Results tagged ‘ Minnesota Twins ’
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! =)
Twins/Tigers = EPIC.
‘I consider it a challenge before the whole human race
that I’d never lose.’
Apropos song choice, no? ;D
So… our opponent for the ALDS has finally been decided. After twelve innings of pure playoff-baseball and the atmosphere that comes with it, the Twins mounted a walk-off victory against the Tigers tonight. The entire game was just epic. I swear, if that was a Yankee game, I’m convinced a good percentage of Yankees Universe would have had a collective heart attack.
Since most Yankee fans out there were probably watching the game to see what happened, I need not go into the details. Let’s just keep it at this: web gems and clutch plays galore. I’m not usually one to watch games that don’t involve the Yankees, but this was definitely more than worth it!
Tomorrow, Boss Dawg takes the hill for Game Numero Uno. I am any combination of the following: stoked/hyped/pumped/jacked/excited/anxious/etc. My blood was pumping throughout tonight’s entire game. Who knows what that means for the series that actually matters! Remember folks, we need to keep TPPT™ & GoodKarma™ on our side for the rest of this 2009 season. LET’S GO YANKEES!
Perennial Pinstriper
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