Saturday, April 24, 2010

Lo, the Stopper!

The Good

Andy Pettitte gave us 8 innings of one-run ball. Marte closed out the ninth with a fairly dominant performance. Cervelli not only managed to maintain his balance while wearing that huge helmet, he managed a two RBI hit with two outs. Cano had four hits and an RBI, Swisher had two RBI, and I had five beers. A good performance all around.

The Bad

While the Yanks have evened the series at one apiece, the rubber match is now in the hands of one Javy Vazquez. While he has yet to pitch particularly well, Vazquez did go to the zoo today to punch the rally monkey in the face. Perhaps this will end up being the difference.

The Ugly

Torii Hunter struck out today on a pitch he thought was inside. Fox broadcast the conversation he had with the home plate umpire, in which Hunter pulled the "I'm a veteran" card. It seemed particularly douchey, if not ugly.

Grounded in Anaheim

No home runs were hit today as air traffic is still shut down as a result of the volcano.

Posada 3hr = $3
Granderson 2hr = $2
Cano 4hr = $4
Swisher 2hr = $2
Jeter 3hr = $3
Johnson 1hr = $1
Rodriguez 2hr = $2
Teixeira 2hr = $2
Thames 1hr = $1
Total = $20

11 comments:

lady gaganonymous said...

PETTITTE!!!!!!! If you told my like insanely-in-love-with-him 11-year-old self in 1999 he'd be pitching eight innings in back-to-back starts in 2010 I wouldn't have believed you. But... wow.

lady gaganonymous said...

also beer is great. And am I the only one who likes Torii Hunter?

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

It was a very impressive performance. CC's and AJ's last outings aside, the pitching has looked to be in mid-season form early.

Pettitte's always been a stopper for us and you almost knew we were going to walk away today with a win. It's rare when Pettitte will extend a losing streak. That's one of the reasons we love this guy.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

You know, I always liked Torii Hunter but recently he's been losing me. I suppose it just more or less confirms the idea that pretty much all athletes, even the most admirable and approachable ones, are overly entitled douche bags. It is what it is.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

Here's a nice article on Pettitte from a couple of weeks ago.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

Oh great, Johnson's back is hurting again.

This must've been scary.

And I suspect few Yankees fans will be upset to hear about this.

lady gaganonymous said...

the pitching from the top three has looked crazy good so far. I mean, if CC and AJ's last two outins were BAD... most teams would take that as BAD outings. Though CC walked too many guys. Still, 3 ER in a complete game? Normally that'd get you a win with the Yankee offense. Also, is it just me or is AJ striking out less people this year and walking a lot less too?

Can't say I thought we were going to walk away with a win, just because a. Anaheim; b. Piniero looked great for about three straight starts, including one against the Yankees; c. I think Andy has pretty poor career numbers against the Angels. Yeah, that includes data from like 1997 but he's generally stunk it up against them the past three years or so. I shouldn't have doubted Andy :)

Yeah, I dunno, something about Torii is still likable to me. I don't know why.

I read that Pettitte article previously and loved it. :) I know the Mitchell Report stuff was ugly and there's no denying he didn't tell the entire truth the first time around, but I think he was so easily forgiven because he's such a genuinely nice guy. My ~sources~ say as much, too (about him being a genuinely nice, humble person).

I was actually flipping channels on MLB Extra Innings and I saw that pitcher take the line drive to the face live, it was horrific.

this is a long message.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

The HGH thing was ugly, but he admitted it which makes a big difference (even McGwire, with his 'I would've hit home runs anyway' story, has more or less quieted the discussion surrounding his steroid use with an admission), and he is so super nice that you want to take him for his word. Andy Pettitte is basically Baseball's Ned Flanders.

And you're right, the "bad" starts for CC and AJ are really good 'early season when you don't have your best stuff yet' starts.

Rob B said...

What, no love for Cervelli in the "Good?" C'mon! Clutch, two out, bases loaded hit? That was Gangster.

Rob B said...

Plus, Cervelli's name reminds me of 'cerveza' for some reason.

Roberto E. Alejandro said...

Cervelli might be able to make some money off that Cervelli-cerveza connection.

Cervelli's going in The Good.