MELKY’S UNFORTUNATE EVENT
Rookie centerfielder plays Nixon’s line drive into 3-run inside-the-park-homer




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
July 15, 2005

This game got out of hand in a hurry. For the Yankees there was no coming from behind. The Sox started out fast and furious and made sure the Yankees stayed buried. Boston laid waste to the Bombers in a 17-1 shelling before a crowd of 35, 083 rabid fans at Fenway Park.

One night after Alex Rodriguez hit a low breaking ball from Curt Schilling over Fenway’s centerfield wall to take the Yankees to a come-from-behind 8-6 win the two teams took the field to do battle. For the Red Sox ex-Yankee and self-described bad boy David Wells took the mound, and for the Yankees it was new pitching addition Tim Redding. Redding was traded to the Yankees, along with Darrell May for reliever Paul Quantrill.

Wells put the Bombers down in order, then it was Redding’s turn to do the same. Somewhere along the line Redding forgot to do that. The Sox scored three runs in the first and three more in the second. Redding was aided in his implosion by Darrell May and Melky Cabrera. In the second inning Redding walked Mark Bellhorn and Johnny Damon. He gave up a single to Edgar Renteria to load the bases. With no one out Joe Torre visited the mound, bringing his hook with him. He summoned May to face David Ortiz. He induced Ortiz to ground out into a fielder’s choice as third baseman Alex Rodriguez forced out Damon at third. Bellhorn scored on the play. May gave up a double to Manny Ramirez, which scored Renteria from second base and put David Ortiz on third.

The biggest mistake of the night came when Trot Nixon lined a shot into centerfield. Yankees’ centerfielder Melky Cabrera charged toward the ball, but as the ball curved to the right Cabrera was unable to make the adjustment and the ball glanced off his glove. As Cabrera fell down and the ball rolled to the centerfield wall. Cabrera got up, chased the ball down and threw it into cutoff man Derek Jeter. However, the damage was done. Nixon was able to make it all the way around the diamond for the first inside-the-park home run in his career. The Sox were up on the Yanks 8-0 by the time New York came to bat in the third inning.

The night didn’t get any better for the Yankees. May, Jason Alexander, and Buddy Groom gave up a combined 11 earned runs on 10 hits. The Yankees lone run came in the fourth inning when Robinson Cano scored from second base on a Gary Sheffield single. By that time the game was only a formality. The Yankees offense, which flexed its muscles the night before was unable to mount any significant threats against Wells. Wells cruised to an easy win over the Bronx Bummers.

For the Red Sox the victory gave them back the 2-1/2 game division lead they enjoyed over the third place Yankees. For New York it was another night of frustration as horrendous pitching continues to plague them. With only two of the original starting rotation healthy the Yankees second-half future doesn’t bode well. The offense can’t continue to pound teams into submission with scores of 10-8 or 9-6. Sooner or later somebody, anybody is going to have to step up and become the leader of this staff. It appeared that rookie Chien Ming Wang was poised to do that, but now that his season is in jeopardy with a shoulder injury someone else is going to have to do it.

The Yankees clearly need pitching help. The new additions, May and Redding, don’t appear to be any answers as they finished the game with ERA’s of 16.71 and 54.00 respectively. The rookies from Columbus had better step it up or they may end up on a short plane ride back to the great State of Ohio. The trading deadline is coming at the end of the month, so the Tampa and New York brain trust better start figuring out a way to fix the pitching problem or for the first time since 1994 the Yankees will be watching the 2005 playoffs from the comforts of their living rooms instead of their dugout.


PLAY BALL



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