Quotes From Last Night: Game 2 Edition

Presented without comment. Please react in the comments as you see fit:

Jerry Davis (in reference to Brian Gorman's call on Ryan Howard's play in the 7th): "The objective is to get it right, we asked each other what we had seen and the replay confirmed we got it right"

Ryan Howard: “Did I catch it? Well, they called him out. [winks]”

Dave Cameron: The first two Jeter bunt attempts will be criticized by members of the statistical community as part of the reflexive don’t-bunt-ever strategy that has gained too much popularity, but they were the right play. The two-strike bunt attempt really was a bad idea (the additional cost of a foul turning into an out reduces the odds enough to make swinging away more likely to produce a single run, which was the original goal), but the first two stabs at it, Jeter was making the right play.

Jimmy Rollins (via The Fightins): "I was expecting some of that [Philadelphia rowdiness] here, but it was very tame and civilized, really. "You only had one big cheer, and that was on home runs."

Rollins was asked if this feels "more like a World Series" than last year's Series with Tampa Bay.

"When we get to Philly, it will," he said. Because the atmosphere will be so different? "Exactly."

Ken Rosenthal: Is it too late to reopen the old Yankee Stadium one more time?

Pedro Martinez was in the house Thursday night — Pedro Martinez, the old Boston devil. The crowd of 50,181 mustered a few spontaneous, "Who's your daddy?" chants. But more often than not, the fans needed a prompt from the stadium organ to get going.

Bob Raissman: Wonder how they felt about Fox's Tim McCarver and Joe Buck basically saying the joint had all the audio ambiance of a morgue. The voices were not talking about the building's acoustics. During Game 2 of World Series Thursday night, they were talking about Yankee fans (at least the ones who can still afford a ticket) who checked their mouths at the door.

John Gonzalez, Philly Inquirer: Scariest looking guy in the entire park, though, was A.J. Burnett. When did he remember how to pitch?

I got a text from my buddy Fearce before the eighth inning that pretty much summed up what I was thinking: "I don't know what to do when I can't really complain about bad calls or the announcers hating Philly. Feels weird."

Charlie Manuel: "We can hit Rivera. We've proved that. He's good. He's one of the best closers in baseball, if not the best. He's very good. But I've seen our team handle good pitching, and we're definitely capable of scoring runs late in the game."

Pedro Martinez (via The 700 Level): "I didn't feel strong. I've been under the weather the last couple of days. That's not an excuse. I felt good enough to make pitches and that's what I told them and they trusted me. But I was going to take this start. When I chose this team it was to pitch in the World Series. I'm extremely happy to have had the opportunity."

World Series Q&A: The 700 Level

Since the Yankees and Phillies haven't met since May and I don't generally watch Minor National League baseball, we've decided to bring in a little outsider perspective for the World Series. We turned to Enrico and Matt over at The 700 Level to give us a little insight on their club. Sure they're Phillies fans, but Enrico is a fellow BC guy so they can't be all bad. Our thanks to them for agreeing to participate.

Sadly, there were no photoshop jobs trying to embarrass the competition nor were there any wagers involving cheese cakes, cheese steaks, or a even a milksteak (with a side of raw jelly beans). There was however a question and answer exchange in an effort to know thy enemy. Our answers to their questions are up at The 700 Level. Here are their answers to ours:

Fack Youk: The Phillie bats have been very hot this post-season while the Yankees have gotten by largely on the strength of their pitching. Something's gotta give here. Who has the advantage on this one?

The 700 Level: It's tough to keep the Phillies' bats silent for long. They also have a fairly decent track record against CC and hit Burnett pretty well the one time they faced him this season. At this point, I have no reason to doubt the Phillies' bats.

FY: Ryan Howard has been on fire throughout the NLDS and NLCS. Should the Yankees even pitch to him, and if so, how? Or should they be more concerned about the powers of Chooch-tober?

700: I think you pitch to Ryan Howard very carefully. The thing that is most amazing about his post season thus far has been his plate discipline. He's been able to layoff some of the breaking stuff that he'd typically strike out on in the regular season. Carlos Ruiz is more of a silent killer. He comes out of nowhere when you least expect it. Ryan's the guy you have to be very careful with.

FY: What do you see the Phillies benefiting from more: being able to DH Ibanez and play Ben Francisco in left field at Yankee Stadium or getting Hideki Matsui's bat out of the line up a Citizens Bank Park?

