The Transit Experiment consists of using one’s smart phone to try to get somewhere. In this case, it wasn’t that difficult at all. We hopped the Route 120 bus to he Adrienne Arsht omni transit center, switched there to the free Metromover to Government Center, where we caught the Metrorail train to Culmer, where we got on a shuttle bus direct to the ballpark.

Okay, looking at that list now–bus to mover to train to bus–it seems like it was really complicated. But it wasn’t really more difficult than many of the other ballpark-via-transit jaunts I’ve taken, including Seattle suburbs to Safeco, Silicon Valley to then-PacBell Park, or even my own house to Fenway Park.

All told from when we left Miami Beach to when we reached the ballpark was just under an hour. After the game we took the shuttle back to the Metrorail to the South Miami stop which is near to corwin’s parents’ house, and his Dad came to pick us up there. From time of last pitch to walking in the door here in the Coral Gables area was just over an hour. Very decent time, and the total cost was $7 per person. (It would have only been $5 per person, I think, if we’d bought the one-day Easy Ticket before getting on the first bus, but we hadn’t and so paid $2 cash to get on there, and then Easy Ticket thereafter.)

But you didn’t really come here to read about public transit, did you? You want to know how the Marlins Park was at night.

Let me tell you, it was gorgeous.

You probably want more video of the Bobblehead Museum, too. Very well. This time I just did all the Yankees:

MORE MORE MORE
We arrived this time greeted by the hot sounds not of a DJ, but of a live salsa band! Way to up the ante, Marlins. Even more things were being given away outside, including shoulder totes from the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Museum up in Ft. Lauderdale. One of the several radio stations with promo tents was giving away Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish in small packs. I am a sugar fiend so this was highly appreciated. We didn’t linger outside though.

Before the game we did some more exploring of the park. We came in a different entrance and discovered an actual Joan Miro art piece hanging there. I suddenly remembered–isn’t Jeffrey Loria some kind of art dealer? That would explain the Lichtenstein we saw yesterday, too. We saw more art on the club level, too, though we weren’t allowed to go very near it. I snapped what photos I could.

Oysters on the Half Shell!?

We discovered a whole cul de sac of concession stands we missed yesterday, too! The “Taste of Miami” section had three specialty stands. One was Don Camarones, where they had oysters on the half shell, ceviche, seafood fritters, and grouper sandwiches. I went for the ceviche and fritters. I just wasn’t quite sure I could bring myself to have raw oysters in a ballpark. (They looked good, though, nicely displayed on ice.) One was Papo Llego y Pan, which had various sandwiches. And the third was jus called Latin Grill, but they appeared to have the most sophisticated and authentic Cuban Sandwich preparation available in the place. I had to take video of the Speed Sandwich technique employed by their cubano experts, viz:

When we came in, the Yankees were still having batting practice and the roof was closed. It was hot in Miami today, 90 degrees some said. By the time the grounds crew had finished with the field, though. the sun was starting to set and the breeze was cool and pleasant. Which was no doubt why a huge cheer went up from the crowd when the roof started to open. I thought the cheer was for Jeter coming out to do his warm up sprints, but no, that was the NEXT cheer that came about a minute later.

It takes about five minutes for the roof to fully open, so I took some video of it, but it’s not terrible exciting on video. (Well, judge for yourself.) Sitting in the upper deck, pretty close to it, though, it was kind of fun to watch it silently rolling back.

After the roof opens, the giant window walls beyond the outfield open, first the one on the left, then the one on the right. Even while closed though, you get a spectacular view of the buildings of Miami lit up gold and orange by the sunset. Baseball games always seem well-timed to take advantage of that lovely transition time from day to dusk to velvet night. By the fourth inning the sky was black and the white moths had come flying around. The moon was directly overhead.

One new improvement in Marlins Park over the design of Yankee Stadium is the concrete floors seem to be sealed with something. The concrete floors in the ladies rooms in Yankee Stadium appear to be “fraying” where some kind of fibers are coming loose as the concrete wears down. The floors here are not only colorful to match the sections (one women’s room right at the transition of the home plate to third base section has both red and blue flecks on the floor instead of just one or the other), but they appear to be sealed with some kind of coating. I know nothing about floor materials, but this stuff seems nice. Next question is how will it hold up to hundreds of thousands of tromping feet, but we shall see.

I’ll be at Target Field later this summer and will report on what the floors seem to be made of there.

And now, tonight’s list of glitches and things that went wrong:

* Same national anthem singer as yesterday. He flubbed the words in the same spot, too. Dude, there’s a difference between the word “as” and the word “and.” Just sayin’.

* Most amusing thing about the national anthem in a new ballpark, people searching around for the flag since they don’t know where it is. Can you even spot it in my photos of the outfield?

* The “Welcome…” list of groups was identical to yesterday. I’m pretty sure they weren’t all here again. Also, it couldn’t be that nine-year-old’s birthday two days in a row, either. Do they really think people won’t notice?

* The “pitch speed” indicator was set on spastic. The speed WOULD come up after every pitch, but it would take several seconds before it would appear, and then it would flash for about a tenth of a second, which was too short to actually READ what numbers it showed. The delay was bad enough that the pitcher was often in his windup for the next pitch by the time it flashed. For a while it settled down and would at least hold lit for half a second to a second, but then it went back to just this fractional flash that couldn’t be read by the human eye. I’m pretty sure that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

* Someone please switch the organist’s coffee with the decaf Folgers crystals. As a purist, I approve of ballpark organists, but dude, give it a rest sometimes.

* There were go-go dancers in the Clevelander during the Marlins’ seventh inning rally. Okay, that’s not a glitch, they were undoubtedly supposed to be there. However with the team trying to mount a rally against Phil Hughes, I’m not sure that’s the best time to be shaking your booty. Plus the Clevelander throbs audibly like when someone with a cranked-up sound system parks outside your house and plays Snoop Dogg. I’m sure they’re having a good time but I don’t necessarily want the noise pollution in my house, you know?

* What is your definition of an ice cream sundae? I’m fairly sure everywhere I’ve ever been, including other countries, the difference between just ice cream and an ice cream sundae is that “sundae” indicated the ice cream has toppings. Hot fudge, strawberry, nuts, cherry, whatever, right? At Marlins Park they sell the soft serve ice cream as “helmet sundae.” But there’s nothing sundae-ish about it. It’s just a helmet cup of plain ice cream. Either someone’s misinformed about how they’re supposed to be serving the stuff, or Miami is weirder linguistically than I realized.

Sporadic, non-functional service at best…

* Still no phone service or data service. Still couldn’t get on the ballpark guest wireless network. I was able to get a few tweets and texts off prior to the game, but once the game started, not even a text would go through. No way could I fire up MLB At Bat to check Gameday for a player’s full name or to find out what happened when Granderson was called out in the first.

* This did not go wrong, but let me be the first to predict that it will. The big “Budweiser” bar in left center? It’s not actually THAT far. Maybe 420′. And right next to it are popcorn and hot dog stands, where the vendors have their backs to the field. They should ALL be wearing helmets. Someone is going to take a home run ball on the noggin and it won’t be pretty when it happens. It’ll be really funny if all it does it smash a flat screen TV or a pile of tequila bottles. It won’t be so funny if it smashes a human being. Just because steroids are supposedly out of the game doesn’t mean plenty of balls don’t go that distance.

Generally speaking, it seemed like fewer things went wrong in stadium operations. In the Vista Box section (upper deck) where we were, the cash registers did not crash. I can’t quite say the same for baseball operations, though, as for the second night in a row, the Yankees prevailed over the Marlins without too much difficulty.

The pitching matchup was Carlos Zambrano, yes, THAT Zambrano, versus Hideki Kuroda. Zambrano didn’t look particularly sharp, walking Curtis Granderson in the first. But when Granderson stole second, he was called out, presumably for catcher’s interference on the part of Robinson Cano, who had struck out to make it a double play.

Zambrano walked Mark Teixeira in the second, but escaped trouble there thanks to a terrific catch by Logan Morrison of a deep Raul Ibanez drive to the wall. He wouldn’t be so lucky in the third, though, when his defense couldn’t do much with the fact that he walked Brett Gardner to lead off the inning. Jeter doubled, sending Gardner to third, and then Zambrano walked both Granderson (again) and Cano, forcing in a run. A-Rod followed with a sac fly for another. Zambrano also walked Gardner again in the fourth inning, and then in the fifth was knocked from the game after letting the first three men reach base on a double-walk-double (Granderson-Cano-A-Rod). That would make for five Yankees runs, all credited to Zambrano, and that would be all they would get… or need.

On the other side of the ledger, Kuroda was nicked by leadoff man Jose Reyes, who doubled to start the game, moved to third on a ground out, and the scored on a single. But after that Kuroda was mainly effective through three innings. I did not hear why he left after three, or if that had been planned. Boon Logan came in and was not terribly effective, giving up a double and then a single, although maybe he might have gotten out of it without giving up a run had Nick Swisher not let a ball go under his glove. Logan was lifted after recording two outs and Rafael Soriano came in to strike out John Buck and end the inning.

Next came Phil Hughes who looked quite good tonight. He was throwing strikes (in the end 43 of 57 pitches). He had some trouble with a little breaking ball, which was hanging up in the zone and getting hit, but every time that happened, he and Martin tried something else which worked better. I caught a glimpse of 92 on the gun when the pitch speed indicator would deign to be visible, as well as some 84 mph, too. In the end Hughes pitched four innings, no runs, four strikeouts, one walk. David Robertson put the icing on it, with two strikeouts and a fly ball in the ninth.

