Recipe for a disaster
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Oct 05, 2007 
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we stink…period.
can’t blame only arod
It’s last year all over again. I don’t want to hear a word about how great Cleveland’s pitching is. We said that about Detroit last year and they go their butts handed to them by the stinkin’ Cardinals.
What is it with this team? How do all our bats go silent en-masse when it matters? And what flips the switch.
And that folks is your ballgame.
Notice that is the whole team, not just A. Rod doing that in the post-season.
The series is not over. Like Pat Riley would say, the Indians held serve. Now it’s the Yankees turn.
Win two in a row at the Stadium and anything happens in Game 5.
Good question Toast…the great mysteries of universe.
we’ll still all about how arod choked. If I hear 1 boo directed at arod, i’m going to kill a small animal.
Pete,
So what’s the problem? Did you expect great pitching to be beat out by great hitting? Pete, baseball doesn’t work like that. Don’t you know anything about baseball?
The rally knats take one for the team in Cleveland! Hey Pete how can we make some money off of the rally knats? Look into that for me after Sunday when you have nothing else to do until next year’s spring training reporting to camp duty!
Is it too late too sign Shea Hillenbrand?
So, Yanks Fans…. How much does it hurt?
Is there really any explaining how shockingly bad the Yankees offense has been during the past few years in the postseason? It truly boggles the mind.
If we lose on Monday night this will be even worse than last year…At least last year we managed to win a game before we vanished! I’m hoping for a miraculous comeback, but 2-0 is a huge hole when absolutely none of your starting nine is hitting and/or getting on base somehow.
Of course, we’re stuck with all these guys next year as well. Hopefully whenever Cashman (or whoever might replace him) is finally free of all the bad contracts, he will try to put together an offense that is more capable of manufacturing runs in clutch situations. Lord knows our current “Murderer’s Row” approach just isn’t hacking it…
Fausto Carmona is a legitimate Cy Young contender, this is what happen when he is in the zone.
Yankees had a good chance to penetrate Indians’ pitching staff, unfortunately they can’t hit with RISP. (Of course, Wang’s outing was disappointing, too.)
Let’s hope Yankees jump on Indians’ No.3 & No.4 pitchers and really work the Indians’ bullpen. This is the only way to win the series.
Like a guy named Yogi said, it aint over till its over. We have to win 2 at home, and it is very possible with Westbrook and Byrd atarting for Cleveland. Without the bugs, who knows what happens, but something made Joba throw so many balls out of the zone. He dominated the inning before. If they think its over, just wait. Rocket will win on sunday and Moose will win Monday. If you think its over, you should go be a Mets fan. The Yankees dominate pitchers like Byrd and Westbrook. We will fight to force a game 5 and win.
Nice one #9 LOL
Meanwhile, the mighty Dice-K couldn’t even complete 5 innings tonight. Nice investment, Theo!
W A L- It will hurt the Indians fans alot worse when they perform the choke of a 2-0 lead.
This reminds me so much of the NJ Devils and the first round ghosts that always seemed to get them.
Something happened in 2000, they were able to fight them off.
Can only hope that something similar happens this time as well.
I said it in May, and I’ll say it now…this team is too talented to be written off.
I have to believe that Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd are just the thing this offense needs to get going.
Don’t jump out the window just yet.
They just said on TBS that the OFF only attracted the bugs more. No one could have told them that BEFORE?
When Boras has to write his 400 page book to shop to teams in the off season about Arod what does he write only shows up April thru Sept….? I know it is obviously not all his fault but after the year that he had I defintiely would of thought that he can atleast get 1 hit.
The lineup for Sunday better be Giambi DH and Duncan at 1st base.
If the Yanks want to finally get something going on offense, they’re going to have to religiously work counts and absolutely force the Indians pitchers to struggle to get outs. Of course, it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to still have the patience to work counts when you haven’t done jack in the first two games of the series and are desperate for wins, but that is the only way…
Can the Yanks regain their composure at the Stadium? Gotta hope so…
Sometimes, teams just can’t win in the post-season.
