ALCS Game 3: Going Back To Cali

Yesterday the Yankees traded the chilly confines of New York City for the cloudless skies and comfortable temperatures of southern California. Instead of ponchos and parkas, fans in the stands today will be rocking shorts and sunglasses.

Given that players wearing thermal facemasks were at the center of Angels' two biggest errors of the series (and Robinson Cano had two errors of his own), it's probably safe to say that the frigid weather - by baseball standards - contributed mightily to the sloppy play in New York.

As Mike Scioscia said after Game 2, "Anybody can play baseball when it's 70 degrees and beautiful out", which is what the conditions are going to be when the game starts up around 1:00 Pacific Time. While the sunlight, warmth and early start might take away some of the edge of a typical playoff game, we can hope that this one will be won't be wrought with nearly as many miscues. The Yankees are probably thrilled with where the series is at right now, but the Angels are probably the happiest to be stationed in SoCal.

Jered Weaver gets the ball for the Angels this afternoon. Weaver is coming off his best season as a Major Leaguer, having thrown 211 innings to a 3.75 ERA with a 2.64 K/BB and 16-8 record -which compares favorably to the best season his brother has ever had. He's been even better down the stretch, posting a 2.47 ERA over his last 8 starts, including a masterful performance against the Red Sox in which he gave 4 baserunners and one run over 7.1 IP.

Weaver has walked 14 in his last 51 innings which isn't bad at all, but has still had problems controlling his pitch count, averaging about 6 1/3 and 110 pitches per start. If the Yankees are patient and work the count as effectively as they did against John Lackey, they should be able to reach the Angels' bullpen before the seventh inning is over. The Yanks have been fairly successful in doing that against Weaver this year, extracting 12 runs in 19.1 IP over three starts.

With Jorge Posada behind the plate Weaver will have to contend with a full-strength Yankees offense including, most notably, A-Rod who has a notorious affinity for hitting in Anaheim. He's compiled an offensive line of .335/.401/.716 with 37 HRs during 89 regular season games at the Big A, which is the most HRs of any park he hasn't called home. It almost unfair to expect him to continue with the heroics that have thus far defined this postseason, but given his track record there, would you be all that surprised?

The Yanks send Andy Pettitte to the hill to make his 37th postseason start. His teams are 22-14 in those games and Pettitte has 15 wins and a 3.89 ERA. A win today would give him sole possession of the most in postseason play as he is currently tied with John Smoltz. Andy might not be one of the greatest playoff pitchers of all-time in terms of dominant performance, but he's certainly one of the most prolific with a regular season's worth of wins and innings pitched (224 1/3) in October.

Pettitte has not fared well against the Angels this year. In three starts (two of them against Weaver) he's given up 21 hits, 8 walks and 14 runs in 16 innings (7.88 ERA). If it makes you feel any better, the most recent one of those was the best of the bunch (6 IP, 3 ER).

That start came on long rest (like the one today) after Pettitte was skipped in the rotation because of shoulder fatigue and was the first of a three game set. It was the last time they were in Anaheim and the Yankees lost that game but took the next two to win the series. Two out of these next three would earn the Yanks a trip to the World Series.

Think I'm gon' stop, givin' L.A. props?

All I got is beef with those that violate me,
I shall annihilate thee...

I'm going (going),

Back (back),

To Cali (Cali).

Vicarious Vacation

If you're up for one, head on over and check out our pal Jason's account of a once in-a-lifetime kind of afternoon he had with his family during a trip to San Diego:

Here's the setup: A few days prior to leaving for San Diego, I emailed my friend, Matt. Matt, an agent, has been a long time FOTB. In my email to Matt, I asked him if there was any way that I could get my boys to meet Kyle Blanks, a client of his, since we were going to be at the game. In a way that is typical Matt, he responded a few hours later with a "Call me asap" email. I gave him a call and he let me know that he not only arranged for us to meet Blanks, but that Kyle suggested that we meet him for lunch before the game. I was giddy, to say the least, as I knew this would be a tremendous experience for my boys...meeting a pro ballplayer and having lunch with him right before he played!