We got to see Heath Bell strike out the side in the Yankees’ half of the ninth, which was cool, since we were ahead by three and it wasn’t as if the likes of Zoilo Almonte and Ramiro Pena had a chance against him anyway. He has a very short stride, which prompted corwin to opine that when a pitcher is a “tub o’ lard” he doesn’t need as much forward movement to generate the same momentum with his mass. (We use “tub o’ lard” in a strictly technical sense, of course.)

And that was that. I’ve already told you how it was leaving the park, swift and easy getting on the shuttle bus, and so that is that. It seems the Yankees are ready for the games to start to count, and I know I sure as heck am.

All that’s left to do is give you today’s slideshow:

Some were expatriate New Yorkers who have been in Florida for years. Some were spring training pilgrims from all over.

But the Marlins had no shortage of supporters there today, and for all the complaints there have been about the team bilking the city, the mistreatment of the local residents over parking issues, and so on, there were throngs of people in brand-new Marlins colors ready to fly their Fish flags. Many of them were hispanic families, with three (or four) generations in attendance together. If this team wins, it appears there will be plenty of folks on that bandwagon already.

A UFO LANDED IN MIAMI!
The park does look a bit like a spaceship just set down in the midst of a residential neighborhood. But the first impression of the place came not from the visual, but from the sound. From a few blocks away it sounded like the biggest, loudest block party on Earth was going on, and we soon discovered why. In the plaza outside first base, there was a live DJ and emcee, blasting the beat through huge speakers set atop the hundred-foot-high tower that anchored the pedestrian ramps up to the upper reaches of the ballpark. The emcee exhorted us from time to time with the rules (only one bottle of factory-sealed water allowed per person carried into the park, for example) but mostly he seemed like the host of a hip, happenin’ bash.

Mosaic walkway

The plaza itself is beautiful and so very “Miami.” On the outside the ballpark is white, but the walkways are mozaics of colored tiles. One had blue, green, and red stripes, intercut with black stripes of varying widths, which gives the illusion of all the colors of the rainbow being represented, even though they are not. Just like a TV screen, your eye thinks it sees yellow and purple and orange, but it’s just an illusion. Kind of like the Mets’ ability to contend in recent years.

On the plaza we picked up free T-shirts from Brother Jimmy’s Barbecue, which very smartly say on them both “Proud BBQ Sponsor of the NY Yankees” and “Official BBQ of the Marlins.” Equal opportunity emblazoning! BJB is apparently opening a restaurant in Miami, so this is smart advertising. I bet a lot of people who got those shirts today will wear them tomorrow to the game. We also picked up some TaxPro drink coozies and such, but mostly we wandered around and looked at the fans. There was a giant inflatable Marlins logo (the new logo, of course) and families were IN LINE to take pictures in front of it, like Mickey Mouse was there or something. (I’ll refrain from jokes about “Mickey Mouse operations”… I think.)

We went through the virtual turnstiles without mishap and were surprised to find ourselves going… indoors. The roof was closed. It was not quite as weird a sensation as in Arizona, where I took in a game at then Bank One Ballpark in 2003, but it was close. You just don’t expect to walk through the gates of a ballpark and for it to feel so very… indoorsy. But you can sense the roof is closed and the air conditioning is on. I know the roof was open earlier in the day because of pictures some of the beat writers tweeted, but I suppose the front office figured with all us cold-blooded northerners (“yankees”) in the place they ought to cool it down to prevent heatstroke and sunburn.

I had slathered up but good with sunblock before leaving the house, but I wasn’t disappointed to be in coolness for the duration. It was fun looking at the massive windows which will presumably slide on the huge tracks to open the view toward the skyline when the roof isn’t closed.

As one makes the circuit on the promenade level, one realizes that the sections are color-coded. The outfield is green, third base is red, home plate is blue, and first base is yellow. This change is not subtle. Not only do the concession and restroom signs change depending on which section you are in, but the whole color of the floor and all the other accoutrement. Remember how I said outside it’s white? Inside, this ballpark is a riot of color.

One thing the architects definitely did right is that looking at the ballpark from the outside, you think “Wow, it’s so big!” but the moment you get inside and look across the field, you think, “Wow, it’s so small!” Neat trick, that.

FISH FOOD
Our first order of business at any new ballpark is usually “check out the food options.” Oh, be still my heart, the food here looks scrumptious, and not insanely priced (at least when compared to Yankee Stadium, PacBell/AT&T Park, and Angel Stadium, to name a few I’ve been to recently). It’s ballpark prices, but I don’t mind paying $9-$12 for an entree if it’s actually WORTH EATING.

We did one entire circuit of the “promenade” (main) level, weighing all the options. Every stand has its menus on TV screens which flip back and forth between the English and Spanish versions of their menu. So I learned a new word! “Cracker Jack” in Spanish (“palomitas encarmeladas” if you must know). We were entranced by choices like mahi mahi tacos, shrimp burgers with lime aioli, buffalo wing and blue cheese empanadas, steak BLT, key lime chicken tacos, et cetera.

Amusingly enough, though, the stand that had the longest line at 11:30am when we entered was the Kosher Korner. Not entirely surprisingly, the line was mostly made up of folks in Yankees paraphernalia. I guess not everyone is as enthralled by fish tacos as I am. (And no, that isn’t a euphemism. Jeez, get your mind out of the gutter.)

There were also stands specializing in barbecue (Brother Jimmy’s, of course), sushi, hand-dipped ice cream and candy, pizza, and of course hot dogs everywhere. And bars. There’s one in left field, one in right field, and also a place downstairs by the bullpen called Clevelander: I’m not sure if you needed a special ticket to get in there or what. (It’s unclear from the Marlins A-Z Ballpark Guide whether a separate ticket is needed.

I quote: “[The] world-renown South Beach hotel, The Clevelander… operate[s] a poolside area that will feature a swimming pool, fabulous cuisine, signature beverages, entertainment and a one-of-a-kind seating location on the Field Level with sightlines through the outfield fence. Located next to the bullpen, Guests of The Clevelander will have the opportunity to watch the pitchers warm up and a close-up view of the Marlins outfielders making spectacular plays during the game. The Clevelander at Marlins Park will open two hours before the start of each game on game days and remain open after games and on non-game days for private events.”

By the way, a free copy of the Yankees Yearly ebook to the first commenter to point out the egregious grammatical gaffe in the above quote. Yes, I’m serious.*

Oh, and how’s this for cool? There’s one menu item at the main food stands listed as “Visiting Team Special Item.” For the New York Yankees, it’s knishes! (What is it going to be for the Red Sox??)

The condiment dispensing stations are fancy and well-stocked. However, there were NO NAPKINS ANYWHERE. We had to go up to a stand and ask for them specifically, and the cashier had to dig around underneath to get them. When one is eating fish tacos (as I was) and a steak chimichurri cuban sandwich (as corwin was), one needs napkins afterward. Or a shower. (But napkins are more practical.)

The lack of napkins would be far from the last glitch on the afternoon.

ART & FEATURES
Wait, is that a Roy Lichtenstein on the wall? It is. “The Manager,” from 1963, is reproduced in a seemingly random spot. A multi-storey mural (or is it a tapestry?) also adorns the home plate entrance.

There is one pillar covered with the history of the Orange Bowl, which formerly stood on this site.

Then there is the Bobblehead Museum. Mere photographs do not do this thing justice, because what you can’t see in photos is that this giant shelf unit with hundreds of bobbleheads on it is vibrating just enough to make a good number of the heads bobble. So I took some video of it.

By far the art feature that has garnered the most pre-opening attention, though, is the “Home Run Sculpture” by Red Grooms. I was all set to take video of it in action from my seat right by the right field foul pole. In fact, I did take a good ten seconds of video after a Marlins homer right in the first inning… however the sculpture did nothing. I believe it’s supposed to be a Willy Wonka-esque mechanical thingamadoodle, but the thing didn’t do anything. We don’t know if it was a malfunction, or if they don’t turn it on for exhibition games. When it failed to do anything, the entire crowd was abuzz with disappointment.

The main scoreboard, by the way, is humongous. Not as humongous as the one at Yankee Stadium, but then again it seems like it isn’t as far away, either. And it’s not rectangular. It’s got one slanted edge. Um, how architectural.

NEW YORK SOUTH
Miami is often compared to New York, if for no other reason than because so many ex-New Yorkers live here. But the strongest impression I got from the new Marlins ballpark was of a resemblance to the New Yankee Stadium. The trash and recycling barrels are the same. The grandeur is the same (if more colorful and blinged out). Even the “How May I Help You” people, the customer service reps carrying those paddle-like signs, are the same! (Except the signs are red and there weren’t quite as many legions of them as at Yankee Stadium.) I will admit to having done zero research on whether there is any connection in these management decisions, but it felt very much like several cues were taken from the Yankees. Of course, many of these elements in Yankee-land came from customer experience experts from Florida-based Disney, so perhaps it merely comes from the same wellspring.

(FWIW, the actual architects of the Marlins ballpark is the same as Yankee Stadium, the group formerly known as “HOK Sport” and now known as POPULOUS. They are described on mlb.com as “a global design practice specializing in creating environments that draw people and communities together for unforgettable experiences.”)

NO SERVICE?!

