As I mentioned a few days ago, a lot has been made of the Detroit deal to get Miguel Cabrera, even though it's not a move that fixes any of the Tigers' problems. It does, however, directly effect the Indians, but not the extent that so many people think.
I was right there with everyone else when I started screaming for the Tribe to make a trade, something to counter what Detroit did. And while Jason Bay seemed interesting, my sights were set on Dan Haren.
I might have been upset that we lost out on Haren, but I'm glad we didn't pay the price that Arizona did. If the recent past has taught us anything, it's that we NEED to have depth in Buffalo. We cannot survive without it. The Indians' biggest strength last year wasn't so much any one area on the field as it was the fact that we had so many different guys that we could call up who were able to perform at a high level.
And that's exactly why NOT making a trade before the season starts might actually work out fine for the Tribe.
Here's the thing: the team we saw at the end of last season was not the team that we saw for the beginning of last season. Imagine a team:
1) That has Asdrubal Cabrera all year (brought up August 8th of last year)
2) That has Franklin Gutierrez in right field every day
3) That has Ryan Garko at first base from the start
4) That has Rafael Perez all year (used regularly starting May 29th last year)
5) That has Jensen Lewis all year (brought up July 16th last year)
6) That has a healthy Jake Westbrook all year
7) That has a fifth starter who earns it by battling 3-4 guys for the spot
Would I like to see a better bat in left field or at third? Sure, but we're I think we're going to start the season much better off than we started last season. For that matter, we HAVE those bats for left field and third in the form of Ben Francisco, Sin-Soo Choo, or Andy Marte. It's just a matter of working them in -- not unlike we did Franklin Gutierrez and Asdrubal Cabrera last year.
And while it should be hard to call a 100 RBI season a slump, I would be shocked if Travis Hafner didn't return to form next year. I can't imagine he's doing anything else in the off season but practicing hitting.
Will our offense match the Tigers or the Red Sox or the Yankees? No, but it NEVER WILL. Only an idiot would try to keep up with those teams in such a way. They are loaded and it would be impossible to put together a line-up that could out bash them.
The Tribe has to be better in other ways, and that means pitching, and we have a boatload of that.
Imagine a rotation with C.C. and Fausto at the front and a healthy Jake Westbrook at #3. Then we have Paul Byrd at #4 who, assuming his performance last season was sans HGH, is exactly the kind of guy you want at the back end of your rotation. And now we'll have a #5 starter who is going to have to battle in the spring training for that spot. It could be a rejuvenated Cliff Lee or Jeremy Sowers. It could be Aaron Laffey, who looked impressive down the stretch. It could be the infamous Adam Miller, who didn't give up an earned run last year in spring training. It could even be rising start Chuck Lofgren. Whoever it is, they're going to have to work for that spot, which means we're going to get someone pretty good. That's huge, considering the rest of the league seem to be throwing warm bodies into that last spot.
Now look at our bullpen. As amazing as it is to say, our bullpen could be unbelievable next year. We're returning the core four of Borowski, Lewis, and the two Rafaels. We've added one of the top relievers from Japan. That gives us five guys who can get the job done. I would imagine Fultz will get a spot since they picked up his option, which is fine because we need a lefty to give Perez some breaks. That means, yet again, we will have a number of pitchers battling for that final spot, which can only be a good thing.
We have incredible depth, but not so much that we can just send people away in trades. We have to hold on to it. It's what got us so far last year and what will do the same next year.
So, no, the Tribe don't have to make a big trade to compete next season. They just need to stick with what worked for them last year.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Well, not exactly...
Okay, I said I'd have a new blog up today (technically, it's still Sunday). But it's the holidays and I spent the day doing holiday things (including flying). I don't think I'm obligated until later in the afternoon tomorrow, however, so I'll move my "Tribe Trade" blog back a day.
Obviously, I won't be blogging on Christmas Day, so I'll push my "Extremes of Parity" blog back to Wednesday.
In other words, we'll be Monday, Wednesday and then back to Sunday this week and hopefully on schedule from there.
Promise.
Obviously, I won't be blogging on Christmas Day, so I'll push my "Extremes of Parity" blog back to Wednesday.
In other words, we'll be Monday, Wednesday and then back to Sunday this week and hopefully on schedule from there.
Promise.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Rocket Fuel
Here's the thing about the Mitchell report: It's awful.
The recommendation made at the end of the report is that no one should be punished and that baseball needs to improve testing and move forward. Look at that again. Mitchell recommends that no one be punished.
Which begs the question: why did he NAME people?
Looking past the fact that Mitchell was working with limited resources, yet had the vaguest burden of proof, he called out individual players for no reason other than to point a finger and say "everyone should hate them."
If no punishments are going to be passed down, then why name anyone? You'd have the same effect by simply stating that steriod and HGH use is widespread and testing needs to be improved. There you go. If no conviction and no sentence is going to come down, then why supply the supposed evidence on that scale?
Truly, the Mitchell report makes the initial Kennedy investigation look professional.
But that's not say that it wasn't illuminating.
Every day, another player steps forward and admits to taking HGH, as accused in the Mitchell report. While it's ultimately unnecessary support for the report as a whole, it's convincing support for the report in specifics.
In other words, every person that steps forward drives another nail into Roger Clemens' coffin.
And, hey, I helped build that box a long time ago. The man is a jackass. They replayed that moment from the 2000 World Series the other day on ESPN and you can actually see Clemens yell at Mike Piazza "I thought it was the ball." No, really, that's what he says. He mistook half of the bat for the ball. That makes sense. Because, you know, not only do they look similar, but he would throw the ball at Piazza in that situation.
I find it funny that people were surprised to see his name in the report. Was it his unquestionable integrity that gave people pause? The man has less integrity than Dick Cheney. In many ways, Clemens is the epitome of what's gone wrong with the game -- and he was, even before his name was linked to HGH. Now's he's the perfect symbol of everything that's gone wrong.
I don't care if they ever prove conclusively that Clemens cheated. I don't care if he denies it until he dies. But if this means I won't be subjected to six months of "Clemens Watch" next year, the Mitchell report will, in my book, become the greatest document ever produced.
Now, an addendum to the last blog.
Jayson Stark on ESPN.com mentions a number of things in his last column. This is one of them:
True, the Tigers will run a lineup out there in which seven of the nine everyday players have made at least one All-Star team since 2005. But they also have a roster full of players with injury histories. So after dealing away seven of their best prospects this winter, they need to stay healthy, because they're short of reinforcements they can call up. "They've pretty much decimated their depth," one AL executive said. "So this is their window."
It's like he read my blog! Granted, I was referring specifically to the Detroit rotation, but it applies to their line-up as well. Because, you know, no one ever lands on the DL these days...
Next: Can the Tribe win the Central without making a big trade?
The recommendation made at the end of the report is that no one should be punished and that baseball needs to improve testing and move forward. Look at that again. Mitchell recommends that no one be punished.
Which begs the question: why did he NAME people?
Looking past the fact that Mitchell was working with limited resources, yet had the vaguest burden of proof, he called out individual players for no reason other than to point a finger and say "everyone should hate them."
If no punishments are going to be passed down, then why name anyone? You'd have the same effect by simply stating that steriod and HGH use is widespread and testing needs to be improved. There you go. If no conviction and no sentence is going to come down, then why supply the supposed evidence on that scale?
Truly, the Mitchell report makes the initial Kennedy investigation look professional.
But that's not say that it wasn't illuminating.
Every day, another player steps forward and admits to taking HGH, as accused in the Mitchell report. While it's ultimately unnecessary support for the report as a whole, it's convincing support for the report in specifics.
In other words, every person that steps forward drives another nail into Roger Clemens' coffin.
And, hey, I helped build that box a long time ago. The man is a jackass. They replayed that moment from the 2000 World Series the other day on ESPN and you can actually see Clemens yell at Mike Piazza "I thought it was the ball." No, really, that's what he says. He mistook half of the bat for the ball. That makes sense. Because, you know, not only do they look similar, but he would throw the ball at Piazza in that situation.
I find it funny that people were surprised to see his name in the report. Was it his unquestionable integrity that gave people pause? The man has less integrity than Dick Cheney. In many ways, Clemens is the epitome of what's gone wrong with the game -- and he was, even before his name was linked to HGH. Now's he's the perfect symbol of everything that's gone wrong.
I don't care if they ever prove conclusively that Clemens cheated. I don't care if he denies it until he dies. But if this means I won't be subjected to six months of "Clemens Watch" next year, the Mitchell report will, in my book, become the greatest document ever produced.
Now, an addendum to the last blog.
Jayson Stark on ESPN.com mentions a number of things in his last column. This is one of them:
True, the Tigers will run a lineup out there in which seven of the nine everyday players have made at least one All-Star team since 2005. But they also have a roster full of players with injury histories. So after dealing away seven of their best prospects this winter, they need to stay healthy, because they're short of reinforcements they can call up. "They've pretty much decimated their depth," one AL executive said. "So this is their window."
It's like he read my blog! Granted, I was referring specifically to the Detroit rotation, but it applies to their line-up as well. Because, you know, no one ever lands on the DL these days...
Next: Can the Tribe win the Central without making a big trade?
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Detroit Deal
Once more into the breach, my friends! I have returned, better than ever.
The new and improved, off season RCR with come to you on a regular schedule, too. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday there will be a new blog. And since it's the off season, I'll be expanding my range of subjects to include all of baseball, not just the Indians, at least until Spring Training.
Now let's get things going...
A lot has been made about Detroit's deal for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. It's been referred to as a blockbuster deal. Like many Tribe fans, more than a few expletives slipped out of my mouth when I first read about it. As the days past, I became more and more anxious for the Indians to make a move of their own, something to counter what Detroit had done.
But with time comes perspective. And that Detroit deal is all flash and little substance.
Fun fact: Detroit had the second best offense in the AL last year behind only the Yankees.
Going into the off season, the Tigers had three needs: 1) a shortstop, 2) rebuild their bullpen, and 3) upgrade their rotation.
They traded for Edgar Renteria, sending Jair Jurrgens to Atlanta (more on that in a minute). Point one taken care of.
But as of now, they haven't addressed either one of their other two needs. Their blockbuster trade, in fact, simply improved an area that wasn't a problem and probably made another area worse.
Andrew Miller, who Detroit sent to Florida, has a much higher ceiling that Dontrelle Willis. He's yet to even play a complete season in the minors. Willis' numbers have declined since he became a name in 2003 -- and let's not forget that he was pulled from Florida's rotation in the post-season. Add to that the fact that he will now be in the AL, facing guys named Ortiz, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Guerro, Martinez, Thome, et al, and there's every reason to believe that Detroit's rotation has actually been DOWNGRADED by this trade.
Even worse, they used two guys last year as their 6th and 7th starters: Chad Durbin, who they let go, and Jair Jurrgens, who they traded. They also sent a boatload of additional minor league pitchers to Florida. Let's not forget that Kenny Rogers was on the DL twice last year -- what are they going to do if any one of their starters goes down this year? Or is ineffective, as Bonderman and Robertson were in the second half of last year? We know how important it is to have major league ready guys waiting in the wings.
Their bullpen hasn't improved, either. They picked up the option on closer Todd Jones, who belongs to the Borowski/Wickman school of closing. They also lost Joel Zumaya to injury yet again and have no idea when he'll be back next season. They've yet to add anyone who would could be considered an upgrade from what they had last year.
Yes, the Tigers now have the best offense in baseball. But offense isn't everything. Really, Detroit has become the New York Yankees of the AL Central.
Fortunately, the Indians are the Red Sox.
Upcoming RCR:
Thursday: The Mitchell Report aka Did I need more proof that Clemens is a jackass?
Sunday: The Indians: Why not making a big trade might not be a bad thing
Tuesday: The extreme of parity
The new and improved, off season RCR with come to you on a regular schedule, too. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday there will be a new blog. And since it's the off season, I'll be expanding my range of subjects to include all of baseball, not just the Indians, at least until Spring Training.
Now let's get things going...
A lot has been made about Detroit's deal for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. It's been referred to as a blockbuster deal. Like many Tribe fans, more than a few expletives slipped out of my mouth when I first read about it. As the days past, I became more and more anxious for the Indians to make a move of their own, something to counter what Detroit had done.
But with time comes perspective. And that Detroit deal is all flash and little substance.
Fun fact: Detroit had the second best offense in the AL last year behind only the Yankees.
Going into the off season, the Tigers had three needs: 1) a shortstop, 2) rebuild their bullpen, and 3) upgrade their rotation.
They traded for Edgar Renteria, sending Jair Jurrgens to Atlanta (more on that in a minute). Point one taken care of.
But as of now, they haven't addressed either one of their other two needs. Their blockbuster trade, in fact, simply improved an area that wasn't a problem and probably made another area worse.
Andrew Miller, who Detroit sent to Florida, has a much higher ceiling that Dontrelle Willis. He's yet to even play a complete season in the minors. Willis' numbers have declined since he became a name in 2003 -- and let's not forget that he was pulled from Florida's rotation in the post-season. Add to that the fact that he will now be in the AL, facing guys named Ortiz, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Guerro, Martinez, Thome, et al, and there's every reason to believe that Detroit's rotation has actually been DOWNGRADED by this trade.
Even worse, they used two guys last year as their 6th and 7th starters: Chad Durbin, who they let go, and Jair Jurrgens, who they traded. They also sent a boatload of additional minor league pitchers to Florida. Let's not forget that Kenny Rogers was on the DL twice last year -- what are they going to do if any one of their starters goes down this year? Or is ineffective, as Bonderman and Robertson were in the second half of last year? We know how important it is to have major league ready guys waiting in the wings.
Their bullpen hasn't improved, either. They picked up the option on closer Todd Jones, who belongs to the Borowski/Wickman school of closing. They also lost Joel Zumaya to injury yet again and have no idea when he'll be back next season. They've yet to add anyone who would could be considered an upgrade from what they had last year.
Yes, the Tigers now have the best offense in baseball. But offense isn't everything. Really, Detroit has become the New York Yankees of the AL Central.
Fortunately, the Indians are the Red Sox.
Upcoming RCR:
Thursday: The Mitchell Report aka Did I need more proof that Clemens is a jackass?
Sunday: The Indians: Why not making a big trade might not be a bad thing
Tuesday: The extreme of parity
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Off Day
I remember Sunday night, the last time we had a day off. I remember how happy I was, as I was completely drained from two straight nights of post-season baseball. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for today. I hate having to wait another 24 hours for our first (hopefully the only one we'll need) chance.
From my perspective, the Tribe is down 0-3. I will have no one tell me any different because I can't allow myself to think any other way.
This has been a post-season of poetry.
The Tribe lost home field advantage and an opening round match up with the Angels by losing five of seven games to the Red Sox. Two of those starts were by Cliff Lee. A third was by Jeremy Sowers. Our three game difference came from two guys no longer in the rotation.
But of course we'd get the Yankees first. And in game in which Johnny Damon led off with a solo home run, we ran away with it. They scored first; we scored a lot.
Then came the bugs. The pretty boys from the Big Apple, clearly covered in the latest scents availble from Madison Avenue, were like mana from heaven for the midges. The perfection of the clean cut pinstripes covered in bugs, unable to concentrate for fear of getting dirty, losing to a working class team from a working class town was better than any book or movie.
Of course these are the Indians we're talking about, so a sweep was out of the question. There must always be doubt in their fans' minds, if not in their hearts.
How much better could it have been to see the Indians win the first round at Yankee stadium behind not just Paul Byrd, but an ideal, one far too rare in modern baseball? How often does LOYALTY actually pay off in this game? How often does a team so readily eclipse a group of individuals?
It had to be the Red Sox.
The Red Sox Nation prides themselves on being lovable losers, victims of a curse that, even after its been lifted, seems to justify their martyr complex. Oh, how they've suffered! They don't want to be a big market team, the Yankees made them that way! They're just blue collar guys with blue collar fans who happen to wear pink hats.
It had to be the Red Sox.
Again, because this is the Indians, Game 1 went exactly as we should have expected, but were fooled into believing otherwise. Our ace, our potential Cy Young winner, was yet again overthrowing, barely able to contain himself after eight day of nothing but daydreaming about his eventual start. And things looked about as bleak as they could.
And then our other ace faltered. But, as I mentioned before, this has been a post-season of poetry. Point to Tom Mastny, long the forgot member of the bullpen. Point to Jhonny Peralta, long the maligned short stop. But most importantly, point to an aging right fielder riding the bench, spending his first season away from the Boston Red Sox, brought in to face a left handed pitcher when he wasn't even hitting right handers that well anymore.
Poetry.
It's amazing how this team learns. Jake Westbrook learned from his start against the Yankees and came out throwing strike after strike after strike and the next thing you know we had the series lead.
And the next night our hitters whiffed at knuckleball after knuckleball and the next time through the line-up said "you know, that's a neat trick, but you've already pulled that one on me before."
Look at it this way: Casey Blake struck out twice in the same, seven run inning in Boston. Last night, he had two hits and two RBIs in the same, even run inning in Cleveland.
So it's only fitting, then, that the man on the mound tomorrow night is C.C. Sabathia. This will be the first time he's pitched a second time in a post-season series. He's only on one extra day of rest than he would normally be. He's watched the rest of the pitching staff, minus Carmona, go right at the heart of the Red Sox order. He's seen Paul Byrd strikeout David Ortiz.
Potentially the largest man to ever win the Cy Young gets to do exactly what he's wanted to do ever since he got to Cleveland. Truly, there is no more appropriate Game 5 starter than C.C. Sabathia.
I'm off tomorrow, so I'll have all day to stew in preparation for what I consider a must win game, given my outlook. I'm guessing I'll be dipping into the Jack Daniels ever earlier than normal.
From my perspective, the Tribe is down 0-3. I will have no one tell me any different because I can't allow myself to think any other way.
This has been a post-season of poetry.
The Tribe lost home field advantage and an opening round match up with the Angels by losing five of seven games to the Red Sox. Two of those starts were by Cliff Lee. A third was by Jeremy Sowers. Our three game difference came from two guys no longer in the rotation.
But of course we'd get the Yankees first. And in game in which Johnny Damon led off with a solo home run, we ran away with it. They scored first; we scored a lot.
Then came the bugs. The pretty boys from the Big Apple, clearly covered in the latest scents availble from Madison Avenue, were like mana from heaven for the midges. The perfection of the clean cut pinstripes covered in bugs, unable to concentrate for fear of getting dirty, losing to a working class team from a working class town was better than any book or movie.
Of course these are the Indians we're talking about, so a sweep was out of the question. There must always be doubt in their fans' minds, if not in their hearts.
How much better could it have been to see the Indians win the first round at Yankee stadium behind not just Paul Byrd, but an ideal, one far too rare in modern baseball? How often does LOYALTY actually pay off in this game? How often does a team so readily eclipse a group of individuals?
It had to be the Red Sox.
The Red Sox Nation prides themselves on being lovable losers, victims of a curse that, even after its been lifted, seems to justify their martyr complex. Oh, how they've suffered! They don't want to be a big market team, the Yankees made them that way! They're just blue collar guys with blue collar fans who happen to wear pink hats.
It had to be the Red Sox.
Again, because this is the Indians, Game 1 went exactly as we should have expected, but were fooled into believing otherwise. Our ace, our potential Cy Young winner, was yet again overthrowing, barely able to contain himself after eight day of nothing but daydreaming about his eventual start. And things looked about as bleak as they could.
And then our other ace faltered. But, as I mentioned before, this has been a post-season of poetry. Point to Tom Mastny, long the forgot member of the bullpen. Point to Jhonny Peralta, long the maligned short stop. But most importantly, point to an aging right fielder riding the bench, spending his first season away from the Boston Red Sox, brought in to face a left handed pitcher when he wasn't even hitting right handers that well anymore.
