Bronx, N.Y., June 29, 2004 — As the Yankees prepared to host the Red Sox Tuesday evening, it had been 66 days since the two rivals had met. Fans of both franchises were itching for a fight, and two pitches into the game, it appeared they would get one. That just shows how wrong you can be.

Even though Derek Lowe has been having an off year, he had won three of four coming in, and Johnny Damon’s 1-0 upper deck home run off Javier Vazquez leading off the game seemed to spell trouble. Yankee fans feared that the first Red Sox batter had set a tone. Javy fell behind to third sacker Mark Bellhorn 2-0, but when the Sox infielder popped to Tony Clark at first, a level of calm returned to the proceedings. Vazquez got Ortiz out on a liner to center and struck out Manny Ramirez swinging, and when he retired the Sox on eight pitches in the second, he appeared to have settled in.

With Jason Giambi continuing to struggle with flu-like symptoms, Joe Torre installed Alex Rodriguez at cleanup, as he had against the Mets. Kenny Lofton played center and led off, with Jeter and Shef behind him. Lofton fell behind Boston sinker baller Lowe 0-2 to start the Yanks, then smacked a routine grounder to Garciaparra at short. But Nomar double-clutched as Lofton busted down the line, and the throw was off line. What happened during a first at bat had set a tone for the evening all right, but it was a Pinstripe at bat, not one by the Red Sox.

Tony Clark has been a Yankee hero with his defensive play at first this year, but on this night he would wield that big stick to help the cause. The Stadium was rocking when Hideki Matsui and the DH’ing Bernie Williams led off the second inning with singles, but Garciaparra made a nifty grab on a Posada hard hopper, and the resulting 6-4-3 had Hideki all alone at third with two down. With Clark down to .217 coming in, Lowe looked to have escaped in the very way a sinker ball pitcher would, throwing ground balls. But Tony stroked Derek’s 1-0 pitch into short right for the 1-1 tie.

Kevin Millar, not having a good year in Boston, battled Vazquez leading off the third, eventually striking out swinging on Javy’s 12th toss. But after Reese went down swinging too, Damon blasted a first-pitch fastball into the right field bleachers, and the Sox had regained the lead. Having seen his offense play before, Vazquez knew he was OK, and he calmly completed the three-K inning on Bellhorn, and notched four more as he retired 12 of the next 17 Sox.

Derek Lowe fell into the Lofton 0-2 trap again leading off the third, and when Millar booted the ensuing soft hopper down first, the hustling centerfielder reached base leading off for the second of three times on the night. And this time the Yanks would not fail to take advantage. Jeter singled Kenny to third on a liner toward the right field line, and Sheffield tied the score at two on a sac fly to center on the next pitch. Jeter stole second, then held there as A-Rod’s hopper smacked the third base bag for an infield single. On a 2-2 pitch to Matsui, Jeter and Rodriguez pulled a double steal, with Derek’s theft of third pretty unusual. With a lefty batter up, Boston receiver Jason Varitek had a clear throwing lane to third, but his throw to Bellhorn was quite high, and appeared to be late too. Rbi-focussed Matsui immediately delivered both tallies with a single to right, and the Yanks had a lead they would not relinquish.

The shoddy Red Sox defense continued in the fourth and fifth, and the Yanks played the perfect hosts, graciously accepting every miscue and turning them into runs. Lowe followed his only strike out (Clark) with his only walk (Cairo), and Jeter bounced to short after Lofton lined to center. But Garciaparra bobbled the bounce and Derek reached. Given a fourth out, Gary Sheffield deposited the 1-0 offering over the fence in left, and the Yanks had a 7-2 lead.

There was still one nervous moment, as Nixon led off the fifth with a single to right. We’ll never know how big a play Lofton’s determined sprint into short left center to nab Millar’s one-out liner was, but things got tense enough when Reese followed with a single. Down five runs, Nixon gambled and just barely beat Sheffield’s throw into third, with Reese following into second. Double-home run hitter Damon came to the plate with two in scoring position, and the fans of both teams bellowed their guys on. But Vazquez won a seven-pitch battle as Johnny bounced back to the box to end the last Boston threat.

