"Boston is a small town full of angry drunks," Vin said this evening. I think he heard somewhere fairly recently because he's been saying it a lot the past few days. I guess there are a lot of drunks there (there's one or two here as well) and they do tend to get angry when the hated Yankees and their fans come to town.
Tonight's game should be a classic pitcher's duel - for the first half anyway. Sale has not had a great start - thrown a lot of pitches and the only winless pitcher on the side - and it hurts the dirty bastards offense big time having Bogaerts out, says Vin, but their pen has been looking better than ours, and I think that's what this game will come down to. The news about Bogey's injury was actually a relief as it could have been far worse. Him going out for the whole season or most of it really might have been a blow and affected the rest of the team's performance tonight, says Vin.
I think Sale gets his first win tonight and we get a chance to bounce back against a pitcher we've done well against in the past tomorrow. But I hope I'm wrong, said Vin.
He certainly might be. Severino has been good against the Sox and Sale only average against the Yanks. Only one way to find out.
Small Town Full of Angry Drunks -128
Hopefully he starts trending one way or the other.
Good Luck and enjoy the game everyone!
Tonight's game should be a classic pitcher's duel - for the first half anyway. Sale has not had a great start - thrown a lot of pitches and the only winless pitcher on the side - and it hurts the dirty bastards offense big time having Bogaerts out, says Vin, but their pen has been looking better than ours, and I think that's what this game will come down to. The news about Bogey's injury was actually a relief as it could have been far worse. Him going out for the whole season or most of it really might have been a blow and affected the rest of the team's performance tonight, says Vin.
I think Sale gets his first win tonight and we get a chance to bounce back against a pitcher we've done well against in the past tomorrow. But I hope I'm wrong, said Vin.
He certainly might be. Severino has been good against the Sox and Sale only average against the Yanks. Only one way to find out.
Small Town Full of Angry Drunks -128
Hopefully he starts trending one way or the other.
Good Luck and enjoy the game everyone!
I saw Vin this morning and he likes the boys to bounce back tonight. They've got a long way to bounce, I said. They got their asses kicked last night. El Mal de Ojo (Severino) looked like his old self from a few years ago.
Yeah, sighed Vin. Sinkers in cold weather generally don't have good outcomes for the pitcher. It's like Paul O'Neil said last night - you get that sweat on the ball and it becomes a layer of ice. It's like trying to polish a turd. You can rub that damn thing till doomsday and you're still going to get shit. The pitchers just can't dig their fingers into the ball like they can when it gets warmer, and your stuff just isn't there. Last night, Boston was just waiting for the fastballs. And when you know what's coming, and you're a major league hitter, well, you're going to hit the ball.
And Sale looked really hittable last night - it was just one of those nights for our offense. Aaron and Giancarlo both hit well though, and that's encouraging. I think this team will be fine once it gets warmer, says Vin.
Tonight, we've got the Tanaka Tanaka on the hill facing Price. We've had his number in the past, says Vin, and I think we'll have it again tonight. Hopefully we take a lead into the latter half of the game and the bullpen responds with a decent performance and we get one back.
So stock up on the coffee and tums, you damn small town of full of angry drunks! The Empire Strikes Back tonight.
Yanks +103
Good luck and enjoy the game!
Yeah, sighed Vin. Sinkers in cold weather generally don't have good outcomes for the pitcher. It's like Paul O'Neil said last night - you get that sweat on the ball and it becomes a layer of ice. It's like trying to polish a turd. You can rub that damn thing till doomsday and you're still going to get shit. The pitchers just can't dig their fingers into the ball like they can when it gets warmer, and your stuff just isn't there. Last night, Boston was just waiting for the fastballs. And when you know what's coming, and you're a major league hitter, well, you're going to hit the ball.
And Sale looked really hittable last night - it was just one of those nights for our offense. Aaron and Giancarlo both hit well though, and that's encouraging. I think this team will be fine once it gets warmer, says Vin.
Tonight, we've got the Tanaka Tanaka on the hill facing Price. We've had his number in the past, says Vin, and I think we'll have it again tonight. Hopefully we take a lead into the latter half of the game and the bullpen responds with a decent performance and we get one back.
So stock up on the coffee and tums, you damn small town of full of angry drunks! The Empire Strikes Back tonight.
Yanks +103
Good luck and enjoy the game!
Let's go Yankees.... good luck
Vin was as animated as he could be when I saw him on my way to work this morning. He was talking to a few of the other older guys in the neighborhood (which is odd for this time of year as it's still too cold for them to be hanging out) talking about the game.
When I say animated, I mean that almost literally -- watching him and the other older neighborhood guys having a summer baseball debate is something - like an old postwar cartoon from the Golden Age, when baseball was truly the national pastime, women wore skirts, men were men (and women were glad of it.)
