No style points, but it counts
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Podcast on Sep 22, 2007 
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I’m not sure I can sum up that game other than to report what Mariano Rivera told me on his way out the door.
“That would have been a very bad game to lose,” he said. “But it’s a great game to win.”
Or as Johnny Damon said: “Holy Cow.” Only he didn’t say cow.
Ugly as it was (423 pitches were thrown and 16 pitching changes made), it’s a win and the Yankees now have a magic number of four to clinch a playoff berth. It can go to three if the Tigers lose to the Royals. Detroit is down 5-3 at the moment.
The 10 pitchers used by the Yankees set a franchise record.
Melky Cabrera tied his career high with the five RBI.
Jorge Posada’s 41 doubles are a career high. He’s hitting .404 in September (23 of 57). Oh, and he’s a 36-year-old catcher.
A-Rod’s 137 runs are the most in the AL since Roberto Alomar scored 138 times for Cleveland in 1999.
Here is Joe Torre talking about it:
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Thanks to everybody who hung in there during the game and posted their comments. It’s cool that so many people hang out here during games.
Pete, Damon’s quote should be your headline in your writeup.
I really do think this is going to be a championship year – this team finds a way like the recent dynasty teams did.
I Love It!
Damon’s quote is gold.
Can you not say “5 RBI” and instead say it normally? It’s 5 RBI’s! Not RBI. I don’t care if it’s “Runs batted in,” the proper way to say it is still RBI’s.
and Jeter can be a double happy man they beat Penn State today
Taylor:
The stat is “runs batted in” not “run batted in.”
Hence, 5 RBI.
Taylor:” I don’t care if it’s “Runs batted in,â€? the proper way to say it is still RBI’s.”
Who said it is the proper way??”
Rebecca: SU Hoops soon!!!! They win more!
All: Have a great night. Go Yanks
Ava: Breakfast at 1:00 pm tomorrow again? hehe
Paul: Oh man, I can’t wait!
I think we all said “Holy #%$#$!!!” when it was over. That was exhausting.
What a ridiculous game, I think Pete had it right when he said this was either the best game of the year or the worst. A wins a win though, so we’ll take that magic number down to 4.
I understand that it is “runs batted in” and not “run batted ins.” Still, when you abreviate it, it turns into RBI’s. Or “ribbies.” You don’t say a guy had 5 RBI. Just never said. Very annoying.
Kansas City is up 6-3 with a runner on 3rd and 2 outs.
By the way. What does Torre have against Ross Ohlendorf? He pitches to one batter, is in line for the win, but Joe pulls him for Veras who promptly gives up 5 runs. I’ll have to check the game log to see if anyone else complained about this, but Ohlendorf needs to be more in the mix in my opinion.
Jeff: It’s definitley the experience thing.
Boston/Tampa is 5-3 Boston…if Tampa can get to Boston’s bullpen, they’ve got a shot!
_I understand that it is “runs batted in� and not “run batted ins.� Still, when you abreviate it, it turns into RBI’s. Or “ribbies.� You don’t say a guy had 5 RBI. Just never said. Very annoying._
You’re wrong. Pete is grammatically correct. I think we are just so used to most everybody saying it wrong that the correct way doesn’t sound right.
Today would have been the perfect day to get Ohlendorf expierence. Only reason I can think they pulled him was the long inning while the Yankees batted. I think Torre has Veras more in mind for the last postseason roster spot, although maybe today could change his thinking a bit.
Anyway, I don’t understand why we don’t have the Ohlendorf love here like earlier in the year for Britton and Ramirez. Wouldn’t it be nice if Ross succeeded and the Randy Johnson trade proves out in year? I think it would.
Nice way to break the fast!
come on DETROIT !…I want them pushing us all the way to the #1 seed AND AL EAST Division Champs….I am CONVINCED that it DOES matter a LOT it we are a #1 or #2 seed and NOT the #4 seed….LAA has had our number for MANY Years now and to start off 2 games in LA ?,,,don’t even TRY to tell me that would be better than 2 games in NY OR that it really doesn’t matter….you can sell that bag of rocks to the next guy !
