Seeing as how I've got a laptop now (I wanted one for law school) and a wireless internet connection (a wireless router was available for a discount with the computer) and a couch (we moved and we actually have a living room; the couch was found at a discount furniture store that was closing, so we got it on deep discount), I can sit here and write about the game as I'm watching it. Neat!
That said, some of you might not find the prospect of a Yankees - White Sox matchup all that scintillating, so I'll put the rest of this below a "More" tag.
7:17: Some controversy already, as Derek Jeter may or may not have beat Scott Posednik to second base on a hit-and-run groundball by Iguchi up the middle. Podsednik was called out and argued vehemently. Ozzie Guillen came out to argue, but didn't seem to stay long; it seemed to be more the case where the manager comes out to take over the argument and make sure his player doesn't get thrown out.
On the question of whether or not he was out, I think he actually was, and it looks like the umpire, Jerry Meals, really had the perfect angle on the play (which is why he's positioned there, isn't it?). Well done, Jerry.
7:22: Robinson Cano just stung a single to left field past Joe Crede at third. Cano, though he draws comparisons to Rod Carew from the YES network crew, is likely to be a very overrated player if he continues in this mold: .287/.313/.443. He's got nice power already, particularly for a second baseman, but he's a classic outmaker despite an above-mean batting average. With his power and contact hitting, I guess you'd want him somewhere down in the lineup, behind the real on-base threats, maybe fifth or sixth. The higher in the lineup you bat him, though, the more outs you'll give away.
Cano, by the way, is 19th in baseball in VORP for a rookie, with eleven of those players in the American League. By VORP, the AL Rookie of the Year right now is Gustavo Chacin in Toronto.
7:33: The shift put on by the Yankees against Paul Konerko makes me wonder why it seems that the shift is only ever put on against lefties (with the obvious exception of the righty-hitting Konerko).
7:34: You know your offense is in trouble when Timo Perez is your DH. Perez enters this game with a .285 on-base percentage. As good as the White Sox have been this year, their adjusted record is significantly worse than their real record and their pretty bad-looking offense makes them seem vulnerable to the other good-pitching teams they'll meet in the playoffs. In other words, if the A's end up playing them in the post-season (assuming they make it, of course), I wouldn't necessarily be scared of them, gaudy record or not.
7:42: The YES guys are talking about "records that won't be broken" and cite Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak and Orel Hershiser's scoreless innings. Someone, probably Jim Kaat, said, "The records that are being broken today are home runs and saves" and mentioned "trends in the game." What people seem to not realize is that a better description of these "trends" is "cycles." Have they forgotten the speedy, slap-hitting '80's already? The styles in the game go back and forth as new ideas are tried, as the culture changes, as technology changes, and so on. The obvious recent cultural change, if I can call it that, is a crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs.
8:17: We're in some doldrums and my attention is waning. Iguchi hit a home run last half inning and the Yankees are threatening to tie the game now, but my focus is elsewhere.
8:21: Jose Contreras just got really lucky and saved a run. Jorge Posada grounded a ball hard up the middle. Contreras had no hope of getting a glove on the ball, but he managed to get a foot up and, of all places the ball could go, it went directly to his first baseman, Paul Konerko. The fielder picked up the ball and tagged out Posada, ending the inning. We'll see if that run is as important as one run would have been last night.
8:40: Well, this was essentially a disaster. I got bored and otherwise occupied. I'm leaving the game on, but I'm done with this post. It was a nice experiment.
Posted by jason
in Baseball
at
00:19
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