Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Sam Borden - Posted in Misc on Oct 29, 2009 
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After waiting six years for the World Series to return to the Bronx, the Yankees fell flat in Game 1, getting shut down (and nearly shut out) by the Phillies and Cliff Lee. Chad Jennings has all the gory details.
This was an ugly night for the hitters, I wrote in my column, as the Yankees bats wasted a solid outing from CC Sabathia. For all the talk about the Yankees pitching, the lineup will have to do a whole lot better if they’re going to get back into this series.
Sabathia grinded through a night when he clearly didn’t have his best stuff, but ultimately couldn’t match Lee, writes Josh Thomson.
In one of the stranger plays of the night, Hideki Matsui got doubled off first by Jimmy Rollins in the fifth inning and the umpires – for once this October – got the call exactly right. Rick Carpiniello has the story on that.
Speaking of Matsui, is there any chance he’ll play the field during the games in the NL ballpark? Don’t count on it, though Joe Girardi isn’t ruling anything out. More likely, Matsui will just be a pinch-hitter.
Pedro Martinez had an entertaining – as always – press conference yesterday and now he takes the ball in what figures to be an electric atmosphere at Yankee Stadium tonight. Scott Lauber, of our sister paper in Wilmington, Del., has a look at Pedro.
Finally, the notebook leads with some insight into a busy week for Joe Fosina, a New Rochelle resident who has been in charge of tailoring Yankee uniforms for years. There are also items on a struggling Phil Hughes, roster changes and some famous first-pitch guests.
Phil ducked the media? That’s inexcusable……….and surprising as he’s usually a stand up guy. I’m sure he’s upset and disappointed, but he can’t do that – Phil needs to be accountable and face the music.
Cliff Lee was dominant, but the Yankees haven’t hit with any consistency in the post-season, so that was a huge part of yesterday’s game. Who’s to know if they will show up tonight?
CC was fine, just fine, for a guy who was “struggling”. He did his job – the hitters and the pen did not do theirs.
When did Phil duck the media the first time? That’s getting to be a bad habit of his……….
It’d be interesting to see Pedro & Posada face one another.
I’m just gonna repeat what I said in the previous thread:
Really? Lee was THAT dominant? Or was it just because the Yankees look like they sent a high school team out to bat?
The Yankees offense has been PUTRID all postseason (with the exception of A-Rod and Jeter). This isn’t the first game we got completely dominated. We got lucky against Minnesota and Anaheim, and I don’t think that’s going to happen against Philly. We’re going to have to earn it.
We can’t win ballgames when 6/9 spots in our line up can’t get any hits — and more devastatingly, can’t get on base.
Posada – .257/.350
Matsui – .242/.390
Damon – .239/.271
Cano -.211/.318
Tex – .186/.250
Swisher – .114/.205
This was the best lineup in baseball? Really?
Once again, our “Murderer’s Row” offense has shut down in the post season.
Honestly, right now I have more confidence in Molina hitting than Posada.
—————————————–
………I’m sorry I’m waiting for the punchline here….
I believe Lee was dominant, but the Yankees have not hit all post-season with any consistency – that’s just the way it is. Alex can’t do all the work -except for Jeter, no one is picking him up. I’m not sure why folks are surprised as this was a problem at times throughout the year.
The Yankees had the best pen going into the playoffs. Maybe the Dodgers had a better one?
but it was suppose to be a big advantage. Well due to Hughes stinking up the place that advantage is gone now.
And you can’t move Joba up. He hasn’t had it all year. Hughes being bad is a big problem. It will make it even tougher for the Yankees to win this series.
Yankee offense can’t just leave a small village of RISP. Cause outside of Mo you don’t trust Hughes Joba to keep a game close.
The good news is, the Yankees always seem to bounce back after a tough loss.
I can’t say I blame Hughes for ducking out on the media-he must be humiliated. Was it just me, or did it seem like he was getting squeezed a bit last ngiht? I’m not trying to excuse him, just something I noticed.
