SB Nation User Blog: CrazyYankeeChick

Belated Words on the 27th World Championship Victory...

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:06:04 -0000

I wrote this when I finally got out of bed circa 2:30 in the afternoon.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

My fellow crazies and I were out celebrating the World Series Championship of the New York Yankees up until about 7am. None of us wanted the night to end.

Ball game over. World Series over. Baseball season over.

Listening to asinine hating anti-fans drop the "who's won more in this century" over.

Having to hear people say they "can't wait til the Yankees choke" over.

First year at new stadium over.

Nine years without a ring over.

Ball game over. The Yankees win.

What a night. The hours and day(s) leading up to last night were saturated with critics attacking Girardi for pitching AJ Burnett in Game 5 because it meant not only would Andy Pettitte have to go on short rest for Game 6, but CC Sabathia would have to pitch his 2nd short-rested game in a row, should a Game 7 be needed.

Funny, though, how these naysayers were oddly silent up until the point AJ started getting shelled. THEN it was a fatal flaw. THEN Girardi was a moron. And all I heard about for all of Monday night through 8pm last night was how that move will change the face of the series, and there's no way Andy will be able to go on 3 days rest, and Girardi should be fired, etc.

The consensus was that if the Yankees win the World Series, it was be in spite of Girardi, not because of him. I really couldn't disagree more on this one. And this is coming from someone who spend many a game banging her head against the computer, screaming to no one in particular that Girardi is an idiot for not using [fill in name of bullpen reliever who wouldn't have let up runs, in my estimation].

My dad even said, "Kris, I could have won a championship with that team. Look at them."

True. But how much different are they from any other one of their teams in the last 5 years? What about when they got Randy Johnson? And Carl Pavano? A-Rod? Those were big name guys, and they never brought us to a title.

Something was different this year. There was no Torre doing ungodly things to his pitching staff's arms. There a case study in "Eff you, critics" performance from A-Rod. A relatively steadfast batting order that wasn't seemingly determined by picking names out of a batting helmet. Patience at the plate (cough...Cano...cough).

I don't think it's easy to manage a club no matter how good they are. And the fact that Girardi took this team through the World Series is not something that should be trivialized. He didn't always do thing we agreed with, but his strategy of a quilted motley crew of relievers to support precarious starter situations, worked out beautifully.

The Yankees were able to ride a 3-man rotation through the entire playoffs, all 3 of them going on short rest at some point (some faring better than others). And it worked out. It %&#@E worked out. The New York Yankees are Kings of the World once again.

And my God, it feels good.

The Phillies were good, and put up a good fight, so much so that there was even talk of Chase Utley getting World Series MVP even if the Phils didn't win. (Of course, you can't really make that argument when a guy on the winning team somehow manages to knock in 6 ribbies in one game to tie the World Series record. Thank you, Hideki.)

Ryan Howard was abysmal all series, save one long ball he knocked off Petitte last night to bring the score to 7-3. It was too little too late though, and the Phils weren't able to overcome that kind of damage in a rocking stadium filled to the rafters with fans salivating for, in the words of Cole Hamels, "it all to be over with."

Pedro Martinez was no one where near as sharp as he was when he dueled with AJ Burnett in Game 2. (And of course, now the scapegoat blame gets applied to Charlie Manuel for not taking Pedro out when Hideki came to the plate with bases loaded in the 3rd, with the lead only 4-1.)

The Phils scored on a sac fly by Shane Victorino, who I was half hoping would enter the game with a bloody batting glove and give the Fox announcers something to distract themselves away from hating on the Yankees for 2 seconds.

But the Yankees were doing what they do best, which was knocking the ball all over the park. Even the foul balls were long shots, even the outs were well hit liners. This is to be expected, perhaps, when Pedro is throwing 87 mph fastballs.

When Hideki's 2-strike, 2-out, single put the score at 4-1, I was a little more relaxed, but I never stopped compulsively flicking at my hat brim and pacing and grinding my teeth, until he hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 5th to make it 7-1, following Mark Teixeira's base hit that had scored Jeter.

A 6-run lead isn't any guarantee, but it was comfortable. And that was when we all started to let it prematurely sink in. The Yankees were going to be World Champions soon.

