The Yanks did what they needed to do, they can't slip up this weekend. The Sox should start feeling a ltitle pressure, we have 12 games before we see them again- hopefully we can get it down to 2-3 games by the time we see them.
Isn't it funny how he Sox are whining when a ball comes close to thm hen they have been hitting yankee hitters for ears w/ no retaliation? it's also funny how they could hit us game after game in the past and no one gets ejected but we can come close an our guy gets tossed.
What is so shocking about it? Brosius was a great defensive player who hit when we needed him to, ARod has been mostly inconsistent defensively who, until this season, has hit in mostly meaningless situations. Add in the huge salary and it's a no brainer. ARod's average in his last 12 postseason games is UNDER .100 and overall as a Yankee it's .241. Brosius also had ONE postseason series out of 12 w/ zero RBI(this from a guy batting down in the order) while ARod has 2 of his 4 Yankee series w/o an RBI when he is in an RBI slot. I don't get wowed by meaningless #s, i want guys who can produce when we need tem. Brosius could and so far ARod has not been able to. add in the huge difference in salary and it's a no brainer. use that money elsewhere and you'll have a much better team. no question, I am not going t o through it right now but you do't think ARod had a million RBI chances in the past few years? Yeah it does happen, but it should never happen and if it does it should never happen twice in a row! you aren't fooling me w/ #s, I watch every game. It's great he's hitting HRs in the 7h or later but when we are up 7-1 it doesn't mean much to me.
Don't you get it? You are much more likely to be fooled by your eyes than by the numbers. The human brain has only so much room for storing data. You might watch every game, but you then fall back on misperceptions about how his home runs tend to be "meaningless" ones. And that is just... not... true. Yes, A-Rod DOES hit meaningless home runs later in games. But he doesn't do it at a significantly higher rate than any other slugger. You are just noticing them because you've already got this idea in your head that he does it all the time or more than anyone else. And this is a lie. Brosius could and so far A-Rod has not been able to. How many times do you need to be confronted with small sample sizes before you realize what it means? Here... Tino Martinez was a big hero for the Yanks, right? By your standards... wrong. His career postseason batting average was .233. He went through EIGHT of twenty-one postseason series without an RBI. This, from the guy who spent the bulk of his career as the #5 hitter in the lineup. By your standards, you would have rather had Jeremy Giambi at first base. Jeremy Giambi has never had a postseason series without an RBI (He's been in two). He's got a .318 batting average in the playoffs. He "knows how to get hits when the team needs them." Don't you see? You are basing your opinions on tiny little samples (and yes, 12 games is a small sample), and you are highlighting even SMALLER samples as the ones you choose to remember and reward. (Scott Brosius "knows" how to get a big hit.)
Cappy, you're just spinning your wheels. Junc is anti-postseason-ARod until Alex has the kind of World Series performance that would put Reggie Jackson to shame. Is it really worth arguing over, given that he must be the only human being who isn't a Red Sox fan who would say they'd rather see Scott Brosius start at third base over Alex Rodriguez for the Yankees? Junc, I get you hold a grudge against ARod for his postseason performance, and it's half deserved (the other half comes from the fact that he isn't the only one who has gone stone cold when the leaves change to red.) However, it is patently insane to think the Yankees could ever be a better ballclub with Scott Brosius at third over the best overall player in the major leagues.
I remember junc a few months ago that even disregarding the salary savings, he would take Brosius over Rodriguez. I can see a point in the salary savings of 25 million (15 for us) vs. 5 for Brosius, even though I think the Yankees are still getting good value for A-Rod. But to say that even without the salary savings you'd take Brosius over Rodriguez (as was said), that's a little much.
It's just odd that people don't realize how much hindsight and perception play into this. Matsui disappeared after Game 4. So did Sheff. Jeter never showed up. I mean, if Mo closes it down in Game 4 in 2004 (or Game 5), and the Yanks roll over the Cardinals... the story of the ALCS is likely how A-Rod powered the Yanks to the ALDS and ALCS victories. Or, even just to use the dumb luck example I used before... if Tony Clark doesn't hit that ball TOO hard, it's not a ground rule double and the runner scores from third. And all this drama surrounding what A-Rod allegedly can or cannot do in the playoffs is gone. 2005-6 would likely just be chalked up to "shitty series."
I just watched the Chamberlain ejection. That was ridiculous, and I think even the ump knew it. (Based on his postgame comment that he had to do it before it escalated.) There was no way those throws were meant for Youk's head. But the Sox still seem like they want to take this into the next series. They had better watch themselves now. These aren't the same Yankees. These kids have shown FAR less fear. There is a new attitude in that clubhouse. If The Idiots want to play with fire, this time they might just get burned.
No way?!?! One maybe, but TWO in a row!!!! :breakdance: Well see who gets burned because of 98 mph fastballs at peoples head.
