Kuzul

The Texas Rangers could very easily be up 2-0 on the New York Yankees right now and quite frankly should be.  They blew a huge opportunity on Friday night and they know it.  These MLB Playoffs are all about seizing the moment and making the most of your opportunity.  While the Rangers have done that well thus far in October, they could have had the defending World Champions on the ropes.  Now, the series turns to the Bronx with Cliff Lee opposing Andy Pettite in a pivotal Game 3 on Monday night.  Lee is undefeated in the playoffs and has owned the Yankees throughout his career.  Pettite is perhaps the best post-season pitcher of this era and has numerous rings to show for.  

This series has taken on an identity of its own and should provide even more fireworks now as it shifts to New York.  So far, the Rangers have gotten the better of the champs and are in striking distance of putting this thing out of reach.  The Yankees, now with the home-field advantage will continue to fight for their playoff lives and prove why they are the game’s best in October.

Let’s now recount the top performances in the early part of this year’s ALCS.

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Crunch time in the 2010 MLB postseason is here. The San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers are all trying to determine who will square off in the 2010 World Series.

Showcased on these teams are a handful of baseball’s biggest names. So both league championship series’  could come down to a great deal of individual matchups within each series.

The intensity is always there because of intriguing standoffs between hitters and pitchers. Here are is a handful of some of the (many) most-anticipated batter-pitcher matchups that fans will love to see down the stretch here in the 2010 MLB postseason.

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Before the pennant races concluded, many people thought, and wrote, that the Yankees did not want to win the American League East because they did not want to to possibly face Cliff Lee twice in a five-game series.

Once again, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

And the Yankees now have it.

They are in the same situation as the 2010 AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays were: Since they split the first two games in Arlington, they are now in a five-game series against the Rangers.

And Cliff Lee is starting Game 1 and, if necessary, Game 5.

Most Yankee fans thought they were getting a break when Lee had to pitch Game 5 in the ALDS and could not start Game 1 in Arlington.

I marvel at all the people who say that the Yankees should be happy that they got a split in Texas, “which is all they really needed, anyway.” Actually, the opposite is true.

When you win the first game on the road, nothing short of winning two should be acceptable.

It seems that Yankees fans (and many in the media) are already throwing in the towel in Game 3, assuming Lee will keep his masterful pitching performances going.

That may be the case, but it also can be far from the truth.

Lee has faced the Yankees three times this season, and is 2-0, 3.09 ERA. In the first game, Lee threw a complete game, allowing four runs while striking out only two hitters.

In his second start against New York, the Yankees rallied late, beating the Rangers in Texas. Although he struck out 11, Lee also gave up four runs this game. In his third start, Lee won 4-1, but walked three, his season high.

Twice in his three starts against the Yankees this year, Lee allowed four runs—so the Yankees have gotten to Lee this season. The issue in all three of those games this season was the Yankee starting pitching was atrocious.

Dustin Moseley, Javier Vazquez and Phil Hughes all were hit around by the opposition.

Even last year during the World Series, the Yankees lost twice to Lee, but after getting dominated in Game 1, they scored five runs off Lee in seven innings in his second start.

Again, by scoring five runs off Lee in Game 5 last year, they should have won the game, but A.J. Burnett was pretty bad that day.

I have all the confidence in Andy Pettitte tonight. The major league’s all-time winningest postseason pitcher is coming off a tremendous performance in the ALDS, but it was 11 days ago.

Unlike CC Sabathia, who has no command after longer rest, as he has gotten older, Pettitte is much better with longer rest between starts. Over the last three years, Andy is 4-2 with a 3.14 ERA on six-plus days rest, better than his overall numbers. 

Looks like a good pitching matchup to me, a game the Yankees can win. In Lee’s 28 starts this year, Lee has allowed four or more runs in 11 games. And in those games, the opposing team was not patient at the plate, working the count, but were aggressive early in the count.