In the home fifth, after a one-out Williams single up the middle, Jorge Posada hit what should have been his second double play grounder to slick-fielding Reese at second, but the ball bounced out of Pokey’s glove and he had to settle for the force at second. Is that opportunity I hear knocking? Tony Clark certainly heard it, and he promptly blasted an 0-1 sinker into the black unused seating to the right of dead center, easily 430 feet from the plate. Clark has been hearing that sound all year, and with Travis Lee out for the year, and Giambi battling a parasite after other nicks and bruises, Tony continues to make an impression, a quite tall one.

The Yanks would scratch for two more on an A-Rod fielder’s choice in the sixth and a Jeter single in the seventh, and Ortiz would add a third Red Sox tally on a tracer into the seats in the loge in right. The Red Sox did little more than hit three home runs this night, but each was a mighty blast (though I’ll take Clark’s).

Derek Lowe wasn’t sharp, and he failed to take advantage of the two instant leads his centerfielder gave him, throwing first-pitch balls to the second through ninth batters in the Yankee lineup first time through. But on the other hand, he whiffed one, got 11 of the remaining 14 outs in his five frames on grounders, and earned four more outs in that manner than he got.

Javier Vazquez was good. He threw 74 strikes and 40 balls, and got first-pitch strikes on 18 of 28 batters. But he didn’t have his best fastball, evidenced by the fact that Kevin Millar was able to foul six of eight pitches in the third before finally striking out. But all eight of Javy’s punch outs were of the swinging variety, as they almost invariably are, and he did get the Sox to swing and miss 13 times. (Lowe got four swinging strikes in 57.) The three taters are a bit of a concern, but he walked only one, a big performance in a big game.

The aforementioned Lofton sprint to nab Millar’s fifth-inning liner has tough compettion from the 4-3 Cairo turned in on Varitek’s hard grounder into the hole in the third for defensive honors of the game. But Cairo wins the night on a high creativity score. Sprinting to his right in pursuit of Nixon’s grounder up the middle in the eighth, he tried to swipe and bat the ball with his glove to Jeter at second for the force on Garciaparra. The play was not close, but the attempt was inspired. Also of note is a foul ball Millar hit over the third base dugout in the third during his mammoth 12-pitch at bat, a foul that came very close to striking the light stanchions that are the last line of defense against a foul ball clearing the Stadium wall altogether.

Tuesday night was gorgeous, and the Stadium was a sight to behold with people packed in to the rafters, just as it had been for the battle of New York on the weekend. A three-quarters moon dominated the evening, with a smattering of clouds drifting through before the sky grew black. And despite 14 runs, the contest was over in a crisp two hours and 51 minutes.

There were Red Sox fans aplenty in attendance, both those bold enough to wear team jerseys and hats, and those who dress discreetly, concealing their rooting passions under T-shirts devoted to rock groups, vacation destinations, and local businesses. And yes, of course, there were a few battles in the stands. Blowouts are that way, and a Red Sox win by a big score would have been worse. And although it appalls me that fans can’t keep themselves under control, and treat visiting fans as guests, there is just a level of passion in Yankees/Red Sox games you can’t find anywhere else.

It was fun playing the Mets, and raising our voices to try to drown out the “Let’s Go Mets” calls that appeared anytime they threatened. But the level of passion just is not the same. Nelson Eddy, a baritone and movie star of yesteryear was born 103 years ago this day. He is most known for his duet with Jeannette McDonald on the song Indian Love Call in a movie called “Rose Marie.” The lovestruck mountie and his girl sing to one another,

When I’m calling you-oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo.

When it comes to playing baseball that attracts passionate crowds who know how to root on their teams, I have a message for Red Sox fans. It is the best it can be,

When I’m playing you-oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!