Losing by Winning

Sunday afternoon, embattled starter A.J. Burnett, with his postseason life largely on the line, toed the rubber against the freefalling Boston Red Sox. Seven and two-thirds of an inning later, Burnett moseyed toward the Yankees dugout, having struck out six, allowed but two earned runs, and driven another nail into the quickly closing coffin surrounding the Red Sox season. With the capacity crowd on its feet loudly cheering his name, Burnett ambled to the bench with all the alacrity of Mo Vaughn heading to a salad bar, clearly trying his hardest to make that moment last forever.

The Yankees had clinched everything they possibly could, they had the Sox under their boots, and the quixotic Burnett had thrown a gem.

Unfortunately, for Joe Girardi, that’s the worst thing that could have happened.

Touring the Bases With…Frank Sullivan

One of the tallest pitchers in baseball at 6’7″, Frank Sullivan enjoyed immediate success upon earning a full-time spot with the Boston Red Sox in 1954, winning 15 games in his rookie season.  He tied for the league lead in wins with 18 in 1955 and paced the junior circuit in starts, innings, and batters […]