Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Liveblogging Game 6, 2009
I tried doing a World Series liveblog of last year’s Game 5, but that turned out to be rather unsatisfying when the game was suspended due to rain in Philadelphia. Looks like the weather’s much better in New York, so perhaps we’ll get a full game out of this one.
Also, I really, really hope that this won’t be my last chance to talk about the 2009 postseason. IOW, that the Phils win tonight and take it to a Game 7 for all the marbles.
For the record, I’m going to pop in one of those Phillies logos after every refresh of the liveblog. That won’t be every half-inning, at least I don’t think so.
[5:08pm, middle 1st, 0-0] Top of the first was uneventful, save for the fact that Victorino is playing. McCarver correctly noted that his injured right index finger—hit by an A.J. Burnett pitch in Game 5—will hurt him much less batting righthanded against Pettitte than it would (will?) hitting from the left side.
[5:11pm, end of 1st, 0-0] Three up, three down for Pedro. Boy, it would be great if he were to beat the hated Yankees for another red-wearing team.
[5:17pm, top 2nd, 0-0] It’s odd how players go hot and cold. Ryan Howard carried the club in the NLDS and NLCS, even winning the MVP in the latter. Here in the Series, though, he can’t do a thing. Yeah, lots of lefties on the mound, but he’s looked pretty bad against everybody. Not much happening yet, even though neither pitcher has shown me great stuff. Pettitte is throwing a whole lot of breaking balls.
[5:27pm, bottom 2nd, 0-0] Uh oh, a 4-pitch walk to ARod. And now that we’re back in the American League park with that %#*& designated hitter, Matsui is back in the lineup. Gotta say, I don’t like what I’m seeing from Pedro so far ... some awfully good swings from Matsui. They’ll send ARod on the 3-2 pitch, so here’s the first important pitch of the game ... and of course it’s fouled off.
[5:34pm, bottom 2nd, 2-0 Yankees] Well, to be honest, I’m not surprised that Matsui took one deep. He was really locked in on what he was being thrown. What Pedro has to do now is get it back together and stop the bleeding right away. Ah, whiffing Posada and getting the heater up toward 90 MPH ... that’s the way to do it. After the Cano liner, let’s retire Swisher and end the inning, OK?
[5:45pm, top 3rd, 2-0 Yanks] Whoa! A triple for Ruiz? He’s not a totally lumbering catcher, but it again shows the weakness of the OF arms of the Yanks. Great that he got to third, though, as the Rollins fly (hit it on the ground, dammit, Jimmy!) scores him. Tempers the damage from the previous inning, but I’m still quite concerned about whether Pedro can go very far tonight. Happ and Myers better be on their toes, because Manuel has to have Pedro on a very short leash. This is do-or-die!
[5:54pm, bottom 3rd, 2-1 Yanks] What was Victorino seeing on Jeter’s liner? The last thing you want to do is give these guys an extra out. It’s called a hit, of course, but that was definitely a misplay on the part of our CF. With the meat of the order coming up, and with Damon fouling off every strike, the tension just keeps ratcheting up and up and up. Pedro, I fear, won’t be out there much longer.
[6:01pm, bottom 3rd, 2-1 Yanks] Well, here it is. Damon walks, Teixeira HBP, and now it’s ARod with the bases loaded. Pitching up in the zone seems to be just about the only thing that’s working so far. Huzzah!!! Called third strike for the second out (which would have been the third out if Victorino hadn’t misjudged Jeter). Now we’re back to Godzilla, who owns Pedro thus far. Well, damn, a single on the 0-2 pitch and two more Matsui ribbies.
[6:08pm, bottom 3rd, 4-1 Yanks] I dunno, I might have pulled Pedro after the hit. But he does seem to be OK against everybody else in the lineup, so maybe it’s OK. And the Posada flyball justifies Charlie’s faith in his starter. But I can’t see how Pedro will still be on the hill to face Matsui the next time his spot comes around.
