Quick Thoughts On An Amazing Game Tonight

It was one of those game I'll always remember being at New Yankee Stadium. It was definitely my most memorably yet in the new park. But there were really three games, each with it's own storyline and I'll give a quick summary here before a more in-depth look at the weekend tomorrow:

Game 1: Yankees score four runs in the first, but after a Posada homerun, Nick Swisher gets drilled on the very next pitch. The Yankees fail to retaliate or get any offensive pressure after.

Game 2: Bad fielding play by Ramiro Pena was 2 outs brings out the problem with Andy Pettitte's scuffling today. Also, being up 0-2 to Napoli and then allowing the hit hurt as well. They went to Melancon in a really tough spot (bases loaded, raining, against the Angels) and he failed. Went to Veras, he was worse. And Edwar Ramirez wasn't much better. Crowd boos awful bullpen.

Game 3: Sustained a rally as those left in the Stadium got into it. Rally really got going with huge contributions from bottom 3 in the order of Gardner, Melky and Pena (who made up for his previous fielding play). Yankees chip away to make it a one-run game and JA keeps the Angels off the board with good bullpen work. Angels don't record an out in the bottom of the 9th as a Teixeira walk, Matsui single (and great piece of hitting), Cano single (how hot is he?) was followed by a two-run, walk-off single by Jorge Posada. The crowd went insane.

10 quick thoughts:

1. Wow. Never thought they'd come back from that...even though, oddly, I sort of did
   
2. Yankees score 4 unanswered, Angels score 9 unanswered and Yankees follow with 6 unanswered. That's amazing
3. Jose Veras should be released immediately. The fact he's still on this team is ridiculous. I'm not so sure Edwar Ramirez shouldn't join him. I don't think Melancon should have been in that situation (rain, bases loaded, rookie)...but then again, why do I feel like I've said that a lot for the past year and change with Girardi's moves?
   
4. With the year/offseasons of Melky, Gardner and Pena, how great was it that the played big roles in the rally?
5. Yankees need to learn to show heart after getting hit. Pettitte has to go out there and bean someone to retaliate for Swish getting drilled (and knocked out of the game and probably the rest of the series)
6. Pettitte needs to figure out how to hold guys on third base with a lefty at bat. This is going to kill him all season if he doesn't.
   
7. It was my first time sitting in the Grandstand tonight (section 433). Actually not a bad view from up there.
8. With the price of Stubhub tickets ($4 tonight in the section next to mine), I'm not buying any tickets from the Yankees for the rest of the season.
9. CC needs to have a nice, long outing tomorrow. Tex needs to send a message someplace because the fans are getting antsy (.180 average can do that despite 18 walks so far). Yankees need to get into that bullpen...it's terrible and tired.
   
10. My mom asked my dad: "do you think Andrew left early when they were down?" My dad's response: "Andrew never leaves these games early". And true to his word, despite a ton of the crowd having left, I sat in my seats and had faith. What a comeback. What a win. Now they guarantee themselves a split of the 4-game series against a team that has KILLED them in the past 15 years and if they win tomorrow (with me there again), they win a 4 game series against them.
    

Fun night in the Bronx!