They haven’t hit for years in the post-season. Please, NOBODY’s pitching is this good for them to be this bad.
This is just a team, in its present construction, that simply can’t hit and can’t win post-season games.
Will it change Sunday night? Not if the same lineup is in place.
If he won’t try something different, he will get the same results. Its been that way for 3 years now, it ain’t changin’ Sunday night just because we all want it too.
It will change in the off-season when the team is re-tooled.
For now, we are stuck with this post-season futility.
EVERYONE STOP DOUBTING THIS TEAM, WE CAME BACK TO WIN WILD CARD, WE CAN DEFINITELY WIN 2 AT HOME AGAINST SUB PAR PITCHERS AND THEN A IT’S ONE GAME WIN OR LOSE!!!!
True, it is not/ has not been working.. If it’s broke you must fix it
We are OUT coached in post season period…..
The scouting report isn’t only on the players. The contending coach knows Torre’s style,because it’s etched in stone,and never changes and tired.
Matt – it’s beyond doubting at this point.. we are simply stating the facts so far into this season.. no bias, no favoritsm..just the facts.. leave it be
I think a-rod will definitely come through at some point, but the fact of the matter is that maybe the pitching really has been that good. NO ONE is hitting. It’s probably a combo of good pitching with a bad slump- I think against Westbrook we’ll really bounce back here. I don’t think they’re gonna go quietly into the night at all, and everyone who thinks otherwise should re-examine the regular season. We had plenty of time to collapse, plenty of opportunities, but we never did. We got some bad breaks with injuries, had some slumps, poor pitching, the works, and we figured it all out and came back. We may not win this series, but we can definitely show some heart and go out playing hard.
Regardless of whether you like Torre or despise him, you have to believe that if the Yanks get swept on Sunday his ass is grass. I know George is old and senile now, but surely his successor, Hal, wouldn’t re-sign Torre after a second straight humiliating playoff defeat?
There is no way Jake Westbrook and Paul mother-f’ing Byrd come into our house and push us around. If Clemens represents on Sunday we’ll be back in Cleveland for Game 5 with momentum on our side and Andy on the hill. I’ll take my chances with that.
This team basically consists of 1 starter, 2 relievers, and no offense. Theres nothing to it. Wheather u like it or not, A sweep is in the near future.
Clemens and Mussina together to take Game 3,
Wang take Game 4,
Pettitte take Game 5,
and YANKEES beat INDIANS 3-2.
Agreed – it’s amazing how many posters dispute the facts…. we are in a huge, huge hole that being said, is still an understatement.. we have not performed and its extremely dissappointing
Remember when watching the playoffs was fun because the Yanks would actually win games? Seems so long ago now…
Seriously, games like last night and tonight are just miserable to watch. Again, we can only hope the Yanks undergo a miraculous change on that plane ride back to NYC.
Maybe Andy should call a come-to-Jesus meeting?
Good pitching beats bad hitting every time.
SJ–what are you going to do…get rid of everyone and start over? Get rid of everyone except Jeter and Posada? They’ve been terrible too.
The problem has reached a point that no GM or manager can fix. What would Leyland have done differently? What would LaRussa have done different? What players should be brought in to make the 3-4-5 hitters hit?
At some point players have to play….the Yankees don’t need better players they just need these players to get out of there own heads and play.
Why can’t Westbrook win Sunday night? This is a team that got dominated by Kenny Rogers last year in a post-season. Westbrook is a better pitcher than Rogers.
Home field means nothing. They have lost 4 of their last 6 at Yankee Stadium. The ghosts left the Stadium long ago. We are not getting any help in that regard.
Unless the squirrels are actually IN the lineup Sunday night, I expect more putrid AB’s from this group. Its been their post-season calling cards for years. Hard to believe its changing now.
Their only chance Sunday night is they somehow pitch a shutout and somehow find a way to score a run.
