Wrapping up a game that didn’t quite get it done
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- November
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The Yankees had a lead in the first inning, and they brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth. In between, things went wrong.
In their first opportunity to clinch, the Yankees made things interesting but didn’t quite finish off the Phillies. A.J. Burnett and Phil Coke each took responsibility for the loss, and in the moment, it’s hard to see this as anything but a letdown. But taking two out of three in Philadelphia has put the Yankees in a good position as they head back to Yankee Stadium.
“We’re going home,” Derek Jeter said. “We came here and played well. We won two out of three here and now we’ve got to come back and, I don’t know what today is but two days from now — Wednesday? — come out and hope we play a good game.”
It’s funny how many guys said they weren’t sure what day this was or what day Game 6 would be. They knew the next game would be two days from now, but the days have officially blurred together, and that’s what happens in the playoffs. There are little moments that stick with you, but the games and the days ultimately blur, and in that blur, the Yankees are still in a good spot. There is reason to be disappointed right now, but on the whole, being ahead 3-2 with Yankee Stadium 48 hours away isn’t a bad spot.
“We got down early so it was a battle for us to come back,” Nick Swisher said. “You have to give them credit. They swung the bats extremely well against a guy who pitched extremely well against them last time. You have to tip your hat. You can’t win them all. We’re going back to New York, and that brings a smile to everybody’s face.”
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on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 am by Chad Jennings.
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Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Yankees will win Wed and give Pedro more funny stories to laugh about during his press conference.
You have to tip your hat, Nick?
At least the Yanks know for the future that AJ and pitching on the road do not go together in the play offs. He isn’t tough enough for it, yet. He gave up 7 total first inning runs in both games. Avoid it when possible.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/ne.....;type=lgns
Swish is not funny when he can’t hit. Hairston should get the start over him against Pedro again.
I’m still mesmerized by Chase Utley.
Is it the talent?
The eyes?
The grease?
I think its a combination of the talent and grease.
A.J. would have done the same thing at Yankee Stadium in game 6. The guy can’t be trusted to close out a series. Thank god we have Andy and CC.
I agree with Jeremy.
Jeremy has spoken.
# November 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 am
if AJ got lit up in game 6…then he got lit up…but you have to at least feel short rest and AJ didnt mix well tonight, and i think most of us realized that before the decision was made.
i understand you dont give away wins, but you had a fresh bullpen with aceves and robertson…you could have even pieced it together if gaudin gave you 4 innings, 4 runs.
i think aj on full rest, and andy on full rest gives the team the best chance to win the series…not aj on short rest, andy on short rest, then cc on short rest.
…then i heard someone tell me andy may be hurt…anyone hear this?…
# thisguy November 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 am
Game 2 was a huge game and AJ came through.
i think you have to put your players in the best position to do their best…and clearly, having both aj and andy on full rest would do just that.
…i hope andy can come through tomorrow, but it is tough expecting that from andy…if he doesnt, i wont blame him…i dont blame aj either…he pitched a great game 2…you cant kill a guy for not performing every time…especially in a situation where the odds were against him.
Nice, Zach. I guess Brett Myers doesn’t know that he’s part of the Support System.
Myers has already gotten into a bunch of trouble off the field so it’s no surprise he would stir things up in the locker room. Definitely doesn’t seem like a guy you would want on your team.
Nick, good thing I’m not on that team. I’d be the first guy to yell “FIIIIIIIGHT” before I cleared out an area for them to duke it out.
Nick, good thing I’m not on that team. I’d be the first guy to yell “FIIIIIIIGHT” before I cleared out an area for them to duke it out.
==========
and we already know that you’d be the guy taking bets…
If we had Orlando Hernandez or David Cone or David Wells in their prime pitching that game the Yankees would be champs right now. A.J. can’t get the job done.
Come on, Cole, keep poundin’ the Myers… make him swing at something outside.
I still dont understand why a Phillies fan would sound like he’s from Biloxi, Mississippi.
“Come on, Cole, keep poundin’ the Myers… make him swing at something outside.”
Who are you?
“ooooh Dad….”
Johnny Damon: “If our offense was great, we’d be getting ready for a parade. That’s why I say OK. It’s been OK.”