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
In addition to the aforementioned disappointment over the Home Run Sculpture dud, and the lack of napkin availability, several other things went wrong in the dress rehearsal. I’ll mention just a few:

* AT&T data and ballpark wireless service overload. I could not even get a text message out before the game and for the first hour. No way could I get to Twitter, much less upload any photos. Literally everyone within eyeshot in my section had an iPhone, Android, or Blackberry, even the eight-year-old girl in front of me. (I counted 14 iPhones, 2 Blackberries, and 2 Androids.) Every single person was trying to connect. One guy was able to get on the ballpark’s wireless network for about five minutes in the fifth inning. The rest of us got bupkus.

* On a related note, I got email from the Marlins in the week prior to the game giving me options to purchase parking (no thanks, corwin’s very wonderful Dad dropped us off and picked us up afterward) and also saying the following: “In the coming days we will also be debuting a free Marlins ‘At the Ballpark’ mobile application that will feature interactive ballpark maps, live food ordering from your seats and more! No more waiting in line at concession stands ever again.” I did not find said app in the App Store, but if I had, it wouldn’t have worked, given how overloaded the networks were. I didn’t even have regular phone service much less data or wireless. This would be SO COOL if it worked… I would love to be able to order sushi, fish tacos, and ice cream to my seat. In fact, I cannot think of a more efficient way to separate me from my money at a ballpark. In the days at Yankee Stadium when the vendors used to sell just about everything, my brother and I used to clean out my dad’s wallet by saying yes to EVERY vendor that came by. Peanuts, knishes (they used to sell them hot in the stands, when Yogi owned a stand), hot dogs, ice cream, Cracker Jack, frozen lemonade, you name it. My dad would say “Do you want _____?” And we’d always say “yes.” And we were never full. Oh, to have that metabolism again… Anyway, the point is, I’d eat a LOT more at the ballpark if I didn’t have to go get it myself.

* All the pillars in the infield sections have signs on them that say “Today’s Batting Order” with a different spot in the order on each one, and pins that look like posters are to be hung from them. But no one got around to hanging up today’s Marlins. So they were all blank.

* In the sixth inning, corwin got up to get another round of food. He came back disgruntled by the fact that most of the stands seemed to be experiencing some sort of system crash on their cash registers. A woman came running out from the back of one of the hot dog stands shouting “Stop taking orders! Don’t take any more orders!” He tried the ice cream stand, instead. stood there for five minutes in line, not a single customer was served. Tried again in the seventh, several more stands, and failed to be able to give his money to anyone. Obviously you expect some glitches, which is why they did a dress rehearsal and only sold a limited number of tickets. Hard to imagine what it would have been like with a full house instead of 2/3 or whatever this was.

* Scoreboard operations clearly has some lessons to learn, too. At times the pitchers’ names were not updated. The “closed captioning” often froze partway through a sentence. (And hey, isn’t it “open” captioning if everyone can see it?) The ball-strike counter had to reboot at one point. Minor point: The PA announcer didn’t know how to pronounce Doug Bernier’s name. (He got it right eventually.)

* The air actually got somewhat hazy by the seventh inning. I took my glasses off and cleaned them. So did the guy next to me (also a Yankees fan, from the Bronx but lives in Miami now), then corwin did, and we all concluded it wasn’t our eyes or our glasses. There was a smoky haze building up. corwin said he felt like the AC wasn’t keeping up as well by then either, though I didn’t notice.

* Billy the Marlin made a little girl cry.

THE GAME
What, you’re expect a game recap, too? Well, all right. It felt more like a “real” game than usual, being in a big stadium and all, but it was clear this was actually an exhibition game when Mariano Rivera pitched in the fifth inning. But at the start, anyway, it was CC Sabathia on the mound, backed up by what could very well be the Opening Day lineup.

Jeter led off with a double and scored the first run on a Cano sac fly. Unfortunately, Sabathia struggled with his control and walked Emilio Bonifacio in the first, then couldn’t strand him when he came in on an “outfielder-formerly-known-as-Mike” Giancarlo Stanton single. In the second Gaby Sanchez led of with a home run, leading to the great disappointment over the home run sculpture. A third run came in on two more consecutive hits and an RBI ground out. 3-1, Marlins.

Ricky Nolasco was pitching for the Fish and he kept the Yankees’ bats fairly quiet through four. Sabathis settled down as well, and sat down 8 of the last nine men he faced through the fourth, erasig one walk on a double play but giving up no more hits. But his ball-strike ratio was crummy, 1:1 all day long, and he exited after four.

In the fifth, Nick Swisher, back in the big-league lineup for the first time since his groin tweak (NOT A EUPHEMISM. PEOPLE.), singled. Raul Ibanez, who hasn’t impressed me much but I’m willing to warm up to him if he’ll hit… doubled. Russell Martin reached on an error when Jose Reyes treated the baseball like a bar of soap. Swisher scored on the error. Jeter had an RBI ground out, and then Granderson legged out an infield hit for a third RBI, bringing in Martin. Cano followed with a double that brought in Granderson, and then he scored on an A-rod RBI single. Nine men came to the plate and five scored. The ninth man, Mark Teixeira, struck out. By the end of the game, Tex was the only Yankee in the starting lineup without a hit or a run scored.

Bottom of the fifth, Mariano Rivera came on to pitch, and we remembered it was an exhibition game. We saw something very rare: Mariano gave up a pre-season run for the first time in four years. Not much to worry about, a bloop, a line drive, a ground out, a sac fly. 6-4, Yankees.

Swisher got it going in the sixth with a home run in to the upper deck in right. I would like to think that bodes well. The Marlins added one in the sixth also, of Rafael Soriano, who must have felt that since Mo gave up a run, it was okay for him to, also. (One run on three singles.) 7-5, Yankees.

The Yankees scored again in the seventh, on a Cano double, and then three subsequent walks with some outs sprinkled between. But in the Marlins half of the seventh, they tied the score, as the first three men reached base and scored. Bonifacio doubled against Corey Wade, Hanley Ramirez walked, and Stanton singled in Bonifacio. Logan Morrison struck out, but then Wade walked Sanchez, and a throwing error on what could have been a double play did the rest. Tied 8-8.

Things were still tied going into the ninth. All the Yankees regular had come out of the game after the 5th & 6th, while about half the Marlins came out after the seventh. Facing Chad Gaudin, Bill Hall–in for A-Rod at third–doubled to lead off the ninth, followed by an RBI-double off the bat of Eric Chavez. Ramiro Pena (gee, remember him?) went in to pinch run for Chavvy, moved up on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch. 10-8 Yankees.

And thus it would stay. George Kontos would get the win, and Juan Cedeno the save.

We will be heading back to the ballpark tomorrow to see these two teams again, this time at night. I hope this time the roof will be open, but we shall see.

The full slideshow of today’s trip, 80 slides:

(* Yankees Yearly is the magazine formerly known as Yankees Annual. When Maple Street Press went under, that left me and the writers in the lurch, so we decided to publish it ourselves! We need to sell a thousand copies to break even, so if you love the Yankees, please have a look. You can get it from Amazon.com in print or ebook, the B&N Nookstore, and the Apple iBookstore. Details here: http://yankees.ceciliatan.com/2012/buy-the-ebook/)

–
UPDATE: In this article today (April 3) in the Palm Beach Post, it says, “More ovens were added to concession stands to meet demand for pizza. A computer glitch that prohibited some souvenir shops from using credit cards has been fixed. The team planned to install a ‘huge antenna’ to improve cell-phone reception for AT&T customers, Samson said. He said there were no reception problems reported by customers of other cell-phone companies.” Read the full Post article here.

Why not pre-load their virtual bookshelf with some ebooks to get them started? Suggestions for baseball titles available in ebook form are welcome in the comments below, but here are a few of my own.

I got started thinking about this topic for obvious reasons: since I took the Publications position at SABR, I’ve been working to launch more digital books under the SABR umbrella. The first big one just went live and the timing is no coincidence. We wanted to make sure that “Can He Play?”– the definitive book on the history of scouts and scouting, produced by SABR’s Scouts Committee–would be live and available by the time all those holiday e-readers were unwrapped.

Some intro info in case you’re new to this, too. The three biggest players in the ebook device wars each comes equipped to buy from a dedicated online store, but you DON’T HAVE TO stick to that one outlet if you don’t want. Here are the setups the manufacturers want.

• Kinde: Amazon’s Kindle Store
• Nook: Barnes & Noble Nookstore
• iPad/iPod/iPhone: Apple iBookstore

But note that you can run the Kindle app on the iPad, for example. The Kindle store sells files in .amz format but files that are purchased elsewhere in .MOBI or .PRC format can be read by your Kindle, too. The iPad can also run other e-reading software that takes the ePub format, which the Nook also uses. (Basically, EVERYONE now uses EPUB except for Amazon.)

