The LoHud Yankees Blog

UPDATE, 10:14 p.m.: Big break for the Yankees there as Mauer should have had a double. Phil Cuzzi – whose only job is to call balls fair or foul – missed that one by a mile. Mauer singled anyway, but the Twins should have a man on second and none out.

UPDATE, 10:22 p.m.: Hey look! A line drive and the runners just went back to their bases!

UPDATE, 10:23 p.m.: This is magic stuff from Robertson. Two-thirds of the way there.

UPDATE, 10:26 p.m.: Wow. Just wow. Robertston was in Dr. Andrews’s office a month ago. Now he’s getting out of the biggest spots you can imagine. Amazing.

UPDATE, 8:18 p.m.: The Yankees and Twins are going to the seventh and we’re going to a new thread. Keep it going.

UPDATE, 8:21 p.m.: Tolbert left the game with a strained left oblique. He’s day to day.

UPDATE, 8:24 p.m.: Think Chuck Meriwether prefers Molina to Posada also? Ouch.

UPDATE, 8:26 p.m.: Joba out, Phil Coke in to face Kubel. Hughes up, with Robertson alongside in the pen.

UPDATE, 8:31 p.m.: Chad here. That slider makes all the difference for Coke. It’s the reason he went from a forgotten prospect to pitching in a huge spot in the ALDS.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: Huuuuuuuughes coming in. Cuddyer, Young, Gomez due up.

UPDATE, 8:44 p.m.: Justin Tuck in the house tonight.

UPDATE, 8:54 p.m.: Apparently Brendan Harris is a hidden gem; second hit tonight and it’s first and third for Punto. Big spot for Hughes.

UPDATE, 8:58 p.m.: Soft curveball from Hughes gets taken right up the middle and it’s 2-1 Twins. Girardi not wasting any time and going right to Rivera to try and keep the score where it is.

UPDATE, 9:04 p.m.: Nothing doing. Rivera gives up a run, too, and suddenly it’s 3-1 with the Yankees down to six outs.

UPDATE, 9:28 p.m.: Down two in the ninth and Tex gets his first hit of the series. Can A-Rod do it once more?

UPDATE, 9:31 p.m.: HE CAN! An absolute bomb and he knew it right away – dropped his bat and pumped his fist to the dugout while the ball was still in the air. 3-3, the Stadium is rocking and Nathan is on the ropes. Can they finish it right here?

UPDATE, 9:39 p.m.: Nope. Cano grounds out. I’d say that was a “Yankee moment” for Alex, though, no? Aceves coming on for the 10th.

UPDATE, 9:57 p.m.: Girardi is a genius: That third catcher on the roster is looking pretty good right now.

UPDATE, 10:04 p.m.: Total meltdown by Nathan. Damon coming up with a chance to win it.

UPDATE, 10:09 p.m.: And an even worse mistake by Gardner. Where’s he going there?

YANKEES
Jeter SS
Damon LF
Teixeira 1B
Rodriguez 3B
Matsui DH
Swisher RF
Cano 2B
Cabrera CF
Molina C

Pitching: RHP A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA regular season)

TWINS
Span RF
Cabrera SS
Mauer C
Kubel DH
Cuddyer 1B
Young LF
Gomez CF
Tolbert 3B
Punto 2B

Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.03 ERA regular season)

TIME/TV: 6:07 p.m., TBS

WEATHER: Mostly cloudy and cool with showers in the forecast during the evening. Temps are supposed to be in the high 50s tonight but with less wind than in Game 1. Thunderstorms should stay away until after midnight. Check out the full forecast here.

STATE OF THE STRIPES: Excellent. They’re up 1-0 in the best-of-five and got strong Game 1 performances from a slew of key players including CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Tonight they’ll try to do something they haven’t done in 10 years: Win the first two games of a first-round series.

HELLO, WORLD: Entering this postseason, A.J. Burnett’s 244 regular-season starts ranked him fourth-highest among pitchers who had never appeared in a playoff game, trailing only KC’s Jamey Wright (246), the Dodgers’ Randy Wolf (275) and the Blue Jays’ Roy Halladay (287). Wolf jumped off the list on Wednesday when he started for L.A. in Game 1 of the NLDS with St. Louis. Now it’s Burnett’s turn.

HOME SWEET HOME: One of the main factors in Joe Girardi tabbing Burnett for Game 2 was his performance at Yankee Stadium this year. Burnett was 5-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 16 starts in the Bronx, and the Yankees are 12-4 at home when Burnett pitches.

