Sox Rock Yankees in Damon's Return

Only in Boston and New York do you get 19 playoff games before the regular season ends.  Last night, the Red Sox and Yankees kicked off the first game of the season series, and it was a classic before the game even started.

The contest marked the return of former Sox All-Star and 2004 playoff hero, Johnny Damon, who signed as a free agent with the Yankees in the off season for $52 million over four years, as the Sox failed to make a bid close to competing with their Division rivals.  Of course, the turn of events led to a panoply of less than tasteful t-shirts, many of which were proudly exhibited last night.  One choice selection was a shirt that read: "Johnny Damon.  Looks like Jesus.  Acts like Judas.  Throws like Mary."  You have to love this town.

Also returning -- in dramatic fashion -- was Doug Mirabelli, reacquired by trade from San Diego.  Mirabelli's plane landed at 6:48 pm last night (17 minutes before game time), where it was met by a State Police escort that whisked Mirabelli directly to the parked in 12 minutes.  It's believed the Sox backstop put on his uniform in the car on the way to the park.  Varitek was actually penciled in to start the game as it was unclear that Mirabelli would make it.  From the stands, it looked like Varitek, in fact, would start the game, as he warmed up Wake and came in from the pen with him at about 7:00.  At around 7:05, however, Mirabelli came jogging out of the clubhouse onto the field to an incredible ovation by the (observant and informed) Fenway Faithful.  He may have been wearing Varitek's catcher's equipment.  In any case, he entered the game with no warmup, just in time to take Wakefield warmup tosses from the mound.

Not to be outdone by way of dramatic entrance, Johnny Damon, who had already been booed mercilessly when he was announced in the starting lineups, led off for the Yankees.  With the boo-birds already in full chirp as Damon reached the plate, however, he showed a true sign of class by tipping his cap to all sides of the stadium, turning the boos to cheers of regonition for his respect and all that he did, in fact, do for this organization and the fans.  After that fleeting moment, both Damon and the fans knew there would be no return from his new status: Enemy of the Nation.

As it turned out, Damon went quietly this night with an 0-4 performance.  The closest the Yanks' centerfielder came to reaching base was on a dribbler between the mound and first that Wakefield fielded before diving to tag Damon on his way down the baseline.  Round one to the Red Sox, but it's unlikely that's the best we'll see from Damon in the remaining 18 games.

The story of the night really, though, may have been a split between the weather and a less publicized return to Fenway.  Though the whole story could not be accurately told from watching TV or listening to the radio, from a first-hand vantage point, the wind was unbelievable.  It was blowing in strong from center ALL night, and it seemed to grow in strength as the game progressed.  By the late innings, the flag pole itself was shaking violently.  It was easily the strongest wind I have ever witnessed at Fenway Park.

At least five different balls were absolutely tattooed, none of which amounted in anything more than a fly out because anything hit in the air was completely swept up and knocked down by the wind.  More than one play was made much less than routine as a result, including Derek Jeter's miscue of a Trot Nixon pop-up behind shortstop that had the Yankees' captain turning around in circles before the ball dropped behind him in shallow left-center. 

And so the game went, without much offense.  After five innings with three hits for the Yankees and six for the Red Sox, the game was knotted at 3, whiere it remained until the eighth inning.  It seemed the only way to get a hit was to single on a low line over the heads of the infielders without putting the ball in to high in the air for it to get caught up and pushed down.  Watching the game live, the consensus was that it would simply not be possible to hit a ball out of the park.

Enter David Ortiz.  After Mark Loretta singled in a run to put Boston on top 4-3, former Sox and current Yankees lefty specialist, Mike Myers came in to face Boston's DH extraordinarre with two runners on and two out.  Having worked from behind to get to a full count on Ortiz, Myers put one pitch where he shouldn't have.  Ortiz let fly and absolutely crushed the Myers offering out to right-center.  By this point in the game, the wind was so strong that the thought of the flag pole becoming dislodged from its perch on the centerfield wall had actually crossed my mind, and it just didn't seem possible that any ball could make it out of any part of the park.  But the ball that Ortiz punished cut through the wind and carried...and carried...and carried until Johnny Damon and Bubba Crosby, who had converged on the corner of the outfield bullpen, watched helplessly as it sailed over the wall and into the Red Sox bullpen.  Jonathan Papelbon, who was warming in anticipation of what all previously believed would be a save situation caught the ball and threw it into the bleachers as the fans went completely bezerk.  7-3, Red Sox - Ortiz a hero again.

By the time Papelbon came on in the top of the ninth to close it out in what had become a non-save situation, the masses in the park, still packed despite 45 degree temperatures and a nasty wind-chill, were confident the game was in hand.  Pap promptly struck out A-Rod swinging on three pitches, got a weak pop-up to third from Matsui, and struck out Posada swinging.

What a game.

The Sox are in first place at 15-11, a game ahead of New York (13-11), entering tonight's contest in which Josh Beckett (3-1, 4.50) will face off against Shawn Chacon (3-1, 4.56), weather permitting.  Stay tuned for more drama.