1) Those pitches obviously slipped out of his hand. I would say the same thing even if it was Schilling or Beckett and that same thing happened. 2) They were changeups coming out of his hand. They stayed at 98 because he released too early. 3) If he wanted to nail Youk, I'm pretty sure he's got the accuracy to do so. Those balls were way over his head. 4) I tend to watch body language and other cues when something like this happens. Chamberlain was stunned he was getting bounced, and even Posada was freaking out. But whatever. The Sox want to start getting into a pissing contest, let's see Beckett, Schilling, and Papelbon start throwing, while Clemens, Chemberlain, and Hughes follow suit. We'll see who comes out on top. These aren't the same Yankees who've been playing nice the past few years.
BULL SHIT I have NEVER heard of a change up going 98 mph. Those were fastballs They were not way over his head. Watch them again. WHAT! That happens everytime someon gets tossed. They play the "it slipped out of my hand" bull shit. This will end on the first Yankee hitter who gets beaned in retaliation.
Although I have no idea if they were changeups or fastballs, the armspeed on both those pitches is exactly the same by design to deceive the hitter. So it is plausible.
What are you calling bullshit on? That it obviously slipped out of his hand, or that I'd say the same thing the other way around? You can make a case for the former, but I've already shown that when something like the latter happens, I am the first to chime in and say the other side was innocent. It's not a changeup if the release point is wrong. If you watch the film closely, as in freeze frame, and frame forward, you'll see his fingers are pointed up, rather than wrapped around the ball. Had he released that ball at the correct point, the speed would have slowed. Not to mention, if you watch the movement of the ball after it cleared Youk's head, you'd see the velocity totally changed. The bottom fell out of it. It was supposed to be a changeup. They were way over his head. I did watch it again. And again. Yeah, but you can tell by the way someone reacts whether they meant it or not, but this is the most fallable of everything I said, and I admit that much. Heh, you think so? I am pretty sure that if Boston tries that BS next time, it will be a war like the time Pedro threw an old man to the floor. Hell, if I were Torre, I'd invite you to bring it.
The only part of the argument I've heard that makes sense for it being purposeful is the, "It happened TWICE!!!!1!" part. All other aspects of the at-bat make no sense. 1. Chamberlain, by all accounts, is not known as a headhunter. 2. While it's the perfect situation for plunking someone (assuming you want to), there's no reason to throw at his head. He could've just nailed him in the back. 3. If he WAS trying to send a message, it was sent with the first pitch. No need for a second. In order for the "He Did It On Purpose" story to make sense, you would have to believe that Chamberlain WANTED to actually HIT Youkilis in the head, missed the first time, and so decided to actually TRY to hit him in the head AGAIN. While it certainly has a sinister appeal that Sox fans love to put on the Yanks, it just does not make any real sesne. Much more likely is that you have a right-handed pitcher who tried to overthrow his fastball and let it go too early. If it were Ortiz (or another lefty) at the plate, and two pitches in a row from a righty pitcher went at his head, there'd be a case. But it seems perfectly plausible given the scenario that it was an honest-to-god accident.
Only Yankees fans would actually believe it wasn't intentional. I would love to see how a changeup thrown with a different release point can generate as much speed as a fastball.
They were fastballs. I haven't watched it frame by frame, but from what you described, there's no way they were changeups. 1. When you throw a changeup you DO wrap your fingers around the ball more. The more of your hand you get on the ball, the less velocity you get. 2. The release point doesn't change for a changeup. The arm action and release point are supposed to be identical to fool the batter. Even if it WAS different, releasing it earlier wouldn't affect the velocity. A change isn't like a slider where you release the ball differently. Most pitchers (with the exception of guys like Pedro who throw more of a screwball than a true change) don't pronate when they release a changeup like they would with a breaking ball. 3. From what I saw and a couple scouting reports I read, Chamberlain has been mostly fastball/slider in the majors. On top of that, with a 5 run lead, you go right after a hitter, not throw them your 3rd or 4th best pitch. Sorry man, but you're wrong on this one. If Youkilis didn't duck, he'd be in the hospital right now. They were over his head, but not WAY over. That said, I don't think it was intentional. But I also wouldn't be surprised if it was. Either way, I hope he gets a few game suspension just so the Yankees don't have him.
That doesn't matter much with joba because of the joba rules. He probably wont pitch for two days anyways cuz he pitched two innings (1 inning and a part of another) i would be pissed off if MLB gives him an unnecessarily long suspension because they know of these rules and want to make an impact with teh suspension. That would be mad ghey.
Josh Beckett is an asshole. Look at his reactions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzlcHGQAN_Q (and no, it wasn't way over his head. It was within a foot of his head, which as far as I care, is close enough) Anyway, I don't see it was intentional. If the Yankees wanted to hit any Red Sox player, it would've been Ortiz, who batted right before Youk. This makes no sense.
