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Ladies and Gentlemen. The Circus has come to town! And that's exactly the mindset required to enjoy and appreciate the 5-4 Yankees win over the Orioles on Saturday, August 16. It was a game that started with the usually abysmal Sterling Hitchcock giving up a first-inning run on a sac fly to Tony Batista, a player who was batting out of order, but then if neither Orioles Manager Mike Hargrove nor his Yankee counterpart Joe Torre are going to pay attention, why should the players? The Orioles took the lead in the very first inning during that batting order snafu, and failed to tie it 11 innings later when rookie Jack Cust fell down twice between third base and home plate. And this, despite the fact that the home plate toward which he was headed when he stumbled was totally uncovered by a defensive player. Of course, I'm only half serious with my dismissive tone here, as there was plenty to like about this game. And the aforementioned Sterling Hitchcock is the one most deserving of notice when listing the positives. Despite giving up the single, double, sac fly in the first and two singleton homers by non-power hitters, Hitch, pressed into service by starter David Wells's back troubles, was much better than anyone had expected. The late
Alfred Hitchcock would have been 104 three days before this
contest took place and, despite the insanity that was
unfolding around him, Sterling Hitchcock emulated the
like-named master director in some of his finest films by
keeping this game under control and within the Yankees'
reach while he toed the rubber. Perhaps the only numbers
that stand out is that he gave the Yanks a six-inning
quality start that few expected, and that he managed it by
restricting his total to 80 pitches (by my count) while he
was in there. He threw only 10 of 23 first pitches for
strikes, but his strikes/balls ratio was an acceptable
49/31, as were the three runs allowed through six on only
five hits, no walks and three strike outs. Even though it
would be overstating the case to compare the outing to that
of rival Boston's Pedro Martinez in Seattle the same day,
despite the fact that both hurlers fell behind in the first
inning to a sac fly, had they given out post-game stars to
the Yankee players, Sterling would undoubtedly have earned
the first.
Alfonso Soriano, who struggled at the plate all game, made a fabulous play on Bigbie's second-inning grounder up the middle, even if the Oriole outfielder was actually safe. (First base ump Fichter had a tough night, falling asleep on Fordyce's fourth-inning homer and punching out a clearly safe Matsui on an eighth-inning pick off as well.) Dellucci's right field replacement Karim Garcia made a strong throw to second on the utterly bizarre play that would end the game. Antonio Osuna and Chris Hammond made rare appearances in the spotlight with matching one-hit, two-inning stints (with Hammond getting the win), while bullpen stars Mariano Rivera and Jeff Nelson struggled. Jason Giambi closed strongly, tallying the Yanks' last two runs after a lead-off double and then a soaring homer to center after a bad, two-strike-out, one-pop-up beginning to the game, and Hideki Matsui cashed in yet another run with two outs and a Yankee in scoring position. On the
opposition side, Pat Hentgen battled gamely through 120
pitches and six innings and left the game with a lead,
rookie shortstop Morban had two hits with a homer and was
robbed of another extra-base knock, Batista chipped in with
a fine grab on a Boone one-hopper for a 5-4-3 along with his
sac fly and RBI (despite batting out of order) and young
Luis Matos homered off Mariano Rivera leading off the ninth
to deny him the save, and the Yankees the win in regulation.
Continuing that theme, Yankee hero Mariano Rivera blew another save on the first batter he faced. Jeff Nelson survived for a lucky save after having the Orioles down to two outs with no one on with an 0-2 count on the batter, and a one-run lead. Joe Torre used three right fielders in the 11th while batting his only remaining catcher (really--there was no way the since-released Todd Zeile was going to catch) in an inning where the Yankee offense amounted to three walks. The Bomber attack struggled through 12 innings with only nine hits and five runs. And when Aaron Boone sprinted down the third base line in pursuit of rookie Jack Cust (who represented the tying run) with two outs in the 12th, it was, as reported earlier, toward a totally undefended home plate. Robert Ringling, renowned baritone and son of the patriarch of the Ringling family so famous for its efforts in, and association with, the circus, was born on August 16, 1897. I can only smile when I think what he probably would have said had he seen Cust trip off third after Larry Bigbie's double, and then stumble and go sprawling into the dirt of the third baseline, a mere 10 feet or so from tying the game before Aaron Boone reached him and tagged him for the game's final out. "Step right up, ladies and gentleman, and children of all ages!"
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Web Links: Yankees Fan Network UltimateYankees Fast Facts: Betcha' didn't know On May 24, 1936, Lazzeri became the first player in history to hit 2 Grand Slams in one game. He did it against the Philadelphia A's in a 25-2 win while driving in 11 runs for an American League record. On June 17, 1978, "Louisiana Lightning", struck out 18 against the California Angels, setting an American League record for a left-hander. "When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees I have accomplished both" Graig Nettles Reggie Jackson, upon signing with the Yanks in 1976 Trivia: Joe Torre is the 4th man to manage both the Yankees and Mets. Name the other three. Answer In Next Issue Have a trivia question? Email it to us and maybe we'll use it in an upcoming issue. Fan Feedback: Cartoonist Wanted! We have received several emails suggesting the addition of jokes and baseball cartoons. |
