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10/1/06
Great Regular Season Over; Postseason Ahead
Sunday, October 1, 2006
7:46:00 PM EDT
The Yankees completed their regular season this weekend by dropping 2 of 3 to the Toronto Blue Jays, winning on Friday by a score of 7-2 but losing on both Saturday and Sunday by respective 6-5 and 7-5 scores. However, the final 2 games meant absolutely nothing. The Yanks took care of what little remaining business they had because their win on Friday clinched homefield advantage throughout the American League postseason. Coupled with the American League's homefield advantage in the World Series, the road to the title goes through the Bronx.
Mike Mussina was masterful on Friday night, giving up 1 run in 6 innings of work. It was an excellent final tune up for the postseason for Moose as he concluded the regular season with a flourish. Mike is due to pitch Game 2 of the Division Series for New York. This is always a critical contest in a 5 game series. Mike's recent success means nothing if he gets shelled on Wednesday night, but the Yanks can at least be confident that they are sending a starter to the mound who has it all working at this point.
Gary Sheffield hit a 3 run homer in the 4th inning to give the Yanks the lead for good. This blast broke a 1-1 tie. It shows that Sheff is getting his swing back as his lethal bat only adds to a great New York offense. Joe Torre has announced that Gary will start at first base for the Yanks in the Division Series. This move makes sense. Sheffield is getting his swing back. While he is learning the position on the fly, he appears to be taking to the position well since a struggle in Tampa Bay last Sunday. He's proven to be a quick learner. Despite his inexperience at the position, Gary might be a better option than either Jason Giambi and Craig Wilson. Neither man plays good defense, and Giambi's wrist injury makes it difficult for him to play. Wilson's value on the roster is his hitting against lefties, and Bernie Williams is better in that role and more trustworthy in the pressure of the postseason anyway. Andy Phillips plays good defense, but he is not much of a hitter. His lack of offense makes up for any defensive edge he has on Sheff, but with Gary's inexperience in the field, Joe Torre has decided to carry Phillips on the postseason roster as a defensive replacement for late innings. New York will have plenty of bats both in the lineup and on the bench. Phillips provides defense at first and can play elsewhere in the infield and the outfield in case of an emergency. Jorge Posada later capped agreat season by adding a 2 run blast for insurance.
Neither of the final 2 games was very noteworthy. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano both fell short of the American League batting title to Joe Mauer. Jeter ended at .343, and Cano finished at .342. Despite their losses, it is still pretty special to have a pair of middle infielders hit over .340. Derek still is the favorite to win the MVP. Robinson probably will have one on his future if he can build on his success in 2006. The most important thing is that they have helped their team win the American League East once again.
On Saturday, Jeff Karstens finished a nice 2006 season by pitching very well for the first 6 innings but allowed 3 in a 4 run Toronto 7th inning to take the loss. In Sunday's game, Jaret Wright and Kyle Farnsworth both were roughed up in a game that Joe Torre let Bernie Williams manage. It might have been Bernie's final regular season home game. However, his teammates were unable to win one for the legend. If the Yanks get Bernie one for the thumb in October, all probably will be forgiven.
New York received terrible news about Randy Johnson's fate over the weekend. His scary back ailment is actually a herniated disk. This leaves his status for the Division Series up in the air at best. Randy's outings have been a roll of the dice this season. However, he presents a better option in a big game than Cory Lidle. On any given night, Johnson can be the best third starter in baseball. New York's road is to the title is much easier with the Big Unit on the mound. His 2006 was something of a letdown. However, the team is paying him $16 million for him to perform in October. If he can return to his dominant form for the next few weeks, he will have been worth every penny. If he cannot even take the mound, that money will have been wasted.
The Yanks now shift to the postseason. They are one of the lucky eight teams that gets to keep playing past the regular season. The Division Series opponent will be the Detroit Tigers, a team that the Bronx Bombers should be thankful to play for a number of reasons. Those will be addressed in the near future. Tonight is one last night to celebrate and relax because the next month will be agonizing.