I think this implosion from good old Petey should be indicative of how short rest or normal rest, an erratic pitcher in his 30s isn't going to always be lights out. I don't think AJ was knocked around on Monday because he wasn't well rested. I think he was beat up because he's AJ Burnett, and that's what he does. He surprises us with either Good AJ or Bad AJ, and let's be honest, we all knew this when we bought him, so let's not act so surprised when he gets chased early.

Pedro gave a mirror image performance of that, but it was a little more untimely than AJ's crap outing. If I were a Phillies fan, I'd point fingers directly at the decision to pitch Pedro in Yankee Stadium for Game 2, when they should have pitched him at home.

And more significantly, the decision to pitch Pedro in Yankee Stadium for an elimination game!! I guess they didn't have much choice in the matter, but if Cliff Lee had pitched instead of Joe Blanton on Sunday, they wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place.

(Eh, whatever. Like I care about what the Phillies do with the pitchers.The Yankees just won the World Series. I got all day today to read every last word written about the game, and then all day tomorrow to get lost in the masses of people tumbling into the Canyon of Heroes.)

With 2 outs in the top of the 9th, the bar packed wall to wall, the stadium deafening with every pitch Mariano Rivera threw that made the title that much closer...it started to feel like New Year's Eve. Well, if the year lasted 9 years.

All of us expectantly waiting for the ball to drop, so to speak. All of us exploding in raucous, bleary eyed, delirious, euphoric celebration when it did.

"New York, New York" blared through the streets. Then "We are the Champions." "Empire State of Mind." The text message congratulations. The shots. The dancing. The screaming. The hugging. It was heaven. It still is.

I've kept my mouth shut about retaliating against all the shit-talkers that tried their damnedest to curse the Yankees, who tried to rain on our playoff parade. I've limited my jabs to half-kidding trash talking towards our opponents.

But I wrote in Game 5 postmortem:

If someone makes a point to go out of his or her way to poke the bear, unprovoked, then there's the exception to the rule. Because if the Yankees should end up winning the World Series this year, I will make a pit stop before riding off into the sunset, to dole out heaps of karma three-fold.

Instead of just letting us enjoy the fact our team was playing in the World Series, and that we were really happy and excited about it, NYC was teeming with assholes that wanted us to be as miserable as them. They were unrelenting in their banal insults, their pathetic and predictable Yankee shots.

Maybe we couldn't be bothered, or maybe a part of us was secretly scared that if we responded in kind, that we'd be putting ourselves in grave danger should the Yankees happen to choke it away.

Whatever the reason, it's immaterial now. BECAUSE WE WON.

Everyone out there with your "I can't wait to see them blow it the ALDS" and the "I can't wait til they choke against the Angels" or "I can't wait to see Pettitte get lit up on short rest" etc etc etc... HOPE YOU ENJOY THE NEXT FEW DAYS OF SEEING NOTHING BUT YANKEE COVERAGE.

And I hope your commute to work is significantly screwed up because of the ticker tape parade.

And until the 2010 World Series, the Yankees are the World Champions. So every time you see a fan walking down the street with a Yankee hat on, and your knee jerk reaction is to say something negative, just remember: The Yankees won. And you're out of material.

The Yankees did it. They won their 27th championship, the most of any team in any sport. In the first year in their new stadium, they christened their home with champagne and victory...just as they did to their last stadium, when they won the World Series in its inaugural season in 1923.

Congratulations, Yankees. Thank for you bringing the trophy back to where it belongs.

Thank you for everything that you've given your fans this season.

Thank you for #27.

-CYC

World Series Game 6: It ends tonight.

CrazyYankeeChick — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:04:00 -0000

by Seth Wenig - AP

It ends here.

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"Have you ever seen Gattaca?"

"Um. Oh. Yeah. With Halle Berry?"

"Huh? No..you're thinking of Gothika. Wait, you've seen Gothika?"

"No."

"Then why did you say--ok, nevermind, the point is, there's this part in the movie where these 2 guys, who always have these swimming competitions with each other, are like treading water in the middle of the ocean, and one guy says, 'How did you do it? How do always, always beat me?' and the other guy says, 'You know how I did it? I never saved anything for the way back.'"

