Analysis of AJ Burnett

Is AJ Burnett's good start a fluke or has AJ turned it around from last year, that's the question we all want to know. Last year Burnett dominated in April and fell off the rest of the year, are we in for the same nonsense this year? I think these first three games are a sign to come for a few reasons.

Reason 1- Russell Martin

AJ looks way more comfortable with Russell, someone who will be in the lineup every time he starts and brings a defensive presence. Russell also showed up for AJ last start. Not with the bat, but with his glove, diving into the dugout to try to make an impressive catch. These actions demonstrate a hustle, a determination, and a desire that may not have been present the past season with Jorge and Cervelli such liabilities behind the plate.

Reason 2- New Pitching Coach

I don't know if Burnett worked well with Dave Eiland, but what I do know is it helps to have a new pitching coach to bring a new perspective in the off season. Burnett seemed really bothered about the way he performed last year and I think he worked hard in the offseason and spent a lot of time with Rothschild to get his head right. We saw evidence of this in the last game he pitched. In the second inning he walked Morneau and Thome and I thought he was going to fall apart like typical AJ. Instead he geared up and got out of the jam and demonstrated a new confidence in tough situations.

Reason 3- The Yankees need him

I think somewhere deep down Burnett is going to will himself to be better this year. it's weird to say that because it's not as if he's going to try harder this year, but I do think there is something to be said for the pressure of the number 2 starter role in a very chaotic rotation. He knows there is a lot that rests on his shoulders and he knows how poorly he pitched last year. He understands he is a key component in this team's success and is doing more than his fair share of extra work to get things going right.

Conclusion

Only time will tell if this is just a couple of good starts in April of if AJ is really going to be a better pitcher, but I think it's the latter. I think between Russell, Rothschild, the pressure, and a year off to get his head right, AJ will continue to thrive and will be back to his 09 self. Let's see him continue that magic tonight...

Football Sunday Continues...

It's Sunday January 23rd, you know what that means? It means it's the last Sunday of the year where we get at least two football games in one day, before the climax of the season and then the long dreaded off-season. Unless you've been living under a rock, this year we have the Blitzburg Steelers and the NY J-E-T-S in the AFC and the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. For the first time in a long time, longer than I can remembers, we have 4 great teams that are all capable of being Superbowl champs just depends on how they perform these final few weeks. we also have two 6 seeds, which means we may have the first #6 vs #6. But enough of this preliminary set up Bull-Shit, let's get down to the meat and discuss the previous few weeks of football and what we expect to see today. First let's breakdown each team so far.

NY Jets
The Jets have surprised nobody as they themselves have been self declared Superbowl champs since training camp and during the show "Hardknocks". They had some bumps during the regular season but it appears as though they play their best football during the playoffs, leading many to believe that they are going to win the Superbowl. Their boisterous coach Rex Ryan has the D playing at an enormously high level and they now have beaten Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in back to back weeks. Mark Sanchez is evolving before our eyes and the drive/hustle/determination/will, whatever you want to call it, is arguably the highest of the playoff teams.

Last week the Jets shocked the world, beating the NE Patriots, the evil empire of football, in Foxborough 28-21. They beat Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in their home, something very few teams can say they've done. At first after watching the game I thought, did the patriots lose or did the jets win? The answer is really, both. The Patriots hardly looked like the Pats. They ran it too much and didn't rely on Brady until it was too late. They got beat in the trenches. They got out coached and made far too many bad judgement calls, poor clock management, bad 3rd and 4th down decision making. They also looked like a young and inexperienced defense that they were supposed to be. The D was wildly above expectations leading them to 14-2 but in the final game of their season, fell to a sub par level. However the Jets did play a fantastic game. They stuffed the run, and dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. They blitzed Brady and had a lot of sacks as well as pressure in his face. They made him look off-balanced, something hardly anybody in the league has done. Sanchez made some bad throws, but overall played a solid game. The run game was good and then great as the Pats D got tired. And the coverage....Oh my goodness was the Jet coverage unbelievable. They rushed 3 sometimes and got no pressure, giving Brady 10 seconds at times and still he had nowhere to go. Cromartie, Revis, Wilson, and the rest of their D backs played some inspired football. If they play this game again against the Steelers they will win.

