Game Log: Mets-Yankees - May 20, aka, The Scroll of Agony

(Note: First running game log here at Y2K. Continuously updated during the game so refresh this page if you're reading this as the game is played. Also, be sure to read Sip's recap of last night's classic win over the Spanks. Enjoy.)

1:19 – FOX leads off with a pair of decidedly weak intro pump-up montages. The first is basically an instance of corporate prostitution, as FOX sells itself like a common street whore by mixing clips of Mets/Yankees and White Sox/Cubs in with dialogue from X-Men III – The Last Stand. If I were an X-Men fan, the image of Pedro Martinez standing next to Wolverine or A-Rod having light beams coming out of his eyes like whatshisname might have been fun. As it is, I’m not, and this montage sucks.

Lamer still was the official intro to the Mets-Yankees game narrated by Joe Buck. There was mention of the 2000 World Series and how now, 6 years later with new faces and whatnot, there is excitement in New York again with both teams doing well.

The truth is, I generally despise FOX. I would much, much rather listen to Gary Cohen and the boys at SNY than Buck and his partner in Yankee jocking, Tim McCarver. But I’m normally a sucker for those intro montages. FOX just mailed it in this time. This broadcast just blew what figured to be its finest moment.

1:21 – Joe Buck appears to be wearing an orange “Let’s go kids!” Mets bracelet.

1:27 – Pedro’s fastball is coming in at 91 today. I read in a notebook this morning that Guy Conti says his arm strength is now at full bore. 91 is a lot better than 89, even if it doesn’t sound like it. It only improves the differential on his off-speed stuff; definitely a positive development.

1:28 – Jason Giambi is such a bitch. I can’t remember who it was, but some blogger noted recently that it’s gotten to the point where umpires don’t call strikes on pitches he doesn’t swing at, and that he feels entitled to determine himself what is a ball and what is a strike. That is, if he doesn’t swing and it’s a called strike, he’ll turn to the umpire and pout about the call. Maybe it’s flaxseed rage.

1:30 – Pedro fans A-Rod to retire the side. FOX has redeeming moment as Buck says “You know how Pedro wants this first half inning to end…” pitch is thrown, strike three called… “Like that”. Buck’s not as bad as McCarver.

1:33 – Oh my god, 2-0 on Reyes. You know, he’s walking more this year, but I still never expect him to actually walk. And I say this a day after he walked twice. Maybe it’s not fair.

1:34 – Great statistic. In games we win, Reyes hits .339. In games we lose, Reyes hits .098. Say what you want about the kid, but as he goes, so goes the team. Oh, and leadoff single. LET’S GO@!!!!

1:35 – Kaz Matsui’s intro music is truly awesome. During the game last night, me, Lister, Steve and Jewbiscuit would turn the music up as loud as possible every time he came to the plate.

1:36 – Moose has now fallen behind the first two batters 2-0

1:37 – Just to recap. This inning, Reyes reached base on a nubber to third and forced an error with his speed. Reyes breaks for second, steals the bag, goes to third as throw goes into centerfield. Kid just makes it happen, I’m happy we’re friends.

1:38 – Kaz strikes out in a big spot. Does not give the patented Kaz Matsui spin-around strikeout. Maybe next time.

1:39 – This fucker Beltran better get this run home.

1:39 – LET’S GOOO@!! 1-0 Mets.

1:40 – Best part of that play? Miguel Cairo misplaying the ball in left. Would have been a hit either way, Beltran might have had 2 either way, but either way, I’m really, really glad that Cairo looked retarded out there. I’ve hated Cairo from that first day in spring training 2005 when he rolled in with his Yankee duffle bag, and let’s just say his futility in the 2-hole last season didn't endear him to me any more.

1:41 – Nice hand for David Wright. Good to see. Earlier today, my mother announced that she feels like Wright never does anything clutch. What can I say, you don’t choose these people in your life (love you mom).

1:44 – I am so happy Johnny Damon misplayed that ball. You all know how we feel about that asshole here at Y2K. Mr. Unclutch just got another clutch hit, good thing my mother isn’t here to see it – 2-0 Mets.

1:49 – This Pedro commercial for MLB is awesome. The way it ends with him fleefully pointing at the camera and saying the tagline “I live for this” is perfect.

Meanwhile, I’m just gonna say it, I miss Pedro’s Jheri-curl. The puff tuft he’s sporting this year is pretty dope in its own right, but it’s just not the same. Oh well.

1:56 – The Burkger King Have it your way Home Advantage is exactly the sort of thing I hate about watching sports on FOX. A song plays in the background as the announcers tell you nothing at all about the stadium. Just completely worthless.

1:57 – The Mets seem to have unveiled new seating on the grassy knolls in the right and left field corners. I have 3 seasons left to sit in one of those seats. This is a must.

