Kuzul

Not once, but twice.

Unfortunately, I’m not talking about the number of no-hitters Roy Halladay threw in back-to-back playoff postseason appearances. Instead, I’m talking about the number of home runs Cody Ross had in back-to-back plate appearances against the aforementioned Halladay.

Ross has his name in the record books, and now the Phillies must regroup, look ahead to Roy II and his start on Sunday night and find a way to prevent themselves from falling to 0-2.

But in order to do so, they’ll have to look back and figure out what went wrong in Game 1. The maddening part is it’s not a long list and it’s the same issues the Phils have had all year long.

If the pitching can’t get the job done, the odds are against the bats picking up the slack.

For whatever reason, the offense has simply not been there. Overall the numbers aren’t bad for the year, but even in baseball there’s a lot to look at past the stats.

The clutch hits don’t seem to be there as often anymore. The support for their pitcher when he has an off day hasn’t been as prevalent. The big-name bats just simply are not pulling their weight and instead they’re relying on Carlos Ruiz to produce for them out of the eight hole.

Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Jimmy Rollins were a combined 2-19 with 9 strikeouts and only one run scored. Jayson Werth—who probably slumped harder than anyone on the team in the regular season—was the only other guy to show up.

Werth, along with Ruiz, hit a home run. Both players accounted for all three RBIs on the team.

Someone needs to pull aside Victorino and Rollins and inform them that their game should be small-ball. They need to get on base and work from there. They are the fast guys who can score from first or steal a couple bases and walk home from second. Instead they’re constantly trying to smack the ball out of the park and it results in nothing but strikeouts most of the time.

I recall closer to the beginning of the season when Rollins first hurt himself and the cameras caught him talking to Juan Castro before he went to the plate. Rollins pointed at the scoreboard and said something to the effect of “See that zero in the home run column? You have to change that. Just go for the fences.”

I almost went through the roof.

Clearly Rollins’ mentality all year has been to swing for the fences. He’s not focused on hitting the ball in the gaps and running the bases. He wants to take the stroll with the fireworks in the background and doesn’t seem to understand anymore that he’s not that guy. Never has been.

It becomes quite evident his priorities are messed up when he’s trying to convince Juan-freaking-Castro that he just needs to swing for the fences because not having a home run is a travesty.

Even the guys who are known for their ability to hit home runs quite often—Ibanez, Utley and Howard—are trying for the long-ball too often. If they would just head to the plate thinking they’re going to take whatever the pitcher gives them (especially against a guy like Tim Lincecum) they would be much better off as individuals and for the team.

But right now, the only guys doing that are Ruiz, Werth and Wilson Valdez. No offense intended to any of those three players, but they’re not the guys who are going to decide who wins and loses a World Series. Or, more to the point, who gets to play in the World Series.

If this team is going to make history they’re going to need better decision-making from their superstars and get them back into the mentality that they’re going to play as a team and for the team rather than seeing themselves on SportsCenter.

Notice, by the way, I haven’t said anything about Placido Polanco. He’s really just a guy at this point and is playing as such. Not too much can be expected of him—especially when the guys around him can’t even make contact.

This team going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven on base is just not acceptable. There is far too much talent at every spot in the lineup for that.

They made it through the regular season and the NLDS with an underachieving offense, but the Giants’ pitching staff is too good to allow them to just waltz their way into the World Series. They will have to earn it this year perhaps more than any other year, and can’t rely on Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels to do it for them.

Yes, Halladay could have been better, but he’s only human. These guys should be able to bail him out at least once since he’s done it countless times already—including the night of his no-no.

And I leave you with this thought: what if Oswalt is as shaky Sunday night as he was for Game 2 against the Cincinnati Reds?

Oh boy.

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Game 1 of the NLCS was supposed to be an epic pitchers duel between two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and no-hit wonder Roy Halladay. 

Instead, both pitchers did not have their best stuff, though Halladay continued where he left off with retiring the first seven Giants he faced. 

Then, No. 8 hitter Cody Ross stepped into the batter’s box. 

Ross has an unimposing figure, being 5’10” and 195 pounds, and had a career batting mark of 3-for-16 against Halladay before the game. 

However, that changed in a hurry.