Poor kid. Didn’t get his way and now he’s throwing a fit.
thisguy November 3rd, 2009 at 1:35 am
bronx jeers…
were you saying AJ was not a closer after game 2?
that was a huge start. without that, we are done in this series.
stop trying to protect girardi, or make excuses for whoever (if yourself as well) for the idea that starting AJ on short rest was a good idea.
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Hey I’m taking away what AJ did in game 2. It was a big game and he was awesome.
But he was handed the ball twice with a chance to close out a series and both times he folded.
That’s why I said he’s not a “closer”.
The fact remains that if AJ just able to battle a little bit and maybe keep them to 4 runs in 6 innings or something, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. We’d be celebrating.
Alex Rodriguez: “Obviously we wanted to get greedy and get all three but we did what we had to do – we won two out of three and now we go back home.”
Jeremy
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:50 am
If we had Orlando Hernandez or David Cone or David Wells in their prime pitching that game the Yankees would be champs right now. A.J. can’t get the job done.
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Yeah, really gotta love David Wells in 2003, huh?
Tonight was hardly a rousing, motivating win for Philly. It’s not like they should come out of this feeling like “we got NY where we want them”. I’ll take a loss like this over an extra innings heartbreaker anyday.
Let’s see: you got a 37 yr old guy with a big game rep pitching on 3 days rest at home versus a 38 yr old who’s been injured for most of the last 3 years and will be pitching on normal rest after pitching on extra rest/skipping starts since August. Sorry, I’ll take Pettitte. Not to mention that he may be pitching his last game (and what a great way to finish a career).
I thought Pedro would do well in Game 2 but I just don’t see him doing it again. The Yanks found ways to beat him when he was the old Pedro and have never really stopped. This will be over Wednesday night.
Derek Jeter: “He made a good pitch, that’s the bottom line. I’d love to get a hit there, but it’s over. You can’t beat yourself up over it now.”
For the old time Yankee fans, here’s something that will bring a smile and a memory. Hensley Meulens has been named as the San Francisco Giants hitting coach. Give ‘em Hell, Hensley.
At least the lineup has more guys contributing and they get rid of the stupid pitcher in the lineup. The lineup is basically Jeter, Damon, Arod, Matsui and Posada.
all the talk about short rest, realy what are the yanks options?
gaudin!!!be real. that is jaret wright in the playoffs.
they will win on weds. hal reynolds, michale kay, and the other morons have no clue.
and worse case sceanrio would you rather have cc in game 7 on 3 daqys rest or andy on 4???
CC no doubt he is there horse………
GreenBeret7
Not 2003 World Series David Wells,lol. 1998 David Wells.
Well, we will be stu– I mean, we will be blessed with AJ’s presence for several more years and hopefully he will have more chances to close out series and will be more successful.
AJ was the author of both the best and the (hopefully) worst pitching performances we’ve had in these first five WS games. The highs and the lows, that’s our AJ.
This was probably his first time pitching a big game in November.
Jeremy
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 am
GreenBeret7
Not 2003 World Series David Wells,lol. 1998 David Wells.
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When Wells shot his mouth off about not needing to be in shape to pitch and then crapped on his team mates in the 2003 WS, as far as I’m concerned, he’s dead and never was a Yankee.
Don’t talk about the 2003 World Series. This is NOTHING like the 03 series. We’re MUCH better off.
Can’t see how this game was worse than Andy Pettitte’s first WS game in ‘96, or, against the Diamondbacks in 2001. He had a bad game. Would you care to take a peek at some of Whitey Ford’s less than stellar WS starts? He won 10 WS games, but, he also lost 8, and it had little to do with lack of run support.
Night all.
Chase Utley will haunt me in my dreams.
What’s with all that grease in his hair? Seriously.
Oh, and he’s a pretty good hitter too. What’s with that?
Lost in all this is the fact that Phil Coke delivered one of the best post game interviews in recent memory when he got all Rocky Balboa on Kim Jones.
Now granted this has to be among the worst questions she has ever asked but whatever…she’s got a job to do.
Kim Jones: “Phil, does it hurt any more knowing that the 2 runs you gave up were the difference in the game?”