Poetry.
It's amazing how this team learns. Jake Westbrook learned from his start against the Yankees and came out throwing strike after strike after strike and the next thing you know we had the series lead.
And the next night our hitters whiffed at knuckleball after knuckleball and the next time through the line-up said "you know, that's a neat trick, but you've already pulled that one on me before."
Look at it this way: Casey Blake struck out twice in the same, seven run inning in Boston. Last night, he had two hits and two RBIs in the same, even run inning in Cleveland.
So it's only fitting, then, that the man on the mound tomorrow night is C.C. Sabathia. This will be the first time he's pitched a second time in a post-season series. He's only on one extra day of rest than he would normally be. He's watched the rest of the pitching staff, minus Carmona, go right at the heart of the Red Sox order. He's seen Paul Byrd strikeout David Ortiz.
Potentially the largest man to ever win the Cy Young gets to do exactly what he's wanted to do ever since he got to Cleveland. Truly, there is no more appropriate Game 5 starter than C.C. Sabathia.
I'm off tomorrow, so I'll have all day to stew in preparation for what I consider a must win game, given my outlook. I'm guessing I'll be dipping into the Jack Daniels ever earlier than normal.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Big Game
I haven't blogged in over a week! Remember when I claimed I was going to blog every day? And remember when I tried to blog in real time during the post-season games? Ah, memories...
Clearly, the intensity of the post-season is too much for me to take. I can barely sit still, let alone blog during a game. As for blogging post-game, I'm far to wired afterwards for that. Evidently, the extra hour before the start tonight is giving me extra time to blog.
My friend Matt (the Red Sox fan) said that Red Sox Nation are overreacting, as they usually do, about being down. He said you'd think they were a game away from losing it all, or in a four game deficit. I told him that Cleveland fans are actually acting the same way, because we know better than to get excited about anything until well after it's happened.
Tonight's a big game. Let's face facts, we have no idea what we're going to get from C.C. Thursday night, but we do know what we'll get from Beckett. I'm sure our hitters will adust after what they saw in Game 1, but there's still no way for us to know what Sabathia will do. Personally, I think he'll be on. Wedge made a comment recently about the fact that C.C. is overthrowing and that part of that is because he's had so much extra time between starts. I think that's a valid point.
Regardless, the last thing we want is to go back to Boston down 3-2. Hell, even going back to Boston UP 3-2 is going to be tough. But at the very least we need to insure three wins in our pocket if/when we go back on the road. That third win needs to come tonight.
The Tribe has a good record against Wakefield, but we haven't seen him this year, which means we've got guys on the roster who have probably never faced a knuckleballer before. I would expect to see Nixon in right again, at least to start (or perhaps Michaels). We'll know early on how it's going to play out, as Wakefield is usually one extreme or the other. Let's hope we see a call to the bullpen by the Red Sox after three innings.
On the flip side, Paul Byrd was fantastic against the Red Sox the one time he faced them this year. Yes, we've seen so far in the post-season that regular season results don't mean much, but the fact that he's already faced this line-up once is a big plus. He also gets Mirabelli instead of Varitek, which is probably a plus.
I wonder if Shoppach will hit Wakefield better than Garko. At the very least, Shoppach would have taken BP with Wakefield when he was in Boston. Again, I don't know if Garko has even ever faced a knuckleballer before.
Big game. I'm trying to keep myself in check.
Clearly, the intensity of the post-season is too much for me to take. I can barely sit still, let alone blog during a game. As for blogging post-game, I'm far to wired afterwards for that. Evidently, the extra hour before the start tonight is giving me extra time to blog.
My friend Matt (the Red Sox fan) said that Red Sox Nation are overreacting, as they usually do, about being down. He said you'd think they were a game away from losing it all, or in a four game deficit. I told him that Cleveland fans are actually acting the same way, because we know better than to get excited about anything until well after it's happened.
Tonight's a big game. Let's face facts, we have no idea what we're going to get from C.C. Thursday night, but we do know what we'll get from Beckett. I'm sure our hitters will adust after what they saw in Game 1, but there's still no way for us to know what Sabathia will do. Personally, I think he'll be on. Wedge made a comment recently about the fact that C.C. is overthrowing and that part of that is because he's had so much extra time between starts. I think that's a valid point.
Regardless, the last thing we want is to go back to Boston down 3-2. Hell, even going back to Boston UP 3-2 is going to be tough. But at the very least we need to insure three wins in our pocket if/when we go back on the road. That third win needs to come tonight.
The Tribe has a good record against Wakefield, but we haven't seen him this year, which means we've got guys on the roster who have probably never faced a knuckleballer before. I would expect to see Nixon in right again, at least to start (or perhaps Michaels). We'll know early on how it's going to play out, as Wakefield is usually one extreme or the other. Let's hope we see a call to the bullpen by the Red Sox after three innings.
On the flip side, Paul Byrd was fantastic against the Red Sox the one time he faced them this year. Yes, we've seen so far in the post-season that regular season results don't mean much, but the fact that he's already faced this line-up once is a big plus. He also gets Mirabelli instead of Varitek, which is probably a plus.
I wonder if Shoppach will hit Wakefield better than Garko. At the very least, Shoppach would have taken BP with Wakefield when he was in Boston. Again, I don't know if Garko has even ever faced a knuckleballer before.
Big game. I'm trying to keep myself in check.
Monday, October 8, 2007
ALDS Game 4 In Game Blog
I'm going to try something new tonight -- less talking, more comments on big moment.
TOP 1st
BOOYAH!!! Grady starts off the game with a solo shot!! That's the way to get this crowd to shut up!! Hell yeah!!
AC goes down on a grounder to first.
Pronk with a single towards left! That's HUGE that he's beating the shift!
Let's go, Victor. Let's keep it going.
I might have to watch the bottom half of the first few innings on Gameday. Just because I'm terrified.
Victor hits a weak grounder towards first, two down. At least Pronk is still aboard and in scoring position nonetheless.
Let's go, Jhonny. We need another two out run here. Keep them on the ropes.
Jhonny works a full count. Good AB for JP.
JHONNY DOES IT AGAIN!! Bloop shot into center and Hafner scores!
Kenny up and slices the first pitch foul. Let's go, Kenny! Let's keep it going!
Man, Kenny's getting some pitches to hit, too. But he's down 0-2. Let's go, Kenny!
Grounder to Wang, three down.
BOTTOM 1st
I have faith in Paul Byrd. I really do. I like him. I like what he does and how he handles himself. He seems like a good guy.
But I'm so nervous I can't even look. I've realized that unless we have a dominant pitcher on the mound, I'm going to be terrified the entire time. Westbrook almost gave me a heart attack.
So I'm doing as I said I would and I'm following the bottom of the first on Gameday.
Because I'm a coward.
Byrd strands two, but strikes out A-rod, which is always a plus.
This does nothing to get me to actually watch the bottom half of the next inning.
TOP 2nd
Okay, let's go Gut! Let's get it back and going! We need more runs!
Gut sends one into shallow center for a single!! Time for Casey to pull out of his funk and get this train moving.
Casey!! Through the hole for a single! And we've got two on and no out!
Shoppach up now. His first post-season AB. Let's go, Kelly. We have faith in you! Let's get it down and get them over!
Did Shoppach get hit?? They're saying it hit him in the hand? Man, Shoppach picked a bad stadium to get hit by a pitch. He was definitely trying to get out of the way, though. That much was pretty obvious.
And he gets the base! Bases loaded for Grady!! Let's go, Grady, let's do some damage!
Wang gets the hook and here comes Mussina. God, I would give so much money for Grady to go deep. I would give SO MUCH money.
And here we go. Let's go, Grady! Let's go!
Double play, but we do get a run. That's better than a poke in the eye!
Okay, AC. Let's keep the train rolling! Let's go! A single knocks in Blake -- that's all we need!
Cabrera is fighting. You love to see this from the Tribe. Let's go, AC!
AC with a single into center for a run!! WOO!! Nice AB for Cabrera!
And now we get Pronk to the plate! He's due, I think, for a long ball.
Hafner goes after one, but fouls it off. Man, he was gunning for that one. Let's get another, Pronk! Keep it rolling!
WALK! Another great AB for Pronk and Victor comes to the plate!
C'mon, Victor, you're the team leader. Let's do it, let's keep it going! We need to keep up the attack!
Nice, Victor fouls it off to stay alive. Let's go, Victor! Keep it going!
Victor grounds out to second, three down.
BOTTOM 2nd
Up four rounds or not, I'm still going Gameday for the bottom of the inning. I can't help it. I think maybe six runs might be my courage point.
I have to say this much, at least Byrd is getting ahead. He's going right at them, unlike Westbrook did last night. Still, I'm so nervous I can't look.
Killing me. Two on and no outs. Byrd had Matsui 0-2, too. Killing me.
And this is exactly why I'm not watching. Bases loaded, one out, Damon coming up.
Pop up to Jhonny. Bases loaded, two outs, Jeter coming up.
This is killing me.
We get out of it with only giving up one run, that should have be NONE according to what my friend Matt just called and told me about.
Was the appeal call REALLY that bad? I'm glad I didn't see it, then -- I would have been PISSED.
TOP 3rd
Jhonny starts off the inning. Let's go, Jhonny! Let's get the momentum going again!
WALK! Good at bat, Jhonny!
Let's go, Kenny! You're due tonight! Let's get it going!
Kenny flies out to center, one down. Kenny needs to hit it on the ground. He's not as strong as he used to be.
Gut up and feeling good! Let's go, Franklin!
Gut strikes out, two down.
Casey stepping up. He's got momentum with that single earlier, so let's see if Casey can keep it going.
Damn, Casey saw the pitch he wanted, but fouled it off.
Swing and a miss and three down.
BOTTOM 3rd
Byrd allows a double but gets out of the inning with no damage and only a few pitches!
TOP 4th
I can't believe it's only the top of the 4th.
Shoppach up first and ready to get a real AB. Let's go, Kelly!
We need to get something started again. Let's go, Shoppach! He's got the full count going, so let's get it now!
Yes!! Lead off double for Shoppach!! WOO!!
Grady up, fouls off the first bunt.
I can't believe all the credit we're getting as a team that bunts. That's awesome.
Let's go, Grady! Let's get it going! Big inning!
Another full count for the Tribe! Let's go, Grady! Let's get this!
WALK!! Two on, no outs!
Time for AC to come to the plate and get us going!
SAC BUNT FOR AC!! Great stuff. You love to see that. AC does it again!
And time for Pronk! Let's go, Hafner! You're due for a big one!
Oh, they're going to walk Pronk in hopes of a double play ball. Time for Victor to get that hit he's been waiting for him. Victor is due tonight and he's lead this team all year. He's got the karma to put this game away.
God, I would love a home run here. I know I said that earlier with Grady, but god that would be about the greatest thing ever.
Still, I'll settle for a run or two!
Man, this is a big moment. Let's go, Victor!!
TWO RUN SINGLE!!! YES, VICTOR!!
Let's go, Jhonny! We need more insurance! Let's keep it rolling!
Damn, Jhonny hits into a double play and there are three down.
Now, the question: am I comfortable enough with a five run lead to watch the bottom of the 4th?
Doubtful.
BOTTOM 4th
Gave up a single, but overall a great inning by Byrd! I have a question about Byrdie, but I'll save it for later.
TOP 5th
Lofton pops out on one pitch. That's not what we want to see.
Gut back up and looking to continue his hot streak. Let's go, Gut, let's get it going again!
I think a big inning here could do the trick. In fact, I could probably watch the bottom o fthe next inning if that happens.
But Gut flies out and now there are two down. We need to keep this inning alive.
Casey to the plate, looking to make up for striking out his last time up. But he's behind already, 0-2.
C'mon, Casey, we need to get this inning going!
And he goes down in order. And I'll be following Gameday again.
BOTTOM 5th
Buster Olney gave a stat a while back about Paul Byrd's batting average against after 70 pitches. It wasn't good.
So I've been wondering if that would be his cut off point for tonight. Since we're going into the fifth, I think we'll see him pulled if he gets into any trouble, as opposed to earlier when he was given the chance to pitch out of it.
Another single given up, but Byrd has another great inning!
TOP 6th
Okay, Shoppach, let's do it again! You're making the most of your post-season debut, let's keep it going!
Fly out to right field, but at least he made him throw a few pitches.
We're creeping up on drink time, I think. Man, I would kill for an extra run or two here.
Grady gets to first before Mussina could land on the base and we've got a runner on!!
Oh, replay says he's out. We'll take that as compensation for the call earlier, thanks.
AC drives it deep to center, but not deep enough and there are two down.
Tony Gwynn said that the play at first was the third call that's gone against the Yankees tonight. The third? What were the first two? Does the awful check call count as against the Yankees in some crazy, mixed up logic?
New pitcher coming up for Pronk, who would love to get a big hit with two outs, I would think.
Just go deep, Pronk. Just go deep and let's start putting this away.
Hafner got under it and flies out to left, three down.
Still can't watch the bottom half.
BOTTOM 6th
Well, there you go. Byrd gives up a solo shot to Cano, more proof that my decision not to watch was a good one. That said, Cano has been the highlight of the Yankees line-up during this series.
Still, I'd like to be up by five again, please.
And as expected, Wedge goes to the bullpen, bringing in the first of what I'm sure will be two Raphaels, this time going with Perez.
Perez gets a switch hitter and two lefties to start, which is a plus, even though he's almost as good against righties.
Still, against this line-up I think we need some more runs.
I have to wonder if there's any chance we'll see a double switch after this half of the inning, where Victor goes back behind the plate and Garko comes in at first. They say it's a bad idea to pull a catcher, but we do have a third one (Garko) if need be.
Dammit, now there are runners on the corners with one out and Jeter at the plate. God, we need a double play ball in a bad way here. I can barely even watch Gameday at this rate.
NICE!! Good stuff, Perez!!
TOP 7th
Victor up and down and there's one out.
Okay, Jhonny, let's get this going. Their bullpen isn't that good, so let's take advantage!
Jhonny with a single! That's the way! Now we've got something going!
Time for Kenny to turn it on now. He needs to get going tonight!
Another full count. Good stuff, Kenny. Now let's get a hit out of this.
Kenny hits it far, but not far enough. Two down.
Let's go, Gut! We need to keep this inning alive! We need some insurance!
Gut goes down swinging and that's three down.
BOTTOM 7th
Stupid A-rod hits a solo home run. And now there's a runner on first and two outs and Cano up to bat.
Killing me.
And Perez gets out of it! Thank you god.
TOP 8th
New pitcher with a high ERA from the regular season. I like to see this.
Casey up first and due for a hit, I think. Let's get it going, Casey! Let's start it off right!
Casey goes down looking. He's looked awful at the plate tonight.
So Shoppach gets another shot to do some good. Let's go, Kelly! You've earned this start, so let's keep it going!
WOW. Shoppach INCHES from a home run!! But he's in with a double!
Let's go Grady! Let's get it going! We need runs!!
Intentional walk to Grady! Wow. So two on and one out for AC.
Here comes Rivera. This isn't going to be easy, but hasn't been from the start. Let's go, AC! You deserve to be here and now's the time to show it!
Grady breaks up the double play and we still have a runner in scoring position, now with two outs.
Pronk. It's time.
Man, anyone other than Pronk probably would have beat that out. I don't think he was interfered with.
And I still can't watch the bottom of the inning.
Not for nothing, but unless we score another run and go up by at least four, this could be a save situation...that's terrifying.
BOTTOM 8th
Wow. Betancourt HAS to pitch the 9th. WOW.
TOP 9th
Lead off single by Victor!! YES!! We need runs!!
Let's go, Jhonny! Let's get this going! Let's put it away!
Jhonny singles into rightfield!! Two on, no out!!
Let's go, Kenny! Let's keep it going!
Lofton not bunting, but I wonder if that's because of how Rivera pitches. Regardless, we need more runs!!
Grounder to short moves Victor over and we stay out of the double play. Hit it deep, Gut! All we need is a deep fly ball for the sac!
Gut down swinging, two down.
And it's up to Casey Blake to get us some insurance. You are DUE, Casey! You are OVERdue!
Ahhhh! So close to ending the game!! Gah!
And we go to the bottom of the 9th, and I think I have to watch at least part of it.
I think we'll see Borowski
BOTTOM 9th
I can't...I can't even believe that.
Joe Borowski was Joe Borowski.
AND WE FREAKING WON IT!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
TOP 1st
BOOYAH!!! Grady starts off the game with a solo shot!! That's the way to get this crowd to shut up!! Hell yeah!!
AC goes down on a grounder to first.
Pronk with a single towards left! That's HUGE that he's beating the shift!
Let's go, Victor. Let's keep it going.
I might have to watch the bottom half of the first few innings on Gameday. Just because I'm terrified.
Victor hits a weak grounder towards first, two down. At least Pronk is still aboard and in scoring position nonetheless.
Let's go, Jhonny. We need another two out run here. Keep them on the ropes.
Jhonny works a full count. Good AB for JP.
JHONNY DOES IT AGAIN!! Bloop shot into center and Hafner scores!
Kenny up and slices the first pitch foul. Let's go, Kenny! Let's keep it going!
Man, Kenny's getting some pitches to hit, too. But he's down 0-2. Let's go, Kenny!
Grounder to Wang, three down.
BOTTOM 1st
I have faith in Paul Byrd. I really do. I like him. I like what he does and how he handles himself. He seems like a good guy.
But I'm so nervous I can't even look. I've realized that unless we have a dominant pitcher on the mound, I'm going to be terrified the entire time. Westbrook almost gave me a heart attack.
So I'm doing as I said I would and I'm following the bottom of the first on Gameday.
Because I'm a coward.
Byrd strands two, but strikes out A-rod, which is always a plus.
This does nothing to get me to actually watch the bottom half of the next inning.
TOP 2nd
Okay, let's go Gut! Let's get it back and going! We need more runs!
Gut sends one into shallow center for a single!! Time for Casey to pull out of his funk and get this train moving.
Casey!! Through the hole for a single! And we've got two on and no out!
Shoppach up now. His first post-season AB. Let's go, Kelly. We have faith in you! Let's get it down and get them over!
Did Shoppach get hit?? They're saying it hit him in the hand? Man, Shoppach picked a bad stadium to get hit by a pitch. He was definitely trying to get out of the way, though. That much was pretty obvious.
And he gets the base! Bases loaded for Grady!! Let's go, Grady, let's do some damage!
Wang gets the hook and here comes Mussina. God, I would give so much money for Grady to go deep. I would give SO MUCH money.
And here we go. Let's go, Grady! Let's go!
Double play, but we do get a run. That's better than a poke in the eye!
Okay, AC. Let's keep the train rolling! Let's go! A single knocks in Blake -- that's all we need!
Cabrera is fighting. You love to see this from the Tribe. Let's go, AC!
AC with a single into center for a run!! WOO!! Nice AB for Cabrera!
And now we get Pronk to the plate! He's due, I think, for a long ball.
Hafner goes after one, but fouls it off. Man, he was gunning for that one. Let's get another, Pronk! Keep it rolling!
WALK! Another great AB for Pronk and Victor comes to the plate!
C'mon, Victor, you're the team leader. Let's do it, let's keep it going! We need to keep up the attack!
Nice, Victor fouls it off to stay alive. Let's go, Victor! Keep it going!
Victor grounds out to second, three down.
BOTTOM 2nd
Up four rounds or not, I'm still going Gameday for the bottom of the inning. I can't help it. I think maybe six runs might be my courage point.
I have to say this much, at least Byrd is getting ahead. He's going right at them, unlike Westbrook did last night. Still, I'm so nervous I can't look.
Killing me. Two on and no outs. Byrd had Matsui 0-2, too. Killing me.
