1 Inning Martin-izing Lifts Yankees

Photo courtesy of USA Today

There was the usual moaning, groaning, and grousing last night by Yankees' fans on Facebook, Twitter, and the more traditional bars and living rooms.

Why can't the Yankees get a hit with men on? Why are they bunting? Why are they..whatever?

When it came right down to it, the difference in the Yankees 7-2 ALDS Game 1 win over the Baltimore Orioles was the 2012 standby, the home run. It came off the bat of catcher Russell Martin, who hit a career high 21 home runs in the regular season, and ignited a five-run 9th inning that game the Yankees a 1-0 advantage in the best of five series.

It also made a winner of CC Sabathia, who pitched a stellar 8.2 innings to pick up his first post-season victory since Game 5 of the 2010 ALCS against Texas. Ironically, that game finished with a 7-2 score as well.

Sabathia had given up a pair of runs in the 3rd inning, but scattered eight hits and pitched out of any additional trouble he had on the night. He came within one out of a complete game, but his 120th pitch was a two-out double by Lew Ford in the 9th. That prompted Joe Girardi to call on David Robertson to close things out and the right-hander did just that when he blew a fastball past Ryan Flaherty for a third strike.

Both teams had shots to take the lead throughout the game, but the Yankees added to their woes with a couple of base running gaffes. Ichiro Suzuki followed Derek Jeter's game starting single with a gapper to left-center that scoring the Yankees captain for a quick 1-0 lead. With Alex Rodriguez at the plate, Ichiro felt he could steal off O's starter Jason Hammel, but didn't get a good jump and was easily gunned out by catcher Matt Wieters.

With two aboard in the 4th, Mark Teixeira ripped a line drive off the scoreboard in right to tie the game (2-2), but he then tried to stretch a single into a double. Presumably said attempt took place because Chris Davis, normally a corner infielder, was playing right field for the injured Nick Markakis. Teixeira would likely not have run on Markakis' arm, but was still easily thrown out at second base by Davis.

Buck Showalter elected to intentionally walk Curtis Granderson and it paid off when Hammel got Martin to fly out to end the inning.  The Orioles had a great chance to take the lead when they put runners on the corners against Sabathia in the 5th, but the lefty struck out Nate McLouth and got J.J. Hardy to bounce out. Sabathia also picked up his shortstop an inning later, after Jeter's error put two on with two outs, when he got Davis to fly out to center for the third out.

The Yankees finally took control in the 9th against Orioles closer Jim Johnson. After Martin's home run, Raul Ibanez singled through the right side and went to third on Jeter's hit-and-run single. Ichiro Suzuki then cued a ball that died in the grass near the first base line to score pinch-runner Eduardo Nunez for 4-2 advantage.

Alex Rodriguez continued to struggle and struck out for the third time on the night, but red-hot Robinson Cano delivered both base runners with a double to left. The Yankees added one more run on a Nick Swisher sacrifice fly against Tommy Hunter.

Notes

Game 2 will see Andy Pettitte on the mound in October for the first time since he allowed two runs over seven innings in a Game 3 loss to Texas in the ALCS two years ago. Cliff Lee and Neftali Feliz combined on  a shutout and the Yankees pen put the game out of reach when they allowed six  runs in the top of the 9th for an 8-0 final.  Overall, Pettitte is 19-10, 3.83 in 42 career post-season appearances, all starts. He'll be opposed by Wei-Yin Chen this evening.

Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira both know that for the Yankees to succeed they need to break out of the dual slump that has plagued them in post-season baseball in Pinstripes. Last night was a good start as both reached base three times (Swisher, 2 walks, 1 hit, Teixeira, 2 hits, 1 walk) and drove in a run each.

Many Yankees fans were not pleased that Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr. was part of the TBS broadcast booth (along with Ernie Johnson and John Smoltz) last night and for the series. But the man who broke Lou Gehrig's iron man streak showed no bias, and it's absolutely ridiculous if anyone thinks his being part of the broadcast has an affect on the game.

