ALCS Game 4: Climb To Safety

The first five games of the 2009 postseason weren't a cake walk for the Yankees, but they had made it through them unscathed. They were like a prizefighter, working his way through the early rounds, landing some good shots and avoiding getting hit. Well, the double 12th inning by Jeff Mathis last night was a clean shot to the jaw and the Yankees were left sitting on the mat.

It was a wake up call to a team who had found a way out of tight spot after tight spot, including the one that Mariano Rivera wriggled his way out of in the 10th inning. But when Alfredo Aceves left that four-seam fastball up in the zone and it hit the wall in left center, just out of the reach of Jerry Hairston, Jr., the invincibility was gone and the Yanks were getting the standing eight count.

Tonight they'll try to shake it off and prove they don't have a glass jaw.

The Angels chose to hold Scott Kazmir back until Game 4 of this series instead of throwing him at Yankee Stadium, so he will be the one facing down the Bombers tonight. Since Kazmir had spent his entire Big League tenure in the AL East before being dealt to the Angels in a post-non-waiver deadline deal, the Yankees have a pretty long history against him - at least for a 25 year old. In 87 IP against the Bombers, Kazmir has a 2.67 ERA and nearly one strikeout per inning pitched.

He was having a pretty terrible season with the Rays before being traded to Anaheim, sporting a 5.92 ERA and a WHIP of 1.58. However, in the six September starts he made with the A's, Kazmir had a 1.73 ERA with an opponents' line of .212/.273/.288 and a WHIP under 1.00.

The start that he made against the Red Sox at Fenway in the ALDS resembled the portion of the year with the Rays much more than his month with the Halos. He was tagged for 5 runs in 6 innings and only struck out one batter. Which Kazmir is going to show up tonight is anyone's guess.

As has been discussed thoroughly since the series began, the Yankees are starting CC Sabathia on short rest tonight in lieu of trotting out Chad Gaudin on 16 days rest. Seems like a pretty obvious decision to me, but get ready for a deluge of second-guessing should this go the slightest bit awry.

You can look at Sabathia's performance on short rest, which has been quite good, but this is a much different year than 2008. The Yankees have taken care to keep the Big Fella's workload down during this season, spacing 12 of his 34 starts on 5 or more days rest. The result is that he threw 230 regular season innings, his lowest total in the past three years. And unlike the time he made a start on 3 days rest in the postseason last year, this won't be his 4th start in less than two weeks.

The Yanks offense has scored 4 runs in each of the first three games of the series, despite putting 42 men on base in 29 innings and hitting 6 home runs. Needless to say, they need to start knocking some dudes in. Contributions from Mark Teixiera, Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher in particular would be much appreciated tonight.

It goes without saying that tonight is a pivotal game in the series. A win puts the Angels on the brink of elimination and a loss evens up the series. The Yanks are in danger of losing the advantage they gained during those bitter battles in the Bronx. Hopefully some timely hitting and a solid performance by Mr. Sabathia can return them to safer grounds.

[Note: Oddly, FOX has been playing this song (Climb To Safety by Widespread Panic) coming in and out of commercial breaks during the ALCS. Not exactly a song you'd expect to hear from a major network so apparently somebody there enjoys a little Panic.]

Scream at the conductor,
He's been deaf for 20 years,
Hear the other people laughin',
As it grinds to where it began.

Go to grab your nerve,
You find that it's been missin',
See you've lost your faith,
In everyone you know.

Well I surely hope,
That you dont plan on winnin',
There's no payin more attention,
Won't until you care,
You are seconds from the impact,
And were movin' way too slow.

Game 130: Don't Keep Me Wonderin'

This afternoon the Yankees will go for the sweep while the reeling White Sox try to salvage a game of the series and keep their shrinking post-season hopes alive.

The Pale Hose send Freddy Garcia to the mound. In nine career starts against the Yankees, Garcia is 4-3 with 4.19 ERA and a WHIP of just 1.08. The Yankees have not faced him since 2006. Thanks to injuries, Garcia has made just five starts over the last two seasons, and just sixteen since the White Sox sent him to the Phillies after the 2006 season. He has a 5.70 ERA (81 ERA+) and 1.48 WHIP in that time. The White Sox are two games under .500, facing a sweep today, five games back and now in third place in the Central. The season is slipping away from them rapidly. They desperately need Garcia return to his early 2000s form today; Jake Peavy left his rehab start early last night - there is no help on the way.

