WHY IT'S THE FIRST YANKEE WALKOFF OF 2012

Friday night’s game was a wild one. It had big hits, big homers, poor pitching, awful fielding, awful umpiring, but most importantly, a Yankees win. Walkoff style, 7-6.

Let’s get to the most important part of the game first: The walkoff win. It was tied at six in the ninth and with one out Derek Jeter, who was trying to extend his 15-game hit streak, worked a walk to set up the meat of the order. After a wild pitch, Jeter advanced from first to third (he was going on the 3-2 pitch) with one out and ARod at the plate. Moments later a passed ball by Alex Avila allowed Derek Jeter to score the winning run. Happy day. Oh, and there was no pie after the walkoff, so boo-hoo to that, I guess.

The pitching matchup of Ivan Nova versus Justin Verlander looked great on paper, but baseball’s not played on paper, it’s played on a field and anything can happen. Instead, both starters struggled in this one. Nova went 5.1, allowing six runs on 11 hits while striking out five and walking three. Verlander went 6 while allowing four runs while striking out four and not walking anyone.

Ivan Nova was able to wiggle out some jams, though he gave up six runs. In the first inning he overcame a lead off hit by Austin Jackson who then stole second with nobody out, though he was out, but the umpire called him safe anyway. In the second inning he overcame an awful gaffe by Raul Ibanez in left field when he inexplicably dove for a ball he had no business catching. Because of this, Don Kelly scored from first. Fortunately, Nova was able to retire the next three to limit the damage. But seriously, why is Joe Girardi still running Ibanez out there in the field? He’s an awful defender. Everyone and their mother knows about it, so why the hell is he still out there?

The Yankees offense was very good tonight, considering they faced arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball. ARod went 3-for-4 with a solo homer off Verlander in the fourth. The only out he made came on a deep fly ball to center in which looked like a homer off the bat. He was also at the plate when Jeter scored the winning run. Russell Martin also tagged Verlander for a home run, a two run wall-scraper in the fifth, for his only hit of the night. In total, the Yankees collected nine hits.

The umpiring in this game was pretty awful, though it shouldn’t surprise anyone because Joe West was behind the plate. Joe Girardi got ejected for arguing balls and strikes, considering the strike zone were brutally inconsistent, and he got his money’s worth out of it. Good for Girardi. But can someone tell me why Joe West still has a job? We’ve gone on with his charade for too long now. It’s time for Major League Baseball to “retire” him from his job. He seems to want to be the centerpiece of the game, though that’s the worst thing he can possibly do. Bud Selig, it’s time to cut him loose and move on. That's the end of my rant.

Final was 7-6, Yankees. Freddy Garcia opposes Drew Smyly in today’s game, so I hope you pack a lunch for that, it may end up being a four hour affair.



--Jesse Schindler, BYB Lead Staff Writer
Follow me on Twitter @SchindlerJesse


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