It gets better from there. There was more interaction with players (the Shyster jokes that there may have been some ulterior motives on their parts) and it makes you realize that while baseball in New York is certainly great in it's own right, the game is more accessible and easier to enjoy in person essentially everywhere else in the country.

Sure the Padres have to try a little harder to appease their fans since they are drifting lifelessly at 20 games below .500. It helps that they don't have to charge exorbitant prices on tickets or concessions to cover their $43M payroll (oh wait, minus Jake Peavy's $8M), too. But we're talking about San Diego here. I don't too many people are losing sleep over the Pad's record. When October comes in SoCal, it's still going to be 78 and sunny.

Game 86: Going To California

Made up my mind to make a new start
Going to California with an aching in my heart

The season is more than half over, but tonight will be the first time all year the Yankees play a game in the Pacific Time Zone. As a result, this is first of three trips the Yanks will make to West Coast before season's end. By contrast, the Yankees co-leaders atop the AL East are already done going out west.

The West Coast part of the schedule couldn't start at a crueler place for the Yankees, as Anaheim has been a house of horrors for them in recent years. They lost the final two games of the 2002 ALDS there. In 2005 they lost Game 2 and the decisive Game 5 of the ALDS there. Since that 2005 ALDS, they Yanks are an abysmal 12-20 (.375) against the Angels, including 4-11 (.267) in Anaheim. Last year LAA took the season series 7-3, winning 5 of 6 at home.

This year things may be a bit different. The Yanks took 2 of 3 in The Bronx earlier this season. These Angels are markedly different team than in years past. While they're just a half game out in the AL West, their run differential is only sixth best in the league, mainly because their pitching is giving up the third most runs per game in the AL. Amongst their starters, only Jerred Weaver has been above league average.

At the plate they've done well. But Vlad Guerrerro and Torri Hunter are currently on the DL, and they've gotten virtually no production from their middle infield positions. Howie Kendrick had actually been demoted to AAA until his recall last week.

The Boo Mark Teixeira World Tour 2009 reaches Anaheim tonight, where Teix spent the final fifty-four games last season. Angels' owner Arte Moreno claims that while Teixeira was his team's number one priority last off-season, Teixeira did not negotiate in good faith, using the Angels' eight year $160M offer to drive up the price for other bidders. I'm sure Teix's reception will be much the same as it was in Baltimore and Boston, and to a lesser extent, Atlanta.

For the Angels, lefty Joe Saunders gets the start. He was great last year and his 101 ERA+ is good for second amongst Angels starters this year, but he's got a WHIP of 1.33, and is walking 3.1 per 9 against only 5.1 K per 9. He missed the Yanks in the earlier series this year. For his career he's pitched 15.1 innings against the Yanks over three starts, carrying a 7.63 ERA and 1.76 WHIP. Let's hope for more of that tonight. It may be needed.

Joba Chamberlain goes for the Yanks. With the bullpen a bit worn out tonight, this would be a very opportune time for Joba to correct his recent problems with getting deep into games and being inefficient with his pitches. For a guy who's been downplaying his issues of late, it would be very nice for him to turn in a good a start in the same park where Ian Kennedy notoriously dismissed his struggles last year.

To fortify the bullpen Mark Melancon has been recalled, but there's still no word on the corresponding roster move.

These West Coast games suck for those of us back on the East Coast. Thankfully, this one's a weekend series, making it a little more bearable. Plus, tonight's the only night game, with 4:10 and 3:35 EDT starts the next two days. For those of you lucky enough to be attending, stay safe. The Big A has had enough fan on fan violence already this year.

It's quitting time on a Friday. Head on over to the Happy Hour watering hole of your choice. Have a couple frosty cold ones. Get home safely. Then either watch the game from the comfort of your own home or head back out and catch it at the bar. Then you can sleep in tomorrow. We'll see you in the AM with the recap.