Sunday, September 25, 2011

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

***YANKS WIN 9-1***
The Red Sox 'second best' pitcher was just that yesterday, when you compare the game's two starting pitchers. Lester is one of the top lefties in the game, but it was hard to determine if he was not himself or the Yankee lineup was hot. Maybe both. The Sox looked like a good team that was trying too hard. The worst part was that once down 3-0, when Lester was supposed to limit the damage, he promptly gave up a three-run blast to the captain. And everyone, including Francona, knew it was over.
Montero continues to impress, probably hitting himself onto the playoff roster, especially since we won't see Cervelli. Girardi has already said Martin will catch everything, so Posada seems to have made it too.

It didn't take long for the Fox announcers to screw up their "analysis," yesterday. Jeter led off with a scorching drive headed for right field, only to see it flagged down by a leaping Pedroia. "He missed timed it," they said. "He caught it on the way down." Two straight replays proved that Pedroia nailed in at the apex of his jump, but they never backed off their claim. I'm screaming and Annie-O promptly turns the sound off. Thank you.

The papers are full of a breach in the relationship between Francona and Theo Epstein, along with the speculation that Francona will be gone. Somebody has to pay for this meltdown. It ought to be Epstein, since HE'S the one who failed to provide Terry with players who could fill in for their devastated pitching staff. Cashman gave Girardi Colon, Garcia and even Luis Ayala and Cory Wade. Epstein gave Terry two guys named Miller and Bedard, who sounded and pitched like a vaudeville comedy team. Let's not forget Lackey and Crawford, who weren't much help either.

One more Yankee win or Texas loss and the Yanks have home field advantage until the World Series. Which is a very good thing, since even Girardi has admitted that this team was built for Yankee Stadium, with so many powerhouse left-handed hitters and a few righties who like to go to right field.

***HERE AND THERE***
The NY Daily News runs a "Gratuitous Photo of the Week" every Sunday. Today it's Sarah Palin. The woman is amazing. She's got Tina Fey down to perfection. She even sounds like her.

The Yanks have taken the 'set-up and closer' theory of relievers to a new level by adding a second lights-out set-up man, Rafael Soriano. The Yanks have tried to make every game a 6 inning affair to get to Soriano-Robertson-Rivera. But they also have Cory Wade and Luis Ayala plus a rejuvenated Boone Logan and pretty soon Girardi going to tell his starters, "Just get us through the National Anthem."

***THEY SAID IT***
A couple of beauties from my friend Dwight Perry:
"Leo Nunez, the Marlins' 28-year-old closer, it was discovered, is actually 29-year-old Juan Carlos Oviedo. In other words, he was already a player to be named later." -- dp

"Yet another Yankee, catcher Russell Martin, revealed he hates the Red Sox. And in a related story, your dog doesn't like the neighbor's cat." -- dp

"ESPN extended its "Monday Night Football" contract with the NFL — to the tune of $1.9 billion a year. This means two things. Hank Williams Jr. doesn't have to look for work until 2021, and your cable bill is about to go up again." -- Norman Chad

"Elephant polo — yes, polo played atop pachyderms instead of ponies — is gaining popularity in England. I can just picture Prince Charles playing, and one elephant whispers to the other: 'Get a load of the ears on that guy.'" -- Brad Dickson

CP-

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