All Things Bubba

July 24, 2006: N.Y. Yankees 6, Texas 2

Bubba got an unexpected chance at redemption today. Johnny Damon hurt his back climbing into the car to get to the stadium. It's not serious, but they decided to give Bubba the start, just to be safe.

His first at bat, he hit it up the middle and into no-man's land in short left-center, but Young raced over and made a nice over the shoulder catch to rob Bubba of a hit. Very Jeter-esque, damn him.

Bubba came up again in the fourth, and hit a high chopper to 1B that almost went over Teixeira, but he made a high, leaping catch. Drat. Robbed again.

In the sixth inning, Bubba grounded weakly to 1B for an easy out.

He did come through in the 8th inning, though. With one out and no one on, he hit a single to SS, beating the throw to first with his blazing speed. Wow. I really wasn't expecting that. Reliever C.J. Wilson was in by then, and he's a lefty. Not only that, he's a pretty tough lefty: lefties are batting only .189 against him.

Bubba's left/right splits are now completely whacked:

             BA    OPS 
 VS. LEFT: .300 / .600 
VS. RIGHT: .205 / .571

Bubba stole second on a wild pitch. Derek Jeter moved him to 3B on a groundout, but he ended up stranded when Andy Phillips also grounded out.

Bubba showed some great D in the 4th inning. He cut off a double by Young very quickly, keeping Kinsler, who was on 2B, from trying for home. Tex then hit a rocket to center, but Bubba ran it down.

But the play that made the highlight reels was in the 6th. The Unit was in a two-on, one-out jam. Brad Wilkerson smoked one to center. Bubba showcased his speed again, making a running, leaping grab at the warning track. The video clip at MLB.com is called Crosby Saves the Day. (Unfortunately, they used the Texas feed, so you hear them talking about what a shame it was that Wilkerson was robbed. As if Bubba did something wrong by catching that ball!)

From the NY Times:

Torre named Proctor and Farnsworth among the stars of Monday’s game. He also listed Aaron Guiel, who homered in the sixth; Miguel Cairo, who doubled in two runs in the fourth; and Bubba Crosby, who hauled in a deep drive to center with two on in the sixth.

Nice win for the Yanks, and nice night for Bubba.

Bubba gets another start tonight, as Damon's back isn't any better. Damon may be until at least Friday, so Bubba could be getting a lot of playing time this week.