Game 1 of the ALDS managed to ruin my day, and I didn't even see most of it since it was smack dab over my political science class. I just got to watch the last 2 innings, and receive the sympathy of fellow Yankee fans and the smirks of Yankee haters in the lounge downstairs as Nick Johnson, of all people, ended the rally in the 9th inning. Ugh.
Thankfully, tomorrow is another game, and the Yanks are sending up Andy Pettitte, who had an excellent second half, and also happens to be a lefty- just the kind of pitcher the Twins can't hit. But then again, before Game 1 the Twins hadn't beaten the Yankees in two years. That'll teach you to assume anything in baseball.
I'm not panicking- unlike certain writers in Yankeeland, I don't think the sky is falling. Losing Game 1 stinks, but if Good!Andy shows up in Game 2, the Yanks will be in an excellent position to win. Honestly, that Buster Olney article I linked to just pisses me off. Repeat after me: the Yankees are better than the Twins. The Yankees are better than the Twins. The Yankees are better than the Twins. The Yankees are better than the Twins...
Good night, folks. Dream of pinstripes and ticker tape parades...
I spent the weekend at home, eating actual food, sleeping in my old bed, and generally alternating between feeling comfortable and disoriented. It's strange, going back to the habits of living at home after a month spent in a dorm. Nevertheless, the weekend was a lot of fun- I even got to see some old friends who also came home for Rosh Hashanna.
But the best part was definitely the baseball. Saturday's game was the first I attended that had any historical significance, and this wasn't any old milestone- it was the final regular season game of Roger Clemens' career. I brought my little brother along to the Stadium; the Rocket's last major league game was my brother's first. Clemens had a solid start, not allowing a single hit outside of a 2-run second inning. Since I wasn't tracking his pitch count, I was almost as surprised as he was when Joe Torre came to take him out in the seventh inning. Roger got a huge standing ovation to the strains of Elton John's Rocket Man, and the cheering only got louder when he came out for a curtain call. It was a great moment. Then, to finish it all off, the bullpen protected Roger's lead beautifully and the Yankees won their 100th game. Way to exit with a flourish.
It's kind of startling to contemplate the retirement of a player who's been around as long as Roger. He's been pitching in the major leagues longer than I've been alive, but now he's...done. His numbers are complete. 310 wins, 4,099 strikeouts, and a 3.19 ERA in 20 years of domination. Congratulations, Roger Clemens, on a career well done...and your first managerial win, as well. :)
The postseason starts on Tuesday- Yanks vs. Twinkies in the Bronx. I can't wait.
After a month of school, that old mainstay of college protest, the chalking, has started to pop up. As I left a political science class in which I was reassured that yes, political parties do exist, spatial model be damned, I saw this written on the pavement:
STOP THE BANK
Eh? Stop the bank? Was the bank doing unspeakably horrible things behind my back? After looking behind my back, I assured myself that this wasn't the case- as it turned out, the bank in question was the World Bank, which on this liberal campus is a synonym for Spawn of Satan, or some such thing. Anyway, chalking season has started, and it's going to be fun to watch.
***
Happy Rosh Hashannah in advance, to anyone who celebrates. I'm going home for the holidays, and best of all, I have tickets for one last Yankees game this Saturday. The probable pitcher is Roger Clemens, one of my all-time favorites, so hopefully Joe Torre won't decide to make Saturday "play the scrubs" day. In any case, it's going to be a fun way to close the season. Yay!
Zombification- The process, usually involving a long, dry, history paper, by which a college student is transormed into a member of the living dead. Or, more appropriately, the waking sleep. Or something like that. It's sad, but it happens. Evidently, my professors are out to make sure it happens to me at least once a week.
Ah, well. In happier news, the Yankees clinched their 6th straight division title today with a victory over the White Sox. Yay! I'd do a happy Yankees dance, but I think I might pass out on the floor. Maybe tommorow.
It's been a weekend of grocery shopping and Devil Ray stomping.
There are times when I feel more like a little homemaker than a college student. I'm running a household in miniature- going grocery shopping, picking up packages from the post office, vacuuming, washing the dishes, and doing laundry, all on the scale of one person living in half a room. I even get miniscule phone bills once a month. How grown-up.
***
Okay, I think it's safe to say it now...
The Yankees' magic number for clinching the division is 1.
Phew. Nice to get that over with.
