Back to Baltimore: “Now we just have to go out and play baseball”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Oct 07, 2012 
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The Yankees were in Baltimore because it was the 1996 American League Championship Series. Mark Teixeira was in Baltimore because he was a 16-year-old at Mt. St. Joseph’s High School.
“We had a team we thought was going to win it all that year,” Teixeira said. “And one tough call changed the momentum of that series. Things kinda weren’t the same after that.”
Teixeira remembers watching Game 1 on television. Derek Jeter hit the ball. Jeffrey Maier tried to catch it. The Yankees went on the win the World Series. The Orioles went back to the playoffs the following year, but didn’t go again until this year’s unlikely run.
“To be honest, I never thought it would happen,” Teixeira said. “It’s been such a tough run for the Orioles, and I have a ton of family and friends who stopped talking about the Orioles, stopped going to games. To see the Orioles back in the playoffs, this is great for the city of Baltimore.”
This is where the Yankees real season begins. They’re expected to make it this far, and this team will be defined by what happens next. What happens next, it turns out, begins here in Baltimore, where the Orioles haven’t been to the postseason since 1997 and have finished last in the division the past four years.
“No one gets here by coincidence,” Alex Rodriguez said. “You play 162 games. They’re a very good team. We know them very well, they know us very well, now we just have to go out and play baseball.”
The Yankees and Orioles split their season series, and 18 games is certainly a larger sample size than the five games — at most — that will define this series. Personally, I’ve been waiting for the Orioles to fold since April, but they just keep winning. The Yankees finished the season incredibly strong, and the Orioles were still in it until the very last day.
:They did all that stuff the last month without Markakis in their leadoff spot,” Nick Swisher said. “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. They’ve done a great job, they believe in themselves, and it’s going to be two great teams going up against each other.”
Of course, we’re all going to hear a lot about Maier these next two days. That home run remains a defining moment, although perhaps not a perfectly accurate moment, of when the Yankees went one direction and the Orioles went another.
“We would have beat ‘em anyway,” Jeter said, with that small grin that’s become so familiar. “You can’t overturn it. Last I knew, it was a home run. I couldn’t see it.”
The past is the past. What matters now is whatever happens next.
Associated Press photo
Good morning.
Must the final rosters be sent in at 10 AM? The Yankees might want to go with 12 pitchers.
Gametime temp 50, 70% chance rain until just after 9PM when it clears. Miserable day for batters and pitchers alike.
Morning Trader
Wonder how much CC likes to pitch in the cold? He’s a big guy, I wouldn’t think he would have too much trouble keep his arm warmed up, but…
YT- morning. And there’s certain people up here who want an open air facility,…guess they’re brain damaged from the disaster by the lake ( Exhibition stadium )
The rain is supposed to start around 3PM thru 9 PM. CC supposedly likes warm weather. I would suppose Hammels fresh off knee surgery and wearing a knee brace would not like the damp cold weather tonight.
Problem is, if they cancel the game and use Tuesday for Game 2, there is no off day if the serries goes 5, thru the 1st two ALCS games, until next Monday, a week. The weather Monday thru Friday is supposed to be OK in Baltimore and NY.
Hate it when the elements can make for a error filled injury prone game.
Best scenario, if the weather predictions are correct, is to delay the game until around 9PM, and hope Camden Yards has a good drainage system.
Weather.com shows a 10% chance of rain this afternoon and evening in Baltimore. Where are you folks getting the rain forecast.
The ideal scenario would be for it to rain until my kids bedtime then stop
I looked at the weather again. I don’t know wat the heck I was talking about. It now agrees with you. Bummer.
Everyone go back to sleep?
Tar-
CC’s worst month ERA-wise this year was April ERA 4.58, best month August 2.70.
If they go ahead and do play at 6PM in the rain, The Yankees infield defense is much better than the Orioles, and that will be an advantage.
@Joelsherman1: Column 1 http://t.co/e7AJ3O18 As #Rangers showed, weight of expectations is heavy, credit #Yankees for handling that weight well annually
Nice work here
Yanks need to pound Hammel
Why does it always seem like the Yanks are always dealing with bad weather come playoff time
Blake-
Suspect the Orioles will go with 12 pitchers, because their starters[12 who have started games this year], have produced the fewest innings of any of the playoff rotations.
The Yankees might want to do the same.
Thoughts?
Trader,
I think if Nix is health I’d probably take him over the extra pitcher because its give you more flexibility with how you can use Nunez…..the Yanks starters go deeper and are Bette than the a Os IMO…..the key to beating the Os is to jump on their starters and get leads….you don’t wanna play catch up against their pen and Buck
Blake-
I believe rosters have to be handed in, in the next few minutes.
If the game gets cancelled or starts at 6PM and then has a protracted rain delay earlier in the game, 11 pitchers might not be enough.
Hammels has reverse splits-lefties bat .203, righties .266
Have to go. Meeting family.
Until later
Have a great day
They’re going to play tonight unless the forecast changes drastically. MLB doesn’t want to have to burn the travel day. They ll either play through the light rain or they’ll start the game late when it looks like its going to clear up (based on weather.com)
Blake-
You want the kids to watch at least part of the game. It is never to early to start shaping the next generation of fans. I live in Philly and my wife is a Phillies fan but my son is Yankees through and through.
