Welcome to the Road

            I knew the texts and calls were probably coming in fast and furious, but I didn't want anything to do with them.  The Yankees were losing 5-4 in the sixth and I was switching over to watch Mad Men with the missus.  We DVR'd it last night, and something in my stomach was telling me that it was an eminently more appealing way to spend the next hour than watching the Yankees.  When Mad Men was over it was a little after 11, so I started the Yankee game where I had left off (also on DVR), knowing that I could blow through it if it got tough to watch.  And considering the DVR was only programmed to go until 11:30, I saw two on with one out in the bottom of the ninth with an 0-2 count on Michael Young.  Long story short, I found out what happened on the post-game. 

            I knew it was bad news when Bob Davidson handed the Yankees a free run in the third or fourth, whatever it was.  Johnny Damon was awarded second on a bogus balk call, and after moving to third on a ground ball, was awarded home on a less-bogus-but still-ticky-tack balk call.  David Cone was on the YES broadcast saying that Davidson loves to call balks, and loves to inject himself into games.  Bad news for a ballgame.  Joe West is another guy like that.  Keith Hernandez on a Met telecast the other day was saying that Joe West thinks the fans come to see him, and he's so right.  Joe West even calls himself "The Cowboy," in case anyone wasn't really sure what a pompous jack*ss he is.  So tonight it was Davidson, another guy who loves to grab the spotlight whenever he gets a chance.  So there he was, giving the Yankees a run on bogus balk calls.  And I said out loud to the missus (who wasn't remotely interested, as well she shouldn't be), "I love that we got a run, but this isn't good news.  This umpire will find a way to inject himself back in this game."  So fast forward an inning, and there's Bob Davidson jumping in to reverse a call in a tremendous spot in the game.  Now, to start, I've always said the most important thing is to get the call right.  So if that means reverse a call, reverse a call.  Get it right.  But I've seen the replay about 50 times, and none of them seem conclusive.  Certainly not that you would come in from wherever and reverse the call that the home plate umpire, a guy who was standing about a foot away, had already made.  And the one thing that the replays did show conclusively was that if the ball did touch him, he was most definitely in fair territory, not in the batter's box, so the call was incorrect anyway.  If it hit him the correct call was batter out, runner (who had been on the move) goes back to first on the dead ball.  So either way, Davidson came in, reversed a call that the home plate ump had already made, and got it wrong.  And how huge a spot.  It went from two outs and no one on to two on and no one out.  And of course you can't assume things would have played out the same, but the next batter flied out harmlessly.  Could have been the third out.  Instead, two batters later Michael Young hits a three run bomb.  Absolutely unbelievable. 

            Love to see a little bit of tenacity in the form of the X Man, who has really been all that you could have asked out there.

            I'll tell you what got me almost as mad as the Davidson intervention was the fact that in the very next inning, the Yanks put two on with nobody out.  Then Vincente Padilla, at well over 100 pitches, goes 2-0 on Cano.  And he swings at the very next pitch.  I can't say this enough times.  You have to do your job up there.  Cano can hit.  Give him a full season and he generally will be at or around .300.  But he does almost everything else wrong at the plate.  He doesn't know when to take a pitch; he doesn't hit well in situations, i.e. move runners over or hit sac flies.  He swings at far too many first pitches, he's not a tough out and his at-bats don't last very long.  So with a 2-0 count, he hits a lazy fly ball to left.  No advance.  Inning dead.  You had them right there, and nothing.

            I'm glad that Melky finally had to sit.  I couldn't help but think that with Giambi sitting against lefties, Damon resting regularly, Abreu getting days off occasionally against lefties, etc, how was it that Melky got to play every single day?  He can play D.  Great.  So can a million minor leaguers who can't hit a lick.  Great defenders grow on trees, folks.  He can't hit and he is pure cancer to rallies.  One or two swings and he's out.  He never moves runners and he never hits sac flies.  Not ever.  Guaranteed quick out.  I think now the problem is compounding itself, because Melky can see that his spot on this team is in big-time jeopardy.  And he knows if his average stays where it is, he is gone.  This means he can't afford to do things that will help his team, like taking walks and moving runners over.  Those things help you win, but they don't help your batting average.  So he's willing to sacrifice that stuff to swing at the first pitch or two, because it might be the best pitch to get him what he covets above all else.  Base hits that will raise his average and keep him in the major leagues.  The result, unfortunately, is that the biggest loser is the team.  Then comes Melky, who is a goner regardless of what he does from here on in. 

Is there no way Damon can play center?  I'll take the weak arm.  Give me Damon in center and Nady in left.  I can't take Melky anymore.  Justin Christian is fine.  As a pinch runner.  You start putting him in the lineup, you've got two problems.  He's a near automatic out, and then he's not available to pinch run, which is what he's there for.

            What else is new...  The Rangers hit three home runs and the Yankees hit three home runs.  The Rangers hit a two-run shot, a three-run shot and a grand slam.  The Yankees hit three solo shots....

            This is the problem with playing on the road.  Losses just kind of find you sometimes.  This was a crazy game that never should have happened.  Davidson needs to let his umpires do their jobs.  Get the call right, but don't come in and reverse it just to get on TV.  And then get it wrong, to boot.  The Yankees never recovered from that tonight.  Add in a sore shoulder for Joba and a devastating walk-off loss, and you've got the makings of a real encouraging trip here.  Fun...