All criticisms of managers, players and umpires aside, the Yankees emerged and cemented their role as the best team in baseball in 2009. In a pretty exciting post-season, this team never really had its back to the wall. While their opposition made errors with the glove, on the bases and at the plate, the Yankees executed near perfectly and capitalized on their opponents mistakes like true champions. And when it came down to it, in a game 6 at home against a bitter rival, Pedro Martinez, the heart of their order got it done, in particular the man on the way out the door - Hideki Matsui. 37-year-old Andy Pettitte couldn't top 87 on the radar gun but outsmarted hitters by keeping his pitches outside of the zone all night and making them chase. One of the all-time grinders, Pettitte is an absolute legendary Yankee and all-time post-season pitcher. As a friend texted me last night, it's hard to believe we were just freshmen in high school last time the Yankees won it all. It was a decade from my birth before they would win their first in 1996 and now we spanned nearly another decade since their last. Much has changed since that first one. Steroids, a new manager, a new owner, record-setting contracts, players gone, players gone and back, players gone and back to manage and of course a brand new stadium.
As I watched the Yankees clinch it last night it was a pretty good moment. The excitement Mariano showed. Derek Jeter getting another and earning it. Jorge Posada. The young guys, Hughes and Cano and Joba. It was cool to see. I even thought it was fun to watch A-Rod exhale a huge sigh of relief, he dropped his guard and was, for once, candid and overwhelmed with happiness. Still, I couldn't help but think back to the 95-00 seasons, sitting downstairs with my step-dad or at my father's house or sometimes over with a friend. The excitement of their late inning heroics. Maybe, it's because I'm getting older, but I think more likely because of the ridiculous gap between the amount of money the Yankees are spending vs. everyone else - I simply couldn't get too excited this year. It was nice to watch but I didn't struggle to sleep when they lost and I didn't stay awake abuzz with excitement when they won. I didn't head right to my bedroom and flip on WFAN to listen to callers express their joy or pain until early into the morning like I used to after every game. Yankees fans should be excited, but until the playing field is leveled out a bit, I for one will temper my enthusiasm. A perfect example of this is my mom knocking on my door this morning:
Me: What?
Mom: We are going to the parade tomorrow. Do you want to come?
Me: (Thinking it through in my head - hmm, tomorrow, hmm, Friday, hmm Breeders Cup) No, I'm not going.
...wonder what my answer would have been in 98...
Couple notes from last night:
First and foremost, I don't care what statistics you drop in front of me. Matsui was not the MVP of that series. He had one monster game and was basically an after-thought the rest of it. He had a great game last night and basically won it single-handedly, but his contributions pale in comparison to the gigantic at-bats and subsequent hits Johnny Damon put together, the leadoff prowess Derek Jeter had or even Pettitte and Rivera's pitching in my opinion. You can't give the MVP to a positional player (that is - DH) who can't play in half the games and really only made a big impact on one. But, I have always liked Matsui and it's good for him, I'm not bitter and certainly don't take things like World Series MVP's as serious as most people - but I thought it was a pretty shallow choice.
Pettitte had absolutely nothing but guts and smarts last night. Brilliant.
As much as I ripped into the Yankees spending and it is unfair. It's interesting that their three big signings - Burnett, CC and Tex ranged from decent to terrible in the World Series. CC and Burnett each won a game but also pitched in the only two losses they had. Tex hit .136 and that's after a 1-3 last night. Just saying...
I'll leave it at that. Go Knicks.
Showing posts with label world series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world series. Show all posts
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Back to the Bronx
The last paragraph I wrote in yesterday's piece:
Now the whole world expects Cliff Lee to send it back to Yankee Stadium but Burnett looked good last out. I think the Yankees have a serious chance to close it out tonight against what should be a deflated Phillies team. Will be interesting to see how Burnett throws on short rest and the one caveat I will make is this: If Lee beats Burnett as most people seem to think he will....You have Andy Pettitte throwing on short rest like he has never done against a hot Pedro, I think that's a match that the Yankees will win, but if they do end up dropping that and we see a game 7 - I think Girardi has all but used up CC, again throwing him over 100 pitches. The game 7 adrenaline would probably help him but that is not something that the Yankees want to have to rely on. They'd be wise to close it out tonight, otherwise I have the funny feeling they better get it done game 6.
