This is they type of game when TV sets are broken. The Big Unit was sailing along for five innings. The Yanks were buoyed by the long ball again and had a 3-0 lead thanks to hr's by A-Rod and Giambi. The comes the sixth.
In that inning Johnson gave up two singles before Molina hit an opposite filed drive that Sheffield misjudged as usual. If it wasn't for fan interference the game would have been tied. The problem was that on one of his pitches Randy landed wrong and seemed to have tweaked something in his leg, back or groin. It was hard to tell. The Yanks quickly hit two more home runs in the seventh; one by Matsui and the second of the game by a red hot Giambi. Game over right? Wrong. Johnson didn't come out for the seventh.
Scott Proctor walked Jeff Davanon. Buddy Groom came in and quickly gave up two more singles, one that a diving Crosby couldn't put away and the Angels had the bases jacked. Enter Gordon. Vlad is in a terrible slump, but a notorious low-ball hitter. How would you pitch him? The first pitch out of Gordon's hand is a low sinker. Vlad went down and hit a grand slam to give the Angels the lead 6-5. I'm still trying to figure out why the Yanks would call a sinker to a first pitch hacker like Vlad that loves to golf balls over the fence. I don't blame Gordon so much because he has been pitching lights out, but the selection is a mystery to me. If Randy stays in for the seventh we don't have this problem.
Top of the ninth and I thought for sure A-Rod tied the game, but he hit it slightly off the end of the bat and got a double to deep left. Matsui did his job and moved Alex to third with a sac fly. Now comes Giambi. I figured they wouldn't pitch to him. The umpire was horrible in this at bat because the second pitch was a strike and he called it a ball. On a 3-1 pitch, K-Rod threw ball four and he called it a strike. Was it a make-up call? I turned to my friend and said the curve is coming. Jason strikes out on a curve out of the zone and Posada rolls the third out to second. Bad loss. We've needed a lefty reliever in the worst way for some time now and it came up again to bite us like it did Tuesday night. This time the Yanks can't ship out Groom until they acquire somebody else.
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