Lee threw primarily fastballs the first time through the order in his two games in the ALDS. In Game 1 at Tampa Bay, he threw only fastballs in the first inning when the Rays loaded the bases.

At that point, the Rays stopped being aggressive and did not score.

If the Yankees are aggressive early, and look to attack the first pitch fastball, they can score runs. You can not “pitch count” Lee out of the game, but need to bang him around and knock him out.

If the Yankees get four runs off Lee, they will win tonight.

Be aggressive early and let Pettitte do his thing.

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Before the postseason started, I predicted that the Texas Rangers would make the World Series. I didn’t write an article about it, but I did tell my friends. Everyone thought I was crazy. I got comments like, “Are you serious? There is no way they are beating the Rays!” Yeah OK.

Throughout the ALDS against the Rays, where the road team won every game, I was second-guessing my prediction. But it turns out I was right.

Fast forward to the ALCS against the Yankees. Well just continue reading.

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C.C. Sabathia is the unquestioned ace of the New York Yankees pitching staff, but he could leave for greener pastures after the 2011 season.

Sabathia was the Yankees No. 1 target during their free agent bonanza before the 2009 season began. General Manager Brian Cashman knew the rotation had to be upgraded, and there was no one better than Sabathia available.

Sabathia had won over executives throughout baseball for his willingness to pitch on three days rest for three consecutive starts during the Milwaukee Brewers run towards a playoff berth. Sabathia knew he was going to be a free agent and could have protected his arm from injury, but instead showed the most important thing to his is winning.

Cashman had heard the rumors swirling of Sabathia not wanting to play on the East Coast, preferring instead to stay near his hometown in California. Because of the rumors, Cashman made a last ditch effort to obtain Sabathia’s signature on the dotted line by traveling out to California himself.

It was obvious Cashman was not going to leave Sabathia’s home without a commitment and by offering over $60 million more than any other team, he got his man. However, there was one part of the contract which has not received much attention as of late.

A little clause in Sabathia’s contract allows him to opt-out after his first three years are completed. Sabathia had insisted the clause be put in the contract for him to sign on the dotted line, so Cashman reluctantly did it.

Sabathia had said he wanted the clause just in case his family did not adapt well to N.Y. However, after being the single most important piece to last year’s World Series championship and following it up with a 21-win campaign, Sabathia is in position to make even more money on the open market. 

Through his first two starts of the playoffs, Sabathia has not been dominant, but if he can turn it around and have a few Cliff Lee-like outings, he can see the money floating around him. 

For those who don’t think Sabathia won’t opt-out of a $161 million dollar contract, they should consider these two factors. For starters just look at how fragile the state of pitching is.

This season saw the debut of a flame-throwing rookie phenom named Stephen Strasburg. In his first major league start, Strasburg struck out 14 batters including a stretch of seven in a row. Unfortunately, he only lasted a few more starts before he had to undergo Tommy-John surgery.

Pitching is hard to predict and pitchers never know when their career could end, in which case it makes it important to make as much money as possible during their careers. Secondly there was another famous Yankees player who opted out of a contract which was much bigger than Sabathia’s.

The man in question is Alex Rodriguez. He opted out of a $252 million contract to only sign a contract which was worth almost $50 million more than his previous one.

We will find out soon if Sabathia cares about winning or money more. If he cares about money, we will see him pull an A-Rod, and if it’s winning, then more championships are on the horizon.

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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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Normally, a visiting team would feel pretty confident bringing a best-of-seven series back home tied 1-1.  They would have beaten one of the opponent’s best pitchers, and they would have the chance to wrap up the series at home with all of their fans behind them.

However, this is not a normal situation by any means. The Yankees will head back to the Bronx for Game 3 and face a probable Cy Young winner in Cliff Lee, who almost single-handedly pitched this Rangers team through the ALDS with two stellar starts in which he sported a 1.13 ERA and a nasty 0.69 WHIP.  Lee also rung up 21 batters, tying an MLB record for most strikeouts by a pitcher in a series.

