Last night, the circus — I mean, Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees — came into town, and the scene at Camden Yards was nothing short of a spectacle. In the end, the Yankees downed the Orioles, 4-0, and probably one of the most compelling athletes of all time — Alex Rodriguez — made a triumphant comeback and C.C. Sabathia had a banner outing on the mound.
Basically, the Orioles had no chance in this game — except for Sabathia putting on two runners in the ninth — as the big, portly lefty got his first shutout of the year and tossed a complete game, only allowing four hits and striking out eight.
The spotlight along with the eyes of the collective sporting and media world were on the beleaguered Alex Rodriguez.
Combined with all the pressure on him with the Yankees’ poor start along with the drug allegations levied against him, everyone in the park was waiting to see how he would react. Fans were either in support of him — mostly from the Yankees side — or showed their disapproval with signs and some creative props including Styrofoam syringes, and a creative display that two fans held right behind where I was sitting.
Well, the man showed why he’s one of the best players in history — drugs or no drugs — as he hit a three run homer off Jeremy Guthrie — Baltimore’s starter — in the first inning and pitch he saw during his first at-bat for the 2009 season. Guthrie had walked Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon to start things off, and when Rodriguez came to the plate, it was a mixure of cheers (from the Yankee fans) and vicious booing when he got into the box. In one of the most surreal sports scenes I have seen on TV or in person, the sound that came off of Alex’s at bat when he struck Guthrie’s offering, you knew it was gone.
Honestly, I did not think he would homer, and most of the people around me were absolutely stunned at what Rodriguez did. When he trotted around the plate, fans both cheered and booed; however, no one can doubt that Rodriguez sure knows how to stage a dramatic moment.
Guthrie took the loss as he gave up three runs in six innings, but didn’t give up a run after the first inning and would settle down. Bob McCrory also yielded a run in his two innings of work, as Johnny Damon hit an RBI double.
- The big news of the day was that the Orioles once again conducted a trade with the Cubs — oh, how shocking! Freel — who has been disgruntled and unhappy during his tenure in Baltimore — was traded to the Cubs for speedy Joey Gathright. Sorry to see that Freel didn’t work out in Baltimore as he was supposed to be a character guy who added hustle and professionalism to the team; however, for one reason or another, he never got it together at the plate as well got playing time. Hopefully, the move to back to National League and with the Cubs goes well for him. Well, my opinion of Gathright — a speedy guy, great athlete, but doesn’t make real good contact — gives the a team another young guy in the stable. He’s nothing more than a fourth outfielder on this team right now.
- In other news, the career of Dennis Sarfate could be in severe jeopardy. According to various reports, he will be out six weeks; therefore, he was immediately put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday after complaining of numbness in the finger. He was given an angiogram Friday morning to determine the extent of the injury, but he should be out for a good, long while. The recent news is a tough break for the Orioles and especially Sarfate, who is nothing but a great guy.