This will be the final game recap on this blog. I'll have more details on Monday. Many thanks to the folks on AOL who have supported this blog for the past two years. I'll always be thankful for the way this blog was treated on this server under two different names. I also would like to thank my readers who have supported me here and hope that they'll check back on Monday for the entry that will give the reason for this last paragraph. I promise this is not bad news.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
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7:46:00 PM EDT
Great Regular Season Over; Postseason Ahead
Mike Mussina was masterful on Friday night, giving up 1 run in 6 innings of work. It was an excellent final tune up for the postseason for Moose as he concluded the regular season with a flourish. Mike is due to pitch Game 2 of the Division Series for New York. This is always a critical contest in a 5 game series. Mike's recent success means nothing if he gets shelled on Wednesday night, but the Yanks can at least be confident that they are sending a starter to the mound who has it all working at this point.
Gary Sheffield hit a 3 run homer in the 4th inning to give the Yanks the lead for good. This blast broke a 1-1 tie. It shows that Sheff is getting his swing back as his lethal bat only adds to a great New York offense. Joe Torre has announced that Gary will start at first base for the Yanks in the Division Series. This move makes sense. Sheffield is getting his swing back. While he is learning the position on the fly, he appears to be taking to the position well since a struggle in Tampa Bay last Sunday. He's proven to be a quick learner. Despite his inexperience at the position, Gary might be a better option than either Jason Giambi and Craig Wilson. Neither man plays good defense, and Giambi's wrist injury makes it difficult for him to play. Wilson's value on the roster is his hitting against lefties, and Bernie Williams is better in that role and more trustworthy in the pressure of the postseason anyway. Andy Phillips plays good defense, but he is not much of a hitter. His lack of offense makes up for any defensive edge he has on Sheff, but with Gary's inexperience in the field, Joe Torre has decided to carry Phillips on the postseason roster as a defensive replacement for late innings. New York will have plenty of bats both in the lineup and on the bench. Phillips provides defense at first and can play elsewhere in the infield and the outfield in case of an emergency. Jorge Posada later capped agreat season by adding a 2 run blast for insurance.
Neither of the final 2 games was very noteworthy. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano both fell short of the American League batting title to Joe Mauer. Jeter ended at .343, and Cano finished at .342. Despite their losses, it is still pretty special to have a pair of middle infielders hit over .340. Derek still is the favorite to win the MVP. Robinson probably will have one on his future if he can build on his success in 2006. The most important thing is that they have helped their team win the American League East once again.
On Saturday, Jeff Karstens finished a nice 2006 season by pitching very well for the first 6 innings but allowed 3 in a 4 run Toronto 7th inning to take the loss. In Sunday's game, Jaret Wright and Kyle Farnsworth both were roughed up in a game that Joe Torre let Bernie Williams manage. It might have been Bernie's final regular season home game. However, his teammates were unable to win one for the legend. If the Yanks get Bernie one for the thumb in October, all probably will be forgiven.
New York received terrible news about Randy Johnson's fate over the weekend. His scary back ailment is actually a herniated disk. This leaves his status for the Division Series up in the air at best. Randy's outings have been a roll of the dice this season. However, he presents a better option in a big game than Cory Lidle. On any given night, Johnson can be the best third starter in baseball. New York's road is to the title is much easier with the Big Unit on the mound. His 2006 was something of a letdown. However, the team is paying him $16 million for him to perform in October. If he can return to his dominant form for the next few weeks, he will have been worth every penny. If he cannot even take the mound, that money will have been wasted.
The Yanks now shift to the postseason. They are one of the lucky eight teams that gets to keep playing past the regular season. The Division Series opponent will be the Detroit Tigers, a team that the Bronx Bombers should be thankful to play for a number of reasons. Those will be addressed in the near future. Tonight is one last night to celebrate and relax because the next month will be agonizing.
This will be the final game recap on this blog. I'll have more details on Monday. Many thanks to the folks on AOL who have supported this blog for the past two years. I'll always be thankful for the way this blog was treated on this server under two different names. I also would like to thank my readers who have supported me here and hope that they'll check back on Monday for the entry that will give the reason for this last paragraph. I promise this is not bad news.
Written by georgecoztanza Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