Keys for the Jets--They need to not turn it over. Their D is good enough to keep them in the game, don't throw a costly pick and don't fumble and they'll be in it to win it in the 4th quarter. They also need to bring Roethlisberger down when they have the chance. You cannot let him escape a sack and throw for a first down. That's what he wants to do and he will if you let him, he's 245 pounds so it's no easy task bringing his ass down, but JT, Ellis, Pace, Price, Devito, get on that boys. The last key for me is the ability to stay out of long 3rd downs. When you run on first down you NEED to get 3-4 yards. When you throw on first or second down, you must at least complete the pass for positive gain or throw it away when it could lead to a sack. 3rd and 8 or even more could be disastrous. The Steelers love to bring pressure, they have a very opportunistic defense, and they have Troy P. So if you get in long yardage situations it can lead to sacks, fumbles, and picks, which they always return. Field position is essential in big games, so sacks on 3rd downs are bad news and can fire up a crowd. Jets need to remember not to turn it over, shorten the field when necessary (run on 2nd and 12 to make it more manageable on 3rd), and look out for Troy Polamalu.

The Chicago Bears
The Bears came into the playoffs like the luckiest team on Earth that nobody believed would be successful. They won 11 games and got the 2 seed somehow. They got a lucky win week 1 vs Detroit, the benefit of an easy schedule (Minnesota stunk this year, Dallas as well, Carolina, the NFC West). Their tough wins included Philly, GB 1/2, and the Jets. Only 3/11 wins were vs above ..500 teams. Their losses included NE, NYG, GB, Washington, and Seattle. so of their 5 games in 16 against good teams, they went 2-3, not sure that's an elite team. They won their first playoff game against Seattle, a, 8-9 team, another fortunate event. They also saw the #1 seed lose and so have earned themselves a home game, another lucky break. The only not lucky thing, they get the Green Bay Packers. Their biggest rival, in their biggest game, in their freezing cold home town Soldier Field.

Their defense is looking like the elite unit that got them to the Superbowl just 4 years ago. Their offense with Mike Martz coordinating is looking pretty good. Cutler is always a question mark, but we know he has the talent. Matt Forte makes some nice plays, and their receivers are starting to grow up. Hester, Olsen, Bennett, and Know make an interesting bunch. They also have the best special teams guy in NFL history, Devin Hester, and don't forget Danieal Manning (watch him make a big play today either as SS or as KR). To win today the Bears will need some big plays from their special teams, their D to play like a tough hard nosed unit. Urlacher, Briggs, Idonije, Peppers, Tinioshomoa, Harris, Peanut Tillman, etc, they have the guys to do it. They will also need Cutler to hang onto the ball. No costly turnovers, and don't let the one or maybe two turnovers lead to points. The Packers love to go for the strip and love to make big plays on D, the Bears cannot let that happen. Cutler has to be, as Ron Jaworski loves to say, judicious with the football and 2+ turnovers would be a dagger.

I expect Forte to be leaned on heavily, expect 20 carries and 5-7 catches for the 3rd year man out of Tulane. His running style works for the Bears today, he's powerful and quick, doesn't fumble, can make big plays in the passing game, and wears you out as the game progresses. If the Bears want to win, they'll need to ride Forte and keep Rodgers off the field. They also will have to have a big game from Peppers or some other guy free rushing. Rodgers avoids the rush so well and makes so many plays on the roll and out of the pocket. When he runs out, they must get him down and get the ball out. A strip sack or a hit forcing an interception is crucial. If the Packers don't turn it over and the sacks are down, they will not be stopped.

Green Bay Packers
This team is easily the most intriguing of the playoff teams. The Packers were my Superbowl favorite entering the season but because of ENORMOUS injuries and a really rough schedule, they almost missed out. But they got hot at the right time and booted the Giants from the playoffs by beating NYG and the Bears in the final two weeks. They then followed that up with wins against Philly and Atlanta on the road. Arguably the best two teams in the NFC and they did it on the road.