Ross turned on two inside fastballs for home runs to help the San Francisco Giants win 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series over the Philadelphia Phillies. 

The 30-year-old journeyman provided the necessary spark for the Giants to overcome Halladay. The first homer was in the third for a 1-0 edge.

After Carlos Ruiz tied it with his own blast, Ross put his team ahead 2-1 in the fifth. 

In the sixth, Buster Posey singled and then Pat Burrell doubled him home. Juan Uribe finished the scoring with an RBI single for the 4-1 lead. 

Jayson Werth had a two-run homer to cut the deficit 4-3, but Giants’ relievers Javier Lopez and Brian Wilson shut the Phillies down. 

Ross, a right fielder claimed on waivers from Florida on Aug. 21, also had key hits against the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the NLDS. 

He homered and had the go-ahead RBI to win the series for San Francisco. 

Not bad for Ross’ first postseason. 

And Halladay is now a peg lower after his legendary no-hitter, giving up eight hits and four runs in seven innings.

Having Ross and his teammates beat the Phillies’ ace could give them confidence when facing Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. 

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So the Phils lost game one with their ace on the mound. This should not be as surprising as you may think, given that the Giants had an ace of their own in Tim Lincecum on the mound.

But the Phillies simply have to win one at home or they are done.

Recognizing that, the Phils turn to their “other” Roy, Mr. Roy Oswalt, in an effort to salvage one game at home before heading to San Francisco for three games.

The current 2-3-2 scenario hardly favors the team with the best record, in my opinion, as all the “underdog” has to do is steal one game on the road, as the Giants have done, and they are in position to potentially win the series without ever going back on the road.

But look, not only are the Phils too good to even consider this, they have a very solid veteran in Roy Oswalt on the mound on Sunday. They will need him to pitch well or this could easily become a Giants sweep.

As crazy as that sounds, the best team does not always win these series, so all the pressure falls on the shoulders of Oswalt. Fortunately, he goes up against a Giants pitcher in Jonathan Sanchez who, despite no-hit stuff, is playing in his first playoffs.

For the Giants to go up 2-0 heading home is simply a scenario that the Phillies cannot consider. Oswalt is 4-0 in his postseason career, though he was shaky in his last start against the Reds, giving up four runs in five innings.

Now that Roy Halladay appeared human in his start on Saturday, Oswalt needs to pitch better against the Giants on Sunday. The fact that the Giants decided to go with Sanchez over Matt Cain in game two may be a blessing in disguise for Philly.

While Cain has not pitched well in Philadelphia, he is a stud. Sanchez allowed only a run in over seven innings of work in the NLDS, but Cain was equally good in the first round and is largely considered to be the better pitcher overall.

No matter what happens, anyone who considered this to be a cake walk for the Phillies is crazy. The Giants may not have as good of an offense as the Phils, but their top three pitchers match up well against anyone.

Since adding Cody Ross to the offense, this 92 win team is a lot like the Phils in that all they need is some offense and their pitching will take them the rest of the way.

Cody Ross needs to be pitched to very carefully, and if Oswalt does that, the Phils should be able to take game two.

If not, they are in serious trouble. Nobody said this was going to be easy.

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The 2010 ALCS is tied at one game apiece.

The New York Yankees couldn’t muster together another comeback win last night and the Texas Rangers won 7-2.

Phil Hughes followed in CC Sabathia’s footsteps with another not-so-great performance from a Yankees starter. They’re human, just like the rest of us, and nobody is perfect.

The postseason isn’t built for chances or mistakes.

The Rangers have Cliff Lee on starting Game 3 on Monday night. This gives Texas the clear advantage considering Lee’s history with Yankees and in the postseason.

The Yankees are at home with Southpaw Andy Pettitte on the mound. Andy is a phenomenal, but one earned run might be all the Rangers need if Lee brings his A-game to the Bronx.

The game is in New York, which means Yankee Stadium needs to be louder than ever. As a person who will be in attendance Monday night, I hate imagining a silent stadium because the Yankees need their fans more than ever.

Lee is a shutdown, nine-inning pitcher, but the Yankees bats can get him but not alone. It’s time to help out our beloved Yankees by cheering like hell until the last out.

This team plays hard to win for New York every game and admittedly, I cannot say the same for the Yankees fans.