And this is exactly why I'm not watching. Bases loaded, one out, Damon coming up.
Pop up to Jhonny. Bases loaded, two outs, Jeter coming up.
This is killing me.
We get out of it with only giving up one run, that should have be NONE according to what my friend Matt just called and told me about.
Was the appeal call REALLY that bad? I'm glad I didn't see it, then -- I would have been PISSED.
TOP 3rd
Jhonny starts off the inning. Let's go, Jhonny! Let's get the momentum going again!
WALK! Good at bat, Jhonny!
Let's go, Kenny! You're due tonight! Let's get it going!
Kenny flies out to center, one down. Kenny needs to hit it on the ground. He's not as strong as he used to be.
Gut up and feeling good! Let's go, Franklin!
Gut strikes out, two down.
Casey stepping up. He's got momentum with that single earlier, so let's see if Casey can keep it going.
Damn, Casey saw the pitch he wanted, but fouled it off.
Swing and a miss and three down.
BOTTOM 3rd
Byrd allows a double but gets out of the inning with no damage and only a few pitches!
TOP 4th
I can't believe it's only the top of the 4th.
Shoppach up first and ready to get a real AB. Let's go, Kelly!
We need to get something started again. Let's go, Shoppach! He's got the full count going, so let's get it now!
Yes!! Lead off double for Shoppach!! WOO!!
Grady up, fouls off the first bunt.
I can't believe all the credit we're getting as a team that bunts. That's awesome.
Let's go, Grady! Let's get it going! Big inning!
Another full count for the Tribe! Let's go, Grady! Let's get this!
WALK!! Two on, no outs!
Time for AC to come to the plate and get us going!
SAC BUNT FOR AC!! Great stuff. You love to see that. AC does it again!
And time for Pronk! Let's go, Hafner! You're due for a big one!
Oh, they're going to walk Pronk in hopes of a double play ball. Time for Victor to get that hit he's been waiting for him. Victor is due tonight and he's lead this team all year. He's got the karma to put this game away.
God, I would love a home run here. I know I said that earlier with Grady, but god that would be about the greatest thing ever.
Still, I'll settle for a run or two!
Man, this is a big moment. Let's go, Victor!!
TWO RUN SINGLE!!! YES, VICTOR!!
Let's go, Jhonny! We need more insurance! Let's keep it rolling!
Damn, Jhonny hits into a double play and there are three down.
Now, the question: am I comfortable enough with a five run lead to watch the bottom of the 4th?
Doubtful.
BOTTOM 4th
Gave up a single, but overall a great inning by Byrd! I have a question about Byrdie, but I'll save it for later.
TOP 5th
Lofton pops out on one pitch. That's not what we want to see.
Gut back up and looking to continue his hot streak. Let's go, Gut, let's get it going again!
I think a big inning here could do the trick. In fact, I could probably watch the bottom o fthe next inning if that happens.
But Gut flies out and now there are two down. We need to keep this inning alive.
Casey to the plate, looking to make up for striking out his last time up. But he's behind already, 0-2.
C'mon, Casey, we need to get this inning going!
And he goes down in order. And I'll be following Gameday again.
BOTTOM 5th
Buster Olney gave a stat a while back about Paul Byrd's batting average against after 70 pitches. It wasn't good.
So I've been wondering if that would be his cut off point for tonight. Since we're going into the fifth, I think we'll see him pulled if he gets into any trouble, as opposed to earlier when he was given the chance to pitch out of it.
Another single given up, but Byrd has another great inning!
TOP 6th
Okay, Shoppach, let's do it again! You're making the most of your post-season debut, let's keep it going!
Fly out to right field, but at least he made him throw a few pitches.
We're creeping up on drink time, I think. Man, I would kill for an extra run or two here.
Grady gets to first before Mussina could land on the base and we've got a runner on!!
Oh, replay says he's out. We'll take that as compensation for the call earlier, thanks.
AC drives it deep to center, but not deep enough and there are two down.
Tony Gwynn said that the play at first was the third call that's gone against the Yankees tonight. The third? What were the first two? Does the awful check call count as against the Yankees in some crazy, mixed up logic?
New pitcher coming up for Pronk, who would love to get a big hit with two outs, I would think.
Just go deep, Pronk. Just go deep and let's start putting this away.
Hafner got under it and flies out to left, three down.
Still can't watch the bottom half.
BOTTOM 6th
Well, there you go. Byrd gives up a solo shot to Cano, more proof that my decision not to watch was a good one. That said, Cano has been the highlight of the Yankees line-up during this series.
Still, I'd like to be up by five again, please.
And as expected, Wedge goes to the bullpen, bringing in the first of what I'm sure will be two Raphaels, this time going with Perez.
Perez gets a switch hitter and two lefties to start, which is a plus, even though he's almost as good against righties.
Still, against this line-up I think we need some more runs.
I have to wonder if there's any chance we'll see a double switch after this half of the inning, where Victor goes back behind the plate and Garko comes in at first. They say it's a bad idea to pull a catcher, but we do have a third one (Garko) if need be.
Dammit, now there are runners on the corners with one out and Jeter at the plate. God, we need a double play ball in a bad way here. I can barely even watch Gameday at this rate.
NICE!! Good stuff, Perez!!
TOP 7th
Victor up and down and there's one out.
Okay, Jhonny, let's get this going. Their bullpen isn't that good, so let's take advantage!
Jhonny with a single! That's the way! Now we've got something going!
Time for Kenny to turn it on now. He needs to get going tonight!
Another full count. Good stuff, Kenny. Now let's get a hit out of this.
Kenny hits it far, but not far enough. Two down.
Let's go, Gut! We need to keep this inning alive! We need some insurance!
Gut goes down swinging and that's three down.
BOTTOM 7th
Stupid A-rod hits a solo home run. And now there's a runner on first and two outs and Cano up to bat.
Killing me.
And Perez gets out of it! Thank you god.
TOP 8th
New pitcher with a high ERA from the regular season. I like to see this.
Casey up first and due for a hit, I think. Let's get it going, Casey! Let's start it off right!
Casey goes down looking. He's looked awful at the plate tonight.
So Shoppach gets another shot to do some good. Let's go, Kelly! You've earned this start, so let's keep it going!
WOW. Shoppach INCHES from a home run!! But he's in with a double!
Let's go Grady! Let's get it going! We need runs!!
Intentional walk to Grady! Wow. So two on and one out for AC.
Here comes Rivera. This isn't going to be easy, but hasn't been from the start. Let's go, AC! You deserve to be here and now's the time to show it!
Grady breaks up the double play and we still have a runner in scoring position, now with two outs.
Pronk. It's time.
Man, anyone other than Pronk probably would have beat that out. I don't think he was interfered with.
And I still can't watch the bottom of the inning.
Not for nothing, but unless we score another run and go up by at least four, this could be a save situation...that's terrifying.
BOTTOM 8th
Wow. Betancourt HAS to pitch the 9th. WOW.
TOP 9th
Lead off single by Victor!! YES!! We need runs!!
Let's go, Jhonny! Let's get this going! Let's put it away!
Jhonny singles into rightfield!! Two on, no out!!
Let's go, Kenny! Let's keep it going!
Lofton not bunting, but I wonder if that's because of how Rivera pitches. Regardless, we need more runs!!
Grounder to short moves Victor over and we stay out of the double play. Hit it deep, Gut! All we need is a deep fly ball for the sac!
Gut down swinging, two down.
And it's up to Casey Blake to get us some insurance. You are DUE, Casey! You are OVERdue!
Ahhhh! So close to ending the game!! Gah!
And we go to the bottom of the 9th, and I think I have to watch at least part of it.
I think we'll see Borowski
BOTTOM 9th
I can't...I can't even believe that.
Joe Borowski was Joe Borowski.
AND WE FREAKING WON IT!!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Sunday, October 7, 2007
ALDS Game 3 In Game Blog
Stat of the game to start:
The Indians also made a lineup change, putting Trot Nixon in right field. Nixon's combined numbers in the regular season and playoffs against New York starter Roger Clemens were striking: 15-for-39 (.385) with four homers, five doubles, eight walks and 12 RBIs.
TOP 1st
Grady leads off and he's even at 1-1. Clemens seems to be dealing quickly.
Sizemore with a dribbler to second, one down.
AC up and gets behind 0-1. And Cabrera safe on an error by Jeter!
But AC hurt after hitting Juicer Giambi.
Ruled an infield hit!? That's a crock, but whatever.
I'm so tired of the stats they give on the Yankees in post-season play. They've been to the post-season so many times, that you can find a case when they were 0-1, 0-2, 1-1, whatever and won the series. It doesn't mean anything other than that they've been to the post-season a lot.
Pronk up, takes the first pitch for a ball. And another. I'm kind of surprised at how Clemens is pitching Pronk.
Hafner now ahead 3-0. Taking all the way for the first strike.
Big swinging strike and the count is full. Pronk fouls off the next pitch still full.
Ball four!! Pronk on with a walk, two on!
Victor up to bat. He takes the first pitch high for a ball. Let's go, Victor. Let's make an early statement. We need to get to that bullpen.
Ball two low. Strike one down the center. We're looking relaxed up there, which is good. Hopefully Victor can get ahold of one.
Fouls off the next pitch, 2-2. Pitch away and another full count. Good stuff, guys. You like to see us working the count. You'd also like to see us get a hit here.
Victor flies out to left. Two down.
Let's go, Garko. Takes first pitch for a strike. Man, I'm nervous. I'm probably more nervous than the first two games.
Ball in the dirt, 1-1.
GARKO!! Single up the middle drives in AC!!
Hell yes. HELL YES.
Jhonny up. Let's get this going. Let's keep the presure on.
First pitch ball. Jhonny swinging for a 1-1 count. A big hit from Jhonny would mean a lot here.
Ball low and JP's got a 2-1 count. Let's go. Let's go, Jhonny. Fouls away a good pitch and we're even, 2-2.
Grounder to short and Jeter doesn't have to make a throw to get an out, three down.
BOTTOM 1st
Okay, Jake. Here we go. We all know this could go one of two ways. Good god, I'm nervous.
Damon up, Jake even at 1-1. Jake looks pumped up. Foul ball and he's ahead, 1-2.
Single through the hole. Double play ball in order!
Man, I don't know if I can handle this. I don't know if I can watch. God, I hate the Yankees. I hate their fans, too, for that matter.
Jeter bunts, but it rolls just foul. Not for nothing, but it seems like a sign of desperation when a line-up like the Yankees tries to bunt to get on base.
JHONNY!! Peralta takes the double play ball like he does it in his sleep!
Okay, let's get Abreu now, Jake. Let's get through this inning quick. That would be nice.
Close third pitch and it's a 2-1 count. Fucknuts, now it's 3-1.
Grounder to Garko, over to Jake and we're out of the inning!
TOP 2nd
Kenny Lofton leads off the second as we listen to the ground rules at Yankee Stadium. Kenny tries to lay down a lead off bunt, but it goes foul.
I would love to see us keep up the attack. Clemens has already thrown 30 pitches.
Kenny takes another ball and strike and it's 2-2.
Ball outside and we're full.
Kenny pops out to Jeter, one down.
This is what we paid Trot Nixon for and he's getting the appropriate boo's as he comes to the plate.
Takes ball one. Let's go, Trot. Takes ball two. Good stuff. I'm actually really glad we've got Trot in there. I feel good about this.
OH MY GOD. I should feel good about more things!! NIXON GOES DEEP!
Oh my god. That's just awesome and hilarious.
Casey down 1-2. Let's keep it on, Casey. Let's go.
Grounder to second, two down. Good hustle by Casey down the line, though. I know that's an odd comment to make, but it's something I noticed.
Grady to the plate. Let's go, Grady. Let's keep this alive. The only downside of that homer is that it came on the second pitch. We need to make Clemens work some more.
And Grady singles into right!! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Grady!
AC up to the plate now. Does Grady go? He's got a good lead going.
Grady steals second!! Runner in scoring position! Nice dodge by Grady.
AC down 1-2. Let's go, Cabrera. Let's get another one in this inning. You're due for a big hit, I think.
Takes low, 2-2. I'm trying to manufacture my good feeling again. Good patience by AC. Let's go.
Flies out to the other Cabrera, three down.
BOTTOM 2nd
A-rod up, starts off with a foul, now Jake's behind 2-1. Easy, Jake. Nice and easy.
And he's behind 3-1. Not a good sign. We can't let them back into this game.
Jake goes right at him! Fouls it off and we're even, 2-2.
A-rod singles to the left side. The crowd is back into it.
Double play ball in order.
Big at bat here. Jake gets hosed on the first pitch and he's behind 1-0. It's amazing that my two least favorite Yankees bat next to each other in the order.
DOUBLE PLAY!! God bless you, Jake Westbrook! That is what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Jake's behind on Juicer, 1-0. Let's go, Jake.
Shift played perfectly and we're out of the inning!!
TOP 3rd
Man, we need to keep it going. We need to keep up the attack. Clemens is pushing 50 pitches already!
Pronk up, takes a first pitch strike. He's hitting .300 in the post season. That's a great sign for us. Fouls off the second pitch and he's behind 0-2. Let's go, Travis.
Torre comes to the mound to...check on Clemens? Not sure what that was about, but he's back to throwing.
Ball outside and it's 1-2. Ball away and it's 2-2. Good AB, Pronk. Let's go. Let's get the payoff.
Nice! Pronk gets it back to full! Let's get what you've worked for, Pronk. It's all yours.
WALK!! That was a GREAT AB. That is exactly what we need to keep doing.
Victor is due! I can feel it. Victor is due. And please no double play ball. I had to say it. Let's go, Victor.
Fouled off the first pitch and Victor is down 0-1. For as much composure as the Tribe is showing, I don't think any of them are sitting down. I think they're all on the steps.
Called second strike. Good pitch, actually. Let's work it back, Victor. Let's work it back and make it happen.
Ball in the dirt for ball one. Good stuff. Make him work. Let's get it. You're due, Victor! And outside for 2-2.
Outside for ball three and we're full! Torre sends Posada out to talk to Clemens aka stall for Hughes. The rookie pitched well against us in Game 1, but gave up a homer to Garko, so he could be a mixed bag.
Let's make him work here, Victor.
Dammit. Victor goes down swinging. That was the pitch to hit, too. I think Clemens got lucky on that one.
Torre comes out again.
Well, as my friend Matt just said, you have to wonder if this pitching change will lead to a line-up change for the Indians. Don't get me wrong, Trot, you're forever in my heart for that homer, but we might be better off going with someone else.
Wow, I just realized Hughes' first hitter is Garko! God, Garko, it would be great for you to pick up where you left off against this guy.
Garko down 0-1 to start. Wild pitch sends Pronk to second!! Count 1-1 now.
Garko grounds out to short stop, two down, Pronk still on second.
Let's go, Jhonny. I think you're due for a big hit. You were robbed of being the hero Friday night. I think you've got karma on your side.
Swing and a miss for a 0-1 count.
JHONNY DOUBLES INTO RIGHT!! Pronk comes home to score!!
And another runner in scoring position with two outs! And Lofton up to the plate!
Let's go, Kenny. Let's get to this kid. Nice, starts off 2-0.
Lofton fouls one off and we're 2-1. Let's keep it going, Kenny. Big swing and we're even, 2-2.
Low for a ball and we're full. Let's go. Let's go. Kenny fouls off another.
Man, another good AB for the Tribe. This is great to see.
C'mon, Kenny. Let's go.
Flies out to left, three down.
BOTTOM 3rd
Okay, Jake, let's keep the momentum up. He's got the bottom of the order here. This line-up makes me so nervous.
Jake gets a called strike and it's 2-1. I worry about Jake starting from behind so much. Foul makes it 2-2.
Ball outside and it's full.
Bloop grounder and Matsui singles.
Double play ball in order.
Jake facing Cano now and starts behind 1-0. Jake is scaring me with this. Again, he's 2-0. He's given up three lead off hits and has started 2-0 on the first two batters this inning. That's worrying.
Jake throws it in there for a strike and it's 2-1. Let's go, Jake. I know you have it in you. Ball outside and it's 3-1. Jake's going to give me an ulcer here. I'd love a double play ball, but I'll settle for an out. Let's just get the first one down.
Foul ball and it's full. Let's go, Jake. Let's get him here.
Okay, grounder to Garko and we get an out. They move the runner, but we still get an out. I'll take it. He's going to have to do more work this inning than he has so far, though. That makes me anxious.
This is killing me. Jake starts off behind again, but a foul ball makes it even, 1-1.
Dammit. This is a double edged sword. The double play is there to save us, but now they have two aboard. GAH!!
We can't lose the momentum. We cannot let this crowd or this team back into it. C'mon, Jake, just pitch your game. Don't let them pull you out of it.
We have to keep Cabrera close to first so we can get the double play ball. This is one of those times when it would be nice if Jake were a strikeout pitcher. But he's not, so we need the double play ball. We really need it.
Fouled off and we're 1-1.
Jake behind 3-1 now and if I'm not updating as much it's because I'm terrified.
DAMMIT. Damon singles and the Yankees score.
Jake has to get out of this with only one run given up. He HAS to.
BOOYAH!! Jake gets out of it with ANOTHER double play ball!
We gave up a run, but I'll take it.
TOP 4th
Trot still in there with a 2-1 count, fouls it off for 2-2.
Trot works a full count. Another good AB for the Tribe. Let's go, Trot. Make the most of this chance.
A dribbler foul and Trot's still alive.
Trot goes down swinging.
Casey up and it's 1-1. Casey's due here. He fouls off another and it's 1-2. Let's go, Casey. We need to keep them out of the dug out.
High fly to center and there's two down. But we're back to the top of the order.
Grady with a big swing and he's behind 0-1.
Pitch outside and we're back to even. Let's go, Grady. A hit here would be big.
Big curve and Grady's down 1-2.
This crowd is back into it. I'm not a fan of that.
Grady looks at a ball and we're back to even, 2-2. Let's go, Grady. Keep it going.
Fights off a pitch, sends it foul, stays alive. I wonder how many balls we've fouled off as a team so far today? It's a great thing to see. A hit would be even better.
Grady fouls off another one. Let's go, Grady. Let's go!
Ball down low and it's full! You have to love our line-up doing this today. They are really grinding these pitchers.
And ANOTHER foul! Grady has earned a base or two with this one. He's worked for it.
Called strike three. That was debatable. Three down and we go to the bottom of the 4th.
BOTTOM 4th
Jake trying to get ahead this inning, starts off with a ball, but comes back with two strikes. Good sign.
Weakly hit to Westbrook who makes the play, one down.
A-rod hits the first pitch he sees high into left and Kenny catches it, two down.
Split screen between the game and the Yankees hitting coach as Jake goes 2-0 on Posada. Jake is killing me with this. He's absolutely killing me with this.
Posada fouls off and we're 2-1. And now it's 3-1. Posada fouls another one off and it's full. Let's go, Jake.
Yes! Groundball to second! Three down and we're out of the inning!!
TOP 5th
AC up, takes a strike and a ball.
Damn, Cabrera got a hanging breaking ball, but didn't get enough of it. He flies out to right, one down.
Pronk up. I would love to see Pronk go deep here. He looks ready for it. Takes a first pitch strike.
And we're even at 1-1. Pronk with a blazing shot that almost took Cano's arm off! We've got a guy on base and Victor coming up.
Let's go Victor. He's definitely due and he draws a first pitch ball.
Damn. Victor pops up to center, two down.
Okay, fine, Garko is due! I will say that before every hitter since it seemed to work for Jhonny.
Good lord, Garko is hitting .444 in the post-season. And he takes a strike, which is what he's done pretty much every time up.
