Let me just put in a few links to some Yankee games I attended:
April 18, 2005: Why was I at a Monday night game, and with whom?
The New York Yankees answered George Steinbrenner with a record-setting blowout.
Alex Rodriguez, Tino Martinez and the Yankees broke out for 13 runs in the second inning Monday night on the way to a 19-8 rout of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, ending a four-game skid.
One day after Steinbrenner lashed out at his $200 million team for its 4-8 start, the Yankees quickly showed just how powerful their offense can be.
...
It all started in the second, New York's biggest inning ever at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees sent 17 batters to the plate during an incredible outburst that lasted 34 minutes. They got 11 hits, including seven in a row, and 10 consecutive hitters reached safely.
``It felt like it lasted for hours,'' Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford said. ``That was a tough inning. I just hope it doesn't happen again.''
Hideki Matsui drew a leadoff walk before Rodriguez hit a two-run shot off Rob Bell (1-1).
Giambi doubled, Jorge Posada grounded out and Martinez hit an RBI single. Tony Womack followed with a single off the first-base bag, and Derek Jeter drove in a run with a single.
Williams and Gary Sheffield followed with consecutive RBI singles, and Matsui singled to load the bases.
Rodriguez hit a two-run double to left, making it 8-0 and chasing Bell.
``We got a lot of breaks, too. Some of the balls were just out of their reach,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said.
Giambi was walked intentionally by reliever Lance Carter, and Posada hit an RBI single. Martinez then hit a 3-1 pitch over the right-field fence for his 11th career slam and a 13-0 lead.
With one out in the second inning, every New York starter had a hit and a run scored.
But, despite the big lead, Jaret Wright got booed off the mound - Torre wanted him to complete five innings and pick up a seemingly easy win (and he did), but Wright stunk:
Yankees starter Jaret Wright (2-1) retired the first six Tampa Bay batters he faced, but he was booed off the mound when he left the game with one out in the sixth inning, having given up 11 hits. He allowed eight runs, tying a career high.
"It's nice to win, and that's the main goal," Wright said, "but there is some stuff I've got to do in the next four days. I've got to straighten some things out."
Torre said of Wright, "He's certainly capable of doing better than that."
April 26, 2005 - A Rod goes animal on the Angels with three homers and ten RBIs.
Yahoo recap:
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez's teammates made him wait until the fans worked themselves into a frenzy worthy of a three-homer night. They clapped to the music and chanted ``A-Rod! A-Rod!'' until he finally stepped onto the top step of the dugout and raised both hands over his head.
Rodriguez's biggest night with the New York Yankees was over a year in the making, and everybody at Yankee Stadium was in a celebratory mood.
Rodriguez hit three home runs in his first three at-bats and became only the 11th major league player with 10 or more RBIs in a game, leading New York over the Los Angeles Angels 12-4 Tuesday night.
July 30, 2005
Yahoo; ESPN; NY Times; LA Times
From Yahoo:
By MIKE FITZPATRICK, AP Sports Writer
July 30, 2005NEW YORK (AP) -- Francisco Rodriguez looked tired, and he was having trouble throwing strikes. The New York Yankees' patient hitters only made things harder on him.
Hideki Matsui's two-run double in the ninth inning capped a big comeback, and New York took advantage of four walks by Rodriguez to beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-7 Saturday.
``That's what we do best. We take our walks, and eventually somebody's got to be pitched to,'' Jason Giambi said.
What I remember - the Yankees gave up four in the seventh and two in the eighth to fall behind 7-3. I suggested to David that we call it a day, but he was unrelenting. Giambi hit a bomb in the bottom of the eigth to make it 7-5, and the bottom of the ninth turned into a Little League finish - 55,000 screaming maniacs helped overpower a tired K-Rod.
Aug 13, 2005: Rangers at Yankees with the Bean; Yanks win in extra innings and 100 degree heat, 7-5. Considering the heat, that was pretty pricey free baseball.
Yahoo recap:
By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Sports Writer
August 13, 2005NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Yankees kept their cool after Mariano Rivera blew a save for the first time in more than four months. They simply turned to another player they've always relied on in the clutch.
Bernie Williams hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the Yankees overcame Rivera's first blown save since the third game of the season to beat the fading Texas Rangers 7-5 Saturday.
Rivera had converted a career-best 31 consecutive saves before allowing two runs in the ninth -- one day after the Yankees didn't use him in a save situation because he had been overworked of late.
A Sor, aka Soriano, the Bean's fave, homered for Texas.
Aug 27, 2005: Kansas City at Yankees with The Bird; Yanks score 5 in the bottom of the ninth to win; the Bird and I listen to Yankess radio guy tells us that in his fiftten years in the Yankees broadcast booth he has never seen so stunning, so epic, so glorious a Yankees comeback. OK, he gets excited.
Yahoo recap:
By HAL BOCK, AP Sports Writer
August 28, 2005NEW YORK (AP) -- The Yankees bounded out of their dugout, celebrating as if they had just won a postseason game. A ninth-inning error by the Kansas City Royals turned what should have been a distressing New York loss into a memorable comeback.
Reliever Jeremy Affeldt threw away a potential game-ending double play ball, giving the Yankees the opportunity they needed. New York then rallied for five runs on five clutch hits that followed the error, beating the Royals 8-7 Saturday.
``The bottom line is it's never over until the last out,'' said Derek Jeter, whose two-run single pulled New York within a run. ``If you've done something before, you always think you can do it again.''
...
The Royals were ahead 7-3 when Affeldt came in to start the ninth. He walked Jason Giambi, then struck out Bernie Williams. Jorge Posada hit a bouncer back to the mound, and Affeldt turned to throw to second. But the throw was low and wide, and shortstop Angel Berroa dropped the ball.
Affeldt, who seemed to slip on the resin bag as he threw the ball, sat disconsolate in front of his locker after the game and made no excuse.
``The bottom line is I blew it,'' he said. ``It was a routine double play. I can't look anybody in the eye right now. It was an embarrassment.''
Matt Lawton, acquired from the Chicago Cubs earlier Saturday, then loaded the bases with a single and Tino Martinez, pinch hitting for Robinson Cano, singled to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Jeter followed with a two-run single past a diving Berroa, Hideki Matsui flied out, and Gary Sheffield tied the score with a two-out double. Rodriguez followed with the winning single for the Yankees, who had just four hits going into the ninth.
``It looked like they needed oxygen for the first eight innings,'' Yankees manager Joe Torre said. ``And then they suddenly came to life.''
One year later, let's note the key hit by A-Rod.
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