The Captain vs. The Monkey
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Sep 23, 2009 
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Angel Stadium is a great place to watch a game and the Rally Monkey is part of it. When the home team is trailing, the scoreboard shows clips of famous movies with the Monkey suddenly showing up.
Yesterday, the Monkey appeared in the shower scene from Psycho and then scared Will Smith in I Am Legend.
The writers all crack up and Derek Jeter admitted after the game last night that he does too.
“It’s funny to watch,” Jeter said. “We tried to have nobody look at the screen before, but that didn’t work. Now you just laugh at it.”
The Monkey certainly beats the usual montage of fervent locker room speeches or clips from Rocky you see at most parks and arenas when the home team is losing. The crowd gets into it, too.
“Every time that monkey comes out, they score,” Jeter said.
As I was talking to Phil Hughes after the game, I asked him about winning at Angel Stadium for the first time this season.
“It’s good to get the monkey off our backs,” he said. “Especially that Rally Monkey.”
“Pov
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:02 am
I just looked at the games left
Minn: WSox (1), KC (6), Det (3)
Det: WSox (6), Clev(2), Min (3)
Assuming no one sweeps the series between them it becomes the battle of the spoilers KC and WSox
I didn’t look up any records so I’m not sure right now who has the edge, but Det does have the couple games in hand right now.”
You are completly forgettign the first week in October. Minn and Det have a 4 game series, last game is October 1. Then they each have a 3 game series after that. Lots of baseball left for them!
Phil Hughes = Awesome!
I was there last night. As a Yankee fan the rally monkey drives me nuts, but those clips are hilarious. It doesn’t quite do justice to describe them. But whoever edits those clips is a near comic genius.
Perusing SI.com, and I see the 9/28/09 cover. A magnificent photo of the field at Comerica Park. Thinking to myself, WTH, why do they get to be on the cover? Then I clicked on the article. I couldn’t bear to read it. It’s about the tough economic times, and how the owner of the Tigers raised payroll and lowered prices. If it weren’t for Verlander, I’d root for the Tigers to win.
============================================
Regarding Jeter, there were a lot LOT of shots of him and the out of town scoreboard, him looking at the scoreboard. Like, we get it. It’s been a long time.
But the funny part is Kay said something about Jeter with the big fist pump. He was swatting at a huge bug. lol.
The clips are okay, but the senior citizens waving their rally monkeys is creepy.
That monkey is utterly stupid, as is most crap thrown up on scoreboards. Then again, it beats the hell out of Cotton Eye Joe.
The Rally Monkey is hilarious! I can’t believe some of you actually think its dumb, creepy etc… I like seeing it because it means we are winning!
the monkey is stupid. just bring your teddy bear to the games why don’t ya ?
Didn’t the rally monkey start out there with those thundersticks in 2002?
That’s about when the Yankees stopped beating the Angels.
Coincidence? I think not. Someone go get Pedro Cerrano. Clearly to “get the monkey off our backs” we need to sacrafice a monkey to Jobu!
i hate the rally monkey and the bam bams..
Those thundersticks cost us. Bubba was told to go after everything and anything hit near him. He does. And for some reason Sheff decides to too. Bubba couldn’t hear Sheff shouting, and they both went after the same ball. All because people can’t clap their hands.
Allright Pete, your last day is Sept. 29. That is my birthday. Not a good birthday present
Not that I like the rally monkey, but the music/games/camera work at Yankees Stadium is awful. Cotton-eyed Joe? The YMCA? And who actually goes to the game thinking “You know what? I’d like to see some overweight, bald senior citizens dance inappropriately tonight.”
“Might be tough, but Blackburn could prove to be just as tough. In a short series anybody can get hot for a couple of games.
I’m not worried in the least bit about who the Yankees are going to be going up against. ”
Yes but as I said earlier, the chances Verlander pitches a good game are higher than the chances Blackburn does the same.
I’m not worried about any opponent but thinking impartially you have to admit the Tigers would probably be a tougher team to face in a short series, mainly because of Verlander.
