July 22, 1977 – Brewers 6, Yankees 3
- Sal Maiorana
- Jul 22, 2017
- 2 min read
NEW YORK – Billy Martin flat out admitted it: The loss to Milwaukee the night before sucked the life out of his team, and he felt it was still on their minds as they were being beaten again by the inferior Brewers.
Which, of course, can’t ever happen in Major League Baseball because of the daily grind that demands short memories. What happens the day before has no consequence once the final out is recorded. It’s done, you can’t change it, but the beauty of baseball is that there’s always tomorrow.
“That game last night,” Martin said of the nightcap to the doubleheader in which the Yankees blew a 4-0 ninth inning lead, “was the one we should have won. That shouldn’t hurt a team that has learned to play every day like these guys. When you’re professionals, you come back no matter what happened the day before.”
Except the Yankees didn’t. Milwaukee starter Mike Caldwell’s sinker was a big problem as New York managed only six hits and Mike Torrez simply wasn’t good enough to push the Yankees through. He was touched up for five runs on eight hits and three walks in 6.2 innings to lose his 10th game of the year.
It was only 2-0 in the seventh when one play in particular aggravated Martin. With runners on first and second and two out, Sal Bando hit a liner to center field and Mickey Rivers misread the catchable ball and it sailed over his head for a two-run double. A couple batters later, Von Joshua tagged Sparky Lyle for a two-run homer that made it 6-0. Ballgame.
“I’ll make some changes,” Martin said of his lineup for the series finale the next day. “I’ll have Paul Blair in center, Roy White in left, and Lou Piniella in right.”
Piniella, for one, had become noticeably frosty regarding the play of the team, but in sharing details of what Martin had said in the team meeting following the egregious loss to the Brewers, he seemed hopeful that perhaps Martin’s terse message would strike a chord.
“He said the Yankees are the defending American League champions, and we haven’t played nearly up to our capabilities,” Piniella recounted. “If we’re going to lose, let’s do it like champions. He said he was very, very proud of the Yankee uniform and he brought out the theme of let’s have more pride in ourselves, play like we’re capable of playing. If we can’t win, at least lets give it our best shot.”
Piniella said he ruminated about that overnight, and decided Martin was right. The team had lost nine of its last 12, and it was time to buck up and save the season. “I’m not naming individuals or blaming the manager,” Piniella said. “He only puts the players out there. They’ve got to put pride in themselves. But deplorable things have happened this year - a lack of hustle, attitude, effort. If it goes on, we can’t win a pennant.”
Comments