Cano and Yankees Have A Blast

I had to admit I was more tense before the continuation of Game 1 than I was before the actual start. Even though Justin Verlander had started for Detroit, the Yankees had answered with CC Sabathia. Then, as you know, the rains came and 23 hours and 29 minutes later play resumed.

It actually looked tenuous for a while - it was pouring a little less than two hours before game time. But once things got underway the weather was cold and damp, but dry. There was some heat though, in the bat of Robinson Cano. He nearly homered in the 5th, but settled for an RBI double. Then with the Yankees leading 4-1 on a Brett Gardner 2-run single earlier in the 6yh, Cano came to bat with the bases loaded.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland Doug Fister, whom the Yankees had waited out, and went to strike out pitcher Al Alburquerque. Leyland had lefty Phil Coke ready in the pen, but figured with Cano's prowess aginst lefties, his right-hander had a better shot at retiring Cano. Boy was he wrong.

This time Cano hit a no doubt about it blast into the second deck in right, through the team of the wind for a game breaking 8-1 lead. Cano wasn't done though, he'd had an RBI double to deep center in the 8th to make a 9-1 game and a team record tying 6 RBI.

Cano wasn't the only one dealing with a hot hand, starter turned reliever in this case, Ivan Nova shut down the Tigers for the most part. He ran into trouble when he put two aboard with one out in the 6th, but Alex Avila got a bad jump off of second base on Jhonny Peralta's base hit and was thrown out at home on a relay from Curtis Granderson to Derek Jeter to Russell Maritn.

He would pitch into the 9th, when he loaded the bases and left to a standing ovation. Detroit put a brief scare into the Yankees when they scored a pair of (inherited) runs off of Luis Ayala, forcing Joe Girardi to call on Mariano Rivera. The Yankees' closer made easy work of it with a three pitch strikeout of Wilson Betemit.

Yankees Win Bigger Than Texas

CC Sabathia has picked up his teammates up many times with outstanding starts. Friday night it was his teammates turn to pick up the top Cy Young contender with a come from behind, 6-5 victory in game 1 of the ALCS.

Bolstered by a 5-0 lead, C.J. Wilson dominated the Yankees through six innings before Robinson Cano finally put the Yankees on the board with a solo home run. An inning later the Yankees took advantage of a shaky Rangers bullpen.

Brett Gardner started things off with pure hustle on a tapper to first baseman Jorge Cantu. Gardner flew down the line and slid head first to beat Wilson to the first base bag. Derek Jeter followed with a double into the left field corner and Gardner scored as the ball kicked around in the corner. Ron Washington pulled Wilson and opted for left-hander Darren Wilson to keep Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira batting from the right side.

The move didn't matter though when Oliver, who faced the Yankees in the post-season as a member of the Rangers in 1996, walked both hitters to load the bases. Washington went to right-hander Darren O'Day to face Alex Rodriguez, but the Yankees third baseman ripped a 2-run single through his counterpart Michael Young to cut the lead to 5-4.

Washington's moves continued to backfire when he brought in lefty Clay Rapada to face Cano. The Yankees MVP candidate lined a single to center field that Josh Hamilton mishandled to allow Teixeira to score the tying run. Cue another pitching change.

This time Washington went with another left-hander, Derek Holland, but Marcus Thames singled home A-Rod to put the Yankees on top for the first time, 6-5.

Sabathia appeared to be rusty after not having pitched since October 6. His lack of command affected him immediately as he walked lead off man Elvis Andrus in the 1st inning. Young followed with a single and Josh Hamilton hit a 2-strike frozen rope into the right field seats for a 3-0 lead.

The Rangers would eventually load the bases and could have broken the game open early, but Posada fielded Sabathia's wild pitch and threw out Nelson Cruz racing home from third. Replays showed that Sabathia got the tag on Cruz's shoulder just before the Rangers outfielder crossed home plate. Sabathia appeared to settle down somewhat, but the Rangers staged a two out rally in the 4th inning that culminated with a Young 2-run double for the 5-0 advantage.

