World Series Games 3 & 4: Haya Doin’?!
‘I can feel it comin’ in the air tonight, oh Lord;
& I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord… oh Lord’
Anyway, prior to game three, the series was tied at 1 apiece. After Games 3 and 4, however, our boys in blue have taken a commanding (but still not quite cemented) 3-1 lead. Game 5 is tonight, AJ Burnett on the mound against Cliff Lee. We do face a bit of a conundrum, however. Winning the game against Cliff Lee would be ever so sweet, but losing it would allow for the return to the motherland to win #27 in front of the home crowd. I’m not saying they should lose on purpose – that would be blasphemous – but I’m saying it won’t be too much of a big deal if they did lose tonight… especially since Cliff Lee is on the mound and he basically put us in our place his last time out.
Enough about tonight though, this entry is to go back over the dealings of the past two games. Halloween night, I’m at my friend’s house with a bunch of other friends. Luckily, he has a massive TV in his basement and we got to watch the glory.
Andy Pettitte went 6 innings, gave up 5 hits and 4 runs, but struck out 7. That may look like a bit of a crappy line, but we were fortunate enough to have the offense show up and contend in this game – including some from ol’ Southern Comfort himself! YOU GO ANDY! Cole Hamels was on the receiving end of most of that offense and was knocked out after only pitching 4-and-a-third. Johnny Damon is keeping himself awake in this World Series. He had himself 2 RBIs. Alex Rodriguez had 2 RBI as well, courtesy of a homer that had to be reviewed. That was definitely a huge, HUGE turning point in that game. That cut the Phillies’ lead to 3-2. The fifth inning was the biggie inning – 3 runs scored, putting us up 5-3. We never gave the lead back after that. Nick Swisher, who had a great night offense wise – had a solo shot in the 6th. Looks like that stance change was a pretty good idea. Pinch hitter Hideki Matsui got a shot as well despite playing at CBP, and hit a solo shot in the 8th. The Phillies managed another run in the 6th off Pettitte, but Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte stopped that from continuing. However, the Phillies did get another run in the bottom of the 9th [wtf, Phil Hughes?], but Mariano Rivera came in and shut ish down. 8-5 win, 2-1 lead.
CC Sabathia pitched last night, and was considerably better than he was in Game 1. He faced Joe Blanton, who apparently isn’t as terrible as we all thought he’d be. He pitched rather well considering his reputation. CC went 6-and-two-thirds and gave up three runs. Blanton went 6 and gave up four.
Again, the offense was in attendance and was the big contributing factor, as per the usual. We have the first five guys in the lineup to thank for that. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon [making a complete and utter mockery of the Phillies' infield by stealing two bases in one artfully beautiful play], Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez [yeah, hit him again and see what happens, I #@$%IN' DARE YA!] each had an RBI apiece, and Jorge Posada came through with 3. Big doin’s at Citizens Bank Park last night. What a way to pump people up, let me tell you. I was shaking [partly because of how big it was, and partly because the friggin' umps were thisclose to giving me an ulcer or two, or twenty]. But no matter, all that matters is that we are ONE WIN AWAY FROM WINNING IT ALL. ONE. WIN. AWAY. FROM. #27. LET’S DO THISSSSS!!!!!
AJ is gonna be big tonight. He needs to pitch like he did the other day. NEEDS to. I will be honest though, I won’t be completely heartbroken if things don’t work out. I really like – no, love – the idea of winning a World Series [after 9 years of waiting] in New York… especially in the new Stadium. It would make the accomplishment that much sweeter. But, of course, I will take this however it wants to come. It will be completely euphoric no matter where it happens, and I cannot wait until then!
