The Magic Carpet

By Matthew Storey

Boston Red Sox - 6 (16-10)
New York Yankees - 4 (13-12)

Winning Pitcher: Lester (2-2)
Losing Pitcher: Hughes (1-1)

HR: Lowell (6)
Bay (6)
Damon (5)
Teixeira 2 (5)

Another dreary, rainy night in NYC, the 5th straight day of grey skies and soggy Yankees.

The rain drowned the Kentucky Derby, with the high-priced, pedigree types balking at the grinding, dirty effort required in such conditions, allowing the garland of Roses to go to an overlooked grinder ridden by an overlooked jockey, trained by an overlooked trainer...instead of a glamorous and glorious stallion, with a Hall of Fame Jockey/Trainer combo...we got an out-of-nowhere Gelding with a cadre of inarticulate slobs whooping it up.

The rain is drowning the Yankee homestand, with the high-priced, pedigree types balking at the grinding, dirty effort required in such conditions, once again watching the early season games go to a roster of overlooked grinders who've overcome much and relish the effort.

Instead of the sleek, pretty-boys in Pinstripes, each of whom has known all his life he would someday make serious coin and play serious ball, each of whom inspires waves of high-maintenance tail and ushers directly from The Bronx to the arms of a spectacular woman who would never DREAM of a misplaced pound, or an unplucked hair (horrors!), sliding into the premium booth at some magnificent restaurant, or nightclub...

...the sparkling Yankees are again undone by the overlooked ones, who've had to grind it out through long careers in the minors (Youkilis), overcome doubts about size and athletic ability (Pedroia), beaten Cancer (Lowell, Lester), found their game mid-career (Papi), toiled in MLB obscurity (Bay) or who harbor deep-seated resentments towards their wealthier, prettier rivals (Varitek)...managed by an afterthought retread who has turned his career around in Boston (Francona) and is a rare class act in the tired Beantown script.

These are the guys who have never 'gotten the girl', who struggle to compose sentences, whose demeanor, absurd facial hair and troll-like visages will never and have never been mistaken for the glamour side of the game. But they are winners - ugly ones, but the 'W' counts just the same, and the bottom rung women they escort don't demand attractiveness and style, they LIKE their men grungy (ewww...).

They've had to FIGHT just to have MLB careers and they resent those who coast and preen, and treat them like they are less than - even when THEY are the one's winning. You can just picture the hideous Red Sox, with their porcine women, stuffing gruel into their unwashed faces, wiping filthy hands on their shirts, belching and babbling on in some semi-coherent garble. This is Sarah Palin's America!

Yankees versus Red Sox is more than just Baseball, it is two completely contradictory approaches to life and work, more so now that the last of the HOF Superstars who DID walk in the same places as the Yankees has shipped off to L.A. (Manny Ramirez) and has joined up with former Yankee Manager, Joe Torre to have the dream season in the sun the Yankees believe is their birthright.

Once again, the Yankee season has begun with a nightmare of twists and unforseen turns, injuries to their power hitters, injuries to critical pitchers, rainouts, a sparkling new stadium left half-empty by the devastated wallets of Wall Streeters...the best laid plans, undone. Asking the expensive colt with the royal pedigree, who likes to be unencumbered in his races and to be allowed to run off alone, unchallenged...to grind it out in the mud with the claiming horses?

Not going to happen.

That isn't Yankee baseball. These guys are never going to be able to out-compete, and I suppose that makes on wonder if maybe Joe Girardi, isn't the right guy for them after all. Girardi is a plugger, a hard worker who had to fight for everything HE got in the game, too small, too this and too that...he used his intellect to understand the game better than his opponent and molded his body with harder work in the gym. He was part of a Yankee team that featured grinders and pluggers, but lacked in the Glamour the city demands of its champions. These Boston Red Sox have more in common with workmanlike Girardi and those old Yankee teams...and they inspire the sort of fan interest those teams did, but neither has the feel of a real YANKEE team. They are the champions of people like them, the sorts of folks that guys like Guru and Alex wipe from their shoes contemptuously, regardless of result.

This game was like a lot of games lately - a lot of unexpected barriers. Home Plate umpire was calling a tight zone and Phil Hughes, who had electric stuff - 95 MPH darts and bending curves, simply could not solve the zone...forced to come in, he gave up single runs in each of the first four innings and was unable to get quick innings, running his pitch count way up. For the Red Sox, Jon Lester was brilliant, an older version of Hughes, in his 66th MLB start (to Phil's 23rd), he's solved the zone and locked in his position in the rotation. He was dominant for awhile, until a pair of terrible calls led to a Jeter strikeout and a flustered Girardi, with his left-side infielders all sitting on the disabled list, had to run out to protect Jeter from getting run...

The obligatory shouting match ensued, the strain of having to struggle etched on the face of Joe, who'd imagined that year two could not POSSIBLY contain the challenges of year one (Surprise!)...when Joe was given the thumb, Lester relaxed for a moment and Damon and Teixeira took advantage with back to back bombs to bring it to 4-3, Sox.

Alfredo Alceves, who pitched so well for the Yankees last year in his MLB debut, came on and pitched well for several innings, only surrendering a 2 run HR off the Foul Pole to Jason Bay, who always gave the Yankees a hard time in Pittsburgh and has continued to be a hot hitter in Boston, 6-3, Sox.

Yankees added another on Teixeira's 2nd HR, as his wrist is apparently feeling better after costing him most of the first five weeks. 6-4, and despite a Yankee 9th Inning threat, Papelbon struck out Cano with bases loaded with Yankees to move the Bombers two back in the 'L' column and make 4 straight losses to the Sox on the young season.

Par for the course, really. The Yankees have started this way just about every season since '05 (had a decent start in '06) and Boston has OWNED them in April/May baseball, although they haven't been able to sustain it or win the season series. The problem, as it was in those other years, is that, even if they once again manage to right their ship, get healthy and get on a roll - these early season struggles take away from the season they were BUILT to have - the season the Dodgers ARE having. Yankees and Yankee fans alike, are not interested in a long, competitive slog - like those high-ticket Colts, they want to run free and alone on the lead.

Having to work hard sullies things.

But work hard they must, if they want to make anything of their year. As difficult as it to even LOOK at the likes of Pedroia and Youkilis, they are going to have to make the best of it and try to fight back (keep LOTS of 'Purell' around, Guys!).