Even I can’t blame Girardi for this loss. The Yankees just looked like they were going through the motions. Philly looked like the team that wanted to win. If things don’t turn around quick, it’s going to be an easy repeat for the Phillies.
It should be a different story tonight w/ Pedro on the mound. The Yankees will also get a look at the Phillies’ bullpen. Lee was good, and has been good all post season, but he can’t pitch every game.
Apparently, Phil shouted at the ump for squeezing him. that’s not good. He’s going to get a rep and that won’t help him. I know he’s 23, but that’s just not acceptable. First that, now ducking the media………..Phil had better get his act together
I thought Hughes lost one pitch, but you can’t let that throw you and you have to be accountable afterward. After all our debate about Joba being too immature and Phil being the poised one the tables have turned.
The young guns in the pen are seemingly afraid to throw strikes and that’s never a good thing.
But it’s just one game and by far their best pitcher. Just gotta slap Pedro around and even things up in a hurry. Let’s hope AJ is up to the task… it sure wont be 2-0 in the eighth tonight.
If the Yankees can win tonight I still feel pretty good about the series. Cliff Lee can’t pitch every game and you have to at least hope that this was his best. Lee may be great his next outing as well but the Yankees should have a better idea of how to handle him after seeing him already.
Its one game and if we can beat Pedro tonight then its zip zip in a 5 game series where the last 2 games would be played in NY. I’m not worried unless they lose tonight, then it will truly be a tough road
nemo-
Have to agree. Especially in the Angels series the offense has not lived up to its capabilities, but it’s not unusual for pitching to dominate.
What concerns me most is, who do you trust in the bullpen to come in and pitch a solid 1-2-3 inning. Are we going to have to rely on Rivera to pitch both the 8th and 9th innings of any game we have a lead?
Utley dominates lefty pitchers. In fact Ibanez hits lefties better than righties also. That means Pettitte and his 88 mph fastball better be spot on.
CC kept us in the game. Hughes, Robertson,Bruney and Coke let it get out of hand. If the score had been 2-0 going into the bottom of the ninth with the first two on, the Philly bullpen likely would have been called in, and then maybe we score a few runs.
The Phillies staff, ex Lee, can be beaten. Lee pitched a great game last night, but the ump’s low strike zone added and abetted his performance. It will be interesting to see if having him go 9 affects his next start. Charlie Manuel is apparently mortally afraid of his bullpen. Girardi is in love with his bullpen.
I am concerned about the performance of Phil Hughes and Brian Brunney. They were very ineffective and let the game get away. I don’t know if Hughes is fatigued or injured but he is just not the same pitcher I saw during the season.
I would like to see Gardner get a chance to play the field and get some at bats. Can he be any worse that Johnny Damon has been?
I may be wrong but I think I would start Gaudan in a game 4 against Lee and save C.C. for game 5, letting Burnett go in 6 and Pettite if necessary pitch game 7.
I feel we can win game 2 and 3, sacrifice game 4, win game 5 and wrap the series in 6. It would be like the NLCS of 86.
when the Mets eked out a win against the astros despite being unable to beat Mike Scott.
We need one win from C.C. to win this and my way he is on normal rest and not facing Cliff Lee. If we win it in 6 Lee will also have pitched only twice.
The series is by no means over. Remember that a Young Andrew Jones pounded out two homers against Andy Pettite in the first game in 1996. The Yankees lost that game by a crooked number, but came back to take the series.
It’s all good people. Win tonight and go to Philly and take one at worse. Do not lose faith, we can do this.
As far Hughes, the velocity is not there, during the season he was throwing 95-96, last night he was at 92-93 and the curve was pretty flat.
Cliff Lee to pitch games 1,4,&7. If Yanks take care of business in 2,3,5,&6, we not only win #27, we will do it home. Only wild card i see is Hamels. If he shows up to play we could be in trouble
Hughes is doing the same thing that gave him trouble as a starter, he’s trying to be too fine with his locations instead of just challenging people.
