Friday, May 22, 2009

Nine is . . . fine? Divine?

Just auditioning for a job as the Post backpage headliner.

It's called the "wood," if you're interested. Something to do with how the old printing presses were manufactured.

As the Yankees sail above an ocean of joy on a pink cloud with a rainbow rainbow wrapped their spikes, a few matters of note:

1. The more 2004 recedes, the clearer it becomes that the fulcrum in the Yankee/Red Sox rivalry was the moment Dave Roberts led off first against Rivera. It's not just that since then, the red Sox have won two World Series, the Yankees not a single playoff series. The intriguing point here is how the teams are comprised, in contrast to the previous decade of their wars, 1995-2004. As we speak, the Yankees and Red Sox (and Blue Jays, more about anon) are essentially tied in the middle of May, when--in the old Sparky Anderson adage--the standings actually start to mean a damn. The Red Sox are in first without Manny, and with their best player--Papi--hitting so poorly it was said even rival players were starting to pity him. The Yankees' pitching is starting to come around; until it does, they seem content to win games 10-8. When a portion of the outfield bleachers is named after your most prominent singles hitter (Damon's Deck, anyone?), well, that's some power.

2. Up until the last few days, the big question has been: Are the Blue Jays For Real? Clearly, they couldn't play better in their dreams, and may play worse as the summer goes on. Something to watch.

1 comment:

SunDevilJoe said...

I just have to share this with you. Complements of Phil Mushnick (NYPOST)

" I confess. This past Sunday night I betrayed Howie Rose, something I knew was risky and wrong, when I chose to both watch and listen to ESPN's coverage of Mets-Giants.

Why I thought that ESPN, instead of smothering another game with verbal and video excess, would let this one breathe, I can't explain. But it was, of course, a mistake.

A microcosm from Sunday's telecast as to why ESPN's Sunday night baseball remains insufferable:

Shortstop Kevin Frandsen charged a bouncer, made a sweet grab on the half hop, then threw out Gary Sheffield. "Nice pickup," admired play-by-player Jon Miller. The play otherwise spoke for itself. But Joe Morgan was just getting started:

"Very nice play. Well, you have to time this perfectly because you're going to get that in-between hop, and the way you field the ball is that you catch it on the short hop or on the big hop. But this is the in-between hop. You can't get there in time to get the short hop, so he gets it on the in-between hop; you don't get it at its highest point. And a nice pick, there."

Good grief.