An incredible evening

As a baseball fan in general, and a Yankees fan in particular, tonight was a "wet dream." The team has been on a tear of late. We were written off a few short weeks ago, but the New York Yankees have now officially Come Back. Tonight, the Universe resounded to the beat dictated by divine clockwork. The Yankees won, beating the Indians in the process. Boston lost, in humiliating fashion. Detroit lost, also in humiliating fashion. The Seattle Mariners blew a lead and also lost. The result? In the race for the American League Eastern Division Championship, the Yankees are but five games back. As it is just mid-August five out means we are in a Pennant Race. With the Wild-Card rules being as they are -- Yankees are tied with the Seattle Mariners for a (theoretical) spot in the playoffs.

The Yankee Victory:

Tonight, The Phenom Phil Hughes went at the Cleveland Indians, a perennial rival for the Yanks. He dominated "The Tribe" for most of the game, save for an awkward 25-pitch 1st inning and a solo shot by Barfield in the 5th. Joba Chamberlain absolutely shut the Indians down, striking out the side in the eighth, for a total of four K's in his two innings of work. Ironic, as Joba is the only Native American player in the game today and his success comes at the expense of the weak-hitting Indians. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect ninth. On offense, A-Rod hit a homer in the second off of Fausto Carmona, with The Captain Derek Jeter collecting three hits to raise his batting average to .330. Hideki Matsui, Bobby "El Comedulce" Abreu, and Robbie Cano (don't cha know) also came up with big hits in key situations.

Joba is one heck of a story in and of himself. He is a Native American of the Winnebago tribe. He was raised on a reservation by a single father, who was disabled and left without the use of an arm. Even so, his father played catch with him, raising him as best he could, and encouraging Joba's passion for the game. Chamberlain's given name was Justin. A young niece was unable to pronounce his name, and her best attempt "Job-Ah" became the name his family called him. He has since legally changed his name from Justin to Joba.

The Boston Loss

Let me just say, the the Red Sox collapse is destined to happen. It is the order of things in the universe. There was a rare Freak Occurence, something that happens only once in a centuary. Red Sox Nation has nine decades of futility to look forward to. Grudgingly one has to admit that Daisuke Matsuzaka is a heck of a pitcher. He and the Baltimore Orioles' Erik Bedard engaged in a classic pitcher's duel for 7 innings. Despite giving up just one run, Dice-K left the game in shame, as the losing pitcher of record. Only later did the Sox rally and knock out Bedard in the eighth and tag the O's for a total of five runs. The Baltimorons would come back, slamming recent Red Sox acquisition Eric Gagne (the 2003 NL Cy Young Award recipient) tagging him for four runs. The usually "automatic" Hideki Okajima was shamed, as he gave up the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as the Orioles made a miracle comeback at Camden Yards.

The other "Wild Card" pretenders

The Tigers came out on the losing end of a see-saw battle with the Oakland A's. Oakland led 8-1 after three and a half innings of baseball. With a grand slam by former Yankee Marcus Thames, the Tigers scored five times in their half of the third and with three more runs in the fourth inning they took a 9-7 advantage. Justin Cust responded with a grand slam of his own and ended up driving in 7 as The A's ended up winning 16-10. The Seattle Mariners jumped out to a 3-2 lead over the Chicago White Sox before the home team came back to win 5-3. Chicago reliever Bobby Jenks made Baseball History by pitching a perfect 9th, he retired his 38th consecutive batter, tying him with David Wells set in 1998 for the Yankees. Three more, and Jenks will tie the record set by Jim Barr for the 1972 San Francisco Giants. This was Bobby Jenks' 33rd save in 36th chances.

The Yankees currently stake claim to the Wild Card. We are within 5 of the Red Sox for the Division Title with 7 more weeks of baseball to go. I like our balance of tested veterans and eager rookies. I believe that the 0-0-0 (WinnebagO - VizcainO - MarianO) combo makes this relief corps as automatic as they come. October Glory is within reach, and as of this moment, the Yankees hold the keys to their destiny. Tonight was a beautiful and near-perfect night in baseball. I love our chances in the playoff hunt to come.

/R