Bronx, N.Y., June 30, 2006 — There were few accurate prognosticators in New York Friday. Sure, there were many Yankee fans not only rooting for but expecting a positive result with staff ace Mike Mussina going, but most would have wavered upon hearing he would pitch just four frames. And even if devout Mets fans along with some veteran Yankee watchers anticipated el duque Hernandez to stand tall in a big game, few would have expected seven innings from him. And then, of course, there was the weatherman.
Yankee Stadium has become a place accustomed to capacity crowds of late. But the arrival of the crosstown, first-place Mets, along with meteorologists throughout the area trumpeting the return of clear skies after an ugly, dreary, and dangerous period of rain (and lots of it), no emply blue seats broke the pattern of wall-to-wall atttendance. Worse still, falling in unison for a weather report that missed a “passing storm,” none of the 55,000-plus came wih umbrellas, ponchos, or covering of any kind. After a few innings of ugly cloud sightings and the intermittent sprinkle now and again, when the rains came in earnest in the bottom of the fourth, upwards of 30,000 fans exited their seats with no available destination except stadium hallways unfit to accommodate them.
On June 30 in years gone by, both of these teams have been no-hit, by two pretty good pitchers, the Yanks falling to Cy Young in 1908, and the Mets coming up short against Sandy Koufax in 1962. It took little time to determine which team, if any, was apt to have a similar day. Mussina was pushed to 18 throws in the lead inning as he pitched around an uncharacteristic Miguel Cairo error on a Carlos Beltran grounder. But Hernandez’s ninth pitch was blasted by Yankee DH Jason Giambi into the short porch in right for a quick 1-0 Yankee lead.
Mussina retired 10 straight after the Cairo miscue, beginning and ending that streak with swinging strike outs of Mets so-far MVP David Wright, but I hasten to add that in that time Mr. Cairo made up for his misplay with pretty spectacular plays on grounders by Jose Valentin and Jose Reyes. El duque pitched well also, but the only one-two-three inning he would achieve was his last, the seventh. He pitched around singles in the second and third, but Bernie Williams blooped his second hit down the left field line with two down in the home fourth. The Duke worked Andy Phillips to a 1-2 count, but then the heavens opened, the field was covered, and any fan located under an overhang thanked their lucky stars that they could sit out the exodus that ensued.
It rained hard for 30 minutes, and by the time the game resumed, el duque threw his fifth pitch to Phillips 63 minutes after he had loosed the fourth. Andy fouled the first post-delay offering, and on the next Bernie Williams picked the perfect pitch on which to scoot to second as backstop Ramon Castro had to make an off balance stop on a low outside offering. It was a huge play, as Phillips promptly doubled the Yankee lead on a hard single past shortstop.
But ecstatic Yankee fans were soon given pause, as southpaw Ron Villone came out to pitch the fifth, with Moose’s work done for the day. The fans needn’t have worried. The Yankee pen promptly retired 13 of the next 15 Mets batters. Not only that, but the two that reached base were promptly removed. Villone walked Jose Valentin with one down in the fifth, but he was retired on a strike-’em-out/throw-’em-out dp as Julio Franco went down swinging. Mets right fielder Endy Chavez blooped a single to left off Villone leading off the sixth, the only safety the Flushing nine would garner all night. But the stubborn Villone threw eight or nine pickoff throws before he finally caught Chavez leaning, and a Reyes popup to short center closed the frame.
And that was the game. Scott Proctor, Kyle Farnsworth, and Mariano Rivera needed just nine, 12, and 11 throws respectively to retire the Mets in order in the last three innings. Mussina was very good while he was in there, with a 35/18 strikes/balls ratio, and he struck out four while getting the visitors to swing and miss exactly four times. The four who followed joined in the fun, and eight Mets went down swinging while missing on just 10 swings. Of the 25 Mets who were retired before reaching base, eight flew out and seven grounded out along with two popups and the eight K’s.
Yankee Stadium was populated with many an orange T-shirt-clad fan. Mets supporters carried themselves with some swagger on the strength of their first-place position, and the two of three they took from the Yanks in Shea last month. And that is how it should be; they’re having a great year. One minor quibble: I saw one shirt among hundreds that carried the name of a Metropoitan who played in Flushing before 2005. Much of their team is young, it’s true. But for just how long have all these people been fans that almost no one wears a Piazza, an Alfonso, a Leiter, an Olerud, a Strawberry, a Gooden, or a Seaver?
The epic American film Gone With the Wind was released 70 years ago today. The Mets lost this day 2-0, and they’re still in first in the NL East. The Yanks won this one, and they’re still in second in the AL East, though one game closer. But as for all the Mets fans’ swagger,
It is gone with the [Yankee] win.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!