For their latest act, the Yankees were handcuffed and wrapped with chains that are secured with padlocks. They were placed in concrete overshoes and lowered to the bottom of the Hudson River.
Well, not really. But for the second night in a row they were down to their final out in the ninth inning with a defeat meaning they would have to beat Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in to win their fourth consecutive World Series.
But following Tino Martinez’s lead, Scott Brosius made Arizona manager Bob Brenly immediately regret using closer Byung-Hyun Kim less than 24 hours after he had thrown 61 pitches in losing Game 4 of the World Series. Brosius’ two-run homer to left field sent Thursday night’s Game 5 of the World Series into extra innings tied 2-2.
Many will see Brosius’ home run as having saved them from defeat this weekend in Arizona. Except the Yankees won’t see it that way.
Neither will George Steinbrenner, the owner whose endless supply of pink slips leave secretaries and left fielders alike trembling. Yet his high standards have established the tone for sports’ reigning dynasty.
Steinbrenner keeps a lower public profile these days but it would be a mistake to assume he has mellowed. President Bush experienced the essence of Steinbrenner this Series.
With Yankee Stadium in a state of high alert because George W. and Laura Bush were seated in the front row of Steinbrenner’s box Tuesday night, The Boss retained his trademark tunnel vision. He became angry with umpire Dale Scott’s strike zone and vented his steam in the direction of Commissioner Bud Selig. The conversation grew loud.
Good to see some things haven’t changed since Sept. 11. Steinbrenner remains the most demanding executive in professional sports.
“He has so much energy,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “His mind is always on how can you get better. . . . Sometimes your battery might get low; his battery doesn’t get low ever.”
With Steinbrenner’s relentless ambition, Joe Torre’s steady stewardship and clutch performances from a team led by unselfish superstars Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams, the Yankees have proven that success does not necessarily ruin a good thing.
Unfortunately for Arizona, there is no fresh blueprint for how to finish off this team. It hasn’t happened since 1997, when Cleveland rookie Jaret Wright beat Andy Pettitte the deciding game of a first-round series.
Oakland was within one victory in 2000 but couldn’t finish the job. The Athletics gave themselves three chances by taking a 2-0 lead in the first round this year but it still wasn’t a big enough led. They couldn’t deliver a knockout punch, in part because of Jeter’s unbelievable shovel pass and Jorge Posada’s swipe tag on Jeremy Giambi.
Arizona was within one out of taking a commanding 3-1 lead in the Series Wednesday night–a victory that would have given its Renaissance man, Miguel Batista, a chance to write the final chapter in Game 5. But the Diamondbacks watched in horror as Martinez drove a two-out homer to get the game into extra innings and Jeter hit a game-winning homer in the 10th.
There were two outs when the ball sailed into first rows of the right-field seats. That surreal scene repeated itself Thursday night, this time with Brosius belting a 1-0 pitch from Kim.
“Surprising things happen, and yet when you really think about it, it doesn’t surprise you because this ballclub never quits,” Torre said. “I know it’s an old cliche but we have lived it for six years. I’ve watched these guys play hard right to the last out. They play every inning.”
Before the Series began, Curt Schilling entertained a room full of reporters with his attempt to put the fourth-year Diamondbacks on the same level as the Yankees, who have won 39 pennants and 26 world championships.
“Aura and mystique,” he said, “are dancers in a nightclub.”
That sounded clever when Schilling and Randy Johnson gave Arizona a 2-0 edge in the Series. But looking back at it, it’s clear to see the flaw in his thinking.
Although the Yankees count on each other, not the ghosts of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle, history does a way of repeating itself in the Bronx. The Yankees took a nine-game home World Series winning streak into Thursday’s game.
Steinbrenner has watched it all from his mezzanine box behind home plate. But Cashman says he remains just as difficult to please as when Cashman went to work as a Yankee intern in 1986, with the franchise in the midst of an 18-year run without winning the Series.
Steinbrenner went through managers and general managers like they were ballpoint pens. Cashman, then 30 and with only a few lines on his resume, was asked what it would take for him to escape the wrath of Steinbrenner.
“I said, `Winning every day, being 162-0,” Cashman recalled. “I remember 1998, [with] arguably one of the best teams of all time. We finished 125-50, and those 50 losses hurt. That’s his attitude–whatever happens it’s not good enough. You could always do better, you could always dig deeper.”
The Yankees will need to do some digging this weekend. There never has been a team better suited to the task.
