Game Three

By Adam Ulrey

  On a night when Game Three of the World Series was stopped for 39 minutes because of rain, the elements were not enough to detourthe Yankees from their quest for a 27th title. It comes as no shock that Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera were the reasons for the Yankees 6-1 win.

Before I get into the logistics of the game, is it me or did it seem odd to you that Fox focused on Mike Tyson and Yanni being at the game? First off, Yanni at a ballgame just doesn't seem to fit. Later we find out that Ivan Rodriguez is a big fan. Then to see the ugly face of Tyson on the screen was almost too much. But the topper was during the seventh inning stretch when David Cassidy came out to sing God Bless America. I thought he had finally been put out of our misery. Now come to find out he's still breathing and still annoying a whole new generation. Yo Fox, enough with showing every person on your network in the stands or on commercials, it's enough already.

The evening started off with a terrific pitching duel between Josh Beckett and Mike Mussina. Beckett was phenomenal, striking out 10 and giving up just three hits - all to Jeter. Not to be out done, Mussina threw seven innings of lights out, giving up seven hits and one earned run to get the win. He also struck out nine, while walking just one hitter.

The big hit was the opposite field single by Hideki Matsui that scored Jeter with the winning run. For good measure Aaron Boone and Bernie Williams each hit a homerun to put the game out of reach, because once Rivera steps on the mound your night is over. I don't know if there's ever been a better reliever in the history of this game than Rivera. He throws one pitch (his cut fastball) and everybody knows it, and they still can't hit it.

On to Jeter, who it seems like the media doesn't like to admit he's a great player. There's always that comparison to Arod or Garciaparra or even Miguel Tejada and how they are better. Not only do I beg to differ, it's a stupid comment to try and compare a gap hitter who bats in the #2 slot to the other three who are more known for their power. You can't compare those stats. You want to compare stats that's one thing, you want to compare heart and desire now that's another thing. Jeter has a lifetime .317 average and over 1500 hits at the age of 29. He has a very realistic shot at 3,000. When you look at postseason that's where Jeter earns every bit of his 15 million dollar salary. He has 119 hits for the all-time post-season record and in 18 postseason series is hitting .315 with more clutch hits than I have time to write about. This would become an essay. In the postseason Nomar hasn't done bad hitting .319, but is never able to deliver that big hit when the BoSox need it. Arod decided that 17 million a year to play for a winner wasn't enough and now hasn't smelled the playoffs for three years. Tejada has been in the playoffs for the last four years and hit a combined .211 with 1 homer and 6 RBIs without the A's making it out of the first round. People can bring up the excuse that the Yankees win because of money, but you still have to be able to get it done and Jeter gets it done year in and year out during the postseason. Jeter has one thing that drives him maybe more than any other player and that is the desire to do whatever it will take to win another title. In the end it won't matter how much you made or how many homers you can hit, it's all about the rings baby. Jeter is looking to add one to his thumb at the ripe old age of 29. So you can have Arod, Nomar and Tejeda, all great players, but for my money I'll take Jeter over them every single time.