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Waiting on the Yanks

They'll wait their turn then -- bam! -- notch another win

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By John Donovan, CNNSI.com

	• Storylines • All Thumbs • Heroes & Bums • High Hard Ones • The Pitch • The Bottom Line

NEW YORK -- This is how the New York Yankees work. Or at least the how the Yankees work in October.

They wait for you to make a mistake or two. They bide their time until they can get a clutch hit or two from their guys. Next thing you know, they're on the verge of another World Series title and their opponents are wondering how a little base-running blunder, or a slipped pitch, or a bad decision can add up to so much.

The Yankees did it again in Game 1 of the World Series on Saturday night -- and well into Sunday morning -- hanging around until a leadoff walk and a couple well-placed hits tied the score in the ninth. And in the 12th inning, as the longest World Series game in history became a red-eyed reality, they put together a couple more hits and finally won it, 4-3, on Jose Vizcaino's two-out single.

"We needed this," first baseman Tino Martinez was saying after the game. "We haven't won a first game in the playoffs this year."

No, the Yankees lost Game 1 to the Oakland A's in the division series, then the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series this postseason. But the point is, they came back.

Whether it's a single game, like Game 1 Saturday, or a series or even a season, the Yankees always seem to find a way to come back.

How all this will affect the Mets, who were two outs away from a win in Game 1, may be the storyline for the rest of the Series.

Will they crumble when the Yankees don't immediately go down from a solid shot to the chin? Or will the Mets, known as a scrappy bunch themselves, find a way to bounce back in Game 2 Sunday night and get this Series to Shea Stadium tied at one game apiece?

It is the stuff Octobers are made of.

On to the World Series Day at a Glance, which asks: Is that the alarm clock going off already?

The answer: Yeah. And you can't hit the snooze button. Game 2 is only hours away.

The Bean July 8, 2000, is a day that will live in infamy for Mets fans. That's when the Yankees' Roger Clemens sent a fastball between the N and the Y on Mets catcher Mike Piazza's helmet, knocking him out of the game (and the All-Star Game, for that matter). Piazza, it must be pointed out, knocks Clemens around like George Steinbrenner would knock around a rented GM. And so, Piazza and Clemens meet again. Won't Yankee Stadium be stoked for this little, uhh, tete-a-tete?
The Mets' mindset It's not like they were all there Saturday night in Game 1. Todd Zeile and Jay Payton thinking balls were foul that ended up fair -- and not running them out. Timo Perez thinking a ball was a home run -- and getting thrown out at the plate after loafing until he got around second. Armando Benitez giving up a ninth-inning lead. Sheesh.
The Clock A 12-inning game is an exception. But these postseason games are interminable. Day games are out of the question -- we know, we know, baseball kind of depends on that prime-time ad revenue -- but something has to be done. Can we please start them a little earlier? Please?
The 'Pens Before the Series, the Mets were said to have the better relievers. But five of them Saturday couldn't do the job of three Yankee firemen. Now the question is whether all that work for the bullpens in Game 1 will have the relievers all tuckered out for the game Sunday night -- or other games down the road.
The Time . Are you kidding me? 1 a.m. ET? Five hours worth of game? (Whatever: 4:51 was the official time of the game.) At this rate, we're looking at a Halloween finish for this baby. Where's the commissioner when you need him?
Joe Torre . This is why this guy always is mentioned as the best manager in baseball. Pulls Luis Sojo before Game 1 for Jose Vizcaino. And all Vizcaino does is get four hits, including the game-winner. Nice move, Joe.
Yankee fans . Sure they can be loud, obnoxious, beer-spilling, mustard-squirting dopes sometime. (Nothing personal.) But as Game 1 inched past the four-hour mark, a lot more of them stuck around for the finish than headed for their cars or the Subway.
The Streak . The Yankees, if you haven't heard, have won 13 consecutive World Series games. The last time they lost was Oct. 21, 1996, in Game 2 of a Series against the Atlanta Braves they'd win four games to two. That, baseball fans, is an incredible string. In any era.
Hero -- Jose Vizcaino: He's the Game 1 star, with his four hits, including the two-out game-winner. What now, Joe? Keep the hot bat in the lineup?
Bum -- Paul O'Neill: He drew a key walk in the ninth to score the tying run. But in the bottom of the 10th, with runners at second and third with one out, he hit into a double play that could have sunk the Yanks.
Hero -- Al Leiter: He hasn't yet won in the postseason, but with numbers like Game 1's, he should have: Seven innings pitched, two runs, five hits, seven strikeouts.
Bum -- Timo Perez: You have to know it's over the fence before you can take your foot off the gas. Simple as that. Cost the Mets a run, and maybe a win.
Hero -- Mike Stanton: Pitched the 11th and 12th for the Yankees, didn't allow a hit, struck out three -- and he hadn't pitched in almost two weeks.
Bum -- Armando Benitez: The Mets' stopper is a postseason nightmare. In Game 1, he blew the save by giving up two hits, a walk and the tying run in the bottom of the ninth.
The Mets will bounce back. They have all year. Maybe not Sunday, but soon.
No excuse for Perez's base-running goof. Todd Zeile had a couple, too. And Jay Payton. What is this, Class AAA ball?
A designated hitter, as a leadoff man, going 0-for-4. And getting picked off. Maybe Chuck Knoblauch's trying to make Torre look bad.
If the Mets are going to get back into this, this will be the man to lead the way: Benny Agbayani.
David Justice isn't putting up the average this postseason. But, man, is the Yankees' left fielder clutch.
A look at the Game 2 pitchers Mets' Mike Hampton (15-10 regular season, 3.14 ERA). Many figured he'd be the Game 1 starter, after his complete-game three-hitter to clinch the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals. Now, he has an extra day's rest. With a 2-1 postseason record and a 2.11 ERA, he has a better cutter than Game 1 starter Al Leiter, and he loves to live on the corners.
Yankees' Roger Clemens (13-8 regular season, 3.70 ERA). His last outing was a one-hit gem against the Mariners in the ALCS, but before that he struggled. Overall, he's 1-2 in the postseason with a 4.50 ERA. The classic power pitcher, Clemens loves to intimidate by pitching inside. Great or just a regular guy? That's the question.
The Mets didn't need Game 1, but they didn't need to lose it like they did. If they can pull out a victory against Clemens in this one -- and the Mets' guy, Mike Hampton, will be hard to beat -- they're not only back in it. They're rolling as they head to Shea for the middle three games.

The World Series Day at a Glance appears every day through the conclusion of the Series.

 

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