Another Win And Hanging In

As the Sox slowly try to field the lineup they envisioned all year long (dealt another blow by Ellsbury's glass-like ribs), they have fought to keep up with the Yanks and Rays in the AL East. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games, including last night's 7-5 win over the Angels. But Boston still finds themselves 5.5 games back of both New York and Tampa.

Armageddon Interrupted

With Red Sox fans on the verge of a mental collapse and airwave pundits declaring the season all but over, Boston reminded everyone why they cannot be counted out of the post-season race. At least, not yet.

Swept Away

It didn't look good at the beginning of yesterday's 11-6 win over the Angels. Daisuke had gotten the pattern exactly backwards, having his worst inning right off the bat. Putting the Sox in 4-0 hole to start the game...I thought he was done. But then, somehow, the old Daisuke reasserted itself and that led to Boston improbably sweeping the Angels in a four-game set and laying the stage for a huge weekend series with the Yankees.

Gaining Steam

The Red Sox have now taken three straight from the Angels, including last night's 3-1 victory. In the process, Boston's starters have allowed just six runs in those three games. They've nailed the Angels on two of three steal attempts. The law firm of Delcarmen, Bard and Papelbon have allowed zero runs. And Boston has outhit Anaheim in all three games. They aren't out of the woods yet, but Boston may have finally found the trail.

A Good Start

Well, you can't complain about too much for one game when your team posts 17 runs. Even if they did get sloppy in the ninth. But compared to the last series, it was a joy to watch the Sox beat up on the Angels 17-8 and begin this critical homestand with a resounding win. Whatever was said in that pre-game meeting was epic.

Robinson's Day

There's something about Jackie Robinson Day that brings out the best in Robinson Cano.

A year ago, Cano went 2-for-4 with a double, homer and two RBI against the Rays.

Thursday he took it a step further.

Open Season On Javier Vazquez

Javier Vazquez's second stint with the New York Yankees has begun just like the first one ended: as a nightmare.

Vazquez was hammered by the Rays in his first outing of the season.

His second start was slightly better, but still well below par by any standard.

A Perfect (Almost) Opener

This was a day we've been waiting for since early November, when the Yankees captured World Championship No. 27.

When it comes to celebrating accomplishments and history, there is no team in sports that come close to matching the Yankees. The pomp, the circumstance, the celebration of the past, no one can compare --no matter how hard the Red Sox try.

Pennant No. 40, Oh, So Sweet!

Collapse? This team? Keep dreaming Red Sox Nation!

The Yankees are back where they belong -- in the World Series -- after capturing their 40th American League pennant Sunday.

Andy Pettitte pitched 6-1/3 terrific innings, Johnny Damon had a huge two-run single, the Angels fell apart defensively and Mariano Rivera was there on the Yankee Stadium mound to close out a 5-2 victory to give the Yankees the American League Championship Series, 4-2. CC Sabathia was named MVP, winning two games in the series and allowing two runs in 16 innings.

The 2004 ALCS collapse against the Red Sox, the first-round exits in '06, '07, '08 are all things of the past. None of that can haunt the Bombers now. Make no mistake, winning this pennant is oh, so sweet!

The Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2003, seeking their first championship since 2000. They will face the defending champion Phillies with Game 1 set for Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

The last time the Yankees and Phillies met in the World Series was in 1950 with the Bombers sweeping the "Whiz Kids."

But the Yankees had business to take care of Sunday and they did not mess around.

Joe Girardi has made many questionable decisions this postseason, including several more in this game, but the one decision he nail head-on was starting Pettitte.

Pettitte may choose to retire after this season, but he's far from done physically. And when there is a big game, he is still a guy who you want on that mound. He's has delivered so many times in the past and he delivered yet again Sunday.

He's now won 16 postseason games, taking sole possession of the record from John Smoltz. And for the second time this season, he's won a series clinching game, the fifth time he done that in his career -- also a record.

Pettitte was strong from the start, cruising through the first two innings, getting some help from Nick Swisher in the second when charged Kendry Morales' pop to right, caught it and doubled Vladimir Guerrero, who had singled to start the inning, off first.

Jeff Mathis, however, led off the third with a double and came around to score two outs later on Bobby Abreu's single to right to make it 1-0.

That lead wouldn't last long as the Yankees finally broke through in the fourth.

Through the first three innings, the Yankees made Angels starter Joe Saunders work, putting two runners on in the first and loading the bases in the second, but failing to come up with the big, two-out hit.

Saunders' luck, though, finally ran out as he walked Robinson Cano to lead off the fourth before Nick Swisher grounded a solid single to left. After Melky Cabrera moved the runners up with a sacrifice and Derek Jeter walked, Damon delivered the big blow, lining a 2-and-1 single to center to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.

Mark Teixeira followed with a single to load the bases before Alex Rodriguez walked to make it 3-1 and knock out Saunders, who ended up allowing three runs on seven hits and five walks in 3-1/3 innings.

That's all Pettitte would need, cruising though the fourth and fifth before escaping a second-and-third, two-out jam in the sixth by getting Morales to ground to first.

Pettitte ended up allowing seven hits and one walk, while striking out six and throwing 64 of 99 pitches for strikes. He gave the Yankees everything they could have asked for and proved yet again why the Yankees trust him so much.

Girardi pulled Pettitte after he allowed Juan Rivera's single with one out in the seventh. Giradi then made his first questionable move the night by bringing in the struggling Joba Chamberlain instead of going with the hot hand of David Robertson.

But the move worked out as Joba seemed comfortable and confident at home, and got Macier Izturis to ground into a force out before getting Erick Aybar to ground out to end the inning.

And with the Yankees' six outs away from the pennant, that left Girardi free to go to Mo to start the eighth, though that is not a move without its risks.

Mariano has now saved a record 37 postseason games, 21 more than the Phillies' Brad Lidge, who is second on the list. In addition, Mariano has 29 postseason saves of 1+ innings and 13 of two innings.

There is no closer pitching today who is better equipped to go two innings to close out a series.

That said, Mariano does have five blown saves in the postseason and in each of those games, he entered in the eighth, including starting the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2001 World Series against the Diamondbacks. We all know what happened there. No need to recount it.

And for a moment Sunday, there was reason to worry.

Chone Figgins led of the eighth against Rivera with a single and went to second on Abreu's ground out. Hunter then hit a grounder back through the middle that seemed targeted for center, but Cano had been holding Figgins close and was in position to not only make the play, but force Figgins to hold at second.

But Rivera couldn't keep the Angels off the board as Guerrero singled to right in a nine-pitch at-bat to drive in Figgins and make it 3-2. It was the first postseason earned run Rivera had allowed at home since the 2000 World Series against the Mets.