Obviously, there is a lot of underlying stuff going on here with Cole Hamels comments about how he can't wait for the season to be over (who will pitch game 7 for the Phils?). Now everyone sees essentially what I was trying to point out yesterday. Last night was very likely a game the Phillies would win, and while all New York has to do is win one at home, Joe Girardi has really set them up to possible fail.
If you're confident in Andy Pettitte on three days rest for the first time in four years raise your hand. If you're confident in CC Sabathia again on three days left after a gutsy outing where he had maybe C+ stuff, raise your hand. Personally, I'm not confident in either. Andy has thrown well on short rest before, but he's much older now and his velocity is already down. If he throws any slower it might be much closer to batting practice than people realize.
The Yankees, in my opinion, will have to win this series with their bats. Pedro and an unknown starter in game 7 (Hamels? Happ?) are not world-beaters at this point. If I'm Philly I'm throwing Hamels despite his comments. If anything, I like him more with something to prove. Either way, Joe Girardi faltered by not throwing Gaudin up 3-1 against Cliff Lee. He could have then had AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte on full rest with CC available out of the pen. Or he could have thrown AJ on full rest and then came back with CC in the seventh.
As it stands this series looks eerily familiar to the 04 ALCS where the Yanks got stunned after they ran out of pitching against a potent lineup.
As for last night's game I won't get as in-depth. I didn't have a problem with using Coke down 6-2 against a bunch of lefties. I didn't think it wise to use up your good arms there with the way Lee settled in...and if the Yanks didn't come out and pop him no one would complain about the decision. You did have an off day today, but I still thought it a decent spot to use Coke - he just didn't deliver.
You see what happens when Molina is put into a lineup that already is going to have a weak hitting center-fielder and the pitcher - you basically get a very good top, but with a lot of pressure on it and room to work around. The Yankees 7-8-9 hitters are miserable game-in, game-out and it is really hurting their offense.
Chase Utley is a monster.
I have a feeling this series may come down to this - which team can get their power hitter going. Can the Yanks get Tex hitting again at home? Or does Ryan Howard break out and start popping homers again? That to me, above all else, will have the most say in deciding who wins this.
The Phillies are headed to New York but they must be feeling confident. Two games seems so much less insurmountable than three games. Even with Lee on the mound and the home-field advantage I felt that was a tricky game for Philly. Now, if Pedro throws well one more time and they get a decent start game 7, I think their bats may steal away the series. On the other hand, the Yanks have to feel good about winning just one of two at home. Andy Pettitte and CC Sabthia are gutsy pitchers who you don't fear handing the ball over to, and something like 6 innings 4 runs might just be good enough, especially if Tex starts to hit. Or maybe Cano with a couple well-hit balls snaps out of it? Either way, this series is far from over and should come to an exciting finish. Enjoy.
Now the whole world expects Cliff Lee to send it back to Yankee Stadium but Burnett looked good last out. I think the Yankees have a serious chance to close it out tonight against what should be a deflated Phillies team. Will be interesting to see how Burnett throws on short rest and the one caveat I will make is this: If Lee beats Burnett as most people seem to think he will....You have Andy Pettitte throwing on short rest like he has never done against a hot Pedro, I think that's a match that the Yankees will win, but if they do end up dropping that and we see a game 7 - I think Girardi has all but used up CC, again throwing him over 100 pitches. The game 7 adrenaline would probably help him but that is not something that the Yankees want to have to rely on. They'd be wise to close it out tonight, otherwise I have the funny feeling they better get it done game 6.
Obviously, there is a lot of underlying stuff going on here with Cole Hamels comments about how he can't wait for the season to be over (who will pitch game 7 for the Phils?). Now everyone sees essentially what I was trying to point out yesterday. Last night was very likely a game the Phillies would win, and while all New York has to do is win one at home, Joe Girardi has really set them up to possible fail.