1:58 – McCarver has revealed that it is possible to be eccentric by doing crossword puzzles. Did I mention this guy is an idiot?

2:03 – Buck snaps at McCarver when the latter again calls Mussina eccentric for doing crossword puzzles. Maybe he hates him as much as I do.

2:04 – Holy shit. Michael Barrett just duffed AJ Pierzynski out in Chicago. I understand he just got nailed at the plate, but Pierzynski’s play was clean – shame on Michael Barrett.

2:07 – I hate to offer any semblance of a compliment to Johnny Damon, but sometimes when he’s at bat you get the feeling he could just foul off pitches all day long.

2:08 – Buck announces this is a situation in which Derek Jeter, Deej, always comes up big.

2:09 – 3-0 count on Deej, Damon now on third. I’m nervous. The fact is that this whole ballpark expects DJ to get a hit right here. Except maybe the guy on the mound.

2:11 – YES!!!!! FUCKING HUGE@!!!!!! SUCK IT BUCK!!!!!!!!!! Meanwhile, I swear to god I wrote that last bit about “except maybe the guy on the mound” at 2:09 when the count was 3-0. No revisionism here.

2:15 – Hmm, tough Capital One Trivia Question here. Who was the last Mets pitcher to fan 200 batters in his first season with the Mets? I’m gonna guess Al Leiter, although I suppose it might have been old number 3-2: Mike Hampton.

2:16 – Sometimes I see Kaz Matsui swing and wonder how he ever gets a hit.

2:18 – Soothing guitar strumming sends us off into commercial. Why not?

2:22 – A strikeout looking on Giambi is becoming one of my favorite things in the game. Sit down, Creamer.

2:23 – Having now seen the replay of the collision in Chicago, I now better understand why Barrett took a swing. Pierzynski didn’t just bowl him over, he showed him up by slapping his hand down hard on the plate. Not saying it’s the right move for Barrett to punch him in the face, but the slap of the plate is an important angle here.

2:27 – Your Capital One Trivia Answer: Doc Gooden. Go figure. Meanwhile, checking ESPN.com just now I learn that Leiter struck out 174 and Hampton 177 in their first seasons (and only, as the case may be) with the Mets. Hampton has never struck out 200 in a season, while Leiter did so once: he struck out an even 200 in the year 2000. Sigh.

2:32 – Wow. From the other room I hear the Hound utter a “Holy Shit!” as Delgado’s arm flick swing lands over the fence in left-centerfield. In one of those what can you do situations, the TV in the kitchen, where the Hound is, seems to be about 5 seconds ahead of the one in the living room, where I am. This makes for a series of drama-killing hollers from the other room. Salt. Oh, 3-0 Mets.

Meanwhile, I love it that David Wright comes to the plate sometimes with “Brass Monkey” by the Beastie Boys playing in the background. Like to see that New York styling.

2:34 – As Delgado and Reyes play wrestling in the dugout, I hold my breath and pray that Reyes won’t get hurt.

2:37 – Roger Clemens… True Yankee?

2:39 – The Burger King commercial with the father-son hamburgers is almost good enough to make up for the Burger King Have It Your Way Home Advantage segment earlier in the game. “I wish I’d never been broiled!” the son says. I love that adolescent drama shit!

2:40 – Melky Cabrera breaks his bat. How awesome would it be if one of Giambi’s bats cracked open to reveal a massive syringe-shaped cork?

2:42 – Pedro’s thrown 71 pitches through 5.1 innings, and the fact is that he seems to be losing his command a little bit. You really want to see him get through 7 today before handing it over to the bullpen.

2:43 – Cliff flies into the stands to make a catch. Maybe they’ll still be talking about this one 2 years from now, too. Incidentally, I was wrong about Pedro’s command.

2:45 – I hate to write a negative word about 24, but that line “Right here, right now you are going to face justice!” can’t help but sound lame on a commercial. THERE ISN’T ENOUGH TIME!!!!

2:47 – I read on MetsBlog that the Mets have called up Anderson Garcia to take over Lima Time (http://www.metsblog.com/blog/_archives/2006/5/20/1971907.html). Interesting thing to note here: Garcia is a reliever. Heilman to the starting rotation, anyone?
2:48 – I like watching Pedro run to first base. He really more kind of skips than runs. Gotta love Pedro.

2:49 – EVERYBODY CLAP YO HANDS!!!!!!!!!

2:50 – For a second time today, Reyes’ speed makes all the difference in the world. Botched routine grounder to first base ends up a 2-base hit for Reyes. Let’s see if Kazuo can make good on this RBI chance (not bloody likely).

2:55 – I have no words for what I’m seeing right now. There is an artist’s rendition of Tim McCarver with Johnny Damon-with-Red Sox hair and beard. Did I mention I hate FOX?

