Wow.
That's pretty much all I (or anyone else with a fully-functional oral cavity) can muster. Maybe I can borrow a word from New York's "other team" and simply say "Amazin".
As arrogant as the legions of Yanks and Sox fans may appear when one team's momentum eats away at the other, you'd have to be a bit too full of Bomber Swagger not to appreciate the humbling effect created by the Yankees historic display of power. 23 more runs than the Sox. 12 more hits than the Sox. A batting average .51 points higher. A record for consecutive games (3) scoring 12 or more runs at Fenway Park. Wow.
Right after the last win, a 2-1 squeaker that was a quiet finish for a series that started at high volume, I had to rub it in. Just a little. So i sent out a text message to some of my SoxFanFriends:
"Did your team just completely forget how to play baseball?"
The first response came from my boy Jim—he called 12 seconds after my phone beeped "Message Sent." He explained that Jason Varitek's absence was a big factor in the lopsided outcome, since he works so well with pitchers and has a presence on the field everyone feeds off of. (Never mind that he's only batting .243, which is also probably due to that knee he just had scoped.) i agreed, i think. (Things were a bit hazy yesterday afternoon.) But i probably mentioned that the sweep could have been broken up by Tim "I taught a baseball how to dance" Wakefield, a proven Yankee Beater.
After that, I received a text response from Tom: "I hate you and all that you stand for." I think that sums up Red Sox Nation's feelings right now.
The devastation is invisible, living in ink and graphite on beer-soaked scorecards and in the memories of those who saw it live, on television, on the Web, or checked their cell phone obsessively every 6 minutes from over 400 miles away. (That would be me). But it's also visible, in the downtrodden and awestruck collection of faces across the region. We were hoping to take 3 out of 5. We didn't expect to outhit, outpitch and outeverything the team that led the American League East for most of the season. All in the first 5-game sweep suffered by the Red Sox in over 50 years.
The season is far from over. But at least the Yankees are sitting comfortably in the driver's seat for the finale stretch.
Do the Red Sox have a winning streak in them to make this a close race?
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Friday, August 18, 2006
ONE SLAM WITH A GRAND PLACE IN YANKEE LORE
On today's ESPN.com, Tim Kurkjian writes about some quirky Grand Slam facts (click the headline above for a link to the article), led by Cleveland's Travis Hafner's six Grand Salamis this season. He's the first guy to achieve the feat in 19 years (Donnie "Baseball" Mattingly established the mark in 1987). In this rich laundry list of bases-loaded-tater-trivia, Kurkjian suggests only a few of these "Ultimate Dinger"s are etched in our memories as game clinchers. He writes:
"What is the most famous grand slam of all time? Think about it. Not one jumps to mind. Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Carter, Reggie Jackson, Bobby Thomson -- none of those unforgettable home runs came with the bases loaded. You might think of 50 memorable home runs before you get to a grand slam. There have been 592 World Series games played, and there have been only 18 grand slams, or one every 33 games. Only one grand slam has ever been hit in the clinching game of a World Series, and Moose Skowron's seventh-inning shot in 1956 took the Yankees' 5-0 lead to 9-0. Ken Boyer's sixth-inning slam in Game 4 (the series went seven games) was big in 1964, Kent Hrbek's sixth-inning slam in Game 6 in 1987 was huge and Paul Konerko's seventh-inning slam in Game 2 last year erased a 4-2 deficit, and helped the White Sox to a sweep. But none of those slams was so gigantic that it will be etched in our minds forever."
But, there is one SuperTater Kurkjian omits from above with a nice place in the memory boxes of most Yankee Fans: Tino Martinez' upper deck shot into right in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres. It obviously wasn't the deciding game, but it did establish the tone for the series, which the Yankees dominated in a sweep, which at the time was the first since the Reds blanked the A's in 1990. (I watched the game at a party in Chelsea, earlier that night in the hallway, i ran into two guys i went to high school with. I hadn't seen them since high school graduation; that should've tipped me off right there that this was going to be a night of rare occurences.)
Tino the Bambino's slam made it seem absolutely certain the Yankees were going to win the game and the Series. Down 5-2 after a poor showing by David Wells, the Yankees mounted a comeback in the 7th, which included a 3-run shot from Knoblauch before Martinez stepped in to drive that ball. it went so far up i thought it would wind up in Co-Op City. The stadium exploded in delight and the resulting shockwave (riding on the voice of Joe Buck) reached the living room i stood in, everyone imitating the Stadium crowd's flirtation with madness with jovial dances of our own. I still remember screaming and high-fiveing anyone within a 1-foot radius.