Kendry Morales then grounded out to end the inning, leaving the Yankees in need of more runs.

The offense delivered.

Cano walked against Ervin Santana to lead off and Mike Scioscia brought in lefthander Scott Kazmir to face Swisher.

The Girardi made another questionable move, asking Swisher to bunt. Swisher is not normally asked to bunt and was going to come out of the game for defensive purposes after the at-bat anyway, so why not send up Brett Gardner, who is more prolific at a bunter, instead?

Turns out the Ghost of Phil Rizzuto was in the park on this night.

Swisher got down a beautiful bunt down the first base line that Morales fielded and threw to Howie Kendrick at first. Kendrick, however, dropped throw for an error, putting runners on first and second.

Gardner was sent in to run for Swisher and Girardi then properly had Cabrera lay down another sacrifice that Kazmir fielded, but his throw to first was off the mark, sailing down the right field line and allowing Cano to score to make it 4-2.

With runners on second and third and no outs, Jeter grounded back to the box before Damon walked to load the bases. Teixeira followed with a sacrifice fly and the Yankees had an insurmountable three-run lead.

That was more than enough for Mo in the ninth as he got Kendrick to ground out and Juan Rivera to fly out before striking out Gary Matthews Jr. to end the game and start the celebration.

The Yankees are back in the World Series.

Championship No. 27 is within reach.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALCS
12-for-64 (.188)
Game 6
2-for-8 (.250)
Game 5
3-for-11 (.273)
Game 4
4-for-17 (.235)
Game 3
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 2
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 1
3-for-12 (.250)
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
World Series Game 1
Wednesday vs. Phillies, 7:57 p.m., FOX

Cliff Lee (14-13, 3.22 ERA; Postseason: 2-0, 0.74 ERA in 3 starts; 2009 vs. Yankees: 1-1, 3.00 ERA in 2 starts)
vs.
Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 ERA; Postseason: 3-0, 1.19 ERA; 2009 vs. Phillies: 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 1 start)

And So We Wait ... And Wait ...

... And wait.

The only thing worse than waiting through one off day in the during the postseason is having to wait through two.

That's the situation we find ourselves in following Saturday's rainout. No baseball Friday. No baseball Saturday. A full slate of football today before the Yankees and Angels finally take the field for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series at 8:20 p.m.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia will keep lefthander Joe Saunders on the mound for tonight's game, but the rainout will allow him to start John Lackey on three days' rest in Game 7, if it gets that far and if Lackey doesn't pitch in relief in Game 6.

Joe Girardi is sticking with Andy Pettitte for Game 6, holding back CC Sabathia for Game 7 or Game 1 of the World Series.

It is the right decision.

Pettitte is not some journeyman starter. He's an accomplished postseason pitcher who has pitched the most playoff games and innings in baseball history and has 15 playoff wins, tied for most with John Smoltz. In addition, he has closed out four playoff series, including the ALDS against the Twins this year.

He is well rested and a pitcher who is more than capable of doing the job and is properly being given that opportunity.

Should Pettitte succeed, the Yankees will be better off for the World Series. And if the Yankees don't win Game 6, well, their have their best pitcher on the mound and fully rested in Game 7.

It would have been pure folly to push Pettitte back.

But perhaps the player that will benefit most from the rainout is the struggling Nick Swisher.

To say it's been a bad postseason so far for Swish is an understatement. He's just 3-for-31 (.097). He's been pressing, though he did put together a tough at-bat against Brian Fuentes before popping out to end Game 5.

According to WFAN's Sweeny Murti, Swisher said the Angels have been pitching him backwards, throwing fastballs early in the count and then throwing offspeed stuff even if they fall behind. The result has been Swisher has been out in front and chasing pitches out of the zone.

Baseball is a game of constant adjustments. Swish has identified an adjustment he has to make and the rainout allowed Swisher to catch a break and spend Saturday working in the batting cages with hitting coach Kevin Long to get his swing and mind back on track.

That's exactly what Swisher needed.

I've always felt hitting coaches get too much blame for hitters' woes, especially on a team of veterans. But in a video interview with Locker Blogger's Mitchell Karasik, Long provides some good insight into the role of the pitching coach and how he works with veterans. Among things Long says is that he has the title of hitting coach, but all the hitters on the team help each other out with swings, especially Jorge Posada. It's an insightful piece.

We can only hope Long was able to identify and help correct any flaws in Swish's swing, and that the free-spirited right fielder can finally come up big today.

Something tells me, Swisher will.

Relax! It's Not 2004 Redux

Red Sox Nation is cooing about the posibility of another collapse, whispering in not-so-hushed tones, "2004! 2004!"

But have have no fear Yankees fans it isn't going to happen again. Take a deep breath and relax. Now is not the time to panic.

There is no need to make drastic changes and do things like, say, bench Robinson Cano in favor of Jerry Hairston Jr., though benching Nick Swisher should strongly be considered. He's just been that cold (3-for-31) with the bat.

This is not 2004 and this year's team is much, much better then the team that collapsed ever was.

That '04 team was the start of an era in which the Yankees were poorly constructed. Andy Pettitte, Rogers Clemens and David Wells left after the 2003 World Series, leaving the Yankees' rotation in tatters.

In came the likes of an old and broken-down Kevin Brown, not-made-for-New York Javier Vazquez and rehabbing Jon Lieber to join an aging Orlando Hernandez and staff's the only reliable starter, Mike Mussina.

That meant that team -- and the teams that followed until last year's team -- was over-reliant on its offense to cover up its massive flaw.

For the entire regular season (101-61), through the first round of the playoffs and even during the first three games of the ALCS against the Red Sox, the Yankees were able to hide their fatal flaw.

But as we all know, that Achilles' heel did show, resulting in the greatest playoff collapse in baseball history as the that Yankees team became the first to lose a seven-game series in which it had 3-0 lead.

Yes, Mariano Rivera couldn't slam the door in Games 4 and 5, which were started by El Duque (5 IP, 3 R) and Mussina (6 IP, 2 R). But with two more chances to punch that ticket to the World Series, the Yankees didn't have the horses. The starting pitching just didn't have what it took.

Leiber was outclassed in Game 6 by Curt Schilling and his bloody sock and Brown imploded in the first two innings of Game 7.

.........

Fast forward five years. The Yankees grab a 3-1 lead in the ALCS against the Angels, but fail to close out the series in Game 5, despite grabbing a two-run lead in the seventh inning.

