August 9th vs. The Red Sox
Watching the Red Sox celebrate in their dugout during the top of the 8th inning, after Victor Martinez homered against Phil Coke, to give them a 2-1 lead, I thought to myself “Hmmm…they’re acting like they just won the game. Maybe they’ve forgotten that the Yanks have two more shots at this one?” Well, if they forgot, Damon, Teixeira, and the gang sure did remind them in the bottom of the inning!
A-Rod’s homerun earlier in the game, against Lester – who was dealing – was huge, and, clutch. And, of course, Teixeira’s blast in the 8th inning was clutch too. But, the king of clutch tonight was Johnny Damon – with his homerun, after Matsui and Jeter were retired leading off the eighth, to tie the score at two. That’s the kind of hit that makes a Yankees fan jump out of his comfy couch, do a little jig, and let out a few fist pumps. Well, at the least, that’s what it made this Yankees fan do…
Damon and Teixeira have been amazing with these back-to-back big flies this season – with this being the 6th time they’ve done it…which is a Yankees record. Think about that…Ruth and Gehrig…Maris and Mantle…and all the others…have not done it six times in a season. Amazing.
Lastly, on the topic of amazing…how about Andy Pettitte, match zeros with Lester in this one? Really, like I said, Lester was shoving it down the Yankees throats tonight…and, I was starting to get that feeling…you know…that if he got some runs behind him, it was going to be bad news for New York. But, Pettitte kept the Red Sox off the board while he was in there…and that should not be lost in the story of this game.
“That’s the kind of hit that makes a Yankees fan jump out of his comfy couch, do a little jig, and let out a few fist pumps. Well, at the least, that’s what it made this Yankees fan do…”
That sounds about right, Steve. Tonight, the Yankees played the part of Mola Ram from Temple of Doom while the Sox had their hearts ripped out. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out, that’s for sure. Just keep winning series, Yanks.
…acting like they just won the game? I thought they were acting like they had just won the 4 game series. They not only forgot the Yankees had yet to bat, they forgot that they would’ve dropped 3 out of 4 even if they did pull this one out. Only in Red Sox Nation could you believe that you can win a series one game to three. But, hey, they also seem to believe Ortiz, so who knows?
And Steve, you know those posts you do where you rattle off a bunch of names that Cashman throws against the wall to fill out the bullpen? Take a look at what Boston has been doing the last week or so. It’s part of the game. I keep expecting Coulter Bean to get a call-up to Boston with all of the retreads that have been going through there.
I’ll give them a pass on the celebration thing. From the Sox’ perspective, it was big when it happened. They had been shut out for a long time and they had to believe that they had the bullpen to make it stick.
The HR’s will get all the attention but how about Andy keeping up with the great Lester. He was huge tonight.
I’m not celebrating yet.
Yanks only 10-15 against 2nd place teams (.400), and only 11-16 against teams with a record of .560 or better.
If you guys want to look the other way, that’s your business…
@ Evan3457: How much of that is the Red Sox and the Angels?
Evan3457 wrote:
Good call,mate. It’s great that the Yankees swept BUT the Yankees still have some work to do.
Andy Pettitte has impressed so far in the second half. For those that counted him out, he’s back in! If the Yanks make it to the playoffs, he will definitely be in the top three ,rotation wise.
Are you saying the Red Sox over celebrated taking the lead after being shut out for 3 games (basically)?
Teams celebrate, period. Watching the Yankees celebrate with choreographed dancing, along with 3 curtain calls, your comments are pretty ironic. I know you’re a ‘zealot’, but sometimes you write with such little perspective as to be comical.
If you’re saying the sox got ahead of themselves and that’s why they lost, you belong in the Rick Sutcliffe school of baseball commentary. They lost because bard missed his spots, and right now the Yankees are a better team. Nothing more, nothing less.
Steve Lombardi wrote:
Uhhh….that would be uhhhh….6-12 as of now, Steve.
Used to be 2-12.
“That’s the kind of hit that makes a Yankees fan jump out of his comfy couch, do a little jig, and let out a few fist pumps. Well, at the least, that’s what it made this Yankees fan do…”
———–
I didn’t celebrate until the last out (I’m superstitious like that) but, MAN, did I celebrate when Mo got Ellsbury to ground out to finish it off. I did my best Tiger Woods imitation with fist pumps, roars of jubilation, the works.