[6:15pm, top 4th, 4-1 Yanks] Well, well, Damon pulls a calf muscle and is pulled. I wouldn’t ordinarily do this with someone hurting himself, but—good! He’s a damn Yankee and he’s a damn pest and he’s been damn fine this Series, so I’m pleased to see him gone. I hope it’s serious enough that he won’t be able to play Game 7 if the Phils rally and win tonight. And I hope it hurts. A lot.
[6:21pm, top 4th, 4-1 Yanks] Hmmm, Pettitte seems to be losing the touch just a bit. Back-to-back walks to Werth (great eye on him) and Ibanez. Now Feliz with a chance to do some damage ... but he doesn’t come through on the 3-2 pitch. Oh well, get ‘im next time. So now I ask myself whether Pedro comes out for the bottom of the inning, and I answer that I think he will; after all, Matsui isn’t due up for a while.
[6:27pm, bottom 4th, 4-1 Yanks] Hah, I’ve channeled Charlie Manuel correctly. OK, now let’s see Pedro come through for us, OK?
[6:33pm, end of 4th, 4-1 Yanks] There ya go, Pedro! See, that wasn’t tough, now, was it? Now let’s get some runs back on those guys.
[6:42pm, middle of 5th, 4-1 Yanks] Jimmy, I take back what I said earlier about hitting it on the ground. I didn’t mean that you should hit into double plays.
In keeping with the “tradition” I established last year, I’ll take this below the fold now that the game is official.
[6:46pm, bottom 5th, 4-1 Yankees] That’ll do it for Pedro, finished after four not-so-hot innings. Jeter greets Chad Durbin by pulling(!) a ground-rule double (I won’t go into the dissertation on it actually being a book-rule double), and Teixeira singles him in. This phan is not happy right now. And, after walking ARod, that’s the end of Chad Durbin’s night. Next up on the Phillies’ mound, J.A. Happ.
[6:58pm, bottom 5th, 5-1 Yanks] Ugh, ugh, and double ugh. I suppose it’s time to start the FOX staffers scrambling for the World Series record for RBIs in a game. Matsui now has a single, double, and homer, each one having driven in two runs. At this rate, the damn Yankees won’t even need Rivera.
[7:08pm, top 6th, 7-1 Yankees] OK, so FOX tells us that Matsui has tied a WS record with his 6 RBIs. But I don’t think they’ve told us whose record it is. The answer, thanks (of course) to Baseball-Reference.com, is Bobby Richardson, in Game 3 of the 1960 Series. He hit a grand slam off Clem Labine in the 1st and singled in a pair of teammates in the 4th, as the Yankees won 10-0 on Whitey Ford’s four-hitter.
[7:16pm, top 6th, 7-3 Yankees] Oh yeah, back to tonight’s game. Good to see Howard knock one out. He has great opposite-field power. And the Ibanez double chases Pettitte after 5.2. The Phils need to make it happen very soon, with Mariano lurking in the bullpen. Alas, it doesn’t happen this time.
[7:27pm, bottom 6th, 7-3 Yanks] It’s one of the great joys of baseball that it can take you back to vivid recollections of long-ago events. That’s what the mention of Bobby Richardson does. It was 49 years ago, and I was 10 years old, but the memory of that Series is fresh. That was one of the most one-sided WS ever, but the club that won games by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0 lost the Series! The four Pirate victories were by two, one, three, and one runs, finished off by the unforgettable Bill Mazeroski homer in the bottom of the 9th at Forbes Field that gave the Bucs their 10-9 win. Having lived in Pittsburgh for many years, and having seen the “shadow” of the left field wall at Pitt’s Forbes Quad, makes the memories all that much stronger. And sweeter, naturally, since it was the Yankees who were beaten by Maz’s shot.
[7:39pm, top 7th, 7-3 Yanks] Well, this may be the last chance for the good guys, since Rivera is likely to pitch the last two innings. It’s the 8-9-1 hitters against Joba Chamberlain. Joba looks strong tonight, as evidenced by whiffing Ben Francisco. Down to two pre-Mariano outs… Ruiz comes through again, but Rollins forces him out. So now there’s one more out before Rivera. Umm, Jimmy, what’s the point of the steal?
