The Yankees won yesterday’s Mother’s Day game, and there were plenty of pink bats, wristbands and spikes around, but the most noteworthy thing that happened was something the opposition did.
Aubrey Huff mocked Joba Chamberlain – twice – with fist pumps and what looked like roars as he rounded the bases after hitting a homer. He explained it this way:
“He’s done it a couple of times to me when he’s struck me out,” Huff said. “For me, it’s just in good fun. I always told the guys that if I get him, I’m going to give him a nice fist pump. For me, it wasn’t really showing anybody up.”
Chamberlain spoke about it after yesterday’s game:
I’m here to win ballgames. I’m not here to make friends, to be honest with you.
He’s got the reality show cliches down. What, is he auditioning for the next edition of “Survivor”?
Here’s the thing – all the team-constructed nonsense in recent years about how the Yankees are so classy has hamstrung the team. And since Joba is the only Yankee pitcher in recent years to show emotion and pitch inside a lot, it’s easy for other teams to single him out.
Is Chamberlain any worse than other cocky young pitchers out there? Not really. But because he’s a Yankee, he’s a target. It’s the same reason why Jon Lester was so indignant when Chamberlain hit Jason Bay, when the Sox have been using Yankee players as target practice for half a decade. Because the Yanks are supposed to be classy, and above all that.
Maybe Joba should be all restrained, the way Jonathan Papelbon was after yesterday’s Red Sox-Rays victory (click here to see what I’m talking about.)
I hope Aubrey Huff gets the chance to have some fun with mocking the Sox closer this year. Maybe Huff can imitate the whole Papelbon Riverdance thing while circling the bases. Sheesh.
In other news, it looks like the mainstream media is finally noticing what Yankee bloggers have been squawking about for weeks – that the secondary ticket market has completely collapsed. Crains New York notes that many of the prices on StubHub et al for Yankee Stadium tickets are below face value. The article also says:
And bargains are harder to find for weekend games and matches against hot teams like the world champion Philadelphia Phillies or legendary rivals like the Boston Red Sox.
That may be the case for future Red Sox games, but not for the ones from last week. Not only did I get a Yankees-Red Sox ticket for half price, but there were Yankees-Red Sox tickets for Tuesday night’s game on sale Tuesday afternoon on for as little as $3 a piece!
Oh, and how about that Johnny Damon? He’s very quietly hitting up a storm this year!
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
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