Ballgame. Over.

Welcome to the second coming of my attempted baseball blog. I used to do the “Borg Baseball Blog” but got caught up in retirement and things more important but always missed the thrill of baseball commentary. It came back this past week as the dad of a baseballplayer living with us came to visit. We went to games together and talked about baseball and suddenly the urge was back. My son, BusinessBoy would be proud as I used his mantra “reduce, reuse, rebrand’ in putting together “Baseball. Over”. This name comes from the infamous Yankee radio voice, John Sterling, who ends every winning game with the phrase “Ballgame over. Yankees win. The Yankees win” in his exaggerated radio voice. I cannot think of anything better than sitting watching and talking about a game in which your team wins. Thus “Ballgame, Over”.  I hope to write at least one post during or after each Yankees series, which will ultimately conclude with a World Series post about the Champion New York Yankees. Hey, it’s my blog, you get my dreams. So we begin.

Understand that I am a life long Yankee fan, having rooted for them for the past 53 years. However, after ling in NYC for almost 30n years, the next chapter of my life was spent in the heart of Boston baseball and I was never allowed to forget that fact. I figured I would retire to a place where I could live out my baseball watching time in peace only to find myself again in the den of vipers, Red Sox fan. I just can’t win.

This past weekend, the Yankees took on a hated rival. A rivalry that has paled a bit the past few years as the Boston Red Sox have moved away from their magic 2004 season in which they broke an 87-year-old curse (my fault, I will explain one day) by winning the World Series. Currently in last place, this year’s Sox have continued the tone of last September when they totally collapsed in the last month of the season in a celebrated (by Yankee fans) debacle of egos, alcohol and gluttony. The management of the club “fixed the problem” by forcing out the general manager and the manager, as if they were the ones drinking and eating fried chicken on the bench during the games. It is possible they may never recover from this (again, my blog, my dreams).

The Yankees just won 3 of 4 up in Beantown, totally outplaying the Sox through hitting, pitching and bullpen use. The Sox were behind in the first inning in all 4 games,, a hole the Sox could scarcely crawl out of. Boston fans will point to their injuries as if the Yankees loss of starting outfielder, two starting pitchers and the best closer in baseball doesn’t count. But what hurts them the most is that they did it on hollowed grounds, Fenway Park at a time when the Sox foolishly felt that they could get right back in this American League race. Instead they are shackled to the basement, a shell of their former selves.

PINCH HITS (a few short comments about observations this series)

- I hate to admit it but I am flustered by the fact that even with their injuries, the Sox seem to have a never-ending supply of youngsters to step in. On the plus side, they play well and have kept the Sox from sinking fast but they are inexperienced and I as sure will show that in the second half of the season

- Jarrod Saltalamacchia has been a messed up player since coming to the majors. When the Sox got him, I suspected that trend would continue and it did last year with a season of awful statistics and defense. Then this year he started out hot, with power to spare. This raises two flags. The first is HGH. ‘Nuf  said. The other is, is this trend at the start of this season, his coming into his own as a player or is it an aberration that will fade like bleached wash jeans. I think it is the latter.

-When the Sox signed Adrian Gonzalez, my first thought was “small market player, will not handle the pressure.” And everyone knows the kind of pressure the Sox media provides. Just ask the fried chicken twins, Beckett and Lackey. Although Gonzo had a good statistical year last year. When the going got tough in September, he disappeared faster then a cold beer on a hot day. This past series, with the sox down in game 4, he took himself out due to "illness"> Is there ant doubt in your mind that Big Papi or Dustin Pedroia or Derek Jeter would have wanted to be in there even if missing an arm or leg? When we began to hear comments about how it was god’s will that they struggle and lose kast year,  I knew it was all over. He is a talented ballplayer but I don’t think he has the Chutzpah to do it in Boston. History will be the judge of that.

Well, that’s it, post one is done. Tell your friends, let me know your thoughts and see you in a few days during the All Star break!