''Mo was throwing hard,'' said Torre, who may have flashbacks of the
swings the Sox put on Rivera, one after another, Todd Walker and Nomar
Garciaparra, Kevin Millar and Shea Hillenbrand, Bill Mueller and Trot
Nixon. ''And they were hitting hard.
''You have no excuses for that, other than it wasn't your day.''
In the end, as is all too sadly the case when these teams play, the Sox
may have had their shining hour but the day belonged to the Yankees, 6-5
winners on Brandon Lyon's walkoff bases-loaded walk to Jorge Posada in the
ninth. The outcome was decided as much by Manny Ramirez's wayward heave of
Hideki Matsui's double as by Lyon's 3-and-2 pitch to Posada.
You don't have to look far to summon a precedent: Last July 21 in the
Bronx, the Sox came back twice against the Bombers, once from 0-4, by
hitting five home runs, only to lose on another bases-loaded walk to
Posada after another Sox outfielder, Nixon, let Bernie Williams's hit
scoot under his glove for an error.
Ramirez's error -- his throw sailed over Garciaparra's head and into
the third-base railing, loomed even larger on a night when both corner
Yankee outfielders, Juan Rivera in left and Raul Mondesi in right, made
outstanding catches.
So there is little comfort to be derived in the almost of the moment,
as thrilling as it might have been. That is why the lasting image from
this game may be Sox catcher Jason Varitek ripping off his mask in rage,
spiking the ball to the turf while barking at plate umpire Joe West, then
heading up the dugout tunnel cursing at what he apparently believed was
his ejection by West (official scorer Bill Finley checked with West after
the game, and he said Varitek was not tossed).
''To be thrown out on a play like that is BS,'' Varitek yelled as he
entered the visitors' clubhouse.
The Sox felt cheated of a chance to play on when West called a
borderline 2-and-2 pitch to Posada a ball.
Sox manager Grady Little, who had ordered intentional walks to Alfonso
Soriano and Jason Giambi to load the bases after Ramirez's misfire allowed
Matsui to advance to third, advised reporters to watch TV replays of the
pitch.
''It's on tape,'' Little said, ''just like a countryful of people saw
it on ESPN.''
What was a crystal-clear view to Little -- neither Lyon nor Varitek
would question the call after the game -- was not shared in the Yankees'
clubhouse.
''It was close, but it was a ball,'' Posada said. ''I didn't think it
was even questionable.''
The Yankees' win gave them the rubber game of this three-game set, just
as they took two out of three from the Sox in Boston, and may have
temporarily muzzled George Steinbrenner, whose public potshots at the
Bombers this week drew return fire from Don Zimmer, whose close
relationship with both Torre and the Boss makes him virtually fireproof.
''I got fed up reading all the things about our manager who has won
four World Series in seven years,'' Zimmer said, both on a radio show and
then at the ballpark before last night's game. ''That's a joke.''
The only one laughing in the Sox' clubhouse after the game was Pedro
Martinez, whose banter with some Dominican visitors was in striking
contrast to a somber room that derived little comfort from the comeback
that ended only when Soriano made a terrific play after Nixon's infield
hit deflected off the glove of first baseman Todd Zeile. Soriano
barehanded the ball, then fired a strike to the plate to cut down
Hillenbrand, attempting to score from second.
''You feel as good as you can after a loss, if you know what I mean,''
said Walker, who greeted Rivera with a single to load the bases, one of
five hits the Sox had off the closer, not including a bullet by Millar
that required a desperation lunge by shortstop Derek Jeter to be turned
into a force play.
''What a battle,'' added Walker. ''Outside of one or two games, these
games with these guys have been battles, and I don't anticipate anything
different all year.''
But who in Boston feels confident this morning that the outcome will be
any different?
By Gordon Edes of The Boston Globe Staff
This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on
5/29/2003.
Copyright
2003 Globe Newspaper Company.