"Start spreading the newsss, Im leaving todayyy
I want to be a part of it—New york, New yorkkkk...
These vagabond shoessss, are longing to strayyyy
Right through the very heart of it—New york, New yorkkkk..." - Frank Sinatra
There is nothing quite like the sound of Mr. Sinatra. There is nothing in baseball quite like a walk-off win. There is nothing in baseball quite like the Yankees. There is nothing in baseball quite like the playoffs in New York.
Well last night we got all four...and what a treat it was. When you start to hear the music blaring from the thousands of speakers in the New Yankee Stadium, and you see AJ Burnett, pie in hand, make a B-line straight toward Mark Teixeira, you've got to be watching Yankee playoff baseball.
Last night's game was just awesome. As a writer I try to always find creative adjectives and descriptive words to explain a situation that I'm talking about. But I just could not find a better word then, awesome. Everything about the game was awesome.
We saw two great pitching performances on both sides. We saw a team score and then the home team come right back in the bottom of the inning and score to keep pace. We saw Alex Rodriguez come through in a (gulp) clutch situation with his first RBI.
Side note: After this hit, I texted my boy and fellow Chit-Chat Sports' half-ass contributor, Showtime, and said, "Can I now use the words A-Rod and clutch in the same sentence?" Little did I know this would lead to an even bigger circumstance later on.
So we get to the bottom of the ninth, and if you've been a Yankee fan the past 10 years, you know that these situations (especially with A-fraud coming up) seem to never work out for us in the playoffs.
But if you've followed this team all year you know that something is different with them. They have that swagger and confidence every game. They believe that no matter the score, they can still win this game.
These moments almost always seem to come down to Alex Rodriguez. If you could somehow look up a stat on how many times a player has been up in "clutch" situations, Alex has to be the leader. And in the past he has struggled tremendously. So when Mark Teixeira got the lead-off single, you just knew something was in order.
I posted a comment on facebook saying, "Comon A-rod, for once be clutch in your life."
Seconds later, I'm watching Clutch-Rod (as my boy Ski now calls him) trotting around the bases after tying the game at three with a two-run home run.
At first I was stunned. Maybe he should have started dating Kate Hudson years ago? She seems to have straightened him out, and most definitely will not be trying to lose this guy in 10 days. But that's neither hear no there. I digress.
The magnitude of that home-run will be overlooked of course by the actual Walk-off winner, Mark Teixeira, however the bigger story is that proverbial "monkey" that seems to be off Mr. Rodriguez's back. He seems calm and confident, even if he strikes out a couple times, he is showing that resiliency to be a clutch hitter.
This may lead to the most important thing to come out of this game if the Yankees are to get to the championship this year.
Of course I didn't forget about my man Teixeira, who I bashed for days on end in the beginning of the season. But I knew he could do it all along. What a moment for him to earn his pinstripes.
And of course the night wouldn't be complete without the AJ Burnett pie festivities. I never understood why we call it a pie to the face, when it's really shaving cream. But I'm not complaining, I'll take all the pies they can whip up. Hell, I'll even buy the Barbasol...LET'S GO YANKS!
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