Green Bay needs their D to keep pressure on Cutler and make him uncomfortable, stay stout against the run and force those turnovers they love so much. On offense, don't think you can run, cause you can't. They are not a running team, so don't do what you don't do. Let Rodgers drop back and be the beast he is. The Bears were 9th against the run and 21st against the pass. Let it be an aerial assault. Rodgers is over 100 passer rating in cold weather and beats Chicago all the time. Green Bay should be fine.


Hopefully its a fun football sunday!

Green bay 28-13
Pittsburgh 23-17

New York State of Mind

Derek Jeter resigns with the Yankees! Big surprise. What was a surprise however, were the comments by Jeter in the aftermath. He blasted the Yankees for their open discretion of information to the public about money and contract terms. He said it made him look greedy and selfish when that was hardly what he was thinking. Whatever, let's put it in the rear view mirror because none of this will matter come April 1. The Yankees are seeking their 28th title and we'll need him to be el capitan in order to get it done, so good work both sides making this charade end early.

Now the questions can begin about when the Yankees will get Cliff Lee. According to sources, the Yankees are unwilling to give a 7th year on the deal and Cliff wants job security. Other places like Washington and Texas are offering that extra year but doubtfully the same amount of money. NYY is looking in the ballpark of 140-150 million for 6 years. Nearly 25 million a year! That's more than CC and that looks to be the highest for any pitcher in baseball. Aside from the Cliff Lee talks, nothing else is really taking place in the baseball world.

Football however, things are heating up. The Giants are coming off two straight wins, over the Jags and most recently over the lifeless Washington Redskins. Good to see the Giants rebounding from bad losses and bad injuries to maintain their place in the NFC east race and the wildcard hunt. The Giants look to be getting healthy at the right time too. Steve Smith practiced today and is questionable for Sunday, Nicks took limited reps and is also questionable. I expect Smith to play 75% of the snaps and Nicks to play half, maybe not play at all. This game while of vital importance is nowhere near as important as next week vs Philly. So getting healthy is a priority. As for the offensive line, Dave Diehl practiced and should be good to go, Shaun O'hara took some reps and is questionable for Sunday. Shawn Andrews looks better but is still likely to miss another game.

This week the Giants go to Minnesota and face a Vikings team that likely will be the first team in fifteen years to have Brett Favre on the roster and have him NOT starting. He hurt his finger, shoulder, and ankle this year and last week took only one snap. Tavaris Jackson is the replacement QB who can make plays with his legs and has a good arm, but makes very poor decisions. Should be a field day for Tuck and the D line, I expect a few sacks, fumbles, and picks. The Giants will also have to use a heavy dose of the run. Although Minnesota sports the 4th best run D in the NFL and has the Williams Wall, Eli Manning has a history of making poor throws and having poor games vs Minn late in the year. I would like to see the same combination of Jacobs and Bradshaw that worked so well the last two weeks continue to shine this week.

With 4 games left on the radar things boil down as follows, The Bears and Packers are 9-3 and 8-4 respectively. The Falcons are 10-2 and the Saints are 9-3 and Tampa is 7-5. The Giants and Eagles are both 8-4. The NFC West is a complete joke and one of those four teams will be in the playoffs by default, the other three will watch from their couches. Of the 7 teams mentioned before, 5 will make the playoffs. 3 division leaders and 2 wild card teams. That leaves 2/7 out. I assume the Buccaneers to be eliminated but you can't guarantee anything. I really look at it as this, Atlanta vs NO, Chicago vs GB, Philly vs NYG. 3 of those teams will get the division to themselves, while the loser has to make the wild card. The giants still get games vs Philly and GB so they have opportunities to put themselves in good position. Unfortunately the GB is on the road in Lambeau and the Eagles have the Giants number. If they drop both of those games, they assure themselves needing help, even if they win vs Minn and beat Wash and go 10-6.