Sorry, but until I actually see this team HIT in the post-season, I am not falling victim to the “they are due” nonsense.
If they were “due”, don’t you think they would be hitting?
Honestly, if last year wasn’t painful enough, this year surely takes the cake so far…
delcarmen just drilled vlad at a time it wouldn’t seem to be intentional, but it sure looked intentional. nasty. don’t be surprised if sciosa files this away. he’s as old school as they come.
SJ I fell like your the only rational poster on this board so far.. optimism does not rule 2 games out of a 3 game serious.. sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
SJ I feel like your the only rational poster on this board so far.. optimism does not rule 2 games out of a 3 game serious.. sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Yanks now have a 14.4% chance to win the series.
at least the regular season was fun!
apologies for the double post..
You can make a lot of changes to fix this team. Some will take care of themselves in the off-season. Others, they will have to fix via trades/free agents, etc.
Don’t kid yourself. If they get swept out of the first round again there will be big changes. No way this group, in its present construction returns intact after another post-season debacle.
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you can never tell how close you are,
It may be near, when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things go wrong, that you must not quit.
Guys, what exactly is Torre mis-managing here?
He only has so many players to work with. I’ve never understood the internet-obsession with batting order. The fact is, when you have guys like Jeter, ARod, Posada, and so on, it doesn’t matter much where they bat. Those guys need to be getting hits.
It’s not Torre’s fault his players are performing. What, putting Giambi in for Matsui somehow fixes everything? That gets Jeter to get a hit? Shelley Duncan in the line-up breaks ARod out of his slump?
Torre managed this game fine. Maybe he left Pettitte in for one out too many, but it didn’t matter much. The Yanks lost because the best offense in baseball isn’t hitting, and because Joba made some very uncharacteristic mistakes. Torre has managed the exact same way all season- during the season, these guys scored more than 900 runs, and now they can’t get on base. That’s not Torre’s fault.
All this Torre bashing is getting just as bad as all the ARod-bashing last season. Baseball’s a team sport, and its the guys who play who deserve the blame this time.
Ha, Ha
The Evil Empire, the grossly overspending spoiled rats lose again…. lovin’ it…
We will see on Sunday if it is the Yanks hitting or Sabathia and Carmona were that good. The Yanks always hit Westbrook and Byrd. They do not have the stuff to shut down this lineup. The Yanks killed Byrd the last couple of times they faced him. I wouldnt be surprised if it was the lineup this is not the 1st year that they have completely shut down.
Everyone expected us to win tonight as well.. I am done with predictions
Tigers are where this time of year???
Like what…what changes need to be made? Whose going to make Matsui a better hitter in October? Whose going to help Posada stop striking out with the RISP and less than two outs. Who’s going to make Cano stop swing at pitches out of the strike zone.
It’s not about changes. It’s these players playing better than they have been.
That having been said, this series is not over so stop being such a fatalist.
You sound like a Red Sox fan.
What is everyone so concerned about? In 2001 the Yanks lost the first two at home, and had to face Zito on the road in game three. Guess what happened?
Seriously, have some faith. The next two matchups favor the Yanks, regardless of whom Torre chooses to start Monday. If it gets to game 5 the Yanks will have all the momentum and the Indians on their heels.
Faith was supposed to win the game tonight..
Concerned … 2 out in a 3 game serious.. right – noone should be concerned. Apparently we don’t have an analytical group on hand tonight
I sincerely believe there will be a Game 5. Remember, you’re SUPPOSED to win your home games. That is, theoretically, the disadvantage of being the wild card. The Yankees matched up poorly in Games 1 & 2, they match up pretty well in Games 3 & 4. Let’s wait and see. Clemens will provide an emotional lift even if he doesn’t throw a great game. Repeat after me, there will be a Game 5. Believe.
Westbrook’s crap and he’ll be soiling his drawers when he hits the mound on Sunday. We’re too good a team to go down this easy, but we’re gonna need Clemens to step up, especially early, and we’re gonna need to play from ahead.
