WS Game 3 - Pettitte is Double Threat in Yanks Win

It appeared that Andy Pettitte was about to be blown out by the Phillies in the 2nd inning. He was touched up for 3 runs, including a solo shot to Jayson Werth, and left 2 men on base when he struck out the greasy-haired Chase Utley to end the long inning. Pettitte, however, settled down after that, only allowing another solo shot to Werth in the 6th inning after the Yanks bats finally woke up.

The Yanks rally began when ARod lofted a shot down the RF line that hit a camera. Initially called a double, the umps reviewed the replay and correctly called it a HR that brought the Yanks to within 1 run in the 4th. The Yanks would tack on 3 more runs in the 5th to chase Phillies starter, Cole Hamels. Pettitte tied the score at 3, knocking in Nick Swisher with a single. That is not a misprint - there was an actual Swisher sighting tonight, as he led off the inning with a double. He also homered in the 6th for his 1st dinger this postseason. Joe Girardi should bench this guy more often.

Johnny Damon also had a 2-run double in the 5th. The Yanks scored their other runs on a Jorge Posada single and a pinch-hit HR from Hideki Matsui. Pettitte only lasted 6 innings, but he gave a gutsy performance, allowing the Yanks to get back into the game. The Yankees only had 8 hits, but fortunately, Philadelphia only managed 6 of their own.

Joba Chamberlain and Damaso Marte gave the Bombers bullpen hope when they retired 6 straight batters. Marte struck out 2 batters. With a 4-run lead, Girardi opted to start the 9th with Phil Hughes, which is a good call, since the Yanks need him to get things right. Hughes retired his first batter before serving up a solo shot to Yankee killer, Carlos Ruiz. In came Mariano Rivera, who just needed 5 pitches to end the game, including retiring loud-mouth Jimmy Rollins on a weak pop-up.

Thoughts and observations on the Series:

- Melky, Tex and ARod are hitting .100 in the series, while Cano is even worse at .091. ARod was also hit twice and walked tonight, so at least his OBP is over .300.

- Let's hope Ryan Howard continues to sleep walk through this series.

- How do the Yanks continue to walk Rollins who owned a .296 OBP during the regular season? He's walked 4 times already in the Series.

- Pettitte's RBI single was the first RBI by a Yankee pitcher in the World Series since 1964, when Jim Bouton recorded one in Game 6.

- Let's hope the Phillies keep smacking their gums while the Yanks keep playing hard-nosed ball. I know my buddies from Philly have kept their text messages to a minimum themselves these past 2 games. My phone was blowing up in Game 1.

Yankees Postseason Record: 9=3

World Series: Yanks up, 2-1

WS Game 2 - AJ Comes Up Huge in Win

AJ Burnett may have earned his "true" Yankee title tonight, winning his first postseason game in Game 2 of the World Series with the Bombers down one game to none. AJ tossed 7 brilliant innings, striking out 9 Phillies in the Yanks 3-1 victory. Burnett allowed a run in the 2nd inning on an RBI single to Matt Stairs, but should have surrendered no runs. ARod should have knocked it down, if not field it cleanly, to bail AJ out of the inning after Raul Ibanez sliced a 2-out double into the LF stands. AJ though, was dealing, as he started 22 out of 26 batters with first pitch strikes. He only walked 2, one intentionally. This was the AJ the Yanks envisioned when they signed him to a 5 year, $82.5M contract.

As well as AJ pitched, Pedro Martinez was nearly just as brilliant. He pitched 6+ innings, allowing 6 hits and all 3 Yankee runs while striking out 8. Pedro allowed his 3rd run in the 7th, and probably shouldn't have came out for the start of the 7th after tossing 99 pitches through 6. Like CC Sabathia last night, Pedro only made 2 real mistakes - solo HRs to Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui. Chan Ho Park allowed the 3rd run to score on a Jorge Posada pinch-hit, RBI single in the 7th.

