It's funny how I took 7 months off and then post twice in one day. However tonight required me to make a post. The Yankees won 9-1, YAY!, but the bigger story is still in the almost perfect game for Armando Gallaraga. Gallaraga deserved to have a perfect game but got robbed because Jim Joyce made a terrible call. The final out in the inning was called safe when the runner was clearly out. Perviously in the inning Austin Jackson made a terrific catch that was eerily reminiscent of Wise's catch last year in the 9th to save Mark B's perfect game. Jackson ran down a ball in dead center field and then Gallaraga got a ground ball to Santiago to get the 2nd out. With one out to go he induced a groundball to Miguel Cabrera off the bat of Duncan. Armando ran over and covered and the play was bang bang but called safer despite replay's showing it was clearly out. What a frustrating situation for the young right hander. It's hard to see such a terrible situation happen, what should have been the 21st perfect game and a big accomplishment for the guy instead becomes just a nice complete game shut out. It frustrates me to talk about this more so we will move on to the Yankees.
The Yankees won 9-1 tonight. The game was won by Phil Hughes and some phenomenal offensive statistics. Cano was 3-4 and had a homer, Granderson was 3-4 and was robbed on his only out. Arod was good, Swisher was better, and Posada looked good in his return (especially running down the line). Altogether things were good in Yankee land tonight. Gaudin came in to finish the game pitching te 8th and 9th after Hughes pitched a great 7 innings of 1 run ball, 6 hits, and 8 Ks. It was good to see the Yankees preying on the bottom feeders and not taking any pity. It was also nice to see the Yankees score early and get Bergessen out of the game before he could finish the 3rd inning.
Tomorrow they look to sweep the series and will look to CC to get back on track after his recent struggles. Game is 1:05 at the stadium.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Its Been A While
Well after a 7 month hiatus from the blogging world, I'm back. Now that school is out of the way it's time to again start writing about the Yankees. So let's get right back into the action,
52 game assessment of the Yankees
Starting Pitching- The Yankees might have the best rotation in baseball. Javier Vazquez (funny I'm beginning with him) is finally coming around and might finally make Yankee fans happy after his second stint in pinstripes. Phil Hughes has been sensational and will hope to continue his awesome play tonight vs. the Orioles. Andy Pettitte is having the best start to his career and that is saying quite a lot as he has 236 wins with the Yankees, tied with Whitey Ford for the most as a Yankee. AJ Burnett has been pretty good despite a few rough outings. His last two starts were great and showing signs of his dominance when his control is right. When he doesn't walk batters and hits his spots, he has top 5 stuff in all of baseball. CC Sabathia started the year on fire and has cooled off of late, but he is a horse and loves warm weather and I have no doubts his era will be in the mid 3's when the season ends. Overall the numbers on the starters look like so:
That covers all of the health issues, now to the rest of the batters. Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano have been unbelievable, both All-Star worthy and having their best seasons in the majors. Derek Jeter is having a typical Derek Jeter year, with a slightly lower avg and obp but more power than in previous years. Alex rodriguez is just beginning to hit his stride after driving in 6 runs the other day, he is now quietly 5th in the league in RBIs with 41 and is batting .293. The homers are down (7), but his production is not and he continues to heat up with the weather. Mark Texeiria had an abysmal April which is to be expected, but then followed that up with an eh May. Now Mark looks to finally break out and bring his numbers to where we expect them to be despite a leg bruise that cost him the 2nd half of last night's game. Brett Gardner has done a great job proving to the Yankees and the world that he is capable of being an everyday starter. His average is high, his stolen bases rank top 5 in the league, his defense has been stellar, and he adds another dimension to the Yankees offense that isn't just station to station anymore.
Overall assessment of the offense is that it has been good but not great. We have to do a better job of getting runners in from 3rd with 1 out or less. We need to find ways to score runs earlier in games and stop waiting for the opposing team's bullpen to score runs. If that is the case though, we need to work pitch counts and see to it that we face their relievers in the 6th not the 8th. We need to see more from Tex and Granderson, we need A-rod to get hot, Cano to stay hot, and a healthy Posada for the year.
