Sunday, October 24, 1999
Mistakes make winners of Yanks
BY TIM SULLIVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ATLANTA — Hard to win a game with two hits. Hard to win a game when your defensive replacement makes two errors in one inning. Hard to win a game when you walk hitters with the bases loaded.
Hard to beat the New York Yankees when you beat yourself.
Six outs away from winning the first game of the World Series Saturday night, the Atlanta Braves squandered their slender advantage with a nightmare eighth inning. The Yankees opened defense of their world championship with a 4-1 comeback victory.
“You can't give extra outs,” Yankee outfielder Paul O'Neill said. “The way our pitching has been, if we score a couple runs here or there, or someone gives us a couple runs, we're going to win the game.”
Sure enough, after seven splendid innings by Atlanta starter Greg Maddux, the Yankees recognized opportunity's knock and responded. They manufactured four runs out of three walks, two errors, two ground singles and only one legitimately hard-hit ball.
The modern Bronx Bombers don't bludgeon you to death. They make you bleed.
Mistakes happen in the course of every ballgame, but they seem to happen with regularity in the late innings against the Yankees. They swept the World Series last year from the San Diego Padres, but trailed one game in the seventh inning and another in the eighth.
“We're used to playing close games,” O'Neill said.
The outlook wasn't brilliant when the Yankees came up in the eighth. Maddux had held them to three singles through seven innings, and had allowed no runner beyond second base.
He had started the game only because Tom Glavine had the flu, which was akin to Aristotle showing up as a substitute teacher when Socrates called in sick. Only the Braves could replace one multiple Cy Young winner with another.
But Maddux had to be brilliant to be any better than Yankee starter Orlando Hernandez, whose only oversight was a fourth-inning homer by Chipper Jones. Hernandez struck out 10 of the 23 Braves he faced — five in succession before Jones' home run — before leaving the game for a pinch-hitter during the Yankees' eighth-inning rally.
“El Duque” trailed, 1-0, but feared not. He has seen his team in action too many times.
“With no disrespect to the great pitcher that is Greg Maddux, I just felt that one run wasn't going to win the game ... I always have the confidence that my team is going to defend and protect me.”
Scott Brosius, the Most Valuable Player of last year's World Series, led off the New York eighth with his third hit of the night, a ground single to left field. Darryl Strawberry, pinch hitting for Hernandez, drew a rare Maddux walk.
Chuck Knoblauch, trying to sacrifice, bunted the ball toward first base. Brian Hunter, who had replaced Ryan Klesko at the start of the inning, pounced on the ball promptly, but then dropped it.
With the bases loaded and none out, Maddux needed a strikeout. He got ahead of Derek Jeter, two strikes and no balls, and narrowly missed a called third strike on the outside corner.
But Jeter lined Maddux' next pitch into left field for a game-tying single — the Yankees' best-hit ball of the night.
“Even when I took him out, he was still throwing good,” Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said of Maddux. “He didn't get much help.”
John Rocker ran in from the bullpen to face O'Neill, who had hit only .190 against lefties during the regular season. But as he had in the second game of the American League Championship Series, O'Neill confounded the percentages with a game-winning single.
“It didn't surprise us once we got a little crack there (that) we were able to open it up,” said Yankees manager Joe Torre. “We've been a very patient ballclub.”
Tim Sullivan welcomes your email at tsullivan@enquirer.com
Sports Stories
 Mistakes make winners of Yanks
Yankees 4, Braves 1
OHIO STATE 20, MINNESOTA 17
GEORGIA 49, KENTUCKY 34
Hanover 29, Mount St. Joseph 25
THOMAS MORE 28, MERCHANT MARINE 0
Redhawks dismiss low expectations
Reese can fill OSU void
Falk takes inside track to state tennis title
Hall fades to fourth in state golf
St. Ursula wins sectional volleyball title
A first: Kings wins cross country title
CINCINNATI OHIO HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS
Colerain girls blow away field for district title
Elder runners beat La Salle; St. X cruises
Fresh blood runs Bacon to victory
ND, Campbell Co. win regional volleyball titles
St. Xavier 50, Cle. St. Ignatius 33
Badin 28, Meadowdale 12
Bellevue 37, NewCath 23
CovCath 39, Scott 7
Indian Hill 28, Wyoming 14
Smith, Lorenzen happy to bide time on UK bench
A little goofiness does a lot of good
Grand Rapids 2, Cyclones 1
ROCHESTER 4, MIGHTY DUCKS 1
|
Rose, Bench on century stage
All-Century team voting
Gehrig top vote-getter on All-Century Team
McKeon deserves better but lacks leverage
Vaughn's agent: Market not set
Akili has new No. 1 motivation
Akili may lead, but will Bengals follow?
Colts have Bengals in a corner
Bengals-Colts by the numbers
Who's got the edge?
Players to watch
O'Donnell's success begs: Why not here?
Healthy Tate wants ring
SOUTHERN MISS 28, UC 20
Muskies court high school big men
