Last Night à La Mode

On Tuesday, one of our longtime commenters, Mode (who does some writing himself), mentioned that he was going to be attending last night's game. He said:

I got great seats right behind the Yankee dugout for tomorrow night's game (a bargain at $175 a pop). Hopefully the weather doesn't mess things up since I am loooking forward to watching Hughes pitch.

Look for me behind the dugout sporting my vintage (and well worn) Columbus Clippers hat.

Further down in the comments, he and Matt discussed which version of the Clippers' logo his hat had and Matt let him know that we'd be looking for him during the came.

As Hughes mowed down the A's last night in dominating fashion, made a run at a no-hitter and set a career high in strikeouts, Matt and I chatted on GMail and both kept and eye out for a blue hat with a red "C" and a sailboat on it. As the camera pulled away from a shot of Phil Hughes' parents and former Yankee, Angel, Giant & Red Sock J.T. Snow in the top of the 4th, Matt thought he might have caught a glimpse of a Clippers hat behind the visitor's dugout. But upon further review, it was not.

However, after the game concluded, Ken Singleton kicked it down to Kim Jones so she could interview Hughes' parents, and look who was standing right behind Phil's mom, Dori:

The MLB.tv broadcast cut out about three seconds after they switched to his camera angle so this is the best screengrab I could get, but on the live telecast the interview lasted for a couple of minutes and Mode was just kickin' it in the background, prompting this praise from Ben Kabak of River Ave. Blues:

A+, indeed and $175 well spent, sir.

Mode lives about an hour away from the Coliseum and last night is about as good as it gets for an displaced fan of any club: your favorite team stops by, a young pitcher has a an awesome start, your guys hit back-to-back triples and win a close contest in exciting fashion.

If you live within a reasonable commute of Yankee Stadium chances are that you take for granted the option to go to as many games as you can fit into your schedule and afford - I know I did when I lived on the Upper West Side and still do to some extent now that I'm Upstate. But if you live out of town - even if you're lucky enough to live in a city that the Yanks visit - you are at the whim of their schedule and have to hope it works out in one of the few times you have a chance to go. In true California fashion, Mode caught this wave right when it was cresting and rode it for all it was worth. I'm sure he'll have more in the comments at some point.

Game 87: Just Like California

Angels' ace Jered Weaver gets the ball today, and boy do I want to see the Yanks putting a beating on him. Not just because it'd be awfully nice to salvage a series victory and keep the momentum going into the All-Star break, but because Jered's brother Jeff has to be one of my least favorite Yankees of all time. I loathed Jeff Weaver, who then was flipped for Kevin Brown, and that didn't work out too hot either.

Six seasons after Jeff Weaver threw his last pitch as a Yankee, my lasting memory of him is him making excuse after excuse, crappy outing after crappy outing, insisting that he didn't pitch that poorly and that he'd get in straightened out next time. Except he never did. I've been reminded of those post-game interviews every five days of late, and it's not a pleasant recollection. Since Jeff is hiding out in the NL these days, I'll have to settle for the Yanks hanging a crooked number on his brother.

And the Yanks have done just that in the past. Weaver is 3-1 against the Yanks, but he carries at 6.11 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 28 innings of work. The Yanks touched him up for 4 runs in 6 innings on May 1st this year, but Weaver escaped with a no decision in the Yanks 10-9 victory.

Andy Pettitte takes the mound for the Yankees. Pettitte hasn't been as consistently poor as last night's starter, but he's been consistently inconsistent all season long. He has alternated good starts and bad starts over his last five. The good news is that if that pattern holds today he's due for a good one, after allowing ten baserunners and giving up 6 ER in 6 IP on Monday. Pettitte opposed Weaver in that May 1st game, and he wasn't much better, giving up 5 ER in 5.2 IP. For his career his 12-8 against the Angels with a 4.52 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.

Brett Gardner gets the start in CF; Nick Swisher gets a day off, replaced by Eric Hinske in RF.

After going up four runs at the halfway point last night, it was just like the (former) California Angels to make fools of the Yanks in the second half of the game. Here's hoping the Yanks right the ship today and take a lead all the way tonight.



Just like California to make a fool of me
Steal the sideshow, burn the disco, slide into the sea
I'm a thinking person and I think that it's wrong
To keep on saying true love's waiting, when true love is long gone

Time is on my bad side
Halfway there just wouldn't be fair
So I'm going all the way tonight