Yanx/Sawx

[Frayed Knot]

They meet - in Beantown - for the first time tonight. It's just a short 2-game series but it's the first of 12 that they'll play head-to-head over the next 5 weeks. Only 7 more after that for the rest of the season.
You may have heard ESPN mention (70 or 80 times - in between their 55 hours of continuous draft coverage) that they're carrying tonight's game. I think I also heard somewhere that this marks Johnny Damon's return to Boston - although this has largely been kept a secret otherwise.

- Wang vs Wakefield tonight

- Sox traded (back) for Doug Mirabelli.
The backup catcher they had been using for Tim Wakefield (Josh Bard) has been having a miserable time of trying to coral the knuckleball and apparently Jason Varitek had it written into his contract that; 'I don't have to catch that crazy fuck!'.
Mirabelli wins himself a pre-season bet w/Peter Gammons that he'd be back in 'The Hub' by May 15th.

- No Sheffield, still banged up from his 1st base collision the other day w/Shea Hillenbrand. Giambi at DH, Cairo (tee-hee) at 1st, Bubba Crosby in RF (has George been informed of this?)

[Elster88]

I usually watch the first Yank/Sock game of the year. No one handles the remote better than me. I'm guessing the majority of fans will boo Master Damon.

[Willets Point]

Anyone who watched Varitek catch Wakefield in the 2004 ALCS will never want to see that again (3 passed balls in one inning I think).

Booing Damon is dumb. He did great things in Boston and deserves respect. I personally think its a nice thing that Steiny is rewarding Damon handsomely for his Boston accomplishments while Damon himself plays his waning years in pinstripes. More on this from Boston Dirt Dogs.

[Guest sharpie]

Lenny's friend's mother is throwing out the first pitch at that game tonight. She's director of the Brooklyn Children's Museum and is doing this along with the director of the Boston Children's Museum. She hates baseball. It's unfair that she gets to throw out a first pitch and I almost certainly never will.

[Willets Point]

Sawx squander a bases-loaded 1 out situation. Lead 1-0 from an earlier run driven in by Papi.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Check out Trot Nixon's popup on the hilites.

Heh heh

[nymr83]

sharpie wrote: Lenny's friend's mother is throwing out the first pitch at that game tonight. She's director of the Brooklyn Children's Museum and is doing this along with the director of the Boston Children's Museum. She hates baseball. It's unfair that she gets to throw out a first pitch and I almost certainly never will.

thats fuckin lame. i don't care if you cured cancer, actually LIKING the game should be a prerequisite for any on-field activity.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

PAPI

[Frayed Knot]

Papi to Torre: 'Fuck your lefty specialist - I'll go 3R KaBoom anyway!'

[Guest Edgy DC]

Manny to Torre, "Me too."

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

My first look at Papelbon this year: Good stuff.

Blows away Gayrod swinging
Pops up HidAcne
Whiffs Mosada swinging

X-Red Sox: Damon 0-4
Myers: 3r HR allowed

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mike Myers, the saddest Yankee.



George's global outreach program has Dominicans calling him "El Yanqui Mas Triste."

[Frayed Knot]

Papelbon's had a helluva start - although not enough to excuse BB2N's Jeff Brantley's from saying he'd pick him above every other player in the big leagues today!?!

Earth to Jeff. Even Kruk & Phillips had enough sense to pick Pujols.


- Damon got more cheers than boos upon leading off the game.

- Mirabelli makes it to the stadium just before game time (Varitek was already in his armour) and was changing his clothes in the escorted limo from the airport.

[stevejrogers]

Nymr83 wrote: ="sharpie"]Lenny's friend's mother is throwing out the first pitch at that game tonight. She's director of the Brooklyn Children's Museum and is doing this along with the director of the Boston Children's Museum. She hates baseball. It's unfair that she gets to throw out a first pitch and I almost certainly never will. thats fuckin lame. i don't care if you cured cancer, actually LIKING the game should be a prerequisite for any on-field activity.

Even for Government types like Ed Koch?

[Guest SI Metman]

The Boston fans actually gave Damon the "Darryl" chant in the 8th after the Papi homer.

[nymr83]

SteveJRogers wrote: Even for Government types like Ed Koch?

especially them. Giuliani and Bloomberg are great but i would have hated to see tennis-fan dinkins throwing out pitches.

bottom line is if you don't appreciate the honor you shouldnt get the honor.

