 Saturday, May 03, 2008
Sportsmanship Carries the Day and an Opponent Home
The sports world has been filled with steroids, dog fighting, gambling, and other scandals over the past year.
It's refreshing to learn of and write about the women's college softball game in Washington State. Hard luck senior, Sara Tucholsky, never hit a home run in her career. When Sara finally hit her home run, she collapsed before reaching second base from an injured leg. Her teammates could NOT help her as she would be called out and credited with a single.
After a few tense moments, her opponents, Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace, carried her around each base, she touched it with her leg, and then they carried her home. Sara was greeted by emotional teammates at home plate.
Sportsmanship carried the day. Good job ladies!
Posted by an uplifted Tank in NY. Mega thanks to PermaGuest Outlaw Jack for the links and story idea!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Yankee Starters need to go longer
Another Yankee loss last night and another Yankee starter not going 6+ innings. Ian Kennedy went only 4.2 innings and then the tired Yankee bullpen took over. The banged up Yankees lost Phil Hughes and will need an innings eater. If not they will suffer the fate of the Mets bullpen last season. Could this be the year that the Mets and Yankees don't make the playoffs? Both teams face pretty large holes, the Yankees with starting pitching and the Mets with hitting. Both teams are in this position mostly because of injury, but both teams seem to lack the fire to win, the desire to grind out at-bats, to fight to the last out. They both need to get that soon or "it is only May" will turn to "holy cow it is September". Posted by Steve in New York
Thursday, May 01, 2008
April Showers and Injuries Increase The Tank's Anxiety Level
The Yankees loaded the bases with no one out in the top of the first and "only" score two runs off of Bonderman. Yankees 2 - Tigers 0.
It's my first time in the third baseline Tier seats. It's a little steep but a great view of the field. There isn't a bad seat in the House that Ruth Built.
Thames hit a two run shot over Damon at the wall in left field. Tigers 3 - Yankees 2.
Polanco hit a solo shot down the left field line with the wind blowing in. Tigers 4 - Yankees 2. A fan made a nice throw to the second base umpire. He's got a better arm than Hideki Matsui or Johnny Damon. Sign him up.
Sheffield comes up to a chorus of boos but singles to left. Ordonez singles to left and Sheffield advances to second. Cabrera hits into a 6-4-3 double play. Sheffield advances to third. Guillen grounds to Gonzalez who can't grab it. Sheffield scores. Tigers 5 - Yankees 2. Pettitte picks off Guillen to end the top of the sixth.
Abreu, Matsui, and Giambino go down in order to end the bottom of the sixth.
LaTroy Hawkins comes out to pitch the top of the seventh. Renteria goes down looking on strike 3. Granderson walks. Congratulations to Yankees radio engineer Carlos Silva for becoming an American citizen. My parents still remember their citizenship days with great joy.
Pudge grounds out to first. Get up and stretch.
Melky flies out to right. Cano flies out to center. Molina grounds out to third. Another three up, three down. Tigers 5 - Yankees 2 at the end of seven.
Farnsworth comes out for the top of the eighth. Polanco hits a solo shot to the Monuments in left. It's his second home run of the night for a guy hitting .221. Darn it! Tigers 6 - Yankees 2. Sheffield hits one past Jeter. As Ordonez comes to the plate, Sheffield steals second. Ordonez strikes out swinging. Guillen strikes out after fouling off a bunch of balls.
Gonzalez strikes out. Damon walks on a full count. Finally! It's the first base runner since the first inning. Jeter flies out to right. The pitching change doesn't make any difference as Abreu grounds out.
Edwar Ramirez comes in to pitch the top of the ninth. He got Renteria but Granderson doubled to right. Inge is hit on the leg. Pudge Rodriguez strikes out. Will Polanco hit his third home run of the game? Hope not. Polanco thankfully flies out to Abreu. The Yankees go down in the ninth and lose 6-2.
Bottom Line: Pettitte wasn't his usual self but the Yankees aren't scoring runs -- only 15 in the last five games. They had Bonderman on the ropes in the first but didn't close the deal. The weather is still cool but the Yankee bats need to heat up ASAP.
What Should Be Done: The Yankees need to bring up Rasner for Phil Hughes who went on the DL Wednesday. Igawa may deserve a shot if Kennedy doesn't improve. It would the Yankees an excuse to reshuffle the rotation.
The injured include A-Rod, Bruney, Posada, Hughes, etc. My right hamstring is tight and my fingers finally thawed out after Tuesday night's chilly extra inning game at Shea. Speaking of the Mets, Billy Wagner called out Oliver Perez publicly after Wednesday's game and on his weekly spot on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN 1050 AM. Things aren't rosy with the Mets either.
Posted by an anxious Tank reporting live from Yankee Stadium in the Boogie Down Bronx.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
A pitchers duel at the Big A
I battle the infamous Los Angeles traffic as I crawl down the I-5 to Anaheim to watch the Los Angeles (of Anaheim) Angles take on the Oakland As, to battle for the first place position in the AL West. I left the office in downtown LA early to make the game on time. I get to the big A with 5 minutes to spare. A friendly neighborhood scalper sells me a nice field box in the right field corner by the foul pole about 10 rows behind Vladimir Guerrero. 
