World Series Game 5: That wasn't supposed to happen.
Well damn.
Just....
Damn.
I'm not going to argue the merits of whether AJ should have started or if Chad Gaudin should have started because honestly - Chad Gaudin wouldn't have been much better. That much I am sure of. He's thrown one inning of playoff baseball and it was garbage time in a 10-1 game. Hardly meaningful. I don't know if Girardi made a right choice or a wrong choice because the chances of us winning this game were 50/50 no matter who started it. There was a better than average chance we were going back to New York up 3-2 even if Cy Young came back from the dead to pitch. That's just how good Cliff Lee is and we should all be thankful we won't have to see him anymore this series. I hope.
Now, on to some positives. We got some great offense tonight, hopefully that momentum will carry into Wednesday. Alex is now the Yankees all-time playoff RBI leader. How the worm has turned for him. We showed a lot of fight in this game. Kept going right to the bitter end. If anything it shows that we play for all 27 outs and we're never out of a game until it's physically impossible for us to win. Phil Hughes showed some promise tonight. Hopefully that too can continue. We didn't use Mo, so he should be available for 2 innings on Wednesday. If Andy can pitch 6 solid innings, we give the 7th to Marte and the last two innings to Mo. I would be comfortable with that. Andy won't be on full rest, but he will be on 4 days rest which is better than 3. We've hit their bullpen, so it's not invincible. If we knock Pedro out early, we have a better than average chance of taking this thing. We're playing at home, where we're 6-1 this postseason.
So there's a lot to not be happy about, but a lot to hang our hats on at the same time. I think we can do this and in front of our fans, which we haven't done in 10 years. My confidence level is at a 7 right now. Remember The Power of Positive Thinking™. We can do this. We're the Yankees, damn it. :-D
Just....
Damn.
I'm not going to argue the merits of whether AJ should have started or if Chad Gaudin should have started because honestly - Chad Gaudin wouldn't have been much better. That much I am sure of. He's thrown one inning of playoff baseball and it was garbage time in a 10-1 game. Hardly meaningful. I don't know if Girardi made a right choice or a wrong choice because the chances of us winning this game were 50/50 no matter who started it. There was a better than average chance we were going back to New York up 3-2 even if Cy Young came back from the dead to pitch. That's just how good Cliff Lee is and we should all be thankful we won't have to see him anymore this series. I hope.
Now, on to some positives. We got some great offense tonight, hopefully that momentum will carry into Wednesday. Alex is now the Yankees all-time playoff RBI leader. How the worm has turned for him. We showed a lot of fight in this game. Kept going right to the bitter end. If anything it shows that we play for all 27 outs and we're never out of a game until it's physically impossible for us to win. Phil Hughes showed some promise tonight. Hopefully that too can continue. We didn't use Mo, so he should be available for 2 innings on Wednesday. If Andy can pitch 6 solid innings, we give the 7th to Marte and the last two innings to Mo. I would be comfortable with that. Andy won't be on full rest, but he will be on 4 days rest which is better than 3. We've hit their bullpen, so it's not invincible. If we knock Pedro out early, we have a better than average chance of taking this thing. We're playing at home, where we're 6-1 this postseason.
So there's a lot to not be happy about, but a lot to hang our hats on at the same time. I think we can do this and in front of our fans, which we haven't done in 10 years. My confidence level is at a 7 right now. Remember The Power of Positive Thinking™. We can do this. We're the Yankees, damn it. :-D
You make good points on both sides of the discussion for last night's game. I only caught the last few innings but it appears AJ was "off".
In one respect I wish they had won it already but on the other hand, coming back to NY to win it is golden. And I am totally confident they will win it tomorrow night as I have two words to back up that confidence : ANDY PETTITE.
Phils are a good team but I believe the Yankees, as a combined effort, stack up better. And being in Yankee Satadium tomorrow night in front of home town fans?? Doesn't get any better than that .
Go Andy ..er, I mean Yankees !!! :) (my Andy fanaticism is hard to hife I guess)
Lee Ellen
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Eeeek - OK, my spelling was horrendous in my previous post - sorry :(
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Last night's loss stunk--they always do--but the Yanks won two of three in Philly, a tough place to play. They recaptured home field which, after Game 1, did not look so easy. The offense has some dud spots (especially Cano, Swish, and Teixeira although the latter is coming around little by little), but JD, Jeter, A-Rod, and Posada have been good. Plus, Matsui's bat is back in the lineup, and he is hitting .556. I love that Pettite will probably go, and his postseason accomplishments speak for themselves.