"The only rule that applies to sliding into second is that you can't go out of the baseline to make contact with a fielder," said Vin. "Austin didn't do that. He only came off the bag slightly - looked like normal inertia to me. I don't even think there's a rule about going high as long as you're in the baseline! I mean for Pete's sake, that's why every short stop and second baseman who ever played jumps after he tags the bag when there's a runner coming in hot!"
I listened for a few minutes to everyone talking about the fight and Judge and Stanton moving the ruck fifty feet trying to break things up. I'll have to admit if I was on a team in a bench clearing brawl and found one of those two in front of me, I would seriously think about finding someone else to hit.
"Yeah those two were trying to break things up, it looked like everyone else was too," said Vin laughing. "Austin and Kelly were the only ones throwing punches. You saw some of those old highlights - used to be in a Yankee Redsox brawl everyone was throwing haymakers! Wham! A haymaker!" Vin had a rolled up newspaper in his hand, shaking it vigorously - "wham! Another haymaker!"
It was like watching the original Bugs Bunny ranting about the Gashouse Gorillas.
After the "fights of yesteryear" rant, I commented that I was surprised Price got pulled after one.
They said he was having tingling in his hand, said Vin. Guys got elbow problems and he doesn't want to have surgery. Goddamn Angry Drunks almost got back in it though. I really think most managers would have brought in a reliever to try and get that last out in the fifth, but I guess Boone wanted to build the confidence with Tanaka and thought even if they got the grand slam our offense would keep putting up runs.
What about tonight I asked - Gray against Porcello? Vin's face fell a bit as he was still basking in the glow of yesterday.
Hmmm... tonight. I like the boys again.
My sipdey sense was up. Why?
Pancetta did well against us a few years ago but he did'nt last year, said Vin. Also, his pitches could be off tonight because of the temps and the ball conditions. He's a feel pitcher.
A what?
He's one of those guys who digs his fingers into the ball - his grip is everything. And they used a lot of pen last night after Price went out. Comparatively speaking, our pen is looking strong. I'm still worried about Chapman but hopefully he settles down.
And Sonny Gray is due for a good start and a win.
Biggest thing is - I think the offense has gotten into a rhythm. The big boys are smacking that ball around.
Smack! A homer! Smack smack smack - another homer!
Time to roll those angry drunks!
Yanks -105
Good luck everyone and enjoy the game!
When I say animated, I mean that almost literally -- watching him and the other older neighborhood guys having a summer baseball debate is something - like an old postwar cartoon from the Golden Age, when baseball was truly the national pastime, women wore skirts, men were men (and women were glad of it.)
"The only rule that applies to sliding into second is that you can't go out of the baseline to make contact with a fielder," said Vin. "Austin didn't do that. He only came off the bag slightly - looked like normal inertia to me. I don't even think there's a rule about going high as long as you're in the baseline! I mean for Pete's sake, that's why every short stop and second baseman who ever played jumps after he tags the bag when there's a runner coming in hot!"
I listened for a few minutes to everyone talking about the fight and Judge and Stanton moving the ruck fifty feet trying to break things up. I'll have to admit if I was on a team in a bench clearing brawl and found one of those two in front of me, I would seriously think about finding someone else to hit.
"Yeah those two were trying to break things up, it looked like everyone else was too," said Vin laughing. "Austin and Kelly were the only ones throwing punches. You saw some of those old highlights - used to be in a Yankee Redsox brawl everyone was throwing haymakers! Wham! A haymaker!" Vin had a rolled up newspaper in his hand, shaking it vigorously - "wham! Another haymaker!"
It was like watching the original Bugs Bunny ranting about the Gashouse Gorillas.
After the "fights of yesteryear" rant, I commented that I was surprised Price got pulled after one.
They said he was having tingling in his hand, said Vin. Guys got elbow problems and he doesn't want to have surgery. Goddamn Angry Drunks almost got back in it though. I really think most managers would have brought in a reliever to try and get that last out in the fifth, but I guess Boone wanted to build the confidence with Tanaka and thought even if they got the grand slam our offense would keep putting up runs.
What about tonight I asked - Gray against Porcello? Vin's face fell a bit as he was still basking in the glow of yesterday.
Hmmm... tonight. I like the boys again.
My sipdey sense was up. Why?
Pancetta did well against us a few years ago but he did'nt last year, said Vin. Also, his pitches could be off tonight because of the temps and the ball conditions. He's a feel pitcher.
A what?
He's one of those guys who digs his fingers into the ball - his grip is everything. And they used a lot of pen last night after Price went out. Comparatively speaking, our pen is looking strong. I'm still worried about Chapman but hopefully he settles down.
And Sonny Gray is due for a good start and a win.
Biggest thing is - I think the offense has gotten into a rhythm. The big boys are smacking that ball around.
Smack! A homer! Smack smack smack - another homer!
Time to roll those angry drunks!
Yanks -105
Good luck everyone and enjoy the game!
