It took a home run from an unlikely source – Francisco Cervelli, and a meltdown from Yankee manager Joe Girardi, but the Yankees finally won a game. Oh, and Mariano Rivera got to bat. And yes, Alex Rodriguez actually got a hit.
I was out for a walk last night, listening to the game on the radio, when I heard about Brett Gardner breaking up the Braves’ perfect game with a walk, and then getting called out on a pickoff. (And yes, it was a bad call – I watched the replay of it.) Then Joe Girardi got ejected. And the momentum changed.
According to mlb.com’s Brian Hoch, Joe Girardi apparently did not use any of the magic words managers usually get ejected for. Impressive! I can’t get through one inning of attending a game with Squawker Jon without using at least one of those words!
Anyhow, however Girardi did it, the ejection sparked something with the Yankees. And for the first time in what seemed like forever, the Yanks had some watchable moments, from Cervelli’s excitement over his first career homer, to A-Rod getting a big hit, to Mariano Rivera stepping up to the plate. Oh, and Joba Chamberlain finally got another win.
I particularly liked seeing Melky Cabrera giving Mo batting tips, and seeing the entire Yankee team intently watching Rivera’s at-bat from the top step of the dugout. And seeing Mariano actually hit the ball, despite being told not to by the coaches!
True, it’s only one game, but at least it put the wolves at bay for another day. Speaking of which, I don’t quite know what to make about Mark Teixeira’s postgame quote about Brian Cashman’s surprise visit to Atlanta:
“He was a little fired up,” Mark Teixeira said. “There was no yelling, Cash isn’t that kind of guy. But he was here; he wanted to make himself known. … Sometimes the principal needs to show up in the classroom if the teacher’s having trouble with the students.”
What, is releasing Angel Berroa after he took up a roster spot for three months going to make everybody else worry about their job security? Not as long as Brett Tomko is still gainfully employed by this team. Besides, it’s not like anybody’s lining up to pick up, say, Hideki Matsui’s $13 million contract.
But I do wonder about Teixeira’s analogy. If Cashman is the principal, and,teacher Girardi is having trouble with the class, who are the students causing the trouble? And when will demerits be handed out?
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
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