World Series Games 1 & 2: Freaky Wednesday/Thursday
let me see what spring is like on Jupiter & Mars’
The World freakin’ Series. Hard to believe we’ve already had two games. Also hard to believe that CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett had a Freaky Friday-but-really-Wednesday-Thursday moment (more on that soon). To sum it up, the series is tied 1-1, and our boys are now in Philly awaiting tonight’s Game 3 start at Citizens Bank Park. Andy Pettitte, our own version of Southern Comfort, will be on the mound to face Cole Hamels. Now, it is Halloween, and I will be out at a friend’s house, but luckily a TV will be available. No need to fear, folks. I will be watching this game, no. matter. what. =)
Now, back to the CC and AJ situ. CC pitched game 1, and he pitched pretty well. He wasn’t his usual stellar self, but it certainly would’ve been enough to get by if not for our lapsing offense. Clearly, they decided not to show up on Wednesday [sigh]. I was quite close to throwing something large and lamp-shaped into my TV, but I refrained. I remembered that we need to keep TPPT™ and GoodKarma™ on our side for this entire series. It was one game out of a possible seven. We had time. We were more than capable of coming back in the end. Okay, by “the end” I was hoping “the end of this game,” but we all know that didn’t happen. The fact that Phil Hughes did his best impression of a choke artist plus the fact that Brian Bruney is, well, Brian Bruney, left us in a 6-0 hole. The final was 6-1. Yuck.
I know I said our offense was slacking, which it was, but I must give credit where credit is due. Cliff Lee basically spanked us and put us in time-out like we were disobedient children (more on this momentarily). He’s good. Too good. I’m not gonna knock the guy for his talent. He was just better Wednesday night. Props to him. [facepalm]
Lucky for us, Thursday night was alright for fightin’. AJ freakin’ Burnett was in. the. building. Wheelin’ & dealin’ some filthy-nasty pitches. It was artful, a beautiful sight to behold [in more ways than one ]. Seven strong innings, four hits, one earned run, and nine K’s. He Hulkified and basically turned the tables on the Phillies. Throw in some Mariano Rivera for the two-out save and some Pedro Martinez for the LOSS, and we are good to go. It was like a spa day. So relaxing.
I was looking through pictures from this game, and I swear I’ve never seen so many of Derek Jeter completely pumped up. It seemed like every other click led to a fist pump and a mouthing of something along the lines of “YEAAAAAH!!!” Just an interesting tidbit I thought I’d share, but I digress.
The final of this game was only 3-1, but those 3 were a huuge 3, clearly. Some Texual Healin’ courtesy of Mark Teixeira and a Godzilla impression courtesy of Hideki Matsui confirmed the paternity test. The Yankees are, in fact, Pedro’s daddy. It was our turn to spank him and put him in time-out, fershure! Tack on another run courtesy of Brett “The Jett” Gardner [running for Jerry Hairston, Jr., who had a base knock] brought in by Jorge Posada, and we have Game 2 in the bag. Good stuff, good stuff.
To rewind for a second… In all honesty, I wasn’t that impressed with the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys performance. I actually listened to the song itself, and it’s kinda dumb, I can’t lie. The chorus doesn’t even rhyme. If Billy Joel was there playing “New York State of Mind,” it would’ve been better. Hands down. And what was Alicia wearing? Honestly? Whatever. It’s over. Hopefully it never happens again. Sorry to those who think H-to-the-Izzoh, V-to-the-Izzay is the Second Coming (but not really). =)
So, of course we’re expecting big things from our favorite Southpaw tonight. I have faith in him. He’s Andy Pettitte. If anyone can do this, it’s him. He’s got the bling to show for it. We have got this series, no matter what anybody says. We have GOT this. LET’S GO, YANKEES! *CLAP, CLAP, CLAPCLAPCLAP!*
ALCS Game 6: The Hunt for #27
‘Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive.’
The New York Yankees are the 2009 Champions of the American League.
The New York Yankees are the 2009 Champions of the American League.
The New York Yankees are the 2009 Champions of the American League.
The New York Yankees are the 2009 Champions of the American League.