But let’s not rock the boat to get started. Assuming you’ll start with your “native” online bookstore before branching out. Here are some of the gems one can get:

MONEYBALL
by Michael Lewis
If you’re like me, you read this book back in 2003, then lent it to someone and never got it back. After seeing the movie, I wanted to re-read it. So I downloaded a new copy. The paperback costs $15.95. The ebook is about half that.
Kindle Store $8.29
B&N Nookstore $8.29
Apple iBookstore $8.29

BASEBALL BETWEEN THE NUMBERS
by Jonah Keri and the Baseball Prospectus crew
Many people have said that after Moneyball opened their eyes to the actual relevance of stats on the game and how they have been used and mis-used, the next book they read was Baseball Between the Numbers. Full disclosure, I’m working for Baseball Prospectus myself now, but I thought they were keen long before that (and that’s why I wanted to work with them).
The book only seems to be available in the Kindle store right now. I couldn’t find it on Nook or Apple. The Apple iBookstore is almost impossible to search, though, which is one of its biggest drawbacks. You have to know what you’re looking for. More on this later.
Kindle Store $9.87

THE CAPTAIN
by Ian O’Connor
This book about Derek Jeter came out this past April. I feel the publisher has priced the ebook a little high–and if you look you’ll see it’s priced differently at different stores! Curious, no? See the list below. At this point O’Connor probably needs to write a revision that includes him reaching 3000 hits, too, but they’ll probably wait until he retires to revise.
The hardcover list price is $26.
Apple iBookstore$12.99 ebook
B&N Nookstore$15.60 ebook (they sell the hardcover for $17.33)
Amazon Kindle Store$9.10 ebook (they sell the hardcover for $17.16)

THE LAST BOY: Mickey Mantle
by Jane Leavy
While we’re talking about great Yankees, if you’re a Yankees fan of a certain age and haven’t read this bio of Mantle yet, you probably should.
Nookstore $9.99
Amazon Kindle Store $9.99
Apple iBookstore $9.99

One of the coolest things about ebooks, though, is that they are just as easy to get from small publishers as from the big guys. Publishers who have almost no chance of making it onto what little physical shelf space is left in America’s shrinking book retail world can now reach readers through digital.

Here are some of the lesser known books I should mention:

PUMPSIE AND PROGRESS
by Bill Nowlin and several other researchers
Built around a biographical essay on the life and career of Pumpsie Green, the first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last major league team to integrate, Pumpsie & Progress offers essays from a half-dozen authors on matters ranging from Jackie Robinson to the Red Sox of today. Because of a pricing glitch, this ebook was $14.20, but now it’s $9.99. Right now it’s only available on the Kindle Store, but Rounder Books may expand their ebook program in the future to other formats.
Amazon Kindle Store $9.99

In keeping with the theme, how about this one?

Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League
by Martha Ackerman
Amazon Kindle Store

Or how about this gem? I haven’t read it yet, but the professional reviews look very promising:

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, a World at War, and a Field of Broken Dreams
by Gary Moore

I’ll just quote the BOOKLIST Review: “Gene Moore, from tiny Sesser, Illinois, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 15 in 1940. After Pearl Harbor, the Dodgers arranged for him to be a member of a traveling U.S. Navy baseball team to entertain troops in the European theater. Eventually, the team was assigned stateside to guard a select group of German prisoners in Louisiana. The Germans had been captured when their submarine, the U-505 (now a featured attraction at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry), experienced mechanical problems in the vicinity of Allied warships. The story of the relationship that developed between the prisoners and their guards is a fascinating one. [Gene teaches them to play baseball. -ctan] … A moving profile of one, nearly unknown member of the Greatest Generation.”
Amazon Kindle Store $9.99

I discovered the above book, by the way, from a niche bestseller list on Amazon, which lists the top sellers for the Kindle on the subject of Baseball History. You can see that list here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/159822011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_2_6_last

And look what’s already cracked the top ten! The book I just worked on for SABR, the Scouts book, CAN HE PLAY?

CAN HE PLAY? collects the contributions of 26 members of the Society for American Baseball Research on the subject of scouts, including biographies and historical essays. The book touches on more than a century of scouts and scouting with a focus on the men (and the occasional woman) who have taken on the task of scouring the world for the best ballplayers available. In CAN HE PLAY? we meet the “King of Weeds,” a Ph.D. we call “Baseball’s Renaissance Man,” a husband-and-wife team, pioneering Latin scouts, and a Japanese-American interned during World War II who became a successful scout—and many, many more. The legendary Tom Greenwade and the development of the New York Yankees scouting system, interviews with former players Johnny Pesky and Fernando Perez about being scouted, and much more.

Amazon Kindle Store $9.99
B&N Nookstore $9.99
OmniLit $9.99 (.mobi, .epub, and .pdf all for sale here)

There’s much more to discover in the digital realm, so much more than the one-size-fits-all conglomerate chain bookstores could ever serve.

Hey, maybe I should do a Why I Like Baseball ebook…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m married to my childhood sweetheart (the Yankees), and live with an annoying roommate (the Red Sox), so sometimes I yearn for something new and exciting. Last summer I had a sweet dalliance with the Seattle Mariners. This year, on Opening Day, I decided to flirt with the A’s.

It’s been quite an interesting long distance relationship. There were thrills in April–the hot start, Carlos Pena equaling former-A Jason Giambi’s home run total, the resurgence of David Justice, and Eric Chavez’ fascinating habit of making every hit an extra base hit. But then the A’s turned cold on me, went into a slide–what, don’t you love me anymore? Next thing you knew, Carlos Pena was gone, the other Giambi as well, and I wondered if my A’s would ever be the same.

Interleague play brought the fun and passion back. Did they lose a single game to the NL Central? Noooo….. And how about them Giants? Hah! Watching Barry Zito facing Barry Bonds I knew I’d made the right choice.

It’s been a torrid affair since then, and finally consummated.

That’s right, consummated. I found myself in San Diego on Labor Day Weekend for a convention: the World Science Fiction Convention, where I was speaking, reading, autographing … that is in-between running back to my room to check ESPN for updates on the baseball labor negotiations and the state of the A’s historic winning streak. The strike was averted, the winning streak continued, and how fortuitous it was that I was not scheduled to appear at the convention on Monday. I checked out of my hotel Sunday night and spent the night in San Francisco with only one thing in mind: be at the Coliseum for Game Nineteen.

It’s not every day one witnesses history. The 1947 Yankees were the last team to win 19 straight. I knew from a quick visit to MLB.com that tickets were available. So 10:30 am of Labor Day 2002 found me at the walk up window asking for the best ticket available.

One thing I love about the A’s. They’re a cheap date. Twenty-two bucks got me a great seat on the first base side of home plate, just far enough back to be in the shade most of the day. Adjacent to the ticket window was the entrance to a souvenir shop that led into the stadium. I knew what I was going to do. I had been planning it since the night before, but I still felt extremely naughty doing it. I bought an A’s cap, black on black (adjustable, not fitted, that’s how you know it’s not everlasting love…) and brought it to the counter.

"You want the tags off it?" the man at the register asked.

"Yes, please."

He clipped the tags. I took my weather-beaten NY cap from my head, and slipped the A’s cap on. The people behind me in line clapped. Thank you, thank you. The pleasure was all mine. The store clerk put my Yankees hat into a bag and handed it to me. I was ready for "baseball, A’s style."

Out in the Coliseum a rare heat wave had coincided with the hot streak. The sky was cloudless and the temperature climbed toward ninety. To beat the heat, the Athletics had taken early BP and had conceded the field to the Royals. I waited behind the A’s dugout along with some green-clad faithful, but the only A who signed that day was submariner Chad Bradford, and I missed him. That was alright by me–I’d rather see Barry Zito pitch than have his signature. And just my luck, Zito was scheduled to start.

Much to my shock, though, Zito did not perform as expected. He struggled from the very first batter, missing high in the strike zone and going to a full count. He recorded a 1-2-3 inning, but threw 24 pitches in the process. The crowd, and I was right there with them, was geared up to see something amazing today, and expected it from Zito. But when he gave up a single with one out in the second, there was a very audible groan from the crowd. The A’s were going for 19 in a row, to tie the American League record, Barry was going for 20 and a legitimate shot at the Cy Young (Pedro was scratched from a start), and it seemed so possible that a miracle could occur. But "no-hitter" was not the miracle we would witness.

We would instead see Zito give up back to back homers in the third, to two guys who didn’t have ten homers between them coming into the game (Neifi Perez, two, A. J. Hinch, six). And the Royals would slash him up for three more in the fourth, on four singles, a sac fly, and an error. But Barry hung in there. In the fifth he struck out two and retired the side on only 8 pitches. Momentum was beginning to swing. By the end of the sixth, the A’s led the game 6-5, on a David Justice two run shot in the fifth, and another Justice hit, a two-RBI single in the sixth which followed a double steal! If there is one thing you cannot say about the A’s, you cannot say that they are not exciting. This game was all about clutch hitting.

But the Royals would not lie down and die. They scored the tying run in the eighth on a double play. 6-6 score! It was all to set up the drama of the ninth, I guess. The A’s will take you to the edge, but will they take you home?

Terrence Long led off the ninth inning with a triple. Wait, let me try that again. T-long f–ing tripled!!! With no one out, Tony Pena’s hand was forced to desperate measures. Two men were intentionally walked to set up the force out at home plate, an outfielder became a fifth infielder as they stood on the infield grass, while Jason Grimsley tried to get a ground ball. He got one, out of Scott Hatteberg, and there was one out. But that brought Miguel Tejada to the plate.

There are many guys to love on the A’s, but Tejada has to be one of the most lovable. The night before the streak had been in jeopardy, and they lost the lead in the top nine on three consecutive home runs! No problem, said Miggy, who whacked a three-run game winner in the bottom half of the frame. This time, all he had to do was get a ball through five infielders and a sinkerball pitcher.

He did. No, wait, let me try that more like an A’s fan. Did you see that?? He f—ing slashed it right through! Clutch baby, clutch! The Coliseum exploded. There were only 26,325 on hand (9,000 in walk up sales), but we were loud, our throats were already raw from all the screaming and excitement that preceded it, but we kept right on yelling. Right through the A’s mobbing Miggy near second base, right through the interview he did in the dugout, right until the final roar as he came up for a curtain call.

Oh, Yankees loyalists may call me Hester Prynne, but I will wear my A proudly. At least until October.

