Final Score: Boston Red Sox 11, New York Yankees 4Thanks to Mike (and again, thanks!) I have had many different experiences when venturing up to the Bronx, into the lion's mouth. I have been witness to exciting victories, crushing defeats, meaningful games, meaningless games, good times and bad. This was completely different than anytime before. Normally I can keep to myself and my friends, I limit my pro-Sox chatter, exuberance and apparel and I can make it back to Brooklyn without fear of bodily harm.
Tonight, I must admit, I had some fear. The Yanks are in the midst of a slide they haven’t seen since 1991. They can't get a pitcher past the 5th inning, the bullpen is taxed like a Connecticut middle class family and the once mighty bats have been falling flat. Combine this slump with the newfound courage (brazenness) of Red Sox fans and it is a powder keg waiting to go off.
Dice K managed NOT to be the focus of the story once again. He pitched well enough until the bottom of the 4th where his command swayed (as did the strike zone) and the bases were jammed, un-jammed and then jammed again. Again it seemed like his problems compounded and then disappeared in later innings as if he was still lights out. Is this going to be his MO for the rest of the year? 5-6 good innings and one bad one? In person he is very unassuming on the mound. He looks comfortable enough, but not dominating, not intimidating. A common comment from Mike was how little he was scared of Dice K when compared to other top pitchers in the league.
Meanwhile, the Sox bats were able to pounce upon the dwindling Yankee pitching. Pettitte ran afoul of the ump Brian Runge (who was freaking AWFUL all game) in the 5th and lost the lead that they had just gained from Dice K. The bullpen, over used and hapless, quickly let the Sox turn this one into a blowout. Every starter got a hit, Youk and Lugo went deep and even Pedroia managed his second extra base hit of the year. I was on the edge of my seat with joy, but I kept it to myself as I saw the fights going on in the other sections.
Tonight I bore witness as the stalwart hopes of the Yanks fans collapsed as easily as their team’s pitching. The team's losing streak is now at 7 and the fans aren’t taking it well. The crowd was belligerent and looking for an excuse to start trouble…well, those that stayed. The place emptied out in the 7th.
I felt like Snake Plissken as I made my escape through the subway system. Groups of morose, drunken fans wondered aloud if Torre would have a job on Monday and berated any passerby in Red Sox garb. To the 2 girls I met on the D train, you were lucky to get off at 125th. Those guys only got worse as we got closer to Manhattan.
These were the death throes. Do I think the Yankees are “done” as a team this year? No, of course not. It’s only April. But I do think that the fair-weather fans have jumped ship and the whole organization is in scramble mode. Tonight felt like the bottom of the barrel to me. When the temperature dropped in the 7th and the fog started to roll in, it was almost as if smoke was settling on the ashes of a burnt out team and fan base.
Now that I made it back from that dystrophic nightmare, I realize how lucky I am (we are) to be Red Sox fans right now. The Sox are primed with young talent, anchored with stable vets and have a pitching staff that is second to none in the league. If they can continue to hit and this bullpen can continue to hold (Timlin, Okie and Joel were solid tonight) I don’t see why the AL East isn’t ours.
“And I looked to the Bronx, and beheld a red horse in sox: and his name that sat on him was Death, and a second series sweep followed with him.”
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