So, here’s the question: Has CC Sabathia been “the same” since he had that pitcher’s duel with David Price down in Tampa? See these stats – with that Rays game, in question, first, and all the starts made by CC since that time – including this post-season:

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If it wasn’t for that game on September 28th, I would suggest that this may be the case. But, for sure, he wasn’t hurting on that day.

In any event, based on the way he’s pitched lately, overall, what kind of performance do you think Sabathia will give the Yankees today?

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Noticed this being tweeted about on Twitter: The Yankees haven’t lost three straight home games in same post-season since 1942.

We sort of mentioned that here the other day. Man, that last loss in ’42 must of been a stinger. Whitey Kurowski, huh?

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Since the LCS series went to a best-of-seven format, there have been eight times where the Yankees have played a Game 5 in an ALCS (like they will, later today). And, the last time the Yankees won a Game 5 in an ALCS was 2003. Below are the starters who the Yankees have used in their last eight ALCS Game 5 situations and the outcomes of those games.

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On the bright side, seven out of eight times here, when the Yankees played a Game 5 of an ALCS, they reached the World Series. Can they make it eight of nine this year?

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Via the Daily News –

An unhinged fan with a crush on Cameron Diaz ran onto the Yankee Stadium field during Monday night’s game to confront A-Rod about his love for the stunning starlet, sources said.

But Grim LeRogue, 33, was tackled by Stadium security as he attempted to rush the third baseman in the top of the fifth inning in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, cops said.

Tucked in LeRogue’s pocket, police found a picture of Alex Rodriguez with his face crossed out and a drawing of a small gun pointed at his head, a source said. Etched on the photo were the words, “You gotta go, buddy.”

“He was absolutely out of his f—–g mind,” said the source, adding that LeRogue was rambling the entire time he was in custody.

A-Rod left the Stadium Tuesday night without taking questions after the 10-3 loss to the Texas Rangers.

The crazed Bronx man, who did not have a weapon, also told police that he wanted to kill Bobby Brown, because Osama Bin Laden has a crush on the Grammy winner’s wife, Whitney Houston, the source said.

But he opted to act first on his chance at love with the 38-year-old “What Happens in Vegas” star.

“He gave a rambling interview that he had an infatuation with Cameron Diaz,” the source said. “He thought by going out and choking A-Rod he’d be a hero to her.” LeRogue also told investigators he legally changed his name from John Rogan as a strategy to sell a 700-page book he’s trying to market, sources said.

“I think it’s publicity for his book,” said his mother, Catherine Rogan. “I’m sure he’s fine,” she said of his condition.

LeRogue, charged with assault and interfering with a sporting event, was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital.

There’s a part of me who wants to make a joke and say that the real threat to A-Rod is the crazed Dr. Anthony Galea fan who’s going to rush the field in today’s game. But, truly, this is some very, very serious stuff here. This whole thing could have gone down a lot worse – and then some. Good job by Stadium security to react to this as quickly as they did last night. And, for Alex’s sake, I’m glad that no harm came his way.

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Did I say “Yankees in 6?”  I clearly meant “Yankees in 7.”  Because, after last night’s 10-3 drubbing, the Yankees can only advance to the World Series by winning Games 5, 6 and 7.

The sentiment around Yankee-land is that, once again, AJ Burnett let Yankee fans down.  I disagree.  AJ Burnett (6 6 5 5 3 4) pitched a credible game and certainly better than anyone could’ve expected after a 16-day furlough on the bench.  Instead of laying this loss at Burnett’s feet, I blame the Yankee lineup which, once again, was inept.  With a 2-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position (6-for-39 thus far in the ALCS (.154 AVG)), the Yankees squandered their most favorable pitching matchup by not beating up on the hittable Tommy Hunter.

What more can be said beyond that?  The offense didn’t show up last night, as they have not shown up all series.  Bullpen implosions the past two nights notwithstanding, the Yankees can’t win a pennant when Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are held to a collective 2-for-29 through four games.

