Afternoon Baseball

On a replay from the third-base side, you could see Mariners 1B Richie Sexson not even turn around when Melky Cabrera's lined shot went over his head. He merely walked toward the dugout, toward a loss. He knew.
Nine out of 10. And they've needed every one.

Melky Cabrera has only four home runs, but he's been doing a good job of timing them. He gave the Yankees an improbable win that came after being down 4-2 in the ninth, then enduring the terrible decision to delay the game at a 3-1 count with 2 outs and A-Rod up (do it before or after the at-bat), and with Sidney Ponson starting and guys such as Aaron Guiel, Nick Green, and Andy Phillips being the stars. But this success in the face of injury is not new for the 2006 Yankees.

Johnny Damon continues to prove his worth, being an electric presence and playing a little first base. His fitness and toughness aren't so much of a problem, either, despite his brother's fears over the winter.

Lots of positives about this game. One, not using Rivera tonight, as I've been a broken record on the subject.
Two, Ponson wasn't terrible, although in talking with Mike, our big fear is that he has a lot of success early on and becomes one of Torre's "guys".
Three, Melky Cabrera seems to have fought past his slump. With Jeter on a season-long roll, Bernie defying the last three years, and the team overcoming injury, being out of the playoffs (even if by a half-game) is not such an worry at the moment.

On the other hand, split personality Randy Johnson is throwing tommorrow, so who knows.

P.S. The great Buck O'Neil batted tonight. At 94 years of age. He doesn't mind his HOF snub, he just keeps on living baseball.