Bullpen- This is where the enormous problem in the team lies. Other than Mariano Rivera there is no one reliable in the entire pen. Robertson has struggled mightily. Marte has been inconsistent. Aceves has gotten hurt and will be out for a while. Chan Ho Park got hurt and has been piss poor even when healthy. Joba has at times shown flashes of his 2007 self, dialing up 97 and an incredible slider to match it. Unfortunately he has been really hittable at other times and his era is 5, way too high. If this team wants to go the distance, the middle relief has to do a better job of taking the baseball from our starters and getting the ball to MO.
Given the team's enormous injuries, the glaring issues at middle relief, the early struggles for Vazquez and current struggles for CC, the team is very pleased to be 32-20 at this point. They have played a lot of road games and played a lot of good teams and have done very well against every team except for maybe the rays (2-3 overall). The Yankees maintain their status as a contender and with the 2nd best record in baseball, the future is bright in Yankee Land.
Tonight Hughes takes the mound against Bergessen at 7:05 in Yankee Stasium as the Yankees look to take the series against the Orioles.
52 game assessment of the Yankees
Starting Pitching- The Yankees might have the best rotation in baseball. Javier Vazquez (funny I'm beginning with him) is finally coming around and might finally make Yankee fans happy after his second stint in pinstripes. Phil Hughes has been sensational and will hope to continue his awesome play tonight vs. the Orioles. Andy Pettitte is having the best start to his career and that is saying quite a lot as he has 236 wins with the Yankees, tied with Whitey Ford for the most as a Yankee. AJ Burnett has been pretty good despite a few rough outings. His last two starts were great and showing signs of his dominance when his control is right. When he doesn't walk batters and hits his spots, he has top 5 stuff in all of baseball. CC Sabathia started the year on fire and has cooled off of late, but he is a horse and loves warm weather and I have no doubts his era will be in the mid 3's when the season ends. Overall the numbers on the starters look like so:
- AJ Burnett- 6-2 3.28 ERA 71.1 IP 53 Ks
- Phil Hughes- 6-1 2.70 ERA 56.2 IP 57 Ks
- Andy Pettitte- 7-1 2.48 ERA 65.1 IP 41 Ks
- CC Sabathia- 4-3 4.16 ERA 71.1 IP 54 Ks
- Javy Vazquez- 4-5 6.06 ERA 49.0 IP 43 Ks
That covers all of the health issues, now to the rest of the batters. Nick Swisher and Robinson Cano have been unbelievable, both All-Star worthy and having their best seasons in the majors. Derek Jeter is having a typical Derek Jeter year, with a slightly lower avg and obp but more power than in previous years. Alex rodriguez is just beginning to hit his stride after driving in 6 runs the other day, he is now quietly 5th in the league in RBIs with 41 and is batting .293. The homers are down (7), but his production is not and he continues to heat up with the weather. Mark Texeiria had an abysmal April which is to be expected, but then followed that up with an eh May. Now Mark looks to finally break out and bring his numbers to where we expect them to be despite a leg bruise that cost him the 2nd half of last night's game. Brett Gardner has done a great job proving to the Yankees and the world that he is capable of being an everyday starter. His average is high, his stolen bases rank top 5 in the league, his defense has been stellar, and he adds another dimension to the Yankees offense that isn't just station to station anymore.
Overall assessment of the offense is that it has been good but not great. We have to do a better job of getting runners in from 3rd with 1 out or less. We need to find ways to score runs earlier in games and stop waiting for the opposing team's bullpen to score runs. If that is the case though, we need to work pitch counts and see to it that we face their relievers in the 6th not the 8th. We need to see more from Tex and Granderson, we need A-rod to get hot, Cano to stay hot, and a healthy Posada for the year.
Bullpen- This is where the enormous problem in the team lies. Other than Mariano Rivera there is no one reliable in the entire pen. Robertson has struggled mightily. Marte has been inconsistent. Aceves has gotten hurt and will be out for a while. Chan Ho Park got hurt and has been piss poor even when healthy. Joba has at times shown flashes of his 2007 self, dialing up 97 and an incredible slider to match it. Unfortunately he has been really hittable at other times and his era is 5, way too high. If this team wants to go the distance, the middle relief has to do a better job of taking the baseball from our starters and getting the ball to MO.
