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A New York Yankees blog by Chad Jennings and the staff of The Journal News


Archive for October, 2009

ALCS Game 2: Angels at Yankees (Part IV)10.18.09

UPDATE, 12:50 a.m.: We’re rapidly approaching “Star Wars” length saga on this game thread, but let’s keep it going here. Great job staying with us tonight everyone.

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ALCS Game 2: Angels at Yankees (Part III)10.17.09

UPDATE, 11:31 p.m.: Another 1,000 comments or so and we’re into part III. Girardi nearly looked like a genius there as Guzman (the second-pinch runner) could have scored the winning run after moving into scoring position on a hit by Gardner (the first pinch-runner). Alas, not to be. On we go.

By the way, how about all that rain?

UPDATE, 11:35 p.m.: Wow, that was almost awful. A-Rod almost cost the Yankees an out and killed Mariano at the same time. Fortunately, collision averted.

UPDATE, 11:59 p.m.: Small ball from the Angels and they’ve got their chance now against Aceves. Yankees have certainly had theirs and been unable to cash in so far.

UPDATE, 12:01 p.m.: That snapped an 0-for-19 postseason slide for Figgins dating back to last season, and the Angels are up 3-2. It’s dead silent here at the Stadium.

UPDATE, 12:12 p.m.: He did it again. Unbelieveable. That ball from A-Rod slipped over the right-field fence and the Stadium went absolutely nuts. 3-3 and with the rain coming down like it is, you wonder if the game might be suspended if the Yankees don’t win it right here.

UPDATE, 12:23 p.m.: Damaso Marte in a big spot. This doesn’t feel very good, does it?

UPDATE, 12:25 p.m.: Hey, what do you know – Marte gets an out. Now Robertson is coming in. The first time he started warming up was about six hours ago, when A.J. got wild in the fifth inning.

UPDATE, 12:27 p.m.: Chad Gaudin is the last lonely soul left in the pen. Hope he can pitch till morning.

UPDATE, 12:36 p.m.: Lots of work being done on the mound and field in between innings. Ervin Santana coming in now for the Angels. Figure he’s in for the long-haul.

UPDATE, 12:47 p.m.: Another chance for Alex, but he skies to center. What a night. We’re going to the 13th and Robertson is staying in. Remarkable restraint by Girardi, considering he still has one whole pitcher left in the bullpen.

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ALCS Game 2: Angels at Yankees (Part II)10.17.09

UPDATE, 9:49 p.m.: Up over 1,000 comments means it’s time to go for two (threads).

UPDATE, 9:51 p.m.: Bad call by the umpire there, as Jeter looked to beat the throw by a half-step. Not sure why Saunders took so long getting rid of the ball to start the double-play.

UPDATE, 10:01 p.m.: That’s 105 pitches for A.J. Two runs, three hits, two walks, four strikeouts. Do you bring him back out for the seventh?

UPDATE, 10:08 p.m.: After a bit of a delay, Burnett heads back to the mound. Looks like Chamberlain and Coke up and throwing in the bullpen.

UPDATE, 10:14 p.m.: That was the first Yankee error of the postseason and it ends Burnett’s night. He gets a nice hand from the crowd as he walks off and it’s Phil Coke coming on to face Figgins and then Abreu.

UPDATE, 10:21 p.m.: Coke comes in and throws three pickoff attempts to first, four balls and one strike in a walk to Figgins. Not good.

UPDATE, 10:25 p.m.: Apparently that’s no problem, as Coke whiffs Abreu. Now it’s up to Joba to get Torii Hunter.

UPDATE, 10:31 p.m.: Bad luck for Joba there as Hunter squibbs it, and it’s too slow for Jeter to have a play. Bases loaded for Vladdy now.

UPDATE, 10:34 p.m.: Right call for Joba/Molina there — no need to throw anything near the plate with free-swingin’ Vladdy up there. A slider in the dirt does the job.

UPDATE, 10:40 p.m.: Attendance at the Stadium tonight: 49,922.

UPDATE, 10:42 p.m.: And everyone’s favorite pinch-runner, Brett Gardner, is in the game for Swisher. Let’s see what havoc he can cause.

UPDATE, 10:44 p.m.: Not much Gardner could do there. That was an easy-as-you-like DP. It’d be nice if Melky gets on so the Yankees could hit for Molina.

