July 17, 2006: N.Y. Yankees 4, Seattle 2
Nice win for the Yanks. Bubba came in at the top of the eighth, as a defensive replacement for Bernie. That was normal and expected. What wasn't expected was that Nick Green came in for A-Rod.
There was an immediate buzz. A-Rod made three throwing errors during the game, and people wondered if Joe was benching him for that reason. But no, Joe said that wasn't it. A-Rod fouled a ball off his toe during the 5th inning, and it was swelling, so Joe told him to go ice it. Many did not believe that excuse, though.
Bubba batted once, in the bottom of the 8th, and struck out. At least he put up a decent fight: ball, called strike, swinging strike, ball, swinging strike.
Link of the Day: A Secret No Longer
It's an article about Chien-Ming Wang, but told mostly through the eyes of his friend, Bubba Crosby.
Wang flung his glove in frustration, the ferocity of the act stunning Crosby as much as the pitcher's 96 mph fastball jolts hitters suckered into settling in due to his smooth, breezy windup.
"All of us were kind of like, '(Whoa),'" Crosby said. "We were all surprised in a good way. Obviously it showed that he cared. He was battling for us because we had a beat-up bullpen.
"It was nice to see him get a little aggressive. I can see him sitting at the end of the dugout. He keeps to himself. I know he's quiet, but he's (ticked) off inside. But that day, a walk-off homer, he couldn't keep it inside."
Earlier this season, Michael Kay told a story about Torre putting Bubba in the lineup. He sent one of his coaches - I think it was Tony Pena - to tell Bubba. But he didn't. "Why not?" Torre asked.
"Well, he's playing PlayStation and I didn't want to bother him."
"I think you can bother him," Torre said.
Many were wondering what game Bubba was playing. From the above article...perhaps a golf game. (And Wang apparently knows enough English to tell Bubba, "You suck!" LOL!)