Just in case you haven’t heard it already, the New York Yankees are the 2009 Champions of the American League! They beat the Angels last night by a score of 5-2; 4 games to 2 in an epic 6-game series. Sure, Game 6 didn’t end with a dramatic walk-off like 2003 in the days of old, but sh_t, we’ll take it.
Our boys only need 4 more wins to be the 2009 World Champions. FOUR more wins against the Phillies, and “We Are the Champions” will take on a humongous persona. I’m beyond pumped for Wednesday to come and Game 1 to begin.
As far as last night goes, Andy Pettitte was superb. 1 earned run in 6-and-a-third, 7 hits and 6 K’s. Those 7 hits basically went to waste, like most of the Angels’ hits did in this series. I’m pretty confident that as a whole, they left a small island on the bases [thanks, Dad!]. All in all, they didn’t play their best baseball, and neither did the Yankees for that matter, but clearly we prevailed and therefore we played better! =D
Johnny Damon, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez. The dynamic three-o of the night. 2 RBI for J-Dames, and one apiece for Tex & A-Rod. It’s good to see that money going to good use. ;D When you have a combo like that in the lineup, it’s hard to say you’re gonna lose. Luckily, their work as well as Andy’s and Joba Chamberlain‘s and Mariano Rivera‘s led to some more celebrations of epic proportions. You can’t beat watching grown men act like they’re 13 running around like lunatics and jumping on top of each other to see who can get the most hops. It’s hilarious for one thing, and beyond that, it’s special to watch. You can really tell how appreciative these guys are to be in this situation and how much they want it all. These guys haven’t been in the Fall Classic since 2003. I think it’s high time it was their turn to go the distance once again. So, the hunt for #27 is alive and well.
ALCS Games 4 & 5: Myocardial Infarction, FTW.
‘Workin’ like a dog for the boss man, workin’ for the company;
I’m bettin’ on the dice I’m tossin’, I’m gonna have a fantasy.’
I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. First we get spoiled beyond the point of recovery in game 4, then Game 5 happens and basically AK-47′s our hopes for the night. Now that is clearly not cool.
This will be relatively short, because yesterday’s game nearly killed me and I think I’d have a traumatic experience if I have to relive it. However, I’m more than happy to talk about Game 4. =)
CC muh-flippin’ Sabathia. DOMINANT. There are not enough positive adjectives in the English language to desribe this beast of a man. He’s spectacular, stupendous, marvelous, et cetera, et cetera. Redundance is completely necessary. Let the broken records play. I’ll be singing this guy’s praises until I kick the bucket. He is epic. He is god-like. He is quite possibly the Second Coming.
Offense: <33333 Could you come into my life [well, all our lives] more often please?! You hardly call or give me [us] nice things anymore… I felt like we were drifting slowly apart, it was almost too painful to bear… Okay, dramatic monologue over. Seriously, though. Scott Kazmir may as well have been hit by a Mac truck. Same goes for Matt Palmer. Poor chumps, they had no idea it was coming. Just see for yourself…
Melky El Lechito Cabrera? Beastin’. Alexander The Great Rodriguez? Beastin’ even more. Johnny J-Dames Damon? ‘Bout time you woke your a$s up! A beautiful, beautiful 10-1 win over LAAAAAAAAAA? Priceless. There really are some things money can’t buy. Gratification, for the win. ;D
Sure, they basically butt-plugged the Angels in this game. That was all well and good. Last night, they’re on the verge of a monumental comeback and FAIL miserably. Oh Phil Hughes. Oh, Nick Swisher. Oh, everybody. Where were you last night? Maybe these off days are too much. At least it’s back to the homeland for Game 6, which will hopefully be the last for LAAAAAAAAAA. I’m sick of them. Having a holy object as a mascot is just cruel. Nepitism, I tell you! [shakes fist at sky] But that’s besides the point. Tomorrow, the Angels will be flying back to SoCal or Heaven, but preferably Hell… [or wherever the hell they habituate] and staying there until next season. MARK MY WORDS.