Jason from The Heartland
http://heartlandpinstripes.wordpress.com
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//And I am totally confident they will win it tomorrow night as I have two words to back up that confidence : ANDY PETTITE. Phils are a good team but I believe the Yankees, as a combined effort, stack up better. And being in Yankee Satadium tomorrow night in front of home town fans?? Doesn't get any better than that .//
I have to hope that 37 year old Andy Pettitte on 3-4 days rest can give us at least 5 or 6 innings. Our pen's big hitters haven't been used in a while and so we should have all hands on deck for him. Mo is definitely pitching two innings so that's 8 and 9 taken care of. All we need is 6-7. It can be done, but it's going to be hard.
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//Last night's loss stunk--they always do--but the Yanks won two of three in Philly, a tough place to play. They recaptured home field which, after Game 1, did not look so easy.//
I didn't think we could take 2 of 3 in Philadelphia. I was more than pleasantly surprised that we were able to do that. Yes our pitching is going to be dead tired the next two games (should Game 7 be needed) but we're at home. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.
As for the offense, it would be nice if the bottom half of the lineup wasn't a black hole of suck, but if the top half can hit the ball and Andy can pitch decently.....I'm mostly confident.
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TPPT™! =D Yayyy I've been trademarked! LOL. Honestly, I felt better after last night. I love the World Series in New York. It's our town. Sh_t will get done tomorrow night!
- Lisa
http://perennialpinstriper.mlblogs.com/
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//Honestly, I felt better after last night. I love the World Series in New York. It's our town. Sh_t will get done tomorrow night! //
It better.
*grumble* *grumble*
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so sad... =(
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AJ was off, his command over pitches was not there last night. After the first inning it was noticeable, after the third -it was further confirmed. It is too bad that we finally got to Cliff Lee late in the game. I was hoping for some 9th inning magic, but after Jeter grounded into that DP, I knew it was not meant to be. With Lee, we needed to touch him early. I noticed that he gets a bit frazzled when having to pitch from behind rather than with the lead.
I hope Andy gets number 18 tomorrow. CC looked like he labored the last time out and will have to go on four days rest if the game goes to seven.
Hoping for the best tomorrow,
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//so sad... =( //
Are you going to Game 6? I think Andy is going to need your lucky purple socks in person!
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//AJ was off, his command over pitches was not there last night. After the first inning it was noticeable, after the third -it was further confirmed.//
Girardi said it had nothing to do with the amount of rest he had to work with, he just didn't have his stuff. Which I suppose is better than it being a case of AJ pitching when he was physically not prepared to.
//I hope Andy gets number 18 tomorrow. CC looked like he labored the last time out and will have to go on four days rest if the game goes to seven.//
I don't want CC to have to pitch, so we better close it out tonight. Winning at home in front of our fans would be amazing.
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Beth, I really hope the Yankees win... I just hope they wait for Game 7!!
Buz - http://buzblog.mlblogs.com/
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Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap.
Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap.
Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap.
Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap.
Jason from The Heartland
http://heartlandpinstripes.wordpress.com
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//Beth, I really hope the Yankees win... I just hope they wait for Game 7!! //
Hell no! I want them to win tonight! I don't think I could handle it if we had to play tomorrow, my nerves can barely handle this as is. LOL
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//Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap. Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap. Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap. Let's Go, Yankees! Clap clap clap clap clap.//
Someone's excited! I feel ya, Jason.
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//^ +1 :) Fab blog! The Yankees stormed back towards the end of that game and were one hit from making Phillies fans cry. NY makes it look so easy when they get rolling. Can't wait for "Start spreading the news..." //
Welcome to Yankees Chick! Great to see you over here. :-)
Hopefully the Stadium will be rocking AND rolling!
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^ +1 :)
Fab blog! The Yankees stormed back towards the end of that game and were one hit from making Phillies fans cry. NY makes it look so easy when they get rolling.
Can't wait for "Start spreading the news..."
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