Rally monkey origin from Wikipedia:
“The character debuted on June 6, 2000, when the Angels were trailing the San Francisco Giants 5–4 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Two video board operators, Dean Fraulino and Jaysen Humes, took a clip of a monkey jumping around from the 1994 Jim Carrey movie comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and superimposed the words “RALLY MONKEY!” on top of it.[1] The Angels scored two runs and won the game.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rally_Monkey
“Allright Pete, your last day is Sept. 29. That is my birthday. Not a good birthday present”
Pete broke the news on my B-day.
Like an empty card from a rich relative……
Erica – always OPPC
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:31 am
GreenBeret7
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
I don’t know who I’m more jealous of….you or Snoopy.
*****
I don’t know what to tell you GB7. Snoopy and I are a very cute couple.
So if they didn’t rally to come from behind there would be no rally money. Who is the closer for the Giants that I have to curse?
Erica, you and Snoopy may be a cute couple, but, I can do things that Snoopy can’t, like scratch myself, wash windows, order pizza, scratch myself, belch, leave the seat up, scratch myself…All of those endearing things that women love.
Robb Nen
Some people are a little too uptight. The cheesy YMCA, Cotton Eyed Joe, Disco Stu, the Subway race etc are part of the game watching experience.
What else should they do between innings?
m
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
I checked out Chad’s blog last night. He was doing an interesting series on each part of the team. Yesterday’s entry (after a furlough day) was about the state of the outfield.
I didn’t realize that Austin Jackson was a rookie. Congrats to him for winning the IL ROY award. Jennings thinks he’s the best CF prospect in the last 7 years, but has him penciled in for Scranton.
————————————————————
Mel, defensively, Jackson would quite likely be the best defensive outfielder at any of the three outfield spots right now. Offensively, he’s got to lower his strikeouts a little more and learn to pick his spots on when to turn on a pitch and pull it out. I think that he’s going to be a bit like Jeter in that his power will be to right and right center. He still needs to learn when to pull.
“But the funny part is Kay said something about Jeter with the big fist pump. He was swatting at a huge bug. lol.”
Was it a bug or Alex’s gum?
GreenBeret7
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:37 am
Erica, you and Snoopy may be a cute couple, but, I can do things that Snoopy can’t, like scratch myself, wash windows, order pizza, scratch myself, belch, leave the seat up, scratch myself…All of those endearing things that women love.
****
You are setting the bar really high for yourself. Can you live up to such expectations???
Side note- One of the best things about being single and living alone is that I have not fallen in a toilet with its seat left up in years
Patrick, I agree……game 4 is scary. Gaudin might be ok out of the pen…MIGHT……but starting in big games? LOL no, I can’t see it. On the other hand, Joba would be even worse. This is what it’s come to for the Yankees? Aceves should be starting any game 4, but obviously the Yankees have no intention of going that route.
betsy
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:45 am
Patrick, I agree……game 4 is scary. Gaudin might be ok out of the pen…MIGHT……but starting in big games? LOL no, I can’t see it. On the other hand, Joba would be even worse. This is what it’s come to for the Yankees? Aceves should be starting any game 4, but obviously the Yankees have no intention of going that route.
***
Betsy, I respectfully disagree with you. Ever since Aceves attempt at starting in July, he has been erratic and unreliable. He did not do well in that start. I would not have him attempt it again
And in game 4 the red sox run out, buccholtz, the angels run out jared wearver, the phillies run out pedro or joe blanton, the cardinals run out joel pinero, and the dodgers run out….John Garland…..i like our chances.
I hate that monkey
M, that doesn’t top (meaning Gammons giving a list of things that should worry the Yankees) what Buster Olney said in a chat a few days ago, where he in essence said he is now picking the Sox to go to the WS because they are the hotter team. He keeps changing his mind……at least he should have the courage of his convictions. He picked the Yankees to miss the playoffs, then he picked them mid-stream to go to the WS. Now he’s got the Sox…….I can’t wait to see who he picks next week.
The Yankees should have something. Maybe a rally subway rat?
