Yankees On The Brink

post from The Passion of Baseball on 20 October 2009 11:58:00 PM. © The Passion of Baseball

Alex Rodriguez' blast over the left field wall in the 5th gives the Yanks a 5 run cushion...

The New York Yankees are now one win away from their 40th trip to the World Series (26-13 overall). CC Sabathia, pitching on three days rest, silenced the Angels bats, allowing 5 hits and one run over 8 masterful innings. The most you have to know about Sabathia on this night is that he struck out Bobby Abreu with a 95 MPH fastball in the eighth inning. Sabathia, who carried a postseason 7.92 ERA into this year's playoffs, is now 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA during this postseason.
"You know, we've still got a ways to go, but I've been feeling good," Sabathia said. "I never had any doubt about me being able to perform on this stage and to pitch well late in October. But it seems like people did...Hopefully I can keep it going" There would seem to be little doubt that Sabathia has proven his critics wrong.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim must now face the daunting task of coming back from a 3-1, and they'll start that trek against A.J. Burnett on Thursday. The Angels were once victimized by some shoddy umpire work, and this offseason could certainly a revitalization of the replay discussion during winter meetings. "I haven't seen it as bad as it was tonight," said Yankees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, now a senior adviser with the team. In his postgame interview, umpire Tim McLelland actually admitted his multiple screw-ups. The Yankees were actually victimized by bad calls as well, witness the non-pickoff of Nick Swisher at second base, where replay clearly showed that Angels SS Erick Aybar tagged him out. Later in that inning, Swisher was ruled out for leaving 3rd base early on a sacrifice fly, when replay once again clearly showed that not to be the case.

The umpiring situation is an argument for another day. This was undoubtedly Sabathia's night. Keeping the Angels' hitters off balance with an array of fastballs and change-ups, Sabathia showed why the Yankees spent 161 million to sign him. And can we now say that A-Rod is no longer Mr. Choke? Rodriguez drilled his 3rd homer in as many games, and now has 5 this postseason, good for 2nd best all time (tied with Reggie Jackson, 1977). Johnny Damon, who may be enjoying his last season with the Yankees, also drilled his 2nd homer of the ALCS.

Both teams will now enjoy an off day, as the Angels try to regroup and turn their World Series hopes around. Daunting task, considering they'll have to face Burnett and Andy Pettitte back to back.

Have you had an opportunity to check out www.diy-sports.com/?refId=1110 yet? A great MMORPG baseball game that's growing fast.. Check it out !!

Read The Full Article:
http://thepassionofbaseball.blogspot.com/2009/10/yankees-on-brink.html

Digg this

CC repeats game 1 performance in rout win

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 20 October 2009 11:41:52 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

CC Sabathia duplicated his stellar game 1 performance, pitching eight strong in the Yankees 10-1[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.baby-bombers.com/2009/10/20/cc-repeats-game-1-performan
ce-in-rout-win/

Digg this

CC Repeats Game 1 Performance in Rout Win

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 20 October 2009 11:41:52 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.baby-bombers.com/2009/10/20/cc-repeats-game-1-performan
ce-in-rout-win/

Digg this

8/20 Winter Ball Report

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 20 October 2009 10:28:00 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

The Surprise Rafters lost to the Scottsdale Scorpions 7-3 tonight, dropping their record to 4-3: Box Score - Recap

Offense:Brandon Laird: 1-for-4, 2B, RBIColin Curtis: 1-for-4, R
Pitching:Grant Duff: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, pitches-strikes: 28-14, (0.00 ERA)Zack Kroenke: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, pitches-strikes: 11-7, (2.25 ERA)
I'll have an update on the Puerto Rican, Venezuelan and Mexican leagues tomorrow.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/zv9Fyrz8pkk/820-winter-ball-rep
ort.html

Digg this

Cheo to return to the Astros

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 20 October 2009 09:09:00 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

Cheo to return to the Astros

But it's unknown it what capacity.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2009/10/20/1093639/cheo-to-return-to-the-astros

Digg this

Phillies look to return to World Series (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 20 October 2009 09:00:33 PM. © MLB News Blog

The Los Angeles Dodgers were one out away from tying the NL championship series at two games apiece. Instead, Jimmy Rollins' clutch hit has the Philadelphia Phillies on the verge of clinching their second straight pennant. Defending champion Philadelphia looks to carry the momentum from a thrilling comeback win and earn a trip back to [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2009/10/21/phillies-look-to-return-to-world-series-ap/

