R.I.P. Cory Lidle...

^ That was the September 13th game I got to see Lidle pitch...

I was so excited to see him coming over with Abreu, and now... wow...

R.I.P. Lidle...

I'll be at the apartment tomorrow with my camera to take pictures of the situation and the like...
*tear*

B(rent)

October 5, 2006 - Tigers 8, Yankees 3: ...

Thank God for being asked to a Homecoming dance at 3:30... it got my mind and heart off of the lost season...

What is there to say? It was a complete disappointment on all accounts...

In the next few days, I'll talk about the offseason and the possible firing of Torre and why it's a good move...

Happy... recovering :-/...

B(rent)

October 5, 2006 - Tigers 6, Yankees 0: Damn, comedy clubs are great relief...

I gotta say, going to UCB in the middle of tonight's game was a pretty good idea... it helped me laugh off the embarrassment of tonight's game...

That once-in-a-lifetime moment... yea, that happened last night... to Kenny Rogers... it's very hard not to say "wtf, mate?" to the game, but Kenny Rogers pitched a heck of a game...

I can't be very mad at Randy... if some things went differently in the 2nd inning (Bobby playing the ball better, the call at 3rd changing, Giambi throwing straight to 2nd on the pickoff, Cano diving to stop and make a play, etc.), Randy would have yielded 2 runs at best...

It was a balls-out effort from Randy, who pitched upwards to 98 mph... but it fell short because of the Yankee bats falling silent...

On the 28th of September, I wrote:

However, I can see only one point being made here: If the Yankees fail to win the World Series with this line-up, it would truly be a team failure on all accounts. No excuses, putting it all on A-Rod (though Sheffield and Matsui didn't come through more often than not during last year's ALDS)... if we lose, it's a team effort, for a team with 9 All-Stars should not be able to make excuses...

I stand by that statement, and last night's game proved it... it was a team effort that they lost...

The season fall on the arm of Jaret Wright and beating up on Jeremy Bonderman... this is the last shot for the Yankees to recapture that playoff magic... if they recapture it, the Yankees will have movitation going into Sunday's game... if not, well... I'll have my offseason plans in a week or two., consisting of "crazy" things like firing Joe Torre.

Times are getting crazy, and my playoff beard is starting to get itchy...

Either put something together, Yankees, or go home... and don't cry if the door hits you on the way out...

Happy reading!

B(rent)

October 4, 2006 - Tigers 4, Yankees 3: *cricket cricket*

Let me list the few things that need to happen tonight for a Yankees' victory:

1. Someone besides just one guy need to step up!
   
   Game 1: Jeter and Abreu stepped up and took charge of the offense... Game 2, yesterday, the only man who stepped up on offense is Johnny Damon with his 3-run HR...
   
   With so many skilled hitters on the team, to leave as many men on the basepaths without driving in more than Damon's 3 run HR... simply weak...
   
   
2. Randy Johnson would need a Kurt Gibson moment... or as close to one as possible...
   
   The point is this: Randy wants to pitch... if he didn't want to win, he wouldn't be pitching tonight and he would take off for the rest of the season to rest his back... however, Randy didn't want to pussy out...
   
   Randy wants to pitch, period. It's up to him to see how far his back can hold out... the ball is in his court, it's time for him to produce... I want 6 innings, 2 run ball from him, that's the best I predict... but once he shows signs of struggling... Torre... do something!
   
   
3. A big game from one of these three: Sheffield, A-Rod, and Cano... simply stated... A-Rod's 10-for-19 against Rogers with 5 HRs and 5 walks... Rogers has a plus 8. ERA in 20+ postseason innings... are the stars lining up? Will the NY Media and other frustrated fans be shut up tonight? In some ways, it must happen...
   
   
4. Torre needs to act as he is in survival mode... with Torre's comments about Rivera only being available for "one inning", my mind started to think: "This isn't spring training... this isn't the start or the end of the season... this is the postseason!"
   
   65% of Mariano's postseason saves came when he pitched more than one inning, he is effective... what is Torre saving Mariano for? The next round? We may not even have a "next round" if Torre continues to think conservatively...
   
   If you play chess conservatively the entire time, you usually end up losing... Torre, play some chess and get back to me...
   