Given the team's enormous injuries, the glaring issues at middle relief, the early struggles for Vazquez and current struggles for CC, the team is very pleased to be 32-20 at this point. They have played a lot of road games and played a lot of good teams and have done very well against every team except for maybe the rays (2-3 overall). The Yankees maintain their status as a contender and with the 2nd best record in baseball, the future is bright in Yankee Land.
Tonight Hughes takes the mound against Bergessen at 7:05 in Yankee Stasium as the Yankees look to take the series against the Orioles.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
WOW what a game, Best Ever?
Last night was one of the great games in Yankee playoff history. I thought about what to write about and I realized I was too happy and too emotional last night to clearly state the big parts of the game. Right now I'm a little more level headed but still I can't put into words the greatness and how much just happened in that game. For 9 innings we had a great game filled with lots of interesting developments. We had AJ Burnett throwing a very AJ Burnett game. He dominated the first 4 innings but then hid the skids in the 5th after hitting a batter and walking batters. A few wild pitches thrown into the mix and he had blown the 2-0 lead. He managed to settle in the 6th and ended with a pretty solid performance. For the Angels, Saunders looked a bit shaky in the early going. Cano had a 2 out RBI triple and Jeter had a solo shot to give the Yankees a quick 2-0 lead. Saunders found his stride for the second straight game against the Yankees and managed 7 strong innings with only 2 runs.
The funny thing was this game was supposed to be sloppy weather wise, but instead it was sloppy in terms of performance. Both teams were making errors left and right. Both teams failed to score with men in scoring position. There were wild pitches, hbp, meetings on the mound, and countless pitchers used. The game dragged on, Extra innings. Then the rain began. Then the game got intense. Alfredo Aceves was the first Yankee reliever to have any trouble. Previously JOba, Coke, Hughes, and Rivera had all done a great job of keeping the Angels at 2 following AJ's start. Aceves gave up a run on a Chone Figgins double, his first hit of the postseason. It looked like curtains for the Yankees who had failed to score in 8 innings. But the Yankees love the spotlight and love the comebacks. Arod led off and in typical A-rod of 09 fashion, came through in a tight spot. On an 0-2 pitch from closer Brian Fuentes, he nailed a fastball the opposite way just over the right field wall for a game tying solo HR. Just when you thought the Angels had taken this marathon game, the Yankees clawed back. Just when you thought at 12:15 you could go to bed, think again. Just when you thought Arod had done enough in the clutch to overcome his previous postseasons, he comes through AGAIN in a big way. He really has put all his problems behind him and is putting the team on his back.
Well the game continued and it was sloppy with the weather as the rain picked up. Innings continued to be played and people were wondering if it was going to ever end. Who would the Yankees pitch? Who was left? Who was going to be the hero, who wanted the pie? Well in the 13th inning after Dave Robertson avoided 2 threatening Angels innings, Jerry Hairston pinch hit for Freddy Guzman. I was wondering why he didn't previously pinch hit but all the same glad he got to hit last night. He came up and smoke a single. Garnder bunted him over to second. Cano was intentioanlly walked. And with 1 out and first and second, Melky Cabrera came up. He hit a sharp grounder to Izturis. Izturis had one play and that was Melky at first, but he tried to make too much and get the force at second trying for a double play. Instead he through it wide of Aybar and Hairston was allowed to score. A fortunate 2nd error and 3rd mental error for the Angels, a team that never allows mistakes made a big one.
Lot of notes on this game. First the play on Aybar earlier in the game, he was called for not stepping on second on a routine double play. Fortunately it did not cost them the game or their would be lots of problems with the call, but I saw that one with the naked eye and called it before the umpire did. I know it's the neighborhood play and nobody calls that, but you gotta touch the base. He never did and that's the rule. The fact that the announcers were saying it was BS for the angels was beyond me. How? THat's baseball. I know it isn't called often but just because it's the ALCS doesn't mean you are exempt from touching 2nd on a double play. Sorry Aybar complain all you want but on replay you never touched. Go back to basics and learn how to do it right.
Jeter also got called out on a double play hit right to Saunders when the replay showed he clearly beat the throw. Not complaining just saying anyone who thought the umps were siding with the Yankees last night, wrong.
