Yankees: Heroes and Zeros

I did this earlier for the Red Sox. In that case, it was about finding the bright spots in a season that resulted in yet-another last place finish. In this case, with the Yankees, it's more about digging for the disappointments.

Make no mistake; this Yankee team over-performed relative to just about everybody's expectations. There were plenty of die-hard Yankee fans who looked at this team and thought third place would be doing well. But on the back of their most devastating late-game pitching duo since the late 90s and some productive years from aging veterans, the Yankees made it into the wild-card playoff game. And that is after leading the AL East for the majority of the season. All stats are courtesy of Fangraphs.

Heroes:

Didi Gregorius

Projected: 495 Plate Appearances | 132 H | 9 HR | 48 RBI | 35 BB | 95 K | .251 BA | .307 OBP | .369 SLG | .676 OPS | 1.8 WAR

Actual: 578 Plate Appearances | 139 H | 9 HR | 56 RBI | 33 BB | 85 K | .265 BA | .318 OBP | .370 SLG | .688 OPS | 3.1 WAR



Mark Teixeira

Projected: 377 Plate Appearances | 77 H | 17 HR | 65 RBI | 41 BB | 73 K | .236 BA | .326 OBP | .433 SLG | .759 OPS | 1.5 WAR

Actual: 462 Plate Appearances | 100 H | 31 HR | 79 RBI | 59 BB | 85 K | .255 BA | .357 OBP | .548 SLG | .906 OPS | 2.9 WAR



Alex Rodriguez

Projected: 407 Plate Appearances | 82 H | 15 HR | 57 RBI | 40 BB | 99 K | .229 BA | .312 OBP | .399 SLG | .711 OPS | 1.3 WAR

Actual: 620 Plate Appearances | 131 H | 33 HR | 86 RBI | 84 BB | 145 K | .250 BA | .356 OBP | .486 SLG | .842 OPS | 2.7 WAR



Dellin Betances

Projected: 4-1 | 2.39 ERA | 66 Game Appearances | 82.7 IP | 116 K | 33 W | 1.10 WHIP | 1.5 WAR

Actual: 6-4 | 1.50 ERA | 74 Game Appearances | 84.0 IP | 131 K | 40 W | 1.01 WHIP | 2.4 WAR



Andrew Miller

Projected: 5-2 | 2.59 ERA | 58 Game Appearances | 48.7 IP | 76 K | 21 W | 1.11 WHIP | 0.7 WAR

Actual: 3-2 | 1.90 ERA | 60 Game Appearances | 61.2 IP | 100 K | 20 W | 0.86 WHIP | 36 SV | 2.0 WAR



Nathan Eovaldi

Projected: 8-9 | 4.51 ERA | 28 Games Started | 159.7 IP | 121 K | 48 W | 1.37 WHIP | 1.6 WAR

Actual: 14-3 | 4.20 ERA | 27 Game Started | 154.1 IP | 121 K | 49 W | 1.45 WHIP | 3.2 WAR



As big a surprise as A-Rod was this year, I was blown away by what Didi Gregorius did for the Yankees. Viewed as placefiller for the retired Jeter, nobody was expecting much from Didi. The idea was his glove would be a little better but his bat would be worse. It would, in essence, be a wash.

So here's a stat to tell you what actually happened: Didi's 3.1 WAR is the highest for a Yankee starting shortstop since 2009. He performed so far above and beyond expectations that he is, to me, the MVP of the team. He is only 25 years old and all he cost the Yankees in trade is Shane Greene. Without a doubt, this is one of Brian Cashman's best deals in his career.

At the other end of the "unexpected production" scale are Teixeira and A-Rod. Both aging veterans, both with declining numbers, one injury-prone and the other coming off a year-long suspension...the expectation was that they would be average at best, being paid way too much for their production.

And while they may still be overpaid, they also both pretty much doubled their expected WAR. Even playing only 111 games, Teixeira gave the Yankees a year's worth of production. And Rodriguez may have unintentionally shown all of baseball that giving an aging superstar a year off to rest could be beneficial. All his PED baggage aside, he was solid this year and is one of the big reasons the Yankees even had a chance to make it into the ALDS.

But the main reason the Yankees made it that far was their 1-2 pitching punch at the end of the game. Betances and Miller reminded me a lot of the '96 Yankees with Mariano Rivera setting up John Wetteland. If the Yankees carried a lead into the eighth inning, or were even tied or just a run behind, they knew they had a good chance of winning with Betances and Miller pitching. That kind of support on the mound makes a good team better. And while they faded late in the season, there is no reason to doubt if they can do it again next year.