The Yankees bullpen combo of Joba Chamberlain and Dustin Moseley plugged up the leak and enabled the comeback. Moseley picked up the first post-season win of his career after Mariano Rivera escaped a jam in the 9th. Pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second by Andrus. But Rivera won a long duel with Young with a strikeout and got Hamilton to ground out to end the game.

Notes

The Rangers relievers were most responsible for the loss, but Ian Kinsler has some goat horns as well. After drawing a lead off walk against Kerry Wood in the 8th, Kinsler was picked off for a huge out.

Cano's home run was the first by a left-hander off of Wilson since June, '08.

And Then C.J. Wilson Said....

Every major league team has a player or two to break up the monotony that builds up over a 162 game season. There’s the guy (Kenny Rogers) who gives the hot foot in the dugout. The quirky left-hander (Sparky Lyle) who ceremoniously sits naked in the birthday cakes. The player (Roger McDowell) who puts on a wig and dresses in disguises. And then there’s the Texas Rangers starter who lets his mouth and fingers do the talking. Sometimes entertaining, sometimes controversial, but never boring- that’s C.J. Wilson.

Read the rest of my story for free on BaseballDigest.com.

Yankees-Red Sox Opening Night Lineups

Courtesy of the NY Daily News' Mark Feinsand:

YANKEES

Derek Jeter, SS
Nick Johnson, DH
Mark Teixeira, 1B
Alex Rodriguez, 3B
Robinson Cano, 2B
Jorge Posada, C
Curtis Granderson, CF
Nick Swisher, RF
Brett Gardner, LF

CC Sabathia, LHP

RED SOX

Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Victor Martinez, C
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Mike Cameron, CF
Marco Scutaro, SS

Josh Beckett, RHP

The Dominator

CC Dominates ALCS Game 1

Written for Baseball Digest Online

Brian Cashman went hard after free agent CC Sabathia last winter for one reason and one reason only. Games in October. Sabathia paid out a huge dividend tonight with eight dominate innings and the Yankees took advantage of a rare sloppy performance by the Los Angeles of Anaheim to grab Game 1 of the ALCS, 4-1.

Sabathia came out firing bullets in the first inning and was still hitting 95-mph on the radar gun in his final frame. He threw 113 pitches, 76 of which were strikes, in winning his fourth career post-season game. Sabathia allowed just four hits, a walk, and struck out seven. His only difficulty came in the 4th inning with the Yankees up 2-0. Torii Hunter reached on a one out double and scored two batters later on an RBI single by Kendry Morales. But Sabathia retired Howie Kendrick on a line out to right to end the inning.

The Yankees jumped right on Angels’ starter John Lackey in the 1st inning. Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon reached on back to back singles, and Juan Rivera contributed a throwing error, to put both runners in scoring position with no one out. Lackey got a big out when Mark Teixeira popped out, but Alex Rodriguez flew to deep center for his 7th RBI of the post-season and a 1-0 Yankees’ lead.

The Yankees then got a huge break when Chone Figgins and Erick Aybar stared at Hideki Matsui’s pop up until it fell in for a gift RBI single. Figgins appeared to at first call for the ball, but neither infielder took charge and the Yankees took advantage.

Lackey appeared to be getting stronger in the middle innings, but then the Yankees mounted another threat in the 5th. Damon led off with a double and one batter later, A-Rod earned an unintentional intentional walk. Matsui ripped a clean hit to left-center to score Damon, but A-Rod ran through the stop sign at third and was out on a hard collision at home plate with catcher Jeff Mathis.

In the 6th, Melky Cabrera reached on a two out walk and moved to second on Lackey’s errant pick off throw. Jeter ripped a single back up the middle. Any chance Hunter had of throwing Cabrera out at home went out the window when the ball kicked off the heel of his glove and shot past him for an error.

Joe Girardi didn’t hesitate at all in sending Sabathia out for the 8th inning, but there was no doubt he was going to Mariano Rivera in the 9th. The Yankees closer walked Hunter to start the 9th, but retired the next three batters for his 36th career post-season save.