The Yanks had a chance to do some real damage in the 7th, but the usually reliable and clutch Derek Jeter pulled one helluva bonehead play. With 2 strikes, including one which he took right down the middle, he attempted to bunt, fouling it off and striking out for the 3rd time. Johnny Damon then ripped a liner at Ryan Howard that was ruled caught, though replays showed it hit the dirt, and Posada was doubled up to end the threat.

Joe Girardi didn't waste any time in bringing in Mariano Rivera for the 2-inning save. Mo got into a little trouble in the 8th, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with the dangerous and greasy-haired Chase Utley coming to the plate. Mo got him to bounce into a double play, although replays appeared to show Utley beat the relay throw to first. A makeup call? If it was, thank you, Brian Gorman, first base umpire.

Mo wasn't done with the theatrics though. After striking out Howard to saddle him with the Golden Sombrero, he retired Jayson Werth on a soft liner to Robinson Cano before allowing Raul Ibanez to lace a double to left center. That brought up the ancient Matt Stairs. The Canadian Clubber, however, struck out as the Yanks tied up the series.

Thoughts:

- ARod is now 0-8 with 6 Ks. Let's hope this is just an aberration.

- Tex and Godzilla: Thanks for showing up again.

- Replacement Jerry Hairston went 1-3 and now has half the hits of Nick Swisher in 30 less at bats. Did Hairston earn another start against lefty Cole Hamels in Game 3?

- There's been much debate about Jose Molina catching in the place of Jorge Posada, but you cannot argue with AJ Burnett's results with him behind the dish. Molina also nailed Werth at first base on a pick off in the 5th inning, saving Burnett some valuable pitches. He also walked against Pedro and his spot in the order allowed Posada to come in and knock in a huge insurance run. Girardi looks like part genius for at least a day.

- 8 strikeouts against Pedro? Really?

- Johnny Damon went 0-4. He looks terrible this postseason despite his 2 dingers against the Angels.

- How is it the Yanks have walked Jimmy Rollins twice and he always seems to be in a full count when this guy's OBP was .296 this season? Can they please bear down on this guy and keep him off the base paths in front of Utley and Howard.

- Shane Victorino, you look like an idiot with the little league batting helmet.

- It's just a 5-game series now, with 3 games in Philly.

Yankees Postseason Record: 8-3

World Series: Tied 1-1

WS Game 1 - Yanks Never Show Up

Someone forgot to tell the Yanks the World Series started, as they were laughed out of the Stadium in a 6-1 drubbing to the Phillies. Chase Utley, supposedly hobbled by foot and hip injuries, took CC Sabathia deep twice and Cliff Lee mowed through the Bombers lineup like they were just another weak-ass National League team.

Some thoughts on the game:

- What the hell happened to the Yankees bullpen? Once considered a huge strength this season, they have all but disappeared since the ALCS. Phil Hughes looks petrified, as does Phil Coke. Only Damaso Marte and Mo Rivera have looked good in the postseason. David Robertson, strangely enough, finally made an appearance, but he allowed a 2-run single to Raul Ibanez that broke the game open in the 8th. And Brian Bruney? Let's hope we've seen the last of him this series.

- What the hell happened to the Yanks bats? Derek Jeter was his usual self, going 3-4. The rest of the Yankees though, were a combined 3-28. Lee had 10 strikeouts as his shutout was ruined in the 9th by loud-mouth Jimmy Rollins throwing error. ARod and Tex were horrendous, going 0-8 with 5 Ks between them. Nick Swisher continues to look absolutely useless with a bat in his hand. He had 2 pop ups and a strikeout. The bottom third of the lineup went a combined 0-9. Terrible. Where was Bernie Williams when you need him, to step out repeatedly to break the pitcher's rhythm? Not one Yankee walked tonight.

- Sabathia wasn't great, but he still had a solid effort on the mound. He held the vaunted Phillies offense to 2 runs in 7 innings, striking out 6 while allowing only 4 hits and 3 walks. He had 2 mistakes - 2 pitches to Chase Utley. He was up 1-2 and 0-2 before Utley battled back to hit his 2 solo shots. This is the same Utley that struck out 110 times this year, right?

