2009 Yankee's Are Good; But They Still Have Plenty Of "Yankee Magic"

The 2009 Yankee’s are another in the history of great Yankee clubs. They are good, real good.  They also have a large dose of Yankee Magic (Luck) and Superstition.

I am a very superstitious person.  When I played baseball I had rituals and superstitions I exercised before and during each ballgame.  When I coached baseball for over 10 years, I had more superstitions and rituals I used.  Some say it’s silly and satanic, I say if it makes you feel better, play better, and coach better what harm comes from it.  I imagine if you asked 10 people off the street if they have certain rituals that they do day in day out the same way everyday, I bet your get an affirmative from 8 of them.

Let’s take a look at the Yankee’s so far in this post season.

Game two of the ALDS Minnesota’s Joe Mauer’s fly ball hit off     Cabrera’s glove while in fair territory, the ball was called foul.

Game one of the ACLS, bottom of the first, Matsui’s pop up drops as the Angel’s third baseman and shortstop watch, Damon scores on the play.

Game one of the ACLS, top of the 6th with two out, Sabathia throws out the Angels Hunter, replay shows him clearly safe.

Game two of the ACLS, top of the 5th, Burnett delivers a wild pitch, the ball takes a wild bounce of the catcher and flies into the stands out of play.  Angels runner returned to third base.

Game two of the ACLS, bottom of the 10th, this is a great one.  Yankee’s hit into a tailor-made double play, runner sliding into second called safe, Ump says Aybar was off bag, which he was.  However, this is a well known “Vicinity-Double-Play, allowed all the time.  First time I have ever seen this called.  This call would be on-par with calling Jordan or James for travelling in the NBA.  Unbelievable!

Game four of the ACLS, top of the 4th, Yankee’s Swisher is called safe after the replay clearly showed the Angels pitcher Kazmir picked him off the bag.  Maybe the ump felt sorry for Swisher’s dismal play and was happy he finally made it to second.

Game four of the ACLS, top of the 5th, another weird one. Yankee’s catcher Posada and second baseman Cano both are tagged while standing off the base at third after a ground ball to the mound.  The third base umpire only calls out Posada allowing Cano to occupy third.

Game six of the ACLS, top of the 6th, Angels Figgins lays down a beautiful bunt only to have it bounce off his heal on his way to first base.

Game six of the ACLS, top of the 7th, hard ground ball hit to Yankees Jeter at short, ball hits Jeter in the chest and takes a bounce towards second base where Cano picks it up and tags the base for a force out.

Game six of the ACLS, bottom of the 8th, Angels Pitcher Kazmir fields a ground ball for an easy out at first, only problem is Kazmir thinks first base is beside the fence by the ball girl.  Scoring Yankee’s Cano.

Game six of the ACLS, bottom of the 6th, Angel’s first baseman Kendrick fields a throw to first that just hits his mitt and falls out.  I think he forgot to close his mitt.

Game two of the World Series, top of the 8th, Phillies MVP Utley called out on a double play, replay clearly showed him safe.

This is just a short list of strange things I have seen in this years post season with the New York Yankee’s.  I’m sure you will post some that I have missed in the comments section of this report.

One last thing I would like to comment about is the attention span of Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel.  Does Charlie have any emotion?  A few times the camera caught a glimpse of Charlie, late in the games he appears to be drifting away somewhere much nicer than rainy 40 degree Yankee Stadium.  I have known people who can sleep standing up or sitting up with their eyes open.  "Hello, Charlie".

Having been a baseball fan way back when I was still trying to avoid Sister Patrick Joseph’s 18 inch ruler, I have always known the National League Managers to be the ones who wrote the book on “Baseball Game Time Strategies”.  What has happened to Charlie?  Did he lose his copy? Or, did the Yankee spirits of Ruth and Gehrig hide it?

Reason:  Let’s go the top of the 9th of game four, score tied, two out, Yankee runners at first and third.  Up to the plate comes Yankee Slugger Rodriquez.  Lidge is the pitcher who has been struggling and for some reason does not trust his catcher Ruiz enough to be able to throw his best pitch with a runner on third.  Having read enough coaching books and strategy books to know that if you have the opportunity, you walk Rodriquez to load the bases. 

It is written in big BOLD letters “Never allow the oppositions best hitter the opportunity to beat you with his bat”.  Did Charlie miss that sentence?  Yes, "ARod was in a slump, not the time to give him the chance of breaking out of it.  “ARod” smacks a two run double, ah, Charlie wake up, time to go home, game over.  Yea I know Posada followed ARod with a hit.  But, who is to say that Lidge would not have pitched Posada more aggressively with the score still tied, two outs, and the bases loaded.  He would have pitched from the windup instead of the stretch, which most pitchers prefer.  Mistake Charlie; notch another to Yankee “Luck”.

Yankee’s shortstop Derek Jeter said.  “People are human, they make mistakes sometimes.  Umpires are trying their best.  Sometimes, you get calls.  Sometimes, you don’t.”

Ahh, Derek your right but Yankee “Luck” always seems to cause those human errors to be made when the Yankee’s need them in the worst way and at the worst possible time for the opposition.

Remember when the Yankee’s announced the construction of a new “Yankee Stadium”?  Fellow “Bronxians” were all doom and gloom because all that superstition and mystique found in the “house that Ruth built” would be lost, gone forever.  It appears that George made sure there was plenty of room in the moving vans to bring all that a Yankee holds true and dear with them.

Mainly, that ole Yankee charm and luck, it lives on forever and ever.

I can’t wait to see what magic the Yankee’s have in store for game 6 tonight.