Digg this

Umps miss more calls in Game 4 of ALCS (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 20 October 2009 08:43:39 PM. © MLB News Blog

The umpires had another rough night in Game 4 of the AL championship series. Two blown calls went against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night during a 10-1 loss to the New York Yankees. In the fourth inning, Dale Scott called New York's Nick Swisher safe at second base after Swisher was clearly tagged [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2009/10/21/umps-miss-more-calls-in-game-4-of-alcs-ap/

Digg this

A-Rod, CC lead Yanks to brink of pennant (AP)

Alex Rodriguez has done something remarkable in every game of his charmed October. CC Sabathia is settling for every time he takes the mound. Together, they've got the New York Yankees within one win of a long-awaited return to the World Series. Rodriguez homered in the third straight game of his outstanding postseason, Sabathia pitched [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2009/10/21/a-rod-cc-lead-yanks-to-brink-of-pennant-ap/

Digg this

CC's Gem Puts Yanks One Win Away From Series

(Mike Blake and Lucy Nicholson of Reuters, and Lenny Ignelzi from the AP)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
R H E NYY 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 2 3
10 13 0 LAA 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
1 5 1
WP - CC Sabathia (2-0)
LP - Scott Kazmir (0-1)
So much for momentum. CC Sabathia's second gem of the series was enough to do away with any momentum the Angels gained yesterday. The Yankees pounded the Angels 10-1 tonight in Anaheim to pull to within one game of the pennant. CC was once again masterful as he dominated the Angels over eight innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits, walked two, and struck out five. He had everything working, the fastball, the curve. and the change, with the change up being especially nasty. On just three-days rest he threw 101 pitches, 69 of them for strikes.
In three starts this postseason the big lefty is 3-0, with a 1.19 ERA. In 22.2 innings he's allowed 3 ER on 17 hits, walked just 3 and struck out 20, and that's just ridiculous.
He did get into a few jams; one in the fifth, and another in sixth. The lone Angels run came in the fifth when Kendry Morales took CC deep for a solo home run. The Angels would go on to put runners on first and second with one out, but CC was able to avoid any further damage. Then in the sixth Torii Hunter led off with a walk, which was followed by a Vladimir Guerrero bloop single. Once again CC got out of it. A double play off the bat of Juan Rivera and and a Howie Kendrick line out ended the threat.
Really, enough cannot be said about what CC has done this October. I'll say this though: He's been worth every penny.
Another guy whose performance can hardly be described is Alex Rodriguez. He had another big game tonight going 3-for-4, with a walk and stolen base in the second, a single in the fourth, a two-run homer in the fifth, and a double in the 9th. Later in the ninth moved to third on a fly out and then scored on Bobby Abreu's throwing error. The guy did everything tonight.
He's now hitting .407/.469/1.000 with 5 HR and 14 RBI, and going back to 2007 he's now driven in a run in eight straight playoff games. That tied a record held by Ryan Howard (still going) and Lou Gehrig.
In the end it was a great night for the offense, but early on they continued to miss opportunities and let Scott Kazmir -- who had nothing tonight -- off the hook several times. They could have easily been up five or six runs after four, or seven or eight after five. They also made a couple mental errors on the bases, but luckily the umpiring was so bad they usually got away with it.
Speaking of the umpires, they were awful tonight. Four calls that could have changed the game were completely blown, two by Tim McClelland. The first blown call came in the fourth with Nick Swisher on second. He was clearly picked off, but Dale Scott at second missed it. A couple batters later, with Swisher on third now, Johnny Damon hit what looked like a fairly routine sac fly. The Angels decided that they felt Swisher left early and appealed at third, and McClelland agreed and Swisher was out. Replays showed that not only did Swisher leave after Hunter caught the ball, but that McClelland wasn't even looking at Swisher.
