08/31: Yankees Split Bittersweet Bengals Doubleheader
Posted by: Jason
Pardon the recap delay, my friends, I was embroiled in a conference call that started at 11AM Paris time...My day began well before dawn and I've now had enough caffeine to resuscitate an elephant.
In game one, Chien-Ming Wang demonstrated that he will be the centerpiece of the Yankees' rotation for at least the next two seasons. His 95 sinker (with movement) was baffling. Wang exploited the Tigers' well-known lack of plate patience and the first 25 feet of grass in front of home plate took a beating...The Yankees' ace induced at least a dozen ground ball outs.
I have heard Craig Wilson referred to as a "drop and drive" hitter. I was not sure what that meant until I saw Craig drop the sweet spot onto a Nate Robertson fastball and drive it 20-25 rows over the LF wall. The Yankees' other run came on a sacrifice fly by Giambi.
Two runs was all that was necessary. Proctor relieved Wang for a relatively uneventful 8th and Mariano did his thing in the 9th. 2-0 Yankees final.
The nightcap had all the atmosphere of game two of the ALCS. Jaret Wright surprised with an above average outing, pitching 6.1 innings while allowing 2 runs. As for the Yankees offense, on-base machine Sal Fasano cleverly arranged to be hit by a pitch and moved to third after a Melky double. Jeter drove them both in with a double of his own. Eventually Alex drove Jeter in from 3rd with a sac groundout.
In the 9th, with Mariano not available due to his game 1 save, Torre called on Scott Proctor, who walked two and then missed with either a curve or a slider. I could not specifically identify the pitch, because Craig Monroe tried to hit it to the International Space Station. The revived Todd Jones closed the Yankees out, 5-3 Tigers final.
The fun part is that they crank it up again at the Stadium for the rubber match in about 60 minutes.
In game one, Chien-Ming Wang demonstrated that he will be the centerpiece of the Yankees' rotation for at least the next two seasons. His 95 sinker (with movement) was baffling. Wang exploited the Tigers' well-known lack of plate patience and the first 25 feet of grass in front of home plate took a beating...The Yankees' ace induced at least a dozen ground ball outs.
I have heard Craig Wilson referred to as a "drop and drive" hitter. I was not sure what that meant until I saw Craig drop the sweet spot onto a Nate Robertson fastball and drive it 20-25 rows over the LF wall. The Yankees' other run came on a sacrifice fly by Giambi.
Two runs was all that was necessary. Proctor relieved Wang for a relatively uneventful 8th and Mariano did his thing in the 9th. 2-0 Yankees final.
The nightcap had all the atmosphere of game two of the ALCS. Jaret Wright surprised with an above average outing, pitching 6.1 innings while allowing 2 runs. As for the Yankees offense, on-base machine Sal Fasano cleverly arranged to be hit by a pitch and moved to third after a Melky double. Jeter drove them both in with a double of his own. Eventually Alex drove Jeter in from 3rd with a sac groundout.
In the 9th, with Mariano not available due to his game 1 save, Torre called on Scott Proctor, who walked two and then missed with either a curve or a slider. I could not specifically identify the pitch, because Craig Monroe tried to hit it to the International Space Station. The revived Todd Jones closed the Yankees out, 5-3 Tigers final.
The fun part is that they crank it up again at the Stadium for the rubber match in about 60 minutes.