Every appearance he’s had in the postseason he has got behind and walked people or had to groove 2-0 or 3-1 fastbals and that led to his trouble. He has challenged people all year and had success and i’m not sure why he has stopped in the playoffs.
Honestly I have more confidence in Joba now because I think at least his performance won’t be affected by the stage. When Joba pitches bad its not because he’s nervous.
halfmoon yankee, I’m with u all the way.
its in our hands.
hobbie
do you think Lee will start game 4? He would be on short rest after a 122 pitch count. Regardless, I agree w/ not having another CC/Lee match up.
i’m not so sure Lee pitches game 4 after throwing a CG and 122 pitches. He’s not done it nearly as much as CC and the Phillies haven’t talked about it that much. I think we see Blanton in game four against CC..
Honestly I like the pitching matchups in the next 3 games. I think we have the SP advantage in games 2, 3, and 4. Game 2 Burnett/pedro, 3. Pettite/hamels 4. CC/ short rest Lee or Blanton. If we win 2 of those 3 then its a 2-2 series with 2 of the final 3 being played in NY.
Even if Lee pitches game 4 against CC then I’d feel pretty good in that CC would be as good or better than him on short rest because he’s done it so much.. you have to remember that if the Phillies commit to pitching Lee once on 3 days rest in game 4 then they will have to do it again in game 7 if it goes that far..
Blake
I agree w/ you on Hughes. He was so cool and confident in the regular season, hopefully he gets back to that. Too much nibbling.
The entire game had a black cloud over it from the beginning. Lee was dominant, and our pen exploded in the 8th & 9th. The good news is that Lee isn’t pitching tonight, and Mo can probably go 2 if need be, with the off day tomorrow. With that said tonight is a must win game. Pedro will throw all of his junk at the Yanks, and they need to jump all over him.
“upstate kate
October 29th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Blake
I agree w/ you on Hughes. He was so cool and confident in the regular season, hopefully he gets back to that. Too much nibbling.”
Hughes looks like he doesn’t have a clue how to throw a strike right now. Is it mechanical, or is it mental. I would rather not find out with the game on the line. Girardi needs to stick the defined roles in his back pocket, with the exception of you know who, and go with the hot hand the rest of the way in the pen.
Cliff Lee was great last night but something I noticed in the Yankees approach helped him out I thought.
The Yankees took a lot of first pitch fastballs for strikes which allowed Lee to get ahead and therefore put the hitters away with changeups, and that knucklecurve or whatever.
The Yankees are always patient and it works well against some pitchers to drive there pitch counts up, but against a strike thrower like Lee the first pitch is often the best one you see. The Yankees have to be more aggressive against Cliff early in the counts next time because we all saw what happens trying to hit him behind in the count.
if you noticed, Jeter was up there hacking early in the count and he was the only one that had success (Jeter very rarely in dominated for an entire game because he makes adjustments).
Arod in particular took several first pitch fastballs right down the middle.
‘Remember that a Young Andrew Jones pounded out two homers against Andy Pettite in the first game in 1996. The Yankees lost that game by a crooked number, but came back to take the series.’
The Yanks lost the first 2 games of that series at home and then won the next 4.
If I told everyone here “You can sign up for a Game 7, have one run lead in the bottom of the ninth and Mo on the mound” almost everyone but the most pie-eyed optimist would take it.
That’s the situation we were in in 2001 after being down 2-0. We turned 2-0 into 3-3.
Yes, we lost that series but that’s not the point. The point is, going down 1-0 – even 2-0, is not death.
Teams DO come back from holes like that – and we Yankee fans should know better than anyone because we’re fans of the team that has done it.
Blake,
I agree. The Yanks were 0-2 all night. They let Lee set the pace of the game. I remember looking at the clock and it was about 9:30 in the 5th inning, and if it was 10:30, that’s Yankees baseball.
It’s troubling that Hughes is still not pitching well (and really he hasn’t pitched well all postseason) but that’s hardly the reason the Yanks lost yesterday. I’m not sure why everyone here is harping on it.