The Yanks need to come out tomorrow and take Pedro Martinez behind the woodshed. However, despite the big advantage that the Yanks seem to have on paper against Martinez, I'm predicting a game where Martinez dances in and out of trouble, stranding 9 runners and allowing only 1 run in 6 innings. I think the Yanks failure with RISP will finally catch up to them in this series. The Yanks are going to need and capitalize on their scoring chances. The Phillies can put a lot of runs on the board quickly (as evidenced by the Yanks bullpen collapse), and it looks like the Yanks relief corp is in complete disarray.

Another reason the Yanks appear to be in trouble - the Phillies look quite comfortable and totally unfazed by being in Yankee Stadium, unlike the Angels or Twins who needed a change of shorts. It's either going to be a dogfight or a quick series, and the Yanks better wake up before it's too late.

Yanks Postseason Record: 7-3

World Series: Down 1-0

ALCS Game 6 - Yanks Finally Swat Aside Angels

The Yankees finally vanquished the annoying Anaheim Angels, winning Game 6 of the ALCS and will face the Phillies in the World Series, starting Wednesday. They won 5-2 despite Jorge Posada's best attempts to sabotage the game at all costs. The game's dumbest player went 0-5, leaving 10 men on base, hitting into 2 double plays and failing miserably twice with the bases loaded. He wasn't the only culprit of the game though, but he was by far the worst. The Yanks put 20 men on the base paths, but only mustered 5 runs. 2 of those runs came in courtesy of the Angels horrendous defense.

Fortunately for the Yanks, the grizzled veteran, Andy Pettitte was on the mound, as he picked up his record 16th postseason win. They also had the great Mariano Rivera to finish up this game and toss aside a team that had no business being on the same field as the Yankees. Joe Girardi wasn't going to fool around in the 8th inning - he went straight to Mo to record the game's final 6 outs. Mo did surrender his first postseason run in a home game, but struck out Gary Matthews, Jr. to end the game, and series, in style, as the Yankees celebrated their accomplishment.

Thoughts on the game and the series:

- Mike Scioscia is a fraud. For all the flak Joe Girardi received, Scioscia made just as many puzzling moves. He should have removed Saunders after 3 innings. Clearly, Saunders was walking the tightrope, stranding the New York National Guard on the base paths. It was a matter of time before the Yanks broke through. It came in the 4th. His use of Kazmir was bizarre, too. Let's not forget his removal of John Lackey in Game 5 or removing lefty Darren Oliver to bring in righty Kevin Jepsen to face Robinson Cano. And why, oh why, would you continue to bat Chone Figgins in the leadoff spot.

- Other fraudulent Angel players: Choney, of course. He must have cost himself millions with his utterly horrendous performance in the playoffs. Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales and Juan Rivera all belong on that list, too. Where the hell were they? Let's not forget Brian Fuentes. If he were the Yankees closer, I would have died of a stroke in mid-May.

- Angels pitches had 9 walks in Game 6. Smells like this team needed to change their underwear.

- Boston Red Sox should be embarrassed they lost to this Angels team. This was by far the worst Angel team that has made the playoffs. After Lackey, they had no pitching whatsoever.

- Another double for Jeff Mathis. He had 5 in the series. He only had 8 all year. Unbelievable.

- Tex had 2 hits and a sac fly. Hopefully, he's heating up in time for the World Series.

- There was a Nick Swisher sighting at the Stadium. And I'm not talking about his great defensive play doubling up Vlad Guerrero at 1B on a line drive. Swisher singled and scored the 2nd run. He still sucks. He is 4-32 in the playoffs. What does he have on Girardi?

- What happened to the Angels hard-nosed style of play? Their defense stunk, their base running was atrocious, and for a team that relies on speed, I can't recall any major stolen base that led to big run in the whole series.