21 players were used for the Yankees, only Pettitte, CC, Gaudin, and Cervelli were not. MOst all time in BAseball playoff history. Lets see what Monday brings for game 3 in warm Anaheim.
The funny thing was this game was supposed to be sloppy weather wise, but instead it was sloppy in terms of performance. Both teams were making errors left and right. Both teams failed to score with men in scoring position. There were wild pitches, hbp, meetings on the mound, and countless pitchers used. The game dragged on, Extra innings. Then the rain began. Then the game got intense. Alfredo Aceves was the first Yankee reliever to have any trouble. Previously JOba, Coke, Hughes, and Rivera had all done a great job of keeping the Angels at 2 following AJ's start. Aceves gave up a run on a Chone Figgins double, his first hit of the postseason. It looked like curtains for the Yankees who had failed to score in 8 innings. But the Yankees love the spotlight and love the comebacks. Arod led off and in typical A-rod of 09 fashion, came through in a tight spot. On an 0-2 pitch from closer Brian Fuentes, he nailed a fastball the opposite way just over the right field wall for a game tying solo HR. Just when you thought the Angels had taken this marathon game, the Yankees clawed back. Just when you thought at 12:15 you could go to bed, think again. Just when you thought Arod had done enough in the clutch to overcome his previous postseasons, he comes through AGAIN in a big way. He really has put all his problems behind him and is putting the team on his back.
Well the game continued and it was sloppy with the weather as the rain picked up. Innings continued to be played and people were wondering if it was going to ever end. Who would the Yankees pitch? Who was left? Who was going to be the hero, who wanted the pie? Well in the 13th inning after Dave Robertson avoided 2 threatening Angels innings, Jerry Hairston pinch hit for Freddy Guzman. I was wondering why he didn't previously pinch hit but all the same glad he got to hit last night. He came up and smoke a single. Garnder bunted him over to second. Cano was intentioanlly walked. And with 1 out and first and second, Melky Cabrera came up. He hit a sharp grounder to Izturis. Izturis had one play and that was Melky at first, but he tried to make too much and get the force at second trying for a double play. Instead he through it wide of Aybar and Hairston was allowed to score. A fortunate 2nd error and 3rd mental error for the Angels, a team that never allows mistakes made a big one.
Lot of notes on this game. First the play on Aybar earlier in the game, he was called for not stepping on second on a routine double play. Fortunately it did not cost them the game or their would be lots of problems with the call, but I saw that one with the naked eye and called it before the umpire did. I know it's the neighborhood play and nobody calls that, but you gotta touch the base. He never did and that's the rule. The fact that the announcers were saying it was BS for the angels was beyond me. How? THat's baseball. I know it isn't called often but just because it's the ALCS doesn't mean you are exempt from touching 2nd on a double play. Sorry Aybar complain all you want but on replay you never touched. Go back to basics and learn how to do it right.
Jeter also got called out on a double play hit right to Saunders when the replay showed he clearly beat the throw. Not complaining just saying anyone who thought the umps were siding with the Yankees last night, wrong.
21 players were used for the Yankees, only Pettitte, CC, Gaudin, and Cervelli were not. MOst all time in BAseball playoff history. Lets see what Monday brings for game 3 in warm Anaheim.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Game 2
The Yankees won game 1 in Angels fashion...huh? Yea that's right, the Yankees won game 1 playing a Mike Scioscia type baseball. 0 HRs, great defense, first to third on hits, and good pitching. The Angels on the other hand did not look like themselves. Nobody got on the bases and nobody was running. There were 3 errors in the field and the team looked lost. Maybe it was the cold or maybe it was CC Sabathia, either way the Yankees looked like a vastly superior team in Game 1 and look to continue that success tonight in game 2. Joe Torre always said game 2 was the important game and it's hard to argue with his logic. Tonight either AJ Burnett brings it and we cut off breathing circulation to the Angels or the Angels retake momentum and tie the series and head back to LA.
Burnett has been great lately and he is working with Jose Molina, his best catcher friend. Saunders will go for Anaheim and he has been pretty good his last 2 seasons and vs the Yankees. He however, has not pitched in 2 weeks. AJ has been great lately but also lead the MLB in walks. The Angels work walks and love to run the bases, something that ought to be troublesome for Burnett. Chone Figgins has struggled for the Angels lately and he is their tablesetter and without him they are not the same. We'll see how Burnett handles him, Figgins is 412 vs him in his career and led the MLB in walks, so that is something to keep an eye on, will they stop Figgins.
