Depressed Fan has gone all Sixers. I will still be blogging the Yankees and the Eagles, just in a different place. You can find my Yankee coverage at In Mo We Trust and the Eagles at Don't Boo The Birds. I'll be able to focus on each team better this way.
I don't need to remind anyone what's a stake tonight. Roger Clemens will take the hill for the Yankees. How much he has left in the tank is anyone's guess. It shouldn't matter. The Yankee offense should be able to put 7 or 8 runs on the board against Jake Westbrook. I'm expecting an explosion. I'm expecting a win.
As usual, the score will be updated below, and the live blogging will take place after the jump. Leave your thoughts in the comments and enjoy, Yankee fans. Let's hope we're right back here tomorrow night.
As most of you know, George Steinbrenner said in an interview earlier that if the Yankees don't win this series, Joe Torre will not be back as the Yankees' manager next year. Fair, or not. Accurate or not, he said it. George also spoke about A-Rod's situation, and made a point of saying the first two losses of the series were not his fault. Every veteran on this team has had Torre stick up for him, and stick with him, in tough times. If there was ever a day to repay him, today is that day.
Joe has gone with his best offensive lineup, Giambi at first, and Matsui at DH. I think this is a solid move, the Yanks should be able to bludgeon Jake Westbrook.
40 minutes 'til first pitch.
It looks like I'm going to be 0-3 in my predictions. Not only am I 0 for 3 in picking the series winners, but the teams I picked to win all got swept. Whoops.
TNT doesn't seem to want to cut into the riveting Julia Styles movie they're showing right now. It's 6:30 and they haven't switched to the Yanks yet.
Top First: Skidmark starts out throwing hard. Posada starts out dropping balls. Sizemore grounds out to Cano. Cabrera safe at first on a Jeter error. They ruled it a hit, which is wrong. 3-0 splitter to Hafner. Either Clemens is being extra careful, or he has a better feel for the split early in the game. Hafner walks on a 3-2 pitch. We need a ground ball here. He definitely has a better feel for the split. Full count on Martinez. Fly out to left. Two down, Garko at the plate. Single up the middle, Cabrera scores. 1-0, Indians. Stop it here. Jeter handles a weak grounder from Peralta and steps on second to end the inning. Let's get that run back right here.
Bottom First: Atta boy Johnny. Single to left. Chip Caray is amazed a Yankee can hit the ball the other way. Jeter lays down a perfect bunt, but it just rolls foul. Double play turned by Peralta. Abreu grounds out to first on a 3-1 pitch.
Top Second: Nixon's up second this inning, he's owned Clemens throughout his career. Keep an eye on that at bat. Lofton pops out to Jeter in shallow left. F&ck. HR for Nixon. 2-0, Indians. Blake grounds out to second. Chip Caray is basically begging the crowd to boo A-Rod, I hope it doesn't happen. Sizemore singles to right. Sizemore steals second. Cabrera flies out to Cabrera to end the inning.
I say 3 is the max number of runs you can leave Clemens in to allow. If the Tribe mounts any kind of rally next inning you have to get Hughes or Moose up.
Bottom Second: I thought I heard an MVP chant going when A-Rod came to plate, but it wasn't that loud. He looks a little more relaxed up there, up in the count 3-1. Single to left center for A-Rod, and he hit the crap out of it. Let's go now. Listen to that crowd. Jorge grounds into another double play. They just can't string anything together. Giambi grounds right into the teeth of the shift.
Top Third: Someone's up in the pen, but they don't feel like telling us who it is. It's Phil Hughes. Good move by Joe. I think might be all for Clemens, Joe's coming out with the trainer. Nope, he's staying in. He just doesn't have it. If he loses Hafner here you have to get him out of there. Hafner walks to lead off the inning. He just can't put anyone away. He started Hafner 0-2 and walked him, started Martinez 0-2 and now he's 3-2. He reached back for that fastball. Martinez Ks on a 92 MPH fastball. Clemens is done. I could really care less if that was the last pitch Roger Clemens will throw in the major leagues, to be honest with you. We have a game to win here. Hughes is in. He was impressive in game 1. Let's see what he can do here. Garko homered off him in game 1 on a fastball away. Let's see if he learned from that mistake. Hafner moves to second on a wild pitch. Garko grounds out to short. Two down, Peralta at the plate. Broken-bat double to right. Hafner scores. 3-0, Cleveland. Unbelievable. Lofton flies out to left to end the inning.
