Bronx, N.Y., September 1, 2006 — The news could have been bad, Alex Rodriguex planted firmly on the bench with the Yanks playing in New York. Was Nick Green out there for defense with three outs to go? Was Joe Torre shielding A-Rod from another night of Stadium booing? Yes, the Yankee manager removed Alex Friday night before the game was over, but there was nothing negative in this move. Rodriguez got to take a breather after a huge offensive night with the Yanks putting away the Minnesota Twins.

First, in a game that few expected to go nine, if it were to be played at all, the Yanks grabbed a critical early lead when A-Rod drilled Carlos Silva’s first pitch of the second inning deep into the left field seats. It cleared the foul pole on the fair side simply because it had no time to curve foul. On a team used to having the now injured Gary Sheffield launch lasers down the left field line, this drive was startling in its violence and its sudden impact.

And righthander Cory Lidle treated the lead like it was a valuable possession entrusted to him for safekeeping (which it was). He joined Chien-Ming Wang, Jaret Wright, and Randy Johnson in assembling a string of professional starts that young Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner can use as a template in their respective efforts once tropical storm Ernesto allows the resumption of baseball in the Bronx.

And truth be told Ernesto was a more worthy adversary to the Yankees’ plans than the playoff contender Minnesota Twins this night. The Yanks did all they could to get this one in, as Lidle’s 7:06 first pitch was two to four minutes earlier than any in memory in the Stadium. Quick, but not quick enough, as the drops that hadn’t started falling with the playing of the National Anthem made an appearance just before Twins left fielder Jason Tyner took the Yankee righty’s first-pitch fastball for a strike.

Cory retired the first six visitors, and 10 of 11 around a third-inning walk until Johnny Damon couldn’t hold onto Joe Mauer’s dying quail to short left center with one down in the fourth. As would become more evident as the game went on, Ernesto played as much centerfield as anyone Friday, as the wind carried the ball further and further from Damon’s game try. The wind giveth and the wind taketh away, however. Michael Cuddyer followed with a deep drive to center that was going places. Damon turned and broke, but suddenly the wind knocked the ball down to where he could grab it. Justin Morneau followed with a single, but the Twins’ best chance had passed once Torii Hunter bounced to A-Rod at third.

Lidle did not match the length of the starters who preceded him on this home stand, leaving after throwing 97 pitches through six. But one needs to keep in mind that this one easily could have been over by then. The intensity of the rain fluctuated, but once the Yanks grabbed a lead, the crowd was anxious that Lidle retire the Twins five times for a complete game. Cory’s fast ball topped out at 88 mph, not very daunting to a big-league batter, but he keeps hitters honest with four effective pitches, and off stride due to the varying speeds. His change of pace masks itself as a heater but at a full 10-12 mph slower. The split-finger pitch “splits” the difference at about 82 and a tantalizing curve drifts plateward at 72 mph or even slower. He retired shortstop Jason Bartlett on a 5-3 to close the fifth for a complete game after freezing the youngster for an 0-2 count on a floater that clocked in at 68.

The Yanks had doubled their lead in the third when Derek Jeter singled, stole second, and scored on a Bobby Abreu single. They sped through the home fourth, but things changed once Lidle got Bartlett. The young infielder’s grounder to Alex at third was one of Lidle’s 10 ground ball outs in six frames.

Celebrating the Stadium joy that the five frames denoted a complete game, the Scoreboard crew played Eric Clapton’s “Let it Rain” as Damon got the home half going with a flair single to left. He stroked it on a 1-2 pitch and it was reminiscent to this Yankee fan of so many soft hits Johnny taunted us with while playing for Boston. With Damon on the run, Jeter found the vacated second base hole for first and third and the big inning was on. Abreu plated one with a single, and first sacker Morneau’s bad throw to second on a Giambi bouncer right to him loaded the bases. Rodriguez drove in two runs Thursday with three hits; he now equaled that ouput with a 1-0 single up the middle. Robby Cano singled for another tally and a fourth scored on an Aaron Guiel fielder’s choice. The Yanks had a 6-0 lead, and the only remaining question was how long would this one go.

Lidle tossed 12 first-pitch strikes to the first 18 batters, then closed the sixth with three infield outs around his second walk. The two fourth-inning safeties were the only hits he allowed and he struck out four. Of the 97 throws, 61 were strikes, and it’s a cool coincidence that the 36 tosses off the plate matched exactly the number that hit Minnesota bats. Twins swung and missed eight times, and home plate ump Tim Welke called 17 strikes against them.

The intermittent rain intensified but the teams played nine innings. The Twins stroked back-to-back hits off T.J. Beam for their lone score in the ninth. By then they were behind 8-0 because Alex lofted a homer to left to start a two-run rally in the home seventh. Jorge Posada followed with a blast that had back-to-back written all over it, until Ernesto swooped in and literally stopped the drive 30 feet short of the wall. Embarrassed center fielder Hunter, one of the better defenders out there, couldn’t recover and overran the ball for a double. Melky Cabrera scored Jorge on his second single of the night for the final Yankee run.

Much is being made of Alex Rodriguez’s sudden resurgence, all apparently sparked by a bloop hit in yesterday’s game. But veteran fans, not the ones who have been booing his struggles, knew it was just a matter of time before his big bat would resume its lofty production. He’s been a top rbi man for a decade, and that doesn’t end overnight. His slump may have been longer and more dire than some he’s suffered, but he has been contributing all along through the struggles.

So rejoice as Yankee fans that he’s on the upswing, or fear the potential effect this resurgence will have on an already potent lineup if you’re not. There’s nothing surprising about it. The hits were, and are, sure to come. It’s now 10 years since rap artist LL Cool J released his hit “Momma Said Knock You Out,” roughly around the time Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez began plying his trade in Seattle. The lyrics sounds prophetic to Alex’s situation in 2006:

Don’t call it a comeback
I been here for years

Makin’ the tears rain down like a MON-soon
Listen to the bass go BOOM
Explosion, overpowerin’
Over the competition, I’m towerin’

I’m gonna knock you out (HUUUH!!!)

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!