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Sunday, September 9, 2007

9/9/2007: New York Yankees (80-62) at Kansas City Royals (62-80), 2:10pm ***Liveblog***

NYY: C. Wang (17-6, 3.68 ERA)  KC: Z. Greinke (6-5, 3.87 ERA)

New York Yankees
J. Damon, LF
M. Cabrera, CF
B. Abreu, RF
A. Rodriguez, 3B
H. Matsui, DH
J. Posada, C
J. Giambi, 1B
R. Cano, 2B
W. Betemit, SS
Kansas City Royals
J. Gathright, LF
D. DeJesus, CF
R. Gload, 1B
B. Butler, DH
M. Teahen, RF
A. Gordon, 3B
J. Smith, 2B
J. Buck, C
T. Pena Jr., SS

Time to sweep.

*** Keith in ***

I am stunned and pleased that, with Wang on the mound and two out of three won, Torre did not go with the House Money Lineup, but is starting Giambi at first and, contrary to what he said last night, Betemit (rather than the Attorney General) at short.

Top of the 1st

Sexy Calves grounds out to Gload. Melky works the count to 3-2 and then draws a walk. Good on him for taking pitches, something he’s been inconsistent about this year.

Abreu works the count to 3-1—which they need to do, as Greinke’s on a hard 80-pitch limit—and then grounds to Gload, who forces Melky at second, Abreu safe at first on the FC. He’s also safe at second on a stolen base.

HE DID IT AGAIN! HOLY SHIT! MR. MVP JUST HIT HOME RUN #52 TO GIVE THE YANKS A 2-0 LEAD! God-fucking-dammit. I am running out of superlatives for this man.

And Sterling just said the same thing I said. This frightens me.

Gojira gets a long-overdue single to right. Jorgie Porgie follows that up with a single that Teahan misplays, allowing the runners to go to second and third.

After Abreu stole second, Sterling said that the Yankees were third in team stolen bases. It’s evidence of how little I trust Sterling that I felt the need to look it up on ESPN.com. They are, in fact, fourth in the league, seventh overall. The motto is: John Sterling doesn’t know what he’s talking about, which admittedly is not news.

Giambi works an eight-pitch at-bat before flying out to DeJesus.

Grienke threw 33 pitches that half inning.

Bottom of the 1st

Gathright drag-bunts a single down the first-base line. I’m counting the seconds until they say Eyechart would’ve made that play. They don’t, amazingly enough, instead they’re talking about how much better he looks at first.

Gathright gets nailed at second tyring to steal. Boo yah. And DeJesus grounds out to Giambi, who flips to Chien-Ming the Merciless for out #2. Gload then flies out to Damon to end it.

Top of the 2nd

Young Robinson socks a single to right. Betemit works the count to 3-2. At this rate, Greinke will be out of the game in the fourth. Betemit socks a double down the right-field line. Robby was running, and he scores easily to make it 3-0.

GYAH! Sexy Calves squares to bunt! Jesus fucking Christ! Okay, he hasn’t been hitting for shit, but man. When the count reaches 2-2, he decides to actually hit the ball, and he socks it to center field, where DeJesus catches it. Betemit advances to third.

Melky grounds out to Gload. Betemit is unable to score. Abreu draws a four-pitch walk. Wow, that’s bad—for Greinke, anyhow. With the greatest hitter in the history of the universe on deck, you should really make an effort to get the ball over the plate somewhere in there.

A-Rod strikes out swinging on three pitches. Hang on, that wasn’t in the script! Get me rewrite!!!!!

Ah, well. Greinke up to 62 pitches. He’ll be gone after three at this rate….

Bottom of the 2nd

Butler flies out to Abreu. Teahan grounds out to Robby. Gordon grounds out to Giambi.

Top of the 3rd

Gojira pops out to Smith. Jorgie Porgie flies out to center. Giambi socks a ball down the line that Gload—whom I despise with every fibre of my being—makes a diving stop to take a

double

single away from Giambi to end it.

Bottom of the 3rd

Smith chops it back to the mound, Wang tossing to Giambit for the out. Buck grounds the ball up the middle. You might expect that to be a base hit, but with Betemit at short, it’s actually caught, and there are two outs.

Penacito tries to get his Joey Gathright on by bunting for a hit, but he pops it up to Posada to end it.

Wang has thrown all of 25 pitches. He still hasn’t matched Greinke’s first-inning total.

Top of the 4th

Robby flies out to short left field. Betemit flies out to Teahan. Sexy Calves grounds it off Penacito’s glove for a single.

That was Greinke’s 90th pitch, so he’s out, Brandon Duckworth (quack!) in.

Melky socks it to deep center, but DeJesus runs it down to end it.