THE FLYING MOLINA BROTHERS: Jose Molina’s kid brother, Cardinals catcher Yadier, had a rough night behind the plate in yesterday’s Cards-Dodgers game, and Jose will have his chance tonight. The numbers tell the story: Burnett is 5-5, 4.96 in 16 starts with Jorge Posada, and 5-2, 3.28 in 11 starts with Molina.

MARK IT DOWN: Mark Teixeira hit the ball hard in Game 1 but had nothing to show for it, finishing the night 0-for-4. Look for him to break out tonight, though, as he’s a career 6-for-6 with a home run against Twins starter Nick Blackburn. Other Yankees with (some) success against Blackburn are Derek Jeter (3-for-7, 1 HR) and Alex Rodriguez (3-for-9, 1 HR). Rest easy, those worried about Posada’s missing bat: Molina is 1-for-2 with a walk against Blackburn.

NICKED UP: Blackburn has been a big-game pitcher for the Twins this season, putting up a 1.65 ERA in his last four regular-season starts (all wins) as the Twins charged back in the AL Central race. Unfortunately for Minnesota, he hasn’t had much success against the Yankees; he’s 0-4 with a 5.89 ERA in four starts.

IF THERE WERE WALK-TO-THE-PLATE MUSIC IN REAL LIFE, TODAY’S WOULD BE: Thunderstruck by AC/DC.

Back with much, much, much more later on.

UPDATE, 2:28 p.m.: Lineups are up and the Yankees are as expected. Girardi audio coming shortly. After an off-day yesterday, it’s not surprising that he didn’t have too much to say.

UPDATE, 2:30 p.m.: For those who are wondering: The tarp is off the field and the grounds crew is setting up the batting cage. Looks like they’ll at least try to start batting practice. The skies are still cloudy but it’s dry.

UPDATE, 2:44 p.m.: So this is why they carried a third catcher; right now, Francisco Cervelli is on the field taking grounders at third base with Alex Rodriguez.

UPDATE, 2:48 p.m.: Here’s the audio from Joe Girardi’s pre-game press conference.

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UPDATE, 2:52 p.m.: (Josh here) Below is audio from Ron Gardenhire’s pre-game presser. He is very funny on the subject of Carlos Gomez, who will start in CF tonight. “He irritates people,” Gardenhire said. “Sometimes me.”

Gardy goes on to discuss Pavano and his — gulp! — leadership, as well as Joe Mauer’s defense (“we don’t see as many bobbleheads on the mound”) and how much the Twins finally want to get past the first round, which they have accomplished just once this decade.

Here’s the audio:

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UPDATE, 3:09 p.m.: Chad here with some highlights of Girardi’s 10-minute session with the beat writers.

· If the series goes to Game 5, it’s not “especially hard” for the Yankees to use Jorge Posada to catch A.J. Burnett. It will obviously be a story, but ”We’re prepared to do it if we have to do it.”
· Girardi reiterated that Phil Hughes is the eighth-inning reliever, despite the fact Joba Chamberlain pitched after Hughes in Game 1. That was simply a product of long at-bats for Hughes. There is no plan to use Hughes in the seventh and Chamberlain in the eighth.
· Brett Gardner is a dangerous weapon off the bench, but “That’s not necessarily why we’re leaving him there,” Girardi said. “That is a valuable commodity that we have on the bench, and he can play an extremely important role late in games, but Melky has gotten the majority of the playing time.”
· One last (and probably accurate) word on the whole Molina/Posada controversy: “Maybe it’s not such a big issue if we’re playing everyday and there’s not so much time to talk about it, but with days off and not much else going on yesterday, it can become the big story.”

UPDATE, 3:27 p.m.: Yankees are on the field now stretching. First group into the batting cage shortly.

UPDATE, 4:05 p.m.: (Josh here) I just returned from the field, where I was milling around during the early stages of BP. I have a little news to report…

You may remember A-Rod said in a report in the Post early last month that he may not need a second hip surgery. Today his doctor, Dr. Marc Philippon, in town for a meeting, watched Rodriguez take batting practice. Afterward, Dr. Philippon said he now doesn’t expect A-Rod to need another surgery this offseason.

“(Not) at this point in time, based on my clinical exam and what I saw in batting practice,” Dr. Philippon said. “I need to do more tests, but so far I don’t think he will need surgery.”

Philippon said Rodriguez has recovered more rapidly from surgery than other baseball players. He estimated the third baseman at 95 percent. He believed Rodriguez was no better than 75-80 percent back in the spring. Dr. Philippon also said a patient of this surgery will continue to recover for up to a year after surgery, meaning Rodriguez will continue to improve from now through spring training.