That was a conversation I had with my sister after Game 5.

The Yankees don't need Game 7. The 2009 baseball season ends tonight.

Put everything in. Andy Pettitte with short rest. Pedro Martinez with long-history. A Yankee line-up whose made a living just-besting their postseason opponents. A fanbase that's teetered on nerves, anxiety, but always hope.

A team that's been waiting for this for 9 years.

Never save anything for the swim back.

Because it ends tonight.

Lineup

Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees

11/04/09 7:57 PM EST

Philadelphia Phillies	New York Yankees
Jimmy Rollins - SS	Derek Jeter - SS
Shane Victorino - CF	Johnny Damon - LF
Chase Utley - 2B	Mark Teixeira - 1B
Ryan Howard - 1B	Alex Rodriguez - 3B
Jayson Werth - RF	Hideki Matsui - DH
Raul Ibanez - DH	Jorge Posada - C
Pedro Feliz - 3B	Robinson Cano - 2B
Ben Francisco - LF	Nick Swisher - RF
Carlos Ruiz - C	Brett Gardner - CF

Today is the day.

CrazyYankeeChick — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:16:33 -0000

View full size photo »

November 4, 2009.

11/4.

If the Yankees win tonight, their postseason record is 11-4.

And it will be their 114th win of 2009.

The only people who should be worried right now are Phillies fans.

Yanks take Game 2, take Pedro deep in 3-1 victory

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:29:09 -0000

Ahh, much better.

The Yankees beat the Phillies in a much-needed, if technically not "must-win" Game 2, with A.J. Burnett outdueling old friend Pedro Martinez.

The Phillies took an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd with an RBI single from Matt Stairs, but the Yanks answered in the 4th with a solo shot from Mark Teixeira. Two innings later, Hideki Matsui went yard to give the Yanks a 2-1 lead, and then they collectively abandoned the longball game in favor of the small ball one.

If we had lost that game, I would have undoubtedly been arrested, and they would have needed dental records to identify the first base ump's mangled body.

Something tells me this game is just a microcosm of how the rest of the series is going to go. Nip and tuck. Working the pitchers. No easy outs, no easy runs. I don't know if my heart can take it.

Admittedly, no one can say we teed off on the long-winded stepchild of the Yankees. He kept our bats frozen through 3 innings, save a single from Hideki. And I wouldn't dare publicly subscribe to this at the time, but the thought did cross my mind that if Pedro holds us scoreless and to one hit, I may have to walk into a pit of wild boars to take me out of my misery.

Fortunately, Tex saved me from this fate when he led off the bottom of the 4th with shot to right center. 'Bout time. I was like 8 minutes away from exploding into a "the Phillies have weighted the ball!" outburst. (Seriously, though. It felt like the whole bar had been possessed by Sterling, every shot looked like it was going to carry, inducing us all to jump to our feet in excitement only to see it caught no where near the warning track.)

With the score tied 1-1, everyone was breathing slightly easier. Slightly. A.J. continued to deal, and unlike his usual Good A.J. persona, he wasn't even throwing the occasional wildness. Over 7 unbelievably solid innings, he used 108 pitches to let up just 4 hits, walk 2, and strike out 9. NINE. Thank you a thousand times over, A.J.

The offense did little to help him out, though it never seemed as through Pedro was baffling them, per se. If anything, they might have been a little overeager to knock him around and hence were getting whiffed on giant cuts.

In the bottom of the 7th, the Yanks added another run to their lead, and it really should have been a couple more runs, but a horrendous call ended the inning. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Jorge Posada singled to score Brett Gardner (although his ribbie was regrettably not off Pedro, but I'll take it.)

Jeter made the first out of the inning when he did what every hot batter does with 2 strikes, runners on, in a playoff game where you only lead by 2: bunted. Naturally. Johnny Damon came up and hit a line drive to first which Ryan Howard sells as a catch despite its definite hop, umps buy it, Posada out at 2nd, Damon out with the catch.

Technically, it should have been a 4-1 game, with runners on 1st and 2nd and still 1 out, since Howard never even stepped on first. Eh, it's moot.

