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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

What Remains of the New York Yankees (4-4) at Kansas City Royals (5-2), 8:10pm **LiveBlog/Chatter**

NYY: Ian Kennedy(0-1,23.14) vs. KC: Zack Greinke(1-0, 1.29)

According to George King, the Yankees called up Alberto Gonzalez to play short with Derek Jeter out.  Apparently he’s not going to strike out as much as Betemit or something. He’s penciled in tonight’s lineup.

Lineups
NY Yankees
Damon DH
Cano 2B
Abreu RF
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui LF
Giambi 1B
Molina C
Cabrera CF
Gonzalez SS

Kansas City
Gathright, CF
Grudzielanek, 2B
Teahen, LF
Guillen, RF
Butler, DH
Gordon, 3B
Gload, 1B
Buck, C
Pena Jr., SS

Ian Kennedy could use a good start today.  Remember when the Yankee offense didn’t suck?  Those were the days…

*** Keith in ***

Girardi started Brian Bruney on the don’t-let-the-rain-fuck-with-my-kid theory. Considering the famous incident where Girardi left a young Marlins pitcher in after a rain delay, this is encouraging. It’s good to see a manager learn from his mistake. And why not have the relievers pitch the first few innings and let the starter finish it?

The first three innings

Bruney pitched what may be the best two innings of his Yankee career—one walk, four strikeouts, one hit, no runs. Billy Traber then pitched a scoreless third.

Meanwhile, Zack Greinke has had no trouble with the 1990 Yankees, who have two hits, two walks, and no runs.

Top of the 4th

Cano swings at the first pitch (boo!) and grounds out to Penacito. Abreu flies out to Teahen.

MVP-Rod and Gojira create the illusion of Yankees Offensive Competence by doubling and walking, but then Giambi restores order by striking out to end it.

Bottom of the 4th

Traber out, Farnsworthicide in.

Butler rolls it on the wet grass, and A-Rod grabs it and just gets him for a fine play. Waldman then says that Farnsworthless hasn’t walked anybody all year. This is something of a shock.

Farnswoth goes to 3-0 on Gordon, who then drips a liner to right for a hit. However, Gordon then tests the mighty arm of Jose Molina and loses, getting nailed at second on a tag by the Attorney General. They can’t hit, but they can play defense. Maybe it’s not so much the 1990 Yankees as the 2007 Colorado Rockies. I’ll take that....

Gload then strikes out swinging to end it.

Top of the 5th

Waldman and Sterling are going on and on and on and on about the rain, which is apparently pretty bad. But the Yankees aren’t coming back to KC. Thank you interleague play.

Seriously, they need to dump IL play. The novelty value ended about five years ago, if not more, and now all it’s doing is fucking up pennant races and keeping teams from playing all the teams in their own league with any regularity.

Molina flies out to Teahan.

Melky pops out to Grudzelanek.

The Attorney General clubs a double to the left field wall. Buh?

This is a fucked-up game, man....

Sexy Calves strikes out swinging. For cryin’ out loud.

Bottom of the 5th

The 2008 version of GameDay on MLB.com is way behind real-time this year. I hope that’s a temporary glitch.

Buck homers to left-center on the first pitch, to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Now that’s the Kyle Farnsworth we all know and hate! Welcome back, Kyle, we missed ya, ya big lug....

Penacito tries to bunt his way on, but MVP-Rod throws him out.

Gathright succeeds where Pena Jr. failed, dragging a bunt down the first-base line for a single.

After a pitchout and four thousand throws to first, Gathright steals second anyhow. That was eminently predictable, despite a perfect throw from Molina. Oh, and Farnsworthicide has gone 3-0 to The Grudz.

While the Grudz walks, Gathright tried to take a mile after being given an inch, and is nailed by Molina trying to steal third. So The Grudz on first, two outs.

I wish Waldman had shut her yap about Kyle not walking anybody, he says with a sigh. Teahan walks, sending Grudzelanek to second.