A special mention to Yankees skipper Joe Girardi.  He’s had a lousy two months on the job, first schizo-managing the Yankees down the stretch (“we’re playing to win…no, we’re not…yes we are!”) and then, last night, leaving Burnett in when going to a relief pitcher would’ve made more sense.  It was clear that Burnett was tiring yet, somehow, Girardi failed to understand that losing the lead in the sixth inning of the second most important game of the season would not be a good thing.  One pitch into Bengie Molina’s at bat, the worst happened.

Finally, a speedy recovery wish to injured first baseman Mark Teixeira, who strained his hamstring while running out a grounder in the fifth inning.  Hopefully he recovers around mid-May, so as to avoid the usual early-season troubles that plague him.  His April and October disappearing acts have grown tedious so, frankly, an “out of sight, out of mind” status will help me cope with my growing disaffection for Mr. Ed.

CC Sabathia vs. C.J. Wilson in a rematch of Game 1 this afternoon at 4pm.  Perhaps Sabathia extends the season. Perhaps not.  In the end, it’ll be the offense that decides this game.  Hopefully ours, not theirs.

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With their win in Game 4 of the 2010 ALCS, the Texas Rangers now have a 3-1 lead in the series. And, if not for 15 consecutive pitches thrown in the top of the 8th inning of Game 1 of this ALCS – where Darren Oliver walked Nick Swisher and Mark Teixeira (on 13 pitches) and both Darren O’Day and Clay Rapada allowed one-pitch singles (to Alex Rodriguez and Robbie Cano, respectively) – Texas would be celebrating their ticket to the 2010 World Series as I type this…

Hey, maybe the Yankees will win the final three games of this series and take advantage of this break? Nah…yeah…you’re right…that ain’t gonna happen…

Bottom line, with the exception of those 15 pitches, the Rangers have totally out-played the Yankees in the first four games of this ALCS. And, not only will they win the American League pennant this season, but, they’ve earned it. And, at this point, the best the Yankees can hope for is avoiding another loss on Wednesday to prevent a team from celebrating winning a post-season series at Yankee Stadium.

In Yankeeland, we’ve seen that happen – meaning having to watch a team whoop-it-up on our home turf – three times in the seven seasons before this one. (See below.) And, if we can avoid making it four times in the last 8 years, that’s fine by me.

Teams who have won last game of a Post-Season Series @ Yankee Stadium

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Man, this is starting to get Jay Witasick ugly…

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Man, these games are long. Hard to believe this all started at 8 pm ET. (He says, as he’s watching this game and typing this…)

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My first thought, seeing this moments ago, was: Reminds me of Reggie Jackson in the 1972 ALCS.

My second thought? That’s a Grade 2, and, he’s cooked.

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Enjoy the game!

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Via Mark J. Miller through  Chad Jennings -

…Washington Nationals appear to be eager to get a new deal done with hurler Chien-Ming Wang…

The former New York Yankees pitcher had a “solid outing” for the Nats’ Instructional League team Tuesday, going for two innings, getting four groundouts in 17 pitches, and lighting up the radar gun at 89 mph against the Atlanta Braves’ team, according to MASNSports.com.

I can’t lie, I was deeply upset when the Yankees decided to cut ties with Chien-Ming Wang. He was one of my favorite Yankees hurlers ever and I thought the Yanks were making a bad decision letting him loose. Well, as it turns out, I was dead wrong. Cashman and co. had this move played perfectly. Don’t get me wrong, I really would like Wang to prove Cashman wrong but you can’t argue with results.

That being said, if he’s “lighting up the radar gun” at 89 mph, the Nationals may well be wasting their money. Wang was easily throwing mid 90′s before his chain of injuries. And we saw how the drop in velocity affected his sinker last year. At his worst, though, he was still averaging faster than 89 last year. I can only imagine what he’d be like with a dip that deep.

