The Futility Infielder

The Big Apple Baseballist outing to Yankee Stadium was a success, both for the eleven of us who attended the game and for the home team, who beat the A's 5-1 behind Jose Contreras' surprisingly decent performance. Representing were bloggers Alex Belth, Alex Ciepley, Cliff Corcoran, Avkash Patel, and Jason Wojciechowski, as well as Justin Poon, Geoff Silver, Nick Stone, Ameer Youssef, my girlfriend Andra, and myself. We sat way up high -- Row U, two from the top -- but as we were about halfway between home plate and third base, we still had a pretty decent view. Hey, what do you expect for $5 (or $9 once TicketRapist takes their cut)? Some people swear by (and in) the Yankee Stadium bleachers; me, I'm an upper deck guy -- I love the birds's eye view of the field, though I almost always sit in the lower portion (Tier Boxes) instead of the nosebleeds. Geoff, who worked for the Cincinnati Reds for four years and is currently pursuing another job in baseball, said it was the worst seat he'd had in years, but he had obvious fun talking everybody's ears off, and I think everybody else enjoyed the game as well. Alex C. got to play with his new cell phone, which has a little camera built in, providing a few mementos of our night: our view from the top, myself and Justin, Alex B., Nick and Cliff.

For the first time since early 2000, I didn't keep score at a Yanks game, preferring instead to mingle within the group. Both Belth and Corcoran kept score, though I teased Alex when I looked down and saw him missing about three innings worth of the A's hitting. The horrific "security" at the Stadium cost us a good bite of the first frame, as the Yanks did most of their damage while we were settling into our seats. They put together a three-run rally on the strength of three singles, two walks, and a sac fly, keeping the line moving in the Nine-Eight Style.

But the big story on the night was Contreras. After three disastrous starts, the Cuban -- well shepherded by Jorge Posada -- earned his first win of the season. He scattered four hits in six innings, made one mistake that highly-touted A's shortstop Bobby Crosby hit over the leftfield wall, and only dawdled a couple of times. As Sam Borden of the New York Daily News put it:

There were hairy moments, but this time Contreras worked around them instead of buckling under. Last night's third inning had the potential to become like the third inning 11 days ago, when Contreras imploded despite holding a six-run lead, but something was different this time.

After Bobby Crosby led off the frame with his third homer of the season, Contreras steeled himself - and got a little help from his fielders, too. With two outs and two men on, Eric Chavez smoked a line drive that Jason Giambi said he didn't see "until it was behind me." Still, the first baseman flopped to his right and snagged it, saving at least one run and getting Contreras out of his biggest jam of the night.

Giambi's gem was all the more surprising given the low regard with which his defense is held, but that was a play that would have made a Gold Glover proud. Big G later stroked a solo home run, as did Posada, who retook the AL lead with 8. Derek Jeter continued his struggles, falling to 0-for-32, although he reached on an error and drew a walk. With the early lead, the crowd got behind Jeter every trip to the plate, forty thousand fans chanting his name and rooting like hell for a hit. Alas, he didn't even get the ball out of the infield. The rumors are starting to build that his hands are hurting, though he refuses to admit that's the case. Next up on his epic futility streak is Joe McEwing's 0-for-33 in 2002; company like that is not good to keep

The only other downer on the night was the news about Bernie Williams, who tweaked his surgically repaired knee the night before, and who's had plenty of chances to remind us his shoulders aren't in such great shape either. I've seen his future, and it includes lots of DH time; Bernie's days as a Gold Glove winner are over. Speaking of bad news and shoulders, Travis Lee is headed to Dr. James Andrews and will likely have surgery. All of this means that Tony Clark, rehabbing Kenny Lofton, and Bubba Crosby -- who's on a slide of his own lately, having gotten only one hit since his big day a couple of weeks ago (did I tell you?) -- will be sticking around for the foreseeable future. Jorge DePaula having gone under the knife, the Yankee system is notoriously bereft of tradeable talent, with catcher Dioner Navarro the plum of the system, though GM Brian Cashman has been talking up the likes of AA pitchers Sean Henn and Chien-Ming Wang and Class A closer Edwardo Sierra. Get used to this team, as it will likely be awhile before the Yanks can add another name that doesn't make fans scratch their heads and go "He's still alive?" But if they keep playing like they're supposed to, it won't matter so much.