The Ticket Chest

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…

5-4 Walk-Off Wins in Each League Championship Game on Monday

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 | Alex Rodriguez, Alfredo Aceves, Andy Pettitte, Carlos Ruiz, Casey Blake, CC Sabathia, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Derek Jeter, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Jimmy Rollins, Joe Girardi, Johnny Damon, Jonathan Braxton, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Macier Izturis, Matt Stairs, MLB, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard, Sports, Vladimir Geurrero | No Comments

MLB has gotta be loving this – two walk-off wins for the home team; two 5-4 scores; one series just about done and the other heating up.  I live for October baseball!

I am most excited about the Angels rallying to beat the Yankees 5-4 in 11 innings on Monday afternoon.  The Angels had struggled all game against Andy Pettitte as the Yankees built a 3-0 lead on solo homers from Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon.  Despite blowing some chances early, the Angels hung in there.  They cut the Yankees lead to 3-1 on Howie Kendrick’s HR in the 5th inning (that was the 1st home run given up by a Yankees pitcher in the playoffs this year) and then tied it up on Vladimir Guerrero’s 2-run bomb to left in the 6th inning.  And after Manager Joe Girardi pulled Pettitte with 1 out in the 7th inning, the Angels immediately capitalized with a triple by Kendrick and a run-scoring sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Macier Izturis off Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain.  Just like that the Angels had a 4-3 lead and needed only 6 outs to get the series back in their favor.  Jorge Posada’s solo home run to center field put a slight damper on the Angels’ celebration, but the Angels gutted it out in the bottom of the 11th inning.  Girardi’s “over-managing” could be called into question with his decision to pull David Robertson (who had recorded the 1st 2 outs of the inning) for Alfredo Aceves.  Kendrick came through in the clutch with a single to center field and Jeff Mathis ended the game with a walk-off, 2-out RBI double to deep left field that plated Kendrick with the winning-run.  Props go to Kendrick for winning the game for the Angels on Monday.  On his triple in the 7th inning, Kendrick hustled right out of the box to get all the way to 3rd base with only 1 out.  And in the 11th, even though there was 2 out, Kendrick’s speed enabled him to score all the way from 1st on Mathis’ double.

The win breathes new life into the Angels, and Girardi’s decision to go with a 3-man rotation in the ALCS will be in the spotlight tonight as CC Sabathia gets the nod in Game 4 on only 3 days rest.  Sabathia pitched well on 3 days rest for the Brewers in 2008 (2-1, 0.83 ERA), but if he has an off-night, look for the critics to hand Girardi out to dry post-game.  Scott Kazmir has had a lot of success against the Yankees (6-5 record and 2.66 ERA in 14 career starts), so it should be a great game to watch on Tuesday night.

The NLCS game was also a back and forth game – a 1st inning Ryan Howard home run gave the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.  But then the Dodgers answered with 4 runs during the 4th through 6th innings on RBI singles by James Loney, Russell Martin and Casey Blake and a solo home run by Matt Kemp.  After a Chase Utley RBI single cut the Dodgers lead to 4-3 in the 6th inning, it looked like the Dodgers would even the series as closer Jonathan Broxton entered the game in the 9th inning.  Broxton (who had converted 36 of 42 save chances with a 2.61 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but struggled on the road with an 5.81 ERA) even got lead-off hitter Raul Ibanez out, but laid an egg by pitching around Matt Stairs (Stairs had homered off of Broxton in the NLCS in 2008) and allowing him to reach on a walk.  Broxton made matters worse by plunking Carlos Ruiz to give the Phillies 1st and 2nd with only 2 outs.  Broxton got Gregg Dobbs to line out to 3rd base, but Jimmy Rollins crushed a 99-MPh fastball to deep center field that plated both Eric Bruntlett (pinch-runner for Stairs) and Ruiz with the winning runs.  Just like that, the Phillies had a walk-off win to take a 3-1 series lead.  The Dodgers have a huge obstacle to overcome.  They face Cole Hamels on Wednesday in Game 5 and if they are luck enough to win that one, they will have to beat Cliff Lee in Game 6 in Los Angeles just to get to a Game 7.  It’s not looking good for the Dodgers…

Enjoy MLB playoffs action tonight!

