Bronx, N.Y., August 21, 2002 — Citizens in my newly adopted home of Rye, New York, are celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of favorite son — and poet of the silly — Ogden Nash, Monday. Several of Ogden’s witty and whimsical poems are being immortalized by being printed in minuscule type on a U.S. postage stamp this month, and it is good that he is finally receiving some long overdue credit. But I have a bone to pick with the sentiments (or the facts, actually) behind one of his most famous works, though sadly one many are unaware originated from Mr. Nash’s pen: “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.” Clever? Yes. Funny? Sure. But candy isn’t dandy. Yankee fans know. Andy is dandy.

One might have been tempted to think otherwise when the Anaheim Angels were hammering Andy for five runs on six hits in last night’s third inning. But if you have been watching for a while (with the exception of Game 6 of last year’s World Series), Dandy Andy bends, yes, but he rarely breaks. And, honestly, I took exception with the calls on CBS-TV and radio on the disastrous inning. Aside from a few bad (really “bad”) pitches, I don’t think he got “hammered.”

I have (perhaps foolishly) been saying how much I liked the way Andy has pitched his last several outings, getting ground ball outs, mounting a low pitch count, and not muscling up and overpowering batters, as he did when he notched double-digit strike outs against the Devil Rays weeks ago. And unfortunately I got my wish in the third, as the only out Andy got among the first four guys he faced was the one (Eckstein) who did not hit a ground ball. But the three ground singles by Ochoa, Erstad and Spiezio wiped out half of Andy’s 2-0 lead and led to the disaster that followed. Andy notched four of his five strike outs after the big outburst, and if he wants to blow away a batter or two, I’m OK with it.

I was heartened in the first when Jason took Sele out, both because Jason continues to emerge from his slump, and because it put to rest fears engendered when Sele beat us August 3 that the fact that we have owned him through the years was primarily due to the professional lefty at bats of Paul, Tino and perhaps David Justice, all no longer beating up hurlers for the Yanks. Lefty Vander Wal and righties White, Soriano and Jeter hit him hard in the second, and entering the top of the third I was feeling pretty good about things.

Former Yankee third bagger and human vacuum cleaner Graig Nettles turned 56 today, and mega Rolling Stones hit “Satisfaction” was released in 1965. This day is also the birthday of Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant (54), boxing promoter Don King (71 today), smooth-voiced composer Isaac Hayes (“Shaft” — he’s 60), and New York City actor Alan Reed, the voice of Fred Flinstone (“Yabba Dabba Doo” — 95 years old). Nothing in any of these dates gave me any sense of forboding going into tonight’s game, and looking over the numbers coming out of it, I’m even more heartened.

And I’m not even referring to the fact that the woeful Red Sox fell another game behind again on a day when one of their two aces pitched. Bernie became the first player since (Twin) Chuck Knoblauch to record 10 consecutive multi-hit games (and I’ll forgive the horrible base running with all he has given us lately), Jason got two hits, three rbi and reached four times, and Jorge’s two-run bingle in the fifth was clutch. Robin Ventura slole a base, and an appreciative Yankee Stadium crowd gave new member of the 30-30 club Alfonso Soriano a nice round of applause as he came to the plate to start the bottom of the first. Congrats, too, to Ramiro and Mike in the first game of this chapter of Life Without Mo, partcularly lefty Stanton, who made a pretty nifty seven-pitch escape.

And Andy threw 22 of 33 first-pitch strikes, and the amazing number there, really, is that he actually faced 33 guys and did not throw 100 pitches! Entering 2002, he did not qualify on the Baseball Almanac list of top 100 pitchers in winning percentage because he hadn’t thrown 1500 innings, but he has now. With today’s win he would have slid into a dead tie at No. 21 with teammate Mike Mussina, only Mike’s somewhat fortunate year has now moved him up to No. 19, slipping past Grover Cleveland Alexander and Dizzy Dean, one notch below “Three Finger” Mordecai Brown. But pitchers Andy has eclipsed on the list include Jim Palmer, Greg Maddux, Juan Marichal, Tom Glavine, Carl Hubbell, Bob Feller and the legendary Cy Young himself.

Numbers can play tricks on you, and I would agree that winning percentage is not the only critical stat for a starting pitcher, but it’s hard to quibble with a guy because one of the things he does best is win games. And by the way, I discovered another tricky thing about Andy’s numbers tonight. As has been mentioned, Andy had an ugly third inning, and he gave way to Ramiro with two outs in the seventh. In each of the other five innings — the first, the second, the fourth, the fifth and the sixth — he amassed exactly nine strikes. Leaving the seventh having thrown seven of 12 pitches for strikes, the only time Andy threw a 10th strike tonight, Garret Anderson smacked it against the facade in the upper deck in right.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!