Bubbles in the Champagne

"These...are for you!"
--Johnny Damon

Up until the second inning of the game tonight, Johnny Damon had been wearing the Brian Daubach Memorial "Out of Order" Sign around his neck. This seemed especially unfair, considering how much he'd done to get us into this series.

One swing, a 316 foot fly ball over a fence 314 feet from home, almost a photographic negative of another small fly that made a big difference 26 years ago, only with one more man on base.

On a related matter: Aaron Boone, you're old news. If the Home Shopping Network calls, I suggest you hear them out.

The rest of this will be pretty haphazard, guys. Thanks in advance for your indulgent eye.

A leftover from game 6. Alex Rodriguez and Austin Powers...separated at birth? "Judo Chop!"

I was actually bouncing up and down on my toes a half hour before the game started, unable to keep still. I couldn't tell if it was a kind of effervescent hubris, a manic reaction to sleep deprivation, or what. But my legs thought we were winning tonight, and they wouldn't listen when I told them not to jinx it.

Derek Jeter, trying to rally the troops in the third. Jeter's a very good player, but even very good players can be overhyped. He's had his day. Now, though, he's Blanche DuBois, more dependent than he knew on the kindness of strangers all along.

A dispatch from Captain Obvious: Pedro never should have come in to this game. He brought hate juice to the Yankee hitters, and drew the crowd back into the game. More on Pedro some other time.

I'm talking more smack than I mean to. See, hate's bad that way, and I'm not proud of it.

A tip of the cap to the quiet guy batting third. The numbers won't look that good, especially the zero under RBI. But Big Papi got some of his chances because Manny extended innings, and that shouldn't be overlooked.

Alan Embree on the hill, Ruben Sierra rolling it squirrely to Pokey Reese, Doug Mientkiewicz to take the throw. Thanks, guys.

My mom called a couple of minutes after the last out. She's never up at that hour.