Vernon douses Shea's bridge-burnin'
| 10
|
by user Neatesager
If Blue Jays center-fielder Vernon Wells was upset about the Jays dumping his buddy Shea Hillenbrand, he chose a very good way to channel his anger, crushing a Mariano Rivera pitch in the 11th inning last night for a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees in what must rank as the most biggest Toronto win since ... by gar, it's been a while.
This had a little bit of everything -- Mike Mussina falling apart, A-Rod making an error that opened the door to a big Jays rally and the Jays bullpen ultimately keeping them in the game after the damn Yankees tying the game late off B.J. Ryan. The Jays showed a lot of fight, and fortunately for most of the 42,000 on hand, it didn't involve the manager fighting one of his (ex) players.
In the end though, Wells did what he's supposed to do: made the game all about himself.
Yours truly has written previously about V-Dub needing to be a leader, both in action and deed, and he seemed to have come through on that count big-time last night. (Wells also had a hit during a four-run Jays rally in the sixth inning before delivering against the future Hall of Famer Rivera in the 11th.) Some cynics might remark that he can save the casual approach for 2008 when he signs with the Texas Rangers as a free agent and finds out what it's like to play for a team where no one cares, but let's leave for a little later.
It's a little hard to outdo this week for the Jays, what with the Hillenbrand firestorm, three extra-inning victories and the normally reliable bullpen blowing five straight save opportunities. Oh, and there's still three more games against the Evil Empire to be played? You don't say.
(For more articles like this one, click on Out of Left Field, especially if you're Canadian.)
Date
Thu 07/20/06, 10:56 pm EST