[Retrosheet play by play of the game: http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2002/B09020OAK2002.htm]

I don’t mean to shock anyone, but I’ve always believed in "open relationships." Sure, of course I believe in true love and having a special partnership with that special someone, but I also think experiencing the fullness of life means leaving the door open to other things as well, so long as everyone involved agrees it’s okay. I know a lot of people disagree with me on this. Especially when it comes to baseball.

I have my first love–my deep, abiding, long-term love–and that is the Yankees. If I had to choose between the Yankees and another team, there would be no question who I would choose. I fell in love with the Yankees before I ever even looked at another team. When I was a fan in the seventies, I could name you the whole Yankees starting lineup, but I could probably only name you four or five players in the rest of the league. I’m more mature now, and have expanded my tastes a bit.

Last year, I had a summer fling with the Seattle Mariners. I had picked them during the offseason, when A-rod had jilted them for the Rangers’ money, I found myself really wanting to root for the M’s. The Mariners turned out to be a good choice. After all, their games don’t start until 10pm Eastern, when most of the Yankees games are ending. They’re in a different division, so there was very little direct conflict of interest for me. And then, of course, the M’s went on a tear, as Ichiro proved his star burned just as bright in the American League as in Japan, Bret Boone blossomed, and Mike Cameron continued to make it look like Ken Griffey, Jr. wasn’t missed. It was a historic campaign for the Mariners in 2001, as they went on to win 116 regular season games and tie the major league record.

But they didn’t come close to matching the 125 wins of the 1998 Yankees, thanks to the Yankees. Oh, I had a wonderful time, traveling to Seattle in the summer, getting to root for the M’s and get autographs from Bret Boone and Mike Cameron. It was fun. But when October came, it was clear who my primary partner was. I wanted the Mariners to beat the Indians, but as soon as my two teams faced each other, well … you dance with the one that brung ya. Thanks for the memories, Mariners, and drop by and see me when you’re in Boston. (Hm, I guess it’s me who will have to do the dropping by.)

Speaking of Boston, I suppose if I’m married to the Yankees, the Red Sox are like the annoying housemate you can’t get away from. You know all about their problems and you have to live with them. Sigh. Anyway, you can be sure there will be no love affair between me and the Red Sox.

So who will my fling be with this year? I thought about the San Francisco Giants, because I had a great time at PacBell last year, and I know I will have an eye on Barry Bonds, as will everyone else. But… nah. I like the Giants, but they just don’t get my heart racing. How about the St. Louis Cardinals? Tino Martinez is there now. But I already have a longstanding flirtation with the Cubs, so I can’t really go with another National League Central team. I thought about maybe adopting the Kansas City Royals this season, to see how things go with Chuck Knoblauch there, but I don’t enjoy suffering enough to make it with KC. (See Red Sox, above.)

My favorite non-Yankee player last year was Jason Giambi. I saw him play in person twice, once in Anaheim and once in Oakland, and he hit home runs both times. I thought he should have won the Home Run Derby. And I have really enjoyed watching the upstart A’s romp all over the league. So I kind of thought, hmm, maybe the A’s?

Then, of course, Giambi came to the Yankees, but I find myself still very interested in the A’s. They lost Giambi and Johnny Damon, and their closer, but might they still get better? Mulder-Hudson-Zito, deadly. And you have to love a guy like Barry Zito, a lefty in the Bill "Spaceman" Lee mode. Eric Chavez got the Gold Glove last year–but will he finally get over his postseason jitters this season? Jermaine Dye broke his leg and has yet to return, but when he does you hope he rebounds well…

I listened to the first three A’s games of the year and that settled it. They were against the Texas Rangers (boo hiss, A-rod, Rocker, and Carl Everett all in one place! And glove-thief Ruben Rivera in their minor league system now!). So here you have the three best young pitchers in the league, facing the scariest lineup in the league three nights in a row. And beating them. Oh man, talk about exciting games! The A’s play exciting baseball. Wow, my heart is starting to beat harder just thinking about it. Home runs, awesome pitching, a lot of heart, grit, and fun.

I’m making a business trip to the Bay Area at the end of August. I guess I’ll have to make a date with my boys then. Because by October, you know it’ll be over.

I may be a Yankees fan, but I can appreciate the intensity and devotion of fans of other teams. That’s why I’m so fascinated by Red Sox fans, even though they make my life hell from time to time, and why I can’t understand Giants fans, who I’ll tell you all about in a future entry. Last month, however, I got my first look at Oakland A’s fans in their natural habitat, the largely maligned Network Associates Coliseum.

Having heard many a radio broadcast and watched many a postseason telecast from the coliseum, you’d think that the place was some kind of a pit. Well, it’s not. In many ways, the Coliseum is to Yankee Stadium what the Bay Area is to the New York Area–there are some striking similarities, and yet some sharp distinctions. Two of the most cosmopolitan and colorful cities in the world, both famed for their diversity, culture, their place in American history, with lots of Old World blood mixed with an always future-minded fashion sense. There are moments when I’m there when I, as an urban-born New Yorker, feel right at home. But there are times when a familiar situation suddenly seems odd. California is undeniably different.

You can’t go anywhere in San Francisco, Berkeley, or Oakland, it seems, without being panhandled. There are bums in the streets holding cardboard signs at every major intersection: "Homeless. Hungry. Please Help." "War Veteran-Disabled." "No lies, no stories, just need help." The weather is mild enough that the winter doesn’t drive people south, and squatters set up cardboard houses under highway overpasses. While we were there, nine homeless people were arrested for taking over a city building to protest the lack of cheap housing–a building with an earthquake crack so large in it, even an East Coaster like me could see it. I suppose when you’re used to sleeping in a shopping cart, even a deathrap seems like a good thing.

Earthquakes were on my mind a lot at the coliseum, as I tried hard to remember what park the teams were in when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit in 1989, as we felt tremors pass through from time to time, and as the A’s played earthshakingly great baseball. They swept the Red Sox and then turned their sights to the Yankees.

corwin and I arrived at the park the day after the A’s drove Ted Lilly from the mound and walloped the bombers 8-1. We took the subway, just as we have to games in Boston. In our pinstripes, hats, and other Yankees fan gear, we were heckled a bit by Oakland fans, but always in a nice way. They say what distinguishes the A’s from other teams (especially the angst-ridden Red Sox) is that they know how to have fun. Their fans seem to carry that spirit as well. "You like the Yankees?" one guy said to us as the train approached his stop. "Gee, what was your first clue?" I answered back. "Oh man, just go easy on my boys tonight, a’ight?" he said, as he stepped of the train. "Y’all had enough fun last year, hear?"

On the walking bridge from the train station over to the coliseum, a man approached us. "Got any tickets?" he asked, as we expected. "Nope," we answered. "Got any loose change?" he then asked. Geez, come on man, one schtick at a time! Did I mention the incessant panhandling? At least in the Bronx it’s one OR the other, not both!

A few moments later, we were at the ass end of the coliseum, entering behind the outfield stands.

I tend to judge the dedication level of fans by the cleverness and quality of their handmade signs. At Fenway, signs are prohibited, but not so in the free-spirited Bay Area (though I did read in the rules that broom handles are not allowed… too dangerous). As we made our way down the wide ramps toward the dugout level, I saw a kid carrying a well-drawn sign sporting the A’s elephant mascot ("Stomper") that read "Trample The Yanks." Looking good!

After a quick look at the food options (garlic fries, barbecue, ballpark fare), I made my way down to the Yankees dugout. The A’s were still taking batting practice and it was early yet. I had fun showing my photos from spring training and Camden Yards to the other fans there while we waited and hoped for some autographs and photo ops. Randy Choate came out and signed for quite a while, going back and forth along the dugout. He’s such a cutie, and such a nice guy. Then the Yankees took the field, and he went out to stretch with the team.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the Yankees team stretch. I could probably lead the routine myself. After doing their leg work–jogging backward, side to side, etc.–each player got a giant rubber band and stretched his legs and torso. Then, as always, as they’d probably done since their Little League days, they warmed up their arms by playing catch.

I guess when you play catch every single day, and you’re a jokester at heart like Luis Sojo is, you just can’t pass up any opportunity to liven things up. At Camden Yards, Luis played catch sitting in a chair. In Oakland, he was throwing with Clay Bellinger, who was a sometime catcher in the minors. Somehow their normal throwing turned into Luis pitching and Clay squatting to catch. Enrique Wilson got into the act as a batter–first with an actual bat and then just miming swinging and missing. Clay called balls and strikes. You know something? Sojo’s got pretty good control.

It’s tough to know where to stand when you’re waiting for autographs. Just a few feet to one side or the other can make a difference. I felt I was in a pretty good spot, but baseball is a game of inches. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, wanted Derek Jeter’s autograph. I had some photos of him I hoped to get him to sign, but I wasn’t too anxious. Ever since I got him that once in spring training, I’ve felt like I didn’t want to take away chances from others who haven’t had the chance yet. But if he happened to come right to me, well, I wouldn’t walk away!

All eyes were on Jeter as he took BP. You can usually tell what kind of a game Jeter will have at the plate by watching his BP. This time, he didn’t really light up the audience by spraying hits all over, but he did jack a few into one section of left centerfield seats. When he was done, the Yankees were just about finished with their allotted forty minutes of BP time. Jeter then came to the dugout roof, and began to sign. He started about three feet over to my left, and unfortunately for me, then worked his way further left. He had time for about two dozen signatures before he ducked into the clubhouse with the rest of the guys.

Just for the record, when we were seated in the stands and Jeter came in to lead off the game, I told some friends of ours, baseball neophytes, that I wasn’t sure what Jeter was going to do in the game, but that he had hit a bunch of BP balls into that… section… of… well, before I could finish my sentence, Jeter took the first pitch over the wall into that very section of seats in left center. Thanks for making me look like a genius once again, Derek!