UPDATE, 10:47 p.m.: No such luck. Changes for the Yanks: Gardner in center, Melky in right, Hughes pitching.

UPDATE, 10:55 p.m.: Another misplay by a Yankee on another easy grounder. This time it’s Jeter. Is it a rule in this series that one team has to play sloppy each night?

UPDATE, 10:57 p.m.: It’s hard to fault Girardi for going to Rivera ever, but why not leave Hughes in to face Aybar? If this game goes extras, he’ll have used Joba and Hughes for a grand total of five batters.

UPDATE, 11:30 p.m.: Big chance there for the Yankees as Gardner had a nice piece of hitting to set up Cano. Nothing doing though, and we’re going to extras. Rivera staying in.

Time for a new thread? I think so. Come on over to III.

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ALCS Game 2: Angels at Yankees10.17.09

YANKEES
Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Hideki Matsui DH
Nick Swisher RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Jose Molina C

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

ANGELS
Chone Figgins 3B
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Juan Rivera LF
Maicer Izturis 2B
Mike Napoli C
Erick Aybar SS

Pitching: LHP Joe Saunders (0-0, 0.00)

TIME/TV: 7:57 p.m., FOX

WEATHER: Not much better – and probably worse – than yesterday. It’s cold and brisk with rain lingering all over the area. In other words, perfect baseball weather. Check out the forecast here.

STATE OF THE STRIPES: The Yankees are three wins from the World Series and seven from their 27th title after taking Game 1 yesterday. They haven’t lost yet in the postseason and haven’t been bothered by all the off days they’ve faced. Since playing their final regular-season game on Oct. 4, they’ve played four games in 12 days and won them all.

BATTER VS. PITCHER: Here’s the Angels vs. Burnett. And here’s the Yankees vs. Saunders.

BURN AFTER READING: A.J. Burnett is making his second career postseason start after a rocky-but-effective outing in the Division Series. Burnett allowed one run in six innings against the Twins but walked five and hit two batters, shooting his pitch count up and forcing him to work out of trouble too often. He’s had mixed results against the Angels; he was 1-0, 4.26 ERA in two starts against them this year and 2-2, 4.43 ERA in six career starts.

QUIET NIGHT: Game 1 was only the second time in 84 games at Yankee Stadium where neither team hit a home run (the other was June 18 vs. Washington).

START STRONG, FINISH STRONG: How important is getting the first run of the game? The Yankees obviously have no problem coming from behind, but they’re 67-20 when they score the first run of the game (which they did last night). The Game 1 win also improved them to 82-4 when leading after seven innings.

JOHNNY ROCKETS: Johnny Damon’s 1-for-12 showing in the ALDS was his worst postseason series – he’d never had less than three hits in nine previous series. Damon turned it around in Game 1, though, going 2-for-5 with a single, double and two runs scored. The double was his first in the postseason since Game 3 of the 2005 Division Series.

HIT-DEKI: Hideki Matsui has only played in 15 ALCS games, but his double in Game 1 tied him with Bernie Williams for most all-time doubles in the round (both have 10). Most amazing? Williams needed almost three times as many games (41) as Matsui to set the mark.

DANGEROUS BOBBY: Look for Bobby Abreu’s at-bats to be a good benchmark for Burnett in tonight’s game, as the former Yankee is 20-for-64 (.313) with 12 walks against Burnett.

CLEAN IT UP: The Angels made three errors in Game 1, or three times as many as they made in the entire Division Series. The Yankees have yet to make an error in the postseason.

RANDOM QUESTION OF THE DAY: What ever happened to bullpen carts? I miss them.

IF THERE WERE WALK-TO-THE-PLATE MUSIC IN REAL LIFE, TODAY’S WOULD BE: Rain is Falling by Electric Light Orchestra (because, hopefully, it’s not)

UPDATE, 4:24 p.m.: They have set up the batting cage and nets on the field as though there is going to be batting practice. It’s currently very cloudy but dry at the Stadium, and not as cold – or windy – as yesterday. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Joe Girardi just met with the media and spoke on a variety of topics, including whether or not he feels the Yankees have an advantage in the elements because the Angels are a “warm-weather” team. Short answer: No. Check out the audio, which should be along shortly, for more. Girardi also said Andy Pettitte has not flown ahead to California, though the team may send him depending on if Game 2 actually gets played to completion tonight.