Lee is 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA in the postseason for his career, including two wins over the Yankees in last year’s World Series.

Starting for the Yankees will be Andy Pettitte, who is known for coming up big in postseason starts.  Yet big might not be good enough against Lee, who may only need one or two runs to seal the deal.

A loss in Game 3 could be devastating for the Yankees, as they will send A.J. Burnett to the hill for Game 4.  Burnett has been anything but what the Yankees were hoping for since he arrived in New York, sporting a 23-24 overall record in pinstripes. 

Burnett has been up-and-down all season, but mostly down, as he finished the season with six losses in his final 10 starts, ending the season with a 10-15 record and a miserable ERA of 5.26.

The Yankees chose not to use Burnett in the ALDS and instead went with a three-man rotation.  The decision to employ the four-man rotation was made in order to prevent using ace C.C. Sabathia twice in a row on three days rest, but C.C may get the entire offseason to rest if Burnett cannot control his command in Game 4.

Sabathia, who has not been at his best this postseason (7.20 ERA over two starts), will start Game 5, hopefully not with the series on the line. 

Supposing the Yankees enter Game 6 down 3-2, they will have to rely on Phil Hughes, who got roughed up in Game 2, surrendering seven earned runs in only four innings pitched.  Game 7, if the series were to come down to it, would be a rematch of Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte.

Needless to say, it is going to be a tough road to the World Series if the Yankees cannot take both games from Texas this weekend. The Yankee bats are going to have to do a lot of talking if they want to chase Lee out of the game early and then support the struggling Burnett in the next game.

However, it would be naive to count the Yankees out after only two games, especially in a sport where anything can happen.  After all, the Yankees did get to Cliff Lee in Game 5 of the World Series last fall, scoring five runs in seven innings.

Perhaps Girardi will reconsider his decision to use Burnett in anything other than long relief in this series, especially after A.J. hit two batters in a wild simulation game yesterday.  If not, this club could see its season end slightly sooner than expected.

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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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All eyes were in Arlington Friday night as the Yankees and Rangers kicked off Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees, who had almost a week of rest, sent their ace in CC Sabathia to square off against the Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson in Game 1.

The game quickly started in favor of the Rangers as Sabathia’s control was off from the start of the first inning.

Elvis Andrus walked to lead off the game and Michael Young singled to set up first and third with no outs.

Josh Hamilton then hit a line drive home run to right to quickly put Texas up 3-0. The Rangers fans were on their feet and going crazy following the Hamilton home run.

Sabathia quickly continued to struggle in the first inning, loading the bases for Jorge Cantu with two outs. Sabathia threw a wild pitch that Jorge Posada could not get to and went to the backstop, but Posada got the ball to Sabathia and tagged out Nelson Cruz trying to score to end a very crazy and busy first inning.

Sabathia was able to get through the second and third innings, but ran into more trouble in the fourth inning.

Young doubled to center field, scoring Matt Treanor and Andrus to make the game 5-0 in favor of the Rangers.

Sabathia only lasted four innings, allowed six hits, five runs, walked four and struck out three. In the most simple of terms, Sabathia was terrible on Friday night. He had no command of the strike zone, walked too many batters and if anything was lucky he didn’t leave the game losing at 9-0.

Could this be Texas’ night? It sure looked that way early on, especially because Wilson was pitching very well.

Wilson had the Yankees scoreless for six innings until Robinson Cano hit a solo home run to right off Wilson that made it 5-1.

Brett Gardner led off the top of the eighth inning by hitting the ball to Cantu at first. Cantu went to flip the ball to Wilson to record the out, but Gardner slid head first into first base and beat Wilson’s foot and was now on first to lead off the eighth inning.

That gutsy play by Gardner would be the turning point of the game and the spark to an eighth inning Yankees rally.

Following Gardner’s infield single, Derek Jeter doubled to right field to score Gardner and now the score was 5-2.

Jeter would be the final batter Wilson would see as Ron Washington pulled his starter from the game. Wilson pitched seven innings, allowed six hits, two runs, walked two and struck out four.

