June 26, 2006: N.Y. Yankees 5, Atlanta 2
These Braves aren't the Braves of old, that's for sure. It was an easier win than the score suggests, though harder than it needed to be. Proctor gave up a two-run homer in the 9th, forcing Mo in for the save. Sigh. And it would be freakin' Chipper Jones who hit it. I can't stand him.
Bubba got the start in RF tonight because Bernie's numbers against Tim Hudson are terrible. Bubba didn't have a great night at the plate, unfortunately.
He came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the 1st. (Yes, the first. Hudson had a rough first inning.) Ball, ball, foul - on what would have been ball three. Then he hit a hard liner...unfortunately, directly at Giles. Sigh. It was a hard hit, but in exactly the wrong place.
To the plate again in the 3rd. Andy on 1B, no outs. Ball, ball, strike, ball, ball. Bubba works a walk! But Melky, Damon, and Cairo all got outs - no runs scored. Bubba was out at second on a fielder's choice by Damon. At least he slid in hard and helped break up the DP.
Up again at the bottom of the 5th. Andy on 2B, one out. Bubba took one ball, then flied out to RF. Got just under it and popped it up. Bubba flung his bat to the ground in disgust as he ran it out. I was pretty annoyed myself. Two pitches? Have a little patience, Bubba! Who do you think you are, Soriano?
Last at bat was in the 7th. Andy on 3B, two outs. Bubba put up a battle this time. Watched a strike go by, fouled the next pitch off. Down 0-2. Ball, ball, foul. Then grounded out really weakly to the pitcher. Sigh. At least he made a battle of it. Six pitches is better than two.
Bubba still earned his keep - with his glove. He ran down a couple of balls to RF that Bernie would never have gotten. Still...I wish he'd hit. Or at least walk. His BA and OBP are now below Melky's and headed toward the Cairo zone. If he doesn't start getting on base, his cute butt is going to be glued to the bench.
Lefty on the mound for Atlanta tonight, so it will be Bernie in RF. But there are righties pitching the rest of the week. Please, Joe, start Bubba! He'll start hitting if he gets enough at bats. He always does.
