Ump Ruins Perfection

So the Yankees won today, 9-1, answering back to John's concerns about their offense. But even though I'm a huge Yankee fan, that story doesn't even compare to the one that happened in Detroit.

Armando Gallaraga was on his way to pitching a perfect game when a grounder pulled first baseman Miguel Cabrera to his right. Gallaraga covered first and appeared to get the runner by a step but umpire Jim Joyce called him safe.

Here's the best YouTube video I could find:



There's also a very good video on ESPN's main page showing how blatantly wrong Joyce was. This monumental mistake is going to raise (or lower, I guess, depending on which way you look at it) Joyce to the level of Don Denkinger, who made a similarly poor call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. (Yup, as I was writing this, I found the Congrats on Throwing a Perfect Game LOL jk, I'm Jim Joyce page. This is the only one of those stupid "LOL jk" pages I've liked on Facebook besides the one hating on Bennys.)

You have to feel so bad for Galarraga. The range of emotions he went through in those tenths of a second between catching the ball and finding out the call would be enough to make some people break down in tears. There's only been 20 perfect games in the history of the game, and now Galarraga has the distinction of being the person to come closest to throwing one and not (basically because he did, and it was taken away from him).

Now, when something like this happens, inevitably people, like my Syracuse boy Jayson Stark, bring up the instant replay thing. I like instant replay the way it is, home runs and fair/foul. If we start moving onto every play it's going to get too much. I know this call blew, but they can't over react.



Also, in what I am sure will go down as one of the worst-timed retirements ever, Ken Griffey Jr. hung 'em up after 22 seasons in the Majors.


SEE YA!

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It's finally here...

People are going to church, praising the Lord, visiting family and friends, and celebrating this joyous day. What day is that, you ask?

Opening Day

It's been 6 months since we've had the opportunity to watch live, competitive baseball that actually mattered, but that all changes tonight.

I'll post the lineups later tonight before the game but I wanted to get some stuff out of the way first.

First off, you may have noticed the layout's changed. We just wanted to make it look a little fresh as we head into a new season. We are working on a banner with a nice picture, but we haven't quite got it perfect yet, but it will be up soon.

This is just your periodic reminder to become a fan of us on Facebook. If you're on Twitter, you can follow the blog @KaysSuccessors to get a link to new posts. We also both have our own personal pages @jphealy and @jgeant. We'll be Tweeting during the game tonight, but we have discovered a way for our Tweets to show up on the blog, so stay tuned for that.

I have a few things to do before the game tonight, so I'll be back with the lineups as soon as I can.

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Can't get enough of us?

As Spring Training gets under way with the first official position player workout today, I just wanted to take care of some housekeeping things.

There are several ways to keep up-to-date on our posts.

1. Become a fan of the Michael Kay's Successors Facebook Page. Every time we write something on the blog, there will be a post on that page with a link to the article. There are also a few photos from when we met Brian Bruney.
2. If you are on Twitter, be sure to follow us @KaysSuccessors. There, you will also find a link to our most recent posts. You can also follow my personal page @jgeant, where you will not only get linked back to this website, but hear my thoughts on the Yankees, Syracuse Basketball, and odd things going on around me (like a kid who was walking around campus in a Cookie Monster costume the other day. No, I'm not kidding.)
3. For fans of RSS feeders, you can go here to pick up our feed.
4. If you find something we write interesting, funny, or intelligent (and we hope you always do) you can Tweet it or share it with your Facebook friends with the nifty device on the left-hand side of the page underneath our Twitter feed.
   
5. If you want to get in touch with us you can always e-mail us at MichaelKaysSuccessors@Yahoo.com or by leaving a comment at the bottom of a post. We encourage you, our readers, to provide us feedback and to have your thoughts and opinions heard.
   

Make sure you take a crack at our trivia question, and get ready, because the Grapefruit League season starts in 1 week.

UPDATE: John here, yeah so, I screwed up something on the layout so the poll had been closed for the trivia question I apologize and the problem has been fixed. But now the five people who have been voting can continue to do so...

Also, instead of making a new post, I figure I'll put this here: Chad Jennings of the Lohud Blog has excerpts from Derek Jeter's press conference today. Most of it covers his contract situation, which he said that he focuses one season at a time and will worry about it later. He also said that today is the first and last time he will talk about his contract situation with the media. So, I guess you could say him and the Yankees are on the same page as of now...am I right?

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Don't Let Facebook Fool You

Apparently there is a Rocco Baldelli facebook fan page and four hours ago it was posted that he reached an agreement with the Yankees. According to Brian Cashman via the LoHud Blog, that would be false. The Yankees are still looking at several players to fill the left field void, but as of now that appears to be Brett Gardner's job.

However, if you are on facebook and like reading our blog you can become a fan of Michael Kay's Successors. You will receive updates on new posts plus we would never lie to our fans! We are also on twitter and can follow us @KaysSuccessors or follow Jim at jgeant. I'm still trying to get into twitter and am thinking about my own personal account. But during the season I'll chime in every now and then on the KaysSuccessors account.