Relieving Wilson was veteran left-hander Darren Oliver, who came in and walked Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira to load the bases for Alex Rodriguez.

Washington pulled Oliver and put in Darren O’Day to face A-Rod. On the very first pitch, A-Rod smashed the ball down the left field line for a base hit that scored Jeter and Swisher and the score was now 5-4 with nobody out.

Washington then went to left-hander Clay Rapada to face Cano, and on his very first pitch, Cano singled to center to score Teixeira and now, the game was tied at 5-5.

Derek Holland replaced Rapada on the mound and Marcus Thames singled to left to score A-Rod and now the Yankees had taken the lead 6-5.

Can you believe that? After the Yankees looked all but dead through seven innings, they strike and strike hard and now have command of the game.

Holland was able to escape the rest of the eighth with no further damage, leaving it a one-run game.

In the bottom of the eighth, Kerry Wood came in and Ian Kinsler led off with a walk.

David Murphy was up trying to look for a rally, but Wood was able to pick off Kinsler trying to lead off first. With that one simple out, any magic Texas had in them seemed to vanish. Wood finished off the rest of the eighth with no problems.

In the bottom of the ninth, Mariano Rivera came in to nail down the save for the Yankees.

Pinch hitting for Cantu, Mitch Moreland singled up the middle to start the inning.

Andrus sacrificed Moreland to second, giving long-time Ranger Young a chance to be a hero.

After a long at-bat, Young struck out for the second out of the ninth inning.

Hamilton grounded out to third to end the game and gave the Yankees a 6-5 Game 1 victory.

Dustin Moseley, who came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings, got the win for the Yankees. Pitching in relief of Sabathia, Moseley did a great job keeping the game at 5-0 and not allowing Texas to expand their lead.

O’Day took the loss for Texas. He was one of several Texas relievers who was terrible and blew a really good game pitched by Wilson.

For about 80 percent of this game, the Yankees looked like a beaten team in danger of falling behind 1-0.

But the Yankees never gave up. They showed tremendous heart and guts on the field and came alive in that eighth inning, almost hitting and scoring at will against the Rangers bullpen.

In a game the Rangers seemed like they were six outs away from enjoying an easy victory,ends up being a heart-wrenching defeat.

Game two will be on Saturday and will have Phil Hughes going for the Yankees to send it 2-0 back to the Bronx, while the Rangers will have Colby Lewis trying to split the series before heading to New York.

Game One was a huge victory for the Yankees that might end up dictating how this series ends up turning out.

Four down, seven to go until No. 28 for Yankees Universe.

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In the 1999 movie Unbreakable, the character played by Samuel L. Jackson explained that the incredible fragility of his bone structure, the reason he was derisively known as Mr. Glass, was directly tied to the fact that Bruce Willis’ character was seemingly invincible.

Mr. Glass reasoned that if there’s someone in the world who represents the extreme on one end, then the universe must have a person somewhere who represents the opposite end of the spectrum.

It made Jackson and Willis natural foes, and their relationship served as the crux of one of the last decent movies M. Night Shyamalan made before people started exiting theaters saying things like, “Hey, how long do you think M. Night has been hiding his brain injury?”

I bring this up because if you caught the camera shot of Nolan Ryan after the Yankees rallied to go ahead of the Rangers on Friday night—rotten scowl, arms folded, chin melded to his chest—you know that I was 1,500 miles away with the exact opposite expression.

If you’ve been caught off-guard by this resourceful, tenacious side of the Yankees, you’re not alone. This was a championship-caliber win, the type of victory I never thought this team had in them as recently as 10 days ago.

CC Sabathia gets knocked out of the game after four innings, you expect to lose. Your offense goes silent for six straight innings to begin the game, you figure you have no shot. Fall down five runs, on the road, in a playoff game, you should probably pack it in. And yet, the Yankees will wake up on Saturday morning with a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS.