UPDATE, 4:48 p.m.: Josh here. Girardi said this morning when he checked the weather it looked “grim.” Now, he is hopeful they will play tonight.

Here’s what Girardi said during his presser:

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I’ll have more in a bit from the manager’s sit down with the beat guys.

UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.: The Yankees are starting to filter out on to the field. A-Rod and Jerry Hairston are taking some early grounders, both wearing ski hats.

UPDATE, 5:04 p.m.: Wide variety of looks from the Yankees during their team stretch. Some guys are just in sweatshirts or the regular fleece warm-ups (Girardi, Posada); others are in the “Elmer Fudd” hats that have ear flaps (Swisher, Rivera); and others are in full-on Eskimo/bank-robber face coverings (Joba).

UPDATE, 5:20 p.m.: OK, here’s a few notes from Girardi —
• He is more hopeful there will be a game tonight than he was this morning: “When I looked at it this morning it looked grim, but now when I look at it I think we have a pretty decent shot at playing. We’re going to convene at 7 o’clock and talk about it, but it looks like the percentages went down. We hope maybe this can be a little like yesterday.” It better start soon.
• Girardi said it was “tough” to insert Molina for Posada, but the Burnett-Molina combo worked well in Round 1.
• Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Mariano Rivera could all be stretched to four or five outs tonight if need be. The off-day gives them that luxury, Girardi said.
• No word on when the game will be played tomorrow if tonight is postponed. Girardi heard both afternoon and night, which throws a little dirt on the assumption that they will definitely play in the afternoon. The forecast calls for rain all day tomorrow so one does not appear to be an advantage over another.
• A-Rod earned a charley horse on his collision with Jeff Mathis last night. It actually gave Girardi peace of mind, knowing Rodriguez came out of the pile with only a bump.
• Still no word on who will pitch Game 4. Girardi said the Yankees discussed Plan Bs on Thursday in the event of postponements yesterday or today. Obviously a key factor will be if a game is played Monday, or if Game 3 is pushed to Tuesday and Monday becomes an off-day. MLB has not informed the Yankees of what will happen with Monday, Girardi said.
• He expects to meet at 7 with Mike Scioscia and MLB to discuss tonight. MLB decides whether the game is played or not.

UPDATE, 6:19 p.m.: Yankees are off the field, Angels are on and the raindrops are starting to fall. Among the notables on the field during batting practice: Jeff Nelson, who still has the buzz cut. He looked cold.

UPDATE, 6:30 p.m.: FYI, Tino Martinez will throw out the first pitch tonight.

UPDATE, 7:01 p.m.: Both teams are off the field and the grounds crew is working. It’s cold, but not raining.

UPDATE, 7:49 p.m.: Nice ovation for Tino. Still looks weird to see Posada catching the ceremonial first pitch. Burnett just started the long walk in from the bullpen, Molina on his left and Dave Eiland on his right.

UPDATE, 7:57 p.m.: And we’re off. It’s 47 degrees in the Bronx and – what do you know? – dry (for now). Enjoy the game.

UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.: The only one NOT wearing sleeves is A-Rod.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: A.J. through one after getting Vlad to bounce out. Torii Hunter’s hands must have felt like he’d been electrocuted on that fisted double to right. It’s chilly out here.

UPDATE, 8:08 p.m.: First pitch swinging for the Captain and Saunders has one out on one pitch.

UPDATE, 8:14 p.m.: Burnett threw first-pitch strikes to all four batters in the first, then started off Morales with a fastball strike for five in a row. Good sign.

UPDATE, 8:19 p.m.: Six of seven first-pitch strikes for A.J. and he’s through two having thrown 25 pitches, 19 strikes.

UPDATE, 8:30 p.m.: Josh here. Robbie Cano tripled into the RCF gap to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead. He drove in Swisher, who walked with two outs.

Big confidence booster for both guys. Swisher has not only struggled hitting, he had yet to walk. That’s a big deal for him to go without one over four games. He only did so four other times this season. And that was also Cano, Cano The Eskimo’s first extra-base hit of the playoffs.

UPDATE, 8:39 p.m.: Another solid stretch by Tex to just get Aybar. Don’t forget, the cold temps don’t just affect the pitchers throwing the ball; a rushed throw like that from Jeter can be hard to grip, too.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: First walk of the game and first time this series that Figgins has sniffed first base. Putting him on is usually a recipe for disaster …

UPDATE, 8:46 p.m.: … but not this time. Abreu hit it hard but on a line to Melky in center. Still 1-0 Yanks.