Except for a mini-beanball war between Roger Clemens and Tampa Bay starter Jeremi Gonzalez, it was an ordinary night of Devil Ray-pounding for the Yanks, who rode Roger's 7 shutout innings to an easy 6-0 victory. Nick Johnson got on base four times in five plate appearances, Alfonso Soriano hit his 34th home run- heck, even Enrique Wilson had a good night. Yes, the opposition has stunk, but the Yankees look to be on a roll going into the postseason, and that can only be a good thing.
After all the hype, Hurricane Isabel has arrived at last. Of course, we're hardly getting the worst of it here in Pennsylvania. As of the early evening, the wind is hard enough to turn the occassional umbrella inside-out, but not enough to stop the brave young men and women of our ultimate frisbee teams from practicing outside. (And getting highly muddy in the process)
In baseball, the Yankees and Orioles were forced to stop playing after five innings due to rain. The score was tied, and Mike Mussina was denied his 200th career win. Yippee. The ever-lovable George Steinbrenner retired and unretired in the space of a day, and Jorge Posada's MVP bid is gaining support from writers as diverse as the very sabermetric Rob Neyer and the...um...not-so-sabermetric Joe Morgan. As a Yankee fan, I would love to see the underappreciated Jorgie win, but I won't exactly be outraged if the award goes to A-Rod instead. Heaven knows he should have won it at least once by now.
And, finally, in a story that's almost as funny as it is sad, a fan died last night when he tried to jump off the right field wall at San Fransisco's Pac Bell Park to get a pair of sunglasses he'd dropped about 25 feet below. He was actually trying to jump onto a light fixture so he could swing down to the ground, but he missed and hit his head.
The worst part was that a homeless man had caught the glasses when they fell and offered to hold on to them until the fan got down. All he needed to do was take the stairs, but I guess it was too much trouble. Obviously, jumping onto a light fixture and swinging down to the ground, Tarzan-style, was a much better idea. The full tragicomic (mostly comic) aspects of this are discussed on this Primer thread. Don't read it if you're easily offended.
I never particularly liked George W. Bush, but now that I have to write an 8-page paper about him, I'm tempted to go to the White House and kick the guy. He's a Republican who's making me pull an all-nighter. 'Nuff said.
Well, okay, it isn't exactly about nothing, but this blog isn't about something yet, either. So until I figure out what I'm going to write, the title stays.
Welcome to my blog. I'm an 18-year-old college freshman in Pennsylvania, a Beatlephile and a Yankees fan.
Today I went to class (surprise!) and actually decided to start my paper for Political Science. And it isn't even due tomorrow! I'm getting good at this 'not procrastinating' thing. Maybe someday I'll clean enough to be able to see the floor of my room.
Then again, maybe not.
Hmm...I'm not really sure where to go from here. So since I really don't have the hang of this blogging thing yet, here's a few people who do:
Baseball Primer's Clutch Hits
For great baseball talk, look no further than this site. Clutch Hits works in discussion format- the moderators put up links to baseball articles, and the Primates are then free to comment on them. The other forums include the Transaction Oracle and Sox Therapy, for all those Boston fans who so desperately need it. :) Another fun place is the Game Chatter, where you can discuss each day's game with fellow Primates as it happens.
Replacement Level Yankees Weblog
This is Larry Mankhen's funny, insightful Yankees blog, which pulls off the rare feat of being both sabermetrically oriented and well-written. It's my first stop after every Yankees game. The August 16th entry is simply hilarious- check it out.
Futility Infielder
The first baseball blog I started reading, and still one of the best around, this is the work of Yankees fan Jay Jaffe, who celebrates the work of no-hit glove men everywhere. Check out the Wall of Fame and Stadium Sojourns as well; it's all worth reading.
Bronx Banter
Finally, last but not least, this is Alex Belth's Yankees blog. In addition to the usual game commentary, there are some great interviews of writers such as Jane Leavy (Koufax), Michael Lewis (Moneyball), and Jim Bouton (Ball Four, Foul Ball) and others.
And if you don't at least know who Jim Bouton is, hang your head in shame, then go read Ball Four. It's a classic.
As for the theme of these blogs- well, I warned you I'm a Yankees fan. Another warning- there will be much messing with fonts, colors, and formatting until I figure out the look I like. I hope it doesn't make things too confusing. Feel free to comment- criticize my choice of teams, tell me what to write about, anything at all. And thus ends my first entry.