It couldn’t have been done without the following people:

Dustin Moseley: The casual Yankee fan sitting next to you at the bar had no idea who Moseley was when he entered the game. Even you may have only known the right-hander as the guy who is (slightly) better than Chad Gaudin. But Moseley’s two scoreless innings turned out to be huge for a Yankee team that trailed 5-0 by the time Sabathia was pulled from the game. Moseley was credited with his first postseason victory. It was much deserved.

Brett Gardner: He’s gritty, he’s gutty, and now he has his signature moment as a Yankee. Gardner’s hustle infield single leading off the eighth inning — including poorly thought-out headfirst slide! — seemed harmless at the time, but it became the spark that ignited the Yankees’ winning rally. Bonus points are in order for Gardy giving Craig Sager the “You don’t expect me to take you seriously?” look throughout his postgame interview.

Derek Jeter: I wrote on Wednesday that I thought that Jeter would rise to the occasion in the ALCS; his usual October brilliance melding with a final opportunity to gain leverage in upcoming contract negotiations. So far, so good for Jeter, who doubled twice in Game 1. His first two-bagger drove in Gardner, sending New York’s classic rally into overdrive.

Alex Rodriguez: A-Rod was having a night to forget until the top of the eighth (0-for-3, error), when his bases-loaded double quieted the Arlington crowd and drew the Yankees within one run. It was type of hit that Rodriguez regularly delivered during the 2009 postseason, and it proved No. 13’s flair for the dramatic remains intact.

Ron Washington: I don’t want to be too hard on Washington, who was betrayed by his bullpen and probably would be a great dude to listen to old jazz records with. But his decision not to turn to Neftali Feliz as the game unraveled in the eighth was ripe for first-, second- and third-guessing. Having a lefty come in to face Marcus Thames in a tie game wasn’t the wisest move, either.

Ian Kinsler: Can’t get picked off there, bro. Just can’t happen. This is the playoffs, meat.

President George W. Bush: In fairness, Dubya wasn’t really to blame for the Rangers’ mess, but his attendance at the game did lead to the tweet of the night by ESPN the Magazine senior writer @jorgearangure: “I bet George W Bush authorized a sign that read “Mission Accomplished” after the 7th inning.” Ouch.

Mariano Rivera: You can gauge how big a win is by how Mo reacts after getting the final out. In this case, it was both a passionate fist pump and shout. That’s a 9/10 on the Mo Scale. Allowing the leadoff single to pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland led to some tense moments, but Rivera got it done like he has so many times before. Beating Michael Young and Josh Hamilton to end it was no easy feat, the G.O.A.T. just made it look that way.

Stray thoughts:

• It seemed like glorified mop-up duty at the time, but at least Joba Chamberlain can finally say he has a place in the 2010 postseason. Pretty amazing that he’s went from future of the franchise to playoff fringe guy in little over a year. Will this reality serve as a wake up call that makes him work harder to improve himself in the off-season? Or are we watching the start of a descent into oblivion? Vegas has even odds.

• Derek Jeter Contract Watch: Four years, $52 million (up one year, $7 million since beginning of ALCS).

• Must admit I was pretty disappointed by Sabathia’s performance. There was an undeniable Chien-Ming-Wang-in-’07-ALDS stench to the whole proceedings. Clearly the layoff affected him, but he seemed genuinely rattled at times as well. The big man needs to be better. A lot better.

• Funny how the “Yankees suck!” chants in Arlington died down by the late innings. Weird how that works.

• Will be interesting to see how Rangers bounce back from a truly wretched defeat. A weaker team (see: Twins, Minnesota) would lay down and die after a loss like that. We’ll find out how Washington’s bunch reacts on Saturday.

• Phil Hughes’ career numbers in Arlington: 15 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 13 K, 1 no-hitter ruined by a douchechill hamstring. I’m just sayin’ …

• Important River & Sunset program note: I will be live blogging Game 2 of the ALCS right here on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. Join me won’t you?

Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.

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