10.13.04

10/13/04: Nothing Old, Nothing New

Hell of a game tonight. Sure I would have preferred a 17-0 perfect game blowout, but a win is big and Mussina delivered. Should be very interesting tonight.

Here are ten observations:

1. Schilling, hurt or not, needs to shut his yap-hole. He and Damon were both talking big before the game, and they both played like hot sweaty ass. I almost felt sorry for Schilling for a minute, but then I toughened up and enjoyed his misery.
2. God Bless Matsui -- he's a very disciplined and tough hitter. But Jesus he cost us about four runs on balls that bounced off his glove tonight. He needs to soften that thing up with some Neatsfoot oil. Both very tough plays, but he should have had 'em both. Follow the ball into the glove, my friend. Still, he got some huge hits on some very tough pitches.
3. I don't blame Torre for letting Gordon face Ortiz. Gordon's nasty as hell, he just fucked us tonight. It would have been real nice if he could have gotten us to the 9th, considering Mariano's condition. We just needed one more out from Gordon, and I can't dog Torre too much for giving him every chance to get that out. The Ortiz ball was the only ball that was really smoked, and Matsui should have caught it. McCarver was all over Torre for that. Typical know-it-all McCarver. It was a tough decision, and it (sort of) backfired. Mariano still came in and saved the day.
4. Mariano. How thankful are we fans that he is on our side? I think I would even love him if he was an opponent. He's just so cool and classy. To get to the ballpark in the middle of the game while dealing with all the stuff he's dealing with, and then to come in and perform like he did is just incredible.
5. Mussina was dominant. Even though he got charged with 4 earned runs, this was a huge start in a huge game and we'll remember it for a long time if we win it all.
6. Manny's a bit of a butcher out in left field, too. He and Matsui can both look very bad.
7. Ortiz terrifies me. He seems to really enjoy hitting.
8. The Sox showed a lot of spunk tonight -- those bats are just relentless. I can't believe it came down to Mariano with men on in the last two innings.
9. Bernie can still do some big things on occasion, can't he?
10. Red Sox I truly dislike: Schilling, Nixon, Varitek, Millar, and maybe Timlin a li'l bit.

***

A year ago, I was recapping the brawl in Fenway:

10/11/3:

Boston, you should be ashamed of your team and yourselves. What a bunch of dirtballs.

But Zimmer, you're a schmuck, too. What the hell are you thinking? Go play shuffleboard or something. Although Kevin Kennedy's postgame analysis shed a little light on the situation -- Zimmer's famous beaning was probably behind his rage this evening. He knows how dangerous those kinds of pitches are. But why not send Sojo or somebody after Pedro?

I also like how angry Posada is. He's gonna get in a fight by the end of this series. And my man Karim Garcia is mixing it up like a champ. The Red Sox need to be punished for their bush-league bullshit.

Despite (because of?) the shenanigans, this baseball postseason is the best I can remember. I am in a refreshing state of macho partisan meatheadedness.

Bret Boone has said about ten words the whole series, but today he said two of the funniest:

Joe Buck: The news we are getting is that the person who was involved in the fight in the Yankee bullpen is a groundskeeper. Someone who is employed by the Red Sox.
Boone: Was employed.

Pedro, I have lost all respect for you. Please stop reading verbungle.com.

10/12/3:

Now that I have had some time to reflect on the Yankee game yesterday, and some time to calm down, I want to reassess blame for the hostilities on (and off) the field. It's amazing how a sporting event can turn a man, even a fan on the couch in his underpants, into a ball of unjustified rage. I wasn't even drinking, so I can only imagine what thoughts must have been going through the heads of the Massholes at Fenway, especially after their team lost. As the game was going on, I sent an email to my friend in which I broke down the blame in the following manner:

Pedro: 74%
Manny: 20%
Zimmer 3%
K. Garcia: 2%
Clemens: 1%

Here then is my modified assessment, after reading a few articles about the day's events.

Pedro: 66% (he started the whole mess for no reason, and he escalated it with his taunts)
Manny: 10% (his overreaction to the high pitch was stupid and un-manly -- he should have just stepped back in and been thankful Clemens didn't drill him in the head)
Garcia: 7% (I sort of understand his dirty slide into second -- he had to get somebody --but he had no right to jump into the pen to join in the pummeling of that groundskeeper)
Zimmer: 5% (I understand his anger, but his pathetic attempt to take out Pedro was unacceptable -- he really had no business doing that)
Nelson: 5% (I am not sure who started it between him and the groundskeeper dude -- and the testimony of two Boston cops doesn't clarify anything -- but he's 6'8" and shouldn't be piling on dudes or even telling them they can't be waving that towel around.)
The Groundskeeper Dude: 4% (I'm sure this guy's a d-bag, despite the Red Sox positive spin they're putting on the situation (pointing out that the guy is a Special Ed teacher).
The general Masshole mentality that is now surging back and forth between the Red Sox and their fans (as evidenced by the whole "Cowboy Up" horseshit): 3%

***

Not to pile on the WNBA, but I think it's a bad sign for your league when the highlights for the final game of the championship series are shown on Sportscenter after NBA PRESEASON highlights.