Gark fouls off the second pitch and he's down 0-2. Let's go, Garko. Let's make him work. Let's keep it going.
Fouls another off to stay alive. That's what I like to see.
Garko strikes out looking and we go to the bottom of the 5th.
BOTTOM 5th
I think this is a big inning for Jake. It was the bottom of the order that gave him problems before. He needs to stay ahead of these hitters.
Juicer leads off the inning with the Tribe working the shift and Jake throws a first pitch strike! Nice.
Jake throws inside for a ball, but then gets a low strike, which might have been a make up for that last pitch. And Juicer goes down swinging!! Jake gets his first K!
Split screen with Carl Willis, or at least coming up in a minute as he's full screen now.
Willis clearly not the charm that John Adams was and Matsui singles into left. Matsui is a thorn in Jake's side today.
Double play ball in order.
DAMMIT. Cano doubles into left and there are runners on second and third with only one out. I said it before, the bottom of the order is killing Jake. I don't know why.
I can't look again. I don't see how we get out of this without giving up at least one run. Where's my Jack Daniels?
Do you walk Cabrera to set up the double play ball? Can you take that risk for the top of the order? I don't think we can. Fuck.
DAMMIT. Cabrera singles and they score again. What is the deal with the bottom of the order? Why can't he get them out?
He's got to get a double play ball here. He really does.
And that would be the opposite of a double play ball.
FUCK.
And now we're down.
I've said it all damn game, he's been behind on every single batter. You can't do that with the Yankees. You just can't.
TOP 6th
As much as I value the double play ball, it's always driven me nuts that he pitches from behind. Pitch strikes!
Okay, can't dwell. We need Jhonny to get us going, get us back into it. I suppose it's only two runs.
Jhonny starts us off with a single!!
Kenny comes up. Let's keep it going, Lofton. Let's go.
Hey, bug joke! How clever.
Lofton takes a ball low. Let's go, Kenny. Let's get it going.
Kenny down 1-2 now after two foul balls. We need baserunners, Kenny. Let's go.
Lofton down on strikes.
Nixon still in and comes up. Takes a strike, then a ball, 1-1.
Hughes gets the low strike called and it's 2-2. I'd argue that call, but Westbrook has been getting it, too.
Full count on Nixon now. Let's go, Trot. Let's keep it alive. Let's keep it going.
Trot fights it off, stays alive. And another one. At least we're sticking with our game plan. We don't seem to be pressing too much yet. Let's go, Trot.
It's up to Casey now to keep it going. Streaky, streaky Casey has to keep us moving.
And he flies out to right.
BOTTOM 6th
A-rod leads off the inning with a single. Jhonny wasn't going to get him regardless of the throw.
Of course, the first guy Jake has actually been ahead of gets a hit.
Fultz is in and who the hell knows what we're going to get from him.
Oh, he gives up a single and there are now two on and no out.
This doesn't look good. I'm sorry to say it, but it really doesn't look good.
And I was right.
The Indians also made a lineup change, putting Trot Nixon in right field. Nixon's combined numbers in the regular season and playoffs against New York starter Roger Clemens were striking: 15-for-39 (.385) with four homers, five doubles, eight walks and 12 RBIs.
TOP 1st
Grady leads off and he's even at 1-1. Clemens seems to be dealing quickly.
Sizemore with a dribbler to second, one down.
AC up and gets behind 0-1. And Cabrera safe on an error by Jeter!
But AC hurt after hitting Juicer Giambi.
Ruled an infield hit!? That's a crock, but whatever.
I'm so tired of the stats they give on the Yankees in post-season play. They've been to the post-season so many times, that you can find a case when they were 0-1, 0-2, 1-1, whatever and won the series. It doesn't mean anything other than that they've been to the post-season a lot.
Pronk up, takes the first pitch for a ball. And another. I'm kind of surprised at how Clemens is pitching Pronk.
Hafner now ahead 3-0. Taking all the way for the first strike.
Big swinging strike and the count is full. Pronk fouls off the next pitch still full.
Ball four!! Pronk on with a walk, two on!
Victor up to bat. He takes the first pitch high for a ball. Let's go, Victor. Let's make an early statement. We need to get to that bullpen.
Ball two low. Strike one down the center. We're looking relaxed up there, which is good. Hopefully Victor can get ahold of one.
Fouls off the next pitch, 2-2. Pitch away and another full count. Good stuff, guys. You like to see us working the count. You'd also like to see us get a hit here.
Victor flies out to left. Two down.
Let's go, Garko. Takes first pitch for a strike. Man, I'm nervous. I'm probably more nervous than the first two games.
Ball in the dirt, 1-1.
GARKO!! Single up the middle drives in AC!!
Hell yes. HELL YES.
Jhonny up. Let's get this going. Let's keep the presure on.
First pitch ball. Jhonny swinging for a 1-1 count. A big hit from Jhonny would mean a lot here.
Ball low and JP's got a 2-1 count. Let's go. Let's go, Jhonny. Fouls away a good pitch and we're even, 2-2.
Grounder to short and Jeter doesn't have to make a throw to get an out, three down.
BOTTOM 1st
Okay, Jake. Here we go. We all know this could go one of two ways. Good god, I'm nervous.
Damon up, Jake even at 1-1. Jake looks pumped up. Foul ball and he's ahead, 1-2.
Single through the hole. Double play ball in order!
Man, I don't know if I can handle this. I don't know if I can watch. God, I hate the Yankees. I hate their fans, too, for that matter.
Jeter bunts, but it rolls just foul. Not for nothing, but it seems like a sign of desperation when a line-up like the Yankees tries to bunt to get on base.
JHONNY!! Peralta takes the double play ball like he does it in his sleep!
Okay, let's get Abreu now, Jake. Let's get through this inning quick. That would be nice.
Close third pitch and it's a 2-1 count. Fucknuts, now it's 3-1.
Grounder to Garko, over to Jake and we're out of the inning!
TOP 2nd
Kenny Lofton leads off the second as we listen to the ground rules at Yankee Stadium. Kenny tries to lay down a lead off bunt, but it goes foul.
I would love to see us keep up the attack. Clemens has already thrown 30 pitches.
Kenny takes another ball and strike and it's 2-2.
Ball outside and we're full.
Kenny pops out to Jeter, one down.
This is what we paid Trot Nixon for and he's getting the appropriate boo's as he comes to the plate.
Takes ball one. Let's go, Trot. Takes ball two. Good stuff. I'm actually really glad we've got Trot in there. I feel good about this.
OH MY GOD. I should feel good about more things!! NIXON GOES DEEP!
Oh my god. That's just awesome and hilarious.
Casey down 1-2. Let's keep it on, Casey. Let's go.
Grounder to second, two down. Good hustle by Casey down the line, though. I know that's an odd comment to make, but it's something I noticed.
Grady to the plate. Let's go, Grady. Let's keep this alive. The only downside of that homer is that it came on the second pitch. We need to make Clemens work some more.
And Grady singles into right!! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Grady!
AC up to the plate now. Does Grady go? He's got a good lead going.
Grady steals second!! Runner in scoring position! Nice dodge by Grady.
AC down 1-2. Let's go, Cabrera. Let's get another one in this inning. You're due for a big hit, I think.
Takes low, 2-2. I'm trying to manufacture my good feeling again. Good patience by AC. Let's go.
Flies out to the other Cabrera, three down.
BOTTOM 2nd
A-rod up, starts off with a foul, now Jake's behind 2-1. Easy, Jake. Nice and easy.
And he's behind 3-1. Not a good sign. We can't let them back into this game.
Jake goes right at him! Fouls it off and we're even, 2-2.
A-rod singles to the left side. The crowd is back into it.
Double play ball in order.
Big at bat here. Jake gets hosed on the first pitch and he's behind 1-0. It's amazing that my two least favorite Yankees bat next to each other in the order.
DOUBLE PLAY!! God bless you, Jake Westbrook! That is what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Jake's behind on Juicer, 1-0. Let's go, Jake.
Shift played perfectly and we're out of the inning!!
TOP 3rd
Man, we need to keep it going. We need to keep up the attack. Clemens is pushing 50 pitches already!
Pronk up, takes a first pitch strike. He's hitting .300 in the post season. That's a great sign for us. Fouls off the second pitch and he's behind 0-2. Let's go, Travis.
Torre comes to the mound to...check on Clemens? Not sure what that was about, but he's back to throwing.
Ball outside and it's 1-2. Ball away and it's 2-2. Good AB, Pronk. Let's go. Let's get the payoff.
Nice! Pronk gets it back to full! Let's get what you've worked for, Pronk. It's all yours.
WALK!! That was a GREAT AB. That is exactly what we need to keep doing.
Victor is due! I can feel it. Victor is due. And please no double play ball. I had to say it. Let's go, Victor.
Fouled off the first pitch and Victor is down 0-1. For as much composure as the Tribe is showing, I don't think any of them are sitting down. I think they're all on the steps.
Called second strike. Good pitch, actually. Let's work it back, Victor. Let's work it back and make it happen.
Ball in the dirt for ball one. Good stuff. Make him work. Let's get it. You're due, Victor! And outside for 2-2.
Outside for ball three and we're full! Torre sends Posada out to talk to Clemens aka stall for Hughes. The rookie pitched well against us in Game 1, but gave up a homer to Garko, so he could be a mixed bag.
Let's make him work here, Victor.
Dammit. Victor goes down swinging. That was the pitch to hit, too. I think Clemens got lucky on that one.
Torre comes out again.
Well, as my friend Matt just said, you have to wonder if this pitching change will lead to a line-up change for the Indians. Don't get me wrong, Trot, you're forever in my heart for that homer, but we might be better off going with someone else.
Wow, I just realized Hughes' first hitter is Garko! God, Garko, it would be great for you to pick up where you left off against this guy.
Garko down 0-1 to start. Wild pitch sends Pronk to second!! Count 1-1 now.
Garko grounds out to short stop, two down, Pronk still on second.
Let's go, Jhonny. I think you're due for a big hit. You were robbed of being the hero Friday night. I think you've got karma on your side.
Swing and a miss for a 0-1 count.
JHONNY DOUBLES INTO RIGHT!! Pronk comes home to score!!
And another runner in scoring position with two outs! And Lofton up to the plate!
Let's go, Kenny. Let's get to this kid. Nice, starts off 2-0.
Lofton fouls one off and we're 2-1. Let's keep it going, Kenny. Big swing and we're even, 2-2.
Low for a ball and we're full. Let's go. Let's go. Kenny fouls off another.
Man, another good AB for the Tribe. This is great to see.
C'mon, Kenny. Let's go.
Flies out to left, three down.
BOTTOM 3rd
Okay, Jake, let's keep the momentum up. He's got the bottom of the order here. This line-up makes me so nervous.
Jake gets a called strike and it's 2-1. I worry about Jake starting from behind so much. Foul makes it 2-2.
Ball outside and it's full.
Bloop grounder and Matsui singles.
Double play ball in order.
Jake facing Cano now and starts behind 1-0. Jake is scaring me with this. Again, he's 2-0. He's given up three lead off hits and has started 2-0 on the first two batters this inning. That's worrying.
Jake throws it in there for a strike and it's 2-1. Let's go, Jake. I know you have it in you. Ball outside and it's 3-1. Jake's going to give me an ulcer here. I'd love a double play ball, but I'll settle for an out. Let's just get the first one down.
Foul ball and it's full. Let's go, Jake. Let's get him here.
Okay, grounder to Garko and we get an out. They move the runner, but we still get an out. I'll take it. He's going to have to do more work this inning than he has so far, though. That makes me anxious.
This is killing me. Jake starts off behind again, but a foul ball makes it even, 1-1.
Dammit. This is a double edged sword. The double play is there to save us, but now they have two aboard. GAH!!
We can't lose the momentum. We cannot let this crowd or this team back into it. C'mon, Jake, just pitch your game. Don't let them pull you out of it.
We have to keep Cabrera close to first so we can get the double play ball. This is one of those times when it would be nice if Jake were a strikeout pitcher. But he's not, so we need the double play ball. We really need it.
Fouled off and we're 1-1.
Jake behind 3-1 now and if I'm not updating as much it's because I'm terrified.
DAMMIT. Damon singles and the Yankees score.
Jake has to get out of this with only one run given up. He HAS to.
BOOYAH!! Jake gets out of it with ANOTHER double play ball!
We gave up a run, but I'll take it.
TOP 4th
Trot still in there with a 2-1 count, fouls it off for 2-2.
Trot works a full count. Another good AB for the Tribe. Let's go, Trot. Make the most of this chance.
A dribbler foul and Trot's still alive.
Trot goes down swinging.
Casey up and it's 1-1. Casey's due here. He fouls off another and it's 1-2. Let's go, Casey. We need to keep them out of the dug out.
High fly to center and there's two down. But we're back to the top of the order.
Grady with a big swing and he's behind 0-1.
Pitch outside and we're back to even. Let's go, Grady. A hit here would be big.
Big curve and Grady's down 1-2.
This crowd is back into it. I'm not a fan of that.
Grady looks at a ball and we're back to even, 2-2. Let's go, Grady. Keep it going.
Fights off a pitch, sends it foul, stays alive. I wonder how many balls we've fouled off as a team so far today? It's a great thing to see. A hit would be even better.
Grady fouls off another one. Let's go, Grady. Let's go!
Ball down low and it's full! You have to love our line-up doing this today. They are really grinding these pitchers.
And ANOTHER foul! Grady has earned a base or two with this one. He's worked for it.
Called strike three. That was debatable. Three down and we go to the bottom of the 4th.
BOTTOM 4th
Jake trying to get ahead this inning, starts off with a ball, but comes back with two strikes. Good sign.
Weakly hit to Westbrook who makes the play, one down.
A-rod hits the first pitch he sees high into left and Kenny catches it, two down.
Split screen between the game and the Yankees hitting coach as Jake goes 2-0 on Posada. Jake is killing me with this. He's absolutely killing me with this.
Posada fouls off and we're 2-1. And now it's 3-1. Posada fouls another one off and it's full. Let's go, Jake.
Yes! Groundball to second! Three down and we're out of the inning!!
TOP 5th
AC up, takes a strike and a ball.
Damn, Cabrera got a hanging breaking ball, but didn't get enough of it. He flies out to right, one down.
Pronk up. I would love to see Pronk go deep here. He looks ready for it. Takes a first pitch strike.
And we're even at 1-1. Pronk with a blazing shot that almost took Cano's arm off! We've got a guy on base and Victor coming up.
Let's go Victor. He's definitely due and he draws a first pitch ball.
Damn. Victor pops up to center, two down.
Okay, fine, Garko is due! I will say that before every hitter since it seemed to work for Jhonny.
Good lord, Garko is hitting .444 in the post-season. And he takes a strike, which is what he's done pretty much every time up.
Gark fouls off the second pitch and he's down 0-2. Let's go, Garko. Let's make him work. Let's keep it going.
Fouls another off to stay alive. That's what I like to see.
Garko strikes out looking and we go to the bottom of the 5th.
BOTTOM 5th
I think this is a big inning for Jake. It was the bottom of the order that gave him problems before. He needs to stay ahead of these hitters.
Juicer leads off the inning with the Tribe working the shift and Jake throws a first pitch strike! Nice.
Jake throws inside for a ball, but then gets a low strike, which might have been a make up for that last pitch. And Juicer goes down swinging!! Jake gets his first K!
Split screen with Carl Willis, or at least coming up in a minute as he's full screen now.
Willis clearly not the charm that John Adams was and Matsui singles into left. Matsui is a thorn in Jake's side today.
Double play ball in order.
DAMMIT. Cano doubles into left and there are runners on second and third with only one out. I said it before, the bottom of the order is killing Jake. I don't know why.
I can't look again. I don't see how we get out of this without giving up at least one run. Where's my Jack Daniels?
Do you walk Cabrera to set up the double play ball? Can you take that risk for the top of the order? I don't think we can. Fuck.
DAMMIT. Cabrera singles and they score again. What is the deal with the bottom of the order? Why can't he get them out?
He's got to get a double play ball here. He really does.
And that would be the opposite of a double play ball.
FUCK.
And now we're down.
I've said it all damn game, he's been behind on every single batter. You can't do that with the Yankees. You just can't.
TOP 6th
As much as I value the double play ball, it's always driven me nuts that he pitches from behind. Pitch strikes!
Okay, can't dwell. We need Jhonny to get us going, get us back into it. I suppose it's only two runs.
Jhonny starts us off with a single!!
Kenny comes up. Let's keep it going, Lofton. Let's go.
Hey, bug joke! How clever.
Lofton takes a ball low. Let's go, Kenny. Let's get it going.
Kenny down 1-2 now after two foul balls. We need baserunners, Kenny. Let's go.
Lofton down on strikes.
Nixon still in and comes up. Takes a strike, then a ball, 1-1.
Hughes gets the low strike called and it's 2-2. I'd argue that call, but Westbrook has been getting it, too.
Full count on Nixon now. Let's go, Trot. Let's keep it alive. Let's keep it going.
Trot fights it off, stays alive. And another one. At least we're sticking with our game plan. We don't seem to be pressing too much yet. Let's go, Trot.
It's up to Casey now to keep it going. Streaky, streaky Casey has to keep us moving.
And he flies out to right.
BOTTOM 6th
A-rod leads off the inning with a single. Jhonny wasn't going to get him regardless of the throw.
Of course, the first guy Jake has actually been ahead of gets a hit.
Fultz is in and who the hell knows what we're going to get from him.
Oh, he gives up a single and there are now two on and no out.
This doesn't look good. I'm sorry to say it, but it really doesn't look good.
And I was right.
Friday, October 5, 2007
ALDS Game 2 In-Game Blog
Here we go!
TOP 1st
One, two, three go the Yankees! Carmona is doing exactly what he wants to do. Unreal. Just...unreal.
BOTTOM 1st
Grady leads off with a single!! Hot damn, Grady! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Interesting that Grady got on board to lead off the game last night, too. Cabrera looking to bunt and move Grady over. I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here, but let's not forget that Toronto stole home on Petite earlier this year...
Wow. Cabrera grounds into a double play just like last night. That's just eerie.
Pronk behind 0-2 just like last night. Petite seems to be more in command than Wang was last night, though.
Fouls off his third pitch. Good pitch inside gets Hafner looking.
TOP 2nd
A-rod pops up on the first pitch. Good stuff from Carmona, although the airborn outs are a little disconcerting, as he's a groundball pitcher. Still, I think those are coming on his change-up and not his sinker, which is a good sign that he's mixing things up at will.
Matsui, whose name I have to assume I'm misspelling every time, comes to the plate and is down 1-2. The crazed Cleveland fans make some noise as Carmona JUST misses.
Fausto nibbles and gets the count to full. We could see that sinker here...but he walks Matsui. Time for the first double play of the night, I think.
Posada gets a first pitch ball, I think the first hitter to get a first pitch ball from Fausto so far today. Carmona gets the count even, 1-1.
Fouled off and now Carmona's ahead. Again, I think we'll see the sinker here, either for the K or for the double play ball. And Posada fights it off for another foul.
Wow, that was a close pitch. I'm kind of surprised Posada took that, but I think he was fooled. And a ball in the dirt gets the count to full. We need something here...
YES!! There it is!! Fausto gets the double play ball!!
BOTTOM 2nd
Victor leads off the inning and takes a ball. And a second. Let's get something started here, Victor...
Victor pops up to Posada in foul territory.
Garko gets a hitters count, but grounds out to Jeter. Great interview with Queen Lateefa (sp?) who mentioned respect with regards to LeBron last night. The national media has not been kind to him today, with good reason.
Peralta 1-1, trying to get something going.
Jhonny works it to 3-1 and Bob Brenley has just decided that the Indians are stealing signs even though we have no one on base. That's nice.
