First Things First for the Yankees

NEW YORK —  What came first? It all came pouring out so fast from baseball’s best team Tuesday night--the emotion, the precision, the unmistakable message--it was hard to keep track.

What came first?

Was it Charisse Strawberry and her two children putting a collective lump in Bronx cheers by throwing out the first pitch in honor of her cancer-stricken husband?

Or was it the public-address announcer dissolving that lump by announcing Darryl Strawberry’s name during introductions, leading to a standing ovation loud enough to be heard in a certain corner hospital room down the street.

What came first?

Was it Bernie Williams breaking his 0-for-11 skid with a line drive single that was as smooth as he is?

Or was it Chuck Knoblauch breaking his one-for-11 skid with a single that awkwardly spun around like he does?

Or was it Derek Jeter’s single? Or Paul O’Neill’s single? Or Jorge Posada’s single? Or Scott Brosius’ single?

Or young Jaret Wright walking off the mound through a haze of howls and jeers?

The Cleveland Indians woke up at the start of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday to discover a giant going knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock at the door.

By the time the number 6 train had deposited the last of the crowd of 57,138, there were already so many hits, so many stories, and one thing understood by all.

That giant was, and will probably be for the rest of this chilly eastern autumn, the New York Yankees.

They beat the Indians so thoroughly in a 7-2 victory that felt like the start of a two-week inauguration party, you also wondered, what came last?

Was it the groundskeepers dropping their rakes during sections of the “YMCA” song to dance with the crowd--but always picking them up again without missing a dirt clod?

Or was it the fans in the left-field seats standing over the Indians’ David Justice and screaming, “Hal-le, Ber-ry, Hal-le, Ber-ry.”

Whatever, the final compelling sight of the night was that of starting pitcher David Wells throwing his glove into a bank of dugout phones.

All because, darn it, in the ninth inning, he gave up a two-run homer by Manny Ramirez to ruin his shutout.

These Yankees are playing so well--4-0 in the postseason, outscoring opponents, 16-3--that they are irked by anything short of perfection.

“You get so pumped up, you don’t know what to do,” Wells said later.

By putting together the best first inning in an ALCS game in history--five runs on six singles--the team with the most regular season wins in league history certainly seemed to know what to do.

They were facing a team that many feel cost them a chance to become a dynasty when the Indians stunned them in the division series last fall.

They were facing a pitcher who beat them twice in that division series, who then hit two of them since last spring, including breaking Luis Sojo’s wrist.

They knew the media and fans would build up enough of a pregame lather for revenge, so they said little.

“We just decided to go up there and be patient and see what happened,” said Tino Martinez.

What happened was that the fans rattled Wright’s head while the Yankee patience--already legendary this season--finished his arm.

He faced only eight hitters, yet threw 36 pitches, more than four per batter.

By the time Posada lined a single up the middle and Manager Mike Hargrove jogged to the mound to remove Wright, the stadium rocked with the roar of 10 subways.

“The message this sent to the fans was unbelievable,” Wells said. “They hold a grudge more than we hold a grudge.

“To see Jaret go out in the first inning. . . . I don’t know how to say it. . . . I won’t say it. . . . it was gratifying.”

Wright, still staring into space long afterward, would use a different choice of words.

“You don’t wish this on anybody,” he said.

Ah, but the Yankees didn’t wish it, they pounded it, and this morning the Indians are sitting in one of the biggest 1-0 holes in baseball history.

Yes, they have lost the first game of eight consecutive playoff series and still advanced to the World Series in two of the last three years.

But never against a team like this, a team whose mere batting order drove the Indians to distraction.

“I looked and saw Scott Brosius batting ninth and I thought, ‘This is a guy who would be hitting third or fourth for most teams!”’ said Chad Ogea, the Indian pitcher rushed into action when Wright faltered.

The first batter he faced was, yes, Brosius, who finished the season with 19 homers and 98 RBIs.

And Brosius immediately singled to drive in another run, the last of the first inning that decided the game.

“You’re definitely shocked,” Ogea said.

You shouldn’t be.

Next spring, when somebody asks when 1998’s greatest team began the first serious step of a great postseason run, anybody who witnessed Tuesday night will have the answer.

What came first?

This did.