A-Rod missed the first 24 games and played 124 of the final 134. Dr. Philippon credited the Yankees commitment to rest — a key part of the established plan for recovery, he said — for Rodriguez’s speedy recovery. “I have to really thank the Yankee organization,” he said. “It was a very important part of our plan and I have to respect their dedication to fulfilling the plan.”

UPDATE, 4:38 p.m.: Yankees just came off the field and the Twins are hitting. Kurt Russell – wearing a Yankees jacket – is among the folks watching the warm-ups.

UPDATE, 5:05 p.m.: For those who didn’t see it before, just wanted to mention John Flaherty’s analysis of tonight’s pitching match-up. It’s a few posts down or right here if you want to click directly. John had some very interesting insight into what to look for from Burnett tonight if you’re watching at home.

UPDATE, 5:15 p.m.: Twins coming off the field now. It’s still pretty cloudy here but the forecast given on the big scoreboard here just said that there is only a “slight chance” of showers during the game. Keep your fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I’m thinking of going looking for something tasty at the concession stands. Anyone got any recommendations?

UPDATE, 5:55 p.m.: Anthem done quite well by FDNY firefighter Frank Pizarro. We’re ready for baseball. I went with the baked ziti by the way. Very tasty.

UPDATE, 5:59 p.m.: Mr. October throwing out the first pitch. Little weird to see Jorge Posada catching it. Posada did a nice job blocking the ball in the dirt though …

UPDATE, 6:02 p.m.: I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved watching the starting pitcher walk in from the bullpen. Pitching coach by his side, a few last seconds to compose his thoughts before he takes the ball – it just feels sort of gladiator-like or something.

UPDATE, 6:04 p.m.: Speaking of gladiator-like … The music from “300″ is playing now as Burnett starts his warm-ups. Here we go.

UPDATE, 6:07 p.m.: And we’re off. 68 degrees at first pitch and it’s a 93 mph heater down the middle for a strike. Enjoy the game everyone.

UPDATE, 6:15 p.m.: Just like Flaherty said, the fastball sets up the power curve. Great pitch to whiff Kubel for Burnett, who kept his emotions in check and is through one.

UPDATE, 6:17 p.m.: That was weird. Derek Jeter led off the game but didn’t get a hit. Strange night here in the Bronx.

UPDATE, 6:32 p.m.: I guess everyone got out of work earlier on a Friday because it’s filled up quicker in here than it did on Wednesday. It got real loud at the end of Tolbert’s at-bat.

UPDATE, 6:43 p.m.: You can argue that it was high, but I thought that was a good pitch to Swisher. Movement like that is why Nick Blackburn can pitch effectively in the big leagues. This is Chad by the way. For all I know, Sam thought that was a terrible pitch.

UPDATE, 6:49 p.m: Press box is pretty divided on whether Span was safe or out on that near 1-6-3 in the third. When the showed the replay, half the writers seems to mutter “safe” while the others said “out.” When I saw it live, I thought he was out.

UPDATE, 6:52 p.m.: No pitching around Mauer that time. You know your curveball is on when you’re freezing the best hitter in the league.

UPDATE, 6:58 p.m.: Posada would have DEFINITELY hit a home run there.

UPDATE, 7:00 p.m.: And Jeter nearly does. Deepest part of the park isn’t the place to be, and we’re scoreless through three.

UPDATE, 7:07 p.m.: Two HBPs in a row. This is when Molina needs to use his Jedi powers and keep Burnett from getting too riled up.

UPDATE, 7:09 p.m.: That was an amazing play on so many levels: First, unbelievable play by Swisher to see Gomez straying off second and throwing an absolute bullet to Jeter, who got the final out just before Young crossed home plate.

Plate ump Chuck Meriwether was emphatically waving his arms which – to most of us – looked like a “safe” sign. That caused Joe Girardi to literally leap over the dugout fence on his way out to argue, before he realized that Meriwether was actually waving the run off not calling it safe. Burnett wasn’t sure either, and had to ask several people if the run counted as he came into the dugout. Amazing play all the way around. Big break for the Yankees. Still scoreless.

UPDATE, 7:15 p.m.: Chad, Josh and I were just discussing that last play and here’s the crazy thing: If Gomez does, literally, ANYTHING ELSE but go back to the bag, the run scores. If he gets thrown out at third, if he gets into a run-down, if he just falls down and lays there so Jeter has to run over and tag him, it’s enough time for Young to cross the plate. Only by going back to second does he let the Yankees off the hook. Amazing.

