Ever hear boos interrupted by screams, cheers, claps, and laughter? That’s exactly what happened in last night’s game. And yes, I was laughing up a storm. Sorry, Squawker Jon. It’s nothing personal!
I told Jon after the eighth inning that the game would come down to Alex Rodriguez, as it usually does. But who could have guessed that it would have ended like that?
The A-Rod haters in the Stadium crowd, who had already booed him earlier in the night for failing with runners in scoring position, were exercising their lungs booing him again last night after it looked like he hit a popup. I figured we’d hear the usual stuff about how he never gets the big hit, even thought he got the go-ahead double literally the night before. And I also thought that we’d hear about how the Yanks’ season was on the rails, especially after the Boston debacle.
Then Luis Castillo dropped the popup, we saw Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira circling the bases and, in the blink of and eye, the Yankees were celebrating at home plate.
After I screamed “Holy Bleep” a whole bunch of times, I literally couldn’t stop laughing, especially when the Yanks kept on showing the play over and over again on that gigantic video screen. I also clapped my hands so hard I thought I broke a blood vessel in my finger!
How the heck did that muff-up play happen? Did A-Rod yell “Ha” or something? It figures that if something weird would happen at a game, Alex Rodriguez would somehow be involved with it! From the David Letterman/Sarah Palin tasteless joke controversy to this, A-Rod always seems to be in the middle of the mayhem!
It’s also funny that somebody whose worst part of the game is his struggle with catching popups would be a recipient of such a gift. And that Mark Teixeira, who isn’t exactly fleet of foot, would be able to go from first to home on that play because he motored around the bases.
I wasn’t taunting Jon – I was cackling while looking towards home plate, which was in the opposite direction of Jon. He was very quiet right after the play. It took him a few minutes to speak. When he did finally speak, he was about as devastated as I’ve ever heard him after a loss.
I also noticed in watching the clip of the Mets’ coverage of the game that the TV broadcasters were equally as speechless for a minute or two after acknowledging the play.
It’s funny – Jon has been to three Yankee games with me this year – all wins – and two of them had these instant classic walkoff wins. Last month, in A-Rod’s first game back at the Stadium, Joe Nathan blew the save and gave up that hit to Melky Cabrera.
This game, Francisco Rodriguez (I refuse to call him K-Rod), got the blown save, but it wasn’t his fault (although I will fault him for starting his celebration “pointing to the sky” move even before the ball landed!) Incidentally, I did enjoy seeing him with his head in his hands!
Two other things I noticed about this game. Even thought A-Rod really had nothing to do with the victory other than being lucky, he was mobbed like a conquering hero after the win. While the Yanks may not be able to beat the Red Sox, they have been terrific this year as pulling together as a team.
On the other hand, the Yankee broadcast showed how Luis Castillo was literally all alone when he walked back to the dugout, and not a single teammate or coach was there to try to console him. How sad is that? Not a good sign for the Mets’ leadership.
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
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