I know things are going to be good when I get an Alexander Hamilton tattoo in my Cracker Jacks, my favorite founding father is now tattooed on my left arm. Oh yes the game. What a game! Only 7 hits, Oakland did not even have a runner advance beyond second base. The classic pitchers duel, my absolute favorite: Joe Saunders (5-0) out-pitched Greg Smith (2-1). The only scoring was in the bottom of the 3rd, when Smith issued a one-out walk to Brandon Wood, who advanced to third on Chone Figgins’ double and scored on a wild pitch. Figgins then came home on a fielders choice by Gary Matthews Jr. Smith got the complete game loss while only allowing 3 hits. Vlad made a really cool grab in the seats right in front of me by a few rows. (I keep an eye out for the Mets score knowing that the Tank is at that game. This is my second west coast game this month and the second time the Tank and I were at games at the same time on different coasts.) The Big A is an old school stadium and like Shea, it lacks character. It does the job and makes up for the lack of charm with the best looking ball girls and tee shirt cannon girls in the major leagues. The hot dogs are actually grilled so they taste good. On the way out I visit the 2002 World Series Trophy. 
Posted LIVE! by Steve at the Big A.
 Live! | MLB
 Wednesday, April 30, 2008 12:26:12 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Barry Zito Revisited
Steve and I co-wrote an post last year about Barry Zito. We warned of the "caveat emperor", or buyer beware, of Barry Zito changing his delivery prior to 2007 Spring Training.
Zito's first season with the Giants last year was a bust. It's even worse this year and the Giants have sent him down to the minors.
Zito's greed got him on a bad team with the Giants. The Giants are now getting burned for signing him.
The Mets were lucky not to sign Zito. Steve and the Tank know that Mets GM Omar Minaya will be calling us soon to thank us for the advice and maybe even offer us a job. 
Posted by a philosophical Tank in NY on my way to Shea to see the Mets new real ace, Johan Santana.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Turning Boos into Cheers
Carlos Delgado hit two home runs yesterday turning all of the boos into cheers. Even with the two home runs, Delgado's days are numbered. He is to be 36 in June and struggling at the plate and is not a rock star fielder to justify staying at First. How can the Mets address this? Their best Fist base prospect is still in AA and while tearing it all up, needs at least a season at AAA to mature and tone his stills. There are not too many people on the market, maybe a deal can get them a good hitter. Or maybe they can think outside the box. Maybe Endy Chavez or Angel Pagan can play first? I am serious, I know Mets fans have visions of Mike Piazza on first base when I say this but it is worth a try. Both are young and great athletes and can lean the position very fast. When Alou comes up, send Pagan down to AAA to play a few weeks at First and then call him back up. Some have joked that Johan Santana should play First on his off days since his batting average, slugging percentage and OBP are better than Delgado. Posted by Steve in LA.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Roger Federer is Human After All
Second seed Rafael Nadal defeated first seed Roger Federer 7-5, 7-5 today in the Monte Carlo Masters title. Federer shows his only true vulnerability and that is clay. Federer is 1-7 against Nadal on clay lifetime. Rafael Nadal continues to dominate the Monte Carlo Masters. Nadal has won 22 consecutive matches in Monte Carlo since he lost to Guillermo Coria in the third round in 2003. He has not lost a set in two years: Federer was the last person to take a set from him in the 2006 final. Next major stop is the French Open, another clay surface. Having already lost Australia to the Tank's countryman Djokovic, Federer will look to wins in the US and UK this summer.
Posted by Steve in New York
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
End of a nice run
He is human afterall. Over 26 games, Joba Chamberlain's career had been pretty much perfect, but yesterday he gave up the winning run in the ninth inning in the White Sox's 7-6 victory. Pushing up his ERA to 1.12 for the year. “He’ll be fine. He’ll bounce back. He’s given up a run before in his life,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Joba. The loss will do him good, the pressure to continue the near perfect streak is now over and Joba can get on with being one of the most dominating set up men (and eventually starters) in the league. The loss will take some pressure off and make him reflect on his role. It will mature him pretty fast. Posted by Steve in New York
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Why 2008 is not 2007
The Mets were is a batting slump and lost three games in a row. Mets fans (including myself) had visions of September 2007 in our head. But there are two reasons why that is not the case. First the stopper known as Johan Santana. Seven solid innings (2 ER, 4K and only 1 BB) and even a pair of doubles at the plate. The second reason is 8th inning setup work by Duaner Sánchez, back to his old form after missing a year and a half. In 2007 there was no stopper, someone you can give the ball to and expect a W. In the last week of the season, the Mets asked that of Tom Glavine twice and twice he got shelled. In addition there was nobody to go 7+ innings to give the bullpen a rest. Santana has pitched into the 7th inning in all of his starts (and into the 8th in one) to record 34.2 innings in 5 starts. The second reason this is not 2007 is Duaner Sánchez. His presence with his 4 pitches in the bullpen makes him the perfect 8th inning set-up man, a role Aaron Heilman was not comfortable in, nor were Mets fans comfortable with him in. The bullpen was one of the main reasons why the collapse occurred last year. Willie will have more depth and options in his bullpen as well as a stopper of small streaks who comes in and sets the tone the way Santana set it last night. While the Mets still have to do a lot of things right to win the NL East, but at least they won't just give it away like last year. Posted By Steve in New York
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