If you're confident in Andy Pettitte on three days rest for the first time in four years raise your hand. If you're confident in CC Sabathia again on three days left after a gutsy outing where he had maybe C+ stuff, raise your hand. Personally, I'm not confident in either. Andy has thrown well on short rest before, but he's much older now and his velocity is already down. If he throws any slower it might be much closer to batting practice than people realize.
The Yankees, in my opinion, will have to win this series with their bats. Pedro and an unknown starter in game 7 (Hamels? Happ?) are not world-beaters at this point. If I'm Philly I'm throwing Hamels despite his comments. If anything, I like him more with something to prove. Either way, Joe Girardi faltered by not throwing Gaudin up 3-1 against Cliff Lee. He could have then had AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte on full rest with CC available out of the pen. Or he could have thrown AJ on full rest and then came back with CC in the seventh.
As it stands this series looks eerily familiar to the 04 ALCS where the Yanks got stunned after they ran out of pitching against a potent lineup.
As for last night's game I won't get as in-depth. I didn't have a problem with using Coke down 6-2 against a bunch of lefties. I didn't think it wise to use up your good arms there with the way Lee settled in...and if the Yanks didn't come out and pop him no one would complain about the decision. You did have an off day today, but I still thought it a decent spot to use Coke - he just didn't deliver.
You see what happens when Molina is put into a lineup that already is going to have a weak hitting center-fielder and the pitcher - you basically get a very good top, but with a lot of pressure on it and room to work around. The Yankees 7-8-9 hitters are miserable game-in, game-out and it is really hurting their offense.
Chase Utley is a monster.
I have a feeling this series may come down to this - which team can get their power hitter going. Can the Yanks get Tex hitting again at home? Or does Ryan Howard break out and start popping homers again? That to me, above all else, will have the most say in deciding who wins this.
The Phillies are headed to New York but they must be feeling confident. Two games seems so much less insurmountable than three games. Even with Lee on the mound and the home-field advantage I felt that was a tricky game for Philly. Now, if Pedro throws well one more time and they get a decent start game 7, I think their bats may steal away the series. On the other hand, the Yanks have to feel good about winning just one of two at home. Andy Pettitte and CC Sabthia are gutsy pitchers who you don't fear handing the ball over to, and something like 6 innings 4 runs might just be good enough, especially if Tex starts to hit. Or maybe Cano with a couple well-hit balls snaps out of it? Either way, this series is far from over and should come to an exciting finish. Enjoy.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Series Over?
Last night, the Phillies suffered a crushing defeat that has just about everyone thinking this series is over for all intents and purposes.
I'm sure everyone saw it or at least the highlights and boxscore by now so I won't bore you with the details. A couple thoughts I had while watching:
The Phillies have let the Yankees off the hook time and again (see game 3, bases loaded 1 out for Victorino) and they did it again last night. After the Ynaks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Phils had a real chance to re-capture the lead in the bottom half after Chase Utley doubled in Victorino with 1 out and Howard stepping up to the plate (by the way, does anything sum up how good the Yanks are running this post-season like the A-Rod home run off the camera that shouldn't have gone out vs. Utley hitting that double off the top of the fence? It's a game of inches and the Yanks have been winning those inches)...and the Phils failed to score again that inning despite CC missing locations time and again.
Speaking of CC, he put together a gutsy performance but I think the innings are finally taking their toll as he was really laboring out there...the velocity was down on average, he missed a lot of spots, relied on his off-speed stuff and at times just looked flat out gassed out there.
To me, this game was won and lost in the 5th inning. In the top half the Yanks break a 2-2 tie and make it 4-2. The Phils brought the top of their order to the plate and Rollins delivered with a single, Victorino walked, and the table was set for the Phils to throw a knockout blow to CC Sabathia and even up the series 2-2. Utley watched a couple pitches right down the middle and couldn't hold back on a check swing on a 1-2 curve at his ankles and popped out weakly to short. Ryan Howard came up and impatiently popped out to left field. CC then got ahead on Werth and got him to chase a breaking ball in the dirt for strike 3...they got out of the inning unscathed and that to me pretty much ended the game and the series..
But the Phils did get another chance with the top of the order against CC surprisingly enough to me and I think Girardi made a big mistake letting CC pitch to Utley despite Rollins and Victorino scorching balls right at fielders and Utley delivered a solo homer.
