Little Things

Everyone is talking about the big 7th inning.

“A-Rod is really something,” said Al from Washington Heights. “I was worried when he had to go for more tests on his ankle, but I guess he’s okay.”

Alex Rodriguez tied the game with a solo home run to start the 7th and put it away with a two-run shot later in the inning.

“It’s an honor to watch him,” Al continued. “He is, absolutely, the greatest player ever.”

The greatest player praised the little things. “The team did a lot of good things to keep us in the game,” Rodriguez explained. “With the way (Jarrod) Washburn was pitching we needed to keep it close.”

It started with the first ground ball that Robinson Cano barehanded to get Ichiro Suzuki. Then there was Jose Molina’s amazing throw to nail Ichiro trying to steal in the 3rd and Shelley Duncan digging a ball out of the rightfield corner to catch Raul Ibanez trying to stretch a single in the 6th.

And, of course, there was Phil Hughes’ great start and his big strikeout of Jose Lopez with one out and a runner on third in the 4th.

“The little things made a big difference,” Al said, “but I still loved the 7th.”