   The survival spirit he had in '96 needs to be recaptured here, or else, we're done... do what you have to, Torre, and we'll complain about it if we must... but show us something, Torre! Maybe Sheffield won't come around... maybe others won't come around... maybe they will, but this isn't a 162-game season... it's 5 games or less, and we survive within every game we win...
   
   Play to win, Torre, don't play like you're trying not to lose...
   
   
5. Some postseason magic... we can remember the Flip, the Boone HR, the Maier catch, among with other moments that were just magical... however, since 2003, I can't think of any moments that have been magical... I can still remember the Steal though... *sighs*...
   
   
6. Last but not least, play to win and play with your hearts...
   

As EJ stated in his blog about tonight:

It should be an interesting game. I have this strangely optimistic feeling with Randy Johnson.

I completely agree and have that same feeling, but I have been wrong before...

The thing that rings in my head is this: Randy Johnson wants to pitch tonight... Randy has earned quite a bit of money and already has a World Series ring... but is the killer instinct of competitiveness eating Randy inside to want to pitch tonight?

People have pitched and played through pain before... Damon has done it with the bone chip in his foot... Jeter has, Giambi has, Sheffield has, A-Rod has, Mariano has, etc etc... to me, Randy's showing me how much he wants this game tonight...

Will he perform up to par and be at the standard that helped him pitch 3 almost no-hitters into the 7th inning this year? Or will he pitch to the performance that got him 17 wins, despite having a plus 5. ERA and having the most run support out of any starting pitcher this year?

We'll soon see, but what I can say is this: Randy wants this... Jeter wants this... from his look and appearance in Games 1 and 2, to me, it also seems that Abreu wants this... the question is: does anyone else? Will their best show up tonight?

Tune into tonight... and read one of my friend's K's blog... he'll kick your ass if you don't read it...

No, I'm serious, he will, he's got connections... :-P

Happy reading!

B(rent)

October 3, 2006 - Yankees 8, Tigers 4: Jeter and Abreu, enough said...

Jeter: 5-for-5 with a HR, and starting up the offense... Abreu driving in 4 in his postseason debut...

Of course, you have some negatives across the board: Torre's bullpen management... uh... Torre's bullpen management... and uh... yea! Torre's bullpen management...

Actually, to be fair, I can't blame it all on Torre, Granderson is a left-handed hitter, Wang had pitched 93 pitches, but here's the thing: Granderson isn't exactly amazing, hitting .260 this season, striking out 174 times (third in the league, and for a lead-off hitter? Eh...), and Wang was still getting guys out, getting the first 2 guys out in the 7th...

Stay with the hot hand? I would have kept Wang to finish the inning, Proctor for the 8th, Mariano for the 9th... instead, Myers gives up a HR to Granderson, Proctor gives up two singles before an out, and Farnsworth comes in, and was shaky but didn't yield another run...

Farnsworth was my biggest worries, posting abysmal numbers in the 2003 NLCS, and the 2005 NLDS for the Cubs and Braves (respectfully)... but if he can get his barrings, and pitch that heat that we all know he has more often, he should be fine...

Otherwise, it was a great night: Damon breaks out of his slump with a 2-for-5 game, scoring 2 runs... Sheffield with an RBI single... Giambi with a 2-run HR... the only two who didn't join the hit parade was Cano and Matsui... no biggie though...

A good night all together, but now, we get Verlander vs. Mussina... as most of you know, the Tigers are hackers (striking out as a team more than any other playoff contender), and Mussina has great stuff to keep the hitters off-balanced...

Verlander? He hasn't pitched since September 24th, a 9-day rest span... he looked great, though he has had mediocre starts his last three times out, yielding 6 runs against the Rangers, 6 against the White Sox, and yielding 2 runs in 5 innings against the Royals...

And the only start he had against the Yankees this year? He got bombed for 6 runs in 5 innings...
The Tigers aren't timid or scared, the Yankees better be careful or the Tigers can sneak up and steal a game from them at the Stadium... only time will tell though...

Happy reading!

B(rent)

My quick predictions before my explanations...

Yankees in 4
Twins in 5

Padres in 5
Mets in 4

Yankees in 6
Mets in 7 (I tried thinking of a scenario where the Padres would beat the Mets, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't :-/)

Yankees in 6

More later today...