Game 99: Yankees 3, Indians 2

by Ryan on Jul 26, 2010 10:58 PM EDT in Game Recaps

CLEVELAND - JULY 26: Shin-Soo Cho #17 of the Cleveland Indians hits a sixth inning RBI double while playing the New York Yankees on July 26 2010 at Progressive Field in Cleveland Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

When you score only two runs against the Yankees, your pitching needs to be great to come away with a victory; Jake Westbrook was only outstanding. Jake gave up only four hits in his eight innings, but two of them were home runs, the last of which was a crucial two-run homer in the eighth off the bat of Curtis Granderson. Jake made it through the eighth inning for only the second time this season, and if there weren't any interested parties in his services before tonight's game, there will be now. The official line from the Indians is that they would like to keep Westbrook around past this season, but with Cliff Lee and now Dan Haren off the market, he's going to be a very attractive fallback for a club who doesn't want to pony up for Roy Oswalt.

On a side note: man, does Trevor Crowe take bad routes in the outfield. He played a catchable Alex Rodriguez line drive into a single, although thankfully the third base umpire called it a catch.

Javier Vazquez befuddled the Indians all night, bouncing back from a poor start against the Angels. The Indians scored two runs, one on a Travis Hafner bomb, the other on a Shin-Soo Choo double, and though all five of their hits were for extra bases couldn't manage anything more. Vazquez pitched into the eighth, but was pulled after walking Michael Brantley to open the inning. David Robertson, not Joba Chamberlain, was called upon to face Asdrubal Cabrera. The Indians tried to pull off a hit-and-run, but Cabrera fouled off the pitch; had he let the pitch go, Brantley probably would have stole the base. Instead, Brantley went back to first, and Cabrera later grounded into a double play, short-circuiting their last chance before Mariano Rivera's inning.

The Indians would bring the winning run to the plate in the ninth, as Carlos Santana got jammed but blooped a single into center field. But the next three hitters would ground out, and Santana ended the game at second base.

20100726_yankees_indians_0_69_lbig__medium

via www.fangraphs.com

Highest WPA		Lowest WPA
Shin-Soo Choo	.087	Asdrubal Cabrera	-.254
Carlos Santana	.064	Matt LaPorta	-.175
Chris Perez	.039	Jhonny Peralta	-.113

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Comments

Guhhh. At the very least it was a good game in perfect weather, but sitting in Section 109 tonight was like being parked in the middle of Jackass Central (and the level of insufferability went off the charts after the Granderson HR). These guys made the Red Sox Fans I suffered through last month look like amateurs.

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"Most players will tell you that even when they're 100%, they're not really 100% ... if that makes sense."

by vbc3 on Jul 26, 2010 11:02 PM EDT reply actions

Main reason I refuse to go to games against the Yankees and Red Sox. It’s like being in a cockroach infested kitchen with the lights out.

by The Grimace on Jul 26, 2010 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

How about all the idiots who left after A-Rod’s last at-bat? At least pretend to be there for the game.

by Ryan on Jul 26, 2010 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Exactly. But…That was somewhat funny to watch though.

The Once and Future King

by FlaGators on Jul 26, 2010 11:42 PM EDT up reply actions

That is almost creepy. What kind of fan shows up for an A-Rod home run?

by Jay on Jul 27, 2010 6:05 AM EDT up reply actions

I’ve always found that if you kill just one of them the rest will STFU.

Resident LGT results-oriented boob.

by mauichuck on Jul 27, 2010 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions 6 recs

This is even funnier, because at first I thought it was a response to the cockroach post… but it’s not.

Professional Lurker. Non-Baseball Posting Specialist.

by fingolfin on Jul 27, 2010 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Did anyone say “That’s Yankees’ Baseball,” after that homerun? That’s what I had to deal with watching on TV with a Yankees fan.

In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).

by V-Mart Shopper on Jul 27, 2010 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions

No, but that is when King Yankee Fan behind us stopped regaling the many surrounding jackasses with incredible tales of the padded seats, the “true sense of history,” amazing views and “incredible” atmosphere of The New Yankees Stadium (his emphasis) and simply started being a colossal ass for the sheer hell of it.

Some of his more memorable/irritating “hits”:

1. “Does no-one on this lineup bat .300?! Jesus!”

2. “So who the hell plays here anyway?”

3. “HISTORY, MAN! HISTORY! RIGHT HERE!” (every time A-Roid came to the plate)

4. “Who in their right minds would play $25 to sit out here (row K, section 109)? This is awful!”

5. “Man! Where is The Boss?” (Seriously. This must have been right before the beer cut-off)

6. “God, this stadium sucks!! Mistake by the lake, man! Nothing good has ever come from Cleveland and nothing ever will!” (I helpfully pointed out to King Jackass at this point that his beloved George Steinbrenner was born here, which at the very least got his girlfriend to start asking him to shut up already. Ha ha.)