700: The Yankees being forced to send their pitcher to the plate in Philadelphia should help the Phillies a bit more. I mean, have you seen Joe Blanton and Cliff Lee's batting numbers in the playoffs? Francisco did make a ridiculous catch in the NLCS during a late inning replacement of Ibanez that I don't think Raul could have made. So his defense in left will help us, but Raul's bat will be in the line up regardless.

FY: Cole Hamels was dominant in the 2008 post-season, being named MVP of both the NLCS and the World Series. His numbers took a dip this season and he has pitched poorly in his three post-season starts. Which Hamels do you expect to see in the World Series? Do you prefer him or Pedro in Game Two? (editor's note: question exchange was done prior to the announcement that Pedro would start Game Two)

700: Hamels is a head-scratcher. I'd say his ego and temperament is a bit more fragile than Pedro's so I'd like to see Hamels throw at home in Philly. Pedro is one confident guy. He eats this stuff up. I think Hamels will pitch fine in his first outing, keep the Phillies in the game. I could see him being the hero if he goes in game seven though.

FY: What is the state of the bullpen these days? How confident are you in Brad Lidge? If you need an out in a big spot, who are you calling in from the pen?

700: The Phillies pen has kind of morphed back into their typical roles during the playoffs after being kind of a mess for most of the season. Chan Ho Park has stepped in as a 7th inning guy with Madson and Lidge going in the eighth and ninth. That said, I think Madson is Charlie's go to guy for one big out.

FY: Lastly, if you were going to send some chick to run out on the field and hand off a note you authored to your favorite Phillies player, expressing your admiration and your desire to play catch with him, which player would it be?

700: Just like Mac in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," I'd pick Chase Utley. But it'd be after they beat the Yankees in the '09 World Series and it'd say "Thanks for another World Fucking Championship."

FY: That remains to be seen, and as you know, we frown upon vulgarity here. So what's your prediction for the Series?

700: Should be a great series featuring the two best teams in baseball. While the Yankees are stacked and are most definitely the best team the Phillies will face this season, I find it impossible to pick against our Fightin' Phils. This team has amazing character and intangibles. I'll go Phils in six with Chase Utley stepping up big for the first time this postseason and bringing home the hardware.

Fork You?

We're suing these fatties for trademark infringement. One of them thinks "Victorino" is Italian for "victory". Watch and find out who!

(via The 700 Level)

What Just Happened Here?!?!

Good morning Fackers, and those of you who are still sticking around to tell us how "facking qweaah" we are.

Well it was quite a day around here wasn't it? Thanks to some Tuesday night shenanigans in Boston, some tedious work with MLB.tv and Windows Movie Maker by Jay, and gracious links from Big League Stew, Deadspin, The 700 Level, The Legend of Cecilio Guante, and the Cleveland Frowns, this place absolutely blew up. Good thing Jay and I didn't both go the Yankee game or anything like that..... oh wait, we did.

In our absence, what was conceived as a well earned jab at some jackass-ish behavior somehow devolved into a cesspool of anonymous tough-guy commenting centering around steroids, tainted championships, relative payroll levels, fanbase paranoia, recent playoff history, and a bunch of other horseshit. Oh, and I think I might have been invited to visit Texas as well. I'm still trying to discern what the hell any of that has to do with what happened in Boston Tuesday.

So at the risk of stirring up yet another shitstorm, let me see if I can offer as objective an outlook on Youkgate as humanly possible from a dirty facking Yankee fan. The way the first game and two innings of the Tigers-Sox series unfolded, I suppose something like this was bound to happen. The Sox were coming off a four game sweep at the hands of their division rival - a series that had its share of hit batsmen tomfoolery - and were playing their worst baseball of the season.

Monday night's game saw three hit batsmen: Miguel Cabrera in the top of the fourth, Youkilis in the bottom, and Brandon Inge in the the eighth. On Tuesday the teams picked up right where they left off. Cabrera was hit again in the top of the first, causing him to leave the game. For what it's worth, I didn't think that pitch was intentional. In the bottom of the inning, Porcello came inside on Victor Martinez. Martinez didn't like it. I don't think Porcello was trying to hit him, but I'm sure his intent was to come inside. Whether that was retribution or whether it was because that's just a good way to pitch I'm not entirely sure.

Either way, the climate was perfect for a fight when Youkilis led off the bottom of the second. I'm convinced that sometimes, particularly when tensions are high like that, a batter will go to the plate having already made the decision to make a big deal out of anything close to hitting him. That's how we wound up with Manny Ramirez inciting a bench clearing incident in the 2003 ALCS on a pitch that was high, but over the plate. That's how we wound up with Richie Sexson charging the mound on a pitch that was outside. And that's how we wound up with Youkilis, who had already been plunked once in the series, charging the mound on a two seam fastball that appears to have hit him without any intent.