- SUNDAY MORNING TEA WITH ME -
(1) Gotta wonder why Boche left Romo on the pine in the 9th. 5 game Playoff series, at home, and Casilla has been spotty. This is exactly why Casilla was demoted as Closer and the Lights-Out Romo inserted into that role. DUMB
(2) Nice article over at Yahoo by some guy named Les Carpenter concerning the Expanded Strike Zone that Verlander Exploited yesterday. As I have lamented previously, IF your gonna go to expanded instant replay, START with the HP Ump. THIS area has without a doubt, the MOST impact onna game.
(3) Watched the TBS pre and post game shows. Eckersley is No different as a commentator, than he was as a Closer. The guy Dominates EVERY discussion. He even talks over the host, (whoever that guy is), and Boomer Wells. My guess is he is trying to be the Baseball equivalent of Sir Charles of the NBA, but Barkley has a sense of humor. Eck comes off as a Mad Dog, just as he did on the mound. TBS needs to muzzle this guy, or get-the-hook.
(4) MLB Playoffs in general are off to a Poor start when the Umps are the center of the discussion. Infield Fly Fiasco, Time Out\HR, and now an Ump with a K Zone as Big as Baltimor………….not gonna say it. Would only Jinx us.
The Orioles lineup is very underrated because they have a handful of sluggers who, although they hit HR, can be very inconsistent. Their lineup is 8 deep.
Markakis, Adam Jones and Chris Davis are dangerous hitters.
Weiters, Hardy and Reynolds are wildly inconsistent but they have 20+ HR pop.
Then you have the resurgent N. McLouth and the talented rookie Machado.
The Yankees aren’t going to shut down that lineup so we need to score runs. I hope the Ichiro-Jeter offense shows up and not the Arod-Tex-Swisher one.
I am really surprised that the Yanks didn’t take Eppley on the roster. The 7th inning is going to be a scary inning for the Yanks. I never fully trusted Eppley but he is better than Joba right now. Lowe and Phelps have been good but they haven’t pitched all year in the 7th inning with a lead. They are long men. Joba’s last 10 innings pitched were good but they are only taking him based on his name.
Again, who need an extra pitcher?
CC can go on 3 days and Phelps and Lowe are on the roster…
I f we need to depend on Eppley, we are in trouble.
Joba is always a crap shoot but he’s not leaving him off.
The Yanks need 2 out of Granderson, Swisher and Tex to produce. If all 3 of them struggle they are introuble. I don’t worry about Cano or Arod but the guys around them really need to contribute. Hopefully Ichiro stays hot also.
Let’s hold-it-up on Machado. The guy did Not even have 200 AB’s, hadda fielding % that would rival Knoblauch, (and don’t give me the, “he aint a 3B” malarkey), and basically was 0-fer-Tampa in their Biggest series of the season. He’s Very young, Very green, and currently Very exploitable on both sides of the ball.
“The Orioles lineup is very underrated because they have a handful of sluggers who, although they hit HR, can be very inconsistent. Their lineup is 8 deep.”
They have a mediocre offense and are pretty much a mediocre team who the Yankees should sweep.
I f we need to depend on Eppley, we are in trouble.
————–
I agree but Joba doesn’t excite me either. Too many sliders and hanging pitches over the plate. But I guess the Yanks think that his last 10 innings or so show that he can help.
is markakis on the o’s roster?
“mick says:
October 7, 2012 at 11:28 am
is markakis on the o’s roster?”
Doubt it. He had a setback last week.
where is the o’s roster, can’t find it.
blake October 7th, 2012 at 9:35 am
@Joelsherman1: Column 1 http://t.co/e7AJ3O18 As #Rangers showed, weight of expectations is heavy, credit #Yankees for handling that weight well annually
Nice work here
—
awesome article
Would they start a playoff game at 9Pm or later?
Its supposed to be better around then so would they wait or just cancel it?
“I am really surprised that the Yanks didn’t take Eppley on the roster.”
Okay I give up and I’m tired of looking. Where’s the roster posted? Thanks.
they would wait all night.
Bryan Hoch?@BryanHoch
Yankees announce ALDS roster http://wp.me/p1rXvG-8XfI
Yankees set roster for ALDS vs Orioles
SI.com? – 8 minutes ago
cant find o’s roster
Including NIX on the roster is pretty cagey. Gives the Yanks a built-in excuse to substitute an offensive\defensive\speed player on the Playoff Roster for Nix at ANY point in the series.
Furthermore, a team cannot make ANY roster changes once a playoff series has started. If a player gets injured, the team must continue that particular series with 24 active players. The ONLY time a team can make a roster change in the postseason is BETWEEN series, with the approval of the opposing team and the commissioner’s office. This exact scenario happened to the A’s in 2006. Read the following excerpt from Wikipedia:
then came this:
The final 25-man playoff roster must be set a day before a club’s first Division Series game, and a team that advances has the right to change its roster for both the League Championship Series and World Series. A rule change, new under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, allows a team to replace an injured player during the middle of a series, so long as another player at the same position replaces him. Additionally, a player replaced in one post-season series may not be brought back for the following series.
Thanks, Clutch.
I thought you could substitute injured players, offense for offense\pitcher for pitcher. Thanks, though this is a DUMB rule, as it would force a team to compete shorthanded.
D’Brook
read my next post, looks like that rule was changed in 2010
Love it!
Thanks.