The hitters couldn’t do a thing against Lee which is not good considering they will face him at least 1 more time and possibly twice more if it goes to 7 games. They have to figure out a way to hit this guy or at the very least drive his pitch count up and get him out before the 7th inning.
That is a good point Blake, about not waiting on pitches. Lee is a horse, it would be hard to drive his pitch count up enough to get him pulled anyway.
Several things:
- was Hughes mouthing off to the ump as he left the mound? I didn’t see it but I was told he was;
- Robertson looked like he was getting squeezed on a bunch of pitches;
- Lee had 5 pitches working for him last night and he was using all sides of the plate…that’s tough to hit;
- Even though Lee was pitching so well, except for Jeter, the Yanks looked like they were trying to do too much against Lee. They didn’t seem to go with the pitch.
Did anyone notice that the Phillies had a little extra spring in their step, and the Yankees looked a little lethargic. The extra rest perhaps?
So I watched the game at a bar last tonight and didnt read any of the game threads. Is there anything worth catching up on or should I save myself the misery and just skip them?
A few thoughts: 1. We lost to their best. If we have to lose against them, I rather it be against Lee than someone else. 2. Someone needs to hit besides Jeter (wow does that man want another ring or what?) 3. I was semi-impressed by Marte and 4. I’m contemplating mailing Chase Utley some Shampoo.
Will-yes, Hughes was mouthing off to the ump. I’m not trying to excuse him by any means, but I did think he got squeezed a bit.
NYY626
October 29th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I’m contemplating mailing Chase Utley some Shampoo.
**************
LOL. I kept shouting “put your hat back on”
Patrick, it actually is important. Had Hughes kept the game 2-0 then perhaps Lee would have been taken out when the Yankees scored a run in the 9th. Maybe the Yankees concentrate more if they have 2 runs to make up instead of 6.
You never know how thing will play out. I do know that Lee had no pressure closing the game out with a 6 run lead. Would things have been different if it was 2. Who knows but you can’t have CC pitch his heart out and then bring in a guy that walks the first 2 hitters he sees. That totally took the wind out of our sails and basically killed any chance of a comeback…
Phil Hughes seems to have lost his command of the strike zone. It comes at a bad time and Girardi doesn’t want to strip him of his confidence after being so good for most of the year.
Certain Yankees (Cano, Cabrera, Posada) have a reputation for not running out of the box and the Phils are looking to let popups drop in the infield with a runner on.
No wonder Hughes a nervous wreck, he can’t get any giddy-up on the fastball.
Plus it’s totally lame to blame the ump. The zone was tight all night. I guess Gerry Davis was a little inconsistent, but be a man and suck it up.
We have to move on !. .Lets Kick some Pedro A– tonight and even this series up.
Erin
October 29th, 2009 at 9:20 am
NYY626
October 29th, 2009 at 9:18 am
I’m contemplating mailing Chase Utley some Shampoo.
**************
LOL. I kept shouting “put your hat back on”
____________________________________________________________
Haha! I already hated him for his 2 bombs, then I had to stare at the greaseball on top of his head all night. (I’m allowed to do some immature ranting right?).
I still have confident in Robertson. He made some good pitches last night, was squeezed, and ended up giving up a 43 hopper through the infield.
we got beat by a dominant pitcher, get over it. go back and take it out on pedro tonight!
1. I’m not worried, Yanks will win the series.
2. I’m understanding of Hughes not being as stoic as he has been in the past, he’s human. At this point, Girardi should take a break on relying on him. But remember, its hard to do that, aside from Mo he was one of our top relievers with the most innings that got us to the postseason. I’d like to see more of Aceves, even with the bad couple innings he already had in the post season. Girardi needs to not let his arm rot out there. He saved their skin plenty through the season.
3 Its definitely time to give Swish a breather. He is so dug into a slump, he needs a break from it. Tonight would be the night, he’s hardly seen Pedro. Hinske and Hairston both have way more at bats against Pedro, granted they’re all before 2005, but its something. The lineup needs a little shake and we all know Girardi’s not touching anyone else (and I don’t think he should).