At this rate, the Yanks are going to have to score 10 to win.
Bottom Third: Maybe the long layoff will take its toll on Westbrook. Nice hustle for Matsui, infield single. How about we DON'T hit into a double play here, huh? Cano grounds out to first, Matsui was moving on the play, he's on second. Melky taps a swinging bunt out in front of the plate, Martinez tries to get Matsui at third, but he avoids the tag and makes it into third. First and third, one out. Let's Go Damon!!!! RBI single for Damon. 3-1, Indians. Jeter's at the plate, first and second, one out. Three double plays in three innings. Two runners stranded. BUT, they got on the board. The first run is always the hardest to get.
We need Phil to put a zero on the board here.
Top Fourth: Trot Nixon goes to a full count. Phil throws him a 3-2 change, I love that. He fouled it off. Then struck him out with heat. Great sequence for Hughes there. Blake flies out to medium-depth center. Phil sits Sizemore down looking with a perfect 3-2 heater. Exactly what we needed.
Bottom Fourth: Abreu grounds back to the pitcher. Here comes A-Rod. A-Rod pops out to left, got under it. Full count to Jorge. He grounds out to second. 1,2,3 inning for Westbrook, and we're getting close to the point where the Rafaels will come in.
Top Fifth: Cabrera flies out to left to lead off the fifth. Cano gets out of the way of a Hafner line drive. They call it an error. Martinez flies out to center. Two down, man on first. Garko goes down looking on a sick heater. Phil is cruising, let's get the friggin' bats going.
Bottom Fifth: Giambi strikes out, and looks bad doing it. Gwynn was trying to make a good point there, why doesn't Giambi bunt? Down two runs, we need runners. Matsui singles to left. Someone needs to explain what the tying run means. Double to deep left for Cano. Second and third, one out for Melky. Let's Go!!! Right here Melky. RBI single for Melky to left, Matsui scores. 3-2, Indians. First and third, one out for Damon. NO DOUBLE PLAYS!!!!!!!! HOME RUN DAMON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5-3, Yanks. Jeter lines out to center. Abreu pops out to short. Caray wants to cry himself to sleep.
We need a quick inning from Phil here. Put another zero on the board. DO NOT let them get any momentum back.
Top Sixth: Nasty slider from Phil to start off the sixth. Peralta pushes a bleeder through the left side for a single. Joba's up and Gator goes to the mound. Phil looks really good to me. I don't think I like getting Joba up now, but I guess it's better safe than sorry. Lofton goes down swinging. Phil is dealing. Caray is a dumbass. Hughes didn't pick up his first regular season win against the Indians. It was against Texas. Nixon pops out to left after a long at bat. Blake flies out to left to end the inning. Excellent job by Hughes. Excellent.
OK, time to start tacking on.
Bottom Sixth: I can't believe Westbrook is back out there. Nice hustle by A-Rod. Peralta is a lazy shortstop, by the way. Infield single for A-Rod. I'd look to run him here. Aaron Fultz is in to face Posada. Single to left for Posada. Fist and second, no one out for Giambi. I'd pinch-hit here, and bunt. Doug is pinch hitting, and bunting, and this is a perfect, perfect call by Torre. Doug lays down a perfect bunt, and they walk Matsui to load the bases for Cano. That is going to bite them in the ass. Mark my words. YES!!!!! Cano smoked a single to right, Nixon charged and it went right through him. All three runs score!!!!! 8-3, Yankees. Cano winds up on third with one out. Melky grounds out to third. Joe should sit Joba down now. Send Phil out for another inning. Damon Ks to end the inning.
Please do not bring Joba in now. Phil is cruising and he has a cushion. Send him back out there. Don't burn Joba.
Top Seventh: Joe is going for the throat, apparently. Joba is in there. You only live for today, so I'm not going to slam Joe too much for this move, but if it was me, Phil would be back out there. Best case scenario here is a scoreless 7th for Joba, then the Yanks tack on a couple and the Viz and Farnsworth can work the 8th and 9th. Sizemore goes down on an insane slider in the dirt on a 3-2 count. Nice curve there from Joba at 79 MPH, we haven't seen many of those. Martinez Ks on another nasty slider. Another curve, 77 MPH, Hafner missed it by a foot. Hafner pops out to right. What a display by the kids.
