BOS 11, NYY 6: Ugh

It’s taken me a little time to recover from this loss, and I don’t really have much to say about the game itself. Yet again, the Yankees roughed up one of Boston’s vaunted starters. Yet again, the pen couldn’t hold the lead. The Yanks blew three leads, their defense completely deserted them in a disastrous seventh. The bats showed some nice signs, especially Melky’s. That’s pretty much it.

Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are a disgrace to the announcers booth, and the game of baseball. Even my wife tells those jokers to shut their traps, and she’s a much nicer person than I am.

There was no chin music played in the game today, but there was a questionable physical play. Mike Lowell, still bitter about getting hit with a pitch yesterday I guess, basically threw a body check at Robinson Cano who was trying to tag him as the first out in a double play. Cano somehow made the throw to first as he was getting knocked flat on his back. Predictably, McCarver and Buck had no problem with the play, mainly because it was a Boston player. Had it been A-Rod, every highlight show in the country would be calling for his head, again. Technically, the play probably wasn’t against the rules, but I’ve watched and played in countless baseball games, I’ve only seen a play like that happen once before, and the offender was Albert (nee Joey) Belle running over Fernando Vina, I believe. For that, the one-balled-wonder is my asshole of the day.

Lowell was involved in another physical play in the bottom of the seventh, although there was no intent when he ran into Doug on a botched double play at first. Doug was on the ground for a long time, then carted off the field when Jeter’s return throw bounced down the right-field line and Lowell ran into his exposed head. Doug was taken to Mass. General for further tests on his neck and face.

In the “other horrible Yankee news” category: Roger Clemens has a fatigued groin, and won’t make his first start of the season on Monday, as planned. This is bad news for the Yanks, probably good news for me personally. One report had Clemens missing only 4 or 5 days, which means he could make his first start back next Saturday, at home, against the Pirates. I’m going to that game, and actually have two extra tickets that I’m trying to unload, this might make someone actually want to buy them.

In the “Best News of the Day” category: Kevin Youkilis’s hitting streak was stopped at 23 games. He came up in the bottom of the eighth against Vizcaino, who walked him. I’ll be honest, I was hoping he’d get hit (but not in the head) to end the streak. That would’ve been a fitting capper to the game.

In the “My God, You Are A Complete Moron” category: Tim McCarver said early in the game that these Yankees weren’t like the 1978 Yankees who overcame a huge deficit to the Sox to win the World Series because those Yankees were a really tight group, and they all liked each other. Apparently the fact that Reggie Jackson and Thurman Munson wanted to kill each other counts as being a tight group in McCarver’s book.

Here’s a Reggie Jackson quote from the 1978 season. (From October Men by Roger Kahn) “George (Steinbrenner), how much has to happen before you get it through you head that I can’t play for Billy Martin?”

Here’s a quote from the same book, this one from Billy Martin, who was fired later in the year and replaced with a raging alcoholic, Bob Lemon: “Those two deserve each other (Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner), one’s a born liar, and the other’s convicted.”

Yes, Tim. That ‘78 team was the model of harmony in the clubhouse. Get a f*cking clue. Those Yankees were down 14 games on July 19^th. They tied the Sox for the division lead, and won a one-game playoff in Boston on the Bucky Dent HR. So no, it’s not impossible Yankee fans. A win tomorrow would be a nice step in the right direction.

Player of the game: Melky Cabrera, 3 for 4, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 bomb.

UPDATE: Doug is going on the DL before tomorrow’s game. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion, cervical sprain and a fractured bone in his right wrist. No word on who the Yanks will call up to take his roster spot. Looks like Phelps is going to see plenty of action at first for the time being.