Go Yanks!!
Boogie Down
October 29th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Did anyone notice that the Phillies had a little extra spring in their step, and the Yankees looked a little lethargic. The extra rest perhaps?
===========================================================
The Yanks have only played what, 10 games in about 20 days? They’re plenty well rested.
Offenses tend to look lethargic against great pitching and that’s what yesterday was all about. Lee was flat out dominant. That’s why we looked “flat”.
I certainly hope the Yankees pound the self proclaimed “most important player to every step on the mound at Yankee Stadium”. It would make all this sadness this morning turn to sheer joy if the Yanks would put up an 8 spot off Pedro…
the yankees got beat by a very good pitcher. lee has very good command and is very effective with his no nonsense speeding up of the game by pitching quickly.
the yankees will have to come up with a better approach against him then they had last night. they took too many about the only time a hitter gets a good pitch to hit is when they are ahead in the count. when it’s 2-0 they have to be swinging at the next pitch.
jeter did this and was hit the ball sharply.
that’s that with lee. now what do they do tonight?
i think girardi needs to continue to start molina with burnett simply because it becomes a distraction for burnett if there’s a change now.
this is not a compliment to burnett. but he’s got to come up big tonight so you indulge him. he is capable of being good burnett and tonight that’s what the yankees need.
it’s not fair to posada to put him in a situation where if burnett ,who has yet to prove he can pitch in the spotlight of a big game,gets bombed, he’s blamed.
i say girardi made his bed with his commitment to pairing molina with burnett and should show some conviction to his own ideas and stay with it. in other words live and die with the decision he made.
the team and posada is used to it and so i think you go with that.
the biggest problem the yankees have is that they have a yung bullpen that has never faced this kind of post season pressure before. hughes needs to come into a game at a time when the pressure is reduced because he’s just way to nervous right now.
coke was getting chewed out by a frustrated jeter last night for not mixing it up with rollins on second base last night. classic veteran annoyed with an inexperienced guy.
this yankee team is not a finished mature team. it’s a starter post season team in many ways.
you have the core guys who have been there before. you have some veterans who have played enough regular season games who can at least breath out there, but hughes, coke, joba, robertson, bruney, etc are just young guys who this is all new to.
the yankees can still win this, but they need good burnett to show up.
Now I remember why I was so hesitant to come here today after staying away last night.
First off, I felt that the Yankees only had a 50/50 chance of winning last night. Cliff Lee is that good. It’s baloney that the Yankees weren’t trying. What a load of bunk. And frankly, how dare anyone say that. There’s a lot of judgment here on players and their work ethics from people who’ve never met these guys and only see results, not effort. The results last night were poor, the effort just could not match the excellence of Cliff Lee last night.
It is a shame that he bullpen could not do its job last night; CC kept them in the game, and if they hold the score at 2-0, it increases the chances that the yankees could come back. 2 runs are a heck of lot easier to score than the eventual 5.
Maybe the pitchers were getting squeezed, maybe not. Maybe Hughes was simply frustrated by his own performance. In either event, I can certainly understand if he didn’t face the media. What, really, could he say? What people seem to want is for players to offer themselves up like a sacrifice if they dare to make a mistake that costs a game. but all the “mea culpas” in the world don’t change the results.
I like Dave Robertson’s interview. It was a bad game. They come back today ready to work.
Phillie is a tough team, but Cliff Lee is their best pitcher by far. I see better things from the Yankees going forward.
But people have got to be kidding about their lack of effort. Lack of results, maybe not being able to change their game plan, maybe a bad game plan to begin with who knows when a pitcher has everything working for him? When CC shut down the Angels, it was because CC had everything working and they could not do anything against him. Why is it so hard to see the same situation at work here?
The Yankees got beat (twice) by Angels’ pitching, then came back and won the next game, I expect them to do the same tonight. Look out Pedro…your daddy is here
NYY626
October 29th, 2009 at 9:25 am
____________________________________________________________
(I’m allowed to do some immature ranting right?).
********
He can’t possibly think that’s a good look, can he?
