Thursday, May 2, 2013

Yankees' 1st Base coach made sure Lyle Overbay got the game-winning run home

Last night was a heart-breaker, a winnable game on the road that the Astros nutted more than the Yankees won (reminiscent of the Angels' blown save game) that could have taken a series from one of the Big Boys. Whether it was passed balls, Fernando Martinez not even attempting to make a play on an Ichiro flyball to right-center in the 1st (allowing him a triple and to score one batter later), or the play where Lyle Overbay danced around, delaying enough for Eduardo Nunez to score and make the game 5-4...which apparently was totally designed. The New York Times breaks that play down:

 With one out and Overbay at first and Eduardo Nunez at third in a tied game in the sixth inning, Kelleher observed that Astros second baseman Jose Altuve had inched in a step closer to home plate. So he reminded Overbay that if the ball were to be hit to Altuve, he could not allow himself to be tagged, or else Houston would turn a quick double play and Nunez would not have a chance to score.