Back to back
Does anyone not fear Manny and Ortiz in the 3 and 4 spots? I don’t need a 40-40 player, I want a pair of 40-homer hitters. Myth run-down. Ortiz can’t hit lefties, yup. Arroyo’s a #5 starter, yup. 8-3 against one of the better teams in the AL, nice. It’s weird how people can give up on Arroyo after he let in 2 runs in the first 2 innings. Didn’t anyone remember Lowe sacking up in that 4-3 win against the Angels? 1-run innings aren’t the end of the world. I guess I have faith that Francona increasingly seems to know when to hold ’em and knows when to fold ’em. I hope.
Sacroiliac Spineless movement
Meanwhile, the Yankees destroy all claims to class by insisting that the D-Rays forfeit the game by dint of not having shown up on time. Yeah, you can’t grow facial hair, but you can whine when a hurricane threatens the families and houses of your opponents (including your former player Tino Martinez). That’s class. No wonder Tampa sportswriters sound irate:
“It’s a mess, an unfortunate mess,’’ Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said while he and team president Randy Levine accused the Rays of lying, painted the Yankees as victims and wondered why they had not been awarded a forfeit victory. (Italics mine. From Tampa Bay Online.)
How dare they mess up George’s doubleheader. The gall. Didn’t they know the Yankees were in a pennant race? And what was Rays slugger Aubrey Huff doing missing the plane? So his house is near the water in the Westshore area. So his house was in the water in the Westshore area on Monday. Why do bad things always happen to the Yankees? (From the Tampa Tribune)
On ESPN.com, mysteriously, the scoreboard noted that Tampa beat New York 8-3 to split the doubleheader, and the Sox beat Oakland 5-1. I’m hoping they’re just reporting tomorrow’s scores.
And a wild attack
Back to Sox-As: Mark Kotsay gets added to the list of As with issues with the Sox (joining Tim “Bar Fight” Hudson and Eric “EB Touch Home” Byrnes), and Oakland fans throw stuff on the field. Ah. So, much in the same way as Billy Beane flips furniture, As fans fling foodstuff, and all semblance of admiration I have for a team that does so well against such fiscal odds falls flat.
Edit: added Tampa-area quotes.