Phil Coke: “Believe it!”
I’m not even sure what that means but I think he scared the crap out of her.
Then later “I want the ball…TOMORROW” (an off day)
Remember the time Matt DeSalvo told Kim that he was looking forward to getting some at bats in Chicago and Kim responded “The White Sox play in the American League”?
Hopefully we have seen Coke pitch in his last game for the Yankees. After last night he’s fubar, IMO.
Phil Coke is a funny guy. I hope he knows we have his back here at Lohud.
“When Wells shot his mouth off about not needing to be in shape to pitch and then crapped on his team mates in the 2003 WS, as far as I’m concerned, he’s dead and never was a Yankee.”
I was a big Wells fan but that was disgusting. Just unforgivable.
Remember when he came back as a Red Sox player and got all pissy when he got booed?
Jones has the reporting skills of a goldfish. I keep hoping the next time she asks one of her idiotic questions, questions that no reporter for a 7th grade school paper would ask, that they’d just walk away and let her stand there looking stupid.
Phil Coke had daggers in his eyes when Kim Jones was interviewing him… she must have been petrified.
The young pitchers on this team have had some very interesting postgame interviews: Kennedy saying he’s not that upset after a bad loss, Joba saying he threw 1 or 2 bad pitches after surrendering 7 runs, Bruney’s criticism of K-Rod.
For those with an inyerest in the minor league kids playing in the AFL, they have a televised game on MLB in the next week or so that will be an All-Star type game. Brandon Laird and Colin Curtis will most likely play in it. Not sure about Kennedy, but, you can forget Mike Dunn, Grant Duff and Zach Kroenke. Austin Romine has been sent home with an injury.
I truly do HATE AJ Burnett. Listening to his post game audio just seals the deal. He probably had that stupid scowl on his face. It is baffling this guy has an $82.5 million dollar contract. I cannot stand that man. He is the biggest headcase. One GREAT start one AWFUL start. Just GIVE YOUR TEAM A CHANCE. You don’t have to be perfect, just be ‘ok’. Goodness, I hate that man.
I actually don’t mind Kim Jones. Some of her questions are a waste, but I do think she is smart and knows what shes talking about.
Let’s go Yankees!!!!
I bet if “the eyes” had caught tonight AJ would have won.
It’s disgusting that Girardi continues to let Molina make AJ throw bad pitches when “the eyes” are right there.
Cmon we’ve all seen just how mesmerizing those eyes are, I don’t know how Girardi can’t see it.
my name is also jeremy so i will now be knows as jeremy 2 first i wanna say that not only do i hate the phillies i hate the fans too MOST of them really are scumbags hahahan its funny i was on a phillies blob site gettin them heated and they wouldn’t even defent thier team PATHETIC all they kept saying was how i kept having typos pfff a bunch of tarts now i no this series can go either way bit win or lose the yankees are NOT a part of baseball history………. the yankees ARE baseball history….. the past ……the present and future
wow, where was everyone ripping burnett after game 2? the philly bats weren’t gonna be quiet forever. you had to go for it with the other option being a journeyman gaudin. hey, tom seaver flopped on short rest in game 6 in 73, so if he can do it, it can happen to burnett.
i’m not the biggest fan of girardi, but most of you who wanted torre out becausde he just sat there. now you have a manager with a pulse and some guts, hey, he went for it. no big deal, yanks wrap it up wednesday.
Yankees lost, but I like the way they fought. Almost make Phillies relive last night.
They made Lee throw 110 pitches, torched him 5 runs, dent his armor. 2 innings from Lee in potential game 7 is out of question. With this spirit they will spank Pedro.
As a Phils fan I’m hoping that actually motivates Hamels for a potential game 7. Myers is an idiot and a bully…but Hamels needs that kick in the ass right now.
Pedro? Who the hell knows. I do like we’re facing Andy on short rest, if AJ went from unstoppable to 2 IN 6 ER who’s to say we can’t do it with Pettitte? But that’s why the play the game. We’ll see…
I do love all the Utley respect on here though…if AROD didn’t have a body molded out of HGH and steroids I’d respect him, too for what he’s been able to accomplish. Thankfully Tex has done nothing. Then again…so has Howard.