A Winn-Winn

Brian Cashman brought in Randy Winn to be the Yankees' 25th man -- a guy who might play a couple of times a week, pinch run, serve as defensive replacement, maybe get 250 at-bats for the season.

The thing is, on a good team, the 25th man is actually important.Winning teams get contributions from everyone on the roster.

Monday, Winn made his contribution.

Just In Case You Haven't Seen It ...

The Yankees turned their first triple play since 1968 Thursday.

Video: Watch the play here

Girardi Was Ready With The Right Call

The decision had been made.

No matter what Kelly Shoppach did, CC Sabathia wasn't going to face another hitter. Forget about the no-hitter, Joe Girardi had a season to consider.

MLB Does Yankees, Red Sox No Favors

Two games into the season and this much is clear, the MLB schedule makers did the Yankees and Red Sox no favors by having them open the season against each other.

For the second straight game neither starter managed to get through the sixth inning, but this time the Yankees bullpen got the better of the Red Sox bullpen in a 6-4 victory Tuesday at Fenway Park.

Opening Night Blow By Blow

Pre-game

- As the little kid giving the "Miracle" speech says about the Yankees: "Screw 'em!"

- Nice seeing Pedro throw the first pitch. Wish he had scaled it into the Yankee dugout instead.


Top of the First

- Scutaro throws out Jeter on a first-pitch grounder. He's already better than Renteria.

- 1-2-3 inning. Yeah, that "defense-first" idea really sucked...



Bottom of the first

- Is Sabathia somehow even fatter this year? 10 more pounds and the baseball will start orbiting him between pitches.

- That said, he puts his weight behind it. Easy out with Ellsbury flying out to center.

- Pedey chases a fastball about a foot over his head for the second out. Granted, that is chest-high for you or me, but he knows better.

- CC is pitching well, can't deny that.

- Rem-Dawg talking about the Gold Gloves won by the Yankee fielders. Impressive number, until you remember the only one Jeter should have won was in 2009.*

- V-Mart hanging tough with CC. But he bounces it off the first base bag for the third out.



Top of the Second

- ARod up. Surprised he finds time to hit in between giving testimony about doctors who supply PEDs.

- Beckett looking sharp. Makes it hard for Youk to get ARod out on the grounder with a lousy throw. But Youk shows why he is one of the best first baseman in the game. He made that out look easy.

- Cano out on two pitches.

- Just a thought: you think the Marlins are regretting canning Girardi?**

- Up comes Gramps Posada. He joined the Yanks in the first Reagan Administration, right?

- And the old man makes me STFU. Beckett hangs a high fastball for Posada to ding off the Pesky Pole. 1-0 Yanks.

- Here's newcomer Granderson. You think he's thrilled to get out of Detroit? He hit 30 homers last year and only racked up 71 RBI. How is that even possible?

- Beckett goes full against Granderson. And then allows another solo shot. 2-0 Yanks.

- Just a thought: the run-prevention defense is the right idea. But you need to allow the defense to actually have a chance at the ball.

- Beckett gives a single up to Swisher. And he looks shaky as hell all of a sudden. NESN had a poll about which pitcher should be considered Boston's ace. Beckett was running away with it. I would have chosen Lester in about a half-second. Not that Beckett isn't a good pitcher, but Lester doesn't have these kinds of moments.

- Single to Gardner. On the upside, maybe CC's arm is getting cold from sitting down for so long.

- Here's Jeter with runners at first and second. Beckett's breaking stuff looks weak right now. And Jeter is fighting off Beckett's fastballs.

- Jeter grounds to Scutaro for the force at second. Scutaro is now officially better than Lugo.

- The bad news: Boston is down 2-0 going into the bottom of the second. The good news: it could have been worse.


Bottom of the Second

- What do you think CC eats in the dugout between innings? A whole grinder? Bowl of pasta?

- Youk with a double off the scoreboard. Helps when CC puts a fastball over the middle. Probably didn't get all the mayo off his fingers.

- And here comes Papi. No pressure, Big Guy, but if you can't get back to normal you're going to kill us. Good luck.

- CC runs it to 3-1 on Papi. You know a fastball is coming now. What's Papi going to do? Foul it to the back, that's what. Three years ago, that ball would've broken someone's windshield on Lansdowne.

- Papi grounds out to first but moves Youk to third. A real "kissing your cousin" moment.

- The first appearance of Adrian Beltre. Be nice to see him get Youk across the plate. He should do well in Fenway with the Monster.

- Beltre flies out to Granderson in center, but gets it as close to a homer as you can without doing it. Nevertheless, Youk crosses the plate and its 2-1 New York.

- JD Drew goes 0-2 in two pitches. You're kidding? Really? What a shock.

