CLEVELAND — The list of players who have crushed Yankee hearts in the postseason over the decades include legendary baseball names like Mazeroski, Podres, Beckett and Ortiz.
But 10 years ago, the villain was none other than Chironomidae, which is the scientific family name of one of the peskiest opponents ever to bedevil the Yankees. You may know them by their more familiar title: midges.
On Oct. 5, 2007, a swarm of the little bugs soared in over the stadium walls here, most likely taking flight from the nearby shores of Lake Erie. And they arrived just in time to create total havoc in the late innings of Game 2 of the first-round playoff series between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians, specifically by harassing Joba Chamberlain on the mound.