Phil Hughes, showing maturity beyond his years, really showed how a pitcher should react after one of his fielders commits an error that puts him in a jam. After Derek Jeter botched a potential double-play ball, Hughes calmly struck out the next batter before Mariano Rivera came in to get the final out of the inning. He didn't engage any histronics on the mound. As Hughes said after the game, 99.9% of the time Jeter makes that play. I hope the Angels' John Lackey was taking notes so he can avoid embarassing his teammates the next time out. Someone should send a tape of the game to Cole Hamels, in case he wasn't watching.
Robinson Cano also had a rough game defensively, missing an easy out in one inning and booting a potential double-play grounder later in the game. It seems he was most affected by the elements as he was the only Yankee fielder with the full protective headgear. Convinced that wearing the headgear was the reason for the miscues, the Yankee fans in my section were begging him to take it off by the end of the night. He didn't, but hopefully he won't have these same problems playing in the more pleasant California climate.
Mark Teixeira is the human Gumby. I'm constantly amazed by his ability to stretch and split to reach balls from his infielders, keeping his foot on the base long enough to get the out. He made a nice stretch into foul territory to get an out from a ball thrown by Jose Molina. Great defense that was much appreciated by AJ Burnett.
It was great to see Jerry Hairston Jr. get a well-deserved pie in the face after scoring the winning run last night. Hairston came off the bench on a cold night and got the rally started with a leadoff hit. He has been such a great addition for the Yankees and he reminds me of the old-school role players that were so integral to key victories during the Yankees dynasty. Hope the Yankees do everything they can to keep him.
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