- Well, the Sox haven't been hitting CC per se. But they've been making him work. He's sweating already. That must be encouraging to Yankee fans. At this rate he'll need a defibrillator by the fifth.

- JD Drew strikes out to end the second. Color me completely unsurprised.


Top of the Third

- Between innings I've decided to call CC "Black Homer Simpson" (BHS) from now on. If he gets any chunkier he'll need a pitching wand because his fingers will be too fat to grip the ball.***

- Meanwhile, the much more svelte Beckett walks the first batter of the third. Beckett is doing a dead-on impression of John Wasdin right now. Sadly, it's not Halloween.

- Beckett had Teixeira at 1-2 and now runs the count full. But he gets Teixeira to chase ball four for a fly-out to shallow center. Better to be lucky than good, baby.

- And here's ARod. Who promptly grounds into a classic 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Nice...

- The once-upon-a-time Toyota spokesman got old and looks like he was stung in the face by 100 bees. Not good...


Bottom of the third

- BHS is breathing like he just finished the Ironman. It's the third inning. C'mon, man...that just isn't right.

- CC walks Cameron. Both pitchers just losing their stuff after the first inning.

- Remy and Orsillo tell us we have a "special" musical guest coming up later between the top and bottom of the eighth. What are the odds on it being Ronan Tynan? 5-1? 4-1?

- Wow. Scutaro lines out to ARod who picks Cameron off first for the double-play. Well, he sure made up for his weak-sister act to end the Yankee third. Of course, on the replay its obvious Cameron was safe. But such is life.

- Ellsbury up. Be nice to see him get on base so he can put his speed to use. I think he has it in him this year to hit 80 stolen bases.

- Ellsbury grounds out to end the third. But BHS hits 50 pitches after three innings. The sweat glands must be working overtime. Nothing a few sandwiches can't help.


Top of the Fourth

- Cano hits it into the left-field corner for a double. Ellsbury mis-times his jump for the ball. Left field in Fenway is not easy in the corner with the Monster and complete lack of foul territory. He'll make those outs in time, but it's a process.

- Posada grounds out and moves Cano to third.

- Beckett gets Granderson to ground out to first for the second out and keeps Cano at third. At the risk of jinxing the Sox, it looks like Beckett is slowly re-finding his groove.

- Too slowly. Swisher is looking to get Cano home and Beckett's breaking stuff is still all over the place. It's starting too far off the plate and not breaking enough to the left.

- Still, Beckett gets Swisher to chase a fastball to run the count full. But he misses with a third breaking pitch for the walk.

- Falls behind on Gardner 3-1. Beckett either has to get cracking on the breaking stuff or just pound the fastball. Beckett grabs the corner for a full count.

- Gardner gets the single and drives home Cano for the 3-1 lead. BHS is happy because he gets to chow down some more.

- Beckett goes inside on Jeter. I only wish he had meant to do that.

- Jeter gets a seeing-eye single past Scutaro to bring home Swisher home for the 4-1 lead. Forget that whole groove thing I wrote earlier.

- Remy bitching about Joe West not giving Beckett the corner. That's true to a point, but Beckett's stuff has just been mediocre tonight. His breaking stuff is crap.

- Good lord. Yanks pull off a double-steal to perfection and get their fifth run. But hey, Beckett gets the strikeout to end the fifth right after. Now that's what I call timing.

- The Yankees are now right where they want to be. Last year, once they got five runs they were near unstoppable. It will be interesting to see how Boston responds to this inning.


Bottom of the Fourth

- 21 minutes and six cannolis later, BHS takes the mound.

- Pedroia leads off the second.

- Pedey grounds to first and looks like he beats the flip to BHS on the bag. Replay shows Pedey beats the tag by a hair. But hey, looks like Joe Hernandez wants to screw the Sox over tonight. That's two calls he's screwed up at first that have gone against the Sox. I don't agree with the West criticism tonight, but Hernandez has been atrocious at first.

- By the way, Pedroia is not a speedster. So let's not get all excited about BHS lumbering over to first. Speed is relative, people.

- That blown call at first just sucked the life out of Fenway. At this point, as long as Yankee pitching doesn't throw a rod, the Yankees should win this.

- 1-2-3 fourth. Thanks Hernandez. Want to kick some babies in the larynx between innings to top it all off?


Top of the Fifth

- Look, Josh. West isn't giving you the corner tonight. He isn't giving it to BHS either. So adapt already, okay? God damned stubborn Texans...

- First Heidi Watney sighting of 2010. She's looking very...blonde.

- Josh gets the first two outs and then Cano lashes a hit to deep right that hits so hard that Drew gets it back in to hold Cano to a single. Love those.

- Beckett goes 2-0 on Posada as he hits 90 pitches in the fifth inning. Wow. It's like the Brian Rose Era all over again.