"What is the most famous grand slam of all time? Think about it. Not one jumps to mind. Kirk Gibson, Carlton Fisk, Bill Mazeroski, Joe Carter, Reggie Jackson, Bobby Thomson -- none of those unforgettable home runs came with the bases loaded. You might think of 50 memorable home runs before you get to a grand slam. There have been 592 World Series games played, and there have been only 18 grand slams, or one every 33 games. Only one grand slam has ever been hit in the clinching game of a World Series, and Moose Skowron's seventh-inning shot in 1956 took the Yankees' 5-0 lead to 9-0. Ken Boyer's sixth-inning slam in Game 4 (the series went seven games) was big in 1964, Kent Hrbek's sixth-inning slam in Game 6 in 1987 was huge and Paul Konerko's seventh-inning slam in Game 2 last year erased a 4-2 deficit, and helped the White Sox to a sweep. But none of those slams was so gigantic that it will be etched in our minds forever."
But, there is one SuperTater Kurkjian omits from above with a nice place in the memory boxes of most Yankee Fans: Tino Martinez' upper deck shot into right in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres. It obviously wasn't the deciding game, but it did establish the tone for the series, which the Yankees dominated in a sweep, which at the time was the first since the Reds blanked the A's in 1990. (I watched the game at a party in Chelsea, earlier that night in the hallway, i ran into two guys i went to high school with. I hadn't seen them since high school graduation; that should've tipped me off right there that this was going to be a night of rare occurences.)
Tino the Bambino's slam made it seem absolutely certain the Yankees were going to win the game and the Series. Down 5-2 after a poor showing by David Wells, the Yankees mounted a comeback in the 7th, which included a 3-run shot from Knoblauch before Martinez stepped in to drive that ball. it went so far up i thought it would wind up in Co-Op City. The stadium exploded in delight and the resulting shockwave (riding on the voice of Joe Buck) reached the living room i stood in, everyone imitating the Stadium crowd's flirtation with madness with jovial dances of our own. I still remember screaming and high-fiveing anyone within a 1-foot radius.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Escape from Chicago: Johnson No-No Bid Turns into 7-6 Yanks Win
So far i've only posted about Randy Johnson once, that was his last impressive outing of the season in Texas. In this one, he definitely lived up to a reputation even taller than he is. The Big Unit stepped onto the mound in the Windy City and put the vaunted slugging White Sox bats to slumber through 6 2/3 innings, striking out 5 and walking 2. Johnson did not give up a hit until the 7th inning, when Tadahito Iguchi broke up his bid for a 3rd career no-hitter on a hanging slider he slapped through the left side of the infield. Johnson's last no-hitter was a Perfect Game on May 18, 2004 against the Atlanta Braves.
After that, it was obvious fatigue and mechanical failure were there to stay, and Torre pulled the Unit with no outs after he allowed 2 runs. Ron Villone came in and got out of a bases loaded jam to end the inning. while the Yankees had staked a 7-2 lead after an impressive show of power, the White Sox set off their own fireworks in the 8th. They battered Flamethrowin' Farnsworth, scoring 4 runs, including a 3-run blast from Joe Crede and a solo shot from Iguchi. Mariano Rivera then relieved Ron Villone and got A.J. Pierzinski to line a soft shot back to the mound to end the 8th. The 9th inning saw Mighty Mo plunk Brian Anderson to allow a base runner with only one out. He then came back to strike out leadoff man Scott Posednik and induce Jim Thome into a game ending force at second. Rivera earned his 29th save of the season and helped Johnson earn his 12th win.
Despite the nail-biting finish, the game began as a laugher. The Yankees offense got to John Garland early when Johnny Damon scored the first run on a single by Bobby Abreu in the top of the 1st. The Bombers then went yard with home runs by Melky Cabrera and Abreu in the 5th, and Robinson Cano in the 6th. The 7th saw Alex Rodriguez hit a single to score Andy Phillips, and Jorge Posada ground out to second to allow Jeter to come home and cap the scoring at 7. At the time, it seemed like just a little padding—and turned out to be the clincher in a surprisingly close one.
After that, it was obvious fatigue and mechanical failure were there to stay, and Torre pulled the Unit with no outs after he allowed 2 runs. Ron Villone came in and got out of a bases loaded jam to end the inning. while the Yankees had staked a 7-2 lead after an impressive show of power, the White Sox set off their own fireworks in the 8th. They battered Flamethrowin' Farnsworth, scoring 4 runs, including a 3-run blast from Joe Crede and a solo shot from Iguchi. Mariano Rivera then relieved Ron Villone and got A.J. Pierzinski to line a soft shot back to the mound to end the 8th. The 9th inning saw Mighty Mo plunk Brian Anderson to allow a base runner with only one out. He then came back to strike out leadoff man Scott Posednik and induce Jim Thome into a game ending force at second. Rivera earned his 29th save of the season and helped Johnson earn his 12th win.
Despite the nail-biting finish, the game began as a laugher. The Yankees offense got to John Garland early when Johnny Damon scored the first run on a single by Bobby Abreu in the top of the 1st. The Bombers then went yard with home runs by Melky Cabrera and Abreu in the 5th, and Robinson Cano in the 6th. The 7th saw Alex Rodriguez hit a single to score Andy Phillips, and Jorge Posada ground out to second to allow Jeter to come home and cap the scoring at 7. At the time, it seemed like just a little padding—and turned out to be the clincher in a surprisingly close one.
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