It’s time for us to get over the high expectations because the players have exceeded those for years. No more bitching about a player’s performance because so-and-so makes 200 trillion dollars, or how Joe Girardi doesn’t know what he is doing; not going to help, not this Monday night.

Andy Pettitte is pretty darn good himself in the postseason. Pettitte deserves Yankee Stadium to be rocking like never before because this is supposedly the Southpaw’s last year in pinstripes.

Let’s give back what Pettitte, the Yankees and most importantly Mr. George Steinbrenner have given us, the fans, too many times to count…A WIN!

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Neftali Feliz just couldn’t wait. The rookie closer for the Texas Rangers propped open the bullpen door just a crack, peering onto the field to watch the action in the bottom of the eighth.

The Rangers’ bullpen struggled in Game 1, surrendering a five-run lead to the mighty Yankee offense. Feliz was ever so anxious to redeem the unit. Redemption was the theme of Game 2 against New York. And the Rangers, seeking their first-ever postseason win at home, were in prime position to get it.

Just as C.C. Sabathia was shelled in Game 1, Phil Hughes struggled for the Yankees in the American League Championship Series’ second game. Sabathia was all over the place, and Hughes was as well.

This contest was as déjà vu as possible over the first four innings. Texas jumped all over Hughes early and often, while Colby Lewis shut down the Yankees bats. The Rangers started their scoring in the first thanks to a terrible decision by New York catcher Jorge Posada and Elvis Andrus’ intelligence on the base paths.

Andrus singled, reached second base on a wild pitch, stole third and then sprinted home as Posada foolishly took no notice of him while Hamilton attempted to steal second. Robinson Cano received the throw, and may have been able to tag Hamilton for the inning’s final out before Andrus crossed the plate, but fired back to Posada instead. Andrus slid in safely, and a 1-0 lead was taken by Texas.

They would add to this advantage and, just as they did in Game 1, tacked on more than just a couple more runs. David Murphy tagged a 2-0 cutter left high in the zone by Hughes into the upper-deck in right then, after the second out was recorded, three straight hits were acquired to plate a third run.

A doubles parade followed in the third as Hughes completely lost his command. Nelson Cruz pulled into second for a two-bagger leading off, then Murphy and Bengie Molina followed with back-to-back doubles, giving the Rangers a five-run lead.

Five to zero: a familiar score. It was the same lead Texas held not 20 hours earlier. The same lead they lost in such shocking fashion. Therefore, it was to no one’s surprise that the atmosphere was tense despite the margin. And it was only more so after what transpired in the top of the fourth.

Cano ignited New York in Game 1, ending C.J. Wilson’s shutout bid with a solo-shot, and attempted to do the same. This time it was a lead-off double, but it served the same purpose as Lance Berkman plated him with a two-out single down the right-field line. The Yankees were on the board. Here we go again, the Rangers fans had to think.

What had happened up to this point was eerily similar. But what took place next broke the familiarity. Though it really did nothing to calm the fans’ nerves (as the atmosphere in the latter innings would suggest), Texas managed to take an even bigger lead. Hughes was remarkably sent out to the hill to begin the fifth by manager Joe Girardi, and the decision backfired.

Cruz ripped his second straight double that was no more than a foot from leaving the park, then Ian Kinsler roped a liner past a diving Nick Swisher for a triple, scoring a sixth run and sending Hughes to the showers. A seventh proceeded to come their way, as Mitch Moreland delivered in the clutch with a two-out single to score Kinsler from third.

Yet, this 7-1 lead was far from safe. The fans knew what the Yankees were capable of. There isn’t an easy out in their lineup and they have been one of the game’s best comeback teams over the past few seasons.

So, when Cano once again did his part, the fans were either literally or figuratively on the edge of their seats. The MVP candidate slugged a blast into the right-field’s upper deck. Luckily for the Rangers, it was only a solo-homer, but it was another Yankees run nonetheless. New York is only getting started, their fans must have thought.

Within five, during the latter innings: Again, a familiar site. But, though minor heart-attacks were spread throughout the Rangers’ Ballpark in Arlington when two reached with two out, this lone run would be all the Yankees could muster. Lewis remained composed, and the four relievers succeeded in washing away their nightmarish Game 1 appearances.

