Tuesday, March 14, 2006
I See Baseball Players
Before I start the game: Oh Good God. You're kidding me. That's too rich.
Last spring I liveblogged the first televised Spring Training game. So I'm doing it again. And yeah, I know what happens, but it's baseball.
Pre Game: Oooh, look at all the khaki shirts on the BBTN guys. Kruk is still fat. Blah, blah, blah. A sweaty Karl Ravech is not a pretty Karl Ravech. No, you idiot, Al Reyes is hurt. It's Anthony Reyes they're looking at for the 5th spot. Riviera interview that I don't care about.
1st Inning: Here's Randy. Still very tall, still very ugly. Too much Torre. And a priest back behind him. I guess Joe's too old for him. I do really like Spivey's short pants. And he strikes out. The socks are not going to help him win that 2nd base job. So's so skinny. Nice, solid single to left. Harold says it's hot in the Florida sun. No kidding. Hey! It's Scotty! Can o' corn to right. Uh, that's not Chris Duncan playing for the Yankees. Jesus, Karl. Sweet, the Gooch steals 2nd! Gall pops up to 2nd. Here comes Ponson. Luna throws out some guy. Ack, comebacker. Giambi flies out to left. No harm done.
2nd Inning: Tony's laughing in the dugout. Spiezio grounds out. Ah, Chris Duncan. But he strikes out. Oh, this is where I came in during lunch today. Luna didn't mean to, but hits a little squibber to third. Sheffield pops up to Rolen in just foul territory. Ponson is still pretty big. He's got a weird little hitch in his delivery. I don't know how anyone can get any momentum with that. Another pop up. Exactly the same. Weird. Single to center. Just noticed the red hats with the away unis. Grounder to short. Very quiet there.
Jimmy!!!! He doesn't feel pressure, but feels pressure. He says he's 4-for-5; he's gotten lucky four times. I bet he's gotten lucky more than four times. How was he not invited to the WBC? Stupid.
3rd Inning: Nice catch by Matsui gets Cruz. Who is Jose Reyes, Harold? A long out. Spivey's line drive right at Cairo. But he gives Randy a nice little smile. Sooooo nice to see Rolen actually playing. As wonderful a surprise as Nunez was, he's certainly no Rolen. Ponson wants to keep pitching, someone's slowing down the game and he's annoyed. Luna's looking ok at short. I don't know what to do with him. Memphis? St. Louis? Someone make a case either way. They're talking about Farnsworth. Remember that homerun Taguchi hit off him July 20, 2004? Easy grounder to 2nd. Ooooh, can we really talk about the Yankee bullpen some more after the commercials, Karl? Thanks!!!
4th Inning: Oops, Taguchi strikes out. Rolen flies to right. Ho hum. Oh, somebody hit the ball about three feet. Damn, homerun Cano. 1-0 Yankees. Renyolds is talking to some guy from the New York organization. Not everybody hangs on every move the Yankees make, ESPN. Tony Pena's coaching for the Yankees, I didn't know that! Full count on Giambi, and he pops up to shallow center. You shut up about Taguchi, stupid fat Kruk. He's awesome. You're just ignorant. Spivey goes into shallow right to make the next out. I am getting dumber listening to these guys. They aren't as bad as MIL's announcers. Grounder to 2nd.
5th Inning: Tony! You know he just loves these in game interviews. He's watching Rolen closely. Spiezio, too. Hmmmm, close pitch. I don't like the junk on Duncan's face. Chris, not Dave. Holy shit. That went onto the highway. Holy shit. Dave smiles. Harold tries to get some attention. La Russa really likes Chris. Luna looks silly. But then singles to center. Tony says he might steal now-he's got a green light. And he does, but the throw is bad and Luna gets to 3rd. "Percentage of success" is what Tony's steal philosophy is. If this were July, there'd be a suicide squeeze right now. Fair! Right over the bag, Luna scores! Another hit (Hernandez?); 1st and 2nd, one out. C'mon, Junior. Skied right behind 2nd base. Taguchi will come through. He's money with RISP. He gets a walk from Randy. (Albert's 0-3 tonight-he's up with the bases loaded, 2 outs, tie game. Tivo is paused. PB gets the runner from 3rd home. No more grand slam. Grounds out to third. Back to the Cards) Rolen flies out to the track with the bases loaded. Oh well. Izzy's in. Walt's on TV. He's also impressed with Chris Duncan. Kruk is sweating like a pig. Jocketty explains how the Ponson signing came about. Very nice play gets the guy at 1st. Now Walt's talking about Spiezio. Strike out! Now he's talking about AJ Burnett. Nice curve. Deivi Cruz is a "Key Addition"? Ok.... Look, Izzy's letting people on base! This inning is never going to end. Another nice curve. New stadium shots. Hot damn, it looks good. Sod's going in tomorrow. Call Walt for tickets this summer. Oh, we're the Best Fans in Baseball. Grounder to Rolen.
