Bleacher Creature Feature

#51: LDS Games 1-2

4 October 2003

Earlier this year, I remember reading that the Yankees had been setting up so that Derek Jeter would go to short center field if a ball got to the wall in center to help ameliorate Bernie's spaghetti arm. As soon as the ball got by Bernie on Tuesday, both Soriano and Jeter ran out to the outfield. Only one of them needed to be out there, and it should've been Jeter, as he has the superior arm and superior instincts. It should not have been both of them. Soriano just compounded it by throwing to third with his feet planted for a throw home.

The crowd was a lot more subdued Tuesday afternoon. There were also noticeable four- and two-seat gaps in the stands, probably seats purchased by people who were expecting the game to start at 8pm rather than 1pm, not anticipating that Fox was more interested in airing the Cubs' rare foray into the postseason.

But it was also harder to get into Game 1. Mike Mussina pitched well but not great, Johan Santana pitched well but was gone after four innings because of a leg cramp combined with an upset stomach. It wasn't really a pitchers duel so much as it was good pitchers gutting through slightly below normal performances. Both teams got people on base, but until the sixth, not much happened by way of scoring.

Game 2, by contrast, was a true pitchers duel, at least until the seventh when the Yankees cracked it open with the able assistance of LaTroy Hawkins's meltdown. (And, if Ron Gardenhire is to be believed, Ronan Tynan singing the full version of "God Bless America," which supposedly screwed up Brad Radke's rhythm enough to make him hit Nick Johnson, which started the seventh-inning rally. Radke, to his credit, made no such pathetic lame-ass excuses, though William C. Rhoden, writing in the New York Times, used Gardenhire's whining as an excuse to stupidly claim that the Yankees were taking unfair advantage of opposing teams by stretching out the stretch, as it were.) Consequently, the crowd was much louder and more into it. We spent most of the game standing. Andy Pettitte had his best serial killer gaze on, and he pitched what was arguably the best game he's pitched since his 1-0 gem against John Smoltz in the 1996 Series (which I still count as one of the best baseball games I've ever seen).

Amusingly, the eagle Challenger did not fly to the pitcher's mound from the center-field bleachers in Game 2 following the National Anthem. In Game 1, the bald eagle took a more circuitous route to the mound, which makes me wonder if they decided not to risk him going off-course again in Game 2....

Joe Torre changed the lineup in Game 2, moving Johnson to the #8 slot and restoring the #1-2 tandem of Soriano and Jeter and moving everyone else up. In the long term this should not be permanent -- Johnson's a much better #2 hitter -- but it makes sense in the short term now. Certainly can't argue with the results.

However, Johnson's slump doesn't look like it's as much of an issue. Yes, he was 0-2 in Game 2, but one of those outs was a base hit that was stolen by a stellar Luis Rivas catch, and he got on base twice via walk and hit by pitch. For that matter, in Game 1 he had a spectacular ten-pitch at-bat that ended in a swinging strikeout on a good pitch that he should've swung at, he just missed it. I think he'll be fine.

The high point to me, though, was the top of the eighth inning when the first notes of "Enter Sandman" started playing. Mariano Rivera hadn't pitched for four days and wouldn't be pitching again for another two days. He's by far the best pitcher in the bullpen. There's no reason not to bring him in for two innings and every reason to do so. Sticking with patterns established for a 162-game season in a short series doesn't work, and one of the reasons for the Yankees' post-season success is that Torre understands short-term strategy. You're not saving Rivera for anything, and to only use him for one inning because a flawed conventional wisdom based on a stupid counting stat (saves) is silly. And Torre doesn't do it. Good on him.

Under other circumstances, I'd get the willies if Dusty "ride 'em till they drop" Baker lets Mark Prior throw over 130 pitches in a game, but it made sense last night. You've got to play the post-season like there's no tomorrow, and Prior was amazing last night.

Wonder if Ramon Hernandez will be added to the Red Sox self-pity pantheon that already includes Ruth, Frazee, Dent, Buckner, and the 1975 Reds....

It was funny, I was ready to go to bed Wednesday night, but I remembered the A's/Sox game was on, so I put on ESPN. The BoSox are up 4-3 in the ninth, so I figured I'd catch the end of it.

Then Erubiel Durazo gets that hit.

Needless to say, I didn't go to bed for a while......

The only series I don't have a particular emotional investment in is Marlins-Giants. My deep hatred of the Red Sox and Braves and my affection for the A's and Cubs has made rooting easy in the other two. For Game 3, though, I'm rooting for the Marlins just because I like Dontrelle Willis. But I'm indifferent to the Giants and my affection for some of the Marlins players contrasts with how much I despise their ownership. So I really don't care who wins.....

All four series have games today, which is just cool. Adding to the excitement is that three of them could end today as well. I love this game.

On to Game 3.....

NEXT: LDS Game 3

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