Yankees Go Gentle Into That Crappy Night

Wonder if A-Rod hit on her? - photo courtesy of Kansas City Star

The Yankees exited the playoffs on Thursday with the expected whimper. The only bang heard was ball meeting bat whenever CC Sabathia threw said ball. The Yankees best pitcher saved his worst for last and was the Yankees starter of the post-season to get truly hammered. The end result was an 8-1 Detroit Tigers pasting that put them in the World Series vs. either St. Louis or San Fran.

The Yankees were held to just two hits by Tigers' starter Max Scherzer, who like the other Orioles and Tigers pitched like Sandy Koufax in his prime. Let me rephrase that- the Yankees made Scherzer look like Koufax in his prime. And that's not to take anything away from Scherzer. The Yankees were just incredibly horrendous in this post-season.

Sabathia, who had pitched so well in the ALDS clincher, didn't make it out of the 4th inning. He had already thrown 93 pitches and was charged with six runs. Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta smashed 2-run home runs off him in the 4th inning. Peralta would add another off of David Robertson and Austin Jackson took Derek Lowe deep as well.

The Yankees only base hits came from Eduardo Nunez, and Nick Swisher, who drove in the lone Yankees run in the 6th inning. Alex Rodriguez (0-2) and Curtis Granderson (0-1, K) entered the game as pinch-hitters after Jim Leyland pulled Scherzer after 5.2 innings, 10 strikeouts, and 98 pitches thrown, in favor of lefty Drew Smyly.

And now begins the arduous task of making this franchise back into something. More on that later.

Tigers Near Pennant Behind Verlander Domination

Joe Girardi's "Make-a-Wish" lineup actually did worse than when Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher were a part of it. Then again the Yankees had the unenviable task of facing reigning AL Cy Young/MVP Justin Verlander in the third game of the ALCS.

Though Verlander wasn't at his best, he was good enough to pick up the win in Detroit's 2-1 victory over the Yankees in Game 3. The Yankees made it exciting in the 9th when Eduardo Nunez homered off Verlander and Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano reached on 2-out hits against Phil Coke. But magic man Raul Ibanez had no magic this time around and struck out when he chased a 3-2 pitch out of the zone to end the game.

Delmon Young, who has excelled in the last two post-seasons against the Yankees, hit a solo home run off Phil Hughes in the 4th to snap the scoreless tie. After Hughes followed the gopher ball with a walk to Andy Dirks, the right-hander had to leave the game with a stiff back.

The Tigers doubled their lead thanks in part thanks to an Eric Chavez error that allowed Quentin Berry to reach safely to start the bottom of the 5th. Chavez got the start at the third base in place of the benched Rodriguez. Berry stole second base and scored easily on Miguel Cabrera's double off of David Phelps.

The Yankees pitching, as it has all post-season, did very well in Game 3. But with a punch-less lineup as soon as the opponent scores one run, the night was pretty much over. Slumps continued - Robinson Cano 1-30 (thought that is an improvement), Curtis Granderson 3-29, Eric Chavez 0-14.  The only hits the Yankees had on the night were a pair of singles by Ichiro Suzuki, who is one of the few batters left with some hits in him.

Verlander wasn't his sharpest, but was still better than most pitchers on their best nights. He allowed just three hits in 8.1 innings, hit 99 mph on the radar gun, and allowed just his second earned run in 24.1 post-season innings.

The Yankees will send CC Sabathia out Wednesday in hopes of putting off the end of the season one more day. The Tigers will go with right-hander Max Scherzer and Joe Girardi will try and figure out some lineup that might make some magic.  Otherwise, the Yankees will be hitting the golf courses sooner than they had hoped.

A-Rod, Swisher Take a Seat

The radio was a buzz this afternoon when the Yankees lineup came out and Alex Rodriguez and Nick Swisher were not a part of it.

Needless to say sitting Swisher didn't have much impact on sports radio discussions, but both Michael Kay (ESPN) and Mike Francesa (WFAN) blasted the idea of sitting down a $30MM a year superstar. Even if that star's glow has faded.  A-Rod has been terrible, there is no question about it, but neither felt putting Eric Chavez in was the answer. (Chavez is 0-11 thus far with six strikeouts.)

Brett Gardner, who hasn't started a game since April, is leading off and playing left field, while Ichiro Suzuki will slide over to right field.  Joe Girardi, in search of any offense, will take a hit defensively tonight with Eduardo Nunez getting the start at shortstop.

But all of those changes paled in comparison to Rodriguez sitting on the bench for the second time in three games. The relationship between Girardi and Rodriguez may have already been strained from the manager's decision to pinch-hit for him twice in the ALCS, but the benchings are even more embarrassing for the 37-year old.

Rodriguez is 4-7 against tonight's starter Justin Verlander, with a pair of home runs. No one thinks A-Rod's past success with impact his game tonight, but Kay and Francesa both felt you need to go with the one-time superstar in the biggest game of the post-season.

There was also speculation that A-Rod's supposed behavior during Game 1, as reported by the NY Post, had an influence on Girardi. Witness said that Rodriguez continually flirted with two women that sat behind the Yankees dugout, at one point sending them baseballs that he wrote on asking for their numbers.  One of the two obliged. It was only when Derek Jeter was injured that Rodriguez shut down the American Gigolo show. (Surprised A-Rod didn't go with a Joey Tribbiani, "How youuu doing?")

Kay was livid, for lack of a better word, that Curtis Granderson continued to be in the starting lineup despite the fact that he is just 3-26 (.115).

No matter who is in the Yankees starting lineup, they are going to have a hard time hitting, arguably, the best pitcher in baseball. Verlander won the AL Cy Young and MVP awards last season and was 17-8, 2.64 this year. Prior to this season, Verlander didn't pitch well in his previous post-season starts. But he was dominant in beating the Oakland A's in Game 1 and the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS. (16 IP 7 H 1 ER 5 BB 22 K)

He'll be opposed tonight by Phil Hughes, who pitches the biggest game of his career (supplanting last week's game against Baltimore) tonight.  Hughes allowed just a run on four hits and struck out eight in 6.1 innings against the Orioles in Game 4 of the ALDS, which the Orioles won in 13 innings.

It's doubtful tomorrow, no matter the outcome of tonight's game, that tonight's pitchers will be the topic of tomorrow's talk shows.

The Jeter-less, Swishful Game 2 lineup

I had to see it with my own two eyes, but indeed Derek Jeter is not in the post-season lineup for the first time...EVER. And unfortunately Nick Swisher still is.

LF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Robinson Cano
1B Mark Teixeira
DH Raul Ibanez
   C Russell Martin
3B Alex Rodriguez
CF Curtis Granderson
RF Nick Swisher
SS Jayson Nix

Hiroki Kuroda will be on the hill and has to be at his best. There's no room for error when your team doesn't hit.

As expected, Eduardo Nunez was placed on the roster to replace Jeter.

Yankees Get All the Bad Breaks in Game 1 Loss

Photo courtesy of CNN.com

The Yankees post-season went from the real to the surreal last night and I am still trying to get my head wrapped around it. Game 1 of the ALCS went from low to high to rock bottom in a manner of hours. It's been a rough year for the remaining members of the "Core Four" (Mariano Rivera's season ending ACL injury; Andy Pettitte's broken ankle; at least Jorge Posada was having fun last night at his wife's bff's wedding in Puerto Rico) and last night it got worse when the Yankees dropped the ALCS opener, 6-4 to the Tigers.

Raul Ibanez, amazingly, hit another desperation home run in the bottom of the 9th to send the game into extra innings. But in the 12th and final inning, the Yankees suffered a truly painful loss. Delmon Young had already put Detroit ahead with an RBI double off of David Phelps when Jhonny Peralta hit a bouncer up the middle.

Derek Jeter fielded the ball, lost his footing and hit the dirt. With no play, he quickly flipped the ball in the direction of Robinson Cano to keep the runners from advancing and roared in pain. And then he didn't get up. I truly believe every Yankees fan gasped at that moment. We all have seen Derek Jeter not get up once before and that's when he had his shoulder destroyed on opening day in 2003. (The dive in the stands he was able to get to his feet with assistance, even he was not quite sure where he was at that moment).

The next image of Jeter being helped off the field with no weight being put on his left leg told us all we needed to know. There was big trouble in the Bronx and after the game it was confirmed- Jeter had fractured his left ankle and is done for the post-season. A three month recovery period is expected, and hopefully, after further testing, no surgery will be needed. Ironically, it came on the 11th anniversary of the "Flip Play" in the 2001 playoffs.

There were a few factors that played into the gruesome ending of the evening. First, the Yankees could do nothing on offense for eight innings, leaving the bases loaded three times. They also did nothing after scoring four runs in the 9th inning. (Ichiro Suzuki delivered a 2-run home run prior  to Ibanez's blast.) A combo of Major League Baseball's scheduling with the Yankees propensity for long, extra inning games can lead to issues for a 38-year old with already beat up ankles and feet. And finally, had Nick Swisher not screwed up another play in the outfield, perhaps none of the aftermath would have taken place.

Outfielder or turtle? You decide. Photo courtesy of NY Post

David Phelps entered the game in the 12th (I believe a major mistake by Joe Girardi not staying with David Robertson for a second inning) inning and walked Miguel Cabrera. Though I hate walking batters I had no problem with that since I don't want Cabrera having a chance to beat me.

Prince Fielder hit a tapper to move to Cabrera into scoring position, which brought up Young. The DH, who killed the Yankees last season's ALDS (.316 3 HR 3 RBI), hit a laser to right field. Swisher appeared ready to make a running catch, but the next thing you knew the ball shot past him to the wall to score Cabrera. And of course, Swisher, the clown that he is (Have you noticed how I have totally had it with this guy?) then had to go into a roll as well. The Tigers added an insurance run when Andy Dirks' comebacker couldn't be handled by Phelps for a ribbie single.

Drew Smyly allowed a single to Suzuki in the 11th, but retired the final six men he faced to earn his first post-season win. His fellow rookie Phelps lost for the second time, after he had been on the wrong end of a 13-inning, 2-1 loss in Game 4 of the ALDS.

For most of the game it looked like the Yankees would be dispatched rather easily as they threatened against Tigers starter Doug Fister, but couldn't push a run across.

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte made the mistake of having one bad inning, the 6th, when he allowed a pair of runs and things got worse when Derek Lowe was charged with two more in the 8th for a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 deficit.

Tigers closer Jose Valverde had a pretty miserable year and it continued when he came on in the 9th to close things out. He gave up a lead off single to Russell Martin and two batters later Suzuki his first career post-season home run to halve the lead.

Photo courtesy of LA Times

It appeared Valverde would still come out with a save when he retired Robinson Cano (now 2-28 in the post-season) and had two strikes on Mark Teixeira. But the Yankees first baseman worked a walk and a chant of Rauuuuuuuuuuuuuuul greeted Ibanez as he stepped into the batter's box. Ahead 0-1 in the count, Valverde hung a slider and Ibanez deposited it into the right field seats. A sullen Yankee Stadium crowd erupted into a joyous frenzy.

But the Bombers went back to being the Bombless in extra innings. Curtis Granderson drew a one out walk from Octavio Dotel in the 10th inning and pinch-runner Brett Gardner stole second.  But Dotel got Martin on a weak fly to center, and after Gardner stole third, he retired Jeter on a routine fly out to right. It was all downhill after that.

The game started out with such promise when the Yankees put Fister on the ropes in the 1st inning. With the bases loaded on walks, Alex Rodriguez hit a hard smash to the left side that shortstop Jhonny Peralta made a diving stop on and threw to second just in time to force Ibanez.

The Yankees mounted another two out, bases loaded rally in the 2nd inning on consecutive singles by Martin, Jeter, and Suzuki. Cano hit a comebacker off the right wrist of Fister and the ball ricocheted to Peralta who threw Cano out at first to end the inning (though replays showed that Cano was clearly safe.)

