[jg2977]

[WFAN theme hits — it’s Mike and the Mad Dog, Sunday night postgame, the mics are hot and both guys are fired up.]
MIKE:
Alright, right now, Chris, lemme tell ya somethin’. The Yankees had this game won. They were down early, they fought back — six runs in the fourth — you think they’re gonna cruise, right? You’re up 9-6 late, the crowd’s rockin’, Yankee Stadium’s buzzin’, and then… the bullpen implodes.
CHRIS (Mad Dog):
OH MY GAWD, MIKEY, IT WAS A DISASTER! AN ABSOLUTE DISASTER! You CANNOT — I repeat, CANNOT — blow a 9-6 lead at home in October! You cannot do it! You got thirty thousand people screamin’, you got the Astros on the ropes, and you hand it right back to ‘em!
MIKE:
Twelve to ten, final. Astros steal Game 1. It’s the same story, Dog — the same story we’ve seen with this team. They mash, they rake, sixteen hits, ten runs — and the pitching just cannot get a stop.
CHRIS:
The pitching, Mike, was atrocious. Jenkins? He’s throwin’ batting practice! Every pitch is middle-middle! Three innings, seven hits, six runs — I mean, you can’t win postseason games with that! You just can’t!
MIKE:
And what about Schoeppen? Two innings, three runs, gives up the game-losing homer to Josh Curtis — a moonshot! That ball’s still goin’, Chris.
CHRIS:
CURTIS! The guy’s been hittin’ .290 all year, not exactly Babe Ruth, and he crushes one into the Bronx night to make it 12-10! You could hear that crowd go silent. DEAD SILENT!
MIKE:
Meanwhile, Houston — give ‘em credit. Cory LeMond, three-for-five, two doubles, three RBIs. Van Cleve, big doubles. Castaneda, Seeley, Collie — everybody’s hittin’. Joe Ellis has that lineup rolling.
CHRIS:
They don’t quit, Mike! They just don’t! That’s what makes ‘em scary. They’re down 10–8, you think they’re finished, and then BAM — three in the seventh, three more in the eighth, just like that, ballgame.
MIKE:
And I’ll tell ya somethin’ — the Yankees offense, it was there. Kim, Lord, Centeno, Rawlings — everybody’s hittin’. You put up ten runs, you expect to win!
CHRIS:
EXACTLY! You put up ten runs at home in the postseason, that’s supposed to be a W! You cannot waste those nights! This one’s gonna sting, Mike. This one’s gonna sting.
MIKE:
Now they gotta turn it around tomorrow, Dog. Game Two, right back at the Stadium. You lose that one, you’re down 0–2 headin’ to Houston, and good luck with that crowd.
CHRIS:
Good luck is right! Those fans down there, Mike, they’re savages! You don’t wanna go into that bandbox down a couple games, no way.
MIKE:
So here it is, Chris — the Yankees better come out swingin’ and pitchin’ tomorrow. You can’t rely on the offense to bail you out every night.
CHRIS:
And hey, maybe — MAYBE — Boone learns you can’t run a bullpen like it’s a tryout camp! Go with your best arms! Stop mixin’ and matchin’ every inning!
MIKE:
Amen. Astros 12, Yankees 10. Houston up 1–0 in the series. Game Two tomorrow, same place, same time — and maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a little Yankee pride.
CHRIS:
Oh, they better show it, Mike! They better show it! Or this series is over.
MIKE:
Alright, we’ll take a break. We’ll get your calls comin’ up — Yankees fans, what’s your confidence level after this one? 877-337-6666 — Mets fans, don’t even start.
CHRIS:
(laughing) OH THEY’RE GONNA CALL, MIKEY! THEY’RE GONNA CALL!
[Theme music swells as the show cuts to commercial.]