Bronx, N.Y., August 14, 2005 — It was perhaps fitting that Sunday’s Yankee game ended at 5:55 in another homestand where the Bombers drew roughly 55,000 per game. Those in the crowd remaining when Tony Womack caught Texas catcher Rod Barajas’s fly to center to end the contest had been in the park roughly five hours as well.
Righthander Shawn Chacon finally got his first win in his fifth appearance with the Yanks, and his fourth start. Chacon certainly would have gone longer on a more usual day, but the (first) 66-minute rain delay was instrumental in ending his day after five serviceable innings. Shawn surrendered three runs and seven hits in that time, but he did notch five strikeouts as well. And although few knew his day was at an end at the time, Chacon was on the short end of a game in which five runs had been scored when he threw his last pitch. It resulted in a fly to right from Rangers shortstop Michael Young.
The Yanks took the early lead, as Robby Cano lined hard to left with one down in the home first. Although Texas left fielder David Dellucci tracked the ball carefully as he retreated, it deflected off his glove for a two-base error. Alex Rodriguez came up with a big two-out hit, a hard liner to right, and the Yanks were up 1-0.
Although louder bats would be heard from later in the game, the trio of Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, and Bernie Williams established game-long offensive credentials in the second inning. Jason fouled two tough pitches before receiving the first of three consecutive walks to start the second, and Posada lined a double to center. Fresh off a walk-off game-winning home run Saturday, Designated Hitter Williams bounced a seeing-eye single into the hole past diving Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira, and the slow-footed Giambi and Posada both advanced a base, with Giambi scoring the Yanks’ second run. But Posada was tagged out on Tony Womack’s ensuing excuse-me bouncer to first, and young Rangers righty Joaquin Benoit stiffened to hold the Yanks there.
The failure to score Posada from third loomed large for a while as Texas centerfielder Gary Matthews and catcher Rod Barajas became a two-man wrecking crew. Chacon had benefitted from double plays that removed the first two Texas hits, singles by Dellucci and Hank Blalock that led off the first and second innings respectively. But when Matthews doubled to the wall in left center leading off the third, the Rangers would not be denied. Rodriguez made a fine play on a Kevin Mench grounder, pegging him out as Matthews crossed to third, and Barajas lofted a soft 1-2 single into short left to halve the Yankee lead. Benoit retired six of seven around Giambi’s second walk through four, and when Matthews led off the top of the fifth with his second double, the lead was in jeopardy. Chacon got Mench swinging, but left a 1-1 pitch up to Barajas, who blasted it into the netting above the retired numbers for a 3-2 Texas lead.
Yankee Stadium had all the charm of a broiling pan this day. With daily headlines covering the recent London bombings and the four-year-old 9/11 tragedy, the lines to get through security grow each day, but they reached a new peak in difficulty and time spent today. Once inside it was easy to nod in agreement when the gametime temp was listed as 95 degress, but the reported 49% humidity bespoke a reading that was seriously out of whack. People were using umbrellas to block the glaring sun, and $4.50 bottles of water were being poured over heads and down backs as if it were a kinder and gentler time and George Steinbrenner himself was handing out the bottles for free.
The crowd tried to muster some support for Chacon and the Pinstripers as the Yanks brought the top of the order to the plate down 3-2 in the fifth. But Jeter struck out on five pitches and Cano bounced to first on pitch no. six. Gary Sheffield worked a six-pitch walk, and A-Rod fouled strike three off three times before finally drawing a walk as well. Benoit had appeared to be getting stronger over the last few frames but patient Yankee bats had driven his count to 104 pitches in the steam heat, and skipper Buck Showalter decided against letting the young righty face Hideki Matsui with the tying and lead runs aboard. Lefty Brian Shouse came on and jumped in front of the Yankee left fielder 0-2. But his third offering was not as far inside as he wanted, and Matsui blasted it high and far down the first base line.
Seeing as it was clear there was no reason to run, Sheffield, Rodriguez, and Matsui did the same thing we behind home plate in the Upper Deck did, craning necks and straining eyes to catch the flight of the tiny white sphere. It was at this moment that the skies opened and the first of some impressively big raindrops greeted our earnest stares. I never saw the ball to tell you the truth, but friends seated down the third-base line swear the ball actually seemed to curve back a bit fair as it neared the foul pole. By then I had given up and focused my attention on first-base ump Tom Hallion. His call was delayed but sure; he pointed emphatically into fair territory and the Yanks had a 5-3 lead as the rain intensified.