- Does it make anyone feel better that Beckett was lousy last April as well (2-2, 7.22 ERA)? Me neither.

- Hey, Beckett doesn't get the corner again and walks Posada. Who saw that coming? Oh, right, everyone!

- And here comes Scott Schoeneweis. 4.2 innings for Beckett along with five runs on eight hits...so far. Let's see if Scott can close this inning out.

- Well, a muffed pitch by V-Mart allows runners to move to second and third with two out. Not exactly a great Opening Night for Sox fans thus far.

- But Schoeneweis gets the strikeout to end the fifth without any damage.


Bottom of the Fifth

- Word is that between innings, Joe Hernandez drowned a couple of kittens in the Muddy River out in the Fens. And laughed while he did it.

- BHS wakes up from his nap for the fifth inning. It's fun to joke and all, but Chubsy-Ubsy is throwing a one-hitter through four and working with a nice lead. Still, it hasn't been a dominating outing for BHS. But when Beckett goes Wasdin, you don't have to be dominating.

- Papi pops out on a 3-1 fastball. That's two he has missed. It's not a good sign when your slugger can't tee off on a fastball.

- Beltre chases a low change-up for out number two. You can almost hear the grass growing in Fenway right now.

- Drew gets a two-out single. He makes it look so easy. WHY CAN'T YOU DO THAT MORE OFTEN????

- Cameron runs the count full and gets a single off BHS. Runners on first and second with two outs.

- Scutaro gets Boston's third single in a row. Drew comes home on a crap throw from Gardner that allows Cameron and Scutaro to advance a base. Second and third, two outs and Ellsbury coming to the plate with Boston down 5-2.

- Ellsbury has had a rough night. No hits and a botched fly ball in left.

- West suddenly decides to start giving the corner. BHS uses it twice to go 0-2 on Ellsbury. Thanks, West. Could have used that decision about three innings ago.

- Ellsbury leaves the runners on base with a called third strike. Still, Boston grabs another run and makes BHS sweat through his shirt.


Top of the Sixth

- Schoeneweis gets two quick outs and comes out for Ramirez, who gives up a first-pitch single to Jeter. Look, I understand the whole "left-right" thing. But Schoeneweis was rolling. Why not give him the third out?

- Nick Johnson flies out to end the inning. Wow...a pain free inning. Haven't seen one of those in over an hour.


Bottom of the Sixth

- BHS comes out to start the sixth and is approaching 90 pitches. This is when I believe they wheel out the portable oxygen tank.

- Pedroia walks on five pitches. Now, I think it's clear that BHS is starting to fade. How long with Girardi wait to go to the pen? Why risk your lead? On second thought...good plan, Joe!

- V-Mart laces a double down the left-field line. Runner on second and third with no outs. One cannoli too many for BHS.

- Youk comes up and Girardi leaves BHS in. Could this be a major mistake? The Fenway crowd is warming up. I don't know, but I am wagering that Aviv is screaming at Girardi through his TV screen right now to take out BHS.

- Youk calls time to get sweat out of his eyes. That's the downside of going bald - no natural mop-up material.

- YOUK!!!!!! A triple down the right-field line makes it 5-4 as Swisher seems to lope after it. Thanks, Girardi! Everyone could see BHS was on his last legs except you.

- And then Youk almost gets picked off third on a passed ball. Luckily, ARod wasn't on the bag so there was no throw.

- Another fastball, another foul from Papi. And BHS is still in the game. What is Girardi waiting for?

- Broken-bat ground out from Papi that keeps Youk stranded at third. And Girardi finally pulls BHS. Because this was the obvious time to do so...if you're clinically insane.

- Beltre with the single and we have a tie ballgame folks! Never doubted it for a second! Forget all that other talk.

- The Yanks escape without any more damage. But it's 5-5 going into the seventh. Now we see which bullpen can carry the day.


Top of the Seventh

- The happiest guy in Fenway right now? Beckett, who gets a no-decision for the night.

- Steven Tyler in the house for "God Bless America". He is officially in the "Creepy Looking Old Dude" phase of his life.

- Ramirez walks the first batter and then gives up a monster double to ARod. Second and third with no outs. Way to piss away the tie, Ramon!

- In the Battle of the Bullpens, New York takes the lead.

- Yanks get 6-5 lead on sac grounder. Right play by Pedroia.

- 7-5 with a single from Posada. Oki seems to have Ramon Ramirez Disease. Boston's pitching (with the notable exception of Schoeneweis) has pretty much failed them tonight.

- Good lord, Joe West's strike zone is about the size of a deck of playing cards.

- 5-4-3 to end the inning. Very nice. A good example of what Boston's defense can do. That wasn't an easy DP and it looked easy.

- Steven Tyler sings "God Bless America'" and shows why Steven Tyler shouldn't be singing "God Bless America"****


Bottom of the Seventh

- And Chan Ho Park starts off by almost decapitating Scutaro. This should be fun!

- Scutaro with the single. I missed you, CHP.

- Ellsbury goes 0-2. Rough, rough night.

- Strikes out. Oof.

- Neil Diamond in the eighth inning. If you care. Which I don't.

- PEDROIA!! Two-run blast for the 7-7 tie. Who can hit? Pedey can hit!

- CHAN HOOOOOO!!! Love you, baby.

- Full count to V-Mart. Suddenly, Francona's decision to throw Ramirez out instead of Atchison looks good.

- Youk wall-balls a double off the Monster. And Girardi once again waits too long to pull a pitcher.

- That outing was Chan-tastic!

- So that Youk... he can play, huh?

- Marte goes wild and Youk moves to third. A single puts Boston in front. C'mon Papi!!

- Again!! Another wild pitch and Youk comes home for the 8-7 lead. Another unpredictable Boston-New York matchup.

- As a pitcher, Marte is mediocre. But he could clean up on the lawn bowling circuit.

- Here's comes Joba, the Reliever Who Wanted to Be a Starter.

- Joba gets the third out, but Boston leads 8-7.



Top of the Eighth

- It's Boston's next closer, Daniel Bard.

- Neil Diamond singing before Boston's half. If you care. Which I don't.

- Bard gets Gardner to ground out for the first out.

- Bard 2-0 to Jeter. Big at-bat here.

- Bard gets Jeter for the second out.

- Johnson walks. Once again, the Sox cannot close the deal with two outs.

- Teixeira up. Big moment for Bard. And he comes through. Bard showing some maturity here.

- Bard is the 21st Century version of Dick Radatz. Except his slider won’t end his career early.

- And Diamond comes out to kill momentum. I blame you pink hats for this garbage.

- He has a blazer that says "Keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn." How very timely. I’m going to start petitioning to make sure the Braves don’t leave Boston.



Bottom of the Eighth

- Peter Abraham just twittered that the biggest cheer of the night was for Diamond. Kill. Me. Now. God damned pink hats...

- Papelbon warming up for the ninth. I don't feel particularly comforted by that fact.

- Cameron works Joba to get a single. Man on first with one out.

- Joba goes 3-2 on Scutaro. Cameron going on the pitch.

- Walk.

- Ellsbury... NOW is the time.

- Guess not.

- Pedroia gets the insurance run with a single as Cameron turns on the jets to score. Joba picks up relieving where he left off starting.

- What power outage?

- Joba double bluffs on the pickoff. Best part of his game.


Top of the Ninth

- Here comes Paps. By the way, Joba Chamberlain needs to get his head straight. What a mess.

- ARod up first. Paps gets the grounder to third on two pitches.

- Ellsbury hoovers up a Cano fly to left-center. Two outs.

- Posada gets a single. Crafty grandpa.

- Granderson could make it interesting.

- 0-2. Finish it, Paps.

- Beltre shows his awesome fielding powers for the final out. Sox win a doozy 9-7. And it isn't even midnight yet!

- Beckett looked bad and the bullpen was mixed, but the fielding was good and Boston’s hitting was damned solid. And not every umpire will call a strike zone as small as Joe West’s. In other games, Beckett will get those strikes. Bottom line, the Sox beat the Yanks to kick off 2010. Works for me.

-----------

* Go on, defend one of the other ones. You Yankee fans know he got the early ones on name recognition.

** It's still one of the most baffling managerial decisions made in recent memory. Of course, Girardi did a lousy job of managing the pitchers tonight...

*** The only way this could get better is if Sabathia broke out a mumu. Or just starts eating things between pitches.

**** If you missed this, I cannot describe just how bad Tyler was. It was embarrassing. Just a painful experience all the way around.

Three-Man Rotation? Take The Risk

As the Yankees begin preparing for the World Series and their battle with the Phillies, WFAN's Brian Heyman and Sweeny Murti reported Monday that he Yankees are giving strong consideration to using a three-man rotation.

Given the alternative of giving Chad Gaudin a start in either Game 4 or 5, a three-man rotation should be the only consideration.

Gaudin has pitched well for the Yankees this year and the Yankees have won every one of his starts since they acquired him from the Padres in August.

But he hasn't made a start start since Sept. 28 against the Royals. In fact, he's made just two relief appearances since then and didn't even pitch two innings in either outing. That means it's been a month since Gaudin has pitched any significant innings.

Can Joe Girardi really afford to give a World Series start to a pitcher who likely wouldn't be able to go much more than four innings at best? Could he afford to drain the bullpen? If Girardi commits to giving CC Sabathia three starts in the series, is worth taking a start away from either Andy Pettitte or A.J. Burnett to give to Gaudin?

The answer to all of those questions is, "No, no, no and no!"

Of course, going with a three-man rotation in this era presents its own set of risks and making this move does not guarantee the Yankees anything at all.

Should Girardi go with a three-man rotation, Sabathia will be scheduled to start Games 1, 4 and 7, with Burnett likely to go in Games 2 and 5 and Pettitte in 3 and 6. Because there is no scheduled day off between Games 4 and 5, that means after their first turns throught he rotation, all three starters would have to make their subsequent starts on three days' rest.

Prior to Sabathia's Game 4 gem against the Angels in the ALCS, pitchers starting on three days' rest in the postseason hadn't had much success since 1995, going 20-35 in 85 starts with a 4.65 ERA, while averaging just 5.39 innings.

Those numbers don't inspire much confidence. In fact, looking at those numbers alone would be enough scare many managers away from using a three-man rotation. Asking the bullpen to get 10 or 11 outs in a playoff game is asking for trouble.

But managers can't make decisions like this on numbers alone. They have to take a long, hard look at their personnel, too, and determine if they have guys who have the physical ability and mental makeup to go on short rest.

In the Yankees' case, they actually do.

Sabathia has proven himself to be a horse so far in these playoff, going 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA. That includes his Game 4 start in which he allowed just one run in eight innings on short rest.

It wasn't the first time in his career he's done that. In four regular season starts on short rest, he is 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA, 0.825 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 26-2/3 innings (an average of 6-2/3 innings per start).

He does have one other postseason start on short rest, taking the ball on three days' rest for his fourth consecutive outing for the Brewers last year and getting bombed in Game 2 of the NLDS. Sabathia, though, has said that by that point, he was emotionally drained after carrying the Brewers into the playoffs. The Yankees haven't overburdened him this season and CC is ready and willing to go two straight times with short rest.

The questions you have with a three-man rotation is how Burnett and Pettitte will hold up.

With Burnett it's not a physical issue. He's actually made four starts on three days' rest in his career and has fared very well, going 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA, 1.074 WHIP and 24 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched.

With Burnett the issue, as always, is which A.J. you'll get. He can be very, very good -- or he can blow up in one inning as he did in Game 5. Of course, that's an issue the Yankees will face regardless of whether Burnett goes on normal rest.

The thing about Burnett is that he has proven that he does have pride. He got bombed in Boston in early June and responded with a seven-week stretch that was brilliant. He went winless in August, but bounced back in September and finished strong.

After losing in Game 5, Burnett wasn't happy. He told the media that if Girardi needed him in relief in Game 6 or 7, he was eager to take the ball. Something tells me that hunger, that eagerness is going to be there for his next two starts. He'll have something to prove and will be determined to shine, regardless of his rest -- who is catching (Jose Molina or Jorge Posada).

With Pettitte you don't ever worry about his makeup. He's not going to be shaken up by anything and won't get caught up in the moment. He'll go out and battle. His resume of a record 16 postseason wins with five series clincers proves that.

The question is whether Pettitte's arm can hold up on short rest.

Pettitte hasn't started on anything fewer than five days' rest since the Yankees skipped his turn in the rotation to give his sore shoulder a rest in mid-September. He hasn't had any problems with that shoulder since, but also hasn't overwork it. In fact, Pettitte threw just 194-2/3 innings in the regular season, the first time he's thrown fewer that 200 innings since 2004, when he was limited to 83 innings because of an elbow injury.

He made three more postseason starts, pitching 19 more innings, getting an extra day's rest prior to Game 6 because of Saturday's rainout.

Had Pettitte been pitching every fifth day through September and in the playoffs, I'd be very concerned. He's had arm issues in the past and that kind of workload would have been a lot to burden.

But the fact that the Yankees have been able to give Pettitte plenty of rest means he should be strong and should be able handle one start -- his final start of the year and at Yankee Stadium -- on short rest and do well.

No, this is not a the type of scenario you want heading into the World Series. Both choices bring risks, but in the end only the three-man rotation will give the Yankees the best chance to win in every game.

It's a risk Girardi and the Yankees have to take.

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)

CC Brings The Heat

The calendar says it's October. The weather made it seem more like early December.

CC Sabathia, however, kept Yankee Stadium nice and warm.

Sabathia allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven in eight innings as the Yankees executed the game plan perfectly, beating the Angels 4-1 Friday in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.

Since 2002 and including the '02 and '05 playoffs, the Yankees had been 33-41 against the Angels entering Friday. Game 1 was a total reversal of the roles between these teams.

