Well, as we've discussed to death, the blame doesn't lie exclusively on Girardi's shoulders, but the blame he has incurred is richly deserved.

That said, we need to remember how to hit. I've given up on expecting anything but bases-empty hits from Cano (which obviously have their value), and walks from Swisher and Melky.

The key, of course, is Teix. He looks lost up there and that's not good at all, especially considering how hot Alex is. If Teix can't get it done with that kind of protection, well...

Fortunately, his glove is golden so I can't be furious with him or anything, but still, he needs to show up at the dish.

And if Matsui can remember how to line the ball the other way like he did against the Twinkies, then we'll be in fine shape. Basically, we need to remember how to go up the middle with RISP. Nothing fancy, just nice and easy.

Still, I'm not in panic mode--YET...

It was a stupid decision. And it was YESTERDAY. Today we need to SCORE SOME FUCKING RUNS.

it's my fault, really. i was watching with the wife when Andy was facing Vlad, had him 1-2... i casually mentioned how great it was gonna be being up 3-0 against the Angels, how unexpected it was, etc... and I caught myself.

"i totally just jinxed us."

"quick, un-jinx it!" my wife said.

"uhh... vlad is gonna hit a two-run homer to tie it!"

10 seconds later...

&!%%^@*$+!!!

the woman in the Carravaggio painting, if we widen the shot we'll see she's looking at Girardi's 400 page, 3 ring binder of scouting reports, fretting and wondering where Marte fits into the picture.

Yo Hank Waddles, git your ass down there and bring the SCORE TRUCK with you, will ya hah?

Dude...how much of a freakin' genius painter was Carravaggio?

[1] Doesn't the Angels futile offense cancel out the Yankees futile offense? At least the Yankees have two guys on fire and two others chipping in.

[6] Think he can manage too?

I think a good manager self-assesses and learns from his mistakes. I hope that Girardi does just that. Turn the page.

The Yankee hitters who have seemed to forget how to hit, need to shorten up un their swings and put the ball in play. They are swinging for the pie. If I see Melky chase one more pitch in the dirt!

[4] Did the 3-ring binder say anything about not being able to bring Marte back after one pitch in the next inning to face someone who was 0-3 against him. If he hangs around in the dugout for more than 20 minutes, Marte becomes ineffective? Confounding.

Ok, I need to take a chill pill.

To those who think Damon will settle for a one year deal, I offer the following from the Daily News:

Speaking to reporters prior to Game 3 of the ALCS, Boras said, "Not that I've been thinking about this, but players who can get on the field every day and score 100 runs, how many guys do that? Johnny just plays, and he's got the body type that allows him to do that. If stem-cell research were around, you'd want to tap into that gene pool. He's (35), but has a 30-year-old's body. He plays much younger."

[9] In some cases, much younger. For example, Damon has the throwing arm of a seven year old.

[6] Sublime.

[9] Spoken like a true sports agent. I liove that, "No that I've been thinking about this...." He gets the big bucks only thinking about this.

When a Boras client is young, he plays mature for his age. When he's getting old, he plays young. All Boras speak to me.

I'm sure Damon knows that he has one good contract in him left and it won't be one year.

[7] Still and all, it's never good to fall so cold. It's one thing to get shut down by a Schilling or a Halliday, but we really should be hitting these guys better.

[6] you picked a stunning example

[4] That would explain the look on her face :-)

[8] Regarding Marte & Coke; “We just liked the matchup much better.” :-)

[9] I would be surprised if he settled for anything less than a multiyear deal.

[8] I think a good manager self-assesses and learns from his mistakes. I hope that Girardi does just that. Turn the page.

Yeah I was thinking how gratifying it would be to hear Girardi say today "On second thought, it was a bad move taking Robertson for Aceves. I'm going to be a little more careful about bringing pitchers in."

Mike Francesa seems to think the only two mistakes Girardi made were the lefty for lefty switch and that one at the end. He's neglecting to realize the problem with the Hairston to LF move was the move that necesitated it, which had Hairston coming in for Gardner with two out and no-one on.