Relax, history is not going to repeat itself. This team is much better equipped to overcome that adversity. It has the starting pitching and it has two strong pitchers lined up for the next two games.


Pettitte returned in '07 and gets the call in Game 6 tonight. You could not have a more experienced big game pitcher on the mound. Pettitte is tied with John Smoltz for the most career playoff victories with 15. In addition, he has won four series deciding games -- also tied for the record -- including Game 3 of the ALDS this year.

Pettitte will not get rattled. He will not get caught up in the moment. Big Game Andy will show up tonight and Ghosts will be around to help the offense.

And just in case it doesn't end tonight because, say, Joe Girardi overmanages the bullpen again, the Yankees have CC Sabathia ready to go on full rest for Game 7.

The Yankees are well armed. They will win this series. They are going back to the World Series and they will beat the Phillies.

Stay confident and stay positive.

This will not be 2004 all over again.

When Will Girardi Learn?

Alex Rodriguez needed about five years to learn how to relax and treat the playoffs like any regular season game.

One has to wonder how long it will take manager Joe Girardi to figure out the same thing.

The Yankees rallied with a six-run seventh inning, but Girardi continued his inept handling of the bullpen as the Yankees squandered a two-run lead and lost to the Angels 7-6 Thursday in Anaheim in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees lead the series 3-2 with Andy Pettitte set to take the ball against Joe Saunders in Game 6 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday with a forecast calling for, you guessed it, rain.

But nine outs from closing out this series, Girardi deviated from the formulas that had worked all season and it cost him ... again.

Until the seventh, the Yankees' offense had been lifeless, again squandering run scoring opportunities as it struggled to get back into a game it trailed 4-0.

That all changed with stunning speed.

After the struggling Nick Swisher flied out to start the seventh, Melky Cabrera breathed life into the offense with a double. Jorge Posada, who pinch hit for starting catcher Jose Molina in the fifth, followed with a walk, as Angels start John Lackey appeared to come undone after arguing balls and strikes with home plate ump Fielden Culbreath. Derek Jeter followed with another walk to load the bases.

Johnny Damon then lofted a fly to left that Cabrera decided not to try to tag on. Had Melky gone, he likely would have been safe as Juan Rivera uncorked a poor throw.

But Melky was taken off the hook when Mark Teixeira broke out of his playoff slump with a huge three-run double off Darren Oliver to make it 4-3.

The Angels, learning from the previous four games, intentionally walked Alex Rodriguez, but Hideki Matsui made them pay, lining a single to center to score Teixeira and tie it at 4. Up to that point, the Yankees had been 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the game.

Robinson Cano then finally delivered a big hit, smoking a triple off Kevin Jepsen to make it 6-4 and giving the Yankees the momentum.

And that's where Girardi's problems started.

A.J. Burnett had another bipolar start, allowing four runs before recording an out in the first, then settling down to keep the Angels off the board through the sixth, giving the Yankees a chance to rally.

He had thrown just 80 pitches through six, but they were intense and laborious, then he had to sit and wait as the Yankees sent 10 men to the plate in that seventh inning that also featured two pitching changes.

In the regular season -- especially in the second half when the bullpen was so strong -- Girardi would never have sent Burnett back out there. He would have turned to David Robertson in the seventh and had Phil Hughes start the eighth with a chance to get the ball to Mariano Rivera for no more than four outs.

But that's not what Girardi did. Instead, he sent Burnett back out there and got burned.

Jeff Mathis led off with a single and Erick Aybar followed with a walk and the Yankees were in trouble.

Girardi finally lifted Burnett and brought in Damaso Marte, but the Angels had the Yankees right where they wanted them. Chone Figgins bunted the runners up and Bobby Abreu grounded out to bring in Mathis and make it 6-5.

Marte did his job, but Girardi then compounded his initial mistake by bringing Hughes to get the final out of the seventh instead of leaving Hughes in the eighth-inning role he had grown accustomed to. Again you have to wonder, why not Robertson, who has done nothing but get big outs in the playoffs?

Hughes imploded. He walked Torii Hunter, then got ahead of Vladimir Guerrero 1-and-2. Posada then called for a fastball up and in -- a pitch that Guerrero loves to chase but has trouble hitting. Hughes missed and that 95 mph heater cruised down the middle of the plate for Vlad to ground for a single to tie it at 6.

Kendry Morales followed with a single to right to bring in Hunter and the Angels reclaimed the lead at 7-6.

It could have gotten worse for Girardi as he brought in the struggling Joba Chamberlain to start the eight. Joba proceed allow a leadoff double to Juan Rivera and a one-out single to Aybar to put runners on the corners, but Mariano Rivera worked his magic and got out of the jam.

Unfortunately, that would be the last of the Yankees' magic in this game as a two-out rally in the ninth came up short when Swisher popped out on a full-count with the bases loaded to end it. Swisher is now 3-for-31 in the playoffs and I have to wonder why Girardi didn't see fit to sit his right fielder for a game, giving a start to Brett Gardner.

And we are left to wonder why Girardi insists on managing these games so radically different than the regular season. Why is he messing with bullpen roles and pitch philosophies that worked so well in the regular season? Yes, the playoffs have heightened intensity, but that alone is not reason for changing how you manage the game. You can't and shouldn't manage every game as if it's Game 7. It's now cost the Yankees two games.

And had the Yankees pulled this one out, it would have provided great momentum heading into the World Series.

Jeter and Damon started the first with singles to put runners on first and second, but the Yankees squandered the opportunity to jump out quickly on Lackey and the Angles, Teixeira striking out, A-Rod flying out and Matsui grounding out.

The Angles made them pay as Burnett wasn't sharp.

Figgins led off with a walk and went to third on Abreu's double. Hunter brought both in with double to center before scoring on Guerrero's double. Morales then singled and the Angels had a big 4-0 lead.

Of course, this wouldn't be a playoff game without a blown call by an umpire, this time courtesy of first base ump Dale Scott, who called out Damon at first to end the third. Umm, Dale, he was safe!

So the series shifts back to New York, but let's stay calm. This is not '04. This team will not blow another lead.

Pettitte won't let it happen.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALCS
10-for-56 (.176)
Game 5
3-for-11 (.273)
Game 4
4-for-17 (.235)
Game 3
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 2
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 1
3-for-12 (.250)
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALCS Game 6
Saturday vs. Angels, 8:07 p.m., FOX

Joe Saunders (16-7, 4.60 ERA; Postseason: 0-0, 2.57 ERA in 1 start)
vs. Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.16 ERA; Postseason: 1-0, 2.84 ERA in 2 starts)

Make The Nation's Fear Reality

Lisa Swan of Subway Squawkers and The Faster Times posted a nice piece Red Sox Nation Dreads A Yankee World Series late Wednesday night. She interviewed 10 Red Sox bloggers, including our very own Dave.