Some fans scampered for protection, but most seemed to welcome the growing storm almost as much as they had Matsui’s blast. They had been feeling damp and sticky all afternoon (OK, all week) under a burning sun; at least now being wet felt right. And that wasn’t the only thing that felt right. Giambi walked yet again, and Posada and Williams followed with their second hits, with Bernie getting his second rbi as Jason slid around an attempted tag at the plate. A first-toss wild pitch to Womack capped the five-run uprising as Posada crossed for a 7-3 lead, and one pitch later the umps called first for some drying agent and then ordered the field covered.
Perhaps it was a baseball fan version of Murphy’s Law, but the Stadium cameras down each line and in center had more than the usual time to peruse the crowd during the many stops in play, seeking out fans crazed enough by the heat and need for Yankee victory to publicly display themselves in embarrasssing acts. And yes, I was among the most guilty, leading several youngsters to my right in a spirited “Yanks Are Winning!” dance that found its way onto the DiamondVision screen several times. The rains kept coming an we kept dancing, even after the cameras tired of our act and the DiamondVision started to show live action of the PGA Championship courtesy of CBS Sports.
Finally after a 66-minute rain delay the game resumed, but the rain started in again almost right away. Womack struck out to close the fifth, and even lofty Bob Sheppard showed some signs of heat distress, as he announced Wayne Franklin would be pitching the Yankee sixth as fellow lefty Alan Embree warmed on the mound. The Yankee faithful is having trouble accepting a Boston discard in the pen, and a chorus of boos rained down as swith hitter Teixeira doubled to right on a 1-0 pitch, though Alan retired Hank Blalock on a comebacker as Teixeira ran to third.
It was a team win, but if one tried to determine a rightful winner of today’s game ball, the long-suffering (though in an admittedly short period of time) Chacon, Alex Rodriguez, and the Giambi, Posada, Williams troika would all get votes, but the job Tanyon Sturtze did in relief should not be ignored. He relieved Embree and retired power-hitting Alfonso Soriano on a short fly to left and Phil Nevin on a strike out swinging to hold the 7-3 score. Sturtze struck out two more in a 1-2-3, nine-pitch seventh, and Felix Rodriguez and Scott Proctor held the Rangers to the three runs each inherited with a scoreless inning of relief apiece.
But the Yanks were not done. Jeter led off the home seventh with a walk off reliever Brian Gryboski and remained at first until Rodriguez lined a 1-1 two-out shot deep into the visiting bullpen for a 9-3 Yankee lead. Matsui drew a walk, but Giambi struck out after his three free passes, and the field was covered for a second rain delay. Perhaps the first rain was a pleasant respite from the unrelenting hazy, hot, and humid day, but the second was not, and although I like to say I never leave early, that did it for me. We were in the car when Posada and Williams each collected their third singles to start the home eighth, and moved up one base on a Womack bingle. Jeter bounced into a 6-4-3 double dip as the 10th run scored, and the final margin was forged.
With a 1.42 Yankee era and an 0-1 record going in, it’s not hard to see that Chacon hasn’t been receiving that kind of offensive support since he arrived in the Bronx weeks ago. He has pitched brilliantly. He had nothing to show for it after two starts, and actually lost his third start with the team in a game where he only gave up his second and third earned runs. But he complained not a bit when Manager Joe Torre called on him to contribute an inning in relief with the pen stretched to the max Friday night. The seven hits and one home run allowed through five today indicate he was not as sharp as he has been, perhaps a residue of the Friday night appearance.
Chacon pitches well, but throws a few more balls than would be ideal even when he is sharp. As it was he threw just 10 of 20 first-pitch strikes Sunday, and 34 of his 86 tosses were deemed balls by home plate ump Chad Fairchild, a temp fill-in who had a much better day behind the plate Sunday than he did in a horrible day at first base Saturday. With a fastball that rarely reaches 90, Chacon relies on misdirection and mixing his pitches, and few pitches he throws are hit hard, with Barajas’s home run being an exception.
So now, Chacon has finally seen the big Yankee bats do some damage on a day he was on the mound. The team needs to bring some offense and defense to the park each day, as was proved by Shawn’s frustrating results in his first three starts. Exactly 40 years ago this day, the Beatles album “Help!” started a nine-week run atop the U.K. charts, one day before the legendary band would be making a New York appearance at Shea Stadium. After four appearances in Pinstripes, Chacon was mum on the lack of offense when he pitched, but fans could sense his growing frustration, the kind of plea found in the Fab Four’s Sixties anthem:
- Help! I need somebody
Help! not just anybody
Help! you know I need someone
He-e-elp!
Shawn Chacon got some help today, and the long-injured Jaret Wright returns to the fold tomorrow. After a 5-2 homestand, perhaps the Yanks have enough Help! to make a strong playoff run in the coming seven weeks.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!