Hardball Heaven

This stuff is just pure theater. Every game between these two behemoths seems to feature drama, comedy, and for the Yanks last night, a tinge of tragedy.

The Sox left the Bronx last night with a great victory in the rubber game of the series. After Curt Schilling got knocked around in Wednesday night's 7-3 loss, Tim Wakefield stepped up last night and did what he usually does against the Spanks - he befuddled them. (Good word, that befuddled).

Wake gave up a quick two in the first inning and then settled down nicely. Meanwhile, his offensive mates chipped away. Mark Loretta - who's been hot lately - was in the center of the action. He smacked a single in the sixth to close the Yanks' lead to 3-2, and then in the 7th, with Harris and Gonzalez on base, he hit a hard grounder to Derek Jeter. Jeets went to his knees to stop the ball, but threw wide right to first and Miguel Cairo couldn't make the slap-tag on Loretta for the final out. All of a sudden, it was 4-3 Sox and you could hear the air come out of Yankee Stadium.

Making the win all the more remarkable was the fact that the Red Sox left 15 men on base. It was on track to be one of the more frustrating nights in recent memory. Loretta went 4 for 6 and knocked in three, and Youkilis lined a single in the ninth off Mariano Rivera for an insurance run. Papelbon, per usual, slammed the door in the ninth for a very gratifying 5-3 win.

The tragedy for the Yanks? Hideki Matsui had to leave the game with what turned out to be a broken wrist after diving to make a catch. They're saying he could be gone for up to three months, and that the Yanks are thinking of bringing up someone named Kevin Thompson. Should we feel guilty for feeling a little happy about this development? Absolutely not. The two things I enjoy seeing most with respect to the Yankees are gruesome injuries and screaming line drives into the stands at the Stadium.

One additional note on this game, which may only be interesting to me. This one featured a match-up of two of the few hitters in MLB who don't wear batting gloves, and both were behind the plate for their teams. Mirabelli goes sans gloves, as does pretty boy Jorge Posada. Remember those stingers you got back in Little League in April and May? Just imagine trying to hit a 96 mph heater from Papelbon when it's 40 degrees.

Sox are now one game up on the Yanks. Texas comes to town tonight for the first of three, and the weather prognosticators are pessimistic about any baseball being played this weekend. Needless to say, that would be extremely disappointing.