The Agony and the Ecstasy

Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Home Game 20 (fitting that #20 was the man of the game)
Yankees 14 Rangers 13
Subway Race Winner: 4 train
Cap Game: #2



I've been lucky enough to witness a few walk-offs throughout the years at the Stadium. But this one...wow. These are games that you dream about (well, maybe it's just me). Not that I dream about the Yankees being down 9 runs in the 2nd inning. But when they are in the midst of getting blown out, this is the kind of game I always hoped would happen. Stop the bleeding and chip away inning by inning. Even though Small contributed to the 10 runs the Rangers put on the board by the 3rd, he came up huge by shutting them down over the next 3 innings, allowing the Yanks to inch their way back into the game. When they cut the lead in half in the 5th I was starting to think they could actually pull it off. When they took the lead in the 6th and promptly gave it back in the 7th, I still felt pretty good about their chances. That's because everyone in the lineup was getting on base. Every starter had at least one hit, except Cano (but he was on base twice and drove in a run on a ground out.) With Sheff and Matsui on the DL and Giambi sitting out the game due to a neck injury, they needed production out of everyone and they got it tonight. It truly was a team win. And as ugly as the pitching was, it was still a beautiful game. It showed us what this team is capable of. Sure, Texas has a fairly weak staff. But still, when you're down by that many runs that early in the game it's easy to just throw in the towel, no matter who the opponent is.

Posada was just on a whole different plain tonight. I don't think I've ever seen him block the plate like he did on that play against Teixeira. And then to cap the night with a walkoff 2-run homer with 2 outs. That was just beautiful. Torre said that Pena has a lot to do with Jorge's early season success this year. For all of the talk about his decline, and the yearly trade rumors, I am so happy that he's doing so well. He's been one of my favorites for a while (I have a thing for catchers).

Random Notes
– Moose was named the Yankees Pitcher of the Month for April (big surprise there).

– Fans were getting on Melky for every ball that dropped in. Some of it I think was unfair, but there were some balls he probably should've gotten to. Maybe he's just playing too deep? Or maybe he's just another Bernie in the field? But as shoddy as his fielding is, Melky's got some arm, recording 2 assists tonight.

– Teixeira and Blalock are on my fantasy team, so tonight was kind of a win-win. They hit a combined 7 for 9, with 7 RBI and 3 runs scored.

– This is a great picture.

In attendance record: 5-5