UPDATE, 8:51 p.m.: Well, he can’t always smack a single the other way. Sometimes they go out of the park. It was Jeter’s sixth career LCS home run and his 19th postseason home run, passing Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle  for sole possession of third place on the all-time list. 2-0 Yanks.

UPDATE, 9:01 p.m.: Hunter just can’t buy a hit with Teixeira at first. Second time in two nights Tex has stretched to keep Hunter off base. That’s his second great play of the night.

UPDATE, 9:02 p.m.: Say what you want about Jose Molina, but he’s tough – that hit his knee and his face, and then on the next pitch he jumps out to find the loose strike three and makes a great throw to get Guerrero. Plus he’s wearing a skully under his helmet, which is cool.

UPDATE, 9:07 p.m.: Burnett has thrown first-pitch strikes on 13 of the 15 batters he’s faced. One walk, one HBP, one hit — he’s got it going tonight.

UPDATE, 9:14 p.m.: Cano gives it a ride but Torii Hunter catches (almost) everything in CF. By the way, don’t forget to check out @LoHudYankees on Twitter. Josh Thomson is updating all game on there.

UPDATE, 9:19 p.m.: That leadoff double to Izturis is only the second time in 14 innings this series that the Angels have had a leadoff man on. Let’s see if A.J. can get out of it.

UPDATE, 9:21 p.m.: Nope. Burnett nearly knocked that ball down with a swipe behind his back but it hopped off the mound and into center. 2-1 Yankees now, with the top of the Angels order coming up.

UPDATE, 9:25 p.m.: This is getting hairy in a hurry. Suddenly, Burnett can’t find the strike zone and is falling behind every hitter. That was the second time he’s had a curveball dip and hit a batter on the foot, and now it’s two on, one out and Bobby Abreu – who has crushed Burnett in the past – at the plate.

UPDATE, 9:32 p.m.: That was a great sequence by Burnett and a terrific catch in foul territory by Damon. Burnett through nine straight fastballs, none less than 93 mph, and finally got Abreu to foul out to deep, deep left. Now he needs to get one more out to escape this mess.

UPDATE, 9:37 p.m.: Ball four to Hunter skips into the stands and, by rule, it’s only one base for the runners when it comes from a pitch (it’d be two on a live ball in play). Break for the Yankees there. Robertston warming in the pen.

UPDATE, 9:40 p.m.: Another breaking ball in the dirt that gets away and it’s tied, 2-2. You can see why Burnett would want to throw the curveball there since he struck out Guerrero on that pitch in a similar spot earlier, but it was clear he was losing control of the curve as the inning went on.

UPDATE, 9:43 p.m.: After getting ahead so often over the first four innings, Burnett just lost command in the fifth. He threw first-pitch balls to six hitters and a first-pitch double to the seventh. Let’s see if the long inning hurts Saunders.

UPDATE, 9:48 p.m.: Joe Girardi is a genius. He knew that playing Molina, having him bunt and foul it off twice would result in a smacked single to right. Brilliant! Now Jeter up with two on and none out. Seems to me like a good time to go to another thread.

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Flash Points: John Flaherty breaks down the Game 2 pitching match-up10.17.09

Former Yankee and current YES Network analyst John Flaherty has agreed to break down the pitching match-up for every Yankees postseason game exclusively on the LoHud Yankees blog. Be sure to check out John on the YES pre- and post-game shows today. Here’s his take on the Game 2 starters:

YANKEES: RHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 1.50 ERA)

WHAT’S HE THROW? “Fastball, power curve for his strikeout pitch and change-up.”

STRENGTHS: “I think it’s going to be the same thing for Burnett as the last time – he’s got to keep the fastball away to righties. He had a really sharp curveball the last outing, but the location wasn’t great and he’s not going to get away with that against this lineup. Good news for him, again, though, is that CC took some pressure off him by winning last night. In front of a home crowd and up 1-0 in the series, he ought to be able to relax just a little.”