The remaining schedules for all NFC contending teams are as follows:

week 14

St Louis at NO

GB at Detroit

NE at Chicago

Philly at Dallas

Atlanta at Carolina

NYG at Minn

NO should roll St louis at home at improve to 10-3. Detroit is improving and at home, but the Packers are hot and good, they win that one improving to 9-4. Chicago is good at home and NE is on a short week after a big division game, I like Chicago to play it tough and keep it close, this is a toss up but I still think NE despite the home field. Chicago moves to 9-4 as well. Dallas is improving and I think they get Philly in Texas Stadium. Philly to 8-5. Atlanta should crush Carolina, no matter where that game is, 11-2 Atlanta looking strong. Giants should win a tough game in Minny, 9-4 with the division lead (for now).

week 15

NO at Baltimore

Atlanta at Seattle

GB at NE

Chicago at Minn

Philly at NYG

NO should be tested here and cannot be expected to win in Baltimore, give them 10-4. Atlanta should handle Seattle even with the 12th man, 12-2 (bye week locked up). GB should play NE tough but its hard to beat Brady in Foxborough, GB to 9-5. Chicago is iffy on the road and the Vikings are a division foe and this is what their season is about, spoiler. Tough game, I think Minn gets it done, 9-5. This is for all the marbles, Giants win---division almost assuredly. If the Giants lose, they will still be in contention for the division but need to win out or get Philly to collapse. Assuming they lose (because if they win no point in planning out wild card games) they will be 9-5 and Philly 9-5.

week 16

Jets at Chicago

Minnesota at Philly
Giants at GB

Atlanta at NO

This week will decide a lot. All of these are premier matchups and will determine alot. I think Chicago bests the Jets at home to go to 10-5. Philly wins at home and also gets to 10-5. GB takes care of biz at home and gets to 10-5, giants to 9-6. No wins at home 11-4, Atlanta 12-3.

week 17

Chicago at GB

Carolina at Atl

Dallas at Philly

NYG at Wash

Tampa at NO

GB should beat Chicago at home and get the division, leaving Chicago at 10-6. Atlanta should roll for their #1 overall status. Philly beats Dallas, gets division. Giants beat Washington and New Orleans beats Tampa. Standings look as follows

Philly 11-5

Giants 10-6

Atlanta 13-3

New Orleans 12-4

GB 11-5

Chicago 10-6

If this were the case, the Giants get in over Chicago because they own the tiebreaker by beating them head to head. However Chicago could easily beat New England this week or beat GB to finish the season getting them to 11+ wins. If GB has 10 but still beats the Giants in week 16 in Lambeau, Giants are toast. So of course SOOOOOO much of what I just said is chance, you cannot predict a week in the NFL let alone 4. But this is an idea of how winning 10 games is no lock. Going 2-2 doesn't mean we get in (especially if those 2 wins are Wash and Minn). I personally believe to feel safe we will have to beat either GB or Philly to help our chances. One of those two must be won. Should be fun down the stretch though.

Speaking of fun, the New York Knicks have been fun to watch. Wait, did I just say that? Yes, it's true! The Knicks have won 10 of their last 11 games since I made my last post trashing them haha. They went from 3-8 to 13-9 and all behind the addition of the pick and roll, more hustle and energy, and finding the right rotation and chemistry. The real catalysts have been Felton and Amar'e. That duo has led to countless pick and roll buckets many of them dunks.

The Knicks have also gotten great play out of their rookie, Landry Fields. Fields is probably the second best rookie in the league (John Wall number 1), third if you count Blake Griffin. He's had 6 double-doubles during the Knick winning streak, and is averaging more rebounds than ANY other guard in the NBA. He's been providing a lot of energy and is doing it on both ends.