Absolutely
GGBG,
Agreed. the old saying “Good pitching beats good hitting”, has never proven more true than in post season games, IMO
The complexion changes with a loss by Pedro Martinez. Charlie Manuel will need to decide if he can bring back Cliff Lee on short rest after throwing 122 pitches.
The rest of the Phillie pitching staff becomes questionable and their so-so bullpen is now overly rested.
Kevin Long, if you are reading this. Pedro is going to throw strike one 90% of the time. If you get behind him he will changeup, curveball and junk you to death. The yankees have to be aggressive against him, he’s not going to walk people so they might as well not even try to be patient.
Let the hits and runs knock him out of the game instead of the pitchcount
“A few thoughts: 1. We lost to their best.”
That’s the thing I’m taking solace in–just think about the dropoff from their #1 to the rest of their staff. Martinez, Hamels, and Blanton could be exactly what the Yankee offense needs to get on track. Burnett/Martinez, Pettitte/Hamels and CC/Blanton could easily translate to a 3-1 advantage before we see Lee again. They would have a decided advantage there with Gaudin/Lee. So I could see the Yanks with a 3-2 lead coming back to the Bronx for games 6 & 7. I think the first couple of innings tonight will set the tone though. If AJ is on tonight, the offense should be able to stake him to an early lead and put game 1 behind us.
“if you noticed, Jeter was up there hacking early in the count and he was the only one that had success
Arod in particular took several first pitch fastballs right down the middle.”
blake-
i saw the same thing.
matter of fact, when jeter was ahead in the count 2-0 i wrote swing at the next pitch in a comment.
not enough other yankees did this. lee had too much command last night to not jump on him when a hitter pretty much knew a strike was coming. adding a pitch to the pitch count really didn’t help.
alex the whole night had his weight loaded as if he was pulling the ball. bad approach. but it was one game. he should be able to readjust and get back to the balanced approach he’s had .
Doreen, who said the Yankees didn’t make an effort? I must have missed that part.
People don’t want a “sacrifice”, they want accountability, and they want the players to act well in defeat.
I think we’ll be on roll once we score. Kinda losen up the guys a bit . Seemed like everyone was uptight
Mission 427 you are very mistaken if you think the Phillies won’t pitch Lee in 3 games. My guess is they go Pedro, Hamels, Lee, ?, ?, Lee
“But people have got to be kidding about their lack of effort. Lack of results, maybe not being able to change their game plan”
Completely agree. This is one of the more frustrating things about baseball–a dominant start can make the opposing lineup look like they’re not even trying. Even though that is rarely the case, people simply judge effort by results. I think your other point is spot on as well, the game plan was probably to get into the Philly bullpen the way they usually do. However, that just wasn’t going to work against Lee’s pinpoint control. Instead, it just put them in a spot where they went out of the zone–17 times Lee got a swinging or called strike that was out of the zone.
Randy, I hope they learn from last night because they are gonna see the same thing tonight from Pedro, lots of early strikes.
Forget the “drive the pitch count up approach” with strike throwers and hit the ball….
Patrick, I think its pretty clear that Manuel is planning on pitching Blanton is game 4. He would have pitched someone else in the 9th with a 6 run lead if he hadn’t.
“Patrick, I think its pretty clear that Manuel is planning on pitching Blanton is game 4. He would have pitched someone else in the 9th with a 6 run lead if he hadn’t.”
I don’t think it’s clear. Lee is just too dominating to only give him 2 starts. Jeez I hope Manuel goes with Blanton in game 4 but I see no reason for him to do that.
Lee has pitched very little on 3 days rest in his career. If they committ to pitching him on short rest in game 4 then they would also be committing to doing it again in game 7.
CC has done it much more often and even if Lee does pitch game 4, I like CC in that matchup because of his experience on short rest and because he’s just as good as Lee on normal rest .
Blake i dont’ know. I think we have to wait Pedro out like we use too. get the pitch count up! .
Lee was dominant last night. Would it have made a difference even if we swung early in the count. probably not.
