Suddenly, Yankee Closer Can't Close

He's been one the best closers in the game for years. After blowing two straight saves withing 24 hours however, Mariano is no mo against the Red Sox.

When you play a team enough times under the spotlight, patterns emerge. One keenly disappointing pattern is that A-Rod, the laughing stock of the Sox World, seems incapable of making the noticeable, clutch plays against them necessary and the other is that if possible, the Sox have solved Mariano.

The most recent evidence was yesterday's 7-3 loss to the Sox. Leading 3-2 going into the 9th, Rivera needed only do his job. A 1-2-3 inning and bang! The Yankees would have their sweep. Instead, the normally invinsible closer failed to retire any of the first three batters he faced, walking Bill Mueller and giving up singles to Mark Bellhorn and Johnny Damon. With the bases loaded, and the Yankees still ahead, Rivera rallied to strike out Trot Nixon, setting the stage for a showdown with the dangerous Manny Ramirez.

On a 1-2 count, Ramirez grounded the ball to A-Rod. The ball was not hit that hard, but it appeared Rodriguez would still have enough time to turn a double play because Ramirez is so slow running to first.

But Rodriguez bobbled the ball, ending any chance at a double play. He said he then immediately thought of grabbing the ball and throwing home to at least get one out and keep the Yankees in the lead. Instead, he bobbled the ball a second time! Chokechoke. Everyone was safe, the score was tied, and Boston then scored four more runs off Rivera before the inning ended.

Whilst Mariano's bloateed ERA is worrisome, you get the feeling it is correctable - A-Rod however, is becoming a head case, despite his empty-bases homer yesterday, and if the pressure is wilting him, expect it all the more when the Yanks travel to Boston for the rematch.

Nats Win First Ever

Quicker than the vaunted "New Mets", whose demise can be digested at Archie Bunker's Army, the newly-relocated and renamed Washington Nationals won the first game in their franchise history yesterday with a 7-3 victory over the Phillies.

What this says about the Phillies, only the Phucked Phans of Philadelphia might be able to ponder.

But yesterday, it was Brad Wilkerson hitting for the cycle, the first ever for the Nats and the first of the season for anybody, leading the way. For Wilkerson, this is old hat. It's the second time in his career that he has hit for the cycle, with the other coming June 24, 2003, against the Pirates at Olympic Stadium.

But hey, whilst Wilkerson gets the fanfare, it was the Angriest Man in Baseball, Jose Guillen, who won the day for the Nats.

The Nationals were down, 3-2, in the bottom of the eighth inning when they took the lead against Phillies reliever Tim Worrell. After Jose Vidro led off with a single, Guillen took Worrell's 0-1 pitch and hit the ball over the right center-field wall for a two-run home run and a 4-3 Nationals lead. It was Guillen's first home run of the season. The scorecard for Guillen so far this season thus stands at 1 Game Winning Homer, 0 Psychotic Outbursts. Well done.

One thing for certain, these Nats can hit. In this game, they collected 16 hits and now have a .363 average after two games.








Other Sox Go 2-0

After going 17 long innings without hitting a home run in their new smallball regime, the White Sox slammed home four runs in the ninth inning to stun both themselves and Cleveland 4-3 before a crowd of only 10,520 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Down 2-0 in the 9th inning and having been slammed down to the canvass by Indian starter Kevin Millwood and a few Indian relievers, Carl Everett woke the Sox up by leading off with a single down the right-field line for his first hit of the season.

Two pitches later, Paul Konerko launched the Sox's first homer of 2005, a two-run shot that traveled an estimated 409 feet and closed the deficit to 3-2.

"The guys got excited when Konerko hit the first [homer] and showed some life in the dugout," said Guillen, who admitted he had some doubts about a comeback after the Indians scored a run in the ninth before Wickman came in.

But the skepticism vanished when Jermaine Dye tagged an 0-1 pitch over the left-field fence to tie the game 3-3.

The White Sox bullpen was heroic, as relievers Neal Cotts, Luis Vizcaino and Damaso Marte combined for three innings of one-run ball to keep the Hose in the game.

Don't look now but it is the White Sox, Reds and Brewers who are the only remaining undefeated teams in baseball! Pittsburgh, Cleveland and the Mets are the only teams without a win.

Braves-Marlins Even

After outlasting the Marlins 2-1 in 13 innings, the Braves Tim Hudson will be making his Braves debut and first start for a National League team. His .702 career winning percentage trails only Pedro Martinez's .705 among active pitchers. His only appearance against the Marlins came in 2003, when he allowed three earned runs in six innings.

Time limits us all, dear fans, and Sports Amnesia, who spent the night watching Chelsea snap the Krauts in two, 4-2, so if you're interested in more in-depth analysis of the first three days of the season, come back later.

For now, have a look at last night's results.