Erica, I don’t think that start necessarily had anything to do with why Ace has been a bit erratic. Also, he’s still a million times better than Joba or Gaudin…….Gaudin shouldn’t ever start in a playoff game and Joba is, IMO, hopeless for the rest of the year. It’s all about 2010 for him now.
Erica – always OPPC
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:42 am
You are setting the bar really high for yourself. Can you live up to such expectations???
Side note- One of the best things about being single and living alone is that I have not fallen in a toilet with its seat left up in years
————————————————————
Yeah, well, I’m quite proud of my multi-tasking abilities.
Never understood why women make such a big deal of the seat position. I always figured that it was preferrable to not lifting the seat in the first place.
some women are never satisfied with our thoughtfulness.
I’m not a video tech, but I envision an animation of the Rally Monkey, looking vaguely like Joe Buck, that goes like this:
“I’m an entertainer,” the monkey says, swirling two fingers of scotch and exhaling a chestful of cigarette smoke into the already rank air of a dark, LA strip club. The TV is on behind him at the bar as dolled up lady monkey dancers strut by flirtatiously.
“I follow the money. Hell, I don’t even like baseball, tell you the truth.” He swigs a little from his glass, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Game’s too slow. ‘Hide the Banana’? Now there’s a game.”
He pulls a weak grin and stares into the camera: “But for now, this is my gig. Look, the NFL ain’t knocking down my door, know what I mean, my friend?”
The Monkey took one last drag and stubbed out his cigarette while he spoke. “True story: I approached the Steinbrenners last year, offered them a discount, you know, for the first year at the New Stadium. Would be a real coup, I thought. I even sent them pictures of me wearing a pinstriped uniform. But Levine told me to get lost.” He laughed. “Levine… What a putz.”
“Hey, whatever,” the Monkey said ruefully. “They had their shot. But I’m not bitter. Like I said, I’m an entertainer. It’s just business to me.”
Why is Chad Gaudin scary? Because he’s not a “name”?
He’s pitched well for the Yankees. He hasn’t given them great length. However, he’s been much more effective than Joba has the past 6 weeks.
Kenny Rogers and Denny Neagle have pitched Game 4′s for the Yankees in the post-season.
Its not about names in the post-season. Its about contributing to wins.
If Gaudin can do it, so be it.
Let’s hope the Yankees are in the ALCS. If they are, I don’t think they will be as panicked about who is pitching Game 4 than some of their fans are.
Aceves really looked ready to start last night….
SJ44
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:54 am
Why is Chad Gaudin scary? Because he’s not a “name”?
He’s pitched well for the Yankees. He hasn’t given them great length. However, he’s been much more effective than Joba has the past 6 weeks.
Kenny Rogers and Denny Neagle have pitched Game 4’s for the Yankees in the post-season.
Its not about names in the post-season. Its about contributing to wins.
If Gaudin can do it, so be it.
Let’s hope the Yankees are in the ALCS. If they are, I don’t think they will be as panicked about who is pitching Game 4 than some of their fans are.
****
You forgot the beautiful Game 4 Rodgers pitched for Detroit in 2006. His hands may have been dirty at the time, but he killed the Yankees season in that game
I like the Rally Monkey. I think its hysterical.
I was at an Angels game one night when they unveiled the Psycho Rally Monkey clip. It was hilarious.
Its fun in game entertainment.
Gaudin was very very good last night. He got unravelled on a terrible call by CB Bucknor, and Figggins took him deep. Had he been given the proper call he is out of the inning, and all the momentum that the angels used is not there. Gaudin was very good. That being said, If Joba is good, in his next two starts, he still gets the nod.
When the Angels come to Yankee Stadium to open up the ALCS – I want to hear Peter Gabriel blaring from the PA –
‘Shock the monkey!! Shock the Monkey… Tonight”
At this point, I would trust Gaudin more than Jobber in a playoff game.
I would keep Aceves in the bullpen and away we go.
And for your visual pleasure –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSv35otjUUU
This was the team that caused the Yankees to be 3 games back
going into the All Star Break.
