The Futility Infielder

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Yankees, with their backs to the wall after dropping the opening game of the Series, drew to even behind a stellar pitching performance from Andy Pettitte. Sunday night's game followed the pattern that the Yanks have set this postseason, as Pettitte survied a shaky start to twirl a six-hitter, coming within one out of a complete-game shutout.

The night started for the Yanks as thoughtheir luck with Andy Pettitte might have finally run out. Working on three days' rest, the big lefty spent fifteen pitches and went to full counts on the first two Florida Marlins hitters, with Luis Castillo legging out an infield single to Derek Jeter after Juan Pierre grounded out. At this rate he wouldn't last -- a prediction which looked even more solid as he went to 3-0 on Pudge Rodriguez. But Pettitte nibbled his way back into the at-bat, spotting a fastball low and over the outside corner which Pudge thought was ball four, and then getting a swinging strike. On his 21st pitch of the inning, Pettitte got Rodriguez looking while Castillo, running on the pitch, got a late break from first. Jorge Posada fired to Alfonso Soriano at second, and Castillo was out by so many feet he didn't even bother to slide. A huge break for the Yankees.

They went to work on Mark Redman, who was also working on three days' rest. Tim McCarver and Joe Buck pointed out before the game that Redman relies on his changeup and isn't afraid to pitch from behind in the count, but when he walked Soriano to start the game, he seemed to be taking his own scouting report a little too far. After all, that was only Sori's second walk of the postseason. Derek Jeter bunted foul twice, then looked ridiculous striking out on a hellacious curveball. Two pitches later, Redman picked Soriano off of second. But his third pitch to Jason Giambi -- back in the three hole after two games down at #7 -- kept the inning alive when he plunked the big slugger in the ribs, and Bernie Williams followed with a single. Redman then went to 3-0 on Hideki Matsui, and tried to sneak a courtesy strike over the heart of the plate. Godzilla surprised everybody by swinging and crushed the ball, driving it over the "8" in the 408-foot sign in dead centerfield for a three-run jack, a huge lift for the Yankees. Watching the game, my girlfriend and I paused the TiVo after the inning for a quick rendition of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla":

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound
He pulls the spitting high tension wires down

Helpless people on a subway train
Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town

Oh no, they say he's got to go
Go go Godzilla,
Oh no, there goes Tokyo
Go go Godzilla!

I've been waiting all year to do that... Anyway, Pettitte took the mound in the second inning a much more confident pitcher; backed by a 3-run lead, he cruised through the inning on five pitches, and from there he never looked back. The Yanks added another run in the second when Nick Johnson bunted his way aboard with one out and then Juan Rivera laced a double to leftfield. The Fish relayed the ball to try to get Johnson at home, and while the throw was well up the first base line, Pudge then fired to third base, where umpire Ed Rapuano called Rivera out. Replays appeared to show Rivera reaching the bag before third baseman Mike Lowell's tag, but this was hardly the only questionable call the umps made all night.

Pettitte continued to cruise, striking out the side in the third. Meanwhile, the Yanks chased Redman after he put runners on first and second with one out in the third. Rick Helling arrived and escaped trouble on a Matsui fielder's choice and a Posada strikeout. But he found more trouble in the fifth as Johnson hit a one-out single up the middle and then Soriano drilled a two-out homer to left for a 6-0 lead.

From there it was more or less academic. Through six innings, Dandy Andy had allowed only the two infield hits by the Marlins' speedsters, but he allowed a leadoff single to Pudge to start the seventh. The next play was the most controversial of the game, however. Miguel Cabrera fouled a ball off of his left foot which rolled to Yankee third baseman Aaron Boone, but the umps missed the contact of the ball with his foot, and the Yanks went around the horn to complete a surreal double-play which had Rodriguez and Cabrera stopped in their tracks -- a lousy call that should have been common sense; I mean, anytime you see a topped ball spinning down to third like that, it's not hard to assume that it hit off of the batter first. But Rapuano, who would have had the best angle to make a call in the Marlins' favor, did not. Derek Lee nearly took Pettitte out of the yard on the next at-bat, but Rivera ran down the ball at the warning track to end the inning.

Pettitte carried his shutout into the ninth. He induced Pierre to ground out, then gave up a single to Castillo before retiring Mike Redmond, who had replaced Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate, to fly out. Cabrera hit a tough grounder down to Boone, which the charging Yankee third baseman mishandled for his second error of the game. Lee singled to score the run, ruining Andy's shutout and ending his night just one out shy of the complete game. Boone's hangdog expression while the infielders met on the mound seemed to say it all, but Pettitte slapped him with the glove as if to say, "Forget it." Jose Contreras came on to face Mike Lowell, who with one swing of the bat could pull the Fish back to within two runs. But Conteras got Lowell to ground to -- who else? -- Boone, the third baseman had put his gaffes behind him, and he fired to second for the force and the ballgame. Series tied.

With his 13th postseason victory, Pettitte tied John Smoltz as the all-time leader and raised his stock even more as the Yanks' money pitcher. The lefty was coy in his postgame interviews about sticking around, but it's clear to both him and the Yanks that this October run has placed him high on George Steinbrenner's to-do list this offseason.

So again, a series heads out of town with both teams having something to hold their heads up about -- the Marlins for garnering a split on the road and the Yanks for salvaging their momentum. Lather, rinse, repeat. The series heads to Huizenga Blackmail Stadium, where the Fish throw ace Josh Beckett against Mike Mussina. I'll have a closer look at the series thus far prir to the game.