After the American League failed yet again to drive home a runner and the game headed to the 13th inning, the Fox cameras caught Bud Selig sitting in his suite, looking supremely upset with the specter of another tie/debacle. I’ve never seen Bud look quite so sad.
Second best moment
Yogi Berra in the broadcast booth, even though that meant looking at Tim McCarver and Joe Buck. Baseball – and the whole world – will be a sadder place when Yogi leaves us, even though that's sure to be one of the funniest funerals in American history.
And a third
Watching Joakim Soria navigate through 1.2 occasionally shaky innings during the 11th and 12th without blowing the game. The other exciting thing was watching Soria sit next to Mariano Rivera in the bullpen. Maybe we’ll find out if Soria can learn through osmosis.[1]
Quite a high wire act
Classy move by Rockies Manager Clint Hurdle to leave one of his own pitchers – Aaron Cook – in for three tense innings (the 10th through 12th) rather than burn up pitchers from the Rockies and Phillies. Cook gave up no runs despite giving up four hits and walking three during his outing.
Strange happenings
Cook survived a nightmarish bottom of the 10th inning when Marlins 2B Dan Uggla made back-to-back errors, forcing Cook to face a bases-loaded, no out jam. Can anyone tell us when a player last made back-to-back errors at all, let alone in extra innings? To add insult to injury, Uggla got eaten up by a bad hop in the 13th inning and was charged with a third error. And at the plate, Uggla managed to go 0-4, striking out three times and grounding into a double play once.
During one five out stretch of the 10th and 11th innings, the AL had three runners thrown out at home plate (two on force plays and one on a single to center) and another runner caught stealing.
Now that’s impressive
The AL, despite Uggla’s frequent gifts, managed to avoid scoring any runs during Cook’s tenure.
In the 10th: Bases-loaded and nobody out after the Uggla errors and an intentional walk. But grounders to second and third led to outs at the plate, and then a grounder to shortstop provided the final out after a superb play by Miguel Tejada.
11th: After Ian Kinsler singled, he was caught stealing second. But Dioner Navarro, the Tampa Bay catcher, walked and moved to second on a J.D. Drew single. Unfortunately, there was nobody available to pinch run for Navarro, so he was hosed at the plate by half a step after Pirates outfielder Nate McClouth and Dodgers Catcher Russell Martin combined on a brilliant play Michael Young singled to center.
12th: Carlos Guillen led off with a double and moved to third on a groundout. But Evan Longoria struck out and Kinsler grounded out.
Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the strangest relief outings I’ve ever seen.
They’ve done it again
While Hurdle wisely kept plenty of players in reserve to make sure his team could play all night, Red Sox Manager Terry Francona made a hash of things and had to rely on Scott Kazmir, who threw 102 pitches Sunday night. Francona used four different starting pitchers for one inning each, then used Francisco Rodriquez (K-Rod) for only 8 pitches and one out. That meant he had to ride Rivera and Soria for five outs apiece. That’s not asking the impossible, certainly, but wouldn’t it make more sense for Roy Halladay – the man with seven complete games already this year – to be throwing more innings than Soria or Rivera? Joe Saunders, Justin Duchscherer and Ervin Santana – three very good starters – all pitched a single inning.
Yes, I realize that Francona wants to let plenty of players get into the game. But after the Milwaukee debacle a few years ago, every manager should remember that there’s a chance the game could go into extra frames. Clint Hurdle had three starting pitchers each pitch three innings, leaving him with plenty of arms when the game went into extra frames.
Ended by inches
4 hours and 50 minutes after the game got underway, in the bottom of the 15th, Michael Young lifted a fly to shallow right, where Corey Hart of the Brewers settled under it. Meanwhile, Twins DH Justin Morneau, who’s not known for his speed, was crouched at third. Hart made the catch and Morneau took off, arriving at the plate just a split-second before Catcher Brian McCann could get the tag down, saving Francona and Selig from looking like Class A dummies.
Next time
The Ribbie Reporter joins the Yankees faithful and insults the pregnant wife of a Red Sox player.[2] After that he helps a little old lady out into the street and then lets a cabbie hit her. Then – and only then – he decides that he knows what it feels like to be a true Yankees fan.
[1] Earlier in the game Fox showed pre-game footage of Scott Kazmir and Roy Halladay standing around Rivera and asking him to show them his split-finger fastball. Rivera is famous for being helpful to young players in his own bullpen. Apparently he doesn’t mind teaching two division rivals a few secrets.
[2] In case you missed it, Yankees fans harassed Jonathan Papelbon’s pregnant wife during a pre-game parade up Sixth Avenue.
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