The stadium was full Saturday Night, but the Yankee fans all seemed to be on Prozac - an even tone, but all of the brashness and roaring appreciation of their club was just so portrayed rather than felt. They were going through the motions. The Torre dynasty has set sail into oblivion and the SoCal transplants are taking in the games so that "they can tell their grandkids" when they aren't actually taking their grandkids and photographing them ad nauseum in Yankee gear - Look Timmy, Bernie Williams was still standing in Centerfield at a game you actually attended.
Ervin Santana reminds me of the young Ramon Ortiz - solo homers that didn't knock him off his (psychological) rocker, an almost blasé approach to pitching, and a seeming guarantee of giving up 3-5 runs 70% of the starts, pitching a shutout masterpiece ten percent of the time and getting shelled in less than two innings twenty percent of the time.
The bullpen finally allowed a run, Esteban Yan challenging the red-hot Jason Giambi and paying for it, but Shields and Frankie served up the big plate of nuthin to the Spankees.
The big hit was the Vladimir Guerrero Three-Run homer. It told New York to shut up and sit down and they did.
The other hit of the night was a Figgins double to the wall to plate two runs and complete a four run fourth inning. If Figgy is an RBI threat, we have some leverage like no club in baseball. The RBI may be a meaningless stat, but a run batted in sure as hell is something.
A solid win against a juggernaut offense that is balanced with below average pitching. We have the 3rd best record in baseball and are 20 games above .500 !