More Nuttiness In Yankee-Land
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by Lenora X
Two Out Of Three Is OK, But Must Sweep KC Now
The Yankees dropped the getaway game today, which didn't totally surprise me. This day game after a night game, winning the first two by big margins . . . it had the feelings of a trap game to Me and this team certainly is prone to letdowns.
Since my employer does not recognize Yankees weekday day games as a legitimate absence, I was treated to the John Sterling/Suzyn Waldman version of today's game, and I think that a game as crazy as this really was enhanced by the over the top, vaguely surrealistic spectacle that is a Yankee radio broadcast.
From the incessant ads ham-handedly inserted into the program ("Damon just scratched his package there, Suzyn -- that crotch-scratch is brought to you by Cruex, who remind us that jock itch is no laughing matter") to Streling's absolute refusal to ever miss a possibly dramatic call ("it is high it is far it is . . . a foul ball!"), a Yankee game on the radio is the perfect setting for a game in which each team scores eight runs in its half of the second inning.
Clemens was horrible today . . . unfortunately Cano made a costly error in the big inning but Clemens gave up what, FIVE consecutive hits AFTER the error? Five of those eight runs are unearned in the box score but everyone who watched or listened to this game knows Clemens "earned" every single one of them.
Karstens did a poor job of holding the White Sox while a collection of relievers from their bullpen did a good job of holding us, and 13-9 was the final. Not a terrible loss, but 2 of 3 over the long haul isn't going to do it . . . the Yankees need all three this weekend vs. the Royals.
I wanted Him Gone. He Wasn't, So I Wanted Him Better. Now I Want Him Gone Again.
When he didn't trade F-Word on Tuesday, I was initially very upset. I couldn't believe that 4pm on July 31 rolled around and Farnsworth was still on the team.
Then I heard that supposedly, Atlanta offered us Wickman for Farnsworth, a trade I'd agree to before the Braves even finished the sentence. Except for one thing.
The Braves (supposedly) wanted the Yankees pay all or Farnsworth's remaining money, this year and next.
I don't blame Cashman for telling the Braves to forget it. When exactly did Atlanta become a small-market team? All of the money???? All of it?
There is hard negotiating but that is just insulting.
OK, the downside though is that we still have F-Word. But OK, he can throw very hard. He has awesome stuff. If we're "stuck" with him, then, come on Gator, earn your paycheck and help straighten this guy out. An effective Farnsworth would be a huge weapon. If he can be made effective. He pitchd the other night and it was a 1 2 3 inning. OK . . . maybe not trading him was the way to go.
Then there's today. F-word gives up two home runs in the top of the ninth and 11-9 becomes 13-9. We most likely weren't getting two runs in the ninth, obviously, but allowing those two shots (one almost into the black by Jermaine Dye, who apparently really wants to stay in Chicago now) totally changed the way the game felt.
Joe really needs to keep F-word out of important situations until he shows a lot more consistency. Fix him but don't let him kill any more games until he is fixed. Which leads to the last topic . . .
If Ever There Was A See-You-Later . . .
iris pointed me to an article yesterday . . . by a New York beat writer, the name and affiliation of whom eludes me at the moment. The author's contention was that Cashman and the front office are pretty fed up with Torre's way of handling the bullpen and if they bring up Chamerberlain it's with hte understanding that Joe doesn't relegate him to pitching once every 2 weeks, as Joe likes to do with any reliever with less than 11 years of MLB experience.
The author also takes the positoin that trading Proctor was a very un-subtle message to Torre. By trading away the guy Torre would use 134 times if he could, and replacing him with a position player, Cashman et al. are letting Joe know just how much of a lame duck he is. (The the position player in question is a better version of Miguel Cairo is a little extra jab.)
It sounds as though Chamerblain will be up here soon. His first time out, I"m sure he'll pitch in a blowout game. After that, if Joe gives him the Edwar Ramirez treatment (two weeks of inactivity when there were multiple chances for him to have stayed sharp), Torre will be tossing what little chance he has of remaining Yankees manager after this season.
And perhaps Torre has no interest in staying on, and we are seeing the "pure" Torre, the one who acts with the absolute freedom of a set for life lame duck.
He might want to be a little careful, though. There are more "Joe's Guys" in the bullpen, no one out there except Mariano is untouchable, and it's still quite possible to make more trades.
Meanwhile, I have to ask my weekly question: Does Britton have leprosy or something? Are they afraid of him attacking the post-game food spread? That he rots in Scranton while the likes of Villone and Bruney breathe major league air is totally beyond me.
