AFTER THE YANKEES' UNFORGIVEABLE LOSS TO THE MARINERS,
and the Sox improbably fortunate comeback against the O's, Johnny Damon opined that if Boston kept going this way noone was going to cathc them. Huh? First of all, the Yanks are so far behind not because Boston has been that great but because they themselves have been that bad. After all, Detroit and Cleveland have records nearly as good as Boston's and they haven't had the advantage of taking 5 of 6 from the Yankees. Second, and more troubling, it sure sounds like Damon is preparing himself and the fans for failure and explaining it away as another team's overwhelming success. Isn't it a little early to be throwing in the towel in this way.
Actually Damon's position is the just the flip side of the Yanks' more conventional rationalization, i.e. it's still early, there's plenty of time to right the ship, there's no reason for concern. In either case, license is claimed for playing without urgency: either we will succeed automatically in the fullness of time or the Red Sox will render our efforts futile by their own excellence. The important thing is not to care too much, not to sweat things too much, not to struggle too much. Nobody on this squad is going to smack themselves on the batting helmet, hard, when they strike out, as I saw Paul O'Neill do. I wish Paulie would come back just to smack half of them in the head with his bat sans helmet. It's hard not to hate a team that cares less about how they are doing than you do.
Actually Damon's position is the just the flip side of the Yanks' more conventional rationalization, i.e. it's still early, there's plenty of time to right the ship, there's no reason for concern. In either case, license is claimed for playing without urgency: either we will succeed automatically in the fullness of time or the Red Sox will render our efforts futile by their own excellence. The important thing is not to care too much, not to sweat things too much, not to struggle too much. Nobody on this squad is going to smack themselves on the batting helmet, hard, when they strike out, as I saw Paul O'Neill do. I wish Paulie would come back just to smack half of them in the head with his bat sans helmet. It's hard not to hate a team that cares less about how they are doing than you do.
posted by joe valente | 12:48 AM
1 Comments:
From BGW:
I agree with all the above, and want to single out the decline of Abreu as an especially potent example of what the 21st century Yankee mode does to players. Not only is he not hitting, his vaunted ability to work counts has dissappeared, along with his walks. Remember just last year, when he first arrived? I was skeptical, then an almost immediate believer, especially after the 5 game sweep at Fenway: back then, he seemed to come to the plate 3-0 each at bat; now he's wiffing on 0-2 pitches and his at bats last about as long as a lead with Kyle Farnwsorth on the mound. It all started in the playoffs against Detroit: he got drunk on the big win in game 1, and his contribution to it (as I recall, he had a big double early on), and after that was swinging for the fences each time up; same as Matsui always is in big spots, and so many others on the team.
Regarding the game where Mattingly managed while Torre served his suspension. This was the first DiSalvo start; assuming Mattingly realy was calling the shots, it was heartening to see him leave the kid in for 7 innings. If Torre was in the dugout, there's no question he would have pulled him after 5. But any sign that Mattingly might have more tactical sophistication than Torre evaporated when he went to Farnsworthless toprotect a one run lead. Give me a fucking break. How long do we have to go through this farce with him?
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