Looking for a Streak
We’re set for section 24 on Thursday night. The Sherry Brothers, the Big Boy, Mikey Juice, and me. That makes a few things highly likely. First, the amount of food that is going to be consumed will probably pay for George Steinbrenner’s dry cleaning for the next two years. Second, it is highly likely that The Ferocious Lion will hit a bomb, as he almost always does when his #1 fan, Tony Sherry, is at the game. There should be no mistakes about this one. I am taking responsibility for bringing back a win.
I love when the press gets a hold of a silly stat and rides it. Some genius picked up on the fact that the Yankees are 8-0 in day games and 1-8 in night games. Meaningless. Try 5-1 at home and 4-7 on the road. It’s a lot more relevant. The day/night thing is just silly. Five of those games were in an enclosed stadium anyway, so that much of the difference is moot. So far, so good, I think. The Yanks are just better than most of these teams. They have had some tough bottom-of-the-ninth umpiring go against them, but I fully expect that it will even itself out over the course of the season. Besides, I’m sure there are some Orioles fans out there who still think that haven’t been properly compensated for a precocious young gentleman named Jeffrey Maier. Who, apparently, is playing college ball these days, and just set some sort of doubles record for the college he plays for. Hard to believe it was ten years ago that he turned a fortuitous “dentist appointment” into high drama at the Stadium. I remember watching the game with my mom, and having to leave to go play in a softball game as they were playing the ninth. I also distinctly remember trotting in from left-center with Brian Rumble after the first half-inning of my game and hearing some guy in the stands say that Bernie had just banasticrated a walk-off job. He wasn’t my favorite Yankee back then, I’ll admit. Paulie O’Neill was that guy then. But only because Donnie Baseball had recently hung them up. Pardon the digression, but it never gets old for me.
So I guess I’ll have to settle for six comments today. Until Lucky waltzed in towards late afternoon, I had zero. Ouch. But when they came in they were pretty good. I don’t have a stat counter or anything like that. I have absolutely no idea how many people read this thing. Frankly, it doesn’t really interest me. I just like to BS about Yankee baseball with you guys… JD, I’m glad you put the counterpoints you’ve heard on the table. It always makes for interesting debate. Keep telling us what you hear. We know you’re representing us up in the Great White North. Vino – I call it like I see it. A mamaluke is a mamaluke. Happy Meds Geoff, I agree with you. I think Big Papi washed down his HGH shake with Lou Merloni. And don’t get me wrong. By no means am I saying the guy isn’t a fat b*stard. That’s exactly what he is.
Some more on the David Wright debate. I won’t call it the Wright vs. Jeter debate, because even Met fans aren’t positioning it that way. But a large number of people seem to have commented that rings will bring him to “Jeter status.” Will he be a better hitter? He could very well be. But Mike Piazza was also a better hitter for the first five years he was in New York. But I guess that brings us back to the rings. The catch here is that Jeter was in the right place at the right time. Jeter has made the playoffs every year he’s been in the league. He’s been MVP of the All-Star game and the World Series in the same year (who did they beat in the series that year? …oops…. that’s right…. the Mets….sorry Grossman – I didn’t mean it). And when the World Baseball Classic came around, who made the all-tournament team? Yup. Jeter. I’ll say it again. David Wright is a very special player. He’ll be awesome. But even a ring or two might not get him to Jeter status, because Jeter caught lightning in a bottle, and was never without an all-world supporting cast. And with all that said – maybe Wright does pull it off. Who knows?
Here’s to hoping that we don’t have to suffer another major league meltdown at the hands of the Mighty Devil Rays this year. I don’t think I can take that again. Just kick the ever-loving tail out of them and move on. Last year was maddening. Losing three of four at home, and the one game we win we score 20 runs…. Awful.
Seanny! Your boy’s up again!
Man, I thought that we were all going to have to take a trip to the BPS woodshed and take a few lashes....6 comments? Weakness!
The press is made up of silly stats. Who was it that said there are lies,***** lies and then there are statistics? The sporting press functions on this creedo daily it seems.
How can that Jeff Maier game get old? I was watching that game with a college buddy who just happens to be an O's fan. When Maier made that "catch" he threw his beer at the TV and was poised to (in his words) "drive up to that stinking city and kick that little goof's ***"
Man....that series, still remember it like it was yesterday thinking "the Yanks are going to the series" after that long suffering 80's doldrum when they came this close so many times to taking the East.
