Yankees’ role players deliver in Game 2
October 30, 2009
NEW YORK (AP)—Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes) and a couple more of the New YorkYankees’ role players filled in the blanks when two of their biggest starsstruggled in Game 2 of the World Series on Thursday night.
Hairston started a seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single and JoseMolina(notes) had a solid night behind the plate to help New York to a 3-1 victory overthe Philadelphia Phillies.
“It does feel good. Sometimes, you’ve got to scrap,” said Hairston, whoreplaced struggling Nick Swisher(notes) in right field. “I haven’t started too manygames the last two months or so.”
With Molina subbing for Jorge Posada(notes), A.J. Burnett(notes) threw seven sparklinginnings. Molina, who has caught each of Burnett’s postseason starts, also pickedoff Jayson Werth(notes) with a snap throw to first in the fourth.
“I thought that was real, real important,” manager Joe Girardi said ofMolina’s play on Werth.
The effort by New York’s bench players was especially crucial with DerekJeter(notes) and Alex Rodriguez(notes) both striking out three times.
Brett Gardner(notes) also made a key play when he came in to run for Hairston afterhis hit in the seventh. Gardner went from first to third on Melky Cabrera’s(notes)single to right and scored on pinch hitter Posada’s liner up the middle.
STAR POWER: Jay-Z and Alicia Keys fired up the Yankee Stadium crowd beforeGame 2, performing a clean version of “Empire State of Mind” from the rapper’shit album.
The two New Yorkers were originally scheduled to perform Wednesday night butwere pushed back because of rainy weather. There was some concern about some ofthe song’s raw language but Jay-Z kept it PG for the nationally televisedperformance.
The rap king—wearing a Yankees hat and jacket—and Keys got a loudovation when they walked through an opening in the outfield wall in left-centerto the stage behind second base. Keys, in a black and hot purple outfit, playedkeyboard before joining Jay-Z in the center of the stage for the end of thesong.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who uses a snippet of “Empire State ofMind” for his at-bat music, bobbed his head during the performance. New Yorkreliever Joba Chamberlain(notes) also was grooving to the song while the PhiladelphiaPhillies watched attentively from the top step of the visiting dugout.
A buzz went through the crowd when Jay-Z rapped one of the signature linesof the hit: “I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can.”
There was more applause after the performance as Jay-Z and Keys walked armin arm through the outfield to the gate. Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez(notes) waspreparing for his Game 2 start nearby but he kept long tossing as the musicstars disappeared from sight.
NOT AGAIN: There was another blown call by the postseason umpires in theseventh inning of New York’s 3-1 victory over the Phillies on Thursday night.
With one out and runners on first and second, Johnny Damon(notes) hit a smash toPhiladelphia first baseman Ryan Howard(notes). Umpire Brian Gorman, standing behind the6-foot-4 Howard, immediately threw his arm up to indicate the ball was caught inthe air, but TV replays indicated it bounced into Howard’s glove.
Howard took a few steps toward first before throwing to shortstop JimmyRollins(notes), who tagged Jorge Posada to complete the inning-ending double play.Posada stood on second for a few moments before bounding off the base to protestthe call, and manager Joe Girardi came out of the dugout to argue.
The umpires gathered in the infield after the players returned to theirdugouts, but the ruling stood.
A series of umpiring mistakes during the playoffs has led to calls forexpanded use of instant replay, but commissioner Bud Selig said before the gamehe still thinks it’s not necessary. Selig did promise more discussion of thetopic.
TOP SPOT: Ruben Amaro Jr. was one of Pat Gillick’s top lieutenants when thePhillies won the World Series last season.
This time, he’s in charge.
Amaro took over as general manager when Gillick retired following lastseason, ascending to the top spot after 10 years as an assistant inPhiladelphia. The club hasn’t skipped a beat under his leadership, winning theNL East and the pennant for the second consecutive year.
“What is really pretty cool about this being here right now is the factthat it’s the big stage, it’s New York,” Amaro said before Philadelphia’s 3-1loss in Game 2. “It’s the history and we’re playing clearly one of the bestteams in baseball, in our minds the best team in the American League.
“To be able to match up with this storied franchise and to be in thissituation is pretty gratifying. It’s pretty neat.”
Amaro made a couple of shrewd moves during the season to help the Philliesget to this point. He acquired left-hander Cliff Lee(notes) and outfielder BenFrancisco(notes) from the Cleveland Indians for four prospects and signed free-agentrighty Pedro Martinez.
Lee struck out 10 in a dominant performance in Philadelphia’s 6-1 victory inthe Series opener. Martinez went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts in theregular season and pitched into the seventh inning in a sharp outing in Game 2.
Amaro, 44, joined the Phillies immediately after his playing career ended in1998. He worked under former GM Ed Wade for seven seasons and the last threewith Gillick.
“I’ve had a chance to learn from some very, very good GMs in my mind,”Amaro said. “They each had some pretty interesting qualities to kind of feedoff of.”
