The Yankees hung one on the Indians today with a 8-4 win. Roger Clemens started it off, pulled a hamstring, gave up a 3-0 lead and came out of the game. His career is looking done. It was one of those moments where your heart sinks and you go "again...?"Not so much because Roger Clemens is melting down, but because the Yankees sent out a 40-something vet to the mound, only to fall behind quickly, then let the series slide away.
With the careers of the aged on the line, the next generation of Yankees took over in an 8-4 victory against the Cleveland Indians. In the third inning Roger Clemens shuffled off the mound, perhaps for the final time, but Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain got the game to Mariano Rivera in the ninth.Although after Clemens left, the next bit was quite different. Phil Hughes came in, pitched like the phenom we all heard about for 3.2 innings, then Joba came in and it was Mo time to secure the 1 win. That was the difference. in 2004, it was Esteban Loaiza coming in to surrender more home runs to Johnny Damon (who is incidentally hitting very well). In 2005 and 2006, it was Randy Johnson giving it away, only to be replaced by nonentities I don't want to recall.
Robinson Canó had two hits, Cabrera had one, and both were on base for Johnny Damon’s go-ahead, three-run homer in the fifth inning. The Yankees won for the first time this series, avoiding elimination and saving Manager Joe Torre’s job, at least for a day, after the principal owner George Steinbrenner’s public threat to fire him with one more loss.
“We’re playing for our manager that we love,” Damon said. “We’re playing for our fans that we love. So we’d like to prolong the season as long as we can.”
The future of Clemens is also in doubt, after he lasted only two and a third innings and gave up three runs, four hits and two walks. Clemens, who has a frayed elbow ligament and recurring hamstring problems, may have finally reached the end of a remarkable career.
“I don’t want to say it’s heartbreaking,” Torre said, “because he wouldn’t want me to say that.”
In Hughes, though, the Yankees have a 21-year-old pitcher who has drawn comparisons to a young Clemens. Who better to follow Clemens and earn the victory with three and two-thirds scoreless innings?
This time though, it was the farm products who you could say are the Yankees of the next dynasty.
Phil Hughes' victory turns out to be the youngest Yankee victory in history, even beating out the legendary Whitey Ford. That's something to savor.
The Yankees may lose tomorrow and go play bitter golf again for the rest of October, but one thing is for sure: for one game, we got a glimpse of the next wave in the Yankee Post Season Legends. And for that I am grateful - much more so than for the lone win Shawn Chacon pitched in 2005.
Wang pitches tomorrow on 3 days rest, which is going to be interesting. Indians' skipper Eric Wedge is not going to panic and pitch Sabathia on 3 days' rest. So if the Yankees could only jump all over Paul Byrd and snag a victory, they'll be heading back to the Jake for a showdown. But I get ahead of myself. Just win, baby.
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