09/22: Yankees vs. Orioles; 9/21/08
Posted by: James
It's the last game ever at Yankee Stadium and if you haven't seen pictures, articles or soundbites, go ahead and find them online. I'll wait. It was an amazing night for the Yankees as a organization. I don't think that there is another organization with the history and pageantry of the Yankees and they sure showed it last night. Luckily enough, mystique and aura trotted out one last time and helped the Yankees sweep away the Orioles to put the cherry on top of a wonderful night. Sigh. Thanks for the memories.
As for the game itself, the outcome was a little hazy in the early innings as Andy Pettitte took the hill with what couldn't really be qualified as his best stuff. Still, Andy ended up going 5 full innings and only gave up 3 runs to qualify for the win, his 14th. The win also put Andy back at the .500 level, which is nice since it helps him to continue his streak of no season with a losing record.
The Yankees got on the board in the third when Hideki Matsui and Jose Molina started off the inning with back to back to singles. Johnny Damon came up to back and promptly deposited a pitch just over the right field wall to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Pettitte gave up the lead in the top half of the next inning but the Yankees took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when Robbie Cano walked (!) and Jose Molina jacked a 2 run homer (the last at Yankee Stadium!) to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. The Yanks scored two more in 7th on some shoddy defense by the Orioles to put the game away...though the Yankee bullpen looked like they would have shut the door with a much smaller cushion. Jose Veras, Phil Coke (who has sewn up a spot on a major league roster with his work this Sept.), Joba Chamberlain and finally Mariano Rivera came in and shut down the O's to seal the win.
When the final out was recorded, the emotion that seemed to spill out onto the field was something to see. All the fans stayed, players were taking dirt as souvenirs, hugging each other and then finally, Derek Jeter made a wonderful speech thanking all the fans and then led the team in a goodbye lap around the stadium. All in all, just an amazing night and a great sendoff to the house that Ruth built.
As for the game itself, the outcome was a little hazy in the early innings as Andy Pettitte took the hill with what couldn't really be qualified as his best stuff. Still, Andy ended up going 5 full innings and only gave up 3 runs to qualify for the win, his 14th. The win also put Andy back at the .500 level, which is nice since it helps him to continue his streak of no season with a losing record.
The Yankees got on the board in the third when Hideki Matsui and Jose Molina started off the inning with back to back to singles. Johnny Damon came up to back and promptly deposited a pitch just over the right field wall to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Pettitte gave up the lead in the top half of the next inning but the Yankees took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when Robbie Cano walked (!) and Jose Molina jacked a 2 run homer (the last at Yankee Stadium!) to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. The Yanks scored two more in 7th on some shoddy defense by the Orioles to put the game away...though the Yankee bullpen looked like they would have shut the door with a much smaller cushion. Jose Veras, Phil Coke (who has sewn up a spot on a major league roster with his work this Sept.), Joba Chamberlain and finally Mariano Rivera came in and shut down the O's to seal the win.
When the final out was recorded, the emotion that seemed to spill out onto the field was something to see. All the fans stayed, players were taking dirt as souvenirs, hugging each other and then finally, Derek Jeter made a wonderful speech thanking all the fans and then led the team in a goodbye lap around the stadium. All in all, just an amazing night and a great sendoff to the house that Ruth built.
Seamus wrote:
JOE MOGAN: "Now did Ted like when you did that?"
YOGI: "No, he would tell you to shut up and let me play ball"
Classic Yogi.