So quiet, you can hear a pen pop ...

"Remember when Brian Anderson said these fans only clap when they're told to?" ESPN.com's Jim Caple asks Jayson Stark and me in the bottom of the 7th. "It's so quiet, you can hear them pop the gloves in the bullpen." We tilt our heads towards the guys warming up below us in the right-field: Thumpf. Thumpf. Thumpf.

"When it's 9-1, they do pretty well," says Stark. "But their team's up 1-0 in the seventh, and Johnson's still on the mound? They don't know they can cheer for that."

On cue, Matt Williams smacks a 412-foot homer. Suddenly, we're deaf.

Must be Grand Canyon country, 'cause there's an echo in here ...

Down 0-2:
Heads down and stony-faced, the Yanks rush to escape. David Justice grabs his Louis Vuitton travel bag. El Duque disappears in a cloud of cologne. Engulfed in the quiet, a blank-faced Andy Pettitte says, "I felt great, but Randy dominated, that's the bottom line. We're not going to worry. We'll take it one game at a time."

Up 2-0:
HR hero Matt Williams hides behind a big, black leather recliner in front of his locker. Mark Grace says he can't wait to get to Yankee Stadium. And an earnest Luis Gonzalez says, "On Tuesday, they've got another great pitcher in Clemens. It doesn't get any easier for us, so we're taking it one game at a time."

Piece of cake ...

Hanging on the D-backs clubhouse wall, opposite Curt Schilling's locker:

Dear Diamondbacks,
Good luck in the World Series. You are good players. Get the Yankees out. We hope you get a lot of home runs. Get the bases loaded. Bat good in the World Series and you will win!
Your friends, Mrs. Ketchum's 1st graders -- and classmates of Greg Swindell's daughter, Brenna.

By the way, Brenna turned seven on Saturday. Yanks out? Home runs? Bat good? Happy birthday, indeed.

E-mail Anne Marie Cruz at anne.marie.cruz@espnmag.com.