Thankfully, a combination of A-Roid fail and the promise of a Rivera save hastened King Jerkweed’s exit at the end of the eighth inning. I am guessing here that the Yankees faithful treat a Rivera appearance the same way most people treat the credits of a movie (boo-ring, let’s scoot!).

Lastly, I should mention here that Hafner’s HR ball bounced off the head off some guy in the section to our left and into the hands of a female Jackass, who then promptly lobbed the ball back at the playing field. Happily, she was then promptly shown the door by one of Cleveland’s finest. Good times.

--
"Most players will tell you that even when they're 100%, they're not really 100% ... if that makes sense."

by vbc3 on Jul 27, 2010 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions

My blood pressure went up while reading this.

by Jay on Jul 27, 2010 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions

Imagine sitting in the midst of it for two hours and change. That picture Westy put up in the game thread was pretty much what my section looked like, too.

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"Most players will tell you that even when they're 100%, they're not really 100% ... if that makes sense."

by vbc3 on Jul 27, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I honestly would have left, or at least switched sections.

Next time, I highly recommend you find customer service and tell them you want to change sections and explain why. They tend to be pretty responsive, and who wouldn’t sympathize?

by Jay on Jul 27, 2010 10:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not against this idea at all, but I’d also wager that there were 7,000-10,000 Yankees fans in that place each of the last two nights. Aside from heading up to the so-called “Crowe’s Nest” (directly behind the plate and allllll the way up top … which on nice nights might actually be a fun idea), I’m not sure where one can go to avoid such people.

--
"Most players will tell you that even when they're 100%, they're not really 100% ... if that makes sense."

by vbc3 on Jul 27, 2010 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Do you really need to ask to switch sections? I’d have gotten up and moved myself.

by westbrook on Jul 27, 2010 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Can anyone explain to me why Westbrook was brought out for the 8th, and — if he wasn’t taken out before the inning started — why he wasn’t lifted so a lefty RP could face Granderson?

by JulioBernazard on Jul 26, 2010 11:47 PM EDT reply actions

Showcase.

by odradek on Jul 26, 2010 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions

In the postgame, Acta basically said he didn’t really consider taking him out. I don’t feel too strongly about it, but I’m not sure why you’re that befuddled by it. He was throwing a 2-hitter through 7, his pitch count was ok, and he had retired the last 7 batters. Isn’t that a valid explanation?

by TribeJay on Jul 27, 2010 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Here’s the quote:

"I wouldn’t even think about taking out a guy who had a two-hitter in the eighth," Acta said. "I don’t second-guess myself. I’m not flipping coins in the dugout."

by TribeJay on Jul 27, 2010 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Have you see Grandy’s splits?

by JulioBernazard on Jul 27, 2010 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Who are you arguing with? Like I said, I didn’t feel that strongly. By your quote, you weren’t able to fathom an explanation. I gave you one. There it is.

by TribeJay on Jul 27, 2010 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions

He reached 99 pitches when he completed the 7th inning, and we had Tony Sipp warming up to start the 8th. If you’re going to bring him back for the 8th, at least take him out after he gives up the single and Granderson is up – Bring in the lefty. If it was to “showcase” him that’s something else, but it doesn’t appear that way from Acta’ comment.

In the new Geico commercial, Marte sings "Let me be myself" on Wedge's front lawn (with the cavemen).

by V-Mart Shopper on Jul 27, 2010 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

He wouldn’t say so if it was showcasing. And if it was, it was a poor job of it. I’d think you’d pull him after 7.

Anyway, I think it was just normal deference to the veteran. Of course Westbrook should have something left at that point. But if you’re really trying to win that game, and don’t care about anyone’s feelings, you probably go to Sipp.

That probably makes me sound like I’m upset, but I truly don’t feel strongly either.

by dgcambridge on Jul 27, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Trevor Crowe’s route to the ball:

"Facebook is bad news. It and Jason Donald both crush dreams." - JRontherim

by woodsmeister on Jul 27, 2010 8:27 AM EDT reply actions 4 recs

I really, really hate Family Circus…

by Fundamentals on Jul 27, 2010 8:40 AM EDT up reply actions

And yet I can’t look away.

Il faut d'abord durer.

by CU Adam on Jul 27, 2010 8:59 AM EDT up reply actions

I really really hate Crowe

"sometimes the internet is hard for me." - ClemsonGirl

by world dictator on Jul 27, 2010 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Any word on why Weglarz was pulled from the Columbus game?

Also, Luis V with 2 HRs last night. Sheesh.

by afh4 on Jul 27, 2010 10:40 AM EDT reply actions

From the Dispatch:

Nick Weglarz left the game after batting in the third inning. He jammed his left thumb in the top of the third after making a diving catch of a Lars Anderson line drive in left field.

by mcrose on Jul 27, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions