Live Blogging - 8/21 vs. Yankees

Welcome once again to the "Angels in the Outfield, Muses in the Bleacher Seats" live blogging of tonight's game!  I had a lot of fun doing this last night, and won't be able to live blog the game tomorrow, as I'll be at the stadium, and I'd much rather WATCH the game than pull a Drew Barrymore in "Fever Pitch" (you remember what happened in that scene, right?)  So, tonight I'm gonna give it a shot again, and as my blogging seemed to be lucky last night, perhaps the Angels will take two straight from the Yankees?

The only problem I see with this is that tonight "The Bronx Is Burning" is on...  Up until now it hasn't been a problem, as I don't mind turning a game off to watch this series.  But these aren't normal games, they're Angels vs Yankees games!  It has the atmosphere and pressure of a playoff series when Torre brings his store-bought bunch of superstars to town.  So, while I'll probably end up watching "The Bronx is Burning," you can bet that I'll be switching back to the Angels game every commercial break.

Five minutes until game time... go Angels!

7:11 PM: Top of the 1st, 2 outs, 0-0:  I didn't see the first batter get on base, but "The Yankee Captain" just hit into a double play.  Gotta love it!  Escobar gives up a leadoff hit, but then quickly cleans up Jeter and Abreu to get out of the inning.  Now that we're in the bottom of the first, I have to listen to Hudler make (wrong) predictions about what Mussina's going to do on the mound.  I tell you, a lot of the time I look FORWARD to commercials, as I know Hudler won't be commentating on them.

7:29 PM:  End of the 1st, 2-0 Angels:  Boy, sometimes you can't wait for Garret Anderson to retire, sometimes you wonder what you'll do without him.

WHOA!  A-Rod just hit home run #41 on the year, #505 lifetime!  Opposite field, first pitch!  God, I love this guy!

So it's now 2-1 Angels.  Anybody else on this team I'd be pissed right now, but I just can't root against this guy.  Jeter, sure, no problem.  Matsui?  Well, the guy could use some Stridex pads, but that doesn't stop me from wanting him to fail in Anaheim.  Clemens?  Too bad he's not pitching in this series, because I LOVE rooting against that old man.  But I honestly don't care if A-Rod hits 4 or 5 grand slams against the Angels.  It's tough, with such a tight pennant race, but every time this guy steps into the batter's box, I know I'm witnessing one of the greatest to ever play the game.

I never think that of Jeter.

7:47 PM: Bottom of the 2nd, 4-1 Angels:  Boy, Mussina looks terrible today.  Izturis singles, Kendrick doubles, Mathis doubles and drives in two.  So it's 4-1 Angels in the bottom of the 2nd with one out.  Of course, Mussina is indicative of the main problem these Yankees have:  A decrepit, old, worn-out pitching staff.  That's why everybody is all hot on Joba "The Hutt" Chamberlain this year.  He's a young player who can actually get the ball over the plate.

And Vladdy doubles, driving in Mathis!  5-1 Angels  Garret Anderson singles into right, driving in Guerrero!  YOU GOTTA LOVE THIS!

Of course, against these Yankees, no lead is ever big enough.

Wow, the Yankees better hurry up that warm-up session in the bullpen...  Another double, driving in Anderson...  And HOLY ****, ANDERSON SLID!  And there goes Mussina.  Sorry, Mike, as Physioc just said this is the shortest outing of his career.

But back to the point...  GARRET ANDERSON SLID!  That's almost unheard of!  This is a guy who I don't think has ever HAD to launder a uniform, and he SLID!  It's an historic night!

8:05 PM: Top of the 3rd, 0 outs, 7-1 Angels:  As Escobar seems so desperate to give up enough walks to tie the game up, I'll continue on my Garret Anderson train of thought from earlier.

Jeter singles, loads the bases.  Of course it has to be Derek Jeter.

A few years ago I was visiting my friend Brian at his baseball card shop.  He said, "Check out this rare card," and showed me a Garret Anderson jersey card.  I checked it out, and nothing about it seemed rare.  It wasn't serial numbered, it wasn't from a rare set, it seemed pretty normal.  So I asked him, "Why is it so rare?"  He said "Check out the jersey swatch."  I looked at it, and there appeared to be a little dirt on it.  "I don't get it," I said.  He looked at me and said "Well, considering that Garret Anderson never hustles and never dives or slides, a dirty Garret Anderson jersey has to be the rarest thing in Major League Baseball."

