Oh, What a Night

Tuesday, June 6, 2006
Home Game 27
Yankees 2 Red Sox 1
Subway Race Winner: WW
Cap Game: #1



Tonight could be a slugfest, with Boston starting David Pauley and the struggling Wang going for the Yanks. Having said that, this game will probably turn out to be a 2-1 affair.

Did I call it or what?

Out of the 4 pitching matchups slated for this series, who would've thought that this one would be a pitcher's duel.

The Stadium was electric tonight, still buzzing from yesterday's romp. It felt like October. This night had it all. Jawing between fans. A guy running onto the field and getting clocked by security. Blood being drawn in the bleachers. Or so I was told. I didn't see what happened, but all of a sudden everyone in front of me stood up and there was a collective "Oh!" A friend was passed the scene when he was coming back to his seat. He said a guy was face down on the stairs, out cold and bleeding. Hope the guy's OK.

Phillips had 2 nice plays tonight. My view was blocked on the first one, but I was told it was a great snag. The play of the night, of course, was Melky's thievery in the 8th. You could tell he had a bead on it the whole way, it was just a matter of if he could get his timing right, and he did. Heard on the post-game that he's been practicing everyday with Lee Mazzilli in the outfield on plays just like that one, jumping up on different parts of the wall. It's way too early to say that we're seeing another start to one of those special Yankee careers, like we did 10 years ago with Jeter. But no matter what the future holds for Melky, he's a helluva lotta fun to watch right now.

Think we can stop with the "Wang can't pitch against the Red Sox" stuff now? Yeah, it's only one game, but still, he came up huge. Going 7 innings, and only making one real mistake.

I don't care that Ortiz hit that home run. I don't care that A-Rod was 0-for-4 and struck out with bases loaded. I don't care that the winning run was walked in, and that the rally was started by a soft infield hit with 2-outs. I don't care that they left 9 men on base. They won. They guaranteed at least a split in this series. A home-grown rookie who, to put it mildy, struggled in his brief stint last year, saved the game with a catch that will probably be shown as often as Jeter's dive into the stands. A home-grown pitcher shut down a team that has owned him. Farnsworth, who is now committed to going after batters with his best pitch, conquered Ortiz again. Bernie hit a home run left-handed. They won without their Captain. They won with 2 of their best hitters still getting over stomach ailments. They won with 7 home-grown players getting into the game tonight. If you can't savor victories like this without finding something to complain about, even if it's just for one day, you got problems.

In attendance record: 9-6

Update
I'm watching the encore on YES, and you can hear the "Fuck You Manny" chants coming from the bleachers right before he hit the shot that Melky caught.