- Kudos to Erick Aybar - you finally look like a man when you shaved your head instead of looking like Manny Ramirez' little girl.

- Girardi, are you nuts for bringing in Joba? Pettitte must have thought you were crazy when you went to take him out of the game. Thank God the move paid off.

- CC had a great series, but ARod's was better. ARod deserved the MVP, if not co-MVP.

There's just a maximum of 7 stressful games left. My heart can't wait.

Yankees Postseason Record: 7-2

ALCS Series: Yankees Win, 4-2

ALCS Game 5 - Gutless Yanks Fail To Go For the Kill

After looking like crap for 6 innings, the Yanks finally woke up. Too bad they couldn't go for the jugular. Instead of recapping the game, this blog is going to be a pure rant.

- What in the world does Nick Swisher have on Joe Girardi? 8-53 lifetime in the playoffs. He is now 0-8 and has left 19 men on base when he's batting with RISP. Granted, if Gardner started the game, Swisher probably would have been batting in the 9th, but why have him in the lineup making 3-4 outs a game? He's been as useful as a cigarette machine in a cancer ward.

- Has anyone seen Phil Hughes this postseason? He's been dreadful. He gave up a hit to the fossil Vlad Guerrero on a 1-2 count and then pitched to Kendry Morales with a 3-1 count. Terrible, terrible baseball. He's allowed 9 hits and 2 walks in 4.2 innings. Hideous - and Brian Bruney-like.

- Jeff Mathis? Jeff Mathis? How in the hell did this career backup with the career .200 batting average record 6 straight hits, including 4 doubles, is incomprehensible.

- Why bring out AJ Burnett for the bottom of the 7th after sitting for so long? Sure, his pitch count was down. What is Girardi's aversion to using David Robertson? He's only won 2 games this postseason and bailed the Yanks out of a bases loaded, no out jam against the Twins.

- Please, Joe - I don't want to see Joba unless you are up by 10 or down by 10.

- Tex, thanks for finally showing up. That was still a horrible first pitch swinging at bat in the 9th inning.

- I reserve all my venom for Swisher though. 0-5 tonight and an absolute dreadful 3-29 in the playoffs, 2-17 in the ALCS and 0 for his last 11. What in the world is he doing in this lineup? I honestly would have felt better with Jerry Hairston, Jr. for his final at bat. He's a contact hitter and doesn't swing for the fences like the imposter of a player that's playing RF for the Yanks right now. Swisher is not even walking. I still can't believe he popped up that pitch right down the pipe.

- Honestly, this Angels team isn't that good. I don't know how they swept Boston, because their other playoff teams were a lot better then this present bunch. The Yanks essentially have won every game this series. Brian Fuentes needs a change in shorts every time he pitches against the Bombers.

The Yanks have now allowed a dead team to believe that they can win this. The Yanks will only get tighter and I'm smelling a Game 7. Pettitte hates pitching in the new stadium and does not fare well against the Angels. The Yanks are the only team that can't figure out Joe Saunders and his gaudy 4.60 ERA. And with that, I don't think CC Sabathia cannot possibly fool the Angels a third time. I'm calling another epic collapse - unless Girardi had the cajones to bury Swisher on the bench.

Yankees Postseason Record: 6-2

ALCS Series: Yanks up, 3-2

ALCS Game 4 - CC, ARod Lead Yanks to 3-1 Series Lead

Perhaps CC Sabathia should go by CCC, as in Cool, Calm and Collected. Working on 3 days rest and trying to erase the bad taste in Yankee fans mouth after yesterday's debacle, CC rose up to the challenge and gave the Yankees an incredible 8 innings of 1 run ball. His only mistake was a HR to Kendry Morales in the 5th inning. He allowed 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 and only needed an economical 101 pitches in the Yanks 10-1 thrashing of the Angels to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the ALCS. Through 3 innings, he only threw 29 pitches.