This series doesn’t quite capture how I felt after Boston Massacre II in August 2006 but it’s pretty darn close. I just hope the Yanks continue to play well the rest of the way and can seal the deal in the division right around the third week in September. That would be sweet!
@ gs:
If you’re saying the sox got ahead of themselves and that’s why they lost
That isnt why they lost, but man it made it that much more enjoyable when they did
Oh my, what a glorious weekend
As good as it was, it could have easily turned the other way. Let’s enjoy it for a while but don’t lose perspective.
What if….
1- Reddick’s foul HR was fair on Friday? (Reddick could have been the hero???!!!)
2-V Mart’s ball to right on Friday carried a bit better?
3- Sox batters did not miss Mo’s mistakes last night? (And there were a few.)
I still think these teams are more evenly matched than what was apparent this weekend.
@ YankCrank:
I tell you what. I totally went to bed last night feeling free and clear with a smile on my face. Its crazy what another massacre can do to ones vibes.
And do we really wanna play what if’s Ken? Every series has those. Tony Clark’s ground rule double in 2004 for one. Lets feel good about the what happened’s and kick some butt tonight.
@ ken:
Ken, these teams are indeed very evenly matched. And now that we’ve returned the favor from the 0-8 start, it’s a lot more even on that score. No one’s counting the Sox or the Rays out, but if the Yanks play like this, they are top playoff material, no doubt about it. We will have our moments before it’s through, but as Steve said, this was a very convincing week, with series win over Tampa and sweep of the Sox. The old Yanks are back.
As good as it was, it could have easily turned the other way. Let’s enjoy it for a while but don’t lose perspective.
What if….
1- Reddick’s foul HR was fair on Friday? (Reddick could have been the hero???!!!)
2-V Mart’s ball to right on Friday carried a bit better?
3- Sox batters did not miss Mo’s mistakes last night? (And there were a few.)
I still think these teams are more evenly matched than what was apparent this weekend.
——–
I don’t think anybody on here is pronouncing the Red Sox dead for the season. As much as you’re telling us to put it into perspective, you should do the same. Ever since April we had lost eight in a row to these guys and everybody with a medium to express their feelings was declaring the Yankees unable to beat the Red Sox. Literally, how many times were our streaks of good play brought down to earth when somebody would say, “Well, this is nice but they’re still 0-8 vs. the Sox?”
This weekend, we showed up and beat them…better yet, swept them. Lots of baseball to play, nothing is over, but we should certainly enjoy this right now. We should enjoy this a lot.
Check that – their offenses and their top 2 starters are evenly matched. If Boston contends it will need to solve some pretty huge pitching issues. Tazawa is not the answer (rhymes with Igawa). And I think we also win the shortstop matchup.
@ GDH:
And I think we also win the shortstop matchup
By leaps and bounds!
GDH wrote:
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, they were saying the same thing in 2006 after the Boston Massacre II, and in 2007 after clinching the wild card despite an overwhelming number of injuries.
YankCrank wrote:
I didn’t pay them any mind. Couldn’t care less, and have said as much here.
@ Raf:
True Raf, true. However, assuming this team stays healthy, isn’t it a much better playoff team than either 2006 or 2007? The big thing that concerns me is injuries, which are random, and peaking at the right time. The rotation looks much better than we’ve had for playoff ball. Ditto the pen, now that Hughes is there, and I’ll put our lineup against any in baseball. Plus, I may be wrong, but it’s been a while since we’ve had the best record in the bigs in mid-August, and that with a only a fair start.
GDH wrote:
OPS+/ERA+
06: 111/102 (97 wins, tied best record in MLB)
07: 117/99 (94 wins, tied 2nd best record in AL)
09: 117/102 (Best record in MLB as of 8/10)
I’m not denying that the Yanks have talent, I’m just saying it’s a bit early to arrange for a parade.
In 2006, we heard about how the Yanks jelled as a team, and how things were after the 5 game sweep. We heard about the gutty, gritty Yankees in 2007. Both teams failed to advance past the first round.
I’ll put the team up against any team in baseball as well. You don’t win 90+ games without having talent.