Yanks 6, Tigers 1

Mike Mussina, at his best, is simply beautiful to watch.

And, oh, these "A-rod always chokes" memes have got to stop, or else be exposed. They are part and parcel of the "Ted always chokes" articles of fifty years ago, those analyses which boiled Teddy Ballgame's career down to ten games: seven World Series games in 1946, one one-game play-off in 1948, and two games in 1949 where victory would have meant the pennant. Ted, to put it charitably, did not cover himself in glory on said ten games. But here was the conclusion that followed:

Ted Williams was not a great playeer. Ted was a choke artist. No really, writers--Boston writers--actually wrote that.

Go figure.

Tonight, eighth inning, Yankees up 2-0, with--big subplot here--Rivera presumably unavailable, given his labors the previous night. Giambi slices a double down the left field line (on which, two observations: couldn't he do that more often against the Boudreau shift?; and, Dad, did you notice nobody mentioned that a Tigers' fan gloved the ball in play? No remark, no follow-up, no shot of the fan ushered from his seat, which, in any park I've ever been in, he surely would have been?). Next batter: A-rod picks a ball off his toes, hits it one-handed to the center field wall for an RBI triple. Two batters later, A-rod jumps on contact, scores standing on a dribbler. 4-0 Yankees, with Moose cruising.

Game over. This was the back-breaker at just the right moment. Yanks go up 3-0 in the series against the hottest team in baseball.

Yeah, but too bad A-rod always chokes and stuff.

DJ Gallo provides a week of said observations here.