Posts Tagged ‘Twins’

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How Very Grandish!

Thursday, April 19th, 2012

Photo: Tim Farrell/The Star-Ledger

I bet you guys thought I’d lead with a dig at Eduardo Scissorhands. Fooled ya. (I’ll get to him in a sec.)

Tonight’s game was all about Curtis Granderson and his three homers and five-for-five performance. He said after the game that he’d been working with Kevin Long earlier in the day. I sure wish Long could sprinkle his magic dust on Russell Martin. Anyhow, every time I see Grandy with that quick, line-drive swing that carries the ball into the seats I say out loud, “We won that trade, didn’t we.” Nothing against Austin Jackson, but wow.

Now, about Mr. Scissorhands. I did praise him the other night and he does have a nice offensive game, along with being fast on the bases. BUT he can’t keep making those idiotic throws! I mean come on. Could he put in more time with Mick Kelleher? Could he see a shrink? Something?

I love the way Hughes recovered from the error. He deserved the win. He was better tonight, just not great. Maybe this one will be a confidence builder and he’ll have a nice run from here on. Or not. Who knows.

Other favorite moments?

Soriano’s little skip off the mound after that last strikeout.

Robertson’s effectiveness without the usual Houdini drama.

Mo needing like three minutes to take care of business in the ninth. I laughed when Leiter and Kay worried that he might be rusty. Mo Rivera does not get rusty – ever.

On to Fenway.

 

 

 

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Short Post

Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

I was watching the game until Rapada came in – had to leave to go to dinner and a concert – and found out later we lost. Bummer.

But not a surprise after the start from Kuroda. Talk about Jekyll and Hyde. He was bad the first time out, then great, now bad again. The name of this team so far, except for Jeter, is inconsistency.

Well, and the bullpen has been good for the most part.

Anyhow, tell me what I missed.

 

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Our Latest Hero

Tuesday, April 17th, 2012

Photo: AP/Seth Wenig

Actually, there were a lot of heroes in tonight’s entertaining victory over the Twins, but I enjoy giving shout-outs to the new guys. I admit when Chris Stewart came up with a chance to drive in runs in the third, I moaned about Cervelli and Jorge and didn’t give the poor kid a chance.

Wrong!

He came through, and his two-run single seemed to turn the game around.

This one was a tale of two CCs: the mediocre CC in the early innings and the dominant CC the rest of the way. Did he eat some of this in the dugout instead of sunflower seeds?

Whatever did the trick, he seemed to bear down and stop fooling around. And of course he had help both from the offense and defense (not counting A-Rod’s error). Gardner had a good night as did Jeter (again) and Andruw Jones, and I have to hand it to Eduardo Scissorhands for being the best bunter on the team.

I also have to say that for the first time in a looong time I felt sorry for an umpire. When Denard Span started yelling at home plate ump Greg Gibson and then Gardenhire took over the yelling, I said to Michael, “Who’d want to get yelled at like that?” Gardenhire seemed upset about the balk, so it was ironic that Gibson called a balk on CC shortly thereafter and there wasn’t a peep out of Girardi.

For anybody watching on YES, how funny were that bride and groom watching the game? I’m sure it would be a kick to get married at Yankee Stadium, but I’m less sure I’d try to squeeze a big, poofy wedding gown into those seats, even the pricey ones.

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The Yankees Couldn’t Beat This Guy?

Monday, April 16th, 2012

How annoying. There really should be a law.

Still, the Twins were due, and with a healthy Morneau and Mauer in action they’re bound to win ballgames.

What’s disconcerting is the fact that Sweaty Freddy, like Hughes and even Nova, isn’t giving us innings. He was beaten up early, settled down, then lost it again – for good – and was gone before the end of the sixth. Justin Verlander threw a complete game for the Tigers tonight, so it’s not as if it’s impossible at this stage of the season to go the distance. It would be refreshing to see one of our guys do it. (I won’t even go into the failure of the bullpen in this one.)

I thought the offense was off to another 10-run-er when Jeter and Granderson went back to back in the first inning, but so much for that notion. At least we got to see a great catch by Granderson in what was an otherwise lackluster effort by the Yanks.

Boring.

 

 

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“These Fans Are Crazy!”

Monday, September 19th, 2011

So said Mo at his post-game press conference today, referring to the crowd’s cheers when Swisher hit into a double play, ending the Yankees’ scoring threat and insuring that Mo would come in and attempt to break the saves record. In case anyone missed it, here’s the link to the presser.

How adorable is the youngest Mo Junior? The boy alternately mugged for the media, yawned, sneezed and gazed up adoringly at his famous father. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

What a day. I was crying after the first out and then was flat out sobbing when it was all over and the hugging kicked in. Jorge looked the happiest I’ve seen him all season. Very classy job by the Twins to stand on the steps of the visitors’ dugout to applaud. I only wish Pettitte had been there, since he was around for the beginning of all this greatness. I was so glad everybody encouraged Mo to stand on that mound by himself to soak in the love. He deserves every drop of it.

As for the game itself, here’s what I wanted to do to AJ.

I’m not a violent person, but he was pitching to a bunch of kids for the most part. Just inexcusable. If Rothschild and company haven’t been able to fix him by now, they’re not going to and he should spend the postseason in Arkansas. End of story. Big thanks to our bullpen, who shouldn’t have had to bail him out so early in the game but did.

Now bring on those pesky stingrays.