I wish Phil Coke could pitch every innning of every game.
Game 6…on paper we should lose the game and the Yanks should be celebrating Wednesday night but something tells me the Phils aren’t done yet! Best road record in MLB, we’ll see! Glad we got a good series!
GreenBeret7 November 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 am
Jones has the reporting skills of a goldfish. I keep hoping the next time she asks one of her idiotic questions, questions that no reporter for a 7th grade school paper would ask, that they’d just walk away and let her stand there looking stupid.
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C’mon now, she IS good looking. That’s why they hired her.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com.....7be8_b.jpg
I’m watching ESPN and they’re so pathetic.
Karl “RedSoxNation” Raveich is like a little kid jumping up and down over the philly win.
Can someone in NY call Tony Page and explain to him that Lee cannot pitch in a game 7 on 3 days rest? He may be good, but he is not good enough to alter the space-time continuum…
I think it’s most appropriate that the Phillie fan’s post was made at 4:20.
ARod the voice of reason: “it’s greedy to think we could win three in a row at philly. We needed to win 2 of 3, and we did.”
you know we lead the series 3 to 2, but if you were only watching EPSN you’d think the phillies were up 3 to 1.
Question:
Why does anyone watch ESPN’s baseball coverage to begin with? Do you enjoy being annoyed? Believe me, I havent turned it on in years and am a much happier man.
No way do we see Lee again in this series. 112 pitches and games on Weds and Thurs mean that the Yanks have a chance to win the World Series against the second string Phillies pitchers…
Drive 4-5 November 3rd, 2009 at 5:35 am
Question:
Why does anyone watch ESPN’s baseball coverage to begin with? Do you enjoy being annoyed? Believe me, I havent turned it on in years and am a much happier man.
==================================
not in the ny market. no YES. no mlb channel.
green beret 7 – that was hensley “bam bam” muelens
Never pitch to utley again
Pettitte with Gaudin as insurance in game 6. game 7 (which wont be necessary) we get to faec cole hamels in yankee stadium. cc (championship championship) sabathia with burnett as insurance.
the yankees will find a way to win this series
“What if AJ loses tonight and we have both Pettitte and CC again on 3 days rest. Why not start Gaudin tonight and have a fresh AJ and Pettitte for games 6 and 7.”
Told you so. Joe thanks for screwing up a great series and putting us in this hole. Not confident Pettitte can do it with 3 days rest
Hindsight is always clear but we had to know it was possibility that Burnett would throw a clunker last night. There are 3 ajs the good the descent and the horrible. If either the good or the descent aj show up then we win. But pitching on short rest increased the chances that horrible aj would show up and he did.
Even if gaudin goes out there and does the same thing the Phillies don’t gain as much confidence because they only beat our #4. then you have aj on full rest against Pedro and Andy available out of the pen.
In other news they have to figure out something to do with utley. He is killing them. Without him this series is already over.
MEMO to the Yankees !
PLEASE PITCH AROUND CHASE UTLEY !
enough is enough
I have been reading and enjoying the interaction on this blog all year. Today I think more than ever we can why many fans, me included, wanted the Yankees to land another top flight starter at the trading deadline. Even if it meant giving up a quality prospect or two. You never know when you are going to ever be in this position again. Its so hard to get to this point. The Yankees held onto the prospects and those prospects are quality, but theres no guarantee that those guys will get to this point again
Is it weird that I’m really not that upset about this loss? I love Alex’s quote about how it was probably greedy of them to think they could take all three in Philly. With the exception of Coke the bullpen was great, and the offense really put up a fight in the 9th. They’ve still got to be feeling pretty good taking two out of three. They’ll take care of business tomorrow.
nobody said this was going to be easy !. Lets shake of the loss and be proud our boys took 2 of 3 in Philly
“I love Alex’s quote about how it was probably greedy of them to think they could take all three in Philly.”
Good point – who would have predicted the Yanks winning 4 in a row after the game 1 loss? Who wouldn’t have been happy with taking 2 of 3 in Philli after the split in NY?
