Saturday, October 16, 2010
A Little of the . . . Glory Of
I had a friend was a big baseball player
back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
but all he kept talking about was . . .
I had a friend was a big baseball player
back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
but all he kept talking about was . . .
"Glory Days" from Born in the U.S.A.
There was something downright Springsteenian about last night's first game of the American League Championship Series. For Yankee fans anyway. Based on the exuberant conversations I had during the game and the text messages flying in, last night had the feeling of . . . well . . . the glory days. And for me and generational compatriots, that means the era of Yankees baseball that ran from 1996-2000.
Last night was a game that could've been left for dead in the first inning. But Jorge Posada redeemed himself for not catching a too-high fastball by pouncing on a ball off the backstop and tossing a perfect throw to a hustling C.C. Sabathia at home plate to prevent the Rangers from adding to their already impressive three-run opening frame tally. It was game that by the third inning, I was prompted to ask another Yankee fan, "What are the chances the Yanks are in this game going into the 9th?" "50/50" was his reply.
It was a game that was left for dead after the Rangers put a sour end to Sabathia's laborious and lost night by knocking in two more runs in the 4th for a two-run lead. By that point, it was on to Phil Hughes Declarations, like:
• We've heard about Phil Hughes for about six years now. He's been groomed to be an elite pitcher for about that long. It's his time to step up in the biggest start of his career.
It was a game that was more amusement than serious business as Joba Chamberlain and Dustin Moseley (Unsung Hero of the Game v.1: 2 IP, all zeros and four Ks) stifled the Texas bats from the 5th through the 7th. Even Robinson Cano's solo shot in the 7th seemed merely a matter of accounting. A fence post to replace a doughnut.
And then the Yankee 8th. My thoughts after the scoreboard had completely reversed: best post-season rally since Game 1 of the '98 World Series. Certainly the Game 7 2003 ALCS could qualify: down 4-0 after 4.5 innings; down 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th. But that was a "can't take my eyes off the screen game," never a game that was left for dead, never a game that a Yankee fan totally lost hope based on the opponent, the pitcher, the moment. No, last night was a distant cousin to that aforementioned Game 1 in '98 (down 5-2 going into the 7th, with the Padres hitting David Wells hard in the process) and the ultimate left-for-dead game, the blueprint of the current incarnation of Yankee post-season stick-to-it-tiveness, Game 4 of the '96 World Series (down 6-0 to the Braves going into the 6th).
It was a rally not borne on one swing or one decisive moment, but stitched together slowly . . . pitch-by-pitch, good at-bat after good at-bat and, as Ron Washington knows better than anyone: pitcher-by-pitcher.
The Brett Gardner infield single made you glance at the screen an extra time. A shrug of the shoulders. The Jeter double made you take notice. 5-2, but still plenty of work to do. The Swisher walk (great at-bat, 7 pitches, took the bat off his shoulder once to foul off a nasty slider to keep the count at 3-2) started the avalanche. From then a blur.
Well, I soon lost track of m’ kids ’n’ wife
So many people there I never saw in m’ life
That old ship sinkin’ down in the water
Six thousand people tryin’ t’ kill each other
Dogs a-barkin’, cats a-meowin’
Women screamin’, fists a-flyin’, babies cryin’
Cops a-comin’, me a-runnin’
The thing that struck me about the heart of that rally (specifically the A-Rod and Cano at-bats) was how decisive those plate appearances were. Both swung at the first pitch, both against new pitchers throwing their first pitch of the game. And both drilled the ball for base hits driving in a run apiece.
The futility of Texas in the last two frames (the Ian Kinsler pick-off was a brain lock of Merkleian proportions), only further added fuel to the fire that this was a terrible loss for the Rangers. After the two back-from-the-dead games referenced above, the Yankees didn't lose a game for the rest of those series. Instead of the Yankees playing for their season this afternoon in Arlington, the Rangers are in all likelihood playing for theirs.
Last night was a game that could've been left for dead in the first inning. But Jorge Posada redeemed himself for not catching a too-high fastball by pouncing on a ball off the backstop and tossing a perfect throw to a hustling C.C. Sabathia at home plate to prevent the Rangers from adding to their already impressive three-run opening frame tally. It was game that by the third inning, I was prompted to ask another Yankee fan, "What are the chances the Yanks are in this game going into the 9th?" "50/50" was his reply.
It was a game that was left for dead after the Rangers put a sour end to Sabathia's laborious and lost night by knocking in two more runs in the 4th for a two-run lead. By that point, it was on to Phil Hughes Declarations, like:
• We've heard about Phil Hughes for about six years now. He's been groomed to be an elite pitcher for about that long. It's his time to step up in the biggest start of his career.
It was a game that was more amusement than serious business as Joba Chamberlain and Dustin Moseley (Unsung Hero of the Game v.1: 2 IP, all zeros and four Ks) stifled the Texas bats from the 5th through the 7th. Even Robinson Cano's solo shot in the 7th seemed merely a matter of accounting. A fence post to replace a doughnut.
And then the Yankee 8th. My thoughts after the scoreboard had completely reversed: best post-season rally since Game 1 of the '98 World Series. Certainly the Game 7 2003 ALCS could qualify: down 4-0 after 4.5 innings; down 5-2 going into the bottom of the 8th. But that was a "can't take my eyes off the screen game," never a game that was left for dead, never a game that a Yankee fan totally lost hope based on the opponent, the pitcher, the moment. No, last night was a distant cousin to that aforementioned Game 1 in '98 (down 5-2 going into the 7th, with the Padres hitting David Wells hard in the process) and the ultimate left-for-dead game, the blueprint of the current incarnation of Yankee post-season stick-to-it-tiveness, Game 4 of the '96 World Series (down 6-0 to the Braves going into the 6th).
It was a rally not borne on one swing or one decisive moment, but stitched together slowly . . . pitch-by-pitch, good at-bat after good at-bat and, as Ron Washington knows better than anyone: pitcher-by-pitcher.
The Brett Gardner infield single made you glance at the screen an extra time. A shrug of the shoulders. The Jeter double made you take notice. 5-2, but still plenty of work to do. The Swisher walk (great at-bat, 7 pitches, took the bat off his shoulder once to foul off a nasty slider to keep the count at 3-2) started the avalanche. From then a blur.
Well, I soon lost track of m’ kids ’n’ wife
So many people there I never saw in m’ life
That old ship sinkin’ down in the water
Six thousand people tryin’ t’ kill each other
Dogs a-barkin’, cats a-meowin’
Women screamin’, fists a-flyin’, babies cryin’
Cops a-comin’, me a-runnin’
"Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues", Bob Dylan
The thing that struck me about the heart of that rally (specifically the A-Rod and Cano at-bats) was how decisive those plate appearances were. Both swung at the first pitch, both against new pitchers throwing their first pitch of the game. And both drilled the ball for base hits driving in a run apiece.
The futility of Texas in the last two frames (the Ian Kinsler pick-off was a brain lock of Merkleian proportions), only further added fuel to the fire that this was a terrible loss for the Rangers. After the two back-from-the-dead games referenced above, the Yankees didn't lose a game for the rest of those series. Instead of the Yankees playing for their season this afternoon in Arlington, the Rangers are in all likelihood playing for theirs.