I suspect Burnett will have some struggles but will work innings and keep us in the game. maybe 5 hits and 3 walks through 6 giving up 4 ER. I say the pen shuts down the Angels and the Yankees will not quite hit Saunders but knock him out early. A 7th or 8th inning rally will get the Yankees back into it and we'll see another pie in the face game. 2nd in the playoffs, 2nd in game 2 of the playoffs and 16th for the season.
By The Numbers
4- straight playoff wins for the Yankees and the combined amount of earned runs from Yankee Starters in the playoffs.
2- Wins for CC in this postseason
7- RBIs for Alex Rodriguez in 4 postseason games.
0- HRs allowed by the Yankees in the playoffs
36- Mariano Rivera's postseason saves (most all time).
Burnett has been great lately and he is working with Jose Molina, his best catcher friend. Saunders will go for Anaheim and he has been pretty good his last 2 seasons and vs the Yankees. He however, has not pitched in 2 weeks. AJ has been great lately but also lead the MLB in walks. The Angels work walks and love to run the bases, something that ought to be troublesome for Burnett. Chone Figgins has struggled for the Angels lately and he is their tablesetter and without him they are not the same. We'll see how Burnett handles him, Figgins is 412 vs him in his career and led the MLB in walks, so that is something to keep an eye on, will they stop Figgins.
I suspect Burnett will have some struggles but will work innings and keep us in the game. maybe 5 hits and 3 walks through 6 giving up 4 ER. I say the pen shuts down the Angels and the Yankees will not quite hit Saunders but knock him out early. A 7th or 8th inning rally will get the Yankees back into it and we'll see another pie in the face game. 2nd in the playoffs, 2nd in game 2 of the playoffs and 16th for the season.
By The Numbers
4- straight playoff wins for the Yankees and the combined amount of earned runs from Yankee Starters in the playoffs.
2- Wins for CC in this postseason
7- RBIs for Alex Rodriguez in 4 postseason games.
0- HRs allowed by the Yankees in the playoffs
36- Mariano Rivera's postseason saves (most all time).
Friday, October 16, 2009
Not satisfied
I posted a little while ago and it was dry. I was distracted and it was a little far from game time I wasn't quite feeling it yet. Well now we are 40 minutes away and the Dodgers game just ended (dodgers won) so that means its time to focus on the Yankees for the sports world. I realized that I cannot wait for this game to begin and this is what the whole season is all about. I'm nervous, I'm excited. Each pitch will have significance and I won't miss one. I think this is the most significant playoff series the Yankees have had in 5 years since the 2004 ALCS vs the Sox. Because of that I think this is the most important series in my life for the Yankees. Clearly I was a fan in 2004 when I was 16, but I was so used to success and I was so young. Now I'm older and now I know what its like to not make the World Series or even the playoffs every year. This is our year. This is the best team we have put together in a decade. This is a team of destiny. We are the comeback kids, the miracle whippers, the magicians on the field, and the team that never quits, never fails, and most importantly, has fun. This is a great team to watch and I am hoping and praying like every other Yankees fan to see a win tonight and a win this series and hopefully a win in the World Series. I am wearing my heart on my sleeve tonight and I am very excited. LETS GO YANKEES, GIVE THE HALOS HELL.
Here...We....Go!
So the Yankees disposed of the Twins rather easily in a 3 game sweep. A great win for the Yankees and the first playoff series win in 5 years, almost sad to say but it's true. Now that brings on the real tests (sorry Minn). The Yankees will face the LA Angels in a best of 7 series beginning tonight at Yankee Stadium. The game might have some showers and could be delayed or postponed but either way the series kicks off at 7:57 in the Bronx. This should be a good one, but a nerve racking one as well. The Yankees have always had problems with the Angels and it is all Mike Scioscia's fault. Scioscia has been the manager of the Angels for quite some time now and he has done an excellent job of making them more than just a competitive team for 10 straight years. Their style of play is the Yankee nemesis. First to third on singles, stealing bases on the regular, hard nosed baseball, pitchers don't walk batters, batters take pitches, and a high energy strategy.