Game Notes

David Cone threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game after nearly not getting there on time. As Cone relayed on the YES post-game show, he appeared this afternoon on Michael Kay’s radio show at a bar across from the Stadium. Only Cone didn’t realize how late it was and nearly forgot his pre-game honor. Luckily, he made it on time and threw a slider strike to Jose Molina.

It was the Yankees first ALCS victory since Game 3 of the 2004 series, exactly 5 yeasrs to the day.

Some Game 1 Thoughts

Workouts after victories aren't so bad.

The sun is always a little brighter after a nice win. Some thoughts about last night's win.

. How good does A-Rod feel this morning? A-Rod got the monkey off his back with a couple of RBI singles. It was strange seeing Kate Hudson and Jay-Z celebrating together.

. Derek Jeter is Derek Jeter. The Captain of Clutch comes through again with a 2-run, game tying home run that rocks the house. (Great piece on being Jeterian by the Star Ledger's Steve Politi)

.Was it necessary for Joe Girardi to go with Mariano Rivera in the 9th? With a day off today, Girardi probably wanted to keep Mo sharp. But after getting two quick outs, Rivera issued a walk and gave up a base hit. Suddenly his pitch count was to 23. No reason to yank Phil Hughes with two outs in the 8th either.

. Jorge Posada thought he had Game 1 off too. Posada and CC Sabathia crossed each other up, once each according to Sabathia, which resulted in a pair of passed balls for Posada. To make matters worse, Posada lolly gagged after one of the pitches, enabling Joe Mauer to score from third base.

Posada made a nice block on a pitch in the dirt later in the game, but couldn't locate the ball, allowing two runners to advance. The YES Network's John Flaherty pointed out that Posada didn't freeze the base runner at second with his eyes.

. TBS isn't as annoying as FOX. Okay, someone on Twitter pointed out to me that I set the bar pretty low on that one. Chip Caray is carrying on a family tradition of bad/annoying/inebriated (ok, that was just grandpa Harry, though maybe that applies to Dad Skip too) announcers. The "internets" are still laughing about Caray's overuse of the word "fisted" in the Twins-Tigers one game playoff.

I've always like Ron Darling as a commentator, but he was rambling last night and threw in a few malapropisms ("Joba needs to grab the antlers" - it's "grab the bull by the horns", Ron).

TBS had some of the same nonsense production as FOX though- Trying to break the record for talking about the Yankees payroll and failed playoff performances. They brought up all the negative stats for A-Rod, even when he did come through with a clutch hit.

There was sound/audtio problems, but nothing compared to those that took place in the two other division series games that TBS showed yesterday. The Cards-Dodgers was particularly bad.

. Mark Teixeira's start to the playoffs made me think of Tino in '96.

. Orlando Cabrera is annoying.

. Still surprised Ron Gardenhire pitched to A-Rod with a man in scoring position after A-Rod's earlier RBI hit.


As you may or may not know, we/me/I here at My Pinstripes tweet quite a bit during games. There's good interaction between the Yankees fans, beat writers, and other baseball people. I encourage you to join, if you haven't already, and follow me

Tweet of the Night - Have to go with Steve Politi (NJ_StevePoliti): "If Posada gets the game-winning hit, does Burnett send Molina out to pie him?"

A-Rod Revival Sparks Yankees to Game One Win

Alex Rodriguez doesn't need to hear the stats to know how bad his recent post-seasons have been. But in Game 1 of the American League Division Series tonight in the Bronx, A-Rod started to make amends for those post-season failures.

A-Rod had a pair of RBI singles and the New York Yankees spanked the Minnesota Twins, 7-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the best of five series. A-Rod wasn't alone though in getting off to a good post-season start.

Derek Jeter reached safely in all four at-bats and belted the first playoff home run in the new Yankee Stadium. It tied the game at two apiece in the 3rd inning and fired up the home crowd that had been temporarily silenced when the Twins took a 2-0 lead.