Mariano Rivera comes in for 6 outs and throws wayyy too many pitches en route to his 38th postseason save (39). Things started to get a little too close for comfort when he put on Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins, with Chase Utley to deal with on only 1 out. Superman induces a double play, inning over.

The 9th went on without much of a hitch beyond Raul Ibanez's double. Mo struck out Matt Stairs to end the game. (Btw, I never noticed how much of a fat middle-aged Guiness-drinking, Mets-rooting blob Stairs looks like--that's the type of guy who bats cleanup in his bar softball league, not for a pro one.)

The series is tied at 1 game apiece, with a "travel" day tomorrow, then 3 games in Philly commence on Halloween. Great win tonight, Yanks. And special nod of gratitude for Jose Molina (yup, first time that sentiment has ever been uttered ever), for picking off Jason Werth in the 3rd. Maybe that was the weird kick in the pants the boys needed to start it up.

It's still our series. Here's to taking Philly by the jugular this weekend.

And what better time for bloodshed then October 31?

-CYC

World Series Game 2: Hello, Pedro. Welcome back to the Bronx.

CrazyYankeeChick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:18:30 -0000

Let's see...in the last 24 hours, I've:

Thrown a pen at a Red Sox fan because he said, "I'm loving the way this series is going."
Told my buddy to go to hell when it came to my attention he bet on the Phillies to win the whole series.
Took a leave of absence from my best friend/sister for texting me during the game.
Changed the M and N on my coworker's keyboard because he said, "They lost BAD last night, huh."

And still none of these behavioral monuments to lunacy are as ridiculous as Pedro Martinez saying "Any time I hear that, 'Who's your daddy?' it reminds me that God is my daddy. It gives me strength. It keeps me strong and healthy, and I believe I can do anything."

So, if we consider that it was only 5 years ago that Pedro claimed the Yankees were, in fact, his daddy, by the transitive property, we can infer that Pedro thinks the Yankees are God.

Here we go. Game 2. Not a must-win situation, so I won't call it that. The Phillies send our boy Petey to the mound, who hasn't pitched in the Bronx since his Mets days in 2005. According to him, he's "older and wiser" which should bring his overall net intelligence to around sea level now. A.J. Burnett gets the nod for the Yanks, and I have this weird feeling that our boy is going to stun us (in a good way.)

The Phils are good. But the Yankees are the Yankees. And that's all you need to know going into tonight. Let's get 'em back, NY. This series is ours.

Lineup

Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees

10/29/09 7:57 PM EDT

Philadelphia Phillies	New York Yankees
Jimmy Rollins - SS	Derek Jeter - SS
Shane Victorino - CF	Johnny Damon - LF
Chase Utley - 2B	Mark Teixeira - 1B
Ryan Howard - 1B	Alex Rodriguez - 3B
Jayson Werth - RF	Hideki Matsui - DH
Raul Ibanez - LF	Robinson Cano - 2B
Matt Stairs - DH	Jerry Hairston Jr. - RF
Pedro Feliz - 3B	Melky Cabrera - CF
Carlos Ruiz - C	Jose Molina - C

Yanks get shut down 6-1. Cliff Lee deals, Yankees cannot.

CrazyYankeeChick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:24:13 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Game breaks open right about....here.

Browse more photos »

I can't do this.

I blame my sister for this one, actually, who decided a good time to pick a fight would be the second inning of the f'n World Series. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DON'T DATE ANYONE DURING BASEBALL.

Ugh.

How much more do you need to know here? The Yankees got shut down by Cliff Lee. CC Sabathia let up 2 solo homeruns to Chase Utley and Chase Utley. David Robertson, once the Houdini of bases-loaded-jams, gave up a base hit in the 8th to Raul Ibanez to make it 4-0.

Then Ryan Howard doubled in the 9th for 2 more runs. A couple of meaningless baserunners in the the bottom of the inning allowed Derek Jeter to score, but it was too much for even the Yanks to overcome.

We lost out first game at home.

A.J. Burnett better rip the Phillies a new you-know-what tomorrow.

Til then...

World Series Game 1: Is this really happening? The Quest for #27 really begins...

CrazyYankeeChick — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:54:44 -0000

by David J. Phillip - AP

It all starts here...

