Bronx, N.Y., May 6, 2007 — The Yankees and the Mariners squeezed a lot of baseball, and oh so much more, into one of the shorter ballgames of the year in Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon. A scoreless pitchers’ duel through four, half the game was over in one hour and one minute. But not half the drama.
It’s a shame, really, that this game is going to be known for being the one that featured an almost very ugly brawl, and an announcement that a great ex-Yankee was returning to the fold, because Darrell Rasner was simply superb, as was Jarrod Washburn pitching for the Mariners. Both hurlers routinely retired opposition batters with ease. The only thing that separated the two early was that rookie Rasner was doing so while throwing about two-thirds the pitches.
Darrell’s 1:08. first-pitch fastball to Ichiro Suzuki was recorded at 87 mph, the second at 88. When southpaw Washburn pitched to Johnny Damon a few minutes later, he started with back-to-back fastballs too, the first at 87 with the follower 88. OK, they weren’t carbon copies. Washburn was up 0-2, and Rasner behind in the count 2-0, but each survived the first around a base hit.
And any fan concerned that the pinstriped rook started with two off the plate (guilty as charged) learned to chill pretty quickly. Rasner found the zone on first pitches to the next 12 Seattle hitters, and 15 of the first 18 two times through the order. But if the hometown crowd calmed down as the righthander did not allow another baserunner until the fifth, the work of lefty Washburn had ’em worried. He also threw 15 of 18 first-pitch strikes twice through the order. And by the time he retired the still hitless-for-the-year Miguel Cairo (in at second for Robby Cano) and Wil Nieves (giving starting catcher Jorge Posada a blow), Washburn was two outs into the fifth with first baseman Josh Phelps standing on first with just the Yanks’ third hit.
But both Washburn’s pitching line and the game were about to turn darker. Damon’s seven-pitch walk moved Phelps into scoring position, and Captain Derek Jeter, who would reach base five times this day, lined the next pitch into center for an rbi single. Yankee fans are used to singles to center field scoring players running from second, as the two guys who have patrolled the vast area out there in the Bronx for the last 15 years do not have the arms to make the play at the plate. Mariner Ichiro Suzuki, however, does. Phelps made the turn at third and headed for home with his head down. This may not explain why he barreled into catcher Kenji Johjima, who admittedly was not blocking the plate or threatening to tag Josh out.
Was Phelps out to hurt Johjima? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that the Yanks are a frustrated team. It’s no secret around the league that their batters are routinely hit by pitches twice as often as Yankee hurlers hit batters on other teams, and it has become part of the early 2000’s milieu that “Gentleman Joe” does not direct his pitchers to retaliate. The Yankee skipper was furious when he and his counterpart were officially warned Friday night when Kei Igawa threw high and tight to Suzuki following three booming Seattle home runs. Later that game, Yankee reliever Mike Myers hit a batter with a barely 70-mph curve, but Hideki Matsui and Alex Rodriguez were both hit by pitches Saturday. The fast ball that struck A-Rod’s elbow left a welt, and his start in today’s game was in doubt. It’s impossible to say if Phelps’s take-out slide was retribution.
Meanwhile, Rasner was outpitching the veteran Washburn and once Bobby Abreu singled for a second run, the Yankee rookie had a 2-0 lead through five while throwing 35 less pitches. But even though Darrell got two quick outs in the sixth, the long bottom of the fifth affected him. He threw just one first-pitch strike to the first four up, and a single and a walk had the tying runs on with power hitter Richie Sexson coming to the plate. Torre pulled the hook at just the right time. Scott Proctor coaxed a high foul pop that Jeter had trouble tracking in the sun; it fell a row into the stands behind third, and Sexson grounded to shortstop on the next pitch.
