An Opposing View of Yesterday's Game
by Brandon C. on May 30, 2010 5:30 PM EDT
in New York Yankees Analysis
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PrintI was in attendance at yesterday's game, as was Ed. I didn't know he was going, so I prepared my own post about the atmosphere in the stadium during the game. Once I saw his post, I did a complete 360 and will now write about my view of the game in comparison to Ed's. I'm not calling Ed out in any way, just pointing out the differences.
This was my first Yankees game of the season. I went with my dad, who's a pretty old guy, and first got the tickets the night before the game. I plan on going to about 4 more games this season. Anyway, I would put this up there with one of the best games I've ever been to. Don't forget I've been to 2009 ALDS Game 2, A-Rod's Walk-Off Grand Slam Game, Melky's Walk Off Single last year, and many notable player debuts. Obviously, I rank this game behind those, but I put it in front of games such as Felix Hernandez vs. Roger Clemens (Mariners won 7-2).
The game did not bore me at any point. At no point did I feel like getting up and leaving. The fans in my area were loud most of the game, whether it be in booing or cheering. The first few innings were uneventful, until Huff got the line-drive off the head. The fans in my section had no idea what was going on. We saw a line drive to right field then looked to see if Swisher scored. At that point we saw Huff lying on the mound, face down. Among the reasons I heard from the crowd were "maybe he had a heart attack" "maybe he got stung by a bee and is allergic" "maybe he fainted." We would later find out the true reason, and give Huff what was probably the loudest ovation of the entire game.
Then came the Indians. The Indians came roaring back with a seven run inning. The boo birds were chirping louder than I've ever heard them at Yankee Stadium. Joba was leaving the mound and I'm pretty sure I heard a fan behind me yell "GO BACK TO GUAM," whatever that means.
At no point did I want to boo, or leave the game, as my dad suggested basically every five minutes throughout the game. When a player struggles, how does booing help? Do players say "oh man they're booing now next time out I gotta be perfect" If they do, they'll struggle even more I bet. Baseball players are only human. I understand booing someone with a humungous salary, but that is not the case in Joba Chamberlain. I will never boo a player on my favorite team. It is a pointless, childish act, in my opinion.
Finally, I had a great time at the game. The fans were loud and interested in the game, and made me proud to be a Yankees fan with the way they acted when Huff got hit. Ed made the following points in his post:
But, the booing was about more. This was a bad -- really bad -- baseball game.
- It took 4 hours, 22 minutes.
- There were an unbelievable 402 pitches thrown.
- There were 13 walks combined by the two pitching staffs.
- There were three batters hit by pitches.
- There were two delays caused by injured pitchers. Thank God Cleveland's David Huff is going to be OK, but in the end the delays still added to the frustration of the fans.
- There was Brett Gardner getting picked off first base.
- There was an obviously uncomfortable CC Sabathia taking what seemed like about five tortured minutes between each pitch he threw.
- There was Manager Joe Girardi bringing in an obviously unprepared Sergio Mitre to pitch when David Robertson left with a back strain in that fateful seventh inning.
My response: Who cares? It's baseball. Maybe my love for the game is just insane and I need help, but I thought this was a great game and nothing can change that. Lead changes, crowd noise, spending a day at the ballpark with my dad: nothing's better. My dad may have wanted to kill me for staying the whole game, but I only wanted to kill Lou Marson for those three doubles (not seriously, of course)
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Not a Bad Post
Better that you put it up after a Yankee come back win. Anytime you blow a big lead against one of the worst teams in baseball, its going to hurt. But a loss is a loss, so glad to hear you had a good time.
Hadn't even thought of that!
Didn’t want to put it up before the game because the posts would be too close, but hopefully it is still relevant!
Writer for Pinstripe Alley.
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
Glad that
you had a good time, but two posts about the same subject matter does seem a bit redundant?
Stay thirsty my friends.
by Great Gatsby on May 30, 2010 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions
When it's two opposing views
It isn’t redundant
Writer for Pinstripe Alley.
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
Exactly
Writer for Pinstripe Alley.
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
I'm sorry
don’t take it personally, bottom half of your post showed exactly what was previously shown, in that respect, it’s redundant.