Bottom of the 4th

Gathright lines a single to left past A-Rod, who was in against the bunt.

DeJesus grounds to Betemit, who forces Gathright at second, but the relay to first isn’t in time. Which is too bad, as Ross “Yankee Killer” Gload socks a single to right, DeJesus to third.

Butler strikes out swinging on a slider. Then Wang gives up a walk to Teahan to load the bases. That’s no good.

This is even worse: Gordon ties the game at 3 with a double to right.

Smith strikes out swinging on four pitches to finally end it.

Top of the 5th

Gload steals another hit with a diving stop to nail Abreu at first. Mr. MVP socks a double to left. Gojira draws a walk.

Duckworth (quack!) out, John Bale in.

Jorgie Porgie, puddin’ pie
Hit the ball, makes the Royals cry

Posada clubs a double the other way that Teahan totally misplays, scoring A-Rod and Gojira to make it 5-3. Behold the power of the ears!

Giambi strikes out swinging. Robby lines the ball right into the giant ball-sucking field that surrounds Ross Gload to end it.

Bottom of the 5th

Buck and Penacito both strike out. Rocket Wang! Gathright ends it by hitting it back to Wang.

You gotta love a half-inning when the ball never gets past the pitcher’s mound. (Okay, except for the throw to first, but you know what I mean.)

Wang has thrown all of 58 pitches through five.

Top of the 6th

Betemit strikes out swinging. Sexy Calves flies out to left. Melky strikes out looking.

Bottom of the 6th

Buh? Chien-Ming the Merciless gives up a leadoff walk to DeJesus.

Forgot who was pitching for a second: Gload bounces it to Robby, who steps on second and throws to first for a DP.

Apparently Wang forgot who was pitching, too: he walks Butler. Oy.

Teahan flies out to Abreu to end it.

Top of the 7th

Abreu strikes out, prompting Sterling’s first pun about the pitcher “Bale-ing” out the Royals. A-Rod also strikes out, and on three pitches, no less. And Gojira strikes out. Ka-zow.

He struck out the side on eleven pitches. Where the hell did that come from???????

Bottom of the 7th

Giambi out, Eyechart in. Wang has only thrown 74 pitches so unless he goes off the rails, I’d leave him to pitch the eighth, too.

Gordon grounds out to third. Smith hits a dunker to left, but Damon makes a nice running catch to nab it. Buck socks a single up the middle.

Shane Costa pinch hits for Penacito. He walks on four pitches. However, Gathright grounds to Robby to end it.

Top of the 8th

Smith moves to short, and Esteban German takes over at second, replacing Costa in the lineup.

Farnsworth is warming up in the bullpen. My heart rate just doubled.

Jorgie Porgie draws a walk—which is, by the way, only the second time Bale has gotten as many as two balls on a batter. Doug Mxyzptlk bunts him over. This time, I don’t object—it’s Eyechart, he’s gonna make an out anyhow, plus it’s late in the game. Robby then does his part by singling to center to score Posada to make it 6-3. Anything we can do to Farnsworth-proof the game is a good thing.

Betemit strikes out. Sexy Calves grounds out to end it.

Bottom of the 8th

Chien-Ming the Merciless out, the Farnsworth Cardiac Infarction (pat. pending) in. Also: Alberto Gonzalez in to play shortstop for Betemit.

DeJesus grounds out to A-Rod, who makes a nice play and throws it to Minky Mouse for the first out.

Not a leadoff walk, not a leadoff double. Who’da thunk?

Kyle K’s Gload. That’s a particular relief.

And he does it again to Butler! Nice!

I’m happy to keep this iteration of Farnsworth…..

Top of the 9th

Bale out (yay!), Joakim Soria in.

Melky strikes out swinging. Abreu strikes out swinging. I should just make this a macro. Sure enough: A-Rod strikes out swinging. Yeesh.

Bottom of the 9th

Say your prayers little one
Don’t forget, my son
To include everyone

Tuck you in, warm within
Keep you free from sin
Till the sandman he comes

Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
Off to never never land

Farnsworth out, Mo in.

Teahan grounds out to second on the first pitch.

Gordon strikes out swinging on four pitches.

Smith singles to right. He steals second on defensive indifference. However, Buck grounds it up the middle, and the AG fields it and throws him out to end it.

That’s five in a row, four games up on Detroit for the WC, a series sweep, and one step closer to 20 wins for Chien-Ming the Merciless.

Perhaps more interesting is that if the Yanks win on Tuesday against the Blue Jays, they’ll do two things: 1) They’ll be guaranteed to finish the season over .500, not something that felt guaranteed a couple of months ago. 2) They’ll be 20 over .500.

Goodnight, everybody!

*** Keith out ***