One win would turn things around in a hurry.
…and Pettitte did his job. Look, the offense stunk, but Carmona had a lot to do with it. The Yanks had extraordinary bad luck tonight. Bugs cost them the game. Deal with it, and don’t pass judgment on an entire team for a few innings of poor play. They will be fine on Sunday.
I take full responsibility for the loss. Blame me rather than anybody else, I wasn’t around to post or watch the game. Anybody who doesn’t believe in this team isn’t being forced to post on here. I guarantee that we will win Games 3 and 4 to get back to Cleveland for Game 5. I don’t care how things look now, I will not give up until we are eliminated. The Yankees are facing Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd, the lineup will get it together. I still believe!!!!
Alot of factors went into tonight’s LOSS.. at face value, we all should be dissappointed at this point.
Viz: in sports, analysis about the past has little to say about what will occur in the future. I am very well aware of what happened last night and tonight. I just believe it is immaterial in predicting Sunday’s outcome.
4 runs in two games. 2 runs on sunday and the season will be over. i think Rocket will step up but c’mon now, no team in the history of sports has won a championship while the strongest part of their game was at its worst. the yankees are the yankees because they hit the ball, and while youcan’t ask for 9 runs every game, they need at least 4- 5 on sunday or they deserve to get swept.
Jeff – I agree.. right now I should be watching a movie with my GF.. the fact of the matter is I am reeling over this team.. like we all should be.. a ton of promise, no execution..
Everyone should be disappointed, but last time I checked the Yankees have won three games in a row before. They’ve even done it in the playoffs. It ain’t over.
Eric exactly…you are supposed to win your home games in the playoffs. The Yankees were going to have to win one in Cleveland to win this series. Doesn’t matter when it is as long as they win one.
Also don’t forget that the Indians offense was nothing to rave about tonight.
They scored the tying run without getting a hit and they scored the winning run as a result of Viz being all over the strike zone.
This is not over, Yanks will bounce back and there will be a game 5.
Well I am as disappointed as anyone in the loss tonight, however how could anything have gone easy after this season. See the playoffs are meant to be a metaphor for the season, down and written off early, then late comeback. I like the pitching matchups for both Sunday and Monday. I shudder to see Lupica’s words on Sunday prior to “Family Guy” Clemens pitching. Anyway, I predicted the Yankees would win in 5. I stand by that. Please keep the faith, we’ll have plenty of time to give up and analyze the team after it’s over, for now keep on rooting for the Yankees to come back and win 3 consecutive games.
Jake Westbrook is not a better pitcher than Kenny Rogers. How many All-Star teams has Westbrook made? I rest my case. When Westbrook makes All-Star teams and notches over 200 career wins like Rogers, then I will consider him to be as good. But until then, no.
I have been a reader of this blog all season. This, however, is my first post on here. NEWS FLASH…When your 4-5-6 hitters are 1-20 you are NOT going to win ANY games. Plain and simple. Andy pitched his heart out tonight and I still feel like I was punched in the stomach after this putrid game. Let’s hope the Stadium can spark fire under the team’s a$$es and put some runs on the board.
Someone mentioned that Joe “needs to learn how to manufacture runs like Wedge has for Cleveland.” I am not Einstein but I am pretty sure that in order to “manufacture runs” you have to have runners on base. And again, I am not Einstein but I did not see many people on base. Just a total lackluster performance from our lineup.
Also, I am not one for excuses but I WILL use the CANDIAN SOLDIERS as an excuse for Joba’s ineffectiveness. Sure Carmona seemed to deal with it OK, but they were far worse when Joba was pitching. There were about 20 of them on the back of his neck at one point. I don’t know if many of you have ever played baseball with bad bug infestations. Being from Maine, I have played a few games in late May with 20 or so black flies flying by your face the whole time. It is not fun and definitely can hinder one’s performance.
A lot of you fools claimed this team “dead” in May. Let’s hope they prove you wrong again. PLEASE?