Nick Swisher doubled in the 4th scored Robinson Cano all the way from first base to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. A-Rod's RBI single off of rookie starter Brian Duensing an inning later put the Bombers ahead by two and the next hitter, Hideki Matsui, hit a long home run to straight away center field off lefty Francisco Liriano for a 6-2 Yankees lead.

CC Sabathia wasn't spectacular, but was very good. He threw 113 pitches in 6 2-3 innings and allowed one earned run. The Twins put two runs on the board against him with two outs in the 3rd. Orlando Cabrera singled and Joe Mauer followed with a double to the gap in left-center. Michael Cuddyer's single to right brought home one run and Mauer scored when Jorge Posada couldn't handle Sabathia's delivery for a passed ball.

Sabathia passed an immediate test in the 1st inning when Denard Span reached 3rd base with less than two outs. But the Yankees ace struck out Mauer and retired Cuddyer on a fly out to center. He exited with two on and two out in the 7th, but Phil Hughes stranded the runners when he struck out Cabrera.

Game Notes

Even with Hideki Matsui on deck, odd decision by Ron Gardnehire to pitch to Alex Rodriguez with Derek Jeter on 3rd base in the 7th. A-Rod delivered his second RBI single, this time off of Jon Rauch.

Admiral Eric Olson threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Derek Jeter's home run was the 18th of his post-season career.

Mariano Rivera pitched the 9th inning, allowing a 2-out walk and a single before retiring Cabrera to end the game.

Jorge Posada had the dubious distinction of committing two passed balls.

Scoring recap

Top 1st: Minnesota

- D. Span doubled to left center

- O. Cabrera struck out swinging

- D. Span to third on passed ball

- J. Mauer struck out swinging

- M. Cuddyer flied out to center

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 0, NY Yankees 0

Bottom 1st: NY Yankees

- D. Jeter singled to shallow left

- J. Damon popped out to right center

- M. Teixeira grounded out to shortstop, D. Jeter to second

- A. Rodriguez flied out to right

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 0, NY Yankees 0

Top 2nd: Minnesota

- J. Kubel struck out swinging

- D. Young struck out swinging

- B. Harris singled to shallow center

- M. Tolbert grounded into fielder's choice, B. Harris out at second

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 0, NY Yankees 0

Bottom 2nd: NY Yankees

- H. Matsui grounded out to second

- J. Posada flied out to right

- R. Cano struck out looking

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 0, NY Yankees 0

Top 3rd: Minnesota

- N. Punto singled to shallow center

- D. Span grounded into double play third to second to first, N. Punto out at second