In the bottom of the 8th, Joba came in and finally looked as electric as when they first brought him up and put him in the pen. He was throwing 96 mph fastballs that no one appeared capable of catching up to. He gets the first two outs and then has Pedro Feliz 1-2. Feliz looked about as far behind Joba's fastball as I usually did against an upper 80's fastball. Then Joba threw a 1-2 slider in the dirt immediately following McCarver's announcement "I don't think we'll see anything but the fastball with how hard Joba is throwing right now." Funny, but I actually think McCarver was right to say that..I don't think Feliz had a chance to catch up to the fastball there if he had to think about the slider in the back of his mind. When it went to 2-2 however, Joba had set him up perfectly and should have reared back and fired one as hard as he could..instead he got fancy and threw another slider in the dirt which Feliz was able to lay off. 3-2 count and every single person in the world, male, female, adult, kid, was sitting dead red on the fastball there - Feliz surely was and he deposited it into the left field bleachers. I thought it at the time, if you're throwing that 2-2 slider, you absolutely have to come back with it 3-2.
Didn't much matter as Lidge came in the 9th and allowed a 2 out single to Johnny Damon...Damon then stole 2nd and 3rd on the same pitch before Ledge hit Texeria. For some odd reason Lidge and Manuel decided to pitch to A-Rod, which might be more stupid than all of the moves I have killed Girardi for all post-season combined. A-Rod doubled. They then made an equally puzzling move pitching to Posada with first base open and the struggling Cano on deck and Posada plated two more runs, which completely ended any chance of the Phils coming back.
Now the whole world expects Cliff Lee to send it back to Yankee Stadium but Burnett looked good last out. I think the Yankees have a serious chance to close it out tonight against what should be a deflated Phillies team. Will be interesting to see how Burnett throws on short rest and the one caveat I will make is this: If Lee beats Burnett as most people seem to think he will....You have Andy Pettitte throwing on short rest like he has never done against a hot Pedro, I think that's a match that the Yankees will win, but if they do end up dropping that and we see a game 7 - I think Girardi has all but used up CC, again throwing him over 100 pitches. The game 7 adrenaline would probably help him but that is not something that the Yankees want to have to rely on. They'd be wise to close it out tonight, otherwise I have the funny feeling they better get it done game 6.
I'm sure everyone saw it or at least the highlights and boxscore by now so I won't bore you with the details. A couple thoughts I had while watching:
The Phillies have let the Yankees off the hook time and again (see game 3, bases loaded 1 out for Victorino) and they did it again last night. After the Ynaks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Phils had a real chance to re-capture the lead in the bottom half after Chase Utley doubled in Victorino with 1 out and Howard stepping up to the plate (by the way, does anything sum up how good the Yanks are running this post-season like the A-Rod home run off the camera that shouldn't have gone out vs. Utley hitting that double off the top of the fence? It's a game of inches and the Yanks have been winning those inches)...and the Phils failed to score again that inning despite CC missing locations time and again.
Speaking of CC, he put together a gutsy performance but I think the innings are finally taking their toll as he was really laboring out there...the velocity was down on average, he missed a lot of spots, relied on his off-speed stuff and at times just looked flat out gassed out there.
To me, this game was won and lost in the 5th inning. In the top half the Yanks break a 2-2 tie and make it 4-2. The Phils brought the top of their order to the plate and Rollins delivered with a single, Victorino walked, and the table was set for the Phils to throw a knockout blow to CC Sabathia and even up the series 2-2. Utley watched a couple pitches right down the middle and couldn't hold back on a check swing on a 1-2 curve at his ankles and popped out weakly to short. Ryan Howard came up and impatiently popped out to left field. CC then got ahead on Werth and got him to chase a breaking ball in the dirt for strike 3...they got out of the inning unscathed and that to me pretty much ended the game and the series..
But the Phils did get another chance with the top of the order against CC surprisingly enough to me and I think Girardi made a big mistake letting CC pitch to Utley despite Rollins and Victorino scorching balls right at fielders and Utley delivered a solo homer.
