Good morning!
Oakland pitcher Sean Manaea’s masterpiece against the Red Sox came in under the radar last Saturday night. Yeah they lost 3-0, but the realization they’d been no-hit for the first time in 25 years didn’t register until later on Sunday.
The news arrived via the radio while I was outside raking. “The Yankees have finally gained a game in the standings,” said broadcaster John Sterling, “even though it took a no-hitter to do it.”
Sterling’s wry comment stopped me mid-rake on the gnarly lawn. A no-hitter? Against the Red Sox? I went inside, turned on the DVR and fast-forwarded through the innings to see Manaea (as in papaya) being mobbed by his teammates.
Oakland’s 6-foot-5 left-handed no-name had beaten Boston’s 6-foot-4 right-handed ace Chris Sale in a breezy two hours and 16 minutes. Manaea makes $550,000 compared to Sale’s $12 million, but he’s not a Johnny-come-lately who had his day of fame.
No, indeed we haven’t heard the last of this 245-pound hurler who pitches like Jon Lester on steroids.
Drafted 34th overall by Kansas City in 2013, Manaea was 7-1 in the minors with 90 strikeouts in 74 innings when Oakland GM Billy Beane came calling. He traded veteran Ben Zobrist for the promising young southpaw and it was a win-win deal for both teams. Zobrist batted .303 in the playoffs to help KC win the 2015 World Series, and Manaea had 12 wins for an Oakland team that lost 93 games last season.
Manaea pitched last night against Houston. Look for his name again around midseason when teams need pitching for the postseason. The Red Sox, Yankees, Mets and Cubs will open their treasure chests for the young stud who pitched a no-hitter in his 59th major league start.
The Yankees capped an 8-2 home stand on Thursday when Gary Sanchez walloped a three-run ninth inning blast off Twins closer Fernando Rodney.
The Bombers are at Anaheim and Houston before returning for three games against the Red Sox starting May 8. Early MVP candidate Didi Gregorius has nine home runs and 29 RBIs. Remember when we laughed at his name — this is the guy who’s going to replace Derek Jeter? Really?
Yeah, really, and the rest of the lineup is equally fearsome. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Tyler Austin and Sanchez have combined for 23 home runs and 69 RBIs. Infielder Ronald Torreyes is batting .417, and he was benched this week for phenom-in-waiting Gleyber Torres who was called up from Scranton/Wilkes Barre where he was batting .347.
Third baseman Miguel Andujar is playing like a young, right-handed version of David Ortiz. The two were born 25 miles apart from each other in the Dominican Republic and have the same passion for crushing the ball. At this writing he led the league in doubles with nine, despite riding the pine until Brandon Drury was sidelined by bad vision.
It’s unlikely either rookie will be leaving Aaron Boone’s high-functioning lineup. The Yankees are on a roll, which answers the question posed by Bob and Ray, Why is there butter on my sleeve?
The Players Tribune was started by Derek Jeter to give athletes a forum. Plaxico Burress wrote about doing jail time, Nate Solder said he signed with the Giants so his cancer stricken son could get quick medical care, and Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard remembered hearing his mother at little league games. “She wasn’t just yelling from the bleachers,” wrote Syndergaard, “she was like two feet away, banging on the fence screaming, Nooooooaaaaaah!”
During the Bruins series against Toronto, Brad Marchand wrote about winning the Stanley Cup the year after Chicago ended its 49-year drought. “One of my buddies told me they partied for 16 straight days, so it was my mission to top them,” wrote Marchand. “We got to seven or eight days when we got a call from someone who shall remain nameless. We all got the same message: ‘All right boys, time to go home. It’s over. Leave the city.’
“I’m proud of that evacuation order,” wrote Marchand. “We earned it.”
The fun’s just begun again this postseason — Tampa, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas. Vegas? Now that’s a city that’ll never kick a team out for partying.
A-Rod got an “A” in ESPN’s crowded telecast booth on Sunday night. The Nationals led the Dodgers, 2-0, with two out in the fifth inning when Bryce Harper bounced a ball to second base. Chase Utley fielded it and threw wide to first base, but Harper was dogging it down the line and Cody Bellinger got back to the bag in time for the out.
Rodriguez dropped the hammer on Harper after the replay. “That sets the tone for the entire organization from top to bottom,” he said.
The Nationals blew the lead and lost, 4-3, and at this writing were three games under .500. Not a lot’s changed since 1904 when the Washington Senators played in the AL and Charles Dryden uttered, “First in war, first in peace, last in the American League.”
Contrary to what was reported here last week, My Boy Jack will race in the Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old colt from the Don’t Tell My Wife Stable got up at the wire in the Lexington Stakes on April 14 and thereby qualified for the Run for the Roses.
It was Dream Baby Dream that deserves a look on the undercard. The Steve Asmussen-trained colt has one win in nine starts against Kentucky Derby-caliber foes. The win and a third-place effort were both at Churchill Downs, which leads me to think Asmussen’s next start will be against softer company.
NBC lost out when Gronkowski was scratched from next Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. The juxtaposition of horse and player was the sort of segment that would’ve segued nicely into the usual puff pieces about women wearing chapeaus and bartenders mixing mint juleps.
To the delight of listeners and the chagrin of his fellow employees, Mike Francesca is returning to WFAN in New York. The popular but pompous sports talk host was unable to cash in on a big payday after he “retired” from WFAN in December.
Sid Rosenberg, who took Don Imus’s gig on WABC, told the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand: “He wants to work. He wants to make some money. He has a very lavish lifestyle. He doesn’t want to be home with his wife and kids.”
Francesca took a paycut — “60 cents on the dollar” according to SXM’s Chris Russo — and will resume doing his weekday show from 3 to 6:30 p.m. beginning in early May.
SQUIBBERS: Happy 27th birthday to Zippy Chippy, who’s lived a long life by taking his time on the racetrack. The hapless hoofer was 0-for-100 in career starts, a streak that barely survived a photo finish at the Tri-County Fair in Northampton. … Congrats to Heather and Jay Butynski on the birth of their daughter, Quinn Everly Butynski, on April 13. … Phlash Phelps, named after the Sirius-XM disc jockey, finished third in the 12th race at Laurel Park on April 21. … Hinsdale OTB’s gross revenue through March 31 was up one percent over last year, according to the N.H. Charitable Gaming Commission. Wagering on the dogs and thoroughbreds was up, harness betting was down. … The Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies will be contested on Friday at Churchill Downs. At this writing Midnight Bisou and Monomoy Girl were co-favorites at 3-1. … John Henry destroyed a good man, all for the sake of the almighty dollar. When’s the city putting up his statue? … Han-Ram looked good in a Bruins jersey at Maple Leaf Gardens on Monday night. Ramirez was part of the Red Sox contingent that watched the Maple Leafs force a seventh game. The Bruins won on Wednesday, and it was their 383rd consecutive sellout at TD Garden. … Good luck to Tom Gaffigan, who resigned as assistant GHS principal last month. Gaffigan coached football at Mohawk, Pioneer and seemingly anyplace where pigskins flew. … Stay tuned for next week’s Kentucky Derby preview and staff picks. The dart board’s dusted and on the wall.
Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for four decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached by email at sports@recorder.com.