Princes Of The City

Written by: Mark Healey on 9th October 2009

Princes Of The City | read this item

For much of his Yankees career, Alex Rodriguez has been the object of wrath, bitterness and even derision. His teammate Mark Teixiera has had a much easier time in his first season in pinstripes. Both, for the next 24 hours at least, are True Yankees.

Twice, Alex Rodriguez erased Minnesota leads with clutch hits, the last being a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to keep the Bombers alive. Then, in the 11th inning, before anyone got a chance to realize that A-Rod was on deck, Teixiera won it with a home run of his own.

All in all, two eventful baseball games on the biggest stage in the world. Not too shabby.

***

One of the more incredible things about postseason baseball in New York is the ability to find your way to Yankee Stadium, even if you have little idea of where you are going.

Sure, the throngs of people moving towards the Herald Square subway station is intimidating, but the sea of folks of all shapes, sizes, colors and languages all wearing some version of the interlocking “NY” is calming at the same time.

“Don’t worry,” they seem to say, “We’re all going the same way.”

Of course, that’s not the picture of Yankee fans that is perpetuated around the country (and in Flushing), and while their collective arrogance and sense of entitlement is matched by few, their demographic is as multi-layered as that of any team in all of baseball.

And a powerful tenth man as well.

***

Wednesday, Game One: It was cold in the auxiliary press box above the right field stands in section 405. Though a picture postcard sunset was breathtaking, and the view from our area was incredible (looking down at the ballgame with the frieze as a frame … are you kidding?), the wind whipping through Yankee Stadium made for a challenging assignment. (Yeah, I know, you could care less, but the wind was making my laptop close!).

The blustery conditions made for a less than effective beginning to the game for C.C. Sabathia, who seem to labor through the first few innings (and was certainly not helped by two passd balls by Jorge Posada).

Trailing 2-0in the third inning, Derek Jeter snapped the crowd out of their frozen state with a two-run blast, causing the capacity crowd to explode with a roar that officially christened the new cathedral inaugural postseason game.

Nick Swisher would rile everyone up again in the fourth, ripping an RBI double down the left field line to score Robinson Cano from first with the go-ahead run. It was an important moment (despite the final score) and punctuated what has been a ongoing love affair between the Yankee fans and the fun-loving outfielder.

Though respectful (and appreciative) of the professional and reserved Yankees clubhouse of years past, Swisher has been a pleasure to interact with.

Swisher and Jeter weren’t the only offensive heroes on the night, as Alex Rodriguez rapped reliever Francisco Liriano’s first pitch into left field for an RBI single to ut the Yankees ahead 4-2, and Hideki Matsui delivered the death blow with a long two-run shot into the cutting wind. The offensive explosion would not, however, be a theme for Game Two.

***

During the long train ride home on Wednesday, I appeared on the “The Scott Ferrall Show”, and was asked whether or not the move to bench Jorge Posada in favor of Jose Molina for A.J. Burnett’s Game 2 start was the right move.

I said then, and feel now, that any manager has to make difficult calls like that constantly in the postseason. I am certainly not going to question Joe Girardi’s decision in this case, especially since, as a former catcher, he’s going to have a better grasp of the situation than any of us, be you media member or citizen.

In any event, the night was certainly milder, and it took 92 pitches before the Twins would score a run off of Burnett, a run-scoring triple off the wall in left center.

Then Aura and Mystique made their nightly appearance.

Topics: Alex Rodriguez, Autumn In New York, Ballgame, Baseball Games, Bitterness, Blustery Conditions, C C Sabathia, Capacity Crowd, Derek Jeter, Derision, Frieze, Game One, Incredible Things, Jorge Posada, King For A Day, Mark Teixiera, New York Yankees, nick swisher, Ninth Inning, Picture Postcard, Robinson Cano, Shapes Sizes, Square Subway Station, Tenth Man, Throngs, Time Don, Yankee Fans, Yankee Stadium