The Knicks have also been winning on the road during this improbable streak. It all started on a 4 game west coast swing, where they beat Sac, GS, and LAC and then followed that up beating Charlotte at home and on the road in back to back days. Their only loss in the last two weeks was Atlanta at home. The next few games aren't too bad, Toronto and Washington this week but then things will get tough. It will truly test if the Knicks are as good as their record is starting to imply. Miami, Boston, Denver, Phoenix, these teams will not be so kind to the Knicks. Either way the Knicks have been quite a great team to watch and when the winning streak ends it won't matter as long as they maintain this energy and excitement. We knew they had star potential and we knew if they could get used to playing together and understand the D'Antoni system, they would be good. But 10 in 11 and 7 in a row on the road is beyond impressive. Keep it up Knicks, pummel Toronto tonight!

Status of the NYK

Oh the New York Knicks. Every year I tell myself that this year will be different than the previous year of failure. Every year I have new hope in the form of new GMs, players, coaches, new draft picks, whatever it is, there is always a reason to see that the glass is half full. Every year ends the same way, me saying, "what was i thinking?" The Knicks will never ever be a good team while I am a fan, I guess I have to get used to that. the truth is that this year the expectations to be better were way beyond my delusions. The preseason power rankings on CBS and ESPN had the Knicks in the top 20 teams in the NBA (out of 30) rather than in the bottom 5 as in previous years. Some analysts projected the Knicks to be a playoff team, as high as a 7 seed. I had the Knicks in the playoffs, I had them winning 43 games, and I had them being at the least a fun team to watch. Well everyone was wrong on this one so far, at least through 12 games.

The Knicks sit at 4-8 and after starting 3-2 have lost 6/7 including home games against Philadelphia and Golden State, and losses on the road to Minnesota and Milwaukee. In the offseason the Knicks made some serious moves, bringing in All-Star PF Amar'e Stoudemire for 5 years and $100 million. The also got PG Raymond Felton, former NCAA Champion MVP from the UNC Tar Heels. They also drafted SG Landry Fields from Stanford and combined with the aging of Danillo Galinari, Wilson Chandler, and Toney Douglas, things were looking up. It was the third year for head coach Mike D'antoni and the players were beginning to learn his system. All signs were pointing to a rebound year for the Knicks. D'antoni has always been known as a run and gun offensive guru and defense is of secondary importance. No matter what, this team would score and be competitive...umm not so much.

The Knicks are extremely disappointing and it is because of these primary 5 factors:

• Falling in love with the tree point line- Mike D'antoni has preached many times that shooting 33% from 3 point land is the same as shooting 50% from 2 point field goals. While this may be true, it doesn't justify shooting 30 threes a game and shooting them early and often. I've always said when you are wide open, sure, shoot a three. I don't support bringing the ball down the court and launching a three with 21 seconds left on the shot clock with a hand in your face from 30 feet out. We can always find better shots than that. We should be shooting threes when we are open, late in the shot clock, or Danillo feels like it. That's it. That equates to 10 open threes, 3 late possession prayers, and 2 Danillo specials (a phenomenal shooter who has the range and ability to hit any shot any time and he feels like launching, go for it I say, nobody else has this right however). That makes for 15 threes a game, not 30. What shooting so many threes does is lead to fast breaks for the others team and takes the Knicks out of position. It also creates bad percentages when we shoot them too often and it makes offensive rebounding difficult, which leads to the next point.
• Terrible rebounding- The Knicks are terrible at rebounding on both sides of the ball. When on defense they fail to box out and give the other team far too many second chance points. When leading in Minnesota by 20, they allowed Kevin Love to get 31 rebounds, 15 offensive, and create 26 second chance points...in the 2nd half alone!!! That is inexcusable. It also takes away from the Knicks strength, their ability to push the ball in transition and get easy buckets. when you don't rebound you give the other team too many opportunities to beat you and you minimize our greatest asset. Knicks must box out! On offense, the Knicks camp out from the three point arch and sit around watching or waiting for a pass so they can launch threes. This makes it hard to get second chance points when no one is in the paint. More penetration, less threes, and more boards as a result.
• Ignoring the pick and roll- The Knicks bread and butter for the last ten years (and perhaps longer) has been the pick and roll. The point guard has the ball at the top of the arch and the big man sets a pick and immediately jumps out to the elbow or even into the paint. This leaves a chance for a wide open three if the big man's defender is late helping, or creates a double team on the PG and opens up a lane for the big man to catch and drive. The Knicks have used this to perfection to open up the lane and create mismatches and open looks. This year though, Amar'e Stoudemire has struggle to set legitimate picks and he rolls to the hoop too early, leaving his defender no reason to cheat. It hurts Raymond Felton and ruins the opportunity. It also creates stagnation and leads to the Knicks becoming and launcher spider type offense. More pick and rolls, more penetration, more hard screens, and more hustle and the offense will click.
• Lack of help defense- When a player beats you and scores a bucket, your team is as responsible as you personally. this isn't street ball where we look at our friend and say, "tighten up". This is the NBA where when a man blows by you, it's because the man is unbelievably quick and talented and it is on the team to rotate and make every shot increasingly difficult. The San Antonio Spurs have always been a great defensive team, and why not with Tim Duncan as your best player, but they also have maintained greatness because the team is always shifting and sliding into position to cut off the open man and NEVER allow an easy shot. The Knicks have preached great help D from day one and in the early going showed it was a priority, but in the last 8 games have failed to demonstrate that. When the opposing team's best player drives the lane, no one steps up and denies penetration, everyone rotates late and that is also why they are out of position and don't get defensive rebounds. A change here starts with the coaching staff continuing to push for help D. It also takes some interior presence, Amar'e Stoudemire has to become more of a leader inside and stop preaching greatness without showing it. His play must demonstrate who he is, not his vocalization.
• Clutch performance- I've read books where analysts have argued that clutch play is a myth and is not true. That players are likely to hit shots 44% of the time and that number remains the same throughout the game and there is nothing but coincidence for missing shots late in games or for making ones. I beg to differ, I understand the statistics speak highly, but there is something to be said for the effect of tighter defense, fatigue, and pressure. The Knicks are a well conditioned team and are good free throw shooters, which generally makes for a good team to close out ball games. The Knicks however, fail to win close games, EVER, and this is because they have an inferior mentality late in games. They look to not lose games instead of to win. They aren't battle tested and don't have the experience of winning close games to fall back on. At least this year they all want to shoot the big shots late, but late game turnovers are keeping them from getting opportunities. We have been in numerous 5 point or less ball games this year and lost to Portland, Denver, and Philly. 2/3 of those games are home, and the home court advantage does count for a lot late in games. These are games we need to learn how to win, because 40 wins gets you the playoffs in the east and if we win 35, we'll think back to 8-10 games where we lost in the last few minutes and wonder if half of those had gone our way if we might be a playoff team.

Fix these issues, and maybe we'll go somewhere. Until then they will remain a team that has potential and never lives up...surprise surprise. Knicks on Friday night, they don't win I'm gonna get in a fight. No David Lee for GS, this should be fun...

Closing the Baseball Season, Opening New Doors

So the Yankees lost to the Rangers. It's going to be 5 months until we see some more NYY Baseball. For most, this is an epic failure and defines frustration. I'm only frustrated because this marks the end of the season and it means a long lapse without baseball. As far as the success of the season, things could have been worse. We still had a season that included Arod hitting his 600th home run, a team that won 95 games, a potential MVP performance in Cano, and a potential CY Young season in CC Sabathia. This team struggled mightily down the stretch, going 29-30 in the final 59 games. The team was not the best in baseball when the playoffs began and got beat by a better and more playoff ready team in the Rangers. The Yankees starters were hurt and problematic all season and became the weak link in the playoffs. The offense which still led the league in runs scored, failed again on the big stage to get the big hits. Too many times we looked for the home run or the 5 hit rally instead of getting the runners in from 3rd with one out. Our bullpen, which was a strength in the finals months, struggled to keep us in the game by allowing too many runs and hits to the Rangers. All in all, we got beat and we move on. We will miss our Yankees but there are some New York teams still alive and thriving.