Clay Rapada was the first, outlasted Marcus Thames for the final out of the sixth, Alexi Ogando was next, then the Darrens (Oliver and O’Day) continued the bullpen’s effectiveness.

The quartet handed the ball to Feliz with the unchanged margin, and Feliz gave the Rangers the win-clinching inning they were looking for. He made life interesting, issuing back-to-back walks with one out in the ninth to get the crowd’s blood pumping, but both Alex Rodriguez and Cano were retired.

With that, it was a 7-2 victory. The Rangers coaching staff shook hands in the dugout, players celebrated, and the crowd cheered. A redeeming win, and now the tied series shifts to New York.

Cliff Lee awaits for the Yanks, as Texas will try to ride this momentum to an advantage in the ALCS, an advantage they know they should already have.

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After two games, the New York Yankees are tied one game apiece with the Texas Rangers in the American League Championship Series.

There are a number of things that Yankees fans should be aware of as their team returns home for three games.

Starting Pitching

The Yankees starting pitching so far has, quite honestly, been brutal. In game one, CC Sabathia lasted just four innings, giving up five earned runs, six hits, and five walks. In game two, Phil Hughes found a way to be even worse, lasting four plus innings, giving up seven earned runs, 10 hits, and three walks.

The Yankees simply cannot afford more starts like this. If the trend of burgeoning ERAs continues, the Yankees won’t make it much farther in the ALCS. They can’t count on Texas Ranger bullpen implosions every night.

That being said, the Yankees starters are very capable of bouncing back. Andy Pettitte, who’s been very good all year, gets the ball in game three at the Stadium. Pettitte has been overshadowed by much of the national media; game three is the first landing destination of Cliff Lee, so naturally, there hasn’t been much talk about the Yankees wily left-hander.

Yet Pettitte is just as capable as anyone on the Yankees roster, and has as good a potential of bringing Cliff Lee’s postseason unbeaten record to an end.

And CC Sabathia will get a shot at redemption, that’s for sure. CC seems to be much better on short rest, for whatever reason, so look for a strong performance in game five (or four).

Offense

The Yankees have yet to put together a complete offensive display in either of the two games.

In Game 1, they were absolutely stymied through seven innings, and then exploded for five runs in the eighth.

In Game 2, they managed just two runs on seven hits and seven walks, leaving 12 men on base. Other than Robinson Cano, the Yankees are lacking serious points in the consistency department.

The Effect of the Stadium

So the Yankees haven’t pitched well, and haven’t hit the ball consistently. Fortunately, some home cooking is the best way to scrape away the rust and get back to playing great baseball.

The Yankees, like most teams, just play better at home. Their 52-29 regular season home record was the second best in the American League this year.

The short porch in right is always a plus, and look for Mark Teixiera to get his bat going. Through two games, Tex is 0-8 with two walks and one run scored. In 2010, Teixiera batted just .227 on the road, but his average jumps to .288 at home.

The Cliff Lee Effect 

Unfortunately, the Yankees have to go up against the mighty Cliff Lee in their first home appearance. But the Yankees are a complete, tenacious offensive team. I fully expect them to give Lee their best effort, and even if they aren’t able to score a handful of runs off of him, they can get him out of the game early. 

However, since Lee is almost always in the strike zone, the Yankees offense has to bring their A game with them. Long at bats and taking advantage of fastballs in the zone will be key in determining the outcome of game three. They can’t afford to leave myriad runners on base; they need to take advantage of the baserunners they do get.

Bullpen 

The Yankees bullpen has been very good so far. In two games, they have combined for nine innings of work, allowing no runs and just three hits and five walks. While the pen has been a strength so far, the early use could be harmful towards the end of the series, especially if Yankees starters can’t give them innings.

A start of seven or more innings from Andy Pettitte in game three would go a long way in conserving the arms of the Yankees pen; they’d have limited use in Game 3, combined with the day of rest as the teams travel to New York.

Yankees Fans Shouldn’t Panic

The Rangers are a great team, and there’s no shame in splitting on the road. Even if they do have to go up against Cliff Lee, the Yankees are still in great shape to return to the World Series.

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Greetings everyone, baseball addict Evan Adrian here, live blogging game one of the NLCS between the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies. We’re in for quite a showdown tonight, as both teams trot out their aces for Game 1 in Philly.