6th Inning: Gall vs. Mariano Riviera. Let's see who wins this battle. Oh, only a very pretty play gets him at first. Not a fan of Spiezio's red chin thing. I missed how he got out. Kruk says Chris Duncan is a "large human being." And he strikes out. Reyes in. That's Anthony, not Al. He has a nice bottom. Leadoff hit. And another hit, first and third, no outs. Oh, sac fly by Giambi ties the game. Nice catch, Bigbie. Fly out to center. Duncan, at first now, handles the third out himself.
7th Inning: Farnsworth in for the Yankees. Luna singles under the glove of the third baseman. Jimmy! Big cheers for him. The crew's starting to talk about Jimmy's Hall of Fame chances. Harold's crushing on Farnsworth, and Luna steals another base! Oh, Jimmy strikes out. Shoot. Ooops, I missed an out. Spivey's up now. Ouch, hit on the hand. Harold asks him if he's ok. And now Taguchi's buzzed and he walks almost all the way back to the dugout. Think that's payback? 15 year career for Taguchi? Kruk obviously doesn't know that So's like 36. So walks, and they make fun of J-Rod. And rightly so, no one should nickname themselves. Ugh, grounds out with the bases loaded.
8th Inning: I'm skipping the Yankees' at-bats cause it's getting late. But Reyes had a quick inning. Bigbie singles to right. Kruk was never, ever 180 lbs. Spiezio gets a single (2nd baseman should have had it) and Bigbie goes to third. Late call, but Duncan grounds to first, they tried to get two at 2nd, no dice. Bigbie scores. Luna flies to left. Oh, Daubach pops out, but we have the lead again. Another scoreless inning for Reyes from what I could tell fast forwarding the Tivo.
9th Inning: Mike Myers! Who gives up a single to Hernandez, the third catcher. Yay-dee-air Molina? Sure. That's how it's pronounced. Tony's laughing again. So's not a 20 homerun guy. SPIVEY GETS A HIT!!! First and third, no outs. So is sooo money. Nuts, fly to right, cut off man gets Spivey at 2nd, but the run scores. Ugh, pop out right behind the plate. Oooh, Carpenter and Mulder. Yum. Reyes still in. Oh, here comes the "He went to college with Mark Prior" crap. Hmph. Leadoff single. Reyes is falling behind. Spivey can't get that and it's first and third with no outs. This seems familiar. Broken bat $99.99! But the run scores. The Yankees can't find anyone to go to the plate. Champions, indeed. Strike out! That's a winner!
Last spring I liveblogged the first televised Spring Training game. So I'm doing it again. And yeah, I know what happens, but it's baseball.
Pre Game: Oooh, look at all the khaki shirts on the BBTN guys. Kruk is still fat. Blah, blah, blah. A sweaty Karl Ravech is not a pretty Karl Ravech. No, you idiot, Al Reyes is hurt. It's Anthony Reyes they're looking at for the 5th spot. Riviera interview that I don't care about.
1st Inning: Here's Randy. Still very tall, still very ugly. Too much Torre. And a priest back behind him. I guess Joe's too old for him. I do really like Spivey's short pants. And he strikes out. The socks are not going to help him win that 2nd base job. So's so skinny. Nice, solid single to left. Harold says it's hot in the Florida sun. No kidding. Hey! It's Scotty! Can o' corn to right. Uh, that's not Chris Duncan playing for the Yankees. Jesus, Karl. Sweet, the Gooch steals 2nd! Gall pops up to 2nd. Here comes Ponson. Luna throws out some guy. Ack, comebacker. Giambi flies out to left. No harm done.
2nd Inning: Tony's laughing in the dugout. Spiezio grounds out. Ah, Chris Duncan. But he strikes out. Oh, this is where I came in during lunch today. Luna didn't mean to, but hits a little squibber to third. Sheffield pops up to Rolen in just foul territory. Ponson is still pretty big. He's got a weird little hitch in his delivery. I don't know how anyone can get any momentum with that. Another pop up. Exactly the same. Weird. Single to center. Just noticed the red hats with the away unis. Grounder to short. Very quiet there.
Jimmy!!!! He doesn't feel pressure, but feels pressure. He says he's 4-for-5; he's gotten lucky four times. I bet he's gotten lucky more than four times. How was he not invited to the WBC? Stupid.
3rd Inning: Nice catch by Matsui gets Cruz. Who is Jose Reyes, Harold? A long out. Spivey's line drive right at Cairo. But he gives Randy a nice little smile. Sooooo nice to see Rolen actually playing. As wonderful a surprise as Nunez was, he's certainly no Rolen. Ponson wants to keep pitching, someone's slowing down the game and he's annoyed. Luna's looking ok at short. I don't know what to do with him. Memphis? St. Louis? Someone make a case either way. They're talking about Farnsworth. Remember that homerun Taguchi hit off him July 20, 2004? Easy grounder to 2nd. Ooooh, can we really talk about the Yankee bullpen some more after the commercials, Karl? Thanks!!!
