WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By Bull Allen. April 27, 2009: In the aftermath of the Yankee Massacre in Fab Fenway this weekend, many will point to the Yankee pitching, the Yankee lack of hitting, poor fielding.
Poppycock!
Fenway Park, 1998
The real reason the Yankees turned impotent in Back Bay was the YES Network. Once again the disrespect the Bomber management has shown for the game over the last 37 years of Steinbrenner ownership angered the baseball Gods who are ruthless with their retribution to those who would scorn the traditions of the game.
Friday night, the Yankees were cruising with a 4-2 lead. Excellent pitching, good bullpen had stilled the Scarlet Hose howitzers. Rivera diffused the Saux mini rally in the eight. The Bombers even though they had left a lot of men on base were on the verge of taking game one, snapping the Saux winning streak and perpetuating the fool’s gold of a three-game winning streak.
Going into the bottom of the ninth, Rivera gets one out.
Then it happened: The YES Network popped up a graphic that read: “Player of the Game: The Yankee Bullpen” before the game ends.
You cannot do that.
As anyone who is a ball fan knows, the most treasured axiom in ball, the most sacred tenet is, the game is never over until it’s over. It’s not over until the final out. You’re never out of a game. You keep hitting, the game can last forever.
You cannot say a game is over until it’s over.
The Gods hate that. The baseball Gods in that Press Box in the sky, are swift to avenge the hubris of the proud and profane.
When Manager Bill Terry of the 1934 World Champion New York Giants was asked by sportswriters at the 34 winter meetings about who he expected would give him trouble in the '34 season, and was asked about the Brooklyn Dodgers, he replied, "I was just wondering," said Terry, "whether they were still in the league."
Going into the last weekend of the 1934 season, the Giants had to play the Brooks. Brooklyn took 2 of 3 costing the Giants the pennant what he thought about Brooklyn. Yes, you guessed it. Brooklyn fans brought banners to the Polo Grounds, with signs saying “Is Brooklyn still in the league?” The Dodgers took the series from New York costing the Giants a second straight pennant
And, again, in 2002:
In the 2002 World Series, the San Francisco Giants, leading in games 3 to 2 over the Anaheim Angels, had a 5-0 lead in the seventh, nine outs away from a World Series Championship.
The series' momentum changed decisively when Jints' Manager Dusty Baker removed starter Russ Ortiz and handed him the "game" ball as he left the mound. Moments later, Angel Scott Speizio hit a three-run home run for the Angels, who went on to win the game 6–5. The following night, Anaheim won Game 7, 4–1 to claim the Series.
Handing Ortiz the game ball was the mortal sin, signifying to the baseball gods Baker felt the game was over and he was going to win the Series. In one of the most inexplicable rallies of all time, Anaheim rallied and won and went on to win the series. The Gods had struck the Giants down for this inexcusable transgression. It was “The Gods!”
In the interest of a few seconds Friday night, YES spat on this shibboleth of the diamond. They kicked dirt on it. (“Look how modern we are!”)
Watching the game, I said to myself, they can’t do that. Rivera, as impossible as it seems, is going to fail to close the game.
Then it happened.
Eerily, after Rivera gets the second out, he goes to 2 strikes on the “final” hitter of the game. Then a base hit. And then, Jason Bay comes up and ties the game with a bomb. The Yanks lose in 11.
On Saturday, the Yankees lost a 6 run lead. The bullpen could not get anyone out. On
Sunday the Yankees could not hit. A lost weekend in Beantown.
The talk show guys will point to bad pitching, untimely hitting, loss of A-Rod, poor fielding as the reason for the Yankee problems this weekend.
But we know better—it was the ill-timed YES Network graphic that turned the Yankee pitching staff into the 1930s Phillies pitching staff (the worst pitching staff ever assembled).
This is not the first time that Yankee media have stomped on tradition.
Their play-by-play man, delights, in saying smugly, when a pitcher has a no-hitter going,. He did it again last week, and the pitcher immediately gave up a hit. When Mel Allen was doing play-by-play, By Saam, Harry Kalas, Court (Howdy I’m Curt) Gowdy, Vin Scully did play-by-play they told you a no-hitter was going on in a way that built suspense: “Raschi has retired nineteen Red Sox in a row.” “No Yankee has reached first base by a walk or otherwise.” “Seventeen in a row retired by Wilhelm.” “Koufax has retired all 21 batters he’s faced.” That was drama. That was respect for achievement.
When Sterling and the hip announcers of today toss off “Brabender has given up no hits through seven,”it just lays there. It is a sad legacy of the “reality and truth” era of the sixties.
Looking about this season so far, the chipping away at baseball tradition continues: We see seats reaching totally unaffordable levels for the entertainment provided.Three tedious blowouts at CitiField this weekend for multibucks? You got to be kidding. Harvey Araton, the sportswriter for The Times, noted this.
The Yankees are no longer making comments on whether or not they have sold the gazillion dollar box seats along third, home and first at the nouveau Yankee Stadium. This is very out of character with their radio team that delights in announcing no hitters and picking stars of the game when it’s not over. How about a little candor on those seat sales, Yankees?
The Yankees also feel that people go to a ballgame to eat and spend like $9 for a beer. Are you kidding me? Anyone who spends $9 for a beer in a ballpark is nuts. The problem here is – real fans go to see the game. We actually like seeing the game. Good games.
When I go to a game I want my club to win, but in a close one-run game. I do not want to see inferior competition. Though baseball is more balanced than any other professional league, you are beginning to see teams that simply are not competitive like the Nationals. Too many bad games abound around the leagues.
Anyway, it remains to be seen whether the return of Alex Rodriguez will improve Yankee pitching, and hitting. Perhaps A-Rod can pitch. But how long will the baseball Gods punish the Yankees for putting up that ill-fated graphic Friday night?
More to the point, how long before Yankee management dumps Joe Girardi? It is not even May and the Yankees are calling up arms from the minor leagues. Great pitching evaluation in spring training by the pitching coach.
Once again Spring Training has been shown to be what it is, an exercise that’s all. Remember Gordon Windhorn in the 60s? The new Mickey Mantle the Yankees were touting this spring is hitting.220. The Milkman is back in centerfield.
How long will the Mets stick with Jerry Manuel?
But, please, Yankeesv appease the gods – no more mentioning there’s a no-hitter going on.
No more picking players of the game before it’s over.
That would be a start.
Respect the game, stop commercializing it.
And Bud Selig – could we give you a few tips?
- Play the World Series and Playoffs in twilight so kids can see the ends of games.
- Ban violators of the drug policy for life.
- Go to full interleague play so every team plays each other.
- Bring back natural doubleheaders to reduce prices.
That's the view from the affordable upper deck.
This is Bull Allen saying so long everybody!
