The Yankees are down 2-1 to the Tigers. That brings us to our Question of the Week. Get it right and you get a champagne shower. The answer, as always, is after the jump.
Which was the last team to come back from a 2-1 deficit in the Divison Series? (and a hint: it was not the ’06 Mets)
Tigers 5, Yankees 4. Tigers lead series 2-1
That was a big one. CC didn’t bring his stuff. Neither did Verlander, but he got his shit together. I thought that the ump was squeezing CC and gave Verlander a much bigger strike zone but maybe I’m just bitter. It’s so tough to lose after clawing back to tie the game in the 7th especially on a weak home run like that. The Tigers really made the best of their opportunities. When they get somebody on base, they drive them in. The Yankees seem tight. They need to loosen up, especially A-Rod and Teixeira. They’re getting good wood on the ball and hopefully the hits will start coming. A.J. is next…
Today is the 60th anniversary of the Shot Heard Round the World. I can think of nothing better.
Tigers 5, Yankees 3. Series tied 1-1
This was a tough one. Garcia pitched well. Scherzer pitched well. It came down to Cabrera’s cheap home run and Jeter making a bad error. It bothers me that A-Rod is getting booed. The Yanks got like three hits in the first eight innings and he’s banged up. He proved he doesn’t have a problem with the playoffs. Booing isn’t going to help. I really thought they were going to win it at the end. The turning point in the ninth ended up being Andruw Jones’s bullet into right field. If that drops, the Yankees are up 2-0.
So, it’s a best-of-three series now. CC vs. Verlander. You’d have to give CC the nod. He’s used to pitching with short rest. Nothing bothers him. Fuck, he probably just ate like 50 buffalo wings while watching the late football games and he’s still going to be ready to go. If he’s not, it’s A.J. on Tuesday. I’d dare say that Game 3 is a must-win for the Yankees.
Mets manager Terry Collins had a dilemma on Wednesday. Jose Reyes was leading the National League in batting and wanted to be taken out of the game if he got a hit in his first at-bat. Collins complied, Reyes won the batting title, and fans at Citi Field were confused and upset. With Reyes’s impending free agency, many fans turned up to an otherwise meaningless game to watch one of the most exciting players in the game play for the Mets one last time. I hope they got to their seats quickly.
Collins has been up and down about the state of the Mets the entire year. One day he loves that they’re playing hard, the next day he’s ashamed that they’re not. His press conferences had more mood swings than a chick PMSing while watching The Notebook. He finally broke down on Wednesday when discussing how proud he was of the team. When the topic turned to Reyes, Collins started crying as he explained why he took the superstar out of the game. He said that Reyes had earned that right over the course of the season but still felt for the fans that paid money and took the time to see Reyes. Hahahaha!!! Did you hear that? He cried!
Terry, baby, I know you’re new to New York but you have to learn a few things. First of all, nobody cares about the Mets. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Like 12 people went to the game to begin with and only six even knew who Jose Reyes is. Reyes isn’t coming back so you should’ve done whatever you wanted. Don’t let him win the batting title like a bitch; make him earn it.
It’s like Tom Hanks said, “There’s no crying in baseball.” Who do you think you are? Dick Vermeil? Although there’s no team that deserves to have the biggest pussy in sports. At least you only had this controversy in your last game instead of choking away the division. Toughen up, man! Go home and watch every movie in the Fast and the Furious series. It’ll put some hair on your chest and I guarantee the Mets will win at least 80 games next year. Good luck finding a new shortstop. Until then, you’re a jabroni, brother.
Yankees 9, Tigers 3. Yankees lead series 1-0
Robbie Cano, dontcha know!?!?!?!?!! Well, the Yanks won a game that Verlander started. I guess you can’t really complain about the rain delay now. Ivan Nova went out there and did the best he could have done. Part of me was thinking he should have come out earlier so he wouldn’t be gassed if they need him for Game 5, but it’s probably just as well that he saved the bullpen a lot of work. I was pissed Mo came in, but three pitches is nothing. It would not have been good if he actually had to do something. Fister was good, but the lineup did what they always do. They wear opposing pitchers down, and then strike. Cano killed it. He would have had two home runs if the guy in the first row caught the ball that hit the top of the wall. It was like reverse Bartman. Hopefully, Garcia can keep it close and the Yanks take care of Scherzer like they did Fister. Game 1 doesn’t mean anything if the Tigers take Game 2.
My head hurts deciding whether the postponement of Game 1 is a good thing. CC was dealing, but ultimately the fact that Verlander only got to pitch an inning has to be an advantage. The Yanks really worked him in that inning, though. I wonder if he would have recovered later in the game? I guess we’ll never know. Fister isn’t exactly a slouch either. At the same time, as much as you don’t want to see Verlander, you don’t want to win the lucky way. You want to face the best the other team has to offer and kick their ass.
CC is a beast and will be fine going in Game 3, but Verlander isn’t a short rest guy. The question now is who’s going to pitch in Game 4 for the Yankees. Looks like it might be some sort of A.J. Burnett-Phil Hughes combo. Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far.
I hate these best-of-five series. One weird game and the entire season could go down the toilet. The Yanks only won two more games than the Tigers. How is five games enough to determine which is the superior team? As you can tell, I’m a little nervous. I think this series could go either way. Facing Verlander twice is scary. He can win this series all by himself. For that reason, Game 1 is going to have more importance than usual.
In the end, that’s probably what everything is going to come down to: whether the Yanks can get a win off Verlander. He’s great but the Yankee lineup is deeper than ever. They’re going to have to take advantage of every opportunity and make Verlander work in every at-bat to get him out of the game as soon as possible. That’s the Yankees’ specialty. And if anyone can keep up with Verlander, CC can. As good as Verlander pitched this year, he’s still not as dangerous as Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee but you don’t want to face any shutdown pitcher in the first round.