In other news, the Phillies beat the Dodgers in their series 4-1 and will be the opponent for the World Series. C’mon Yanks, GET WITH IT SO WE CAN SEND THESE GUYS PACKIN’ TOO! =) TPPT™ & GoodKarma™ be with us, y’all!
ALCS Game 3: Oh, HELL No!
‘So you think you’re lonely, well my friend I’m lonely too
I want to get back to my city by the bay…’
-_-”
Okay, maybe not by the bay since ‘bay’ may be related to California… but you get the idea.
Today was obviously not a very good display of what our boys are capable of, to say the very least. It definitely could have been prevented through many various means.
I’m gonna keep this short and sweet, ’cause I’m not really in the mood to get into detail. Let’s just say Andy Pettitte should’ve gotten more run support, and Joe Girardi just plain screwed himself over, i.e. Mariano Rivera and David Robertson.
At least CC Sabathia is on the mound tomorrow; the stopper, the drain, the knight in shining armor, etc. Let’s just hope the bats come alive and get something done. Here’s looking at you, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, and Melky Cabrera… [cough]
Yes, folks, tomorrow is another day! We have to forget about this loss and focus on the important things in life at the moment: TPPT⢠& GoodKarmaâ¢. They will avenge us, this I promise you! Mark my words, [as I said on Twitter and shall now repeat] CC will make a$sponies of those Halos tomorrow! [maniacal laugh] Choke a rally monkey & let the good vibes take over! WOOOOO!!!!!
ALCS Games 1 & 2: Oh, HELL Yeah!
‘So come on, feel the noise; girls rock your boys
We’ll get wild, wild, wild… wild, wild, wild.’
How can a Yankee fan not be happy at this point? I mean really. At home in the freezing cold conditions, against none other than the Hellish Halos, your hopes are high but expectations? They may waver a tad. Our boys have done us good in these two games. They made the Angels look like monkeys [pun possibly intended]. It was grand.
Game 1: CC “Boss Dawg” Sabathia took the hill for his first trip of the series. He tossed eight innings of one-run, four-hit, seven-K ball. If that’s not ballin’, I’m not sure what is. If he pitches twice more in this series, it’s gotta be in the bag. You can never have a doubt when the guy is on the mound. He’s the insurance policy. In short, he is amazing.
Before I continue, I just want to thank Jason over at Heartland Pinstripes for always having awesome recaps of the game. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to be as detailed as I want to. You freakin’ rock, Jason!
Okay, so, Alex Rodriguez was to thank for the Yankees’ drawing first blood in game 1. LET THEM HATERS HAAATE. He’s clearly proven everybody wrong who’s doubted him. He was basically the MVP of the DS, along with CC, AJ, and Andy, of course. Anyway, he had a sac-fly to put the Yanks up 1-0 in the first, and Matsui followed with a bloop single to score Johnny Damon. WOOP.
Fast-forward to the fifth, Hideki Matsui knocks a double to score J-Dames and make the score 3-1. A-Rod tries to do the same, but instead was called out in a pretty intense collision at home plate – more intense for Jeff Mathis, I should say. It was a good try nonetheless I suppose, although he did run through Robbie Thomson’s stop sign.
There was one more run to be had in the sixth, thanks to a botched pickoff attempt by John Lackey & a single by Derek Jeter to score Melky Cabrera. This made the score 4-1, which ended up being the final. Angels’ miscues certainly were used to our advantage in this game. Good times.
Game 2: It was AJ Burnett‘s turn on the mound. Through the first four, he was workin’ it. When the fifth inning came around however, he let the Halos come back and tie the game at two. He ended up going six-and-a-third, just allowing three hits and having four Ks. On any other day, this would be considered a really good outing for him, so I’m not gonna knock the guy.
Offense, offense, offense. Robbie Cano with a triple to score Nick Swisher, who of course worked a walk, in the second. Captain Clutch then decided to tack another one on with a solo shot to right field in the third.
