A Yankee Stadium crowd on the verge of celebrating Bryan Mitchell's escape from a second-inning jam was thrust into an eerie silence Monday night when the rookie pitcher took a line drive off his head and was led from the field, a bloody towel pressed against his face.
It made much of what followed an afterthought.
The initial news regarding Mitchell appeared to be positive. The Yankees announced that the 24-year-old righthander, who was evaluated and released from New York-Presbyterian Hospital, had suffered a "small nasal fracture.'' He was to be monitored over the next 24 hours for concussion symptoms.