Stay thirsty my friends.
by Great Gatsby on May 30, 2010 8:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Booing only helps the individuals doing it....makes them feel better about themselves.
And even someone who’s in a crowd, who really doesn’t want to boo..will boo cuz everyone else is doing it. Sure, what else are you gonna do? Call the player at fail the GOAT? No. You’re gonna say he sucks, doesn’t deserve his contract (and you do?), should’ve never been a Yankee and never will be…and then go and drink your $10 Piss-water Bud-lite
If you’re the home crowd and booing your own player, suppose it will never die. It will always happen.
But the dude getting booed by his home crowd..it never helps. Maybe they can try and turn those boos into cheers, but it really doesn’t help them.
Its like the wave.
Sa da tey? OH, cole me down on the panny sty!
Million dollar salaries, thousan dollar tix and hundred
dollar family food costs make going to a Yankee game as much a consumer product as the next. Booing is an expression of consumer disappointment. Despite the fact they are wearing pinstripes, stink is still possible. Our job to remind them we are alive — and dissatisfied. Other wise we might as well be at the Masters.
exactly.
It makes who’s ever booing feel better about themselves cuz they paid so much money. Makes them forget they’re watching a game; a game in which anything can happen especially since its professionals doing it.
Doesn’t help the player. They know you’re there whether you cheer or boo or give them a Masters clap. They know.
The player knows he f’d up. They don’t need anyone to tell them.
"What's your plan?? Rob Fort Knox on elephant back? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard....."
by FreeBradshaw on May 31, 2010 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Not sure we know that.
Hearing a boo might shorten the window to improvement Free. We are human – we respond to various levels of expressed disappointment dfrntly, no? There could be an aspect as a player is walking off the field “Geez, I REALLY sucked today. Listen to that! Never want to feel this way again.” Screwing up in a vacuum may eventually lead to the same route to improvement — but without the dramatic aural affect on the psyche it could tend to be treated like a lab experiment. (Trust me, wife boos me all the time. Accelerates course correction.)
Just because its a game doesn’t mean it has to be some XTC trip. We wrap ourselves up emotionally in our teams. We’re supposed to – and they wouldn’t want it any other way. Surely you don’t think it’s supposed to be all cheers — or frowning silence and finger wags?
didn't say that.
I ain’t even saying I don’t boo. I do. Unmercifully .
From a fans perspective, its everything I already said. Makes the person feel better about their lighter wallet (and the players larger wallet).
From the players, well…maybe some use it constructively, sure. Others take it to heart and don’t succeed (See: All the good players who stink when they come to NY). Others it doesn’t matter at all.
And its not just the boos. Its the other stuff mixed in with the boos. Can use your imagination there, but not every player can say “whatever you say bounces of me and sticks to you”.
But I do know that a MLB player knows when he screws up. They’ve been playing long enough to know the game, they wouldn’t be playing if they didn’t.
"What's your plan?? Rob Fort Knox on elephant back? That's the dumbest thing I ever heard....."
by FreeBradshaw on May 31, 2010 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Yeah agree with that.
We breathe. We blink. We cheer and drink beer — and we boo too. Guess that’s a fan’s job. (And probly by the time they graduate tee-ball players know when they’re screwing up.)
All part of the game’s dynamic. Empathy plays an interesting role, no? The other day when Huff was lying on the ground an entire stadium collectively wishing nothing but the best for an opponent — cuz he was us or someone we cared for a little bit. A few innings later we’re screaming for the heads of everyone in our own bullpen. Go figure.
Ahh, Brandon
You must have had seats somewhere within less than helicopter distance of the action! I was in Section 434, which is the second to last section in the left field upper deck. By the start of the 8th inning the only people left in those final three sections were the handful of folks who had taken bus trips to the game and had no choice.
I never said I did not enjoy being at the Stadium. It’s always a great trip. Had my 14-year-old son (an Indians’ fan thanks to his Grandpa) and my wife with me — her first trip to the Stadium. We had a nice day.
And the game was not decided until the final inning.
But, make no mistake. This was a bad baseball game for the New York Yankees. poor pitching, poor base-running, etc. No way you should blow a six-run lead to the Indians.
How is 4 hours, 22 minutes, 402 pitches, 13 walks and three hit batters good baseball?