Among the things Dave said in the Q&A was: "The Yankees winning again…ugh. The fact that they look like they’ll win is bad enough. The reality of it…ugh."

Music! Sweet Music!

Of course, as Yankees fan, we all know the sweetest thing would for this nightmare scenario for Red Sox Nation to become reality. And in order for that to happen, then Yankees need five more wins, the first of which could come tonight as the Yankee look to finish off the Angels and celebrate as a broken-hearted and despondent Rally Monkey looks on.

A.J. Burnett gets the call tonight. Which A.J. will get tonight -- heck, which A.J. will get from inning-to-inning -- is anybody's guess. But he has been solid enough so far in the postseason, taking two no-decisions in his two starts, but posting a 2.19 ERA. He has, however, walked 10 and hit two batters in 12-1/3 innings.

Control has always been an issue for Burnett in his career (see his no-hitter with nine walks for the Marlins), but he is capable of throw gems and you have to believe that sooner or later he's going to come up with of those absolutely dominant, brilliant starts in playoffs.

Jose Molina, meanwhile, is likely to be back behind the plate, but Joe Girardi is facing a tough choice at DH. In Burnett's previous two starts, Jorge Posada sat as Hideki Matsui remained in the starting lineup at DH.

The numbers indicate Girardi may want to keep Posada's bat in the lineup, even if it means that Posada won't be able to enter the game defensively when Matsui pinch hits for Molina in the sixth or seventh inning.

Against tonight's starter John Lackey, Posada has a career average of .414. Matsui, though, also has had success against Lackey, hitting .344. It's a tough choice.

The other decision that is facing Girardi is whether to leave Nick Swisher in the lineup. Swisher is 3-for-24 (.125) in the playoffs and 2-for-12 (.167) in the ALCS, including several bad at-bats in big situations with runners in scoring position.

It's unlikely that Girardi will sit Swisher for this game, but I would give Brett Gardner a start here. As Alex Rodriguez continues his amazing postseason (11-for-27, 5 HRs, 11 RBI), it's becoming more and more likely that he will see fewer and fewer good pitches to hit. That means production from the bottom of the order become increasingly important. Melky Cabrera proved that in Game 4 with his four RBI on two big hits with RISP.

Yes, Gardner has struggled as a pinch runner in this series, getting caught stealing twice. But he has proven this year that he can handle the bat (.270 batting average) and is 2-for-3 in this series. He'll improve the defense and can provide a spark in the bottom of the lineup.

I'm not saying this should be a permanent switch, but Swisher is struggling so badly that this game provides an opportune time to give him a break. With a day off Wednesday and a travel day Friday if the Yankees don't finish of the Angels tonight, that would give Swisher at least three days with which to step back and rediscover his stroke.

But let's hope the Yankees finish the job tonight and that Swisher can get even more time to get back on track before facing the Phillies in the World Series.

Sorry Joe Torre, you'll have to wait another year for a trip back to the Fall Classic.

Silencing That Stupid Rally Monkey

The Rally Monkey would have no impact on this night.

CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez made sure that annoyingly cute primate wouldn't be able to whip up the Angels and their red-clad, thunder stix smacking fans into a frenzy.

Sabathia, pitching on three days' rest, allowed one run in eight innings, and A-Rod sparked the offense to lead the Yankees to a 10-1 victory over the Angels in Anaheim Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, giving the Yankees a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The two Yankees players who had the biggest questions about how they would perform during the postseason have put the Yankees a win away from the World Series. For Sabathia, it's clear his past struggles were the result a heavy workload in the regular season taking its toll in the postseason. For A-Rod, his struggles were purely mental.

For both players, those troubles are officially a thing of the past.

Sabathia made five starts in a pressure-free September, going 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA. More importantly, he never threw more than seven innings in any of those starts and averaged 106.4 pitches a start.

He was fresh for the playoffs and results have been astounding: Going 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 22-2/3 innings in three starts. He had been 2-4 with a 7.92 ERA in six previous postseason starts.

Tuesday's start may have been his most gutsy, taking the ball on three days' rest a day after the Yankees had given a game away to let the Angels back into the series.

In addition, since 1995 pitchers have not had much success pitching on three days' rest in the playoffs. In 85 starts, they had gone 20-34 with a 4.65 ERA in 458-1/3 innings. Sabathia had one of those starts for the Brewers last season, but it should be noted that it was his fourth consecutive start on three days' rest as he carried the Brewers to the NL Wild Card.

But any affect that short rest may have had on Sabathia this year appeared minimal as he dominated from the start, using his lively fastball and devastating change to keep the Angels off-balance.

The result was an impressively efficient outing in which Sabathia allowed just five hits and two walks, while striking out five and throwing 69 of 101 pitches for strikes. He could have gone the distance in this one, but with a big lead after eight, there was no need to ask any more of the ace lefthander.

The only significant trouble Sabathia ran into came in the fifth, when Kendry Morales hit a one-out homer to left that made it 5-1. Mike Napoli followed with a sharp single past A-Rod at third before Erick Aybar followed with a single to center to put runners on first and second. But Sabathia got Chone Figgins to ground into a forceout before getting Bobby Abreu to fly out to center.

Torii Hunter walked and Vladimir Guerrero singled to start the sixth, but Sabathia got Juan Rivera to ground into a double play on a play on which Jorge Posada lost track of the outs and started to leave the field. The Angels never threatened again.

The offense, meanwhile, struggled to get started. Coming off consecutive games in which the Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, it looked for a while as if those struggles would continue to be a major problem.

A-Rod led off the second with a walk and stole second before Posada walked. With three chances to bring a run in, the Yanks did nothing as Hideki Matui and Robinson Cano popped out and Nick Swisher flew out: RISP 0-for-3.

Mark Teixeira struck out to end the third with Johnny Damon on second: RISP 0-for-4.

A-Rod got things going again in the fourth with a sharp single and Posada followed with a double to put runners on second and third with no outs. This time, though, the Yankees would come through, but not before Matsui struck out: RISP 0-for-5.

With the infield back, Cano then hit a topper to second that Howie Kendrick fielded, but threw high to home, allowing A-Rod to slide in safely under the tag to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead, though they were now 0-for-6 with RISP, Cano reaching on the fielder's choice.

Swisher then walked to loaded the bases, but Melky Cabrera finally broke the RISP drought, grounding a single to left to bring in two, Cano just beating Napoli's tag to make it 3-0.

