It’s funny how the memory works. I’d remembered that Straw’s homer was a grand slam (which I bizarrely neglected to mention in my original post), but somehow forgot that it was in the pinch! A major part of the small miracle and I somehow forgot about that.

Also, I’d remembered that they were down by like 7, not 4. I guess that’s because they scored 9, so I must have remembered that they must have needed all those runs, not just 4 to tie.

Point being that memory’s a weird thing, no? It makes me very dubious about the reliability of such procedures as, I don’t know, police lineups.

It was really a whole different world. She would run over after school, whenever there was a game. At the time, they let people in free after the 7th inning (I think it was the 7th), and school got out just in time.

After the game, she’d stake out the players’ exit and get autographs. She’s got a lot of old Yankee autographs, but no Pirates. Must have been the visitors’ exit she was camping by.

Can you imagine? My parents would never let me go to a ball game by myself when I was 12 or 13. Heck, a lot of parents today won’t take their kids to ball games at all because of the obnoxious drunks. And getting in free to a World Series game? Heck, Game 7 of the World Series played in the afternoon, when most people are at work?

Personally, I’m sick of fans, especially Yankee fans, complaining that ARod is not “clutch”. They’re just being sour grapes for whatever reason (i.e. personal prejudice). Guys, just get over it. He’s on our team, and he’s having a monster season, so let’s support the guy.

Not with two outs… //

I swear I wasn’t posting drunk last night. At least, not very. I confess, I recycled a lot of that post from a comment I e-mailed to a friend about a previous game. (She’s a Pirates fan, who never fails to rub Womack in my face. She was also at the stadium when Bill Mazeroski made his big hit, and rags me on that, too. I wasn’t even born at the time, and she was a little girl, but Pirates fans live on memories…)

Anyway, I don’t think I’m dissing A-Rod, and I never have. I’m not one of those who thought he wasn’t a “true Yankee.” I thought he was a great Yankee from square one. (Giambi, I confess to dissing from time to time, but not A-Rod.) I’m not poking holes in him. Or if I am, no more than I do with everyone. Hey, it’s what fans do.

Sorry if I’ve put my foot in it. A-Rod seems to be a more sensitive topic that I realized. I hadn’t a clue, really, because all the Yankees fans I know welcomed him with open arms.

Re: KC…I just read an article in a Kansas City paper that implied MacDougal warmed up against orders. Bell says he told him before the game he was not pitching.

Now they’ve got a 10-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium. Will it be 11 today? Or will the game be rained out?

I read that is was due to arm fatigue. That raises the question…why was he up and warming then? And, if you have a young ballclub who just came off a very tough 19 game losing streak, you can’t afford to blow a big lead in a game where your pitcher of the future battled the Yankees in NY and was poised for an important psychological win.

What you did when you brought in a journeyman reliever with a 7+ ERA, despite having McDougal warming during the eighth, is send a message to your team that one game is no more important than the next. A fair point, if only it were true.

When you are a team 36 games out or whatever, and have been kicked around for a few years, you need to save those symbolic games from your typical dismal fate. I think this game qualified as one of those symbolic games.

“Okay fellas. We are shot this year. We’re buried and nowhere near contention. We have a future, though. That future could start right now. This young pitcher is going to put us on his back in a few years and help carry us to the promised land. Play hard behind him. Get the lead and let him work his magic. Oh…..by the way…..if the Yankees rally, McDougal is kinda worn out so we’ll go to Joey Crack over here, but don’t worry. You’re all used to disappointment by now, right? Now go get ‘em.”

Sweeney must be wondering why he agreed to stay in KC. Nice work Buddy Bell.

Rant over.

That’s a good question. Personally, I’m of the belief that the difference between a good player and a champion is that a champion somehow finds something extra when it really matters.

I’m reminded of something Andre Agassi said once. It was a long time before he won any Grand Slam events, and a lot of people were saying he was more image than talent, or that he was too lazy, lacked discipline, etc. He finally broke through at Wimbledon, at age 22 (pretty old for a tennis player). He went on to win many grand slam events – all four of the majors at least once, which Pete Sampras failed to do. Someone asked him what changed, and he said he learned that you can’t play every point the same. You have to learn to keep something in reserve for the big points.

It’s not quite the same in baseball, which has a lot less running around, but I think the general principle applies. You can’t play every play the same. It was thrilling to see Jeter go head-first into the stands, and against Boston at that point in the game, it was understandable. But if he did that every game, he’d be an idiot.

That actually prompted a rather angry letter to FOX broadcasting to which I got a rather curt reply. I challenge anyone to top that .

I think you know what you’re talking about and I think your perspective on most issues is very good, but…..

What does A-Rod have to do to get some love, my man.

Give it to him…no caveats and no qualifiers. He’s hit in the clutch all year. You don’t lead the AL in game winning RBIs without being clutch. That’s the very definition of clutch. If you get a hit that scores the run that decides the game, you’re clutch.

It doesn’t matter if that hit comes in the form of a 1st inning 2 run homer or a bottom of the ninth, two out, two strike, walk-off grand slam. That’s baseball. Clutch means a lot of things which includes getting the hit that wins the game.

I think part of the thing with A-Rod is that his big moments haven’t been of the dramtic variety like others. He didn’t have that Giambi against Minnesota home run in the rain in the bottom of the 14th inning. He doesn’t have those moments where the Yanks are down and out and he belts a 3 run shot when the team is down to its last strike. He just consistently hits and scores and drives in runs.

Not with two outs…

However…IMO, this game supports what I’ve been saying about A-rod. I don’t think he lacks ability or toughness or moral fiber or anything like that. I think he tries too hard, and would play better in the clutch if he took it down a notch. Moreover, I think he’ll learn to do this eventually, and get even better than he is now.

Every time he goes to the plate, he’s trying hit a home run. He’s often successful. But I think he might have even more success if he just tried to get on base sometimes. Trust the rest of the lineup to pick up the slack.

This time, the rest of the team picked up the slack before he even came to bat. He didn’t have to hit a home run. He had Speedy Jetey at 3rd; a single or a sac fly was all that was needed. And he came through.

I remember the game, because I was listening to an internet feed of Sterling’s broadcast of that Yankee game in 1998 when I was on a business trip. I thought the same thing: Sterling was as thrilled in yesterday’s game against KC as I’ve heard him during a regular season comeback (which is saying a lot), and it reminded me of the game in 1998 against Oakland, with old friend Kenny Rogers pitching.

Rogers took a 5-1 lead into the 9th, but tired, and the Yanks scored 9 runs in the ninth to win 10-5. Second game of a doubleheader sweep, no less.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=199808042oak

“Umm…no.

That was great, but not, IMVHO, real clutch. If he struck out, the game would go to extra innings. Sheff was the one who was really in the clutch this time. If he struck out, the game was over.”

Yes, Sheff was clutch here, but think about one thing in A-Rod’s favor….if he HAD struck out there, we would have had to use Mariano in extra innings and depending on how our offense responded from there, maybe he’d have to pitch 2 innings and then Sturtze and F-Rod, etc…..

Sheff knocked the Royals down, and A-Rod stepped on their neck. It was, by the way, A-Rod’s AL-leading 18th game winning RBI of the season.