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Nova Sure Did Give Us A Lift

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

As miserable as his friend AJ was last night, Ivan Nova was spectacular today. It’s hard to believe sometimes that he’s in his first full rookie season – and that he was sent down to the minors just a couple of months ago. Great job.

A-Rod’s bat didn’t show up in his first game back with the team, but Granderson’s inside-the-parker was fun to watch and Tex’s old fashioned, back-to-back homer was sweet too. I love that the Yanks took three out of four in this series.

I’ve got to make this quick as we’re getting deluged by rain/thunder and lightning right now (what’s with this weather, you easterners?) and I’ll probably lose power, but I hope everybody will head over to the Mainly Jane blog for a recap of my day at the local county fair. You’ll find a sheep Yankee fan (seriously) and pig racing AND a Yankees bra with Michael wearing it. How can anybody resist that?

Btw, I read that AJ shaved his head? Oh, my.

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“This Is F*@$ing Bull#*^t”

Saturday, August 20th, 2011

You didn’t have to be a lip reader to make out what AJ said to Girardi after he was lifted in tonight’s game with the bases loaded in the second inning. What a “performance.” I’ve tried to hang in there with the guy (AJ, not Girardi), but tonight was pretty ugly. Not only couldn’t he get outs, but he acted surprised and insulted when his manager came out and took the ball.

I get being pissed at the manager if you’re a pitcher who wants to stay in the game. I get being pissed at yourself if you’re a pitcher who stinks it up – especially against a team that doesn’t hit a ton. I even get being pissed at the situation; would Joe have pulled CC in the second if he’d been the one to give up four runs?

But I don’t get turning to look back at the manager and mouthing off at him for everybody to see – and then trotting into the clubhouse instead of waiting for the end of the inning. I figured Girardi would follow him down the stairs and drag him back to the dugout. I’d give anything to have been a fly on the wall during that brief conversation.

Oh, wait. According to both Girardi and AJ, NOTHING – NOT A SINGLE HARSH WORD – happened between them. It was all about striking out Joe Mauer. If you believe that, I have this to sell you.

Bottom line? Ayala and new Yankee Laffey were unimpressive and the Yankees lost. Fortunately, so did the Red Sox.

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Huuuuuuughes

Friday, August 19th, 2011

I know Phil has gotten better and better since coming off the DL, but tonight he was spectacular. He was economical. He threw strikes. He was everything we could ask for. Good for him. I was almost ready to write him off a few months ago, so my bad. We need him now more than ever with Big Bart’s recent slump and Garcia’s mysterious cut finger.

Nice game for Russell Martin too.

Come to think of it, who didn’t have a nice game tonight? I’m a little worried about Jeter. He had that awkward slide at home plate and looked a little gimpy afterward. Sure hope he’s okay.

I’m trying not to feel sorry for the Twins, because I want us to keep winning to stay in first place. But wow. They look sad, don’t they?

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What Are The Chances?

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Two consecutive nights. Two disputed home run calls. The difference was that tonight’s shot by Morneau elicited a quick response from Girardi, who bounced out of the dugout to ask the umps to review the play. The other difference is that the correct call was made after the review and the homer was nullified. Gardenhire was not amused.

Silly of him to get tossed in the first inning, but whatever.

Despite getting the win, CC is worrying me. He had periods tonight when he settled down, but he was getting hit hard. Coming off his last two surprisingly bad outings, he was not inspiring confidence the way he usually does. If there’s something off with his mechanics, I really wish he and Rothschild would figure out what it is. If he’s hurt (please no), I hope he tells somebody and gets it fixed.

I enjoyed the home run derby by Jones, Tex and Swisher, and Jeter and Granderson continued to impress at the plate. If Grandy isn’t a solid choice for MVP, I don’t know who is.

Nunez committed another error, which is not exactly breaking news. (On twitter his nickname is NunEEEEE.) While I appreciate his bat and his speed, I’m really looking forward to A-Rod at third.

The Twins have to wonder what they need to do to beat the Yankees. I hope they keep wondering throughout this series.

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An “I’m Sorry” Goes A Long Way With Me

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Rafael Soriano stood at his locker and apologized to the media for not speaking after he did the heavy lifting in blowing CC Sabathia’s masterpiece in the eighth inning. He said he was just upset about what had just happened and didn’t want to speak. His agent, Scott Boras, told him that he needs to face reporters no matter what happens. Joe Girardi talked to him as well.

That tidbit via LoHud earlier today. I have to say I felt totally different about Soriano after reading it. It doesn’t matter that Boras told him to apologize. What’s important is that he did the deed, sucked it up, changed his behavior. That showed me something.

I’m a sucker for an apology. I don’t mean the kind of apologies that politicians make after they get caught in some scandal. I mean the kind of “I’m sorry”s that come after there’s been a recognition of wrongdoing and remorse for having done it.

Jason Giambi was the first Yankee to get caught for taking steroids. In those days you weren’t allowed to spell out exactly what you did because of legal consequences, but he had a press conference and said he was sorry and everybody moved on. At least most people did.

Andy Pettitte? Same thing. He stood there and admitted what he did and that was the end of it.

A-Rod? His detractors will always hate him, but he seems to have won back a lot of good will after his public mea culpas.

I don’t mean to suggest that not talking to the media after a bad game rises to the level of taking banned substances. I’m just saying that people tend to forgive you if you say you’re sorry.

And now I think I’ll jump off my soapbox and say I’m sorry tonight’s game was rained out!

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