The bottom of the ninth was all about bloops – broken bat singles, bloop singles, dunkers, rollers and that ball that Vernon “Molasses” Wells couldn’t get to. (I know, he was trying to keep the ball in front of him, but still.) I blame Suzyn Waldman for almost jinxing the game into the loss column. I’d been watching on TV but switched to WCBS for the ninth as I was getting ready to leave the house.
“Oh, John,” said Suzyn. “That long plane ride home is gonna be so much better after this one.”
She was referring, of course, to the fact that the Yankees owned a 6-0 lead with CC going for a complete game shutout. And then all hell broke loose. CC lost it. Girardi brought in Robertson, who was too high-wire even for Joe, who then brought in Mo to close the door on the Angels once and for all. But then came the various bloops. Suddenly, the score was 6-5 and I wasn’t going anywhere. I turned the TV back on and gulped as I watched Pujols step up to the plate. Could the Yanks really lose this? Could Mo really blow it? Would the losing streak continue?
No, no and no.
I guess the important thing is they won the game, but I didn’t feel great about it.
I hope the off day tomorrow gives all the players a chance to decompress. I know I will. Then comes the series with the Dodgers, which I’m looking forward to. My friends here are Dodgers fans so I’ve gotten familiar with a lot of their guys and it’s always nice to see Donnie Baseball even if it’s in another uniform.