View full size photo »

It's almost surreal. I can't believe that in mere hours I'll be watching the New York Yankees in the World Series. I'm strangely calm, which means that it's all going to catch up to me about 2 minutes before the National Anthem is sung. Fortunately, I'm prepared.

Tonight, our favorite round boy and ALCS MVP CC Sabathia (3-0, 1.19) goes up against superace and ex-teammate Cliff Lee (2-0, 0.74) for a match that walked straight out of Type Casting for Mega-Pitching-Duel. The AP so insightfully informs us that the two hurlers have more in common than we may think:

"Teammates only 16 months ago, Lee and Sabathia have more in common than their Cleveland history and potent left arms. Their families are friendly, and they still text each other often."

Wow, they're practically clones.

CC hasn't had the most success against the Phils (1-2, 5.55), but then again, it seems like the baseball world has been scoffing left, right, and center at history this year. Lee isn't striking fear into the hearts of most NY fans either, though. In 12 IP, he's let up 16 hits, with Yankee hitters boasting a .320 BA against him.

Lee's the type of pitcher the Yanks can work from both ends--his control is subject to variability, and he has too much faith in his completely hittable fastball. If they jump on those 2 weaknesses, the Phillies aren't gonna know what hit 'em.

This year, the Yankees are 1-2 against their "Liberty Series" counterpart, but I think we can agree that the Late May Yanks are a far cry from this Late October one. Much has been made of the Big Bad Bats decorating the Philly line-up, but technically Ryan Howard and Chase Utley don't bat 9 times in a row.

And, most importantly, this is the Bronx.

And I think Reds' manager Dusty Baker sums it up pretty well here:

I’ve lost in Yankee Stadium as a Dodger and won in Yankee Stadium as a Dodger. It can be done, but you don’t want to be in a position where you have to win there. They just believe they are always going to win, the players believe it, the fans believe it.

They brain wash you. They put all those great moments in Yankees history on the scoreboard during batting practice. The highlights are great and the Yankees are just killing teams and you have to watch it for two hours. You can’t help but see it. It's just not conducive for visitors.

They wanted to take that vibe and that history from the old stadium and bring it to the new Yankee Stadium and with the success they are having it appears to have worked. I remember when Aaron Boone hit that home run off Wakefield to get the Yankees to the World Series in 2003, Derek Jeter had told him not to worry that the ghost will come.

So the Ghost of Babe Ruth may be a curse to some but he’s been good for the Yankees.

Scared yet, Philly?

Wait, so how exactly is this anything like 2004?

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:23:57 -0000

Yeah, I'm just not seeing it...

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The 2009 ALCS and 2004 ALCS are practically mirror images of each other.

Indistinguishable.

Talk about carbon copies! I haven't seen this level of uncanny similarity since watching Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump.

Yeah, that's about how alike these two series are.

If I have to read one more thinly veiled (or downright overt, even) suggestion that the 2009 ALCS is "2004 all over again," I may spoon out my eyeballs with my bare hands without skipping a beat.

I'm sorry, HOW exactly is this ANYTHING like 2004?

As much as it pains me to even think about that dark time in my life, I'm going to bite the bullet for the sake of putting an end to this ridiculous Y2K-like mass hysteria and unfounded panic.

Let's consider the elements that shaped the 2004 mess:

The Greatest Rivalry in Sports
Yankees took 3-0 lead
Red Sox hadn't beat the Yankees since the dawn of time
A-Rod's empty performance
Red Sox were the favorite entering series
Yankees pitching: Mike Mussina, Jon Lieber, Javier Vasquez, El Duque, Esteban Loaiza, Kevin Brown
Yankees Big Bats: Miguel Cairo, Derek Jeter, Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield (all below .300)

And in 2009?

Not the greatest rivalry, or even a rivalry at all
Yankees went up 2-0. Then 2-1. Then 3-1. Then 3-2.
Yankees haven't beaten the Angels since the dawn of time
A-Rod's immortal-like production and clutchness
Yankees were favorite entering series
Yankees pitching: CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte
Yankees Big Bats: Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Hideki Matsui

Not only is 2009 not that similar to 2004, but it's arguably the polar OPPOSITE of it. The Yankees aren't squandering away a swift 3-0 lead. The past 5 games have been back and forth, in terms of series record.

