Game 3: Critical, But Not Deadly

With both the ALCS and NLCS tied at a game apiece, I decided to do a little research, which will probably be available by Elias tomorrow (if it's not already tonight).

I looked back at all of the World Series plus all League Championship Series since 1985 (when the format went from five to seven games). Prior to this year's post-season there were 79 series that were tied at 1-1 after two games.

52 of those series occurred during the World Series. 16 teams came back from a 2-1 deficit to win the championship. They included the 1923, 1951, and 1952 Yankees.

There have been 13 ALCS that were tied after the first two games, with five teams going to the World Series after dropping game 3. They included the 1998 and 2003 Yankees.

Of the 14 NLCS series involved, four teams moved on to play in the World Series after dropping the third game of the playoff series.

So what does it all mean? While it's difficult to come back from a 2-1 deficit it is not impossible. Especially if you have games four and five at home.

68.3% winner of game 3 takes it all.

A Start 23 Years in the Making

Phil Hughes will take the ball this afternoon for the New York Yankees in the second game of the ALCS. Two years ago there were many who could not have envisioned that scenario. Luckily for Hughes, none of those people mattered to his future.

It’s fortunate that athletes don’t generally read fan message boards or Twitter or blogs. Some of what they read in the mainstream media maybe damaging enough to their egos and confidence. They don’t need to be exposed to the rantings and ravings of the average fan. Phil Hughes is one of those athletes who has hopefully never googled himself on the web. Had he done so, he would have seen “thoughts” back in 2008 ranging from “This kid will never amount to anything” to “He’s another Carl Pavano in the making.” (Yes, I really did see someone state that back then.)

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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.

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ALCS Preview 2010

Written for Baseball Digest.com

The Texas Rangers find themselves in unfamiliar territory facing an old adversary as they face the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Texas has little playoff experience to show for the franchise’s 49 year history (the first 11 years of which were played as the Washington Senators.) They’ve made the playoffs just three times prior to this season and in all three cases- 1996, 1998, and 1999- they ran into the eventual World Series champion New York Yankees. All three meetings came in the ALDS, with the Rangers managing to win just one of the nine games between the two franchises. And that one win came the very first time the two teams clashed in post-season play 14 years ago.

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Another Year of Inconsistent Hockey

60 minutes; that's what a regulation hockey game is. At some point, someone needs to inform the NY Rangers or some day, some way, maybe it will set in with them.

Fresh off their surprising opening night win in Buffalo on Friday, the Rangers went out to the Mausoleum in Long Island to play their hated rivals, the New York Islanders, on Monday afternoon.

I only saw the 2nd period of play live. A period in which the Rangers dominated, but gave up a late goal to go into the third period tied 3-3.

The Rangers have had a habit of taking bad penalties the last few seasons and it continued in today's game. Now granted, the first call which led to the game breaking 5 on 3 power play was a questionable one. Ryan Callahan went off for a tripping, a trip that coach John Tortorella said was non-existent. That being said, Marc Staal went off shortly thereafter and the Islanders took advantage, netting a pair of power play goals.

As usual, the Mausoleum crowd was sparse, and in this particular case, was filled with many Rangers fans.

Rick Di Pietro stopped Marian Gaborik on a 1st period penalty shot.

Big Blue Completed A Great Sports Weekend

The Giants have a long history of not being able to put good back to back games together. But Sunday they had a huge road victory over the even more inconsistent Houston Texans, 34-10.

The key was another great performance by the Giants defense. The pressured Matt Schaub continually and shut down Arian Foster and the Texans league leading rushing games.

Hakeem Nicks showed again that this guy can develop into a huge play maker and star. He had two touchdown receptions on Sunday and had a chance for a couple more had he kept his balance near the goal line and not dropped a deep route pass that hit his hands.

Good game for Eli Manning, 3 TDS, though he still managed to throw a couple of picks. One them a very poor pass that led to the lone Texans TD.

Ahmad Bradshaw's ankle was acting up, which gave Brandon Jacobs a chance to get some playing time and score another TD. Afterwards he said his attitude is much improved.

