All Things Bubba

July 15, 2006: N.Y. Yankees 14, Chicago White Sox 3

An unexpected delight today, as the supposedly offense-challenged Yanks pulled ahead early and turned it into a blowout. And they did it mostly with small ball. There were four bunts...and according to Torre, none were called from the bench.

I wasn't expecting to see Bubba today with a lefty on the mound, but he came in at the top of the 7th. Johnny Damon had heat cramps in his legs, and with the Yanks already up 11-3, they sat him.

Bubba led off at the bottom of the 7th - and hit a home run! The first pitch was a ball, way high. Then a foul, and a swinging strike. The fourth pitch was a hanging curve, and Bubba smacked it to right center. No one was sure if it was going out or not, including Bubba. He didn't stop to look at the shot, hustling out of the box toward 1B. But it carried well in the hot, humid air, landing several rows back, well out of reach for rightfielder Jermaine Dye. Bubba had his fourth career home run.


And I had to laugh at the way AP wrote it up:

Even little Bubba Crosby got in on it, hitting his first home run since a game-winning shot last Sept. 19 against Baltimore.

"Little Bubba"?!

(Trivia: Three out of four of Bubba's homers happened against the White Sox, in Yankee Stadium.)

Bubba had another at bat in the 8th, and grounded out to SS on the first pitch.

The HittrackerOnline diagram of Bubba's homer is here.

So far, a very nice series for Bubba. A WebGem on defense that helped save the game yesterday, and a home run today. Great work, kid.