- O. Cabrera singled to shallow right center

- J. Mauer doubled to left center, O. Cabrera to third

- M. Cuddyer singled to shallow right, O. Cabrera scored, J. Mauer to third

- J. Mauer scored, M. Cuddyer to second on passed ball

- J. Kubel struck out swinging

2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 0

Bottom 3rd: NY Yankees

- N. Swisher lined out to left

- M. Cabrera singled to left

- M. Cabrera to second on wild pitch

- D. Jeter homered to deep left, M. Cabrera scored

- J. Damon singled to left

- M. Teixeira grounded into fielder's choice, J. Damon out at second

- A. Rodriguez struck out swinging

2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 2

Top 4th: Minnesota

- D. Young struck out swinging

- B. Harris flied out to center

- M. Tolbert grounded out to second

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 2

Bottom 4th: NY Yankees

- H. Matsui grounded out to first

- J. Posada singled to shallow right

- R. Cano grounded into fielder's choice, J. Posada out at second

- N. Swisher doubled to shallow left, R. Cano scored

- M. Cabrera struck out swinging

1 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 3

Top 5th: Minnesota

- N. Punto lined out to second

- D. Span struck out swinging

- O. Cabrera singled to shallow left

- O. Cabrera stole second

- J. Mauer grounded out to second

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 3

Bottom 5th: NY Yankees

- D. Jeter walked

- J. Damon grounded out to first, D. Jeter to second

- M. Teixeira popped out to right

- A. Rodriguez singled to left center, D. Jeter scored

- F. Liriano relieved B. Duensing

- H. Matsui homered to deep center, A. Rodriguez scored

- J. Posada struck out looking

3 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 6

Top 6th: Minnesota

- M. Cuddyer lined out to shortstop

- J. Kubel fouled out to third

- D. Young flied out to left center

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 6

Bottom 6th: NY Yankees

- R. Cano grounded out to second

- N. Swisher flied out to shallow center

- M. Cabrera flied out to center

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 6

Top 7th: Minnesota

- B. Harris struck out looking

- M. Tolbert hit by pitch

- N. Punto singled to pitcher, M. Tolbert to second

- M. Tolbert to third, N. Punto to second on wild pitch

- D. Span flied out to right

- P. Hughes relieved C. Sabathia

- O. Cabrera struck out swinging

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 6

Bottom 7th: NY Yankees

- D. Jeter walked

- J. Damon safe at first on first baseman M. Cuddyer's fielding error, D. Jeter to second

- M. Teixeira grounded out to third

- J. Rauch relieved F. Liriano

- A. Rodriguez singled to right, D. Jeter scored

- H. Matsui walked, A. Rodriguez to second

- J. Posada grounded out to second

1 runs, 1 hits, 1 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 7

Top 8th: Minnesota

- J. Mauer singled to shallow center

- M. Cuddyer struck out swinging

- P. Coke relieved P. Hughes

- J. Kubel lined out to first

- J. Chamberlain relieved P. Coke

- D. Young grounded into fielder's choice, J. Mauer out at second

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 7

Bottom 8th: NY Yankees

- R. Mahay relieved J. Rauch

- R. Cano grounded out to pitcher

- N. Swisher flied out to left

- M. Cabrera struck out looking

0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 7

Top 9th: Minnesota

- B. Gardner in center field

- M. Cabrera in right field

- M. Rivera relieved J. Chamberlain

- B. Harris struck out swinging

- M. Tolbert struck out looking

- N. Punto walked

- D. Span singled to shallow center, N. Punto to third

- O. Cabrera grounded out to second

0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors

Minnesota 2, NY Yankees 7

2009 ALDS - Game 1 Lineups

The time for surprises are out the window. The Yankees lineup is pretty obvious.

SS Jeter

LF Damon

1B Teixeira

3B A. Rodriguez

C Posada

2B Cano

RF Swisher

CF M. Cabrera

P Sabathia

For the Twins:

CF Span

SS O. Cabrera

C Mauer

1B Cuddyer

RF Kubel

LF Young

DH Harris

3B Tolbert

2B Punto

P Duensing

The Yankees have had limited exposure to Duensing, with Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira both 1-2. No other Yankee has more than one at-bat against the rookie left-hander.

Sabathia, on the other hand, has had great success against this Twins lineup.

Span 1-3

O. Cabrera 5-33 (.152)

Mauer 5-23 (.217)

Cuddyer 11-52 (.212)

Kubel 0-2

Young 3-15 (.200)

Harris 3-15 (.200)

Tolbert no AB

Punto 6-36 (.167)

That's a combined 34-214 (.159)

All Wang from the Beginning

Chien-Ming Wang has been 2 different pitchers at home and on the road this season. Unfortunately last night the road Wang was on the mound. The Yankees 19-game winner, simply put, got his ass kicked. His pitches were up in the zone all evening and the Indians jumped all over them to the tune of 8 runs in 4-plus inning. In the end the scoreboard read Indians 12 Yankees 3, and we as Yankees fans went to bed pissed off.

Before we get into the game, there are only a couple of bright spots to take from this. In recent years the Yankees have been the team to do the pounding in game 1, only to lose the playoff series. The other matter is game 2 is less than 7 hours away. So hopefully Andy Pettitte makes us forget about game 1 and we go back home at a game apiece. You can't ask for more than that when you open on the road. Now back to the regularly scheduled aggravation.

