Damn Yankees

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Damn Yankees. They had to go and beat the Devil Rays yesterday and let all the air out of this weekend’s series against the Red Sox at Fenway, the first game of which could be a preview of the ALCS Game 1 matchup: Mike Mussina against Pedro Martinez.


Damn Yankees. They had to go and get hot just as the Red Sox cooled off from a stretch in which they won 20 of 22 games and cut the Yankees commanding lead in the AL East from 10 1 /2 games to a puny 2 1 /2. Of course, that lasted about as long as it takes Johnny Damon’s hair to grow another inch, which is to say, the blink of an eye.


Damn Yankees. Just when we were all worried about the rotation – for a while there, it was El Duque and Moose and pray for a hurricane – the pins are out of Kevin Brown’s busted left mitt, Esteban Loiaza is pitching like a Cy Young candidate again (for one night at least), and Jon Lieber works into the eighth inning for the first time since, well, last week, when he shut down Boston in a 14-4 win at the Stadium.


Yes, just when you were getting geared up for a real, live race in the AL East, things start falling into place for those damned Yankees.


From Memorial Day though Labor Day, Jason Giambi looked as if he might never play baseball again. His return to the Yankee lineup last week looked like nothing more than a courtesy extended to a former MVP who, coincidentally, gets paid $12.5 million a year. And then, this week, after going 0-for-most-of-the-summer, Giambi starts heating up, hitting a home run Tuesday night and an RBI double yesterday.


Wasn’t it a slumping Giambi who touched up Pedro for those two home runs in Game 7 of last year’s ALCS, keeping the moribund Yankees alive just long enough for Aaron Boone to earn his place in Yanks-Red Sox lore?


Well, what do you know, it may just happen again.


Damn Yankees. As if adding Alex Rodriguez, who could have been a Red Sox, in the off-season wasn’t enough, they had to bag Gary Sheffield, former malcontent turned happy MVP candidate as well. John Olerud was out there for anyone with a spare $500,000 to pick up. Nobody did. Nobody except, of course, those damned Yankees.


Sure, Curt Schilling’s been a great addition for the Red Sox, and for the most part, Pedro has been Pedro. But on the flip side, Derek Lowe has turned back into Derek Lowe, the one who was 22-25 in seven big-league seasons before his breakout year in 2002. Bronson Arroyo’s been good for a guy with blond cornrows, but who knows if the Yankees are forever lodged in Tim Wakefield’s head after the last meaningful pitch he threw against them wound up in the left-field seats following a collision with Boone’s bat?


There were plenty of reasons to hope this season would end differently for the Red Sox, but they seemed to have evaporated last week at Yankee Stadium, when after rallying for a ninth-inning, 3-2 win against the incomparable Mariano Rivera last Friday, they were clubbed into submission in the following two games by a combined score of 25-5.


And with yesterday’s Yankees win over the Devil Rays, even the Red Sox’ dramatic 12th-inning victory over the Orioles on Orlando Cabrera’s home run seems meaningless now. After Boston lost to Baltimore last night, they open the series tonight at Fenway 4 1 /2 games behind the Yankees, too far out of first-place for even a weekend sweep to remedy.


And yet, there is still reason for hope. There’s always October and a rematch of last year’s ALCS, when the Red Sox came so close only to have their best chance in decades be Grady-Littled away from them.


There is that look of despair that crept into Mariano Rivera’s eyes when he walked Trot Nixon to start that fateful ninth inning last Friday, a look that said, “Here we go again,” perhaps a reminder to the Untouchable One that of all the teams in baseball that have tried and mostly failed against him, the Red Sox have had the most recent success.


Rivera’s blown save last week was only his fourth of the year, but second in a row to the Sox. Could it be that of all the Yankees, the most important one of all has the Red Sox stuck between his ears?


If you’re a Boston fan, there’s no other reason to hope. The Yankees’ pitching is back, the hitting has never gone anywhere, they have 86 years of history on their side, and, as always, everything is coming together for them at the right time.


Damn Yankees. When your best chance lies in the slim hope of toppling the greatest postseason closer in the history of baseball, you suddenly realize why Boston believes in curses.



Mr. Matthews is the host of the “Wally and the Keeg” sports talk show heard Monday-Friday from 4-7 p.m. on 1050 ESPN radio.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use