Before I forget to mention it, Paul O’Neill signed a bunch, too, down at the other end of the dugout. That kind of shut up some guys behind me who had been going on and on about how O’Neill had gotten too "stuck up" to sign for people since going to the Yankees from Cincinnati…

Up in the stands, we settled ourselves in my favorite place, upper deck behind home plate, and discovered one of the drawbacks to the football-favoring coliseum. The scoreboards are too damn small–instead of one big scoreboard in centerfield, there were two smaller ones in each end zone (off first and off third). I couldn’t read the Runs Hits Errors totals they were so dinky! I had not brought my binoculaurs from the East Coast, but heck, you shouldn’t need binoculaurs to read a major league scoreboard!

As long as I’m on the subject of the Oakland Coliseum’s shortcomings, here’s a big one, but one that is common to many stadia, and that is not enough food vendors wandering the aisles. I don’t like to get up during the game, and in fact, sometimes I get downright superstitious about it (e.g. if I get up now, the other team will score). In Yankee Stadium, you see a hot dog vendor about once an inning. I also don’t like to stand in line and miss any of the game when I DO get up. So I am big on people bringing me food. In Oakland, there are NO roaming hot dog vendors. In fact, the only vendors I saw were one selling Red Ropes (giant, yard-long Twizzlers), and one selling frozen chocolate malt in a cup.

I can understand why this is, if what I’ve heard is true–the A’s don’t make any money from concessions, it all goes to the Oakland Raiders. Feh, there’s that damn football thing again. So what incentive do they have to sell more food faster? They don’t.

This doesn’t explain why you don’t see hot dog vendors in many other parks, but that is an essay for another day. But Oakland is not unique in this deficiency.

Otherwise, really, the Oakland Coliseum is nowhere near as bad as people have been making it out to be for years. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with the place that couldn’t be fixed by the removal of the football influence. That includes getting rid of the sky-high seats behind centerfield, the dinky scoreboards, and the strangely zealous fans with the air horns.

Yeah, air horns. Oh, and you probably know about the drums. Some guys get seats in left field, and they form a kind of marching band drum section. I actually didn’t mind the drums–I think they’re kind of nice, but you know I love it when fans take initiative. And they beat the pants off that monotonous tom-tom in Cleveland. But the drums are another football influence. Take it from a marching band veteran such as myself–I know.

Up at our seats that night, we initiated two friends to Yankee baseball, and baseball in general. Behind us was a large group of Bay Area Yankees fans, who started the Let’s Go Yankees cheer the moment the National Anthem finished. Below us were some die-hard A’s fans with an air horn, next to them a pair with one of those giant plastic trumpets. I finally figured out what is so great about those giant foam fingers. THEY’RE SILENT. Anyway, these two groups of boisterous fans took each other’s presence with good humor and we all got along pretty well. Like I said, A’s fans know how to have fun.

For example, Jeter was leading off, with Justice batting second, and Bernie third. At one point in the game, Jeter came up to bat and the A’s fans in front of us began chanting "Ma-RI-ah Ca-rey!" because, well, Jeter used to date her in the olden days. Well, Jeter got a hit. Then came Justice. They started chanting "Ha-lle Ber-ry!" (who David was formerly married to) and lo, Justice got a hit. Bernie then came to the plate, the A’s fans shut up, and all the Yankees fans in our section started chanting "Miss-us Wil-liams!" That cracked the A’s fans up but good. But what do you know? Bernie got a hit, too!

Here’s another something you wouldn’t see in New York. It was Law Enforcement Night, which meant that before the anthem, a few dozen police officers from local precincts were introduced. The notable thing is that they each came onto the field riding a motorcycle with full lights and sirens blaring. What is it with Oakland and loud noises? Each pair of cops came riding in through a gate in center, then split up and went down the warning track to either side. It was only a few under a zillion motorcycles and the whole thing took forever–well, several minutes anyway as they lined up about thirty motocycles on a side. I suppose motorcycles couldn’ tbe worse for the field than pre-season football. And this is the land of CHiPs… When they were done, they rode off into the sunset. I will note that we witnessed no brawls during the game. Hmmm.

The A’s. What can you say about their muscular, energetic lineup? They stumbled out of the gate in 2001, but began a mid-season surge so exciting, so tantalizing, that GM Billy Beane reversed plans to dismantle the team and send soon-to-be free agents Jason Isringhausen and franchise player Jason Giambi elsewhere, instead acquiring Jermaine Dye.

When the A’s are running wild, they look unbeatable. They swept the then-favorites for the AL Wild Card, the Boston Red Sox, in the days before the Yankees came to town. And, as we Yankees fans discovered, everything has to go right if you’re going to top the A’s when they are surging.

My prediction for Saturday night’s game was that the Yankee offense would be buzzing like a bunch of frustrated hornets after the 8-1 loss the night before (the only run was a Paul O’Neill homer), and as Jeter’s leadoff homer showed, it certainly was. But even though they tallied thirteen hits, the Yankees were always fighting the tide, scratching out one run at a time but unable to get a big rally going. Meanwhile Sterling Hitchcock, the Yankees other recent stretch-run acquisition, was looking shakey on the mound. We all know Hitchcock can pitch, but as he’s still not fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, he’s only at 75-80% much of the time. The result is enough chinks in the armor that a team of hot, young sluggers like the A’s can jump all over him. And they did, scoring eight runs on eleven hits and driving him from the game after only 3 1/3 innings. It was like a boxing match with the two lineups landing blows, and with both teams within reach of the win until the very last out.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, the A’s held them off. The turning point of the game came early–in the second. After Jeter’s leadoff homer, the A’s got two back in the bottom of the inning. Going into the bottom of the second it was still 2-1 A’s, and it would have stayed that way if after recording a quick two outs, Hitchcock had been able to retire the number eight batter, Ramon hernandez (catcher) and avoid facing Jeremy Giambi, who was DHing in the nine hole. Unfortunately, Hitchcock walked the only light hitter on the team, and with Hernandez on you just knew what was going to happen… and it did. Jeremy hit a two run home run, and the A’s followed with a rally for two more runs with three singles and a walk before Terence Long, the ninth batter in the inning, grounded out. At the time, I explained to my friends that I thought the walk was the turning point, and it was all a question of whether the Yankees would be able to turn the tide back again.

Soriano tried to do it. He hit the first pitch of the third inning into the seats, but rookie pitcher Erik Hiljus (no, I don’t know who he is either…) was able to keep the damage to just the one run, despite giving up hits to Jeter and Bernie. When he left the game in the fifth it was 6-2 A’s. The Yankees scratched out single runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and ninth, but the A’s tacked on two more–final score 8-6 A’s. If Hitchcock had not had that four run inning in the second, if he’d only gotten Hernandez instead of walking him, we would have likely won it. But as I said, everything had to go right. It’s pretty rare for the Yankees to have eleven hits and lose. Jeter went four for five and Soriano went three for four.

The rowdy New Yorkers behind us were placing bets on who would hit a home run. One fellow had Clay Bellinger as his player. Clay Bellinger, for those of you not familiar with him, is one of Torre’s favorite players, because he can play any position, even catch. But he never plays enough to be a consistent hitter and his average coming into the game was something like .170. He had hit a home run a few days before, though, which gave the poor fan some hope. "Come on Clay, hit one out!" he yelled when Bellinger came to the plate. "I’ll split the fifteen bucks with ya!" Later, when Torre lifted Bellinger for a pinch hitter, he called out, "Joe! You owe me fifteen bucks!"

Anyway, we lost. Yankees fans were thinking: Oh yeah? So you beat up on our two suspect lefties. Just wait ’til you face one of our GOOD pitchers. That’s what we were saying as we sat for about an hour in the car trying to get out of the parking lot (our friends had come by car). So, okay, put one more thing on the list of improvements the coliseum needs–better traffic control. Maybe they’re just not used to getting a sell-out crowd out of there? Our friends then took us on an excursion south to the only Krispy Kreme donuts in the Bay Area. Mmm, nothing like a good load of poping hot sugar, fat, and starch to assuage the sting of a tough loss. Very exciting game though, lots to cheer about. We just didn’t get a W out of it.

The next day we boarded BART again, and again made the walk over the concrete bridge to the coliseum. This time I actually had a ticket to sell, so I had my eye out for scalpers. My experience the day before led me to think I wouldn’t have much trouble finding someone. In the Bronx, no one ever wants to take just one ticket, though, and you can expect to haggle a bit to get a decent dollar value out of someone. But here in Oakland, as I have probably said, things are different. At least this time I didn’t get panhandled. Instead, a guy approached asked if I had any extra. I said yeah, just one. He offered me five bucks. I said how about ten? He said "Okay" and handed me ten bucks. Now, I’m sure he was able to sell it for more than that, but still, the New Yorker in me couldn’t help thinking "what a pushover…"

That Sunday Mike Mussina took the hill with Yankee pride resting on his shoulders. Let me say this about Mussina. He has been absolutely everything the Yankees wanted when they blew their wad picking him up as a free agent in the off season. Casual fans or those who don’t watch all the games, who just look at the stats, are going to see his won-loss record this year and think, jeez, this for $88 mil? But you have to see him pitch game after game (in which the Yankees usually score three or fewer runs) to realize what a master he is. Once in a while he just doesn’t have his stuff, and it’s obvious. But when he’s on, you can see him going to school on hitters, setting them up the way Coney used to (and still does, up on Boston). (NOTE: I wrote this entry BEFORE the near-perfecto in Boston…)

Mussina was masterful that Sunday in Oakland, finishing each pitch with a pounce to the foot of the mound, ready to grab an up the middle smash, looking almost like he’s ready for the batter himself to rush him like a linebacker. He looked good, struck out nine, walked none and gave up only two hits in eight full innings of work. THe gem was only marred by the twohits–back to back home runs in the fifth to Miguel Tejada and Eric Chavez. You know the cliche: he pitched good enough to win.