[7:47pm, top 7th, 7-3 Yanks] Realistically, this is the last chance to make this one interesting. Utley up, with two down and two runners on base. It’s both conventional and correct to bring in Marte to face him, as Damaso has been awfully nasty to lefties in the Series. It’s one of those situations that, if Chase does something great, will be hailed for years and years. And if he’s retired, it’ll be completely forgotten as just another scorecard entry.
[7:50pm, middle of 7th, 7-3 Yanks] Was I saying something? I’ve already forgotten about that check-swing third strike. Dammit…
[7:56pm, bottom 7th, 7-3 Yanks] What’s gotten into FOX? How can it be that they didn’t inflict another of those interminable 7th-inning stretch renditions of God Bless America on us? Did somebody kidnap Ronan Tynan or something? Given the score, it’s a small consolation.
[8:02pm, bottom 7th, 7-3 Yanks] Here’s a bold prediction—Matsui won’t hit a triple to complete the cycle. With his bad knees, it would take outfielders colliding or some such incident for him to be able to reach third base.
[8:05pm, bottom 7th, 7-3 Yanks] Hey, I got at least one thing right tonight. Not only a failure to triple, but he didn’t break the RBI-record tie either. Oh great, now they’re showing face shots of Rudy Giuliani, Spike Lee, and more. Rub it in, why don’t ya?
[8:17pm, top 8th, 7-3 Yankees] I hate saying anything positive about a member of the Evil Empire that is the New York Yankees, but there cannot be any question whatsoever that Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher in baseball history. I hate it that he wears those damn pinstripes-that-aren’t-red. Because he’s a Yankee, his mastery is acknowledged, but not enjoyed in my household. If he were on any other team, I’d laud him with pleasure. But he does that astonishingly great pitching for the goddamn Yankees.
[8:25pm, middle of 8th, 7-3 Yankees] And we’re down to our last three outs. Damn you, Mariano Rivera.
[8:30pm, bottom 8th, 7-3 Yankees] Another small consolation, the best defensive play of the night. Feliz made a great barehanded pickup and an even better throw to retire Swisher. BFD when you’re down four runs.
[8:37pm, bottom 8th, 7-3 Yankees] Damn that pretty-boy Jeter. I hate every damn base hit he ever gets. And that damn smarmy smile. Did I mention that I can’t abide Derek Jeter?
[8:39pm, top 9th, 7-3 Yanks] The death watch continues. Three outs to go, once again it’s the 8-9-1 hitters. Stairs bats for Francisco, but in a situation where swinging for the fences doesn’t cut it. Where’s Greg Dobbs? I don’t recall seeing him at all in the Series ... would they really have taken him off their WS roster?
[8:45pm, top 9th, 7-3 Yanks] Man, I’m really starting to appreciate Carlos Ruiz. It isn’t easy to draw a base on balls from Rivera. But now Rollins quickly flies out, and we’re down to the last out. Victorino now batting left, but I doubt he’s too concerned about that bruised finger.
[8:47pm, top 9th, 7-3 Yanks] And now down to the last strike. Where’s Mookie Wilson when you need him? Victorino stretching the (non)suspense by fouling off a few nasty pitches, but it’s just delaying the inevitable.
[8:50pm, final, 7-3 Yanks] With a grounder to Cano, it ends. Goddamn it.
Well, I may watch more of this obscene gloating by those arrogant SOBs, but this disappointing liveblog is over. I refuse to congratulate those self-righteous bastards. I’ll finish with the words of the late Steve Gilliard. He was a Mets fan to his dying day, but even more he was a Yankee-hater. His salutation is the most appropriate way to acknowledge the disappointment of a Phillies loss in these circumstances:
FUCK THE FUCKING YANKEES
↑ Close ...
Posted by N in Seattle on 11/04 at 03:57 PM
(2)
Comments •
(0)
Trackbacks •
Permalink
Page 1 of 1 pages
