(…but so has Darryl Strawberry, and I’m not voting for him, either)

Behind 8 strong innings from Andy Pettitte (9 K’s, 1 earned run, no walks), the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of Oakland with this afternoon’s 2-1 win at Yankee Stadium. Among the 54,386 in attendance, writes the New York Times’ Larry “Sit On My Face, Steve Nix” Rother, were Senator John McCain and beloved Yankee mascot, Rudolph Guiliani.  Link swiped from Repoz and Baseball Think Factory.

Before the game on Sunday, Mr. McCain, with Mr. Giuliani in tow, chatted on the field with Joe Girardi, manager of the Yankees, and Bob Geren, manager of the A™s. He also toured Monument Park, where plaques honor Yankee greats beyond the center field wall. When the game began, he and Mr. Giuliani settled into a front-row box seat right next to the Yankees™ dugout, munching on hot dogs.

On the field, Mr. Geren asked Mr. McCain about the experience of running for president. œIt™s like being in Double A and all of a sudden you™re playing in Yankee Stadium, Mr. McCain replied.

Otherwise, Mr. McCain avoided any comments related to politics. But Mr. Giuliani, whose name sometimes comes up in speculation about who Mr. McCain will choose as his running mate, drew heavily from Mr. McCain™s talking point in criticizing what he called the lack of experience of Senator Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, who is traveling abroad at the moment, in Afghanistan, and is expected to go from there to Iraq, Israel and Western Europe.

œI think the fact that Barack Obama is kind of making his first tour, in essence, of the world, gives you an indication that John McCain is the man with the experience, Mr. Giuliani said. œJohn doesn™t have to go for the first or second time to these places. He™s been going for 20, 30 years. He knows the world. He understands the world.”

At Sunday™s game, Mr. McCain kept his rooting interests under wrap. He did wear a baseball cap, but it was emblazoned with the word œNavy instead of the logo of a baseball team, and he applauded solid plays in the field, regardless of who made them.

Given Yankee Stadium’s status as a publicly owned facility — and presumably, MLB doesn’t look favorably upon political endorsements by its individual franchises, can we look forward to an Barack Obama trip to River Ave. before the ballpark is razed?