On a Sunday night that felt like a farewell hug before the game even began, Yankee fans saved their loudest cheers for manager Joe Torre.
Along the third base tier, a simple sign, “Do It For Joe”, adorned the blue wall alongside the patriotic bunting that signifies the importance of October baseball—as if the 56,358 cheering as if a team that had provided them with so many thrills might be playing for the very last time.
And despite the fulminations of owner George Steinbrenner, such sentiment is understandable. The Yankees have made the playoffs each season of the Torre era. Only once did they fail to win at least 90 games—in 2000--and they certainly made up for it in October.
n 2007, the Yankees failed to win the division for just the second time under Torre. But this was arguably his best managing job, taking the Bombers from 21-29 to 94 wins and the Wild Card. Spotting Boston 14.5 games, the Yanks finished just two games out, playing better than anybody in baseball over the season’s final four months.
Torre got the maximum out of an older team with suspect starting pitching and a limited bullpen. Given Roger Clemens, he saw the Rocket break down, falling from the October sky after one last futile attempt to get airborne.
But Philip Hughes held the Indians in check, and the Stadium of yesteryear made its return in the bottom of the third. A misplay by Indians’ catcher Victor Martinez gave New York first and third with one out. Johnny Damon followed with a hit, bringing Derek Jeter to the plate with the tying runs on base.
But the Captain, already with one GIDP to his credit, along with a first-inning misplay that was charitably labeled “hit”, snuffed out the rally, as if channeling A-Rod. The magic dispersed as quickly as it came. Mystique and Aura left to get a beer.
But with Clemens gone, and Jeter’s performance MIA, it was a Red Sox hero, Johnny Damon, and a 21-year-old, Philip Hughes, that kept the Yankees in the game. What alternate universe did we enter—the Yankee faithful singing the praises of the man who helped cap the 2004 collapse? But that’s just what happened as Damon took the field for the top of the sixth.
Hughes gave way to Chamberlain, and suddenly the farewell party turned into a welcome homecoming for new October stars. Joba struggled in the eighth, but Joe Torre didn’t panic and go to the old reliable. He let Joba pitch through it, and he did.
Mariano pitched a scoreless ninth, a reminder that if the Yankees are to win this series, plenty of veterans will have to come through.
But on a night which saw 2007 stay alive for at least one more night, 2008, and even the new Yankee Stadium, was clearly visible in the bug-free Bronx night.
And Yankee fans should hope Joe Torre, his .605 career winning percentage in the regular season, and better yet, .618 in the postseason, are around for all of it.
Howard Megdal covers baseball for The New York Observer and Gotham Baseball Magazine. His work has also appeared on ESPN.com, Lindy's Sports, and Inside Pitch Magazine, among many other publications and sites. He is a regular contributor to the radio program New York Baseball Talk with Mike Silva, whose Podcasts are available on iTunes. His daily haiku recapping each Mets game can be read on Metsgeek.com. He is currently at work on a book about Jewish baseball players, which is scheduled to be published by HarperCollins in the Spring of 2009.
On a Sunday night that felt like a farewell hug before the game even began, Yankee fans saved their loudest cheers for manager Joe Torre.
But with Clemens gone, and Jeter’s performance MIA, it was a Red Sox hero, Johnny Damon, and a 21-year-old, Philip Hughes, that kept the Yankees in the game. What alternate universe did we enter—the Yankee faithful singing the praises of the man who helped cap the 2004 collapse? But that’s just what happened as Damon took the field for the top of the sixth.