Then the umpires made their presence felt. Angels starter Scott Kazmir picked off Swisher from second, but second base ump Dale Scott blew the call and ruled Swisher safe. The play wasn't close. It was a hideous call.

Then after Derek Jeter walked, Johnny Damon hit a sacrifice fly to score Swisher, but on appeal, third base ump and crew chief Tim McClelland called Swisher out for leaving the base too early, ending the inning. The call wasn't close to being right and what's stranger is that McClelland wasn't even looking at Swisher when he left third, but proceeded to call him out anyway. Can you say, "Makeup call?"

The Yankees also had a 3-0 lead in Game 2 and against the Angels in Anaheim, a three-run lead is far from safe. A-Rod made sure the Yankees' offense would not relent.

Teixeira led off the fifth with a single to chase Kazmir from the game. A-Rod then greeted reliever Jason Bulger by lining an 0-and-1, 94 mph fastball over the wall in left for a two-run homer to make it 5-0. It was A-Rod's fifth homer of the postseason and the eighth straight game he's had at least one RBI, tying the record of Lou Gehrig and Ryan Howard.

A-Rod's turnaround has been nothing short of amazing. Between Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS and 2007 ALDS against the Indians, he had played 16 playoff games and had exactly one homer and one RBI, those coming in the Yankees' final ALDS game in '07. It was clear he was pressing to carry the Yankees in those games.

This season, three of A-Rod's homers have tied games. He's been very relaxed and has been playing with a supreme amount of confidence. The result has been that he has finally been able to live up to expectations and has carried this offense. A bit ironic, no?

But after A-Rod's homer, thing went haywire. Jorge Posada walked and stole second as Matsui struck out against Jason Bulger. Cano then crushed a double that should have easily scored Posada, but Posada had gone back to second to tag as Hunter put on a good deke and wound up only at third. It was yet another example of Posada's poor baserunning instincts.

But the worst of Posada's running -- and of baseball's poor umpiring -- were yet to come.

Swisher next bounced back to reliever Darren Oliver, who trapped Posada off third. Posada properly got into a run down so that Cano could reach third, but when Posada was chased back to the base, Cano took his foot off third and Posada overran third. Napoli proceeded to tag both while neither was touching the base for what should have been a double play. Somehow McClelland blew yet another call, ruling Cano safe.

The umpires have been an absolute travesty in the playoffs and something has to be done. With each blown call, the integrity of the game take a major hit. This season, that integrity has received a black eye.

Commissioner Bud Selig, other baseball officials and managers such as Mike Scioscia and Joe Girardi can fret about rhythm of the game all they want, but if umpires are botching calls, then that rhythm is useless. The public cares more about calls being right than it does about any perceived rhythm of the game.

Baseball needs to do a better job of training and instructing its umpires and it has to expand its use of replay to include all boundary calls, not just homers, as well as plays at bases, especially scoring plays. The league may also want to include a challenge system for all other non-balls-and-strikes calls.

Fortunately for the umps, the Yankees did not score that inning. They did, however, score in the eighth on Damon's two-run homer to make it 7-1. They made it 10-1 in the ninth when A-Rod doubled and scored on a throwing error by Abreu before Cabrera later smoked a two-run double.

Chad Gaudin then came on pitched a flawless ninth, much to his credit. Gaudin had been held back in reserve throughout the playoffs as the long-man for extra innings or as a potential fourth starter. Yet in his first game action, he was sharp and did the job. He had ready made excuse for a poor outing, but just went out and executed. That's all you can ask.

So the Yankees have a 3-1 lead in this series, but we, as Yankees fans, know there is still a lot of work left to be done. Fresh in our memories is that 2004 ALCS when the Yanks blew a 3-0 lead against the Red Sox to become the first baseball team to lose a series in which it was up 3-0. Until the final out of that fourth victory is recorded, we can take nothing for granted.

A.J. Burnett will get the start in Game 5 Thursday. I hope he's sharp and can avoid that one bad inning so that the Yankees can win it in Anaheim and celebrate on the grave of that hideous Rally Monkey.

The sooner this series is over, the better.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALCS
7-for-45 (.156)
Game 4
4-for-17 (.235)
Game 3
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 2
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 1
3-for-12 (.250)
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALCS Game 5
Thursday at Angels, 7:57 p.m., FOX

Burnett (13-9, 4.04 ERA; Postseason: 0-0, 2.19 ERA in two starts)
vs. John Lackey (11-8, 3.83; Postseason: 1-1, 1.38 in two starts)

Quick Comments From The Golf Course

Because where else would a Sox fan be right now?

It was nice to finally see someone step up and deliver against the Yankees. And while I still think the Yanks will make it to the Series, at least they showed they are not the supernatural juggernaut everyone thought they were.

I'm not going to say anything mawkish or ridiculous like "Let's make Jeff Mathis an honorary member of Red Sox Nation!" Because first, that's just dumb and second, I hate the Angels as well. One of my favorite memories is Hendu cracking that homer off of Donnie Moore to keep the Sox in the '86 ALCS*. Ideally, one of those meteors from the "2012" commercials would hit the park during Game Four. But since that isn't likely to happen, I'll just applaud anything that makes life difficult for the Yankees. Mathis did, and so *clap* *clap* *clap*.

Mo Rivera looked ageless...have to give the man credit. He put himself in a jam in the 10th and worked right out of it. He's impressive as hell...damn it. I think Paps could be just as good...he has the talent. What he is missing is the mindset. Watching them both this year, I think that is the difference. Paps gets pumped up and wants to dominate. And that isn't a bad thing, but it can lend itself to getting too worked up, which I think is what happened in Game Three of the ALDS. Rivera is an assassin. He's ice on that mound. I think that is the better mindset overall. And heaven knows there is a large body of evidence to back that up.

Personally, what I enjoyed was Joba looking like a tool. He only got one out, gave up two hits and the critical fourth run for Anaheim. Glorious.

The other thing I noticed was that for the first time, this was a game the Yankees were lucky to be in, as opposed to the other way around. The Angels had a couple of chances to put this away. Bobby Abreu's bonehead play in the 8th, trying to stretch a double to a triple like he's Chone Figgins, cost the Angels an excellent chance to take the lead. And there was the 10th where they had corner runners with no outs and came away empty. But for once, it felt like the Angels were driving the action. Hopefully that will make the Yanks sweat a bit. After all, they have blown 2-0 leads (and greater) before...

Seriously, though, one of those "2012" asteroids would be just fine.

