Yankees Take Gift

The '09 Subway series kicked off at the new Stadium Friday night. A jolt of hometown energy created a buzz that almost drowned out the anguish caused by the Fenway fiasco.

Revival was in the Bronx air. Then, Joba Chamberlain took the mound. The Golden Child's learning curve veered off course in a frustrating four inning meltdown. The 23 year old phenom routinely shook off the 38 year old venerable catcher's signals through 100 erratic pitches. Joba's confident body language was replaced by a spastic dance of confusion. "The wiring is all fouled up right now."--(Kay/YES)

Four ugly innings were salvaged by two Bomber long balls. Cano and Teixeira staked the Yanks to an improbable 3-2 lead. Enter the beleaguered bullpen. (Gulp.) Tomko did what journeyman retreads do: 2/3 IP, three hits, two walks, four runs--next. The pitching on both sides was "mind-numbingly bad."--(Kay/YES/out of context.)

Girardi calls on Sandman early, in an effort to put this dog to sleep. Mo joins the walk-a-thon, 8-7 Mets. K-Rod in the ninth, two outs, two on, A-Rod lofts a harmless pop-up towards Castillo at second. Ball hits him in the glove, flops to the turf. Yankees win. The scoreboard doesn't begin to tell the story.

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