Like I said before the game, the Yanks have to treat every game as a must-win the rest of the way.
Tonight, they played with that in mind. The deficit in the East is down to 7, and 1.5 in the Wild Card (the Mariners are playing in Anaheim as I write this), the Tigers are losing 6-2 to KC, so that gap could widen to 2 games.
Pettitte (now 6-0 in August) came up big, but let Varitek (who still insists on wearing that ridiculous C on his jersey) tie the game with a solo bomb in the top of the seventh. That bomb cost him the player of the game award, sorry Andy.
Joba was dominant (don't fall for the Sox propaganda over at
Blue Thoughts) he walked Youkilis on a 3-2 slider, Ortiz was a day late and a dollar short on a fastball, Lowell was fooled badly but managed a humpback liner over Jeter's head. The next two batters, Hinske and Drew, never stood a chance. Two Ks, and they looked silly doing it.
There was a rumor swirling, according to Michael Kay, that Mussina has been removed from the rotation in favor of
Stephen White or Ian Kennedy. Joe denied the rumor. I'm hoping it wasn't just wishful thinking. When you see this team play this hard, it's really not fair for them to have to back Mussina every fifth day.
Two bombs off Dice K, whose ERA stands at 6.98 vs. the Bombers, made all the difference. Jeter, who doesn't feel the need to wear a "C" on his jersey, even though he's the captain, gave the Bombers the lead with a solo shot in the seventh, and Johnny Damon put the game away with a two-run job to the short porch in the eighth.
In the time it took me to write 5 paragraphs, the Mariners have scored 5 runs on the Angels, so it looks like the Yanks won't gain any ground in the Wild Card. They're going to have to come back out tomorrow and do it all over again. A great game, a great win, but that is all it is, one win. We need several more to get where we want to go. 30 more efforts like tonight's, nothing less.
Player of The Game: Johnny Damon, 2 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 1 HR, and 3 nice catches in left.
One last thought, expect Roger Clemens to retaliate for A-Rod getting plunked. I'm not condoning it, just saying it's gonna happen.
UPDATE: The Mariners blew a 5-0 lead and lost 10-6 to the Angels. The Wild Card deficit is down to 1 game.
If ever there were a time for a retaliation HBP to be ridiculous, this would be it. No way in hell did Matsuzaka intend to hit A-Rod. There was no message there. The Yanks won the game. Clemens would be smart to let the win be the message, period.
Just to play devil's advocate, Dice-K buzzed about 5 Yankees, and drilled the Yankees' best player in the back. Clemens was watching, and he tends to hold a grudge. I think it's gonna happen, and it's gonna happen early so he can't be ejected or suspended. If Beckett retaliates, there may be ramifications.
Matsuzaka isn't afraid to throw inside, that's totally true. But, as all those who like beanball like to say, it's part of the game. And nobody knows that better than Roger Clemens, which is why he should also know that Matsuzaka hitting someone was merely a by-product of the inside game, and not intentional.
If Clemens hits someone intentionally, he is, once again, making it seem as if the entire purpose of pitching inside is to hit someone.
I don't think Clemens has any qualms about hitting someone on purpose. Even if Dice-K was "just throwing inside" he still hit A-Rod. The message Clemens would be sending, in his own mind, would be "Be more careful when you come inside to our guys, or one of your guys is going to get drilled."
That's at least the second time Dice-K has hit A-Rod this season. He's not 'buzzing the light tower' on accident. In the first game he pitched he went high and tight and then looked directly into the BOSox dugout because they had shown a clip from where Julian Tavarez was explaining to Dice-K to throw up and in on A-Rod because he's 'afraid'.
I fully believe he's doing this on purpose and I'm surprised Pettitte didn't do something about it last night.
Big Papi is going to hit the dirt tonight and it will be well deserved.
There a few ifs in this statement, but I'll say it anyway.
If Papi comes up with no one on and two out in the top of the first AND Manny isn't in the lineup behind him, he's probably getting drilled.
drill papi like he's a stripper who needs rent money.
Are you saying Clemens should "Make it rain?"