*Round Up*
We win!
Kitty Cats Lose
Indians Lose
Halos Lose
Boston trying to hold off Rays, 5-3 in 8th (Gagne in hiding).
magic number 3
games left 8
if season ended today, Sox vs Halos, Los Gringos vs Cleveland
Nice!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
wE HAVE A MELTDOWN IN RED SOX NATION
HOLLY COW !!!
3-RUN DINGER
WOO HOO! PENA STRIKES AGAIN!
Dude’s been on fire this year!
6-5 TB…helping put us only ONE GAME BACK IN THE LOSS COLUMN…AGAIN !!!
“Just when I think we’re out, Boston PULLS US BACK IN!!”
all hell is breaking loose in Boston
Taylor it’s also inflammable, as one inflames a conversation with inflammatory speech. W Strunk and E.B. White point out that “flammable” is commonly used by people who operate vehicles filled with combustible fluids. They must deal with idiots and children who are unable to recognize the distinction.
BTW – Pete covered the UConn Huskies in his previous gig. Best darn reporter of “the horde” as a writer for the Norwich Bulletin.
TAMPA UP!
Looks like you and your optimism called it Rebecca. lets hope they hold on. I’ve got confidence in Reyes.
…I am so late.
Doc, Who gave up the dinger?
Actually, I think both Taylor and Pete are wrong (sorry guys). A batter bats a run in, so the stat is a “Run Batted In” or “RBI.” But if a batter gets more than one RBI, he (or she) has RBIs. Note that I am not saying “RBI’s” as Taylor is saying, because by adding an apostrophe Taylor is making the term a possessive, but it isn’t one. Yet when Pete says that a batter had “5 RBI” he is ignoring the fact that in everyday English the average person adds an “s.” Thus, I think the correct way to indicate that a batter drove in five runs is “RBIs,” with the “s” now pluralizing the entire abbreviation. By the way, the same usage problem arises with many other abbreviations, such as MREs (Meal or Meals Ready to Eat), POWs (Prisoner or Prisoners of War), RPMs (Rotation or Rotations Per Minute), and WMDs (Weapon or Weapons of Mass Destruction).
Javy Lopez gave up it up with two outs, no less. The brought him in _just_ to pitch to Pena, and w00t, there it WENT!!
FlaBob, English professor?
what’s the chance the Rays find some way to blow this lead in the 9th?
Javy Lopez? isn’t he a catcher?
80% likely
1-2-3 in the 8th
Boston has only 3 shots left, with the 6,7,8 batters.
*ENGLISH MINOR TIME*!
Okay.
RBI as an abbreviation stands for ‘Runs batted in’
You have one run batted in, two runs batted in.
Therefore, if you are reading the statistic, you read,
Eighty-Eight runs batted in, or Eighty-Eight RBI.
If you’re saying ribees, then the abbreviation is not an abbreviation but it’s own word.
Therefore, 88 RBI OR 88 ribees. Not both.
Boston down to three outs.
though now i’m feeling good that wheeler got his job done. I trust Al Reyes
fifty-fifty Al Reyes manages to blow it in the 9th.
I love that we’re discussing grammar. Funny. All I can say is that “five RBI” is the style of every paper I have worked for and that’s how I was trained to do it.
I know it doesn’t “sound” right but I’m supposed to follow style for the most part.
The good thing is the info gets through somehow.
With that, I am going home. Just another 12.5 hour day at the yard.
VOIII — LOL, I am a professor but I teach law, not English.
Becca, I like Flabob’s version better
go D-rays. finish them off with GAGME on the mound!!
Pete: Drive safe!
Tampa winning
KC winning
And we have knuckleheads arguing that RBI should be RBI’s (like it is possessive or something?)
Go get some money from the ATM machine and then e-mail me on your DSL line. Just because other people murder the language FlaBob doesn’t make it right. Irregardless [sic] of what you might think.