[16] Yes, Mike Francessa does seem to think, but he really doesn't ;)

[7] I think something that needs to be noted is that even with all the offensive problems, the Yankees had still managed to be tied with the Angels before the last pointless move of the night.

isn't it creepy to see Boras lurking behind the screen behind home plate for every pitch in Anaheim?

[19] With a cell-phone attached to his ear. Yes, creepy is the right word.

It turns out that Joe Girardi also manages the bus depot in Durham NC. On my ride into school today, the bus stopped nine times to switch drivers.

[19] not as creepy as Pat Sajak

One thing I've always liked about Damon is he has always been a standup guy. That has never been more evident than the quote below. It would have been easy for Damon to offer a terse no comment for a move that many players would view as slap in the face (the smile Johnny had jogging off had to be the result of his embarassment).

“You have to put yourself in a situation where if the ball is hit directly at the left fielder, you maybe give yourself a better chance,” Damon said. “Jerry does have a better arm than I do, so I can’t disagree with that. Unfortunately it didn’t come to him and he did not make a play, and unfortunately we lose my bat the next inning.”

[21] That Girardi would make a great bank robber.

whoa, did anyone listening to Francesa just now hear Mink reading a promo for an anti-gay marriage website?

that was umm...jarring.

[23] I loved that quote. So real in a world of baseball cliche.

[25]

Hey ... as long as they give equal time to a pro-gay marriage site (but I don't expect them to) :-(

Saw a quote on LoHud where A-Rod was asked if he had ever been intentionally walked with two outs and the bases empty before. He said "no, never." And he's right... A-Rod has been intentionally walked 86 times in his career, and never with the bases empty.

Also, in Postseason history there have been 936 intentional walks. Just eight have come with the bases empty:

http://bbref.com/pi/shareit/NZYrt

Just four batters: A-Rod, Bonds, Pujols and.... Greg Luzinski?

[25] Yeah, and unwelcome.

[25] [27] Considering the state of the radio industry, if they pay in advance, they'll get on the air.

[1] I figure Teix has saved a couple of runs and possibly a game over Giambi, so I'll temper my frustration with his bat. Not that it is easy to do.

Don't know if this has been brought up before, but over at Dave Pinto's place, there's a video of Mo possibly using a spitter.

http://baseballmusings.com/?p=43216

First of all, I don't believe my lyin' eyes. Second, that's just too damn blatant, even if Mo were to do something like that (which he wouldn't) I think he'd hide it a bit better.

Girardi seems inordinately proud that they "limited" Sabathia's innings during the regular season. Oh you master planner, you.

I don't recall how Swisher's at-bats have been before, but yesterday it seemed like he wasn't taking his typical patient approach. Anyone notice if this is a trend or was it just yesterday?

[28] I'm surprised ARod and Tex have seen anything to hit this series. Scioscia's m.o. is to pitch around guys like them, and make the lesser hitters beat him.

[31] Diane linked the video in a previous thread. It's pretty clear that the camera angle and the cut-away make it look as though he's spitting on the ball. He's holding the ball in one hand and spitting on the ground, but we don't see the loogey (not LOOGY) reach the ground because the camera cuts away. But don't tell that to Angels fans, they're fine with their conspiracies, thank you very much.

[32] Most of the guys in the lineup, Swish included, are swinging at a lot more bad pitches. They really need to get back to being patient and stop being so anxious to get a big hit.

[34] Thanks. Been a bit too busy to catch up with all the threads.

They need to get back to small ball. Let the big bats do their things. The other guys have to just get on base.

[31] Exactly what [34] said. Besides, if you want to get saliva on the ball, you could simple fake a cough and load up your palm with phlem. Then, you could lather it on to your liking. Trying to spit directly onto the ball seems to be about the least effective way of doing it.

[32] The Angels are pretty much exclusively throwing him curve balls and he hasn't had a chance.