And how about the return of Osi Uminenyora. Looks like his knee is finally healthy.

With the Lions at home on tap for next week, the Giants could very well have a three game winning streak.

Yankees Smack The Twins With A Broom...Again

For the second straight post-season, the New York Yankees have swept the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series.

While the first two games were loaded with drama, the clincher seemed to be in the bag from the start. Phil Hughes was dominant; his fastball blew past hitters, his curveball broke off nastily, and his occasional change up did it's work. All told it was seven innings of shutout baseball for Hughes in his first post-season start. Hughes allowed just four hits, walked one, and struck out six.

Hughes' counterpart, left-hander Brian Duensing wasn't so lucky. Also making his first post-season start, Duensing departed in the 4th with a 5-0 deficit.

The Yankees MVP was in the middle of things as usual and got things started in the 2nd inning. Robinson Cano drilled a triple to center field and came home with the game's first run on a Jorge Posada single. One inning later Nick Swisher doubled to center and scored on Mark Teixeira's frozen rope single to left.

The Yankees delivered the knockout punch in the 4th. It was Cano again starting things off with a single. Then Marcus Thames pounded a sinker into the bleachers in right-center field for a 4-0 lead. Duensing retired Posada, but was sent to the showers when Curtis Granderson walked. The final run of the inning would be added to Duensing record when Granderson stole second base and moved to third on Joe Mauer's throwing error. Brett Gardner brought his outfield partner to the plate with a sac fly to left off Matt Guerrier.

Hughes, meanwhile, was cruising. He retired the first nine hitters of the game and faced the minimum number of batters through four innings. The Twins put two aboard with one out in the 5th, but Hughes struck out Michael Cuddyer and got rookie Danny Valencia to fly out. An inning later Orlando Hudson and Mauer stroked back to back two out singles, but Hughes blew away Jason Kubel for the third out.

Hudson would finally get Minnesota on the board in the 8th with an RBI single off a shaky Kerry Wood, but the Twins left the bases loaded. Boone Logan came on to get Kubel on a pop up and David Robertson retired Delmon Young on an inning ending fly ball. Then it was down to Mariano Rivera who, though it was not a save situation, retired the Twins in order with relative ease.

The Yankees now will wait to play until Friday when the ALCS starts in either Tampa Bay or Texas. The Rays avoid a sweep this afternoon by defeating the Rangers 6-3.

For the Twins, different year, same old story.

It's The Rangers Victory Song

No, not Texas..they couldn't pull off the sweep tonight, dropping a 6-3 decision.

But another Rangers team, those Broadway Blueshirts who make their living in Madison Square Garden, won their season debut tonight.

The New York Rangers doubled up the Buffalo Sabres by the identical 6-3 score. The most amazing part of the road win? Rookie Derek Stepan became just the 4th rookie in NHL history to score a hat trick in his debut.

Brandon Dubinksy scored a pair of goals, including an empty netter, and King Henrik stopped 33 shots.

Vintage Pettitte Gives Yankees 2-0 Edge

Andy Pettitte was concerned about his back and a lack of sharpness in his last two regular season outings. But his performance tonight against the Minnesota Twins should alleviate any of those fears. Pettitte gave up a 2nd inning run, but shut down the Twins the rest of the way as the Yankees won 5-2 for a commanding 2-0 ALDS series lead.

With the game tied 2-2 in the 7th, the Yankees took control against former teammate, if you can really call him that, Carl Pavano, but not before a bit of controversy. Lance Berkman got an extra chance to hit after an apparent called third strike was ruled a ball by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected from the game and the former Astro took advantage of the situation, drilling an ankle high pitch to deep center for a go ahead RBI double. The Yankees added an insurance run later in the inning when Derek Jeter's liner dropped in front of a diving Jason Kubel for a 4-2 lead.

The Twins had a chance to break the game open early when they loaded the bases in the 2nd inning on singles by Delmon Young and Jim Thome and a one out walk to Kubel. Danny Valencia gave the Twins a 1-0 lead with a sac fly, but Pettitte got out of further trouble when J.J. Hardy lined out to Robinson Cano.