VOII: Suit yourself…but I write fiction, so I hope I know what I’m talking about!
This Blog can be so educational…
Becca, What kind of fiction? anything published?
Anyone want to wager on the likelihood Reyes blows this game?
i just got from dinner. what happened after the 9th inning…that is where i left off. I know yanks won, but after that I don’t know a thing, please someone enlighten me
Kill, Have faith man this is our year…
Oy, Jeter’s future wife. I can’t relive the anxiety. Anyone care to enlighten her?
FlaBob,
I was an English major with a minor in finance and it kills me to see or hear people murder the english language….I know people think I’m annoying about it, but I do correct them, most of the time.
more importantly, Tigers on the verge of losing, magic number soon to be decreased by another game
Kill Schill
I’m with you – JFW, read tomorrow’s paper. It has a happy ending and that is all that matters in the big picture.
Melky had the game winning (ahem) blast.
paaaaleeeezzzz, someone!!!!
I can’t wait to read the paper!!!! what did Melky do? HR, singled someone home? what???
Gagne is sweating like a fish.
Somebody had him a squeegee
He donned a red cape, jumped into the air, and flew the ball over the wall. It was amazing. It defied belief and the law of physics, besides.
JFW, in nut shell Melky has an amazing outfield assist and has game winning hit in the bottom of the 10th
melky caught a double off the wall bare handed, threw to Cano and Cano relayed to Posada to tag some fat guy out at the plate. Then Melky got a single to drive home the winning run
tigers lose. Yee haw.
JFW -
read this:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/re.....=270922110
I’m a littlte behind, but I wanna chime in.
I have 2 English degrees. Taylor, you’re wrong on 2 levels. It’s 5 RBI. And even if you were to put an S, it would be RBIs, not RBI’s.
I was at Today’s game since about 11 this morning. We wanted to park for free because we’re cheap, and we wanted to see Monument Park, which we didn’t get to because they closed the line at like 11;30 anyway and by the time we found the end of the thing we weren’t allowed on it. Jerks. But anyway–it was a long day, but totally worth it.
I’m with you, though, Peter. I’ve never had a desire to run on the field, until I saw Igawa on the mound in the 9th. I really did want to run out there and tackle him. I could see into the Yankee dugout and it was interesting to see NO ONE sitting near Farnsworth.
People near us started a “Free Joba’ chant. Made me chuckle.
VOII: Mostly prose. Have completed a few short stories and a rough draft of a novel, currently working on a baseball story that kind of just came to me–I plan maybe on sharing some of it in the off season!
Haven’t been published outside of minor things yet, but I also haven’t tried too hard. Yet.
Jeter’s future wife: not sure what Melky’s hit was, but it was a line drive of some sort with Damon on 3rd. So it was an RBI base hit, probably ruled a single since he probably didn’t bother going anywhere other than first.
Using Igawa in that spot might have been Joe’s worst decision ever.
Didn’t I say Reyes would blow the lead. 6-6.
Varitek just homered to tie the game
Evil BoSux just tied the game.
Shocker that Tek hit a dinger.
Kill Schill: false. All of Joe’s decisions not to take Farnsworth out have been worse than using Igawa.
Al Reyes SUCKS
Tampa’s bullpen makes the New York ‘pen today look like Cy Young stuff.
I can’t believe this. Can someone revoke the Rays license and expel them from baseball? Tampa’s ownership doesn’t deserve a franchise.
never mind. I read on yankees.com
good for Melky! as everyone was trashing him being lead off!
FlaBOB, well if you’re going to nit pick it’s *R*evolutions *P*er *M*inute. And on engineering reports it’s RPM never, ever, RPMs.
Second, just because a phrase or usage enters the vernacular or colloquial speech, does not make it acceptable for written language. All the examples you provided are wrong according to the GAO manual of style, at least as I remember it. When I submitted reports, MRE was singular and plural. Fortunately I never needed to report POW counts or account for WMD.