Jhonny with a walk! Lofton up to the plate and the crowd goes crazy. It really is great having this link to the 90's. It's just nice symmetry. It would be even nicer if we won the World Series.
Petite drops a great pitch in on Kenny, 0-1. Big swing makes it 0-2.
I've just learned that there are two t's in Pettitte both times. That looks really wrong. That can't be right, can it?
Lofton breaks his bat and sends it foul.
Jhonny steals! Wow. Runner in scoring position now for Kenny, 2-2 count and he fouls off another one.
GAH!! Kenny rips one to center and Jhonny is cut down by a mile heading home.
TOP 3rd
Cano starts off with two balls, which makes me nervous.
Cabrera with a great play at second! One down.
The other Cabrera starts off with a ball. I preferred it when everyone started down 0-2, not up 2-0.
Wicked pitch to make it 2-1. Another pitch that was probably great but shown from behind the hitter gets the count to even.
Bob Brenley, who earlier accused the Tribe of stealing signs, has now announced to the world what signs the Tribe is using.
1-0 Yankees on a Cabrera home run. The Yankees seem to be celebrating as if they just won the game.
Boy, I wonder if anything strange happened to Doug Minkwhatever yesterday. And flies out to center.
Fausto going right after Damon. He doesn't seem to be too rattled by the homer. A foul ball gets Carmona ahead.
Dribbler to Fausto and we're out of the inning. Time to get the offense going!
BOTTOM 3rd
Michaels up, making his post-season debut. Takes two pitches for balls.
Michaels sends it to right for a stand up double!! And we're in business!
Casey comes up looking to move Michaels over. Gets a first pitch strike. Second pitch, knocks it to the right side and moves Michaels to third!
Grady to the plate, which is probably not our first choice. Grady strikes out a lot. But not so far in the post-season, so let's hope this is the new Grady.
Damn, Grady hits to first and Michaels is stuck at third still, two down.
But now get AC to the plate and I like our chances here. Count's at 2-1 now. Let's go, Cabrera, let's get this run in...
And now we're full. Here we go...
AC goes down looking. Damn.
TOP 4th
Jeter leads off with a single. We need another double play ball...
...but we get a hard out and a great play by Garko at first!
Not liking this situation here, A-rod up with a runner in scoring position. There's a decent chance Fausto will pitch around him, get him to nibble. He's down 2-0, if it goes to 3-0 I think they'll just walk him in hopes of getting a double play ball.
But he fouls off the third pitch, so Carmona can stay on him.
Nice pitch gets the count even. I wonder what Fausto will do here...
How 'bout a strikeout??? Hell yeah!! Great pitch, Carmona!
Now, let's get out of this inning and get back up to bat. I think we can get something started at the bottom of this inning.
Man, he's behind on Matsui, but gets a called strike to go to 2-1. We need this out right here. It would be big to strand a Yankee...
Garko takes it himself and we're out of the inning!! Hot damn!
BOTTOM 4th
Pronk up to lead off the inning. Let's go, Travis, let's get it going...
And he does! Pronk singles to center! Okay, people, let's do this!
Victor up as we're split screened with Shelton. Maybe that's good luck as Victor gets ahead 2-0.
I'm a little worried here. Victor hits into a decent number of double plays. However, he just hit into the stands, 2-1.
It's a good sign that Garko is up this inning. He made a key play last inning, so karma is on his side.
Victor has it at 3-1 now. Let's go...Big rip by Victor and we're full. We need something here, we really do. We need to take advantage of our chances. Pettitte's only at fifty pitches, so we need to make him work.
Crazy ass play and Hafner's at second! Wow. If Pettitte hadn't hit that with his glove, that was two. But instead it's a crazy sac bunt deal without bunting. And now we need Garko to step it up.
Garko takes the first pitch for a strike. We need something here, we really do. I'm worried about the last two to three innings against the Yankees. We need to score before then.
Garko grounds out to Jeter again and Pronk is still stuck at second. This is getting frustrating.
Let's go, Jhonny. Let's go...
Down 1-2. Man, this is so frustrating. Jhonny pops it foul and he's still alive.
Full count now. Here we go...
Down swinging. DAMMIT.
TOP 5th
Fausto ahead 0-1 on Posada.
I'll be honest, this game is killing me. Sure, the top of the fifth last night took a year or two off my life, but this one is peeling away the years. Carmona is doing great, but we need to help him out a bit with our bats.
Full count now and Posada fouls off a sinker. Carmona's pitch count would suggest he can go through six. He walks Posada and it's time for a double play ball -- it's odd that he's only gotten one so far today.
I'm nervous. I don't like being behind at this point, let alone having the lead off guy aboard.
WOW. Fausto Carmona does it again -- double play ball and the bases are clear.
Now Cabrera comes up and I'd expect Fausto to go after him. Let's go, Carmona, let's get him...
And Cabrera gets Cabrera on a grounder and we're clear! *whew*
BOTTOM 5th
Hot damn! Kenny drives the first pitch he sees into right for a single and we have ANOTHER lead off runner!
Even better, Michaels up to bat, and he's got great numbers against Pettitte. He's also a former NL guy, which means he can bunt.
God bless America, this is intense.
NICE BUNT BY MICHAELS!! That's what I like to see!
Okay, Casey, let's go. It's all about momentum, buddy. And he takes a strike because that's what Casey does.
Dammit, Casey down 0-2 just like that. Gwynn actually made a good point -- maybe they should send Kenny?
Meeting at the mound and I might have to pour myself a drink. My liver is not happy about the Indians making the post-season.
Lofton is just messing with Pettitte's head here. Let's hope that works in Casey's favor.
Dammit. Casey flies out to right and it's up to Grady. Fuck me, man. This is so damn frustrating.
Grady has started every at bat from behind. Killing me.
Well, FUCK. Kenny picked off at third. Inning over. DAMMIT!!
TOP 6th
I don't even know what to say anymore. Carmona 1-1 on Doug I-Tripped-Over-A-Camera-Guy.
I've poured myself a drink.
Garko gets more action, one out.
According to the TBS guys, A-rod said to Lofton "I can't believe you fell for that, we got you."
It's hard to believe more people don't like A-rod.
Damon grounds back to Carmona. Two down.
NICE PLAY BY JHONNY!! Three up, three down, and Carmona gets through six with only 75 pitches thrown.
BOTTOM 6th
Grady gets another shot.
Sidenote: They can't change the name of Jacobs Field. I love hearing the national media call it the Jake.
Grady takes a first pitch ball! Nice. Maybe Grady can make something of this second chance.
GRADY GOES THREE!!!
That is what Sizemore means to this team! HOT DAMN!!
Oh, fucknuts. Cabrera taps it back to Pettitte. You know, he was going to show his age at some point.
We still get a few more chances. Let's go, Pronk. Let's make our mark.
Pronk down 0-1 right off the bat. We've got two chances here with Victor on deck.
We are REALLY pressing. Pronk swings at a ball and he's down 0-2. We need to relax (because I clearly cannot).
And Pronk goes down swinging. Man alive, this will be devastating if we don't score.
Victor...he's exactly who I'd want up there right now. He is who I want up there.
Jesus, we're down 0-2. We're going to see Chamberlain soon, too. Man.
Fuck.
Just...fuck.
TOP 7th
Abreu to lead off the inning with a broken bat before he even faces a pitch.
That's pretty freaking hilarious, actually.
And Cabrera makes an error. I think that last AB is in his head. Someone needs to settle him after the inning, assuming we get out of this.
Freaking A-rod. This would kill me. Fausto gets ahead, 0-1.
Carmona ahead 0-2. Let's get this. I'd prefer a double play ball, but I'll take a single out.
STRIKEOUT! Hot damn, good stuff, Fausto.
I can NOT believe how great Fausto has been and the fact that he's in line for a loss right now. It is going to be completely demoralizing to waste a start like this.
Okay, a doubleplay ball would be great here. Fausto behind 2-0.
Garko makes a great play and gets the lead off runner, but no doubleplay. Still, good stuff.
Posada up to bat. Let's get this.
SIZEMORE!!! What a freaking catch!! God bless America, son! That was huge!
BOTTOM 7th
I can't believe it's just the bottom of the 7th. Thank god, though. We need all the chances we can get.
Carmona's only thrown 85 pitches. I imagine he'll be back for the 8th. Who will we see in the 7th from the Yankees?
It's still Pettitte.
Garko up, takes a first pitch strike.
He takes a second pitch strike.
Credit where credit is due. Pettitte has been amazing.
Gimpy McAnkle catches the foul ball, one down.
C'mon, Jhonny, we just need contact, not homers. Okay, we need homers, but let's just focus on contact.
It's 2-1 on Jhonny. He fouls one off to go even.
Wow. Jhonny hits a LONG double! SO close to tying this game!
And, of course, Kenny Lofton is coming to the plate. Dare to dream?
Takes a ball. This is all very familiar...
Walk to Lofton and we see Chamberlain for the first time.
The question is, who will face him first? Michaels? Gut?
It's Gut. He's down 0-1. Let's go, Franklin...
Gut down swinging, Casey flies out to right.
Son of a bitch.
TOP 8th
One pitch, one out for Fausto. I was worried there, that Wedge would pull a Wedge and go to the bullpen.
And now freaking Cabrera is up.
And back to Cabrera again, two down.
Great, the field has been attacked by bugs now. That's lovely.
God, I can't believe we're on the verge of losing perhaps his ONLY start of this series.
1-2 count and the crowd is on its feet! But we go to 2-2.
Man, those bugs look annoying as hell. Now we're at a full count and the announcer just made a horrible pun.
Swing at the bugs! Swing at the bugs!
Another bad pun and a ground out to Cabrera and we're headed to the first three of our last six outs.
BOTTOM 8th
Here we go.
Let's hope those bugs are on our side.
A ball! Is that the first ball he's thrown?
Let's go, Grady. Two balls! Is it...the bugs?
Wow, Grady's at 3-0. This should be interesting...
Walk!
God bless you, bugs.
Wild pitch gets Grady to second! Bunt will move him to third!!
Wow. I can't even believe this.
YES!! AC bunts and Grady is on third!!
Good god, we HAVE to win. We've never bunted this much EVER.
And now...PRONK. It's time. It's time.
Unbelievable. He could not have hit that any better to get out. There is absolutely nowhere else he could have hit that. Jesus.
And Victor with another chance. What freaking luck we've had. We need some karma...
Oh my god. OH MY GOD!!
Grady...TIE GAME. Unreal.
And Garko up with a chance to do some damage.
Garko has a 2-1 count. The bugs are flying. Chamerlain's all over. Give us a meatball...
3-1. C'mon...
Full count. Here we go...here we go...
Walk.
Jhonny up and takes strike one. Of everyone who's been up, he looks the most unfazed by these bugs...
Jhonny fouls it off, 1-2 count. We still haven't had a hit with RISP (aisde from Lofton's).
Jhonny down looking. And we go to the ninth.
TOP 9th
Carmona still in, thankfully. He should be allowed to keep going, as he's only at 95 pitches.
Fausto seemed like he did a good job despite the bugs at the end of the 8th. Hopefully he can keep that up.
Damon grounds to Cabrera and there's one down.
Carmona up 0-2 with pitch number 100.
Jeter fouls off a meatball, it looked like. Carmona's getting anxious, I think. Like I said, this could be his only appearance in this series -- and he gets Jeter swinging!! Two down!!
Dammit, Abreu aboard on an infield hit and freaking A-rod steps up.
I hate moments like this. It seems poetic for A-rod and I don't like that one bit.
I've poured myself another drink.
Let's go Fausto. You've earned this.
Ahead 0-1 on a foul.
"Let's go Fausto! Let's go Fausto!"
Ahead 1-2 now. God, this is killing me. Why must I be such a fan? I'm dropping years on my life left and right.
Dammit, Abreu steals. We need to get A-rod out here. We need to just get him. Count at 2-2 now.
Fouls it off, breaks his bat, still 2-2.
They're showing highlights of A-rod beating us in the ninth early in the season. We need this. It's payback time. We need this. C'mon...
Inside, count is full. I don't know if I can watch.
Where's the remote? Where's the Gameday feed? I can't watch this...it's too much for me and I'm not a strong man!
That four foul balls in this at bat. Good god, this is killing me.
STRIKEOUT!!!!
GOOD GOD.
BOTTOM 9th
And here we go. HERE WE GO.
Lofton to lead off and ready to make amends for getting picked off.
Kenny Lofton is hitting .863 in the post-season. Or at least he was, until he just flied out to center. Time for another one of our rookies to step up...
Gut down 0-1. He's 1 for 1 lifetime against Rivera! Good stuff.
Inside for a ball, 1-1.
Vicious swing, vicious pitch and it's 1-2.
And he goes down and we're down to Casey Blake who...well, he's freaking due is what he is!
I would imagine Perez will pitch the 10th, with a lefty coming up. But let's hope it doesn't get to that point...
Casey takes ball one.
Casey pops out to center and we go to extras.
Time for another drink!
TOP 10th
Pitching isn't the issue tonight, so much as gnat ignoring.
Perez in like I figured, 1-0 on Matsui, who worries me. Then again, I suppose they all worry me at this point.
Perez turns it around, 1-2. Crowd on their feet!
Pop up on the infield, Casey makes the catch. One down.
Posada up and I'm nervous again. On paper, we should be in good shape here, and that always worries me when we look better than the other guys on paper. It's like the kiss of death.
And Perez is up 0-2. A quick inning would be great here and I can't believe I'm even saying such things.
Gut at the warning track, hauls it in, and there's two down.
Cano up now and he pops up to Jhonny and it's three up, three down!!
BOTTOM 10th
Top of the order...here we go...Let's do this!!
Grady behind 0-2 on a strike and a foul. I have a good feeling about this inning. Don't ask me why. It might be the whiskey talking.
Hey, a Major League joke. Go figure.
Grady is fighting. That's a good sign. He's making Rivera work. Even if nothing comes from it, he's setting him up for AC. Good stuff, Grady.
And another foul! That's seven pitches so far.
Nine pitches so far! Grady is doing good work here for AC at least.
Sizemore strikes out but gets on!!
Grady EARNED that base. I don't care if Posada made a bad throw or not, Grady WORKED for that.
AC with a GREAT bunt! Grady at second and Pronk up now!!!
He's due...he's due...he's due...
Pronk down 0-2. He's going to beat the shift. He's going to hit it down the third baseline. I can feel it...
He's worked it back to 2-2. Good god.
Weak grounder to second, but Grady moves 90 feet closer. Now any kind of a single would do it.
And the lead of this team steps up to the plate...
And they walk him which leaves it all up to Garko. It's all up to the rookie. Let's go.
"Let's go Garko! Let's go Garko!"
Please, let's go! PLEASE!
Wow. Garko gets hit, which even I would have to question.
He DID NOT lean in. In fact, Garko pulled back AFTER it hit him. Strange.
And now it's Jhonny, hoping to make up for that single in the top of the inning.
Let's go, JP. It's time to shine.
Jhonny down 1-2 and he strikes out a lot. Dammit. C'mon. I am ready to POP!
And what did I say? He strikes out swining. FUCK!!!!!!
TOP 11th
Perez gets the first out to Gut.
Substitution, Duncan in for Mc-Kay-Vich. Perez up 0-2.
The count goes to 2-2 on a pitch just high.
PERALTA! Makes a NICE throw from the hole to get Duncan, two down!
Damon up, Perez gets ahead 0-1 on a foul. I don't like the look of Damon here.
We're at the four hour mark of this game.
Let's get him, Perez. Let's get him and get into that bullpen.
At 1-2 now and the crowd is up!
STRIKEOUT!!! Hell yeah!
BOTTOM 11th
I keep preaching symmetry. Lofton leads off the inning yet again!
This is what I'm talking about! New pitcher! And Lofton has a 3-0 count. I think he'll take...and he does! WALK!!
Gut up now, probably to bunt. He's gotten five down this year. Fingers crossed.
Gut fouls the first one. One more shot or we send Lofton, I think.
Vizcaino (sp?) is trying to hold Lofton.
Gut is 0-2 and can't bunt, I don't think. He's got to be shitting bricks, honestly. Hell, let him swing away. He's due.
Clearly, they think Lofton's going to go.
Gut 1-2 in a really long AB. Lofton is in his element.
SINGLE!!
Casey with the bunt!! Runners on second and third with one out! GRADY TO THE PLATE!!
And they're going to WALK Grady!!
AC in a position to make up for that dribbler to the mound earlier...
Down 0-2...Oh, god, I can't take much more of this.
DAMMIT
Down to Pronk now.
DAMMIT!!!!!!
Pronk at 3-2. Oh, my god.
GAME WINNER!!!!
I can't...I can't even process what I just watched for four and a half hours...
TOP 1st
One, two, three go the Yankees! Carmona is doing exactly what he wants to do. Unreal. Just...unreal.
BOTTOM 1st
Grady leads off with a single!! Hot damn, Grady! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout!
Interesting that Grady got on board to lead off the game last night, too. Cabrera looking to bunt and move Grady over. I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here, but let's not forget that Toronto stole home on Petite earlier this year...
Wow. Cabrera grounds into a double play just like last night. That's just eerie.
Pronk behind 0-2 just like last night. Petite seems to be more in command than Wang was last night, though.
Fouls off his third pitch. Good pitch inside gets Hafner looking.
TOP 2nd
A-rod pops up on the first pitch. Good stuff from Carmona, although the airborn outs are a little disconcerting, as he's a groundball pitcher. Still, I think those are coming on his change-up and not his sinker, which is a good sign that he's mixing things up at will.
Matsui, whose name I have to assume I'm misspelling every time, comes to the plate and is down 1-2. The crazed Cleveland fans make some noise as Carmona JUST misses.
Fausto nibbles and gets the count to full. We could see that sinker here...but he walks Matsui. Time for the first double play of the night, I think.
Posada gets a first pitch ball, I think the first hitter to get a first pitch ball from Fausto so far today. Carmona gets the count even, 1-1.
Fouled off and now Carmona's ahead. Again, I think we'll see the sinker here, either for the K or for the double play ball. And Posada fights it off for another foul.
Wow, that was a close pitch. I'm kind of surprised Posada took that, but I think he was fooled. And a ball in the dirt gets the count to full. We need something here...
YES!! There it is!! Fausto gets the double play ball!!
BOTTOM 2nd
Victor leads off the inning and takes a ball. And a second. Let's get something started here, Victor...
Victor pops up to Posada in foul territory.
Garko gets a hitters count, but grounds out to Jeter. Great interview with Queen Lateefa (sp?) who mentioned respect with regards to LeBron last night. The national media has not been kind to him today, with good reason.
Peralta 1-1, trying to get something going.
Jhonny works it to 3-1 and Bob Brenley has just decided that the Indians are stealing signs even though we have no one on base. That's nice.
Jhonny with a walk! Lofton up to the plate and the crowd goes crazy. It really is great having this link to the 90's. It's just nice symmetry. It would be even nicer if we won the World Series.
Petite drops a great pitch in on Kenny, 0-1. Big swing makes it 0-2.
I've just learned that there are two t's in Pettitte both times. That looks really wrong. That can't be right, can it?
Lofton breaks his bat and sends it foul.
Jhonny steals! Wow. Runner in scoring position now for Kenny, 2-2 count and he fouls off another one.
GAH!! Kenny rips one to center and Jhonny is cut down by a mile heading home.
TOP 3rd
Cano starts off with two balls, which makes me nervous.
Cabrera with a great play at second! One down.
The other Cabrera starts off with a ball. I preferred it when everyone started down 0-2, not up 2-0.
Wicked pitch to make it 2-1. Another pitch that was probably great but shown from behind the hitter gets the count to even.