Mike, absolutely it could have made a difference. Lee is good but he’s unhittable in 0-2, 1-2 counts. He threw I don’t know how many first pitch fastballs for strikes. Jeter was the only one who jumped on them. I’m not saying the outcome would have been any different but at least they wouldn’t have been waving at “spike curves” all night.
I can guarantee you that Pedro is not going to walk people and will be around the plate until he gets ahead and starts throwing changeups in the dirt….
“Now I remember why I was so hesitant to come here today after staying away last night.”
doreen-
it crosses my mind to go elsewhere for my baseball fix like many of the past regulars who have chosen to do because of the low quality of baseball conversation on the blog where quantity has replaced quality.
we’ve both been here for quite a while. when CB, SJ44, hmmm, whozat, murphydog , nick in sf, pat m, gb7 , raymagnetic, wave your hat,joe in long island, patrick, bodhavista , m, etc were talking baseball the sparks flew , but it was at a higher baseball IQ.
the new posters like mac daddy and imback represent the downward slide towards the lowest common denominator .
we don’t let those kind of people in our regular lives, but on an open blog they can crash the party. at some point the party isn’t worth who you have to associate with.
right now there’s a core group i come here for. plus the occasional new person who comes along who has something to add.
it’s a blog . it’s not our life. hopefully it’ll get better, but it’s not going in the right direction if you want high level baseball conversation.
Pedro becomes the “daddy” tonight, steals one in the Bronx and it’s back to Philly. Yanks down 0-2. I’d say it’s all over for the NY this weekend!
Ny’s #1 got out-pitched at home, with 2 very un-dependables behind him. Philly wins it again this year because they’re built like an AL team!
end of story!
go stroke your Rocky statue Kid CheeseSteak….
“Randy, I hope they learn from last night because they are gonna see the same thing tonight from Pedro, lots of early strikes.”
blake-
you’re right. i noticed pedro has had only maybe 8 walks total since he’s come back.
the hitters will have to adjust to what he’s doing because he’s not going to be the same old pedro.
Randy, nope, I feel pretty good about the game because Pedro is basically a junker now and the Yankees typically hit junkers fairly well.
My only worry is how AJ is gonna get Utley and Howard out. Howard murders pitchers like AJ.. I think the Yanks will need at least 5 runs to win tonight..
This isn’t entirely like 1996 and 2001. Lee is their only comparable pitcher to how dominant Maddux/Glavine/Smoltz or Schilling/Johnson were. If Hamels puts it together, that changes the story.
Unfortunately, the Yankees bullpen isn’t as lights out as those teams were though.
HALFMOON YANKEE
October 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am
GGBG,
Agreed. the old saying “Good pitching beats good hitting”, has never proven more true than in post season games, IMO
==========================================================
I’d like to propose extending that term to “Good pitching beats good hitting. Great pitching makes hitters look lethargic”
That’s what happened last night. Lee authored one of the all time great WS pitching performances, including the most non-chalant popup catch in history and a behind the back stab of a ground ball.
doreen-
… forgot to mention boston dave who had excellent comments last night and db .mg,maine yankee, dennis, and others.
i should know better than say who i like to read. you know you’re going to leave someone out
“My only worry is how AJ is gonna get Utley and Howard out. Howard murders pitchers like AJ.”
blake-
flip a coin because the yankees have two starters tonight – good burnett and bad burnett.
if good burnett shows up, he can get anyone out. if bad burnett shows up, anyone can hit him.
one problem that has been masked by the yankees winning most of their postseason games is that burnett should be a third starter where his inconsistency isn’t as much of a problem in a short series.
that’s why i’m saying that this postseason team is a “starter” postseason team for the yankees. they’ll get better as they add experience and a real #2 starter.
on a positive note, it’s 50/50 which burnett will show up tonight. we have a chance.
if there’s ever a time for his two hit untouchable nasty stuff tonight is the time.
if bad burnett shows up and the yankees are down 2-0 girardi needs to start pettitte on 3 days rest in a game 6 and run out a spring training type game with gaudin starting game 5 with the kitchen sink following.
add burnett to the bullpen from game 4 onward and have a nasty strikeout guy out there who is ticked off because he’s been removed from the rotation .
hey, down 2-0, it’d be time to get creative .
even if the yankees go down 2-0. pettitte and sabathia can win two games in a row.
win or lose tonight , with the right moves the yankees can still win the series.
burnett of course can make a case for himself tonight that he’s a pitcher to be counted on. that’s the best scenario.
