 Thursday, May 08, 2008
Can Wang be Wonderful for the Seventh Straight Time?
Chien Ming Wang was 6-0 in his first seven starts. The Indians Cliff Lee is 5-0 going into the game. Two aces on a beautiful early May evening at the Stadium. It promises to be a classic.
Wang gave up an early run even before I got to the Stadium. Indians 1 - Yankees 0.
Lee was brilliant throwing a one hitter through three innings. Matsui hit an early pop fly single to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.
Peralta scored on Blake single to center to make it 2-0 with two outs in the fourth. Darn it!
Jeter leads off in the fourth. The Yankees go down in order.
The Indians get two on in the fifth. When Francisco tried to bunt on 1-1, Shelley Duncan sprinted down to home plate and almost got the ball as Francisco bunted to foul territory on the third base side. Wow!
Dellucci singles to center. Indians 3 - Yankees 0.
Martinez swung and missed. Sizemore caught stealing at third. You gotta love Molina's arm and Jane's Addiction "Caught Stealing" playing over the speakers. Indians lead 3-0 after the top of the fifth.
The Melk Man singled to right with one out in the fifth. Cano fouls a couple of pitches and then hits a single to shallow right. Ensberg strikes out. Better than a double play. Oh no, Molina is hitting .226. He hit a ball to the warning track in right field. Ouch! At the end of five innings, Indians 3 - Yankees 0.
Since it is now an official game, the Yankees invite former manager Buck Showalter to turn the Met Life sign from 65 to 64 games remaining at Yankee Stadium. Good job Buck! Buck is in town for the ESPN Wednesday night game. I became a big fan of Buck when he managed the Oneonta Yankees to NY-Penn League titles in the 1980s.
My fellow Bleacher Creatures yell "Take the Wave to Shea" as the Wave dies at the Bleachers. Speaking of Shea, it will be my next game on Friday. Steve will be joining me for the first time in over a season as he is finishing up his MBA. Congratulations Steve!
Damon grounds out to second. Jeter flies out to right. Abreu beats the pitcher to first. Good hustle "El Come Dulce" - translation "Just Like Sugar". Duncan doubles down the left line. Abreu advances to third. The crowd rises to its feet in the Right Field Bleachers as Matsui comes to the plate but strikes out. Darn it!
It was good visiting JR in between innings. It's great to be back home in the Right Field Bleachers. Since I am a 20 game Flex Plan holder, most of my tickets are in Left Field Bleachers or Tier. Darn it!
Cabrera flies out deep in Death Valley. Cano grounds out to second. Ensberg hits a nubber down the third baseline. The Indians bullpen starts to warm up. Molina strikes out swinging. After seven, Indians 3 - Yankees 0.
Kyle Farnsworth starts the eighth. He hasn't been bad this year, touch wood. Francisco grounds past Ensberg. Dellucci flies out to Damon. Farnsworth's throws back to first don't work. Farnsworth has to keep focused on batter. Martinez flew out in front of me to Melky. Peralta swings and Molina guns out Martinez. Nice!
Perez replaces Lee. Damon promptly grounds out to short. Jeter comes up to the "Humpty Dance", one of my favorite songs. Jeter held his swing but called out swinging. The crowd rightly boos the blind ump. Abreu doubles down the left field line. Duncan flies out to right.
People start to leave the Stadium. Not The Tank but this is a disturbing trend. Only the most die-hard fans give the Yankees a chance. Part of me can't blame them as the Yankees are without Posada and A-Rod, or Ego-Rod as Steve wrote yesterday. I don't have any children of my own but I'll give him a pass on fainting in the delivery room. His wife should have kept the story private. As for giving his daughters the middle name of "Alexander", I don't know what was thinking but he's still my buddy. 
Albaladejo starts the ninth. Peralta singles to left. Cabrera walks. Blake bunts to third and is out at first. Shoppach walks. Hafner comes in for Marte. Hafner's slump continues as he grounds out in front of home to Molina who throws to first to complete the double play and keep the game at 3-0.
Betancourt tries to close it out. Time for the Rally Cap. Matsui fouls off to stay alive. Betancourt is lulling me to sleep because he is almost as slow as Aaron "The Human Raindelay" Heilman. Matsui grounds out to third. Melky comes up as the Red Sox unfortunately tie the Tigers 8-8 in the 7th according to the left field scoreboard. This is not good for us as the Tigers will probably catch fire again when we visit them this weekend, counter tooch wood. Melky pops up to the third baseman. Cano is out to end the game. The Indians win 3-0.
Bottom Line: The Yankees are under .500 again at 17-18. Ugh! Tuesday night's loss was a heart breaker as it exposed Joba and cost a chance to go two games above .500 and keep the Mariners' sweep momentum going.
Posted by a depressed Tank reporting live from Yankee Stadium in the Boogie Down Bronx.
|
| January, 2009 (7) |
| December, 2008 (34) |
| November, 2008 (30) |
| October, 2008 (31) |
| September, 2008 (29) |
| August, 2008 (30) |
| July, 2008 (30) |
| June, 2008 (30) |
| May, 2008 (31) |
| April, 2008 (30) |
| March, 2008 (31) |
| February, 2008 (29) |
| January, 2008 (30) |
| December, 2007 (32) |
| November, 2007 (32) |
| October, 2007 (33) |
| September, 2007 (33) |
| August, 2007 (31) |
| July, 2007 (33) |
| June, 2007 (30) |
| May, 2007 (32) |
| April, 2007 (33) |
| March, 2007 (31) |
| February, 2007 (29) |
| January, 2007 (32) |
| December, 2006 (30) |
| November, 2006 (26) |
| October, 2006 (32) |
| September, 2006 (28) |
| August, 2006 (23) |
 |