A-Rod and Melkman Come Up Clutch; Yanks Walk Off (Postgame Notes 23 May 2009)

Earlier this afternoon, Helen and I are on the D train from Columbus Circle, going north to Fordham.

Helen has just arrived from Newcastle, England; she's not, as you imagine, a baseball fan by nature, though she is trying.

We're standing, holding onto one of the poles, it's about 4.30 pm and I can't remember now what we were talking about then, but at 125th street, a guy and a girl get on. The guy is wearing a Yankees' cap while the girl is wearing a Phillies' cap.

As one might imagine, the girl starts uttering,

"We'll be lucky if we get there by the seventh inning."

I can't help myself.

"All the good stuff happens in the later innings, anyway."


Self-fullfiling prophecy, it would seem.


I have no idea as to how Andy Pettitte pitched or as to how most of the Yankees hit; when I turned the game on, it was 4-1 Phillies.

Here is what I did see:

Phil Coke is something, that 8th inning guy if/when Bruney can't go.

Derek Jeter had a nice home run, but Alex Rodriguez hit one out in the ninth, and that one mattered, no question.

Bottom of the ninth inning, off of Brad Lidge, to tie the game...and, of course, once that happened, there really wasn't much of a question:

AJ had to go get the pie ready.

The question became not if the Yankees would win the game, but who, and it would somehow seem fitting that Melky Cabrera, who started the last winning streak, should start this one.

***

CC Sabathia and Cole Hamels tomorrow; should be quite a match up