After allowing the HR in the 5th, CC allowed a couple of more hits that got the Anaheim fans excited, but retired Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu to end the threat. The Angels final threat occurred in the next inning, when Torii Hunter walked and Vlad Guerrero singled to start the inning, but a double play ball and a line out by Yankee nemesis, Howie Kendrick, killed their last chance of the night. CC retired the side in the 7th and 8th and Chad Gaudin, making his first postseason appearance, retired the heart of the order in the 9th.

The Yankees offense looked like they were going to allow the Angels to dance out of trouble again and keep them lurking about. Derek Jeter led off the game with a single but was erased on a pickoff. Hideki Matsui, Robinson Cano and the useless Nick Swisher wasted runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the 2nd inning. Mark, just as useless, Teixeira struck out with Johnny Damon on second to end the 3rd.

In the 4th, it appeared the Yanks would never get a hit with a RISP again. They were 0 for their last 24 when Matsui struck out with runners on 2nd and 3rd with none out. Cano hit a grounder to second when ARod took matters into his own hands and bolted for home, sliding under the tag to put the Yanks up 1-0. After a Swisher walk (thanks Nick) loaded the bases, Melky Cabrera singled in 2 runs, breaking the 0-26 slide with RISP. Things then got weird in the inning. Replays showed Nick Swisher was picked off at 2B but was called safe. Jeter walked to reload the bases. Damon then appeared to hit a sac fly to CF, but the Angels claimed Swisher tagged up too early and umpire Tim McClelland bought it hook, line and sinker. Replays clearly showed Swisher tagged up on time and McClelland wasn't even looking at the runner. Was this a makeup call? I thought baseball was above basketball which is known for its bogus makeup calls on fouls.

No matter. ARod gave the Yanks a 5-run lead when he took Angel reliever, Jason Bulger, deep for a 2-run shot. Of course, the Yanks don't like to put their foot on their opponents necks when they have an opportunity. Jorge Posada stole 2B on a Matsui strikeout. Someone must have been sleeping. But Jorge continues to earn the "dumbest player in baseball" moniker when he had Torii Hunter deke him in CF on Cano's double off the wall. Instead of going half way to third, he went back to tag up and wasn't able to score. What is Posada doing tagging up when there is 1 out? What does it matter if he's on 3rd with 2 out if Hunter was actually going to catch that ball? Of course, things didn't end their for Jorge. With the infield in, he got caught in a rundown between 3rd and home. I still don't know why he stopped or took off in the first place. So Jorge retreats to 3B as Cano is about to step on 3rd. Looking like the Keystone Koppers, both runners were tagged out. Tim McClelland once more blew the call, calling Posada out, but Cano safe. Both runners were clearly tagged out when they were off the bases. Was this a makeup call to the Yanks? Hmm, conspiracy theorists will go haywire with this one. Meanwhile, Posada continues to not use the brain God gave him as he pulled another boner in the 6th when he began to run off the field on a double play with Hunter on 3rd. Problem was, the DP only made it 2 out. ARod had to sprint home to cover the plate. This guy is a rock. No wonder AJ Burnett can't stand pitching to this guy.

Fortunately for the Yanks, they finally found the throats of the Angels in the 8th inning. A 2-run HR by Damon gave the Yanks a 7-1 lead. Melky's 2-run double in the 9th highlighted a 3 run inning that made the final score, 10-1. This gave Joe Girardi plenty of room to get Chad Gaudin some work.

Despite the Yanks big victory, they were still a paltry 3-17 with RISP. They are now 6-45 in the series. They're lucky the Angels are hitting .201 as a team (and that Sabathia pitches for them). Nick Swisher has got to sit in Game 5 against John Lackey. He's 3-33 in the playoffs with 1 RBI. Tex still looks horrendous, even with his 1-5 effort. He looked lost in his first 2 ABs, when he struck out both times. Matsui, who has been hitting well prior to tonight, was an abysmal 0-5 and left 5 men on base. Hopefully, this was just a 1 game setback.

The Yanks are off tomorrow with AJ Burnett looking to clinch the Yanks 40th AL Crown.