Naturally, the game went into extras, and dramatics ensued. Chone Figgins, the president of the Lollipop Guild, hit a single in the 11th to score Gary Matthews Jr. and make the score 3-2 with Alfredo Aceves on the mound. Aceves did not save us. Growl. This was the point where I was near stroking in the club where I was out with friends for a birthday. Yes, I was glued to the TV. Yes, I know how stinky that sounds, LOL. But as I’ve said, I have an addiction. O=) Anywho, as my other friends were on the dance floor, I watched Alex Rodriguez put us at ease, blasting a solo shot to right field in the bottom of the inning. There were many cheers to be had by the patrons other than myself.
Aside from Aceves, the combined efforts of Phil Coke (.1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K), Joba Chamberlain (.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Phil Hughes (.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K), Mariano Rivera (2.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K), Damaso Marte (.1 IP), and David Robertson (1.1 IP, 2 BB, 1 H, 1 K) yielded good results (though the lines look pretty shaky). Whatever hits these guys gave up didn’t do any damage. They cleaned themselves up rather nicely.
To the thirteenth we go. Robbie Cano with an error in the top of the frame to let Erick Aybar aka Coolio on base. Ugh. Aybar bunted to 2nd by Figgy. Ugh. Bobby Abreu IBBed. Ugh. Torii Hunter with a groundout to DJ, but the runners move up. Ugh. At this point I was just begging to be put out of my misery. Thank God Vladimir Guerrero was having a bit of an off day. As my Dad put it “he left a small country on base last night.” Inning over, crisis averted. Whew.
Bottom half of the thirteenth. I’m in the car on the way home from the club, wishing I was still in front of the TV. Jerry Hairston Jr., pinch-hitting, hits a single. Brett Gardner bunts him to second. Sacrifice successful. Cano gets IBBed. Melky hits a grounder to second, and Maicer Izturis makes a MAJOR faux pas and throws the ball away! JHJ scores! YANKEES WIN, THEEEEEEEEEE YANKEES WIN! Much screaming and celebrating ensued while en route to my house. Myself as well as two of my friends scared the bejesus out of our other friend in the passenger seat. Whoops. All in the name of winning, of course. =)
So, our boys travel to Anaheim and far better weather in the west for games 3 and 4. Up 2-0 has a really, really nice ring to it. The matchup for Monday afternoon consists of Andy Pettitte vs. Jered Weaver. I’m beyond the point of being hyped/stoked/excited/etc. My blood pressure is probably through the roof. Ah, well. Two more wins and we are off to the WORLD SERIES, BABY! =D LET’S DO THIS!
Baseball Withdrawal
‘This the type of town I could spend a few days in
Miami, the city that keeps the roof blazin”
-_-
Day three without Yankees baseball, and I’m not doing too well.
Yes, today may be my birthday and I should be enjoying it – and I did, I promise – but seriously. I need baseball. Give it to me intravenously, I don’t care, JUST GIVE IT TO ME NOW! >=O
Ugh. Why must baseball be like crack? It’s so addicting… and spoiling, since it’s basically 162+ straight days. This October-being-pretty-much-the-end-of-the-road thing is annoying. It’s a good weaning-off process for after the World Series, but it’s still not my cup of tea. Don’t get me wrong, though, I have love beyond love for playoff baseball… it’s like an even stronger crack, which is probably why I feel like I have the shakes. [just kidding]
I may have NCAA basketball to tide me over from November until the start of next season, but it just doesn’t do the same job baseball does. I do get really into it, but baseball is basically the substance that makes up my blood. Yankees baseball is like my heart, and without that, what’s to keep my real heart from stopping?! Again, hyperbole, but you get where I’m going with this.