If the stupid spitting video makes it to an ESPN show tonight, even if it's just to laugh at it, those people should have to give back their journalism degrees. Also, if I knew how to perpetrate a Denial of Service Attack, that Angels blog would deserve one...

i thought perhaps sleeping on this loss would make me feel better. um...no. not so much. i didn't sleep well, at all. for once, it wasn't 'coz of loud downstairs neighbors. i totally took this loss to bed with me, tossed and turned about all the horrible decisions and never fully fell into a deep sleep. totally sucks. i'm good to go today though and just hope soooo freaking hard that we WIN!!!

that's all i want. i'd love a nice, quick, tidy, easy blowout win from our pinstriped heroes, but fuck it - i'll take whatever game they throw at me, so long as it ends in a Yankees victory.

LET'S GO YAN-KEES !! !!!

Also, I've decided that if we see Girardi near that stupid fucking binder tonight drastic action needs to be taken.

ok lets put last night to bed and focus on game 4, I think the dead horse has been thoroughly pummeled by all of us.

thoughts on CC/Kazmir??

[41] I also took it to bed with me. I dreamt that Girardi put me in to pitch after exhausting all other options. Woke up in a sweat before any damage was done.

Dr. Jung (he liked dreams), what does this mean?

[44] it means you did better than Aceves.

[43] We'd better win. Those are my thoughts.

[46] We will win. CC will pitch great and A-Rod will be clutch.

[47] I'm worried about Kazmir keeping it close enough that the Angels can come back when we start playing bullpen roulette.

Re: the spitting - would he really spit this giant wad of spit from two and a half feet away? Seems kind of easy for others to see, but if so, he's quite a marksman, though I guess we already knew that. It's not that I think Rivera's necessarily beyond "this sort of thing", but the execution seems a bit clumsy to be real.

I'm sticking with my prediction: the Yankees win this series in five games. Let's go Yanks!

[46] i echo those thoughts. i generally spice things up with profanity (you do too sometimes!). so . . .

we'd better fucking win! ...goddamnit.

I think I've finally figured out Girardi's stategy for yesterday's game. He didn't want to go up 3 games to zip and have everyone talk about what happened the last time the Yanks were up 3-0 in the ALCS. So, he botched a couple of decisions to shift the blame over to himself and take the pressure off his team. He knows that the only thing that can stop this team is between their ears. If people are blaming the manager then they forget that certain guys are not hitting. Brilliant plan, right? Ol' Joe, crazy like a fox (what network is showing the games...hmmm Coincidence, I think not?). I realize this is the dumbest idea in history and I'm not the least bit serious, but hey, it's all I got...and it makes about as much sense as any other reason I've heard for taking Robertson out of the game... ;-)

Also, I’ve decided that if we see Girardi near that stupid fucking binder tonight drastic action needs to be taken.

I find the image of Eiland slapping the binder out of Girardi's hands quite amusing.

and that's that:

"The Commissioners Office reviewed available video and still photography from Mariano Rivera spitting toward a baseball in ALCS Game 3 and “found no evidence that Rivera spit on the ball,” a spokesman for the commissioner told the Post."

[53] I was suggesting Tony Pena burn it. I don't trust Eiland either.

[50] that would fuckin' RULE!!!

my original prediction was Yanks in 6. yesterday's loss is clouding my vision...

[54] But if Bud is always wrong...uh oh.

I'm going to say that Bob DuPuy made the decision. That makes me feel better

[50] As that was also my prediction, I am with you. Kazmir goes down.

i predicted a sweep and girardi fucked it up. but now i'm signing on with the wimps who said yanks in 5.

[59] Wimp? My Yanks in 5 prediction was based on logic! No team in the LDS ea has ever gone 11-0 in the postseason. I figure it may never happen. Ergo, the Yanks had to lose 1 game, and since they couldn't lose a game in the ALDS (it having ended), and I don't want them to lose any games in the Serious if/when they get there - they had to lose a game of the ALCS. Thus, Yanks in 5.

And I'm not worried.

[60] maybe i'm just bitter that i was wrong.
seriously though, if we had to lose a game in the postseason, this one was the one to lose. it would be slightly better to have won yesterday and lose today, but then we'd have to deal with so much bullshit about 04. this was the one game we lost in 99, and let's hope it's the one we lose in 09.

