Single to shallow left field!
Double off the wall!
It's a stand up triple!
See yah!
These are the usual words you'll hear from the commentators in the early innings when you watch the Yankees play in the past regular season. After acquiring Sheff and A-Rod in the off season, everybody thought these would be the best Yankee team that was ever formed. But wait... the Evil Empire has its own loopholes-- starting pitching.
After watching the past versions of Bronx Bombers which relied on their starting crews like Clemens, Pettitte, and Wells, this year is far different. Sure they have the strongest offese that the Bronx have ever seen but the most important part of the game (at least in my opinion) has been the waterloo of this team. And it made them pay huge dividends as they struggled mightily early in the season and just before the playoffs. I'm sure Joe Torre and Mel Stottlemyre had their own nightmares figuring this out.
And come post season play, after recovering from several injuries and struggles, the starters awaken (finally). After merely escaping a much-improved Minnesotta rotation, they found some sort of redemption as they battered a pair of Red Sox aces. What a way to end that pitching misery! Especially against these hated rival, which makes it so sweet and very special. The concern now coming to Game 3 will be the bullpen. Mariano will have a day off but he, himself, has his own miserable experience at Fenway (remember Mueller's walk off homer?!) And the rest of the Red Sox seem to finally found how to solve Flash Gordon. The rest of the series will now rely on starting pitching duel between the experienced Yankees and the hungry Bosox, and the bat of Manny Ramirez.
So what d'you think? Are Games 1 and 2 a fluke or the Yankees were just Boston's Daddy?