Things started out well, though with a hiccup. Johnny Damon led off the ball game with a solo HR to right field off of C.C. Sabathia, but the ball was initially ruled foul by right field ump Jim Wolf. At the behest of Joe Torre, Damon, and Tony Pena, the umps got together and corrected the call. One-out walks to Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez put the Yankees in good shape, but Sabathia struck out Jorge Posada and retired Hideki Matsui on a ground out to 2nd to escape further trouble.

Wang hit Grady Sizemore with his 1st pitch of the game, but bounced back by getting Asdrubal Cabrera to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. That would be the last good (clutch) pitch Wang would make on the night. The Indians reached him for 3 runs before a base running mistake by Jhonny Peralta mercifully ended the inning. Home runs by the Tribe's Cabrera and the Yankees Robinson Cano gave the Indians a 4-2 lead entering the 5th. That would be the Yankees last chance to make some noise.

Torre decided to try to "get something going" by pinch-hitting Shelley Duncan for Doug Mientkiewicz and the rook came through with a lead off single. Sabathia struggled with his control all night and walked Damon for his 5th free pass of the game. Torre decided to bypass the bunt, but the strategy failed when Derek Jeter flied to right. Abreu, who had already drawn a pair of walks, slapped a double down the left field line to cut the lead to 4-3 and put the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position.

Indians skipper Eric Wedge then made 2 big moves. First he had Sabathia intentionally walk A-Rod to load the bases, and then he stuck with his star left-hander. The move paid off as Sabathia battled back from a 3-0 count to blow a 95-mph fastball past Posada for the 2nd out. A slumping Matsui then popped out to end the inning and the Yankees chance of winning.

The tribe, lead by Kenny Lofton's (how pissed off did that make you?!) 3 hits and 4 RBI, pounded Wang and rookie Russ Ohlendorf. The kid looked like a deer in headlights and so far the gamble to keep him on the roster has not paid off.

The Yankees bats immediately went to sleep when the game got out of hand, managing just 1 hit over the final 4 innings against 3 Tribe relievers.

Torre also gave Phil Hughes a chance to get his feet wet by throwing a couple of innings. The phenom allowed a solo HR to Ryan Garko for his troubles. Jose Veras was the only Yankees pitcher to come out unscathed, retiring the only batter he faced.

...

Making the night worse was listening to TBS' coverage. It's easy to get annoyed at your own announcers when you're losing, but listening to yahoos like Chip Caray makes it much worse.

photos courtesy of AP

All Wang from the Beginning

Chien-Ming Wang has been 2 different pitchers at home and on the road this season. Unfortunately last night the road Wang was on the mound. The Yankees 19-game winner, simply put, got his ass kicked. His pitches were up in the zone all evening and the Indians jumped all over them to the tune of 8 runs in 4-plus inning. In the end the scoreboard read Indians 12 Yankees 3, and we as Yankees fans went to bed pissed off.

Before we get into the game, there are only a couple of bright spots to take from this. In recent years the Yankees have been the team to do the pounding in game 1, only to lose the playoff series. The other matter is game 2 is less than 7 hours away. So hopefully Andy Pettitte makes us forget about game 1 and we go back home at a game apiece. You can't ask for more than that when you open on the road. Now back to the regularly scheduled aggravation.

Things started out well, though with a hiccup. Johnny Damon led off the ball game with a solo HR to right field off of C.C. Sabathia, but the ball was initially ruled foul by right field ump Jim Wolf. At the behest of Joe Torre, Damon, and Tony Pena, the umps got together and corrected the call. One-out walks to Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez put the Yankees in good shape, but Sabathia struck out Jorge Posada and retired Hideki Matsui on a ground out to 2nd to escape further trouble.