A part of me actually admired Farnsworth for trying to pitch even though he had tightness in his armm hadn’t pitched in a while, and obviously had nothing today.
wwell, so much for my trust in reyes
Reyes is the one that served up that inside fastball for Big Papi for the walk-off
jackass!
CoCo Puffs popped up. Hinske’s at 2nd, 2 out, 6-6.
1 out, my bad.
Lugo homer
admired Farnsworth? are you kidding? he came in with a cane b/c he could care less about the game’s outcome…that’s a fact!
Just keep in mind that Tampa’s home.
Ortiz can’t hit a walk off HR!
Lugo just homered. 8-6 Sux.
oh god! Reyes, you idiot!! why don’t you j
8-6 Red Sux
Ellsbury double
well, i’m gonna steal some of rebeccas optimism and say that this will go into extra innings and wear Boston down as much as the Toronto series has worn our club down.
Wow, there really are people who suck at pitching more than Kyle Farnsworth.
Who knew?
Nope, I actually admired Farnsworth for trying to pitch while hurt.
Reyes, why don’t u just under throw it for them!
and its over.
Reyes: Spanish for Gagne
Kill-schil
you need to know something, he’s never really hurt, he just says that so it will be his excuse! wise up!
Way to go D-Rays!!!! You F’ed up AGAIN!!!!!! I think this is the third of fourth time they’ve done that with the SUX this second half. They sure do SUCK.
Reyes is the clown (my apologies to Bozo) who blew the save at Fenway last week.
lots of Boston fans there, how home is it for TAMPA, other than they bat second, that’s it!
Kill Schill: the funny thing is, he doesn’t pitch any different while hurt than he does while good. Unless he’s been hurt all season.
I’ll have everyone know that I did not boo him ONCE the whole game today. Nor did I boo Kei Igawa. I wanted to scream when I saw him on the mound in the 9th, but I did not boo him.
you’re right. whats funny is that thye never seem to screw up when they play us. what gives?
Guys, Detroit lost, our magic number is down to a whopping THREE.
After we weren’t supposed to make the playoffs at all.
You think we don’t have momentum?
The division would be wonderful, yes, but seriously, as long as we keep winning, we’ve got nothing to worry about.
How did Hughes look today? I heard he threw one pitch 95 MPHs.
Al Reyes is now officially the reason the sox were able to hang on to the division.
Reyes on BOS payroll?
I hope that Tampa’s bullpen pitches like this when the Yankees play them….Geez Hey interesting trade Farnsy for Gagme…Maybe change of scenery? oh never mind…
I guess DET is a loser tonite..so our “magic number” is 3?
more importantly, Gagne NOT on NYY payroll
Tampa Bay sucks, trailed 6 – 8 with only one inning left.
wonder if ManRam will be back before october. Nice to have the option to walk Ortiz there
I totally enjoy booing the bum, Fartsworth! he deserves it…he could careless if he stinks up the mound…at least Proctor started a fire when he sucked!
Papelbon in for the Sox…
Farnsworth’s going to be an important part of this pen in the next few weeks. He will restore your trust and confidence in him. You heard it here first.
that’s pathetic. there aren’t any Rays fans in their own park. It’s wall to wall Sux fans.
Anyway, you can have a million English degrees, but a lot of time it’s not about what you were taught in a classroom, it comes down to the style guide the paper, magazine, department, company, etc. uses. Just ’cause ultimately you want consistency. You can’t have one writer in the paper using N.Y., another NY, and a third New York. Another exanple is how for one publication you might write out the number 50, but for another you spell it out. It just depends on what the guide dictates.
For what it’s worth, I love hearing slang and accents and I have an especial fondness for hearing English newbies speak the language (I can listen to Robby Cano interviews ALL DAY).However, my one pet peeve is how often people use the word less when fewer is the correct usage. It’s a mistake I hear sports reporters make all the time.
oh wait, there’s hope! Papelbomb is pitching!
