Saturday, June 09, 2007
All Systems Go
Maybe I’m showing my hand, but I have to admit the name Tom Gorzelanny meant nothing to me before last night. I also have to admit a built-in bias of confidence when I saw “Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees” on the marquee. In the end, I was infused with a healthy respect for the Pittsburgh outfit, which in recent times has been nothing but a woebegone franchise; a belief that this Gorzelanny character is as gutty a left-hander as I’ve seen this year; and a certainty that this was clearly the best baseball game I’ve watched this season from start-to-finish.
It had all the elements I need for a great game. Big atmosphere: Friday night, Yankee Stadium, sell-out. Great starting pitching by both teams. Memorable plays: I think an inside-the-park home run covers that. Crisp, sound baseball. Give-and-take rallies in the late innings. It’s unfortunate that a mental lapse by Pittsburgh third baseman Jose Bautista in the bottom of the 10th defined the Yankees decisive rally as much as any single event in that frame. Because other than that, the game was played at a very high level.
I admit my fandom may be infringing on my objectivity a bit; this is the best I’ve felt about the Yankees since 1st pitch on Opening Day. Regardless, it was a great game.
We’re now less than 1 hour from Roger Clemens returning to a major league mound, his first steps back on the Yankee Stadium grass since October, 2003. In baseball time, that's a long time ago.
My expectations are close to nil – I’m sticking with a “keep the team in the game” mentality. I’m just glad the team is going into the game on a high note.
Maybe I’m showing my hand, but I have to admit the name Tom Gorzelanny meant nothing to me before last night. I also have to admit a built-in bias of confidence when I saw “Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees” on the marquee. In the end, I was infused with a healthy respect for the Pittsburgh outfit, which in recent times has been nothing but a woebegone franchise; a belief that this Gorzelanny character is as gutty a left-hander as I’ve seen this year; and a certainty that this was clearly the best baseball game I’ve watched this season from start-to-finish.
It had all the elements I need for a great game. Big atmosphere: Friday night, Yankee Stadium, sell-out. Great starting pitching by both teams. Memorable plays: I think an inside-the-park home run covers that. Crisp, sound baseball. Give-and-take rallies in the late innings. It’s unfortunate that a mental lapse by Pittsburgh third baseman Jose Bautista in the bottom of the 10th defined the Yankees decisive rally as much as any single event in that frame. Because other than that, the game was played at a very high level.
I admit my fandom may be infringing on my objectivity a bit; this is the best I’ve felt about the Yankees since 1st pitch on Opening Day. Regardless, it was a great game.
We’re now less than 1 hour from Roger Clemens returning to a major league mound, his first steps back on the Yankee Stadium grass since October, 2003. In baseball time, that's a long time ago.
My expectations are close to nil – I’m sticking with a “keep the team in the game” mentality. I’m just glad the team is going into the game on a high note.