Joba Chamberlain returns to the hill for the Yankees today, this time on regular rest. As Jay pointed out yesterday, the plan has changed again and we are now on the Joba Rules v2.2. Or v2.3 - I'm not even sure anymore. If the Yankees do truncate his start today, they'll have a well-rested bullpen at their disposal thanks to outstanding combined effort from Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin yesterday.

In his first three starts after the All-Star break, Chamberlain went 3-0 with a 0.83 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP and a .422 OPS against. In four starts since then, he's 1-2 with an 8.55 ERA, a 2.10 WHIP, and a .921 OPS against. Which Joba will show up today?

In many ways Joba has been frustrating to watch this season. Undeniably talented, he's gone through stretches like this most recent one where he seemingly refused to work with any semblance of rhythm and insisted upon nibbling rather than challenging hitters. Compounding that frustration has been Chamberlain's use of all manner of excuses and cliches following his starts: he thought he had good stuff, they hit good pitches, it was tough pitching on extra rest, etc.

I realize 23 year old pitchers are going to struggle. I realize the Yankees probably aren't doing him any favors by tweaking and re-tweaking their plan for how to use him. But I can do without the Nuke LaLoosh routine.

While we'll likely have to endure something similar next year with Phil Hughes thanks to his lack of usage this year, I'm hoping that this latest iteration to Joba's plan will be the last. No more wondering about when he's going to pitch or how deep he's going to go in his starts. Armed with that knowledge, I'm hopeful that Joba can put it together down the stretch and keep us from wondering whether Good Joba or Bad Joba is going to show up on any given day.

Jorge Posada returns to the line up today. Eric Hinske gives Nick Swisher a day off in right.

I'll catch the early innings on the tube and then it's off to the Widespread Panic and Allman Brothers Band show. While this concert isn't quite the Christmas in the summertime that it once was for me, it's still one I've been looking forward to all summer. As such, here's some vintage Allman Brothers Band from the old Fillmore East, 9/23/1970. Enjoy the game.



I think about the bad times
Lord I think about yours and mine
You were lost in the silver spoon
Thought I pulled you out in time
And I hope that you got reasons
For the way that you've been lying
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer

Game 115: Going Out West

The Yankees start their second West Coast swing of 2009 tonight, with four against the M's followed by three against the A's. The year's first trip was a bit of an easy one - travel wise at least - as the Yanks left a getaway day matinee in Minneapolis to head to Anaheim for a three game set before a four day All-Star break. We have to hope the results will be better this time, as the Yanks were swept by the Angels, playing bad baseball and seemingly mailing it in before the midseason vacation.

The Yanks have been on fire since then, going 19-6 over that stretch, playing their best baseball of the season, taking a 5.5 game lead in the AL East, and surging to the best record in baseball. That said, the travel itinerary won't be quite as nice this time around. Yesterday's game ended after five o'clock. Rush hour traffic from the Bronx, over the RFK, to LaGuardia couldn't have been pleasant, and I can tell you from making the trip myself several times, the NYC to Seattle flight seems interminable. The team probably did not arrive at their Seattle hotel until around midnight Pacific time - but at least they had all day to rest up while the M's went into extra innings.

Jet lag aside, the Yanks also got a little banged up between the lines yesterday. Jorge Posada had a rough day behind the plate, taking a foul tip off his throwing hand. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez both took nasty HBPs, but neither managed to hurl their helmet. Tonight was going to be a day off for A-Rod anyway. Jeter, per usual, says he'll play. We'll soon find out.

[UPDATE 8:25 PM: Jeter in, Posada out, A-Rod out as scheduled and unavailable]

In the pitching department, Mariano Rivera had a "cranky shoulder" yesterday. Given Alf's marathon appearance Monday, D-Rob and Coke going back-to-back games, and Chad Gaudin's start coming up on Saturday, the pen could also be a bit short tonight.