The Yankees got brilliant pitching, big plays on defense and timely hits in erasing some of the psychological advantage the Angels believed they had. The Halos, meanwhile, played poorly defensively with a team playoff record three errors, labored on the mound and had but one big hit.

But in the postseason, everything starts with pitching, and Friday, Sabathia more than lived up to his billing as an ace and the $161 million contract signed in the offseason.

It was imperative for the Yankees to get off to a fast start in the series and that meant they needed Sabathia to come up huge.

He was dominant and efficient from the start, mixing a lively fastball that topped out at 96 mph with a sharp slider and effective change. He walked just one, had Angels hitters off stride and threw 76 of 113 pitches for strikes.

The only trouble he ran into came in the four when Vladimir Guerrero hit a one-out double that landed just short of the wall in left before Kendry Morales' two-out single brought him in. But by that point, the Yankees had already scored two runs and that would prove to be more than enough for CC on this night.

When the Yankees signed Sabathia to that huge contract last December, the only question surrounding him was his playoff resume. Entering the season, he was 2-4 with a 7.92 ERA in six starts. Most of that damage had been done in 2007 and '08, when he logged a huge workload in the regular season for the Indians and Brewers, respectively.

But those questions have been erased this year. After a stress-free September, Sabathia is 2-0 in his two postseason starts, allowing three runs, two earned, on 12 hits and one walk in 14-2/3 innings, while strike out 15. That's a 1.23 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. He's been dominant.

He has begun to capture the hearts of the city as the crowd began chanting "C-C, C-C" in the seventh.

In fact, the only question coming out of this night was whether Joe Girardi should have sent his big lefthander back out for the eighth inning. Sabathia finished the seventh at just 98 pitches and if the plan for Sabathia in the series simply was to let him pitch on full rest, then it would have been a no-brainer to send him back out for the eighth.

But because Girardi is still considering pitching Sabathia on three days' rest in Game 4 on Tuesday, the wiser course of action would have been to pull Sabathia in the seventh and not tax his arm any further. Rain may change those plans, but even if today's Game 2 is postponed, it's still possible Sabathia will pitch on three days' rest, going in Game 3 Tuesday so that he still can be available in Game 7 on full rest.

But all that remains to be seen. There was so much that went right for the Yankee Friday that's it's not worth fretting over that too much right now.

This wasn't a typical performance for the offense: 10 hits, eight singles and two doubles. In fact, Friday's game marked only the second homerless game at Yankee Stadium in 84 games. The other was June 18 against the Nationals.

But the fact that the Yankees didn't need the long ball to win this game just further illustrates how much more dynamic this offense has become. In this game the Yankees took advantage of every Angels mistake, got some productive outs and got enough clutch hits.

It started in the first when Derek Jeter led off with a single. Johnny Damon, breaking out of a playoff slump with two hits and two runs, followed with a single to left that sent Jeter to third. However, Angels left field Juan Rivera misfired on his throw back to the infield, allowing Damon to move up to second for the Angels' first error.

One out later, Alex Rodriguez drove in his seventh run of the postseason with a sacrifice fly.

Then things got bizarre and you knew this would be the Yankees' night. Hideki Matsui followed by lofting a high pop to the left side. First it looked as if third baseman Chone Figgins would grab it. Then it seemed as if shortstop Erick Aybar would catch it. Neither did. The ball fell for a single and Damon scored to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

The offense after that continued to work Angels starter John Lackey, driving up his pitch count, almost ensuring he wouldn't get through six innings. Through five, he threw 95 pitches and he ended up allowing four runs -- two earned -- on nine hits three walks in 5-2/3 innings.

Lackey, however, was fortunate to get through the fifth having allowed just one run.

Damon led off with a double and after A-Rod walked one out later, Matsui hit a double left to bring in Damon and make it 3-1. A-Rod, however, missed a stop sign from third base coach Robbie Thompson and tried to score on the play, barrelling into catcher Jeff Mathis, who held onto the ball for the second out of the inning.

I don't mind mistakes of aggression, but in this case, A-Rod has to know better. There was no way he was going to score. In addition, he gave the Angels an out at a point in the game when one more hit or one or two more tough at-bats likely would have driven Lackey from the game. Fortunately, it did not come back to hurt the Yankees.

The Angels, though, were in a giving mood, committing two more errors in the sixth. With two outs, Melky Cabrera walked and went to second when Lackey sent a pickoff throw into right. Jeter then lined an RBI single to center, where the normally sure-handed Torii Hunter failed to field the ball cleanly, costing the Angels a play at the plate and allowing Jeter to go to second for the Angels' third error. The Angels had made an error three times in a game only twice in the regular season.

