Mariners steamrolled by the passion of New York City this time

Originally published October 24

Lou Piniella knew this was different. Knew it when he looked up in the stands, saw New York Yankees fans going nuts and felt compassion instead of contempt.

The Seattle skipper doesn't take losing well. But he took Monday's 12-3 series-ending whuppin' the only way a man can these days when the world suddenly seems bigger than the World Series.

"I felt good for them in that way," Piniella said. "I really did."

Sorry, Seattle, but you were used Monday as a foil for this much-needed New York party.

The Big Apple's psyche was badly bruised by the terrorism attacks on Sept. 11 and the healing process can only be aided by the World Series journey that begins now that Seattle has been dispatched.

You could feel the city's pent-up passion pouring out from the first pitch.

Yankees fans smelled blood in a sporting sense. On a day when several more bodies were carried out of Ground Zero and the subway system was shut down by several bomb and anthrax scares, who could blame them for venting their emotions in one permissible way?

Which in this case consisted of pummeling the M's with chants and cheers and rousing jeers that were rewarded at every turn by the Yankees' performance.

This series was as easy to read as Lou Piniella's lips when he's dropping f-bombs on an umpire.

Yankee fans were singing "Hey-ayy-ayy, good bye" by the sixth inning and chanting "We want Nelson, we want Nelson," hoping to get a crack at the former Yankee.

By the eighth, the chants were "Say-o-nara, Ich-i-ro," and "One-sixteen, one-sixteen," mocking Seattle's regular-season wins.

You started to get a feel for how fallen gladiators must have felt at the Roman Coliseum. This was a mismatch: Mariners vs. the world. The world won in a landslide.

"To hear the crowd like that is pretty impressive," acknowledged Jay Buhner, a former Yankee himself. "When every person in there is standing and chanting and waving their arms, let's just say it caught my attention."

Playing right field in front of the rowdy Bleacher Bums, Buhner caught plenty of well-organized insults. As a guy who respects a good jeer, he verbally tipped his cap to New Yorkers.

"They know how to add insult to injury," he said. "They throw fuel on the fire. That's why I love coming here. When you do well, you can stick it back in their eye. But they'll still tell you to (screw) off."

Yankees fans are terrific even in normal circumstances. So are Yankees teams. But there's no question this city and ballclub bonded even tighter in the wake of the attacks six weeks ago.

"This city needed something," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "I realize and the players realize that all of a sudden our responsibility was more than just to fans. It was to the City of New York, to represent them and bring a smile to their faces.

"I don't know if it will ever be the same," Torre said, "but so far, you know, we're working like hell to give them a little rest from the weariness they have experienced."

Nelson, the former Yankee, put the experience in perspective from the Mariner point of view.

Many Seattle players wore NYPD shirts under their uniforms and visited Ground Zero.

"After the events in New York, the fans need this positive reinforcement," Nelson said. "The fans have rallied around their team and the team has rallied around the fans."

It was the Yankees' series. It is the Yankees' season. They are America's team now.

Greg Johns can be reached by e-mail at gjohns@juno.com.

You could feel the city's pent-up emotion pouring out from the first pitch

GREG JOHNS TIME OUT

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