How fitting it is to be the same team that gives the Yankees a playoff berth too!! Thank You Angels…
One game Erica.
Overall, he and Jeff Weaver are two of the worst post-season pitchers of all-time.
Ironically, both guys found success in the 2006 Post-Season they never re-captured again.
That’s the thing about the post-season. You can’t predict it.
Its why drives statheads nuts. You can’t predict who will or will not come up big in the post-season.
You just try to put together the most flexible 25 man roster you can for each series and hope for the best.
Rally Monkey starring on Gilligans Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
He’s so creepy.
” One of the best things about being single and living alone is that I have not fallen in a toilet with its seat left up in years”
gb7 just sent me an email .
he was wondering what kind of idiot sits on a toilet with it’s lid up.
but that’s off the record
SJ44
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
One game Erica.
Overall, he and Jeff Weaver are two of the worst post-season pitchers of all-time.
Ironically, both guys found success in the 2006 Post-Season they never re-captured again.
That’s the thing about the post-season. You can’t predict it.
Its why drives statheads nuts. You can’t predict who will or will not come up big in the post-season.
You just try to put together the most flexible 25 man roster you can for each series and hope for the best.
***
Well said SJ44-
Thats one of the reasons it drives me crazy when people post things like “So and so didn’t get a big hit. He’s going to suck in the postseason”. When the playoffs start they reset all the statistics. Everything starts again.
Thats why it’s called the second season
Gaudin has the same issues as Chamberlain and Burnett. Too much nibbling and too many pitches out of the strike zone that aren’t close enough for batters to chase. If he’s still with NYY next spring, perhaps a new approach will help him. He has a good assortment of pitches, but, gets a little wild from pitch to pitch.
I still believe that Mike Harkey might be a better choice to work with pitchers like Chamberlain than Eiland. I was never an Eiland fan to begin with. He’s trying to push some of the same pitching thoughts that didn’t work for him. I’d like to see a pitching coach and bullpen coach on the same sheet of music, and I don’t think that is the case.
randy l.
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
” One of the best things about being single and living alone is that I have not fallen in a toilet with its seat left up in years”
gb7 just sent me an email .
he was wondering what kind of idiot sits on a toilet with it’s lid up.
but that’s off the record
****
ARGH! LOL
Sometimes you are in a hurry and you forget to look! Trust me, it has happened to ever female that has ever lived with a man
“And in game 4 the red sox run out, buccholtz, the angels run out jared wearver.”
how is this accurate? Buchholz is the sox 3rd starter and Weaver is LA’s #2. it would be Dice-K or Saunders
DT – OPPC member September 23rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
When the Angels come to Yankee Stadium to open up the ALCS – I want to hear Peter Gabriel blaring from the PA –
‘Shock the monkey!! Shock the Monkey… Tonight”
——————
That’s a GREAT idea!
Coach,
I agree but, we have been saying Joba is going to “turn it around” for the past 6 weeks to no avail.
As Yogi says, “its gettin’ late early” for Joba at this point.
Personally, I think you have to handle the situation with the long term, as well as the short term, in mind.
If Joba Chamberlain is ever going to be the kind of starting pitcher folks think he can be, he needs to fix two things. One, his attitude. Two, his conditioning.
If he stinks it up the next few starts, begin to fix him by leaving him off the ALDS roster.
You can’t run a guy out there who can’t give you anything. Perhaps leaving him off the ALDS roster wakes him up.
Nothing else has worked.
If that doesn’t work, and Gaudin pitches well, you may then have to do the real eye opener. Leave him off the post-season roster altogether.
At some point, he has to be jolted into reality.
I don’t care about innings limits, catchers, or any other excuses folks make about Joba. He has been bad for a good portion of this season and not come close to pitching up to his potential.
It may take drastic measures to wake him up. Hopefully, he has that wake up call before the Yankees have to get tougher with him.
SJ et. al.
Here’s my lament as a Yanks fan in exile . . .
Like anything else, the Rally Monkey was funny the first season, less so the second season, and so on. I’ll grant the Psycho clip was funny, but it gets old fast. And when the movie clip they choose doesn’t work, well, the whole thing is just silly.