UPDATE, 7:28 p.m.: Visit from Dave Eiland now as Burnett has walked Cabrera and Mauer back-to-back with two outs. Not good, certainly, but better than laying one in to Mauer. Now he needs to bear down on Kubel.

UPDATE, 7:32 p.m.: That was a 25-pitch inning for Burnett, who has allowed two hits and no runs but somehow feels like he could slip at any moment.

UPDATE, 7:40 p.m.: Well that takes care of the no-hitter that Sandy Koufax Blackburn was throwing. Cano goes straight up the middle with a clean hit.

UPDATE, 7:41 p.m.: Announced crowd of 50,006 here tonight. Largest of the season.

UPDATE, 7:48 p.m.: Ball four to Young wasn’t even close as it went all the way to the backstop. That’s five walks and two HBPs for Burnett tonight.

UPDATE, 7:54 p.m.: Looks like Robertson and Marte getting loose in the pen.

UPDATE, 7:55 p.m.: That was a tough play, to be sure, but Damon also seemed to make it a little harder than it needed to be. Long run, yes, but why jump?

UPDATE, 7:57 p.m.: Cheers for Jorge Posada as he steps out into the on-deck circle.

UPDATE, 8:01 p.m.: Almost a great story as Posada gives it a ride but Span catches it in deep center. He can’t get Jeter’s double though, and the Yankees are in business.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: Joba up in the Yanks pen, Mahay and Rauch in the Twins pen.

UPDATE, 8:06 p.m.: This would be a good time for Tex to have his first hit of the series, no?

UPDATE, 8:10 p.m.: HUGE out for Blackburn there as Tex was 6-for-6 with a homer off him previously. Let’s see if A-Rod carries over the clutchiness from Wednesday night.

UPDATE, 8:13 p.m.: And A-Rod delivers again. Clean single to left, Jeter scores, Blackburn is out and the Yankees are right back in it. After going five years without a postseason RBI, A-Rod has three in two games. Mahay on now for the Twins.

They just announced start times for the rest of the series.

What we know for sure: Game 3 in Minnesoata will be at 7:07 on Sunday.

Game 4, if necessary, will be Monday at 5:07.

A potential Game 5 back in the Bronx would be at 6:07 on Wednesday.

All times are Eastern.

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 watch John on the YES pregame at 5 p.m. and immediately after the last out on the postgame show. Here’s his take on the Game 2 starters:

YANKEES: RHP A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA regular season)

WHAT’S HE THROW: Fastball (2-seam, 4-seam), power curveball, change-up

STRENGTHS: “The key for A.J. – and something fans can watch for – is if he can locate his fastball on the outside corner to a right-handed batter. If he can really drive that pitch through the corner and not let it leak back to the plate, that’s a great sign for him. If you see that in the first inning, he’s going to have a big game because it means he’s mechanically on and his curveball will fall into place behind it.”

WEAKNESSES: “For a guy that throws as hard as he does, you see a lot of good swings on his fastball. You see hitters pretty much right on time and what that tells you is that he’s opening up too quick and they’re getting a good look at the fastball. CC can almost throw the ball down the middle because he’s so deceptive; A.J. sometimes needs to hide the ball better than he does. … Also, the first inning is huge because he’s going to be so pumped up. I think Jose Molina has got to do a good job of slowing him down in that first inning because he’s a big rhythm pitcher and he’s probably going to be trying to work too quickly.”

———

TWINS: RHP Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.03 ERA regular season)

WHAT’S HE THROW: Sinking fastball, curveball, slider, change-up

STRENGTHS: “I’ve been impressed with his curveball, though he throws four pitches but none are particularly above-average. Tonight, I think the big pitch for him is going to be the change-up. If he can get the Yankees going back and forth and not knowing what speed is going to come, he’ll be effective. He’s not a power pitcher, not a guy who is going to get strikeouts. He’s a sinkerballer who is hoping for a lot of groundballs.”

WEAKNESSES: “If I’m Ron Gardenhire, I’m worried that this is Blackburn’s first postseason start and he’s going to be fired up. For a sinkerballer, that’s not good – they’re almost better when they have less energy and are tired because it keeps the sinker sinking. If he lets the moment get the best of him and his sinker stays up in the zone, the Yankees are going to be all over it.”

——–

EDGE: “I give the edge to the Yankees, in part because Burnett has better stuff but also because there is more pressure on Blackburn. Down 1-0, the crowd against you and all of that – it’s a lot to take for a guy who doesn’t have the sort of stuff to just shut a team down.”

This is a question better left for Elias Sports Bureau and its fancy computer programmers. The answer would require days of skimming through BaseballReference.com and may drive a man (or woman) crazy. But riddle me this:

Has any team in baseball history been swept in a head-to-head season series three times in the same decade during seasons when it WON its division?