[59] we used to have a saying in my family:

WIMPS RULE !!! : )

[59] i actually predicted Yanks in 6. i must be a real sissy! ; )

I think we're pretty furious, Alex, but, you know, we didn't wanna get blood on your floor.

Ya know, you're a really funny bunch. Wonder why I don't get any work done.

I was the ultimate sissy. I was too chicken shit to make a prediction, lest I jinx the whole enchilada.

[50] Ballsy, I think, but I like it. I still think it'll go six or even seven possibly. I'd hate to see Pettitte at the stadium in an elimination game for the Yanks but maybe you're right and it'll be avoided.

Tonight is a huge game for your prediction and for the series in general. If the Yankees lose I still suspect they'll take the series but it certainly becomes more fraught.

I feel like Sabathia will pitch well but not great, OR he might falter completely. I'm hoping he'll be loose because he's kind of playing with house money - there's a built-in excuse if he can't get it done. I think we'll know very early in the game though if he's gonna get lit up.

Main issue is the bats. If the Yanks can get the bats going, particularly Swisher and Tex, they can have a big inning or two and put this one away with or without a dominant Sabathia.

[61] No worries, and for what its worth, I agree with your reasoning completely. Just from a "how can FOX/ESPN possibly get more annoying" viewpoint, having to have 2004 jammed down everyone's throats would have been incredibly annoying.

[56] If you predicted Yanks in 6, ya need TWO Angel wins, so yesterday fit snugly into your vision. Unless you had mapped out certain games for the Yanks to lose and this wasn't one of em.

Well, I'm late to the wake, and a fast glance back at the game thread makes me happy I waited a day. Not that I'm happy today, no.

For what it is worth, with time to ponder, I agree with those pointing out that we had too many chances to bury them early for this to be dumped on Girardi as such. Swisher, certainly, looks surprisingly overmatched suddenly, including swinging at balls out of the zone, which is NOT him, and suggests he's trying too hard, feeling pressure. Twice with a man on 3rd and less than 2 is painful.

I do not think that winning ball is caught by anyone, but we'll see it again tonight (and again, probably) and I'll look another time (I actually turned half away when I saw Hairston running, it was so painfully clear he wasn't getting there, and Kendrick is fast. It felt like game over off the bat).

I'm afraid to go look at the Robertson/Aceves move on the game thread. Might fry my net connection. I remember blinking a few times, guessing it had to do with power vs junk, and still wondering how Girardi thought he had that luxury in the 11th with everyone burned AND a non-hr hitter up. Add that Aceves hadn't been stellar so far ... it felt wrong, still feels wrong, but mainly (for me) because we had so few bullets left. I'm curious, by the way, about the Girardi/Eiland dynamic ... how much is Eiland shaping the moves, for good or bad? I know there are managers who just leave the pen to the pitching coach, I don't think Girardi, as an ex-catcher, does that.

My worry tonight is a potentially devastating lefty and a team that will suddenly feel some pressure/anxiety facing one that feels they are off the mat, rising from the dead. Kazmir is hard to judge, but can be very, very good.

[69] My worry tonight is a potentially devastating lefty and a team that will suddenly feel some pressure/anxiety facing one that feels they are off the mat, rising from the dead

I really don't think it's that dramatic for either side. All the games have been close and yesterday's game was never out of reach for either team. Being down 2-0 is bad but not rising-from-the-dead stuff, and similarly losing a game like yesterday isn't cataclysmic. Maybe if they'd come back late, on Rivera or if the Yankees lead was greater and later, it would be. Thankfully that's not the case.

Well, I almost went to last night's game.

I'm kinda glad I didn't, the loss would have been excruciating in person.

Let's hope that the hitters and Joey have gotten all the oopsies out of their systems ... I'M GOING TO THE GAME TONITE!!!

I have a feeling I'm going to be deep in the belly of the beast, there was a shitload of Red in the stands last night.

[68] but when i looked into the Palantir the Shire went ablaze and i lost all senses! ; )

More fuel for the fire
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/alcs-coverage-the-decision

/bait

:-D