As for those who will play, CC Sabathia takes the ball for the Yanks. CC had an ugg-lee start against the M's back on July 2nd, getting tagged with the loss, 6 ER, and 10 H in 5.2 innings of work. In seven career starts at Safeco Field, Sabathia is 4-1 with 2.83 ERA. This is his time of year, tough. For his career, Sabathia is 30-9 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in 48 starts in August.

Sabathia will be opposed by Ian Snell. Snell was acquired with Jack Wilson just prior to the deadline as part of the Pirates' "Everything Must Go" firesale. Snell was pitching at AAA at the time of the trade, as poor performance and axiety issues forced him off the Pirates roster. Snell has made two starts for the M's, covering just 7.1 innings, yielding 5 runs, and 15 baserunners. Amazingly, he hasn't recorded a loss decision.

I really agonized over which video to pick for this song. Here's the original from crazy Tom Waits, which gets bonus points for being black and white, but loses points for being barely listenable - and somewhat disturbing. Here's some cool ones from Gov't Mule, all of which are exceedingly bad ass, including one from the Beacon Theater, and a classic one featuring the late, great Allen Woody. But today's video goes to a vintage Widespread Panic version of the song, featuring the late, great Michael Houser. Enjoy the game; we won't hold it against you if you can't stay awake for the end of it.

I'm going out west where the wind blows tall,
Cause Tony Franciosa used to date my ma,
They got some money out there,
They're giving it away,
Gonna do what I want,
Gonna get paid,
Do what I want,
Gonna get paid.

And I'm going out west,
Where they'll appreciate me,
Going out west,
Going out west.

Off Night: Call It Stormy Monday

As we discussed last week, these off nights are a real pain in the balls. It's a Monday, what the hell else am I doing if I'm not watching the Yankees game? Unfortunately, this is the second of three consecutive Mondays during which there'll be no Yankee baseball. So what are our options?

There are four MLB games scheduled for tonight. The Mets and Cards will be on SNY at 7:10, so you can do some advance scouting before this weekend's Subway Series. For those outside the metro-NYC area, that game will also be broadcast on ESPN2. The mothership will have LSU vs. Texas in the College World Series, which I believe is now in its 43rd round.

The Cubs visit the Braves tonight in a make-up of a rainout from earlier this month. My cable system carries WGN and TBS, but unfortunately CSN has the Cubs' telecast and TBS doesn't carry the Braves any longer, so there'll be no advance scouting of the Braves for me. Of course if you sprung for MLB.tv or the Extra Innings package, you can watch this. They'll probably replay the final round of the U.S. Open somewhere too since virtually no one could watch it today.

There's a probably a bunch of shit on premium channels I don't get: Weeds, a re-run of Friday's Bill Maher, Carmela Soprano's new show, but I'm not watching any of that. Unfortunately Joe Buck Live doesn't return for another few weeks, so there will be no televised train wrecks tonight.

For those of you who want to venture out into the world, don't forget Bernie Williams plays two shows at The Iridium tonight. Alternatively, you could head to Home Depot and start buying enough lumber to construct a large wooden ark. Then tomorrow you can start rounding up the animals two by two.

A few quick news items:

• A.J. Burnett had his suspension reduced from six games to five and began serving yesterday. Thanks to the off day today Burnett won't miss a single start. That's the type of hard line discipline I like to see out of MLB.



• Don Fehr is stepping down as the head of the MLBPA. Good riddance. Take Orza with you and see if you both can convince Bud to retire too. I hope some sort of unrest amongst the players regarding Fehr's blind-eye PED policies was behind this.



• In music news, while the Yankees invade Atlanta, about 75 miles east in Athens the famed Georgia Theater burned to the ground Friday. No word as to whether General William Tecumseh Sherman was involved. The Georgia Theater had hosted many a good band in its time, and served as a launcing pad for Athens bands Widespread Panic and the Drive-By Truckers. Two of my favorite live albums were recorded there: Panic's Live in the Classic City and the Derek Trucks Band's Live at Georgia Theater.

That's all I got. It's still raining here in CT, and the radar says it's on and off in NYC as well. Summer's gotta get here eventually. Stormy Monday is one the most-covered blues tunes in history. YouTube has great versions by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert King, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, Bobby Blue Bland, and B.B. King. But we'll go with the original. Take it away Mr. T-Bone Walker...