Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Yankees Lose Again

Lets consider that the White Sox do have the best record in the AL, and according to one friend has a team custome made for the playoffs, they were suprisingly the underdogs to the Yankees this week. The Yankees however were playing at home and trying to stay in the playoff race. The Yankees wound up losing 2 out 3. I went last night to the game that will probably be remembered more for what happened off the field, rather than what happened on. In the 8th inning after Tony Womak singled, Derek Jeter sacrificed him over to second, and Robinson Cano then flied out to center, Gary Sheffield came to bat. Next there was roar in the crowd, like perhaps a fight had broken out. I then see a police officer leave the ChiSox dugout, and looking behind home plate, and talking on his walkie talkie. It seems an 18 year old kid jumped from the upper deck to see if the net would support him. Being an older more responsible person, I wonder what would happen if the net did not support him, or worse as the same friend pointed out what would have happened to the people underneath the net. Luckily the net held, and the game was delayed for 4 minutes.

I think this kind of killed the Yankee mojo, as it gave the cheaters from 1919, an opportunity to regroup and get it together. Sheff hit a harmless grounder to short for the final out of the inning. Alan Embree, late of the BoSox, gave up a homer to Paul Konerko, before being replaced by Tanyon Sturtze, who finished the game. The Yankees had a mini rally with another Arod bomb, and getting a few players on, and Bernie Williams lining the first pitch he saw as a pinch hitter for the final out. Game Over.

The Yankees lost this afternoon in the rubber game (I wish I knew where this phrase comes from), with Mariano Rivera giving up a triple in the 10th, then a close play at the plate was the deciding run in another 2-1 loss.

The most frustrating part in retrospect about the game last night was watching Jose Contreas pitch his ass off for the other team. I watched him for 2 years struggle with inconsistency and never able to step up in a pressure situation, then he essentially shuts them out for 7+ innings, giving up 3 harmless singles and 2 walks. I suppose since he left with 7-6 record, he probably has been just as inconsistent in the windy city as the big apple, but it was extremely bothersome, not seeing the Yankee bats come alive during this three game set and light him up like a pinball machine, like we have seen other teams do to him in the past.

The Yankees are now 5 games behind Boston, pending the end of the Red Sox/Ranger game tonight and 4 behind the A's in the wild card. Randy Johnson is going to miss his start tomorrow with a bad back, and Scott Proctor stands in line to be the 13th starter this year. Who would have thought in March and April that every starter but Mike Mussina would be injured and miss time before the end of the season and that Ching Ming Wang, Al Leiter, Aaron Small, and Shawn Chacon would be some of the starters that have kept the yankees afloat, with Hideo Nomo or Jorge DePaula on the horizon.

I don't think we will see Pavano again this year, though the word on Jaret Wright has been encouraging. In spite of it all, I don't know how they will Yankees will make the playoffs, without an incredible run very soon. But streaky teams tend to be mediocre teams, just look at the Mets the past few years. They are always hovering around .500, a few games back in the weak NL East, and not far from the wild card. The fans think they are contenders, but they are just a team capable of winning about half their games, nothing more nothing less. The Yankees and their $210+ Million payroll is better than a .500 team, but not with 13 or more starting pitchers, not with an aging Bernie Williams, a disgruntled Tony Womak, and a weak non-confident Jason Giambi for the first few months of the season.

The NY Rangers have done nothing in the past week. It seems that no one wants to play at Madison Square Garden. I blame the Dolans. I cancelled my cable subscription to Cablevision a few years ago, and moved to DirectTV, simply because I hate what the Dolan's did to the Rangers and the Knicks, and I am not even a basketball fan. The Dolans only thing they seem to know is how to raise prices on their services and to produce negative advertising. I just wish they would sell the Rangers and the Knicks to someone who knows how to run a professional sports franchise.

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