Archive for October, 2009
Joe Girardi Overmanages, Angels Take Game Three. »
If you are going to be uptight, nervous, and over-manage in the postseason, you better win. Time and time again, New York Yankees manager has overmanaged in this postseason and the Yankees’ talent has bailed him out. Today, there was nobody to bail Girardi out. In the bottom of the 11th this afternoon in Anaheim, with the score tied at four, [...]
Joe Girardi’s Overmanaging Costs the N.Y. »
I'm not going to recap tonight's game, I am just going to rant about the decisions Girardi made. Pettitte pitched pretty well, going 6.1 innings and allowing only three earned runs and threw 95 pitches before he was removed. This was when I started to question Girardi's bullpen management. In a tie game, Girardi chose to go with Joba Chamberlain [...]
If Anything’s Burning In The Bronx, It’s »
Alex Rodriguez is channeling memories of the 1977 postseason to New York Yankees fans around the world. The third baseman is making himself a good case for the title of Mr. October with his recent playoff performance. The last few games against the Angels and Twins have shown that Rodriguez has found his stroke in the playoffs and is coming up [...]
ALCS: Yanks Look to Do Some Angels Gravedigging »
The Yankees outlasted the Angels in Game Two of the ALCS on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series continues this afternoon in Anaheim. River & Sunset takes a look at some of the subplots orbiting Yankee Universe. We're not close to the celebration yet They say in sports that a playoff series doesn't truly begin [...]
ALCS Game Two: Putting the “Game That »
In a season full of dramatic ballgames, the context of the drama of Game Two of the American League Championship Series can only be described as What We Have Come to Expect. "One relief pitcher left in the bullpen, one position player left on the bench, in a five-hour affair featuring pitchers getting into and out of jam after jam..." kind of [...]
Is Alex Rodriguez the Most Clutch Hitter on the »
Alex Rodriguez has become the new Yankee October hero this postseason with unbelievably timed hits and home runs. In Game Two of the ALCS versus the Angels, A-Rod did it again. Leading off the inning against Angels closer Brian Fuentes, who saved 48 games this season*, the Yanks' chances didn't look so hot. *You may hear announcers say that [...]
Alex Rodriguez Comes Up Big, Goes from Alexander the »
When Alex Rodriguez flies the other team dies…eventually. That seems to be the formula of the 2009 playoffs. Prior to the 2009 postseason, Rodriguez struggled immensely at the plate when it mattered most. The three-time regular season Most Valuable Player seemingly could not hit anything after Game Three of the 2004 American League [...]
The Angels Were Never In the Yankees’ Heads »
Heading into a three game series at Anaheim in late September, the Yankees were in the middle of another West Coast road trip, and the Boston Red Sox were casually in the midst of a nice winning streak. The Yankees lead in the AL East had shrunk to only five games, and the Yankees were heading into a Stadium which they had not fared very well over [...]
Deja Vu All Over Again: Could The Yankees Be Going On »
Most fans of Major League Baseball can remember the Fall of 1996. Back then, the New York Yankees were a far more lovable bunch (unless you were a Boston Red Sox fan). There was no clubhouse glittering with All-Star after All-Star, no recent history of dominance. New York did represent the American League also-rans as the 1995 Wild Card, but they [...]
A-Rod’s Postseason Blast Off Continues With Game »
There were five other at bats that played out eerily similar to those of Alex Rodriguez's past postseason failures. He came up empty in his first four plate appearances, where only once did the ball leave the infield. Then there was his weak pop-out to shallow center that left the bases loaded in the 12th inning as the rain picked up and the [...]