-------------------

* What makes it hard to enjoy this memory is what happened to Donnie Moore afterward. People forget he was injured when he pitched that game, which makes you wonder what the hell Gene Mauch was thinking leaving him out for a third inning of work. Then three years later he shoots his wife and kills himself, and this game was part of why it happened (Moore was clinically depressed). At the end of the day, all the ranting and slagging and histrionics aside (including mine)...it's just a damn game. But players kill themselves or drink themselves into oblivion while fans attack each other with abandon because of the shirt they happen to wear. There is a real dark side to professional sports that we collectively seem to be willing to ignore. All I know is, no one should ever be driven to kill themselves over a damn baseball game.

An Opportunity Lost

This one just eats a you.

No matter how you slice it, this was a game the Yankees should have won. The Yankees should be sitting with a 3-0 lead in this best-of-seven American League Championship Series.

Instead it's 2-1 as the Yankees' offense again failed to come up with the big hits in run scoring situations, while Joe Girardi's Captain Hook routine finally came back to bite him in a 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Angels Monday in Anaheim.

From start to finish, there is just one way to describe this loss: frustrating. The Yankees hit four homers and had a 3-0 lead ... and lost. It doesn't get much more frustrating.

The game started well enough with Derek Jeter crushing an 89 mph fastball from Angels starter Jered Weaver to left for a leadoff homer, Jeter's 20th career postseason homer.

But the Yankees then began wasting opportunities. Hideki Matsui singled and Jorge Posada walked to start the second, but Robinson Cano grounded into force out to put runners on the corners with one out before Nick Swisher flied out to shallow left and Melky Cabrera grounded out to snuff the threat.

It happened again in the fourth. After Alex Rodriguez led off with his fourth home run of the playoffs to make it 2-0. Matsui followed with a walk and Posada singled to put Weaver and the Angels on the ropes.

Cano, however, again grounded into a force out to put runners on the corners before Swisher struck out and Cabrera popped out.

Still when Johnny Damon snapped out of his doldrums and crushed a one-out homer to right in the fifth to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead, things were looking good. Andy Pettitte, while not as sharp as he was in his Game 3 win against the Twins in the ALDS, was pitching well, getting double plays to end the first and second inning and keeping the Angels off the scoreboard.

The thing about the Angels, though, is that when they play at home, they are relentless. You have to take advantage of every opportunity against them and pile up runs because if you leave them in the game, they will come back.

The magnitude of the opportunities the Yankees' missed became apparent very quickly.

Yankee killer Howie Kendrick hammered a one-out homer in the fifth to get the Angels on the board and then Vladimir Guerrero reminded us why we always should be respectful of his dangerous bat.

Bobby Abreu singled with one out in the sixth. Pettitte bounced back to get to get Torii Hunter to sky to right, but he couldn't get Vlad to follow suit. Pettitte tried to tie up Vlad with an inside fastball, but didn't quite get the pitch inside enough. Vlad turned on the pitch and deposited into the bullpen in left to tie it a 3.

After going the first five games of the playoffs with out allowing a homer, Yankees pitching had suddenly allowed two. And with that this game's momentum changed.

Pettitte pitched into the seventh and finished with a decent line: 6-1/3 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 59 of 95 pitches for strikes. Unfortunately, the Yankees bullpen didn't follow suit.

Joba Chamberlain followed Pettitte in the seventh and was awful. He just didn't have it an was hit hard. Kendrick greeted Joba with a triple off the wall in right and scored on a loud sacrifice fly to right by Macier Izturis, giving the Angels a 4-3 lead. Erick Aybar doubled and Girardi had seen enough. Damaso Marte came on, threw one pitch and got Chone Figgins to fly to right.

The Angels' lead wouldn't last long, but yet again, the Yankees wasted another chance to seize control of the game and put the Angels away.

Hideki Matsui led off the eighth with a walk and was replaced on first by Brett Gardner. In a similar spot on Saturday, Gardner came on as pinch runner, failed to try to steal second and was thrown out at second on the front end of a double play.

Monday Gardner did not stay put, taking off for second on the second pitch to Jorge Posada. It was a pitchout, however, and Jeff Mathis nailed Gardner at second.

The caught stealing proved particularly painful as Posada followed by crushing a 2-and-1, 97 mph fastball from Kevin Jepsen over the wall in center to tie it a 4.

Cano then followed with a single and Swisher walked to give the Yankees another chance to break the game open. Cabarera, however, struck out and Jeter bounced back to the box and the rally was over.

The Yankees were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 in the game. The eighth inning would prove to be the Yankees' final good scoring opportunity.

The eighth also would bring out Girardi's tendency to overmanage with his bullpen.

With the left-handed Bobby Abreu set to lead off, Girardi gave the hook to the left-handed Marte, who had thrown just one pitch in the prior inning, and brought in the left-handed Phil Coke.

So just to be clear here, Girardi replaced a lefty who had been brought into face a lefty with yet another lefty to face a lefty. All that has left me confused. Why couldn't Marte face Abreu, leaving Coke available for later in the game?

Coke ended up surrendering a double to Abreu, but was bailed out when Abreu took to wide a turn around second and was thrown out by Jeter.

Phil Hughes then came on and actually pitched the next 1-2/3 innings, leaving after allowing a double to Mathis leading off the 10th. This was an appropriate time for a pitching change and Girardi went to his best: Mariano Rivera.

But Rivera quickly found trouble. Aybar laid down a sacrifice bunt on the third base side of the mound. Rivera pounced on it and whirled to throw to third, however his feet came out from under him, the throw sailing down the left field line, where Damon and backing up.

The Angels and runners on first and third with no outs. The Yankees were in trouble, but Mariano got out of it.

Figgins groundout out sharply to first, Mathis staying put at third with Aybar moving to second. Mariano then walked Abreu to set up the force at any base, but that also meant Girardi had to replace the weak throwing Damon in left with Jerry Hairston Jr., who had pinch hit for Gardner in the ninth, costing the Yankees the DH.

Hunter grounded to first, and Mark Teixeira nailed Mathis at home. Vlad followed with yet another ground to first and Mariano pulled a Houdini.

The escape act should have given the Yankees a boost. It didn't. As the side went down in order, Francisco Cervelli making the final out of the inning as a pinch hitter for Rivera.

Girardi then turned to Game 2 pitching hero David Robertson for the 11th. Robertson, a righthander, retired the two batters he face easily before Capt. Hook bounded out of the dugout and called for righthander Alfredo Aceves, causing the whole of the Yankees Universe to scream, "Why???"

Aceves proceeded to allow a ground single back through the middle by Kendrick before Mathis boomed a double to win it for the Angels.