This series may be different than the last bunch. The Angels have won the previous two playoff series and had the last regular season sweep against the Yankees (right before the all star break) but the Yankees look like a completely ready to go team. The Yankees look like a team that is ready to roll and hasn't looked this good since the good ol Torre days in the late 90s. The Yankees look to be going to a 3 man rotation which should create some interest and might work well but it hinges on the 3 starters being successful. CC has handled limited rest in the past and singlehandedly put the Brewers on his back last year, I think he will be ok. AJ won't have to do any starts on 3 days rest but he and Andy will have 2 starts a piece and must be relied upon. The bullpen looks pretty sharp and with Joba finding his way into the 7th or 8th inning along with hughes, it could be unbeatable.
The key to this series is the Yankee offense being able to hit the Angel pitching, and the ability of the Yankee starters to keep the Angels off the base paths. The Angels have only a few hitters with 20 or more home runs and so they rely heavily on 2 out singles and lots and lots of running. They also have 4 extremely reliable and proficient starters who have had lots of success in their past vs the Yankees. Kazmir has always done well as a Ray vs the Yankees and Saunders shut the Yankees down the last series they played. Lackey is their most dependable starter and Weaver has pretty good stuff and has been pretty legit lately. The Yankee offense is clearly a juggernaut but I worry sometimes that they will hit the skids and fail to be themselves especially against a good pitching staff like the Angels. At least Rivera is phenominal and Fuentes has seen better days and can't beat the Yankees to save his life. Should be an ejoyable series and I hope for the best. I expect the Yankees to win in 6 or 7 but it will be certainly a hard fought battle. The main keys to the series, Posada and Molina's % throwing out runners, CC in his 3 starts, the bullpen battle, and the middle of the Yankee order. We know Jeter brings it and there is not so much pressure on Swisher and Melky, it comes down to Damon, Tex, Arod, and Matsui in the middle of the order. Have to be able to take advantage of the limited opportunities with runners in scoring position and get those clutch singles. Can't wait for tonight, let's go NYY!!!
This series may be different than the last bunch. The Angels have won the previous two playoff series and had the last regular season sweep against the Yankees (right before the all star break) but the Yankees look like a completely ready to go team. The Yankees look like a team that is ready to roll and hasn't looked this good since the good ol Torre days in the late 90s. The Yankees look to be going to a 3 man rotation which should create some interest and might work well but it hinges on the 3 starters being successful. CC has handled limited rest in the past and singlehandedly put the Brewers on his back last year, I think he will be ok. AJ won't have to do any starts on 3 days rest but he and Andy will have 2 starts a piece and must be relied upon. The bullpen looks pretty sharp and with Joba finding his way into the 7th or 8th inning along with hughes, it could be unbeatable.
The key to this series is the Yankee offense being able to hit the Angel pitching, and the ability of the Yankee starters to keep the Angels off the base paths. The Angels have only a few hitters with 20 or more home runs and so they rely heavily on 2 out singles and lots and lots of running. They also have 4 extremely reliable and proficient starters who have had lots of success in their past vs the Yankees. Kazmir has always done well as a Ray vs the Yankees and Saunders shut the Yankees down the last series they played. Lackey is their most dependable starter and Weaver has pretty good stuff and has been pretty legit lately. The Yankee offense is clearly a juggernaut but I worry sometimes that they will hit the skids and fail to be themselves especially against a good pitching staff like the Angels. At least Rivera is phenominal and Fuentes has seen better days and can't beat the Yankees to save his life. Should be an ejoyable series and I hope for the best. I expect the Yankees to win in 6 or 7 but it will be certainly a hard fought battle. The main keys to the series, Posada and Molina's % throwing out runners, CC in his 3 starts, the bullpen battle, and the middle of the Yankee order. We know Jeter brings it and there is not so much pressure on Swisher and Melky, it comes down to Damon, Tex, Arod, and Matsui in the middle of the order. Have to be able to take advantage of the limited opportunities with runners in scoring position and get those clutch singles. Can't wait for tonight, let's go NYY!!!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Yankees Get Playoff Win #1
The Yankees got their first playoff victory in the New Yankee Stadium and their first victory under Joe Girardi. The Yankees looked very good tonight behind CC Sabathia. The Yankees won 7-2 over the Twins after falling behind 2-0 early. Sabathia struggled a little early on in the game but after giving up 2 runs in the 3rd found his own and did very well. after 3 innings Sabathia had a 64 pitch count and appeared to be on his way to another post season flop. However he rebounded with a big 4th 5th and 6th, throwing only 30 pitches and accumulating 4 strikeouts bringing his total to 8.