Guillen singles to score The Grudz easily from second, Teahan to third, 2-0 Royals. I think we need to get some medication for Cashman to get him over his Farnsworth obsession because, seriously, he’s proven time and time again that he’s of no use to this team.

Butler grounds to Cano, who tosses it to the AG to force Guillen to finally end it.

Well.

That sucked.

Top of the 6th (unless they call the game)

Well, they’re still playing. Cano leads off with a leadoff single to left-center. A good start.

So, naturally, this being the 2008 Yankees, Abreu grounds into a DP. Fuck me sideways.

And A-Rod grounds out to Gordon to end it. Bah. And fooey besides.

Bottom of the 6th (unless they call the game)

Farnsworth out (only an inning too late), Ian Kennedy in.

IPK starts poorly by walking Gordon. Gload then hits what should be a flyout to left field, but Gojira loses it in the rain (at least according to Sterling, the world’s least reliable narrator) making it a double that drives in Gordon to make it 3-0, despite a fine relay throw home by the AG.

Buck then singles to right, Gload to third. This is agony. Penacito then hits a tapper to short that scores Gload to make it 4-0. Buck is forced out, Pena Jr. safe at first.

Melky makes a fine catch on a sinking liner by Gathright, and comes close to nailing Little Tony at first. Grudzamania then grounds out to A-Rod to finally end it.

Top of the 7th (unless they-- oh, the hell with it............)

Gojira flies out to right. Sterling tried to make it sound like it might be a hit. I hate Sterling.

Giambi flies out to Gathright. Molina grounds out to The Mighty Grudz. Bleah.

Bottom of the 7th

IPK strikes out Teahan swinging on a 3-2 pitch. Then he goes to 3-2 on Guillen, who flies out to Matsui. He goes to 3-1 on Butler and then walks him. Grump.

Then he goes to 3-2 on Gordon and strikes him out, too. Obviously he needs the full count to get the out.......

Top of the 8th

You know what would be good? Lotsa runs.................

My boy, Melky! He hits a leadoff single to center. And then the AG grounds into a DP. Why the fuck is he batting for himself when Wilson Betemit and Jorge Posada are on the bench????

Girardi’s managerial acumen just took a big hit to me.

Sexy Calves hits a double to make the DP even more agonizing, and then Cano swings at the first pitch (NNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!) and grounds out to The Mighty Grudz to end it.

PPPPHHHHPPPPLLLLLBBBBBBBBBBPPPPPTTTTTT!!!!!!

Bottom of the 8th

Gload swings at the second pitch and grounds out to Cano. Buck swings at the first pitch and grounds out to AG. Penacito takes four pitches and strikes out.

That was better, for all the good it does…

Top of the 9th

Greinke (finally!) out, Yasuhiko Yabuta in. I hear that last name, and I immediately start thinking of John Bigboote in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in the 8th Dimension. ("Big-boo-TAY! Big-boo-TAY!")

Abreu works the count to 3-2 (good) but then grounds out to Grudzelanek (bad). MVP-Rod smashes a line drive that bounces off Penacito’s glove for a single. Gojira then works back from a 1-2 count to draw a walk, sending A-Rod to second.

Yabuta (ya-boo-TAY! ya-boo-TAY!) out, Jimmy Gobble in.

Gobble, Gobble, Toil and Trobble pitches to Giambi, who pops out to the infield. Sigh.

Molina bats for himself, which means, obviously, that Joe Girardi doesn’t give a flying fuck about winning baseball games. Predictably, he strikes out to end the game.

That was truly pathetic. One brilliant move—holding off the starter in case of a rain delay—but several moves, from having Matsui play left and Damon DH when there’s absolutely no reason beyond stroking Matsui’s ego to do so, and not pinch hitting in situations that desperately called for it, ruined that.

Ah, well. Being above .500 is overrated anyhow....

Goodnight, everybody!

*** Keith out ***