Every year I tell myself that the Subway Series doesn't mean what it used to. This year, the initial evidence seemed to agree: I woke up at 1:30 on Saturday, glanced at the clock and realized with what fuzzy horror I could muster that the game had already started. (I'd completely missed Jeter giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead, but I did get to see Moises Alou get picked off while I was trying to wake up. Hooray!) When neither half of Faith and Fear in Flushing can wake up for first pitch, we are a long way from Dave Mlicki.
But then came tonight. When Carlos Delgado's pole-clanger was declared foul on unnecessary further review (nothing good ever happens to us in that corner), I began a slow burn. And then, when Delgado persevered with a run-scoring single, it erupted.
“FUCK YOU, YANKEES!” I screamed at the TV. “FUCK YOU, MORON UMPS! FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE FANS! FUCK YOU, FORD EDGE! FUCK YOU, SUZYN WALDMAN! FUCK YOU, STEINBRENNERS!”
Hmm. Maybe next year.
The Mets are, of course, welcome to play a crisp game with minimal mental goofs whenever they want. (This one wasn't spotless: Jose was lax in a rundown and Oliver started thinking about cartoons or something for a half-inning, but 5 RBI in two games and 7 2/3 of solid pitching, respectively, will forgive a lot of sins.) But I think any Met fan will agree that these two well-played games were particularly timely in talking all of us in off a very high ledge. (Though we have four with the Braves in three days, the first one against T#m Gl@v!ne, so we've still got the window open.) By the late innings tonight I was comfortably ensconced on the couch, thumbing through the remnants of the Sunday paper and entertaining myself by surveying the crowd and playing Spot the Yankee Fan. It's nice being relaxed in a Subway Series game, as that means the alternatives — vein-popping tension or existential despair — aren't necessary.
Not that I feel the least bit sorry for them, but without A-Rod and Posada, the Yankee lineup is pretty naked — that final five of Giambi-Cano-Cabrera-Gonzalez (who?)-Some Molina Brother wouldn't particularly scare the Zephyrs. While I maintain we needed Friday's rainout, the game that went missing will probably feature both missing guys when it returns as part of yet another two-stadium doubleheader. It's a wonderful idea, marred only by the fact that terrible things happen to us during them.
But that's for later. For now, we can take heart in finally beating a last-place team in convincing fashion (third time's the charm, I guess) and happiness that said dispatched last-place team was Them. We did it with luck (the pailfuls of garbage we hurled at Andy Pettitte in the fourth inning Saturday) and with pluck (Delgado's determined at-bat tonight). Provoked by the sins of diabolical umpires, we put our faith in Church, whose weekend included a couple of nifty catches, a great throw, one no-doubt-about-it home run and five runs scored. I should have done this a couple of weeks ago, but I'd like to take this occasion to officially apologize to Omar Minaya for this post. Lastings Milledge may still become a star, but Church is far more than a platoon outfielder, and Brian Schneider can hit just fine.
Heck, even Joe Morgan was fairly tolerable. (Everything's tolerable when you win by nine. Except, maybe, ESPN's silly new video decoupage tools. What the hell was that crap?) OK, his Song to Shortstops was ridiculous — the difference between Reyes and Jeter isn't that one's a tailback and one's a fullback, but that one has range and the other doesn't. Still, I didn't hear a single reference to Odalis Perez, and that's something.
As a postscript, one final note about Jeter. Remember Saturday, when he tried to stretch a single into a double and got gunned down by Beltran? Jeter was lying in the dirt, hand not even on the base with Castillo holding the ball on him — and Alfonso Marquez called him safe. Castillo looked amazed. So did Jeter. And so did I. And then I hung my head in despair. He's Derek Jeter, the beaten-down little-brother part of my brain whispered. Against us, he gets called safe even when he doesn't touch the base.
But then Marquez, quite properly, called him out. Jeter picked himself out of the dirt and trotted back to the dugout. Matsui struck out. We won. Once in a great while, things aren't actually as bad as you think.
There were a couple of Morganisms:
1. instant replay “wouldn't have worked here.” Um, Joe, how are you saying that while looking at an instant replay that, in fact, worked?
2. a slider down in the zone “looks smaller because you're looking down at it.” Um, Joe, it's a sphere, buddy. They look the same size from every angle. In his defense, he probably meant that you can't see the spin from the top, and I feel weird second-guessing him on hitters' perceptions — a subject where he's got a lot more to say than I ever will. But man, optics is optics, no?