According to pitch f/x, Tuesday night Porcello threw eight four seam fastballs, averaging nearly 93 MPH and topping out at 94 MPH. He threw half as many two seamers, averaging just under 92 MPH, and topping out at 92.2 MPH. MLB Gameday had the two seamer that hit Youkilis at a blistering 89 MPH. According to fangraphs, Porcello's pitch selection and velocity Tuesday, despite the small sample size, was in line with his results this season. So if he wanted to hit Youkilis, why would he choose to do it with a two seamer, a pitch that he throws half as often and anywhere from 1 to 5 MPH slower than his four seamer?

Some might point out that entering last night's game, Porcello had hit just one batter in 111 IP in 2009. That's a fair point, but in his lone minor league season, Porcello plunked 11 batters in just 125 innings of work. But I mean, that's all in the past right? 20 year old Major League pitchers should have impeccable control.

Either way, Youk charged the mound and threw his helmet like a coward. Porcello, giving up about twenty pounds, executed a nice hip toss that would have made Tito Santana proud, leaving Youk at the bottom of the pig pile.

Despite what the pro-Sox contingent commenting here had to say, Youk isn't winning this one on the national stage. The Deadspin comments - not the best gauge but definitely not a biased cross section - were decidedly anti-Youk. Keith Law tore him a new one before the game was even over. MLBN was none too kind to him Tuesday night, and what little coverage I saw on ESPN wasn't too complimentary either. In a way, even the MLB suspensions speak to that: Youk got five games which he began serving last night. Porcello, his ejection dubious to begin with, was also given five. However, most starting pitchers suspended for similar "offenses" have been given six games. The Tigers can easily work Porcello's suspension around an off day, making sure he doesn't miss a start. Alternatively, if Porcello's appeal reduces the suspension by a single game, it will cover his normal rest. But whatever, ignore what's being said on the national stage - several dozen anonymous commenters here can't be wrong.

Now, I don't want to pick through all ninety-some-odd comments we had on the initial post and critique them one by one, but there are two that I'd like to highlight.

First, we have the Greco-Roman wrestling expert who proclaims (sic'd) "The man on defense has the advantage when he knows its coming". Well, sure they do, that's why it's called going on the defensive. Wait - never mind - it's called going on the offensive, because, you know, it's better to attack than be attacked, particularly when you have a running start, your opponent is retreating, and you elect to use protective gear as a missile. I may not be the fighting expert that this anonymous commenter apparently is, but I have taken several physics courses, and I do know that Youkilis' 220 lbs coming at a full sprint is preferable to Porcello's 200 lbs at a standstill. Momentum equals mass times velocity. And for future reference Youk, next time you attack a guy who has you by four inches but is giving you twenty pounds, it might be a better idea to go low. Perhaps if you had spent more time with the Huggins Thugs during your time at Cincy you would know this.

Secondly, we have "I love how you end the clip before youk rolls over on him like he is about to ground and pound him to a bloody pulp". Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what was about to happen next. We've all seen this guy before. He's usually the one who talks a bunch of shit, tears his shirt off, then begs his friends to "hold him back", you know, for the other guy's good, not because he's really a pussy and doesn't actually want to fight. Alternatively, he's the guy who gets his ass kicked, and upon the merciful ending of the fight asks his friends, "Why'd you break it up?!?! I had him right where I wanted him".

Anyway, thanks for the record-shattering day everyone. With just one post we received about a month's worth of traffic. Too bad most of it was a barren wasteland of anonymous idiocy. Despite what I've described above, I see now that we probably should have blindly praised Youkilis for his gritty guttiness and his gutty grittiness. The rest of the post should have been about how the Yankees suck and all take steroids and buy championships and how insecure they are with a 5.5 game lead more than two thirds of the way through the season.

Never mind the fact that I completely unfairly slammed the guy on Monday for his outfield play over the weekend, and no one said peep. The guy took one for the team when it was needed, put himself on the line, and we (predictably) made fun of him for it no one called us out on it. The lowest common denominator wins again.

I realize that calling the blog "Fack Youk", though done somewhat tongue-in-cheek, is antagonistic. As such, a certain amount of what happened yesterday is to be expected when people don't get the joke. But I'm utterly amazed that what I thought was a fairly cut and dry post spurred the pissing match that followed. But what do I know? Keep the comments coming; let's just try to up the collective IQ a bit this time around. As for me I've said my next-to-last about the Sox until the next head-to-head series starts next Friday.