Pick me up - Yankees 7, Devil Rays 4
The Yankees won their sixth in a row last night with a make shift starting rotation and outfield. There are a lot of things I can say about last nights game – Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 23 games; Matsui crushed his first homer since returning; Darrell Rasner pitched four innings of lights out baseball (possibly the answer to the Yankees long relief question mark); Kevin Thompson continues to look like another outstanding prospect with a sweet swing for a right handed hitter and solid defense. But all these things were only side notes. This game was about two out hitting and guys in the line-up picking each other up.
It started with the captain getting a clutch two out RBI single in the 5th inning that extended the inning and allowed the Yankees to tie the game. But the key to this game was in the 7th inning when we had our captain, our MVP at the plate with one out one and a guy on third. Everyone in the stadium and at home thought Jeter would at least get the run home like he always does, but instead he struck out. Baseball game is about pick-me ups. Cano came up next and lined a double into the left field corner that went off the glove of the speedy Crawford. Giving the Yanks a 6-4 lead and then A-Rod tacked on a run with a nice piece of situational hitting driving in Cano with a solid single to right field. It’s amazing how much fun baseball is to watch when you see a team coming together and picking each other up. As long as the Yankees continue to do this like they have all year (they’ve batted around 36 times this year) they are destined to be World Champion because they truly are the best team as opposed to a lumping together of the best individuals. Cashman and Torre deserve a lot of credit this year. And George deservers credit for staying back and letting the pros do their job.
