I'd Like TO Mark This Auspicious Occasion

by conceding to Chris and BGW that AROd's performance last night justified all of the skepticism with which they greeted my recently optimistic and evidently naive comments about his progress toward the exalted state known as being a Yankee. He had 2 of the worst at bats I've seen from him or any other legitimate hitting star: the pop out with one out and runners at the corners, with the Yanks down 4-3, and the strikeout in the 10th after the Giambi homerun and before Cano Got on for Posada to finish things. On the second one he didn't even looking like a big league hitter looking to drive the ball; he looked like a baseball model looking to make sure that the finish of his swing showed off the latest uniform fashion to best effect. He is just too often a handicap to be shouldered and shrugged off rather than a contributor to let alone an engine of success. And for all those pundits, who continue, in BGW's words to treat Yankee fans as besotted rabble for loving Jeter and loathing AROD, ask yourslef this question: bottom of the ninth, down 5-4, two outs, runner on third, Jonathan Papelbon and his 089 ERA throwing 99 MPH cheese at the top of the zone, well, what would AROD do? Muscle one into right to drive in the tying run and continue the massacre? Yeah, right.

I'm going to go watch the finale now, but before going I want to take notice amidst all of the heroism in last night's game (including the monstrous effort of Giambi, whi just out Poppi'd Poppi) of one of the truly great AB's without which we might well not be celebrating a victory. The only person to hit Papelbon's splitter was not G on the sac fly, not Jeter on the game tying hit--they both got fasballs--it was fucking Melky Cabrera on the double to lead-off the ninth inning, which was just raked. I love this kid, who is already more of a "true Yankee" than AROD is. He plays with joy, he plays clutch, he plays beyond himself at key moments. Look at Jeter at 21, in 1995, look at Melky now. That's all I'm saying.