There is a great scene in the Hunt For Red October (I don't care what anyone says, I love that movie!) where a Russian sailor calls his superior arrogant and blames them for their imminent destruction. Goes a little something like this;
Well, has the Yankees own arrogance destroyed their post-season, their Konavalov?
For me, their stunning 12-3 wipe out at the hands of the Indians hinged on one moment of baseball-arrogance that eventually scuppered their entire game, and perhaps more.
It all came in the fifth inning with the Tribe clinging to a 4-3 lead. Big CC Sabathia had pitched well but had managed to get into a tight spot. Yankee Pinch-hitter Shelly Duncan led off the fifth with a single and Damon walked, setting up Abreu's one-out double that cut the Tribe's lead to 4-3.With A-Rod up the Indians chose to put him on, loading the bases with just the one out, and with Sabathia's pitch count up over 100.
Up came Posada. Here's a guy that the sycophantic Yankee commentary crew drool over on a nightly basis, fawning over the way he 'plays the game right' and other drivel. Perhaps tired, perhaps nervous, Sabathia let the count slip to 3-0.
3-0, bases loaded, score at 4-3. A walk the game is tied. A base hit, Yankee lead, maybe Yankees win. What do you do in that situation? Surely make Sabathia throw at least a strike, possibly two, right?
Wrong.
When you are as arrogant as Posada and the Yankees, you swing away no matter what!
The pitch came in and bordered the inside edge of the plate, quite possibly ball four. Posada swung away and fouled it off. "I don't know if it was a strike or ball," Sabathia said. "But he swung, fouled it off, and it helped me out huge."
With a new lease of life, Sabathia got Posada to go down swinging on a 96-mph fastball and the Jacobs field crowd went crazy recognizing that the Yankees had basically just made a huge mistake and taken the throttle off the inning. The crowd went even crazier a few moments later, when Matsui popped out to short to end the inning.
With that went the Yankees last chance in game one and they now face a buoyant Indians side with home field advantage and the knowledge that, if all else fails, maybe the Yankees arrogance will help them take this series.
.
[the Konovalov's own torpedo is about to strike the Konovalov] Andrei Bonovia: ''You arrogant ass. You've killed *us*!''
Well, has the Yankees own arrogance destroyed their post-season, their Konavalov?
For me, their stunning 12-3 wipe out at the hands of the Indians hinged on one moment of baseball-arrogance that eventually scuppered their entire game, and perhaps more.
It all came in the fifth inning with the Tribe clinging to a 4-3 lead. Big CC Sabathia had pitched well but had managed to get into a tight spot. Yankee Pinch-hitter Shelly Duncan led off the fifth with a single and Damon walked, setting up Abreu's one-out double that cut the Tribe's lead to 4-3.With A-Rod up the Indians chose to put him on, loading the bases with just the one out, and with Sabathia's pitch count up over 100.
Up came Posada. Here's a guy that the sycophantic Yankee commentary crew drool over on a nightly basis, fawning over the way he 'plays the game right' and other drivel. Perhaps tired, perhaps nervous, Sabathia let the count slip to 3-0.
3-0, bases loaded, score at 4-3. A walk the game is tied. A base hit, Yankee lead, maybe Yankees win. What do you do in that situation? Surely make Sabathia throw at least a strike, possibly two, right?
Wrong.
When you are as arrogant as Posada and the Yankees, you swing away no matter what!
The pitch came in and bordered the inside edge of the plate, quite possibly ball four. Posada swung away and fouled it off. "I don't know if it was a strike or ball," Sabathia said. "But he swung, fouled it off, and it helped me out huge."
With a new lease of life, Sabathia got Posada to go down swinging on a 96-mph fastball and the Jacobs field crowd went crazy recognizing that the Yankees had basically just made a huge mistake and taken the throttle off the inning. The crowd went even crazier a few moments later, when Matsui popped out to short to end the inning.
With that went the Yankees last chance in game one and they now face a buoyant Indians side with home field advantage and the knowledge that, if all else fails, maybe the Yankees arrogance will help them take this series.
.
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