In the bottom of the 8th, Joba came in and finally looked as electric as when they first brought him up and put him in the pen. He was throwing 96 mph fastballs that no one appeared capable of catching up to. He gets the first two outs and then has Pedro Feliz 1-2. Feliz looked about as far behind Joba's fastball as I usually did against an upper 80's fastball. Then Joba threw a 1-2 slider in the dirt immediately following McCarver's announcement "I don't think we'll see anything but the fastball with how hard Joba is throwing right now." Funny, but I actually think McCarver was right to say that..I don't think Feliz had a chance to catch up to the fastball there if he had to think about the slider in the back of his mind. When it went to 2-2 however, Joba had set him up perfectly and should have reared back and fired one as hard as he could..instead he got fancy and threw another slider in the dirt which Feliz was able to lay off. 3-2 count and every single person in the world, male, female, adult, kid, was sitting dead red on the fastball there - Feliz surely was and he deposited it into the left field bleachers. I thought it at the time, if you're throwing that 2-2 slider, you absolutely have to come back with it 3-2.
Didn't much matter as Lidge came in the 9th and allowed a 2 out single to Johnny Damon...Damon then stole 2nd and 3rd on the same pitch before Ledge hit Texeria. For some odd reason Lidge and Manuel decided to pitch to A-Rod, which might be more stupid than all of the moves I have killed Girardi for all post-season combined. A-Rod doubled. They then made an equally puzzling move pitching to Posada with first base open and the struggling Cano on deck and Posada plated two more runs, which completely ended any chance of the Phils coming back.
Now the whole world expects Cliff Lee to send it back to Yankee Stadium but Burnett looked good last out. I think the Yankees have a serious chance to close it out tonight against what should be a deflated Phillies team. Will be interesting to see how Burnett throws on short rest and the one caveat I will make is this: If Lee beats Burnett as most people seem to think he will....You have Andy Pettitte throwing on short rest like he has never done against a hot Pedro, I think that's a match that the Yankees will win, but if they do end up dropping that and we see a game 7 - I think Girardi has all but used up CC, again throwing him over 100 pitches. The game 7 adrenaline would probably help him but that is not something that the Yankees want to have to rely on. They'd be wise to close it out tonight, otherwise I have the funny feeling they better get it done game 6.
Friday, October 30, 2009
All Square
Well, AJ Burnett finally earned his paycheck. As one of the biggest Burnett haters you will find I had a feeling this was a good spot for him and his arsenal is the type you need to beat this Phillies lineup. 7 innings, 4 hits, 9 k's, 2 bb's, 1 run. By the way, that run should have been unearned, Matt Stairs hit a one-hopper to A-Rod's glove side and that quite frankly is a play you have to make as a major league 3rd baseman. No clue how they scored that a hit. It wasn't the most routine play ever, but a definite error. So, Burnett was absolutely brilliant.
Again, game 2 saw two brilliant starting pitching performances where one guy gives up two solo home runs and it turns out to be the difference. Pedro Martinez and his afro turned back the clocks as he has done down the stretch all year throwing the bugs bunny change that fooled hitters all night. Unfortunately for him, he left one up a bit to Texeria and just as Manny Ramirez did in a previous game, sitting on that change, blasted it out of the park. He then gave up a home run to Matsui who golfed a ball about three inches off the ground down the left field line 320' for a stadium special.
6 innings, 6 hits, 8 k's, 2 bb's, 3 runs was Pedro's line. His last run scored after Manuel brought him out for the 7th inning and he allowed a two-strike bloop by Hairston Jr. and then a single to Melky Cabrera on a hit-and-run before being pulled. Chan Ho Park limited the damage in large thanks to Derek Jeter trying to bunt with two strikes, two on and no outs and a bit more of bad umpiring resulting in a double-play on Johnny Damon. Where do I begin?