Alex Rodriguez tied the game with a sac fly in the 4th, but Pavano got out of his own jam by inducing an inning ending double play from Nick Swisher.

Berkman drilled a 423-ft home run in the 5th inning for a 2-1 Yankees lead, but the Twins tied it back up in the 6th on Orlando Hudson's round tripper.

Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera recorded the final six outs in a row to put the Twins' backs up against the wall for Game 3 in New York on Saturday.

Teixeira Home Run Takes ALDS Opener

Written for BaseballDigest.com.

If you have ever watched a professional wrestling match you know that the guy in the, oh let’s say white, blue striped trunks, pounds away mercilessly on the guy in the, oh let’s say grey trunks. It appears the guy in the grey trunks is done for, but suddenly the tide turns and the guy in grey gets off the mat and delivers his own monumental blows. Then it is anyone’s contest. That was the case tonight in Game 1 of the ALDS series between the white, blue striped clad Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees, wearing their road greys. In the end the Yankees rode a Mark Teixeira 2-run, 7th inning home run to a 6-4 win and a 1-0 advantage in the best of five series.

Twins starter Francisco Liriano started out Wednesday night’s game like the ace of the Twins staff he has become. But just as he faltered down the stretch of the regular season, Liriano wore out as his pitch count rose in the 6th inning.

The Dominican born left-hander was dominant early, making Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Jorge Posada look silly for three of his seven strikeouts. He had retired nine straight and cruised into the 6th inning up 3-0. After Nick Swisher was Liriano’s 10th straight victim, Teixeira ripped a double into the left field corner and the tide began to turn. Alex Rodriguez fought his way to a full count walk and Robinson Cano showed why he’s a top AL MVP contender when he delivered an RBI single to right to get the Yankees on the board. Liriano bounced back to strike out Marcus Thames for the second out, but Jorge Posada roped a single to right to cut the deficit to one. Curtis Granderson, who had been criticized all season for his at-bats against left-handers, drove a 94-mph fastball off the wall in deep right-center for a 2-run triple that put the Yankees on top for the first time, 4-3. It also ended Liriano’s night.

Minnesota’s offense had given Liriano support early when Michael Cuddyer hit a 2-run bomb off CC Sabathia for a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning. A frame later, aggressive base running by Orlando Hudson helped manufacture a third run. The O-Dog singled through the left side and a batter later advanced all the way to third base when Teixeira had to dive to beat Joe Mauer to first base to record the out on Mauer’s tapper. The O-Dog’s hustle paid off when Posada mishandled a Sabathia sinker for a run producing passed ball.

Sabathia couldn’t maintain the lead in the home half of the 6th after he retired the first two hitters. The Twins loaded the bases and Sabathia, showing a rare lack of control, walked rookie Danny Valencia to force in the tying run.

Teixeira’s mammoth go-ahead blast off of Jesse Crain stayed just inside the right field foul pole and allowed Girardi to begin mixing and matching with his bullpen. Boone Logan, David Robertson, Kerry Wood, and Mariano Rivera shut down the Twins the rest of the way and guaranteed the Yankees at least a split when they head home for Game 3 on Friday in New York. Rivera recorded a four out, four broken bat save, getting Denard Span to ground out with the tying runs on base to end the 8th inning and Jim Thome to pop out as the tying run in the 9th.

From Joe Girardi’s press conference,

On Sabathia: “..it’s odd that he walked that many guys, but I threw the ball decent.”

On Granderson: “Grandy’s been a different guy since August in Texas. He made that little adjustment..he’s a different guy.”

From Ron Gardenhire’s press conference:

On leaving Liriano in to face Granderson: “Granderson was hitting like .188 against him. We wanted to let Liriano try to work his way out of it.”

Welcome to Doctoberfest

Roy "Doc" Halladay waited his entire career to pitch in the post-season. He made sure no one would ever forget his first apperance in October's spotlight. Halladay became just the second pitcher in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in the post-season as he and the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 earlier this evening.