But anyway, I shouldn’t worry about this now. Only two more days and I’ll have my boys back! =D I’ve got to say, their beating of the Twinkies in three games was a damn good early birthday present. Plus, I actually had a good day at school today [I skipped a class, sssh!] and my friends are amazing. Even though there wasn’t a party involved, it was probably one of the better birthdays I’ve had, so I’m happy! Plus, tomorrow some friends and I are throwing a surprise party kind of thing at school for my other friend since her birthday is Sunday… I’m excited for that. And Saturday she herself is planning a party at a local club – that oughta be some good times ;D hehe. And before anyone starts thinking “WTF ALCS GAME 2 OMG!,” I know I’ll be missing it. Clearly I’ll be checking in on the scores via text, and I’ll absolutely blog the next day to catch myself up!
With all of that said, I’m just gonna stick with TPPT™ & GoodKarma™ to get my boys through Saturday night since I won’t be able to watch live… although now that I think about it, this place is a lounge too, so maybe there will be TVs?! =D =D =D Okay, anyway, I figured I’d post since I’m currently bored out of my skull. At least SVU and Eastwick are on tonight, WOO!
ALDS Game 3: Game, Set, SWEEP
‘Let ‘em see me, hi hater; pull off easy, bye hater
You don’t like me, why hater? Won’tcha tell ‘em how mad I make ya?’
Who would’ve thought that a matchup between Carl friggin’ Pavano and Andy Pettitte would be a pitchers’ duel for a good percentage of the time? Not me, that’s for sure. I was so sure Pavano would collapse under the pressure and be carted off the field on a stretcher with another fake injury. No, on the contrary, he went ahead and said ‘suck it, NY’ to everyone who ever doubted him. Well, he did for the first 6 innings of the game, at least. =)
Andy went toe-to-toe with Pavano, matching his every move through the first 5 frames. He did give up an RBI single to Joe Mauer in the 6th, but that was all to be had for the Twinkies. He pitched to Jason Kubel in the 7th and was relieved for Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Mariano Rivera, the latter two having gotten over whatever heebie-jeebies they were suffering from previously. The pitching certainly has been the story of this ALDS, all three Yankee starters only allowing 1 earned run in each of their respective starts this series. And the bullpen is, well, the bullpen. Not just any bullpen, though… THE bullpen.
When all of us out there in Yankees Universe thought Carl Pavano was actually gonna do something useful with his life, we were avenged. Alex friggin’ Rodriguez came to bat in the 7th inning and knocked a solo shot over the football seats in right field of the Metrodome [RIP]. Now you understand why the aforementioned song is his theme? Good. I’m glad we cleared that up. A couple of outs later, Jorge Posada, aka JoPo Fa-Sho-Sho, put us on top (ba dum, ch!) with another shot to left this time, barely making it over the wall and leaping try of Delmon Young. Just like that, we were up 2-1, and Pavano was in line for the loss. [celebratory dance]
Of course, all of us fans out there were looking for insurance, and we got it. Ninth inning, three straight walks from three different Twins pitchers. Joe Nathan to the mound, and… cue the fail. JoPo knocked a single and Robbie Cano followed suit, giving us another two runs. Cue Mo for the 4-out save, and FIN. Game ovah! ALDS ovah! ALCS here we [bleep]in’ come!
Speaking of Alex Rodriguez and his haters, I think they’re all fit to
be gagged after the series numbers he put up. 5-11 with 6 RBI. He
should have done as they do in Minnesota and sent the Metrodome out with some class. But hey, that’s just my opinion. Just kidding. That would’ve just been silly.
See where TPPT
™ & GoodKarma
™ get you? They get you a friggin’ Division Series Championship and some bottles to pop. Now we need them more than ever, especially with the Hellish Halos
™ coming to town on Friday. FRIDAY?! A YANKEE-LESS FOUR DAYS?! I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN TAKE THIS! But I must – WE must. I guess it’s good practice for when the season’s over… [slaps self] …sorry. We’ll not speak of such nonsense. We all know baseball season never ends! [nervous laugh] … I guess we’ll just have to live with National League doin’s until then. The Phillies are up 2-1 in their series against the Rockies – the only really competitive series. All three LCS contenders that have already been decided have become so via the sweep [cough CHOKE SOX cough]. How boring. (SIIIIIKE) Game 4 of that series is tonight at 6:00. I might just watch some of it to get my baseball fix. Until we meet again, bloggers!