Dammit, while typing that the Yankees scored 4 runs.  2 on an Abreu double.  I suppose I should stop smack talking my Angels and bring some good karma back to them...

8:46 PM: Top of the 4th, 2 out, 12-5 Angels:  Yes, this game is now 1 hour 45 minutes old, and they've only played three full innings.  And in that time, they've scored 17 combined runs.  You gotta love this game!

Garret Anderson has been the hero of the night.  He put the lead further out of reach with a 3-run home run in the 3rd...  It appears to be his night.

Ah, commercials.  Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 4th.  I'd be quite happy if we've seen the last of the scoring tonight!

But on a weird note, last inning the Yanks brought in Edwar Ramirez after Ron Villone walked in a run.  Looking at Ramirez, he appears quite... bony.  Checking out his bio page on SI.com, he's listed as 6'3", 150lbs.  Now, I'm 150lbs soaking wet...  but I'm also 5'7".  With shoes on.  And I'm skinny.

The uniform must make him look heavier than he is, as I couldn't imagine how skinny I'd be with 8 extra inches on me.  I'd bet that when he flexes his muscles, his tendons pop through his skin.

9:20 PM: Top of the 6th, 1 out, 13-5 Angels:  "The Bronx is Burning" has been on since 9PM, so I haven't seen the last inning and a half or so of the game.  No matter, it's not like I've missed much.

9:43 PM: Bottom of the 7th, 0 outs, 18-5 Angels:  Holy ****.  HOLY ****.  Boy, you get one of these games MAYBE once a season!  The Yankees have been the hottest team in baseball since June 1st.  And we've scored 18 runs off them.  In 6 innings.

It was a commercial on "The Bronx is Burning," so I came in to the computer room to catch a few seconds of the game.  As I walked in, Vladimir Guerrero walked to load the bases.  Garret Anderson comes to the plate, and Physioc and Hudler start talking about how he could set an Angels RBI record and blah blah blah.  "Well, they cursed it," I thought, "he'll strike out now."  Two pitches later, Anderson drives one DEEP to left field, a Grand Slam.  Two home runs tonight.  4-for-5 so far.  TEN RBi's.

Tonight must be Garret Anderson night.

10:14 PM: Bottom of the 8th, 2 outs, 18-5 Angels:  Garret Anderson is up to bat.  2 on.  He has 10 RBI's tonight.  The MLB record for one game is 12.  The crowd rises to its feet.  Strike one, taken.  I don't remember the last time I saw Anderson swing at a first pitch.  Second pitch - groundout to Betamit at 2nd.  Oh well, Angels record is firmly in his hands.

Unless I'm about to witness the greatest comeback in baseball history, this game is OVER.  Can't wait until three outs from now, when I can rip on the Yankees a bit.

10:25 PM: Top of the 9th, 1 out, 18-8 Angels:  Wilson Betamit, recently of the Dodgers, just hit a 3-run shot to right field.  Of course, the idiots at Fox posted it as Jeter's.  Well, if they can call a presidential election for a loser and make him win, why can't they give one of Wilson Betamit's home runs to Derek Jeter?

Normally, when a Yankee hits a three-run home run in the top of the ninth, you feel your sphincter tighten a little bit.  But when you give up three runs and are still leading by ten, you tend not to care as much.

10:29 PM: And A-Rod hits his second home run of the night.  So I see my Angels score 18 runs against the hated Yankees, and I see my favorite player hit 2 home runs tonight, 3 already in this series.

And Nathan Haynes makes the second out on a Hideki Matsui pop-up.  Chris Bootcheck is warming up in the bullpen...  Maybe somebody mentioned to Lasorda... err... Scioscia that it MIGHT be time to pull Gwyn out.  I mean, he's only given up 4 runs this inning...  Nope, he's letting him pitch to Giambi.  Seriously, I'm gonna laugh if the Yankees come back and win this.  In fact, I'm gonna offer this blog entry up for every Yankees blog to ridicule...

...Nope.  Giambi flies out to Anderson.  Fitting.

So, with that, I present: