Countdown: 39 days

(Syndicated from The Yankee Analysts)

Is it just me or does December seem like the slowest month of the year? Maybe it’s because it’s usually cold, dreary and dark. Or maybe it’s because we’re in that limbo period right smack in the middle between the two baseball seasons otherwise known as last season and this season. By the way, now that the calendar has changed and it’s a New Year, you can refer to the 2012 season as last season.

Anyway, whatever the reason is, I’m glad December is over because it means that this season is right around the corner.

Now, I know some people are fearful of what 2013 will bring for us Yankee fans but I, for one, am just excited for baseball to start.

Things will certainly look a lot different on February 12 when pitchers and catchers first report to Tampa. Especially the catchers. Russell Martin is gone and it looks like barring any last minute miracle of some sort, Austin Romine, Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart will be battling it out for the starting catcher job.

How exciting! She said sarcastically.

And then, when the position players arrive, things will look even more different without Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez and Eric Chavez on the team. Plus, you have the new additions reporting to Tampa for the first time like Kevin Youkilis and Matt Diaz who will both be donning the Pinstripes even though we never thought in a million years they ever would.

I still can’t believe Youkilis is a Yankee. She said with lump of bile in her throat. (Kidding!)

At least some things will look the same. The pitching rotation is unchanged with CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda and Andy Pettitte as your top three. Then there’s Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and David Phelps who will be battling it out for the last two slots in the starting five.

What I’m most interested in seeing is the return of Mariano Rivera to the bullpen.

2012 was such an odd year for the Yankees, wasn’t it? All seemed lost when Rivera was first injured in May but then the Yankees recovered and they still went on to win 95 games thanks to the performance of Rafael Soriano who stepped into the closer role and was fantastic through the summer and into fall.

Right now, Soriano is still a free agent and unsigned. I really wish the Yankees could sign him again but I know that can’t happen. He’ll want too much money and they’re all about austerity! Bring on 189 in 2014!

I think it will also be interesting to see how Derek Jeter comes back from his ankle injury. My fellow, soon to be 39-year-old, says that he expects to be ready by the start of Spring Training. Let’s hope he is and that he’s able to perform.

***

About a week ago, someone on Twitter bet me that the Yankees would finish at .500 this year. After I stopped laughing, I told him I’d wait until the start of Spring Training before I made any sort of wager because I wanted to see if the Yankees would make any more moves.

My brother thinks I’m crazy and that I should take that bet because he feels there is no way the Yankees would do that badly this season.

I tend to agree with my brother.

Yes, the Yankees lost some key players and yes, the Yankees are a year older but everyone is (or will be) a year older. I will be a year older, you will be a year older, the world will be a year older.

And yes, other teams – namely the Blue Jays – revamped nearly their entire squad. But so what? Divisions and World Series aren’t won on paper. Just ask the 2011 Red Sox and Phillies.

Besides, the Blue Jays, like every other team in baseball, have some injury concerns. Josh Johnson isn’t a guarantee to last all season in the starting rotation and it will be some sort of miracle if Jose Reyes can stay off the disabled list all year.

Other AL East teams haven’t improved that much (so far) this offseason. Have the Red Sox made some moves? Sure, but they didn’t really address what they needed to address and that’s their starting pitching.

But Stacey, they signed Ryan Dempster!

Like I said, they didn’t really address their pitching problem – Dempster isn’t that great. Will they be as bad as they were last season? Probably not. Guys will be healthier, new manager John Farrell will miraculously help Jon Lester and they will more respectable than they were in 2012.

The Orioles who had every single thing go right last season – from their record in one-run games to their record in extra inning games and the performance of their bullpen – were able to finish with 93 wins which was good enough for second place in the AL East, haven’t done a damn thing yet this Winter. Sure, they have still time to do something but it seems they’re hoping that 2012′s luck will carry over into 2013 and I don’t think it’s a given.

Will they fall off by a lot? Probably not. In fact, this year, I can see the AL East being a three or four team race right down to the wire.

Now, wouldn’t that be something?

Then there’s the team down in Tampa that plays in that awful dome. They added free agent and power hitter (kidding) James Loney and lost Wade Davis and James Shields to a trade with the Kansas City Royals.

The trade seems to be more of a help to the Rays of the future, not to the 2013 squad but still, you can never count the Rays out of anything because no matter what, they’re always lurking and ready to pounce when one of the upper echelon teams falter.

So after all of that pontificating, the point to this overly wordy, somewhat babbling post is that the 2013 baseball season is almost here and contrary to popular belief – from media and fans alike, I believe that Yankee fans have a lot to look forward to.

The Yankees Are Going To The ALCS!!!!

When my brother informed me that there were $20 tickets available for today’s game I told him, “I’m not sure I can handle being at a do or die game.” He agreed and we didn’t get the tickets.

Now that it’s over and the Yankees have won, I’m still glad I made that decision. I wouldn’t have been able to handle being there in person. Kudos to the people who were there.

Today, the star of the game was CC Sabathia, who pitched a complete game to lead the Yankees to victory.

The game followed a familiar pattern: Both teams weren’t hitting and both pitchers were on fire. For the Orioles it was Jason Hammel setting the Yankees’s batter down one right after the other.

The first hit for the Orioles came in the fourth inning off the bat of Nate McClouth but the Orioles didn’t score off Sabathia and the game remained scoreless.

In the fifth inning, Mark Teixeira led the inning off with a single and in a move that shocked pretty much the entire world, stole second.

Yes, Mark Teixeira stole a base.

That set up Raul Ibanez to play hero again and he did, smacking a single to center which scored Teixeira and putting the Yankees up 1-0.

Things got interesting in the sixth inning when McClouth came up and hit a ball to right that just missed being a home run. It was so close that Buck Showalter asked the umps to review the play to make sure it wasn’t a home run.

Thankfully for the Yankees, the call stood, it remained a foul ball and Sabathia ended up getting McClouth swinging to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees struck again, thanks to a Derek Jeter single which was quickly followed by an Ichiro Suzuki double to put the Yankees up 2-0.

After CC set the Orioles down 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, Nick Swisher continued his stellar performance at the plate by striking out on three pitches. Yes, that was sarcasm.

Curtis Granderson, whose bat awoke from its series long slumber to hit a single in the fifth, hit a solo home run to right to put the Yankees up 3-0.

Now, the eighth inning is when things got dicey.

Matt Wieters started things off with a single, then Sabathia walked Manny Machado. The next batter was Mark Reynolds who struck out – the Yankees did a good job quieting his bat this series. Lew Ford came up and hit a single past a diving Jeter to score Wieters and advance Machado to second.

Robert Andino hit an infield single, thanks to the fact that no one was covering third and CC had no one to throw the ball to. The bases were loaded with one out and Nate McClouth coming to bat.

To say that my heart was beating out of my chest would not be hyperbole. It really was. I thought I was having a cardiac episode.

In the battle of Sabathia vs. McClouth, CC won this time. He struck McClouth out.

With two outs and the bases still loaded, with the Orioles still threatening, Sabathia got J.J. Hardy to ground out to end the inning.

Crisis averted.

After the Yankees were set down quickly in the bottom of the eighth – thanks to a Robinson Cano double play – Sabathia walked out to the mound to finish what he started.

He got Adam Jones to fly out to left on an 1-0 pitch. One out.

He got Chris Davis to strike out. Two outs.

And for the final out, Sabathia was able to get Wieters to hit a grounder back to him to end the game.

Ballgame over, Yankees win, and they’re heading to the American League Championship Series to face the Detroit Tigers.

(If you noticed, I didn’t mention a certain player being noticeably absent from the lineup. That’s because it’s been discussed enough.)

Some things to take away from this series

A few guys need to start hitting the ball. I’m looking at you Swish and Cano. Tex and Granderson snapped out of it alittle bit today.

The pitching was superb – both the starters and relievers. Courtesy of Jeff Quagliata who does research for YES: the Yankees had a team ERA of 1.76 in this series which is the lowest ERA in a five-game LDS since division play began in 1995. Amazing.

If there were an ALDS MVP I think CC Sabathia would win it with Raul Ibanez getting an honorable mention for his performance in Game Three and overall in the series (he was 4-9).

And there is no rest for the weary, Game One is scheduled for tomorrow night.

Rest up kids, there’s more baseball to watch!

Yes, I am invoking the spirit of Al Davis, the eccentric former head of Raiders Nation who passed away almost exactly 1 year ago. I was never a Raiders fan, nor was I ever really drawn to the brash and tanned man in the track suit. I did, however, respect his mantra: “Just win, baby.” Sometimes, it’s as simple as that. A win tonight would render the events surrounding the Yanks for the last few days irrelevant. It doesn’t matter how ugly it is. The Yanks just need to take care of business. Let’s take a quick look, since all day I’ve felt like the game was 25 minutes away.

Game 4: Jason Hammel vs. CC Sabathia
5:07pm EST at Yankee Stadium on TBS

Hammel Time: Part II

This will be the Yanks’ second crack at Hammel in this series, as he turned in a mediocre outing against the Bombers in Game 1. Hammel was inefficient, walking 4 and throwing 112 pitches in 5.2 IP, but the anemic Yankees’ offense only managed 4 H and 2 R while he was in the game. While the Yanks would take the opener 7-2, all of the damage was done against Jim Johnson in the 9th. I feel obligated to remind you of this, since it is now probably shocking to imagine a time when the Yanks were able to put together a 5 run inning considering that they haven’t scored more than 3 runs in any of their games since.

In the regular season, Hammel started 3 games against the Yankees with mixed results. Hammel allowed 7 ER but only 8 H in 16 IP, walking 7 and striking out 8. The Orioles managed only to win his last of these outings, which was also his first start back after a lengthy stint on the DL due to a knee injury. The knee injury flared up again in Hammel’s last start of the regular season on September 11, but didn’t seem to be an issue in Game 1. A-Rod has done the most damage against Hammel in his career (4 HR in 24 AB) but his woes with RHP in this series have resulted in a spot on the bench for Game 5. Of the Yanks who will actually be in the lineup tonight, Ichiro (8-for-15), Jeter (8-for-25, 1 HR), and Robbie (8-for-26, 1 HR) have the most success against Hammel in small doses. I promised myself I would get out of the habit of trying to predict the offensive hero, but what the hell.

Yankee to Watch: Nick Swisher Swish has only faced Hammel 8 times in his career, but has 3 H (2 2B) to show for it. A-Rod will be on the bench, Granderson looks like someone who has never swung a bat before, and Robbie continues to swing at pitches in the right handed batter’s box despite O’s pitchers’ best efforts to offer him a free base. None of those guys have showed any signs of turning it around. Swish, however, stung a couple of balls last night that he must have gotten under just a tad. Usually, when in a slump, after a few swings like that, you hit the cage next day just looking to “square up” as opposed to fixing, well…everything. The narrowed focus can work wonders. If I’m right, I’m buying myself a beer. If I’m wrong, 2 beers.

How about no runs, CC? ZERO RUNS

It feels like that’s what it is going to take for a starting pitcher to win a game in this series, despite the fact that everyone the Yanks have sent to the mound has been stellar. CC was lifted 1 out from a complete game in Game 1, and given the workload the bullpen has endured the last 2 days it would be nice if he could replicate that. According to Girardi, every pitcher will be available out of the bullpen except for Kuroda. The status of Joba Chamberlain, however, is still unknown in regard to whether he will be available tonight. Even still, you get the feeling that if CC doesn’t turn in a masterful outing tonight, tomorrow will be locker cleanout day.

Rather than go on about how great CC has looked in his last several starts, I would prefer to focus on his attitude coming into this game. During last night’s post game interviews, CC did not back down when asked whether the entire season was on him. Instead, he owned up to it with aplomb, unwavering in his desire to take the ball and get a win for the team. If he falters tonight, it won’t be because of nerves. We just need to stuff to be there more than ever.

Potentially Fatal Orioles Player to Watch: J.J. Hardy Hardy hit the game icing 2B last night and, similar to Swisher, looked like he was starting to put some good swings on the ball in his last few ABs. He’s 8-for-21 in his career against CC and had a sOPS+ of 103 against lefties this year (100 being average for platoon splits).

Yeah, okay, so A-Rod isn’t in the lineup tonight. And sure, he’s upset and disappointed. Any player would be. But A-Rod’s performance is not the story of this series, win or lose. A-Rod’s lack of success has been the focal point for many because his postseason failure/success has become a “thing,” whereas we are all too confused by the putrid production of Granderson, Cano, and Swisher to generate any real commentary about it. I don’t like it, but I understand that’s just the way it is. While slumps may carry over from game to game, many sins will be forgiven tonight if the Yanks offense can find a way to do one thing: Just win, baby.

Enjoy, folks. And more importantly…

LET’S GO YANKEES

Hmmm…let’s see. Where should I even begin? I’ll concede, sure, A-Rod didn’t get it done tonight. But frankly, no one did. In fact, outside of the 9th inning of Game 1, the only two Yankees who have made any noise are Derek Jeter and Raul Ibanez. I could bombard you with a slew of cumulative series numbers that will probably make you puke up your extra inning snack of choice (it was weird baseball, after all), but I won’t. Instead, I’ll simply provide you with a grotesque sample size from the last 4 1/2 hours:

Robinson Cano: 0-for-6, 5 LOB
Nick Swisher: 0-for-5, 4 LOB, GIDP
Curtis Granderson: 0-for-5, 3 LOB, 3 K

On a night where Phil Hughes and the entire bullpen did everything Joe Girardi asked of them, this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of an entire offense that failed to get a runner into scoring position after the 8th inning. Phil Hughes continued the run of excellent Yankees’ starting pitching with a gritty effort that looked doomed from the outset thanks to lack of control. While he never really found his command, Phil managed to put up a line that gets the Yanks to the ALCS 9 times out of 10: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 95 pitches. He left the game in a 1-1 tie, limiting his damage to a solo HR by Nate McLouth.

Boone Logan, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, and Joba Chamberlain contributed 4.1 innings of nearly flawless relief once Hughes was lifted, only allowing 2 baserunners. Joba looked particularly nasty, and I truly believed that when he came out for a second inning of work in the Top of the 12th, the Yankees offense would wake up long before the bullpen depth ran out.

Then, an omen.

Matt Wieters led off the 12th with a broken bat bloop to LF. While I was ruing the possibility of yet another broken bat dinker derailing the Yanks in the playoffs, I glanced back at the screen just in time to see Joba doubled over, reeling from the blow that the barrell of Wieters’ bat had inflicted on his pitching arm. He threw a few wild warm up tosses while Girardi and Donohue watched his elbow balloon. Result? End of the night for Joba, and somehow I knew that was it for the Yanks. David Phelps would relieve Joba and work around the leadoff single, but it would be the Orioles who would break through in the Bottom of the 13th. Doubles from Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy would plate the O’s second run, and that was all they needed. Can’t blame Phelps, or anyone who took the mound, for that matter.

Tonight’s loss reminded me of those ugly, painful losses we all sat through in July and August. You know the kind: poor pitch selection, tons of Ks, some questionable moves by Joe, and a little bit of bad luck. No need to harp on it any further. Just have to look at tomorrow and have faith that at least one guy can get the big hit that eluded the entire team tonight.

To his credit, Joe Saunders turned in nearly the same effort as he did against TEX in the Wild Card game. He was wild with 4 BBs, but unpredictable enough to keep some of the more anxious Bombers off balance with 5 Ks. For the second straight elimination game start, Saunders pitched into the 6th inning while only allowing 1 run. What can you do?

On top of everything else, I’m really bummed that the Yanks couldn’t pull this one out in the aftermath of the news that Joe Girardi’s father passed away on Saturday. Girardi had managed Games 1-3 without sharing the information with his players, which must have been quite a burden to bear. A moment of silence was held prior to this evening’s game, during which Girardi was visibly emotional.  I’m fortunate enough to have both of my parents, and I cannot imagine what that type of loss must feel like, nor do I know what my coping mechanism of choice would be. That being said, leave the man be to deal with his grief as he sees fit. If staying with the team is what Joe wants to do, I think we all owe him that much.

In tomorrow’s decisive Game 5, Jason Hammel will oppose CC Sabathia at 5:00pm EST at Yankee Stadium on TBS. I’ll have the pitching preview up tomorrow afternoon, once I have gotten my fill of wallowing in despair over the Yanks’ suddenly poop offense.

Around the league: The Giants completed their down 0-2 comeback to beat the Reds and advance to the NLCS, while the Nationals lived to see a Game 5 on the strength of a Jayson Werth walk-off HR. In the AL, Justin Verlander tossed a complete game shutout to pitch the Tigers into the ALCS for the second straight year. That’s why the big boys go in Game 5, and that’s what I’ll be looking for from the biggest of all the big boys tomorrow afternoon.

Try to get some sleep, folks. Only 14 hours until first pitch.

No Hangovers!

I’m not going to lie to you guys. After waking up this morning, I re-read my game recap from last night and I didn’t even remember writing 90% of those words. More surprisingly, I didn’t even enjoy 1 beverage last night. Nope. I was simply intoxicated, drunk off the shots that Raul just keeps on pouring out for us. I was also super paranoid about the nonsense that people would be writing about A-Rod this morning, which caused me to rattle off a string of sentences starting with “I wish” and “I hope.” I was utterly crazed. Luckily, after a good night’s sleep (albeit one that only lasted 3 hours or so), and major avoidance of mainstream sports media this morning, I can start to mentally prepare myself for Game 4. Join me.

For me, these day-after-dramatic-win games are always rife with letdown potential. Of course, one could say that the Orioles should be experiencing a hangover of sorts as well, but after watching Buck’s presser last night (and, well, knowing Buck) I doubt that he is going to tolerate any moping from his guys. Based on the way this series has gone so far and the way the Yanks and O’s locked horns during the regular season, we should probably be expecting another nail biter. Let’s take a look.

Game 4: Joe Saunders vs. Phil Hughes
Tonight, Yankee Stadium at 7:37pm EST on TBS

Joe Saunders…Him?

Remember when we all had a good laugh at Joe Saunders’ expense when he was chosen to start the Wild Card game, in Arlington, against a righty-laden mash brigade from hell? Right. Personally, I’ll reserve judgment on the decision to send Saunders to the hill in Game 4. Like most decisions Buck Showalter has made this year, tapping Saunders in the Wild Card game ended up paying off, as he turned in 5.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, on 77 pitches. Saunders was lifted with the Orioles leading 2-1 with 2 outs and the bases empty in the Bottom of the 6th, as Darren O’Day was brought on to retire Nelson Cruz to end the inning. Saunders really only had 2 innings where he ran into any kind of trouble, but Buck got him out of there and turned to the O’s solid pen before (what many believed to be imminent) disaster struck. I think it is probably safe to assume that we’ll see a similar strategy employed tonight.

In one start against the Yankees this season on September 8, the infamous Jerry Meals Game, Saunders allowed 5 hits and 2 ER in 5.1 innings of work but labored through his 101 pitches. It was a pretty typical Saunders outing: lots of soft stuff, never a pitch over the middle of the plate, a couple of long innings, somehow the wheels didn’t come off. In 28 games started for both BAL and ARI this season, Saunders allowed at least 1 run in all but 3 of them. For a guy who barely strikes anyone out (5.1 K/9 career) he generally does a good job of mitigating damage by limiting walks (2.0 BB/9 in 2012). He isn’t the guy who I would want out there for my team with the season on the line, but hey, nothing the Orioles have done this year makes any sense. Who am I to judge?

The Yankees have actually faced Saunders in October recently, taking him on twice in the 2009 ALCS when Saunders was with LAA. In those 2 games, Saunders allowed 5 ER on 13 H in 10.1 IP, striking out 5 and walking 6. Including the postseason, there are quite a few Yankees with rather gaudy numbers against Saunders. Derek Jeter, in particular, has tuned him up with 10 hits in 25 PAs, including 2 HR. Do you think he’s going to sit tonight? I’d bet against it.

Yankee to Watch: Alex Rodriguez And all eyes will be on him, won’t they? A-Rod has 8 hits in 24 careers PAs against Saunders, including 2 2B and 2 HR. I know that many narratives would lead you to believe that A-Rod is done forever, but Saunders seems like the type of guy that may be perfect for Alex right now. It’s easy to forget that Alex hit lefties quite well this year (.924 OPS, 8 HR). Additionally, Alex’s recent struggles have mainly come on 90s+ fastballs out over the plate, probably due to some combination of age and a not-quite-fully-healed-hand. Saunders doesn’t feature a serious heater (about 88, can get up to 91) so if he is foolish enough to leave one over the middle, Alex may be able to dispel some criticism tonight.

Phil Hughes

This is a big game for Phil. Huge, even. Phil’s postseason career has already been an interesting one for someone only a few months past his 26th birthday. Many remember his first taste in the 2007 ALDS, when Roger Clemens’ old legs gave out for the last time and Phil came in with 5.2 innings of stellar relief. In the 2009 postseason, Phil was unable to duplicate his regular season setup success, allowing 6 ER in 6.1 IP while walking 6. 2010 Phil provided us with a strong start against MIN, followed by 2 clunkers against TEX. So what does this all mean for 2012 Phil? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Hughes’ last regular season start was on September 30, so like Hiroki coming into last night, he’s had ample time to rest what may have been a weary arm down the stretch. After a superb performance against Boston on September 13, Phil failed to reach the 7th inning in each of his next 3 starts, allowing at least 4 ER in each outing. Perhaps coincidentally, those 3 starts all took place after Phil had already exceeded his previous (regular season) career high in innings. I know that I’m a habitual Phil Hughes apologist, but I’m banking on the fact that the guy was just running on fumes and that we will see a renewed Hughes tonight. Additionally, good starting pitching can be contagious, and the Yankees’ starters have been dynamite thus far. You can bet that Phil doesn’t want to be the one to break the chain.

Phil has taken the hill against the O’s 4 times this year, with 2 good outings and 2 relatively poor ones. His most recent outing against the Orioles on September 7th in Baltimore was solid (6 IP, 6 H 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) but he was rocked on September 2nd at the Stadium (5 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 HR). For the most part, we saw a good deal of consistency from Hughes in the 2nd half, and I think the added rest will restore whatever seems to have been lacking in his final 3 starts of the season. Is it a hunch? Yes. But if Joe can follow his gut, maybe I can too.

As is the case with any Hughes start, the main key will be keeping the ball in the ballpark. This is especially important against the O’s, who rely heavily on #toomanyhomeruns. Five members of the Orioles’ lineup have taken Hughes deep in their careers. Two of them have done it twice. Phil’s chances of leading the Yanks to the next round rest on his ability to keep the ball in the ballpark.

Annoying Orioles Player to Watch: Nate McLouth SSS Alert, but McLouth is 4-for-6 in his career against Hughes with 2 2B. Also, I just really don’t like his face.

Let’s Finish This Thing

I love me some winner take all games, but let’s leave that to the other 6 teams, okay? A win tonight means the Orioles are finally off the Yanks’ backs for the first time since forever ago, CC would be ready to rock for Game 1 of the ALCS, and Jeter would have a day to rest that foot. Going for the throat would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy the Quadrupleheader today, folks. It’s guaranteed to be the last one of the year.

My head is pounding. My heart is pounding. I Don’t. Believe. What. I. Just. Saw. I need a minute. Here. Read this for a second while I compose myself.

This is what I started penning somewhere around the 8th inning of tonight’s game:

This was…rough. Miguel Gonzalez continued his short-but-devastating run of dominance against the Yankees, allowing only 1 ER over 7 masterful innings. Gonzalez seemed to gather steam as the game went on and the Yankees got more anxious, finishing his outing with 5 consecutive strikeouts. When his night was over, he had held the 2-through-7 hitters in the Yankee lineup to 1-for-18 with 6 K. The Yankee Stadium faithful were really letting A-Rod have it tonight (obviously), but he definitely wasn’t the only Bomber who bombed.

Pessimistic? Perhaps. Little did I know, I was about to be treated to 2 of the most exciting swings I’ve ever witnessed, and the Yankees would take a 2-to-1 lead in the series.

Today, “redemption” is spelled “R-A-U-L”

When Brian Cashman opted to go after Raul Ibanez this past offseason, many Yankee fans grumbled and wondered why Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui weren’t more coveted. They were True Yankees, after all. An awful Spring Training for Ibanez did little to inspire any confidence. When he turned in a solid first half, most naysayers got on board, but they quickly reverted to criticism when Raul’s productivity began to wane in the second half.

Fast forward to the last three weeks: First, Ibanez crushed a 2-run HR to tie a wacky game with the A’s in the bottom of the 13th on September 22. Then, on October 2nd against the Red Sox, Raul hit a pinch-hit 2-R HR off Andrew Bailey to tie the game in the Bottom of the 9th before winning it for the Yanks with a RBI 1B in the 12th. Then tonight. Tonight was Raul’s piece de resistence.

Down 2-1 in the Bottom of the 9th, Joe Girardi decided to pinch hit for the struggling A-Rod with 1 out against O’s closer Jim Johnson. While the decidedly biased broadcast team was focusing on the inevitable controversy that would follow the move, and the “silence” of the Yankee Stadium faithful, Raul took care of business and drove Johnson’s low offering into the RF seats, tying the game at 2. Not wanting to ruin Raul’s special night, the next 8 Yankees allowed themselves to be retired in order (on purpose, presumably) and set Ibanez up to lead off the Bottom of the 12th against Brian Matusz. After reading some joshing on Twitter about how Raul was going to end it with another HR, I looked up to witness that exact historic baseball moment. Matusz attempted to run a high heater by Raul, and the pitch was sent into the night, landing in the second deck in RF. Ballgame over, Yankees win a thriller 3-2. I think I may have shrieked. You hate baseball if you didn’t.

So how rare of a feat was Raul’s performance? According to ESPN Stats & Info, Ibanez is the first player in postseason history to hit a HR in the 9th inning and in extra innings in the same game. Additionally, he is the first player in postseason history to HR twice in a game he did not start. I’m still finding it a little difficult to breathe.

HIROKtober

Hiroki Kuroda did not have great stuff tonight – or any semblance of command – but his final line was nearly as good as Miguel Gonzalez’s: 8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 K on 104 pitches. Hiroki allowed a solo HR to noted masher Ryan Flaherty in the 3rd and another to 20-year-old Manny Machado, but otherwise held the O’s lineup in check. A night-long struggle with control (and some shoddy defense) led to a bases loaded jam in the 4th. A walk to Chris Davis was followed by a 1B by Adam Jones. After getting Matt Wieters to fly out to left, Jim Thome hit what looked to be an inning ending ground ball double play, but Jeter was unable to complete the turn due to a hard slide from Jones. With first and third and 2 outs, Kuroda then plunked Mark Reynolds on the forearm to load the bases. Kuroda bore down to get Flaherty to hit a tapper back to the mound, and crisis was averted with the score tied 1-1.

Machado hit the first pitch Kuroda offered into the visitor’s bullpen to lead off the 5th, and that would be all he would let the Orioles have for the remainder of the night. Hiroki would retire 13 of the next 14 batters he faced, including the final 11 in a row. It wasn’t his strongest outing of the year, but it was admirable. With Kuroda pitching into the 9th, Girardi only needed to turn to his 3 most reliable relievers to finish the 9th and keep it tied into the 12th. Logan struck out Jim Thome and was relieved by Rafael Soriano who would strike out Mark Reynolds to end the 9th. Soriano worked a solid 10th before turning it over to David Robertson. Robertson looked dominant in both the 11th and the 12th, recording a pair of Ks and 1 H on 24 pitches.

Hiroki continued the trend of strong starting pitching for the Yankees thus far in the series, with the starters going at least 7 in each game. While it would be great if Phil Hughes could keep it rolling tomorrow evening, it’s a comforting feeling to know that the pen is at full force should Girardi need to lean on it early.

Backlash

I’m not going to harp on the “OMG A-ROD WAS PINCH HIT FOR” storyline, simply because it is likely to be, I don’t know, EVERYWHERE tomorrow. A-Rod commented after the game that when he was younger he would have felt slighted, but now he just wants to do whatever helps the team win. I hope that at least part of him is telling the truth, because man, did the guy who replaced him help the team win tonight. I really hope, for the sake of his ego, that A-Rod doesn’t see this graph, c/o FanGraphs and note when his night was over. I wish there was a safe house I could go to where I would be shielded from the A-Rod speculation that will lead up to tomorrow night’s game, because I have a feeling things will get ugly. I really hope that cooler heads prevail and we all realize that the Yanks are a better team with Alex in the lineup…though I’ll agree that maybe he should bat a bit lower than third.

Captain Crunch

Not talking about CC Sabathia here, folks. In the first inning of tonight’s game, Derek Jeter fouled a line drive off his left ankle and re-aggravated that injury that seems to have been plaguing him for nearly two months now. He grinded out a few more ABs (including legging out a RBI 3B) and managed to avoid any major tests in the field before finally giving in and allowing himself to be lifted for Jayson Nix in the 9th. After the game, Joe Girardi said that Jeter suffered a bone bruise and that he would be monitored as day-to-day. Maybe, maybe Jeter willingly sits tomorrow, but it will take a natural disaster to keep him out of a potential Game 5, I’m sure.

Looking Ahead

As of this moment, it’s looking like Game 4 will feature Jason Hammel taking on Phil Hughes. If anything changes, I’ll get it into the pitching matchup tomorrow afternoon. Until then, try to enjoy, folks. If you feel anything like I do right now, you probably won’t sleep. It was worth it.

c/o Wikimedia Commons user Gryffindor

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Jim Thome is the man responsible for the Yankees taking the field to the Guns n’ Roses’ classic ”Welcome to the Jungle” and that the tradition started during the 1997 ALDS. Thome (at least in my version of history), when asked if the Indians were ready for the playoff atmosphere of the Bronx, said something to the effect of, “It’s a jungle out there.” Hopefully 2012 Jim Thome and his new team are treated to the same hospitality he anticipated 15 years ago.

Anyway, here we go again. It seems like whenever the Yankees take on a team in the ALDS that isn’t from the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we can expect the series to go the distance and be filled with exhausting games. You can also expect a game or two to end with an A-Rod strikeout (trolltrolltroll), and the mass media rants that will follow. Given that the first two games with the O’s have already provided us with 17 innings of tense baseball and 1 A-Rod-K-to-end-the-game, it would probably be prudent to brace oneself for more of the same over the next several days. With the Orioles yet to announce their pitching plans for Games 4 and 5 (if necessary), let’s take this one at a time.

Game 3: Miguel Gonzalez vs. Hiroki Kuroda
Wednesday 10/10: Yankee Stadium, 7:37pm EST on TBS*
*Will be moved to 8:37pm EST if  DET and CIN finish sweeps tonight. Gross. 

Let HIROKtober begin! Joe Girardi, sensing that Hiroki was starting to look a bit gassed in his September starts, opted to go to Pettitte in Game 2 to provide Kuroda with some extra rest. Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Oh, and NBD, but this also means that Hiroki will get to pitch at Yankee Stadium instead of Camden Yards. Hiroki at home? A veritable beast: 11-6, 2.72 ERA, 1.005 WHIP, .219/.268/.347 against, and 3.61 K/BB in 132.1 IP. Both of Hiroki’s starts against the O’s this year took place at the Stadium. He was excellent against the April version of Buck’s Boys (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K in a 2-1 victory) and fairly solid against the torrid August version of the Orioles (8.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K in a 6-1 loss).

Again, allow me to reiterate that I agreed with Girardi’s move to let Hiroki recharge his batteries for another 2 days, but I feel obligated to point out that extra rest has not been so kind to No. 18 as of late. Hiroki last pitched on October 3 against the Red Sox, so he will take the hill with a full week from start to start.  This season, Kuroda made 3 starts on 6+ days’ rest and allowed 23 H, 13 ER, and 8 BB in 18.2 IP. The good news? That’s a pretty small sample size. Over his career, Hiroki has been very solid on extra rest, turning in a 3.07 ERA over 18 starts and 111.1 IP.

Miguel Gonzalez is probably one of the last pitchers anyone expected to see taking the hill for a playoff game in Yankee Stadium this year. Signed originally by the Angels in 2004, Gonzalez bounced around their minor league system for several years with middling success before returning to the Mexican League for 2 years. After returning stateside, having Tommy John surgery, and spending some time in the Red Sox system, Gonzalez excelled enough for the Orioles at AAA this year to earn a mid-season call-up. In 14 starts, Gonzalez was a model of consistency for the O’s, going 9-4 with a 3.25 ERA and helping the pitching staff weather a myriad of injuries.

While Gonzalez is still a relative neophyte, the trusty division-heavy schedule provided the Yankees with 2 glances at him this year. Gonzalez was stellar in both outings, going 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 11.2 K/9 in 13.2 IP (both at Yankee Stadium). The O’s have been cautious with Gonzalez’s workload this year given that his only 100+ IP season in pro ball was in 2007 with the Angels’ AA affiliate. As a result, nearly a third of his starts this year took place on 6+ days of rest, and the results are quite good: 7 ER in 25 IP over 4 starts, with K/9 of 6.8 (season K/9 of 6.6). His last outing of the regular season was October 2 against the Rays. Knowing that the division still hung in the balance, Gonzalez went 6.1 innings, striking out 7 while allowing only 2 hits and 0 runs. Suffice to say, the Yanks may have their hands full.

Annoying Orioles Player to Watch: Mark Reynolds (who else?). The career numbers against Hiroki are very, um, Reynolds-esque (5-for-27, HR, 6 RBI, 10 K) but he has burnt the Yanks time and time again this year. I’m mentally preparing myself for at least one or two more big hits this series while I’m screaming “DON’T THROW HIM A STRIKE!!” at the television.

Yankee to Watch: Eric Chavez. A brief foray into this morning’s NYC talk radio underworld led me to believe that there is a vast contingent of Yankees’ fans who would like to see A-Rod benched in favor of Eric Chavez. Frankly, I’m happy that no one that I associate with holds this view. While benching A-Rod may be absurd, it may behoove Joe to get Chavez some ABs in Game 3 (maybe DH A-Rod?) since he’s the only Yankee with even moderate success against Gonzalez: 3-for-6, HR, 2 RBI. I know that Girardi has said that there won’t be any “shake-ups” but I’m a big Chavez supporter, a DH day for A-Rod isn’t inconsistent with what has been the game plan up until this point, and I don’t think anything is lost by getting Chavy in there at the expense of someone like Ibanez (who may be even more valuable off the bench as a PH, as we’ve seen).

From the Non-Pinstriped Postseason Action Department: Over in the Senior Circuit, the Giants will be trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Reds on TBS at 5:30pm EST, while the Tigers will attempt to vanquish the A’s on TBS at 9:00pm EST. I’ll be getting my fill, and you should too. Most importantly, enjoy the night off, folks, and try not to get too stressed out about the shifting start times (like I have been). Hopefully the NYC weather clears up, and we get the Stadium rocking from the first pitch tomorrow.

Well, that was fun and scary.

First it was scary. Then it was fun. So let’s skip the scary stuff, shall we?

The game was tied 2-2 going into the ninth inning.

Close games are Baltimore’s ‘bread and butter’ so to speak – they were 29-9 in one-run games this season and if the Yankees were going to score, their fans would prefer for them to score more than once.

They didn’t let the fans down.

Russell Martin started things off with a solo home run on a 2-0 pitch from Jim Johnson.

Yes, the Orioles brought their closer into a tie game. It didn’t pay off for them.

Raul Ibanez, Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki all followed with singles. Ibanez was replaced by Eduardo Nunez when he made it to third and when Ichiro hit his infield single, Nunez scored easily, putting the Yankees up 4-2.

They weren’t done.

Alex Rodriguez struck out but Robinson Cano came up and after started the night 0-4, he belted a double into left field which scored Jeter and Ichiro. Cano reached third on a throwing error by JJ Hardy.

The Yankees were up 6-2.

Buck Showalter replaced Johnson with Tommy Hunter and Nick Swisher hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Cano.

The score was 7-2, Yankee fans were thrilled and Oriole fans were filing out of Camden Yards.

Sabathia came out in the bottom of the ninth, trying to get a complete game. He started things off by inducing a ground ball out from Manny Machado, then striking out Chris Davis.

After getting two strikes on Lew Ford, Sabathia surrendered a double to Ford and was taken out of the game.

Joe Girardi brought David Robertson in and he – Robertson, not Girardi – got Ryan Flaherty to strike out on a foul pitch to end the game.

Yankees win and guarantee at least a split in Baltimore.

Sabathia only gave up two earned runs on eight hits, walked one batter and struck out seven on 120 pitches.

Some facts from @yestoresearch:

• Derek Jeter now with 55 multi-hit postseason games, adding to his MLB record.
• This is the 8th ALDS Game 1 in which the Yankees scored 7 runs or more. (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012)
• Yankees with 5-run 9th in postseason for first time since they put 6 on the Red Sox in Game 4 of 1999 ALCS.  It was tied 2-2 then too.

So today’s the day when Yankee fans find out who the Bronx Bombers will be facing in the American League Divisional Series.

To be perfectly honest it’s like choosing between the lesser of two evils.

In one corner, you have the Texas Rangers who are a scary team that has recent playoff experience – losing the last two World Series – and in the other corner you have the Baltimore Orioles who are appearing in the playoffs for the first time since 1997. They are young, they are hungry and would love nothing more than to beat the big, bad New York Yankees.

I’m not going to say who I’d rather the Yanks face because I really don’t know. The Yankees were 9-9 against the O’s in the regular season and 4-3 against the Rangers.

Of course, none of that really matters once the playoffs begin. Every team starts at zero wins and regular season stats are thrown out the window.

What I will do is watch both Wildcard games and relax for another day because the ALDS doesn’t begin until Sunday. There’s no use in stressing out before there’s an actual reason to, right?

So the MLB PR account tweeted the Top Ten selling jersey list and Derek Jeter ranked first for the third straight year. Considering how many people bash him, I’m surprised. Of course, maybe some people are buying his jersey to urinate on or to burn. Who knows.

Here’s the complete Top 10. Notice who is not in there, MVP candidate, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers.

Mark Teixeira is coming back to the Yankees, again; returning from his stint on the DL because of that calf injury he suffered in that game in Baltimore that the Yankees lost on a horrible call at first base that affected the outcome of the game and that now looks to affect the outcome of the AL East Standings.

Remember how people were speculating and saying, “What if the Yankees and O’s finish tied? This game is a big reason why.” Well, here we are. The Yankees and Orioles are tied atop the Division with three games left so it looks like fans can be in for a bumpy ride.

As I explained in my Quick Hit last night, if the teams finished tied after 162 games, they play each other on October 4th in Baltimore in the now infamous ‘Game 163.” The loser will play Oakland on the 5th and the winner will meet Detroit (if they win the AL Central, which they looked poised to do) in the ALDS.

I can barely handle the playoffs but the possibility of a tiebreaker and then a play-in game? That might be too much for me to deal with this week.

Being so emotionally invested in one team gets to be too much sometimes. Of course, it’s my own fault, I could take a step back and look at things from a different perspective. But then again why should I? We’re all fans in our own way and if I want to be nervous and if my face chooses to break out in what I affectionately call ‘playoff zits” then so be it.