John Lackey
CC Sensational; A-Rod Still Raking; Yankees Cruise Past Angels 10-1
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 | A.J. Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, MLB, New York Yankees, Sports | No Comments
WOW – looks like this Yankees team is on a mission. An offensive explosion and another solid starting pitching effort and the Yankees now lead the Angels 3 games to 1 in the 2009 ALCS. Game over? Most definitely.
CC Sabathia has been the man this post-season. On Tuesday night, Sabathia needed just 101 pitches to throw 8 innings of 1 run ball. The lone came around on a Kendry Morales solo HR and he gave up just 4 other hits and 2 walks during the outing. Sabathia also had 5 K’s. In MLB post-season history, when a pitcher pitching on 3-days’ rest faced a pitcher pitching on regular rest, the team with the regular rest pitcher had won 27 of the 34 games played. CC erased that trend quickly and easily on Tuesday night with his dominating performance. In 3 playoffs starts this October, Sabathia is 3-0 in 22 2/3 innings pitched and he has given up just 3 ER, 17 hits and 3 walks during those outings (1.19 ERA and a .200 batting average against). Pretty amazing, especially for a pitcher who had not had the best post-season track record.
Now to A-Rod – got I hate this guy… I guess my time to enjoy A-Rod’s post-season struggles has come to an end. Since A-Rod had 3 HR’s and 8 RBI’s during the 2004 ALDS (against the Minnesota Twins) and ALCS (against the Boston Red Sox), A-Rod has been a major disappointment for the Yankees in October. From 2005 through 2007 (13 games, 44 at-bats), A-Rod delivered a total of 7 hits, 4 runs and only 1 RBI on a solo home run. A-Rod struck out 15 times and walked only 8 times. Plain and simple – he was bad and he didn’t come through in the clutch. But fast-forward to 2009 – A-Rod has been a big reason that the Yankees are where they are. In just 7 games this post-season (17 at-bats), A-Rod has 11 hits (5 home runs), 9 runs scored and 11 RBI’s. He has struck out only 4 times and he has an RBI in each game so far. Last night, A-Rod scored the game’s 1st run after singling to lead off the 4th inning and then his 2-run HR to deep left field extended the Yankees lead to 5-0. A-Rod kept raking in the 9th inning, leading off with a double and then scoring on Jorge Posada’s line out and subsequent error by Bobby Abreu to add insult to injury.
Sabathia and A-Rod have put the Yankees in a position to finish off the Angels in just 5 games. A.J. Burnett will have a chance to win the clincher on Thursday night in Anaheim. Unless the Angels John Lackey can throw a gem against Burnett, I don’t see this series returning to the Bronx for a Game 6…
Solid Yankees Pitching, Poor Fielding Doom Angels in ALCS Game 1 Loss
Saturday, October 17th, 2009 | A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Mariano Rivera, MLB, New York Yankees, Sports | No Comments
I must give CC Sabathia all the credit in the world. After struggling with the Cleveland Indians (10.45 ERA v. Boston Red Sox in 2007 ALCS) and the Milwaukee Brewers (12.27 ERA v. Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 NLDS), Sabathia has played large (almost as large as his midriff) in the 2009 playoffs for the New York Yankees. Last night in the Yankees 4-1 win over the Angels in Game 1 of the ALCS, he was simply outstanding. Sabathia needed only 113 pitches to throw 8 spectacular innings of 1-run ball. He gave up just 4 hits and walked only 1 batter, while striking out 7 Angels. The key was his command and keeping the speedy Angels baserunners off the bases. In the past, Sabathia has struggled with his control in the post-season. Last night, he was on his game the entire night against a patient Angels team that draws a lot of walks. Manager Joe Girardi could not have asked for a better outing from the ace of his staff.
The same could be said for Mariano Rivera. He is simply the closest thing to perfection when it comes to post-season performance. Rivera has an ERA of .074 in over 80 post-season appearances and he did not disappoint last night, even after the home plate umpire handed Torii Hunter a lead-off walk in the 9th inning with several close calls that went the Angels’ way. But it didn’t faze Rivera at all. He struck out Vladmir Guerrero and got Juan Rivera and Kendry Morales to fly out weakly to the outfield, and just like that the Yankees had a 1-0 lead in the ALCS. And just like that Rivera had another big post-season save – he has the coldest ice in his veins of any reliever that I’ve ever seen.