Pettitte meanwhile was cruising along. He struck out four and used a double play to get out of some trouble through the first five innings. But his luck ran out in the 6th when Austin Jackson led off with a scorcher that got trapped in the cutout on the right side by the ball boy. It was the one time a fan should have reached out and grabbed the ball for a ground rule double.

Pettitte retired Omar Infante and then intentionally walked Cabrera set up a double play possibility. But Fielder lined an RBI single to center to get the Tigers on the board. Young followed with a bloop to right that Swisher played on a hop rather than aggressively try to dive for it (which you have to do when your team isn't scoring). Cabrera took off immediately when bat met ball and scored easily. Down 2-0, Pettitte bore down and escaped further trouble.

Remarkably, the Yankees put Fister on the ropes again in the bottom of the 6th when Teixeira singled and Ibanez doubled to right. But Fister struck out A-Rod, and after a walk to Swisher to load the bases, K'ed Granderson and Martin. (Daniel Day-Lewis will soon be starring in "There Will Be Booing").


Notes

CC Sabathia could have come back on three days rest and pitched Game 3 of the ALCS, but at the moment Joe Girardi has him slated for Game 4. I think it's a mistake, but we will all see how things play out. The outcome of Game 2 could changes things.

Hiroki Kuroda goes against Anibal Sanchez in Game 2, and then Phil Hughes starts Game 3 in Detroit against Justin Verlander. Sabathia would go against Max Scherzer in the 4th game.

Girardi chose to pinch-hit for A-Rod once again, with Eric Chavez. The move made no sense since A-Rod was leading off the 8th and the Yankees were down four.

Time to Bench This Clown

Swisher can have a post-season career in MTV's Jackass series - Photo Courtesy of NJ.com

Nick Swisher is beloved by many fans and has become a bit of a mascot/hero to the right field Bleacher Creatures.  He's a very good regular season player that has helped the Yankees to three AL East division crowns and four straight post-season appearances.  But when it's time to play under the bright lights of October, Swisher begins his winter hibernation early.

When Swisher is going good his outlook on life/act is fine, but it gets a little old when he's not. The fawning and preening, the tongue with the hook-'em-horns, the "gad durnit" speech, etc. just makes him look like a clown/asshat.

Most of all Swisher needs to take a seat on the bench right now. Alex Rodriguez has been vilified by the fans, pinch-hit for (twice) and then benched by his manager, yet Swisher continues to play despite NEVER contributing in the post-season.

His post-season resume in pinstripes:

2009 ALDS 1-12 (.083)
2009 ALCS 3-20 (.150)
2009 WS  2-15 (.133)

2010 ALDS 4-12 (.333; ok his one minor contribution in which he had one solo home run)
2010 ALCS 2-22 (.091)

2011 ALDS 4-19 (.211)

2012 ALDS 2-18 (.111)

Overall that comes out to 18-118 (.153) and while he has been solid in the outfield, there were a pair of plays in this year's ALDS that had me scratching my non-dandruff head.

A liner off the bat of  Manny Machado to right field saw Swisher slide to stop the ball. The result was an easy double for the semi-speedy Machado. No telling if Swisher, who has an average arm, could have held him to a single.

Worse was a play to right-center (I believe McLouth was the batter; caffeine hasn't quite kicked in yet) that Swisher basically did a stop-drop-and-roll to field, again giving him no shot to stop the batter from taking an extra base. In both cases there was no reason for Swisher to go to the ground.

Even though it would hurt a bit defensively it's time to start Raul Ibanez in LF, Ichiro Suzuki in right and use Swisher and/or Brett Gardner as defensive replacements late.

Swisher's contract is up after the season and he'll be eligible for free agency. Brian Cashman and the Yankees must let him walk. He'll help get to you to Fall season, but forget it beyone that.

Joe Girardi did what he felt he needed to do with  A-Rod and now it's time for him to help the team again by putting Swisher on the bench.