The high left field sky that affected Derek had disastrous effects on the visitors, and what had been a brisk pitchers’ dual quickly degenerated as the Mariners self-destructed, and the game got ugly. Johjima dropped Giambi’s foul pop in front of the visiting dugout before the DH lined hard to right starting the home sixth. Then Matsui lifted a fly toward the corner in left and, blinded by the sun, left fielder Raul Ibanez circled helplessly, and it fell. Initially ruled Seattle’s second error in as many at bats, later Matsui was credited with a double, probably because Ibanez never touched it. The hit was Hideki’s 2,000th in the Japan leagues and major league baseball combined.
Phelps followed and took an inside pitch, then took first as Washburn plunked him. A frustrated Torre protested the hit by pitch to home plate ump Mike Everitt to no avail. Cairo broke his hitless streak when his soft liner over second glanced off Willie Bloomquist’s outstretched glove for a single. Nieves remains hitless, but his ensuing grounder to first, briefly bobbled, scored Matsui for his first rbi and a 3-0 Yankee lead. Chris Reitsma relieved Washburn and whiffed Damon to leave two in scoring position.
Proctor got two quick seventh-inning outs on grounders, the second a beautiful play by A-Rod, and Scott’s next pitch sailed over shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt’s head. Everitt immediately tossed Proctor from the game as both benches emptied and the bullpen pitchers came running in to join the fray. First in line was a furious Brian Bruney who had no time to retrieve his cap before leading the charge. No punches were thrown, and once order was restored amid cascading boo’s from the stands. It was refreshing to hear Yankee fans break from clueless strings of poor attempts at doing the Wave to blast derision at the ump and the opposition instead of their own players for a change.
Sean Henn finished the seventh, and the home team plated two more right away, as the Mariners were clearly shaken. Jeter reached on a two-base error by Adrian Beltre at third, and when Ibanez couldn’t find Abreu’s fly to left in the sun, the result again was a pop fly double. With two outs, Matsui drilled a hard single to right for run number five, and to tack on another hit, a nice followup considering the tainted nature of his 2,000th.
So now we had a moment to compose ourselves, as a pitchers’ dual had changed first into a take-no-prisoners, high-heat-inside, hard-sliding battle, then into a sunbathed nightmare for the visitors who struggled on virtually every play. We stood for “God Bless America,” but just as the welcome strains of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” started up, Bob Sheppard interrupted with word that there was an important announcement to come from the owner’s box.
Decades ago, social theorist Marshall McLuhan assured a generation that the “Medium Was the Message.” Once Roger Clemens appeared on the DiamondVision screen, the message was clear. Roger is returning to the Yankee rotation; he’ll be starting games in the stadium in a matter of weeks.
Sunday’s game was over in a brisk two hours, 32 minutes, with Kyle Farnsworth and Brian Bruney finishing up for the Yanks. Farnsworth allowed no hits because first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, now in for Phelps, dove to his left on a Jose Vidro hot shot down the line for a 3-1. Seattle Reliever Sean Green’s first pitch in the eighth was at Miguel Cairo’s head, to no word from the umps. The Yankee second sacker answered with his second hit in as many at bats. And it was good that Bruney pitched the ninth around a Sexson single. He was very fired up after the seventh-inning near brawl, one we’ll have to watch as these two teams face one another yet again tomorrow night. If MLB switches umps for the Monday game as they often do after Sunday, things will be even more interesting.
But what is undeniable is that the Yankees are a fired-up bunch, ready to plow ahead and take no prisoners in pursuit of championship number 27. Phelps isn’t feeling very apologetic about today’s game, I’m sure; neither is Proctor. It’s no secret that the Rocket has dominated batters over two decades by pounding heat inside, with not so much as one “I’m sorry” in all that time. If there is a word of regret from this day, it’s that the superb Darrell Rasner, who struck out four, walked two, and allowed three measly singles over 5.7 frames, will be heading back to AAA. He pitched great, got the well-deserved win, and seems to be a very nice guy. We can only hope fellow AAA starter Matt DeSalvo pitches like Rasner when he becomes 2007 Yankee starter number 10 Monday night.
But one thing has changed. Matt will be taking the mound fronting a team that will perhaps be a little “less nice” going forward.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!