As for the Angels fielding – I know the conditions were not great, but 3 errors? Come on – this is playoff baseball, from a team that tied a record for best team fielding percentage in franchise history (.986) during the course of the 2009 MLB schedule. A team that committed 85 errors all season long commits 3 errors in 1 game? It was so disappointing and painful to watch. In addition to the 3 errors, Chone Figgins and Erick Aybar miscommunicated on an infield popup that allowed Johnny Damon to score the Yankees 2nd run in the 1st inning. John Lackey wasn’t great – 9 hits, 3 walks and 2 ER (4 runs total) in 5 2/3 innings – but he deserved better fielding behind him.
The 2 teams won’t have much time to react to the Game 1 outcome as they battle again tonight in the Bronx. Joe Saunders will pitch for the Angels while A.J. Burnett will toe the rubber for the Yankees. Saunders was not needed in the ALDS series sweep of the Red Sox, so it will be interesting to see how he fares against the Yankees with 2 weeks in between starts…
ALCS Starts Tonight – Sabathia, Yankees v. Lackey, Angels
Friday, October 16th, 2009 | CC Sabathia, Joe Girardi, John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Mike Scioscia, MLB, New York Yankees, Sports | No Comments
The New York Yankees will square off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 2009 ALCS that begins tonight at the New Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. What a way to usher in a new era in a new stadium – with a potential October/November World Series run.
Angels Manager Mike Scioscia has decided to go with veteran starter John Lackey. Lackey dominated the Red Sox in Game 1 of the ALDS, pitching 7 1/3 scoreless innings and leading the Angels to a convincing 5-0 victory that set the tone for the series. In 12 career post-season games (10 starts), Lackey has gone 3-3 with a spectacular 3.02 ERA. Lackey even won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series as a major league rookie.
Yankees Manager Joe Girardi has hinted that he might go with a 3-man rotation – CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettite. Sabathia will start in Game 1 of the ALCS tonight. After a rough final start to the season (9 runs on 8 hits in just 2 2/3 innings against the Rays), Sabathia looked like himself in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Minnesota Twins. Sabathia gave up just 1 ER on 8 hits over 6 2/3 solid innings. He struck out 8 as well. The Yankees are hoping to get off to a quick start with Sabathia and Burnett pitching well at home.
Catch it all tonight at 7:57PM EST on Fox.
Dodgers Take 2-0 Lead Over Cards; Lackey, Angels Shut Out Red Sox
Friday, October 9th, 2009 | Adam Wainwright, Boston Red Sox, Casey Blake, General, John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Loretta, Matt Holiday, MLB, Ryan Franklin, Sports, St. Louis Cardinals | No Comments
There was some great MLB Playoff action on Thursday in both the National League and American League.
In the late afternoon, the Dodgers took a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Cardinals with a dramatic 3-2 9th inning win. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Matt Holliday misplayed a flyball that would have given the Cards a 2-1 win. Instead, the error kept the Dodgers alive and the Dodgers took advantage. Casey Blake worked a walk off of Cards reliever Ryan Franklin, and Rafael Belliard tied the game with an RBI single to center field. After a passed ball and a walk loaded the bases, Mark Loretta’s pinch-hit single drove in Blake with the game-winning run. The Cards looked to be in the driver’s seat in the series with their 2 aces pitching in Games 1 and 2 – Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. But neither emerged with a win, and the Cards now find themselves in the position of having to win 3 straight games against the Dodgers in order to advance to the NLCS.
Meanwhile in the AL game also on the west coast, John Lackey of the Angels shut down the Boston Red Sox with 7 1/3 scoreless innings. Lackey outdueled Jon Lester who gave up a 3-run HR to Torii Hunter in the 5th inning, and the Angels went on to win 5-0. It was a great start for the Angels who have been eliminated from the ALDS by the Red Sox each of the last 2 seasons and 3 times over the last 5 years.
So far so good for exciting MLB playoff action.
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