But the A’s young pitchers are something special, and Mark Mulder was matching Mussina pitch for pitch, almost like he was learning from him every time they traded places on the mound.

And there were sparkling defensive plays all around. We had brought a friend with us to the game this time, a Giants fan, who remarked at one point what a remarkably well-played game it was. Our answer was, well, actually, this is what we’re used to seeing regularly! The Yankees are not an overpowering team–they don’t homer you into submission, their pitching depends on rock solid defense, they have to manufacture runs. They take advantage of errors and don’t let their own hurt them. And every team, even the lowly Devil Rays, raises their game when they play the World Champions. So yeah, we’re used to seeing a high level of play all the time, we’re used to a lot of one run and two run games. We’re spoiled rotten, in fact, and we love it.

By the fourth it was clear that this game would not be an offensive romp for either team. Mussina hadn’t allowed any hits yet, and Mulder had allowed only a Bernie Williams double. "Betcha fifteen bucks Clay hits a home run," I said to corwin, who laughed. Well, I should have made that bet, because the big moment for Yankees fans came in the eighth, when Bellinger came up to the plate. Soriano was on first, having singled. You figure Clay’s one advantage is that he plays so rarely, opposing managers don’t have much of a book on him. But, well, the one thing they ought to know is that bench guys can hit the fastball. That’s the only pitch they see (in BP), and that’s the only pitch they’ll sit on. Bellinger sat fastball, got one, and hammered it into the seats. Everyone in blue in the stadium went bonkers. corwin was up getting food at the time and when he got back I said "You owe me fifteen bucks!" Tie game, 2-2.

The excitement came back for the A’s fans though, in probably the most dramatic way. Ninth inning, tie score, Mike Stanton on the mound. Stanton traditionally goes through a slump in August, but we thought he had a shot to be great here. He struck out Menechino looking, then walked Johnny Damon on four pitches, oops. Again I felt the walk was the downfall, because if he had gotten Damon out, then we wouldn’t have reached Jason Giambi that inning. Instead, with a man on he struck out pinch hitter Saenz, and then there was Giambi. One on, two out, tie game, bottom of the ninth.

Stanton worked the count full and then threw ball four.

Unfortunately for us, Giambi–who was the real winner of the All-Star home run derby this year, as far as I’m concerned–golfed that ball into the right field seats for a walk-off game winning two-run homer. I just knew that was going to happen when Damon walked. And sure enough, it did. The A’s had swept the Yankees and had won eight straight. The crowd stayed in their seats, not a single one moved for several minutes until Giambi came out for a curtain call. I’m glad I like Jason Giambi because otherwise it would have been a hard moment to take. As a Yankees fan, it was a tough loss, but as a baseball fan, what a scene, what a moment. Giambi is a great player, and on that day, his greatness was greater than Stanton’s.

The idea that keeps Yankees fans from worrying about the postseason, though, is that this is the absolute best the A’s can be. They are at their peak, whereas the Yankees will take it to another level when October comes. At least, we hope so. Last year, there were moments of doubt, as the team sputtered in September and squeaked into the postseason with only 87 wins, and then ran hot and cold in the ALDS and the ALCS, pouring it on only when things began to look desperate. But they did reach that higher level of play, and by the time they faced the Mets, they were clicking on all cylinders.

This year Yankees fans look forward to the same thing. At the time I write this, the Red Sox are deep into their patented annual slide–they fired their manager and immediately slid further in the standings, and were just swept by the Yanks at Fenway 3-1, 2-1, and 1-0–they are now nine games out of the AL East and eight behind the A’s in the wild card race. With Seattle running away with the West, it looks likely that the Yankees will face the same opponents they did last year: the A’s in the best of five series, and the Mariners in the best of seven, or possibly the other way around, depending on how hot Cleveland is.

The A’s and their fans are great. But we’ll see you in October.

The last two standing are the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cardinals were one of those two last-day squeak-in wild card teams who made it into the postseason as much as a result of the Atlanta Braves’ collapse as their own mojo. The Rangers, of course, have a lot of prove after getting smothered by the Giants in the World Series last year.

I have no real rooting interest in this series; I mostly just wanted to see dramatic baseball. Thus far, this postseason has had plenty of that, but tonight’s performance was over the top.

I started my evening listening the the XM Sirius pregame show, which turned out to be quite good. They had Nolan Ryan on, as well as Rangers GM John Daniels, and even an interview with tonight’s pitcher, Colby Lewis, which had been taped during yesterday’s rain delay/cancellation.

That’s right, there was even an extra smidgen of anticipation in the air in St. Louis tonight because yesterday’s game had to be postponed due to weather. Lewis’s backstory was much talked about last year, as well–a guy who went to pitch in Japan when no more big league opportunities presented themselves, figuring that he had seen the last of MLB. And now he’s been in the World Series two years in a row.

The XM pregame was very Rangers’ heavy, actually, and several times interviewers or hosts made it sound like the Rangers’ winning was a forgone conclusion. Maybe it was just that at the point where I tuned it, it was all Rangers’ people they were talking to. Ryan was gracious and thanked the fans for their support this year (some kind of new attendance record in Arlington?) and for making the trek to St. Louis, too. Sounded like lots of Rangers fans made the trip and the XM hosts commented on it.

However, it was far too early to count St. Louis out… though it took eleven innings to prove that.

I’m trying to decide how to recap all the action in this game, which was a serious seesaw. In the words of Inigo Montoya, “There is too much. Let me sum up.” And since this is the Internet, that means MAKE A TOP TEN LIST.

Top Ten Things I Don’t Want to Forget About This Game:

1. Mike Shannon was on fire tonight on the KMOX broadcast. In the first inning, he repeated about a dozen times that Colby Lewis “has never given up a run in the first inning of a postseason game,” because “not that we want to jinx him or anything…” After the Berkman blast, he said, “we usually don’t like to jinx people like that up here, but what the heck.”

2. How it was “Albert Pujols’ last at-bat in a Cardinals uniform” at least three times. (And who know how many more tomorrow?)

3. My vote for NL comeback player of the year (if I had one), Lance Berkman. Two-run homer in the first inning to give the Cards a lead. Game-tying hit with the Cards down two runs in the bottom of the ninth and down to their last strike! All told: 3-for-5 with a walk, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBIs!

4. Texas scored in six of the 11 innings. St. Louis scored in seven.

INN   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  R   H   E
TEX   1   1   0   1   1   0   3   0   0   2   0   9  15   2
STL   2   0   0   1   0   1   0   1   2   2   1  10  13   3

5. Texas’s homers kept looking like the death blow: Beltre and Cruz with back-to-back shots! And Josh Hamilton (who has a hernia and has been suffering this series) hit a Kirk-Gibsonesque two-run blow in the 10th inning! But somehow the Cardinals kept clawing their way back!

6. The wacky defense. (And wacky overall play…) Not only were there five errors in the game, there were some miscues that don’t show in the box score. None bigger than Nelson Cruz not getting to at least one, maybe two, balls that turned into game-tying hits. Oh, and Mike Napoli turning his ankle at second (shoe-in for MVP if the Rangers win), and Holliday’s “slide” out of the baseline… and later getting picked off third base by Napoli! Last time guy picked off third in a World Series was Gene Tenace in 1972, if the other writers I follow are to be believed. (Tenace was picked off in Game 5 of the ’72 series according to Retrosheet.org, but I can’t verify if anyone else was in the meantime…)

7. The Cards were down two runs and down to their final strike TWICE (in the 9th and the 10th) and came back to tie both times. Both times what I posted on Twitter just before the game-tying hit was “Please don’t let this be the last out of the baseball season!” And both times I got my wish. (Which I then also had to tweet.) This is the equivalent of a Hollywood movie having not one but THREE boss fights in the third act. And all of them being heart-pumping, suspenseful, and wonderful.

8. Pitcher Kyle Lohse had to pinch hit in the 10th inning. (Sac bunt.) Not as wacky as catcher Brent Mayne being the winner pitcher in an extra-innings game in Colorado, but worth a mention, especially since it did contribute to them tying the game.

9. Jake Westbrook, remember him? Winning pitcher. Whoever had him in their office pool must be cleaning up. Oh, and must mention Darren Oliver, who got a “hold” in the game, because in one-third of an inning he gave up two hits, and earned two runs, but… well, this is why the “hold” has never caught on as a stat. It’s like the “quality start” for relievers, a “consolation” stat. Anyway, Oliver is 41 years old. That means he (born October 1970) has been around longer than the Texas Rangers, who came into their current incarnation in 1971. (In 1961 they started as a version of the Washington Senators.) The Rangers are the oldest franchise not to have won a World Series, if the TV commentators are to be believed. Anyway, it’s totally full-circle time for Oliver, who was drafted by the Rangers originally, and in 1993 had his big league debut for Texas (appearing in 2 games). You know who else played on that 1993 Rangers team? 46-year-old Nolan Ryan, now owner of the team.