For some reason, I’m not that worried. Look, if not for the bugs they would have taken this game and been 1-1.
If the Indians sweep them, they deserve to lose. They should have beaten both Carmona and Sabathia and have been up 2-0 instead of down 0-2. That’s what happens when you pitch a sinkerballer on too much rest and have a totally unreliable bullpen outside of two guys.
It’s all hands on deck for the each of the next (hopefully) three games. Very interesting baseball.
If this series is a microcosm of their season, then these first two games were April and May. Let game 3 be June (getting better) and game 4 and 5 August and September.
These guys have to hit sometime.
I will always keep the faith.. otherwise as stated earlier, I could find better ways to spend my time besides this board.. It isn’t over, but I sincerely hope we can turn things around quick..
SJ — You’re completely deluded thinking this team is going to change en masse if they lose this series. I’m sorry man, but you’re just spouting here.
The only free agents who can leave the everyday hitting lineup are Posada and Minky.
Arod will most likely stay and be resigned. Abreu’s option will most likely be picked up. No one will take Matsui, Damon and Giambi w/o the Yanks paying their salaries and getting nothing in return for them.
If you think they are going to sign Tori Hunter, Andruw Jones or someone to play CF to a long term deal you’re mistaken. Cashman won’t do those kind of deals anymore.
So where is this team going to change? We might have a new 1b (maybe Carlos Pena round 2). That’s about it. Who the heck knows if he turns into Beltre or Sexson after he gets his dough.
Posada will only leave if the Yankees turn their backs on him and they will not do it.
Arod will get his extension because they want his star power and his home runs.
Where is this lineup going to change? They trading Jeter, Melky and Cano?
This is the team, like it or not. They are playing like dogs right now.
But I saw this team play like dogs for 2 months this season and turn it around and have the best record in baseball for past months.
They can win 3 in a row against Cleveland. Westbrook and Paul Byrd are not going to end the Yankee season.
You guys want to jump off the nearest ledge, go do it. But I think this team is too good to play like this for one more game this series.
Torre will pull Matsui from the lineup. We’ll have a more productive and healthy DH in game 3. We’re going to turn this around and take it to game 5 where anything can happen.
I do not think the season is ending Sunday by a long shot.
Another note:
I agree that it would be tough for Torre to be fired due to bugs.
However, there appears to be a trend here.
For the past 3 seasons, they have been unprepared for the regular season coming out of spring training, and have stumbled and have had to play catch-up.
For the past 3-4 seasons, they have also stumbled starting the playoffs. In a short series, you cannot make this up.
The players should play. However, 3 seasons in row making a tough transition to the next level. Who is responsible for the players making the transition?
I think Joe is a great guy, made for the Yankees, their media, and their fans, who always gets the team into the playoffs, especially recently after bad starts. But why do they continue to start badly?
This team has too much talent to play this way. Unfortunately, the blame has to fall somewhere. If they’re out in the next few days I think Joe takes the high road and retires.
I don’t care what team you play – 1 run in 11 innings will never win you a ballgame let along postseason
man, this stuff is killing me.
The Yanks have already beaten Cleveland three times in a row this season–TWICE!
The Yanks are not overmatched. They are not unprepared. This is certainly not last season all over again. They are a diverse team with a ton of power, hard throwers in the back of the pen and future hall-of-famers littered around the lineup. They have played two bad games, but they know the stakes.
Repeat after me: The Yankees will win.
G. Love – well said
I agree with G Love above.
Most of this team will be back next year.
I think ARod stays…imagine if he leaves and the team he goes to never wins the WS…and the Yankees win the WS next year…it would be the Curse of ARod (and he doesn’t really deserve that).
Mo and Po are also resigned. Abreu’s option is picked up and spun into a longer deal with incentives.
The coaches around Torre are great (Bowa, et al) and it would be a shame to lose them. However, it may be Joe’s time to go…
There is not going to be another postseason debacle, we just had two bad games.
We are going to bounce back, and everyone who is doubting right now will get a chance to root with us.
