Chronicles of the Lads

KEEPING PACE
Seven games into the ten-game roadtrip from hell, we've managed to go 4-3, with which I can find no quarrel. As Oakland has gone 5-1 over that time, we've lost a couple of games, but that was expected going in.

Our first three games in the Bronx have been satisfactory, the only hiccup being Kelvim Escobar's vintage John Lackey start, where he pitched well but had the one inning where he served up gofer balls to Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon. Our offense was also MIA that game, but, hey, that's life.

One day, I'd like to see someone do a study on how rookie pitchers do the first time they face a team, because Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver don't seem to be missing a beat. Jered did walk a few guys more than usual yesterday, and racked up an awful lot of 3-2 counts, but he was facing one of the most patient teams in the game, so it wasn't a shocker. He made only one mistake, to Craig Wilson, and struck out eight. He had good command of his slider, and was blowing his fastball by several shocked Yankee sluggers. Not bad for a guy with "mediocre" stuff.

It was, as always, a pleasure to see the Yankees whine and complain about called strikes against them. This risible practice goes back to the days of Paul O'Neill, who would whine and complain about a called strike on a fastball down the middle on a 3-0 count. Why this childishness still infects New York is beyond me. Jered caught Jorge Posada looking on a fastball right over the corner yesterday, but Posada's crowding of the plate apparently fooled home plate umpire Marvin Hudson into calling it a ball (it was an inexcusable call). Two pitches later, Jered lasered the outside black, and got the strike three call. The pitch had been called a strike every single time it had been thrown all game, by all pitchers, which didn't stop Posada -- a catcher, for God's sake -- from complaining about it.

Derek Jeter pulled the same nonsense when Scot Shields struck him out looking in the ninth. You'd think that over a decade in the league Jeter would realize that pitches that cross the outside corner count as strikes, but he always seemed shocked and offended when umpires effect this.

That said, Marvin Hudson has had a bad couple of days. He definitely blew a call at first on Saturday, where Maicer Izturis had beat out an infield hit, and almost certainly blew another one when Jose Molina picked Robinson Cano off first base (the ball beat him, but after watching it carefully, I'm pretty sure the tag didn't). And, of course, yesterday Hudson was out of position and didn't see Posada catch a thrown ball with the aid of his mask, which missed call cost the Angels a run and an out, but, thankfully, not the game.

While on that topic, Vlad was picked off of second in Saturday's game, and I'm not convinced he was out, either. I watched the replay several times without drawing a definite conclusion, but I think he skillfully eluded The Jeter's tag. He shouldn't have been in that position, regardless, but second-base umpire Jerry Layne went with the easy call, based on when the ball got there and not the tag.

This series has also been a prime demonstration of how Derek Jeter winning a Gold Glove, or even being labeled a good defensive player, is a travesty. Exhibit A was Adam Kennedy's first-inning single yesterday; with the Yankee infielders at double play depth, AK hit a grounder to the left of second base. It wasn't particularly hard-hit, but replays confirmed that Jeter didn't even start moving toward the ball until it had passed the pitcher's mound, and his late dive for the ball was futile. Of course, Rex Hudler said, "Not even Jeter could get that," even though this is a play Jeter is notorious for not being able to accomplish.

Later in the game, Chien-Ming Wang took a comebacker and turned to second to try to make a double play; he double-clutched, leading to a force-out only. Of course, the TV analysis focused on Wang's double-clutch, but never once mentioned why he did so -- he was, naturally, waiting for The Almighty Jeter to get to second.

Even Jeter's good plays are bad. Friday night saw his patented jump-and-throw on a ball in the hole, where Jeter fielded a ball hit with medium velocity, leaped thirty-five feet into the air, and threw to first, where he caught the runner by a half-step.

The runner was noted speed demon Robb Quinlan.

Every time I see Jeter do this play and get an out, he's throwing out someone like Robb Quinlan or Ramon Hernandez. In the meantime, anyone with average or better running speed is going to beat it out. I have no doubt that Rafael Furcal would have thrown out Q by two or three steps on that ball.

I just don't understand why so many announcers seem unable to see these things. As you may know, whether or not Derek Jeter is a good defensive shortstop has been a big debate in the past few years, with the traditional media taking "Count the rings" stance and the saber/stathead group saying, "Give me a break." But if you watch him play short with even a semi-critical eye, I think it's pretty obvious that his value comes when his bat is in his hand.

The first three games of this series have also been interesting as a demonstration of Alex Rogriguez's bizarre year. He's 5-for-11 with two home runs in the series, which breaks down to 5-for-6 with no one on and 0-for-5 with men on base. All of his damage has come while the game has been out of hand.

He made one bad play on defense, too, which handed Howie Kendrick an infield single, but in a few other cases has been lucky enough to come close enough to making tough plays, which his ultimate failure to make seems to rile up the fans in Yankee Stadium. He is having a down year overall -- but it's pretty much the same year Vlad is having. But he's just oddly contributing when it seems to matter least. I think that's the sort of thing that evens out in the long run, but in the meantime Yankee fans continue to boo probably the greatest player to wear their uniform in forty years (though Rickey may have an argument). It must be nice, as a fan, to have such a sense of entitlement. Let's hope the Angelenos of Anaheim never become so capricious with their favor.