Yanks in (more than) a sentence: Yankees 9, Tigers 3 (Yankees lead series, 1-0)
1. I didn’t see this one live, as I was out at what the kids used to call “a rock ‘n roll show.” For future reference, they do not serve beer at the United Palace Theatre. Getting to hear Suit Of Lights, Town Cryer and Watch Your Step/Secondary Modern was nonetheless a treat.
2. So I turbo-watched the game via DVR just now, which means it’s a doubleheader Sunday for me. Baseball!
3. Outside of the weather-motivated stop/start, that was in every way a typical game for the 2011 Yankees. The pitching was solid but mostly kinda there. The defense made a few plays (great relay by Jeter and tag by Martin). The offense went into grind-down mode and, inevitably, exploded. If I may coin a phrase, the Yankees play pressure offense.
3a. Doug Fister, for all his impressive tallness, threw a few too many strikes.
4. No second-guessing on Leyland’s decision to use Al “Al the Al” Alburquerque against Cano in the sixth inning. It’s not like lefties have had better luck against Cano this year and, besides, Al the Al has a solid track record of keeping the ball in the park.
5. Assuming that the Tigers act rationally and pitch around Cano, it’s gonna fall on A-Rod to make them pay. It always comes down to A-Rod. He exerts narrative gravitational pull over everything in the Yankee universe.
6. Jorge Posada running the bases = Bono talking about politics.
7. Gene Lamont has sure let himself go. His uniform fits him like a weatherproof cover fits an outdoor grill.
8. Other games: Didn’t catch any of Brewers/D-backs, as I was out purchasing items of non-trivial import… I have no idea why La Russa didn’t bring in a lefty to face Ryan Howard. As far as decision-making goes, that’s as much of a slam dunk as tacos over kale… That one Napoli at-bat might’ve turned around the Texas/Tampa series. Mike Napoli is a great friggin’ hitter; I’m genuinely curious as to what blinded the Angels and Jays to this beyond-obvious fact.
