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Split personality Big inning aside, Mariners happy to be headed home 1-1
By Jamal Greene, Sports Illustrated NEW YORK -- It couldn't have been set up any better for Lou Piniella and the Seattle Mariners. The only thing standing in the way of Seattle closer Kazuhiro Sasaki facing Jorge Posada (.182 in the postseason), Paul O'Neill (.160) and Scott Brosius (.217) with a ninth-inning lead was lefty Arthur Rhodes getting out David Justice (.167), Bernie Williams (.222) and Tino Martinez (.423) in the eighth inning. Martinez was the only hot bat and Rhodes held lefties to a .220 average this season, righties to .193. The numbers were in Seattle's favor, but this time the baseball gods were not. After 21 consecutive scoreless innings, the Yankees' bats finally woke up, rattling off seven runs on eight hits in the inning. "Arthur's been great for us all year," shortstop Alex Rodriguez said. "He made some good pitches, but they made the adjustment. Obviously, that was a great inning for them." It served to fire up the Yankee Stadium crowd for the first time this postseason and turn the Mariners' clubhouse, all smiles and confidence a day earlier, to quiet solemnity ... and confidence. "We have to feel good about what we did," left fielder Al Martin said. "To come into this environment and come out 1-1, we're in decent shape." Martin misplayed a liner off Martinez's bat early in the inning to keep the Yankee rally going. "I saw it off the bat, broke and ran right into the lights," he said. Martin was one of the few Mariners in a chatty mood after the game, as most ate silently or lingered in the showers as the number of newspapermen and cameras dwindled. No music played. Seattle southpaw starter John Halama, who limited the Yankees to four hits in his six shutout innings, and pitching coach Bryan Price both discussed the apparently inconsistent strike zone of home plate umpire Angel Hernandez. "I just missed with some pitches," Halama said. "Dan [Wilson] came out to the mound in the first inning and told me, '[Hernandez] is having a hard time with you. He doesn't really know you that well,' and that gave me confidence." Seattle center fielder Mike Cameron saw things differently, evidence of Hernandez's variability. "The zone was a little wide so you've got to try to make things happen," he said, explaining his team's seven strikeouts. "El Duque took advantage of that, and so did Halama." The dominant theme, as it is in almost every losing locker room, was looking ahead. "They're going to our house now," said Cameron, who didn't have to dodge UFOs from the crowd such as the bits of salted pretzel thrown at Martin or the baseball thrown at reliever Jose Paniagua on his way from the bullpen. "They'll see how our fans go crazy." Probably a little differently. Aaron Sele, the Mariners' Game 3 starter, focused on the Yankee negatives -- not to be overlooked despite their breakout inning. "I wish I could turn around and be left-handed," he said, "because I saw some things tonight."
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