The New York Giants for example, come into tonight's game against the 1-4 Cowboys at 4-2, winning their last 3 games and looking quite good doing so. The Cowboys despite their talent on the field, have a 1-4 record due to their turnovers, penalties, poor management, and lack of leadership. The Giants need to get pressure on Romo from their front 4 so they can drop their safeties and linebackers into coverage. Forget Marion Barber, the Giants need to make sure they bottle up Felix Jones. Jones is the more explosive back and if he sheds a few tackles could turn the game in favor of the cowboys. The Giants receivers need to catch their passes and not allow Eli to get any picks on tipped passes (a theme all season). The Giants need to establish the run early with Bradshaw and Jacobs and make sure they Cowboys are tired on D late in the game. Mckenzie will have his hands full with DeMarcus Ware, but he needs to not let Eli get hit off the edge because Ware is a nightmare and doesn't just cause sacks, but forces fumbles as well. Hopefully the Cowboys continue to shoot themselves in the foot and the Giants can keep the sleeping Dragon from awakening. A 1-5 team no matter how good they are is likely to miss the playoffs and it especially helps when the Giants would be 5-2 and tops in the division. This is a must see Monday Night Football game, so tune in.

The Knicks season will begin in a few days, and there is a lot to discuss there, so i will do so in a separate post, as well as discuss the future for the Yankees faithful during the offseason. For now, go Giants (both NY and SF).

ALCS

Well the Yankees got man handled in Games 2 and 3, which has led to a 2-1 series lead for the Rangers. What looked like a promising start in the form of a comeback victory, disappeared and is now a rough spot for the Yankees. Their pitching is all over the place, CC and Hughes were abysmal, Pettitte sensational, and the pen good except for the 9th inning of tonight's game. The Yankee offense however, looks completely lost at the plate. Take away one 8th inning rally and the Yankees have 3 runs in 26 innings, and have not had hits, walks, or clutch play at all. Hopefully the Yankees turn it around in game 4 as they will face the worst starter for the Rangers in Tommy Hunter. This righty doesn't have the stuff of Lee or Wilson (who foiled the yankees for 1 run in 15 innings) but he if we don't step our play up he will be another Ranger pitcher to find success.

On the other hand, AJ goes for the Yankees and it will be quite a test for him to handle to pressure of game 4 down 2-1. A loss here would really cripple their playoff chances as they would have to win the final 3 games including a potential game 7 against Lee in Texas. The Yankees are praying to avoid that scenario and that means winning at home tomorrow with AJ, Wed with CC, and then the big road win behind Phil in game 6. Should be a good rest of the series as teams start to get more desperate and the fewer the games left, the more ridiculous the moves and decisions become. I don't see the Yankees losing the next two in NY, so this thing will likely head back to Texas, hopefully with a 3-2 Yankee lead, not a 3-2 Texas lead. let's try to forget tonight, tomorrow will be better...

Game 1, and what a game it was...

The Yankees showed a lot of grit tonight and reminded the world and especially the Texas Rangers, "uh...we're still here. We're still the defending champs". For the second straight series opener CC Sabathia didn't have it and the opposing team jumped on him early and often. And for the second straight series opener the Yankees found a way to comeback and claw away and win the game.

Tonight the Yankees were completely baffled by the starting pitching of CJ Wilson and it looked like it was gonna be a LOOOOOONG game. He was absolutely dominant in the first 6 innings, not allowing but 1 hit to a right handed batter, keeping the 1-4 hitters 0-12, and shutting the Yankees down with 0 runs through 6. With a 5-0 lead he took the mound in the 7th and Cano hit a solo shot. Not really making a huge dent in the scoreboard but psychologically it was huge for the Yankees. In the 8th, the Yankees went wild. Gardner let off with an infield hit, a tremendous effort to beat out a groundball and turning an out into an inning starter. He dove and just beat it out, despite getting his hand stepped on, which provided the spark for the Yankee O. Jeter followed with an RBI double, knocking out CJ. Swish and Tex followed with walks off Oliver. Bases loaded for Arod and finally the Centaur delivered, a clutch rocket single that ate Michael Young up and scored 2. Cano singled and Thames singled and before you knew it, the Yankees were up 6-5.