//Lee has pitched very little on 3 days rest in his career. If they committ to pitching him on short rest in game 4 then they would also be committing to doing it again in game 7//
It’s not going to get to 7 boys….sorry. Lee closes it out, held back a game to pitch in the game 5! Series win 4-1 for Philly. They’ll be celebrating in the streets of Philly. Closing out the series at home.
Better luck next year chuckle-heads!
Yanks have to get into there bullpen ! . . THEY HAVE TO
//flip a coin because the yankees have two starters tonight – good burnett and bad burnett.//
If you think “Good Burnett” is showing up tonight. You’re sorely mistaken. AJ and Pettite get shelled and Lee closes it out in game 4 at home. That’s a Philly sweep Yank fans!!!
Maybe next year will be your year if you try to buy #27 for $300mil???? Yup….$300mil just might do it for ya!
Save the bragging rights until it’s over. There’s a thing called karma, y’know. “Fans” of the Twins and Angels made the same mistake here, proclaiming how the series was over any time the Yankees were seemingly about to lose (yet had some come-from-behind victories late in the game) or lost even one game. Never heard from them again.
I remember the same discussion happening in 1996. The Yankees were down 0-2 and all the Braves fans said their team would sweep because the series wasn’t heading back to New York. The talk also revolved how their pitching staff could beat the 1927 Yankees, which was a great proclamation and all. It’s just that they couldn’t beat the 1996 version of the team, which mattered more!
I’m happy for Cliff Lee, loved him here in Cleveland. Glad to see him pitching so well in the postseason.
I think this series is going at least 6 games. Should be a good series. I think the Yankees take Game 2.
Matsui didn’t just “wander off” on that double play as McCarver and Buck were saying last night. It was another blown call by the umps. The umpire at second base called Matsui “out” when Rollins touched the bag, even though the force had been taken off and Matsui was still safe. Matsui saw that he had been called out, so, naturally, he was leaving the field. Saying this was a “correct call” by the umps is incorrect. Matsui should have been allowed to stay at second.
I actually like Randy’s perspective on all of this, from the catcher to the young arms in the bullpen. Sometimes being practical trumps the need to be overly creative or the need to overthink the situation.
I was at opening day, when the Yankees lost to the Indians 10-2. Cliff Lee was pitching for the Tribe, CC for the Yanks. Maybe there’s something to that matchup. That day was like watching paint dry. Last night felt the same way.
Bill Reynolds in the projo called the Yankees making it to the world series the frosting on the cake. I agree with that. Making it there was huge and put a lot of demons to rest. Hopefully the Yanks will seal the deal.
randy: The crazy quotient has gone way up, and the normal posters are outnumbered by a wide margin. I date the beginning of the decline to the appearance of the impersonators. That and the influx of mind-numbingly juvenile trolls clogging every game thread. And the haters claiming to be Yankee fans. I for one love the higher-level/intelligent baseball posts because I learn so much from them and enjoy them. But I can’t blame the core posters for avoiding this place during the games, since the bad element has increased exponentially. It’s a pity, because this is still such a good blog.
This blog has not only been the best information about the Yankees but it also has had great, creative humor. I have the greatest respect for you guys as you assume the duties of writing this blog. Baseball, and the Yankees in particular, is my sports passion. Among the strategies, the personalities and the history there is also humor. Unfortunately that is sadly lacking in the blog. I hope that when you are feeling more comfortable you will be able to inject some humor, some personal asides and other devices to make this a more user friendly blog!
Thanks guys for the work that you do to keep us informed.