Bronx, N.Y., Apr. 13, 2003 — It must have happened sometime early in the third inning. The day was gorgeous and, if not warm, it was as close an approximation of it as I’ve experienced for a while. And it was fun greeting and glad-handing all the usual suspects from Sundays in Box 603, up and right behind home plate. True, we had seen some a short five days earlier for the Opener, but no one looked themselves bundled in all those layers on that frigid afternoon. This fact was born out strongly by the Newsday clipping Tony and Sheila brought with them, a strip featuring a big spread color photo of the 603 gang in their seats from that game, where Sue looks frozen and lost and the only argument that can be made that I am not asleep is that I am holding my pencil and appear to be writing in my program.
Security was particularly onerous this Sunday (a new twist was that once each fan entering had shown their pockets, under their caps, and inside their jackets, it was required that we spin and show our posteriors as well), but we were greeted with free Yankee caps for our trouble, and treated to a delightful and different rendition of the national anthem from the Principal Brass Quintet of the New York Philharmonic. Roger came out smoking, although he had trouble harnessing his fastball early. This caused the mix of an Al Martin base hit and a Travis Lee six-pitch walk with his first two K’s in the first and second innings. And Jorge looked particularly sharp too, witnessed by his strong pegs to Almonte at the second base bag that nailed both those runners attempting to steal, the second one part of a strike-’em-out, throw-’em out double play.
The offense looked promising. Giambi followed Nick Johnson’s one-out double down the left field line in the first with a liner of his own to left. Then Matsui and Mondesi lined hard to center and left, respectively, in the second, sandwiched around walks to Posada and Ventura, the first of six free passes issued by Victor Zambrano this day. The game was scoreless after two, but we looked to be on the verge of scoring any minute.
And then it happened. Third baseman Damion Easley, recently released from the Tigers while still owed some $15 million, hit against nobody last year, except the Yanks. That was the impression I had, and it was supported by the .487 ba against the home team in ’02 that the scoreboard posted, just before he led off the top of the third with a double over Matsui to the fence in left center. We got a break when he held second while Roger fumbled — then handled — Toby Hall’s comebacker, bringing to the plate ex-Mets shortstop Rey Ordonez, who was roundly booed by some New Yorkers who did not appreciate that he called Mets fans stupid last year (a statement with which I have to admit I had no problem at the time).
And Rey hit what looked to be a harmless chopper between short and the second base bag on a 1-1 pitch. I’ll grant that, aside from a fine leaping grab of the last out of our 5-4 win over Minnesota Wednesday, young Erick Almonte has struggled much more on defense than offense to fill the gap in this team left by Derek Jeter’s injury, but this ball just looked to have gotten some “help” as it skipped past his glove into center and Easley rounded third and scored the game’s first run. Was there a hidden Mets fan insulted by Rey’s Stadium treatment and willing to do whatever it took to make things right? Or perhaps Lou, or Zambrano, were in a mood to make a deal for a big-time win?
Stanley Donen, who co-produced and co-directed the 1958 film Damn Yankees, was born on April 13, 1924, and the action of this Yankee-killing chopper had me scanning the stands for the Mr. Applegate who played the part of the willing-to-help-beat-the-Yanks-for-a-price devil in that classic musical. Roger almost flagged it on its way by and then it seemed to pick up speed a bit on the infield grass as it eluded our guy in the six hole. This became even more galling when Roger whiffed young Carl Crawford (the first of three times) and Bernie made an outstanding catch over his shoulder on Martin’s drive just to the right field side of dead center.
From that point on nothing worked quite right. A promising bottom half of the third, when Alfonso doubled hard into the left field corner on the frame’s first pitch and Nick Johnson followed with a walk, went for naught as Jason bounced into a 4-6-3 and Bernie flied to center in an eight-pitch at bat. Matsui led off the fourth with a walk and Jorge stroked a hard two hopper up the middle but Ordonez turned it into a 6-4-3 and Ventura followed with what appeared to be the obligatory inning-ending fly out to center.
And perhaps most frustrating of all was the fifth where Martin made a fine running catch of Almonte’s one-out liner to left, Soriano singled and Johnson and Giambi walked on nine pitches to fill the bases. The fans were going crazy as the count to Bernie reached 2-1, but he grounded the next pitch hard but harmlessly to second baseman Anderson.
Roger, meanwhile, was pitching well if not brilliantly. He escaped first and second with one out in the fourth on Soriano’s heads-up tag-’em, throw-’em double dip, and struck out two around Ordonez’s second hit in the fifth. Four ground balls, a foul out and his sixth (and last) strike out carried him through the next two frames despite a single and walk in the sixth and a Toby Hall double in the seventh. And even though we went meekly in the sixth (on seven pitches?), we looked ripe to pull this one out until we fumbled away a one-out walk to Almonte by reliever McClung in the seventh. Enrique Wilson pinch ran and, after Soriano flied to center, either he or Nick Johnson missed a sign, as it was embarrassing how far Enrique was from second on a caught stealing on a 1-1 pitch, to end our chances.
Chris Hammond came in to start the eighth and promptly surrendered back-to-back singles, but a 6-6-3 and a bouncer to Soriano closed it out, and the Yankees’ last best gasp of the day occurred. Johnson resumed his at bat and singled to center (Nick was 2 for 2 with two walks) to start the home eighth, and Giambi fouled off two two-strike pitches before walking against the lefty Bobby Seay and forcing Nick to second. Looking down to the on-deck circle I just glimpsed Bernie returning to the bench on its home plate end. He walked through the dugout and emerged from the first base end with a bat, strode to the plate and singled in the tying run on Seay’s first pitch. We had tied the game and still had two on with none out, but Matsui popped to first and Lou (you know, maybe it was Lou with “Mr. Applegate” after all) brought in righty Lance Carter, even though we had switch hitter Posada and lefty Ventura coming up. The two Yanks went meekly on a foul to the catcher and a roller to second.
But we were in a tie game, and the afternoon continued to be gorgeous if a bit cooler. You can stare at the field all day and try to absorb it all, but you know, there’s always something that you miss. Like the music. The general practice in the Stadium is that the music played as each Yankee strolls to the plate is chosen according to that Yankee player’s preference. And today I first noticed what was played as our new left fielder batted, at least in the second and fourth. Before Hideki walked in the fourth, the scoreboard people played Elvis Costello’s hard-driving “Pump It Up”; the Beatles’ “Get Back!” preceded his second-inning liner to left. (Once the day was over, I reflected that a wiser choice might have been “Help!”, which was recorded on April 13, 1965, by the way.)
The Yanks saved the worst for last, as an ugly ninth cost us the game. Acevedo came on to pitch and gave up a Marlon Anderson single to lead it off. Perhaps the Yanks thought the hard-hitting (at least against us) Easley would hit away, but Posada was quickly in position to nail him at first on the first-pitch sac bunt anyway. As reported, Jorge had looked great early today, but at this moment the ball popped (Applegate again?) out of his hand for an error and he failed to even make a throw. But it gets worse, as the 2-2 pitch to catcher Hall went to the screen for a wild pitch and we were facing runners on second and third with none out. Given that start, we were lucky to escape on Hall’s sac fly and a 2-1 score after Juan retired Ordonez and Crawford with Easley standing on third.
Full of hope for one last comeback we were stalled when home plate ump Dreckman, who had called balls and strikes through 10 walks on the day, called strikes on five of the first seven pitches in the bottom of the ninth, retiring the usually free-swinging Mondesi and putting Wilson in an 0-2 hole from which he did not escape. Soriano flied to center, and Lou’s Devil Rays had prevailed.
They had beaten them “Damn Yankees.”
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!