Thursday, May 24, 2007
Andy Pettitte pitches in the first inning against the Red Sox in New York's 8-3 win at Yankee Stadium.
NEW YORK – No one dared to call it Game 7 of the World Series – who'd be crazy enough to say the season was actually on the line in May? – but even the lowest-calibrated radar could pick up on adrenaline (or was it anxiety?) in the ballpark.
Even before Andy Pettitte threw his first cut-fastball in an 8-3 win over the Red Sox, the Yankees' news cycle was moving at a frantic pace. Jason Giambi nervously danced around questions about his visit to the commissioner's office, where he was interviewed about his recent comments in USA Today.
Giambi's future is now further complicated by a Daily News report that said the Yankee slugger failed an amphetamines test in 2006. ESPN, however, refuted that story late Wednesday.
The Yankees also announced that Carl Pavano's career in the Bronx is all but over, now that he's been given the go-ahead for Tommy John surgery. Tests revealed damage in Pavano's elbow, and he could, if he chooses, continue to rehab without an operation. But the Yankees are already speaking of Pavano in the past tense; that's how certain they are that he will run (not walk) to the operating table and collect the remainder of his $40 million contract from the disabled list.
Hideki Matsui strokes a RBI single scoring Derek Jeter in the seventh inning.
A far more benevolent form of charity was announced soon after, as the Yankees donated $1 million to Virginia Tech and promised to play an exhibition game against the school's baseball team in March.
Still, on this busy night, the most important item on the Yankees' agenda was Game 3 of this miniature Armageddon with the Sox. The gaze the Bombers turned in Andy Pettitte's direction needed no translation, not as they were contemplating an 11½-game deficit with just nine games remaining against Boston.
Save us, is what the Yankees were asking of Pettitte, who took the mound with his three weapons of choice: fastball, cut-fastball, heart.
"Andy rose to the occasion," is what Joe Torre was saying after the game.
It was a rich compliment, considering there are Yankee pitchers who throw harder (Chien-Ming Wang), who have deeper arsenals (Mike Mussina) and who exploit the element of surprise (like rookie Tyler Clippard did against the Mets).
Pettitte, in fact, is the first to admit he doesn't throw as hard as he did in his 20s, which his why, in one scout's words, "Hitters feel so comfortable against him."
Pettitte doesn't disagree. With a self-deprecating laugh, he said, "It seems like everyone is hitting .300 against me."
Yet, Pettitte has that unquantifiable ability to avoid disaster – hard-hit grounders that turn into double plays, or long fly balls that are caught on the warning track. Pettitte did it again, snuffing out the Red Sox without much of a fastball and only two strikeouts.
Of course, the odds of a complete comeback are still against the Bombers; the Sox will have to degrade to a .500 team for a real race to emerge. But the Yankees nevertheless "sent a message" both to Boston and themselves, in Torre's words, suggesting not all early season disasters are irreparable.
Derek Jeter slides into third base with a triple in the seventh inning.
Crazy, isn't it, how a season can be boiled down to nine innings, even this early in the year. After Mussina was outpitched by Julian Tavarez on Tuesday, the Yankees had every reason to feel those rivulets of sweat. As Derek Jeter said of a potential 11½-game deficit, "It would've been tough for us. Very tough. This was a big win because when you're playing the team ahead of you, every game counts for two."
Pettitte agreed, saying, "I knew this was important. If we didn't win this series, I'm not saying we couldn't have come back from it, but it would've made it a lot tougher."
Big series? A crossroads game? It was if you think Torre's job has been on the line this month, or if Roger Clemens' comeback is to have any meaning or if general manager Brian Cashman intends to keep his power base intact.
Turns out Pettitte rescued the Yankees with an efficiency that drove the Sox crazy. There were only two strikeouts, few swings and misses and the Sox always looked like they were ready to break out. Yet, the outs kept piling up, one inning after the next, while the Yankees were busy taking advantage of Curt Schilling's sub-par fastball.
Derek Jeter celebrates the end of the game as the last out is made on a stirkeout by Coco Crisp.
In the second inning, Pettitte allowed Kevin Youkilis a one-out double, then took a deep breath and retired Mike Lowell on a fly ball to right before getting Jason Varitek to foul out to Alex Rodriguez. It was the same tease in the third inning: Pettitte got David Ortiz to line out to Robison Cano with two on and two out, and in the fourth, Pettitte turned a double play on Youkilis' line drive back to the mound.
By the seventh inning, Pettitte had finished frustrating the Sox, giving the Yankees renewed hope for the summer. If the Bombers are still around in October – if they somehow recover from this monstrous deficit – they'll be able to look back on this miniature Armageddon and remember the night Pettitte survived on that trio of weapons.
Fastball, cut-fastball, heart.
Mostly, heart.
E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com
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