The Yankee offense was a little sluggish out of the gate, with only Jeter getting a hit on the first go round. However they responded in the third inning with a 2 run BOMB from Derek and tied the game at 2. Swisher had a clutch rbi double scoring Cano later, Arod had 2 clutch 2 out singles scoring 2 runs and Matsui had a nice 420 foot 2-run HR off Liriano. The Yankees showed why they had the best record in baseball and are considered the team to beat. They dominated offensively and mowed the Twins down despite one bad inning from Sabathia.
This win was an enormous win for the Yankees. We all know they are a fantastic team, but we didn't know how CC or the rest of the team would handle the new pressure of the playoffs. Last few post season appearances have been busts and I was afraid this would be as well. The Twins have been hot as hell lately and I was concerned they weren't going to cool down. Jeter got an extremely important 2 run home run in the 3rd to tie the game. Unlikely to hear that a 3rd inning home run could be so clutch, but it was more of a message than anything else. Jeter was saying to the team, "Guys, we are the same team we've been all year and this is how we do it. Don't be concerned, I got us going now somebody else keep us rolling." And then they did. Arod, Swisher, and Matsui all followed suit with big hits of their own. CC never looked back and the Yankees coasted.
The Yankees pitched Joba for a little bit who looked pretty solid. His velocity was up and he was effective and showed some good signs. Hughes pitched rather well as well and overall the pen was able to manage 2 1/3 innings of 0 runs, something that they needed to do. The Yankees throw AJ on Friday against Nick Blackburn and that game is also scheduled for a 6:07 start. Looking forward to game 2.
One more quick note....It was nice getting a win in game 1 and especially in this fashion. It was nice the Yankees didn't make any of us Yankee fans sweat during the win. We love our 8th and 9th inning comebacks but maybe it was nice saving that for later on in the series after we have some Ws under our belt. 1-0 Yankees in this best of 5 series.
The Yankee offense was a little sluggish out of the gate, with only Jeter getting a hit on the first go round. However they responded in the third inning with a 2 run BOMB from Derek and tied the game at 2. Swisher had a clutch rbi double scoring Cano later, Arod had 2 clutch 2 out singles scoring 2 runs and Matsui had a nice 420 foot 2-run HR off Liriano. The Yankees showed why they had the best record in baseball and are considered the team to beat. They dominated offensively and mowed the Twins down despite one bad inning from Sabathia.
This win was an enormous win for the Yankees. We all know they are a fantastic team, but we didn't know how CC or the rest of the team would handle the new pressure of the playoffs. Last few post season appearances have been busts and I was afraid this would be as well. The Twins have been hot as hell lately and I was concerned they weren't going to cool down. Jeter got an extremely important 2 run home run in the 3rd to tie the game. Unlikely to hear that a 3rd inning home run could be so clutch, but it was more of a message than anything else. Jeter was saying to the team, "Guys, we are the same team we've been all year and this is how we do it. Don't be concerned, I got us going now somebody else keep us rolling." And then they did. Arod, Swisher, and Matsui all followed suit with big hits of their own. CC never looked back and the Yankees coasted.
The Yankees pitched Joba for a little bit who looked pretty solid. His velocity was up and he was effective and showed some good signs. Hughes pitched rather well as well and overall the pen was able to manage 2 1/3 innings of 0 runs, something that they needed to do. The Yankees throw AJ on Friday against Nick Blackburn and that game is also scheduled for a 6:07 start. Looking forward to game 2.
One more quick note....It was nice getting a win in game 1 and especially in this fashion. It was nice the Yankees didn't make any of us Yankee fans sweat during the win. We love our 8th and 9th inning comebacks but maybe it was nice saving that for later on in the series after we have some Ws under our belt. 1-0 Yankees in this best of 5 series.
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