It was a close game. But it was not good baseball. There is a difference.
As for crowd noise, I’m guessing you had much better seats than I did, Brandon. The place was a morgue after Joba imploded. Perhaps you didn’t notice that the Stadium was maybe half full by the 9th inning, and that there was virtually no one left in the upper deck.
Man those seats really are bad!
I was sitting in section 314 or 317 or something but yes, bad baseball played, and the crowd did leave early, but whats left of it was pretty loud in my section. Still a good game to watch in my opinion. Did anyone start Lebron chants in your section?
Writer for Pinstripe Alley.
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
No
No LeBron chants. And, sure, exciting for those left at the end because the Yanks still had a chance to win.
by Ed Valentine on May 30, 2010 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Why is it
“good baseball” if the pitchers are doing well, but “bad baseball” if the batters are doing well? This question isn’t necessarily directed at you, Ed, just a general question.
"He wasn't an astronaut, he was a tv comedian! And he was just using space travel as a metaphor for beating his wife!"
maybe because
when pitchers do well, the games are shorter. when batters are teeing off, the game takes on that air of “ugh. will this game ever end?”
i believe that’s the gist of it.
It's Bad Baseball
Not because the hitters weren’t doing well. But because of 13 walks and three hit batters … that’s bad baseball. I love hitting, but 16 “gift” base runners is bad pitching … not good hitting.
by Ed Valentine on May 31, 2010 7:26 PM EDT up reply actions
brandon, I too was at alcs game 2
greatest game I have ever been to. But I remember an arod 2 run hr in the bott 9 to tie it up and a walk off tex hr in the 11. Don’t know about any gs
by BernBabyBern on May 30, 2010 9:16 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
those were two separate games
the walk off grand slam game was against baltimore regular season 2007
Writer for Pinstripe Alley.
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
Joe T always said....
Pitching trumps all….
by YankeeIntel on May 31, 2010 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions
good to see
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
With emerging talent on the offensive side, the Diamondbacks have been looking for arms that can keep it close. Right now, they aren’t getting it. Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson have been major disappointments. Ian Kennedy has been the lone bright spot for a team that badly misses its ace, Brandon Webb, to take pressure off the rest of the starters. There is no telling when Webb will return or how his new arm angle will affect him.
bolding is mine
Good for IPK
but who cares? He’d be getting lit up in the AL
Sa da tey? OH, cole me down on the panny sty!
by FreeBradshaw on May 31, 2010 8:06 AM EDT up reply actions
In light of the...
Kendry Morales injury may I suggest touching of any form – even high fives – be barred from Yankee celebrations…Yee-ikes! The ever-brittle Yankees are always a elbow bump away from a 30-day rehab in Tampa….
Interesting post... and yeah, it's pretty hard not to have fun at New Yankee Stadium
The crowd this year has been electric at times (although they have a serious problem with the “wave” that may be more indicative of some longtime right field bleacher-creatures getting priced out of their seats than anything else) and the Stadium is impressive to say the least. However, I completely agree with Ed on this one. That game was terrible. From the sickening injury, to the sickening collapse, no one felt good about it, whether loyal to the Indians or the Yankees. It was long, extraordinarily hot, and in particular slowly paced. I was watching on tv, and even I was suffering from the exhaustingly long and stressful at-bats. It was poorly played on both sides… Honestly, as a season ticket-holder who has missed 6 games all season, I’m glad I didn’t go, because I would have been in a terrible mood, and might have even boo’d (which I never do) for all the reasons Ed listed. Cervelli knows I wanted to at home…
*by "long and stressful at bats" I mean time between pitches
not number of pitches. It just felt like everyone took forever to do anything.
Like clockwork
Every year, there is a fierce PA debate about the merits of booing. For the last three years, there has been a fierce debate about Joba as a starter or a reliever. It was only a matter of time before the debate over booing Joba came up. My question: Would we boo him as a starter? Or is it better to boo him as a setup man? Do you think there’s any future in booing him as a closer?
I always feel pressure. What I don't have is fear. -- El Duque
by LateInningRelief on May 31, 2010 9:48 AM EDT reply actions
Don't boo him at all
Writer for Pinstripe Alley.
"Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
"So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for."
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