First, Joe Girardi did a terrible job making this lineup. The 7-8-9 hitters were Jerry Hairston Jr. (because he's 10-27 off Pedro lifetime, yipppie), Melky, Jose Molina. If you're starting Molina over Posada there is no way you choose that game to start a guy like Hairston over Swisher. Yes, Swisher is slumping but he gives you a ton more power and a much greater ability to get on base. Since Hairston hit a cue shot down the line with two strikes (after looking hideous at the plate all night) in the 7th in what ended up being a big hit most will call Girardi a genius for the move. He wasn't, he was an idiot and got bailed out. By the way, the bottom of the lineup killed a few rallies and the Yanks may have gotten to Pedro real good with a better back-end, but we will never know.
In what was a brilliant move after Hairston gets on, Girardi pinch-runs Gardner, Melky shows bunt first pitch, they go to the hit-and-run on the following pitch. It's not clear if Melky was just showing bunt to confuse the Phils or not, but if-so that's brilliant by him or Girardi. That is the type of thing a good baseball manager will come up to you and say before an inning "hey look, if jerry gets on here we're going to run for him, show bunt first pitch and if its a strike we'll have gardner steal, if its a ball we may put the hit and run on, so be aware." And that is my guess to what happened, so kudos to Girardi there.
But this idea McCarver was promoting that Girardi is a genius for then pinch-hitting Posada there? Are you kidding me? Of course he's going to pinch-hit Posada there. It's 1st and 3rd no one out in a 2-1 ballgame bottom 7. Personally, I would've pinch-hit Posada for Molina the last time he got up (right before the Jeter double) and told Burnett to man up and throw to Jorge like he should anyway.
Next came Jeter bunting. Usually when Jeter bunts it's on his own. It's a nice thought Derek but come on, you're the hottest hitter in the lineup...give yourself a bit of credit and swing the stick. You're hitting .500 on the series and that's after fouling out. Great announcing by the way, "no way he bunts here (bunt) no way this happens (it happens)." We know for certain that Girardi, if he did have the bunt sign on, would have taken it off with two strikes. If he ever put it on it's a ridiculously bad call, but I'd bet it was Jeter all the way. I'm sure everyone has seen the next play as Damon hits it to Howard and it is incorrectly ruled a catch and resulted in a double-play. Not sure what Howard was doing there as the play would have resulted in everyone safe, bases chucked, 1 out for Tex/A-Rod..so this was a big play (and if the Yankees lost last night people would be calling for the umps heads..as is this is maybe the perfect play that would call for instant replay, though it's tricky in baseball and would slow down already slow games, more to come on this after the series)...all Howard had to do was step on first base for the double-play and even if he was playing it like a ground ball after you run to within a step of first base, step on it, sucker. **Editing in a note - Should mention this is a tough call to make and going to instant replay ruins the flow of the play, much like the difficulty of dealing with fumbles and whistling plays dead in football.
The next inning (8th) Mo comes in and the Phils have Rollins and Victorino on 1st and 2nd with 1 out and Utley batting. Count goes full and again McCarver is promoting a ridiculous idea that "You have to send the runners here." Manuel pretty much shut it down in the press conference after saying "Check the stats, I'll bet you Utley has hit into less than 5 double plays all year. So I wasn't worried about that. On top of that I don't want him lining out and if he strikes out, he's a lefty and Posada would have had a straight shot to third there. And I want Howard to hit." The fact is, McCarver, if you send the runners there and Utley makes an out, it's 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and 1st base is open so they're either walking Howard or making him chase a pitch. Werth with the bases stacked is nice there, but you want Howard to hit. It was just a freak play, Utley hit it taylor made, Cano and Jeter made a ridiculously sweet turn and in the words of Charlie Manuel, stopping mid-answer to about the third question after that and turning back to the reporter who asked why he didn't send the runners "And another thing Jim, check the replay, Utley didn't hit into a double-play, he was safe!" Classic.
Fox track is terrible. DJ Hero is terrible. And Fox, you're the worst. When we have Chase Utley squaring off with Marino Rivera in the 8th inning of a 3-1 game with two guys on, DO NOT SHOW ME THE BASE-RUNNERS. They missed the beginning of three pitches including the double play showing us a ridiculous angle. No one cares about the base-runners. What ever happened to the announcers? Can Joe Buck let us know if the runners are on the move? K Thanks.
A-Rod is now 0-8 with 6 k's and what should have been an error.
