AP photo of Cliff Lee in the 8th inning
So, I’d say my pre-series prediction of “Yankees 3, Rangers 3, Cliff Lee ascends to a higher inter-dimensional plane midway through the fourth inning of Game 7” is looking pretty good.
Tonight’s game ended up a 8-0 drubbing, but it was a tight pitchers’ duel most of the way through. Only it didn’t really feel like a pitchers’ duel, because Andy Pettitte was merely excellent, whereas Cliff Lee was, as a friend of mine has put it, the T-1000.
Allow me to sum up the Yankee offense for you:
- In the 4th, Mark Teixeira walked.
- In the 5th, Jorge Posada singled (it’s kind of embarrassing how relieved I was, at this point, that New York would at least not get no-hit).
- In the 6th, Brett Gardner singled and stole second.
That didn’t take long, did it?
Andy Pettitte was very, very good himself: seven innings and just two runs, which you’d sign up for any time. Those two runs came in the first inning, on an almost-accidental Josh Hamilton home run — he stuck his bat out awkwardly, the ball flew off it and into the stands, which is the kind of thing that only happens when your arms look like Josh Hamiltons’ — but given the Cliff Lee situation, that was enough. Pettitte was followed by Kerry Wood, who pitched a drama-free eighth, and since two runs ain’t much for the Yankees, I still held out hope going into the ninth.
At which point: Josh Hamilton doubled off Boone Logan; Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz singled off David Robertson, making it 3-0; after David Murphy was intentionally walked, Bengie Molina and Mitch Moreland joined the party with singles of their own off of Robertson; Elvis Andrus of all people decided to shake things up by, instead, doubling off of Robertson. Sergio Mitre (!) came in and put out the fire, but seeing as how it was 8-0 at that point, the building had already burned down.
So the Yanks are down 2-1 in the series, which is hardly insurmountable, but they do kinda need a win tomorrow – and A.J. Burnett is the one who’ll be asked to provide it, or at least facilitate it. Joe Girardi has said all week, when asked if he isn’t tempted to just pitch C.C. Sabathia on three days’ rest instead: “I believe in A.J.” Well. I believe in him too… in the sense that I am certain he exists, and indeed is a pitcher with the New York Yankees. Whether he can pitch more than four innings while giving up less than five runs is another question entirely.
Cliff Lee… I don’t know whether to shiver in terror or drool. I’d do both at once but I’ve been told it’s not attractive.
Maybe they can send out Nova for 4 innings then bring in AJ without warning..no time to think, maybe he's stay cool & focused...
Uh oh, Emma is shivering and drooling. Send out the St. Bernard. Speaking of, I bet Bernie Williams could have doubled off Lee.
Brett provided all the entertainment for me last night. I couldn't really enjoy the Pettitte performance.
I can't say I'm exactly confident about today, but, hey, roll the dice and let's see what comes up!
h ave so me che ap thi ngs ...(Jew erly...)
ni k e sh o es , fa s h i on cl o th es ; br a nd ha n d b a gs , wa l l et ...
I f y o u th ink o ur web site is go od , y ou c an p ut th is web site t o bookmarks or ot her pl aces, ea sy t o fi nd ...
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http://www.kohlscn.com/
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[3] Remove and ban please.
no wa it! I ne eed some che ap hits agai nst Cli FF LE e!
In retrospect, I feel like all the "we can beat Cliff Lee" talk was some kind of pre-emptive voodoo. It seems so inevitable now. On the other hand, if there is a Game 7 ... We can beat Cliff Lee.
[6] I started to get worried once there were too many "we can beat Cliff Lee" comments. But he's due for a bad game, right? Right?
Mitre's got a bad back or sore elbow right? That means we can add Nova for tonight -- A.J. for 4, Ivan for 4, Mo for the save in the ninth.
Andy deserved a better effort and a better fate. What ever happened to cutting down your swing with two strikes and putting the effen ball in play.
I had a blast at that game last night, when the game became out of reach in the bottom of the 8th, I laughed so hard at the shit people were screaming. The people that stayed behind are the true fans and they let they definitely voiced their displeasure, me included. And it was all done in a funny NY way.
[2]
The legend of a brandy-toting St. Bernard is a myth:
http://mythbustersresults.com/viewer-special-threequel
(sorry, Mythbusters fan here)
A standing ovation for a walk. How depressing.
[8] Exactly! Would it have killed someone to drop their 34 OZ bam bam stick and picked up a 28 OZ bat to put the ball in play? It's like the Yank's didn't want to concede that Lee was having a good night. Don't the light hitting teams that scored eight runs each against Lee this season both take a hacktastic approach?
Somebody, was it Cliff on the SI site, suggested bunting down the third base line was a proven strategy, but not a soul tried it.
[10] I'm not sure what they proved: that drinking brandy doesn't raise your core temp? Not sure what that has to do with 19th century st bernards.
[12] The Yankees are NOT contact hitters (except maybe Cano and Gardner). We are guess hitters and mistake hitters. If they guess right, or someone grooves one..... BOOM! But, with a good pitcher, we hit worse then Seattle. We are boom or bust. I love the boom, but hate how often we are totally shut down.
It's the main reason I miss JD. I thought he was due for decline, but his foul-the-ball-off, see-ball-hit-ball approach is something this team needs.
By the by, I said before the series started that our RISP, not our ERA would decide whether we won or not. You saw the graphic. Aside from 'The Eight Inning', we are 1 for 20 with RISP. 1 for 20!
$52m for 2 for 24. A buck just doesn't go as far as it used to.