How do you say “Who’s Your Daddy?” in Japanese?
Hideki Matsui spanked Pedro Martinez last night in the Yankees’ 7-3 Game 6 victory that ended the World Series and the Phillies’ hopes of repeating as champs.
The 38-year old Phillies pitcher couldn’t duplicate his magnificent Game 2 performance thanks in large part to Matsui, the World Series MVP, who had four of his six RBIs against Martinez.
Martinez left the Phillies clubhouse before it was open to the media. Several reporters, as well as an intoxicated Yankees fan, tracked him down in a hallway underneath Yankee Stadium.
“I didn’t get the performance I wanted and we ended up losing the game,” Martinez said. “I’m extremely proud and I had fun. I enjoyed it and I don’t regret anything.”
The “Who’s Your Daddy?” chants started as soon as Martinez took the mound and fans throughout the stands held up posters from yesterday’s Post with Martinez in diapers.
Martinez lasted four innings, and it was surprising Phillies manager Charlie Manuel left the right-hander in that long.
After cruising through the first inning, Martinez led off the second by walking Alex Rodriguez. Matsui then had the at-bat of the night. He fouled off three pitches in an eight-pitch at-bat that ended when he deposited an 89-mph fastball into the right-field seats to make it 2-0.
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The Yankees got to Martinez in the third when Derek Jeter hit a one-out single to center and Johnny Damon walked. Martinez then hit Mark Teixeira in the right leg with a pitch to load the bases.
Manuel had lefty J.A. Happ warming up in the bullpen, but stuck with Martinez, who struck out Rodriguez on a questionable third strike. Nearly everyone expected Happ to come in to face Matsui, lefty to lefty, but Manuel stayed with Martinez.
Matsui hit another Martinez pitch into center field, scoring Jeter and Damon to make it 4-1 and send the crowd into a frenzy.
“It’s over with,” Martinez said of Matsui. “He got me and that’s it.”
Martinez stayed in for one more inning before being replaced by Chad Durbin. Martinez finished the game, possibly his last at Yankee Stadium, with a line of three hits and four runs in four innings, with two walks and five strikeouts.
If Matsui had not been in the lineup, Martinez likely would not have had a bad night. Matsui accounted for all four runs and two of the three hits.
Now Martinez walks into an uncertain winter as a free agent. No team wanted to give him a chance to be a starter this season and he remained unemployed until the Phillies signed him in July.
“So far I’m coming back,” Martinez said.
Martinez complained of an illness after Game 2 and said he still had some trouble last night.
“I had a hard time breathing out there with the weather and the chest pain, but that’s not an excuse,” he said. “They got me.”