Last night's debacle is over. It was ugly, it was disappointing, but it wasn't really unexpected. The Yanks were facing the probable (and definitely deserving) Cy Young winner, in a hostile environment. The Yanks were barely over .500 on the road this year, and he's a lefty.
It was hard to swallow because the Bombers had plenty of chances and Sabathia was not sharp, but it's time to move on. The Indians held home-field advantage through one game, that's it. Tonight, they face a pitcher they beat in August, a righty, and they have their stopper on the hill in Andy Pettitte. There's no need to panic, a win tonight puts the Yanks in perfect position. Let's take a deep breath and get ready to face Carmona.
It's a 5pm start time, I'll be live blogging again, so check back here a few minutes before first pitch.
Totally. We win today, and home field is ours. Just bring some lumber with you to the game, boys.
To put things even more in perspective, we won game 1 last year at home, then lost three in a row. Last night's game sucked, but hopefully tonight turns out a little bit better
I'm pleasantly surprised at the lack of A-Rod talk today. Michael Kay was on Mike & Mike this morning and one of the Mikes brought up A-Rod's 0-for-2 last night and Kay said "Well, he walked twice. What do you want him to do? Chase pitches out of the strike zone? That's what got him in trouble last year. Something tells me the Indians will be VERY careful with him. If the series goes 5 games, he might draw 10 walks."
Tom,
I have the fame feeling. Posada needs to pick it up in this series, and make them pay for walking A-Rod. I'd also like to see A-Rod steal a couple of bases. Anything to make them think twice before they put him on.
Good observation Tom, on the lack of A-Rod talk. DId you hear the announcers last night actually admit that A-Rod deserves the MVP? That was a pleasant surprise to me.. I expected more of the" A-Rod can't play in the playoffs" schtick from them.
Sabathia got stronger as the game went on. I was hoping that when they took him out, the Yanks would tee off then. But that Perez guy came in and was just lights out. Good thing is they won't see him tonight after last night's appearance. When I watch relievers like that, I get real jealous that we don't have 'em like that in Philly.
I agree about a-Rod running if he has the opportunity Brian
Do you know how well Carmona holds runners on? Sinker-ballers usually have long motions and are easy to run against, especially since they throw a lot of low pitches, often in the dirt.
And Posada really needs a better showing than he had last night. After swinging at a pitch down the middle 3-0, he swung at 3 more that were out of TBS's digital strike zone graphic. Sabathia was wild, and Jorge should be wise enough to not chase pitches out of the zone, especially when the count was 3-1.
I really shouldnt keep dwelling on last night, but it just seems like such a missed opportunity