Ryan Howard went 0-4 with 4 k's last night, though he did have that big double in game 1, might be struggling.
Wonder who will take more heat if it continues?
Raul Ibanez is quietly putting together a brilliant series.
I know there was more I wanted to say, but I think my brain is burned out now. Games Saturday/Sunday/Monday/Wednesday/Thursday. Some huge decisions on pitching and such. I fully expect Hamels to "surprise" everyone and out-pitch Pettitte in game 3, but that shouldn't come as a surprise if you've been paying attention.
Again, game 2 saw two brilliant starting pitching performances where one guy gives up two solo home runs and it turns out to be the difference. Pedro Martinez and his afro turned back the clocks as he has done down the stretch all year throwing the bugs bunny change that fooled hitters all night. Unfortunately for him, he left one up a bit to Texeria and just as Manny Ramirez did in a previous game, sitting on that change, blasted it out of the park. He then gave up a home run to Matsui who golfed a ball about three inches off the ground down the left field line 320' for a stadium special.6 innings, 6 hits, 8 k's, 2 bb's, 3 runs was Pedro's line. His last run scored after Manuel brought him out for the 7th inning and he allowed a two-strike bloop by Hairston Jr. and then a single to Melky Cabrera on a hit-and-run before being pulled. Chan Ho Park limited the damage in large thanks to Derek Jeter trying to bunt with two strikes, two on and no outs and a bit more of bad umpiring resulting in a double-play on Johnny Damon. Where do I begin?
First, Joe Girardi did a terrible job making this lineup. The 7-8-9 hitters were Jerry Hairston Jr. (because he's 10-27 off Pedro lifetime, yipppie), Melky, Jose Molina. If you're starting Molina over Posada there is no way you choose that game to start a guy like Hairston over Swisher. Yes, Swisher is slumping but he gives you a ton more power and a much greater ability to get on base. Since Hairston hit a cue shot down the line with two strikes (after looking hideous at the plate all night) in the 7th in what ended up being a big hit most will call Girardi a genius for the move. He wasn't, he was an idiot and got bailed out. By the way, the bottom of the lineup killed a few rallies and the Yanks may have gotten to Pedro real good with a better back-end, but we will never know.
In what was a brilliant move after Hairston gets on, Girardi pinch-runs Gardner, Melky shows bunt first pitch, they go to the hit-and-run on the following pitch. It's not clear if Melky was just showing bunt to confuse the Phils or not, but if-so that's brilliant by him or Girardi. That is the type of thing a good baseball manager will come up to you and say before an inning "hey look, if jerry gets on here we're going to run for him, show bunt first pitch and if its a strike we'll have gardner steal, if its a ball we may put the hit and run on, so be aware." And that is my guess to what happened, so kudos to Girardi there.
But this idea McCarver was promoting that Girardi is a genius for then pinch-hitting Posada there? Are you kidding me? Of course he's going to pinch-hit Posada there. It's 1st and 3rd no one out in a 2-1 ballgame bottom 7. Personally, I would've pinch-hit Posada for Molina the last time he got up (right before the Jeter double) and told Burnett to man up and throw to Jorge like he should anyway.Next came Jeter bunting. Usually when Jeter bunts it's on his own. It's a nice thought Derek but come on, you're the hottest hitter in the lineup...give yourself a bit of credit and swing the stick. You're hitting .500 on the series and that's after fouling out. Great announcing by the way, "no way he bunts here (bunt) no way this happens (it happens)." We know for certain that Girardi, if he did have the bunt sign on, would have taken it off with two strikes. If he ever put it on it's a ridiculously bad call, but I'd bet it was Jeter all the way. I'm sure everyone has seen the next play as Damon hits it to Howard and it is incorrectly ruled a catch and resulted in a double-play. Not sure what Howard was doing there as the play would have resulted in everyone safe, bases chucked, 1 out for Tex/A-Rod..so this was a big play (and if the Yankees lost last night people would be calling for the umps heads..as is this is maybe the perfect play that would call for instant replay, though it's tricky in baseball and would slow down already slow games, more to come on this after the series)...all Howard had to do was step on first base for the double-play and even if he was playing it like a ground ball after you run to within a step of first base, step on it, sucker. **Editing in a note - Should mention this is a tough call to make and going to instant replay ruins the flow of the play, much like the difficulty of dealing with fumbles and whistling plays dead in football.