After the game, Girardi told the media he and Dave Eiland liked the matchup of Aceves against Kendrick and Mathis better than Robertson in that spot. Yet, no one can figure out exactly what Girardi and Eiland were basing that on.

Kendrick had faced Robertson exactly twice before, getting one hit and Mathis had never faced Robertson. Kendrick had never faced Aceves and Mathis was 0-for-2 against Ace. That's not exactly a significant sample size. Girardi and Eiland refused to elaborate further about what made them believe Ace was a better matchup.

Here's what I know: Robertson had been throwing the ball exceedingly well in the playoffs, getting big outs in big spots. He had just retired two batters easily and would have been my choice to not only finish the 11th in this game, but pitch the 12th.

But that wasn't Capt. Hook's choice, and he finally got burned.

But let's not go overboard about this loss. The Yankees still have a 2-1 lead and have their ace, CC Sabathia on the mound today. He's on three days' rest, but has done well in that spot in his career, making four regular season starts and going 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA and 0.825 WHIP.

CC will pitch well today. He just needs to get the offensive support that Pettitte didn't get Monday.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALCS
3-for-28 (.107)
Game 3
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 2
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 1
3-for-12 (.250)
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

Up Next
ALCS Game 4
Tuesday at Angels, 7:57 p.m., Fox

CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.37 ERA; 2-0, 1.23 playoffs)
vs. Scott Kazmir (10-9, 4.89; 0-0, 7.50)

Call Was Correct, But Layne Was Wrong

The call, according to the rule book, was right. The problem is it's not a rule a umpires normally enforce that strictly on double plays.

With Melky Cabrera on first and no outs in the 10th inning of the Yankees' 4-3, 13-inning victory in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series Saturday, Jorge Posada hit what look for all the world to be a sure-fire double play grounder.

Second baseman Macier Izturis fielded the ball, tossed to shortstop Erick Aybar at second, who then made the relay back to first in time to get Posada.

It sure looked like a double play, except second base umpire Jerry Layne ruled Cabrera safe because Aybar didn't touch second.

Layne was right, according to the rulebook. Aybar in fact did not touch second.

The problem is that 99 percent of the time, umpires don't enforce that rule that strictly on double plays. It's called the neighborhood play.

Since Little League, middle infielders are taught that if they straddle the bag or are very close to it on double plays, umpires will call the runner out. It's not because umpires, players and coaches don't believe middle infielders don't have to touch the base, rather it's because of safety.

Turning the double play is one of the most dangerous plays in the game. Middle infielders are moving very quickly and usually have a runner sliding into them at full speed trying to break up the relay to first.

Knees and ankles are vulnerable. Bones can be broken. A tough fall may result in a concussion. And, unlike catchers, the middle infielder is trying to make this play without the benefit of any protection.

The last thing anyone wants and the last thing the sport needs is a rash of injuries to second basemen and shortstops.

So umpires grant the neighborhood play. We see it every day, year after year after year, and rarely, if ever, does an umpire call a runner safe. In fact this year, until Saturday, we hadn't seen that call in a Yankees game, despite seeing Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter be very close to the bag but never quite touching it on occasions too numerous to count.

Heck, we saw more egregious instances when a middle infielder wasn't close to the bag but got the call.

Aybar, in Game 2, was not outrageously far from the bad. It was not egregious. And no one would have batted an eye if Cabrera had been called out.

But that's not the call Layne made. Mike Scioscia, rightfully, argued the play and I have to agree with the point he made to Layne.

It's one thing to make that call in April or May or June, but to make that call in the 10th inning of Game 2 of the ALCS, I'm sorry, but that's just poor judgment on Layne's part.

The playoffs are not the time to suddenly get very strict or very lax in enforcing rules. Umpires should be officiating games exactly the same way they had been throughout the regular season.

Layne's call was outside the norm, but fortunately, it did not affect to outcome. The Angels escaped the inning without allowing a run.

Now I expect a significant number of Yankees fans to disagree with me. The Yankees got the benefit of the call, and it was, after all, correct by the rulebook.

But I have to ask this, what if the roles were reversed? What if it was Jeter or Cano making the turn and Layne didn't grant them the neighborhood play? Would those fans honestly say with all integrity that they would be supporting Layne in that spot?

My gut tells me they would have been screaming or Tweeting at the top of their lungs about the audacity of Layne suddenly not granting the neighborhood play.

And at the end of the day, in addition to getting the calls right (which has been a huge challenge this postseason) all we want from our umpires is to be fair and officiate the game exactly the same way for each team with consistency throughout the season and playoffs.

Layne failed to do that. That's why his call was wrong.

Of Note
Joe Girardi made it official Sunday. CC Sabathia will start Game 4 on three days' rest against Scott Kazmir. Sabathia on three days' rest is still better than Chad Gaudin. It's a good move and I hope after that game the Yankees will be dancing the Rally Monkey's grave.

Destiny Beckons

The doubters, the haters, even Dave, they all must be starting to believe now.

Destiny is beckoning. The Yankees will win World Championship No. 27.

After Saturday's epic, 13-inning victory in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, can there be any doubt?

Macier Izturis' throwing error in the 13th allowed Jerry Hairston Jr. to score the winning run and earn some playoff pie as the Yankees defeated the Angels 4-3 at Yankee Stadium to take a 2-0 lead in this best-of-seven series.

Winning Game 2 was huge for the Yankees. In both the 2002 and '05 ALDS against the Angels, the Yankees had won Game 1 only to drop Game 2. That gave the Angels confidence heading back to Anheim, where the Yankees had struggled so mightily.

Had the Yankees lost Game 2 Saturday, then series would not have been close to over. Winning that game, however, radically changes the outlook of the series. Now it is the Yankees heading to California full of confidence, knowing they'll be in great shape if they take just one in Anaheim, though to be honest I wouldn't mind the Yankees winning out there just so they can dance on the Rally Monkey's grave as they celebrate the AL Pennant.

Just as importantly, the Yankees won a game in which the Angels, for a while, had begun to play the pesky, aggressive style of ball that has troubled the Yankees so mightily over the years.

This was a tremendous, dramatic game, full of twists and turns, great plays and crushing miscues, big pitches and and big outs. If this was a Game 7, books could be written about it.

Hairston pinch hit for Freddy Guzman to lead off the 13th and singled off Ervin Santana in his first at-bat this postseason. Brett Garnder moved him to second with a sacrifice before the Angels intentionally walked Robinson Cano to get to Melky Cabrera, who had three walkoff hits in the regular season.