There was also whatever he was going on about with the Yankee-Met doubleheader he worked last year. Even Jon Miller couldn't let that one go. Plus whatever atrocities he came up with while I was on the treadmill.
But hey, where facts are concerned you gotta grade Joe on the curve….
Third base Ump clearly calls it a homer as it happened. There's Jeter standing beside him selling the wrong call (Damon as well)….Why did he overturn the call so easily when he immediately made the right one? I think it was Morgan who pointed out that the first base Ump intervened , he perhaps, the least qualified to actually see how the ball struck the poll. Scary how this was missed..
Rich
That was scary, and I was certain that it was going to come back to bite us. Thankfully, Ollie didn't implode. All in all, a great weekend of baseball. And how nice was it to see the “unhittable” Joba get touched for an important insurance run on Saturday?
Glad to know I wasn't the only one cursing out “the Edge” after selling the ump on that foul call.
Ollie should have drilled “the Edge” in his next AB…but I think that was during Ollie's cartoon break.
Another excellent post.
“Are you sure you're not a shortstop?” Fuck you, kid.
One of my favorite moments of last night was watching Ollie tip his hat to the cheering crowd at Yankee Stadium after being pulled.
Speaking of Derek “his holiness” Jeter, where was Mr. Intangibles on that wind blown foul pop on Saturday? Isn't the SS supposed to be over there for that very possibility???? But yet nary a word was uttered on either telecast or in print about Mr/ Intangibles glaring mental lapse and/or lack of hustle.
Speaking of Derek “his holiness” Jeter, where was Mr. Intangibles on that wind blown foul pop on Saturday? Isn't the SS supposed to be over there for that very possibility???? But yet nary a word was uttered on either telecast or in print about Mr/ Intangibles glaring mental lapse and/or lack of hustle.
A very enjoyable night , great to see Delgado come through with an rbi after getting jobbed by the umps , and really can't the yankees find anyone else to play third while pay-rod is out , Gonzalez is brutal.
It's the top of he third and Miller/Morgan have already mentioned Jeter about 200 times, and I swear I am not acting the bollox here but after one routine throw to first Morgan felt the need to tell us how smooth and cool Jeter looks out there , even my missus who's not a baseball fan but will watch the Mets with me wondered if those tow are gay .
A fun night all round.
Jason – If you thik Morgan was “tolerable,” you have a stronger stomach than I. Today I posted about 12 examples of Joe Morgan's idiocy last night.
He was directly underneath the sunglasses on top of his cap where they did no one any good.
Not to buy into the hype, but I was surprised to see that from him.
Guess Derek hopes to someday become another Jose Reyes – who last year wore sunglasses on the top of his cap and dropped a pop-up that eventually led to the run that beat us.
The New York City Metropolitans have certainly matured in the last year. Just last June the team championed by the gregarious Mr. Met found themselves baffled by Wang. But that was no longer the case last night as the bunch went to town on the talented Yankee member. The Mets vigorously hammered away at Wang over the course of several innings, circling the bases often.
The night was not without some controversy however, as there was a dispute between the Mets and officials pertaining to the legitimacy of a stroke by 1B Carlos Delgado. Umpires admitted to a blown call after the game
SS Jose Reyes, asked to put the victory into perspective following the teams flaccid performance going into the weekend, was quoted as saying “We put that stuff in the past,” Reyes said. “We feel very good now.”
We bet.
I'm glad you cleared up that Saturday safe/out call on Jeter. I was at the game and damn near exploded at the safe signal. I kept asking everyone around me, “did he first call him safe?” and nobody seemed to have seen it. I thought I was losing it.
Speaking of intolerable commentary, I checked Saturday's highlights on mlb.com, and unfortunately they chose the yes broadcast to go by. If you want a laugh, listen to how Kay called the ridiculous Santana catch (I don't know how his hand is still attached to his body). “what a play by Santana… one away… ho hum ho hum”. It's so fucking pathetic.
” I'd like to take this occasion to officially apologize to Omar Minaya for this post. Lastings Milledge may still become a star, but Church is far more than a platoon outfielder, and Brian Schneider can hit just fine. ”
Lastings Watch:
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA
43 158 16 37 10 0 1 14 .234
Won't even mention fielding….
I'm still trying to figure out how Wright's upper body could have left the 3b bag before his lower body. WTF???
I hit the mute button and listened to Howie and Wayne. I knew about the Wright's upper body controversy because I saw the words on the screen, rewound a few seconds and my jaw hit the floor.
Remember when your team being on national television seemed like reward, not punishment?
Forget water boarding, just make the terrorists listen to Joe Moron on Sunday Night Baseball