I feel pretty comfortable with Nova going in Game 2 but Freddy Garcia is going to be an adventure. It’s a shame that Phil Hughes never got it going this year. Using Posada as DH is questionable as well but Girardi can’t be afraid to switch him out if he struggles. The Bombers have the experience, but in the playoffs, pitching is king.
Prediction: Yankees in 4
Just for fun, here’s the Yankees’ season preview I wrote back in March. Sorry for not being completely accurate with the projected finish:
After failing to get Cliff Lee or any significant free agents this offseason, a sense of negativity has permeated the Yankees as they head into the 2011 season. Compounded with the signings of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez by Boston, expectations are tempered compared to years past. However, the Bombers lost no players of note besides the aging Andy Pettitte. You would think that the Yankees were a .500 team last year, BUT THEY FUCKING WON 95 GAMES AND CAME TWO WINS AWAY FROM THE WORLD SERIES!
Expectations shouldn’t be any lower than last year when the Yanks were the defending champs and expected to repeat. They led the AL East for most of the year and only lost out to Tampa Bay at the end because they didn’t want to play Texas in the playoffs.
The strength of the Yankees lineup has always been the ability to wear the opponent out. It’s relentless. Having Curtis Granderson batting in the 8-hole is an enormous fucking luxury. By being patient and working every at-bat, starting pitchers are gassed by the time they reach the seventh inning stretch and then it’s time to pounce. It’s the same in 2011.
If anything, the lineup should be even stronger this year. Alex Rodriguez is healthy for the first time in years and Derek Jeter is out to prove that he isn’t washed up. Robbie Cano, Nick Swisher, and Brett Gardner are all young guys coming off career years and will continue to improve. Russell Martin at catcher is the only question mark, but he should be an upgrade defensively over Jorge Posada, and Jesus Montero is waiting in the wings if it doesn’t work out.
Yankee fans are spoiled by this embarrassment of riches. If there’s one position where the player is below average, it’s not good enough and the entire team is awful. It’s OK to have one or two subpar players. The Yankees won the World Series with Ricky Ledee playing left field. Half the guys on the Giants last year couldn’t even hold A-Rod’s jock. That’s Cameron Diaz’s job anyway.
Everyone makes a big deal about the pitching staff with Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia as the 4- and 5-starters, but as long as CC is your ace, you can’t complain. He’s still one of the top pitchers in the majors and Phil Hughes was having a great season last year until he wore down. Keep in mind, he’s only 24 years old and won 18 games. A.J. Burnett sucked last year, but hopefully he and his pie-throwing skills will bounce back.
The Yankees always seem to have a surprise in the rotation. Aaron Small anybody? If Nova and Garcia can pitch well, 15 wins isn’t out of the question. And if they can’t cut it, Felix Hernandez and Francisco Liriano are already being mentioned in trade talks. The bullpen should be stronger with the addition of Rafael Soriano. With Joba working the seventh, the Yanks can hopefully shorten games to 6 innings, which will take the strain off the starters.
The past two seasons in the American League, it has only taken 90 and 88 wins to clinch a Wild Card berth, respectively. Barring injury, the Yankees should eclipse that number. Tampa Bay is weaker after losing Crawford and Soriano, and Minnesota, Texas, Detroit, Chicago and Oakland don’t exactly spread fear in Hank Steinbrenner’s heart. He’d be chain-smoking either way. Trust me.
The Red Sox will once again be the main rival, the way it should be. They did improve but Youkilis and PED-roia are coming off major injuries and the pitching staff is weaker than the Yankees. Buchholz is overrated. Beckett is old. Lackey is fat. They should win 90 games as well but they’re not the huge favorites that everyone is making them out to be.
For once, the Red Sox made all the noise over the winter, but as we’ve learned, it’s not pomp and circumstance that wins championships. It will be nice to have all the pressure on another team this year and fly under the radar. Don’t sleep on the Yankees.
Projected finish: 96-66, first in AL East
I was disappointed with Catching Hell, the Steve Bartman documentary that aired on ESPN. For one, it didn’t focus exclusively on Bartman and spent a excessive amount of time profiling Bill Buckner. Yes, he and Bartman were both baseball scapegoats but in very different contexts. The movie was long enough as it is. With that said, the coverage surrounding Bartman was fantastic and interesting. Although we still don’t really have a clue what he’s up to, everything from the play to the few days after was really insightful and the new footage from that night is amazing.
Bartman really doesn’t deserve to be in exile for what happened, but I’m also sick of people defending him. “He was just doing what anyone would have done.” No, if you’re a real baseball fan sitting in the first row, you have to be aware of the game action and help your team, whether it’s Game 37 in May or Game 6 of the motherfucking Championship Series. That’s unacceptable as a sports fan. Unacceptable.
Alou certainly would have made the catch. If I’m in that spot, not only am I moving as far away from the ball as possible but I’m keeping all the jabronis around me from touching the ball (and it wasn’t just Bartman going for it). The Cubs were five outs away from the World Series! It amazes me that people would care so much about a stupid ball that they would forget the situation. Now Bartman can’t even use a credit card. The funny thing is that he made such a perfect scapegoat because he was such a nerd with his glasses and turtleneck and made such a lame play at the ball. It was like he had cystic fibrosis or something. If he was some gregarious guy who drunkenly knocked the ball away and laughed about it afterwards, I doubt we’d still remember his name.
Rainman Suite 