Quite frankly, panicking is what is great about us Yankee fans.
If some of us weren’t panicking, i’d be extremely disappointed.
We are going to WIN this series and after this struggle Yankee fans will unite behind Joe, Alex, Derek, Jorge, etc.
Clemens and Mussina together to take Game 3,
Wang take Game 4,
Pettitte take Game 5,
and YANKEES beat INDIANS 3-2.
*Amen to that, brother !*
Repeat after me: The Yankees have already lost the series!
Been reading this blog and its comments for a while now. Did today hurt? Bring out unrelenting anger? Of course it did, and yet…I have faith. They’ve overcome deficits, injuries and critics dismissing their season before the season was over:
The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.-Nelson Mandela
They’ve fallen and busted their faces in Games 1 & 2. Now it’s time to rise up and take the Indians out.
I’m completely distraught at the moment but one thing about this year is how much the success of the kids has buoyed me and given me optimism for the future.
There explanation for why the Yankees lost the past two years are down 2-0 is because Anaheim’s, Detroit’s, and Cleveland’s starting pitching was better than the Yankees. And in the post-season starting pitching is the decisive factor.
Until the Yankees can find an ace to stick in front of Wang, then, the post-season draught will continue. We forget how much those dynasty teams were predicated on dominating starting pitching–Cone, Key/Wells/Clemens, Pettitte, Duque.
My hope for the future is that either Chamberlain or Hughes will fill that role.
I’m completely distraught at the moment but one thing about this year is how much the success of the kids has buoyed me and given me optimism for the future.
The explanation for why the Yankees lost the past two years in the ALDS and are down 2-0 is because Anaheim’s, Detroit’s, and Cleveland’s starting pitching was better than the Yankees. And in the post-season starting pitching is the sine qua non for winning.
Until the Yankees can find an ace to stick in front of Wang, then, the post-season draught will continue. We forget how much those dynasty teams were predicated on dominating starting pitching—Cone, Key/Wells/Clemens, Pettitte, Duque.
My hope for the future is that either Chamberlain or Hughes will fill that role.
Manny hits walk-off 3 run homer to win 6-3
OMG the Sox are soooo good….
Time to hit the links Jeets.
Two words: Danny Vinik
this team is a disgrace.
Jeff S – My mom always had that saying on her refrigerator when I was growing up. I read it thousands of times.
Pitching > Hitting in the postseason. Simple as that. Team with better pitching wins.
I woke up early with an empty feeling and couldnt fall back to sleep. I opened my computer and read the blog to see what other folks are feeling about the series. I soon found out that there are some pretty crazy ideas floating around out there.
SJ44′s posts are usually informative and somewhat thought provoking.However, I couldn’t disagree more with his idea of replacing Joe Torre with Tony LaRussa. There is nothing in his resume..not winning percentage…not post season success…to indicate he is a better man for the job.
As much as we complain about pitch counts,specialization and 3 1/2 hour games, LaRussa’s micromanaging is as much to blame as anybody.
Torre’s strengths, especially handling the NY media, are LaRussa’s weaknesses. Tony LaRussa is such an egomaniac that he actally thinks he is the show, not the players. His act would wear out quickly in New York. With the first losing streak he’d be eaten alive by a NY media that would be chomping at the bit for a piece of him. Who needs that circus?
I’m not sure, but I’d be willing to bet the Yanks have won 3 games in a row at some point this season. Let’s all pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off. We got punched in the stomach but guess what? We’re not knocked down! We ain’t gonna lose this thing in our house! LET’S GO YANKS!!!!! LETS GO YANKS!!!!
Kenny Rogers is certainly a better pitcher then Jake Westbrook.
However they both are former Yankees,and we know what they can do after leaving the Yanks
(Lofton,Sheffield)
LaRussa????Agh No Thanks…………Id take Jim Tracy!!!!!!LOL
Kill-Schill(ing)
I think Andy proved he is a “Ace” last night…
A-ROD MUST GO NOW….
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