WEAKNESSES: “The weather can be a factor. I didn’t think CC had a great slider last night and I think A.J., since he uses the power curve as his main strikeout pitch, could be affected. He may not be as consistent with that pitch and will have to adapt if he can’t control it. … It’s also no secret he’s easy to run on, so five walks like the last time would be bad news. This guy is a rhythm pitcher, so if the Angels get runners on by walks, they could make this a long night for him.”

——-

ANGELS: LHP Joe Saunders (0-0, 0.00)

WHAT’S HE THROW? “Two- and four-seam fastballs, sinker, change-up and the occasional slider.”

STRENGTHS: “You hear a lot about the sinker but he’s got some heat on his fastball, too, he can get it up to 94 mph and that really sets up the change-up, especially to right-handed hitters. It’s a real nasty pitch to them. He can speed you up with the fastball, then drop it 12 mph. He’s also got a slider that he uses to the left-handed batters.”

WEAKNESSES: “I actually had a chance to talk to Scioscia out in Anaheim when Saunders was struggling a little and he said it’s all location. He’s got power stuff, but he can’t pitch in the middle of the plate. I expect the Yankees to go with the game plan of trying to take him the other way the entire night. If you get beat with a fastball, then maybe you can dump a single the other way; if it’s a change-up, you could be right on time and square it up. The Yankees can’t try to get big with this guy. It just won’t work.”

———–

EDGE: “If we’re just talking about the pitchers and nothing else, I think Saunders may have a little bit of an edge in the cold weather because he’s a fastball/change-up guy and A.J.’s curveball is usually his go-to strikeout pitch. The weather makes it harder to spin the ball, and that favors a guy who relies more on the fastball and change. So, a slight edge to Saunders.”

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When the weather outside is frightful …10.17.09

… everyone has a different approach to how to handle it. Personally, I think more Yankees should go with the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” look that Kate Hudson had, but that’s just me. Thanks to the LA Times for the Kendry Morales photo. No word on whether he, Robinson Cano (right) and Erick Aybar went out robbing banks after the game.

49903388ALCS Angels Yankees BaseballALCS Angels Yankees Baseball

In keep-your-fingers-crossed news, it’s not raining at this very moment in Connecticut. So that seems like a good thing. Latest forecast I’ve seen isn’t good – still rain coming tonight – but at least today hasn’t been a total washout (yet). We’ll keep you posted.

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Today in The Journal News10.17.09

The cold weather didn’t bother CC Sabathia much at all as the Yankees rode eight dominating innings from their ace to a 4-1 win over the Angels in Game 1 of the ALCS. Josh Thomson has the story.

In a pleasant role reversal for the Yankees, they played like everyone thought the Angels would, and capitalized on a slew of sloppy plays from Mike Scioscia’s club. For more on that, check out my column.

Johnny Damon broke out of his postseason slump with a two-hit, two-run night, and Rick Carpiniello has the details.

A.J. Burnett will look to follow up Sabathia’s outing with one of his own in Game 2 – whenever it may be played. Josh also Jose Molina’s take on the will-he or won’t-he saga of who catches Burnett.

Rain figures to play havoc with the ALCS schedule, and Joe Girardi is concerned about how it might affect the Yankees rotation. The notebook also has items on a collision at home plate for A-Rod, roster news and more.

Last but not least, Gary Stern has a look at the fan’s experience at Game 1.

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Rivera: “This is the way we should play.”10.17.09

On a night that harkened back to Octobers past, the Yankees won 4-1. They took advantage of three errors, scored when they could and rode eight innings from their ace and a ninth from their closer.

“I think the whole team played tremendous,” Mariano Rivera said. “This is the way we should play.”

Nobody embodied that quite like CC Sabathia, whose eight innings of one-run ball stymied the Angels and stalled their running game before it started. The 9-1-2 of Erick Aybar, Chone Figgins and Bobby Abreu went a combined 0 for 10 and none of the three reached base.

Here’s Sabathia on his night:

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Mark Teixeira said Sabathia pitched as well as he had all season. It’s hard to argue. After walking 22 in his first 25 career postseason innings, Sabathia now has one in 14.2 as a Yankee.