Bob Brenley, who earlier accused the Tribe of stealing signs, has now announced to the world what signs the Tribe is using.
1-0 Yankees on a Cabrera home run. The Yankees seem to be celebrating as if they just won the game.
Boy, I wonder if anything strange happened to Doug Minkwhatever yesterday. And flies out to center.
Fausto going right after Damon. He doesn't seem to be too rattled by the homer. A foul ball gets Carmona ahead.
Dribbler to Fausto and we're out of the inning. Time to get the offense going!
BOTTOM 3rd
Michaels up, making his post-season debut. Takes two pitches for balls.
Michaels sends it to right for a stand up double!! And we're in business!
Casey comes up looking to move Michaels over. Gets a first pitch strike. Second pitch, knocks it to the right side and moves Michaels to third!
Grady to the plate, which is probably not our first choice. Grady strikes out a lot. But not so far in the post-season, so let's hope this is the new Grady.
Damn, Grady hits to first and Michaels is stuck at third still, two down.
But now get AC to the plate and I like our chances here. Count's at 2-1 now. Let's go, Cabrera, let's get this run in...
And now we're full. Here we go...
AC goes down looking. Damn.
TOP 4th
Jeter leads off with a single. We need another double play ball...
...but we get a hard out and a great play by Garko at first!
Not liking this situation here, A-rod up with a runner in scoring position. There's a decent chance Fausto will pitch around him, get him to nibble. He's down 2-0, if it goes to 3-0 I think they'll just walk him in hopes of getting a double play ball.
But he fouls off the third pitch, so Carmona can stay on him.
Nice pitch gets the count even. I wonder what Fausto will do here...
How 'bout a strikeout??? Hell yeah!! Great pitch, Carmona!
Now, let's get out of this inning and get back up to bat. I think we can get something started at the bottom of this inning.
Man, he's behind on Matsui, but gets a called strike to go to 2-1. We need this out right here. It would be big to strand a Yankee...
Garko takes it himself and we're out of the inning!! Hot damn!
BOTTOM 4th
Pronk up to lead off the inning. Let's go, Travis, let's get it going...
And he does! Pronk singles to center! Okay, people, let's do this!
Victor up as we're split screened with Shelton. Maybe that's good luck as Victor gets ahead 2-0.
I'm a little worried here. Victor hits into a decent number of double plays. However, he just hit into the stands, 2-1.
It's a good sign that Garko is up this inning. He made a key play last inning, so karma is on his side.
Victor has it at 3-1 now. Let's go...Big rip by Victor and we're full. We need something here, we really do. We need to take advantage of our chances. Pettitte's only at fifty pitches, so we need to make him work.
Crazy ass play and Hafner's at second! Wow. If Pettitte hadn't hit that with his glove, that was two. But instead it's a crazy sac bunt deal without bunting. And now we need Garko to step it up.
Garko takes the first pitch for a strike. We need something here, we really do. I'm worried about the last two to three innings against the Yankees. We need to score before then.
Garko grounds out to Jeter again and Pronk is still stuck at second. This is getting frustrating.
Let's go, Jhonny. Let's go...
Down 1-2. Man, this is so frustrating. Jhonny pops it foul and he's still alive.
Full count now. Here we go...
Down swinging. DAMMIT.
TOP 5th
Fausto ahead 0-1 on Posada.
I'll be honest, this game is killing me. Sure, the top of the fifth last night took a year or two off my life, but this one is peeling away the years. Carmona is doing great, but we need to help him out a bit with our bats.
Full count now and Posada fouls off a sinker. Carmona's pitch count would suggest he can go through six. He walks Posada and it's time for a double play ball -- it's odd that he's only gotten one so far today.
I'm nervous. I don't like being behind at this point, let alone having the lead off guy aboard.
WOW. Fausto Carmona does it again -- double play ball and the bases are clear.
Now Cabrera comes up and I'd expect Fausto to go after him. Let's go, Carmona, let's get him...
And Cabrera gets Cabrera on a grounder and we're clear! *whew*
BOTTOM 5th
Hot damn! Kenny drives the first pitch he sees into right for a single and we have ANOTHER lead off runner!
Even better, Michaels up to bat, and he's got great numbers against Pettitte. He's also a former NL guy, which means he can bunt.
God bless America, this is intense.
NICE BUNT BY MICHAELS!! That's what I like to see!
Okay, Casey, let's go. It's all about momentum, buddy. And he takes a strike because that's what Casey does.
Dammit, Casey down 0-2 just like that. Gwynn actually made a good point -- maybe they should send Kenny?
Meeting at the mound and I might have to pour myself a drink. My liver is not happy about the Indians making the post-season.
Lofton is just messing with Pettitte's head here. Let's hope that works in Casey's favor.
Dammit. Casey flies out to right and it's up to Grady. Fuck me, man. This is so damn frustrating.
Grady has started every at bat from behind. Killing me.
Well, FUCK. Kenny picked off at third. Inning over. DAMMIT!!
TOP 6th
I don't even know what to say anymore. Carmona 1-1 on Doug I-Tripped-Over-A-Camera-Guy.
I've poured myself a drink.
Garko gets more action, one out.
According to the TBS guys, A-rod said to Lofton "I can't believe you fell for that, we got you."
It's hard to believe more people don't like A-rod.
Damon grounds back to Carmona. Two down.
NICE PLAY BY JHONNY!! Three up, three down, and Carmona gets through six with only 75 pitches thrown.
BOTTOM 6th
Grady gets another shot.
Sidenote: They can't change the name of Jacobs Field. I love hearing the national media call it the Jake.
Grady takes a first pitch ball! Nice. Maybe Grady can make something of this second chance.
GRADY GOES THREE!!!
That is what Sizemore means to this team! HOT DAMN!!
Oh, fucknuts. Cabrera taps it back to Pettitte. You know, he was going to show his age at some point.
We still get a few more chances. Let's go, Pronk. Let's make our mark.
Pronk down 0-1 right off the bat. We've got two chances here with Victor on deck.
We are REALLY pressing. Pronk swings at a ball and he's down 0-2. We need to relax (because I clearly cannot).
And Pronk goes down swinging. Man alive, this will be devastating if we don't score.
Victor...he's exactly who I'd want up there right now. He is who I want up there.
Jesus, we're down 0-2. We're going to see Chamberlain soon, too. Man.
Fuck.
Just...fuck.
TOP 7th
Abreu to lead off the inning with a broken bat before he even faces a pitch.
That's pretty freaking hilarious, actually.
And Cabrera makes an error. I think that last AB is in his head. Someone needs to settle him after the inning, assuming we get out of this.
Freaking A-rod. This would kill me. Fausto gets ahead, 0-1.
Carmona ahead 0-2. Let's get this. I'd prefer a double play ball, but I'll take a single out.
STRIKEOUT! Hot damn, good stuff, Fausto.
I can NOT believe how great Fausto has been and the fact that he's in line for a loss right now. It is going to be completely demoralizing to waste a start like this.
Okay, a doubleplay ball would be great here. Fausto behind 2-0.
Garko makes a great play and gets the lead off runner, but no doubleplay. Still, good stuff.
Posada up to bat. Let's get this.
SIZEMORE!!! What a freaking catch!! God bless America, son! That was huge!
BOTTOM 7th
I can't believe it's just the bottom of the 7th. Thank god, though. We need all the chances we can get.
Carmona's only thrown 85 pitches. I imagine he'll be back for the 8th. Who will we see in the 7th from the Yankees?
It's still Pettitte.
Garko up, takes a first pitch strike.
He takes a second pitch strike.
Credit where credit is due. Pettitte has been amazing.
Gimpy McAnkle catches the foul ball, one down.
C'mon, Jhonny, we just need contact, not homers. Okay, we need homers, but let's just focus on contact.
It's 2-1 on Jhonny. He fouls one off to go even.
Wow. Jhonny hits a LONG double! SO close to tying this game!
And, of course, Kenny Lofton is coming to the plate. Dare to dream?
Takes a ball. This is all very familiar...
Walk to Lofton and we see Chamberlain for the first time.
The question is, who will face him first? Michaels? Gut?
It's Gut. He's down 0-1. Let's go, Franklin...
Gut down swinging, Casey flies out to right.
Son of a bitch.
TOP 8th
One pitch, one out for Fausto. I was worried there, that Wedge would pull a Wedge and go to the bullpen.
And now freaking Cabrera is up.
And back to Cabrera again, two down.
Great, the field has been attacked by bugs now. That's lovely.
God, I can't believe we're on the verge of losing perhaps his ONLY start of this series.
1-2 count and the crowd is on its feet! But we go to 2-2.
Man, those bugs look annoying as hell. Now we're at a full count and the announcer just made a horrible pun.
Swing at the bugs! Swing at the bugs!
Another bad pun and a ground out to Cabrera and we're headed to the first three of our last six outs.
BOTTOM 8th
Here we go.
Let's hope those bugs are on our side.
A ball! Is that the first ball he's thrown?
Let's go, Grady. Two balls! Is it...the bugs?
Wow, Grady's at 3-0. This should be interesting...
Walk!
God bless you, bugs.
Wild pitch gets Grady to second! Bunt will move him to third!!
Wow. I can't even believe this.
YES!! AC bunts and Grady is on third!!
Good god, we HAVE to win. We've never bunted this much EVER.
And now...PRONK. It's time. It's time.
Unbelievable. He could not have hit that any better to get out. There is absolutely nowhere else he could have hit that. Jesus.
And Victor with another chance. What freaking luck we've had. We need some karma...
Oh my god. OH MY GOD!!
Grady...TIE GAME. Unreal.
And Garko up with a chance to do some damage.
Garko has a 2-1 count. The bugs are flying. Chamerlain's all over. Give us a meatball...
3-1. C'mon...
Full count. Here we go...here we go...
Walk.
Jhonny up and takes strike one. Of everyone who's been up, he looks the most unfazed by these bugs...
Jhonny fouls it off, 1-2 count. We still haven't had a hit with RISP (aisde from Lofton's).
Jhonny down looking. And we go to the ninth.
TOP 9th
Carmona still in, thankfully. He should be allowed to keep going, as he's only at 95 pitches.
Fausto seemed like he did a good job despite the bugs at the end of the 8th. Hopefully he can keep that up.
Damon grounds to Cabrera and there's one down.
Carmona up 0-2 with pitch number 100.
Jeter fouls off a meatball, it looked like. Carmona's getting anxious, I think. Like I said, this could be his only appearance in this series -- and he gets Jeter swinging!! Two down!!
Dammit, Abreu aboard on an infield hit and freaking A-rod steps up.
I hate moments like this. It seems poetic for A-rod and I don't like that one bit.
I've poured myself another drink.
Let's go Fausto. You've earned this.
Ahead 0-1 on a foul.
"Let's go Fausto! Let's go Fausto!"
Ahead 1-2 now. God, this is killing me. Why must I be such a fan? I'm dropping years on my life left and right.
Dammit, Abreu steals. We need to get A-rod out here. We need to just get him. Count at 2-2 now.
Fouls it off, breaks his bat, still 2-2.
They're showing highlights of A-rod beating us in the ninth early in the season. We need this. It's payback time. We need this. C'mon...
Inside, count is full. I don't know if I can watch.
Where's the remote? Where's the Gameday feed? I can't watch this...it's too much for me and I'm not a strong man!
That four foul balls in this at bat. Good god, this is killing me.
STRIKEOUT!!!!
GOOD GOD.
BOTTOM 9th
And here we go. HERE WE GO.
Lofton to lead off and ready to make amends for getting picked off.
Kenny Lofton is hitting .863 in the post-season. Or at least he was, until he just flied out to center. Time for another one of our rookies to step up...
Gut down 0-1. He's 1 for 1 lifetime against Rivera! Good stuff.
Inside for a ball, 1-1.
Vicious swing, vicious pitch and it's 1-2.
And he goes down and we're down to Casey Blake who...well, he's freaking due is what he is!
I would imagine Perez will pitch the 10th, with a lefty coming up. But let's hope it doesn't get to that point...
Casey takes ball one.
Casey pops out to center and we go to extras.
Time for another drink!
TOP 10th
Pitching isn't the issue tonight, so much as gnat ignoring.
Perez in like I figured, 1-0 on Matsui, who worries me. Then again, I suppose they all worry me at this point.
Perez turns it around, 1-2. Crowd on their feet!
Pop up on the infield, Casey makes the catch. One down.
Posada up and I'm nervous again. On paper, we should be in good shape here, and that always worries me when we look better than the other guys on paper. It's like the kiss of death.
And Perez is up 0-2. A quick inning would be great here and I can't believe I'm even saying such things.
Gut at the warning track, hauls it in, and there's two down.
Cano up now and he pops up to Jhonny and it's three up, three down!!
BOTTOM 10th
Top of the order...here we go...Let's do this!!
Grady behind 0-2 on a strike and a foul. I have a good feeling about this inning. Don't ask me why. It might be the whiskey talking.
Hey, a Major League joke. Go figure.
Grady is fighting. That's a good sign. He's making Rivera work. Even if nothing comes from it, he's setting him up for AC. Good stuff, Grady.
And another foul! That's seven pitches so far.
Nine pitches so far! Grady is doing good work here for AC at least.
Sizemore strikes out but gets on!!
Grady EARNED that base. I don't care if Posada made a bad throw or not, Grady WORKED for that.
AC with a GREAT bunt! Grady at second and Pronk up now!!!
He's due...he's due...he's due...
Pronk down 0-2. He's going to beat the shift. He's going to hit it down the third baseline. I can feel it...
He's worked it back to 2-2. Good god.
Weak grounder to second, but Grady moves 90 feet closer. Now any kind of a single would do it.
And the lead of this team steps up to the plate...
And they walk him which leaves it all up to Garko. It's all up to the rookie. Let's go.
"Let's go Garko! Let's go Garko!"
Please, let's go! PLEASE!
Wow. Garko gets hit, which even I would have to question.
He DID NOT lean in. In fact, Garko pulled back AFTER it hit him. Strange.
And now it's Jhonny, hoping to make up for that single in the top of the inning.
Let's go, JP. It's time to shine.
Jhonny down 1-2 and he strikes out a lot. Dammit. C'mon. I am ready to POP!
And what did I say? He strikes out swining. FUCK!!!!!!
TOP 11th
Perez gets the first out to Gut.
Substitution, Duncan in for Mc-Kay-Vich. Perez up 0-2.
The count goes to 2-2 on a pitch just high.
PERALTA! Makes a NICE throw from the hole to get Duncan, two down!
Damon up, Perez gets ahead 0-1 on a foul. I don't like the look of Damon here.
We're at the four hour mark of this game.
Let's get him, Perez. Let's get him and get into that bullpen.
At 1-2 now and the crowd is up!
STRIKEOUT!!! Hell yeah!
BOTTOM 11th
I keep preaching symmetry. Lofton leads off the inning yet again!
This is what I'm talking about! New pitcher! And Lofton has a 3-0 count. I think he'll take...and he does! WALK!!
Gut up now, probably to bunt. He's gotten five down this year. Fingers crossed.
Gut fouls the first one. One more shot or we send Lofton, I think.
Vizcaino (sp?) is trying to hold Lofton.
Gut is 0-2 and can't bunt, I don't think. He's got to be shitting bricks, honestly. Hell, let him swing away. He's due.
Clearly, they think Lofton's going to go.
Gut 1-2 in a really long AB. Lofton is in his element.
SINGLE!!
Casey with the bunt!! Runners on second and third with one out! GRADY TO THE PLATE!!
And they're going to WALK Grady!!
AC in a position to make up for that dribbler to the mound earlier...
Down 0-2...Oh, god, I can't take much more of this.
DAMMIT
Down to Pronk now.
DAMMIT!!!!!!
Pronk at 3-2. Oh, my god.
GAME WINNER!!!!
I can't...I can't even process what I just watched for four and a half hours...
Thursday, October 4, 2007
ALDS Game 1 In Game Blog
I need to do something with myself. It's only a quarter to four out here in Los Angeles, so I'm all alone watching the game.
TOP 1st
C.C. just got hosed on two pitches to Abreu.
I think C.C.'s a bit wired for sound. He just need to get through this inning and I think he'll be fine, but that's easier said than done.
A guy on the radio this morning pointed out that Derek Jeter, when getting a pitch inside, sticks his ass out as if to dodge it, regardless of whether it's necessary or not. I'd never noticed it before, but he did it in his first at bat tonight and it's pretty funny.
C.C. 1-2 on A-rod.
Sabathia doesn't seem to be afraid to run in on these guys, which is good to see. I'd rather he hit guys than give up hits (is that wrong?).
C.C. now 3-2 on A-rod. I don't know if I'm going to be able to watch this game with the sound on. Between the "0-6 in the regular season" and "A-rod's poor post-season performance" bits, I'm not sure I can handle three plus hours of this. Please, god, someone give them something else to talk about.
Yes, Sabathia walked two guys, but I stand by my claim that only the second one was legitimate.
Oh, yeah, people overlook POSADA. Yeah, he never gets, say, ESPN commercials about him. He never lost to freaking Pudge Rodriguez in All Star voting.
C.C. really is getting clamped down on the zone.
Sabathia threw two identical pitches in a row. One a ball, one a strike. And I LIKE Bruce Froeming.
He's 0-2 on Matsui after striking out Posada. C'mon, C.C....
Grounder to Cabrera and we're out of it. Okay, I have faith in C.C. to settle down now.
BOTTOM 1st
And before I can be excited about Sizemore getting hit, Cabrera hits into a double play.
Pronk at 1-1. Technical difficulties prevent TBS from giving us the fancy baseball card graphics for the Yankees line-up.
Down 1-2 now. We can't go in order, dammit.
Fall tip keeps it at 2-2. We're at a full count now, and Pronk keeps battling. The Jake looks good in HD.
Walk! Starts from behind and pulls out a walk. Good stuff, Pronk.
Oh, joy, TBS got it working and we get the baseball cards.
Victor got a pitch to hit and fouled it off. Plus side here, he can't hit into a double play. Aside from Grady, everyone has started off 0-1. In fact, Victor is 0-2 now.
Shot of Tony "Turncoat" Pena in the dugout. Shot of Wedge eating what has to be either Roloaids or magic mushrooms.
Victor singles! This is a good sign. Both Pronk and Victor showed great composure.
Ryan Garko's very first post-season AB. Contact, Garko, contact.
As Bob Brenley points out, not so much with the speed on the bases. So they try to pick off Pronk to no avail.
Garko SINGLES!!! HELL YEAH!!
Holy shit, that was awesome. I really don't know if I can handle nine innings of this, let alone at least three games...
Let's go, JP! Good god, this is insane. I'd forgotten this feeling.
Shot of Roger Clemens. That's nice.
JP takes a slider to go to 2-1. Then he fouls off a tasty pitch. Oh, Jhonny, come on...
Full count.
Fights off a nice pitch to stay alive. It might have been outside, but it was close.
Another foul. At least we're getting that pitch count up there.
Another foul! Good fight, Jhonny.
Draws a walk!! Oh my god. Oh my god. This is insane.
Okay, Kenny, let's do this, man. Fouls off the first pitch.
HELL YEAH!!! Kenny drives in TWO!
Oh, Jhonny, we could have kept that going. But whatever, I'll be upset about that later!
TOP 2nd
Okay, maybe not the whole game. Maybe not even as everything happens.
But SWEET JESUS, VICTOR! That was HUGE. HUGE!!
Yes, another walk, but I think C.C. is coming around.
We need to go after Wang again.
BOTTOM 2nd
Gut pops up on only two pitches.
Blake behind 1-2 and the "Yankees suck" chat has begun!
Casey goes down swinging. But we did all our damage last inning with two outs, so maybe this is okay.
