Had the sound off and I'm keeping one eye on the internet pundits coverage of the debate (without watching the debate itself) but I presume Hughes came up injured somehow which accounts for Phelps being in.
At this point Verlander is his usual excellent self and preparing to put the Tigers into stranglehold position.
You take away the big ninth inning in Game 1 of the ALDS and the 9th inning rally in Game 1, and you are left with the most pitiful offensive performance by a team collectively in the postseason there ever was. Certainly the most pitiful by a team that managed to sneak and win a round.
THe 9th inning solo HR is the ultimate example of a cruel tease. But honestly, they could tie this game in the 9th and I'd still think their chances were weak as Game 1 demonstrated.
The cruel tease got even crueler to the point where the gullible Yankee fan must have thought Ibanez was going to do it again. Thankfully, I kept myself emotionally dead the whole time and as a consequence I came away with no surprise that the pathetic choke artists that comprise this team lived up to their postseason image once again.
I predict Detroit will be celebrating their 11th American League pennant at this time tomorrow.
Verlander was Verlander. Tomorrow CC pitches for NY and Scherzer for Detroit. NY might win that one, if Scherzer has a bad outing, or Jimmy boy puts in the hated Valverde.
Sabathia is liable to pitch well, but then again, starting pitching hasn't been a problem for the Yankees any more than it was for Balitmore or Detroit. It's all come down to having enough hitting to get the job done, and in the Tigers case I think they could win this with just one run off Sabathia.
Disappointed as I am about what's happened, I am I would like to say still at peace because honestly, the 2009 one was the one that I needed to feel comfortable as far as getting one in "this era" as it were. It would honestly take a Red Sox renaissance to make me feel restless about needing a title again the way I did between 03 and 09 and fortunately that feeling isn't there for now.
What's surprising to me is the Yankees total collapse offensively coming into the post season.
They were clobbering teams left and right throughout the regular season with the longball (It didn't matter who pitched against them then) and now they can't seem to get out of their own way.
The offense has hit a wall this fall.
The Yankees organization of course won't stand for it for long, and they have some work to do in the off season. There was talk earlier that the Yankees were going to hold firm on their payroll going forward and I don't see how thats possible now. The team has shown itself to be a lot older and with a lot more cracks in the armor than any of us thought earlier this year.
The starting pitching will need to be addressed, It's an old staff.
How much longer can they go to the well with Sabathia before he eventually breaks down? This guy has logged a ton of post season innings in various places on that arm already. And when he has one bad start he hears about it. Pettitte is 40 and came out of retirement for a trip down memory lane to pitch this year and he pitched well but is he really a viable starter for them looking forward? Hughes is up and down and Kuroda is no spring chicken either.
RIP, Eddie Yost, one time infielder for the Washington Senators in the 1940s and 1950s and who was later third base coach for the Mets during their glory days of 1969 and 1973. With his passing, that leaves only Yogi Berra and Joe Pignatano as survivors from Gil Hodges coaching staff.
Game 4 of the Tigers-Yankees series has been pushed back to tomorrow while Game 3 of the Giants-Cardinals series is still under a delay in the seventh (Cardinals are ahead 3-1 and threatening).
After a 3 hour and 28 minute rain delay, the Cardinals hold on to win 3-1. Jason Motte pitched two perfect innings to get the save and Kyle Lohse beats Matt Cain for the win. All three of the Cardinals runs were driven in by players off the bench (Matt Carpenter got two after replacing Carlos Beltran and Shane Robinson got the other pinch hitting for reliever Edward Mujica).
Fun fact: according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the team that wins Game 3 in a best of seven series after the first two games are split went on to win the series 72.3% of the time. This gives the Cardinals 72.3% odds of winning the NLCS. The Giants will need to win one of the next two to stay alive (and it won't be Game 5, since Zito is pitching for them).
Also, the Cardinals' last five appearances in a best of seven series (2006 NLCS, 2006 World Series, 2011 NLCS, 2011 World Series) have had the first two games split and them winning Game 3. The first four times have had them win that series.
This is the first time I can remember a game being postponed before it began raining because of the threat of rain, but I imagine MLB has had its fill of the suspended game varieties.
It doesn't help the Yankees at all because in the best case scenario for them, even if they were miraculously recovering and won the next three, Sabathia couldn't start Game 7 because it would be only two days of rest! If it had been Game 3 wiped out in this fashion that would have helped them.
We'll see at 4PM if the Yankees can salvage some dignity or if they go out with a whimper.
Swisher making his last game as a Yankee a metaphor for his postseason hitting.
And to think they kept Andruw Jones off the roster because his bat had been cold during the second half. Can't help but wonder if he would have done reverse from what everyone else did!
Thank goodness I was prepared for this. After Games 1 and 2, I knew there was no point staying needlessly optimistic.
The only good news for me is that bad things that happen to the Yankees in October are usually followed by better things from my standpoint in November. (but we won't say anything else about that!)
Meantime, the Yankees need to dynamite this team and if that means missing the playoffs next year, so be it. I don't want more postseasons like this where the Yankees have become, but for one great year in 2009, the Atlanta Braves of baseball.
(but we won't say anything else about that!)