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There's an old tradition in the dugout, I'm not sure if it's used anymore in the Majors but I remember it from little league, that is used when your team is trailing your opponent. Depending on the inning, players would say "Let's get three [runs] in the third [inning]", or "Let's get five in the fifth", and so on, ending with "Let's get eight in the eighth" (because once you're in the ninth you can pretty well kiss a win good-bye). It's sort of a rally or picker-upper, giving the team the bit of hope, false or otherwise, they need when trailing 10 to 2 in the fifth (losing to the Devil Rays no less) to start them thinking "hey, maybe we've got a shot at this". Considering they picked up four runs in the fifth, and another in the sixth, I'm guessing for the Yankees it started working.
Then came the eighth inning, and "Let's get eight in the eighth" turned into "Let's see how much misery we can put Travis Harper [Tampa Bay pitcher] in for the next half an hour or so, shall we?"
The Yankees scored not one, not two, not eight, but thirteen in a single inning, which lasted exactly 35 minutes and 20 someodd seconds. They went through their entire batting lineup twice, with a couple left on (16 batters up for the inning), and brought their lead to 20. The game ended with a very satisfying 20-11 score in favor of the Yankees, and has reinforced my undying and eternal devotion to Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and Hideki Matsui (who incidentally hit a home run into the black stands of Yankee Stadium - something that only 19 players have done before him).
And people wonder why I like the Yankees. Honestly.
(I will admit to feeling very sorry for Travis Harper, though. Lou Pinella, the Tampa Bay manager, intentionally left the guy in through the entire inning out of spite and malice, just because he hates to use all his pitchers. By the final end of the inning, the guy really looked like he needed a hug.)
Then came the eighth inning, and "Let's get eight in the eighth" turned into "Let's see how much misery we can put Travis Harper [Tampa Bay pitcher] in for the next half an hour or so, shall we?"
The Yankees scored not one, not two, not eight, but thirteen in a single inning, which lasted exactly 35 minutes and 20 someodd seconds. They went through their entire batting lineup twice, with a couple left on (16 batters up for the inning), and brought their lead to 20. The game ended with a very satisfying 20-11 score in favor of the Yankees, and has reinforced my undying and eternal devotion to Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and Hideki Matsui (who incidentally hit a home run into the black stands of Yankee Stadium - something that only 19 players have done before him).
And people wonder why I like the Yankees. Honestly.
(I will admit to feeling very sorry for Travis Harper, though. Lou Pinella, the Tampa Bay manager, intentionally left the guy in through the entire inning out of spite and malice, just because he hates to use all his pitchers. By the final end of the inning, the guy really looked like he needed a hug.)