Halladay, who threw a perfect game vs. the Florida Marlins during the regular season, joins Don Larsen as the only pitchers to not allow a hit in a post-season game. One walk separated Halladay from joining Larsen in the perfect game club.

Unfortunately, I did not see one pitch of it. I was busy all day and turned TBS on to check the score at about (what I figured) was the midway point. The game was in commercial and I turned the station off. And didn't go back... >:(

Halladay even helped his own cause out with an RBI hit. The Phils put a run on the board in the 1st and added three more in the 2nd for a quick 4-0 lead. Then Halladay cruised. He walked Jay Bruce with two outs in the 5th for the Reds' lone base runner.

Halladay struck out nine, mixing his reportoire of pitches as he baffled the Cincy hitters. In the 9th Ramon Hernandez popped out to 2nd for the first out. Pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo followed with a foul out to 3rd. That left things up to Brandon Phillips, who hit a little tapper in front of the plate. Catcher Carlos Ruiz jumped out, fell to his knees, and threw to Ryan Howard to end the game.

Twins Got A Loss Before They Started

Pitching is the key to winning in the playoffs - just look at the 2009 New York Yankees for a surefire example - but in this year's Yankees-Minnesota Twins division series it is the loss of an offensive player that could sway the series heavily in the Yankees' favor.

Twins 1st baseman Justin Morneau is one of the best hitters in baseball; a perennial 30-HR, 100-RBI guy who hits .300 to boot.

But there will be no Morneau in the ALDS or beyond. Morneau missed the remainder of the season after suffering a concussion July 7. At the time he was hitting .345 with 18 HR and 56 RBI in 80 games. The Twins hoped Morneau could be back at some point in the post-season, but that was ruled out as well after concussion symptoms returned this past Saturday.

The loss is devastating to a lineup which scratches out runs and is not laden with big boppers. Though they finished sixth in the major leagues in runs scored, the Twins rely heavily on the M duo of Morneau and Joe Mauer (I refuse to call them the M&M boys, there was only one set of them). The latter has also been banged up and returned to his pre-2009 power (when he banged out 28 dingers) of just 9 home runs.

Morneau's absence for the second straight post-season, he missed last year with a bad back, will certainly put more pressure on a Twins starting rotation that was not a model of consistency this year. Other than Francisco Liriano, who re-established his ace stuff, most of the remainder of the staff did not perform up to their usual ability and fell short of expectations.

The Twins will most certainly rely on small ball and their running ability to score runs against the Yankees. Teams have stolen with ease this year against the Yankees rotation and catching duo of Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli and the Twins should continue that trend. Delmon Young (.826 OPS 21 HR 112 RBI) could be an 'X' factor in the series after finally living up to the hype surrounding him while in Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

The Twins lost Joe Nathan to Tommy John surgery during spring training, but 6'11" Jon Rauch filled those big shoes as a steady closer. When he faltered, GM Bill Smith went out and got closer Matt Capps from the Washington Nationals to deepen the pen.

Finally, reading is fundamental and so are the Twins. The organization is the best at teaching the basics and no one has utilized those lessons in the majors better than old manager Tom Kelly and current skipper Ron Gardenhire.

Position Comparison

1B Mark Teixeira > Michael Cuddyer
Cuddyer was in RF until Morneau's injury; his production dropped off substantially from last year (32 HR - 14 HR .862 - .753 OPS). Teixeira struggled all season until Kevin Long straightened him out and he went on a second half tear. Though he slowed in September due to thumb and foot injuries, he still finished with an .846 OPS and 33 HR, 102 RBI.

2B Robinson Cano > Orlando Hudson
Cano should either win the AL MVP award or finish second to Texas' Josh Hamilton. He had 200 hits for the second straight season and posted career highs in HR (29), RBI (104) and OPS (.914). He also played gold glove 2nd base. Orlando Hudson is a solid defender, but doesn't have much of a stick.

