Bronx, N.Y., July 2, 2002 — “Because all you of Earth are idiots!”
These words of the alien Eros from the sci-fi classic film that shares the title of this column will have to do if you’re going to ask me why. I’m quite aware it took the Yankees fully one half their season, 81 games, to achieve more than a fleeting glance from the top of our division on the one hand. And it took us just as long to decide that our “Position Nine,” right field, needed fixing, on the other. I think it’s fitting that Raul Mondesi took his place in right, and in the five spot in the order, on July 2, 44 years from the date of the release of that Ed Wood “thriller.” Having teamed with Raul (and Derek, Ramiro, Roger, Robin and Jorge) to ensure that Raul’s debut, and the beginning of the season’s second half, got off without a hitch by the way, we (the entire takehimdowntown.com family) will be having our batteries musically recharged the rest of this week, and hope to climb back into the fan, observer and reporter of all things Yankee seat five days from today, Sunday, July 7.
Roger Clemens, unfortunately, had a very Plan 9 beginning and end to his evening, but he really pitched quite well in between. He was extended to 23 pitches, and surrendered all three hits and three runs he would give up, in the first inning, on a 1-2, lower-deck-in-right homer by Lawton, and then a two-run, monster, upper-deck line drive (if that much elevation under a ball will allow it to still be classified as a “line drive”) by soon-to-be-leaving-Cleveland Jim Thome, on a 2-1 pitch. In fact Roger threw four perfect innings (except for a third inning walk to Lawton, but Matt would promptly be removed on an attempted steal of second, as Jorge pegged him out). But more on that later.
The Ruler character in “Plan Nine” describes the alien plan as “long distance electrodes shot into the pineal pituitary glands of recent dead,” but in Roger’s case the electrodes were affecting the (heavy, and definitely live) muscles in his legs, during a stiflingly unpleasant evening in the Bronx. It was fortunate he lasted long enough for the three-run rally that took him off the hook in the fourth; too bad he couldn’t last until the seven-run explosion in the seventh. He has been holding at 288 career victories for some time, and his chances at reaching the 300-win milestone this year are fading start by start. Though he was getting results, he didn’t look comfortable, his two strikeouts in five innings was considerably low, and he threw a first-pitch ball to the last nine men he faced (even though he retired all of them but Lawton, on that walk).
Mr. Mondesi was splendid, if mostly fortunate, but debuting with four times on base in four at bats is hard to beat. He handled right field flawlessly, including reaching a Ricky Gutierrez liner that took off on him in midflight in the second. (Some might quibble that he should have caught Fryman’s bloop double in the ninth, but it’s a noninssue in a game we were leading 10-3 at the time.) And after walking, being hit with a pitch and reaching on an E5, the way he went with the pitch and deposited a bloop the other way for his first Yankee hit and rbi in the seventh belies all the bad “selfish player” publicity that accompanied him on his arrival.
Amazingly, most of the 45,000 announced crowd did attend on this horridly humid and hot evening in the Bronx. Not nearly as many walked away with foul balls for their efforts as on Friday and Sunday evenings, but worthy of note was the impressive catch a girl in the main boxes in Section 9 (that number again) made on a Jeter foul in the fourth. Whether the obvious delight this brought was a product of having caught a ball, or that the ball she caught was hit by Derek, I couldn’t tell you. Derek, by the way, is utilizing a batting memory tool I hadn’t noticed before, I guess to keep himself back and not lunge forward as he swings. After he does every other move in his ritual (he doesn’t have as many pre-swing moves as Nomar, but it’s close), at least when preparing for the first pitch of an at bat, the last thing he does is to pat his right thigh with his right hand, as if to remind himself to keep that appendage in position as he’s swinging. And I guess it’s working (3 for 5 tonight, and up about 15 points in BA the last few days).
And the Jorge cheer (as described in June 28’s column, it is “a soccer-like Jor-ge, Jor-ge Jor-ge Jor-ge, Jor-ge, Jor-ge chant — think “Oh Hey, Oh Hey Oh Hey Oh Hey, Oh Hey, Oh Hey” with the following syllabic pattern — short, long, short, short, short, short, short, short, medium, long, medium, long) of Friday night returned once Jorge nailed Lawton stealing in the third. It was also tried fitfully his first few times at the plate (it can become wearying and hard to synchronize with a given pitcher’s delivery pattern, particularly on extended at bats), and then again after he quickly pounced on Vizguel’s sixth-inning bunt and turned it into a 2-6-3 dp. But once Robin had legged out a rare infield hit in the seventh to load the bases, we gave it our best shot, as Jorge prepared for his first pitch.
A grand slam is a beautiful, rare, fun and uplifting thing. So is a homer off the foul pole. When you get them both on the same pitch, well, rest assured the cheer stays, as does the pencil I was using to score, the route I took to my seat tonight, and any other minutia of the evening I can recall. And speaking of the cheer, by the way, several fine Yankee fans in Box 622, Row E (two rows behind me) introduced it, and one told me weeks ago about their friend Tom, who purchased the season plan with them. Seems he then experienced the thrill of having the global marketplace employment gods toss the dice, placing him in a fine job, but in Bermuda. Faithful fan Tom has insisted on keeping the seat, and plans to join us during the playoffs in a matter of months. I think Tom should relax, sit back and rest assured. A Bronx trip is in his future. Plan Nine has been implemented.
BTW,TYW
YANKEE BASEBALL!!!