No surprises, here, folks. As unpredictable as baseball can be sometimes, game 1 couldn’t have been much more predictable.
The Plot:
Big Bad Yankees bludgeon scrappy Twins into submission.
- The kids from Minnesota got off to a great start, scoring two runs in the third off of three straight singles and a passed ball that Posada was slow to get after.
- A-Rod looked overeager in squandering two straight opportunities with runners on. Anything seemed possible. Maybe the little team that could would scratch out enough runs and their gutty rookie hurler would find a way to keep the Yankee bats quiet.
- This notion lasted about 5 minutes, as Derek Jeter comes back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game with a clutch 2-run blast which seemed to open the floodgates, as the Yanks scored in 3 of the next 4 innings.
- The 4th: Swisher doubles in Cano on a daring send by 3rd base coach, Rob Thomson.
- The 5th: A-Rod comes through with a clutch 2-out single to score the Captain and knock out Duensing. Matsui follows that up with the knockout punch: a two-run opposite field blast into the jet stream.
- The 7th: A-Rod, looking completely relaxed now, single in Jeter a second time.
- It then became all about Sabathia and the pen as Hughes comes in to get an out in the 7th and get CC out of a jam. A patented JoeG mix and match 8th ensues, with Hughes, Coke, and Joba each getting outs, leading to a predictable but satisfying 9th inning close by the great one.
Cast of Characters:
- The Redeemer: Alex Rodriguez goes 2-4 with 2 RBI. He has to put it all together for a whole postseason, but this was one heck of a beginning.
- The Captain: Derek Jeter makes it all happen in this game, playing the hero. How does 2-2, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored sound? DJ plays a role in 5 of the 7 Yankee runs. Hero, indeed.
- Godzilla: Like any good lightning breathed lizard, you can never count him out. He gave the knock out punch.
- The Ace: CC did his job, yielding only 1 earned in 6 2/3 with 8 Ks and 0 walks.
- The Bridge: Phil Hughes get CC out of his jam by blowing pure smoke past the Twins hitters, throwing nothing but fastballs in the 7th and saying, “here it is, try to catch up to it.”
- The Enigma: Joba flashes to the mound like a will o’ the wisp, needing only 2 pitches to get the final out in the 8th.
- The Great One: Mariano allows a couple singles, but closes yet another postseason game.
The only fly in the ointment was the awful play of Jorge Posada, who just had an off night, getting crossed up, not hustling after loose balls and generally embarassing himself behind the plate. An intense and prideful competitor, expect to see Posada focused and energetic the next time we see him behind the plate with Andy.
The sequel: Friday
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
5 Responses to Game 1 Follows the Script
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
Joe used all the important guys in the back of the pen (Hughes, Joba, Mo, Coke) to get them all some post season pitches and they came through shining with Robertson, Ace and Gaudin still sitting in the pen for match ups down the road.
Alex comes up big and has two 2 out RBI, he looked a little jumpy early but even so was still fouling off pitches and making himself take as many as he could and he looked like it would only be a matter of time until he got it down and sure enough he did. He will never admit it but that has to be a huge weight off of his shoulders and with that burden gone I think you are going to see a huge post season from Alex Rodriguez, pitchers for the Red Sox and Angels need to be ready to face a confident Alex because I think he is going to feast on the Twins pitching for the rest of the series.
Matsui’s HR was a monster and carried all the way to CF, I still don’t understand pulling Duensing and going to Liriano, Matsui hits lefties well and Liriano is arguably the teams worst left handed pitcher at the current moment. You should have got Duensing out but bringing in Liriano is just questionable to say the least.
I’m not sure what to think about Joba, so far in two relief appearances this year he has thrown 9 total pitches and his hardest fastball was 96 and he has hit 95 a couple of times. It’s really not enough pitches to judge anything off of but if he sits where he is at now in the pen then he is a 93-95 with the occasional 96 out of the pen, which is what you would assume he would be starting, and since he hasn’t returned to the Chamberlain of 07 who came out throwing 96-99 it still makes me wonder if he has been protecting his arm all year and that is where the velocity has gone and even in the pen he is protecting his arm some. If this is the case and again this is just speculation but if it is the case that could be a real problem. If you won’t cut loose in the playoffs you probably never will, so if he to concerned about his arm to throw 98 in the pen and will only throw 91 starting he isn’t a closer or starter what is he? Set up man? Seems like a long way to fall for someone who was so highly regarded. I refuse to give up on him that quickly but him going to the pen has answered no questions about Joba Chamberlain’s velocity or future it’s really intriguing to say the least.
It’s going to be interesting to see not only how the Burnett-Molina experiment goes on Friday but also how Jorge will handle it coming back on Saturday, will his feelings be hurt from having to sit and make him strain at the plate to prove he deserves to be starting? I wouldn’t think so but you never know Jorge is really prideful and it could get in the way of his rational thinking.
I fully expect Burnett to win Friday and I expect him to go a solid 6+ IP…
My predicted Burnett stat line.
6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 8 Ks, 3 BBs
A little bit wild but gets his Ks and the W.
Chris Singleton from baseball tonight just said “Joba will never see the rotation again in his career”… I think that is one of the dumbest most uniformed statements to ever come out of baseball tonight, and that is saying something for that bunch. Even if they do eventually give up on “Joba the starter” He is guaranteed a rotation spot next year for no other reason than our rotation is missing some pieces with out him, not to mention the fact that Hughes is going to have an inning limit on him and no one is for sure if Pettitte is coming back yet, including him IMO.
Agreed – that is just ignorant. It’s dumb to make an absolute statement like that in general, but particularly stupid considering he doesn’t know the first thing about what he’s talking about.
You would think if you are going to talk about something like that you would at least know the team goals and plans for the very next season… Seems to me no one even thinks Joba will start in the next series, and what is up with everyone on every baseball anything talking about this coming out of the bull pen snorting and spitting and running through like a train stuff?
Mitch Williams on the MLB channel is raving about how this game proves that Joba is nothing more than a reliever and will never be more than an average starter… I guess he has never seen Chamberlain start before this year?
Let me ask you guys this, how does pitching one at bat, throwing 2 pitches one a bad slider and one a fastball at 95 prove he not only can’t start but will be a “great closer”? He isn’t throwing heat at 98 or 99 anymore in the pen and he is throwing 91 in the rotation, sounds like nothing has been settled or come close to being resolved and yet everyone seems to have it set that Joba is a reliever and nothing more. Did no one see this kid pitch in the minors or in 08 as a starter? Sometimes I feel like Will Ferrell in Zoolander… I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!