BOSTON – It may turn out that the English translation of “Hideki Matsui” is “Wally Pipp.” Whoever saw this coming? Who saw Melky Cabrera not only as a quality replacement for Matsui, but as an indispensable piece in a Yankees push for an AL East title? Last year, Cabrera came into Fenway Park and humiliated himself. This year he has distinguished himself.
On a long day that turned into a longer night of baseball, the Yankees had a long list of heroes, that is as long as your name was not Sidney Ponson. The Yanks swept a doubleheader over Boston because of skill, tenacity and a rookie who has become dependable, clutch and, in Joe Torre’s words, “a lifesaver.” The Yankees’ lead over the Red Sox is now a season-high 3½ games. And, if the Yanks hold on to win a ninth straight AL East title, then the moment Cabrera arrived is going to be remembered as seminal.
Because rather than collapse when Matsui and Gary Sheffield were lost for most of the season, Cabrera helped the Yanks survive until the Bobby Abreu trade made them whole and dangerous.
“If we don’t have the injuries, we don’t know Melky Cabrera until [callups] in September,” Torre said. “I can’t tell you what he has meant to the club except to say he has been important every day.” Cabrera walked in front of Johnny Damon’s two-run homer that put the Yanks ahead to stay in the opener yesterday, a 12-4 decision.
But the day end of the twinbill was the one the Yanks were expected to win, with Chien-Ming Wang starting vs. one of the great losers of this generation, Jason Johnson. But the Yanks started another of those pitching losers, Ponson, in the nightcap, all but assuring a split.
Ponson graciously gave away a 5-1 lead, failed to get an out in the fourth, and forced the Yankees’ beleaguered bullpen to pitch too much yet again.
That the Yanks won 14-11 in what would be the longest nine-inning major-league game in history owed a lot to Cabrera going 3-for-3 with two walks, two runs batted in, three runs scored, and his AL-high 12th outfield assist. Misplaying Trot Nixon’s liner into an inside-thepark homer in July 2005 in this same locale seemed very, very far away.
Heck, a strong case could be made that Cabrera is now the Yankees’ best defensive player.
In Game 2, the Yanks trailed 10-7 heading to the seventh inning. They loaded the bases with one out for Cabrera, who bats last in the Yankees lineup but is hardly least these days.
He fell behind veteran Mike Timlin 1-2. But Cabrera, a deer in headlights last year, has shown no panic in his game this season.
“He seems to have a calm about him,” Torre said.
Cabrera worked the count back to full by fouling off three pitches. On the ninth pitch from Timlin, Cabrera lashed an RBI single to right. Two batters later, Derek Jeter put the Yankees ahead to stay with a three-run double.
Cabrera is hitting .294 with a .370 on-base percentage.
He is not merely playing well for a fillin.
He is flat-out playing well. He has grown comfortable hitting deep into counts, following the lead of this patient team. Cabrera saw 38 pitches in his five plate appearances in the nightcap.
The Yanks saw an amazing 210 pitches in the opener. The only thing more amazing was that they saw 222 in Game 2. They essentially wore out the Red Sox and assured they will leave this series ahead in the AL East no matter what happens over the final three games.
There were many thank-yous to send out for the sweep. But when the last out was finally made at 12:52 a.m., after Game 2 had lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes, it was hard to ignore what Cabrera meant on this day and over the arduous season.
The kid who looked so scared last year is now a 22-year-old man making a huge difference in the most pressurized rivalry in sports.