If the NYT really cared about baseball ...

... a recent report on the New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game would have read like this:

Fans came trickling into Yankee Stadium amid fears that their hometown team would implode. Only 55,246 fans attended the game.

Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina was in trouble early as Covelli "Coco" Crisp opened the game with a double for the Sox of Red.

The higher paid Yankees were futile as they tried to deal with the insurgent Crisp. Their battle plan was wrong, and coaches in the field admitted as much off the record. Although the next three batters each struck out, Mussina was a tired, overpaid pitcher, ill-equipped to deal with the flexibility of the speedy Crisp.
...
Yankee batters lacked the proper body armor to face Boston pitchers as Jorge Posada would discover when he was hit with a pitch later, in the bottom of the third. It was a near-fatal blow that the trainer admitted could have been deadly if the pitch had been thrown faster and at his temple, and he had his helmet off.
...
The Yankees tried to rally as Posada and Robinson Canó somehow managed to get on base. But Andy Phillips ended the rally with a three-run homer.

Sure, Bernie Williams, Miguel Cairo and Damon each singled to continue the inning. But Melky Cabrera grounded into a fielder's choice. Again. Just like he did in the first inning. That made Jason Giambi's home run a three-run blast instead of a grand slam.

Experts agreed that even with an 8-2 lead, there was no way the Yankees could ever win this battle.

Read the complete Don Surber-penned report, as only the NYT would've played it, if they gave a damn about baseball which, fortunately for the rest of us, they do not.

HT: The Anchoress.