Bottom Seventh: Jensen Lewis in to face Jeter to start the seventh. Jeter Ks. Abreu Ks on a fastball right down the pipe. Lewis threw him an 85 MPH change the pitch before, setting up the fastball perfectly. Here's the MVP chant for A-Rod, music to my ears. Lewis strikes out the side. He's like Joba, just not as good.
Top Eighth: Joba is still in there, and still dealing. Martinez tomahawks a single through the infield. Garko hits into a 6-4-3 double play. Peralta walks on a 96 MPH heater that just missed the inside corner. Lofton singles down the left field line. I really wish Joba hadn't been sent out there for this inning. He's at 32 pitches now. Nixon doubles to left center. This was avoidable. 8-4, Yanks. He's going to wind up throwing 40 pitches here. Blake flies out to right to end the inning. Thank God.
Bottom Eighth: In comes Borowski. Jorge walks to lead off the eighth. Borowski really is garbage. Doug flies out to center. Matsui walks. First and second, 1 out, Cano at the plate. Cano flies out to shallow center. Melky flies out to center.
Enter Sandman?
Top Ninth: Sandman it is. Sizemore flies out to shallow left. Cabrera Ks. TBS chooses Damon as the player of the game. Hard to argue with, but I'm going in a different direction. Hafner Ks looking to end it.
I'll have a preview up later tonight for tomorrow's game. Here's a preview of the preview: Chien-Ming Wang needs to start the game.
Player of The Game: Phil Hughes. The Franchise saved the season today. Someone else is going to have to step up and do it tomorrow, but without him, they don't win this game.
40 minutes until the most annoying announcing team. I can guarantee they'll beat this Big Stein's comments situation to death. I'll be watching with the volume off.
Off topic, but the freakin' Jets let the $(*@#*&4 Giants off the hook and blew a 10 point lead in the third quarter. I am so sick of hearing how good the Giants are... they're lucky, and beating teams that are pathetic.
Phil? No. He looked good, f*cking broken bat double to right. I think he's going to put a couple zeros on the board now. The offense needs to get going.
Wedge goes to the 'pen...this game is over.
The experience Hughes and Joba are collecting this October will bear big dividends down the road.
Jorge is not a good hitter from the right-hand side...
Seriously. Sit Joba down right away. You can always get him back up if you need him in the middle of the inning. Don't burn him for two innings tonight.
40 minutes until the most annoying announcing team. I can guarantee they'll beat this Big Stein's comments situation to death. I'll be watching with the volume off.
One game at a time. If Schilling can do it, so can Roger.
Oh, yeah, go Yanks, let's do this thing!!!!
Off topic, but the freakin' Jets let the $(*@#*&4 Giants off the hook and blew a 10 point lead in the third quarter. I am so sick of hearing how good the Giants are... they're lucky, and beating teams that are pathetic.
Chad Pennington is a horrible QB, that's all I'm going to say about football for today. Turn on TNT everyone, it's time to watch some real baseball.
anyone know if the giambino is in the lineup?
Yep, batting 6th, playing first. The lineups are right below the scoreboard above.
Let's get this party started!
A lot of pitches. He'll need to do better.
Chip Caray almost soiled his shorts when that run scored.
We may need a lot of runs tonite, a lot.
I'm happy for A-Rod. Shut the effing Caray up.
WOW did Jeter need that hit!
Chip is no Harry.
He's not even Skip.
What a way to put a damper on the rally.
they arent even moving on his splits. jesus. please get phil up.
Why can't he put them away going 0-2??? Very very frustrating.
What a pity, I was so looking for some old Rocket's mojo for this game. Now just gotta pray the young one stays unphased in this situation.
The Indian and Sox batters are patient. So were the Diamondbacks and Rockies. I'm glad to see the Rocket go out with a Strikeout at least.
Bring on the kid!
im gonna go out and say, FUCK roger clemens, go home and enjoy your 17 million dollars.