ALDS Game 2: Bite My Lip & Close My Eyes
‘Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard,
’cause hell’s broke loose in Georgia and the devil deals the cards.’
No, really, like DAYUM.
I don’t know how much more my little 18-[but 19 in four days, wooooop!] year-old heart can take of this stress! I mean, it’s a good stress, but still. Last night’s game was thisclose to giving me a stroke. After going scoreless through 5, and then tied at one after the 6th, it seemed like the game was never gonna end. But little did I know that would be where the real stress began.
The 7th was eventless, no scoring done. Girardi enlisted Joba Chamberlain and Phil Coke to get it done, and they did. The 8th came around, and all of Yankees Universe felt even safer – Phil Hughes took the mound. But what we did not expect to see was what actually happened… he choked. He choked and we choked. Phil Hughes, after making minimal miscues during his superbly stellar season [I'm in an alliterative mood today], he gives up a run. Quickly, though Hughes did get two outs, Girardi called for the Sandman, Marino flippin’ Rivera, to stop the bleeding. But stop it he did not, at least not at first. He allowed another one of Hughes’ stranded runners to score. End frame – the score was now 3-1. Hope was nearly lost, for two of our knights in shining armor were all but thrown off their mighty steeds.
Of course, leave the dramatics to occur until the last possible second. Bottom 9, Joe Nathan, the Twins’ epic closer on the mound, Mark Teixeira on base with a single, Alex Rodriguez at the plate. After having a very good Game 1, many of us in Yankees Universe had to be thinking his playoff woes were over. He had gotten the 2-out RBI in the 6th inning to tie the game initially. Could he do it again? You’re damn right he could.
A two-run homer into the Yankees’ bullpen did the trick. Joe Nathan, not having much success against the Yankees in the first place, just hung his head in disgust. Many of us fans were undoubtedly shouting profanities – in a positive light, if that’s at all possible – and probably other things like “YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, SUCK IT HATERS! A-ROD’S F@$#IN’ BACK!” But hey, the guy deserves the praise. Two games, 5 RBI, all of a clutch nature. How can you hate on that? By saying he’ll choke the rest of the way? Well, we still need to get past these pesky Twins, so hate all you want. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
Into extras we went. the 10th inning went by without any offensive action – mostly because of a quickly turned double play to end the inning. With Brett Gardner on 3rd after a Jorge Posada single and a couple of throwing errors by the Twins, Johnny Damon hit a soft liner over the glove of Jose Mijares – but into the glove of Orlando Cabrera. With Gardner off at the crack of the bat, he was easily doubled up at third. End frame.
Top 11, the Yankees, as well as the fans, catch a lucky break. Phil Cuzzi clearly missed a call on a Joe Mauer hit ball down the left field line off of Damaso Marte. What would have been a double was rendered a foul ball. Turning point? Maybe, but I consider it more of a sign from God that the Yankees were going to win this game.
Bottom 11, Jose Mijares back on the mound, Mark Teixeira leading off. After seeing three pitches, leaving him at a count of 2-1, Tex belts a shot down the left field line. Would it be fair? Would it have the height? YES, YES, YES. WALK-OFF SOLO SHOT FROM MARKY MARK. FEEL THE VIBRATIONS! [jams] Chills up and down the collective spine of fans everywhere. What a moment. And he finally got the pie.
