Bronx, N.Y., April 24, 2005 — The skies Sunday in the Bronx approximated the condition of the team. The sun shone brightly for part of the afternoon, and the Yankees cranked out an impressive 11-1 win over Texas. But overall the weather was cool with big clouds thrown in, and hometown innings of four, three, and three runs could not cancel out the pitching and hitting failings of the prior two days, or the unsettled state of the Yankee starting rotation.

The team’s best substitute player went on the DL and exposed a weak bench in the last week, and just yesterday a new starter gave up runs in bunches and left the mound clutching his shoulder in pain. They entered today’s contest with a losing record at home, and in the unfamiliar position in the AL East of last place.

It was not a great surprise, really, that Randy Johnson, the best pitcher that money can buy, finally showed up on Sunday; even if some of his numbers weren’t eye-popping, the results were. Shortstop and team Captain Derek Jeter had another superb day, with three hits, three runs, and three rbi’s, not to mention a highlight-reel catch, whirl, and throw to retire Mark Teixeira on a hot shot in the visiting fourth inning.

And the man Jeter threw that ball to supplied a bump too. First baseman Andy Phillips was the 26th man when the Yanks settled on 25 to take north this season, and he rejoined the team for his second stint here this year just the other day. Phillips hit a home run in his first major league bat against the Red Sox last September, and he contributed two hits today (including another long ball), scored a run and drove in four, and made a fine play on a Michael Young bouncer in the fourth. This was an early laugher, a big win, and a lot of fun, but the day had a weird twist or two too.

Randy Johnson began the day striking out ex-Yank Alfonso Soriano and Gary Matthews swinging, and he whiffed four in the first three frames. No Ranger really figured him out until DH Chad Allen blasted a high drive that Bernie Williams tracked down near the fence to close the fifth. But although The Unit was dealing, 42,732 appreciative fans sat through 4.3 perfect innings from him wondering if the lame second-inning pop to short right center by Kevin Mench would be the only hit the Rangers mustered. It probably could have been caught by Bernie Williams or Tony Womack; as it was it fell in with right fielder Gary Sheffield giving it a game last-minute try.

But perhaps Allen’s drive was indicative. Johnson had retired 17 of 18 on a mere 56 tosses when Soriano drilled a clear single to left with two down in the top of the sixth. Matthews followed with a run-scoring triple to right center, though the ball hanging up at the base of the wall and Tony Womack’s double pump cost the Yanks a chance to nail him at third. A five-pitch walk to Young followed, but the impressive switch-hitting first baseman Teixeira lined to Hideki Matsui in left, and Texas’s brief offensive spurt came to an end.

The Yanks were already up by 7-0 before that score, as they bunched nine quick hits off starter Pedro Astacio into the home second and fifth innings, coming away with four and three runs respectively. Both rallies started small, with Matsui and Alex Rodriguez no-out infield singles in the second, and a gorgeous one-out Tony Womack bunt three innings later. Jorge Posada singled in the game’s first run, and young Phillips followed with a 1-1 run-scoring double to the wall in left center. A single and sac fly on first pitches by Womack and Jeter made it 4-0. Jeter doubled in Womack in the fifth, scored on a Sheffield single, and Rodriguez delivered Gary after a walk to Matsui.

Johnson took 103 pitches to retire the Rangers eight times, and with the shutout gone, Torre lifted him for Tom Gordon to start the ninth. The lanky lefty was every bit as good as fans expected, walking just one while striking out seven and allowing just the one run on three hits. The Scoreboard had trouble keeping up, with its pitch count recorder malfunctioning in the second, and it listed one Yankee out as Astacio was removed in the fifth even though Phillips and Williams had already flied out and grounded out respectively. And Johnson, too, though he was superb, could have been better. His 42-to-61, balls-to-strikes ratio wasn’t great, and he only managed a first-pitch strike 11 times while facing 28 batters.

Few noticed, however, in the crowd or on the Texas bench. On April 24, 1917, southpaw George Mogridge tossed the first-ever Yankee no-hitter, and Johnson’s outing was a worthy descendant. He retired the Rangers on just nine pitches three times, and the 24 tosses he used for the first six outs netted him three swinging K’s. Six of the 12 times the visitors swung and missed resulted in six Randy whiffs; Allen took strike three in the seventh. The game was flying by at that time, and a quick look at the 2:51 on the board clock showed the teams had completed six and a half innings in one hour, 43 minutes. But then the three-song seventh-inning stretch festivities got us all to our feet, and a problem dawned on the crowd. Teams have complained at the length of this break in the game before, but today at its close it was still 2:51. Texas lefty Matt Riley got a 4-6-3 from Rodriguez to retire the Yanks on 11 pitches in the bottom of the seventh, but that took no time too. The clock still read 2:51.

Derek Jeter had homered to right in the home sixth to get the only run The Unit allowed back, so when Giambi walked on four pitches to start the home eighth, the lead was 8-1. Posada singled over short, and Riley went to 1-1 on Phillips. The rookie first sacker turned on pitch three and belted it over the wall in left to forge the game’s final score. I can’t say that that blast fixed things, but the next time I looked, the clock had advanced to 3:06. Buck Showalter replaced Riley and Jeter and Sheffield delivered a single/double, but this one was winding down, and would end in a crisp 2:25.

With runners on first and second with one out, Andy Phillips prepared for his second-inning at bat. He would deliver one of them on a 1-1 double to left field. His eighth-inning home run would come on a 1-1 pitch too.

So now the Yankees get to relax a bit during tomorrow’s off day, and management can consider how to fill the innings while Jaret Wright’s perilous status in the rotation becomes more clear. Colter Bean joined the pen yesterday, and it’s likely Columbus starter Chein-Ming Wang will be getting the nod for one of next weekend’s Toronto games in the Bronx. Skipper Torre relies on his veterans, but if the game Andy Phillips played today is any indication, he shouldn’t hesitate to make the call.

Phillips has been a blip on the Yankee radar screen for a number of years now. He has played some third, and some middle infield, and although he gets the majority of his reps at first, he played outfield in Tampa this spring too. In what is shaping up as a year that defies prediction his versatility could serve him and the team well. If he continues to hit and field well, who knows?

Comedian Bud Abbott passed away this day in 1974. Partially responsible for probably the funniest baseball comedy bit ever, Abbott attempted in it to answer the question Yankee fans could be asking about Andy Phillips in years to come.

Who’s on First?

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!