How to Ruin a Perfectly Good Friday Night

Friday wasn't a bad day. Everyone was relaxed at work, enjoying the fine weather. We all enjoyed a shared lunch and some drinks and the afternoon shot by. It was time to go home and get ready to nestle into the couch and watch some Rangers hockey and Yankees baseball.

If you had said before the evening started the Rangers would be up 1-0 over the Sabres with 7.7 seconds left, and the Yankees would be leading the Mariners 5-0 after the 1st inning, I'd be quite ecstatic and ready for a fun filled sports evening. But alas we're all too old for fairy tales.

While the Ranger's loss came quickly and painfully (a tying goal with 7.7 seconds left and a winning goal in the 1st overtime), the Yankee's would be a more slow, exhaustive process.

Yes, the Yankees did jump out to that 5-0 lead in the first, sending 10 men to the plate in batting around Cha Seung Baek. But it wasn't a good night for pitchers from the Pacific rim. Kei Igawa, fresh off his incredible 6 inning relief stint against the Red Sox, went back to being the Igawa we all love to hate (is there another Igawa?).

There was a Kenji Johjima solo HR in the 2nd. An Adrian Beltre 2-run blast in the 3rd. Hideki Matsui countered for the Yankees with a solo shot of his own in the home half of the 3rd. Still holding a 6-3 lead in the 4th, Igawa gave it all away with the long ball. Yuniesky Betancourt hit a solo shot and then Jose Lopez sent the 2-run game tying shot into the seats in left.

The Yankees would take the lead once more in the 4th on an A-Rod 2-run double, but the Yankees pitching stinks.

Igawa gave up a pair of hits to start the 5th, forcing Joe Torre to finally remove him. Torre went with Colter Bean, who has no business being in the major leagues. He promptly walked Richie Sexson and Jose Guillen to force in a run. Johjima followed with an RBI single and Betancourt doubled in 2 more. A 5-0 lead was no a 10-8 deficit, and for all intents and purposes, the Yankees were done. Luiz Vizcaino, who is looking more like garbage every day, gave up a pair of RBI singles, and Mike Myers allowed 1 more, as the M's built a 15-8 lead. Some credit does go to Myers, who is a My Pinstripes whipping boy, for going 4 innings and not further burning out the bullpen.

Johnny Damon gave the Yankees one last chance to get back in it with a 3-run HR in the 7th, but in a fitting move for the Yankees, re-injured his calf when he popped out in the 9th.

Friday night - 2 thumbs down...way down.