Except for the Molina mistake, Burnett gave the Yanks as much as they could have hoped. The bottom line is that the bats have been cold all series, and the relief pitching (and some of the starting pitching) has been dismal. Can’t win that way. Still, if they can win today they still have a (long) shot. CC needs to come up big today and they need someone other than Cano and Jeter to start hitting. Losing Teixeira hurts them a lot, even though he wasn’t hitting at all. Big defensive drop off.
Not being a big baseball fan, I have to ask - how much of a fluke was the Yanks big come back in game one, considering how it has gone for them lately?
There’s not much more to be said beyond that.
They pulled off similar comebacks in the first two games against the Twins. I thought it was obvious that if they kept falling behind like that, it was going to bite them in the ass sooner or later. Playoff comebacks are great and their patient approach to hitting often paid dividends in the later innings, but you can’t expect to beat the best teams if you’re usually trailing after six or seven or eight innings.
Part of the Yankees’ problem is that they swept the Twins and the Rangers had to claw their way in. You sit for several days, everyone’s timing is off, season-long routines are disrupted. You don’t pitch well, you don’t hit well, you fall behind, and you aren’t going to win. Not to say that the Yanks can’t pull it off, I like their odds today with Sabathia, maybe Pettite can do it in game 6, and who knows what magic comes out in game 7.
Statistically I think the rust vs. rest thing has been disproved. The bigger problem is that the Rangers are a lot better than the Twins, and their pitching has been excellent.
So in baseball championship terms, Cubs years are like dog years, right? A really, really old dog?
It’s fun to be watching meaningful baseball in October. I mean, it’s fun watching other teams in other years because it seems like everyone takes it up a notch. But, it’s more fun watching a team you’ve been watching (an listening to) all season - in October.
I didn’t get home from work until the 7th last night. I noticed that I lot of people started leaving the stadium when the score was still 7-3. What’s going on there? The Yankees came back from there in Game 1. How does that effect the players morale to look into the stands when they step up to the plate and see thousands of people headed to the exit?
It seemed spooky after Game 3 and 4 - the stadium was empty. Have Yankees fans seen enough post-season baseball that it’s routine to them? I could understand it, I guess.
Well, in the case of the Cubs, I think they’re *goat *years…
I think it is more the Rangers are a lot healthier than the Twins. A fully healthy Twin team is arguably the best team in baseball, but with no Morneau, a banged up Mauer and Thome, and tired pitchers it wasn’t quite on that level. Also, of course, these are short series, and it is best not to read too much into the results.
What’s too much? Winning short series is all that matters now–it’s what the teams are ostensibly designed and intended to do. The team that does it is ipso facto better than the team that doesn’t.
Well, this indicates that from the 5th through 8th innings the Rangers were about 95% favorites to win the game.
I’m not convinced that “how it has gone for them lately” is very meaningful. Obviously Sergio Mitre is a bit of a different pitcher than Mariano Rivera. And, of course, AJ Burnett is no CC Sabathia.
Pitching shuts down hitting. The Yankees vaunted offense is facing good pitching. Yankee pitching is not doing very well.
. Great hitting seems to get you through the season. You can beat up on the weak pitchers in the league. You can get a lot of easy victories and qualify for the playoffs. But the playoffs are a little different. Your pitchers have to perform at a high level. If they don’t, you are doomed.
And yet, pitching also doesn’t shut down hitting.
The Rangers have scored 5, 7, 8, and 10 runs in this series. So, even if their pitchers had not been awesome, they still could have won those games. Great hitting has, in fact, helped to get them through the playoffs.
I’m not arguing that pitching is unimportant. And, in fact, some evidence suggests that there are ways in which pitching can be more important in the playoffs. For one thing, you tend to see the best three pitchers in the rotation more often in the playoffs than in the regular season.
But it always seems to me that the phrase “pitching shuts down hitting” is meaningless, because pitching shuts down hitting, except when it doesn’t.
I’d argue they aren’t even in the top 5, or at best number 5.
What’s that thing the Yankees are doing with their bats? Are they allowed to do that?
It’ll probably sound like I’m jumping on the bandwagon now, but I thought Cano should’ve been hitting third during the season and I’d like to see him stay there for the rest of the postseason, if any, and next season. Teixeira can hit, but I’d rather see Cano get the extra at-bats and I can’t think of a situation where I would prefer to see Tex at the plate over Cano.
Well Teix is out for this round and next round if we move on. So I am pretty sure you will get your wish.
Right, I know about that. But I think they should’ve put Cano in the three spot this season and I’d like to see him there next year. Meanwhile, The Man Mountain pitched himself into another big jam and got out of it. That should seal this one unless the bullpen implodes again.
I couldn’t agree more about Cano. Where would you put Teix? And/or who would you bat second, assuming Jeter stays at leadoff?
Next year I would have Gardner Lead-Off, move Jete back to 2. Cano 3rd as Marley suggested. A-Rod and then Teix.
Nice start for the Giants…and the way they’ve been playing lately, this might be all they need 