SS Derek Jeter > J.J. Hardy
Jeter had the worst offensive seasons of his career, but still managed to score 111 runs and was solid defensively, with a career low six errors. He started to come on in September after working with Long, finishing with 25 hits in his last 72 at-bats (.347). Hardy has been a disappointment after breaking out in 2007-2008 while with Milwaukee. He was limited to 101 games by injury and posted just a .714 OPS.

3B Alex Rodriguez > Danny Valencia
A-Rod put up another 30-HR 100-RBI year despite playing in just 125 games (123 RBI). He was also solid defensively. Valencia is developing into a nice player- his rookie campaign consisted of a .799 OPS, .311 AVG, 7 HR, 40 RBI in 85 games.

LF Delmon Young > Brett Gardner
The two are on par defensively, but Young's offense had a much greater impact on his team's lineup, especially when Morneau went down. Young posted career highs in virtually every offensive category. Gardner's speed can be a difference maker, but he must be more aggressive on the bases.

CF Curtis Granderson > Denard Span
Granderson was having a miserable season until Long once again worked his magic in mid-August. The result was a much more productive and powerful Granderson. Span had a horribly disappointing season after hitting .311 in 2009. This year he posted a sub-.700 OPS.

RF Nick Swisher > Jason Kubel
It's not by a lot, but Swisher wins out. He was a secondary MVP to Cano on the Yankees for much of the season. Kubel has good power, is a clutch hitter, but is better at DH.

C Joe Mauer > Jorge Posada + Francisco Cervelli
Mauer's power may be down, but the hits keep on coming. The health of his left knee could play a factor, but just like Jeter, he'll downplay it. Posada and Cervelli have had mediocre years on both sides of the ball.

DH Marcus Thames/Lance Berkman - Jim Thome
It's a toss up. Thames has been hammering righties and lefties. Berkman has hit better from the left side since a DL stint in September. Thome is still mashing the long ball, though Gardenhire might use someone else against lefties Sabathia and Pettitte.

Yankees Starting Rotation > Twins Starting Rotation
CC Sabathia should win the Cy Young. Andy Pettitte is a rock if healthy and Phil Hughes had a breakout year with 18 wins. Liriano has ace stuff and has backed it up. Carl Pavano has been a revelation. But the Twins have to be worried about a game 4 match up of Sabathia vs. Nick Blackburn.

Yankees Bench > Twins Bench
Yankees have more pop potential when called upon.

Yankees Bullpen - Mariano Rivera, Kerry Wood & Company a little > Twins Bullpen Matt Capps, Jon Rauch & Company
Rivera's post-season work speaks for itself and Wood has put up amazing numbers since joining the Yankees.

Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire > Yankees Manager Joe Girardi
Girardi has the World Series ring, but Gardenhire is the better in game manager. But he still hasn't figured out how to beat the Yankees, especially in New York.

Prediction: Yankees in Five.

Rain Moves Yankees Into 1st Place

The Yankees and Red Sox waited 3 1/2 hours before last night's was finally called. (Nice job jerking the fans around even if the fans up there are jerks.)

In the meantime, Bruce Chen of all people pitched a complete 2-hit shutout of the Rays to give the Yankees a half-game lead in the AL East.

The Yankees will play their regularly scheduled game at 4 pm thanks to the bozos at Fox. Andy Pettitte will face Tim Wakefield. The knuckleballer will be filling in for Clay Buchholz, who was scratched due to a sore back.

The nightcap will pit A.J. Burnett against Daisuke Matsuzaka. The game is scheduled to start at 9:05 pm. Again, thanks to the idiots at Fox since the first game doesn't start until 4. The second game will be televised on YES.

This is Burnett's last chance to step up and basically force his way on the ALDS roster. (By the way Bruce Chen has more wins than Burnett.) If it's me, Burnett isn't coming close to being on the ALDS roster.

The Red Sox will also be without Adrian Beltre all weekend. He's gone home to be with his wife who is about to give birth. Since he's a free agent, Boston may have seen Beltre in a Red Sox uniform for hte last time.