The LoHud Yankees Blog

First things first: it’s cold here! Saw my breath as soon as I got off the plane and was hit with a blast of winter chill. I’m sure the new outdoor stadium they’re building will be a big hit.

Anyway the Yankees – along with a slew of exhausted and debatably delirious reporters – will be at the Metrodome for a workout in a few hours. Chad and I will have all the news, notes and audio for you, including what I imagine will be some serious biting-their-tongue Yankee quotes about one Carl Pavano. Back with much more later.

Has everyone’s heart rate slowed down just yet, or will it take a bit longer to come down from last night’s remarkable Yankees win?

I’m sitting just outside of Gate 4, waiting for a 6:15 flight out of New York. I have the game story for today’s newspaper, which calls last night the first postseason classic of the new Yankee Stadium. A few hours after writing it, I stand by that assessment.

Sam has a column on Alex Rodriguez and his defining moment as a Yankee. These two games have surely done a lot to change the image of A-Rod as a postseason choke artist.

In the end, there was an obvious sidebar to Game 2, and that’s Josh’s story on umpire Phil Cuzzi’s blown call in left field. There’s no telling what would have happened had Joe Mauer been given a hit on that drive to left, but based on how the rest of the inning unfolded, it certainly could have changed things.

Finally, Josh and I worked together on a notebook, which leads with the fact Rodriguez likely does not need further surgery on his hip. There’s also mention of Hideki Matsui, Joba Chamberlain, Brett Gardner and Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez.

Three base-running decisions by Brett Gardner in the 10th inning. Two very nearly gave the Yankees the win, one could very easily have cost them the game.

On stealing second base with Derek Jeter at the plate…
“You can’t get thrown out and that’s why it took me a couple of pitches to go. They mixed it up on me a little bit and they were pretty quick to the plate. After I didn’t go on the first pitch, he was ahead in the count the whole way, 1-0, 2-0. I think I went on the 2-0 pitch. When a hitter’s ahead in the count, it’s not a bad time to go because the pitcher is more focused on the batter, he has to throw strikes. He’s not really thinking about being real quick to the plate because that’s going to throw off his control a little bit.”

On taking third base on a bad pickoff throw by Joe Nathan…
“I stumbled coming off the base. A good throw to first probably gets me, but I decide to keep going. Once I stumbled, I made contact with I think it was the shortstop by the base. I was looking and saw the ball into center. I took off going for third and three or four steps off the base, I was trying to get my legs under me. I stumbled a little bit, and at that point you know the center fielder’s got the ball and he’s coming up throwing to third. And if I go to second, he’s just going to gun it to second. Just go and hopefully the throw’s not on the bag.”

On being doubled off at third base on a line drive to short…
“It‘s a tough read. There’s not much time to make a decision and I thought it was going to short-hop him. When I saw that he caught it, I was committed to going home. Obviously I’m a little frustrated at myself for making a bad decision.”

The Yankees won 4-3 in 11 innings, but you knew that. In case you missed them, here are three of the pivotal players in the drama.

Joe Girardi:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mark Teixeira, game-winning homer in the 11th:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Alex Rodriguez, game-tying homer in the ninth:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Thanks for reading, especially to those of you who stuck with me on Twitter. Chad will take it from here.

With a shining championship belt sitting on his locker shelf, David Robertson tried to explain that high-wire top of the 11th. He was perfectly capable of talking about the facts, but describing the emotions was nearly impossible.

“I was excited and pumped,” he said. “We got three outs and didn’t give up a run, and with our lineup, we have a chance to win it with one swing, and it ended up being what happened.”

The biggest out might have been the first one, when Delmon Young lined out to first.

“When I threw it I thought, Oh God,” Robertson said. “And before you could snap your fingers, it’s in his glove.”

Force out at the plate. Fly out to center. That’s all it took to get out of an inning that couldn’t have started any worse and could hardly have ended any better. 

“I’m already in a jam, then I make it even worse by loading the bases,” Robertson said. “… One swing of the bat and it could be a double and the next thing you know we’re in the hole three runs. You never know, so we were fortunate to not have that happen.”

Joe Mauer sliced a ball down the left-field line to lead off the top of the 11th inning. The score was 3-3 at the time and the Twins were trying to overcome another dramatic ninth inning at the Bronx.

Mauer’s ball landed as Melky Cabrera ran toward the line. Left field umpire Phil Cuzzi ruled the ball foul, but replays showed it was clearly fair. The umpires watched a replay after the game and crew chief Tim Tschida admitted a mistake had been made.

Here’s what Tschida had to say tonight:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Mauer went on to single in the at-bat and the Twins eventually loaded the bases. David Robertson escaped the no-out, bases-loaded jam and Mark Teixeira hit a the game-winning homer to lead off the bottom of the inning.

A beat up Mauer just talked to some reporters. He seemed crushed by the loss but took the blown call by stride. As Ron Gardenhire pointed out after the game, it would’ve been a different inning with Mauer on second rather than first. Jason Kubel immediately followed with a single to right, but Mauer, correct or not, pointed out that the single may not have gotten through the hole if he had been on second rather than first.

We’ll never know. What I can tell you is that Mauer handled the situation well. Here’s what he had to say:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I’ll have postgame audio from Joe Girardi, Teixeira and A-Rod in a bit.

Obviously the two big hits – A-Rod’s and Mark Teixeira’s – are the things that people will be talking about for days (and years) to come. But don’t forget Dave Robertson because the Yankees sure didn’t.

For working his way out of a bases-loaded, none out jam in the top of the 11th, Robertson got the championship belt from his teammates. For a kid who was in Dr. Andrews’s office a month ago and was pitching in his first postseason game, that’s pretty impressive.

This is how Alex Rodriguez described his at-bat in the 9th inning against Joe Nathan: “It feels so good. You grind out an at-bat against one of the best closers in the game and you get to a favorable count and you get a pitch into your wheelhouse and you don’t want to miss it.”

He didn’t miss it.

Mark Teixeira didn’t think he’d won the game when he swung his bat. He thought he’d hit a double because there was “so much topspin” on the ball. He was almost right – the ball slammed off the top of the wall and hopped up into the stands. An inch or two lower and it comes back into the field and he’s probably on second.

Instead he got a pie.

Teixiera was asked about what it’s been like hitting in the same lineup as A-Rod and he said, “We’ve had a great relationship all year. … Alex is fun to hit with. I’m getting a lot of pitches to hit … and we just seem to work well together.”

I think tonight in particular everyone would agree with that last part.

Crew chief Tim Tschida is in the press room and just admitted that LF ump Phil Cuzzi missed the line call on Joe Mauer’s ball in the 11th. It was clearly fair but was called foul.

Joe Girardi said “we got a break” when asked about it, and we’ll never know what would have happened if the correct call had been made. It still shouldn’t take away from what Dave Robertston did in that inning and what Mark Teixeira did in the bottom of the inning.

Asked about any “consequences” that Cuzzi might face, Tschida said, “nobody feels it worse than the umpire.”