In the bottom of the 8th Kerry Wood came in and walked Kinsler on 4 pitches. An absolutely mammoth mistake by Kinsler to get picked off by Wood which changed the entire inning. Wood had thrown 6 balls in 7 pitches and had no command. Kinsler delivered him an out on a silver plate and allowed Wood to settle in and finish the inning without trouble. In the 9th, Mariano was Mariano and despite a leadoff single, navigated the Yankees to a game 1 victory and his 42 career postseason save.

When a team wins 6-5 and comes back from a 5-0 nothing defecit, there are always some huge plays to the game. My list of game changing plays:

• Nelson Cruz gets gunned down at home with 2 outs in the first inning. With the bases loaded and CC struggling mightily, a wild pitch took place and Cruz tried to score but got gunned out as CC applied a swipe tag. CC had thrown 37 pitches and 22 of them were balls. He allowed 6 base runners and 3 runs and had only recorded 2 outs, a pop out and a DEEP fly ball. His command was terrible and he literally could have lost the game at that moment. That play allowed him to get off the mound and somewhat settle down in order to give the Yankees 4 innings. Although CC didn't have a good game at all, it could have been far worse if Cruz was safe.
• Cano's solo HR. I know I mentioned it earlier, but it was a huge boost for the Yankees to know that a comeback was possible. Someone has to start the momentum train and Cano was the guy.
• Gardner's infield hit. Again, down 5-1 someone needed to give the Yankees that spark to comeback. Gardner showed some serious hustle and gave the Yankees the feeling of comeback. Aside from the grit, it was also just a tremendously skilled play, I've never seen a slide to first I thought was beneficial, this was absolutely a good thing. Also man does that dude have wheels.
• The entire 8th inning string of hits. Of course the Yankees don't win without Jeter, Swish, Tex, Arod, Cano, and Thames all getting on in the 8th, so kudos to those guys for being warriors.
• Wood picking off Kinsler. A huge play in allowing Wood to mentally get through that inning and once the 8th was over, a huge sigh from Yankee fans and a huge grunt from Ranger fans knowing Mariano was coming in for the 9th. The real question is, how do you allow yourself to get picked off there. A huge mistake for Ian and something that separates the good teams from the bad.
• Swish failing to bunt. I know the Yankees won and this will be forgotten, but not for me. 6-5 in the top of the 9th and you know Mariano is coming in, you don't need a 10 run inning, just one insurance run. After Jeter doubles the Yankees wanted to get that run in with a little small ball. I like the move but Swish you gotta get that ball down. All the same, Girardi should have gone to Golson anyways since he was going to pull Swish defensively anyways. Golson is used to bunting and adds the element of speed. Could have been very costly.

I think this game is one that will hurt the Rangers in the rest of this series. Their bull pen cannot match the Yankee hitters and if their starters cannot go complete then they will face a struggle deep in games. The Yankees have exerted that same dominance both physically and mentally against the Rangers as they did vs the Twins. No matter what the score or the situation, the Yankees will be there. The Rangers hit Sabathia and extremely well and still couldn't find a way to win, up 5!, at home! No excuse for a team that's trying to be the best. You don't squander games like this and I think this will loom large.


The last Yankee 5 run comeback in the 7th or later?

You guess it, Texas 2 months ago. This game also looked eerily reminiscent of the August 11th Yankees vs Rangers game. Texas was up 6-1 with Lee looking dominant on the hill. another 5 run deficit with a great lefty pitching. Yankees hit the starter late and then hit the bullpen and got a 7-6 lead. In comes Mo and down goes Texas. The Yankees always find ways to win games and the playoffs are no exception. They have dealt with the pressure of October and Texas has not. The series should be rough for the Rangers, especially if they cannot finish games like this one.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, it's game 1 of the ALCS and it's not the final game of the World Series. More baseball to come and more vs Texas. But the Yankees had games like this vs the Angels and they will showed some serious grit this year and last. Hopefully they maintain their high level of postseason play and get a win tomorrow and go home up 2-0.

For tonight, let's celebrate! Go Yankees!!