Pitchers and catchers report exactly one month from tommorow! We'll do our best to keep you entertained during the slowest part of the offseason for the next month.

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Red Sox fan teacher in Central New York harasses Yankee fan student

Being in Syracuse, I get more news from the Central New York Area than anywhere else, and one of my roommates brought this story to my attention.

Nathan Jones, a fourth grade student (keep that in mind A FOURTH GRADER!) at Van Buren Elementary School was forced to turn his Yankee T-Shirt inside out for the entire day because his teacher is a Red Sox fan, besides being a (insert descriptive adjective here) jerk.

Nathan was then teased by 5th graders and other students for the rest of the day because his CC Sabathia shirt was inside out. After the parents filed a complaint to the school principle, the issue was apparently resolved. The article did not disclose the punishment for the teacher, Peter Addabbo, who has Red Sox paraphernalia in his classroom, according to the article.

While doing some research on the Internet (isn't Google great?) I found Addabbo's school-hosted website, where he can put assignments and tell the parents what the students are doing in class. NOWHERE does he mention, between Math, Social Studies, Lunch, and Recess, humiliating, bullying and harassing his students.

I'm not vindictive or stupid (what if there's someone else with the same name) enough to link to it, but Google-ing his name may or may not bring up a possible Facebook page.

This instantly reminded me of a similar (but even more ridiculous) story from 2006. (Yeah, I wish I could remember important things from 3 years ago, but no, I remember things like this). This one involves a Steelers fan teacher and a Broncos fan student.

But I think this story is a rallying point for the weekend. Let's say the Yankees sweep the Red Sox, clinch the AL East, and reach 100 wins, all while putting a dent in Boston's wild-card lead. Little Nathan would be able to walk into his class Monday (or Tuesday depending on the holiday schedule) wearing an authentic Yankee Jersey (which the Yankees should send him if they hear about the story) and basically flip his teacher off.

Let's win this one for Nathan!

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Lucky Town

I'm going to put off doing my home work for a little while so I can get a blog post in for what is a huge win for the Yankees.

First of all, the win gives the Yanks the series win in Anaheim, the first time they've done that since in forever.

Second, it gives the Yankees a 6.5 game lead over the Angels for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Third, the Yankees lowered their Magic Number to 5 to clinch the division. Now, if the Royals can finish off the sweep (yes, you read correctly the SWEEP) of the Red Sox, it will be 4.

Fifth, AJ Burnett finally remembered how to not give up a boatload of runs. He went 5.2 innings, which could be better, but he struck out 11 and walked 3 so that drove his pitch count up. The most important thing is he only allowed 2 runs after the Bombers had already spotted him 3. Now if Joba can get back on track we might be a little more confident about the starting rotation headed into the playoffs.

Sixth, Robinson Cano finally got a hit with runners in scoring position! (It's the end of the world as we know it, but I feel fine). His two-out, 2-run single in the fourth inning was the difference in the game.

Seventh, Ian Kennedey returned to the mound after having surgery to remove an aneurysm earlier this season. He pitched a scoreless inning where he walked two (which can be expected in an appearance like that, especially in your home town) and struck out one.

Other notes (Not big enough or related enough to the game to get a number):

• Jorge Posada's x-ray on his right foot came back negative. He fouled a ball of his foot last night and did not play in today's game. Girardi said Posada may not play Friday against the Red Sox.
  
• Boston is up 6-2 over the Royals in the sixth inning, so the magic number may stay at 5 heading into a 3-game Battle in the Bronx. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but how sweet would it be if the Yanks swept the series to clinch the division and reach 100 wins against the Sox? I can't say I expect that to happen, but it would be amazing.
• Happy Birthday to the "other" Boss, Bruce Springsteen, who's song Lucky Town came off the 1992 album of the same name.
  

We'll try to get something out to you tomorrow, so until then...

SEE YA!

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I take that SEE YA! back, I just noticed we are at 98 fans on our Facebook page. Come on people, just two of you need to become a fan for us to reach 100. (Well technically 4 of you do, because John and I are already fans, but that's just semantics)

What would do if I said the 99th and 100th fans get fabulous prizes?

If you answered "Call Jim a big, fat liar," you're correct. While we don't have prizes, imagine the pride you'll feel knowing you became our 100th fan.
Or you could just do it to make John and I feel good, that works for us.

We're also on Twitter (because at this point who isn't?). @KaysSuccessors is where you can find us.

Ok, I'm sure this time...

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Yanks go for Sweep Tonight

After the Yankees took the first three games of the series, they send Andy Pettitte to the mound against John Lester to attempt to sweep Boston.

John and I will be at the game, so there won't be any in-game updates. We both feel extremely sorry for those of you who have to listen to the Jon Miller, Joe Morgan, and Steve Phillips (aka the Three Stooges).


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So there are several different ways to become a fan of Michael Kay's Successors.

First, you can subscribe to the blog for an RSS Feed.




We're on Facebook. Become a Fan.




And, of course, you can follow us on Twitter.


Finally, you can leave a comment below each and every post. We would love to hear from our readers, and you can also send us an email at michaelkayssuccessors@yahoo.com

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