June 30, 2006: N.Y. Yankees 2, N.Y. Mets 0
A classic pitchers' duel between El Duque and...just about the entire Yankees pitching staff. ;-)
Luck just doesn't seem to be with the Yanks this year. Last night, at long last, the weather showed all clear for the night. It seemed we'd finally have a game with no threat of a rain delay. Hah! Out of the blue, a line of strong thunderstorms bringing heavy rain descended on the Bronx. Weather.com was still saying it wasn't raining, even as buckets came down and the radar showed ominous splotches of red and yellow as well as green.
There was a rain delay of over an hour, which took Moose out of the game. Villone came in for him, and gave up a hit to Endy Chavez, ruining the no-hitter. However, I forgave him when he got it back by picking off Chavez at first. He worked really hard on it, changing his timing, using the slide step, and just keeping at it until the payoff. Great stuff.
To my amazement, Proctor and Farnsworth also pitched well. And Mo, was, well, Mo.
I can't really complain about playing Bernie this time. He went 2 for 3, stole a base (so lackadaisically that even Torre commented on it, but it worked), and scored a run. And he wasn't a liability in the OF, mainly because hardly anything got out there.
Bubba came in for Bernie at the top of the 8th. He really didn't help the Yanks yesterday, I'm sorry to say. He was brought in for defense, but nothing was hit his way.
Bubba came to bat at the bottom of the 8th. Jeter led off with a double. Giambi struck out, then A-Rod flied out. (To scattered boos. Short memories these fans have.) Posada was intentionally walked to reach Bubba. Alas, Bubba didn't make them pay. He took one ball, then popped out to 3B on the second pitch. Again, he threw his bat hard to the ground in visible frustration as he ran it out.
To be fair, Giambi and A-Rod didn't get the job done, either. Still, I'd hoped Bubba could bring Jeter home. A contact hitter can often hit pitchers a slugger can't. Bubba was over-anxious, I think. Trying too hard. He needs to be more patient at the plate. He has a good eye and quick hands. He can afford to take more than one pitch.
I can understand why he's so wired, though. Bernie is hitting well from both sides now. And Andy has taken over at 1B. That means Giambi DHs. Which means Bernie can't. So Bernie is getting the lion's share of starts in LF, when it was supposed to be Bubba. The only way Bubba is going to get more playing time is if he starts hitting better than Bernie. Or better than Andy.
Bubba gets another chance today. Torre is starting him in RF. C'mon, Bubba! Please start hitting, so the Ghost of Bernie Williams can be laid to rest on the bench, where it belongs.
On another subject...the Middletown Times Herald-Record has a nice article about Miguel Cairo.