Lost in the moment: AJ Burnett & David Robertson. AJ pitched really well in his first-ever playoff spot. He went 6 while only giving up 1 run, 3 hits, and striking out 6. The 5 walks were really the only loose screw. But hey, from a guy who’d been struggling a few starts previous to a pressure spot like this, kudos all the way. David Robertson got the win in last nights game of epic proportions, coming in and saving Damaso Marte’s a$s. Amazing stuff from the kid.
What is there not to love about Yankees baseball? Honestly, I don’t understand how people can hate this. Drama-filled games, adrenaline rushes, even the ridiculous amount of stress?! This is what baseball is all about! Even if you’re not a Yankees fan, you have to appreciate the fight these guys have. To have good feelings about a win even while you’re losing? It’s what so many fans hope for from their team. Lucky for us Yankee fans, this 2009 team has given us that and so much more. Absolutely incredible.
Game three, possibly a deciding game on our side, Andy Pettitte takes the hill against [gulp] Carl freakin’ Pavano. Sure, that name may live in infamy in the hearts of Yankee fans everywhere, but I have a good feeling that we’re gonna come out on top. After that guy’s “stint” in pinstripes, we sure as hell deserve it. I can’t wait to see the look in his face… [maniacal laugh] … but, we will just have to wait – ’til tomorrow – to see that.
ALDS Game 1: All Systems Are Go
‘Been away so long I hardly knew the place,
gee, it’s good to be back home.’
Aside from being excessively hyper and shaking to the point where I looked like I had a medical issue, I had a knot in the pit of my stomach. I could have attributed it to a number of things, like the fact that I still have some sort of bug, boy troubles, stress in general, but no. This was no ordinary knot. This was a playoff knot, through and through. How could I tell this? It was gone [for the most part] today – after the win settled in my head.
The first two innings were relatively event-less, save for a couple of jams that CC, the Boss Dawg, worked into and out of himself. Speaking of CC, he earned himself a good supply of chipotle cheesesteak sandwiches for last night’s performance. Okay, he did give up 2 runs [in the third inning, more on this soon] and 8 hits overall, but he struck out 9 and did not walk a single Twin. Sure, a good number of us wanted to string him up for letting the Twins draw first blood, but he was redeemed quite a few times over, thanks to the trusty offense.
Trusty. Would that be good enough of a word to describe these guys? Probably not, but since my brain is nearly scrambled from excitement, it’s the best I can do. =) Anyway, back to the third inning. Our boys in pinstripes drew some blood right back, with El Capitán actually pulling a pitch for a homer with the Melkster on base. It was one of those you-know-right-away homers. It was a thing of beauty, a work of art, if you will. Even Jeet knew it right off the bat (pun intended). You know all is going well when Captain Clutch is just as his namesake implies.
So, with that two-run shot by Jeet, the score was tied 2-2 after the third. Bottom four – NickySwish at bat with 2 dead… knocks a double to score Robbie from first to take – and keep – the lead. From that moment on, whatever came was just insurance. In the fifth inning, Mr. Roboto popped a 2-run shot to put our minds at ease. A-Rod had himself 2 RBIs as well. Yep, that’s right. A-ROD had TWO RBIs in a PLAYOFF game. Suck on that, haters.
Our bullpen of course deserves a moderate amount of credit as well, I mean, they kept the Twins scoreless in the entire 2-and-a-third that they were in the game. Hughesy, Cokie, Jobey, and Moey. Need I really go into details? I think the names basically scream for themselves. Our bullpen is ballin’, clearly. No two ways about it.
And now an off day for our boys. It’s not an off day for all, however. At the moment, we have the Rockies beating the Phillies 4-1 in the sixth. Later on, we’ll have the Cards and Dodgers and the [shudders] Red Sox and Angels. I’d like to see the Dodgers pull through that series, but I honestly have no idea how I feel about the Angels or Red Sox. I hate them both relatively equally. Damn them! [shakes fist at sky] But I think I’ll just relax and enjoy the view for now. Tomorrow will probably restart that lovely feeling of nausea, but I can deal with it! =)
Perennial Pinstriper
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