Gone Astray

Sometimes things don't go the way you want.

It has happened before, and it will happen again.

It wasn't as though CC Sabathia collapsed or had some sort of awful performance--the two runs surrendered were the same as in his ALDS game one performance--it was that Cliff Lee pitched the game of his life.

To have beaten Cliff Lee tonight, the Yankees would have had to pitch perfectly.

Until the ninth inning, the Yankees had just one batter reach second base, and none reach third.

There's not much else to day--it wasn't a bad managerial move that cost the Yankees the game; the other team simply pitched better.

Okay, so perhaps Brian Bruney should not be anywhere near a postseason roster, but this isn't really the point here.

You can debate how you would have pitched the top of the eighth--my faith in Robertson didn't work out the way I'd hope, but it happens--but it wasn't a bullpen that blew the game.

With the way that Lee pitched, even if the score had remained 2-0, the Yankees' chances were still slim--he was that good.

The first six innings, at least--before the Yankees went to the bullpen--were everything that a neutral fan would want to see in a World Series game: good pitching, good fielding, and played in a crisp manner.

Alas for us, we have a rooting interest that was on the wrong end of that game.

So what now, then?

For the first time this postseason, the Yankees find themselves trailing in a series, faced with their first real must-win of the month. Lose tomorrow, and it's 0-2 going to Philly--although, as we all remember previous occasions, it's not as though the Yankees haven't overcome that obstacle before.

The Yankees don't have to face Cliff Lee tomorrow; they have to face Pedro Martinez which is an entirely different story for reasons probably already familiar to you.

There is no reason to think that the Yankees will not fight. We've seen this team play too long this year with their swagger. They always seem to find a way.

As Douglas Adams would have said, DON'T PANIC.

There is still a lot of baseball left to play.

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I will be at tomorrow's game. If you are going and would like to say hello, send an email or tweet my way.

Yankees Do Enough To Beat Cleveland and Take First (Postgame Notes 29 May 2009)

The Yankees have waited more than two years to reclaim solo possession of first place.

So what was waiting another hour and a half rain delay?

Indeed, that is what the Yankees endured before they took the field for today's game, but it did not seem to matter.

The Yankees got to Indians' starter Cliff Lee early; while they didn't really do what they were supposed to do with lots of baserunners and break the game open, they did score three runs before Cleveland scored any, and though they scored without much fanfare, they do still count.

Jorge Posada appeared in his first game after coming off of the DL, and had a couple of the Yankees' best hits in the game. More good news is that instead of having to DFA Kevin Cash to make room for Posada, they were able to option him to AAA. While it's unlikely Cash will reappear with the big club this season, the Yankees do now have some extra insurance if something happens.


Andy Pettitte was far from sharp, but through five made the pitches he needed to make to get out of trouble. The problem was, however, that Andy left early with lower back stiffness. We don't really know more than that right now, but that Pettitte stayed on the bench at the end of the inning has to be an encouraging sign.


Alfredo "Mendoza" Aceves pitched three innings in relief; he allowed an inherited runner to score, but gave up nothing else and Mo pitched a nearly flawless ninth to break the starter-saver record combo (don't ask, baseball likes useless records.)


Anyway, the Yankees now sit eight games above .500 and a half game ahead of the Red Sox in the standings for first place; the first time since the end of 2006.


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As you may have noticed, I've sort of taken this week sort of off. Everything should be back to normal on Sunday.

Cliff Diving (Postgame Notes 06 May 2008)

Most of the time, if your starter goes seven innings giving up three runs or less, your team is in good shape. In fact, such a scenario is called a "quality start".

Most of the time, however, the opposing pitcher does not sport a 0.96 ERA.

Cliff Lee did not just come as advertised tonight, but he made an excellent case for starting the All Star game, as well as even winning the Cy Young.

Chien Mien Wang did not have a strong first inning, and even though he settled down, there was simply no way he could out pitch Lee.

In fact, right now, it doesn't look like anyone can out pitch Lee. The only mystery seems to be when Lee's luck will run out--because it seems too good to hold true for the entire season.

Then again, stranger things have happened.

On the offensive side, the Yankees were able to manage hits--Abreu, Matsui, Duncan, Cabrera and Canò managed hits--but they were not able to put anything substantial together, and each time they had two men on base, there were also two out.

It's hard to fault an A-Rod and Posada-less offense for this loss; Lee was that good.

OPTIMIST TAKE: Even though Wang lost the game, he battled back from his shaky first inning and gave a quality start. Alex Rodriguez may be back in the line up as early as Wednesday. Kyle Farnsworth again looked good. David Cook is in the top three!

Pregame Notes 07 May 2008

These are short because I'm in the middle of packing, but here goes:

Tonight, Chien Ming Wang looks to go to 7-0, but to do so, he'll have to beat Cliff Lee, who currently has an ERA under one. Yes, you read that right--Lee's ERA is 0.96.

Meanwhile, Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui each have their own streaks to keep going--Matsui is looking at a 16 game hitting streak.

Meanwhile, here in Syracuse, it looks like the heavens are about to let loose...



More later, if I don't succumb to 'death by packing'.