Not to mention that they scored 5 off Lee and could have won if the bullpen had held the Phillies at 6 (yes, holiding them scoreless for 7 innings it too much to ask for, I know).
I thought the comments on the blog at the end of last nights game were stupid for the most part. I just logged off. After winning 2 of 2 in Philly and three in a row coupled with some of hitting issues and the possibility of a inconsistent AJ performance, Lee pitching it was a tall hill to climb.
Well now it’s down to winning 1 of 2 back in our home ballpark. Lots you can blame last night. I’ve been down on Coke for a long time. That was a crummy performance last night by a pitcher. Tex has to hit the ball, that’s why he got the big bucks to come here.
I think the Yanks will win game 6, we don’t want to see a game 7 here.
Erin, Mike, Paco
Totally agree. Nobody thought it would be easy, and it is quite an accomplishment to take 2 of 3 on the road. We are in the same situation as w/ the LCS, back home 3-2. I like the way this team never quits, and Lee can’t pitch every game
Two things I’m encouraged by from the game last night
1. It appears the bats are waking up
2. The phillies bullpen might really be this shaky.
We really had no business being in that game last night but still had a chance and if jeter doesn’t hit into that double play then who knows…
I think some people forget the Phillies are the defending world champions — they’re not an untested team.
- The Yankees won’t see Cliff Lee again until next spring.
- Jorge will catch the next game.
- Matsui can DH again.
- Video will be studied on Utley in extra detail.
- Teixeira will contribute with his bat.
- Mariano can go 2 innings if necessary.
blake
am I remembering correctly that you watch the games in a specific chair w/ specific sweat pants on? If so, did you do that last night?
As someone posted before, A.J. reverting back to form last night where he follows a great start with a bad one has basically been his “m.o.” for most of the season.
You can definitely argue that had we pitched Gaudin last night, lost, A.J. could have just as easily pitched horribly on Wednesday. So that so-called sense of security could very well have proven to be extremely false.
Now it’s about putting togeter a good game … start-to-finish on Wednesday.
We get both Jorge and Matsui back in the lineup against Pedro (would not have happened had A.J. been held back to Wednesday because Molina would have been catching). So we will have stacked left-handed lineup ready to go in our building.
Also, just like with Game 1, the Yankees look their lumps but lost a game where Mo was not asked to pitch. He wasnt overused in Philly in Games 3 and 4, so if we have a lead in the 8th inning on Wednesday, I would imagine he gets the ball to bring it home.
Don’t pitch around Utley, drill him in the ribs to get him off the plate.
Gotta do it in the 1st inning tough. That way they will warn both sides & the Phils can’t get at Alex. Beat them to the punch.
Also, Tex’s has got to hit. Yanks didn’t spend all that money on a defensive 1st baseman. Good D no hit 1st basemen are alot cheaper than what Mark is getting paid.
A couple of things. First, AJ was terrible, but it wasn’t because of short rest, it was AJ doing as we have seen him do so many times.
Lee was beatable and gave up 5 runs. That should be enough to get a win for the Yankees on many nights.
The Phillies bullpen can’t give them any confidence against the Yankees. They brought the game to the 9th inning and they were not going to trust their closer to get the job done.
Jeter hit into the DP. It happens, we’ve seen it before. Had that not happened who knows how the rest of that inning would have gone, but you don’t leave it to the 9th inning to come back 3 runs. They got 1 in that inning which isn’t bad.
Utley needs to be either walked intentionally or be given nothing to hit.
Coke needs to have his next game be in the spring.
Yes, it was a win for the Phillies, but it should have been a laugher for them and the game came down to the last out. Had Teixeira not waved at garbage pitches who knows how that would have gone.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:
The Good:
Aceves and Robertson both did well, even though Robertson gave up a single to Lee. Even Hughes did OK
We probably won’t see Lee again unless it goes to game seven, extra innings.
Howard is still off his game and Victorino could be out of the lineup.
We get Matsui and Posada’s bat back in the lineup.
Rivera is rested.
The Bad:
Coke is toast.
Cabrera is out.
Utley is unstoppable, and as always has a better slugging % against lefties.
Now Pettitte is going on 3 days rest. Gaudin would have done no worse last night.
