Orioles Beat Yankees Again, Lose Markakis

It was an exciting nail-biter of a game once again. The Orioles won the game 5-4 on a bang-bang double play as the potential tying run crossed home plate.  Mark Texeira dove into first base to try and beat the throw and he was called out.

Here is David Waldstein's NYT account of the call:

"The first-base umpire, Jerry Meals, had just made an incorrect call, according to both the naked eye and television replays, and instead of the Yankees completing a comeback with Chris Dickerson crossing the plate to tie the score, the game was over."

According to "the naked eye?" Whose?  Really? According to the naked eye, the umps blew several strike calls to the Yankees including one from Darren O'Day and at least one from Pedro Strop during crucial times. My naked eyes have seen the umps call a down-the-middle strike three pitch a ball that causes an Oriole pitcher to lift the next one higher into the strike zone and this has resulted in a ninth inning Yankee home run that ends up winning the game for the Giradians (e.g. Swisher against Uehara, Rodriguez against Uehara).

Let's not give the Orioles credit or frighten the multitude of pinstriped followers on the weekend.  Let's blame it on the umps. Never have I read an account of a game like this--a blatantly homer interpretation. What's more maddening is that garbage like this is not open to commentary because there is no comments section. I'm surprised the reporter didn't suggest to Girardi that he take his team of overpaid, smug and over-the-hill players and their bats, balls and gloves and go home.

Blown calls usually go in favor of the Bombers including yet another instance of Yankee fan interference earlier in the summer on Eutaw Steet.

There was no talk of the "Fighting Showalters" -- a great name for the team I heard last night -- or that Atlantic League refugee Lew Ford who hit another home run. The story did mention in the "game notes" section that we lost Markakis because of a broken thumb and there was our manager cradling Nick's head for a few seconds after the player reemerged from the dugout in a temporary cast courtesy of Richie Bancells.

I would have written about yet another electrifying victory in an incredible season and the fact that the Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia broke the thumb of Nick Markakis, putting the heart and competitive soul of our team on the Disabled List for six weeks. I don't know if he did it on purpose but he pitched inside three straight times to Nick.  Ever the competitor, Sabathia, as Markakis was shaking his thumb in pain, screamed:

"Was it a strike, Was it a strike?," or something like that. This is who the Yankees are.

It will be interesting to see what happens today or in the future. 

Oriole Hangout member "Moose Milligan" reminded me of when Yankee Tim Leary fractured the wrist of Chris Hoiles and our resilient catcher missed 51 games. That same night, a scuffing tool-kit of items fell out of Leary's glove on the mound.  

The retaliation came a few weeks later at Yankee Stadium. I was sitting nine rows behind the O's dugout. Ben McDonald pitched for the Orioles and came high and inside to catcher Matt Nokes. The ball caught his batting helmet in the corner where the bill starts to extend. It knocked the helmet off his head and high into the air and the ball's impact made an awful cracking sound. Nokes collapsed into a pile of ball, bat and dirt on the plate and lay there motionless for several minutes.

I won't be surprised at all if the Times reporters notice an "unusually hostile Oriole crowd" once again at today's game.