Grady 1-1. Wang keeps trying to pitch him in, but I don't think it's working. And he goes outside this time for a 2-1 count.
Grady fouls one off, 2-2.
GRADY WITH A SINGLE.
Two outs now, I wonder if he'll get the green light to go. They probably have a read on Wang now, unlike last time.
And they got him. Dammit.
TOP 3rd
So I don't want to jinx it, but someone obviously said something to C.C. Sweet fancy Moses, Sabathia! Clearly, he's not happy with Johnny Damon and he's 0-2 on Jeter.
Jeter does the ass thing again on a pitch no where near him and it's 1-2.
He does it again on a pitch that WAS near him, 2-2.
AND JETER ALMOST FALLS DOWN swinging, two outs!
Abreu at 1-1, now at 1-2.
C.C. sends a message! Watch for in your ear!
Full count and C.C. walks him. And stupid A-rod.
Shot of Wedge looking like he'd rather be somewhere else.
And A-rod pops up! And no one yells "mine" at Jhonny when he catches it!
BOTTOM 3rd
AC up first, down 1-2 so far. Count goes even.
SOLO SHOT FOR CABRERA!!
Wow. Just...wow. And right after they were talking about what a great trade that was to get him.
Good pitch by Wang gets the count to 1-2 on Pronk, who grounds out to second.
Are you kidding me? LeBron is at the game with a Yankees hat on. WTF? I know you're a fan of the Yankees (which is sad in and of itself), but why show up to the game like that?
HA! TBS guy asked him if he's a "frontrunner"! His favorite teams are the Cowboys, Bulls, and Yankees? Total bandwagon. TOTAL.
Victor with a 2-1 count. Flies out to center.
Garko 2 for 2 tonight! Singles on a bloop to right!
Jhonny flies out to right to end the inning.
We're a third of the way through and that bottle of Jack Daniels in my kitchen is beginning to look awfully good.
TOP 4th
Posada gets a called strike one and whines about it. I really can't stand that guy.
Gut with a running grab in right.
Wedge looking grizzly. He must have ulcers as big as my head.
Sabathia ahead 0-2 on Matsui and gets the K!
C.C. has turned it around. He's getting ahead of these guys like we're used to seeing.
Swinging strike gets the count to 2-2.
Shit! Solo shot by Cano. Goofy camera man runs down the third base line with Cano.
C.C. comes right back and gets the first strike on Cabrera. And then he pops up to AC to end the inning.
BOTTOM 4th
Kenny up to start the inning, looks at a bunt, takes a strike. Second pitch in the dirt.
Bunt foul, 1-2. Pitch way outside and we're even.
Kenny pops up to second, one down.
I'd like to see Gutierrez get a good at bat here. Even if he doesn't make something happen, seeing a few pitches would really do him some good, I think.
He's worked a 3-0 count. He'll take, I'm sure. And he does, for a strike.
Gut draws a walk! Good AB for him. Casey needs one, too. He's only seen a few pitches.
They're holding Franklin at first. I don't think he'll go, but I think they'll decoy him.
Shoot, should have sent him. Casey makes contact, but sends it to A-rod who get Gut at second. Casey was a few inches from a double.
Grady up again. Let's go, Grady!
Sizemore down 0-2 on a meaty pitch he let go. Great shot of Grady smiling, though. Clearly, the man is enjoying himself so far.
We need to work more pitches out of Wang. He's around 60 now, but we need to knock him out sooner than the 6th.
Grady works the count even, 2-2. The announcers are spreading the Sizemore love.
Wang keeping Blake in check, what with the -- is four? -- steals this year.
Grady drives in foul. And then takes a pitch for strike three.
TOP 5th
Correction, Wang has throw 76 pitches through 4. We need to knock him out this inning.
C.C. comes out dealing to the new first baseman. He's 1-2. That third strike always seems like the hardest for the Tribe pitchers. Fouls off the next pitch.
Sabathia drops in a beautiful slider, but Duncan doesn't bite. Goes high heat and misses and now we're full.
Pulls it foul down the third base line.
Singles the other way. Shot of Duncan, who doesn't look like the sharpest knife in the drawer.
C.C. is still clearly angry with Johnny Damon. Starts him off with a strike. He just misses the outside corner, 1-1.
Again, just outside, 2-1.
Sabathia gets HOSED on a call on the outside, 3-1. C.C. walks him, again getting hosed on the corners. I know they keep pointing out the walks Sabathia has had, but more than a few have been questionable at best.
Jeter up now. First pitch ball. Sabathia needs to relax. And just as I say it, Carl Willis comes out.
Jeter flies out to right, Gutierrez with a good arm holds the runners at second and third.
Abreu up and we need a double play...
RBI double and we're only up by one.
And I've poured myself a drink.
Intentional walk to Bush League, I mean A-rod. And of course my second least favorite Yankee is up next. I don't know if I can keep watching...
Wow.
Just...I can't believe we're still winning this game.
BOTTOM 5th
We need to score. We need to score and knock Wang out because we've sen the last of C.C. and I honestly don't know who's going to pitch the 6th. We need to get to their bullpen.
Actually, dollars to doughnuts Jensen Lewis makes his first post-season appearance in the 6th.
AC in a 3-1 count. Let's go...
Yes! Leadoff walk!
TBS puts stats up for the starters, but they're strangely off by ONE pitch on Wang's numbers. How odd.
Pronk up and gets a lead off ball. Let's go, let's go, let's get something going here.
Tony Gwynn points out that Froeming isn't giving the pitchers the outside corners. It's taken him four and a half innings to catch on to this fact??
While I would love a blast from Pronk right here, I'd settle for a hit. Or a walk, as the count goes to 2-1.
Pronk pops out to center.
HELL YES!! VICTOR GOES YARD!! 6-3 Indians!!!
Interview John Adams all game!!
Wang has got to be on his last legs. Let's go, Garko, let's knock him out.
Not a good start, Garko down 0-2.
Garko connects, but right to second. Two down.
Jhonny on a bloop into right field but had two all the way!
Kenny with a chance for insurance!
Lofton with a career night!!! JP comes in to score, 7-3 Tribe!
Wang is gone and some guy I've never heard of is in! And Lofton steals! And single will get us another run!
Let's go, Gut, we need to get you some confidence...
Gutierrez goes down to 1-2. Gut is amped. You can tell by the look on his face. Just stay calm, Gut. Rookie on rookie here...
Works it back to a full count! Does the rookie try to make a pitch? Or meatball?
Tries to make a pitch and misses and it's a walk to Gut!
Good AB by Franklin. All of our guys are working the count, really, aside from Casey so far, so now is the time.
And it IS!! Casey doubles into right and drives in TWO!!
Wow, we're 4 for 4 with RISP. Wow. Wowowowowowowowow.
Grady up, takes a strike. Now takes two.
Grady fouls off to stay alive.
Not for nothing, but did I or did I not say we needed to get to their bullpen early?
Grady pops out to center.
Wow. 9-3 Tribe. Wow.
TOP 6th
Wow, it's Perez to start the 6th. So are they going to try to get two out of him? At this point you want to save your bullpen, at least somewhat. Maybe one for Perez, one for Lewis, one for Betancourt, one for Borowski? Just to get them all some post-season work with a big lead?
Perez 2-2 on Cano. Cano fouls off again. He's going towards third over and over.
Cano grounds to a perfectly position Jhonny, one down.
Perez with his first K of the post-season! Cabrera goes down swinging.
Everyone on their feet for a 1-2 count to Duncan. He fouls off the pitch.
Shot of Carmona watching the game, munching on sunflower seeds. He looks calm. He's got to like the looks of his offense.
We're at 2-2 now. Everyone standing again. Perez's pitch is low and we're full.
Strikeout!! World, Perez, Perez, world.
BOTTOM 6th
Time to add insult to injury! The rookie (whose ERA is currently 27.00) is still in there. Let's stick it to them. Statement game!
Cabrera with a 2-2 count at this point. Make that 3-2. But he grounds out to second.
PRONK!! A line drive home run from PRONK!! Damn, that ball got out fast.
Victor with a double! He's 3 for 4! As I said with Perez, hello world, this is Victor Martinez. Get to know him.
The Yankees are leaving the rookie in. They seem determined to make him suffer.
Garko 2-3 tonight. Let's go, Gark. Let's keep it going.
Garko gets hit and we've got two on with one out!
Jhonny grounds to Jeter who goes to third.
Which brings Lofton up for another shot!
NO WAY! Lofton with a double to drive in ANOTHER run!! That is a man who wants a freaking ring.
Gut pops up and we go to the 7th.
TOP 7th
Perez picks up where he left off and strikes out Damon. I doubt he'll get many headlines after a game like this, but Perez is really shining. People keep talking about how the Yankees never saw C.C. this year -- well, they didn't see much of Perez, either.
Gut with a great catch in right field! That's another "who is that guy" moment. It's time for the rest of the world to meet future all stars!
Wedge has got to get Lewis in next inning. It just makes sense to get him some time with a lead and there's no reason to use Betancourt or Borowski.
Crowd on their feet for 0-2! STRIKE THREE!!
Amazing. Just amazing.
BOTTOM 7th
Casey goes down on strikes. Blakes seems to be more and more of a momentum guy these days. If he has it behind him, he does well. If not, he's more likely to strike out.
Grady pops out.
The announcer just said "a coming out party for Cabrera," which is a great point, but you can say that about so many guys on our team. It's insane.
Hughes strikes out Cabrera to end the inning. My friend the Red Sox fan has warned me that we only have so many runs to score in the series, so we need to save some.
Only six outs to go.
TOP 8th
From my mouth to Wedge's ears, Jensen Lewis is in! And he's ahead 0-2 on A-rod!
Throws inside for the first ball. That third strike is the rough spot for Lewis. And he gets A-rod to pop out!
That's what I'm talking about -- Lewis gets his first post-season appearance against A-rod, but he's got some padding behind him. This is exactly what he needed.
Posada flies out to Lofton, two down.
Man, Lewis just picks his spot and hits it. Crazy. He's up 0-2 now and the crowd is up!
Three pitches!! Matsui down on THREE PITCHES!! Jensen Lewis is the man.
BOTTOM 8th
Pronk up again and looking surly.
He hits it hard, but not far enough, flies out to center.
Wow, Victor is a triple shy of the cycle. Granted, he's only ever hit one in his life. But it wouldn't shock me tonight.
And, no, flies out to left.
Garko up, still 2 for 3 tonight, I believe, after getting hit last inning. He's down 0-2 at this point, though.
Hughes trying to win himself a starting job, it would seem.
GARKO GOES YARD!!
A nice even dozen, thank you!
Wow, Garko's first post-season game and he goes 3 for 4!
Jhonny gives it a ride, but ends up just short. And we go to the 9th, three outs left to get!
TOP 9th
Huh. Betancourt is in. Don't know about this one, but I suppose it gets him some work.
And Cano goes down on three pitches.
Oh, god, on the home run recap they played the music from Major League. Should have seen that one coming.
Man, Perez struck out four batters in two innings. Lewis struck out one in a single inning. Betancourt already has one and has Cabrera at 2-2.
Lofton makes a great catch in left! Just in case we needed proof that he could do it all.
And we're one out away from taking game one!
And stupid roid rage Giambi gets a single past the shift.
Okay, let's end it with Damon -- it would only be appropriate, given how the game started.
Betancourt is 0-2 on Damon...here we go...high for ball one.
The pitch...low for ball two. Raffy is doesn't want to give him anything.
The pitch...high for ball three. Full count now. Okay, let's do this, Raffy.
Fly out to Grady!! Game 1 goes to the Tribe!!
TOP 1st
C.C. just got hosed on two pitches to Abreu.
I think C.C.'s a bit wired for sound. He just need to get through this inning and I think he'll be fine, but that's easier said than done.
A guy on the radio this morning pointed out that Derek Jeter, when getting a pitch inside, sticks his ass out as if to dodge it, regardless of whether it's necessary or not. I'd never noticed it before, but he did it in his first at bat tonight and it's pretty funny.
C.C. 1-2 on A-rod.
Sabathia doesn't seem to be afraid to run in on these guys, which is good to see. I'd rather he hit guys than give up hits (is that wrong?).
C.C. now 3-2 on A-rod. I don't know if I'm going to be able to watch this game with the sound on. Between the "0-6 in the regular season" and "A-rod's poor post-season performance" bits, I'm not sure I can handle three plus hours of this. Please, god, someone give them something else to talk about.
Yes, Sabathia walked two guys, but I stand by my claim that only the second one was legitimate.
Oh, yeah, people overlook POSADA. Yeah, he never gets, say, ESPN commercials about him. He never lost to freaking Pudge Rodriguez in All Star voting.
C.C. really is getting clamped down on the zone.
Sabathia threw two identical pitches in a row. One a ball, one a strike. And I LIKE Bruce Froeming.
He's 0-2 on Matsui after striking out Posada. C'mon, C.C....
Grounder to Cabrera and we're out of it. Okay, I have faith in C.C. to settle down now.
BOTTOM 1st
And before I can be excited about Sizemore getting hit, Cabrera hits into a double play.
Pronk at 1-1. Technical difficulties prevent TBS from giving us the fancy baseball card graphics for the Yankees line-up.
Down 1-2 now. We can't go in order, dammit.
Fall tip keeps it at 2-2. We're at a full count now, and Pronk keeps battling. The Jake looks good in HD.
Walk! Starts from behind and pulls out a walk. Good stuff, Pronk.
Oh, joy, TBS got it working and we get the baseball cards.
Victor got a pitch to hit and fouled it off. Plus side here, he can't hit into a double play. Aside from Grady, everyone has started off 0-1. In fact, Victor is 0-2 now.
Shot of Tony "Turncoat" Pena in the dugout. Shot of Wedge eating what has to be either Roloaids or magic mushrooms.
Victor singles! This is a good sign. Both Pronk and Victor showed great composure.
Ryan Garko's very first post-season AB. Contact, Garko, contact.
As Bob Brenley points out, not so much with the speed on the bases. So they try to pick off Pronk to no avail.
Garko SINGLES!!! HELL YEAH!!
Holy shit, that was awesome. I really don't know if I can handle nine innings of this, let alone at least three games...
Let's go, JP! Good god, this is insane. I'd forgotten this feeling.
Shot of Roger Clemens. That's nice.
JP takes a slider to go to 2-1. Then he fouls off a tasty pitch. Oh, Jhonny, come on...
Full count.
Fights off a nice pitch to stay alive. It might have been outside, but it was close.
Another foul. At least we're getting that pitch count up there.
Another foul! Good fight, Jhonny.
Draws a walk!! Oh my god. Oh my god. This is insane.
Okay, Kenny, let's do this, man. Fouls off the first pitch.
HELL YEAH!!! Kenny drives in TWO!
Oh, Jhonny, we could have kept that going. But whatever, I'll be upset about that later!
TOP 2nd
Okay, maybe not the whole game. Maybe not even as everything happens.
But SWEET JESUS, VICTOR! That was HUGE. HUGE!!
Yes, another walk, but I think C.C. is coming around.
We need to go after Wang again.
BOTTOM 2nd
Gut pops up on only two pitches.
Blake behind 1-2 and the "Yankees suck" chat has begun!
Casey goes down swinging. But we did all our damage last inning with two outs, so maybe this is okay.
Grady 1-1. Wang keeps trying to pitch him in, but I don't think it's working. And he goes outside this time for a 2-1 count.
Grady fouls one off, 2-2.
GRADY WITH A SINGLE.
Two outs now, I wonder if he'll get the green light to go. They probably have a read on Wang now, unlike last time.
And they got him. Dammit.
TOP 3rd
So I don't want to jinx it, but someone obviously said something to C.C. Sweet fancy Moses, Sabathia! Clearly, he's not happy with Johnny Damon and he's 0-2 on Jeter.
Jeter does the ass thing again on a pitch no where near him and it's 1-2.
He does it again on a pitch that WAS near him, 2-2.
AND JETER ALMOST FALLS DOWN swinging, two outs!
Abreu at 1-1, now at 1-2.
C.C. sends a message! Watch for in your ear!
Full count and C.C. walks him. And stupid A-rod.
Shot of Wedge looking like he'd rather be somewhere else.
And A-rod pops up! And no one yells "mine" at Jhonny when he catches it!
BOTTOM 3rd
AC up first, down 1-2 so far. Count goes even.
SOLO SHOT FOR CABRERA!!
Wow. Just...wow. And right after they were talking about what a great trade that was to get him.
Good pitch by Wang gets the count to 1-2 on Pronk, who grounds out to second.
Are you kidding me? LeBron is at the game with a Yankees hat on. WTF? I know you're a fan of the Yankees (which is sad in and of itself), but why show up to the game like that?
HA! TBS guy asked him if he's a "frontrunner"! His favorite teams are the Cowboys, Bulls, and Yankees? Total bandwagon. TOTAL.
Victor with a 2-1 count. Flies out to center.
Garko 2 for 2 tonight! Singles on a bloop to right!
Jhonny flies out to right to end the inning.
We're a third of the way through and that bottle of Jack Daniels in my kitchen is beginning to look awfully good.
TOP 4th
Posada gets a called strike one and whines about it. I really can't stand that guy.
Gut with a running grab in right.
Wedge looking grizzly. He must have ulcers as big as my head.
Sabathia ahead 0-2 on Matsui and gets the K!
C.C. has turned it around. He's getting ahead of these guys like we're used to seeing.
Swinging strike gets the count to 2-2.
Shit! Solo shot by Cano. Goofy camera man runs down the third base line with Cano.
C.C. comes right back and gets the first strike on Cabrera. And then he pops up to AC to end the inning.
BOTTOM 4th
Kenny up to start the inning, looks at a bunt, takes a strike. Second pitch in the dirt.
Bunt foul, 1-2. Pitch way outside and we're even.
Kenny pops up to second, one down.
I'd like to see Gutierrez get a good at bat here. Even if he doesn't make something happen, seeing a few pitches would really do him some good, I think.
He's worked a 3-0 count. He'll take, I'm sure. And he does, for a strike.
Gut draws a walk! Good AB for him. Casey needs one, too. He's only seen a few pitches.
They're holding Franklin at first. I don't think he'll go, but I think they'll decoy him.
Shoot, should have sent him. Casey makes contact, but sends it to A-rod who get Gut at second. Casey was a few inches from a double.
Grady up again. Let's go, Grady!
Sizemore down 0-2 on a meaty pitch he let go. Great shot of Grady smiling, though. Clearly, the man is enjoying himself so far.
We need to work more pitches out of Wang. He's around 60 now, but we need to knock him out sooner than the 6th.
Grady works the count even, 2-2. The announcers are spreading the Sizemore love.
Wang keeping Blake in check, what with the -- is four? -- steals this year.
Grady drives in foul. And then takes a pitch for strike three.
TOP 5th
Correction, Wang has throw 76 pitches through 4. We need to knock him out this inning.
C.C. comes out dealing to the new first baseman. He's 1-2. That third strike always seems like the hardest for the Tribe pitchers. Fouls off the next pitch.
Sabathia drops in a beautiful slider, but Duncan doesn't bite. Goes high heat and misses and now we're full.
Pulls it foul down the third base line.
Singles the other way. Shot of Duncan, who doesn't look like the sharpest knife in the drawer.
C.C. is still clearly angry with Johnny Damon. Starts him off with a strike. He just misses the outside corner, 1-1.
Again, just outside, 2-1.
Sabathia gets HOSED on a call on the outside, 3-1. C.C. walks him, again getting hosed on the corners. I know they keep pointing out the walks Sabathia has had, but more than a few have been questionable at best.
Jeter up now. First pitch ball. Sabathia needs to relax. And just as I say it, Carl Willis comes out.
Jeter flies out to right, Gutierrez with a good arm holds the runners at second and third.