I Hate Alex Rodriguez, Yankees Top Angels Again…

Monday, October 19th, 2009 | A.J. Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, CC Sabathia, Joe Girardi, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Macier Izturis, Mariano Rivera, MLB, New York Yankees, Sports | 1 Comment

It’s plain and simple – I hate Alex Rodriguez.  I was so excited to watch Brian Fuentes close out the 3-2 Angels win on Saturday night.  Fuentes even had lead-off hitter Alex Rodriguez right where he wanted him – 0-2 count with a confused look on his face after he guessed wrong on the first 2 pitches.  Fuentes even had him off-balanced on the 3rd pitch, but A-Rod got just enough of the pitch to drive it a few feet over the right field wall to tie the game at 3.  I would have rather had any other Yankees player tie the game instead of A-Rod.  He annoys me show much – he is all show and he has not delivered in the clutch for the Yankees in his previous post-season at-bats.  But for whatever reason, A-Rod keeps on delivering in October 2009.  Please make it stop soon!

The rest of the game was moot.  You knew the Yankees would ultimately beat the Angels at some point to take a 2 games to none lead over the Angels in the ALCS.  The fact that it came on a Macier Izturis throwing error that allowed Jerry Hairston Jr. to score all the way from 2nd base made it even all the more frustrating.  Once again, the Angels defense allowed the game to get away from them, and they now go back to California with their backs against the wall.  Jered Weaver needs to show up big time against Andy Pettite in Game 3 this afternoon – there’s no way the Angels will be able to come back from a 3-0 deficit against the Yankees.

Two other notes – A.J. Burnett threw another solid game for the Yankees.  Burnett gave up just 2 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks in 6 1/3 innings pitched.  He struck out 4.  Sabathia and Burnett – 2 of the Yankees “Big 3″ free agent signings before the season – have really delivered in the clutch this season.

And how about Mariano Rivera – he conserved his pitches so well that he was able to give Manager Joe Girardi 2 1/3 innings from the bottom of the 8th inning through the 10th inning.  He allowed just 1 hit with 2 K’s and kept the game going for the Yankees to have a chance to pull off the win.

Game 3 starts today at 4:13PM EST in Anaheim.  The game will be televised on Fox…

A-Rod, Teixeira, Burnett Lead Yankees to Thrilling 4-3 Win in the Bronx

Saturday, October 10th, 2009 | Alex Rodriguez, General, Mark Teixeira, MLB, New York Yankees, Sports | 1 Comment

I was sick to my stomach last night.  The Yankees actually showed some grit, defeating the Twins 4-3 in 11 innings to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.

I thought my dreams had been answered when the Twins rallied for 2 runs off of Phil Hughes in the top of the 8th inning to take a 3-1 lead.  The Yankees would lose and maybe just maybe, the Twins could pull 2 games out at home to knock the Yankees out in the 1st round of the playoffs.

But then Mark Teixeira and A-Rod took over.  Twins’ closer Joe Nathan, who had converted 47 of 52 save chances during the course of the 2009 MBL schedule, was ready to close out the win in the 9th inning.  But the Yankees are in his head – 1 of his blown saves occurred at the New Yankee Stadium back in May when he gave up 3 ER on 3 hits and 2 walks to give the Yankees a 5-4 win.  And just like that, a Mark Teixeira lead off single and an Alex Rodriguez 2-run bomb to deep right center field tied the game at 3 to send the game into extra innings.  The A-Rod fist pump and the throw of the bat after he crushed the ball made me want to throw my bud light bottle right through my 50″ HDTV.  Oh I was so angry with the world.

I thought I would have some vindication when the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the 11th inning.  But when the 3rd base coach did not send Joe Mauer home on Michael Cuddyer’s single to center field, I knew the Twins could be in trouble.  And just like that, I was back to wanting to throw my next bud light bottle through my TV as the Twins couldn’t drive Mauer home in 3 straight at-bats as the game remained tied at 3.

The Twins shouldn’t have even bothered taking the field in the bottom of the inning.  The umps should have just awarded Mark Teixeira his 1st ever walk-off home run to put the Yankees in control of the series with a 4-3 win.  It was the Yankees 11th walk-off home run to win a post-season game – by far the most of any other major league team.

The series is essentially over.  Now all the Yankees have to do is sit back and hope that the Angels can finally knock off the Red Sox for once.  I have a feeling the Yankees would rather see the Angels than the Red Sox.  Just a gut feeling…