One inning later, Swisher (again) was up with Jorge Posada second and Robinson Cano at third with one out and hit a grounder right back to the mound. Darren Oliver fielded and threw home to put Jorge Posada in a rundown. But when Posada got back to third he overran the base and Cano was still standing just shy of the base. Mike Napoli tagged both Posada and Cano, which should have ended the inning, but once again McClelland somehow missed it. For a better explanation of the play, check out this picture from Jason over at It's About The Money (Stupid!).
The final mistake of the day came in the bottom of the sixth and Torii Hunter at the plate. On a three-two pitch Hunter clearly swung at strike three, but Fieldin Culbreth over at first said he didn't swing. This was nowhere near as bad as the first three, but still it looked like he clearly swung. It would also have helped if FOX had a side view replay, but they were too busy showing Vlad's homer from yesterday.
At least none of the mistakes hurt either of the teams, but these kinds of mistakes in the playoffs are unacceptable.
Some other bright spots in the Yankees offense include Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon. The Melk-Man reached on a slump-busting bunt in the third. He would add a two-run single in the fourth to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead, walked in the eighth, and doubled in his third and fourth RBI in the ninth. Damon seems to have found his home run stroke, hitting his second homer in as many days, a two-run shot in the eighth. They also hit a little bit better with runners in scoring position, going 4-for-17 tonight. Not great, but better than the 0-for-23 that preceded it.
Oh, and Derek Jeter picked up another two hits and a walk. He's now hitting .323 this postseason.
With CC pitching like he did there wasn't much work for the bullpen. Joe Girardi called on Chad Gaudin for some mop up work in the ninth and he retired the Angels 1-2-3 on 13 pitches.
The Yanks have tomorrow off before Thursday's game five. A.J. Burnett will take the mound hoping to send the Yanks into the World Series. John Lackey will try to play spoiler for the Angels.
ABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVGJeter, SS5020103.286Damon, LF5112005.286Teixeira, 1B5110022.111Rodriguez, A, 3B4332111.375Posada, C3110210.308Matsui, H, DH5000035.286Cano, 2B4211113.235Swisher, RF2000104.167 1-Gardner, PR-CF1110000.667Cabrera, Me, CF-RF4134102.353Totals38101397825
1-Ran for Swisher in the 8th.
BATTING
2B: Posada (1, Kazmir), Cano (1, Oliver), Rodriguez, A (1, Palmer), Cabrera, Me (1, Palmer).
HR: Rodriguez, A (3, 5th inning off Bulger, 1 on, 0 out), Damon (2, 8th inning off Palmer, 1 on, 2 out).
TB: Jeter 2; Damon 4; Teixeira; Rodriguez, A 7; Posada 2; Cano 2; Gardner; Cabrera, Me 4.
RBI: Cano (2), Cabrera, Me 4 (4), Rodriguez, A 2 (5), Damon 2 (3).
2-out RBI: Damon 2; Cabrera, Me 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Swisher; Teixeira; Cabrera, Me; Rodriguez, A; Jeter.
Team RISP: 4-for-17.
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING
SB: Posada (1, 2nd base off Oliver/Napoli), Rodriguez, A (1, 2nd base off Kazmir/Napoli).
CS: Gardner (2, 2nd base by Santana, E/Napoli), Jeter (1, 2nd base by Kazmir/Napoli).
PO: Jeter (1st base by Kazmir).

FIELDING
DP: (Jeter-Teixeira).

IPHRERBBSOHRERASabathia (W, 2-0)8.05112511.13Gaudin1.00000000.00
Pitches-strikes: Sabathia 101-69, Gaudin 13-9.
ANGELS STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: CC Sabathia (W, 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
HONORABLE MENTION: Alex Rodriguez (3-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 3 R, SB)
GAME 5
Yankees @ AngelsGame Time: 7:57 p.m. TV/Radio: FOX, WCBSRHP A.J. Burnett (0-0, 1.50) vs. RHP John Lackey (1-0, 0.00)

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/fcKHI53HZHw/ccs-gem-puts-yanks-
one-win-away-from.html

Digg this

1896 DMB World Series-Game #5

Joe Corbett vs Bobby Wallace 10/8/1896, @League Park I ORIOLES WIN PITCHERS DUAL AND DMB WORLD SERIES The Baltimore Orioles won their 3rd straight DMB World Series in a classic pitcher?s dual by a score of 1-0. Neither team scored in the 1st 8 innings as Joe Corbett and Bobby Wallace traded zeros.In the 9th, Wilbert Robinson [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://dmbworldseriesreplay.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/1896-dmb-world-series-game-5
/