So Scott Proctor did was Scott Proctor does: give up runs in the late innings. The morning newspapers fell all over themselves trying to reconcile their "Scott Proctor stinks" sentiments with the news that Proctor pitched immediately following his month-old daughter's emergency heart surgery. Stories focused on Proctor's stiff upper lip performance, while highlighting the fact that he still blew the game in the 9th.
The truth is, it isn't Proctor's fault. Not entirely, at least. The Yankees' "Murderer's Row 2006" lineup left 10 men stranded over nine innings last night. On three separate occasions Johnny Damon made it to second with less than two outs, but was left hanging each time. Yankee bats were apparently exhausted from the previous night's scoring orgy, and stayed quiet. Had they been half as productive as on Opening Day, Proctor's performance would have been nothing more than a footnote in the box score.