10. David Freese is a hometown St. Louis guy, and he had a clutch triple, and then the walk-off homer in the 11th. Storybook, can’t make this stuff up, my entire Twitter feed of MLB players, coaches, and media just blowing up with “love baseball” and “can’t believe it!” not once but three times in the game.

And I’m probably forgetting something. I imagine that the media corps probably had to delete a lot of ledes tonight. Most of what I want to remember about tonight, though is that a spine-tingling game of baseball was played, one that moved people to extremes of emotion, even those who didn’t have a rooting interest.

As with an extra-rare cultivated fruit or aged wine, it took all season and all postseason to get to this point, and what resulted was something to be savored.

I’ve been sitting here in the Bronx trying to figure out what to say about tonight’s game, or the season, but part of me says “What is there to say?” We got beat. Now I get a few free weekends I didn’t think I’d have, and I get a big refund on my ALCS and World Series tickets, which means I can buy a new oven.

Okay, I thought of something to say. I’m reminded of the 1960 World Series, which pre-dates me, but I’ve read about it, y’know. In the series, the Pirates were outscored by the Yankees by a lot, yet still managed to win the series by winning the close games.

The Yankees bashed the Tigers’ brains in twice, but got beat by one run twice, and by two runs once. The difference, in other words, was either the pitching just had to be a LITTLE bit better or they had to have ONE big hit go their way which didn’t. If only CC had been just a little sharper, for example, they could have beat Verlander.

Or take tonight as an example. There were numerous times where just one hit–not even a home run, just a base hit–would have likely meant two runs. That’s the difference between them winning by one run and losing by one run. Teixeira had one deep drive that was caught at the wall. So did Jeter. If either of those balls goes out, they win the game.

Or if A-Rod had managed a hit in numerous examples. It’s clear he wasn’t fully healthy this October. He had too many setbacks with injuries and didn’t have his timing together by the time the postseason rolled around. If A-Rod has a postseason like he did in 2009, they might run the table. Or at least advance to the next round.

Or if Nova had not given up two meatballs in the first inning. Two consecutive pitches meant two runs and a deflated and nervous crowd. Girardi said in the postgame press conference that they knew something was wrong with Nova because in the first inning his fastball was cutting. His fastball doesn’t cut. It also doesn’t normally stay up like that. But the damage was done so quickly, and so decisively, it demoralized the crowd.

Twice tonight the Yankees had the bases loaded and were just waiting for a big hit. The Stadium was like a roman candle ready to shoot off if only someone would light the ignition. But the hit never came. The first run of the game was a solo home run by Robbie Cano; they only pitch to Cano when the bases are empty. The second one came on a bases loaded walk. We were on our feet for the entire inning both times, only to sit back down with little to show for it.

Yankees fans won’t soon forget how Jorge Posada hit in this series. .429 with a triple (!) and four walks, for a .600 OBP and 1.200 slugging percentage. And how about Brett Gardner? .412 with 4 RBIs. And Cano would have probably had more to show for it if after Game One they didn’t just decide to quit pitching to him entirely…

The Tigers beat us fair and square. Their pitching was just good enough. Their hitting was just good enough. And they were just lucky enough.

127 days until pitchers and catchers report.

The front dining room is mostly a bar area, brightly lit and featuring a large sculpture of a “Holy Cow” that has been autographed by tons of Yankees. (Guess who signed right between the horns.*) The cow has the retired numbers down its tail, and the championship years through 2000 on its flank. Most of the autographs are on the back.

There is also a rear dining room, and there might have been a private dining room, as well. We were the last customers of the night (they close at 9pm on Sundays) and so I didn’t poke around as long as I might have, as the staff looked like they probably wanted to go home and I didn’t want to hold them up.

Now, how about the food? They have a fairly nice-looking pub menu, with many of the expected items like appetizers chicken wings and mozzarella sticks. (Mo’s-za-rella sticks–no, I’m not making that up…) The main items include burgers and various steaks, and the specials that night included a salmon steak and a swordfish.

I settled quickly on The Panama Special, though, as my meal of choice. A pounded, marinated skirt steak, served on mashed yucca with plantains and salsa. The mashed yucca was too gummy, though quite tasty. To snazz the yucca up I’d suggest making frites out of them instead. The plantains were perfect.

And the steak was fabulous. It’s difficult not to overcook the super-thin skirt steak, but they delivered it medium rare as requested, a nice char on the outside and still juicy on the inside. The salsa on top was piquant without being overpowering. The kitchen also gets extra points for serving the bread slightly toasted and crusty warm, a simple thing that makes a world of difference between mediocre bread and great bread.

Mo’s is in downtown New Rochelle and was fairly easy to get to from the Hutchinson Parkway. For anyone headed north after a day game at Yankee Stadium, it’s a reasonable (and reasonably priced) place to stop for a solid meal.

–
(*Derek Jeter)

In the ninth inning, when it got dark and started to rain around the time the Yankees brought the tying run to the plate for the first time, I started writing metaphorical ledes for this story. Like “It was sunny all day for the Detroit Tigers… until it wasn’t.”

But, unfortunately, the rest of the ninth inning did not pan out the way I might have wanted. I feel sorry for the people who left early, because they missed the best part of the game, a thrilling ninth, even if the Yankees did fall short.

The day began, as I mentioned, not raining. It was partly sunny and quite windy in the Bronx today. When we took our seats for the first pitch the temperature was 61 degrees, but a stiff wind was blowing straight in from center field.

The wind was evident in the top of the first, when Brett Gardner moved to catch a high fly ball and ended up running almost all the way to the infield to get it. Not home run weather, despite the predictions, which were based on the facts that Max Scherzer was in the top three in home runs allowed this year and the Yankees were the top home-run hitting team. The only kind of homer that would go out with the wind like that would be a low line drive.

Unfortunately, that’s what Miguel Cabrera hit in the top of the first. And unfortunately, there was a man on. Another “Yankee Stadium” homer that just cleared the short porch wall inside the foul pole. I’m not even sure the pitch was a strike.

That was pretty much all the action for a while. Scherzer no-hit the Yankees through five complete innings. After giving up the two-run Cabrera shot in the first, Freddy Garcia largely matched him.

Then in the sixth, the Tigers opened the inning with a bounding ball up the middle that Freddy Garcia slowed down, then Jeter got it and rushed his throw, low in the dirt, which Teixeira was unable to dig out. Thus, Austin Jackson reached, and Magglio Ordonez followed with a hit-and-run single while Jackson went to third. Freddy struck out Delmon Young, but then gave up two singles, and two runs, and left the game on the losing end. Boone Logan came in, and despite a balk, struck out the next two batters to quash any further rally. But two more runsa, unearned, had been scored. 4-0 Yankees.

In the Yankees’ half of the sixth, they had some offense, too… Cano broke up the no hitter with a single. That’s it. The crowd roared like he’d hit a home run. But he didn’t.

Corey Wade pitched two scoreless innings but the Yankees were only able to cut the Tigers’ 4-0 lead by one run. They put the first two men on in the seventh (Swisher walked, Jorge singled), but that ended Scherzer’s day, and Joaquin Benoit came in. All they got off Benoit was a Granderson solo homer in the eighth.

Luis Ayala gave that run back in the ninth to make it 5-1 going into the bottom of the inning. Jose Valverde, the Tigers closer, took the mound in the non-save situation, but somehow it felt as tight as any save.

Well, especially when the first man he faced, Nick Swisher, hit a solo shot to make it 5-2. Next up was Jorge Posada, who tripled.

Yes, Jorge tripled. Remember that big triple that Joe Girardi hit in the World Series back when he was a Yankee? Joe ran faster, though. In his postgame press conference, Girardi was asked for his thoughts about Posada getting a triple there. “Well, it’s certainly unusual,” Girardi said.

This was one of the loudest, most intense ninth innings I’ve been through at the new Stadium. Swisher’s shot really brought people to life, and then Posada’s triple had the place jumping. It really was too bad that thanks to two previous rain showers during the game, neither of which stopped play for more than a few minutes while some extra drying agent was sprinkled on the field, 40% of the fans had left. (And at least 10% never made it there, thanks to the rescheduled game.)

Every pitch that wasn’t a strike was cheered raucously. Martin worked a walk. With the score 5-2, that meant the man coming to the plate represented the tying run. It was Andruw Jones. The inning before, Girardi had pinch hit for Gardner with Eric Chavez. As he said in his postgame comments about the move: “I was hoping he would pop one.” Then Jones went in to play left and keep that spot in the batting order.

I was hoping he would “pop one” here. But he ended up hitting a long fly ball that brought Posada in easily. 5-3 Tigers, with a man on and the tying run coming to the plate again, this time Jeter.

We all well know that Jeter can’t be the hero every time, every day. And he wasn’t. Although he had a fairly long at bat, with much chanting and cheering, he struck out. That brought up Granderson, whose appearance prompted many chants of “MVP!”

Granderson worked the count to 2-2, and then popped up. Except Alex Avila slipped on the wet on deck circle–did I mention it had started to rain AGAIN?–and couldn’t get to it. With renewed life, Granderson worked a walk. Phil Coke was warming up in the Tigers bullpen. And that brought Robinson Cano to the plate. Cano, who broke up the no hitter, and who yesterday had the big blow with the grand slam. On XM Radio this morning the commentators were opining that Cano wouldn’t see another good pitch to hit all month.

A home run would have meant a walk-off win, and pie. But Robbie grounded into a force play and the game was over. To win in the postseason you have to be lucky as well as good. If the Yankees end up losing the series, we’ll think back on this game and how Scherzer shut down one of the toughest lineups in baseball, and how the breaks just didn’t go our way.