Yankees Postseason Record: 6-1

ALCS Series: Yanks Lead 3-1

ALCS Game 3 - Swisher, Girardi are Garbage in Loss

Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera and Mark Teixeira are missing a helluva Championship Series. Tex is batting a robust .077 and has virtually disappeared at the plate, taking up the playoff curse of ARod. Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera left a small battalion of men on base, with Swisher being the main culprit - twice failing miserably with a runner on third and less than 2 out. Melky is 5-25 in the playoffs and struck out 9 times. Throw a curve ball in the dirt to either Swisher or Melky and their toast.

For the most part, the Yankees have been able to overcome their ineptness with RISP all season long. Today, it caught up with them as they allowed a team, that was utterly deflated after Saturday's tough loss, a second life. Coming into the game, they were 3-20 with RISP in the series and were 0-8 in Game 2. They followed up that with today's encore - an abysmal 0-8 to make it 3-28 in the series. The Yanks scored all 4 runs on solo HRs from Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, ARod and Jorge Posada.

It was the first career postseason loss for the Yanks when they had a 3-run lead. They led 3-0 when a solo shot by Yankee killer extraordinaire, Howie Kendrick, and a 2-run shot by the crippled Vlad Guerrero allowed the Angels to exhale. Kendrick struck again in the 7th when he ripped Joba Chamberlain's first pitch off the RF wall. Swisher didn't do Joba any favors, climbing the wall without actually making any attempt at catching the ball. What is this guy doing? I'd say there is no way in hell Joe Girardi can allow this guy and/or Melky to start again, but both lucky bastards get a reprieve because lefty Scott Kazmir starts tomorrow and Brett Gardner is a lefty.

As for Girardi, he got lucky in Game 2, and did a decent job, but he started to believe he had the Midas touch and got burned today. Once again, he was ripping through his bullpen as if there were a tree growing relievers in the pen. He used lefty Damaso Marte to get the final out in the 7th against Chone Figgins, yet brought in lefty Phil Coke to face left-handed Bobby Abreu to start the 8th. Abreu torched Coke for a double but was erased at 2B when he overran the bag. Why burn Coke there for 1 batter? So for 3 outs, Girardi already used 3 relievers.

In comes Phil Hughes. He was the "long man" out of the pen today, tossing 1.2 innings before he got smacked by a Jeff Mathis double to lead off the 10th. The same Jeff Mathis who is a backup catcher that hitIn came Mariano Rivera, to try the improbable. After botching an attempt to throw Mathis out at 3B, Mariano was able to induce a couple of ground ball outs to Tex to keep the Angels off the board. Mo pulled the Houdini when he retired Vlad the Impaler on a weak grounder to Cano.

Meanwhile, the Yanks couldn't muster anything offensively after Posada tied the score in the 8th. Only ARod reached base in the last 3 innings on an intentional walk. Things got weird in the 11th, as Girardi seemingly panicked after David Robertson retired sluggers Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales. For reasons that Girardi felt "were a better matchup," he pulled Robertson and inserted Alfredo Aceves. The same Aceves that was on a hook for a loss in Game 2 before ARod bailed him out.

In 7 pitches, Aceves and the Yanks lost 5-4 when Killer Kendrick singled and the amazing Mathis hit his 3rd double of the series to win the game. Did I mention Mathis is the Angels backup catcher that hit .211 this season? For his career, he's an even .200 hitter. Why would Girardi pull Robertson there? It makes no sense and reeks of overmanagement. If they get through the 11th inning, Girardi would still need someone to pitch the bottom of the 12th. He could have held Aceves in reserve in case Robertson got in trouble. Once again, Girardi emptied his bullpen with the exception of Chad Gaudin. This time, it bit him in the ass. Tomorrow, CC Sabathia goes on 3 days rest - won't Girardi need his bullpen once again? I fear the more the Angels see these same relievers again and again they'll begin to feel comfortable and start teeing off.

Yankees Postseason Record: 5-1

ALCS Series: Yanks Lead 2-1