Bottom line, he might be killing the worms in instructional league. But the worms in the majors might not have much to worry about in the future. Cashman called it.

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Via Frank Russo -

Yesterday before game 3 of the ALCS, Mike Francesa interviewed Brian Cashman. This interview turned out to be one of the most refreshing and enlightening interviews that Cashman has ever done. In it, Cashman talks about the team utilizes advances metrics as part of its overall “toolbox” while also delving into other areas such as the overall team concept and philosophy

What was even more refreshing was the fact that during the interview, Cashman basically admitted that bringing back Javier Vazquez was a mistake and that he was even warned by several of his advisors not to bring him back. What was even more interesting about this interview was how “The Pope” admitted that he is finally aboard the advanced metrics “bandwagon.”

…Cashman basically admitted that bringing back Javier Vazquez was a mistake and that he was even warned by several of his advisors not to bring him back…

To be candid, I did not hear the interview. Did you? Is what Frank is sharing here on the mark? Did Brian Cashman admit that he brought Vazquez back despite the warning of his advisors and that the move, in the end, was a mistake?

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I’m guessing that Jorge Posada’s name didn’t come up when Joe Girardi entered A.J. Burnett’s profile into the eHarmony site…

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It’s available. The Braves have released Melky Cabrera.

Seems like it was just yesterday that A-Rod, Leche and Cano were tearing up the Angels in the ALCS – along with Jeter and Damon.  Times change, sometimes very quickly.

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Looks like General Joe Girardi – or Joey Looseleafs, as Wally Matthews calls him – just lost a little leverage come contract talks time.

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Here are the stats:

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Let’s face it, outside of Cano, so far, when it comes to the ALCS, if the Yankees batters were a girl down the Jersey Shore, they’d be a grenade. Then again, isn’t this what we saw from Yankees batters as they closed the season going 9-17 in their last 26 games?

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See these games:

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I think, at best, we should expect Burnett to allow three runs this evening. And, at worst, it could be closer to seven. Now, how many runs the Yankees will score…it’s open for debate.

For what it’s worth, in his last 22 IP of the regular season, Tommy Hunter’s ERA was 2.45. (Granted, yes, that’s a small sample size.) And, in the ALDS against the Rays, he whiffed 7 of the 18 batters that he faced. So, how many runs do you think the Yankees will score tonight?

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The moment Josh Hamilton hit his two-run homer into the RF corner, I knew this game was over.  Yes, it was only the first inning.  Yes, I had confidence than Andy Pettitte would hold the Rangers down the rest of the way.  Those things never concerned me.  What concerned me was knowing that the Yankee offense — inconsistent as it’s been through 167 games thus far — was facing the best pitcher in the American League.

Sure enough, Cliff Lee (8 2 0 0 1 13) was utterly dominant last night and the Rangers made the 2-0 first inning lead stand.  Six tack-on runs in the ninth inning made this game a laugher but, by then, the game had already been decided.  In a masterful performance — one that might be his last game at Yankee Stadium — Andy Pettitte (7 5 2 2 0 5) showed us once again why he’s been such a special pitcher for the Yankees ballclub.

Listening to the fans chanting “An-dy Pett-itte” in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings brought back memories of the “Paul O’Neill” chants in Game 5 of the 2001 World Series, when fans knew O’Neill would retire at season’s end.  It’s a sobering thought, knowing that such a dependable and vital part of the team may be wrapping up a very good career.  If it was truly the end for Andy at Yankee Stadium, I’m only sorry the team couldn’t send him out with his 19th playoff win.

There’s not much more to say at this point.  Either AJ Burnett and the offense do their jobs tonight or they don’t.  The Yankees chances for winning this series are minimal at this point but miracles can happen from time to time.  Perhaps tonight is the night for the first of a few more miracles for the 2010 Yanks.