Whereas the Yankees can invoke legend after legend, about all the Angels have is that stupid rally monkey. Most of the retired numbers in the Stadium are of players who compiled most of their numbers elsewhere. The stadium still reeks of Disney and as for Angel fans, about all they collectively know is that their team has a winning record against the Yankees. Most Dodger fans, on the other hand, appreciate our tradition and know baseball.
I’m guess just touchy because I work in the shadow of Anaheim Stadium and have endured rally monkeys on my car, on my desk, in my mail, etc. Every time the Yankees lose to these guys, I hear it.
Stupid rally monkey!
Greg,
Buchholtz is not the sox 3, if Dice K is healthy, he is the 3. Lackey, Kazmir, Weaver, Saunders. If Soscia goes righty, lefty. Stop looking at just wins, weaver has not been very good for a while now.
Game thread up
having a clean bathroom w/ the seat always in the proper position is one of the few good things about having your son go off to college
as a Yankee fan who lives too far away to get to YS more than once a year, I like the YMCA routine. I guess it would grow old if you went all the time
I think you all are a little bitter about the Rally Monkey because the Rally Squirel never really panned out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....&NR=1
SJ,
I agree with you. He needs a mental adjustment. No doubt. But if he is better than Gaudin in the next 2 starts, one of them coming against Boston, he is going to be the 4th starter in the post season.
“As Yogi says, “its gettin’ late early” for Joba at this point.”
sj44-
maverick had some interesting things to say about asking someone to do something that goes beyond their maturity level and said he thought this was what was happening with joba.
i’d agree. every young player is not like jeter coming up and able to handles all the pressures with no problems.
joba likely has had too much too soon, and it is time to slow it down for him.
it doesn’t by any means giving up . it just means making him pay his dues and learn a few things as he matures.
maturity takes time. it’s why i’ve always like bringing starting pitchers along slowly with the goal having them be being really helpful at age 25-26 rather than age 22-23.
it’s not that they don’t have the physical stuff. it’s that they often don’t have the maturity to handle failure or what can sometimes be harder to deal with and that’s early success .
in job’s case , i think his early success and fold hero status made him think it’s a little easier than it is. the good thing about maturity is one way or another, the lessons get taught.
joba just needs a year where he has to earn everything he gets. if that means triple a for a while next year, then so be it.
GreenBeret7:
You made a very insightful comment on the differences between Harkey & Eiland. Do you know this first hand or is this a theory on your part?
Chad Gaudin was the victim of a bad call,going in Figgins favor.He has started 5 times,got no decisions,but the Yankees won all the games he started.
When this guy was on the mound,I felt he was auditioning for Joe,to be the #4. Just an opinion,he seems hungry for the opportunity to help the Yankees.
-Side notes on Paul Byrd:
A former KC Royal,and got beat by his old team….priceless.
He was on the KC Royals team in 2002 when they lost 100 games,and he won 17.
2007 game #4 Indians vs Yankees Paul Byrd wins 6-4 giving the Indians the 3-1 win in the ALDS.
“Buchholtz is not the sox 3, if Dice K is healthy, he is the 3. Lackey, Kazmir, Weaver, Saunders. If Soscia goes righty, lefty. Stop looking at just wins, weaver has not been very good for a while now.”
Lol. Stop just looking at wins? I didn’t even glance at their records. For the last month and a half, Buchholz has a 2.64 ERA, .588 OPS against, and a 1.10 WHIP. Dice-K has had one good start and one mediocre start. I’d be very surprised if he got the nod over Buchholz.
Weaver’s had a few really bad games, but still has a 3.06 ERA over his last 7 starts with a .768 OPS and 1.28 WHIP. That’s not great, but it’s certainly very solid. You’re right that Kazmir may get the start in game 2 over him as he’s been extremely hot as an Angel and splits the lefties, but he’s certainly not starting in game 4.
The rally monkey is the worst thing thats happened to baseball since steroids. It singlehandedly represents the pussification of the sport.