That knocked Lackey from the game and put the outcome on the Sabathia and the Yankees' defense.

In the past, the Yankees typically would give away outs against the Angels, who would make all the plays on defense. Not on this night. It was the Yankees' turn to flash the leather.

In the sixth, Damon made a diving catch of a drive from Bobby Abreu for the first out.

Sabathia and Mark Teixeira then hooked up on a controversial play that first umpire Laz Diaz actually got right for the second out of the inning. Hunter dropped a bunt down the third base line that Sabathia fielded, whirled and fired to first, where Teixeira had to make a nice stretch to catch while remaining on the bag. The Angels thought the throw pulled Teixeira off the bag, and it was tough to tell if Teixeira kept his foot on the bag on replay. Photographs, however, prove much more conclusive.

Robinson Cano then made a sweet diving play in the seventh and once Sabathia got through the eighth, the game was essentially over.

Mariano Rivera has never blown a postseason save when he's come on in the ninth and that streak remained in tact Friday as he locked up his 36th postseason save, allowing just a leadoff walk.

Game 1 is in the bag, now it's on to Game 2.

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

Up Next
ALCS Game 2
Saturday vs. Angels, 7:57 p.m., Fox (weather permitting)
Joe Saunders (16-7, 4.60 ERA; Postseason: First start; 2009 vs. Yankees: 1-0, 4.72 ERA, 2 starts)
vs.
A.J. Burnett (13-9, 4.04; Postseason: 0-0, 1.50 ERA; 2009 vs. Angels: 1-0, 4.26, 2 starts)

This game may be the key to the series. In both the 2002 and '05 ALDS, the Yankees won Game 1. Winning this game would give the Yankees control of the series and completely wipe out whatever psychological edge the Angels might have. Expect Jose Molina to start at catcher as it will be essential to get a big start out of Burnett.

It's All About 27, Not 20

It would have been nice if CC Sabathia could have won 20 games, but in the scheme of things, it's really not all that important.

Afterall Mike Mussina won 20 games last season, and where did the Yankees end up? That's right, on the golf course in October.

This year, it's all about a championship.

So let's not blow this loss out of proportion.

Sabathia allowed nine runs -- five earned -- on eight hits and five walks in an ugly 13-4 loss at Tampa on Friday. Sabathia had gone 9-0 in his previous 11 starts with the Yankees winning all 11. The last time he lost was July 27 in Tampa.

Offensively the Yankees had little going against talented rookie David Price, who allowed one run on two hits in seven innings. Juan Miranda hit his first career home run, a two-run shot in the eighth, giving the team 242 on the season to tie the franchise record set in 2004.

Sabathia was nothing short of awful. He had no command of his fastball and was in trouble for the start. He loaded the bases in the first with no outs, but after getting two outs, failed to escape the jam when he walked Gabe Kapler before B.J. Upton tripled to clear the bases and make it 4-0.

It only got worse from there, highlighted by Upton's cycle, the first in the short history of the Tampa franchise.

But before anyone starts panicking about CC in the postseason, I have some advice: don't.

CC will be entering the playoffs with the benefit of not having to carry the Yankees down the stretch or burdened with an overly heavy workload.

He has thrown 230 innings, which is far less than the 253 he threw in carrying the Brewers to the playoffs last year and fewer than the 241 in 2007 with the Indians. He is mentally fresh, physically strong and his confidence will not take a hit from this outing.

If A.J. Burnett gets hammered Sunday, I'd be more concerned simply because he's shown himself to be very streaky. CC (19-8, 3.37 ERA) has been remarkably consistent, and I don't think this is anything more than a hiccup.

Heck, in 2000, Andy Pettitte allowed nine runs in 1-1/3 inning in his final start of the season, but went on to win his first start in the ALDS and go 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA in five postseason starts as the Yanks won the World Series.

So Sabathia didn't get 20 wins this year. So what?

Since 2003, all Yankees fans have had to celebrate has been individual accomplishments.

I say enough of that.

The mission is World Series title No. 27. A 20-game winner merely would have been a cherry on top.

Runners In Scoring Position
Friday
2-for-5 (.400)
Season
411-for-1,518 (.271)
First Half
217-for-819 (.265)
Second Half
194-for-699 (.278)
Since A-Rod's Return May 8
346-for-1,245 (.278)
Vs. Red Sox
45-for-204 (.221)

Up Next
Saturday at Rays, 7:08 p.m., YES
Pettitte (14-7, 4.11) vs. Jeff Niemann (12-6, 3.94)

The only thing Pettitte has to do is show that his shoulder is fine and that he is healthy. The Yankees had Sabathia on a pitch count of no more than 90, expect a similar count for Pettitte.