All Things Bubba

June 25, 2006, Game 1: N.Y. Yankees 2, Florida 1

The D-Train was rolling today. He's murder on lefties, to the point that Torre planned to sit Cano. Giambi had back spasms, though, so Giambi ended up sitting while Cano played. I was not expecting Bubba to be in the lineup against a lefty, let alone a lefty like Willis.

The D-Train went the distance, and was excellent...but not quite good enough. Oddly, it was a lefty who drove in both runs: Johnny Damon. He'd never seen Willis before, but still singled to drive in Andy Phillips, and hit a solo homer for the game-winner.

For some reason, the YES camera crew showed Bubba's reaction in the dugout while Johnny circled the bases. Perhaps just because he was so enthusiastic. While the other guys were in the dugout (probably sheltering from the rain), Bubba stood at the rail. He raised his arm in triumph, then headed to the steps to congratulate the hero.




Meanwhile, Mike Mussina was so crisp at first that fans were whispering about a possible no-no. But it ended in the 4th inning, and he was not as sharp after that. He was good enough, though - and good enough to notch his 2,500th career strikeout in the 7th inning. (Congrats, Moose!)

Kyle Farnsworth came in for the 8th, and so did Bubba Crosby, taking Bernie's place in RF. Good move. Farnsy had his usual indigestion-inducing inning. He got out of it...thanks to Bubba. With Borchard on 2nd, Ramirez smoked one to right. But Bubba was waiting for it, charged the ball, and made a great throw toward home. Borchard was held at 3B. They might have tried running on Bernie's arm, but they weren't going to run on Bubba's. Bubba saved a run there, and that turned out to be the game. (I shudder to think of what extra innings would do to the bullpen on a day when there's a doubleheader.)

Farnsy acknowledged Bubba after the play:


The NY Daily News describes it thus:

With the Marlins trailing 2-1 and a runner on second with one out, Hanley Ramirez lined a single to right that was fielded by Bubba Crosby, who had replaced Williams for the eighth.

But instead of giving the green light to Joe Borchard, Meacham put up the stop sign. It was probably the right play since the ball was hit so hard and Crosby, who has a much better arm than Williams, was playing shallow. Torre said Crosby had just been ordered to move a few steps in by bench coach Lee Mazzilli.

Ramirez stole second to put runners on second and third with one out. Jacobs struck out and Cabrera was intentionally walked. Then Josh Willingham flied out, leaving the bases loaded.

"When Bubba got the ball," Torre said, "I didn't think there was a chance they'd send the runner."

And you can see a video clip of the play here.

Bubba looked a bit overmatched against Willis in the bottom of the inning, but his defense made it worth it. It's hard to hit off the bench like that...especially if you're a lefty against a pitcher like Dontrelle Willis.

Bubba's in the lineup tonight, playing CF and batting eighth. Damon is DHing. Let's go, Bubba!