Cabrera hit a grounder toward the hole between first and second that Izturis fielded cleanly, but instead of just getting the sure out a first for the second out of the inning, he tried to start a double play. He whirled, but didn't set himself and his throw sailed into left, allowing Hairston to easily trot home and set off a wild celebration that I think spilled over onto the Yankees' charter that headed to the West Coast.

But the Yankees wouldn't have gotten to that point if not for Alex Rodriguez and David Robertson.

Alfredo Aceves committed the mortal sin of walking leadoff hitter Gary Matthews Jr. with the scored tied at 2 in the 11th. The Angels immediately got to work as Erick Aybar sacrificed Matthews to second. Chone Figgins, who had been 0-for-18 in the postseason this year, the broke out of his funk, dunking a single into left that Johnny Damon fielded before Matthews even hit third, but lacked the armstrength to nail Matthews at the plate. Damon's throw was accurate, but way late and the Angels led 3-2 with their closer Brian Fuentes ready to come on.

The Yankees' deficit lasted all of three pitches as A-Rod fell into an 0-and-2 hole, but hammered Fuentes' third pitch, a 90 mph fastball, and sent it just over the wall in right to tie the score.

This is A-Rod's October. It was his third home run of the postseason, each one of them tying the score. The Yankee Stadium Ghosts clearly are smiling kindly on the Yankees' big slugger.

Aceves then got the first out of the 12th and Damaso Marte the second before Joe Girardi, aka Captain Hook, brought in Robertson. Jeff Mathis greeted Robertson with a double. Robertson then intentionally walked Izturis before striking out Matthews.

Robertson escaped more trouble in the 13th as Aybar reached on Cano's second error of the game to lead off. Figgins moved up Aybar with a sacrifice before Bobby Abreu, who went 0-for-5 in the game and is 0-for-9 in the series, was intentionally walked to set up the double play. Torii Hunter then grounded out with runners moving up to bring up the dangerous Vladimir Guerrrero.

With first base open, I wanted the Yankees to walk Vlad. I know he's not the same hitter he was a few years ago, but he's still dangerous. He's has no strike zone and can hammer any pitch he can get his bat on, something we saw in Game 3 of the ALDS, when he burned Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.

The Yankees, however, chose to go after Vlad. After missing with a fastball to fall behind 1-and-0, Robertson blew a 92-mph heater past Vlad. He followed with a nasty curve just off the outside part of the plate that Vlad swung at and missed. Robertson then backed up that curve with another, making sure it was off the outside part of the plate and just off the dirt. Vlad swung, but could only ground out weakly to second.

This was Robertson's second big postseason outing. He also got the big outs in the 11th inning to win Game 2 of the ALDS against the Twins. He's earning the right to play an even bigger role in the Yankees' bullpen the rest of this postseason and next year.

The Yankees got off to fast start in this game, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the second, as Nick Swisher walked with two outs before Cano lined a shot into the gap in right for an RBI triple.

Derek Jeter made it 2-0 in the third with his 19th career postseason homer, a Jeterian shot that sent Jeter past Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle for third all-time on the career postseason homer list. Of course, there is the obligatory notd that all 18 of Mantle's homers were in the World Series.

The offense, however, shut down after that, getting runners on base against Joe Saunders, but failing to come up with any big hits. The Yankees went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and hit into double plays in the fifth, sixth and seventh -- and should have hit into another in the 10th, except umpire Jerry Layne chose an odd time not to grant the Angels the neighborhood play.

Saunders ended up allowing two runs on six hits and one walk in seven innings. He was brilliant, striking out five and throwing 57 of 105 pitches for strikes.

Still it appeared as if a 2-0 lead would be more than enough for A.J. Burnett, who was simply dominant through four innings. But that's the maddening thing about Burnett: you never know what you're going to get from inning to inning. And in the fifth, Burnett fell apart.

Izturis lead off with a ground-rule double and scored one out later on a single by Aybar. Burnett needed to buckle down there and limit the damage to just that one run. Instead he lost the strike zone and confidence, which led to this extra-inning saga.

Aybar then stole second, the Angels' first steal of the series, before Burnett hit Figgins with a pitch. Abreu followed with a fly out, but Hunter walked on a 3-and-2 pitch in the dirt to load the bases. Burnett got ahead of Vlad 1-and-2, but his next pitch was again in the dirt for a wild pitch, allowing Aybar to score the tying run before Vlad grounded out to end the torturous inning.

Burnett's line ended up looking good as he cruised through the sixth and into the seventh, leaving after Cano's first error of the game. Burnett allowed the two runs on three hits, two walks and two hit batters in 6-1/3 innings. But the reality is that Burnett has to do a better job when he finds himself in trouble. There is no way the second run in the fifth should have ever scored.

After that, Girardi again showed his tendency to overmanage with the bullpen in tie games. With a runner on first and one out in the seventh, Hook brought in Phil Coke, who walked Figgins before striking out Abreu. Hook then brought in Joba Chamberlain, who allowed a weak infield single to Hunter to load the bases before striking out Vlad.

Now Chamberlain is strong enough to go multiple innings. He was a starter for the entire season, afterall. He clearly could go more than two batters and with the score tied, letting Joba pitch the eighth would have been the prudent thing to do.

Instead, Girardi brought in Phil Hughes for the eighth. Hughes allowed a hit and another runner to reach on Jeter's error, but he was strong, throwing eight of nine pitches for strikes in getting the first two outs of the inning. But instead of allowing Hughes to finish the inning, Hook brought in Mariano Rivera, who retired Aybar on one pitch.

Rivera ended up pitching 2-1/3 innings allowing just one pitch and striking out two. It was Mo's longest outing since pitching three innings in that dramatic Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox, but in this game, Rivera threw just 25 pitches, so it wasn't an overly taxing outing. Rivera will be fine for Game 3 Monday after today's off day to travel.

But just like in Game 2 of the ALDS, Hook ended up with just Chad Gaudin available in the bullpen. He got away with it again, but if doesn't stop trying to matchup in tie games, he's going to get burned.

Runners In Scoring Position
ALCS
3-for-20 (.150)
Game 2
0-for-8 (.000)
Game 1
3-for-12 (.250)
ALDS
6-for-17 (.353)
Regular Season
419-for-1,543 (.272)

UP Next
ALCS Game 3
Monday at Angels, 4:13 p.m., Fox

Andy Pettitte (14-8, 4.18 ERA; Postseason: 1-0, 1.42; 2009 vs. Angels: 0-2, 7.88 in 3 starts)
Vs.
Jered Weaver (16-8, 3.75 ERA; Postseason: 1-0, 1.23; 2009 vs. Yankees: 1-1, 5.59, 3 starts)