It’s always tricky trying to follow one’s team while traveling. In recent years I have found myself tempted to miss airplanes while watching in airport bars, watching broadcasts while ON planes (thank you, JetBlue), watching just the ESPN TICKER on planes when the local broadcast wasn’t on, carrying a portable XM radio with me, cartuning (trying to pull in any station with the broadcast on a car radio), streaming audio and/or video from MLB.com, watching pitch by pitch on MLB.com or one of the other sites, etc. etc.
It’s been difficult for me to follow the Yankees the past few days since I am in Charlotte, North Carolina running a small convention here. And Friday night we could not get the Internet working, so I thought my only choice was to stare at my iPhone watching the pitch by pitch from MLB.com’s mobile site (which is quite snazzy). This was difficult because I was continually having to talk to people, do things, help people, et cetera.
But instead I found a whole new way to follow a long distance ballgame. As it turned out, I did stare at my iPhone, because corwin went off to watch the game at the Forest Cafe, our neighborhood baseball-loving watering hole, and he texted me the game play by play. Yes, this is the story of two people who love the Yankees, and are in love with each other.
It went like this:
corwin: Joba 123 in 1st. So far, so good…
me: Cool. I sadly can’t get wireless to work in the ballroom here.
him: 🙁 but 🙂 jeter lead off single on first pitch
him: And takes 2nd on pb on next pitch!
me: Yay!
him: And arid cashes in w/2 out RBI single! (*He meant A-rod)
me: Woo!
him: The mastui bb while a-rod stole 2nd, and then 3rd, but Jorge struck out.
me: Ah well. Lester for them?
him: Yup.
Joba looks so much better tonight.
Ortiz hit a little looper to right and Swish fell to his knees to make a weird catch. Both he & ortiz cracked up.
Lester can’t hold runners. Yanks have stolen 3 + a past ball.
me: They must have him timed. And they get in his head from running a lot.
him: Unfortunately, Damon grounded into fc to end the inning. 1 hit, 1 walk, no runs, 2 lob.
me: Bah.
him: Watching tek “running” to first next to Jorge after a dropped third strike is really funny.
Through 3, joba is perfect!
An a-bomb from a-rod, 2 run shot, no out in the third.
Later in 3rd, with 1 out, bases loaded, Melkite hit a shit which hit Lester in the knee. (*Melky, shot…)
He limps off more or less under his own power. 4-0 yankes, bases still loaded.
Everyone at the Forest says hi.
Yanks bat around. 5-0 top 4.
me: Hi to everyone! And thanks for the updates. I just haven’t been able to text back.
him: I figured.
me: Bat around!!!
him: Joba’s not perfect. Victor Martinez solo shot w/2 outs in the 4th.
me: Dang. Martinez has a serious hit streak going.
him: Then youk singled but ortiz hit a tapper to joba. Yeah Martinez now has a 24 game hitting streak.
me: R they out of inning now?
him: Yeah the he was w/2 out.
By he I mean HR.
me: Two vendors are huge yankee fans so I am passing on the updates.
him: A-rod just walked with 1 out. Hunter Jones replaced Lester, and he works slowly, and has gone to a full count on everyone.
me: I don’t even know him.
him: A-rod steals second (his 3rd steal tonight)!
me: His hip must feel good!
him: Matsui singles, a-rod to 3rd.
Pitching change.
me: Cool.
him: Michael Bowden now pitching.
me: Huh, I don’t know him either.
him: Jorge joins the party! 6-0, men on 1st & 2nd, one out.
Sorry, 6-1.
Cano GIDP
Bay leadoff single.
Nick Green doubles in the gap, bay to third.
Tek pop foul to third, 1 out.
A-gon is gone K!
Ellsbury grounds to first, sox don’t score!
me: Whee!
him: But then Bowden strikes out the side.
Ortiz 2 run shot with 2 out in the 6th.
Next batter pops out to end the inning.
Damon steals second and advances to third when Tex flies out to deep center.
me: Phew.
him: And scores on a-rod’s long double in the gap off ellsbury’s glove, 7-3 yanks.
me: Cash him in, cash him in… Yay!!!
him: Matsui bb
me: Good.
him: Runners advance on a wp!
me: Yeah!
him: Jorge singles in the gap, a-rod scores, matsui caught in a rundown between 3rd and home. Pitching change…
me: Nice!
him: Other than the bad base running by matsui, yes.
DelCarmen.
Cano pops up to the catcher. We go to the 7th.
Aceves gives up a single to Bay on the first pitch.
Tek GIDP 4-4-3.
A-gon pops to jeter!
me: Whew! Way to get out of it.
him: Ronan Tynan.
me: Wow, pulling out all the stops.
him: Jeter singles with 2 out.
me: Woo!
him: And steals 2nd. It seams the is to run Tek (7 SB tonight).
And Damon walks.
And Tex singles off the wall, jeter scores, damon to 3rd.
me: Yessss. That’s yankee baseball.
him: A-rod walks, duck on pond!
me: Quack quack.
him: But matsui grounds out to third.
Albaladejo now.
me: Hope he has it. Sox can put up runs in a hurry sometimes.
him: He’s 3-2 on elsbury.
Bb
me: Ugh.
He’s going to try t steal.
him: Fortunately, Hughes is ready.
Albaladejo has a nasty curve ball.
Pedroia K!
And he’s cursing up a storm in the dugout (yay HD)
Victor Martinez hits one just past Tex down the lins, elsbury to third.
You singles, elsbury scores, Martinez to third… 🙁
Pitching change.
Marte comes in to face Papi.
Broken bat FC, Martinez scores.
In comes Hughes.
me: Phew, coulda been worse there. 8-4?
him: 9-5.
He strikes out Bay to end the inning.
The sox just put in the entire second string except for youk.
me: Finally. That guy is a pain. (*I meant Bay.)
If Texas loses they both clinch tonight, right?
him: No youk is still in. Jorge bb to lead off 8th, pinch runner for him.
Yanks leave a man on third. To the 9th.
No one could clinch anything tonight no matter what TX did, but they’ve already won.
After tonight sox # for wildcard will stay at 3, yanks # for division will drop to 3.
me: huh, I thought the rangers were further back or something. (*I had heard a news story only partially, and apparently wrongly.)
him: Coke now.
me: And a smile.
him: We’ll see.
me: Heh.
him: Baldelli BB
Coke is really wild tonight.
But he Ks tek anyway, 1 out
4-6-3 Theeeeeeeeee Yankees win!
Meanwhile today we got the exhibit area wireless to work, and then at 6pm when the vendors closed up, I came up to my room to discover the game on Fox! So I got to watch quite a bit of it while chilling out in my hotel room for a while. Yay. Tomorrow’s game is on ESPN, but sadly I won’t have a TV down in the exhibit area, so it’s back to the iPhone and/or MLB’s gameday pitch by pitch for me.
These past two games with the Red Sox in the Bronx have been playoff-like. Neither of these teams really has to worry about making the postseason. The Yankees were the first team to clinch a berth, though they still have one game to win to take the division, and the Red Sox are very unlikely to be caught by the Rangers. Sure, there is home field advantage to play for and all that, but these games did not have to have the intensity and drama that they did.
But they did.
And now I have to root for the Tigers to stave off the Twins, too. Because a friend has tickets to games 3 and 4 of the ALDS there, and it looks likely to be Tigers/Yankees if things stay as they are. So I am planning to fly out there for that. New October adventures await! And of course you will be able to read about them here at WILBB!
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