Abreu up and we need a double play...
RBI double and we're only up by one.
And I've poured myself a drink.
Intentional walk to Bush League, I mean A-rod. And of course my second least favorite Yankee is up next. I don't know if I can keep watching...
Wow.
Just...I can't believe we're still winning this game.
BOTTOM 5th
We need to score. We need to score and knock Wang out because we've sen the last of C.C. and I honestly don't know who's going to pitch the 6th. We need to get to their bullpen.
Actually, dollars to doughnuts Jensen Lewis makes his first post-season appearance in the 6th.
AC in a 3-1 count. Let's go...
Yes! Leadoff walk!
TBS puts stats up for the starters, but they're strangely off by ONE pitch on Wang's numbers. How odd.
Pronk up and gets a lead off ball. Let's go, let's go, let's get something going here.
Tony Gwynn points out that Froeming isn't giving the pitchers the outside corners. It's taken him four and a half innings to catch on to this fact??
While I would love a blast from Pronk right here, I'd settle for a hit. Or a walk, as the count goes to 2-1.
Pronk pops out to center.
HELL YES!! VICTOR GOES YARD!! 6-3 Indians!!!
Interview John Adams all game!!
Wang has got to be on his last legs. Let's go, Garko, let's knock him out.
Not a good start, Garko down 0-2.
Garko connects, but right to second. Two down.
Jhonny on a bloop into right field but had two all the way!
Kenny with a chance for insurance!
Lofton with a career night!!! JP comes in to score, 7-3 Tribe!
Wang is gone and some guy I've never heard of is in! And Lofton steals! And single will get us another run!
Let's go, Gut, we need to get you some confidence...
Gutierrez goes down to 1-2. Gut is amped. You can tell by the look on his face. Just stay calm, Gut. Rookie on rookie here...
Works it back to a full count! Does the rookie try to make a pitch? Or meatball?
Tries to make a pitch and misses and it's a walk to Gut!
Good AB by Franklin. All of our guys are working the count, really, aside from Casey so far, so now is the time.
And it IS!! Casey doubles into right and drives in TWO!!
Wow, we're 4 for 4 with RISP. Wow. Wowowowowowowowow.
Grady up, takes a strike. Now takes two.
Grady fouls off to stay alive.
Not for nothing, but did I or did I not say we needed to get to their bullpen early?
Grady pops out to center.
Wow. 9-3 Tribe. Wow.
TOP 6th
Wow, it's Perez to start the 6th. So are they going to try to get two out of him? At this point you want to save your bullpen, at least somewhat. Maybe one for Perez, one for Lewis, one for Betancourt, one for Borowski? Just to get them all some post-season work with a big lead?
Perez 2-2 on Cano. Cano fouls off again. He's going towards third over and over.
Cano grounds to a perfectly position Jhonny, one down.
Perez with his first K of the post-season! Cabrera goes down swinging.
Everyone on their feet for a 1-2 count to Duncan. He fouls off the pitch.
Shot of Carmona watching the game, munching on sunflower seeds. He looks calm. He's got to like the looks of his offense.
We're at 2-2 now. Everyone standing again. Perez's pitch is low and we're full.
Strikeout!! World, Perez, Perez, world.
BOTTOM 6th
Time to add insult to injury! The rookie (whose ERA is currently 27.00) is still in there. Let's stick it to them. Statement game!
Cabrera with a 2-2 count at this point. Make that 3-2. But he grounds out to second.
PRONK!! A line drive home run from PRONK!! Damn, that ball got out fast.
Victor with a double! He's 3 for 4! As I said with Perez, hello world, this is Victor Martinez. Get to know him.
The Yankees are leaving the rookie in. They seem determined to make him suffer.
Garko 2-3 tonight. Let's go, Gark. Let's keep it going.
Garko gets hit and we've got two on with one out!
Jhonny grounds to Jeter who goes to third.
Which brings Lofton up for another shot!
NO WAY! Lofton with a double to drive in ANOTHER run!! That is a man who wants a freaking ring.
Gut pops up and we go to the 7th.
TOP 7th
Perez picks up where he left off and strikes out Damon. I doubt he'll get many headlines after a game like this, but Perez is really shining. People keep talking about how the Yankees never saw C.C. this year -- well, they didn't see much of Perez, either.
Gut with a great catch in right field! That's another "who is that guy" moment. It's time for the rest of the world to meet future all stars!
Wedge has got to get Lewis in next inning. It just makes sense to get him some time with a lead and there's no reason to use Betancourt or Borowski.
Crowd on their feet for 0-2! STRIKE THREE!!
Amazing. Just amazing.
BOTTOM 7th
Casey goes down on strikes. Blakes seems to be more and more of a momentum guy these days. If he has it behind him, he does well. If not, he's more likely to strike out.
Grady pops out.
The announcer just said "a coming out party for Cabrera," which is a great point, but you can say that about so many guys on our team. It's insane.
Hughes strikes out Cabrera to end the inning. My friend the Red Sox fan has warned me that we only have so many runs to score in the series, so we need to save some.
Only six outs to go.
TOP 8th
From my mouth to Wedge's ears, Jensen Lewis is in! And he's ahead 0-2 on A-rod!
Throws inside for the first ball. That third strike is the rough spot for Lewis. And he gets A-rod to pop out!
That's what I'm talking about -- Lewis gets his first post-season appearance against A-rod, but he's got some padding behind him. This is exactly what he needed.
Posada flies out to Lofton, two down.
Man, Lewis just picks his spot and hits it. Crazy. He's up 0-2 now and the crowd is up!
Three pitches!! Matsui down on THREE PITCHES!! Jensen Lewis is the man.
BOTTOM 8th
Pronk up again and looking surly.
He hits it hard, but not far enough, flies out to center.
Wow, Victor is a triple shy of the cycle. Granted, he's only ever hit one in his life. But it wouldn't shock me tonight.
And, no, flies out to left.
Garko up, still 2 for 3 tonight, I believe, after getting hit last inning. He's down 0-2 at this point, though.
Hughes trying to win himself a starting job, it would seem.
GARKO GOES YARD!!
A nice even dozen, thank you!
Wow, Garko's first post-season game and he goes 3 for 4!
Jhonny gives it a ride, but ends up just short. And we go to the 9th, three outs left to get!
TOP 9th
Huh. Betancourt is in. Don't know about this one, but I suppose it gets him some work.
And Cano goes down on three pitches.
Oh, god, on the home run recap they played the music from Major League. Should have seen that one coming.
Man, Perez struck out four batters in two innings. Lewis struck out one in a single inning. Betancourt already has one and has Cabrera at 2-2.
Lofton makes a great catch in left! Just in case we needed proof that he could do it all.
And we're one out away from taking game one!
And stupid roid rage Giambi gets a single past the shift.
Okay, let's end it with Damon -- it would only be appropriate, given how the game started.
Betancourt is 0-2 on Damon...here we go...high for ball one.
The pitch...low for ball two. Raffy is doesn't want to give him anything.
The pitch...high for ball three. Full count now. Okay, let's do this, Raffy.
Fly out to Grady!! Game 1 goes to the Tribe!!
ALDS Game 1
I don't know what to do with myself.
"We should have gotten a real chicken."
I spent most of the 1997 World Series watchng the games at my house (I was a senior in college) with my friends Mike, Jason, and Scott, drinking 40's of malt liquor.
I watched every game of the 1995 World Series from my dorm room. I probably drank a lot of Natural Light.
For the life of me I can't remember what I did during the 2001 ALDS, aside from watching the first game in a bar. Clearly, I must avoid going to a bar in the next seven minutes.
Right around the seventh inning, though, I might start drinking.
They've just started the very short pre-game show for the game. Big shot from the sky of Jacobs Field. I got chills.
Okay. Let's do this.
"We should have gotten a real chicken."
I spent most of the 1997 World Series watchng the games at my house (I was a senior in college) with my friends Mike, Jason, and Scott, drinking 40's of malt liquor.
I watched every game of the 1995 World Series from my dorm room. I probably drank a lot of Natural Light.
For the life of me I can't remember what I did during the 2001 ALDS, aside from watching the first game in a bar. Clearly, I must avoid going to a bar in the next seven minutes.
Right around the seventh inning, though, I might start drinking.
They've just started the very short pre-game show for the game. Big shot from the sky of Jacobs Field. I got chills.
Okay. Let's do this.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Indians @ Royals, 9/29/07
I hate the Red Sox.
I think I've just been waiting for something to send me over the edge. Let's face facts, it's an organization that likes to pretend they're the underdog, that they're the polar opposite of the "evil empire," yet they've basically become Evil Empire, Jr. And Red Sox Nation is even worse. "Oh, we're so tortured" and yet they're really not. They buy what they need when they need it. Try being the Indians, jackasses.
But I've held my bile in check. Part of that is the fact that I actually hate the Yankees more, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Part of it is my friend Matt, who was born a Red Sox fan (and who freely admits that he'd prefer to support a different team, but you don't get to choose these things, as Indians fans know only too well). And sure, I probably fell for their charm in 2004.
No longer.
Minutes after the Indians managed to lose to the Royals, the Red Sox made their decision as to which ALDS they would be playing in.
Now, every Red Sox fan I've talked to has said the same thing. Every sports analyst online and on TV has said the same thing. Basically, the Red Sox would benefit the most from the short series, because their opponents, be they the Angels or the Indians, have a pair of aces and the last thing the Red Sox would want to do is allow the other team to pitch both of their aces twice in a single series. On top of that, the Red Sox basically have an ace (Beckett) and some other guys who are sometimes great and sometimes awful.
Like I said, it seemed that everyone who was anyone piece together that the Red Sox would benefit most from the shorter series.
Clearly, none of those people actually WORK for the Red Sox. Because they picked the long series.
I have underestimated the appeal of facing Lackey and Escoabar twice each in a five game series. I have underestimated the cloning abilities of the Boston Red Sox, as they have obviously created a second Josh Beckett.
I would like to hit someone now.
I think I've just been waiting for something to send me over the edge. Let's face facts, it's an organization that likes to pretend they're the underdog, that they're the polar opposite of the "evil empire," yet they've basically become Evil Empire, Jr. And Red Sox Nation is even worse. "Oh, we're so tortured" and yet they're really not. They buy what they need when they need it. Try being the Indians, jackasses.
But I've held my bile in check. Part of that is the fact that I actually hate the Yankees more, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Part of it is my friend Matt, who was born a Red Sox fan (and who freely admits that he'd prefer to support a different team, but you don't get to choose these things, as Indians fans know only too well). And sure, I probably fell for their charm in 2004.
No longer.
Minutes after the Indians managed to lose to the Royals, the Red Sox made their decision as to which ALDS they would be playing in.
Now, every Red Sox fan I've talked to has said the same thing. Every sports analyst online and on TV has said the same thing. Basically, the Red Sox would benefit the most from the short series, because their opponents, be they the Angels or the Indians, have a pair of aces and the last thing the Red Sox would want to do is allow the other team to pitch both of their aces twice in a single series. On top of that, the Red Sox basically have an ace (Beckett) and some other guys who are sometimes great and sometimes awful.
Like I said, it seemed that everyone who was anyone piece together that the Red Sox would benefit most from the shorter series.
Clearly, none of those people actually WORK for the Red Sox. Because they picked the long series.
I have underestimated the appeal of facing Lackey and Escoabar twice each in a five game series. I have underestimated the cloning abilities of the Boston Red Sox, as they have obviously created a second Josh Beckett.
I would like to hit someone now.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Indians @ Mariners, 9/26/07
Well then.
Some of that unbridled confidence I had as we headed towards the post-season dropped away last night. Sure, we've all gone back and forth on the issue at hand, but the last two nights have proven that our weak spot is glaringly obvious, and his name is Joe Borowski.
It's hard to imagine calling the league leader in saves a weak spot, but that's the way it is.
Rivera, K-rod, Papelbon, Borowski -- one of those things doesn't match, does it?
He is our closer, though, and I don't see that changing any time soon. We have an option on him for next season and I can't see any possibility that would cause the Indians to pass on that.
Some people have suggested Betancourt become our closer (in fact, I think the majority of people on the official posting board have done so). But we tried that with him last year and he didn't do so hot.
Honestly, I see the future of the ninth inning being Jensen Lewis. He has 33 strikeouts in 28 and a third innings. His ERA 2.20 and dropping. He's only getting better and I think we'll see him become the heir apparent next season behind Borowski.
Anyway, we only need to win one more game to secure, at least, the second best record in baseball, which means we'll get the wild card winner and, most likely, the longer division series.
So we've got that going for us.
Some of that unbridled confidence I had as we headed towards the post-season dropped away last night. Sure, we've all gone back and forth on the issue at hand, but the last two nights have proven that our weak spot is glaringly obvious, and his name is Joe Borowski.
It's hard to imagine calling the league leader in saves a weak spot, but that's the way it is.
Rivera, K-rod, Papelbon, Borowski -- one of those things doesn't match, does it?
He is our closer, though, and I don't see that changing any time soon. We have an option on him for next season and I can't see any possibility that would cause the Indians to pass on that.
Some people have suggested Betancourt become our closer (in fact, I think the majority of people on the official posting board have done so). But we tried that with him last year and he didn't do so hot.
Honestly, I see the future of the ninth inning being Jensen Lewis. He has 33 strikeouts in 28 and a third innings. His ERA 2.20 and dropping. He's only getting better and I think we'll see him become the heir apparent next season behind Borowski.
Anyway, we only need to win one more game to secure, at least, the second best record in baseball, which means we'll get the wild card winner and, most likely, the longer division series.
So we've got that going for us.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Indians @ Seattle, 9/25/07
It's the bottom of the 6th and Jensen Lewis has just come in to relieve Aaron Laffey who just walked the tying run. There are runners at the corners with two outs.
Laffey threw 74 pitches, which is right around his apparent cut off of 75-85. It's clear they don't want to over work the rookie. He did a good job tonight, getting lots of ground ball outs. It will be interesting to see what he ends up doing next spring.
And Lewis gets a pop out to end the inning. Good stuff.
The Red Sox won and the Yankees lost, which is nice. I want that mess decided.
Texas beat the Angels, which is even better. It's not so much that we need to have the best record in baseball, we just need to have a better record than the Angels.
Why? Well, it breaks down like this:
From what I've read, the Red Sox would prefer a quick five game series, as they're going to face one of two teams who arguably have two aces each (the Tribe and the Angels). I would imagine the Yankees would feel the same way. For those two teams (with their pitching), it's not about who they can send out there so much as who they'll face. The Yankees choice, however, is irrelevant if they're the wild card.
So if we have the best record in baseball, it's our choice. If we don't have the best record in baseball, we just need to make sure the Angels don't and that we don't play the Red Sox. In other words, we HAVE to play the Yankees, which will happen if we either a) have the best record in baseball or b) have a better record than the Angels.
Follow all that?
Jensen Lewis gets a strikeout to end the 7th. I told you Lewis could be big. I wonder how long they'll leave him out there -- through eight?
Nope, Perez for the eighth. Borowski for the ninth, I would imagine. Fingers crossed that will be the case.
Laffey threw 74 pitches, which is right around his apparent cut off of 75-85. It's clear they don't want to over work the rookie. He did a good job tonight, getting lots of ground ball outs. It will be interesting to see what he ends up doing next spring.
And Lewis gets a pop out to end the inning. Good stuff.
The Red Sox won and the Yankees lost, which is nice. I want that mess decided.
Texas beat the Angels, which is even better. It's not so much that we need to have the best record in baseball, we just need to have a better record than the Angels.
Why? Well, it breaks down like this:
From what I've read, the Red Sox would prefer a quick five game series, as they're going to face one of two teams who arguably have two aces each (the Tribe and the Angels). I would imagine the Yankees would feel the same way. For those two teams (with their pitching), it's not about who they can send out there so much as who they'll face. The Yankees choice, however, is irrelevant if they're the wild card.
So if we have the best record in baseball, it's our choice. If we don't have the best record in baseball, we just need to make sure the Angels don't and that we don't play the Red Sox. In other words, we HAVE to play the Yankees, which will happen if we either a) have the best record in baseball or b) have a better record than the Angels.
Follow all that?
Jensen Lewis gets a strikeout to end the 7th. I told you Lewis could be big. I wonder how long they'll leave him out there -- through eight?
Nope, Perez for the eighth. Borowski for the ninth, I would imagine. Fingers crossed that will be the case.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Playing It Out
So they've set the rotation for the remainder of the season and our two aces both get one more start.
Tues: Laffey
Wed: Sowers
Wed 2: Carmona
Thurs: Byrd
Fri: Sabathia
Sat: Westbrook
Sun: TBD
ESPN.com actually has Westbrook going Friday and Sabathia Saturday and Sowers pitching on Sunday, but what I wrote above is from the Plain Dealer. For that matter, it makes little sense for Sowers to pitch on Sunday, as it would be short rest.
Basically, Sabathia gets extra time off now, but regular time between his last start and his first post-season start (if it's Oct. 3rd) and Carmona's last start comes on regular rest, but he gets extra time before the post-season (as does Byrd).
It will be interesting to see who backs them up in those doubleheaders.
The mailbag over on the Tribe's official site raised an interesting point about the #3 starter debate. While I figured the debate existed because Jake, when on, can be far more dominate than Byrd, I didn't consider the other aspect: the offense.
Byrd's catcher is Shoppach, so any time Byrd pitches Victor goes to first and Garko sits. Pulling a bat like that out of the line-up is not exactly something you want to do.
For that matter, if the Tribe ends with the best record (or plays the team with the best record), they can opt for the longer series which starts on Oct. 3rd. The series is so long, in fact (day off between first two games, travel days, etc.), that Sabathia and Carmona could start games 1, 2, 4, and 5 on regular rest. If Westbrook starts the third game, then the Tribe has their normal offense going in every game.
At this point, I think it might make more sense to move Jake to the #3 spot. Sorry, Byrdie, you've been great this year, but all things considered (they should call a show that) using Jake at #3 makes more sense.
Honestly, at this point I hope we get that longer series and I hope we get the Yankees because I like our odds with C.C. and Fausto going twice each.
Tues: Laffey
Wed: Sowers
Wed 2: Carmona
Thurs: Byrd
Fri: Sabathia
Sat: Westbrook
Sun: TBD
ESPN.com actually has Westbrook going Friday and Sabathia Saturday and Sowers pitching on Sunday, but what I wrote above is from the Plain Dealer. For that matter, it makes little sense for Sowers to pitch on Sunday, as it would be short rest.
Basically, Sabathia gets extra time off now, but regular time between his last start and his first post-season start (if it's Oct. 3rd) and Carmona's last start comes on regular rest, but he gets extra time before the post-season (as does Byrd).
It will be interesting to see who backs them up in those doubleheaders.
The mailbag over on the Tribe's official site raised an interesting point about the #3 starter debate. While I figured the debate existed because Jake, when on, can be far more dominate than Byrd, I didn't consider the other aspect: the offense.
Byrd's catcher is Shoppach, so any time Byrd pitches Victor goes to first and Garko sits. Pulling a bat like that out of the line-up is not exactly something you want to do.
For that matter, if the Tribe ends with the best record (or plays the team with the best record), they can opt for the longer series which starts on Oct. 3rd. The series is so long, in fact (day off between first two games, travel days, etc.), that Sabathia and Carmona could start games 1, 2, 4, and 5 on regular rest. If Westbrook starts the third game, then the Tribe has their normal offense going in every game.
At this point, I think it might make more sense to move Jake to the #3 spot. Sorry, Byrdie, you've been great this year, but all things considered (they should call a show that) using Jake at #3 makes more sense.
Honestly, at this point I hope we get that longer series and I hope we get the Yankees because I like our odds with C.C. and Fausto going twice each.
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