Reyes, Farnsworth – proof that individuals can masquerade as professional baseball players
Kill-Schill,
have you lost your mind? I don’t even think Torre will put him on the playoff roster! he is completely not trustworthy. and he has zero movement on his fastball. he sucks, period! day in and day out
well, looks like 2.5 GB still….doesn’t look good
that is sickening how many RS fans are there! how embarassing for the D-Rays!
i just can’t stand them, meaning the RS fans….they just bother me
good nite
Red Sox are in the playoffs. Good. Now it’s the Yankees’ turn. It’s certainly no fun without both teams in the tournament.
I’m a sap. I like all the Yankees. Even Kyle. I felt so bad for him when he got booed today. Despite his issues, he seems like a nice guy. And you will never hear me try and outguess the coaches because like Joba’s dad said, “What I know about baseball could fit in a thimble, what I don’t know could fit in the Smithsonian.” I once coached first base for an inning or two when my son was five. I swear to god, the minute the ball was hit, it seemed 18 things happened at once. It’s not as easy as it looks.
Vito,
Could you please explain to me again how you absolutely guaranteed that Tampa would slam the Red Sox tonight that the Sox and Yankees would tied on Monday?
Becca, i’m warning you now. Chad is going down tomorrow.
Most of the RS fans are Johnny Come Latelys…Tampa has no fans period. When the Yanks are down there it’s the same thing. Both Fla. Frachises should be revoked. There are so many more deserving cities who would support their teams…Buffalo, Indiana, Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte, Just to name a few….
LAS: there’s actually rules in the style guides as to whether you should write out a number or use the numerals. whether or not the writer uses them, and whether or not that writer’s editor catches a mistake is that particular publication’s problem.
I think that was Reyes 4th BS to the Red Sox this season.
Wonder if he’ll get voted a share of any postseason money they get.
LAS: as far as Farnsworth being a nice guy, I kind of knwo waht you mean. During the rain delay today, he stood out in the rain the entire time signing autographs for people. I HATE when people boo members of their own team. I hate it when Joe lives him in there long enough for everyone to hate him enough to boo him.
But I kind of thought it was awesome of him to just stand there, in the rain (it wasn’t pouring, but no one else was out there!) signing balls and stuff for everyone.
Bob, He probably deserves the biggest share after Beckett…
But Andrea, the real question is, who the heck would want a Farnsworth autograph? lol
Reyes is pure cr@p.
Nah VOIII, Perlozzo/Trembly will split a full share as well.
Grammar is not everything y’know!
Freedom of speech be a beetch. Migrate sumwhere else where there are _less or fewer_ grammatical errors and enjoy ur coffee..
Blah!
I hate the saux or sawk or xos or sucks, and the Rays, two(sic).
Reyes will be getting a huge check from the Idiot Nation after the season….by HIS HAND ALONE,,,,they have 3 wins that should be losses….Why is it that he TEES IT UP for the BoSux anyHOO ??? What a bunch of %R*%*%!!!
“Okay.
RBI as an abbreviation stands for ‘Runs batted in’
You have one run batted in, two runs batted in.
Therefore, if you are reading the statistic, you read,
Eighty-Eight runs batted in, or Eighty-Eight RBI.
If you’re saying ribees, then the abbreviation is not an abbreviation but it’s own word.”
Everyone understands that. The point is, it’s incredibly annoying, no matter what is supposedly gramatically correct, for someone to refer to it as RBI. Make it plural!
Andrea: re: the numbers, that’s the point I was making. If it’s a quality pub, both the writer and the editor are well aware of what the style guide dictates and don’t often let deviations slide past.
But yeah, poor Kyle. I think he knows his stock is way down with fans and he’s doing all he can. I am very much against EVER booing players. Though I almost felt that when Jeter was going through that HORRIBLE dry spell last year (when he went like 1 during the month of June) that the fans needed to boo him just to keep things real.
