A Wild Game 2 Recap

Arod.  Arod.  Arod.  For everyone who has ever s*** on Arod (Ryan Jody) for anyone who says this team cant win with Arod on it (Ryan Jody) and for anybody who insisted that Arod could never produce in October, last night shut you all up.  I guess its an every five year-ALDS thing vs the Twins because Arod did basically the exact same thing in game 2 of the ALDS in 2004 off of the exact same pitcher (Joe Nathan), in the exact same inning (the 9th), in almost the exact same situation (down 2-1 opposed to 3-1 last night).  Incredible.  Finally Arod has won over some of his critics and has proven he could do it in the postseason.  Will this go down as one of the greatest Yankees postseason games of all time?  No, probably not.  But it was pretty damn big, and maybe the game that changed Arod's legacy forever.  As for Teixeira, he got the big hit I thought he needed, and hit a laser down the line very remeniscent of the McGwire Home Run that passed Maris on September 8th, 1998 (By the way, thats how big a moment that was at the time for McGwire, I remember where I was, what I was doing, and the date when he hit that....too bad it was all fake).  A great game, and here is the recap:

- Let me say this, Joe Girardi did everything in his power to lose the game yesterday.  He overmanaged Torre esque style, and the move to bring in Damaseo Marte in the 11th was one of the more putrid managerial moves I can remember anyone making.  Thats like bringing in Jose Mesa in a postseason game: You dont do it.  Joba for only two guys?  Acves for only one inning?  Marte before Robertson when Marte couldnt get me out?  A terrible night for Girardi and only that call by Phil Cuzzi (more on that later) saved him from being the goat.  Actually, he still is my goat of the game.

-Derek Jeter is a hero even when he doesnt get a hit.  That play in the 4th to save a run was so big, so big.  Swisher threw the ball in Jeter had the wherewithall to tag Carlos Gomez before Delmon Young scored.

- AJ Burnett was lost in all of this.  Yea he walked 5 guys, but for his first postseason game, he pitched very well.  This is what I will ask from AJ the rest of the postseason, if you can give me a solid 6 or 7 innings, and give up 1 to 2 runs MAYBE 3, with this bullpen, the game is over.  I was very impressed with AJ's  composure last night.  The same goes for Nick Blackburn who also pitched outstanding until he sort of fell apart in the 6th.  He has a bright future, and the Twins should not let this guy go, he has proven he can pitch on the big stage.

- How good is Joe Mauer.  He is involved in everything the Twins do, and even though that ball was clealy fair in the 11th, he still hit a single.  The guy is amazing, a future hall of famer, and a guy we will all be talking about as maybe one of the best overall catchers to ever play this game 10-15 years from now.


- Down 3-1, nobody out, Tex coming up to the plate in the 9th, didnt we all have a feeling something was gonna happen especially off of Joe Nathan who the Yankees have KILLED for the last five or so years, including this regular season?  Tex gets the single, which if he was fast might have been a double.  You cant say enough about that Home Run and what it means to not only Arod but this team.

- Nothing pissed me off more, besides the Marte move, than Brett Gardner getting caught off third.  All the momentum is on our side, Nathan just threw the ball away, he walked Jeter, the crowd is going nuts, and Damon hit a ROCKET and I just dont know what he was thinking.  Gardner is clearly not a smart player, I can count at least five times he has made a bone head base running error this year, and this clearly has to change and pretty soon.  I am sure Girardi talked to him last night, but getting picked off third there was completly inexcusable.

- 11th inning was a wild one for sure.  Phil Cuzzi made the worst call I have personally ever seen, and that brought back memories of Don Denkinger, the umpire who blew a call in the 9th inning of Game 6 of the World Series 1985 Cards-Royals.  The Cards were up 1-0 in the 9th and leading 3-2 in the World Series, that call above was missed, the Royals scored two runs in the 9th won game 6 and then went on to win game 7.  Now, I dont know if Cuzzi's call was as bad, but he should be fired from this series.  I believe in second chances, he should absolutly not lose his job over this, but he should not be allowed to work the playoffs. Period.  That was a pathetic call, but as Mauer pointed out, "We had plenty of opportunities to win this game earlier....If I hit that double, the hole in the infield for Kubel would have been closed and that single would not have gotten thru, I dont know if it was actually a bad thing he called it foul."  Either way, the biggest play of the season might have been getting out of that bases loaded nobody out jam.  Dave Robertson earns a lot of respect and confidence in my book for his amazing job last night, and Girardi will probably now look his way more so than he usually would.  As for Marte, if he is even remotly near the ALCS roster, I am going to flip put harder than when they actually put him in.

- Tex finally had his Yankee moment, a one he nor any fan will forget.  You can see on the replay he had no clue it was gone because he put his head down, and then the crowd went nuts, and he looked up and started going nuts.  A great moment for him and for the team obviously.  Now he has confidence, which is why I thought he needed a hit like that, and the Yankees are now rolling.

-Lew