Here’s a few non-CC notes from tonight:
• Alex Rodriguez admitted he ran through the stop sign of Rob Thomson (no relation) on Hideki Matsui’s double in the fifth. “Once I saw the go (sign), I put my head down,” Rodriguez said. “It was my mistake.”
• The double was Matsui’s 10th in an LCS, tying him with Bernie Williams for the most all-time.
• This was just the second homerless game at the new stadium. The last came in a 3-0 loss to the Nationals on June 18. That’s in 84 games. Wow. The wind obviously blew in tonight, likely costing Vladimir Guerrero (fourth) and Robinson Cano (sixth) homers.
• Figgins is now 0 for 16 in the ’09 postseason.
• The Yankees improved to 82-4 this year when leading after seven innings. They are also now 52-1 when holding opponents to two runs or less.
• Teixeira said his foot did come off the bag in the sixth, when Sabathia made a nice play on a squibber from Torii Hunter and threw to first. Hunter and Mike Scioscia protested, but Teixeira believed his foot was on the bag when he caught the ball.
• Jose Molina played coy on whether or not he will catch A.J. Burnett in Game 2: “He hasn’t said anything to you guys, so he hasn’t said anything to me.”
• Here’s Johnny Damon, who, following a miserable September and early October, had two hits and scored two runs: “Well, you know, sometimes in this game you need to have some luck, but you also need to go out and work hard and try to figure out what went wrong in Game 3. But I also understand this game and in the playoffs. So I was just happy we won Game 3. I wasn’t too terribly upset at myself. But I also knew I had to get in and get my work in and try to get back to the way I swung the bat earlier in the season.”
• Damon snapped an 0-for-10 skid, as did Nick Swisher. They had been hitless since their second at-bats in Game 1 of the Division Series.

Before I exit, you should know the tarp is already on the field and tomorrow’s forecast calls for a 90-percent chance of rain. There is talk of an afternoon game on Sunday in the event of a postponement. An official contingency plan — nor how a Sunday Game 2 would impact the remainder of the series — has yet to be announced.

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Sabathia dominates as Yankees strike first10.16.09

CC Sabathia was the ace that the Yankees dreamed about yet again, and the Yankees took advantage of a very sloppy night from the Angels in a 4-1 win. Back with much more from the clubhouse shortly.

UPDATE, 12:01 a.m.: We’ve got some tight newspaper deadlines but I wanted to get you guys some audio. Here’s Girardi’s postgame press conference.

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Also, A-Rod said Sabathia “had it all working tonight. In the eighth inning, he’s throwing 96, 97 mph – that’s pretty impressive.” A-Rod also admitted that he ran right through Rob Thomson’s stop sign on the play at home but did so because he put his head down once he got to third base. “It was my mistake,” he said.

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ALCS Game 1: Angels at Yankees (Part II)10.16.09

UPDATE, 9:51 p.m.: Close play at first there. Nice stretch by Teixeira.

UPDATE, 9:53 p.m.: Replay on that play at first is hard to tell. Either he was just on or just off. Either way, five K’s for CC on just 80 pitches. A halfway decent inning by the Yankees here and they could knock Lackey out.

UPDATE, 9:56 p.m.: Apparently that electric fence that used to buzz Abreu near the wall at the old Stadium didn’t make it across the street to the new one. Interesting.

UPDATE, 10:03 p.m.: Lackey can’t blame anyone else for this inning. How do you walk Melky twice? Then he throws away a pickoff throw and the ugliness continues as Hunter misplays Jeter’s single that allows him to take second. Suddenly, it’s 4-1 and Lackey’s night is over.

UPDATE, 10:06 p.m.: This is just what the Yankees wanted: They’re into the Angels bullpen with three innings to go. Bulger on now.

UPDATE, 10:16 p.m.: How good has Sabathia been? That was the first walk issued by him this postseason.

UPDATE, 10:20 p.m.: Loud “CC” chants at the Stadium now and Sabathia responds with a strikeout of Napoli and a big fist pump as he walks off. He’s been dazzling.

UPDATE, 10:41 p.m.: No one warming in the Yankees pen which is a little surprising to me. With CC near 100 pitches and a three-run lead, why not take save him the inning if you’re thinking about running him back out on short rest the next time?

UPDATE, 10:46 p.m.: CC staying in. Hughes is now up and tossing loosely in the pen.

UPDATE, 10:53 p.m.: And Hughes sits down. CC goes eight strong and finishes with 113 pitches. Girardi will take questions about why he didn’t pull him after seven – especially if he goes in short rest in Game 4 – but you can’t argue that he was an ace tonight.

UPDATE, 11:20 p.m.: Postgame thread is up. We’ll be updating with clubhouse news on there.

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