Trolls and underbelly dwellers, slime and scum UNITE ! You have been given another gift from the worst closer in baseball….come to the Yankee Blog and rub our nose in it ! You are masters of your domain and LORDS of the IDIOT NATION….enjoy your lead…it is INSURMOUNTABLE…there is NO WAY that you aren’t winning the division and NO ONE will stand in your way to win the WS this year…YOU ARE LEGENDS IN YOUR OWN MINDS !……( now go to bed,,,,you are up WAY TO LATE, LOSERS ! )
LAS-
I just wanna know how Kyle injured himself. I’m not buying the “toronto pillow” defense.
its like when a player injures himself doing something specifically forbidden in his or her contract and concocts some laughable excuse. case in point: Jeff Kent injured himself falling off a motorcycle, but he told the team and press he fell from the top of his truck at a carwash (my all time favorite).
p.s. just in case: I was kiddin’ above. If you’re new here, welcome-we’re friendly then your average -bear- blog; if not, then I’m an idoit (see).
…Could you all imagine Red Sox or Mets fans arguing grammar?
Yeah, Yankee fans >>> universe. Sorry.
Heh, you know where I live, Dr. A. We’re talking crap grammar surround sound. And of course, I loves it! Just watch it with your fewers and lesses. You mess those up up and you know I won’t hesitate to cut you!
I for one believe Kyle. One time on a cross-country trip when I was a youth, I slept in a water bed and the next morning my neck was F-ed-up big time! And it’s bothered me ever since then, too.
I would also like ESPN and every other media outlet that decided in May to proclaim the Yankees dead to eat their words.
LAS: I had no issue with what you were saying. I was basically agreeing with you. I’m done trying to reason with the folks disagreeing with reason
I don’t really think that the fans should boo anyone, but I kind of agree with you that no one should get a by. While I don’t think they should have been booing Jeter, they also shouldn’t have been going “but it’s ok cause he’s Jeter.” Don’t boo A-Rod and then say “it’s ok when Jeter does it’ cause it’s Jeter. I got yelled at by people when I yelled at the TV every time Jeter hit into a DP when he was DP happy for a while. I remember he hit into 2 or 3 in just ONE game…against the Red Sox no less, and I got angry and I was told I wasn’t a real Yankee fan for getting upset with him because he’s the Captain. Yeah, shut it.
Bob–you’d be suprised. mostly little kids. They were getting Villone’s autograph too. I think it’s nice they do that. People like Mo can’t do autographs really cause they would never be able to stop, but it’s nice that the less-known guys do that. It makes a little kid’s day.
Las-
you are funny. But in a good way.
yes, yes, I’ve cast my fair share of spells, but I keep screwing up the invocation for clairvoyance.
ps: I’ve slept on waterbeds, and I got more than my neck F-ed up!
EXACTLY Andrea. That’s what I was trying to say about Jeter, but due to my crap-grammar-surround-sound situation, I’ve been reduced to the worst-of-the-worstest phrases like “keepin’ it real.” Thank you for so deftly translating for me!
And how DARE you insult me like that, Doc! I am funny in a BAD way. A very bad way.
OHG I just realized
The SUX just CLINCHED a spot in the playoffs BEFORE WE DID??
Whens the last time that happened?
How embarrassing
who cares we gotta run our race, that’s all
Posada is a beast. Wow, what a season he´s having. It was also good to see Melky get some (key) hits, one of which the game winner.
It was one of the ugliest games I ever watched, the pitching was just HORRIBLE, even though both teams have a decent bullpen (well, Yankees not quite that good, because Joba and Viz were unavailable).
Las-
Grrl, you saucy!
Da wittier, da wilder.
gimme a holler if ya neck goes kapoopy, my hands can pick any lock and hit all the right spots, even those you may not know about
I have a few grammatical pet peeves, and I absolutely HATE listening to people for whom speaking is a career pronounce the word “often” as “awf-ten,” when it is “awf-en” or “off-en” for those not born in NY. Somehow when Al Leiter says it incorrectly, it’s worse than ever. Maybe because he tries so hard to be so correct in everything else. The other pet peeve is “I could care less,” but I think we’ve had that discussion here before.
[aw-fuhn, of-uhn; awf-tuhn, of-]