bring. The one thing I do know is that since I’m back in California I returned to my playoff ritual of grilling turkey burgers for dinner during the games, and the rally burgers worked tonight. I will be eating another one tomorrow night. Care to join me? I’ve got plenty of them.
What A Fabulous Day!
Not only did the Yankees beat the Jays today while I was in attendance (breaking my personal two-game losing streak), but Hurricane Earl stayed away from the Bronx and I got to see my Yankees up close and I sat with my brilliant She-Fan book editor, Leigh Haber, and a she-fan named Freya, who reads this blog religiously but hasn’t commented in awhile, took the time to find me at my seat and say hello. And that’s just for starters.
I got to the Stadium early enough to meet Friend of the Blog ladyjane, who was there with Twitter friend Gayle (aka @gcf123), as well as Twitter friends Alison (@alisonfaye) and Michael (@mdelcorso) and the ringmaster of us all, Chris (@SimplySmoov), who works security in section 120a and has the best spot in the house to watch games. It wasn’t long before I corralled Gayle, who is extremely knowledgeable about the Yanks, to talk to me on the She-Fan Cam. Take a look.
Did she not make excellent predictions? OK, so the Yankees won 7-3, not 6-2, and Nova didn’t go six innings. But she nailed it on Wood and Gardner, right?
Next up was foooood. I totally love the new Stadium for many reasons but one of them is the array of meal choices. Friend of the Blog John is always raving about the Lobel’s steak sandwich, so Michael had to try it. Here’s his reaction.
(Pardon him for talking with his mouth full, but I did ask him a question while he was eating. My bad.)
The game itself was a thrill, not only because the Yankees won but because I got to see Mo pitch the ninth. Sheer joy. Still, the highlight of the day wasn’t the win or the food but the opportunity to meet Jane Lang, who was such a hit at this year’s HOPE Week. Thanks to an introduction by @SimplySmoov, I was able to chat with Jane, who, although blind, takes the train to the games from New Jersey with the help of her guide dog Clipper. Just watch this video and tell me she’s not an inspiration. Is she the best she-fan around or what?
Bombed
Maybe it’s the Blue Jays who should be called the Bombers, since they were the ones doing the bombing tonight. Every time I turned around, Wells or Bautista or one of those guys was hitting the ball out. Clearly, Moseley isn’t CC and Wood isn’t Mo. And Mitre? Why even bother. Just DFA him already and call up one of the kids.
Offense is still AWOL. Third loss in a row. No longer in first place. What’s a Yankee fan to do? I’ll tell you what this Yankee fan did: watched the clip of the Red Sox and Indians going at it tonight.
Josh Beckett looks really, really mad at Shelley Duncan, doesn’t he? All I can say is that their game must have been way more entertaining than ours.
So The Yankees Were “Meatloafed?”
Or maybe the proper way to say it is that the Rays “meatloafed” the Yankees. In any case, “meatloafed” is Joe Maddon’s adorable expression for winning two out of three, and that’s what the Rays did. Shields was great, CC was so-so and our offense was anemic.
We got out of Dodge clinging to first place. That’s the good news. Now let’s talk about a couple of our newcomers.
Fat Elvis is not Tex.
Why Girardi decided to use him at first today made me scratch my head, but whatever. More curious was why Berkman looked as if he’d never played the position. Was it stage fright, getting out there in front of his new team in a game that mattered? Or does Fat Elvis need to work out a little and get more agile? Either way, I don’t want to see him play first, the way I don’t want to see Thames play left.
Kerry Wood is going to try my patience.
I can tell. Yeah, he was probably pumped for his Yankees debut, and I did love his velocity. In fact, on that strikeout of Longoria I was pretty pumped myself. But then he came back out for his second inning of work, and I started to worry. He looked wild – the kind of “wild” that made me yearn for Joba. Maybe that was Cashman’s plan all along: trade for Wood so the fans would appreciate Joba more. My reaction to his performance today, strikeouts notwithstanding, was to have a bit of a panic attack.
Should I Ask My Mother To Change Her Name?
I’m thinking about it. Why? Because her name is Joyce. As in this guy.
He broke my heart with his home run off Huuuuughes last night, and he nearly broke it again tonight when he took Vazquez deep. But the Yankees prevailed. Here’s what I learned from our win at the Trop. The running game is fun if you’re the Rays.
But the Yankees can mash.
The Rays kept taking the lead, and these guys kept taking it back.
Nice performance by Javy to give the boys a chance to come back. Really nice outings by Robertson, Logan and, of course, Mo. All of a sudden, our pen doesn’t look so bad. Which brings me to today’s official comings and goings.
Going:
We’ll see Juan Miranda and Colin Curtis later in the season, so I’m not crying over them. But Chan Ho? He’s gone. I felt sorry for him when I read that he asked A-Rod for a signed #13 jersey on his way out the door.
Coming:
Well, two out of the three are in Tampa already and one played in today’s game (going 0-for-4 but who’s counting). Lance Berkman was actually quite entertaining from the quotes I’ve read. In his session with the media, he said the magic words: His favorite player growing up was Donnie Baseball and his dad’s favorite was The Mick. Good enough for me. He also said that in addition to “Big Puma,” his other nickname is “Fat Elvis.” I’m going with that one.
Austin Kearns was described as a quiet guy who was just happy to have been shipped to a contender and will play wherever and whenever he’s asked. I like the team spirit. That leaves the impending arrival of Kerry Wood, who probably spent today shaving off his beard.
I admit I wasn’t wild about this deal. Yeah, he didn’t cost much, but isn’t he on the DL all the time?
On the other hand, if he can stay healthy he could be a terrific pickup for the pen. I just hope he realizes we already have a closer.
Anyhow, looking forward to the rubber game of this series tomorrow. So far the match-up has really lived up to its billing.
Confessions of a She-Fan 