Game Six

By Bob Palazzo

Little did I realize that when I selected to write the post game report for Game Six that I would face the prospect of writing about the Marlins winning the World Series. But that is the situation I faced after Game Five. I actually agonized about it for two days. Luckily I met up with a friend Friday evening at a local high school football game. I've known John since grammar school and he knocked some sense into me. "Pettitte was pitching! He's been playing the role of stopper all season (13-3 after a Yankee loss) and would do so again Saturday night". OK, I felt better. But would the Yankees find their hitting shoes? Don't worry - we were about to witness Jack McKeon's version of Grady Little's Pedro decision; he was starting Beckett with three day's rest. The Yankees were sure to get to him early. 

The Yanks caught a break right off in the first inning when a pitch from Pettitte grazed Juan Pierre, but was called a ball. A quick two strikes on Castillo was all the fans needed to rise to their feet. The nervous tension in the stadium was off the meter. Oh yeah, the Yanks were back home. In the Yankees' half, Jeter led off with a strike out. Jeter questioned the call, but is was a beauty of a curveball. Beckett was strong. But two hard hit balls, a double by Williams and a liner to end the first by Matsui was encouraging. 

At the start of the second inning, FOX asked its first annoying Sprint promo question: Is it a disadvantage to pitch with three day's rest? What a lame question! Beckett continued strong with a strike out of Posada (although he questioned the call, the replay showed the ball clearly had a piece of the plate) and a strike out of Boone. The top of the third presented the first collective gasp of the night for Yankee fans - an inability to turn an inning-ending double play gave the Marlins another at bat. Garcia caught a shot to right with his back up against the wall to end the inning. In the Yankees' half, sending Soriano to second kept the Yankees out of a double play and gave them their first scoring opportunity. As Williams came the plate with two on after a Johnson walk, the fans rose to their feet. Once again, the Yanks failed to deliver with men in scoring position as Williams hit into an inning-ending DP. 

Joe Buck made reference to Pettitte's season, stating he was coming off a season of 28 victories. And that was it! No further explanation. I seem to remember he had 21 this year! Was Buck including post season? Jeter ended the Marlins' half of the fourth with a great throw from deep in the hole (assisted by Lowell's inability to run to first at full strength). The inning ended with Joe Buck realizing he had provided the answer several innings earlier to one of FOX's lame Master Card trivia questions. 

This was quickly becoming a pitcher's battle and my confidence the Yankees were going to get to Beckett early was fading quickly. And it was Beckett who was the recipient of the first run of the game. Two runners on with two out in the top of he fifth presented the Marlins with a scoring opportunity. A pesky at bat by Castillo resulted in a drive to right. A close play at the plate on a strong throw by Garcia and a great slide by Gonzalez as he reached for the plate with his hand as he slid past it resulted in a Marlins lead. Pettitte's thirty fifth pitch of the inning finally ended the scoring threat. Could the Yanks do the same in their half of the inning?  

The bottom of the fifth started with a hit by Garcia and a successful sacrifice by Boone. The boo birds let Soriano hear it as he popped up with a runner in scoring position. A strike out of Jeter to end the inning was not a good sign at all. Jeter was the only Yankee that had success previously against Beckett, and he had just struck out for the second time. He followed that with a throwing error to start the sixth. A mental error by Pettitte (throwing to second to try for a DP rather than throw to first) gave the Marlins runners on first and third. Only a leaping catch by Soriano (who was covering first) of Jeter's throw, prevented another run from scoring. But it was only delayed as a sac fly brought home the second run. A strike out ended the top of the inning but the grimace on Pettitte's face told the story. A three up and three down inning with strike outs of Williams and Matsui confirmed Beckett's mastery over the Yankee hitters. Becket had a shut out through six innings on seventy four pitches and was still reaching speeds in the mid to high 90's. The Yankees only had nine outs left to extend their season. 

The Yankees best inning this season has been the seventh. And it started with a lead off double by Posada. After a ground out by Giambi that failed to advance Posada, a full count breaking ball caught Garcia off guard for a strike out. A strike out of pinch hitter Sierra dashed the Yankees in the seventh. The Yanks were zero for ten with runners on base so far. And a confident twenty-three-year-old was only six outs away from pitching the Marlins to their second World Series championship in their short history. 

The urgency of the situation and Torre's lack of confidence in his bullpen were evident as Torre sent Mariano Rivera to the mound losing 2-0. Time out in the eight for another lame FOX distraction - 52% of the callers said it was not a disadvantage to pitch with three days rest. Duh, I wonder if it was influenced by Beckett's performance! A lead off single for Soriano in the bottom of the eighth brought up the top of the order and perhaps the Yanks last real chance to get back in the game. The sound of the ball leaving Jeter's bat provided some hope for the Yankee faithful, but the ball was caught in center for the first out. A double play killed any hopes in the eighth for the Bronx Bombers. 

Rivera shut down the Marlins in their half of the ninth, which set the stage for the finish. The heart of the Yankee order was coming to bat. Could they pull out one more story book finish? Beckett took the mound to try to finish what he started. Beckett's disgust with his pitch to Williams was evident as he walked off the mound after he got away with a high fast ball that was driven deep to left. Another deep fly out by Matsui left the season to Posada. Amazingly, he swung at the first pitch! It was only fitting that the final out was made on a tag out of Posada as he ran to first by Beckett. The youngster pitched a five hit shutout on 108 pitches. Pudge said it all in his post game interview when he said the Yankees are a great team, but the Marlins played better. 

Tonight belonged to a seventy-two-year-old manager who was questioned about his pitching decision and the twenty-three-year-old who made him, at least for one game, a genius. As for me, a forty-something Yankee fan whose age is about half way between Beckett's and McKeon's, "covering" this game served as a distraction from the agony I would have suffered through this evening. Recording the events enabled me to distance myself from what would otherwise have been an unbearable game for this die-hard Yankee fan!