Tim Lincecum is on the mound for the Giants, fresh off his brilliant, 14 strikeout, complete game two-hitter over Atlanta. Meanwhile, Roy Halladay toes the rubber for Philadelphia. All he did in his first career playoff start last Wednesday was throw the second ever no-hitter in MLB playoff history.

Both clubs are hoping for repeat performance for their aces. Lets find out which Cy Young winner brought their A-game tonight.

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 By the end of the six innings, the New York Yankees were down 5-0 to the Texas Rangers.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia had to exit after the fourth; his shortest outing of the season.

On the other end, Rangers starter CJ Wilson was shutting down the deep New York line-up. Wilson gave up a homerun to Robbie Cano to start the seventh, but retired the next three and the held the Yankees to a 5-1 score.

Wilson had been terrific and more, but at the start of the eighth inning he gave up two hits, one an RBI to Derek Jeter and Skipper Ron Washington had seen enough.

Washington move seemed logical, actually very Joe Girardi-esque as he pulled Wilson and went to the Rangers bullpen. The first of four relievers that followed couldn’t get one out and by the bottom of the eighth the Yankees were up 6-5.

Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera finished off the remaining six Rangers for the win.

Playing musical pitchers with the bullpen is very familiar to Yankees fans and it can be frustrating to watch when things just get worse.

Washington could have left Wilson in through the eighth inning, but it wasn’t a totally off-base call. Not starting Cliff Lee in Game One is what made no sense to me.

Washington made public statements regarding how tough a team the Yankees are and how hard the Rangers had were ready to play. Winning game one would have given the Rangers some legs to stand on, both athletically and mentally.

That is why starting Lee seemed so obvious, as coming at the Yankees swinging from the start would make an immediate impact.

Instead, the Rangers lost the game 6-5 and got a little reality check at the same time.

Playing all nine innings of a game is something Yankee players remind each other to do. That ‘never giving-up’ attitude has really taken a life of it’s own and why other teams haven’t incorporated this motto is beyond me.

It was an awesome win for the Yankees, who couldn’t have dreamed a more extraordinary way to open up the ALCS.

Game two starts at 4pm on Saturday, in the same place, with the same teams, but Yankees fans are hoping it will be the same results too.

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Here is the good news for Texas Rangers’ fans: At least closer Neftali Feliz is fresh for today’s Game 2.

Feliz is fresh because Rangers’ manager Ron Washington handled his bullpen as poorly as any manager I can remember in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the ALCS. The New York Yankees beat up the Rangers’ bullpen to score five runs in the top of the eighth as they came back to beat Texas, 6-5.

The Rangers were cruising in this game, 5-1 going into the eighth inning thanks to a three-run HR by Josh Hamilton in the first, a two-run double by Michael Young in the fourth and some outstanding pitching by C.J. Wilson. Up until the eighth, Wilson had only made one mistake, leaving a fastball over the plate to Robinson Cano in the seventh that he promptly hit for a home run.

Wilson was at 99 pitches entering the eighth, so I didn’t have a problem with Washington sending him out there. Due to the results that followed, it will probably be forgotten how good Wilson was in this game.

Wilson threw a combination of four-seam fastballs, sliders, changeups, curveballs and two-seam fastballs that kept the Yankees off-kilter all game. He had Alex Rodriguez talking to himself and had the rest of the Yankees swinging at his pitches all night.

Brett Gardner led off the eighth inning with an infield single because he outran Wilson to the bag at first. I think everyone needs to pump the breaks on this play.

First off, Gardner slowed himself down by sliding into first. As Carl Lewis always said, if sliding into the finish line was faster, he would have done it every time. Second, it was the two walks that led to the Yankees’ comeback, not an infield single.

This game turned when Washington brought Darren Oliver into the game. Here is what I wrote in my ALCS preview:

“My biggest concern with the Rangers is their bullpen. It’s not outs 25, 26 and 27 I am so much concerned about, but it’s outs 18-24 I am concerned about.

I like Darren O’Day against Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, but the Yankees have so many switch-hitters and lefties in their lineup that it comes down to whether Ron Washington wants a guy who throws sidearm and whose ball goes down and in to a lefty pitching to Mark Teixeira with a short porch in right field?