4th Inning: Oops, Taguchi strikes out. Rolen flies to right. Ho hum. Oh, somebody hit the ball about three feet. Damn, homerun Cano. 1-0 Yankees. Renyolds is talking to some guy from the New York organization. Not everybody hangs on every move the Yankees make, ESPN. Tony Pena's coaching for the Yankees, I didn't know that! Full count on Giambi, and he pops up to shallow center. You shut up about Taguchi, stupid fat Kruk. He's awesome. You're just ignorant. Spivey goes into shallow right to make the next out. I am getting dumber listening to these guys. They aren't as bad as MIL's announcers. Grounder to 2nd.
5th Inning: Tony! You know he just loves these in game interviews. He's watching Rolen closely. Spiezio, too. Hmmmm, close pitch. I don't like the junk on Duncan's face. Chris, not Dave. Holy shit. That went onto the highway. Holy shit. Dave smiles. Harold tries to get some attention. La Russa really likes Chris. Luna looks silly. But then singles to center. Tony says he might steal now-he's got a green light. And he does, but the throw is bad and Luna gets to 3rd. "Percentage of success" is what Tony's steal philosophy is. If this were July, there'd be a suicide squeeze right now. Fair! Right over the bag, Luna scores! Another hit (Hernandez?); 1st and 2nd, one out. C'mon, Junior. Skied right behind 2nd base. Taguchi will come through. He's money with RISP. He gets a walk from Randy. (Albert's 0-3 tonight-he's up with the bases loaded, 2 outs, tie game. Tivo is paused. PB gets the runner from 3rd home. No more grand slam. Grounds out to third. Back to the Cards) Rolen flies out to the track with the bases loaded. Oh well. Izzy's in. Walt's on TV. He's also impressed with Chris Duncan. Kruk is sweating like a pig. Jocketty explains how the Ponson signing came about. Very nice play gets the guy at 1st. Now Walt's talking about Spiezio. Strike out! Now he's talking about AJ Burnett. Nice curve. Deivi Cruz is a "Key Addition"? Ok.... Look, Izzy's letting people on base! This inning is never going to end. Another nice curve. New stadium shots. Hot damn, it looks good. Sod's going in tomorrow. Call Walt for tickets this summer. Oh, we're the Best Fans in Baseball. Grounder to Rolen.
6th Inning: Gall vs. Mariano Riviera. Let's see who wins this battle. Oh, only a very pretty play gets him at first. Not a fan of Spiezio's red chin thing. I missed how he got out. Kruk says Chris Duncan is a "large human being." And he strikes out. Reyes in. That's Anthony, not Al. He has a nice bottom. Leadoff hit. And another hit, first and third, no outs. Oh, sac fly by Giambi ties the game. Nice catch, Bigbie. Fly out to center. Duncan, at first now, handles the third out himself.
7th Inning: Farnsworth in for the Yankees. Luna singles under the glove of the third baseman. Jimmy! Big cheers for him. The crew's starting to talk about Jimmy's Hall of Fame chances. Harold's crushing on Farnsworth, and Luna steals another base! Oh, Jimmy strikes out. Shoot. Ooops, I missed an out. Spivey's up now. Ouch, hit on the hand. Harold asks him if he's ok. And now Taguchi's buzzed and he walks almost all the way back to the dugout. Think that's payback? 15 year career for Taguchi? Kruk obviously doesn't know that So's like 36. So walks, and they make fun of J-Rod. And rightly so, no one should nickname themselves. Ugh, grounds out with the bases loaded.
8th Inning: I'm skipping the Yankees' at-bats cause it's getting late. But Reyes had a quick inning. Bigbie singles to right. Kruk was never, ever 180 lbs. Spiezio gets a single (2nd baseman should have had it) and Bigbie goes to third. Late call, but Duncan grounds to first, they tried to get two at 2nd, no dice. Bigbie scores. Luna flies to left. Oh, Daubach pops out, but we have the lead again. Another scoreless inning for Reyes from what I could tell fast forwarding the Tivo.
9th Inning: Mike Myers! Who gives up a single to Hernandez, the third catcher. Yay-dee-air Molina? Sure. That's how it's pronounced. Tony's laughing again. So's not a 20 homerun guy. SPIVEY GETS A HIT!!! First and third, no outs. So is sooo money. Nuts, fly to right, cut off man gets Spivey at 2nd, but the run scores. Ugh, pop out right behind the plate. Oooh, Carpenter and Mulder. Yum. Reyes still in. Oh, here comes the "He went to college with Mark Prior" crap. Hmph. Leadoff single. Reyes is falling behind. Spivey can't get that and it's first and third with no outs. This seems familiar. Broken bat $99.99! But the run scores. The Yankees can't find anyone to go to the plate. Champions, indeed. Strike out! That's a winner!