Think about it. Theoretically, these are 85, 90, 95, 100-win teams. Impossible, right? Right?

Wrong. The Yankees swept the AL-Central champ Twins in 2002, 2003 and, of course, in 2009. Minnesota even won 94 games in 2002 and found itself swept that year by the Yanks. It seems remarkable to imagine a 94-win team unable to pick off one lousy victory. So twice more in the next seven years, too?

The Yankee dominance has been stark and not just a figment of some old baseball man’s imagination (like the “scrappy, base-to-base” 2009 Angels, whose 883 runs are the second-most in baseball). Including the consecutive 3-1 losses in the 2003-04 Division Series, the Twins are just 52-100 vs. the Yanks in the regular season and playoffs since Minnesota’s stopped beating them repeatedly in 1992. From ’93 on, the Twins won their season series against the Bombers once, in 2001, but failed to do so in the eight seasons before or the eight since.

As you may’ve heard in the post of Twins audio, talk focused on the lopsidedness. Jason Kubel and Denard Span seemed to downplay it, but you can’t blame 52-100 on being one or two “clutch” hits away. It’s real.

The Yankees bullpen is coming together with a variety of weapons, both young and old. Chad Jennings has the story.

What do we know for sure about the Jose Molina/A.J. Burnett decision? Only that postseason rookie manager Joe Girardi has some serious guts. Check out my column for more on that.

The Yankees have owned the Twins for quite awhile now, and Josh Thomson looks at the historical side of the series. Josh also has news in his notebook on Derek Jeter’s reaction to Carl Pavano pitching Game 3, expanded train service to the game for fans and more.

—-

John Flaherty’s “Flash Points” breakdown of the Game 2 pitching match-up is coming around noon. Check back for that, as well as all the news from the park this afternoon as the Yankees try to make it two in a row.

I caught the end of the Phillies-Rockies game on the radio while driving home from the Stadium this afternoon and then saw the end of the Cardinals-Dodgers game while packing for the weekend trip to Minneapolis (6 a.m. flight on Saturday means you got to plan ahead). Two games, two dramatic endings. What will the Red Sox-Angels game bring?

I’ve always loved the first round of the playoffs because every inning feels important and the games run all day – sort of like the early rounds of the NCAA tournament (though, sadly, Gus Johnson doesn’t announce baseball). Even if you don’t have a rooting interest, it’s hard not to hang on every pitch.

From the Yankee perspective, I suppose the best thing to hope for is a five-game series with a few extra-inning marathons. Or a few rainouts. Whatever gets the ALCS opposition to next Friday as ragged as possible would work out well for the Yanks.

That’s it for me tonight. Thanks for all the emails and comments today, and be sure to come back early and often tomorrow. We’ll have Flash Points, all the pre-game news and a game post (or two or three) that’ll go all night. See you then.

Anyone got tickets to tomorrow night’s game? If you do, bring an umbrella.

Here’s the forecast for tomorrow in the Bronx. My very unscientific guess after looking at that page is that while there may well be a delay or two, it’s likely that Game 2 will get played.

But what if it doesn’t? A rainout would mean losing the travel day and playing Game 2 on Saturday and Game 3 on Sunday. Suddenly, the Yankees plans for only needing three starters in the first round would be shot.

In the rainout scenario, A.J. Burnett would pitch Game 2 on Saturday, Andy Pettitte would go in Game 3 Sunday and CC Sabathia would pitch Monday as scheduled. But who goes in a potential Game 5 on Wednesday? The Yankees options would be Burnett on short rest (always dicey for a guy who’s injury history isn’t the best), Chad Gaudin or … Joba Chamberlain?

The Post is reporting that the Yankees are “leaning heavily” toward keeping Chamberlain in the pen should they make the ALCS, which is hardly surprising – Gaudin has been miles better as a starter over the past month – but what if they need a starter in this series? Mother Nature may end up forcing the Yankees to make the call on Joba sooner than they expected.

3:00 p.m. Gates Open to the Public

3:30 p.m.-4:40 p.m. Yankees Hit

4:40 p.m.-5:20 p.m. Twins Hit

5:53 p.m. Presentation of Colors: FDNY and NYPD Joint Color Guard

5:54 p.m. National Anthem: Marine Corps Forces Reserve Band

5:58 p.m. Ceremonial First Pitch: Reggie Jackson

6:02 p.m. Umpires and Managers to Home Plate

6:05 p.m. Yankees Take the Field

6:07 p.m. First Pitch