The Futility Infielder

The Yankees shook themselves out of their four-game funk with a six-run rally in the eighth inning on Tuesday night against the Oakland A'S, coming from behind to win 10-8. Ruben Sierra delivered a pinch-hit two-run double that hit the chalk of the leftfield foul line, exactly the kind of break the Yanks have been starved for lately -- though they certainly had their share in the inning, with Gary Sheffield getting a key infield single. The team was all smiles afterwards, looking as though the weight of the world had been lifted from their shoulders. Even surly Mike Mussina, who barely managed to avoid going 1-5, was upbeat.

Because Andra was TiVoing her teen dramas, I listened to the game via the web starting in the fifth. By the time the bottom of the eighth arrived, announcer John Stirling (he of the infamous, annoying "Thhhhhhhheeeeeeeee Yankees win! The Yankees win!" call) had all but buried the team, saying that there was no way the Yanks were going to pull this one out after blowing a 4-1 lead and then falling behind 8-4 on a series of bad breaks and defensive miscues. I never did get a chance to hear him eat those words, as midway through the rally, Andra's show ended and I switched over to YES just in time to see Sierra's at-bat.

Despite the win and the ten-run outburst, Derek Jeter continued his slump, falling to 0-for-28. But he received plenty of respect last night in the form of a hearty ovation from the fans in the seventh inning and in an intentional walk from Ricardo Rincon just after Sierra's double. Think about that for a moment: the guy's hitting .169 and carrying the league's longest 0-fer (and the longest Yankee slide since Tin.000 Martinez went 0-for-28 in 2000), yet with two runners in scoring position, first base open and one out, the A's elected to give him a free pass to set up the double play rather than give him a shot at breaking the game open with what surely would have been a dramatic hit. It may just have been sound baseball strategy, but it was also an acknowledgement that sooner or later, Jeter's going to get a hit that will make him look just as clutch as he always was, and he'll be back in the good graces of the Yankee Stadium throngs.

I'm headed to tonight's game in the company of several other bloggers in the form of my Big Apple Baseballists posse. While I wish the weather was a bit warmer and I already dread watching Jose Contreras fiddle around, it feels a whole lot better to head to the ballpark with the Yanks back on the good foot.

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Lunchtime Link: Most of you who read me regularly know that I'm not always able to post on a daily basis, in part because I hold myself to a high standard -- If I can't write at least four or five paragraphs on a topic, whether it's original or an article I read elsewhere, I generally don't bother. But as a way of rewarding my daily readers for stopping by, on days where I might not post something longer I'm going to make every effort to give you a quick hit relatively early, something to read at lunchtime or print out for your commute home. I won't be able to offer as much commentary as I usually do, but at least I can point you in the right direction for something I found of interest.

Today's link is from The Hardball Times: Steve Treder's piece on the West Texas-New Mexico League of 1937-1955. Treder dug out his old Spalding Baseball Guides and Sporting News Baseball Guides to take readers on a tour of this obscure league, where high altitudes in places such as Albuquerque made for a hitter's heaven and a pitcher's hell -- we're talking league batting averages above .300 and runs per game topping 7.0 per team. Amid this museum of the statistically absurd, Treder points out a pitcher with a 15-13 record and a 9.21 ERA and an oufielder named Bob Crues who in 1948 hit .404/.491/.848 with 69 homers and 254 RBI in only 140 games. Crues' team, the Amarillo Gold Sox, scored a whopping 1267 runs that year and hit .323 with 214 homers. Suffice it to say that if you like to ogle eye-popping stats, check out Treder's entertaining, well-researched piece.