If this is considered to be a repeat of 2004, then I have to assume that anytime the Yankees lose a single game in the postseason, it's going to be linked to a Dave Roberts steal clip.

When the Angels lose tomorrow, I expect to read volumes of column inches asserting the blatant redux of the 1986 ALCS. Because, you know, they're practically one in the same. The Angels lost that one. They're going to lose this one. And apparently, that's about all the matching elements you need these days, to substantiate a cross-season comparison.

Next thing you know, they're gonna start telling me Papelbon and Mo are identical closers! Oh, wait...

Pay no attention to this 2004 drivel, Yankee fans. It's the hollow propaganda of haters everywhere.

And as George Bernard Shaw said, "Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated."

-CYC

What's the word I'm looking for...oh yeah, STOMACH PUNCH. Yanks lose 7-6.

CrazyYankeeChick — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 03:53:23 -0000

I guess it makes sense...

7-6.

#65 gets the win.

#65 gets the loss.

In game 5.

Thanks to a 4 run 1st.

From #34.

And a 3-hit game.

From #41.

And a final out from #33.

On the 22nd.

See ya in the Bronx, kids.

Do the gory details need to be relived?

I can't decide whether I'm relieved or aggravated that I didn't decide to take tomorrow off.

Is this what the Twins felt like?? Good God. I have a newfound respect for every team that's suffered a Yankee comeback/walkoff.

This isn't exactly our wheelhouse. The Yankees make a comeback, they're making a comeback to win the game. They don't mess around. (With a few exceptions, some of which are still fresh in my mind.)

I headed up to my standard game-watching haunt, with the Yankees already in a 4-0 hole in the 1st.

When I arrived at the bar, the score hadn't changed. My sister met me outside.

"It was like the police coming to a high school party where someone drank themself unconscious."
"What the HELL are you talking about?"

"When you said you were on your way here. I told everyone, 'she's coming, she's gonna be here in minutes.' And they just got ashen. So it was like, what's worse: the fact someone's in critical condition, like the Yankees? Or the fact the scary/aggressive/OCD/unpredictable time-bomb of a cop is on his way. And you don't know if he's in a good mood and is just gonna be like, 'eh, kids'll be kids. I'll give 'em a warning or something. OR, if you're gonna get the psycho-crazed lit fuse of a cop."

And if I needed it further spelled out for me, she added: "People think you're nuts."

"Yeah, no, I got it. Thanks."

(I'm just gonna copy and paste that direct quote next time my mom asks me why I'm single.)

And that's how my night went. Unfortunately for all game-viewers within striking distance of me, they weren't just getting "Bad AJ," but they were also getting "Bad CYC."

To be fair, A.J. Burnett didn't let up much else after those 4 runs in the first. He got his requisite One Bad Inning out of the way in the first. So, don't put this all on AJ. The Yankees rallied from this deficit, as the Yankees are wont to do.

Girardi's managerial decisions will be the spotlighted subplot of this loss. And for once, I'm not jumping on this congo line of Joe-Hate.

Should he have pulled AJ earlier? Maybe. But how could he have known that? AJ had thrown 89 pitches at the time. He had been dealing for 5 innings. Girardi has him start the bottom of the 7th, and all of a sudden we got the Grady Little comparisons pouring out like a dirty-stayout's vomit on prom night.

(Maybe I wouldn't have opted for Damaso Marte as his replacement, per se. But that's beside the point.)

Phil Hughes comes in after Marte, and can anyone question this move? Phil Hughes was our gas-man. He spent the season striking out the side. How could Joe have known this decision was going to be our hamatia?

We're throwing Joe under the bus for games 3 and 5, but I think Thing 1 and Thing 2 have knocked off the damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't stigma that's been clinging to A-Rod like a piece of heavily charged cellpohane, and transferred it directly to Girardi.

In game 3, he yanked David Robertson with 2 outs and no one on in favor of Alfredo Aceves, and I don't think even the biggest Girardi apologist can justify this move. And I suspect the rampant backlash he received after that game may have engendered the decision to push AJ for another couple of batters before pulling him.

