It is with great pleasure I interrupt my sunny southern California beach vacation to bring you this sports roundup. Why so cheery to be working on one of my 10 annual vacation days, you may ask? It’s no other reason than the chance to reminisce about the resounding four-game-sweep of the Boston Red Sox and the 6.5 game lead the Yankees created last weekend.
As Journal News Yankee beat writer Peter Abraham pointed out on his excellent blog (Yankees.lhblogs.com), in all their illustrious history the Yankees have never lost a lead this big at any point of the season. So fans are rightfully sniffing playoffs.
It seems as if the team has finally struck the right balance between youth and big-money free agents. With a pitching rotation anchored by four top-notch starters (C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Joba Chamberlain and Andy Petite), a stacked-offensive lineup and the greatest closer-of-all-time in Mariano Rivera, 2009 could be remembered for a lot more than just “the inaugural season” at the new big-ballpark in the Bronx.
Even here in San Diego you couldn’t escape the influence of the Boston vs. New York matchup. It’s on in local bars and everyone got excited about Alex Rodriguez’s game-winning-homer in the 15-inning classic last Friday night. Even I, walking on a local pier, couldn’t help myself from cynically snarling “Sweep! Sweep” under the guise of a fake cough when passing a Boston fan in full Red Sox gear. It’s a big deal to post four wins after the Yankees dropped the first eight games against Boston earlier this year. The momentum is certainly strong heading into the final 40 games of the season.
Where the momentum is not strong, however, is with the boys from Flushing. The Mutts, 10-games-out of the playoffs, dropped two-out-of-three to the last place Padres last weekend, but I got the chance to see their one-win.
Dropping in on Petco Park last Sunday I bore witness to another gem by ace Johan Santana. Pitching eight strong innings, he even hit going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. It was a “what-could-have-been” moment as the star shimmered briefly in this disappointing 2009 season.
Barring a miraculous comeback, the Mets will be faced with some serious offseason issues. Pegged by many analysts to win-it-all this year, it’s been more like a fright-fest of injuries. When one-of-your best everyday players, Louis Castillo, trips and sprains his ankle walking down the dugout stairs, you know it’s just one of the those “Murphy’s Law” seasons where everything that could go wrong has.
Should the Mets break up their core of players (Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and David Wright) that had seemed so promising just a short time ago? Will they fire their general manager Omar Minaya after three-years with no postseasons plus a series of botched public relations incidences? Questions loom, but none higher, or should I say lower, than their 11-game deficit in the standings. It’s clear, something’s got to give.
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Be the miracle
10 years ago
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