Let’s say O’Day does get through the seventh, and Jeter and A-Rod. Who is pitching that eighth inning? Darren Oliver against Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson is the most likely matchup.

Does any Ranger fan feel comfortable in that spot? I wouldn’t. I have seen how that movie ends.”

As always, this movie ended very badly for the Rangers. How many teams can keep going to the well with Oliver before they realize this guy can’t pitch in a big spot? I just don’t get it.

Oliver walked Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira to load the bases with nobody out. The score was 5-2 and at this point, Washington has to go to Feliz.

I am not a believer that anyone can close, or that closer-by-committee is a good idea. I have stated that many times. What I am a believer in is that a closer should be used in the critical spot in the game, not just the ninth inning.

In this game, the critical spot was in the eighth inning. Washington had to go to Feliz in that spot to try and get six outs. It was a must.

Instead, Washington went with O’Day, Clay Rapada of all people and then Derek Holland. Those decisions proved costly as the Rangers’ 5-1 lead turned into a 6-5 deficit.

I am really not sure if the Rangers can recover from this one. This was a brutal loss, along the lines of the losses Byung-Hyun Kim and the Arizona Diamondbacks suffered in Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series.

The Diamondbacks recovered from that. I am not sure if the Rangers can.

Here are some other observations from Game 1 of the ALCS.

In October, the Yankees in classic fashion got contributions from ham n’ eggers. Dustin Moseley and Marcus Thames were those ham n’ eggers who made major contributions in Game 1. Francisco Cervelli, you’re up next.

This had the feeling of a 13-2 game, but it was only a four-run game. I think Joe Girardi felt the same way when he brought in Moseley in the sixth. I really believed he was conceding the game at that point.

John Smoltz must have said “reset” about 40 times in this game.

CC Sabathia was terrible. He couldn’t locate his slider and kept missing high and away with his fastball to righties.

I thought Jorge Posada was equally as bad in this game. His pitch selection throughout the game was horrendous. After Hamilton couldn’t catch up to two fastballs in the first, he helps him out by calling for a slider? Made no sense.

The difference between the Rangers and Yankees? No Yankee gets picked off at first in October like Ian Kinsler did in the bottom of the eighth. That was inexcusable.

Mariano Rivera is amazing. Even when teams think they have a rally going, they really don’t. Back to my point on the Gardner play. One hit doesn’t equal a rally.

Kudos to home plate umpire Gerry Davis in this game. I thought he was fantastic. He gave the low strike all game and didn’t give the inside corner to righties all game. Davis was very consistent.

He also got the call at home plate right in the first inning. Very good job by him.

Game 2 will be played today at 4:00 PM EST and will feature Phil Hughes against Colby Lewis.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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The Yankees lead the majors in come-from-behind wins this season, so it is natural that they rely on them in the postseason as well. In the ALDS they came from behind twice to beat the Twins, and last night they came back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Rangers 6-5 while taking Game 1 of the ALCS.

Here are some highlights:

• Thanks in part to a three-run first-inning homer by Josh Hamilton, the Rangers knocked CC Sabathia out of the game after just four innings.
• With the Yankees down 5-0, Robinson Cano started the comeback in the seventh inning with a solo homer off of C.J. Wilson, the first homer he’s allowed to a lefty since 2008.
• Brett Gardner kick started the eighth inning by beating out an infield single.
• He was the first of seven consecutive batters to reach base off of four pitchers.
• Derek Jeter doubled in one, Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira walked, Alex Rodriguez singled in two, Cano singled in one, and Marcus Thames singled in one.
• Joba Chamberlain pitched a scoreless fifth, but Dustin Moseley is probably the star reliever pitching two perfect innings.
• Kerry Wood and Mariano Rivera closed out the game.

That was a huge win. The Yankees needed to take the first game, and they showed a lot by winning despite Sabathia’s poor performance. That’s how you win pennants.

Related Stories

• February 28, 2010 — 10 Problems the 2010 Yankees Could Face
• October 15, 2010 — Yankees News: Lineup Notes, Dirty Hats, and Heathcott
• September 13, 2010 — Yankees Notes: Vazquez, Swisher, Gardner, and Matchups
• September 2, 2010 — Day Game Dominance

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