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Ya know, if you were up three-oh, and playing with house money, I’d have no issues with going with Burnett in Game 4 – especially if it meant avoiding having to use some or all of your other starters on short-rest in the games to follow.

However, this ain’t three-oh. It’s hoping to hold the line and avoid falling behind three-one with three to go. That’s pressure folks. And, we know how poorly Burnett pitches when his sphincter is puckered.

As much as Felix was once sure that the mechanic said “I much fear trouble in the fuselage, Frederick.” I’m pretty sure, once my head hits the pillow tonight, that I much fear having flashback nightmares of Kevin Brown pitching Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS and Jaret Wright pitching Game 4 of the 2006 ALDS with the notion of Burnett starting tomorrow being my last conscious engram.

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Hey, there is, always, the chance, that this could be the last big league game that Andy Pettitte throws. Obviously, as Yankees fans, we hope that’s not the case. But, the probability does exist. And, if it does turn true, Andy exits, stage left…and he should hold his head high. You couldn’t ask for anything more from a pitcher…in this game…or a season…or a career.

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…an ectomorphic and couth version of David Wells, circa 1995-2000. And…

…this just in…

…that’s pretty darn good.

As I write this, the Yankees have 12 outs left to make something happen in this game.

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I got to see nine of these twenty-one games.

Oh, and, by the way, there have been 60 times where a starting pitcher excelled in a post-season game against the Yankees where his team did win the game. Sadly, I’ve seen 25 of those games too.

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Here they are, in date order:

• 1921 World Series Game 8
• 1942 World Series Game 3
• 1949 World Series Game 1
• 1956 World Series Game 6
• 1996 World Series Game 5

So, is it true that, in the last 54 years, we’ve only seen one off-the-charts great starting pitcher duel in the post-season where the Yankees were involved?

Note: This does not imply that a Yankees pitcher hasn’t been awesome in one of his post-season starts during this time. See Roger Clemens in Game 4 of the 2000 ALCS, David Wells in Game 1 of the 1998 ALDS, El Duque Hernandez in Game 1 of the 1999 World Series, and Andy Pettitte in Game 1 of the 2001 ACLS, for example.

It is merely saying that we’ve only seen one game, since 1957, where a Yankees starter has been lights-out and the starter for the other team was awesome as well.

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And, they play the games on the field, and not on paper, no?

So, maybe Cliff Lee implodes this evening or the Yankees just find a way to beat the Rangers ace. And, maybe A.J. Burnett throws a gem in Game 4 as well. Anything can happen, etc., etc.

Hope springs eternal. That’s why we love the game.

Or, is it pretty much a done deal that the Yankees have one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel? What do you think?

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Mark Simon is rockin’ it with some neat Yankees post-season stuff on this off-day.

Least Likely Yankees Postseason Wins and a feature on The Mother of all 11 Yankees Post-Season Walk-off Big Flys.

If you’ve never heard my take on the Boone homer, click here.  Good times, indeed.

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Freddy ‘Sez’, a Yankee Stadium staple for the last 20 years, dead at age 82

Mr. Schuman and his pan have been regulars at Yankee Stadium since 1988.

And, he will be missed.

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The good news is that the 2010 ALCS is now a best three of five and you have the home field advantage.

The bad news is that A.J. Burnett is slated to start one of those games for you – and you will have to face Cliff Lee at least once, and perhaps twice, in those five games.

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I’ve got one.  But I’ll gladly live with it if we get three more wins (and four more after that).  Rivera’s strikeout of Michael Young was vintage, vintage Mariano.

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Tonight reminded me of this.  You just  don’t see top of the 8th inning rallies in the post-season this large, everyday, do you?  Wow.

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Leadoff man in scoring position and the heart of the order up.  Why bunt?  Why do something you can’t execute and don’t normally do?  With Ramiro Pena or Francisco Cervelli at the plate?  Sure.  But Nick Swisher?  Give me a goddamn break.  Why waste the out?

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