A New Rivalry? East Coast Powerhouses Trade Blows in the Bronx

At long, long last, I finally got to my first game at the new Yankee Stadium Tuesday night and was treated to a marquee matchup of two of the primer pitchers in the game:  Mr. Carsten Charles Sabathia versus Dr. Harry Leroy Halladay (honestly Mr. and Mrs. Hallday?  That's what you came up with?).  It was a typical packed house that evening, with a typical gathering of ethnically and generationally diverse pinstripe supporters.  However, poking through the patchwork of dark blue, gray, and white was the vibrant red caps of Philly faithful.  They surfaced with surprising multiplicity, like irritated zits on the face of a puberty-stricken thirteen-year old boy.  Several of them even provoked heckling matches with random Yankee fans, a ballsy, yet ultimately foolish decision (one such hellraiser was escorted from the left field bleachers in handcuffs in the fourth inning).

The ubiquity and enthusiasm of the pro-Philly attendants got me to thinking about last year's World Series and about this series in a new way.  Have the Phillies usurped the Braves as the Yankees' new NL rival?  Are they now the team that the Yanks expect to square-off against come October, assuming we are able to get back there this year (which at this moment in time, for the record, I feel is doubtful)?  The passion of their fans and the sudden resurrection of their struggling offense indicate that there is a definite element of heat between these two squads and their respective fanbases, so it should be entertaining to see how this matchup plays out both this year and in the years to come.

Oh, and with all that, I might as add one more thing:  I respect you as competitors Philadelphia, but you're not as good as us!  On to the action...

GAME 1: Phillies 3, Yankees 8
Box Score

The series started out on a positive note for the Yanks, as they laid a rare beatdown on Halladay in his 6.0 innings of work:  8 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 walks, and 3 big home runs.  Coming into this contest, the Doctor boasted a fiercely impressive record of 16-5, with a 2.90 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, 8.0 hits per 9 innings, 0.8 HR(!) per 9, 2.1 BB per 9, and 6.9 Ks per 9.  Props to fellow bloggers at The Yankee U for the non-permitted hook-up (although I think a promotional linkage of their site on mine should cover the debt...right guys?).  It was refreshing to see the Bombers get the better of the ace for a change.  It was particularly satisfying to see the look on the face of all those Philly fans in person when both Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher belted round trippers in the 3rd inning, a solo job and a two-run shot respectively.  Even the pitiful swing of Mark Teixeira was able to sneak one over the wall in the 5th frame, a glorified pop-up that BARELY cleared the padding of the right field corner.  I mean, the guy literally hit the shortest possible home run you can hit in Yankee Stadium.  What a joke.

Prior to all long-balling, Brett Gardener slapped a triple into the gap to bring home two runs in the 2nd inning.  As much as I've been ripping on Brett this season, he's having a phenomenal campaign at the plate, and you really do have to give him credit for his efforts.  He's not a franchise guy by any stretch of the imagination, but he's given the Yankees a solid boost from the bottom of the lineup.  Its also helpful that a single is essentially a double with him.  The man can truly burn rubber.  Francisco failed to bring him in from third with less than two outs, a rare mishap for a young man that's been clutch in those situations.  He redeemed himself, however, flicking a crucial two-out single into center field off reliever David Herdon for two insurance runs in the 7th inning.  Here's to hanging with it, Cervelli.

C.C. Sabathia had an excellent rhythm going through first three innings, retiring the Philly lineup in order and recording six strikeouts along the way.   Once the Yanks opened up the scoring in the bottom of the third though, it appeared that the southpaw decided to start laying the ball in there.  Hey, I'm all for throwing strikes with a big lead, but you can't just fling anything up there.  When you get too careless, you get the kind of inning like the C.C. labored through in the fourth.  The hefty lefty suffered 3 runs on 4 hits, a hits batsmen, and an inexcusable fielding mishap in which Sabathia failed to cover first on what could have been an inning-changing double-play.  The chunkster didn't even make a move towards first, instead opting to stand there and watch the play, much to disgust of the man sitting in front of me.  Despite the dreadful inning, he recovered to complete 7.0 innings for the win.  David Robertson and Chan Ho Park did a commendable job to finish off the victory.  Gonna need more of that from them as the second half 2010 rapidly approaches.

I'll try my best to finish this series wrap later.  For now, it's off to see the Sawx...yep.  You heard me right.  The Red Sox.