Magic

The kids on Gerard Avenue uncapped a fire hydrant yesterday. It cooled a hot afternoon and the arriving Yankee Stadium crowd provided the cover needed to elude the police long enough for proper enjoyment.

There was a thick river flowing down 157th Street before lookouts signaled that the cops were moving in. Summer traditions never change because kids never change. That gives the neighborhood its magic.

Johnny Damon worked some magic a couple of hours later when he walked along the dugout steps and flipped a cup of water in the air. Cubans believe that will make it rain runs. I don’t know if Damon is aware of that, but Orlando Hernandez certainly is and it worked against him on Sunday night.

The word along Gerard Avenue is that the magic was turned on El Duque. He will always be a favorite in the Bronx and we wish him well since we won’t meet again until the World Series.

But all the stops will be pulled if we meet on a cool October night.