I certainly haven't been the guy's biggest advocate this year, but at this point, I'm ready to say, We're the farthest we've been since 2003. We're considered the team to beat, the best in the league. You don't do that in spite of your manager.

No, I think this game was just lost, pure and simple. The line scores for each club are nearly identical across the boards, among pitchers and batters. There were missed opportunities to score, shaky outings from the starters, blown holds by the pen, and--of course--the sprinkling of unassailably shoddy officiating.

Tim Donaghy must feel like Jose Canseco right now.

The Yankees managed to come back from 4-0 and take a 6-4 lead, but the Angels matched our 6-run 7th, with their own 3-run bottom half. Nick Swisher, with bases loaded and 2 outs, popped up to end the game, and he is now the only person on the Yankees who hasn't made a meaningful contribution in the postseason. All he had to do was get on base, and the game's tied. Talk about a stomach punch.

Speaking of things that make me sick, John Lackey, prior to all this, had an outburst that I think may give me nightmares in weeks to come. When The Most Brilliant Manager Ever in the History of Life trotted to the mound for a little chat with his starter, Lackey has a veritable shit fit and clearly barks, "This one's mine."

And 6 hours later, I'm still trying to shake the image of his psychotic expression out from my mind.

Back to the Bronx on Saturday, which gives the sports world almost 2 days to get in some solid practice hours for the "How Many References to 2004 Can We Shoehorn Into the ALCS Coverage?" Tournament.

I'm not worried. They're the Yankees. They'll make it.

ALCS Game 5: Never stop fighting...it's time for the final blow

CrazyYankeeChick — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:52:16 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

It's not a postseason win without a patented captain fist pump.

View full size photo »

The more I think about it, the more I'm relieved the Yankees didn't beat the Angels on Monday. Because being up 3-0 would have undoubtedly cued a barrage of clips from The Unspeakable Year. And if they had won 3, then lost 1? Forget about it, the sports world would have had a veritable field day predicting "Here we go again!"

But that's not the case. The Yanks have Anaheim right where they want 'em: 27 outs away from the final hurdle in the Road to 27. A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04) gets the honor of trying to close out this series, while John Lackey (11-8, 3.83) gets the chore of trying to avoid headlining Anaheim's season swan song.

Burnett, who I assign a generous helping of credit to for lighting a fire under this team's ass, is too much of a pistol to not rise to the occasion here. In his last start, he let up 2 earned runs and 2 unearned, with his wild penchants discernibly surfacing before getting pulled. Lackey got worked in Game 1, giving up 9 runs and 4 runs over 5.2 IP.

The Yanks won't be able to rely on their sit-on technique that worked like clockwork again Scott Kazmir: Lackey's a 1st-pitch-strike kind of guy (my head is already hurting from T-Mac and Buck marveling at this for about 89 mentions.)

This also might be a good time for Mark Teixeira flex his offensive muscles and break out of his .133 postseason freeze. #13 can only compensate for his buddy's sleeping bat for so long... As for predictions, I think #34 delivers us to 4-3 final tonight, giving the Yanks their 40th pennant with a 4-1 series victory. All on the eve of #41's 31st birthday.

LET'S GO YANKEES. THE TITLE AWAITS!

And for something a little lighter...

Hurt Angels, hurt Angels,
Will you beat them?
My darling Yankees,
Who tee off on their pen,
I'm just a fan,
A fan who loves Yankees.

Hurt Angels, hurt Angels,
The team we abhor,
You've beat us forever, and ever more,
But not this year,
You'll be the ones out the door...

I root for you, and I knew,
The value of the Tex and CC trades,
I hoped and I pray that next month,
I'll see you riding in the World Series parade.

Oh oh oh oh oh OH!

Hurt Angels, hurt Angels,
Beat L.A.,
My darling Yankees,
Will take it all the way,
Angels are fools,
For thinking they'd top youuu.

I watch you play, and I say,
"They're something like the early dynasty,"
The bats and the arms of this club,
Are out to prove their superiority.

Oh oh oh oh oh OH!

Hurt Angels, hurt Angels,
Win in five,
My darling Yankees,
You've almost arrived,
I'm just a fan,
A fan in love with Yankees.