Although I will say...it's somewhat apt that hughes releives clemens here, on a philosophical/optimistic level. lol
Tony Gwynn looks like he swallowed the Good Year Blimp. But he's the best of the lot announcing here.
Tony did pick the Yanks in his predictions, after all.
Let's go Phil. No better time to grow up.
I've always liked Gwynn.
did he throw any changeups in that inning?
Phil? No. He looked good, f*cking broken bat double to right. I think he's going to put a couple zeros on the board now. The offense needs to get going.
I liked Gwynn too. He's the best of these announcers. I was just surprised to see him now. He looks more like an ex-offensive linemen.
I know, I told my wife he stole 60 bases on year when he was young, she couldn't believe it.
And how many times did Gwynn win the batting titles (9?) as a contact, not homerun hitter?
It's just shocking to see him so out of shape.
In all fairness, if the other two assholes didn't celebrate for the Indians at every effing opportunity, they'd be ok too. Tony roots for the Yanks.
Matsui wants to win.
WOW! Some life here! Is he stealing 2nd to take away the DP?
These DP's are driving me insane.
They're going to break through. The important thing is the run. They needed to get on the board.
21 dp on the season, 4 on the series for jeter. you cant kill rallies like that with the indians bullpen viable.
That knee is a big issue w/ Jeter. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes under the knife as soon as the season's over.
Great inning for Phil. Good control of his breaking stuff.
WOO-HOO! The kid comes through on the mound! Now comes the heavy hitters....
Shoot... I voted for Wang to start next. One game at a time...
Looking at Torre after that Cano error, you'd think Torre didn't have much faith in his club right about now.
Long bottom of the 4th...what's going on...? One good hit could open up the floodgates....
going the other way is the new hotness. lol
Maybe Melky needs to try and steal here if possible.
How bout a squeeze?
YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hit and run maybe. But don't make the second out...NEVER MIND!!!! HOLY SHIT!!!!!
Now that's a Westbrook I remember.
Don't let up now. Let's end this game.
Brians last comment post was the funniest thign ever
Ok, a test for Phil here to keep it here.
Okay...now we have a game...let's play defense and let the Indians start thinking about game 5....
go right at Lofton...he's 37 yrs old....
He will.
Trot Nixon has to be somebody's son-in-law....
What a game for the kid. Loving his breaking stuff. What an invaluable experience for him too.
Do you guys think Phil would be a good name for my daughter?
They finally got a call right. Nice job by the scorers.
Wedge goes to the 'pen...this game is over.
The experience Hughes and Joba are collecting this October will bear big dividends down the road.
Jorge is not a good hitter from the right-hand side...
I feel good about this Fultz fella.
interesting move by torre, i like it though.
Nice move with Minky here.
Perfect bunt. That's huge.
Robbie hasn't homered in two games, he's due.
Oh, well, will settle for 3 runs instead.
TRIPLE....Trot is a zit.
lets go!!!!!
i hope they put hughes back in and save joba a lil bit
Seriously. Sit Joba down right away. You can always get him back up if you need him in the middle of the inning. Don't burn him for two innings tonight.
Phil threw 31 pitches and would probably be available tomorrow, the way he's been dealing. I'd give him the night off.
Hmm, 63 rather, so no probably no available for tomorrow, but for Wed.
I actually like Joba here, to shake off his last outing.
Joba being nasty.
Did you see the curve? 79 mph, 12-6 break. Where did that come from? Just filthy.
You just can't lay off of that curve.
I think moose taught his curve to both hughes and joba , lol
Dr. Ronan Tynan always means runs.
Raise your hand if back in April you imagined these kids playing in the bigs, like this, facing elimination in the division series game? What a year.
Well the bottom of the 7th was pretty bad....did Pennington leave his contacts at home today...?
Damnit. Joba's going to throw 40 pitches here. This was not smart.
Hmm, yeah, I wonder what his status for tomorrow will be. I guess depends on the situation.
Let's get through this game, then worry about tomorrow.
I vote for two players of the game: JD and PH. Nicely done, Yanks. Get 'em tomorrow.
Wow. Great game guys. We set another comment record, it was a pleasure, as always, to watch the game with you.
Barring my wife going into labor, I'll be back here with you tomorrow night. 7 p.m. start.