They say the world is going to end today, and by "they", I mean crazy people.
Fifteen years ago, Dave Mlicki shut down the Bombers at home in the first Subway Series game and it felt like the world was ending for Yankees fans. On Friday night, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey did the same thing, but the feeling was a lot less apocalyptic.
Perhaps that's because Yankees fans are starting to get used to the script of the 2011 season. Good starting pitching efforts wasted by an offense that can't get a hit when it matters.
The Yankees lead the league in runs scored, but a propensity to fail with runners in scoring position continues to haunt the club. It went just 1-for-10 in such situations on Friday, getting beat by a misfit Mets roster as a result.
The New York Times focused on the makeshift lineup used by the Mets, who fielded several players that were in Triple-A a month ago. The Yankees had eight All-Stars in the lineup, though it didn't feel like it.
"On paper we don’t look the same as the Yankees look," said Carlos Beltran. "But it’s not about how you look. It’s about how you take the field and win ball games."
Marc Carig notes that while the Yankees lead the league in runs and on-base percentage, they are just ninth in hits. This helps to explain the RISP woes.
After the game, the Yankees gave much of the credit to Dickey, according to LoHud. Nick Swisher described trying to hit Dickey's knuckler like trying to eat soup with a fork.
"That knuckleball was going everywhere, throwing it inside, throwing it outside, up and down," said Mark Teixeira, who plated the only Yankee run with a solo homer just over Carlos Beltran's glove in right field.
Jeff Bradley wrote about that Mlicki game in 1997, saying the Subway Series no longer has much shine.
Marc Carig writes that Yankees reliever Pedro Feliciano has turned to plasma therapy in his attempt to recover from the shoulder issues that have kept him sidelined this season. "Everything’s good," Feliciano said. "It’s just getting strong again."
Ebenezer Samuel — who I can only imagine is 178 years old — writes about the possibility of Beltran switching sides of this rivalry by the trade deadline.
All is well for the Red Sox, who passed the Yankees in the standings with their latest win. PeteAbe has the story here.
Some good news: A-Rod opted to skip a routine examination of his surgically-repaired hip, according to yankees.com. The third baseman said he feels no discomfort, making it unnecessary. I suppose every slump A-Rod goes into for the rest of his career will lead to questions about the hip.
Within that same notebook we learn Chris Dickerson is hoping to stay off the seven-day DL after getting beaned earlier this week.
In case you missed this from Friday, John Sterling spoke with the Wall Street Journal about his future. The radio play-by-play man's contract is up at the end of the season.
Until next time, hang onto the roof ...
Dan Hanzus can be reached at dhanzus@gmail or on Twitter @danhanzus.
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