Tonight’s starter, Big John Lackey on how to deal with Alex Rodriguez:
“You’ve got to pick your spots, obviously,’’ said John Lackey, the pitcher tasked with keeping Rodriguez off the bases in tonight’s elimination game for the Angels. “It’s tough to pitch around one guy in this lineup because they’re so deep. But if I pitch up to my capabilities, I think I’ll be OK. I’ve had a little bit of success against him [9 for 51 lifetime, 4 homers].
“It would be nice to get the guys out in front of him. That kind of limits the damage right there. You’ve got to try to get those guys out in front of him, and hopefully he’s hitting with nobody on base.’’
(Amalie Benjamin, Boston Globe)
Speaking of Lackey, Joseph Pawlikowski over at River Avenue Blues (the blog for the city that never sleeps), weighs in with his take on the man.
And then there is AJ Burnett.
When I think about Burnett, I can’t help but think of Todd Drew. Been thinking about Todd all day, really. Todd liked AJ, loved his stuff, was a fan. After two good outings so far this October I feel that Burnett is due for a clunker. But another part of me–the part that is touched by the Todd Drew Angel from Above–wonders if he won’t be onions, hunches be damned.
Which one of these?
“This is why I signed,” Burnett said before yesterday’s off-day workout. “The opportunity to pitch in the postseason, you know. …The first year over here I have an opportunity, so I’m taking full advantage of it. I cannot wait.”
(Pete Botte, New York Daily News)
Neither can we, Meat. Neither can we.
Nice Aeneid allusion!
No question we get Good AJ tonight. Thanks to the 3rd catcher, Bad AJ didn't make the ALCS roster.
Alex - you were expecting a clunker from AJ last time too! he might be more hittable today, but i think he'll be less wild. all in all, he'll be effective and we'll be fine.
tonight's for Todd!
LET'S GO YAN-KEES !! !!!
Don't know why, but I'm nervous...
I'm suffering from PTSD from past playoffs. Gee, it's not easy on the psyche to be a fan.
AJ plays into one's fears because he offers us no sense of stability. If he's going to rattle anyone, here's hoping that AJ destablizes the Angel hitters.
[3] What you said.
I feel like a little kid, waiting for Christmas.
[6] We might have a longer wait soon . . . we hope!
I expect that AJ will pitch just fine. The advantage he has vs the Angels (similar to the Twins) is that they aren't a very patient team, Abreu and the '09 version of Figgins aside. If AJ is not on his game, a team that could wait him out - like, say, the Red Sox - is a bad matchup, but the Angels don't worry me.
I hate all these days off.
If we win today, these no more baseball for 6 days.
Six days
SIX DAYS
Is Bud trying to kill our interest in the game?
If the Bombers don't finish it up tonight, they might have to wait til Sunday. Its supposed to be a wet one Saturday.
http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/10451
Man... Torre must be getting used to 5 day Post Seasons.
[8] me too, but i sure hope we win tonight and have 6 days off! : )
[9] i really wanna win *tonight* (see above!), but if we do have to play another game, i hope Saturday does indeed get rained out - i have a gig that night and would miss the entire game, with no access to scores, updates or anything...
WIN TONIGHT!!!!!
alex, um, yeah, um, no offense, but with all due respect - i think you may be like a broken clock with all of your predictions of doom , so cut it out :}
unless this is some major reverse jinxing - :}
Modell's will be ready, just in case ...
http://tinyurl.com/yfoz6vp
i think teixeira's struggling because he got pie in his eyes after game 2 of the alds
Lackey's good. I'd take him,
I love audio from that quote. He's pretty much speaking in monotone, but he's talking about how excited and pumped he is. Very funny.