Wang hit Grady Sizemore with his 1st pitch of the game, but bounced back by getting Asdrubal Cabrera to hit into a 6-4-3 double play. That would be the last good (clutch) pitch Wang would make on the night. The Indians reached him for 3 runs before a base running mistake by Jhonny Peralta mercifully ended the inning. Home runs by the Tribe's Cabrera and the Yankees Robinson Cano gave the Indians a 4-2 lead entering the 5th. That would be the Yankees last chance to make some noise.

Torre decided to try to "get something going" by pinch-hitting Shelley Duncan for Doug Mientkiewicz and the rook came through with a lead off single. Sabathia struggled with his control all night and walked Damon for his 5th free pass of the game. Torre decided to bypass the bunt, but the strategy failed when Derek Jeter flied to right. Abreu, who had already drawn a pair of walks, slapped a double down the left field line to cut the lead to 4-3 and put the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position.

Indians skipper Eric Wedge then made 2 big moves. First he had Sabathia intentionally walk A-Rod to load the bases, and then he stuck with his star left-hander. The move paid off as Sabathia battled back from a 3-0 count to blow a 95-mph fastball past Posada for the 2nd out. A slumping Matsui then popped out to end the inning and the Yankees chance of winning.

The tribe, lead by Kenny Lofton's (how pissed off did that make you?!) 3 hits and 4 RBI, pounded Wang and rookie Russ Ohlendorf. The kid looked like a deer in headlights and so far the gamble to keep him on the roster has not paid off.

The Yankees bats immediately went to sleep when the game got out of hand, managing just 1 hit over the final 4 innings against 3 Tribe relievers.

Torre also gave Phil Hughes a chance to get his feet wet by throwing a couple of innings. The phenom allowed a solo HR to Ryan Garko for his troubles. Jose Veras was the only Yankees pitcher to come out unscathed, retiring the only batter he faced.

...

Making the night worse was listening to TBS' coverage. It's easy to get annoyed at your own announcers when you're losing, but listening to yahoos like Chip Caray makes it much worse.

photos courtesy of AP

Tonight's Goats

From left to right - Wang, Posada, Matsui

Tonight's Goats

From left to right - Wang, Posada, Matsui

Wang Crushed

Indians 9 Yankees 3 in the 5th inning....time to watch the 3rd period of the Rangers NHL opener :(

Wang Crushed

Indians 9 Yankees 3 in the 5th inning....time to watch the 3rd period of the Rangers NHL opener :(

Finalized Playoff Roster

Source

RHPs Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras are in.

RHP Edwar Ramirez, LHP Ron Villone and RHP Chris Britton are out.

OF Bronson Sardinha is also on the roster as a pinch runner.

Here is tomorrow night's starting lineup and the rest of the post-season roster:

Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jorge Posada C
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Chien-Ming Wang RHP

Bench:

INF Wilson Betemit
1B Jason Giambi
OF-1B Shelley Duncan
C Jose Molina
OF-3B Bronson Sardinha

LHP Andy Pettitte
RHP Roger Clemens
RHP Mike Mussina
RHP Phil Hughes
RHP Mariano Rivera
RHP Joba Chamberlain
RHP Luis Vizcaino
RHP Kyle Farnsworth
RHP Ross Ohlendorf
RHP Jose Veras

Finalized Playoff Roster

Source

RHPs Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Veras are in.

RHP Edwar Ramirez, LHP Ron Villone and RHP Chris Britton are out.

OF Bronson Sardinha is also on the roster as a pinch runner.

Here is tomorrow night's starting lineup and the rest of the post-season roster:

Johnny Damon LF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Jorge Posada C
Hideki Matsui DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Melky Cabrera CF
Doug Mientkiewicz 1B
Chien-Ming Wang RHP

Bench:

INF Wilson Betemit
1B Jason Giambi
OF-1B Shelley Duncan
C Jose Molina
OF-3B Bronson Sardinha

LHP Andy Pettitte
RHP Roger Clemens
RHP Mike Mussina
RHP Phil Hughes
RHP Mariano Rivera
RHP Joba Chamberlain
RHP Luis Vizcaino
RHP Kyle Farnsworth
RHP Ross Ohlendorf
RHP Jose Veras