[Guest Spacemans Bong]

SI Metman wrote: The Boston fans actually gave Damon the "Darryl" chant in the 8th after the Papi homer.

Hell, we invented it!

[Guest holychicken]

]Damon got more cheers than boos upon leading off the game.

Not at all. He was booed mercilessly throughout the game. When he tipped his hat, a bunch of people cheered, as I did. . . but for the most part he was booed.

Well, unless you are talking about when he got out. There were lots of cheers for that and he got out a lot.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]Hell, we invented it!

You're a Bostonian?

[MFS62]

Who was the ex-ballplayer in the TV booth for the Yankee telecast? He said he was a teammate of the Yank reliever in the minors. He was very insightful (especially about pitching) and well spoken, but I didn't catch his name.

Anybody know?

Later

[Frayed Knot]

]Who was the ex-ballplayer in the TV booth for the Yankee telecast? He said he was a teammate of the Yank reliever in the minors. He was very insightful (especially about pitching) and well spoken, but I didn't catch his name.

Ummm ... that was none other than Senator Al.

]Not at all. He was booed mercilessly throughout the game. When he tipped his hat, a bunch of people cheered, as I did. . . but for the most part he was booed.

I was talking mostly about his first introduction where the reaction seemed quite mixed. Maybe the cheers were more from the expensive real estate which come thru most via TV.

[Elster88]

Al Leiter

[MFS62]

Thanks, folks.
Ol' Al wasn't bad.
He spent a lot of time describing Aaron Small's grip on his changeup, and it was verified by several closeups from the CF camera and the radar gun.

Later

[Guest Rotblatt]

Al makes the YES network games worth watching, IMO.

The only annoying thing about him is that his co-announcers only ask him questions about his success as a Yankee, which is pretty much limited to his first start against the Sox right after getting traded.

Still, he's articulate and insightful and generally fun to listen to. I always liked Al, though, and am probably biased.

[Frayed Knot]

]The only annoying thing about him is that his co-announcers only ask him questions about his success as a Yankee, which is pretty much limited to his first start against the Sox right after getting traded.

That's absolutely the main problem. At one point Kay asked him about how he looked forward to and handled NYY/Boston games as if it was a common thing. Yo Mikey, Al won ELEVEN GAMES as a Yank. His career in pinstripes was so brief, so injured, and relatviely so inconsequential, that last year's partial season as an emergency fill-in was his winningest year (4) on the Yanx!! It's not like there's some great history here. But I suppose it's only a matter of time until the: Al Leiter - Yankeeography kicks in so it's never too early to build up the rep.


But Al was fine during his NLCS fill-in spots over the last few years and sounds good so far in the few games I've seen him on YES.
The only other problem is that they've got so many color guys over there it'll be tough to figure if/when he's going to work. Maybe they can have some sort of 'Survivor'-style reality show in which every ex-MFY does one series behind the mike and they're voted off until just one or two remain who are given permanent jobs. As it is, they're now emplying Murcer, Kaat, Singleton, Justice, Leiter, Flaherty and O'Neal in one capacity or another.

[Elster88]

It's not entirely their fault. They don't realize that there is baseball that doesn't involve the Yankees.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Frayed Knot wrote: The only other problem is that they've got so many color guys over there it'll be tough to figure if/when he's going to work. Maybe they can have some sort of 'Survivor'-style reality show in which every ex-MFY does one series behind the mike and they're voted off until just one or two remain who are given permanent jobs. As it is, they're now emplying Murcer, Kaat, Singleton, Justice, Leiter, Flaherty and O'Neal in one capacity or another.

Or they can do it like the game in The Naked Gun, where they had Dick Vitale, Dick Enberg, Jim Palmer, Mel Allen, Curt Gowdy, Tim McCarver and Dr. Joyce Brother all in the booth together.

[Willets Point]

I'm late in this thread but it is necessary for me to declare my undying love and devotion to David Ortiz. I'm going to name my children Papi.

[Guest holychicken]

]I was talking mostly about his first introduction where the reaction seemed quite mixed. Maybe the cheers were more from the expensive real estate which come thru most via TV.

I wasn't sitting in the bleachers, but I was hardly in the expensive real estate. . .well, all of the real estate in Fenway is expensive, so relatively.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Willets Point wrote: I'm late in this thread but it is necessary for me to declare my undying love and devotion to David Ortiz. I'm going to name my children Papi.

I was too, but now I'm leaning toward D'Brickashaw.