3:00 – Last night, Lister pointed me towards a video I had never seen before. I won’t explain it to you, just watch:



There were 2 outs when that play happened. The Nationals went on to score 4 runs after that play (Play-by-play link: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playbyplay?gameId=260514115). That clip’s a week old but you still gotta love it. Fuck the Braves.

3:06 -- Not sure which I hate to see more: a lead-off single by A-Rod or the FOX Pepsi Fan Cam. Come on, Van Morrison, you're better than this.

3:07 -- That's how you execute a rundown, BIOTCH!!!

3:10 -- Shit. The key here is for Pedro to forget about the error on Cairo's piece of crap. Kelly Stinnett is up. Pedro has thrown 97 pitches. This will be his last batter. Come on, Pedro.

3:11 -- "Come on, strike this bum out!" - the Hound.

3:12 -- Come on Pedro!

3:13 -- 101 pitches thrown. Stinnet steps out. Bitch.

3:13 -- YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!! "DELAYED CALL BUT WE LIKE IT!!!!!!!!" - THE HOUND. Remember when those "Who's Your Daddy" chants used to follow Pedro around when he pitched against the Yankees? Yeah, so do I.

3:14 -- Burger King is now 2-for-2 with these burger family commercials. "Pull your head out of your bun!" Classic. Almost enough to make me not miss The King.

3:16 -- Love that celebration from Pedro!! I love that kind of shit.

3:17 -- LET'S GO CLIFF!!!!!!!! THAT'S HOW YOU KEEP OUT OF A PLATTOON, CLIFFY, YOU SACK UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3:22 -- My holler of "Take 4, Julio" goes for naught as Old Man Franco trots into 2nd. Oh well.

3:26 -- There is nothing I want to see less than for Duaner Sanchez to walk the lead off guy.

3:27 -- Not a walk but instead the first career hit for Kevin Reese. Had to happen sometime.

3:28 -- Huge double play. The truth is I was startng to feel nervous about young Duaner. Let's get Deej here and turn the ball over to Wags.

3:30 -- Awesome. 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th. Good to see Duaner back to his old self after that rough patch. We've been leaning on the guy all season, but if Heillman moves back into the rotation we're going to need him to be as automatic as he was that first week of the season. That 8th inning was a good sign.

3:31 -- Yo, Mandy Moore is not as hot as the animators on The Simpsons are making her out to be. Don't get me wrong, she's still a Y2K all-star ever since a friend of B.O.A.F.O.M.G.'s dated her years ago, but still, ya know?

3:33 -- For all the discussion about Billy Wagner using "Enter Sandman" as his entry song, I was stunned that there was no real reaction to him entering the game. I feel certain they would have mentioned it if the Yankee fans had booed or taunted Wagner's use of "Mariano's song", but no such mention was made. No big shock I guess. Wouldn't be the first time Mike and the Mad Dog made a mountain of a mole hill.

3:35 -- I really wish I'd told people I was gonna be doing this. Oh well.

3:37 -- Like that heads up baserunning from Kazuo there. Another run here would be really nice.

3:39 -- Damn it, Delgado.

3:40 -- Come on Cliff. Channel The Power of Positive Thinking. A base hit and I go nuts.

3:41 – Alright, fair enough. He put a good swing on that ball. Yankee fans will have nightmares tonight of an outfield containing Miguel Cairo, who looks almost as lost out there as Roger Cedeno used to. I can live with that. 4-0 lead – let’s go.

3:45 – HOUSE!!!

3:45 – Come on Billy, throw strikes.

3:45 – McCarver: That’s baseball’s form of plagiarism isn’t it? Rivera had it first! Now Wagner’s got it!

So fucking wrong, really just shameful that FOX runs this clown out there for these important ballgames. Ugh.

3:47 – Seriously, Billy, throw strikes, huh?

3:48 – Oh come on, what bullshit. Where the hell was that pitch? Shit like that can really turn an inning.

3:48.21 – Fuck.

3:48.34 – Fuck.

3:48.42 – Fuck.

3:49 – Shit. This is bad. This is really bad. At least Miguel Cairo has never had an RBI. This is really counterproductive, but just think of how different everything would have been A-Rod had been called out like he should have been. Hate to blame the umps but shit.

3:50 – I will be devastated if he blows this win for Pedro. Devastated.

3:51 – He is just not getting that inside corner. I’m not sure how close these pitchers really are, but fuck.

3:51 – Good old Cairo. One down, two to go.

3:52.08 – Strike 1.

3:52.20 – Strike 2.

3:53 – I got one thing to say to you, Wagner. Strike this motherfucker out!

3:54 – Buck notes the uneasy feel among Mets fans. Uhh, yeah.

3:55 – COME ON!!!!! FUCKKKKKKKK, GIVE HIM THE FUCKING STRIKE YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!!