Memories
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It's been 10 years!? No freaking way, but you're right... Still, we won that series 4-1, so it's not like it was in the deciding game 7. As for Wright and Jeter: best case scenario, (for Wright,) he snatches a ring and becomes The Man. But Wright is simply a good baseball player and a likeable guy. What, (not who,) is Jeter? Jeter just has IT. He's not the best shortstop in the game. But he arose from those humble K-Zoo, MI, beginnings. Kids made fun of him. His parents weren't wealthy. His godfather wasn't one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Yet he still managed to make it the Show, and when he did - like you said - he caught lightning in a bottle. How? That's what makes him so special. He managed to support and lead the team of his dreams, despite the fact that no one had any reason to believe he would - and certainly not in the dramatic fashion which he did. Wright can never achieve that. He might be a good player, but he doesn't have those intangibles. Maybe he does, but we don't know it because he hasn't had a chance to show us. It might not be fair, but that's how it works. Add to that the fact that the Mets are #2 in town, and there you go.
Would Michael Jordan still be the greatest of all time if he wasn't on the Bulls? Maybe not. Maybe he would be the guy "in the top 3" but not the hands-down greatest. He got lucky. If he never had the chance to put The Shot down on Cleveland, his legacy wouldn't have been as strong. It wouldn't be his fault, but that wouldn't change the result.
-Reid
http://reid.mlblogs.com
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Plus you gotta factor in all the "Jordan-like" plays that Jeter has had. The flip play, the homer off of BK Kim, the Maier homerun, the harpooning his body into the seats catching that Boston ball, the catch he made flipping over backwards into the seats against Oakland in game 5 of the playoffs, the play where he dove with his back toward home plate and landed on Cano, the balls he robs in the hole seemingly ever game. The guy has a nack for sticking his nose into the spotlight unselfishly.....unlike someone like, say, **** Schilling
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The best thing for Wright is to continue hustling like he is. He plays a very good 3rd base and it will be fun to watch him progress. Maybe, maybe he will one day be like Jeter, but I think guys like him come around once every 10 years or so. I hope for everyone here's sanity the Yanks just beat the **** out the Ray's today, I can't stand losing to a team like that. Go Yanks!
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I have to agree with happy, its the plays he makes, he has that "it" factor that alot of these other guys don't have. There are tons of other guys on the Yanks who have better numbers, but it remains Jeter's team, and his city as well. I think you have to look beyond the numbers. We have no idea if wright has "it." It appears that he is going to be a h*ll of a player, but Jeter has been the star of the city for 10+ years and isnt going anywhere. It also cant be discounted that he came into an ideal situation with a team on the verge of a dynasty where he was constantly in the national spotlight. Maybe Minaya is building that in Queens but it remains to be seen.
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Wright has yet to show he has the many intangibles that Jeter has, most of which has been detailed above. The rings, the plays, being Mr, November, etc.
Jeter showcases everything that is right about baseball. There's a reason why he's the team Captain of the greatest franchise in professional sports. He's a great leader on-and-off the field. He's a role model. And like John Sterling likes to remind us, he's a flat out winner.
Wright has a long way to go to reach "Jeter-like" status.
J
http://boogiedownbaseball.mlblogs.com/
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I personally guarantee that HE hits a homerun! When HE does it, I will be the one in section 24 slowly preparing to unveil my new DEKI-DANCE!!! Trust me; I will be on Sportcenter’s top 10 after this one!!!! The dance consists of me stabbing Mickey Rumble in the left ear with a corn-dog while doing the exact dance from Michael Jackson’s thriller video (the part when he puts both arms in the air to reveal his “claws”) you know the part!!!! GET READY!!!
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No Matsui homer, but you boys brought back a win.
I know it's only TBay, but a night like tonight with Moose and the bullpen doing the job and the offense doing what it is supposed to do, it created an enjoyable watch. A feeling very unfamiliar during long stretches last year, especially against Tbay.
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Good to see them take the first game. I always say that you have to try to take each series and taking the first game puts you well on your way. Brady, I appreciate the "Enter the Captain" update. I missed the game because I was at dinner with the girl, but I knew things were going well when I got the message. Thanks again
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