The Ugly:
Wednesday’s game could be an ugly high scoring game.
I’m so disappointed with the loss, but not with the team – man, they never give up. Jeter didn’t get it done in the 9th, but he will get it done again at some other point. I’m trying not to be upset at Phil for giving up the eventual winning runs as the Phils were a better team tonight – give them credit.
I’ll leave AJ alone at this point except to say a couple of things. One, that his start was very disappointing to say the least. He has to be able to give us more than he gave last night (though I am not making last night a referendum on his career. Game 2 was still the biggest game of the yea and of his career and he pitched great). Two, that I’m not sure why the personal anger at him for not being that good. He’s a good pitcher – he’s too inconsistent maybe at this point to be anything more than that, but why penalize him for not being as good as people want him to be? If he was going out there and not trying or not working hard, I could understand.
Anyhow, now the Yanks are faced with a hot Phillies offense and an Andy on short rest. If this goes 7, we’ve got a hotter Phillies team and a running-out -of-steam CC on short rest. I have confidence in the Yankees, but Joe made a mistake and now it’s going to hurt him in the upcoming games.
The Yankees will just have to pitch around Utley. If he walks so be it, but you don’t give him one single pitch to hit.
AJ on full rest is no guarantee, starting Gaudin wasn’t going to do anything against that line up other than maybe get them going.
If Andy can give 5 good innings I’ll take it, beyond that is gravy.
I am hoping that Who’s yer Daddy gets hammered out into retirement on Wednesday night.
now what will hasppen is, Francessa will go on his show and proclaim himself a genius for being against pitching Burnett on short rest.
the truth/reality is, Burnett likley would not have pitched any different on full rest. And personally, i didn’t want AJ Burnett pitching a game 6 anyways. He is a complete wild-card.
I have much more confidence in Pettitte on 3 days rest than I would in AJ on full rest in game 6…just the way I feel about Andy, he is not a big fastball pitcher so the short rest won’t affect that as much and he knows how to gut it out with the cutter, curve, etc…..the offense will pound Pedro, he won’t be the same pitcher, the Yankee hitters now will be able to figure out a plan of attack vs. him as well….just look at the way Lee pitched last night, not the same as game 1…I look for us to score 6-8 runs and leave the bullpen some room for error…..the Stadium will be crazy tomorrow night and we need Pettitte to be solid for 5 -6 innings and then you have Joba for 2 Marte for 1 and Mariano for 2 and our 27th World Championship!!!! Let’s Go Yankees!!!
Keith:
solid post. That said, i would like to see David Robertson higher on the totem pole. I is a mystery to me, why he isnt
it’s The Clear Gel on Utley’s hair making him hit all them homers.
incredible though. Reminds me of what Beltran did a few year’s back.
It’s a 7 inning game Wednesday. Let’s hope Andy has 1 left game in him left….just 1 game Andy…just 1 game!!!!!!
Yanks 6-2 on Wed!
MJR (Steve Phillips groped me)
November 3rd, 2009 at 8:25 am
it’s The Clear Gel on Utley’s hair making him hit all them homers.
**********************
LOL. His hair is awful. I have to turn away whenever he has his hat or helmet off.
Given the team he has, I don’t see that Girardi had much of a choice of who to start. AJ is unpredictable, I would rather have him pitch game 5 than a more important game. Yankees are at home, up 3-2, w/ our most reliable pitchers vs Phillies least reliable pitchers.
lets be honest, who here wouldn’t be scared to death of AJ imploding in Game 6? I am more comfortable relying on the experience of Andy, 3 days rest nonwithstanding.
Demuth squeezed Burnett, suddenly the ubiquitous Fox-track pitch grid disappeared.
Pettite has more RBI’s then Cano does.
Hinske, one AB, one walk, one run scored.
Texierira swings at the first pitch after a walk from Lee & pops out. Is anyone coaching this team?
How long is Utley going to stand on top of the plate before someone puts him on his pants?
Girardi let the Umps walk all over us, Demuth’s lousy strike zone, Victorino’s hit on his hand in the strike zone, he is just a wuss.
Time for the Yankee pitchers to nail Utley 3 times. Shocked none of them thought of that sooner.