3:55 – I am getting a really, really bad feeling here. Really, really, really, really bad.

3:56 – Shit.

3:56 – If he blows this, I venture to say it would be worse than anything Braden Looper ever did.

3:57 – For christ’s sake. It’s Kelly Stinnett, throw him a fucking strike.

3:57 – Wow. This just won’t work. I see no way he can get out of this inning.

3:58 – I can hardly watch.

3:58 – Three balls, zero strikes. Against Kelly Stinnett. Unbelievable.

3:58 – Walks in a run. A single ties the game. This is unbelievable.

3:59 – OK. This is a new batter. Just focus here Billy. Just focus on Bernie.

3:59 – Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. I can’t believe how quickly this game unraveled.

4:00 – I don’t know what I’ll do if we lose this game. Even a double play ball right now won’t excite me. I am simply numb. My fingers are shaking and my extremities feel cold.

4:02 -- OK. Strike 1.

4:03 -- COME ON. COME ON. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

4:03 -- Just unbelievable.

4:06 – OK. Forget what’s happened. Put it out of your mind. Chad. Just get this motherfucker out.

4:07 – Chad. What are we doing here?

4:08 – 2 balls, 2 strikes. Please.

4:08 – Are you there God? It’s me, AFOMG.

4:08 – I was certain Kaz would boot that ball. I feel no happiness. I feel nothing.

4:09 – “Alright, time to show some character!” – The Hound. He’s right.

4:09 – I ask myself if I’ll be happy if we win this game. I ask myself if I’ll weep if we lose. I can’t answer the first. As for the second, I don’t think I’ll cry. I think I’ll shut down. Picture the mother of the bag guy in American Beauty. Simply not there.

4:11 – If X jacks one, I wouldn’t shout anything out. I am emotionally drained without any conclusion reached.

4:13 -- 4 runs on 2 hits in the top of the inning. Unbelievable. Come on Blastro.

4:14 -- Somehow, Scott Proctor is dealing.

4:14 -- It occurs to me now that I will never feel confident with Billy Wagner on the hill against the Yankees. Their players will never feel out of it. Some things you never live down.

4:15 -- New Jose Valentin? Maybe? Beuller?

4:17 -- Hmm, well that was a fat pitch.

4:20 -- New Jorge Julio?

4:21 -- Let's just say this is not an auspicious start.

4:22 -- In fairness, I was just thinking that. Why didn't they just leave Sanchez out there? You keep Wagner fresh for Sunday (remember, back before this happened that's something you would have been happy about).

4:24 -- Well I certainly didn't see that coming. A-Rod. Mr. March. Long live The Curse.

4:25 -- If I were my father, I'd be worried about my son's emotional well-being.

4:26 -- New Jorge Julio. No exclamation point. The world is dead to me.

4:28 -- Remember the bottom of the 8th when we had a runner on third with 1 out and Delgado up? Shit on me.

4:29 -- This is interesting, Reyes batting Rivera from the right side as opposed to the left.

4:30 -- I just re-read what I wrote around 3:30. I was so happy then.

4:31 -- OK Kaz. OK.

4:32 -- Barry Bonds has hit home run No. 714. I used to not like the idea of him passing Ruth, but somehow this game has me thinking differently.

4:34 -- Oh boy. If he gets a gamewinner here and I'm a Yankee fan, I'm really pissed.

4:34 -- Hmm, no such luck. Come on Delgado.

4:36 -- I wonder if I would be so depressed if I hadn't written this game log.

4:41 -- WHERE THE FUCK WAS THAT PITCH? WHAT THE FUCK??>?

4:41 -- By this point I'm really less watching the game as I am staring at my computer, seeing pitching movements out of the corner of my eye, cringing, and waiting to hear what the announcers say before looking up.

4:44 -- By this point I'm not even upset when close pitches aren't called strikes. Whatever.

4:45 -- Interesting that we just surrendered the bag there. I mean, the strikeout is no better than a bunt.

4:48 -- New Jorge Julio. No exclamation point.

4:49 -- I'm glad he didn't throw there, but I'm also nervous as shit now.

4:49 -- And we're losing.

4:52 -- I'm considering changing my voicemail message to "You've reached AFOMG. Whatever."

4:53 -- Is there anything on David's mind here other than hitting a homerun?

4:55 -- Cliff.

4:56 -- I remember when the Red Sox lost Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS (the Aaron Boone game). I was at college in Massachusetts, lot of Red Sox fans but a number of Yankee fans too. The day after the Yankees beat the Red Sox, the Yankee fans didn't rub it in. They knew that doing so just wasn't right, like being happy when your worst enemy dies. I wonder if this will be the same.

5:00 -- I mean, this isn't the playoffs or anything. Maybe that comparison isn't fair.

5:01 -- Seamus O'Toole. Let's get drunk.