The next inning (8th) Mo comes in and the Phils have Rollins and Victorino on 1st and 2nd with 1 out and Utley batting. Count goes full and again McCarver is promoting a ridiculous idea that "You have to send the runners here." Manuel pretty much shut it down in the press conference after saying "Check the stats, I'll bet you Utley has hit into less than 5 double plays all year. So I wasn't worried about that. On top of that I don't want him lining out and if he strikes out, he's a lefty and Posada would have had a straight shot to third there. And I want Howard to hit." The fact is, McCarver, if you send the runners there and Utley makes an out, it's 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and 1st base is open so they're either walking Howard or making him chase a pitch. Werth with the bases stacked is nice there, but you want Howard to hit. It was just a freak play, Utley hit it taylor made, Cano and Jeter made a ridiculously sweet turn and in the words of Charlie Manuel, stopping mid-answer to about the third question after that and turning back to the reporter who asked why he didn't send the runners "And another thing Jim, check the replay, Utley didn't hit into a double-play, he was safe!" Classic.
Fox track is terrible. DJ Hero is terrible. And Fox, you're the worst. When we have Chase Utley squaring off with Marino Rivera in the 8th inning of a 3-1 game with two guys on, DO NOT SHOW ME THE BASE-RUNNERS. They missed the beginning of three pitches including the double play showing us a ridiculous angle. No one cares about the base-runners. What ever happened to the announcers? Can Joe Buck let us know if the runners are on the move? K Thanks.
A-Rod is now 0-8 with 6 k's and what should have been an error.
Ryan Howard went 0-4 with 4 k's last night, though he did have that big double in game 1, might be struggling.
Wonder who will take more heat if it continues?
Raul Ibanez is quietly putting together a brilliant series.
I know there was more I wanted to say, but I think my brain is burned out now. Games Saturday/Sunday/Monday/Wednesday/Thursday. Some huge decisions on pitching and such. I fully expect Hamels to "surprise" everyone and out-pitch Pettitte in game 3, but that shouldn't come as a surprise if you've been paying attention.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Phils Take Game 1 / The NBA Lives
Everyone can now wake up and realize that the Phillies have been flying under the radar. No way should the Yankees have been such overwhelming favorites in this series and we see why as Cliff Lee out-duels CC Sabathia and Chase Utley single-handedly out-hits the entire Yankees lineup.
Now the problem for the Yankees is this: If Burnett doesn't beat Pedro tonight, they might be on their death bed. I know I'm the only person in the world who still believes Cole Hamels is throwing well, but agree or not, that is going to be a very difficult game for the Yanks to win (game 3, back in Philly, Pettitte-Hamels). That means if they lose tonight they might be starting at 0-3. Looks like it's time for AJ Burnett to finally step up and show us all why the Yanks signed him to such a lucrative deal.
...oh and he has to out-pitch arguably one of the 5 greatest pitchers of all-time in Pedro Martinez (an old, lesser version, of course).
King James and the Cavs fall to 0-2? Glad I didn't get that Eastern Conference preview out saying the Cavs would win 70 games. The king did notch a triple-double in a losing effort.
God, the Knicks are dreadful.
Now the problem for the Yankees is this: If Burnett doesn't beat Pedro tonight, they might be on their death bed. I know I'm the only person in the world who still believes Cole Hamels is throwing well, but agree or not, that is going to be a very difficult game for the Yanks to win (game 3, back in Philly, Pettitte-Hamels). That means if they lose tonight they might be starting at 0-3. Looks like it's time for AJ Burnett to finally step up and show us all why the Yanks signed him to such a lucrative deal.
...oh and he has to out-pitch arguably one of the 5 greatest pitchers of all-time in Pedro Martinez (an old, lesser version, of course).
King James and the Cavs fall to 0-2? Glad I didn't get that Eastern Conference preview out saying the Cavs would win 70 games. The king did notch a triple-double in a losing effort.
God, the Knicks are dreadful.
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